Week 4: April 12th - 19th April

I suppose you could if your sensors were sensitive enough. Even Desolates have elemental energy, just not a lot of it.

The hour of preparation approaches and the sound of dice rolling fills the air as the random weather table is rolled and... it is pouring rain, though not too windy, today.

Any chance it will let up within an acceptable time frame? I just need an hour or two. Though that brings up an interesting question. How advanced is meteorology in your setting? Usually I'd just ask a druid or someone able to predict the future to a limited degree (one time my friend's sorcerer was adept at reading the stars which was super cool and flavorful for the setting) but I'm not sure how that works here.

The meteorology of this setting is actually extremely limited. For the interests of information I'll tell you what the dice already told me; It will be pouring rain all day, so sayeth the dice. It's not bucket-storming, but it is a decently heavy rain.

Hmm, that puts a damper on things then. Sigh. Is there any way to get them to wait a day? I really don't want to do the alternative plan.

The dice decree that the rain ceases in the middle of the night, leaving the next day clear.

*cracks fingers*

I counted. This was 58 separate dice rolls. lol.

Kolson went forward with his Lances, firing his custom elemental spraying arrows all over the place at significant range, keeping track of things closely. Initially there is absolutely no response, which makes all the Lances very nervous... usually a lack of response puts people on edge more than the immediate response. After a good 20 seconds another volley is fired, and this one provokes an immediate reaction; even before the arrows have been in the air for a few seconds the telltale sound of tearing air in the distance hits everyone's ears, and Kolson (no fool) immediately pulls back along with his various Lances. They run full tilt in reverse, mostly getting away before the first blast hits. This is a full tilt bombardment, leveling a fairly large area near where the initial arrows had landed. The bombardment lasts for a couple minutes before stilling, and the operation continues to pursue the secondary objective. Having proven that the artillery will respond to the arrows, some shots are fired in different directions while a few of the Rangefinder Lances lunge forward at full tilt, wielding their custom Woven trackers. The response is the expected one, resulting in another bombardment in the area where the elemental arrows hit... but no shots towards the team. Two of the Lances withdraw as soon as the sound of incoming fire is heard, the last one stays behind to track and in the hope that the shots will be solely in the arrows area. However, in the middle of the bombardment a single blast hits where the final Lance had been a few seconds prior, sending both flying and knocking both troops unconscious. This leaves Kolson with a choice to make.

Since I don't leave my men to die it's an easy choice to make. With no hesitation I'll order the fastest fellow near me to help me bring them back and order the rest to cover us while we do so.

*crosses fingers*

Kolson and his nearest, fastest trooper to lunge forward to grab the unconscious soldiers and pick them up as the others fire more elemental arrows in another direction, inciting even more bombardments. Knowing that one single shot is likely coming, Kolson and his troop book it as fast as they can away, but can't move quite fast enough to avoid the shot they hear coming as it nails the area they crossed the Line at (assuming of course they wouldn't go straight in and out since that'd be suicide) and sends both of them flying. Kolson... rolls well enough to survive but loses consciousness.

He wakes up several hours later under the care of several White Mages who are treating him and the three other troopers. He learns in short order that the Rangefinders did in fact do their job, though the calculations are hardly exact but near as they can tell the shots came from roughly 200 miles away from the southeast direction, probably placing them around the Major City of Dryreach itself.

Not very long after the Lady Floralwind wishes to debrief Kolson on the situation, wanting to know his thoughts and results from the exercise.

"Plasma cannon shots from Dryreach are stupid and I hate them." It's always good to start with a self-depreciating joke by way of hello. "The amount of energy required to move something that distance within 2 to 3 seconds has to be enormous. Like ley line enormous. Frelling Scion tech!"

Kolson coughs deeply before going quiet for a time, pondering what the take away is. When he finally answers again he is 100% serious. "You have an impossible job and not enough support to do it. I'm not even sure everyone on the continent working together could do it and we aren't anywhere close to that. But my little toys did work so there's that.

With help from your men, we were able to modify arrows to project elemental energy equivalent to the average person, project loud sounds, and to project a strobe light effect. My plan hinged on them scanning multiple channels--elemental, sound, movement, etc.--but only a few at a time. By engaging them on multiple fronts at once, we were able to provoke a predictable response. Use it well, Lady, and remember me fondly when the time comes. I won't forget the lesson you taught me here today."

The Lady tells Kolson she will consider his analysis in her calculations and is preparing to leave when she pauses a moment. About a second later Kolson feels it too... a familiar tingling at the back of his spine. Someone screams outside, and mere moments later the Spacial Ley Line's explosive shockwave slams into the barracks. Fortunately no one in the immediate vicinity was actively Weaving, but it still does considerable damage to all present and sends a few soldiers into comas from injuries.

Kolson overhears several conversations he probably was not meant to which he can extrapolate on to infer that, at least here in Lytlethorpe, the standing theory is that the Ley Line explosions are being done deliberately by one of the Nations (the popular theory is Stonehold) to destabilize the continent and make it ripe for conquest.

Kolson will file that info away for later but will otherwise keep his mouth shut. It's not like he has proof of the truth beyond his own word anyway.

Not to rush anyone in any way whatsoever, but just reminding i posted my actions in page 3. Just in case it might've gotten lost or buried amidst all that's happened.

K wrote:Well, i can't think of any way to figure out what came from where unless we started marking our money right now, and that'd take too long even if it weren't impractical.

Regardless, do have access to someone with the ability to scan?

If so, i'll get some of my gold switched into part copper and silver, pick one target, make sure i get some alone time with his possessions and switch my money with his, then get his/her money scanned and see if what we can figure out.

If not, i'll plant some false information that'll lure the rats into selling it off, shadow one of them and see what i can glean.


Either way is imperfect and limited, but i can only do this one suspect at a time. The rest of my previous post applies.


Also, allow me to suggest we start paying people all in the same coin. Make it mighty easier next time we have to do this.

We will handwave Higaide finding a Yellow Mage willing to do some Scans.

Higaide has no real trouble finding several people's 'routes' of being bought off via his methods, thanks to some surprisingly high rolls. He finds a bunch of more or less meaningless information... a few dozen local groups in Holtburg itself who are paying refugees in general for any information they have on goings on in the city (purchasing information like this is actually quite common), but he does find one odd thing. At least one of the people is actually being bought off to sell information... to someone else in the Exchange, who is a longer-standing member, someone who's been around since before the Humans even arrived in the metropolis. This particular individual, an Elf, is actually one of the most effective and renowned spies in Zeiss' new spy network.

Is Higaide going to tell me about this?

Assuming that means this guy's a traitor, tell me. Don't go straight to Zeiss. This guy will get wind of it and take off. You come straight to me and we'll go get him together, take all his stuff and throw him in a cell. Then we can kill him or exile him when Zeiss returns.

That's a fair point.

Higaide will decide.

We could confront him and cut the leak off then and there, or we could keep following the trail and see who he works for or what his agenda is. It may require more than Higaide's skills, though, and if the spy catches wind of what we're doing, he'll bail, and we won't be able to interrogate him.

This is getting more and more into the high-risk, high-reward territory, and concerns the whole exchange, so though i understand Rory's approach to this, i think Zeiss should at least be in the loop. Obviously, i'll report this to both of you as ultra-quietly as possible.

The first thing to decide is whether we cut our losses (and potential reward) here and catch him now, or let the guy swim and try to trick him into showing us who his bosses are (which are bound to be big, considering).


Arch, once Higaide, Zeiss and Rory convene, we should have enough knowledge about the person in question to form a rough profile, no? I'm especially interested in whether he seems like the kind of person who would crack under pressure.

He is, as I said, one of the best spies in your employ. The odds of him cracking under pressure are low.

Figured as much. Just wanted to make sure.

Well guys, this is something too important not to be decided as a group, i think. I'm for keeping up the spy game and try to make him trip and show us where the ladder goes. What say you?

Player convening
I say that if we can't convince him nicely, incentivize his exclusive loyalty to the Exchange, or address whatever grievances he may have with our organization, we kill him. He's to dangerous to leave alive, and we're not masters of 'the game', and we sure as hell don't torture people(for real, anyway). We can have Zeiss replace him, and if that ladder tries again with someone who might crack more easily(hopefully not the replacement), we can try again.

However, the fact that you were able to draw a connection leading us to this traitor means there must be some lead related to that discovery that you haven't noticed before. I would try focusing on that once we have him, assuming we can't get him to open up. If it went cold or doesn't exist, no big deal. Get information from people who would be able to tell or otherwise make a note of whom he meets, who his friends are outside the Exchange, where he goes, etc.

I very much doubt we can convince him nicely, and i very much doubt he'll crack. I was gonna post one of those "there's a lot of variables for both sides of the argument" posts that i do - and there are, but i'll let Zeiss weigh in before i say any more, i think.

We capture him. I cannot let him roam free while I'm planning to bring the Aristocrats down.

Looks like that's that, then.

We'll need to do it quick and quiet, and have all his belongings scanned as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Soon as his employers know what happened, they'll either go to ground or get a backup in place... which might possibly give us some leverage, if we play our cards right.

I'd like to interrogate him, if no one objects, and i'd like to have someone with high Deception in the room with me *looks at Zeiss*.

We'll try to bring him into an unused part of the Veil without making any fuss. If he resists, or tries to Exit away (or translate), Advoc will use Pillar of Light on him.

I suggest you make a post with all the questions you would like to ask him to save some time. I also suspect he's the one responsible for having Sareth kidnapped, so ask him about that please. If you don't want to, I'll do it.

*goes back to play with butterflies*