The Great Game

To outsiders the Imperium appears as a well-tuned machine where everyone lives and dies by the Emperor's orders. In reality various factions vie for power and the Emperor's favor in what is often described as "*The Great Game"*.

During their adventures The Faultless Arrow have uncovered several secret plans and also heard whispered hints of plots.

## Moves in The Great Game

* Cassius Hardalio, the richest man in the Imperium, leveraged his connections in the Senate to authorize a military campaign against Rubia that he would personally fund. The Emperor could not publicly refuse such generosity, but covertly he did everything in his power to make the campaign succeed but Hardalio's bid for glory fail. Due to the intervention of The Faultless Arrow they both lost: the Emperor lost the war while Hardalio lost his life.
* Quintis Fulvianus, Master Wizard of the Arcane Directorium, has spent years to make an Edict all by himself. He did this in order to command an army of orcs ("*Edict of Orc Army*") and use it to conquer the Northern Plains. This way he could gain the favor of the Emperor and become the very first Wizard General of the Imperium. He was killed by The Faultless Arrow, and his Edict was taken from him.
* The Golden Compact stole the Edict of Orc Army, under orders from Archmage Travenus, from The Faultless Arrow in Surujabâzar. It's unclear what Travenus did with the Edict, but given it was a weak and possibly botched piece of magic, he likely destroyed it.
* The Golden Compact traveled on the Imperial Galleon, *"The Enigma"*, all the way to the Protectorate of Sol. They were boasting about being on an important mission from the highest circles. Based on Minerva's comments to the Faultless Arrow during their mission to the Alchemist's Hut, the Compact was also tasked with obtaining the notes of the alchemist Ipharis, likely on orders from Archmage Travenus. The Compact evidently rummaged the hut, but the Arrow still found the notes written in coded dwarven runes. The Golden Compact left empty-handed.
* Emperor Marius II has traveled to the Protectorate of Sol in search of invaluable information. He brought several soldiers and plenty of riches and gifts. Knowing about the Golden Compact's mission, and the fact that they received that mission from Archmage Travenus, the Arrow could piece it together that the emperor must be on the hunt for immortality. Evidently, he tried both the official (petitioning Gadriel) and the unofficial way (getting the infamous alchemist, Ipharis' notes).
* Princess Septima hired The Faultless Arrow for a covert mission. The mission turned out to have two parts: get the mystic notes of Ipharis the alchemist from the Alchemist's Hut in the Forest of the Dishonored; then steal a translating device from the small museum in the Greater Temple of Libros. Based on the lengths she went to avoid the Arrow being seen with her, this was a mission she doesn't want her father to know about. Furthermore, it was important to Minerva that the Arrow gets to the Alchemist's Hut before the Golden Compact did, hinting at an underlying race between two parties for the information found in the hut.
* The Faultless Arrow has found a Dossier on various adventuring parties in the cabin of a wizard on board *"The Enigma"*. The party later found out the Dossier was in the cabin of Minerva, a wizard covertly working with Princess Septima. Perhaps the princess' decision to hire the Arrow wasn't so out of the blue as it seemed: she must have arrived at the Protectorate of Sol with a clear goal, and a plan on how to achieve that goal.

## Cryptic Clues

* Princess Septima, much like her father, must have been looking for immortality herself. While it makes sense to seek endless life as a middle-aged emperor, it is less clear why a young wizard would want it...
* Minerva, the wizard helping Princess Septima in the Protectorate of Sol is, in fact, the favorite apprentice of Archmage Travenus. This seems peculiar in light of the fact that the princess and Travenus were both racing to get the same information from the Alchemist's Hut. What could a novice member of the Directorium offer -- however high-born -- that the de-facto leader of it can't?