Sypheros 13 - Sypheros 18, YK 999
The Wolves decided to do some digging around to find out what they could about Vadis's operative in Rhukaan Draal before going through with the drop. While doing this, there was also some debate about whether they'd be using Nock for the bait, or if Pel would be taking her place. Nock was fairly adamant that it needed to be her, while Pel resisted the idea.
William, Lysander and Pel did some digging using their various skills and managed to find out that the operative they were looking for was named Bant, that he was a hobgoblin, and that he could often be found scoping out the various slave markets in the area.
With that information, the whole group went to the slave market. They assumed that Bant was actually a changeling, and that Pel would have the best chance of spotting him, and they were correct, as Pel pinned him down, although William moved up and shifted Pel out of the way right before Bant would have looked back and "made" him.
Given that Bant was an operative of Pel's father, the Wolves reasoned that he might have some way of spotting Pel, so they set Brand on Bant's trail, with Pel following Brand.
The rest of the Wolves returned to the Deneith enclave, and Luggoth had a heart-to-heart with Savannah about the Prophecy and what he'd been told. She told him that she was certain that it didn't mean what he thought, and asked him to put his faith in the Flame, which he made a half-hearted promise to consider. William spent his time networking with Deneith House members, while Lysander collected stories from the same.
A few hours later, having learned all they could about Bant's movements, Brand and Pel returned. Brand spent some time honing his combat skills in training with the Blademarks, while Pel went to have a talk with his mother, Nock. She was very convinced that he wasn't up to confronting Vadis, and that she was, and all but ordered Pel to let her go to the meet. Unfortunately for Nock, Pel wasn't taking orders from her, and whether it was concern for his mother, a desire to confront his father or something else, he decided to go on the mission.
Lysander disguised himself as the male assassin and dropped "Nock" off at the pre-arranged rendezvous spot in The Bloody Market. Brand waited nearby, and he followed Bant as he picked up the bundled-up "Nock" and began walking. Pel struggled slightly, trying to slow Bant down, which worked better than he had hoped. Bant put him down and fed him a dose of dreamlily, which he managed to vomit up, but then he decided to remain more still for the rest of the journey.
The journey was longer than the Wolves expected, as Bant headed out into the wilderness of Darguun. The rest of the Wolves followed Brand at a safe distance, as Brand used his ranger training and spotting help from Whitehearth to keep Bant in view without him realizing he was being followed.
After a somewhat tiring journey of about three and a half days, the Wolves reached a grove of scrawny trees in sight of the Seawall Mountains. In the distance, they could see a ruined fortress, with strange metal rods jutting up into the sky from what used to be the highest towers.
Bant left "Nock" on the ground, muttering to her that "it will all be over soon" and then he headed back toward Rhukaan Draal. The Wolves debated over whether or not to attack him, and ultimately decided it could blow their cover if they did.
The Wolves waited and watched for hours, camping overnight, and on the next day, Pel finally decided to climb out of the bag he had been transported in, still wearing the form of Nock, and head into the ruined fortress. The others followed him at a distance.
They descended down a long stairway, heading towards a flickering light, and soon found out what the light was coming from. An enormous entry chamber stood before them with eight batteries on the wall firing lightning across the room at each other, at metal statues in the middle of the room and at a giant set of adamantine doors in the back. Standing in the middle of these were two flesh golems who seemed rejuvenated each time the lightning struck them, and they moved up to attack.
William, Luggoth and Brand battled the golems while Pel and Lysander did their best to move in and try to disable the electrical grid without getting fried.
The first golem dropped after Luggoth hit it with a brutal howling strike, followed by a strike from William and a finish by Brand and Whitehearth. About that time, Lysander first got struck by the lightning trying to disable the trap.
With Pel having more luck turning off the electrical field, Lysander switched to healing William and assisting in the fight, and Luggoth was able to finish off the other golem that he'd been attacking along with Brand and William.
As Lysander and Pel began working on deciphering the arcane lock on the adamantine doors, William looked around and saw that while the original design was Dhakaani, a lot of the fortress had been retrofitted in a style that was Karrnathi, including the metal statues of famous necromancers and generals of the Last War era.
When the doors were opened, the Wolves saw that they led to a large gear-driven elevator, and after checking to make certain it wasn't a trap, they activated the gears and descended into the depths of the dungeon, which was clearly the only surviving part of the fortress.
At the bottom, they found another pair of arcane-locked adamantine doors, and thanks to the keen senses of Luggoth and Brand, they realized that there was an enormous amount of water pushing through from the other side. Several of the Wolves climbed to the top of the elevator while Brand followed Pel's instructions to open the doors.
The doors opened and a flood of dank water came spilling in, starting to fill the elevator almost immediately. In the nearly-flooded hallway beyond, they saw two Karrnathi skeletons and two Karrnathi zombies, who yelled that they wouldn't get into "Count Orlok's laboratory" before attacking.
They hear the water, try to decide what to do, Brand climbs to top of the elevator
The Wolves slid down ropes into the room and began attacking, but the zombies and skeletons put up a brutal fight, knocking Brand down and slashing into Luggoth as the water rose around them. William responded with a powerful attack that nearly cut one of the skeletons in half, and Lysander spotted inoperative pumps around the room which he began activating, causing the flow of water to slow down.
The skeletons were fast-moving and deadly, and the zombies protective and brutal, reminiscent of the fighting styles of Brand and William respectively. However, the Wolves worked together very effectively, and Pel finished the one that William had attacked almost immediately.
William dealt out damage to all the zombies and skeletons, and Luggoth shifted into his more bestial form to engage the other skeleton. As Lysander turned on the other pumps, causing the water to drain from the room, William finished off the other skeleton and then Brand and Pel struck the final blows to kill the remaining zombies.
After a brief rest, the Wolves cracked open the next set of doors to find that it opened into an enormous laboratory, clearly one that had belonged to Count Orlok, judging from the electrical machinery, the blood-stained cage, the brains in jars and the Karrnathi art throughout the room. Perhaps most notably, there was some sort of machine at the back that looked like it might be used for some kind of brain-swapping operation.
Standing at a large table was Vadis. He confirmed that his plan had been to use the device to steal Nock's knowledge and replace her, becoming effectively a House Medani agent, which would have served his masters well.
Vadis tried to convince the Wolves to join him, hinting broadly that he worked for the Lords of Dust and that they could provide temporary wealth and power, for a price that would be paid by, at best, their long-future descendants. He also revealed several tidbits of information, from the identity of Pel's mother to the fact that Xain was one of Pel's brothers, and offered up bribes of influence to Brand, Pel and William in turn.
Lysander tried to bluff that the Wolves were considering the offer, but Vadis saw through it. He did allow the Wolves to come in, though, and when they were close, he drew his rapier with a sigh and started the fight by stabbing Pel.
Brand dimensional bonded with Vadis immediately to keep him from getting away, and Pel responded to his father's attack by stabbing him deep in the heart, leaving him pouring blood that would make him easier to trail. Each attack on Vadis earned a response with his blade, and he was quite good with it.
Vadis very nearly killed Pel with his attacks, but Pel stepped back to recuperate and yelled to his father, "I've gained a few things you don't have, father. I've gained friends... and I've gained faith!" He blasted him with daunting light, but Vadis dodged out of the way and turned invisible, avoiding a few attacks from the Wolves before Brand used dimensional bond to teleport to him and attack, which caused Vadis to reveal himself with a counter-attack.
Seeing that the tide was turning, Vadis tried to bargain with the Wolves, offering up valuable information about Count Orlok and other tidbits if they would agree to let him surrender rather than die. Pel responded that they were going to use Orlok's machine to draw the memories out of his corpse.
He downed a potion to heal and then continued his attacks on Pel and Brand, as Luggoth flew into a rage and struck, allowing both Brand and Pel to follow up, including Pel stabbing Vadis in the thigh to slow him down.
Summoning reserves of strength, Vadis ran to the other side of the room despite his wound, drawing attacks from three of the Wolves that further injured him. He slashed the wires and destroyed the brain-reading device, and confidently said, "I suppose now you have to take me alive."
Luggoth and William immediately charged, serving notice to Vadis that surrender wasn't an option, and Pel, with encouragement from the two warriors, called down a flame strike on the three of them.
Vadis, growing weary from blood loss, tried to defend himself against the Wolves as they all moved in with melee weapons, but finally Pel was able to flank with William and stab his father again in the heart, causing him to fall.
The Wolves debated what to do with Vadis, as they could tell that he wasn't dead yet. The general consensus was that he was too dangerous to live, but they also realized that he had vital knowledge of a great many things. In addition, he was Pel's father, after all.
After much consideration, Pel made the decision, saying that he was too dangerous to live, and with a final rapier strike to the throat, the threat of Vadis was ended.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wandering Wolfish on December 11?
Circle of Love is off on 12/4 and 12/11 due to Randy/Joe/Jamie being lameasses. And Paul is out on 12/4. But the Wolves minus Randy could play on 12/11. You guys want to do a one-shot something? I was thinking about a one-off 4th Ed. game, knowing me probably in the Realms. Probably low-level to keep things moving along. Who's with me?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wandering Wolves: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Interlude
Sypheros 11 - Sypheros 13, YK 999
Though they didn't reveal themselves, Lysander was fairly certain that the two lead assassins, the unnamed male and Hellena, were with House Tarkanan, and that the others were local hirelings. They told the Wolves that they had been hired to kidnap Nock (who they referred to by name) and bring her back to a specific place in the Bloody Market at Rhukaan Draal and leave her there, alive but unconscious. The person that hired them (a hobgoblin, but they are fairly sure it was actually a changeling) was very specific on that point, and also very specific that if he spotted anyone but Nock, they would not receive their money, and would be dead before the day ended. They believed it. Their suspicion is that their contact, and whoever he works for (probably Vadis) are working for a powerful benefactor, one that engenders a fanatical loyalty. It is clear that Vadis has deeper connections than those of the Tyrants.
After letting the assassins go, the Wolves made their way back to Wyvernskull, and found Pus One-Eye, who took them to the two shifter children he had been hiding, per "Canker's" request. Pel and Lysander made sure to find a captain of a ship they could trust who was going to Korranberg in Zilargo and paid him 150 gold to take the former slaves there, so that they could contact their loved ones and go back to their lives.
Upon Luggoth's insistence, after they had checked in with Failin d'Orien to make sure he was still waiting for them, The Wolves spent a day in Wyvernskull asking questions and trying to find the Emerald Claw that had purchased Savannah and the others. They were able to track down rumors of a group of shifters being smuggled to the Shadow Marches aboard a slave galleon, and they tracked it down before it could leave. The Emerald Claw put up a brave resistance, but they were no match for the Wolves, and Luggoth was reunited with Savannah. Stories of what exactly Cavoletta had done with them, or why she had sold them to the Eel, would have to wait for another day, but Savannah and the others did reveal that they had heard that the Claw was selling them to be used in experiments by someone named Count Werner Orlok.
This name struck a chord in William's memory. When he was a boy, he had heard tales from his aunt, a Sentinel Marshal named Hannah d'Deneith, of a Karrnathi Count Werner Orlok, who was a war criminal and member of the Emerald Claw who performed hideous experiments on enemy soldiers involving undeath. In fact, his experiments coming to light were no small part of the reason that Regent Moranna turned on and banished the Emerald Claw from service in the Karrnathi military.
Orlok had fled the country, but Hannah tracked him down and was forced to kill him some 15 years ago. His body was stolen by agents of the Emerald Claw, however, and every now and then rumors would arise that Orlok was somehow alive (or undead) once more, still performing experiments at the behest of the Emerald Claw and his own sick whims. Hannah disappeared five years ago while tracking a fugitive in the Shadow Marches, and many believe that she died at the hands of her resurrected foe there, although no one has ever been able to find her body.
The Wolves, along with Savannah, traveled with Failin back to Rhukaan Draal. They have two days' journey in which to decide what to do next. Nock has recovered somewhat from the effects of the Dreamlily, although she has taken enough that she has earned an addiction to it, one more powerful than the brief one that Pel and Luggoth had. She can maintain a waking (albeit unnaturally fearless and somewhat dazed) state by taking a dose of Dreamlily, or she can begin the process of recovery, but doing so will render her completely useless for at least a week.
Nock suggests that she feign unconsciousness and go with Vadis's contact in the Bloody Market, and that the Wolves can track them back to his lair. Interrogating Vadis's agent will do them no good, she tells them. This close to him, his agents will have a fanatical, possibly suicidal, loyalty, and if the agent manages to kill himself, they lose their only lead to Vadis.
She is also willing to let Pel impersonate her, and she will stay at the Deneith enclave in Rhukaan Draal and try to recover from her addiction and salvage what intelligence she can from her operation with the Eel, which is pretty much destroyed now that the slaver and his crew, as well as his Orien assistant, are all dead.
Either way, Nock suggests that they do some careful digging and asking around in Rhukaan Draal to see if they can find out the name of Vadis's contact, and maybe get a line on him or her before they hand Nock (or her carefully crafted replacement) over.
Everyone notices that Nock is a bit cold and methodical, and she very much seems to believe that this is now her operation. There's definitely a personal grudge against Vadis and a desire to bring him in, and a ruthlessness underlying her character that makes it easy enough to see how she could have spent months inside a slavery operation without her conscience gnawing at her.
Important Questions:
1. Is the party OK with spending 150 gold to send the slaves back to their loved ones? It will definitely add to your heroic rep, as 21 people spreading the word of their rescue at the hands of the Wolves will turn into a lot more. Also, do you want to give them any traveling money, or are they on their own once they get to Korranberg? Another 50-100 gold to the group would probably let them buy lightning rail passage to wherever they needed to go, or at least send Sivis messages to loved ones.
2. I presume everyone is OK with raiding the Emerald Claw's slave galleon on Luggoth's behalf? They don't have any useful information to offer other than what I gave you above, the destination (Shadow Marches) and the buyer (Count Orlok).
3. Is Luggoth OK with leaving Savannah and Borgath at the Deneith enclave? It seems a fairly safe place, and is entirely surrounded by soldiers. (Metagaming: Cavoletta will not sneak in and kidnap them again.)
4. And most importantly, what's the plan for finding Vadis? Interrogating his agent will almost certainly not work. The main question is whether you want to use Nock or use Pel impersonating Nock, but if you have other ideas/schemes you want to put into action, I'm of course willing to let you try them.
Though they didn't reveal themselves, Lysander was fairly certain that the two lead assassins, the unnamed male and Hellena, were with House Tarkanan, and that the others were local hirelings. They told the Wolves that they had been hired to kidnap Nock (who they referred to by name) and bring her back to a specific place in the Bloody Market at Rhukaan Draal and leave her there, alive but unconscious. The person that hired them (a hobgoblin, but they are fairly sure it was actually a changeling) was very specific on that point, and also very specific that if he spotted anyone but Nock, they would not receive their money, and would be dead before the day ended. They believed it. Their suspicion is that their contact, and whoever he works for (probably Vadis) are working for a powerful benefactor, one that engenders a fanatical loyalty. It is clear that Vadis has deeper connections than those of the Tyrants.
After letting the assassins go, the Wolves made their way back to Wyvernskull, and found Pus One-Eye, who took them to the two shifter children he had been hiding, per "Canker's" request. Pel and Lysander made sure to find a captain of a ship they could trust who was going to Korranberg in Zilargo and paid him 150 gold to take the former slaves there, so that they could contact their loved ones and go back to their lives.
Upon Luggoth's insistence, after they had checked in with Failin d'Orien to make sure he was still waiting for them, The Wolves spent a day in Wyvernskull asking questions and trying to find the Emerald Claw that had purchased Savannah and the others. They were able to track down rumors of a group of shifters being smuggled to the Shadow Marches aboard a slave galleon, and they tracked it down before it could leave. The Emerald Claw put up a brave resistance, but they were no match for the Wolves, and Luggoth was reunited with Savannah. Stories of what exactly Cavoletta had done with them, or why she had sold them to the Eel, would have to wait for another day, but Savannah and the others did reveal that they had heard that the Claw was selling them to be used in experiments by someone named Count Werner Orlok.
This name struck a chord in William's memory. When he was a boy, he had heard tales from his aunt, a Sentinel Marshal named Hannah d'Deneith, of a Karrnathi Count Werner Orlok, who was a war criminal and member of the Emerald Claw who performed hideous experiments on enemy soldiers involving undeath. In fact, his experiments coming to light were no small part of the reason that Regent Moranna turned on and banished the Emerald Claw from service in the Karrnathi military.
Orlok had fled the country, but Hannah tracked him down and was forced to kill him some 15 years ago. His body was stolen by agents of the Emerald Claw, however, and every now and then rumors would arise that Orlok was somehow alive (or undead) once more, still performing experiments at the behest of the Emerald Claw and his own sick whims. Hannah disappeared five years ago while tracking a fugitive in the Shadow Marches, and many believe that she died at the hands of her resurrected foe there, although no one has ever been able to find her body.
The Wolves, along with Savannah, traveled with Failin back to Rhukaan Draal. They have two days' journey in which to decide what to do next. Nock has recovered somewhat from the effects of the Dreamlily, although she has taken enough that she has earned an addiction to it, one more powerful than the brief one that Pel and Luggoth had. She can maintain a waking (albeit unnaturally fearless and somewhat dazed) state by taking a dose of Dreamlily, or she can begin the process of recovery, but doing so will render her completely useless for at least a week.
Nock suggests that she feign unconsciousness and go with Vadis's contact in the Bloody Market, and that the Wolves can track them back to his lair. Interrogating Vadis's agent will do them no good, she tells them. This close to him, his agents will have a fanatical, possibly suicidal, loyalty, and if the agent manages to kill himself, they lose their only lead to Vadis.
She is also willing to let Pel impersonate her, and she will stay at the Deneith enclave in Rhukaan Draal and try to recover from her addiction and salvage what intelligence she can from her operation with the Eel, which is pretty much destroyed now that the slaver and his crew, as well as his Orien assistant, are all dead.
Either way, Nock suggests that they do some careful digging and asking around in Rhukaan Draal to see if they can find out the name of Vadis's contact, and maybe get a line on him or her before they hand Nock (or her carefully crafted replacement) over.
Everyone notices that Nock is a bit cold and methodical, and she very much seems to believe that this is now her operation. There's definitely a personal grudge against Vadis and a desire to bring him in, and a ruthlessness underlying her character that makes it easy enough to see how she could have spent months inside a slavery operation without her conscience gnawing at her.
Important Questions:
1. Is the party OK with spending 150 gold to send the slaves back to their loved ones? It will definitely add to your heroic rep, as 21 people spreading the word of their rescue at the hands of the Wolves will turn into a lot more. Also, do you want to give them any traveling money, or are they on their own once they get to Korranberg? Another 50-100 gold to the group would probably let them buy lightning rail passage to wherever they needed to go, or at least send Sivis messages to loved ones.
2. I presume everyone is OK with raiding the Emerald Claw's slave galleon on Luggoth's behalf? They don't have any useful information to offer other than what I gave you above, the destination (Shadow Marches) and the buyer (Count Orlok).
3. Is Luggoth OK with leaving Savannah and Borgath at the Deneith enclave? It seems a fairly safe place, and is entirely surrounded by soldiers. (Metagaming: Cavoletta will not sneak in and kidnap them again.)
4. And most importantly, what's the plan for finding Vadis? Interrogating his agent will almost certainly not work. The main question is whether you want to use Nock or use Pel impersonating Nock, but if you have other ideas/schemes you want to put into action, I'm of course willing to let you try them.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wandering Wolves: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye (2)
Sypheros 10 - Sypheros 11, YK 999
As the Wolves continued to plan and rest, and dusk fell, Brand appeared from the brush to join his fellows. The Wolves were somewhat suspicious at first, thinking he might be a changeling agent of even Vadis himself, but Brand demonstrated his dragonmark and offered up some choice bits of information to confirm his identity.
He told them that when his business in the Shadow Marches concluded, he used a scroll of Shadow Walk to walk back through Dolurrh and get back to a linked portal in the Eldeen Reaches in only a day. He took the portal back to Sharn, found a note from the Wolves at the Drunken Dragon telling him where they were going and why, took the teleport circle offered to Rhukaan Draal, followed stories of the Wolves going to a sleazy bar to find the goblin known as Canker, who pointed him to Pus One-Eye, who pointed him into the jungle. From there, he followed the trail of the Wolves, came upon some freshly dead giants and an ettin, then followed their trail to catch up to them. He didn't see the shifter children on his way, but they probably wouldn't have passed him, as he was keeping to the deeper woods to avoid any confrontation.
They brought Brand up to speed while eating some journeybread, and as the plans began to take firmer shape over the course of several hours, it began to rain. It was a light sprinkle at first, but began pouring harder, with lightning and thunder joining in, and William reasoned that they might want to use the rain, along with the darkness, as cover.
Pel shifted form into one of the Hobgoblin soldiers and moved toward the two guards at the front as the rest of the Wolves awaited the other three on patrol on the other side of the camp. As Pel moved in and killed one of the guards, taking his form, Luggoth and Brand rushed out and killed the patrol without a sound, save Luggoth's howl, which any hobgoblin would have mistaken for a wolf, if they even heard it above the sound of the rain.
Pel, now wearing the other hobgoblin's form, turned his dynamic rapier into the shape of the fallen guard's longsword and moved up to stab his friend. Unfortunately, the other guard turned at the last moment, causing Pel to miss. He offered up a quick "I was just testing you" bluff, which confused the hobgoblin long enough for Pel to slide the rapier through his throat.
The other Wolves moved up, and Lysander used his veil spell to make them all appear as hobgoblin guards. Luggoth and Lysander moved in together, while Brand and Pel moved in separately. William came in, misjudged where everyone was in the heavy rain, and made his way over to the smallest tent in the camp.
Pel moved into one of the tents to kill three sleeping hobgoblins, but as he was doing so, William startled the human inside the smaller tent, causing him to teleport out and begin using his dragonmark of passage, in full view of Brand. Luggoth, meanwhile, was spotted by the hobgoblin patrol inside the walls, and they charged, along with the Umber Hulk.
As Brand engaged the Hand of Orien that William had attacked, knocking him unconscious with the flat of his blade, William moved to engage the Umber Hulk, and Luggoth and Lysander engaged the hobgoblin patrol.
The Eel came out of his tent to aide the hobgoblins, revealing himself to be not a mind flayer but a neogi, a slave race that both Brand and Pel were somewhat familiar with.
Brand and Pel continued killing hobgoblins with abandon while Luggoth, Lysander and William fought with the Umber Hulk and the Neogi. About 30 seconds later, they had killed the Neogi and destroyed the Umber Hulk as it tried to flee into the rainforest.
After a quick rest, the Wolves freed the slaves from the pens, and Luggoth discovered that one of them was Borgath, the younger brother of his girlfriend Savannah, last seen in the clutches of werewolf Cavoletta. He revealed that she had sold them to the Eel several weeks ago, but that Savannah, along with several other shifters, was taken to the market in Wyvernskull to be sold, so he had heard, to the Emerald Claw.
Brand and Lysander interrogated the Hand of Orien, named Nilh, to find out that he was working for Aeromus and that he was liasing with several slaving operations in the area, making sure their wagons and such worked and providing transportation help. Brand destroyed the papers in the cook fire to make sure nothing could be linked back to Orien, then they left him to be interrogated by Luggoth. When Luggoth realized that Nilh had nothing useful to offer about Savannah, he snapped the Orien slaver's neck.
The slaves gathered in the cage wagons, while Pel put Nock on Nilh's cot in the back of the supply wagon. He surrounded her with five of the most capable looking slaves, giving them the hobgoblin weapons and armor, to protect her.
They traveled on into the night, but they were stopped by a pair of archers, a human warrior with an axe and a dragonborn who looked like he might have been a gladiator.
"Halt! I am Cera Tak, and my men and I will not let you slavers pass so easily! Let your slaves go or face us in battle!"
The Wolves explained what was going on, and Cera Tak and his companion moved to talk to the slaves to confirm this. As they did, however, Pel and William heard the sound of combat coming from the supply wagon. When they burst in, they found that three of the armed slaves were dead, and they were under attack by a pair of assassins. Cera and his allies proved to be in on the ambush, and the fight was on!
The foes were formidable, and one of the assassins, named Hellena, was a vampire, as William quickly discerned. However, the Wolves focused their attacks on the male assassin, and he yelled out "Hellena! Too much resistance! Flee!"
The assassins began to break for the forest, but Brand teleported over to intercept the male assassin and Pel launched a flame strike that nearly killed him, and he yelled out "Stop! Stand down, promise to let us go, and we'll tell you who hired us and why! We're the only ones who know!"
The Wolves, sensing that a victory over the assassins might mean one of their deaths, as only the male assassin was really wounded at all, took the easy win and information, and accepted this conditional surrender.
As the Wolves continued to plan and rest, and dusk fell, Brand appeared from the brush to join his fellows. The Wolves were somewhat suspicious at first, thinking he might be a changeling agent of even Vadis himself, but Brand demonstrated his dragonmark and offered up some choice bits of information to confirm his identity.
He told them that when his business in the Shadow Marches concluded, he used a scroll of Shadow Walk to walk back through Dolurrh and get back to a linked portal in the Eldeen Reaches in only a day. He took the portal back to Sharn, found a note from the Wolves at the Drunken Dragon telling him where they were going and why, took the teleport circle offered to Rhukaan Draal, followed stories of the Wolves going to a sleazy bar to find the goblin known as Canker, who pointed him to Pus One-Eye, who pointed him into the jungle. From there, he followed the trail of the Wolves, came upon some freshly dead giants and an ettin, then followed their trail to catch up to them. He didn't see the shifter children on his way, but they probably wouldn't have passed him, as he was keeping to the deeper woods to avoid any confrontation.
They brought Brand up to speed while eating some journeybread, and as the plans began to take firmer shape over the course of several hours, it began to rain. It was a light sprinkle at first, but began pouring harder, with lightning and thunder joining in, and William reasoned that they might want to use the rain, along with the darkness, as cover.
Pel shifted form into one of the Hobgoblin soldiers and moved toward the two guards at the front as the rest of the Wolves awaited the other three on patrol on the other side of the camp. As Pel moved in and killed one of the guards, taking his form, Luggoth and Brand rushed out and killed the patrol without a sound, save Luggoth's howl, which any hobgoblin would have mistaken for a wolf, if they even heard it above the sound of the rain.
Pel, now wearing the other hobgoblin's form, turned his dynamic rapier into the shape of the fallen guard's longsword and moved up to stab his friend. Unfortunately, the other guard turned at the last moment, causing Pel to miss. He offered up a quick "I was just testing you" bluff, which confused the hobgoblin long enough for Pel to slide the rapier through his throat.
The other Wolves moved up, and Lysander used his veil spell to make them all appear as hobgoblin guards. Luggoth and Lysander moved in together, while Brand and Pel moved in separately. William came in, misjudged where everyone was in the heavy rain, and made his way over to the smallest tent in the camp.
Pel moved into one of the tents to kill three sleeping hobgoblins, but as he was doing so, William startled the human inside the smaller tent, causing him to teleport out and begin using his dragonmark of passage, in full view of Brand. Luggoth, meanwhile, was spotted by the hobgoblin patrol inside the walls, and they charged, along with the Umber Hulk.
As Brand engaged the Hand of Orien that William had attacked, knocking him unconscious with the flat of his blade, William moved to engage the Umber Hulk, and Luggoth and Lysander engaged the hobgoblin patrol.
The Eel came out of his tent to aide the hobgoblins, revealing himself to be not a mind flayer but a neogi, a slave race that both Brand and Pel were somewhat familiar with.
Brand and Pel continued killing hobgoblins with abandon while Luggoth, Lysander and William fought with the Umber Hulk and the Neogi. About 30 seconds later, they had killed the Neogi and destroyed the Umber Hulk as it tried to flee into the rainforest.
After a quick rest, the Wolves freed the slaves from the pens, and Luggoth discovered that one of them was Borgath, the younger brother of his girlfriend Savannah, last seen in the clutches of werewolf Cavoletta. He revealed that she had sold them to the Eel several weeks ago, but that Savannah, along with several other shifters, was taken to the market in Wyvernskull to be sold, so he had heard, to the Emerald Claw.
Brand and Lysander interrogated the Hand of Orien, named Nilh, to find out that he was working for Aeromus and that he was liasing with several slaving operations in the area, making sure their wagons and such worked and providing transportation help. Brand destroyed the papers in the cook fire to make sure nothing could be linked back to Orien, then they left him to be interrogated by Luggoth. When Luggoth realized that Nilh had nothing useful to offer about Savannah, he snapped the Orien slaver's neck.
The slaves gathered in the cage wagons, while Pel put Nock on Nilh's cot in the back of the supply wagon. He surrounded her with five of the most capable looking slaves, giving them the hobgoblin weapons and armor, to protect her.
They traveled on into the night, but they were stopped by a pair of archers, a human warrior with an axe and a dragonborn who looked like he might have been a gladiator.
"Halt! I am Cera Tak, and my men and I will not let you slavers pass so easily! Let your slaves go or face us in battle!"
The Wolves explained what was going on, and Cera Tak and his companion moved to talk to the slaves to confirm this. As they did, however, Pel and William heard the sound of combat coming from the supply wagon. When they burst in, they found that three of the armed slaves were dead, and they were under attack by a pair of assassins. Cera and his allies proved to be in on the ambush, and the fight was on!
The foes were formidable, and one of the assassins, named Hellena, was a vampire, as William quickly discerned. However, the Wolves focused their attacks on the male assassin, and he yelled out "Hellena! Too much resistance! Flee!"
The assassins began to break for the forest, but Brand teleported over to intercept the male assassin and Pel launched a flame strike that nearly killed him, and he yelled out "Stop! Stand down, promise to let us go, and we'll tell you who hired us and why! We're the only ones who know!"
The Wolves, sensing that a victory over the assassins might mean one of their deaths, as only the male assassin was really wounded at all, took the easy win and information, and accepted this conditional surrender.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, November 09, 2009
The Plan, proposed.
1. While Pel sneaks into a barracks tent to murder hobogoblins in their sleep, the others kill an exterior patrol, fairly near the entrance and then scramble in.
2. As they start in, a large illusory flying creature comes over the wall from a different direction, getting everyone's attention. can Lysander manage this?
3. We then move around the interior periphery, using the tents as cover, and make our way over to the cages and wagons. we'll probably encounter one of the interior patrols which we'll then need to kill.
4. Free the slaves. Kill the bad guys.
5. ?????
6. Profit.
any questions?
2. As they start in, a large illusory flying creature comes over the wall from a different direction, getting everyone's attention. can Lysander manage this?
3. We then move around the interior periphery, using the tents as cover, and make our way over to the cages and wagons. we'll probably encounter one of the interior patrols which we'll then need to kill.
4. Free the slaves. Kill the bad guys.
5. ?????
6. Profit.
any questions?
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Wandering Wolves: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye (1)
Sypheros 8 - Sypheros 10, YK 999
Enough circumstantial evidence had been gathered to charge Tyrant One with the attempted regicide of King Boranel, Lord Kor and the successful murder of Viorr Maelak. As a result, The King's Citadel raided the Tyrants and rounded up the council, all of whom disguised themselves as Tyrant One. House Deneith blademarks under the command of Erich d'Deneith were hired to guard the Tyrant Council while the King's Citadel, with help from Medani sentry Gaina d'Medani, interrogated them one by one. When the count came, they were short one changeling, and they found Erich's body alongside that of the Erich d'Deneith. Vadis had replaced him, used his identity to take a House Orien teleport circle to Rhukaan Draal, where House Deneith has an enclave and, more importantly, Brelish law will have a difficult time finding him.
Medani, Deneith and the King's Dark Lanterns all needed agents to go and find Vadis, whom they have confirmed as Tyrant One. The Wandering Wolves, minus Brand (who is in The Shadow Marches) and Pel (who told the Wolves he had a different meeting), were summoned once again to Viorr, who hired them under the auspices of House Deneith, House Medani and The Crown of Breland to bring in Vadis, who had committed numerous crimes against all three. He gave them what information he had, offered an operating budget of 4,000 gold, and told them that Gaina d'Medani would meet them at the Drunken Dragon to brief them further.
He never let on that he was in fact Pel, trying out his new identity with his closest friends to see if they could penetrate it. Even Lysander was fooled.
Gaina d'Medani met the Wolves, now joined by Pel, at the Drunken Dragon. She told them that House Medani suspected that the reason Vadis fled to Darguun, in addition to it making perfect sense for a Deneith heir to go there, was that they have an agent in the area. Nock, an agent of House Medani, has been operating in Darguun for some time, and Medani believes she can identify Vadis.
The reasons for these are two-fold: One, she's one of Medani's best operatives. Two, she's Pel's mother. It was during one of her earliest assignments that she met Vadis, then a young up-and-comer in the Tyrants, and she used him as her informant. Or so she thought. In fact, Vadis was using her to eliminate rivals and smooth his way into power. He seduced her before she could see this, and the two of them had a torrid, short-lived and ill-considered romantic relationship that resulted in Nock becoming pregnant. She gave up her child to stay with the House.
Medani believes that Vadis intends to kill Nock while he is there, and then disappear into a safe haven. They can't send a message to Nock, because she is undercover in a slaving/kidnapping ring that has been kidnapping dragonmarked heirs from Khorvaire and Xen'drik and selling them into slavery or ransoming them back to their house.
Gaina d'Medani gave the Wolves a dossier on the slavers that Nock was infiltrating. Their boss is called "The Eel." They trade heavily in "exotics" like dragonmarked individuals, shifters, goliaths, changelings, etc. They use local hobgoblin muscle, but the boss and his enforcer come from "somewhere else." Rumor has it they have dragonmarked operatives amongst their crew. They're mobile, but they have a base of operations in the jungle outside of Wyvernskull, the port city that gives Darguun access to the Thunder Sea.
After a brief shopping trip at The Dragon's Hoard to buy a Deep Pocket Cloak for Lysander, the Wolves took the teleport circle provided by Viorr to Rhukaan Draal. There, they wasted no time in tracking down Failin d'Orien and hiring his land cart again, just as they had on their first adventure outside of Sharn. They bartered him to a reasonable 130 gold to drive them to Wyvernskull and wait for two days.
It took two days to get to Wyvernskull, the hub of slavery in Darguun. Following information from the Medani dossier, the Wolves went to a goblin bar called the Ugly Bastard, bypassing the gimpy hobgoblin prostitute outside to step into the bar. It was filled with goblins who got very nervous when "big 'uns" like the Wolves stepped in, and watching Luggoth down their foul-smelling green drinks didn't do anything to make them feel welcoming.
They made their way to Canker, a goblin wearing a colorful ascot, whom they had heard was a contact for slavers in the area. He offered up some information about the Eel, nothing too specific, but a general direction to their camp in the Darguun rainforest. He asked 200 gold for this service, but was quickly bargained down to "5 gold and you get to keep your head" by William, Pel and Lysander.
He sent them to meet his scout, a one-eyed goblin with an empty eye-socket filled with pus (The Wolves appropriately, if not affectionately, named him "Pus One-Eye"). They gave One-Eye a piece of parchment marked with Canker's scrawl, and he told them that he had seen hobgoblins and slaves headed off into the rainforest and pointed out the direction. It was relatively easy for Pel to find the trail, and just as easy for Luggoth to track it.
At mid-day, tracking through the jungle, the group came upon an Ettin Spirit-Talker and two Hill Giants who had a pair of frightened shifter teens on a spit over an as-yet unlit campfire. They were arguing about who was going to get the largest portions when Luggoth charged out of the woods.
William moved up, stepped into his reign of steel stance, and kept the Hill Giants and Ettin as focused on him as he could. He was doing massive damage to the beasts with his axe Terminus, and then Luggoth joined in as well. Pel moved in to focus on the Ettin along with Lysander, and before long they had slain it, with Pel delivering the killing blow.
The other two Hill Giants, one bloodied and the other one mostly unwounded, tried to make a run for it, but Luggoth put on a burst of speed to chase them down, killing one of them immediately and then, with the help of the rest of the Wolves, putting the other one down as well.
The Wolves cut down the teens, who identified themselves as Savenn and Reryar, and told them that they had escaped from a slaver camp. They also gave them some information about what they had seen, including that the camp had about two dozen captives, and that it was mostly hobgoblins, but there was an umber hulk and a bearded human there as well.
Savenn and Reryar were unwilling to return to the camp, even under the protection of the Wolves, so William gave them his bow and a dagger, and then gave them Canker's mark and instructions to go to Pus One-Eye and tell him that Canker wanted them hidden until he came for them.
It took two hours for the Wolves to reach the camp. When they got there, they saw that it was surrounded by wooden walls and well-guarded, with the hobgoblins sending out patrols of five men at a time and circling the camp, and another five patrolling inside. They didn't see any sign of the Eel himself, but they guessed, from what they knew of Umber Hulks, that he might be a mind flayer.
With night falling soon, they continued to plan, trying to decide when the best time would be to launch their attack, and how exactly to do it.
Enough circumstantial evidence had been gathered to charge Tyrant One with the attempted regicide of King Boranel, Lord Kor and the successful murder of Viorr Maelak. As a result, The King's Citadel raided the Tyrants and rounded up the council, all of whom disguised themselves as Tyrant One. House Deneith blademarks under the command of Erich d'Deneith were hired to guard the Tyrant Council while the King's Citadel, with help from Medani sentry Gaina d'Medani, interrogated them one by one. When the count came, they were short one changeling, and they found Erich's body alongside that of the Erich d'Deneith. Vadis had replaced him, used his identity to take a House Orien teleport circle to Rhukaan Draal, where House Deneith has an enclave and, more importantly, Brelish law will have a difficult time finding him.
Medani, Deneith and the King's Dark Lanterns all needed agents to go and find Vadis, whom they have confirmed as Tyrant One. The Wandering Wolves, minus Brand (who is in The Shadow Marches) and Pel (who told the Wolves he had a different meeting), were summoned once again to Viorr, who hired them under the auspices of House Deneith, House Medani and The Crown of Breland to bring in Vadis, who had committed numerous crimes against all three. He gave them what information he had, offered an operating budget of 4,000 gold, and told them that Gaina d'Medani would meet them at the Drunken Dragon to brief them further.
He never let on that he was in fact Pel, trying out his new identity with his closest friends to see if they could penetrate it. Even Lysander was fooled.
Gaina d'Medani met the Wolves, now joined by Pel, at the Drunken Dragon. She told them that House Medani suspected that the reason Vadis fled to Darguun, in addition to it making perfect sense for a Deneith heir to go there, was that they have an agent in the area. Nock, an agent of House Medani, has been operating in Darguun for some time, and Medani believes she can identify Vadis.
The reasons for these are two-fold: One, she's one of Medani's best operatives. Two, she's Pel's mother. It was during one of her earliest assignments that she met Vadis, then a young up-and-comer in the Tyrants, and she used him as her informant. Or so she thought. In fact, Vadis was using her to eliminate rivals and smooth his way into power. He seduced her before she could see this, and the two of them had a torrid, short-lived and ill-considered romantic relationship that resulted in Nock becoming pregnant. She gave up her child to stay with the House.
Medani believes that Vadis intends to kill Nock while he is there, and then disappear into a safe haven. They can't send a message to Nock, because she is undercover in a slaving/kidnapping ring that has been kidnapping dragonmarked heirs from Khorvaire and Xen'drik and selling them into slavery or ransoming them back to their house.
Gaina d'Medani gave the Wolves a dossier on the slavers that Nock was infiltrating. Their boss is called "The Eel." They trade heavily in "exotics" like dragonmarked individuals, shifters, goliaths, changelings, etc. They use local hobgoblin muscle, but the boss and his enforcer come from "somewhere else." Rumor has it they have dragonmarked operatives amongst their crew. They're mobile, but they have a base of operations in the jungle outside of Wyvernskull, the port city that gives Darguun access to the Thunder Sea.
After a brief shopping trip at The Dragon's Hoard to buy a Deep Pocket Cloak for Lysander, the Wolves took the teleport circle provided by Viorr to Rhukaan Draal. There, they wasted no time in tracking down Failin d'Orien and hiring his land cart again, just as they had on their first adventure outside of Sharn. They bartered him to a reasonable 130 gold to drive them to Wyvernskull and wait for two days.
It took two days to get to Wyvernskull, the hub of slavery in Darguun. Following information from the Medani dossier, the Wolves went to a goblin bar called the Ugly Bastard, bypassing the gimpy hobgoblin prostitute outside to step into the bar. It was filled with goblins who got very nervous when "big 'uns" like the Wolves stepped in, and watching Luggoth down their foul-smelling green drinks didn't do anything to make them feel welcoming.
They made their way to Canker, a goblin wearing a colorful ascot, whom they had heard was a contact for slavers in the area. He offered up some information about the Eel, nothing too specific, but a general direction to their camp in the Darguun rainforest. He asked 200 gold for this service, but was quickly bargained down to "5 gold and you get to keep your head" by William, Pel and Lysander.
He sent them to meet his scout, a one-eyed goblin with an empty eye-socket filled with pus (The Wolves appropriately, if not affectionately, named him "Pus One-Eye"). They gave One-Eye a piece of parchment marked with Canker's scrawl, and he told them that he had seen hobgoblins and slaves headed off into the rainforest and pointed out the direction. It was relatively easy for Pel to find the trail, and just as easy for Luggoth to track it.
At mid-day, tracking through the jungle, the group came upon an Ettin Spirit-Talker and two Hill Giants who had a pair of frightened shifter teens on a spit over an as-yet unlit campfire. They were arguing about who was going to get the largest portions when Luggoth charged out of the woods.
William moved up, stepped into his reign of steel stance, and kept the Hill Giants and Ettin as focused on him as he could. He was doing massive damage to the beasts with his axe Terminus, and then Luggoth joined in as well. Pel moved in to focus on the Ettin along with Lysander, and before long they had slain it, with Pel delivering the killing blow.
The other two Hill Giants, one bloodied and the other one mostly unwounded, tried to make a run for it, but Luggoth put on a burst of speed to chase them down, killing one of them immediately and then, with the help of the rest of the Wolves, putting the other one down as well.
The Wolves cut down the teens, who identified themselves as Savenn and Reryar, and told them that they had escaped from a slaver camp. They also gave them some information about what they had seen, including that the camp had about two dozen captives, and that it was mostly hobgoblins, but there was an umber hulk and a bearded human there as well.
Savenn and Reryar were unwilling to return to the camp, even under the protection of the Wolves, so William gave them his bow and a dagger, and then gave them Canker's mark and instructions to go to Pus One-Eye and tell him that Canker wanted them hidden until he came for them.
It took two hours for the Wolves to reach the camp. When they got there, they saw that it was surrounded by wooden walls and well-guarded, with the hobgoblins sending out patrols of five men at a time and circling the camp, and another five patrolling inside. They didn't see any sign of the Eel himself, but they guessed, from what they knew of Umber Hulks, that he might be a mind flayer.
With night falling soon, they continued to plan, trying to decide when the best time would be to launch their attack, and how exactly to do it.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Game Schedule November - January
November 6th- D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
November 13th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off
December 4th- Randy & Jamie out - Gaming Off
December 11th - Randy & Jamie out - Gaming Off
December 18th - D&D Circle of Love (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off
January 1st - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
January 8th - Eberron: Wandering Wolves (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
January 15th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
January 22nd - Eberron: Wandering Wolves (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
January 29th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
So Jamie and I have been talking at various times, and I'm definitely out on the 11th (in Dallas for my sister's wedding) and Jamie probably will be too, so it's probably best to cancel our Circle of Love game for December. Which leaves only one week for gaming in December, and given how schedules fluctuate in that month, I think we'd be crazy to try and schedule a regular game.
So I propose this: Whoever can show on December 18th, we get together and play boardgames, Rock Band, etc. and just generally have a casual party with friends. We can do this at my place if anyone is interested. Alternatively, we can just skip gaming entirely in December. Or maybe do a one-off game for whoever wants to come from either group, and Ben and I can do the co-GM thing again. Chime in with thoughts on this in the comments.
January, obviously, is speculative at this point. I figure any New Year's Day hangovers should have passed by the 2nd, so I didn't put that as a non-gaming day. Everyone chime in with schedule stuff that you know of, though.
November 13th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off
December 4th- Randy & Jamie out - Gaming Off
December 11th - Randy & Jamie out - Gaming Off
December 18th - D&D Circle of Love (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off
January 1st - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
January 8th - Eberron: Wandering Wolves (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
January 15th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
January 22nd - Eberron: Wandering Wolves (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
January 29th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
So Jamie and I have been talking at various times, and I'm definitely out on the 11th (in Dallas for my sister's wedding) and Jamie probably will be too, so it's probably best to cancel our Circle of Love game for December. Which leaves only one week for gaming in December, and given how schedules fluctuate in that month, I think we'd be crazy to try and schedule a regular game.
So I propose this: Whoever can show on December 18th, we get together and play boardgames, Rock Band, etc. and just generally have a casual party with friends. We can do this at my place if anyone is interested. Alternatively, we can just skip gaming entirely in December. Or maybe do a one-off game for whoever wants to come from either group, and Ben and I can do the co-GM thing again. Chime in with thoughts on this in the comments.
January, obviously, is speculative at this point. I figure any New Year's Day hangovers should have passed by the 2nd, so I didn't put that as a non-gaming day. Everyone chime in with schedule stuff that you know of, though.
Deadlands: Coffin Rock Recap
Prologue:
ANTOINETTE
You're not sure how Denton found you all the way in New Orleans, but he did. You were following rumors of zombie labor on the railroads when a messenger came to you, spoke your name in perfect French and then handed you an envelope. Inside were a few train tickets and a short letter:
"Antoinette,
You'll find that passage has been paid for you to get to Denver, I reckon it'll take you about five days if you get started now, and since I've got folks planning to meet you in Denver at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in six, you'd better get on those rails. I know you have your own business you're conducting, but remember that you owe me for that protection spell that kept the spirits off you. I imagine it's getting thin, and you're starting to hear the voices again... could be after you help me I can cast a fresh one on you.
Best,
Denton"
You were unhappy to have to give up your promising lead, but you had learned from brief experience that where Denton sent you, supernatural strangeness was sure to follow, and whatever you were supposed to be investigating for him was sure to be helpful for your research. Plus, the voices in your head have been getting especially loud lately, and you think another ward to protect you from spirits might be just the thing. So you packed up from the cottage in the swamps where you'd been staying, put a couple pounds of Ghost Rock, strapped on your gun belt and Colt Peacemaker and headed back West.
You suspect that Denton is a member of The Agency, the Union's secret agency for investigating the supernatural in the West. You heard about them, and their Confederate counterparts the Texas Rangers, about the same time you heard of The Reckoning, something that happened in July 1863, involving some kind of dark "gods" that returned magic and monsters to the world. You've met a few of those monsters in your time, including the Voodoo Houngan who cursed you in the first place.
COOTER
Another day, another busted claim. Of late, you'd been working with Hiram Duster IV, a former Union scout whose habits of drinking too much and talking about the war were easy to deal with, given your own love of whiskey and your dynamite-blasted hearing, which kept you from hearing more than one out of every five disgruntled words. You'd managed to get all the copper you could out of a claim in the Colorado Rockies when you had a visitor.
He looked familiar, a tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster, flipping absent-mindedly through a deck of cards as he walked up. He had one milky eye with a scar running through the skin around it, and his hands and face showed signs of scarring as well. At his side, you spotted his pistol, one of those unusual new-fangled contraptions, and you remembered: Denton. You'd seen him fire gouts of lead from that weird pistol of his, and spin tricks of all kinds out of that deck of cards, when he had saved your life after some horrible thing collapsed your mine around you and ate everybody else working on the claim. He'd said to you then that he'd ask you for a favor in return someday, but that was... what? Ten years ago?
"Favor's come due, Aloiysus. You do remember me, right?"
You nodded, lit up your pipe and muttered "Not likely to forget, no matter how much I try."
A grim smile crossed Denton's face. "Need you to take your wagon to Denver. Give it about three days from now, you'll meet up there with some other folks at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon, one of them's a traveling preacher, and he'll have the rest of your instructions. Maybe bring that fella Hiram with you, too, once he's done pointing his Winchester at my head."
You weren't sure how Denton knew who Hiram was, or where he was, or that he was indeed aiming at his head just in case he was trouble, but you waved him off and then waved him down. Denton walked away, and you went to explaining what was going on and asking if Hiram was interested in staying with you for a mite longer.
HIRAM
Serving as bodyguard and scout for a crotchety prospector like Cooter McGee wasn't what you'd had in mind after the war ended, but the old man listened to your talk about the North and the South without complaint, paid every day and the two of you shared a love of whiskey. Plus, it was pretty easy, nobody really threated Cooter or tried to jump his claims.
Until yesterday, when you saw a a tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster walk up to Cooter as if he was a member of his family. You saw that he had some kind of weird pistol in his holster, and you drew out your Winchester and took a bead, just in case.
The two men talked for a few minutes, and you relaxed a little when Cooter lit up his pipe. Then you saw the black man turn and fix his one good eye on you, from at least forty yards away. You weren't sure how, but you were sure he'd seen you, and maybe he knew you were there the whole time. He walked away, and you saw Cooter wave you off from shooting at him, and then wave for you to come down.
"Well, it seems I got a job to pay back an old favor. Not sure how the pay will be, and I'm guessing it might be a bit more dangerous than guarding ratty claims, but I could sure use your rifle to help me out. What do you say?"
What could you say? You're a loyal friend, and if Cooter was going to do this man's favor, reckon it was your job to make sure he didn't get kilt doing it.
ZHANG
You'd been following rumors of creatures in the Rockies for weeks now, but all you had to show for it was saddle sores from riding, a crick in your back from sleeping under the stars and not a single glimpse of anything weird. You were thinking of maybe taking on some work for the local rail lines when Denton walked right into your camp.
You remembered Denton. Tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster, constantly flipping through that deck of cards of his. One milky eye with a scar running through the skin around it, and you'd seen that that was hardly the only scar he carried. He also carried that weird pistol of his, something the mad scientists whipped up. He hadn't used it when he had pulled you out and away from the thing that killed all of your co-workers and destroyed the rail lines you'd been laying. He had only said one thing that day: "Run!"
Later that day, he'd told you his name was Denton and that you owed him a favor. "There's a lot of things like that in the West, and men like you and me need to stand tall against them, or else they'll surely kill everything and everyone that we love. If I need your help, can I count on it?"
You nodded, and then he left. That was a couple years ago, but you'd been waiting for this return visit.
"Hello there Zhang. Got me a little bit of a situation in a town called Coffin Rock, thought you might want to join a posse I'm putting together to investigate it. If so, you can meet them in Denver in the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in two days."
EFRAIM
You'd been having a pretty good run of things in Colorado. Talking in various towns, spreading the gospel, warning folks that the Devil himself walked the land, and that he'd laid his seeds all throughout the territories, monsters and demons sprouting up all around. Keep the Good Lord close and you needn't fear what walks in the night, you'd say. Folks treated you kindly, let you stay in local homes or in the chapel, brought you meals, you'd been doing pretty good.
Of course, children still shied away from your blackened arm, and women and men alike crossed the street to avoid getting too close to you, but when you were preaching, you felt like you were doing some good.
It's been nearly a year since you nearly lost your arm to that Sandworm. Nearly a year since Denton had used some kind of witchcraft to drive it back, to heal you from the brink of death, to explain that "The world needs people like you, Father. Your faith is a weapon, and don't you forget it."
He made you nervous, this Tall, muscular black man with the scarred, milky left eye and strange-looking pistol. You'd seen him use that deck of cards he was constantly fidgeting with to blast away at the critter and to heal your wounds, and you knew what that made him: Huckster. You'd heard of them, men and women who used cards to summon power. Some said it was good, and certainly Denton used it for good ends, but still... it seemed like devil magic to you.
While you healed up, Denton talked to you about The Agency. Asked if you'd heard of it, and you had. The Union's secret monster-hunting spies, you'd heard. Keeping folks safe and keeping them from knowing how unsafe they were. You'd guess Denton and his ilk weren't too keen on you preaching the truth of what was out there. But you got the sense that Denton wanted more than just the promise of the favor he extracted from you for saving his life.
When he thought you were asleep, you'd catch him coughing, sometimes two, three minutes at a time. A lunger, for sure. Or maybe his traffic with Satan had earned him an early ticket to the boneyard. One thing's for sure, you thought, this cuss may not live long enough to get this favor. He asked if you knew how to shoot a gun, and when you said no, he suggested you oughta learn. Soon. Also tried to get you to crack open some law books he had lying around in the hideout, but you didn't have much interest in that neither. Denton stopped short of saying it, but you got the sense he was looking for a replacement, and he hoped that man would be you.
After a week, you healed up enough to leave on your own, and you did just that. It was almost a year since that when Denton showed up again. He sat in the back for your sermon, listening and nodding, and came up after your preaching.
"You've still got it, Father. Given any more thought to some target practice and study?" He waited a second for the answer he knew he'd get, then shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Alright, alright. Listen, I need to call in that favor. Something strange is going on in a town called Coffin Rock, up in the northern part of the state, and I'd like you to lead a posse up out of Denver to look into it."
"I'm not sure what exactly is going on in Coffin Rock. Some kind of supernatural trouble, I expect. Just heard from my sources that it needed checking out, so I'm calling in a few favors. If you could make sure everybody gets there, do your best to keep the investigation on track, I'd sure appreciate it. This is a good bunch of folks. Couple ex-soldiers for muscle, a rail worker and a scientist who have both had some of the same experience with the supernatural as you and a miner named McGee. McGee might seem an odd fit at first, but Coffin Rock's a mining town, and if there's trouble in the mines, I expect he'll be able to help you there."
"Anyhow, you meet these folks at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in Denver in three days, and take them on up to Coffin Rock, see what you can find out. Some bad things are going to happen out there, unless you good folks can stop it. Hope I can count on you."
SILAS
You'd been doing some security work onboard the Denver-Pacific lines, dealing with would-be train robbers and Rail Wars alike. On your last trip, headed back into Denver, you were making a pass through the cart when someone said your name. Soft, quiet, but certain, confident.
"Silas Call."
The man who said it looked familiar. Tall, muscular black man with a scarred, milky left eye, shuffling cards faster than your eyes could follow. You remembered him now... he had met you on that bloody job in Kansas, when the man you were working for turned out to be possessed by some kind of demon.
"Denton."
"It's time for me to call in my favor, Silas. I'm putting together a posse to investigate some trouble, and they could use your particular talents. So when you get back to Denver tomorrow, maybe you could stop in at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon."
You nodded, then went back to your patrols. You didn't have any other jobs waiting for you in Denver, and getting clear of a debt is always a good thing.
The Adventure:
Entry. Mid-day. Idea: going to tavern.
BARBERSHOP
----------
Passed by the brothel, resisted temptation. Passing by school, notice mirror in barber shop. Entered (abandoned) shop.
- Breaking and Entering, barber shop (Efraim)
- Theft (aftershave), barbershop (Cooter)
- Destruction of property, barber shop mirror (Efraim)
Saw a figure on top of the bluff staring down at them in the reflection. Efraim broke the mirror. Deputy showed up, demanded $2 for the mirror, got it from Efraim. He asked if they were staying, told them to go to the Crystal River Hotel.
---
TAVERN
------
They went to the tavern instead. In the tavern: Barkeep, piano player, poker players, Lizzie, mayor Wilford Hambley, assayer Ike Turnbull, a couple of deputies.
Zhang spoke to piano player and asked what happened to his arm. "Dr Osgood removed a canker from my arm."
Antoinette and Efraim both talked to Lizzie. She didn't take much of a liking to either. Needs a more sympathetic face to open up to.
Cooter went and talked to the miners.
---
HOTEL
-----
Hired four rooms for a night at the Crystal River. Carl told Cooter and Antoinette that the Marshal hasn't been good for business, and directed them to Deacon Plume or Mayor Hambley for more information about the trouble.
CHURCH
------
In the meantime, the other members of the posse went to talk to Deacon Plume, and took a copy of their Bible.
HOTEL
-----
Investigating the Church's "Bible," it seems to promise mortal eternal life.
CEMETERY
--------
Zhang and Silas investigate Daly's burned-down mansion, then went and busted into Daly's mausoleum (where they found his corpse).
---
JEWEL
-----
Next morning. Fix their own breakfast. Antoinette wants to go to the Jewel for breakfast. They go afterward instead. Two of the girls try to get Silas drunk, but he resists.
HILLS
-----
Antoinette defeated Blood Man with voodoo. Efraim attempted to heal Shelly after the fight, but was unsuccessful. The party talked to her and got her lowdown.
Heard bell: Lizzie has been sliced up by the doctor at her "complexion" appointment.
---
BLUFF
-----
Climb the cliff; meet with Laughs at Darkness. They all get high and pass out. They wake up in the evening, hear two bells. Inspecting the town through a spyglass, Hyram sees a miner flee the Six Feet Under and get gunned down -- and the bell tolls again. The posse heads to the mine (bell again) and enters, seeing an elevator.
MINE
----
Discovered initial elevator trap, and disarmed it. Encountered ghosts of miners, and Zhang engaged them in conversations. In the end, Efraim and Antoinette both agreed to possession by the ghosts.
After a long fight, the mine begins to collapse and squishes the last blood man, and the party flees to the portal.
---
CHURCH
------
Hiram kills Cheval in one shot immediately upon entering the church. Zhang destroys several more (including Dr. Osgood in a Lizzie-suit) with a stick of dynamite. Efraim manages to talk all but one out of their delusion (but that one goes apeshit on him).
Epilogue:
Efraim's sermon reduced the Fear Level in town to a more manageable level, and outlaw Shelly Pearl returned to town to run for Mayor of Coffin Rock, the city her father had founded.
Efraim decided to stay and minister to the flock that Cheval had corrupted and betrayed, as well as the rest of the town.
Hiram signed on as marshal after Marshal Bryce and his deputies fled town during the bloody craziness inspired by Cheval's ceremonies.
Cooter staked a claim on the Cooked Earth Mine, which, like all the other mines in the area, had begun producing again.
Antoinette vanished, along with one of the blood man corpses in the hills.
Silas and Zhang left to seek out more trouble in the Weird West.
ANTOINETTE
You're not sure how Denton found you all the way in New Orleans, but he did. You were following rumors of zombie labor on the railroads when a messenger came to you, spoke your name in perfect French and then handed you an envelope. Inside were a few train tickets and a short letter:
"Antoinette,
You'll find that passage has been paid for you to get to Denver, I reckon it'll take you about five days if you get started now, and since I've got folks planning to meet you in Denver at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in six, you'd better get on those rails. I know you have your own business you're conducting, but remember that you owe me for that protection spell that kept the spirits off you. I imagine it's getting thin, and you're starting to hear the voices again... could be after you help me I can cast a fresh one on you.
Best,
Denton"
You were unhappy to have to give up your promising lead, but you had learned from brief experience that where Denton sent you, supernatural strangeness was sure to follow, and whatever you were supposed to be investigating for him was sure to be helpful for your research. Plus, the voices in your head have been getting especially loud lately, and you think another ward to protect you from spirits might be just the thing. So you packed up from the cottage in the swamps where you'd been staying, put a couple pounds of Ghost Rock, strapped on your gun belt and Colt Peacemaker and headed back West.
You suspect that Denton is a member of The Agency, the Union's secret agency for investigating the supernatural in the West. You heard about them, and their Confederate counterparts the Texas Rangers, about the same time you heard of The Reckoning, something that happened in July 1863, involving some kind of dark "gods" that returned magic and monsters to the world. You've met a few of those monsters in your time, including the Voodoo Houngan who cursed you in the first place.
COOTER
Another day, another busted claim. Of late, you'd been working with Hiram Duster IV, a former Union scout whose habits of drinking too much and talking about the war were easy to deal with, given your own love of whiskey and your dynamite-blasted hearing, which kept you from hearing more than one out of every five disgruntled words. You'd managed to get all the copper you could out of a claim in the Colorado Rockies when you had a visitor.
He looked familiar, a tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster, flipping absent-mindedly through a deck of cards as he walked up. He had one milky eye with a scar running through the skin around it, and his hands and face showed signs of scarring as well. At his side, you spotted his pistol, one of those unusual new-fangled contraptions, and you remembered: Denton. You'd seen him fire gouts of lead from that weird pistol of his, and spin tricks of all kinds out of that deck of cards, when he had saved your life after some horrible thing collapsed your mine around you and ate everybody else working on the claim. He'd said to you then that he'd ask you for a favor in return someday, but that was... what? Ten years ago?
"Favor's come due, Aloiysus. You do remember me, right?"
You nodded, lit up your pipe and muttered "Not likely to forget, no matter how much I try."
A grim smile crossed Denton's face. "Need you to take your wagon to Denver. Give it about three days from now, you'll meet up there with some other folks at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon, one of them's a traveling preacher, and he'll have the rest of your instructions. Maybe bring that fella Hiram with you, too, once he's done pointing his Winchester at my head."
You weren't sure how Denton knew who Hiram was, or where he was, or that he was indeed aiming at his head just in case he was trouble, but you waved him off and then waved him down. Denton walked away, and you went to explaining what was going on and asking if Hiram was interested in staying with you for a mite longer.
HIRAM
Serving as bodyguard and scout for a crotchety prospector like Cooter McGee wasn't what you'd had in mind after the war ended, but the old man listened to your talk about the North and the South without complaint, paid every day and the two of you shared a love of whiskey. Plus, it was pretty easy, nobody really threated Cooter or tried to jump his claims.
Until yesterday, when you saw a a tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster walk up to Cooter as if he was a member of his family. You saw that he had some kind of weird pistol in his holster, and you drew out your Winchester and took a bead, just in case.
The two men talked for a few minutes, and you relaxed a little when Cooter lit up his pipe. Then you saw the black man turn and fix his one good eye on you, from at least forty yards away. You weren't sure how, but you were sure he'd seen you, and maybe he knew you were there the whole time. He walked away, and you saw Cooter wave you off from shooting at him, and then wave for you to come down.
"Well, it seems I got a job to pay back an old favor. Not sure how the pay will be, and I'm guessing it might be a bit more dangerous than guarding ratty claims, but I could sure use your rifle to help me out. What do you say?"
What could you say? You're a loyal friend, and if Cooter was going to do this man's favor, reckon it was your job to make sure he didn't get kilt doing it.
ZHANG
You'd been following rumors of creatures in the Rockies for weeks now, but all you had to show for it was saddle sores from riding, a crick in your back from sleeping under the stars and not a single glimpse of anything weird. You were thinking of maybe taking on some work for the local rail lines when Denton walked right into your camp.
You remembered Denton. Tall, muscular black man in a dark black suit and duster, constantly flipping through that deck of cards of his. One milky eye with a scar running through the skin around it, and you'd seen that that was hardly the only scar he carried. He also carried that weird pistol of his, something the mad scientists whipped up. He hadn't used it when he had pulled you out and away from the thing that killed all of your co-workers and destroyed the rail lines you'd been laying. He had only said one thing that day: "Run!"
Later that day, he'd told you his name was Denton and that you owed him a favor. "There's a lot of things like that in the West, and men like you and me need to stand tall against them, or else they'll surely kill everything and everyone that we love. If I need your help, can I count on it?"
You nodded, and then he left. That was a couple years ago, but you'd been waiting for this return visit.
"Hello there Zhang. Got me a little bit of a situation in a town called Coffin Rock, thought you might want to join a posse I'm putting together to investigate it. If so, you can meet them in Denver in the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in two days."
EFRAIM
You'd been having a pretty good run of things in Colorado. Talking in various towns, spreading the gospel, warning folks that the Devil himself walked the land, and that he'd laid his seeds all throughout the territories, monsters and demons sprouting up all around. Keep the Good Lord close and you needn't fear what walks in the night, you'd say. Folks treated you kindly, let you stay in local homes or in the chapel, brought you meals, you'd been doing pretty good.
Of course, children still shied away from your blackened arm, and women and men alike crossed the street to avoid getting too close to you, but when you were preaching, you felt like you were doing some good.
It's been nearly a year since you nearly lost your arm to that Sandworm. Nearly a year since Denton had used some kind of witchcraft to drive it back, to heal you from the brink of death, to explain that "The world needs people like you, Father. Your faith is a weapon, and don't you forget it."
He made you nervous, this Tall, muscular black man with the scarred, milky left eye and strange-looking pistol. You'd seen him use that deck of cards he was constantly fidgeting with to blast away at the critter and to heal your wounds, and you knew what that made him: Huckster. You'd heard of them, men and women who used cards to summon power. Some said it was good, and certainly Denton used it for good ends, but still... it seemed like devil magic to you.
While you healed up, Denton talked to you about The Agency. Asked if you'd heard of it, and you had. The Union's secret monster-hunting spies, you'd heard. Keeping folks safe and keeping them from knowing how unsafe they were. You'd guess Denton and his ilk weren't too keen on you preaching the truth of what was out there. But you got the sense that Denton wanted more than just the promise of the favor he extracted from you for saving his life.
When he thought you were asleep, you'd catch him coughing, sometimes two, three minutes at a time. A lunger, for sure. Or maybe his traffic with Satan had earned him an early ticket to the boneyard. One thing's for sure, you thought, this cuss may not live long enough to get this favor. He asked if you knew how to shoot a gun, and when you said no, he suggested you oughta learn. Soon. Also tried to get you to crack open some law books he had lying around in the hideout, but you didn't have much interest in that neither. Denton stopped short of saying it, but you got the sense he was looking for a replacement, and he hoped that man would be you.
After a week, you healed up enough to leave on your own, and you did just that. It was almost a year since that when Denton showed up again. He sat in the back for your sermon, listening and nodding, and came up after your preaching.
"You've still got it, Father. Given any more thought to some target practice and study?" He waited a second for the answer he knew he'd get, then shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Alright, alright. Listen, I need to call in that favor. Something strange is going on in a town called Coffin Rock, up in the northern part of the state, and I'd like you to lead a posse up out of Denver to look into it."
"I'm not sure what exactly is going on in Coffin Rock. Some kind of supernatural trouble, I expect. Just heard from my sources that it needed checking out, so I'm calling in a few favors. If you could make sure everybody gets there, do your best to keep the investigation on track, I'd sure appreciate it. This is a good bunch of folks. Couple ex-soldiers for muscle, a rail worker and a scientist who have both had some of the same experience with the supernatural as you and a miner named McGee. McGee might seem an odd fit at first, but Coffin Rock's a mining town, and if there's trouble in the mines, I expect he'll be able to help you there."
"Anyhow, you meet these folks at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon in Denver in three days, and take them on up to Coffin Rock, see what you can find out. Some bad things are going to happen out there, unless you good folks can stop it. Hope I can count on you."
SILAS
You'd been doing some security work onboard the Denver-Pacific lines, dealing with would-be train robbers and Rail Wars alike. On your last trip, headed back into Denver, you were making a pass through the cart when someone said your name. Soft, quiet, but certain, confident.
"Silas Call."
The man who said it looked familiar. Tall, muscular black man with a scarred, milky left eye, shuffling cards faster than your eyes could follow. You remembered him now... he had met you on that bloody job in Kansas, when the man you were working for turned out to be possessed by some kind of demon.
"Denton."
"It's time for me to call in my favor, Silas. I'm putting together a posse to investigate some trouble, and they could use your particular talents. So when you get back to Denver tomorrow, maybe you could stop in at the Gallup & Stanbury Saloon."
You nodded, then went back to your patrols. You didn't have any other jobs waiting for you in Denver, and getting clear of a debt is always a good thing.
The Adventure:
Entry. Mid-day. Idea: going to tavern.
BARBERSHOP
----------
Passed by the brothel, resisted temptation. Passing by school, notice mirror in barber shop. Entered (abandoned) shop.
- Breaking and Entering, barber shop (Efraim)
- Theft (aftershave), barbershop (Cooter)
- Destruction of property, barber shop mirror (Efraim)
Saw a figure on top of the bluff staring down at them in the reflection. Efraim broke the mirror. Deputy showed up, demanded $2 for the mirror, got it from Efraim. He asked if they were staying, told them to go to the Crystal River Hotel.
---
TAVERN
------
They went to the tavern instead. In the tavern: Barkeep, piano player, poker players, Lizzie, mayor Wilford Hambley, assayer Ike Turnbull, a couple of deputies.
Zhang spoke to piano player and asked what happened to his arm. "Dr Osgood removed a canker from my arm."
Antoinette and Efraim both talked to Lizzie. She didn't take much of a liking to either. Needs a more sympathetic face to open up to.
Cooter went and talked to the miners.
---
HOTEL
-----
Hired four rooms for a night at the Crystal River. Carl told Cooter and Antoinette that the Marshal hasn't been good for business, and directed them to Deacon Plume or Mayor Hambley for more information about the trouble.
CHURCH
------
In the meantime, the other members of the posse went to talk to Deacon Plume, and took a copy of their Bible.
HOTEL
-----
Investigating the Church's "Bible," it seems to promise mortal eternal life.
CEMETERY
--------
Zhang and Silas investigate Daly's burned-down mansion, then went and busted into Daly's mausoleum (where they found his corpse).
---
JEWEL
-----
Next morning. Fix their own breakfast. Antoinette wants to go to the Jewel for breakfast. They go afterward instead. Two of the girls try to get Silas drunk, but he resists.
HILLS
-----
Antoinette defeated Blood Man with voodoo. Efraim attempted to heal Shelly after the fight, but was unsuccessful. The party talked to her and got her lowdown.
Heard bell: Lizzie has been sliced up by the doctor at her "complexion" appointment.
---
BLUFF
-----
Climb the cliff; meet with Laughs at Darkness. They all get high and pass out. They wake up in the evening, hear two bells. Inspecting the town through a spyglass, Hyram sees a miner flee the Six Feet Under and get gunned down -- and the bell tolls again. The posse heads to the mine (bell again) and enters, seeing an elevator.
MINE
----
Discovered initial elevator trap, and disarmed it. Encountered ghosts of miners, and Zhang engaged them in conversations. In the end, Efraim and Antoinette both agreed to possession by the ghosts.
After a long fight, the mine begins to collapse and squishes the last blood man, and the party flees to the portal.
---
CHURCH
------
Hiram kills Cheval in one shot immediately upon entering the church. Zhang destroys several more (including Dr. Osgood in a Lizzie-suit) with a stick of dynamite. Efraim manages to talk all but one out of their delusion (but that one goes apeshit on him).
Epilogue:
Efraim's sermon reduced the Fear Level in town to a more manageable level, and outlaw Shelly Pearl returned to town to run for Mayor of Coffin Rock, the city her father had founded.
Efraim decided to stay and minister to the flock that Cheval had corrupted and betrayed, as well as the rest of the town.
Hiram signed on as marshal after Marshal Bryce and his deputies fled town during the bloody craziness inspired by Cheval's ceremonies.
Cooter staked a claim on the Cooked Earth Mine, which, like all the other mines in the area, had begun producing again.
Antoinette vanished, along with one of the blood man corpses in the hills.
Silas and Zhang left to seek out more trouble in the Weird West.
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