Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Chronicles of Mesion: Considering Hiatus; Comments Needed.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 3308796" data-attributes="member: 9626"><p><strong>The Scream of Steam: the Right Paranoia at the Wrong Time</strong></p><p></p><p>As the wasp flew over the inky, black ocean, the party had no idea what was in store for them. One thing they didn’t guess, though, was how long it would take for them to get there. The hours passed, and soon the sun rose again. But still the wasp flew on, until the hours became days, and the days became weeks. The wasp rested only briefly once or twice a day, when it deliberately landed on strange, artificial islands that dotted the ocean but were colored to be almost invisible. The wasp, however, had no trouble finding them, possibly as a result of the fragrant, honey-based food supplies that the wasp consumed while resting. It didn’t even notice or care about the party on these rest stops, giving the party a chance to stretch their legs, enjoy the sun, and eat something other than iron rations or magically created oatmeal.</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, the party healed the two warforged they took with them. They immediately regained their approximation of consciousness, and despite initially fighting the party, once separated from their guard post, they had no aggression at all. However, they also had no answers for he party, at least for now. They only could explain that they were created to be slaves, and they lived their whole lives in servitude. They were recently purchased and forced to guard the treasury the party just discovered, and there they stood, never sleeping, eating, or resting, for the indeterminate amount of time they worked as guards.</p><p></p><p>Finally, three weeks after the party started their journey, they could see the wasp coming towards a large mass of land, and they realized they reached the northern continent. However, that was not the wasp’s actual destination. Suddenly, it turned and landed on an airship flying near the shore. Lorren, who spent his weeks improving his magical formulas and formulating new spells, was especially eager to put them to use and release the pent up aggression from weeks of boredom, but when he saw that archers were trained on the wasp as it landed and he realized he had no idea how many defenders this massive ship had, even he decided to wait. They closed the crate’s hatch before they could be seen, and they could only hear the crate as it landed and somehow descended deep into the airship. Surprisingly, as they waited, a note suddenly slipped into the crate. Grim, the only one who could read the note in the total darkness, quietly read it to the party.</p><p></p><p>He began, “I assure you, this message is given in only the friendliest of intentions. You are in a dangerous position, but you will be safe as long as you stay hidden. You are currently in the ship’s cargo hold. The journey should only last another week or so. They think the crate is uninhabited, but I will sneak food to you. Once the ship lands, wait until the crate is taken away for processing! If you are discovered beforehand, you not only will have to fight the ship’s crew, but you’ll likely crash before you can escape! Once you reach processing, someone will finally check the crate. Take care of them as you must, and then meet at the Lucky Numbers. When you attract attention, if someone asks you a question, respond with ‘It always ends up sixes.’ If you want to succeed here, or even get out alive, you will need friends!</p><p></p><p>“Someone who shares your goals,” he finished. </p><p></p><p>“Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t attack,” Luke replied while glancing at Lorren.</p><p></p><p>Another week passed, and the party grew even more restless in the ship’s hold. At last, the party could hear it descend, and soon their crate was moved outside of the ship. A toneless voice loudly echoed, “You are cleared for Terminal Seventy Seven. Please land and remove all cargo for inspection and transport.”</p><p></p><p>The crate was again moved and then lowered by some seemingly constant mechanism. Finally, it was quiet, at least initially. As the party prepared to spring into action, they could here two casual voices chatting. “Looks like another package for Mr. Vespal,” one of them commented.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, he has been busy lately,” the second added. “He must be doing something big to keep us employed.”</p><p></p><p>Before they could continue, one of them opened the crate just enough for the party to respond. Luke and Enrique previously requested that the party leave them alive, but theirs was an idle hope. Eager to the point of near-mania, Lorren launched a volley of magic that killed one instantly. Enrique sighed and realized that now there was no choice. He killed the other guard before he could raise an alarm or the noise of a battle attracted a much larger threat.</p><p></p><p>The party quickly determined their location. By the looks of things, they were in a giant warehouse full of crates like their own. A wagon, pulled by four of the same magical lions as the spare car from the caravan the party previously used, was apparently about to be used to move the party’s crate, so the party took advantage of it as well. However, there didn’t seem to be any doors or other normal exits, just a moving platform like the one the party saw in the Effervo Vesica fortress, but it was far more advanced. The party moved the wagon and lions onto the platform and pulled the lever next to it.</p><p></p><p>In a matter of moments, the dark building they were in vanished, and the party found themselves descending down the side of a massive wall hundreds of feet high! The building they emerged from was just an extension of the wall itself, in fact. Below and all around them, a massive city opened up. It appeared to be night, but the city was still brightly lit, as geysers and glass tubes dotted the city and painted it in many different colors. Even so late, it seemed to be a bustling place, but it made the party nervous. </p><p></p><p>Luke shivered, though it was warm out. “There is something unsettling about this place. I can feel an evil throughout it, in the very air.”</p><p></p><p>The constructs, however, put it more simply. “We are home.”</p><p></p><p>Finally, Ik realized where they are. “This city-it must be Orr Kalen!” She immediately looked worried. “This is not a pleasant city. It was built in a crater left over from the war. That’s why the walls can be so high; most of them are connected to the sides of the crater.”</p><p></p><p>In fact, nobody looked happy to be here, but there was no obvious escape, they were still too weighed down with equipment and money, and besides, they were here for a reason. Somewhere, some of the secrets of Effervo Vesica could be found here.</p><p></p><p>Taking the note’s advice, the party went straight to the Lucky Numbers, eager to find a sanctuary and a place to hide their valuables. They discovered that the Lucky Numbers was more than just a bar; it also was, appropriately enough, a massive, garishly lit casino. Except for Enrique, the party quickly split up to find their contact. Enrique, however, ignored the staff and simply sat at the bar to order their cheapest drink. As soon as he saw Lorren glancing at him, though, he again smiled and said, “That’s right, I’ll have the best drink in the house!”</p><p></p><p>Grim was more effective. One of the servers noticed him and casually asked, “Have you gotten any lucky sevens tonight?”</p><p></p><p>Trying to stay conversational, he shook his head and replied, “It always ends up sixes.” As soon as he said it, the server suggested that he can find help in one of the private rooms, and Grim quickly led the rest of the party with him to meet with their supposed benefactor.</p><p></p><p>Inside the room were two people, a woman dressed in the same uniform as the casino’s staff and a gnome who looked at the party eagerly. The woman spoke first. “My name is Janice Nayona, the owner of this casino,” she introduced herself, “but everyone just calls me Chance. But I have a much more important role in this city. Orr Kalen is an evil place, a tyranny ruled by one despotic ruler named Salia the Unquestioned. All kinds of monstrosities are commonplace here, especially slavery of the warforged and shifters. I represent a resistance group dedicated to slowly bringing them down and freeing our city.”</p><p></p><p>Luke was impressed, but confused. “What do you want with us? How do you know who we even are?”</p><p></p><p>The gnome raised his hand. “I told them about you,” he explained. “I was in Fra Dane when you performed that daring raid on the float. Since then, I was so impressed with your work that I researched what you did. I realized that you were just the kind of heroes this city needed, so when I learned of its plight and moved here, I let them know about you.”</p><p></p><p>“Great, we have a fan,” Anastacia said, rolling his eyes.</p><p></p><p>“This is great, but we’re not really against the city’s government itself. We have a specific target in mind,” Lorren pointed out.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I know,” Chance replied. “Effervo Vesica. We know of them, too. We don’t know if the government has anything to do with them here, but we do know that most, if not all, of their organization is centered here. And we believe this connection is tied to one man: Mr. Vespal.”</p><p></p><p>Ik had a look of recognition. “I remember him! He was the one that was supposed to receive our package.”</p><p></p><p>Chance nodded. “That’s not surprising. Mr. Vespal is a very powerful businessman in Orr Kalen. Once, he was a lowly druid, but one day his knowledge of certain animals led to a major commercial breakthrough. Because of his skill with new strains of wasps, he created creatures both for everyday use and the city’s military, making him very rich and powerful. He also is very highly ranked in the Effervo Vesica. After the captains who run individual fortress like the one you destroyed, there are three ranks in the society: Hive Seekers, Hive Keepers, and finally the single Hive Master. We don’t know what rank Mr. Vespal is, but if he isn’t the Master, he’s very close to it. He is responsible for most of the society’s nonhuman forces. We don’t personally have much concern with the society now, but you cold potentially prove a relation between them and Salia. Even if you don’t, bringing down Effervo Vesica will weaken Mr. Vespal and Orr Kalen’s military.”</p><p></p><p>“Okay, but how do you propose we do anything to him?” Anastacia asked, with a voice full of pessimism. “We barely got out of that fortress alive. I don’t see what chance we stand against someone this powerful.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, I don’t expect you to destroy him that easily,” Chance admitted. “But perhaps you have a chance to damage him and Effervo Vesica. We have a contact who is obsessed with the secret society. When you’re ready, I can set you up to meet him. Until then, you’re welcome to stay under out protection while you adjust to the city and can resupply. We’ll also rehabilitate the warforged you brought with you and find a way to sneak him out of the city.”</p><p></p><p>The next few days passed quickly, and soon the days turned shorter and colder as the month of Jolia began. The second to last month of the year, it was getting closer to winter weather, though the perpetual steam of the city kept everything unusually warm. The party barely noticed, though, as they were eager to unload the almost thirty thousand gold worth of treasure they earned and buy new supplies. </p><p></p><p>Finally, after equipped new magic weapons, items, and other items more worthy of their new stature, they agreed to meet with Chance’s contact. “His name is Semi-Sane Tristam,” she whispered.</p><p></p><p>“Semi-sane,” Anastacia repeated, dubiously.</p><p></p><p>“I know what he sounds like,” Chance admitted. “But he’s just a little paranoid; he’s been obsessed with Effervo Vesica for so long that he sees dangers at every turn, and he may have a point. However, as he is extremely cautious, he won’t meet you just anywhere. He wants to meet you at the Gas Garden, and only at night when the public can’t see him.”</p><p></p><p>That evening, the party entered the above mentioned garden. Despite the name, the Garden was apparently more like a stone gallery or display. Instead of plants, some of the steam vents that line their way throughout the city partially empty into glass tubes. Each vent gave off a differently colored light, creating an eerie hodgepodge of lights casting prismatic shadows. </p><p></p><p>“I was told to expect you,” a figure said, as he stepped out of the shadow. “I was told we have a common enemy.”</p><p></p><p>“If you mean Effervo Vesica, then yes,” Lorren replied, glancing at Luke to make sure he didn’t reply first and thus mispronounce the name.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, Elvis looked. “We have company,” he growled. Indeed, soon the rest of the party noticed dark figures were surrounding the Garden.</p><p></p><p>Tristam panicked. “They’re hunter-seekers!” he shouted. “They found me!” Terrified, he took off down an alleyway.</p><p></p><p>Sighing, Elvis followed him, while the rest of the party moved to defend themselves from the attackers. The four figures got closer, partially revealing themselves in the Gas Garden lights. They looked humanoid, but they were also primitive and feral. “Shifters,” Grim said with recognition. “But they look more savage than most. What did this city do to them?”</p><p></p><p>The creatures howled as one, and their forms became even more animalistic. One charged at Lorren, another leapt into the area Tristam was once at, and two more flanked the party and attacked Ik and Anastacia. Lorren cautiously backed up while firing magical missiles and rays of fire, and soon Luke and Anastacia moved to support him. They made short work of all four, but soon they had to turn their attention back to Elvis and Tristam.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Elvis tried to calm Tristam, but to no avail. Giving up, he simply dove at the fleeing informant. Tristam struggled to escape, but Elvis managed to hold onto the weaker, untrained fighter and pinned him to the ground. “Stop running!” He yelled. “We have it taken care of! Don’t worry; we can protect you.” As he was saying it, though, he noticed more dark figures were approaching on the rooftops.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the party noticed the other attackers as well. Lorren noticed not only more of the hunter-seekers, but he also could see one of the leani, identical to the ones that pulled the party’s wagon. “Finally,” Lorren added, and he could barely contain his excitement. He launched, for the first time, a tiny marble of fire that struck the roof and immediately expanded into a globe of flame. The seekers and the lion survived, but all of them were scorched and not pleased!</p><p></p><p>But then the creatures retaliated. The lion leapt off the roof and, with incredible speed, dodged and weaved through the alleyways to near Elvis, while a second emerged out of hiding to stop the party from reaching Elvis. This one had an oddly serpent-like head, and it suddenly leapt on top of Grim, pinning him to the ground and biting with its poisonous tongue.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll take care of these,” an increasingly confident Ik shouted as she approached on the hunter-seekers wounded by the fire. Luke gave some supporting fire, while Enrique and Anastacia moved to help Grim. Lorren focused on helping Elvis and Tristam and fired his second favorite new spell. A lightning bolt shot past Grim and struck both the leani approaching Elvis and two of the hunter-seekers. Despite his work, though, the second leani, who had the rear legs of a wolf and incredible speed as a result, attacked Elvis, leaving him wounded and bloody.</p><p></p><p> “I can’t take any more of this,” he admitted, and he let Tristam go to focus on defending himself. As a result, a remaining hunter-seeker fired at the panicked informant as he continued to flee, but Tristam wasn’t left alone for long. Grim managed to escape the snake leani and moved to help Elvis. Anastacia and Enrique finished it off just as Luke arrived to heal Elvis as well. With the wolf leani’s focus split, Elvis was able to fire at the hunter-seeker on the rooftop, and the wounded creature lost consciousness and fell off of the roof, quite dead.</p><p></p><p> Within moments, the second leani and remaining hunter-seekers were defeated. Finally safe, Tristam began to calm down. He began to explain his plan. “Mr. Vespal has a party planned at the end of the month for the Affective Harvest holiday. I learned that he had an artifact of some sorts in his possession. I propose that you use the party as a way to enter his home and steal the artifact. If you can find it and the rest of the treasure in his vault, it will cause a serious problem for the society and will end or delay their plans.”</p><p></p><p> Enrique was happy as soon as he heard the word “vault,” but Anastacia looked doubtful. “How do you propose we actually do this?”</p><p></p><p> “Don’t worry,” Tristam replied. “I have a plan.”</p><p></p><p> OOC Notes: I was really excited about starting this adventure. The whole fantasy version of the classic “heist” is one I’m looking forward to, even though the power disparity between the party and much of the city limits their options somewhat. </p><p></p><p> As for Urr, you may remember as a character from the first part of the game’s original adventure. No, the player hasn’t returned; but I dislike it when characters lose their players and disappear into the vacuum. A “groupie” for the party struck me as an amusing way to link them to the Orr Kalen vents.</p><p></p><p> The Affective Harvest, by the way, is a holiday on Mesion that resembles Valentine’s day. Expect a new excerpt in a few days containing the officially calendar: I didn’t have it when the campaign started, but I developed it for this game and future planning. </p><p></p><p> Lastly, the lion-creatures are another of my unique creations; I plan on using a lot more of them as the game starts to hit the high levels. I originally made them as units for a real time simulator game I was working on years ago, albeit at the brainstorming/design doc level only. The main trait of the creatures, the ability to adapt one of six special abilities, was retained to this day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LordVyreth, post: 3308796, member: 9626"] [b]The Scream of Steam: the Right Paranoia at the Wrong Time[/b] As the wasp flew over the inky, black ocean, the party had no idea what was in store for them. One thing they didn’t guess, though, was how long it would take for them to get there. The hours passed, and soon the sun rose again. But still the wasp flew on, until the hours became days, and the days became weeks. The wasp rested only briefly once or twice a day, when it deliberately landed on strange, artificial islands that dotted the ocean but were colored to be almost invisible. The wasp, however, had no trouble finding them, possibly as a result of the fragrant, honey-based food supplies that the wasp consumed while resting. It didn’t even notice or care about the party on these rest stops, giving the party a chance to stretch their legs, enjoy the sun, and eat something other than iron rations or magically created oatmeal. In the meantime, the party healed the two warforged they took with them. They immediately regained their approximation of consciousness, and despite initially fighting the party, once separated from their guard post, they had no aggression at all. However, they also had no answers for he party, at least for now. They only could explain that they were created to be slaves, and they lived their whole lives in servitude. They were recently purchased and forced to guard the treasury the party just discovered, and there they stood, never sleeping, eating, or resting, for the indeterminate amount of time they worked as guards. Finally, three weeks after the party started their journey, they could see the wasp coming towards a large mass of land, and they realized they reached the northern continent. However, that was not the wasp’s actual destination. Suddenly, it turned and landed on an airship flying near the shore. Lorren, who spent his weeks improving his magical formulas and formulating new spells, was especially eager to put them to use and release the pent up aggression from weeks of boredom, but when he saw that archers were trained on the wasp as it landed and he realized he had no idea how many defenders this massive ship had, even he decided to wait. They closed the crate’s hatch before they could be seen, and they could only hear the crate as it landed and somehow descended deep into the airship. Surprisingly, as they waited, a note suddenly slipped into the crate. Grim, the only one who could read the note in the total darkness, quietly read it to the party. He began, “I assure you, this message is given in only the friendliest of intentions. You are in a dangerous position, but you will be safe as long as you stay hidden. You are currently in the ship’s cargo hold. The journey should only last another week or so. They think the crate is uninhabited, but I will sneak food to you. Once the ship lands, wait until the crate is taken away for processing! If you are discovered beforehand, you not only will have to fight the ship’s crew, but you’ll likely crash before you can escape! Once you reach processing, someone will finally check the crate. Take care of them as you must, and then meet at the Lucky Numbers. When you attract attention, if someone asks you a question, respond with ‘It always ends up sixes.’ If you want to succeed here, or even get out alive, you will need friends! “Someone who shares your goals,” he finished. “Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t attack,” Luke replied while glancing at Lorren. Another week passed, and the party grew even more restless in the ship’s hold. At last, the party could hear it descend, and soon their crate was moved outside of the ship. A toneless voice loudly echoed, “You are cleared for Terminal Seventy Seven. Please land and remove all cargo for inspection and transport.” The crate was again moved and then lowered by some seemingly constant mechanism. Finally, it was quiet, at least initially. As the party prepared to spring into action, they could here two casual voices chatting. “Looks like another package for Mr. Vespal,” one of them commented. “Oh, he has been busy lately,” the second added. “He must be doing something big to keep us employed.” Before they could continue, one of them opened the crate just enough for the party to respond. Luke and Enrique previously requested that the party leave them alive, but theirs was an idle hope. Eager to the point of near-mania, Lorren launched a volley of magic that killed one instantly. Enrique sighed and realized that now there was no choice. He killed the other guard before he could raise an alarm or the noise of a battle attracted a much larger threat. The party quickly determined their location. By the looks of things, they were in a giant warehouse full of crates like their own. A wagon, pulled by four of the same magical lions as the spare car from the caravan the party previously used, was apparently about to be used to move the party’s crate, so the party took advantage of it as well. However, there didn’t seem to be any doors or other normal exits, just a moving platform like the one the party saw in the Effervo Vesica fortress, but it was far more advanced. The party moved the wagon and lions onto the platform and pulled the lever next to it. In a matter of moments, the dark building they were in vanished, and the party found themselves descending down the side of a massive wall hundreds of feet high! The building they emerged from was just an extension of the wall itself, in fact. Below and all around them, a massive city opened up. It appeared to be night, but the city was still brightly lit, as geysers and glass tubes dotted the city and painted it in many different colors. Even so late, it seemed to be a bustling place, but it made the party nervous. Luke shivered, though it was warm out. “There is something unsettling about this place. I can feel an evil throughout it, in the very air.” The constructs, however, put it more simply. “We are home.” Finally, Ik realized where they are. “This city-it must be Orr Kalen!” She immediately looked worried. “This is not a pleasant city. It was built in a crater left over from the war. That’s why the walls can be so high; most of them are connected to the sides of the crater.” In fact, nobody looked happy to be here, but there was no obvious escape, they were still too weighed down with equipment and money, and besides, they were here for a reason. Somewhere, some of the secrets of Effervo Vesica could be found here. Taking the note’s advice, the party went straight to the Lucky Numbers, eager to find a sanctuary and a place to hide their valuables. They discovered that the Lucky Numbers was more than just a bar; it also was, appropriately enough, a massive, garishly lit casino. Except for Enrique, the party quickly split up to find their contact. Enrique, however, ignored the staff and simply sat at the bar to order their cheapest drink. As soon as he saw Lorren glancing at him, though, he again smiled and said, “That’s right, I’ll have the best drink in the house!” Grim was more effective. One of the servers noticed him and casually asked, “Have you gotten any lucky sevens tonight?” Trying to stay conversational, he shook his head and replied, “It always ends up sixes.” As soon as he said it, the server suggested that he can find help in one of the private rooms, and Grim quickly led the rest of the party with him to meet with their supposed benefactor. Inside the room were two people, a woman dressed in the same uniform as the casino’s staff and a gnome who looked at the party eagerly. The woman spoke first. “My name is Janice Nayona, the owner of this casino,” she introduced herself, “but everyone just calls me Chance. But I have a much more important role in this city. Orr Kalen is an evil place, a tyranny ruled by one despotic ruler named Salia the Unquestioned. All kinds of monstrosities are commonplace here, especially slavery of the warforged and shifters. I represent a resistance group dedicated to slowly bringing them down and freeing our city.” Luke was impressed, but confused. “What do you want with us? How do you know who we even are?” The gnome raised his hand. “I told them about you,” he explained. “I was in Fra Dane when you performed that daring raid on the float. Since then, I was so impressed with your work that I researched what you did. I realized that you were just the kind of heroes this city needed, so when I learned of its plight and moved here, I let them know about you.” “Great, we have a fan,” Anastacia said, rolling his eyes. “This is great, but we’re not really against the city’s government itself. We have a specific target in mind,” Lorren pointed out. “Yes, I know,” Chance replied. “Effervo Vesica. We know of them, too. We don’t know if the government has anything to do with them here, but we do know that most, if not all, of their organization is centered here. And we believe this connection is tied to one man: Mr. Vespal.” Ik had a look of recognition. “I remember him! He was the one that was supposed to receive our package.” Chance nodded. “That’s not surprising. Mr. Vespal is a very powerful businessman in Orr Kalen. Once, he was a lowly druid, but one day his knowledge of certain animals led to a major commercial breakthrough. Because of his skill with new strains of wasps, he created creatures both for everyday use and the city’s military, making him very rich and powerful. He also is very highly ranked in the Effervo Vesica. After the captains who run individual fortress like the one you destroyed, there are three ranks in the society: Hive Seekers, Hive Keepers, and finally the single Hive Master. We don’t know what rank Mr. Vespal is, but if he isn’t the Master, he’s very close to it. He is responsible for most of the society’s nonhuman forces. We don’t personally have much concern with the society now, but you cold potentially prove a relation between them and Salia. Even if you don’t, bringing down Effervo Vesica will weaken Mr. Vespal and Orr Kalen’s military.” “Okay, but how do you propose we do anything to him?” Anastacia asked, with a voice full of pessimism. “We barely got out of that fortress alive. I don’t see what chance we stand against someone this powerful.” “Well, I don’t expect you to destroy him that easily,” Chance admitted. “But perhaps you have a chance to damage him and Effervo Vesica. We have a contact who is obsessed with the secret society. When you’re ready, I can set you up to meet him. Until then, you’re welcome to stay under out protection while you adjust to the city and can resupply. We’ll also rehabilitate the warforged you brought with you and find a way to sneak him out of the city.” The next few days passed quickly, and soon the days turned shorter and colder as the month of Jolia began. The second to last month of the year, it was getting closer to winter weather, though the perpetual steam of the city kept everything unusually warm. The party barely noticed, though, as they were eager to unload the almost thirty thousand gold worth of treasure they earned and buy new supplies. Finally, after equipped new magic weapons, items, and other items more worthy of their new stature, they agreed to meet with Chance’s contact. “His name is Semi-Sane Tristam,” she whispered. “Semi-sane,” Anastacia repeated, dubiously. “I know what he sounds like,” Chance admitted. “But he’s just a little paranoid; he’s been obsessed with Effervo Vesica for so long that he sees dangers at every turn, and he may have a point. However, as he is extremely cautious, he won’t meet you just anywhere. He wants to meet you at the Gas Garden, and only at night when the public can’t see him.” That evening, the party entered the above mentioned garden. Despite the name, the Garden was apparently more like a stone gallery or display. Instead of plants, some of the steam vents that line their way throughout the city partially empty into glass tubes. Each vent gave off a differently colored light, creating an eerie hodgepodge of lights casting prismatic shadows. “I was told to expect you,” a figure said, as he stepped out of the shadow. “I was told we have a common enemy.” “If you mean Effervo Vesica, then yes,” Lorren replied, glancing at Luke to make sure he didn’t reply first and thus mispronounce the name. Suddenly, Elvis looked. “We have company,” he growled. Indeed, soon the rest of the party noticed dark figures were surrounding the Garden. Tristam panicked. “They’re hunter-seekers!” he shouted. “They found me!” Terrified, he took off down an alleyway. Sighing, Elvis followed him, while the rest of the party moved to defend themselves from the attackers. The four figures got closer, partially revealing themselves in the Gas Garden lights. They looked humanoid, but they were also primitive and feral. “Shifters,” Grim said with recognition. “But they look more savage than most. What did this city do to them?” The creatures howled as one, and their forms became even more animalistic. One charged at Lorren, another leapt into the area Tristam was once at, and two more flanked the party and attacked Ik and Anastacia. Lorren cautiously backed up while firing magical missiles and rays of fire, and soon Luke and Anastacia moved to support him. They made short work of all four, but soon they had to turn their attention back to Elvis and Tristam. Meanwhile, Elvis tried to calm Tristam, but to no avail. Giving up, he simply dove at the fleeing informant. Tristam struggled to escape, but Elvis managed to hold onto the weaker, untrained fighter and pinned him to the ground. “Stop running!” He yelled. “We have it taken care of! Don’t worry; we can protect you.” As he was saying it, though, he noticed more dark figures were approaching on the rooftops. Fortunately, the party noticed the other attackers as well. Lorren noticed not only more of the hunter-seekers, but he also could see one of the leani, identical to the ones that pulled the party’s wagon. “Finally,” Lorren added, and he could barely contain his excitement. He launched, for the first time, a tiny marble of fire that struck the roof and immediately expanded into a globe of flame. The seekers and the lion survived, but all of them were scorched and not pleased! But then the creatures retaliated. The lion leapt off the roof and, with incredible speed, dodged and weaved through the alleyways to near Elvis, while a second emerged out of hiding to stop the party from reaching Elvis. This one had an oddly serpent-like head, and it suddenly leapt on top of Grim, pinning him to the ground and biting with its poisonous tongue. “I’ll take care of these,” an increasingly confident Ik shouted as she approached on the hunter-seekers wounded by the fire. Luke gave some supporting fire, while Enrique and Anastacia moved to help Grim. Lorren focused on helping Elvis and Tristam and fired his second favorite new spell. A lightning bolt shot past Grim and struck both the leani approaching Elvis and two of the hunter-seekers. Despite his work, though, the second leani, who had the rear legs of a wolf and incredible speed as a result, attacked Elvis, leaving him wounded and bloody. “I can’t take any more of this,” he admitted, and he let Tristam go to focus on defending himself. As a result, a remaining hunter-seeker fired at the panicked informant as he continued to flee, but Tristam wasn’t left alone for long. Grim managed to escape the snake leani and moved to help Elvis. Anastacia and Enrique finished it off just as Luke arrived to heal Elvis as well. With the wolf leani’s focus split, Elvis was able to fire at the hunter-seeker on the rooftop, and the wounded creature lost consciousness and fell off of the roof, quite dead. Within moments, the second leani and remaining hunter-seekers were defeated. Finally safe, Tristam began to calm down. He began to explain his plan. “Mr. Vespal has a party planned at the end of the month for the Affective Harvest holiday. I learned that he had an artifact of some sorts in his possession. I propose that you use the party as a way to enter his home and steal the artifact. If you can find it and the rest of the treasure in his vault, it will cause a serious problem for the society and will end or delay their plans.” Enrique was happy as soon as he heard the word “vault,” but Anastacia looked doubtful. “How do you propose we actually do this?” “Don’t worry,” Tristam replied. “I have a plan.” OOC Notes: I was really excited about starting this adventure. The whole fantasy version of the classic “heist” is one I’m looking forward to, even though the power disparity between the party and much of the city limits their options somewhat. As for Urr, you may remember as a character from the first part of the game’s original adventure. No, the player hasn’t returned; but I dislike it when characters lose their players and disappear into the vacuum. A “groupie” for the party struck me as an amusing way to link them to the Orr Kalen vents. The Affective Harvest, by the way, is a holiday on Mesion that resembles Valentine’s day. Expect a new excerpt in a few days containing the officially calendar: I didn’t have it when the campaign started, but I developed it for this game and future planning. Lastly, the lion-creatures are another of my unique creations; I plan on using a lot more of them as the game starts to hit the high levels. I originally made them as units for a real time simulator game I was working on years ago, albeit at the brainstorming/design doc level only. The main trait of the creatures, the ability to adapt one of six special abilities, was retained to this day. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Chronicles of Mesion: Considering Hiatus; Comments Needed.
Top