A Cunning Rescue
Summary
Adventure: A Cunning Rescue
GM: Michael P
Season: Summer 803 WK
- Party
- Arnaud de Montfort Esq (Scribe)
- Kit (Scribe)
- Someone - played by Somebody (Mil Sci)
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Time on adventure
- tbc 826 WK to tbc 826 WK
- Employer
- someone rich
- Mission
- Hired to do a job
- Pay
- Lots
Scribe Notes
2nd Day of Summer, 803 Seagate the city of beggars, Despotism of Cazarla, this guild meeting we have been hired by Aeetes, the son of Helios, the Ellenic sun-god via his Wizeer to recover his daughter, her holyness, Médea (Cunning) whom Pearl, the duchess of Avenal claims to have captive. If she is not captive we need to confirm she is well; evidence is not necessary as our minds will be read. We have up to seven months to clear up the issue with a deadline one week before the winter solstice. We will be paid each a valuable magical item for a successful mission and are given some potions with any left over being ours to keep as a sweetener, any legitimate treasure found will be taxed at fifty percent by having us make two piles and Aeetes choosing one, generally a pile more than a hundred pennies richer will always be chosen. The Wizeer will transport us & our equipment (to a limit) wherever we want to go, presumably our employer's court, for more details and then to Avenal, where it is winter being in the south, or elsewhere, although he lets us know it is a very unsubtle method of transport. The party due to their moral code decides that there will be no enslavement of captives, preferring to execute/murder them instead. Summoning demons, gods and horrors or their minions is to be avoided. Torture of captives is also to be avoided due to Kit's delicate sensibilities. The Wizeer is a dwarven Bard who drinks small beer, which is never a good sign in a dwarf and had a permanent silver tongue upon him. The guild had performed a ritual of truespeaking to allow us to questioned him; Background Ellenic History Her holyness is the high-priestess of the goddess of magic, Hecate, and was married to King Goatish of Thought, who died. She fled tower hill (Cornith) with her otherwise legitimate heir, Medus, after reputedly trying to kill King Goatish's bastard child He-who-Deposits. (He-who-Deposits was expelled by factions within the city and Thought is now a democracy ). Five months ago her holyness passed through the Ellenic states on her way, she claimed, to Lutice in Raniterre to see what happened to a pen pal of hers, an old girlfriend with whom she exchanges recipes and who is, or was, a councilor loosely attached to the Royal court there and who hadn't answered her crows for several years. Apparently she had a reading suggesting that the friend may have died or been transformed a few years previously. On her way to Raniterre, she apparently passed through Avenal (although it's not on the direct route) and was reputedly captured by the duchess there, who happens to be a mind-mage. The duchess’ hobbies include interfering in foreign politics, setting up criminal empires, civic building (prisons or trapped subterranean complexes are her specialty), and revenge. Those of the party who had met her previously described her as being very beautiful, in her late forties and a little vain, although I suspect this may just be envy on their part. Four months ago a herald arrived from Avenal demanding an impossible ransom, the sort you don't expect to be paid, it included a thirty year peace, no wharf fees and 5% duties (protection money) instead of the normal 7-10%. Evidently Aeetes cannot see her holyness which means she is either dead, underground or only comes out at night; she had not previously met the duchess. Aeetes sent two groups to attempt rescue prior to hiring a guild party, none being successful which is surprising since he has the power to choose the right group for a given task, and leads me to suspect that the task may be different to what he believes. There is no ransom for any members of these groups. Our Employer Aeetes (mighty/eagle) is the son of Helios, the Ellenic sun-god and his mother is the oceanid Perseis (‘destruction’); he is believed to be the same as Sir Earnest Drake, the ruler of Freetown -- a haven of independent commercial maritime traders & transporters (pirates) in the Isles of Adventure, a few days sail from the Ellenic coast. Sir Earnest appears variously as a human or a Black Dragon [Mind college]. It is advised against wearing anything which may be construed as insulting by his court as they will take revenge, dragon skin armour and black clothes are not part of a suitable wardrobe, nor is casting or wearing magic, especially mind cloak, in his presence; bringing gifts is not a bad idea also. Research and Rumors Chevalier Roke uncovers that there are lots of large emeralds coming out of Avenal, however few sapphires or rubies as these have been mined out by the drow who particularly like these stones. Much of the trade in Raniterre is controlled by monopolies and the church, black pearls are very popular. Wild rumors coming out of Avenal suggest.. They are using the wealth from their emerald mines to increase their military strength. They are going to declare independence from the kingdom. There is a new portal which is being used to trade spice and may go to Malacandria (where the Olympian titans reside). The duke is divorcing duchess Pear! due to her past, she does not seem the sort of lady to take such things well. Duchess Pearl is in fact Margarita Sforza Cubo of destiny and has a long history of killing guild members. 3rd Day of Summer After asmelly morning spent getting greaters, dumping all our bad karma upon the people downwind in Seagate and dooming everyone involved with multiple astrology readings, we leave midday upon a titan family-sized (15*20 foot) flying chariot which is to fly us to the city of Freetown in the isles of adventure. 3rd - 4th Day of Summer (Mostly around the world in eighteen hours) We fly for eighteen hours during which time I divinate the chariot ( honest I had no intention of stealing it ) and the remainder of the potions. The chariot is drawn by the sun, taking off, flying and landing at midday, solar aspected people love it. Whipping the reigns at midday triggers. it to fly (at about 1000 miles per hour ), however it can only be flown by someone with ‘permission’. It can only move about 5 degrees north or-south as it flies by leaning it slightly to one side and is very dangerous to land, especially after being awake flying it for a day or more without rest. Some of us get quite sunburnt at the high altitude it flies, however given our speed we outrun and avoid all mundane difficulties normally encountered flying over Terranova, the slaver lands and such. There is a magical field around it and anything inside which leaves this field is instantly accelerated to a thousand miles an hour (don't poke your head out, and don't be alarmed by bird strikes ). 4th Day of Summer, Freetown Freetown is located upon the coast of a mountainous island, a long thin town it creeps along the waters edge and only travels a little ways up the mountain with a sea-side fortified palace of the ruler. Landing on the mountain side we travel down not failing to notice the busy port contains fifteen vessels, three of which are destinian. The voices drifting up from the city are in common, Ellenic and the smattering of drow poison sellers. Retiring to the inn of st George we are invited to dinner, getting freshened up with new clothes for those of us with all black wardrobes. The new republican destinian style appears to be flamingo ( black clothes with a colorful sash ), but most people here wear white. Dinner with a god Dinner goes off without a hitch, dining in comfort with thirteen drow wreathed in shadow, who may well be Aeetes' assassins getting a good look at us considering all guild parties have dined with groups of drow, and two Arabic nobles, one of whom has a blue halo -- which is what happens if you are mind cloaked. It is a meaty Arabic affair with lots of gelatinous servings of spiced animal parts and no entertainment. Aeetes /Sir Earnest appears fashionably late in diaphanous black silks which fail completely to hide the beautiful encrustations of gems and gold upon his fine draconic form. A large diamond hangs from a golden chain about his neck. After a beautifully poetic welcoming speech, no doubt enhanced by bardic magic, in which we are welcomed as hero's, then the nobles and finally the drow ( who eat with silver rather than gold), we have our hands and feet washed by servants and feast while discussing inconsequential pleasantries although at one point the mind-mage Arabic noble goes completely white, ( possibly being a spy of Aeetes using telepathy upon us). Meetings in the Library After dinner we meet Aeetes in his small library, who now appears as a human with all his accoutrements scaled down and a titanic aura about him. After receiving our gift courtesy of Gerrard, four bottles of twelve hundred year old wine; I quiver at the thought of wine needing that much cellaring, he informs us of recent developments. Duchess Pearl has annulled her marriage, becoming queen of the new kingdom of Bretlond, which includes the duchy of Avanar and all the monster filled jungles to the south. Queen Pearl has no demonic allies, however she has won the allegiance of a large group of champions, has a few favors from powerful individuals which she could call upon in need and is one of the mistress’ of the cardinal. Raniterre is very poor with the only trade being a few emeralds, the odd ancient drow artifact and the arms trade, which may be what is being exported off plane, although Aeetes believes the portal to Malacandria story to be disinformation and is interested in anything we find out. Raniterre is so poor in fact that they don't use invested items / potions or scrolls but poor substitutes instead. Most nobles are pacted to a demon and due to their massive population they can field armies of tens of thousands of men. Most of the destinian loyalist/rebels ( Carlos supporters) have moved from the serene republic to Avanar. Her holyness' friend was elven centuries old when she was killed by a previous guild party and had been swapping recipes for two centuries. A titan /nymph, her mother being Eidyia (‘the knowing’), her holyness is definitely not human and is skilled in shriving magic's. Much to our disappointment however no potions were left lying about, Aeetes hopes that the mana storms are not due to her actions. The two parties he sent were a complete failure, one was a unsubtle but well equipped military group and the other a group of desperate and disorganized men. The herald sent by the then duchess was ignorant of what was occurring but did know of hobbits riding albatross's for sea patrols and vultures used over the desert for spying by the cardinal. We decide to send the chariot south as a diversion ( it appears as a comet in the sky) while we travel south by ship. Cashing in my truesilver I am provided with freshly minted st Carlos and st Arnaud coins. 5th -6th Day of Summer We stay in Freetown while some mind cloak potions are made for us and we arrange travel out by ship. Investigating the fine city of Freetown we enjoy our rest before the sea voyage and make the acquaintance of numerous delightful young ladies, feast and shop. I recommend paying generous tips to the staff of the inn as in return we were well protected, a drow assassin / thief being ‘convinced’ by them to leave us in peace. 7th day of Summer to 12th Day of Winter We travel from Freetown to the island of St Charles which is located one hundred miles off the coast of Avenal upon the royalist destinian ship the divine grace. It is an immaculately presented, one could even go so far as to say courtly, ship with a crew of about forty men including three water mages. The mobile court of some don who is the younger son of a bishop, it came complete with flatterers and tended to face the sun rather than the direction we were moving, there was no navigator and sailors were incompetent, however the marines looked tough. 13th Day of Winter - St Charles Staying upon an inn at the end of a causeway leading into the city we chat with the innkeeper, Steinfeller. He is a smuggler and generally makes his money moving brandy although this has become far more risky as the Avenal navy can now see in the dark. He arranges guides to take us-into the city and lets us know that the deamon worshippers in the town will leave us alone if we spend sufficient money. The inn itself is a partially converted sanitarium and many of the rooms still have bars upon the windows, it is secure and warm if a bit deserted. Our merchants find the following information about Avenal and the Duchess. Lots of oranges are coming out of Avenal. A bridge has been constructed downstream near the coast, previously the only bridge was at the capital fifty or more miles upstream. The president of St Charles visited Avenal several months ago but has not returned, she has sent messages saying not to worry and she is well, although most seem to think this highly unlikely. Huge amounts of unusual items have been purchased from St Charles to take to Guido City and Pearly bay (naval capital) including two tons of oyster shells, herbs and brooms. Nearly all the chocolate (a drow luxury) has been purchased. There are very few dyes or colored inks here as this trade broke the elven monopoly and the person responsible died with no one willing to continue the trade. The gold being traded is of two types, one off planar with St Michael on one face and Empress Victoria on the other and the other being freshly minted Bretlond coins with Carlo Magno (King of Bretonia) on them. The emerald and spice trade must be huge to give them the money they appear to have. Queen Margarita is pregnant and is the acting regent for the king of Bretonia, Carlo Magno. The father is unknown, but not st Michael and the pregnancy has been official since beltane (1st Day of Winter) Queen Margaeta's marriage to the duke was annulled four months ago. There is a new religion St Michael, peril of the sea ( powers of light)in the area with those pious worshippers of the old church of all saints (72 demons ) being given money to emigrate to Raniterre (Steinfeller has managed to get paid to leave three times) . The old church of all saints has been converted to the new religion and the church of Forneus ona pier appears deserted or those who enter don't leave. Trade is bypassing St Charles now and the town is a bit deserted, devoid of street performers and needing only some tumbleweed, with many people retiring due to the fortunes they amassed selling their stocks and due to migration to Guido city. It is unknown what exactly the relationship exists between margarita and the vampire cardinal of the church of all saints, but heavy bribes may play a significant role. They seem to have cleared over four hundred square miles of forest in four months, which would require a vast labor. Information and guesses from party members and their otherworldly contacts reveals Queen Margarita's baby may be Carlos reborn as she was previously pregnant with his child but it was halted. Many party members are keen ona bit of regicide (I believe the fourth time for some ). Some go so far as to think that the nobles may be being improved by having their virtue shriven off which is to be given to baby Carlos. Media and her friend have the ability to turn sheaves of corn into extremely powerful elven soldiers and nobles into trees Being somewhat less skilled at gathering information I visit the local sights including the church of all saints which seems to be more a place to hire assassins and bodyguards rather than a place of worship, although some of the statues are quite accurate. Visiting Sad Mary's bar and girl I pass time and keep out of trouble. 14th Day of Winter We travel by fishing boat for twenty hours to the coast just north of pearly bay (the naval capital) with the party disguised as dead fish, which while smelly, especially when Motley is sick, seems to evade detection. Arriving on shore we are disguised as a group of short destinian gentry having a picnic two hours before the dawn. During the journey discussions seem to indicate that the party, who include several multiple-regicides, are very keen on murdering Queen Margarita and her unborn child, whom they suspect is Carlos reborn. Protests that this is not the mission I hired on for resulted in some ill will and divisiveness in the party. 15th Day of Winter (Full Storm Moon Tonight) Spied upon by a halfling on an albatross we realize that a pre-dawn picnic is a bit suspicious, especially as we are missing a blanket, wine etc. Shortly afterwards the albatross flies off south and four heavily armored michaline knights on huge warhorses return wearing helmets which would stack beautifully -- especially with the head still in them. Roke ( who is the only one who can speak dago) chats to them, later telling us they were at first concerned for our welfare as the north is controlled by deamon worshippers before tricking him by asking if he was staying at a fictitious inn. Exposed we draw weapons and ... I, Kit, continue as scribe from where the Demon Arnaud left off, albeit with a different viewpoint. Perhaps between my observations and Arnaud's fuming a careful reader may find their own Truth, for while Arnaud told few lies, he used truth even more sparingly, and in turn I will be forced to gloss over certain delicate matters best left unmentioned. Moonday 14°" Meadow - Fort Avenal We do a meet-and-greet with the locals at Fort Avenal, and organise resurrections in contrition. We are told to get entry visas at Guido City. As dawn breaks over the unfortunate battlefield, the fog of war lifts, and we can see the fallen. The Michaelines surrender, but Arnaud accidentally smites one repeatedly unto death with his axe of hellfire. We tend to the two fallen Michaelines but discover they have passed on, so talk to the two living knights - both are local Bret Michaelines, and amiable enough, once we present our credentials - apparently it is not unheard-of for people to accidentally slay Destinian Michaelines on first meeting them (the two deceased are both Destinians). We amble back towards Fort Avenal, technically under arrest, and chat about local politics and events with Sir Guthlac. Brightflare feels it may be better if he doesn't enter the Michaeline fort because of his affliction, which had led the knights to attack in the first instance. He flies back to the Isle of St Charles. Arnaud also leaves, in a puff of smoke. Fortunately, a stray burnt and bleeding war-horse precedes us into town, so the full military escort is ready, and the local court is already preparing for us. We talk to a Gabrielite priest, who helps us prepare our defence, exchanges local coinage for us, and helps us to change for court. Lord Bothways, a very traditional and provincial noble of Bret, and bureaucratic self-important cipher, holds our trial. We pay for the resurrections and the healing for the horse, which costs more than the resurrections. We learn that the horses have Greater Enchantments and protections against magic - transferring undesirable effects to their riders. The Knights are apparently easier to acquire, train and resurrect. We are also ordered to travel to Guido City (previously known as Gaviston), the new mercantile capital of Britannia, to get passes to allow us to travel in Britannia, As we wish to visit the Pearly Gates (the royal and administrative capital), this detour may cost us several weeks, but we abide by the court ruling and prepare to travel with our escort of Sir Guthlac to Guido City. Sailing should take a day, riding a week, but Sir Guthlac seems uncomfortable about what we might see on the way if riding, so we elect to ride, leaving the following morning. We send a message to our host at the Isle of St Charles for the demon worshippers to meet us at Guido City on the 22nd. Duesday 15 Meadow to Sunday 20" Meadow - Avenal to San Carlos We undertake a quiet journey along the river; learning must about the quaint lifestyle of the locals, and their Destinians guests. We also learn about the Queen's Paladins. We ride towards San Carlos along the main road, making good time, and learning the habits and culture of the native Bret people on the way. In general, the Bret people are somewhat rustic and simple, but short-tempered and quick to take offence. Every freeman carries a short sword or "bret" at all times, and they are quick to half-draw them, though we see very little bloodshed. They are proud but not fighters or killers, and can be talked down from hasty violence. They also reek of garlic. There are towns frequently, and the townsfolk keep up with events by reading the hill-top semaphore signals. To slow this exchange of sensitive military information, the semaphore codes are changed frequently, but some townsfolk still know of the circumstances of our arrival at Fort Avenal, by the time we arrive and cheerfully discuss it with our escort. Since I last travelled through Avenal, coinage has replaced barter, and horses & oxen are much more common. The general wealth of the common folk has lifted considerably, and the necessity for gentry to wear ribbons as the only affordable means of decoration has passed. One evening, we dine with some Destinian merchants, and learn their slant on the new order. They feel that while much money is flowing, there is a fundamental flaw in the scheme. There is no guarantee that the situation won't change again just as rapidly. The Destinians have put a great deal of money and effort into establishing Avenal as the Kingdom of Bretannia, but have little more than an alliance of convenience with the Queen. The Destinians also tell us about the Queen's Champions, twelve awesome warriors in totally-covering plate mail, of who even the Destinian Michaelines are wary. These twelve Paladins appeared a couple of months ago, and are said to be incorruptible. They travel in pairs, on foot or by horse, and they use a variety of heavy weaponry.
