A Veiled information broker who runs an interplanetary ring of spies out of a bar called The Imperial in the old Koan neighborhoods. Clay deals information not for profit or politics, but for the pursuit of knowledge itself— or at least, that’s what he claims. He runs one of the largest information broker networks in the spheres, using a network of taverns connected to the Imperial through daemon doors.
Clay has often assisted the Party because he finds their mission interesting. In major cities, they can usually find one of his taverns where they can pick up a job--ranging from mysteries to solve, to heists, to assassinations. He pays them not only in gold, but also with information about their enemy, the White Lion Armada.
Clay's Network
Clay's network stretches across most of the spheres, interlaced through taverns connected by daemon doors. He prides himself on his neutrality on the affairs of the system, and anyone who seeks him out for information should be comfortable with the risk of their own information falling into the hands of Clay's other customers.
While the Imperial's network engages in activities common to criminal organizations like shakedowns, theft, and assassination, Clay sees these as a means to an end, using the profits he generates to expand the reach of his information gathering efforts.
The Party has visited quite a few taverns within Clay's network over their journeys:
--The Gallatean, located on Nimbus and run by a homyn with Moku blood named Pygmalion. It is a favorite haunt of the local lunar brigade division stationed in Hopaku City.
--The Lying Mirror, located in Mons Mirror and run by a homyn warlock named Franz. It doubles as an office to receive treatment for mental maladies, which Franz uses to collect secrets off his clients.
--The Three Mammoths, located on Jotun and belonging to the brighthoof clan, run by a surly Geit named Niko.
--The Tricentennial, a rare example of a tavern in Clay's network founded and operated independently by a third party. It is run by a long-lived Scalfi named Tacitus, and has been a favorite haunt of Koan knights for three hundred years.
Dealings with the Corsairs
Clay first came into contact with the Party when they were searching for evidence against the White Lion Armada in preparation for their testimony before the Chimera Council following the destruction of Aspidie. He was inclined to help them, as a rival information broker named Madame Xi, had thrown her lot in with the White Lion Armada and kept Clay's network from getting a foothold named Mong Bal.
In exchange for the party sharing their backstories, Clay informed the party that the Hanuman Brotherhood had acquired the Progenitor Atlas and were selling it at an auction during Princess
Halle's birthday part. Clay also secured the Party invitations on the condition that they share with him the atlas's contents if they were successful.
Clay also assisted the Corsairs by assembling dossiers on potential crew members, after
Jin Bei hired him to do so. He provided them lem leads to get in contact with their physician,
Aleph; their chef,
Noah; their lookout,
Appoline; and a navigator named Orin.
The Party has taken on jobs for Clay during their journeys across the spheres for both money and information on the White Lion Armada's forts and admirals. On Nimbus Clay hired the party to investigate a mysterious figure who washed up on Hopaku City, who turned out to be the construct embodiment of the North Wind. He also had them investigate a Moku martial artist named Tyro who was upsetting the local gambling scene by handily winning all of his matches.
He also hired the Party to take over a plantation that held a monopoly on the popular ahano fruit, giving control of the trade to Clay's bars. The Party double crossed Clay on this mission, providing some of the fruit to a local Moku in exchange for a cut of some of the seeds.
On Mons Mirror, Clay hired the party to assassinate an actor named Botta who was using his influence to manipulate the Homyn economy.
On Jotun, Clay hired the party to investigate a survivor of the Shrikevind named Willhelm who had lost his memory in order to get a better understanding of the supernatural gale's true nature. The party discovered that Wilhelm was actually the founder of a Geit Clan from a hundred years ago and the shrikevind had the ability to fling people and artifacts that fell within it across time and space.
Clay also hired the party to defuse a tense situation on Jotun where a fleet of druid pirates called the Aluta had gotten a hold of a hyperion bomb. With some diplomacy and heroics, they managed to procure the bomb and secure the Aluta as allies for the Geit.
On Sera, Clay hired the party to investigate a town called Westfall that had been destroyed by a powerful chemical called black phosphorous that left the area littered with daemons in order to ascertain whether the empire or rebels perpetrated the attack.
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