Session 20: Union Reunion

You’re invited to the GWGA’s 69th Annual Union Reunion! This special night brings all credentialed union members employed by the GWGA together in support of the most basic mortal right: the right to party.   As the newest union to be formed in the GWGA, the G.I.R.L. Union will be honored with a small ceremony, followed by dinner and party games. Look forward to food, fun, and fish!   This year’s event is brought to you by the Fishers Under Common Kindness Union.

  After a busy workweek, the G.I.R.L. Union meets up at Harmony Hall on Cinzi evening. They're met by Talouc, a member of the Fishers Under Common Kindness Union and the evening's host. Talouc greets them happily, welcoming them to the union community and asking if anyone would be willing to say a few words, to which Angie says she's already prepared something. Talouc shows the group to their seats, then goes up to the podium to give their opening remarks.   “Welcome to the 69th Annual Union Reunion! As y’all know, all unions under the GWGA are invited to gather on the first Cinzi of each summer to celebrate our united causes of freedom and fairness in the workplace, and all of us at the Fishers Under Common Kindness Union are honored by the opportunity to sponsor this year’s event for all y’all hardworking folks.   "It’s now my great pleasure to announce the newest union formally recognized by the GWGA: the Glorified Itinerant Risk-seeking Laborers Union! Please join me in welcoming Angie Trampsmith to say a few words about this excitin’ new addition to our community. The floor’s yours, Angie.”   Angie takes to the podium and pulls out her prepared remarks:  

"Here at the Gäelume Worldwide Governance Administration, we’re all about hierarchy and order. Each document, each item, each worker in its place. That is how we function. That is how we work. That is how the system works. And it does work, imperfectly sometimes, but it works. It works for the good of all the people of Gäelume. All the people of Gäelume who are in their proper place, where they belong.   "But what about those who don’t have a place to belong? The freelancers, the contract workers, the people who work alongside us every day to achieve our goals and yet who are not part of any one particular department? Those who exist outside of the hierarchy altogether? Our system is not designed to work for them, even though they work for us.   "And that is the problem, the injustice, even, that the G.I.R.L. Union was formed to solve. I know many of you have been confused about that; why would you form a union of such disparate workers, such odds and ends. But it’s not that we’ve somehow formed a Union despite being a bunch of odds and ends. We have formed a Union for the odds and ends. To give us a proper place in which to belong, so the system can work for us too.   "I have spent most of my working adult life counting. And now, alongside the G.I.R.L. Union, I am standing up to be counted.   "Thank you."

  Despite their slight confusion towards the beginning of Angie's speech, the crowd is absolutely loving it by the end and gives her a hearty round of applause. Razor, who has been recording the entire thing on her djell phone, looks around the room for anyone who isn't paying attention to Angie and spots a pale dark-haired man and a blonde woman arguing in the back. Razor will remember that.   Talouc returns to the podium, thanks Angie for her remarks, and announces that after a "fish-tastic feast" there will be party games, each of which offers the opportunity to win a 5gp gift card to various worldwide establishments.   The G.I.R.L. Union enjoys their dinner, for the most part. Razor, who has never had cooked fish before, finds it not to her taste, and gives her plate to Angie.  

The Darrick Challenge

  A deep green banner proclaims Gäelume Archers Group in association with the Fletchers Union of Gäelume. Underneath the banner, a trembling man lifts a shortbow and takes aim at another person whose back is turned. The first man fires his arrow, and in the blink of an eye, the second person snatches the arrow out of the air, whirls around, and fires the arrow back at an apple atop the first man’s head, hitting right in the center and slicing the apple cleanly in half. The first man faints.   The second person, a bugbear named Darrick Prince, welcomes the G.I.R.L. Union to their first party game: The Darrick Challenge! Upon tending to the unconscious man, Thenri realizes he is Mark Fletcher, a fletcher from Cerailes with whom they've previously done business.   Thenri and Krizek decide to participate in The Darrick Challenge and take turns firing arrows at one another. First, Krizek borrows a shortbow from Darrick and shoots an arrow at Thenri, who succeeds in snatching it from the air and firing it back at the apple on Krizek's head. Next, Thenri fires an arrow for Krizek to catch; the goblin monk plucks it effortlessly from the air and fires it right back at the arrow on Thenri's head. Thenri and Krizek each are awarded a gift card.  

This Game Sucks!

  An opulent black and gold banner bears elegant calligraphy reading Vampires Undertaking Labor Ventures Association. Somewhat less gracefully, a second banner hangs beneath the first, this one a bright blue and reading Benevolent Union for Familiars in uneven but enthusiastic block lettering. Underneath the two banners, six vampires stand upon a small platform, looking bored. As the G.I.R.L. Union approaches, the vampires perk up and smile — happily or hungrily, it's not clear.   The group is greeted by Florian Beaumont and Lola Lewis, whom Razor immediately recognizes to be the pair arguing during Angie's speech. They explain the nature of the game: Each participant will partner with a vampire, who will suck their blood until they pass out. Razor and Angie grill both of them about the safety of this game, and Lola shows them a huge binder filled with extensive safety documentation, including vaccination records. She also explains that that's the reason for their partnership; the familiar union is here to keep the vampire union in check and make sure they don't "accidentally" turn participants into unwilling familiars.   Eventually, Angie and Razor agree to participate. Both do well at first, but Angie faints from blood loss first, making Razor the winner of a Grick-fil-A gift card.  

A Familiar Situation

  After completing the game, Razor confronts Florian and Lola about why they weren't paying attention during Angie's speech. They say that they were arguing about Lola's mistress, Dame Odile Ardelean; Florian thinks Lola should leave her service, as the Dame tends to go through familiars quickly and he doesn't think Lola is safe. Lola insists that she and Dame Odile have a good relationship and she's perfectly fine. Angie determines to track down Dame Odile's former familiars to find out more (and potentially scout them for the G.I.R.L. Union).  

Gone Fishin'

  A blue banner with waves painted onto it reads Fishers Under Common Kindness Union. Underneath the banner, Talouc stands alongside a beautiful triton woman. Next to them, a small plastic pool sits atop a large tarp. A closer look shows that the pool contains several freshwater fish, swimming at leisure and occasionally splashing water over the sides of the pool and onto the tarp. Next to the pool are two tables: one holds six cutting boards and knives, and the other has six small grills.   Talouc is delighted to speak with the party again and thanks Angie once more for her speech. They introduce the triton woman as Una Marre, the fish liaison for the Fishers Under Common Kindness Union. Una's role is to make sure that the union treats fish as humanely as possible, and each of the fish present in the pool has volunteered to be here. Talouc thanks Una for her help acquiring these fish, as the fish in the area they normally traverse are mysteriously missing.   Angie and Krizek both compete in the Gone Fishin' game, each successfully catching a fish from the pool. Krizek fails to fillet the fish adequately, but Angie performs beautifully and ends up winning the game.  

Angie proudly presents her winning fish dish to Razor. "I know you didn't eat much, Razor, so I made this for you."   "Wow, thanks, babe," says Razor, who still does not like cooked fish, as she chokes down the whole thing.

  Una expresses interest in potentially joining the G.I.R.L. Union, and Angie, always prepared, pulls out a laminated copy of their pamphlet to give to her. Talouc requests that they come back and speak with them after they've finished with the other games.  

Little by Little

  In small, precise capital letters, a pale yellow banner reads Super-Massive Association of Little Legends. A squat contraption of tunnels, barriers, and blocks sprawls across the entirety of this booth and into the booths adjacent, much to their neighbors’ chagrin. At first glance, no one seems to be attending this booth, but upon a closer look there are two small figures are snuggled up together in a crevice of what must be the most haphazard-looking obstacle course ever made.   The two small figures are the goblin Lil Sweatlerx and tabaxi Molly Figtwist. They explain that their union is for Small and smaller sized people who are often discriminated against because of their size. Neck nudges Krizek and says that finally being small pays off, and Neck and Krizek both agree to participate in the Little by Little obstacle course game.   They both do well, finishing almost simultaneously, but Neck comes out just barely ahead. Lil begrudgingly admits that Neck even beat her best time, and both Neck and Krizek are awarded with gift cards.  

A Hire Power

  A vibrant purple banner is the only one not to have been painted; instead, cutouts of worms, rats, snakes, and other critters spell out Splendid Union of Creepy Crawlies. The other attendees seem to be giving this booth a wide berth. Maybe it’s the huge half-spider woman staring down anyone who gets close, or maybe it’s the fact that every time the other woman at the booth runs up to a passerby and says “Sssstep right up!”, the snakes that make up her hair wiggle and hiss.   The G.I.R.L. Union meets the drider Winona Spieder and the medusa Kiki Sarpe, who tell them about their union for people seen as "creepy" or "gross" by the common populace. Razor talks to Winona and finds out that she, too, is from Volucris.   This game, A Hire Power, is a Mortal Resources-themed event where participants must ascertain which of three candidates to hire for an open position. Razor and Angie both participate; Angie fails out in round two, but after a close call in the third round, Razor wins again.   In talking with Winona and Kiki after the game, they express interest in potentially becoming "sister unions", as the Splendid Union of Creepy Crawlies doesn't yet have one and they feel this might be a good fit. Razor gives both of them her djell phone number so they can discuss the details.  

Rat Race

  This orange banner reading Tinkers In Tandem is so loud it almost obscures the clinking and clanging going on beneath it. A large red woman and a much smaller satyr are dumping out buckets of nuts and bolts onto six small tables, chattering with each other excitedly. Between their conversation and the metallic ruckus, it takes them a bit to notice anyone arriving.   Once they do pick up on their guests, the oni Ollie Nunk and satyr Kerry Galosh greet the group happily and introduce their Rat Race game, wherein participants must design and build a working mechanical mouse to participate in a race. Neck immediately volunteers, and Angie decides to give it a whirl also. Angie's design is good, but the execution falls short. Neck expertly deploys her crafty mouse and wins the race. Angie and Neck shake hands, and Neck says they should build something together sometime.  

After the Party

  Once the group has completed all of the games, Angie and Razor seek out Talouc on the outskirts of the event. Talouc tells them about an issue they and their fellow fishers are experiencing in their village in the Two Suns Desert: Fish have been mysteriously disappearing, bought up at low prices and resold at higher prices the village can't afford. They suspect insider trading of some kind, and would like the G.I.R.L. Union to investigate the issue.   In terms of payment, Talouc offers 200gp to each member, with 100gp paid to each up front and the rest after. They say the risk level is unknown, so Angie and Razor ask for a little time to think about it and talk to the rest of the party, and they exchange djell phone numbers with Talouc.   After discussing amongst themselves, the party agrees that they will do the job, but they will be adding a flat fee of 200gp for any job with an unknown risk level. Angie emails these terms to Talouc, who sees it immediately and gives a thumbs up from across the room.   As the G.I.R.L. Union begins to take their leave of the party, Lola runs up to them and says her mistress, Dame Odile, would like to invite them all over for dinner to prove she's benevolent. The dress code is "funky fancy". The G.I.R.L. Union accepts the invitation, and makes plans to go shopping for appropriate wardrobe options beforehand.