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#541 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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"I own this ship. These ... people are various relatives of mine, with ambitions to become junior partners in a business. They'll need to learn to sail; at present they are landlubbers. Treat them as normal apprentices."
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
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#542 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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And, as you will see in the latest write-up I'll post, tonight or tomorrow, they'll very likely do something completely different. 8)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#543 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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Well, this took a few days longer than planned, but here's the latest session report.
## Characters Present Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S. Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S. Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P. Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H. (Not available, this time.) Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W. Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Ragan S. Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H. (Not available, this time.) Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn S. Fergus O’Neil – A pirate and rascal who had the misfortune to cross the Red Rocks Lodge, and the worse judgement to try to rob them when they took passage on his ship across the Irish Sea in the late winter of 1712. However, against all common sense, the party (well, A.J….) decided to adopt him as a flunky after they saved his life from his own crew. -Played by Jeff T NPCs Present Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit. Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company. Hops About: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible. Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible. ## The session kind of picked up where the previous one left off, as everyone had time to think through how they preferred to deal with the journey to the Sea of Fate. Anten took the time to do a little figuring, so A.J. noted that the merchant barque – the largest and hence the fastest – of the tall sailing ships they considered, last time, could make no more than about 12 or 13 mph (11 knots) even with fairest of winds on its square-rigged masts. By comparison, the brand new airship could probably make about 64 mph (if he understood how the elemental power cells worked…) – or more than five times the speed. That would cut a trip that could take months to merely weeks, A.J. said, It would also pose less risk from pirates than sailing ships faced; and give them a lot more control of any encounter, in general. They’d still have to worry about storms on this strange sea, he noted, but then, the storms on the Orbital Realm of Jupiter had been weird and bad, too. The Great Maelstrom probably had atmospheric effects that would require they skirt around it, one way or another, and who knew what sorts of flying creatures they’d face? All of that said, A.J. said the dirigible probably required a crew of 25 to do a lot of manual work the 11 of them could manage, if they used the mana batteries they’d taken from the vehicles to route a lot of controls and monitoring sensors back to the flight deck, and power magical communications. Fortunately, Claudia had all the spells needed to do all of that, A.J. said, which means they could comply with the wishes made her and Aurelia to limit the risk to innocents. Moreover, since all of them were already qualified airship crewmen, the only people they’d need to train were Fergus and Millie. The group found the argument persuasive, generally speaking, but it did leave a couple of major problems. Firstly, they only had half the money needed to buy the airship and, secondly, they needed to somehow come up with an air elemental to stuff into the binding matrix. As for the location of an air elemental, the group remembered they already knew the location of one – and a particularly powerful one, at that. On the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, not far from Nieuw Haarlem on the route to Nieuw Amsterdam, a huge air elemental had set up shop and created a cyclone that lots of airships, there, used carefully to move them along. That one was tough to reach, though, so the group decided to ask Athelstane Greer how the elementals got captured for use in engines on the Pearl Bright Ocean. So, the group decided to pay him a visit at his orchard plantation. A bit taken aback by the question, Athelstane noted that the Pearl Bright Ocean featured any number of gateways to elemental realms. The sea, itself, had gates to the Elmental Plane of Water, naturally, and the “sunlight” was produced by huge gateways to the Elemental Plane of Fire, located high above the surface of the sea. The winds came from Boreal Gateways to the Elemental Plane of Air, and were located in different places and at different altitudes, but remained mostly active, most of the time. Only the Elemental Plane of Earth was tough to reach from the Pearl Bright Ocean, but the larger land masses had a few rare ones, dotted sparsely about. The elementals, though technically intelligent, represented their elements in their purest of forms, Athelstane continued. As such, they couldn’t really tolerate the close proximity of any elements other than their own, and found particularly frustrating and offensive living things whose physical forms tended to mix all the elements, together. As such, finding an elemental was seldom a problem, Greer noted. Assuming one could survive long enough to come within close proximity of a gateway, he explained, the presence of the mixture of elements so close by would draw the attention of any elemental that happened to pass by on the other side of the portal. At that point, the real problem became surviving long enough to bind the violent and chaotic thing, as it tried to separate out its element from all the others. Hence, a binding bottle that already held an elemental was vastly more valuable than one that did not. (Upon hearing that, Debbie (OOC) asked how much more a filled elemental bottle was worth, which Anten asked as A.J. Greer replied that a loaded matrix would sell for at least double the value of the binding bottle, alone, and could go a bit higher if the elemental proved particularly powerful.) At that point, a light went on in A.J.’s head, and he said that, were they to spend their money on a binding bottle, and then stuff an elemental into it, they could then sell it for enough to buy the airship outright. Then, they could take the bottle out of the ship, and bind a second elemental for it. So, binding two elementals would solve their liquidity issue, get them to the Sea of Fate in weeks instead of months, and give them a fantastic airship that would function in any of the inner realms without fuel. An airship they could manage themselves – assuming Claudia, A.J., Beatrice and Steven came up with a good design for the automation. They just had to survive not one, but two close encounters with elementals and actually bind each of them. (continued...)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#544 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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(...continued)
A flabbergasted Athelstane Greer said he’d make some inquiries about airship crews willing to take enough money to get them to close proximity of a Boreal Gateway. At that point, A.J. decided he’d like to consult with Sir Isaac Newton, to find out what the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes knew about air elementals, and asked Athelstane to open the portal back to 1712 London. Steven decided he wanted to come along, as well, but the rest of the group chose to either remain at the orchard or travel back Avallon. So, A.J. and Steven had Athelstane send a note ahead while they prepared for the trip through, and the rest of the group departed (except for the characters whose players didn’t make it, as well as Fergus, who had a bad hangover, and Amanda, who had gotten in trouble with some people running a crooked poker game). A bit later, Greer opened up the portal and said Newton had agreed to meet with them. A.J. and Steven went through and, with minimal delay, soon found themselves in Sir Isaac’s office. He greeted them with his usual reserved cordiality, and listened with increasing interest to their idea. Newton found the entire exercise quite fascinating, albeit far too dangerous to actually contemplate doing himself. He did note that some of the (understandably spotty) research the Invisible College had on the subject indicated that use of the elemental’s “true name,” or the name it thought of when it thought about itself, gave an advantage in attempts to bind such creatures. In response to inquiries from A.J. and Steven, Newton said he understood the true names of elementals resembled some interaction of the element they represented, with the larger world around it. So, for instance, the name of a salamander (as an elemental of fire), resembled the sound of a roaring conflagration as it consumed some combustible material or other. As such, the true name of an air elemental almost certainly sounded like the howl of a gale, or something like that, Newton said. It was almost certainly unpronounceable, but then, it didn’t really need to be as the mage “merely” needed to keep it in mind and weave it into his efforts to overcome the will of the entity he or she needed to bind. At that point, the conversation turned to the nature of the minds of elementals, and things got a bit speculative. Newton noted most names of elementals (or other creatures) were usually gained from higher entities (“gods” – although he flinched at the use of that term) as a reward for services rendered. A.J. asked if it might be possible to use mind-reading magics to try to figure out the name, before the attempt to bind. Struck by the cleverness of the notion, Newton guessed that it might be worth a try and probably wouldn’t make the binding attempt that much more dangerous. He also said he’d like to read about any results of such an experiment and, should it prove successful enough to provide insight into the cognitive nature of elementals, it could form the basis of a doctoral thesis recognized as valid by the Invisible College, its daughter lodges and probably even most of its allied organizations. Quite the feather on one’s cap, Newton said. Back in Avallon, the group decided to productively use the time A.J. spent back in London. Aurelia and Beatrice went shopping, Claudia and Henrietta stayed in the hotel to hash out some automation designs for the airship, and Millie took Apophis to visit Lawrence, the son of the owner of the airship firm. Aurelia paid a visit to a fletcher and discussed the possibility of the creation and/or purchase of a variety of lethal trick arrows, and learned it might be possible to have the bow charge the spells on the arrows with energy the bearer provided to it. Meanwhile, Beatrice rattled through the streets on her mana-velocipede and visited carriage-makers and cartwrights. Beatrice wanted to find someone willing to make her a pair of leather pants with pockets, as well as a side-car big enough to hold Grunt, comfortably. As Aurelia left the fletcher’s she thought she glimpsed someone following her and, more curious than anything, decided pay more attention to her surroundings. To her consternation, she soon realized that, not only did she have one shadow, he seemed to be part of a professional team of four who kept her bracketed. Aurelia doubled back to the fletcher’s place, where the proprietor greeted her return with some surprise. Aurelia quickly asked if the shop had roof access, somewhere in the back and, now somewhat alarmed, the fletcher said he did and showed Aurelia the way. The former high school art history teacher quickly scrambled up the ladder, popped open the trapdoor, quietly crawled out on to the roof between steep gables, and closed it carefully behind her. After a quick reconnoiter, Aurelia spotted all four men following. A quick look around revealed that, while not too awfully large and bound by busy streets on all sides, she could cross the block via the rooftops and drop down out of sight of the watchers. She promptly did so, lost herself in the crowd, and made an indirect path toward the part of the market she knew Beatrice planned to visit. As she drew near to the row of clothiers, Aurelia started to look around for anybody who might be following Beatrice and, relieved, she spotted no one. Aurelia quickly joined her violently talented colleague, who had grown increasingly frustrated as all the tailors kept insisting that “women wear skirts,” and quickly filled in Beatrice. Beatrice brought Grunt to alert, and after a quick discussion, the two women decided to take an indirect route back to the hotel instead of jumping one of the shadowers. This they did and, as they drew near, Aurelia spotted at least one watcher with a clear view of the hotel’s main entrance. She brought the man to Beatrice’s attention, who pointed the target out to Grunt. The foo dog marked the presence of the observer, but he neither growled at the man nor did the ruff of his neck rise. Relieved that the watchers didn’t seem to be supernatural beings, or shape-changers or possessed by spirits or anything, the ladies decided to break cover and make for the lodging house separately, so they could advise Claudia and Henrietta of developments. As they moved quickly across the street, Aurelia saw the watchers note her presence, but pay little attention to Beatrice, before the two disappeared inside. Spotting no obvious interlopers in the lobby, Beatrice and Aurelia trotted up the stairs, knocked on Henrietta’s door, received no response, and then went down to Claudia’s where they found both firmly embedded in a moderately sizeable snowdrift of paper and drawings, many of which they’d taped to the walls of the room. Alerted to the presence of the watchers, Henrietta and Claudia joined the speculation game and, after a bit of discussion, the four realized that while Aurelia had taken part in the recent sale of interdimensional commodities, Beatrice had not. To test this hypothesis, Henrietta – who had also helped find buyers for the goods they sought to liquidate – asked to take Grunt for a walk. Aurelia, Beatrice and Claudia watched from the windows as Henrietta and the huge foo dog emerged on to the street, and Aurelia saw the watcher take keen interest in the archaeologist’s activities. Henrietta soon returned to the room without mishap, and the group decided to test if Claudia might draw the same interest.. Claudia decided to walk to a nearby café located not far away, down a quiet little side-street, and asked Beatrice and Grunt to come along, while Aurelia and Henrietta – both considerably more stealthy than either of the other two – decided to see if they could lurk along behind and watch who watched, and possibly snatch and grab one who let himself get separated. With that, Claudia and Beatrice headed out of the hotel, with Grunt at the heel, as Aurelia and Henrietta watched the street from upstairs windows. Sure enough, they saw several of the watchers peel off and start to follow the trio. Henrietta and Aurelia waited a minute, or so, and then exited the hotel and trailed along, noting that the watchers all seem to have decided to follow the Claudia and Beatrice. Moving to catch up, Aurelia was alarmed to note that a couple of her original stalkers had joined in. Up ahead, Claudia and Beatrice took a table at the street café and a water greeted them. It was mid-afternoon, so the place didn’t have very many other customers and, as they engaged in the usual sort of chit-chat about drinks and menu options, two of the followers sat down at a table next to them. Again, Grunt didn’t raise any fuss about the two men, so Beatrice and Claudia tried to ignore them and simply spoke about the menu options (lots of fish and a fair amount of pork, not too much beef, cider and a variety of fruit tarts). The waiter took their drink orders, returned with the goblets fairly quickly and departed with their food orders. Aurelia and Henrietta had arrived by then and had taken up posts down the street, within view of the sidewalk café. They’d also spotted two watchers down the street, doing the same thing they were, plus the two at the table, and they suspected the side-streets had flankers, as well. Fortunately, while quiet, the street did have some pedestrian traffic in the afternoon, and the occasional cart or carriage rattled by, as well. (continued...)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#545 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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(...continued)
As soon as the waiter left to place their food orders, the men at the nearby table greeted Beatrice and Claudia, and tried to engage them in smalltalk. The two women kept things superficially polite and, in response to the normal sorts of conversational gambit, acknowledged they had only recently arrived in town – but were staying with friends. At that, the two men seemed to perk up, and they immediately began to offer to show them around the town, and perhaps treat them to some Avallon hospitality by buying them dinner. Caught a bit off guard at the gambit, Beatrice and Claudia nevertheless recovered quickly and politely declined the offer. The two men immediately began to try to cojole them into the changing their minds, but the ladies continued to decline. Then, the man opposite Claudia told her he knew where to find “the best” something in town, used a strange word in the course the of the sentence, and the physicist felt a spell wash over her. For an instant, she felt attracted to the man. However, she immediately shook it off (great saving throw!), only to see the man talking to Beatrice say something similar. Grunt growled in response, but then stopped in confusion as Beatrice immediately flushed, her eyes sparkled, and she told the man that sounded like fun. Now thoroughly alarmed, Claudia told Beatrice they needed to leave “right now,” only to have Beatrice respond that she didn’t want to go, because she was having a great time and needed a chance to relax, for once. Claudia began to insist they leave and, down the street, Aurelia and Henrietta noted her raised voice and also got alarmed. They started to move toward the café, only to see the man who had successfully enchanted Beatrice tell Claudia that she really needed to stop trying to control her friend, and let Beatrice go out and have a good time. The other man joined in as if it were all a bit funny and said he wished Claudia would change her mind, as the other diners looked on in amusement. The waiter, who had come out to check on things, hovered a bit in the background, unsure of what to do, as Beatrice began to argue with Claudia about leaving. Meanwhile, Henrietta and Aurelia moved quickly down the street – only to get spotted by two other stalkers, who moved to intercept. The two men confronted the ladies about half a block down, put their hands up to stop them, and declared that what was going on at the café was really none of their business because, as a grown woman, Beatrice could do as she pleased. By then, though, Aurelia and Henrietta knew something had gone seriously sideways and they tried to shove their way past the two men. They promptly complained loudly and one called Aurelia a “crazy woman” and the other told Henrietta to not “start trouble.” At that point, they put their hands to their sword-hilts, as Beatrice began to stand up and move toward the men at the other table. Claudia, now quite alarmed, tried to interpose herself between Beatrice and the stalkers, only to have the second man declare loudly that her behavior was “out of line” and that she needed to leave Beatrice alone. He put out his hand to shove her aside, and Henrietta and Aurelia decided they’d had enough. Aurelia drew her sword as Henrietta used her staff to clock the other man blocking her way. The two men began to shout for the constabulary as they started to “defend themselves” from these “mad women.” At that point, Henrietta lost patience, took a few steps forward and triggered a spell. Claudia again resisted, as did Aurelia, but three of the four men (including the two in the café), plus Beatrice, all dropped unconscious – as did the waiter, a few of the patrons, and a couple of passing pedestrians. The fourth man immediately took off down the street, shouting loudly for the constables and yelling he’d been attacked by sorcery. A few frightened onlookers also backed away quickly, as Claudia, Aurelia and Henrietta grabbed the unconscious Beatrice and carried her in the opposite direction as fast as they could. Within a few minutes they’d cleared the area and ducked into an alley. Aurelia and Claudia woke Beatrice up as Henrietta stood ready to knock her out, should the mechanic prove to still be ensorcelled. Fortunatley, that proved to not be the case and Beatrice recovered herself when she recovered consciousness. Deeply mortified and incandescently angry, the other three had to talk her out of going for some payback immediately, because they didn’t know how the constables would react to the whole thing. Instead, the three dashed back to the hotel and buttonholed the concierge. They asked him to immediately send a message to Sanctum Park and Menagerie, where Millie had planned to spend the afternoon with her young man, and tell her to return without delay. The concierge blinked in dismay and summoned one of the young men who worked at the hotel, as Henrietta scribbled out a message. The boy tucked it away inside his tunic and took off toward the east side of town at a trot, as the four headed up to their rooms to pack their bags. Over in the Uther Isle Quarter, Millie had spent her day in amiable company, as she wandered through the park, looked at some of the odd creatures (and the fairly mundane ones) caged there, and tried to keep Apophis from eating the peacocks. She and Lawrence had just about decided to leave for a mid-afternoon snack when the messenger found them, and delivered his alarming letter. As the son of a reasonably wealthy artificer and friends with the children of families even more wealthy, Lawrence knew that this sort of thing – while rare – wasn’t unheard of in Avallon. He ordered the messenger to trail along behind as a footman while he and Millie began to walk quickly toward the bridge that would take them back to the hotel by the most direct route. The first few blocks passed without incident, but as the two approached the crowded throng crossing the Yarrow Bridge, Millie saw Apophis suddenly look behind them. She gave a quick glance backward and then, in a quiet voice, told Lawrence the messenger boy had disappeared. At that moment, a man in leather armor emerged from the crowd in front of them, his hand on the hilt of a sword that looked all business, and told them to stop. Lawrence immediately stepped forward, swept Millie back with his left arm so she could be safe behind him, and drew his own sword. Although pleased and rather charmed by Lawrence’s chivalrous impulse, Millie promptly triggered an Armor spell, and a Missile Shield, and commanded Apophis to attack. The large savannah cat launched itself at the attacker’s face and gave him a good clawing. Although momentarily shocked by the sudden act of bloody violence, Lawrence didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity, and he and Millie cut the man down. They young couple immediately took off at a run as some of the crowd began to scream and shout about what had just happened, but they managed to stay ahead of the hullabaloo long enough to make it back to the hotel. There, they reported the attack to the rest of the group, and Lawrence had the concierge send a second messenger with a note to his father, so the elder gentleman knew about the attack and that he’d found a safe haven. At that point, the group realized that the attack on Lawrence, as the son of an established family, would probably lend credence to their side of the story, so they decided to remain in town and wait to see what happened. Nothing did. No constable ever showed up and, while some later arrivals reported rumors of odd things happening in town, nobody seemed to trace anything to them. With that, the session ended. ## Funny Quotes (The group discusses transportation options.) Aurelia: I’m all about stealing an airship! You know me. Beatrice: How many innocents have we killed, actually? A.J.: Only the ones you made me kill. Beatrice (long pause): Okay, I’ll give you that one. (The group decides to try to capture elementals as a means to solve their liquidity problems.) Claudia: It’ll all end in bloodshed, but sure. Aurelia: I want to believe we can do things without it turning into a chaotic mess, though! Fergus: As your captain, I want you to know this man is likely a charlatan! Ships travel across the water, not through the air! Steven: Just because you’re the voice of reason doesn’t mean you’re right. Beatrice: What’s really funny is that you’re worried about control of your own destiny. Steve: A.J. has the “Telepathetic” spell and can call Athelstane! Beatrice (receives yet another offer to make her a skirt): I hate this place. (Aurelia evades her followers and finds Beatrice) Beatrice: Who are we killing? Aurelia: I didn’t say killing! I said, jumping! Beatrice: So, whose pants are we taking? Aurelia: That’s better. Aurelia: Secure after capture! Beatrice: We brought you coffee! Henrietta: Oh, you are smart women! Beatrice: Hey, Claudia! We need you! Aurelia: We have a situation. Beatrice: And snacks! Claudia: Snacks?! Beatrice: Henrietta’s gonna make them go to sleep; and then we’re gonna capture them; and then we’re gonna scare them, and then we’re gonna take their pants! (Beatrice decides to stick with the plan, and play along with the conversation in the café.) Aurelia: Oh! Bea is growing, as a person! (Beatrice recovers, realizes she got Charmed, and promptly blows her stack.) Aurelia: You remember how you guys gave me a bad time for cutting out her tongue? Yeah. That’s about it. ##
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#546 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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We plan to hold the next session of Facets Real Soon Now ™ and so, despite the fact I’m still living in a bit of a chaotic mess at my new house, I need to get this write-up done.
Lots of people were really busy with family stuff, this session, so we just had a small group. As such, the group mostly focused on investigation, this time around. Characters Present Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S. Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S. Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P. Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H. (Not available, this time.) Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W. Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (Not available this time.) Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Regan S. (Not available this time.) Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H. (Not available, this time.) Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn S. (Not available, this time.) Fergus O’Neil – A pirate and rascal who had the misfortune to cross the Red Rocks Lodge, and the worse judgement to try to rob them when they took passage on his ship across the Irish Sea in the late winter of 1712. However, against all common sense, the party (well, A.J….) decided to adopt him as a flunky after they saved his life from his own crew. -Played by Jeff T (Not available, this time.) NPCs Present Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit. Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company. Hops About: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible. Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible. ## As the group waited to learn what the repercussions of their actions at the café, and grew ever-more disconcerted when no news flowed back their way, they decided to take a powder to Athelstane Greer’s estate. They wanted to re-group and consult with those who had gone through the portal to speak with Sir Isaac Newton. So, the group quietly slipped out of town and made it back to the orchard by late evening, and then waited a day until A.J. and Steven had returned. Given the danger he faced, and the fact that he’d saved Millie, they decided to take an increasingly uneasy Lawrence Wainwright with them. As soon as he returned, the group briefed A.J. on recent events and speculation commenced about what might have drawn them to the attention of what appeared to be a group of professionals with at least a fair amount of resources at their disposal. Moreover, a group that seemed (somehow) able to either conceal their activities from the local constabulary – or otherwise suppress interest by the authorities. A.J. agreed with the ladies’ assessment that the sale of goods in the local market seemed to correlate, somehow, with the attention of their mysterious opponents. Beatrice, who had kept the list of all the good sold at what prices, worked through the inventory and the group discussed each item. They quickly zeroed in on the hundreds of pounds of silk from the giant spiders of the Orbital Real of Jupiter as the most exotic substance sold, and the item that had fetched the greatest price. The group decided to ask a rather distressed Lawrence, who had listened to the discussion, about the local market for top-quality silks, in an effort to determine whose toes they might have trod upon. Lawrence said the primary source for silks in the Elder Isles lived just southwest of the city, only a mile, or so, outside the city walls. Squire Colman Fonswhaff and his family produced silks of fine quality, as well as top-shelf mulberry wines favored by the Imperial Court, Lawrence said. However, the younger Wainwright added, the Squire Fonswhaff was a distinguished and respectable pillar of the community, and his own father, Henry Wainwright, did business with the man, regularly. They purchased some of Fonswhaff’s rougher quality silk which, although not suitable for finer purposes, had many uses in the construction of airships and balloons. As such, Lawrence said he couldn’t imagine that Squire Fonswhaff would have anything to do with disturbing events they’d so recently experienced. The group responded that they needed to confirm the matter, before they left on their important errand. With that, Lawrence’s frustration reached a peak and he insisted they disclose the dangerous business into which he – and by extension, his family – had been drawn. A.J. replied that the group had little interest in local problems or issues, but needed to get to the Sea of Fate, as part of an agreement with some fae. At that point, Hops About and Twirls Thrice flew into the room and transformed into their tiny winged female forms. The young man paled at the sight of the faerie women, but remained frustrated enough to stand his ground. Lawrence noted the cool colors of the dresses worn by the two nunnupi, and asked them forthrightly whether they belonged to the Seely or the Unseely court. A bit surprised at the question, Hops About replied that she and Twirls Thrice belonged to neither court, and their business was their own. Astonished, Lawrence stepped back and called them “wild fae,” and said he hadn’t believed they really existed. At the sound of the term, “wild fae,” Twirls Thrice readied her tiny bow in the blink of an eye, and shot Lawrence on the left side of his neck. As the young man collapsed in agony, Twirls Thrice called him “rude,” and then calmly advised A.J. that she would permit him to heal the young man, if the engineer so chose. (continued...)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#547 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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(...continued)
A.J., who had “hung” a Restoration spell that would allow him to heal the “elf-stroke” paralysis inflicted upon Lawrence, hastily cast it to cure the affliction and, because the injury had just occurred, Lawrence began to recover quite quickly. A.J. quietly told him the group’s errand had such urgency, because they owed the nunnupi a favor, and the tiny faerie women had called it in. As he did so, the group did their best to set aside their alarm at what appeared to them as a random act of violence, and considered Lawrence’s description of Squire Fonswhaff carefully. They decided they needed to pay the man a visit, anyway. It would also give them the chance to deliver Lawrence safely to his father’s care, as the Wainwright’s airship hangars also lay to west of the city, beyond the walls and not terribly far from the Fonswhaff’s mulberry orchards. The group asked Athelstane Greer to write a letter to the local mages’ guilds and make inquiries about anyone who might take them to a gate to the Elemental Plane of Air. With that, they turned in for the night, and left before dawn and made it to the Teal Gate on the north side of the city by mid-morning. The group had to go through the town, because the rivers that flowed down from the bluffs to the north had no bridges or fords outside the walls. Aurelia had helped disguise everyone, and the group borrowed three wagons from Athelstane, so they made it to through the gate without drawing attention. However, on their way through the gate Aurelia spotted what she thought were watchers, and had everybody stay undercover until they’d moved out of view of the gate. Once they’d made it past, the group pulled over and discussed the route. They decided to move west by following side-streets a few blocks south of the wall, because they only needed to cross a single bridge to reach the western gates. The group moved to within a block of the Apothecary Plaza, at the end of the bridge they needed to cross. They stopped the three wagons and decided to see if they could spot any watchers, and Aurelia quickly noted the presence of two of the men she, Henrietta, Beatrice and Claudia had encountered at the café. The two men, plus two others, stood near a wagon piled with rocks and dirt on the other side of the square, just south of the end of the bridge. The wagon lay a little away from the line of busy traffic that slowed to a crawl as people, animals and vehicles began to cross the bridge. The pair of two-headed oxen looked a bit knackered, and the men were dressed as workers. Given that they’d spotted four potential opponents, the party figured more lurked nearby and realized someone would try to intercept them as they crossed the bridge. They quickly hatched a plan and Beatrice and Henrietta went back to the wagons to get them ready. Once they’d done so, A.J. loaded his crossbow and Aurelia her bow. They stepped out from cover briefly, two shafts struck one of the two-headed oxen harnessed to the suspect wagon across the wide square, and the people who saw them began to run the other way. As the spell on the crossbow bolt went off and the creature dropped in its traces, A.J. and Aurelia ducked back under cover, stowed their weapons under cloaks and ran out with the crowd. They shouted alarms about the “villains” in the alleys behind them along with everyone else (good Acting and Fast Talk rolls by both Anten and Bennie Rae…), successfully disappeared into the milling crowd, and made their way back to the borrowed wagons. As they disappeared from sight in the covered beds of the wagons, Beatrice and Henrietta saw the constables charged with directing traffic on the bridge look around in confusion and, spotting no obvious shooters, turn their attention to the rickety wagon with the dead ox. They also saw guards atop the nearby city wall, to the north, start to make their way to better vantage points, and realized they needed to get moving. The wagons pushed toward the bridge as Henrietta and Beatrice watched the constables arrive at the suddenly-abandoned wagon, and one of the men began to remove the harness from the dead animal. Another constable with a tunic that bore the rank of sergeant clambered up on the wagon to release the brake so they could back the wagon away from the corpse. However, once he got there, he tugged at a smaller lever he’d spotted, and then had to jump clear as the right side of the wagon collapsed and dumped rocks and dirt on the flagstones of the square. Quite perplexed and rather annoyed, the constables began to shout questions at the nearby crowd, in an effort to find the men who had scampered off as soon as the oxen went down. As the party’s wagons began to cross the bridge, the crowd began to give confused and conflicting responses, as they pointed generally south or back across the plaza in the from whence A.J. and Aurelia fired the shots. The group made it across the bridge without any further incident, and worked their way down side-streets to reach the gate they needed. Sure enough, as they approached, the spotted another watcher, but managed to keep their heads down long enough to make it through the throng. Within about 30 minutes, the three wagons pulled up outside the Wainwright’s manufacturing hangar, and escorted Lawrence inside to the office of his father. There, they found a quite relieved Henry Wainwright, who took custody of his equally relieved son. After greeting his son and assuring himself of Lawrence’s well-being, Master Wainwright politely – but insistently – demanded an explanation for the recent, alarming events. The party forthrightly acknowledged they didn’t really understand the reasons for all the skullduggery, either, but noted they had deduced their recent market activities seemed to have triggered some sort of unusual interest in their activities. Wainwright said he’d made a few discrete enquiries, himself, and had learned the rather distressing news that all of this seemed to be going on under the noses of Avallon’s city administration, and even the local military garrison. Upon learning that, the group asked for any information the Wainwrights might have about Squire Fonswhaff, as the sale of the spider silk may have posed the most direct challenge to his interests, of anything they’d sold. Rather surprised at the question, Wainwright answered that while the Fonswhaffs certainly had the means to hire any number of thugs and footpads, the squire would have no reason to do so as he served as an established pillar of the community. A.J. and Henrietta responded they’d heard the same thing from Lawrence, but wanted to assess the squire, themselves, as they’d never met the man. Henry Wainwright gave them directions and provided some particulars. Wainwright then turned the discussion to the tentative agreement to purchase the new airship, and the group could tell he was having second thoughts. The group assured them they still intended to follow through, and revealed to him they hoped to capture and bind a couple of air elementals. Wainwright blinked in astonishment, as the group hadn’t told him their business or revealed their status as experienced mages, but said if they managed to succeed, it would certainly alleviate all sorts of concerns – not only about the purchase of the airship, but also their ability to resolve the current problems, “effectively.” With that, the group took their leave and traveled to the Fonswhaff estate. They arrived within the hour at the drive in front of the large and well-appointed manor home, where several servants worked in the grounds. A tall man with graying air emerged, and informed them that deliveries should be made around at the trade entrance, near the kitchen. Amused, the group introduced themselves, noted they’d just come from a visit with the Wainwrights, and asked to see Squire Fonswhaff. A bit flabbergasted, the servant asked if they had a card or anything, and Henrietta explained they did not, but needed to speak with the squire about a matter of some urgency. The servant agreed to let them enter. Most of the group remained outside, but A.J., Henrietta and Aurelia accompanied him inside and soon found themselves in a well-appointed sitting room, with wood-paneled walls hung with tapestries and paintings, and some attractive, but not terribly comfortable, furniture. Within about 30 minutes, the door opened and a gentleman entered, introduced himself as Karl Fonswhaff, and asked them their business. Henrietta replied that they’d been the ones to offer the spider-silk in the market, recently, and that had seemed to draw the attention of some unpleasant individuals who had put them under surveillance and, at one point, tried to enchant members of their group. Squire Fonswhaff evinced shock at the revelation, and with some dismay asked if they thought he might have something to do with such events? A.J. responded they’d heard good things about Squire Fonswhaff and his goods, and had mostly come to reassure themselves that he, indeed, had no involvement. Somewhat mollified, Squire Fonswhaff said he’d had nothing to do with any attacks, on anyone, and – in fact – had no need to do so. His son, Caleb, who served as his factor in the markets of Avallon, had promptly purchased all the spider silk the group had sod. Moreover, Squire Fonswhaff told them he had told his son to immediately purchase any more that appeared in the Kabouter Market. (continued...)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#548 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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(...continued)
Surprised and relieved, the group relaxed and explained the situation in which they’d stumbled, and asked Fonswhaff for his thoughts. The squire responded that he mostly concerned himself with running the estate and producing the silk and mulberry wine, but that he had told Caleb to learn everything he could about the origins of the spider silk and its sellers. Under the circumstances, Squire Fonswhaff said he could write a letter to his son, and have the younger man assist them. In return, however, Squire Fonswhaff said he would very much like to secure a steady supply of the spider-silk, which in both quantity and quality remained unsurpassed in his experience. Surprised and intrigued, Henrietta and Aurelia said they might have an interest in the creation of a steady supply of spider-silk, but had to first resolve their current difficulties, and also complete some “other business.” With that tentative agreement made, the squire sat down at a nearby desk and pulled out some stationery, and quickly dashed off a note to his son, which he sealed with wax. The group took their leave and made their way back to the Wainwright’s hangar, and informed Master Henry of their findings, and that Squire Fonswhaff had agreed to assist them. Now quite interested and hopeful for more information, Master Henry agreed to smuggle the group into the city with some of his wagons. The group clambered aboard and, within the hour, had passed through the gates and across the bridges, to find themselves in front of a building just off the Kabouter Market. After a quick look around from concealment, Aurelia, Henrietta, A.J. and Beatrice hopped out of the wagon and quickly moved inside the building. They made their way up to offices on the second floor, as they’d been instructed, and presented the letter to the clerk they found, there. The young man asked them to wait a moment, as he knocked on the door to the inner office and then went inside. Within moments, a younger and stronger version of Squire Fonswhaff emerged and introduced himself as Caleb Fonswhaff, and asked what had brought them from his father? The group told their story, once again, and Caleb listened with growing interest. He went over to a shelf and pulled out a journal in which he’d jotted some notes about the results of his investigations into the goods the group had sold in the Kabouter Market. In addition to the spider-silk which had been the primary interest of the Fonswhaffs, Caleb said he’d learned about some rather intriguing items the group had sold at the same time. Primarily, he’d learned of some odd muskets, which apparently had breeches that opened at the back of the barrel. Those differed substantially from the the muzzle-loaders commonly used in the Elder Isles. In addition, he’d learned from some of the initial buyers, who had also taken a careful look at the muskets, that they’d been made from top-quality metals, upon which had been stamped odd sequences of numbers, in places. Moreover, the muskets had all displayed a truly remarkable uniformity of design, with parts that seemed fully interchangeable from one musket to the next. They differed substantially in not just the technology, but also the basic design, from weapons produced locally. The group recalled they'd seen that everything -- including the vehicles they'd taken from the bandits -- were ndividually hand-made in small shops by master craftsmen and journeymen and apprentices. With growing dismay, A.J. listened as Caleb accurately described the 19th Century breech-loading rifles marked with serial numbers from mass-production lines. They’d looted the rifles from the bodies of Spanish cavalry and Russian Cossacks, in the territories of the Colony of New Spain, in the year 1912, on an unimaginably distant world in the Material Realm of Assiah. A.J.’s consternation grew as Caleb began to note some of the speculation he’d uncovered about the sort of ammunition the breech-loaders might use. The group had (wisely) decided not to sell any of the brass cartridges they’d looted along with the rifles, and Caleb’s notes seemed to indicate speculation that some sort of enchanted ammo or alchemical propellent might prevent hot gasses from escaping the finely-machined, but not quite fully sealed, breeches. Caleb reached the end of his notes, and asked if anybody in the group knew anything about the type of powder or shot the odd muskets might use, and where they’d gotten the items. Thinking quickly, A.J. said they’d stumbled across a group of bandits that had the items, but decided to sell them because they couldn’t figure out how the muskets worked. The younger Fonswhaff asked more about the circumstances. While it was not unheard-of for iron weapons to pass through Faerie, he explained, they certainly had not originated, there. The group sidestepped the questions as well as they could, and began to ask some of their own. In response, Caleb said his investigations found that the muskets had remained on the market for less than a day, before all of them were bought by someone – and then promptly dropped out of sight. All were purchased with cash from different people, he added, but not anyone the armorers knew -- nor had ever seen again. Several of the local craftsmen had learned of the muskets, Caleb added, and tried to find some for sale, but the weapons had completely vanished. Now thoroughly alarmed, A.J. asked Caleb if bandits might have purchased the “muskets.” Caleb responded that the quality of the material and craftsmanship probably would have made them too expensive for regular bandits or outlaws. However, those who supplied arms to the Atlantean Empire might have an interest, if the muskets were, indeed, advanced enough. Even if not, the younger Fonswhaff said, then insurgents in some of the restive colonies of Atlantis would certainly want them. Other potentially interested parties might include the Antillians, who constantly needed to defend the territories that contained their colonies and liftwood trees from pirates and interlopers. Another potential interested party might be the Skandza League – the hereditary enemies of the Elder Isles, whose occupation of the western side of this world’s version of Britannia posed a constant threat and source of political friction. As Caleb read through his notes and tried to not-so-subtly pump them for more information, the party came to the realization that the introduction of potentially profound improvements in military technology to this conflict-ridden Inner Realm had likely landed them in the middle of deadly intrigue. Eventually, they were able to take their leave, took the wagons back across the city to the Wainwright airshipyard, and reported what they thought might be going on. Now even more alarmed, Henry Wainwright said he’d pass the intelligence along to his contacts in the local government. However, he noted that the group would likely remain in danger for as long as anyone thought they might know about the muskets than they had revealed, so far. With that, the party took their leave and slipped back through town to reach the Teal Gate, which they passed through shortly before it closed for the evening. They traveled through the night, and reached Athelstane’s place by about midnight. With that, the session ended. ## Funny Quotes (Lawrence begins to ask more questions about the party and where they came from, only to receive frustratingly vague answers.) Henrietta: It sounds like we fell out of an apple tree. Beatrice: Well, in a roundabout sort of way…. (Hops About shoots Lawrence.) Aurelia(OOC): I hate everything having to do with faeries! Beatrice: You need to let the first car know we’re in for an ambush. A.J.: Eh. They’ll know, soon enough. (The group dances around questions about the breechloaders.) Beatrice(OOC): I’ve stopped talking. You guys always blame me for stuff I didn’t do! (The group realizes what they’ve done, by introducing the breechloaders.) Beatrice: We need to go! Henrietta: The person who goes in, guns blazing, wants to run? Beatrice: “He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.” Aurelia: Uh huh! That’s one of my favorites! ##
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. |
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#549 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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So why did the PCs put in the new Utah monolith?
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
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#550 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: One Mile Up
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cabal, campaign, facets |
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