The Volokhov brothers are tied to the Syndicate. They do not trust the Syndicate, but provide a shelter for their operatives in exchange for connections and power. The Volokhovs have leveraged these connections to obtain many items in their collection.
The Volokhovs dislike Bryant because of their past history with Mercabah (which Max vaguely recalls). In the past, Bryant strong-armed the Volokhovs using his Mercabah connections relating to their impending deal to force them to provide him with certain items at a loss. They refused, and the deal fell through as a result (Bryant was not bluffing). The brothers still remember this incident and still hate Bryant as a result.
Most of the items Bryant gave to the Volokhovs were counterfeits. The Volokhovs, inspecting the merchandise and realizing this, provided a fake circlet (a dummy one the "old man" made for them to discourage thieves). The circlet is "cursed," and has several unfortunate properties (to be determined before the next Monday session).
The issue of Harry Bryant
For the Monday/Wednesday groups, it is the 24th; Bryant needs to be back to meet with the Saturday group by the 25th. Supposedly, he still wants the Crown to stop Cain. The following notes explain this discrepancy:
- The circlet the Monday group obtained is a fake (see above)
- Thus, they agreed to the trade just to hurt Harry Bryant, who they despise.
- Once the circlet fails to perform adequately, Bryant realizes it is a fake (that the Volokhovs cheated them)
- Thus, Bryant is convinced they still have the "real thing" and wants to steal it with the help of the Saturday group
- If Saturday expresses the intent to bargain with the Volokhovs, Bryant will warn them that the brothers are lying thieves
- As a side note, Xela will easily know that the fake circlet is not the Crown, and keep the lantern
There are still problems. On Saturday, Bryant and Cassenti have both expressed interest in obtaining the Crown from the Volokhovs. The idea was that Bryant wanted it to stop Cain, while Cassenti wanted it to stop Cain (but in a controlled fashion so that he cannot be merged with Luna after being cleansed). The original idea was that Cassenti’s plan was to stop Cain from being cleansed, or to kill him once he is cleansed.
The problem is that presumably, Cain will already have been cleansed. Shouldn’t Bryant already know? We’ll say that yes, he does. But Cassenti does not. However, Moss was tainted by the essence of Cain, and has been taken over by it.
- Bryant needs the Crown to help Moss, because Moss was supposed to perform the actual merging ritual (fulfilling the role Bishop did for the Caretaker). (As a side note, if Moss does reach a position wherein he performs the ritual, it will probably kill him.)
- Bryant also needs the Crown to control the oversoul, which is resisting its insertion into the Deus Ex Machina.
- The Crown may also be required for the actual merging ritual between Cain and Luna, since Luna is unwilling (Cain is more than willing to be merged, since the Caretaker is essentially offering him a form of godhood).
- Bryant does not say anything about Cain’s essence having transferred to Moss
As for Cassenti:
- Cassenti needs the crown to prevent the ritual from going forward.
- If she acquires it, she will also be able to use it to control Cain, which is a bonus.
- Cassenti does not actually know about what happened to Moss, but somehow senses that Cain’s evil is still in the world (just from her long-standing exposure to his growing evil recently).
Huntington wants the Crown as well. But has had straightforward access to it (e.g., when the Monday group bartered for the fake). Still, he may not have wanted to risk stealing it at that time.
The reason Huntington has not just cut and run is that he wants to solidify the animosity between Lupus and Canis completely. Zee is part of the plan to accomplish that, as are the remaining members of the Saturday group. He wants to pin the blame for the war on them. He also wants to earn their trust, because he knows that they are central to coming events.
Huntington’s real plan is for Canis to win the war, reveal his true identity to them, and make his play for power as head of a new Lupus government. (Since the war will just be starting at the end of this session, details will be discussed later; but Huntington plans to greatly profit from the war, at the very least. He could most easily accomplish his goal by "betraying" Khan at a key moment in the war, thus saving Canis. First, however, he must manipulate events toward such a moment.)
At the end of the session, Huntington will assist the Saturday group in fleeing Canis, the Crown in their possession, if the Saturday group does not choose to side with either Bryant or Cassenti. He will be in good shape for bogarting the Deus Ex Machina for himself.