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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Golden Bee" data-source="post: 9705157" data-attributes="member: 7041055">Island of the Blood Brothers!“You’re asking a guy named Typhoon if we should head through the dangerous storm. You know that right?”On November 15, the Philippines became a Commonwealth of the United States. They hadn’t been independent since the middle of the 16th century, and were the first non-white colony to gain independence from a Western colonial power.And someone had to do the paperwork.Bureaucrat Kabir Rupert, detective Zelda Saeki and detective JP Diamond spent weeks in a sweaty British embassy (only taking breaks for a round of municipal golf on Thursdays). But on the eve of independence, they had updated all the documentation and were free to party. They did.The next morning, battling a hangover, JP got a call from his old war buddy, Herbert “Red” Mason. Red needed bailing out, and since JP had been avoiding him during his entire time in Manila, a favor was owed. But there was a strange scene at the prison. The morning after a legendary night of debauchery, Herbert was the only one in the holding cell. Everyone else had been bailed out by two large, burly twins, but they refused to pay his fine when he said his buddy JP’d cover it.Josiah knew exactly who the twins were: His nemesi, Mr. Black and Mr. Blue. And if they were recruiting thugs in Manila, then the Sinister Skull was up to something.He clued in Zelda and Kabir, then the investigators split up. Zelda found out that the twins had commandeered a steamer and headed east towards Micronesia. JP learned about a mercenary crew also headed in that direction, run by an enormously strong Greek. (He also spent a fate point to declare a story detail: Captain Mike McGinty was in Manila between jobs and was ready for an adventure!)“Typhoon” Mike was happy to do it, but since last night was the biggest celebration in Philippine history, he needed someone to searchWhile Zelda and JP handled that, Rupert hit the library. Dockside rumors speculated everyone was after the mirror of Yata-no-Kagami, the heavenly object crafted by the mirror god Ishikoridome for the Sun Goddess. As one of the sacred treasures of Japan, it would give tremendous cachet to whoever held it. And it could only be damaged by another godly artifact, perhaps one by the Sun goddess’s brother Susanoo. With the help of a dodgy treasure map, they could hopefully cover their bases and get both.Zelda managed to find her sailor easily. Winifred (disguised as merely Fred) needed extrication from a highfalutin’ opium den. The Japanese Hipster, who always wears suits, confused the sailor, but soon lured her back to work with the promise of more spending money.JP Diamond had a harder case. It turned out the “donkey-man” (head of the coal stokers) was being extorted by a one-eared pimp. JP battled both his hangover and the panderer, knocking the man out with an objectively awful punch that the guy stepped into. The lady-of-the-mid-afternoon gathered her clothes, then her pimp’s wallet, and headed out. That’s Manila for you.There was one more wrinkle: Kabir Rupert, OBE, was to be honored for all his bureaucratic work. His only job was to sit near a parade and be photographed by fawning stringers. Not willing to delay the ship, he begged off, telling the technical truth that he was needed for a voyage. A great way to dodge a promotion.***The ship had an unexpected passenger: millionaire orphan Devika Velyapur. JP had casually promised Typhoon Mike money from the ZSS account, which led to a phone call to her bank, which led to her personally inspecting the expedition. Red Mason, feeling left out, was happy to come too.McGinty had a suspicion about where to head, but the group was hours behind both of the opposing ships. The solution? Take a shorter route, through a possible squall, and outrace their foes by being bolder. But as Kabir argued, you know what you’re getting when you hire a guy named Typhoon.The storm was fierce; a yard arm came loose, nearly knocking Red unconscious before he was rescued by JP. Zelda, pelted with rain, used a bullhorn to keep the crew focused. Kabir pointedly insisted that the captain take a break after seven hours at the wheel, instead of relying on dulled determination. The trio even mechanically repaired the anchor rig, allowing them to hold position and let the rest of the storm pass by.After a calm dawn, the three-oh-trio examined their map and triangulated the likely position of a treasure-bearing shipwreck. There was an argument between JP and Zelda over who should go down in the diving suit and investigate, with Zelda “winning”. The old galleon was rotten, and nearly disintegrated under the weight of the suit. Which drew the focus of the shark…Above the water, Kabir spotted a problem. An incoming speedboat named, embarrassingly, "Daddy's Favorite.” He told the crew to open the weapons locker.Below, Zelda took aim at the mast, hitting it with a spear gun. It started to creak, and drew the shark’s attention, allowing her to slowly slip down to the captain’s quarters. In a small bag in a rotten foot locker: 10 smooth stones from an ancient necklace.Above, the pirates threatened to cut the oxygen line. Kabir, master of intimidation, responded by aiming the flare gun at their ship. Detente, until JP jumped on board The Favorite and started throwing hands!Zelda tugged the line, and the sailors began winching her out of the ocean.On the waves, bottles, blades and boat hooks came out, with one poor sod getting gouged and sent into the water… Attracting the shark!In the gore bath that followed, the pirates fled, leaving behind some clues.One of them had a telephoto shot of the Greek… Who was JP's old rival, Elodie Grigorios! She had humiliated the detective years ago in a bar, beating him and his squadmates in arm wrestling. But he knew one thing about her: she was utterly mercenary. So it was time to let gold solve a problem.The heroic trio headed to the radio room where with a combination of willpower, panache and bribery, they convinced the misthios to tell them the location of the treasure island, and go home paid. The Rupert fortune was further expended. But if it meant not having to deal with a 6’5 Greek powerhouse and her handpicked sailors, the transfer was money well sent.The investigators had made good, not great, time getting to the island, so there were signs of archaeology when they arrived. More shocking: the beginnings of a solar eclipse. They, along with Devika, snuck onto shore via rowboat. Zelda (in jeans and a black turtleneck) kept the group concealed, even as they passed the radio room and got a shock.The Sinister Skull wasn't behind it at all! The group kept skulking, but the vast magic ritual made Devi sicker and sicker. The ZSSers snuck up to the hidden chamber, where two Louisiana voices were chanting together in Japanese. As Zelda, JP and Kabir planned their ambush…Devi threw up!(The players were dithering so I gave them all fate points and started combat.)The battle was swift. All five adults played keep away with the mystic mirror. Kabir confused the brothers by calling out to one of them with "Hey ugly!” Mr Black, seeing the squeamish Indian girl, asked JP why his boss was all sick. Devi smashed the mirror, giving the group a victory.Zelda was about to put a bullet through Mr. Blue, when she blocked a shovel attack with her hair. The scuffling had alerted the remaining pirates, who sent our heroes to the blissful land of unconsciousness.***When they awoke, they were tied up on the beach. Based on the snippets of conversation they could understand, Black and Blue were making up for their failure by releasing Zelda to her father as a hostage. JP chewed a hole in his gag and tried a desperate lie: the twins had destroyed the artifact because they were using its power for themselves! The general thought about this for a second, and then without a word, decapitated Blue. Mr. Black grabbed the general's wakizashi…and unwilling to be without his brother, killed himself! The general dismissed the confused pirates, freed only Zelda, and told her that the two of them would discuss this “at home”.Everyone was shocked. Devi began bawling. The twins were Mafia jerks, but they were hardly much worse than some of the people the group had teamed up with. Zelda had never seen such violence from her father… and now she was bidden to be in his castle, alone with him.With the crisis averted and the artifacts inert, it was time to leave. Kabir, who had known the girl all thirteen years of her life, helped Devi clean up and cry it out. JP wanted to reach out, but he was a war vet and her employee. Not to mention that his lie had caused the mess.Back in New Orleans, Devi contemplated firing Zelda, keeping her family trauma away from the detective agency. Miss Saeki looked up Lorna Geary, her friendly local Kempeitai agent. Turns out Lorna had been the go-between, with the twins unaware of their true boss until too late. She flirted with Zelda and disappeared into a crowd.JP headed home, where there were unfamiliar sedans on his block. He met his wife, who wanted the full story, and explained that “he only wants to talk”.JP opened the door. Dropped his suitcase. Sitting on his couch, hands folded neatly in his lap, was THE SINISTER SKULL!</blockquote>

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