#but i was proper devastated when the gm revealed thats who the commander was. they'd been real sneaky with it

[isaacathom]

So last nights dnd game was quite exciting and dramatic, but the bit I want to focus is a small moment from near the end, for which I need to provide ~context~

the tl;dr of the campaign is that we are a trade expedition to a fantasy china-esque locale, currently stationed in a city with 5 factions vying for their own kind of control, + an overarching imperial authority that has lost its power owing to [circumstances]

the character of focus is a lady named Yan Xia. She was introduced to us as an investigator for a faction called the Bingja, who are the city's military force. We've have poor relations to the Bingja at this stage, and Yan Xia is the first character from that faction we really get to know who isnt a 10yo child (long story).

In the first meeting, she helps us investigate some strange goings on around the Mohzi (another faction) village, finding out some Fucky Wucky creatures have been kidnapping villagers and taking them to a partially-buried mindflayer ship in the nearby forest.

As we're discussing the ship, it slips out that we've had a previous encounter with mindflayers in this very city - inside the Bingja base, in fact (which is when we met that 10yo, who was lightly injured in the encounter). We do actually tell her about this, including that we'd broken in with a goal of getting back some wine that the Bingja had taken as "taxes". An agreement is reached that we and the Bingja will explore the ship together.

However. We, the members of the fleet, end up exploring the ship before the Bingja arrive, clearing it out, rescuing the surviving townsfolk, and scavenging some cool shit. When Yan Xia arrives, she is fucking pissed. Because she was under the impression she had a deal with our commander, which he completely reneged on. Some of us attempt to smooth that over, but we end up leaving the ship. We're 1/2 on good interactions with Yan Xia, but we all know why she's mad.

The next time we see her, its as part of an attempt to sorta... smooth over the relationship with the faction. The Bingja have an item we think we might need for a party member's personal quest (long story, not important), so a small group head to the ship to see if we can work out some kind of deal. Yan Xia is the person who greets us on our arrival, and she is very much not impressed - however, she's not in charge, because her commander is here, and she redirects us to him.

Which is where things get weird. Because over the course of a conversation with him, it becomes clear that the Bingja have taken the mindflayer attack on their base quite seriously, and further suspect that we were involved in the injury incurred by the commander's daughter.

But wait! We told Yan Xia we had broken in to the Bingja base. We told her that was where we fought a mindflayer. She knows we were there. So why is it merely a suspicion of the Bingja that we were involved in the incident? Hmmmmm.

She doesn't end up being present for the rest of the encounter iirc, as we end up teleporting the mindflayer ship to the Astral Sea while she's outside (oops). Everything's fine.

We don't see her again for a little bit. A small group, positioned as a "diplomatic envoy", are sent to the Bingja base formally to discuss a matter of great important - at some point we found some evidence that the imperial administration had been compromised or fucked with, and as the military faction in the city, we hope to work with them to sorta... deal with that. Now we did obtain this info by breaking in, as is our want, but yknow. Whatever.

But when we show up, the head of the Bingja orders our arrest - the administration had beaten us to the punch, and charges us with a crime we actually genuinely haven't committed (not important). The envoy is tossed in jail.

It's there, a bit later, that Yan Xia shows up. And she apologises for not being able to prevent our arrest - she'd argued with the imperial officer who arrived with the "warrant", and made a case to her boss, but to no avail. When she receives our word that we had no involvement in what we've been accused of, she leaves. IIRC, she then spends that session attempting to help distract the imperial officer, enabling us a window to escape (literally, lol).

Yan Xia then doesn't make any particular appearance for a while, as our relationship with the Bingja isn't doing too hot, and we don't really go out of our way to talk to them if we don't have to.

Until last night. A group of us were heading to the Mohzi village to steal gunpowder from their fort (long story), and a Bingja squad is also heading that way. We beat them to the village by a fair way. But as we're sneaking in, a fucking nautilus mindflayer ship shows up and starts wreaking havoc. We grab the gunpowder, we knock out the Mohzi leader, and some of us make efforts to evacuate as many people from the village as possible.

And as we leave, we bump into the Bingja squad. Or, one of us does, with the intention to telling them what's happened. That character attempts to convince the Bingja to turn back - they'll be slaughtered if they advance. To which their commander asks if we know whether the mindflayers have gotten access to the gunpowder.

We lie. We say we don't know. Even as, elsewhere, the party's pockets are laden with ill-gotten formulae and weaponry.

To which the Bingja commander orders her squad to split - some to help with the evacuation, and the rest to make for the Mohzi fort. And she, Yan Xia, will lead that attack. She has her orders to secure the gunpowder, and she will follow her orders.

:(