Mission 9: He Who Is Without Sin

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Client: Internal
Target: The White Veil Society
Type: Espionage
Target Background: Nothing known. A note left by Atlas to the Grass Spiders, found by Anton in Gyoki's library, suggests that Atlas's death was an indirect result of his trying to establish a collaboration between the Grass-Spiders and the White-Veil Society. In his lifetime, none of the Grass-Spiders knew of Atlas's connection to the White-Veil Society. Only Makoto Seta was aware of it, and when prompted by Rustung for more information, only conceded that Atlas had "spoken with people in contact with both organizations." Deeper investigation revealed that the man who hired the Grass-Spiders for Atlas's final hit had several allies in a particular bloodline of House Ledaal. This bloodline was traced to Jean-Altair Marquis D'La Croix, the young patriach of Ledaal Altair's descendants. Other sources (Jonas Hare) have also mentioned Altair's name in connection with the White Veil Society.

Evidence has emerged suggested that the Circle With No Name was recruited at Atlas's urging to be a basis for a joint operation between the White Veil Society and the Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders. Concerns have arisen that relations grew sour, and this was ultimately the reason Atlas was killed. The Three Elite Fiends believe that at least one, and possibly more members of the Circle With No Name were or are presently being watched for eventual recruitment by the White Veil Society. They are ultimately concerned about the impact this will have on operations - the Fiends aren't comfortable with such an elusive organization keeping such a close watch on their affairs, and they tired of idly waiting for the White Veil to be lifted. Your mission, simply (or not so simply), is to uncover the agenda of the White Veil Society.

Altair has invited a prominent Realm politician to give a seminar at the Spiral Academy over the course of three days. The White Veil Society always meets in secret, and always under the guise of some other event - rumor has it they rarely bother hiding at all; their secret codes are so subtly embedded in everyday speech that even sorcerous ears cannot discern their true meeting. It is thought by Anton that this seminar is a cover for a meeting of the White-Veil Society, and this is likely the organization's only chance at deciphering the Society's intentions. Gyoki agrees, and feels strongly enough on the issue that he has agreed to attend the mission personally. Contacts and spies in the Realm have provided details of the event's security, but given the widespread and pervasive nature of the White Veil Society's suspected influence, particularly in the Realm, this information may be inaccurate or intentionally misleading.

Loosely, the plan is broken down as such:

  1. Mercurial Carp Courier will steal the Spiral Academy's legendary chandelier and leave behind evidence suggesting a rogue faction of the All-Seeing Eye is responsible.
  2. Knowing they can't turn to their own intelligence wing, the administrator's will look elsewhere. In the guise of an administrative assistant who claims to "know somebody", Gyoki will subtly suggest the Grass-Spiders.
  3. Gyoki will sit down to a meeting with the Spiral Academy's leaders and arrange a deal for the recovery.
  4. While security is focused on the meeting, team A will secure the guest-list via physical infiltration and exit before Gyoki has left.
  5. The guest list will be provided to Team B.
  6. Team C is tasked with hunting down and neutralizing the Bronze Faction Sidereals watching over the meeting.
  7. The night before the first day of the seminar, Zealot and Opal are dropped onto the roof of the Spiral Academy and covered by a fake roof while they cut a hole in the real one with jade-cutting tools provided by Oak.
  8. Once inside the attic, they will scour the top floors of the Academy and take note of the meeting chambers, then retreat to the attic for the night.
  9. The day of the seminar, Ash and Fay are to enter the seminar in a position where they can socialize with the attendees. They will be responsible for picking out members of the WVS and attempting to get information from them. Leviticus will be on standby via Wind-Carried Words to assist in linguistic analysis and codebreaking.
  10. It is expected that when the day's festivities end, certain members of the organization will retire to the meeting rooms on the academy's top floors. It is known that one meeting room in particular is often guarded by a high-ranking Immaculate Monk who does enforcement work for the propaganda wing of the Immaculate Order's less-savory leadership, named The Hand of War. Anton expects that deals which have a significant impact on the future of Creation are made in this room. Team A will quietly draw the Hand of War away from the conference room and kill him. When Zealot and Opal (in the attic) get the signal from Team A, they must get to a position where they can eavesdrop on the conference taking place inside.
  11. At the end of the day, the team will meet in a safe house and discuss the next steps, depending on what they have pieced together.
  12. Team D is responsible for keeping Realm military and spy forces from examining the Spiral Academy too closely during the seminar - no small task, as the Grass-Spiders are not the only covert organization interested in the White Veil Society.

On the second day of the seminar, the Team B must act on the information they collected. They might try to locate the Imperial City offices of the people who they suspect are members of the WVS, they might attend the seminar festivities again, they might infiltrate and eavesdrop further in the meeting rooms on the top floors of the Spiral Academy - there are a number of options by which characters may extract information. Success and failure is less clear cut in espionage missions, but the Grass-Spiders are determined to gain at least some insight into the agenda that drives the White-Veil Society. A grand exit is acceptable and expected - if things go wildly poorly, Lydia will be flying in the Geronimo with Moon and Naru, and she's got plenty of surprises in store for anyone trying to prevent the Grass-Spiders from escaping. We'll have fake roof dropped onto one of the Academy's spire's with a hole Opal and Zealot cut in the real roof hidden below it. If we have to, we can exit through this hole and blast through the fake roof, being airlifted to safety by the Geronimo.

Critical Notes:

  • Our plan hinges on our assumption the Altair is connected to the White Veil Society. He is an excellent focus for social aspect of the mission.
    • Altair is one of the most connected men in Creation. He likely has eyes and ears anywhere the Realm has an iota of influence. Keep this in mind, watch your words, and watch your steps.
  • If at all possible, do not draw Sidereal attention. Team C will be handling Sidereal involvement, as they have brought the Armor of the Unseen Assassin, and can operate outside of fate's boundaries.
  • The invited speaker, Ledaal Praetus is a retired senator from House Ledaal who preached democratic values in the days of the Empress. He was asked to retire after pushing for restrictions on the Empress's power and the transfer of administrative authority to the Deliberative. He remains a trusted advisor to many in the Deliberative, and supervised Altair during his dissertation work at the Spiral Academy, a treatise on democracy in the context of a bureaucracy built largely behind closed doors and by blood relations. Although it is generally accepted that Altair has surpassed his former mentor in terms of influence, Altair retains a soft spot for Praetus, and may be angered if harm should befall the man.
  • It is not known how many of the attendees are there because they are connected to the WVS and how many are there because they are generally interested in hearing Praetus speak - certainly there is some overlap.
  • Leviticus is Order's foremost linguist and codebreaker. Make use of him.
  • It is well known that Altair is a left-wing radical bent on establishing democracy in the Realm. This may be connected to the White Veil Society, or at the least, appealing to this notion my earn his favor.
  • Altair has seen the characters before and knows their origins. If strong disguises are not employed, he will be aware that the Grass-Spiders are present. For what it's worth, he has spotted us on other missions and not blown our cover, so he may not be entirely opposed to our presence.
  • Cathak Marle Aunkh, a professor of international relations at the Spiral Academy, is believed to be a resplendent destiny of The Caretaker of Meaningless Excess. Use caution. It is known that Professor Aunkh will be attending the seminar.
  • Recall that the first mention of the White Veil Society explicitly was made by Jonas Hare. If you name drop him, people's responses may be insightful.
  • Also recall that when we first encountered the White Veil Society, they seemed to want to get their hands on the Broken-Winged Crane. The man who Mesa encountered also mentioned that his "organization" (now believed to be a reference to the White-Veil Society) had diabolical connections. Anton has a strong knowledge of demonology if the need for a consultation arises.
  • Keep in mind that this is all because Atlas was killed as a result of his interaction with the organization. Clearly, he had an impact on them - whether it was good or bad is not known. Someone who appears to be connected to Atlas at this event was likely directly or indirectly involved with his death. As such, they are considered free game by the Order's by-laws - because they were involved with the death of a made member, members of the White-Veil Society are acceptable collateral damage if it becomes necessary to dispose of them during the course of the investigation.
  • Finally, there are rumors of an Infernalist cult nestled with the ranks of the Spiral Academy's elite. It is said they meet every so often in the Spiral Academy's labyrinthine board rooms and discuss the possibility of summoning demons more... dangerous... than those most of the Heptagram sorcerers are able to manage. I'm sure they're just rumors.

Team A: Ruk, Anton
The Team With No Name: The Circle With No Name
Team C: The Red Hoods
Team D: The Fifth Mixolydian Ruby, Naru, Ravenous Moon, Waning Heart
Team Lunar: Gyoki, Mercurial Carp Courier

Expected Threats:

  • Silent Legion guards (Threat Level: Medium to high, Probability of Encounter: Certain)
  • The Caretaker of Meaningless Excess (Threat level: High, Probability of Encounter: Likely)
  • White-Veil Society Enforcers (Threat level: Unknown, but it is known that the WVS will take violent action to prevent its agenda from being discovered, Probability of Encounter: Pretty certain, since we're trying to do exactly that.
  • The Hand of War (Threat level: Very high, Probability of Encounter: Very low (We're assuming Anton and Ruk can do the job))
  • Bodyguards of the Dragon-Blooded Elite (Threat level: Varies, Probability of Encounter: Medium)
    • You will be at a seminar attended by some of the Realm's most influential people. Although some degree of destruction is acceptable in the name of the mission, you would be remiss to assume that Realm won't fight tooth-and-nail to protect those at the head of its hierarchy.
  • Other intelligence organizations (Threat level: Varies, Probability of Encounter: Likely)
    • The All-Seeing Eye is a shoe-in, but don't be surprised if the Lookshy rangers, the Council of Entities, and even the Mask of Winters also have representatives trying to dig up information at this seminar.

Mission Status

Exalted:
Grass Spiders

Chapter 2

The Circle With No Name

The Cicada

Suggested Music - Battle Scene II from Final Fantasy II by the Black Mages

Prelude

Rizuka knelt idly in the gardens behind the hospital, tending to a patch of plants whose growth she wasn't entirely happy with. This was, of course, a relative term; so strong was Rizuka's Wood-aspect anima banner that it had permanently endowed the garden with teeming life Essence, making it nearly as ripe and fertile as the Elemental Pole of Wood itself. Its most wilted flowers would be exotic blooms in any of Creation's markets. Nevertheless, Rizuka tried to nurture them further. Although she didn't look back, she raised her gaze when she heard heavy footsteps approaching behind her.

"Oak."

Oak's demeanor was less than jovial, as he got straight to business, "Midori, we have a very serious problem."

Rizuka finally looked back and upwards at the giant of a man, standing with some effort. She matched his concern, recognizing that a man as ancient and grizzled as Oak was not bothered by anything but the most grave of situations.

"What's wrong, Oak?"

"Come to the Manse. Let's go."

Although Rizuka had reached a comforting hand out towards Oak's shoulder, he turned before its arrival and began walking. Concerned, she followed him, matching his quick pace.

At the manse, Ruk, Anton, Tiamat, and the Three Elite Fiends stood gathered in the Manse's inner chamber, where meetings with the Fiends were held. They were gathered around something, although at first, Rizuka couldn't tell what. As they got closer, it became clear that it was a body.

Rizuka nudged between Ruk and Tiamat, kneeling at the foot of the cadaver. Instinctively feeling for a pulse and finding none, she looked back to the group.

"Who... is this?"

Gyoki replied, "I spoke with this man last week in Matetha - what he's doing in our damned grand corridor I couldn't possibly fathom, as I don't seem to recall inviting him here. He appears to be quite dead, also. I'd say he was in better shape when we last spoke."

Shedding a bit more light on Gyoki's reply, Ruk added, "This is the man from House Ledaal who hired The Circle With No Name to steal the Broken-Winged Crane. We don't know how he got in here, or why he's dead, but that's not our biggest concern."

Rizuka stood, tilting her head slightly, not fully understanding what Ruk was getting at. Tiamat spoke, holding up a pipe that he'd had in his hands.

"This pipe - it was still lit in the man's mouth when we found him. It's --"

He was cutoff by Rizuka; rarely prone to outbursts of any sort, even she couldn't stop herself from covering her mouth with one hand as she gasped.

"My gods... that's Atlas's pipe. It never made it back from his last mission... my gods..." She turned to Oak, her face having become slightly pale.

"Has the Circle with No Name left yet?"

Oak nodded affirmatively, and Anton, who had done a lot of the legwork in initial intelligence gathering, added, "They left yesterday, yeah, headin' int'Icehome southward."

Rizuka replied, "They could be in way over their heads... We should warn them - let the Harvestmen do this."

Tiamat nodded and said, "This is our dirty laundry and should clean it up. This job clearly isn't what we thought it was."

Anton, Ruk, and Oak were all ready to speak up as well, though it wasn't clear if they agreed or not. It didn't matter. Samsara, the quietest of the Elite Fiends, spoke up, and everyone else fell silent. Her piercing, inhuman voice was disconcerting even to the Order's most seasoned assassins, and her words were brief.

"No. This is as it should be. Atlas's beliefs encouraged the creation of the Circle With No Name. Atlas was not a fool. It is only natural that the new should arise from the ashes of the old - Atlas believed a new age was at hand, and with that new age, a new era for our art. Let the Circle With No Name prove themselves in the wake of Atlas's death; let them demonstrate, as he did, that our art will continue to reinvent itself as time marches on."

The Job

Client: House Ledaal
Target: The Broken-Winged Crane
Type: Theft
Target background: It was said the true copy of the Broken-Winged Crane will be written by a High Priestess of the Yozis, and that the completion of such a text will mark the beginning of the end of the times. Although all copies of the Broken-Winged are considered incredibly dangerous (possessing or reading even a single page of the book is punished by a swift, non-negotiable death in any remotely civilized area of Creation), it was believed previously that the true copy had not yet been written. Professors at the Heptagram believe they have turned up the true copy - still a work in progress, thankfully - and have readily convinced House Ledaal of such. In keeping with growing tensions in the Realm, House Ledaal is concerned that if the All-Seeing Eye is alerted, dormant spymasters from House Iselsi will try to recover the book and use it as a bargaining chip. Ledaal has opted for a different route - and that's where the Grass-Spiders come in.

Simply, the job of the Order is to steal the Broken-Winged Crane before it can be finished. The text was pinpointed by Heptagram faculty contacts in Icehome, where they believe it is currently being kept in the labyrinth underneath the Treasury building. It is also known that the text occasionally resides aboard a commerce airship, The Cicada, which travels in cycles between Icehome and Crystal. It is known that the text was in the Treasury building at the time of discovery, but the agent in question is concerned that the book's caretakers know it was spotted. The agent noted a large shipment of treasury items being shipped to Crystal aboard The Cicada, and is concerned the text may have been moved. Contacts in Crystal are able to verify that the text is not being housed within the city, so the book is either in the treasury or aboard the ship.

Ledaal has stressed that the acquisition of this text prior to its completion is critical to the safety of Creation as a whole. They have authorized the use of whatever means are necessary to obtain the book - House Ledaal's elders have agreed that they will take the blame for any political fallout that occurs as a result of the Grass Spiders' actions, provided they successfully obtain the text. They have also cautioned the Order that many other powerful groups of people, particularly Yu-Shan and its servants, have a strong interest in obtaining this book - Ledaal (perhaps rightfully) does not trust their intentions to be pure. Furthermore, it is not impossible that other Realm intelligence agencies have also uncovered the text, and may be working to obtain it.

((I will post maps of the Treasury building and the relevant Icehome districts in the next couple of days.))

((Check out the North sourcebook for information on the Haslanti League.))

Critical Notes:

  • You have been authorized to use whatever means are needed to recover the book, at any cost. Kill whoever you have to, blow up whatever needs to be blown up, drop a Soulbreaker Orb in the middle of the city and then fly the Geronimo through the crater into the Treasury's catacombs to get the book, guns blazing, whatever. Whatever it takes.
  • That said, the Haslanti League are some of the toughest, proudest bastards in Creation. They're all good at fighting and they have a large airship fleet with over 100 First-Age quality vessels, any of which they're perfectly willing to bring to bear if they feel their well-being is threatened. Factor in the likelihood of an extremely well-guarded Treasury building, interference from Heaven's agents (yes, that means Sidereal Exalts), the possibility of akuma (it is the Broken-Winged Crane, after all), and stealth/finesse doesn't seem like such bad idea.
  • The Grandmothers (North book, pg. 66) are good friends of Gyoki and the Order. They may be able to provide useful information, but they may also alert Icehome to your presence - tread carefully.
  • The Treasury is hosting a gala for visiting traders - this would be an ideal time to check out the Treasury building without arousing too much suspicion.
  • Regardless of the scenario, the Haslans are unlikely to take kindly to intruders or theft - the fact that the text was stored in the Treasury means the author/owner is likely a friend of the Oligarchy.

Expected Threats:

  • Haslanti Guards (Threat level: Low to Medium, Probability of Encounter: Likely)
  • Sidereal Demon-Hunters (Threat level: You've read Scroll of Monk and Sidereal 2e, Probability of Encounter: Medium)
  • All-Seeing Eye Agents (Threat level: High, Probability of Encounter: Medium)
  • Haslanti Air Boats (Threat level: Medium to High, Probability of Encounter: Likely)
  • Akuma (Threat level: Very high, Probability of Encounter: Low)
  • Demons (Threat level: Medium to Very high, Probability of Encounter: Low)

Team: The Circle With No Name

Mission Status

Job: Aborted
Dates: ((I need to double check this.))
Job: The mission to the Spiral Academy did not go as planned - after finding themselves blocked at every turn by tight-lipped socialites, fallen Immaculate Monks, Bronze Faction agents, and downright bad luck, the Grass-Spiders, their cover blown, were forced to make a speedy exit, despite the assistance of some of the organization's most senior members. They didn't come away entirely empty-handed; the group managed to kidnap an Imperial senator who they believe to be a member of the White Veil Society. They also slew the Caretaker of Meaningless Excess, a prominent Bronze Faction field agent in the East and likely associate of the White Veil Society. As they made their exit, the group was confronted by a formidable warrior named Orchid, who displayed considerable knowledge of the Grass-Spiders' own martial art and a prior association with Ruk and Anton. Desperate to prevent the group's escape on Geronimo, Altair ordered the release of two Thousand-Forged Dragons, one of which had been sabotaged by the Red Hoods. The second Dragon remains intact, however, and the Geronimo is currently fleeing the scene, with the Imperial flying war machine in hot pursuit.
Quote of the night: "Would say my cover is... blown?" - Zealot Exp. Awarded: 10

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