Ikpin Glarus: The fall of Glarus RP

[Artman77]

For three generations the Glarus Family has enjoyed a seat in the Imperial Council, and has amassed estates in the Opesan province in the heart of the empire.

A curious young boy, Ikpin, roams the halls of the courts and walks among the crowds at the amphitheater, as if looking for trouble...

[ThreeDSix]

Light in step, Ikpin almost hops along the long corridors, only slowing down to a stately walk, as he'd been taught ("Only peasants run! You are a noble, act like one!"), when a servant or some courtier came into sight, speeding up again once they had moved out of sight.

What are ma and pa up to today, who are they meeting with?
All the meetings are boring, but is it with puffed up, sickly sweet smelling nobles
Knowledge Nobility and Royalty

[roll0]

or with dirty, earthy smelling commoners?
Knowledge Local
[/SPOILER]
[roll1]
[/SPOILER]


OOC

glad to be involved again!:smallbiggrin:

[Artman77]

"The crown is secure, I assure you," you hear your father saying "The Umami family will not be a problem, nor will the wizards of the Black Circle."

Peering around the corner between the greeting hall and your father's office you see a man dressed in red silk robes tied with bright yellow sashes adorned with gold and gemstones. Jin of the Hishaka family is here from the Forbidden city in the Qin'Yore province. His arms bear a red tiger rampant reguardant on a black field, if you remember correctly.
"I appreciate your confidence in the matter," he responds, "but if His Holiness the Emperor Ophavius wishes to keep the crown secured for him by his grandfather, he would be wise to continue in his footsteps. He is not the most powerful spell caster in the empire, and I would not be surprised if someone challenged him for the throne, and soon."

"Are you saying the Qinese nobility is failing to assure their people that they now hold their rightful place in the empire, and the rebellion may start up again?" Asks your father.

"Not at all, quite the opposite." He responds. "The empire has more support from the Qin provinces than they ever did in the past. If families from
these provinces occupied more seats on the high council, it would be better equipped to deal with potential threats to the crown." he says, holding out his hand as if he is offering something.

"Which is where you come in, I suppose?" your father says, cutting him off before he continues his argument.

"Great minds think alike," he says with a smile. "We are both upstarts in terms of arcane ability, but while your family is of moderate size and just becoming wealthy, mine is large and has been wealthy for generations. We have much to offer you."

"I will consider it," replies your father dryly, "But like you said, our family is new to the game, and it may take some time to establish grounds with witch to recommend that you should have a seat."

"I understand." He says "Just know that yours is not the only family with which we are in contact--the sooner you can help us, the less help we will need from others..."

OOC:
Yeah, well not only was the hook not 100% complete, but I thought this would be a good way to introduce in-game politics without it having to come from me directly. It should make your character mor important that way?

Also, feel free to invent any noble family and/or their dirty secrets. Families from the western part of the kingdom have more japanese/chinese/arabic/hebrew sounding names, and dragons, tigers, geometric shapes, arcane symbols, and stripes dominate their coat of arms.
Families from the central and eastern part of the empire have german/latin/roman/greek sounding names, and bears, horses, griffins, shield divisions/partitions, and holy symbols dominate their coat of arms.

[ThreeDSix]

Ipkin listened to the conversation intently. He did not trust these Quinese, too rebellious by half... but a few things in the conversation made his ears prick up
Black Circle?

Knowledge Arcana?
[roll0]

Umani Family?

Knowledge Nobs and Royals
[roll1]


Was it wise to ally his house with a more powerful family of unknown motives?

Ikpin's brow furrowed. Father has always led this family with shrewd wisdom, Ikpin was certain if father agreed to this, it would bring them advantage...

Standing in the shadows in the entryway to his father's audience chamber, Ikpin stood in respectful silence and listened...


In truth, I don't know what exactly to do here, but I guess some information gathering is in order - provided Glarus paid attention in his classes above :smalltongue:

[Artman77]

Knowledge Checks:
The black circle is an ancient secret society of wizards that dabbles in arcane arts that some consider to be taboo. You've heard some rumors about the black circle, ranging from them being a cult of power hungry necromancers and liches led by a demon to simply being a brotherhood of loyal inventors and heroes; opting for secrecy to maintain the purity of the group.

The Umani family is one of the top three most powerful Qinese families, the other two being the Atakeshi and the Qinakio. All three play on both sides of the fence, each having a large network of supporters to draw upon.
The Umani may be the most dangerous of the three, or so you suppose. Apparently they are less of a nationalist family than the other two, going so far as to send some of their sons to the other provinces to plant roots there. You've heard your father say that their loyalty changes hands as often as gold does.

Jin and your father finish the conversation in hushed tones. Try as you might, you cannot hear their emphatic whispers without rounding the corner and revealing that you've been eavesdropping. As you consider doing just that, you hear the squeak of wooden legs across the stone floor as your father's guest gets up hurriedly and turns to exit.

You look around frantically. There is nowhere to hide! In a moment Jin stands before you; a tall and impressive figure with a stern face. Upon seeing you, he glances over his shoulder briefly to where you know your father is still seated and smiles.
"Well hello there young lad," he says quietly, his expression softening "And who might you be?"
He waits for you to respond and then pulls a small green vial of bubbling liquid and a long crystal from his coat and offers them to you. The crystal is slightly larger than the handle of a sword and sparkles like a diamond but is bright green, much like the color of the liquid in the vial. Silver fittings with small arcane markings cap the top and bottom of the crystal.
"If you ever want to know the truth of a matter, really know the truth, use these," he holds them out for you to take. "Your father will show you how to use them..."

[ThreeDSix]

Ikpin responds with his name and with a polite "Thankyou, milord". Somewhat recieves the vials while being surprised, grateful and suspicious all at once.

Knowledge Arcana:

[roll0]


Still holding the vials, Ikpin walks into the office where his father is still seated and stands at the head of the desk with an apologetic look on his face, waiting for what his father might say.

[Artman77]

Though you've never seen a truth potion in person, you have read, heard, and talked about them. You're 99% sure that is what you now hold in your hand. The crystal could be some scrying device, but all scrying devices you've read or heard about are either spheres or flat like a plate, not an elongated crystal like this one.

"No son, I will not teach you to use those," he says heavily after the servant comes and escorts Jin from the office. "Truth potions are not usually taken willingly, and cannot readily be mixed with wine." He holds out his hand and takes the "gifts" from you, placing them in the top drawer of his ornate wooden desk. He opens a small decorative box and takes a pinch-full of gold dust from within. Chanting quietly, he shuts the drawer and flicks the dust at the drawer's handle.
Noticing your curiosity, he adds, "The crystal is a Gontonian soul-searcher. Using it, you can intuit a man's whereabouts, his mood, and his intentions. If your instructors have taught you anything of Qin'Yon, you'll remember that Gonton is known for its crystal mines."

He sees your eyes linger on the drawer where the green items are now surely locked away. "These are not gifts given in generosity, though they are quite expensive. They were given to drive a wedge between us. He knew I would never approve of you using them, and he probably hoped you would resent me for it. I will not let Jin manipulate this family."
He looks out his window, checking the sun's position in the sky.
"Now, don't you have arcane theory to discuss with Master Cyphus? A noble boy should not be late."