SPQM c1s3a: At last - Sapientia

Early Summer, 0 Twists.

The patrol drives on towards Sapientia when they start to hear rumours about a heron that's terrorizing mice along the coast. At first they think it's just rumours without substance since it's always someone's friend's friend's cousin who has seen a heron but as they travel on the rumours take on more of a shape and they meet mice who know someone who has seen the heron and also the rumours are quite the same. They discuss the matter but decide that a lone patrol of three mice can't do that much against a heron and therefore they shall keep to their mission. A mice suggest that one could pour scent border liquid in the nest of the heron and make it move away. As several mice now get interested and ask what scent border is it gets obvious that the country mice don't know that much about the big world around them and what the pretorians do for their safety.

The patrol explains about the scent border and has to several times convince mice that wolves and lions actually exist there outside the scent border. Since it will take long time to get scent border liquid sent here or for any action from any of the bigger cities the patrol suggests that the mice might be able to get the heron to move by burning it's nest. Controlled fires are sometimes done to get some new plants to grow for the harvesters or to raise the return of investment for the farmers. The patrol also suggest that the military ships also will be more engaged in taking down or scaring away the heron than the bigger cities lying inwards land. They leave, but take a message to Sapientia with a formal claim for some scent border liquid, and walk on and soon leave the heron rumours behind them (Obstacle, outcome accepted and not dealt with: the heron raiding the coast).

They push on and manage to keep quite a good cadence and reach Sapientia (Obstacle: Passed Pathfinder versus Early Summer 3D). As they approach Sapientia they stop and open the secret letter to see who they should meet and escort. To their surprise there's four names and not three. Dekia recognizes one name as probably being a young promising physicist when she left Sapientia for joining The Pretorian Guard.

At the gate they are respectfully questioned about their errand and told to leave their weapons in the gate. After asking for it they also get token as proof of what they have left in the militia's care. They tell the militia mice that they are suvey the paths and also bring a petition from a villlage. They go to Aeropag, a elevated plateu where the People's Assembly's Council hold office. On the way Dekia point out places in the city and a social merchant invites them to some resin wine and fruit by his stand. They thank him and continue through Agora, the main big square, while Lucius taunt Dekia a little because there are nog bigger houses than two-level houses. Dekia says that they don't build big houses just because of it but only if they need to. Lucius suggest that maybe Sapientia isn't that popular that that many mice move there (as in Asylum). With out killing each other they reach the office of The People's Assembly's Council and deliver the petition and promise to answer any following questions if needed. They also offer their help by taking the scent border liquid with them on the way back.

The patrol decide that it's no idea trying to get in touch with any officials or physicists this evening and instead they go to Dekia's parent's place where they and especially Dekia is received with much joy. The patrol is well received and get their paw washed and get woolen sock for the cold stone floor and to Lucius surprise Dekia's parents seem quite well of although they're no nobles. They can stay as long as they want and get Dekia's old room to sleep in. Gaius go to bed early to sleep (Condition Tired is removed) while Lucius and Dekia sit up and speak twith her family. Among other things they talk about which philosophers that are hot these days. Two names from the list pop up, the young promising physicist and his mentor. The promising physicist has much fulfilled what was expected and evolved the mechanics at The Academy. His mentor is a female mouse who has written a thorough and criticizing  collection of scrolls about the different cities different governments. They think she will be quite controversial in some places, where depending on which governments she deem good or bad. Dekia and Lucius see with some horror that they will have to act body guard to this controversial mouse all the way back to Asylum. Dekia then realizes that she has mixed up the names and it’s not the controversial mentor that they are going to escort but only the promising physicist and three other philosophers  (End of GM's Turn).

<GM's Note>A good portion of role playing this meeting too.</GM's Turn>

illern (a) illertass.se

SPQM c1s2c: On and on and on and spooky.

Player's Turn, still winter but it's not long till early summer now (at the end of the session).

It's hard to travel in all the mud and if it's drying up there's a lot of new vegetation but they push on towards Navalia and Spaientia (Check: Pathfinder versus Winter 6, Failed with a Twist).

One night Dekia wakes up somewhere but nowhere, spooky. Someone but noone is there and speaks to her or rather demands her to speak to whoever it is and tells her to stop mumbling behind the whiskers. Dekia is desperately trying to communicate but fail and suddenly she pops back to the reality she's used to. Her patrol mates has having a really bad night and almost remember nightmares. It's still far until the morning so Gaius falls asleep again but all the time rolls around and can't find a comfortable way to sleep and is sweating a little.

They go on but when they can't sleep the next night either they start to discuss what's happening and as Dekia has a little more knowledge about spirits (Ceremony Master) she figures out that it's probably a lemur, partly from the behaviour aind partly from that it's actually following them. She thinks that she might be able to lure it away with a version of the ceremony every family head do at Paternalia and then they can sneak away from it. It will be quicker than trying to communicating with it and solving whatever matter that's keeping it here among the living. optimally they would help the lost spirit but it might not only be seeking to fulfill something and then leave. It might be here to some other more ''evil'' deeds and they don't have the time to get involved in this. 

Dekia sends out her patrol mates to find certain plants and chop up certain number of even pieces of them while she goes through the ceremony in her mind. They also make an improvised household altar with their shields and weapons in the hole where they have had the camp. Lead by Dekia they walk three times around the altar and three times Dekia throws out three pieces of the nine pieces of plants. They then hope that the lemur has followed the enchanted pieces of plants and pick up their stuff and hurries away (Twist: Passed Ceremony Master versus 3D). The next time they sleep well and the spirit seems gone.

They keep on walking and keep a good cadence and reach Navalia. From a distance they look out over the harbour next to the city (not a day's travel away like in Asylum) and see that the sea traveling seems to have started, at least the Navalia patrol ships are out rowing. They decide to not enter Navalia to not give up their position to anyone in the area since they are getting afraid there are some conspiracy against the fulfillment of the mission. They pass around the city and continue their travel.

After a few days they find an ant path passing the path. That's not a big problem but a if all the ants or many of them would attack it would not be funny. They talk it over and they decide that they shall try to ''steer over'' the ant train temporarily and sneak by. Dekia and Lucius try to lead enough ants off while Gaius stands by to grab any ants not following along. They manage to create a gap in the ant train and pass without provoking the ants to attack to defend their tribe (Check: Passed Beginner's Luck: Insectrist versus 4D). They walk on towards Sapientia. 

It's still hard though and some of them get tired as they push yet further, a littel stressed by having been delayed earlier (Check: Health Ob3 not to be tired, some fail).

illern (a) illertass.se

SPQM c1s2b: Travelling and climbing

Yet still Winter 6 but after this session it will be Early Summer.

The patrol start their journey back to the big path and their mission after this small detour. Everything goes well, it is still muddy and they get tired of the traveling but no real problems until they have travelled a day or two on the main path along the coast. They suddenly have to stop because the path is completely swept away by a landslide from among the hills towards the coast. They could take a detour on the smaller paths and get by without problems but they feel that they have lost enough time already and don't want to get stopped by a regular landslide.

They examine the landslide and find that it's very steep to climb down in the new chasm and it's also quite muddy down there and they don't know how deep it is. In the ending of the landslide it's easy to climb down but here it's very muddy, maybe really deep, and it also feels like it could start moving again.  In the end where the landslide start it looks better though since it's a little steeper and all loose material seem to have fallen down and they might be able to make a rope from plant fibers and walk and climb past the destroyed path. Gaius take the lead as a daring and responsible leader and also being the one best fitted for spotting the best places to put their paws. Lucius comes next quite behind Gaius and guiding him on the bigger scale, using his pathfinder experience to see which way is the best for Gaius (while Gaius do the small scale decisions). Decia stays behind for a while until Gaius has reached the other end and anchored that end of the rope, just in case something would happen it's nice to have someone on safe ground. All three get over and put their paws on safe ground on the other side (Passed Pathfinder versus Winter 6). They take a break and continue their journey (End of GM's Turn).

<GM's Note>This meeting also had a lot of roleplaying and among other things the nobiles citizen of Asylum Lucius and the ''half Asylum citizen'' (socii) springing from Sapientia Decia tried to conclude which of the cities was the best. It all started with Lucius mentioneing that Asylum was the cradle of all culture and that it was founded over five hundred years ago by hast the great snake killer. Decia then pointed out that Sapientia actually was founded somewhere around eight hundred years ago and already was a city when Asylum was founded. Sapientia also is the city known for their physicist (scientists). Lucius then countered by asking what the founder of Sapientia acutally did. ‘’Were there any deeds or actual heroic acts involved like Hasta killing the great snake? No? Not?’’ And so on…</GM's Turn>

illern (a) illertass.se

SPQM c1s2a: Investigations & conspiracies

Still Winter 6

When Lucius comes home late in the afternoon the day before the mission start, he mostly lives in his family house rather than his chamber at the Pretorian garrison, he finds an excited house slave telling him that the family has an important visitor who wants to meet him, Lucius. The slave helps Lucius to quickly freshen up a bit and so Lucius enters the atrium. There the family head of one of the most influent nobiles families is sitting and talking with Lucius' s parents not mentioning the fact that the social gap almost is as between a rich plebeian and a proletarian. 

When Lucius enters and bows to him he gladly tells Lucius to straighten up and needlessly presents himself as Mamercus Fabius Longius. He chats friendly a bit and then suddenly gets to the point - the mission. The secret very important mission. The mission not to be spoken of. The mission that would be a great boost for principale’s carreer. The mission that could be a great boost for a once wealth and successful family that now is not so wealthy and a little sidestepped by other families in the rise. That is if the mission is well done and strengthfully completed. On a side note but a very clear such he mentions that it's more important that the Thing reaches Asylum than the physicists. But most successful would of course be if they all arrive at Asylum. The Senate and The Mice People would be most grateful. Then he rounds off the conversation and says that he should note be rude and have them serving him expensive wine and keeping them up. After all there's an important mission to fulfill. He bids farewell and leaves.

Lucius and his parents are quite excited but noone really knows anything about the mission. Lucius manages to cool down and get to bed and be at the gate in the dawn as expected. There he meets his patrol leader centurio Gaius and his patrol mate principales Decia. They get the money for keeping the physicists happy on the way back and a sealed document with the names of the physicists they shall escort to Asylum. It is sealed with a seal from The Senate and The Mice People and they can barely imagine how curious the gate keepers has been. An extra early mission with a message from SPQM. That's got to be important. The patrol leaves frustrated about the carelessness with the name list. They reckon the whole of Asylum will soon know about it.

As the patrol walks on the great road to Navalia and Sapientia they discuss the missions and try to convince the others that they have the right political opinion. The travel is hard in all the mud. Gaius is keeping up their own cover story and makes notes about the path and every tine they pass a Town (muncipalis) they leave a report there for the town itself and for the pretorians to come.

After almost a week's travel they reach yet another small village but in this village everybody seems to be gathered in the small tavern and excitedly talking about something. Apparently there's a band of highway mice not far to the south that robbed the first merchant caravan to set out in late winter. Then the gathered mice sees that pretorians have arrived and suddenly they are the centre of everything. After getting some information from the villagers and a farmer that is living in the village where the merchants sought help after the ambush. They join the farmer for the travel to his village after convincing to leave early the next morning and getting the arrangement of his buying of seeds going quicker.

They travel for about two and a half day and arrive at the farmer's village. At the tavern they get a description of where the ambush was said to have happened. They stay overnight and set off to the place the next morning. The place is actually easy to find because it's a part of the path that passes through a narrow pass which also turns and bends. A good place for an ambush. They soon find tracks of the robbers leading away the pack beetles and follow them into the forest (Passed Scout versus Winter 6D). They soon find a camp where they also find the beetles, apparently killed and left for the birds to eat and also a lot of the packs of cloth the merchant got robbed of, at least what remains after animals have toyed with it and taken pieces to build with. This together with the fact that the robbers seemed to avoid injuring someone too badly make the patrol suspicious. This is not an ordinary robbery. Usually you don't want to leave any witnesses after such hard punished crime.

As they continue to follow the tracks they follow them to a wide flat rock area where the tracks disappear. The patrol use the rest of the day to search for the tracks in their end of the area but don't find anything. In the evening they discuss the matter and decide that they can spend all the time needed on following the robbers and reporting to the city of Nocus (the closest city). They are also now sure that this band of skilled fighters, at least one skilled scout, at least one used to handle beetles and one rich leader with a sword (or so they have been told) is no ordinary robbers. They could probably earn a good living as bodyguards instead. Everything points at this being organized for some other reason like revenge or competition. They decide to go to Nocus and report and leave the matter to them snce it now is an internal affair of that city (the merchat was also from Nocus) and pretorian matter. They also have an important mission to fulfill.

On the fourth day they arrive at Nocus and speak to a militia captain there and also seek audience at the pretor's office and the merchant office . They speak to the merchants personal scribe and to the merchant himself and ask a few questions and lay forward their ideas about it not being an ordinary robbery. The merchant agrees when he hear it all but has no that hard competitor. It's all very strange. They also report to the pretor and give him their ideas. This way they hope that someone will take action and also spread the knowledge among several people in case someone should be corrupt.

The next day they leave Nocus to return to the big path and their mission (Half way through GM's Turn).

<GM's Note>We had a LOT of role playing this meeting and that was fun and iteresting. It was nice to see the patrol getting involved in the robbery and the general duties of the Pretorian Guard and having angst when pitching it against their important mission. There were also some remarks about who's better, a plebeian or a nobiles, an Asylum mouse or a Sapientia mouse and other colourful role playing and of course a lot of investegations.</GM’s Note>

illern (a) illertass.se