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Luna Hides Her Face, Session One: Trouble in Greyfalls

Highlight version, with OOC commentary by SabreCat.

Scene 1 – Our introduction to the city of Greyfalls! On the agenda:
1) Give a first impression of the trade city.
2) Illustrate the powers and drawbacks of being an Anathema Exalt in a Realm holding.
3) Introduce Tradewind Wanderer, and if feasible, Jesya Columbine.

GM (quoting Scavenger Sons): Greyfalls is a city of towers and minarets, domed buildings and wide tree-lined streets, against a backdrop of looming mountains and the towering Falls that give the city its name.
GM: You stroll in, say, midday?, having traveled for some time (assisted by sorcery, perhaps) across the plains of the Hundred Kingdoms region from the forests where Shadow Weaver made his home. Streets radiate out from the dockside, where travelers having made the expensive voyage up the rivers arrive to trade with the Realm and the locals. So, as you arrive, market is in full swing. "Greyfalls parchment! Five scrip a ream! ... Sorry, my friend, it's the taxes, no can do!"

I totally made up the currency numbers, not having Manacle & Coin. So they're probably nonsense. Starting around Session 4, I started abstracting the numbers: "a reasonable price, maybe a bit high" etc.

GM: With your exposed daiklave on your back, you attract immediate attention. Mutters as you pass, merchants calling out, "Ah! Great one! Honor my wares with a glance!"...
Shining Blossom Empress glances. Obviously they mean her.
Shadow Weaver honours them all with a scowl.
GM: ...turning to shock and suspicion as they see it's moonsilver, not jade, glinting there.

Weaver comes up with an ingenious ruse—the sword's a trophy, you see—upon which pretext he buys a canvas cover for it. This way it could be jade, for as much as anyone can tell. Seeing the merchant cut the canvas, however, triggers flashbacks!

Shadow Weaver:
...torn fabric...
...a woman holding a bronze eye-mask to her face, approaching down a hallway...
...fire and thunder...
Shining Blossom Empress:
...blood! blood, laughter and blood. blood and tears of relief...
...a woman holding a red mask to her eyes, standing in a doorway...
...a mouse scurrying among a forest of feet...

Disconcerted, Weaver hauls off with his newly sheathed sword, leaving Empress to cover the bill. She does so and follows, indignant, after him, but the pair has no time to argue over it.

Shadow Weaver: "See that guy to my right? Big, bald, tanned? He's been watching us."
Shining Blossom Empress: "Are you joking? EVERYBODY's been watching us..."
GM: As you look that way, you catch a glint of light on his forehead, like a reflected sunbeam, in the shape of two concentric circles.
Shining Blossom Empress stops.
Shadow Weaver's eyes narrow.
Shining Blossom Empress whispers, "Heyyy." She instinctively flashes a dazzling smile.
Shadow Weaver smirks, slightly. "Seems like your type. Go for it, I say."

I giggle with glee as the two split up, Weaver leaving Empress to traffic with her own kind. A perfect opportunity!

Bald man: "Shining Blossom Empress, aid-to-the-downtrodden? You've drummed up some support here and there, unless I mistake you?"
Shining Blossom Empress shrugs. "Here and thereabouts. Who's watching?"
Bald man: "Just me, so far as I can tell. I am the Tradewind Wanderer, and I'd hoped you might assist me in a matter. Know you much of the Fair Folk?"

Note this "just me," it'll come into play later. Wanderer explains that he's been hunting a Raksha and claiming "its trinkets," but the fae has gone to ground in Greyfalls. Meanwhile, across the way…

GM: A dark-haired and -skinned girl, looking distressed, waves urgently at Weaver, peeking out barely from behind the vendor's stall.
Shadow Weaver raises a brow and approaches at a leisurely pace. "...Yess...? ...What do you want, li'l grrl?"
Dark girl: "Please... you have to help me. That man..." (indicating Wanderer) "*glp* I don't want to return to him tonight! But he's sworn me to it..."

She explains: the bald Eclipse said he'd help the anti-Realm rebels, whom she knows through a God-Blood named Michael. The Solar, however, had her swear – Eclipse-style – to go to him every night, and never followed through on his side of the deal. And now here we have our "holy grap, that's awesome!" moment of the night, thanks to Weaver's peremptory, straightforward-but-makes-everything-more-complicated ways!

Shadow Weaver idly leans over and grabs the girl, hoisting her into a fireman's carry across his shoulders, then saunters towards Shine and the mysterious Solar...
Shining Blossom Empress turns to look. Her jaw drops.
Shadow Weaver smiles, with a glint in his eye. "Don't know about you, but I have plans for t'night."
Shining Blossom Empress: "Ju... ge... wha... I leave you TWO SECONDS!"

Things go in a comically blunderous fashion from here.
1) The girl, Jesya Columbine, tries to escape Weaver.
2) Tradewind Wanderer tries to convince the Exalts that he doesn't know her.
3) Weaver tries to get Wanderer to drop whatever agreement(s) he has with Jesya.
4) A bewildered Shining Blossom Empress tries to figure out what's going on.
…Not a one of them succeeds in these goals.

In fact, to make sure the situation doesn't all get unraveled right here, I introduce impending danger to rile things up...

GM: You hear some commotion--loud, raucous laughter--from up the street some distance. Sounds like a garrison on lunch break.
Shining Blossom Empress's blood suddenly runs cold. Laughter? "Jesya, come to me, child. Quickly." She holds out a hand.
Jesya stares hard at Empress for a moment, decides she's a better bet than either of the other two, and comes forward.
Shining Blossom Empress: "We need to get away from here. Wanderer, I'm sure you can track me down again, if you need me."
Tradewind Wanderer (with a sigh): "Tch. I'd thought you greater than to associate with such rabble, Empress. But yes. We never got to terms of payment, should you complete my task, did we?" He flashes a pair of rings produced from a pocket, smirks, and recedes into an alley.

The rings trigger Flashback Set #2!

Shadow Weaver:
...an opulent bedroom, the curtains and wall-hangings slashed and spattered with blood...
...The woman approaches you. Deftly, she puts away the bronze mask in the folds of her robe, and puts on a crimson one in its place. Utter dismay...
...a legion of the Terrestrial Exalted, their animas flickering in five colors, standing over you like colossi...
Shining Blossom Empress:
...there. They lie broken around you. Their treachery will burrow no deeper. Justice is done...
...The masked woman steps forward into the room. You feel your beloved draw closer, but where is he?...
...a wall of jade! Pounding boots of the Terrestrial host, defiling your Manse!...

Scene 2 – Flight into the streets. Scene 1 got us started unraveling Jesya's situation, so I continue on that tack, shaking it up as I can. Objectives here:
1) Get the characters on the same page regarding Jesya's story.
2) Establish a "home base" in the city.
3) If opportune, introduce Andrew Michale and/or Wisdom of Shattered Fate.

Jesya nods slowly, then dashes ahead--parallel to the marketplace, at a right angle to the path the Wanderer took. You zigzag a few bewildering turns through the domed buildings of Greyfalls.

At this point, I'd already begun to daydream about the chase conflict that would eventually occur in Session 4. Trying to keep things as hairy as possible, I throw a curveball at Weaver to see if he'll go after it like a good doggie:

GM (to Weaver): You catch a whiff of the familiar scent of gossamer, as you go...! It's a faint trail, but you think it wafted on a breeze from the upper window of an earthenwork residence across the way.

And sure enough…

Shadow Weaver's nose catches a scent, though, and he veers off in its direction! His eyes finally alight on an earthwork residence across the street.... he looks up at a window, then down towards a door.

I suppose thinking he needs to make a "skill check" to bust the door, SW's player throws in a Detail-slash as he charges, ha. We'd discussed this pre-game, though: our characters, with their maxed Physical attribute scores, ought to be of Spider-Man-like strength. Weaver, especially, since he devoted an ability pick to Athletics, need not worry about so mundane a barrier as the door to a common mortal's residence.

Shadow Weaver growls and makes a dashing sprint / then HURLS himself at the door, shoulder-first!
GM: Kablam! Door shatter!
Shining Blossom Empress: "Oh ye gods, what's he doing NOW?"
GM (to Weaver): A glimpse of iridescent raiment, out the window on the opposite side!

My gleeful hope that we'll have a chase through the alleys, though, is disappointed, as Weaver neglects to dive through the window in pursuit. Empress and Jesya catch up.

Shadow Weaver: "...D-did you see that?" He points!
Shining Blossom Empress: "It's a window. Something buildings have, so people can see out. You remember windows?"
Shadow Weaver: "...Something's messing with my mind, my senses... hell, if I didn't know better I'd think that... that..." He trails off, shaking his head.
Shining Blossom Empress treats Jesya to a beneficent smile. "Excuse Weaver, he seems to be going COMPLETELY MENTAL!"

Jesya leads our heroes – both of them now quite exasperated – to a warded alleyway that the local rebels tend to haunt. Jesya, Weaver, and Empress finally get a chance to compare notes, with a few interesting results. Weaver gets indignant at hearing Wanderer was after a Raksha in Greyfalls – that means maybe he wasn't just seeing things, a few minutes ago!

Shadow Weaver hisses, "...Why didn't you TELL me about his hunting the RAKSHA, you ditz! ghah!"
Shining Blossom Empress: "Because you came blundering over with your hands full of girls before I could learn what he WANTED!"

Empress struggles with the fact that Wanderer used his Eclipse Caste oath-sanctifying power for selfish purposes.

Shining Blossom Empress: "This... Tradewind... Using his gift to enforce... Grr! I've never heard of such an abuse."
Shadow Weaver crosses his arms across his chest. "....I have."
Shining Blossom Empress is upset to find a Solar so... untrustworthy. Lashes out a bit. "What, in the forest?"
Shadow Weaver: "....Well, from a few tales the Elders told. Enough to make us wary."
Shining Blossom Empress: "The Crowned Suns were peacemakers, diplomats. This is... I can't believe it."
Shadow Weaver scowls. "..... Individuals within a caste can still display the whole breadth of human depravity and human goodness, are you surprised..?"
Shining Blossom Empress: "Maybe not surprised, Weaver. Maybe just... saddened."

Excellent stuff, but the energy's running low. Time for the next surprise!

GM: A light breeze sweeps around the alley. There's a ripple in the Essence of the area, a geomantic sense that the buildings have suddenly become more solid somehow.
Shadow Weaver tenses, wary, hands slipping towards his sword. "Heads up."
Shining Blossom Empress steps away from Jesya, spooked. "What was THAT?"
GM: A young man, blond-haired and muscled, with a leather apron over his shoulder, rounds the corner, walking casually. He suddenly checks his stride, seeing the three of them.

And so we introduce Andrew Michale, though Jesya refers to him only as "Michael" or "Mike." He whips out brass knuckles, ready to defend "Jess" from the two strangers.

Shadow Weaver doesn't relax, in fact his voice sounds grrrowly as he asks. ".... What did you just do, Michael?"
Michael: "Didn't do nothing, mister, save ready myself against queer folk in dark alleys."
Shadow Weaver slowly stalks towards the newcomer. "Ohreally? and the shift in Essence, the change... how do you explain that?"
Michael peers around, and chuckles a bit, but doesn't drop his guard. "Got friends here 's all."
Shadow Weaver pauses in his tracks as something Jesya said earlier finally clicks into place. ".......Oh. Hrmph. God-blood, huh?"
Michael: "Best get used to it, Greyfall's got a goodly population of 'em."

Call the earlier SFX my creative license with the "Aura of Power" Flaw. Though that prompts the fascinating question: just what was Mike spending Essence on before he arrived? Oh, and I totally got Greyfalls conflated with Great Forks in Michael's last line there… plausible explanation is that Mike's exaggerating a bit in his warning bluster.

In any case, Jesya's story gets told yet again to bring Michael up to speed; he acts totally unaware of what she'd been up to, despite Weaver's insinuations that he knowingly sent her into danger. Meanwhile, Weaver and Empress hash out a plan. I think this bit could only have worked in chat-based gaming: 1) it'd look ridiculous for a tabletop GM to have an extended conversation between two NPCs, and 2) in tabletop, the conversations would have been sequential rather than concurrent.

Shining Blossom Empress: "So now I'm going to have to find him, make him drop his pact, and in exchange, YOU are going to find and kill the raksha, okay?"
Shadow Weaver: "Shine, I'm....." He takes a breath. ".... Yeahyeah, okay."
Shining Blossom Empress: "After that, I'm going to find some place around here that I can get a nice hot bath."
Shadow Weaver: "...Then we get some FOOD. I'm starving."

So we have a plan! And that, basically, concludes this session. Up next: versus Dragon-Blooded!

End Session One

The Final Word

Shining Blossom Empress: [he's like a horny two year old godzilla!]
Shadow Weaver: [serves you right, bringing a wolf into the city]

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