Session Capture: Varens Session 11, Our Heroes are caught up in a SNAFU

This session was prety busy, with lots of things going on. Moved really fast, and the map looks as HILARIOUS as a FAMILY CIRCUS comic! Let's break it down!

The Cast

• Sophie - A young artificer girl, the opposite of self-aware, but wants to be recognized as a genius of her time. Her poor social graces put a damper on the possibility of that ever happening. She doesn't care. Results should speak for themselves.
• Stuart ("Corduroy") - an Innkeeper saddled with the family business, but would much rather travel the world. He can't part outright with the family tavern out of respect for his family, but he needs to find and hire people that he can trust to take care of it in his absence. Additionally, he will need to gather enough money to pay them in advance; he doesn't know how profitable the inn will be in his absence, nor how long he'll be gone.
• Wynter - a Scholar who has just wandered into the town of Wood's Edge, she is just going along with whatever Sophie and Stuart are doing. She's not from around there and doesn't know what's what, and as a result, is unfortunately using Sophie as a barometer for "normal".

Summary

1. The party wraps up book shopping (end of last session) and goes back to the tavern
2. Bruce, Hombrea's assistant is waiting, and says that all three of the party is needed at her place.
3. A note in Dinomen language in code was discovered by the stable manager, and it is feared it could be treasonous. Michelle, Vincent, Wynter, and Corduroy are proven innocent on the spot, but Sophie is arrested. The party believes the letter was snuck into the carriage while being attacked by the bandits quick to retreat. (Last session)
4. The party goes back to the inn to sleep.
5. They decide they need to be able to read the note to know if they can help Sophie. They try to buy a book on Dinomen writing from a bookstore, but it is declared contraband and not for sale. Corduroy uses diplomacy to convince the bookstore owner to let Wynter look through it in store to confirm a bibliography reference, giving her enough time to apply Book Learned Wisdom. Corduroy in the meanwhile goes off and does steps 6-7.
6. They go visit Hombrea again, who says she doesn't have the note. Of course the guard kept it as evidence.
7. Corduroy goes to the jail and asks Fournival about seeing Sophie. He doesn't know anything. Incidentally, Corduroy notices a horrible spectacle behind Fornival: Greta's cell is covered in blood, and inmates are in body bags. She somehow also broke through the bars which were bent outward. Corduroy asks about Georgette's trial which he missed. She was sentenced to a week of public humiliation in the park being bound in stocks before being sold to... a prince's menagerie. Corduroy feels guilty.
8. Corduroy and Wynter meet up, and they go to the wrong gate, and ask about Sophie. They are told the guards there don't know anything about that.
9. They go back to the other side of town. Kelly turns them around saying they can't talk or look at the evidence without a lawyer.
10. The party meets with Yabun, a very unhealthy, but incredibly intelligent shut in high elf. He can feed, drink, and clean himself through magic, so he rarely leaves his desk. He is incredibly tall, thin, and pale, and has difficulty walking quickly back to Dick and Kelly's station taking multiple breaks.
11. Yabun gets permission to look at the note, he strains himself to make an exact facsimile of the document by magical means. Wynter finally being able to read the note, uses her book learned wisdom to see that the paper is just a series of random numbers, and at the end, "For the King."
12. Corduroy and Wynter are told they may not speak to Sophie. They thus take the copy of the note and a translation with them to meet Georgette. Corduroy is griefed to see the way she is being mistreated, but there is a large group of citizens harassing her and throwing things at her. Wynter does not understand why Corduroy has empathy for an enemy, but they come up with a distraction plan. Wynter runs ahead to the bar to buy up his supplies before he announces that there is a huge discount on beer at his tavern. He succeeds at the diplomacy roll easily, and the crowd readily rushes to get in on the action. Corduroy cleans paint and refuse from Georgette as he asks about the code. She says she didn't have the clearance to read the code, but the flesh eating ape you found her with did somehow actually know the code. Corduroy asked if she needed any help, to which she easily slipped her hands through the shackles. She said she was just waiting for the right time to escape.
13. The ruse was handled very successfully, and besides some lost profits from closing early due to "selling out completely," no hard feelings were had.
14. The party heads back in the direction of the Dick and Kelly's station and ask about the situation. Yabun says he has been able to get them to end interrogation procedures, and has a court date scheduled for two days from now. They need to find as much evidence and as many witnesses as possible to help her case.

Action Items

1. Corduroy wants Serendipity, but the advantage intimidates me, does anyone know if there is a good resource online that speaks to managing it?
2. I probably need to read up on trials from the Basic Set again. I don't intend to have a system anywhere near realistic, but it might help to have some semblance of what a trial might be like.