General Summary
In the background, there’s been an upsurge of God-blooded slaves in Prasad.
Stelsor is interested in using the money to we got as a reward from the Rani-Satrap to buy out their slave contracts and integrate them into our organizations.
Fortifier can get behind this idea because the Lover is trying to build up her forces, so we will likely need to bolster Mortal groups that oppose her.
Plot-thread: What’s causing this uptick? Are there particular gods who are behind this?
Scene: Golden Laurels opening > Dance floor
Stelsor as a senior Infernal gives some parting advice to Navarone.
She wonders if Only-looks-shy-when-asleep is another person she should listen to.
Combative Mattresses and Windblown Snow come to Stelsor, Fortifier and Dreamflower.
Windblown Snow looks worried.
Mattresses is feeling pressure from his daughters to take action in Thorns.
The city is still controlled and basically blockaded by the undead. Many have fled, but some are still starving inside the city.
Stelsor suggests we could air-drop food using Little Cloud.
Windblown Snow isn’t certain that it would work well.
Combative Mattresses realizes this might not get solved tonight, but he’s asking for help because we’ve been doing well with protecting Nexus from the shadowland. (a shadowland we secretly caused though)
A powerful metallic knock hits the middle door of the casino. A loud voice says “I would speak with Stelsor, Dreamflower and Fortifier!”
It’s Ar-Duke Pritchard. We tell the security that they can let him in.
The solar in Soulsteel plate is arguing loudly with Shun-the-enemies-of-Autochton, the Orichalcum Alchemical.
The Ar-Duke wants to know when we’re planning to hit the Lover directly.
Stelsor says we’re building out our network to prepare for that.
Our sources on Lookshy say they have at minimum a dozen flying ships that are equipped and functional, better than even the Realm or Prasad.
We got this information from Only-Looks-Shy-When-Asleep who had been an officer in Lookshy’s flying legion.
We have less info on the Haslanti League but they’re said to have more than 12 of their flying ships.
We notice The Ashen Sage of Oblivion aka Filandro Deathknight at the party and he’s very old and well-travelled so we ask him what he knows.
Filandro explains the Haslanti League is an economic union that ranges over large parts of the North, somewhat like the Guild, but they tend not to have slaves.
We introduce Combative Mattresses to the Ar-Duke.
Ar-Duke recognizes the Grimaldi surname and asks if Mattresses was in Thorns when it fell.
Ar-Duke crosses his arms and the soulsteel plates in his armor are accidentally facing each other. The souls trapped inside scream at one another. This produces an ear-splitting magical sound.
Fortifier notices marks on the armor in Old Realm say Five Edicts Dominion.
Ar-Duke is grateful to us for the trade that Rohen Velen brought him.
Ar-Duke mentions that Rohen’s bought some of the riding hawks.
Stelsor thinks the riding hawks landing in the city will create a lot of bird poop.
Ar-Duke notices Nyeah and feels he recognizes her, not her face, but the once-Solar Exaltation within her.
Ar-Duke once knew Kratofil the wise (one of Stelsor’s past incarnations).
Stelsor tells the Ar-Duke we might want to summon an elemental to help Mana-Tui.
Ar-Duke is planning to relocate Metagalapa back to it’s original region, near Greyfalls.
His hope is that this might make the Lover think they are pulling back.
Shuns is clearly agitated, but has managed to keep a lid on himself.
He is in town because he was the one that brought the giant cog from Great Forks.
Shuns was upset that the Ar-Duke didn’t pay proper respect to the guards wearing Gunzosha Armor.
Shuns points out that the Gunzosha armor suits were gifts from Autochthon himself for the Primordial War.
Fortifier tries to explain the Ar-Duke is an elder Solar, a fellow veteran of the Divine Revolution. Shuns sizes the Ar-Duke up and is still dubious of him.
Ar-Duke is surprised there are so many of these metallic Exalts.
Fortifier explains there are 6 of them in the River Province, one specimen of each Caste.
Fortifier suggests Combative Mattresses send Seth Redthorn to do reconnaissance in the Haslanti League.
Mattresses explains that Seth is currently committed as the bodyguard of Cantata, but he could send someone else if we tell him what to look for.
Stelsor is interested in knowing their trade patterns.
Fortifier wants to know how many flying ships they have and what would help them build more.
Fortifier talks to Seline about if the sidereals have mapped the Shadowlands in the North. Maybe we can plan how to contain or invade the Lover’s forces there.
Seline points out that the Lover went to a lot of effort to create a shadowland in Liveasy, and one further down the river. Clearing these might affect the Lover’s plans.
Dreamflower checks up on Nurlissa and her date, Ahuntsic Rinara.
Prital has been grooming Rinara as kind of her mortal protege.
Rinara is the ex-girlfriend of Velim Garak.
Dreamflower feels a tug through her Bond with Tidetamer. He seems to be thinking about her.
Scene: Same location, some time later?
Dreamflower hears Ohanlei and Luxana are in the next room over.
She goes to greet them and brings Fortifier along.
Luxana is excited at our success. She waves her many-arms and it flicks ink on us.
Luxana also seems agitated about something in the Bureaus of Yu-Shan.
Dreamflower asks what has her so nervous.
Luxana is torn between the benefits of having more readers and the downsides of having more eyes able to scrutinize written records.
We overhear 3 goddesses arguing about what the traditional drink of Nexus is.
Ohanlei says it is tea, Carmina says it’s white wine and Burning Feather claims it is neither of those but won’t say what she thinks it is (but coughs that it’s black sunshine).
Fortifier tries to find out Burning Feather’s current intimacy toward Black Sunshine.
As the goddess of mind-altering drugs, she feels conflicted pride (mechanically 2 opposed intimacies). She can’t really hate it, but dislikes its side-effects.
The other two goddesses are very angry at the prevalence of Black Sunshine.
Fortifier points out that this drug seem to diminish her worship in the long-run as the addicts die off sooner than with other substances.
With Subtle Concept Introduction Method, he successfully weakens her intimacy of pride. An expression of self-realization crosses Burning Feather’s face for a moment.
Only-Looks-Shy-When-Asleep approaches Stelsor to discuss when she last tried salting Thorns.
If Stelsor will agree to also make a food drop, she grudgingly promises to bring a crew of Exalts (from the Tang-Zen) to crew Little Cloud in a raid on Thorns.
Stelsor notices an odd crowd over by the card tables and goes to inspect. They seem to have started sort of a gambling / insult slam poetry challenge.
The two teams are Bjorn and Blue Eyes against Alton Sabriel and his wife.
The amount of obols being wagered is freaking out the dealer. Stelsor reassures the poor dealer that it’s fine now that he’s here to supervise.
Stelsor also makes a business deal with the Guild factors that nets him a silver talent
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