RolePlay Wiki

---

Episode 2-1 “The Dying Skyseer”

On the first of summer, the part is called into Stover Delft’s office for a new case.  Chief Inspector Margarete Saxby has felt threatened by the party’s success, so in hopes of keeping the party on a low profile, Assistant Chief Inspector Delft has had the party on leave and basic admin tasks for the intervening weeks following the Crisis on Axis Island.  Consequently, Carlao has been complaining that Delta Team is over tasked with much of the heavy lifting, and now a case has come up that requires more competency than the Rookie squad can handle.  Fortunately, enough time has passed that Delft thinks a murder investigation should be low profile enough, yet worthy of the party’s talents.

Delft tosses a dossier to A-Team, containing information on the terrorist Hana “Gale” Soliogn.  Details are sketchy at best, but reports have come in that there was a murder at the Danorian consulate this morning.  What is known is that the victim was impaled on the perimeter fence after leaping from the fourth story window of the consulate building, the base of which was 40 Feet away.  Based on basic trigonometry and physics, such a fall should be physically impossible without the assistance of flight magic.  Given that the temporal plane has a weak connection to Avilona, the Elemental plane of Air and source of flight magic, there is a suspected connection to the terrorist Gale, who is known to have an unnatural talent for flight magic.  Normally, such an event would be outside the jurisdiction of Risurian investigators (as the consulate grounds are designated Danorian Sovereign territory); however, given that the victim was impaled on the consulate perimeter fence, technically half of her was suspended over Risurian soil, thus making the murder an international crime within the purview of the RHC to investigate.

(Basic Mathematical Analysis of crime scene provided by RHC Skyseer using Trigonometry and physics.  Assuming maximum human foot speed (6.7 m/s), and no wind resistance, a body leaping from a 4th story window (30 feet above ground, or 9.1 meters) would travel at most 9.1 meters (Approx 30 Feet).  Conclusion: It is impossible for the body to have reached the fence given basic physics.  Flight magic must have been used.  Note:  Skyseer’s often write backwards by tradition, sometimes they forget to edit their reports thoroughly.)

Because distance communication magic is costly and limited in the RHC budget, Inspector Delft instructs the party to return to the RHC headquarters in the afternoon/evening to close out each day of the investigation and discuss the progress of the A-Team’s findings at the slate board.  As an example of the level of detail he expects, Stover Delft provided a basic network analysis of the personalities the Party has encountered up to this point.



After asking any clarifying questions, the party caught a stagecoach to the Danorian embassy, arriving around 11 AM, just a little after the Danorian consulate managed to remove the body from the fence.  Risuiran police, lead by Sergeant Alfred Bellastair, were already conducting crowd control of looky-loos, and questioning witnesses who were walking by when the woman crashed through the window.

The party quickly identified the Consulate Chief of Security, Julian Lebrix, and negotiated access to the crime scene and body.  At this point, the party split into two teams, one interacting with the witnesses outside, the other investigating the body and scene inside the consulate.

Consulate Chief of Security, Julian Lebrix

“What a mess. I took a diplomatic post to avoid blood and death. It has our people shaken up—none of them ever saw war—and so I hope you can take the woman’s body and go quickly. Better for everyone I think if the consular doesn’t have to be bothered. He has more important things on his mind than a burglary.  We have treaty negotiations, trade contracts, and you don’t want powerful men thinking about death when they’re deciding our fates, you know? “The victim went by the name Nilasa Hume. She’s been in a few times these past few months. Seemed nice enough. She brought us breakfast this morning. One of our security personnel, Braden, was dating her. She used him to case the building, and must have overheard someone talking about upstairs.
“I noticed she slipped out while everyone else was eating the food she’d brought. A hunch led me upstairs, and I found her slipping gold forks and spoons into her pockets.”

LeBrix pulls out a small padded bag, then pulls from that a tiny ceramic egg, beautifully decorated with gems and gold.

“She also had this. It’s worth thousands, and we had it sitting out on display. I saw her, drew my pistol. She ran. I realized she was about to jump out the window. I thought she was trying to kill herself, so I fired and hit her in the leg. Then she jumped. Flew straight through the glass. Now I’m thinking she’s about to escape, so I reload and shoot her in the back. That’s when she fell. “That all happened within the consulate grounds. I’m within my rights to have
taken these actions, though I wish I hadn’t had to.”

When pressed by A-Team, Lebrix is likely lying about these details.

The Crime Scene (Fourth Floor of the Danorian Consulate)

In the gallery where Nilasa jumped out the window, a rug was moved. Underneath it are bloodstains.
Looking at the consular’s door reveals that its lock was picked. It’s a very fine lock (Disable Device DC 25), so Nilasa must have had plenty of time to pick it.   Additionally, Lebrix is adamant that the party not go into the ambassador’s office.  He seems nervous about what the party might find in there.

The Body (Nilasa Hume)

Inside the storage room, a bloodied white tablecloth covers Nilasa’s body. Braden sits in a chair beside it, stunned and grieving.  LeBrix lets the party examine the corpse or ask questions of Braden or other staff, as long as he gets to stay with them.

Physical scrutiny of Nilasa’s body reveals glass wounds on her arms, two fence punctures to her abdomen, gunshot to her back left thigh and shoulder, and an unusual wound on her scalp.  Examination of her clothes reveals a bail certificate in a hip pocket.  The document, from the Parity Lake police station, reveals that she was picked up in a contraband raid recently but released on bail, paid by one “Heward Sechim.” Law requires her to carry the certificate until her trial.

Also in that pocket is a receipt for a purchase of a dozen items, their names abbreviated, with notes of “16 drams” or “48 drams” for each, valued at a total of “2.450 gp,” signed “D.W.” On the back of the receipt, scrawled in a different handwriting, it reads “Silvo, Deorn Feldman, family wharf.”  The party knows that a “dram” is an apothecary measure of volume.

Hidden in a pocket in Nilasa’s bodice is an empty elixir vial.   It likely contained a strong potion of invisibility. Any constable knows that magic that makes you invisible for more than a few seconds is illegal.  (Constables and the military are allowed to use such things, of course.)

Nilasa has several different lingering magical auras on her.  She recently used flight magic, but there’s no sign of the source. She also has some illusion magic in her blood, implying she consumed an elixir or potion. Healing and necromantic energy was used on her face and head, but it’s not clear to what purpose.

Braden is emotionally distraught, and after the party presses him too hard on the causes of her death, he becomes agitated and strikes Lebrix, breaking his nose.  Lebrix then tells the party it is time for them to leave.  He allows them to take the body and any evidence they’ve collected, but he tells them that they’ve overstayed their welcome, and that the consulate is done assisting in the investigation.

Meanwhile, questioning of Consulate Secretary, Tia Jedeau

Excusing himself from the party examining the crime scene, one of the constables managed to question the secretary, Tia Jedeau before the party was expelled by Lebrix.

The secretary Tia recalls Nilasa was speaking with a foreign doctor in the lobby. She seems unwilling to share much else at first.  She says eveyone liked Nilasa. She licks her lips slightly, and breaks off mid-sentence to ask if there are any more brigadeiros left.  Tia suggests that if she can have more brigadeiros, she’ll do anything for them.  Reflecting on basic cultural knowledge, the constable knew that brigadeiros were a Berian sweet named after the brigadier general who invented them.  The confection consists of a gooey ball of chocolate covered in granulated chocolate, castor sugar, or grated coconut.  Asking other office staff who were giving off similar vibes, the constable discovered that Nilasa had delivered a box of brigadeiros to the staff for breakfast before slipping away upstairs. Examining the brigadeiros reveals that they were laced with fey pepper (Its effects are similar to the real-world drug ecstasy).  The box itself has an inkstamp “The Thinking Man’s Tavern.”

The constable makes a judgement call, and decides to give Tia more Brigideros.  She eats them greedily, and immediately moans, and begins rubbing her arms, chest, and chair suggestively and becomes unusually flirtatious.  At this point, she becomes compliant to any requests by the constable.

According to the office logs provided by Tia, the doctor came to the consulate to apply for a visa.  Tia provides copies of the documents to the constable.

Title of Visa documents

Tia reveals that Consular duNadria had a guest in the basement meeting room. The Consular’s guest had a Risuri accent, but was otherwise pretty nondescript.  The last piece of information Tia is able to give before blushing heavily and excusing herself to the WC is that she thinks Lebrix is following orders he disagrees with, but she trails off before she can explain further, and dashes to the bathroom as fast as she can while waddling with her legs crossed.

At this point, the party is expelled from the consulate by Lebrix.

Meanwhile, Outside with the witnesses

The following details were obtained from the witnesses outside the Consulate:  The woman crashed out the window, hit the fence, and then there were two gunshots, a few seconds apart. When she jumped, she had her arms covering her face, as if to shield herself.  Someone was up in the window, but he looked like he was completely black, except for something shiny, perhaps a gun.

A moment later he had vanished.

A man with a goatee went up to the dying woman, and she handed him a bundle of papers and folders, then whispered something before she died. The man yanked a yellow pendant and necklace off the woman’s neck before running away.   The man sprinted down the street then turned down an alley, carrying an armful of something. (The witness pointed out the alley.)

The Alleyway

The only thing the party could find in the alley was a tiny spurt of oddly coagulated blood sits in a smear of mud. The Party collected a sample.  While investigating the alley, a coach driver approached the constables to complain of the theft of services, as a man hailed a cab from the alley, and ditched his fair at the destination.
Cabbie, Jack Byron

Byron tells the PCs that he picked up a man with bloody hands who was carrying some kind of bundle—the driver opines that the bundle contained surgical tools. The man with the bundle spoke with an accent the driver found unfamiliar, but the driver placed the accent as originating north of the Avery Sea. The man asked to be driven to a hostel, the House of Blue Birds, two miles away on the western edge of the North Shore district, and he eventually explained away the blood, claiming that he was a doctor in the middle of a procedure and that he needed specialized surgical equipment that he knew could be found at the House of Blue Birds. The driver took his passenger to the hostel, then waited for half an hour before realizing he’d been ditched.

The House of the Blue Birds

The staff here recalls “the doctor with the foreign accent,” and remember him rushing in, claiming he was coming back from a surgery, and asking for water and a towel to wipe blood from his hands. Then he hurried to his room and a few minutes later exited through a back door.  An hour afterward, a man with a pencil thin mustache came to the hostel and asked about the doctor. He showed a police badge with the name Officer Roger Porter, so they let him into the doctor’s room. After five minutes of flipping over mattresses and pulling any stray personal item into a small bag.

One of the cleaning staff noticed Officer Porter wince in pain a few times, and thought she noticed a bandage and dressing on his chest.  She didn’t see any blood, but when he left his shirt did have an odd black stain there, and he smelled oddly like scorched engine grease. The same cleaning woman took a blackened rag from the doctor’s room after he left, before the officer showed up.

The Mistress of the hostel provided copies of the Doctor’s registration paperwork (He occupied room 7).  She also had a letter of recommendation from a Dr. Barnaby Camp, who vouched for the doctor to stay for a few weeks.


The party managed to recreate some of the Doctor’s trail from the house of the Blue Birds by questioning other locals in the surrounding area.  The doctor fled in an erratic southward route from North Shore to Parity Lake. He started to head toward Bosum Strand, then went deeper into the industrial district. The last anyone saw of him was in a very bad part of town, near the turf of local crime lord Lorcan Kell.  One of the Constables continued investigating into the night while the rest of the party returned to the RHC HQ to brief Stover Delft and submit evidence to the crime lab for testing (Day one ends, begins day two).

Back at the RHC Crime Lab

Back at the RHC headquarters, some details on the victim’s body were uncovered, which were missed on the original crime scene (see “The Body”).  These findings were the result of assistance received from Dima, the cleric assigned to Delta Team, and A-Team now owes Delta Team a favor.  Additionally, the lab results came back from the oily sample from Axis Island, identified as “Witchoil,” the most powerful and efficient known energy source in the universe, which unfortunately is created by distilling the souls of recently deceased mortals into a refined oil.  Burning “Witchoil” is believed by many theologians to consume the souls of those used create it.  Thus, the evil aura the oil emitted and the shrill screams the party heard when testing the substance by lighting a small amount of it on fire when they encountered the headless golem on Axis Island.  Additionally, the coagulated blood sample collected from the alleyway was identified as being infused with necromantic energy.  The cloth sample collected from the House of the Blue Birds matched the blood sample obtained in the alleyway, but also contained traces of burnt grease and sword cleaning oil.

The Thinking Man’s Tavern

(note: the detail that the Brigaderos were from the Thinking Man’s tavern was omitted by the DM.  Your party knows this detail now, so if you want to come back to the Tavern later, I suggest it).

The Party went pub crawling in attempt to gather information relating to the Kell Guild.  When they walked through the door of “The Thinking Man’s Tavern,” a light tremor shook Flint (it was felt even stronger by the party member who was in the Dreaming at the time).

“Earthquake!”  Someone yelled, just as it stopped.  “False Alarm, back to your drinks,” The old Bar Maid assured everyone.

(Photo left: Barb, the Barmaid) (Photo right: Hennet Rinus)

Asking around about the Kell Guild, the party didn’t get much help, eventually drawing the attention of Hennet RInus, a professional student from Pardwright University.

“In any society there are rituals of interaction to establish authority and mark the passage of one stage of life to another. You as law officers must be familiar with these rituals, particularly the one where you ask questions, the suspect claims he knows nothing, and you by turn explain how you will punish those who do not cooperate.  But this is an old tradition, and we live in modern times. We live in what some call an age of reason. A few of the ladies and gentlemen in this fine establishment would prefer if it were an age of revolution. And like a revolution, reason requires us to turn our thoughts. Always approach a problem the same way, with the same ritual, and you miss other possible paths to satisfaction.  So I pose to you, constables, an assignment. Rather than convincing us that your authority is mighty and that we should quail at the thought of disobeying it, can you give us reason why your authority is legitimate? We can leave for another day the discussion of whether it serves our interest to let watchmen hold us to account for actions when we are arguably individuals of free will. Today, though, just tell us why you think you have the right to enforce the law.”

After this, no one in the Tavern really wants to help the party.  Thames Grimsley is present (See Chapter 1 Journal).

Thames Grimsley, Docker Union Representative (See Chapter 1)

Grimsley calms the tavern down, but doesn’t speak on behalf of the party.  Likely because he was ignored during the RNS Coaltongue christening ceremony fiasco (The egging attempt on King Adohan).  Dafton was arrested for trying to egg the King, and hasn’t been seen since.  Grimsley asks the party to find out what happened to him, and possibly secure his release to his family.  The party does manage to gather some info about the local “Fey-pepper Dealer” a Halfling woman Named Danisca Waryeye (likely D.W. from the receipt found in the victim’s pocket).  She owns “Waryeye Apothecary,” a local shop in Flint.

The Opera of Thieves (The Kell Thieves Guild)

The Ninja solo infiltrated the Parity Lake District, but as he slept, he was mugged by a Kell guild enforcer.  The Ninja successfully defeated the thug, and threw the unconscious suspect into the river connecting Flint bay to Parity Lake.  Since the suspect was face down, he drowned in the water, as the ninja went back to sleep.  He kept a Knife with a strange gang engraving that he could not identify at the time (Kell Guild symbol).

Loot:
1 x +1 Dagger
3 x Vials of acid

The Rouge rejoins the Ninja, and they patrolled the parity lake neighborhood, poorly disguised as civilians.
Then just before they turn onto a new street they hear angry threats, a man’s grunt of pain, and a woman’s scream. A carriage is stopped 100 feet down the side road, its driver reeling on the ground from an apparent blow to the head, its single horse nervous. A woman kneels over the driver, screaming, “Someone stop them!” and pointing down the street.

Two thugs wearing bright red scarves look over their shoulder as they sprint away.
The constables give chase after the two thugs, who dart down an alley, and into a back entrance of a theater.  Both Constables enter the back entrance, and find themselves back stage behind a curtain.  The Ninja goes through the curtain, while the Rouge remains back stage…

Dozens of thugs fill the theater, thowing rotten food at the Ninja and yelling obscenities as a spotlight shines in his face, blinding him.  Just then, a strong voice commands, “SILENCE!” and the lights dim.
The Ninja makes out the face of Lorcan Kell, the man giving orders from the VIP box.

Kell invites the Ninja to his box.  He tells his people to “put on a comedy,” then calmly eats a sandwich while talking. He doesn’t offer food to the Ninja, and there are no chairs in the box for him to sit on.  Kell says that he knows the RHC is looking for “that northerner doctor,” and that his men are keeping said doctor safe but hidden while he waits for an opportunity to turn a profit from the situation. He’s willing to have his men take A-Team to the doctor; in return, he wants them, as RHC constables, to stop a smuggling deal he’s gotten wind of. He hears it’s going down the evening of the 4th, bringing in magic weapons that will be bought by some of his competitors. Kell is content if the constables just do their job and arrest the smugglers, since it will harm one of his rivals. But he suggests it might be more worth their while to deliver whatever is being brought in to him.  The Ninja, on behalf of the party, agrees Kell insists the Ninja stay for the show, and then signals for his “comedy” to begin.

A drunk and confused docker is pushed out on stage, and a scandalously dressed seductress flirts with him and makes a show of picking his pocket while he’s distracted by her advances. Then another thief pretending to be a jealous boyfriend makes an appearance, and after a brief slapstick routine, wherein the “boyfriend” chases the docker around the stage brandishing various props—eliciting guffaws from the crowd—things turn darkly serious as the seductress and her “boyfriend” take turns savagely beating him.

Kell quietly considers the Ninja’s reaction, who does nothing.  Then he asks the Ninja to step forward, and the Ninja obeys.  Kell orders his men to stop beating the poor docker, and release him.  Suddenly, Kell grabs the Ninja’s hand and slams a dagger into the table, narrowly missing the Ninja’s hand (which would have pinned it to the table).  A trickle of blood oozes from the Ninja’s finger, as Kell pulls him in close and whispers gently, “If you weren’t useful to me right now, I’d gut you for killing my man.  Don’t fuck me on this, or I’ll send you to apologize to him.  Comprehende’?”

The Ninja nodded Sheepishly.  Kell tells him that once some of his cop friends let him know the smuggling operation is thwarted, he’ll send a guide to take them to Wolfgang.
Kell orders, “Beat it.”

The Ninja and Rouge (who is still stealthy) obey.

The Apothecary

The Bard travelled with the rookie to follow up on the “Fey-pepper lead” by checking out “Waryeye Apothecary.”  The Bard spooked the Apothecary, who then fled to the next door building by running out the front door.  The Bard and his hounds pursued, but triggered a powder trap that knocked out the hounds and the Rookie.  Slightly dazed, the Bard shook the powder off, but cut his losses, settling for a potion bandonleer that he took with him.  Tasting the potions in the bandoleer, the Bard identified the following (now in the party inventory):

1 x Potion of invisibility
1 x Potion of Bull’s Strength
1 x Potion of Cure Severe Wounds
4 x Doses of Fey Pepper

Tasting these potions made the Bard under mild influence of Fey-Pepper for 24 hours (More powerful dreams for Skyseer, +1 Charisma, -1 all other stats).  The Bard is now addicted to Fey Pepper (if he doesn’t dose Fey Pepper, within 48 hours, he takes a 2 points of temporary charisma damage until he takes a full dose).

Retcon: The bard became addicted to fey pepper and dragged the rookies to a dumpster along side the Apothecary shop where he snorted a double dose of Fey pepper before collapsing in the receptical in a stupor.

Summary of Open Leads

Leads:

1. The Apothecary (Escaped)
   
2. “The Family” Warf Shipment (Night of the 4th of Summer)
   
3. Kell Guild is “protecting” DR Recklinghausen
   
4. Dr Recklinghausen’s contacts: Dr Camp and Professor Kindleton (See Visa document)
   
5. Nilasa’s Criminal Records (Currently held at Risuri PD in Central district)
   
6. Nilasa’s benefactor (See Note on Parole/Bail paperwork)
   
7. Brigideros (Purchased from the “Thinking Man’s Tavern”
   
8. The Ambassador’s office (Danorian Consulate)
   
9. Who is “Officer Porter?” (Suspect)

Side Quest: What happened to Dafton?  (Favor for Grimsley)
RHC Investigation board:


Stover Delft took this and built the following for forwarding to Chief Inspector Margaret Saxby:

Episode 2-2 “The Dying Skyseer”

It is now the morning of the 3rd of Summer.

Retcon of Episode 2-1 since the Bard missed the session:

The bard became addicted to fey pepper.  His remaining dog dragged the rookie and himself to a dumpster alongside the Apothecary shop.  The Bard then snorted a double dose of Fey pepper before collapsing in the receptacle in a stupor.  The Bard then tripped balls on a Skyseer vision that night.

On the morning of the 3rd, the Ninja and the Rouge finished a morning update brief with Stover Delft who mentioned offhand that he hadn’t heard from the Bard since he left with the rookie to follow a lead at the apothecary shop.  Concerned, the RHC team retraced the Bard’s lead back to the shop, where with some quick questioning from the locals, managed to find the Bard, stenching to high heavens, in the alleyway with his companions still drooling from the trap dust.  Slapping the Bard around, the constables were able to gather that the interrogation of the shop owner went south, and the Bard went on a complete drug bender after the suspect escaped.

Returning back to the RHC, the constables reported their findings to Stover Delft, who merely shook his head, and ordered a blood draw for the rookie and the Bard.  “I’m sorry gents, but internal affairs is going to have to look into this.  I can’t have constables addicted to illicit drugs out on the beat.  Your friend is on suspension until I figure out what to do with him.”

Down to 2 party members, Delft granted a request to enlist a couple more rookies for the investigation into the smuggling operations at the Family warf.

Before night fall, leading to the sting operations, the party requested a team of police to stake out the apothecary and magician’s shop in case either of the two Halfling suspects returned.  The officer’s orders were to arrest on sight.

Additionally, the Ninja travelled to the Central police station to pick up Nilasa’s rap sheet.  It was quite long, and provided important details concerning her known accomplices and next of kin.  Additionally, he received some details about Dafton’s whereabouts at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory, a series of decommissioned and dismasted Man o’ Wars lashed together and repurposed as a man-made island and prison colony.  The Warden of the facility is currently under the charge of Warden Derek Goodson.  The Central Police had no record of any “Officer Porter” being on the force.
Over Lunch, the Rouge met with the Vigilante for coffee, triggering “The Rendezvous” event (see supplemental journal).  The Rouge interacted with the scrying stone, and saw the evidence contained on it, but was traumatized, and now suffers from Night Terrors (See Horror Adventures Supplement).

Afterwards, the rouge traveled back to the Thinking Man’s tavern before dusk, and the place was fairly dead since it was an off peak hour.  Only the truly devoted patrons who were there to self-medicate sat in the mostly empty tavern.
The Rouge approached the old wench, Barb, and showed her a photograph of the Murder victim, asking if she knew anything about Nilasa.

The old bartender immediately began wailing “Oh my gods!  Nilasa!  Why did you have to get your fool self killed!  AHHHHH!”  The owner promptly walked out from kitchen demanding an explanation, and the Rouge became confrontational with the pub owner.  Several regulars grew agitated at the altercation, and at the direction of the owner, escorted the Rouge out of the bar.  The Rouge is now blacklisted from the Thinking Man’s Tavern.

Scaling the side of the tavern, the rouge managed to eaves drop on Barb being comforted by the owner in an upstairs room.  He was only able to make out a few words, one of which was the name “Heward Sechim.”

Late that night, the constables decided to run the sting operations at the warf, and in the process managed to capture the two Halfling suspects, the Pirate captain of the Silvo, the ship itself, and a shipment of 7 crates, each containing an assortment of 50 magic wands (the party embezzled 50 wands and sunk the crate in the water, reporting 6 captured crates and 300 wands).  The party can now commandeer the Silvo at will without calling for a level 1 favor from the RHC.  Additionally, the party looted the following:
4 x +3 Daggers (Unknown matching ecclesiastical symbols are on all the hilts)
And Hand Cannon (pictured right)

2d6 (crit ×4) 20 ft. 1 (5 ft.) 1 4 lbs. B and P

This massive pistol was expertly wielded in one hand by Captain Deorn Feldman, but it must have been custom made for his hand.  To you, this monstrosity must be fired with two hands, or the firer takes a -4 penalty to his attack roll.  Critical failure knocks the welder prone.  The Stock is inlaid with exotic and erotic carvings from some far off land.
It is now the Morning of the 5th of Summer.  After recovering with a full night’s rest (assuming the Rouge made his will save), the party returned to the office to find beautiful envelops addressed to them with a wax seal that matches the symbol found on the captured daggers.  The stationary is exquisite.
The party has not broken the seals.

Summary of Open Leads
Leads:

1. The Apothecary and the Magician (Captured, available for questioning)
   
2. Deorn Feldman (Pirate, captured, available for questioning)
   
3. Kell Guild owes the party Dr Recklinghausen for completing the disruption of the Family arms shipment
   
4. Dr Recklinghausen’s contacts: Dr Camp and Professor Kindleton (See Visa document)
   
5. Nilasa’s benefactor (See Note on Parole/Bail paperwork and Rap sheet)
   
6. Nilasa’s former associates (See Rap sheet.  Currently they are being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory)
   
7. The Ambassador’s office (Danorian Consulate)
   
8. Who is “Officer Porter?” (Suspect)
   
9. Mysterious Stationary Note (Open to read)

Side Quests:

1. Dafton is currently being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory.  (Favor for Grimsley)
   
2. Kell implied he’d be willing to fence some of the intercepted contraband the party embezzled from the Family Warf bust.

Episode 2-3 “The Dying Skyseer”

It is now the Morning of the 5th of summer.  The rouge suffered horrible night terrors and spent the night unable to get adequate sleep.

The Constables opened their letters, revealing an invitation to coffee with a certain gentleman, identifying himself as “M.C.” The Letter requests the presence of the party at brunch whenever convenient at the “Enchanted Grounds Café” in Central district.  The letter states he will wait each day for the next 3 days.

Stover Delft called the party into his office and announced that the bard would resume duty on a probationary status, under the supervision of the Ninja.  Until Inspector Nigel Price Hill can come down for an internal affairs investigation, the Ninja is now responsible for the Bard at all times and they must stay together.  On a more bitter-sweet note, Delft then promoted the Ninja to team leader, as the Yearasol Veteran had come down with an illness, and was indefinitely on convalescent leave, leaving the position open for far too long.  While in the meeting, the Rouge snuck out of the room in the middle of the briefing to go set up a private meet with Lorcan Kell.  Delft noticed his sudden absence, but bit his tongue for the moment.

The Bard went to the infirmary and spent the party’s daily favor to obtain a 48 hour detox potion in order to break his addiction symptoms to Fey Pepper.  The physician’s assistant warned the Bard that he needed bed rest or any stress on his system could have dire consequences after taking the potion.  The Bard thanked the medical professional, and downed the detox before returning to duty.

The Interrogation

The Party then split, with the Ninja, Bard, and Rookie heading down to the interrogation chamber to question the Waryeyes and Captain Deorn Feldman of the Silvo.  During the interrogation, Blander Waryeye began shouting for the Ninja to let him out and leave his wife alone.  The Ninja then gave orders to the gaurds to “Shut him up!”  The Jailers took the command to heart, and began thoroughly beating Blander.

Suddenly, Danisca began crying in pain, and began begging the constables to leave her husband alone.  Keying on the correlation that the couple may have some sort of emphatic link, the Ninja resorted to torturing her by continuing her husband’s beatings in the other room until she broke.

Danisca revealed that she was the main refiner of Fey Pepper for the Family syndicate in Flint, and that her involvement in the wand smuggling operation was mainly to make sure her bumbling husband didn’t get in over his head as a go-between Nilasa and Captain Feldman who was bringing in the wands from an offshore contact.

The interrogation team then questioned Captain Feldman, who’s aloof self-confidence drove the party to work a quid pro quo with him in exchange for information.  His demands were simple: The Silvo, and carte blanche for all past and future minor smuggling offenses.  In exchange, he offered the name of the Captain of the Li Grifoni Grinyande, who was the smuggler who served as the middle man between the wand supplier and the Family.

Content, the party coordinated with Stover Delft to doctor the arrest report to omit Feldman’s arrest so that the RHC could release him without charges.  The party also drafted a contract for Feldman as a RHC source, authorizing him minor piracy and smuggling rights in Risuri waters as long as they were restricted to Danorian vessles.  Additionally, Feldman must make himself available for intelligence gathering or captaining transport for the party on the Silvo as available upon request.  With that, Captain Feldman bowed and rendered the one-finger salute to the Ninja as he set sail, leaving the party drifting in their dingy.

Things go South for the Rogue…

Meanwhile, the rouge arrived at the Kell Opera House seeking an audience with Lorcan Kell.  During a swift negotiation, the Rogue became out foxed by Kell, who successfully altered the agreement for the Doctor’s location, demanding at least a crate’s worth of embezzled wands as a show of good faith with the option of fencing the remaining confiscated goods sitting in evidence lock up.  The Rogue agreed, with Kell promising position in the thieves-guild and payment upon the Rogue’s return from picking up the Doctor.  Kell then loaned the Rogue a dirty cop on the guild’s payroll in order to secure the smuggled goods.  Linking up with Burton in the evidence locker, the Rogue successfully convinces the goblin to look the other way as he makes off with the wand shipment.  The duo complete the drop off after bribing a cabbie and the Rouge decides unilaterally to continue on to the Doctor’s safehouse in an abandoned Nettles church.

While at the church, the Rogue runs into Leone Quital, who quickly subdues the foolhardy constable, and takes him captive.  The Rogue finds himself bound, and thrown into a carriage with a gagged woman he does not recognize…

Several hours earlier…

Two of the new Rookies were assigned by the Ninja to follow up on leads concerning the Doctor’s two contacts, DR Barnaby Camp and Lynn Kindleton.  Reviewing the case file, the Rookie team had little difficulty tracking down DR Camp at his private surgical theater in North Shore.  The Rookies patiently waited in the back of the room during a basic surgical lecture on a cadaver, which DR Camp regularly puts on to satellite students from Pardwight University.
During a brief questioning, DR Camp revealed that DR Recklinghausen had kept in touch with him via occasional letters, and a few months ago Wolfgang referenced some marital troubles and a desire to travel alone to Ber, so Camp arranged for his residence in Flint.

DR Camp mentioned in passing that an Officer Porter had already come by to question him about all of this.  While the police officer was there, DR Camp noticed his bloody wound.  Camp said he offered to let one of his students treat the man’s injury for free, in exchange for letting the class watch, but the officer rudely refused.  Since then, however, DR Camp received a new letter from the doctor, who is in hiding. The letter asks Camp to try to arrange safe passage out of the city for him, and alludes that he has made deals with criminals in order to avoid a monster that he thinks is chasing him. Wolfgang directs Camp to contact Lynn Kindleton at Pardwight University, who will know how to get in touch with him.  Camp normally would just want to stay out of trouble, but he was unsettled by “Officer Porter,” and so he handed the letter over to the PCs and asks them to take care of the problem.

The Rookies then head over to see Lynn Kindleton at her office above a butcher shop at Pardwight University.  She’s a striking woman, who denies any recent contact with DR Recklinghausen, but confesses to what appears to be some sort of college romance history.

She seems bias towards DR Recklinghausen, suggesting that while he may have his detractors by jealous quacks, he is in fact a brilliant surgeon who is on the avante guarde of medical advancments in organ and limb transplanting.  This echoes the praises of DR Camp, and following the questioning, the party polls faculty and students and the university to develop a 50/50 consensus between DR Recklinghausen being a brilliant pioneer or being an unethical monster who creates necromantic abominations.  And everything on the spectrum in between.

With some more blanks filled in for the investigation, the party reconvenes at dusk in the RHC briefing room, where Assistant Chief Inspector Delft notices the Rouge is once again absent.  He points this out to the party just as a police officer (the Kell-Guild dirty cop) barges into the office shouting “Sir!  We’ve located the Suspect!  He’s at the abandoned Nettle’s church!”

Suspicious of the Rogue and his whereabouts, the party searches his personal effects in the barracks and uncovers the scrying orb, which the Bard then uses triggering the memories from “The Rendezvous” as well as the secret vision.  The Bard now has a phobia of spherical objects (See Horror Adventures).

The Party then rushed to the Nettles church where they found DR Recklinghausen, but became trapped by Leone Quintal who then presented both the Rogue and Lynn as hostages.  Quintal sips a family vintage while snacking on a floating metal cheese tray while he waits the party out to surrender the doctor and a “satchel of documents.”

As the party refused to negotiate, Quintal summarily executed the girl before musing to the Rogue, “I wonder how deep into your body I can slowly push this cheese platter until you die.”  Just then, the Conservator left from a building and attacked Quintal in single combat.


Quital blocked all of the vigilante’s bullets, and freezes him in his metal armor, lifting him up off the ground and pulling him in close.

“Fool.”  Quital says as he begins slowly crushing the Conservator’s mask around his face as he screams in horrific agony.

Just before the Conservator can pass out from pain, Quital gestured slightly, and flung the vigilante over the church and into the rocky crag at the bottom of the cliff that the dilapidated church rested on.  The Conservator shrieked as he met his fate.

“Last chance.”  Quital threatens.

“Kill him.  We all die anyways,” One of the Rookies shouts back at Quital.

“Very Well.”  Quital Shrugs as he spins the cheese tray and uses it to slice the Rogue in half, his viscera flying all over the carriage wheels as the light fades from his eyes.

Quital shrugs as he pushes the air towards the church with his palm.  The building shakes, and starts to topple as the carriages gallop away.

Quick wittedly, the Bard and Ninja manage to fey step out of the building while the Rookies dive into the latrine tunnel with the Doctor and race through the drainage tunnel as the building collapses off of the cliff into the water, carrying the evidence in the satchel down with it…

DR Recklinghausen is catatonic, having watched his dear Lynn die before his very eyes.

Summary of Open Leads
Leads:

1. Nilasa’s benefactor (See Note on Parole/Bail paperwork and Rap sheet)
   
2. Nilasa’s former associates (See Rap sheet.  Currently they are being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory)
   
3. The Ambassador’s office (Danorian Consulate)
   
4. Who is “Officer Porter?” (Suspect)
   
5. Brunch at the “Enchanted Grounds”
   
6. DR Recklinghausen provides a lead that Mayor McBannin is connected to the Danorian Consulate via some construction project.  The account logs proving it were destroyed in the church collapse.

Side Quests:

1. Dafton is currently being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory.  (Favor for Grimsley)

Updated Case analysis:

Episode 2-4 “The Dying Skyseer”

The Conservator’s Fate

(See Pathfinder: Horror Adventures for encounter details.  The Conservator is now being played by the Player who was originally running the Rouge.  Credits to Grant Morrison’s “Batman: RIP” for the monologue)
The Conservator suddenly gasps for air.  He is alive…

 Its dark and stuffy.  You are laying against something wood and stiff.  The air is damp and stale.  You try to sit up slowly, but you hit your forehead on something solid. The "thump" echoes as a sharp pain pierces your face...

You suddenly realize your arms are bound, as if in a strait jacket.  You can smell moist dirt, and can faintly hear the muffled booming of thunder…  You bite your bruised and bloodied lip attempting not to panic as you realize you are buried alive…

You compose yourself, and your thoughts echo in your personal chamber as if some other person is speaking to you…
"Obvious variations aside, there is only one human body.  206 bones, five major organs, 60,000 miles of blood vessels.

All it takes is time.

Days.

Months.

Years, spent memorizing the finite ways there are to hurt and break a man.

Preparing for all of them.

I've escaped from every conceivable deathtrap.

Ten Times.

A Dozen Times.

I can slow my breathing and metabolism to control panic.  Conserve Air.

Straitjacket's kindergarten.

Locks too.

Benchpressing a pine coffin lid through 600 pounds of loose soil that's filling my mouth, crushing my lungs, and shredding my dehydrated muscles?

That's harder…"

"But FAR from impossible."

The Conservator now has the “Another Day” Vigilante Talent and the “Brilliant Planner” Feat (See Ultimate Intrigue).  His face now bears permanent scars from where Quintal crushed the mask around his face, permanently blinding the conservator’s left eye (-2 to visual perception rolls).

The Funeral

It is now the morning of the 6th of Summer, but it’s a solemn day for the RHC, overcast by the recent death of a Constable.

One of their own was brutally murdered before their very eyes in the hostage stand off with Leone Quital, a noble of old-money who has now been declared an enemy of Risur.  Assembling the funeral for the Rogue was an administrative feat for Flint HQ, but with some late hours by Stover Delft and secretary Candice Deville, arrangements and preparations for the closed shroud ceremony were complete by dawn.  Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill and his assistant, Director of Infiltration Lauryn Cyneburge, teleported in from the RHC national HQ in Slate on extreme short notice.  Given the schedule of Viscount Price-Hill, he had delayed the internal investigation on A-Team until the fall, but his willingness to drop everything for the funeral was a testament to his devotion to the men and women of the constabulary.  His tone at the funeral was consolatory, and avoided any discussion of the pending audit, saying only, “I’m here to honor the service of the dead today, the rest can wait.  A-Team has enough to deal with right now.”



Also in attendance was stone-faced Chief Inspectress Margaret Saxby, Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft, Delta Team, the Flint office staff, A-Team, and one Thomas Kelion Esq, a mysterious noble who was invited last minute to serve as next of kin for the deceased for the purposes of loosing the fire arrow into the Nordic boat serving as the pyre on Parity Lake.  The Rouge followed the old gods, and the old ways, and thus he was honored accordingly for his deeds in life, however questionable they may have been.

Kelion suspiciously nursed a grievous facial wound that was now covered with bandages and an eye patch over his left eye.  He claimed, to everyone’s satisfaction, that he was horrendously injured in a bellows accident in his gunsmith lab last night.  Few things are more dangerous in this age of industry than black powder and cannons big or small.

As words were given to honor the dead, the rookies and the Bard felt the pangs of guilt over their hand in the Rogue’s demise.  Perhaps there was more they could have done to save their comrade, if only they had better assessed their options at the time.  This ninja couldn’t only feel survivor’s guilt for letting his companion down.  He had not kept a watchful eye on his friend, and was not present to perhaps save him from his own foolishness in those fateful, final moments.

Carlao approached A-Team, on behalf of Delta Team, and expressed his condolences for the party’s loss.

“I know we haven’t always been the best of friends,” Carlao expressed with uncharacteristic sincerity, “but anything you guys need to bring in the bastard who’s behind this, just ask.  We are here for you.”

The big three, Viscount Price-Hill, Lady Saxby, and Inspector Delft, all sat in the folding chairs in the front, next to A-Team, as Kelion stood to fire the flaming salvo as the pyre boat drifted towards the center of the lake.  The first arrow missed, to the gasping of the procession.  On the second attempt, the arrow landed home, and the crowd breathed a sigh of relief.

Delft, gave Kelion a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he returned to his seat.  The day’s events were weighing heavily on all.

After the final words were spoken, the honored procession on the front row rose, and walked back to their carriages.  But after the Viscount was outside of hearing, Lady Saxby had a brief, but heated discussion with Inspector Delft, who gestured incredulously until the Chief Inspector stared him down to merely shaking his head.
Delft then approached the party, “I’m sorry to put this on you today, but the Chief Inspectress wants all of you in her office post haste.”

Lady Saxby’s Office

“What the hell kind of pirate ship are you officers running over there in A-Team?”  The Lady Inspectress demanded, “You are all lucky I don’t have anyone else I can assign to the Danorian Embassy murder case right now.  I have a list of infractions as long as a roll of lavatory paper on your team right now, and to top it off, a constable is now dead!”

The party stood motionlessly at attention as the Lady Saxby continued,

“The Viscount might be waiting until fall to proceed with his audit, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let constables run amok on my watch!  Here are the charges you are currently facing:

1. Murder of a suspect (you think I didn’t know about that one, did you?  I have eyes everywhere!  There was a body that washed up near parity lake that had A-Team all over it!)
   
2. Consorting with a suspected crime lord, Lorcan Kell
   
3. Recreational use of controlled substances while on duty.  ON DUTY!  What was the Bard thinking?
   
4. Prisoner Abuse.  The Damn Waryeye’s had a high priced lawyer come in yesterday afternoon with a writ of exemption.  The judge ordered all charges dropped on them due to failure to conduct due process.  Thank you for the excellent detective work on that one, geniuses.
   
5. Unauthorized release of a suspect on parole with carte blanche… Who doctored the paperwork?  Don’t answer that.  I’ll figure it out on my own.
   
6. Embezzlement of seized evidence.  It appears that on at least one occasion your paper work has failed to match what you’ve seized during an arrest.  Additionally, I now have Burton under arrest for conspiracy to fence illicit magical devices.  It appears someone on your team checked out 6 crates worth of wands!  Where are they?”

The Party just stood there, stunned.

“Get your shite together gents!  This report is going back with the Viscount before he leaves town,” Lady Saxby tosses a dossier several inches thick on the table with a plop, “If that gets even a single sentence longer by the end of this case, I’ll have you all handing out traffic tickets until the investigation is complete.  Is that understood?”

“Yes Ma’am!”  The team responded in unison.

“Get out!”

RHC Flint HQ, Hallway

In the hallway, the party overheard a conversation between the Viscount and Inspector Delft.  From appearances, Delft looked despondent, with his head down as if he were confessing something that weighed heavily on him.  The Viscount’s hard stare softened slightly as he shook his head, hearing Inspector Delft mention the parole of the pirate captain Deorn Feldman.  Then, the Viscount sighed, and placed his hand on Inspector Delft’s shoulder, reassuring him that while it was a questionable call, it made sense given the circumstances.  He thanked Delft for his honesty as he turned to his assistant, and both teleported away, just as Lady Saxby ran into the hall with the dossier under her arm.  Cross, she heel turned and retreated back into her office.

The party debriefed Inspector Delft, and then set off on their leads for the day.

Dr Wolfgang von Recklinghausen

Dr von Recklinghausen had recovered from his catatonic state thanks to a calming potion provided by the rookie Alchemist, but even with his mind lucid, the Wolfgang was uncooperative with the party.  At most, he reiterated what he knew about the accounting logs he had recovered from Nilasa as she died on the fence at the Danorian Consulate.  He explained that without those logs, anything he says in testimony at best would be hearsay against Mayor Reed McBannin.  Additionally, to what end the Mayor was involved in acquiring factories and warehouses for the production of industrial parts for the Danorians is still a mystery.  At this point, without any proof, a confrontation with a lofty political figure over unsubstantiated allegations would just land the party in additional hot water with the Chief Inspectress.  Dr von Recklinghausen then recounted to the party his version of events on the day of the murder, claiming that he had never met Nilasa, except small talk briefly in the lobby of the consulate while he was completing paperwork in order to get a visa out of Risur to Ber (his visa and passport are Danorian, since he’s from the Malice Lands).

Because he’s a doctor, he rushed to the fence to help when Nilasa fell on the fence.  As she lay there dying, he realized there was nothing he could do to save her.  But with her dying breath, she handed him the satchel and the “Canary in the Coalmine” Amulet.  He then panicked, and ran into an alleyway, where some shadow beast pursued him and cornered him.  Fearlessly, he drew his sword and wounded the beast, before fleeing in the nearest cab he could find.  The remainder of the story, the party had already pieced together.

Still, the Ninja began pressing the doctor about his past as an infamous surgeon, to which he defended himself by saying that in the Malice Lands, advances in non-magical surgery are essential, as healing magic is unreliable due to the curse that covers the entire desert.   The party remained unsatisfied with this answer, prompting Wolfgang to become hostile, refusing to help the party any further.

Finally, the Ninja demanded the doctor turn over the amulet, to which he refused.  The Ninja then threatened him with charges and legal confiscation of it as evidence unless he loaned it willingly.  At that, the doctor relented, but said he was done helping the RHC, and that they could do whatever they willed.  He demanded a receipt for the item, and told the party that he expects it back at the conclusion of the murder investigation.

Sechim’s Alkahest & Etchings

As the constables make their way to follow up on the lead concerning Nilasa’s benefactor, they notice that the Conservator is following them, but they choose to ignore this presence as he follows from rooftop to rooftop.

As the party approached Sechim’s Alkahest and Etchings, the party noticed a picket line surrounding all of the nearby factories, but not the Alkahest factory.  Approaching one of the protestors, the party quickly realized that the crowd consisted almost exclusively of wives and children of the male workers, who have been locked in for several days now, forced to work continuous 18 hour days while timesharing beds inside the factory.  The doors of the factory were locked with chains while hired armed body guards stood watch over all the entrances.  The families were protesting the horrid unsafe working conditions, long unpaid overtime, and now the practical slavery of the lock-in.

The constables then approached the Alkahest factory practically unopposed, as the Conservator slipped in a back loading dock.
Heward Sechim took the news of Nilasa’s death stoically, but the party could tell he was disappointed, and perhaps feeling a little guilty that he wasn’t able to keep the headstrong elvish girl from rushing to her end in service of Gale.  When asked about the lack of protest outside his factory, Sechim invited the party to look around his facility.  As far as factories in Flint were concerned, the party could tell that the working conditions were reasonable, and those on shift seemed in high spirits.  Sechim explained that workers are more productive when they are treated well, paid well, and given adequate time home.  Additionally, he mentioned that while he disagreed with terrorism, he could see both sides of the argument concerning the virtues/vices of industrialization in Risur.  Nilasa, he had hoped, would come to find a moderate calling in life to correct injustices in Flint through peaceful means, and through his Uncle, a Skyseer Nevard, perhaps bring the more radical revolutionists such as Gale back to a more reasonable approach.

Intrigued, the party pressed Heward concerning his Uncle.  Nevard, he explained, was a ailing Skyseer of great repute who preached to man and fey alike in the Cloudwood.  Himself a moderate, Nevard was seeking to find compromise between the progress of the new century, and respecting the old ways, protecting the nature surrounding the city, and respecting the workers of the city.  After visiting Nilasa’s old room in the factory, Heward explained that Nilasa met Gale through Nevard, and that the old man hopefully won’t die when he finds out that it lead to the poor girl’s death.  The constables requested an audience with Nevard to further their investigation, and Heward helpfully gave them directions of how to find him in the Cloudwood.

Before they left, however, Heward mentioned an incident that took place a few days ago.  He has had a couple of men (who smelled like engine grease) came into the factory and demand a bulk sale of alkahest, off of the books (alkahest is dangerous, and thus controlled).  When Heward told the men that he didn’t have the production volume to fill any additional orders outside of his government contracts, the men began using innuendo to make thinly veiled threats that something might happen to the factory.  After that, Heward hired body guards for the factory (the party didn’t really notice them on the way into the factory).

After the constables left the factory for the Cloudwood, the Conservator surprised Heward in his office, offering to identify the mysterious men and protect the facility in exchange for payment.  Heward agreed, and the Conservator disappeared.

The Conservator decided to remain at the Alkahest factory on stakeout.

The Cloudwood

Making their way to see Nevard, the party encountered a shoot out between some Cloudwood Brigands and members of the Kell guild who had kidnapped Morena, the love of the Cloudwood Brigand leader, Renard Woodsman.  After intervening in the battle, the party rescued Morena, and in thanks for their assistance, Renard Woodsman offered to escort the party to see Nevard…

Summary of Open Leads

Leads:

1. Audience with Skyseer Nevard Sechim
   
2. The Ambassador’s office (Danorian Consulate)
   
3. Who is “Officer Porter?” (Suspect)
   
4. Brunch at the “Enchanted Grounds”
   
5. DR Recklinghausen provides a lead that Mayor McBannin is connected to the Danorian Consulate via some construction project.  The account logs proving it were destroyed in the church collapse.
   
6. Factory Arsonists (Gale?  Family?  Lorcan Kell?  Other?)

Side Quests:

1. Dafton is currently being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory.  (Favor for Grimsley)
   
2. Conservator: Leone Quital contingency…
   
3. Conservator: “The Ragman”

Episode 2-5 “The Dying Skyseer”

It’s late afternoon of the 6th of Summer when the party reaches Skyseer Nevard Sechim’s Gypsy Caravan.  With a quick introduction from Renard Woodsman, who vouches for the RHC constables, the caravan guards stand down and lead the party to Skyseer Sechim.

Nevard asks the party about the nature of their visit, and while the Bard performs for loose change, the Ninja cuts to the chase.  After name dropping Heward Sechim (the skyseer’s nephew), Nevard quickly became jovial and accepting of the party, inviting them into his tent at the mention of Gale.  From the Skyseer’s demeanor, the party picked up on the likelihood that Gale and Nevard may have fraternized with one another regularly, but Nevard was adamant that while his primary concern is her safety, he still disapproved of her non-peaceful methods.  Still, the party pressed Nevard for an introduction to Gale, so that they could get a better understanding of to what extent she was responsible for Nilasa’s death and how it may or may not relate to the terrorist attacks in the industrial district of Bosum Strand.

Nevard agrees to arrange the introduction, under one condition, the fulfillment of dying wish:

He wants to go to the peak of Cauldron Hill, the highest point in the city, with the clearest skies and the strongest font of magical power.  There he thinks he might be able to pierce the strange veil that seems to have fallen over the vision of the skyseers. He wants to find a path that can let people like Gale and those pushing for industry walk together in harmony.

But Cauldron Hill is firstly restricted, and only Reed Macbannin, the mayor of the Nettles district and a mage skilled in the defense against the dark arts, can grant anyone access. Secondly, the reason it’s restricted is because it is probably the most dangerous and cursed place in the country, so even if Nevard can go there, he’ll need armed protectors.  Nevard wants the PCs to arrange for he and they to climb to the peak of Cauldron Hill and spend an evening. It’s not unprecedented; Macbannin and some of his apprentices go there to keep eyes out for threats before they get out of hand, and occasionally the military trains elite warriors atop the mountain. With the right wards from Macbannin, it could even be safe.

In response, the party agrees, but mentions that Mayor Macbannin is currently a suspect in their investigation, given the sole testimony of Dr Recklinghausen.  The Skyseer contemplates the complications for a moment, and shrugs.  “I’m dying anyway, so it doesn’t really matter to me if there is danger involved.  Scaling the hill itself is probably worse than anything the mayor could do to us.”

A companion of Nevard, the goblin shaman Pazamu, asks for the consent of the party to perform a ritual known as the “Bonds of Forced Faith” in order to empower Nevard with the temporary strength and stamina of the party for the treacherous trek to and from the summit of Cauldron Hill.  The Ninja successfully identifies the evil nature of the ritual, but pragmatically consents on behalf of the party anyways.

After a quick stop by the RHC HQ for a status update with Inspector Delft, the party continued on to the foothills of Cauldron Hill, where the Nettles district mayor’s manor stood.

The Cauldron Hill District Mayor’s Estate

The party travels to Mayor McBannin’s Manor on the foothills of Cauldron Hill, arriving just at Dusk.  Entering the shadow of the cursed hill just as the sun began to set, the carriage driver began to neverously shift in his seat, occasionally asking the party to speak up and ask their questions again, when no one had said anything.  Upon arrival at the manor, the driver refused to wait, and sped off as soon as he received payment.

The party noted that the sizable garrison stationed in the garrison by the servant’s quarters were all in much better spirits, done with their patrols for the day, and relaxing with song and drink just prior to dusk.  One of the subsistence farmers on the plantation took it upon himself to great the party, and asked they wait in the flower garden overlooking Flint as he rushed inside the mansion for the Mayor’s butler, Cillian Creed.

While the party watched the shadow of Cauldron Hill stretched over the city of Flint as the Sun set in the East, a scruffy man passed the farmer on his way out of the mansion.  He flicks a cigarillo butt into the daisies of the garden after chaining a second, much to the horror of the nearby servants who rush to retrieve the glowing butt.

He blows a smoke ring, and stares down at the city of Flint, musing aloud to the Ninja,

“Can you imagine what it’s like to live down there?” he asks, almost rhetorically.

“Chaos, that’s what it is. The mayor,” he nods his head back toward the house, “he could come up with the most brilliant plan to help those people. He could get all the money in the city’s coffers. He could do everything right, but he’s just one man. Not a cog in a machine, but a pebble on a beach. Chaos.”

He takes another draw on the cigarette, then smiles. “It’s beautiful, what people can create out of chaos. But I’d gladly give it up to stop their suffering.”

Intrigued, the Ninja asks the man’s name, who responds hesitantly, “Doro.”  The two men verbally spar for a few moments about the nature of fate, the fallacies of Heid Escatol, and paradox of free will and fate.  The Ninja suggests that only what is done in the moment truly matters, come what may from it.

Doro is not so sure, suggesting perhaps that the religion of the age is a power construction that seeks to rob men of their natural state of free will.  Maybe man could have free will, if only the gears of fate that churn in the sky could be stopped.  Such a dream is merely that, and sort of some paragon to challenge the design of the universe, man must continuously drudge on his meaningless path that is laid out for him by the stars.

The Ninja asks what a well-spoken man like him does for a living, and Doro responds saying “Just a messenger.  Delivering the mail.”  The Ninja believes him, oddly enough.  One of the stable hands walk out Doro’s horse by the reigns.

“You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, kid.”  Doro smiles as he flicks the butt of the second cigarillo after chaining a third.  Again, the servants panic to scoop the ember up as Doro mounts his horse with little flourish.

“Keep using that head of yours.  I’m sure you’ll go far.”  And with that, the mysterious man rides off.

About this same time, the butler, Cillian Creed, struts into the garden with a nervous smile, “Gentlemen!  To what do we owe the honor?”
The party exchange measured pleasantries with the butler, and are promptly escorted into the estate for an audience with Mayor Macbannin in his study.

Mayor Macbannin offers the party rooms in the manor for the night, as the sun is already setting, making an ascent of the hill madness at this hour.
He goes on to explain that during the day, Cauldron Hill is safe enough, but at night, all manner of evil spirits come out to wreck havoc and bloody murder on any one fool enough to be on the cursed hill without proper warding.

Instead, he suggests that the party leave first thing in the morning, granting them one night on the mountain.  He insists that they come through his manor on the way up and the way down. But at all costs, they must make camp at the peak before nightfall.  He loans each of the party a slightly rusted iron amulet, which they must wear to protect from possession by evil spirits. He’ll also give them four kegs of goat’s blood, which they must use to paint a ring of red around wherever they make camp. Spirits are distracted by blood, and the color red in general. They will likely smell the party, but when they spot the blood they’ll believe they’ve found the trail of a wounded animal, after which they’ll mindlessly walk in circles since they’ll never find the end of the ring.  Macbannin also warns the party to be sparing with their fire, and try to minimize the light signature it gives off, as well as maintaining noise discipline.  The weather should be clear for the next few days, so they don’t have to worry about rain washing the blood away, but they should be careful not to mess up the ring themselves.  He adds that on the way down, the party should come back through his manor. He’ll have a purification ritual prepared so he can clear away any dark energy that might be clinging to them.

The party graciously thanks the Mayor, and with that, they follow Creed to their guest rooms for the night.

After sunset, the Ninja managed to shimmy across the ledge outside of his window and teleport through the window of the Mayor’s office to investigate.  As he made his way along the outside of the manor, he could see the Mayor’s butler conversing with the garrison commander down by the stables.
While in the Mayor’s study, the Ninja found two letters:



This first letter is signed “L.K.”

The Second letter (Freshly printed and set aside for mailing, Dated 7th of Summer, 500 AOV):



Additionally, a couple of hours of skimming through the Cauldron Hill visitor logs in the filing cabinet resulted in the ninja from finding a redacted file on an expedition from the year 400 AOV (almost exactly 100 years ago to the current day, thus drawing attention to it).  The file mentions a book in the manor library, referencing the chapter “Bonds of Forced Faith,” which was of some serendipity, given that it was the name of the ritual performed by Pazamu on the party.

From the unredacted portions of the log file, the individuals who climbed Cauldron Hill for the expedition were as follows:

“King Lorcan Finn

Dame Melissa Gahlot

Principle Minister Harkover Lee” (WTF?  He’s not a Deva or an elf, but he’s over 100 years old?!)

“Mayor Roland Standfield” (Immortal Deva, Currently the Governor)

“Godhand Tomas Masaryk

Amielle Latimer”
The Ninja decided to keep the letter signed “L.K.” as well as the log file, but carefully replaced the new letter that was awaiting mailing, so as to not draw any attention to his tampering.

Upon returning to his room, the Ninja slinked down the hallway to retrieve the book described in the log.  The chapter “Bonds of Forced Faith” was written in some sort of mostly illegible script, perhaps magical in nature.  From a quick skim, the ninja was able to gather something about a witch coven and a magical “Cracked Cauldron,” but the rest seemed nonsensical.  There was no way to tell any sort of coherent narrative concerning the events that took place.  The Ninja decided to keep the book.

Cauldron Hill

The next morning, the party sets out up Cauldron Hill on the day of the 7th.  They receive a couple of pack mules and 4 kegs of goat’s blood for the circle of protection on the peak of Cauldron Hill where the expedition will set up camp for the night.

After trekking up the hill all morning, the party finds a good place to set up camp in an old stone ringed circle on the Western Hill of a saddle, next to a downward rocky cliff face.  While conducting the ascent, the party finds the cracked cauldron, and saves the magical handle from it (see magical item appendix).

After setting up camp and laying out the precautions for protecting against the night horrors, the party waited for sunset, enjoying the last peaceful view of Flint before the darkness fell.
(For Ambience, play “Mitternacht” by E Nomine in the background )

Nerve wracking sounds begin to sweep over the campsite following sunset, and putrid apparitions approach the campsite, only to divert at the last second and follow the blood circle, lapping up mouthfuls of gory dirt as they sniff for fresh flesh.   Before long, the entire campsite is encircled by nightmarish fiends, each following the other, shambling and crawling and clawing all the way.
As the night wears on, the party begin to hear eerie horns playing in the night, and the group spots an impossible oddity, like a mirror image of the party sitting on the opposite rise.

Then an apparition manifests in the center of the circle of blood: a velvet red curtain hovers in the air, looking completely solid, glowing as if hit by a spotlight that doesn’t exist. The curtain sways, and there seem to be figures on the other side.  After a moment, Nilasa steps out, much to the shock of the party.

Nilasa puts a hushing finger to her lips, then points out into the night and says, “The man who killed me is coming. His face is scarred, so he hides behind many faces.” Then she raises a featureless black mask to her face. When she puts it on she fades away, as does the curtain. The air is suddenly thick with the stench of burnt engine grease.

Shortly afterwards, the party starts to hallucinate.  The stars overhead seem to streak in lines as time stretches out, and then to the north, down by Parity Lake, a building catches fire with dreamlike swiftness.  Suddenly they find themselves standing between two factories, and two tongues of flame leap from one to the the next, like a pair of burning dragons. Screams erupt from the people trapped inside, the conflagration consumes the factories, and the charred buildings collapse to reveal tomorrow morning’s sunrise. A blackened sign sits in the ash, saying “Sechim’s Alkahest & Etchings.”

The vision ends with a snap, and the party find themselves standing on the black peak of Cauldron Hill. Nevard, still looking to the stars, gives a knowing hum. He points up at a red star.

“Jiese, the plane of fire, is brighter tonight than usual. Its light reflects off the lake. You saw it, didn’t you?”

Pazamu explains that the party is experiencing psychic feedback from Nevard’s visions as a side effect of the bonds of forced faith ritual.  It’s still unclear whether they’re awake or dreaming when a man cries out for help from the dark beyond the ring. It sounds like he’s been set upon by monsters, but Nevard shakes his head and warns the party not to step outside the ring. The screams last for hours, as the party steel themselves to ignore the insanity.

Slightly after midnight, during a lull in the mad dance of the spooks and monsters, the Bard notices something moving through the crowd of monsters perhaps a hundred feet away, on the other rise. Somehow less feral and wild, more deliberate in its movements, one would almost think it’s a man, but the monsters aren’t accosting it. They lose sight of it a moment later, and a minute passes.  Almost imperceptible above the cacophony of spirits, the party hears the crack of a sunrod against stone. A brilliant glow lights up the mountaintop, shedding bright light in a 20-square radius. All the monsters surrounding the ring of blood turn to look.  A humanoid figure holds the sunrod, its body inhumanly angular, its skin featureless and black like a silhouette. It sprints to the near edge of the other rise and then hurls the sunrod as it transforms into a giant spherical ball of flame. The glowing beacon arcs through the air, but the Ninja fires an arrow at the projectile before it crosses the blood circle (nat 20!) and the sphere exploded in a brilliant display, igniting several spooks aflame on the perimeter.

As the party scanned the other hill for any sign of the mysterious figure, the creature had vanished.

There are no more attacks, though the party does get a feeling like something huge and invisible is standing over them, watching their every movement. Then a shooting star streaks across the sky, and the ominous sensation passes.  Nevard suggests, as casually as if he were recommending a coat for cold weather, that it might be a good time to leave. He believes he has seen enough, and he needs to rest to understand what it all means. Also, he asks the PCs pay heed to the vision of the fire dragon at the factory, and see if they can help his nephew Heward. As pre-nautical twilight begins to glow across the sky, the hour climb back down is safe and uneventful.

Episode 2-6 “The Dying Skyseer”

It is just before Dawn on the 8th of Summer, as the RHC Constables descend Cauldron hill, they are faced with a choice to either stop by Macbannin’s manor as promised, or rush with great haste to check on Heward’s factory.

Meanwhile, at Sechim’s Alkahest & Etchings

The Conservator continues his nightly vigil over the factory as he begins to nod off.  Just prior to dawn, he watches as the wives and children, who have spent their days protesting the worker lock-ins at the adjacent factories, snooze in their tent commune that stretches for blocks.

“Stand at the ‘Strand” the locals have taken to calling it.  So far, the protests have been peaceful, in spite of the harsh words spoken by both sides of the union dispute.

Looking at his pocket watch, the Conservator yawns, and considers for a moment it make be close enough to dawn to call this shift a night, maybe affording Thomas Kellion a moments reprieve to sleep.  But just as he glances down at the timepiece, the Conservator hears the carriage wheels and the clop clopping of hooves on cobblestone and boardwalk down the sea docks behind these shore front factories.

“0400, a bit early for deliveries.”  The Conservator muses to himself.  If nothing else, the last few hours have given him an appreciation of the regular patterns of life here in factory district.

The carriage stops, horses snorting, as two half dragons leap from the driver and shotgun seats, shouting in a Berian tongue to men under the chuck wagon tarp covering the contents of the coach.  These half-dragons appear impatient, their nostrils blowing puffs of smoke in between commands.


“Vamos!  Hace poco tiempo!”  The double dragons shout.

A couple of men drop a Ramp to offload a barrel.

Steadying his aim, the Conservator fires a warning shot at the wagon!
Quickly, the myseterious men dive for cover as one of the half-dragons rolls the barrel thought the garage door of Sechim’s factory.  One of the men shout, “Expelliarmus!” while gesturing at the Conservator with a wand.  Fortunately, as his flintlock flies from his hand, the Conservator is able to make a reflexive grab before it falls off of the roof, allowing him to barely retain his weapon within his grasp.  Another man waves a wand that shoots a massive fireball at the roof of the factory, blowing a sizable hole and igniting a blaze on the top of the factory as the Conservator dives out of the way.

“Bloody ‘ell.  Where did these goons get that kind of firepower?”  The Conservator muses aloud as he leaps from a skylight window onto a catwalk inside the factory.  The corrosive stench of the bubbling acid vats rises from below.  The noxious fumes are nearly unbearable as the vigilante makes he was through the air vents into the supply garage.

As the Conservator squatted in the air duct overwatching the garage, he made eye contact with the Half Dragon wheeling in the barrel.  Overhearing the commotion, the security guards made their way into the garage to protect the factory, just as the other dragon-born entered to meet them.  The second halfdragon inhaled deeply, and spewed a cone of flame that consumed the three watchmen in firey agony.  The one near the barrel then drew out a wand, flicked his wrist, and slung an orb of fire that singeing the vigilante and blasted a hole through the roof as fire streaked into the sky.

Outside of the factory, the RHC constables were approaching the Sechim’s factory as they saw the cone of flame burst through the roof, and ignite the roofs of the adjacent two buildings.

Splitting in two, the Party managed to subdue the both half dragons, but failed to prevent any of the three buildings from going up in flame.  Fortunately, the Bard and one of the rookies managed to break open the chains to allow the dockers to escape from the flames.  Only a couple of men died from trampling.  The rest suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation, much to the relief of the women and children who were watching from the street.

As the cops made their way with the fire brigade, the RHC constables and the Conservators came to an agreement to live and let live in exchange for each other’s assistance on their separate cases.  In the future, when the Constables needed to coordinate with the Conservator, they’d communicate via a drop point at a safehouse in Flint.  Just before the police arrived, the Conservator was gone.
The Constables immediately handed the scene over to the Flint PD, and transported their new suspects back to RHC HQ so that they could debrief Inspector Delft.

RHC HQ

After reviewing the evidence and the arrest charges for the Double Dragon Brothers, Inspector Delft informed the constables that he was now in possession of enough evidence to go to the district attorney for an arrest warrant for Mayor Macbannin, on charges of conspiracy, accessory to arson, graft, and corruption.  Delft congratulated A-Team on their solid investigating, and promised that with this much evidence, there should be no problem with Chief Inspector Saxby after the fact.  Delft offers to walk the party out to their carriage, explaining that they should be able to lead the arrest team in the morning after he secures the warrant.  Just as Delft starts to suggest that the party stay at a safe house instead of their regular residences for the night (just to be safe), he stops mid-way down the steps in front of the RHC HQ.  The constables stop with him, and turn from their boss to see what addled his attention…

Standing at the foot of the steps were several men and half-orcs, all in suits, and none of them less than 6 foot tall. About 5, sleek, black carriages waited behind them, as the largest of the suits stepped forward,
“The boss would like a word.  You missed brunch.”

Delft reaches for the crook of his cane, perhaps to draw a concealed sword.  As the half-orc opens the carriage door, Delft turns to the constables and says, “Its up to you.  I’ll back you however you choose to handle this.”
The Constables accept the invitation, and Delft quietly reminds them to end the night at the safe house.

“Godspeed,” Delft winces as he hobbles back up the steps, looking back with concern.

The Carriage

The party takes their seats in a luxurious carriage, that looks much larger on the inside than on the outside.  Across from them, a quaint, quite man sipping coffee from a cup and saucer introduces himself formally as Morgan Cippiano, a “humble” businessman.  As the carriage starts down the bumpy road, the party immediately notices that the cabin doesn’t bounce as do most others.  Perhaps magical stabilization?
“Pemberton Gyroscopes.  Best on the legal market.” Morgan says, sipping his coffee delicately, as if he can sense the party’s admiration.  “Would you like a cup?  Came in fresh from Ber this morning.”

The party accepts the man’s offer, and they feel suddenly refreshed as though they had not stayed up all night on cauldron hill. (Lasts 12 hours)
As Morgan and the party continue to exchange pleasantries, the Ninja noticed a Canary Bird flying around the outside of the carriage, that then decided to perch in the open window.  With his superhuman reflexes and his extreme paranoia, the Ninja snatched the bird off of the sill, and shoved it into a bag (Nat 20!).
Morgan mentions that he has friends all over the city, and when the constables interfered with the recent Family wand smuggling operation, he got interested.  He had his friends ask around, and he learned just how busy the party is. He says he admires their diligence—it’s a trait that’s very handy for both government and private entrepreneurs like himself. Now he wants to know if they might have more in common, and he’d like to begin their relationship by offering them some help, in exchange for a small favor in the future.  Morgan also casually mentions that the constables would be wise to choose who they throw there lots in with for sake of their futures.  Lorcan-Kell doesn’t follow the code; he engages in unnecessary violence, and he’s the last person who needed to have control of the illicit wand shipment.

The party agrees, assuming that what Morgan offers them is worthwhile, and thus the party gains a Prestige rating of 2 with The Family.

Morgan begins explaining that the actual murderer in the RHC case is not who they think it is.  Confused, the party starts to ask for more details, when suddenly tremors shake the buildings outside the carriage, and a 3 foot crack splits the cobble stone in front of the horses.  The Stallions leap over the small crevasse, without Morgan spilling a drop of coffee as he continues to sip without missing a beat.

“Strange quakes we’ve been having lately, odd.”  He muses for a moment.  “Anyway, you should be flattered that you’ve got my attention.  Normally, bosses don’t take the time to interact directly with their work.  It pays to have a middle man, you see.  But I had to make sure you gents understood how serious I am, since my brunch offer didn’t get your attention.  I say all this not to be immodest, but to drive home a point:  do you really think Mayor Macbannin would do his own dirty work?”

The party suddenly became intrigued.  “Go on.”

“I don’t know the name personally, but as you can imagine, a man in my business has to diversify from time to time.  I own a small stake in the Flint Cabbie Co.  Ask for James Quitman, and tell him MC sent you.  He’ll tell you what you need to know.”

Leaning out the window, Morgan offers some parting words:

“If you need anything, go to Brooks Bros Cobblers.  Ask for Dozy Miccini, he’ll hook you up with something nice, on the house.  He’ll also let you know what I’ve got for you.  Work as well as favors.”

And with that, the caravan of black carriages pulled away, and the party stood before Flint Cabbie Co.

How nice of Morgan to drop the Constables off right where they needed to be.

Flint Cabbie Co

As the party enters the Cab company, another Canary starts circling around their heads, trying to get their attention.  Again, the Ninja realizes that the bird is enchanted in some way, and (again, Nat 20, facepalm!) snatches the second bird out of the air and shoves it into a bag.

The party walks up to the dispatch desk, and requests James Quitman, who provides them with the name of the man who has been taking regular rides from the Cauldron Hill manor to the Dorian Consulate…

Cillian Creed!  Macbannin’s butler.

Summary of Open Leads

Leads:

1. Skyseer’s Rally
   
2. The Canary (Gale?)
   
3. The Ambassador’s office (Danorian Consulate)
   
4. Is Cillian Creed also Officer Porter/Shadowman/Murderer?

Side Quests:

1. Dafton is currently being held at the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory.  (Favor for Grimsley)
   
2. Conservator: Leone Quital contingency…
   
3. Conservator: “The Ragman”

Episode 2-7

Reporting back to Inspector Delft, the party linked up with the cleric (from episode 1-1 and the side quest, new player, same PC) who is now permanently assigned to the A-team.

From one of his highly credible contacts, the cleric revealed to the party that there are reports of some suspicious activity in the factory district surrounding the Central Square where Nevard Sechim is scheduled to deliver his speech this afternoon.

Inspector Delft encourages the party to check out the rumors, but provides a stern reminder that Chief Inspectress Saxby is looking for an excuse to bench the party from the investigation.  No screw ups.

During a sweep of the factories surrounding the square, the party encountered several lab technicians conducting experiments on necrotic jaguars with witchoil.  To cover their retreat into a planar portal made of rusted iron, the scientists activated a massive witchoil golem in adamantium armor.  As the fight spilled over into the street, the heroes managed to capture 4 scientists and drop them off at the RHC HQ prior to destroying the golem in a giant heap in the back of the Central Square.

Flint Police arrived just in time to secure the square and cordon off the crime scene before the arrival of the crowds for the dying skyseer’s speech.  The party was able to retrieve blueprints describing the creatures undergoing experimentation in the lab:


As Nevard ascended the podium, the party was able to disrupt a terror attack from several skeletons who infiltrated the crowd and attempted to rush the stage with an explosive wagon and several witchoil jaguars like the ones designed in the lab.  The Leader of the A-Team made the decision to order the Flint PD to fire into the crowd in order to attack the marauding Skeletons before charging in with swords.  Unfortunately, during the initial volley of musket fire, a middle aged civilian man was struck dead.

With knowledge from the blueprints, the party was able to successfully defend Nevard who was able to continue with his speech following the minor disruption:
“I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow—indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he
was controlled by others.”

“I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry.  In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil.”

“I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs.”

“I tell you this: Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.”

The crowds reacted with subdued excitement and fear.  Several union workers in the crowd were able to calm the masses down, likely preventing a riot.  It is fortunate that there were only minor casualties and localized property damage during the recent factory fires.

After giving the speech, and stepping down from the podium, Nevard offered some additional information to the party:

“There was more I saw on top of Cauldron Hill, but what it means has not been revealed to me.  It would be irresponsible to share this with the public, but as I have little time left on this plane of existence, let me share it with you that perhaps you may unlock its secrets in time:”

“A woman sat on a leather couch in a waiting room, surrounded by red curtains. She held a gold coin and rolled it across the back of her fingers. A pick lay against the side of the couch. I asked her what she
was waiting for, and she answered in a language I didn’t know, saying,

‘The place I’m going isn’t here yet.’”

“A trumpeter carried a lantern onto the stage of a darkened theater, and the people gathered for his performance applauded, then lit lanterns of their own. The theater never got bright enough for him to see their faces.”

“One man tore himself in two, and his twin selves fought over a woman, tearing her into three, who ran away. Mice skittered around them, collecting cheese fallen amid the rails of a trainyard. Then a train roared down the track past me, but it had no one driving it. In the distance it derailed, and crushed two of the women, but which of the three survived?”

“A man carrying a bronze staff with three keyholes was assailed by swords and arrows and fire, but nothing killed him. He began to take off his robes, revealing tiger fur beneath them, while stars fell from the sky all around him. Then the sky was dark, and when the sun should have risen, instead a pale glowing cloud floated in the dark.”

“Finally, a tyrant and murderer languished in prison, hanging from twelve chains and hooks that pierced her feet, her legs, her thighs, her shoulders, her arms, and her hands. But the thirteenth hook that sealed her mouth swung loose, and it fluttered in the breeze as she whispered a map that led everywhere.”

With that, Nevard wished the party well, in a voice that suggested he did not expect to see them again.  He asked that they look after his nephew, and keep him safe.

Episode 2-8

On the way back to the RHC HQ following the rally, the A-Team leader (ninja) asked the rest of the party to go back without him while he ran a personal errand.  As the rest of the team began to leave, he pulled a yellow canary out of his bag, which then chirped at him, and began flying into the distance…. (Side Quest for Ninja completed).

The remainder of the party continued on to the RHC HQ, but were stopped just short of the office by Assistant Chief Inspector Delft who stepped out form an alleyway halting the party’s carriage.

“I warned you guys.  Word has already reached the HQ about the shooting incident into the crowd at the rally.  The man who died was a single father of two, and its going to be all over the papers tomorrow.  The Chief Inspectress is furious, and she’s waiting to demand your badges as soon as you walk into the office…”

Delft solemnly explains that the arrest of Mayor Macbanin is too important to botch by turning the investigation over to a different team at the 11th hour.  The assistant chief, handed the party a copy of the signed warrant for Mayor Macbannin, and four iron amulets.

“You could have told us about these planer anchors.  We confiscated them during booking after you dropped off those four suspects from the lab.  They disappeared into the ether a few minutes later.  I suspect you may need these to get through any portals you may encounter when you search the manor.”

Delft tells the party to lay low until the bust the following morning, and he would run interference for them with the Chief Inspectress by pleading ignorance until after the fact.  In the meantime, he asked the party to spend the night in a safe house that isn’t on the books with the RHC.

After completing his private errand, the Ninja returned to the RHC HQ and was confronted by several rookie inspectors.

“Sir, please come with us.  The Chief Inspectress orders your presence in her office immediately.”

The Ninja demanded an explanation, but the rookies respectfully asked that he not make things difficult for them, as they were just following orders.

Compliant, the Ninja walked into Saxby’s office, flanked by four rookies.

The conversation was very direct and brief.  Saxby wanted to know where the rest of the party was, and demanded the Ninja’s weapons and badge.

Confounded, the Ninja stood at attention as Assistant Chief Inspector Delft barged into the room in protest.  A crooked smirk of amusement barely broke across Saxby’s face, and she calmly replied to Delft with a sigh:

“I want the entire team, Delft.  I’ll spare this one, for now, if you take his place.  Will you hand over YOUR badge in exchange?”

Delft glanced at the Ninja, who gave a humble nod.

“FINE.  You are making a BIG mistake, Saxby.”  Delft slammed his pistol and his badge on the Chief Inspectress’ desk, and stormed out of the office.

“Dismissed.”

As the Ninja walked into the hallway, Delft couldn’t bear to look at him.  All he said in response was, “The Thinking Man’s Tavern.  Go.”

The Thinking Man’s Tavern

The rest of the party were in their private room discussing the tactics for the raid on the Mayor’s manor as the Ninja walked in with the bad news about Delft.

Despondent, the party could do nothing but carry out the raid without fail.  Their careers now depended on a critical success.

With new found motivation, the Ninja hatched a plan to coat the warrant in a contact poison so that the moment Mayor Macbanin touched the document, he would begin succumbing to paralysis within a minute of exposure.

Confident that this would work, the party bedded down for the night.

Mayor’s Manor, Cauldron Hill

As the party approached the manor, they immediately noticed that the garrison was suspiciously all absent, apparently on a 100% personnel patrol.

Entering the Manor garden, staff could be seen peering out from windows, or looking up from their field work as the party approached the mansion.  Surprisingly, Mayor Macbanin was already descending the stairs to greet the party.

As the Mayor approaches the party, he says,

“So you found me out?” He shakes his fist melodramatically, “And when I was so close to finally unlocking this mountain’s dark power!”

Realizing that the Mayor was trying to control the interaction, the Ninja decided to strike quickly to retain the initiative.  Without warning, the Ninja fey stepped behind Macbanin and touched him with the poison coated warrant.  Macbanin doesn’t even miss a beat.

He relaxes and grins, turning to his assaliant. “Come on, be serious,” he says, with the tone of someone who’s done humoring small children’s fantasies. “You haven’t told anyone about this yet, have you? You seem like good people—and good officers, too, I’m sure—and I wouldn’t want to see you get in trouble for,” he chuckles, “jumping to wild conclusions. I appreciate your diligence … but I have nothing to hide!” At this, he spreads his hands wide.

In response, the Ninja stabs the Mayor with his sword…

But the wound immediately closes as the sword is withdrawn, and one of many manor staff members falls over in agony as Macbanin cackles,

“Witch magic.  Illegal and immoral, but hell, being mayor has its perks.”

At that moment, a massive earthquake shook Cauldron Hill, splitting the mansion into a massive crevasse.  The Conservator, who had taken up position on the roof of the structure, lost his footing and tumbled into the attic, snagging the splintered edge and hanging by one hand.

Pulling his head above the attic floor, the Conservator was shocked to see a nefarious humanoid shadow swirling towards him.  In terror, the Vigilante sung down to the next floor of the shattered mansion, rolling along the hardwood and hiding just prior to the shadow monster coming through the ceiling in pursuit…

Realizing that Macbanin was using the Bonds of Forced Faith ritual, the party decided to subdue the Mayor rather than attack him.

Eventually, the party managed to subdue Macbanin, but Creed escaped after the party left him unconscious in a sinkhole pool of wichoil.

Using the Amulets provided by Inspector Delft, the party managed to locate the Eldrich machine and allow Mayor Macbanin to turn it off, averting a massive industrial disaster that could have destroyed the Nettles and contaminated much of the city.

Even though the party succeeded in the raid of the Mayor’s estate, Lady Inspectress Saxby left Inspector Delft on indefinite suspension, while the entire A-Team has been administratively relegated to menial tasks and busy work until the completion of the Viscount’s upcoming audit in the Autmn.  Additionally, the party appeared at the court date for Mayor Macbanin’s trial, to present the case and serve as material witnesses, but the morning trial opening, Macbanin failed to show, leading to the gruesome discovery that he had smashed his own head into the wall of his cell repeatedly until he crushed his own skull.  Examination of the homicide by A-Team suggests that the death was not an ordinary suicide, but that there were trace scents of leaf of Nicodemus, which the guards confirmed Macbanin had requested from his warden just prior to his bathroom break.  The team Spirit caller managed to question the lingering soul of the deceased mayor, learning that Macbanin was possessed by some other soul just prior to his death.  Further details were garbled from the presence of a powerful geas spell that was still active on Macbanin’s soul.

The only other piece of evidence was the magical aura surrounding the Mayor’s Bronze ring, indicating a scrying spell that also shielded the wearer from high level mind reading.  Within the band of the ring reads the inscription:

“Overcome Black Arts”

Analysts reviewing the Case File 28290117-500 AOV, “The Dying Skyseer” provided the following final network diagram outlining the key individuals involved in the case after some additional leg work performed by the Rookie Squadron to follow up leads:

---