Act 3: The Ball - En route to Emerald

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"Well well! So it can be taught!" Konrad grins. "Amazing!"

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"Good work, you two," says Steve giving them a thumbs up.

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Fluffle smiles at Steve while Segel is too captivated by this new sensation to even notice.

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Mihai looks more positive - "Normally i'd be able to just pluck it out and show it to you, but the one Edward jammed in there is stuck in with mine. If it weren't for my Orb's protection, i'd be someone else entirely right now, probably following Edwards orders. And more importantly..." - he focuses his voice - "Everyone working for Edward will have one too. In Myr, we had no way to tell who they were until one of them played their hand. In Emerald, we may have no way at all until it's too late. Unless somehow, i could count on you guys' help to pick them out."

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Segel focuses his attention back to Mihai when he talks to him and furrows his brow the more he hears about this Edward and what he has in store for the party members. "So this bad man, Edward, controls Fedler with an orb and also kidnapped Fluffle's girlfriend? Is that right?"

"Yeah," Amber answers. "And he's trying to control even more people in Emerald. That's the gist of it anyway."

"If I may," Femke suddenly says, raising a hand. "I would like to remind you of one passage of one the letters you found in Narrowfist."

Letter:

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Mihai nods - "You mean Drop Point E3? I've been thinking about that, but i don't know how we could find out where it is."

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"This is not what I meant. Unless I am mistaken, your plan to find Edward's agents hinges on one crucial factor: that they will have their orb inside their heads when one of the fairies checks on them. What if they've already removed it?"

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"You're right. But i'm hoping they'll keep them on till the day of the actual operation. If they have to put them in someone else, they'll want their memory to be as up to date as possible."

Femke nods in response and sits back in her chair, having said everything she meant to share.

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"'E3'?" Konrad forgot about that part. "Oh, thank you. That doesn't sound like a set of coordinates. They probably wouldn't have written them down for anyone to find, anyway. Does 'E3' mean anything to you, Femke?"

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"Nothing that would be relevant to these orbs, no."

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"It is talking about a specific place, we just don't have the context to figure out where it is," says Steve with a shrug. "So what next? We still going to walk around and get the lay of the land first when we arrive?"

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"Yes, a lay of the land and a lay of the culture. And a change of clothes would be nice, just to fit in there. I never spent any time inland, so I can't tell you anything beyond what I've learned from a resupply visit."

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Mihai thinks for a moment - "Duchess was found out to be a Green Mage what, maybe a year ago now? Leaves enough time to plan an operation, but not enough to plant..." - Mihai stops himself, thinks back to something else - "If all vessels die, pick up my orb..."

Mihai hangs in that statement, looking at the party to see if they're noticing what he is.

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Konrad picks up on it after Mihai's quote. "There's more than one of Edward's 'plants' in Emerald! Likely in positions of leadership or wealth."

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He twitches - "Maybe not at the time that he wrote this, and maybe not even Edward. But whoever this is, he can just go around maybe a day or two before the Ball and just shove his Orb into whoever he wants. Victim won't need coercing, convincing, coordinating. He can make the whole plan in his head, then all he needs is multiply it by whoever he thinks is better placed. The Duchess' cook, security chief... heck, her daughter. It's all a matter of who he can get two minutes alone with."

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Amber, Fluffle and Segel look deeply troubled by this idea, while Femke joins her hands together and frowns while she mulls over this new element. Florolf has even woken up and is looking at them from atop his pillow.

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"This is quickly becoming more and more complicated." Steve leans back and sips his tea before continuing, "That means we could find ourselves quickly outnumbered and betrayed on this one. We're gonna need some more muscle on standby. And a way to screen for this somehow."

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"We have muscles!" Amber exclaims. "Lots of them, hanging out on deck!"

Even from here, the party members can hear the Myrzen warriors chatting and laughing on deck.

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"Yeah, we do..." - Mihai looks pensive - "Depending on how many days are left before the Ball, this could end up down to stopping them at the event herself. That would be..." - he shakes his head - "We're not even invited. If we were, we couldn't take this to the Duchess. And if it comes down to a fight between her and Edward's guy... I thought of a last-ditch contingency, but... it's spotty at best."

He involuntarily looks at Florolf.

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"...So? What is it?!" Amber asks, pushing into her brother's arm.

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"Well, we know the Shroud will eat any Magic passing into it. Took Konrad's spell, Wanda's buffs... what happens if the Duchess is being controlled by the Elemental and Florolf and i yank her into the Shroud?" - he pauses to check himself - "If a fight breaks out, and we have to stop it short on our terms, that might work. If we break it's hold, we can get her out of the area without the Vessel being able to touch her. But... it's all theory, there's no way to know for sure."

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Konrad fiddles with a cigar. "It's possible. Elementals are magical creatures, but we have no knowledge of their relation to the Shroud. But we do have two solutions to the party invite. If Brutus is attending, we could offer to join him. Or, we could visit the Myrzen embassy. We have to get a letter to Nadzieja to inform her of what we've noticed, this revelation and whatever else we might learn by the time we arrive. If the embassy has petitioned for an invite, which is unlikely to be rejected, I'm sure they would be warm to the idea of letting us tag along."

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"I vote for the one that doesn't indebt us to the psychopath. Though if we make a mess at the Ball in Myr's name, well... not sure even our Boons would cover that."

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Steve nods at Konrad, "That's a solid plan. But we might also be able to score an invite of our own. I mean, we are famous now, right? We could just embrace it and see what happens. I get the feeling laying low on this one might not be possible in any case given our recent activities.

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Konrad smiles. "Works for me. I prefer it that way, honestly, but I think you knew that already."

» Act 3: The Ball - Back in Emerald
» Act 3: The Ball - Back in Emerald
» Act 3: The Ball - Preparations of War
» Act 3: The Ball - Preparations of War
» Act 3: The Ball - Crisis