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resources:adventure:an_inauspicious_business

An Inauspicious Business

Initial Brief

Carlos Braigan, a well known seller of curios and antiquities (somewhat known to have fallen on hard times since the upheaval), is looking to hire a group of skilled individuals to assist in a promising business venture. Word has been heard that he has been asking via various channels about the state of the abandoned city of Junnes. Pay being offered is 10 Acra + a 50% share of the proceeds of the venture.

PCs

Gidnor Waycox (James I), Carl Terrec (Michael), Harlon Quirk (Mathew A), "Eric" (Gareth)

Debrief

The party travel to Junnes with relatively minimal incident, stopping at Liarus to acquire provisions and a map of the city (where they discuss with a very interested man the nature of both their group and their journey) and hunting down a great Tyrant Lizard to prove themselves to a cult of the Tyrant King. Over the dinner where they eat its heart a strange dinner guest implies that all may not be as it seems with the noble district in the centre of Junnes, and that it may not strictly speaking be a place.

On arrival at Junnes the party circle round the city to enter from the merchant quarter, harried by wild dogs and beset by cannibalistic wild men on their entrance to the city. Finding a fluxey warehouse to hide the caravan in they spend a day exploring and earmarking the best loot in the merchant district for later looting.

The next morning the party head out towards the noble district in the centre of Junnes, in spite of Eric's awareness that something was clearly wrong there. As they head towards the centre the geometry begins to twist and distort, becoming fundamentally incomprehensible and hostile, and as Eric becomes distinctly aware, part of a dragon's domain. As they are assailed by the incomprehensible geometry Eric becomes briefly separated from the group, pursued by a horrible shattered dodecahedron, as he turns to rejoin the party he feels a twinge from the rune on his cheek and takes off left deeper into the incomprehensible labyrinth. Dealing with the last of the strange geometry the party find themselves without their wayfinder and decide to return to the caravan and await his return, by the next morning he hasn't and as such they decide to continue their search of the city short of both a wayfinder and the sketched map of the city that they had acquired from one of the refugees.

Travelling into the slums, which they hadn't expected to be there, the party is beset by a group of the wild men wielding artefacts of significant power who are almost enough to overcome them in their now diminished numbers, Harlon having a significant chunk of his right arm eaten whilst horrendously wounded. In order to alleviate the damage Gidnor replaced the bone with the chain of a life draining magical flail, binding it to his flesh with alchemy whilst Carl performed a small consumption ritual to change the nature of its drinking. With his new strange arm in place they travelled on through the city to what they expected to be a temple of the tyrant king, but instead found wreathed in shadows. After failing to work out how to take out the roof all but Harlon gingerly ventured within but were nearly overcome by the shadowy creatures and cultists found within, only Carl's lack of heart (or for that matter most of his chest) saved him from becoming an untimely ritual sacrifice to the cult's dark god.

Leaving the temple with a small sackful of items taken from the alter they encounter a much more reasonable group of cultists wearing very similar robes outside who come upon them as they finish fixing up their armour, who make the simple request that the party refrain from looting their temples and swear an oath that such things won't be taken out of the city. After some pained discussion amongst themselves and with Carlos to assess the profitability of what they had already found the party sadly feel themselves compelled to beat the cultists into unconsciousness to keep their hard won loot. They then move on to the temple of some sort of benevolent deity that the cultists pointed them towards, where in the midst of the ransacked temple they find what seems to be the inner sanctum, peaceful, cool, tranquil, and completely untouched. After some discussion of taking the ivory statue that seems to be attached to the floor the party settle on performing a ritual to transport the entire room using scribing magic incorporating some elements of fracturing so the teachings of Oooberous could ease their ritual. At the completion of the ritual an extra page appears at the end of Geometries of Death, showing a schematic of the room whilst a hole is left in the temple.

Returning through the city the party once again encounter the cultists, now recovered from their beating, who offer to exchange a magical sword for the candlestick that the party had looted from their temple, generously the party not only accept the offer but also return the ever-filling chalice of black ooze. At the unexpected generosity of the deal the cultists leave as quickly as possible, as the party slowly discover the exact nature of the blade they have taken.

Finally leaving the city, battered, bruised and without their wayfinder Harlon closes the city gates behind them and gives one last farewell to Junnes, throwing the pearl containing a square mile of Acryn's bay over the wall, flooding the city almost to the brim.

As they prepare to enter the desert the party encounter one last problem. The owner of Carlos' debt has followed him to find his body so as she can seize his assets upon his confirmed death. Unfortunately she seems to have some additional personal vendetta against him and would rather simply ensure that he was found dead than risk having him actually pay off his debts. On her capture her wayfinder is convinced to guide them back across the desert to Acryn, via Liarus. Back in Acryn their would be murderer is handed over to the authorities and Carlos' debt cleared. As goods are sold and the party are dividing up the proceeds Eric arrives back in the city looking somewhat the worse for wear, though those who set out with him can't quite remember what his surname was.

Consequences and Loot

Junnes

Is now a very large salt-water pond in the middle of the desert. “You weren't there, Junnes deserved it”

Gidnor

Room with benevolent Idol: Whilst the beautiful ivory statue now cries slightly more and there are a number of small rents in the intricate tapestries the room appears to have faired significantly better from its transplantation to Gidnor's house that it would have from staying in Junnes (resting in the room will give a heal full after 15 minutes, the sense of peace and tranquillity within may however cause lost time or a lost sense of urgency about anything going on outside)
Vial of black goo: Drinking the viscous perfectly black liquid causes Heal Full. With access to your lab you are able to identify the nature of the side effects, drinkers will become slightly more sensitive to bright light, an effect which you strongly suspect is permanent but would be almost completely negligible from this single dose, however you strongly suspect you've seen the side effects of regular consumption in the cultist within the temple.
100 Acra minus a mana crystal and 20 Acra for an engineer

Carl

Cursed Sword: A perfectly ordinary sword enchanted with a ritual of a rite you don't recognise, it appears to be quite capable of breaking something and visits a number of imperatives on its owner. Last seen it was in paper form from symbol of removal but unless your next adventure is going to be very awkward it can trivially be turned back by Harlon. (Standard 36“ Sword, 1 shatter per adventure, the owner knows that the sword is the most effective weapon you own (whilst in your ownership), and that problems are best solved with violence (whilst on your person))
100 Acra minus a mana crystal

Harlon

Flail Arm of Arthroid Draining, the powerful flail has been embedded in your arm completely replacing the bone, as you strike with a weapon held in that hand the blood shed wicks up the weapon and into your arm causing small metallic chain links to exude from your skin (may gain up to 6 damage you inflict per encounter as natural armour (cap of 6 points armour), addicted to restructuring of the flesh (class B) must drink one prior to each adventure or suffer withdrawal, failing to drink one on a sequential adventure will move you one step down the addiction chart (may be subsequently improved only by application of treat symptoms skill and may never become better than mild) on failing to sate in any subsequent adventure return to the same severity as last suffered.
100 Acra minus a mana crystal (paid by proxy)

Eric

Went Left

100 Acra



Tiny Black Skull - Donated to tender church
A second life - Eric Weaver has a loving family and history (must buy the flux resurrection skill before he next adventures, may have some other mechanical penalty for GMs to decide)
Discomfort in Consensus - Reality fights back after your desperate attempt to rend it apart, on entering consensus you lose two maximum and two current body hits (minimum 1), you feel a constant sense of mild paranoia in consensus
Carleon has had his bite - Once per adventure you suffer an encounter of extreme suggestibility (either at gm discretion whenever it would be most cruel or if no suitable encounter for such occurs to them at the start of the Larp determined randomly (roll a d12 for encounter number)), this may be accompanied by a suggestion from Carleon who hates free will and everything it stands for. May have a subsequent Arcane curse style epic tree, but for a wayfinder.

Carlos Braigan

Left with a re-established business he is now attempting to sell on the sword of pain to the highest bidder.
Sword of Pain - 42” superior sword, twice per encounter the wielder may use the wounding magic spell share the pain when striking an opponent in addition to their normal damage call (it may also be fed additional protomana to use the spell additional times or if fed a mana crystal MUST call a mutual rend with each strike for the rest of the encounter)

resources/adventure/an_inauspicious_business.txt · Last modified: 2015/05/14 21:08 (external edit)