1.4: New City, New Possibilities

Session 1 (July 3rd, 2015)

Braggor

Braggor begins asking around about where a skilled blacksmith could be of use, hoping to find a place to set some roots between adventures, and after some minor misadventures caused by extremely poor diplomacy rolls, he finds his way toward a small hole in the wall bar meant for the city's miners.

He learns that there is no official guild for his craft in the city, but good smiths are in high demand with the mining company, especially those that can work adamantine. Braggor never had the opportunity to try, but he feels up to that challenge. He buys the workmen another round and sets off to seek gainful employment.

Thanus

Thanus sells off some of the loot from last week's battle and splits it with Jake. From there he seeks out the branch New Sarnath branch of his university, the University of Mount Doyle.

He knows it is somewhere on the hill, but it proves challenging to find as there are no current maps to be had and much of the livable city is refurbished and amended portions of the old. It is without rhyme or reason.

Eventually after getting directions multiple times, he passes through an alleyway and finds himself outside the small courtyard of a what must have once been a moderately successful merchant's house, now in poor condition, and on the gate is a small, fairly crude sign marking the property as the University of Mount Doyle New Sarnath Branch.

A bored guard stands at the rusty gate and asks his business, barely stiffing a yawn. Thanus explains he is a scholar from the university's main branch here on business. The guard opens the gate and tells him to enter the door across the way and so Thanus does.

He enters into what was perhaps once the house's dining area. Inside are a few sparsely covered bookshelves, a table covered with papers, and a few desks. To the right is a window seat and a dazed looking man in scholar attire sits wide eyed, but staring at nothing as if he is in a trance. Behind one of the desks is another man, this one reading a large tome, and he looks up as Thanus enters.

At first the man looks puzzled that anyone would new would be here (clearly this branch does not get many visitors), but once Thanus explains who he is, the man is delighted, and so Thanus makes the acquaintanceship of Hadrian, the ranking scholar of the university's New Sarnath branch.

The title doesn't mean much as there were only two scholars in the branch before Thanus arrived (He has some dark mutterings about other university's poaching their members), he explains, but now things are looking up. The branch's enrollment just increased by 50 percent after all!

Thanus inquires about the other scholar and Hadrian explains that the man believes he can "expand his consciousness" and project his mind into the deepest reaches of the Doomed city, to "commune" with it, but he needs to ingest or smoke certain plants in order to do so. He says so quite pointedly and Thanus thinks that explains a lot.

Really, Hadrian goes on, he fears the the ready availability and low price point of such substances due to the proximity of the city to the Confederation of Growers means the poor fellow is beginning to have some sort of a problem, but still the drugged scholar insists his work is fruitful, so who is he, Hadrian, to interfere?

By then it is time for dinner. The outside guard and another along with the university's two servants, an elderly couple, join Hadrian and Thanus in the kitchen to eat. Almost apologetically Hadrian explains that since it as really only the the handful of them most times it didn't really make sense to segregate the staff from the scholars, especially as the other scholar tends to eat so rarely; if there was a scholar only table Hadrian would be eating alone most days.

Over dinner Thanus gets another interesting tidbit of gossip. It seems that there is currently talk of a joint venture between the three Free Company to send an expedition to the Abyssal Pillar. No one has set foot their since the Doom itself, so who knows what mysteries are to be uncovered there.

The plans are still in their infancy of course, explains Hadrian, due not only to the practical problems of getting so many people onto a mile high stone a mile off shore, but also due to the Company's fight for dominance. They clearly intend to divide the spoils before they even have them. Should be months before they are ready to go.

They are also looking for a number of proven and established freelance groups to supplement their own manpower.

"You were planning on performing practical research weren't you?" Hadrian asks, rather shy all of a sudden. "Wouldn't it be something if a representative from the university was part of that expedition?"

Jake

During the last week with the caravan Jake had secretly devoted time to deciphering the letter that the secret courier had died for. The contents of the letter were quite interesting to say the least, but not quite as interesting as whose words they were.

It seems to have been a letter from none other than Duke Vedam Dren, Lord of New Sarnath. It was not signed as such, but contextually it is the only person who makes sense. It is unclear who exactly the letter was meant for, as the given name was clearly a false name, but in the letter, the Duke reports troubling signs concerning potential conspiracy concerning the Confederation of Growers, House Amathy and "other entities."

He also reports fears that he has spies in his inner council. As the courier bearing the correspondence was ambushed in the middle of nowhere by a group told to go there specifically to wait for him, Jake is thinking the man may be on to something there.

And so after getting a room in the Healthy Page, he put on his noble attire and set out for the top of the hill, the Grand Square of Sarnath, and the city's seat of government.

Jake walks the grand square, a place meant for the nobles, the rich, and the powerful, and he blends right in. After listening to local gossip concerning the young noble ladies and their dashing young lords and other such trivialities, Jake heads for the Duke's hall, the finest building in the square even though it is still clearly being repaired, the once Low Fane of the Forgotten Pantheon.

Inside a grand entryway buzzing with finely dressed men and their attendants, Jake approaches a reception area and speaks to a secretary. He has urgent news for the Duke and he must speak with him now. The secretary is not impressed and explains the Duke is an incredibly busy man, but that Jake could maybe be squeezed in two weeks from now.

And so they argue, Jake insisting he must see him and the secretary firmly explaining it is not possible. As they go back and forth Jake pulls out the unsealed letter and shakes it at the woman behind the desk as he speaks.

For a while now as Jake had been speaking, a well dressed man not unlike the others had stopped to listen and at the sight of the broken seal his eyes widen ever so slightly and he approaches the desk. He explains to Jake that the Duke really is quite busy, but that should he leave his name and where he is staying, someone can get back with him as soon as possible to set up an appointment.

The man says this and Jake gets the message. "We will talk, but not here." Jake gives his information and leaves. As Jake leaves the man nods to him ever so slightly and though the man has a calm expression on his face, his eyes are cold and calculating.

Jake begins to wonder if he made the right play with the letter, and as he departs the city's lap of luxury and descends back to the poor part of town, he keeps his eyes open, alert for shadowy figures haunting his step.

He sees no one, but just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

End of Session