One of the big themes of Guilded Age is “adventurers have financial struggles because heroism doesn’t pay,” although it’s sometimes scaled up to “even high-profile adventurers are often catspaws for the wealthy.” So as the Sepia-World band of five start to become a little bit more like adventurers themselves, maybe it’s appropriate that their quest begins at a bank.

The group dynamics also intrigue me here. Daniel is inclined to defer to Shanna, who self-deprecates a bit before passing the mic to Xan. Shanna is more personable than Xan and knows more about their current needs than she gives herself credit for. But recent events have changed her: she’s not all the way back, emotionally, from when she wanted to surrender to Hurricane just to ensure the bloodshed ended with her.

Xan is…still more cynical about the government than I am, but certain people in politics are doing their best to narrow the gap between his beliefs and mine.

(Hmmm. Don’t remember why we left Lia out of this scene.)