ZEITGEIST [ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.

Man, how often does your group meet? It feels like we get two or three of these updates a week - which is great! I'm lucky to get my group together two weeks in a row. I love the consistency of your campaign.

RangerWickett said:

Hurray for severed arms!

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Hip hip! Hooray!

Great way to make the players remember a foe. I tried to lop a limb off a couple of times, but never got anyone below 24hp, so I was relieved when it actually happened.

d2OKC said:

Man, how often does your group meet? It feels like we get two or three of these updates a week - which is great! I'm lucky to get my group together two weeks in a row. I love the consistency of your campaign.

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We meet once a week for a 3 hour session. We have a large group, so we can always game even with 1 or 2 (or even 3) players absent, so we only miss a session when I take a holiday. I am as impressed by our consistency as you are. Fingers crossed we can keep it up!

Forgot to add these two small footnotes to my previous session report:

* Sly Marbo's presence at this meeting - captured when as he tried to dispose of Boone's body - was a perfect excuse for me to allow my players to overhear the exchanges between Lya and Luc. We've been playing the campaign for so long, with such huge gaps between revelations, I felt it was important that they get their 'money's worth' here, rather than mere scraps of information.

** Just before the session, one player played a benny card to the effect that 'a hireling has his own agenda'. At no point during their journey did the group suspect Verzubak's involvement with Luc, Bree and Boone, so his presence on the train would be a nice surprise. However, they had also grown to rather like him, so I decided that he would surrender the moment he was encountered, as he was simply in it for the money and wasn't expecting this level of trouble.

The Terminus East encounter is fantastic, by the way, and tough enough to challenge my party of six with only one small modification: I decided that the Ob Manipulators would offer a choice between domination for a turn or stunned (save ends).

One of my favourite moments of the session came when Nicodemus dropped after just one hit, as the players expected him to be the BBEG.

Looking forward to the dash for the harbour next week!

Session 74a - Mission Accomplished

Following the tightly tactical combat of our last session, we played out the rest of the mission 'old school' with no battle map or minis. As a matter of fact, we barely rolled a dice.

• And so began a mad dash to the harbour, with the golden alarm bells of Vendricci ringing in their ears. Along the viaduct and over the rail embankment, mounted troops could be seen bearing down on the private depot. Uru got the train going and took it up to full speed.
• Malthusius was bleeding out. Matunaaga had done all he could but his skill in healing was not equal to dealing with a severed limb. He sent Rumdoom to find Korrigan. Korrigan had jumped on the train one carriage up, and his defender longsword had already alerted him to Malthusius' condition. As he dashed through the train he saw a door slam up ahead, heading into one of the first class compartments. Rumdoom arrived just as he kicked it open to find the compartment empty. He ordered Rumdoom to check out the bathroom before running along to deal with Malthusius.
• Sly hopped out of Rumdoom's robes and reverted back to human form. He looked battered and bruised, but asked Matunaaga to give him Lya Jierre's rapier in case they had to fight.
• Korrigan arrived and, thanks to the healing filigree that had worked its way through his earthen form since his use of the hurtloam some weeks ago, he was able to stabilize Malthusius.
• Rumdoom, meanwhile, broke into the bathroom through a locked door, and discovered Malia Baccarin lurking within*. She cried out in fright and waved her hands in surrender. She protested that she had no knowledge of what had transpired here, and was merely acting as an agent of the railway in organising this diversion. Rumdoom was not impressed and growled at her so alarmingly that she followed him, cowed, back to the others.
• It was clear why she was hiding when she was confronted by Sly, who confirmed that his imprisonment by Luc and his entourage had been made possible by a bribe to Malia, who must have known that he was being mistreated: Unsure of his capabilities, Bree Kaldeckis had taken it upon herself to keep him semi-conscious throughout the rest of the day, despite the mage cuffs that restrained him. (Luc had seemed unhappy about this at first, but had spent the rest of the day moping about Ottavia.)
• Luc Jierre came round. He was terrified, and said nothing.
• A gunshot shattered the windows of the carriage. Looking outside, Matunaaga could see an officer type shouting at his men not to fire at the train, and they began to fire in the air instead, warning the engineer to stop. Korrigan confirmed that these were Crisillyiri troops, not Obscurati.
• Word came back from the front of the train: a barricade was in sight, lit by lanterns. Engineers were waving for the train top stop: Beyond lay a half-finished bridge to Elfaivar and the harbour of Vendricce. Uru could see two waqrships moving to close off the harbour. Flags were raised ordering all ships to stay in port.
• Despite these, the Roscommon was already moving, Captain Hadrada taking the initiative to avoid being trapped in port. Matunaaga fired a signal flare to tell the Captain they were on the train and the schooner swung towards the bridge.
• Korrigan toyed with idea of stopping the train and trying to reason with the Crisillyiri but for once he was shouted down by his unit who felt that this was just a bit too level-headed and reasonable. Instead, Uru pressed the locomotive forward and everyone prepared to jump off the train and into the water. Luc had to be dragged along by Rumdoom; Matunaaga used his esoteric flight power to gently lower Malthusius and the rest leapt off the moment the barrier was breached. Uru jammed the accelerator and jumped out of a window.
• Leon looked over his shoulder and saw Verzubak shaking his dice. He looked at the result, smiled cheerfully back at Leon, and then followed him into the water. Leon jumped backwards to try to prevent the lantern from breaking!
• The freezing wintry seas shocked Malthusius into wakefulness. Ropes cascaded down from the Roscommon and the unit climbed, or was dragged, onto the ship according to their capabilities. Sly and a few crew members ushered Malthusius straight below.
• Matunaaga dashed for the prow where he conferred quickly with Captain Hadrada. They rushed for the gap as the warships maneuvered to bring their guns to bear. The Roscommon broke through into the open seas before they could fire. The warship crews rushed to prep the guns on the opposite sides of each ship.
• They would have had no chance of firing in time, were it not for the obstacle that bubbled up from the ocean in front of the Roscommon: it was the submersible ship, the Cachelot, and the ice wizard Glaz du Sang Magie was swiftly in place in the conning tower, launching a spell that froze the Roscommon in place.
• Before Captain Hadrada could whisper his request to the spirit of the ship, Korrigan rested a hand on his arm and bid him hold for a moment**, just a moment, while the warships readied their guns. Then he nodded for Hadrada to continue. Just a whisper, and the Roscommon vanished from the iceberg - which crumbled into the sea - and reappeared on the far side of the Cachelot, so timing her jump that the cannon shot of the warship now ripped into the submersible.
• Pursuit confounded by enormous chunks of floating ice, the Roscommon escaped into the night.

*I decided to put Malia on board the train to highlight her mercenary involvement in a number of subplots, which the players had otherwise missed. It seemed quite natural that she would have facilitated this and the imprisonment of Marbo too.

**Another benny well spent: the Between a Rock and a Hard Place Plot Twist card.

Session 74a - Debriefing

• All were present and accounted for, although Uru gave the unit a scare by failing to respond to his messenger wind for a while. He then remained out of sight for the rest of the journey back to Flint. (Judging by how long it took him to respond to each message, and the fact that he was not seen again for several days - and so missed the debriefing session with Delft - the unit began to suspect that he had accidentally boarded the wrong ship and remained in Vendricce harbour, only stowing aboard a Flint-bound ship when the coast was clear.)
• Malthusius was made as comfortable as possible, and his arm packed in ice, which at this time of year the shipped used to preserve food.
• Luc Jierre was taken from the brig to a comfortable cabin, his mage cuffs removed (after Sly confirmed that he possessed no harmful magic).
• Leon and Korrigan gently interrogated him, but could establish very little. He was both angry and frightened and on the few occasions when he did fight his stammer to speak, it was only to demand his release. After a while he withdrew entirely.
• Malthusius fared little better, but was able to at least try to convince Luc that they had tried the best they could to work with and save Ottavia. Clearly their failure in that regard would cost them dear in persuading their prisoner to co-operate.
• Partway home, Captain Hadrada informed them that the merfey had requested an audience with the ship. They acquiesced and the ship weighed anchor. The huge, broad tentacle of a giant squid raised up at the prow, upon which stood a blue-skinned, silver-haired merfolk ambassador, bare-chested but cloaked, bearing a ceremonial trident. He genuflected deeply and strode aboard the Roscommon.
• He had come to present the unit with the bounty they had shared with the merfolk for capturing the privateer ships during the Battle of Colmarr's Folly. He had also come to remind them of their promise to try to halt the launch of the mercenary fleet that was gathering in Flint harbour for launch in the Spring: A planned incursion into the Cold Claw Sea in a preemptive strike against the Sea Devils. The merfolk feared reprisals if their ally Risur made such a move, but their representations had thus far fallen on deaf ears: "Your King hears only the clanking of cogs and pistons." The group agreed, as they already wished to thwart Khaled Valchek of Black Star Mining (Rumdoom in particular).

• On arrival in Flint, the unit was given just a half a day to recuperate before they were summoned before an impatient Stover Delft.
• He was clearly concerned that Lya Jierre had been revealed as a part of the conspiracy, and for the moment seemed unsure of how to proceed.
• To focus his mind, he took the unit through a formal debriefing process, even though he knew the answers to some of the questions already. He was particularly interested in learning more about the lamp, its potential uses, and the identities of the Obsurati leadership - particularly Lya Jierre (natch) and the mysterious indiviudal 'Nicodemus'. The ever perceptive Malthusius revealed that he was sure they had met Nicodemus before in a different guise: his demeanour, speech patterns and tone had been very reminiscent of the oddly charismatic and philosophical courier they had met outside Macbannin's Manor*.
• When it came time for Delft to appraise the unit's performance, though he tempered his criticism with an acknowledgement that they had succeeded in their overall mission, he questions two key decisions made by the group: (1) Tipping their hand in the Nalaam Arena; (2) Failing to investigate Cardiff Hengehill.
• Leon defended the decision to rescue Isobel Travers, and Stover Delft had to accept that there were occasions when basic humanity trumped everything: if not, how could the RHC ever justify its actions as being for the greater good?
• With regard to Cardiff Hengehill, it was regrettable that the group had chosen not to investigate him: it turned out he was a Risuri spy in Danor who had betrayed both nations, fleeing with top secret Danoran military information, destination unknown. The Danorans had already accused Risur of being involved: if/when it emerged that more undercover Risuri agents had been on the very same train it would be harder for Risur to deny involvement. Conversely, if they had been in a position to hand the documents back, it would have bolstered their negotiation position when it came to Luc Jierre and his lamp, and made it easier to maintain that the unit's actions had not been aimed at Danor.
• Otherwise, the mission had been successful, but in ways which now seriously complicated their situation. Delft sought the unit's opinion on who they should bring in to their circle.
• It was agreed that King Aodhan would be informed: the only reason not to tell him was a fear that he might somehow be involved (Macbannin, Cillian Creed and Lady Margaret Saxby had certainly believed that they were patriots working for the King). But if he was involved, then the whole situation was beyond them. And so it was agreed that Delft would take the matter directly to the King and seek further orders.
• Finally, the fact that their mission had been somehow compromised from the outset was raised by Malthusius. Inspired by the spirit of openness that had freed the unit from taint in the clergy vault, Malthusius came clean: He had maintained a channel of communication regarding their mission with Governor Roland Stanfield, although he had only told the Governor that they were pursuing a lead, no more.**
• Delft was too astonished to be angry. He had believed their circle to be airtight and was concerned, not that this leak was responsible for the compromise, but for the doubts it raised about Malthusius' integrity...

*This was a particularly astute deduction on the part of the player. Malthusius has very high insight and perception, so - when Nicodemus strolled over and got in his face during the Terminus East encounter - I told him that he felt that he had met this person before. He used his Perfect Recall power so I told him he had never seen his face; I simply gave him the clue that Macbannin's Manor sprang to mind in connection with this man. Straight away he remembered the courier, which demonstrates what an impact the NPCs in this adventure path have on the players.
** Player threw me a curve-ball here, blurting out his secret communications with the Governor. I opted not to panic, as that would reveal that Stanfield really was the compromising factor, and concentrated rather on how Delft would react to the knowledge that one of his most trusted underlings had betrayed his confidence. I'm thinking that Malthusius will be riding the boat once again at the start of the next adventure...

Riding the boat?

Also, Stanfield's clever. And I've just been watching House of Cards, where on more than one occasion a politician will sacrifice a pawn to keep blame off himself. I wouldn't be surprised if the governor had a scape-goat ready. He got info about the group's plans, and alerted the Ob to be on the look-out, but had to know that if the ambush failed it might come back at him. So he'd have some patsy ready to take the blame.

Unless, that is, you want to out Stanfield early. It won't really change much plot-wise.

RangerWickett said:

Riding the boat?

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A phrase from the Wire. It happens to McNulty after the first season, and it keeps happening to Malthusius; not literally - he just gets returned to deskwork instead of being allowed to hang out with the unit.

RangerWickett said:

Also, Stanfield's clever. And I've just been watching House of Cards, where on more than one occasion a politician will sacrifice a pawn to keep blame off himself. I wouldn't be surprised if the governor had a scape-goat ready. He got info about the group's plans, and alerted the Ob to be on the look-out, but had to know that if the ambush failed it might come back at him. So he'd have some patsy ready to take the blame.

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That sounds like a good idea. Keeps the villain active rather than passive. It would have to be a good story though - who is this patsy and what is their connection to the Ob? Could complicate matters if it isn't handled carefully.

Might not be necessary because the player is already engaged in furious damage-limitation, though, and is likely to sever his ties with Stanfield in a belated attempt to cover his ass.

RangerWickett said:

Unless, that is, you want to out Stanfield early. It won't really change much plot-wise.

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Really!?! I know that was your original intention, but it would require some foreknowledge of late paragon tier, surely?

Session 75a - Downtime Week One

Not wanting to embark on another full-blown buffer adventure, we'll be taking Unit B from 2nd to 6th level over the next few weeks, but each week will begin with a round of downtime for the Unit A characters.

During their first week back in Flint following the danger and excitement of their latest mission, the unit was granted leave and spent their downtime as follows:

Matunaaga - Having been chastened by his explusion from the akashic memory stream, Matunaaga invested most of his week studying stone tablet he had found on the corrupt Godhand Gene. It was truly ancient and written in a language Matunaaga found he could read only if he concentrated fully. The tablet referred to his people as the 'gith' and told the history of how they had freed themselves from slavery by the gidim shortly after being brought to this world. His study revealed that the tablet was a palimpsest, but the layers of writing beneath the top layer slowly revealed themselves as his study progressed. The writer of the tablet spoke of gith heroes and encouraged the reader to follow their example. Matunaaga spent a great deal of time meditating on what he had learned, and sent a message to his homeland in the Anthras mountains asking for guidance. He also sent one to his wife Ayesha, and arranged to make a visit there.



Leon - With his face covered in scars once again, Leon's received an ecstatic welcome from Lilly when he returned to her House of ill repute in the Bayou. But to her disappointment, he held her at bay, and slept in separate quarters. Little Adele paid a visit, excited to see him - and as ever seeming much older than her dozen years - and he reacquainted himself with the seedy underbelly of Flint as it passed through the brothel. Contact was made by the Vekeshi Mystics. A sprite was sent to guide him through the swamp, down a tunnel that led to the Dreaming. Here, ranking members of the mystics commended his rescue of Isobel Travers and told him he would be granted full membership during a ceremony on the Winter Solstice. In the meantime, he was offered the boon of fresh hurtloam to heal his scars which - though efficacious - still left the faintest trace of the word that had been carved there (if only in certain lights). Leon also began an investigation into Black Star Mining, and discovered that Khaled Valchek had committed alot of money to the Cold Claw Adventure. He also learned that he was working in close partnership with Pemberton Industries - keen to find a new market for its weaponry now that peace with Danor was in prospect. Leon used his contacts to put it about that their venture was a Danoran conspiracy designed to commit Risur to an unnecessary conflict.


Malthusius - One obvious priority was to find out if Wolfgang von Recklinghausen could restore his arm. Wolfgang was still residing with Lynn Kindleton, and responded to Malthusius' request immediately, only too pleased to help if he could, but was confounded in his efforts by deva physiology which did not conform to his experience with mortal subjects. His initial attempts failed and he promised to look into the matter and return. Before he left, Malthusius told him that they had encountered Andrei von Recklinghausen on their travels and Wolfgang paled and grew fearful. He said that Andrei von Recklinghausen had done him irreparable harm, and had sworn vengeance upon him (for what he did not say). It was Andrei he had sought to flee when he first arrived in Flint. He hoped very much that the unit had left Andrei wherever they found him and had not told him of Wolfgang's whereabouts. Malthusius reassured him that his location remained a secret from Andrei but that, so far as he knew, Andrei had traveled with a young eladrin maiden into the Cloudwood. Wolfgang was nervous and unhappy when he left. Malthusius used the messenger wind to contact Gale who confirmed that Isobel and Andrei were with her and would like to meet at the unit's convenience. Malthusius then spent the rest of his week researching the transfer of spirits: both the nature of deva reincarnation and any means by which Xambria could be restored to life. Anything, he conceded, would be better than hanging about in an old detective's head.


Rumdoom - It was something of a surprise when Azon the Stoneforger rocked up in Flint and presented himself (along with his two apprentices) at the meeting house in Bosum Strand which Hewarrd Sechim had kindly bestowed upon Rumdoom. Azon had come to share his learning with the dwarf and was initially dismayed to see that Rumdoom's beard was already growing back. He had assumed that he was an adherent of the new eschatological othodoxy spreading out of Drakr, but was mollified when Rumdoom explained that he could not wear his affiliations so boldly as a member of the RHC. Between the pair, and with the help of Hildegaard and Harn, Rumdoom established a five-pronged approach to the expansion of his group - he would need someone to be responsible for recruitment, finance, research, ministry, and 'mission' (the latter being a secret goal to seek the Stone of Not and thwart Khaled Valchek and Black Star Mining). Under Azon's tutelage, Rumdoom also began to learn about the ancient dwarven runes that adorned his armour, shield and craghammer - heirlooms from Harn's clan which he had gifted to Rumdoom (and which had interested Azon the Stoneforger in the first place). Rumdoom also paid a visit to Tilish Dredgeport - landlord and ex-smuggler - to see if his nefarious contacts could help in delaying the launch of Valchek's mercenary fleet.


Uru - The flux wasps, chaos bees and other insects Uru had captured in the Malice Lands were released into his subterranean garden, which he tended lovingly over the next few days. Four local children had volunteered as under-gardeners and the array of exotic plants, usually found only on the border of the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate, were soon comely along nicely. During a secluded moment, Uru examined the stoppered bottle he had found in the clergy vault. Opening it caused a sulfurous winged homunculus to be released. It careened around the garden, bouncing of the damp cavern walls before it settled down and revealed that it was capable of guttural speech. It told Uru that its name was Tokoloshe. Uru explained that he was seeking a means to draw the forlorn spirits of Cauldron Hill to his garden. Tokoloshe replied that he knew a strange ritual that required the spores from a very rare plant which Uru just so happened to be growing in his garden. It bloomed during the Winter Solstice and at that time, Uru would be able to pass into the Bleak Gate and draw the spirits to him with a special candle. (Not satisfied with all of this busy-work and for reasons best known to himself Uru also enacted an ill-considered plan to frighten the local fey which resulted only in blank looks and merriment.)


Korrigan - Returning with some reluctance to his house in Stray River, Korrigan could see the ominous shape of the bramble barrier that surrounded his wife looming over the rooftops of his neighbours (some of whom were now regarding him with open contempt as he passed by). It was not merely the ruination of their view, or the occlusion of daylight, which was causing local curtains to twitch: Korrigan found that a small festival was taking place on his lawn, reminiscent of a scene from the Dreaming, but much more clumsy - enacted as it was by hairy and unwashed human beings, not lithe and beautiful elves and fairies. He found Bernard of Glenwade at the epicentre, sprawled on Korrigan's sofa between two fleshy female acolytes of the Old Faith (albeit a more modern and hedonistic interpretation than the one Korrigan had been raised in). Bernard was clearly surprised but sought to welcome Korrigan as best he could and introduce him to those who had come to 'sit vigil' over poor Elizabeth. They had decorated the branches and thorns of the brambles with trinkets of various colours. After a number of polite attempts to dismiss this rabble, Korrigan eventually put his foot down, and the resultant earthquake saw the back of all but the most overwrought revelers. Suitably chastened, Bernard withdrew, leaving Korrigan to his thoughts. A certain reticence and humility had heretofore informed his dealings with the world of politics, but recent events had convinced him that a more direct approach was necessary. With that in mind, he contacted Johan Grimm, cub reporter at the Courier, and offered him a frank interview on a range of topics, designed to plant Korrigan firmly in people's minds as a man of action who could be trusted. He also decided to use his position within the RHC and the respect he had earned over his illustrious career to find allies within the various power groups in Flint.

Session 75b - Unit B

I'm not planning to have a great deal of roleplaying and exploration in these Unit B episodes. The players will already have had enough of that in the first half of each session. They'll be dropped into a situation, have a fight, and then move on to the their next assignment the following week. I don't want the players to get confused by extraneous plot-lines or imagine that these missions are in any way connected to the primary adventure path. But I'm hoping that (apart from a couple of bug-hunts) they'll serve to provide a bit of flavour and colour to the campaign world as we go along.

So far they have foiled a human trafficking ring, shipping slaves into the factories of Flint; conjured fey spirits in an attempt to locate 'lizardmen' that have been killing peasant workers on a sugar plantation; witnessed the arrival of mechanical workers supplied by Pemberton Industries; come into conflict with a radicalized fey entity; learned of the existence of an individual called King Clockwork whose wererat minions were gathering construct parts; and delved into the sewers. Not bad for level 1 (and just two sessions).

Anyway, here's a rough account of what happened when they returned to the plantation:

• RHC Flint Beta were back in the jungle, their numbers reinforced by Ffenwig the bugbear and Doctor Will Stanmore.
• (Following their apprehension of the Brick Boys they'd had little or no time to investigate the matter further. First off, Rand Mauser had disappeared, and Captain Theren was waiting for them following his briefing. Their return could be delayed no longer.)
• On their return to the plantation, they made for the very edge of the Cloudwood and called for the mute savant Georgie who appeared some time later, peering through the foliage like a frightened doe.
• After coaxing him out with food, they learned what they could about the monsters in the forest, through an elaborate and comical pantomime, and then followed him quietly through the undergrowth for several hours. At length, he indicated that he would proceed no further for fear of the creatures they pursued.
• Sevitar and Ffenwig scouted ahead. Ffenwig found a well-worn hunting trail (suggesting a campsite ahead), while Sevitar spotted a figure skulking up a tree. Sevitar decided to try to silence this lookout, but despite his shadowy form, he was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain and the strange creature spotted him, fired an arrow and then flapped away on clumsy wings. Before it could get away, Ffenwig, perhaps unaware of the need for caution, shot it down with a brace of pistols.
• The rest of the unit came running. They were looking down at the corpse of a twisted, slime-coated dragonborn, with black rubbery wings. Theren took charge and they dashed up the hunting trail towards the camp:
• Here they were three more, similarly mutated, creatures. Two awaited their arrival and charged/fired at them. A third crouched over a hatch and shouted a warning down below.
• The unit felled these interlopers with a modest level of difficulty: the dragonborn hit hard and one of them, a female, cast insidious spells.
• As the fight neared an end, Ffenwig was standing on top of the hatch as it began to shudder with heavy blows from beneath...

These dragonborn are servants of Tatzel, the green dragon who featured in my Unit A buffer adventure based on Wrath of the River King. Tatzel managed to get hold of an amazing artifact that Leon had in his possession, and has become corrupted by it. Tatzel has now sent his dragonborn underlings (who have mutated in sympathy) to scour the Cloudwood for similar artifacts. These events will have some connection with and impact upon a Unit A subplot.

Side-plots

Before our next session report, which deals extensively with personal plot-lines surrounding three of our characters, I thought I would just summarize them, so the report makes sense:

Rumdoom has two main subplots, both closely related. He has an overarching character goal to recover the mythical Stone of Not. Neither of us is 100% sure what that is yet. He has a medium-term goal to thwart the ambitions of his one-time friend, the wealthy dwarven mining magnate Khaled Valchek. Valchek, in cahoots with Pemberton Industries plans to send a huge expeditionary fleet south into the Cold Claw Sea (not canonical) to per-emptively strike at the Deep Ones before they can invade Risur. Valchek believes the Deep Ones have the Stone. Rumdoom is also trying to establish his own religious cult, with himself as the figurehead (in part to thwart Valchek; in part because... well, why not?)

Korrigan is seeking to bolster his political power, not for selfish ends but to ensure I has a greater say over the decisions taken in Risur and Flint. He also wants influence so he can put pressure on the Unseen Court to free his wife from the fey bargain she made to relinquish their first-born if Korrigan returned from the war. I'm hoping Korrigan's actions and ambitions will make him an ideal candidate for King later in the campaign, although Aodhan was his childhood hero, so it will be a burden accepted with a heavy heart.

Uru wants to draw the spirits of the dead away from Cauldron Hill, and has made a garden for them to enjoy, deep underground at the bottom of an abandoned well, filled with plants only found on the border of the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate. He also seeks influence of a different kind, among the fey community in and around Flint, but has so far failed in his attempts to frighten them into co-operating with him.

The other three characters don't feature in this week's session but here are their personal story arcs anyway:

Leon has finally been accepted into the Vekeshi Mystics, but before he can finally relax and enjoy his newfound status, two suspended plot-threads are about to catch up with him: The first sees the Jade Idol he once possessed resurface, causing Leon to be drawn towards another pact - this one with an alien entity that promises to help thwart the insidious machinations of the Jade Idol. The second involves Lavanya, the eladrin woman who once helped Leon to escape Axis Island (back when he was Dax Corbeau, a Danoran war criminal). Some time ago, Lavanya's golem creation, Conquo, accompanied the unit into the Dreaming and then disappeared after finding hints that Lavanya had recently passed through. Conquo has since been reunited with his mistress, and now Lavanya knows where to find Leon.

Matunaaga has been struggling with his identity for many years, ever since he chose not to return to his mountain home with the rest of the maustin caji - a cadre of fighters who had ended their vow of service to the King following the modernized carnage of Yerasol IV. Matunaaga remained behind, and has raised a family of war orphans with his human wife, Ayesha, a skyseer who has told him that Korrigan is a man worth devoting his life to, a man worthy of the oath the caji once swore to the king. Matunaaga now seeks to turn himself into a living weapon in order that he might best serve Korrigan in the conflicts ahead.

Malthusius is struggling to deal with his possession by Xambria Meredith. He also wants to find a way to control the mechanisms of deva reincarnation, so that his current 'self' does not get lost, or is regained more easily. He has been Malthusius for over eight decades now and rather likes the idea of being Malthusius for a lot longer. Of all the characters I suspect that Malthusius is also the most devoted to the task of rooting out the Obscurati - and not only because he's now got Xambria in his head!