Hey there!
...
Seriously, I'd like to see you come up with good ways to introduce these after writing over seventy of them.
No personal announcements before we get into it, but just so you know, Exalted Essence is out! Again, as I've mentioned, not a book I worked on, no dog in the fight, etc. It's not even a system we're using (at this time). But it's a really good gateway into the world of Exalted, both as a setting and as a gaming system. I highly recommend it.
And now, what you probably came here for.
We pick up with Gou landing in front of the Drunk Octopus, returning to human form. He goes in to find Xương and Hǎifēng in the booth with their drinks, and tells them he's been checking 20 different bars to find them. (He hasn't, but he's still doing the bit.)
He tells them about the Sidereals he found last session, explaining that he suspected that's what they were dealing with when he realized how much trouble people were having remembering the mysterious individual in the shed. And then he spotted someone following him and tricked her into winding up alone so he could confront her. He then explains that he checked out the house, but he's not sure whether to go back alone or not, as he's concerned showing up with the whole group might spook them.
Gou admits to being a little confused as to why the Sidereals are skulking around like this -- he knows they're scheming and such, but the shed thing seems baffling. Xương says they might be just paranoid, and the fire was some sort of accident. Hǎifēng says that they want to say this is probably just the Sidereals' business and the three of them should stay out of it, but it seems like a really weird coincidence that this would be going on at the same time as whatever the deal is with the necromancer without any sort of connection.
But getting back to Gou's concern, Hǎifēng asks if the woman he talked to said to come alone, and she didn't. Gou explains that he recognized her from the tournament and vice-versa, leading into a larger question of how she recognized Gou if he spent the whole time in his hybrid form[0], along with the usual commentary on how useless the masks were.[1] Hǎifēng asks the others if Bokano should know that the Sidereals are there, assuming she'd care. Xương says they shouldn't assume that she would or wouldn't, and Gou (unaware of Hǎifēng's earlier conflict with her) silently wonders where that came from. He then raises the question again of whether or not they should let her know, and I think the subject of talking to the Sidereals comes up but my notes are unclear and I think I mentally skipped past it without writing it down.
Hǎifēng says that if it turns into a fight, they're 'already kinda down.' Xương says that if it turns into a fight, they'll handle it, and he loudly cracks his knuckles. Hǎifēng says "Let me finish my shot," after which the group pays for their drinks and heads out.
Even with the address, Gou has trouble finding the address[2], and when the camera finds them getting to the house, Hǎifēng is giving Gou grief about taking them around the block multiple times. Xương asks if anyone's going to knock on the door -- he'd do it, but 'his face is a threatening gesture,' and Hǎifēng points out that Xương's body is a threatening gesture. Gou steps up and knocks, and a moment later they hear someone moving through the house, yelling for the folks outside to hold on. The door opens and it's the skinny guy with dark skin and glasses, the one who in my head is played by William Jackson Harper.
Or, as Hǎifēng (and only Hǎifēng) remembers him...
"Owl!" they yell and go to hug him. Gou, confused, asks Hǎifēng if he's an old friend of theirs, and Hǎifēng excitedly says they run into him all the time.
Owl introduces himself as such, and explains to Gou that he's the 'Tomo' that his colleague asked the Lunar to ask for. Gou ass if that's his actual name, and he says it's derived from his real name. I think he explains that 'Owl' comes from a childhood nickname.[3] He looks back towards the house and says that he wants to invite them in, but 'someone' would be annoyed, and... he decides "Ah, screw it," though Hǎifēng has already gone inside to find tea and snacks waiting in the living room.
Owl pours himself some tea and splashes something from a flask into it, and Xương says "So apparently we've met." Owl sighs wearily, and apologizes as he quickly clarifies any frustration he has isn't with them specifically.
Without getting into too much detail exactly why (for his own personal safety[4]), he explains that people forget Sidereals when they've left their presence. But he has met the group before, twice. The first time was during their first visit to Smolder, where he was the curator of V'neef Gamon's artifact collection. And then later on, he ran into them during the Gateway tournament in Lathe, where he had a chat with Hǎifēng that the others probably interpreted as Hǎifēng just flirting with a tea vendor.[5]
He then explains that when the group ran off with most of her artifacts (aside from one they gave to an Abyssal and the artifact yacht they let her leave with), they left behind a pair of Brass Legionnaires, magical automaton soldiers. He says he doesn't know if they found it (Hǎifēng did), but he mentions that he even left a note saying to leave them there and someone would get them. He's just annoyed it's taken this long.
Hǎifēng says that somebody is after them (I think in a way that was meant to be a question and I just misread Zach's tone), and Owl's like "Yes, we are" as he says he and his team are trying to discreetly get them off the island before they fall into the wrong hands, but it's going to take a big of a heist because they're very unwieldy. Xương asks if they can be disassembled, and Owl's a little surprised at the question as he explains that one probably can be, but the other one is late First Age and probably delicate enough after all this time there's a serious risk they wouldn't be able to put it back together again.[6]
Hǎifēng asks if there's anyone specifically after them, and Owl says that there are people who'd have an interest and know that Gamon had them. He's just trying to keep ahead of them.
Hǎifēng and Xương both agree that there's no reason to interfere in this, as it doesn't sound like anyone's going to get hurt. Gou, however, asks why they burned down the shed. Owl wearily sighs again and explains that there was a miscommunication with an inexperienced member of his team, and someone screwed up and burned it in a rush because they thought they had to clear out before Calibration began. Gou just casually says "It's always the greenhorns, right?" and Hǎifēng just stares at him as Owl simply says "Yes."
Owl then thanks them for staying out of it. He says his team doesn't want anyone to get hurt, and he's quick to add that it won't be direct or swift but the shop owner will be compensated for the loss of the shed. But his long-term duties involve monitoring the illicit artifact trade and he doesn't want to see the Brass Legionnaires vanish into that network and/or wind up in the hands of a pirate lord the Guild. Xương sarcastically says they'd be fun to have on a ship, and the obvious logistical problems of that come up -- Owl actually shuddering at the mention of one hypothetically going overboard. But he says that while they're not a serious threat in general, they could turn the tide in a bunch of mundane conflicts and everyone's fine with him and his team taking them. Hǎifēng offers that it might be for the best that Bokano doesn't have them, and Owl says he's just concerned that someone could use them against the island, like if Gamon knew how to activate them and didn't tell him, or if she'd had somebody copy his notes when he wasn't looking and someone else took advantage.
But Owl thanks them again for their discretion and says that while there are Lunars he could deal with, Bokano isn't one of them. But the Legionnaires are hard to transport, so getting them out is a whole thing. He's sorry they had to come out all this way to sort this out, though he adds that while he disagreed with his subordinate's decision to invite them to the house he's glad it worked out.
Hǎifēng then asks Owl what he knows about the ghost in Open Palm, or any necromancers in the area. Owl stares at them, his brain rebooting as he processes that new information. There's a quick discussion of the situation in Open Palm, and Owl says the only local necromancer he knows of is Stormseve Serenity and while she is talented, she's definitely not involved. He says she wouldn't have to, as any Lunar could probably do that much damage, even just as subtly, and this leads into a deeper discussion about the ghost where Owl basically backs up everything Serenity told the group about the Drowned and the odds that the necromancer isn't a local.
So when they talk about other possible necromancers, Owl says that there might be a ship (maybe the Lintha ship, it's rare among them but not impossible) where a crewman or the captain might be a necromancer. He goes into another room to check his notes, and Xương suddenly goes "What are we doing here, whose house is this?" Owl calls back from the other room "It's not that fast!"
He comes back with a sheaf of papers, and says there's a likely candidate for hosting such a necromancer -- a ship called The Shadowed Orphan. Xương says they should talk to the captain as Owl keeps reading his dossier on the island, and says that the more he reads they more he thinks they should do that. He admits sharing this information is probably outside his remit, but poisoning a well makes this a 'public safety' thing. He says that while he doesn't know for sure she's a Deathknight, the captain of The Shadowed Orphan is named 'Lost to the Riptide,' which is certainly a name that fits. He does warn the group that there may be a colleague in town that he doesn't know about watching her, though.
Hǎifēng, incredulously, asks if that's the name she gave to the harbormaster, and Owl just says "Oh, these aren't the harbormaster's notes" and I think he offers she's probably calling herself 'Captain Riptide' or some such. Gou says the name's pretty badass, and Owl admits out loud that the Abyssals certainly have his people beat for dramatic names, and he's "[S]een some doozies back at the office." Someone, I'm not sure who (and I didn't want to interrupt the conversation and ask) comments they're not at all surprised by the 'office' comment.
Owl says he wishes he could do more to help, and Hǎifēng says that before they didn't have anything. But Owl just nods and says that, again, public safety and the greater good matter, which is why he's getting the Brass Legionnaires. He just wishes it hadn't taken as long as it has.
Gou thanks him for the tea and snacks as the group goes to head out, and Xương apologizes in advance if he forgets him. Owl says that he knows it's not personal -- it's why he made sure they knew earlier that if he appeared frustrated, it wasn't necessarily with them specifically. On the way out, Hǎifēng offers to get a drink with Owl before he leaves the island, and he says he appreciates the offer and will do so if he has the time. Gou also tells Owl to tell his friend (whom, Owl points out, put together the tea and snacks spread) to look up. Immediately guessing at what Gou means, Owl nods and notes that.
"Happy hunting, and keep safe," he says.
"You too," Hǎifēng replies. "And good luck on your heist."
And now, as they step outside, they notice a storm brewing. Hǎifēng and Gou see a pair of chitinous arms among the clouds, weaving and shaping them, and there's an immediate "What fresh hell is this now" moment before Hǎifēng recognizes this is sorcery. An anima banner outside Fort Gamon draws their attention as the likely source, and they go to check it out.
They get there to find Bokano chanting and waving her arms around, either guiding the arms in the sky or mimicking them, it's unclear, as she conjures the storm. There's another muscular, shirtless, human-form Lunar with gray skin and moonsilver tattoos[7] whom they haven't met yet, standing guard. He explains that Bokano's already having fresh water supplies sent to Open Palm, but they're still being resistant to help. Silver Lining's working on loosening things up there, but in the meantime to help supplement things, Bokano's creating a rainstorm and both Smolder and Open Palm should have their rain-catching barrels ready. He says that they sent someone out to let everybody know, but the three of them couldn't be found, and Xương just says they were in a meeting.
The gray-skinned Lunar introduces himself as Loma, and Xương observes that every group needs a 'big guy.' He takes a moment to check in to make sure they're okay, and adds that the situation with Open Palm has gotten under Bokano's skin a little bit. Xương says that poisoning a well is the worst thing someone can do, and Loma frowns and agrees, adding "And they think we did it."
And we left off there, with the first raindrops falling from the storm.
[0]-- The unofficial answer is that I completely forgot that everyone was in hybrid form the entire time they were at the tournament. The official answer is that just as Gou made his roll to remember Iron Siaka despite the arcane fate, Iron Siaka made her roll to recognize Gou's Tell.
[1]-- Again, the masks were for plausible deniability, not for serious concealment. And also to monitor the participants in case the plausible deniability wasn't enough to prevent an unsanctioned fight.
[2]-- In case you're wondering, this isn't an arcane fate thing, but a Charm at work.
[3]-- While the group doesn't know this, as I've pointed out here before, the nickname is 'Emerald Owl on Brass Perch.' His actual birth name is Nefvarin Tomonari, which he's just blatantly used for his cover identities since the odds of anyone remembering it are so slim it's not even funny.
[4]-- Spoiler alert, the reason why involves the Usurpation.
[5]-- He doesn't know that Hǎifēng saw him (sort of) during the group's first visit to Lathe.
[6]-- Well, to be fair, there's certainly someone that could do so. Owl himself might be able to so himself, given time and supplies. But getting it done would be a lot more hassle than is strictly worth it.
[7]-- I realize I keep forgetting to mention the tattoos when they meet other Lunars, which I should do at least to emphasize those that go without, like Crimson Mokoro.
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