Red Carpet Massacre
The adventure involves the Isles of Freedom.
Summary
Adventure: Red Carpet Massacre
GM: Mandos
Session: Autumn 811 wk
Location: Chez Mitchinson
Level: Medium
- Party
- Reck A female Human Celestial played by Jillian Mitchinson
- Haann Uberreich - Mind Mage Played by Ben Taberner
- Morgan the Orc - Non-mage played by Cherie Nouwens
Jonas (GM Info) is a Male Shapechanger Earth Mage played by Struan
- Icarone - Human Solar Celestial played by Manu Erwin
| There's not so many now, still standing on their feet The knives are out and singing so sweet |
- Employer
- The Guild.
- Mission
- A note is left in a delivery of herb 'My mum is dead please send help' and a boat is noted to be carrying a thousand corpses. The party is asked to investigate both.
- Pay
- Double Guild Rate plus salvage
Scribe Notes
3rd Fruit ????
Getting to the Isles of Freedom via portals, wings and dragonbreath
So the Guild is recruiting for 2 parties and we 5 are the only ones who turned up. Guild willing to pay for us to investigate both issues so double guild rates apply.
PARTY ONE - Big boat with 1000's of sentient dead was detected by a junior necro in the Seagate docks and confirmed by guild necro (flew out to boat later as out to sea). The harbour masters etc advised the boat appeared to be normal as they paid their taxes, resupplied and left. Astrology readings for the boat say it will be in Cetigan. The guild are concerned about any trouble in the Isles of Freedom as it's one of the major sources for herbs for healing potions and magics.
PARTY TWO - a note written in Common arrives in a bale of healing herbs from the Isles of Freedom. "My mum is dead. Please send help". The local dialect is NOT Common. It would have taken approximately 1.5 months for the bale to get from the Isles to the Guild.
The Guild provide Rank 20 Greaters, I choose Magic Resistance and Magic and Jonas provided Lessers to all of us.
The Guild also provided 12 (originally expected 2 parties of 6) Exsanguination Special Counters and Exsanguination General Counters.
We do some background research at the library as only Morgan and Haan have been to the Isles before and then head down to the docks to 'enquire on guild business' about the boat.
Twas a merchant ship with a crew of 73 that had a minor tax problem who were shipping from the North (Sanctuary) running empty, returning to Destiny (or at least that is what the harbour master was told). They docked at Old Seagate, provisioned for a really long journey which would have easily got the to Destiny.
Morgan is fairly well convinced it was a ghost ship but we are yet to see any supporeting evidence.
Morgan needs to pretend to be human as orks are not liked there (somewhat recently rampaged and killed lots of people).
Morgan: "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"
We agree to head directly to the Isles to first investigate the note while the boat travels to Cetigan. We'll go via Dramus' house via New Seagate portal and fly near the volcano where a portal to the Isles is.
I pick up my adventuring gear from the house and we Shadowwing our way south, avoiding the volcano. Morgan renews her infatuation with Ashath, a local ork.
Morgan now looks like a pink version of herself with no tusks. Seems to have happened when we went through the portal. I'm guessing we're now somewhere in the Isles.
We are greeted by 'Severus' who offers to introduce us to whomever we need, dwarves, others and his lord (dragon). Jonas is keen to meet a dragon so we go there. Lord Chaaff is in the guise of an elf and is very nice.
Come to think of it, all dragons I've ever met have been nice, that makes me think they all are and the stories are just rubbish.
Lord Chaaff advises ways to track the note, starting with getting in contact with The Riverman as all herbs destined for the Guild start with him (or rather everything that travels through the rivers in the Isles starts with him). The Riverman is apparently a Plant Shaman, one of 23 (possibly 24) believed to be on the Isles.
After some thought Lord Chaaff requests the note and leaves us for a moment which gives Jonas and I an opportunity to tempt Morgan with the oddles of treasure just lying about.
Morgan is not amused: "I will cut you"
Lord Chaaff returns and announces he has tracked the soul of the girl who wrote the note, she is alive in Tanjieng in Northern Umshatar.
Lord Chaaff offers to transport us near there and we willingly agree. He turns his head towards us and all I can see his mouth getting larger and larger and larger. Then a wall of flame comes towards me and I'm in a clearing with the others.
The clearing is near a town which we assume to be Tanjieng...........
Initial investigations, outed to the locals, receiving instructions
It's already been a long day and now we're at the beginning of it again, as we've travelled a fair way around the world but it's the same day. Getting tired already....
The town has gates open and is smallish (5 to 6 thousand). Archaic walls.
Morgan wants to pretend to be normal and use our natural charms to round up all the urchins.
We are attracted into town by musical chiming, which turns out to be a funeral procession which passes us and heads out into the country side. A local sandier doesn't know who it is.
NOTE: our time here counts for immersion for the local lingo.
Haan: "you've got the right idea except it's completely wrong"
There is a huge river next to town and the fish market area is bustling with activity.
An urchin directs us to Ennodius Titus, a local merchant who may be able to change our gold for local currency. He also suggests that children without parents normally hang out near the temple, boats, and sometimes in the jungle.
The temple is closer and has a statue of three men sitting back to back, and their heads and backs merged together.
The attending monk recognises us as being from the guild as we are strangers and asking questions and invites us to sit and answers our questions.
He replies to all our questions in both Common and Volksprect, even though only Haan speaks the local dialect.
There have been four people going missing recently, three woman, one man.
The monk confirms Ennodius as being a good merchant who tithes regularly to the temple so head in that direction.
"you're big and scary" Haan to Morgan. "thanks"
Lots of thoughts about the note now.......maybe the writer is not a child, maybe the writer is not an orphan.
Mana level is low.
The merchants house is well decorated in the style of one of the local islands 'Kinlu'.
We immediately offend the merchant by mentioning we arrived by magic and he dispatches a runner. We quickly leave his house and head for the hills.....that are in the jungle.....as a bell starts to ring in the town.
Morgan: "let's make a plan to not get captured by the mob"
Morgan: "let's just set them all on fire until they bring us the orphans"
Morgan: "it may be tricky disguising ourselves as a completely different set of strangers"
We hear the sound of flapping wings and head in that direction and discover a large funeral tower with the remains of the body. The people have just left, and only one man remains cleaning a knife.
"remember, no mentioning the m word" "massive"
Morgan and Haan remember the queen of the isles has hired investigators in the past.
Calarusus....something something something....Fabia
Appropriate name is Queen Regent Fabia.
The man is mute but conveys the bodies were taken from town not the oshery.
We discover a blueish crystal jar that has soul entrapment magics on it. Under that there is a wooden box with all our names on it. Inside is a blue scroll that is in Common and reads:
"Please free the soul. You are requested to resolve the issue of the disappearing bodies. I felt the missing bodies alone would not bring the type of adventures I require."
We open the lid and a swirling mist comes out and resolves into a living girl who says she will meet us in Amointhai, bows and disappears.
The monk has come to us and brought money given our recent trouble. He gives us directions through the jungle to where he will arrange a boat to take us to Amointhai.
It is strenuous work bashing through the jungle and we make slow progress, which combined with the warm sticky rain makes for a wonderful experience.
We finally arrive at the river and settle down to wait and shortly afterward are bitten by ants, except for me as I happened to be sitting in the right place.
The rangers remember we should sleep above the ground in unknown places.
I and Jonas investigate local herbs - there are a lot more than normal but still would take time to find the right ones.
An unmanned boat floats by and Jonas leaps into the water in tiger form to attempt to push it back but the current is too strong so Morgan swims out, rows the boat back to us and we set out......
Appendix
A - Individuals we Met or Heard about
- Lord Chaaff - One of the five dragons in the Isles of Freedom.
B - Locations we Went
- Tanjieng - The party were initally transported here by Lord Chaaff to being investigations into the missing people.
