Journal For Zeitgeist Campaign
Episode 1-1 “The Island at the Axis of the World”
The A-Team of the RHC Flint office had spent the last several weeks preparing for the christening ceremony for the RHC Coaltounge, the first fully steam and magic-powered battleship in the Risurian Navy. Because of the large number of VIPs, and the attendance of King Aodhan as the guest of honor, the RHC was given jurisdiction over the local Flint police for the duration of the ceremony. Upon arrival at the King’s dock in Central district, the RHC party members linked up with SGT Alfred Bellistair and his platoon of police, all of whom looked extremely tired, due to a late night homicide investigation that had occurred the night prior.
After briefing the police on the threat profiles for the event, the RHC party was able to detain 2 of 4 dockers (Coulton and Lanky) planning to disrupt and embarrass the VIP procession by throwing food and shouting vulgar refrains. The other two dockers (Iscalio and Dafton) manage to remain undetected (although Iscalio was seen threatening a small child previously), and both men are foiled in an attempt to egg the King by spectating socialite and a self-sacrificing cleric who dove in front of Dafton’s egg. Dafton was close-lined by a praetorian’s polearm, and hauled off by Royal secret service for questioning. Coulton and Lanky were detained for 24 hours by the local police before being released. Dafton’s whereabouts are unknown, presumably still in the custody of the secret service indefinitely. Iscalio made a good decision to not get involved after seeing Dafton get waylaid by the King’s retinue.
The party didn’t notice at the time, but a grizzled Docker was shouting for your attention during the commotion, but you failed to notice. You find out later that the man was Thames Grimsley, head of the local Docker’s Union, and in all likelihood, he was trying to warn you about the four Dockers who were up to no good. Rumor has it, he threw his hands up in disgust at the hubris of the “feds” who didn’t have the time of day to heed the warnings of a commoner. While he may not look it, Mr Grimsley is actually quite influential among all commoners connected with the local unions (essentially anyone with a job who doesn’t own a business).
Personally Embarrassed by the incident, Chief Inspector Margaret Saxby dressed down Assistant inspector Stover Delft, as several courtesans giggled and pointed. Delft then admonished the party, expressing his disappointment in their performance. This minor failure would soon be forgotten however…
After the King said a few words, and broke a Champaign bottle over the ship’s hull, the ticketed VIPs boarded the RNS Coaltounge, and the party set out to sea with them to continue providing security and enjoying the social atmosphere. During the festivities, the King’s sister, Duchess Ethelyn, approached one of the party members with her handmaiden, an Eladrin woman Named Sokana Rell, and requested a quiet place for a nap. One of the PCs escorted the pair to a cabin on the berthing deck, and stood guard on the door. Another PC patrolled the Gun Deck, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
After about an hour or so of socializing, Inspector Delft approached the other members of the RHC party who remained on deck, and asked them to check on the Duchess, to ensure she didn’t skip out on the King’s speech. As they went below decks, the party discovered the body of a guard, and missing powder kegs. They rushed to the engine room, checking on the Duchess along the way.
Meanwhile, while one of the PCs (I need a list of Character names by player and class so I can do a better job keeping names straight), who had hidden in the engine room, witnessed two cooks slit the throats of the two engineers. A battle began in the engine room just before the rest of the party arrived.
Back in the cabin, Sokana Rell attacked the party and attempted to overload the engine in order to create a massive explosion to sink the ship. A witness on the deck of the ship witnessed the Duchess dive from the window of her cabin and flee on the back of a fey-titan Leviathan.
After defeating the saboteurs, the party was almost out of time, when a Cleric who had been invited to the ceremony managed to discharge the excess engine pressure by assisting Geoff Massarde in firing the ship’s magical energy cannon, the “Brand.” The nobles on the deck were unaware with their near brush with death, as they remained distracted by the playing of the national anthem, ignoring the engine pressure alarms that were thought to have been “false” at the insistence of Geoff Massarde. With the firing of the Brand, the crowd was mesmerized, and applauded uproariously with fan-fair as it coincided with the crescendo of the band.
During the after action debrief with Inspector Delft, the truth of the Duchess’ treachery was exposed to Chief Minister Lee, who kept the near catastrophe quiet between himself, the King, the Party, Margret Saxby, and Captain Ruger Smith who were all in the know. It is suspected that as the expected heir to King Aodhan, the Duchess planned a coup in league with the Arch-fey on the Unseen Court. This is preliminary speculation at best; investigations are ongoing.
The Cleric responsible for firing the Brand and saving the ship was offered (and graciously accepted) a full-time position in the Rookie squad of the Flint RHC by Inspector Delft. Both the Cleric, and the Risuri Socialite who stabilized Sokana Rell from dying, received 300 GP each as a reward for their ingenuity and bravery.