ZEITGEIST Aartvb's Zeitgeist

[aartvb]

Session 17 (21-9-2022): Whispers of Dark Trade and the Security Officer

The group travels to the headquarters of the RHC.
On the way, Galarin reviews the papers more thoroughly.
The first part consists of reports from Security Chief Julian LeBrix (from the consulate), who found financial irregularities in factory records. It seems to indicate a lot of smuggling to support a major project, likely for Danor — for example the construction of a large warship.
The second part describes discoveries of an oily substance with flickering light, also reported by LeBrix. Shortly after these findings, the investigation was halted.
Wolfgang recognizes this substance as "witchoil." It is an oil produced in the Bleak Gate, where the souls of the dead are trapped within. It’s a powerful source of magic and contains a lot of energy. It’s rare, so he has no idea how such a large amount ended up in Flint.

Zuna receives the "canary in a coalmine" necklace from Wolfgang and discovers she can use it to fly for six seconds once a day.

18:00: Zuna, Trip, and Morthos go to the home of Marilou Catcher, who lives near the RHC. Here, Zuna hides part of the documents.

Meanwhile, Galarin, Oskár, and Wolfgang head to the RHC, where Wolfgang teaches Oskár the "surgical precision" skill. Then, they speak with Stover Delft.

18:30: They tell him everything, and Delft promises to share the information only within small circles. He arranges for the group to speak with LeBrix and has the RHC’s financial department examine the other documents they brought. He also promises that he would make sure Wolfgang gets his visa.

19:30: When the rest of the group arrives, Delft hands each member a letter inviting them to a meeting in Stray River with "Morgan Cippiano."

20:00: They go to sleep.

500 A.O.V., summer, day 6

7:00: The next day, Stover Delft informs them that LeBrix can be found in a government building at the edge of the Central District. The group heads there and speaks with LeBrix.

8:00: Thanks to a Charm Person spell from Zuna, LeBrix cooperates. He tells them he indeed investigated the factories, but when he found witchoil, he was ordered to stop by his superiors. His highest superior is Consular Methan duNadria.
He also talks about the murder of Nilasa. When she was found on the fence, she had wounds on her face, as if attacked by claws. LeBrix, the consular, and a third man with a scar on his face were present at the body. The third man ordered that her facial wounds be healed to avoid suspicion, and the House Cleric did so. The man then checked which papers had been stolen. Under pressure, LeBrix had fabricated the story involving an egg to deflect suspicion from the other man. He fears the consequences of revealing this information.

Seeing Trip’s fondness for guns, LeBrix gives him two bullets—one marked “Valando” and the other “Eberardo.” They are vendetta bullets, usable for killing these Dragonborn individuals. LeBrix wants revenge, having learned that they nearly killed him. He teaches Trip how to craft vendetta bullets.

8:30: The group proceeds to their meeting with 11:00: Morgan Cippiano, who waits in a restaurant and treats them with respect. He suggests a cooperative relationship. He’s part of a mafia group called "The Family". He asks the group to secure the release of some people who were captured from the ship Le Grifoni Grinyande. In return, he offers to track down factories storing witchoil and arrange a meeting with Valando.
The group earns a prestige rating of 2 with The Family.

11:30: The group has several plans:
1. Free the prisoners by staging a fake transfer to the RHC and allowing them to escape.
2. Search for Officer Roger Porter.
3. Go to Heward to deliver Nilasa’s necklace.
4. Search for traces of dark energy using Gale’s spell.

Finally, Morthos makes the decision: they’ll go to Heward Sechim.

13:00: Zuna reluctantly parts with the necklace but asks Heward to let her use it if she truly needs it.
Galarin senses traces of dark energy, but not inside the factory—outside it.

Heward informs them that Nevard is holding a rally tonight. He has reflected on the visions he saw on Cauldron Hill and wants to share his insights with the city. He asks the group to keep an eye on things. The rally will take place at Dawn Square, a large park near Bosum Strand.

 

[aartvb]

Session 18 (5-10-2022): Following the Energies of the Bleak Gate

14:00: The group has several options, but they decide to follow the energy traces of Galarin.

14:30: They head toward Bosum Strand and find a warehouse. Zuna begins to hear an echo of people screaming.

Once inside, they hear people talking and notice a massive golem. The golem approaches them and attacks. The people appear to be destroying evidence.

Each turn, a light appears in the golem’s eye, and one of the eight people standing in a circle disappears. When the golem is hit, witch oil sprays from its wound.

Trip manages to kill several people as well. The golem runs toward the circle and vanishes too. Thanks to Trip’s quick actions, not all the evidence is destroyed. The group finds:

• A sketch of a jaguar’s ribcage with notes indicating where a chest plate with screws can be attached.
• A description of how a bottle of witch oil is protected by the chest plate.
• Various vials with alchemical substances, and a note saying that whoever holds the collar and says "Obey" can command the cat.
• On metal cages in the room, they find a note with a magnet, stating: “sedate cats, extract blood, remove heart, implant witchoil, attach collar and amulet, perform ritual; if error, shatter white oil vessel; if successful, attach chest plate.”

16:00: The group leaves the warehouse, taking all relevant papers with them.

 

[aartvb]

Session 19 (19-10-2022): Shadowed Whispers and Rally Cries

The group rests for an hour at the warehouse. They set off to the police station to learn more about Roger Porter.

On the way, Galarin is approached by a young boy, who has a letter for him. The boy received it from a "scary shadow man." Galarin asks if he is safe, and the boy says he is. Galarin advises him to stay out of sight until things are safe again. The boy then runs off.

Galarin tells the group that it's a letter from an ex who wants to reconnect with him.

16:30: At the police station, they find out there are personnel records. They will search through them, which takes about half an hour. Trip stays behind, while the rest head to a tavern.

17:00: They find no police officer named "Roger Porter." In a conversation with Trip, they learn there's some corruption within the police, especially in Parity Lake, where the Kell Guild has influence. There's also a new mafia group on the rise.

In the tavern, the group hears talk about the rally Nevard is going to hold.

They stay in the tavern for a few hours.

19:00: When the time comes, they head to Dawn Square, where Nevard is going to give his speech. They position themselves.

: When it's almost time, Nevard arrives with 12 bodyguards. Nevard speaks about the history of the skyseers and their influence on the country. He has had visions on Cauldron Hill again, which he wants to share with Risur. “I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. And also—”

Screams erupt. Two monstrous jaguars appear, and the group attacks.

Two carts are driven into lamp posts, causing them to collapse. The stage where Nevard stands catches fire. Meanwhile, three more jaguars leap from the fountain. The jaguars chase Nevard off the stage.

The people pushing the carts also start attacking; they turn out to be skeletons.

The battle is still ongoing.

 

[aartvb]

Session 20 (2-11-2022): Dark Visions and Hidden Agendas

The fight is finished. Unfortunately, Nevard did not survive. In a spirit conversation with Zuna, he reveals that he has also sent his message to the newspapers. He also warns that The Nettles must be evacuated due to an impending catastrophe.

20:30: Without the group's knowledge, Galarin goes to see Morgan Cippiano, the mafia boss. He ensures that Morgan uses his influence with the newspapers to make Nevard's message sound less credible. Additionally, through his influence, he manages to mostly evacuate The Nettles.

They debrief with Stover Delft.

500 A.O.V., summer, day 7

8:00: The next day, the characters look at the newspaper with interest but are disappointed. There’s a highly negative article about Nevard, calling him an old man and thus not very reliable. Some of his visions that he sent in do appear in the paper:

“I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow—indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he was controlled by others.”

“I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry. In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil.”

“I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs.”

“I tell you this, Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.”

The group then moves on to complete the last task on their to-do list: freeing the prisoners. They come up with a plan, claiming they need to transfer the prisoners on behalf of the RHC. They carry this out and ambush the transport, successfully freeing the prisoners.

9:00: They stop by Morgan Cippiano to collect their reward: a meeting with Valando. Morgan Cippiano arranges for this.

Meanwhile, the occasional earthquakes are becoming stronger and more frequent.

15:00: They go to Valando, who is tied up in a warehouse. They charm him and interrogate him. He says they received various orders to set factories on fire, including Heward Sechim's factory. They received the orders from a coachman. The last time they got an order, for Heward Sechim's factory, they followed the coachman. He suddenly changed his appearance into a man with a scar. The man went to Mayor Reed Macbannin's residence. At that time, he also saw the characters arrive at the mayor's residence.

From this, the group realizes that the scarred man who gave the orders was the butler, Cillian Creed. He was also behind many other things, such as the murder of Nilasa.

15:30: The group goes to Stover Delft to report their findings. Stover Delft is impressed with what they have uncovered and begins arranging a warrant for the mayor, as the matter is serious enough.

 

[RangerWickett]

Galarin, man. I don't think I've seen any PC in any ZEITGEIST campaign try to discredit Nevard. Harsh.

 

[aartvb]

Galarin, man. I don't think I've seen any PC in any ZEITGEIST campaign try to discredit Nevard. Harsh.

Haha, I know, right! And I don't even remember why he did it. I know there was some reason, which I only partially understood at the time, but I can't remember.

 

[aartvb]

Session 21 (11-1-2023): The Witch Oil Conspiracy

500 A.O.V., summer, day 8

8:00: The group goes with the warrant to the mayor.
9:00: At first, he’s curious as to why they want to search the premises, but just as he's about to admit, witch oil suddenly begins spurting from the ground, and a large part of the villa explodes due to the witch oil. He calls out to his butler, Cillian Creed, instructing him to go to the basement and handle it. He orders the rest of his crew to finish off the characters.

Cillian Creed runs towards a garden house.
A battle ensues. More and more fountains of witch oil begin spouting from the ground. The mayor appears to have formed a bond of forced faith with the people in his garden. In the end, the characters manage to kill the mayor.

Note: Oops! I consider this the largest 'mistake' I made during this campaign (until now). The mayor was supposed to surrender after a while, but I forget about that and let him fight till death.
I just decided that not long before the characters arrived, Nicodemus already talked to the mayor, inviting him to the ghosts council in case things would go awry, instead of after he was detained. I know it's not that big of a deal, but it felt like it.

 

[aartvb]

Session 22 (25-1-2023): Secrets Below and Rising Tides of Witch Oil

Zuna wants to speak with the mayor's corpse, but it doesn’t work. It seems as though the mayor’s spirit is no longer there.

The group enters the small house where the basement is located. Inside, they find a dead woman with amulets in her arms. A rusty ring is visible nearby. When the characters put on the amulets, they suddenly see a staircase beneath the rusty ring. They descend carefully.

They carefully explore the level below, where they encounter flayed jaguars again. They then take an elevator down another level. There, they find a vast quantity of witch oil, and the oil level appears to be rising.

Realizing they have no choice but to stop the overflow, they head back up to kill the jaguars. While doing so, they find a technician. He is very frightened, but agrees to help them stop the witch oil. After a successful collaboration, using various levers and switches, they manage to halt the flow of the witch oil. It appears there was some sort of machine connected to another dimension, which was the source of the witch oil.

They make sure the technician is captured and detained.

12:00: The group then debriefs with Stover Delft.

500 A.O.V., summer, day 9

8:00: The technician was to be interrogated in a courtroom, but he has taken his own life in his cell.

12:00: The group is informed that Margaret Saxby wants them to take on a different case. Their high-profile actions—whether from the attack by Ethelyn of Shale or the issues surrounding Macbannin—have drawn too much attention. Saxby plans to assign them to smaller cases instead.

Other RHC operatives believe Margaret Saxby is overly concerned with politics, and when people get too much positive press, she tends to assign them to lower-profile tasks.

 

[aartvb]

Session 23 (8-2-2023): Intrigue and Invasion at the Arms Festival

500 A.O.V., Summer, Days 10-91
The group is assigned to provide security at a weapons festival. The local police handle minor issues, but the characters are asked to focus on more significant threats, like espionage and similar concerns.

Galarin has other plans. He reconnects with Morgan Cippiano. Zuna accompanies him, but Galarin tries to distract her. Morgan Cippiano learns that Galarin’s team is in charge of festival security. He wants to warn them of a potential danger—on the condition that Galarin does something for him. There's a particular smuggling operation underway at the Bosum Strand docks. He asks Galarin to ensure it goes undisturbed. Galarin agrees. Cippiano then instructs them to visit a trinket stall at the fair and ask for a birthday gift for his wife, Ethel. This will direct them to someone who deals in smuggled goods, protected by a construct powered by black oil. Zuna overhears a small part of this conversation.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group is busy with other preparations for the festival, such as inspecting the grounds.

Galarin investigates. It appears Cippiano's smuggling operation is not on the radar of the RHC.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 1
The festival begins! Everyone in the group wanders around. For instance, Trip is highly interested in the festival's pistol showcase, while Oskár is completely obsessed with the construction of a massive tower on the festival grounds.

Benedict Pemberton invites them to a presentation on specific technologies that evening.

Suddenly, they hear screams, and a massive worm beak creature with tentacles appears. There are also giant dragonfly-like creatures with trunk-like appendages.

A blond man stands nearby, holding a staff that fires magic missiles. Each time a missile is cast, another one of these trunk-beasts appears.

The group attacks, trying to defeat these creatures. They are joined by Rock Rackus, a famous musician with a diamond-studded golden pistol, and a dwarf with a large gun.

 

[aartvb]

Session 24 (22-2-2023): The Aftermath

The fight continues. Eventually, Oskár manages to convince the man with the staff to stop casting Magic Missiles. Several flying creatures manage to escape, while the rest are killed.

The man with the staff is named Simon Langfield. He claimed he only wanted to help. The police take him into custody.

It turns out that a bystander was killed by a stray bullet. Rock Rackus is accused as the culprit by the dwarf with the gun. It appears the person was shot with a golden bullet, and Rock Rackus’ golden pistol has the exact same type of golden bullets. He is also taken by the police, along with his weapon.

Other RHC officers arrive at the scene to collect various weapons and equipment. They also take the remains of the monsters to the RHC morgue.

At the end of the day, the group goes to the RHC headquarters. There, they speak with Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill, the head of the RHC. He informs them that he will be investigating corruption within the RHC, following the corruption of Reed Macbannin and, previously, Duchess Ethelyn of Shale. He asks of the group to cooperate if they’re asked to help.

500 A.O.V., autumn, day 2
The next morning, Colonel Sebastian Harlock arrives at the RHC. He is an old acquaintance of Oskár. He wants to examine the monster remains on behalf of the military. Oskár directs him to Stover Delft, who grants him permission.

The group returns to the technology fair. There, Oskár involves himself in the tower construction. Trip takes a closer look at all the weapons again. Galarin searches for the trinket stall to ask about the gift for Ethel. Zuna follows him.

Galarin receives a small box containing a time and location: a construction site for a subway station. He heads there, with Zuna following.

At the site, they spot a woman in a tall blue coat and a man with a high collar. They await at a distance. Galarin tries to persuade her to talk, but she fishes for his reason for wanting to speak. Dissatisfied with Galarin’s explanation, she walks away. Drunk, Galarin also leaves.