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Ascensions and Transgressions: the Tales of Keris Dulmeadokht (Exalted game)

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Yuula's curse is alluded to in her write-up:
(...) the gods could not permit such a healer to aid their enemies. The Chosen of the Moon and the Stars crept into her palace wearing fake marks of plague, and trapped her within a cunning mechanism forged by crippled Autochthon. The indignities she suffered at the hands of the devas of the King of Craftsmen who sought her healing knowledge left her bitter beyond belief. When her scars ache every time the tomescu scream, she takes some satisfaction that every cure they forced from her slowly kills one who imbibes it.

(...)

Broken adamant chains hang from her wrists and countless scars from razor-sharp gears mark her back.

(...)

One who could fix her old wounds and cure her endless pain might even find her weeping lessening and earn her assistance in the councils of the Unquestionable.
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In short; Autochthon captured Yuula during the Primordial War and chained her and tortured her trying to extract her healing arts to cure himself. While the curse takes physical form as the adamant shackles and scars she wears, the lingering binding and crippling effects are more properly defined as a curse - they're not just physical shackles she can't break, because as Keris says, if it was as simple as cutting her hands off to slip them off her stumps and then regrowing from the wrists, she'd be free of them by now. Likewise, if something as simple as anti-Crippling charmtech could fix her scars, the greatest healer in the Demon Realm would have healed herself millennia ago.

The exact effects of the curse are unclear. At minimum, it prevents Yuula from escaping the manacles Autochthon chained her with or healing the scars and chronic pain his souls inflicted on her. Keris suspects it also inhibits her ability to heal others - that her powers as an apothecary and surgeon were once stronger than they are now (though it may instead simply be that she was kinder in those days, and shared her gifts more freely).

Keris's plan to free Yuula and get her lifelong gratitude and help with treating Lilunu is therefore very simple. The curse can't be broken from outside? Fine. Then all Keris needs to do is figure out how to squirm inside it or get it to spread to her so that she's cursed too, confined in the same cage. Then she can use Cracked Cell Circumvention to rip her way free of it and shatter it so thoroughly in the process that Yuula can escape too.

In doing so, Keris is planning to knowingly put herself up against a curse of pain, debilitation and impairment that explicitly overrides anti-Crippling charms via Plot-Level Significance which nobody has been able to break in 5000 years, including the best healer in all of Hell. And that's an interesting point, because... on the one hand, Lilunu isn't wrong. Keris's devotion to her lady is well-established, as is her tendency to martyr herself or sacrifice for her loved ones, as well as her fear of her lady's health issues and her growing inability to address the root cause of the problem.

But at the same time...

A few years ago, I said some stuff in the Kerisgame Discord channel about the qualities Keris's Exaltation looks for in its hosts.

Some interesting thoughts about Keris's Exaltation

We've discussed how Exaltations have "preferences", mostly picked up or learned in the Primordial War. Things they like. Things they look for. Things, often, that would be or were originally useful in champions chosen to free humanity from the yoke of the titans.

Sasi's Exaltation, which was once Salina's, looked for a woman who was curious and kind and had an aching desire to make the world a place where noone had to suffer; a woman who believed, fiercely, whether in a person or a god or an ideal.

Ney's, which was almost certainly Gold-Shadowed Arrow's, picked someone suspicious and morally flexible and comfortable with working in the shadowy areas of society, and who can't quite seem to stay away from the demon stuff, whether the relationship is positive or negative.

Keris's Exaltation; Yamal's Exaltation - we've said it's one that looks for the joy in motion, in freedom, in Athletic prowess and the feeling of flying without wings, of climbing unscalable walls, of relishing in physicality and grace. And I think that's true. But I don't think that's the whole truth.

I think more accurately, when looking at the tastes of the Exaltation that chose Keris Dulmeadokht, that chose Yamal Icewind, that chose Kamulia Arrowkeen - I think what it looks for is rather more accurately the joy in striving for that which is out of reach. Yes, it's the delight in leaping a chasm no other man would dare try to cross, the pride in pulling yourself up a sheer wall on nothing but finger strength and the cracks between the bricks, the thought when looking up at the shining spire atop a grand tower of I bet I could reach that and the urge to try.

But it also looks for things like the passion that drove Yamal to study under Chejop Kejak and look for ways to challenge the ancient Solar kings whose word was law and who ignored all those younger than a thousand. Things like Keris's love affair with forbidden knowledge and mysteries nobody knows. Things like the focus that Kamulia Arrowkeen put into finding the hidden Lintha strongholds in the aftermath of the Primordial War and cracking the protections and sorceries and arcane technology they used to put themselves beyond the Deliberative's retribution.

It's a Night Exaltation, and it looks for the kind of person who will see something beyond their reach, beyond anyone's reach, whether physical or conceptual, and think "I'mma get that, and it's gonna be fun".
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All that remains true, and you're kind of glimpsing it here. Because yes, Keris is doing this out of devotion, and yes, Keris is doing this out of fear, and yes, Keris is doing this out of a martyr-like urge to sacrifice herself for her loved ones. But there's also a certain hint of Keris is doing this out of sense of... not quite pride or arrogance, but a desire to tackle this ancient curse that nobody - not in Heaven or Hell, not in the Solar Deliberative, not in the Shogunate, not anywhere - has been both clever and bold enough to break in five millennia. Because she's probably not the first to come up with "break it from the inside" as a strategy. Yet nobody before her has had the nerve to actually go through with it, subject themselves to the curse and gamble they can get free of it again.

Keris wants to take on the curse that nobody else has beaten, and break it. Not (just) to brag, not (just) to get Yuula's gratitude and aid, not even (just) to help Lilunu.

There's a part of her that wants to do it just because so many others couldn't.

To reach and claim an unreachable goal.
 
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As soon as I read Keris' plan to help Yuula I thought, "Wow, I hadn't thought of that but that is the most Keris approach to the problem I could have imagined."

It will be interesting to see how the part of Keris' vow to serve Lilinu conflicts with her vow to support her and help her be healthy.

I foresee Keris spend a chunk of the coming year grilling that Dragon King who she thought had knowledge that could help.
 
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Five Calibrations Pass - Early Air 776
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    • And we're back, finally having finished 775 and started the new year! Early Air 776 starts what's going to be another two-part season; for now Keris is solving her most immediate problem: Malek Qaja. We also, it turns out, forgot some of the strategic actions from Fire 775, so we did those here and I've included them in the extras.

    ... actually I think I've forgotten to add quite a lot of the strategic actions into past threadposts. I'll go back and put them in at some point.

    Anyway! Extras!
    <I need to do something about my feral niece>
    Aleph: Hanily is starting in Air at:
    Our Lady of Benevolent Wisdom, a temple of the knowledge-goddess Jii-su, which accepts female students between the ages of four and fourteen, and provides a comprehensive general education.
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    Aleph: Ali has asked the ex-Lioness Ilays to look after her as a minder and bodyguard, which is not quite going to be a Sevika-Powder dynamic, buuuuut…


    <Belated Zanara strategic action stuff!>
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 8 <2; 7; 1; 8; 8; 5; 5; 10; 6; 10; 8; 4> #Zanara Hui Cha defence
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 2 <3; 4; 2; 7; 5; 6; 4; 1; 1; 3; 8; 1> #Zanara Carnation defence
    ST rolled 7d10s7c10 = 2 <2; 2; 3; 1; 2; 4; 10> #Attack on the Hui Cha - since the Golden Crown isn't there, right?
    ST rolled 5d10s7c10 = 0 <4; 6; 5; 3; 4> #Hostile financial interests on the Carnation
    EarthScorpion: As a result, both the hostile acts against the Carnation and the Hui Cha have failed - Zanara gets one counter-attack.
    Aleph: Aha, but! Keris can activate her own counterattack through Zanara!
    Aleph: so I choose FULL RESPONSE NO MERCY
    EarthScorpion: OK, so first off, the Carnation has had one of the big old respectable pleasure houses of the waterfront - the Resplendent Bounty - make a move to poach some of the stars of the Carnation. They're trying to skim off your best, engaging in Saatan lawfare to invalidate their contracts and get the Carnation accused of smuggling while also offering them more up-front money and promises of more star performances (while of course the contracts will likely be steeper).
    EarthScorpion: The fact that they got 0 successes already means they just failed, but do you want the counter-attack here to be done by Keris or Zanara (it will affect the dice pool, and also any other effects you can use).
    EarthScorpion: The second is a (somewhat) more serious attack from the Padua Family banished from Anara Lulina, that exiled-noble family of sun-kin pirates. Their street toughs, backed up by the descendants of their retainers, are attacking Yellow Point, trying to claim three blocks off the Hui Cha with extortion, arson, and importantly taking the Hui Cha owned harbour berths around the Swan's Neck Arch Bridge.
    Aleph: Hmm. Okay, I think I will let Zanara handle bruising the Padua family's knuckles and see if Keris can go full alpha-strike Subvert Asset against the Resplendent Bounty and expand the Carnation's influence.
    Aleph: Zanara's Subvert Asset is going to take the form of smacking the Padua on the wrist and then seeding spies in their ranks. 12 dice; do they get any benefit from their Charms/Qualities?
    EarthScorpion: So, your choice here is whether they call on support of Hui Cha associates for this or try to keep everything in-house. If they call on the Hui Cha that's +3 dice, but also means the Hui Cha are more overtly involved and there's people who know what she's up to, at least in part
    Aleph: Hmm.
    Aleph: I'm not actually averse to the Hui Cha knowing that Two Opal is smacking the Padua family away from attacking Yellow Point and also getting spies into their ranks, so I'll take that +3.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 4 <5; 1; 1; 4; 8; 6; 7; 7; 1; 5; 5; 7; 1; 3; 1> #Zanara & Hui Cha counter-Subvert Asset vs Padua family
    EarthScorpion: Yeah you fail to beat the Resolve of the attack leader, so you don't get any hooks in, though they're repulsed back.
    Aleph: Ah well.
    Aleph: Okay, and Keris will be throwing her weight at the Resplendent Bounty through Zanara.
    EarthScorpion: OK, you've got enough assets in the Carnation (some of which are supernatural) for a +3.
    Aleph: What's the roll?
    EarthScorpion: It's Keris's action, so what is the greater Keris's corruptive influence coordinating her brood to do?
    Aleph: Mmm. Probably playing an uno reverso and engaging in Saatan counter-lawfare, as well as subverting their offers to showcase the flaws and steep conditions to basically flip the script on them and leave them in trouble for the attempts at contract invalidation and false smuggling accusations they made while I lure their best and brightest into seeing the Carnation as a better deal.
    EarthScorpion: OK, that's Per + lower of Politics and Pres there, plus applicable style.
    Aleph: 5 + 4 + 3 Style (First Scarlet & Social Saboteur} + 2 stunt + 3 Carnation assets = 17.
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10 = 8 <6; 3; 7; 7; 2; 1; 9; 6; 5; 6; 9; 6; 9; 7; 5; 6; 10> #Keris counter-Subvert Asset vs Resplendent Bounty.
    EarthScorpion: Yeah, so it's not entirely clear how it happens to anyone else, but what starts with a move against the Jade Carnation by the Resplendent Bounty concludes in mere weeks with a prettyboy and a feral-looking woman with green hair making an arrangement with the owner's heir (the previous owner having died from food poisoning) to take the deed to the Resplendent Bounty in return for less money than one might think - and of course, calling off certain Hui Cha women who don't want some other house ruining where they meet for tea and their hobbies.
    Aleph: ; 3


    <Eko also did things over Fire and Calibration>
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 8 <8; 10; 3; 7; 5; 6; 9; 9; 8; 1; 5; 8> #Eko Pranking Prana
    Keris rolled 3d10s7c10 = 2 <7; 7; 3> #Attempting L-l-lewds?!?!?!
    EarthScorpion: Okay, so over Calibration Eko has a very successful pranking spree and an abject failure to have a one-night stand.
    EarthScorpion: For Fire she's going to study more sorcery. She can choose to rush things and get two rolls at the cost of a consequence - which she will be able to buy off if she gets enough Advantages.
    Aleph: I FEEL LUCKY
    Keris rolled 14d10c10 = 11 <9; 1; 1; 10; 3; 3; 5; 3; 6; 9; 9; 10; 10; 10> #What Are You Talking About, Eko Has Been A Sorceress For Ages!
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 6 <10; 5; 3; 8; 3; 1; 5; 6; 1; 4; 3; 7; 3; 10> #She's Twice As Smart And Does Twice The Studying!
    ST rolled 3|1d88 = 70; 52; 13 <70>[/b] <52>[/b] <13> #Eko's three spells
    ST rolled 3|1d24 = 18; 15; 2 <18>[/b] <15>[/b] <2> #Eko's three background Anchors
    EarthScorpion: Eko spends the advantages from the first roll on acquiring another spell (de facto doing another action) so the three spells she picks up are:
    • Spirit of Might - Familiar
      She empowers her familiar to do feats of strength for her.
    • Paralysing Contradiction (she is very happy she found that one) - Contacts
      The borrowed voices of all the secrets she knows overlapping whisper things to them
    • Burning Eyes of the Offender - Allies/Mentor/Pact
      She calls upon the aspect of a mighty spirit-ally to wreath herself in a cloak of their borrowed, terrible authority and her eyes burn with their aspect
    EarthScorpion: Eko's consequence is she gets caught stealing from the sorcerous academy that the naib is trying to set up, and as a result he knows there's a sorcerer-demon lurking around filching lore.
    Aleph: dammit eko


    <Haneyl was up to stuff too>
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 5 <2; 4; 8; 2; 7; 8; 3; 4; 7; 8; 2; 6> #Haneyl Being A Dramatic Demon Lord Patron To Her Shady Recruited Sorcerer-DBs
    ST rolled 16d10s7c10 = 9 <9; 4; 6; 3; 2; 10; 9; 10; 7; 1; 1; 2; 7; 2; 7; 2> #A Hunger for Profit, backed by Secondary Backing, to find powerful muscle for her plan
    ST rolled 9d10s7c10 = 7 <10; 10; 4; 8; 2; 9; 1; 2; 9> #Defensive on Haneyl's behalf by Elly
    ST rolled 7d10s7c10 = 4 <1; 8; 4; 10; 9; 1; 4> #Hostile anti-Haneyl Fire detection of her corruption
    EarthScorpion: Okay, so for Haneyl, the three actions of her recruitment action to build up her cult-force with enough muscle to have a chance of going against the elemental dragon were:
    • Substantially expand her cult network, subsume other Yozi cults, get the resource and contacts for later phases - succeeded with 5 threshold, which she spends on stealing them rather than adding herself as a patron. Keris didn't hear about it because news hasn't gotten back to Hell yet, but Haneyl has basically pilfered a bunch of Yozi cults and brought them into her exclusive worship, purging old loyalties and self-seeding them.
    • Her Calibration action was acquiring the sorcerous muscle for her plan, and as part of a grand summoning ritual she made herself known to a cabal of Raraan Ge sorcerers with infernalist tendencies. They think they summoned her, and they'd heard of the Flower Maiden's rising influence so have formed a pact with her.
    • Her Air action is finding the mundane muscle, and she deliberately took the harder Diff 7 action to ensure she gets DBs underlings. She got 9 successes, beating it by threshold 2, so has acquired access to a decidedly disreputable band of amoral DB-led pirate scum operating out of Ca Map. She spends 2 advantage on giving her muscle +2 dice, meaning they're good at what they do.
    EarthScorpion: Haneyl has therefore not only eaten a good number of the Yozi cults in the Western Anarchy, but has pacted with a Raraan Ge cabal of dangerous, decadent nobles with some DBs and sorcerers among them, and hired an extremely amoral and suspicious group of pirates led by DBs who operate out of Ca Map. She is therefore now ready and armed with resources to get her revenge.
    ST rolled 12d10s7c10 = 9 <6; 8; 8; 8; 2; 9; 8; 9; 10; 3; 8; 5> #Surgical upgrades and enhancements of her new military - performed as Trivial thanks to Fleshweaver's Art
    EarthScorpion: 6 threshold on her surgical enhancements of her new soldiers - base success is treating old wounds, etc. Spends 1 success to Self-Seed all the mortals among the pirates. Spends 5 successes on Inhuman Regeneration Quality - the self-seeded mortals will heal 1 HL whenever they take a Build Power action.
    ST rolled 16d10s7c10 = 9 <7; 7; 1; 1; 10; 4; 7; 8; 7; 9; 4; 1; 2; 9; 4; 3> #Investigating the elemental dragon, using her sorcerers as research helpers, assisted by dragon aide
    Aleph: niiiiice


    <Other Fire and Calibration actions>
    Keris rolled 10d10s7c10 = 6 <7; 1; 7; 2; 8; 2; 8; 5; 9; 8> #Suriani Seizing Authority
    Keris rolled 8d10s7c10 = 3 <5; 6; 8; 4; 7; 5; 9; 4> #Suriani Intel Gathering

    Keris rolled 10d10s7c10 = 2 <1; 4; 4; 4; 3; 9; 3; 9; 2; 4> #Oula continuing notation development
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 1 <1; 6; 2; 1; 8; 1; 1; 3; 3; 2; 5; 6> #Rathan: "Oulie, Just Let Me Help!"
    ST rolled 14d10s7c10 = 6 <1; 7; 4; 4; 2; 10; 7; 7; 5; 4; 8; 2; 3; 4> #Sulky Rathan solo research, 2 dice bonus from access to gathered libraries
    ST rolled 17d10s7c10 = 7 <7; 4; 10; 4; 5; 6; 6; 4; 3; 6; 8; 2; 2; 8; 6; 8; 8> #Rathan casting, 2 dice carried forward from last roll as advantages, 3 dice from channelling artefact with ties to Kimbery

    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 7 <4; 4; 2; 3; 4; 7; 10; 2; 7; 10; 5; 7> #Fae Raids on Zen Daiwye Valley
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 4 <6; 9; 9; 5; 1; 4; 2; 9; 7; 3; 2; 4> #Vali Arming the Valley
    Keris rolled 18d10s7c10 = 11 <6; 3; 1; 8; 2; 3; 7; 5; 10; 8; 2; 10; 9; 1; 8; 7; 8; 5> #General Vali the War Leader

    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 5 <7; 9; 5; 5; 2; 4; 1; 7; 1; 4; 2; 10> #Zana Calibration Performance at the Carnation
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 6 <3; 3; 6; 2; 6; 8; 4; 1; 9; 10; 10; 3> #Nara Calibration Performance at the Carnation

    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 6 <8; 1; 7; 3; 10; 6; 8; 2; 5; 3; 7; 3> #Hermione Shenanigans
    Keris rolled 9d10s7c10 = 10 <7; 4; 7; 7; 10; 9; 10; 3; 10> #Hinna Calibration Summoning To Get Info From Demons
    Keris rolled 12d10s7c10 = 8 <6; 4; 9; 4; 5; 1; 5; 7; 7; 10; 10; 9> #Jemil Exploring Hell At Calibration


    <Fun at the edge of Hell>
    Aleph: World-Weathering Incandescence as a Persuasion+Expression "don't fuck with us" stunt. Do I need to roll?
    EarthScorpion: honestly, no
    Aleph: Aww. I was going to bring up how Prince of Hell Style mastery subtracts 1 success from opposing Valour rolls after obvious displays of vastly greater power. :V
    EarthScorpion: that's kinda why, yes :p
    Aleph: Oh keris and her "I don't really want to have to hurt anyone, so I will Make An Obvious Point instead".
    Aleph: It's something she's very prone to doing in Hell especially.
    Aleph: I'm intending to use the agata Portal charm to skip the climb, since Simya (and honestly Jemil too) probably can't handle a mile of stairs.
    Aleph: (Agata-for-hire will probably charge more for exerting themselves like that, but Keris is rich and in a hurry).


    <Convincing Ixy to use her brain more>
    ST rolled 12d10s7c10 = 8 <8; 9; 7; 3; 8; 2; 8; 9; 7; 4; 6; 8> #Ixy Assessing the Manse
    EarthScorpion: Roll to make your case.
    Aleph: Hmm. Perfumed Smoke doesn't apply to this, and I don't think Wolf-as-Lamb does either. Is Cat applicable, or am I not being provocative enough for that?
    EarthScorpion: Hmm. I'll allow it.
    Aleph: Persuasion 5 + Presence 5 + Cat 3 + stunt 2 +10 Kimmy ExD {impossibly high standards, thinks she is fair, patronage and kindness are real} = 25.
    Keris rolled 25d10s7c10 = 6 <6; 9; 3; 3; 5; 9; 8; 3; 10; 1; 5; 4; 4; 4; 5; 5; 7; 2; 1; 5; 4; 2; 4; 4; 5> #You've Got Brains You're Not Using, Kid
    Aleph: wow
    Aleph: just
    Aleph: wow
    Aleph: keris, why
    ST rolled 12d10s7c10 = 3 <8; 6; 2; 9; 5; 4; 6; 4; 8; 2; 6; 6> #5 + 5 + 2 stunt social to hurt Keris's feelings
    EarthScorpion: Yeah so hilariously you failed to even beat her Resolve, and so don't - for example - put yourself at risk of what she might do if she takes a hard bargain. But it does reveal that she has a strong intimacy fighting it - Reaction + Politics to pick it out.
    Aleph: 5+4+2 Coadj+2 stunt+1 DRUGS autosux = 13+1.
    Keris rolled 13d10s7c10+1 = 2 <5; 6; 6; 1; 4; 1; 2; 3; 6; 6; 5; 3; 9> #Reading Ixy
    EarthScorpion: Ixy, unfortunately, is smart but uneducated and thus has a nigh-kerub ability to put data together and get something 10 degrees off target.
    Aleph: hahaha
    Aleph: she's so close
    Aleph: except she's still thinking pretty
    Aleph: ... honestly, Keris's Vanity is probably purring that Ixy can't even conceive of her as not being beautiful. She doesn't have the data to realise sometimes you get a makeover out of it - she's still a skinny, scrappy teenager all ankles and elbows. :p


    <Party roster & assignments>
    Aleph: Keris's party for this trip will be:
    • Keris & Mele
    • Calesco
    • Ixy
    • Simya & Jemil
    Aleph: Going back to Krisity to wait out the journey there will be:
    • Kiki & her baba
    • Biqi (pending training arc)
    Aleph: I'm leaving behind in Hell:
    • Twins & Atiya
    • Rala
    • Kuha (& her bird)
    • Suriani
    • The Baisha
    Aleph: And not up to me are:
    • Testolagh
    • Aiko
    EarthScorpion: what about Biqi?
    Aleph: Oh yeah. Edited her in.
    Aleph: She will be coming with, but inside Krisity. She needs training first and it's safer to minimise numbers crossing the Desert.


    <Reworking Simya>
    ST rolled 3d10s7c10 = 0 <1; 3; 1> #Simya talking to Ixy day 1
    ST rolled 3d10s7c10 = 1 <8; 1; 6> #Simya talking to Ixy day 2
    ST rolled 3d10s7c10 = 2 <1; 2; 10> #Simya talking to Ixy day 3
    ST rolled 3d10s7c10 = 4 <9; 7; 10> #Simya talking to Ixy day 4
    Aleph: … looking at the progression of those rolls, was she just an earnest socially awkward puppy who kept nosing the angry feral cat fox and getting scratched on the nose until somehow winding up with an angry feral tsundere friend?
    EarthScorpion: Quite possibly.
    Aleph: Awww. Simya's a dumb nerd who can't stand up for herself, but now she's Ixy's dumb nerd friend so she'll just have to stand up for her - 'coz she knows what kinda shit people'll want from a neomah-blood and Simya's a swot who spends all her time in her crummy books and won't realise when people just wanna use her for sex, never mind being able to stop 'em.
    Aleph: Anyway, Twisted Demon Hand readout - that's just flavour, not rating, but it may have shifted in a way that prompts Keris to IEI her.
    Aleph: I guess do a sort of zoomed-out description to cover her mods?
    EarthScorpion: OK, well, roll me Cog + Occult to study her and try to understand it, failure means you get distracted or otherwise progress slowly.
    Aleph: Do any of my Styles apply?
    EarthScorpion: Honestly both Temple-as-Body and Malfean Scholar.
    Aleph: yay! ^_^
    Aleph: 4+5+3+2 stunt=14
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 10 <5; 3; 7; 10; 2; 2; 3; 8; 2; 8; 7; 1; 10; 10> #Studying Simya
    ST rolled 5d10s7c10 = 2 <4; 7; 9; 3; 2> #Keris's infamy
    ST Looks like Bidaha knows of her.
    Aleph: Rolling Cog+Occult+Malfean Scholar+stunt = 4+5+3+2=14 for WILD INITIAL GUESSES
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 2 <6; 4; 5; 4; 9; 1; 2; 7; 2; 3; 6; 3; 3; 1> #SUMMONING ON CECELYNE: HOW DOES IT WORK?
    Aleph: (Keris has no idea how summoning on Cecelyne works)
    Aleph: Okay, Simya body-mod package. Immediate stuff:
    • Get her fire spit back online
    • Full-body hairlessness
    • Alterable skin tone as an analogue slider between the three points of her natural human pale, pretty neomah lilac and a generic Anarchy brown that won't burn so badly in the sun
    • Getting rid of that tapeworm and instead removing her dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance at the source.
    Aleph: Set-up work / longer-term stuff:
    • Prep work on her tower-seed, not actually changing it yet, but applying some Needles-and-Spires and a vitriol-alchemy gland to "melt down" the interior and convert it into a chrysalis-organ that will stockpile essence and nutrients in preparation for Keris to crystallise it as a dedicated fleshcrafting workshop instead of a neomah tower.
    Aleph: Spirit Charms I want to give her:
    • Measure the Wind (sample-limited) - a sensory organ that can detect someone's Enlightenment and essence aspect if she can get her hands on something from their body; blood or sweat or hair or saliva or whatever. Works through Touch.
    • Subtle Whisper (scent-based) - repurpose her neomah scent glands to let her do non-obvious NMI influence to help her abysmal social skills along.
    A spirit supplementing an attempt at natural mental influence with Subtle Whisper won't obviously be the source of the influence. The spirit might roll to make a target calmer when it sees her enter its temple, for instance. Characters resisting the attempt with one Willpower may attempt to determine the source of this feeling; realizing that a social attack came from a divine source requires success on a (Perception + Occult) check with an external penalty of the spirit's Temperance.
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    EarthScorpion: OK, first off Cog + Occult + Temple as Body as the design for this, first roll in a venture.
    Aleph: 4 + 5 + 3 Style + 2 stunt + 3 DBT autosux = 14 (+3).
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10+3 = 13 <10; 6; 1; 10; 6; 7; 1; 7; 2; 4; 7; 8; 10; 5> #Simya body mods
    EarthScorpion: You haven't done the EII pact yet, so this lets you seal it with one of your sig pact markings - and also see what Keris asks of her as her pledge.
    EarthScorpion: Also, roll Reaction + Awareness, hearing.
    Aleph: Reaction+Awareness = 14 x2 HWN
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 8 <9; 1; 5; 2; 8; 7; 2; 5; 9; 10; 1; 3; 10; 1> #x2 hearing gud
    ST rolled 9d10s7c10 = 7 <9; 7; 2; 10; 8; 2; 9; 8; 5> #Ixy concealment
    Aleph: Per+Expression = 5+5+3 Style (a mix of Firebrand Demagogue and Perfumed Smoke) + 1 Firebrand Demagogue bonus {when speaking in line with a Principle rated at 4+} + 2 stunt + 5 Kimmy ExSux {endlessly giving, thinks she is fair, guile, patronage and kindness are real, demands payment} = 16+5.
    Keris rolled 16d10s7c10+5 = 17 <9; 7; 7; 9; 6; 10; 2; 10; 10; 8; 6; 5; 3; 6; 8; 4> #Keris Uses Honey Over Vinegar
    Aleph: Yaaaaay, progress.


    <Helping Malek>
    Aleph: Hmm. How close are they, ST ruling? Or should I roll for X-hundred miles?
    EarthScorpion: So, yeah, you've come out about 300 miles away.
    EarthScorpion: Cog + Travel for your navigation, then, with a +3 bonus for the maps. This is the first roll in a 2 step venture
    Aleph: 3+0+2 stunt+3 equipment (maps)+3 Kimmy ExD [ultimate trafficker]=11. Do the Mother Before Daughter autosux apply, or did we agree to change that? And also how many successes is that, because the charm just says "number of beloved characters".
    EarthScorpion: I think we'll just say that MBD is 1 autosux
    Keris rolled 11d10s7c10+1 = 8 <4; 7; 9; 2; 2; 10; 6; 4; 9; 10; 5> #Finding Malek
    Aleph: Neat.
    EarthScorpion: Yeah, okay, this is a case where you basically can beat both Diff 4 rolls in a single roll and so pass the next one unrolled. So it just works out really smoothly and cleanly.
    Aleph: Yissss
    Aleph: It turns out even Keris can follow a coastline south.
    ST rolled 9d10s7c10 = 3 <1; 6; 1; 6; 4; 5; 10; 4; 8> #Blue Priestess for Calesco
    EarthScorpion: calesco barely passes :p
    Aleph: lol
    ST rolled 15d10s7c10 = 10 <9; 2; 4; 10; 2; 10; 3; 1; 10; 3; 5; 8; 10; 5; 2> #Malek getting to fight the curse
    Aleph: Activating Keris's AESS-alike to better study what Malek is doing and how she's connected to her flower-manse in this unguarded, unsubtle moment; Reaction+Occult = 5+5+3 Temple-as-Body+2 stunt+2 Coadjutor = 17.
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10 = 7 <2; 1; 5; 6; 1; 9; 4; 9; 1; 1; 9; 4; 9; 10; 4; 5; 7> #What Be This Ur Doing Let Me Listen
    Aleph: Fearful Hearts Exposed against Pardis; Reaction + Awareness vs her Guile = 5 + 5 + 3 Falling Petals + 2 stunt + 2 Coadj + 5 Kimmy ExSux {secrets, shameful truths, discerning eye} = 17+5
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10+5 = 13 <4; 6; 6; 6; 3; 6; 10; 8; 8; 5; 6; 7; 1; 6; 7; 9; 7> #What Does Pardis Fear?


    <Killing the fungal Wood King>
    Aleph: Okay, what's my roll to make mushroom stew?
    EarthScorpion: OK, right. First step of Venture: Physique + Subterfuge to get your group there without being caught or alarming the spirits.
    Aleph: Just for my stunt, what are Pardis's approximate pool for combat and stealth, and what combat Style does she use?
    EarthScorpion: Pardis is an archer with a pool of about Physique 3 Archery 4 Style 2 = 9+Excellency.
    Aleph: Cool. And for Keris that's going to be 5+5+3 Lurking Predator+2 stunt = 15. Does Pardis as an Ally provide any extra dice?
    EarthScorpion: No.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 10 <5; 2; 1; 10; 3; 5; 9; 6; 10; 7; 3; 10; 3; 10; 4> #Sneaky Sneaky 'Ssassin
    EarthScorpion: OK, so vs Diff 5, 5 bonus successes. 3 are auto-spent on "taking out the sentries", which means you're at +2 dice for the Reaction + Command roll to coordinate your magically potent but few in number forces.
    EarthScorpion: Alternatively, if you don't want to roll yourself, you can have Iroi come up with the plan if he's along, with 9 (+2) dice for it.
    Aleph: Hmm. Keris's pool is Reaction 5 + Command 0 + Coadjutor 2 = 7 base, so it basically depends on whether she has an applicable style for "coordinating an assassination". Which… I'm actually not sure she does, unless Prince of Hell counts. Hmm.
    Aleph: Yeah, okay, I'll bring Iroi along and let the dragon-aide military side show off a bit. 11 dice + 2 stunt.
    Keris rolled 13d10s7c10 = 4 <4; 4; 7; 6; 6; 9; 5; 9; 5; 8; 1; 2; 3> #Iroi Assassination Planning
    EarthScorpion: Scraped it at Diff 3, only 1 threshold success. But now it's time for h y p e r v i o l e n c e
    EarthScorpion: Physique + Combat stat + 1 + 3 for Ixy + 3 for Pardis.
    Aleph: *murdergrin*
    Aleph: I am totes 100% using Vipera to reanimate the sentries and use them as a distraction. Does she add anything, or is that just stunt fodder?
    EarthScorpion: It'll change what you get out of it.
    Aleph: Sweet. Then 5+5+3 Friagem Serpent + 2 stunt + 1 threshold + 3 Ixy + 3 Pardis = 22.
    Keris rolled 22d10s7c10 = 7 <9; 6; 4; 6; 10; 10; 4; 6; 4; 5; 6; 4; 6; 2; 6; 6; 9; 2; 9; 6; 2; 4> #HYPERVIOLENCE AGAINST THE MUSHROOM MENACE
    Aleph: … bleh, that was a poor roll for that many dice
    EarthScorpion: OK, 2 degrees of success over that. Which means the last thing is Keris's one on one duel with the Wood King, and this one is contested. On the plus side, her Excellency can apply - but he can use his too.
    ST rolled 14d10s7c10 = 3 <2; 4; 8; 2; 3; 5; 3; 1; 10; 3; 1; 3; 1; 2> #Wood King fighting the Keris
    EarthScorpion: Well, uh, you can really rack up the successes here. So you're at your pool + 2 + 4 from Strigida.
    Aleph: 5+5+3 Friagem Serpent (still using Vipera) + 2 stunt + 2 threshold + 4 Strigida + 10 Adorjan ExD {catastrophe and calamity, unconsidered variable that shreds the best-laid plans, vicious whimsy, purposeful chaos, Keris is basically being so Adorjani here that most of the Excellency applies} = 15 + 6 bonus + 10 ExD = ... 31? Um. Yikes.
    Aleph: christ, keris
    EarthScorpion: lol
    Keris rolled 31d10s7c10 = 11 <2; 1; 3; 8; 2; 4; 6; 7; 4; 9; 1; 5; 4; 9; 6; 1; 6; 1; 8; 9; 6; 5; 7; 7; 8; 5; 1; 7; 6; 7; 1> #Death in Serpentine Silver
    Aleph: Huh. Another below-average roll. Buuuuuut he underperformed way more, so I'm cool with it. : 3
    EarthScorpion: Yes, at least you got 8 threshold successes. So in conclusion:
    • 2 successes - get the Forest King's soul. can be repurchased to get other interesting souls from the local gods
    • 5 successes - surviving targets have an Intimacy towards you
    • 3 successes - Put a willing envious patsy in charge
    • 4 successes - acquire exotic ingredients here. Can be repurchased.
    • 3 successes - Find an interesting ruin nearby
    • 2 successes - Acquire secondary artefact in plunder
    • 1 success - acquire random spell documentation. can be repurchased
    • 3 successes - acquire specific chosen spell documentation. can be repurchased
    Aleph: Ooooo
    Aleph: Hmm. So I definitely want the main soul either way, so I'm working with 6 successes. Therefore, as I see it, my two main options are:
    • Plan Put Down Roots: Leave a willing patsy in charge (3) and find an interesting ruin nearby to make a grotto in (3).
    • Plan Pillage & Plunder: Get a secondary artefact (2) and either some exotic ingredients (4) or some spell documentation (3+1 or 1x4).
    Aleph: After considerable thought, I choose Plan Put Down Roots, for the trade route access to the Shallow Sea.


    <The hatching>
    Aleph: Reaction + Awareness with Twisted Demon Hand = 14 x2 via Sinuous Sinful Pinions
    EarthScorpion: stunt granted, roll
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 4 <4; 4; 5; 8; 4; 7; 6; 3; 1; 3; 5; 3; 2; 10> #(x2) Midwife's Touch
    Aleph: 8 sux
    EarthScorpion: Keris encounters PTSD stimulus, roll Composure + Integrity.
    Aleph: 3+2+2 stunt = 7
    Keris rolled 7d10s7c10 = 4 <2; 5; 10; 7; 3; 8; 1> #Comfort Stabbies Keep Me Calm
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  • Threadmarks
    • Aleph said:
    And we're back, finally having finished 775 and started the new year! Air 776 is going to be another two-parter, but for now Keris is solving her most immediate problem: Malek Qaja. We also, it turns out, forgot some of the strategic actions from Fire 775, so we did those here and I've included them in the extras.

    ... actually I think I've forgotten to add quite a lot of the strategic actions into past threadposts. I'll go back and put them in at some point.

    Anyway! Extras!
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    I've been meaning to get back to reading this, but I lost my bookmark. Can you point me to the part where Keris assassinated 2 Dragonblooded in a spa resort? I remember you said it was a part inspired by Hitman, if that helps.
     
    Five Calibrations Pass - Air 776
  • Threadmarks
    • Okay, this chapter was not meant to get this long, but there was no good breakpoint and it would have finished off at not much above 20k but then I went and had another 12k+ of Getting In A Bit Over My Head. And we're still not done with the season! So Air 776 is part two of a three-part season, and, uh, this part is basically the Ixy Training Montage. Complete with unexpected... well, you'll see.

    Extras! There are a lot of them this time. Like, another 12k of extras on top of the 35k chapter. I really don't know how this got so out of hand (that is a lie, I know exactly how).
    <Training montage!>
    Aleph: Keris & Ixy points to show, moving fairly quickly with a few sentences to a paragraph each:
    • The Lap, and working under Realm notice (with her delayed orders to demon assassins to kill trade captains). This teaches Ixy about the value of subtlety and having subordinates.
    • Dregi, and what Zsofika and Vicero did there. This teaches Ixy about how demon lord allies can be useful for things you don't want/have time to do yourself.
    • Somewhere she inflicted madness on an heir instead of killing them (possibly fused with Dregi or the Dune Sea). This teaches Ixy about methods of sabotage beyond straightforward murder or destruction.
    • The naval war she restarted between Ramabah Minah and Antefar. This teaches Ixy how the right kinds of social sabotage and frame jobs can get people to cause far more destruction to each other than a single operative can accomplish themselves.
    • Cahzor, and how there wasn't much Keris could to do to make it worse (but she still got paid by advancing Claudia's goals there). This teaches Ixy that demon lord clients are useful and how you can get paid handsomely even for things that don't really change the overall situation much but just advantage one group over another in the crab bucket - which sets up potential jobs for other crabs later.
    • Gem. 'Nuff said. This is a masterclass that combines a bunch of the non-demon-related lessons; social sabotage and the use of madness instead of death, engineering conflicts within a group that do your work for you, subtle work under a powerful group's nose and how decapitation strikes can throw a whole region into chaos. Be sure to downplay the honeypot aspects and show how Keris could have done it with Rankar's greed as a merchant with something he wanted as an alternative approach.
    EarthScorpion: Roll me Per + Command as this action in your "teaching Ixy" venture
    Aleph: 5 + 0 + 3 Prince of Hell + 2 stunt + 5 Malfeas ExD {awe and terror, indiscriminate callousness to collateral damage, authority} = 15.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 15 <10; 1; 7; 8; 8; 10; 10; 4; 9; 8; 4; 7; 10; 2; 7> #Teaching Ixy By Example
    EarthScorpion: OK, will get the exact numbers working, but the results are:
    • The Lap - Command/Bureaucracy - Exceptional Success
    • Dregi - Occult/Subterfuge - Exceptional Success
    • Ramabah Minah and Antefar - Politics/Awareness - Exceptional Success
    • Cahzor - Awareness - Success
    • Gem - RP'd out
    Aleph: ^_^
    Aleph: You want me to roll for the others?
    EarthScorpion: No, I need to write the bits for them in turn and work out what the pools come out as.
    EarthScorpion: Per + Occult for what you're teaching her in Dregi.
    Aleph: 5+5+3 Malfean Scholar + 2 stunt + 5 Adorjani ExSux {scours her enemies, breaking them to enlighten them, purposeful chaos that exposes the flaws in systems and lays low the proud} = 15+5
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+5 = 17 <7; 5; 6; 4; 3; 10; 9; 7; 10; 2; 5; 7; 10; 6; 10> #Teaching Ixy (Dregi Edition)
    Aleph: Heh. For Keris's excellency usage in these lessons:
    • Lap - Malfeas
    • Dregi - Adorjan
    • Dune Sea - Kimbery
    • Cahzor - Metagaos
    • Gem - Szoreny
    EarthScorpion: Dune Sea - Reaction + Politics to get it into her head in a way she can understand without pushing her buttons
    Aleph: 5 + 4 + 3 Social Saboteur + 2 Coadj + 2 stunt + 5 Kimmy ExSux {undercurrents of distrust and dissent, elegant practicality, sets them up to suffer worse, delayed or ongoing harm} = 16+5.
    Keris rolled 16d10s7c10+5 = 18 <7; 6; 9; 8; 10; 2; 9; 3; 9; 10; 10; 5; 6; 10; 3; 5> #How To Engineer A War
    Aleph: god damn, I am on a roll here!
    Aleph: just watch, the dice fairies are saving up to punch me in the kidneys in Gem
    EarthScorpion: Keris is succeeding very well at shaping Ixy at the moment :p
    Aleph: ^_^
    Aleph: Yeah, honestly, I'm really liking this as a formative experience that sets the foundations of Ixy's respect for Keris as a teacher who it is worth learning from and can and will help her and who she will go to when she needs answers - it's just the personal connection that's fraught.
    Aleph: The kind of thing where the person on the protagonist's team is like "... fuck, I know who we can go to. No, she can definitely help, it's just... she's a colossal bitch. And we didn't part on good terms." Where the question isn't "can she help?" or even "will she help?", but rather "am I willing to swallow my pride enough to ask for her help, and will the lesson be worth the personal issues and her tyrannical teaching style?"
    EarthScorpion: Composure + Awareness for trying to teach her to stay keen and sharp while it's hot and she's acting up
    Aleph: 3+5+2 stunt+8 Metagaos ExD {voracious hunter, someone else's expense, seize offerings} = 18.
    Keris rolled 18d10s7c10 = 11 <10; 10; 10; 6; 5; 2; 8; 2; 2; 9; 4; 8; 7; 1; 6; 3; 9; 3> #Side Jobs Pay Well
    EarthScorpion: Only a regular success - beat TN by more than 5, but less than 10.
    EarthScorpion: (less than 5 would be marginal success, because Ixy is like that and is fighting you every step of the way)
    Aleph: Of fucking course she is. ¬_¬
    EarthScorpion: Ixy teaching rules:
    • Marginal success (beat the Difficulty): She has learned something or raised her traits in some way in response to Keris's tutelage.
    • Standard success (5+ threshold successes): She has learned something roughly in line with or relevant to what Keris was trying to teach.
    • Exceptional success (10+ threshold successes): She has understood and internalised exactly what Keris actually wanted her to learn.


    <New keruby friends!>
    EarthScorpion: You can handle the high-level intro of the keruby
    Aleph: Ixy's Squad
    • Szilf: Janna, female, honey-yellow ribbons/hair, szelborn. Very, very recently matured.
    • Raider: Bremar, male, orvenborn. One of the youngest of Mele's own personally-made little brothers, recently matured after a year-long cocoon.
    • Hungry one: Tashti, female, blood-orange petals/skin with red fire/hair, sziromborn. Experience working as an entrepreneur in the Ruin and Spires.
    • Thief: Weft, male, agyaborn (and therefore disarmingly good at talking his way out of things while robbing you blind). Oldest of the lot (he's been matured for six or seven months).
    EarthScorpion: Ixy Understanding - Reaction 3 + Occult 3 + Malfean Scholar 2
    EarthScorpion rolled 8d10s7c10 = 5 <9; 8; 7; 4; 6; 6; 7; 8> #Ixy Understanding
    EarthScorpion rolled 8d10s7c10 = 5 <5; 10; 8; 1; 3; 2; 8; 8> #like me, please - base 4, 4 ExD
    EarthScorpion: Planning what she can do with this - Cog + Subterfuge + full Malfean excellency for sudden shocking violence, speed, strength, and crushing her opponents in the heists she pulls - the stealth is just to get into position to crush them utterly.
    EarthScorpion rolled 16d10s7c10 = 6 <8; 10; 10; 1; 1; 5; 4; 5; 2; 2; 5; 5; 2; 8; 3; 1> #literal Malfean stealth in achieving her goals, full excellency spend
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 1 <1; 1; 5; 2; 1; 9; 3> #local defences
    EarthScorpion rolled 14d10s7c10 = 10 <9; 9; 9; 4; 10; 9; 5; 8; 1; 2; 3; 8; 8; 8> #Physique + Ranged, Ixy's rash decision. max-excellency-spend
    EarthScorpion: Keris discovers she's learned Wind-Borne Stride, Joy-in-Violence Approach, and Self as Cyclone Stance (which she uses at point blank range)
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 3 <6; 10; 1; 8; 5; 1; 6> #Comp + Integrity to keep her cool


    <Negotiations with Biqi>
    EarthScorpion: A demo for the scene that a) Keris is also training Biqi, and b) keeping a penury courtesan around lets Keris bribe people when she doesn't really want to sleep with them herself.
    EarthScorpion: (It's like what she used Seresa for, except tarksae are less effective but much more reliable).
    Aleph: Hah, yes.
    EarthScorpion: And yeah, tarksae aren't immune to all poisons, but they're basically immune to all non-magical ones. In that Kimbery way where they get the high but not the downside (the real downside is that this means they tend to waste their money on drugs).
    Aleph: Hah. God, yes. That's a genuinely painful risk for a tarska. They can really fuck themselves over on drugs.
    EarthScorpion: Amusingly I suspect that expensive status drugs might be nutritious for them - good quality cocaine, for example, or expensive vintages of wine
    Aleph: … hah, yes. Might even count as money - there's just a bit of loss from currency. $1000 of cocaine will give them, like, $600 of charge. They'll screw themselves if they buy it with their own money, but if it's a gift it'll keep them charged up longer.
    EarthScorpion: God. What they eat is the difference in value between the base good and the label price. They're basically eating the cost of the branding/status.
    Aleph: Haha, yes.
    Aleph: Hee. Oh Keris. Her Pay Each Man Back In Kind makes her feel uncomfortable about ordering her people to make sacrifices she's doesn't make herself.
    EarthScorpion: Biqi helps reassure her, because Keris is sure as hell going to be paying her back for this work. They're, heh, Keris as a mercenary little shit. The bit of her that told Ipithymia that if she wanted her to do architecture, they'd need a new contract.
    Aleph: :D
    EarthScorpion rolled 9d10s7c10 = 5 <4; 10; 4; 1; 8; 1; 9; 5; 8> #Biqi doing her job
    EarthScorpion: Biqi's social influence via dance hits Keris too - Vs Resolve, penalised by Keris's love of beauty. Does she have any buffs to resolve?
    Aleph: Professional Pride? 3-dot. Falling for her own distraction would be embarrassing.
    EarthScorpion: So resolve at -1
    Aleph: … that would be… Resolve 2. Or 3, if Falling Petals applies. Hmm.
    Keris rolled 2d10s7c10 = 0 <1; 3> #Does Keris Spend WP?
    Aleph: … Keris gets distracted watching the pretty dance.
    Aleph: (At least until Dulmea makes a sharp comment)
    EarthScorpion: You can also boost resolve with excellencies, remember? Or use a social defence
    Aleph: Fiiiiiiine. She only gets distracted momentarily. Then spends 4m on the Metagaos Excellency to boost her Resolve to 5.
    Aleph: Hitting him with a self-seed and Heartwood's Patronage
    EarthScorpion: Roll your Per + Politics, then.
    Aleph: What's the external penalty from his (Per+Pol)/2?
    EarthScorpion: We just use Guile now, remember? It's easier!
    Aleph: Oh yeah. What's his Guile then?
    Aleph: (dammit i need to go through my sheet and update a bunch of things)
    EarthScorpion: i mean, it'll be resolved when you hit him
    EarthScorpion: it's not an external penalty, it's a target
    Aleph: Then 5+4+3 Perfumed Smoke+2 stunt+4 Kimmy ExSux=14+4.
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10+4 = 11 <9; 3; 6; 3; 10; 6; 5; 6; 10; 10; 1; 6; 4; 3> #Seeing Caran's Heart
    EarthScorpion: Soul's price; free him of depending on House Iblan
    EarthScorpion: Per + Presence for what she's up to, this is a Venture-like roll so no Excellency but she can get advantages to use for this
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 Perfumed Smoke + 2 stunt = 15. Keris will entirely shamelessly make strategic use of Biqi, Hidden Depths Temptress, Beauty-Over-Truth and Go Get It in her wheedling, manipulating and general girlbossing.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 8 <3; 5; 10; 2; 3; 4; 9; 9; 9; 10; 9; 3; 2; 6; 6> #Wheedling and Deedling
    EarthScorpion: Beaten Diff 4 by 4. Advantages:
    • 2 - Acquire Tertiary Followers in Gem from work in setting up her organisation
    • 2 - Tertiary Contacts (Gem) from her insinuation and mingling
    • 3 - Someone owes her a notable favour
    • 2 - Temporary Tertiary Backing in a Gem great house from a recruitment attempt on her
    • 1 - +1 to rolls to interact with a House, can be stacked up to 3x
    • 1 - Acquire leverage over someone (-1 Resolve vs you), can be stacked up to 3x
    • 2 - Create an Ally you sway, can be supernatural if purchased 2
    Aleph: Okay, so. My salient options:
    • An Actual Organisation - Tertiary Followers, Tertiary Contacts
    • A Foot In In The Door - temporary Tertiary Backing in a Great House, +2 to rolls to interact with them
    • It's Who (And What) You Know - either a mortal Ally I have some juicy leverage over, or a supernatural one
    Aleph: I choose Supernatural Ally:
    Josir an Wessar
    Air-Aspected scholar and explorer who's edging up on 100 and is in Gem for its proximity to the Deep desert. He's one of the few who crosses the Scar intentionally to plunder treasures from the Wyld zones and the deep desert. Spends a fair amount of time outside Gem on expeditions, is in a secret relationship with Elemi Sundering Jade.

    Elemi Sundering Jade
    Sagacious Wing's fourth son and only Dragonblooded child, in his late 40s. A wild Fire-Aspect reprobate and womanizer who shames his grandfather and was refused lessons in Sorcery. In a relationship - one they're trying to keep secret - with Josir an Wessar. Considers himself to be a suave pirate in it for himself and doesn't want to be a ranger, but is using the family trade to help his lover.
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    <Keris getting a bit artisany>
    Aleph: Heh. I guess roll for Mele catching that "it's the last thing I need for the design" (eg: she has already been studying him like this and he doesn't remember her doing so while he was awake) vs being distracted by big eyes and a cute pout. Or he can just autopass via plot.
    EarthScorpion: OK, so, roll me Cog + Occult for Keris's design phase, stunt granted.
    Aleph: 4 + 5 + 3 Style {Temple As Body / Needles and Spires) + 2 stunt - 3 fatigue penalty + 1 DRUGS autosux + 4 Pelagic Muse Artistry autosux = 11+5.
    Keris rolled 11d10s7c10+5 = 14 <2; 6; 10; 1; 9; 3; 10; 2; 10; 10; 2> #Designing The Subdermis
    EarthScorpion: Diff 7 - Esoteric design to enhance 1CD capabilities, exceedingly novel (i.e. the kind of diff that an exalt specialised in the field will struggle with and so wants to stack the deck). 7 threshold successes. Possible Advantages:
    • Bonus dice for next roll (1 success, up to 5 times)
    • Observe or deduce an important fact about the magic or its effects (1 success, no maximum)
    • Declare one relevant fact that doesn't contradict what's already known as information the character learns, subject to Storyteller approval (4 successes, maximum two facts)
    • Additional magical quality for Mele (3 sux, up to 2 times)
    • Increase potency, increase Mele's end primary pool by +1 (5 sux)
    Aleph: Okay, so I'll want one of Increase Potency and Two Additional Qualities for sure, then something small to use up the remainder.
    Aleph: I choose:
    • Additional magical quality (x2)
    • Bonus die to the next roll (x1)
    EarthScorpion: OK, now, Endurance + Occult for the genesis side of things
    Aleph: 3 + 5 + 3 Lilunu Styles + 2 stunt + 1 Advantage bonus + 4 Pelagic Muse Artistry autosux = 14+4
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10+4 = 10 <3; 3; 9; 7; 4; 1; 1; 5; 7; 5; 7; 5; 3; 10> #Being Pregnant Again
    EarthScorpion: Diff 5 - THE ORIGIN OF LIFE. 5 Threshold successes. As before, Advantages:
    • Bonus dice for next roll (1 success, up to 5 times)
    • Observe or deduce an important fact about the magic or its effects (1 success, no maximum)
    • Declare one relevant fact that doesn't contradict what's already known as information the character learns, subject to Storyteller approval (4 successes, maximum two facts)
    • Increase potency, increase Mele's end primary pool by +1 (5 sux)
    EarthScorpion: plus additional options:
    • Keris can conceal the pregnancy for its duration (2 sux)
    • Being serves as living shrine to Keris, can be used by any devotee to set difficulty of prayers to Keris at 3 (2 sux)
    • Will grant Mele "Living Temple; Holy Flesh" as primary pool when finished (3 sux)
    Aleph: Hmm.
    Aleph: Yeah, you know what? I'll go for:
    • Keris can conceal the pregnancy for its duration
    • Will grant Mele "Living Temple; Holy Flesh" as primary pool when finished
    Aleph: God, this really is so fun in how it recontextualises the Sea from "patriarchal masculine tidal raiders and feminine artisan waifus".
    EarthScorpion: Hm?
    "I thought you seemed a little bit... tired," Mele says, almost offensive in how soft his voice is. "But I thought it was because you'd been on your feet all day. That's not it, though. Is it? You're a holda crashing because the seabrews she's been using to let her finish her current tower-raising have left her foggy-minded and wave-drunk."

    (…)

    He sits up, clearly hurt. "Then what? How're you not wave-drunk if you're not thinking straight because you've been dosing yourself up so you can work more? Sounds pretty wave-drunk to me. And what happens next week? And the week after?"
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    Aleph: That this is typical artisan behaviour.
    Aleph: That it's a trend of the breed that they will do things like drugging themselves up to hyperfocus on projects and shift between "soft waifu romance mode", "yandere girlfriend mode" and "architectural/alchemical project mode"
    EarthScorpion: Oula was such a weird obsessive goal focused nerd that she made half the population like her.
    Aleph: And even the relatively passive, submissive, non-Oula ones will have periods where they get like Keris is now, yeah.
    EarthScorpion: Oula why are you Marcy-Sasha
    Aleph: The tidal raiders aren't 1950s American patriarchal breadwinners and men of the house, nor are they misogynistic uncaring harem masters - one of the key roles of a raider in even the most stereotypical male raider/female artisan is taking care of his wife and making sure she eats and sleeps instead of pulling all-nighters without food.
    Aleph: (In this we can once again see that a certain level of raider instinct has already come online in Fari's "good girl, miss Calesco! Here, have some milk!")
    EarthScorpion: Harem-having raiders have to look after all their waifus.


    <HEIST PLANNING>
    EarthScorpion rolled 10d10s7c10 = 6 <10; 4; 3; 4; 7; 6; 2; 4; 10; 7> #Ixy's planning for the Gem heist, Cog + Command, 5 ExD from Malfeas
    EarthScorpion rolled 12d10s7c10 = 7 <5; 8; 10; 1; 4; 9; 4; 10; 7; 5; 5; 6> #Ixy research of how things are on the fringes, Cog + Politics + 6 XD
    EarthScorpion: OK, Ixy's discoveries are as follows:
    • The frontier of Gem's borders with the province (fiefdom?) of Pangasutri are collapsing in slow motion.
    • The lords of Gem don't really know/care this is happening, because they're too occupied with their politicking and backstabbing over the throne of the Despot, and the Despot's eyes are turned towards the deserts and rumours of treasure there (and maybe the sickness rumours). In the borderlands they grumble that the Despot doesn't care as long as the food keeps coming.
    • The name which keeps coming up is Hawkeye Yalve, a disciple of the sage Pangasutri, hardened from her wars against the fae and wyldspawn who come out of the far south, who has formed a disciplined core and systematically pushing the Rangers out of the area. They've lost several key mountain passes, but this is news that hasn't reached the city yet - the Rangers aren't telling and the Houses aren't looking for themselves.
    EarthScorpion rolled 12d10s7c10 = 8 <1; 10; 3; 2; 9; 9; 5; 5; 8; 7; 7; 8> #Ixy strategising with Command 1 (but 5XD), full Malfeas Excellency, plus stunt
    EarthScorpion rolled 10d10s7c10 = 0 <5; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 1; 5; 6; 2> #Cog 4 + Occult 3 + Malfean Scholar 2 + 1 bonus - Ixy thinking with demons off-the-wall
    EarthScorpion: okay, uh, that's a botch, but that's set against otherwise a really solid plan. So I think the roll for the demon thing is sort of dominated by Malfean logic, in a way that sort of ruins what Keris was going for, but is also a solid plan
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 3 <8; 7; 6; 5; 7; 1; 4> #Composure + Integrity for Ixy getting shot down
    Aleph: Per + Pres to sell her on rumours and fearmongering. 5 + 5 + 3 Wolf-as-Lamb + 2 stunt + 5 Szoreny ExSux {poisoner both literally and metaphorically, flashy and melodramatic, pin the blame} = 15+5. Mastery bonus from Wolf-as-Lamb reduces her Resolve by 1 "when trying to persuade them about something and they expect you to be an expert in the field".
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+5 = 13 <4; 1; 8; 4; 9; 10; 2; 9; 8; 5; 1; 8; 6; 7; 2> #Convincing Ixy About Fun With Rumours
    EarthScorpion: OK, the beginning of the Keris-ploy venture. Per + Expression for your pernicious rumour mongering, +1 autosux from Ixy's help, do you have any charms or suchlike you're using to spread rumour and malise?
    Aleph: Okay, hmm.
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 Social Saboteur + 2 stunt = 15. Social Saboteur Style mastery bonus reduces Difficulty by 1 when inciting chaos or disorder in a populace. Charm-wise... I basically need to ask myself how far I want to go here.
    Aleph: I have two charms that could work. Terror Given Form lets me hit groups with 3-dot Principles of fear towards whatever I'm describing, but the multi-target version is Obvious (via manifested fear-mists) unless the subject of whatever she's stoking fear towards is present. The single-target version isn't Obvious, but only works on one person.
    Aleph: Maddened Astral Piping, meanwhile, lets me spread Nosognosia to groups via my social attacks, and is very hard to spot. But that does risk it getting out of control and becoming an outright epidemic that could swallow the city and set off those outright riots I was trying to avoid.
    EarthScorpion: You also have Beauty Without Malice, My Dark Lady (for getting people to act inTemperately), Darkling Grace Complete (as a performance booster), Pelagic Muse Artistry (for vandalism/propaganda), and of course, Fox Tongue Rumour and Slippery Gentleman Susurration
    Aleph: Okay. I will use Slippery Gentleman Susurration on... the head of House Circla, if I can sneak into his rooms or pretend to be a servant or whatever to get the Touch in, and spread a rumour that he's preparing for Pangasutri to attack Gem. Likewise, if I can get into the Rangers' fort to see Piercing Sun, I'll lay a curse on him saying that he's unable to lead the Rangers against Pangasutri's coming vengeance. I'm aware that one might be contested, though, given both him and his daughter.
    Aleph: I won't use Maddened Astral Piping, because I don't want to actually spark a full-blown hysteria epidemic and frankly this situation is a breeding ground for it anyway. Instead I'll throw up some Pelagic Muse Artistry graffiti about the horrible, bloody, disturbingly graphic things Pangasutri is going to do to Gem when his army arrives for some payback.
    Aleph: And... yeah, you know what? I will make use of Terror Given Form, and will just be a little careful about where I use it and what faces I use it in. It's a cool charm, and I shouldn't refrain from it just because it's Obvious - it doesn't matter if people know I'm supernaturally scaring them, because a gruesome storyteller trying to warn people would be doing that even if they just had a weak spirit charm to do it, and Gem has a lot of weirdos come through it with fae blood or elemental ancestry or whatever.
    Aleph: So, 15 + 1 Ixy autosux + Slippery Gentleman Susurration + Pelagic Muse Artistry + Terror Given Form, at -1 Diff from Social Saboteur.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+1 = 12 <9; 8; 5; 4; 4; 8; 10; 5; 9; 10; 2; 6; 7; 2; 10> #Pangasutri Is Scary, Guys!
    EarthScorpion: OK, so those charms basically will affect what you get as the outcome and serve to handle the lack of your backing people and rumour spreader underlings, etc, for this.
    Aleph: cool cool
    EarthScorpion: OK, so the following people have something to say vis a vis Keris's attempt to stir up the masses:
    • The Despot - Retain Control of things
    • House Circla - look innocent before the Despot
    • Piercing Sun - shut this down
    • Head of the Guard - investigate this crime wave
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 6 <2; 9; 5; 10; 10; 2; 7> #Guards investigating the weird vandalism and rabble rousing
    EarthScorpion rolled 9d10s7c10 = 4 <2; 9; 6; 1; 10; 2; 1; 8; 3> #House Circla defending attacks against their depicted loyalty
    EarthScorpion rolled 17d10s7c10 = 10 <2; 4; 6; 2; 3; 6; 3; 5; 10; 7; 2; 2; 9; 10; 8; 10; 8> #The despot, using his Backing (Gem) and his Resources to try to shut this down
    EarthScorpion rolled 14d10s7c10 = 12 <5; 9; 2; 9; 8; 10; 8; 10; 9; 7; 4; 1; 9; 9> #Piercing Sun (well, mostly his daughter) and the Rangers trying to keep things quiet
    EarthScorpion: OK, so, in conclusion:
    • The guards do not find Keris.
    • House Circla does not set up a very good show of things, and look very suspicious
    • The Despot does a really good job of it, and through the massive commitment of resources, really blunts Keris's effort (and also crushes House Circla's attempts to look innocent)
    • By contrast, the rangers just ace it, not only dodging the Despot's attention entirely, but even managing to take out Keris's attempts to make them look guilty, tying with her. So neither side loses that one, which means Keris de facto loses
    Aleph: iiiinteresting


    <ZE HEIST!!!>
    Aleph: I'mma summon Firisutu on the night of the new moon
    EarthScorpion: Roll me Reaction + Occult. This can be hearing based.
    Aleph: 14 dice doubled. Do any Styles apply?
    EarthScorpion: I don't think so
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 8 <9; 9; 9; 3; 8; 2; 8; 1; 5; 1; 10; 8; 3; 3> #x2 Oh Noes What Is This Spooky Sound?
    EarthScorpion: Per + Pres to reassure her
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 Prince of Hell + 2 stunt + 5 Kimmy ExD {endlessly giving, impossibly high standards, patronage and kindness are real, demands payment} = 15+5.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+5 = 17 <4; 4; 1; 10; 9; 5; 9; 10; 7; 10; 10; 3; 3; 4; 8> #Get A Grip, Ixy
    EarthScorpion: Roll me Phys + Subterfuge for leading your little group past the guards unseen
    Aleph: goddamn szilfa ¬_¬
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 Lurking Predator + 2 stunt = 15, enhanced by Hidden Predator Camouflage - does that lower diff or give me bonus dice or double successes as written?
    EarthScorpion: You're moving too much to get the "not moving" benefit, but I'll give you +4 from doubled cover.
    Aleph: 19 dice, then
    Keris rolled 19d10s7c10 = 10 <2; 1; 7; 10; 1; 3; 8; 7; 4; 9; 1; 7; 9; 4; 3; 7; 2; 8; 5> #Stealthily Slip Past The Guards
    EarthScorpion rolled 9d10s7c10 = 8 <7; 2; 2; 1; 10; 10; 10; 3; 7> #Finding the Keris, base guard + manpower bonus 3
    EarthScorpion rolled 12d10s7c10 = 4 <2; 1; 1; 3; 3; 10; 4; 3; 1; 1; 10; 2> #Firisutu mapping out the place
    EarthScorpion: OK, are you using any disguises, etc?
    Aleph: Okay, so. Keris is first going to just use Metagaos stealth to scope out which situation it is vis-a-vis "have guards been pulled away from downstairs to reinforce the upstairs?", since that will affect her plan regardless. Then she's going to have Ixy HPC onto the wall while Keris runs down as a Loom-Snarling Deception + Behind the Role "unremarkable guard", and she will then engage in Shenanigans based on the density of the guards there.
    EarthScorpion: OK, roll me Cog +... probably Politics, honestly, for understanding the system and the defences
    Aleph: She's on her meds, so 4 + 4 + 3 Social Saboteur + 2 stunt - 3 DRUGS penalty + 1 DRUGS autosux = 10+1.
    Keris rolled 10d10s7c10+1 = 8 <5; 10; 5; 1; 10; 7; 3; 7; 8; 3> #How To Break A Checkpoint System
    Aleph: ... I am definitely feeling that penalty now, even if that was a good roll.
    Aleph: *sigh*
    Aleph: You know what? It's fine. It's fine!
    Aleph: This is not the first time my plan has run into a peer rival's plan and both have exploded, and while I can never go within 50 miles of Nexus ever again, I did get more or less what I wanted out of that time, which is more than anyone else did.
    EarthScorpion rolled 10d10s7c10 = 5 <1; 9; 4; 5; 1; 2; 7; 1; 8; 10> #Ixy obtaining disguise - Cog + Subterfuge + stunt
    EarthScorpion rolled 16d10s7c10 = 9 <9; 9; 7; 8; 8; 5; 4; 4; 5; 2; 5; 10; 9; 2; 7; 2> #Ixtreme violence, Ixy part against the first guards
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 4 <4; 8; 5; 8; 8; 7; 1> #These are well-fed well armed guards and it probably won't matter
    Aleph: "Ixtreme", lol :p
    Aleph: Very clever.
    Aleph: Hmm. This is the second time Ixy has seen Keris use Vipera, and she didn't freak out when she used it on the divine court. I guess hopefully it slots into "freaky demon spear stuff" enough that it doesn't trigger the undead-PTSD.
    Aleph: Third time she's seen this kind of thing in general, actually, if you count the guards at the Feasting-Wall Citadel.
    Aleph: (IEI on the oni))
    EarthScorpion: Enlightenment 2, Earth aspected.
    EarthScorpion rolled 19d10s7c10 = 14 <4; 9; 2; 10; 5; 10; 6; 10; 9; 7; 9; 6; 9; 7; 4; 5; 9; 6; 9> #Ixy phys + Ranged 7 + 7 XD + 2 stunt + 3 kerub flunkies - Ixy's first solo (not solo) boss fight
    EarthScorpion rolled 11d10s7c10 = 5 <1; 3; 7; 1; 9; 7; 2; 3; 8; 9; 4> #big strong earth oni
    Aleph: Heh. Ixy is going to feel really good about herself after this job is done, for the fact that she wasn't just tagging along in Keris's wake as she did the job; she did things, she contributed, she led parts of the mission. It's money she earned.
    EarthScorpion: She got a good roll :p
    Aleph: She did.


    <Looting time!>
    EarthScorpion: OK, right. So there is an unseen, unknown timer going on.
    • The rolls you make consume "points" from this timer.
    • The rolls also accumulate advantage points, that can be used for purchases of things you grab from the vaults.
    • Rolls are Reaction + (appropriate skill) for what you're looking for - for example, artefact weapons would be Melee or Ranged, Occult secrets or mechanisms are Occult, history books or ancient things of that ilk are Lore, generally valuable things are Politics, etc etc
    Aleph: Ooooo, you do know how to hurt me.
    Aleph: Hmm. A timer, huh?
    Aleph: Okay, well Keris will obviously want to roll Reaction+Occult and Reaction+Politics. Hmm. She might also roll Reaction+Expression because... well, because she's Keris. I assume Ixy will want to roll Reaction+Ranged twice and possibly also Reaction+Politics for loot.
    Aleph: OOC, I am guessing that, hmm.
    Aleph: Okay, the timer probably isn't one roll long, because that wouldn't be a timer. Likewise, we made fairly good time through the obstacles, so I'm reasonably confident that two rolls is "safe". Roll three is therefore the first one that qualifies as a risk.
    Aleph: So initially I will see what 3 rolls gets me, and if what it gets me is "having to fight an abyssal in the vaults of gem as he necromantically resurrects a volcano", then fuck me I guess.
    Aleph: Do I get any bonuses to these rolls from Price-of-Everything Undercurrents, Untouched Whisperer Revelation and Firisutu's help?
    EarthScorpion: PoE Undercurrents can be used on a roll to essentially set the difficulty of a pure Politics "all I care about is value" roll to 0, since you can just find the most valuable things around
    EarthScorpion: Firisutu will contribute something of value he finds every roll you make - he essentially provides a free advantage, or can be used to move things/get an advantage for other characters.
    EarthScorpion: UWR will help Occult rolls where you specifically say you're looking for magical secrets
    Aleph: Cool. I will… sigh. I guess I'll commit Firisutu to Ixy and handle my own rolls alone. Speaking of which, does Ixy roll first since I'm giving her first pick?
    EarthScorpion: No, she rolls independently for this - she and you share that time slot.
    Aleph: Gotcha. Okay, Keris's first roll is Reaction+Occult. Is this a Venture roll or can I Excellency?
    EarthScorpion: Yes, this is a Venture roll. Otherwise you'd break the Advantages.
    Aleph: Makes sense. 5+5+2 Coadj+2 stunt = 14, and I am infuriated that none of my Styles really apply here.
    EarthScorpion rolled 11d10s7c10 = 6 <7; 2; 3; 10; 8; 5; 1; 2; 5; 9; 8> #Reaction + Athletics, Ixy looking for kickass armour, aided by Firisutu
    EarthScorpion: Anyway, Ixy gets 4 threshold for this, and spends them all on a glorious, flashy artefact buff jacket made from furnace rhino hide, with stitched on older orichalcum plates covered in an intricate pattern of doves in flight. There are heavier armours there, but this looks like what she wants - and is very flashy
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 8 <2; 4; 8; 10; 1; 10; 3; 9; 9; 2; 4; 4; 8; 5> #Keris seeking out magical secrets with Unseen Whisperer Revelation
    EarthScorpion: OK, Threshold 4. Occult options:
    • Books belonging to one of the old sorcerers loyal to the last despot who... didn't survive the handover of power. (1 per spell, unlimited purchases)
    • A great, oversized dreamstone that thrums with lavender light (Artefact dreamstone with power to force sleep on the weak minded, 3)
    • Exotic materials horded down here (1 to get an amount of a exotic ingredient good for one project, unlimited purchases)
    • Raw unworked pure red and white jade, harvested from the depths of Gem (2, good for one project, up to 3 purchases)
    • Yasai crystals (crystals of varying power, 1 for a crystal that can hold a 1CD-ish spirit, 4 for a crystal that can hold a 2CD-ish spirit)
    • A black mechanical heart, of clear hellish origin. There is dried blood on it (artificial heart, 2 successes)
    • A book of hymns to the Scarlet Lady, with red jade infused ink decorating the illustrated manual. Keris knows what it is. The people here didn't. They thought it was prayers to Mars (3 successes)
    Aleph: Argh. Um… for this roll:
    • The Broken-Winged Crane, duh
    • One of the spellbooks
    EarthScorpion rolled 1d24 + 1d88 = <3> <57>
    EarthScorpion: So, the spell book - if you accept the random here - is that it's an Ally-linked Private Plaza of Downcast Eyes
    Aleph: FUCK YES
    Aleph: God, I really am liking the random-roll spellbooks.
    Aleph: Okay, for her next roll Keris is going to use PoEU to drop Diff to 0 and throw a Reaction + Politics into getting as much raw value as she can physically move into her sanctum; 5+4+2 Dread Pirate+2 stunt+2 Coadj = 15.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 11 <8; 8; 6; 2; 5; 10; 1; 7; 4; 5; 10; 8; 8; 8; 7> #Keris Grabbing Cash
    Aleph: wahahaha~ : 3
    EarthScorpion: OK, so 2nd roll, cashmoney. 11 degrees of success here, which means the threshold works a little differently from usual.
    EarthScorpion: 5 are spent on essentially, "there is literally all the cashmoney you, your buddies, and Firisutu can carry, it's genuinely a problem you don't have enough of a way to get it all out". It basically means you can spend any number of extra actions as unrolled "we just load up silver and gems".
    EarthScorpion: Now, you have six advantages to spend on various other forms of wealth:
    • Genuine Realm jade talents, valid currency basically everywhere in Creation. Highly valued by satrapies that are obliged to pay taxes in jade (capped at 2)
    • Realm trade talents, red jade talents made that are not legal tender within the Realm and must be converted back into white jade talents at the treasury, but are used as a significant unit of account in the southern Threshold and for satrapal taxation (capped at 3)
    • Gaudy golden statues of Rankar and other ego projects. Taken from the palace, no longer in public display, but still made of gold. Probably will at some point be melted down.
    • Ancient orichalcum coinage, likely plundered from Cahzor or found by scavenger princes. Each one has a beautiful woman's profile on them. It's orichalcum, in small amounts, and thus gets used as a greater-than-talent unit of currency among princes. (capped at 2)
    • Sorted smaller denominations. Used by the Despot for working expenses. Comes in sacks. Much easier to spend than talents.
    EarthScorpion: Basically, here, you can assign your six points to these forms in various ratios. Some of them are more "efficient" if all you care about is money, but basically the different denominations here are somewhat an exercise in fluff
    Aleph: Okay, I will go 2/2/2:
    • 2 points on sorted smaller denominations I can spend more easily.
    • 2 points on Realm jade talents that I can spend literally anywhere.
    • 2 points on Realm trade talents for potential Hui Cha use in Arjuf.
    • 2 points on super-high-value-density ancient orichalcum coinage.
    Aleph: (Keris will explain her logic for these choices to Ixy, who as a thief probably knows some of this but Keris wants to make sure.)
    EarthScorpion: "Trade coins are coins minted by a government, but not necessarily legal tender within the territory of the issuing country. These quasi-bullion coins (in rarer cases small change) were thus actually export goods – that is, bullion in the form of coins, used for the bulk purchase of important goods from other countries, where they could be bought at a favourable price, compared to the purchasing power of the same amount of bullion within the trade coins' country of origin."
    Aleph: Fun fun. And yeah, I was very tempted by the Realm trade talents, but if I'm only spending 2 points on them, the true jade ones just leave me with more options.
    Aleph: …
    Aleph: Huh
    Aleph: Actually
    Aleph: …
    Aleph: Shit, no, you know what?
    Aleph: If I'm planning to have Little River use these to set up a trading office in Arjuf, it's actually a lot less suspicious for her Hui Cha to show up with trade talents and get them converted. It means I'm effectively getting less money because of the conversation fees, but the lost value offsets suspicion, because trade talents are much more likely to end up in the hands of a group like the Hui Cha, and I can still spend them as normal in the Anarchy.
    Aleph: … sigh
    Aleph: So yeah, belay that, I'm getting the trade talents instead.
    Aleph: Okay, next will be a Reaction + Expression roll
    Aleph: 4 + 5 + 3 (mishmash of Keris's various art Styles) + 2 stunt + 2 Coadj = 16
    Keris rolled 16d10s7c10 = 9 <5; 8; 4; 2; 10; 7; 9; 1; 7; 7; 6; 9; 8; 3; 5; 3> #Thieving Little Magpie Goes For The Art
    EarthScorpion: OK, so Diff 4, so threshold 5. All of these cost 1 unless otherwise specified
    • A collection of late Cahzori 300s poetry, of the Decline period
    • A first edition of The Lady in Blue, the last (and very explicit) work of the author Anshwa as-Salari, before he was executed for his offences to public morals
    • A collection of well-bound books written in modern firetongue in the Gem dialect - all first editions tithed to the despot as gifts from the authors.
    • Prayerbooks to the night goddess Susi-haya, daughter of Luna, made from silver ink on black silk
    • Ancient plates and cutlery from the First Age, decorated with still bright and unchipped images of a broad and generous river flowing through a fertile landscape
    • Several absolutely gorgeous and very expensive outfits for women - perhaps items from Rankar's mistresses, perhaps safeguarded items that Trasti II is preparing for a lover. They come in a variety of styles and colours (1 per outfit, you can freely stunt them, they are of a cost that they live in the Resources 4-5 range)
    • A collection of outfits and accessories of rather risqué appearance and purpose. From the dust, they may have belonged to the previous despot and his harem.
    • A Winter's Breath Jar (2 successes)
    • Finely woven brightly covered alpaca-wool scarves and blankets trimmed with golden bells, offered to the despot as coronation gifts by the Coxati lady Etiaydi
    • A collection of beautifully done chiaroscuro artworks covering the streets and locations of Gem
    • A huge ant-wasp-bee (it's unclear) lodged in an ancient piece of amber
    • Books describing the sacred dances of the lost goddess followed by the mendicants of the Ragged
    • A collection of lacquered figurines depicting warriors of the Shogunate, perhaps from a variant of Gateway. Despite their size (no taller than a thumb), they are beautifully painted.
    • A particularly large and sizable collection of beautifully cut gems from Gem's own mines.
    • Paintings done in gold leaf of Trasti II.
    Aleph: Nnnnngh. You are a heartless monster. Ummm… fuck, fuck, okay. Fuck. Okay.
    Aleph: Aaargh.
    Aleph: Okay, after some agonising and list-making and tearful paring down of options where the Susi-haya prayerbook and chiaroscuro artworks broke me as a person to leave behind, I will take:
    • A first edition of The Lady in Blue, the last (and very explicit) work of the author Anshwa as-Salari, before he was executed for his offences to public morals
    • Ancient plates and cutlery from the First Age, decorated with still bright and unchipped images of a broad and generous river flowing through a fertile landscape
    • A huge ant-wasp-bee (it's unclear) lodged in an ancient piece of amber
    • A collection of lacquered figurines depicting warriors of the Shogunate, perhaps from a variant of Gateway. Despite their size (no taller than a thumb), they are beautifully painted.
    • Books describing the sacred dances of the lost goddess followed by the mendicants of the Ragged
    EarthScorpion rolled 6d10s7c10 = 2 <4; 7; 3; 7; 3; 3> #Ixy looking for occult curiosities
    EarthScorpion chose lesser from[/b] <lesser,greater>
    EarthScorpion Ixy takes a lesser yasal crystal. Keris can't tell if it's occupied.
    Aleph: Okay, that's three turns. And you know what? Last time I was cautious and paranoid and got out fast without taking my time, so… this time I'm gonna play the odds and accept the risks. Twice over. TURN FOUR: KERIS CONSULTS THE CRANE.
    EarthScorpion: OK, well, here, Reaction + (lower of Occult and Expression) + Malfean Scholar Style to parse it
    EarthScorpion: This is not a Venture roll, so it's Excellency-OK.
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 + 2 Coadj + 2 stunt + 10 Adorjan ExD {inevitability that bad things happen, unconsidered variable that shreds the best-laid plans} = 27
    Keris rolled 27d10s7c10 = 12 <9; 3; 8; 4; 2; 2; 5; 1; 8; 5; 9; 3; 7; 3; 7; 2; 3; 9; 4; 9; 3; 6; 10; 3; 8; 7; 3> #Hymns of the Scarlet Lady
    Aleph: … hmm.
    Aleph: I see.
    Aleph: So, this is going to largely depend on what the prophecy is willing to accept as "the heart of Gem". The contents of this vault might qualify, certainly. But it's probably better to be safe than sorry.
    Aleph: Hmm
    Aleph: It does specify that she kills Gem. So it needs to be, effectively, fatal damage. Just what she's done so far won't be.
    Aleph: Ugh, Veil is probably going to get on my back over this.
    Aleph: Let's see, things that could metaphorically be taken as the "heart" of Gem:
    • The grand palace at its physical centre from which the Despot rules the city
    • The mines that produce the gems and precious metals that are its lifeblood
    • The culture of monopolies and Houses that keeps everyone roughly aligned
    Aleph: I probably don't need to render the city uninhabitable, "just" kick off another civil war that it won't survive as a culturally contiguous institution (or will die a slow, withering death from).
    Aleph: Mmm.
    Aleph: … heh. I'm actually kind of interested in what the associated written-after-the-fact hymn to Mars is for that picture of the Scarlet Lady standing over a richly-dressed woman after having ripped her beating heart right out of her chest.
    Aleph: Welp, fifth and probably last turn of looting; weapons.
    Aleph: Reaction 5 + Melee 5 + Style 3 (she's not looking for spears because Vipera is a jealous little thing, but any other form weapons appropriate to her combat Styles are valid) + 2 Coadjutor + 2 stunt = 17.
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10 = 11 <6; 4; 4; 9; 8; 7; 8; 9; 3; 1; 1; 3; 7; 10; 7; 4; 10> #Stabby Stabby Murder Toys
    EarthScorpion: Diff 3, therefore 8 successes. Tertiary artefacts cost 1 (i.e. basic statsticks), secondary artefacts cost 3 (things with a power of their own), and primary artefacts cost 5.
    EarthScorpion: Before I put the effort into coming up with things, what kinds of melee weapons are you broadly interested in?
    Aleph: Hmm. I think something that Cinnamon can use with Peacock Style. "Feather" weapons like war fans, perhaps. Also something for Mele's Cat Style, rapier or buckler/parrying knife or both. And I'll at least look at any Primaries on offer before the keruby can get at them.
    Aleph: Not making any commitments yet, but Secondary war fans (3), Secondary rapier (3) and Tertiary buckler & parrying knife (1+1) would be one way to assign 8 points.
    Aleph: Alternatively a Primary (5) + Secondary (3) if there are any Primaries I really like the look of.
    EarthScorpion: How are these as options?
    • Tertiary: Juhul's War Fans. A gorgeous pair of white jade war fans, the fan itself violet-painted silk in the form of a butterfly's wing. It rustles faintly, even when untouched.
    • Tertiary: Blossoming Bud. A long green jade spear, the head shaped like a stylised bud. The smell of an orichid wraps it.
    • Tertiary: An unnamed orichalcum shield of medium size, the crest that of a dove in flight. It radiates pleasant warmth.
    • Tertiary: The Fists of Dreams. Fighting gloves with dreamstones on the knuckles and moonsilver wrist-guards. The face that reflects from the moonsilver is not the wearer's.
    • Tertiary: Rankar's Glory, an ancient and pitted bronze blade. According to the note, it was owned by the first Rankar.
    • Tertiary: Weeping Mist, a blue jade war axe. Condensation always forms on its blade.
    • Tertiary: The Chains of the Beast, corroded black iron chains still sticky with blood. They are wrapped in many prayer strips.
    • Tertiary: Glory, a fine orichalcum diaklaive. It is polished so bright that the gold almost appears silver.

    • Secondary: Tramontane, the Freezing Northern Wind Blade. A ritual dagger wreathed in the essence of Air; it radiates freezing cold. The whole area around where it is stored is chiller than the rest of the room
    • Secondary: Inferno & Thunder, a pair of twinned short daiklaives. One is red jade, the other is blue. The air smells of ozone and ash around them.
    • Secondary: Hornet's Needle, a beast-bone thrusting sword, its guard wrapped in yellow and black cloth, and a prayer strip dangling from the end with a wasp painted on it. It is wrapped in cloth to absorb the venom that oozes from its tip.
    • Secondary: The Old King's Shield. A vast orichalcum greatshield, with the ruddy hue of copper. The skull of an ancient inhuman reptillian beast is mounted on the centre, and fused to the skull is an orichalcum crown.
    • Secondary: Heartseeker, a nearly invisble adamant short daiklaive. It is so thin and transparent that it is hard to see save when it catches the light. This is a weapon with no guard and no edge, made for only bringing death by execution or murder.

    • Primary: The Cursed Blade, Calibration. The last, lost blade of the Seasons sequence; a broad, point-less executioner's sword of blackened orichalcum. There is a smudged bird sigil on the side of the weapon; the maker's mark. When picked up, a trail of star-less blackness follows in its wake. There is a hint of older artifice to it, for its style is not the same as the other parts of the season's sequence. What ancient relic did Sesus Canglù use as the basis for his last, forbidden masterpiece?
    • Primary: Gaia's Revengeance, a green jade reaper daiklaive, chipped and battered and missing its tip. There is a wave-like patten on the blade that resembles the sun seen through leaves, but this is seared into the green jade itself, a layer of molten orichalcum has splattered its edge and formed part of the blade so it has been re-sharpened. Its guard is half broken off.
    Aleph: …
    Aleph: … terrible. They are terrible as options. I'm being attacked here. This is abuse. Someone call the police.
    Aleph: God. God. Fuck you so much. I hate you. Why are you like this?
    Aleph: Things I want: Juhul's War Fans, Blossoming Bud, the nameless shield, Tramontane, Hornet's Needle, Heartseeker, Calibration, Gaia's Revengeance.
    Total cost of all these things: 22
    Points I actually have to spend: 8​
    Aleph: why are you allowed to bully me like this😭
    Aleph: it's basically a hate crime
    Aleph: Ugh, yeah, sigh.
    Aleph: You're so mean for doing this to me.
    Aleph: But I guess I'm going for Calibration and Hornet's Needle.
    Aleph: Blargh.
    Aleph: Hmm. My prediction is that Ixy will grab Rankar's Glory, Janna will probably steal Juhul's War Fans, Bremar will take the Fists of Dreams, Tashti... may actually go for Blossoming Bud, and Weft... huh. Weft might want Inferno & Thunder, actually. Or at least Thunder.


    <Cleaning up loose ends>
    Aleph: Okay, Keris is spending her last action rearranging the silver to graffiti the vault with the three Lunar caste marks and the face of a laughing desert fox and using Passing Off Blame to obfuscate her involvement and point to a Lunar having done this. She's then going to cut a hole in the floor of the vault with Calibration and send Ixy & co down into the mines to find her way out, with Firisutu travelling with them immaterially.
    EarthScorpion: roll for your deception
    Aleph: Cog+Subterfuge roll: 4 + 5 + 3 Mendaciloquent Maverick + 1 bonus {equipped with forged evidence or proof} + 2 stunt + 5 Szoreny autosux {cheat, steal, pin the blame} = 15+5.
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+5 = 12 <1; 7; 9; 1; 9; 5; 6; 10; 6; 9; 6; 1; 5; 2; 7> #Passing Off Blame
    Aleph: Do I need to Reaction + Awareness to see if there's any magical CCTV or whatnot, or will that be covered by Keris's general Passing Off Blame tampering roll?
    EarthScorpion: You can roll me Reaction + Occult to try to study the feeling.
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 2 Coadj + 2 stunt = 14
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 5 <4; 2; 10; 6; 4; 9; 7; 7; 1; 6; 6; 5; 3; 1> #Eyes On Me
    EarthScorpion rolled 7d10s7c10 = 4 <8; 6; 7; 8; 1; 9; 1> #the force hiding itself
    Aleph: So Keris is being a big huge bitch and mocking common prayers to Ahmaraan for things that, of course, she has already achieved by stealing so much from the Despot's vaults. She's trying to provoke the goddess to lose her temper and appear before her within stabbing range.
    EarthScorpion: Okay yeah it's a prayer roll, it's a performance, Per + Expression to make this prayer
    Aleph: 5 + 5 + 3 (Cat + Spirit-Charming Supplicant's knowledge of what not to do) + 2 stunt = 15, and my caste mark is burning so I might as well toss 4 Adorjani ExD in as well.
    Keris rolled 19d10s7c10 = 8 <3; 7; 1; 6; 1; 1; 7; 1; 8; 2; 1; 9; 6; 8; 1; 3; 8; 10; 2> #Mocking A Goddess
    Aleph: … hmm. Yes. Oh dear.
    Aleph: Well, on the plus side, "two Abyssals and a horse of war ghosts trying to murder House Iblan and the Despot" is an explanation for tonight that will not put any suspicion on Keris and Ixy at all.
    EarthScorpion: Keris is just like "oh man, this is totally unrelated to me".
    Aleph: Basically, yeah!
    EarthScorpion: And yes, that is the joke of the timer
    • 1 or 2, in and out cleanly
    • 3, the guards are coming
    • 4, the guards are distracted by the incoming undead
    • 5+, THEY'RE HERE
    Aleph: Honestly I have no regrets whatsoever. :V
    EarthScorpion: of course you don't
    EarthScorpion: Also do you like the implied backgrounds for these two? ;p
    Aleph: One of the men Trasti Gion sent into the Desert who all died, and a slave of House Iblan who wants to burn the whole city down.
    Aleph: … hilariously, this implies that Jinx is still a thing in this setting, and stole the drum and ran off to the Anam Way just like in Inksgame :p
    EarthScorpion: I mean she wasn't related to Inks's stuff at all.
    Aleph: I suppose we can only be grateful she didn't get her hands on Calibration.
    Aleph: Okay, Keris is attempting to quietly slink out and WWI her way into the inner palace through a wall somewhere the ghost mob isn't.
    Aleph: However
    Aleph: I'm just going to roll Physique 5 + Subterfuge 5 + 3 Lurking Predator + 2 stunt = 15
    Aleph: And they can roll perception with any bonus for "silver-armoured figure who has a silver-red caste mark on their forehead poking their head around the corner" and penalties for "kind of focused on the door, not what's behind them", and we'll see if she gets noticed. :p
    EarthScorpion: lol
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10 = 10 <10; 3; 3; 10; 5; 2; 9; 9; 2; 7; 6; 8; 4; 9; 7> #This Doesn't Seem Like Any Of My Business, I'll Just See Myself Out
    EarthScorpion rolled 13d10s7c10+2 = 7 <5; 8; 4; 5; 1; 3; 2; 9; 7; 9; 3; 9; 4> #Shadowy Sharp Eyed Watcher, x2 successes
    Aleph: Honestly, kind of disappointed about that even though I succeeded. It'd have been really funny to get caught :p
    Aleph: Oh well.
    Aleph: … oh wait. Shit. x2 successes.
    EarthScorpion: yep
    Aleph: WELP : 3
    EarthScorpion: Someone else has Keris-level success doublers for Awareness :p
    Aleph: How dare they be able to see as well as I can hear. So unfair. The sheer audacity.
    Aleph: Rude
    Aleph: Illegal
    Aleph: Meep meep
    Aleph: *runs away*
    Aleph: … goddammit stop making me like the Abyssal Exalt who is a blasphemy against the living and the dead alike.
    Aleph: You made her French, you bastard, how dare
    EarthScorpion: lol
    Aleph: Oh Keris. "My generous and trusting heart", you are talking so much shit.
    Aleph: Although in fairness both of them know she's talking shit there.
    Aleph: Man, I do really love this kind of light banter between not-quite-enemies-yet-but-not-allies-either. It's so much fun. The veneer of polite friendliness and the danger lurking just under it.
    Aleph: Top-tier character, A++
    Aleph: … Keris, stop trying to get a False Identity (Lunar Exalt "Plover") background.
    Aleph: Anyway, it seems like they're having trouble getting into the inner palace, so "Plover" is offering to help them cut their way in with Calibration.
    EarthScorpion: Yes, but at this stage, the Abyssals haven't committed themselves. That's the Mademoiselle's point - at the moment, it's more a public display than a serious attack, something to make Trasti feel weak and powerless.
    Aleph: Yeah, that's fair
    EarthScorpion rolled 9d10s7c10+3 = 8 <8; 7; 7; 9; 4; 9; 5; 2; 2> #don't mind me, says the Madamoiselle, just let me tag along
    EarthScorpion: 8 successes to get Keris to let her tag along on this - what's your resolve, and do any particular intimacies advantage you here?
    Aleph: Resolve 4, and… hmm. What level Principle would you say Keris's compulsive secret-keeping counts as?
    EarthScorpion: Hmm. So you're right, she probably should have that, because she does pathologically keep secrets and it's an active struggle to open up. But arguably that's just a form of Cowardice Keeps Me Safe, so 3 dot.
    EarthScorpion: (remember you have social perfects and can boost resolve with excellencies - or hard bargain. or you can just let her tag along)
    Aleph: Yeah, honestly, even if I had the Resolve to refuse I probably wouldn't bother. The absolute worst that can happen is that Ahmaraan communicates that Plover is specifically a Hellish Exalt rather than a Lunar who was using demons (and that Madmoiselle knows those are a thing), and even that's honestly not terrible. Veil is a lot less likely to ask her who did this.
    EarthScorpion: Or as she pronounces it, "ploveuré". :p
    Aleph: You know, for a wild second there I was like "has ES finally decided to use the Lunar mate stuff?" and then remembered that Mademoiselle is a Solaroid and Keris is not actually a real Lunar.
    Aleph: … Sasi, Ney, Mademoiselle. Keris, stop collecting Solaroid mates for your Lunar cosplay.
    EarthScorpion: Keris's vanity is so great she has a thing for people of the same caste as her, as she sees herself in them (or at least expects that that's where the evening is going).
    EarthScorpion: i see you are enjoying undead french tattletale
    EarthScorpion: (it wasn't actually deliberate, I only just realised it myself)
    Aleph: :D
    EarthScorpion: Oh, since you forgot to ask, Abyssal Essence, Enlightenment 9.
    Aleph: I gathered, yes.
    Aleph: Hmm.
    Aleph: So I did some thinking about what exactly Keris's view on the Abyssal Exalted are, and I think that it's not that she necessarily thinks they're all monsters - she doesn't believe they're inherently evil, she's even perfectly willing to accept that they can be friendly and funny and perhaps even mean well or want to do good.
    Aleph: She accepted, after all, that the Prince of Ten Thousand Vermin was still her Rat, still the same boy she loved, not his mad ghost or his vengeful corpse or a mockery of his face but the same person inside.
    Aleph: No, the specific thing Keris believes about the Chosen of the Void, the belief she'll fight tooth and nail to hold onto rather than give up on, is specifically that they can't be saved.
    Aleph: They can be nice, they can mean well, you can like them and even want to help them.
    Aleph: But they're doomed, one and all. If not today, then eventually. There's no rescuing them. They're already dead.
    EarthScorpion: The fact that these three are all loyalists means they won't be challenging her any time soon :p
    Aleph: Yyyyup
    Aleph: Incidentally, from the enlightenments and what she was saying, I'm assuming that they're fairly new to their deathlord's service while she's a much more experienced one - in fact, I suspect that you came up with them basically as a parallel to Keris mentoring Suriani and Ixy.
    Aleph: They have personal beef here, she's tagging along to guide, look after and make sure they don't try to run away.
    Aleph: … I am also once again loving Hypothetical Actual Lunar Plover, who is just goddamn hilarious.
    EarthScorpion: Well, also just to stop them getting themselves rashly killed. It's not quite the same as Keris and her students - Keris has students, she has people she's babysitting.
    EarthScorpion: Oh yeah, what's the position of Keris and past life flashbacks?
    Aleph: In what sense? She doesn't have any flashbacks anymore; she poured all of Yamal into Kali. Or, well. The background, anyway. I guess she might retain a few traces, but only to the extent that a Solar might.
    EarthScorpion: Yeah, that's kind of my question. The Past Life background is gone, but can she get regular solar style ones?
    Aleph: Yeah, let's say she can. Very rare ones requiring strong triggers nowadays, but she can.
    EarthScorpion: So, how, if at all, are you going to approach/handle those reactions - that you are being noticed, and while no one has screamed yet, it's probably a matter of time. Speed run it, charm use, kill anyone in sight, any other solutions?
    Aleph: Hmm. Ahmaraan is the only one who saw Keris's non-Lunar traits in the vault, so she's the only one I really need to kill. Thus, I think now would be a good time to use Beauty Over Truth. :V
    Aleph: Persuasion 5 + Expression 5 + Exotic Beauty 3 + stunt 2 + 4 BOT autosux = 15+4
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+4 = 12 <5; 1; 5; 7; 8; 8; 6; 8; 7; 3; 9; 4; 1; 10; 4> #Beauty Over Truth
    EarthScorpion rolled 12d10s7c10+4 = 8 <4; 7; 4; 6; 3; 8; 5; 10; 6; 2; 3; 3> #Atrocity Without Witness
    EarthScorpion rolled 8d10s7c10 = 6 <10; 1; 5; 2; 7; 7; 8; 9> #Cog + Lore + Echoes of Golden Glory Style 2 - IDing things
    EarthScorpion rolled 15d10s7c10+4 = 7 <4; 4; 5; 3; 4; 3; 4; 4; 3; 7; 8; 7; 4; 2; 2> #the Mademoiselle resolves the situation with cunning brutality: Phys + Subterfuge + Night Horror Style 3 + stunt + Style Bonus 1s + 3ExS
    EarthScorpion: Roll me Reaction + Politics for reading her
    Aleph: 5+4+2 Coadj+2 stunt+9 Kimmy ExD {secrets, shameful truths, discerning eye} = 22.
    Aleph: Keris is into her second scene of caste mark flare, but not yet at the point of Fatigue penalties
    Keris rolled 22d10s7c10 = 10 <1; 3; 10; 2; 3; 5; 4; 2; 7; 3; 3; 10; 6; 7; 8; 10; 7; 3; 2; 1; 2; 3> #Reading Mademoiselle


    <Lady Ahmaraan, Goddess of Gem>
    EarthScorpion: OK, so the plan is violence now? Are you going to be calling out the goddess, or going straight for her, or what as a general approach?
    Aleph: Heading straight in. She almost certainly knows we're here, so whatever she plans to do in response to our assault, she's likely already doing it.
    Aleph: IEI on Ahmaraan
    EarthScorpion: Roll it.
    Aleph: Reaction+Awareness = 14, I don't remember if HWN doubles this for Keris combining IEI and hearing
    Keris rolled 14d10s7c10 = 8 <5; 5; 8; 4; 4; 5; 10; 10; 10; 4; 5; 7; 2; 1> #IEI on Ahmaraan
    EarthScorpion: OK, right, I think we'll kind of do it as contested ventures, but you buy damaging effects - and damage rolls - as advantages. This means your weapon is a merit helping your attacks, and your armour is a merit helping your defence.
    Aleph: cool cool
    EarthScorpion: Unlike standard ventures, Excellencies can apply - but make sure you're tracking your essence spend
    Aleph: Yes.
    Aleph: Okay, so. Keris has her caste mark going and is regenning 2 motes per turn. Can I assume that after the dramatic time spent navigating through the palace, she's topped off bar her committed motes?
    EarthScorpion: Yes
    Aleph: Sweet. Her committed motes are... 1 mo…
    Aleph: What's Calibration's attune cost?
    EarthScorpion: Let's say 5m for now, we'll need to work out what attunement is even for later
    Aleph: Then her commitments are:
    5 - Vipera
    8 - Strigida
    5 - Calibration
    6 - Shadow-disguise
    4 - Hearing (permanent)
    28 motes committed, 44 free, 2m regen per turn (4m if she goes to bonfire, 6 if she hits totemic)​
    Aleph: Okay, so am I rolling once for combat or once each for attack and defence?
    EarthScorpion: Separately, but her defence can give her advantages (as can yours).
    Aleph: Cool. Calibration and Strigida are both Primary merits, so they add... 5 dice each? And I'm capped at adding 10 dice to my pool total no matter what.
    EarthScorpion: Yes. Ah, also, you're rolling attack, so Strigida doesn't help - unless you find a way to use her offensively.
    Aleph: Yeah, but Calibration is.
    EarthScorpion: Ah, yes.
    Aleph: So for attack it's going to be Physique 5 + Melee 5 + argh no Style + 2 stunt + 5 Calibration + 5 Adorjani ExD = 22. We can assume that Keris is using her Adorjani charmtech like JIVA and flurries, but those are just folded into her being very stabby and lethal. 5m spent, 2 regained from anima.
    Keris rolled 22d10s7c10 = 20 <9; 10; 3; 5; 7; 10; 9; 5; 7; 10; 10; 2; 6; 10; 9; 9; 6; 1; 10; 3; 10; 6> #Plover Goes On The Attack
    EarthScorpion rolled 17d10s7c10 = 13 <9; 9; 10; 2; 9; 7; 10; 1; 3; 9; 10; 2; 10; 2; 1; 6; 4> #goddess defence, 6XD
    EarthScorpion: OK, right, beat her defence by 7 successes - 7 advantages to spend.
    • Break her arm (5) - one arm incapacitated, 3 Injuries
    • Slam her into a wall (4) - 2 injuries, -4 to next attack
    • Green Sun Nimbus Flare (2) - 1 injury, +1 extra injury from Charm
    • Spiteful Sea Tincture (2) - 1 injury, poisoned kimmy hazard inflicted
    • Cosmetic Wound (1) - 1 injury
    • Ichor Flux Tendrils (3) - 0 injuries, create Secondary Command in combat
    • Instill Fear (2) - 0 injuries, create 3 dot of fear towards you
    EarthScorpion: Any other charms you want to use for damage-y things, tell me and I'll see about converting them.
    Aleph: Ahahaha
    • Break her arm
    • Instill Fear
    EarthScorpion rolled 21d10s7c10 = 11 <5; 5; 3; 10; 3; 8; 8; 9; 3; 8; 10; 6; 1; 7; 9; 6; 2; 3; 1; 8; 1> #Goddess: Serpent's Wrath Style + 6 XD + Profit's Fang 4 + stunt = 21
    Aleph: Physique 5 + Melee 5 + 3 Peacock + 2 stunt + 5 Strigida = 20. Hmm.
    Aleph: Yeah, I've got 41 motes left
    Aleph: +5 Adorjan ExD
    Aleph: 5m spent - is this a new turn / do I only regen motes on my turns?
    EarthScorpion: No, this is part of the same one
    Aleph: Cool, so 25 dice.
    Keris rolled 25d10s7c10 = 14 <4; 1; 8; 10; 2; 8; 6; 2; 9; 2; 5; 1; 2; 4; 9; 8; 9; 7; 7; 7; 6; 8; 5; 3; 10> #Plover Peacock Evasion
    EarthScorpion: Keris wins by 3, so 3 advantages to spend:
    • Ensnare her whip (3) - Disarm her of it
    • Backhand blow (2) - 1 injury
    • Knock her off balance (1)): -1 to her next roll
    Aleph: ENSNARE HER WHIP FUCK YES
    EarthScorpion rolled 11d10s7c10+3 = 7 <9; 1; 3; 1; 5; 6; 5; 10; 4; 9; 6> #Mademoiselle threats of violence - Night Horror Style 11 + 3 ExS
    EarthScorpion rolled 23d10s7c10 = 7 <6; 2; 1; 4; 6; 6; 5; 8; 6; 7; 3; 7; 7; 3; 7; 6; 3; 6; 10; 6; 2; 4; 6> #Graveyard Ballet Style from M shooting at the mercenary god
    EarthScorpion rolled 15d10s7c10 = 2 <1; 1; 1; 6; 4; 6; 3; 1; 1; 1; 3; 7; 2; 2; 8> #Mercenary god defence
    EarthScorpion: Mademoiselle - 5 advantages. She takes:
    • Blind him (5) - blinded, 3 injuries
    EarthScorpion rolled 9d10s7c10 = 5 <7; 9; 6; 10; 6; 2; 6; 9; 4> #Blinded god attack
    EarthScorpion rolled 14d10s7c10 = 9 <7; 4; 6; 8; 10; 2; 8; 3; 1; 9; 6; 10; 3; 7> #M defence against blind god
    EarthScorpion: Mademoiselle - 4 advantages on defence. She takes:
    • Throat Punch (2) - 1 injury
    • Groin Blow (2) - 1 Injury
    Aleph: ... ouch.
    Aleph: Physique 5 + Melee 5 + argh no Style + 2 stunt + 5 Calibration = 17, no Excellency expenditure this time in the hopes that her broken arm and lack of weapon are applying penalties.
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10 = 7 <7; 6; 7; 2; 6; 8; 8; 9; 3; 3; 1; 5; 6; 4; 8; 9; 4> #Plover Presses Her Advantage
    Aleph: Ugh. Guess I had to hit a below-average roll eventually.
    EarthScorpion rolled 13d10s7c10 = 9 <1; 7; 9; 3; 9; 6; 3; 8; 9; 7; 9; 9; 9> #Graceful Willow + 6 XD - 2 broken arm
    EarthScorpion: Goddess Wins, 2 advantages:
    • Mercenaries Call (Creates Tertiary Command of spectral followers, embodied as mercenaries of Gem) (2)
    Aleph: crap
    Aleph: ... but also good, yes, haha, this builds towards MAH GENIUS PLAN.
    Aleph: Is that her whole turn, or does she get an attack?
    EarthScorpion: Yeah, I'm just working out what to do.
    EarthScorpion rolled 22d10s7c10 = 14 <10; 9; 4; 2; 2; 7; 9; 2; 8; 3; 1; 7; 2; 9; 8; 7; 4; 6; 9; 8; 7; 9> #Raging Inferno Style + 6XD + Tert Command 3 + Stunt 2
    EarthScorpion: better roll your defence well :p
    Aleph: fuck
    EarthScorpion: Gem is most effective when telling people to kill people for it.
    Aleph: Hmm. Can I use Who Strikes The Wind here?
    EarthScorpion: I think here it's probably a thing where you can pay to cancel out Injuries, possibly one injury per turn.
    Aleph: Cool. Hmm.
    Aleph: Physique 5 + Melee 5 + 3 Peacock + 2 stunt + 5 Strigida + 5 Adorjan ExD {always in motion, unconsidered variable, purposeful chaos} = 25 (stunt incoming). Keris is going to second-stage anima, bringing her regen-per-turn up to 4m and hitting anyone near her with anima flux.
    Aleph: 5m spent, 4 regenned; Keris has spent 15 motes and regained 6 so far.
    Keris rolled 25d10s7c10 = 15 <9; 6; 8; 10; 7; 5; 7; 9; 4; 5; 1; 1; 4; 2; 10; 2; 6; 10; 4; 3; 9; 9; 4; 4; 10> #Plover Vs the Horde
    EarthScorpion: 1 threshold success for Keris (barely does it)
    • Instil (1) - the Mademoiselle gets an intimacy of Respect towards Keris
    • Press the advantage (1) - Keris has +1 to her next roll
    Aleph: ...
    Aleph: I'd like the +1, but I'm gonna go for the Respect Intimacy.
    EarthScorpion rolled 18d10s7c10 = 5 <10; 3; 1; 6; 6; 9; 9; 4; 5; 2; 4; 4; 1; 9; 5; 4; 4; 1> #Graveyard Ballet from M vs wounded god
    EarthScorpion rolled 13d10s7c10 = 6 <1; 1; 7; 4; 6; 3; 10; 1; 10; 1; 8; 3; 2> #Blinded god defence
    EarthScorpion rolled 10d10s7c10 = 2 <2; 1; 5; 7; 5; 5; 1; 1; 8; 3> #Blinded god attack
    EarthScorpion rolled 14d10s7c10 = 8 <10; 1; 1; 8; 2; 1; 4; 8; 10; 2; 9; 1; 3; 8> #M defence
    Aleph: Right, for turn 3 Keris is bringing out STRIGIDA WINGS to murder more mercenaries with.
    EarthScorpion: OK, that lets you use Strigda offensively.
    Aleph: 5+5+no style+2 stunt+5 Calibration+5 Strigida = 22.
    Keris rolled 22d10s7c10 = 10 <9; 2; 1; 9; 2; 4; 4; 2; 10; 10; 5; 7; 7; 4; 5; 4; 5; 2; 7; 4; 6; 9> #This Counts As White Reaper Style Training, Right?
    EarthScorpion rolled 18d10s7c10 = 8 <9; 6; 1; 1; 9; 3; 9; 5; 2; 2; 9; 9; 8; 5; 4; 1; 10; 5> #Graceful Willow + 6XD + Command 3
    EarthScorpion: 2 advantages for Keris:
    • Kill the summons (2)
    • Cut Scalp (1) - 1 Injury
    • Jar the Broken Arm (2) - 1 injury, -2 to next action
    • Green Sun Nimbus Flare (2) - 1 injury, +1 extra injury from Charm
    • Spiteful Sea Tincture (2) - 1 injury, poisoned kimmy hazard inflicted
    Aleph: Ugh, wish I'd gotten a couple more successes.
    Aleph: ... Kill the Summons.
    EarthScorpion rolled 17d10s7c10 = 5 <1; 7; 6; 7; 8; 9; 4; 5; 1; 3; 4; 6; 1; 6; 8; 2; 1> #Ahmaraan solving problems by throwing money at it (keris, keris is the problem), 6XD
    Aleph: 5+5+3 Peacock+2 stunt+5 Strigida = 17, she rolled low so I will risk not Excellencying. 4m regenned from anima in turn 3.
    Keris rolled 17d10s7c10 = 11 <8; 2; 10; 1; 2; 10; 4; 9; 7; 2; 7; 4; 4; 9; 7; 2; 9> #Wing Deflection (Into Spinning Slash)
    EarthScorpion: Keris successfully defends, 6 advantages from the defence:
    • Cut to midsection (4) - 2 injuries
    • Green Sun Nimbus Flare (2) - 1 + 1 Injuries
    • Spiteful Sea Tincture (2) - 1 Injury, Poisoned Hazard
    • Grappled (4) - Grappled opponent
    • Trip (1) - Knockdown opponent
    • Winding Blow 3 - 1 Injury, opponent can't make noise next round
    Aleph: Cut to Midsection + Spiteful Sea Tincture.
    EarthScorpion rolled 13d10s7c10+3 = 7 <1; 1; 1; 3; 3; 9; 9; 5; 1; 7; 9; 5; 4> #M intimidating all the other gods
    Aleph: Turn 4, not fucking around anymore; 5+5+no style+2 stunt+5 Calibration+5 Strigida = 22
    Keris rolled 22d10s7c10 = 9 <9; 5; 5; 10; 1; 8; 2; 2; 6; 6; 9; 2; 5; 7; 7; 5; 2; 8; 5; 4; 4; 9> #Coming In For The Kill
    EarthScorpion rolled 13d10s7c10 = 6 <3; 4; 8; 6; 6; 10; 8; 5; 5; 2; 7; 4; 9> #Graceful Willow defence with a broken arm
    EarthScorpion: 3 threshold
    • Ichor Flux Tendrils (3) - 0 injuries, create Secondary Command in combat
    • Grievous Green Sun Burn (3) - 3 injuries
    • Green Sun Nimbus Flare (2) - 1 injury, +1 extra injury from Charm
    • Battered By Flat of Blade (1) - 1 injury
    Aleph: Battered By Flat Of Blade + GSNF
    EarthScorpion rolled 6d10s7c10 = 5 <9; 6; 10; 4; 9; 9> #resisting poison
    EarthScorpion rolled 11d10s7c10 = 7 <10; 6; 8; 6; 1; 6; 10; 3; 10; 3; 6> #Silver-Tongued Merchant Style + 6 ExD - 4 pain - 2 poison
    EarthScorpion: That's vs Keris's Resolve. Any Principles apply?
    Aleph: Pay Each Man Back In Kind takes me up to 8. Too bad, Ahmaraan.
    EarthScorpion: OK, well, roll me Reaction + Subterfuge for you finding a hidden place in the sanctum that you can ritually profane for the spell (or are you going to do it somewhere else)?
    Aleph: Keris is planning to basically bar up Ahmaraan's personal rooms and do it there.
    Aleph: 5+5+3 Lurking Predator+2 stunt+5 Adorjan ExSux {inevitability that bad things happen, lays low the proud, balancing force of wickedness} = 15+5
    Keris rolled 15d10s7c10+5 = 11 <4; 9; 5; 1; 10; 9; 1; 6; 9; 2; 1; 3; 9; 6; 3> #Finding a Ritual Space
    EarthScorpion: OK, and roll me Cog + Occult to see if this works. She's a powerful enough spirit that if you fail the Sorcery roll she'll escape and reform later. :p
    Aleph: Alarming. Does my Esoteric Alchemy Librarium help?
    EarthScorpion: Let's say it gives you a +1.
    Aleph: 4+5+2 stunt+1 Esoteric Alchemy-3 exhaustion penalty+1 DRUGS autosux=9+1.
    Keris rolled 9d10s7c10+1 = 7 <8; 1; 10; 4; 6; 9; 8; 1; 8> #Sacrifice of the Crystallised Heart
    EarthScorpion: OK, base Resources 6 (e.g A1), Keris has the intimacy "Pay Each Man Back In Kind" which this kind of thing definitely falls under, and she was Valour 4, so that counts - so this gem is effectively Artefact 3.
    Aleph: fuckin' sweet
    EarthScorpion: And lastly, roll me Passing Off Blame for how you cover up your escape
    Aleph: 4+5+3 Mendaciloquent Maverick+2 stunt+9 Szoreny ExD {flashy and melodramatic, violent outburst, pin the blame} = 23 for "oh no a fire started in Ahmaraan's quarters and it all got burnt, maybe it was during the fighting, maybe it was all that pyreflame, definitely no demonic stuff being hidden here".
    Keris rolled 23d10s7c10 = 13 <5; 5; 8; 7; 8; 7; 3; 7; 3; 7; 9; 8; 8; 8; 3; 6; 3; 5; 6; 1; 10; 2; 8> #Passing Off Blame In Ahmaraan's Quarters
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  • Threadmarks
    • Honestly, the really good rolls on Ixy probably prevented more problems down the line than we can really appreciate. Not the least because it allows Keris the ability to focus on all the other problems she's dealing with, surprisingly few of which are her own fault.
     
    The single best move with Ixy was giving her an entire ready-made social circle made up entirely of competent minions with personalities calculated to make her like them, who she will feel responsible for and who have unbreakable social and magical ties to Keris. That's a far deeper set of hooks than Keris has managed with all her stratospheric social skills. Ixy is so untrusting and antisocial that she's very unlikely to reach out and make other friends, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want friendship, so she'll just get deeper and deeper ties to that pack of keruby- and as long as she's tied to them she's surrounded by a social environment where the overall opinion is firmly pro-Keris even if they end up probably more loyal to Ixy than to Keris herself, because solaroids are like that.
     
    CeBrudras said:
    Wow, that escalated a lot but was very fun. These prophecies are such a great tool to get Keris to just punch stuff every so often.
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    "I'm in complete control and can quit anytime I want", says woman who has beckoned an unbound Third Circle demon into Creation and murdered one of the Unconquered Sun's granddaughters on the advice of a blasphemous acausal book of demonic prophecies.
     
    Well, Keris now has an "It's Complicated" status with each type of Solaroid!

    She was also channelling Ney pretty hard there, which was great.
     
    Aleph said:
    "I'm in complete control and can quit anytime I want", says woman who has beckoned an unbound Third Circle demon into Creation and murdered one of the Unconquered Sun's granddaughters on the advice of a blasphemous acausal book of demonic prophecies.
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    I just love how the in-universe mechanics I came up for it have managed to get Aleph hooked out-of-character - oh, sure, she can quit any time she likes. And all that means is making the power of her growing collection of Cranes to do fuckery weaker, and meaning they stop being able to warn her of what's coming/show a path forwards that has a price, but maybe she won't be the one that pays it.
     
    So with Calibration chosen, completely understandable as it's both damn cool and the mysterious final item in a collectors set that Keris has already started, that raises the question.

    Gaia's Revengeance

    What makes it awesome enough to compete with Calibration?
     
    fitzgerald said:
    So with Calibration chosen, completely understandable as it's both damn cool and the mysterious final item in a collectors set that Keris has already started, that raises the question.

    Gaia's Revengeance

    What makes it awesome enough to compete with Calibration?
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    So, I can't tell you everything - far from it.

    But suffice to say, Gaia's Revengeance is old as fuck. It's a literal veteran of the war against the titans. And of countless wars against unjust authorities in the First Age. And of the Usurpation. And of wars against unjust authorities in the Shogunate. And of the Balorian Crusade. And rebellions galore in the Second Age. The damage it wears, the scars it bears - it earned every one of them honestly.

    It cut down a Third Circle in the war against the titans, and it was what scored the finishing blow on a Solar sorcerer who had turned their body to untarnishing, unaging gold, and their blood to orichalcum in the Usurpation. It is marked by the history of rebellion. Those who would consider themselves your masters, those who self-righteously proclaim themselves to be better than you, those who say their rule will never end; fear Gaia's Revengeance.
     
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    I haven't read the latest updates because I kind of want to read the Calesco side story but developed a random thought I had a little more. Just, have had some ideas about an alternate universe eviler Keris. Divergence happens around when Keris and Sasimana (sassy mama) find the Baisha. Salina doesn't turn up. Keris doesn't raise her compassion as high and Calesco forms around a different Principle (possibly a stronger Mortals are Fragile). Other developments. Eko modifies herself with Cecelyne instead of Elloge (her she focuses on geomancy/Temple-as-Body Style over alchemy). Haynel, unfortunately, might not survive her ordeal with Szoreny heartsap and be reborn as the darker version posted in this thread (only thought of that when working on this post). Keris still meets Ney but it doesn't end as well as it does in canon. They still part on okay terms but with less trust. Things would diverge more over time. Keris is actually somewhat loyal to the Unquestionable (somewhat). And Keris might not go through the flashback arc at the fae city place. Which means that stuff really starts to diverge from there on.
     
    Five Calibrations Pass - Late Air 776 New
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    • I swear we're not going to have three chapters per season for the rest of this year, honest.

    Anyway! Late Air 776 has happened. Keris is back in Saata, and has encountered several Fun And Interesting Things along the way. She's really starting to build out her roster of DB subordinates - and honestly, while she wasn't really getting complacent before now, some mix of what's happened recently - her ordeal on Ipithymia, getting medicated for her ADHD, having Mele around to support and encourage her in taking risks, getting a jolt of fear from the reminder that her position is always at risk from Iudicavisse, the looming pressure of the vote in less than two years... these things really have gotten her to start showing her teeth again and getting much more aggressive in Kerising. It'll be interesting to see how much further this will go.

    No normal extras per se, because a surprising amount of them were spoilery, but you can have this summary of what the Hui Cha have been doing that ES put together after some behind-the-scenes rolls:
    EarthScorpion: Rolling to see the internal ranking of the Hui Cha over the past year
    • Strong Ox (Pale Branch) - Base 8, +3 demonic blessing, +3 aid from the Ladies, -2 borrowed status, +3 wealth, -2 unmanly = 13
    • Jade Fox - Base 7, +2 stability , +1 loyalty, +2 wealth, +2 manly = 14
    • Lucky Wolf - Base 5, +4 Loyalty, -1 wealth, +2 manly = 10
    • Peaceful Wave - Base 7, +2 Mother in Law, +4 wealth, -1 unmanly = 12
    • Sea Eagle - Base 8, +2 wealth, -1 loyalty, +0 manly, +1 martial artists, +2 cunning = 12
    • Little River (Two Carp) - Base 11, -2 unmanly, -2 borrowed status, +6 demonic power and pacts = 13
    EarthScorpion: These numbers were basically just rattled out as ballparks, but it's interesting just how well the "gut-feeling" of the power here works out to basically describe their current internal status.
    Aleph: Heh. Hmm. Interesting that Jade Fox is in the lead, despite Zanara subverting his men
    Aleph: Or I guess maybe that's why Zanara went for him.
    EarthScorpion: These are the 775 results, yeah, I thought I'd see if any interesting narrative came out of their jockeying.


    Hui Cha - 775 aftermath
    OK, so over the course of 775, Jade Fox's status has continued to rise. Between his loyal men, his role as the reactionary centre of patriarchy, and his assertive power, he's now notably dominant among the blue sea masters. His red sails are doing well and more of the second tier men are swearing allegiance to him. More than that, it's also a mark of a patriarchal backlash against the way things are going in the Hui Cha. Men who are feeling disempowered by relying overly on their wives and being treated as armed insurance agents back him, because he feels like things "should" be - reinforced by his status as the father-in-law of actual Tengese nobles. He's almost-respectable, and can wield the old ways as a banner for men to rally around.

    That's not to say everything is going his own way. Pale Branch - wielding the borrowed authority of her still-surviving husband - is holding her own, even if Strong Ox's authority is notably declined from where it once was. More and more people are judging her as the one making the decisions, and the old man seldom comes to council anymore. Little River and Pale Branch are keeping him alive, but his mind is gone and it's an open secret among the Hui Cha. Still, the fact that Pale Branch depicts herself as a respectable woman and mother who's caring for her husband's affairs until her son comes of age means she isn't alienating people.

    Quite unlike Two Carp, who is Little River's second in matters of the council since the Golden Crown went on another of her trips, who is definitely a divisive figure. She's terrifying and not-quite-right, a teenage girl who wields power like a red sail, who makes assassins disappear, who does messy things in dark places to take down people who threaten the Hui Cha and her mistress Little River, who she is terrifyingly devoted to. Little River might not be rich compared to the blues sea masters, but Two Carp is making it increasingly clear - she is not like them.

    Sea Eagle is the wildcard. Sometimes he sides with the two women, sometimes he sides with Jade Fox, sometimes he makes his own cause and sees who'll side with him. His wispy beard is getting longer, his martial arts schools are developing further, and his favoured daughter is taking advantage of the social space opened for her to support him - and sometimes opposes the trailblazing women. Meanwhile, Lucky Wolf might not be thriving, but he's getting by - and getting by a lot more reasonably than in previous years. He's managed to get his ships into some stable trading contacts, and the loyalty of his men has only intensified now that he can afford once again to engage in some of his lavish displays of generosity to his people.

    And last is Peaceful Wave, who is not doing well. The Delikado March contracts they lost due to the clash with the Dhul republic have hurt his cashflow badly, and worse, the influence of his mother-in-law is waning. Two Carp has muscled in on some of the space she used to take, and some of her backers have declined due to peculiar and seldom spoke about reasons. Peaceful Wave always held his position here more due to his money rather than his achievements, and now that his business position is hurting and his mother in law can't cover for her daughter's weaknesses as well, his star has taken a sudden fall.
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