Offscreen Activities

[Jackie Cat]

As the Wayfarers' first day at the Shining Congress comes to a middle, they are called to a central auditorium and given a formal swearing-in ceremony. The procedure is simple – repeat an oath of chivalrous conduct and to bring light to the world, and receive a lantern-motif badge. With this, the participating Wayfarers are now members of the Covenant, and soon after, various heads of office are eager to recruit promising new initiates to their departments. The adventurous Explorers' Office, the clandestine Sable Office, the noble and martial Order in need of new knights, and more besides...

By the time the day comes to an end, various Covenant members have attempted to introduce themselves and make a good impression on these exciting new heroes from the west, and they will certainly all be much-exhausted.

However, the party has learned a great deal...

• The Covenant is governed by a council composed of heads of department or their representatives, headed by a Chancellor. There's a great deal of bickering and vying between departments, at least based on this one roundtable meeting...
• The current Chancellor is one 'Lord Arthur', who did not appear in person, but rather possessed the body of one Hypno Bobby, an old friend of his. Arthur seems to be singularly influential in the Covenant, and is apparently a massive fan of the Wayfarers.
• As a result of this roundtable, where it was reported that strange events are afoot in the Grand Duchy of Tyrrier, a country to the north of the Commonwealth, several Wayfarers and some Covenant attachés are to go on an expedition there to seek out answers. In particular, they are to try to locate and recover a source of Radiance from a dungeon there...
• Matthias implied through coded language that he will soon be sent on some kind of mission, at which time the Congress would be more vulnerable to the Wayfarers without his protection. He's incredibly circumspect, but he seems to be willing to nudge us in the right direcction...
• Another saintly steed, Spectrier, haunts the hallways of the Congress. Apparently he is Arthur's companion of some centuries, and he seems to have had a traumatic experience in Malantau. Something is not quite right with the poor thing – he is deeply morose and strangely offbeat for a Saint...
• Many Covenant seem to just be fairly well-meaning do-gooders, working on civilian, charitable efforts rather than anything nefarious. They may be privileged, and some are eccentric or condescending, but it's hard to imagine going to war against so many bright-eyed idealists who just want to save the world...