Chronicle of the Scavenger Lands (Exalted 3E) - IC

[jaydude]

Ailera returns to the mine, again not being noticed by the miners or guards thanks to her Charm. She is unable to see anyone who looks like the owner of the place within the area.

Would she like to remain at the mine and try to eavesdrop on conversations (Perception + Awareness roll)? Or would she like to head into the town and search for information there?

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera will nose about the mine some, trying to see if there is anything wrong, or a saboteur trying to shut the place down. Still using my Sensory Acutiy Prana to give me double 9's and rerolling 6's until they don't appear.

Psht. Only two successes so far.

 

[jaydude]

Ailera is unable to see any signs of current problems or attempted sabotage. She does however manage to overhear a snippet of conversation between two of the miners.

"You seen Feren today?"

"Not since my shift started. Knowing him, he's probably up in his office. Guy always likes to keep busy."

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera will then nose about and try to find the office that the two men were talking about.

 

[jaydude]

Ailera's nosing about ultimately leads her to a large building on the edge of the village that overlooks the mine, where the workers are taking the mined and unprocessed Jade.

Were Quill to look at the building in question, he would recognize it as the mine's refinery, where the Jade from the mine was taken and processed before being forged into weapons, armor, and anything else of use to the Shogunate.

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera looks at the large building with curiosity. Well, now. This might prove to be of interest. Lets go see! Walking along quietly, the Night Caste keeps her eyes open for anything dangerous or, at least, moderately interesting.

4 successes on my Perception roll this time.

 

[jaydude]

Exploring the building, Ailera eventually finds herself in the building's upper levels, in front of a slightly opened door. Behind the door, she can hear what sounds like someone writing.

 

[Sherwood]

Trusting in the 'don't notice me' effect of her Charm, Ailera will go ahead and gently push the door open enough for her to be able to slip into the room, hoping that the motion will be attributed to the wind or some other explanation.

Once inside, she will look over what is on the desk, and especially examine what is being written at the moment.

Total of 4 successes.

 

[jaydude]

Opening the door, Ailera steps into a small, yet comfortable-looking office. The left wall of the room is taken up entirely by bookshelves, while the wall opposite the door features a large window that overlooks the mine. In a corner of the room near to the window, an elderly-looking man in a red and reddish-brown robe is sat down and hunched over a desk, in the middle of writing on a piece of paper.


The man is so focused on his work that he doesn't notice Ailera come in and sneak up to his desk. Though the document is upside down to Ailera, she is able to figure out that it's a letter, and read what he's written so far.

My friend

As it was the last time I wrote to you, the situation here is still intolerable. Not only is the god of this mine continuing to cause accidents, but the bandits are still preventing us from shipping our Jade out to anyone who might buy it.

Lyla - the Guild bitch I told you about in my last letter - came by last week with yet another offer to buy the mine. Oh, it was a good price she offered, but she and I both know that the mine could make far more than that if it was allowed to operate properly. That's why she's trying to take it from me, hiring the bandits and bribing the god to make trouble for me and the workers, in the hope of forcing me to sell. Then she can bring in her slaves and overseers to dig up the Jade and become even richer than she is at present.

But as long as my name is Juyou Feren, I will not sell...

 

[Sherwood]

Committing the message to memory, Ailera silently slips her way back out. Feren my be willing to work with us, if we can shut down the problems at the mine and the bandits. But it looks like he is not looking to sell the mine outright. The others will be interested in this.

 

[jaydude]

Quietly exiting the office, Ailera is able to return to the other Solars, once again without anyone in the mine seeing her.

 

[Sherwood]

Once back with the others, Ailera will quickly fill them in on the contents of the letter. "It seems that any efforts to partner with this Feren will require us to deal with the bandits and the spirit of the mine. I doubt that he will not be willing to sell, if he is putting up this much effort into keeping the operation going."

 

[Epiphany]

"I wondered," the Eclipse said as she continued looking at the mine operation, studying the patterns of the workers, where they went, and what areas went unused due to lack of resources. "Perhaps he doesn't need to."

Turning to the Dawn and the Zenith, Catseye rests her hands on her knees as she's seated. "It depends on what you're after. If you really want to control the means of production for jade, I suspect we'll have to use persuasion, possibly of the magical kind. Which is something I can probably help with. That said, this Feren is clearly attached to the mine and we may not want an ownership stake in it anyway, not in the long term if our interests lie in other directions."

"Instead, he and we are in similar situations. We both own a certain resource but have obstacles that would be solved by a healthy amount of sold jade. I'd suggest we approach Feren not as partners but as customers; ones who have more than currency to trade with. If we deal with these bandits and the spirit of the mine for him, he treats us as a preferred customer and gives us a healthy discount on some of the jade his mine produces. We then resell it for a considerable profit, which neatly solves the financing issues we'd discussed before. Or, if not solved, at least goes a good long way towards them."

Shrugging, the Thorns woman smiles slightly. "The second is more to my liking but I'll support the first option if that's what the rest of you want."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill ponders it "I could get behind that, But I'd still want to get my hands on the Orichalcum, as that would be my preferred metal for Artifact making, when we can do it. Though I wouldn't say no to keeping a stash of Jade for that purpose as well." And he reflects a bit before adding "I would imagine it's Green Jade they mine here, but I would love to explore it as well."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan pondered the situation for a moment. "I think his request will run deeper than the spirit and the bandits. Back in Marita, Ailera was looking for an unallied target to steal from, why not this Guildswoman? Clearly, she is doing well enough to throw resources behind sabotage efforts here, we could very well do much the same to her. I'm sure someone of her demeanor is likely surrounded by hired muscle of various brands, outcastes, secret anathema, a pocket sorcerer, etc. Otherwise, someone would have put her in her place long ago. It won't be easy, mind you, but taking her down a few pegs would be amusing at least."

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera grins at Ryan. "Well, unless she has a hidden Solar Exalt in her pocket, I should be able to at the least get into her home and look around without too much difficulty. Hell, even if she does, there are few Exalts out there that can match my skill. Might be able to find some good dirt on her, or find a few good valuables to 'liberate' for our cause. I will just need to find out exactly where she lives."

 

[jaydude]

It's at this moment that Sergeant Tannis clears his throat, before looking at Ailera. "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but how precisely do you plan to do that? Find out where this Guild woman lives, I mean."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill looks at Sergeant Tannis, and shakes his head slightly "Once we know the name of that 'Guild Bitch' as Ferren called her, I will be able to find out where she lives. After all, not every Guild merchant has access to the resources to do these things, and those who have them, are likely to be known to have such wealth, because they are mid- to high-ranking members of the Guild. Granted, we shouldn't confront her directly, because, while she might be just a mortal, we do not want to risk alienating the Guild."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Remembering The Guildswoman's name was Lyla, Quill does his best to try and recall whatever details he can about her, and about Feren.

3 successes about Lyla (Int + Bureaucracy)
4 successes about Feren (Int + Lore)

 

[jaydude]

Of Lyla, Quill recalls hearing about a female member of the Guild with that name before his Exaltation. From what he heard, Lyla is both wealthy (Resources 4) and beautiful (Appearance 4), but is also rumoured to have engaged in blackmail, assassinations and other unethical business practices for the sake of her profit margins.

Regarding Feren, Quill remembers a Dragon-blood of the Fire Aspect called Juyou Feren, a successful Scavenger Lord and member of the Jade Contemplation. Known for his ambition and near limitless drive, Juyou led countless raids and ventures into ancient tombs and ruins, recovering Artifacts and vast knowledge for the Contemplation, and earning himself much wealth and prestige. Quill has not met him since becoming a Solar, but from what he knows of the man, Juyou is no less ambitious and restless than he was in the past, and can be a good friend to those who are willing to help him and earn his trust.

 

[Epiphany]

Catseye ponders the information shared by her Circlemates before shrugging at last. "It sounds like this Guild woman will need to be dealt with. I have some experience in dealing with the Guild myself. At the same time, one way or another, we need to deal with Feren. Do we go in two groups then? Do we all meet with Feren now and then break into groups? Because one way or another, there's more than one objective to accomplish."

"For my part, I can probably be of use in dealing with Feren or with Lyla. Bandits, not so much. But the mine god? Handling spirits is something I'm rather practiced at." She looks pointedly at the party's Queen and Zenith. "What do you think?"
Esbilon

 

[Esbilon]

"The Guild is not an enemy one should make lightly," Ysandre says pensively, "if they turn their full attention on us, there is very little we can do to overcome them. Let us not forget that their founder is one of a very small number of people to have stood up to the Scarlet Empress at the height of her power. That said, I do believe we can come to an arrangement with this Ferren. Dealing with bandits is well within our area of expertise, and between Catseye and myself," she adds with a nod to the other woman, "I believe we should be able to deal with a malevolent god."

 

[Rykon]

"Hm... Do you mind if I try and speak with Lyla and see if there is a compromise that can be reached? If nothing else, it'll be a distraction while you do your work here. Might be worth a shot if it means keeping the guild away from our activities. Worst case it can serve as recon." Ryan shrugged. "At least... assuming we could trust her to be civil in a meeting."

 

[Esbilon]

Furrows appear on Ysandre's brow as she considers Ryan's words. "What manner of compromise do you have in mind? I am inclined to think that if she were interested in a compromise, she would have found one with Ferran already, and approaching her may well tip our hand and make her aware that we intend to take action."

 

[Rykon]

"I have already proven that I can be discreet when I speak, have I not? Rest assured, I am motivated to do this right for the sake of my company, my home, and my family. I grow rather tired of these doubts. Nevertheless, my angle is to approach her as an observing scavenger with martial power looking to turn a profit. Any argument for Feren will be made blatantly to avoid losing battle hardened soldiers for coin I can obtain easily elsewhere." Ryan paused.

"Alas, I haven't addressed your comment about her willingness to compromise have I? If i recall correctly, Feren is the stubborn goat in the barn, not Lyla. Regardless, a fair judge should hear both sides before deciding the case. I want to try and do this right before I resort to foul play." Seems like it's more and more common nowadays.