Session 50: Thronehold Tour, Part 3


 * We decide to head home through the Brelish quarter.
 * Most people are around in normal clothes; a mix of kine and monstrous humanoids. Cornerio spots a half-orc woman who appears to have a dragonmark watching him. When she sees that he's noticed her, she says something under her breath and approaches. Vikrit recognizes that she's a House Tharashk Inquisitive and hides.
 * She whispers, "I know who you are… you're Roland. I'm Charlene Ashta, I'm a huge fan." She says she would love to help out on his next adventure. She says she's one of the original 15 Legardians (apparently a fan club centered around Roland Legarde). She asks, "Is this the rest of the Big Boys?" He says we're calling ourselves the Spectral Seals nowadays.
 * Cornerio asks her about the officer's club in the Thranean quarter. She says she doesn't know how to get in but maybe something at their office (hut) can help. She asks for one of his special gold coins and he says he'll give it on completion and he'll send one of her associates.
 * We make it to the border, and Sarienne rolls a 1. Everyone else gets through, but she manages to bribe the guard. He says "your kind" have to be more careful than this (re: half-elves).
 * Side note: teleportation magic apparently makes you reappear in the same spot. Vesun has left the orb on the ship.
 * We get back to the house; Vanesse is asleep on the pool table.
 * Mogen starts working on setting up her workshop in the basement of the ministry.
 * Sam shows up with all sorts of delicious treats at the door. Sarienne and Cornerio help him bring it to the kitchen. He says he wants to put together an Aundairian feast for us. Sarienne is particularly touched and helps him cook.
 * Cornerio asks who will go to the Inquisitives' Hut. Vesun agrees but only if he can have a lock of Cornerio's hair; he agrees. Cornerio then goes to construct his new shrine to Mavadtorop.
 * After a while, over the racket of her workshop-making, Mogen hears von Pappen banging for Sam to open the top of his coffin. She decides to jack up the coffin vertically… and he falls out when the door swings open. Disgruntled, he tries to brush the straw and dust from the floor off, and he goes up to yell at Sam. Sam comes back to the kitchen looking abashed.
 * After a little while VP comes back to the dining room where Vikrit and Vesun are.
 * We discuss getting a boat; he says he could get us one owned by the Reichministry in a few days but please don't kill anyone on it. Von Pappen grumpily heads to the reading room.
 * We head into the game room (kicking Vanesse out) and discuss the plan for tomorrow:
 * Vikrit suggests burrowing underneath the Officer's Club and dealing with shaping stone somehow to get into the floor, and having a boat nearby as a backup option.
 * Vesun brings up going in disguised as a clergy member, and somehow shifting the blame for it onto the clergy.
 * Cornerio says he'll watch from across the street and Sarienne will do more reconnaisance.
 * The next morning!
 * Mogen works in the workshop; the rest of us head through the Aundarian quarter; then Vesun breaks off to go the Inquisitives' hut.
 * Cornerio heads to the café across the street from the officers' club (OC). He orders a single wing and a soda. It appears like it's mainly people in fancy dress going into the OC. At one point, someone higher-up (bishop or priest) goes in. The guard there is mainly just checking IDs.
 * He hears junior officers chatting there; some are talking about the "Breezewood massacre" (what we encountered with the Nightmare) and there are lots of rumors flying around.
 * Sarienne heads to the OC. She tries to sneak around the other side of the building.
 * Cornerio hears "OH FUCK!" and sees Sarienne sticking out of a bush; the guard has come over. Another guard comes over from the café. Cornerio follows. Sarienne pretends to be a hysterical bird-watcher who was tracking a rare bird.
 * With the distraction, Cornerio ducks in the door of the building. There's some kind of arena, he sees 2 people in conversation and he gets spotted by Faithful Vespasian. Cornerio says he's been sent for by the prefect… but he calls out to Prefect Gaius who says he isn't expecting someone. He says "I guess Adolphus must have called for him, huh."
 * Cornerio goes upstairs and investigates. Someone yells, "Master Gnome! Master Gnome! Gaius and I have a couple questions for you!" He decides to leave a window unlocked and heads outside that way.
 * Sarienne gets a lock of one of the guard's hair while he's pulling him up. Cornerio says "Shut UP, lady!" as he walks by and the guards wonder who he is.
 * Cornerio hears one of them say, "something just happened, secure the prisoner."
 * Tork and Vikrit walk around the Thranean district.
 * We are approached by a dirty-looking blond human child as we walk by. She says there's a burning going on and we'll want to see it. Tork starts making excuses but Vikrit says we should go. Tork gives her 5 copper for each of us and she leads us on a winding path through houses and alleyways.
 * We get to the square. There are 2 prisoners on a stage: a human with dark skin and some kind of official regalia. The other appears to be a nervous changeling. There's also a bald man wearing purple robes (some kind of high-ranking priest: Exarch Everest, apparently). There's another guard on the side of the platform standing at full attention. The guards have saps.
 * There's a large crowd of kine of all classes, kids with packed lunches, but some are indifferent. Tork and Vikrit sidle up to the side of the crowd.
 * The exarch begins speaking to the crowd in a highly patriotic manner, mentioning the conquest of Thaloist. He says he has "two examples of evil": an 'entity of innate evil' (the changeling) who killed soldiers; and the woman who "chose" evil and helped the changeling. He grabs her medals and she says kine are called to show non-kine mercy.
 * Tork starts untying the prisoners' ropes. He says that the changeling murdered a stablehand; he says it was in self-defense. The Exarch calls for the torch to be brought. Tork ??? The torch and the prisoners start trying to escape.
 * ROLL INITIATIVE! Vikrit starts summoning a giant eagle. Tork silently/magically punches the guard behind us and pretends to ask the guard for help. He says it might be Throneholders.
 * Vikrit's eagle swoops between the crowd and the guards to get them running and dives into a bush. The prisoners keep running, though the human is caught by one of the guards. Vikrit grabs his leg and trips him. The eagle harasses the other guards; Tork enfeebles the other one and the two prisoners escape. The changeling runs off and the woman comes with us.
 * The woman says her name is Megara Vexalius. She asks us how to find us again, and we tell her to leave us a note at the Lost Egg.
 * Meanwhile, Mogen heads to go get her homunculus ingredients from Sita. Apparently her shipment (from someone named Winston) was stolen and she needs help; Mogen can keep the centaur liver free of charge if she takes care of it.
 * She goes back and grabs Vanesse to go to Valentine Street to find Winston. They find him discussing money he owes with a few people (including Ludwig Wittisier from our dossier).
 * Mogen finds out that Commander Faustine has taken the shipment and Winston says he's been robbed. Mogen tries to get him to join her and Vanesse but is unsuccessful. He says they're in the Aundarian docks, presumably controlled by the military.
 * Vesun goes to the House Tharask inquisitive office disguised as "Sal A. Mander". The half-orc woman scrambles over and pulls him into the closet.
 * She says she found a key to the front door of the OC and gives it over with Vesun's encouragement. She says if he needs someone found in the city she can do it. He gives her the codename "The Glass Snake" and she's overjoyed; he gives her a coin "blessed by Roland himself" and says we will be paying her a visit soon.
 * We all return to HQ one after another.
 * Mogen & Tork/Vikrit catch up. Then Cornerio and Sarienne come back; then Sal A. Mander arrives. Cornerio and Sarienne report what they learned about the OC. We also learned it's not a 24/7 operation. Vikrit points out that we can use Meg to find a person for Vesun to imitate, or learn more about the OC. We discuss breaking in at night.
 * We decide to go take care of Mogen's shipment problem tonight. All of us head to the Aundarian quarter. Vesun and Cornerio split off--Vesun to gather information, Cornerio to get fake coins.
 * Vesun gets some info re: troop movements. Aundarians keep saying they're partially mobilizing but it appears they don't actually have enough troops.
 * Mogen says we're looking for Commander Faustine. We decide to walk right in. Someone calls out "hey lady!" to Sarienne but she ignores him. Another sailor asks what we're doing and lets us proceed. We go up to the Commander, who is rubbing some kind of oil on a sword.
 * There's a bodyguard nearby with a hand axe. She says she works for the Queen of Aundair. When Mogen mentions Winston, she and the guard start laughing. She says, "Hey! They're here for Winston's shipment!" She says that shipment may need some "extra handling fees" but it's safe and sound.
 * They try to shake up Mogen for money and threaten Mogen with a sword… and Mogen whips out a hot potato. Faustine dodges out of the way. Vikrit turns into a bulette and charges the guards, knocking most of them into the water and crashing through much of the docks. Faustine says "What the hell!" and summons… something. Tork pushes Faustine back but she doesn't fall in. Mogen grabs the guard between them and Faustine and shocks him. Sarienne blackjacks him.
 * A very large water elemental shoots out of the water. Faustine says "ENOUGH!" and tells us we can just take the stuff. They give us dirty looks as we walk away.