The party found themselves back in their tower chamber, alongside a new, quite disoriented ally. Cavo and Vint were already awake. The group did their best to quickly orient The Gunslinger of Smoke to the current where and when to which he had been resurrected. After a moment of consideration, he offered up his gun back to Gale, stating that he believed his time with it had ended long ago. She graciously accepted his gift. The once Bloodied Hero said he would help if he could with this new, or continued, Doom, though he seemed slightly unsure.
As the party conferred with their allies, boxes and packages began to materialize with a red mist onto one of the tables in their lounge. Various gifts were found inside, but one of Maron’s seemed most peculiar. It was a rectangular box with a strange amulet inside. It contained a quite smooth red jewel. The velvet upon which the amulet sat held a finely drawn question mark. When he placed the amulet upon his neck, he vanished from sight, though only for a few seconds. When he reappeared, the party found his arm bleeding. Maron claimed he had been transported to some strange chamber. Inside the chamber, he stood upon a wooden platform, dark waters far below him. Behind him, he saw a door with no knob. On the platform itself, he saw various strange objects: coffins, artifacts, and a strange purple liquid bubbling in a cauldron. In the center of the room sat a statue of a mage, wearing quite strange regalia. On his robe’s chest was the same calligraphic question mark.
As he recounted, Maron said the statue spoke to him as he approached. It had glowing red eyes and a mischievous voice. Though the statue never moved, it told Maron he could visit infrequently and find three objects for sale. Three pedestals appeared with strange objects: a pair of boots, a vial, and a dark blade. Maron said he traded a sample of his blood for an enchanted vial. Vint seemed interested in his tale, but did not share his thoughts on the matter.
A knock on the door echoed through the room. A servant dressed in finery introduced himself and stated Lord Londo requests their presence as soon as possible. With a big day ahead of them, the party gathered Vint and Cavo, but told The Bloodied Hero he should likely stay here for the time being. With that, they took the magical lift to Londo’s section of the tower.
Inside Londo’s tower chamber, they found Londo, Talla, Creft, and Zola, all dressed in their full Kingsguard armor, robes, and finery. The group asked to speak privately to Londo, so the other three left the lounge. Londo was informed of where they had gone and that a Bloodied Hero now awaited in their chambers. Not expecting that news, Londo took a moment to process, but he said they would cross that bridge after the Rectifier Vote. He shared a few more details about the vote, stating that a few councilors were absent, some could be swayed during recesses that occurred after every five votes, and that the Kingsguard each got votes as well. The party would need 22 votes for a majority, with the Kingsguard included. Finally, Londo stated that The Rectifiers could be a body of up to 13, so the group offered a position to Cavo and Vint. Cavo seemed quite interested in the role, while Vint simply stated he would do whatever needed done. The party decided The Bloodied Hero, being a member, may not be the best idea, so they left him out for the time being. Once that decision was made, the other three Kingsguard returned, Londo picked up a large tome with a crafted symbol of a cracked crown being held together by a strong hand, and the retinue was off to the throne room.
The throne room was quite a bit livelier than it usually was with most councilors in animated discussions with their entourages, fellow councilors, or servants. Zin was seated quietly on his high throne. A long table with seven chairs was now in front of the throne. The Kingsguard took their seats at this table. To the side was a large collection of additional seats. Londo informed the party that would be their place during the vote. He pointed out the first group of five councilors that would vote. Vis of Luxen, speaking to the short and orange-haired Orlos of Barba, a Dwarf. The party made very little headway with these two, obviously familiar with one another. The councilor of Falen unfortunately was lost when the dome of shadow covered Luxen, so his vote would not be cast, but still count to the total. Next on the list, the party met Donnell of Triven. A quiet man with glasses and a long ponytail, Donnell sat upon his councilor seat reading a book. Since the councilors did not yet know the meaning of this gathering, the party had to skirt around the topic. They found Donnell quite difficult to speak to, as he seemed disinterested, but read between the lines to feel confident in his vote. Rounding out the first group, the party re-encountered Garlan of Silva. Quite gracious for the assistance the party gave him, Garlan’s vote seemed almost definite. The group found their seats as Londo began to call the chamber to order.
Londo addressed the chamber quite loudly, an enchantment helping to cast his voice down the hall. He informed the councilors that The Doom had returned, and they had seen it firsthand in the capital itself. Whispers and chattering began to fill the room as councilors spoke to one another. Vis attempted to interrupt the dialogue by claiming it as nonsense but was silenced and told to be seated by King Zin. Londo continued by saying that the kingdom was shattered, divided, and that the man on the throne was doing nothing to remedy this. Zin remained quiet at this charge. Londo did seem saddened by having to accuse his own king of inaction. Despite this, he continued by slamming the book he had brought down on his table. With the loud slam, a magical apparition of the same symbol rose from the book, floating to the center of the chamber. Londo explained that Aura had left them one final gift, foreseeing this as a possibility. Londo would call a vote to instate the first ever body of Rectifiers, and that those seated next to him were the candidates. He said some of the councilors saw them in action for themselves, while others would meet them shortly. With his introduction finished, Londo took a seat and had the magical chandelier which lit the room lowered. The central flame turned from a normal color to pure white. Londo called for the first four councilors, Falen excluded, to cast their votes. They fiddled with a magical light on their councilor rings, and similarly colored flames burst from the rings to give a slight hue to the white flame in the chandelier. The first recess was called.
In the next group of five, the party met Rommal of Olus first. A human man nearing middle age, Rommal was quite star-struck meeting the rookie heroes, as he saw them rushing toward the dome first hand. An easy vote to secure. Next, the party met the meditative Minotaur councilor of Minos, Moran Thil. He reported some strange happenings with his sister city in the Mythical Forest, Minos, explaining that city’s councilor’s absence. Grateful for their help in saving the councilor of Silva, Moran Thil promised his vote. Given the next councilor, Hasan Li of Mythos, was absent, the party continued to the fourth, Vinnae of Elden. An elf woman with a short temper with the party for some reason, she all but shooed the party away. The group learned she was quite upset that they chose to save Garlan over Tallen, the councilor of Falen. Vinnae explained that Tallen was held in high regard by elves and mages alike. With an explanation that they truly did wish to save him over Garlan, but were tricked, Vinnae eventually agreed to vote in favor of the movement. Finally, the party met the infamous Turner of Navis. A disrespectful man wearing dirty seafaring clothing, Turner immediately showed his disdain for the movement and of fellow councilor Beckett of Aequor. Though two of the group offered to kill Beckett for him, Turner did not buy the offer for a moment. Londo appeared to be displeased as his eyes and ears around the chamber heard of the offer. The party assumed Turner would be a vote in the negative column. These four votes were cast, and another recess called.
The hopeful Rectifiers next met Vonir, the dwarven councilor of the island city of Ibolus. Though already leaning toward a “yes” vote, a promise to help deal with the various goblins that plagued his city secured it. With some prior knowledge in their hands, they met Beckett of the city of Aequor. Much more refined and well-dressed, Beckett was a stark contrast to Turner, his rival. With yet another deal to help reel in Turner and his pirates, Beckett agreed to vote “yes”. To Amy’s delight, the party met the councilor of her hometown of Elisi. An islander in dress like Amy at the start of her journey, Terrinia was absolutely in favor of sirens in a place of power. Next on the list was Zaro of Grandos to the north. He wore heavy furs and had quite dark skin. He spoke with a broad, deep voice. Valuing gold and trade deals the most as a merchant town, the party promised him the opening of Luxen and a store plot in the marketplace on the Royal Road. Zaro accepted these terms for a vote. Rounding out this set of councilors was Mira of Haven. Having already secured her vote, the party had a brief conversation with her. They did notice her councilor ring had changed to the one Karth gave her in return for the vote. The court was called back to order by Londo, the votes were cast, and the party began campaigning another set of councilors.
The next set of councilors was not quite as easy to please. First, the group met Harin, the older councilor of Amanta. He had already planned on voting yes in hopes that the crown would again help keep the underbelly of Amanta at bay. Next was the sly siren councilor of Piscis, a town infamous for its nighttime revelry. Fearing a loss of her autonomy and shadier dealings, Victoria did not plan on voting yes by any means. A bad omen greeted the party with the next councilor, as he was already chatting with Vis. Gornen of the dwarven city of Apillus was a non-speaking fellow who apparently valued money from his hand gestures. Dissatisfied with the offer of the party, it was assumed he would vote no as well. Ruth was the next councilor on the list, from Seduzi, and the party was quite unprepared for her demeanor. An inquisitive pixie with blue accents, she aggressively questioned the party on their plans. She wanted great detail. Eventually, she had heard enough. It was unclear to the party how she would vote. Lastly, the party met the anxious councilor of Necopi, a northern town on the eastern side of Matar. He seemed quite uneasy and wore dark furs and a sword at his side. Explaining his city was losing too many strong lads to the sirens of Syreni. He told the party he would need assistance from them if he was to vote yes. The party agreed as Londo called the hall to order for another round of voting.
The subject of Jon’s concern was the next councilor the party met. Annasia of Syreni was not shy about her sirens “stealing” men away from the nearby cities. When pressed on the issue, she explained if her city’s needs were not met in such a way, they would eventually fall to the same murderous intent as the sirens of Atrae. Eventually the party agreed to have refugee men that were willing sent to Syreni as recompense. Annasia agreed to this and said she would vote for the party. Varen of Pravus was the infamous captor of Azalea. When the party approached his seat, he seemed to be in a drowsy sort of trance. Nearly getting nowhere at all, the party was quite unclear about his intentions. The next two councilors, Hadria of Tenso and Goldtooth of Merca, were absent due to some conflict they had over nearby lands. Lastly, was Dak of Dracen, a dragonborn. He seemed quite interested in voting for the party if they could settle the conflict with nearby Tenso and Merca. These three votes were then cast.
The calming, elderly councilor of Naviga, Patran, seemed quite on board with the idea of The Rectifiers. He said he would like to see more presence from the crown as conflicts spread and refugees continue to flood mainland Matar. With Patran’s vote seemingly secured, Karth approached two dragonborn councilors. Krem and Mek were the councilors of Frios and Inferna, respectively. Krem was a younger fellow, while Mek seemed quite elderly and used a cane to support himself. Though Krem initially seemed to be undecided, Mek was strongly opposed to human interference from the west. Karth thought to offer his fire stone but retracted when Mek seemed shocked that someone claiming to be so interested in dragonborn culture would offer up such an artifact. As a last resort, Karth used his magic to give himself some dragonborn scaling, but Mek saw this as a grave offense and began ranting and raving. Mek escorted him away, and the party marked the two dragonborn down as likely “no” votes. Arlia, the elven councilor of Illeta, promised her vote in exchange for The Rectifiers help to destroy strange creatures that lurked in their jungles. Renner of Sulan seemed more interested in autonomy than fixing his kingdom, so the party assumed his vote would be a “no”. With a bleaker outlook on this set of councilors, the party watched the votes be cast.
The party found themselves approaching the last set of councilors. The first two were Nel of Velum and Lana of Viriden. Both were in dire need of assistance with the refugees fleeing from The Forgotten Lands. They could not provide much info on from what they were fleeing, as none of the refugees wished to speak of what they had seen. The party promised Nel ships and Viriden personal assistance, and the two agreed to vote in favor. The next pair the party met were possibly the strangest yet. They were two dragonborn with dark scales and deep hoods from the cities of Ignis and Draconis to the far northeast. They seemed quite odd and had taken the new names of Void and Despair. The group noticed their shadows would often turn to one another, though their physical bodies had not moved. Strangely disturbed by the two, the party moved on to the final councilor, Marathena of Atrae. As expected, she had no interest in voting in favor of The Rectifiers. The party assumed as much when learning that she was allegedly the leader of a murderous coven of sirens. With a rather bleak last set, the party took their seats as their votes were cast.
To round out the ritual, Londo called a moment to recognize the four cities that had been lost, Garien, Ecus, Vallen, and Metisia. Their votes would be null but would still count toward the total. After the reverent moment had passed, the Kingsguard took their seats and cast their votes from golden rings of their own. With the chandelier’s fire now a multi-chromatic display, the entire chamber awaited the results…