Session XXXIII: Protectorate

At around midnight Del'Gado woke up to the faint sound of troops mustering and to the enormous northern gate slowly opening. Looking out his window, he saw numerous ten-man squads move around the deserted streets of the mountain-keep, where some headed towards the Drakestower, others in the direction of the Pool Market, and three squads went for the House of Revelry, the party's current resting spot. Two squads prepared to enter whilst the third secured the building's windows and exits. Del'Gado woke everyone up. Except for Baldur, who refused to give up his sleep for such a trifle. Caerlin tried to convince him via a use of sending but was even quicker dismissed. Thereafter, both he and Jacqualine turned invisible via spell whilst Del'Gado flew up to the ceiling, in a concerted effort to hide. Mere seconds afterwards, a squad of black-uniformed soldiers with antennaed devices on their backs ascended the second floor and began stacking up on the door leading to Baldur's and Björn's room (Baldur opted for a shared room). They broke the lock, threw in a cylindrical grenade, and entered in a cross-like formation after the grenade went off. Baldur heard the door's lock break and felt the tremendous shock produced by the grenade, followed by numerous beaming red lights accompanied by garbled, static voices entering his room. He pulled up the sheets and ignored the ruckus. The soldiers grabbed his roommate and left, with the other party members observing that they dragged him outside, to the entrance of the tavern. The garbled voices switched to a normal tone and Jacqualine could, for the first time since she caused them to implement drastic integrity protocols by revealing that she spoke their language, eavesdrop on the outsiders. Although she missed some details, it was obviously a presentation of charges against Björn. Jacqualine could understand  

"(…) impersonation … conspiracy to impersonate military officer … conspiracy to assassinate military officer … conspiracy to mislead or misdirect the armed forces of the Empire of Draecovia…"

  Conviction was immediate. Execution by firing squad. The accused had the right to formulate a last will which would be communicated to his next of kin, but Björn responded in bewilderment and confusion. Someone's arrival delayed the execution of the verdict, though mere seconds afterwards eight shots rang out, and Björn's body fell heavy to the ground. The soldiers still inside the tavern left as soon as he was dead. Most of the party decided to then return to sleep, except for Del'Gado, who still wished to investigate. He went outside and saw that a couple of these "MISREC" soldiers remained by the body. Also, the body was no longer resembling a dwarf but that of a doppelganger, which Del'Gado recognised from the failed murder attempt of Caerlin back in Akk-Ur, as that had been undertaken by one. He spoke to the soldier. Afterwards, he went to his room, flew outside to a high point, and overlooked the keep. The Pool Market obviously served as an assembly ground for the soldiers, with several metallic vehicles now being parked there; likewise, there seemed to be an elevated presence around the Drakestower. Now satisfied, he returned to sleep.   In the morning, he pressed Baldur on his nonplussed attitude to what he deemed to be a coup (also mentioning the doppelganger). Baldur responded that there would be nothing they could do against a coup, and besides, if they were eliminating doppelgangers, they were doing the town a favour. The party went towards the smithy to retrieve their last items before heading out. In a conversation with Anders they learned that four other doppelgangers had been killed during the night raid. One had been posing as the Jarl himself, another as the head of the local MMC office (which had enraged Anders considerably, due to them having had business interactions), and two nobles from the Ironfist and Forgebraid clans. Upon hearing this, Baldur did set out to find out who exactly it had been from his clan, and after he discovered that it had been Ingeltore, an elder who he really did not know that well, he rejoined the group.   Shortly after leaving, they had to pass through the military encampment set up outside. The party was greeted by an officer who informed them that they needed rudimentary travel identification documents if they intended to pass through Inspectorate or Mandate territory. This was a short affair, and Caerlin's attempt at deception was uncovered without trouble by the officer (who advised Caerlin to stick to one, instead of several, of his many professed identities). The documents were stamped and signed. Valid for six months.   Well on the road, the party encountered an enigmatic and fickle elf who declared himself a potion seller. Although Del'Gado wanted to buy potions from him, he was declared too weak for what he had on offer. Perhaps he should locate a seller who sells weaker potions? However, both Baldur and Caerlin were allowed to peruse the potion seller's many potions. They spent a combined 7147 gold on the occasion.   Several days later in camp, Caerlin sent a message to Varkallin, who wondered why the party had left without saying anything. She voiced appreciation at the conversations that she and Caerlin had had. Del'Gado used his Shadow Regime ternion to contact his adoptive mother, and mostly inquired about the status of the Helvatian rebellion. It was apparently ongoing, but details were vague.   The party had made the decision to first enter Hazred's mansion as they had the answer to one of the questions (found in a book obtained by Warden Sharyukin of the Nightgaol). They passed through Tarentan once again and noticed that the military outsiders had almost entirely left this area by now. The rest of the way to the mansion was uneventful. However, the observation group that they encountered last had been rotated out with a new roster; their uniforms were grey, and the unit insignia was an eagle's claw. The ranking officer let go of some suspicion after she heard their names, as they had been featured in her predecessor's reports. The party was instructed to, if they so willed, to deliver their findings to the ad hoc headquarters of military intelligence located in Vindova.