Session 2-The Peak of the Harvest

   The morning after the warehouse fire felt very different for everyone. Peasants delivering goods to the packing warehouse looked haunted. Nobody walked overly close to the shuttle launch pad except town constables who seemed to always been keeping an eye on it. Ian wasn't especially keen on the attention.  The following day things were worse as rumors of entire fields of crops were set on fire over night. The town was alive with people gossiping about the attacks on freemen farms but the consensus was that the Baron was too afraid to take action against the Avesti . One of the Engineers loyal to the Baron spoke up and reminded the PCs that the Baron was already over a barrel trying to defend this last harvest and couldn't count on the Orthodoxy to support him if he stood up to the Avesti. And now that the Avesti know what they can get away with they'll only grow more bold.
   In the evening an engineer brought one of the boys that worked for the Engineer's Hall into the barracks. Kira knew the boy as Dam Wei, he was a bright kid who ran messages and delivered things around the town. Boys like him were pre-apprentices, working for talons for the chance to show their intelligence and technical aptitude to be recommended for apprenticeship in the guild and Dam Wei had a bright future. Rumor was the Avesti caught Dam Wei, a freeman boy, with a squawker and held him down in the town square and put the Brand of Technosophy to his cheek. Dam Wei was burned terribly but worse still nobody in the League would offer him a chance to work with that mark on his face, they may sympathize but they couldn't afford that kind of target on their operations. The other engineers were horrified and shocked at such an act of aggression by the Avesti. Kira was cold angry and calculating how to eliminate the Avesti.
   Ian interrupted her silent rage by asking the men huddled in the Engineer barracks what they were going to do. Kira detailed the condition of the tissue, how deep the brand had penetrated and that the flesh would have to be removed down to the muscle to eradicate the wound. Someone suggested Elixir but Kira's examination of the wound made it seem dubious a single dose would be enough. Engineers and Charioteer looked around at once another to see who was going to spend money for two doses of Elixir before Kira mentioned they could shave the flesh off so that the Exlir was working on a fresh wound rather than burned skin. All of the guilders put their money in for the Elixir shot, they poured rough brandy down the boy's throat and strapped Dam Wei to a sterile table and held him as Kira cut away the burned flesh, the boy screaming in drunken agony. With the "surgery" complete they gave him the shot of elixir and left him crying on the table. In the morning the wound was still ugly but hit had healed a lot. They gave Dam some anti-septic and a ride back to his home to heal-up.
   The next night Ian had come by the packing house after the peasants called it a day to discuss their little criminal conspiracy. Both were still a bit haunted and angry about the fate of Dam Wei and Ian was getting paranoid that the Inquisition might find their hiding spot and the store of botanicals. Suddenly from outside they heard a woman's voice shout "IN THE NAME OF THE BARON OPEN THIS DOOR." Both guilders, already on edge panicked, shutting down the processing equipment and looking for a way out of the packing house. The gleaming metal of a sword blade pushed between the bay doors and splinters began to shoot from the door as it hyper-vibrated, sparks coming off the lock as the vibrosaber chewed it apart. Ian listened at the back door and could hear the cocking of a gun, as he peeked through the gap under the door he could see boots standing a short distance away. The door finally gave way and slowly opened, lock still smoking. Standing in the doorway was an angry young woman in a fine kimono, looking ready to cut down anyone who challenged her "Stand your ground with your hands visible.." Both Ian and Kira raised their hands in surrender.
   Sakura Naganaka Li-Halan paced toward them with her sword cocked to strike, still humming menacingly "What is your business in my Father's industry house?" Kira wasn't a great liar but she was a liar. Hands up, sweating bullets Kira explained "We work here ma'am.. I'm packing your father's botanicals he's getting ready to ship them for you. We're meant to be here." Sakura eyed them suspiciously "So late?? Why are you here after all others have gone?" her tone menacingly suspicious. Kira bowed respectfully "Ma'am, we are overworked with the harvest, we're only trying to meet your father's expectations." Sakura didn't like the edgy tone in Kiras voice so she extended a white gloved hand to occlude Kira's face as she directed her attention to Ian "Do you wish to tell a different story Charioteer?" Ian was nearly shitting himself eyeing that vibro-blade and the angry little noblewoman "I'm just here to find out how much I'm carrying ma'am, I don't know anything.. please.." Sakura's features softened, a slight blush of embarrassment under her white make-up. She switched off her sword and sheathed it and busied herself looking over the packing house, unsure of what any of it did or indicated "I have heard word that free farmers are selling their crop to smugglers who are stealing from the Barony. How would they get their medicine plants distilled?". Kira stepped around the lady's shoulder, her head bowed "They couldn't process the nectar or oil here ma'am.. The crops are brought in by the field bosses and picked up by your Father's men, nobody else has access to the facilities." Sakura snorted at the Engineer, still not approving of her manner and looked to Ian "Is this so?". Ian shrugged helplessly "I ... I don't know, Kira is the expert, I'm just trying to find out what my flight weight will be at the end of the month. But it sounds right.." Sakura turned to face them both thoughtfully and said "I will stop these men who dishonor my father. I respect that while you work for my family you have other tasks to attend to. If you will discover these filthy smugglers I will reward you with 100 Firebirds each.." Kira swallowed with a dry throat, carefully monitoring her tone and posture "Respectfully my lady.. We wish to respect your father's law and uphold his honor as it is a reflection of our own.. But is it really worth your effort to chase after petty freepersons who steal a bin or two of raw crop? Especially with the Proclamation taking effect?". Sakura's eyes hardened at Kira "That Proclamation is nothing short of a political attack against my father. The Baron has graciously bowed to the might of the Archbishop but it is no less of a strike at his honor. And those thieves have stolen bushels if not tons of the crop. Their subterfuge is anything but petty..". It suddenly dawned on both Kira and Ian that they were not the only ones stealing crop and worse still, their competitors were more ambitious. The lady apologized for startling them and called her her squire watching the back door with a scream of "AIKO! Come now!". A petite and demure young woman cradling a shotgun far too large for her tiny frame hurried around the packing house to Sakura's side and they left into the night.
   The morning after being confronted by Sakura Ian suggested that they find some crates or packing to conceal their goods. Kira didn't like the risk of being caught but Ian insisted their operation needed better camouflage with Lady Sakura stumbling around unpredictably. They went to the shipping house where crates and palates of the Baron's exports were being prepared and loaded onto beat-up old guild trucks. They asked Muster who were managing the process if there were any old boxes or bags they could use and were referred to the garbage pile behind the warehouse. Kira wasn't excited about picking through trash. They encountered a pair of peasant women behind the warehouse named Pem and Phan. The women were very polite and after being offered a crest one of them ran home to fetch several nice Millirice bags and a big crate from one of the electronics shops in town. Kira asked them if they knew anything about farmers selling their crops to anyone they shouldn't but the peasants had no clue.
   Later at night Ian and Kira were packing their clever new containers with stolen product when there was a knock at the door of the packing house. They straightened up quickly and unblocked the still damaged door to find Mistress Aiko standing there with her pleasant smile and cradled shotgun. She bowed deeply and expressed Lady Sakura's apologies for her coarse manner before, claiming that her frustration over the men who are stealing from her father got the better of her and she meant no disrespect. She also pointed out that while she was guarding the rear door she had noticed that many of the bins that were in the destruction pile outside during the day had been moved inside at night and warned that such undisciplined management of the crop could make Lady Sakura regret putting her faith in the guildsmen and she insisted that they be more disciplined in their unlawfulness. She explicitly threatened that she would shoot them if her lady demanded it no matter how little she wanted to. Mistress Aiko bowed deeply and wished them a fruitful and quiet night before departing.
   The following day Ian was notified he'd be flying out to the Feng Mao School in Rio Azul to pick up the Baron's son Hansu tomorrow. The flight was usually short and he had made the trip enough that it felt routine but there was still preparations to make. He made his way about town trying to casually carouse information about farmers who may have been doing especially well this harvest or anyone who had seen a lot of raw crop from the field around the market but people seemed reluctant to trust a man everyone knew worked for the Baron. Later he hit on a brilliant idea to find the other smugglers. He went to the packing house and waited until Kira was finished.
  After nightfall the two of them traveled out into the rural homes at the edge of the barony and asked about for the home of Dam Wei. With some knocking on doors they were eventually greeted by a portly woman in a dark little home and when they explained they were checking in on their friend Wei's entire family dragged them in and offered them tea and mincemeat pie. Dam Wei was up and about but he knew nothing about goings on in the outer fief but his elderly father said he had heard about strange Autowagons driving around late in the night out in Lambert Crest. Dam Wei's mother gestured her family back and explained that Lisa Drung in her Ma Jong group is a terrible gossip and she will find out exactly who is selling crop to the smugglers tomorrow.
  Another day came with Kira working away in the packing house. She had a large backlog of crop to inspect and that meant it would be more difficult to oversee her work. So she failed bins of crop more aggressively. Ian took off in the early morning flying out to Rio Azul, weather was easy to manage. He waited for the young noble to board, got his things stowed and got him strapped into the seat in installed in the bay and flew home without any difficulty. Later in the day Kira got a note from Dam Wei that just read - Lambert Crest, East Fields, Tonight. Kira was waiting with a plan as soon as Ian's shuttle touched down.
  Kira had been out to work on a Pump House in the east fields early on in her employment. It was central to all of the freeman farms with a good view of everything. The two of them got their hands on a pushcart and hiked out into the distant fields, broke into the pump house and Kira fell asleep almost immediately leaning against a filthy irrigation pipe. In the early hours of the morning Ian saw headlights bumping across the road from Bloomfield and woke Kira up. They saw an old Autowagon passenger bus roll out across the fields to one of the freemen farms, someone got out and they began loading something into the bus in the darkness before it moved on along the circuit road around the field. Kira deduced it was going to probably hit all the farms around the fields before circling back, there wasn't time to intercept it between farms but maybe they could cut it off before it got back on the road Southbound if they ran. Ian got on the squawker and called the frequency for the Baron's residence, getting a hold of a houseman he shouted at him until the man agreed to wake Lady Sakura. Ian explained that the smugglers were in the Freeman Farms at Lambert Crest. Sakura yelled at him to detain the buss at all costs she would be there in 20 minutes. Both of them bolted down the dirty farm roads with their cart, Ian falling behind short of breath. Kira made it to the road in time to cut the buss off before it came. She drew her Rip-Roarer and aimed it at the Autowagon as it's headlights illuminated her and the old bus came to a stop.
   Even in the dark, from this distance they could see it was the Blue Tour's bus run by the Scraver Guild. One of the Scravers opened the bus door and leaned out with his hands visible "Heyy, calm down. I think we have a misunderstanding.." Ian caught up, breathless and pulled out a knife he scarcely knew how to use "There's another one.. in the back.. If you see a weapon shoot them both" and he began to circle around the bus, trying to get an eye on what the other Scraver was doing. The driver, a tall handsome guilder, with his hands still visible "Hey, no need for that.. we're just doing the job, look I'm sure my boss is willing to make this a good night for all of us.. How does 50 Firebird a piece sound, you just go home and sleep richer? Kira lowered her automatic pistol, relaxing her posture "Ok, I'm listening.." Suddenly the shorter Scraver came out of the bus with a crossbow aimed at Kira, his tall friend protesting "Len, fuck, put that down..". Ian shouted from behind the pair "200 Firebirds each.. or we shoot you and take your crop."  The taller Scraver reached back calmly and lowered Lem's crossbow before looking back and forth at Kira and Ian "Look I don't have that much.. but Boss Blue can make you.." and as Ian moved out of the crossfire Kira lifted her gun and opened up with three seconds of automatic gunfire, cutting down the taller of the Scravers and badly wounding the crossbowman until the firing bolt clicked empty. Ian was stunned at the thunderous blasting for seconds after the echo died. He saw the wounded  Scraver lifting his crossbow as Kira reloaded and he moved in, stabbing him to death with his small knife. Both of them looked at one another for a moment before Ian spoke "You shot them..". Kira blinked "I thought you wanted me to shoot them.." Ian, still a bit stunned "Noo! I... shit..". He got on the buss to see what they had shot two Scravers over and found stacks of bins of Goldflower, probably hundreds of Firebirds worth. He also found a small revolver tucked under the dashboard and reasoned the Scraver would have tried to shoot them.. perhaps.
   Lady Sakura arrived minutes later just as solders from Lambert Ridge were rolling up to the scene. and told both of them to wait in her autocoach. She went to talk to Akihiro's Muster enforcers, explaining the situation with the calm authority Noble's are capable of. When she returned to the guilders in the luxury Coach she explained to them that they may need to be interviewed but that they aren't in any danger. Her father isn't going to allow them to lay in a dungeon. She let them out near their home and drove off.
  The following day both Kira and Ian had a visit from Mistress Aiko who humbly offered them a small ornate box packed with firebirds for their aid to her lady. Kira continued her questionable rejection of crop bins, building up her stock in the rejection pile behind the Packing House. Ian legitimately had work to do for once, scrubbing built-up carbon out of his thrusters after the long atmospheric flight. Later that night they shared some beers in the packing house as they worked on distilling product.  They decided since the following day was the rest day before the Holy Day they would travel into Carllion and spend some of their heroic rewards and ill-gotten gains.
  The following morning both Kira and Ian bought tickets at Blue Tours and rode into the city on an old dilapidated passenger Autowagon. They were told when the bus back to town would leave and were dumped out into the bustling city square. Kira had stopped off in Carllion on her way to Lawton but Ian had never visited. The was large and wide open with maxcrete streets and tall imperious white buildings. It wasn't nearly the size of Avalonia but it was clean and bright, well ordered with well-to-do citizens well-dressed and quiet streets. Kira started her shopping at a gunsmith's. She wanted to have her Rip-roarer modified to allow semi-automatic fire and to have an additional magazine pressed for the gun. Ian splurged on a big hand-cannon and he commissioned a removable stock so he could fire it like a rifle. They visited a swordsmith and a clothier that dealt in synthsilk. After burning through hundreds of Firebirds they went to a really nice restaurant and had a lunch well above their means. They attracted a lot of attention dressed in work clothes dining with nobles but two Li-Halan Noblemen in particular were openly staring at them and talking to one another. Kira decided she wanted to go, so they paid for lunch and moved on. The Nobles followed and they had to evade them being almost unarmed and unready for a confrontation. They hid in a pet shop for the last hour of their visit before skulking back to their bus back to Lawton.
   As the rickety bus pulled up in front of Blue Tours the driver helped the visiting students and young nobles gather their things but directed Ian and Kira to wait for the other passengers. Before they could disembark a stern looking woman with bright blue hair styled in eccentric waves boarded the bus looking at the both of them "You know who I am and what you did to me.. we should have a conversation about how you plan to repay me.." Kira scrunched up her features "Your men broke the law and attacked us.. seems we don't have much to talk about.." The woman's jaw tightened "I don't see how that has anything to do with Firebirds not in my accounts. You're going to want to think about how you'll pay me back before I think of a way.." and she disembarked. With a wave of her hand the diver nodded and helped Ian and Kira off the bus.
   Nervous about how payback would happen Kira and Ian went back to the packing house to conspire and distill their backlog of botanicals. Yet again in the middle of their smuggling there was a knock at the doors. Kira shut down their work while Ian went to go look and he found Lady Sakura standing outside alone. She asked politely to be let in and Ian opened the door. The unusually demure noble explained that she was hoping to speak to them about what could be done about the Avesti Priests. A few ideas were tossed around but Sakura didn't like any harm done to a priests coming back to her Father until Kira casually mentioned poison. "I don't want to kill them necessarily" Sakura offered cautiously. "Very few poisons kill, it would be much easier to make them very very sick.. sick enough to want to go home.". Ian looked at his compatriot curiously, finding more and more of her skillset suspect. Sakura pursed her lips with obvious reservations "Could we be sure no harm would come to them?" Kira shrugged "You can make them annoyed or you can make them sick. If you make them sick there's a risk you'll make some of them dead, perhaps.. but you'll make them gone.." Sakura pursed her lips "How soon could this thing be done" Kira shrugged "Tomorrow? It's not a very complicated recipe.." Sakura gave them money for ingredients and told them she'd like to strike the following night.
   In the morning Kira got the word from her Cheif that she would be off-duty today. She woke Ian up and headed into the market to pick up cooking tools and the necessary herbs and medicines. The idea was less of a toxin and more like a horrible concentrated diuretic. The work wasn't pleasant, nor did it smell good. Ian fetched Kira lunch and kept watch on what the Avesti were up to. Not many people he had spoken with had seen them around town today, which generally didn't bode well, but more than a few people had seen them gathered around the old Junk Garden in Copper Hills. When night fell they had about 16 doses of a potent silvery powder that would "turn a man inside-out" and were debating how they'd introduce it to the priests, perhaps water or get it into their food. Sakura's coach arrived and Aiko invited them in. The noblelady eyed the powder in the bag "We're sure it's safe?". Kira cleared her throat "It's poison my lady, but as safe as poison gets. I know my trade." Again Ian wrinkled his nose about about 'her trade' but said nothing. The plan was hatched on the drive. Ian and Kira would get out in the shadows near the Junk Garden and move in on foot while Lady Sakura would provoke a distraction at the gate to draw them in. The plan was to investigate and poison if possible but to take no chances. They got out down the hill from the reeking hills of garbage and snuck in closer. Neither of them were especially capable at skulking but they moved carefully and avoided anything too noisy. Luckilly there was a loud argument going on down at the Reclamation Barn by the time they got into the garbage piles. They could see tents in a valley north of the barn and a cookfire going. There was nobody around so Ian had a quick look around while Kira poured poison into their meal and stirred it in. Ian didn't find much of note, weapons, dirty clothes and rations. Kira didn't like the idea of getting caught so they quickly moved off into the dark to reunite with Lady Sakura as she drove away. The deed was done and it didn't sit especially well with anyone.
   The following day Ian woke from a restless sleep and didn't want to be around if  Avesti priests staggered into down bleeding from their eyes. He caught Kira before she went in to work and convinced her to call out sick. With her contract coming to an end it seemed to matter less and less if she was at her post. The both of them got tickets at Blue Tours and rode the bus back into Carllion to pick up their weapons at the gunsmith's and do some window shopping. It did a lot to take Ian's mind off of poisoned priests and after Kira bought some upscale clothes she managed to con her way into the university library so they could kill and afternoon looking over information about the area. They learned that Carllion was built on the foundation of a 2nd Republic bio-medical and pharmaceuticals campus for a corporation called Biochime. After some remarkably fortunate digging they found out that there were more facilities in the region. One of them called D9 was a research facility where changed were created. Ian was instantly chilled at the realization that that facility's title was the same warped marking he bore as part of his product tattoo. Rampart wasn't just where his father was from but where his people were from.
   In the late afternoon they boarded bus bearing their new freshly permitted weaponry decked out in synthsilk. On the long drive back crowded in with tourists the driver repeatedly tried to raise someone on his squawker before he announced that the bus would be unloading at the Shuttle Platform because of traffic. As they rolled past Blue Tours the Ian and Kira could see a mob of armed Scraver's waiting for them. As the driver handed them their things he explained that it was going to be an ambush but they were both armed up like Muster and he wasn't being paid enough to be in the middle of that. He encouraged them to settle accounts with Lula Blue.

Session 1-Beginning of the Harvest

   Kira was working her way through purity tests on Goldflower as peasants brought bins of the exotic plant into her little testing room in the back of the packing house. Her work was a slog, calculating chemical content in the nectar. When she had started in the Packing House it was late summer and the heat was oppressive but now at the end of the harvest the nights were cold enough she word a coat in the drafty office. Rumors had been spreading all week about the Archbishops new Proclamation of Ethical Botany and Animal Husbandry, a church edict that would threaten the entire industry of the feif of Bloom and more specifically the contract the Engineers worked on.
   When she was called into her Cheif Engineer's offices she expected to find out she would be working longer shift but Cheif Bak sheepishly announced that the Baron had decided to comply with the Proclamation and if there would not be another planting season for botanicals there would be no more contract for a botanical tester. She was blindsided, her skills her impressive but very specialized there wouldn't be a lot of other opportunities for her. The Chief tried to mollify her with the hope that there would be some work for botanists as they change the crop over, maybe a short contract but she knew what agriculture work paid. She returned to her testing room angry looking around at the workplace she had built stacks of bins full of rejected Goldflower and Willowfinger. She stared at the failed crop, it was of poor purity, but someone with skill could extract valuable medicinals from it and they were just going to throw it away.
   Ian was asleep in the cargo bay of the shuttle on his 8th day without flying. Even with the harvest in full swing this contract was pretty uneventful. His maintenance tech Dennis hurried into the shuttle and shook him until he pulled up his head to look around blearily "Ian! Haggen wants to see you. Reeves Manager Hanse Haggen managed most of the guilt contracts and was Ian's only real superior and the man was almost completely uninterested in him so long as cargo got where it was going and passengers flew in and out on time. Ian pulled himself out of his hammock and pulled on his good flight suit, running along the work road towards the palace grounds. He met Manager Haggen in his small office in the west wing. Haggen was a Reevey-looking old man with thick glasses and a roman nose. He dressed well but his hair was always poorly kept, his face just a day behind a good clean shave. Haggen sat Ian down with his file open and reviewed his contract, which made the Charioteer sweat bullets. Reeves never reviewed your contract because they wanted to pay you more. Haggen told him that with the adoption of new Church policy they would not require a full-time pilot any longer and while they would keep him on month-to-month for a time they were going to cash out his contract penalty and let him go at the end of the month.
  Ian was at a loss for what to do. He walked out of the palace grounds in a daze. He had no other connections on planet and lucked his way into the shuttle pilots position by low-balling the contract. He wouldn't be that lucky twice. Ian took a detour through the crowded market streets and thought about getting some Chunjan and Noodle but money was about to be tight so he decided against it. While he was looking at old pins on a merchant's table, a kid ran through the market followed by a red-robed priest. Ian had seen them in the town square preaching their shame sermons but this was new. The priest caught the boy and peeled back his hooded tunic to unveil his canine features to the gasps of the crowd. The Avesti Priest lectured about the cost of laying with impure blood as he branded the screaming Changed child in front of horrified townsfolk. Ian had had enough of that, he moved along, covering his genetic tattoo. Ian slowed down as he walked past the packing house and saw all of the bins of botanicals with rejected stickers. Those are worth a lot, he though, are they just going to toss them out somewhere?
   Kira had bade her time working in her lab, counting bins in the rejection pile thoughtfully. She slid a few of them under her prep table before she turned out the lights and headed back to the engineer's hall at the edge of town. As she passed the shuttle platform the other piece of her plan jogged loosely like the wrong piece of a puzzle fitting in. She could steal all of the nectar and oil she could carry but if she couldn't get it to the agora there would be no payment for it. She had to bring in the Charioteer. He was a loner and probably also going to be out of work soon. Kira was attractive and well-spoken but she was held back from becoming a spy for a reason. She was much better in quick exchanges. She sat up writing something bening to look self-absorbed so the other Engineers would ignore her. Once they had gone to sleep she turned out her desk light and walked out to knock at the shuttle.
   Inside of the Shuttle Ian was playing music loudly, no flight schedule had thrown him into a spiral of later and later nights. The rapping at his cargo ramp surprised him and the cute Engineer standing outside made him flash a dumb smile, one she obviously didn't like. He waved her in and offered her a drink from the Baron's courtesy bar. Nobody kept track of what was in there anyhow. Kira got right to the point, laying out a way Ian could get rich quick without anyone catching on. All he had to do was transport her and the product to Avalonia City and to his contacts in the market. Ian didn't really know anyone in The Agora that mattered but he wasn't passing on free firebirds. He let her know that his next flight to the capitol was in 8 days, and just like that details of a simple and productive plan began to fall into place.
   Night after night Kira dragged her testing enough that she had to stay late and once the peasants shut the bay doors she got on the extraction machinery and began to work at extracting the valuable nectar and flower meat of the end of the harvest rejects. The poor quality plants made the work difficult for the small gains but long nights made the small increments add quickly. Ian came by in the early morning with ore cans from the mine, filled them with stolen botanical product and stored them under the shuttle platform until he knew how much cargo he was transporting.
  With two days until the caper Chief Bak called Kira into his office. He had a bin of botanicals that she rejected to steal on his desk and he looked angry. She reached glanced at the work floor and searched her pockets for something she could use to stab him in the neck if she needed. He told her he had seen fresh Goldflower in the rejected pile and tested it and found it was viable. He frowned and told her she had been pushing herself too hard, that this was the end of the contract and there was nothing to gain from killing herself to meet a deadline hat wasn't going to matter. Kira apologized and assured him she had just tagged the wrong bin and it wouldn't happen again. She smiled as she walked out. She liked Bak, it would be unfortunate if she had to silence him.
   On the morning of the launch Muster Sgt Feng rolled up to the shuttle with an Autowagon full of mining ore and had some peasants load it into the shuttle. Ian "balanced the load" making sure to leave plenty of space for smuggling. Kira took the day off and showed up without warning deciding she didn't trust the Charioteer entirely and she was going with him. They discretely loaded their ill-gotten goods onto the shuttle ran pre-flight and had a pleasant flight to the capitol city. On the tarmac they waited for about two hours for a Charioteer merchant that was always late to arrive and sign for the ore canisters, leaving them free to wander the market. Ian lead them to the market hall where merchants bought and sold medicinal. By the time they arrived many of the merchants were packing up for the day. They stopped at a few of the herb merchants to haggle and found two of them who were interested in their canisters of distilled nectar tincture and fluffy air-tight bags of goldflower. With some shrewd bargaining from Ian they turned a week's worth of treachery into 320FB.
   With most of the Agora gone dark Kira was eager to get to a weapon shop with her money They hurried through the night streets until they found an open gun broker. Nothing he had in his shop was affordable. While the shopkeeper was busy putting things away for the night a sly looking Scraver introduced himself as Maez and let them know his boss had weapons he'd be willing to make a deal for. Kira was determined to get something to protect herself and if Ian was being honest he felt a bit vulnerable, but didn't like the idea of wandering off with a Scraver. and all these Firebirds. Still despite his better judgement he followed the eager Engineer and their new Scraver friend into the wookworking district into an old reclamation warehouse where Scraver guards stood outside. Kira adjusted the rapier on her hip, ready for a fight. Maez, good to his word, led them upstairs to an office occupied by a fat-cheeked man with the Eye of Ben Hadir tatooed over his eye, Boss Harmon. Harmon had a simple offer. He showed them a fancy modified Ripper autofeed and told them if they ensured that the wife of the Jewler on Pearl Street was killed in a break-in he would let them keep the Rip-Roarer and a writ of licence to carry it, no questions asked. Ian didn't even have time before Kira agreed.
   As they moved through the bustling city streets Kira explained that they would go and warm the wife and have the gun and be in the air before the Scravers knew better. Ian seemed doubtful a double-cross would work but Kira seemed oddly informed of how fast word could get back to Boss Harmon, so he acquiesced. At the shop they knocked at the door until the lights came on and a woman came to the door. Kira convinced the jewler's wife they were being chased by thugs and needed help to trick her way in and she held the woman, Nola, at sword-point as they explained that the Skravers were willing to have her killed to get their protection money. They ran into a scrape when Earl the jeweler came down into the shop with a shotgun but they gradually convinced him that if they were assassins he'd have a dead wife. They backed out of the shop, ran back to the furniture factory and collected their gun and writ and hurried back to the shuttle.
   The weather going back East was bad but they didn't think it was smart to wait. They took off and powered through the turbulence, landing back in Bloom Barony just before sunrise. Nobody seemed to notice as they sleepily split their Firebirds and readied to go back to their bunks. Ian looked at her, "I'm flying back to Avalonia in 28 days, it may be our last opportunity". Kira smiled, "I'll make sure we're ready".
   The following day Ian filed his receipt for the shipment and cleaned the shuttle. Kira showed up at the packing house with a smile and glibly hummed as she ran tests. The deliveries started to stack up and workers complained about the work piling up. This was the peak of the harvest and it was going to be trivial to smuggle a good quantity out. At the end of the long day both Kira and Ian avoided one another, deciding it was better not to be seen together in case anyone grew suspicious of their activity. At night there was a commotion coming from town, firelight across rooves and a plume of smoke rising into the night sky. Ian and Kira saw each other in the street in the crowd of people who came out to see what was going on. One of the warehouses in the Cathedral grounds was engulfed in flames and everyone around was scared of what it could mean.

Game Background

Setting

The game takes place in the town of Lawton in the rural Barony of Bloom on Rampart. The population is under 10k. There is some guild representation and more than one temple but less than 100 nobles, less than 200 guild or church, about less than 3500 freemen. The barony is seated in the foothills of the Ceremanique Mountains stretching into the Ombre forest until the Law River. Lawton is about 35 miles inland from the city of Carllion with at least some representation of the major factions. It is a processing and agricultural hub for the Barony. Most people who can grow up and move to the city.

The region makes its fortune from botanicals grown in Bloom's lush volcanic soil some of the plants have controversial alchemical properties that the Church opposes and they have finally taken a hard line that the practice of growing herbs and fungi for non-merciful-technal use will have to stop. The Archbisop of Carllion has drafted the Proclamation of Ethical Botany and Husbandry, outlawing cultivation of immoral crops and changed livestock. The entire industry of the region is dedicated to specialized medicinal farming and returning to crop farming will be very hard. Many people are upset especially Freemen that were skimming product at a high profit. A rebellion against the Church's decision is quickly forming among those disenfranchised.

There are minority economies in Lawton. It has a tired lumber industry that struggles against increased attacks from those that hide in the Ombre Forrest. It has several struggling copper and zinc mines. It produces enough millirice to feed it's peasants and has larger commercial orchards but overall still must import a large amount of it's food from Carllion. Lawton has a few small electronics factories because of the very inexpensive cost of copper and other rare earth materials. Perhaps most successfully it has a decent trade in tourism from people who are looking for a taste of wilderness in her mountains and forests. Every year hundreds of tourists travel out to Lawton to escape a planet choked with technology.

Persons of Interest

Baron Ikeda Naganaka Li-Halan – Baron Ikeda is an elderly man haunted by mistakes in his past. His wife is estranged to him living in a monastery in Rio Azul. His eldest Son vanished in the Emperor Wars and is presumed dead. The Baron struggles to make a worthwhile heir out of his daughter but if he cannot he faces the possibility that his lands will be forfeit to another noble despite his excellent management.

Lady Sakura Naganaka Li-Halan – The Baron’s daughter and intended heir. Sakura is well remembered for her manners and grace but in her late teens she took a rebellious turn. She returned from school after her father and mother’s separation and began a campaign of misbehavior. She drinks to excess. She duels in the street. She threatens those that disrespect her father. Her behavior is alarming to the conservative population of the fief but she has won man admirers from those that feel that her father’s complacency has allowed problems in the fief to worsen.

Lord Hansu Naganaka Li-Halan – The Baron’s surviving son teenage son is rarely seen in the fief outside of school vacations. He is soft-spoken and even tempered and most say he strongly resembles his father as a boy. Hansu has recently expressed interest in knighthood and is often seen wearing a sword.

Lord Akihiro Okemo Li-Halan – Young Lesser Lord consumed with security. Lord Akihiro rules over Lambert Crest. He sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Sheriff of Bloom. He directly oversees the training of militia soldiers. Akihiro is outspoken about his displeasure with the Baron’s lax security and keeps a retinue of Muster to protect his lands and peasants.

Lord An Drung D’rogue Glace – A lamentably lazy lesser noble who enjoys his wealth in isolation with his wife and concubines. Lord An Drung rules over Copper Hills. He sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Lord Chancellor, organizing events and entertaining important guests in the fief. His family members are socialites whose connections in the city could make them more powerful than the Baron. Lord An Drung is recently alarmed by the Church’s Proclamation as his fief leans heavily on the profitable botanical drugs that are to be eradicated. He is actively petitioning the Baron to push back against the Church, growing more desperate.

Lady Wei Shon Fung-Ma Li-Halan– Lady Wei Shon is an elderly ultra-conservative with Kungjin Caste family connections. Lady Wei Shon rules over Harmony Ridge. She sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Trade Minister, overseeing Guild contracts and negotiations. Her husband died in the wars along with her elder son and she is very protective of her younger son and heir Dasto, insulating him from much of the world until he’s ready to rule. Her mothering demeanor has earned her the moniker “Mother Crane” behind her back. Many gossip that if Baron Naganaka cannot manage the current crisis with the Church that the Fung-Ma heir will sit on his throne.

Reeves Manager Hanse Haggen – Hanse is an attentive well spoken young man who serves the Baron as his Chancellor of Finance, managing tax collection and budget for the Barony. For his diligence and secrecy he is rewarded far beyond what a man of his experience would normally be. The coming uncertainty of the Church Proclamation threatens to throw off every projection he has made for the next decade and throw the Barony's finances into disarray and Hanse is desperate for any solution to avoid it.

Muster Sergeant Law Feng – The Sergeant is the long-term contract manager of a massive copper mining concern along the Ceremanique mountain range. The work isn’t very profitable but it is just enough to get him a seat on the Baron’s Council. Feng is an egotistical braggart who claims ancestry to the founder of Lawton. He views the Proclamation as a boon to his contract and increases his value to the Barony.

Scraver Boss Lula Blue – Blue Tours is a remote tour hopper company that attracts an unusual clientele from Carllion of young adventurous tourists. They travel to pristine natural locations for skiing or hiking adventures in the remote natural fringes of Rampart. It is rumored that Blue Tours is just a front for drug smugglers and immoral bacchanals but from all appearances Boss Blue is an ethical and conservative and curiously profitable business. Her Genin on the other hand are ruthless and heavy-handed throwing their weight around to the point of threats of violence and kidnappings. Boss Blue is always shocked at their outrageous behavior.

Orthodox Bishop Zhao Li Chun – Bishop Zhao is the young handsome replacement for the former Bushop. He is an acolyte of the Archbishop’s social circle appointed specifically in preparation for this hard-line push in Bloom. Despite this path being laid out for him Zhao is struggling sectarian conflict and priests resistant to change. Bishop Zhao is impatient and frustrated with the Baron’s push-backs on the Proclamation and the Archbishop pressures him for progress in the foothills.

Lord Marshall Jae-Bok Saeng – Marshall Jae is not eldest or the strongest of the Knight of Yara in town, so the fact that she is a Marshall of the order should make you think. Jae is a cocksure do-gooder who loves teaching children the fighting arts and seems to seek out chances to say “Why don’t you pick on someone my size”. The fact that so few take up her offer and that she doesn’t compete in tournaments or festivals only adds to the rumors of her supernatural fighting skills.

Engineer Chief Jin Bak – Chief Jin manages the packing house for the fief under the guidance of Lady Wei Shon Fung-Ma Li-Halan, Jin is a natural born worrier facing major cut-backs in his operation and the stress is making him exceptionally uptight.

Engineer Apprentice Dennis Hume – Apprentice Hume performs maintenance for the fief's shuttle and miscellaneous tasks around the fief. He is a strong believer in the adage that the nail that sticks out gets hammered first. He keeps his head down and does his job without complaint or comment, but that leaves a lot of Hume's life that nobody accounts for.
The Dog father - A mysterious figure who rules over the Hounds that live in and around the ruins of the D9 plant deep in Hombre woods. He seems to have a peculiar arrangement with the Baron that has gone on for years.
Genin Fox - Fox is a resourceful contract boss. What she doesn't know about her enterprise she works hard to learn. More unusual she's loyal to her team and looks out for them, a trait uncommon in Boss Blue's halls. She's friendly and despite her scars very attractive, but she's ever-aware of the strength of her position and not afraid to remind employers of why they contracted her if things become uncertain.
Captain Fantastic - Capt Fan is a resistance leader with Diakang Yungdong. He's accustomed to tactics for demoralizing the Li-Halan but doesn't enjoy harming people or inflicting casualties. He believes strongly that it is the duty of leaders to do what's best for people and he feels the Li-Halan are failing dangerously in that aim so he and his people have allied themselves with other rebellion groups in the mountains, protecting them from Li-Halan interference.

Factions

Order of Yara Knights – The Samaratan Knights of the Amalthean faith have long served as a force for order in the Barony, stepping in to back up the Baron's forces when there were threats to Bloom. They are a cross between the philanthropy and goodwill of the boyscouts and the discipline and fanaticism of the Shaolin monks. There are less than a dozen of the knights in the foothills, residing in a The Temple of Soft Lessons at the edge of town.

The Pilgrims of the Unquenchable fire – Avesti extremists who have long chafed with the knowledge that the church is protecting “drug pedlars” in the neighboring Baronies while addicts die in the streets in the city. They are angry and now that the Church has stepped in the area vindicated in a hate they were once shamed for. Without Church sanction of Bloom they are emboldened and have begun attacking farms or farm workers. Nobody is sure where they're operating out of.

Dikang Yungdong - A subversive resistance group that hinders Li-Halan rule. They gather intelligence and organize protests and riots among the disaffected populations. When they do act directly it is with calculated operations that inflict public shame on members of the noble family. Dikang Youngdong is closely aligned with many Republicanism groups on the planet and tends to work in conjunction with them.

The Children of Yue – Tribes of Animalized Changed found in the Ombre Forrest, descendants of when Carllion City was a massive biochem campus. Despite the prejudice against them, many children are allied with the Li-Halan military serving as scouts in the deep woodlands. Others are less welcoming of humans in their woods.

The Red Dragon Brigade – Count Gijan Li-Halan’s Royal Guard are barracked in Lawton to protect it from the threat of Dikang Youngdong. The Red Dragon are elite soldiers sworn unto death in service of the Count and the Crown. Many believe their superior conditioning and stamina are the product of genetic tampering. The Red Dragons, despite their fierce reputation, mostly take casual patrols into the forest and mountains and drink with the militia soldiers in town. But on the few occasions where the Red Dragons intercede in law enforcement their reputation is chillingly established.

Non-Ui – Less of a faction and more of a fandom. Non-Ui is a popular band of handsome young singer/performers on Rampart that makes its home in Lawton. These seven men play traditional Li-Halan popular music about poetically graceful noble ladies and the value of virtue. They perform at festivals and tournaments, you can hear them live on radio stations around the planet, they sell out concert halls. Most of Rampart views their recordings of populist propaganda garbage but that still means thousands of young fans come to meet them in Lawton each year.

Places

The Temple of St. Jun – St. Jun’s is the seat of the Orthodox Parrish and the center for Church activity and the tallest building in Lawton. It faces the city central square with grounds and offices that take up much of the center or town including the Bishop’s stately residence.

Market Square – Lawton’s market district is reminiscent of the older street markets of Icon and Kish, narrow streets crowded with street vendors and chaotic shopfronts with long overhangs. Every corner has carts serving cheap aromatic foods, everyone is shouting, every sign glares with lights, fighting for attention. The Square is the center of Lawton’s market district, a block of the town’s most prestigious shops and businesses rising into a three story market. Town militia not only provide security to the business owners but enforce a sort of polite decorum through strict warnings and often arrests of poor behavior.

Leng Po Tea Market – Leng Po’s is the undisputed tea importer in Lawton featuring blends and strains from as far away as Malignitus. Their shop is small but the rear of the building features an undisclosed number of private tea rooms where noteworthy patrons can be served private tea. Nobles and powerful members of the Church often call meetings here as a neutral territory.

The Waterhorse – The waterhorse is a public drinking house near the town’s barracks named after a mythical beast from the time Rampart was ruled over by the League. The waterhorse is likely the best bar in Lawton with a full menu similar to the bars in the city and a good selection of hard alcohols. It is also one of a very few businesses that rent rooms to visitors. It is owned by a member of the Brewers Guild named Boyd Tanner. Many have suggested that the Waterhorse has some connection to Republican Groups despite the bar being a popular hangout for house soldiers.

Book Temple – This former Eschatonic shrine at the edge of the market district has been remade into a book store complete with all of the temple fittings and library touches. It is one of the most well-stocked book stores on the planet and the owner, Emily Wise Torenson, aggressively buys books that line the shop’s endless shelves. The church doesn’t care for her business but can’t do much to drive her out.The inquisition often searches the store for remnants of forbidden Eschatonic knowledge, which only promotes the business.

The Temple of Soft Lessons – Despite sounding like a brothel, the Temple is a sought-after fighting school run by the Amalthean order. The mission of the temple is to give free men the tools to defend themselves. For a crest any free person can receive training in basic fighting arts from lower techniques of Shidan to BAMBC. Classes are taught by Knights of the Order of Yara who reside in the cloister there. Any given weekend you can see other melee fighting teachers who are encouraged by the temple to hold classes.

Calsais Pools – High in the hills over Harmony Ridge is a forested area with cascading pools fed from a hot spring. Each pool has been fenced in for privacy and wrapped in beautiful gardens that surpass even the Baron’s private gardens in vibrant beauty. The pools are maintained by an enclave of Ur Obun that serve the Crane Mother loyally. The Pools at Calsais are an attraction that brings tourists from across the planet into the rural Bloom Barony.

The Hall at Lambert Crest – One of the privileges of serving as the Baron's Sheriff is discerning who may and may not hunt in his preserves. Upon his appointment to the position Lord Akihiro built a majestic hunting lodge deep in the wood to invite his friends and allies to partake in the exotic joy of hunting the rich game in the area. However Akihiro's popularity grew too quickly and soon the Lodge became a destination for party crashers as more and more wealthy patrons expected the hunting experience. At the advice of his gamekeepers Akihiro limited the number of hunters each year but visitors didn't care. They lounged about the hunting hall drinking and telling stories. The Hall became a refuge for powerful men from the demands of the world and soon it forbade women even in the serving staff. There are rumors of the strange debaucheries that happen at the Hall, stories of crowds of hunters going into the woods without bows and coming back drunk and wild, stories about strange injuries. Lord Akihiro is quick to scour down anyone who speaks ill of his guests but nobody imagines a petty noble is commanding the behavior of visiting Barons or Deans so much as covering it up.

Ho Peng Laiu's Amazing Journey – Ho Peng Laiu's is one part diner, one part theater, one part technosophy. The restaurant was a local eatery when the league ruled Rampart and could even be as old as the Second Republic. The restaurant was redecorated with an opulent Chinese aesthetic when the Li-Halan claimed the planet, hoping to draw in nobles, but the Li-Halen nobility despised the place and what it represented. The restaurant was bought and sold many times, each time losing more of it's elegant decor and replacing it with cheap red paint and gold foil. In the end Ho Peng Laiu's was bought by a Carnivalier who adopted the name Ho Peng Laiu. He leaned into the cheesy nature of the legendary flop, serving much cheaper food and bringing in freemen and struggling guilders and priests to eat with their families. Ho Peng Laiu's serves dinners in private rooms with a server that narrates the animated ride of earnest noble son, Ho Peng Laiu, as he strikes out seeking his great adventure. The performance is timed so that narration occurs when the server returns with each course, and has different endings depending on what the guests order. Hating Ho Peng Laiu's is a local pastime, especially among the Li-Halan. Anyone who expresses an unrealistic ambition or who talks about leaving the town for something better is quick to be called “Ho Peng”. However, almost every critic of the restaurant mysteriously knows the Ho Peng Laiu story by heart.

The Junk Garden – Near the edge of Copper Hills Fief is a patch of torn up dirt littered with garbage that is continually stacked, sorted and buried. This is the primary way the Barony disposes of non-compostable waste. The facility is run by a pair of elderly Scravers nobodies named Bin and Leon who have burnt out every option for advancement and ended up on a junk pile. They strip old technology and melt down scrap and brew some of the roughest moonshine in the region. Lord An Drong isn't happy to host the Barony dump. Most of the serfs assigned to The Junk Garden are troublemakers or simpletons. On off-duty nights The Junk Garden is often a hangout for poor guilders to socialize and drink and a source of most of the hot gossip in the Barony.

Cast of characters Characters

Charioteer Pilot Ian Corruthers (Chris) A young Charioteer crewman who has lucked his way into he pilot's chair. Ian is a Traveller, a long-lived breed of The Changed marked by his adaptability as much as the remains of the logo of the corporation that created his line millennia ago. Ian's family left him, driven on by their wanderlust. He has come to Rampart following his Father's path, wanting to know why he was abandoned. On Rampart he's found work as a Shuttle Pilot for one of the planet's few agricultural lords, transporting rare botanical and keeping a low profile.

Engineer Worker Kira Connor (Tabitha) A willy Engineer with questionable morals. Kira was recruited as a teenager by the Imperial Eye for her high intellect and near-sociopathic psychology. She worked as a low ranking asset, carrying contraband and poisoning targets. She learned a great deal very quickly but before she could promote to a higher rank she fumbled a assassination and was burned from the organization. She fled to Rampart and joined the Engineer's guild during a recruitment drive, finding good employment with her knowledge of pharmacology is an rural agro fief. Kira genuinely wants to make a change, and find a life with people she trusts rather than kills.

Lady Sakura Naganka Li-Halan (NPC) Sakura grew up with complete faith in the world she was part of. Confident in the righteous virtue of House Li-Halan and the correctness of faith in the Pancreator. As she grew into her teens she became increasingly disillusioned with her life. When her elder brother died in the war against the Decados she discovered herself Heir to a world she no longer had faith in. Sakura has become an disrespectful and confrontational noble teen, determined bring her world to order by her uncompromising will if not her vibrosaber.

Mistress Aiko Okemo Li-Halan (NPC) Aiko is Sakura's stodgy but resolutely loyal Chambermaid. She has complete faith in Sakura and her vision but isn't confused about her superior's limitations. She does what she can to talk sense into Sakura and remind her of her place and when she can't she protectively looks out for her charge any way she can.