1. Hunt down and kill Merciful Jonas. Relevant Traits: Talent 2 (Dirty Fighting) / Talent 3 (Scholar) / Influence 2 (Wealth) / Artefact (2pts)
2. Lay a trail of clues from Merciful Jonas' murder to the cunning trap I am setting for those awful old adventuring companions of mine. Relevant Traits: Influence 1 (Wealth) / Talent 3 (Scholar)
3. Help Lady Gauche decipher those texts she looted from the Church Monastary. Relevant Traits: Talent 3 (Scholar)

I want to track down Merciful Jonas and murder him in a bloody violent fashion. This will serve two purposes. First it will allow me to put the pain on that self-righteous prig, Jonas. Second, it will serve as a way to draw the rest of my old companions on to the trail that will lead to my ingenious trap for them.

None

I learnt about Merciful Jonas' continued survival after he sent me that message informing me that he had forgiven me for trying to kill them all, and telling me that he just wants to be left alone to cultivate his garden. Not if I have my way. Smug bastard.

Apparently the messenger was a middle-aged man with a scar over his right eye, wearing the livery of some minor Iridicean lordling.

Clearly I'll need to track down that messenger and interrogate him as to where I might find Jonas.

So, first things first, I'll hit the various Heraldry books I have, and try to find out which lordling that messneger might have been working for. Once I find that out I'll hire some goons to go and ask around for a one-eyed messenger, which shouldn't be too difficult. When the messenger has been found I'll go down there myself and either by offers of money, or threats of violence, I'll find out where Merciful Jonas now lives.

Once I know that it should be easy to have my goons surround the place whilst I go in a show Jonas some “mercy”. He is no slouch with that mace of his, but against my Black Blade of Disemboweling, and the fact that I'll be willing to take whoever is in the house with him hostage… well, I don't think he'll stand much of a chance.

After I have killed him, I'll make sure to make the murder look nice and bloody, just to ensure that when the rest of my erstwhile travelling companions turn up, they'll be suitably horrified at what I have done, and won't necessarily be thinking quite so straight.

I'll also make sure to cut a notch into the hilt of my Black Blade of Disemboweling. One down, eight to go.

• Talent 2 (Dirty Fighting): For the killing
• Talent 3 (Scholar): For researching that livery
• Influence 2 (Wealth): To hire those goons
• Artefact: To be extra sure of the killing

I want to set up a trail that my old adventuring party can follow from Merciful Jonas' murder to an ideally prepared site for me to kill them all properly this time.

I think this'll need some preparing, so I'll want to make the trail a fairly intricate one for them to follow to give me time to prepare [OOC: I want to actually lay the trap next turn].

Lady Gauche: She has agreed to help with some of the organisation stuff in this plan. She has people who can “let slip” vital pieces of information in taverns and can arrange for a few more bodies to keep the trail live.

So, this part of the plan is a little more complex, but with Lady Gauche's help it should be possible.

The first part of the plan involves leaving one of the goons I hired behind. I'll tell him that he is to watch out for my old adventuring companions (I'll give him a description), and to come and find me at the Village of Templeton a few days ride away. I'll make sure to pick the dumbest and least subtle of the bunch to be sure that when my companions come looking for the murderer, they'll spot him being shifty, and then catch and interrogate him. This should lead them to Templeton.

I will have been in Templeton for a brief time, and will have spent a few days gambling in the local tavern. I'll accuse one of the poor fools of cheating and start a deadly brawl. A few bodies later and I'll be making a quick exit, unfortunately “abandonning” many of my belongings, including a diary written in cipher. I expect that my companions will be capable of breaking it eventually, but it should take them a few more days/weeks. Once they decode the diary they'll find that I have been “researching” the Fabled Golden Armour of Esgaloth (which is, as far as I can tell, actually a fable) and have a contact in the Crimson Kingdom.

When they (warily) enter the Crimson Kingdom, my good ally Lady Gauche will have ordered a number of her subjects to lead the party on a merry chase from rumour-monger to rumour-monger until finally they'll learn that I hired a number of labourers and headed out to a location in the Erewhon Desert with the intention of performing several months of digging.

This should set them on the right course towards my actual ambush which will end, hopefully, with me standing over the bloody corpses of my estwhile companions.

• Influence 1 (Wealth): Having money to pay for people to help out on this is very useful
• Talent 3 (Scholar): The whole code and cipher book, along with making my search for the Golden Armour of Elgaloth sound plausible.

Lady Gauche has found a set of Ancient Texts which she hopes will lead her to a greater understanding of the Three and the Godsherds etc. I will happily read the documents and try to come up with an intelligible account of what is contained therein. I will be fairly honest with Lady Gauche, since I don't want to alienate her yet. Her army may yet be useful in getting me to one of the Godsherds.

Lady Gauche: Well they are her Ancient Texts.

I'll turn up, read the manuscripts, take lots of notes (the most vital of which I will make copies of and hide in my baggage, just in case). Then I'll present my deciphered findings to Lady Gauche.

All fairly simple really.

• Talent 3 (Scholar): The whole code and cipher book, along with making my search for the Golden Armour of Elgaloth sound plausible.

• Start writing a play about a man, Joe Nas, who saves a drowning woman from a shipwreck, only to have her turn around and kill him. I think I shall entitle it “So Much for Mercy”. I'll probably commission some players to put it on in a few months. There might even be a part II in which the woman kills all of Joe Nas' friends.

I have 2CP to spend so I shall raise my Talent (Dirty Fighter) from 2 to 3.