Session 51 - The Tiered City

16/07/5-10

The party continued they journey north and ships became more common. Trade vessels from Velinde or Almanat could be seen, as well as those from Ikoval.

21/07/5-10

While on the ship, Cassini tried using his new eye's power to glimpse into the truth of the world. Besides the invisible Axi, he noticed a displacer beast present in the Ethereal Plane near Shiek.

23/07/5-10

As the ship neared Shista bay, the ship found itself in the shadow of a Sky Ship, an uncommon sight in Dragomir. Looking at its flag as it overtook the Seacleave and saw it resembled a coiled brown serpent, which Cassini and Valeyo recognized as the Order of the Brown Dragon. Cassini said they were a mercenary company from Velinde, but Valeyo said it was a bit more complicated. He told the group they had made the Airships and the Trains and that they should mind their own business.

26/07/5-10

The closer the ship got to Skalenvru, the sharper and taller the granite cliff faces surrounding them became, stretching all the way to the silhouette of the city on the horizon. In the evening the tall lights of the city could be seen in the distance. More and more vessels filled the water, the city being a hot spot for merchants and fishermen alike. Upon closer inspections the levels of the city became more distinct and the tiered metropolis came into view.

They went over their goals for the city:

  1. Penance and Co Auction House
  2. Raya at the Drop Tavern
  3. Yorhaza Klapul - Worldware Shipping
  4. "The Twins - Sehanine and Arvandor"
  5. The Baron of the Deep
  6. Angel of Ioun rumor

They approached the port and noticed a lot of construction going on, a large port being constructed across the whole river. Behind it rose the city itself. A five tiered city built into and atop the cliff, reaching around 1000ft. The city only inhabited the top half of the cliff, with the bottom being clean rock. A palace stood in the centre of the surface tier. Close to it was a skyport built overhanding from a higher tier and the Sky Ship was moored there.  Beneath that were four enormous cut ins into the wall where more buildings were constructed.

Looking at the city was an enormous flat stone slab, which was descending towards the docks, with no mechanism moving it, presumably using magic instead. The lowest of the cut ins was around half-way down the cliff. Roger approached the group and told them that he had them down on the passenger manifest, so they just need to get on the lift, which will take them to the lowest level, where they can be processed and allowed to enter. From his coat, he grabbed a small red booklet which had an image of his face and some details about him. On one of the other pages was a stamp of a yellow sun with a blue border. Valeyo asked what that was and he explained it was a roaming pass, which was needed to walk the city. Shiek asked if they could be tracked with those, but Roger told him it was just general movement not precise. His gold star allows him access up to the 3rd tier and the blue trim shows him as a merchant. Valeyo asked what access they could expect, but Roger said he didn't know much about them. They would be asked questions about their background and a decision would be made.

Cassini was worried about the assessment, but Valeyo told him that he should be honest as he is there for research, a legitimate reason. Valeyo did worry about Shiek and they considered forging the papers, but it seemed to contain magic, which would make it hard. Ultimately they decided he would claim to be from Almanat there for the auction. After about 40 minutes, the ship arrived at one of the many docks.

After disembarking, they could see guards around the docks, all bearing the logo of the circular sun with wavy triangular rays coming off it. They asked for their roaming passes and after being told they were first time visitors, the group was directed to the front left of the platform, where they will be right in front of the office once they have reached the 5th level. A few minutes later, the guards got everyone on the platform and one of the guards called "Ready to move", before pulling a lever and causing the granite slab to begin rising. As soon as he did, stone railings sprung out from the sides, to prevent people from falling.

A few minutes, they were at the Level Dulbok. Looking out, the level itself had two tiers, with a cliff halfway across the level. It mostly consisted of tightly packed houses. Standing out was a tubular structure, pushing out to the ceiling of the chamber ~160 feet above the lower and ~80 above the higher level. There was also a large tavern on the higher tier of the level. The group was lead into the lift house by a guard, where they were welcomed to Skalenvru and had the procedure explained. They would be lead to a side room and made to look into a blue floating orb until it turned green, after they would be lead to a meeting office where they would be interviewed. If they lose the pass, it costs 10gp per level of access. They were warned to remove all face coverings when looking at the orb. The guard then gestured towards two doors. Valeyo went first and the orb behaved as expected and so it did for everyone else, though not before causing Shiek some worry.

They were in the meeting room for a few minutes before two officers came gesturing towards Valeyo and Cassini, who were lead into separate rooms. Valeyo was asked questions about his occupation and any connections to the city. He told them that he was a student preparing for diplomatic service. Cassini told them he was there for research in the university. Milivoj and Otto were next. Otto said he was there for the auction as well and his occupation was that of a man of faith. Milivoj's interview was different, after giving his name, the officer had to leave for a moment. When she returned she said that he was not listed on the list for the Novosel party. He provided all the information about his pedigree and retainers. Soon after him his retainers were cleared, as well. Last were Shiek and Sapphira. Shiek gave them his name and the officer looked at him quizzingly for a moment. Soon after he said he was sorry to have to ask, but he was wondering why he was in disguise, calling him "Mister Sharif". Shiek was immediately on edge assessing his options, but noting that the officer didn't seem hostile. Shiek remarked on the man's calmness considering what he was implying. The man was confused confirming that he was Mr Sharif and asking if he lost his roaming pass. Shiek was confused asking if that was in force even with the current situation. The officer said that the records show him as having a navy border, marking him an associate of the Baron. Shiek confirmed and was issued a new pass, he was also offered another set matching his current identity with a more average access level. Sapphira was last and it went without anything of note. She asked how she would get more access and was told she would need to submit a letter of petition to show  why the initial assessment was wrong.

Party Roaming Passes:

Eventually they were all in the courtyard with a small garden. Milivoj bragged about having access everywhere and Valeyo asked how that could be possible. Milivoj said that his father was in town with some other members of his family. Sapphira asked if he would introduce them, but Milivoj said he would not, having left on the best terms and having only written to him about being alive. They decided to start by finding a place to stay, either here or in the Khora level.

They were told of the Dorms near the Drop or the Broken Pulley down here. For clothes, he spoke of the Hunt in the Khora or the Crafter's Collection Market in the Pravya. Unhappy with the options to stay the night, they arranged for Sapphira to be vouched for by Milivoj. While doing so, the guard looked over Milivoj's pass and asked if he was with the Kurt of Novosel and the Emissar, as they had accommodation with Janske in his residence. Alternatively, the Storm's Scion on the Bogar layer could work. They decided to go the lift, but were warned that the big one would not be here for an hour and half, but the one near the stairs would be accessible, to one with their level, pointing at the rising tube connecting the layers. Milivoj arranged for the rest to get access passes.

On the way to the staircase, they went pass the Broken Pulley, which was very busy. The buildings they passed were clearly built for dense housing and were the poorest of the bunch. Near the large column were guards, who stopped then on approach, until Milivoj showed his pass. They rang a bell and a few minutes later, a smaller platform descended. They boarded the lift and started raising to the Bogat Layer.

Through the windows of the cabin, they could see people walking up and down the stairs between levels. Soon after, the lift began to slow and they arrived at the Bogat layer. Before them opened a very spacious area opening immediatelly into a parge park, covered in orange grass. To the front left was the Storm's Scion and to the right another large building with a small garden. Besides that were many large houses, clearly indicating this was the more affluent residential area. On the way Milivoj said that at least Dragfomir doesn't literally segregate its people, Valeyo said that that is just semantics. Milivoj retorted that at least in his clan, if you can pick up a sword you are free, which is all that matters, to which Valeyo quipped that he may have to challenge his father while they are in town. Sapphira mentioned that this place resembled the structure of her birth place, just dressed differently.

In the tavern, they arranged accommodation and were lead to it by a staff member. On the way, they noticed a painting hanging on the wall depicting two aaracockra and a child in the middle. The staff said it was the owner and his family and pointed to the plaque, which read "Calvin and Panis and their son Killian". Valeyo vaguely recognized the name of Panis, but assumed it is a different person. They were served dinner and then shown their rooms, which cost 50gp a night in total.

After dinner, they headed to the lift to go to the Hunt and get some clothes. On the road, they spotted a sign naming some of the locations, such as Skalenvru bank and Penance and Co. They noted it for the future and descended to the Khora level. There was another largely residential level and a huge market in the middle plastered in light. Overlooking the scene from the far side was a fort and to the right a large drop where the Drop tavern would be. Approaching the Hunt they quickly realized that it is the place that a man could find everything. Milivoj gravitated towards places where the clothes would be cheap and inconspicuous and he picked up a few outfits for some silver.

27/07/5-10

In the morning the group split up to get started on their tasks. Cassini decided to go to the university, Valeyo to the drop and the test to the Bank and blacksmiths. At the bank, the group was stopped and asked for documentation, with Shiek using Omar's pass. They approached a clerk working in one of the desks in the grand reception and Sapphira asked to exchange around 2000 gold for platinum. The clerk explained that a small fee would be taken, so she would only receive 190 platinum. Milivoj asked if his house had an account here that she could transfer gold into and withdraw platinum. After checking his pass the clerk said he didn't have access to the Novosel account. Shiek asked if Omar had an account and she confirmed that there was a long dormant account in his name consisting 7300gp. They did the exchange and Shiek also put 100gp into the account to make it active once more.

Cassini was making his way to the Nebe where the University was. He was made to walk, due to lacking access to the level normally, meaning he could not use the lift. After getting to the top level, he was escorted by a guard to his destination. A short walk away he found the Hall of Scholars, where he was greeted by an attendant at the reception. He said he was sent to collect a book for the University of Dragomir and a letter would have been sent by either the Dean or Professor Berkinsail. She went away to confirm it and a returned a few minute later saying she had arranged for a student to escort him to the library. Soon after a halfling younger than Cassini appeared and told him to follow her to the library. They left the main building and turned towards the large round building across the courtyard. Looking at this lieve, he could see a fort in the west side of the city and a large temple to Sehanine. There he was introduced to the librarian, before the student left. Cassini told them the book he had been looking for and they entered a grand central hall covered floor to ceiling in books. The tallest shelves were over 60ft high, navigated by people with large rolling ladders. The librarian walked him before a shelf and told him it would be on the 15th row up. Cassini climbed up, but look as he might, he couldn't spot the book, until he saw an unlabeled book on the shelf. Picking it up, it was clearly the correct one, but the same page that was burnt in Dragomir was missing. In its stead, there was a note saying "Heresy will not be tolerated!". Cassini closed the book and climbed down. He told the librarian that the book had been vandalized, the librarian asked if the original was also vandalized, but Cassini told him he only saw the one copy. The librarian was concerned and said they should probably report it. He lead Cassini to his desk and wrote a report on the situation. After Cassini showed him the note, the man was even more concerned. Cassini told him where he was staying and asked if this animosity from Sahenine is normal, but the librarian said he was not a religious scholar, though both the Dragomir and Skalenvru copies being damaged was cause for concern. Before leaving Cassini asked if he could visit the temple and the librarian wrote him a pass for the day, before seeing him out.