Chapter 1 - Session 1

First Steps in The Capitol and The Crow's Nest Beckons

The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UguQVwZyyLE

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Events and Actions

The session opened with the party's six members each beginning in different corners of The Capitol, navigating individual crises that would bring them together at a cliffside tavern before nightfall.

Noddy had been surviving in the ruins of Cliff Town for some time, sealed inside by guards who patrolled the old entrances. Watching one particular gate where the two guards had grown slack, he sent Pocket aloft to listen in. The bird overheard the relief pair persuading the outgoing guards to abandon their post for a nearby tavern — and all four walked off together, leaving the gate unattended. Noddy slipped out behind them and shadowed them down the narrow cliff road. He lost them when they ducked through a doorway in the rock face, which turned out to be The Crow's Nest. He scouted further toward the main gate into the city proper, found it heavily guarded, and turned back. When Burlyman came outside to dispose of a basin of slops, Noddy appeared, took the basin from him, emptied it over the cliff edge, and gave it a polish. Burlyman, apparently not surprised, invited him inside.

Cosimo Cellini Scivio had spent the day on the run in High Town after a heavy stone fell from his crane and struck a member of the clergy who had come to the construction site to collect a gambling debt. He worked his way into a group of workers loading carts and attempted to blend in, but the crew turned out not to be heading for the gate. Switching plans, he hid in one of the carts driven by a mysterious old woman. She discovered him tucked among the goods but did not raise the alarm; instead she drove at a rattling pace along the precarious cliff road and deposited him at The Crow's Nest.

Werner De Rendal had arrived by ship from the north with letters of introduction and a handful of silver. Navigating from the docks toward High Town, he attracted the attention of a small pack of young ruffians in Low Town and picked up a horseshoe from the cobbles as an improvised weapon. He shook the gang by running close to groups of Town Watch and then presented his papers at the High Town gate with as much confidence as he could muster. A guard took the papers away to consult a large ledger and did not return them. A commotion caused by a runaway cart crashing into the gate created a moment of chaos, which Werner used to scramble over the gate into High Town. Once inside, his attempts to find his father's factor Lawrence de Rabia came to nothing. Soldiers growing suspicious eventually arrested him and threw him into a cell without explanation.

Knick Nab was working the Low Town marketplace for Nigfa when a cart collision with an apple stall created perfect chaos. He cut two purses from a wealthy merchant and walked away cleanly, for once weighing whether to hand the take over to Nigfa or disappear. The old woman whose cart had caused the commotion was still there sorting out the damage; Knick Nab helped her put things right, and she offered him a ride somewhere safe. He showed her a single bronze coin. She told him he could probably afford it well enough and drove him directly to The Crow's Nest.

Riu arrived in The Capitol having already acquired what he had come for at the docks — a fresh squid for his research, purchased straight off the boat. At the customs building he asked for directions to High Town and a place to stay for the night. A weathered official told him every inn in the city was full because of the war, but there was an old place on the cliff road, tucked into the rock, that might have space. Riu followed the directions, found the door with the painted sign of the crow's nest, and walked in.

Mani had been attending the Ropolos School in Low Town and had finally run out of patience with a persistent noble classmate. A duel was arranged on the cliff road near the ruins — away from the school and from Gandit, who had forbidden such things. Mani lost, taking a dueling scar in the process. The Town Watch arrived before things grew worse. The noble students saw to it that all blame fell on Mani; he was arrested and thrown into a cell, where he found Werner and struck up an acquaintance. A guard Mani had previously cultivated arranged to be on duty when the two were brought outside for transfer. As a cart driven by the old woman came racing past, Mani grabbed Werner and they jumped. Werner could not get fully into the cart and was dragged on his feet for a stretch, losing the remaining leather from his boots, before Mani pulled him aboard. The cart deposited both of them at The Crow's Nest.

Inside the tavern, all six arrived at approximately the same time. Food — a bowl of gruel — appeared on the counter and then vanished before anyone could reach it, or reappeared elsewhere when someone turned away. A table that had been blocking a doorway seemed to have moved on its own. Burlyman offered them food and lodging in exchange for dealing with a vermin problem in the cellar. He came out from behind the bar with a collection of implements — a large mallet, a butcher's knife, a cleaver, a staff, a giant wooden spoon, and two kitchen knives — and told them to take what they wanted. Torches were lit and the party prepared to descend.

NPCs & Creatures

• Pocket — Noddy's seagull familiar. Sent aloft to eavesdrop on the guards at the Cliff Town gate, providing Noddy the intelligence he needed to slip out.
• Burlyman — proprietor of The Crow's Nest; a large former sailor, now running a tavern fallen on hard times. Recruited the party to deal with vermin in the cellar in exchange for food and lodging.
• Burlyman's wife — manages the kitchens. The gruel she brought out kept vanishing before anyone could eat it.
• The mysterious old woman — drove a horse cart through the city, bringing Cosimo, Knick Nab, and later Mani and Werner to The Crow's Nest. Her appearances at just the right moment for multiple characters in a single evening were not coincidental.
• Nigfa — Knick Nab's underworld employer; a lean, skeletal man in his fifties who runs a gang of young pickpockets out of Low Town. Mentioned but not encountered directly.
• Stick Stab — a knife specialist in Nigfa's gang; older than Knick Nab, vicious with a blade, and Nigfa's clear favourite. Mentioned but not encountered directly.

Locations

• The Capitol — the main city, divided by cliff and class.
• Cliff Town — the ruined district where Noddy has been surviving; sealed by guards, its collapse still unexplained.
• Low Town — the lower district, closer to the sea; home to the docks, markets, and Mani's school.
• High Town — the upper, more affluent district; where Werner was trying to find his father's factor.
• The Docks — arrival point for Riu and Werner; teeming with wartime activity, more ships than normal.
• The Ropolos School — Mani's boarding school in Low Town, recently opened to the merchant class.
• The Crow's Nest — a tavern carved into the cliff face on the road between High Town and the Cliff Town ruins. Entry through a stout wooden door set directly into the rock face, with a painted sign outside. Once frequented by nobles and sailors alike; now nearly empty. Strange things happen here: food appears and disappears, objects move without explanation.
• Cellar — beneath the tavern, inaccessible due to the vermin problem Burlyman wants dealt with.

Conflicts

• Noddy evading guards as he slipped out of Cliff Town.
• Cosimo escaping arrest after the death at the construction site in High Town.
• Werner evading Low Town ruffians and later being arrested by soldiers in High Town.
• Knick Nab's successful double-purse lift in the Low Town marketplace.
• Mani's duel with the noble classmate — Mani was defeated and received a dueling scar.
• The prisoner transfer escape — Mani and Werner jumped a moving cart, with Werner dragged on foot for part of it before getting aboard.

Learnings and Discussions

• The Capitol is at war, which has led to overcrowded conditions, heightened security at every gate, heavy guard presence in High Town, and soldiers in the streets well beyond what peacetime would require.
• The Northern Navy, long considered superior, is facing unexpected difficulties. Rumours of battles going badly, of spectacular seamanship by the Southern fleet, have put the city on edge.
• Without papers, Werner's name alone is not enough to open doors — in fact, announcing himself as a noble without documentation attracted suspicion rather than deference.
• The Crow's Nest has unusual properties: food appears and disappears, objects move. Burlyman and his wife seem to regard this as unremarkable.
• The party's first shared task is to clear the cellar vermin, in exchange for which Burlyman is offering better food and rooms.

Items Gained

• A horseshoe, found in the Low Town cobbles (Werner).
• Three gold pieces in silver and bronze coin across two purses, stolen from a merchant (Knick Nab).
• A fresh squid, purchased at the docks (Riu).
• Kitchen implements distributed by Burlyman: a large mallet, a butcher's knife, a cleaver, a staff, a giant wooden spoon, and two kitchen knives (various party members).
• Torches (various party members).

Items Lost

• Werner's papers of introduction — taken by the High Town gate guard and never returned.
• Werner's boots — the soles worn away to nothing during the cart escape.
• Mani's school books, mandolin, and other personal effects — presumably confiscated or left behind at the Ropolos School following his arrest.