Well, there's awkward, and then there's awkward.
Awkward is whaling on ethereal spirits who don't know
their place when you've quietly acquiesced in letting
alone the ones that look like they've got the muscle
to get away with telling you just where one could
stick this "place" of yours. Awkward is having to
deal with the occasional reminder that your nice,
comfortable dualistic theology isn't necessarily an
accurate map of reality.
OK, this needs a little explanation. A few days ago
(at the height of Novalis' annual Equinox party,
actually), guess who showed up at the shindig but
Krishna, simply loaded down with gifts of friendship
for all the Archangels? Nice gifts, too: nothing
earthshaking, but there was some real thought behind
each one of them. Unprecedented, of course, but there
was nothing anyone could do: the rule was, "Anyone who
can stand the Light of Heaven is welcome". Besides,
trying to obliterate somebody who's brought you a
present is sort of ... petty. When asked, Krishna
just shrugged and informed the crowd that his fellow
god Rama was behind the gift giving.
The Council meeting (Archangels only for this one -
officially, at least) the next day was somewhat
vigorous, to say the least. Naturally, the Ban on
ethereals couldn't be relaxed, no matter what kind of
pretty gifts were given. Naturally. However, several
Archangels (notably Marc and Michael, to their mutual
surprise) were quick to point out that, as the rules
were complex when it came to the Hindu pantheon,
anyway, and that it never hurt to have
'understandings' in complex situations like this one,
and that (most importantly) no Archangel wanted to
look cheap in front of his, her or its Servitors...
Well, you get the idea. The two most likely to
disagree vehemently with this position weren't on the
top of their form that day. Laurence really liked the
scabbard and belt: everybody gives Laurence swords,
but nobody ever thinks to include scabbards. The fact
that both were made from tanned, Word-Bound Balseraph
skin was an especially nice touch. Dominic, in his
turn, wasn't even going to think about taking away his
kitten's new plush mouse (interestingly enough, Marc's
Collation Department have reported that outbreaks of
the "Dominic is a secret Balseraph" meme have
decreased by over 65% since his acquisition of his
kitten). David didn't have a chance to derail the
movement to discreetly reciprocate with a suitable
number of gifts. Nothing too fancy, of course: just
enough to retain the collective Archangels' dignity.
Of course, the best time for this (and it would have
to be done fast, if it were to be done at all) would
be at the holiday of Ravanavmi: that way, it would
send a general message of goodwill without actually
saying anything. Said holiday was in less than two
corporeal weeks, so best to get started quickly
whipping up appropriate tokens of - well, if not
friendship, at least informal, deniable neutrality.
Yes, this is where the PCs come in. More than one
Archangel will simply delegate the job of locating (or
thinking of) a suitable gift to their favored
Servitors: those that already have an idea will need
the usual insanely difficult to find (or acquire) raw
materials. Time's a-wasting, and don't you just know
that Archangel A will want the same relic or raw
material as Archangel B? There's also the fact that
the PCs won't be the only ones tapped for this job:
this is an odd way to look good for the Boss, but
whatever works. This will be like a scavenger hunt,
only with live ammunition and behind-the-scenes dirty
tricks - provided that the GM has a low sense of
humor.
And, of course, once the gifts have been collected,
they've got to be sent - and, gee, who better to
escort them through the Far Marches than the angels so
diligent in acquiring them in the first place? It'll
be good for them, too: travel is so broadening. In
other words, once the GM gets tired of exposing the
PCs to exotic and dangerous corporeal locations, she
can send them on a magical mystery tour of the
ethereal plane. Better special effects there, anyway.
Now, having Eli show up halfway through the trip,
completely unexpected and carrying along something
really neat, is cruel. It would preserve face for the Council (and may save the PC's collective lives), but Dominic isn't so happy with his kitten that he
won't grill the PCs about their sudden acquiring of
the Archangel of Creation. I repeat, having Eli come
along will be cruel.
Needless to say, once the PCs have dropped off the
stuff (remember, having Eli along is cruel), they'll
have to stay for the party. Won't that be fun?
Especially when Eli - no, wait, only cruel GMs would
have him there - anyway, especially when Eli starts a
drinking contest with Krishna and Ganesh. He'll need
teammates, of course...
No, wait. I keep forgetting. That would be cruel.
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