a meeting of the minds (open)

[lancifolium]

WHO: All y'all (OPEN)
WHEN: The evening following this message to the network
WHERE: The back room of The Ruby's Arms
WHAT: The gang gets together to pool their knowledge and try to figure out where to go from here.
WARNINGS: None yet, will edit as needed.



note: [ So taking a tip from how this post was structured, there's a top level marked 'open discussion' which you can treat like a network with that idea that things are being said in a round table setting - because group threads after a certain size are ungainly. Branch out, threadjack, have discourse, etc.

There's also an 'ooc info' top level where you can drop off any bits of information your character would share with the class (please try to keep it bullet-pointed) again with the group discussion environment in mind. In the spirit of trying to make a semi-consistent study group for the local nerds happen feel free to also list a few things your character knows about (local history, magic, crime) and would be happy to talk about, or maybe even teach someone else about.

Below this, post some top levels, mingle, nerd out, plot the city's burning, etc. Feel free to PM me or holler at me on discord if you have any questions! ]

basic prompt:

The Ruby's Arms was on the very edge of the artist's district, a cozy hole in the wall that plays host primarily to a handful of elderly locals, as it's just outdated enough to keep the younger set away. The elderly gentleman behind the bar, Annunziata, is a cheerful but deaf sort, who'll respond to almost anything not half-shouted at him with a cheerful nod and jovial wave of his hand.

Once being waved towards a door left ajar at one side of the room, characters will head down into a private room with a cheerful fire and a long table with enough stools to accommodate everyone. Lily, who is very excited to take notes, is easily spotted beside a big pot of tea with a cup in progress already steaming away, flanking her on the other side is a tidy pile of pencils and a few notebooks, all duplicated from her private reserve.

Despite their messy circumstances, she looks cheerful - like someone that is always ready to start jotting everything down and eager to have a reason to do so.

"I told him we were a flower appreciation society, if anyone asks you're just mad for magnolias."

Comments

ooc info

[lancifolium]

[reparo]

Hermione would like to propose:

- creating an alternative to her magical galleons; a protean charm that gets placed on let's say a coin and this gets warm if someone leaves a message; the messages will be brief and based on code - location + time. she figures that if what Lily said about the network sometimes being scrutinised is true, then this would be a great way to arrange SECRET MEETINGS without it being on any network.
- a show and tell of everyone's magic & talents because she would love to Know Things; maybe a duelling club to keep ourselves sharp if there is interest

Hermione would also love to achieve:

- BREWING POTIONS Taravast style. the expectation is that if the magic is wild here so will the herbs be, but listen what if we experiment with potions successfully? we could have healing potions & polyjuice
- wandless spellcasting, so everyone with no magic stick please talk to her.

[beitangmoran]

So, Moran has been cozying up with the Attaryl witches in his time here. Soon after arrival, he asked some questions about Hatisse and Lord Ahra, an while the Attaryl witches were reluctant to talk about it (because it's old stuff, right), they did mention a few things that didn't seem very relevant then, but are now.

What he was told by the Attaryl :
- There was no betrayal on Hatisse's part. It is the Attaryl's habit to send disciples of the school in service at a court, to learn the appropriate mannerisms and discipline before completing their training. Hatisse was assigned to Lord Arha in Sukhl. The Attaryl inner code forbids affection or inappropriate conduct towards the lord or lady a witch serves — and, although they are certain Hatisse was not entirely innocent in the affair, they believe Lord Arha grew unpleasantly, obsessively fixated on his charge. He even opposed her return to Taravast, at which point, the Attaryl denied his request to retain her in permanent service.
- Hatisse's return to Taravast aligned with a period of clashes between the Attaryl and Bessis but the hostilities ended within months, and they have been sister-houses since. Arha only sought to take advantage of the skirmishes as an excuse to attack Taravast —The Attaryl wrote multiple letters to Arha, asking him not to pretend to intercede on their behalf (they showed those to Moran, so he can attest this is true). They suspect that he may perhaps not even have loved Hatisse as much as the prospect of fresh conquest: his people were nomad warriors, trading in bloodshed.
- When Ahra approached Taravast, the witches of both schools reunited to do their duty by the Conclave and defend the city. Hatisse insisted on giving Arha's men their burial rites — which the Attaryl also fund, making no call on the people of Sukhl and asking no compensation, despite Taravast suffering multiple losses itself in the siege.

Now at the time he learned of this, it just looked like the end of an old love story. but then, after dragon shenanigans, Don Urbano died, and Moran 'inherited' some coin and the content of his apartment. The Attaryl approached him and asked for an hour int here, and then he granted it, but he had Xunxian's animal spies look at what they were doing. They removed Don Urbano's diary and travel notes, and after some sleight of hand to see what was in there that was so important, it was discovered the notes contain the identities of the Attaryl witches that died in that long ago skirmishes with the Bessis.

And surprise, those are the very same undead witches that have been 'rescued' from the Bessis Tower.

[beitangmoran]

Moran will also bring his own language notes, and the star chart he obtained in Sa-Hareth.

[sergeant_slick]

Slick has a list of basic, emergency vocabulary he's picked up from all the languages he's been able to track down within the group. This includes:

•English (Modern)
•Chinese (Modern Mandarin and Middle Chinese)
•Korean (late 16th century)
•Erdrean (Eleven's home language)
•Galactic Basic Standard (circa ~20 BBY)
•Possibly Galactic Basic Standard (circa ~3600 BBY)

This emergency vocabulary is the sort of stuff that would be immediately important if somebody loses their translator in a dangerous situation. He asked people for the simplest possible ways to get across these ideas: "Yes", "no", "go", "stop", "be quiet", "here", "there", "left", "right", "forward", "back", "up", "down", "danger", "safe", "hurt", and "Are you okay?"

The idea is that if people can learn at least this much of each other's languages, they have a better chance of staying organized and safe. However, he has been trying to get more vocabulary from people, because he doesn't necessarily trust the translators to always be available, and there are benefits to being able to communicate without locals understanding them.

On that final point, he's also looking to compile useful slang or professional jargon, which he's noticed doesn't necessarily translate between languages. He has a lot of impenetrable acronyms and slang he can share from GAR military vocabulary, for example.

On the further subject of the translators/network: He's got two concerns there. One is network security, which Hermione already seems to be working on. The other is the potential to use the translators network capabilities as listening devices. Can they experiment with leaving them on and transmitting while they're not being worn? That could really help them gather information about the political situation in Taravast, and potentially track down more information about the whole Beacon situation.

Slick also has a bunch of notes he took while in the library, on two major subjects: local military history, and basic local magic vocabulary. Details on this TBD.

He's also noticed lots of people here don't seem to have basic survival training, at least not without access to magic. He can help with that, and also wants to make sure people have access to basic survival supplies. He purchased some for himself, and he can show what they are and why they're important for keeping all your bits attached and functioning. Magic is cool and all, but you need backups.

also he's brought snacks.

[funnylittleclown]

- Having just arrived he doesn't have much to share world information-wise, unless anyone would like to hear about the story of their imprisonment or the rooms they were kept in, which oddly enough looked like an old library or schoolroom. Curious that.

- He isn't entirely sure what is going on or which side, if any, he ought to be on but if he can be convinced its to protect people then he can offer tech support. There is some discussion above about wishing to update network security or even create listening devices, and given the right materials the Doctor is more than capable of helping with this so long as these devices are at least partly technically based. He has no magic, but we could do a magitech device of some kind? Best of both worlds.

[bearshermark]

Information Eleven will offer up, mostly in the form of peppered warnings during conversation:

-The necromancers have blood magic- avoid dealings with them
-Undead seem to be creeping into the city (hunting grounds, necromantic district, Anurr)
-Mentions that he's met with Don Bonaccorso, and that their support of Vannozza and Macaluso is suspected to have ulterior motives
-A vague warning that although his health is failing, the Doxe isn't at all trustworthy (he appears to feel very strongly about this)

In lighter news, he'll mention:
-That he has magical healing
-He's an adept hand at the forge

[rumorate]

Allison will bring to the table everything she revealed in her network post as well as any follow up info which includes:

Dealing with the Necromancers often includes trading in blood magic, which can be sold to the highest bidders if you piss off the wrong people in the city/someone wants to work against you, or the Necromancers need to get you off the playing field.

The man who allegedly committed the poisoning, Matteo Ballanti, was in Malacuso's custody. He's now dead, but he was in leagues with the Attaryl, but couldn't really ascend the ranks the way he wanted to so took opportunities to curry favor elsewhere.

Also might have been among the people protesting Malacuso. Sometimes when they have an excess of prisoners but a limited number of staff, they will use the prisoners for forced labor.

She also will mention, with the undead conversation being in the forefront some of the things she remembers from their encounter on the Stair of Sighs:

The ghosts that they encountered were killed by Taravast witches. Not the same kind of undead that they're dealing with here, but perhaps a similar kind of magic that killed these witches but they had a different reaction? She doesn't know how magic works, someone help.

She would have also come with an offer, in that given that she's a matchmaker, she can get into certain social circles easily enough, so if anyone was looking to get closer to someone they wanted to talk to, she could attempt to facilitate that.

[lancifolium]

- Ellethia was the first citadel to fall to the undead, the eye with the sun for a pupil symbol some encountered on the Stairs of Sighs was their sigil. They were magically advanced beyond Taravast.
- Some local necromancers were searching for knowledge on how to master the undead. Possibly to turn them into puppets using brutal magic that would use the undead’s suffering against them. As far as she's aware this level of control would require a certain degree of concentration from the necromancer performing the spell.
- She’s got a packet of the letters between Arha and Hatisse for anyone interested.
- Lady Vannozza seeks evidence of the undead presence in the Bessis tower if anyone is looking to gain her favor.

- Sharingwise: Lily has been working on a stockpile of potions for the group if anyone needs very minor healing, their colds cured, a little extra brainpower or strength temporarily, or to get some restful sleep (or put someone else to sleep she doesn’t know your life).
- She’s willing to use apparition to transport one or two people at a time if they need to get somewhere discreetly. She will stress that it’s a hugely unpleasant experience and you may throw up.
- She’ll be very keen to talk magic with anyone, and while uncertain how well characters will pick it up, will try to teach people some spells if they can get a wand off one of the sellers in town.
- And talk history to her, please!

[in_theworks]

• Wrench is a tech guy so, like the Doctor, he might suggest trying to find some kind of magitek solution for their encryption needs -- or, barring that, that maybe, as a long-term project, the tech savvy people try and figure out some kind of rudimentary communication device. He doesn't want to invent beepers, but by god, he will invent beepers if he has to!

• He'll probably suggest that maybe they ought to start thinking about alternative means to get what they need from the people here, just in case whoever eventually gets elected decides to go back on their half of the deal. He will not mention that this is something he and Slick have already started planning, unless Slick brings it up first, because it's hard to be sneaky and gather intel when everyone knows you're trying to be sneaky and gather intel.

• He can maybe make gunpowder, if anyone can get their hands on the sufficient quantities of charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter. Who knows when you might need something that goes boom?

• Otherwise, while not an offering, per se, he'd like to get involved in learning how to make potions and-or do magic, if at all possible. He's an engineer with a good head for chemistry, and a quick learner, so the former, at least, might not be off the table, entirely? It can't hurt to try.

[weifinder]

Information Shared:

Regarding Undead in the Necromancy District: 'Davide of the Black Hand' — a middle-aged gentleman with a number of necromantic disciples, all of them seeming to have suffered, at some point, from grave sickness. He himself misses a hand, amputated at the wrist. He appears to have replaced it with four undead, collared and leashed, who retrieve and present things to him — though they cannot speak, and he appears to treat them no differently than more agile animals. Wei Wuxian can sense these undead, unlike the ones that Davide and his men raise in the district, are similar to the ones of Sa-Hareth. They are not connected to cold or hunger, but are reanimated by a third-party force.

Davide will prove testy if asked at length about how he acquired his pets.

Regarding the House of Haunted Grandpas: Wei Wuxian posed as the descendent of Lady Giulia, last of her necromancy school. There are over a dozen grumpy grandpas haunting this house, content to be grumpy haunting grandpas. They cannot be exorcised.

To Build on Lily's Comments on Necromancy Books at the House of Haunted Grandpas: The few [tomes] that are... applied necromancy seem to focus on enslaving the risen-dead, mostly to repurpose them as puppets. Some post that the undead have no free wills, other that even if they did, there is no option past shackling them. In short: a brutal, non-consensual approach reliant entirely on control and suffering from the obvious flaw that, should the necromancer's power or attention lessen at any point, the creatures could escape him or her.

He will reiterate that necromancers of other still present schools have been breaking in for this information, and a whole bunch of dead grandpas told them about it. And how those fools didn't clean the mud off their boots before coming in.

Regarding Protestors and Jail: Following the arrests that Macaluso asked for back a few months ago: the guards seem... unexpectedly listless, carrying an air of 'we've walked this ground a thousand times before.' Some guards even appear to be on first name-basis with the ringleaders of the demonstrators, sparing them water and bread, and loosening their shackles. If asked, one of the older guards will share that the troublemakers often protest for one reason or the other, and they are frequently for a day or so, then released without qualm. They're a peaceful sort.

The protesters themselves were a mixed bunch: some seem well versed in local politics, some are shallowly learned, and a few make no secret of having simply come in to support the cause of their friends. They wear their bruises like heirlooms.

Regarding the Bessis and the Success of Taravast and its Lack of Undead Lords: While he can provide an outline of what he overheard, the most relevant point remains how the messenger stated "They should also prepare for war, if the undead lords turn their sights on Taravast, though don Bonaccorso has done well to negotiate the citadel's freedom by offering magical resources that helped the undead take over other cities." Bonaccorso has been selling magical resources to the undead.

Taravast helped destroy Ellethia, where the Merchant came from. Further:

"Based on her findings, if there is a cure for the undeath sickness, the other citadels have not found it. Ellethia's experimental sorcerers would likely have taken on the challenge — but, unhelpfully, Ellethia fell first. They must consider donating some of their funds to the healing schools of Taravast and assist them in study, quickly. The question is not if they too will see the undead roaming their streets, but when."

He informed the Merchant about this, and was told: it doesn't matter which inheritor they back. They simply need the beacon. Demand access to the beacon in exchange for assistance getting someone to head Taravast. The Merchant also reminded him: they, the PCs, are the most dangerous thing lurking in Taravast (or anywhere they go).

He contacted Vannozza to suss out her politics when it came to handling the inevitable war. Her thoughts, as said to him, "[W]hen I seize control, we will no longer stand oblivious, or on the defensive. We are armed with considerable, inexhaustible magic. We need not wait for the dead to come to us. And we can demand handsome pay of our neighbours, to serve as true death on their behalf." She intimated "Allow me to say only this: where there is a will, there are ways. And I am a wilful creature." and " And haven't we found that the finest magic is explored discreetly? We are all performers. Allow me to perform."

On a note of one of their last statements exchanged, related to Bonaccorso, "When I was a child, I asked my grandfather why we wear masks in the street. Is it protection? Is it to show our wealth? He said, Vannozza, it is to protect the world from our monstrous faces." Followed by a shrill laugh. "Isn't that funny?"

Following the Attack on the Tower:

As he helped Macaluso in the tower incident, he sent along a statement anonymously through the piazza board: which intimated that through political cartoon, Taravast was defending against undead that were fed by its lifeblood. This started Macaluso on a hunt through the noble ranks for who originated this, the one who wore a white mask, so as to imprison them.

"Freedom of speech," right?

Relating to the Attaryl Witch Undead:

They are certainly more mentally aware than some of the other undead (think: the ones in Vannozza's forest, the undead of Unhalad), so I'd say they retain personalities that will express themselves more the longer the witches are outside of the reach of the myrriad of wards they were put under.

What they want is pretty straightforward: relief from their burns (which can't really be offered to the extent that they want) and vengeance (which they're taking).

He has rigged the undead witches with crystals or talismans that provide cooling to their skin. It cannot take away the fact they're literally haunted by the pain their burns, but it does soothe it to a lessened degree.

He will note: The witches cannot be given full independence from the immense pain. They're negotiating autonomy at the very substantial expense of constant pain. The trouble with asking the witches anything is that they're very much in a haze of 'kill' and 'owwww.' So you're asking a complicated question, relative to their animal level of understanding. To move beyond that by any degree requires time, quite a bit of it, and he can project that based on changes, but it doesn't change their core problems.

Related to Resurrection, the Soul, and Spirit in World and as Applicable to the Necromancers:

The soul is the energy, absent any cognition. It can be consumed or transformed into another type of energy. The easiest way to contain it is to force it into a body, which is what souls seem prone to 'want' to inhabit anyway. Necromancers take advantage of that affinity between soul and matter when resurrecting.

Now, for the Spirit: the spirit is a different conversation. Some spirits that harboured great trauma, emotional feeling (love, resent) or any kind of magical connection might drift back around certain people or locations. Necromancers like to enslave them, when they catch them (see the grumpy ghost house).

You can definitely free or unbind spirits that have been enchained by necromancers, by severing or overwriting that connection (or killing the necromancers). Spirits can be pacified, exorcised or used.

The Undead are the exception and difference: consider them a separate class, with subcategories. The guiding principle, as learned in Sa-Hareth, is 'an element that wishes to stay alive (and propagate).' You had the cold, for Anurr's forces. Hunger, for Unhalad's. In Taravast, you've had fire/burning so far. (See: the undead in the Private Forest Hunting Grounds. This was filled with soliders who died during the last open large conflict between the Attaryl and Bessis, when Arha was killed, when Hatisse was used in part by this: she was missing her eye back then though so like. Question mark.)

emilia.

[valeas]

1. Much of the information Emilia learned, she learned alongside Allison, so some of her offerings would echo hers, specifically the necromancers keeping blood safely stashed and labeled to be used later for security/leverage purposes.

The necromancers are wary of the newcomers (i.e., the PCs) and even if these newcomers don't end up becoming a threat to the necromantic district, some will inevitably end up embroiled in Taravast's political landscape. This leaves the necromancers free to sell blood to the highest bidder for profit, and arming enemies with a way to work powerful curses against potential blood donors.

tl;dr, never give the necromancers your blood. If you do end up poisoned with the winter lily mist (the fatal poison from the masquerade), know that any living donor's blood will do, not your character's specifically as the necromancers will have you believe.

2. Emilia tried to dig up information on Matteo Ballatini, the man who was deemed responsible for the masquerade poisoning. She'd still like to clear his name if he is indeed innocent, so any further information on him would be welcome.

This is what she's learned so far, almost entirely paraphrased:
- Matteo Ballatini was a gentleman sorcerer of passable means, previously in training with the witches of Attaryl, a school specializing in prophecies, emotional magic, manipulations of the mind, and excelling as court advisors and diplomatic escorts.
- Ballatini struggled within the ranks — he had neither the skill nor the money to gain particular status, and sought to desperately ingratiate himself by providing services.
- Many men were more magically accomplished, but few more earnest.
- Per Allison's confirmation, he was in Macaluso's custody the day of the poisoning.

3. There were undead in the Spina hunting grounds, and they were removed immediately after the incident at the Bessis tower. They were similar to the undead that broke free during the Bessis fete in both their despair and urgency. Only a residue of their presence could be felt after, alongside some imagery connected to burning or carnage.

4. As she revealed during the poisoning incident, Emilia has knowledge of herbal folk medicine, alongside her potions making. Currently, she's trying to work on a remedy that could help (at least temporarily) with the undead's I'M BURNING pains.

5. She speaks/writes/understands Italian and Latin (the latter gives her a headache, though). She likes the idea of practicing with each other for emergency vocabulary purposes should it ever be needed.

6. Not super important, but she'd have brought Sicilian baked goods to share with the class.