Session 6 - Meeting the Patron

March 27, 2022
We picked back up shopping. Rhys got a Bardic Instrument (Bandalore) and an Amulet of Health. Umlilo got a Wand of War Mage +2 and a Bag of Holding. Vedemis got a Sentient Moon Bow and Slippers of Spider Climbing. Espy got a Brooch of Shielding. Pietr got a Cloak of Protection, Stone of Good Luck, and Heward’s Handy Haversack.
 
Umlilo then visited the War Mage tower and got the spell Teleport Circle. Vedemis and Espy went to the Shadow Monk Monastery. We learn the Library access is costly and elaborate. Rhys goes cruising Inn’s. Pietr tails Espy.
 
At dusk on the third day, Khepkhusha will come to the Villa and collect the party. She will introduce herself simply as Sister Ummo of the Shadow Monks, and she will ask that the party accompany her, then she will bring them to the palace gardens of the Suzerain court, and from there south into the market square where the shops are closed or closing for the night.
Then she will lead them out of the eastern gates of the city to the settlement beyond the walls, and to a non-descript house there, where she will open a secret door in the parlor and lead them down a secret set of stairs, to a small but well-stocked library of some kind filled with scrolls written in Ffelyani Court Calligraphy. There is a formal zen garden of white sand with a small stone dais in the center, open to the sky through a sub-level to an overgrown and poorly-kept garden above.
Sitting there on the dais is Evyzarraxxa, in katarzi (Tabaxi) form, looking very similar to Khepkhusha's draconic bloodline manifestations.
Evyzarraxxa wears a veil (minor abjuration magic) even when dealing with the party, and takes care not to meet their eyes so as not to Glamour them accidentally.
"Greetings, Travelers. I am Evyzarraxxa, your house's Patron. You may look upon me without fear, I mean you no harm."
 
Khepkhusha gives a small laugh and says as an aside, "She means she will not Glamour you, or make you Dragonbound. At least, not intentionally. Sometimes my Master does not realize how the speech of Drakes can come across to we mere mortals. Still, best not to stare directly into her eyes as she is one of the more powerful dragons, and you would not be the first to accidentally find yourselves Bound to her."
Evyzarraxxa blinks in surprise as Khepkhusha speaks, then gives a small chuckle. "Yes, my Voice does well to remind me I am among the lesser races." She then looks directly at Rhys and says, "But you seem to have nothing to fear, Silvereyes. Kryptikos saw to that, though why he didn't similarly ward all of the rest is curious. Did he mean to make you a better servant, or a worse one? I wonder.
"Well, no matter. I do not like to lead my servants through Compulsion, but rather take those who willingly agree to serve me. You all had a choice to enter Service to me and my agents or not. Still, since you are immune to the Glamour of Dragonkind, I may have specific use for you in the future, although dragons dislike moving directly against others of our kind, of course."
"Now, speaking of the Horizon Lord, I understand you bring a Seeing from Lady Alvar. Let's take a listen and see what your role is to be, shall we?"
Evyzarraxxa screws up her mouth and gives a little harrumph. "Typical oracular cadence. Ambivalence with a dash of self-importance and any number of possible meanings. " She sighs. "Well, let us consider some things that are obvious. The first stanza speaks of you coming here. Either you were found on the beach by a mortal weaver, or Moiraea the Goddess was involved in your transit.
 
"Naught but silver binding you... well, you Chose that path already. Either service to me, a silver dragon queen, or service to silver coins of a mercenary's existence here. So the first stanza would seem to be mostly about the past, and choices made.
"The second stanza is a set of instructions for what you need to do. Or rather, a lack of instructions. You are to be given your lead to make what choices you would as a group, and follow your own advisement. At least for a time. Whatever choices you make, eventually you will start the 'path of dread'. And then... well, then it seems things will get interesting."
"There are elements of the vision which are troubling to me, but too much is unknown. And it would seem that my role in your destiny comes much later. In the fifth stanza. 'Then silver calls and silver sees'. Assuming you still choose to remain in service to me, after you 'raise the nexus tower' I will summon you once more, and clarity on the remainder will present itself then. Perhaps before some kind of eclipse of the sun, if my initial reading of this is correct. I shall have to consult with an astologer for their ephemera of the coming years." The Dragon Queen seems troubled by something here, but keeps her own counsel.
"No, Lady Alvar's vision was clear on one thing - I cannot properly advise you until you 'raise the nexus tower'. Nor can I direct you on which path to take until then. And even after then, the sixth stanza makes it clear that the results of everything will still frustratingly depend entirely on you, more's the pity. Mortals do make such complicated messes of everything. Even not knowing what exactly that 'everything' is going to be. Part of why I need to wait until later and you've established a course of action for yourselves."
She sighs. " See what I mean? Standard Oracular cadence. Like any prophecy, best understood after it's happened. Well, at least Lady Alvar cleared up that you are not meant for regular service to House Ummo. I see that you wear the Coterie's Crown, but you might desire not to. If you wish, I will remove the crowns for you now. Or you may continue to wear them, as you desire. I leave the choice to you. Technically it was in my service, so 'bound by silver' could apply. But if you are uncomfortable with the binding spells used to pull you together, we can release you."
 
"Very well. If you have questions you would ask of me, you may do so. I am heartened by your resourcefulness and your decision to place trust in the extended allies of this House. Know that I will tolerate no evil within House Ummo nor any of her extended business dealings. Remember that for yourselves."
 
Then she borrowed Vedemis’ new bow and told it that it was bound to her much the same as he is. If it disobeyed, she’d find it and the 8 others and obliterate them.
 
On the way back to the Villa, as you pass out of the northern edge of the Market Square there seems to be a lot of activity going on over the palace walls and around the statue of the Empress in the small park up the hill overlooking the center of the city. Khepkhusha is looking up at the bustle quizzically when on one end of the outer walls of the Suzerain Palace, one crew unfurls a long banner of white with a border of light gray with an upside-down crown on the bottom point of the pennant. As it falls into place with a snap, another banner of matching design is lowered from another segment of the wall, and a crew from behind the statue maneuvers a white covering with an upside down crown design over the head of the statue of the Empress.
Khepkhusha gives a horrified gasp, and falls to her knees, reaching out toward the banner. A low keening wail escapes from her lips, cutting the night air, and it very quickly is taken up by others in the market square taking evening strolls. From the heights near the villa and the monastery on the heights on the western edge of town, mournful gongs begin to toll in a slow beat, and all around the city sounds of wailing and grief flood the night sky.
Khepkhusha rends the neckline of her monk's halter top, and lowers her face into the dust, ugly crying in a most shocking display. But she is not alone. Every Ffelyani, even the mionnim Attendants, adopt similar poses, some clutching to each other in grief, and looking up at the lit display of the palace, as from every wall and every height, the same white banner with the inverted crown falls into place, and the Imperial Guards take up active watch with lanterns and light spells fixed on the banners, faces stoic.
Khepkhusha walks on her knees over to the side of the paved road and grabs fistfuls of dirt which she wets from her tears (and a quick slosh from her waterskin on the ground hidden by her hunched body), and she rubs the muddy mess all across her face and arms, tears quickly cutting tracks of grief down her face. In Pietr's ear comes a whispered message, "The Empress is dead. It is dangerous for you not to be seen grieving. Kneel and wail and smear dirt, or be suspected by the Inquisitors, or worse."
 
Pietr falls to do as instructed.
 
When the party is around her, she says in low voice between the moans, "Put on stoic faces, and form ranks about me. Be seen to struggle to contain your grief, but guard me as you take me to the Villa. Show your Circlets, and move others roughly out of the way if they will not yield passage. If any complain, declare loudly that you are the Coterie of Ummo, escorting a Daughter of the House to attend upon her Lord in his time of grief. If they complain further, kill them. If you do not, you will be mistaken for the disloyal. And we will be lucky to survive without an Inquisition. Now we go."
The journey home is through increasingly crowded streets, as every felinoid citizen of the place seems to be out in the streets to wail with grief in torn clothing with mud or soot or ashes on their fur, even some with self-inflicted wounds upon their arms oozing blood. Guards, however, of the leondar and katarzi alike, are posted all about the houses and villas in full armor, bearing not weapons, but lanterns, which they shine into the faces of those who pass, seeming to inspect them all for the signs of appropriate public grief. One look at the party and the Circlets of Service, however, and their eyes move on.
The grieving seem to take perverese pleasure in becoming a nuisance and hindering your progress. And by the time that you have made the ascent to the heights where the Villa is located, the mood on the streets in the city below seems to be turning ugly, with the public grief becoming anger, and the reason for the guards quickly becoming apparent, since the crowd is beginning to become an unruly mob.
At the courtyard of the Monasteries which straddle the road before the end of the heights street with the richest and most powerful villas, House Ummo's included, the Monks are arrayed in row after row by rank, Sun Souls and Shadow Monks alike, and they challenge all who wish to continue up the street. Khepkhusha speaks with a hollow look in her eye, and an attitude of shocked disbelief, but she is part of the Monastery herself, and they know her familial affiliation, so once past the one end of the square, you find the streets empty of any mourners, guards with halberds, not lanterns, on all of the house entrances, and no further hindrances to get to the Villa quickly.
 
When you arrive within sight distance of the Villa, a cry goes up from the guards, and half of the guards detach from the outside and come to form ranks before and after you, weapons held at the ready, as they escort you the rest of the way to the inner Courtyard. A grisly sight greets you there - four corpses swing from nooses off of the inner balcony, the grimace of death staring blankly out of their eyes. All of the servants wear rough white linen homespun robes with no ropes to tie them off or give them shape, and all have white clay over their faces and arms, making them seem like ghosts. Jokku comes out of the main Villa doors and greets Khepkhusha, who is eyeing the corpses hanging from the balcony of the inner courtyard.
Her wailing posturing noticeably gone now that she's home, she asks the Majordomo, "How many did we lose?"
"Ten servants total. Two with permission for they were old and had felt the cancer take their joints, and they could no longer serve well. Seven were struck by grief. One was ... encouraged ... by myself for indiscretions and suspected disloyalty."
"Better than last time, if I recall. Where is my brother?"
"He is still at the palace, unfortunately. He issued a Sending that he will remain there with the Governor until released. Your mother has assembled the family in the Audience Room to perform the prayers for Her Majesty's ascent this evening. The news was sent by scroll, but there is more. The Empress apparently passed several weeks ago. We are only learning of it now because tomorrow the Portals home will be opened for a month again. And we must be present at the Portal... the Homeland is still in Full Mourning, but the Heir has taken advantage of the time lapse to send a new Governor to He'shabha, and a new Viceroy."
"How can he do that without...?" she lets her voice trail off and frowns in thought.
 
Jokku shrugs and bows slightly, motioning to the party to wait in their chambers over Khepkhusha's shoulder as she enters the Villa. "I don't know yet, but I would assume that once the Viceroy arrives in Qidyria City, the Heir will declare mourning over, and claim thre Throne formally." And the door closes behind them, cutting off anything else they say.
The Leondar Lyesh comes out of the side door in full battle armor and regalia, with a white sash over his armor with a blue stripe down it and a black swan insignia of House Ummo on it. He warmly greets the party and motions you hurriedly inside, saying, "This time must be confusing for you all. As the Coterie, your mourning dress is expected to be Courtly attire with the addition of the white sash. And your Circlets should be visible at all times. If you go without the Circlet, you must adopt the white linen homespun robes of mourning for the rest, and no sash. But because you are military caste, it will be good for you to stand watches in twos or threes throughout the night tonight, bearing only lanterns or light spells.
"You will patrol the balconies and the inner courtyard, and do small stands with the guards outside. It will give the household strength to see you, and we don't wish the more fainthearted to take this as an opportunity to commit suicide like the others have. Ten is a decent number for an outpouring of grief. More would leave us critically shorthanded. Less would be impolite. But ten is sufficient for a Great House. Our honor is served already.
"There are pots of white clay for your faces and arms inside each of your rooms. Tonight there will be riots in the lower city, and many deaths across the city as well. With the Heir not yet formally declaring himself as the new Emperor, the Empire is in a period of forced mourning. Tomorrow, you will be at liberty within the compound, until Jokku summons you midmorning to the Portal Opening to attend upon the arrival of the new Governor of He'shabha and the new Viceroy of Qidyria.
"The passing of the Imperial Throne means a new era will begin for all of us, one which will match the political leanings and philosophy of the next ruler. There has already been word during the Empress's preparation for Ascension over the past few years that the official Heir seems to favor ceasing all raids and suing for Peace with Tysdia, finally, finalizing the boundaries of territory so that the riches of Qidyria can flow back to the Empire, and the combat raids and battles here turn into building up the resources of Qidyria into an economic empire more than a military one. But this is of course pure conjecture, the next Emperor will reveal their agenda in due course. We will know more tomorrow when we receive the new Governor. If they send one of the military strategists, then we remain on wartime footing. If it's one of the trading houses, then we can expect some measure of peace.
 
"So. Who will take the first watch tonight? I'm afraid no one may sleep this evening, but you may relax somewhat. " (Short and medium rests only)
 
The night however passed without incident and we headed to the Portal Opening.
 
The ceremony of the Portal Opening is decidedly boring and pageantish the next morning. The party forms up with Lyesh and the Leondar house guards, and goes to the street which passes between the Mage Tower of Evocation and Conjuration schools, the towers of which form the flanking portions of a forty foot high archway of stones inscribed with arcane sigils. Folks on the Market Square side of the road line up on either side, representatives of all of the Great Houses present. Lord Ummo is in full lacquered formal armor and an elaborate costume which Lyesh tells you is his ceremonial garb as the Master of Rituals in the current Suzerain Court.
The current Governor is there as well on a litter, and the other members of court are also present, with all of the monks and nuns of the Imperial Veneration cloisters arrayed in full battle regalia with the white sashes of mourning and marked with the white clay. The portal opens quietly, a glowing sheet of energy that falls from the archway above and spins sideways to reveal a very similar looking city on the other side of it, with an almost identical array of monastics of the Imperial Veneration Cult, and dignitaries and politicians and ministers present.
When the portal is opened, they cross through, and a Herald hands over formal scrolls which are received by ministers and examined by Lord Ummo, who reads aloud in a loud voice that the Old Governor is honored for their service and commanded to return to Aff'ha, the Imperial Capital, within ninety days, to receive new orders. The New Governor is announced to be the Lady Purshana Veyara, and she steps out of her Litter to receive a formal bow from the Old Governor and the court. Then she steps back into her litter, and the Monastics on the He'shabha side form ranks about her litter and the other (likely containing the Viceroy who did not declare themselves) and the Old Governor's litter, and they are led off back toward the Palace.
Lord Ummo and the other ministers are obviously released from their attendance, for he gives a small hand signal to Jokku, who immediately orders the Coterie and the House to form ranks about him, and they all begin to proceed on the shortest route back to the Villa. When the procession is out of view, Jokku casts a Teleportation Spell, and he and Lord Ummo blink away.
When the party reaches the house, the hanging corpses have been cut down, and there are ten funerary urns outside the front gate with white cloths tied around them with the upside down crown emblazoned on them, with clay name sigils for the servants who had died. The gateway to the outside is closed and a white silk banner is hung from each of the gates, and the inside wooden doors are closed as well, completely closing off the courtyard into privacy from the outside.
 
Lord Ummo is bathing his arms and face in the fountain, even as household servants help him to slip into a blue house robe and slippers, and store his courtly garb.
Ummo calls the party over and says, "Well, you have certainly arrived during interesting times. Khepkhusha has delivered the news of what our Patron had to say about you. It seems that I will not enjoy having your services under my direct control after all." He laughs. "Well, it was nice while it lasted. You made us very rich in that last trade to Seahold, Nylasha has mentioned in her last Sending to me. You have more than earned your purchase investments and salary."
"And now you must come to some kind of a decision as to how you wish to proceed. You are formally given your leave - Jokku will give you each your scrolls. If you wish a base of operations in a city where we hold sway, we can arrange that for you. Or if you wish to take up wandering about looking for clues or this 'path of dread' you are destined to find, you may of course do that. He'shabha City is going to become rather unstable for a good six months to a year, at least. Everything changes when the Throne passes to a new Emperor. And only the new Emperor can say how.
 
"You could decide to remain in service here, helping House Ummo to carve out a political advantage. There would be subterfuge and some need for muscle, of course, but there would be a lot of social gatherings and the political game of Great Houses. You might not understand the players yet, but I would ask my grandmother to bring you up to speed. She was the Mastermind for our departed Empress's father, and ran the spy networks here. She maintains more connections than I might like, but I cannot tell my own grandmother how to serve the House she gave to me.
 
"Another option you might wish to consider is teaming up with Captain Nylasha. She has given nothing but glowing reports about your competence and how you have endeared yourselves with ingenuity and bravery to her entire crew. I will release her to partner with you should you desire to learn of this world by taking the Silver Swan on trading missions to all of the sea and river ports you can access. As Coterie, you each get 5 shares of the Crew's take, in addition to your allowance. She knows all of our agents in all of the ports of the world, and she would be happy to sail for you wherever you desire, trading as you go to increase your wealth... and of course, the wealth of House Ummo. " He grins.
 
"If you wish to move straightaway to find more of the Path of Dread, instead of stumbling upon it as you go, then you should begin to find the caches of lore and secrets from the past. I know not what you seek, but you might discover that by consulting with the Libraries and Universities of Fryth Anvor, or even Ffelyani itself should you feel the need to begin exploring the motherland planes."
 
"If you wish to continue consulting other Oracles, then you might wish to pay a visit to the Tower of Conjuration to find someone who can Plane Shift you to fabled Mythosia, the land from whence the New Faith Gods appeared. Or you might wish to seek rumor of the Oracles of the Gods here on Fryth Anvor, though they will likely ask you to perform quests for them before they will answer your questions."
 
"It seems likely that peace with Tysdia is now imminent. The new Governor comes from a family of shrewd merchants who are the wealthiest in all the Empire, and personal exchequers to the former Empress before she Ascended. As a Coterie, I could put forth your name to accompany any diplomatic envoys to broker peace with Tysdia, or negotiate treaties of peace and trade with our weaker neighbors to the north. You would face much in the way of overland travel and the dangers of the wilderness, but when you got there you could directly influence the shape of the new Peace to come."
 
"Or you could simply travel on your own, unbound, to follow your own whims. You will remain on the payroll, of course, but you must make it to a city where we have an active agent to draw against your allowance accounts. Otherwise, you would be equipped for travel and left to your own devices, to explore where you wished, beholden to none but your own consciences."
 
"Take some time to consider. But do not dally. If you wish aid from me or this House, it will take a bit for me to arrange. The Silver Swan returns to port in one week's time, if the weather holds. Let us say that you have freedom of the city until then, and then you should make your decisions as a team, and I will support your choice as best I can."

Then he excuses himself. Then we discussed where to go and levelled up.