Lucy's magnificent rod (Lucy)

[Anastasia]

"Three people came back," Tepen says, plainly. "We could have lost more."

[Corwin]

"How many did we lose?" Lucy asks, now concerned.

[Anastasia]

"Jetin-ah, a moment,' Tepen frowns, 'I am attending to matters.'

[Corwin]

Lucy nods her understanding. Patience is something she has in spades, so long as it doesn't keep her from exciting magical discoveries.

[Anastasia]

A long and longer pause, Tepen frowning more and more. "Things have changed. The grand caliphs of the djinn are going to punish Westwind for breaking the pacts about wishes to the Whirlwind Throne. I need you to go to the library, tell Vul'lath and the two of you dig up anything you can find on it as fast as possible."

[Corwin]

"Oh, certainly," Lucy agrees. "I shall be on my way, then."

[Anastasia]

Okay, so you have a choice here.

1. Go for speed over accuracy. Inflicts a penalty to the Knowledge check but you get it done faster.
2. Go for accuracy over speed. No penalty to the Knowledge check but it takes longer.

Your call on your approach here, since you're on a time limit.

[Corwin]

Lucy advocates accuracy over speed. If they cut corners, they might not understand all the implications of what they find. After all, the point is to find a suitable legal defense or precedent, and the devil is in the details~

[Anastasia]

Okay, make a Knowledge: Planes check here for now, see if you can dig anything up. Good luck.

[Corwin]

Lucy supports Vul'lath in making that check! Vul'lath's Knowledge/Planes is +81. With Biblioteca Arcana it's +96, with Lucy's aura it's +111, with the Library bonus it's +126. Vul'lath takes 10 for 136. If Lucy and Elena are allowed to aid him mundanely for +2 each, it'd be a round 140.

[Anastasia]

Bibliotheca Arcana already factors into Vul'lath's stat block. What sort of bonus is your aura?

[Corwin]

I see. I didn't realize it from his sheet. But no worries, Library is untyped and my aura is circumstance, so it doesn't hit the insight and competence he already has.

In any case, he'd take ten for 121, or 125 if Elena and Lucy are allowed to aid mundanely.

[Anastasia]

What it boils down to is this: The grand caliphs and the Whirlwind Throne have loose guidelines to punish djinn who break the rules about wishes. Legally they could get off with very little, however, that never happens. The cultural stigma around it in djinn society is enormous, to the point you can't find any record of anyone getting off remotely lightly for doing it. Demotion is the absolutely least penalty, and it's rarely only demotion.

It's seen as an abuse of your noble station, a failure to the Whirlwind Throne and altogether a sign of wretched failure. Additionally, for a grand caliph to do it is even worse, because they're supposed to be both powerful enough not to need to and wise enough to know better. So long as Westwind batters against that cultural expectation, you're pretty sure Westwind's boned. It takes a lot to challenge that sort of deeply held conviction.

The only light is that if it is seen fit, the Whirlwind Throne can pardon the offense. This hasn't ever happened for this sort of crime, but it is permissible.

[Corwin]

Lucy carefully relays that to Tepen along with her apology at not being of more use, as well as a recommendation to consider going all in and raising the stakes enough for the Whirlwind Throne to get personally involved.

[Anastasia]

'Thank you,' Tepen says, 'I will relay that.'