Session 065: Paper Faces on Parade

Approach the Primdawn Palace, stained glass windows alight with the glow of sunset. Attempt to sneak in weapons, Zenith, Aphid, Jack, and Tal all remove their armor for their lewks, Mohr does not. Mohr has to check her warhammer. The guard Messages ahead, communicating their name to the guards inside. He informs the group that it is considered impolite to guess who people are outright, but it is acceptable to speak vaguely. Talasea asks if there are points for guessing right and the guard says yes, to tell the Primrose Queen how many you get right and she will do something for you.   The party enters the ballroom, filled with amber light, flickering candles, and draping vines. They are announced as The North Wind.   Talasea floats into a sea of gossip, talking about manor holdings, the scandalous rumor that Chippinshire is the origin of the blight, and the dating season (canonically the only kind of season) in which people are eagerly waiting to see if the Vongvilays who have purchased a manor near the Shiverlands will enter the scene. Young daughters of the Quintessence were here for the season, but have since gone home. Tal flirt-gossips with a noble named Elizabeth, who recognizes the name of Colby, asking if they were originally from around here. They vaguely discuss the connection of Colby to the Verdant Quarter.   Zenith detects thoughts (to the judgement of the folks around him that obviously notice him casting magic) and catches Elizabeth thinking with considerable regret about how they shouldn't have brought up their ex that they might while engaging in criminal activity. Elizabeth abruptly changes the subject to one of their manors. Talasea talks at length about his own manors.   Jack takes up a place in a corner, looking out for Sir Kerria.   Mohr looks around for anything out of place and catches the stir at the entrance when a figure in dark clothing and a skull mask enters.   And is announced as Onoana of the Summer Kingdom.   The North Wind manages to mostly conceal their reaction to this.   Others around the room are not so subtle, whispering about the competitor who has progressed so far in the Trials of Summer and only has a bit of time left before they compete in the final. Onoana is immediately claimed for a dance. Zenith edges closer to try and cut in. The traditional dance conveniently requires the changing of partners and Verity helps Zenith trade to dancing with Onoana.   Zenith and Onoana trade pleasantries.   "Have we met before?" Onoana asks.   "I saw you at the trials and I'm pretty sure I saw you in that cavern when we were fighting those plant monsters?" Zenith replies.   "Ah, forgive me if I do not remember," Onoana says, face hidden behind her mask. "I meet so many people at those trials. They simply line up to speak to a champion. And I do not know what you speak of regarding the cavern- although... maybe I have seen your face before... maybe on a poster somewhere?"   "It's a charming face, so many people have tried to capture it, but I don't think exact likenesses can ever completely be gotten."   "Perhaps not," says Onoana. "Yet the horns are very distinctive, no?"   "True, not much I can do to hide that."   "What are you doing in the Spring Kingdom, so far from home?"   "My dear friend, Aphid, his grandmother lives here and we wanted to pay her a visit. Only Mohr, who's from far up north, had been out of her home kingdom before. Most of us have lived in the Summer Kingdom our whole lives so we've seen lots of things we haven't seen before. Aphid's grandmother is a little bit scary but very well-mannered."   "Looks like you are having a grand time. Aphid, Mohr. Sounding more and more familiar as you speak."   The dance surges and Verity and Zenith swirl back together. Verity helps distract from Zenith casting detect thoughts once again. He hears: An interesting tactic, what has she been getting into that they are so familiar with her name? Maybe I can leverage this in our favor. They seem quite willing to talk...   Zenith tries to detect the thoughts of anyone invisible, but is unable to pick up anything out of place in the large crowded ballroom.   Aphid socialites his way through the ballroom, paying close attention to the announcements at the entrance. Grandmother and Hawthorn are announced as The Tailor and The Tailor's Apprentice. Aphid greets Grandmother and dances with Hawthorn. He mentions to Hawthorn that someone they knew from the Summer Kingdom is here and there were some misunderstandings there. What misunderstandings? Murder.   Hawthorn promises to try to stay away from Onoana and to try and keep Grandmother away from her too.   Tal continues to float about, trying to discover people's identities and also whether there are truly points. It seems like other people are also trying to guess who he is. He gives different fake information to each person to try and rig the game in his favor.   Jack remains in a corner, observing the action. A slight young man wanders over and introduces himself as Philip, fumbling when Jack reminds him that they aren't supposed to be giving away who they are.   Zenith makes his way over to Mohr to discuss "Onoana". Zenith warns that they aren't who they say they are since they didn't recognize him at all and was thinking about what "she" has been up to. He cautions that they might try to use the familiarity to their advantage. Mohr wonders whether it's an evil twin situation.   A fanfare rings out, the candles dim, a swirl of leaves erupts around the throne at the far end of the room. When the leaves disperse, the Primrose Queen stands there in all of her glory. Sir Kerria hovers to her left, wearing a decorative tabard and carrying a large shield on her back. The Queen welcomes everyone to the celebration and says she hopes to speak to every person. She steps down from the dais, calling for the masquerade to continue. Sir Kerria follows, her eyes sharp on the crowd.   The balance of the room shifts as dancing is abandoned in favor of getting closer to the Queen. A very polite kind of dance begins as people jockey for position to speak to the Queen and staff assist in bringing the next person forward to have their audience. Aphid makes his way forward to say a formal thank you for the invitation.   As Aphid turns to leave, the Queen turns to Sir Kerria and murmurs something. Sir Kerria nods, calls another guard to take her place at the Queen's side, and departs on some other task.   Jack waits until a bit of time has passed, then says his goodbyes to Philip and slips away to the bathroom. Not quite slippery enough to escape Mohr's notice. Mohr follows along behind and Philip looks after, a bit forlornly. Jack switches from his Jackalope mask to a plain black mask, but feels that it is a bit shoddy as far as disguises go. Mohr barges into the bathroom after Jack, loudly knocking on doors and asking if she can check for her purse. Elizabeth finds this highly rude. Eventually Jack exits his stall and Mohr claims to have found her purse. Elizabeth leaves, muttering about the manners of people from other kingdoms.   Mohr asks Jack what the plan is. Jack asks her to leave it alone. Mohr refuses, asking what happens if Jack fails. Jack says he'll go to jail and say that no one else was involved. He admits that he got some poisonous flowers. Mohr asks what happens if he doesn't do this. Jack says he isn't sure. Mohr double-checks that they're alone. She notices she can hear some shuffling outside the door and casts See Invisibility. She thinks if she can hear movement outside the door it probably isn't very soundproof.   Jack tries to trick Mohr into going to check on the Queen. When this fails, he gives up and allows Mohr to accompany him to find Sir Kerria. Leaving the bathroom, Mohr runs into Philip standing outside. Mohr and Jack return to the ballroom and Sir Kerria is nowhere to be seen. Looking around, Jack determines she isn't in the room anymore. Philip walks up behind them and asks what he's looking for. Jack says that Sir Kerria is an old friend he's looking for. Philip mentions that he saw Sir Kerria heading upstairs while Jack was in the bathroom. Aphid heads over and intercepts Philip, who looks like a deer in the headlights as soon as Aphid begins talking to him.   Guards watch Jack and Mohr head upstairs, Jack grabbing two flutes of champagne on his way. They aren't stopped, but neither are they sure how long that will last. The next floor up is pretty empty. They head towards where they remember Sir Kerria's office is. Jack takes a moment to drop a flower into one of the champagne flutes. He tests the door and finds it locked. He knocks.   Sir Kerria opens the door. Frowns.   Jack offers her a drink. Sir Kerria hesitantly accepts. At the last moment, Jack gives her the belladonna-free drink. Then slams the other one, leaving the damp belladonna at the bottom.   Jack dazedly mentions that he just broke five years of sobriety.   Mohr strolls up and attempts to make some small talk. Sir Kerria impatiently asks if there's something that they need. When they cannot produce anything, she tells them not to come back.   Back with Aphid, Philip turns to go get some drinks. Aphid attempts to follow, but Philip moves more quickly than expected and Aphid feels as though he is tripped, even though no one he can see is in the correct position to trip him. When he recovers, Philip is gone.   Back upstairs, Mohr stops Jack and demands to know what exactly happens if they don't do this. Jack says that his patron didn't say this had to happen today. Mohr doesn't accept this, but Jack says he can't be there anymore. Mohr tells him to go downstairs. Jack goes. Mohr does not.   Mohr knocks on Sir Kerria's door.   What do you want? Sir Kerria asks.   I was wondering if we could have a chat inside your office, Mohr says.   Maybe we should, Sir Kerria says.   At the bottom of the stairs, Jack starts to turn to look for Mohr, but hears:   Jack!   It's Philip.   I can't, says Jack.   You can't? Philip asks, bewildered. But you have to!   Jack slips back into the ballroom, swirling in color and light, searching for Zenith. Jack spills that he did something stupid and is afraid that Mohr is doing something more stupid and is having a panic attack. Zenith goes with him while Verity goes to round up the rest of the group.   At that moment, the Winterian delegation is announced at the top of stairs. The center member is a member of parliament, an older woman with dark grey hair pulled back in a bun. One member is familiar to Talasea, a tall man with a distinctive blue scar across one eye. The other looks a lot like Mohr, fidgeting in clothing that seems a bit uncomfortable for him.   Talasea is, for a moment, lost in the memory of a member of the Winterian navy aboard the deck of his ship amid a storm. The Empress's hand raised to the sky, her face blank. Lightning crashing down and striking the naval captain as he searched for a person hidden aboard. Tending to him afterwards, seeing him back to his own ship, marveling at this unfortunate occurrence of nature. However, when Verity appears at Talasea's side, Tal does not mention Aleksandr Artemovich, but rather the half-orc that looks like Mohr.   Insight-checking the situation, Tal notes that the half-orc is likely recently hired to the navy, although it is unusual that a low-level member of the navy would be sent on an appearance like this.   Verity tells Talasea that Jack is having a panic attack.   The group (minus Mohr) converges in the weaponry storage room. Zenith asks Jack what's happened.   Jack tells them to tell Mohr that it doesn't count unless Jack does it. Tal casts Sending to Mohr: "Bestie, don't do it, unless it's him it doesn't count."   Jack is not sure whether this is true.   Back upstairs, back in time, Mohr enters the office of Sir Kerria. Mohr attempts to claim that they should sit down, have a chat, because Mohr was just wanting to speak in private. Sir Kerria frowns.   Sir Kerria abruptly claps her hands and a wave of magic rolls out from her. Mohr feels the Zone of Truth attempt to take hold and powers through it. Sir Kerria suggests that Mohr start saying something worth hearing pretty quickly or she will take the actions available to her as the right hand of the Primrose Queen. When Mohr does not, Sir Kerria announces that she does not have a lot of time tonight, so she will be placing Mohr under arrest until she has time to deal with whatever is going on.   Mohr casts Mislead, throwing them into initiative.   A desperate fight breaks out, Mohr and Sir Kerria trades spells back and forth. Mohr casts guiding bolt after guiding bolt, even after being grappled by Sir Kerria. Mohr brings up a high level spiritual weapon that slides off Sir Kerria's gleaming armor again and again. Mohr tries to call upon the Divine Intervention of the Snowmother, and feels only an echo of sadness.   Finally, Talasea's Sending comes through.   It doesn't matter, Mohr says. No one else get involved.   The group, of course, does not listen.   Zenith and Jack Dimension Door into Sir Kerria's office. Upon entering the room, they both hit the Zone of Truth and both choose to fail it. Jack also takes a bit of damage as they are hit by the bright light of Sir Kerria's damage.   Talasea and Aphid go back to the ballroom in order to try and and cover for the rest.   Sir Kerria grabs Mohr and maneuvers them so that Mohr is between her and the newcomers to the room, covered by the shield, with the sword at Mohr's throat. She demands that Zenith and Jack drop their weapons. Jack, holding Zenith's rapier, does as he is told.   Verity begins making his way towards Sir Kerria's office.   "They didn't do anything, so you should keep your focus on me," Mohr says, continuing to try and attack Sir Kerria, continuing to make no mark.   Zenith attempts to cast Suggestion on Sir Kerria to get her to calm down, stay silent, and keep still. Sir Kerria uses a legendary resistance to resist, telling them to talk if they must, but she will not be silent.   Jack speaks, claiming that it isn't Mohr's fault, it's his own, attempting to get Sir Kerria to switch focus to Jack. His first attempt is clearly not swaying Sir Kerria. Then his mouth moves of its own volition.   We were forced to, Jack's voice says. A demon made us do it, I'm sorry. This gets Sir Kerria to pause, lowering the sword.   Then Mohr attacks again.