Part 31: Negotiations
Hionosi 8-14

You are walking along the shores of Lake Ardica when the water suddenly begins to recede. You notice that all the water actually seems to be sucked into the middle of the lake. It looks like a giant mountain of water is forming, but then you realize that its going to let go and unleash a giant tidal wave!
Youve only got a few seconds to decide on how you are going to survive the wave. You should use those moments wisely.

The blue Revision option looks promising, but Ill pick Observation first just as insurance.
You try to approximate how big the wave will be, but youre too scared to make a guess.
Huh. Well, Revision it is.
With a wave of your wand, you cast the spell. You feel like youre getting gently stretched as your limbs elongate.
You were hoping that Sergeis Timely Doorjam would make you big enough to absorb the force of the wave, but now youre just tall and thin.
Smack!
You get knocked unconscious by the force of the wave. You wake up a few hours later with a headache, discovering yourself in the infirmary. You have a hard time remembering what you were doing at first, but the nurse happily reminds you.


You dont bother saying your response loudly enough for the nurse to hear. Instead, you limp back to your dorm. You think youll need to lie down for a while. Hopefully youll feel well enough when the meeting starts.

Youre gathered in the Aranaz common room with three other Aranaz students. Its past midnight, and everyone has their faces covered (to keep our identities secret, so if any are caught, we cant rat each other out). You realize you agreed to come, but you still feel a bit ridiculous, what with the sheet over your face and all, but at least everyone else is similarly shrouded.
The smallest figure squares its shoulders and speaks.

The others are silent for a moment before one of them finally speaks up.













This conspiracy meeting is quickly getting sidetracked. Maybe theres something you can do?

Normally the conspirators identities arent revealed until much later, but since Emilia and Iliana are best friends, I figured this approach made more sense. Leadership is a comforting shade of blue, but first lets see if Character Study can improve matters.
Basia and Carmine seem about ready to make an excuse and leave. You doubt that Emilia can keep them here on her own.
Choice colors didnt update, so that was probably just a minor Chance of Success boost. Lets continue.









Everyone leaves, a new sense of importance evident in their posture.


By now, receiving a letter by monkey is old hat, but the message on it proves more unusual. Come alone to the tavern where we first talked? You trust the pirates too much to think its an ambush, and you doubt the monkey was intercepted.
Going to the tavern only furthers your confusion. Kaidlette is there, sure enough, but shes sitting alone. What in the world does she need to discuss with you privately, and so urgently? Curious, you take your seat next to her. In a low voice, the first mate begins:

Thats funny, you thought you had a jaw but you must have lost it when it dropped and crashed into the sub-basement. Perhaps mistaking your expression, Kaidlette continues:





In other words, hundreds or even thousands of people will needlessly die if you cant write a good treaty. You know Kaidlette is only trying to help, but youre feeling bound and determined to get a good panic on. After a few more futile reassurances, Kaidlette leaves you with a few papers detailing the current holdings of both pirate bands and the points of contention between them. After shuffling them through your hands a few times without reading a single word, a thought crosses your mind that causes you to get up and leave the tavern.
Youre going to need help on this one.














The Sphinx has given you a few books to read as homework, so on a whim you decide to read them in the Library of the Mantle of Stars. Youre not usually one to rely on prophecies or luck, but at the moment you feel like you would take what you can get, regardless of the source.
Then again, what about Numerology? Applying math to future predictions sounds exactly like what you could use, so you go to read a couple extra books from the Mantles sizable Numerology collection. You wind up finding nothing that would help with your current problem, but that Familiar Equation you find will probably help matters later down the line.











You gladly change topics to something less worrisome and describe your experiences in the temple at the center of the island. However, once you get to the part where you opened the door with a little water in the right spot, the Sphinx stops you.



Although you are still preoccupied with the treaty, Rui da Casga has called you over to the Vernin campus to help his vigil against his intruder tonight. Feeling like you could use a break from your own problems, you accept the invitation. A few minutes later, the two of you are sitting in the Vernin common room together, talking about the usual topics.

Suddenly, something triggers the warning Rui was waiting for. Before youve even registered what the sound means, hes off the couch and up the stairs, halfway to his room.

So heres something funny: the nature of the true intruder changes depending on whether the player passes this check or the next one. The reason I didnt buff up in preparation for this adventure is because I happen to prefer the identity given in the second attempt, rather than this one. Still, may as well go for the long shot instead of one of the impossible ones.
You remember that when hunters are trapping animals, they sometimes have ways to see the trap before the animal in the trap can see them, and that way they know what they trapped and can be better prepared. Pulling Rui back from the stairs, you stay in the common room and decide to use a magic floating orb to spy for you.

Huh, didnt think that would work, or that it would unlock another red Observation check. Still, lets keep going.
The Spyglass shows you that all the traps are triggered, but none of them have the culprit. It could have been anyone!
And that failure has unlocked the eighth and final step to Rui da Casgas adventure, which features a completely different culprit. Success would have ended things right here, if you were confused.


Having learned what you could about Persuasion, you cast Intense Focus to give yourself that extra edge. Throughout the day, you shop your rough draft of the treaty around, going to every student and professor you know of who has any knowledge of politics, pirates, and territorial disputes. Of course, you also carefully Revise the names on the treaty into some pseudonyms and explain that youre simply trying to do research for a story youre writing. Still, you get plenty of funny looks, especially from the professors; it would seem that word of your association with Asad the Lions pirates has gotten farther than youd like.

Finally, after rewriting a few sections and clarifying a few more, youre as ready as youll ever be to hand the treaty to Kaidlette. You ultimately went with the Sphinxs ideas and set up a special council of pirates to oversee the terms of the treaty; you specifically left the most contentious issues a bit vague in the text so that the council will have the authority to talk it out peacefully. Finally, you carefully list which rules in the treaty are more important than others, so no one can manipulate the treaty against anyone else.

Even with a maxed skill, 4 points in Charm, and an Intense Focus, Persuasion is still a red option. Still, two castings would have cost twice as much time, and I had other, more efficient ideas in mind. Normally this adventure, much like all the others, takes place in no more time than the slot its allotted, but the regular description invokes several days, so I figured Id stretch this one out a bit.
Glancing through the treaty, Kaidlette nods and gives you a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. You can only wonder just how well itll turn out.
Let me say two things: first, much like the last phase of the tutorial adventure, this one has no do-over options. Second, at no point in this entire week did I reload. Did I make the check, or did I fail? After all, Iliana already got a point of Fitness out of this line. You dont even get a Stress or Vitality hit for failing.
Guess youll have to wait for negotiations to end to find out.

For the last time, the Five-Handed Tree has assembled to deal with Rui da Casgas intruder problem. Rui himself is pacing through the center of his room, his eyes darting between all the disarmed and failed traps.

You agree that the time has come to end this. The only question is how.

Oh, hey, would you look at that, another Persuasion check, this one green thanks to all that training effort! Who would have guessed Id be ending two adventure chains on the same day with the same check? And right after I buffed it, too!
(Seriously, it was only a coincidence. I completely forgot that was one of the options and I only wanted to test the adventure out to see which options Id get. Still, no reloads necessary.)







Rui da Casga is still uncertain when the Regent comes, but as you explain the whole story, the professor proves to be annoyed at the intrusion, which is a good sign, and intrigued by the mystery, which is even better. He goes to consult with a few other professors, and they set up a watch. All you have to do now is stand by and see what happens.
Using much better observation and tracking spells than the five of you could have cast, the professors manage to catch the culprit before the night is over when he tries something again. It turns out to be none other than Eduard Solovev; evidently he was changing his appearance to that of Philippe Marchant to deflect suspicion.

Apparently he and Rui have had little contact, but Eduard is more than willing to explain himself when the professors lead him down into the common room.

As the professors drag Eduard away to calm him down and administer some punishment, you and Rui da Casga turn to each other.




And with the protective spells the professors cast over Rui da Casgas room, you can be certain it wont happen again.

Trudging back to your dorm after a long day, youre taking a shortcut through the main building when a flash of bright color catches your eye. You look down and realize you almost stepped on a full bottle of some kind of potion.

Interesting random event. Observation seems like the best choice here.
Because its so late in the day, there is almost no one left in the main building besides the guards themselves. Glancing around, you dont see anyone, much less someone who looks like theyre missing a potion.
Drat, no dice. Well, I know I probably shouldnt, but
Looking around again, it doesnt seem like anyone is looking for the bottle, so you pick it up to see what it is. Of course, it isnt labeled, but you could swear its giving off a faint glow. It doesnt look that bad
Curiosity gets the better of you. You take a final glance around and pull out the cork, ready to swallow the bottles contents. The stench coming from the neck of the vial makes you gag. Your stomach churns, and its all you can do not to throw up. You pinch your nose and try to drink some of the potion, but you can still smell it and wind up retching as soon as some of it touches your tongue. You are forced to give up and put the cork back in the bottle, leaving it where you found it.

While still reeling from the potion, Tacito manages to catch up with you.


You stagger off, still distracted by the terrible potion. Tacito watches you leave with an empty expression of shock. Later, after you round the corner and wander out of sight, Tacito gives his armpit a discrete sniff.


Returning to your dorm room after breakfast, you see that Soaring Eagle has delivered as promised. You find a neat packet on your bed that looks like an advanced Potions study guide but is actually a plot to overthrow a high-ranking official on the student council.
You find it a little odd that shed deliver this to your dorm room instead of just meeting you somewhere quiet, but what can you do?
You open up your packet. You note that its addressed to Winged Sparrow and roll your eyes a little; you thought these names were corny the moment you heard them, but Emilia insisted. You read on:

You browse through the rest of the packet and see complicated dossiers on members of the council, timelines, and nicknames for every student.
You wander over to the library, copy out a portion of Professor Marlein Knohts dissertation, and slap Vincents name on it. You get to the drop-off point but run into a problem: Vuillaume Eparvier is hanging around the newspapers submission box and reading all the essays. You cant exactly pass for Vincent Warrender of all students. How do you get by her?

Planning doesnt seem like an exit option, but lets see what all it has to say.
You try and think if Vuillaume has any weaknesses. You cant think of anything in particular at the moment. Play it safe; youll have to try your absolute best to get this essay in the submission box without detection.
Not very helpful, in part because the guarding student is chosen randomly. Still, the option was green, so while the other options havent changed color, it must have done something useful. Blue option it is.
You stroll up to the submission box.






Vuillaume gives you a look that says I told you so.

Vuillaume just laughs.

Just to show how little she thinks of your gossip-gathering abilities, Vuillaume doesnt give your submission a second glance as it drops into the box.
Phase one of the plan is accomplished.

Time to get rid of that Magic Marble. I didnt bother spending time between identifying it and selling it because I had already looked it up in the mod tools: it provides a +2 to Gambling and +1 to Sabotage, neither of which Iliana would consider terribly valuable. On the other hand, its worth 700 pims, which is very valuable. That extra 50 comes from the Chocolate Chunk Cookies Iliana got from raising Recipes, and again, consumables just arent worth the time spent. Ive pretty much gathered what I want from Garibaldis Seven Color shop, so this trip was to the Wand and Brush, the special shop only revealed to Aranaz students. Here I found the Pigments of the Airy Void, which grants +1 to Revision, Glamour, Incantation, Mastery, Gates, Forge, Enchant, and Orthography. They take up the Miscellaneous slot and require just one Concealment point to equip. Pretty useful. They also cost a pretty penny, but with the Magic Marble trade-in, its only a minor hit to the floating cash levels. The only real downside is if Iliana gets in trouble while shes carrying the Pigments, theyll get confiscated.
Between this and the Wand of Planar Shift, Revision is already standing at 11 points. Things are looking up for the second half of the year, and after next week, Iliana wont even need to study anymore.
Gains of the Week
Revision Methods increased by 1.
Ink Compounds increased by 1.
--Dehydration pheme learned.
Glamour Phemes increased by 1.
--Force pheme learned.
--Friendship pheme learned.
Composure increased by 1.
The History of Magic increased by 1.
Successful adventure!
--Leadership increased by 1 step.
----Learned about Godina Park: Merricks Statue.
Unsuccessful event.
--Vitality decreased by 2.
Aymeri used Compete; Aranaz merit now at 250.
Forms increased by 1.
--Time pheme learned.
Character increased by 1.
--Parental Approval increased by 15.
Ethics increased by 1.
Matched Wits with the Emperors Sphinx.
--Recipes increased by 1 step.
----Gained Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
----Gained Recipe for above.
--Persuasion increased by 1 step.
----Divert pheme learned.
--Syntax increased by 1 step.
----Syntax pheme learned.
--Revision Methods increased by 1 step.
Revision Phemes increased by 1.
--Take pheme learned.
--Selective pheme learned.
--Revision increased by 1.
----Education pheme learned.
Glamour Phemes increased by 1.
--Puffiness pheme learned.
--Sky pheme learned.
--Glamour increased by 1.
----Knowledge pheme learned.
Studied at the Mantle of Stars.
--Persuasion increased by 1 step.
--The Everard Equation increased by 2 steps.
----Calculate the Familiar Equation action learned.
Revision Spells increased by 1.
--From Novice to Master spell learned.
Matched Wits with the Emperors Sphinx.
--Worldliness increased by 1 step.
----International Gourmand ability learned.
--Persuasion increased by 1 step.
----Power of Persuasion spell learned.
--Composure increased by 1 step.
--Theory of Negation Research level increased by 1 step.
Glamour Methods increased by 1.
--Stunning Transformation spell learned.
Unsuccessful adventure.
--Stress increased by 1.
Cast Intense Focus.
--Plus 5 to Persuasion.
--Plus 1 to Insight.
--Minus 2 to Pure Luck and Amphibians.
Adventure?
--?
--?
Successful adventure!
--Temperance increased by 2 steps.
--Relationship with Rui da Casga increased to 6
--Relationship max with Rui da Casga increased to 12.
Unsuccessful event.
--Vitality decreased by 2.
Tacito Viadana failed to use Externalized Desire.
Successful adventure!
--Lie increased by 1 step.
----Monotone pheme learned.
Learned about the Magic Marble.
Sold the Magic Marble and Chocolate Chunk Cookies; bought the Pigments of the Airy Void.
Aymeri and Basia used Compete; Aranaz merit now at 256.
New Abilities
Calculate the Familiar Equation: Insight/Everard Equation v14; +1 step in all Bond skills if successful, -1 Vitality and +1 step in Familiar Kinship regardless.
From Novice to Master (Spell): Intelligence/Revision Methods v8; +5 to choice of subskill for 3 days.
Power of Persuasion (Spell): Insight/Glamour v11; targets Chance of Failure for all Hostile actions/abilities increased by 50% for 3 days.
International Gourmand (Permanent): +1 to Cooking, Recipes, and Anthropology.
Stunning Transformation (Spell): Charm/Glamour v10; -2 to targets Charm and Aesthetics and +1 to casters Glamour Methods for 3 days.
The Familiar Equation is a pretty good way to boost up the Bond skills, at least if ones Numerology/Everard Equation is high enough. The description says it only works once per week, but in practice that isnt even remotely true. This should help hurry matters along when it comes time to do the cats adventure line.