Bay 12 Games Forum

Archaeology Journal, Day Three.
Pr. Santana Maria Guapez Alonzo-De Jardin
Moon: Waxing Gibbus
Wind: 12 mph, southwesternly
Sky: Clear, Sigilo de tiburón
Time: 9th mark of the Imperial Sundial

---

My fellows on this fine expedition have scattered about the caverns and environs like peacocks in a peahennery, salivating over the finds or otherwise. Indeed, last night's dinner conversation was carried on by talks of the 'Door'. Personally, my hypothesis is that the door is a grave of some sort. Perhaps esteemed members of the former inhabitants of the cave, but perhaps of yet another species (culture?) that existed (exists?) in this land.

In the legends and myths of the Empire and elsewhere exists always ancient unknowable creatures of some sort. In the Empire, we have the idea of fae, tricksters and gentry of sorts. Perhaps this door is a remnant of the local 'fae' culture and that due to the cultural understandings of the cave-dwellers, the door was simply not touched? It is truly quite interesting, but not at all in my current interests to study. Indeed, it would be more prudent to gather finer tools before performing an investigation of the door in-full.

Today, what interests me, and has occupied my entire day till now, is the pottery. Any scholar of the dead (or in the more refined jargon of the Imperial Society, an archaeologist) will know the importance of pottery. Its age, style, textures, decoration and material can tell you many things that even a written source cannot. For example, why does this cavern possess fifty-six (56) complete and unbroken examples of pottery with so-far four-hundred-and-twenty-five (425) shards accounted for? And why in so many styles (I have catalogued at least fourteen [14] styles amongst the artifacts)?

If I were to imagine even for a moment that the these pots were made locally, then I would register myself in an asylum; the local soil is generally lacking in clay. Furthermore, local sources of freshwater seem to be scarce. Whilst it would be possible for pottery to be made with oceanwater, the lack of tell-tale eutectic bonding glaze or efflorescence glazing on any of the pottery would suggest that the surviving examples were not made here.

In which case, we must think to ourselves, what lurks deeper inland?


P.D

La expedicion aqui posee un surtido de eruditos desde la amplitud del imperio y mas alla. Supongo que el imperio desea preparar la tierra nueva para su tributo y su pico. Pero, en mi opinion, la mayoria del eruditos (mi companeros) no desean mucho mas que descrubir las maravillas del mundo. Alternativamente, algunos de ellos desea buscar la gloria o las rizquezas. Es asi.

Al final y al cabo, yo un erudito. Pero, sirvo la corona de mi patria.

SCC Loan Proposal Voting

By voting yes, we accept the terms of 4 credits and a CQI rate for 11.5%.

For:
LTD-Joint-Corp
Mystery Investors
“Scanner” Scanlon’s Non-Scam Scans
-General Joan's Juniary™️

Against:

Housing Expansion proposal.

Purchase the Settlement Expansion license with 6 Credits.

For:
-General Joan's Juniary™️

Against:
-

You say that you wish for an audience with the Master of Enhanced Inspection and the Master of Postal Logistics, obviously leaving out the fact that you intend to deeply caress each and every painting, sconce and bookshelf you can get away with. If the gatekeeper could sense your intentions, her face doesn't show it. After figuring out who you were, she calls for a guide to bring you inside.

The guide is a young well-dressed boy, perhaps just over fourteen. Probably raised in the bureaucracy from the looks of it. He greets you in that...unusually polite and flowing dialect that people who tend to be raised by the bureaucracy tend to adopt...which is quite unnerving to your wizened ears. He knows that you wish to meet the Master of Enhanced Inspection and then the Master of Postal Logistics. He politely, but firmly, requests that you follow him. As he walks ahead, you feel as if the back of his head has conjured eyes. While you are quite sure he is not a wizard or priest (a child would lack the requisite license for that), you are not so sure he hasn't acquired a charm that would grant him such powers.

The corridors of Castle Guleri are dark, heavily carpeted, and dim - signature characteristics of Angelo da'Maccini's architecture. You don't quite understand why the ITWFPMCR&PID haven't updated the furniture or commissioned some apertures, but it is quite a foreign-feeling building nonetheless. Furthermore, you have a hard time making heads or tails of the path your guide is showing you through; everything looks the same.

A few corridors into the castle, you find a large painting drawn in the classical manner....you did say to yourself you were going to look behind these. But the boy....

Is this wise?

Alfonso decides to head straight to the main office by the east gate, rather than chatting with the lowly juniors manning the waystation. After all, you are a soon-to-be Inspector and a Senior Deputy Regional Public Relations Management Officer of the Costaban Complaints Office- branch 001. You don't have the time of day to be chatting with the poor (but perhaps ambitious) fools who got assigned boulevard duties.

After a relatively mundane ride to the eastern gate, you tell the captain to drop you off by the the ITWFPMCR&PID office and wait until your return. The office itself is built like a fortress, mostly because it is one.

Built of limestone from nearby quarries, Castle Guleri is a testament to the revered master architect Angelo da'Maccini's expertise. An imposing citadel surrounding by increasingly shorter and squatter structures and bulwarks, it was formerly protected by a three-layer wall. The civilised armies of your people failed utterly in taking it by siege and storm. Ultimately, its defenders negotiated a generous surrender, giving its defenders high status in the Old Caliphate.Your knowledge of such history is shaky, although you know of people who could explain more.

Today however, the three-layers have long been quarried away for use in other structures, with Guleri itself being first subsumed into the growing suburbs of Costaba, and then engulfed by the city as it expanded eastward. It was settled by the ITWFPMCR&PID some two decades ago and has ever since, housed their vast vaults of paperwork and riches. Some say that deep beneath the castle are contained artifacts of the Father, obtained in secret pact by the ITWFPMCR&PID's governing board. Others say that the hidden rooms of Castle Guleri contain the invoices of a thousand thousand false allegations and nefarious bribes.

In any case, such rumours are not your reason for being here. You are here to conduct the Schmooze. As such, you hail the Guleri's gatekeeper (who is heavily armed), requesting entrance. She asks for the reason of your visit.

Of course, your reason is clear, but who are you attempting to schmooze exactly?

There are some middle management bureaucrats who organise the day-to-day activities.

Accountants who oversee the division's fine collections, payments and records.

The Board, who command the division from the top.

The Master of Horses who despite his name, controls the training of young bureaucrats as well as the care of horses.

The Master of Postal Logistics, who directs the placement of waystations, inns and the like.

The Master of Enhanced Inspection, who commands and recruits the Friendly Toads (a semi-secretive military arm of the division).

...and many more Masters who have their own little spheres of influence, some secret. It is said that several Masters inhabit offices behind bookshelves or paintings.

"All the Crab, Half the Carbs, None of the Crash!^TM"

I'll take the whole shipment

Well, the spot itself has Iron Ore, Anatased Quartz, and High-Quality Precious Gems, so that’s a common, uncommon, and rare resource right on location, and decent spots around it (that I haven’t yet disclosed) — it’s a decent enough spot that I feel confident in a 20-20-20-20-20 bringing in capital.

The addition of my surrounding data reveals areas which can then be explored for further exploitation, so I feel that this isn’t unfair.

At this point, General Joan's Juniary ™️ would find this acceptable.

Dear Alfonso decides to make friends and in-roads with the ITWFPMCR&PID. With his mind settled, he once more leaves the office and makes use of the official palanquin. To walk so far would be quite bad for your health, you see. Although you have a slave now (the purchase of which lead to several mild arguments with the family) to help you walk, you don't think your aching joints could handle such a journey.

You head down to the street and make sight of the office palanquin; The porters touch their foreheads and bow so ever slightly as you approach. A traditional greeting from those of lower status to those of higher status, one you have become accustomed to. You tell them that you'll be heading towards the eastern gate before jumping in. Your slave, Sarah, follows you on-foot. Although its only been a few days, she already looks healthier.

The crew's captain is a grizzled man half your age who's darkened skin is a sign of his long hours under the sun. You've known him for years, even attended some festivities with him. It harms no one, after all, to get to know your lessers. You talk about the usual things with him as he takes you down Hazzak's boulevard along the river. As you do so, you take notice of a ITWFPMCR&PID waystation. Now, most of these bureaucrats are juniors, with maybe one or two supervisors...but who knows what connections lead to where.

Do you want to stop to conduct the schmooze with them or continue towards their main office? There's only so much time in the day.