resources:adventure:the_dragonstone [Memento Mundi]

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====== The Dragonstone ======
===== Initial Brief =====
Julian Sharp, representative of the organisation known as the “Estate Agents”, seeks the assistance capable adventurers in tracking down property believed to belong to one of their clients.  Payment will be 45R for successful  retrieval of the property.  Applicants should be prepared for oceanic travel.
===== PCs =====
  * [[user:matthewa:pc:Bobby]]
  * [[user:joew:pc:Walker Chill]]
  * [[user:alexet:pc:Rodrigo Robertson]]
  * [[user:michaelc:pc:Paradai]] (going by Vincent Jackson)
  * [[user:emmab:pc:Tabitha Terrec]] (going by Tabby Locke)

===== Prebrief =====

Each of the adventurers is met separately by someone reporting to have had a vision with regards to the item they are going to be asked to find by Julian Sharp, each asking for it to not end up in Sharp's hands.  Walker Chill receives a memo from the Wayfinders' Guild asking bluntly for the item to make it into their hands, Rodrigo is enlisted by [[resources:npc:Maria Addinell]] to ensure the item does not end up in the hands of the True Council, Vincent is instructed by his True Council "sponsor", [[resources:npc:Desdemona Altieri]] to retrieve it for her, Tabitha has it recommended to her by her ship's captain that she return the item to the Traitor Church, and Bobby is accosted by a rather flustered [[resources:npc:Carla Santos]] who insists that it is better off if //nobody// has the item.

The party then meet with Julian Sharp who informs them that he wishes to recover a gem of significant value for a client.  The lost gem, called the Dragonstone, it appears from his sources may have arrived at the equally lost island of Thrumm (a legendary island lost long before the Upheaval and presumed lost).  Many flustered and confused stories from sailors aligned, though, and with work in the Colleges, they pinpointed some dubious instructions to get them there.  Pay is offered at 45R and they are asked to work with one Captain Jenkins who should be able to sail safely through.  Papers proving ownership of the Dragonstone are requested.

Vincent uses the Beacon's power to get a vision of the lost stone.  He sees destruction and anger, but as he focuses, he finds himself confused, and unable to remember how to do simple things for a short period of time.

===== Summary =====

The party meet the drunken Captain Jenkins who presents them with documentation showing ownership of the Dragonstone by a Nightblade family.  None of the party have heard of such a family.  Jenkins takes them to his ship, but it appears Jenkins has some enemies and mercenaries working under the Cargan banner confront him.  They cite numerous debts owed and the party side with the Captain Wash and Jenkins runs away.  Vincent sends some True Council contacts to track down Jenkins and bring him back and a few hours later he is tucked into the brig of //Melinda Salic's Vengeance//, and the new ship is hired to head to Thrumm.

One Kraken later, the boat is caught up by a larger Darrish vessel supposedly looking for pirates.  They find some Darrish property on the ship but cannot prove anything, but given the locked up Captain Jenkins they transfer him over to their ship and decide to escort the //Melida Salic's Vengeance// anyway, keeping a close eye on things.  The ship enters the Deep Flux and Walker thickens it to stave off any ill effects to himself.  They pass through a sudden tempest and then Walker worldshapes the storm away from //their// ship (though not the one of their escorts).

Days pass, and no sign of the mystical island is seen.  The crew get restless and a mutiny is attempted.  The party defeat the mutineers and the captain intends to keelhaul them, much to the outrage of the Darrish ship following, who pick up and lock the mutineers in their brig.

A day later, getting out of the Deep Flux, the party are surprised when Walter Cargan, Desdemona Altieri, Carla Santos, Guild Councillor [[resources:npc:Florence Mourning]], Maria Addinell, and Hugh Branch appear on the ship, trying to persuade them to turn around.  The party determine these are just visions and take them down, though the Darrish ship watching becomes alarmed, their own ship going stir-crazy, at the sight of Branch (whom they are hunting) and open fire.  Vincent responds by using the power of the Beacon to start an unextinguishable fire on the Darrish ship which ignites explosive caches and sends the ship up in fire.  They swing back round in their ship as Walker worldshapes the bottom of the ocean up and the party set about saving those who haven't drowned (and looting 50R (split between them) and a load of pirate hunting documentation from the ships).

They persuade some of the Darrishes that the explosion was a freak accident and some are inclined to believe them as they carry on and with consensus in sight hopes are lifted as on the horizon appears a floating island, floating slowly along.  Surprised that the island appears to be a patch of Consensus moving through the Flux, they approach cautiously and note a sandstone city takes up most of the island.  They also note the harbour is aflame and ships are wrecked, and when they arrive the citizens recount tales of an Angel of Destruction (one of four angels who rule over the island of Thrumm) coming through, searching for something, and becoming angry with them.

Through Walker querying the Consensus and through conversation with the locals, including Tabby conversing with the town's leader, Anita Fischerdottr, and Bobby grilling the Priestess, determine that they are unfamiliar with the Dragonstone but might be able to find a similar relic in a temple to the Angels.  They also determine that the Angels are the only ones allowed to use supernatural effects on the island, and discover the punishment for using the power as a mortal is death.  They hear stories of the four Angels (of Light, Darkness, Healing and Destruction) and their guarding of the island, though note only 2 have been seen (Destruction recently, and Light in the history).

The party head off to go to the Temple up the mountain (which Walker determines is Flux) and take with them an acolyte to be judged at the Temple (and to implore the Angels to steer the island clear of the Mainland which is apparently full of Angel-defying heathens).  As they head up the mountain they have visions of themselves destroying the world and are promptly accosted by townspeople who have had similar visions and try to dispatch them  The party easily make their way through them and up the mountain, through creatures of the Flux and into the Temple.

While the rest of the party are judged by the Angel of Darkness (a challenge that Vincent is well prepared for), Walker attempts to shape against an influence inside the temple.  It resists and converses with Walker, who identifies its anomalous nature.  Walker calls it one of the enemy and it responds that it is protecting against an enemy who has been through already.  Walker is sceptical, and they converse further, but ultimately Walker dislikes how the anomaly has been tricking the people of the island and pushes its influence back, shaping away the dark corridor.  The party are then judged by the Angel of Healing in a lethal corridor, but those who make it to the end are deemed worthy.  The Angel of Healing protests that it is protecting the island, but yields to Walker's power and gives him full control of the Flux as the party head past and through to the Consensus Inner Sanctum.

Inside is not an Angel, but a Draconic entity referring to itself as Mudra.  It congratulates the party on making it this far, and offers for them to join its immortal guardians keeping the Dragonstone safe.  When questioned, it explains that someone has already been through to try and take it: a Frederick Dines who came through and did not take the Stone, but left destruction in his wake.  The party ask more about what the Dragonstone does, and Mudra explains that it allows mortals to converse with its kind without risk, and that it is therefore highly dangerous.  Mudra repeats the invitation to join the Immortal Guardians of the Dragonstone but the party resist and the skeletal warriors attack, along with the draconic entity itself.  The party push back, though the fight is tough and Vincent falls.  He awakens finding himself kept from death by a sense of duty to protect the Dragonstone, and the party put him back together and move on.

They head through the door Mudra was guarding, and find a series of steps to a pedastal with a glowing red object.  Lying between them and it, however, are aggressive guards in the form of powerful Paper Golems and waves and waves of green acidic creatures making the noise "gleam".  Walker rushes past upon realising there are too many to fight (and most of their equipment is dissolved) and grabs the Dragonstone, triggering a fracturing ritual with the entire mountain coming down on them.  Tabby is nearly crushed by a rock, but the Might Bobby casts it aside.

With the mountain collapsed, and the party's ship on the other side of a lot of awkward explaining, Walker elects to worldshape an enormous hurricane and begins sailing the island back toward Acryn...

===== Debrief =====

Bobby and Tabby head back into the village sneakily and in the ensuing panic, Bobby rescues the woman who was going to be put to death for using supernatural powers, and Tabby finds the leader of the town, Anita, and asks her if she wants to come along.  Anita is too loyal to her people, particularly in this time of need.  Calls to REPENT and BURN THE SINNERS are heard throughout the town as people see the collapse of the temple and the movement of the island as the wrath of Angels.

Vincent uses the guiding power of the Beacon to help them head in the direction of Acryn, but the journey does take many more days than the outward journey.

Walker creates a Flux facsimile of the Dragonstone and hides the real one in a hole in the ground, to ensure against its theft.

Tabby and Vincent plot in private about how to get the Dragonstone to another party instead of the Wayfinders' Guild (Walker's and Bobby's intention) and they work something out.  Tabby calls upon the Traitor by using Always The Correct Path to determine whether they should "Take the stone off of Walker to prevent it from getting to the Wayfinders Guild and make sure it ends up in the hands of the Postal Corps.".  The Traitor agrees and the path is sealed.  Tabby uses Traitor's Cloak on Walker.

As the island gets closer to Acryn, Darrish ships from the Armada appear and communicate with Walker on top of the island.  Walker casts a great sigil of the Wayfinders' Guild into the sky and it is assumed this is Guild business.  The Darrish ships escort the island toward Acryn, and as it gets closer (relatively, in the Flux).  Walker angles the hurricane to push the island up to an area of Flux and coast, and attempts to slow it down, but the island isn't exactly //easy// to manouevre and he crashes it into the cliffs at quite a high speed, causing mass destruction and chaos.

In the ensuing panic, Tabitha fires off a full Traitor Miracle to enhance her Larceny and Pickpocket to steal the Dragonstone, and discovers a Dragonstone on Walker's person, but also another one hidden away.  She takes both and slips away into the crowds, disguising herself with a different face.

Rodrigo rushes down into the town and starts using his immense strength and emergency aid skills to alleviate the carnage.  The people are incredibly grateful, and seeing him come down from the mountain and lead the response, hail him as a hero... and then suggest he may be an Angel -- a suggestion he denies as he explains about the Founders to the Islanders who are fascinated and correlate the Angels to the Founders.  Rodrigo suggests the Angel of Destruction is the Warrior, the Angel of Healing is the Tender, the Angel of Darkness is the Leader, and the Angel of Light is the Builder.

Walker drops the whole island into Flux and worldshapes away the damage, and smooths the edge of the island into the coastline, making the island and mainland connection seamless, and then uses Make History to make Thrumm a new town off the coast.

Acryn ships flock around the coastline with interest, and Darrish mercenaries direct their questions to Rodrigo as to handle things as Walker realises the Dragonstone is gone, and so is Tabby.  Rodrigo stays to keep helping with the emergency clear up, while Walker tracks one of the two stabilised routes through the Flux along with Bobby and Vincent.  Vincent suggests finding many of the people lost in the Flux, but Walker guns for one of the paths heading toward Acryn.  They find an unfamiliar woman and interrogate her, but she denies all knowledge.  Bobby beats her into the ground and they search her but find nothing related to the Dragonstone.  Realising this is just an innocent bystander, Bobby picks up the unconscious woman and they trace back to find the other route to Acryn but following it they reach Acryn before finding Tabby and lose all hope of finding her (particularly as she uses her Touch of Divinity to slip into the crowds).

Vincent slips away to ask the True Council to send decoys out to distract those who are looking for Tabby and to distract Bobby and Walker.  Bobby and Walker head straight to the Wayfinders' Guild to debrief, to deal with the accidental mugging, and to warn them about Tabby.  The description of Tabby matches up with a known criminal: Tabitha Terrec, who associates with the Traitor Church and the pirate Hugh Branch.  The deduction that one of them now has a terrifyingly powerful artefact is passed around to all the authorities: Council, Watch, Guild, etc, and the Guild sends out Rescue Teams to Thrumm (briefed on the cultural problems).

The Wayfinders' Guild offer 54R for the return of the island and then Walker mentions the name Frederick Dines and the secretary passes out.  Bobby and Walker are fast tracked through to talk to [[resources:npc:Vincta Terrec]] himself and he asks them for very clear and careful details (which they provide).  They query who Dines is and Terrec explains his relation to the Upheaval.  They ask who else was involved, and he says one name is unimportant and the other is Santos - who Bobby adds was asking for the Dragonstone to remain lost.  Vincta offers Bobby increased level of employment in the Guild, and promises them more information should it become available in the future.

Rodrigo (who briefly locates the family of the person he killed by drinking the blood of and recompenses them 9R for their loss) soon is met by Wayfinders who thank him for his work, and escort him back to the city.  Rodrigo reports to Maria Addinell who thanks him for his work and given his great service in dealing with the crisis on Thrumm, finding the island, and in that the Dragonstone appears to have not gone to the True Council offers him a place on the Watch under her department, which Rodrigo gratefully accepts.

Tabitha makes haste to the Postal Corps and hands over the Dragonstone, telling them it needs to be kept incredibly safe.  They agree to do this, thanking Tabitha for her work in finding this and keeping contact with her as she gives them letters to hand over to Vincent, who attempts to meet up with her but is told it's too dangerous.  Vincent asks in letters (sent to Tabitha through a series of contacts in the Postal Corps as she has returned to the //Crimson Mother//) if he can help guard it but Tabitha cannot help.  She pushes him toward her contacts in the Postal Corps and they vet Vincent before agreeing to put him on guard duty, showing him an entrance.  Vincent finds a 1x1m patch of ground where he feels he is fulfilling his duty and has a rough idea of where the stone is.

Vincent also reports to Desdemona, who while disappointed that she does not have the Dragonstone is understanding... enough.  She returns him a list of the her top 5 "handle on sight" targets: Tabitha Terrec is number 3.

Bobby and Walker track down Rodrigo and give him his 54R.  They fail to track down Vincent and so split his share between themselves.

On the //Crimson Mother//, the Captain is sympathetic to Tabitha as news filters through of the state of the city.  The Council is gunning for Tabitha, having searched the Terrec estate at Marian's invitation, and the Wayfinders' Guild appears to have joined forces with Marian Terrec in trying to hunt her down.  Watch patrols are increased, and people fitting the description of Tabitha are being stopped and interrogated on the streets.  Wayfinders' Guild hitsquads are searching through patches of Flux searching for the fugitive Traitor Priest, and the waters are even more dangerous for the //Crimson Mother// which is now being actively hunted by the Wayfinders' Guild and House Terrec.

===== Outcomes =====

==== Walker Chill ====
  * 54R pay
  * 27R from Vincent's pay
  * 10R from treasure loot
  * Expert Sailor Epic Tree
  * Contact with Vincta Terrec with regards to Frederick Dines

==== Bobby ====
  * 54R pay
  * 27R from Vincent's pay
  * 10R from treasure loot
  * Expert Sailor Epic Tree
  * Next level of Affiliation: Wayfinders Guild

==== Vincent Jackson ====
  * 10R from treasure loot
  * Expert Sailor Epic Tree
  * Undeath Quirk (with condition that the effects do not occur near the Dragonstone - this means both not hungering, but also being able to bleed out...)
  * Under the effect of YOU DARE NOT STRIKE ME against all entities loyal to Mudra
  * Feels a desire to protect the Dragonstone

==== Rodrigo Robertson ====
  * 54R pay
  * 10R from treasure loot
  * -9R paid to a family on Thrumm
  * Known as a hero of Thrumm
  * Access to the first 2 levels of Affiliation: Acryn City Watch
  * Approval of Maria Addinell
  * Expert Sailor Epic Tree

==== Tabitha Terrec ====
  * 10R from treasure loot
  * Assortment of Pirate Hunting administrative paraphenalia
  * Under the effect of YOU DARE NOT STRIKE ME against all entities loyal to Mudra
  * Expert Sailor Epic Tree
  * [[:epic_trees#Most Wanted]] - the True Council have orders to detain Tabitha on sight.
  * [[:epic_trees#Most Wanted]] - the Wayfinders' Guild have orders to detain Tabitha on sight.
  * [[:epic_trees#Most Wanted]] - the Watch have orders to detain Tabitha on sight.
  * [[:epic_trees#Most Wanted]] - House Terrec have orders to detain Tabitha on sight.

{{tag>"the dragonstone" adventure "tabitha terrec" paradai "walker chill" bobby "rodrigo robertson" "frederick dines" "carla santos" "vincta terrec" "maria addinell" "florence mourning" mudra thrumm "captain jenkins" "desdemona altieri" "true council" "postal corps"}}
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