The Syndicate

whatever counts as floof will go here eventually.

Syn inspected the Moon Scepter, looking for anything—anything—out of place, but everything seemed to be as it should be. The Moon Scepter appeared untouched. It was remarkable to think that he, an expert on imperial treasures, had been called upon to examine the Moon Scepter simply because a single servant had reported rumors of an attempted theft. There were always rumors circulating about people attempting to pilfer the treasures within the imperial gallery; however, that didn't necessarily justify his urgent summons to the palace.

"So, was there anything amiss?" inquired the Arbiter who had summoned Syn.

"No," he replied, "Nothing out of place at all. The item could use a bit more regular dusting, but otherwise, everything seems fine."

"Excellent. Well, we will arrange for your payment and reassignment."

"Reassignment? What are you suggesting?"

"You are to be assigned to one of the schools near Teod. You and your family will be reimbursed for your troubles, but you are required to commence your studies there immediately."

With those words, the Arbiter departed the gallery, leaving Syn standing in dismay. If only Syn had realized that the Arbiters had been testing him. If he had, he would have noticed that the Scepter he had inspected was a duplicate, placed by the Arbiters to ensure their experts were just that.

If our own experts can't identify an obvious forgery, the Arbiter pondered, perhaps we should be somewhat more concerned about these rumors.

Epignosis strolled through the imperial gallery, his gaze fixated upon the Moon Scepter.
“Ah, the Rose Empire’s most famous piece,” he exclaimed aloud.
A nearby servant looked up at Epignosis, curiosity piqued by the presence of this rambling man in the restricted area. Epignosis caught the servant’s eye and offered a humble bow.
“Excellent job in here, by the way,” he remarked, his attention returning to the Scepter. “Everything is nice and neat—a fine collection the Empire possesses. Alas, I do believe she can manage the rest on her own. I'll return when needed. Perhaps I'll even finish that story I was sharing with her.”
“Who?” the servant inquired.
“A master artist,” Epignosis replied. “She’s assisting me in the theft of that Scepter.”
The servant's mouth fell agape. There was no way he’d been serious, she thought, but Epignosis turned and departed both the gallery and the palace before she could even question further.

Seanzie was on guard duty, making the normal rounds within the imperial palace. Nothing spectacular would ever happen while he was on his shift. Passersby in the halls were all recognizable officials, servants, and the occasional foreign ambassador.
I could take a nap, he thought, but Captain Zu would have my hide... So Seanzie continued through the monotony of palace work, for all of five minutes.

Seanzie awoke to Captain Zu jabbing his side with the pommel of his sword. "You're relieved," Zu said, "Pack up your things. You're lucky that the Arbiters are merciful."

When the only interesting things in a job were the occasional eavesdropping, the Fool thought, it really makes sense that anyone would fall asleep in his situation.
Without looking up, the Fool walked past Captain Zu and Seanzie to take a peek at the imperial gallery.

falcon45ca wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:08 pm

DrWilgy wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:02 pm Mid Day tally. This is what I've observed so far.

Thunal
Voters: Epi

Lime Coke
Voters: Falcon

Seanzie
Voters: Lime Coke

@falcon45ca if you could vote in the poll that'd be appreciated.

I can't see his name in the list

Please see the update to the rules of 'Reacting Soulstamp' This was supposed to say 'Reacting Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. If warded, their ward will ALWAYS alert.' and the original has been updated to reflect this. This was a keyword typo that I missed until now.

Shai stepped into one of the imperial palace's many old storerooms giving it a quick once over. Mildewed Boxes, covered furniture, Imperial fool standing in the back of the room, a grin under his sharp nose.

"Well, didn't you take your sweet time arriving," he remarked. "More trouble making it this far than you anticipated?"

"No, not nearly." Shai said. "One of us, at least, needed to make sure the palace layout matched what we knew."

From what Shai did notice, the palace was mostly alike the layout the two had researched earlier. Minor changes due to the accumulation of damages throughout the years would not affect their greater plans in any significant way. The movement of guards and servants also matched what was expected, with of course, some sluggish morning behaviors affecting several she had observed.

"Anyways, shall we?" The Imperial fool asked? His outfit suddenly different, and his face was now dirty. He shoved several cleaning rags into a bucket and picked it up, the spitting image of an imperial servant hard at work. Shai only had a minute to wonder how this frustrating man always disguised himself so quickly. Had she even looked away?

"Yes, lets." Shai replied. "We should be able to hide amongst servants and staff for a few days. We'll learn all we can about the Moon Scepter in that time. I'll need that to make the copy. This room and the two store rooms on the floor beneath us should be fine for us meet at if needed."

Shai pulled a seal from one of her pockets and placed on the underside of her blouse. The seal easily took and sank into the fabric, transforming her out of place clothing into a perfect match of the outfits worn by the servants. She grabbed an old broom off the wall and knocked off the cob webs draping off the handle. At least that wouldn't require any forgery.

Starting a question, Shai looked back, and the Imperial Fool was already gone. Well then... Shai sighed, set her gait to a swift pace, and stepped into the hallway. The heist has now begun.

**Disclaimer!**
This game will contain information/names/concepts from the novel, but will not contain spoilers for the book. I'd think of this more of the aroma you get by walking near the restaurant rather than going inside and seeing the food for yourself. As a fan, I hope I can do these books justice.

Searching Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. You will discover if they are or aren't a vanilla civilian.
Diminishing Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. Their vote will not count during the next day phase. This will have no affect if it threatens vote parity.
Reacting Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. If warded, their ward will ALWAYS alert.
Disabling Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. Their ability use will be blocked.
Silencing Soulstamp: You may target a player in the night. During the next day, they will have a stricter posting limit.

Congrats! You are a vanilla civilian! Eliminate the threats to the town!