Wolf's scenario recap

Run #1: Seeking Talian Shipwright

PCs: Albert Alexander, Ava Moonglade, Dark Horse, Lavandula Golden, Len, Ozymandias, Ushan DeLucca

The party met with Lady Shipwright at her shabby estate near the docks. They were tasked to negotiate the safe return of her son, Lord Talian Shipwright, from the Royal Harem of Byrsa, the desert country to the north. Lord Talian had disappeared about 15 years earlier and was presumed dead. In their teenage years, Queen Nayla and Lord Talian were courting each other and, to many, were very much in love. The party’s mission to see Shia Zaik, the Mistress of Concubines, was a secret, so the party spread the misinformation that they were hunting wedding gifts for the Queen Nayla’s upcoming nuptials. At a great expense to Lady Shipwright, she had procured a set of two glass shards that could pass along the skill of the Byrsan language and another that allowed the skill of sand sailing if you cut yourself with them.

They sailed to the northeastern corner of Shiang and then walked over the mountain pass into Byrsa. As soon as they entered the country itself, they encountered the blowing winds and grinding sands of Byrsa. They hired some guides who rode on giant mirror-abdomened spiders for passage to the closest city of Jakutru.

At sunset they heard what was later described as the Thunder Gong emanating from the capital city of Thulak Kolom. As an undertone to they heard what was described as the voice of the Dido, the ruler of the country. In the announcement, he offered good tidings to the population and he named names of citizens and their associates that needed to be captured for ‘ill thoughts’. The gong and announcements happened everyday for the last three years at sundown and sunup and could be heard all over Byrsa.

At the inn in Jakutru the windows were mortared closed. But during the night a trained spider flipped a hidden latch which opened the window. Half the party was attacked by two members of a street gang. Each of their assailants was under the effect of a dust of silence and one of them was wielding a glass shard dagger with a spider silk grip. It was a weaponized version of their memory shards but delivered jumbled nightmares. (No one told the thieves to be wary of invisible wrestling anthropomorphic horses.) They ended up killing one assailant but spared the other whose name was Thraal. They promised him safe passage out of the city if he went with them right then and there. They left before the police force arrived and rented a glass sand ship for passage to Thulak Kolom.

When they arrived at the forest of stone and glass towers known as the capital city of Byrsa, a guide was waiting for them. They were taken to see the Mistress of Concubines, Shia Zaik. She was happy that they were ready to negotiate for the release of Talian Shipwright. Of course, all promises would be null and void if it was proven that it was not indeed Lord Talian Shipwright. In exchange for returning Talian, Shia Zaik would want the person that gave Talian to the harem fifteen years earlier. That person is a much more valuable companion to the Dido. This must remain a secret especially to Talian. That person was Mare, Queen of Jum. The Queensguard explained that they couldn’t agree to that person exchange. Shia Zaik was willing to give them Talian as a sign of good faith, knowing that if the royalty of Nassau intended to bring Mare to justice, that they would do whatever was in their power as Queensguard to guide Queen Mare into the Royal Harem of Byrsa. Some were against this, but once it was explained that the Byrsan royalty does not take single spouses like most of the world’s royalty but instead strengthens peace with other countries via acceptance into the Royal Harem.

The party verified the identity of Talian Shipwright by comparing him to his portrait over the Lady Shipwright’s fireplace, and quizzing him on the name of one of his childhood toys. Once satisfied, the party and Thraal departed via glass ship back west. Talian explained that he was never intimate with the Dido, or at least with anyone who was so perfect behind their mirrored mask as to be dazed. He theorized that they were just the royalty that wore mirrored masks like the Dido’s iconic mask.

A few hours outside Jakurtra, the party saw another ship forging an intercept path. The captain believed that they were not in any danger and that they would not meet up with them. Using the memory shard of sand sailing, one of the party members realized that the captain was either mistaken or lying. Upon closer inspection with telescopic vision, the other ship was readying for battle and had archers on deck. The Queensguard started preparing for battle. Even Lord Talian was getting excited for a little battle. They told him to get into the interior compartment. The party was getting ready to plan their own intercept course, when the mystery ship started to back off. The party theorized that they too had used telescopic vision and saw them preparing and possibly saw the captain give some sort of signal for them to cease their attack.

The party stayed in Jakurta just long enough to get Thraal’s younger brother out of the city. They took a glass sand ship back to the mountain pass and escaped Byrsa with Talian, Thraal and Thraal’s brother. They set up Thraal to be a privateer in the Nassau navy.

It was told by messenger that Queen was happy to know that Lord Talian was alive and excited to have him back in Nassau. And that they should only share the secret of Mare’s treachery with the members of the Queensguards. No other outside members should know or it would alert her enemy or her enemy’s agents.

Extra Information: The Dido knew the party was coming because of his air elemental spies. (See Run #2 for an explanation)

The captain on their return trip had been bribed by the Hesperian kidnapping team on the ship preparing to attack them. The fact that they had bows showed that they were not from Byrsa. The captain fed them signals that they could see with their telescopic vision spells.

Talian had a surprise waiting in his lung (See information contained in the Run #3 description.)

Run #2: Tunnels to the Sea

PCs: Albert Alexander, Krischi Drumpf, Liam Silverbeard, Shideem, Silas Silvertear, Tim

The party of Queensguard was asked to procure the use of giant tunneling machines from the Iron council of Vosgod. Byrsans have very maneuverable glass ships that travel on sand. But less than a century ago they also travelled on water until Hesperia cut off their only access to the sea. Once the tunnelers get to Byrsa they can tunnel downward into the mountains until they reach the central sea. The glass ships could provide much needed support to the Nassau fleet.

The party arrives in Talin in Vosgod and meets with a member of the Iron Council who is a short dwarf with a magnificent beard. They soon realize the Iron Council is all about making weapons for sale to all members of the upcoming war. They care less about the dwarven citizens and more about production. The citizens are being over worked. The ale is terrible and there are signs of a secret uprising. Graffiti saying “RUST THE IRON COUNCIL” have been seen around areas of sabotage.

In exchange for the use of the tunneling machines, the Iron Council wants the backing of Nassau to root out and crush the rebellion. But for now they will allow the Tunnellers to be taken and the crews to run them released to Byrsa. The party explains that they will need to get higher approval but they will take the diggers anyway as a sign of good faith.

They load the three tunnelers and 4 dwarves in digging armor onto the three ships located in the central sea. While on their way, one of the digger operators, a female dwarf, lets a cable dangle into the water and after an ‘accidental’ surge of electrical energy, a giant squid / electric eel hybrid attacks the ships. Because of mostly quick thinking and teamwork (and a well placed weakness spell), they prevail and did not lose a single tunneller. After they checked the ropes they saw that they had been partially cut through. When they confronted the digger operator she tried to fall overboard wearing a strange glass helmet screaming “RUST THE IRON COUNCIL!!!” But they caught the rebel by the ankles, beat her up and questioned her. Her name was Elga. She maintained that the Iron Council were goblins in disguise and did not have the best interest of the Vosgod dwarves in mind. They restrained her in the hold until they removed the tunnelers from the ships in Shiang.

The party crossed over the pass and into Byrsa and after an arduous journey ended up at the digging site just outside the prosperous tent city of Carthu. During the first night, about half of the party played in the city while others were awakened by the sounds of murder. There were invisible attackers in the large tent housing the tunnelers and they had just slit the throat of one of the machine operators. The mage on duty cast a faerie fire spell and was shocked by what was highlighted. Not only did it show the three attackers but it also illuminated the hundreds of small air elementals filling the tent! The attackers, who had Hesperian accents, seemed just as shocked. Elga saved the life of her digging partner by finding a healing potion in a designated chest pouch that she knew about. When two attackers were knocked down the last one fled outside the tent but was killed by one of the party members returning from the tent city. It seemed the Hesperians were there to sabotage the tunneling devices and to kill the operators.

The battle over, their attention turned to the now visible flying creatures made of air. They watched them react. One kind similar to an ephemeral piranha spied on them them from a distance and then flew outside the tent to be picked up by the heavy winds. One of the creatures that was similar to a small squid with a human mouth was seen lingering around Liam Silverbeard’s ear issuing subaudible whispers shortly before he gave all of Elga’s items back to her and set her free to do her job. And lastly, a small shark with immensely long catfish-like whiskers seemed to cause Albert Alexander to yawn and when he opened his mouth wide to draw a breath he drew in one of the tendrils into his lung. It moved within him briefly and almost tenderly, and then withdrew.

Once the three tunnel digging machines and the four armored dwarves began and the project was underway, the party left via Jakutrau and the Shiang pass.

Extra Information: The helmet that Elga wore would have allowed her to breathe underwater as she walked along the bottom of the central sea to shore. It was of Byrsan origin. If she had escaped, her companion digger would likely have died in the murder attempt in the tents of Carthu.

The creature in the mouth of Alexander was something called an Almumradat (nurses) and was tending what was dormant inside of him. (See information contained in the Run #3 description.)

The creatures with the large eyes are called the LuyunSid (Eyes of the Master) and were the government’s little invisible spies. They reported to the palace along the fast moving winds. This lead to the general belief among the population that the Dido could hear people’s thoughts. It was a rumor that developed over the centuries that the Byrsan government was happy to foster.

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