The Empire Club/Session 2

Gala Night Planning:
*Amani plans her Gala Night and wants to invite a bunch of the Doges to decompress: happy hour for political bigwigs
**Amani is sure that power begets power, so that if someone important comes all must come to maintain influence. Amani therefore desires to bring someone as close to the Serene Doge as possible, and watch others flock to join
**Trying to recruit former advisers and compatriots of the former Serene Doge Bareth
***Dalton can potentially bring in Baron Algar Maleth (Aeldman finance minister). He is very bored, but capable of making himself seem very busy. Dalton invites one of the busiest people he knows to the Gala at the Empire Club. The Baron keeps Dalton in suspense by timing things with a stopwatch as he "thinks" about his answer. The Baron says yes. He will make his appearance late and will be leaving early.
***The good Dr. Sorothin does not take Cassie's bait to run the rumor mill and get other Industrialists to come. He instead talks about just how boring the many medical needs of the Baron are, how diseases are correlated with political ideology, and opts not to come on the same evening the Baron will
**Will hold her event on the final evening and attempt to make it an extra recruitment evening ("the most exclusive" event & essentially the one to seal the deal) 
*Herr Dr. Professor J. Perrin Farandole, "PhD/D.Sc" is planning on doing the 'Future Horizons Forum' with speeches and a moderated panel.
** Recruitment: Sends letter to the Leopold Society.
**Wants to do it on the anniversary of the beginning of the application process for the licensure of the first Aeldman stock exchange. At least one person involved in this process was a member of the Empire Club at one point.
Event order:
#Magda (Art Night)
#Kingsley (Revival Night)
#Herr Dr. Professor J. Perrin Farandole, "PhD/D.Sc" (Future Night)
#Dawes (Live and Let Liveth Night)
#Mlle. Marion Gauthier (Salon Night)
#Cassandra Sorothin (Fashion Night)
#Amani (Political Night)
Now assuming the role of Magda: Quay
Art Night
*Kingsley puts out bug forks and dresses in 'butler formal'
* HDPJPF wears formal suit with bib with medallion and buttons made of forbidden metals
*Maggie dresses her husband like different barons inspired from an Aeldrum aristocrat lookbook
*Magda sets out the artistic vision of the evening: cheese-bites, 'Meowtzart' chamber music w/ powder-wig wearing cats, shaved lion, phallic drinking vessels
*"This 4D dimension's hottest club is Baby its cold outside. Inspired by decadence and unwelcome come-ons, this place has everything: molten cheese bites, a shaved lion, and a seven level course in adult education. A baby butler greets each guest outside. There, everyone gets a crown/tiara–varying heights of spun golden nests rising above in intricate spirals. The Ambient music tonight is Meowzart Sonatas–cats in Mozart wigs are assembled beside appropriately sized chamber music instruments (music plays in background, note, cats do not play at this time). At the bar, drinks are kept cold using ice sculptures with questionable phallus shapes and/or sizes, just odd enough to make the average human man (or equivalent privates of other race) feel slightly worse about himself. 
** Magda pulled all-nighter to put the entire display together - she does not look good. Has been mixing and matching stimulants.
**Magda insists that 'cats' are indeed cats. They are not. Rather, several are creatures which emerged from the depths of the Aeldrum spire. Fortunately they are not aggressive. Menacing six-legged lizard creature eats one of the cats.
**Lion has been shaved and painted gold. Foam spikes affixed to the lion's back. Its own mane hair has been removed, then coated in plastic and replaced upon its head. It is the manticore, the symbol of Aeldrum's future. It would be depressing if anyone had seen a real manticore in the last four hundred years.
*Maragret (one of Kingsley's dowagers) decides to attend. Kingsley subsequently does not attend.
*Amani is wearing clothing she brought with her to Aeldrum
*Cassie is wearing heels (as always), a muted gray dress, and large hoop earring with cat paw prints within. Decides not to wear hats with large feathers.
*Magda is wearing a gown made of spun gold. Got the idea while making pieces for the art night. Became convinced that it was a good idea to try as a gown. Fabric is splashed with gold, and came out looking tasteful/fashionable. Looks like a golden storm breaking against her sides.
*Baron Hathel arrives, the look of victory crosses his face. In his mind, he has won against Lord Elsevar completely. Seeing the totality of the display gives him joy.
**Hathel asks Magda where she got the gold from. Magda shares with Hathel that she melted down serving dishes for their gold. Hathel offers to buy any crowns leftover after others have bought the ones they wanted for 250,000. Magda accepts and Hathel begins to laugh hysterically - goes to bathroom and begins shouting to Elsevar's ghost that he will ruin every part of his legacy.
*Amani makes a friend: Madame Lamora, the senior cultural critic at the legendary Mirror Magazine, who was horrified at the "first-year student's interpretation of avant-garde" of Magda's opening night. She regales Amani with her opinions of the exhibition, of why the Club failed (first the power brokers stopped coming, then the KM ownership and surveillance was revealed), and of how the Club could present itself in the modern era (don't just reprise the hits, but don't mock it like Magda did). She invites Amani to a before-party at her place before Bugs & Drugs night
*HDPJPF speaks with Margaret and convinces her to donate to the restoration of the portrait gallery.
**Count > Marquis > Baron – voting aristocracy. Any acknowledged family members of the aristocracy are Lords.
Revival Night
*Kingsley resconstructs seating card from the last great dinner of the old Empire Club
*Great banquet is prepared, sommelier on hand to provide a tasting history of the club, paring
*Artifacts are passed around. JPF gives history, Kingsley adds levity.
*Kingsley shows attendees the boarded up balcony, explaining that the club intends to restore the view.
*Party is guided to the private bar where Jeremy serves preferred drinks of each attendee from memory.
* Heidegger is 'tasting' the wine from the Whiskins the Sommelier - sommelier is displeased
*Heidegger speaks with Lord Klaussen (admiral under Doge Leopold's navy), Klaussen begins ranting about the Fialta thinking of starting an empire. Heidegger is somewhat aware that Klaussen is mixing up his timelines - knows that he seems to be living in the past. Maggie informs Heidegger of the inaccuracies after the conversation concludes.
*Heidegger makes a new friend – Monsieur Effim, not a nobleman, but a rich engineer, scopes out potential wholesale deal, invites him to call on him & continue the conversation
* Amani scopes out who is a member of the aristocracy, then recruits many of them to return for the final night; many also intend to bring younger relations, which is promising, because these guys are all very old
*JPF convinces several to come back the next night. Several are convinced, but ask if JPF does books on tape for the history of the club.
* Cassie seeks out attendees to offer advice to. Aggressively approaches several elderly members and insists that they can't ascend the stairs unaided. Grabs one woman's cane and berates her for thinking it would support her. The woman complains loudly to Kingsley about the poor quality of the help he's hired. Cassie is very offended and complains loudly in turn
*Mlle Gauthier gives a talk about embracing the new, intended to scare away the oldest of the legacy members; she largely succeeds, scaring off Cane Lady (who Farandole intercepts and convinces to come back tomorrow) and encouraging the Cultural Coalition types. An aristocrat offers tickets to his opera box, & will come to Salon Night.
*No portrait of Margaret's husband exists, JPF will try to commission one from Magda.
* Jeremy sours on Heidegger after Heidegger insults Jeremy. Dawes hears clicking within Jeremy, suggesting that Jeremy is trying and failing to activate combat actions. The impotent former war machine takes his vengeance by announcing to Maggie Dawes exactly how much Heidegger has had to drink at any given time.
*Claiming that she intends to apologize, Cassie finds out from Kingsley that Cane Lady is Lady Morweld, then investigates what Farandole knows of her history to find a believable rumor. 
Category:Session Summaries