Grand Masquerade Palais Lobkowitz
Outcome: Anna rescued. Adler exposed publicly and fleeing. Mikhail dead. Catastrophic physical damage to Palais Lobkowitz. Brotherhood's secrecy broken in a single night. Duel scheduled for dawn August 9. Session ends mid-Round 3 of combat.
Participants
- Every active PC
- Anton_Adler — target — exposed, fleeing
- Anna_Lindqvist — rescued from Adler's control
- Otto_von_Kaunitz — silent witness, walked off the terrace
- Lady_Honoria_Lyndhurst — briefing asset
- William_Thurner — briefing asset
- Maximilian_von_Sternberg — duel challenge triggered
- Maria_von_Thun — social asset — Varrio invitation
- Leopold_Fischbein — intelligence delivery — Bauer brothers
- Liesel_Hartmann — first in-play contact with party
- Nell_Coker — recruited by Katherine
- Nikolai_Volkonsky — Russian officer, active ally after Mikhail's death
- Mikhail — killed by Wächter
- [[Harmonische_Wachter]] ×3 — debut — two deployed, one prepped
Overview
Evening of 8 August 1814 into the early hours of 9 August. The Grand Masquerade at Palais_Lobkowitz was the Brotherhood’s deadline for securing Anna Lindqvist’s voice for the Engine’s ritual performance. It became instead the most consequential public supernatural incident of the Congress of Vienna — a mass-casualty event witnessed by ~200 members of European aristocracy.
What Happened
Arrival and social phase:
- Adrien chose Caroline_Hartley as his first dance partner, openly snubbing Lydia_Hartley — the Hartley romance arc activated
- Maria_von_Thun accepted Varrio’s dance and extended a private invitation for the following evening
- Varrio punched Sternberg (drunk, insulting Thomas). Sternberg formally challenged. Thomas_Wyndham accepted on Varrio’s behalf. Dawn duel set for August 9 outside the Linienwall gates
- Honoria briefed: Herzfeld isolated at the University; Munich funding via Der_Kantor; ritual confirmed August 15; “Desperate action will fail”
- Thurner delivered operational packet to Georgiana via waltz: Café Frauenhuber and Thaliastraße 12 as one-shot Order assets
- Fischbein delivered the Bauer brothers’ Black Bear Tavern location to Freddy, with proof of Vogel’s signature on the release order
- Liesel_Hartmann approached Varrio asking about “Brenner” — the murderer met his victim’s seeker
- Nell_Coker approached Katherine with blackmail; Katherine recruited her instead
- Nikolai_Volkonsky waltzed with Georgiana; received the truth about Adler and committed to the operation
Extraction phase:
- Anna performed on stage. The A=432 Hz resonance shattered multiple wine glasses and caused three seconds of universal apnoea
- Party executed the two-stage extraction (Emma, Georgiana, Katherine, Thomas, Nell). The substitution under Katherine’s cape worked. Anna out of Adler’s control
Combat phase:
- Adler publicly exposed. Kaunitz personally warned Varrio of “accidents.” Kaunitz then walked calmly toward the terrace — functionally a confession of insider knowledge
- Adler struck the command tuning fork. First Wächter dropped through the stained-glass window. Second Wächter appeared in the withdrawing room and tore a civilian guest in half
- Mikhail killed by the first Wächter — tongue-lash and bite
- Adrien fired his pistol and hit an innocent civilian woman in the neck (the “woman in green”)
- Sasha pursued Adler down the refreshment tables
- Combat end of Round 2: corridor cluster (Emma, Anna, Thomas, Nell, Wyndham) at servants’ corridor; Varrio with cudgels; Adler fleeing; Wächter 3 still dormant on carriage roof
Physical Damage
- Stained-glass window above the dance floor: destroyed (first Wächter’s entry point)
- Main chandelier: collapsed (resonance + combat)
- Refreshment tables: wrecked (Adler’s flight)
- Multiple wine glasses shattered by Anna’s resonance, before the Wächter ever deployed
- Withdrawing room: a crime scene (civilian torn in half)
Casualties Confirmed
- Mikhail — Russian Imperial Guard officer, decapitated by Wächter 1
- One civilian guest — torn in half by Wächter 2 in the withdrawing room
- The woman in green — shot in the neck by Adrien (status: dead/dying/wounded undetermined as of Session 8 close)
- Unknown number of additional civilian casualties from the chandelier collapse, glass shards, panic
Why This Matters
- Anna is rescued. The Brotherhood’s ritual is in jeopardy regardless of Session 9 outcomes.
- Adler is exposed publicly. Even if he escapes, he is a known quantity to Vienna’s diplomatic corps. His cover is gone.
- Brotherhood secrecy is broken. The Wächter were witnessed by hundreds of European aristocrats. Even Metternich’s press apparatus can only partially suppress the story.
- Political fallout begins immediately (see Session_9_Plan §3): Metternich summons, Russian demands, Lobkowitz scandal, Vogel’s hunt.