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Take your seats, bring the house lights down, and please don’t silence your phones, you’ll need it for Theater of the Mindset!
TotM is a show combining collaborative, character driven storytelling in a modern high fantasy setting with audio drama production quality. A mixed table of mild mannered TTRPG players and unmanageable improvisers bring balanced humor seasoned with imbalanced results.
The mindset is brought to you by your kind and generous GM, Justin Gerardot and sound designer and composer, Nick Traeger.
Theater of the Mindset. Theater of
Justin (GM):of the
Nick (Herry):Last week on Faith and Fortune, Harry paid a visit to his mother, Arcanist Tallulah Pinch, to jog her memory about Asher's early years and his sister's condition. Beanie then updated Harry and Lucan on the basement books in her research and the existence of another magically inert person once arrested by Otrallachner, D. L. Roulette. And then Sara had her first day with Imogen at the docks and found out she was also paired with the primal spirit that could find people anywhere within the city but couldn't quite place Isarn Halibar.
Nick (Herry):We'll pick up right there. Where's Sara?
Steve (Luken):Yeah. We need to get a hold of her.
Shelby (Sahra):Sara just runs in. Woah. Look who's having a party without me.
Nick (Herry):Party's over. Yeah. You could tell?
Steve (Luken):Is is the doorman not there?
Shelby (Sahra):What doorman? Did he have a dorm
Steve (Luken):this is a nice place. Okay. Is anyone out there at this point?
Shelby (Sahra):There's like one guy asleep on a bench.
Justin (GM):He was here when we got here. Sure.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, hey, Beanie.
Justin (GM):Hi, Sara.
Nick (Herry):Sara, we've got news.
Shelby (Sahra):So do I. You go first.
Nick (Herry):Hell, yeah. So, the church of Aracenda seems to be able to write, as you saw, some secretive messages in UV light.
Nick (Herry):message was just yeah. The message was just catty bullshit about finding another church because of what a shit show this place is. But Mhmm. So, yeah. So so that's that we need to keep an eye out.
Nick (Herry):If you have any ways, Primal Magic or otherwise, to start keeping an eye out for some illusory script whenever it seems appropriate, would recommend.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Nick (Herry):I asked Lugan for some old relics or something that's we could steal from this place, but we'll see what happens with that. And then Beanie, you're the one with all the good information. Let's give give Sara the rundown. The whole rundown? Okay.
Nick (Herry):Never mind.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. We don't have time.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. It's fine. Yeah. You you do great. You're not a you're not a paraphraser.
Nick (Herry):You're a That is correct. Yeah. You're a deep information person. Actually, Lucan, go ahead. I talked.
Nick (Herry):I already talked.
Steve (Luken):Okay. Yeah. So Beanie and Harry came by with the basement books. Mhmm. That's what they're calling the books where beanies kept track of all the stuff
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. Know the basement,
Steve (Luken):Lucan, and
Shelby (Sahra):the banks.
Steve (Luken):She found out that Otra, our town guard, had become kind of obsessed with a thief named Deal Roovat who look, long story short, claims to be a descendant of the immortal soul, which What? We didn't think was a thing that existed. But The king can't have kids. King's not allowed to have kids.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. Woah. Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Big difference there.
Nick (Herry):Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):Woah.
Steve (Luken):Right. Telltale sign, the evidence that Ms. Roulette was relying on for this claim was she's a magical inert, which is another thing we had never heard of. Magic did not impact her. She couldn't cast it.
Steve (Luken):Magic cast on her wouldn't have would have no effect.
Shelby (Sahra):Heavy.
Steve (Luken):Think about the revenant spell that Otra tried to cast on Isarn.
Shelby (Sahra):Kill East kill sender Isarn.
Steve (Luken):The part of the spell that would have targeted Isarn disappeared. You guys? We're making a few leaps here but
Shelby (Sahra):I can connect a leap.
Steve (Luken):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Steve (Luken):They're not that far. Right? Like, we're not
Justin (GM):Lucan. I
Shelby (Sahra):I okay. I just was with a friend and and she turns pink. And she was able to she has a cool trick that she can do where she can kind of find people, which is how I knew you guys were here without me, but
Justin (GM):That trick seems problematic.
Justin (GM):Well How does she do it? Is it magic?
Shelby (Sahra):It's no, I it's through a spirit.
Justin (GM):Were you aware that you were being found, Lucan, senator Pinch?
Shelby (Sahra):Beanie, stay out of it. That's not the important part. The important part is, I was like, well, if she can show me where Harry and Lucan are, maybe she can show me where Isarn is. And she couldn't. Okay.
Shelby (Sahra):Which didn't make sense in the moment but now it's making sense.
Justin (GM):Well, mean, it could have been he's out
Nick (Herry):of town or like how how far reaching is this thing?
Shelby (Sahra):Here's the thing, She was able to see that there were people talking to him and he's here. He's in the city. He's in the commons.
Nick (Herry):Well, how about that? What a coincidence. We've got a date in the commons tonight.
Shelby (Sahra):What date in the Commons?
Nick (Herry):Big show in town.
Steve (Luken):Big yeah. Oh. What do have the pamphlet right now.
Justin (GM):Oh. I hand it to you.
Nick (Herry):I hand sorry, the pamphlet. It looks like Lugan almost got his ass kicked last night. What? Ended up getting instead talked to by a religious cult.
Steve (Luken):You're like 60% there. Yeah. I I got jumped.
Justin (GM):It's fine. What? It's a statistical inevitability.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh my god. But one Are you okay?
Steve (Luken):Yeah. I'm fine.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay. Fine. Great.
Steve (Luken):But one of them was carrying that.
Shelby (Sahra):Well, this must be where Isarn is. Right?
Nick (Herry):Looks like we get to go meet our boy.
Steve (Luken):It's the best guess we've had as to where Isarn is.
Shelby (Sahra):We gotta go.
Steve (Luken):How much time do we have before this starts? Not much. Okay. Yeah. It's it's time to scoot.
Shelby (Sahra):Luke Gordon?
Justin (GM):I'm sorry. Prelate Mascar?
Justin (GM):Yeah. No. It's again, you can do Luke.
Nick (Herry):Luke is fine. You got it right.
Justin (GM):I I have a We need to do something about your wings. You aren't you're gonna stick out.
Nick (Herry):That's true.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. That that is a problem. Yeah. Do you have any ideas?
Justin (GM):Beanie thinks.
Nick (Herry):Big coat?
Justin (GM):Big coat? Big coat? Big coat? Coat? Coat?
Shelby (Sahra):Okay. Big coat.
Justin (GM):Yeah. No bad ideas. Backpack?
Shelby (Sahra):Backpack coat and a backpack.
Shelby (Sahra):Big coat
Justin (GM):and backpack?
Nick (Herry):That's big backpack.
Shelby (Sahra):Or one in the other.
Steve (Luken):The problem with the backpack is logistic. How's your Galapagos impersonation?
Justin (GM):Oh. It could have a shell?
Shelby (Sahra):Where are we gonna get a shell?
Justin (GM):Where are we gonna get a coat? Sorry. That was so much attitude. Where is this coming so sorry.
Nick (Herry):Maybe you do need
Shelby (Sahra):a day off.
Shelby (Sahra):Are having some lemon water? Jeez.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. I gave her some lemon water.
Shelby (Sahra):God. She gets sassy spicy It's
Justin (GM):cause it's carbonated. The bubbles just come up. I'll spend a fear on that, Seth.
Nick (Herry):It seems fair.
Steve (Luken):Do either of you have any like magical disguise y
Nick (Herry):I don't. Stuff? Maybe. Only invisibility. Closer.
Shelby (Sahra):Reach into my nomadic pack and I'm gonna spend a hope to pull out a mundane item that is useful to my situation.
Steve (Luken):Like a big coat?
Nick (Herry):Or a Galapagos shell?
Justin (GM):I think a big coat is
Nick (Herry):gonna be more likely in your bag than the
Justin (GM):shell of what we've established as a humanoid sentient creature. Just the bones. It's just It's like
Shelby (Sahra):carrying around in my
Shelby (Sahra):entire bag.
Justin (GM):In your bag, It is the most of the bag.
Nick (Herry):Just that Dana Carvey movie. The master of disguise. Yep.
Justin (GM):The turtle. Yeah. We're going to turtle pubs so fast.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. It's a coat. You have
Justin (GM):a big coat.
Steve (Luken):Every podcast eventually devolves into Dana Carvey's Master of
Shelby (Sahra):Disguise. Alright.
Shelby (Sahra):So I reach into my pack and I pull out a big coat.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. For sure.
Shelby (Sahra):Does this work?
Steve (Luken):I I grab it and I kinda drape it over and
Nick (Herry):What if we ratchet strap those guys down?
Steve (Luken):Will that hurt? A little, but I mean
Justin (GM):Yeah. A tough you're a big tough strong guy.
Steve (Luken):Almost certainly, it'll hurt less than getting mobbed by cultists.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Right.
Steve (Luken):So I'm willing to Yeah.
Justin (GM):Willing to
Steve (Luken):do that.
Nick (Herry):So do a little little bungee cordon and
Steve (Luken):I I think we like harnesses are the kind of equipment we would have in like the Sure. Like adventurer prep area. Like, I can kind of like
Justin (GM):Are there any other items in your adventure prep area that would be useful?
Steve (Luken):Great idea, Bini. Let's go down. I think, you know, we would have loved to have called you. We have some sending stones, and that way in the future, when, you know, Harry and I find out that apparently the king has kids, we can just tell you right away.
Shelby (Sahra):That would be crazy.
Steve (Luken):Okay. Yeah. Let's do that. Okay. Yeah.
Steve (Luken):We have a contract with Overland Outfitters.
Nick (Herry):Oh, nice. So Quality goods.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. So, you know, we we can just go down to the storeroom. There's all kinds of just stuff we send out, especially like the novice adventurers with because they don't have their own gear. Sending stones, probably gonna be helpful here so we can stay in touch if we are kind of working the crowd and everything. Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Mhmm.
Justin (GM):Well, do you and Lucan and Sara wanna go grab those? I need to have a word with Senator Pinch.
Steve (Luken):Certainly. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Okay. We can
Steve (Luken):go down to that.
Justin (GM):Yeah. Fine.
Steve (Luken):Harry, you want your own sending zone?
Justin (GM):Yeah. Yeah.
Steve (Luken):We'll grab we'll grab three.
Nick (Herry):Can Sending zone would be great. If you have a little bald cap or something for a disguise kit, that'd be great.
Steve (Luken):I'll see what I can do. Bald cap's not really part of our, like, standard
Shelby (Sahra):Well, out.
Steve (Luken):Kit, but I'll look.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Senator Pinch. Yeah. I
Justin (GM):I can't go on this.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. No one was asking me.
Justin (GM):Oh, thank God.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):I was so nervous that you guys were gonna ask me to go.
Nick (Herry):Now, do you do you feel like you'll be okay
Justin (GM):getting back? Yeah. I really wanna return the basement books back
Nick (Herry):to their dogs. Need anyone to go with you or are you okay?
Justin (GM):No. No. I'm okay. Okay. But thank you.
Justin (GM):I'm just glad I don't have to go on this adventure. Yeah. Absolutely. Oh, thank God.
Nick (Herry):Okay. You're an indoor cat. Yeah. For sure.
Shelby (Sahra):I
Justin (GM):can venture outdoors as is evidenced by right I just don't like it. It's horrible out here.
Nick (Herry):Like like an indoor cat would feel.
Justin (GM):Yeah. I guess.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. It's not a bad thing.
Justin (GM):Yeah. It's fine. Just Can you like come up with a really good excuse for them so that they think that it's Yes.
Nick (Herry):Your idea? Absolutely.
Justin (GM):Okay. Thanks.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. Okay.
Nick (Herry):Absolutely. Okay. If you wanna take off, you can go ahead.
Justin (GM):Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. I'll go now.
Justin (GM):You're fine. Yeah.
Nick (Herry):Alright. I'll say there's a big emergency and you
Justin (GM):have to go Be safe.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Hey.
Justin (GM):Couldn't do without you. Thanks.
Shelby (Sahra):We come back in. Where'd beanie go?
Justin (GM):Indoor cat. Yeah. But if you see
Nick (Herry):her, say, oh, man, we could've used you and but I'm yeah. We knew you had bigger things going on.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Nick (Herry):Okay. So we've got a real mess on our hands. What's the game plan?
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, yeah. We should probably go in with a plan. Okay. Well, first Yep. We should see what all the hubbub is about.
Shelby (Sahra):Sure.
Nick (Herry):Assuming it's gonna be a big meeting, if they have tracts, if they're handing out pamphlets, they're organized. So, walk in separate, walk in together? I
Shelby (Sahra):think separate. Separate.
Steve (Luken):Okay. And I think our MO here
Justin (GM):Mhmm.
Steve (Luken):Is we're just attending. Yeah. We're interested people who got a pamphlet and want to see what's going on. I think I think we portray sympathy to the cause, right? I don't think we're there to ask a lot of questions that could agitate.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. I think we wanna see what
Nick (Herry):this
Steve (Luken):is, see what we can learn. To me, this is not the one where we pick a fight. We have suspicions about what Isarn can do and can't do. He, less than two days ago, managed to, not directly, but kill a Prelate. This guy's dangerous and it pains me to say it, but this is maybe not the one where we decide to
Nick (Herry):Pop off.
Steve (Luken):Pop off like we have something to prove. This is the first and last time you'll probably hear Lucan say this, Discretion? Probably probably a good idea here.
Shelby (Sahra):So go in separate, keep a low profile, find out what you can find out.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Should open to opinions. Should we clue in Lautner in some fashion? Would it be nice to have some backup in case? Obviously, we're not looking for anything to pop off.
Shelby (Sahra):I don't know.
Nick (Herry):Do we wanna be three people in a room full of people that don't like us?
Steve (Luken):Harry, if you think that you can keep Lautner under control, which you seem to have a pretty good handle on
Nick (Herry):Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Through the task force. If you can give him the kind of order he will understand to not blow our cover
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Not the worst idea in the world because this is the kind of thing he he wants to know about and for the safety of the folks there and in the city, I don't I don't think it's a bad idea to have more than just the three of us aware of what's going on. I
Shelby (Sahra):roll my eyes and say, fine, if you must.
Nick (Herry):I mean, split the difference. I cannot mention Isharne, but let them know that there is a gathering happening of this cult.
Steve (Luken):Too late to ask Mimi to give that tract to him?
Nick (Herry):Oh, sure. I could flag her down. I can fig figure out.
Steve (Luken):I I know she had, like, an emergency.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll call the office, leave a message and have her drop that to him and let him know if there's a we're we're headed that way, but to keep under wraps. Cool.
Nick (Herry):I use your phone to call leave a message on Beanie's desk, so when she gets there she can run with that. And just let and I'll just be pretty explicit of like under wraps, keep undercover only to Lautner as far as just in the area of the Commons.
Justin (GM):I don't know when the last time you called your own office was. You were astonished at the number of menu options. Can I
Nick (Herry):make a knowledge roll to see if I can get through? Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):Press 8 if you would like to talk to
Nick (Herry):That's a 12. That's a 14 with fear. Kidding. I get there though. Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, that's fine.
Justin (GM):You just keep pressing 0 until eventually you hear the tone.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. A while.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Nick (Herry):We get there.
Steve (Luken):Does the greeting for your direct inbox still have like an out of office from like three years I
Justin (GM):mean, Beanie Keeper is a tight ship. Yeah. I think never that. The problem is there's just so many preset categories. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Beanie thinks she's like doing herself a favor.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. By weeding people out there.
Justin (GM):Already sorting the messages before she has to listen to them,
Nick (Herry):which is hey, that's fair. Great. Let's boogie. You all
Justin (GM):head towards the Commons, the part of Resinium City that is by far the most compact and follow the address to a large warehouse. There are a number of people gathered outside, some of them smoking, some of them drinking, a lot of them just loitering. There are enough people outside that you joining the throng is not noticed. You see at the entrance that everyone who's going through is showing pamphlet to two armed guards. Not guards like official city guards, just two individuals with swords that are verifying that people have pamphlets before coming in.
Justin (GM):Once inside, it's hard to see what exactly is going on, but you can tell that there are a number of people already inside.
Steve (Luken):So we don't have a pamphlet?
Shelby (Sahra):We have one.
Steve (Luken):Like, give it to Beanie.
Shelby (Sahra):We give
Nick (Herry):it to Beanie.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, shit.
Nick (Herry):Is there are there anyone, like, handing any handing them out or anything like that? Is there Mhmm.
Steve (Luken):People running around? Okay. Are there are there any would we have seen any littered about, like just amongst like street trash walking? Give me a an instinct roll. Okay.
Steve (Luken):It's a fifteen fifteen with with hope. Hope.
Justin (GM):You manage to find a group of people who have multiple and are, after a short conversation, able to charm your way into them handing you one of their pamphlets.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Yeah. You've got a pamphlet now.
Steve (Luken):That's one for the three of us.
Justin (GM):It seems like people are going in as groups. As long as one person in the group has a pamphlet.
Nick (Herry):Should Harry be worried about being known here? Yes. Harry is going to cast invisibility on himself and use his subtlety winds to try and do it without being seen.
Justin (GM):Yep.
Nick (Herry):I just need to hit a 10, which that is a 16 with fear. So Harry becomes invisible, but is gonna hang back just a little bit.
Justin (GM):You approach the entrance and there is, as expected, the two guards, there are the two guards standing there. The people in front of you go through, you hear them say, welcome. Happy to see you all. Have you been to this before? You hear them answering a couple of questions.
Justin (GM):Do you have proof that you know what you're walking into? They hand over the pamphlet. Thank you very much. They hand the pamphlet back, they walk in. Two of you approach.
Steve (Luken):I am gonna let Sara take the lead here cause you have spent time in this area. Like, this is more your Mhmm.
Shelby (Sahra):Community. Mhmm.
Shelby (Sahra):We walk up.
Steve (Luken):Ma'am?
Shelby (Sahra):Hi. We're here for the Is it a is it a rally? Is it What is the pamphlet calling it? So I The know the right
Justin (GM):Gathering.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay. Hi. We're here for The Gathering.
Justin (GM):Oh, just the two of
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):Great. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.
Shelby (Sahra):Emmy Rain.
Justin (GM):Emmy Rain?
Shelby (Sahra):Yes.
Steve (Luken):Nice to meet you. And your name? Nikhil.
Justin (GM):Nikhil? Mhmm.
Steve (Luken):Walker. Nikhil Walker.
Justin (GM):Nice to meet you. I'll take I recognize you. Are you from the outskirts of town?
Shelby (Sahra):No. I'm from the city.
Justin (GM):Oh. Okay. Yeah. Do you have any proof that you kinda know what's going on this evening?
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. And I show him the pamphlet.
Justin (GM):He looks at it. Awesome. Just wanna make sure, do you have any magical items on you or anything?
Shelby (Sahra):No. Alright.
Justin (GM):Thank you. You. Thing and gestures for the two of you to walk through. Great. Two of you walk through, and you enter into a warehouse.
Justin (GM):The warehouse is empty except for the probably 300 people inside. There is a large stage set up on the far side of the room from where you are, and there are lights set up to illuminate the stage, presumably for a speaker later on in the evening. There's people making general quiet conversation in this room, but it seems like once you're in this room, you're kind of agreeing to be like waiting for the speaker, whereas outside is where you're allowed to chitchat and things like that. Yeah.
Nick (Herry):Harry would like to case around the building. Yeah. And see if there's a back door or see if there's any other options.
Justin (GM):Give me an instinct roll. 15 with fear. As you walk around, you start to notice that amongst the people that are loitering, there are some people who are clearly plants doing a lookout. They are they don't seem to be armed in any way, but they are definitely blending in with the crowd with the intention of keeping a lookout.
Nick (Herry):Sure.
Justin (GM):You do see a back entrance. Mhmm. It is like a place that they might like drive a carriage through or like a loading carriage. Mhmm. It is heavily guarded.
Justin (GM):There are five guards people back there.
Nick (Herry):Okay.
Justin (GM):And you see in that area, there is a horse and carriage parked.
Nick (Herry):Okay. I'm walk over the horse and carriage and just take a peek around.
Justin (GM):Inside, it looks like this. Just from taking a a look at it, you can tell that this has come quite a distance.
Nick (Herry):Okay. From Warren? No. Not from Warren. Okay.
Nick (Herry):No. No.
Justin (GM):No license plates from Warren, but maybe from outside of Residium City.
Nick (Herry):Okay.
Justin (GM):Potentially from Greenhold.
Nick (Herry):Gotcha. Cool. I think Harry's going to one story building, two story building?
Justin (GM):It is a single story warehouse. So it is quite tall, maybe 40 feet tall, but one story. Okay. There are There's probably like a like a second level of like a second semi level
Shelby (Sahra):Mhmm.
Justin (GM):That is like grates that you could literally store things on and walk on that covers like almost like a catwalk style
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):Around the perimeter on the backside
Nick (Herry):Okay.
Justin (GM):Based on the windows, but not like a full second story. It would be entirely exposed from the inside.
Nick (Herry):Gotcha. But I can see it from a window?
Justin (GM):You can just tell by the structures of the windows that on the western side, instead of large windows, there's a set of smaller windows on the bottom and a set of smaller windows on top. We're kind of implying that there might be a second level there.
Nick (Herry):Now I'm gonna take a risk and do arcane door to go up there. Okay. It's a place that I can see. Yeah. Subtle spell Yeah.
Nick (Herry):To be cool about it, to add two.
Justin (GM):This will break your invisibility. Correct?
Nick (Herry):No. I have two more tokens before I break my invisibility. A couple things, That is a 24 with fear. Yeah. And I just needed 13 and spend the hope to do it.
Nick (Herry):So I am up there in that little catwalk area that
Justin (GM):you described. Describe what this magic looks like.
Nick (Herry):Since it's like me trying to be super subtle spell, I'm like kind of just like I think at this point humming one of these old tunes a little bit. These old folk tunes that I learned this spell through just in my head. Not loud enough for anyone to hear, not loud enough like not obvious. And then you just kind of because I'm invisible, maybe if someone was looking, like, in that spot at that moment, it would, see the grate sink down a little bit. But he's like, again, a five foot tiny little guy.
Nick (Herry):And so, yeah.
Justin (GM):When you Oh. When you appear inside. Yeah. Yeah. When you appear inside
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):You immediately hear and I'm spending the fear. Great. And I just pray that the Az give you the words in this time to speak to this crowd. They are ready for the change that he can bring them. And through you, Sender Growlin, I believe that Baaz will bring a mighty tide through which all ships may rise.
Justin (GM):Go forth, sender Growlin. You have Baaz's blessing. And you see two men kind of leaning on each other. One, you do not recognize. He has just an absolutely full beard going half the way down his chest, and he is scrawny as all get out, wearing traditional Baazian sender clothes and another man bald, scarred, you absolutely recognize a sender, Isarn He loved praying over him.
Justin (GM):He loved to see it.
Justin (GM):He looks up. You see sender growling, you assume Mhmm. Kind of wipe some tears away.
Justin (GM):I love it.
Nick (Herry):It's true cult.
Justin (GM):And he says, thank you, sender sender Halavard. I I promise I'll I'll make you I'll make you proud. No. No, sender. Please.
Justin (GM):It is all for Boz and the change that we plan to bring. Go forth.
Nick (Herry):Do I know where that sender is from?
Justin (GM):Is he a Resinium City? You would know I I think you've maybe heard this name occasionally. He's not from Resinium City.
Nick (Herry):Okay.
Justin (GM):There are, like, a very limited number of senders in Resinium City. I would have
Nick (Herry):known if it was. Yeah. Gotcha.
Justin (GM):Cool. Yep. He's clearly from out of town. Gotcha. With that, you see Sender Growlin kinda descend the steps and make his way to the stage, leaving sender Isarn up here with you.
Justin (GM):You do see on the other side of maybe 15 feet away at the, well, at the top of the stairs, there are two guards standing post, but they are looking out over the crowd, kinda scanning. It looks like there are is another guard at the far end of the kind of this kind of catwalk area, but you are by far the closest person to Sender Isarn.
Nick (Herry):Cool. I'm not doing shit. Yeah. Didn't think I'm you watching. Yeah.
Nick (Herry):I'm just watching I think his movements. I wanna get like like, if I can just clock a general vibe from him, like Harry wants to read him one more time now that he knows more about this person.
Justin (GM):I did roll an instinct check to see if sender Isarn Sure. Picks up on anything.
Nick (Herry):Sure. Does he have magical means to pick up on it? He does not.
Justin (GM):Yeah. That is a critique. You're a good call.
Nick (Herry):Sorry to be a turd. No. I but
Justin (GM):this is a new system that I am just not Yeah. Yeah. Not as used to.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Invisible invisible creature can't be seen except through a magical means and a Can't be seen, but doesn't mean can't be perceived. Means and attack roles against them are made
Justin (GM):with disadvantage. I think you, with my role, sender Isarn looks around
Steve (Luken):Sure. Briefly
Justin (GM):and you get the sense that you are only invisible.
Nick (Herry):You're right. Right. Right. Yeah. You are not The physical presence of another person.
Nick (Herry):Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Yeah. You are not imperceptible.
Nick (Herry):Eyes on you kind
Steve (Luken):of a deal.
Shelby (Sahra):Yes. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Yeah. That's fine. He is it's dark up here. I think in this moment, you are struck by the fact that this is a warehouse full of 300 people. And sender Isarn is once again having someone else take center stage, and he is remaining in the shadows while this sender growling makes his way.
Justin (GM):You, Lucan and Sara, see this man, full beard, scrawny, his hair a little bit patchy. He walks up, you see a couple people start to murmur around you, whisper, what's with this? Is that who he expected? Like, what what's Until he raises his hand, kind of getting everyone's attention. Thank you everyone for coming tonight.
Justin (GM):My name is sender Nolan Growlin. And though not many of you know me, I hope that in the coming days to change that. I thank you all so much for coming tonight and giving your time and your open hearts to this opportunity. For too long, we have tolerated subpar leadership in Venethar. Countless times, we have all felt that the Council of Faith does not represent our decisions.
Justin (GM):How often has the Senate failed to speak with your voice? How often have they neglected to hear the things that we have been saying to them over and over again. I spent today walking amongst you, getting to know so many of you, eating with you, breaking bread, sharing with you. And I have been filled with your kindness and your generosity while seeing the hedonism that they wallow in on the hill of faith. I have seen more of the God's light here in the Commons amongst you all than I've ever seen amongst the clergy.
Justin (GM):If I have seen that in one short day, I cannot imagine how tired you all must feel day in, day out watching these fat pigs gorge themselves on your hard work. For too long, we have watched this happen. The incarnate king left the Steel Morrow tribe without allies. And now, when we have gathered and made our asks clear of our own leadership amongst the Ba'azian faith, we have been ignored? Are they not supposed to represent us?
Justin (GM):I know that what I'm saying is a lot and it's sometimes frightening to look out at a future that is different from your past. But if we keep living in fear because we don't know what the future holds, we'll never change and we'll keep repeating the mistakes that we have over and over and over again. What I ask for you tonight is spend time with me and my brothers and sisters that I have brought with me, and we will talk with you about the change that we have seen in the places outside of Residium City where their control is not as strong as they think it is. Residium City lies in the past. Join me.
Justin (GM):Join the anointed. Join me in a future that isn't bound by the sins of our past. We can make different choices. It's not too late. We can make a difference.
Justin (GM):This doesn't have to be this way. And little around the perimeter of the room, lights begin to appear above individuals. Each of these people are here to talk to you about ways that we believe the system can be changed. Ways that we can live life differently, live life better. It just takes bravery, cooperation, and a willingness to change.
Justin (GM):Be not afraid. Have courage. Stand strong. At first, the claps are small and few, and then they grow and grow until eventually it catches. And you see people start to move towards the 20 or so people who have been indicated around the outside of the warehouse, and they begin to have smaller conversations, enabling and empowering people to do small acts of change.
Justin (GM):And you begin to see how this decentralized movement has been happening. It's not from ISARN. It's not even from the person on the stage. They are equipping everyday people, enact change. You see, they've got pamphlets with ways to contact all of their senators.
Justin (GM):They've got prewritten scripts to say to those senators. They've got a very organized list of who to buy from and who not to buy things from. They are coordinating a movement here in Resinium City. They are equipping these people to take these actions outside of this building and start their own fires where they came from.
Nick (Herry):As the applause erupts and gets loud, Harry's going to drop invisibility and walk up next to East Harnen and just say, hell of a show. I think I think we have some things in common and some goals in common.
Justin (GM):You register some shock on Isharn's face.
Nick (Herry):I would love to like actually like persuade him and like be like, no, we actually do have goals in common. So I don't know if that's a role like, however you wanna do this, but like that's a sincere goal of of Harry's. Senator Pinch. He's alright. Long time no see.
Justin (GM):He looks around. I have a few questions. Sure.
Nick (Herry):Don't we all?
Justin (GM):I am interested in hearing how we may align.
Nick (Herry):I mean, one of your demands aligns with a specific resolution that some friends of mine and I wrote up about the devolution of Well, not Sorry. Not one of your demands.
Justin (GM):Thank you.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Of course. Course. One of the demands of the your comrades here.
Justin (GM):Yes.
Nick (Herry):Does in fact align with some legislation we'd like?
Justin (GM):I am interested in hearing how we might together secure victory in in these ways.
Nick (Herry):Love to hear it.
Justin (GM):I am curious. Did you come here alone?
Nick (Herry):I did. And and Harry just kind of puts his hands up and looks around. Yeah. You're looking at me.
Justin (GM):How did you learn about my little soiree?
Nick (Herry):You guys are doing a wonderful job with on the ground marketing. These pamphlets are incredible. The graphic design's wonderful. The language is enthralling.
Justin (GM):You'd be surprised how long it took us to land on that shade of green.
Nick (Herry):Yes. It is lovely.
Justin (GM):Thank you.
Justin (GM):Yeah. You bet. You bet. You bet.
Justin (GM):Am interested, but I'm not sure now is the time. Mhmm.
Nick (Herry):I mean, we don't have do it right now.
Justin (GM):I would need some reassurances as to my own safety.
Nick (Herry):Sure.
Justin (GM):Would you be willing to meet on my terms?
Nick (Herry):Depending on the terms, I would say, potentially, yeah. We both we both are easily killable. He does not laugh. Yeah. Targetable.
Nick (Herry):I We're very popular guys. A lot of people don't like us.
Justin (GM):A lot more people don't like me, Senator Pinch.
Nick (Herry):From the looks of this room, I don't know if that's true. Some powerful people maybe, but you got a lot of people here that are big fans.
Justin (GM):Most of these people don't know who I am. They think they know who I am, but line me up with five other bald men.
Nick (Herry):Sure.
Justin (GM):They might not be able to pick me out.
Nick (Herry):And who are
Justin (GM):you? Who am I? Yeah. Just a man trying to make the most of the world he's been offered.
Nick (Herry):I love it. Well, great. Yeah. I I hand him a card, my office number on it.
Justin (GM):He hands it to one of the guards who has noticed you being up here. Yeah. And he has kind of kept a
Nick (Herry):kinda like looks up just kinda gives him a wink. He's like, yeah. Well, great. I Yeah. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.
Nick (Herry):Great. Sorry to spook you.
Justin (GM):Oh. I It's quite alright. I will contact Beanie when I get an opportunity.
Nick (Herry):I get it. Oh. And I'll reach out to DL Roulette. Have a good one. And Harry walks away.
Shelby (Sahra):Goddamn.
Justin (GM):I need to think for a second if he's gonna let that go. I'm using a fear.
Nick (Herry):Go for it.
Justin (GM):Stop him, the guards. Runic door.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Subtle spell. Yeah. Nine and four, that's a 14. What's my I need a 13.
Nick (Herry):So spend a hope, runic door. I'm out of there.
Shelby (Sahra):Wow.
Nick (Herry):Fuck y'all. Shut up.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh. Wow. Holy moly.
Nick (Herry):And as once I'm outside, I send in stone and be like, I have been spotted. Be cool.
Steve (Luken):We're still with each other at this Yeah. So we get the skull at the same time. Mhmm. I think I look to you and say, what do you think the plan is? We probably don't wanna overstay our welcome, but we leave too fast and people are gonna start look like We don't wanna be noticeable in our departure.
Shelby (Sahra):Right. Let's just I think we got what we came for. Let's maybe talk to one of these guys on our way out.
Steve (Luken):Absolutely. Yeah. I think that's a great idea.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. So we go find the a person with a light that is, like, closest to the exit. Because we're gonna try to just, like, hit him on the way out. A
Justin (GM):real A drive by. A real Catholic get my communion and knockout situation.
Steve (Luken):When you're when you're at church, you act like you're
Shelby (Sahra):at church.
Steve (Luken):Okay. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Catch an individual on your way out and you hear them talking about quests amongst the Bosnian church. They are in the middle of conversation. You kinda join the group in the back. The key to their influence are preordained quests. If we stop accepting preordained quests, the Bosnian church loses all of their influence.
Justin (GM):We can continue to petition them for individual ordination of quests, but they will have to go one by one and determine which quests fit their quote unquote motives and goals and have to make a decision on the fly whether this is close enough to their end product. It's this prepackaged set of 20 quests that they have decided on that allow them to maneuver all of the chess pieces. We're not asking for a lot. We just want, as adventurers, the right to know what is good and the ability to seek that good. That's what Baaz would want.
Justin (GM):Baaz did not get approval or rather Ba'az did not choose from a menu of of quests to go on. Ba'az traveled the land, saw wrongs, and righted them. And you see people kind of, like, nodding up and down, think, yeah. Yeah. That's that's right.
Justin (GM):Like, why are we just accepting these preset just because it's easier? It like, this doesn't this doesn't add up. You in the back, and I'm gonna spend a few.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Don't punish them for my stuff.
Justin (GM):Mhmm. I'm sure you both look quite capable. I'm sure you found yourself following some preordained quests from time to time. Did you feel a sense of fulfillment following these railroads, these tracks that you can't escape? Did you feel like you had any say in this?
Shelby (Sahra):I'm sorry. Just looks at Lucan and then kinda shrugs and shakes her head, but doesn't say anything out loud.
Steve (Luken):I've taken Quest for a lot of reasons from from putting food on the table to the sense of excitement to, you know, experiencing something new. But that question of fulfillment, that is that has not entered the the calculus for me, and you've given me a lot to think about as as I look towards my next quest. This is this new perspective is welcome and and I appreciate it. I am not lying, but I'm also appeasing here. Yeah.
Steve (Luken):Like, I'm speaking truth from, like, the experience I've had, but I'm also definitely not trying to like pick a fight.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. And I think that Sarah picks up on the fact that there is truth behind what he's saying. She kind of like gives him a curious look and then quickly just like starts nodding again like, uh-huh. Yeah. Like what he said.
Justin (GM):I'm going to spend a fear.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Justin (GM):And I'm going to do this backwards.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Justin (GM):Sara and Lucan, you hear glass shatter from the windows on both sides of the warehouse as canisters of gas.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh my god.
Shelby (Sahra):We just
Nick (Herry):add the toilet into That's on me.
Justin (GM):The warehouse from both sides. Immediately, people start to scream and scatter. Both of you give me agility reaction rolls. You have to beat an 18. Again, hope and fear don't matter in reaction rolls.
Justin (GM):Just trying to beat an 18.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, I could rant.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Oh,
Steve (Luken):I could not have done worse.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, no.
Steve (Luken):That is a three with a three eight. Eight. But on the Sorry. An eight total.
Justin (GM):Yeah. Yeah. You can go ahead and take one stress and one damage.
Steve (Luken):Oh shit. Never. No. Sorry. Is it too late for me to use a thing?
Steve (Luken):No. I'm using my luckbender fairy ability. I'm re rolling
Shelby (Sahra):that shit.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. It's three hope and I have all the hope. 16 and I'm 16 with fear and I'm gonna add three from a paradise die
Shelby (Sahra):it was a reaction roll though this Oh. So there's no fear.
Justin (GM):Yeah. Sorry.
Nick (Herry):Nice work.
Steve (Luken):Great. Done. You
Justin (GM):both of you are so close to the entrance, but I think instinctually know that everyone's gonna go towards that one entrance and exit. So you both go the opposite direction and get cover underneath the staircase at least long enough for you to get a lay of the land as people are scattering, running around, screaming. You see people get trampled. The individuals who are underneath the lights all immediately extinguish their lights and book it towards an entrance that neither of you were aware of. Seeing them go in that direction, you also follow them.
Justin (GM):I think with your critical success, Sara, that's what you pick up on. You're like, oh, the people that know this place are going that way. We're gonna go that way too. So you head off in that direction and find yourself exiting out, coughing into a absolute madness outside. There are guards arresting people.
Justin (GM):They are people fighting the guards trying to free other people. It is chaos. They are This situation is getting bad fast. And with your success, you are both gonna able to find a safe place where you can like hunker down and go unnoticed.
Steve (Luken):As soon as we get clear, I would like to pick Sara up and fly away. Yeah. I I have wings.
Justin (GM):Yeah. Absolutely.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Like
Steve (Luken):that. Yeah. That's the end game for me.
Justin (GM):Yeah. You can mark the appropriate stress to fly.
Steve (Luken):Yep. And I think we're also, if possible, trying to check-in with Harry on the sending stones and saying like, Harry, get out of there.
Justin (GM):Like Yeah. You good? Oh, I'm fucking out
Steve (Luken):of here, baby. Yeah. Let us know when you're like, stay in touch.
Nick (Herry):I'm gonna check on Beanie.
Justin (GM):Yep. The outside, because I'm doing this backwards, give me an instinct check.
Nick (Herry):So that is a No. Fuck off. That's a seven and f six. Give Take that back. That's 14.
Justin (GM):You are far away. It's 14 with hope.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Should I have my rally
Justin (GM):die? I'm not AirPoss. So that is a 19 with hope. You're far away. You materialize at this distance, turn around, look at the warehouse.
Justin (GM):You're on the backside. You can clearly see where that carriage and guards were. You see them look down at their watches and go and start to get the carriage ready. They do not react as guards appear and sender Isarn walks out, gets in the carriage as the canisters go through the windows and they begin to raid the warehouse and sender Isarn rides his carriage away.
Nick (Herry):Do I see
Steve (Luken):son of a bitch.
Nick (Herry):That motherfucker. That 19 Yeah. Knowing Lautner and knowing his lead people, do I see anybody within
Shelby (Sahra):that
Nick (Herry):like top circle? Basically, Harry's trying to figure out Isarn called these guards.
Justin (GM):Isarn knew that this was going to happen.
Nick (Herry):I assume.
Justin (GM):Isarn is inciting violence because violence benefits him
Shelby (Sahra):100%.
Justin (GM):In this moment.
Steve (Luken):Pretty strict. Yeah.
Justin (GM):So they just called the local guards because they aren't gonna be able to get away with this. Yeah. Yeah. And so he just coasts off. He's in a carriage.
Justin (GM):That's not the problem. Like, this is a raid. Like, these are people in the warehouse.
Shelby (Sahra):They made people check their magical items at the door so they can't protect themselves.
Nick (Herry):Can Harry How do speaking sounds work? Is it cell phony? Is it Yeah.
Justin (GM):It's cell phony.
Nick (Herry):I'm going to because I got I did a pass around to the carriage and got good information on the geyser on the carriage and what the carriage looked like, I'm going to call Lautner Yeah. And put PBW out on this is what they look like, this is this is the direction they're heading, this is where they currently just left from, and see what happens.
Justin (GM):Great. It is clear as you're flying over the commons that this is spreading quickly. You see people leaving their homes, heading in the direction of the commotion in equal parts of people heading in the opposite direction. You were able to see platoons of guards heading into the Commons as you land safely behind some buildings and have a minute to kind of get your whereabouts about you. What are the three of you collectively going to do?
Justin (GM):I'm gonna start a countdown beginning at six. This will represent the actions that you do for the remainder of the evening, but I will be moving each of your individual countdowns based on your successes and failures per the rules of of of Dagger Heart.
Shelby (Sahra):Sara immediately starts thinking about her people. She starts thinking about Imogen first, then she thinks about Vivien and Aggie. And she needs to go now that she's, like, out of the commotion, she needs to make her way back up towards the soup kitchen to because she knows in her gut that whatever they've been planning is gonna be affected by this, and she needs to make sure they're safe.
Justin (GM):Go ahead and give me a instinct role. This is gonna be navigating through the city.
Steve (Luken):Could I help by flying her to it? Okay.
Justin (GM):If you wanna use your entire first action as doing this, that will be both of you doing one thing.
Shelby (Sahra):If you're willing to
Shelby (Sahra):You I would take it.
Justin (GM):Both of your counters down by this amount.
Steve (Luken):Would it be efficient for me to do that? Or do you like because you're better at navigating this area, it would be faster for you to like work your way through on foot.
Shelby (Sahra):I feel like I can probably make my way back foot.
Steve (Luken):That's what yeah. Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):And it's a crit. Great.
Justin (GM):You are in fact correct.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm very capable.
Justin (GM):Your counter will not move down at all in this scenario.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Justin (GM):You head in the direction of the soup kitchen and don't even make it halfway there before you start to run into many of the community organ izers that you saw that night, your first night in the soup kitchen out amongst all of the people organizing this movement. It seems as though they are doing their best to diminish the blowback happening. You are seeing guards whose fault it is is hard to determine at this point as it looks like as you've moved through the commons, there is as many people, as many agitators as there are guards getting outnumbered in this space and getting cornered. The folks from the soup kitchen are doing their best to bring down the temperature of the commons, keeping people safe, keeping people organized. You run into Nas and he flags you down.
Justin (GM):Sara, what Are are you okay?
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. I'm okay. Are you okay?
Justin (GM):I'm I'm okay. I'm okay.
Shelby (Sahra):What's the word? What can you tell me? What can we do?
Justin (GM):I It seems like the the the city guard were performed a raid of some kind on a warehouse. I think there was a gathering. I I have no idea. It was not anything I was involved with.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Justin (GM):But violence has broken out. We're doing our best to keep everything as as organized as possible, but things are getting absolutely out of control. There are people that I have not seen before fermenting violence. There are people in the Commons who I've never seen before
Shelby (Sahra):here. Where is Imogen? Is she safe?
Justin (GM):Imogen is back at at the soup kitchen. She is she's still there. I I I can't have her out and about right now. Her Her and Vivian are are kind of making a triage of of the injured as best they can.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay. Is there anything you need me to do right here or should I head over there?
Justin (GM):You see that he is There is no wrong answer. There is
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):No lack of help. It is up to you right now. Do you want to He is kind of organizing, gathering people, and trying to calm people down, and do his best to ensure that they are not caught in crossfire. Mhmm. You know, based on what he just said, that Imogen and Vivian are probably doing some type of, triage or, helping the injured back at the soup kitchen.
Justin (GM):It is up to you. There is no lack of help.
Shelby (Sahra):Nas, you take care of people here. Keep people safe. Move people out of the line of danger. And if there's anybody that is seriously injured, try to get them back to the soup kitchen and we'll try to help people. I'm gonna head over to the soup kitchen and see if there's anything I can do to help over there.
Justin (GM):As you are moving through, you start to see what he is saying. There are people who have, like, the equivalent of arcane molotov cocktails in the commons, which is something that would have had to be prepared for and not something the people of the commons had. There was not the level of unrest in the city that you saw in Sharnwick and the outlying places in Venator had a little bit more of that unrest. It seems like they are doing they being what you would assume be the cult of change, or potentially a broader group are doing their best to prop up a lot of this violence as they can, and are doing their best to take advantage of this opportunity. Yep.
Justin (GM):We will move to Harry.
Nick (Herry):Harry's going to let them Lucan and Sara know that Isar and co knew this was going to happen and called this in, and that these likely these guards are on board with, fucking shit up because Lautner likely wouldn't have just raided because we gave Lautner the heads up that this was happening, keep it on ice. And so at this point Harry believes that Lautner would have kept it on ice and wouldn't have just gone full raid. And so just kind of lets you guys know that likely he turns behind this. And then Harry's going to call Lautner
Justin (GM):and catch up and see what's what he knows so far. Alright. Give me a presence role. Senator of Verzenium City? Yes.
Justin (GM):11 with fear. That'll take you down one.
Shelby (Sahra):You there? This is General Hunter. Yes.
Nick (Herry):Hi. We so you got people being taken by East Harnen folks. Are you following the wagon that I sent?
Shelby (Sahra):Yes. We're we're doing our best. There aren't a lot of wagons in the Commons, so it it shouldn't be too hard to track down.
Nick (Herry):Great. It seems like they called in the raid. Who who called in the raid? Peace Arndt and his crew. They're inciting their own violence to get their own point across.
Nick (Herry):Your folks have to go help people. We have to have the guards seen helping folks.
Shelby (Sahra):I have a 100 guards. I know. In that province. They are I I have confirmed three dead already.
Nick (Herry):Okay. They're inciting violence and it's only gonna get worse.
Shelby (Sahra):I there are few options I have to call these people down and fully pull these people out.
Nick (Herry):Pull them out. So if they're do if they're causing violence, they're causing it against regular people and not guards aren't inciting it. Call them out. I saw the folks that actually did the raid. I can tell you exactly who got who got the call and who's who's in on this.
Justin (GM):And you got a success with fear? Correct. You hear he is clearly in a room with other people coordinating as best as he can. Totally. And he says
Shelby (Sahra):Beanie Beanie called in
Steve (Luken):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):Prior. Correct. But but we got an anonymous tip.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. So did you call in the raid?
Shelby (Sahra):I did not call in the raid. Someone else called in an anonymous tip. We've been tracking
Nick (Herry):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):An insurgent group
Steve (Luken):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):In the Commons for a number of months now. Yep. They had they left us a tip that the Cult of Change was meeting with the insurgent group and fomenting violence. They gave that to another team
Nick (Herry):Yep.
Shelby (Sahra):And they acted on it before we were able to
Nick (Herry):ESARN's the tip. It's happening from the inside.
Shelby (Sahra):If I pull people out, it's are you okay.
Nick (Herry):We either send people to help or we get them out of there. If if you guys are seen doing any amount of violence, it's only gonna make their point.
Shelby (Sahra):Senator Mitch, I'm gonna need actions and more than just your word on this. I need, can you get me at least another can you get me the gold circles Yep. Signatures on this? Yep. I need Give
Nick (Herry):me two hours. Thank you. Give me two hours. Get started. Let's go.
Nick (Herry):Thank you.
Justin (GM):Yep. With this, you know that if you can get all of the Resinium Senators to kind of sign on to them pulling out the the guard, then that gives him enough to maybe make a a more strategically unwise decision.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Yeah. Because there was a collective leadership
Nick (Herry):Yep.
Steve (Luken):Idea behind that.
Justin (GM):Yep. Yep. Cool.
Nick (Herry):To blame if it doesn't Exactly.
Shelby (Sahra):Go up. Yep.
Nick (Herry):100%. He's covering his ass.
Justin (GM):Yep. That's the fear aspect of it and why it's gonna take you a little bit more time than just calling in and Harry
Nick (Herry):is seething. There is Harry is a a politician. He keeps cool. He's a a genuinely friendly guy. Harry has never never been more angry.
Nick (Herry):One at the threat against Beanie. Bringing Beanie into this is obviously going to get him personally emotionally, but just the idea as someone Harry's a politician and certainly certainly plays plays politician politician games. But Harry so vehemently believes in the egalitarian senate and the let's bring change together and let's do it together and let's make it better for everyone that the idea that someone would put their own followers in harm to make their point has Harry absolutely in a full rage. Just absolutely yeah. 100%
Justin (GM):the move that Isar is pulling here. He knows that in a three days from now, he's going to score more political points by being by having martyrs Yeah. Than he will by having a subpar charismatic speaker Yeah. Give a speech to a warehouse of people. Yep.
Justin (GM):So he just called in the guard on his own people. Yep. And then escaped while they fell on the sword.
Nick (Herry):There's nothing more like evil to Harry than exactly that. Yeah. That that level of manipulation is awful.
Justin (GM):We'll move to Lucan. Lucan, Sara has dashed back back into the commons and you are kind of here on the edge of the commons in the Southern side seeing guard move in and the smoke from more northern parts of the commons begin to billow into the sky.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. Lucan takes a look around and sees what appears to him to just be a chaotic scene. He also is feeling pretty isolated in in this this moment. Know, Sara and Harry both have figured out what they need to do next and are taking that action. And without clear direction, Lucan is in this place of relying on what he's always done, which is go where the action is and then figure it out.
Steve (Luken):So with that in mind, he spreads his wings out and flies back towards the warehouse where the meeting took place. Not entirely sure what he's going to find there, but trusting that once he sees the scene, he'll find something to do that's that's useful. But also acknowledging, like, he doesn't trust anyone in the Church of Vaz right now. And so he's decided this is one he's just going to go alone at this stage. So, yeah.
Steve (Luken):Takes off, flies towards the scene of the problem. What is your intention when you arrive?
Justin (GM):What do you intend to do? So that I know
Steve (Luken):I would like to find someone in that crowd who is dressed like a sender or similar, like, ranked person, because, you know, Luke can receive this message from Harry and hopes that he he can find someone with some influence in this group amongst the the cultists who are there, at least plant the seed that Isarn isn't actually on their side here. Like, try and sow some doubt about Isarn. So if he find somebody who will listen, I think that's what he would like to try and find.
Justin (GM):You find someone, she identifies herself as Gloria Leafblight. She is organizing a group of people making a barricade between two largely dilapidated buildings. And on the other side of the barricade, you see a number guard. Doesn't seem like these guards have done anything to incite any outright violence. They are like creating a barricade and the guards are starting to get antsy about everything that's happening.
Justin (GM):And she is organizing about 10 people building a barricade.
Steve (Luken):I at this point, Lucan I mean, he was flying. So he is not in, like Yeah. Incognito. Incognito. He he ditched the big coat a while ago.
Steve (Luken):So I land and, you know, I'm not trying to sneak up on anybody. Like, I'm just here. So I make eye contact as I land and I just say, sender Leaf Play. Do you have a moment?
Justin (GM):Go ahead and give me a presence roll.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. We're gonna spend a hope to add my strength to that roll with my bold presence. So I have plus five instead of whatever. That is going to be a 12 with fear, but I'm going to You know what, we're just gonna live
Justin (GM):with it. It's a 12 with fear. That is a fail with fear.
Steve (Luken):Yep. Yep. Not great.
Justin (GM):She makes eye contact with you and says, Pralette Pralette Mascar?
Steve (Luken):Yeah. Yeah. It's me. I'm here. I'm not Do you need help?
Steve (Luken):Like, yeah. How do we help?
Justin (GM):Yeah. Quickly. And she gestures over to a really large slab of rock that they are trying to like drag over to make the base. She said, if you could help us move this over, that that would be great. And she kinda positions herself to to help you and two other people drag the the the massive stone towards the center of the barricade.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. Help with that. Yeah.
Justin (GM):As you are dragging it across, the telltale sign of a magic missile spell fires and Can I tell what direction it fires from? From the guard. From your Well,
Steve (Luken):no one here likes me.
Justin (GM):Solidly hit. Go ahead and take seven damage?
Steve (Luken):Yeah. That's a minor damage for me.
Justin (GM):Yeah. But you are bleeding profusely at this point. Just from the location, it's like a head wound, doesn't hurt bad, but you look horrible and are losing blood quickly in this moment. Seeing a prelate get struck by a guard immediately incites a reaction from everyone around you, and they begin to charge the guard. Sender, leaf light included.
Justin (GM):She is driving into the guard as you are woozily losing blood, falling to the ground, like on your back. Just kind of, if anything, disoriented from the magic missile to the head. You hear a crash around you and things go dark. Sara.
Shelby (Sahra):Sara is closing in on where the soup kitchen is and she's looking around. People have started like the chaos is growing to the point that people have even started looting. And people are smashing things through windows and people are are screaming. Screaming. There There are, you know, mothers holding their children and trying to find places to hide.
Shelby (Sahra):And Sara is just booking it towards the soup kitchen.
Justin (GM):Yeah. You arrive at the soup kitchen. It is not a place of calm, but it's a place of different panic. There are many, many injured here, and you see all of the same people that had previously been in that back room are now out and about triaging individuals, doing their best to say like, yes, I understand that your arm is broken and you're in a lot of pain right now, but it's just a broken arm and this person is like bleeding out over here. You also see that amongst the injured that they are also treating some guards, and doing their best to just help the injured in general here.
Justin (GM):There seems to not be any distinction of between who they are helping. Anyone brought here that is injured, they are doing their best to treat.
Nick (Herry):What do you wanna do?
Shelby (Sahra):I wanna find Vivian immediately.
Justin (GM):Vivian's inside. She is unlike before where she was supervising, you see her actively creating poultices and making tinctures, but she is being given a wide berth. No one seems to be within five feet of her. As you get close, she says, don't stop. Stop.
Justin (GM):Do not come closer.
Shelby (Sahra):Vivian, what can I do? I I just got here. It's chaos outside. People are injured. People are screaming.
Shelby (Sahra):What do I do?
Justin (GM):You can can help with with anything else. I I am busy right now. Go help with that person over there. It seems like they've been they're having problems breathing. I I think it's just a panic attack.
Justin (GM):Go help with them.
Shelby (Sahra):Vivian, I am I have powerful magic. I can help you. Let me help you.
Justin (GM):Give me a presence check.
Shelby (Sahra):Oh, buddy. Alright. That is so that's 232425 with hope.
Justin (GM):You quickly scan what Vivian is doing, and she is creating a very potent form of morphine. And you can tell that it's extremely volatile and if done incorrectly, could be lethal. She is basically the anesthesiologist of this moment, and she is being given a wide berth because she can't have anything interfering with her focus right now. However, you have pleaded with her and she looks at you and she says, I don't need your help. I need hers.
Justin (GM):And she points to Aminet. There are people here who are getting in the way, and we just need them to We need them to be soothed. Have you ever Have you and Aminet ever soothed anyone?
Shelby (Sahra):No. I feel like all I ever do is terrify people.
Justin (GM):You feel Aminet's presence around you enticing you, letting you know that this is something Aminette can do, and offering up this this power to you in this moment. Vivian says, there are people over there, And she points to some individuals who are injured, but seem to be struggling to, like, get up and, like, try to to continue to participate in everything that is happening. And there are multiple people trying to, like, keep them calm. It's like some cross between the adrenaline that's pumping in their brain in their bodies and potentially like even like a PTSD type of fervor that has taken them over and fear. And she points to them for you to go there and do something with them.
Shelby (Sahra):So I turned to their direction and I walk over there and I almost meditate for a moment with Aminat, and I say, Aminat, I need you. Help me help these people. I can only do it through you.
Justin (GM):You see Aminat wrap around one of the individuals much in the same way that amanet has wrapped around you in the past and begin to consume them. You see it from a spiritual level. It is not something physical. They're not being wrapped in her spirit. They're not being constricted.
Justin (GM):They don't feel her physically, but almost like very similar to a type of sedative. While consuming them, she is like feeding on all of that passion and that rage and that fear and taking it for herself, leaving them in a pseudo catatonic state. You see the people that were helping hold them back kind of look surprised as it takes effect in ten to fifteen seconds. But, your perspective, it is a constrict, consume, move on. Next person, I am going to have you roll twice.
Shelby (Sahra):Mhmm.
Justin (GM):Go ahead and give me a spell casting roll here because Aminat is going to keep doing this to people at your direction, and how well you direct it is instinct. Okay. You're trying to beat a 20 here.
Shelby (Sahra):Great. Am I Are there windows so that I can stand?
Justin (GM):You are outside.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm outside. Okay. I am in the moonlight then. So, I get a plus one. And, I'm gonna spend a hope to get a plus two connected to my roots.
Shelby (Sahra):And it's Chris.
Nick (Herry):You were rolling like, bonkers.
Justin (GM):You are moving through and direct you and Aminette almost, it feels like a dance where you're directing Aminette and she is consuming these emotions and fears in sync with your desires. You feel yourself to a degree consuming these fears and desires. So many of these people tonight have seen the few hours that have transpired have seen horrible things and you are taking it away from them with a surgical precision. They are in an externally perspective in a somewhat disturbing state afterwards, but you know they will be okay. They will come out of this in a few hours and while they will remember it, it will not have the long lasting impact that it had, that it would have had otherwise.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah. They're not gonna have the PTSD from Yes.
Nick (Herry):I'll just go straight to Razia Cortez. Yeah. Harry's going to call Razia Cortez,
Justin (GM):the newsroom. Yeah.
Nick (Herry):So Harry is now quickly walking across town, heading back towards his office, but it's far and he's got little legs and it's gonna take him a while. Just seething, just raging, he's going to call Razia Cortez to try and get ahead of whatever this story's going to be.
Justin (GM):You hit the the sending stone and immediately get an answer.
Shelby (Sahra):Senator Pinch, why am I not surprised that you were the one calling me at this hour?
Nick (Herry):Hey, you still believe that I have the best interest of Vinithar and people?
Shelby (Sahra):I absolutely do. Yes, I do.
Nick (Herry):Would you like a a inside scoop? Would you like a I might even go on the record this time.
Shelby (Sahra):I would insist that you do and yes. What do you what do you have for me?
Nick (Herry):I assume you've heard some tell about what's going on in Commons?
Shelby (Sahra):Yes. I am actively monitoring it.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Well, I can tell you pretty confidently I had I finally got my nice little meeting with Isarn Halvard, our good sender, and saw him gracefully walk out minutes before the guards showed up, all of them looking at their watches.
Shelby (Sahra):Senator Pinch, this is, don't get me wrong, incredible information. I need some kind of proof.
Nick (Herry):We're working on getting the guards that were sent there and who who was their contact. So if you give me, I don't know, an hour, but you know where your story's coming from.
Shelby (Sahra):Are you saying just to be clear, you're saying that sender Hallavard called the guards on his own meeting.
Nick (Herry):I'm saying that sender Isarn Halavard is inciting violence against his own followers to make martyrs for his own purpose.
Shelby (Sahra):Holy fuck.
Nick (Herry):Yes. It is Between us girls, it's bad.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm getting reports of at least three other towns in Venethar that are also having instances very similar to what's happening in the Commons. Yep. This is not just an isolated incident. This is this seems to be coordinated.
Nick (Herry):Yes. This is not our guards going against people that they don't like. This is a coordinated, well planned attack. Isarn's at the tenth center of it. I'm working on getting the guard pulled out of the Commons right now so that they're not involved in any of this, but it's gonna take a minute.
Shelby (Sahra):Harry, are you aware of something known as the arcane imperative?
Nick (Herry):Hey, am I? I'm guessing. Do nodular. No. Yeah.
Justin (GM):Give me a nodular. Uh-huh. That will be your check for this. Okay.
Nick (Herry):It's probably not history or culture. It would be history. History? Cool. I have advantage.
Justin (GM):That's a crit. That's two tooth. It's three tooth, actually.
Nick (Herry):Oh my god. That's three tooth. It's a super crit.
Justin (GM):Super crit. Super crit. You've spent enough time inside of the infinite hall of the incarnate king.
Shelby (Sahra):Sure.
Justin (GM):It's odd architecture, to say the least. Okay. That's not unintentional. Yeah. It is a building structured as a arcane amplifier.
Justin (GM):The incarnate king can use it to amplify a spell enough to influence maybe an entire city.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Jesus.
Shelby (Sahra):I have no proof of this right now. Yeah. Much in the same way that Yeah. While I trust your word
Steve (Luken):Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):I do not have proof of the claims that you were saying
Justin (GM):of Of Isarn. Senator Isarn at this time.
Shelby (Sahra):Of course. I have word Mhmm. That they're they're floating using the arcane imperative. To do what? To to calm the city.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Well, hey. Between you and I, this one's off the record. I'm gonna give you a lot on the record. This one's off the record.
Nick (Herry):Gosh. I can think of worse things to do with that.
Shelby (Sahra):Yes. That is, I think, in the the consensus.
Nick (Herry):Yep. Okay. Got it.
Justin (GM):Thank you for that.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm just I want you to be aware it's it has never been used before.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. It shouldn't be. Okay. Great. Well, I got my next call.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Nick (Herry):Okay.
Shelby (Sahra):Thank you Yep. So much for this.
Nick (Herry):Stay by your phone.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm always by my name.
Nick (Herry):I know you are.
Justin (GM):I love it.
Justin (GM):Great. Alright. Thank you so much, sen thank you so much, senator.
Nick (Herry):Thank you. Alright. Here he You keeps
Justin (GM):come to and are in comparison to when you blacked out, are relatively alone. There is a person 20 feet away from you who appears to be looking in a building, probably a looter looking in a building for who knows what. But aside from that person who appears to be some teenager, you are alone. You see no guards, you see no people from the Commons, you are alone except for this looting teenager.
Steve (Luken):I steady myself and try and stand up. How am I doing? Am I like groggy? Like Yeah. Am I like
Justin (GM):It was mostly a like a loss of blood that has scabbed over at this point and you are you are not you are fine. I'm fine. Okay. Do I see anything that's like the aftermath of that confrontation? Like, know I'm alone, but there are four bodies all belonging to people from the Commons on the other side of the barricade.
Steve (Luken):I go over and check, are any of them alive?
Justin (GM):Give me a knowledge check.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay.
Steve (Luken):Seven with hope. That is
Justin (GM):a failure with hope. Yeah. That puts you at one. The first three you check have all passed. The fourth person you check is alive, but they are badly hurt with a head wound.
Steve (Luken):Okay. I would like to use Mending Touch on that person. I spell. Costs me two hope and it takes a couple minutes. Yep.
Steve (Luken):I am going to spend this time healing them revealing something about myself.
Shelby (Sahra):Mhmm.
Steve (Luken):And in this moment where I'm alone and just immersed in the aftermath of a disaster that in many ways I am blaming on the institution I've devoted my life to. I think that Lucan is coming to the realization that his approach of go where the action is and figure out what to do and you'll be successful is not serving him in this moment in time. It's not serving him in this conflict. And that is making him understand he needs to reexamine how he is thinking about what I'm just gonna broadly call this problem, like all of it.
Justin (GM):You heal the person, their eyes flutter open, and as they do, you hear horns blaring. In pockets around you, cheers are going up as you can assume you are nearing the end of at least the heat of what's happening. The person that you have just healed says, I, what? I I can't I can't can't feel I can't feel my my legs. Why can't I why why why can't I feel my legs?
Justin (GM):Like, who Where am I? What's happening? Lucan
Steve (Luken):is not like a trained paramedic. Right? Like he doesn't He just doesn't have the knowledge to be like, here's how you handle a person who is dealing with this level of trauma. Yeah. He has the I healed two hit points of damage.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. What more do you walk from
Shelby (Sahra):me?
Steve (Luken):Yeah. It's his level of knowledge on this. So he doesn't really have the skill to be like, don't move. What are you Lucan looks at this person and just says it's where where do you live? Where do you have somewhere you can go?
Justin (GM):I I live just a she's like you can see that her her pupils are huge, and she looks disoriented. I I live why can't I why can't I feel my legs? And she is, like, starting to panic a little bit. Yeah. And you hear a cheering crowd coming your direction Mhmm.
Justin (GM):And probably know that you just need to kinda get her out of here.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. So Yeah. I'm going to use a prayer dye to get myself some hope back. Okay. And I'm going to ask like, can I help you get away from This is not a good place to be?
Steve (Luken):Can I help you get away from here?
Justin (GM):I I can't I can't walk.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. I I can help walk? I can help you get out of here. Lucan scoops this person up and flies Yeah. Off.
Steve (Luken):Yeah. And I think he's gonna look towards like the soup kitchen. Yeah. Like that seems like a community of helpful people who at least like aren't gonna make this worse. So he's going to go that direction.
Steve (Luken):I fly again up above the rooftops here much better at orienting myself this time. I see, you know, the area where the soup kitchen is fly that direction. As I get over it, I'm surveying. I'm looking for Sara because she's the friendly face I have there. And upon seeing her, I land, and I am holding a incredibly injured person.
Steve (Luken):And I think I'd I'd say to Sara, hey, do you got are there healers here, medics? We just we need to be able to stabilize. Yeah. What what's your name? What's your name?
Steve (Luken):I asked the
Justin (GM):person. Joy. Joy.
Steve (Luken):Joy. Joy. I
Justin (GM):can't feel my legs. I can't.
Steve (Luken):I just give you the look of, like, I'm like, I'm not going to say, yes, that's true. I'm giving you the look of, like, what the what the fuck am I supposed to do about this? Yeah.
Shelby (Sahra):I point toward Vivian, the Galapagos woman, and I'm like, there the people in that direction don't go near the Galapagos woman, but the people surrounding her are helping with healing. Go take her over
Steve (Luken):I'm already I'm already done.
Justin (GM):What do you wanna do now? I
Shelby (Sahra):talk to Aminette, and I say, we need to make a bigger we need we need to help a bigger area. We need to we need to calm this down somehow. We need to stop this.
Justin (GM):This will be bigger, more. I mean, something to accomplish this stuff.
Shelby (Sahra):You hear Aminat say. What do you need?
Justin (GM):I need more power. Do you have if because I do not believe you have an ability to do this. I don't. So, if you don't have the ability, you do have blood.
Shelby (Sahra):I can't use blood. What about what about fire?
Justin (GM):Give me a presence check. Before you roll Mhmm. You're going to need to beat a 20. Mhmm.
Shelby (Sahra):Okay. Yep. Yep. Yep. Okay.
Shelby (Sahra):I'm gonna use another hope to connect to my roots. 202122. From? With fear.
Justin (GM):So that is a success with fear, so that's taking it down one. You offer fire as a way to appease Amenet. And Amenet you feel a reluctant agreeance. And immediately, all of the fire that you can see extinguishes. The fires in the distance of the buildings extinguish.
Justin (GM):The fires boiling water to sanitize cloth extinguish. The fires burning to make potions, extinguish. No one can create fire in this area anymore. You've disrupted all of those things. However Okay.
Justin (GM):The and even I think you can see this, Lucan. It looks like the sky, the space between the stars, the smoke that has like lifted up begins to twist and shift and change and a dense fog begins to form as the smoke, instead of just rising, begins to fall down over the city creating a thick thick dense cover, making it hard to see, move, navigate everything, creating a type of calm,
Shelby (Sahra):an
Justin (GM):eerie calm that is hard to penetrate. Even almost like how sound sound is different in winter, this dense fog makes sound even hard to travel or carry and the horns of retreat sound muted and far away. The cheers of the people in the commons who are feeling a type of victory are silenced as the dense thick smoke covers the area around you. Dang. You have heard the guard call for a treat.
Justin (GM):Awesome. And a dense fog has fallen over
Nick (Herry):I was gonna
Justin (GM):the entire commons. Yeah. Making sound muted, making navigation difficult, and making it hard to see more than 10 feet in front of you. Damn.
Nick (Herry):That's different than the thing that I was go I was gonna go make a different suggestion for this. Okay. Oh, can I So there's a dense fog? Can I do a check on that, a knowledge roll or whatever I would get on what this would be?
Justin (GM):Yeah. Yeah. I won't count this as your. I'll do this as a reaction roll. Great.
Nick (Herry):That is a 14. My fear doesn't matter. Oh, I'm sorry. It's a 16. You don't feel a calm?
Nick (Herry):Okay. So it's just a fog?
Justin (GM):It it seems it would just be a fog over the Commons specifically.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Is it like causing people hard to hard to breathe or like doing no damage?
Shelby (Sahra):It's just
Nick (Herry):a fog?
Shelby (Sahra):Yep.
Nick (Herry):Okay. How Am I fairly close to the Incarnate Hall?
Justin (GM):Yeah. The Infinite Hall? Relatively.
Nick (Herry):I'm gonna go to the Infinite Hall and just actually take off running as Harry's thinking about the calm emotions.
Justin (GM):You arrive at the Infinite Hall and it is locked down. Sure. They see you approaching Yep. And the guards at first stop you.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. For sure. Harry Pinch, senator, I'm just just here to see what's going on. I'm out and about in this.
Justin (GM):At the mention of being a senator
Nick (Herry):Yeah.
Justin (GM):Does not immediately grant you access. Yeah. You see they are corresponding via speaking stone to some other people inside the Infinite Hall. Order of business?
Nick (Herry):I'm here to see Asher. I've got some word that there's some things going on. Speaking with the
Justin (GM):the Incarnate King is not an option at this time.
Nick (Herry):Okay. Is there any any way I could persuade them to do that?
Justin (GM):You can yeah. You can Sorry. If this is what you want
Nick (Herry):I've got some very important news to speak with Asher, with the incarnate king about and, I think he'll wanna hear it.
Justin (GM):Give me a presence check.
Nick (Herry):Senator of Verzenium City? I think That's some authority.
Justin (GM):I think you've got a friend
Nick (Herry):Okay. I can do that.
Justin (GM):In this moment. It's gonna be better.
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Okay. Then with that, I've got some stuff that he's gonna be very upset if he doesn't find out. Yeah. It's 19.
Nick (Herry):That's a 21 with fear.
Justin (GM):They You hear some whispering. No. No. He's the he's the he's his he's his uncle. It's his uncle.
Nick (Herry):I'm his uncle.
Justin (GM):They gesture you being allowed to come in.
Nick (Herry):Thank you.
Justin (GM):And as you step foot into the actual hall itself, the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise. Mhmm. And the you get, like, goosebumps on your
Nick (Herry):arm. Okay.
Justin (GM):The air is charged. Sure. It is also eerily empty in here. Pass guards True crossroads Yeah.
Nick (Herry):And that's it. Cool. I'm assuming I'm being escorted
Shelby (Sahra):that way.
Justin (GM):Yep. You escorted until you eventually come to a a room that you would know is like the pseudo throne room. Yeah. He does not sit on a throne very often. That's not what the incarnate king typically does.
Justin (GM):That's not his vibe. Yeah. But this is like the de facto where he would like make a decree for the Divine Codex. This is like the royal chambers You walk in and you
Nick (Herry):Harry wants to very like not big deal. He wants to like defer to whatever's happening in the room and to not make a big entrance.
Justin (GM):You walk in and find the incarnate king Asher and all six members of the Council of Faith gathered together. They are sitting at a table that is fashioned to look like the Venetharan rose, the the flower of Venethar, and clearly having discussions, their own individual discussions. This is not a they're having a formal meeting, this is a they are organizing, collecting information and trying to coordinate and are available to each other should they need each other.
Nick (Herry):Yeah.
Justin (GM):Asher sees you, makes eye contact Yeah. Gets up
Nick (Herry):Big smile.
Shelby (Sahra):Moves
Justin (GM):in your direction.
Shelby (Sahra):Yeah.
Justin (GM):Harry, this is
Nick (Herry):Yeah. Hey, I'm coming
Justin (GM):How did you even get in here?
Nick (Herry):I'm coming on behalf of the task force.
Justin (GM):Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. What the hell is going on?
Nick (Herry):Isarn Palavard, I just met him in person at the rally down here.
Justin (GM):Okay. He is inciting violence. Down here? Down where? In the Commons.
Justin (GM):Is that what?
Nick (Herry):Isarn is inciting violence against his own followers to make martyrs.
Justin (GM):Do you have proof of this?
Nick (Herry):I am working with the guard to pull all of the guards that were called not from Lautner to come break up a rally.
Justin (GM):Okay.
Nick (Herry):So we're in process. I saw it myself, so I guess
Justin (GM):Are you aware that this is happening in a number of other cities across Venator?
Nick (Herry):I just found out.
Justin (GM):This is a widespread thing.
Nick (Herry):Which is just more proof that this is East Arnhem and we need to do something for the people right now, or else they're going to go with the one that's claiming to be for the people.
Justin (GM):We have to be extremely delicate in this moment.
Nick (Herry):I agree.
Justin (GM):A Isarn wants a response. Right. If we respond incorrectly, he will use that against us. I worry that if we respond correctly, Harry, will use it against us.
Nick (Herry):You're not wrong. He's gonna try and he'll he'll use whatever we give him. But we need to give ever all potential followers a reason to question his charisma.
Justin (GM):As you are talking, Archon Felix stands up and this is the fear aspect of this. Okay. And he says, we've wasted enough time. We must call for martial law. You've wasted enough time, Felix.
Justin (GM):Who Senator Pinch, this is a closed meeting. You are not You do not have a voice in this meeting. Great. As far as I know, the bill that you are trying to get passed has not passed. Correct.
Justin (GM):So unless that has happened, I don't actually believe you can speak.
Nick (Herry):Your highness, would you like me to leave?
Justin (GM):Senator Pinch is here upon my request. Thank you, Archon Felix. You may continue to have your discussions just as I may continue to have mine. You owe me, he whispers to you.
Nick (Herry):Absolutely. Absolutely. He just like, Harry just doesn't doesn't smile, doesn't do anything, just kind of like soft nodding.
Justin (GM):There are truly so few options. Felix is rabid Yeah. Because right now.
Nick (Herry):Is completely out of control. And
Justin (GM):the there are members of this council who are willing to side with him.
Nick (Herry):Of course. Of course. Because it's it is all listen, this is Harry, not senator Pinch. They're about to lose they are in threat of losing power, and they will do whatever they can to not do that, and which is understandable. I'm not blaming them for that whatsoever.
Nick (Herry):You know, I just had a conversation about how difficult it is to figure out what the people actually want. My opinion is the people currently want to be saved from a fucking mess and a nightmare. The guards are retreating. I know, but we've got people still in buildings being attacked by Molotov cocktails and everything else. So I'm not saying martial force, I'm saying rescue mission.
Nick (Herry):I'm saying triage centers. I'm If I
Justin (GM):send people in there, they will not they will not discern the difference between a rescuer and an attacker.
Nick (Herry):I think they'll discern the difference between a king and his men and random guards. And Harry is gently suggesting that the king leave and go calm things and go show himself in the thick of it himself.
Justin (GM):Asher looks back at the council, looks at you, that would be a bold move but wouldn't require a vote.
Nick (Herry):I I'm following your lead.
Justin (GM):Have an idea. Wait here. He goes to and resumes his spot on the council and says, we have called the retreat of the guards. However, we have reason to believe that there are individuals from the cult of metamorphosis utilizing this as an opportunity to cultivate further violence in the commons now without any type of oversight or intervention, without any way to reinstate the guard, I motion to personally oversee a de escalation effort with a focus on remediation and aid by my guard. Immediately, there are objections.
Justin (GM):However, mother Damaris says, I see wisdom in this. I agree to take our finger off of the pieces on the board is a mistake and by we can no longer put the guard in there safely. The king's guard are different and offer an opportunity here for us to keep our voice in the narrative. This is a wise move on your part, king Asher. Felix says, absolutely.
Justin (GM):No way. We Any This this puts the king in danger. Mother Demeris inserts, we have no confirmed evidence of dreams that show a soul transfer, making it highly unlikely that this is the time that the king will die. It's happened before that the king has been killed. That is happened two times.
Justin (GM):Even in times when his death was unexpected, his soul foresaw it. This is an opportunity. The king says, I will remind you all that my actions are not the jurisdiction of the council, merely a kindness extended to the council. And the undertone of what he is saying is if this succeeds and they have not approved of this, they cannot get credit for it. And that hits them harder Sure.
Justin (GM):Than the other points that they had been making in their disagreements. And so, with that, votes are cast. Harry is in
Nick (Herry):a corner just doing a soft shoe. Just like Just looking at it. Just like being a little obnoxious.
Justin (GM):Priest Hedrick representing Ota. Mother Demeris representing Irasinda, First Commander Nara representing Atelene, all vote in favor of this action. Arcane Felix representing Baaz, the Spoke Warden representing the Wainwright, and the Incarnate Voice Webb, representing Phalos, all vote nay. And of course, the Incarnate King is the tie breaking vote and votes in favor of his own motion.
Nick (Herry):Love it.
Justin (GM):With that, I believe I have things to attend to. Will you all please remain here coordinating other efforts? Thank you. And he walks away.
Justin (GM):You've been listening to Faith and Fortune by Theater of the Mindset. Our actual players this season are Steve Edinger, Shelby Myers, Nick Traeger, and your kind and generous GM, Justin Girardeau. Audio engineering, post production, and scoring is done by Nick Traeger at Studio three six zero seven. If you're enjoying the show, you can help us grow with no capital investment by sharing it with a friend, following us on Instagram and Reddit, writing us a review on your favorite pod catcher, or you can chip in for coffee at our Patreon. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week on Theater of the Mindset.