Revision as of 11:34, 1 December 2011

Act I Climax Summary

• LE finally accepted the Melkior-related documents from Edrell.
• Germain suggests not letting Mose know what Edrell has done, at least not immediately. Quin protests vehemently, and makes sure to tell Mose "Edrell screwed us over. I'll explain later, but we have to go NOW or the city will fall!"
• Germain suggests, at the very least, not to tell anyone else outside of the Silverwalkers about Edrell's betrayal, at least not until the party can decompress everything and plan a well thought out next move.
  • He Fears the Silverwalkers will be implicated in the crime or even flat-out scapegoated.
    • Not only did the SW work closely with Edrell for between 1 and 3 years, depending, the SW were also the ones who gave Edrell at least one keys he needed (the mayoral ring) to open the vaults. Plus several other actions that further cast suspicion on you guys as accomplices. Sure, this was almost always done on false pretenses, but the optics are terrible. If the accusation is made, you willing to go through the Wydmoor or Church judicial systems? Even with Germain as your lawyer?
  • He believes in Information control: The Silverwalkers for the first time find them in a position where they know things no one else knows.
  • He sees the potential for False Flagging: If the robbery could be pinned on the Thieves' Guild, that could give a plausable casus belli to act against the Guild as well as potentially driving a wedge between them and the War Council.
• Quin is willing to go along with this, to an extent, for now. -> He's willing not to out Edrell (yet), but feels obligated to at least warn Bog Wraiths of the infiltration in case there are more infiltrators or the Silverwalkers fail in their mission.
  • On his way back through the Cathedral not-gate, Quin sends an acolyte to Naprid with a message: "City is under the attack! Also, your fire charm was stolen."
• At the door to the Magius Keep, Germain makes it clear that he believes it will be best for the party to capture, not kill, the half-elf woman Edrell mentioned as his sister.
  • Party is relatively resistant, but ultimately agrees not to kill her if they can help it. (Although, as we will see, those promises were, perhaps, not made in good faith.)

• Battle Goes Down and Winds Down
  • The woman has been teleporting like mad, despite being in the same ROOM as the anti-teleport generator.
  • Woman also was originally encountered as a huge-size woman, and shrunk down to normal size after she was killed.

• The Odessans, except the half-elf, are killed.
• Kimi screams to the woman "We don't want to kill you! Edrell told us to spare you!"
• The woman, herself clearly down to her last hit points, teleports into a back corner away from everyone.
• LE lets loose a flurry of magic missiles and deals twenty-something points of force damage.
• The woman is killed.

In the last game, there was some looting done, and we can assume that the looting goes down during and after the conversation we're all about to have. For what it's worth, the half-elf woman's spiked chain (which seemed to exhibit the Radiant Energy trait) and her mithril breastplate (which seemed to exhibit the Glamoured trait), both radiate no magic whatsoever upon close examination.

Additionally, the stuff with Al's swan statue, Mulligan, will go down at some point later on during this conversation in order to role play the full effect of that event

Silverwalkers Discussion

The second Act opens just as the adrenaline fog clears from everyone's mind and bullet time goes away. The party is scattered around the room, also filled with dead bodies, as pictured above. The battle is won, but all of the Odessans have been killed. The integrity of the teleport ward has been maintained. The lightning arcs and flares across the room, filling the room with light and sound. The party must shout to be heard.

Germain	scowls at LE : Damnit! We could have leveraged that into a surrender!
Germain	sighs : Let's get this mess cleaned up... we can be heroes or villians depending on how the next few hours go, and I want to leave this room with a plan that we all agree on. Say what you will of him, Edrell has left us with an out if we are willing to take it. He's promised to stage his own death, and we can spin this like he informed us of this attack and went off to stop the robbery on his own. Do we take it?
Al	Roar, growl, rrrrgwlll. Snarl, roar, growl. realizes no one understands, changes back to elf form Dude, that was far out. My dad would FREAK if he knew I just fought a half-elf. somewhat sadly Might even make him proud that I helped kill her. glances expectantly at backpack, then glances around the room Man, what a mess. Next time we see Ed he's not gonna have to fake his death. Though I guess he did help us save all those people. Still, man, what he did was not cool.
Germain	shrugs : Really? Do you care? He stole money from the people who decided to let the refugees die. The people that were more concerned about saving their own ass than doing what was right. In some cases, the very people that antagonized this conflict in the first place. I don't like what he did, but I have a hard time feeling sorry for the people he did it to. If I find out he was responsible for the fire, my opinion may change, but right now the only thing I'm upset about is the mess he put me in.
Mose	is really confused: What in the world is going on? Quinn said that Edrell betrayed us, but now Germain is siding with him? What has happened? And who are these people we just killed here in Edrell's tower? Are they Edrell's friends? Clearly they were trying to ruin the city, but I don't know how they would get in here if Edrell didn't let them in.
Al	These dudes were trying to turn off the teleport ward for some reason. Can't figure out why they thought that would be a good idea, but at least Ed told us what was up as he... Er glances at  Germain, unsure of his Grand Plan, but at least aware that one exists that might involve not telling  Mose everything just yet. So, uh, we stopped these dudes from turning off the teleport ward. Shouldn't have killed that lady, though I have a feeling it doesn't really matter. glances again at his backpack
LE	carefully steps around the nodes to loot what she can. She doesn't seem to hear anything, even the deafening noise from the generator. She seems either deep in thought or completely without thought, you can't tell which.
Kimika	looks dazed, still reeling from all the events of the last few hours. She rushes over to the half-elven woman to see if there's anything at all she can do for her. She kneels down next to her and, despite her being dead, at least makes an effort to wrap any wounds and prepare her corpse respectfully.
Germain	looks conflicted : Edrell did betray us, Mose... at least, in a fashion. These were his friends, and even family, and they expected Edrell to be here to let them in so they could turn off the City's defenses and capture it. Germain grimaces, clearly saying something he would rather not say. Edrell was the mole and the traitor, Mose, and he used us to further his agenda and pull off a massive bank heist against the Wydmoor Bank. He betrayed our trust, and because we now know his plans and know that we aided and abetted in them, he has put us in quite the predicament. The complicating factor is that he also betrayed the Odessans, letting us in on their plan and sending us here to stop it. And, frankly, he's given Wydmoor the closest thing to an army that it's ever had, and probably put us in the unique position to save this city and end this war. I know some of you aren't comfortable with moral grey areas, but we are stuck in one now sure as a dwarf's hammer. I can think of some ways out of this mess, but all of them are either going to put our necks on the line or require is to politic and lie through our teeth.
Germain	eyes  LE warily.
Mose	Edrell ROBBED the Wydmoor Bank?! That dirty cave rat! ... ... But if he was after money, why didn't he just keep all the silver we gave him instead of spreading it around? Are you sure it wasn't an imposter? Edrell wouldn't do that. (Mose isn't eager to believe he misjudged SO BADLY on someone's evil nature) The Odessans disguised before, perhaps they pulled their same shady tricks... or maybe the Thieves' Guild! They're also very shady... Maybe it was just more illusion magic? I know I doubted Edrell early on, but he helped us along. Gave us these great items-- why would he give us so much of value if he wasn't on our side of good?
Germain	Well, we can't be sure of anything, I agree! And it is a compelling theory--I'm loath to admit that I misjudged him so dramatically as well. The Guild's attacks on the Silverwalkers have demonstrated that their true loyalties do not lie with protecting the city, since we have been its most active and successful protectors. They certainly have the powers of deciet and illusion necessary to pull off such a feat. Besides, if Edrell was siding with the Odessans, why would it serve him to turn on them at this point? It only creates enemies for him, and does little to aid him. Frankly, even if it was Edrell that robbed the bank, I'd be inclined to blame it on the Guild to Wydmoor's power players against them and purge the city of their evil. Given the facts, I think your theory is a strong one to operate under, Mose... A strong theory indeed. That theory aside, however, whose to say what's good and evil? Based on what Edrell (or his look-alike) said, he believes that those with a lot of money in the bank--the Mayor, the cowardly nobles, the Wraiths, etc--were evil. They punished the people of Wydmoor to further their own financial and political interests. The Silverwalkers, and by extension Edrell, on the other hand, were good. We risked our lives to protect and empower the innocents of the Wydmoor region--the citizens of Wydmoor, the Onrarch halflings, etc--from they tyranny of the Odessans, the elements, supernatural terrors, and their own leaders. "Edrell" thinks he is good, he considers us allies because we are good, and that the Nobles of this city, and even the Wraiths to some degree, are evil. Historically, we agree with that. While robbing a bank is certainly illegal, I'm not sure I'd call it evil. Murdering a Mayor is also illegal, but we consider ourselves good for doing it. Get yourself ready... the way forward is only going to get a lot messier than the muddy waters we've travelled so far.
Mose	I can't support someone who betrays the laws and agreements they have made. If it was Edrell, he pledged to protect the city by accepting his different roles in the city government. To then betray the city... that's heartless and lawless. Even if some of the coin in the Bank was from those who were wicked, he's still harming goodly and religious people, too. In the case of the Mayor, I directly sensed him to be evil, and his disregard for codified law in favor of tyranny required him to be removed like the swamp leech he was. Looking back, though, I am sad about the way that cleansing was done, and going forward we must insist that we stand above the "muddy waters" you mention. As my grandfather told me, "No matter how low you find yourself, you won't get to higher ground by walking downhill." (put rpchat above this)