Return of the Reprobate Brotherhood
Overview
Return of the Reprobate Brotherhood is a play by the Dynastic playwright Cynis Bei, remarkable for being what Bei terms a ‘sequel’ to his play Reprobate Brotherhood, continuing to follow the characters from the original play on new adventures. While linked series have long existed in written works such as magistrate tales, and many plays exist which depict a shared historic character during different moments of life, Bei’s script is very specific in demanding that Return be put on by the same troupes which performed Reprobate Brotherhood, ideally with the same actors taking up the roles.
Plot
Return of the Reprobate Brotherhood begins with the two magistrates from Reprobate Brotherhood working another difficult case: once more the Blessed Isle is threatened by the smuggling of Bright Morning by The Guild. The younger of the pair becomes convinced that the source is a heretical cult, but an attempted raid proves a disaster, the magistrates tripping over each other with much embarrassment and discovering that the cult is minor and afflicted with a deadly spiritual disease as a result of their heresy (and abuse of Bright Morning).
The two magistrates argue over their continued partnership in the wake of the disaster, events getting worse when they stumble into the middle of an attempt by local bandits to seize a cache of jade being moved by the Guild smugglers. The smugglers have a flame piece, which sets the area on fire as the three sides battle, and while the locals are bested and arrested by the Magistrates, the smugglers escape.
Interrogating the captured bandits, the Magistrates are told that they attacked after noticing known criminal and member of the Lookshyan High Command, Sadistic Tilapia, amongst a group of morticians visiting from Sijan. The Magistrates quickly uncover that Tilapia has been forging documents to pass his men off as morticians so they can smuggle in Bright Morning undetected.
The Magistrates attempt to infiltrate the Morticians' compound in order to gather evidence, but their effort is discovered, and one of them accidentally ingests a large dose of Bright Morning as they attempt to escape. A battle between Guardians of the Realm and Guild smugglers sees Tilapia escape by boat to the Scavenger Lands, where he holes up in his fortress guarded by troops of Lookshy's Seventh Legion.
Unwilling to let Tilapia escape justice, the Magistrates gather the remaining local bandits and induct them as archons, embarking in a massive assault on Tilapia's fortress. The battle is bloody and casualties are high, criminals redeeming themselves through devotion to the Realm. At last, Tilapia and the two magistrates fight in direct combat, and eventually Tilapia is slain. The two Magistrates return home to accolades and commendations from the Scarlet Empress.
Reception
Return of the Reprobate Brotherhood was not popular with Dynastic critics, though the audience of the first seemed eager to partake of the second. In response to a barrage of particularly vitriolic criticism from V'neef Mahara, that he ought be locked up to stop his affronts against art, Cynis Bei is said to have exclaimed "I write plays for soldiers and citizens. Oh dear, what a heresy!"
