Sapphire:Sessions:20161022
Shawna informs the high priestess of Santash of the evil cult she and her companions had fought in Digger's Vale.
Two of Rory's Kids trot up to Chalker to inform him that Spirit of Many has made port. The Copper King is overseeing offloading and warehousing of the ship's cargo. Chalker sends the kids off with a message to request that Rory and Captain Torr join him at the embassy later on.
Ahn-Lee, in disguise, emerges from the Temple of Zeph. He relates that he had killed a male vampire that came from a bale who was operating as a rogue assassin. Of the five people who had accompanied Ahn-Lee, three of them are dead. Ahn-Lee assures Chalker and Shawna that the vampire had been beheaded.
The group takes their usual table at the busy Boar's Head. Chalker to Sybonne: "I hope you've reconsidered your quest for these icons." Sybonne: "Yes, I have." Chalker: "Now that we have them all, I'm kind of fuzzy on what we want to do, or how we activate them." Shawna: "Since it's never been done before, we'll just make it happen." Branamin: "Is this something we want to discuss right here at this table?" Everyone else: "No."
The group converges on Branamin's lab, where Trace joins them. Trace says the eagle is "active" and the scarecrow is "altered". The eagle seems to represent a magic/militaristic plane.
The First Chosen Roo appears and Branamin asks her, "Will you show us how?" and Roo replies "No." Shawna: "I await... but not long."
Ahn-Lee hands Chalker a list of 20 bale names representing 10 sets of twins. Chalker briefly summarizes his experiences in Yavelin (now called Caladon), a country once enslaved by bales. Chalker and his companions had sparked the rebellion that united the humans and goblins of Barshar City to liberate themselves from the bales.
Branamin has prepared his lab so that the icons can be safely hidden there. Shawna emphasizes that everyone else who is pursuing the icons will know they are in Sapphire. Shawna will sleep in Branamin's lab tonight. Chalker and Sung go to the embassy where Rory and Captain Torr await.
On his way to his own quarters, Ahn-Lee doubles back and confronts a young man, Terry Coleson, who claims he is looking for someone to help him. "This professor at the University needs to go away." Suddenly Terry faints and Ahn-Lee feels a chill.
Shawna dreams of legions of armored troops passing in review, a "glorious, impressive sight."
The next morning, Feast Time 30, Shawna remains asleep while Branamin goes to the market for fresh bread and butter. He returns and leaves some of the food for Shawna's breakfast, then goes back out to help sick and crippled people.
Chalker has breakfast with Sybonne and Sung. Chalker: "I'm sure we're going to be attacked today. Sung, you get to stay with me." Sybonne can anticipate attacks and has "minor" offensive and defensive spells, so Chalker tells her, "You're gonna practice on the job." He presents her with a sheathed silver knife. "You have one week to prove that you're needed here, or I'm going to put you on my ship and you'll be Ship's Mage. I prefer to keep you where I can watch you. Last night we were in the presence of all the First Chosen."
Chalker visits the temple of Sooth, where he is told "We indulge you too much." Chalker: "The First Chosen we don't think about are the most influential. You all have things to say. ... Who is your consort?" The avatar won't answer.
Ahn-Lee finds "Terry the idiot" among a group of other youths. Terry is excitedly telling the others, "I almost got killed last night! He knocked me out!" Ahn-Lee notices non-verbal components to the conversation. They never name the professor that they want killed.
Ahn-Lee follows Terry to another hangout and sits beside him, saying "I heard you were looking for me." "I thought I might hire you... but I decided not to." "Explain the gaps in your conversation." "We can sometimes share our surface thoughts, not reliably... In the intensity of the moment, I touched the surface of your mind... that's how we know the professor hates us and is out to get us."
A man (around 5'10", age 30s-40s, light brown skin) wearing fine merchant-class clothes and carrying a quarterstaff, comes looking for Chalker on "a matter of importance." He gives his name as Jule Sanders. Chalker quickly sizes up his aura: some psi ability, slight Magery, has done some "not good" things, has been in the presence of demons.
Jule: "Some very dangerous items were stolen from my employer a long time ago. It gets confusing because I've met several wizards of this world who seem to move up and down the timeline." Chalker: "Have you met him in another timeline?" Jule: "No." Chalker: "Then that's fine." Jule: "I did meet somebody called Danilon, and another person called Simon, and another person called Britt, and, briefly, something happened with somebody called The Gray... I'm not sure, it gets all confusing." Chalker: "Well, Danilon is not moving in any timeline anymore. Don't worry about him." Jule: "I lose track of when that was... that was centuries and centuries in the past." Chalker: "But Danilon was able to move up to..." Jule, interrupting: "But anyway, they were stolen, and I've been trying to track them down."
Chalker: "What are these items called? Let's not go with 'items'. Why don't you just call them what they are?" Jule: "Ashars." Chalker: "Ashars. What do the ashars look like?" Jule: "Well, they're usually small, carved statues..." Chalker: "Ah. Icons." Jule: "Yeah, they call them 'icons' a lot. Yeah. Icons." Jule: "And they're all different shapes. They were all carved by the same man, I'm given to understand."
Branamin creates an image of a granite gargoyle. "Like this?" Jule: "No no no no, not quite like that... Whoever carved... I... I'm trying to find them, so I can return them to my employer." Chalker: "And how are you going to do that?" Jule: "Well. There's a, uh, pickup point, that's, well... This is the capital of this place, right? Sapphire, of the Calventine Empire?" Chalker: "Correct..." Jule: "I mean, I've been on the road for a couple of weeks..."
Chalker: "Where are you from? What city are you from?" Jule: "The city? Uh, Bernhid... I think that's the way to pronounce it here. Bernhid, in the Isle of Corsica." Chalker: "Okay. You didn't answer my question, though." Jule: "Which question? ... Oh, well, I hooked up with a caravan coming out of Verdai, which is down towards the mountains south of here. In the mountains there, there's a, a couple of doorways that... I have a device that will create and use a portal and redirect it to another plane, er, dimension, uh... what do you call them here?" Chalker: "'Plane' is fine." Jule: "And that was my entry point. Then I went down towards the border..."
Chalker: "I don't think you understand my question." Jule: "No, what's your question?" Chalker: "My question is -- how do you plan on getting these items?" Jule: "Well, I'm gonna let you know that they're stolen property and I'll return them to the rightful owner, of course!" Chalker: "If they don't want to return them, what is your next move?" Jule: "Well, of course I go back to my employer and report it, where I think they were..."
"Well, actually, I have this thing that lets me track them, too, by the way." Branamin: "Can I see it? How does it work?" Jule reaches into a bag and brings out a smooth, shiny gray rock. Branamin can tell the rock has magic on it. Chalker: "So you use that to track them." Jule: "Yeah, and also, you've handled a lot of them, because this, this just, I mean..." Jule stares at the rock, which glows in response. Jule: "It's like you got the residue all over you. If it were actually on you, I think it would light up."
Chalker: "What if I told you... Let me see if you understand this word. You listening?" Jule: "Yes." Chalker, distinctly: "No." Jule: "You're not going to return the stolen property, let me take it back to the owner? Oh! If you want to take it back yourself and get the reward, I, uh, that's fine...." Chalker, deliberately: "I said 'no'. So why don't you... go... before I become... upset?" Jule: "I don't want to upset you. I really don't." Nervously, Jule drops the gray rock, lets go of his staff (which stays upright), then quickly scoops up the rock returns it to his bag.
Chalker: "Who are your employers? Do they have names?" Jule: "Yes! It's the, uh, College Januserus." Chalker: "And why should we believe these 'items' are owned by College Januserus? Why should we honor this claim?" Jule: "Well, there's some features I could describe to you that are on every one of them." Chalker and Branamin: "Such as?" Jule: "Well, first off, obviously they were all carved by the same person. I could draw you a sketch of the style. Second, they have a small 'JC' carved on them...." Chalker: "What does JC stand for?" Jule: "I think it stands for... I think it's the initials of the one who carved them. I don't know exactly who that was. They didn't tell me." (Branamin, in looking for activation runes on the icons, had noted the 'JC' but those don't appear to be runes of power.) Chalker: "As far as we know, they belong to JC." Jule: "Well, he carved them for them, for the college, and they're the ones they were stolen from. They didn't give me the details. I'm just one of many they sent out, to many different planes, to look for them. And I've been looking for these things, going up and down this timeline, I think I've covered at least a thousand years of your history."
Chalker: "We don't recognize this claim." Jule: "When I go tell them this... what would they have to bring to prove they are the owners they were stolen from?" (Ahn-Lee: "A good-sized army.") Chalker: "I don't know you, I don't know them, and as far as I know, we're going to go with, what's the term, 'finders keepers, losers weepers'. Do you understand?" Jule: "They'll pay a reward! I'm sure it'll be quite... you'll be quite happy..." Chalker: "Do we look like we need a reward?" Jule: "Well, actually, this house looks quite impressive. And you're dressed fairly nicely...."
Branamin: "Sir, I believe you are being genuine with us. But we feel like we should protect these. So for whatever reason, we cannot return them." Jule looks disappointed. Chalker: "And... we don't feel the need to kill you." Jule: "This world, what I've seen, this world has been very violent... the last several years..." Chalker repeats, "We don't feel the need to kill you. So you can leave. But if you come back, my need to kill you might change."
Jule: "From what I see on you, one of the icons has been activated. You've got... all over you." Branamin: "Can I explain why we don't believe this? It will require me to touch you. I promise I will not harm you." Jule steps back; "Nooo... I... I find it's dangerous to let mages of this world touch me." Branamin: "It's the only way you can see this, so I can communicate it to you." Jule reluctantly steps back within arm's reach (and seems disappointed that Branamin and Chalker are blocking the doorway). Branamin casts Death Vision; Jule is stunned for a few seconds, then says, "Wow, that was... whoa, that was intense."
Chalker: "So you can see this 'stuff' on me, huh?" Jule: "I can see the effects of it. It sort of alters the air and your clothes and the skin... it sort of... soaks in... and I can see that type of stuff. And this stone, it enhances my ability to see that type of stuff from a greater distance. And I could have sworn before yesterday sometime that twelve of the thirteen that were stolen were actually here in this city." <4:18:12>
Finally, Jule goes away. Branamin suggests destroying the icons.
Chalker tells the others that Spirit's cargo will fetch 500gp, of which each group member will get one-sixth after the crew is paid.
Ahn-Lee, walking through the marketplace, is approached by a man who claims to recognize him from Verdai. "My name is Jule, I'm a searcher." They go to a tavern. Ahn-Lee's ale doesn't taste right to him; the waitress (rather loudly) snatches it up, sips, and insists it tastes fine. Ahn-Lee objects to her drinking out of his mug, so she flounces away to bring another.
Jule: "I'm looking for a statue of the sea god... I have an intutition; I can size people up." Ahn-Lee: "I'm sorry, it's not in my skillset." Jule: "This thing is worth 200 gold, and there's a 10% finder's fee."
Ahn-Lee's journey book vibrates, and he surreptitiously reads the latest entry. Branamin has written a warning about a man with a staff named Jule.
Jule goes on, "I'm staying at the Boar's Head." Ahn-Lee: "I've heard of it." Jule leaves the tavern and Ahn-Lee shadows him to the Mercenaries' Guild.
Ahn-Lee tells the others about Jule, adding that he had been playing with a silver stone.
Sybonne divines the destruction of the gray pentagram. "It exploded and wiped out a two-mile radius of Sapphire."