Session 02

Franklin called the party together with news of a new mission. A dissident faction in the Human Federation was seeking the syndicate's aid with the promise of actionable intelligence about the Federation as a reward. Since the Federation is xenophobic and authoritarian, good intel can be hard to come by, so the Syndicate was very interested in getting its hands on some.

The party was loaned a few items of equipment to help with the mission. First, a disguise kit for Adelheid, since gnomes are the subject of state-sponsored hatred in the Federation. Second, a pair of glasses able to magically record a minute's worth of audio/video, for use when acting on the actionable intelligence. Third, a set of single-use non-detection cloaks, in case they should be needed to effect a no-strings-attached getaway.

The party planned their entrance to the Federation by way of Manelfheim. Landing in Western Manelfheim, they made their way East to the trade village of Uusomlia, where they made the acquaintance of a human merchant going by Stepan Stepanovich. Stepan had lost a few of his mercenaries to Kossack raiders on the journey North, and so was persuaded to join forces with the party for the trip South. He was not entirely convinced by their cover story, but some smooth talking and a bit of gold got him to go along.

It was fortunate for him that he did, since he and the party were ambushed by another band of raiders a day out from Kolnitskaya. The raiders initially got the jump on the party and dispatched Stepan's mercenaries in short order. The party was able to rally and defeat the raiders. Collecting their gear and the pay from Stepan's fallen mercenaries, the party found themselves somewhat well off for a change.

In the city of Kolnitskaya, capital of the Federation region of the same name, the party made contact with a representative of the Steel Doves, the dissident faction who commissioned the job. Nikolai, a gruff war veteran, gave them the details of the job they wanted done: infiltrate the Burgomaster's mansion and find any "compromat", ie compromising material, that there was to be found. Nikolai was able to tell them the location of the mansion and a few other local details, and also levied a restriction on the coming action: the Burgomaster and his Under-Secretary for Magic were not to be killed. In fact, killing people in general should be avoided, although if a guard or two "went missing" that would be within bounds. Over the course of the conversation (as well as via some independent research) the party learned some details about their employers.

The leader of the Steel Doves, Odessa, is a fiery young woman. She is not only physically attractive, with a mane of flowing red hair, but also a compelling speaker able to sway hearts and minds to her cause. Several war veterans, to include General Vladislav, have rallied to her banner. Their cause: to increase personal freedoms for the common citizen. Adelheid was also able to discern that Nikolai was personally smitten with Odessa.

Having given the party their mission, Nikolai departed. The party made some efforts to gather information about the mansion. Adelheid attempted to gather blueprints for the mansion from the government district; a plan which went disastrously wrong with Adelheid only narrowly avoiding being thrown in jail. Wolfwood had better luck, successfully locating a retired security consultant who had done some work for the Burgomaster. It took a lot of drinking, but Wolfwood was able to keep himself together long enough to find the consultant's notes on the mansion and get them back to the party.

What is known about the mansion:

There are two ways to approach; via the road or via the forested cliffs behind the mansion. The road is eminently visible and has a gate with two guards, whereas the forested cliffs have some guards on patrol but offer a much better opportunity for a stealthy approach (so long as nobody falls down the cliff.)

The mansion itself is a converted old keep, with walls upon which two lookouts walk an intersecting patrol. The keep's grounds are not generally patrolled but there is a barracks separate from the keep, where at any given time there will be at least four guards who can be summoned. These guards also have dogs.

Inside, there are 8 guards, with 4 on duty and 4 off at any given time, plus the guard captain. There is also the under-secretary for magical affairs, a state-sanctioned mage who oversees the restriction of magic in the city. There is also the Burgomaster himself, his wife and two children, a nanny, two maids, a cook, and a scullery boy who also handles the stables.

*Party achieved Level 4 for good intelligence gathering and some narrow escapes.*