Session 20220203 Report
General Summary
Marsday 3 Resplendent Wood, Calendar
In the morning the would be follower (“Spy One”) is again watching the yacht, so Mathias Stormcrow and Marag-ang use their Ninja skills to knock him out. As Matthias reaches the dock he sees the net on a crane splitting over day workers, and uses Joint-Wounding Attack to tie the net together long enough that some of the workers escape, then uses Anointment of Miraculous Health to ensure one of the wounded keeps their leg. Takes the unconscious spy back to the ship disguised as an injured worker. He has paper and pencil on him, and brand new shoes with no marks (making tracking harder, at least until Mathias uses Storm Mother Agaderak's signet to make the sole recognisable).
Questioning after some unnerving threats reveals the spy as a professionally trained follower who has for several years been run out of the Sanctimonious House of the Golden Lord (he still uses the old name). The second table from the left and a five tined brass fork are used to identify his handler while he has a recognition phrase. A dead drop behind the tea house is used for his reports. Most of the people he’s followed have been lesser members of the cities power structure or potential rebels. While he doesn’t know for who he works (was actively recruited while out of work) his training was in a group in the City of the Steel Lotus (a small nondescript building with professional scribes he can probably find but not provide an address for). The spy is doubled by the PCs, in exchange for a small stipend he will show them his reports before filing them. The PCs take their small boat to the seaward end of Dragon's Jaws so they can travel freely.
Returning to the Glorified House of the Golden Lord they see that the riot at the docks has been supressed by the Black Rods (not too violently) and then Marag-ang recruits the tea house's Goldy the Cat as his Spirit-Tied Pet and sets them to watch the table, allowing the ninja to listen to conversations there and then follow the handler if he shows.
Old Man Fig is visibly shocked and panicked at the knowledge that other spies are using the tea shop, but masks it quickly enough that he appears calm before he leaves and anyone else gets a look at him. He says he will send a note to Little Heron's “dojo” in an hour with a location where it will be safe to talk.
The PCs split up when they leave the Glorified House of the Golden Lord, and as Spy Two follows Mathias he goes on a shopping trip for alchemical ingredients. Raven waves off Spy One who was following him, then goes to Heron’s where he finds everyone in a ferment about the Black Rods and trying to decide what to do about them. He encourages the group that wants to strike at a few of the worst rather than indiscriminate violence, and Old Man Fig (who has decided that this is probably the best place to meet and so turned up rather than sending a note) has a list of the worst of them to hand. They decide to kill 5 of them tonight in their beds. Three teams of three (including Little Heron) with Marag-ang and Mathias by themselves. Stormcrow decides he is not willing to murder someone so he tattoos his target instead for maximum humiliation. Regrouping at the alley dojo the students are clearly affected by what they’ve done (Mathias doesn’t mention that his target is still alive) but she reassures them using some sort of theology about their duty to clear the path for the Shining Ones who will save the world, at Marag’s prompting she goes over the ways to identify a Shining One, which are largely facts about anima that are true for Solars but not other types of Exalted. Despite careful observation and Excellency the PCs cannot tell if Fig is interested in that, they do not have Scale over him. After the others leave Marag-ang flares his anima for Little Heron who bows to him. They discuss visiting her sifu in the West (will take a ship and a while) and she is sending her a message.
Meanwhile Stormcrow heads to the House of the Jade Fox and observes Snow Melt to see if she is being watched but the only people paying attention to her are some of the casinos security. On the other hand he notices that she talks to the big winners on a hot streak and touches them, after which the streak ends.
The PCs return to the yacht to sleep
Mercuryday 4 Resplendent Wood
Intending to determine if Snow Melt is a Solar the PCs head to the Jade Fox for a late breakfast, but she is asleep. Mathias pays the house for an expensive breakfast to be delivered to her.
As agreed the previous day Marag goes to the Glorified House of the Golden Lord to spend time as Old Man Fig, allowing the latter to loiter outside with agents to follow any handler Raven identifies. Mathias lurks round the back, observing his best guess at the location someone would observe the dead drop from.
A handler does turn up and spends the morning instructing agents, who seem to have different specialities (some followers, some investigators mainly). He seems to be focusing on members of the Black Rods. When he leaves he leaves he is followed separately by Old Man Fig’s agent and Goldy. Meeting with his spies reveals to Marag-ang that the Black Rods all retreated to their HQ in the morning but that by the end of the day around 20% have deserted and vanished (taking off the uniform would work in most cases).
Lunch with Snow Melt lets Raven determine she is not a Solar/Death Knight but that she does believe in luck and that she now realises all the times she ran into Mathias were luck rather than scheming on his part (in turn that makes him realise she wasn’t planning the meetings either which is somewhat worrying).