The Chaos of Cannith [3.5]

Nymm the 4th, 998yk. It will soon be the beginning of summer, but the heat is not what occupies the minds around you, Kamiel, at Morgrave University's library on this day. A guest is coming from Cannith South to visit today, and he has a very urgent message to deliver, according to some of the professors there.

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Marsh LeBlanche, your plan has gone off with more success than you imagined. The lord mayor himself has agreed to have dinner with you at Skyway tonight, and has even prepared a room for you afterwards! With this small victory in mind, you've traveled to Upper Menthis and wandered into the University District, since it is closest to the best entertainment in the city. However, your eye catches something, a symbol you'll never forget.

A wagon riding by with an emblem of the Mark of Making on the side of it with the Gorgon emblem of House Cannith above that.

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Konnor, there's been some good news for you on this dull, gray day. In what has to be the most ironic source of information for you, considering your past, a member of House Cannith is going to publicly reveal 'that' at Morgrave University. You figure they'll be apt to blame you for it, as always, but this is the only lead you've found so far during your few days at Sharn which doesn't seem like it'll end up dry. If they're going to reveal it, after all, you'll know what is and isn't a fact.

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To explain on why I didn't introduce Soren or Pugil yet - I don't figure they'd be at the University District, honestly. I will get to them quickly though so don't worry.

Marsh stops in her tracks, watching the wagon. Slightly stunned for a moment, she watches it go by. She begins to follow mutely, her chest and head boiling with curiosity, anticipation – and a slight, controlled bit of rage.

House Cannith, I should have heard of this. Perhaps I did, and do not recall. Have to keep on my toes, I might have won audience with the mayor, but my looks and charm won't overcome everything. I have to have my wits about me at all time. Whatever it is, I'm following. Everything their House is doing is of obvious interest to me. Those dogs...

She smiles, following the wagon's path as much as she can until obstructed. But she follows casually, as though out for a stroll.

But my advantage is that...I shouldn't exist.

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Knowledge Local: 18 + 5 = 23

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1601437/

Marsh follows the wagon, which luckily stops in front of Morgrave University. From the door on the right side emerges a young lady, whom you immediately recognize as the leader of Sharn's Darkwood Watch squad. The Darkwood Watch is Cannith's private military force of elite wand-wielding soldiers. There are only five members in Sharn, but five is more than enough to quell any problem Cannith faces.

This woman, Menya D'Cannith, is wearing a breastplate and carrying a heavy steel shield in her left hand, and a heavy mace in her right hand. She has no less than seven wands around her waist tucked into her belt for easy access, and she has a long, flowing red cloak. You notice that she has a black glove on her left hand while her right hand openly and proudly shows off the Least version of the Dragonmark of Making. Her blue eyes scan the area, and then she begins walking towards the university, her long blonde hair flowing behind her.

Konnor is certainly intigued. He makes for the college with all haste.

They're going public? Oh, that won't do at all. Then again, as long as I'm careful I could come out of this on top... I need to be there, just to hear the official announcement. They may end up helping me out of my current mess, and if there's a reward, they may end up paying me as well!

He will be careful not to attract attention. If there's a large gathering when he arrives, he will stay towards the back. If there is no large gathering, he will wait until there is.

So what do you have to say? What *can* you say?

Konnor crosses a bridge floating between the University District and Seventh Tower District and heads to Morgrave at Dalannan Tower. The University itself fills Dalannan Tower, crowned by the enormous Lareth Hall. Five slender spires surround the hall, one named for each of the five kingdoms. The entire trip took you an hour and twenty-five minutes, much longer than you expected. You arrive in time to see Menya D'Cannith walk inside. Following her, you enter a wide, open courtyard with wonderful birch trees planted on its grounds. Menya enters a room on the other end of the courtyard, while you see students whispering to each other all around.

All these people...though it's unlikely even a good examination of me right now will reveal to anyone who I am. That was ten years ago. If Menya was even employed back then, she probably wouldn't recognize me.

Marsh follows, immersed in the crowds, interested in knowing what the occasion is. She tries not to attract attention, though it might be difficult. She is rather too flashy and pretty to pass for a student.

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Will post description when another PC actually meets me or sees me thoroughly.

Marsh, you follow Menya into a hallway leading to a lecture hall. She goes to the podium at the front of the room, waiting for everyone to settle down before speaking. You notice that in particular the Warforged who are attending seem fascinated with Menya, eager to hear what she says. Menya is handed a few papers by an assistant and clears her throat. She does not seem nervous.

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Kamiel, the people in the library seem to be heading towards one of the lecture halls.

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Soren of Thrane, member of the Silver Flame. Your search for the one you love has yielded no clues. You even have begun looking around the University District for answers, and upon asking around, you finally, finally come across a potential lead.

A small human boy, fairly wealthy, outside of Morgrave University asks you for a description of the one you're searching for.

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Pugil, your search for a job around Sharn has not been very successful. Down on your luck, not even the lowest of the towers would want to hire you it seems. Today, however, you are approached by a man. A human scholar, to be exact. Could this be some type of joke? You weren't made to study...yet this man seems to be serious.

"I've heard you've been looking for a job from the fellows at the armor smith. I may not look it, but I am interested in warfare. What's your name?"

Marsh finds a good position in the crowd and listens intently.

What will you say?

Soren bends down to speak to the boy, taking off his helmet and placing it under his arm.
She is a beautiful woman, with hair the color of gold, and eyes as deep and the same color as the sea. She stands up to my shoulder, and moves with a grace beyond the kin of mortals. Please, I beg of you, have you heard or seen her?

The boy thinks for a moment, and then nods. "Yes, I do know someone like that. I saw a woman with those features heading towards Morgrave University. Perhaps try there?"

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Menya D'Cannith begins to speak. "It is with grave concern that Cannith South addresses you today. Around one week ago, our prototype weapon was stolen from our labs in Cannith Tower. Cannith West has chosen a scapegoat, Jastis D'Cannith, to place their blame on. We will not be doing the same. I come to this university today because it is a den for the most likely amongst Sharn citizens to recover our weapon - I will also be addressing the Clifftop Adventurer's Guild and even Deathsgate Guild. You can probably take a guess at the type of people we're looking for."

She clears her throat and continues. "Adventurers. The King's Citadel is on the lookout for the weapon as well, of course, but Lord Merrix D'Cannith himself has expressed that he does not wish for the Citadel to find the weapon before an adventurer does." People in the room begin looking about and whispering about this strange news.

"The main reason for this is because the adventurers we plan to hire will be equipped with these devices our Fabricator's Guild has prepared, ones that the Citadel would never agree to using." An assisstant beside her pulls out a small object from a bag, which resembles a mechanical spider.

"These will be carried by anyone looking for the weapon. We cannot have any information leaked about this weapon, so these are precautions. They will tell us an adventurer's location through Locate Creature 24/7, and adventurers can use them to deliver Sending messages, as can we. They have an Alarm system set to ring back at our headquarters when the spider is in 100 feet of proximity to the weapon, and the final feature of it is the most important. When you have found the weapon and delivered it back to us, the spider will erase your memories concerning the details of the weapon. It is vital that knowledge of this device is not leaked to the public, and we have taken every measure to ensure it does not."

Marsh frowns slightly.

I can't let them put one of those things on me. Guess I'll be doing something illegal then. Oh well. I'll find that weapon, but deliver it to you? Not a chance. Whatever that thing is, it is my lightning rail pass to my vengeance.

Now the major problem being the half dozen buffoons they'll have running around searching for it.

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Knowledge Arcana to see what I know regarding this situation.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1602138/

18+9 = 27

Marsh:

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You don't know if it applies to this device, but Locate Creature can be blocked by running water. It can be fooled by mislead, nondetection, and polymorph spells.

Weaknesses it has. Unfortunately I never learned to cast any of that. Though the weakness to running water might prove useful, depending. But for now I'll try my best not to get shackled by one of those, while managing to do my work...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iron Mongler

Nymm the 4th, 998yk. It will soon be the beginning of summer, but the heat is not what occupies the minds around you, Kamiel, at Morgrave University's library on this day. A guest is coming from Cannith South to visit today, and he has a very urgent message to deliver, according to some of the professors there.

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At first, Kamiel doesn't pay much attention to the rumours floating around. Any message from House Cannith would probably be for Morgrave's chancellor, or maybe one dean or another. Not for mere students, or visitors using the library.

Commenting the excitement around him with a rather precisely-executed shrug (he was still experimenting with human gestures ... when it occurred to him), Kamiel turned his eyes back to the gnomish treatise he was studying.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iron Mongler

Kamiel, the people in the library seem to be heading towards one of the lecture halls.

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Kamiel raises his head again. His concentration on the text had not been perfect, probably due to today's unusual background noise in the library, and so he had caught a few comments from passing students. Apparently he had to re-evaluate his former conclusion: That guest from Cannith South apparently was going to speak in public.

Rising from his chair (which gave a relieved groan), he walked over to the shelves and carefully returned the book he had been reading. Then, he turned his steps toward the exit, following the crowd to the lecture hall.

As he appears to be one of the last arrivals, he settles for standing next to the hall's entrance, his gaze focused on the armoured woman with the long, blonde hair.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iron Mongler

Menya D'Cannith begins to speak. [...]

"... and the final feature of it is the most important. When you have found the weapon and delivered it back to us, the spider will erase your memories concerning the details of the weapon. It is vital that knowledge of this device is not leaked to the public, and we have taken every measure to ensure it does not."

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At these last words, Kamiel crosses his arms over his chest, and the green glow in his eyesockets seems to intensify. But then, he reluctantly raises his hand to indicate a question.

"Yes?" Menya D'Cannith asks Kamiel, as the assisstant puts away the spider contraption.

Konnor will raise his (left) hand after Meyna is done answering the first question. It goes against his original plan, but there are some things he needs to know.

Can't let this opportunity pass. Nor will I be wearing their mechanical bug.

"The enlistment of an assortment of common adventurers hardly seems the regular modus operandi of House Cannith in cases like this." Kamiel's deep, vaguely hollow voice traverses the hall with an ease some lecturers would envy. "What makes this specific weapon so important that your standard agents do not suffice?"

Marsh pays close attention to the conversation, amused. Seems I'm not the only one against the spider contraptions and their spying on us. This is good! If it gets enough backlash they'll have to drop the whole plan. Unfortunately, I need to lay low, so I can't offer them much help.

Turning her attention back to Menya, Marsh examines the woman's visage, attempting to discern whatever might lie under that careful expression.

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Spot check: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1602295/ 19+6 = 25
Sense Motive Check: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1602297/ 15+7 = 22

"You raise a valid point. We have some agents on this task already, but as you're well aware, Cannith is a house of human-only artificers and inventors, not diehard adventurers or soldiers other than our five-member squad Darkwood Watch, and it's not like we can work covertly. We figured that adventurers would be the best people to start with for this, since their talens vary a lot more than ours, admittedly."

Menya then points to Konnor and asks what his question is. She seems to be growing nervous in the face of this crowd. Though she is an excellent public speaker, even she can't stay entirely calm in the face of this potential disaster.

Konnor's voice, for these purposes is a light and cheery voice, bent towards a more serious purpose.

"Ah, yeah... What are the, ah, consequences of this weapon failing to be recovered? What exactly could happen if, say, it falls into the wrong hands and gets horribly abused?"

Kamiel nods, but raises his hand again. He waits patiently for the next question to be answered first, though, and takes a good look at the one who asks it.

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The first time two PC's see each other in a significant way, post descriptions. In this case, Kamiel needs Konnor's description. Thanks.

Menya thinks over your question for a moment, looking troubled at how to answer it. She then speaks after half a minute of pondering. "Warfare would definitely change. I doubt Khorvaire would be able to adapt to its abilities. Let me see if I can phrase this in a way that won't give away too much...if this weapon is put to use, the side using them won't have a need for catapults or siege weapons any longer. They won't need them.

Marsh's eyes are sparkling by then.

If I get my hands on this thing, I'll finally be able to wrest back what is mine from the worthless idiots running Cannith. I have to get this thing first, and put it to use. Either use it myself, or use it as a way to rally support and funding. From whomever.

She smiles. Waiting for a catastrophe, Menya? You and House Cannith sewed the seeds of it long, long ago. Lets see if your superiors remember what it is they did exactly, once those fruits do ripen.

Kamiel patiently waits until Menya d'Cannith acknowledges him again.

Before Kamiel, she acknowledges a young human scholar sitting near you.

"Will the King's Citadel be actively against adventurers who try to do this? They don't take very kindly to people they don't ask for help themselves."

Menya shakes her head. "We've ensured that they will not harass anyone carrying one of our tracker spiders. The same won't be able to be said of private investigators, of course."

She then finally glances at Kamiel, and asks him what he'd like.

Marsh waits for the next round of questions.

I don't fear the King's Citadel, so it doesn't concern me. Every alternative but victory spells death for me.

"Your answer to him," Kamiel points at Konnor, "has now answered the second half of my original question. However, it has also raised a new question: If that weapon is that powerful, whose are the right hands?"

His gaze rests intently on Menya d'Cannith. "A weapon that powerful may tempt its owner to resume the Last War. Has that weapon been specifically ordered by someone, or is it still undecided whom you will offer it to?"

Very good question, though I don't like the tone. The weapon will go to me, whatever it is I promise, it will be mine to use.

Marsh yawns slightly, getting a bit bored now, and wondering what the time is.

Konnor Greystaff's Description:

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Konnor Greystaff is somewhat short, looks pretty young, and has slightly shaggy black hair and fair skin. He is dressed in a somber-colored traveller's outfit, consisting of light earthtone-brown baggy pants tucked into low dark brown boots, a faded blue shirt with billowing sleeves coming out to his wrists, and a large midnight blue tunic belted around the waist with a belt consisting primarily of pockets. Hanging to one side of his many-pouched belt is a long rope complete with grappling hook, and at his side (over his other shoulder, hang both his travelling bag, from whence he seems to pull out everything important, and his spellbook and waterskin beneath that. He has his bedroll strapped at an angle down his back. All of it seems quite worn except for his weapons - he carries a very fine looking longbow over his shoulder, and his quiver runs parallel to his bedroll. Likewise, the rapier and scabbard hanging at his side also look very nice - perhaps too nice to be nonmagical.

The bedroll would likely have been left at wherever he's staying in sharn, but otherwise doesn't look much like a student. Short stature and darkweave would have kept him from attracting attention so far, but he's drawn attention with the question.

Konnor at this point may speak out of turn.

"Yeah, who ordered you to whip up a doomsday weapon?"

"We plan to have the Brelish crown see the weapon and order shipments. As for why we needed a 'doomsday' weapon...have you ever heard of deterrence? Despite the Last War having ended two years ago, the nations are not at a real peace. Conflict could break out at anytime, and this measure will give Breland the upper hand. We need never use it - the threat of our weapon will be enough to scare off the other nations from ever attacking Breland. That is the closest any society can come to a true peace, according to Lord Merrix D'Cannith. I'm sure it'd be what the late King Jarot of Galifar would have wanted. Menya seems to be very proud of her answer.