A Very Long Trip

[Claudius Maximus]

It's a beautiful day in Bron. The Sun shines bright through a lack of clouds thoroughly uncharacteristic of Gabriel's wet season, and a cool breeze blows along the edge of the plate. Your vantage point at the edge of the Little Dock - an enormous structure so called only in comparison to Rouch - provides a dizzying view of the seemingly endless pale blue sky above and below. But you know, perhaps from experience, that you only have to go a scant matter of miles out before the illusion fades, and you find the dark expanse of the night sky staring back, a black veil broken, in one direction, only by Gabriel's seven brothers, and elsewhere by the tiny twinkling forms of distant constellations.

The serene effect of the weather is broken somewhat by the hustle and bustle of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people moving about the docks. Porters, animals, and passengers file into and out of dozens of skyships, and animated merchants circle around the travelers, offering various trinkets and last minute supplies. Guards from the Port Authority of Bron watch the proceedings hawkishly, supplemented by Black Dragon mercenaries here and there.

The HRMS Lithos towers over all the other ships and buildings in the dock, a gigantic vessel even by the standards of inter-constellatory ships. Smooth and sleek and ancient, it almost seems weary, its thick exterior surfaces pocked with myriad scrapes and even craters, the scars of various collisions with the flotsam of space. This haggard state is quite at odds with the markings on the ship, which bears a hundred-foot diameter image of the seal of Dartmuth in bold red paint on each side, above massive, squat letters spelling out the vessel's designation in the same medium. It's been here for almost a week, with a vast crew of teamsters and porter drones working day and night to load and unload the contents of its cavernous cargo holds. Nevertheless, it's been a bit behind schedule this time. Something about an accident a few days back.

The great ship floats at the very end of the dock, levitating under the power of its massive arcantric engines, which hum with a bizarre sort of booming silence, audible only at the edge of hearing. It is serviced by a dozen movable ramps and bridges, many of which have to hover over thin air to reach its more distant entrances. Most of these stand empty now, as the boarding of the Lithos today has been held up for unclear reasons. A few personnel can be seen here and there on them, but the passengers are all confined to the platforms below the ramps.

The great throng is partitioned neatly into categories based on ticket class, and you're waiting among the other first class passengers, who would embark on a solid central ramp. The mood here can probably be best described as "petulant" - none of these people are used to waiting too long, and it's been over an hour. The ticket-man, an obsequious human fellow who always seems to be cracking his knuckles, has been showered with an equal number of insults, threats, and bribe offers, and he seems almost ready to faint at this point. He's lucky he's working first class - you hear things are getting a bit more ugly in some of the other platforms.

Right now, you're all stuck in the jumbled mass that constitutes the first class boarding "line" for the Lithos. You're smooshed to the side of the platform, right at the edge, hence your good view. That chest-height guardrail seemed a bit excessive until you learned what it was like to be bumped into here. You're all in quite close proximity to one another, and a number of other people you may or may not want to be around. You can see a fat orcish woman in a gaudy pink dress arguing with the ticket man, but from the tired look on his face, it doesn't look like the crowd is going anywhere fast.

[Greenish]

A peculiar looking man (if the term applies) in black, rune-decorated coat leans to the guardrail at the edge of the platform, cream-white feathered wings poking beyond the rail, looking the milling crowd with slightly amused expression, as if he doesn't mind the wait.

After a while, he digs up a pipe and a bag of tobacco from the coat's pockets and starts filling the pipe with unhurried moves.

[Lagren]

Evangeline has long since given up trying to stand in the cramped confines of the line, instead reluctantly assuming a cross-legged sitting posture with her back against one of the railing posts. A small, leather-bound book is in her hands, along with a pen, but her eyes dart everywhere, recording the scene in the greatest detail to be written down in her journal. Her gaze rests particularly long upon the white-winged man, her pen tracing words like "Supernatural" and "Interesting."

Mechanically, Evangeline makes a perception check on her general surroundings - the Lithos' situation in particular - and then a separate perception check on Karsus specifically as an object of interest.
[roll0] Perception for general situational awareness.
[roll1] Perception to notice details about Karsus' appearance and/or identify him as the person she's heard about from underworld rumors.

[arskyer]

Perched on one of the rungs of the guardrail, a few feet away from Samael, sits a man dressed in unusually plain, if well-made clothing for a first-class passenger. His elbows rest on his knees and his hands are clasped, forming a platform where he rests his chin. A hood shades his face, letting in just enough light to show that his eyes are closed and his face relaxed. An old soldier, resting while he can.

Nearer the ticket-man, a voice seems to spring from the air. "Excuse me, my dear burgeoning madame, but could you please cease your nattering and be silent? I fear your efforts are rather fruitless and the noise is beginning to annoy me."

[gkathellar]

"..."

Pressed up against the guardrail as he is, Eleazar has a field of open space around him that he enforces with shoves both seen and unseen, not bothering to meet any angry remarks or looks with anything more than further shoving. He stands tall and a little tense, foot tapping incessantly and impatiently as he scans the crowd. Every minute or so his gaze returns to the key figures in it, but even these he has little patience for, and his foot keeps tapping in time to his wordless irritation.

[gkathellar]

Sorry, this slipped out of the post above.

[roll0] Perception: Eleazar isn't looking at anything in particular, but he is making fairly constant general Perception checks, and is specifically looking for dangerous or potentially dangerous people.

[Greenish]

Samael finishes packing his pipe, and turns to the plain-dressed man next to him, companionably offering, "Smoke?"

Samael will be using the Tremorsense radar thingy with his other swift action each round, as a matter of habit. Radius 40 ft., Perception +17.

[Claudius Maximus]

The Lithos is almost perfectly still, seeming almost as much a fixture as a mountain, immovable and uncaring of the toils of those around it. The doors don't seem to be moving relative to the bridges, and the massive skyship seems more steady than most of the boats you've seen. The staff members moving in and out of it don't seem to be in any particular hurry, and some seem almost bored. You're not sure exactly what they're doing.

The crowd is composed of distinguished personages of all kinds. Most are wealthy businesspeople and landowners, but there are also delegates and other officials traveling for business. Of particular note is the Bronish ambassador Magnus Irondale, and his entourage of increasingly impatient guards and dignitaries. Irondale himself is austere and unreadable, displaying his legendary poker face.

Other prominent figures near you include Seamus O'Hara, head of the Arcanametric Society of Bron and a powerful mage by all accounts, who seems especially distressed at the delay, and the famous elven artist Cerulean, who does not seem to mind the wait at all, using it to draw charcoal sketches of the crowd, humming quietly to himself.


Nearer the ticket-man, a voice seems to spring from the air. "Excuse me, my dear burgeoning madame, but could you please cease your nattering and be silent? I fear your efforts are rather fruitless and the noise is beginning to annoy me."

The lady immediately stops her tirade, turning slowly and indignantly at Phaestus, clearly making a show of being aghast. Standing over six feet tall, she truly is a mountain of a woman, and her frilly pink dress seems more than a little out of place. You can see now that she has a small dog cradled in her arm, a wretched and trembling thing subjected to far too much in its hairy perch. The ticket-man takes a few steps back, seeking a moment of precious escape from her harangues. He leaves Phaestus to his fate, giving a beleaguered last look of sympathy.

"The audacity!" she sprays, "The temerity! Don't you know who you're talking to? I'll have you popped, you little zit!"

Realizing at last just how much attention she's drawn to herself, she gives an indignant harrumph, casting a scowl at the crowd of spectators. "And what are you lot looking at? This vile speck is just interrupting some good news," she says, looking to the ticket-man. "Isn't he?"

The man's anxious mumblings suggest the contrary.

[arskyer]

Karsus' head comes up, and he looks over the man next to him. He bobs his head to the side and pulls a long-stemmed clay pipe from inside his coat.

"Kind of you to share. I'm Karsus."

Back near the ramp, Phaestus flies in a small vertical circle (somewhat reminiscent of an eye-roll).

"Well, no, obviously I don't know who you are, or I would have called you by that name. By the by, since it seems important to you that I know, who are you?"

[Greenish]

Samael nods back while handing over the pouch of tobacco. "Samael. Looking like we'll be here a while." He puffs his pipe a few times and blows a smoke ring while looking over at the spectacle with the pink frilly.

[arskyer]

"So it is. I wonder what it is that's holding up boarding." Karsus tamps down the tobacco in his pipe and begins the process of lighting up, but, drawn by the movement, his gaze follows Samael's. A quirk of a grin crosses his face, but is quickly replaced by a look of exasperation. "There he goes again." Karsus shakes his head and lights up, keeping a wary eye on Phaestus in case the situations gets worse.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar's foot stops tapping as the woman begins her next barrage, and he takes a deep breath before elbowing and shoving his way through the crowd, doing his best to avoid anyone important in the process of making his way over to the ticket agent. "Shut up," he says loudly to the fat orcish woman as he pushes in next to her, and looks to the ticket agent.

"Your bosses have got Black Dragons running security on this thing, right?" he asks forcefully, flashing his badge and craning his neck to look at the ship. "What's going on? Technical problems?"

Eleazar's nerve has decided to lose itself, and while he knows his odds are pretty poor of this going anywhere, he's getting tired of this.
Bluff:[roll0]:Trying to assert situational authority that he doesn't actually have.

[Greenish]

Samael shrugs, puffing his pipe and then waving with it at the scene by the ticket agent. "At least entertainment's provided for. Wouldn't want to be in the poor bastard's shoes, I'll say that, though."

[Claudius Maximus]

Judgement Readings:
Eleazer:
Eleazar operates under the false belief that he is a generally okay sort of person. While not particularly evil by most standards, paladins observing him with Knowing will notice two things: guilt and selfishness. Eleazar is committed to his own survival above all else, but a vein of regret runs through him for the damage he has caused in the process of surviving. He does his best to ignore this regret, channeling it into general bitterness. The pervasive fear and desire to survive have made him a far more cruel and untrustworthy man than he himself realizes.
Karsus:
Karsus is more or less what he appears, a do-gooder upstanding citizen type. He has a firm belief in the law (not any specific set, more like a protect the weaker kind of thing), but you can tell that before anything he believes in fully uncovering a situation before making unequivocal decisions. Mingling with this determination is a vivacious interest in everything happening around him.
Evengeline:
Evangeline's soul isn't so much void black or gleaming white as a dull, businesslike grey of small, routine sins like bribery and theivery. Your knowing tells you that this is a person who would do many things for her guild and her goals, with a strong sense of loyalty and an aversion to bloodshed, who nonetheless has killed people when she has needed to... and who perhaps enjoyed it when she did.

That has left a mark. You can tell that Evangeline believes very deeply that she is dangerous; her words, her magic, her touch can shatter things all too easily, which makes her hesitant and aloof. But at the same time, that grants conviction, and power springs from that. If Evangeline decides she wants to get her way, she will have it.
Samael:
Samael has a Purpose. It's like cooling lava, solid as rock, but you can still feel the massive forces that caused it to swirl and flow like water, not long ago. He will do whatever the Purpose requires, with no hesitation nor regret.
Orcish Lady:
You have a feeling you'd have the same impression without The Knowing. This woman doesn't really have much malice, but she's certainly selfish, pompous and vain, long since spoiled to expect people to bow to her whims, or at least, in the case of "equals," to treat her with politeness. She has a poor reaction to those who infringe this sense of entitlement, hence the current situation. So not evil, but perhaps a bit unpleasant.
The Ticket-man:
The ticket-man is a common sort of nasty, a cowardly and vindictive man resentful of those around and especially above him. You're actually a bit impressed at how well he's hiding it, but you can tell he wants nothing more than to spit in that orcish woman's face, to humiliate her like she did to him. But he's probably more likely to avenge himself through some random act of vandalism, possibly displaced onto some other unwitting target. Definitely the sort to talk behind a friend's back, or spit in a customer's returned food.
Cerulean:
An interesting mix of pride and wonder. Cerulean seems to see the world as a beautiful dance before his eyes, one that he sees little need to interfere with. You sense a great deal of curiosity, ambition, and self-satisfaction. Especially the latter. He's got a hell of an ego, and you suspect his success and popularity have absolutely gone to his head. He tends to see almost everyone around him as inferior, and you suspect he would be willing to go farther than is strictly moral to serve himself.
Magnus Irondale:
Irondale's soul is hard, organized, and mathematical. Brave and strong, like a finely-hewn wall of stone. You can tell that he considers himself a man of principle, though there is a certain lack of kindness that you often see coupled with that attitude. He may well be a just man, but not necessarily a nice one.
Seamus O'Hara:
O'Hara has a practical sense of morality. He doesn't seem in any way cruel, but neither is he particularly motivated by altruism. He just takes the most harmonious path, it seems, which happens to be on the nicer end of things more often than not. Beyond that, you can tell that he is highly motivated as a scholar and academic, and quite loyal to those he considers friends. A man who can keep a secret.

[gkathellar]

In addition to the Intimidate check, Eleazar is going to use Tactical Insight (Medicine) as a move action for a +2 to social skills and ... uh ... attack, I guess? It doesn't really matter outside of physical combat. Just so that he can not suck quite so badly on any future rolls.

Intimidate - [roll0]
Medicine - [roll1]

[Claudius Maximus]

Back near the ramp, Phaestus flies in a small vertical circle (somewhat reminiscent of an eye-roll).

"Well, no, obviously I don't know who you are, or I would have called you by that name. By the by, since it seems important to you that I know, who are you?"
The orcish woman seems about to respond to Phaestus, lifting her head a bit and placing her free hand on her hip. It looks like she'd be quite proud of her answer, but Eleazer cuts her off:

"Shut up," he says loudly to the fat orcish woman as he pushes in next to her, and looks to the ticket agent.

"Your bosses have got Black Dragons running security on this thing, right?" he asks forcefully, flashing his badge and craning his neck to look at the ship. "What's going on? Technical problems?"
The ticket agent smirks at Eleazer's curt treatment of the orcish lady, but quickly shrinks back when he starts throwing around his "authority" in his own direction. "Oh, uh, I... don't know, sir," he stammers. "If you'd just sit tight like everyone else I'm sure they'll be back in a bit to uh, tell us you can board. Any minute now, I'm sure of it."

The lady seems to have once again been shocked into silence at her rude treatment. She just gives Eleazer an especially contemptuous look for a moment, finally responding shortly after the ticket man finishes. "Oh, how rude you people are," she hollars, "accosting me like this! I'll have you know that you're dealing with Thogrinna Rockheim, of the Far'Aday Rockheims, the most loyal friends of the House of Dartmuth. Why I know Nikola Dartmuth personally, and I can have you cast out of this ship with one word to him. I don't care if you're a guard or a spirit or what!"

You can all roll History on the Rockheims and on the name Nikola Dartmuth.

Knowledge roll results:

Eleazer:
You've spent a lot of time on ships like this - Her Lady is over two months away from Gabriel by skyship, and that's on top of the myriad shorter journeys you've taken form plate to plate within a given constellation. Compared to those vessels though, the Lithos is a whole other kind of huge. You can tell that measures were taken to ensure stability for its gigantic form - an arched shape in general, with massive girders reinforcing its hull. The ship looks quite organic overall, with smooth and natural lines. You don't see that much nowadays. You see no structural flaws in the ship, at least from here, though you guess some of this material isn't strictly necessary.

The engines especially stand out to you. That sound they're making, you've never heard its like before. Others have hummed, and hissed, and even in one case rattled, and the fanciest ones are completely silent, but this vague "sound" is new to you. Then again, these engines are rather unique. The largest you've ever seen by far, they're bigger than normal even in proportion to the ship itself. You know from personal experience with telekinesis that the forces required to keep this ship in the air, much less move it even an inch, are phenomenal. The Lithos is said to be the fastest vessel in Hallow, and you suppose it might be true if it can make the seven-day journey to Far'Aday in five.

You're having a hard time detecting any risidual magic in the air. They must be either extremely efficient, or shielded somehow.
Evangeline:
You don't really have much experience with magitech propulsion engines, but it's pretty clear that these are the strongest one's you've ever seen. The Lithos must weigh untold thousands of tons, but it's not moving an inch. Even Onlien drifts around a bit, though it admittedly uses a different approach to levitation with its Sky Anchors. That bizarre "sound" seems very interesting to you. You're not sure what kind of magic goes into making something like that, but you're pretty sure magic has to be responsible for it.

Interestingly, you're having a hard time detecting any risidual magic in the air, at least any kind that you can recognize. The engines must be either extremely efficient, or shielded somehow. But it must be a pretty powerful shield to stop what are almost certainly going to be some impressive etheric emissions. The kind of thing that costs a lot of money and energy to maintain. And yet that sound persists.
Karsus:
You don't really have much experience with magitech propulsion engines, but it's pretty clear that these are the strongest one's you've ever seen. The Lithos must weigh untold thousands of tons, but it's not moving an inch. You're having a hard time detecting any risidual magic in the air. They must be either extremely efficient, or shielded somehow.

Rolls (OO):
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[gkathellar]

Eleazar sighs loudly as Thogrinna continues, creasing his brow with his fingers before looking up and speaking as genially as he can.

"Look, you're a ticket agent. Your job is to stand here and either take people's tickets or not take people's tickets as the situation demands." He pauses, and his tone changes just a little. "And that's fine, but it also means you obviously have no idea what the hell you're talking about. So why don't you tell the trained Black Dragon engineer standing directly in front of you what exactly the problem is, so that we can get under way and nobody has to listen to the harpy over here," he nods vaguely toward Thogrinna, "keep shrieking at you."

Eleazar is spending his token against the ticket agent to demand more information about what's going on. Also:

History:[roll0] - Who are the Rockheims and Nikola Dartmuth?

[Lagren]

Evangeline's History rolls:
[roll0] Rockhelms
[roll1] Nikola Dartmuth

[Lagren]

Evangeline gets up from her seat on the docks and approaches Thogrinna Rockheim, placing her diary back into her satchel as she does so.

"Look, I have just as urgent of business as you do. But demanding that you be let on to the ship without even knowing what the problem is is really rather crass. It's clear that there's a problem here, but screaming and yelling at an innocent ticket agent isn't going to work."

Her eyes narrow slightly and she purses her lips.

"But rest assured, I'm going to have a few choice words with the captain once this is all settled about managing the customer's expectations."

[roll0] Diplomacy versus Thorgrinna. Sorry about the history check in the last post.

[arskyer]

Karsus' eyebrows raise as Thogrinna begins to shout again. A chuckle springs from his belly, and he takes his pipe in his hand and points it's stem at Thogrinna, and then Phaestus. "Can that lady preen or what? I'd be right amused, if only it weren't my spirit who started it, or at least escalated it. One thing I don't need right now is finding another ship to Far'Aday." He shakes his head, then stands and stretches before turning to Samael. "Thanks for the smoke - I owe you one. Now to make sure I don't get - what was it - cast out of the ship?" With a nod of his head and a conspiratorial grin, Karsus turns toward the ticket-man and his crowd and begins making his way through the waiting passengers.

Again, with improvisation for +2
[roll0]Rockheims
[roll1]Nikola Dartmuth

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline gets up from her seat on the docks and approaches Thogrinna Rockheim, placing her diary back into her satchel as she does so.

"Look, I have just as urgent of business as you do. But demanding that you be let on to the ship without even knowing what the problem is is really rather crass. It's clear that there's a problem here, but screaming and yelling at an innocent ticket agent isn't going to work."

Her eyes narrow slightly and she purses her lips.

"But rest assured, I'm going to have a few choice words with the captain once this is all settled about managing the customer's expectations."

"Hmph, indeed! Now here's a lady who knows how she should be treated. Such poor service here, and what a rabble they let into first class," she says, indicating the others who've joined in on the scene. "Now of course none of us are going to set foot on that thing until we're sure it's safe. I'm sorry for the yelling, it's just that this vile man here refuses to tell us what the holdup is, and we're paying customers with a right to know! And I know he's hiding something - just look at him. Shifty and spineless, the meanest sort of person. And then all these dreadful people kept coming up and - oh, it's all just such a bother." She pauses and sighs for a bit, before turning back to the ticket man. "Come on you, just tell us what the problem is. Out with it!"

"I've told you already lady, I don't know myself!" The ticket-man's response seems to have a bit more attitude than usual for him. He probably didn't like that description. But it fades quickly as he continues. "Or at least I don't know for sure..."


Eleazar sighs loudly as Thogrinna continues, creasing his brow with his fingers before looking up and speaking as genially as he can.

"Look, you're a ticket agent. Your job is to stand here and either take people's tickets or not take people's tickets as the situation demands." He pauses, and his tone changes just a little. "And that's fine, but it also means you obviously have no idea what the hell you're talking about. So why don't you tell the trained Black Dragon engineer standing directly in front of you what exactly the problem is, so that we can get under way and nobody has to listen to the harpy over here," he nods vaguely toward Thogrinna, "keep shrieking at you."

At first, the ticket agent seems ready to resist Eleazer's probing, but after one more quick look at Thogrinna, who already seems prepared for another tirade at Eleazer's "harpy" comment, he sighs and begins to answer. It seems he's finally found a situation he just can't endure. Thogrinna holds her tongue for once, now that she might get some answers after all.

"Well, I guess you are one of the engineers..." he says, cracking his knuckles as he gives a nervous look around. After a moment, he moves in just a bit and continues in a lower voice. A few people further away quiet down a bit, and you can see Thogrinna try to crane her neck surreptitiously to hear the exchange. "You didn't hear it from me, but I think it's an engine thing," says the ticket agent. "That isn't a normal sound, you know? Been like that for a while now, since a day or two after we pulled in. They said they were looking at it, but I haven't seen any engineer types. Just a few house wizards. You know anything about it? Does... does it sound fixable to you?"

History results:

Eleazer:
Nikola Dartmuth is the heir apparent for the Bron Dartmuths, and a relatively powerful figure in the city. He administers most of the family's property silently but effectively, and is the technical owner of the HRMS Lithos. A lot of your bosses in Bron have cursed his name or gossipped about him, and from the sound of things, he's almost always ahead of his rivals, one way or another. You don't think you've heard of him being involved with anything especially shady, but you suppose he might just be good at being shady, which is more than can be said of a few of those old bosses.

You've heard that he's going to be on the Lithos for this trip, but you haven't seen him in the crowd at all. Figures they'd let him of all people through though.

As for the Rockheims, they're a rare family of orcish nobles, based in Far'Aday and with holdings in maybe a dozen plates. Small fry next to the great houses of Gabriel, and positively microscopic compared to an interplate dynasty like Dartmuth. Their money comes from mining, weapons production, and farming. You're not aware of any significant political power in their hands, though they have ties to a decent number of major mercenary forces. You haven't heard anything about them and Dartmuth, but you frankly doubt Dartmuth needs their help. You have a feeling she's exaggerating her relationship with them.
Evangeline:
Nikola Dartmuth rings a bell, but you can't place who it is or what they do. He (she?) is at least not one of the great legendary Dartmuths that everyone's heard of, like a Grand Patriarch or anything. You're not very familiar with even the local Dartmuths due to the general low profile they keep, and the Consortium's understanding with the family means that your... services have never had to be employed with them. Still, you hear a name or two dropped now and then by the higher-ups, and maybe Nikola's was one of them.

You have never heard of the Rockheims at all.
Karsus:
Nikola Dartmuth is one of the more notable Dartmuths in Bron, though you're kind of foggy on the details. The Dartmuths here don't seem to cause all that much trouble, so you've focused more on other families and organizations up to this point. You do suspect any major family member in the city might have some sway on board the ship, judging by the gigantic Dartmuth seal on it, but you don't know Nikola's exact position regarding it, whether he owns it, or whether he's just a patriarch or something.

You have never heard of the Rockheims at all.

[gkathellar]

"Anything's fixable," Eleazar tells him, noncommittal, and takes a long look at the Lithos towering overhead, and mutters, "at least so long as you're actually fixing it." Glancing briefly back to the ticket agent, he taps his foot and speaks quietly, with a puzzled frustration. "Of course, not fixing a problem on a ship this size with this many people is either insane or stupid, and your boss isn't actually known for being those things."

He listens to the engines.

"Who knows, maybe there's no problem to fix." His last remark is not a question, and Eleazar lets another moment pass, squinting at the ship and listening to no avail. "Well, if your bosses do decide they need an engineer at some point, you know what I look like."

The Black Dragon stands there in silence for a few moments longer, unconsciously floating just an inch or so off the ground.

[Lagren]

Evangeline sighs.
"It's true, you have to do everything yourself…"
Then, she steps up beside the floating engineer and rests one hand upon his shoulder, bringing him back down to earth.
"So you're saying that there may or may not be a problem. But if there was one, it would be fixable. And that you, personally, are not going to even look at the engines to see if there is one. Despite the fact that the crew of this ship obviously has issues."

She takes the hand off his shoulder and steps around in front of him, her voice a harsh whisper.

"I cannot believe how many people here are refusing to do their damn jobs. You're a captain of the Dragons. The security of everyone on board this ship is your responsibility. You are going to go look at the engines, because if there is a failure everyone dies. Do you understand me? Or do I have to take you there personally?"

[roll0] Intimidate versus Eleazar. If I gain a token I immediately spend it to make the demand "go look at the engines and see what the problem is."
[roll1] Intimidate versus the hapless ticket agent. If I gain a token, I don't spend it yet.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar sighs, alights on his feet again and shakes his head.

"It's cute that you think you can get somewhere by ordering around a badge-flasher. But I get the feeling you don't actually have any authority over anyone here." He looks her up and down with a kind of vague interest, cocking his head and taking a breath. "You look you've been around at least enough of the block to pretend you've been around more of it. You've probably noticed by now that badge-flashers tend to get what they want, that they have a respect for authority and they expect other people to respect it — so if you don't respect it, they're usually so totally dumbfounded that they have no idea what to do. I do know what to do. I can walk away."

He turns on his heel, takes a step, and then spins to face her again, finger raised and mouth half-open for another comment, but he stops, and nods to the ticket agent instead. "If something concrete comes up, mention I'm on board."

Eleazar's going to make a Perception check for his counterargument, and then walk away with Troubleshooter.
Perception:[roll0] - Eleazar unveils his only social skill! He'll hold any token for later in the scene at present.

[Greenish]

Samael returns Karsus' grin with one of his own (what pointy teeth!) and straightens from his leaning position. "I think I'll join you. It seems things are getting interesting." Flexing his wings one last time, before the pressure of the crowd forces him to close them tight, Samael follows Karsus through the mob to the ticket inspector and his unwelcome entourage.

[Lagren]

Evangeline is left blinking in shock for a moment as Elazaer walks away, letting out a low whistle under her breath.

"Well, then. Looks like the Black Dragons are abandoning their duty. I'd expected better."

She shrugs helplessly, and turns to address the ticket man.

"It's up to us then. I'm trained in the magical arts myself, and I can tell you that any magical effect that can get through the kind of shielding your engines must have can't be good. I can't tell you what it is from here, though. Maybe if I could see up close I could, but no promises if your house wizards have already been working on it. Generally House Dartmuth employs professionals... Though what I'm seeing so far isn't inspiring trust."

[roll0]Diplomacy against the ticket agent, then Evangeline spends all the tokens she has against him to make the implication of "Could you please let me on to the ship so I can look at the engines?" without ever actually saying it outright. When possible, Evangeline has people invite her to do the things she wants to do.

[Claudius Maximus]

The ticket agent looks quite worried at Evangeline's words. "You mean... leaks or something? You think it's that bad?" He gives a quick glance at the heavy-set iron doors of the ship before shaking his head slowly. "I... don't think I could get you in there, I'm sorry. Closer, maybe, but people will see. I might get in a lot of trouble for that..."

He seems to think for a while, hugging himself a bit and cracking his wrists. "Maybe just... kind of go up the ramp a bit, past some of the shielding things it's got. I can maybe move the line up like that, say it's pre-boarding if anyone asks. Tell the bosses none of you listened to me..."

Just then, the unusual engine sound cuts out suddenly and instantaneously, a new and far more normal sounding arcane thrum replacing it with no apparent delay. The new sound is deep and soft, a comfortable sort of buzz.

There's a quiet moment as everyone on the platform registers the transition, followed by a burst of activity as people stand up, shift their bags, and check their watches, encouraged by the first major change most of them have seen here. "Finally fired 'er up, eh?" shouts a man from Irondale's entourage, provoking a stern look from the ambassador. Seamus O'Hara's worried look doesn't seem to fade.

The ticket agent hurries to stop Evangeline from going on the platform, looking anxiously at the doors and muttering to himself. "Oh no no. I could have just waited one minute? Augh..."

Thogrinna seems particularly pleased at the transition, standing up straight and smiling, revealing a set of surprisingly well-kept teeth. "Good!" she exclaims, before turning back to the ticket agent. "Now can we board?"

The ticket agent looks sheepishly at her. "Uhh, still no ma'am. Not until they say so."

"Bah! Well I can't wait for them to come out. I'll give them an earful about this wait, mark my words!"

[Lagren]

Evangeline smiles reassuringly at the ticket agent as she retreats back down the boarding platform.

"Don't worry about it, I won't tell if you don't. The important part is the problem's been fixed. I might still stop by the engine room if the captain feels like he needs another opinion, but it's his ship."

Returning to where she'd been sitting, she picks up a carpet bag from where she left it, then makes her way back through the crowd to the ticket agent.

"Still, if you encounter anything strange and arcane, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm always interested in magical curiosities."

She produces a business card from the satchel she's wearing and offers it to the ticket agent.

"Evangeline Wakeshima, Consortium. I'm in cabin fifteen. Feel free to drop by once everyone's boarded."

[roll0] Diplomacy social combat roll, then I spend one token on the favour "Remember me if anything strange happens."

[Claudius Maximus]

The ticket agent seems a bit flustered as he takes Evangeline's card. "Th-thanks," he stammers. He looks at it bit longer than it takes to read it before putting it away, before his attention is drawn elsewhere.

"Hey, I saw that!" shouts the ornery man from Irondale's group. "You were gonna let that lady through, weren't ya?"

"No, of course not. Now if everybody would just wait a little longer, I'm sure we'll get some information soon..."

The crowd seems to be more energetic now with a refreshed promise of news, with people shuffling about and chatting more than almost any other point since the delays began. A few people even pack their luggage up more. Cerulean starts packing his art, putting away an impressivly detailed portrait of Thogrinna he was working on.

After about ten minutes, the door nearest your platform opens, and a small group emerges to a suddenly hushed crowd. Pretty clearly Dartmuth personnel, judging by the proponderance of the house's colors. Four men in heavy red and black robes - house wizards, no doubt - walk in a line next to two more reasonably dressed gentlemen. A woman wearing some rather antiquated heavy armor has also emerged, but she stays behind by the door.

A nearby dwarven merchant turns to a few of his colleagues, who are still in some sundry conversation. "Hush, you lot. That's Nikola Dartmuth himself, coming out with the captain."

"Oh? Which?"

"Man on the right," he says "Younger one."

Nikola is a sharply dressed young man, tall and dark and slim. His dress is formal without being overstated, and looks to be designed for slightly warmer climates. It's almost entirely black, save for a white collar and a tiny spot of color from a red pin of the Dartmuth Sunburst. He carries himself with a sort of confident nonchalance, as if he were about to do something other than walk into a crowd of dissatisfied customers.

"And that's the captain next to him. The new one, Sir Leo Munroe. I hear he's a good one, and a hero besides. Never had a thing to do with a ship as big as this one though."

The captain cuts a somewhat more humble figure than Nikola, standing several inches shorter and dressed in a relatively looser and more practical navy blue coat, the only member of this entourage not flaunting the reds and blacks of Dartmuth. He's a good deal older than Nikola, with a significant amount of gray in his well-trimmed beard. He seems a bit more concerned about the crowd, and looks almost a bit worried as he approaches.

Nikola and the captain proceed briskly to the platform, but it looks like the wizards are moving much more sluggishly and carefully. The first one almost trips, causing Nikola to awkwardly grab at him lest he drop off the bridge. A short, hushed conversation follows between them. You can't make any of it out, but Nikola gives a few of the vaguest nods in the direction of the platform, and the head wizard waves him off before giving an unusual gesture to the others. The wizards link hands, and the head snaps his fingers and... nothing. Nikola places his hand on his face, and points a bit more forcefully at the platform, and the group begins moving there again. Slower this time.

Nikola actually seems a bit more annoyed now. As they proceed, you can hear him mumble under his breath, "Please tell me if we can get anything done right, captain," to which he gets only a perfunctory "But of course, sir." When they reach the platform, the wizards repeat their earlier motions, and disappear instantly this time. There are only minor indications of any kind of surprise on the crowd's part. Nikola and the captain continue to about a few feet behind the ticket agent before stopping.

"You better explain yourself, Dartmuth! We've been here all day!"

"Indeed! Such failure to tend to your loyal-"

"Listen up, everyone," says Nikola in a rather strong voice. "We've gone through a good deal of trouble to address a few small technical difficulties on the HRMS Lithos. I am pleased to announce that we have fully resolved these issues and that boarding will commence in only a few minutes. The captain here tells me that he is confident we can arrive at Far'Aday within the boundaries of our original schedule, provided there are no other significant delays in our journey. I have no reason to suspect there shall be anything of the sort. All programs and events on the ship will continue as they were originally sceduled, all of you will get to your destination on time, and everything will go according to plan."

"Now unless somebody has a particularly pressing reason to hold us up, then I suggest you all begin preparations to board. The process is very quick once it begins."

You can roll History checks on Captain Munroe if you please. Untrained rolls are permitted.

Characters trained in Arcana may also make a roll each.

[gkathellar]

"According to plan," Eleazar mutters contemplatively, a touch of surprise in his voice as he stares at Nikola Dartmuth, before settling into the crowd.

Knowledge Checks
History:[roll0] - Captain Munroe
Arcana:[roll1]

[arskyer]

Karsus stops pushing through the crowd when the group from the Lithos approaches. Observing the lassitude of the wizards and overhearing the exchange between Nikola and Munroe, he works his pipe about in his mouth and frowns in concern. He leans toward Samael and says in an undertone,

"If that's what they look like after a small problem, I don't want to be around a large one."

[Claudius Maximus]

Judgement Readings:

Nikola:
Like most of the other Dartmuths you've caught in your Knowing, Nikola doesn't seem particularly attached to the rules and expectations of the society around him. He's willing to do things to serve himself and his family that might not be strictly legal. Or at all legal, really. In spite of this, he is loathe to do anything especially risky for his reputation or interests. In other respects, he likes to know what's going on, and to watch things play out as a result of well-laid plans. On the flipside of this, you can tell that he gets especially annoyed at unpleasant surprises.
Captain Munroe:
Diligent and courageous, Leo Munroe is a man who believes wholeheartedly in a captain's responsibility for the safety of the people on his ship. There is a bit of an authoritarian streak in the way he sees this responsibility, but it is temperd by a genuine belief in a greater good that comes from people doing what others are expecting of them, especially during emergencies. Injustice makes him uncomfortable, but you get the feeling that he has had to witness a fair bit of it while unable to really stop it, and he might not really comment on it so much any more. Not exactly squeaky-clean, but probably one of the more decent people you've seen today.
Check Results:

Eleazer
History:

Captain Munroe is primarily known for a single incident a year or so back, when his skyship was involved with a bizarre disaster. Struck by a sudden lightning monsoon of unprecedented power, it lost all of its navigational systems due to magical and electromagnetic disruption, and one of its twin engines exploded. Suddenly uncontrolled, the ship collided with Gabriel's wing, destroying much of the bridge, and entered freefall until Munroe emerged from the rubble of the now-open bridge, took hold of the remaining manual controls of the ship, and successfully crash-landed it in a lake near Far'Aday. While several people died in the collision with the wing, there were no casualties from the landing, and people credit the captain's fast thinking and perseverance with the survival of everyone else on board, including, significantly, the high prince of the Principality of Malduva. He was all over the papers for a while, and you certainly heard plenty of the details from various crew members on the ship you took back then.

Beyond that incident, you know relatively little about the captain, other than that he is said to be very humble about the experience and that he has since become quite sought-after by various companies wishing to improve their image with his celebrity and supposed talent, including, apparently, Dartmuth. You've heard he has a stellar track record as a captain.

Arcana:

Dartmuth house wizards often abide by a really old ceremonial dress code, the kind most of the mages' guilds and arcane orders have long since abandoned. Going by that, and assuming Dartmuth hasn't succumbed to rank inflation, then these are all pretty serious arcanists. Three of them are Magi, recognized as legitimate wizards in their own right and capable of taking on apprentices and so forth. If one of them focused on telekinesis, they'd supposedly be about as good at it as you. The head wizard holds the rank of Master, which is the highest rank in these systems before things just get based on position and authority rather than power. Even an organization like Dartmuth employs a comparitively small number of people of this caliber, so their presence here implies that their power was required.

That little ritual-disappearance thing they did was clearly a teleportation spell, a pretty powerful one with a range of at least a dozen plates. You're not really surprised the master could pull that off, but it is pretty interesting that it failed the first time. You can only assume there's a teleport denial field in place around the Lithos, which leads you to believe that there's also some kind of shielding, since there's no way you'd fail to detect it otherwise. Both must be extremely powerful - the denial fields to prevent so capable a mage from successfully escaping, and the shields to almost completely suppress the signature of the engines and denial fields.
Samael
Captain Munroe is primarily famous for successfully crash-landing a skyship heavily damaged by a rogue lightning monsoon, bringing it down in a lake near Far'Aday after personally wresting control of the ship. People say he saved everyone, including some prince from some small nation way over there that you're not familiar with. This was all in the papers a while ago, maybe a year or so.

You haven't heard much beyond that. But then you haven't been paying as much attention to these matters.
Karsus:
History:

Captain Munroe is primarily famous for successfully crash-landing a skyship heavily damaged by a rogue lightning monsoon, bringing it down in a lake near Far'Aday after personally wresting control of the ship. People say he saved everyone, including some prince from some small nation way over there that you're not familiar with. This was all in the papers a while ago, maybe a year or so. You haven't really heard much of him since then.

Arcana:

Dartmuth house wizards often abide by a really old ceremonial dress code, the kind most of the mages' guilds and arcane orders have long since abandoned. Going by that, and assuming Dartmuth hasn't succumbed to rank inflation, then these are all pretty serious arcanists. Three of them are Magi, recognized as legitimate wizards in their own right and capable of taking on apprentices and so forth. The head wizard holds the rank of Master, which is the highest rank in these systems before things just get based on position and authority rather than power. Even an organization like Dartmuth employs a comparitively small number of people of this caliber, so their presence here implies that their power was required.

That little ritual-disappearance thing they did was clearly a teleportation spell, a pretty powerful one with a range of at least a dozen plates. You're not really surprised the master could pull that off, but it is pretty interesting that it failed the first time. You can only assume there's a teleport denial field in place around the Lithos, which leads you to believe that there's also some kind of shielding, since there's no way you'd fail to detect it otherwise. Both must be extremely powerful - the denial fields to prevent so capable a mage from successfully escaping, and the shields to almost completely suppress the signature of the engines and denial fields.
Evangeline:
Munroe:

You barely know anything about the captain. You heard his name a while back, something about a brilliant crash-landing, but you don't think you paid much heed to the story.

Wizards:

You do not recognize any of these people. They're either reclusive or from out of town. Either seems like a valid possibility. The clothes, however, you've seen before, a glance here and there over the years. Dartmuth house wizards often abide by a really old ceremonial dress code, the kind most of the mages' guilds and arcane orders have long since abandoned. Going by that, then these are all pretty serious arcanists. You can't really determine anything about specialization from their attire, other than that they are not part Dartmuth's battlemages, who wear special armor instead of robes.

As for rank, three of them are Magi going by the marks on them, recognized as legitimate wizards in their own right and capable of taking on apprentices and so forth. You've been told you might be able to make such a rank, but it was always from recruiters and other such flatterers, so you're not quite sure where they would really place next to your magic. The reputation, however, is that they are quite effective. The head wizard holds the rank of Master, which is the highest rank in these systems before things just get based on position and authority rather than power. Even an organization like Dartmuth employs a comparitively small number of people of this caliber, so their presence here implies that their power was required.

That little ritual-disappearance thing they did was clearly a teleportation spell, a pretty powerful one with a range of at least a dozen plates. You're not really surprised the master could pull that off, but it is pretty interesting that it failed the first time. You can only assume there's a teleport denial field in place around the Lithos, which leads you to believe that there's also some kind of shielding, since there's no way you'd fail to detect it otherwise. Both must be extremely powerful - the denial fields to prevent so capable a mage from successfully escaping, and the shields to almost completely suppress the signature of the engines and denial fields.

[Lagren]

Evangeline ignores the assorted grumblings of the crowd as she steps up again to the ticket manager, and, clearing her throat, says in a voice pitched to carry:

"Well then, let's get on with it. Here's my ticket, which way to first class?"


[roll0] Bluff roll against the crowd (Including PCs if you like) to distract them from the problem and their annoyance by making them think about the fact that they can finally get on board. (Social token immediately spent.)

[Greenish]

Samael chuckles at Karsus's comment. "Well, let us hope they don't run into one."

[gkathellar]

As long as Eleazar's being rolled against, he's always on the lookout for better liars than himself.
Perception:[roll0] - Spend token immediately to counterbid.

[Claudius Maximus]

After a short moment to get their bearings, the crowd eagerly follows Evangeline's example, moving back into some vague semblance of order as they shuffle towards the ticket agent. For his part, the ticket agent seems to make an effort to board people as quickly and efficiently as possible, mixing in a few pleasantries and apologies in his dealings with the customers.

Once past him, it's only a short walk on the bridge, which feels remarkably stable despite its appearance, and you've reached the massive, circular iron door of the Lithos. It's almost like a giant porthole, and there's another one almost as big just ten feet or so behind it, forming an airlock. A few people comment on the almost excessive sturdiness of these portals, each of which is several feet thick.

Beyond this bare and functional entrance, the interior of the HRMS Lithos does not fall short of this area's first class designation. In fact, in many regards, it exceeds your expectations. The hall you enter is a full fifty feet tall, with a vaulted ceiling from which hang a number of massive chandeliers. The largest is nearly two stories tall. There are beautiful tapestries on the walls, a lush red carpet running through the room, and a series of tasteful couches and tables set up to give the whole space the feel of a private lounge. There are a few neat piles of pamphlets on the tables, and a number are even set with cups and kettles of tea, but none of them are steaming. It looks like the effort was abandoned, and now the staff are clearing the scene instead. Just as well, because it looks like the passengers are hardly in the mood for anything like that, bustling and hurrying to get where they're supposed to be. There's a bit of a racket to say the least, as they rush for the attention of staff members, argue about who cut in front of whom, determine who, in fact, insists, and so forth. And that's on top of the animals, the pet dogs and birds and lizards and even a couatl. Most of them seem inexplicably agitated, which hardly helps the noise situation. And the handful of motes on board are as loquacious as usual. All this is watched carefully by a strategic peppering of guards and security personnel, what looks to be a 60/40 split between Dartmuth house security and Black Dragon guardian forces.

A few service representatives are present, giving directions to boarding passengers and handing out little pamphlets while bellhops attend to the luggage of those who haven't brought personal servants for such purposes. It seems you're all assigned rooms in the same section, an area called Stormrose Square, located in the middle of the ship horizontally, on Deck Zeta, bottommost of the passenger decks. A staff member points the way out to each of you, explaining the myriad twists and turns you'll have to take to get there.

A quick glance at the pamphlet is enough to see that these are the same ones that line the tables, and they contain partial maps of the ship alongside a detailed program of special events. It seems this was supposed to be a "Boarding Reception," but it's crossed out with a pen on each copy now. The delay has caused it to be completely skipped. Another hastily-written note clarifies that all other events will continue as planned, but that reception will take place at the grand banquet tonight instead, which is slated to start in about four hours. Everyone's invited, and the captain will be in attendance to tell his "riveting story of survival against all odds." Otherwise, there is a bewildering array of events and presentations planned, and the list of amenities and facilities is almost unbelievable. There are two libraries on board the Lithos, each about the size as one of the five ballrooms, in addition to two elaborate shopping centers, a casino, a massive pool, a theater able to sit hundreds, three gymnasiums, a number of restaurants, several commons areas that just seem to be open for no particular reason, and a gigantic multi-story observation deck ("Currently closed for renovations, sorry!").

If there's one thing that becomes apparent to you as you walk the halls, it's that "wasted space" wasn't even on the list of concerns when building this thing. The ceilings are all unnecessarily high, and the rooms expansive to the point of feeling eerily empty. There are hallways off the path you're taking that look completely unused. You have no doubt that this ship could easily hold ten times as many passengers - and probably even more than that - if it just weren't such a preposterous waste of open space. Perhaps the coach accommodations and maintenance facilities are more reasonable, but you can't be sure since your map only shows the first class sections.

Beyond that, the ship is a bit odd in a few other ways. The materials seem slightly out of the ordinary, with most of the surfaces made of solid bronze oak that is only occasionally painted or covered. Whole forests must have died for that. Speaking of uncovered, there are several steel pipes and ducts visible in most rooms, many of which are variegated with veins of rust, a rather unexpectedly poor state compared to most of the otherwise well-kept interior. In a few places here and there, especially in some of the outer corridors, you can see massive, arched stone bracketwork, holding up the curved form of the ship like a set of gigantic ribs. Stonework in a ship is odd to say the least, but then, Onlien floats too. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be any overarching logic in the way the rooms and halls are laid out, and nothing really seems to repeat itself. This is definitely a place you could get lost in, no doubt about it.

You four are in the front of the group headed to Deck Zeta, with a trickle of others behind you. It looks like Seamus O'Hara is lodging here as well, but nobody else you recognize. Things seem a little darker somehow on this deck, like the lights are more spaced out or perhaps just dimmer. The vents are larger and more visible than before, and you can feel the thrumming of the engines more distinctly here. You're not quite sure what's below you, as you've come to the edge of the map you've been given. After what feels like an uncomfortably long time, you abruptly come across your lodgings. The hallway suddenly widens to about a hundred and fifty feet wide, forming a square of polished stone emblazoned with the Dartmuth Sunburst symbol. A few benches and what look to be street lights lend the appearance of a city plaza or urban park. The edges of the quad are set with an uneven and confusing distribution of arcades and balconies, the facades of the numerous apartments that line the square on each side, three stories up.

With a little trial and error, you are each able to find your room. Which is more of a surprisingly spacious apartment really, containing six comfortable and well-furnished rooms, including a kitchen (empty of food - that's how they get you), and a washroom with running water. After unpacking and situating yourself, you still have a good three hours before any major events start.

[Lagren]

Evangeline smiles as she enters her rooms, clapping her hands lightly in a small gesture of appreciation.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Dartmuth have outdone themselves."

Then, one hand makes a curious gesture.

"Let's just make sure they haven't outdone themselves in other ways, shall we?"

Her manner as she proceeds deeper into the rooms is far tenser than required for a cruise.


Evangeline takes an hour and examines every inch of her apartments, taking 20 on Arcana, Perception, and Larceny. She activates one of her Unusual Monocles for this, which will last a [Scene] and grants her +4 Awareness. She will also use her Revelation Spell-like ability liberally to reveal anything or anyone invisible, ethereal, or incorporeal. If there's any rusted metal in her quarters, she makes sure to get rid of the rust- or the metal if possible. The more exotic methods Dartmuths have of surveillance are known to her, after all.

Evangeline likes her privacy.

[arskyer]

Karus walks into his apartment and drops his luggage on the ground, somewhat astonished. Phaestus wanders quickly through the rooms, before returning and floating in front of Karsus.

"How on Gabriel did you get the Order to spring for first-class?"

Karsus shakes his head, lost himself.

"I didn't. The agent in Bron did. Why, I couldn't tell you. Maybe he wanted me to keep an eye on someone?"

With a sigh, Karsus heads out the door, planning to spend some time getting acquainted with the labyrinthine corridors before attending the grand banquet.

[Greenish]

Having managed to avoid the eager bellhops and keep the hold of his own rugsack, Samael drops it on the bed, then takes a look around his cabin, letting out a low whistle at the fancy décor.

After the look-around, Samael drums his taloned fingers on the writing desk, staring at the room thoughtfully, then crouches and looks under the bed. Satisfied that nothing lurks there, he shrugs and heads out.

Just before opening the cabin door, he stops for a moment, then slaps his forehead and mutters a few hollow-sounding syllables before stepping out.

Demon Magic: See Invisibility for [Scene].
Keeping Tremorsense radar pinging each round, 40ft. radius.

[gkathellar]

Free of any luggage beyond a ratty leather messenger bag, Eleazar arrives at his apartment like a stranger, not even bothering to remove his coat as he quickly investigates the premises. After a few minutes he is satisfied, and, in the comfort and isolation of the washroom, shifts a small parcel from his bag to an inside pocket of his coat. He flushes the toilet pointlessly, and leans on the door as he runs the shower for a few minutes, letting out a vague sigh as he stands and thinks.

Then he steps out, leaves his messenger bag on the bed, and makes his way out of the apartment. He resolves to spend the next few hours drawing attention away from himself, but cannot help keeping an eye out for anyone he might know as he works his way over to one of the ship's libraries. There, he makes a space for himself with the published journals of a well-known and recently deceased biologist and awaits the Grand Banquet.

Eleazar is attempting to keep a generally low profile, and intends to see anyone he recognizes before they see him. Just in case it matters:
Stealth:[roll0] - Being inconspicuous.
Perception:[roll1] - Keeping his eyes open.

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline:
Nothing invisible pops out, and you are alone here as far as you can tell. Magical presences are minimal, just little appliances like the light fixtures, and of course the omnipresent residual energy from the engines. There are no scrying auras, and no wards.

You do find a fair bit of rust here and there, on vents and exposed pipes and such, but not on any of the actual furniture. They do look relatively new though, so maybe they haven't had the time to touch them up. Rather disturbingly, you find some on a few of the fixtures in the washroom. None of it reads as magical, but that's always been the devious part of it - it's just matter that reacts to magic.

You are able to destroy a lot of the rust, and dismantle and isolate a few more items, but some of the rusted fixtures are impossible to neutralize without some significant damage. Which would be rude, you suppose. You can cover, muffle, and stay away from them, but beyond that, you would have to do something more drastic.
Samael:
Your enhanced senses don't reveal anything you're not already aware of. No invisible entities or especially abnormal vibrations. Just the plodding of feet from the unpacking passengers and the steady thrum of the engines.

As for other senses, you have yet to encounter anything that has really stood out to you as your Purpose. And yet you're sure this is part of it, this trip. You have just felt a vague unease since you got within the general vicinity of the Lithos.

[Lagren]

Evangeline's Diary, Entry 1:

First day aboard the Lithos, First Entry

I came aboard the Lithos today for the first time after a long, unsettling delay in boarding. It would have been better if not for that shockingly pink lady.

Though Nikola - who I presume is the local Dartmuth head - assured everyone that things were fine, I'm still not convinced. There was some serious magical firepower involved to fix it; two mages and a Master.

And then there was the Black Dragon I bumped into while I was trying to get aboard to investigate the delay. He seems to know more than he's letting on; I have a feeling the problem might not have been mechanical at all. Or maybe it was a cover for something else. I'm going to need to find out more about this Nikola Dartmuth.

Also unusually, the observation deck of the ship has been closed off. Perhaps it's related somehow…

But despite my misgivings, so far things have gone rather well. Though the Dartmuths have naturally rusted great swaths of the ship to facilitate their particular gifts, no-one seems to have taken great notice of me, and the quarters are excellent. The ship is vast and intricate, and richly appointed everywhere I turn. Whoever built this must have had the specs of the engines up front. Either that or some engineer's eyes bugged out when he found out how huge a ship he was going to have to lift.

Now, dear diary, I'm afraid I have to go. I have an evacuation route to secure and information to gather, all before the grand banquet in two hours. Time is money, as always. The rest can keep for later.

[Lagren]

It was almost an hour before Evangeline emerged from her suite of rooms once again, diary under one arm.

"Alright, enough reading. It's time I had a look around this place."

Stepping quickly down the hallway, she finds a particular door, and knocks on it sharply.

"Hello, Engineer? I'm sorry I didn't catch your name, but I'd like to talk..."

I know that Elaezar isn't in the room, but just in case someone else wants to overhear Evangeline hailing him I figured I ought to pause here for a little bit.

[Claudius Maximus]

Eleazer's room is in the middle of a long arcade on the uppermost level of the Square, inconveniently placed almost as far as possible from any of the stairways up to this floor. The arcade up here is furnished with a few seats, lamps and ashtrays to facilitate its use as a sort of shared balcony, but nobody seems to be using it now. The only other person here is Seamus O'Hara, whose apartment appears to be right next to Eleazer's. He stands in front of his own room, humming softly to himself as he carefully places a small circle of clear film in the middle of the door. As he removes his fingers, the film spreads itself, moving outward and smoothing out until it is nearly invisible. He shortly produces another circle from his coat, intent on continuing his strange work.

When Evangeline knocks on Eleazer's door, O'Hara seems to snap into attention, backing off from his task and taking a short and somewhat worried look at his pocket watch. After a few seconds with no answer at the door, O'Hara looks to Evangeline and clears his throat a bit.

"I assume you're looking for the Black Dragon? I'm not so sure he wants to see you again so soon." He turns to the square below, where confused new boarders continue to file in now and then. He reaches for his pocket watch again, but quickly stops himself halfway. He sighs before continuing. "In any case, the man left the better part of an hour ago, and I have not seen him since."

Eleazar:
You don't really see anyone you recognize once you leave the square. According to the map, there's a library two decks up and a small distance horizontally from where you're lodged, so you set about looking for that. You find it after maybe 20 minutes of meandering hallways and dead ends. You suspect your engineering background is making it harder to get around here, since this ship seems to consistently defy layout principles you've come to take for granted.

You're not sure you're doing a great job of keeping yourself under the radar either. Every time you go off a busy path, you stand out as the only passenger in a huge, cavernous, echoing hallway. You find guards watching you pretty intently when this happens, if only because you're the only thing to look at. A few Black Dragons in particular seem to take note of you. You believe you recognize one or two from the platform, which means it's likely they recognize you as well, the guy who flashed a Black Dragon badge in the middle of an argument.

When you finally do get to the library, you find it predictably gigantic and well-stocked. There are dozens of academic journals and reference works, and it looks like one could some legitimate research here. You even encounter a few spellbooks, which dont seem to be under any particular restriction. You find yourself alone here so far, save for the archivist, an elderly halfling woman with a perpetual smile on her face. She politely asks you if you need help with anything whenever she sees you get up or look for a book.
Karsus:
As you roam the corridors of Deck Zeta, you come across a few of the other room complexes. It seems that most of the rooms here are bunched up, little groups in a big maze of hallways and service rooms. A few look like Stormrose Square, though the architecture is pretty distcint in each case, but most look more like traditional first class lodgings, which is to say, somewhat less cushy than what you have yourself. You encounter a lot of people in the immediate vicinity of these areas, and in the halls to and from them or the stairways to the upper decks, but the rest of the level tends to be pretty deserted. Some areas are completely empty. Others just have a solitary guard patrolling. These usually just give you the vaguest acknowledgement, and none of them ever try to stop you from going somewhere.

After wandering random halls for maybe fourty five minutes, you come across a huge spiral staircase of black iron that cuts directly through each deck, providing access to every level of the ship above yours. This is noteworthy, since this is the first staircase you've found that connects more than two adjacent decks, and perhaps more importantly because you do not find it anywhere on your map. At all. It would seem that even the partial map you've been given is only mostly correct.

The stairs also continue down, but only for a few feet before you encounter a huge, unmarked door of solid steel and stone. It seems this is an access for the lower levels of the Lithos.

[Lagren]

Evangeline shakes her head.

"Ah, wonderful. It's going to be interesting finding him in this massive maze of a ship. Did you see which way he went?"

She pauses for a moment, then suddenly, all in a rush;

"And what ARE you doing to your door?"


[roll0] Arcana to figure out what's with the door.
I'm not going to make a diplomacy roll, because Evangeline isn't really focusing on being charming at the moment. If she needs to she'll turn it on, but for now she's just genuinely irritated and curious.

[Claudius Maximus]

"Oh, this?" asks O'Hara, gesturing casually at the door. "It's nothing really."

"Well, not nothing, of course," he adds quickly. "It's just that I know a few of the arcane arts, you could say, so I figured I'd set up a little ward or two on my spare time. Privacy and the like. And you can never be too sure when it comes to safety, even on a nice ship like this."

"As for your, uh, friend," he says, pointing at one of the hallways connecting to the square, "he ambled off that way a while back. I've yet to memorize the map here, so I couldn't tell you what you'd find over there. Maybe he's off to talk to the engineers?" He shrugs. "I really don't know."

Evangeline:
O'Hara is telling the truth about the door, alright. A closer look with a well-trained eye reveals that there's a faint residue of magic on each of these circles. Each is marked by ephemeral silvery afterimages of magical glyphs, sometimes a dozen or more, all printed on top of one another. You realize that these are some sort of versatile, reusable arcane rune templates. Which is... actually a pretty amazing idea. You've never heard of something like this actually existing and working, so you're probably looking at one of the Arcanametric Society's newer developments.

It's hard to tell exactly what he's making here, since he hasn't put any actual power into the templates yet. But judging by their number, arrangement, and potential, you'd say that "a little ward or two" is the biggest understatement you've heard since "a bit larger than most ships." Based on where you think he's going with these, you'd say that most look poised to strengthen the door or muffle divinatory effects. But more than one set is arranged offensively. You suspect anyone trying to break down this door is in for a few very nasty surprises.

[Lagren]

As soon as the word "ward" is spoken, Evangeline's eyes light up with technical glee, and she edges a sidelong glance at the door again.

"Interesting. So you store them on these thin film sheets? I hadn't heard of anything like that before. Good design, portable. I wouldn't mind a few of those to keep my diary safe- I assume they work on all mediums?"

She smiles, looking directly at the door now.

"Even with as minor effects as these, just the method of transportation is something revolutionary. If you wanted to sell these I could defintely find you interested people."


[roll0] Diplomacy Roll against O'hara. No demand yet.

[Claudius Maximus]

O'Hara raises an eyebrow, pauses a moment, and then gives you a sort of shrewd squint. He speaks in a low, controlled voice.

"Sharp. Very sharp."

He turns to the door rather slowly, clearing his throat a bit, and indicates the templates again. "But I'm afraid these won't be for sale any time soon. Not until we work everything out. Uh, production's the big one, they tell me. These are very intricate and very specific tools. Quite tricky to work with, on both ends."

"Now, when the time comes for distribution, your people can put in a bid for full or partial rights, as usual, but I don't have a hand in such matters personally."

Karsus:
You're about to continue your exploration of the stairwell when you're interrupted by a shrill voice.

"There! He reeks and reeks, I told you!"

It's enthusiastic and loud, and vaguely male. And behind you. A quick glance, and you see a tall, broadly build man standing in the hallway directly behind you. He is dressed in a standard red uniform of a Dartmuth house guard, but it seems way too tight on his massive frame, and he carries a positively ancient-looking wood and bone spear on his back, the sort of thing you'd expect to see in some jungle on a distant plate. His blonde hair is long and unkept, curling wildly around his grinning face. But his eyes, that's what stands out to you, other than his sheer size. They're large and wide-set, with golden irises that fill almost their entire visible surface. They gleam in the low light. His shadow falls long and dark towards you, and feels almost... heavy to your unique senses on such things.

For a moment, the stranger just stands there, maybe five feet beyond the range of your Knowing. Even without him entering its confines, you're surprised that you werent aware of him. Letting people sneak up on you is the sort of thing that gets officers killed.

"He found us! Hahaha, I'm sorry!" It's that voice again, alright, but the man's mouth doesn't move at all. He's just staring at you, and maybe breathing a bit heavily.

"Oh, look at him gawk! Can he see me?"
"No." He speaks at last. "But he could."
"He can see then?" The reply comes very quickly, practically cutting the man off.
"He can." Just as fast, but spoken softly.
"Can you see him?"
"Yes."
"Is he the Seer?"
"He is not."
"But he can see?"
"He can."
"What is he then, if not the Seer?"
"He is..." finally a moment of hesitation, "the Tall Grass."
The other, apparently disembodied voice immediately breaks into very loud, almost shrieking laughter for several seconds. "Tall Grass! All alone! Let's-"
"Let us not." Quite a bit more forceful than before.
"Oh, but whyyyy?" whines the other voice.
"It is a subtle smell," says the stranger, looking a bit into the distance. "and not his own."
The other voice responds with little more than a soft hiss.
"Tall Grass," says the stranger, looking directly at you again, "do you know the story of the Tall Grass? It is a short story, but a very old one. Very old."

Samael:
The crew seems like a generally polite sort, but they seem to be somewhat uncomfortable around you. With some, it's almost like they're ignoring you, until you go as far as addressing them or something. At which point it's back to politeness.

There were a lot of bellhops and porters and such moving through the square when the boarding was in full swing, but they seemed to have their hands full with their duties and weren't much for conversation. The guards seem a bit more hospitable in general, probably due to having to stand around in some boring empty place for so long. But even they have a bit of a reaction to you.

The square is watched by a handful of such guards, mostly Dartmuth types here, with the Black Dragons only doing occasional patrols. One poor young Dartmuth guard stands near the middle of the courtyard, accosted by a mixed mob children set free to roam by their parents. They prod him, ask strage questions about the Dartmuths and the Lithos, and run about the area playing various little games. When you approach, all eyes naturally turn to you, wonder in the children's and some anxiety in those of the guard forced to supervise them.

"Wooow," gasps a young boy. "Are you a d-deva, mister?"
"No way," replies a somewhat older boy, rather dismissively, "they wouldn't work for mister Dartmuth. Papa says they're nasty old bad guys." The guard seems a bit discouraged at this.
"Yeah right!" says a third boy, a young elf, "I heard mister Augustus Dartmuth is the powerfulest wizard in the whole wide world. Everyone works for him."
"Yeah, duh. And there's all manner of curious things aboard. Why, I saw a man with two voices!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!"
"That's impossible."
"Says who?"
Before their little argument can continue, they're interrupted by a young human girl running up with something nestled in her hands.
"Look! Look! she shouts, "I found a bird's nest up on top the thingy! It's got a rock in it!" she adds, pointing to a small, white egg-shaped object.
"Oh, come on, that's just an egg."
"Nuh-uh. It won't break or anything, look."
She turns the nest upside down, and sure enough, the egg just falls to the ground with a light clack.
Rolls (OO)
[roll0]

[Greenish]

Coming closer to the group of youngsters, Samael tilts his head. "An egg that is a rock. Most curious find, miss. May I have a look?"

[arskyer]

[-Spoilered, on the basis that it's better to be safe than sorry. Claudius, do you want this kind of stuff posted openly, or spoilered? -]
When the unexpected voice breaks the silence of the Lithos' bowels, Karsus instantly snaps to alertness, turning to face the voice. His brow crinkles with puzzlement, and he remains silent as the pair (Are they humanoids? perhaps the voice is a shadowy mote?) continue their musings.

When the disembodied voice begins it's proposal of what they should do to him, and is interrupted by the man, Karsus shifts his stance to a ready position and glances about himself, wary of danger. When the guard (if it is a guard) addresses him as the "Tall Grass" (whatever that means), Karsus acts.

Stepping forward until the man is brought within the influence of his Knowing, Karsus subtly brings up the radiance from within himself, looking to see if it would reveal the first voice or do anything to that queer shadow cast by the guard.

"Sir, you call me by a name I do not know. In fitting parallel, I do not know who you are. Have you a name? and the other voice, has it a name?"

While he engages the duo with words, he works his will on the shadows, crafting a surprise for the pair should they prove an adversary.

Crunch Actions
Karsus will take a 5' step to bring the man within his Knowing, while using a free action to bring up the luminance from A Light Against Shadow to look for the stated effects. His swift action is spent creating a grotesque-looking proxie with The Sun Grows Dim (which he keeps behind himself), while he makes a Diplomacy check against the guard. If I gain a token I use it to make the demand, "Tell me who you and the other voice are."

[roll0]

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods cordially.

"A shame, but understandable. I can't imagine these being simple to produce."

She pulls out a card from her bag once again.

"Here's my card; remember the Consortium when the rights come up, will you? An exclusive deal could benefit us both greatly."

She smiles again, perhaps a bit too pointedly.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Black Dragon to find."

[roll0] Intimidate - "I know you know I know" about these templates and that you probably don't want other people to know exactly what sort of wards you have up. Remember me, will you? (No expenditure of tokens yet.)

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline:
O'Hara takes the card with a gracious nod.

"I'll be sure to keep you in mind," he says, as he tucks it into a pocket in his jacket.

He gives a polite wave as you take your leave of him. "It was a pleasure meeting you madam."

You can see him sigh and almost immediately go back to working on the wards. He actually seems to be working faster now, as if making up for lost time.

On your way down the labyrinthine stair system that is the square's arcade, you catch sight of that interesting winged man in the courtyard. He's standing in the middle of a group of children of mixed races, probably just whoever's been set loose by the more laissez-faire parents. A little human girl places something pretty small on the floor and backs up, and the man moves over and picks it up, inspecting it. A Dartmuth guard watches the proceedings, looking pretty wary of him. The kids seem to love him though.
Karsus:
Your radiance banishes all the shadows around you, but it looks like the stranger's sort of... flows to the proper place, rather than shifting instantly. It's extremely fast, but it's a perceptible move. The new light illuminates the man much better now, but you still see no sign of a source for the other voice. If it's here at all, then it's either invisible or extraordinarily well-hidden.

The man doesn't seem to react much to your asking their names, nor even to the light. He keeps the same toothy grin as before as you approach him. The other voice is silent for now. After approaching a few feet, you feel somewhat disoriented. You feel heavier, slower somehow, but just a little. Another step beings him within the limits of your Knowing, an invisible little circle you've become-

It's like nails scraping a chalkboard in your soul. It's a thousand times worse than that. Your vision blurs as you double over in pain. Your muscles are locked up. It's hard to even think. You feel nothing of morality from him - this agony is all you can pick up on.

"Ahahahaha!" the way this laughter bursts out, you can only assume the voice was expecting this. Waiting for it, even. "Not good enough, huh? What's wrong?"

The man shuts the voice up by clearing his throat, before leaning in slightly. He doesn't move from his spot though, so it hardly achieves much to make him easier to hear. He speaks quickly and calmly, grinning as you continue to struggle:

"There was a single shoot of grass that was taller and greener than any other in the meadow, reaching for the sun like so many of his brothers. He was very proud of himself! Who else is so tall, so fine? Who else bathes in such light? But the vibrancy of the Tall Grass caught the eye of one who was very hungry, and he came to the field with a scythe, cutting all the grasses at the base. And as the Tall Grass lay sideways on the ground, he realized he was no taller than any of his brothers any more."
"Tall Grass! It's pathetic! Oh, let's let's let's"
"Let us go," says the stranger, looking somewhat satisfied now that he's told that weird little story, "for we are needed elsewhere." At this point, the pain has been subsiding for a while. But it is still very intense.
"Awwww..."
The man bows his head slightly in a vague gesture of farewell. "We will not forget you, Tall Grass," he says, as he begins to turn away.

Your recovery has only been accelerating, and you're able to shake off some of this disorientation. You may act meaningfully now.
Samael:
As you get closer, the guard visibly stands straighter, trying to look more attentive and imposing. His back cracks as he straightens up out of his usual slouch, and he puts his hand near his hip, where you can see he has a truncheon. The kids, on the other hand, are clearly pretty excited, except for the young girl, who seems to back up a bit, looking at you with wide eyes.

Samael tilts his head. "An egg that is a rock. Most curious find, miss. May I have a look?"

The girl looks down at it shyly, fiddling with her hands as she very obviously makes a show of considering.

"Oh, is it magic?" asks the oldest boy. "I knew it was something like that."
"You said it was just an egg!"
"Well a magic egg, duh."

After a little while the girl looks up at you, bends over, picks the object up with both hands, looks at your talons a moment, and puts it back down before backing up a few steps. "Uh, go ahead mister," she says, sheepishly.

Once it's in your hands, you can get a closer look at the object. It's off-white, and hard and smooth, but not especially shiny. It's lighter than any rock you know of that wouldn't be obviously more porous than this, but somewhat heavier than a usual egg this size. In any case, it doesn't seem damaged by the fall it just took. You don't detect a spirit in it with your judgement, but that was a long shot anyway. Nothing special on the Purpose front either.

Now that you think of it though, you've actually never seen any birds on the Lithos.
(This is what anyone with your senses can just determine. Any additional information you might want to look for would probably call for some relevant rolls).

As for judgement, the kids all fall within a reasonable spectrum of humanoid youth readings. They can be pretty unpredictible at this age, and nasty kids can grow up to be decent adults much more often than nasty adults turn over a new leaf. Regardless, these kids just have the usual childish sense of wonder and mischief, along with a heavy dose of self-centeredness. But that's typical in kids.

On the other hand, the guard is almost as self-centered himself, and he's got less of an excuse at his age. He's a lazy sort too, and you get the feeling he barely cares about the people he's guarding at all. He'd probably feel bad if one of the kids got hurt or something, but he's probably more concerned with the trouble it'd bring on him than with their own well-being.

You know what? A lot of the Dartmuth guards have been less-than-stellar people. You'd actually say it's a small trend at this point.
Rolls (OO):[roll0]
[roll1]

[Greenish]

"Thank you, miss." Samael bows to the girl before picking up the egg. After examining it for a while, he addresses the gaggle of children. "Have any of you young ladies or gentlemen seen any birds aboard this fine ship?"

Nodding an acknowledgment to their answers, he sweeps another bow for the girl who found the egg. "I would be most interested in buying this… rock, young miss."

[roll0] if necessary.

[Lagren]

[roll0] Perception as Evangeline passes by. While she's somewhat interested, this is hardly one of her priorities right now. If there's something particularly unusual, she might stop, but for now she's focused on finding Elazear.

[arskyer]

Claudius Maximus"No." The word reverberates through the area. Karsus pulls himself upright, eyes downcast, wincing from the remnants of the cramps and... pain that had overwhelmed him. The light emanating from his person dims.

He looks up. The shadows appear to loom behind him, and a misshapen figure is revealed that cloaks his features in an ever-darker gloom. Suddenly, all out of countenance with the last few seconds, he laughs.

"You think you know me! Ah! Tall Grass!" He leans over, resting his hands on his knees to support himself as he laughs.

After a moment he straightens; the mirth fallen from his face, replaced by a grim look with flashing eyes. "You fret upon me, but have yet to learn my stops."


Intimidation against the guard. If I gain a token, I hold on to it.
15 ranks, +2 from human, +3 TSGD, +2 improvisation
[roll0]

[gkathellar]

After a while, Eleazar puts down the journal he's reading and replaces it on the shelf without troubling the library staff. He begins gathering an armful, and then a second armful, of books on airship engineering and engines. Whatever texts he finds on the history or nature of the Lithos itself, he likewise collects. After some time spent scanning the shelves, he settles in a more secluded portion of the library and begins to navigate his newly acquired stack of texts by index.

Eleazar makes a concentrated search for any and all references to engine sounds — especially to unusual engine sounds like the one made by the Lithos earlier — and what they may indicate. After he's made his way through the first stack of books, he begins to scan those about the Lithos, looking for not only structural answers but also to whatever history of the ship he can find.

At least one knowledge check.

History: [roll0] — What sort of problems has the Lithos had in the past?

I've made rolls related to this subject previously, so I'm not sure whether it is or is not appropriate for me to make ones for "research time." If it is, here they are.

Arcana: [roll1] — What kind of magical effects produce sounds as were previously heard?
Engineering: [roll2] — Why would engines like this make such unusual sounds?

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline:
The man seems to be examining the object and discussing it with the kids. You can't really make out what the object is, or what anyone's saying. As you pass by on your way to the hallway O'Hara pointed out, you can see him bow to the little girl he recieved it from.

Trying to find Eleazer will probably be some kind of Geography check, or Nature if you want to try to literally track him (though that would be extremely hard in this environment). Other skills may also help, as would any reasonably correct guesses as to where he would be most likely to go.

Legend seems to lack a true Gather Information-type skill, but we can approximate the process with Perception to find a person who actually has seen Eleazer and a social check to talk to them.
Samael:

"Thank you, miss." Samael bows to the girl before picking up the egg. After examining it for a while, he addresses the gaggle of children. "Have any of you young ladies or gentlemen seen any birds aboard this fine ship?"

"Uh-uh," says the young girl, shaking her head vigorously. "There was no mama or papa birdies."
"I haven't seen any birds or anything. I don't think there are animals living here."
"Yeah, my brother said it was nice not having rats and roaches and stuff. He kept looking in the corners for them. He hates them!"


Nodding an acknowledgment to their answers, he sweeps another bow for the girl who found the egg. "I would be most interested in buying this… rock, young miss."

"Oh, you can have it, mister," she says.
"What?!" cries the oldest boy. "Don't give it away for free, it's magic!"
"Yeah, make him pay you for it," says the other boy, before turning to you. "A hundred marks, take it or leave it," he says, folding his arms as if he considers the matter of price settled.

A hundred marks is the kind of money that sounds like a lot to child, but is really nothing spectacular. You have tens of thousands, personally, and once had access to much more than that. You could certainly buy this right now if you wanted.

While you are dealing with the children, you happen to see that woman who almost talked her way onto the ship walk by. Evangeline, you think it was.

[Lagren]

Evangeline stops short at the far end of the square as she comes to the twisting hallway out, and pulls out a map from her pack.

"More haste, less speed..."

With those muttered words, she starts to pore over the map in her hands, charting a half-dozen different courses across the ship.


[roll0] Geography to try and find her way to Elazear. She's particularly looking for:
- Anywhere with information on the Lithos itself that might be available to the public. Libraries first, then common rooms, because reading things is less noticeable than talking to people.
- The Observation deck, where Elazear might investigate if he's suspicious. Less likely than a library, because Elazear doesn't seem the type to go to restricted areas.
- The engine room. Down even further on the list for the same reason, plus it doesn't even seem to be on the map, so it'll be hard to find.
[roll1] Perception
And of course Evangeline is listening out of one ear, just in case. If once again nothing particularly intriguing is overheard, she'll set off to the closest library/common room.

[Greenish]

CM:
"A hundred marks?" Samael raises an eyebrow. "If you were a reputed thauma-ornithologist, I might pay you that much for a certified magic egg." Smiling, he adds, "but you're not, nor are you the owner of this rock that may or may not be a magical egg. That honour falls to the young miss".

Turning back to the girl, Samael digs the pockets of his coat, then pulls out a shiny ten mark coin. "I'm most flattered that you would give it to me, but I insist on paying. Here, you've deserved it." He holds the coin to the girl.

[Claudius Maximus]

Eleazer:
The archivist still seems eager to help you, asking a few times before backing off with a somewhat disappointed look. You suspect she's just bored of whatever tedious accounting she's doing - you can see her fidgeting a lot, stretching and cracking her wrists.

Searching the library, you find that detailed schematics and up-to-date engineering logs are awfully hard to find here, and you eventually conclude that they're deliberately excluded, probably in an attempt to prevent sabotage. On the other hand, you find a whole section dedicated to the Lithos and its history, including a diverse array of newspapers and journals discussing it at various points in time, everything from promotional pamphlets and disaster headlines to scholarly articles about the analysis of some of the old, decommissioned engines. You're able to find a great deal about the history of the Lithos with these.

The HRMS Lithos is almost five hundred years old, having been built relatively early on in the development of inter-constellatory ships. Dartmuth observed its competitors, waited to be sure of the technologies, and then poured a huge sum of money into outdoing everyone spectacularly. The result is something only slightly less than what you see today, as advancements were incorporated over the centuries. But the Lithos is considered a groundbreaking ship, and has never been matched for sheer scale.

As for mechanical problems, practically every one imaginable has happened over the course of the ship's long lifetime. Navigational systems have failed, shields have dropped, air supplies have been mismanaged, and false-gravity and inertial fields have gone haywire. There have been a number of collisions, but never a full crash. There have even been mutinies and riots, and on one occasion, a whole war broke out from negotiations held on board. Generally, Dartmuth is pretty good at figuring out what went wrong and doing what they can to make it a one-time occurance.

As for the engines in particular, it looks like there have been four engines over the years, with one being replaced when the other starts to wear out, or if it becomes too obsolete to be competitive. Often, these are the same time, as the engines are often among the fastest or most powerful in Hallow at the time of their installation, only falling back to "average" decades later. The newest engines are only eight years old, and apparently their workings are considered a trade secret, which probably explains some of the difficulty in finding information about them.

Fortunately for the passengers, none of the engines have ever failed completely, and the Lithos as never "fallen" or lost power. But otherwise, they have broken down in a number of ways, and the ship has had to land with half power or less. About a hundred years ago, one irradiated the entire ship and had to be replaced immediately, and that was about the worst accident in the ship's history. You find plenty about odd sounds, most of which portended failure, but none of which sound like what you heard out there. They're mostly the sort of thing you'd expect from common engine issues, and you can find a decent explanation for each of them in the engineering texts you've collected.

So this prompts the question: what can make that kind of sound? It has to be something supernatural, because technically mundane sound just doesn't do that. And yet it penetrated the shielding, which as far as you can tell is extraordinarily powerful, such that it blocks the detection of the engines themselves. And if these numbers they tout in the papers are right, the new engines are about four times stronger than the last ones, which were still first in the known world when they were decomissioned. What do they even need such power for?

You rack your brain for a while here trying to think of anything at all that could do this and get it through what you're fairly certain is a shield designed to block everything but the more harmless kinds of light. You suppose it could be done if it just kind of went... around the shield, like how the angels' ontogenesis fields just sort of dictate reality in a given radius, but you know of no mortal magic able to accomplish something like that. So it can't be that, not unless Dartmuth is ages ahead of known magitech progress, built a god-machine straight from science fiction, and hid it on board a public passenger liner.

...

It occurs to you that that's exactly the sort of thing Dartmuth would do. And other than the sheer implausibility of a functional ontogenesis engine, this would actually explain everything cleanly. A field could be generated, and you suppose a null sound of sorts could be part of it. Practically anything could, really. In any case, it would have completely ignored the barrier, and it would have done very little in the presence of Gabriel's presumably vastly more powerful laws. And it would require so much energy...

Or maybe it's something else. Hopefully? You just wouldn't even know where to begin figuring out what it could be. An energy-specific workaround with the shield would also be much more sophisticated than you would have expected, though it would be less insane than an ontogenesis engine. And you still wouldn't know where the sound came from.

As you continue to ponder this issue, the otherwise constant thrum of the engines suddenly peaks in pitch. Several of the lights flicker as you feel a sudden acceleration that quickly dissipates into the tingly feeling of fresh inertial dampeners. You've felt this all before - it's a high-acceleration launch. They're not wasting any time here. The archivist looks pleased that things are finally moving, and returns to her accounts.

I'm okay with allowing one of each reroll (with a +1 bonus!) now that you've found a humongous source of reasonably good information on the subjects. However, this is all you can really glean from the library until you level up, though you don't know that in-character and can continue to spend time here if that sounds like something Eleazer would do.

Just...

Just don't make me write another of these for a while :smalltongue:
Evangeline:
As you pore over the rather confusing map, you're able to locate both of the big libraries and what looks to be a reasonably good route to the Observation Deck. One of the libraries is pretty close, just two decks up and a bit starboard, but you're not sure about the route there, which appears to involve a weaving trip to and from different decks. The further library looks a little easier to get to, since it's only one deck below the Observation Deck, which you think you know how to reach, but it's much further away. You can't seem to find any indication of where to find access to the engines.

Meanwhile, you're able to surreptitiously observe a good chunk of the conversation with the kids from here:


"A hundred marks?" Samael raises an eyebrow. "If you were a reputed thauma-ornithologist, I might pay you that much for a certified magic egg." Smiling, he adds, "but you're not, nor are you the owner of this rock that may or may not be a magical egg. That honour falls to the young miss".

Turning to a nearby girl, Samael digs the pockets of his coat, then pulls out a shiny ten mark coin. "I'm most flattered that you would give it to me, but I insist on paying. Here, you've deserved it." He holds the coin to the girl.

The girl eyes the coin with wonder, letting out a low sort of gasp. After a moment she suddenly grabs it with an enthusiatic "Okay!" She then backs off a bit to give him room to pick it up. You'd guess she doesn't trust him not to whack her with those big wings when he bends over.

"Aww, come on," scoffs an older, human boy, "he's practicaly stealing it for that!"

Another, elven boy nods sagely in agreement. "This is what happens when you ignore my advice. You'd make an awful merchant, you know. My daddy would fire you."

Suddenly, the otherwise constant thrum of the engines peaks in pitch. Several of the lights flicker as you feel a sudden acceleration that quickly dissipates into the tingly feeling of a fresh inertial dampener field. It's disorienting at first, and you can see a few people leaning a bit in resistance to a force they find suddenly absent, but everything returns to normal in a few seconds. The Lithos has launched.

Marks are one of the more widespread currencies in the Gabriel area. A hundred isn't exactly a trivial amount for most people, but a typical skilled worker could save it up in a few weeks. Which means it's an absolute pittance for you.

Anybody not in absolute destitution can probably spare ten.
Karsus:
The man does not seem to move or flinch at your transformation, but you can swear his ridiculous grin fades a little, and his face takes on a somehow more serious cast. The other voice comes first, however, ringing out in raucous laughter.

"Ahahahahaha, how futile! It's charming!"
"Courage," says the man, in a much more measured tone. "An impressive display."
"Oh, is it?" asks the voice, almost sarcastically. "Well reach away then! But it'll never be good enough, will it now?"

The man breathes in deep once, before speaking somewhat louder and firmly than before. "We do not fear you, Tall Grass. Trapped in a tiny bubble, you know nothing of darkness or stillness or time,"
"Or blood!"
"Of Words and Song,"
"Flesh and death!"
"And bone. Do not test us," he adds, "for you are one, and we are many."
"Many in many!"
The man pauses for a bit, as if to consider something. After the slightest moment, he speaks again. "And we leave."

The man turns around completely, and starts to walk away from you. His steps look heavy and plodding and deliberate, but make only the faintest sound.

At about the same time, the otherwise constant thrum of the engines suddenly peaks in pitch. Several of the lights flicker as you feel a sudden acceleration that quickly dissipates into the tingly feeling of a fresh inertial dampener field. It's disorienting at first, but everything returns to normal in a few seconds. It feels like the Lithos has launched.
Samael:
The girl eyes the coin with wonder, letting out a low sort of gasp. After a moment she suddenly grabs it with an enthusiatic "Okay!" She then backs off a bit to give you room to pick it up. You'd guess she doesn't trust you not to whack her with those big wings when you bend over.

"Aww, come on," scoffs the eldest boy, "he's practicaly stealing it for that!"

The other boy nods sagely in agreement. "This is what happens when you ignore my advice. You'd make an awful merchant, you know. My daddy would fire you."

Suddenly, the otherwise constant thrum of the engines peaks in pitch. Several of the lights flicker as you feel a sudden acceleration that quickly dissipates into the tingly feeling of a fresh inertial dampener field. It's disorienting at first, and you can see a few people leaning a bit in resistance to a force they find suddenly absent, but everything returns to normal in a few seconds. The Lithos has launched.
Rolls (OO)[roll0]

[gkathellar]

"Holy f***," Eleazar finally mutters, too stunned to move. He sits there, slumped and blank faced and staring at the ceiling, telekinetically rearranging the books laid out in front of him with vague, absent-minded gestures of his left hand, until he has three neat stacks laid out in front of him. When he finishes that, his arm drops and he continues staring at the ceiling. "I swear to Gabriel, Raelly, this is the last time I do anything for you."

That text dump was seriously amazing. Thank you, and I'll hold off on the massive, broadly encompassing Knowledge checks for a while.

Figure I'll sit around and wait for now. If anyone's still looking for me, they might as well hear that last comment.

[arskyer]

CM
Do they think to frighten me? I've been fearful before, but not of late and not now.

Shaking his head, Karsus is about to speak when the Lithos lurches, beginning the trip to it's destination. Is there a connection? He changes tack, and calls out to the retreating guard.

"You speak of knowledge and numbers, thinking it shows only your strength. But you show your impotence, for you know naught of me or mine. Go your way, but ware lest you give cause for me to pursue you. For I shall watch for you, and your manys, and I shall stand in your path should you cross me. Go, and fear the bright."

Crunch
Using improvisation.
Move action to identify magical effects with Arcana (in particular, is the guard possessed?)[roll0]
And again, Intimidation [ROLL]1d20+22[ROLL]

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods to herself, and sets off down the hallway, keeping her map close to hand.


Evangeline is going to pass by the Observation Deck on her way to the second library; perhaps stop and ask for directions once she's there.

[Greenish]

CM
The ship's lurch forces Samael to beat his wings to keep his balance. "Well, now we're moving. By your leave." Samael nods goodbye to the kids, pockets the curious egg, and makes his way unhurriedly after the smooth-talking lady.

[Claudius Maximus]

Eleazer:
A bit more attentive than before, the archivist seems to take note of your reaction. She looks up from her logs with a raised eyebrow, and sheepishly begins to speak. "Is... everything alright, sir?"
Evangeline:
You make your way through the snaking passages of the Lithos, following the path you fixed based on what you could find on the map. It looks like most of the hallways down here are pretty deserted, as most people have either filed into their rooms or already set out for some activity on another deck. You do see a Dartmuth guard or two now and then, but they don't really seem to acknowledge you much.

Not long into your trip, you can't help but notice that you're not alone after all. That winged man is walking casually behind you, at an average distance of maybe 40 feet. If he isn't following you, he at least seems to be going by the very same route you're taking.
Karsus:
The guard continues to plod off in silence, but the other voice continues to laugh for a while, fading rather quickly as the man turns a corner. For a moment or ten, there's nothing but silence, but then a soft susurration is audible, a gentle sound that seems to flow in the man's wake. It's like the distant scrape of grain in the wind, or perhaps falling before the scythe. It persists for a couple of seconds before it, too, fades to silence. As far as you can tell, you're alone now.

You're not sure what kind of magic he (they?) was using, but it was definitely something simultaneously powerful and subtle. Overwhelming or escaping a paladin's Judgement is no small feat, and there are probably thousands of very powerful and very crooked people who would kill for that particular ability. You're not even aware of a method beyond escaping the paladin's notice in the first place, or simply not having a comprehensible mortal will.

You have no idea what exactly struck you with such pain, or how it worked, and you're not familiar with whatever power made you feel so sluggish and heavy. And that shadow, which seemed to have more substance to it than strictly natural - well, you're familiar with a lot of magic that can manipulate such things, but you're not sure which this is or how it works.

Perhaps most mystifying is the voice. You have no idea if this is a possession case, or if it's a separate, well-hidden entity. If it's physically present, then it has escaped all your senses, even the ones you have come to think of as nearly infallible.
Samael:
Following a short moment of excitement about the ship's launch, the kids all give disappointed farewells as you leave. "Take care of it!" calls the little girl. Through the whole proceeding the Dartmuth guard seemed to remain fairly quiet, simply shifting uncomfortably at the exchange between you and the kids. Nevertheless, he doesn't look very relieved to see you go. Last you looked, he was still watching you intently.

You can see the lady set off down the hallway out of the square, in the opposite direction from where you all came in. As you follow her, she makes a few deliberate turns here and there, as if she had a planned route. You've been down this way in your wanderings, and you're pretty sure it leads to a staircase to the upper decks. You recognize a few of the guards on the way, and they react about the same way as before, namely that they barely acknowledge you. Or the woman you're following.

Since Evangeline can notice you, I'm stopping here in case Lagren wants to have her to respond to this whole following situation. You're not off this level yet.
Rolls (OO)[roll0]

[gkathellar]

The librarian's voice draws Eleazar out of his reverie, albeit slowly, and he rights and collects himself. "Yeah, sure, thanks," he says brusquely, trying to pretend his composure hasn't already vanished, and takes another glance at the books piled in front of him before pacing quickly out of the library.

Thinking to make a second stop at his apartment, he looks down at his hands or feet, or at the ceiling, or through windows as he moves, his body just as nervous as his thoughts. So nervous, actually, that he doesn't even float unconsciously. Barely any of his attention is spared for the path directly in front of him or even navigation, just barely avoiding a collision a few times, as he follows the barely-remembered path back to Stormrose Square.

[arskyer]

CMAs the eerie sound fades, Karsus lets his light fade to nothing, steps to the shadows, and crouches - watching to see if Goldeneyes and the Shadow Mote (as he's labeled the pair) return.

After a time he shakes his head, stands, and heads for the stairwell. Although he is more alert than normal at first, after padding through vast passageway after ornate rooms, his thoughts collapse into contemplation of his encounter. He pays his surroundings only enough attention to follow the right turns back to his quarters, and that barely.

CM and gkathellarAs he walks, Karsus unconsciously quickens his pace, striding swiftly through the bowels of the Lithos. Various ideas run through his head, different avenues of approach he might use in the future. Scarcely aware of his surroundings, he exits a branch of one of the hallways and walks right into a tall, thickly-dressed man, colliding heavily.

Stumbling, he catches his balance and reaches out to support the other if needed. A self-effacing smile accompanies a few words.

"Whoa. Sorry about that, I didn't notice you. Did I do any harm?"

[Lagren]

Greenish, CM:
Evangeline's pace slows as she begins to fish in her bag for something; then, apparently not finding it, she slows to a stop, juggling a few larger items between her hands as she tries to get a good look into her bag for whatever it is she's lost.

[roll0] Bluff to fake having lost something.
[roll1] Larceny to extract a Gloss Armor capsule from her bag, concealing it between a pair of other items (her journal and a makeup kit).

[Greenish]

Lagren, CM.

As Evangeline pauses, Samael pauses too, spreading his wings to lean on the wall, and digs up a pipe he starts filling.

[gkathellar]

arskyer + CM
The collision knocks Eleazar's thinner frame back a few steps farther than it does Karsus. As he stumbles, the Black Dragon's expression goes cold for a moment, his posture tense. In the time it takes him to get a clear look at the other man, his instincts guide him into a slight crouch and the Edge of Thought's blade of transparent distortion flickers into being in his hand. He barely hears the quick apology offered to him, a shout next to a waterfall of nervous reflex.

It takes him a half-second to remember where he is and for the blade to disappear, a moment quick and close enough that only the powerfully built man in front of him has a clear view of it. "Not yet," he mutters with a kind of relief, regaining his bearings. Still, Eleazar's hackles are raised, and it takes him another moment of sizing Karsus up and checking his own pockets routinely for them to lower, his wariness fading slightly.

"Sorry about that," he says uncomfortably, not liking the taste of the words in his mouth. "Old habits. I'm not looking for any trouble."

[Lagren]

Samael, CM:

Evangeline sighs, stuffing her items back into her satchel and muttering something under her breath. Then she continues on walking down the halls towards her destination.

Samael:

A sickly-sweet voice slides into Samael's ear as if a woman were standing directly behind him, leaning over his shoulder.
"Did you know that you're really rather terrible at following people?"


CM:

Evangeline spends a swift to give Samael a temporary Moniker.
(It works out more or less as "the white-winged man who's following me.")
Then she uses Heed My Words to speak directly in his ear.
[roll0] versus Samael.

[Greenish]

CM, Evangeline:
Puffing his pipe, Samael sets after Evangeline as she continues to move. When he hears voices, he laughs and replies out loud. "Really? I thought I was doing pretty well."

[Lagren]

Samael, CM:

The voice seems a bit warmer now, a trace of amusement leaking through.
"And there you go again, talking out loud when I went to the effort of whispering in your ear! Why are you following me, anyway?"



[roll0] Diplomacy.
Eva spends a single token on the demand "Tell me why you're following me."

Also, Eva's restricted to two sentences per post if she wants to keep walking while she talks. It takes some concentration to whisper in someone's ear from across the room!

[Greenish]

CM, Evangeline:
Samael shrugs and replies out loud. "You seemed to know where you're going. Me, I've no idea what one is supposed to do on a posh ship like this, figured I'd follow you. A bloke I once knew called it the 'holistic method'." Reaching to his coat pocket, Samael produces a pouch of tobacco. "Smoke?"

CM, Lagren (OOC):
Samael concedes to Evangeline's request. Also, Evangeline needs her own counter-check.


[roll0] to counter Evangeline's check.

[roll1] to initiate one myself.

[Claudius Maximus]

Samael, Evangeline:
((A record of the conversation held through chat))

2
Evangeline waves the offered pouch aside. "I don't smoke."

Samael nods. "A filthy habit."

Evangeline then performs a set of rather curious actions. She first looks all around in a deliberate manner, scrutinzing details, then mutters something faintly under her breath.

Samael puffs his pipe contentedly. "Beg your pardon?"

"Just a small charm. A moment..."

"Gifted in spells, as well as in speech, are you?"

"Why, thank you. I know some few things, yes. You pick up a few things when you work with arcane artifacts for a living."

Samael nods. "So one imagines."

Evangeline nods as well. "Here's one of them."

Samael raises his brows. "An arcane artifact?"

"No, a small piece of knowledge."

Evangeline pulls Samael off to one side of the corridor, and points at a rusty duct in the ceiling. Samael looks mildly bemused. "Dartmuths can see through rust," she says.

"Well, fancy that." Samael inspects the patch of rust.

"And as I called in a favor to get onto this ship, I can be reasonably sure I'm being watched. Still feel like following me?" Evangeline's tone is deliberately low.

"Explains why a ship this posh has rust all around." Samael shrugs. "Depends where you're going."

"Well then, here's another thing I noticed. That small problem was definitely not small."

Samael arches an eyebrow. "You don't say."

"Any problem that requires three full mages and a master to fix is not small. Four talents of at least my caliber." Evangeline arches an eyebrow.

Samael nods.

"That engineer I was talking to seemed to think there was something strange as well. He muttered something about 'according to plan'."

"He looked right jumpy sort of fellow."

"And I notice the observation deck is closed off... Feel like doing some snooping?"

"Ha, I knew you were worth following." Samael motions with his pipe. "Lead the way."

Evangeline smiles. "Let's go drop by, shall we? If they bothered with guards, we can say we got lost on our way to the library down that way."

"I lose my way to the library all the time, yes."

Evangeline replaces the items she's holding in her hand back in her bag. "It's a conveniently easy-to-get-lost-in ship, isn't it?"

Samael frowns slightly. "For a given value of 'convenience'."

Evangeline nods amusedly and starts off down the corridor. Samael follows.

Samael offers his hand. "Before we get into trouble together, by the way, I'm called Samael."

Evangeline shakes Samael's hand. "Evangeline Wakeshima. Consortium. It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, not the Wakeshima on the Agora?"

Evangeline seems flattered that Samael recognizes her name. "The very same, yes."

"Excellent company to get into trouble with, then, I hear."

"That depends on your definition of excellent company."

"Say, you are an expert on curiosities." Samael digs something from his coat pocket. "What do you make of this?"

Samael holds an egg-shaped object to Evangeline.

Evangeline leans in towards the egg and adjusts a few dials on her monocle. "Interesting. Can I hold it to get a closer look?"

"Certainly. I bought it off a youngster, says it's from a nest, here on the ship. But I ain't seen no birds 'round here."

Evangeline takes the egg and holds it a few inches from her monocle. One can hear a faint whirring as something focuses. "Well, it doesn't seem to radiate any obvious magic... But that doesn't nessecarily mean it isn't of magical origin."

Samael raps the egg with his clawed finger. "It's tougher than an egg should be. Lighter than stone." He takes a contemplative puff of his pipe and blows a smoke ring away from Evangeline.

Evangeline turns the egg over in her hands. "Certainly very interesting. I'd pay good money for one of our identification teams right now... Hmmm... what's this? There are a few little dots here... that would seem to indicate it's actually organic. Probably bone. It's rather like a few ivory pieces I've seen."

Samael shrugs. "Usually organic things as lay eggs."

"But what blood vessels are doing in an egg, I have absolutely no idea. Well, channels for them. But it's clear that there were or are supposed to be veins here. Perhaps an art piece? No, there aren't any tool marks, and my monocle would probably be able to see those. It could, of course, be magically shaped art. But that in and of itself would make this worth something."

"Maybe it's the heart of some king of old, turned stone like in fairy tales. Though what such an item would be doing in a nest, I'll never know."

"Hah, it could well be. I'm no anatomist."

"You think it's valuable?" Samael looks uncomfortable.

"I can tell you it's certainly strange, and there are always people who will pay for novelty."

"I figured it's minor sort of weird. Paid ten marks for it to the kid."

"Of course, to tell you for sure I'd have to have it professionally appraised by a team. Not even I can identify every item that passes through my hands. I negotiate for the guild, mostly."

"Guess I'll keep it as a souvenir, then."

"Still, I'd hang on to it... though I might not keep it on my person. Egg-like things can hatch, you know. We had a shipment of salamander eggs that were improperly checked once."

Samael tilts his head and leers.

"We were lucky not to lose the warehouse." Evangeline shakes her head.

"Ain't no great big monster as is in that egg."

"Hah, and what if it's invisible and poisonous? You learn to be paranoid in my business. Less accidents that way." Evangeline shrugs.

"Then I'll be careful when I stomp on it."

Evangeline chuckles a bit at that. "Your call then."

Samael shrugs in turn. "I guess I could lock it into bathroom or something. Seems mighty silly, though."

"That would make sense, though just keeping it in a closed bag could work as well. Then if you find your bag is squirming you can just bang it against the wall a few times."

"Hmmph. If it can't work it's way out of a bag, it's hardly a threat. If it can, well, then the bag won't help, now will it?"

"At least it'd slow it down, right?" Evangeline shrugs again.

"'sides, if the egg's worth something, the critter ought to be, too."

"True enough. You can have it back now, by the way." Evangeline offers the egg back to Samael. Samael takes the egg and places it back to his coat pocket.

Samael pats the pocket. "Lil' feller'll just have to stay there for now."

Evangeline smiles and nods to Samael. "Well then, I guess it's off to the Observation Deck to see what we can observe..."

[Claudius Maximus]

Eleazer, Karsus:
((A record of the conversation held through chat))

2
As the man staggers back and a translucent blade appears in his hand, Karsus quickly retracts the proffered hand. When the man replies, he suddenly realizes he'd seen him before. "Nothing I haven't seen before, or am likely to see gain. No harm no foul, eh?"

"I'll take your word for it," Eleazar mutters, still examining him. "Either way, I wouldn't want old habits ruining the day for both of us."

Karsus chuckles softly. "No, that would be a bad thing wouldn't it? I'd buy you a drink to smooth things over, but I'm not sure where to find a bar in this beast of a vessel." He says this last with a shake of the head, still impressed by the shear scope of the Lithos.

After a moment's squinting, Eleazar relaxes completely. "You're odd, aren't you?"

Karsus ***** his head and grins. "You're blunt, aren't you?"

"You know how it is. First you learn how to be something and then you forget how to stop."

Karsus laughs - after that last encounter, this is a welcome change. "I could say the same applied to me, albeit along a somewhat twisted path."

Eleazar frowns and nods, which may be as close as he sincerely gets to a display of hearty emotion. "I think there's a bar on this deck somewhere. Is that offer for a drink still open?"

"Just lead the way and your mug shall be filled. I wonder what price the Dartmuth's are charging during the voyage?"

"An arm and a leg, but they'll discount it by a few toes since business is slow"

"Could be difficult finding use for those orphaned toes, though..."

"However many toes they let you keep, it's more than their liquor is likely to be worth," Eleazar adds sharply, and does his best to lead Karsus in the direction of the bar.

After a few wrong turns in the meandering corridors of the Lithos, they come to a large, dimly lit room filled with a light haze of smoke. Judging by the assortment of tables and bizarre games, this is almost certainly the casino.

About three dozen people can be seen at the various tables, though there is room for many more than that. On one end of the room is a well-stocked bar, though it doesn't seem very busy right now. A handful of Black Dragon guards stand watch here and there, keenly observing the proceedings

"Ah, yes, alcohol and gambling," Eleazar mentions as they wander in. "A perpetual motion machine of emptying your wallet. You go to the tables and lose, so you get drunk. You get drunk, which makes you dumb enough to go to the tables."

"It's a beautiful process, from the other side of it. Just the place for one of my other companions." Karsus presses the palms of his hands together and then slowly pulls them apart, as if with effort. After they spread about a foot, there's a small popping noise and another voice joins the duo. "Hey Karsus. What's with the dour dude?"

Eleazar frowns. "You're that mote who was making trouble." He looks to Karsus. "You know, I'd normally start to get suspicious about now, but this coincidence is actually too stupid and bizarre to be engineered."

"Speaking of which, I've still to teach Phaestus here when to keep his mouth shut." Karsus shoots a sharp look at Phaestus, who remains silent. "It's a handy companion to have watching my back at times. Which should get my point across..." A sigh comes out of Phaestus, who loops away a bit to catch a wider view. "That was rather a mess he caused earlier, wasn't it?"

"Well, annoying or not, it brightened everyone's day." Eleazer gives the mote a stern look, which is almost indistinguishable from all his other looks. "In the future, the best way to make a harpy shut up is to tell it to."

"Ah, you remind me why I haven't rid myself of him yet." Karus smiles widely, thoroughly enjoying this strange man's company. "Let's see what kind of mess they're selling as refreshment in this den of iniquity, shall we?" He leads the way over to the bar and appraises the selection.

Eleazar gestures for the bartender's attention. "Full glass, on the rocks, one part sledgehammer, one screwdriver, two parts the thickest straight liquor you have."

The bartender, a very dapper orcish man, cracks a grin. "Sure thing, boss."

Karsus leans back with eyebrows raised. "I'll... have one of those too." Leaning slightly towards Eleazar, he says with a wink and a smile, "If I wake up in a dancer's outfit, I'm blaming you."

The bartender looks almost mildly surprised at Karsus, as if he hadn't noticed him until now. "Right. Two then."

"So you'll excuse me for asking, but it's been years since I met someone I actually wanted to drink with," Eleazar starts, a little reluctantly. "What's your story?" He drums his fingers on the bar as he waits for their drinks.

"Oh, it's a tale of woe and horror, and triumph against the greatest of odds." Karsus grins - he knows exactly how this sounds. "Grew up an orphan on the streets - doing lightshows to get by - then joined up with the Order a while back. Been movin' about since then trying to do my bit to keep a lid on those as would keep others like me in rags and patches."

"Sounds fun," Eleazar says, without a note of insincerity.

"Sometimes. Others, not so much." Karsus watches the orc as he prepares their drinks, and unconsciously begins twiddling his fingers. "But it's what I've got, so I keep hauling at the harness. What about you, what's your story?"

"Complicated. The simplest way of putting it is that I do what I can, when I can, for as long as I can, and when it comes crashing down I get out. And my own Order thinks that's something like useful, so they keep me around. Likewise, they keep paying me, so I keep them around. I hear that the sleep of the Black Dragon is pretty piss poor compared to the sleep of the Just, but that's only a problem if you bother with sleeping."

Karsus turns solemn as the man explains himself, nodding as the words confirm what he's felt through his knowing. "I take it you don't, then," Karsus says, meaning sleep. "But it always comes crashing down?"

At this point the bartender places two glasses down in front of the men. "Here you go, fellas. Sorry about the delay. Two Hardware Specials, right to specification." He seems inordinately pleased with himself for that name.

Eleazar takes the glass in hand, sips it, and a shiver runs through him. "Good stuff." Then he puts the glass back down, and gives Karsus a look. "How many times have you been a step away from death?"

"Hard to say. A few times, but I've a feeling..." Karsus' voice drifts off. He lifts his glass, and takes a sip - experiencing a similar shiver - and makes a faint toast in the man's direction. "I've a feeling you've been there more."

"Could be," the Black Dragon says quickly, and raises his own glass vaguely. "To fellow travelers," he adds, and swallows a third of the glass. "The point is, death is always just around the corner. And once you get to know it, when you see the sky fall, you're not surprised. You just find a different sky." He takes another gulp not quite as big this time. "This ship, though. There's nowhere to go."

"So the sky has dropped before?" Karsus cradles his drink, taking only the occasional swallow. "What's different about the ship?"

"Odd engine sounds."

Karsus sits still, waiting to see if more will follow. After a pause, he asks, "What about them?"

Swallowing again, such that only a quarter of his drink remains, Eleazer takes a deep breath. "Hm. How to explain it?" he ponders, stirring his glass absently. "Impossible engine sounds. Except impossible things don't happen, which means that something changed the rules...”

"Would this have anything to do with a golden-eyed man who's presence is..." He pauses as a slight shudder of remembrance passes through him, "...painful and debilitating. Or maniacal voices with no noticeable source and references to others and more?"

Eleazar blinks, taken slightly aback. "Not so far as I know. But then, that doesn't rule out a possible connection either."

Karsus shakes his head, ridding himself of the remnants of the memory. "I can only hope." Pondering the gloomy tidings brought by both of them, he says, "Well, if this voyage is the last I ever take, so be it." Suddenly he smiles, and sticks out a hand. "My name's Karsus, and I might be about to die. Who're you?"

The Black Dragon takes the last swallow of his Hardware Special and shakes the other man's hand. "Eleazar, and I intend to live forever."

Having finished with their drinks, Eleazer and Karsus take their leave from the bar, proceeding together through the halls back towards their lodgings in Stormrose Square.

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline, Samael:
At last, you find the stairs up to the next level. Steep and unadorned, they do not resemble in the least the set you took down here when boarding. One of the Lithos's all-too-rare navigational signs can be seen on a nearby wall, pointing upward with the single word "Epsilon."

You barely get to the top of the stairs when you see two men round the corner ahead, turning down the corridor towards you. It's that engineer who confronted Thogrinna, walking alongside another man you recognize from that crowd. Between them floats the mischievous little mote that first escalated that scene. It looks like they notice you at about the same time.
Eleazer, Karsus:
The trip from the bar back to Deck Zeta goes more smoothly than the other way around. Having taken essentially the same route before, Eleazer is able to avoid a number of his previous errors.

As you turn the corner of the last passage leading up to the stairway down, you catch sight of two people just about cresting the stairs. It's the woman who almost talked her way onto the ship, accompanied by one of the more exotic gentlemen from the crowd today, a tall, horned man with a large pair of wings.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar blinks as he sees Evangeline, and sighs loudly. "Ah, it's you. There goes my sunny afternoon."

[Greenish]

Samael smiles and nods to Karsus and the engineer. "Ah, the ship may be large, but the world is small. Evangeline, this is Karsus. Karsus, this is Evangeline Wakeshima." Raising his brows to Eleazer, he adds, "I don't believe we've met."

[Lagren]

Evangeline gives the engineer a pointed look, crossing her arms across her chest.
"But we have. Last time we met, he was being cryptic and shirking his duty to the safety of the people onboard this ship."
She does not offer her hand.
"Do you feel like being more helpful this time, Mister … ?"

[roll0] Intimidate vs. Elazear. No token expenditure.

[gkathellar]

The tall man sighs wearily and looks back and forth between the two relative unknowns, finally settling on Evangeline and drawing a deep breath. "Three things," he says with an ugly expression, and exhales a breathless river of spite.

"Number one, my first name isn't Mister and my last name isn't any of your business, so you get to call me Eleazar - no title, no honorific. Second of all, I'll kiss you right on your humongous, jutting canker of a backside if you can actually tell me what my duty as a Black Dragon in being here today is, but luckily I won't have to pony up on that because you don't know anything. And third and certainly not least, I'd like to offer my sincerest apologies for going off on you, because I know that your obviously questionable heritage is really to blame for your inability to accomplish anything on your own and your unwise habit of browbeating people with ludicrous claims that you're more familiar with the particulars of their jobs than they are."

There's a beat, and he pauses for a half-second. "Actually, let's make it four. Listen, your front is very pretty, but I'm just not interested in a woman who I can only bear to look at one-hundred-and-eighty degrees of. Now is there something I can help you with the doesn't involve vague attempts to make me feel guilty about not doing what you've decided is my job?"

Perception:[roll0] - On Evangeline. No token use.

[Lagren]

Evangeline's face becomes perfectly still as Elazear rants, betraying little of her thoughts. When she finally speaks, her tone is more quizzical than anything.

"Ah. I see then. Here I thought I had found a captain, but I seem to have found a peon throwing around weight he doesn't have.

What is your duty, you say? Well, what could possibly cause a short-tempered, selfish grunt like you to be given first-class accommodation on an airship like this one? I find it hard to believe the black dragons have need of you urgently somewhere; they have engineers that aren't you in Far'aday, right?"

She smiles icily, arrogantly.

"And if it's not that skill they need, I start to wonder what exactly you might have that the Dragons need so desperately in Far'aday. "

The smile fades, and she shakes her head.

"In any case, I have no desire for you to bring your lips anywhere near my backside, so this is all beside the point. You asked how you could help me? Well then, tell me everything you know about the engines on this ship and their problem, and maybe you can convince me to give you a little respect and privacy."

CM:

[roll0] Bluff social roll, both to hide Evangeline's reactions, and to take a stab in the dark that will hopefully leave Elazear wondering how much Eva does know. She also spends a token on "Tell me what you know about the problem."

[arskyer]

Karsus returns Samael's nod, and is about to speak when Eleazar and Evangeline suddenly begin to sharply lambast one another. He stands back a pace, wary of being caught in the crossfire, then shakes his head and shoots a look at Samael that expresses in myriad ways a general feeling of bemused futility towards what he's about to do.

He steps forward. "Er, good to meet you Miss Wakeshima." So this is what you're like in person. Pausing for a deep breath, a sudden thought occurs to him. He twists his head to the side and whispers, hurriedly but forceful, "Phaestus, stay silent."

Focusing quickly back on the brewing trouble, he smiles winningly at Evangeline, "For someone talking about weight people don't have, you've yet to show your own." He glances at Eleazar, then back to Evangeline. "Why don't we all calm down? I've never known abuse and disrespect to work well as social lubricants."

Diplomacy +17 on Eleazar and Evangeline [roll0]
If I gain any tokens, I use them on the respective parties to make the demand, "Stop insulting each other."

[Greenish]

"Now, now, Karsus. I think we ought to let them let it out of their systems." Samael beams at everyone. "Clear the air, as it were. We'll be here when you're done." With that, Samael leans to the wall and starts to refill his pipe.

[Lagren]

Evangeline sighs, seeming to visibly deflate.
"No, he's right, Samael. It's not really my place to tell a member of the Dragons what he can or cannot do; I don't have the authority. I simply had hoped that a member of the order would take his duties seriously, even if they were not to me."

She turns her head to Karsus.

"And now I've gone and made my first impression to you be of a short-tempered, arrogant woman. Hardly the impression a good member of the Consortium wants to make on an important personage such as you!"

She extends her hand for the paladin to shake, smiling winningly.

"Karsus, was it? I recall that your order found a crooked clerk of ours who was fencing small items on the side a few months back. I'm very grateful to you if you had a hand that arrest; it benefits us very little to have people like that one in our midst."

[gkathellar]

Karsus interjects a moment before Eleazar can reply, and the Black Dragon stands back uncomfortably as the paladin's amiability fills the corridor. Taking the time to size the three up again as he waits for a moment to interject, his vitriol cools to a low simmer of irritation, and after Evangeline answers Karsus he takes it.

"Fair enough, Karsus, if it makes you happy I still know how to use my inside voice. Now, Miss Wakeshima, it's good that you've decided there's time for getting chummy because I have yet to see any definitive indication that there is, in fact, a problem with the Lithos' engines."

Eleazar pauses for emphasis.

"Let's review the actual known facts. You know, like scientists. Which is what you," he points rudely at Evangeline, "have been bothering me for. We know there was some engine trouble earlier. Of course, Miss Wakeshima, I could sit you down with a stack of ledgers detailing all the times the Lithos has had engine trouble, but I'm not entirely certain you know how to read. I'll give you the short version: over five-hundred years, the Lithos has had four engines. Records show the last installation was a hundred years ago.

"Now, if an idiot was reading these ledgers, they'd miss the part about the ship's engines always being secret technology at the time of their installation. And if a disgrace to idiots everywhere was thinking about that, they'd fail to realize Dartmuth is under no obligation to tell anyone if they've replaced their engines recently. And if one was a drooling, semi-sapient moron, they'd fail to draw the connection that Dartmuth probably wouldn't tell anyone because the technology would be top-secret. Luckily for Miss Wakeshima, I'm here to make up for her crippling illiteracy."

He turns to Karsus, and gestures gracefully in his direction. "Now, sir, if you could repeat to the class what I told you earlier about the engine sounds and what they could imply?"

Responding to Evangeline's demand, as well as making my counter-checks on Evangeline and Karsus. No token use.

Perception - [roll0]

[Greenish]

Samael taps a clawed finger contemplatively to the bowl of his pipe. "If I follow your kind and patient explanation, you're implying the Dartmuths have gone and slapped a new engine on the ship all secret-like." The demon arches an eyebrow at Eleazer. "An engine as doesn't work. How mighty sloppy of them."

[gkathellar]

Eleazar fixes his attention fully on the demon for the first time, shaking his head slightly. "Hypothetical: say you find a flashlight, and turn it on, and it explodes in your hand. Did it work?" he asks rhetorically, following up almost immediately. "Yes. It just didn't work for you." He looks up at the corridor's ceiling ponderously. "If I were implying what you think I'm implying, which I'm not, then I wouldn't assume the engines are broken. Another possibility is that they're working exactly as intended. Both are possibilities supported by almost zero actual evidence. What we do know, however, is what the engines are probably doing." He nods towards Karsus again. "Making an impossible sound."

[arskyer]

The mote pipes up, quietly inserting a thought. "Sheesh, Dour Dude has a thing for pontificating..."

Karsus turns to his mote, lifting his eyebrows. "Phaestus..."

The mote seems to settle down a bit. "Yes Karsus."

With a hard look at the mote, Karsus faces Eleazar and grins. "Well, you do wax eloquent. Consider it a compliment, professor."

He then picks up where Eleazar left off, looking at Samael and Evangeline. "Well "class", the point is this: If something that can't happen happens, then something must have changed the rules which governed the happening." A beat. "Which, I'm rather inclined to believe, given certain... extraordinary events going down in this ship."

"Wait, what? What'd you do while I wasn't here? Was it fun? Did someone fall a large distance? Did you push -"

Karsus closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them. "Phaestus? Shut. Up. And go watch the hallway or something."

Phaestus replies in a tone of satisfied mischievousness as it flies a short distance down the corridor. "Yes Karsus."

[Greenish]

"Extraordinary events, huh?" Samael tilts his head back and sends a smoke ring wafting towards the ceiling. "Do tell."

[arskyer]

Karsus shifts his weight a bit as he decides how much to share. "Well, it's much like Eleazar's engine noise - something happened that I'd thought impossible. In my case, I was wandering the halls and happened upon a man who to... certain senses, shall we say, was outside perception. Utterly outside, with a sanguine manner and a crippling presence..."

As he thinks back to the encounter, recalling the words spoken, his features abruptly reel in shock. "Broken oaths! I... unless my wits have utterly deserted me, I'd say this, what, this man-thing? This thing that I faced, it was from outside anything known to me, and I'll bet anyone else as well. It as much as said so, but I was rather preoccupied at the time and..."

Refocusing on the present, he looks at the other three. "It sounds insane but I swear it happened. It's like the rules have been overwritten in a bloody hand that would like nothing more than to scratch out a few more lines."

[Greenish]

Samael furrows his brows and mutters, "'Outside perception for…'", then stops abruptly. His pipe clatters to the ground.

"Oh."

[gkathellar]

Eleazar levitates a few inches, peering forward and over his shoulder, down the hallway in either direction. "Maybe we should be discussing whatever the hell you're talking about somewhere less public."

[Lagren]

Evangeline…

Evangeline gives the impression of very carefully not reacting.

It's several moments before she opens her mouth again.

"I think we need to take this conversation elsewhere."

She gives Samael a significant look, muttering something under her breath.

Then she turns on her heel abruptly and begins to walk away, motioning as if she expects to be followed.

Samael:

"I think I know where we can get some privacy."


C_M:

[roll0] Arcana. What, if anything, does Evangeline know about areas where the rules of magic and physics don't work or are different? Does this sort of thing known to happen anywhere? Is there anything that could cause this that she knows of? Anything?

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline:
This has never really been an area of particular expertise for you, since the machines and spells that produce significant effects over large areas tend to be massive works of technology or magic that aren't for sale and, perhaps more importantly for you, are often essentially impossible to steal. Obtaining them is usually a matter of war, or at least real estate. As far as you know, all of them work through the projection of energy on some level, whether it be a steady directional force in an area to simulate gravity, or an emission of heavy aetheric static to scramble teleportation attempts or scrying spells.

But changing the rules? That hasn't been done, not from what you've heard. You know that people have been trying to generate so-called "anti-magic" fields or do things like slow down time for ages now, with no known successes. Some have concluded that such works are just beyond mortal magic - leave the laws of nature to the angels, they say. Indeed, most unusual environments are the work of so-called "eccentric" angels, like how water floats on Apion, or how it's said that space itself burns around Ra.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar tilts his head slightly, and makes his way behind her with a puzzled expression. "Alright, you've got my interest. Assuming any of this is significant, and assuming anyone important is listening, where could you possibly go to avoid notice? Crowded restaurant?"

[Lagren]

Evangeline shakes her head, speaking quietly.

"If you're going somewhere to have a private conversation where you won't be eavesdropped on, isn't it a bad idea to say where you're going where you could be eavesdropped on?"


Evangeline is going to go back to Stormrose Square where she'll inquire as to whether she can use Seamus' wards. Better him knowing than Dartmuth knowing...

[gkathellar]

"You could construct an elaborate lie, for the amusement of all," Eleazar mutters, and a disgusted look briefly crosses his face. "Okay, you know what, that was stupid and I wasn't proving anything by saying it. Lead on, oh fearless horse-trader."

[Lagren]

Evangeline flashes a grin over her shoulder.

"Well then, we're going to a heavily-warded location secretly maintained by the head of the Arcanametric Society himself, where he will serve us tea and scones while we discuss the impending catastrophic failure of all reality in a forthright and scholarly fashion."

[gkathellar]

"Hah, it's funny because the best way for anyone watching us to resolve the odd-numbered or even-numbered bluff conundrum is just to continue watching us," Eleazar says humorlessly, and his attention seems to drift elsewhere.

[Greenish]

Samael has regained his composure (and his pipe), and nods. "If you're done with overthinking and paranoia, lets get going."

[Claudius Maximus]

The trip back to Stormrose Square is uneventful, and between all of you, you manage to make it with minimal errors. The handful of guards and staff you see on the way seem to pay you little attention.

The square itself is more quiet now, with the all the boarding complete. There are only a handful of people here and there, and none of them are the children from before. Two old men share a smoke on a bench, and you can see a small group of middle-aged women huddled together by one of the lampposts, absorbed in some conversation. A single red-clad Dartmuth guard stands a rather bored watch over the plaza.

Evangeline:
You can see O'Hara's door from here, but not the man himself. Presumably he's either in the room, or somewhere else on the ship entirely.

From here at least, the door looks perfectly normal.

((Sorry if this is tedious but I felt weird dragging you all the way to O'Hara's door. I'm still working on my comfort level with the amount of narrative control I have on this medium.))

[arskyer]

Karsus turns to Evangeline."So... I heard tell about pastry in high places? There were some other bits in there, but I think the scones were the important bit." He rolls his eyes, then turns serious as he gazes about the square. "So where too?"

Perception +18; Eying that guard. I'd assume Goldeneyes would stand out, but we've got this nice paranoia thing going and I'd hate to be the one cramping it's style. :smalltongue:
[roll0]

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods to Karsus, steps forwards to one of the doors, and knocks.

"Mr. O'Hara, are you in? I've spoken with my associates aboard ship, and they've imformed me there's something I need to bring to your attention before the banquet starts. May we come in?"

As she waits for an answer, she absently goes through her purse, fiddling with things to pass the time. A hairbrush, a set of small vials, a stack of business cards, and her journal all pass through her hands briefly- till she fumbles the journal with a ripping of paper, and is forced to stoop to pick it up, covering her embarrasment with a small cough. She has a remarkably short attention span for a successful businesswoman, it seems- her eyes are always moving, as if never satisfied with any of the most excellent scenery here in the Lithos.


[roll0] Perception: How close is the nearest patch of rust? If a person was standing in its place, could it hear a whisper and understand it?

[roll1] Larceny: Under cover of fumbling the diary, tear out a fragment from the right edge and palm it; specifically, the words "might not have been mechanical at all." She'll hide this under the stack of business cards and then place the journal (but not the rest of the cards) back into her bag.

[Claudius Maximus]

You can hear a somewhat irate voice from inside, muffled through the door. It's definitely O'Hara, and he sounds somewhat surprised at first.

"Who's-"

"You again." Much more measured now. "And so you've found your friend."

You can hear a vague rustling withing, like a shuffling of papers. "I'm- I'm a very private man, Miss Wakeshima," he continues, "and I've a lot of work to do. Are you quite sure this is important?"

Evangeline:
The facade of the rooms is primarily stone, and the only visible metal that's really close is the doorknob, which appears to be free of rust.

As far as you can tell, the closest bit of rust is on one of the ventilation ducts on the ceiling, about 35 feet away. A sufficiently hushed conversation should probably be beyond human hearing at that range.

As for your little "edit," you think you pulled it off pretty well. Nobody seems to have caught on.

[gkathellar]

"We all know your type, arcanist. This is relevant to your interests, probably more so than whatever you think you're hiding. Open the door and it'll be worth your while," Eleazar calls back, and mutters to himself, "Not so sure that it's worth mine."

Perception: [roll0] - Against Seamus to get him to open the door

[Greenish]

Samael mutters dryly to Eleazar, "You are without a doubt a man of many talents, but in the future, you might consider leaving diplomacy to people more suited to it."

[arskyer]

Swallowing his grin, Karsus turns to Eleazar with palms up, and speaks softly so as to not intrude in Evangeline's business with the door. "You have to admit, most people respond to sugared cajolings rather better than apt analysis. But I'm sure we'll be grateful for your's before too long, more so than we are already..."

[Lagren]

Evangeline sighs.

"It's important enough that I don't want to talk about it through a door so that everyone onboard ship can hear me, that's for sure. If you're busy, you can have us leave after we explain things."

Then a small smile stretches over her face.

"Or we could leave now, and you could wonder for the rest of the trip what's important enough to make a very annoyed Black Dragon engineer, a wealthy Consortium merchant, and a Paladin of the Order of the Just all share the same opinion."


[roll0] Diplomacy against O'hara. No token yet.
[roll1] Arcana. What would the likely reaction of the wards be if Evangeline were to try and Truename O'hara from the other side of it?

[Claudius Maximus]

"I have an unfortunate feeling that you're all quite serious about this, whatever it is..." O'Hara begins, a bit low, "and the Society can't let potentially serious matters go uninvestigated..." he continues, thinking aloud. He doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic.

"I suppose... if it's really so sensitive..." You can hear a great deal of shuffling paper from the room. It's practically like a gust blowing through an accounting office. "Then fine," he declares, as if having just made a significant decision, "but this had better be as important as you say. Allow me to get the door for you."

After an uncomfortable few seconds of apparent silence following that, the door suddenly... changes. You can feel your hair stand on end as some sort of veil is lifted, and a dozen or more brilliant symbols, connected by a complex series of geometric shapes and crossing lines, appear on the surface of the door. Many of these elements quickly fade into nigh-imperceptibility, perhaps a sort of quiescent state.

The door opens with a click, and you can see O'Hara peer out at you for a moment, evaluating you one last time with steely gray eyes set deep in his pale face. He's hardly a handsome man. Having apparently satisfied himself, he shrugs, opens the door wide, and gestures for you to enter. "By all means," he says.

O'Hara's apartment seems identical to any of yours, at least so far as you can tell at first glance. Perhaps all of the square's lodgings are the same on the inside, in contrast to the rather eclectic facades of the rooms. It looks exceedingly neat here, as if O'Hara has barely used any of the accommodations. You see nothing out of place except for a single cup of tea on a low table, and a large suitcase on the ground nearby, bearing the symbol of the Arcanametric Society. You do not detect anyone else in the room.

Eleazer:
Your Perception check fails to yield you a token.
Evangeline:
You have no idea how the wards would interact with your truenaming abilities. You're still not even very sure what kind of defenses he's got on the door - they were practically invisible until just now, likely due to one of the ward's effects, and you're not even entirely certain you would have noticed them if you hadn't seen them under construction earlier. Although visible now, a lot of them are too dormant or faint to examine very quickly. You are able to note a few interesting connections though.

All you know for sure is that your truenaming abilities have never failed to work. But that's just your experience, and Hallow is a big place.

Your Diplomacy check fails to yield you a token.

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods cordially and steps into the room, returning her business cards to her bag, retrieving her journal in the same motion. She takes a seat on one of the chairs in the room, quickly writing something in her journal. She tears it out and hands it to O'hara.

O'hara:

Are your wards secure against foci within the room? That is, if someone had planted a scrying mirror or similar device within your ward, could they still see and hear through it, or would it be blocked? I must be certain of no eavedropping before we speak in full.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar looks around the room, poking harmlessly at the walls and furniture, lifting and putting down small objects telekinetically. "What's your specialty, Arcanist?"

Perception:[roll0] - Sweeping for bugs.

[arskyer]

Karsus steps stolidly into the room, taking a look around and studying in particular the man who just let them in. After a moment, he follows Evangeline's lead and seats himself with a good view of the doors in the apartment. Then he waits, content to let others speak first.

Perception [roll0] Taking a look at the apartment, looking for anything that might be "off" or give a clue as to what O'Hara was doing.

[Greenish]

Samael nods to O'Hara. "Much obliged, sir. We come bearing omens that may yet to prove to be dire." Digging his pocket for his pouch of tobacco as he enters, he raises an eyebrow at the host. "Mind if I smoke?"

[Claudius Maximus]

O'Hara takes a quick look at Evangeline's note, curls it up in his hand, and turns for the door without saying a word, walking calmly as a small stream of ashes falls from between his fingers. He closes the door softly, giving an offhand gesture of assent to Samael, before kneeling carefully in front of the door. Symbols cover this side as well, as you can clearly see now that they all flash into visibility in O'Hara's presence. He places his finger on a central glyph, and extends a glowing, pale blue line to another one in a corner.

"My specialty?" he says suddenly as he works, sounding remarkably casual given the previous air of paranoia. "Well, I'm talented with a wide variety of magical arts, but I'd say my best research has been in arcane glyphs and seals." He's working very quickly now, tracing complex figures with both hands. "There's just something especially fascinating about working with the language that governs creation itself," he continues, seemingly genuinely enthusiastic about this subject. "Did you know that there are letters of the cosmic alphabet that we know exist, but which do not appear in any known spell? We don't even know what they're called, much less what they do. It's like those chemists are always saying there are heavier and heavier materials that we just haven't figured out how to forge. But it's only a matter of time." O'Hara makes a few final lines, and the whole set of wards and glyphs disappears in a blur of color and motion. "The world is full of secrets," he says, rising with a small grunt. "But one by one, we find them. That is the mission of the Society."

O'Hara's mood suddenly turns more serious as he looks back to you. "And now we should be all sealed up. And yes, of course I know Dartmuth's little trick with the rust. That might be a 'secret,' but you heard what I just said about those. The real question here is whether you know something I don't. So by all means, tell me what exactly it is that brings you here."

Eleazer:
No bugs, as far as you can tell. Not even a cockroach. This guy's apartment seems... clean.
Karsus:
The place is definitely clean of scryers and bugs, at least that you can recognize, and you don't detect any other presences with your Knowing. You also don't have any kind of headache, which is a nice thing to mentally note now and then after what happened before.

Looks like this place is clean in a more literal sense too. Still, you can tell that O'Hara's been using a few of these rooms, the kitchen and den area in particular. Things are just kind of subtly disturbed in here. Dust bits blown about, carpets stepped on and impressed, things like that. That suitcase of his has definitely been open recently, and you can even see a corner of some piece of thin paper sticking out of the side. It seems likely that he just threw a bunch of stuff in there just now, as a hasty cleanup of sorts.

Beyond that, the items and fixtures in the room seem very similar to those in yours. There's even an almost identically shaped bonsai tree on a side table. There are patches of rust in different places, but you don't know how exactly that spreads, or whether it's really magical or something like O'Hara and Evangeline seem to be implying.

[gkathellar]

"Ontogenesis," Eleazar says, giving the researcher his full attention, and looking over the rest of the group, rolls his eyes, "is the process by which rules and structures of reality are determined. Every angel emits an ontogenesis field which defines the local reality of their constellation."

The Black Dragon takes a deep breath, and looks back to O'Hara. "The default rules of reality imply that silence doesn't sound like anything, but back during the engine trouble, if that's what it was, silence sounded like something."

Then he twitches, and looks to Samael suddenly. "And who are you, anyway? Who do you represent? Why are you here?"

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods.

"It would seem that there is an area of this ship, centered around the engines, where the rules of magic and physics as we know them start to act in ways they should not- and Dartmuth does not have it under complete control."

She turns to Karsus.

"You were saying that you ran into an individual that had some form of protection from your Knowing. Could you elaborate, now that we're not speaking in public?"

[gkathellar]

"Hold on, wait, how do you actually know that Dartmuth doesn't have it under complete control?"

[Lagren]

"Either they don't have it under control, or they're incompetent. I seriously doubt that those mages intended to have their first teleportation spell do nothing. More likely, they failed to account for some change that was made to reality."

She shrugs.

"Also, does it strike you as being likely that Dartmuth would choose to have side effects to their reality warping so obvious that any well-trained engineer or mage could spot that something is wrong, and for paladins to start encountering things in the corridors they don't understand?"

[Greenish]

Samael has taken position leaning to the wall, wings spread, and started kindling his pipe the moment O'Hara gave assent. Now he's puffing it contentedly and gives Eleazer an amused smirk before turning to the others. "I encounter things I do not understand often enough." Holding his pipe with his teeth, he digs his coat pockets until he finds something, then pulls out a small egg-sized and shaped object. "Like this, for example."

[Claudius Maximus]

At first, O'Hara seems steeled for some troubling news, but his composure actually gives way somewhat into a slight look of surprise as Eleazer and Evangeline explain their theory. It's almost as if he were expecting to hear something else entirely. For a short time he remains silent, hearing them out for a bit, before clearing his throat and interjecting.

"Are you saying that you believe Dartmuth has achieved- that they have a functioning ontogenesis engine somewhere on this ship? Malfunctioning, even? Now that's a hell of a claim. I mean this is science fiction we're talking about - we're years away from that sort of thing. I'll admit that that sound was very interesting, but who's to say it wasn't something simpler, like a telepathic disturbance? And the wizards can be fools for all I care. The shields on this thing are certainly strong enough to foil a teleportation link all on their own. I don't doubt for a second that Dartmuth's up to something, if only because they always are, but might this be a bit of a stretch? Where's your evidence?"

He then seems a bit interested when Samael produces the "egg," taking a moment to peer at it himself. "Oh? Well what have we here then?"

Eleazer:
The egg looks slightly off, color-wise, as if somehow duller than normal. You think you can see some tiny dots on it too, which are uncharacteristic of any bird egg you can think of at the moment. You do not detect any magical emissions from it.

Not much, but it's just what you can see at a glance. You might be able to figure out more if you had a closer look at it.

[gkathellar]

"Spot pattern isn't common to a bird's egg, no obvious magical emissions," Eleazar mutters, and extends an open hand towards Samael. "Let me see that."

[Greenish]

Samael casually tosses the egg to Eleazer. "Got it off a kid as said to have found it in a nest." The demon shrugs. "Ain't seen no birds on this here ship." Helpfully, he adds, "It don't seem to warp reality."

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods to herself.

"It is a solid general principle not to attribute to malice what one can to incompetence. So I will set aside my personal feeling that 'Dartmuth has a secret' is orders of magnitude more likely than 'Dartmuth is incompetent,' and concede the sound and the mages as being genuine faults."

She raises two fingers in the air.

"That still leaves this egglike object and a man who can't be detected by the Knowing to explain. At minimum, Dartmuth has created or rediscovered some ward that shields them from a paladin's extra sense, or they are broadcasting illusions."

She pauses.

"Then again, without the engines we can't be sure it's Dartmuth. So perhaps I should amend that; someone on board either has a ward against Knowing or is broadcasting illusions."

She gestures to Karsus.

"Now that we're in private, would you mind sharing more of your experience? The more we know, the better we can pin down what exactly is going on here."

[Claudius Maximus]

Eleazer:
While Evangeline continues speaking, you are able to get a better look at that egg-like object.

It's lighter than any rock you know of that wouldn't be obviously more porous than this - unless, you suppose, it's hollow or something. You don't see any kind of clear crystalline structure either...

A close inspection reveals that those dots are actually tiny holes, and that they are somewhat inconsistently placed - more seem to be on the ends than anywhere else. You think it might be organic. Probably bone or horn, and you'd put your money on bone if those little holes are passages for blood vessels or something. You have idea what it would be from though, or why it would ever end up in a nest.

[arskyer]

Listening as the others begin to postulate on the situation, Karsus gets the feeling that he's somewhat out of his depth. His job isn't to fix nebulous matters concerning reality and changes to it, it's to nick those who've done wrong!

The thought plays out as a flick of a grin that passes across Karsus' face. He leans forward as the egg is passed to Eleazar, peering at it with some interest, then begins to answer Evangeline, somewhat distractedly.

"Well, strictly speaking, I don't know if I would say Goldeneyes - that's the one with a body - was purposefully protected or shielded from view. It certainly seemed to work that way, but..." Karsus looks at the others and shrugs. "Usually I can sense, in a general sort of way, a person's inclinations or proclivities. With Goldeneyes, all I sensed was pain. Why? I can't say. And when I say I felt pain, I mean I FELT pain. It was... painful. Very much so."

He abruptly stops, then flashes a smile at O'Hara.

"I'm sorry, I'm beginning in the middle, aren't I? Well, in brief, the story is this: I met a man and a voice - the man's eyes were golden orbs, hence the moniker Goldeneyes - anyway, a man and a voice who behaved strangely, so I drew nearer the man and asked his name. He would give me none, and when I drew within range of certain other of my senses, I felt nothing but pain where normally I would sense a person. Between its comments and those of the voice which accompanied it - both of which were malevolent and foreboding - it seems plain now that they came from outside our reality. He pauses, and visibly concentrates to recall the conversation. "Most pertinently, they said something along the lines of, 'You are trapped in a bubble and know nothing of darkness or stillness or time.' They seemed at first to be looking for some 'Seer,' but the voice was soon distracted by thoughts of killing me, and they left soon after."

His summary finished, Karsus looks at Eleazar and O'Hara.

"And now you're saying that it's possible we're flying around inside an angel manufactured by House Darmuth. I didn't think it mattered before, but Goldeneyes was wearing the uniform of a House Dartmuth Guard."

[Greenish]

Samael leans back and blows a series of smoke rings towards the ceiling contemplatively while listening to Karsus' story, then gives him a quizzical look. "Wait, go back to the bit where they wanted to kill you. Did you fight?"

[gkathellar]

Eleazar looks up from the egg briefly, distracted. "A better question would be whether you ran, or won," he says, and nods sagely. "And if you had won, we'd be having a very different conversation. But you were smart, so you're not dead." Having said this, he returns his attention to Samael's odd find.

[arskyer]

Karsus smiles, briefly, at the others comments. "We didn't fight, as such. I was... rather uncomfortable, He pauses to take a breath. Anyone watching him even somewhat closely can tell that he's very much understating things. Whether from the sense of pain or some other capability I don't know. But we exchanged no physical blows. We exchanged words and threats, and then they left."

Turning to Sammael, he shrugs. "It may not matter, but as a matter of correctness, it was the voice that kept urging they do presumably bad things to me, while Goldeneyes seemed more concerned with continuing their search."

Again, a shrug, accompanied by a rueful shaking of the head. "Usually when people want to kill me, they just go for it or arrange an ambush of sorts. They don't go announcing themselves beforehand. He seems rather amused by this, and chuckles softly as he twists to gain a better view of the egg.

Arcana +12, trying to identify the egg
[roll0]

[gkathellar]

"Well, it might be an egg," Eleazar announces quietly, levitating the thing in front of him for all to see. "It's pretty light and not very porous, and the speckling here," he points to the dots with his index finger, "are actually holes, possibly spiracles. It's probably similar to bone or horn in composition, or hollow rock. I'd want to know what kind of nest it was found in."

With that, Eleazar crosses his arms, purses his lips, and floats the egg back in the direction of Samael and Karsus. "Of course if it is an egg, I'd rather not be carrying it when it hatches."

[Greenish]

Samael snatches the egg from the air and stuff it into his coat pocket, grinning. "No sense of adventure, eh?"

"Well, weird stuff 's happening. We going to do something for it?"

[Lagren]

"Personally, I think the best course of action for now is to take no action, but keep our eyes and ears open for anything else out of the ordinary. Whatever is going on, it's likely to be politically or physically dangerous for us to blunder into. The more we know before acting, the better."

Evangeline pulls out a pocketwatch from her dress and checks the time.

"After all, the grand reception is about to begin any time now. I move we postpone the rest of our planning until after that; it'd be odd for us not to attend, and I'm going to want a nice long discussion of our options that I doubt we can do in the rest of this hour."

[Greenish]

Samael scoffs. "Like someone would notice a few missing people." After taking a slow puff of his pipe, he adds, "Though I am getting hungry. Seconding the motion."

[Claudius Maximus]

Leaning back against the door now, O'Hara seems to have gone back into his quiet mode again, listening intently to your theorizing while maintaining a rather inscrutable demeanor. He seems to nod slightly at Eleazer's description of the egg, as if it only confirmed his own ideas. He speaks abruptly, standing up straight again as he begins:

"Let me get this straight, before you go. So what I'm hearing here is that we have one weird object and one or two people with some very interesting abilities, and none of you are quite sure why or how on either." O'Hara pauses a bit, as if to let that sink in. "Now I'm going to advocate parsimony again, hearing some of these theories. We don't need to jump for something so -" he hesitates, "something as heavy as 'outside our reality.' That sort of thing is never good, and never the same. We're talking about angels failing," he says, with a somewhat worried look. He really doesn't seem comfortable with this idea. "The man could be insane - or even inhuman - without being... that."

O'Hara pauses for a bit there. He takes a deep breath before leaning back into the door once again, clearing his throat, and continuing in a calmer, almost more businesslike tone.

"Nevertheless, what you describe has piqued my interest. If this thing about the guard is true, much less the whole engine thing, then Dartmuth's at least employing something I don't immediately know about. And that means it's likely something experimental. Certainly I've never heard of a reliable and effective protection against the Knowing - that's a remarkable find, and something a great many have wasted a lot of effort trying to achieve. I'm sure a lot of people would pay a lot of money for that," he adds, looking you all over again and especially settling his gaze on Evangeline.

"...Which brings me to another thing I can't help but wonder. Namely, what's your angle here, by telling me this? The Society appreciates any leads on new phenomena, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I like to keep tabs on Dartmuth, but is it really just generosity that has you knocking on my door with this kind of news? Excuse me, but not all of you look the charitable sort. So. What do you want, and what are you trying to get me to do?"

Seamus is laying down a one-token bid on each of you, demanding to know your ulterior motives, if any. Why no, he's not the most trusting person ever.

arskyer:
This is the first interaction roll I'm aware of between the two characters. What happened here is that O'Hara got himself a token by rolling against you just now. You need to roll to counter that check, which will determine whether or not you have the token to match the bid.

If you do already have tokens against O'Hara, please tell me.

In a more in-character sense, your arcana roll doesn't tell you anything that hasn't already become apparent from other characters' lines. No radiation of magic, etc.
gkathellar:
During the drafting of this post I rolled a social check against each PC. Roll to counter.
Greenish:
This is the first interaction roll I'm aware of between the two characters. What happened here is that O'Hara got himself a token by rolling against you just now. You need to roll to counter that check, which will determine whether or not you have the token to match the bid.

If you do already have tokens against O'Hara, please tell me.
Lagren:
During the drafting of this post I rolled a social check against each PC. Roll to counter.

[Lagren]

Evangeline smiles.

"It does always come back to favors, doesn't it? Well, it's quite simple. You have wards I don't. You have knowledge that I don't. In exchange for my keeping you in the loop, I want your expertise and the use of this room. "

She taps her fingertips together thoughtfully.

"Also, the more people I have investigating for me, the less I need to do myself. Attracting the displeasure of Dartmuth on a personal level is not a good thing. A group diffuses responsibility. And recruiting you in particular implies the support of the Arcanametric Society, thus making it more likely that Dartmuth will be willing to settle if we're discovered."

She frowns slightly.

"There is one thing I might ask you to consent to, though. Not just you, but everyone in this room. May I have your permission to read your Truenames? Doing so could be very useful for us, but it does make you more vulnerable in some ways."

[Greenish]

Samael shrugs in reply to O'Hara. "We're all in the same boat here, literally."

"What I want is for this flight not end in a huge burning wreck, and the lady seems to think you can help there."


Evangeline's question causes him to raise his eyebrows and chew the end of his pipe for a while. "Useful how, and vulnerable how?"

[Lagren]

"Knowing a true name gives me a measure of power to affect the person whose name it is. Using a true name, I can sense its owner's location, speak to them from afar, or even grant them magical flight. But at the same time, I can deliberately mangle a name to cause its owner pain or fear."

She turns to Samael.

"And before you ask, no, I did not take your true name without your permission just so I could talk silently. I have enough skill to work around that limitation, but it is a much more fragile bond, temporary by nature. It wouldn't work for the time we'd need it to."

[gkathellar]

Eleazar gives Evangeline a dry look, disbelieving. "You're serious," he says, pausing. "No, absolutely not. I'm not here to put myself under the thumb of some halfwit would-be-merchant-princess."

Looking sideways at O'Hara, he grimaces. "I hope you're right," Eleazar says, ignoring the others for a moment, "and I hope to high heaven there's some reason an engine would include a telepathic component." He pauses, takes a deep breath, and stares at his feet. "Because trust me, if there's an angel on board this ship, even a fake one, then the only guarantee we have left is this one."

Then he shrugs. "Security may be light during the banquet, or it may be heavy on account of this being exactly the time to go snooping around. What do we think?"

[Greenish]

"Well, I don't need help to fly," Samael gives a lazy beat of his wings, sending a whirl of dust flying and fluttering O'Hara's papers, "But you may read my True Name."

With a very sharp (and toothy grin), he adds, "Mind you, you come after me, you better come hard and fast, or you'll regret it."


[roll0] to add some bite to that.

[arskyer]

Looking at O'Hara, Karsus shrugs and jabs a thumb in Sammael's direction, "I'm here for much the same reasons as he is. Also, I'm very interested in discovering more about this Goldeneyes character. As for what I want you to do, just keep your eyes open and let me know what you see. It's a reasonable request, I think."

Then he turns to Evangeline, an appraising glint in his eye. "I'll think about it - I'm hopeful we can resolve this without conflict. But if we can't, my answer will likely be yes. But for now, I'd like to keep myself to myself." He winks at her, then answers Eleazar. "Well, I'm curious where we'd go snooping around. Regardless of what's happening, Dartmuth should have heavy security on the engines - I know I would. I'd rate our chances at getting in there pretty poorly. And I have a feeling we'd be better of for having a good meal in us."

[Claudius Maximus]

O'Hara looks a little put off by Evangeline's proposal. "No," he says flatly. "I forbid you to meddle with my truename if we're to have any kind of business together. I'm a very private man," he continues, gesturing towards his door, "in case you hadn't noticed. And I don't need you to keep tabs on me in any case. If you need to find me, well, I'll be right here, in my room, behind all my wards." He pauses a bit. "Especially if there are murderous psychopaths wandering the ship."


Looking sideways at O'Hara, he grimaces. "I hope you're right," Eleazar says, ignoring the others for a moment, "and I hope to high heaven there's some reason an engine would include a telepathic component." He pauses, takes a deep breath, and stares at his feet. "Because trust me, if there's an angel on board this ship, even a fake one, then the only guarantee we have left is this one."
Matching Eleazer's uncomfortably grim demeanor, O'Hara nods slowly before replying. "Right. Well, I can't be sure why they would have a telepathic signal there, if they even do. Maybe something to do with that construct pilot they've been working on, or whatever the story was there. The... leak of that kind of signal would probably be suspicious enough on its own, I admit." O'Hara sighs, running his hand through his hair as he tries to think this out more. "I... I don't know. I just hope it's not the ontogenesis thing."

As the discussion turns more towards planning, O'Hara takes a moment to relax a bit. Having arched an eyebrow at some of the ideas, he chimes in on some of the bolder options. "I certainly hope you don't intend to do anything stupid here. Go and investigate if you want, but keep a low profile, at least until you're more sure of things. If you're going to look suspicious at all, then stay the hell away from the engine rooms, or the bridge, or anything else like that. If Dartmuth does have something to hide, then they aren't going to play around over there."

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods.
"All right then. Samael, please relax for a moment, and don't fight me..."

She makes a small gesture with one hand, tilting her head as if listening to something only she can hear.

Samael:

The sensation of being named is startling and strange. It's as if someone had grabbed onto a limb you didn't know you had. Something you can't describe reaches for a core part of you, to find it and know it for itself.
It's... rather intense. If your knowing is eyes, this is hands.
You can make a will save, or you can choose not to resist.

[Claudius Maximus]

Evangeline:
Samael's truename is different, in a way that you have never encountered before. In the infinite variety of the language of creation, even such beings as demons are accountable, but there are syllables here that don't normally have a place in the personal true name of an individual - ancient sounds that speak of distance and eons, but never too clearly. There's a core here that seems appropriate, but it's twisted or distorted, and buried in something somehow wrong, and you feel like the word that echos back to your mind is merely a part of something more, as if you had only begun to listen in the middle of a much longer word.

[Greenish]

Samael's wings twitch as Evangeline reaches for his true name, then he shrugs, pushes himself up from the wall he's been leaning to, and stretches. "Well, if we're done with this secret meeting, I hear there's a banquet."

Taking the last deep puff of his pipe, he looks expectantly at his new comrades.

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods sharply.

"I think we're done here, if no-one else has anything more to say?"

[gkathellar]

Eleazar shrugs, taking another look around the room before standing to depart. "Fine. Just keep your eyes open. Anything could be significant."

[Claudius Maximus]

"Indeed," says O'Hara, kneeling at the door. He starts to manipulate the symbols again, dismantling the very seals you saw him construct when you entered. He continues speaking as he works, as before. "Keep me appraised of any further interesting developments you come across, but do try to verify anything you find that seems unbelievable first. Inaccurate information won't help anybody, and my time here is valuable. Oh, and I'd prefer to take the wards down as infrequently as possible," he adds, as the glyphs fade away once more. "Maximizes security," he states flatly.

O'Hara stands up again and dusts himself off, though it doesn't look like much could have got on him. He slowly walks back to the living room, leaving the entrance way clear for you. "I'll do a little research of my own, if I find the time, but no guarantees. I've got a lot of work to do."

[Greenish]

Samael heads for the door, waving goodbye to O'Hara over his shoulder. At the door, he turns to give O'Hara one last grin. "Next time, we'll be expecting tea and scones."

[arskyer]

Karsus stands and says a quiet, "Thank you" to O'Hara, then walks out the door. Out in the plaza he stretches, then waits for the rest of the informal group to exit.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar follows suit, making his way back into the corridor without any further conversation or ceremony, glancing briefly at Karsus and Samael before he looks in the direction of the banquet. "Well? Are we getting this obscene little teaparty under way, or not?"

[Lagren]

Evangeline nods to Seamus on her way out.

"We'll be in touch."

She bows formally, then turns to the rest of the group.

"Now, it's off to the grand reception! Quickly, now. We haven't much time and the ship is large."

[Greenish]

Samael sketches a lazy approximation of salute. "As you wish, ma'am."

He sets towards the banquet.

[arskyer]

Karsus chuckles softly at Sammael's antics, nods to Evangeline, then begins walking next to Eleazar. Speaking softly and in a dry tone he mutters, "I didn't know a banquet was something to get excited about. Food is food, or so I've found it." With a wry, sidelong glance between Evangeline and Eleazar, he continues. "I don't know if it'll be a problem and maybe it isn't my place to say, but let's let small grievances pass for now, eh? I have a feeling we'll be glad to have each other around, if.. whatever this is... goes badly.

He drops the hushed tones, and smiles. "But enough of this murky talk - let us raise our glasses together at least one more time, before we delve into this awful morass set before us. Even heroes need a pitcher to drink now and again!"

[gkathellar]

Eleazar gives Karsus a slack-jawed look. For a moment, the beginnings of a hand-gesture make it seem as though he's going to speak, but he stops himself, closes his eyes, and sighs vocally. Without another word, he sets off along the way.

[Claudius Maximus]

You once again make your way trough the sprawling and labyrinthine corridors of the Lithos, moving up to the main ballroom on Deck Beta. It's a long way, and at first there are a fair number of wrong turns and dead ends as you wander the nearly empty halls. Once you get close to Deck Delta, however, you start to encounter other parties, many of which are just setting off. It seems that the majority of passengers intended to arrive early, and those on the lower decks had given themselves plenty of time to find their way.

Between your own use of the map and the recent experience of those lodged in the upper decks, you are able to make it to an especially large and sumptuously decorated hallway on Deck Beta. The entrance to the ball room is in sight, a large double door of solid oak and bronze, open wide. A crowd of well-dressed men and women has congregated outside, engaging in polite conversation while attended to by a handful of Dartmuth's wait staff. Others can be seen filing into the room. You can hear music coming from the door, a relatively old but well-liked song played by what sounds like a string quartet.

You can see a great variety of dress styles in this crowd, no doubt owing the the diversity of Gabriel and to Bron's status as a port city. This wouldn't be the first leg of the journey for many of them, and you suppose some could even be on the Lithos for the second time in a row. There's no telling where they could be from originally. There are a handful of very prominent fashions, mostly more or less local, but the only real constant is that they are almost universally dressed very formally. Many of the women in particular seem to be trying to outdo one another in sheer extravagance of dress - you think you even see one made of large shining crystals - while still others are in their own competition of conservatism and austerity.

Security here seems pretty tight, and the movements of the crowd are watched closely by Dartmuth and Black Dragon guards, more than you think you've seen elsewhere on the ship. There are a few passengers here and there who clearly carry themselves like they know how to fight, and it seems that these are under particular scrutiny. At least the guards seem to be able to pick some of them out - they have some shrewd eyes here, perhaps due to the expected attendance of Nikola Dartmuth and Captain Munroe.

The Grand Banquet will begin in fifteen minutes.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar scans the crowd quickly, and with a vague nods toward his new compatriots, stride restlessly into it. He stays quiet, holding back from any unconscious displays of telekinesis, doing his best to keep a low profile and keeping his eyes open.

Rather than watch the crowd, Eleazar watches the guards, looking for significant hand signals, special or unusual equipment, or even oddities in their placement and distribution throughout the room. He keeps his eyes open for any Black Dragons he happens to know in the process.

Perception:[roll0] — Watching the watchmen.
Stealth:[roll1] — Keeping a low profile.

[Greenish]

Taking in the colourful crowd, Samael absentmindedly brushes tobacco ash from his sleeve and gives the nearest guard a toothy grin before entering the ball room.

Awareness 27, Perception +17, See Invisibility active.
Darkvision 120 ft., Tremorsense 40 ft. and constantly pinging, Knowing 35 ft. (don't need all the details, but if someone stands out [like, say, not having a Knowing reading], do tell).

[Lagren]

Evangeline smoothly melts into the crowd, seemingly entirely disregarding the guards as she moves onwards into the ballroom, scanning the crowds for anyone she might recognize.


[roll0] Perception to spot our hosts or anyone else significant/that Evangeline will recognize.

[arskyer]

Karsus steps into the ballroom and allows himself to be swept up by the random movements of the crowd, content to walk where he may and keep a wary eye out for people or things out of place, or that he's seen before.

Perception, as always with Improvisation:[roll0]

[Claudius Maximus]

The crowd outside the door appears to be centered on Irondale and a few other dignitaries and businessmen, who seem to be involved in a polite discussion of politics and business. Something about transporting commodities between constellations, from the sound of it. You're not close enough to hear all the particulars. A thin cloud of cigar smoke has accumulated around them, which a few of the women in the vicinity seem intent on fanning away from their faces.

The entrance to the ballroom is relatively clear at this point, and there is no significant wait to get in. The Dartmuth guards that flank the doors barely give you a glance as you pass into the cavernous grand ballroom, a massive and opulent chamber decked with elaborate chandeliers and tall curtains of Dartmuth's trademark bright red. Large portraits of Dartmuth patriarchs line the walls, and the floor is of polished, high-quality oak. An especially huge and extravagant chandelier hangs over the middle of the room, an intricate filigree of iron and glass illuminating what would normally be the center of the dance floor. Today, however, it overlooks a series of tables for the banquet, many of which are marked with reservations and place sets. Looks like these will be some of the more exclusive tables in the hall, though they seem mostly empty for now, with only one real group sitting together - a collection of Black Dragon guards centered around a short, winged woman with completely black skin, who seems to command the attention of the others. At another one of these tables sits a single thin human man of advanced age, dressed in an elegant red suit that nevertheless appears to be of a style at least a century old. He sits alone in one of the reserved tables, alternating between staring at a small silver pocket watch and glancing at the entrance to the ballroom. Nikola Dartmuth and Captain Munroe don't seem to be present, at least not yet.

There are certainly more people in here than loitering outside, and the room is humming at somewhat under half its expected occupancy. People congregate in small parties at or near their assigned tables, and others, without particular reservations, wander about the open tables to socialize as they decide where to sit. This looks to be your fate, since none of you are aware of having a reserved spot. There seem to be several of these groups here and there, engaged in a diverse assortment of conversations and activities. You can even see the people at one table engaged in some kind of card game. Elsewhere, a particular cluster has formed around a small group of exceptionally fashionably dressed young men and women, among them the artist Cerulean, observing and engaging in an animated discussion of some sort. You can see Thogrinna in this crowd, dressed in a new outfit, another abomination of lace and crinoline, shiny bright teal crossed with crimson stripes. You can hear her loudly chime in on the conversation, pontificating on how the lion is of course the noblest and most kingly of beasts and why it even graces the seal of the great Rockheims and how dare you question its nature did your mother even tell you the stories. Cerulean smiles as she continues, though the target of her tirade seems a little cowed.

On the left side of the room is a bit of a raised stage, where you can see that that string quartet you thought you heard is actually an ornate and clearly antiquated construct, a tapered brass column of a thing rooted to unseen machinery below deck, its eight arms moving in eerily steady unison as it plays the part of four men. It must be centuries old, at least the age of the Lithos itself. There's a little placard by it, which a couple of people have congregated around to discuss the machine it presumably describes.

To your immediate right is a series of mobile coat racks and an accompanying force of Dartmuth employees to comb the incoming crowd and check bags and coats - coats which are, incidentally, almost completely superfluous in the entirely indoor and delicately climate-controlled environment of the Lithos. A man from among them approaches Evangeline almost as soon as she enters:

"Excuse me, madam," he begins, with a slight bow, "but would you like to check that bag ton- You." It's the same man who took your tickets, and he stands up straight very quickly upon recognizing Evangeline, clearing his throat. You can hear a weary series of cracks as he fixes his slouch.

Eleazer:
Looking at their livery, it seems that the Black Dragons on the Lithos are all members of the same company, the 931st Scales Division. An old group, to have a number that low. Judging by the fact that there's only one company here, it's evident that this is an independent mercenary protection force not attached to a greater military structure. Under the rules of the Black Dragons, that means they're led by a Major.

You actually recognize this company from past experience - they were operating in Bron as recently as last month. Since you're fairly sure the Lithos came in from an interconstellatory trip before this one, that means that this is likely the first journey with this company acting as the guard. You're not sure what the story is with the change. In any case, you know you've seen a few of the Dragons here from around the city, but you don't actually know any of them that you see here. You also don't know the name of the commander of this group, or the details of their reputation, beyond that you can assume it reasonably positive if Dartmuth selected them.

As for placement, it looks like they're running a standard crowd management protocol. Nothing fancy, but a tried and true method. There are many more Black Dragon guards outside of the ballroom than inside - It seems that Dartmuth has a preference for in-house security when things get closer to sensitive personnel like Nikola. Still, you see a handful of Dragons placed here and there in the ballroom proper, a mix of veteran Scales and a couple of auxiliaries with intel and suppression skills, and of course the group in the middle, which you presume to be a collection of officers coordinating the scene, based on some surreptitious signals a few of them give to the agents in the rest of the room. Of these, it's clear that the winged woman - who is almost certainly one of those "scions" with literal black dragon blood that they keep around to remind people of the organization's roots - is the highest in rank. At this distance though, you can't make out the details on her outfit, so it's not clear if she's the major herself or merely the acting officer on the scene.

As far as you can tell, none of the Dartmuth guards pay you or the rest of your group particular attention. Then again you know they'd try to keep it a secret that they're watching you. You don't let that psych you out though, an continue to try to play it cool and keep a low profile around them. On the other hand, you see one or two of the Dragons near the door give you a sort of squinty look. Do they recognize you as well? You can't recall if you were ever in uniform around them back in Bron. You think you're saved from some further scrutiny by the fact that many of them are paying more attention to Samael, whose potential dangers are much more apparent at a glance.
Evangeline:
You're able to insinuate yourself pretty far into most of these groups without calling too much attention to yourself, getting a good vantage point for several of the conversations here and there.

For the crowd outside the ballroom, it looks like it really does center on Magnus Irondale and a handful of other personalities from Bron, including his entire personal retinue. The bit you're able to catch seems to be more of the same trade discussion from earlier, something between Irondale and a dwarven merchant you think you might recognize:

"And where is your brother then?" ask Irondale as you get in range. "He told me he would be here to discuss this."

"Well he meant no offense, sir, I assure you," the merchant responds. "He seems to have taken quite ill as soon as the Lithos landed in Bron. Fortunately I was in town and quite fit to take the journey in his stead. I may not be one of Apion's official delegates like him, but I'll make all the same arguments he would in Far'Aday."

"And I'll tell you what I told him - that it just seems like an illogical idea to transport water across constellations, especially when nary a spot in Gabriel is more than one plate's distance from a good and potable source. Surely people would not be so foolish as to pay a premium for imported water, no matter how exotic the origin. And there are many reasons to keep the current laws besides..."

Looks like it's just about as engaging as it sounded from a distance.

As you move on to the ballroom, you can pick out a few little social groups and trends, beyond the obvious ones. There's a certain correlation between people wearing a handful of very modern fashions, one of which is stereotypically Far'Adayan, and you suspect these to be the people returning to Far'Aday from some business or another in Bron. There are also a few loner types staking out the edges of the room, avoiding the bustle of the crowd. You'd probably be able to scope out the room bit more, maybe get yourself closer to a few of the conversations, but that ticket man bumps into you about as soon as you enter.
Karsus:
You recognize much of the crowd from the platform earlier today, and from your strolls down the halls of the ship, but many more seem to be new, probably people who were well behind you in the boarding line. As for their character, well, you're familiar with stereotypes about amoral industrialists, but this is legitimately a worse crowd than you would have expected. You wouldn't exactly say that the room is full of horrible people, but the general spectrum seems to run from decent to quite deplorable, with only a rare few people who seriously conduct themselves along the general culture's ideals of virtue, and practically nobody that the Order, in their stuffiness, would consider a model citizen. The children in the crowd run the typical gamut of temperaments, but even among them the trend seems to be toward entitlement and vindictiveness.

The readings on the people you recognize don't seem to have changed at all, which is normal enough, since the character of an individual tends to change slowly in all but the most extraordinary conditions. A handful of the new faces, however, show signs of just that sort of dramatic shift. You think you can identify four or five, all with the same general profile, and not one you haven't seen before - they're motivated by something heavy and specific, and probably painful. Revenge is most likely, going on your experience with a few criminals you've handled, many of which were convinced they were in the right.

The bitterness award would probably have to go to one of these people, a middle-aged human man reclining against the wall to your left, not far from the entrance. Dark-skinned and tall, and dressed in a surprisingly cheap suit, he gives off an air of patience and serenity that belies a personality driven by the fury of a deep-seated grudge of the most dangerous sort. Here's a man who would die to do what he thinks he needs to do. He seems to be accompanied by a much younger orcish woman, clearly very athletic, and not even slightly at home in the rather sheer black dress she's sporting. In contrast to her companion's calm, she seems quite fidgety, clinging tightly to a small handbag and glancing here and there all over the room, but never at the man she's with.

Also of note is the old man in the middle of the room. This gentleman is a prime example of the philosophy people fear from Dartmuth, an uncompromising servant of the family's interests, who, without a care for the rest of the world, serves the house of Dartmuth before all else - in rain and snow and pain and pleasure alike. He clearly takes himself very seriously, and is prepared to make bitter sacrifices on a moment's thought.

The group of Black Dragons in the middle of the room is seated in the very center table, which is a bit too far into the circle of reserved tables for you to read without treading into the central area. It looks like everybody in there belongs in that area, and the crowds you follow don't tend to get too close, so you're not sure how low of a profile you can keep by entering it when you don't personally have a seat there.
Samael:
You recognize much of the crowd from the platform earlier today, and from your strolls down the halls of the ship, but many more seem to be new, probably people who were well behind you in the boarding line. You don't detect anything invisible in this room, though you can feel the entire buried structure of the machinery that powers that construct, right under your feet. It's enormously intricate, though it's put off a bit by a few broken cogs here and there, clacking together uselessly. The way they break is interesting - cracks and shattered pieces rather than the bends you'd expect from most metals. In any case you suppose there has to be some measure of redundancy down there, since the construct's movements continue smoothly as it plays.

As for the people, well, you're familiar with stereotypes about amoral industrialists, but this is legitimately a worse crowd than you would have expected. You wouldn't exactly say that the room is full of horrible people, but the general spectrum seems to run from decent to quite deplorable, with only a rare few people who seriously conduct themselves along the general culture's ideals of virtue. The children in the crowd run the typical gamut of temperaments, but even among them the trend seems to be toward entitlement and vindictiveness.

The readings on the people you recognize don't seem to have changed at all, which is normal enough, since the character of an individual tends to change slowly in all but the most extraordinary conditions. A handful of the new faces, however, show signs of just that sort of dramatic shift. You think you can identify four or five, all with the same general profile, and not one you haven't seen before - they're motivated by something heavy and specific, and probably painful. Revenge is most likely, going on your experience in the less savory parts of the streets.

The bitterness award would probably have to go to one of these people, a middle-aged human man reclining against the wall to your left, not far from the entrance. Dark-skinned and tall, and dressed in a surprisingly cheap suit, he gives off an air of patience and serenity that belies a personality driven by the fury of a deep-seated grudge of the most dangerous sort. Here's a man who would die to do what he thinks he needs to do. He seems to be accompanied by a much younger orcish woman, clearly very athletic, and not even slightly at home in the rather sheer black dress she's sporting. In contrast to her companion's calm, she seems quite fidgety, clinging tightly to a small handbag and glancing here and there all over the room, but never at the man she's with.

Another standout is the old man in the middle of the room, who, according to your unique senses, is in fact disguised by some kind of illusion magic. Underneath the glamer is a body even more shriveled and thin than the one he'd like you to see, with gnarled, claw-like fingers and deep, empty eye sockets. You have little doubt you're looking at one of Dartmuth's notorious "elders," a member of the family who has chosen not to let death stand in their way. This gentleman is a prime example of the philosophy people fear from Dartmuth, an uncompromising servant of the family's interests, who, without a care for the rest of the world, serves the house of Dartmuth before all else - in rain and snow, in pain and pleasure, in death and life. He clearly takes himself very seriously, and is prepared to make bitter sacrifices on a moment's thought.

The group of Black Dragons in the middle of the room is seated in the very center table, which is a bit too far into the circle of reserved tables for you to read without treading into the central area. It looks like everybody in there belongs in that area, so you're not sure how low of a profile you can keep by entering it when you don't personally have a seat there.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar carefully swings around the hall, searching for an open table with a good view of all the major entrances, eventually picking out a seat with a clear line of sight to the officer's table and ignoring the people seated near him. While Eleazar makes a point of not paying particular attention to his fellow Black Dragons, he does make himself visible. For the most part, he watches the incoming crowd.

Should any of his companions swing close by his table, he attempts to flag them down with a gesture.

[arskyer]

Karsus spends a moment looking over the group of Black Dragons and their assumed charge before shaking his head curtly and walking away. He stops short after a moment, having spotted Thogrinna ahead of him, and promptly turns on a heel. "Bloated old hag..." His walk is noticeably more dangerous as he stalks away from her, at least until he spots Eleazar sitting in the middle of his own personally generated social deflection shield.

Wading through the tables with a smile, Karsus slumps gracelessly into the next chair over from Eleazar. "Bleeding first class ticket. Spotted anything more interesting than our old friend over there?" Karsus points out Thogrinna with slight grimace, as if he'd eaten a bad fruit.

[Lagren]

Evangeline smiles winningly.
"Why yes, it is me. How astute of you."
She shifts her bag's strap from one shoulder to the other, careful of her hat.
"As for the bag, I'd prefer to keep it with me if it's all the same to you."
She gestures to the scabbard hanging unobtrusively by her side.
"You can take my sword though. I don't know why I even bother carrying the thing- it's not as if I have much call to defend myself. And if I take it with me it'll just end up getting caught on everything."


[roll0] Diplomacy for a token in case bag check is mandatory, in which case I might need to ask a favour...

[gkathellar]

Eleazar glances towards Thogrinna and makes a low sigh as he notices her for the first time. "Looks like Dartmuth prefers to have their own guards inside the ballroom, which could mean something or absolutely nothing." He grimaces. "This is an old security squad, though, the kind that plays things by the book and knows how to make that work. If there's trouble they haven't been told about, they should pick up on it fast."

After a pause, Eleazar nods very slightly in the direction of the winged woman sitting with the other Black Dragons. "But if we need them, she's who we go to for now."

[Claudius Maximus]

"Ah- of course," says the employee. "As you wish. I'll just check that, with the other, uh, weapons." For a moment he moves to reach for Evangeline's sword, but he awkwardly abandons that plan pretty quickly, pulling back a bit and extending his hand to receive it instead.

Karsus and Eleazer sit at a round table with nine seats, comfortably spaced. This seems to be the most common sort of table, though there are a few larger ones with a dozen or more seats, and a handful of smaller ones with four. A fine red tablecloth covers the surface, and a handsome vase of slick black glass stands in the center as sole decoration, displaying a single small, completely white rose. Four of the other seats are occupied, but the other party, a group of gnome businessmen dressed in older Bronish fashion, seems to keep to themselves after a few ill-fated attempts at small-talk.

Lagren:
His lack of resistance implies the bag check was not mandatory, so no tokens are expended. Nevertheless that smile does win you a token. I believe you have two against him now - correct me if that is not accurate.

[Lagren]

Evangeline blinks for a moment at the ticket agent before gathering his meaning.
"Oh! Yes, of course!"
It takes a moment's fumbling with clasps before she detaches her scabbard and passes it on to the employee, a little flushed.

"Stupid straps, they always do get caught up with each other."
She laughs awkwardly, and makes a hurried escape towards the table- where, no doubt, the vitriolic wit of Elaezer will be waiting for her.


Good dex doesn't necessarily help you if you've put your sword belt under your purse strap, and the buckle's gone and worked its way around somewhere.
It's a good thing Evangeline uses her sword more for threatening people than for actually stabbing them.

[Greenish]

After spending a long moment taking in all the view from the room, Samael, follows most of the others to the table. "Seems we have a full house tonight. So, who should we interrogate– excuse me, speak to, to learn about the ontomalogical engines and other eldritch phenomenoms?"

Samael learns back in his chair and reaches into the pockets of his coat for his pipe and tobacco.

[gkathellar]

"Maybe one of the ship's engineers or maintenance crew if we can get them drunk enough," Eleazar suggests with a shrug. "Or maybe we'll get lucky, and something nice and catastrophic will happen."

He pauses, and looks at the other three.

"Well, by some definitions of lucky, anyway."

[Claudius Maximus]

As you all settle in at the table, a waiter approaches, dressed in red and bearing a tray of exotic-looking hors d'oeuvres. He's the first of many, by the look of it. The gnomes eagerly help themselves to the food, and the waiter moves on to Karsus and Eleazer. "Would you gentlemen like an appetizer this evening?" he asks.

Meanwhile, dinner guests continue to arrive and enter as the banquet's official start approaches. A few people from the crowds outside move to the ballroom to find seating now, breaking away from the discussions out there. Though dozens of flamboyantly and uniquely dressed people file in, the only person who really stands out from the crowd is a haggard looking middle-aged human man dressed in a Dartmuth-branded uniform, one that you haven't seen anywhere on the ship so far. He sports an elaborate and fully-stocked toolbelt on his waist and a set of useful-looking, multi-setting goggles on head, currently pushed up. His uncomfortable and nervous demeanor further set him apart form the crowd, as the only person who clearly doesn't want to stand out. He makes a beeline for the old man in the middle of the room, walking with a self-conscious slouch.

The elderly gentleman doesn't look pleased at all to see the other man, snapping his pocket watch shut as soon as he sees him and throwing an annoyed glare his way as he approaches. The goggle-wearing man leans in and a hushed conversation ensues. After about a minute or two you see the older man press his face in his hands, pull out a pen, and write quite a bit on one of the fine silk napkins on his table, handing it to the man with the goggles, who gives it a nervous look for a moment before the older man dismisses him curtly. The man in goggles turns and immediately makes for the same door he came in through, as the older man pulls out his watch once again, returning to his impatient waiting.

Eleazer:
It seems likely to you that the this man is a mechanic or engineer of some sort. Those special goggles are standard issue for Dartmuth's higher-level mechanical personnel, as they let the wearer see their work without interference from pesky things like intervening matter. They fetch a damn fine price outside of Dartmuth's grasp, typically for more shady purposes than repair jobs. You doubt Dartmuth uses them solely "as intended" either, for that matter.

In any case, that's a nice set of tools he's carrying. Of what you see there, the specialized articles all seem to do with wiring and other forms of energy management. This guy probably deals with arcane and electrical circuitry more than anything else.

[gkathellar]

Eleazar looks at the scene and narrows his eyes. "Well, that seems like the sort of thing we're looking for. Do we chase the the Dartmuth engineer, or interview his aggravated supervisor?"

[Greenish]

Samael leans back and drums his fingers on the table, claws leaving small holes in the wood. "A wise man once said, 'divide and conquer'." He gestures at Eleazer. "You're an engineer, too. Why don't you and Karsus go for the goggle-head, while me and Evangeline try to milk the boss-man?"

[gkathellar]

Eleazar rolls his eyes at Samael and stands up. "You know, I was hoping this wouldn't involve me doing anything," he says and looks to Karsus. "Shall we bother someone based on vague suspicion, then?"

[Greenish]

Eleazar rolls his eyes at Samael and stands up. "You know, I was hoping this wouldn't involve me doing anything," he says and looks to Karsus. "Shall we bother someone based on vague suspicion, then?""Now, now, where's your inquisitive spirit?" Samael grins and waves his hands. "Lady, gentlemen, we're on the verge of a Mystery."

Samael nods to Karsus and Eleazer, then motions to Evangeline. "After you. Shall we make him sing like a lil' bird?"

[Lagren]

Evangeline shrugs.
"I suppose so. Better than waiting around for the banquet to start. And I would prefer the official to the grease monkey."

[gkathellar]

Placing his hands on two pillars of telekinesis as he hauls himself to his feet, Eleazar sneers. "Fine, you can take the clean one," he says, and gestures for Karsus to follow as he makes to intercept the man in goggles.

A little bit out of the door, Eleazar catches up with the engineer and puts a hand on his shoulder, moving up alongside him as he does. "In my experience," he says as sympathetically as he can manage, "going to your superiors with a problem in your department never helps, because if they could solve it they wouldn't have hired you in the first place."

Looking his fellow engineer over carefully, Eleazar gives his shoulder a pat. "Maybe you thought your superiors hired you because you were an expert, but they thought they were hiring you so that when they asked you a question the answer would be, 'yes sir.' My superiors, on the other hand, hired me because they knew that would be the answer, and I'm offering my services free of charge this once. What can I do for you, expert?"

Medicine:[roll0] — Throwing up Tactical Insight for [Humanoids]. Bonus to attack and to social skills.
Perception:[roll1] — Social check. Immediate demand is "tell me what you know, what the problem is." Implied concession is "I'll come give you a hand." Increase the check by +2 if Tactical Insight succeeds.

[Greenish]

"Then we are agreed", Samael nods happily and heads towards the gentleman with the pocket watch.

Approaching the man, Samael flashes him a sympathetic smile and waves his pipe towards the engineer. "Hard to find good help nowadays, eh?"

[roll0]

[Lagren]

Evangeline simply follows Samael and waits for her time to speak. You simply don't break into someone's flow- not if you're on the same side.


Letting Samael take the diplomacy roll here.