It's well into Aftereve by the time Zelpuz, Yuu and Vanyra all return to the Freyan's cozy apartment. Following the meeting with Saya and the subsequent stakeout of Arkham's Tavern with the involvement of some Order of Ashes agents there certainly is quite a bit to digest. Despite the hour the myriad of intrigues and possible threat vectors has pushed sleep far from the forefront of their minds.

Zelpuz enters the apartment, the other two already arrived. He looks at them both and puts a few snacks and drinks on the table. "That was an interesting evening, not sure what to think of that, I guess Lasrane either tricked me or was taken in by the Order."

"Looks like.  Is there any other way they would know the location?  Like, from mental stuff?"

The young mage sits in a chair, mind blank and feeling slightly emotionally adrift. He looks at his comrades. This is a big world, and his idealism to unravel the mess his life has become is clashing with the hammer of reality.

"That would be tricky. He probably omitted a few things in his story, but the parts he shared, he are most likely actual memories." Zelpuz thinks about the situation for a while.
"OK, let's recap the evening so we are all on the same page." Zelpuz goes through the events of the day again. He concludes with: "I guess I'll avoid going to the Order for now, but that'll make the investigations harder." He drifts off into thoughts.

After a while he sighs. "I guess Lasrane must be kept somewhere. But I am not sure if I am ready to risk rescuing a guy I was sent here to capture and risk major consequences from the Order, all based on a single guy's story, in particular Lasrane." Zelpuz seems to struggle with himself. "Do we have other leads to follow to see what's going on? And maybe get more hints about involvement of the Order? Something from the military follow-up?"

"What's our goal here?" Vanyra questions while looking out the window.  Turning a bit she adds, "First we were coming back for his parents, but now - I don't know. I'm not sure I want to get in the middle of a civil war."

"Good question, I don't like it either, but I would like to find out what the Order is doing here. But that can also be investigated by others if I report back, or hopefully Myrria did already. But Yuu can't just leave. What are your thoughts?" He looks at Yuu wondering when he wakes up from his meditative state.

Yuu seems to have deflated somewhat from his usual upstart bubble that only those of youthful ignorance and optimism carry themselves within. He takes a minute to unscramble an answer.

"I don't know. I came here to find a way to help my family. That job is bigger than I am, but I wanted to come here to try. The forces that have my parents house arrested are beyond the reach of my immediate network. The challenge is to reach beyond my network, until I find one with a thread linked to the perpetrators of this crisis. It's not an impossibility that the issues of my situation and Zelpuz' aren't linked someway."

He sits up.

"There are three directions I can pursue." He taps the armrest with a finger. "I want to visit our libraries, and do a little targeted research. I want to know who, by name, are supporting the various political factions. With names, comes leads. Second, I may try to contact my father one more time. Maybe he can provide a name or two. That is dangerous, but it may expedite a direction to pursue. Finally, I have distant cousins in the palace. It would be very difficult to contact them being as I'm on a Wanted list and all, but may be worth a shot."

"And yeah, a civil war would be bad. I wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of one, either. This is my country, and.... I think the path to saving my parents, is the same as the path to preventing that worst case scenario."

"I might be able to help with the communication from a distance." Zelpuz offers. He turns to Vanyra. "What about you, do you think your previous vision of the city may be coming any time later? Do you think we can prevent that from happening?"

"I really don't know..  I could try to force it, but I don't know if that will work."

"OK, so let's just try to stay low and keep looking around, at least until we decide it's getting too hot here."
Zelpuz scratches his chin.
"I wonder if I can go back to the Order without being taken in. Maybe I won't risk it until it becomes necessary. So let's follow Yuu's leads for now."

"Ok, I'll start hitting up the library. I'm going to give a week or so before attempting to contact my father again. Let a bit of heat off. Any ideas how to find out if the Order has Lasrane?"

"I'd suggest we start with the hospital where we dropped him off. They must have some records of what happened, assuming they were not too busy or erased."

Over the course of the next few days Yuu manages to visit a number of libraries, gathering bits and pieces of scholarly and journalistic information concerning the political factions in Ossylia. The three major factions, the Novians, Reforgers and Traditionalists, have existed in some form or another for at least the last three centuries. Occasionally new offshoot factions form, but none have them have lasted more than a generation.

The tenants of each faction are nebulous and have drifted about their central philosophical pillar, which in turn have shifted over the years but always remain roughly the same relative to each other. The Novians have focused on trade and expanded international affairs, the Reforgers are hawkish and seek military security above all else, while the Traditionalists walk between the two and seek to maintain the 'stability' of the old ways.

Support for each of these factions cannot be traced to any one noble house, sometimes a house has claimed allegiance to two factions at the same time, depending on who you're speaking of. Across generations there has also been shifts, as the power and interests of houses and guilds change. House Jin has usually sided with the Reforgers or the Traditionalists, but on a few occasions they've even supported the Novians. Currently they are within the Traditionalist camp by all accounts.

Using recent records Yuu identifies a number of the senators from each faction and investigates where their support comes from, if not immediately obvious. Through this he finds that the Shen Zue have in fact supported half a dozen Novian members in the senate of late, though they also have a couple Reforgers and a Traditionalist ally as well. There is not a whole lot of public information available on the senators themselves, but he does make note of their names.

The Reforgers count many former military officers among their ranks as well as members of some of the newer noble houses and domestic guilds, such as the Rancher's Guild and Shipbuilders. Compared to the Novians the Reforgers have a power structure that is much more stable and identifiable, with the core of the party run by 7 retired generals or admirals, which Yuu similarly makes note of.

While recent articles are scarce Yuu is able to ascertain that 8 members of the Novian faction have apparently been arrested or have gone missing in the last few weeks. Charges pertain to low treason (unwitting cooperation with enemies of the state) to misappropriation of funds. None of them appear to be major players in the faction, but it is hard to tell given the less structured and egalitarian nature of the Novians. The loss of the members does certainly tip the scales in favor of the Reforgers in any votes; currently 40% of the senate is controlled by the Traditionalist (64 seats), 30% for the Reforgers (48 seats) and only 25% (40 seats) for the Novians.

Also during the week Saya meets up with the group once more and relays the results of her inquiries into the customs records. Despite the loss of such large amount of chlornetherium there has been no increase in logged shipments from the civilian side. There had been the lock down on the port which created a bit of an increase once the harbor was reopened, but not enough to compensate for the amount lost.

The military has their own procurement channels, and most of their chlornetherium is produced locally. They have not reported any missing shipments or hiccups in their supply chain, but in light of that explosion and the martial law in the city there have been increased orders of late.

Whoever owned that chlornetherium is either not concerned with its loss or is not wanting to be identified as the owner.

Meanwhile Zelpuz and Vanyra visit the Sisters of Caleb. As a member of the Order of Ashes it was actually quite easy to request some 'clarifying' information about the unknown Mespah patient they found a couple weeks back. Upon finding the man in a severe, but stable condition on their steps they took him in and administered the requisite care, and then sent notice to the local Order Chapter House and the town guard as a matter of policy. Crimes against Mespah tend to involve more discretion and care due to their historical persecution.

After they ensured the proper medical care the man awoke. They informed him the Order of Ashes were concerned about his safety and were coming to speak with him. At this he just got up and left, only stopped to grab his trousers, despite his somewhat groggy condition. The Sisters figured that he must some sorted of criminal wanted by the Order, but they were surprised to learn that he was actually an agent as well from the two that came to the clinic. They remarked that he had been on a special assignment for sometime, and likely in a state of considerable duress that resulted in his unusual behavior. The Sisters handed over the man's abandoned possessions. After that the agents thanked the Sisters and left.

When asked about the letter one of the Sisters ashamedly admits to having read it, thinking it was some information concerning the man's condition. She never mentioned it to the man before he left, and no one knows if he ever saw or read the letter. The letter was given to the Order agents though.

For the remainder of the week Vanyra and Zelpuz set about city visiting the locales Lasrane had frequented before and backtracking some of their original steps from weeks past. The destroyed warehouse is being cleaned up now, with construction crews working to clean out the rubble and make way for a new structure. The sewer hideout is still there though the greasy film over everything suggest that it has been abandoned for a while. The taverns along the docs where the Blood Runners were suspected of conducting business are all still there and operating, but on the half-dozen visits over the week neither Vanyra nor Zelpuz find anyone they recognize, nor do any of the staff seem to recall seeing a man like Lasrane.

At the docks themselves the Blood Runner's ship is still moored where they saw it last, but instead of Shen Zue guards there is a small group of Ossylian soldiers standing watch on the boat. This changing of the guard is unexpected given how things had transpired, since it is obvious the Ossylian government has somehow gotten involved. Aside from the ship there is no trace of the Blood Runners or the man named Lasrane.

One evening, on the 9th day of a tenday*, as Yuu is making his way back from the local journalist archive he spies Saya approaching him in uniform. He would classify her expression upon seeing him as a somewhat confusing mixture of relief and exasperation.

*Note: tenday is like a week on Khalyun, with many people having the 9th or 9th and 10th day off from work.

The young mage smiles widely and waves, "Saya! Oh my god, you're a sight for sore eyes. Literally, I think my eyes are plotting a strike from all the reading I've been doing this week."

"I've been looking for you for the last while, quite a few libraries around... and I didn't think you were going to be acquainting yourself with the local papers," she responds and scans their surroundings before continuing. "Something has happened; I received orders today that we're to cease our operations at the docks in two days time and report to the local garrison HQ for re-assignment. Talking with a few folks and there's rumors that a new agency or something is being formed to control the docks and imports/exports in general."

The youth's smile slips into concern. "New agency? Made up of who?"

"No idea," she replies with a shrug. "It's all rumours and speculation at this point, but I think it'll be under military jurisdiction... or at least partly. I'm thinking they want more control of what comes in and out after that chlornetherium explosion and the resulting mess."

"Aren't you military though? Why swap military.... with other military?"

"Ahhh... yeah," Saya smirks gesturing to her uniform. "The military doesn't, or at least hadn't had jurisdiction over any trade though. I'm not sure how or what exactly this new agency will be. These plans are being formed at the highest levels."

"So... in two days time, they plan to create a completely new organisation meant to police the imports, exports and entire dock system? With all the logistical, administrative and personnel tied in to boot? Out of thin air? What a nightmare!" Yuu wears his expression of confusion pretty plainly.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:19, Sat 01 Sept 2018.

"I suspect this plan has been in the works for a little while, we only just heard about it now. They could simply absorb the current customs agency into the military umbrella and add personnel to it. It does seem an odd move though, I'm all for defending the Kingdom but I don't know any soldiers that signed up to process import documents on merchant shipments." Saya acquiesces. "Could be why some people, like  your parents, have been on lock down; change the balance in the senate. Would be interesting to see how that vote went down."

"Who do you think is giving the orders to your superiors now?"

"The same people as before." Saya shrugs. "There's been no change in the military command. The military ultimately takes it's orders from the government and the Royal Family. The shift in focus could be simply due to a shift in government policy."

"Hm... any idea what your new position will be?"

"Well hopefully I'll go back to being an actual soldier instead of harbor patrol." Saya remarks, the disdain and annoyance thick in her tone. "I was kind of hoping you would know more what's going on on that end than me. I mean you do are "nobility" and have ties to Royal family. With everything that's transpired in the last few weeks I suspect we may be headed in a different direction... militarily I mean."

Yuu returns to Vanyra's apartment and passes along the information concerning the changes to Ossylia's customs agency to the group. In the following days Vanyra spends her time wandering through the harbor district. She is able to pick up on various merchant discussions on supposed benefits and detriments of the new government action in the area, with some praising the increased security and forthwith nature of some of the new officials, while others complain about the overly strict regulations enforcement. For her own part she does notice a more prevalent paramilitary presence in the area under the auspices of the new Royal Ministry of External Commerce. Additionally, after three days it appears all the check stops in the area have been removed. Vanyra then moves toward the noble district and back through a couple of the inner city areas and find there too the check stops and street guards have been removed, or at least returned to what they used to be.

Zelpuz lays low for a couple of days and then heads back toward the Order chapter house to stake-out the place. He too notices that the guard check stops that have been so prevalent and troublesome since the night they fled have disappeared, returning to the city streets the same chaotic joviality from when he first arrived. His observations of the chapter house are anything but jovial though, with almost no one coming or going, save the occasional agent. Late in aftereve of the second day he does observe two well dressed Ossylians enter with a small crate. Using the scope of this rifle he identifies the contents as bottles of liquid, mostly likely wine by the shape of the bottle, color of the contents and what little he could make of the labels. The two Ossylians left roughly an hour later without their crate. The rest of the day passed without any notable visitors.

Zelpuz relays the information about the two visitors to the Order chapter house to Yuu, but with their lack of insignia or house sigil Yuu is unable to guess who they may have been. The lack of a noble coat of arms or sigil would suggest they were not of the nobility, or nobility  travelling incognito.

A few more days go by and throughout the city the atmosphere of tension has largely dissipated, with the streets of Ossylia returning to their regular chaotic, bustling nature. Only the harbor district, with the presence of the new paramilitary customs agency, appears more restrained, but depending on who you talk to that is both a good and bad thing. The street checkpoints are all gone, with guards returning to their regular patrols and district barracks and the soldiers returning to their garrison. The morning papers and evening newsletters are back in distribution, with their usual run of fact, opinion and sly marketing of goods and services; nary a mention of the discord that so recently passed. There are a few stories about recently debates in the Senate and appeals for royal decrees on matters such as grain taxes, provincial levies, an import permit quota system, etc. etc., with the usual contrariness exhibited between the Reforgers and the Novians. If it wasn't for everything you'd experienced and knew you'd think nothing happened here at all.

Checking in at the pub from a discrete vantage point reveals some of the same observers coming and going, though no Order members. Similarly there is no sign of Lasrane showing up either.

One evening after it's discovered that the street checkpoints are gone the group returns to the Jin family compound, and after an extensive surveillance period determine that the soldiers that were once guarding the house are gone. There are a few guards in House Jin uniforms, which appear familiar to Yuu, but those keeping his parents under watch from before are nowhere to be seen.

Additionally, during the previous week Yuu visited the royal compound and was able to meet a low-level steward he went to class with. Given their mutual alma mater and Yuu's familial ties with the royal family he was able to secure a meeting with the daughter of Duke Shan Wei, Lady Shan Ziyi, who is actually a Countess regularly involved with senate affairs. She's a much more hands-on political type compared to many in the royal family.

While awaiting his royal meeting Yuu stakes-out his home. On the first day he confirms the new from Vanyra and Zelpuz regarding the lack of military checkpoints, and careful observation reveals that the soldiers that were occupying his family compound are gone. Erring on the side of caution Yuu elects to wait for someone to exit the walls rather than enter and risk being caught. On the second day, relatively early in the morning, his mother exits in full military uniform and with a small detachment of six house guards. From his concealed position in a shrubbery down the road from the main gate, Yuu dons his nether-spectacles for a closer look a the guards. His suspicions luckily bear no fruit, he recognizes each of the guards as members of his mother's personal guard. In the intervening moments before they reach his position Yuu ponders his next move.

The young mage considers his situation. He doesn't want to reveal himself, but he needs to know what the home situation is. He can do very little without knowing this answer. He pulls out a piece of paper, and scribbles a quick note. He folds it, and twirls into existence one of his little demons. Passing the note to the impish creature, he orders it to openly and politely pass the message to his mother, and leans back into the shadows to watch.

As expected the guards react quickly to the approaching imp, drawing then weapons and forming a protective ring around Yuu's mother. The imp halts its progress obediently and holds out the note. With a nod from Po Lok Jin one of the guard retrieves the note with more than a little trepidation as his companions maintain their vigil. After a cursory examination of the note, apparently checking to see if it was indeed a note rather than some dastardly contraption, he hands it to Yuu's mother. She quickly examines the note's exterior before opening it and scanning the contents. A moment later and without reaction General Po Lok Jin motions for her entourage to continue forward. They continue down the street and then take a right at the first intersection, disappearing out of Yuu's view.

Yuu watches the entire interaction, not daring to blink. And it seems, not daring to breath either, as he gasps for air excitedly, sputtering and coughing, having just seen his mother turn right.

"Oh my god." He looks down at the imp, a smile splitting as wide as his cheeks can take. His imp companion stares up at him, like a puppy who's watching an owner acting a little odd. Yuu has also been hopping excitedly, it appears. He stops. Composes himself, and gives his companion a high five before returning it to the ether planes.

Next, the young mage pulls a talking radio from his bag, and flips the switch. "Hey guys. Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, what's going on so early in the morning?"

"Hey. So, home is safe. I'm going back now, I'll be there if you want to stop by later."

"OK, just to make sure, let us know once you are home having a tea and confirmed everything is OK."

Following contact with Zelpuz and Vanyra, Yuu heads home for the first time in what seems like months or years. As he approaches the main gate, in spite of all appearances of normality, he fears the worst, some sort of trick or ambush. He quickly runs through a check of his nether gadgets and mentally readies a couple of easy spells in case things go south. The ornately iron wrought gates are shut and with only a moment's hesitation he strikes the knocker three times. A slide opens mid-height on the right gate and a voice politely demands Yuu's identify and business.

Harren, the guard, is pleasantly surprised to find it is Yuu at the door and quickly lets him in with an apology, and then quickly informs the mage that his mother just departed for the ministry (of Defense) though his father is in his study at the moment. Yuu decline's the man's offer to call the steward of the House, insisting that he can make his own way and the family is better served with Harren at his post.

Yuu quickly moves off through the front courtyard where barely a trace of battle remains, and indeed would be completely hidden if not for his familiarity and keen memory of the place. He is quick to note that there seem to be fewer guards and servants around than he remembers, though that is to be expected he figures.

The interior of the house is in even better shape than the garden, with everything in place as he remembered. Shortly Yuu arrives at the study and finds his father engrossed in a pile of documents on his desk. It takes a few moments until he looks up, first with an expression of surprise and then one of relief and joy, then finally getting up to embrace Yuu.

After the heartfelt greetings the conversation turns into a rapid exchange of news and events, with Yuu explaining that Qwe is up in Hasheli with their cousins, that he saw mother, and a very basic explanation of their flight from and back to the city. His father in turn explains that following the night raid a number of high ranking generals came to visit to explain the situation and the rule of martial law in response to what they believed was a credible threat from a dissident group within the kingdom and that it was related to the warehouse explosion earlier. The house arrest was deemed as the most politically expedient method of handling the situation, allowing them to execute unpopular orders without putting key parties in a tough position, like the Jin family. In essence by holding Yuu's family in place they were conveniently removed from the situation, and would have a plausible defense against whatever outcome transpired.

Yuu absorbs his father's explanation of events, unraveling the minutia and nuances of one slice of Ossylian politics, as best he can. Yuu never did like studying political theory, even less than military theory, and this was a deep dive into both. After the explanation both father and son sit in silence, processing everything.

"We'll have to send a message to Uncle Rez. He and Auntie were worried as well. I mean, is it okay for Qwe to come back? Do you think things will fire up again?""

Yuu also inquires into the actual night of the attack and who actually approved the attack. "Was there a dissident group?"

Yuu's father assures him that it should be fine for Qwe to come home as there was never really a direct threat to the family, it was more a move to incapacitate them. The attack on the family was perpetrated by special forces units under command of one of the higher ranking generals in the royal forces, as he admitted as much. Similar such assaults and house arrests were conducted against other families closely associated with the military and royal family. This was to remove them from decision making and potential blow back from those decisions.

The real attacks were conducted against apparent extremist groups of the Novian faction. There was evidence tying some Shen Zue to a smuggler's ring and the harbor district explosion a number weeks back. That explosion was incidentally the result of a huge illegal cache of chlornetherium, though the exact cause of the explosion was unknown. Military intelligence was understandably quite distressed that such quantities could be smuggled in under their noses and took some 'extreme' measures to ferret out those responsible.

There are still many questions to which Yuu's father does not have answers, as he is just relating the version of events he has heard. Though he does agree the chlornetherium was of concern, he is concerned the military may have jumped the gun with their operation and allowed some parties to escape. Further investigation may prove dangerous, both physically and politically, depending on how things shake out.

Yuu listens more, poking in a question here and there, trying to add scope to what Zelpuz and Vanyra may need answered. When these questions are exhausted, and his father is sitting there, the young mage turns to silence. There's a comfort to being in the presence of his father again. The idea of sleeping in his own bed tickles his mood. He's home.

"Did I do okay?" he asks at last.

His father smiles back, "Better than ok, nothing short of remarkable given everything that's happened to you." He pauses for a moment, staring out the moment as if lost in thought and then continues, "Now things will get back to normal, for the most part, but I fear this will not be end to such events. When your mother returns this evening we will need to have a discussion about the path forward."

After the meeting with his father Yuu heads to his room to discover everything exactly where he left it, save for one of the non-functional gadgets he had been working on. He suspects someone took an interest in it, and then placed it on the opposite side of the desk away from his work station. Though he has been gone for only a few weeks a wave of relief and sense of nostalgia for the memories here washes over him. After relishing the moment he starts tidying his room and then changes his clothes. He was never into fashion but wearing the same couple of outfits for weeks was starting to get old. It was then he remembered that Zelpuz and Vanyra may be dropping by later, and that he should alert the gate guards given their heightened tension.

The next few hours pass uneventfully, with Yuu getting cleaned up and grabbing some food from the kitchen; a few local delicacies he unconsciously missed. Eventually the house steward finds Yuu and informs him that he has a couple of guests, and that they are awaiting him in the sitting room. Yuu follows the man to the room where Vanyra and Zelpuz are seated in silence. A feeling of deja-vu passes over the three of them. The steward excuses himself.

A feeling that somehow everything is nearly back to normal, or didn't even happen lays in the room. But the trio finds back to reality, exchanging the events of the past days, discussing what it all means and musing what would have happened without the big explosion.
After enjoying the quite time at Yuu's residence with tea and brisket, they come try to decide their next steps.
"Good that your home is safe again. I guess there's not much left to do. But I would really like to find out more about Lasrane's accusations about the Order. I'll stick around and keep investigating. Maybe I can find Lasrane again some time, or the people that seem to be the outside contact, too."

Yuu has been enjoying the feeling of just... relaxing. Back in his home. After a bit of craziness, some stability will be welcome.

After a bit of chatter, the conversation seems to drift into territories of the immediate future. "Is there anyone else you know from the Order you trust who you can speak with about Lasrane's accusations?"

"This is not my chapter. I was just sent to capture Lasrane. I guess the only thing to do would be to try and shadow the Order a bit longer. Besides that, Myrria hopefully has reported to the higher offices already. assume they will send someone to investigate further, so if I can't find any connections soon, I guess the best thing for me to do would be get out of town before the local Chapter hires someone to pick me up."

Squatting on a chair instead of reclining, Vanyra adds, "They will be looking for you, where do you want to go?"

"Good question." Zelpuz scratches his imaginary beard. "I think the only two options are to live in hiding here and infiltrate the Order here, or leave this city, at which point they probably loose interest in me." He stares at the wall for a while. "Let's keep an eye on the Order for a bit, but if nothing happens, I would just move on. Any suggestions?"