>>6103237Arriving in Castaigne under a heavy cloud, you head straight for the postal office. After everything that Alex told you, you're not sure if you really want anything else from your father – especially not something from that nightmarish expedition. Still, you've come all this way. The least you can do is take a look at it. Alex talks quietly with the clerk as you listlessly pace from one end of the office to the other, the sound of your footsteps echoing through the empty building.
“He'll just need a moment to find it,” Alex says, looking back over your shoulder, “I'm going to check the social register while I'm here, see if I can find any trace of our Master Bayfield.”
“Go ahead,” you answer, watching as Alex moves to consult the social register – a weighty tome filled with a vast list of names, addresses and business details. It's a good place to start, unless Bayfield is an unusually private man.
“Here we are,” Alex announces, “Bayfield. Looks like a merchant, a dealer in handicrafts and other trinkets. I assume he buys them here, then sells them in the capital or the other big cities. If he did business here, that might explain how Gideon made his acquaintance. He seems innocent enough, I'd wager. Too boring to be involved in-”
Alex falls silent as the long-suffering clerk carries a large parcel up to the desk and deposits it down. Alex sends him away with a few coins, then tears off the brown paper wrapping to reveal a cuirass of gleaming silver. “Very impressive,” you admit, examining the burning art motif set in as decoration, “But... why? This doesn't look like armour to me. It might stop a glancing blow from a dagger, but not much else.”
“It's ceremonial. The Sacred Heart Society, a missionary group, helped fund the expedition. They gave us these as part of that,” Alex explains in a low whisper, “They thought we'd go and spread the good word, enlightening the poor savages, so we needed to make a good first impression.”
“I see,” you murmur, reaching out to touch the polished silver. Before your fingers actually brush against it though, you feel the corrosive sting of Calamity and draw back your hand. “So what do you think?” you ask, “What do you think we should do with it?”
“Get rid of it, frankly,” Alex answers, “I gave mine back to the Society. They seemed glad to get it back – probably to melt it down and turn it into a candlestick or something. I can't imagine they were very proud of their little project. We could pack it right back up now, send it to them today.”
That's certainly one idea, but the cuirass... it looks like it would fit you perfectly.
>You'll keep the cuirass for yourself [+1 Sovereignty, +1 Calamity]>Send it away. You've got no use for such a thing