"You have an interesting perspective. I'm indeed glad that we met at this circumstances. If you had been already established upon my arrival, who knows what kind of relationship we two would have. But then again, why worry about speculation? Our reality is that our meeting happened on remarkable conditions. And as such, I believe the answer to the question is clear. I'm currently operating within the cutters territory, you may come by anytime you wish to see me."

Plaga extended her hand for Vasati to take, and stood up ready to leave. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps fate, but it was clear meeting Vasati was a strike of good luck. The Saints had turned out to be a tougher bone than she thought, but instead she had gained an interesting ally.

"Oh, I almost forgot. 'Doctor of Death' is good enough for the public, but my partners may call me Plaga. Let's make things fun together, Vasati".

"If but I had another name to have given you, Plaga.  Alas, any that I might have given have long since lost any real purpose.  I am, and I remain, Vasati."

He said with a flourishing bow, similar to the one he had first greeted her with out on the street.

"I'll be by tomorrow with my initial investment, and we can talk then about what our future may hold."

Once he was alone, he rose, and sought out Brother Raz.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Wed 28 Nov 2018.

During the following days, Plaga made sure things had reached a stable point. With a non-agression relationship with The Saints and a neutral unspoken pact with the guild, Plaga supplied the cutters with enough product to last a few days, and readied herself for a trip. She was eager to see what her old territory looked like, and if there were any remnants of her former organization around.

After informing the higher ups of the cutters of her future absence, and leaving Kanua in charge of the operations (whether she liked it or not), she took her leave, deciding to travel by foot, as she had no need to rest, and a horse would only slow her down and demand food (which she also didn't need).
When she found herself alone in the road, Plaga took off her mask and carefully hid it inside her traveling backpack. She had a new face now, and while she never wore the mask before, she didn't know how far the news of her new enterprise would have traveled.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:09, Tue 04 Dec 2018.

Somehow, Vasati found Gaja at the theaterhouse at which she had chosen to hide from the dawn.

It was an odd thing, and clearly not a matter of mere chance.  The slums of the city were simply too large for him to just stumble upon her by anything but the most fortunate of circumstances.  He had to have known she were there, though how was next to impossible to determine.  She'd spotted no eyes on her as she'd reentered the city the evening before, at least none more than the sight of her immense Sunchaser drew.  Better to say that she'd not seen the same set of eyes on her the whole night.  No spy or informant following her as she moved from alehouse to house of ill repute.  Either whoever had been following her had been extremely discreet, or Vasati had employed some other means to divine her location with the dawn.

He wore different flesh than he had when they had first met.  His skin was weathered and darkened by the sun, and age had touched his hair with grey.  He was dressed in a tattered cloak of red, with the hood pulled up high to cloak his eyes in shadows.  The only sign of wealth about his was a tarnished silver chain which he wore about his neck, though what it held was lost in the depths of the dull grey shirt he wore.  There was a cruel look to the set of his lips, one which would have utterly disguised him had he not flashed her both his palms as had taken the seat across from her.  In each palm had flared the same blue sigil of the man she had met upon the countryside road, the rune of Vasati the Infinite.

"Well met, Broken-Chord."

His voice was cracked and rough, but there was still a deep rumble to it reminiscent of the joyful man whom she had met before.

"It appears I might be in your debt.   I know not what you ended up doing yesterday afternoon, but whatever it was did no harm to me in my aims, and likely helped more than a little.  A successful heist is a successful heist, and one for which I am ever grateful.  You will find I am not a man who enjoys being in anyone's debt, I much prefer the situation be reversed.  Thus, I would be only to happy to learn if there is any way in which I might be of service to you."

He was careful not to speak in absolutes, not binding himself to any pledge, yet his intent was clear.

He wished to settle accounts.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:45, Sun 06 Jan 2019.

  When Vasati first locates her, and triply as he approaches, Gaja is still playing the barbarian Exotic.  She'd traded her cut-up sailor's rags for a choli and pantaloons in carmine silk, plus a collection of gauzy veils tied to float after her movements.  It would be bad oasis-state pastiche, in any other circumstances, but she inevitably turned it into the ideal such clichés aspired to.  She washes into the seat across his table, like the last wave before the tide is too high to be held by the rim of the pool.  And for just an instant, the movement is too fluid, pushing far enough into Uncanny that it spoils the Seductive.  The look in her eyes is provocation, but it doesn't settle on a type.

  The performance falls away utterly when he gives his sign, and in its place is a delighted suspicion that becomes a more sincere welcome than before.  "Another face entirely!  You're even more of a scoundrel than Sarnai thinks, aren't you?"  She looks even more pleased at his shade of a debriefing.

  "So you've named the loss you feel?  Perhaps even remembered what was stolen?  Roberta told me quite a few valuable things have gone missing lately.  You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, rajachura Vasati?"  The smile didn't suggest any actual doubt in the matter.  "She has told me about some very interesting secrets, and a few boring ones that will lead me to the good ones.  If you like, I will tell you what I know, you can help me collect from the Falchetto in even trade, and I think we both benefit from the things we discover along the way.  No debts at all."

He threw back his hood, revealing his features to be pockmarked and weather beaten.  Reaching into his cloak, he drew out a sealed scroll case and cracked the lid, emptying the contents onto the table.  A half dozen rolled leafs of tobacco fell out, as well as nearly twice that many matches.  He gathered most of them back into the scroll case, but offered Gaja one if she wanted it.

"Oh Signora, is this not what I was wearing on the road?  So many faces, so many stories, I lose track of them after a while.  It's why I try and keep it to just the one name, when I can."

He winked at her, and struck one of the matches along his boot heel, drawing up one of the loose leaf rolls to his mouth and cupping his hands around it.  A moment later, a puff of heady smoke emerged.  He took a long draw, then leaned back in his seat.

"Speaking of, I see you learned their names after all!"

He chuckled at that, though in this body the laugh seemed more sinister than jovial.

"And you speak Kasirutan, that's quiet scholarly for a barbarian.  Though you've missed the mark slightly.  The Raja's Eternal Flame tells the story of the king of kings, a great man who wasted his final years seeking vengance after his most precious secret was stolen from his very tongue by a devious scoundrel.  Now, of those two figures of legend, which do you think I'd have chosen for my namesake?"

He flashed her a grin that looked more like a grimace at first glance.

"If Signora Roberta Falchetto knew of my indiscretion, then she certainly was slow in doing anything about it.  I use the singular there quite intentionally though.  Yesterday was in fact my first heist since stepping out of retirement.  Any recent thievery, while I would be only to happy to add to my story, isn't mine to claim.  Perhaps I can find the culprits for you though, that might be fun.  More secrets to share betwixt us, always a good time."

He laughed at that, and despite his grim features the sound was resonate and pleasing.

  "I know what you mean when you say it," Gaja responds. The cigarillo she's holding with her lips muffles it a bit, and she pauses to hold the other end into the lamp-flame.  "Really every voice. But it's not the same as knowing the words. You don't really even need to speak - you say so much when you move."

  Gaja settles into the seat a bit lower, looking suddenly self-conscious. Her hair obligingly falls over her eyes when she ducks her head. "Not specifically you. But not not... It's all very new." She fidgets with her smoke enough to shake the ember onto the table, and grabs it with her fingertips to relight.

  "I couldn't find you yesterday under the sun's eye, and I doubt Falchetto can see further than that. I got their best fighter called out to meet me, so I don't think they had any idea there was another danger at all. You should be fine." Pride seems, again, to distract her from any discomfort. She's preening just a bit. "She thinks someone stole 'the bits', whatever that means, and she wants to know if this means danger is coming, who to blame maybe. If it's important enough to scare two of this place's chief families at once, I might want to know the same thing. Different reasons, perhaps."

"Oh Signora, you certainly pick the fun ones, I knew I'd like you."

He threw a hand behind his head, his jovial tone utterly at odds with his harsh looking demeanor.

"All that my whispers were able to dig up on the Bits was that our dear Del Schiavone said that the they had been used for magical research in that little college in the mountains, that they'd vanished along with some of their members, and that they'd very much like all of it back. Their soothsayers had said that it was very important that it be found.  I'd already set my whispers to searching and... well... they got caught.  Never had that happen before, and that means whoever is guarding it knows their way around some pretty scary wardcraft.  I know they are stashed somewhere in the howler deserts in a cave, I could even take you there if you wished. Ha!

He slapped his knee.

"Was that the plan all along?  Help me liberate that which didn't belong to the Falchetto's in the first place so that I would help their retained barbarian queen find the one cave in all the The Golden Waste that had what they truly desired?  The Arch Key for the Bit, that's quite the trade!"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:46, Mon 07 Jan 2019.

  "Vasati!" she yelps in exaggerated indignation and presses a splayed hand to her breastbone.  "Retained?  I'll have you know I got this information without guaranteeing any service.  I even told them I might decide not to give it to them in the end, and I still have a list of names to start looking for.  Tsk, such a harsh judgment between friends."

  Then she leans forward over the table, drags heavily on the tobacco he gave her, and speaks in smoke-clouds.  An exultant grin manages not to get in the way of that.  "And it, here, is only secrets.  They don't trust the Del Schiavone, and they think I'll find proof.  No one said anything about recovering any artifacts.  That would be part of what you and I decided between ourselves.  Although..."  The smoke must be turning her voice husky.  Abruptly, she falls back and begins to examine her nails nonchalantly.  She'd applied some kind of dye to them, in the same freehand whorling style as her tattoos.

  "I was only going to ask you to ask your whispers while I traveled north, like I planned to yesterday.  But if we're heading the same way, I think the best way to find out what happened to these bits may be to ask the people who took them, don't you agree?  Much better for me than wasting weeks making uptight scholars jealous of each other.  And if you weren't feeling up to braving the wastes after all—"  She looks up with a cocky smirk as she needles him.  "This way, you ride with a chief."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Mon 07 Jan 2019.

Vasati hissed through his teeth.

"Would be a shame to leave the city so soon after coming back to it, I don't fancy being away from my whispers for so long.  Still though..."

He fidgeted idly with his own rolled paper cigarillo.

"...with all the buzz about these Bits it might make a mighty fine legend.  You wouldn't happen to know someone with a more scholarly persuasion who you might be able to convince to come along?  We got our chief, we got a scoundrel, but we need a mage if we're going to have a fair shot at getting past those runes.  Someone who knows their way around dusty tomes and carved wards."

He tapped a finger on the table.

"Yeah, a mage is what we need.  Know anyone who would fit the bill?  I'd need a day to settle accounts here, but I think this could make for a tale for the ages."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:24, Mon 07 Jan 2019.

  "You've met Plaga already, but she seems to be more of a physician than a priest.  You also have a history with her that may decide what you want her to know.  The new boatwright, who bends stone with his hands, is very confident in his wisdom and might owe me a favor.  He's hard to read sometimes, though."  She drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the table, and the rattle of a wagon going by outside fell into her rhythm briefly.  She shook her head and gave a little shrug before continuing.  "It's a shame the fairy left.  She had a power over locks that I don't think cared what kind."

  She paused for a moment at that.  "What a thing to say as though it's real.  Or to take your faces for no more than they seem.  It is still very strange to be a god.  When did...  Well, no."  Gaja forced down the contemplative mood and stood, shifting noncommittally toward the door.

  "A day then.  I'll find Increase and at least have his answer by tomorrow morning.  I trust you'll be able to find me again."  The glance back over her shoulder as she started to turn away said the idea tickled her.

"As long as you stay within the city, yes."

He answered in reply.

"Maybe another warrior too, can't imagine it's going to be an easy fight!"

He called out at her as she walked away, pulling his hood back up over his head and rising once she had left.  He set out in the direction of the Saints.  As he did, he started whispering to himself.  Well, not to himself, but to the city.  His city.  He was going to miss it, even if they were only gone for a few days he was really going to miss it.  Still, a legend was a legend, and he couldn't let this one go by.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:15, Tue 08 Jan 2019.

"You seek guidance and council?" Asked Raz. They were gathered in a small side alcove.

Two monks were brewing some tea, one working kettles with rapt attention, the other grinding some kind of leaf in a pestle.

Vasati had, technically, had to pay to get in, but it was, of course, a trifle. Really, it was more a token of respect than anything else, and besides, the Saints needed money to keep their services going.

Getting the attention of a senior brother was not something that happened routinely for most people - at least that's what the monk had warned Vasati when he came in, but Raz had agreed almost immediately, and taken him aside.

Vasati pulled back his hood, revealing a gruff face markedly different than the one that had spoken to the guild brother the first time.

"Indeed I do, Brother Raz, indeed I do."

No matter the thief master's reaction, Vasati bore both his palms and flashed the same glowing arcane symbol that he had shown Gaja out in the countryside.

"My apologies, but I seem to have forgotten my face.  I hope this one will do in its place, and I very much assure you that I am indeed Vasati.  You will have no doubts soon, I think."

He threw him a grin, revealing that the teeth on the left side of his mouth were all gold, which combined with the rather prominent scar at his cheek suggested he'd taken a rather heavy blow there sometime in the distant past.

"My whispers have already found two rather juicy leads, an I'm trying to decide which to pursue.  I figured a man in your position might know who is in the know, and could set me straight on the path where my efforts could best be spent.  I'll start with the first, and let it be first, as it would be the easiest to retrieve.  Do you know anything about the Arch Key?  Not where it is, that's my whisper's job, but what it is?  I've already heard the urban legends and old wive's tales..."

He waved a hand dismissively.

"... but I'm interested in hearing the real deal from a man or woman of authority.  Someone respectable, who knows their way around the histories of magic and artifice.  Do you have anyone in mind?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Thu 24 Jan 2019.

"Interesting. IF there's one thing I've learned after years of study of perception, it's that the essence of something is not what one can infer from their senses.

There was something odd about your face, but it doesn't show to the eye. God moves in mysterious ways.

The Arch Key? I'm afraid it's not my specialty. I am aware that it is highly sought after, an item from early in this city's forging, stolen from those who founded this city. I know it was an item originally possessed by the mayor and council, and was stolen. Those who are desperate dream of finding it one day and selling it for a king's ransom.

Of course, there are a few scholars in our ranks, and we have more than a few members who are willing to help us for some minor considerations. We could attempt to find this information for you. Of course, we normally do not attend to secular matters."

Ah, a bribe. Or donation really.

"What if I told you not only who had it, but who has it now, and exactly where it is?  Would that sort of information be worth your scholar's time?"

Vasati leaned forward, pulling his tobacco pouch out of his jacket pocket and beginning the elaborate ritual of rolling a pair of cigarillos.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:31, Thu 24 Jan 2019.

At this point, he paused to take a bite of some bitter root, wincing at it's flavor, before responding.


"Wow, that information would be very valuable!

The council have a large reward for it's return, and would go to significant lengths to acquire the key if they thought there was a chance of getting it back. Others would no doubt want to possess it.

This puts me at somewhat of a dilemma.

Or order attempts to avoid too great a connection in temporal politics, though. As an item stolen from the council, we'd feel obligated to relay that information to them."

He considered further.

"Of course, if you truly know the location and who possesses it, we would be happy to put you in touch with a council representative if you had that information so that it could be returned to it's rightful owners. I can't see any moral issues with that, though we still would not want to know the details ourselves. We are happy being facilitators.

The council would be very pleased, after all, just to have the key back."

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"But, of course, we are speaking hypothetically.

If your knowledge is theoretical, and you just need some information or wish an introduction for someone, that's another matter entirely. We'd be happy to ask a few scholars and have some of our order pour through some books for a nominal fee. The sacraments and our charity outreach is always expensive."
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:23, Thu 24 Jan 2019.

Vasati finished rolling a cigarillo, lit it, and offered it to Raz.

"You're a wise man, Brother Raz."

He set to work on the next one, regardless of if Raz accepted or not.

"In that case, I would be honored to make a donation to the Saints for any and all information on the Carnalian, the Arch Key, and the Cross of St. Erasmus.  Their history, yes, but specifically what it is that they are rumored to do.  As a holy man, perhaps you can educate me on how much would be an appropriate tithe?  Once I have that, my whispers will be much better able to determine what information would be useful to your organization and what information would be dangerous."


He smiled up at the man, and there was a dangerous edge to the smile.

"I trust that, at this point, you do not think I'm bluffing?"

In reply to Vasati the Infinite (msg # 79):

He smiled, and happily took a hit of the pipe.

"We're just having a hypothetical conversation. I am assuming that you need this knowledge of highly sought after lost and stolen property for your spiritual fulfillment.

We will only take a small fee, but to gather all of that knowledge will require we make some inquiries with members who happen to be scholars. I assume you need this knowledge in a timely manner, and with discretion....."

"Well then.  I will need to step outside for a moment to retrieve something, I will be right back.  "

Vasati was gone less than a half hour, just long enough to go to the Estervault and back.

When he returned, he reached into his jacket, his hand passing over the chain that bore the Arch Key, and resting on a small scroll case within its innermost pocket.  He drew it out, cracking the seal of the Malatesta noble family and emptying its contents.  Within was a single rolled piece of paper of the very finest quality, gold leaf in incredibly intricate patterns gilding the edges and corners.

"I would be honored to present a small tithe to the Saints, for my continued spiritual development."

He carefully unrolled the soft velvety paper, revealing what appeared to be a deed to one of banks of the inner city, as well as all its holdings.  It was one of the smaller banks, yes, but it was still a vast fortune of almost unimaginable worth.

"And if you could, I'd love to speak to that charming little gambler you found for me the last time I was here.  I assume you have rather a lot on your plate to deal with now, and I don't wish to take up any more of your valuable time."

He took out a quill and ink from the nearby table, and began the laborious process of signing the deed over to the Saints.

"Do I make this out to you, or to the Saints itself?"

He said as almost an afterthought.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Fri 25 Jan 2019.

In reply to Vasati the Infinite (msg # 81):

"The Saint's of course. It would be innapropriate for a brother such as myself to receive this kind of wealth. What I own, is in the order's name."

He seems quite pleased. The transaction is completed swiftly. You are also a lifetime VIP member, though your shifting appearance may result in some interesting questions about proving who you are with the doormen.

A short time later, you are taken to the tavern where you can talk with the guild rep.

*** Note: This scene is going to be soft play so we can get stuff back on track for the rest of the party***
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:18, Sun 27 Jan 2019.

"Greetings, Signor Dealer."

Vasati said with a swift bow.

"My apologies that I didn't introduce myself properly last time.  I had been retired for quite some time, and I'll admit that some of the little social niceties have escaped me."

He made little fiddling motions with his hands, before turning them over to flash his sigil.

"I believe the good brother here can verify my identity though, should you be overly cautious.  Care for a private game?  I have ever so much interesting news to discuss."

A raised eyebrow from the man.

"Of course, Signor Whispers. I was getting tired of solitaire. Please, pull up a chair."

He dealt out a game and offered typical bar snacks.

The monks had let it be known that if you wanted something, you were to receive it, that you were not just a member, but a patron of the place. Though, of course, that was somewhat difficult to verify at times with Vasati's changing face.

"Well then, deal me in."

Vasati took out a small pouch and set it down onto the table, it clinked with the satisfying sound of coin meeting coin.


"I have been thinking a great deal about the riddles you have given me, Signor Dealer.  I will allow myself a moment of pride and admit that I've already solved one of them, and that my whispers have solid leads on two of the others.  But it got me to thinking. As the answers to these riddles have been lost for generations, how would you even know if they had been solved?"

As he spoke, he opened to top buttons of his shirt, pulling aside the cloth to reveal a key hanging on a chain.  The key was small and plain looking, with a sigil written in an old Patrian script on the base.

"How would you even go about verifying the truth of my claim?  Particularly when the whole exercise is more a demonstration of my skill than it is a quest for a reward.  If I were interested in handing over the answer, that might be one thing.  Your scholars and sages would have all the time they needed to pull it apart and make sure that I'd found the right solution.  I don't know if that is yet the case though, as I never truly promised such a thing.  Perhaps I would keep the answer to this riddle to myself, maybe give your esteemed organization the answer to a different riddle.  If I did such a thing, selfish as it may seem, I'd still be more than willing to explain to you just how I got to the answer.  Every little step of the way, as a demonstration of my own wit and talent, of course.  As would be befitting a journeyman of your organization."

His smile was devious as he drew up his first hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

He raised an eyebrow and carefully considered.

"That is a indeed a conundrum. And it raises another interesting ethical and philosophical questions for myself.. I suppose the big riddles usually do."

He paused and considered.

"The sensible thing to do would be to bring in an outside specialist. It would be terrible if there were misunderstandings over who's property this was.

An independent contractor could be arranged. There would be a price, of course, to ensure no one.. inappropriate found out about it.

Are you sure you wish to take this course if action? The buyer would be happy to pay verification fee if you went that route."