Session 8a: A Day in the Life
Session Recap
In the days and weeks after the incident on Axis Island, RT3 returned to their usual routine. Wilheim heard from one of his contacts that Nathan Jierre has indeed been offered asylum by Risur and was hosted by a Flint noble named Anton Feldspar. The young tiefling was said to be continuing his studies in astronomy.
For a while, the investigators were minor celebrities, but news soon became old and the press moved on to current stories, like the impending wedding of well-to-do socialite and famous bachelor Guy Goodson.
As spring blossomed throughout Flint, a badly mauled body was discovered in the Nettles and RT3 was assigned the case. Their investigations soon discovered that a pit fighting ring had sprung up in which the involuntary combatants were pitted against wild animals. Tok convinced some ne’er-do-wells that he was interested in betting on the fights, and managed to talk his way into the underground area where a fight was taking place. Unexpectedly, the floor shook and dust fell from the roof as Flint shuddered under a minor earthquake – the first in living memory. RT3 knew they were outnumbered, but recorded the names of a number of people present and collared them later. Under interrogation, they revealed that Barris, a dragonborn lieutenant of the crime boss Lorcan Kell, was organising the fights. RT3 tracked Barris to a fight at a dockside tavern named the Undertaker’s Repose. With the aid of squads of Flint police, RT3 busted the fight and took Barris alive. The dragonborn was convicted of arranging the fights and sentenced to 6 months prison in the Goodson Estuarial Reformitary, a floating prison in Flint Bay. The greater charge – murder – didn’t stick.
Sara’s pregnancy progressed apace, and she began to show the signs of her impending motherhood. She complained to Erik that he was away too often, and that she didn’t feel safe among the isolated houses of Pine Islands. She insisted that Erik install iron bars on the windows and a crossbar on the door, and she took to scattering salt at the thresholds to the house – a folk ward against magical creatures.
Late one afternoon when Erik had called in sick, Assistant Chief Inspector Delft called RT3 into his office. Brandishing an official-looking scroll, he angrily informed the investigators that Minister for Outsiders Lya Jierre had filed a formal complaint against them. “What were you thinking, lying about the whereabouts of her cousin?” Fortunately, Delft seemed more concerned about the pressure he was receiving from Inspectress Saxby than about Lya Jierre’s displeasure. When Tok explained that it had been Erik that mislead Lya and that Tok had not felt like he could counter his sergeant in front of a Danoran, Delft accepted the excuse and dismissed the squad
As spring faded, and the heat of summer approached, a spate of thefts in the Artisan’s market in Bosum Strand drew the RHC’s attention. The thefts were not violent, but the merchandise taken was valuable, so the RHC was called to investigate. Initially RT3 were baffled, but when the thief attempted to lift Thornt’s purse, the shifter discovered that it was a pixie behind the crime wave. Another quake – bigger than the last – threw the market into chaos and the thief escaped. Tok and Thornt set up a sting, and RT3 tracked the thief into the Cloudwood. Passing through the thick forest, they felt eyes on them at all times, and a primal feeling of dread settled on them. Only Thornt seemed immune.
Eventually, RT3 discovered the pixie’s home – decorated with the sparkling proceeds of his crimes - and his heavily-pregnant wife. The creatures were too agile to capture, but Tok managed to (with some assistance from Erik’s brandished pistol) convince the pixie to cease his crime wave. RT3 took back the stolen wares, and in return Thornt left his coin pouch behind.
RT3 returned to Central District and filed their investigation report. As they left for the day, Tok discovered a scroll in his pigeonhole. Delivered shortly before by the RHC mail clerk Alton, it was nevertheless strange:
XTHAM MAXIX QTFF RX, KLD PKLG PYIX
YL CMIXXM, TL CXQXI, LXKMA CQKPBG CAYIX
K QKILTLH TC HTWXL, UYI YLX MY MXFF
AXKI TM MYFFTLH, DXWKCMKMTYL'C RXFF.
Commentary
I wasn't comfortable hand-waving the three months between Island and Skyseer, so I wanted to fill that time with some events to give the campaign a feeling of continuity.
I also wanted to investigate the interplay between the PCs, to see what could be made of it. I knew that Wilheim's player wanted his PC to be the group sergeant, and I also knew that Erik's player disapproved of Tok sneaking off during the assault on Axis Fort. I had planned to open the session by asking Erik's player exactly what he put in his report - and then Tok's player what he thought of that. Unfortunately, Erik's player couldn't make tonight's session so that opportunity went begging.
Once I do know, I have plans to use any discontent between the two characters. Specificially, Inspectress Saxby will approach Tok to ask him to file secret reports on Erik's actions. Purportedly, she is concerned about his leadership in the wake of the Jierre incident, but in reality she wants a mole inside RT3 to make sure they don't discover anything they shouldn't.
I adopted the same question and answer format as in Session 0, and the resulting investigations are almost entirely player-created. My only contributions were the earthquakes (I didn't want to first mention them during Skyseer itself), identifying Barris as a lieutenant of Lorcan Kell (for obvious reasons; although the fight ring is the sort of deliciously cruel thing the Kell Guild would get involved in), and naming a pixie as the thief in the second investigation.
I obviously also worked in mention of Sara's pregnancy. I tried not to overplay it, but Checkov's Gun applies here and I'm sure Erik's player will be suspicious when he reads the recap.
I've been thinking for a while about what side plots I can run for the other PCs. Thornt's player has stated that the PC was created by a weretiger, and it occured to me before the session that I should aim higher: a rakshasa! I'll dwell on that plotline for a while, and it'll probably play out in late heroic or early paragon.
Wilheim's player believes that the PC was an eladrin before becoming a Deva, and I'm toying with the idea of in fact making him one of the Clergy's generals - the one who struck the killing blow to Srasama. Again, that's something that would play out at higher levels, but I can throw the odd flashback and strange feeling his way in the interim to keep him baited.
As for Tok, I had an epiphany while mowing the lawn 4 hours before the session. The most notable character trait of the changeling is a love of puzzles, so I'd use that as his plotline by taking a leaf from the Riddler's book in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Someone or something out in Flint is up to no good, and it has decided to taunt Tok with riddles hinting at what is going on.
The first note was a simple cryptogram, that translates as:
Eight there will be, and many more
On street, in sewer, neath swampy shore
A warning is given, for one to tell
Hear it tolling, devastation's bell
I haven't quite determined where I will take this, but I'm leading toward a sort of zodiac killer - someone or something who kills a victim for each of the distant planes using an appropriate method: radiant energy for Vona, sleepwalking for Av, etc. Tok is the intended final victim, and his death (Nem) will cap a ritual that brings devastation to Flint. The killer will leave riddles at each of the crime scenes, hinting at what is to come.
I'm leaning towards a Mind Flayer as Tok's nemesis. Their psionic powers lend them well to getting others to do their dirty work - such as convinced Mail clerk Alton to deliver an innocent scroll...