Legendary - Rescuing Dhuka

Thursday, June 23, 1066 SE continued ...

As Mon swings for the Cardinal, he thinks better of it, as it would remove his invisibility and reveal him to the Cardinal and all of the people currently gathered on the Cathedral Plaza to witness Dhuka's whipping. The Cardinal points at Dhuka, and tells Anya, his captive, that if she does not reveal where the book is, her sister will be whipped, and her pain and suffering will be her fault. Having seen enough, Mon quickly shadowsteps back to the Plaza and positions himself between Dhuka and the executioner ready to whip her. His body will receive the bite of the whip, but he will protect the girl.

Taking one more glance up the Cathedral's north tower, the executioner finally winds and releases the whip's bite, but instead of hitting Dhuka's back it bites into Mon's. As the whip lands, Mon casts major image and displays the church's religious symbol high above Dhuka's head, to the collective gasp of the crowd, which falls silent. The actor then uses motivational speech and prestidigitation. The five people who hear Mon will be inspired by his speech. Mon chooses the King, the executioner, and three high ranking guards. He disguises his voice, and announces to them that Dhuka is an innocent puppet, and that her sister is being kept in chains by the Cardinal himself, who wishes evil upon this land.

The image then transforms into the scene Mon witnessed up the South Tower, showing the Cardinal and his prisoners. The crowd looks up the tower. Meanwhile, upon seeing this visual display, Marigold insinuates to those who stand near her that the girl is not being punished by a decision of the Church, but rather on orders from the Cardinal himself, while Branna yells that it is a miracle, that Dhuka has not been touched by the whip, and that God surely must be displeased with the Cardinal! Pandemonium breaks loose on the Cathedral Plaza and angry murmurs quickly spread.

The King confidently steps through the crowd and walks straight to Dhuka. Motioning the crowd to quiet down, the King announces loudly that the child is hereby pardoned, and that her offenses are wiped away by the crown. The crowd cheers the King enthusiastically. Mon, who is still invisible, steps next to the King and whispers that her sister should also be freed. Without a hint of surprise, the King whispers back that Anya's release will happen in its own time, that at the moment things must play out. The King motions to the executioner for the key to the iron binding Dhuka, and he removes the cuffs from her raw wrists.  

Branna steps forward and wraps Dhuka in the cloak she brought with her, before bringing her back to the Legendary. She takes the child up to the staff doctor, who checks her out and pronounces her healthy, if hungry and sleep-deprived. Marigold, who followed them, tells Dhuka that when she goes out in the daytime, she must wear appropriate clothing. Dhuka replies she doesn't like to wear dresses. Nevertheless, Marigold tells her, she will need to wear them in public. Marigold further tells her she's valuable to the Cardinal, especially if he has Anya with him. She needs to bring someone with her at all times. Branna tells her she will make Dhuka several pretty dresses she will love to wear.

Mon takes the occasion to reappear, causing a fright to the doctor, who collapses to the floor clutching his chest. Mon cures wounds on the doctor, then the doctor heals Mon's backside wound. Dhuka is finally escorted to her room. Mon suspects that the Cardinal is looking for Anya's diary and that he has sights on the crown. They talk about what they should do with the diary if they found it, and how they could keep Dhuka safe from the Cardinal's hands. Marigold convinces Dhuka to give up her and Anya's journal, for her protection. Mon confirms the Cardinal has Anya,  and Marigold promises to bring another journal for Dhuka to write in. After a few more minutes, Dhuka is fast asleep.

Branna, Mon and Marigold discuss the possibility of asking the Marquess of Sidorov and Lady Sirenko to welcome Dhuka with them for a while, which should protect the child should the Cardinal be motivated enough to look for her again. The Cardinal was temporarily outwitted, but will seek to regain the upper hand. The Marquess and Lady Sirenko would need to solve their current fall-out, and Branna mentions that perhaps, with Dhuka now free, the two women should be reunited to have a frank discussion on the subject. Mon wonders if the two ladies would also be willing to adopt Anya, now that they know she is still here on Katarina.

As they return to the Legendary's lobby, Mon receives a message from Sir Gregory about volunteering at the Archduke's Palace for the party this evening. He sets off to find others from the Second Crew who could help, and he talks to several of the page boys to make sure they will be in attendance. Unfortunately for him, Herald is the only one willing to help. The cad seems to think that this will be a great opportunity to curry favor with the local nobility.

Mon sends a message to Sir Gregory that all girls working as page boys should have a specialized uniform for them to wear that would be based on the page boys' outfit. Sir Gregory replies that though he generally loves Mon's ideas, this one is pretty far fetched, as the Legendary would never employ girls as pages ...

Marigold dispatches a pageboy to Fabled Pages to purchase the pinkiest and sparkliest journal the pageboy can find to replace Dhuka's journal. The pageboy returns with something that meets the prop creator's standards.

With Dhuka currently safe, Mon sets to disguise himself so he can serve at the Archduke's Palace but not be recognized by the Cardinal. He returns to meet Marigold and Branna dressed in a fake wooden leg. Marigold tells him to go back and change, no one would send a servant to help out at the Palace. Mon returns a short while later wearing a long black waistcoat, black trousers, a white shirt, and a black tie, completing the look with an eye patch.

Readying themselves to head to the Palace, Marigold brings a set of tinkering tools hidden in her pettycoats. They could be useful as weapons or to disable a bomb. Arriving at the Palace with Herald, they are surprised to meet Zoryany, who tells them Sir Paul Stal graciously lent her services to assist the Archduke and his staff organizing the greatest social event ever to take place on Katarina. Greeted by the Archduke's chamberlain, Mon and Branna elect to work the ballroom, where they will be serving appetizers and drinks after the welcome banquet. They are joined there by Zoryany. Marigold heads to the kitchen, where she's assigned to the baker to get the breads and desserts ready. Herald is sent to the stables, much to his disappointment.

As the noble guests begin to arrive in the grand hallway, Mon and Branna can hear the various titles being called out by Sir Anatoli. Zoryany has secured a spot by one of the large windows, where she can see the guests as they disembark their carriage. The Cardinal's arrival is followed by that of Sir Sergeii. The King's arrival is greeted with loud applauses. Mon notices Zoryany turn a shade of green, and as she hurries out of the room, she tells the actor through clenched teeth that a nasty surprise is in the wings, and he should prepare himself to be shocked. Then the official greeter calls out the name of the King's traveling physician, Dr. Sadistik ...

 

 

 

Legendary - Preparations and Machinations

Wednesday, June 22, 1066 SE, continued

 With the King now on the island and having departed for the Heights, Captain Popov who is still standing on the balcony of the Anchor's Luck mentions to his friends Branna and Marigold he's surprised no troops have come off the warships at anchor in the bay. He's also curious that the King did not bring a bodyguard with him. Branna wonders if it is a double. Marigold suggests that perhaps some of the King's men are already here and were part of the crowd.

Captain Popov then asks a huge favor. He suggests that it would be extremely useful for a group of people to infiltrate as many of the balls and other royal events that will happen over the next few weeks to observe and gather as much information as possible. He's worried that conversations will take place that will shape the future of Katarina. Marigold suggest to Branna that the very effective and efficient network of pageboys throughout the city of Katarina could be put to good use for this mission. Most people would ignore the presence of pageboys, allowing the kids to hear conversations thought to be private. With most of the crowd now departed, Branna and Marigold head back to the Legendary.

At the same time, Mon climbs the stairs up to the Heights and nears the Cathedral. After becoming invisible, Mon enters the Cathedral. The long rows of pews are just about empty, with only a few elderly individuals praying during the noon service. An aged priest stands at the altar, conducting the blessing of the bread and wine. Using mage hand, Mon breaks a bottle on the altar, and uses the confusion the shattering creates to enter the administrative quarter of the Cathedral. Exploring the ground floor that is currently empty of activity, Mon quickly locates the Cardinal's own office. 

As he nears the closed door, he overhears a conversation taking place on the other side. He recognizes the voice of Tarasenko, one of the Cardinal's men, talking to someone clearly in charge. With the Cardinal currently welcoming the King on the dock, he deduces that it must be the Captain of the Cardinal's men. The conversation centers on current security arrangements and the religious court session that was supposed to occur today. 

Tarasenko departs, and Mon stealthily moves inside the largest office he has ever seen. Over a quarter of the administrative part of the Cathedral is occupied by an office featuring 25 feet high ceilings, large southern windows letting the sun in, a massive fireplace in the middle of the western wall, and an equally massive desk near the southern wall underneath a large cross. A small sitting area, featuring two couches, a small coffee table filled with daily newspapers, and a small cabinet with drinks and snacks are the only other furniture in this room, which echoes while the Captain paces as he's reading a file. After a few minutes, the Captain signs a few sheets of paper, closes the folder and, holding it under his arm, departs the room, locking the door behind him.

After examining the room, Mon places the listening device he acquired from Orest inside the fireplace, before shadowstepping outside into the small garden behind the Cardinal's office. He heads back to the Legendary.

Once she's back at the theater, Branna sends a message to the Marquess of Sidorov letting her know she will be over in a few hours with a replacement dress to substitute for the one Dhuka stole from her. She puts the finishes touches to the dress, then heads to Sidorov Manor. The Marquess tries on the dress, and Branna puts the final touches to ensure that it is the best fit. The dress looks amazing, but the Marquess is still sad at the loss of her other dress. During the conversation, Branna discovers that Lady Sirenko has left Sidorov Manor and has not returned. Instead, she went back to her own townhouse. According to the Marquess, Lady Sirenko was upset that the Marquess had pressed charges, and the Marquess admits she overreacted. She talked to her solicitor this morning, and asked him to withdraw the charge of stealing the dress. The religious court had agreed, but the charge of cross-dressing still stands. The Marquess is worried Lady Sirenko will never forgive her, and she misses her friend terribly.

Marigold is eating a late lunch in the Palace when Mon joins her. Marigold mentions her need for a spy network of pages to have them report to as many events attended by the King as possible. Mon agrees this is a good idea, and he will approach Nadie to make sure the page boys don't get in trouble.  He stops one of the pageboys passing by, and questions him on being a page boy, pretending he is preparing for a future role. Mon quickly realizes that around the island, all pages are boys, or at least pretend to be, and the overwhelming majority are orphans who appreciate the opportunity to earn a decent living and not live in the streets. Mon asks the page boy to meet with him and a few of his friends around 8 tonight to further discuss the role of being a page. He promises them fudge and cider.

Mon then switches the discussion to Dhuka, and he tells Marigold she should receive leniency because she was wearing a traditional page outfit. Marigold agrees, but the fact remains that Dhuka was still wearing a male outfit, which goes against the morals the Cardinal purports to enforce on Katarina. Marigold then wonders whether Dhuka actually owns girl's clothes, and she suggests to Mon they should ask Branna to make her a wardrobe the child would like to wear.

At dinner time, Pavel walks through the Palace's cafeteria, distributing a copy of the Katarina Chronicle, and mentions Sir Gregory has requested an all-staff meeting tomorrow morning at 10.  Not having heard about Dhuka, Branna and Marigold head to the Cathedral after packing clothes for the child and a few smoke bombs in case they need to make a quick exit. One of the guards at the Cathedral informs them that the religious court did not in fact meet today, but will be meeting tomorrow at 11 am.

While Mon performs in front of a half empty theater but with Captain Popov in attendance, Marigold and Branna meet with the page boys at the Palace. They report to Nadie, the head of Legendary security. Each organization hires its own pages, and the pages know who they can trust to deliver a message, and who is not dependable. Nadie does not tolerate pages who are poorly dressed, who are drunk, or who are late. There are three page work stations in the Legendary, and one at the Palace. At the Legendary, the statiosn are located in the administrative wing, off the main lobby, and backstage by the dressing rooms. Branna and Marigold explain to the boys what they are hoping to accomplish. the page boys agree to pass the word to other pages to report back information to the Anchor's Luck and the Captain, and if he's not available, to Ivan the bartender there.

Marigold tells them that if they see something, they need to say something, especially after what happened at Khoroshim  and at Sir Gregory's estate, villainous people might be out ready to sabotage open house or cause chaos. One of the page boys shows them the newspaper's listing of events in the next two weeks, thinking this is a fairly long list of possible targets. 

With the page boys gone, Branna wonders to Marigold if Dhuka had been drugged so she would fall asleep by the pond. Perhaps she had been set up.

After the play, Mon stops by Captain Popov, who thanks him for the free ticket, and tells him it was a lovely play. Mon agrees to meet with the Captain at the Anchor's Luck later in the night. After checking in with Marigold and Branna, Mon heads down the Slope, only to catch up to the Captain. Unfortunately, three of the Cardinal's men coming up the road stop the old Captain and shake him down for 6 coppers. After letting the old man go, the men continue up and stop Mon as well. Mon offers them a gold piece each, and the Cardinal's men thank his lordship for the mighty gift, and they depart laughing. As Mon heads down, he also notices that the two warships appear to have sailed away at high tide.

Catching up with Captain Popov, Mon tells him he planted a listening device inside his office. Accessing the device, Mon hears the Cardinal in discussion with another voice he does not recognizes. The Cardinal states they are running low on incense, and a new supply must be procured immediately. Mon suggests to Popov that perhaps the incense currently in stock could be replaced by a concoction that smells like skunk. Captain Popov eventually confesses that he had just been shaken down by the Cardinal's men, and Mon commiserates with him. That night, Mon loses 1 silver playing cards with the Captain and his mates.

 

Thursday, June 23, 1066 SE

In the morning, Branna and Mon travel to Lady Sirenko's townhouse. She welcomes them and offers them breakfast. She tells them that the only person aside from Dhuka that visited them on the day the dress disappeared was Ekatarina Vasyl, the widow of Lord Petr Vasyl, who was killed in the Khoroshim attack. The two of them talked about staffing issues for the upcoming parties and devised a plan to borrow each other's staff to ensure they had enough servants. Otherwise, no one else was there and had the opportunity to steal the dress.

Lady Sirenko explains that after the Marquess first mentioned the possibility to adopting Dhuka after getting to know her, she was taken aback and scared to lose the Marquess' affections. However, she came to appreciate Dhuka's wit and intelligence that afternoon, and saw the potential the girl had to be an excellent heir for the Marquess. To then have the dress go missing, and the Marquess press charges was too much for her, and she returned to her own dwelling. She misses the Marquess terribly, but she's still upset at her for overreacting.

Returning to the Legendary just in time, Mon notices that the warships are back in Spokoya Bay. They hear Sir Gregory introduce his friend, Sir Sergeii, who announces that the Second Crew will be presenting Masha and the Bear at the Grand Royal Opera in Sezja, and they will sail out on Tuesday, June 28. They will be in Sezja for three weeks. There will be no performance tonight, so that the theater can once again be cleaned and readied for opening night and the King's visit, as the King has asked to tour the various ateliers and work sites of the Legendary to gain a better understanding of how a successful theater works.

Rushing out of the Legendary after the meeting, Mon, Branna and Marigold cross Svetozar Plaza and join the large crowd on the square in front of the Cathedral. The Cardinal's men are there, forming an inside square currently empty of people. The city guard has also been deployed, keeping the peace on the edge of the square. At precisely 11, Dhuka is escorted out under heavy guard, and is brought inside the square. There, the charges are read, and the religious court's decision that Dhuka is guilty and will have her bare back lashed ten times for the offense of cross-dressing. 

But enforcement of the decision seems delayed. The King emerges from the Cathedral with his Chamberlain, but the Cardinal is notable in his absence. The executioner of the sentence several times uses his whip in preparation, but seems reluctant to inflict punishment. Then Marigold notices him looking up the north tower of the Cathedral. Thinking there's an assassin, she urges Mon to do something.

Turning himself invisible and using his shadowstep ability, Mon climbs to the top of the tower, only to see the Cardinal standing near the bells' opening, holding Anya in chains with a perfect view of the square below where a pitiful Dhuka is about to be whipped. Mon swings at the Cardinal ...

Phandelver Episode 013

Saturday, April 8, 1491

After returning to Phandalin, they head back to Wave Echo Cave, leaving Kaine behind due to sickness.

They pursue their exploration of the cave, encountering a ochre jelly, a goblin trap, and a giant constrictor snake. They discovered a barracks filled with bugbears, and after they were eliminated they found the space easily defended, so they spent the night to recuperate.

Sunday, April 9, 1491

After healing, they head down a corridor and discover the mine's forge. A flameskull and eight skeletons attack them. The flameskull unleashes a fireball, knocking Kite and Shifty out. Valiant efforts destroyed the enemy, and the party retreated to the barracks to heal.

Monday, April 10, 1491

Returning to the forge, they are surprised to see the flameskull has returned. Another fireball forces them to withdraw.