Welcome to Jabar

Entirely Without Incident

We head off towards Jabar!

With the protection of Lissa Tera, we have a smooth (and fairly boring, according to Gale and Scout) two weeks across the ocean, until we are a few

We get a briefing on Yellow from Lissa Tera. There are four Varna. Nobility Priest Merchant, Farmer (everyone else). Ranked in vaguely that order; there’s some overlap at the edges. All Priests (well all the Priests of the Goddess…) are in the Priest caste, plus mages, scholars, philosophers… things like that. Kids can move between Varna; it’s hard for adults in the three major Varna to move, although Farmer’s can be promoted.

There are 5 Major Rivers. The Queen’s, the Great River, The New River, sometimes called the Fifth River (the Lady made it). The Masahanalta, and the Merani. Major ports where the rivers meet the sea. Three High priests (Love’s Servant, etc.) have three cities near the mountains. Diomarche’s Herd is in the northeast. There are not many major passes– just one far to the South, though it’s possible to get across elsewhere.

Lots of Illusions, lots of people will pretend to know more than they do. Don’t be rude. People speak Jabaran! She offers to teach some Jabaran.

We’ll want to get to the Maharani’s city eventually, but she hears it’s under attack by slith, so better to go by land than by boat.

Managaratha wakes up, and Vidan and Stella hear something thump the bottom of the boat. Lissa Tera thinks probably slith, since she can’t see anything under the boat.

Gale gives everyone water breathing and underwater action.

The slith come over the side.

Vidan and Stella put a lot of them in timeout, but a named slith decloaks and starts waking them up. It’s a tough fight, since they all have dodge pools, but we end up killing about half the mook slith. The named slith takes several sets of death checks but escapes over the side, and we can’t defeat his stealth rolls. (Lissa Terra says there is an invasion going up the Queen's River and they are fighting in the northern waters, so it was a little surprising this far south but not super surprising.)

In Jabar

The cataurs go out into the night. Er, day. Diomarche does the Leaving Ritual of their herds with Rashar and the other two.

Scout nudges Gale to look at the Magic Map. The X in Yellow is just north of the source of the Fifth River.

We sail north, and reach Habani by the end of the day. We get rooms at an inn and Lissa Terra goes to check in.

Vidan needs to put the three Markers from the Empire in Queen’s City, Love’s Citadel, Life’s Palace, Lore’s Towers.

Scout notes that our party battlemap has shrunk to not larger than the boat, probably because we spent so long in an Unreality bubble on the boat. No wandering a neighborhood away now.

The area is kind of savannah-like. Scout does some ecology analysis, and thinks there are some irrigation canals from the river, but the general area is dry. There aren’t any forests or jungles in the area. There is farming of olives and grapes and vines and that sort of thing.

Scout notices that there are more elves here than in most of the other Zones except for Green.

Stella gets a nudge from the Goddess; there is a List of Things to fix:

• The list coming in tomorrow is in about the proper order, least to most.
• Yours is not necessarily something that needs fixing, it is something that you should know about, and should think about whether it needs fixing. There are arguments both ways.
• You suppose Scout’s should be fixed.
• Gale’s is less something that needs fixing, but an Opportunity.
• Managaratha’s is definitely a problem; it’s really in some ways the biggest, except maybe for Vidan’s. But what fixing them means is not necessarily clear. They’re definitely divine resistance to looking into either of those (or yours for that matter). It’s not Defended, per se, but you’re getting less than you should.
• Nesh is probably getting something, but who knows.
• Diomarche’s should be fixed, but is probably the least major of them. But he should do it.
• The stuff Vidan remembered should be dealt with, but it doesn’t have to be today.

The Next Morning: Diomarche's Quest

We are shown to a table set for eight. Hmm, that’s suspicious. The eighth setting is appropriate for a centaur (as is Diomarche’s). Diomarche recognizes her as Ekarna, from his Herd. She is not high status; her job is a… crafter, more or less. This is far away from her usual area, so that’s unusual.

Diomarche goes to talk to her as she is inquiring about getting a room. She seems happy to see him. He tells her a bit about Middlesea, and that he and his companions are spreading the word; she assumes that we must be paladins, which Scout thinks is hilarious. Diomarche introduces her to Stella as a Priest of the Goddess, at which she becomes more polite.

She’s in town to sell some of her leatherwork, because the crops haven’t been doing well. (His mom is still back at the herd, so Diomarche should go see her). The Maharani hasn't been helping because of the drought.

Stella thinks she’s putting a better face on things than is warranted.

Gale’s Quest

A gentleman comes in. He spots Gale, and comes to the table. He’s moderately nicely dressed (at least compared to Ekarna…) He looks at Ekarna and says “If I might…” She lets him take her place.

“Would it be Captain Gale?”

“Yes.”

“Yes. I am Dubrek; I am looking for assistance in flying through the mountains (not past the mountains, around the mountains) and I hope you would be able to help me on your quest.”

“I think that is doable.”

“Oh good.”

“When are you going?”

“I need some time, but in the next month?”

“What is your quest?”

“I’m looking for the Phoenix’s Nest, so that I can get a few feathers.”

Vidan asks whether finding the Nest is the quest, or if the Feathers are the quest.

Scout asks what he needs them for. “For my quest!” For whom? “For me!” Scout looks at him. Definitely a half-Pooka. Aha. That explains it. Scout becomes much more interested in helping him.

Who did Dubrek consult with about his Quest? The Mage in the Golden Tower. She’s well-respected for that sort of thing, she’s certainly expensive enough. It’s hard to scry for the Phoenix.

We make arrangements to meet with him in a week.

Scout’s Quest

A high elf lady comes in, and glares at him, and he smiles and bows and leaves.

“Scout, yes?”

“Yes.”

“I understand you are a shaman of some skill?”

“Yes.”

“Messalani. I am one of the more important merchants in town. None of the Rulers in Green are responding to my requests for help. The Tree network is having troubles; it will need some Shamanism, as well as Green magic, which I can provide. With the tree network down (not down, that’s strong) it would have taken some time. ”

“I’m not aware of the Tree Network and what it does, so I’ll need to see it.”

“It’s a transportation network run by elves, that we take advantage of. It’s been here since before the last Comet (which is when I got here), so it’s quite well established. It has mostly functioned well, which it is not working well at present.”

“Is it just in Yellow?”

“There are three to the Melmane ports, there’s a different network from Melmane to the other continent.”

Managaratha is pretty sure it was established two Comets ago.

“Is it Alchemy, Nature, Essence…?”

“All three, but at root it is Nature. But it has a Divine component, but I’m not familiar with that and it’s difficult to find anyone to deal with it. Priests here are more likely to try to destroy it; that’s happened to trees on occasion.”

Messalina is Merchant Varna, she trades, both inside and overseas to keep the economy of the country running. The Great River is where the merchant Varna is most respected, so she tends to travel there. The Tree Network is throughout the lands, but less so in the Priests’ cities.

As she is finishing describing that…

Nesh’s Quest

A man comes in. Messalina looks up and there’s a level of assessment. Possibly he’s low level Priest Varna. Nesh is about to escort Nesh out

“I am Virga.”

He pulls out a Nesh-finding compass, and puts it on the table. It’s spinning, but then he says something and it points at Nesh.

“Can you explain why a group of cataurs, coming through our territory, had a magic item that points at you?”

“Not particularly. I think the Oasis wants me?”

“The OASIS wants you?”

“I mean, I don’t know why…”

Scout says “sorry, who are you?”

“I am Virga, I am an officer of the law.”

With whom?

“For the city.”

“I don’t suppose we could see the Ruler of the city? We have important missives from the West.”

We give him a Tarn evidence packet; he casts a Yellow spell to translate it and reads it quickly. There are teams of cataurs searching for Nesh, they attacked Middlesea, are they connected?

Well, not that we know of. Nesh says they might be hunting the Buccaneer? Hmm. He thinks that’s unlikely. The Inspector asks if he’ll drop his defenses to allow some investigative spells. Nesh agrees.

He casts a Yellow spell; Managaratha thinks it’s a Detect Broken of some kind.

As he’s casting a second Yellow spell, someone taps his shoulder…

Stella’s Quest

He gets up and bows to the woman who is sitting down, and says he will speak with Nesh later. She appears to be a priest of the Goddess, wearing a Holy symbol. She sits down and says “Good morning, my name is Hama Aliki, I am Lore’s Servant, and I was hoping I could speak with Stella about certain matters.”

“I understand you have connections with Red and Orange merchant Guilds.”

“Some. I am not a member of any Guild. I serve the Goddess, but I know many in the Guilds.”

She considers that a minute or two, and says “The Lady of Lore is… interested… in developing the Merchant Varna. And hopes to speak with someone who can provide information about how the Priest Varna can assist them in being better organized. Our understanding is that the Guild is quite well organized. It sounds like you perhaps have less understanding of it…?”

“I have knowledge, but I am not a member, of the Guild.”

Ah, then she is happy to discuss further if she has the requisite knowledge.

“I understand priests in your land do not pursue one of the Three Faces specifically.”

“Not generally.”

“That is something you should consider if you are going to be here long; the Lady of Lore would be happy to speak with you about that.”

She is the most aware of any of the people who have come in yet that she is in a mechanic, and that she had intended to speak to YOU, and perhaps had more to say, and is not convinced she wants to say more to the group because of the mechanic.

Talking generally, it seems the Merchant Varna is not organized the way the Guild is organized. The country is organized, but the Merchants are not. The Nobles are in charge; the Church is next, and could potentially… they can hold their own against the Nobles most of the time. Although the fact that they’re divided into three makes it harder. The three Ladies are bigger than any of the Nobles besides the Maharani. It’s almost feudalish in terms of descending down levels of nobles out. The priests are less organized. Love, Lore, Life; under the three Ladies are other priests. They’re not technically hierarchical, but it’s implied. Non-actual-priests of the Priest Varna are less important than most of the priests (according to her). Merchants are flat at the bottom. Then there are the regular people.

Managaratha’s Quest

She looks up as someone else comes into the room and heads in her direction, and she says “I believe my time is up”.

“Oh have we met?”

“No.” And

“But I have.”

“Of course you are. Did I not tell you that Purple is dangerous, Did I not tell you that Yellow was safer? Purple might be more accurate, but even so!”

“Vicarana Vesta. Do you remember having met me before?”

“No. It’s a big one. I think I’m about half burned out.”

“Then maybe you are less useful than I had hoped.”

“Nonetheless, I have been monitoring the use of Magics, as you had suggested, and you are correct that Something is Off with Feelings magic. It is not major; I would not have noticed had I not been looking out for it. Spells are not yet going awry more often, but it is enough to notice if you are watching. Which I have been, since you asked me to.

I have found the thing that you asked me to look for, and what should I do about it?”

“Well, we have received a prophecy that we should deal with this, so it’s good that you have come to us.”

“How is your Yellow theory?”

“At the moment I’m pretty good at Yellow.”

“You mean Illusion, you can’t do Feelings, right?”

“Yes.”

“How to put this in Illusion terms, or non-magic terms. Hmm. The best analogy I have at present. Think that you are living in a house, and you know the house, but suddenly at night there are new noises. That is about all I have at present. There are tremors through Feelings magic, which make the Feelings different. Different is not right. Flavor the Feelings perhaps.”

“Is this worldwide, or just in Jabar?”

I have not looked elsewhere; that is an interesting question. I could attempt to investigate that if you think that is a matter that would be useful to know to resolve the problem.

“I’m not sure it’s urgent, but it could tell the difference between a local ritual, or the Breaker trying to change the nature of Magic.”

“It’s everywhere in jabar I have been. It’s not something I would expect anyone to notice without looking. I have mentioned it to a few other Mages that, well, in one case she said she had noticed it but thought it was because she was sick. The others claimed it was not changing.”

I could get to Melmane,

Vidan’s Quest

As he is finishing that up, Suvatra shows up.

“Vikarna, I was not expecting to see you here.”

“My apologies, Lady, I will make way for you of course.”

She sits.

“Vidan, yes. I am pleased you have arrived.” She looks at the line of people, and puts us in a Cone of Silence.

“So. I believe the first pass will be coming to a head shortly.”

“First pass?”

“At attempting to remove the Maharani. The war is going poorly. I believe that is at least in part due to the lack of support that Her Majesty is getting from other sources. She’s getting the brunt. I believe there will be a move within the next month, possibly the next few weeks, to remove her. I expect that will be violent rather than political, and I expect the Church will be heavily involved. There was a time I thought you had better connections in the Church than I did; I’m not convinced of that now, but you are the one I find most plausible to assist me in this matter. Possibly simply because you are not local and therefore are more trustable. Possibly because you are not invested in any particular Maharani.”

“Is there any evidence of the Broken in the Conspiracy?”

“Not that I know of; there could be instigators or associates who are Bent, but I believe it is more an internal fight. I am not willing at this time to point at any one person as definitely in the conspiracy. They are sufficiently well guarded against scrying and other investigations that I do not have proof with which to charge any one of significant political import. The easiest way to get proof would be to find an assassin who survived their attempt, but I do not intend to endanger the Maharani in order to catch such an assassin. We will try to discover what we can if that happens, but I would prefer no attempt will be made.”

“From your message, it sounds like the first attempt will come from Lore?”

“I don’t believe Lore wants to remove the Maharani; Lore wants to weaken the Maharani because Lore wants to weaken the Nobility. And I believe Lore has begun those moves.”

Vidan frowns.

“But the directed attack on the Maharani does not come from Lore.”

“Where then is most likely?”

“I believe it is Life, but do not repeat that; I will disavow any such accusation. She is certainly working with others in the Nobility if she is organizing this; she was Noble of birth, and her family is close in line should the Maharani’s family fall. So given the combination of power involved and possible beneficiaries, she is my most plausible candidate. But whether she is assisting others or the motivator, that I don’t have a good feel for.”

Vidan thinks about whether there’s an obvious heir. (The prince in Middlesea is a nephew.) She has two heirs, a daughter. Passage of rulership is more flexible. KS: Succession Law tells him that the Maharani could name an heir. If an heir has not been named, then the Council of Nobles will discuss what the Maharani’s choice would likely have been. With political shenanigans likely.

And then...

A gentleman comes in, and bows to Suvatra.

“I am Captain Loric Assan. I am a member of the Maharani’s personal guard. I understand you are the Middlesea Free Rangers?”

“We are.”

“The Maharani commands your presence in the capital at once. I will accompany you there. Welcome to Jabar.”

Loot:

• +1 Racial Schtick
• +20 SPs