[Session:: True]
[Recorded:: true]
DM - [Butter:: True]
Aerendyl - [Dragon:: True]
Cyras - [Nate:: True]
Lucian - [Fluxy:: True]
Lyssandra - [Glo:: True]
Rick “Ricky” Stone - [Andrew:: True]
Session begins Skyfire 9th 802av at 7:00 a.m.
- The party, wearing fancy suits, left in the early morning and chose to head to the warehouse rather than visit the king, using an address from a notebook obtained from “Kusgo Brenite.”
- Cyras Vey tied a rope around Lucian’s neck as a leash while walking; Aerendyl removed the rope shortly after.
- Aerendyl noticed Lucian’s skin tone appeared less gray and more normal in daylight compared to indoors.
- The party reached a sparsely trafficked row of warehouses designed for storage on the edge of the city’s warehouse sector.
- At the address from the notebook, the group found a recently burned, blackened pile of rubble where the warehouse should have been.
- Based on evenly fallen debris with no concentrated blast pattern, the damage appeared to be a fire rather than an explosion.
- Aerendyl circled the perimeter for tracks or soot-marked footprints and found many indistinct tracks but nothing that stood out.
- Cyras Vey surveyed for observers and vantage points and noticed a bird repeatedly perching on nearby rooftops, watching the group, then relocating to another roof.
- Aerendyl raised his hood to conceal his face while sifting rubble; the party searched despite wearing fancy suits.
- Lucian attempted to use detect magic while combing through ash, looking for any lingering magical traces among the remains. However, he doesn’t find anything.
- Aerendyl discovered two items amid the ash—(1) a sealed metal cylinder resembling a fully closed drink can with a pen-like extrusion on one side, and (2) a small Stone Bust (upper half of a person).
- Upon picking up the Stone Bust, Aerendyl felt a compelling urge to keep both the bust and the metal cylinder for himself.
- Cyras Vey cast Charm Person on Aerendyl to counter the compulsion and then immediately dropped the spell; Aerendyl readied a forearm-mounted force cannon defensively but did not fire it.
- Cyras Vey cast Detect Magic and determined the fire site and the Stone Bust were non-magical; only the party’s gear registered as magical; the watcher bird was no longer in sight at that moment.
- Aerendyl identified the cylinder as likely iron with no latch, attempted to pull the pen-like piece free, and failed; the piece was stuck fast.
- After Cyras Vey admitted to monitoring surface thoughts for safety, Aerendyl asked him to refrain unless necessary; Cyras agreed.
- Lyssandra uncovered a severely burnt but intact bag of mixed coinage (silver and some gold) among the rubble.
- Rick “Ricky” Stone found a sturdy metal lockbox, forced it open despite minor injury, and revealed 12 vials of various colored liquids with numeric-style labels; Aerendyl took custody to examine later.
- Lyssandra located a severely burned and warped dagger with a singed handle that might still have minor value.
- The group noticed Lucian was gone; he soon emerged from a side alley, patting down his hands, and said he had gone to use the bathroom; Aerendyl questioned him, and the truthfulness was uncertain.
- Lucian explained he was looking for a woman customer’s personal item he believed was a brooch or pin inadvertently mixed with change from his shop.
- Cyras Vey retrieved the sought item from a coin-filled bag and tossed it to Lucian; Lucian caught it awkwardly and stowed it carefully.
- The item was identified as a hairpin, largely undamaged because surrounding coins in the bag protected it from the fire.
- Lucian used Speak with Animals to question a common red bird he named “Bill,” offering coffee beans and bread in exchange for information about the burned site.
- Bill said its favorite place had an open window with lots of food and drink, and that it last went in at sunset and slept there; it described the location as very dark and warm inside.
- Bill reported that in the morning a “weird person” with long hair and a magically darkened face, “really mad,” had been inside; Bill said the person wore a shining necklace similar to Lucian’s.
- A small bird, panicked and repeating “no crow,” was questioned by Cyras Vey and Aerendyl about any crows in the area.
- The bird stated there were many birds around but no crows, and identified “dark ones” as bad.
- The bird described the place it had been as very warm and smelling of burning beans, consistent with Lucian’s product.
- The party gave the bird a loaf of bread, which it struggled to carry away with its feet.
- Aerendyl urged questioning Lucian about his unexplained absence, noting inconsistencies and secrets.
- Cyras Vey proposed using Lucian and his product as bait by publicizing him to draw out whoever was targeting the coffee, while avoiding violence.
- Aerendyl agreed to the plan only if he could remain at Lucian’s side to protect him.
- The group agreed not to tell Lucian the “bait” aspect while proceeding with the public-facing plan.
- Cyras Vey told Lucian the plan was to secure the country’s leader’s sponsorship and public approval of his coffee products immediately.
- Lucian prepared multiple coffee options, including a cold brew with a small amount of whiskey for an extra “kick,” and used Elementalism to make ice.
- At the outer gate of the castle-like government complex, guards permitted entry after Aerendyl mentioned bringing liquor to the president.
- Aerendyl and Cyras Vey used Mending and Prestidigitation to clean and tidy the party’s attire before entry.
- Aerendyl instructed Lucian to remain silent unless addressed and took position as Lucian’s bodyguard; Cyras Vey would speak for the group.
- Cyras Vey presented himself by name to main courtyard guards to request urgent audience.
- A secretary directed the group through security to a long formal meeting room with a comically long table to await the leader.
- The Secretary of the Interior, a red-scaled dragonborn in a suit with thin glasses, entered and said the president was too busy but he could address their issues.
- Cyras Vey pressed that the matter required the president personally due to its urgency.
- After extended waiting, President George, a human in a decorated suit with many medals, entered with an entourage of about twelve officials.
- Cyras Vey read President George’s surface thoughts, perceiving skepticism that the meeting was important.
- Cyras Vey presented a claim of a criminal underground of misguided insurrectionists seeking to upend the money-first order, with discovered plans for assassination and destabilization.
- Aerendyl, son of Helion from Thalassiril, introduced himself formally and stated the plot targeted the Presidency with backing from the whole of Luminevia and support from the Manefica.
- President George stated there had been four assassination attempts and three coups in the last two months and voiced concern about elves infiltrating his country.
- Lucian’s coffee was offered as a courtesy and proof-of-concept; a metacaster in the entourage cast a spell to check the drink before the president drank it.
- Cyras Vey asserted his work stops wars; President George replied that sometimes a war was what he wanted.
- Cyras Vey requested an official stamp of approval and a brief public statement endorsing Lucian’s calming, high-quality brew to improve public mood and commerce.
- President George reviewed and signed the endorsement document and agreed to include a short mention in an upcoming speech.
- President George refused to endorse anything tied to the surname “Ravenshade,” prompting the group to adopt “Lucian” as the credited name.
- Cyras Vey slid a calling card to President George, offering services for future problems or if a war was desired.
- During the meeting, Cyras Vey discreetly pickpocketed a random entourage member, acquiring a set of three keys, 100 gold pieces, and a stack of paperwork.
- President George finished the drink and left the meeting without further response.
- An official escorted the party back toward the main gate of the complex.
- Near the exit, the official stopped Lucian and conveyed that the president requested continual shipments of the coffee, handing Lucian a shipping slip.
- Lucian explained his coffee shop had been vandalized and burned and could not currently operate to meet a large order.
- The official identified himself as Secretary Karas, a money-handling secretary, and offered administrative assistance.
- Secretary Karas promised to file paperwork to copyright the brew under “Lucian” and handle fair payment for shipments.
- The plan was confirmed to market and ship under “Lucian” to avoid the forbidden surname.
- Lucian provided his shop’s address for the paperwork and logistics.
- With arrangements made, the escort completed guiding the party out through the castle gates.
- The party retained the bird’s details—no crows, dark birds bad, warm and bean-scented site—as corroborating signs tied to the coffee-related arson.
- The group concluded that Lucian’s creations were being targeted and that publicizing his product would draw the perpetrator into the open.
- Aerendyl reiterated he would remain near Lucian to safeguard him during any bait phase.
- The party exited the government complex with the presidential endorsement, a shipping request, and a plan to rebuild production under “Lucian.”
Session begins Skyfire 9th 802av at 6:00 p.m.