Session Synopses

[BaadRam]

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

SESSION SYNOPSES
updated 6/1/2018 Brian

SESSION 1

The scene opens at midday in the central Market Square of Budorigum, the capital of the Sarmatian Commonwealth. K is in the square looking for Sergeant Jerzy, a man he has been told can teach him useful tactics to counter Brute Squads. A, B, and I are eating lunch at cafes adjacent to the square. I is also peoplewatching as she eats. B is also eavesdropping on a nearby table of Ussurans as he eats hoping to find a candidate to become one of Chernobog's Cursed. Suddenly a riot breaks out with about a dozen people in the white of the Biały faction brawling with about twice as many in the red of the Czerwony. A joins the fray on the Red side, intimidating several White rioters to flee. B, K, and I escort three children and an old man to safety. K notices that the participants seem to be remarkably uninjured and that the fight is taking longer than expected given the uneven odds, meanwhile the riot is creating a surprising amount of property damage. I notices a reporter and artist conveniently placed to record the scene and notes the odd absence of any city guards about. During the commotion a food cart is knocked over, catches fire, and threatens to spread fire to an adjacent building. The fire also panics a pen of horses and goats who threaten to burst their enclosure and run amok through the square. A rouses the Reds with his Leadership to fight the Whites and contain the fire. K catches Sergeant Jerzy's attention and yodels to calm the goats, thus also calming the horses. B treats an injured White while fending off some interfering Reds and catches the eye of a man, later identified as Kolya, who retreats into the crowd. I uses Fascinate to distract and intimidate the reporter, simultaneously dazzling his artist, later identified as Dubekya Czerny, while loudly denouncing the staged riot. Now aware of the ruse, B rallies the citizens to take back their streets from the fake rioters. A tackles and detains a White for the guard. K knocks out of a Red the confession that Klaudja put them up to it. I cuts a rope with a broken bottle to dramatically drop a tarp on a group of rioters. As the guards finally arrive, her continued denunciations cause the reporter from the Budorigum Gazette to flee. The artist suggests some modeling gigs to I, who contemplates his offer while considering whether his contacts might assist in the search for her kidnapped sister. A messenger boy delivers a note to B for a mysterious meeting later at the Three Larks. Sergeant Jerzy identifies the Heroes as helpful volunteers in suppressing the riot to his fellow guards, who gather them together to take witness statements, conveniently allowing the Heroes to finally introduce themselves to each other.

SESSION 2

A few days after the Fake Riot, B, K, and I, joined by G, meet for lunch and compare notes at the Three Larks tavern, where B has a mysterious rendezvous. Amid discussion of who may have staged the riot and why, the Heroes also share some of their personal objectives. G, an Ussuran, shares that he has lived in Budorigum for a few years and has been building up his reputation as a master swordsmith. He is investigating why someone recently burned down his smithy and also looking for makeshift work to earn enough to repair and reopen it. He is also seeking information about an Eisen soldier named Volker Kurt Schmid. B is in Budorigum looking for Ilya Pavlov, a man rumored to be planning to return to Ussura to undertake the Seeker's Test from Matushka. I is in Sarmatia looking for her younger sister Aldona, a merchant, who was kidnapped three weeks prior by pirates shortly after her ship left Feniksowo en route to Porto Spatia. She has an appointment later to meet Dubekya Czerny, who may have some leads for her. They are interrupted by the mysterious stranger, Kolya, who caught B's eye during the riot. He mentions B's Mark, making him very uncomfortable. After B requests a little privacy, Kolya reveals that he encountered someone with the Mark who could talk to birds, an ability he thinks could improve his position in the local Ussuran criminal syndicate. B initially judges Kolya an unworthy candidate, since he seeks Tură's Gifts for venal purposes, but reconsiders and decides to trade information on seeking Tură for leads in the search for Aldona, figuring that ultimately it will be up to Tură whether Kolya is acceptable. Meanwhile I entertains the bar with a series of rousing Ussuran folksongs, earning three marriage proposals (declined) and multiple free drinks (accepted). G overhears farmers discussing a witch with a broken sword and joins their conversation. One farmer, Sergeant Jerzy's cousin, describes his encounter with her. At the mention of Sergeant Jerzy, K stops eavesdropping on B and Kolya and joins G and the farmers. He has an appointment to patrol with the sergeant and invites G to join him. Wrapping up his interview with Kolya, B decides to join G and K. Sergeant Jerzy discusses the witch while pointing out useful patrol techniques to the group. Later he pulls K aside and warns him to be careful around Ussurans. In the course of conversations with G, the sergeant, and his cousin, much backstory comes to light: While based on the Sarmatian-Eisen border before moving to Budorigum, G crafted a sword he considers to be his masterpiece, the best he ever has or shall create. He sold the blade to an Eisen soldier he respected greatly, Volker Kurt Schmid. Recently his smithy was burnt to the ground and the point half of Volker's broken sword was left embedded in his forge. A pretty, blonde, blue-eyed woman, resembling a larger and more martial version of I, appeared at Sergeant Jerzy's cousin's farm recently, screeching in Eisen and holding the hilt half of Volker's broken sword. She tore the throat out of one of his goat's with her teeth. As she was leaving town for Saulės Mūšis with a train of frightened retainers, Sergeant Jerzy briefly detained her because her arms were covered in blood and there was an "offness" to her, but she explained them as cat scratches and he let her pass. It is also learned that G has supplied many of the city guard with swords.

SESSION 3A

A, B, and K meet at the Quartered Raven tavern on a drizzly day. They overhear conversations from adjacent tables. One table of individuals, sporting symbols of allegiance to the Czerwony faction, waves copies of the Commonwealth Crier about while discussing the underground human trafficking situation. Another table, sporting symbols of allegiance to the Biały faction, waves copies of the Budorigum Gazette about while bemoaning the acts of "Czerwony thugs." K mentions that he does not speak the local languages of Sarmatia. A offers to translate for him should that be required. B hopes to encounter Kolya here, but no such luck. As the Heroes discuss recent events, B mentions the prospect of visiting Klaudja, which visibly catches the ear of a White, later identified as Lew Budky. The tavern is filled with taxidermied specimens, but B and K take particular note of an Eisen Horror called a Frightling and a small Kreuzritter star carved into the window ledge just below it. B casually reveals his Kreuzritter Star in case a member of the order is about. Surprisingly the member who spots it is K. Concealing his intent, B investigates the carved star and finds a coded note hidden behind it. He commits it to memory and returns the note to its hiding place. It reads: "Hunting the huntress leads here, but she has grown wary. I fear I am spotted. She has been here a while. Seeking something? In darkness I will search merchant records and the papers for the clues to her actions that I know such a creature must leave. If this note remains, I perished before returning here. -Simon Beneath the Star." B joins the table of Reds and mentions that he overheard their discussion of trafficking and wonders if they can help him locate I's sister. Their leader, Jacek, is not well-disposed toward Ussurans and rudely suggests questioning the Ussuran criminal syndicate. He takes particular exception to B alluding to corruption in the Sarmatian government, although that is precisely what his table was discussing before B arrived. B realizes this is going poorly and opts for damage control, buying a round for the table and tipping them off that the White took particular note of their discussion of the drowned bodies and dropping the suggestion that they might want to investigate whether the victims have come disproportionately from the Czerwony faction. Meanwhile, a jenny named Kaya joins A and K, remarking that she noticed their involvement during the Market Square Riot. After flirtatiously offering her services of company to them, A persuades her that her services of information will be more marketable. Kaya agrees to follow A to a more private location to discuss sensitive information. K decides to remain behind ostensibly to assist B in watching the White, but in reality to follow up on the Kreuzritter sigil. After surreptitiously flashing his Kreuzritter Star at B, B briefs K on the message and shares his speculation that it might tie in with G's broken sword and the reports of a witch. Neither Kreuzritter recognizes this Simon, and K suggests that they may have to travel to the swamps near Saulės Mūšis to contact the one known agent of the Kreuzritter permanently stationed in Sarmatia. At a discreet inn Kaya informs A that the White is named Lew Budky and that he posed as a Red during the riot. The owner of the Budorigum Gazette, Antoni Kaluza, is a diehard member of the Biały faction, but he keeps some Czerwony partisans on staff to maintain a veneer of balanced coverage. She names Radoslawa Jelen as a specific example of a reporter who is a solid supporter of the Czerwony faction. She agrees to accept coin in exchange for providing A with new information she learns about the members of the Biały faction and their activities. Meanwhile, B and K follow Lew out of the Quartered Raven. He spots K tailing him and leads him into an ambush behind the Budorigum Gazette Building. A man, who may be Antoni, briefly steps out of the building, stops in shock, and quickly ducks back inside.

SESSION 3B

Sword drawn, Lew confronts K for following him. K counters that Lew was eavesdropping on him at the Quartered Raven and attempts to bait him into revealing information about his and Klaudja's roles in staging the fake Market Square Riot and the drowning deaths occurring in Budorigum. Lew reveals that he is Klaudja's cousin and gives K several opportunities to back down, although each is presented as an insulting instruction for the "Eisen mercenary" to butt out of Sarmatian politics. Finally K's taunts lead Lew to issue a formal Duelist challenge which K accepts. During the duel, B observes Lew's odd glance at the foundation of the Budorigum Gazette Building in response to K's accusation of murder and notices some mismatched bricks where he glanced. K slices off Lew's collar, knocking his Duelist pin to the ground. B quickly snatches it from the pavement and notes that it is older than Lew and may have originally belonged to one of his parents. Lew executes the Eagle's Dive Maneuver revealing that he knows the Szybowanie Style (N2 100). K Ripostes Lew's Eagle's Dive, but each is able to execute a final Lunge ending the round. They call a draw, since neither is interested in killing the other: K is after information and Lew is defending the family honor. K aquits himself well taking 9 Wounds while dealing 16. B hands back Lew's pin, earning a modicum of respect, and observes that Lew wears the crest of a pre-Golden Liberty minor noble house. B leads K off to bind his wounds, taking a circuitous path to avoid spectators drawn by the sounds of the duel.

SESSION 4

B stops by the Three Larks, looking to follow up with Kolya on potential leads to Aldona. He names Nadzieja Dubicki and Rog Ostrowski as prominent merchants known to deal in shady things. B is satisfied and provides Kolya with instructions on how to reach Crystal Mountain, warning him to keep his mission secret. Meanwhile I meeting with Dubekya Czerny also learns that Nadzieja is involved in moving "difficult" objects and is easiliest encountered at her office, her home, or the theater. A, B, I, and K meet again at the Quartered Raven to compare notes. The Voddace opera "Ianneo and the Golden Slippers" is opening at the Budorigum Theater, and Nadzieja is almost certain to attend. A thinks Radoslawa Jelen will likely be covering the opening night performance and plans to catch up with her there, while I cooks up a plot to "randomly" bump into Nadzieja at the opera accompanied by B and K, both posing as protective arm candy. They encounter Nadzieja accompanied by her guard, Gustav, before the performance. I uses her considerable charm, reinforced with Fascinate, to secure an invitation to her box. Unbeknownst to the others, W is sharing a different box at the opera. Sergeant Jerzy briefly encounters K at the start of the opera and warns him that fights sometimes break out at performances. Before the show, A spots Radoslawa interviewing several patrons, including a number of influential members of the Sejm. He followers her and the other reporters to a section of the parterre close to the stage. He catches her attention without triggering her beau's ire and arranges for an interview after the performance. At Box 15, in addition to Gustav, Nadzieja has a second guard, this one with a Duelist pin, as well as a third posted outside the box. I, K, and B put on a convincing act as somewhat dim rustics dazzled by the big city, with K as I's benefactor and B as her current thing on the side. Nadzieja takes to the role of wise counselor, pointing out features of the theater, important people in attendance and who they are watching. She also gives running commentary of the plot since the opera is in Vodacce, which neither I nor K speak (and B is feigning not to understand). She also subtly queries whether K's role as I's benefactor might be better characterized as property owner, making K extremely uncomfortable. She also ironically floats I the suggestion that she might have a future career in the Jenny's Guild. They spin a tale of I being a farmgirl whose father had saved K's during the war. She snuck away from the farm with K after he brought her father a bequest. Making use of the Able Drinker Advantage, I throws back copious amounts of Nadzieja's delicious Voddace wine while acting increasingly sloshed. Although the guards are on edge, the Heroes succeed at deceiving their hostess and secure a invitation to visit her home later. When I "drunkenly" hugs Nadzieja in thanks, Gustav overreacts manhandling her off of his employer and disarraying her décolletage. K and B play up being offended at having their girl unceremoniously handled. After taking leave of their hostess, they discuss plans for the upcoming invitation and the need to keep up their act in case Nadzieja chooses to investigate her guests. They decide to commission a silver nightingale pin as a host gift. Later they investigate the mismatched bricks in the foundation of the Budorigum Gazette Building and discover a note hidden under a loose brick. It reads: "Lew, what the hell was all that about? Is there really a good reason to be brawling in our ally? Thanks for the tips, but don't bring that kind of news to our doorstep." They speculate that this is a Biały message drop point and carefully return the note to its hiding place.

MISSING INFO ON ALEKSANDER-RADOSLAWA INTERVIEW

SESSION 5

B, G, I, K meet midmorning after the opera at the Robin's Nest, a trendy tavern and teahouse featuring experimental food and drink, including tea spiked with imported coffee, and also boasting a jenny's establishment, the Bat's Roost, on the upper floor. They discuss recent events, the upcoming visit to Nadzieja Dubicki and what roles they will assume for that, and a possible future excursion to Saulės Mūšis to track G's witch. G mentions that he has been making do repairing merchants' wagons while his smithy is closed. Jan, a raggedy boy from the poorest part of town, approaches their table carrying a small package. I and B briefly worry that it might be a ransom note for Aldona containing an ear or other gruesome proof, but the messenger instead bears a note for G from Volker Kurt Schmid who is miraculously still alive. It reads: "Master Gregovich, I write to you with apology and urgency having traveled at the best speed I could survive after losing a great treasure you sadly entrusted me with. I bring warning, for I fear my fate may be yours as well as the creature seems far too interested in this treasure's source. Please be wary. This messenger is willing to bring you to me for a penny...or zloti, or whatever they call the tiny, thin coins here, but I expended the last of mine upon this message and a thin roof, having not even the stamina to search through the streets to remember the placement of your forge. Sorrowfully, Herr Schmid." G pays him to take him to see Volker, B gives him some bread, and I offers him some advice about using clay to stretch food to stave off hunger and a warning about the lynks. This advice hints at personal familiarity with extreme poverty. They travel to Tomak's Boarding House in the poorest part of town near the docks. G goes upstairs to meet with Volker and discovers that he is malnourished and gravely injured. Inviting the rest to join him, K and B spot Volker's Kreuzritter Star and reveal their own in turn while I sets a watch downstairs. B is shocked by his condition and proposes relocating him to G's home for treatment. Volker counters that G's home is unsafe as it is likely a target of the witch. I senses imminent danger. The Heroes attempt to quickly whisk Volker away but are ambushed in front of the boarding house by two Brute Squads intent on kidnapping G. K executes a Reckless Takedown knocking one entire Brute Squad out of commission while sustaining a Dramatic Wound, then performs Slash and Bash Maneuvers to remove some of the second Squad. G snatches a club out of the hand of the Squads' spokeswoman and effortlessly breaks it with Wrecking Ball while confronting her and compelling her to surrender the money paid to her to seize him. B disables one opponent with his sword then punches a second to clear a path of escape for I, who escorts Volker to safety. Sustaining only minor wounds (except K), the Heroes defuse the situation. G attempts to redirect the vanquished opponents, persuading at least one man who cut timber on the Narwhale to make amends by working on repairing his smithy. They learn that an anonymous employer matching the description of the witch Imelda Mundt had hired them to seize G and bring him to Nadzieja Dubicki. Volker finally reaches the Three Larks, where B arranges a room for him and begins the slow process of nursing him back to health. G lends him a lesser yet still serviceable replacement sword. Along the way the Heroes learn Volker's story: In a remote bit of Eisen countryside, he learned of a witch named Imelda Mundt who had been stealing and buying children. Investigating her he discovered that she had been cutting them up and stitching the parts back together. He thought to catch her unawares, but failed. She captured him, stole his journal and the masterpiece sword G had wrought, and experimented on him, gravely injuring him. She was fascinated by the weapon. When she learned from reading his journal that G had crafted it, she immediately took off with the sword, abandoning her frightened servants and unfortunate experiments. The servants eventually released him with the other experiments. He followed as best he could, concerned both for G's safety and for what diabolical schemes she might unleash next.

SESSION 6A

The evening after rescuing Volker Kurt Schmid, the Heroes check the Biały message drop point at the Budorigum Gazette Building. They find a second note in the same handwriting as the first. It reads: "Assignments have been passed out. Thanks for the tip." The following day, two days after the opera and the day of Nadzieja Dubicki's invitation, B, I, and K pool their resources and purchase a silver nightingale pin from Miron Slowka, a reputable silversmith. I enlists A to pose as her carriage driver and valet, allowing him to join the others and snoop around during the party. I hopes to uncover information leading to her sister, Aldona. They arrive at her estate. The manor house is as large as some castles built a few hundred years earlier. The grounds are wide and well-tended with verdant shrubberies. The afternoon party takes place on the grounds. The guests include influential pre-Golden Liberty nobility, members of the Sejm, wealthy merchants, and some Ussuran trade delegates. There are musicians on a stage, copious food and drink, hot and cold running servants, and even a planned exotic entertainment from beyond Théah. A wanders into the manor house to snoop under the pretext of finding the coatroom. The interior of the manor features various ostentatious displays of wealth: gilded plaster ceiling decorations, crystal lamps, exotic wares from around the world, etc. A presses on past where any coatroom could plausibly be located and assumes the guise of a servant with a purpose, eventually finding his way into Nadzieja's study, which is tastefully, yet less ostentatiously, appointed. He discovers a tidy ledger of importance with familiar names in a secret compartment in her desk. Unfortunately he triggers a poison needle trap and also an alarm in the form of a heavy brick that thuds to the floor. His Poison Immunity spares him the consequences of the pin prick, but he decides he cannot risk remaining in the study after setting off the alarm, so he opens a window to suggest a cat burglar's intrusion and quickly dashes out of the room with the ledger hidden under his shirt, making it out of the manor unobserved. Outside on the lawn, I places herself in Nadzieja's line of sight. B notices a group of educated upper-class Ussurans and steers clear of them to avoid having his cover blown as I's somewhat dim arm candy. K keeps alert for possible danger and also scans the crowd for Kreuzritter insignia. He notices that the party is well-protected, with unobtrusive guards scattered about the estate. Nadzieja greets them and resumes her subtle attempts to seduce I with the advantages of obtaining a patron and the glamorous lifestyle of becoming a Courtesan, as I continues her naive country bumpkin act. Nadzieja senses something vaguely amiss and signals to one of her armed servants. I uses Fascinate to delay the servant while creating a more widespread distraction by encouraging Nadzieja's guests to toast her hardworking servants. K and B spot Lew Budky making his way over to them; neither of them want him to expose their prior relationship to Nadzieja. K uses the pretext of grabbing food to dodge him, while B directly cuts him off, launching into a starry-eyed appreciation of his dueling skill and use of the Eagle's Dive Maneuver, in the process distracting Nadzieja and impeding her from regaining control of the situation. Klaudja walks up to Lew, who she identifies as her brother, and has him introduce her to B and K.

SESSION 6B

G arrives at the Dubicki Estate with the rest of the Heroes having traveled hidden underneath the carriage. After finding some clothes in the livery of the house staff on a clothesline, he disguises himself as a servant, grabs a plate of food, and enters the manor. He ends up in the kitchen, where he chats up the cook, Dasha, while repairing a pot for her. He fails to extract useful information about Nadzieja Dubicki's guests from her, but he does arrange for a dessert tray of anvil-shaped cookies to serve as a signal to the other Heroes that he has made it into the kitchen. Failing to establish contact with them or to extract meaningful information from Dasha, he finally sets off to search for places Nadzieja might hide kidnapped people on the premises, eventually converging on the library at the same time I does. Out on the lawn, Nadzieja notices that I's "servant" (i.e., A) is missing and snidely makes a dig at K for fetching food himself. She greets Lew Budky and Klaudja like old friends. A makes his way to I's carriage and hides the ledger in it. He then sets a signal to alert the others that he's made it out with the goods. Unaware that some clues have already been located inside, I uses the pretext of freshening up to snoop inside the manor. There she spots in a display of jewelry Aldona's ring with three small blue stones set in green enamel swirls and takes it. The particular pattern of wear on the enamel convinces her that this is not merely a similar item. She switches persona from naive country bumpkin to important merchant and commands a servant to bring her Nadzieja's logs to aid her in reaching agreement on a deal. She is directed to the library and Nadzieja's steward, a man with an impressive keyring and a distinctive white streak through his carrot-red hair. While they are negotiating access to Nadzieja's records, G arrives in the same room and triggers a revolving bookcase. The steward, who is actually a spy for a rival merchant, is astounded and annoyed that G has discovered a secret of the Dubicki Estate that he never did, but he nevertheless provides I with another ledger, this one carefully documenting a staggering amount of clothing and jewelry. The last entry is from about three days earlier, the day before the opera. As they search the secret basement room, they find some of the documented clothing and jewelry as well as piles of unworn roughspun clothing, leading them to suspect Nadzieja has skimmed some extra profit by stealing the possessions of the people being trafficked. There is no evidence people have ever been held in the basement, but among the possessions I finds Aldona's shoes, handmade by their grandmother and appliqued by their mother. In a desk they also locate a set of heavy keys with diamond-shaped heads that do not match the steward's keys. The steward notes that they look like warehouse keys to him. I conversationally contemplates killing Nadzieja while G discusses the feasibility of burning down the manor house. The steward is taken aback by this turn in the conversation. Fearing charges of complicity, he flees the scene to report to his true master, grabbing some loot on the way. After some discussion, G and I arrive at a plan of action: grab as much of the portable wealth as possible, with an eye to returning it to its original owners if possible, but if not to deprive Nadzieja of her ill-gotten gains, and torch the manor to cover their tracks (and for revenge) by setting several fires on fuses timed to allow the servants to escape before the building collapses. G uses Wrecking Ball to punch holes in the wall for airflow to accelerate the fire. After placing the bombs crafted by G, they quickly flee the manor towards the carriage with as much wealth as they can manage to hide under their clothes. B allays Nadzieja's suspicions about the missing servant by offering to go look for him, commiserating with her about the difficulties of finding reliable servants in the current post-Golden Liberty climate. Lew identifies B to Klaudja as the witness of his duel and tags along. He tries to needle B about prowling after people in alleys, but B refuses to take the bait, opting to maintain a courteous facade. While B engages Lew on the subject of dueling, Lew fishes for information about B's and K's martial backgrounds. B hides his intentions behind honesty and volunteers that he attended Klippe Academy but has not yet earned a Duelist's pin, whereas K attended Gelingen Academy and presumably earned his pin there. The conversation shifts back to the difficulty of finding reliable servants as they reach the carriage, B deliberately speaking loudly enough to warn A of their imminent arrival. A catches the hint and "hides" himself under the carriage with his foot visibly sticking out as if taking a nap. Rousted from his "hiding" place, Lew recognizes him from the fake Market Square Riot. B feigns surprise at his admission of being present at the riot and plays off A's presence as a symptom of I's weakness for handsome men of action. Lew greets A with hostility, but A uses his Virtue, Friendly, to temporarily win him over. Lew accepts that A is I's servant, but B is unable to convince him that A is also his servant, so they play up for Lew's benefit that B oversteps his authority in I's household and sees A as a rival for her current favorite. B feigns umbrage at A's disparaging remarks and punches him. A catches B's subtle gesture toward the unhitched horses one carriage over and spooks them creating a distraction to cover their escape. Seeing an incipient brawl that might overtake him, Lew retreats, letting slip that he has something important to do later that night. During the commotion, B spots the steward fleeing the party with loot stuffed under his coat. K goes wandering the grounds hunting Kreuzritter under pretext of wanting to take in the lovely estate. After a reasonably thorough search, he spots A's signal but no indication of other Kreuzritter among the guests. He does, however, happen on a coded Kreuzritter sign of colored pebbles arranged under a rose bush. A more careful inspection reveals marks pointing to a lake at the far end of the grounds. He makes his way there unnoticed. Along the side of the lovely, duck-filled lake, he spots an oak tree with a deliberate scratch. Closer examination reveals a waxed envelope of dark paper hidden in a crack. The note inside is in Simon's hand. It reads: "She's come to meet with the merchant here. I know not what for, but doubt it's good. I hope to remove her as she leaves. If I do not, I only hope my brethren find the trail and may finish what I've begun." As he makes his way back to the main party area, he sees G and I detouring around the guests and heading for the carriage. Shortly after, a hue and cry is raised as the manor house bursts into flames. K meets up with B. After reassuring themselves that A, G, and I have made good their escape, they head for the fire, unaware that G and I have set it, to assist with evacuation, fire-suppression, and treatment of the injured.

SESSION 7A
Date: Saturday, 5/19/2018, 17:00-21:00 PDT
Players: A, B, K
Location: Budorigum, the Dubicki Estate, the Quartered Raven, the Budorigum Gazette
Summary: Party investigation I
Begins: "Tracy P. (GM): Hola. Joel will run a few minutes late." -1 line
Ends: "Bronislav: SESSION 7B" -1 line

other docs:
dubicki estate+
quartered raven+
kaya+
nadzieja+
+Jenny Guild House ref
gazette+
+warehouse management offices ref
+warehouse district ref
+Radoslawa Jelen
+Mother ref
ND warehouses+ ref
+The Dispatch ref
+Stanisław Gracjan ref n2 63-64
+The Most Noble and Ancient Order of the Post ref n2 78

+Polina Ilyushin "They're an old family who made their money mining and control a reasonable chunk of lands, though I have yet to decide where they are on the map."
+Ilyushin Mining and Trade
+Szablewo ref n2 80-81
+General Winter ref n2 122
+Merchants' District ref
+Alicja
sgt jerzy+ ref
Saulės Mūšis+ ref
The drowned bodies+ ref
+16-year-old male drowning victim ref
+Lady Andrysiak's Estate ref
Crier+ ref

thread 1 A:

[After leaving the Dubicki Estate, A pulls the carriage over in a secluded location and confers with I and G. They compare notes on their recent activities inside the Dubicki manor house. A learns that I has acquired keys to warehouses that may be involved in human trafficking by Nadzieja Dubicki but does not know where they are.] A takes on the task of tracking down the warehouses and seeks out Kaya at the Quartered Raven to see what she knows. He spins a tale of traveling to Nadzieja's party as the translator for some foreign merchants who now wish to examine her warehouses unannounced to assess her reputability. Kaya has worked a party or two of hers and warningly compares her to a shark. She doesn't know where her warehouses are but suggests two avenues of investigation. A reporter at the Budorigum Gazette must know, based on the accuracy of some of their coverage on shipments, and the information must be on file in the warehouse management offices. A proposes to visit Radoslawa Jelen next. Kaya expresses approval of her both as a person and as a reporter and recommends investigating the warehouses that night. She asks him to let her know what he discovers the following day, mentioning that he should come to the Jenny Guild House and, if she is absent, brief Mother in her stead.

At the Gazette, A finds a bitter Radoslawa stuck at the reception desk, instead of out in the field with the other reporters, because of her politics. She reveals she has chosen to work there in order to gain better insight into the Biały viewpoint. A appeals to her sense of journalistic professionalism, as their conversation over coffee moves to Lew Budky's and the Gazette's role in the Fake Riot. Incensed by the underhandedness of her employers, she disguises A as a fellow reporter and leads him to the publisher's office, where she picks the lock with a hairpin. Scanning the duty roster, A reads that a number of reporters have been assigned to Nadzieja's party and urges haste in their search, secretly aware that the party has ended early because of the arson at the Dubicki Estate. They also learn that another staged riot is planned in the Warehouse District. It seems plausible to suspect Lew will be captaining this bit of scripted unrest given his role in the previous riot, the recent message at the Biały drop point about assignments having been passed out, and his comment about having something important to do that night. The planned riot gives A the perfect excuse to search specifically about warehouse ownership. Using Got It! he opens a locked filing cabinet whose files reveal that the warehouses have long been under surveillance. The warehouses where the riot will take place are owned by a merchant with royal patronage that have received several recent shipments from Vodacce. A also notes the location of several of Nadzieja's warehouses, including one that receives her most secretive shipments. The revelation that this action goes significantly further than before, aiming at the heart of Golden Liberty by framing the Czerwony for insurrection against King Stanisław Gracjan, pushes her to quit and move against her former employers. A gathers up various useful files while Radoslawa collects the incriminating evidence to show to the other newspapers. They exit out the back door, heading first for the Dispatch, a small paper she used to work for that is affiliated with the Most Noble and Ancient Order of the Post, a Sarmatian "secret" society.

thread 2 B & K:

While A researches Nadzieja's warehouses, B and K remain behind to assist with the fire rescue efforts at her estate. Most of the guests, including the Ussurans, join in a bucket brigade from the lake until the firefighters arrive, as Nadzieja furiously shouts orders at her staff to salvage particular things. B notices that Lew and Klaudja initially huddle around Nadzieja in intense conversation before leaving the estate. He worries that their cover may have been blown, but no one interferes with him or K. During a break in the firefighting when they cannot be overheard, K briefs B on the Kreuzritter note in the tree and they speculate about A, G, and I's activities during the party. All of the staff and guests escape mortal peril, but there are numerous scalds, burns, and smoke inhalation injuries requiring B's medical training. Despite his efforts to dodge the elite Ussuran guests, B finds one at the end of his triage queue, Polina Ilyushin, a noblewoman representing her family's firm, Ilyushin Mining and Trade. As he treats her burned arms, he learns that most of the Ussuran guests are scions of noble houses with trading interests in Sarmatia. The mix includes some "new money" whose family wealth is rumored to derive from piracy and a sprinkling of university students visiting from Szablewo. They discuss General Winter and other threats to peace along the Sarmatian-Ussuran border. They also discuss a possible trade alliance, since both families have mining interests, and she gives him a card for the nice boarding house she is staying at in the Merchants' District. Finished treating the injured, B goes looking for K.

Meanwhile, when the fire brigades finally arrive, one of the firefighters, Alicja, recognizes K as an associate of Sergeant Jerzy's and thanks him for helping with the fire. They discuss self-governance in Sarmatia and Freiburg and the established interests in both places acting to undermine it. K volunteers that he's come to Budorigum to learn techniques from Jerzy but in the process has come across a disturbing number of disappearances. She ascribes it to political violence, but he suggests a connection to Horrors and Saulės Mūšis. She's heard some rumors during her four months on the firefighting crew, but Jerzy has been closemouthed about that subject, so most of her information has come from the press. She was an eyewitness for one suspicious case, though, a 16-year-old male victim fished out of the water a few weeks earlier at a small park south of Lady Andrysiak's Estate without a mark on him. B joins their discussion, hoping for clues pointing towards politically motivated murder or towards Sorcery, but besides the one case, Alicja only knows what she's read. He lets her know how he can be reached if she happens to recall a colleague with more information. B realizes he will probably have to research the matter at the local newspapers' morgues, probably starting at the Crier since it's done the most reporting on the subject, and investigate the drowning sites in person for more clues. With the remaining firefighting in the hands of the professionals, they excuse themselves to check up on "their lady" (i.e., I), K discussing dueling techniques along the way.

SESSION 7B
Date: Monday, 5/21/2018, 20:00-22:00 PDT
Players: B, K
Location: Budorigum, the Quartered Raven, the Three Larks
Summary: Party investigation II
Begins: "Bronislav: SESSION 7B" +0 lines
Ends: "Bronislav: damn dueling is a pain. i see in round 2 that B got in one extra move due to arithmetic error in raise tracking" +2 lines