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Mare Internum: An Exalted Quest

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She might have a kid's crush on Rooster. Or maybe she's just nervous about having a huge guy in the tent.
 
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For A Better World 65
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    • 1337Procrast said:
    [X] I'll keep an eye out later, we've got stuff to look through.
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    "I'll keep an eye out later, we've got stuff to look through."

    CINNAMON: "Ah! Yes, of course, I didn't mean to- uh, yes, please continue."

    INTEGRITY: She wants to see what's in the chest.

    "You're welcome to watch, it's your tent."

    CINNAMON "Thank you, magis- er, Vesper. It's actually captain Logris' tent, but I do sleep here."

    She pours the tea. Rooster holds his cup delicately between his enormous thumb and forefinger.

    You pop open the chest. As before, it slides open smoothly with a hiss of air that bespeaks excellent craftsmanship.

    ROOSTER: "Ooh, mysterious packages!"

    What should you look at first?

    [ ] Pick the plain wooden box.
    [ ] Pick the small paper package.
    [ ] Pick the unmarked clay jar.
    [ ] Pick the wax-stoppered horn.
    [ ] Pick the scroll tube.
     
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    • For A Better World 66
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    • Elero said:
    [X] Pick the plain wooden box.
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    You reach for the wooden box. It's a case of unvarnished wooden boards held together with thin metal bands. A pair of simple twist clasps keep it closed. It takes up half of the space at the bottom layer of the chest.

    Upon attempting to pick it up, your first thought is that it is somehow stuck to the bottom of the chest. Upon a second attempt, you realize it's just really heavy. You estimate that more than half of the weight of the chest is actually just this box now that the gambeson has been removed.

    ROOSTER: "Do you need a hand?"

    "No no, I've got it."

    You haul the box out of the chest and drop it the last few inches onto the fabric-covered ground. The clasps pop open from the impact.

    Inside is a milky off-white gleam. Snug against the thick wooden boards are four long bars of white jade bigger than your forearm, each graven with the complex mon of the imperial treasury.

    All three of you stare at it for a long moment.

    SAGACITY: NORMAL
    2 2
    CHECK FAILED

    SAGACITY: That's money.

    How much money?

    SAGACITY: A whole box of money.

    "I don't know how much money this is."

    ROOSTER: "It's a lot of money."

    "How much money?"

    He thinks.

    ROOSTER: "It's half an imperial talent. That's... wait, I need to remember my lessons."

    He stops and thinks for a moment.

    ROOSTER: "That's about ten times as much as my parents' bakery has made during my entire life. That's Dynast money. I thought magistrates weren't meant to have any wealth?"

    "Maybe I'm not a very good magistrate."

    CINNAMON: "Ah, Vesper, this is, er, about as much as Captain Usamir gets as a stipend from House Peleps in a year."

    "How do you know that?"

    CINNAMON: "I used to help with his household finances."

    AWARENESS: So she was Usamir's servant?

    EMBASSY: That makes sense. Logris said you and she were the only survivors of the Kazudaris. Cinnamon must be one of Usamir's servants who is 'on loan' to his cousin.

    "So... what should I do with it?"

    Cinnamon shrugs.

    ROOSTER: "Bury it? I don't know. There's not a lot of places that will take jade bars as currency around here."

    PHYSIQUE: They are very heavy. Maybe you could use them as training weights. Or hit people with them.

    [ ] I want to talk about this box of jade some more.
    [ ] Let's look at the small paper package.
    [ ] Let's look at the unmarked clay jar.
    [ ] Let's look at the wax-stoppered horn.
    [ ] Let's look at the scroll tube.
     
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    • For A Better World 67
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    • glyph said:
    [X] Let's look at the wax-stoppered horn.
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    "Alright, let's try our next mystery box. Maybe this one will be full of starmetal."

    You pick up the horn. It's from something big, maybe a buffalo of some sort, engraved with geometric patterns and paneled with black lacquer. The stopper is coated with unadorned red wax. There is no indication of its contents.

    ROOSTER: "Want me to open it?"

    You consider the logistics of opening the thing one handed and decide against it.

    "Yes please."

    He sets his tea down, you pass him the horn. He holds the stopper gently between his fingers and twists it free.

    You sip at your own tea as he frowns in confusion at the contents of the horn.

    ROOSTER: "I have no idea what this is. Some sort of medicine?"

    "Let's see."

    You set your tea down and he passes it back to you.

    The horn holds a pinkish powder. On closer inspection, it's a sparkling white powder flecked with slightly coarser grains of brick red.

    You stare at it.

    INTEGRITY: This is cocaine laced with firedust.

    What's firedust?

    SAGACITY: Firedust is a naturally occuring resource harvested from the far Southern deserts. It is a powerful incendiary and accelerant. Some cuisines use it in minute portions as a spice.

    "Huh."

    Rooster and Cinnamon look at you expectantly.

    [ ] Tell them it's cocaine laced with firedust.
    [ ] Say you don't know what it is.
    [ ] Make something up.
     
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    • [q] whatever it is, at least it's not drugs
    -[q] and, again whatever it is, it's DEFINITELY not cocaine laced with firedust
     
    For A Better World 68
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    • Krecart said:
    [X] Tell them it's cocaine laced with firedust.
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    "This is cocaine laced with firedust."

    There is a long silence.

    CINNAMON: "Uh, why do you have that?"

    SAGACITY: VERY DIFFICULT
    4 4
    CHECK PASSED

    SAGACITY: Snorting firedust is not medically advised.

    Why not?

    SAGACITY: Firedust is a minor irritant when not ignited. It will cause inflammation of the nasal cavity, coughing and shortness of breath. The coarseness of the grain will also cause microperforations and nosebleeds. And intense pain.

    Why is it in here, then?

    SAGACITY: In the bloodstream, firedust acts as a potent adrenergic agonist to greatly increase blood pressure, heartbeat, breathing rate and pupil dilation. This has a force multiplying effect with the stimulant properties of cocaine, causing a more intense high. Moreover, as an Exalt you are able to more easily survive and recover from the subsequent health issues.

    INTEGRITY: The poison will not kill you, but it will make you feel alive.

    "Uh, I think it makes the cocaine taste better."

    Rooster and Cinnamon stare at you.

    Very slowly, without breaking eye contact, Rooster reaches over and pushes the stopper back onto the top of the horn.

    ROOSTER: "Let's look at something else."

    [ ] Actually, I want to talk about my jade.
    [ ] Can we talk about this cocaine some more?
    [ ] Let's look at the small paper package.
    [ ] Let's look at the unmarked clay jar.
    [ ] Let's look at the scroll tube.
     
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