Chiodo: Mission 2

Base the mission around the following diary extracts, written by Ryalla. The diary should be placed either at the beginning of the mission or used as part of the briefing.

16/04

I've had a quite a time tracking down Count Rivell - for a Count he's not exactly well known. I finally made a breakthrough last night when I stumbled across one of his retainers, just returned from the hunting trip Rivell was on. The man was ridiculously easy to bribe - apparently Rivell pays his staff worse than that old fool Ramirez!

The retainer was able to tell me precious little, though. Rivell's mansion is located near the northern end of the city. The Olger River crosses his land in the south and gets siphoned off into several irrigation ditches to water the neighbouring fields. My erstwhile spy delighted in informing me that the security there is intense. He pointed out that the Mechanist Order - a recent splinter-group of the Hammerites - had recently installed a system designed with people like me in mind. He also rambled a bit about spikes shooting out of walls and giant pits swallowing intruders whole unless they were "protected". A pity I won't see the smile wiped off his face when he discovers how wrong he is.

18/04

I've just spent the day posing as a flower seller so I could get close to Count Rivell's estate and scout it from outside. The front reminds me more of a fortress than a town house. The doors are guarded by two very alert-looking guards - the younger one's eyes never left me the whole time I was there. All the lower windows were secured with iron bars. When I approached the young guard to offer him a rose I'm certain I heard the sound of a camera operating within. I'll have to find another way in.

I did overhear something interesting whilst I was there. Apparently Rivell has just acquired a new set of antique paintings and is having them delivered sometime tomorrow. It would seem the stinginess he shows to his staff does not extend to himself or his surroundings.

19/04

A second day of scouting proved to be a mild success. The river the retainer referred to penetrates the outer wall of Rivell's rear gardens at one point. Normally there is large grate blocking debris - and people - from going through, but the continuous drizzle has caused the river to flow higher than normal. The increased pressure has buckled the grate, leaving an opening just big enough for me to squeeze through.

There are at least three guards patrolling the garden beyond, possibly more. I wasn't equipped to go in any further but I did catch the sound of one of those motorised cameras not too far away. I'll nip out early in the morn and get myself some supplies. I still have money left from the Jakku job, so that's one less worry. I wonder if there are any dealers hereabouts who'd be interested in a few newly acquired paintings...?

Set Objectives:

  • Get inside Rivell's Mansion
  • Locate any documents relating to Chiodo
  • Generated at the appropriate point in the mission - Find the duplicate documents Rivell made
  • Generated at the appropriate point in the mission - Find the codebook so you can decode the documents

    Set Texts:

  • Several texts accounting Rivell's past deeds and his present source of income: widespread blackmail of the City's nobility. These dossiers should mention the indiscretions of many members of the aristocracy in several of the following areas: illegitimate children, embezzlement, having relatives eliminated to inherit property, adultery (especially when it's the wife who has most of the money), black marketeering, trading in spice, trading in slaves, noblewomen secretly having abortions
  • An account of how Rivell became a count - he used to be a fairly high player in the royal spy network but was too greedy, played all sides against the middle once too often and was sacked from the service. By that time he already had huge files on the nobles (rulers like to know what their underlings are all about) and a ready network of greedy spies, just as crooked as he, so Count Rivell was born.
  • A dossier on Chiodo, revealing how Rivell gained him his title (only nobles are allowed to bid for Royal commissions) and his Royal mail commission, both through bribery, blackmail and the "accidental death" of the mail commission's previous awardee. This dossier is in code.
  • The code book
  • A bill for the Mechanists' equipment that reveals Chiodo as its purser.
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