==== Summary 53: Lordly politics and weddings (2011-08-07) ====
[[Giraine]] [[summaries-2011|Summaries]]
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The Shadow continued limping across the Fosnoir and found a spot to dump its cursed iron cargo. Disturbingly, the iron did not disturb the water's surface as it went in- no splash, no ripples, no sounds. More disturbingly, soon after you unloaded this cargo you were buffeted by a bizarre omnidirectional wind and current, then saw a large grey silhouette underwater, moving in strange ways that suggested it was not a living thing nor one obeying logical rules of movement. Most disturbingly, as it appeared you first seemed to slip backwards in time to when you'd begun dumping the iron, then as you pondered this you slipped forwards in time to having finished your ferrous heave-ho and setting sail again. Boamund was puzzled in that his chaos-sense sorcery gave him muddled answers. Something was Wrong in the universe... 

But you crossed the Fosnoir in a clammy drizzle with no further events, sped by the masterful piloting of the Captain, who was gripped with a fervor to repair his ship, hunt the beast that cursed him, and defy whatever other sinister powers conspired against him/you. Meanwhile the crew, though loving their heroic captain, prayed and muttered about the curses on The Shadow and the increasingly odds for their terrible doom. 

You rounded the Orninior coast and sighted the small, old harbour of Oradaros, but also spotted a chase underway- a Nolosian trireme was pursuing a Sesnhelan cog bearing a sigil of a scowling merman, exchanging long-range magics and missiles, and a Pithdaran galley was furiously rowing to intercept them. You paused to watch after the galley replied to your query with a sign to hold back. Last you saw, the galley managed to slip between them and call a parley; the cog sent a man aboard it to chat while the trireme's leader(s) had a shouting match with the galley. Later you learned from the galley's captain; a stalwart and conservatively traditionalist, minor naval official serving the Dark Duke; that the cog pretended to be lost. But its captain was a known slippery troublemaker in service to a rich family in the kingdom that might have been trying to ignite a political incident. King Guilmarn had been making moves of late to challenge the adjacent doge of Nolos and the growing power and independence of the Quinpolic League, so you had witnessed one symptom of this continental clash of wills and destinies. The captain of the war galley "Fury of the Titanothere", Jawid Nawah, admitted he was but a pawn in this game and longed for true excitement such as that you were famed for. 

Inside the black obelisk-protected harbour of Oradaros (were those obelisks made of the same/similar stuff as part of the Shadow??), you were met by a magically-sped skiff bearing a nobleman named Jouffroi lo Grato, a young Seshnelan serving the Dark Duke of Pithdaros as messenger/envoy/?something else? He spoke to the Baronet privately on his boat, unfurling a scroll that he perused with the Baronet and then magically burned to ash. Back on the Shadow, the Baronet was short on words about their discussion (later hinting at finding some man "AA" with information from the Giranois as an urgent mission) but brought good news that your ship would be fixed in a private area of the harbour. But soon you realized that there had been a miscommunication, as the same Pithdaran galley met up with you and escorted you to the docks. The captain had been ordered to take your leaders back to Giraine immediately. A lengthy argument ensued, lo Grato was called back and apologized for his lack of clarity regarding the Duke's wishes, but insisted that you were in danger (he would/did not mention the Rokari church) and must leave the area swiftly. The Captain was mollified but still bristled at the assumption that he was under the Duke's power in this harbour. 

Nonetheless you soon returned to Giraine, stopping first at St Thosos to drink heavily and spin tales (Captain and Ciddar, who also got up to some other mischief later) or to speak with the Baron (Lord Shaven and Sir Boamund). Ron was eventually uplifted by the Baronet's tales of your deeds and noted that the Baronet's wedding was the talk of the town, with mother Cyroosta very active in its preparations. Reluctantly and anxiously, you returned to the manor grounds the next day. 

Celebration preparations were very much evident there, and Cyroosta warmly embraced your return, albeit with interspersed jabs about her dead son, some sort of trouble with Inyana, and your frequent absences. You split up, drawn into private conversations and planning for the bachelor party the next day, with wedding to follow. Inyana looked ravishing as ever, doting on floral decorations she had been planting around the Baronet's land (And blessing with her magic songs). Cyroosta was very much in her element and dropping hints of the wonders she had gathered for the ceremony, which she would officiate... 

Next time-- The Baronet's people get him drunk, you provide the wedding entertainment and other antics, and a new union of local hero and foreign superhuman is wrought! 
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