Mission 12: A Proper Introduction

Prelude

Following the theft of a chest prized and guarded by the White Veil Society, the Veil War re-ignited. Less than pleased about the theft of the chest, the White Veil Society leaked the names of many active Grass-Spider informants ((Yes, this was inspired by Skyfall. Shut up.)) and used its political influence to blacklist the Order of the Grass-Spiders in the eyes of many Scavenger Lands governments. Specifically, the White Veil Society has done its best to paint the Grass-Spiders as an organization which has developed its own political agenda - making it far less appealing as a contractor. Simultaneously, the White Veil Society, working through a tangled network of assets, hired the Grass-Spiders for a large number of jobs they specifically constructed to be time- and resource-consuming. Although the Three Elite Fiends were eventually able to see through the deceit, many Made Members had already been dispatched by the time the Fiends realized their clients were under the influence of the White Veil Society. With the Range Homes ill-defended, the White-Veil Society dispatched a unit of Lookshy Rangers under their control to the camp. Although Iron Shatters Oak and Ruk defeated most of the unit before they could find the chest, Naru was kidnapped in the action. Upon learning of her kidnapping, a hysterical Opal immediately traveled to Lookshy and barged into the office of the Karal Matsudo, nearly killing him before he was able to explain to her that the Ranger unit which attacked the Range Homes had nothing to do with his command. Karal, as a favor, did give the location of Ruol. That brings the story to the first of three moments which describe the events between Mission 11 and Mission 12:

Moment 1: A Foul Bargain
Moment 2: Pillow Talk
Moment 3: Thugs, Killers, and Gangsters

Now, Sesus Akida sees the Eye of Autochthon as a way to unite the Seventh-Legion and the Nexus city-state, effectively forming a Confederation of Rivers nation. He has begun initiating a meeting between the Seventh-Legion's high command, the Council of Nexus, and the Emissary to discuss a permanent strategic alliance, which would effectively make the two city states a single nation and arguably the most powerful entity in Creation. Akida has done this by reaching out to Karal Matsudo, but there a few obstacles to the deal - namely, a few Councilors from Nexus who vehemently oppose the deal. Knowing that having the full might of Nexus and Lookshy directed at finding the Eye would likely lead to success, Matusdo contacts the Grass-Spiders to deal with these Councilors. He sweetens the deal by noting that putting the Eye in the hands of the Confederation of Rivers would likely shatter the ambitions of the White Veil Society and end the Veil War, leaving the Grass Spiders victorious. Of course, nothing is ever so simple.

The Job

Client: Karal Matsudo
Targets: Oron Hazaki, Aleena Fortwright, Garis Ling (Councilors of Nexus)
Type: Assassination (Multiple Targets)
Target Background: Oron, Aleena, and Garis are the three councilors opposed to a strategic alliance between Nexus and Lookshy. For various reasons including bribery, coercion, and genuine support, all of the other councilors are on board with the deal. The Emissary, who is formally just an enforcer of the Council's will, does not have an opinion on the issue, although it certainly does not take kindly to others trifling with council business.

Assassinating one member of the Council of Entities would be tricky, let alone 3. Given the social infiltration likely required to get close to the Councilors, the Circle With No Name has been assigned to the mission, and will be present in full. The One-Eyed Queen of Silk and Lace will also accompany us to provide sorcerous, medical, and social support. A bit is known about each of the three Councilors:

Oron Hazaki: Considered the opposition's ringleader, at least publicly, Oron Hazaki is an influential senior member of the Council of Entities. He lives in an elaborate penthouse near Guild Headquarters. Like many Councilors, he has a past which is strongly entwined with the Guild, having formerly been an exporter of rare goods, primarily dealing with the Haslanti League. His penthouse is elaborately guarded by a private mercenary army, although until recently, he was not a terribly private person. There are several upscale clubs in Nexus Oron was known to frequent, but he has recently become somewhat more reclusive, retreating to his luxurious apartment most nights after attending to Council business. This is widely believed to be related to his suspected affair with Aleena Fortwright, but others have speculated that his health is failing.

Aleena Fortwright: A new Councilor who gained immediate fame for her striking beauty and her opulence. She was born in Crystal, and like Oron, has a background in trading rare goods to and from the Haslanti League. Given their common roots, Oron and Aleena quickly became close allies on the Council. Rather than living in the upscale apartment complexes near Guild HQ, as many Councilors do, Aleena owns a palatial mansion in an upscale neighborhood on the outskirts of Bastion District. She arrived in Nexus less than a year ago and was almost immediately appointed to the Council of Entities. She's also the only Councilor to own her own airship. Most citizens of Nexus who pay attention to its political movers and shakers believe she is sleeping with Oron Hazaki, and that their affair began roughly around the time when Lookshy approached Nexus with an offer of a strategic alliance. Nothing suspicious here, folks. Nothing at all. Move along...

Aleena's airship. Wait... that looks familiar...

Garis Ling: A former commander in the Hooded Executioners, he rose as high as he could within the organization before his desire to continue on in politics led him to become a military advisor to the Council of Entities. When a Council spot opened up, he was able to get himself appointed as a Councilor. Intermediate in age between Oron and Aleena, he has been on the Council for several years, though his time with the Hooded Executioners extends well before that. Through his affiliation with the mercenaries he has seen the worst of what Nexus has to offer, and this has left him incredibly jaded and paranoid. He is thoroughly suspicious of the true motivation behind a strategic alliance. Garis Ling has proposed (correctly) several times already that the alliance has been socially engineered by a third party and may not be beneficial to either Lookshy or Nexus. So far, his cries have fallen on mostly deaf ears, but he grows louder with each Council meeting. If people, Karal has asked that we dispatch Garis first, as he is the most outspoken member of the opposition.

We have some leeway in how the job is completed, although it goes without saying that there can be absolutely no indication that the Seventh-Legion is connected to the contract. The standard rules apply, with a ban on the harming of innocents. Still, with the number of people guarding your average Councilor, it may be very possible to rack up quite a body count even if one only restricts oneself to harming combatants. A substantial body count may alert the other Councilors that someone is after them.

For what it's worth, Karal has filled us in on the whole story - Akida wants to unify Lookshy and Nexus and has baited both with the promise of finding the Eye of Autochthon, which Akida has noted is likely in the Scavenger Lands (or at least a way to find it). The problem with this story is that it's true. Anyone searching hard enough for the Eye will be led to the chest, which is currently in the possession of our very own Hallowed Order of the Grass-Spiders. Karal says we are free to do with this information whatever we wish. Nazareth suggests that if possible, we should do anything we can to divert attention from the Order, including deliberately sowing rumors that the chest is somewhere else.

Critical Notes

• Outside of the massive international relations ramifications, this is a standard Grass-Spiders mission. We were hired to do what we do best - dispose of some problematic individuals, don't hurt anyone you don't have to, and make it look like an accident. If it's clear that only the opposing Councilors are being assassinated, it will rouse a great deal of suspicion regarding the strategic alliance and likely compromise it. The terms of the mission mandate that all three deaths look like a complete accident.
• These days, our targets are frequently seen together. The three Councilors opposing an alliance with Lookshy have been focusing on preparing their case, as it is currently a focal point of Confederation of Rivers politics. It might be possible to an unfortunate accident befall all three of them while they're together...
• Mesa is well known in Nexus (although his Grass-Spider affiliations are not). He has a large house in Cinnabar as well as a hideout for his underground dealings on Sentinel Hill. Both are available as safehouses or for whatever purpose the Circle may need them. The Circle With No Name is planning on staying in Mesa's Cinnabar residence.
• Nexus is large enough that a significant portion of its population doesn't care about politics - don't expect the upcoming strategic alliance to be a concern to everyone
• On the other hand, anyone with a vested interest in foreign policy (government officials, Guild directors, etc.) is likely paying close attention to any new developments. Although many Councilors and Guild higher-ups have said they wouldn't stop the strategic alliance, they might not be thrilled about it either. If some reason it became necessary, there is likely a sizable body of people who would vocally oppose the alliance that could be roused into action with the proper social maneuvering.
• Given their private interest in the outcome, don't be surprised if All-Seeing Eye agents are trying to monitor the mission's progress.
• Don't forget about the usual rules in Nexus. The group is used to operating here, but the Civilities are always a variable.

Team: The Circle With No Name, The One-Eyed Queen of Silk and Lace

Expected Threats:

• Bodyguards and mercenaries (Threat level: Low to Medium, Probability of Encounter: Likely)
• The Emissary (Threat level: Do not engage, Probability of Encounter: Up to you - killing a Councilor is definitely wanton violence and I'm sure the Emissary can find a way to invoke a few other points from the Dogma on that one too.)
• The All-Seeing Eye (Threat level: Medium, Probability of Encounter: Low)
• Unexpected Threats (Threat level: Low to High, Probability of Encounter: Certain - To think we're the only people with a vested interest in this should be foolish. Also, it's known from history that many councilors are not what they seem. Be careful.)

Session Play

• Session Play (12): Laying the Groundwork
• Session Play (12): The Long Way Home

Mission Status

Job: Complete
Dates: Ascending Earth 6 - 14, R.Y. 778
Job: In their most elaborate (successful) mission yet, the Grass-Spiders managed to assassinate 3 members of the Council of Entities without leaving any (or, at least, almost any) traces of the Order's involvement in their deaths. The mission turned out to be far more complicated than it seemed on the surface, with the relationship between Oron and Aleena being some juxtaposition of affair, paranoia, political alliance, and usury. Gradually, continued reconnaissance revealed Oron to be very much under Aleena's influence. At the same time, Aleena was found to have even less savory affiliations than imagined - her purported airship, the Cicada, was found to be filled with demons, fleshcrafters, and even an unknown Celestial Exalt engaged in demon summoning rituals. Scouting attempts on the airship also revealed that Aleena had replaced Oron's closest bodyguard with a fleshcrafted body double. Bureaucratic information gathering led to the conclusion that Aleena was abusing Oron's control of Haslanti-Nexan ((Yep, Nexans are from Nexus, like Texans from Texas.)) shipping lanes to ship large crates of unknown content to Haslanti mercenaries. Zealot later discovered that the contents of the crates were surplus Seventh-Legion military gear.

A scouting-mission-turned-violent at Oron's apartment revealed that Aleena had sent her own men to sift through Oron's belongings, worried that Oron would discover her secret dealings with Haslanti mercenaries. This indicated that perhaps all was not as well between them as it seemed. Additional sleuthing turned up Aleena's concrete plan: She would hire Haslanti mercenaries, disguise them as Seventh-Legion soldiers, and stage an attack on Nexus in hopes of ruining the planned alliance between the two cities.

A plan was devised wherein Fay would disguise herself as a bodyguard to Oron and slay him in the night. This plan more or less went off without a hitch. Aleena's assassination was more vexing - although successful, the Grass-Spiders did such a good job that the storyteller can't quite remember how they finished her off. I know it included a fight on the Cicada wherein Queen and Zealot took on Baphomet... Honestly, I lost my notes (actually, I lost the whole notebook they were in), but the important part is that we did manage to kill Aleena and finally met Ophelia, a mysterious woman who appears to be aware of, although not necessarily in league with the White Veil Society. Aleena appeared to be thoroughly under Ophelia's control; it was not entirely clear why she opposed the union of Lookshy and Nexus, although it can be safely assumed that she was concocting schemes in the area that might be foiled by their union. Aboard her ship, Zealot briefly dueled her, a fight during which Ophelia perfectly defended his attack and outed herself as a Celestial Exalt.

Here are my notes for the second session: A plan was devised where The Circle with No Name would attend a party where Oron and Aleena would both be in attendance, in hopes that one or both would provide an opening. Oron provides such an opening after Ash and Mesa manipulate the event and conversation to incite conflict between Oron and Aleena, this causes Aleena to leave early and Oron to seek distraction with new pal Ash. Fay, disguised as Hastlani General Kirin, gets into an argument with Oron causing him to leave as well. Ash steers him towards a convenient hotel where Fay, Ash, and Opal discreetly make the kill, framing General Kirin for the murder. Several days later the Circle observes Kirin's execution by the Emissary confirming their was no suspicion of their involvement in Oron's death.

When Aleena leaves the party early, Queen and Zealot sneak aboard the Cicada looking for an opportunity to make the kill on Aleena. They see an opportunity and spring the attack, with Queen making the kill on Aleena. (My notes don't indicate how.) After the kill they pair are attacked by Baphomet and eventually Ophelia herself, the Celestial Exalt and her familiar proving to great of a threat for the two Grass Spiders. Ophelia holds the Grass Spiders hostage wanting them to steal something from the Nexus Guild vault, Zealot alerts his Circlemates to the plan and once the entire Circle is gathered Ophelia is forced to abandon her plan and retreat. She goes to kill her hostage, Zealot, but he is able to teleport off the ship with Aleena's body in tow. Aleena's body is then dropped out at sea to wash up on the shore, making it appear as if she died by an unfortunate fall from her airship.

The assassination of Gharis is saved for last, though the originally formed plan goes off with only one significant hiccup. Ash's social grace makes sure he shows up at The Globe Theater for the performance; Mesa's connections give the Grass Spider's the run of the place and his performance rouses the crowd into a riot. However, when Opal spots Roul in the crowd she breaks off of the plan and seeks to attack him outright while Roul attempts to prevent Gharis' death. However Opal and Zealot are enough to scare Roul back, which allows Ash to disable Gharis which causes him to be trampled and killed by the rioting crowd. --FyreFly 20:21, 11 January 2014 (EST)

Quote of the night: "I don't have time to wait around here all day." - Ash
Exp. Awarded: Base - 8 EXP