[9/11/2026, 5:07:52 PM] Dammitwho
All present?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:08:02 PM] Nicolae
you got a present for all of us?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:08:08 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya raises paw
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:08:15 PM] Crion
oim here
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:11:37 PM] Dammitwho
chibby bibin?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:12:02 PM] Gul Banana
i'm not sure i'd want to acknowledge that name, if i was the one to whom it refers
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:12:51 PM] Nicolae
it's me. i'm chibby bibin. my grandfather was a bibin, my father was a bibin, and i'm a bibin too
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:24:28 PM] CBN
its me
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:24:34 PM] Crion
greetungs
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:24:51 PM] Nicolae
is it, though. what's something only the real cbn would know
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:25:21 PM] Dammitwho
i don't want to know any stuff that only the real cbn would know
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:25:55 PM] CBN
that's how we know you're the real dammitwho
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:28:02 PM] Dammitwho
All right! Our boys Dubnoom and Tak were talking to Onnick Vaile, Underclerk of Berths, about getting a little more cash in your pockets - Dubnoom might well be about to roll a Request, employing his fancy medal.
Imran and Lindal had just sat in on the debriefing of the captives of the Windfall, and had learned from a helpful guardswoman a valuable lead! Fairwind & Sons Maritime had a warehouse at Red Drake Warehouses, Bay 9C, which has not yet been searched by the guards!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:28:19 PM] Dammitwho
Now, unfortunately, I have to offer a peek behind the curtain here
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:28:42 PM] Nicolae
*nods* it's a window
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:29:18 PM] Dammitwho
The warehouse is a dungeon, and thanks to unmedicated ADHD (which i just got a prescription for! but it hasn't been filled yet), I haven't finished it. So you guys are going to have to, uh, not follow up that lead today, please. I promise it'll stay in stasis until next time.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:29:41 PM] Crion
nice, on the prescription
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:29:57 PM] CBN
i will endeavor to maximize how much time we spend wheedling for more money from an underclerk, then.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:30:16 PM] CBN
for a very reasonable Request, for starters.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:30:22 PM] Nicolae
adderall, vyvanse, or a third option?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:30:38 PM] Crion
presumably we have more lucre to play basebuilding and hutchbuilding and dress up with steve and orbfella with for this session
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:30:39 PM] Dammitwho
vyvanse iirc
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:31:13 PM] Party Loot
You do! For instance, you have 214.00 gp sitting in the party loot, as well as some Boots of Bounding
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:31:26 PM] Party Loot
I promise I'm not a mimic!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:32:35 PM] Nicolae
vyvanse is nice, side effects are less intense than the adderall ime
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:32:40 PM] Dammitwho
But yes, you do have more cash on hand now. You can also ask for some boys from the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye to have a look at your orb, or if there's something mysterious about your own lives or adventures that you'd like to learn more about, you all have monthly passes to the Forae Logos (one of the largest libraries on Golarion!).
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:34:07 PM] Crion
literally went "oh that's a euphemism for something" about the first clause then asked directly about it IC
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:34:42 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran would like to schedule an appointment with the specialty wizards to get his orb examined.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:35:42 PM] Nicolae
tiny orb. look like a dishrag.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:37:55 PM] Imran Traveler
We should also investigate the shrinking situation for moving furniture into the safehouse. Expensive but still more economical and safe than walking it in there in pieces?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:38:37 PM] CBN
Dubnoom would like to make a Request of this underclerk, specifically:
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:39:15 PM] Gul Banana
whoa, how'd we get library cards
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:39:35 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak stands next to Dubnoom in the underclerk's office, letting the goblin do the fast talking.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:39:34 PM] Crion
the embassy/silver ravens
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:39:47 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Certainly new-friend Onnick must have funds of discretion set aside, for the extermination of pests, or of...dissidents...or for the appreciation of general defense or beautification of the cityscapes. As we have all done now. And should, as a result, be entitled in some way to many, if not all, of such funds. Yes? Yes."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:40:05 PM] Dammitwho
They're part of your cover for why you're hanging out in the Ivy District, costing you a princely 1gp/person/month
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:42:02 PM] Dammitwho
alright, if you open up the Basic Action Macros on your hotbar there should be one for Requests
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:42:06 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
More baronial than princely but it's still pretty expensive. Lindal wonders why anyone would bother to read so many books. He also wonders whether to look into the list of potential contacts he got from the Whittler, or whether any of his friends' plans need someone to help...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:42:40 PM] Gul Banana
might as well grab these gp for safekeeping,
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:42:44 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya takes 214 × Gold Pieces from Party Loot.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:43:45 PM] Gul Banana
Request is in the encounter tab, i see
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:43:48 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
30
1d20 + 15 = 15 + 15 = 30
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:49:07 PM] Dammitwho
Onnick Vaile hrrms and hems and haws.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:51:08 PM] Gul Banana
lindal's interested in talking to the orb sages too. he doesn't have imran's direct connection to this business but it seems like it could be "extremely important or dangerous", so
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:51:08 PM] Dammitwho
Finally, with the traditional bureaucratic unease of going beyond the law and custom, he admits: "This is a somewhat, mrm, unusual situation, hm? The city takes a dim view of, mrhm, slavery these days. Perhaps an additional incentive, pour encourager les autres? Yes... mmm."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:52:26 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Mmm! And yes!" Dubnoom concurs. Once they're on the hook you gotta wiggle it a little. Old fisherman's trick: Never stop never stopping.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:53:41 PM] Dammitwho
He reaches into a drawer and with his long fingers picks out loose coins and places them in a small drawstring bag. This he solemnly hands over his desk and down to Dubnoom.
The party has received: 50gp.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:54:26 PM] Nicolae
what did lindal negotiate originally?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:55:09 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Salvage rights!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:56:19 PM] Nicolae
oh. well, then we're probably gonna need a bigger boat to rustle up some salvage
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:56:43 PM] Crion
orbin' around. no not you orbfella
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:56:47 PM] Dammitwho
You already got salvage from it, there were a number of small chests of valuables in the hidden hold alongside the captives
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:01 PM] Crion
yeah this is pure profit
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:03 PM] Dammitwho
One of which was those boots of bounding
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:13 PM] Crion
on top of our reward
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:17 PM] Crion
pure pazaak
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:40 PM] Nicolae
oh shit
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:57:56 PM] Nicolae
thanks to my official diagnosis i can just blame all my memory issues for the past several years on the sleep apnea
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:58:16 PM] Gul Banana
nice
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:58:25 PM] Nicolae
"sorry, dwho, i don't remember all the details, you see, my throat collapses when i sleep and i am constantly tired"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:58:52 PM] Nicolae
i had a phone call with the cpap people, they sent me a thing to see what mask i should wear and i'm going to be fucking Bane
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:59:07 PM] Gul Banana
btw, who wants the boots? lindal already has some magic boots of being even better at acrobatics, which he'd prefer to keep wearing
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:59:30 PM] Crion
imran could take them, he has no special boots
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:59:40 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran Traveler takes Boots of Bounding from Party Loot.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 5:59:46 PM] CBN
imran needs to Position a lot better than us ranged folks yeah
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:00:06 PM] Nicolae
yeah, that
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:00:14 PM] Nicolae
imran needs to Bound
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:00:37 PM] Dammitwho
It's fun when the big armored guy does a leap
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:01:15 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak nods his head at Mr. Vaile as Dubnoom, presumably, snaps up the coin purse as quickly as possible. "Thankee kindly."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:03:00 PM] Dammitwho
Now, for Imran and Lindal: Nimrith and other members of the Palatine Order hang around the Steeping Owl, the front to your lair - so you could easily let someone know you'd like some orb study done.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:03:43 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Do you know of any other derelict hulks, gold-laden schooners, or the like, in your near and briny depths? Or even on land if that's easier?" Dubnoom suggests of Vaile, while collecting spoils.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:06:33 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran will stop in and change in to something dry before letting them know, at least. Less salt-caked.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:10:06 PM] Dammitwho
"Hrmh! Mrm!" Vaile chuckles wetly as Dubnoom makes his play. "Not very many come through the Flotsam Graveyard without a, hrmmm, pilot? And the Bay is otherwise quite, mm, safe. But rest assured young, ah, man, I've got my eye on you!" He blinks at you encouragingly through thick glasses. "Reliable, mrm, contractors are worth--" He glances at you shrewdly. "--exactly the amount of gold that I've, hrmm, already given you. But, perhaps, if events should... hrm?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:10:47 PM] Imran Traveler
Might also be worth it to drink and mingle out here a little bit. Odd to be coming and going so much and not patronizing the establishment.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:10:56 PM] Nicolae
hey, maybe dubnoom actually does weigh as much as 50 gp. you don't know
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:13:43 PM] Dammitwho
Imran comes in through the front way to the Steeping Owl and sees it almost empty - must be the wrong hour for students. Nimrith is here, though, but rather than greeting Imran directly, she wordlessly claps him on the shoulder, puts some coins on the counter, and walks to the back room where the entrance to the Thirteenth Hour is.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:14:12 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
They'll find Lindalsivran there fiddling with the entrance mechanisms. There must be other combinations the machinery can actuate...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:14:20 PM] Dammitwho
"A cup for you, sir?" Auntie Maza says as she swipes up the coins with a practiced motion. "The girl left you enough for a nice green tea."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:14:25 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
What if there's a way to open an entirely separate space from our own.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:14:26 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Hrm. Dubnoom shall consider with Dubnoom's compatriots and reconvene at a future date." When in doubt: Stall.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:14:28 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran loiters at the bar a bit, takes in the atmosphere. "Yes, please."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:16:43 PM] Tak Ironflame
"It's definitely a generous offer, though." Tak adds.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:17:13 PM] Dammitwho
Auntie Maza pours. It's a lazy afternoon in the Steeping Owl. Conversations here are nearly always quiet, as it doesn't serve alcohol; the students who come here are often still attempting to study, and have simply moved from their rooms in order to avoid actual cabin fever.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:18:02 PM] Gul Banana
i wonder why the owl is steeping. perhaps it's being made into a marinade
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:19:29 PM] Dammitwho
Two young men in students' robes are huddled together over a large tome, their faces showing frustration. Next to them, a young undersized kholo sips her tea, looking somewhat nervous. Beyond that, since Nimrith went to the back, the teahouse seems empty.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:20:14 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran will sip his tea, have his fill, make sure the kholo doesn't seem too interested (in him at least). Then he'll nod to Auntie Maza, thank her, and follow Nimrith to the back.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:20:25 PM] Imran Traveler
Leave the mostly-finished cup.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:23:48 PM] Dammitwho
She doesn't seem much interested in anything other than staring at her table and eating small snacks. None of them appear to notice you as you leave.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:23:55 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom will make his way back to the liebarry as well, since that's where everyone else was going, and he might be able to find something weird to read (or better yet, scribble his own interpretations of, because then it's His and no one else's).
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:24:26 PM] Gul Banana
brb receiving bagel
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:24:28 PM] Dammitwho
In the back, Nimrith is already talking to Lindal. "Oh! I greet thee, sir vanara. I await Imran, whose attire suggests weary work."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:24:53 PM] Crion
i will wait until banana returns to see how this goes for a little bit.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:25:29 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Ah, it wasn't so bad. We did have to do some rowing out in the bay, you know, small-boat stuff." Have the rest of us been introduced to Nimrith and these palatine people?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:25:40 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak will also head to the library with Dubnoom. There might be something about engineering, or alchemistry, or crafting, or visions of skeletons and the Man in Black. You never know.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:26:02 PM] Dammitwho
You know Nimrith at least, who showed you around the inside of the Thirteenth Hour and how the mechanism worked.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:27:11 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith: "Oh? Valorous. I cannot swim, and take to boats not at all."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:27:23 PM] Dammitwho
Are Tak and Dubnoom going back to the lair or to the Forae Logos?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:28:26 PM] CBN
Forae Logos, for now!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:30:06 PM] Gul Banana
b
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:30:24 PM] Tak Ironflame
Forae Logos as well.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:32:48 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal pauses his prodding at the machinery. "Really? I'd have guessed most citizens of this isle, given its isle status, to be swimmers. Putting that together with your dialecture... are you from somewhere in the north, ser sage?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:39:07 PM] Dammitwho
The Forae Logos is an imposing structure sitting at the center of the Wise Quarter (which is where you are - I misspoke when I said you were in the Ivy District earlier). A tremendous building, it is as much cathedral as it is library. It has a flat roof and sharply-angled facade, in common with much of the Azlanti-inspired architecture of Absalom. Indeed, the front facade itself is quite distinctive, supported by a dozen 50-foot-tall telamon columns, carved depicting the twelve guises of Aroden.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:39:41 PM] Dammitwho
There's an imposing entry arch, and it's a little difficult for you to get in at first - not because anyone stops you, but because there's a constant flood of scholars young and old going in and out.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:40:39 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak admires the carvings in the columns out front. His own skills tend more to function over form -- feats of practical engineering and alchemy rather than artworks -- but craftsmanship is craftsmanship.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:40:48 PM] Dammitwho
Inside is the grand foyer, an immense chamber of tiered balconies, decorated with ancient marble statues, creeping ivy, and an overhead skylight patterned with astrological designs. The balconies themselves are high enough for halberd-and-crossbow armed guards to observe the floor from above.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:41:54 PM] Tak Ironflame
Obviously so the books don't escape.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:42:14 PM] Gul Banana
i just assumed that some districts were within quarters, or quarters within districts
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:42:56 PM] Dammitwho
Probably they are, but the Ivy District is a different place.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:43:50 PM] Imran Traveler
Eventually Imran will make his way to the back.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:44:33 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith nods to Lindal. "Ay, that is so. I am from Ustalav, where our Order was also born. Ah, but do not call me a sage! My learning is feeble compared to the masters of the Order - I hope one day I can match them, but for now my sword serves in their defense."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:46:06 PM] Dammitwho
"Ah, good, Imran. I waited for thee to ensure thou would not miss another of our company who has a message for thee--" There's a knock on the rear entrance to the building. "Speak of a devil and shall he not appear?" Nimrith peers cautiously between a small crack between the door and wall before opening it.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:47:12 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran nods to Lindal. "You should try the tea."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:47:45 PM] Dammitwho
A stern-looking librarian checks Tak and Dubnoom's passes, and they're allowed in, with stern warnings against the use of fire, acid, carnivorous worms, etc.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:47:51 PM] Imran Traveler
"Not right now, of course. There's a kholo who might be a bit too interested out front."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:48:15 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Sword-sage, then." Lindal also nods to Imran. "I should? There is?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:49:00 PM] Imran Traveler
He shrugs. "Might just have anxiety."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:50:15 PM] Dammitwho
After Nimrith opens the rear door, a tall, handsome, aging Osirion man enters. Nimrith silently shuts the door behind him. "This will have to be quick, I don't wnat to be missed." Imran actually remembers this guy! He was in the front room when he and Nimrith first came in to see the opening mechanism. She referred to him as "Dremdhet Salhar", but you didn't stop to talk.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:51:47 PM] Imran Traveler
Mmm. Imran reaches over to a shape with a cloth over it that he's placed on a ledge near the opening mechanism, and dramatically removes the cloth to reveal the smooth black-wood of the box holding the orb. He gently opens the clasps, then pauses, steps back, and gestures for Dremdhet Salhar to do the honors himself.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:52:07 PM] Imran Traveler
He does not bother with introductions. The man is in a hurry. The work will speak for itself.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:52:11 PM] Imran Traveler
And the less he knows the better.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:53:07 PM] Crion
brb
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:53:21 PM] Dammitwho
(oh, to clarify: you're up above the Thirteenth Hour, so the orb is still down there. Dremdhat is just here to, apparently, tell you something quickly and leave)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:53:37 PM] Dammitwho
Also: Imran and Lindal, roll Society!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:53:57 PM] Dammitwho
What're the boys in the library looking for?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:54:42 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
1d20 + 15
1d20 3 3
18
1d20 + 15
1d20 11 11
26
1d20 + 15 = 11 + 15 = 26
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:55:30 PM] Tak Ironflame
Is there a card catalog or information desk or the like? I assume there's some kind of way to find what you're looking for besides just wandering the aisles until you see a portentous name on a book spine.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:55:29 PM] Gul Banana
Dremdhat
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:57:14 PM] Gul Banana
simply cast Dewey's Decimal System
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:59:12 PM] Crion
b
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 6:59:19 PM] Imran Traveler
21
1d20 + 13 = 8 + 13 = 21
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:00:26 PM] Dammitwho
The Forae Logos is somewhat organized, and somewhat, uh, disorganized. Like any library worth its salt, it's a warren of twisting passages, tiny academic departments, huge cavernous spaces lined with row after row of bookshelves... the spatial divisions seem to be more about who's in charge of a particular area rather than the subject matter. The Antiquities Department, the Arnsen Reading Room, the Religions Department, the Civic Archive, the New Civic Archive (both centuries old)...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:01:31 PM] Dammitwho
Fortunately, the Public Desk and Records Retention are right near you - ground floor, stack six. The harried scriveners here catalogue and copy every book that has passed through Absalom's gates under the Scholar's Law. Probably you can start there, if you can get somebody to help you.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:02:45 PM] Dammitwho
Fortunately, it's easy for Imran and Lindal to recognize this man now that they know his name. Dremdhet Salhar is the Grand Ambassador from Osirion to Absalom! A very important man - no wonder he's in a hurry.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:03:52 PM] Dammitwho
"I will be swift," he says. He nods toward Lindal. "I apologize if I offend, but: you trust this man with your life?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:04:18 PM] Imran Traveler
"I do."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:04:32 PM] Imran Traveler
"And I have."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:04:39 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal is more 'delighted' than 'offended'.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:04:51 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
It's like being made into a storybook character!!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:07:34 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak is going to take some time to look into his dream vision from a while back, and also stories that fit what he knows of the Man in Black, who takes apprentices into the learning of the Magical Arts, and sacrifices the best ones in "accidents" to prolong his own life...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:07:37 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Anyway, a lot of vanara *are* pretty untrustworthy. Actually, there are matters you shouldn't trust Lindal with, if he's swearing before the gods. But your life? No problem. Those things are important.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:10:30 PM] Nicolae
"you could trust lindal with your life, though probably not with your wallet"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:11:11 PM] Dammitwho
Ambassador Dremdhet nods. "Then I tell you this. In my official capacity, a name has come across my desk. 'Stenhjerte'. This is not a good name to have. I am told that the man who bears it as a family name is a wanted fugitive from Cheliax and its vassals; that he is guilty of the crime of murder, of blasphemy, and of mutilation of slaves in violation of the gracious edicts of Her Infernal Majestrix Abrogail Thrune II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:12:16 PM] Dammitwho
He holds Imran's gaze steadily. "The proud people of Osirion naturally cry out with their northern brothers for justice. Yet, alas, I have never seen or heard of such a man, nor has he come to my attention. I expect this state of affairs to continue indefinitely."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:13:23 PM] Gul Banana
wow, someone with a name liek that would probably want to eschew it entirely and go by a nom de voyage
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:13:35 PM] Imran Traveler
"It would be unlikely and unwise for such a man to travel under that name. Or use it in any respect. So I find your expectation reasonable, Lord Ambassador."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:16:59 PM] Dammitwho
"Indeed. Yet it is unpleasant for a man to realize he has gone from being persecuted in the general case to the specific. It may be that they know you are here, in this city. Take care! If I can be of aid, Nimrith can be called upon to reach me. Do not approach me directly - you will not be allowed. I must go."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:17:51 PM] Dammitwho
(do you have any immediate questions for the ambassador before he leaves?)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:18:45 PM] Crion
yes one sec
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:19:58 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
There's a bunch of stuff Lindal would like to know about Osirion but it may not be the time.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:20:09 PM] Imran Traveler
"I have a question about another man, one of import, who might have entered your orbit and remit. Asking as a citizen of the world, and no land in particular: What is your measure of the Lictor, Uro Adom?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:24:06 PM] Dammitwho
Ambassador Salhar pauses, thinks. "An unpleasant man, even for a Hellknight. Patient, though, and dedicated. The sort of man who would cross the ocean by walking across the seabed rather than waste time hiring a ship. You have met him before?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:24:45 PM] Dammitwho
So Tak's looking into the Man In Black. What about Dubnoom?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:25:27 PM] Crion
i assume the answer to that is "yes" though it might be locked behind playing out the prologue
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:27:13 PM] Dammitwho
You can have met him if you wish
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:27:46 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran makes a face. "Quite briefly."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:28:44 PM] Gul Banana
Imran Pursued
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:28:49 PM] Gul Banana
Imran Traveller-away-from
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:30:38 PM] Crion
very briefly considered a version of this character that was a gunslinger named Will Traveler. correct to leave that one in drafts
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:31:20 PM] Dammitwho
wow, and it would have worked so well with the version of Tak named Gunhaver
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:32:05 PM] Gul Banana
second gun erasure
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:33:16 PM] Nicolae
Half Gunner, Will Traveler
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:33:22 PM] Crion
lol
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:35:52 PM] Gul Banana
also lol
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:36:21 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom, for his part, is interested in this whole..."big undifferentiated pile of all books coming through the gates for copying" thing. Maybe just to wander around and observe. Maybe to grab something and look at it. Fingers not TOO sticky. But this way of gathering information, has worked for him to this point.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:37:41 PM] CBN
assuming 'goblin library' is a name for a refuse pile, somewhere (Everywhere)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:39:04 PM] Dammitwho
"goblin library" is a bad-luck term because refuse piles attract dogs. scholarship is dangerous
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:42:27 PM] Dammitwho
Ambassador Salhar exhales sharply. "If he thinks you are his quarry, he will be relentless. I will send anything else I learn that may help you as quickly as possible. Farewell." He slips out into the street.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:43:14 PM] Imran Traveler
When he's gone: "The Lord Ambassador shares my assessment of the Lictor, at least."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:45:54 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith adds: "He is a loyal member of the order, tho' his duties leave him little time to work with us directly. Come, let us go down. I have spoken with my superiors, and a few sages of ours are coming. I hope I have not overstepped?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:46:41 PM] Imran Traveler
Mildly: "You have not. I like to know interesting people, and have on them the burden of knowing me."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:46:47 PM] Imran Traveler
Let's open this thing up.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:47:03 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
The good bit!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:47:14 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Let the clicking and the whirring commence.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:50:53 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith will let you - that is to say probably Lindal - open the door to your hideout.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:52:03 PM] Dammitwho
Tak! Roll Society or Library Lore to work the catalogues yourself, or Diplomacy to get a junior scrivener to help you!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:55:20 PM] Dammitwho
So Dubnoom is trying to see what the incoming pile for copying has in it, if anything good?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:55:59 PM] CBN
Yes! Where 'good' could also just be, Nifty. or Interesting
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:56:37 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Who built this, sword-sage Nimrith? How does a person design the bearings and spurvings to operate without magic?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:56:54 PM] Tak Ironflame
1d20 + 2
1d20 5 5
7
1d20 + 2
1d20 4 4
16
1d20 + 2 + 10 = 4 + 2 + 10 = 16
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:58:31 PM] CBN
an oof of a woof of a reroll there
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 7:58:38 PM] Dammitwho
roblox oof
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:01:05 PM] Nicolae
i figured it was okay to burn a hero point since i don't expect too many big rolls 2nite
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:01:11 PM] Nicolae
plus this way dwho gets more time to think up story
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:02:55 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith replies, as you all descend the spiral staircase: "This place, and yon mechanism that makes firm the gate, were both built by Ralzeros the Overwatched, wizard-astronomer, centuries ago."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:03:40 PM] Dammitwho
"They do call him the Overwatched now, for in seeing he was also seen, and his paranoia did not avail him. However! This, your Thirteenth Hour, is quite safe."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:04:07 PM] Imran Traveler
"Indeed. A wizardly place. Difficult to get furniture into. We are ruminating on this."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:04:16 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Pity there's no running water overhead, though."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:04:45 PM] Dammitwho
"If thou ask- how does any one learn to grind gears and bearings and such? I have heard the Clockwork Cathedral teaches such arts, as does the Temple of Brigh. Beyond that, I know not."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:05:51 PM] Gul Banana
this reminds me - now that we've got a stable place to put secret things, how about lindal starts casting @UUID[Actor.na4BvYZuIm8Bnbpr.Item.b2HuBujQsVxe2LcG]{Peaceful Bubble} on it once a day?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:06:09 PM] Crion
nice
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:06:49 PM] Dammitwho
ooh
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:06:51 PM] Gul Banana
i think that's worth dedicating a 4th rank slot to if it reduces the chance of Triune Scryune
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:07:36 PM] Dammitwho
remember that the thirteenth hour already has scrying protection:
The Thirteenth Hour uses the Order’s shadow-lacquer wardwork to protect against scrying - attempts must counteract a 7th-rank effect, counteract DC 38.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:08:10 PM] Gul Banana
i did not know this! 7th beats 4th
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:08:23 PM] Gul Banana
so i guess i'll save the bubble for if we need to take the communicator(?) outside
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:08:30 PM] Dammitwho
https://wddp.org/index.php?/topic/581-pathfinder-whalefall/&do=findComment&comment=2290470
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:09:37 PM] Dammitwho
Tak can't make head or tails of the book catalogue. There's so many things listed here, crammed into tiny scrawls, mashed into marginalia, it's a wonder anyone can read read it, much less make sense of its organizing structure. He's going to have to ask for help...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:09:57 PM] Nicolae
sadly, i went with society because of the three options it was his least bad roll...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:11:44 PM] Dammitwho
Well, if all else fails, money can be exchanged for goods and services
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:12:20 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom! Roll Lore: Goblin!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:12:35 PM] Tak Ironflame
Nonetheless, Tak decides to find a scrivener to ask for help anyway. It is true what they say. Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:15:28 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
1d20 + 12
1d20 7 7
19
1d20 + 12
1d20 19 19
31
1d20 + 12 = 19 + 12 = 31
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:15:35 PM] CBN
mmyes. yes
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:16:15 PM] Dammitwho
The three of you enter the Thirteenth Hour, still sadly unadorned. The orbfella is waddling about, having finished its most recent meal, and Steve is running up to Imran and hopping from clawed foot to foot, going "skreek! skreek!". Man wants eggs.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:16:51 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
...what was that meal. Let's do a quick inventory of our orbs.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:17:19 PM] Dammitwho
Alright, Tak roll Diplomacy! Just in case.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:17:33 PM] Nicolae
iirc the critter knower lady we talked to re: orbfella said it wouldn't need to eat again for months, possibly years
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:17:39 PM] Tak Ironflame
9
1d20 = 9 = 9
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:17:44 PM] Nicolae
fuckin nailed it
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:17:46 PM] Dammitwho
The orbfella, as you learned when you did some veterinarian visits for him, technically doesn't need to eat: Nicolae is quite right.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:18:59 PM] Dammitwho
It appears to have chewed on some brush, old leaves, and pebbles it found in your travels nonetheless - maybe the little guy has a gizzard.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:19:27 PM] Dammitwho
Man, Tak is just getting nowhere! Roll a flat 1d10
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:19:38 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Oh, that's fine. Trash collection is a useful function. After inspecting the orbfella's teeth, Lindal will give it some pets of thanks.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:19:44 PM] Tak Ironflame
7
1d10 = 7 = 7
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:20:28 PM] Dammitwho
Some urgently whispered negotiation and you settle on a price - 7 silver, and a junior scrivener will put aside his VERY important and QUITE urgent work to help you start on whatever it is you're looking for.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:21:09 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran, of course, brought some eggs. We were flush with cash coming back, after all.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:22:13 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom lurks, as only a goblin can. When nobody's looking, he goes rifling through the incoming books to see if he can find anything interesting. On his first try, he comes up with...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:23:29 PM] Dammitwho
Untitled #42,880: A book of remarkably detailed descriptions of the Taldoran countryside. Oddly, it's fur-bound, and... disturbingly warm? Roll Nature!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:23:55 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak presents the money. At least it's easier than figuring this all out by himself... Tak asks for guidance to books regarding biographies and stories of evil wizards and their various powers.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:24:51 PM] CBN
oooo
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:24:56 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
20
1d20 + 17 = 3 + 17 = 20
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:26:11 PM] Dammitwho
Steve gulps down the eggs at lightning pace and darts off to the warmest corner of the Thirteenth Hour to go and nap. A few minutes later, three people hesitantly make their way down the spiral staircase. The one in front, an Ustalavian woman in her mid-60s hesitantly calls out: "Hallo?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:26:44 PM] Dammitwho
Hmm. Dubnoom has no idea what the deal is with this furry book. Sadly, it looks like he'll never find out. Unless he just... keeps it...?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:26:47 PM] Imran Traveler
"Greetings! Please, come in. We have not had a chance to furnish the place. There are two magical creatures about; they are friendly."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:27:23 PM] Dammitwho
Arguably only the orbfella is magical; Steve is just a small dinosaur
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:28:33 PM] Imran Traveler
Being a dinosaur is a kind of magic.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:29:05 PM] Dammitwho
Steven Spielberg taught us this one beautiful June in 1993
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:29:07 PM] Ram Banaram
There are two magical creatures about! The other is sleeping on Lindal's pillow. (Or rather, on Ram Banaram's pillow; Lindal doesn't use it, partly because it's wet.)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:30:07 PM] Imran Traveler
That's true. Three magical creatures. My apologies, Ram Banaram.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:30:22 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran has, at least, sourced some throw pillows and a low table.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:30:34 PM] Imran Traveler
Come on now.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:30:43 PM] Dammitwho
The scrivener writes down directions to the Religions Department and advises you to look for 'Nethysian esoterica', which he insists is what you're looking for.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:03 PM] Dammitwho
(this for Tak)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:08 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom, indeed, just keeps it. Maybe Lindal knows, as he is also furry and presumably warm.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:54 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Hello, hello." Lindal will also welcome the sages, though he's a bit preoccupied with examining the enchantments on the walls to see whether he needs to try and set up some hex against remote mage-vision.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:56 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
(Given that the lacquerwork magic is beyond his understanding, he decides that any attempt to add runes to it is unnecessary.)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:57 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak thanks the scrivener for their assistance, with a tip of his hat, and follows the directions to the Religions Department. The directions are... mostly legible. I guess a little gold helps convince the scriveners to write slower.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:31:57 PM] Dammitwho
A book swiped from a library, a crime so foul only a goblin would consider it. Is Dubnoom going to take another pull at the literary gacha machine or go looking for his friend Tak, or some other decision?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:35:39 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Pressing your luck is for goblins with nothing to lose, and Dubnoom has SO MUCH nice stuff on him to lose. So he's going to go looking for Tak now. Maybe Tak can lose stuff instead.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:37:00 PM] Dammitwho
The scholars enter the room - apart from the older Ustalavian woman, there's an Osirian man in his mid-twenties, and a balding man in his forties with no discernable nation of origin - presumably Absalomian.
The woman introduces herself. "Very good. I am Vesna Ardolescu, formerly a lecturer at the Sincomakti School of Sciences in Versex. These are my colleagues, Kheperu Amantet, a student of antiquities--" ('Hello!' says the younger Osirian man.) "--and Cassian Verrold, linguist and cryptographer." The balding man grunts, not unpleasantly.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:38:45 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal takes up a position beside Imran and the box, hands folded primly behind his back. "Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya, witch of justice."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:39:15 PM] Dammitwho
The Religions Department, it turns out, is in the second sub-basement. It takes Tak some looking, and he almost gets the shit scared out of him when Dubnoom pokes his head out from between two large folios right in front of him, but he finally manages to locate the small, cramped, office that serves as the Religions Department's center of gravity. From here he can start researching himself, or ask for help if he needs it.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:39:57 PM] Dammitwho
(you had it right, the Religions Department itself is indeed large. just the office is small. academic politics)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:40:04 PM] Nicolae
(naturally)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:40:46 PM] Dammitwho
"I'll close this, shall I?" asks Kheperu, standing next to the lever that operates the iris above you, at the top of the spiral staircase.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:41:07 PM] Imran Traveler
"Yes, please." Once that's done, Imran greets them all in turn, and allows Lindal to do the same. Then he gestures to the black-wood box, closed on the sitting table.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:41:27 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Find anything that strikes your fancy?" Tak asks Dubnoom. How well-organized does this department seem to be? Is it at least alphabetic, or is Tak going to have to cough up some more gold?
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:42:31 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom peels back his cloaks to flash the furred notebook he took off the stack. "Yes Friend Tak. But we do not speak of it here." He pauses. "And you?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:43:37 PM] Dammitwho
Not completely alphabetical by author - the Forae Logos is not so lucky as to always be certain about the authorship of the works it contains, and slapfights over organizational principles sometimes end up with books segmented in odd ways. But now that things are narrowed down a bit, Tak could (with Dubnoom's help, even!) do some research on his own, if he were inclined.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:44:28 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Still looking. It's hard to find something specific here unless you've been working here for years, it seems," Tak says, examining some of the shelves as he talks with Dubnoom, trying to discern the ordering in the books, and finds his way towards the books about Nethys...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:47:13 PM] Dammitwho
Kheperu pulls the lever, and the iris, uh, irises shut. There's a change in the quality of the air - sounds aren't actually muffled, nothing is really different, but it feels like what you say doesn't travel as far as it did a second ago. This must be what it feels like when the only hole in the scrying protection is closed off.
Cautiously, Vesna lifts the lid of the box with the tip of a collapsible lacquered wooden stick she carries - then the three of them look surprised and impressed when they see the Triune Cipher. Cassian Verrold whistles. "Now where did you get that?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:47:52 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"What is friend Tak looking for in specific? Book of exploding?" Quieter now: "Book of stabbing from a distance...?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:48:13 PM] Dammitwho
Tak and Dubnoom can each roll a magical tradition skill or Medicine!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:48:49 PM] Imran Traveler
"Schoolmate ran halfway across the world and hid himself in a lead mine to hide it from who was chasing him. He got it for, well. Being too good at school, among other things."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:49:25 PM] Imran Traveler
"It comes from somewhere accessible from Nidal. But it does not come from Nidal."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:50:36 PM] Tak Ironflame
33
1d20 + 13 = 20 + 13 = 33
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:52:03 PM] Tak Ironflame
"In specific?" Tak says, and then considers for a moment. Then he turns to Dubnoom, and says bluntly: "I'm hoping to find information about a man I swore to kill."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:52:43 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
19
1d20 + 17 = 2 + 17 = 19
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:53:01 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Imran's cirucmlocution, learned under pressure I'm sure, obscures that this, er, object is associated with the dark god of that place. Or at least His dark priests. We don't know what it does, but we're informed, by the priests' opponents, that it would be bad if they had it back. To flesh out that bare information is why we've sought your aid."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:53:03 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Oh! That is wise information to have. Maybe before swearing next time...?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:53:53 PM] Gul Banana
bbiab
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:54:15 PM] Crion
time to try to look up logs of vaustin's story
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:54:22 PM] Crion
and see if i can remember the date
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:55:29 PM] Crion
april 3 it appears
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:57:09 PM] Dammitwho
"Nidalese..." Kheperu stares at the orb, fascinated. "I've never seen something like this from them. Vesna - are those slots indicative of moving parts, do you think?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:57:35 PM] Dammitwho
Cassian: "Internal clockwork?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:57:41 PM] Imran Traveler
"Vaustin House Gravhjelm brought this to me. He went through the ritual to meet Zon-Kuthon. The Baptism of Night. He found it wanting; it likely did the same to him."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:58:19 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna Ardolescu boggles at Imran. "This was received from a god?"
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:59:16 PM] Imran Traveler
"No, not from Vaustin's recollection. They took him to meet his god and when he saw that god, he thought he was a fake."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 8:59:43 PM] Imran Traveler
"But he said to himself, I'm leaving here with something."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:00:02 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak pulls a book off a shelf, flips through the title page and contents quickly, puts it back. "This is the kind of vengeance you swear first and figure out the details later." He grabs a second book, flips through it, considers, tucks it under his arm.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:00:36 PM] Imran Traveler
"Are you aware of what the Shadowflame Rift is? It is from beyond the threshold there."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:00:58 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom nods. "Wise in its way."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:03:13 PM] Dammitwho
Tak and Dubnoom decide to start looking for information by reading about wizards as a social class, as a species, as a historical phenomenon. The scrivener at the front seems to have steered Tak in the right direction - 'Nethysian esoterica', in this particular case, is all about wizards. Stories of wizards, case histories, instructions on how to become a wizard, lists of wizards...
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:06:13 PM] Dammitwho
It takes them about four hours of research to burn out all the likely avenues of inquiry, and at the end of it Tak is pretty confident in proclaiming: The Man In Black is not a mortal wizard. He and his gobbo friend could not find a known mage, lich, or arcane order that makes a practice of wearing its own skin as a robe or carrying a staff made from living organs. There are references to fleshcrafting traditions (some of which make you shudder even when referenced obliquely), but whether Nexian, Gebbite, Thassilonian, or even Kuthite - there isn't a wizard or wizard-type recorded to look that way.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:06:30 PM] Dammitwho
Whatever the Man In Black is, he's something other than man, and other than mortal.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:08:47 PM] Tak Ironflame
Not man, not mortal. But hopefully he can still die.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:09:53 PM] Dammitwho
Cassian Verrold gestures impatiently for Vesna's pointing-stick, then takes it from her nerveless fingers. She begins slapping Kheperu on the shoulder, hissing "Write this down, write this down" as Cassian begins carefully digging at the slots and panels on the Triune Cipher.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:10:23 PM] Dammitwho
(Imran also knows it's *called* the Triune Cipher because it was once - and perhaps usually is - in possession of the Black Triune, leaders of Nidal for the last 9000 years)
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:10:48 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak nods, and collects a few scraps of paper he wrote down some notes on. Not a lot of information about what his nemesis is, but information about the isn'ts is still helpful. "Thank you for your assistance, my friend."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:12:15 PM] Imran Traveler
The gods behind god.
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:15:36 PM] Dammitwho
There's a click and a whrwhrwhr as Cassian manages to pull up one of the panels of the Triune Cipher about a millimeter - it snaps back into place and Cassian jumps back. "Hm! A god may have given to you, but if a god made this, I'm a gnome. There's clockwork in there! A lot of it, by the sound, packed very tightly."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:15:58 PM] Imran Traveler
"That's not good."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:16:08 PM] Imran Traveler
"Not the god part. The expanding part."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:17:14 PM] Dammitwho
Kheperu objects. "Some gods work in clockwork! The gods-from-Silver--" Cassian sneers. "Zon-Kuthon doesn't make cuckoo clocks!"
Vesna claps her hands sharply, then looks to Imran. "The first thing we're going to have to do is work out how old this thing is. That will at least give us the beginning of an idea of its provenance."
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:20:16 PM] Dammitwho
The party may learn more about a great many things, wizardly, godly, goblinly, or otherwise... NEXT WEEK!
---------------------------
[9/11/2026, 9:21:00 PM] Crion
hell yeahhhh