Count Aral's page

The Count reads the letter and nods. "Indeed I will see it sent to him. Discreetly of course. It would look bad were I to be found sending letters to a head of state."

He supplies you with a well-made but modest carriage and you load up, heading into Bannerhold. You meet quietly with the Count's man and get a copy of the plans.

I'll upload the map tomorrow morning, ideally. Other plans/preps can be made now as well.

The rest of you receive similar, gentle wake up calls at an appropriate time and are treated to fine breakfasts. The Count greets in you the morning with a bow and asks "Do you desire a carriage back to Bannerhold?"

Count Aral maintains an air as if having a pleasant, calm conversation with acquaintances and nods to Sir Chalest. "Very good, sir. I was unaware of any who had successfully left the Handle of the Reaper. Perhaps you are the first in history. But this does not change my working relationship with you. I knew that I had dangerous foes, including the Reaps, as you call them. I will simply keep your name, identity, and role as far out of public knowledge as I am able."

"It does seem that your actions to protect the current peace have harmed the Handle of the Reaper significantly. I wonder how much damage their organization can sustain before debts are called in, wrongs are avenged by rival organizations, and corrupt officials grow a conscience. The avalanche may be completely hidden until it truly begins."

He shrugs and smiles. "We can only hope. Shall we turn in for the evening?" He points back to his mansion, where doubtless there are fine rooms set aside for your rest.

The Count looks quite surprised by the question then inclines his head respectfully. "I will share the knowledge with no one unless my silence poses a clear and serious danger to an innocent life or the Crown of Iustia."

I'm back from Christmas vacay. Let's do this!

Count Aral nods, following as closely as a lay person could be expected to. "Very good. Here is a receipt from me. Please see my steward and provide him with the essential schematics. He will reimburse you for your work." He hands you a note that orders fifty-five counts of platinum to the bearer.

A "count" of platinum is 30 coins so this 16,500 gp for the party's invention of teleport trap subversion.

So pass a pleasant evening and back to Bannerhold or do you have other plans?

Aral means that the book or other strong evidence give him and Turick plenty of justification to use their influence to push for magically enhanced interrogation of Beaumont. So the evidence does not necessarily need to be foolproof; it just has to be strongly suggestive of Beaumont's crimes

Aral nods. "Ah yes. The Universalist. Thank you for that advice. I will happily employ it. As for the plans, I have an agent in the capital who can hand them to you when you return. I do not keep such thorough architectural records here on my personal estate."

Then he focuses on the issue of teleport traps that seized his attention. "Fascinating. I would appreciate any information you could provide, again, perhaps directly to the Crown instead of to me, on when such interference can be achieved and how to incorporate detection of such."

I would like two checks, spellcraft and K arcana, with the total mattering for how good your advice is. I'm happy to take the highest roll as primary and other rolls as aid attempts. This is not plot critical but Aral or the Crown are willing to reward you for this valuable intel.

The count listens carefully, as you can see from his eyes, though his overall manner communicates relaxation and a pleasant conversation among friends to any watching from a distance. He raises an eyebrow at the description of the reversed teleport trap. "That is an astounding accomplishment indeed, and one that will raise great alarm if it is known in general. Given the frequency of both teleportation traps and teleportation escape routes to protect high officials, I strongly urge you to inform the crown of your discoveries. Perhaps a protection can be built into the crown's defenses against such meddling. And I expect you would be discreetly rewarded for this information." As an afterthought, he adds "I, of course, would wish to adapt my own security as well but it would not be nearly treasonous for me to have this information before the king's security."

After he addresses the teleportation topic, he moves on to the two traitors. "Yes I will take my time in bringing Faedi to justice. I will hire agents carefully over the next few months, no assassins or Reapers of course. And eventually I will collect enough evidence to feed to one of her rival magisters to ensure her destruction."

"As for Beaumont, I can give you some information regarding the layout of his estate from my visits there. In addition, my intelligence suggests one secret tunnel in from the sewers, which you may be able to uncover. The Book or other evidence would be sufficient to bring divination magic to bear on Beaumont's person if both Viscount Turick and myself endorsed it."

Count Aral is extremely curious to hear of your adventures ranging from kidnapping to infiltration to treasury heist. He shakes his head, pretending to be chatting but disappointment is clear in his eyes. "I warned the King about the character of his flattering new friends. Cust and Harcourt have shown their true colors well enough. But I am sorry to hear about the downfall of Madame and young Master Harcourt. I will look into their affairs and see what I can arrange discreetly."

Then he raises an eyebrow. "I would have thought Baron Cust would have had teleportation available to escape the collapse of his lies in a hurry. Most powerful nobles plan for such and he was as self-centered, paranoid, and rich as any. What happened there?"

Finally, he tries to keep his cool, thanks to Mel's warning, but anger and shock flash through his micro-expressions as Mel drops the bomb of Beaumont's secret. "That is... hideous... I hope both of those hypocritical war hawks find their just end quickly. In fact, I will do what I can to personally see to it. Should I apply my resources to Beaumont or to Faedi? Faedi will be somewhat more difficult for me but you seem busy with Beaumont and I do not want Faedi to go unpunished. I believe I could arrange something."

Given the very brief replies from Sir Chalest and Janus (or whatever persona Turion is presenting as there), Count Aral chuckles slightly. "From what I here, you've toppled half of the king's council. He is looking into replacements and the gossip is he might just be willing to consider some of his late parents' councilors since his younger crop has been proving problematic. Perhaps the council will develop a thread of moderation. But Duke Beaumont still poses a problem and he will seek to maneuver any new councilpersons into his own fold."

Having added a little bit to your cover story, you teleport to just outside Count Aral's grounds then walk up to the main gate. The guards look a little confused to see guests of the powerful count arriving on foot and call for the steward, who is also confused, and goes to fetch the Count. The Count comes, laughing, and exclaims "You always were eccentric, my old friends! Taking thirty mile walk through the countryside? Well come in, come in!"

You are treated to a baths and a fine meal with excellent wine served in moderation. Afterwards, Count Aral invites you all to walk in his gardens with him. Some guards watch just out of earshot and he speaks "Gesture as if we are still reminiscing. I try to keep my poor guards in the dark about any matters of state. They would really rather not know. It seems you all have been extremely busy in Bannerhold."

As you skulk in a side alley watching Rollinsby's, a young, thin man dressed in garish court dress approaches you and asks in a low tone "Do you happen to know where I could buy some devilsweed?" He smiles nervously, as if this is his first time attempting to contact the criminal elements of Bannerhold.

Meanwhile, it seems Count Aral was away from his book but Mel finds more writing in it next time she checks.

Rollinsby is clever but a coward. He works for someone more forceful. If put in a tight spot, he will likely reveal all he knows. As for the treasury, I believe one of the major nobles has perpetrated this treason. They would have the means to do so and most have no true patriotism. This theft must have taken both great desperation and a good deal of planning in advance, an odd combination. Exposing the culprit would help show Stephen how false his new friends are.

The count considers these last questions of Mel's and thinks to himself "Well the Viscount is somewhat hot-tempered. If you openly told him you thought his decisions were ill-advised without having established any relationship with him, I do not believe he would listen to you, even if you had a silver tongue."

As for Iustian customs, he shrugs somewhat "It is difficult to tell you what is different about my land as I have spent little time outside it. Follow the law or at least be discreet. Do not insult authority unless you are in very specific company. I can tell you little else but you may ask me about things as they arrive. I will check the notebook as often as I am able."

He nods and smiles to Fyrtor "It is an honor meeting Daryl's son. He was a fine man."

And with that, you leave Count Aral and begin traveling toward Bannerhold, as you travel, you try to finalize your plans.

I'll give about a day IRL for this traveling scene then something else will be happening. This is where it is tricky to push as a GM without waiting too long for plans to finalize so I'm just giving you notice.

I have 17 pages of questions from our new PC that I need to answer before we can figure out who he is and where he is plugging in. I've been slow on that but I'm eager to figure it out since he has cool ideas. So I can't say for sure how that will work out.

Aral thinks and nods "Very well. One more gift." He unlocks a drawer from his desk and pulls out a small notebook. "Write in this. The words will fade away but then appear in its counterpart, which I have here." He taps his breast pocket. "I will do the same. I will attempt to write nothing which will incriminate you if the notebook is found. It will not appear magical to most means of detection but it may still occur. Please exercise the same caution for me."

The Count listens intently to the plans then nods "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

For the purposes of moving forward, I recommend we leave the count and move onto a scene where you are heading toward... somewhere to do something... We'll vote if we need to figure out the next direction.

Count Aral responds to Turion "Well he is likely to spend much of his days with the king but he will return to his Bannerhold house most nights."

To Kazador, he explains "Well most Iustians have seen a dwarf before in their life. Revanites travel away from their home to trade fairly often. Your race will be noticeable but not necessarily remarkable. I do recommend you all craft detailed false identities for yourselves, at least one each, with corresponding disguises."

To Fyrtor, he nods "Most Iustians, such as myself, worship Abadar and Erastil, in some combination. There are several, however, who praise Psomeira. In the past, such worship was considered to be more a historical homage. Now, however, many followers of Psomeira have risen to places of influence. I suspect some of these men may praise Psomeira, but regardless I cannot distinguish selfish motives from religious ones from this distance."

In this setting, Psomeira was an Iustian.

Aral nods and hands over to Turion the small leather satchel containing the items Mel mentions. When she asks about Turick's location, he nods "He is likely to be wherever the king is as Turick is a constant friend. Thus he will be in Bannerhold at present. As for a drop point, any of the inns along the way to Bannerhold may serve well, as long as whoever picks up any return letters can avoid being followed."

Count Aral rubs his beard then nods to Fyrtor and Mel "Well I suppose I could supply you with a couple of things to help you blend in. There are others I work with who have needs but I can spare either this" he pulls out a thin wooden rod six inches long "or these." He places a small leather satchel on the table. Inside are a necklace of clear glass beads and a circle of black cloth.

I'm going to assume ID here. The first option is a wand of aura of the unremarkable with 50 charges. The second is a portable hole+necklace of adapatation.

Aral nods. "That may be wise, though I recommend you keep your profile as low as possible. You will likely need one or more aliases each."

Aral raises an eyebrow at how Mel connects the information. "Indeed, I am not are whether to be impressed or confused. Only time will tell. But certainly, you will need to investigate further. Each of these men has a house in the city and a country estate so you have choices as to where to begin observing, listening, and looking for opportunities."

Aral rubs his chin thoughtfully. "An interesting idea. They seem to be quite content with their positions of power and the direction our nation is heading. It serves their purposes quite well. But most of these men seek only their own advancement and have no true loyalty to each other."

The count nods "Yes I do believe some of them are working together. The only one of those four who hasn't been visiting the others more frequently than I would consider normal is the Viscount. But they all certainly see each other with sufficient frequency, for example during hunting trips with the King."

Aral nods. "That is indeed a fascinating question. I do not know the answer as Lady Elise tends to keep her political opinions quite private. But I do believe they will hold some influence over his highness."

Aral nods gravely as you speak, listening to you each in turn. "I will gladly work with you, whatever nation you hail from. We are all private individuals seeking to stem the tide. As for direction, yes I can give that. Let me tell you of the King's most influential advisors. Count Brendan Harcourt hails from a family of shipping magnates. He has invested particularly heavily in the shipping industry of the Bishopric of Helm and rumor has it he has illegally manipulated his investments in the past. Further, I have heard from my sources that he calls fervently, almost desperately, for machinations that will bring Helm under Iustian hegemony. I find this... suggestive." He pauses for you to ask questions or make remarks then proceeds

"Viscount Alain Turick is one of Stephen's closest friends. They have known each other since childhood. Turick is well-known to hate elves, though I do not know why. Despite this, he has uncharacteristically advocated for an alliance with Avinoax, the sole voice advancing such a plan."

"Baron Jonathan Cust also holds a place in Stephen's inner circle. His family made their fortune manufacturing weapons, earning a title of nobility for services to the Crown in the River War. I do not have concrete information on him but he has gained significant wealth in the past years, perhaps too much, and I have little trust for large scale arms dealers."

"The last and most powerful advocate of war is Duke Roger Beaumont. 'Duke' is a rarely-used title in Iustia but Stephen elevated him to this rank for his services. Beaumont has an uncanny knowledge of what is happening in the Concordat and has used this to help Stephen make certain favorable political moves, winning him great esteem with the young king. I would be most curious to know how Beaumont obtains his information. All of these men are wealthy and they and their estates will be guarded by some of Iustia's elite warriors. I recommend extreme caution, especially in Beaumont's case."

There's your info dump.

Aral inclines forward, bowing slightly, to each of you as you are introduced. He raises an eyebrow when Fyrtor plainly states his objective. Then he turns to Mel and listens intently to her description of their activities. As she finishes her impassioned speech, you see a slight shine in the Count's eyes. He sits slowly when she finishes, clearly holding some heavy weight on his shoulders. "Can I help you? I certainly wish to. I was aware of some of these machinations in His Highness' court and have put a stop to one or two of them of my own. But my influence is unwelcome and I have fallen out of favor." He sighs heavily. "But I knew King Stephen when he was just a boy. I served as Regent after the death of his father. The young king and I were very close and he respected my views." He shakes his head sadly. "Unfortunately, he wished to assert his independence when he came of age. Many whispered that I was the true ruler of Iustia. He could not stand these rumors. He began listening to his young friends, fools who aggrandized themselves by any means." He falls silent for several breaths.

Then he looks up. "But I believe that the foundations of Stephen's upbringing, put in place by his parents and reinforced during his education, still exist. If the King sees how destructive his course of action is and how false these so-called friends are, I believe he may change his ways. It will take great subtlety and skill to expose these truths. And he cannot hear such a correction from me. So I ask you, can you help me?"

Wow, triple-ninja'd. And now we've broken the 4K posts mark. Not many PBP games get to this point.

Kazador and Turion detect nothing but sincerity from the Count.

Meanwhile Nelly should make an int check, I suppose.

There an older man sits behind a mahogany desk, examining several papers. He looks up, notices you, and stands, bowing slightly. Though much of his hair has gone gray, he still moves with the grace of a man who has never grown sedentary. "Welcome, my guests." He nods to the servant. "Thank you, Percival. Please wait outside." The servant bows and steps outside, closing the door. "I heard the son of my old friend, Daryl Smithson, was here so I knew I must see him. How are you, sir? And what can a friend of your father do for you?"