• Event • The Orange Crush

[Winston]

What about everyone ELSE?

The kitchens were running and food flowing. By now, a rota of work had formed and short of ensuring the recipes were being followed and food not spoiled, people were fed without a problem.

It was now that

Shinwa

came to him with some news aboput the suspected slaver's carts and not for the first time.

"De knights 'ave still nat looked intuh dis?"

The Wisp shook his head.

"No, sir, the carts remain where they were discovered, sir."

It was chaos here and that something was getting overlooked was not terribly surprising. Yes, the trail was time sensitive, but it was close to impossible to point at a thing in eyeshot that wasn't. That being said, finding the other missing people had to be a priority now it was clear the fire was under control and Knights were chasing only and single lead.

"OK, Shinwa. Lets do dis. Me need yuh tuh stay 'ere an' co-ardinate, bot take dis."

He took a Refined Chi stone from Faith's supply and handed one half to the spirit.

"Simply 'old dis an' we cun communicate telepathically while me look at dees carts. Yuh gat someone dat cun show me de way?"

Nodding and bringing the ghost they knew as

Felicity

to his side, Winston's butler gestured down the street.

as=shinwa]"Good hunting, sir."

Before he left, he grabbed some things from Chest (in addition to his usual attire and a hunting knife) and informed everyone that he was leaving. He took

his goggles

, his

supply of alchemical chews

, a candy, a glowstone, a miragestone and his

tool-bag

.

Popping up inside Praetorum's mind's eye again, he communicated with him using the link they shared.

"De kitchens are runnin' well, Shinwa and

Chest

are staying 'ere far yuh supplies, bot me wud like tuh goh an investigate de Carts by de sewas."

He would almost certainly be going regardless, but would not be shy of taking a guard or two, should he actually find anything.

"Ef yuh ar Vivian 'ave a couple peepal wid light feet dat cud come wid, dat wud be gud."

If he could find Vivian before he left, eh would give her the same information and ask for permission from the Knights to investigate... It was always easier to do things when people were not trying to stop[/i[ you doing things.

Once this was sorted, he set off...


At the carts

So much had happened since they were found and while they had been left alone, they were exposed to the elements, smoke and crowds for two trials now and this would not help with any trace that remained of their users outside to carts.

As such, Winston set about checking the carts for traces of their owners, mostly ignoring the surrounding area and focusing on the cart and interior before heading into the sewers.

Taking nothing for granted, he assumed nothing, which included assuming that the carts were safe. He checked it over for traps as he went and checked for marks, tracks and scuffs that might indicate anything about the people that had been inside the carts.

[say]"Falicity, wud yuh mind papping yuh 'ead intuh de cart tuh make share dere es notin' dangerous in dere, please?"[/say] Assuming the ghost reported it to be safe, he proceeded himself to look for clues,

using his goggled for anything he needed a closer look at

. If there was anything suspicious inside, like a barrel of explosive, he'd step away from the carts and suggest everyone else do the same.

As he went, he reported everything he found to

Shinwa to be recorded

to ensure anything of note or any patterns could form once they had all the facts. It didn't matter how inconsequential it might seem, anything could lead to the people that left the carts here... which were probably not the same people that owned said carts.

Once done with the carts, he would set off towards the sewers. He screwed up his nose as the unpleasant stench arose from the hole in the ground. [say]"Mun, cus yuh smell dat? As a ghost me mean?"[/say]

Felicity shrugged. [say as=npc3]"We are less keenly aware of such things unless we focus on it in some way."[/say] Winston chuckled. [say]"Me suggest dat far naw, yuh don't."[/say]

He gestured towards the sewer. [say]"Wud yuh mind papping down tuh check dem nat left any nasty surprises?"[/say] The ghost nodded and headed down briefly to check for people, obvious traps or demons lurking in the shadows.

He was no expert on such things, but wading neck deep in feces was undesirable at best and likely to cause some kind of consumption or death at worst... That being so, he lowered himself into the hole with the utmost care, taking his time again, listening to warnings from Felicity and looking for any danger left behind by the slavers.

It was dark, dank and quite frankly vomit-inducingly grotesk down there, but he took a moment to steady himself against the onslaught before he continued.

Taking a moment to listen first, he then took out the glowstone and channeled a little energy into it, once he was confident no one else was around. Using this light he tried to gather some idea of foot-fall down here. Places the passers by may have brushed a wall, stepped anywhere outside the flow of water and generally speaking left evidence of their passing.

The slavers might not want to have been found, but the captured people probably did and so he took the time no only to check where tracks might normally be from passing, but where someone might try to reach out to 'mark' surreptitiously while being watched.

He followed any evidence he found and tried to make his way to where-ever the slavers had gone, holding out very little hope of them still being stupid enough to be remaining there.

[Perdita Westcott]

Fire in the Dust....

She worked at slime-splatting for as long as she needed to. Perdita let out a yelp as the slime bit her but she just kept going. She was tired, but she didn't feel it in that moment. Yet, she had to acknowledge that she had been functioning on minimum sleep for days now, she was anxious about her mother and she had spent days with the dead and wounded.

Indeed, once the slimes were dealt with, Perdita went back and drew the burned - but not as they were, as she believed they might be. It was like looking at damaged items, and she kept telling herself that.. It meant that she spent time with the dead and the dying and Perdita found that hard. The smell of charred flesh was pungent and she felt her eyes sting as the stench fill her nostrils. Nausea overwhelmed her more than once, and she turned and ran out to throw up. As much as Perdita cursed herself every time that happened, she always turned around and went back to it. Each drawing, after all, was someone who might be identified, someone whose family might have some solace in being able to celebrate the life of the person who had died here and do so in the way of Rharne.

She was worried, of course, about her mother, but then news came that Winston was going to go searching in the sewers for the pad wagons. Perdita didn't even think about it.

"Father, I'm going with him,"

she said firmly. Her father, Leontes, started to argue and Perdita shook her head.

"I'm going. "

He looked lost, for a moment and Perdita put her hand on his arm.

"Stay here, wait for mother. They'll find her. They'll find her. I need to help find the other people, Father."

He sighed, kissed her forehead and nodded. "Go. Be safe, Perdita. Please."

So, Perdita made her way to where Winston was getting ready to go. She didn't hesitate, she walked up to him. He'd given her good advice and she'd taken it and so the earnest young woman spoke to him.

"I can't fight,"

she said.

"But I can draw, I can map, I can draw what we find and I won't slow you down,"

she said. She said no more than that, having put her argument forward. All that was left to say was the question.

"Can I come with you?"

If he said yes, she'd accompany him and she'd draw anything that might be important - also, she'd make sure that she both drew a map and she would mark the wall, to make sure that they had a way back. If there was anything that Winston wanted her to carry, or to do, then she would carry it or do it.

However, if Winston didn't want her along, she wouldn't argue she would just wish him luck and get back to drawing the dead.

Art: GM
Appraisal: Expert (I guess this might be the best one for deciding what folks look like un-burned)

[Winston]

Inspector Ferret

Winston listened to Pertida's request, thoughtfully considering her words. He had said it himself... If dealing with the poop was preferable for the woman to dealing with the gruesome job of identifying the dead, then he could not deny her the choice... He certainly was in no small way quite relieved he had things to do that did not require him to fish through the dead bodied of Rharne.

"OK, me neitha. So we don't get intuh any fights. Agreed?"

He asked with a wry grin and a nod in the direction of Chest to get supplies.

"Here. Take dees..."

He took two small chews from his dispenser and then a small bag of candies from Chest.

"We cun mark tings af interest with de candies, jost en case, an' dem two chews are magic. Dat one will

make yuh 'arder tuh see

and

dat one will make yuh tougher

ef we get intuh trouble."

He gestured to his dispenser, which had the other final two of these for himself, just to illustrate she would be taking no prcations he was not also taking himself.

"Save dem far ef we need dem... Oh, an keep dem dry. Dem nat nice saggy are poo-flavoured."

He chuckled, able to summon a chirpy smile even in the middle of this mess.

That now said, he set off with any assistance others offered to investigate and, now, to draw any evidence they came across, using the

Echo scrolls to send any pictures she drew that might need to be shared quickly

.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Dandelion]

Once the graves and the bodies were dealt with, Dan went to clean himself up and change into his last clean shirt. He only packed enough clothes for the few days he expected to take on this trip, which now means he needs to do laundry.

Although, thinking about it, he's almost certainly not the only one. And the healers will need clean bandages, and clean sheets soon, probably, and the soot will need to be scrubbed out of the cloths used for face coverings so that they protect better and... yeah, there are a lot of things that will need scrubbing.

It wasn't glamourous work, or as urgent as rescuing people, or as obvious as cooking and feeding and sheltering people, but it was something he was familiar with. Something he can do. Although he'd have to be careful. He doesn't want to pull away buckets and water that are needed for fighting the bits of fire that keep popping up after all.

He watched for bucket chains and similar as he got food and did his routine checks of the ponies and the Rosebay people to see how they're doing. He sent one of the Rosebay folk who could talk as well as sign to see if the cooks and the kitchen staff have any empty barrels or half barrels they can spare, because while shirts and bandages and face coverings can be scrubbed in a basin or a bucket, anything bulkier is going to need a bigger wash tub. He sent another who could talk as well as sign to the healer's section to see how much laundry they did actually need, and assigned himself to the hard and tedious chore of hauling water.

It'd be cold water for the laundry in this heat, but that was ok. He was more than accustomed to cleaning his clothes in streams and rivers and lakes that couldn't be warmed by anything more than the sun. Besides, blood came out more easily in cold water. So there was that.

Actions

Started setting up a laundry area

"Signed words" Spoken words

[Praetorum]

The next trial was slightly less eventful.

This was not a good thing.

“The carts haven’t been investigated?” Prae groaned when Winston alerted him to his next move. “Gods, what a mess.” Letting out a deep sigh, Prae rubbed his muzzle. “Alright. I should have a couple scouts and rangers around here. Take one of each with you. The

scout

will have a decent eye, the

ranger

will keep you safe, and both of them are light on their feet. Actually…”

Calling Aelyn over, Prae introduced her to Winston. “Aelyn should go as well. She’s a Rharnian born and bred, she might know something. I’ll have a group on standby ready for a fight, so alert us as soon as you discover something. Good luck, Winston.”

After arranging for a group of defenders and archers to ready themselves for a raid, Prae considered the situation, turning over the events of the last few trials.

There had been carriage tracks at some point, hadn’t there? Leading out away from the city? Many might have completely benign explanations, but others might not. Best to be safe. Organizing his mercenaries into teams of four, two defenders, one archer, and one scout each, Prae sent these teams off on the fastest mounts his mercs had brought to follow up on each of the carriage tracks.

The scouts should be able to tell if anything was wildly awry, but just to be safe,

Prae gave them each explicit instructions

on what to look for. With any luck they would be able to either eliminate these tracks as a lead, or find some of the kidnapped people.

Finally, Prae set himself to keeping the camp in order, taking over Winston’s job of keeping lines of communication open, making sure everything was organized, and keeping people more or less in order.

Dandelion had taken charge of cleaning, a much needed job, and Prae signed a thanks to him before sending a few spare folk his way to follow his lead.

Spoiler

AELYN
Skills:
Mount - 50
Stealth - 50
Detection - 50
Shortbow - 50
Intelligence - 50
Leadership - 50
Discipline - 50

Languages - Common (Fluent), Common Sign (Broken)
Info: A Rharnian born and bred, Aelyn makes it her business to know things. An experienced mercenary, she learned that a new company was being formed, and signed up early, guessing that a woman of her talents could secure a high ranking—and high paying—position early on. Her gamble paid off, and she has been given charge of the scouts—a position she intends to keep.

[Pig Boy]

Day 22nd-23rd of Saun,
The Day of the Warlock

The tracks that Praetorum followed to the roads out of Caervalle Town and Mistral were seemingly people fleeing from the disaster, driven out of their homes by the smoke and billowing vapours emerging from the Dust Quarter. They'd set up camp several miles outside the city, perhaps hoping that the conditions would improve within without their interference or aid. Several camps set up along the road, with some people set to hunt and forage for whatever they needed, and keeping the camps functioning as well as could be expected. However when pursuing the carriages to the north, his people ran into the Bumpy Road Leading up to the Mugbottom Tavern. It appeared the carriages had gone into that Fracture, strangely enough. Which didn't bode well for them if so.

The information was relayed back to Praetorum by whatever means were available. Whether by runner or other devices. It was given to him to decide how to deal with these temporary refuges on the Caervalle Road and Mistral Road, and whether to pursue the carriages or retrieve them somehow from the Mugbottom Tavern. Several of the Rharnean recruits in his scouting parties informed him that it was a major fracture that only just opened, in the wake of the Siege of Storm's Edge, after the final battle.

Dandelion continued his hard work, while the fire-fighting groups continued to freeze the ground, depriving the ground fires now of whatever fuel they could cling to, and dousing them with metric tons of ice and cooling winds.

His efforts at seeing to the basic needs of people, however, kept them from getting their spirits down, or else from suffering too unduly. All of his logistical moves went more or less to plan, and his house-keeping for the refugee camp were well coordinated among the Rosebay populace that were present. Many people communicated an interest in Rosebay as they went, and thought not many of these interested parties could communicate through sign, they seemed open to the idea of relocating.

In the sewers

Winston saw the scuff marks on the padlocked wagons, and noticed that they were dragging toward the sewer, in distinctive markings. What that meant, was anyone's guess. His investigation skills werent' enough to determine if the captives had been dead, unconscious, or struggling. He only saw the marks, and what conclusions he drew from that were his to form.

Meanwhile, he was joined by Perdita, who kept a narrow eye out for anything unusual or anything that popped out at her from the surroundings.

They entered the smelly undercity of Rharne. The light afforded by torches and glow stone alike were enough to illuminate the paths. They spent the better part of the day there, and into the night, until they came across some chambers that were oddly marked. Perdita, with her appraisal and knowledge of various signs and signals of craftsmen, would recognize them as mason's marks. These were associated with one of the larger firms, Snodgrass, Pendleton & Snoot. Obviously made by masons associated with those groups.

A cursory examination of the markings and switches, would accidentally throw one of the chambers open. Inside, they saw nothing but empty straw pallets, and an expansive place where a large amount of people could be held, but it was bit more livable than the rest of the Sewer. It seemed the stench didn't chase its way far into here. There was a respite available if they'd take it.

They didn't have long to enjoy it, before an apparition appeared in front of them. A small scrying portal opened in the wall, and through it they could see an older gentleman, staring at them intently. "Well, hello there."

"I'm afraid we don't have room for more passengers. But if you'll wait a moment, I'll send someone in to see to your needs." His eyes drifted from the ferret cadouri, over to Perdita. "Ahh I've seen you. You're the great artist aren't you?"

"Once upon a time I might've been moved to purchase some work from you." The old man said, "But now... I'm afraid we're at a impasse, our motives in disalignment."

Felicity appeared just then, and shot an accusing finger at the apparition in the portal. "You are the necromancer! The one who stole away those people!"

Felicity turned to Winston, "We must get to him, he's absconded with all of them..."

"I wouldn't rush too rashly into that, my Wisp friend." The Warlock intoned, "And besides, it'll be difficult for you to help your friends, when you're barely a whisper in the beneath."

So saying, a strange mist began filtering into the chamber. It didn't appear to do anything to Winston or Perdita, but had a greenish tinge to it. Winston would recognise the smell of copper, having worked with the material extensively. It began deteriorating the Wisp Felicity immediately, and was compounded when a shadowy hand came through another portal, shot through with its claws to wound the ghost, and send her screaming into the Beneath.

[Winston]

Found them just in time to fail miserably

The offer of two men from Praetorum was very gratefully received as he set off with a tidy and charismatic salute (that may not in any way resemble a genuine military form) and a wink.

He waved at Aelyn.

"Gud tuh 'ave yuh. Me nat really built far military aperashuns, bot me gat a gud nose far findin' tings and keepin' outta sight."

He said with a chuckle.


In the Sewers

The group of 6

made their way through the sewers. Perdita's complete lack of skill in hiding or moving silently caused the ferret to request she hold back, with the ranger, whom might cover them should things go south.

"Cun yuh 'ang back a littal? Me will point at anytin' we find far yuh tuh recard?"

Leaving him, Aelyn, Felicity and the scout to take the lead and move forward as quietly as possible. He was more accustomed to sneaking alone, rather then in a group, so he watched as Aelyn and her fellow's moved, took turns when moving and communicated using Common Sign to reduce the risk of being heard before they should.

If Perdita shared the information she gained from her appraisal of the things they found, he'd report this onwards to ensure that this could be used in the greater understanding of what was happening and acted upon if necessary. While he was almost certain that they would have no idea where they were while traveling under the ground, they stopped from time to time to pop their heads up, out of the sewers, to gain an understanding of where they were and let Praetorum know for the purposes of being found if they had trouble.

As the chamber was accidentally revealed, it was with great caution that Winston entered, looking for traps and other ways in or out as he went.

"We cud rest an eat som fud 'ere?"

He asked as the others entered. Aelyn nodded and looked around them as they all filed in.

"Yeah, sure. Let's keep an eye on the entrance and just make sure this is not a tome."

Setting a watch at the opening they had come in via, they set about having a drink.

"Sarry Perdita. Me wud narmally 'ave a moch betta supply af fud far yuh."

He said with a chuckle.

There was a chance that the room was used, or even created for the purpose of smuggling people or things and so he was just starting to investigate their surroundings more closely to look for signs of recent activity when a portal appeared.

His head spun before freezing, focused on the mage on the other side of the portal. The combat-ready among them went for weapons to ready for a fight, but Winston raised a hand.

"Oh. Hi yuh."

There was a chance that the mage was on the other side of that wall... but equally, Winston knew all to well from his time with Kisaik and this kind of viasual portal was both likely only able to admit light and also could come from anywhere on the continent.

The mage was waffling. This was good. The longer he talked, the more time they had. He concentrated on sending a message to Praetorum while he spoke and Felicity gave her warming.

"Prae, we 'ave found de culprit, but dem 'ave magic."

He could not tell them where they were any more accurately then their last trip to the surface, so for now, this was all he had to offer the great lizard.

As the myst began to fill the room, Winston gestured for them to leave, before taking a large lung full of air before the gas reached them.

"Run!"

He had no idea if the gas would affect them or not, but it certainly didn't seem to do the wisp any good at all as they vanished from sight.

The second portal was a different matter than the first... It let something other then light come through... It was also small... but so was he...

Running for it, as it swiped at the wisp, he leapt at the magical opening and attempted to dive through. Sadly, whatever magic was at work, it did not include a portable capable of accomodating ferrets as he bounced off the portal and tumbled to the floor with a cry and an 'oof', letting out his breath and, for better or worse, getting a lung of what appeared to be some kind of copper-infused gas.

"What the hell...? You fool!"

Cried Aelyn as the ferret shook his bruised head.

Mod Note From Pigs

I checked with Pigs, whom assured me that this would not work adn to post to that effect and continue.

Luckily for him the gas seemed to have no affect on ferrets. Despite his cry to leave, once Perdita was out of the room (if she went) the ranger and Aelyn fired shots at the shadowy hand, but they had no affect.

"Get up!"

She cried at winston.

Felicity was gone for now and they were left in a room full of green gas and a mage on the end of a scrying portal... It felt rather like there was nothing to be done but to get to safety for now.

Picking himself up and scurrying for the exit from the chamber, he followed his companions out into the sewers again.

"He said we'd have company, eye's open. You two heads down."

Commanded the head of the scouts. Winston for one, didn't object and turned to Perdita.

"Now might be a gud time far a chew."

He offered as they backed away from the chamber, down the way they came, surrounded by the Ranger, Scout and Aelyn and looking for any incoming trouble.

Winston sent a message to Praetorum as they made their retreat.

"Tings are nat going well. We are leaving via de last place we surfaced."

He said, reminding the commander where that was before his focus returned ot the matters at hand.

If they were able, they would make their way out of the sewers again, making an effort to remember the way back once they had reinforcements.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Dandelion]

Dan hammered one end of a sturdy pole into the ground, then paced off an appropriate distance and hammered in a second pole. Gathering up some rope, he tied it to the poles to form a washing line where the washing could be hung to dry. He had put the washing line or drying line a short distance away from where the clothes and such would be washed, to prevent stray splashes from undoing the drying. If he got lucky, they wouldn't pick up too many smoke smuts from the air, but he could hardly move them away from the air so he'd just have to hope on that front.
For the actual laundry, he had a barrel and a half barrel, both now partly filled with water, and someone had turned up a proper washing dolly to use, which would save his hands some work.
The washing dolly was a sturdy staff, with a cross piece fitted at chest height, and three short sturdy legs.
Dan dumped the first armful of washing into the barrel, and hoisted the washing dolly in after it, legs first. He gripped the cross-piece arms, and used them to dig the legs into the washing and twisted the dolly to twist and move the massed laundry in the water. Movement allowed the dirt to soak and loosen, before he had to plunge his hands into the cold water and scrub one handful of cloth against another in order to actually get the dirt out. He wasn't looking forward to that part, but it was part of getting things clean, so he'd just get on with it.
He wasn't alone in the laundry area. A stream of others had joined him, some from Rosebay, some from Rharne, some signing, most not. Some sorted the laundry, some scrubbed in the barrel, some rinsed soap out of it in the half barrel, some wrung water out of the clean items, some hung them up to dry.
A lot of them were watching him and it made his skin crawl, even after he spotted some of the few Rharne signers discussing Rosebay and whether to move there. He made himself smile and nod. "Anyone is welcome to join Rosebay," he said, keeping his signs simple and easy to understand. "We can teach Common Sign to anyone who doesn't understand it. If you want escort, we make a trading run to Rharne about once a season." It had been more of a supply run, but as Rosebay was finally getting things to sell as well as buy, a trading run was, in Dan's opinion, becoming a better name for it. "New settlers are welcome to return to Rosebay with the traders." He smiled again and plunged his hands back into the washing water to stop himself saying anything he would regret later.




"Signed words" Spoken words

[Perdita Westcott]

Fire in the Dust....

Perdita wanted, very much, to be brave.

She had grown up reading about heroes and adventurers, wonderful tales of daring and stories of people beating incredible odds. She wanted to be that person.

But, she was not.

She wasn't brave and fear gripped her and held her tightly. Why had she agreed to - no, that wasn't right - why had she offered to come down here? That wasn't what she did. She should have been up above ground doing something menial but necessary, Something safe. Something where no one would bother her and she wouldn't bother anyone. That would be good, she considered, as she drew the markings on the floor, where the people had been dragged . She could then say - if anyone asked - that she'd been here and she'd helped but she wouldn't have done anything dangerous or foolish or.... like this.

And yet, somehow, here she was making her way down to the sewer. Winston asked her to hang back and she nodded. Following orders, she could do, and so she did as she was bid.

The first thing, of course, was the smell. She didn't think that she'd be getting that out of her clothes, or her hair for that matter, for quite some time. And, as it turned out, they had time. They made their way through the dark (although well lit, thanks to a few different things) of the sewers. Perdita took the time to try and chat with Winston, but the truth was that she was naturally a very quiet individual and she would quickly fall into the silence she was most comfortable with. They came, eventually, to some chambers. What time it was, she really wasn't sure - she couldn't judge how much time had passed. However, it was a long time, she knew that.

There were markings here, and she quickly got about recording them. She'd been keeping a map of the way they came in and now, she turned over the page and kept a note of the markings. "They're a local builder's markings," she said softly to Winston and the others with them. "Snodgrass, Pendleton and Snoot," She didn't offer any suggestion for why they were here or what purpose they served - that wasn't her place and she wouldn't have known where to begin.

It was when examining the markings that one of the doors opened and Perdita spied straw pellets in the open space. It was tempting, she had to admit. She was so tired and she wanted to rest, to switch off her brain. She looked at Winston and shook her head. "It's not your job to keep me fed," she said and, in saying it, realised that she had been both rash AND foolish in coming here. She should, at least, have some supplies.

But then, an apparition appeared in front of them and Perdita let out a startled meeping sound and physically jumped.

And then, things happened. The apparition called her a great artist - that was nice, but things went quickly downhill - said that their motives were in misalignments and then there was some kind of discussion that happenedI'm not sure if Perdita can see Felicity, so I'm being vague . Very quickly, things happened after that and Perdita not only didn't run, but she gulped in a good gulp of air and stood near Winston, ready to carry him out if needs be. She figured she'd be able to because her lungs were bigger.

It wasn't great logic, but she was going to go with it, for now.

What happened then was confusing to the young woman, but she stayed very close to Winston and tried to make sense of the mist. It was most peculiar and, even as she walked away, she did so at a speed which meant that she could draw what she was seeing. Winston wanted to leave, and he led them (hopefully) towards where they came in. She hoped that her mapping would help with that, but she didn't like the idea of leaving a bad guy (or two) behind. However, they had done what they needed to do - they had gained information. Now, it was time to beat a retreat and she considered this her best and most useful skill right now was the ability to follow.

So, she went where Winston said and she sketched pretty much the whole time. The necromancer (apparently) apparition was her first job and she focused on it. She had looked hard at him and was drawing, frantically drawing to try and get as good an image as she could. So too the hand and so on.

And where Winston said to go - she went. She had to admit that she was relieved.

Because she really wasn't brave.

Art: GM
Appraisal: Expert
Bravery: Not much.

[Pig Boy]

The Burning of Rharne

On the 24th of Saun, the skies opened up and let a torrential rain down upon the beleaguered city. This had the effect of putting out any straggling ground fires, yet the earth was not turned into a massive quagmire, but began to grow with greenery in the spots where the rain fell.

The disaster was over, and thanks in great part to the efforts of the citizens and leaders that had taken initiative to help out the Dust Quarter. Rharne owed them all a debt of gratitude, and in the wake of the disaster, questions and inquiries were made. Eventually several leads were uncovered. Some carpenters that worked in the Painted Swine confessed to having left lanterns burning in the basement of the Tavern.

Others came forward, taking responsibility, saying that their baker was to blame.

Over it all, the shadow of a newly revealed Warlock who threatened the status quo of the city, spread over the fire-darkened quarter of Rharne. Was he the one who set it, or merelyl an opportunist? All these questions were for another to answer. For now, the people of Rharne had time to recover, to mourn the lost, and rebuild what had been so swiftly destroyed.



Praetorum

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 30
• XP: 20

Knowledges

• Tactics: Tactics x2
• Leadership: Leadership x 3
• Leadership: Leadership x3
• Logistics: Logistics x2
• Logistics: Logistics x2
• Leadership: Leadership x3
• Tactics: Dealing with problin pests.
• Logistics: Arranging for entertainment
• Tactics: Trapping a huge slime
• Tactics: Making a pitfall trap out of a basement with a cellar
• Tactics: Splitting an enemy's attention with Taithir
• Leadership: Leadership x2
• Tactics: Tactics x3
• Psychology: Psychology x3
• Leadership: Leadership x2
• Appraisal: Appraisal x3
• Leadership: Leadership x2
• Politics: Politics x2
• Leadership: Leadership x3
• Leadership: Sending backup with an ally
• Tactics: Knowing who to assign to what group
• Leadership: Giving explicit instructions to help
• Leadership: The importance of logistics in keeping chain of command

Loot

• Flame-Ward: A small metal plate is awarded to Praetorum. It may be attached to any shield he wishes, and that shield will become a perfect barrier against any heat or fire based attack, whether supernatural or not.
  
  For his exemplary heroism and service to Rharne, Praetorum is granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. He may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  Pocket Slime: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful.

Consequences

• 
  Tier 2 Leadership: This thread reward may be considered your Gateway plot should you wish to pursue Tier 2 Leadership. PSF an ability and a Competent theme when ready.

Winston

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 25
• XP: 20

Knowledges

• Science: Physics: Glass bending light can magnify things
• Engineering: Multi-lens Magnification using distance changes
• Flying: Carrying something heavy
• Tactics: Making sure the equipment goes to the best people for using it
• Tactics: Being prepared for the worst
• Leadership: Being clear about your ideas and needs
• Leadership: Following orders in a huge emergency
• Socialization: Convincing large organisations to help in a disaster
• Medicine: Treating smoke inhalation
• Alchemy: Recipe: Smoke Inhalation/Oxygen Treatment Potion
• Hunting: Pulling a more powerful prey into an ambush
• Athletics: Running and dodging in the streets full of wreckage
• Stealth: Hiding like picaboo from monsters
• Ensorcelling: Combining Miragestone and Ghost Metal
• Socialization: Appealing to Ghosts long past and missing a common companion
• Medicine: The Yellow Dragon Tree Leaves heal burns
• Socialization: Delivering hard news in a kind way
• Socialization: Laughing in the face of adversity to set people at ease
• Stealth: Sneaking as a group

Loot

• Suggested Consequence: As a result of his efforts at the Sliming of Rharne, Winston made contact with a small fraction of the Ghosts that Faith used to operate a network of Ghosts for information gathering. Going forward, the network will respond to requests from Isonomia (could these be a Group of Faction NPCs?) and he may find himself in receipt of ghostly visitors from time to time, with requests for aid.
• Flame-Ward: A small metal plate is awarded to Winston. It may be attached to any shield he wishes, and that shield will become a perfect barrier against any heat or fire based attack, whether supernatural or not.
  
  Flame-Ward Manual: The Manual tells him how to make more Flame-Wards: They require Expert Alchemy and Ensorcelling Skill and Smithing (or Jewelcrafting) skill, a Tier 4 Well whose smog specifically suppresses fire magic, and an alchemical reagent that has fire-resistance. It requires a thread to reproduce.
  
  For his exemplary heroism and service to Rharne, Winston granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. He may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  2 Pocket Slimes: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful. You also have one that you actively attempted to capture. So two for you.

Losses

• Access to his Forged abilities for 40 trials.
• 1 Miragestone & an Ingot of Ghost Metal
• One Stealth Chew and one Iron-skin Chew from his supply

Consequences

• Felicity has been reduced temporarily to a whisper. By the 20th of Vhalar, she will return to a Wisp form. When she returns, she will have a strange sense of vertigo when approaching reflective surfaces. (Plot Hook
  shared with Perdita or separate). She doesn't have concrete knowledge, but she could almost swear this has to do with those who were abducted.

Seira Shiryu

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 15
• XP: 20

Knowledges

• Leadership: giving someone a task that they want to do makes it more likely that they will do it even when terrified
• Discipline: forcing oneself to take breaks when needed even when you feel the need to keep working
• Discipline: not giving in to fear
• Combat: Unarmed: stomping on an enemy's foot works regardless of their height
• Combat: Unarmed: shoving an enemy is more effective when they are already off balance
• Detection: picking out individual voices in a crowd
• Etiquette: apologizing to a group for joining an important conversation without being invited
• Psychology: when people are experiencing strong emotion, they may show it in an accidental slip of words rather than expression, body language, or tone
• Discipline: trying to think clearly while in extreme pain
• Discipline: trying to think clearly after a severe shock
• Endurance: enduring the agony of severe burns
• Discipline: focusing on a task when in severe agony
• Discipline: forcing panic back in order to do what is needed

Loot

• For Seira's exemplary heroism and noble actions, she is granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. She may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  Pocket Slime: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful.

Consequences

• Seira is transported to Willow Tree Hospital, and will awaken as early as the 20th of Vhalar. She will find herself in the Willow Tree Hospital, and amazingly enough she finds herself with minimal injuries. She will be weak for a while, and require time to get used to walking again, but she will make a full recovery. Her burn scars are also healed by that time, but will probably require an herbal balm to heal.

Dandelion

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 20
• XP: 20

Knowledges

• Medicine: chamomile tea soothes nerves
• Engineering: cutting usable blocks of turf
• Engineering: setting a building partially below ground keeps it cooler
• Engineering: making a sod-walled shelter
• Leadership: how to organise a crowd of volunteers
• Leadership: assigning people to the task best suited to them
• Singing: maintaining a hummed note
• Tactics: keep plans simple but functional
• Engineering: using your body as a measuring device
• Engineering: digging graves
• Engineering: levers allow you to move heavier loads than you could by hand
• Engineering: building a washing line
• Engineering: when setting up a space, take account of what activites will take place there

Loot

• Earth-Shaping Implements: A set of mining tools for the Mining Skill. In addition to being a masterwork+ skill kit for the skill of Mining, it also has the ability to shape earth about the size of a large room twice a day. You may turn an excavation of soft or mixed soft stone the size of a large room into hardened stone that will resist anything shy of cannons/explosives/masterwork siege weapons. This second effect shares the time and usage with the shaping of earth..
  
  For Dandelion's exemplary heroism and noble actions, he is granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. He may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  Pocket Slime: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful.

Consequences

• Optional: You may add 10 settlers to Rosebay, recruited from among those who helped with the fire. They can be fluent in Common Sign.

Perdita Westcott

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 20
• XP: 20

Knowledges

• Research: Researching unknown topics might require looking at the index in the library
• Basketweaving: Understanding the way to weave to stop areas from being prone to breaking
• Detection: Making sense of a tired, dirty, dishevelled crowd
• Art: Extrapolating faces from burn victims
• Discipline: You need to take a moment to sort yourself out after a big shock
• Investigation: Sometimes, you have to consider what's best to do for a while
• Discipline: Doing what's best for the greater good
• Discipline: Keeping it together for the sake of others
• Detection: Spotting things in smoke and debris is hard
• Endurance: Battles are exhausting, even against baby slimes
• Appraisal: Filling in the blanks with best guess information
• Art: Drawing things which you don't understand is tricky

Loot

• Midas' Paint and Ink Mixer: Perdita is gifted sometime later a paint mixing kit. However this is no ordinary paint mixing kit. It's a little bit magical, afterall. In addition to being Masterwork+ Quality paint mixing set, the paint can produce the colors of copper, silver, gold, or literally any other metal that has a speck of a sample added to it (see Shoppe for Tier availability, and those are the metals you can use for this purpose, without consulting a mod). For all intents and purposes, the paint is in the color of that metal is a liquid form of the metal and has the same exact properties as the metal itself. Copper will harm spirits or ghosts that touch it, just as silver will have a antimicrobial property. She can apply this to inks or paints.
  
  For Perdita's exemplary heroism and noble actions, she is granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. She may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  Pocket Slime: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful.

Consequences

• Your mother will report, after the ordeal is over, that she's seeing things when she looks in a mirror. Usually things that she was hoping to see, or wanting to acquire for herself, being gripped or worn by her reflection. If Perdita should attempt to check her reflection herself, she will see nothing of strangeness about it. (Plot Hook). However Perdita's mother insists that she sees it in the mirror or reflective surface.

Vivian Shiryu

Rewards

• Points Bank: +10 - Participate in, and Complete, a City Event (Seasonal Events run by mods)
• Renown: 15
• XP: 20

Loot

• Slimebane-Enchantment: To any weapon that Vivian owns, she may apply an enchantment of Slimebane to it. This will have the effect of rendering their ability to split/reproduce/regenerate null and void, and also be incredibly effective against them.
  
  For Vivian's exemplary heroism and noble actions, she is granted an audience with Ilaren, should he wish to attend her at any time for any purpose. She may ask one favor of her alternatively (PSF the favor if you will).
  
  Pocket Slime: At some point, you'll find you have a small, amber-colored slime about the size of a human thumb-print in your pack or baggage. Unlike other slimes, it cannot grow larger than it is, and is strangely docile. Otherwise, it is a very sturdy pocket slime that can withstand quite a lot of bludgeoning and slashing damage. It's bite is barely a pinch, and not harmful.