Hej, had some ill kids and prioritized those and existing games, but I'll try to last-minute dash towards finalizing my submission.
I do hope to be done by the deadline.
Other than that, good luck everybody, I guess, as is customary :D
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Thank you a lot, Andochtuir - giving us your perspective really helps.
I'll take a look at Swapping Pei Zin for Seeker, and see if I can do something about those sneak attacks(maybe go for Pranked Curse to get Glitterdust back on the table, if I can make it work storywise), and maybe pick up Moon Beam(that I would normally have passed up). Still plenty of time to 9th of August for cooking something up.
GM Madame:
"Mylady, you may remember our original contract - information that turns up for payment. With recent events, there has been a slight shift in...persons of interest. Right now, the one person most interesting to me is Duke Beaumont - I understand he sponsored the play I visited with Isabella. A patron of the arts, that one. Albeit I got a feeling that the writing pushes a certain narrative towards the viewer. Now, I only saw the one play, so I would have to speculate - something I prefer not to do, as you know. So I wonder, would you or any or your girls possibly have heared something about an agenda those sponsored plays could follow? Or the laws that he pushed for? I'd like to understand the man better, as right now he seems a bit of a mystery for me."
GM Isabella:
"That was swift.", Túrion is surprised when the girl returns. He did not want the uncertain smile to turn more insecure, however, and instead says his goodbye to the Madame, offers Isabella his arm and leaves with her. As they walk, after a few minutes, he speaks up: "Isabella, I want to make clear that you do not have to answer what I am asking next. I will not hold it against you if you tell me you do not wish to speak of it, but honor demands that I ask...you told me that you got your employment due to Madame being a friend of your mother. How is your relation to your mother? Is she still alive? Where does she life? I expected if you had family in the city, you would want to say farewell to them. Or ask me or Madame to send a letter if not. As I said, it is your choice what and how much you are willing to share, and sharing nothing is a valid choice as well, but it would help me understand better who you are..." When Túrion returns home to Mel's house, a shy, very young human red-haired girl with a simple travelling cloak and a valise half-hides behind him. "Good evening. This is Isabella. She worked in the establishment I visited as serving girl, and I hired her away to be my handmaiden for the time being, and hopefully housekeeper in the future. Any questions?"
GM: "I am glad to see your enthusiasm. Alas, I do have some things to wrap up in the city, and I did not know if you had things to do before we leave. Pack your belongings, say your goodbyes. I planned to send word to the Madame in time, but if you have nothing holding you here, then you may come along now.", Túrion considers the room situation in Mel's house. "I will need to do some explaining to my associates, I suppose. But that was inevitable, either way - little difference if you travel with us or join now, already."
He turns to the Madame:"Anything you want to add, anything to tell Isabella? Advice? Feedback? Warnings?"
GM: "Hello, Isabella. How is your reading going? Did you have time to work on your letters using the material I brought last time?", Túrion starts with a neutral opener.
GM: Túrion is quite clueless as to why the madame might not be joyous at his presence, but that does not stop him from furthering his request:"My apologies, but my assumption is simply based on theoretical knowledge of the subject matter. Your business is, without doubt, without equal in this city. Which is why you draw the clientel you do, and why I approached you. I did not mean to presume, but I have learned to assume the patterns and situations least beneficial to me, and acquire means to overcome them. If I then learn that obstacles I expected don't exist, that is good news - and much preferable over finding one's path blocked after assuming no hindrances. So when I assumed that there would be a bond to pay, I assure you it was not because I mentally diminished your establishment, and simply because that would have been an obstacle I needed to be prepared to tackle.", Túrion attempts to explain himself and flatter the Madame at the same time.
"That said, she informed me that her mother arranged for her job here, and is a friend of yours. I am not sure how long she had been here, and if what little she makes takes care of room and board - or if her mother is dependent on money she earns - and I do not mean to pry. She shared some information on her own, and I will not try and learn what she was unwilling to tell me in a different way. Alas, I did not come unprepared." He retrieves a small pouch and places it on the table. "In here, there's gems and valuable stones worth about 100 platinum pieces. If she is free to go, allow me to suggest the following: If Isabella takes me up on my offer, I would pay her the equal of 20 platinum pieces as up-front salary for the next half year. That should be more than adequate, if she accepts. About 30 Platinum pieces worth to you - you will be in sudden need of a new serving girl, have an empty room, and you keep hearing me out despite your change in attitude towards me from the start of our business relation. Consider it a bonus for creating the contact. Finally, 50 platinum pieces to Isabellas Mother. I intend to leave the city in the near future, and to take Isabella with me. In a few years, she will be free to return, but until then, she will not see her again. Some financial compensation may ease the separation - unless you think it is not a healthy idea to provide the woman with a large amount of money - in which case I'd set up a stipend of sorts. Thoughts? Doubts? Any questions for me, before we summon Isabella and ask her what she wants?"
Congrats to those selected. Make us proud. Thanks for the opportunity, GM.
I would expect so. Several people only put the finishing touches on their characters today, so I would hope that there's no selection the instant recruitment closes :D Good luck everybody.
I also updated my profile with the Background/Descriptions, and added reference images. And just because I didn't say so before: I'm CET timezone. (Central European Time)
It is somewhat amusing, though. Someone very early on wrote about doing a Draconic Sorcerer, which is why I avoided the idea. And when I posted, there was no or only 1 other Paladin. Now there's a lack of Sorcerers and an abundance of Palas :D But it's amusing, because I had considered exactly the scaled Fist/Draconic Sorc - then briefly an empyreal sorc to open other Monk archetypes, then figured this AP definitely needs a Paladin and too few are in the runnings. How things shift-
I always forget how much I hate hunting for character images online. I’ve probably made characters for 4 recruitments like this in the past and 3 of them I spent hours hunting for an image I was happy with then just bowed out in frustration. I’m currently a good 3 hours into my image search and have completely scrapped the samurai/geisha idea because I couldn’t find an image I liked, and now I’m giving up on the paladin/bard I had in mind too. I’m going to eat dinner and then decide whether to bow out entirely or just search random images until I find one I like and then build a character around it instead of the other way around. If you are still in the creative process, keep this part in mind: Physical description with emphasis on your otherworldly nature (images from internet are encouraged)- I think I messed up because I rolled and picked some features, but I'm lacking in extreme physical aspects(prismatic shadow, colormorph-hair, slender, androgyn, singing voice. I'd probably fit into a good number of animes but not sure it's what GM is hoping for). It may be wise for this recruitment to choose a picture based on what your looks would be(fur? wings? claws? hooves?), rather than the class you are looking for.
MordredofFairys submission here - the afore-mentioned Paladin(Hospitaler, Tempered Champion)/Oracle(Spirit Guide) of Battle. So, mechanically should be mostly done.
Anyway, wanted to move beyond just dotting in.
After the rest, Túrion asks Melia to help with his disguise again, benefitting from her years of experience regarding keeping her nature hidden among humans.
Bookstore: "Another? Nevermind. What I am doing is attempting to prevent a war urged by those who would profit from death and suffering. The stolen goods were to be used for that - and I knew no others in Bannerhold I deemed trustworthy. Again, I apologize for forcing that part upon you, but I will make things right to the best of my abilities. I understand that you may be wary to have anything else to do with me, but until this is all over, you may be in danger, and I do not wish to see you harmed over something you had no control over. So let us be rational for the time being, you can hate me after this thing blows over, and I'll make sure that you'll be in a better position than now while you do that."
Bookstore: "Do something suspicious? This man helped the crown. I understand your job is to be critical and suspect everybody to be guilty, but in this case, at least give the man the proper respect unless you find something to incriminate him.", Janus responds, slightly offended despite the calm demeanor of the guard captain.
"Now if such is permissible, I would like some privacy to debrief Mister Mumblethunder - we'll stay right here so I suspect that is fine?"
As the guard captain returns to business, and Nelly indicates that the area is secure, Janus sits down near the proprietor again, and lowers his head: "I suspect I do owe you an apology for involving you in this matter. I will make sure to make this up to you. At the very least, know that you can relax - nothing ill will come of this to affect you, I assure you that."
Bookstore: "Look, if you are not sure if you are overstepping your paygrade with this decision, we can gladly take it up with Alain regarding that witness protection part. What's important now is that this citizen helped us secure a large part of the stolen treasury - and I am sure nothing is missing if you check the inventory that will be provided shortly - and does not deserve being treated like a suspect - he's a hero that proved his loyalty to the crown. So at least cut him some slack, let him get a breather, and allow me to debrief him while you take care of reversing that censur."
Bookstore: "This, my good man, is overdue. I understand there was some urgency to the situation, but whatever you did, my loyal agent does seem rather stressed currently. Not the kind of handling that makes people want to continue risking everything for the Crown and justice. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to quit working for us after all this is over."
Bookstore: Yeah, that was one reason I asked about timing. I would still be mundanely in my persona as Janus. But since there's so many people watching and needing the guard to secure the perimeter, I want to alter-self before interacting with the guards and going inside the store. So that onlookers can't say "oh, a dashing young blonde man with long hair" in case anybody is interested in what happened here...purely a security measure - neither trying to fool the guards, nor mumblethunder, as said, for both cases I'm fine dropping the Alter-Self once inside the bookstore.
"Knock the good captain out - swiftly, while my magic holds him defenseless."
Túrion returns above deck:"So far, so good. I see we arrived at our destination meanwhile. Next step will be to load the contraband on the dinghy and get it to shore. Chop-Chop." Turning from the Sailors back to his companions, he indicates for Mel and Kaz to follow, then addresses the Captain once more: "We should discuss our next steps. Let us head to your cabin for a minute while the ship is anchored and prepares to unload. I have some maps to show and a task I would not speak about out here."
"Ok guys, as your captain said, you're the lucky ones who get to take a break on the clock. Get cozy in your hammocks, because I'll send you off to sleep until you are on your way again.", Janus explains as he leads the 4 hands below deck.
"You didn't bungle anything, no. But someone did, and it affects all of us. Look, sometimes you can make no mistake and still lose. That is life. What I'm offering is a way out of that dead-end. The spell modifies memory. But only a single aspect of it. On one hand, that makes it simple - it is not a high circle spell. But it takes focus and a bit of time. And I won't be able to affect all of your man - which means I'll simply put some of them to sleep - which is a different spell but will feel the same to them after they wake up. The goal is that nobody knows who remembers the place right and who remembers it wrong. If you can get your man to stand still and shut up, by all means, make them all come down together and bunch up to wait their turn. If I was unsure of a spellcaster's intent, I would avoid doing exactly that - which is why I suggested sequential - but it's your choice. Send them alone, in pairs, all together or not at all. Either solution works fine for me. Magically altered memory or fine dust - neither leaves a trail."
Túrion remained near the Steering Wheel, his eyes on the horizon, scanning for other vessels. He was deep in thought - specifically, how Nelly was doing. She hated to be apart from him, but for this guise, it would not have worked to include her.
As Melia leaves momentarily with her letter, Túrion returns to Rollingsby and Kazador: "While I would like to address multiple aspects of this simultaneously, we will stick together as a team for the time being. As you said, you are not really expected here. I hope your presence can sway them towards cooperation, do feel free to speak up if you think you can help our cause. But the same principle holds here - we cannot afford delay. If the Viscounts hounds indeed are on the trail, we can waste no time. To ensure operational safety, that means a lack of cooperation may force our hand. I do not desire such an outcome, but I want you aware of the possibility. My orders are quite clear on that - to make absolutely certain nothing will be traceable to the top, no matter the cost. Even if everything else gets exposed, with no absolute proof a claim of being framed remains a valid defense and allows countermaneuvers." Nodding to the others, Túrion finishes his Tea, then heads towards the Warehouse indicated earlier. First taking a moment to take a closer look at the Warehouse, entrances, nearby ships, guards and workers, he then decides to use the same entrance the courier used earlier, if there are multiple. With Rollinsby next to him, he approaches the guards:"Good Day. My name is Mister Wolf, and I have urgent business with your superior. And when I say urgent, what I mean is that wasting my time will cause people to start becoming expendable. Me and my team are responsible for operational security, but I understand you have your standing orders, so we'll wait with you right inside while you send someone to fetch your superior. Swiftly."
"I am indeed not sure if we should all stick together. There is too much in motion and we should cover all the angles. Somebody should take care of Davis, as you suggested. Someone should also cover Mister Bancroft, or arrange for a partial pardon for his father - if execution awaits, no doubt it's a heinous crime, but a looming war and high treason are...bigger. Maybe some prison time could be arranged instead. And we'll need to get the port locations and tally, plus the one from the linen shop. Hopefully, we can also pinpoint some ships. This leads to the next point: We need those ships to stay in the harbor. Whether they get blockaded by warships or stormed by the guards, but we need to arrange for some means of preventing them from leaving. I would have liked to follow the treasures to their final destination, but I am afraid that would be detrimental to our efforts, as we can lay bare the complete chain of what is taking place, linking it all up to the owner of the ships. But the moment is fleeting." Thinking on the names, Túrion shakes his head:"I am not sure he would contact anybody, maybe see it as a test of his loyalty and be afraid of failing, or he may vanish entirely, knowing he is a loose end. Maybe you should go to him personally, with the Viscounts Guards along, and explain to him that he can either wait for the assassins or hand himself over...or something to that effects - just not sure if a note will accomplish what we want - that he both hides and contacts a person of our choosing. I concur he does not deserve to die, especially because he ended in this situation due to our meddling, but if he simply goes missing we'll never know what happened, and can't benefit from his inside knowledge."
"Oh, I know people would not knowingly withhold goods. My worry was that if one of your couriers were to be intercepted, it will only come to light after our employer cross-checks the tallies. So if your safety had been compromised, and one of the couriers were to be taken down, nobody would know, for too long. We will likely need to work through all the drop locations and get the current tally, then cross-check that against what has been sent out so far.", Janus replies to Rollins first explanation.
When they arrive at the location, Janus invites Rollinsby to a drink at an opportune nearby locale:"Then we wait for the others of my team. I will instruct them regarding our next steps, then we'll head to the warehouse together. I expect they may show similar resistance to our intervention as you did. Commendable to some extent, but not helpful. Hard to handle it differently without extensive danger to the whole operation, though."
Speaking in the same low tones, Janus makes sure nobody is too near or tracing them: "You have someone in the shop keep a Tally? That seems...traceable. I trust it is encoded in some form. How is it counter-checked against what is delivered? That is, is there a second tally on drop off or loading that is cross-checked at a later time? Or do the movers carry encrypted information about the goods they transport and it is checked on hand-over? Our priority needs to be to make sure everything is on the ships, with no trace leading there. I have some further associates. I know you must trust those employees entrusted with moving goods. With your life, in a way. But is there anybody who could become a problem? Someone with a problematic attitude, struggling in life, maybe simply with a sick kid and money problems? You already took steps regarding Davis, but we can't be too cautious - if anybody comes to mind that might be less reliable, I'll have one of my associates investigate.", he inquires as they get closer to the docks with every step.
"So, while we are on the road...did you take any further precautions for moving the goods? You did tell me the origin point may be compromised...which is why we'll check if they arrived, and if the goods are clean, I'll be calling in one of my specialists to make sure of that. Hm...you know what, rather than just state singular precautions, explain to me the complete altered process - less guesswork involved, and easier to notice any glaring weaknesses. So tell me, why is the way you decided to handle this the safest option we had?", Janus is casually talking to Rollinsby as they move towards the docks, trying to get more information from him.
"Mister Blonde, could you move on ahead and inform our associates that Mister Rollinsby is joining us? I'd like to make sure the goods arrived at their destination, are not being magically tracked, and nothing went missing, so we'll be heading to the docks first. If they'd be so kind as to join us there.", Janus suggests to Kazador, then turns to Rollinsby: "After you, Sir. Lead the way."
Remaining leaning against the table, Janus only turns his upper body towards the Doorman: "You look like you've seen a ghost. I assure you, this is standard procedure. Also one of the reasons I would have preferred if you'd stayed out of this. It's simple, really, HE is known to the people we are going to pay a visit to. We are not. Instead of announcing our intent and existence to every minor mover, we use him. But I need his full cooperation and have no time to have him question my decisions on the field. This is a matter of both security and efficiency. Do you understand that? Mister Rollinsby will be with us for a while, and likely stay hidden for a few days, following all of this. We'd appreciate your cooperation in telling anybody coming for him that he had urgent business to take care of and will respond to them when he can."
"Suspicions help no one. Tell me who you suspect, we will investigate him, her, or them. We are here to help you, after all. You are a valuable asset. Furthermore, it is irrelevant if they do or do not know the identity of the shop. If there is a chance the linen shop was compromised, surely you took steps to right things. Were the goods moved already? Or what is your time table? And how do you make sure it will be untraceable this time?" Túrion awaits the answers to his final set of questions, then nods, and grabs onto the rod in his pocket.
Janus shrugs, then looks at Kaz: "Mister Rollinsby is convinced that the man is trustworthy enough. Let him stay, Mister Blonde, he already heard too much. Oliver is now part of this. By your actions, Mister Rollinsby, his fate is now connected with yours. Your mutual insistence on his presence means if either of you messes this up, you are both in trouble. You see, I do expect your full cooperation on this, but just in case, we wanted to keep your employees safe."
Mel and Fyrtor get a sense of some cautious yet smug satisfaction. There is some alarmed-ness to it, but it has not increased much since Túrion and Kazador went inside - likely simply the adrenaline of the situation.
"As I explained to your associate, I am Mister Wolf and this is Mister Blonde. We have been dispatched to assist you in patching up a security leak involving one Mister Davis. We should continue this conversation in private."
"Good day, Mister...Smith, was it? We are here to meet Mister Rollinsby - certainly we should be expected?"
Túrion wonders for a moment why he would need to buy this in a back alley - rather than in a shop...or, if not easily available because of a social stigma, why he wouldn't go out and harvest it in the wild - or pay someone to do so for him, which certainly would have been an option with the price Harold named.
"I am afraid that may not be the best course of action. The fact the treasure is still at the linen shop - if we trust Harolds version - suggests that they are only middle-man as well. I doubt they are comfortable with the situation, and are probably awaiting pick-up of the stolen goods. If we interfere in some way, chances are we will end up with the treasure, but no idea where it was supposed to go next. And finding out where it ends up - and I'd currently hazard a guess that it's near the harbor - seems key in implicating one of our suspects. Proving something was stolen from the treasury is worthless by itself, unless we can also tag one of the Kings circle of Advisers. The one man who most likely is in the know regarding the next steps is Rollinsby. We should make his acquaintance and enforce his cooperation. If we fail to do so, we can still raid the linen shop.", Janus sums up his thoughts.
"No offense, but I am not sure we should hand anyone over to anybody else. What we do not want is to come to the end of the line, the ones pulling the strings, and find that someone else already reached there first. Fyrmans "employer" may have his own motivations and reasons. If he shifts things to his advantage and we find nothing left we can work with, it would have been for naught. If we do deal with him, then we should handle things. Including accomodations.", Janus counters.
"Aye. But nothing that implicates him. After yesterday, he may decide to be extra cautious - I am not sure if observing alone will bring us any closer."
Túrion makes sure that Nelly knows she's a good girl. Something she is, of course, aware of - but despite her pride still enjoys being praised even for such mundane actions as tracking someone. And it was so easy. Elves had a distinct smell. A different aroma from the humans so populous in this city. While focused on his companion, Túrion still looked on at what Harold did. He was CERTAIN the old man was working magic in some way - but managed to hide it with some street charlatan tricks. Doubtlessly useful, but suspect, as well.
Túrion, in the guise of Janus, walks with Nelly, in the guise of his dog, sufficiently away from the others. He could swiftly send Nelly ahead, pretending to run after her, to close the distance if needed. But unless Mel gave him a sign - ...he waited.
"Tricky, but possible. There would be simpler ways for that, perhaps. The magic inherent to this kind of spells is...fickle. But I am confident we could achieve such, as well. I don't know if I'd bring this to the Viscounts attention just yet, but I'll trust your judgement on the matter.", Janus responds after considering a moment.
"Well. We can follow him and see where he goes...or we can jump him in the streets and befriend him after he wakes up again.", Janus casually offers an alternate approach.
Túrion keeps himself occupied in the vicinity, sitting below some tree, reading through the book he acquired.
Well, if you can identify a target, I am pretty certain I can make them talk...so lets go...
"Well, if we are going to the linen shop, we may as well try and make some friends there. What do you know, someone may decide he'd rather come clean and tell us everything he knows.", Janus snips with a Finger, to indicate how easy that could be, "Of course, there's never a guarantee, so having a Plan B certainly is preferable. But if we're going there, we should go together."
"Well, I'll need to pick up a book - an illustrated copy of Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box - don't even ask why...but if I am paying your local bookshop a visit, I may as well inquire about any books on local heraldry. Just because nobody recognized it, or it may not be unique does not mean we can't narrow our options down. Knowing half a dozen familys with a falcon in their insignia would be preferable over knowing none.", Túrion suggests, not yet spooked by whatever Mel thinks she saw in the corner.
"Hm...these Valuables that have gone missing - I doubt that someone is simply stuffing their own pockets. Most nobles influential enough to arrange something like this are already rich enough - the risk and the consequences should they be found out would not be worth it just for being slightly richer. No, I think this wealth is used to finance something that is not supposed to be financed with royal treasury money. In other words, the money is moving. Transactions take place. Things are set into motion. Just on a whim, we may want to take a close look at Harcourt and Cust's businesses, respectively. Our suddenly rich arms dealer and the shipping magnate that messed up in foreign affairs. If there's a chance one of our candidates is involved, those seem most likely. If there are deals being brokered and actions taken, we may run into more clues regarding the purpose of the stolen treasury money. If we have nothing better to do during the day, that is.", Janus adds with a weary voice. He was not in a hurry to get things done, but he liked to keep occupied - to keep moving. And all the leads he had required patience of him. Doing SOMETHING seemed better than just waiting, at all - but not finding a clear approach to their problem that showed promise took its toll on the Elf, who clearly had little sleep last night, if at all.
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