<strong>Point Respite town hall and military headquarters</strong><br/><br/>The rapid sequence of agreements from the assembled women turned Vin's smile from purely polite and pleasant to slightly self-satisfied and smug. It was almost as if she had known that they were going to accept. Perhaps she knew more about them than she was letting on? Or perhaps she simply enjoyed the fact that none of them had turned her down. In either case, she was clearly playing with her cards close to her chest.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Lazerette's Deception</div><div class="spoiler_body">Laz's Fate Points increase from 2 to 3. However, that truly unfortunate roll means that the Commandant succeeds by a staggering 6 shifts. As a result, she gets the <em>Dangerously Knowledgeable</em> aspect, with two free invocations, should anyone in the group attempt to engage her in a conflict of some sort. Also, because the extra free invocation is only normally 3 shifts above the target (in this case of a -1), I'm going to say that the aspect is permanent until she actually invokes it.</div></div><br/><strong>Addressing Aeryn Sunlight</strong><br/><br/>"I agree with you that the spider may not be a natural creature," Vin said with a nod. "However, we have found telling the difference between natural and unnatural is much more difficult here than it ought to be. We had a naturalist of some acclaim with us, but unfortunately he was one of the members of the expedition that disappeared. If you find him and recover him, alive, there may be an additional reward. Unfortunately, as he no doubt discovered, academic knowledge is depressing unhelpful in these parts."<br/><br/>The declaration that any further work together would negotiated on a case-by-case basis seemed to amuse Vin, more than anything else, particularly after the Aeryn had just acknowledged her authority. "Of course," she said, "I don't expect you to owe me anything for giving you a specific work detail in this instance. But this offer exists specifically because I expect it to be relatively low-reward and high-risk. In general, I will not be making you offers, I will be giving you instructions. I respect the Society, but understand that everyone on this island is here on the Queen's and, by extension, my sufferance."<br/><br/><strong>Addressing Eshalu</strong><br/><br/>"If you have no desire for the reward I have offered, then you have no obligation to collect it. You sound sure that you can provide for yourself anything that my Quartermaster or the local shopkeepers might otherwise offer you. This suits me perfectly." She pursed her lips at the comment about the island being malevolent, then nodded. "Of course this place is cursed. This should be no surprise to anyone. The Grey Graveyard is no normal danger, and as I just explained to your scholar-friend here, it is difficult to say what on the island is or isn't unnatural, evil, or corrupt. We are here because the benefits, so far as we can tell, outweigh the risks, but I won't get to deeply into it. I am not a political creature by choice. My understanding has been forced upon me, and I will not inflict the same curse on another, willingly."<br/><br/>"The obvious question, then is what we might do about it. The short answer, is nothing. The humans who lived on Dra Sirdu were not my ancestors, as you suggest. We have encountered all manner of strangeness on this island, much of which I could not adequately explain to you. We have no experts here to do so because, to our knowledge, none exist. We are in strange and long-abandoned territory. The only 'informed' decisions we can make are based on our very lack of information. Perhaps you can provide additional insight. I would be grateful for it, but somewhat dubious. I trust nothing until it has been proven in the field.<br/><br/>"As for your question about the silk: you may take as much as you wish back with you. We will, as I said, buy the excess from you. It is miraculously useful stuff, when used properly."<br/><br/><strong>The high elf and the two quiet human girls</strong><br/><br/>Commandant Vin eyed Reliyian, Lyra, and Lazerette expectantly, as though waiting for some other comments from that angle. When none came, however, she simply smiled pleasantly and nodded to the group. "Unless you have other concerns you wish addressed, I invite you to go ask the quartermaster for anything you might need and then be on your way." She walked over to a nearby end-table and picked up a small folded note. "Give this to the quartermaster or one of his assistants, and they will provide you with what you need, within limits."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Reliyian's Knowledge</div><div class="spoiler_body">That is an excellent lore role! I'm going to say that the baseline for academic knowledge on giant spiders, in general, would be Fair (+2), as they're not all that unusual. Your additional three successes mean that Reliyian successfully concludes that this isn't a normal giant spider. They generally cap out somewhere around horse-to-hippo-sized, not twenty to thirty feet tall. Some records exist of vaguely-described "war-beasts" that the Vuali used in direct confrontations with mainlander forces. Given that you're on the nearer side of the island, this might be what the spider is. If so, it's been alive for a quite preposterously long time and survived the fall of both civilizations, by whatever cause. It's probably better to steer clear, if possible.</div></div>