Nor Any Drop to Drink

Stella considers the assassination plot, with 15 successes and 10 DI. It is "not fixed" but not "imminently pressing". Well, that suggests we can go off to do other things.

We get a note from Jabril inviting us to come by his (cloth) shop. We explain the "steal the nephew" idea. He is not a Thief, he notes. Does he know anyone more divinely thiefly? He doesn't admit to knowing any, but he has contacts with people in other countries. He gives Nesh a name - someone from Rinyan.

Gale buys cloth suitable for court-ish clothes, or hard-wearing fabric for Managaratha, and we stop by a tailor. Diomarche buys supplies.

We will come back for Dubrecht, when Managaratha can teleport him farther.

Managaratha sends us near where we're heading (where Seph is), and we sail upriver after that, to around the village where he's supposed to be. He's not there, he's out casting rain. We head towards the nearest rain, and park near the center until he comes down. He doesn't really have any theory behind the cause - he's just flying around making it rain. It started a few years ago, got bad enough here last year that he started flying around helping. (he is from here).

Gale checks the scoreboard. Seph is not on a scoreboard - he is too small to affect it, but it is a scoreboard. The scoreboard is very big. Gale and Managaratha chat with him about Blue ideas - handing off the runes is one idea.

Then, off we go to the town at the V where the priests are working. They send up an illusion to tell us to land the boat. Off to the temple of Love. (Diomarche has been here before - it is a bit dustier and less busy). The initial priest we talk to, Serafina, is particularly concerned about our Broken miracle, and takes us to an inn. Katie, a centaur priest, shows up about an hour later.

She is confident that it is not directly caused by a miracle of the Oasis - there is nothing divine in this area. If a country turn was used to attack Jabar's resources, she doesn't know how that was done.

Stella asks what around here needs fixing - it's a laundry list of odd jobs and healings. Gale tries to take any "kill the rats in the basement" quests.

After a while, Katie shows up with Lindera - talk to her about where rain would help. We spend a day casting rain spells. That afternoon, someone called Narise comes and tries to get Stella to admit following one face. She's from Lore, and Stella goes to call on them at the Lore temple. Lavinia is grumpy (and there was a miracle that bounced off). Narise doesn't seem to know the causes. Lavinia is not being helpful, and is not trying to be. After Lavinia leaves in a huff, Narise says Lavinia doesn't approve of the Broken miracle.

Diomarche finds a centaur from Eschatos lands. Is it worse where the cousins are? Well, it's desert. Hard to tell. Three years ago was the first year they officially called it "drought". The year before that was a dry year, but might have just been a dry year. There are some particularly bad places, where nothing grows no matter what. 3-4 hours north of the river along the mountains.

Next day, we head for the Eschatos lands. We teleport south of the river and head northeast. The sky is remarkably cloudless, even over the mountains.

Managaratha makes a raincloud golem, which immediately heads west. Gale tries to push it east - the scoreboard says Gale 4 Cloud 1. Hm.

We keep poking around in the dry patch. What needs fixing?

• The drought needs fixing, though not in a hurry.
• The problem is not "the Phoenix has camped here" but it's closer than that.
• We aren't big enough to solve that part, but we might get help to solve it.
• A country turn could solve it.
• The thing that is not the Phoenix is Broken.

Nesh speculates "giant" - yup, it's a fire giant. (Are fire giants inherently Broken? Managaratha thinks so. Storm giants are the unbroken ones.)

The fire giant is probably scaring off the clouds.

We decide to look around as we leave. Stella gets 8 per 7 karma (!!) and points at the large rock outcropping that she says is a FACE. We fly casual away from the Giant; Managaratha gets the coordinates of where we are right now.

Visiting Diomarche's family is fairly uneventful - Mom tries to get Stella to help bring Diomarche back to the fold and not this dangerous Paladin of Rush thing he's doing. She tries to reassure Mom, but later when Diomarche brings up going toe to toe with the Breaker's avatar, the reassurance is probably for naught.

Loot

• +8 EPs
• +10 SPs