Post by Timeon on Dec 1, 2015 2:58:05 GMT
The Vasa Herald
A herald arrives at the former Presidential Palace in Nomesh. His clothes are of Nomish fashion, but his appearance is that of a human - save for some slight details. His eyes are pure white, his skin dark. He claims to represent the Archduchy of Vasa - a tiny but infamous nation located just west of Eral'Tir. When Mennas asks what he wants, the herald says that Mennas has been invited to the Archduchy as a guest of the Archduchess, who has a proposition for him. The event shall take place within a few hours. There will be a banquet and a gift-giving ceremony, as is traditional. Mennas shall have a few hours to prepare, and the herald will provide transportation.
Mennas consults with Dakara, who is acting as his chief of security. She says it seems like a terrible idea. Mennas presses the herald for details, incredibly sceptical that it isn't a trap. The herald lets slip that Mennas and Dakara should bring anti-poison measures, much to their bewilderment. It becomes clear why, however, when it is discovered that the messenger is of the Vishkanya race - a serpentine folk whose blood is poison. Their culture promotes attempts to poison one another as a show of guile and brilliance.
The herald laughs off the probing question if the Vasa are linked to the Wardens, and says most certainly not. Though Mennas finds it amusing that they know of the Wardens in the first place, as something more than a social club.
It is decided that the invitation should be accepted, but Dakara agrees that they should find out more about this Archduchy first. The herald is given icecream and told to hang around while Mennas and Dakara get ready. They consult Rolstein, who tells them a little more about Vasa. It is an infamous place, known as a gathering place for the shady. It has always kept a low profile. Part of the obligation of being a guest in Vasa is that the guest must bring a gift for the Archduchess. As Mennas does not have anything lying around, he asks Rolstein to come up with something. They settle on a ruby necklace belonging to Rolstein's wife that is no longer in fashion. It is agreed that Mennas and Dakara will take Tuyja with them on a scouting mission of the infamous Rose Garden estate.
Scouting with Tuyja
Tuyja teleports them outside the palace of Vasa - which is an extravagant place, walled off and extensively patrolled by the Vishkanya. Moving through the woods, Dakara is making too much noise, and is asked to hang back. Aside from a few towers, however, Mennas and Tuyja find that the only entrance to the estate is its gate. Mennas then briefly dips into the nearby settlement, disguised as an elf, to gather information. It seems that the Vishkanya have close ties with Eral'Tir, and there are a lot of elves about. There is not much dissent, as the populace is treated well. The most common language in use is Elvish, though there is some knowledge of Common, too. Mennas makes some friends, but fails to find anybody who works in the palace. The only thing he learns is that wooden men are sighted in the estate sometimes, by those who bring supplies to the gate.
Mennas regroups with Dakara and Tuyja, and suggests that Tuyja, disguised as an elf, sneaks into the estate and rendezvouses with them there during the party. Tuyja is hesitant, but Dakara reminds her that she has experience with acting - she impersonated the Rising Fire, after all. Tuyja agrees and teleports Mennas and Dakara back to Nomesh.
Rolstein agrees to send thirty of the elvish royal guard, the Immortals, to the outskirts of the Rose Garden - just in case something goes wrong.
Then Mennas and Dakara return to the herald, who takes them back to the gates of the Vasa estate.
Enter the Rose Garden
The estate is truly extravagant. People's fashions are also incredibly ludicrous and garish. The ground in the entrance is intricate marble, decorated magically to have red flower patterns in it.
>Map of first floor<
>Map of the second floor<
Mennas is met by the Archduchess Adelia - a Vishkanya who is quick to heap praise on him for his recent assumption of power in Gnomeland. She says he will make a valuable ally and trade partner. Then she excuses herself. Mennas and Dakara are left with a little red wooden man as their guide, a wyrwood by the name of Red Oak. He is chief servant of the palace. He introduces them to more esteemed guests.
Next, Mennas and Dakara meet the 'Man in White', the mercantile priest, Xan Wu. He is the second most powerful man in the Archduchy, and he asks Mennas to meet with him later, after the banquet. He wears white because he is from an aesthetic order, which believes that the sacrifice of earthly pleasures in the short term will be rewarded with great wealth later on.
The next person that they meet is the High Priestess, Elisell, who is an elvish woman. Elisell's goddess is the elvish goddess Calistria, goddess of lust and vengeance.
Next up is a Queen of the Fae, Titania. The local fae court belongs entirely to her. She is glamorous and moves with supreme grace, and like all those encountered up until now, she is quick to shower Mennas with praise. In this case, it is because Mennas wishes to restore the balance between Gnomes and fae in Gnomeland. Like everyone else, she also wants to meet Mennas in private later on.
Mennas mingles with the other guests, who are all either victims of scandals or have been accused of corruption throughout the Horn or Gnomeland. These disreputable individuals even include some lesser Gnomeland nobility in their ranks. Mennas manages to convince some of the nobles present from outside Gnomeland that they should join up with him for a chance to redeem their names and start anew in Gnomeland.
Contact is made with Tuyja, who is managing to keep a low profile. At some point, Mennas sends her up to scout the third floor, which is off limits.
Along with Dakara, he also finds an art gallery that has been designed to flatter him. The most noteworthy piece of art is a giant painting of his father, Malcolm, which causes him great surprise and pain. There is also a painting of the Clockwork Battle, depicting Mennas leading the day on a white horse. The Sun Room and Moon Rooms are pleasure dens.
There is an aquarium with exotic sea life and some sort of sea dragon on the second floor, along with demiplanes for duelling and for hunting and other recreational activities.
Dakara meets a roguish adventurer named Arnam. She knows who he is, because Arnam is infamous amongst the Stepfathers. He tried to join the Stepfathers three times and was rejected each time, on the grounds of his poor character and inability to become a paladin. She rubs her the wrong way, but insists that the Stepfathers should come in and take over the Vishkanya, to curb their decadence. Dakara is not impressed, says the Stepfathers can't be everywhere or take responsibility for everything, and walks away when Arnam calls her an errand girl.
The Banquet
Finally, Mennas and Dakara attend the banquet. It includes a live fish, stuffed with spices, that must be killed on its plate. Dakara politely declines. Nobody dies of poison. Archduchess Adelia confesses during the meal that she represents private interests - from the Far West. That a trade empire controlling certain nations in the Far West has had the Archduchy of Vasa as a foothold in the East for some time, and that it wants to make a deal with Mennas.
The gift giving ceremony begins. Mennas gives Archduchess Adelia the necklace belonging to Rolstein's wife. Once the gift giving is over, Adelia breaks out in spots and begins to cough and beg for help. Dakara's timely intervention saves her from what was a deadly disease. Adelia says whoever can bring the culprit's head to her will get to ask for a favour. It is discovered that the disease came from one of the gifts, a perfume she tested on herself. A wyrwood servant who brought it claims that Dakara gave it to him to give to the Archduchess. The possibility that Dakara is the culprit is an obvious farce from the start, as Dakara saved the woman and she also says she... isn't the type to be associated with perfume.
A man comes up to Dakara and sprays perfume in her face. Under the suspicious circumstances, she grabs him, naturally. He says he is just an admirer, but Dakara hands him over to the guards after being incredibly scary.
Information Gathering
Mennas talks to the fae Queen, Titania, who it has been revealed has an alliance with the Far West empire. She asks Mennas about King Oberon, and asks to deliver a marriage contract to him on her behalf. Mennas agrees, under the condition that Titania acknowledges Mennas as being family, as a closer friend and ally than the Far West. They agree that Titania should consider him an equal, since she can't overlook her many, many long years of fruitful friendship with the Far West.
Next, the High Priestess Elisell is spoken with. They discuss letting the religion send missionaries to Gnomeland and starting pleasure houses, which can be taxed. Mennas agrees. This somehow devolves into Mennas being led up to the third floor to bang her, while Dakara grimly watches them go. Mennas tells her to investigate the attempted poisoning of the Archduchess.
Dakara discovers that the man she had arrested was innocent. His perfume was nothing special. She speaks with Arnam, but gets nothing more productive out of him, except more detail on his special hatred for the Vasa. And this is despite the fact that he works for the Vasa as a mercenary, acquiring artefacts for them. The philosophical debate does not go anywhere.
Next, Dakara meets with the Man in White, Xan Wu. She learns more about the Far West through him - that it is a kingdom with a Queen, but that individuals attain their office based on merit. The only difference is that in this meritocracy, the position is for life. Xan Wu tries to get Dakara involved in a trade deal with the Stepfathers, but she refuses that meddling and says the Stepfathers can take care of themselves.
Dakara is approached by the wyrwood servant, Red Oak. In private, he begs her to help him and the rest of the wyrwood servants. They were willing parts of a contract between Vasa and the fae, but Red Oak claims they are mistreated and tortured, and can take no action against their oppressors. He outlines some of the details of the contract, and says if a Vasa willingly brings cold iron into the household with the wyrwood, the contract will be forfeit. Dakara refuses to help, and walks away to rendezvous with Mennas.
Meanwhile, Mennas has managed to extract a lot of information from Elisell between thrusts. Turns out she was the lover of the Archduchess, but they fell out when the Archduchess gained a new lover. Elisell got her revenge by cutting the throat of Adelia's new affection, but this caused Adelia to stop caring about Elisell's religion. Mennas also managed to gather that Elisell holds no particular loyalty to the Far West. Their current interests just overlap.
After pulling his pants up, Mennas meets up with Dakara and Tuyja. Tuyja reports that Red Oak, the wyrwood, has a private training demiplane, accessible from his room on the third floor. There is nothing particularly incriminating to be found in Adelia's office that she was able to see at a glance. Dakara makes her own report, and Mennas makes his.
After trading notes, Mennas suggests that Dakara get more information from Red Oak. This leads to the revelation that Red Oak has some sympathisers, and a special Re-Speaker around his neck. Archduchess Adelia then approaches Mennas and asks for a private audience. He insists Dakara come along.
>Map of the third floor<
Black Lotus Extract
Adelia says that it is traditional to imbibe Black Lotus Extract as a sign of commitment to a trade deal. She also says she knows the personal significance of this poison to the Rising Fire. Mennas accepts, with Dakara on stand-by. He drinks the poison with Adelia - and resists its effects. (Save for some cosmetic bleeding)
Afterwards they discuss the agreement Adelia brought him here for. On behalf of the Far West, Adelia wants to make Gnomeland an ally. Anything that is considered aligned with the Far West trade empire is protected by it. All of Mennas' enemies would be considered the enemies of the Far West. In exchange, the Far West gets to sell its psychedelics, drugs and pleasure products in Gnomeland freely. They insist that they also treat addiction magically. Mennas says they may do conduct their business if it is taxed and if it is only conducted in designated pleasure houses. Additionally, if they help him recapture Gnomish colonies and establish new ones, it would therefore lead to mutual profit, since it would expand the market of the Far West.
Adelia suggests a second level to the deal - that she will give poisons which work against the div to Mennas' armies, along with the product of Philosopher's Stones, if he agrees to help the Far West take control of Eral'Tir in an underhanded manner. To this, Mennas does not agree. In fact, he grows very upset and suspicious secretly. The Far West is not just a potential friend now, but it is a potential rival and a threat to the Horn and to Gnomeland. Mennas agrees to the first part of the deal, and leaves.
Chaaaaos
Two twins of the Vasa family approach Mennas and Dakara downstairs, and begin to shower Mennas with gifts. They keep trying to outdo each other in this gift giving. Suddenly, as it is said, "all hell breaks loose." Combat is heard upstairs. Mennas tells the twins to dump their gifts into his Bag of Holding, but they refuse to let go of it, and it becomes incredibly obvious they are trying to stall him. Mennas therefore casts Create Pit under them, and they fall in. Dakara knocks them unconscious and puts them in shackles, and with Haste, Dakara and Mennas rush up to the third floor, following a trail of dead household guards.
In Adelia's quarters, they find a heavily armoured man swinging his sword around. Mennas says "Arnam?" and the man betrays his identity by turning his head.
Adelia is invisible, throwing bombs at Arnam, and asks for help. Mennas silently hangs back, and when Dakara asks why, he says that the Far West is not something they should be encouraging. Why not let Arnam take the fall for dealing with the Vasa estate?
So they watch.
Arnam spends half a minute trying to hunt down an invisible Adelia, when High Priestess Elisell arrives. She begs Mennas and Dakara to intervene, and when they do not, she tries to compel them to do so magically, and fails. Realising she is getting nowhere, she rushes in and summons an Ice Devil and tries to save Adelia herself. Arnam kills the creature and continues to hold his ground. Mennas decides to intervene, and casts See Invisibility and Mass Hold Person, and incapacitates both Adelia and Arnam. Dakara puts them in shackles.
Elisell tries to put up a fight, until Mennas reveals that Adelia wants to take over Eral'Tir. This shocks Elisell, and she decides to be cooperative. As she had told Mennas while being pounded, after all, her loyalty does not lie with the Far West - only mutual interest. And mutual interest ends where secret take-over of a country is concerned. Adelia curses that any chance of a deal between her and Mennas is off.
The Truth, and how to take over a country in an afternoon
Questioning Arnam reveals that in his desperation, Arnam accepted gold from Ahriman. A bribe to kill the Archduchess. Arnam was also fascinated by one of the godshards which Ahriman showed him and which Ahriman let him touch, which gave Arnam a wondrous experience. When the perfume failed, he tried more direct means. It was also Arnam who gave Dakara the other perfume while disguised. The other perfume would have sent Dakara into a rage in the middle of the party if it had worked. He was not caught then because he used sleight of hand to change the tainted perfume for a normal one, so the guards found nothing and did not see through his disguise. The reason Arnam accepted the bribe from Ahriman was that he thought he'd also be helping the Stepfathers by clearing up the decadent estate for them. He confessed to being a depressive with a terrible life. Ahriman was probably afraid of the Vasa because of their production of anti-div poison, and thus Ahriman wanted to get rid of it.
Mennas then has Elisell find the Man in White, Xan Wu.
Xan Wu arrives, but does not appear too surprises at the chaos. When Adelia confirms there is no way she will work with Mennas, Mennas tells Xan Wu the terms of his deal with Adelia and says - "Let's come up with a better deal, and I'll take care of Adelia for you, and let you become the Archduke."
Xan Wu... agrees. He accepts practically humiliating conditions in exchange for becoming the Archduke. This includes having five of the elven royal guard looking over his shoulder in the Rose Garden, and the other twenty five taking up residence in the Vishkanya settlement outside. Mennas will forever be able to look over Xan Wu's shoulder.
Finding the contract papers of the wyrwood servants also reveals that Red Oak was lying. In fact, he receives a generous salary for his service to the Vasa. So Mennas has Red Oak brought to Adelia's chambers, where he confesses that he has simply grown bored of the mortal plane, and wishes to return to the fae. This has led to him to try and plan chaos in the estate, which would free him and the wyrwood.
Mennas suggested to Red Oak that he serve as Mennas' ambassador to the fae courts, and thereby have a foot in both the mortal plane and the fae world. Red Oak agreed. Mennas then told Xan Wu to alter their deal - it now included Red Oak. Xan Wu readily complied.
Finally, Mennas sends Dakara to find Tuyja. Tuyja is tasked with teleporting Adelia to the elven royal court, to confess her ambitions to take over Eral'Tir. It is discovered that Eral'Tir was her own private game, not the ambition of the Far West as a whole. However, Adelia has already managed to seed her influence in Eral'Tir. It is hoped that by handing her over to the elf King, her entire network can be unmasked. Tuyja is also tasked with teleporting Arnam to the dungeons of Nomesh.
With thirty Moonleaf elves of Mennas' royal guard posted to the Archduchy of Vasa, an extremely profitable trade deal agreed, the services of Red Oak attained, Adelia sent to the elven court, Arnam imprisoned in Nomesh and ten thousand gold pieces worth of treasure given to Mennas and Dakara by the Vasa twins, a genuine, satisfying victory can be celebrated. The Archduchy now answers to Mennas in many ways, its hands bound by an extortionate agreement (with the help of a 40 total on a Linguistics check). Mennas, Dakara and majordomo Red Oak then return to Nomesh.
-
Dramatis personae
Adelia, Archduchess
Arnam, biggest loser in Sa'Vard
Elisell, High Priestess of Calistria
Red Oak, wyrwood chief servant (now Mennas' ambassador to the fae)
Titania, a fae Queen
Xan Wu, the Man in White
Mike's notes for the Rose Garden: www.dropbox.com/s/wsyfgvi6kmi5707/Rose%20Garden%20Notes.zip?dl=0
Include tidbits such as Xan Wu has sold his soul to a devil.
EDIT: When asked about Whitemane, the Vishkanya confirmed that Whitemane hadn't travelled to their part of the Far West.
A herald arrives at the former Presidential Palace in Nomesh. His clothes are of Nomish fashion, but his appearance is that of a human - save for some slight details. His eyes are pure white, his skin dark. He claims to represent the Archduchy of Vasa - a tiny but infamous nation located just west of Eral'Tir. When Mennas asks what he wants, the herald says that Mennas has been invited to the Archduchy as a guest of the Archduchess, who has a proposition for him. The event shall take place within a few hours. There will be a banquet and a gift-giving ceremony, as is traditional. Mennas shall have a few hours to prepare, and the herald will provide transportation.
Mennas consults with Dakara, who is acting as his chief of security. She says it seems like a terrible idea. Mennas presses the herald for details, incredibly sceptical that it isn't a trap. The herald lets slip that Mennas and Dakara should bring anti-poison measures, much to their bewilderment. It becomes clear why, however, when it is discovered that the messenger is of the Vishkanya race - a serpentine folk whose blood is poison. Their culture promotes attempts to poison one another as a show of guile and brilliance.
The herald laughs off the probing question if the Vasa are linked to the Wardens, and says most certainly not. Though Mennas finds it amusing that they know of the Wardens in the first place, as something more than a social club.
It is decided that the invitation should be accepted, but Dakara agrees that they should find out more about this Archduchy first. The herald is given icecream and told to hang around while Mennas and Dakara get ready. They consult Rolstein, who tells them a little more about Vasa. It is an infamous place, known as a gathering place for the shady. It has always kept a low profile. Part of the obligation of being a guest in Vasa is that the guest must bring a gift for the Archduchess. As Mennas does not have anything lying around, he asks Rolstein to come up with something. They settle on a ruby necklace belonging to Rolstein's wife that is no longer in fashion. It is agreed that Mennas and Dakara will take Tuyja with them on a scouting mission of the infamous Rose Garden estate.
Scouting with Tuyja
Tuyja teleports them outside the palace of Vasa - which is an extravagant place, walled off and extensively patrolled by the Vishkanya. Moving through the woods, Dakara is making too much noise, and is asked to hang back. Aside from a few towers, however, Mennas and Tuyja find that the only entrance to the estate is its gate. Mennas then briefly dips into the nearby settlement, disguised as an elf, to gather information. It seems that the Vishkanya have close ties with Eral'Tir, and there are a lot of elves about. There is not much dissent, as the populace is treated well. The most common language in use is Elvish, though there is some knowledge of Common, too. Mennas makes some friends, but fails to find anybody who works in the palace. The only thing he learns is that wooden men are sighted in the estate sometimes, by those who bring supplies to the gate.
Mennas regroups with Dakara and Tuyja, and suggests that Tuyja, disguised as an elf, sneaks into the estate and rendezvouses with them there during the party. Tuyja is hesitant, but Dakara reminds her that she has experience with acting - she impersonated the Rising Fire, after all. Tuyja agrees and teleports Mennas and Dakara back to Nomesh.
Rolstein agrees to send thirty of the elvish royal guard, the Immortals, to the outskirts of the Rose Garden - just in case something goes wrong.
Then Mennas and Dakara return to the herald, who takes them back to the gates of the Vasa estate.
Enter the Rose Garden
The estate is truly extravagant. People's fashions are also incredibly ludicrous and garish. The ground in the entrance is intricate marble, decorated magically to have red flower patterns in it.
>Map of first floor<
>Map of the second floor<
Mennas is met by the Archduchess Adelia - a Vishkanya who is quick to heap praise on him for his recent assumption of power in Gnomeland. She says he will make a valuable ally and trade partner. Then she excuses herself. Mennas and Dakara are left with a little red wooden man as their guide, a wyrwood by the name of Red Oak. He is chief servant of the palace. He introduces them to more esteemed guests.
Next, Mennas and Dakara meet the 'Man in White', the mercantile priest, Xan Wu. He is the second most powerful man in the Archduchy, and he asks Mennas to meet with him later, after the banquet. He wears white because he is from an aesthetic order, which believes that the sacrifice of earthly pleasures in the short term will be rewarded with great wealth later on.
The next person that they meet is the High Priestess, Elisell, who is an elvish woman. Elisell's goddess is the elvish goddess Calistria, goddess of lust and vengeance.
Next up is a Queen of the Fae, Titania. The local fae court belongs entirely to her. She is glamorous and moves with supreme grace, and like all those encountered up until now, she is quick to shower Mennas with praise. In this case, it is because Mennas wishes to restore the balance between Gnomes and fae in Gnomeland. Like everyone else, she also wants to meet Mennas in private later on.
Mennas mingles with the other guests, who are all either victims of scandals or have been accused of corruption throughout the Horn or Gnomeland. These disreputable individuals even include some lesser Gnomeland nobility in their ranks. Mennas manages to convince some of the nobles present from outside Gnomeland that they should join up with him for a chance to redeem their names and start anew in Gnomeland.
Contact is made with Tuyja, who is managing to keep a low profile. At some point, Mennas sends her up to scout the third floor, which is off limits.
Along with Dakara, he also finds an art gallery that has been designed to flatter him. The most noteworthy piece of art is a giant painting of his father, Malcolm, which causes him great surprise and pain. There is also a painting of the Clockwork Battle, depicting Mennas leading the day on a white horse. The Sun Room and Moon Rooms are pleasure dens.
There is an aquarium with exotic sea life and some sort of sea dragon on the second floor, along with demiplanes for duelling and for hunting and other recreational activities.
Dakara meets a roguish adventurer named Arnam. She knows who he is, because Arnam is infamous amongst the Stepfathers. He tried to join the Stepfathers three times and was rejected each time, on the grounds of his poor character and inability to become a paladin. She rubs her the wrong way, but insists that the Stepfathers should come in and take over the Vishkanya, to curb their decadence. Dakara is not impressed, says the Stepfathers can't be everywhere or take responsibility for everything, and walks away when Arnam calls her an errand girl.
The Banquet
Finally, Mennas and Dakara attend the banquet. It includes a live fish, stuffed with spices, that must be killed on its plate. Dakara politely declines. Nobody dies of poison. Archduchess Adelia confesses during the meal that she represents private interests - from the Far West. That a trade empire controlling certain nations in the Far West has had the Archduchy of Vasa as a foothold in the East for some time, and that it wants to make a deal with Mennas.
The gift giving ceremony begins. Mennas gives Archduchess Adelia the necklace belonging to Rolstein's wife. Once the gift giving is over, Adelia breaks out in spots and begins to cough and beg for help. Dakara's timely intervention saves her from what was a deadly disease. Adelia says whoever can bring the culprit's head to her will get to ask for a favour. It is discovered that the disease came from one of the gifts, a perfume she tested on herself. A wyrwood servant who brought it claims that Dakara gave it to him to give to the Archduchess. The possibility that Dakara is the culprit is an obvious farce from the start, as Dakara saved the woman and she also says she... isn't the type to be associated with perfume.
A man comes up to Dakara and sprays perfume in her face. Under the suspicious circumstances, she grabs him, naturally. He says he is just an admirer, but Dakara hands him over to the guards after being incredibly scary.
Information Gathering
Mennas talks to the fae Queen, Titania, who it has been revealed has an alliance with the Far West empire. She asks Mennas about King Oberon, and asks to deliver a marriage contract to him on her behalf. Mennas agrees, under the condition that Titania acknowledges Mennas as being family, as a closer friend and ally than the Far West. They agree that Titania should consider him an equal, since she can't overlook her many, many long years of fruitful friendship with the Far West.
Next, the High Priestess Elisell is spoken with. They discuss letting the religion send missionaries to Gnomeland and starting pleasure houses, which can be taxed. Mennas agrees. This somehow devolves into Mennas being led up to the third floor to bang her, while Dakara grimly watches them go. Mennas tells her to investigate the attempted poisoning of the Archduchess.
Dakara discovers that the man she had arrested was innocent. His perfume was nothing special. She speaks with Arnam, but gets nothing more productive out of him, except more detail on his special hatred for the Vasa. And this is despite the fact that he works for the Vasa as a mercenary, acquiring artefacts for them. The philosophical debate does not go anywhere.
Next, Dakara meets with the Man in White, Xan Wu. She learns more about the Far West through him - that it is a kingdom with a Queen, but that individuals attain their office based on merit. The only difference is that in this meritocracy, the position is for life. Xan Wu tries to get Dakara involved in a trade deal with the Stepfathers, but she refuses that meddling and says the Stepfathers can take care of themselves.
Dakara is approached by the wyrwood servant, Red Oak. In private, he begs her to help him and the rest of the wyrwood servants. They were willing parts of a contract between Vasa and the fae, but Red Oak claims they are mistreated and tortured, and can take no action against their oppressors. He outlines some of the details of the contract, and says if a Vasa willingly brings cold iron into the household with the wyrwood, the contract will be forfeit. Dakara refuses to help, and walks away to rendezvous with Mennas.
Meanwhile, Mennas has managed to extract a lot of information from Elisell between thrusts. Turns out she was the lover of the Archduchess, but they fell out when the Archduchess gained a new lover. Elisell got her revenge by cutting the throat of Adelia's new affection, but this caused Adelia to stop caring about Elisell's religion. Mennas also managed to gather that Elisell holds no particular loyalty to the Far West. Their current interests just overlap.
After pulling his pants up, Mennas meets up with Dakara and Tuyja. Tuyja reports that Red Oak, the wyrwood, has a private training demiplane, accessible from his room on the third floor. There is nothing particularly incriminating to be found in Adelia's office that she was able to see at a glance. Dakara makes her own report, and Mennas makes his.
After trading notes, Mennas suggests that Dakara get more information from Red Oak. This leads to the revelation that Red Oak has some sympathisers, and a special Re-Speaker around his neck. Archduchess Adelia then approaches Mennas and asks for a private audience. He insists Dakara come along.
>Map of the third floor<
Black Lotus Extract
Adelia says that it is traditional to imbibe Black Lotus Extract as a sign of commitment to a trade deal. She also says she knows the personal significance of this poison to the Rising Fire. Mennas accepts, with Dakara on stand-by. He drinks the poison with Adelia - and resists its effects. (Save for some cosmetic bleeding)
Afterwards they discuss the agreement Adelia brought him here for. On behalf of the Far West, Adelia wants to make Gnomeland an ally. Anything that is considered aligned with the Far West trade empire is protected by it. All of Mennas' enemies would be considered the enemies of the Far West. In exchange, the Far West gets to sell its psychedelics, drugs and pleasure products in Gnomeland freely. They insist that they also treat addiction magically. Mennas says they may do conduct their business if it is taxed and if it is only conducted in designated pleasure houses. Additionally, if they help him recapture Gnomish colonies and establish new ones, it would therefore lead to mutual profit, since it would expand the market of the Far West.
Adelia suggests a second level to the deal - that she will give poisons which work against the div to Mennas' armies, along with the product of Philosopher's Stones, if he agrees to help the Far West take control of Eral'Tir in an underhanded manner. To this, Mennas does not agree. In fact, he grows very upset and suspicious secretly. The Far West is not just a potential friend now, but it is a potential rival and a threat to the Horn and to Gnomeland. Mennas agrees to the first part of the deal, and leaves.
Chaaaaos
Two twins of the Vasa family approach Mennas and Dakara downstairs, and begin to shower Mennas with gifts. They keep trying to outdo each other in this gift giving. Suddenly, as it is said, "all hell breaks loose." Combat is heard upstairs. Mennas tells the twins to dump their gifts into his Bag of Holding, but they refuse to let go of it, and it becomes incredibly obvious they are trying to stall him. Mennas therefore casts Create Pit under them, and they fall in. Dakara knocks them unconscious and puts them in shackles, and with Haste, Dakara and Mennas rush up to the third floor, following a trail of dead household guards.
In Adelia's quarters, they find a heavily armoured man swinging his sword around. Mennas says "Arnam?" and the man betrays his identity by turning his head.
Adelia is invisible, throwing bombs at Arnam, and asks for help. Mennas silently hangs back, and when Dakara asks why, he says that the Far West is not something they should be encouraging. Why not let Arnam take the fall for dealing with the Vasa estate?
So they watch.
Arnam spends half a minute trying to hunt down an invisible Adelia, when High Priestess Elisell arrives. She begs Mennas and Dakara to intervene, and when they do not, she tries to compel them to do so magically, and fails. Realising she is getting nowhere, she rushes in and summons an Ice Devil and tries to save Adelia herself. Arnam kills the creature and continues to hold his ground. Mennas decides to intervene, and casts See Invisibility and Mass Hold Person, and incapacitates both Adelia and Arnam. Dakara puts them in shackles.
Elisell tries to put up a fight, until Mennas reveals that Adelia wants to take over Eral'Tir. This shocks Elisell, and she decides to be cooperative. As she had told Mennas while being pounded, after all, her loyalty does not lie with the Far West - only mutual interest. And mutual interest ends where secret take-over of a country is concerned. Adelia curses that any chance of a deal between her and Mennas is off.
The Truth, and how to take over a country in an afternoon
Questioning Arnam reveals that in his desperation, Arnam accepted gold from Ahriman. A bribe to kill the Archduchess. Arnam was also fascinated by one of the godshards which Ahriman showed him and which Ahriman let him touch, which gave Arnam a wondrous experience. When the perfume failed, he tried more direct means. It was also Arnam who gave Dakara the other perfume while disguised. The other perfume would have sent Dakara into a rage in the middle of the party if it had worked. He was not caught then because he used sleight of hand to change the tainted perfume for a normal one, so the guards found nothing and did not see through his disguise. The reason Arnam accepted the bribe from Ahriman was that he thought he'd also be helping the Stepfathers by clearing up the decadent estate for them. He confessed to being a depressive with a terrible life. Ahriman was probably afraid of the Vasa because of their production of anti-div poison, and thus Ahriman wanted to get rid of it.
Mennas then has Elisell find the Man in White, Xan Wu.
Xan Wu arrives, but does not appear too surprises at the chaos. When Adelia confirms there is no way she will work with Mennas, Mennas tells Xan Wu the terms of his deal with Adelia and says - "Let's come up with a better deal, and I'll take care of Adelia for you, and let you become the Archduke."
Xan Wu... agrees. He accepts practically humiliating conditions in exchange for becoming the Archduke. This includes having five of the elven royal guard looking over his shoulder in the Rose Garden, and the other twenty five taking up residence in the Vishkanya settlement outside. Mennas will forever be able to look over Xan Wu's shoulder.
Finding the contract papers of the wyrwood servants also reveals that Red Oak was lying. In fact, he receives a generous salary for his service to the Vasa. So Mennas has Red Oak brought to Adelia's chambers, where he confesses that he has simply grown bored of the mortal plane, and wishes to return to the fae. This has led to him to try and plan chaos in the estate, which would free him and the wyrwood.
Mennas suggested to Red Oak that he serve as Mennas' ambassador to the fae courts, and thereby have a foot in both the mortal plane and the fae world. Red Oak agreed. Mennas then told Xan Wu to alter their deal - it now included Red Oak. Xan Wu readily complied.
Finally, Mennas sends Dakara to find Tuyja. Tuyja is tasked with teleporting Adelia to the elven royal court, to confess her ambitions to take over Eral'Tir. It is discovered that Eral'Tir was her own private game, not the ambition of the Far West as a whole. However, Adelia has already managed to seed her influence in Eral'Tir. It is hoped that by handing her over to the elf King, her entire network can be unmasked. Tuyja is also tasked with teleporting Arnam to the dungeons of Nomesh.
With thirty Moonleaf elves of Mennas' royal guard posted to the Archduchy of Vasa, an extremely profitable trade deal agreed, the services of Red Oak attained, Adelia sent to the elven court, Arnam imprisoned in Nomesh and ten thousand gold pieces worth of treasure given to Mennas and Dakara by the Vasa twins, a genuine, satisfying victory can be celebrated. The Archduchy now answers to Mennas in many ways, its hands bound by an extortionate agreement (with the help of a 40 total on a Linguistics check). Mennas, Dakara and majordomo Red Oak then return to Nomesh.
-
Dramatis personae
Adelia, Archduchess
Arnam, biggest loser in Sa'Vard
Elisell, High Priestess of Calistria
Red Oak, wyrwood chief servant (now Mennas' ambassador to the fae)
Titania, a fae Queen
Xan Wu, the Man in White
Mike's notes for the Rose Garden: www.dropbox.com/s/wsyfgvi6kmi5707/Rose%20Garden%20Notes.zip?dl=0
Include tidbits such as Xan Wu has sold his soul to a devil.
EDIT: When asked about Whitemane, the Vishkanya confirmed that Whitemane hadn't travelled to their part of the Far West.