STORYLINE: The Malevolent Skooma Clan

Wow, that title sounds like an episode of a weekly anime.

Anyway.

This thread will serve as an outline of the storyline's framework, containing key events that will drive the plot forward.

Post in the thread to discuss events, point out loopholes, suggest better ideas, keep everyone updated on the current progression of the storyline, etc. I'll update the initial post to reflect the storyline's development. I'd also like to make these storylines a group effort - more brains thinking on the same idea will produce better results.



EVENT 1 (COMPLETED): The skooma appears!
A small give-away party of Ice-Eye's mead to celebrate the opening of his brewery became a disaster. Someone had planted Blue Skooma in the mead bottles! Qu'ahan discovered the skooma and arrested Ice-Eye with Bethany. S'ren-ja is to be kept under close surveillance.

EVENT 2 (COMPLETED): Sylvaswift's Trial
Sylvaswift has been found guilty of treason against Ri'sari an the Sugar Claws clan. He will be put on a public trial in front of the Thinking Tree. Sylva will be stripped of his title by symbolically removing the Clan armor. He will then be flogged by each member of the clan, symbolizing his wrongdoings against each of them. They MUST have the choice of whipping Sylva or deferring the punishment to Bethany. After his shaming, Sylva will be released as an example of what happens to those who betray the clan.

EVENT 3 (COMPLETED): Buffing up
The town's status as a safe haven for outcasts and those looking for a new life is in peril - rumors of skooma float on the wind, and something needs to be done to bolster the morale. To improve the overall organization of the town (AND FIND PLACES FOR NEW MEMBERS WOOO) the guard will be expanding their ranks! The merchants' group will be seeking new members! The Companions will be increasing their numbers! This is a bad situation, but we will stick together and make cheesy affirmations of strength in numbers!

EVENT 4 (COMPLETED): Sherlocked
The residents of S'ren-ja are ready to prove their innocence! I propose that this will be a type of scavenger hunt event, with several officers each leading a small group of characters to investigate one of the buildings in S'ren-ja. Each location will have a small piece of evidence hidden in the scenery - the type of evidence is up for discussion and open to suggestions. Officers will use a player/gm mode of interaction to find the evidence - players will dictate what they are examining, and the officer will tell them what they find there. Once the evidence is found, it will be surrendered to the guards for examination.

EVENT 5 (COMPLETED): "I honestly feel so threatened right now."
The evidence has been compiled and the guards are ready to announce their findings - the Blue Skooma is from an outside source! An unknown group is attempting to frame the Sugar Claws and the residents of S'ren-ja, but now the guard and the Eyes of the Queen knows that we're innocent. As the cloud of suspicion seems to lift over S'ren-ja, a piece of parchment floats down to the center of the gathering on the wind - a letter to the Clanmother and the guard, a threat from the mysterious skooma clan. It is a promise to destroy the Sugar Claws' hold on S'ren-ja, evict them from power, and drive the residents of S'ren-ja away! How could the rival clan have known that S'ren-ja was announcing its innocence? How could the rival clan know about the inner workings of S'ren-ja? A spy must be in our midst! WILD GOOSE CHASE TIME! Who could the spy possibly be? Suspicions fly about the town as the evidence points to members of the clan: a khajiit with small feet and a medium-sized elf or human.

EVENT 6: Toxic
Nobody at the Cinderella event footprint investigation matched the prints. Investigations are still going on, and Myreni has determined that similarly, none of Gnarlus's letters match the handwriting on the incriminating notes. The spy is cautious and careful, and an apparent expert at not being caught.
If possible, I might use the excuse of Gnarlus's welcome-back feast to get everyone inside the Clanhouse, if that hasn't already happened yet. Myreni joins the celebration at the Clanhouse to boost morale, but the gesture is ill-fated: the Eye of the Queen's food has been poisoned.
MORE EVENTS TO COME

Good work Pheenie!

That's excellent!

Looks good, we also need to work my char, Ice-Eye into it as the skooma supposedly was made by him.

Yeah we can definitely work Sylva's confession into this. He gave Arisel a parchment containing the Blue Skooma recipe and told her how he originally planned to make Blue Skooma himself and watch the clan crumble because of it. I think this would be perfect to integrate into this story line.

Errr wait - no Sylvaswift never did anything with the recipe.

Sylva's Backstory
He stole 1 of Risari's samples back in Skywatch when the Co. fell apart. His plan was to put Risari & Blue Skooma. Co out of business. Then Risari formed the clan. Sylvaswift had the Blue Skooma Co. sample sent to his Mage and she experimented until she discovered the recipe.

Then the Clan formed and Ice_Eye gave Sylvaswift 2 samples to give to Risari - Sylvaswift never passed them on, he sent those to the his Mage also for testing. Ice's was a better version than Risari's according to him. His mage has the results of that testing.

Sylvaswift never went into production with this, he kept the recipe though.

Sylvaswift gradually became attached to Clan life and his dark angel, Sumar, and his interests in his organisation paled. The turning point was the death of Ja'amore.

Sylva's organisation has been dismantled and he called in some favours and tried to get the Thalmor to leave the clan alone. This may have actually happened as the attacks have actually stopped. It is his theory behind the Black Brotherhood turning up, although this has not been confirmed, it has also been discussed IC that the Black Brotherhood were not the real deal and were possibly parading as such, but really rebel Thalmor. Again this is unconfirmed.


This would work better with your Malevolent Skooma Story Line

Sylva & Kazzah Backstory
Kazzah and Sylva still have their paws in a secret Skooma production & trade in the old Skooma Lab. This could be attributed to the Skooma found. To cover their arses Kazzah and Sylva could have construed a false Co. [/i]This has been going on behind the scenes. Sylvaswift did not own up to this, he would not dump Kazzah in it. His motivation is coin/greed nothing more.

Although if discovered it shows he has disobeyed Risari, he was not doing it to harm the clan but more to help it flourish. He knows coin is needed, and thinks Risari has simply lost it but will get over it when he stops grieving for his son. So he and Kazzah are kinda just babysitting the project until he comes to his senses again - at least that is what Sylva tells himself :D

CONSPIRACY EVERYWHERE! *cackles maniacally*

In that case, could the Sylvaswift Trial Event serve to prove that Sylva did not do anything with the recipe?
What would you like to happen at the trial, in relation to any plans you have for your character?

I don't want poor Sylva getting his furry behind banished or thrown in jail again if you don't want it!

so does that mean event 2 starts tonight?

I'd like to get the story straight before we have a roleplay event. In the last officer meeting, we decided that we were knocking the RP events down to twice a week, since many of us have school, work, and amounting responsibilities that were absent during the summer (or winter, for you Aussies). If it's okay with everyone, I'd like to start having Roleplay TS meetings on Fridays instead of the usual RP event.

Donvyn Sarethi wrote

CONSPIRACY EVERYWHERE! *cackles maniacally*

In that case, could the Sylvaswift Trial Event serve to prove that Sylva did not do anything with the recipe?
What would you like to happen at the trial, in relation to any plans you have for your character?

I don't want poor Sylva getting his furry behind banished or thrown in jail again if you don't want it!

The way I have envisioned his trial is:

1. Found guilty of treason against the Co. & Risari/Clan

2. Punished - Stripped of title publicly, he will be wearing Clan armour which can symbolically be removed also.
I also see him being flogged as a warning to others to not cross Risari or the Clan. (I really want to see penalties for wrong doing to add realism to RP) To thoroughly dishonor him in the eyes of the clan. (this is important for IC reasons)

- Every Khajiit clan member (Clan Brother/Sister, Favoured, Alpha & Clan Mother) offered 1 stroke, symbolising that Sylvaswift wronged each individual. Each Clan member has the choice whether to wield the whip or not (important) , they can pass it on and the Guard Captain can decide to administer it/or not on their behalf.

3. Released

4. Suspected of involvement is Skooma dealings re: Ice_Eye incident, but he will be healing and under house arrest for this I imagine

5. Cleared

I would have to talk to Kazzah in regard to what is to happen to his Skooma Lab. Kazzah is responsible for that but Sylvaswift is aware of it and has let it slide. If Kazzah & Sylvaswift were found out re: their operations well then yea. Sylvaswift would have to argue his case and try to get out of that.

I will talk to Kazzah about this and figure out what they are going to do about the lab and product. Because that will be a whole other drama LOL

I would REALLY like this to be done with today if possible.

Brilliant idea, absolutely brilliant. I cannot, however, use it as an event today because Elridge has already sent a guildtools announcement to all our members. Changing the plan again this late in the game isn't possible.

We can, however, use it as the event on Monday. If you absolutely need to resolve Sylva's currently story by today, that lies in the hands of the people you are involved in plots with.

Ill wait for Monday - although @Towim will not be there, Sumar has left SJ anyway, so I'm not sure. Ill try to find out if she wants to hold off until she can be present on another char as a bystander.

Thanks for the awesome RP today - I feel a bit bad it caused so much drama IC & OCC - let me know if you need me to chat to anyone.

That was definitely an awesome RP. We got exactly what we wanted out of everyone - a reaction. Even after the event everyone broke into smaller groups to cope with what just happened. It couldn't have gone any better in my opinion. Bravo to everyone involved in this :)

Yeah, it was really great and full of drama omg.

So, the event for tonight? What is it going to be?

*applause* And with that, on to the next event: RECRUITMENT!

This event goes to the separate factions. It is up to each leader of the faction to devise a sort of welcoming ceremony for new members. This can be as simple as recording a character's names in a ledger, having them listen to a short lecture of what your faction does, or have the characters participate in a ceremony or test to join your faction.

Participation is optional, but it is strongly encouraged.
The factions are:

Dro'Jhala could have people pledge to protect S'ren-ja or pledge themselves to the town. (Another option instead of just joining the clan, not all chars fit with it)

Kade and the guard

Synn and the companions

Milo and the merchants

Sylvaswift and the stalkers

Sumar could be starting his group of assassins/unsavory folk

Ice-Eye and the brewery

Arisel and the Sugar Claws Clan


It was also suggested that Dro'Jhala could have people pledge themselves to S'ren-ja. I would like to do an initial welcoming ceremony with the faction leaders, including Jhala if it fits the character addressing the general crowd in front of the Thinking Tree. I imagine Arisel would be the one to lead the ceremony, stating that S'ren-ja aims to provide a homestead and place of refuge for any man, mer, or beastfolk, and then direct the crowd to the faction leaders.

Sylvaswift is no longer the Stalker Leader - due to removal of his unfavoured title.... that is not going to be dealing in information.

So you could maybe instead appoint a new leader :D

Today's Event: The Greedy Gobblet will be hosting a small banquet to boost town morale. The eye of the queen will attend the event to announce her findings on the evidence collected - but she will be stopped. Her food is poisoned, and the guild must continue the investigation on their own.

Myreni manages to communicate one piece of information before she falls unconscious: the spy works in the kitchens.

Arisel might be late to the event, which would actually work because that's one less healer to try and save the day lol

Monday's Event: The Pursuit!
Soup Cat Ma'Chirrahni has been exposed and captured! It's now time for everyone to meet in front of her cell for the questioning to begin, but she only has one thing to say: it's too late! She's already contacted her superiors. They're coming to turn the town upside down and take over S'ren-ja, but she's not saying who they are or where they're from.

When placed in the warded jail, Ma'Chirrahni's cloaking enchantment breaks. The evidence she's touched is now able to be scryed upon.

With the Eye of the Queen out of commission, it's up to the townsfolk to track the evidence. There will be 5 points of evidence to be explored:

The trampled note from the Clanhouse

The kindlepitch and lockpicks from the cells

The dead-drop note from the Clanhouse

The planted skooma from the Storehouse

The poisoned ale from the banquet

The guild will split into groups to research the evidence in the same way as the Scavenger Hunt event: A GM officer will guide their small group through examining the evidence. A character may deviate to a piece of evidence whose examination fits their skill set: ie an alchemist might want to examine the poisoned skooma.

The things to be discovered from each piece of evidence and the recommended way to do so is as follows:

Trampled note:
--The make of the paper - the note is written on parchment with ink from tree soot: the paper most likely comes from the North of the march, where Imperial imports such as the parchment are more common than Bosmer vellum.
-- Invisible ink: when exposed to heat, another message is revealed: The password to the mansion is "Deathbell".
-- How to find it: This piece of evidence relies on perception. It is a good fit for characters whose skill sets don't include magical abilities or supernatural senses.

Kindlepitch and Lockpicks:
-- Myreni was ahead of the game on this one, but she was unable to finish her work. In Myreni's belongings are several copies of merchant ledgers from Rawl'kha. An examination of the ledgers will reveal a purchase of kindlepitch under a name: Portia Antonius.
-- Further searching into Myreni's belongings will reveal a census of wounded soldiers from Cyrodiil with the name Portia Antonius circled. Portia apparently moved to Arenthia when she was dismissed from the war.
-- How to find it: This piece of evidence also relies on basic perception. It is a good fit for characters whose skill sets don't include magical abilities or supernatural senses.

Dead-drop note:
-- This note is relatively undamaged, compared to the trampled note in the kitchen. It's scent is also intact - perhaps a werewolf could sniff out where it came from? It smells like incense and smoke, of old wood and an oasis. A dwelling near a body of water, and Ma'Chirrahni's scent might lead there.
-- Invisible Ink: once again, when exposed to heat, this note will reveal a map on the back, detailing a route from S'ren-ja to a small northern town: Pa'alat.

The planted skooma:
-- The skooma can be tracked with more resources from Myreni's notes. Copies of business ledgers will reveal a large purchase of raw glass material that was delivered to Pa'alat.
-- Similarly, a mage who wishes to try a scrying spell will see the shipment of glass being delivered to a mansion to the north, where it was blown into the distinctive blue bottles.

The poisoned ale:
-- This piece of evidence is for alchemists to discern (such as what Towim mentioned after Friday's event). Alchemist characters may disassemble the poisoned ale to find the components of the toxic substance. The ale was poisoned with distilled nirnroot and canis root.
-- A mage may scry the source of the poison, but copies from Myreni's business ledgers reveal a purchase made in Ma'Chirrahni's name of imported canis root, and one purchase in Portia Antonius's name for distilled nirnroot.


Once each individual group's evidence has been discovered, they must report their findings to the guard to be cross-referenced. The guard will then announce that preparations will begin to go after the rival skooma clan and bring them to justice.

I was at a funeral today and I still have homework left to do, so I may not be present for the event tonight. Please elect the GM's for each of the five evidence groups and choose a location to examine the evidence. Any of the houses in S'ren-ja will do as a home base for each group.

Got my new computer, finishing up with my Video editing projects, and getting everything loaded back on my computer. Should be done everything by Friday (Though I'll be making a short Gnarlus Cameo at Milo's and Lucrezia's wedding): Anything you need Qa'han for coming up, or would I be able to sit him on the sidelines until the final announcement of the clan innocence or something?

The next event is gonna be a smackdown on the rival skooma clan, so Qa'han might be needed to make some arrests.

Today's Event: The Confrontation

The guard of S'ren-ja have an important announcement underneath the Thinking Tree: they believe the rival skooma clan to be based in Pa'alat, and they have permission from the recovering Myreni to act as deputies and arrest those operating there. Kade will address the crowd, stating that they are going to arrest people, not kill them. If the criminals surrender, they are to be bound and escorted back to S'ren-ja to be turned over to the Dominion Agents.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for those more inclined to trigger-happiness), Portia Antonius and her gang will not go down without a fight. S'ren-ja will travel to Pa'alat, and will engage the rival skooma clan in battle.

I WILL NEED NPC VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS EVENT!

At least three members of the rival skooma clan should be present. @KateMo had an idea that some of the thugs working with Portia could be Ji's parents to start off a subplot. Volunteer members should know the ins and outs of roleplaying combat. Other roleplay officers will be there to monitor how the other members roleplay combat. If an officer sees autohits or god-modding, send a polite whisper to the offender.

Towards the end of the brawl, Portia Antonius will surrender, and the guard will arrest her. The NPC characters can either be killed or surrender; I leave that choice up to their players. Portia will be stripped of her weapons and escorted back to S'ren-ja, where she will confess her crimes. She will then be turned over to Dominion Officials, either Qa'Han or another generic NPC Dominion Official.

I'll be happy to NPC for this event. Any suggestions on naming a random combatant? Or is Thug Bodyguard and names like that good enough?

Thug Bodyguard is perfect.

I will make one too. Will call her thug chick, or gang member

I am going to the bank now but when i get back i will send you pheenie my lines só you revise them for me

I might only be at the event for a little bit tonight. My mom is coming to town and I don't get to see her very often so we're having a girl's night :)

Edit: I will NOT be here tonight! Picking my mom up around 7.

I can help in any way you need me too. I have max chars but have 2 chars who could be used, Deadly Criminal and Thalmor Officiate. If you dont need me Ill just be on Mo'jahi Ice-Eye.

Qa'han will be there. I have the intention of announcing that the the Dominion still intended to make arrests in the guild pertaining to the previous crimes of producing the Blue Skooma in the first place, but after convincing, Qa'han managed to talk them out of it, as the Thalmor previously stepped out of there authority, (Poisoning, assassinations, necromancy etc) against the clan, thus to the Dominion, the sentence was already carried. Or something along those lines.

I think that event went incredibly well. Thank you Pheeny for writing it up and everyone for running it smoothly. :)

Monday's Event: The Trial!

Portia Antonius and Ma'Chirrahni are captured thanks to the teamwork of S'ren-ja, and now is the time to give them a formal trial. They are charged with producing and selling skooma, attempted murder of a Dominion official, blackmail, and harassment of the town of S'ren-ja.

Portia Antonius will be first - she will be led to the Thinking Tree by the guard, where the rest of the town will be gathered. Her crimes will be stated by either Kade, Arisel, or Qa'Han, depending on who is available for the event. Portia will give her testimony and reasons for producing the skooma. The crowd will then decide if she is guilty or not -- the obvious answer being guilty. After her sentencing, she will be led away by an NPC Dominion Official.

I will then switch characters to Ma'Chirrahni and repeat the process. Chirrahni's crimes will be stated, and then she will give her villain monologue testimony. She will be pronounced guilty by the crowd, and will be led away by the Dominion Official NPC.

I NEED ONE VOLUNTEER TO BE THE DOMINION NPC. All I'm looking for is a generic officer to be named Dominion Officiate.

After the Trial, Arisel/Kade/Qa'Han will direct the rest of the clan to the Greedy Gobblet where a celebration has been prepared in S'ren-ja's honor -- and this time, ALL the food and drink has been tested for poison. ;)

I still have the char named Thalmor Officiate, If I am around for that event (which is highly likely) I can fulfill that role.

Qa'han can be there too. I finally got everything done and I'll be able to attend regularly.

I'm thinking Qa'han should list the crimes as this was a Dominion Investigation and he is a Dominion Official. I'm writing up a speech for tonight as a result.

Perfect, thank you Eddie!

Just letting you all know since I kind of took the spearhead on this next event, I won't be on until 9:30 on either Teamspeak or In Game, One of my "Clients" noticed an error in one of there videos (It is actually something I cut for the sake of rendering not taking forever), and the render has been going for a while now, but I will be done by time. I'll post what I'm going to say in this channel.

/e loudly clears his throat, attempting to get everyones attention.

As many of you are aware, for the past month the illegal substance known as "Blue Skooma" has been flooding the Black Market of Northern Valenwood for the past month. It was through an unfortunate coincidence that this one happened to find it being smuggled out of S'ren-Ja through way of the brewery.

Being the clan who first developed Blue Skooma, this one hopes you all can understand how he jumped to the conclusion of you being guilty.

However, with your assistance, not only did we gather the evidence needed to clear the name of the Sugar Claw Clan, but we have also captured the true culprit of the crime.

As S'ren-Ja has been in the centre of our investigation, this one wishes to call upon you all once more to serve as the jury for Portia Antonius at her trial, to put this matter to a rest once and for all. He has already recieved permission from the acting Clan Leader to do it.

/e motions to Kade to retrieve the prisoner.

Before the charges are read, this one is required to ask if any of the crowd wish to stand in either Portia Antonius or Ma'Chirrahni. You may step foward now.
*Wait for Portia*

Portia Antonius, you stand accused of the following charges: Producing and selling skooma, attempted murder of a Dominion official, blackmail, and harassment of the town of S'ren-ja.

As evidence, we have a verbal confession and several witnesses to said confession, a large number of alchemy reagents including Moon Sugar, Night Shade, and blue food coloring, and ledgers confiscated from you home.

Do you have anything to say before the people pronounce there verdict?

*Improv*

Ma'Chirrahni you stand accused of the following charges: Producing and selling skooma, attempted murder of a Dominion official, blackmail, and harassment of the town of S'ren-ja.

As evidence, we have a verbal confession and several witnesses to said confession, a large number of alchemy reagents including Moon Sugar, Night Shade, and blue food coloring, and ledgers confiscated from you home.

Do you have anything to say before the people pronounce there verdict?

*Improv*

That looks really good, but I would either say Clanmother or Kade, Guard Captain to avoid any confusion lol

Friday's Event: Sugar Pie

A recovering Myreni has an announcement for the town. Her superiors from the Dominion are especially pleased with S'ren-ja's initiative in tracking down the criminals involved with the new Blue Skooma. The Thalmor are now tracking down the rest of the rival clanmembers that were not present in Pa'alat at the time, and all loose ends are in the process of being tied into nice, neat little bows.

Myreni had been assigned as a delegate between the Dominion and S'ren-ja to address large problems that might afflict the town in the future (which there will be, but that's a whole other storyline). The Dominion has also given S'ren-ja permission to maximize their production of moon sugar now that the skooma scare has been lifted from their shoulders. Should S'ren-ja wish to perticipate, they will be able to ship moon sugar across the Dominon through Myreni’s connections.

But growing moon sugar requires some extra hands around the fields. In preparation to plant a new crop, the fields must be cleared of weeds and plowed. If the entire clan works together on the task, the ground should be ready for planting in no time! Grab a hoe (not THAT kind of hoe, leave the companions alone) and get to work!

Anything needed of Qa'han? I'll admit I maybe distracted a bit (Smash Bros, Smash Bros, Smash Bros) but I can still be there.

I don't think we'll need much, it's mostly just an announcement and then playing in the dirt.

OMG IT IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME!!!!!

*Grabs Zura* Someone said grab a Hoe? Oh right! A Tool! *Grabs another and gives it to Zura* We have a Hoe with a hoe!

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STORYLINE COMPLETED!

Q.Q My Pun is not bad