Citadel's Shadow II, Session 21

Citadel's Shadow II, Session 21 was a session of the Citadel's Shadow II campaign, played on 14 April 2019 (UTC) (13 April 2019 for some participants).
==Personnel==
===Game Master===
*GM: played by Alden Loveshade
===Player Characters===
*Fern the Siegemaster: inventive fox-person student played by Rail Runner
* Jinxi: androgynous jester with poppet Jack played by Michael Lee Viviano
=== Non-Player Characters ===
* Carriage Driver: driver for Damiran, Fern, and Jinxi
* Jennifer Kileen: waitress at Twelve Rose Inn
* Mikhail Sparski: sergeant of the Trynser City Municipal Force
=== Special ===
* Damiran Fiddler: human male singer and violinist played in this session by Rolemorphing
== Events ==
=== 1742 ===
Ulthrane 26 (Lordsday): Damiran Fiddler, Fern the Siegemaster, and Jinxi were in a carriage pulled by two horses controlled by their carriage driver, possibly in Temples Ward of Trynser City.  Two masked men had stopped the carriage; one of them (robber 1), the taller and thinner of the two,  "diplomatically" told them if they gave up their money and jewelry, they could be on their way. Jinxi subtly tossed es money outside the carriage, hoping the robbers wouldn't notice (they did).  The other masked man (robber 2) was blunt and sometimes insulting, saying, "Hey, look! We got us a fool, a fox, and a bright-blue eyed redhead. We got us a traveling girlly man freak show!"  The carriage driver said to the passengers, "I'd give them what they want. Some things are worth more than a few coins and baubles."  While robber 2 thought that meant they were carrying more valuable merchandise, robber 1 thought the driver meant their lives.  The driver and passengers knew they were carrying a wooden box carrying something apparently very important that they were assigned to transport safely.
Robber 2 entered the carriage and found Jinxi's poppet Jack and Damiran's violin; robber 1 said not to take them as they were likely "items of their professions."  Robber 1 said to leave them enough for what would probably be their return fare, $5.  With Jinxi giving a subtle reminder, all three passengers managed to hide their Lamadien region céntimos given to them as identification.
Robber 2 saw the box; Fern said "Actually it might well be explosive materials that will explode and kill us all if the box is opened."  This led robber 1 to suspect it was demon dust, but robber 2 said it was white; demon dust was black.  When robber 1 tried to enter the carriage, Jinxi tried to kick him in the crotch; robber 1 managed to dodge the attack.  Instead of returning the attack, robber 1 said, "Out of my way, funny man. I do not want to hurt you, but if you try something one more time, I may be visiting your funeral."  Damiran moved out of the man's way, and robber 1 partially entered the carriage.  Robber 1 told robber 2 to taste the powder; robber 2 was hesitant, but was told chemists tasted things regularly, so it would not be harmful.  Robber 2 tasted it, said it tasted like flour; robber 1 said it obviously wasn't or the group wouldn't have been so concerned about it.  He suspected it was an alchemical ingredient, but as every alchemist in town would likely be informed of the theft, they could not safely sell it, so to leave it there.
Jinxi said to robber 1, "You seem sensible. Why are you reduced to knocking over carriages?"  Robber 1 said, "Everybody has to make a living."  The two robbers left.
The carriage, which had gotten tilted in a hole, was righted by a combined effort of the driver, horses, and riders, and, after Jinxi discovered es money was gone, continued on its way.  They suspected the two robbers were locals from their speech, and Fern thought robber 1's behaviour did not fit that of a Trynser City street gang member.  Jinxi practiced imitating robber 2, and felt e could do a decent impersonation.  The group wondered about the contents of the locked box, but Fern decided it would not be a good idea to try to open it.  Jinxi guessed the box might contain something packed in flour, and Fern thought the flour might be used to soften impacts to prevent the fragile contents from breaking.
While continuing to travel, Fern looked through the carriage curtain, and saw that it looked like they might be in an area on the edge of town.  They were by what looked like a one-story brick building.  The carriage driver unlocked the door to the building, then Fern and Jinxi carried the box, which weighed about 25 lbs (11 1/3 kg), into the otherwise empty building and set it down while Damiran stayed close to them.
The driver locked the door, and left, telling the others they should also leave the area.  Damiran, Fern, and Jinxi remembered they were next supposed to go to a fine establishment to eat, drink, be entertained, and receive their reward which would be change" they'd receive after paying for their meal, each with a Lamadien region céntimo.  But none of them knew where to go. They looked for a nice inn nearby, but didn't see one.  They did see a group of five boys playing marbles in a nearby meadow.  Three of the boys were human, one halfling, and one was a rare centaur who said his family was visiting Trynser City so he could learn what a city was like.  The three travelers found they were in Outer Riverside Ward, just north of Uphill Ward.  They showed the boys a céntimo, hoping the boys would direct them to an inn as the trio had been told they would know where to go, but the boys seemed to just see it as a foreign coin.  Jinxi did a quick juggling routine for the boys which they enjoyed, and the trio moved on.
Damiran remembered Master Donghai Ping had told him something about not having to play, but didn't know what it meant.  Fern began to wonder if them essentially being lost might have been sort sort of a joke, but then figured Master Ping was serious about business.  Fern remembered hearing something about a new inn in the area that had pink rose doorknobs like St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth had gotten on the first day of the year.  Damiran said that was the new inn where he sometimes sang and played the violin, and it did have such doorknobs.  They walked there.
The Twelve Rose Inn was a three-story building built primarily of pink brick, with a fountain and 12 very large rose bushes in front.  They entered. They saw that people there were well dressed, better dressed than they were.  A waitress named Jennifer Kileen greeted them, and seemed skeptical about them being there, until Jinxi showed her a céntimo and she recognized Damiran.  The trio dined to music played on a keyboard.  Jinxi had fresh-caught redeyed fish served in a butter and rose wine sauce, while Damiran and Fern had rottukjöt, described as "a fine red meat accented with a thick sauce of olive oil and crushed shallots, which is specially grilled over a fire of broken wine barrels."
Jinxi saw three officers of the Trynser City Municipal Force enter. One of them, who looked to be a sergeant, talked with a waitress.  Jinxi asked in "pig latin" if any of them had an "arrantway from the olicepay," but the others didn't understand.
Jennifer came over, and Fern could tell she was trying to hide being nervous.  Damiran, Fern, and Jinxi each gave her their céntimo; they had been instructed to do so in order to get their reward as "change."  Meanwhile the waitress the sergeant had talked to pointed to their table.  Jennifer told the sergeant the trio were "the ones."  Sgt. Mikhail Sparski told the trio, "Here is your reward. The three of you are under arrest for treason against the Empire of Trynser. Do not attempt to flee. I have officers posted and we are prepared to use deadly force if necessary."  (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2019 04 13)
====== Copyright by Alden Loveshade. ======
Category:Citadel's Shadow IIb