Farewell wanderlust
The briefest flicker of concern raced across the eternal's face as he glanced at the young woman in the pits at his feet. "Soon the entire Empire will be..." she furtively hissed at him.
"Soon the Entire Empire will be within my grasp" he boldly exclaimed, projecting his voice to ensure that everyone caught the beginning of his grand monologue on the nature of treachery.
"Seriously - can't he remember his lines without a prompter?" Elsabet hissed to Maud. "I can't believe you offered him 2 crowns a night for this?"
Maud grinned at her director. "He's a great actor! Look at the audience - they're lapping it up. The Rats Nest had him working for the exposure - well they've made him famous and now we're cashing in." She rubbed her hands together in self-evident glee at their good fortune.
"He can't remember his lines!" protested Elsabet. "Soon the entire Empire will be in my grasp and I shall squeeze them til the pips squeak. We did this very scene literally six times in rehearsal."
"Be fair - this new play was only written two weeks ago! This Spiral stuff is brand new material. It's not his fault there's no time for learning lines. "And look!" The producer exhorted, spreading her arms gesturing to the back of the theatre. "Every seat is full. Night after night. Every seat! Do you know what a full house means Elsa?"
"That we've swapped our virtues for coins and we're artistically bankrupt?" she asked her boss sarcastically.
"It means we're dropping the ring and catching the crown Elsa... When was the last time the theatre sold every seat? This is the big time for us! The Keeper of the Black Vaults might not be high art - but it's a crowd pleaser and that means we're all making good money..."
Overview
The Spring Equinox saw several dramatic events; the ratification of the Kaliact Treaty, the conquest of the Barrens; and the first-ever performance of an Imperial enchantment tied to the realm of Autumn. The Net and Vine of Wintermark used consummate mastery of Autumn magic to create the Bounty of the Brilliant Broker, which has spread across the entire Empire like a subtle web. As with all Imperial enchantments, the potent magic inspires a number of unpredictable effects and attracts the attention of the eternals of the Realm.
The main thrust of the magic appears to be to encourage trade and prosperity. Yet the magic expresses itself through all the resonances of Autumn magic - and also through its dissonances. That last is the cause of some disruption - the enchantment was created before the last echoes of the Hallow of the Green World evoked at the Winter Solstice had entirely faded away. Students of the omnihedron theory posit that by working Imperial scale enchantments in a specific order the resonances of the realms can build on each other (in a similar manner to the way the familiar rituals used to enchant farms feed into one another to create more dramatic effects). The Autumn realm is however explicitly dissonant with much of Spring; the resonance of binding strives against the resonance of chaos; the art of craftsmanship is at odds with the seeds of ruin; the Spring resonance of fertility clashes with Autumn's dissonance for vegetation. This appears to have made the powerful magical working especially unpredictable.
Additional information connected to this magical effect can be found in Inkpot gods which covers the involvement of other eternals, and also deals with the impact of boggarts taking advantage of the enchantments effect on regio to slip out of the Autumn realm and into the Empire.
The Bounty of the Brilliant Broker enchantment only touches those territories that were Imperial at the end of the Spring Equinox 385YE. As a result, none of these effects apply to resources in Liathaven, Brocéliande, Spiral or Feroz. If your character has spent time in one of the other territories that are affected, it's fine to experience the more personal effects of the enchantment. A cambion who lives in Spiral but roleplays they have spent the last three months in Redoubt is free to strengthen their lineage trappings. But the owner of a business in Feroz would not be able to acquire a trinket, or diversify their goods without cost for example.
Summer Gold
- The Imperial enchantment has widespread effects across the Imperial territories affected
- Serendipitous twists of fortune have created opportunities for trade and prosperity that has left every Imperial citizen visiting Anvil a little wealthier
The Bounty of the Brilliant Broker casts its net across the entire Empire - or at least all those territories that were Imperial at the end of the Spring Equinox. As such, its magic is not felt directly in Liathaven, Brocéliande, Feroz, or Spiral. It has however spread into the Barrens which was effectively conquered by Imperial heroes during the Battle of Merigionne.
Where the effects of the Hallow of the Green World were apparent to everyone, Autumn magic often does its work by gently nudging the whims of chance and fate. Bounty of the Brilliant Broker is no exception, and many citizens are oblivious to the magic even as it subtly pushes them toward situations that offer opportunities for increased wealth and prosperity. Sometimes the ritual's effects take the form of serendipitous finds; a sock-full of orichalcum discovered wedged in a chimney; old documents entitling the bearer to part ownership of a prosperous bakery found wedged under a wonky table leg; a lost Throne coin fished out of a midden that will feed a Sarvosan orphan for a month; a dusty bottle of hundred-year-old wine from the vineyards of Astolat found at the back of an old wardrobe. Other times it takes the shape of outrageous coincidence; the travelling Merchant-Prince whose unexpected bout of food poisoning positions a country physick in exactly the right place at the right time to benefit from their grateful largesse; an overheard conversation that provides lucrative inside information about an upcoming deal; an accident that delays a trip to the market to just the right time to take advantage of a traders desire not to have to take any of their merchandise home.
As a consequence, every Imperial citizen attending Anvil for the Summer Solstice receives a small amount of additional income, even if they are not based in one of the affected territories. Rather than 18 rings every character will receive 26 rings representing additional profits or lucky finds.
Participation
Every character at Anvil will have benefitted from one of the unlooked for windfalls that have appeared randomly all across the Empire in recent times. The extra money always comes from somewhere, the magic doesn't make wealth appear from nowhere, but everyone is encouraged to create one or two tales of some benevolent serendipity that has brought good fortune their way this season. It might be a peculiar object that you found and were able to sell at a profit or an unexpected opportunity that came your way.
Blood of Autumn
- People with the cambion lineage can increase their trappings if they wish
- Once during the Summer Solstice a cambion can restore their personal reserves with a burst of Autumn magic
During the last three months, characters with the cambion lineage have been exposed to powerful Autumn magic, with a number of potential effects. Every cambion is affected differently, and it is entirely fine to ignore these changes, or to downplay their effect. The Bounty of the Brilliant Broker has strengthened the influence of the Autumn realm on the Empire, and by extension on all Imperial cambion. Its effects may linger for the duration of the Summer Solstice, increasing the impact of one or more of the cambion's roleplaying trappings. Cambions who have been exposed to the Bounty of the Brilliant Broker may find themselves feeling especially driven, competitive, and opinionated - but find it more difficult to resist treating others as nothing more than tools to further their own ruthless plans. A cambion may also find that the Bounty has permanently or temporarily strengthened the trappings of their lineage.
The lingering Autumn magic also allows any cambion character to use a special magical ability once during the coming event. Following five seconds of appropriate roleplaying during which you either verbally denounce a political rival, or enthusiastically monologue about your ambitions and goals, you may choose to do one of the following
- Restore a single spent hero point
- Regain up to two points of personal mana
- Overcome a roleplaying effect as if you had spent a hero point.
You cannot take any offensive action or move from the spot while you are performing this appropriate roleplaying and it must be obvious to everyone within ten feet that you are doing something - the ability cannot be used secretly. As with similar abilities, it can't be used if you are weakened or dying.
After the battle or encounter where you use this ability, you experience a roleplaying effect depending on how you triggered it.
- If you denounced a political rival, you feel driven to confront that rival (or someone connected with them) and either recruit them to your cause or make it clear that they will not interfere with your plans.
- If you enthusiastically monologued about your ambitions and goals, you feel driven to recruit allies who can help you realise your ambitions, or take some other concrete step towards achieving your goal.
This roleplaying effect will last no more than an hour.
Ripples of Gold
- Following the Summer Solstice, any business can choose to diversify once without paying the usual costs
- Businesses have the opportunity to diversify their production in a significant number of new ways
As a consequence, after the Summer Solstice any business owner has the option to diversify their resource without paying the usual costs to do so. Normally, diversifying a personal resource costs 1 Throne each time it is done; this cost is waived until the start of the Autumn Equinox.
Furthermore, the range of options available to business owners who do diversify has been significantly increased. They can already diversify to mine resources. Thanks to the many factors set in motion by the Autumn enchantment, they also gain the ability to diversify so as to gain two measures of a specific forest resource, 2 drams of a chosen herb, a dose of liao, or a single mana crystal. These additional diversification options represent specific trade agreements or changes to the way the business operates. The options will remain available for at least the next year, and potentially indefinitely assuming nothing significant changes.
Wages of Wickedness
- The Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame offer a limited deal to allow Imperial business owners to acquire a wain of mithril, white granite, or weirwood
- Their special vouchers are intended to be used with the Ephisis' Scale ritual and will only be redeemable during the Summer Solstice
- The wains they are selling have been seized from the vaults of Pharam Vex, the Voivode of Chains, and are surely proceeds of the slave trade
The Bounty of the Brilliant Broker also offers an opportunity for business owners to trade with more esoteric merchants. As the Summer Solstice approaches, otherworldly caravans emerge from Autumn regio around Tassato, Sarvos, Holberg, Temeschwar, Meade, Siroc, Cargo, and Kalpaheim. They bear with them peculiar brass wagons drawn by massive six-legged lizards with scales of polished lead. After speaking with civil servants associated with the Bourse, they unload significant amounts of white granite, weirwood, and mithril into Imperial warehouses, receiving Bourse notes in return.
Interested onlookers find the heralds - members of the Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame - eager to talk about their business. They primarily hail from the City of Gold and Lead, but represent interests across all the cities of the Autumn realm. The valuable magical materials are not gifts for the Empire, but rather they are being "banked" so that the heralds can acquire "scrip" - a term they use to describe Bourse notes - so they can engage in trade with Imperial merchants. They are a little evasive about how precisely they intend to do that - there is some speculation that an auction is planned. A week before the Summer Solstice, however, it becomes clear that they have something else in mind.
Through various means both mundane and supernatural, every business owner visiting Anvil finds themselves in possession a single voucher. These vouchers can be used to engage in trade with the Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame to purchase wains. A wain of Mithril costs 16 Crowns, a wain of white granite costs 20 Crowns, and a wain of weirwood costs 24 crowns. The vouchers are only usable during the Summer Solstice, and can only be used once to purchase one wain. All that is required is that the voucher be placed in a container with the appropriate amount of money as part of the performance of the Ephisis' Scale ritual. The box must only contain vouchers and money, but any number of vouchers can be redeemed with a single casting as long as enough money is included. If more than one type of wain is required, the vouchers should be marked appropriately. Each voucher is imbued with Autumn Magic, that will fade away after the Summer Solstice.
When asked why they have set up such a complicated method of trade, the representatives of the Guttered Flame explain that by using what they call the Mundane Exchange they will be better able to demonstrate their ability to produce wealth to various factions of Autumn Realm whose attention they are keen to secure. If the sale goes well, it will open up many more opportunities for them to gain wealth and influence and build the prestige of their guild.
The Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame specialise in acquiring the assets of those with significant debts in the Autumn Realm, or who run afoul of the Lictors.They recently gained prestige and notoriety selling off various possessions of the Reckoner of Hours, after that heralds disastrous fall from grace at the hands of the Archmage of Autumn. It turns out, however, that this recent enterprise is being financed with resources gained from a potentially controversial source. Over the last six months they have bought up all the assets that used to belong to Pharam Vex, Voivode of Chains. After that powerful herald was killed by Imperial soldiers during what the heralds insist on calling "that unfortunate Rachensgrab incident" their estates were seized and sold to pay their debts. The wains they are selling were claimed from the extensive vaults beneath the Cage of Gold, that part of the City of Gold and Lead once overseen by the deceased herald and their servants. It stands to reason then that they are proceeds from the slave trade. The Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame are keen to make good on their investment, and don't see why the source of the goods should be a problem. As news of the provenance of their wains begins to spread, however, there are several vocal citizens who disagree and argue that anyone who buys one of these wains is benefitting from slavery, pragmatism be damned.
Once the Summer Solstice is over, the Bailiffs of the Guttered Flame intend to reclaim the materials they have placed in Imperial warehouses, assuming there are any left. That means the letters of acquisition they have issued are only valid at the forthcoming summit.
Enchanted Brokers
- Any character whose business was enchanted during the Spring Equinox will receive a special bonus
A few businesses seem particularly lucky, and attract an additional benefit. Any character whose business was enchanted with Rivers of Gold, Streams of Silver, or Gift of the Wily Broker during the Spring Equinox will receive a ribbon in their pack for a trinket they have acquired. They are encouraged to make up a story appropriate to their characterisation and the nature of their business to explain how they came by them. Each of these trinkets is a minor magic item that must be bonded as normal, and most have only a couple of seasons remaining before they expire. You'll need to provide your own phys-rep, but a small article of jewellery, a metal token or bangle of some kind would be ideal.
Treasures of the Earth
- The wash of Autumn magic has awoken some hitherto unfamiliar minerals in the depths of the Empire's mines
- Each type of mine produces a different substance
Imperial magicians and herbalists are familiar with the rare herb realmsroot that prospers in places where magic flows freely. For some time, philosophers have pondered whether there may be other examples of things that remain quiescent in the absence of powerful magic. Following the Spring Equinox, more evidence is found that this might indeed by the case. As the Autumn magic washes over the Empire, a handful of miners report previously unknown minerals found in the depths of some of the deepest and most prosperous mines.
These fruits of the earth seem to come in four different "flavours" depending on the mine where they are uncovered, and seem to be superlatively rare. They take the form of irregular geodes, within which are found vibrantly coloured crystals and stones. It's difficult to open these mineral formations without the crystals within shattering, but the shards and dust left behind lose none of their eerie arcane potency. In the hands of a skilled artisan, this magic can be unlocked to empower existing magic items. After being used once, the deepstone loses its power, crumbling to inert dust. Artisans and mine owners have catalogued four different varieties of deepstone, and determined that each is associated with a single magical metal.
- Warstones are found in deposits of green iron. An artisan can use them to partially restore the power of a magic dagger, One-handed weapon, great weapon, One-handed spear, paired weapon, polearm, or arcane weapon.
- Bloodstones are found in deposits of weltsilver. They can be used to restore power to magic armour, including mage robes, mage armour, or vestments that allow the wearer to use the relentless or unstoppable ability.
- Spellstones are found near tempest jade, and can be used to restore spellcasting abilities to a wand, rod, or staff.
- Heartstones are found alongside orichalcum, and grant additional resistance to damage to magic armour (including mage robes, mage armour, or vestments) that provides additional ranks of endurance.
Using Deepstones
A deepstone is represented by a potion lammy. The card needs to be accompanied by a phys-rep. Ideal phys-reps are small crystals or gems, geodes, or pouches of sand or dust.
Each deepstone is used in the same way; they must be held in one hand by a character with the artisan skill, who engages in 30 seconds of appropriate roleplaying involving manipulating the deepstone and the target magic item. The magic item must be bonded to a character, and both must be present throughout. If the character of their target attacks another character or is hit then the evocation fails. The deepstone is not lost but you must begin evoking it again. Once evoked successfully, a deepstone becomes inert; they can only be used once.
The deepstone only works on a magic item; it need not be an item the artisan knows how to work but must be represented by a ribbon that has not expired.
Warstone
- Requirement: Targets a magic dagger, one-handed weapon, great weapon, one-handed spear, paired weapon, polearm, or arcane weapon that has a power which allows the wielder to call CLEAVE, IMPALE, or STRIKEDOWN a number of times each day. The item must be bonded to a character, and both must be present throughout.
- Effect: Restores one daily use of the CLEAVE, IMPALE, or STRIKEDOWN call (depending on the weapon).
Bloodstone
- Requirement: Targets a suit of magic armour, including mage robes, mage armour, or vestments that allows the wearer to use the relentless or unstoppable ability a limited number of times each day. The item must be bonded to a character, and both must be present throughout.
- Effect: Restores one daily use of either relentless or unstoppable, as appropriate to the magic item.
Spellstone
- Requirement: Targets a magi wand, rod, or staff that allows the wielder to cast a spell a limited number of times per day. The item must be bonded to a character, and both must be present throughout.
- Effect: Restores one daily use of the spell the item provides. It only works on implements that let the wielder perform a regular or offensive spell.
Heartstone
- Requirement: Targets a suit of magic armour, including mage robes, mage armour, or vestments that grants an additional rank of endurance . The item must be bonded to a character, and both must be present throughout.
- Effect: Grants the wearer one additional rank of endurance. The effect lasts until the end of the next battle, skirmish or quest the character participates in; until the end of the current event; or until the character removes the magic armour whichever is sooner. This bonus rank of endurance does not stack with itself - only one total rank can be gained through the use of a heartstone.
Click Expand to see a summary of the four deepstones' powers.
Investment Opportunities
- It is possible to use certain ritual enchantments to find more deepstones during the Summer Solstice
- Doing so consumes a deepstone as an additional component for the ritual
The deepstones seem remarkably rare; easily as rare as realmsroot. Some arcane theoreticians however suggest that even with the magic of the Imperial Autumn fading, there may be a way to find some more. The ritual Revelation of the Jewel's Sparkling Heart uses Day magic to find valuable minerals underground, and seems ideal for this purpose. A Varushkan magician by the name of Vona Ovanovitch, an itinerant who occasionally visits the Icy Crag of the Eternal Sun, has also mentioned a ritual called Bulging at the Seams which might also be perfect for identifying deepstones before their power recedes entirely.
During the Summer Solstice, it is possible to perform either of these rituals on a mine while using a deepstone of any kind as a focus. The deepstone will be destroyed in the process, but will warp the enchantment so that instead of producing any additional ingots of material, the mine will produce four deepstones. After the Summer Solstice, the magic that roused these deepstones will have faded, and this technique won't work again.
Dissonant Growth
- Farms have produced inedible crops, some of which bear obvious signs of Autumn magic
- Forests have produced peculiar fruit, composed of inorganic minerals
Not every effect of the Bounty of the Brilliant Broker has been universally well received, however. The dissonant effects of the Autumn Imperial enchantment coming so closely on the heels of Hallow of the Green World have had very unexpected results. Their impact is even felt in the Barrens and Bregasland, places not impacted by the Spring ritual. The ongoing effects of Children in bloom are not impacted - it is still possible to enhance farms and so forth. However, the expected production of every farm and forest in the Empire has been altered by the Autumn magic, in ways that are impossible to ignore.
Inedible Residues
- Imperial farms produce 72 fewer rings this season
- Instead each farm owner receives a dose of Ashen Residue
A portion of the expected production of every farm has been transmuted into inedible, inorganic, twisted, weird material. Ears of corn that fall apart like loose sand when touched. Fleece that blunts the shears of the shepherds, having more in common with metal than wool. Agglutinate milk that flows sluggishly and tastes absolutely vile. Cabbages whose leaves have the consistency of parchment and crumble to ashes when handled. At first this leaves farmers angry and worried - concerned that this might represent some spreading blight. Then an Urizen magician, one of the "farmers" who oversees a unit of ushabti labourers, carefully examines the peculiar residues and publishes their findings. The broken and twisted "produce" of the farms is rich in a particular kind of Autumn magic that might be of even more interest to magicians than rice and carrots. Grudgingly, farmers start to gather the ruined produce, enlisting the help of local magicians to determine which parts are valuable.
Every farm owner in the Empire will find that their farm has produced 72 fewer rings than expected this season. Instead, their packs will contain a dose of Ashen Residue - the remains of produce ruined by Autumn magic. This peculiar consumable can be consumed by a magician to cast either the mend or entangle spell as if they knew it, without spending any personal mana. It has potentially greater use to an adept of Autumn lore. Provided every contributor to the ritual has mastered it, the Ashen Residue can be used in place of crystal mana, providing all the required mana for any Autumn ritual of magnitude 8 or lower. It can't be combined with actual crystal mana; the whole cost is paid but the magnitude of the ritual cannot be higher than 8. So, for example, the ashen residue could be used when performing Streams of Silver - a magnitude two ritual - and the casters could add up to four additional targets raising the magnitude to six, and still make use of the residue. The residue is useless for performing arcane projections, due to the inability of magicians to master them (and because the arcane projection itself provides all the mana needed when the magic is magnitude 8 or lower). While it has similarities to warm ashes it's clearly not as versatile as actual vis - but there are surely magicians out there who would be interested in acquiring it.
Phys-Repping the Residue: The residue will have a card similar to a potion lammy, which will need to be attached to or kept with a phys-rep. A simple phys-rep for Ashen Reside would be a pouch of small box containing sand, ashes, or other powder.
Hard Apples
- Imperial forests produce 2 fewer measures of material this season
- Instead each forest owner receives a single piece of metallic fruit
At the same time as Imperial farmers are seeing their crops turn twisted and inedible, the forest owners of the Empire are encountering strange effects of their own. Instead of beggar's lye, ambergelt, or the like, as Summer draws closer, small numbers of strange blossoms appear on the branches of otherwise normal trees. Seemingly made of metal, the flowers are a nine-day-wonder, but the fruit that comes from them is especially strange. Some appear to be familiar fruit, nuts, or berries, while others are very odd indeed - twisted shapes not seen in any Imperial forest, even odder than chaos fruit which are at least recognisable as fruit. All have one thing in common - they are composed of inorganic material. Some are metal, others mineral, all inedible.
At first taken to be little more than curios, these fruit appear to be very interesting to eternals - and not just of the realm of Autumn. Discussions with Autumn magicians and heralds of Ephisis lead Imperial magicians to determine that such fruit can be targeted by any ritual that trades with an eternal - rituals such as Before the Throne of Estavus, Tithe of Bats, Wellspring of the High Peak, and Gift of Knowledge. They seem to be a legitimate target for all those rituals - even the ones that require a specific kind of material - and valued as equivalent to 5 whole ingots or measures. When used by themselves, they result in the ritual providing a single piece of vis. They can also be included alongside more traditional materials without increasing the magnitude of the ritual, even where the ritual does not normally allow additional targets as with Gift of Knowledge.
There is some speculation that the metallic fruit may work the same way if included alongside, or in place of, a magic item given as tribute to the to The Thrice-cursed Court, but nobody can say for sure as the Empire's relationship with Skathe means the ritual is interdicted.
Phys-Repping the Fruit: Each weird fruit has a potion lammy, which must be attached to or kept with a phys-rep. Suitable phys-reps are anything small but obviously inorganic. A normal piece of fruit or a nut sprayed metallic colour would work, as would a pouch or box of round stones or glass beads.
Menhirs and Mana
- Some Marcher farms have undergone even more extreme transformations
- Farms with more than two sets of menhirs have started to transform into mana sites
- Anyone with a farm in the Marches can swap for an equivalent level mana site without the standard costs
- Any farms that have been diversified in this way more than two times will receive a refund after the Summer Solstice as the structures begin to break down
- It is no longer possible to diversify farms in the Marches to produce more than two mana crystals a season
A handful of farms in the Marches have experienced additional changes, sparked by the Imperial enchantment. Some of the farms that have had menhirs built on them are turning into mana sites! The farms that produce more than two mana crystals each season have started to change; transforming into mana sites. Circle of the Rosy Rook, a small circle of landskeepers who keep their business in the market-town of Wayford, have offered to help any Marchers who want to retain their farm as a farm by deconstructing the menhirs in the week after the Summer Solstice. The circle will even pay for the stone they take away, to the tune of a throne for each set of menhirs.