GM Observations
- In retconning this session, we went back and gave Ethan (as Griffin) a useful array of spells to work with and some useful memories for approaching a modern environment. Otherwise he had no real Tools and relevant skills to approach this problem.
Part 1 - Farewell to Hoffgard
- Griffin (Ethan) spends two hours in the library but after that, Stolvir’s stomach was rumbling so loudly that Griffin decides to leave. He purchases a haunch of meat from the butcher and Stolvir follows him home, licking his lips expectantly. As soon as they are inside, Griffin offers the meat and Stolvir begins munching away. But then there is a flash of blue light from his bedroom and Griffin spies a blue envelope within a nimbus of blue light hovering above his small desk. It floats down and lands on the table surface. Griffin picks it up - he finds his fingers don’t quite touch the surface of the paper - there is some sort of protective shell around it. Griffin considers using sorcery to open the protective shell but he decides not to
- Griffin opens the envelope by hand and he finds an invitation inside. The calligraphy is exquisite, the lettering embossed. The invitation is from Kade (although it is doubtful that the cat would have written the letter himself). It asks Griffin to join him at midday tomorrow for tea as his ‘Hosts’ have a request to make of him. Griffin can visualise where to go just by holding the envelope. - he knows where this place is on the Stair. He can visualise the Door.
- Griffin puts the invitation back in the envelope and pockets it. He was expecting the ‘Hosts’ to ask for his services sooner or later. He wonders why they did not come to him. He sighs and spends a few hours tidying up the house. Over weeks Griffin has tried hard to make it feel like home but he still struggles to find a connection to this place. His memories tell him that he’s lived here before, but it still feels hollow. Still, Stolvir seems happy and comfortable in this house and he quite likes the massive white wolf.
- While he works, he wonders what the ‘Hosts’ will ask of him and how long he might be away. He wonders what he should take with him. In the afternoon he goes for a walk, and visits the Fabricator General. Gremm is happy to see him, and even more pleased when Griffin tells him that he’s received a summoning from the Hosts. Clearly the Masters must be pleased with his recovery. Gremm sends for some attendants and makes plans for a festival that evening to farewell Griffin. He explains that it is ‘traditional’ for the townspeople to celebrate his departure with food, drink, song and dance. They will also throw another party when he returns to welcome him back. Griffin listens to this - he has vague memories of previous festivals but they seem very distant.
- That evening, the great hall of Hoffgard is filled with revellers and the floor is littered with yellow flower petals (a sign of luck in this community). Every family brings plates of food to share, and the community opens kegs of ale and spice beer. A group of musicians plays while men, women and children take turns to dance. Griffin doesn’t feel a stranger in this gathering - he knows many of the people now by name and they all know him. He doesn’t remember how to dance but more than one of the local girls is happy to show him. The evening passes and Griffin ends up enjoying himself. At last, the musicians are weary and stop playing and people sit down to talk, drink and play cards. Griffin plays for awhile, then excuses himself.
Part 2 - The Mission
- In the morning Griffin dons the same clothes that he was found in, complete with his weapons and his shield. He opens the Hoffgard Door and steps out onto the Stair. There are two junctions along the way, but it is not a very long distance to travel. This section of the Stair is narrow and rickety. With every step the floor creaks and buckles.
- The Door which is his destination is semi-ornate, but well-worn. Opening it, Griffin finds himself in what looks like a modern school but all is quiet. He makes his way out of the building into the sunshine and then down the hill towards the village. The sky above him is a cool aqua colour and there is a chill wind in the air.
- The road winds down the hillside into the small township. Griffin finds a small asian-style tea-house and walks inside. There are only a few patrons here - Kade is one of them. He sits on one of the tables with a huge cup of white liquid, like thickened milk which has sprinkles of a brown powder on top - it smells like cinnamon. Kade welcomes Griffin and he takes a seat. Tea is ordered and Griffin sips at it, finding that he likes it. Griffin can’t remember having tea before but he decides that tea is worth remembering. (GM’s note - yes, Ethan drinks tea a lot in his narrative)
- Kade tells him that his progress is pleasing and the Hosts have a job for Griffin. He explains that it would unwise to refuse. Kade asks Griffin what he thought of the invitation. Griffin shrugs and says that it was ‘pretty’ but he didn’t understand why it was necessary to come here. He would have thought it easier for Kade to come to him - Kade responds sagely that Griffin has a very large dog (a reference to Stolvir) and he doesn’t like dogs. (GM’s note - very few cats do)
- Kade goes on to describe the mission. He explains that the Lords of Gossamer are beaten. They were once a serious inconvenience to the Empire but they have been driven back ever since their weapon backfired on them GM’s note - a reference to the Breath of Eden, and of course the story has been twisted) However the Lords of Gossamer were not the only problem for the Empire. Another group of Wardens has recently become a problem. This Hosts have been aware of this group for a long time but they were mostly left alone until now because their acts of sabotage and terrorism had been directed against the Lords of Gossamer, not the Dwimmerlaik. Recently that has changed. These ‘rogue Wardens’ have attacked Imperial-protected settlements and killed civilians. The Empire has no tolerance for terrorism and hence Griffin is instructed to deal with the situation. The Empire wants an example made of one of these Wardens - a very public, non-accidental demise that will cower the rest of them.
- Griffin listens. It’s clear that Kade is asking him to publicly murder someone, but he doesn’t have an emotional reaction to the directive. Kade explains that this terrorist group is called ‘Tiano’ - it was assumed originally that they were in league with Bastiano, Lord of Gossamer but since Bastiano’s demise (GM’s note - yes, the Dwimmerlaik are claiming to have killed him… haha) has had no impact on this group’s operations, it is now thought that they are a separate organisation.
- Unfortunately the Dwimmerlaik only know a limited amount about ‘Tiano’. They know there is a red-haired Warden called Fambol who is a member of this group. His realm is a modern world which is controlled by a ruling regime that tightly controls the population. Fambol himself is believed to have a degree of control over the realm, and he has a number of artefacts on his person. Agents of the Empire know that one of those artefacts has imbued him with physical protection as witnesses observed him survive an assassination attempt using bullets. The bullets bounced off without causing injury. This individual is not the head of government, but clearly he wields influence within the government. Fambol is Griffin’s primary target - the Empire wants him dead, and his death should be a public spectacle that will serve as an example to those who oppose the will of the Dwimmerlaik. Before killing him, Griffin needs to find out more about ‘Tiano’ from him and who the others are. The Dwimmerlaik believe Fambol to be the group’s ‘recruiter’. The Hosts only know of one other Warden - a dark-haired woman who often accompanies Fambol but they don’t know her name.
- Griffin asks what the Hosts know of Tiano’s goals and objectives. Kade says that they’ve hit targets to disrupt Imperial operations, including power supplies, water supplies and even a bridge. When they blew up the bridge, the terrorists also took out a passenger train at the same time, killing many civilians. Kade coldly remarks that the Empire expects these terrorists to be hunted down and shown no mercy. The Dwimmerlaik are very protective of their Empire and their citizens, and they have long memories. These terrorists have been attacking targets roughly every ten days, sometimes with conventional weapons and sometimes with explosives.
- Griffin finishes his tea and orders more. He has memories of doing other missions for the Dwimmerlaik, and he knows how to hide himself from other Wardens. (GM’s note - in this campaign, Wardens can sense other Wardens unless they are deliberately trying to conceal themselves) Still, it feels like what Kade (and the Dwimmerlaik) are asking for is a world away from where he currently is. Griffin wonders if he should be feeling passionate loyalty to the Empire and affronted by these attacks. He doesn’t feel anything at all, so he calmly continues to sip his tea and he listens as Kade continues to fill him in.
- A folder is provided with more information about Fambol’s realm. Kade warns him that it is a police state, with regular monitoring of the people. Within the envelope is a ‘second level’ which Griffin did not access - inside there is a bronze token which will help shield Griffin from any monitoring. (GM’s note - in game-speak, it provide a Psychic Neutral) At this point Kade asks why Griffin didn’t open the second level of information in the envelope and Griffin says that he didn’t know if he was supposed to. Kade praises him and says that this would sometimes be prudent but not this time. Also in the ‘second level’ of the envelope is a data chip. Kade explains that the Empire has sent agents to Fambol’s world before. They have prepared the way for Griffin - if Griffin can access any of the government buildings, he’ll be able to use the data chip to upload an identity into the database with sufficient information with withstand a moderate level of scrutiny. Lodgings have also been provided. Furthermore, this data chip will upload a dormant virus into the city computers which will mask his identity on his command for perhaps an hour (Kade suggests that this be used when he’s about to kill Fambol).
- At last Griffin asks why he has been chosen for this task. If this is so important, why choose someone who doesn’t have their full memories. Griffin points out that he can’t make mental contact with Fambol without wiping his mind - he asks if he can extract Fambol and hand him over to the Hosts. Kade says that this would not be acceptable. He doesn’t know why Griffin has been chosen. Kade agrees that it is most unusual to choose someone like this, but Griffin has been chosen and he is expected to do this without any other assistance. The Masters expect him to get the information, publicly execute Fambol and provide evidence of the deeds being completed. Kade wishes him luck and Griffin leaves.
Part 3 - A Lonely Path
- Griffin heads back onto the Stair and heads towards Fambol’s realm. It feels like it is reasonably close so after a few hours, he finds a Door and opens it. He steps into an alleyway. The pavement is wet as if it has been recently raining. It is late in the city but it is deathly quiet. No one is moving here. Griffin wayfinds a place to sit down and read the contents of the folder. He finds a diner - it is open but there is no one here. Even the pot of coffee is warm, but it is as if everyone has suddenly vanished. Griffin pours himself some coffee (which tastes awful), takes a seat and begins reading.
- When he has finished, he finds a department store and takes some clothes that would appear to fit in a modern world. Again, he sees no one. Before he leaves, Griffin uses sorcery to place a teleportation ‘mark’ in the alleyway to enable him to return to this place via portal. (GM’s note - using teleportation in this way has come from Zora’s memories - it is not something that Ethan could do previously)
- Back on the Stair, he continues his journey. After some time he reaches Fambol’s realm. The Door to this realm looks very ordinary. Noting the Door, Griffin carries on his way. He finds another Door nearby which opens into what looks like an airport terminal building. He changes his clothes, puts his possessions into a locker and places another teleportation mark on his possessions should he need to retrieve them quickly)[/i]
- Griffin returns to Fambol’s realm and opens the Door. He finds himself on the ground floor of an office building in a section very close to two banks of lifts. Griffin moves quickly away from the Door and settles himself down on a chair in the lobby. He wants to see if the Door is guarded and what kind of response there is. Interestingly, there is none. Outside, it looks to be late afternoon which is not in keeping with his expectations of the current time. Griffin slips out of the building, evading a security guard who is standing outside the entrance.
- Griffin wanders around for a bit. He can feel that Sorcery would work here but it is mildly suppressed. He tries a simple teleport within the realm (transporting an object) and it can be done but it is harder than usual. He is sure that he would be able to use a Sorcerous teleport to escape the realm. Carrying on, Griffin finds a drab looking building which he is sure he could upload his new identity. The workforce is leaving - it’s the end of the day - but security passes are still being checked. Griffin decides to use the fire escape instead. He could have chosen to phase through the Door but he chooses something much simpler. He weaves a sorcerous spell to bypass the alarms and he then opens the door using his Warden abilities. Inside, he quickly finds a computer and goes to work.
- Unfortunately a man in a bowler hat walks in on him whilst he is printing new identity papers. Griffin is vaguely surprised by this as he is normally alert to nearby minds. The man asks what he is doing, but Griffin simply commands him to Sleep (another spell) and the man collapses onto the floor. His bowler hat falls off and Griffin notes that there is ‘tin foil’ laced into the inside - it seems to be part of the design. Griffin goes back to work, collecting his identity papers and then he places a teleportation mark on the man’s body before he leaves. When outside and a safe distance away, Griffins teleports the man to a nearby location and then casts a simple Befuddle spell to confuse him when he awakens. Whispering in his ear a plausible story as to how he got here before fainting, the spell implants the idea into him and Griffin then leaves.
- Griffin goes to find his lodgings. He lives in a unit. It is very simple but he starts trying to learn more about this society and how it works. He watches the ‘Free-Vee’, he reads and he observes. Clearly Fambol is not here or else Griffin could sense him, so Griffin during the day, he waits and watches near the Door. While he waits, Griffin thinks over the four Icons that he has - he has been thinking a lot about the dark haired lady in the blue dress. He knows that Kade forbade him to use an Icon, but he wonders if he could use Sorcery and even Eidolon to insulate the connection After two days Fambol returns. He wears loose fitting clothes and dresses in a fashion more gaudy than the locals do. Griffin notes that he has an burnt orange coat and burgundy shoes. He is clearly confident and relaxed in this place.
* Image by Anna Shelkova
- Griffin follows him from a considerable distance as Fambol walks miles back to his home in one of the better parts of town. It is a two story building in a similar style to the drab government buildings, however it has a perimeter of grass around it. Griffin leaves Fambol alone and waits for him to leave again. Three days later, Fambol leaves the realm and Griffin decides not to follow.
Part 4 - Fambol
- While Fambol is away, Griffin prepares a trap. He prepares a teleportation spell on the doorhandle of Fambol’s home which is attuned to him and will transport him to this world’s airless moon. On the moon, Griffin uses Eidolon to fortify himself and he awaits Fambol’s appearance. (GM’s note - as to how this idea came to Griffin, he was looking for a place in Fambol’s realm where he could transport Fambol and put him at a disadvantage. The moon was in the sky and this gave Griffin the idea)
- Griffin waits patiently on the moon for some time (days). Then suddenly Fambol is back in the realm. Griffin can sense him. It does not take long for Fambol to arrive home and attempt to open the door. Suddenly he is in front of Griffin, disoriented and suffocating on the lunar surface. Griffin launches into him, landing heavy blows. The distressed Fambol draws a sabre and begins shifting to adapt to another form. At this point Griffin ignites his lightsaber and severs Fambol’s arm. Fambol’s body suffers severe injury from this as the cauterised wound starts to leak fluid. A lesser man would be dead from this but still Fambol remains conscious (barely).Griffin concentrates on Fambol and knocks him into unconsciousness with a powerful Spell spell. At this point, Griffin stabilises Fambol using Eidolon, and then teleports both of them back to the planet and a specially prepared chamber.
… and that’s the retconned version, and Ethan (Griffin) has a mechanism for interrogating Fambol without physically beating him up or handing over to more skilled interrogators. I did write up a S89 preamble where I thought the most prudent way to proceed was for Griffin to accidentally kill Fambol during the interrogation, making it possible for Griffin to then read Fambol’s memories without triggering the Breath of Eden effect - but this retconned version works better.
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