The Dragons' Run - Act 1

@FuzzMonster @Hair @Sarky

Lesanda drains the cup of freshwater and signals a passing Sorelt to bring her something stronger. "Oh, Cylin. As though me filling your shoes would be the problem. Run along, girl. Propriety must be observed."

As Abyss leaves, Lesanda turns her attention back to the two of you.

"As for the Peleps contingent, they are our neighbours and Daejon is here as my guest. The Realm is not our enemy, Yvara. Not yet, at least." Another bite of smoked fish. "I'm pleased to hear you're so diligent, though. Feel free to observe events." She finishes the guest-meal off, and stretches. "Jensa, I look forward to your performance. Tonight promises to be a memorable festival." She rises to go, taking the offered tankard of ale from one of Fel's other nieces as she does so.

@Hair

As you reel into the kitchen to recover, you see Sorelt Feray comforting the boy from earlier amidst the hubbub of preparations. The look she shoots you is overtly venomous.
 
Yvara

The magistrate smiles and tips back her mug.

"I most certainly am looking forward to the festivities! Are your crew at liberty to enjoy the festival tonight?"

Feel free to observe events. Tonight should be memorable. I'm assuming she knows that every word out of her mouth sounds like a promise of murder, but really?

[Read Intentions on that, it sounds like she's thinking about starting some shit.

10 dice, 6 successes. Also spending 4m Personal for two autosuccesses.

Spending 4m Personal to activate Loyalty Reading Meditation, which penalises target's Guile by the intensity of the relevant emotional Intimacy.

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8 total successes, and her Guile may be lowered by the strength of a relevant Intimacy.]
 
@FuzzMonster

"I could hardly keep them ashore over Sundering, Grey One. I'm perhaps as harsh as Cylin believes, but not an actual monster. They're a disciplined lot, though. They'll behave if I tell them to behave."

Her body language, tone, posture, inflection and word choice flicker-flame through your mind, and while you lack context her intentions are clear. You know three things.

1. She's putting on a brave face and talking tough, but she is as uncomfortable with the Peleps presence here as everyone else. Therefore
2. She invited Daejon either because he has something on her or because he's strongarming her and
3. She has no intention of giving him what he wants, though you don't think she's planning active violence.
 
Yvara

Fuck.

As Lesanda is leaving, Yvara smoothly glides after her, and will attempt to catch her at the door and share a quiet word.

"I am not here as a servant of the Banoron. I am here as a servant of the entire Tribunal, and therefore a servant of all the people of the isles. If you need me, I can and will work for the good of an t-Oileánach."

The young woman's eyes are intense, lit by a soft flame.


[Charisma and Presence, trying to intensify any existing Intimacy along the lines of 'the good of the isles' and 'work together to be independent of the Realm. Spending 2 more Personal motes on an autosuccess.]


No natural successes, just the Excellency success.
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Yvara

"That I will, Lesanda. I'll be here."

Call on me should the isles need me.


Yvara returns to her seat beside Jensa.

"I regret to inform you that the Peleps are at it again."
 
Abyss' Black Reach

Cylin swaggers into the kitchen, breaking line of sight with Lesanda before collapsing against the wall, hands trembling. Meeting with her grand-aunt was always an intense experience, moreso when she wasn't expecting it. After taking a couple of deep breaths Abyss pushes herself off the wall and grabs the greeting meal by the door, ostensibly the one Feray was to bring her before she got waylaid with nursing obligations. Stuffing a large piece of bread in her mouth alongside some fish Abyss walks over to where the boy is being consoled.

"Sorry, minnow, I'm not at my best without food in my belly," she forces around the half chewed mouthful, before taking a sip of water and forcing the lot down her throat. "What's happened to your mother?"
 
Jensa:

Jensa arched a single eyebrow.

"I find it simpler to assume the Dynastic Serpents are never NOT at it, honoured magistrate. I trust their Realm like I trust the sun not to rise or the tides not to turn. Nevertheless, it may be prurient to reconsider who one mingles with tonight, and appropriate topics of discussion. It wouldn't do to cause a scene. Oh my word, no."
 
@Hair

The boy can't get words out, but Feray is still with him. "Galen's in shock, poor thing. His mum, Saria, works in the kitchens here, but she had an accident this morning - they live near the northern cliffs and it was foggy today. They found her at the bottom of the cliffs this morning. She's in a bad way, won't wake up. She may yet pull through, the physicians are working on her now." The boy whimpers, softly.

"Galen thinks she was attacked, but there were no signs and besides, Saria and Art are friends to all on Seppish. Poor thing."
 
Abyss' Black Reach

"Well Galen, I'm no healer, but I'll have a look, see if anything was missed. If bad people did hurt your mam I'll see them punished. Thank you for the meal, Feray."

Abyss heads back into the dining room, but not before sneaking a quick glance to ensure her Hearthmother has, indeed, left. "You two are so polite it offends me," she opens after catching the end of Jensa's reply. She motions back towards the kitchen with her head, "kid in there claims his mother was attacked this morning. I promised him I'd look into it, but it seems that consensus is she fell off a cliff."
 
Yvara

Yvara continues to be quietly unflappable, and when Abyss opens with that charming sentiment, she'll just raise an eyebrow and look questioningly at the door through which Lesanda vanished. What implications?


That burns off a heartbeat later.

"Ah. It would appear that I am here on business after all. If the child requests the help of a magistrate, I will look into it."
 
Jensa:

"My apologies, gallant captain! I shall endeavour to be more insulting in your presence! If I may, I possess some medical training, perhaps I could be of use?"
 
Abyss' Black Reach

"A visit to the lady in question may be in order, I don't know which end of a needle to stick someone with, if I'm honest, but I can tell a stab wound from a broken bone nine times out of ten. The boy wasn't very coherent just there, but one of you might be able to get something out of him, I think he was a little afraid of me." The corner of Abyss' mouth turns up in a half smile at that, as if she'd said something funny.
 
Jensa:

As above, so below thought Jensa, recalling the captain's reaction to his elder's appearance.

"I regret I'm no good with children, perhaps Yvara might fare better? You have a more... approachable manner. In any case, if the poor woman isn't waking up, time is a factor, so the sooner I see her the better the odds of helping her."
 
Yvara

Yvara's borrowed and poorly fitting edge fades altogether, and she just looks sad and concerned.

"My apologies, Cylin, and thank you for telling us. I'll see if I can speak to the boy. Jensa, thank you, if you could help his mother in any way then we know that the isle would have even more cause to appreciate you."

Yvara glides into the kitchen, where it isn't hard to figure out who the child in question is. Rather than crowding in around him, Yvara simply meanders over towards Feray and the crying boy clinging to her knee. Yvara sits on the floor beside them. She gives the boy a moment to notice her and get used to her presence, and then looks him in the eye with a gentle smile.

When she speaks, her voice is low and soothing, but carries past the din in the kitchen. She speaks in smooth, short sentences, letting him calm himself listening to her.

"Hello little man. The captain told me your mother's in some trouble. My name is Yvara, and I'm a Serpent. I'm also a magistrate. That means when people are in trouble, it's my job to help them. So that means that my job here is to help you. Is that ok?"

[Rolling Charisma + Presence to instill the following Intimacy: "Yvara the Serpent (Trust)"

Spending 2 motes of Peripheral essence on the Presence Excellency for one autosuccess.

Oh, nice.]

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Total successes: 4

Bookkeeping: 3/13
21/27

Fire Aura, no anima banner.
 
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Galen dries his eyes, sniffling but clearly mollified - you suspect Feray's comforting presence doesn't hurt, but he looks you in the eye. "It was foggy this morning. Mam always said to be careful in the fog, you can get lost, and we live right near the cliffs. She's been at Da to fence them, but they're both busy all the *sniff* time with work and all. But she wouldn't ever have gone near the cliffs when it was foggy! We heard a scream, Da and me, when we were getting breakfast. Mam had gone out to pull some veg in the garden before coming to Hearth Hall to prepare. Da ran out right away, he told me to stay put but I didn't wait. He... he went out calling her name and he was afraid. I've never seen Da scared before. Or cry. Da never cries." He stops for a second, takes a deep breath and keeps going.

"He couldn't find her so he ran down to the beach, And Mam... she was at the bottom of a cliff, and she wasn't moving. Da was calling to her, trying to get her to move, so he didn't see, but I saw. I saw it! There was a boat. A boat in the fog. And it vanished. Just gone. But it was there!"

He's trembling. "You believe me, Miss? They say Serpents can do anything. You'll help us? All of you?"

The boy takes the Minor intimacy.
 
Yvara

She smiles.

"Well, maybe not all of us Serpents. A lot of the Serpents are off having mad adventures, fighting monsters, stealing treasure from their enemies, singing heartbreaking songs and jolly ballads. And me? I'm here to help you! So, what I'm going to do now is talk with the people looking after your mum, and I'll go talk to your dad, and I'll look at the cliff and the beach. I need to know what the boat looked like, even if it's not very clear, and then I'm going to go find some stuff out."

She reaches out and lays her hand on his shoulder.

"I believe that you saw something frightening, and that there was a boat there. I'm going to find out whether your mum fell by accident or if someone attacked her. That might mean finding out that it was just a terrible accident. It might mean that I have to arrest someone for hurting her. We just have to find out."

Once Yvara has a description from Galen of the boat he saw, and gets the location of their house and the names of the parents from Feray, she'll pop out to go find the folks tending the mother.
 
Abyss' Black Reach

Abyss slips into the kitchen after Yvara and lounges against the doorframe while Galen composes himself. She grunts as he finishes and saunters over to Feray. "Don't suppose you know where Saria's reposing? Forgot to ask earlier," she finishes with a shrug.

After discovering the location of the infirmary Abyss shares it with Jensa, telling her that she'll catch up there. While The Wavestrider is fantastic for projecting power and coastal assaults, it isn't the most nimble of ships. If there were assailants, and they escaped by boat, The Wavestrider would be hard pressed to bring them to battle, and to justice. She would need Crestclipper. Unfortunately, Crestclipper was at anchor in Banoron harbour.

Abyss cast her mind back, to one of the times she met with her uncle for her lessons. It stuck out in her memory because he wasn't alone, as he usually was. He was fishing with another Grey One, a curmudgeonly old fellow who went by the name of Garel. He had been serving as an emissary and sorcerer on Seppish at the time and, assuming he hadn't croaked it, presumably still was. Since she had already searched the main Hearth and hadn't found the accouterments of a sorcerer there (she presumed) he must be lodging in one of the outer buildings of the compound, possibly even in the town itself. She set off to search for him regardless.

[Rolling Lore (Lastland) + Int to Introduce a Fact that a Sorcerer that knows the messenger spell resides in Sheppish, spending 1 wp for an auto success]



[3 successes total]
 
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Jensa:

Jensa set off at a sprint towards the infirmary. Where the crowds were too thick from festival-preparation, she leapt to the rooftops, light as a spark jumping from the fire, flicking her direlash out left or right for balance, or around a beam to swing across streets and take sharp corners. She arrived at the front door without breaking a sweat, tied her weapon around her waist again, and entered. "Excuse me, I am Caerdath Maya Jensa, and I am here to see a patient named Saria. I understand she is quite unwell. Could you please describe her injuries to me in detail as we walk?"

[assuming Fleet of Foot and Boundless Endurance merits make sprinting to the infirmary an efficient option]
 
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@Sarky @FuzzMonster

The aging nurse at the door starts up, ready to be annoyed at the intrusion into the house of healing, before immediately snapping to attention at the Caerdath name. "Of course, Serpent. Come this way." She leads you through a tightly packed series of corridors, the hubbub and bustle of healers and nurses and patients all around. "We mostly deal with sickness, you understand. The occasional plague or consumption case, and those who were saved from drowning. Accidents are relatively rare, but Saria's injuries are extensive. The northern cliffs are not particularly high, but it seems she struck rocks on the way down. Bruises and fractures mostly, but two main areas of concern are her chest and her head." She ushers you into a room at the far end. The woman inside is unconscious on the bed, bruises blossoming on her cheeks and heavy bandages around her skull. Her breathing is irregular and the thin blanket over her frame sits... oddly at one point on her lower left side. A lump where there shouldn't be one. "I'll let you work and make your own diagnosis, my lady. Doubtless your talents surpass our own." It could be taken as a barbed comment, but there's no malice in it. If anything she's relieved you're here.

@Hair

It takes a little searching, but you find a ranshackle three storey building you remember from childhood quickly enough. Outside, an old man, thin to the point of gauntness, is teaching a small gaggle of children to write, scraping letters carefully into wax tablets with wooden styli and scraping the surfaces over. Garel's older than you remember, the intricate bloodline tattoo on his cheek fading in the sunlight. But that's him alright.
 
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