These were written as a pair from each character's perspective. At this point, Hill had Mastery of Evocation and Julien... did not. It's also worth noting here that Agne heard there might be riots, so she organised some riots to be sure...
You observe Julien tinkering with the arch. It isn't super easy to get a chip of lapis from the annulus, but he finds a couple of loose pieces of the stone cladding on the inside face of the arch and pries them away until he can reach down to the lapis inside, and then chisels free a chip. Taking the chip (which is about the size of the first joint of your thumb) in the palm of his hand, he stands in the centre of the arch and you recognise the intent expression of a comparative amateur reaching in to the spirit world.
As a master evoker to Julien's considerably lesser skill, it's obvious to you that trying to open any kind of rift to the spirit world while standing directly at the locus of power is a terrible idea, and indeed he quickly starts having trouble, looking increasingly disoriented as the power feeds back in to him. You sigh, ready yourself and then barrel in to him, removing him from the centre of the arch, then help him back to his feet. "Sorry Sir. Looked like you were in a spot of bother for a moment, there."
While Julien is recovering, the ground shivers and rumbles for a moment, and a couple of great slabs of stone fall from the arch into the street with a crash. You can see the lapis quite plainly now, if you look from the right angle. You keep a closer eye on Julien from there on, subtly directing his efforts and correcting his more obvious mistakes, and he makes much better progress. He's so intent on his efforts you're pretty sure he doesn't even notice much of what you're doing.
The resonant energy left in the arch after the mishap is a bit worrying though, and you call for an early end to the experimentation for the day. This turns out to be wise; early the following day, most of the facade of the arch crumbles and collapses to the ground with a roar during Capt. Demarcus' military parade. Glinting in the light of day, the Annulus now stands plain for all to see across Bridge Street. It appears to be slightly elliptical, around 2.5m high by 1.5m wide (clearly the plans showing the circular ring were an early drafting).
Subsequent experiments with the Annulus and the chip confirm that there is a link between the two that seems undiminished by distance, and that the Annulus is none the worse for its experiences.
You and Lt Hill investigate the annulus some more, with several of the Army and the orders maintaining a cordon and keeping a watchful eye on the area, in case there's any trouble. There seems to be some sort of commotion before you even begin, but that's someone else's problem, and you get to work.
It isn't super easy to get a chip of lapis from the annulus - you have to find a couple of loose pieces of the stone cladding on the inside face of the arch and pry them away until you can reach down to the lapis inside, and then very carefully apply a stoneworker's mallet and chisel to free a chip without compromising the entire structure. Taking the chip (which is about the size of the first joint of your thumb) in the palm of your hand, you reach into the spirit world and feel for it, ranging over its surface and looking for links to the main ring.
You hear and feel the Annulus chime quietly, in both the spirit and real worlds, as you touch the chip with your spirit. You can feel the ring all around you, and the chip at its centre, and that you're holding the chip. You hear and feel the Annulus chime quietly. You can feel the ring all around you, and the chip at its centre, and that you're holding the chip. You hear and feel the Annulus chime quietly, you feel the ring around you and the chip and yourself and you hear and feel the Annulus chime quietly and feel the ring and the chip and the ... ooooooooh dear. The world spins and tosses dizzily around you and a high-pitched whine stabs through your ears. Suddenly a warm solid weight barrels into you from the side and you fly out of the arch to fall limply on to the cobbles of Bridge Street. Lt Hill (for it was he) gives you a moment to collect yourself, then helps you back to your feet while dusting himself off. "Sorry Sir. Looked like you were in a spot of bother for a moment, there."
Maaaaaaaybe feeling for connections like that while standing at the centre of the arch wasn't a great plan. Hmm. Well, such things happen in research sometimes. Live and learn. While you're looking back at the arch and rolling the chip in your hand thoughtfully, the ground shivers and rumbles for a moment, and a couple of great scabs of stone fall from the arch into the street with a crash. You can see the lapis quite plainly now, if you look from the right angle.
Hill is clearly a bit spooked by the affair, and treats the arch gingerly from then on, and even calls for experimentation to stop early that day. The following day, that turns out to be a lucky decision. The Seeker King's Arch was clearly fundamentally destabilised by the experiment, as most of the facade of the arch crumbles and collapses to the ground with a roar during Capt. Demarcus' morning military parade. Glinting in the light of day, the Annulus now stands plain for all to see across Bridge Street. It appears to be slightly elliptical, around 2.5m high by 1.5m wide (clearly the plans showing the circular ring were an early drafting).
Your subsequent (more careful!) experiments with the Annulus and the chip confirm that there is a link between the two that seems undiminished by distance, and that the Annulus is none the worse for its experiences. So long as you're at least a couple of paces from the Annulus when working with the chip in the spirit realm, there are no further feedback problems.
I had a plan to get some of those wasp eggs that infest things, use a ton of wood magic to adapt them to be aquatic and amp them up to grow really really fast. Then summon a wood spirit that's interested in rampant expansionism and imbue it in to the creatures to give them an intelligent hive mind, on the condition it only eats sea monsters.
I'M PRETTY SURE THIS FLAWLESS AND SAFE PLAN CAN'T BACKFIRE.
If that conflicts with stuff you've already written, feel free to bounce it. Or I'll research it anyway and use it for a non-aquatic purpose.
(Relevant skills: Alchemy, Common Evocation, Conspicuous Lack of Wood Channeling).
Using so many kinds of magic and applied natural philosophy at once is a bit of a new experience for you, and you're on a shoestring budget, but you're an adaptable sort of person. What's the worst that could happen?
First step: acquire eggs. They're available if you know where to look, and you have the experience with both adventurers and Army quartermasters to know how to get your hands on things. Some slightly shady traders in the North Docks have been buying up alien parts with a view to selling them on to the Learned Society and others,and as well as a remarkable glut of lizard skin, meat, and glands, they have a decent quantity of wasp eggs. Success!
Second step: apply Wood magic. You manage to get help from some cadets who have at least a modest ability in channelling. They set up a ritual in one of the garrison storehouses and ask you to join in. You improvise as best you can while they begin a chant that grows and builds... and abruptly ends with a shout. The eggs seem to be shaking, bouncing, perhaps even glowing slightly. You quickly scoop them into a wooden box and latch it shut. So far so good.
Third step: find a spirit. This is where your expertise as an evoker comes in. Your entreaties, even without any great sacrifice, attract the attention of a Common Spirit of Wood called Ravening Jaws that Gnash and Hunger, who for some reason seems *very* interested in your cause. You explain what you want as quickly and concisely as possible. They explain that while they cannot bind to the entire swarm, they will choose one of the eggs and inspire it to lead its siblings. That seems good enough. You gingerly retrieve one of the still-vibrating eggs from the box and perform the binding then and there. As their form fades from mortal sight, Ravening Jaws that Gnash and Hunger mutters something about having their own needs met. It's probably nothing to worry about.
Fourth step: er...
The box soon emits unpleasant crawling and buzzing noises. With extreme care you extract the larval creatures (which you find you don't want to look at too closely) and put them in a set of larger boxes; it seems prudent to give the "queen" that hosts Ravening Jaws the largest box you can find. And you throw in food whenever you can spare it. And you wait.
You slip out of the Fivefold Way meeting and head to the Arquette house. You tell your smuggler comrades you're leaving town for a while and get equipment from them for scaling the walls. You say your goodbyes until you feel the now familiar tingle of wood magic within you, and head to the city walls. You scale the walls and hop over the top, but as you do you hear a shout from below. You may have been spotted.
You walk to the nearest coach stop and arrange a carriage to Chipping Hythe.
You start by visiting your family, warmly embracing your parents. They're delighted to see you after all these years, and listen intently to your tales of your exploits. They're very impressed at the places you've been to - Na Rathanna, and even off world to the Praesidium! They're also very proud that you've trained to be a surgeon, and are helping people as a healer. They, of course, try to persuade you to represent house de Bilen in noble matters, but you're non-committal on the topic. You then make your excuses, saying that you'd like to visit the town. Your mother says goodbye, with affection and clearly some lingering relief in her eyes that you're really alive and well. You look deeper and see the influence of the wood magic within her, and feel its subtle connection to you. You hug your mother once more for luck and head in to Chipping Hythe proper.
You have an excellent few days there sightseeing and "accidentally" bumping and jostling people in busy crowds in markets and, you grin ironically, a religious service giving tribute to Dragon. You also make a point to visit the poorer areas and provide some free medical care to the needy. Given that the plague has no incubation time and the knowledge that Fiveways has had similar problems, the inhabitants of Chipping Hythe spot it fairly quickly and move to close the town gates and implement health checks on anyone leaving to stop it spreading further. Your work here is done, however; Ravening Jaws is pleased and strengthened by your efforts, you haven't been caught specifically as the vector for the infection, and you're easily able to escape Chipping Hythe at night as their security isn't as tight as Fiveways'.
You return to Fiveways with a couple of days to spare before the next Fivefold Way meeting. Between the work of the surgeons and Bear's blessing, the plague has been decimated in Fiveways, and it seems news of the plague in Chipping Hythe has spread quickly back to Fiveways. Nonetheless, Ravening Jaws whispers a suggestion of one more gambit to try. No one has yet seen the final stages of the plague. They assume it ends in death, but actually it's so much more... interesting... than they know. You gather the smugglers and tell them you have a full treatment for the plague. You quicken the infection within them, bringing those that you previously had cured to the same late stage as the rest. They pace hungrily, too full of wood magic to sleep. You whisper assurances to them, that it's part of the treatment, that they'll feel better soon, and bring them food to keep their hunger at bay. After 48 hours they are still physically energised, but almost mindless with mental exhaustion and easily manipulable. You throw open the doors and tell them to go out and find food. They run out in to the city, mauling anyone they see to get at any food they might have. As you go to the meeting of the Fivefold Way, Ravening Jaws radiates approval.
Looks for one of the Arquette siblings, preferably Florent, to tell them that she moved (I assume this will be unsuccessful)
(major) Goes to (2,13), expecting to: find wild spiders and harvest reagents from them, inevitably get bitten, eventually be found and cured and say that Florent bit her and that she went to (2,13) afterwards (OC: I am fine with her being bitten but not cured >:-) )
You then go to (2,13) to harvest some spider reagents. You find some evidence of human and non-human habitation here, but have trouble locating any settlements for some reason. You hear a rustle in the bushes behind you and a sudden stabbing pain. You whirl and draw your dagger, ready to defend yourself and see a pair of spiders, who quickly back away and watch you. The world lurches sickeningly and you feel dizzy and find it hard to concentrate, then you remember why you're here. You were looking for spiders, and now here are some! You quickly forget the pain and approach the spiders, who seem quite friendly, so you see no reason not to harvest some venom from them. They give you some playful nips as you do, which tickle a bit. A man calling himself "Davey" steps out of the bushes the spiders came from and offers to show you a place where you can find more of these wonderful creatures. Well, you came here to harvest spider venom, so you go with him, where you find a small village of happy humans, living in harmony with spiders. What an idyllic place you've found. There seems to be some sort of magical concealment at work here, which might explain how they surprised you.
Davey introduces you to their utopian society, where humans and spiders live together in perfect unity. The humans provide for the spiders and hide them from those who don't understand, and in return the spiders provide safety and companionship. Recently they've been joined by some owlbears who also help to keep everyone safe. A woman named Katey offers you a blue milky drink that she says will help you to understand the spiders better. It smells pretty good, and understanding spiders better will help you to extract that valuable venom, and you feel very safe here, so you drink up. Katey evangelises about how great spiders are, how they keep us safe and help us to lead more fulfilled lives. You listen for a while but feel dizzy again, and her voice seems to fade in to the background, and your attention wanders. You lay back and look at the clouds, idly noting how the wispy ones look a bit like webs, and that many of the fluffy ones look like spiders. At some point you must have nodded off, because you wake up later, remembering pleasant dreams of being safely webbed and cocooned. You stay in the commune for a while, happily living among the spiders, petting them and harvesting venom (which they don't seem to mind, they lovingly nip at you while you do). Sadly the spiders don't select you for the honour of being cocooned and taken to their chambers (which is so great, those who go never choose to leave!). After a while some more people and owlbears arrive, including the nice folks from the Shrine of the Eternal Vigil you saw at the last Fivefold Way meeting, and they're being led here by Florent! Just who you've been looking for! Coming here was the best decision ever. You tell Florent you've moved out of the Arquette town house, and they smile and welcome you to the community.
Sadly, after a while it's time for you to return to Fiveways. You've harvested quite a bit of spider extract while you're here. The spider friends tell you it can be used by advanced alchemists to create interesting dyes, but a much more sensible use for it is that anyone who consumes it sees the truth about the spiders and becomes their friend, which is clearly much better. You're pretty sure if you perform surgery on someone you could slip them some spider extract if you have it, in addition to curing their wound. With a bit of research you could probably make a blade venom out of it too.
OC: Pick up some blue reagents and a wound card (or more if you like...) before the interactive.
You want friends? Well, that's convenient. You venture merrily into (3,13) accompanied by some spider-friends (because good friends travel in company, because aloneness is sad) and ....aaaaah! Suddenly, owlbears! Well, owlbear, this one appears to have a wounded foot and is lurching after you squawking and shouting. You manage to evade it, and press on a bit to find ... more owlbears. Some are more or less ok, and present something of a challenge to escape, others are wounded and a few are dead, in a clearing in the forest. Something makes you look up, and curling and snapping amid the higher branches of the trees you can see the now-familiar purple glow of a rift. It must be a good thirty feet in the air - they're sturdy and all, but no surprise that some of the owlbears that tumble through it don't survive the fall :( Some of the stunned or wounded ones, however, are pretty easy to bite. After that they're a bit spaced out, and are easily led.
(3,14) is, well, near (3,13) and not near anything else in particular. So, there are Also Owlbears, specifically what looks from a distance like it might be a breeding colony... You run across a couple of humans as well in this sector: they appear to be hunters, trying to get some of those sweet sweet yellow reagents from the newly arrived owlbears. They look pretty biteable, to be honest.
The owlbears and humans you bite happily come back with you to the commune to Be With Their Friends. On your way back you run in to some of the Eternal Vigil wandering around 2,13 trying to find spiders. some local spiders have already bitten them and they're also very happy to follow you in to the commune to meet some more of their new friends. To your surprise you find Guinevere here. She's clearly discovered how friendly the spiders are and is rather out of it, but she slightly incoherently tells you that she's moved out of the Arquette townhouse, and aren't spiders great, how are you, I'm going to have a nap over here now... You smile reassuringly and leave her to it.
If you wish, you can harvest up to four yellow reagents from dead and dying owlbears in (3,13). Please visit the ref-room to pick them up at the interactive.
Katey and Davey and some of the other people at the commune sometimes look at you with a kind of adoration in their eyes for a moment now and then. It turns out that this is because you look a bit like a spider, what with the chelicarae and all, but it's always eventually obvious that you're not - not enough eyes, or legs. With a bit more surgical work, maybe you could look entirely like a spider to people who have been bitten...?
You then approach your smuggler friends in small groups to commission them. It's trivial to surprise and bite them and persuade them that spiders are their friends, until almost all of them are convinced. After that they enthusiastically follow you to [2,13] to meet the spiders each night and you organise sneaking a number of humans and spiders out each time. They happily offer their own houses, safe houses and warehouses in the Fiveways area to ensure the safety and survival of their new friends. It seems you're only just in time though because while you smuggle groups out at night, you hear that Dale, Sebastian and Luke are hard at work by day convincing members of the commune that spiders aren't their friends after all. For some reason many believe their lies and leave with them, but a core of true believers stay with their spider friends, and of course those that you smuggle out are safe. You spot Florent sulking in one of the dwellings surrounded by owlbears and spiders. Florent has had more spider parts grafted on than before, and when you look at them you get a very reassuring feeling, and they seem very trustworthy. You shake your head and focus on the task at hand (filing away for contemplation later the idea that grafting enough spider parts on to a person makes them seem like a spider to observers). Your friends need you! On the last night when you're leaving you detect a glint of moonlight on metal and see Sebastian inexpertly hiding with Dale and Luke, watching you and the smugglers leave. You're well hidden, but you're still pretty sure Dale looks right at you before you disappear in to the forest.
Overall, most of the spider commune is cured by Sebastian, Luke and Dale and return home. You manage to smuggle out a good number in to safe houses around the Fiveways area. A core of remaining true believers in a spider-human utopia refuse to leave even after being cured and go back to the spiders and Florent. Davey and Katey are among them, along with apparently a surgeon who did Florent's spider grafts.
In case we forget to tell you, if you see Florent you have a positive reaction to them as if they were a spider (so an RP effect of feeling safe around them and an inclination to trust them).
Later in the week though events take a turn that wrecks your plans. Demarcus arrives with a significant military force, backed up by extra troops in the livery of Duke d'Accolon. They attack the commune with overwhelming force, subduing the humans and killing the spiders. It's clear though that the attackers hadn't banked on the presence of the owlbears in the commune, who fight viciously to protect their spider friends, slowing them down significantly. You cry in anguish at the loss of your friends, before Guinevere, Davey and Katey grab you and drag you away from the commune - they explain they need to protect you and keep you safe! Guinevere expertly covers your tracks and you make it away. Katey then shows you what she managed to grab before you escaped - a small clutch of spider eggs. It'll take weeks for them to hatch and there's only a dozen, but maybe, just maybe, there's still hope.
Unfortunately you'd been moving people Guinevere had smuggled out of the commune back in this week, so almost all were caught in the raid, and you receive word that Fiveweays was also systematically raided. You, Guinevere, Davey, Katey and a handful of spider friends escape the raid with a handful of spider eggs and that's all that's left.
On Friday morning you follow a heavily loaded haywain on its path from Rivergate down North Street and then through the back streets to a cattle shed in Pinfold. Once it is out of sight you make yourself known to the driver - whom you recognise as Guinevere from the Fivefold Way meetings. She tells you that the box has arrived safely and you assure her that she wasn't followed (by anyone else). Some quick work with a pitchfork reveals a plain wooden box resembling a coffin, warm to the touch.
This is what you came for. You dismiss Guinevere and get to work.
Once the waggon is empty aside from the box, you load it up with barrels of salt beef to hide its smuggled cargo, and drive it back across town to the Revolutionary Flame's safehouse. The other cultists help you move the heavy box inside and crowd around as you prise open the lid.
Inside you see a familiar face. It was once Bjørn's, but now it is indelibly marked by the presence of the spirit Revolutionary Flame. A sensation of physical heat and barely contained emotional chaos almost overwhelms you as its eyes open and look straight into yours.