Session 33

Fact Sheet A tale of tigers and wolves, oh my

Players present: Ecchima, Marty, Meinhart, Tuur and Vinnie. Dins was our DM.

Date: 06-12-23

Date in-universe: it's a lovely Tuesday when The Vale realizes the blockade is gone

Major developments:

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Previously: session 32 Arrival in The Vale

Up next: session 34 the gang gets a GAS-boete

Notes

As El walks back from the stables from checking in on Madonna to our breakfast table, they notice 2 armed guards are walking up to the tavern, flanking a man. They have a ribbon on their shoulder, which El recognizes as the symbol of the Breheima post office. Since El is standing in the doorway, the man asks “excuse me, can we pass”, to which El politely replies “you’re excused” as they step aside. The guards side-eye El but don’t escalate.

The man goes up to Wendy, the inn keeper. After a short conversation, Wendy points to our table. The man comes over to address Storm: can you state your full name, your occupation and the name of anyone you might be expecting an express letter from?

Storm states that as Sturmzeit Reinzinger, a dancer from the Reinzinger finnilash on his züchtungsreise, he’s hoping for a letter from princess Lydia Aalderman.

After Storm signs the pertinent form to acknowledge receipt, the postmaster hands over a thick envelop of luxurious paper. It’s indeed from princess Lydia Aalderman!

Read the letter in full here!

Eluviel became a recluse in the Marred Marshes after the war, when the newly crowned king Baltazar asked him to destroy the retreating Kharkhori fleet. His isolation directly contributed to the prevalence of Soliman worship & the decline of Lunaire worship in the Hammerhead Coast
Eluviel is suspected of involvement in the destruction of Lharsam, although princess Lydia is convinced that even a lapsed envoy of the gods would need assistance to pull off an attack of that magnitude
Eluviel is suspected in the death of king Balthazar Aalderman, esp by prince Mordecai who overheard a fight between them
The Soliman advisor Nathaniel believes a celestial is too pure to commit acts of murder and terrorism, prince Mordecai is convinced Eluviel is a hardened criminal & almost had the entire crew of the Young Kraken arrested during king Balthazar’s funeral
The arcane academy in Anchorage (the Kharkhori capital) was reopened a few years ago. It's just another element that worries princess Lydia we're headed to another religious schism and more bloodshed
The polecat Santiago De Santa is a former spy, he’s wanted for treason
The Soliman paladin Varian is on his way to The Perch, seeking Eluviel on his father Nathaniel’s request

She sent along a messaging postcard: it’s printed with a cordial invitation to prince Mordecai’s coronation, with space where the date and place can be magically completed when the preparations are finalized. Storm is aware that the “cordial” part of the invitation might be a formality: without princess Lydia’s intercession, prince Mordecai might consider him a treasonous accomplice to his father the king’s murderer…

Storm scribbles in the margin of the card “to HSM princess Lydia: letter and message received, thank you. Faithfully yours, Storm”. The letters sink into the card, so the message was clearly sent… No response seems to be forthcoming, Storm will have to check later.

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Meanwhile the postmaster has turned and is addressing the barroom:

Just after midnight we received the confirmation that the road south to Koh’Shar and beyond has been opened once more. Messages have been sent (by bird) to our allies and contacts, so we expect that mail from Damanhour will be available this afternoon, and from further away shortly thereafter. Please stop by the post office after 1 p.m. with the necessary identification if you want to pick up your letters or packages.

Hali leads a short applause for the postmaster, who’s surprised and gratified to be this well-received.

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Wendy comes to clear the table & hopes we're not as dour as we look (after Storm read princess Lydia’s letter out loud). The city got good news, it’s a beautiful day, what interesting plans have we made for today?

We decide:

to first pick up our reward in the guild hall
to inform Maya Ghorann about her father’s death
to ask Maya Ghorann what she saw during and knows about the werewolf attack
to have a look in her shop if there’s any magical item that might interest us (Storm gives Aqueel 5 gold pieces even though we didn't make a decision about giving him an allowance)
let Aqueel play in the water

We set out, with the tiny luggage on a little leash Gladiola made for Aqueel.

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The city is getting busier as the day progresses, it’s clear that business is picking up again. That’s reflected in the guild hall: all departments are open and active, people are rushing in and about, there’s a lot of discussions and debates going on about what’s most urgent and how to best seize this new opportunity…

Still, Rilke is eager to see us. She ushers her into her office and sends her assistants away. She confirms she’s ready to pay us: she’s managed to scrounge together 400 gold pieces, which she hands over to El. El takes care of the distribution. She confides that she’s a little embarrassed by The Vale’s poor showing: she paid the gnomes upfront for a mining job & then they stood her up, leaving her short.

She reminds us that she needs to keep back some of her funds, because the guilds are offering up a discreet contract to deal with the werewolf issue. She clarifies that the guilds hope someone will quietly execute Grewishka (Grew for his friends). They feel the dwarfish miner committed 2 crimes: keeping his cursed nature hidden for several decades & now brutally attacking some innocent townsfolk who happened to be nearby when he shifted. His death would be a fitting punishment, without involving the Thamyrian guards or the Rosarian soldiers aboard the Surya. Also, after these harrowing months with the blockade, Rilke just needs an easy win, without a lengthy court procedure.

Should we be interested, we can leave our names with her assistant Feynmann in the next office.

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While Ophelia and Hali make some small talk about Ophelia’s concert and if we really forced Rilke to attend, or if we just eagerly invited her, Storm tries to beam into Ezra’s mind that we should maybe ask Rilke if she knows of a trusted way to get Aqueel home.

Since the beaming doesn’t work, or captain Ezra is just ignoring the suggestion, Storm decides to ask Ezra if we should ask a letter of recommendation as a supplement to the reward master Rilke has already offered us. At first, Ezra wonders why: they still have captain Akram’s letter of recommendation (see session 5) & we never used it. El points out the more recommendations the better, and Storm points out that Rilke looks like a capable leader, who’s bound to be more known in this area than captain Akram. Rilke is rather flattered & promises to think up something: we can just give the names of everyone who helped clear the blockade to her assistant Feynmann. The names we give, are

Aqueel
El
Ezra
Fyllion Springcrest
Hali
Sturmzeit Reinzinger

The dwarf Feynmann is a dedicated bureaucrat who doesn’t question his guild master’s requests, so he just rubberstamps it without even noticing the name Fyllion Springcrest. He’s a dwarf, not an elf after all.

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As soon we're outside, Ezra gathers us in a quiet corner: they point out we might be the only ones who can solve the werewolf issue the Vale is having… but in line with our pirate code, we prefer not to take the murder contract. That way, we’re free to operate as we choose. Should the guild later decide to reward us anyway, that’s just a bonus.

We put together what we know about lycanthropy (surprisingly for being a natural born shifter themselves, Ezra doesn’t contribute much, with a NATURAL ONE):

it’s a curse, which is spread either through a bite or because someone is born afflicted
its effects are double: the victim’s personality becomes crude and abrasive & under the light of the full moon, they change into a slavering wolf-beast, losing all reason
victims have 2 possible paths: either try to resist the curse (and maintain more of their original personality, but become even more ravenous when they do change into a wolf-beast) or give into the curse (and acquiring a degree of control over their shift, but losing more of their original personality)
only bitten people can be cured, either by immediately amputating the bitten body part (provided that’s possible without killing the patient) or through a powerful cleric’s intervention to remove the curse

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We decide to split up:

El and Ophelia will go to the Surya to check out if the cleric is powerful enough to help with the werewolf situation

Hali, Ezra and Storm will go to Ghorann's to inform Maya about her father's death. Aqueel stays with Hali, with the promise we'll join the others in the water later

***

After a short walk, they soon see the sign for Ghorann's sorcerous sundries.

An elf and a polecat are loitering in front of the store. They’re pretty bored, waiting next to a wheelbarrow with a statue in it. They point out that their friend is inside & is being served first.

Hali leans a little closer to the statue: it’s so beautifully made, with incredible detail… but why would a sculptor choose such an average looking model, in such a nonchalant and mostly stupid pose, in such grubby looking clothes, leaning on his sword with his mouth hanging open slightly…? The men snap that she shouldn’t rub it in, they know it’s terrible! That’s why their friend is already inside talking about their petrified friend in the wheelbarrow!

We also head inside. It’s a cozy and very peculiar shop:

One section holds weapons and gear for an eclectic adventurer, like a lustrous rope of mending (which you can cut into pieces and then reattach), a magical spice pouch (to flavour the blandest rations you have to eat on the road), the orb of direction which functions like a compass…
There’s a rack of strange potions and alchemy ingredients (some potions of healing, alchemist’s fire, a potion of speed, several antidotes, the dust of disappearance and a potion of heroism) as well as herbs Hali might be able to use to make her own potions
A series of shells and trinkets including the coin of all or nothing
A bookshelf with books and manuals about arcane rituals
By the window on a lectern, a big and illuminated book is lying open
Several paintings adorn the walls, including directly opposite the counter a family portrait on which we discern a much younger-looking Ishmael Ghorann, next to an Elvish woman with 2 young children. The woman behind the counter is recognizable as one of the twins in the painting…

Hali looks around but there doesn’t seem to be a bag of holding available.

At the counter, the shop keeper is talking with the 4th adventurer from the crew outside. As the guy explains he doesn’t know what happened, they just found his buddy petrified on the road, she hums that she thinks she already knows what it is. As she walks over to the book she wants to consult, we see she walks with a bit of a limp, like she’s not used to her porcelain prosthetic yet. She confirms her suspicion: their friend was turned to stone by a basilisk’s gaze. They’ll need a saliva gland to turn him back – that’s how basilisks eat their prey, you know? Since she only has one gland left in stock, it’ll be 75 gold pieces please.

Though the guy grumbles about the cost, he pays. The cash register yawns as the shopkeeper turns to us.

With a short “now what do you want” she turns to us. Hurriedly she amends: “I’m new to manning the counter, I’m usually in the back as the creative brain of the shop… I meant to say how can I help you today”?

As Hali starts prattling about seeking herbs for potions, Storm jams his elbow in her side: “if you’re Maya Ghorann, we’re here on a personal matter, please give us a moment of your time”.

At her nod that she’s indeed Maya Ghorann (see Images), Hali and Ezra shove Storm closer to Maya. Storm puts his hands palms up on the counter, but Maya is not a person to hug strangers. With a suspicious glare, she wonders if we’re here to talk about that idiot brother of hers, Magnus? Storm sighs and bites the bullet: first he introduces the party and himself, and then gently explains that Ishmael Ghorann has passed away in the badlands beyond Koh’Shar. When we heard he had family here along our route, we wanted to make sure they were all aware of his passing.

Ezra hisses Storm should tell her the whole truth & Hali coughs “cough dretches cough”. Storm briefly summarizes the adventure: Ghorann found us when we were lost, we travelled with him for a day & then some beasts attacked his little convoy. He didn’t necessarily seem an upstanding citizen, but in our limited experience he wasn’t a bad person. We put some stones over his body before we had to leave.

Hali hums that Maya is safe among us, she doesn’t have to hide the emotions she’s clearly feeling. Maya snaps that she hasn’t seen her father in 30 years. He ditched her and her brother when they were 6 years old. The whole spiel about his exile is a lie: when our mother died, he just left & the guild invented this story to tell people, because the guild master back then didn’t want to admit his court wizard caused his own wife's death, abandoned his young children, all his friends and his responsibilities in The Vale just like that.

She adds: “right now, I care more about my brother than about the fact I’ll never get to say a proper goodbye to my father”.

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Acquiescing to her desire to let her find closure in her own time, we talk about her brother:

Magnus was helping a deepgnome with a few odd jobs in the dry docks, minor enchantments on several vessels. That's something Magnus often did, he didn't just work in the store
Maya fears he had a run-in with the Surya. Captain Halloran won't even talk to Maya, so she can’t confirm
The gnome came into the store several weeks ago & bought a compass. He also dropped off some papers, they’re still lying on a disused part of the counter since Maya hasn’t had the time to read them
The gnome looked like an older gentleman, wearing a lot of jewelry and a captain’s hat, pretty weird for an adult of toddler size. No, he didn’t have parrot with him
The last time Maya saw Magnus was Sunday, when that weird set of spires on the mountain peak disappeared again

With a pointed stare at Storm, Hali returns the chessboard. Even as Storm gratefully bows his head in Hali's direction, Maya recognizes it as her father’s work. Though she's touched by the offer, she agrees Hali can keep it: the gesture means more than the board itself. Storm asks if we should ask her to repair it... Maya is suspicious, magic skills are dangerous right now. In the end she decides to share: she's more of an alchemist than an enchanter. That's her brother's skill & she fears that’s why Halloran sniffed him out and took him. We reassure her that that’s all the more reason for us to go find him.

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Since Hali came closer to hand over the chessboard, the stack of papers under a paper weight catch her eye - Hali recognizes her own handwriting! Hali shows Maya her compendium. Maya hasn't read it yet: she has her own compendium but she hasn't travelled a lot. Maya agrees to return the chunk of torn-out pages. Hali is happy part of her stolen pages are returned to her compendium (see Hali's compacted compendium of creatures). As she flips through it, she realizes she doesn't remember these creatures, nor these entries... e.g. the things she’s written about cambians and dretches are much more extensive and detailed than the new notes she made in the badlands or in Koh’shar. She also notices she’s apparently met and described many beings from the plane of fire, as well as several fey creatures...

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To let all the emotions settle, we look around a little:

With a NATURAL TWENTY Ezra buys the coin of all or nothing for just 50 gold
We also purchase the potion of heroism for 350 gold to keep it available for whoever needs it
Storm buys all 3 sets of messaging paper Maya has in stock, for 80 gold per set. Storm offers one set to Ezra, so they can include it in their letter to their mee-maw. Storm also suggests sending a set to Enza in Nawa, but Ezra gently refuses: they prefer to write physical letters they can keep and reread later
Storm also acquires a new dose of alchemist’s fire (for 40 gold)

The deepgnome bought an orb of direction, so she’s down to her last one. We make note of the dust of disappearance, that’s something Fyllion might like.

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We start piecing together what she experienced and what she knows about the werewolf incident:

I was having dinner with a friend at an elegant restaurant in the central residential district. We were inside so when that weird thing with the mountain peak happened and those spires appeared, we at first didn’t even know. The moon must have been involved somehow, I didn’t really see what’s what.
I guess the guy was as surprised as everyone else, and he shifted right where he was.
Apart from the Thamyrian guards, I’m one of the few people in town who can fight, so even though I didn’t have my axe with me, I figured I should try and help. I picked up a random table leg. In his beast form he seems to shrug off most forms of damage, so I figured out rather quickly that clobbering didn’t really do anything. I was hoping I’d be able to jam my table leg in its maw so it would stop biting people & that’s why it tore into my leg.
I found a silver dessert fork and that seemed helpful in hurting and driving off the werewolf. Thank the gods the restaurant didn’t skimp on their tableware, eh? I woke up in the clinic, with my leg amputated. I’m grateful they were able to do that. Of course, it was then a few days later that that blasted frigate shows up, with their mealy-mouthed offers of help.

As we enquire more about silver weapons, Maya thinks Osgar the blacksmith might be able to cover a weapon in silver.

We thank her for her info and sales, while we notice she's a bit lonely, since most people are afraid of connecting to a magic store right now.

***

Ophelia and El head towards the docks where the Surya is moored. As they pass the modest building of the Beckett clinic, they see people heading in with flowers to visit their sick relatives under dr. Beckett's care.

One side of the Alwarid has the docks for small boats provisioning the fish market, the other side has the docks for bigger boats and the dry dock.

There are guards in the docks but Ophelia and El can get close enough to the Surya to see captain Halloran on the deck. As they approach, El explains they want to do the talking, and since she's still fighting her hangover, Ophelia agrees and just gives them bardic inspiration.

El asks the guards to speak to the captain, but since they don't have an invitation, the guards won't let them pass. El appeals to Ophelia, but she prefers to let El take the lead. El pivots and asks where the ship's cleric is. The guards reply that Solace is working in the clinic today.

Halloran had been observing the goings-on with her guards and sends a messenger over: “Where is the rest of your party? They and you are summoned to Halloran's private quarters before nightfall, you're not in trouble, but it's not a summons to ignore”.

Ophelia susses out that it's just a summons, it seems like we're really not in trouble. Ophelia figures we should attend: we might get help, allies or information.

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They head to the clinic & look for Solace the cleric. Ophelia gives El another bardic inspiration. Inside, they ask the receptionist to see Solace: El claims they're a skilled helper of surgeons. The receptionist hesitates: Dr. Beckett would have to give her permission to allow El to work in the clinic.

El pivots again and convinces the receptionist that they just want to talk to Solace. The receptionist hesitates again: the cleric is quite busy… eventually she relents and she leads them through the hall of general healing where people are being treated with bandages and salves to a specialized hall for curses and similar afflictions. There, Ophelia and El see a demure, white tiefling at work. They stand a little taller than El (see images) and they’re using an incantation on a patient in a bed.

El introduces Ophelia and themselves. Solace is a little hesitant to interrupt their work: they’re quite busy, and from El’s Lunaire mask, they wonder what El could have to say…

El promises to help with a sincere "I serve all the gods". As they recite a common prayer for Soliman, Solace smiles in relief: “I assumed that someone wearing a replica THAT specific would be a traditionalist, but it's good to see you do know Soliman”!

El and Solace talk about curses and how to deal with them. When El reveals it’s our intention to deal with the source of the curse without bloodshed, Solace ushers them both into a backroom because she lacks an office: they heard the werewolf was born with it, not bitten. Should he be bitten, they can help. They are powerful enough to remove that curse! Solace really wants to avoid the murder of this person, even if he did commit crimes under the curse. They prefer to honour the sanctity of life, despite Soliman's predilection for punishment. After all, Solace is a cleric rather than a paladin because they prefer healing rather than raining down the fire of the sun in punishment… you know, the only archon, the only Soliman messenger we ever received seemed to follow the same guidelines, that's why Solace believes that's what Soliman prefers. If we find the werewolf, we should bring them to him, it's too dangerous to bring the werewolf to the clinic or to the authorities.

El nods we're all very grateful we've found each other as allies in this matter. El prods Ophelia to agree & startled out of her contemplation of her hangover, Ophelia agrees to help, without the religious baggage.

El blabbers about their healing magic, Ophelia quickly adds that the natural power of potions and rest is magically restorative... but Solace promises to keep their secret. With the promise to introduce Solace to Madonna the camel, they leave Solace to their work in the clinic.

Though the werewolf’s victims are close at hand, El and Ophelia prefer to delay interviewing them: it’s better to inform captain Ezra of captain Halloran’s summons. That lady doesn’t seem super patient, so best not to test her.

***

We meet up and exchange information:

there's definitely a werewolf and silver should work
Magpie may or may not have abducted Magnus
Solace is willing to help with the werewolf curse

El explains we're expected on the Surya with an impolite summons, Ophelia thinks it's important we go soon, but shares her assessment it won't be dangerous. Ophelia proudly reports she didn't lie, well, only once or twice when she had to and for the rest she didn't say anything that didn’t not twist the truth unnecessarily.

***

As we head over the Surya to get the summons over and done with, Hali gives the scroll of water-walking to Ophelia. Ezra shows off the coin of all or nothing! As we cross the bridge over the wide Alwarid, we pick up 2 people talking in a hushed whisper

Look, over there with the fluffy ears, could that be them?
No you moron, that person is brown, tigers are orange and have stripes
Do I look like I know what tigers look like? We’re in the mountains, I’ve never seen a tiger!
Can't we just shank the guy who's paying us to find this tiger, I say we just rob him behind the fish market, his saber is probably not even real

Ophelia cheerfully interrupts them to ask if they’re looking for a tiger. One huffs it's a humanoid tiger. Opening her eyes wide, Ophelia nods that she saw someone like that, deep in the forest to the south now that the road is open again! You should go there!

Ezra also leans in: who ordered you to look out for a tiger shifter? The thugs are quick to explain they’re just ignorant about tigers, they didn’t mean to be racist towards the… giant… brown… erm… cat person? Or is Ezra a puma of some sorts? They just don’t know, but however sorry they are, they can’t just reveal the client of a hit in progress! Ezra placates them: “I just want to advise him to be more careful in his orders, you almost jumped me, an innocent bystander, because his description wasn’t clear enough and you weren’t handed the right information to do your job”!

Ezra muses about this client from what the henchmen have blabbed: a foreigner in The Vale, older and rich, with a fancy saber in a richly decorated scabbard that looks fake to random street scum… nope, that doesn't ring any bells!

Losing her patience, Ophelia casts a magical suggestion on the leader of the duo: go to the forest! Hali quickly adds that they should capture their target alive, clients typically pay more for that. The amateur bandits reveal yet another part of their mission: it’s capture, not kill, because their client wants to talk to them!

The bandits split up: 1 guy plans to go to the forest & the other one wants to go to the fish market, ostensibly to inform their client to be more careful so innocent bystanders don't get attacked, but under his breath we hear him mutter he’ll organize a meeting around 8 p.m. behind the fishery, and when the guy shows up, alone and in the dark, he’ll rob him blind!

As they walk away in different directions, Ophelia casts detect thoughts in hopes of finding out who this client is. Ophelia digs deep enough to pull up a face from the leader's memory: a refined looking gentleman with a big moustache sprinkled with pepper and salt, and with a saber at his side.

Ophelia shows Ezra the face with minor illusion (see Images)... but they still don't recognize the face right away... they flip the coin of all or nothing. With a NATURAL TWO it’s a critical success: suddenly a wash of childhood memories hit Ezra. They’ve seen that moustache, with less pepper and salt, during some formal family dinners. It’s Jacob Saree, seated at the far end of the table whenever he was in town, rare as those occasions were. Ezra's grin freezes on their face: oh fuck, do I really have to deal with that as well?

Ophelia and Hali worry that we should protect Ezra’s father from these brigands, inept as they might seem… but Ezra is very ambivalent about it. Thinking it over, Ezra is a little mollified to realize their father used the correct pronouns, no matter how sloppy the rest of his description was. We make tentative plans to head to the fishery tonight, so we can observe the meeting & decide later if we should intervene.

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We approach the ship Surya & make eye contact with captain Halloran. She nods at us, satisfied we responded promptly. She disappears into the ship as we talk to a deck hand to guide us to the captain quarters.

As we’re shown inside her quarters, we see a very neat and spartan space. Pinned to the walls are several sea charts with naval positions, tracking other ships. Halloran is standing with her back to us. With a “That will be all Vane, you can leave us”, she sends the deckhand away. He hesitates to leave her alone with us, but she addresses a cool “I didn't stutter, did I? Please leave us, and don't linger in the hallway like you always do” to him.

When the door closes behind Vane, she gestures us to take a seat around her desk. El explains they're here under protest, only because they listen to their captain. With a twitch of her eyebrow, Halloran asks who our captain is. Ezra sketches a little bow, though they don’t feel comfortable claiming the title out loud.

Halloran ignores that: “I'll address it to you as the captain, but also to all of you: you're not in trouble, but I want to give a word of warning and an offer. I have recognized the child you’re travelling with as Aqueel, a relative of the King of Storms. The King of Storms has become hostile to all outsiders since the kidnapping of his youngest child. Naturally, this has greatly hindered our war efforts: the entire Sea of Storms from the island Manduria to Thalmyria is now difficult to traverse, putting a delay or even a full obstacle on contact, trade and the gathering of war ships between Thalmyria and Rosaria”.

She concludes with a frosty: “I'm not accusing you, but I would like to hear a succinct and convincing explanation why you're travelling with this child”.

Storyline

Previously: session 32 Arrival in The Vale

Up next: session 34 the gang gets a GAS-boete

Images


Maya Ghorann with a porcelain prosthetic	Solace, a Solunist cleric with very traditional ideals and beliefs, serving as a combat medic on board the Rosarian frigate Surya	Ophelia's illusion of the way the bandits for hire remember Jacob Saree