We start off with a bunch of downtime. T'Karish is looking at the
"Systematic Understanding of Everything" tree. Steven is buying up to
Essence 4 and Celestial Circle Sorcery. Gilad considers trying to
turn his arrows into plasma grenades midair, but concentrates instead
on learning to shoot *real fast* (Opportune Shot) and boosts his
Essence from 3 to 4. Other players should tell me what they're doing
with their 3 months or so of downtime.
Steven has also developed a ritual to move Camrish across time, but it
will require some work -- dream sand, coordination with the Boston
party, and a blade sharp enough to cut the bonds of former residents
to Camrish. It also leaves one party member holding the bag and
rather vulnerable.
But first, Gilad does some reorganization of the Camrish politics:
* A racial council, composed of all mundanes, one of each race,
elected from among the mundanes.
* An Adept council, one per Discipline. All the Disciplines
select their own representative. The Court Wizard nominates a
list of Disciplines, subject to a 2/3 vote of the Racial
Council.
* There are seven high offices: Minister of Magic, City Planner,
Agricultural Planner, Defense Minister, Foreign Minister,
Exploration Minister, and Head of the Adept Council.
* The Head of the Adept Council is selected by the Adept Council.
* The others are selected by the Racial Council, and approved by
a vote of the Adept Council.
* The Defense and Exploration ministers shall maintain standing
bodies of troops for their appropriate missions.
* Both councils together can appoint Heroes of the City -- the
party are obviously the first ones through that list. This
grants Backing 4 (City of Camrish)
* Most Bills must be approved by both Councils. Spending bills
must originate from the Racial Council.
* Each neighborhood elects a constable/prosecutor and a judge,
responsible for maintaining good order in that neighborhood,
whose decisions are subject to review by the Racial Council.
* The Throallic Convention on the Rights of Name-Givers is adopted
as a guiding principle.
Now some adventuring starts. Open plots:
* Find a blade sharp enough... T'Karish figures out that Death's
Scythe would work, as would some ancient throwing scythes
modeled on Death's Scythe. Chips of Dragon-Claws could also
work, particularly those of Kefavareen, a Dragon far to the East.
* Dig up some gatestones from Parlainth's walls
T'Karish uses her Careful Student Reflection Charm to verify the following:
1. Stable long-term government
2. Curse will be broken.
3. City will be returned
4. Purifier would work to cut the bonds.
5. The residents will be safe in the returned city.
6. The throwing scythes would work.
7. Purifier Exists.
8. The throwing scythes exist.
None are false or misleading, though the GM wibbles a bit on #7, and
#3 is really up to the Party.
Gilad lets the Foreign & Exploration Ministers know the party's
heading to Throal, and volunteers to take some letters along. Steven
leaves a note for the Spidey Mages that he's going spell component
shopping, and not to nuke the city while they're gone.
T'Karish also Lores-out the name of the Living Crystal Sword left
behind by the spec-ops commander, and attunes it.
Then the party heads off to Throal. This takes over a month of
overland travel. There is much Wonder at the sight of Kaer Throal.
Steven leads the party to the district of Scholars, and the Tower of
Thortan, his Master's residence. Steven makes An Appointment.
"Steven, is there a museum around here?"
'Well, what kind?"
"They come in kinds? I'm getting one!"
'There's the Dwarven Bread museum, but their exhibits are kind of
stale these days.'
"How about a weapons museum, I'm trying to stay on topic."
'Oh, the Smith Sonian. Sure, <directions>'
Justin is at this point offered an XP if he'll relent.
T'Karish heads off to the Smith Sonian. With 10 successes on a
Cha+Lore(Purifier) roll, he gets invited to be faculty. The disguise
spell on Purifier prevents its easy location, and the details on that
are classified.
Steven has an Appointment: he drinks tea, talks with his Master,
explains what he's up to, and is initiated into the Fifth Circle of
Wizardry. He also picks up an apprentice of his own, Otto -- prone to
dancing and dating a girl named Tasha. Ask the GM if you don't get
the joke.
T'Karish checks out the Royal Museum, but doesn't learn much, other
than that Purifier wasn't on the Earthdawn but would look like any
other pre-scourge shortsword.
Dinner with Steven's Master happens. Good impressions are made.
The next morning, Steven talks to his contacts at the Eye. They offer
to help in exchange for the sword. Steven meets Otto, and tests his
competence. He appears bright but geeky and awkward -- a hiking,
camping field Wizard like Steven will be great training for him.
T'Karish signs up for the "regular run log" plan for access to the
Great Library of Throal. Boy is she going to be bitter when she finds
out Steven has a library card -- after all, he's a Wizard of Throal.
The throwing scythes were last known to be in the hands of a Questor
of Death, Rhadamanthus, before the Scourge, who used them to eliminate
the most powerful of Undead. He was known for flickering out of the
shadows in the corners of Lich-King's throne rooms, killing the Lich,
then vanishing so quickly nobody knew the Evil Mastermind was dead til
minions went for more orders and discovered he was decomposing. He
was also damned hard to hit. He entered a kaer called Death's Tomb on
the edge of the Badlands, but there is no record of it opening.
T'K also starts to guess that Purifier may be the entity choosing when
to activate its powers.
The party, based on that horrifying thought, forgoes hunting for
Purifier in the Caucavic Mountains -- it was lost there. They take
ship for Jerris, looking for the Death's Tomb Kaer.
Some conclusions drawn thus far:
* Passions can't get into a Kaer. They also can't get out. What
happens when you seal several hundred dedicated Questors in a box
for a few centuries? Are Prayers bottled too?
* These Death Questors had Ebon Shadow Martial Arts. WTF?
Steven spends the journey to Jerris making Good Luck Charms for the
party, which will prevent one botch each before shattering. The
party hires a local guide, an old man named Gefford, to take the
party and his camel into the bandlands. The first night, strange
stars spin over head. They do not shine in the natural world.
The party is attacked by some undead-ancestor-worshipping barbarians
hiding beneath the sand, together with their Nemissary ancestor.
After a brief battle, they salute the party and recognize their
worthiness to walk their sands. Gilad and SMtW have been poisoned by
the death-aspected venom of the barbarians' spears.
Have 7 XP for the run.