LogAn Age of High Adventure-Jason-3

Game log for the 2022/05/22 session of An Age of High Adventure, as taken by Jason

Oracles: Next of Vipers

• 10C A devil of the lower air, malicious and full of pranks.
• 2H A conjurer who needs blood to entice his uncouth spirits.
• 8D A ghoulish eater of dead flesh, driven by unusual lusts.
• 5C The young mother of a baby prince, whose husband the king has been overthrown and put to death.

Hediyeh, first on the owe list, will be the conjurer. Played by Gary. Has a mutually beneficial relationship with Mussarra the ghoul. Mother Ninsunu Player by Jason. Kiana - assassin seeking the prince's death. Played by Lisa. Aram, the devil of the lower air, played by Tim

Best interests:

• Kiana (Lisa)
  • the child must die.
  • Get paid
• Ninsunu (Jason)
  • The child must live
  • Enlist allies
• Hediyeh (Gary)
  • Gain magical power
  • Secure powerful favors
• Aram (Tim)
  • Maintain independence
  • Preserve disorder
• Mussarra the ghoul (Joe)
  • Eat (preferably liver)
  • Cultivate a feeding ground

Ninsunnu has fled the capital after the king of Shem was overthrown, and has arrived in Eruk, where conflict continues and she might find aid. The new regime, the Triumvirate, pursues. The Triumvirate is a union the ecclesiarchy, the guilds, and the nobility, which finally came together to kill the old king. Eruk has no open warfare in the streets, but murder by night is a daily event. Tales have begun to spread of a Stygian sorceress for hire. Hediyeh is renting a room above a butcher's shop, and feeding Mussarra all the livers she can find.

Ninsunnu already dodged two assassination attempts on the rode to Eruk. She's only just arrived, and Kiana is already following. We open with her in an alley, following a trail of blood in a gutter toward the butcher shop where the sorceress stays. She arrives and finds a rickety staircase going up the building. When she knocks, Mussarra ducks out of sight. Ninsunnu looks like an upper-class refugee, Hediyeh looks like an older-woman who's seen too much of the world's shit, with short hair that's still longer than normal for a Stygian. Ninsunnu can smell something sickly and rotten, even above the stench of the butcher's shop.

Ninsunnu and Hediyeh negotiate swiftly and conclude that Hediyeh will help put His Majesty back on the throne, and in exchange, the bodies of the King's enemies will be placed at the sorceress' disposal, while they let live. Hediyeh knows that Baron Karob supports the Triumvirate and has many men at his disposal, and also that Baron Rakul, who has interests with the guilds and has access to great wealth, remains loyal to the King. They lead their respective factions.

Kiana seeks entry to Eruk as a peddler. The guards are searching everyone before letting them in. There are a couple dead bodies right outside the gate. She decides to befriend a family she sees and see if she can ride their wagon into the city. They allow it, but the family tells the guard that she's just a cripple they picked up, so the guard's determined to interrogate her. She tries to make her story work, but when he grabs her arm and realizes she has muscle under there, he realizes she's lying and refuses to let her in. She eventually finds a way in, but all her equipment and tools are gone.

Hediyeh knows of a tavern owner, for whom she once banished a spirit. He owes her and might welcome a chance to discharge the debt. The Inn of the Red Salamander is busy and people can move in or out easily. Hediyeh leads her new friends there. Aram recognizes her the moment she enters, though he does not react immediately.

The tavern owner is indeed willing to do Hediyeh a solid, so one room for one night for Nunsunu can be arranged. He leads woman and babe into his residence. Once they are settled, Hediyeh does to find Baron Rakul.

Aram decides to encourage the tavern keeper to think about shaking Nunsunu down. Nunsunu goes along with the shakedown and gives him one of her rings, but cautions him that if he is false to her, he is false to Hediyeh, and the price of that betrayal cannot be evaded. A fight breaks out downstairs, the owner goes to deal with it, and Aram moves on.

Hediyeh visits the Baron, who agrees to see her. They sit down at opposite ends of a very large table. He confirms that he remains loyal to Prince Nikanuur. When Hediyeh mentions she can arrange an audience, she gets his full attention. As a loyal subject, he obviously cannot but do his duty. However, his residence is subject to surveillance and periodic attack. She offers to help get the Queen to the residence, and takes a liver to go.

Mussarra has been shadowing Hediyeh and immediately goes to grab the liver. He's been aware of Aram moving about the city, but happier avoiding him. Hediyeh asks Mussarra to find a fresh subject, a healthy one. He goes looking to find one, but the red light district where he chose to hunt is busier than he expected. He's moving from rooftop to rooftop, hoping to find the right people in the right alley. He finds a likely candidate, pounces from the rooftops, and knocks his victim flat on his ass. Mussarra begins kicking him while he's down. He gets up and pulls a sword, but he throws the girl an elbow to the jaw that KOs her, grabs her, and springs back up to the rooftop. Mission accomplished!

Aram goes to Baron Karob, and gains an audience. (He presents as a guildsman and organizer of caravans, and thus, a person of some worth.) He tells the Baron tha more unrest may be coming to the city soon, because the dowager Queen is reported to be in town. Aram does admit he didn't lay eyes on the Queen personally, he's just reporting rumor. The Baron wants proof. Aram tries to convince him to move before he has proof. A little flattery and the Baron decides it's time to send men out to look for proof.

Kiana notices right away that the streets are full of armed men. They're searching building.

When they come to search the Red Salamander, the owner rushes in and tells Nunsunu to hide in the wardrobe and not come out no matter what. Hediyeh starts casting a spell to make the Queen look like the sex worker and vice-versa. The tavern keeper, loyal to his Queen, distracts the thugs with a quick tour and a lot of beer. At one point the baby King starts crying, and when she goes to give him the breast, Nunsunu realizes she looks like someone else. Hediyeh's spell has worked.

When Hediyeh visits the Red Salamander, the owner is very glad to see her. She tells him that she'll move his guests along real soon. Hediyeh gets the royal family on the move. Kiana starts trying to look for the Queen, with Mussarra shadowing her. He sees her and tosses a roof tile into the puddle near her. The noise gets everyone looking at her, spoiling her attempt at stealth. The Queen and Prince move uninterrupted through the city.

Aram starts walking through the streets, encouraging the townsfolk to resent the behavior of the Baron's men. A riot starts! Hediyeh and the Queen try to avoid the areas where the fuss is going down. Luckily they are able to avoid the fighting and stick to the quieter back roads. Unfortunately, some of the Triumvirate men have cordoned off Rakul's place. One of the guards tries to search the Queen, but Nunsunu gives him a proposition so revolting, so utterly at odds with the baby on her hip, that he's disgusted and just tells her to get the hell away. Later, the guards discover a dead woman who looks an awful lot like the Queen, missing a liver.

The guards let Hediyeh and her sex worker friend in to see the Baron. Nunsunu asks if Hediyeh would please drop the spell, and is not charmed to hear that it doesn't work that way. It will go away on its own at some point. The Queen, though not visibly herself, displays the royal signet, and that's sufficient to obtain Baron Rakul's cooperation.

Kiana works her way over the walls, trying to infiltrate and get to her quarry. She gets spotted and the alarm goes up. The Queen and Baron are mid-conversation, exchanging pleasantries, when suddenly things get a lot more exciting. A guard rushes in to warn them of intruders. Kiana takes a glancing blow from a spear as she tries to work her way in, and is now in a chase with the guards, hoping to outrace or outfight them to wherever the Prince is.

She bursts in, unarmed, to find the Queen, the Baron, and the Prince at the table. She grabs a knife from Hediyeh's place setting, punching the sorceress as she goes, and rushes for the Prince, whereas all manner of guards rush to interpose. Kiana throws her knife at the Prince, the Queen tries to shield him, and goes ass-over-teakettle at the last minute. The knife hits the Baron's chair, and Kiana has to run for her life, escaping into the night, exhausted.

The fighting in the city explodes into civil war... but that is a tale for another day.