Darokin taxes ============= Taxes from the previous year (months 1-12) are collected on Thaumont 1 - XXXX/03/01. Income tax is 5%. The net worth increase tax is collected every 5 years - next is 1030. Tess doesn't pay income tax to Darokin, as he earns it in Sind, though he needs to show them proof of payment. Tess doesn't pay income tax in Sind as he offers his services freely to the government. Grey can have one of his clerks draw you up an official tax certificate, so Tess is clear. Security network in Tess' absence ================================= 1028/02/16-1028/03/01 Tess managing with the trade and security network, and organizing to hand things over to Mark Sutherland and Turia while he is absent. Tess informs Mark that he has discussed his nature with Turia and Rajah Kvana, given the current circumstances with Sind being on the alert for shapechangers and that Mark will be working with Turia. If that is a problem, Mark is welcome to get rid of this cover and work with Tess in some other capacity, or leave if he so chooses. Tess thinks it is to Mark's benefit to have someone to go to for help when Tess is gone, if something happens. Mark is happy to stay. Having the rulers of Baratkand aware seems like good insurance for him. And Tess will have arranged a mutual meeting with Turia and Grey, for Mark to meet with them with Tess present on 1028/03/01. Purchases, including a Clone of Tess at the North Pole ====================================================== Tome and Blood alchemical items - Glenn approves, with these changes: Healing Salve (non-magical): x2 healing rate rather than restoring d8 HP Suregrip: may give a penalty for some actions while suregrip is used ** Tess will purchase 2x Glowpowder, 2x Healing Salve, 2x Scentbreaker (210gp total) ** ** Tess will also purchase one of each of the types of phantom ink (40gp) ** ** Tess will buy 2x of Waterproofing - Song & Silence (30x2 = 60gp) ** Some of these items are only available on the black market, which Tess has no problems accessing. Song and Silence items: Possom Pouch - search DC 30 is ok ** 2x scroll of Alter Self (300gp) ** ** Potions bought: Remove Fear (50gp), Gaseous Form (750gp) - used, Remove Paralysis (300gp), 2x Invisibility (600gp), Remove Blindness/Deafness (750gp), Fly (750gp) = 3200gp total ** ** Rod of Metamagic, Lesser - 3000gp - Silent Spell 3/day on spells from levels 1st to 3rd - strong aura (no school) ** ** 1st level spells Tess gets a copy of: Animate Rope, Endure Elements, Erase, Expeditious Retreat, Grease, Hypnotism, Jump, Magic Weapon, Mount, Nystul's Magic Aura, Summon Monster I, Tenser's Floating Disk, Unseen Servant - 100gp/page = 1300gp total x2 for backup spellbook ** Clone: you can grow it in advance, and it doesn't gain XP as you do. We do not need someone to tend the lab while the clone grows. It takes 2 weeks to get a copy of the Clone spell. Tess gets Lani to cast Clone at a lab set up at the North Pole base camp. Lani casts Greater Teleport to get us there and back. Alternate means of getting there: Tess could teleport to Alpha, maybe teleport to the dropoff point, and then catch a lift with the gnomes. A ship travels from Alpha and drops off supplies at a drop off point. The supplies are then picked up by gnomes in skycraft for a long flight to the North pole base camp. Due to the cold conditions, the North Pole base camp is a good place to store a clone. Cost for Clone: - 500gp for lab focus - 1000gp for components to create clone - 400gp to get a copy of the Clone spell - 800gp to add the Clone spell to Lani's backup spellbook - 150gp for Unguent of Timelessness ** 2850gp total ** ** ALL PAID ** From the outside, it's a snow covered small tower (with a light on top), a series of lights heading off in the distance, and a cleared stone airstrip leading to an underground hanger area. Gnomish aircraft unload supplies, which are then taken by dog sled overland to the dig site. The place has a few hundred people (it's pretty extensive), 2/3 soldiers, 1/3 workers. It is similar to depictions of Antarctica: dog sleds, people bundled in furs, etc. There is space at the base for us to set up a lab. One thing the workers do is extend the base, which they are doing continously. This is just the outer base. They use messages via the flying ships to communicate out. Tess goes to the inner base on a dog sled. The inner base has about the same number of people. More workers though, about 2/3 workers, and 1/3 soldiers. ** one day at the North pole 1028/03/16 ** The inner base is completely made of ice (think Hoth). The walls are ice, the floor (when not covered) is ice, etc. They have laid planks on the ground in the living quarters to make it liveable. It's still cold, deadly cold. They show Tess the shaft. Tess can't see all the way down, but he can see lights down there, and movement on the sides of the shaft where the tunnels are. They showed Tess a room of stuff laid out on tables. Bits of wall or other structure mainly. It means nothing to Tess, and doesn't look very impressive. There is a Nagpa archeologist, from Serraine, who works here. The archaeologist thinks it's part of some deeper structure. They are still digging through ice, but he thinks eventually they will find the actual structures themselves. He has no idea yet which civillization this structure was a part of it, or the significance of the items. Eye of the Serpent investigations ================================= 1028/03/02 Tess dealing with Eye of the Serpent and Schatten Alfen stuff. During the 2 weeks waiting for the Clone spell, Tess will have been practicing a couple of SC covers at headquarters. Tess makes one cover public to them, the other he'll keep private. Tess gets critqued on his cover to improve it, which helps greatly. ** 1028/03/02-1028/03/15 ** Tess visits Phoranin. Phoranin is not pregnant from the wedding nuptials a few months ago. Shadow Elves are more fertile than Green Elves, but not as fecund as humans by a long way. Tess gives Phoranin a map of the Eye of the Serpent headquarters with their office locations - it will be written in phantom ink (moonlight) on an otherwise innocuous document (which can be chosen by Phoranin). If the priests of Rafiel need to raid EoS HQ to find evidence on those guys, any evidence is most likely in their offices, so knowing the locations will help get to them before evidence is destroyed. Tess will also note the position of archives. Phoranin should keep the map to herself, and in the office, hidden by the Mind Blank (which is where Tess will draw the map). Tess asks to speak to the EoS and SS guys who interviewed the captured SC spies. In particular, he wants to ask if the SC guys seemed to have any dialect, or any other distinguishing features, etc., to improve his covers. Tess will also ask then whether they queried the SC spies about trying to fake an assassination against the princess - their response was, basically, "thats classified", which has been decided at the highest levels. Tess goes to speak to a high ranking member of the Second Shadow (not a member of the Eyes of the Serpent), called Chinja. He says that he investigated the interrogation logs, but it was classified by ... someone. He doesn't know exactly who, and every time he has tried he has been stonewalled. He isn't very happy about it. Tess will be happy to try and follow it further. If Tess finds out he would like to know too. No one seemed to know, everyone said it was 'classified'. Tess will act somewhat disturbed by the stonewalling (and is, but was expecting it). He was advised to let it drop, so he did. He was 'advised' by <name of high ranking EoS guy>. The other high ranking Second Shadow guy that Tess knows did not check it out. (Note: the Second Shadow is much bigger than the Eyes of the Serpent, Tess just keeps bumping into EoS guys on these issues.) Chinja's role is military intelligence - logistic estimates, etc. - which is essentially the role of the Second Shadow. A group dedicated to traditional espionage doesn't officially exist (the Eyes of the Serpent fill that role of course). Tess: "Do you feel that we've done enough since then to try and discover any other possible SC spies?" Chinja: "I'm not sure. It's not really my field, I'm strictly military intelligence - estimating opposing forces numbers, and the like." Tess: "Chinja, Sir <or appropriate rank>, I'm still concerned about the security of the palace and of her royal highness ... is there someone in the SS responsible for that who I should talk to further?" Chinja: "Why are you involved in this anyway? No offence, but your career seems a bit stalled. Did you annoy someone?" (noting he isn't aware of Tess' EoS rank). "<EoS guy) is in chareg of palace security, you could try there - although I had no luck." Tess: "Yes, I think that would be an accurate description of the situation. I was the one who the SC spies tried to set up ... maybe our folks have felt I've been tainted since then." Chinja: "Although this was occuring before then..." He looks at Tess suspiciously. Tess: "Correct. I am a freelance agent, and hence promotions haven't happened in the normal manner." Tess sighs. "That's the way it goes I guess." Tess: "Is there a First Shadow captain (or higher rank) also in charge of security?" Chinja: "There is, his name is <x>." Tess: "Under the circumstances, it may be worthwhile someone chatting with <x> to double-check that he is happy with security." Chinja: "I have spoken with x, everything seems to be ok." Tess: "Ok. Thank you for your time. Please let me know if there is anything else that seems strange or unusual." Breaking into Mr. Foo's Office (1028/03/17) ============================== Tess stays late at headquarters, studying documents on the Schatten Alfen in one of the archive side reading rooms. Tess double-checks that he is not being watched. Night arrives and no one is around ... Tess makes his move. On the way, Tess hears someone else using the same corridor as Tess. They are further up from Tess though. Tess leaves the corridor and goes to the bathroom for 20 minutes, then comes back. Tess goes back along the corridor, and find the person has stopped in the corridor presumably to review the papers they have in their hands. Tess goes back to the achives for a couple of hours. (Tess does not recognise the person who was in the corridor.) The person is gone, the coast is clear all the way up to the door. Tess searches for 3 rounds with Aldara listening at the door. (Searching for longer would be very suspicious.) On the third round of searching...Tess finds a magic trap. It is not a complicated one, but he was careless, and nearly missed it (dc is 28). Tess would need to take 10 to avoid setting it off while getting past it, which is beyond Tess' ability. Tess tries to figure out what spell is on the door, but has no idea. Tess teleports to the other side of the door. Tess searches the floor before proceeding to the safe. Aldara looks around and listens while Tess does this. Tess finds small holes in the walls and floor. It appears to be sound activated. It's a fairly tough trap, another one that Tess won't be able to bypass. Tess also notes that there are a stack of papers on the desk that could have "moved" during the night, causing the alarm to be set off. Aldara is later positioned to push them in the event it appears the alarm has been set off. Tess steps as quietly as he can over to the safe. The safe is not trapped. Tess tries to minimize any noise made by the safe as he quietly goes about opening the combination lock, which eventually opens. After several minutes of sticking his ear to the safe, listening to the clicking of tumblers, he finds the right combination and the safe is open. There are several files in the safe. Tess doesn't find any traps. Tess takes careful note of where things are to place them back in the same place later. One of the files gets Tess' attention straight away. It's labelled 'Tessarael Porador'. Tess uses the metamagic rod to cast a silent Detect Magic. Each of the files are magical - moderate Divination, and it's not a trap. A further careful look will reveal the sigils of magic, but not in places where a trap would be. Nothing else in the room is magical. Tess didn't notice anything when Foo took the file out before, so probably not command activated. Tess offers up some silent prayers to Rafiel, for the success of the operation thus far. Tess will take out the SC file, and look for the 5 pages that had been removed. There is no fluctuation in the magic (by activation etc.) as Tess opens the file. The contents look the same as previously. The 5 pages list agents who have been inserted into SC territory. There names, what covers they used in SC territory, and the like. Tess memorizes this. Nothing too unusual in the 5 pages on those agents. The other files are: one file on Tessarael Porador; another file appears to be about another SS agent; another is about diplomatic efforts between the SE and the SC. Tess looks at the diplomatic efforts file next. It is quite a long file, 4cm thick. Tess scans the file for about 10 minutes. Tess doesn't find anything that looks like cooperation between SE and SC. There isn't an index or contents page. Not even an excutive summary (in fact, this probably is the summary). It's transcripts of discussions mainly, between SC and SE diplomats. Some are transcripts of what the king said. The king did not say anything significant. Tess looks at the file on the Second Shadow agent. It appears to be some notes on his suitability to be recruited to join the EoS. It contains his standard SS file, with records of past deeds and commetary. Tess spends 2 minutes scanning this file. The file says he was suitable for the EoS. One comment catches Tess' eye: at one stage he risked the lives of some 1st Shadow people he was attached to in order to gain more information about the Dwarven capabilities. The comment says "willing to do what he must - looks good". Tess thinks to himself that he might make the same call in some circumstances. Tess finally looks at the file on Tess. It's much thicker than the file on the Second Shadow agent. It eppars that there is an agent who does nothing but try and figure out what Tess is doing, based on Tessarael's reports and other reports, They examine Tess' reports for truthfulness. The agent who examines Tess' reports has a codename. Other commentary includes Tess having the Shadow Elves' welfare at heart. During the time period where Tess was meant to be keeping an eye on Phoranin, they commented how it would be handy if they got married, and to see if they can make that happen, "a spy in their ranks, even at that level, would be invaluable." Tess absent-mindedly chuckles at this comment (failing a Wisdom check). Tess quickly flips forward in the history, while Aldara moves over to the stack of papers to push them over to cover the noise made by Tess. The significant comment Tess finds at the end of the file, is "Tessarael may suspect. Try and shuffle him off to another posting, or send him to our allies. The plan isn't working." - it's not clear who wrote this comment. No significant entries at the end of the file. Tess hears someone outside, they stop at the door. Tess puts the files back in cabinet, quickly closing and locking the cabinet. Aldara knocks the papers over. Tess hides under the desk as Aldara returns to the Familiar Pocket in Tess' bandolier. A light shines around the room, and they curse, "Rats!" Tess drinks his potion of Gaseous Form. The person comes in the room, then start crawling around on their hands and knees on the other side of the desk. The person starts crawling around one side of the desk, shining the light. Tess slips out hidden by the other side of the desk, heading out through the door undetected. Tess returns to physical form, and in due course exits the building nonchalantly. Tess prays to Rafiel, asking for forgiveness for doubting Rafiel, and that he will go and see the Schatten Alfen, to see how things are really done. Tess prays and feels better. Tess will go and talk to Phoranin in due course. Informing Phoranin will just be an info dump: Tess figured out they think he's onto something, and he may be getting set up when he goes to check the SC. Tess will also write down the combination lock numbers in invisible ink and note the divination magic on those files - possibly designed to destroy them or falsify them if they fall into the wrong hands.