Shadows in the Mist

[saithor]

The Dauntless Hall, where you were sent to meet with representatives of the Conclave, is an ancient structure whose foundations were laid by the Anvils of the Heldenhammer when they claimed the city for Sigmar long ago. It is a severe building, towering and impressive but also looking bleak and sad. Guards at the door admit you once you identify yourselves and lead you to a large room, where Councillor Morgan Kassan waits.

The Councillor is a youngish and serious-looking woman with dark hair. A scar across the right side of her face belies her experience with the more dangerous aspects of politics. She stands and greets each of you by name as you enter.

"Welcome to Anvilgard. I am aware many of you are new to the city, so if you do not know, we were founded by the Stormhost, the Anvils of Heldenhammer, and since then, have grown to a large port city situated as we are on the Flamescar Plateau. The Crucible of Life surrounds us, a constantly increasing jungle of ferocious vegetation and even more voracious wildlife, which is barely kept in check by the defoliating mists spread by our cannons. Because of this, only two routes exist out of the city: the Golvarian Passage, which is assailed by the magic of Death, and the Searing Sea, which, true to its name, is at it's most bearable broiling.

It's about those defoliant cannons I wish to speak to you. Recently the Ironweld Arsenal have created a new recipe that should cause less mist over our city. A Kharadon frigate, the Burz Mulnkuremon, was sent to deliver the materials for it, and it has gone missing. I suspect the Coil is responsible, much how I suspect they are responsible for increased pirate activity in general on the Searing Sea.

Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. The Blackscale Coil is a criminal organization in our city who has recently grown in both power and influence. I can't trust many of my fellow councillors these days because of them. They have agents everywhere. But on a more immediate note, I've secured passage on a ship called the Blackfin. The city needs that defoliant, and it also needs evidence of activity of the Coil." her eyes flicker uncomfortably to some of you before she continues. "It is suspected that the Coil is heavily involved with three groups in particular. The Darkling Covens, the Order Serpentis, and the Scourge Privateers."

 

 

[PureChance]

Caith Mor'Phann - Isharran Soulscryer [Body: 1 | Mind 3 | Soul 3]

---

Melee [1] | Accuracy [3] | Defense [1] | Armour [1] | Toughness [8/8] | Init [3] | Wounds [4/4] | Awareness [2] | Mettle [2]

---

Devotion [5d6 +1] | Determination [4d6] | Intimidation [3d6 +1] | Intuition [5d6 +1] | Survival [4d6] | Theology [4d6 +1] |Finger ClawsDamage: S (1 per success)
Piercing, Slashing
Subtle, Dowerchime StaffDamage: 1 + S (1 per success)
Crushing
Two handed, Ethersea CloakA Ethersea cloak appears as roiling waves falling from the wearer's shoulder and causes the air to fill with the smell of seawater. Created by Isharran Tidecasters, an ethersea cloak surrounds the wearer in the aura of the ethers, allowing land dwelling creatures to breathe and move underwater as if they were on land, and sea creatures to 'swim' through the air as if underwater. | MiraclesUniversal;
• Healing Spirit (Zone/Self/Instant)
DN5:1 Soul(Devotion) test, [S] Toughness recovered (+ Soul for 1 Mettle)

Ethersea;
• Favourable Tides (You/Long/Instant)
• Diviner of Truth (1/Short/Instant)
Opposed Soul(Devotion) vs Soul(Determination)
• Seeker of Souls (1/Long/[S] Hours)
DN4:1 Soul(Devotion) test
• Abyssal Nightmare (Zone/Medium/Sustained, 2 Mettle)
1 Mettle to Sustain

---

Disquieting PresenceYou are a terrifying vision death: pale-skinned with glowing white eyes, circled by freezing ethersea mists that chill the hearts of your enemies. Creatures than move to Close Range with you or start their turn there must make a DN4:3 Soul(Determination) test. On a failure, they are Frightened until the start of their next turn. If a creature passes the Test, they are immune to this effect for 1 day. Other members of your Binding are permanently immune to this effect. | Blessed (The Ethersea)Where others may worship a god, you are one of the truly devoted. For your devotion and piety, you have been blessed with a fraction of your god's power.

The Idoneth have no need of Gods, having forsaken their creator Telcos centuries ago. Instead, they put their faith in the unknowable eldritch power of the Ethersea, trusting in it to guide and protect them.

---

 

It occurs to Caith as the Aqshy luminescent introduces herself, that the others may not have recalled his name given the rigours of the binding. "Caith Mor'Phann," he shares, as he follows the Stormcast inside the Dauntless Hall.

 

He listens to the woman speak carefully, well aware of the passage through the boiling sea, and the Whirlway it hides that he suspects she knows less about. Though the mists lent a certain ambiance - and would certainly make any raids easier - he understood why the residents would rather be without them. Exactly the same reasons largely. At the mention of the Order Serpentis, his gaze focuses on the sword hilt Maeleris had been caressing earlier, and wondered if the similarity was coincidence. "The privateers have grown bold of late," he comments idly, "and would do well to be reminded that the sea holds many more terrors beneath it than they can imagine." Sharktooth claws adorning his left hand scrape slightly against the cyfar compass suspended in his ethersea cloak.

He turns first towards Connie, asking "Do you know anything of this Burz Mulkurenon?" and then Maeleris "or you this Order Serpentis?"

 

[Mythical]

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CAELUS STORMFURY [wiki]

Knight-Evocatant of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer

 

The seven-and-a-half foot tall Knight-Evocatant filed into the audience chamber along with the rest of the Binding, and waited for their escort of guards to leave before speaking. With a perfunctory bow, he returned their homely host's greeting and added, "Lord-Castellant Emphrem Vanhelm sends his regards." During Caelus's initial briefing upon his arrival in Anvilgard, the older Stormcast Eternal had mentioned Morgan Kassan specifically by name as one of the few administrators in the Grand Conclave that he actually trusted. Of course, Caelus reserved the right to judge the woman for himself, but the Lord-Castellant's general instincts had yet to be proven wrong. "Thank you for taking the time to see us," he interjected before she could launch into her spiel.

While the Councilor's words washed over those assembled before her, the silent Knight-Evocatant mentally followed along and ruminated upon the topics she was covering. Although he was quite keen of mind, he had neither the heart nor the stomach for politics, and for all intents and purposes, Anvilgard's political landscape seemed to be quickly succumbing to corruption and transforming into a wretched hive of scum and villany. And as Morgan Kassan's speech trailed to a close, he asked her pointedly, "So what exactly do you want from us?" He was seeking clarification. "Is this to be a search and rescue? A simple retrieval? Or something else entirely?" If the Blackscale Coil that she had mentioned was as pervasive as she feared, it would certainly complicate their task even more.

[violentprincess]

"So pirate hunting then," Connie replies to the councilor, "done that a time or two before, though this'll be the first time I needed to keep any alive for questioning. How long ago they go missing?" she asks, still with a bit of a casual irreverent air implying she thinks it will be an easy task. She doesn't but in her experience employers are usually happier when their mercenaries seem confident, so she tends to lay it on a little thick when the one pouring out the pay is around.

 

She turns to Caith and quietly answers his question, "Don't think I know the ship past recognizing the name, and this is my first time in the city so I can't say I know any of the local factions either."

[Inquisitor D]

Anikah claps at Connie's trick with the bolt, nodding respectfully at her instruction. Unfortunately, she descends into in quiet awe as soon as Caelus has arrived to join them. She tries not to be obvious about it, but she keeps snatching glances at the Stormcast, as though he were some mysterious phenomena that might disappear if she stared too closely at him.

He matches Dauntless Hall well. This is far from Anikah first time in a great building of this kind, but the bleak majesty of its construction speaks to her. There is something of Shyish to it, a solemn grandeur that puts her in mind of the Palace of Lamentations. That memory causes the young vampire to smile pleasantly as her group walk towards the meeting chamber. This feels... appropriate.

She likes the Councillor, at least for now. Kassan strikes Anikah as serious woman: someone given to getting the job done rather than accruing personal acclaim. The best kind of court official to work for. She listens intently to their briefing, though as a sign of respect she bows her head and closes her eyes. Once the opportunity is right, however, she adds some questions to those of her newfound cohort.

"Why would this Coil want the defoliant materials? You are the ones with the cannons. You have a working defoliant, so this won't cause the city to be overrun, or discontent to rise against the Council. Do the Coil just... like the city being misty? Travel is dangerous at the best of times. My first assumption would be simple misfortune or random piracy rather than any local group being responsible. A specially tailored defoliant isn't something you can hawk to passersby down at the local night market. Even if you could find a buyer, trying to sell this thing to anyone would be as good as a confession of piracy."

"Also, are you sure we can trust this 'Blackfin'?" This one might just be her getting over suspicious. Anikah spreads her hands, as if weighing two sides of a scale, while trying not to look embarrassed. "Blackscale Coil, the criminal enterprise. Blackfin, the ship. It seems... Ill omened. And you mentioned the Scourge Privateers as potentially tied to this group. It's a bold captain that's willing to risk angering pirates and a criminal enterprise in the city they've docked with. They won't be safe at land or sea."

Edited January 22 by Inquisitor D (see edit history)

[Rhallan]

Fyregrim walks with the rest of the group not Dauntless Hall and listens to the Councilor speak. Pirates possibly taking a better defoliant? That is unusual, and the vampire is right – it wouldn’t be easy to sell. I agree with anikah that taking this defoliant an' trying ta sell it doesn’t seem like it wou' work. Wou' this new defoliant reduce tha amount o' tha mist in tha air? Shaking his head as if to clear it of some other thought, Wou' this be worth anything ta anyone else? or cou' this be something ta just prevent tha city from getting it? Pacing, almost as if he is unable to stand still, Fyregrim’s hand seems to almost caress one of the metal runes in his skin. Do we know the route the ship was going to take? As for these other groups you mentioned, the serpent one almost sounds familiar . . .

OOC

Would Fyregrim recognize the Order Serpentis? He is from the Lofnir Lodge in Ghur and is familiar with beasts. Since Order Serpentis are black dragon riders and beastmasters (notably of Hydras) would he know of them?

 

[Ironblaze]

Maeleris groans hearing the name Blackscale Coil. "Oh fickle winds. Yes, I know of the Coil and Serpentis, I have kin connected to the Order here in town. Was hoping to use them for information and maybe catch up with them. With any luck they aren't directly involved but could know who among their ranks might be complicit. Blackscale complicates things though, they have fingers in enough pastries across Aqshy who knows what's going on there."

 

She looks at the Fyreslayer. "Order Serpentis are an old aelven knighthood, originally from Ulgu. Dragon breeders. Not sure why they would want to disrupt the defoliant though, or those other aelven groups for that matter. Coil are a mafia, sure, but they still operate out of Anvilgard and I can't imagine the city being consumed by the local flora is all that good for business."

Edited January 24 by Ironblaze (see edit history)

[saithor]

"I doubt the Coil knows the true purpose of what they've taken. They just are trying to raid shipping in general and probably assumed whatever they took from a Kharadon ship would be worth the risk. It's been a week since it was supposed to make port. They probably don't even realize what they took. As for the Blackfin, I trust it's captain about as much as I can any captain. He'll do what he's paid for. You'll start with the ship's route, trace it, and see if you can find any signs of the frigate."

[Inquisitor D]

Anikah nods. A perfectly reasonable answer. She grinsat the description of their main task

"That won't be a bother. We've got both sea and sky covered, following their trail shouldn't be hard."

Still, there's one problem. And while Anikah the Late, knight of blood, might not have expertise in this area, little Ani the serving girl has some experience dealing with tradesmen and shipping complications from incomplete instructions.

"How will we recognize the defoliant? If it's been removed from the ship, and relocated to a pirate hold, it may not be obvious to us either. There could've been other chemicals shipped in the Mulnkuremon's hold. If there are specific markings on the crates, like a supplier's sigil or consignment number, that would be helpful. Failing that, a description of their contents should be enough."

A bit of that professional manner starts to fade from the young vampire. That's... probably too much of a question, isn't it? They shouldn't be taking up their employer's time unless they have to. She smiles, an oddly nervous look for a woman with fangs

"Err... sorry if I'm overthinking this. Trying to make sure everything's accounted for."

[violentprincess]

"A week ago? Not too bad. Let's hope they don't realize what's coming," Connie says letting a bit of arcane lightning arc between her fingers for emphasis. Turning slightly to acknowledge Anikah she continues, "That's a good point. Any descriptions, shipping manifests, or what-have-you of the stuff we're trying to recover would be helpful."

 

Looking out at the assembled group Connie asks, chuckling to herself a little as she does so, "Any of you lot any good at taking people down without killing them? Cause it isn't really my thing but we're probably gonna need some survivors to question."

[PureChance]

Caith Mor'Phann - Isharran Soulscryer [Body: 1 | Mind 3 | Soul 3]

---

Melee [1] | Accuracy [3] | Defense [1] | Armour [1] | Toughness [8/8] | Init [3] | Wounds [4/4] | Awareness [2] | Mettle [2]

---

Devotion [5d6 +1] | Determination [4d6] | Intimidation [3d6 +1] | Intuition [5d6 +1] | Survival [4d6] | Theology [4d6 +1] | Finger ClawsDamage: S (1 per success)
Piercing, Slashing
Subtle, Dowerchime StaffDamage: 1 + S (1 per success)
Crushing
Two handed, Ethersea CloakA Ethersea cloak appears as roiling waves falling from the wearer's shoulder and causes the air to fill with the smell of seawater. Created by Isharran Tidecasters, an ethersea cloak surrounds the wearer in the aura of the ethers, allowing land dwelling creatures to breathe and move underwater as if they were on land, and sea creatures to 'swim' through the air as if underwater. | MiraclesUniversal;
• Healing Spirit (Zone/Self/Instant)
DN5:1 Soul(Devotion) test, [S] Toughness recovered (+ Soul for 1 Mettle)

Ethersea;
• Favourable Tides (You/Long/Instant)
• Diviner of Truth (1/Short/Instant)
Opposed Soul(Devotion) vs Soul(Determination)
• Seeker of Souls (1/Long/[S] Hours)
DN4:1 Soul(Devotion) test
• Abyssal Nightmare (Zone/Medium/Sustained, 2 Mettle)
1 Mettle to Sustain

---

Disquieting PresenceYou are a terrifying vision death: pale-skinned with glowing white eyes, circled by freezing ethersea mists that chill the hearts of your enemies. Creatures than move to Close Range with you or start their turn there must make a DN4:3 Soul(Determination) test. On a failure, they are Frightened until the start of their next turn. If a creature passes the Test, they are immune to this effect for 1 day. Other members of your Binding are permanently immune to this effect. | Blessed (The Ethersea)Where others may worship a god, you are one of the truly devoted. For your devotion and piety, you have been blessed with a fraction of your god's power.

The Idoneth have no need of Gods, having forsaken their creator Telcos centuries ago. Instead, they put their faith in the unknowable eldritch power of the Ethersea, trusting in it to guide and protect them.

---

 

His new companions appear sharp by their questions, Caith approves. Typically Idoneth raids did not suffer particularly in determining targets, they only wanted one thing - survival - and it was often his fane tasked with maximising those gains. A task he had taken on more than once himself. He brushes the bandana against his head with a frown, cutting off that line of thought - no good would come of it. Instead he tackles Connie's question. "Certainly once we have the survivors, I can likely read their truth one way or another, no cooperation necessary. The soul cannot lie, and I am well practiced in it's reading."

[Neopopulas]

Ellania Luthirian - Scinari Lorekeeper [Body: 3 | Mind 3 | Soul 2]

---

Melee [5] | Accuracy [3] | Defense [4] | Armour [2] | Toughness [8/8] | Init [8] | Wounds [4/4] | Awareness [2] | Mettle [1]

---

Channeling [5d6 +2] | Weapon [5d6 +1] | Reflexes [4d6] | Awareness [4d6] | Eclipsian StaffDamage: 1 + 1 per success
Crushing - Bludgeoning Damage
Two handed, Loreseeker BladeDamage: 1 + 1 per success
Crushing - Slashing
Two handed | SpellsCommon Spells;
• Arcane Bolt
• Arcane Blast
• Mystic Shield
• Flight

Bright Spells;
• Clensing Fire
• Fireball

---

SpellcastingBright Spells | UnbindRoll a Channeling rest. Difficulty equal to the Difficulty of the Spell and Complexity is equal to total successes of the caster.

If successful the spell is unbound and has no effect | Unbreakable SpellComplexity of tests to Unbind your spells is increased by 1 per level of focus you have in Channelings | Scinari BalanceCan wield Eclipsian Staff and Loreseeker Blade at the same time, one in each hand.

Additionally you double your Focus on Dexterity and Reflex tests to maintain your balance, keep your footing and resist any effects which would cause you to fall prone | Scinari ContemplationDuring combat, when you cast a spell, you can double your focus in Channeling if you didn't cast a spell on your previous turn and vice versa

---

"I do not doubt your abilities.."

"I think once we have our hands on the perpetrators things will change dramatically."

[Rhallan]

Nodding his head in agreement with the others, Sounds like we have a plan. Trace tha route, confirm what happened ta tha ship, track down tha cargo. Kill some pirates. Did i forget anything?

[Inquisitor D]

Anikah allows herself a fanged grin at Fyrgrim's words. He's got most of it, but there's one step that did slip his memory a little.

"Not killing all the pirates. At least until we're sure we can find the cargo"

And that might be a problem. Her new companions are of upright disposition, showing mercy likely won't strain their souls. But who here would specialize in such a thing? Bolts of lightning and great axes aren't tools made for light injury. Anikah glances around their cohort, pondering the matter before turning back to Connie herself.

"If none of us have a specialized method of restraining foes alive, I'll attempt it. It's a grey area of my oath, but it's a chance to test my personal discipline. I should take the opportunity."

 

[saithor]

"The crates will have markings. I'll draw the sigil for you. Hopefully, it's not been opened, but if they have it'll be a set of chemicals and metals." The councilwoman describes both to an extent that you'll be able to easily identify the defoliant whether it is in it's crate or not. "Is that all the questions you have?"