Everybody gets an extra 2,500 gold because fuck Math. Cheers to Latir!Excitement! Excitement and adventure! And curiosity too! All these things and more revolved through the dependable Delivery Dog's mind as his head poked out of a window along a great Wind-Tram that had departed from the Aerie Way Station last week. He had made a great many deliveries and carried many messages to the elusive Bladefang Orc tribes in the Northern Reaches, and now he returned with many more orders from them! Trade orders and letters to family and friends... and a very important reply! As the Wind-Tram billowed out fresh air to bind elemental energy to and accelerate across in the vacuum of space, the air dissipating about as fast as the tram can move across it, it begins to slow and gust out twice as much air as before, eventually forming a self-sufficient pocket as it docks near the terraformed Gateway land and lets guests off. This is merely a matter of convenience, as once all are off-board, it 180s and returns to the Aerie Way Station, where it will accept those boarding.
Hopping aboard his trusty scooter, the other passengers cannot mask their clear envy of such a marvelous little transport with such a classy little dog. They are immediately afflicted by Hatin', but he begins Rollin' back to town.
Back at the Holsten Holdings Headquarters, things have been Busy! The latest weekly herald has released and... Oh My Pelor. It seems the chaps you let escape the encounter with Ottimus had enough loose lips to sink a dozen ships. The front story hits with a thrilling illustration of what appears to be a... Dwarf, wielding a shotgun in one hand and a chainsaw in his other hand confronting a colossal Skeletal Demon Carp(Skull has Horns) embedded in a mass of sinister ooze with eyes on it.
TROUBLEMAKERS IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE! Holsten Holdings Dissolves Dastardly Dynamo Dissidents! Outcast Ottimus Cast Into Shallow Grave! EVERYONE is aware of the ace you've just pulled upon your competition and the word around town is that you're far more capable than you look, and by Pelor, you might even return to the Council at the end of the month!
Ilex is illustrated in the editorial section with the give-away big forehead, but she's portrayed triumphantly as the iconic (and more pleasantly presented) figures of the other factions in the Big Three look on cautiously at Ilex's IMPOSSIBLE SMUGNESS, the cocky half-elf drawn with her eyes closed because she's just so pleased with herself. There's also room for tentative figures of a spider-like Neogi and a very dapper Gentleman Skeleton to regard Ilex's rise with bewilderment. Caption: "Queen of the Mountain!?" At the base of the metaphorical moutain of triumph Ilex stands upon, a very funny Firebrand is hopping up and down as steam flies out of his ears. See it's a joke because Dwarf and a mountain and... PEE PEE, DOO DOO, SHE IS A BAD LEADER?
Considering that Karvan himself said that he couldn't starve anyone, I assume that Clarice, Gran and Kiplyn are being fed. Beatrice seems to try her hand at interrogation very frequently, but always seems to go down when everybody else is busy so that she can speak to them alone. Kiplyn seems to open up readily, though most of what he tells you paints a story of a lot of Ottimus' recruits: down on their luck, no way out of debt, Ottimus conveniently appears and speaks with great conviction of a better future.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, it seems Ottimus really believed in completely overthrowing the current Council and making Gateway less rigid, so that the lower class would have a chance to rise, lest the Big Three maintain that monopoly forever.
Beatrice seems to have asked, but Kiplyn confirms that they had
nothing to do with the ambush on the Long Holiday, citing that Hjard and his type are completely untrustworthy even for the Iythian.
It is Week 3, and you are free to begin acting, but I will be posting with new events coming up every so often, so no need to rush out and look for stuff to do. I recommend just entering the thread for now!
Ilex: You can stabilize your disease to the One Surge Lost state, but never get it below. You become used to uh, weeding your arms each day. Your ailment seems to be entirely unknown by any sort of healer, holy person, nature person or other. Since a few of your boys can read Elven, it seems that this is related to the mad science of Doctor Quint, but he escaped in the chaos of the Ottimus fight and has been smart enough to hide in a very deep hole since then.
You're also told about the offer of 200,000 gold from the Academy for the Hand of Entrophy and can act on that immediately. Phous' warning to not interfere with the investigation has also thankfully expired by now.
Meran: Your friends tell you of the... Church of the Raven? Perhaps a visit is in order, though I'll prompt you to form a group for it a bit later.
Morgiana: Your friends warn you that the Tome is available for study, but Millicent 7th herself stated that reading the tome in full was a terrible idea. Your call.
Ragjen: You've received a
neat and trim letter from somebody at the Church of Pelor! It's unmarked, was passed to Morgiana to be passed to you, and smells vaguely of scented candles.
Latir: You had an idea to interrogate the prisoners, right? Fire away!