Echolocation
Explorer
Session 29: Unda the Sea
Written by Lisandra's player
Last week on Zeitgeist, our team found themselves in the middle of Ber oceans after tracking down Xambria Meredith at another Ziggurat off the coast of Pezarillo. After signalling for parley with the hostile Crisillyi ship resulted in a warning shot from one of their many canons, Team BAD decided to do a little subtle scouting below the surface. They negotiated the use of Paco’s lanterns to afford a more convenient means of breathing underwater and returned to their vessel. John turned himself into a fish and made his way down towards the Ziggurat for some preliminary scouting. During his search, he found markers that indicated the area was under the care of a druid, and unwilling to trespass, left a message for the local Druid to come to the Mistrunner to speak and returned to report his findings to the rest of his team.
The team deliberated on steps forward, attempting to piece together an agreeable plan, though John remained staunchly unwilling to move into the druid’s territory without first speaking. They agreed to sleep on it, and see if the Druid showed up before they resumed further planning in the morning. Frustrated at the risk of letting yet another potential monster on the world while they waited, Lisandra returned to her cabin to retire early, praying such manners would not result in disaster. The opposing views were for naught, come morning, as the ocean waters became unnaturally choppy, and dead sea creatures began to float to the surface.
Quickly, the team made moves to dive below and make their way to the Ziggurat and found themselves greeted by a tense party of mercenaries and magic users, in the midst of the retrieval process. After warning them to halt what they were doing, and relaying the news of their benefactor’s gruesome demise, Finona, the tiefling scholar in charge of the group struck a deal; their safe departure, for all the information she had, and they would leave the seal intact. With the local Druid making himself, and his two shark friends known behind them, Team BAD had ample reason to accept the deal, but as one of the wizards moved from the ritual space, the broken rocks and silt of the seabed shifted, and the protective wards around the seal shifted out of alignment.
An incredible burst of energy sprang forth, washing over the group and assaulting their minds as the water unfurled into a huge element. Grotesque, fish-like men sprang forth and filled the waters around them. The team fought hard with their unlikely allies, fighting both the water and their minds to gain footing. Angharad drew the elemental's attention as the mercenaries helped the team pick off the fishmen, one by one. Ella swam to the ritual circle, hoping to find an arcane answer to banishing the creature, as Lisandra finally found her nerve, calling on the whispers of long-drowned sailors to evoke rays of spiritual energy that pierced the water, and the creature with more ease than a weapon. It was a well-placed bullet from John’s rifle that finished it, piercing through it’s centre and disrupting it’s will to stay intake. As the elemental dissipated and the water calmed, all present collected to regret the fallen and make good on their word.
Finona filled them in on her work with Caius, and how her team were responsible for cleaning up the mess Xambria’s has made. It appeared that they were not responsible for releasing the creature from Apet. She offered the constables a letter which detailed not only her work agreement with the late Caius Bergeron, but also spoke of bringing her ‘into the fold’ with his associates in Crisillyr if her good work held up. Before he team made way to leave, she offered them a ring, gifted to her by Caius, made from gold with an inscription reading ‘Original Brave Ideas’.
As Finona and her guards departed, we turned to see the blaze of an explosion in the distance. Team BAD hastily made their way to the surface to see Captain Jack Glassman’s ship in flames. The Mist Runner made haste to pick them up, Ribbles explaining that there had been an explosion, and they had not found any survivors onboard, or anyone leaving the vessel. Angharad summoned Gariad, who flew ahead and into the flaming vessel to inspect the damage. Xambria was nowhere to be found, though Glassman lay on his cot, surrounded by empty bottles and a severe lack of a brain in his head. Literally. Through sharing senses with Angharad, the flaming bird could sense the foul stench of Apet on the air that indicated a spell was likely the source.
The Risuri vessel lost, the team caught up with Captain Diego and his crew on the Ber ship, reporting their findings with Paco and warning him of the dangers of opening the seal, should he wish to inspect the site himself. Captain Diego assured there were no stowaways on his ship, nor did he see anyone jump overboard, but he did offer that the explosion was akin to an over-abundance of firedust, likely self-sabotage in his opinion.
Remembering Xambria’s pendant gave her the ability to teleport short distances, Team BAD decided to dock and spend some time searching for any signs along the coast that she may have made it to shore. Turning up dry, they decided to head back to the Mist Runner to rest. Lisandra retired to her quarters, leaving John to tend to Sydney’s wounds and socialize with his feline friend, as Angharad dedicated to forgo sleep. Taking a nip of some illicit substance, the Cipith headed out to the Ziggurat, retrieving a corpse of one of the Fishmen and taking it to shore. He found and paid a local shaman to spell the corpse to prevent it from rotting and brought it back to the ship. He found Ella asleep on deck, presumably awaiting his return and traded the corpse for her, leading her to bed. She awoke in protest, but at Angharad’s insistence she was carried to her quarters below deck, before the Cipith headed to his room for a short rest of fitful, drug-addled dreams.
After a week of travel, come sunrise, the crew of the Mistrunner made their way back to Flint. After reuniting Ugen with his hat, Ella received a message from Delft, letting them know that there was a lead at the Museum of Natural History.
A quick stop by HQ for Lisandra to dump her travelling gear was a cause of small victory, as Maxwell shared the welcomed news that paperwork for their next stipend was ready! With the promise of pay on the horizon, the team headed out once more to North Shore to meet with Delft.
The Museum had several curious onlookers about the entrance, and inside our constables met with the Assistant Inspector, looking even more tired than he usually did, and Angharad’s old pal, Professor Webber, the impressive articulation of a fossilized dragon looming behind them.
Delft informed the team more cases of Distant Madness had cropped up during their so-called ‘holiday’, and every day another victim with a missing brain. Professor Webber also alerted them to an odd message he had received from Xambria the day prior. It was filled with a plea of help and warnings about the creature that has her and it’s motives. It wants the three artifacts. The three artifacts that are currently stored safely in the RHC facilities next to HQ, which Lisandra is quite familiar with, Delft noted with a wink. The three artifacts that will, apparently, be displayed publicly at the Museum’s heavily advertised event in a few days time. Delft expressed his mutual concern and informed them his hands are tied, but he would appreciate them all working security for the event, to keep an eye on things. He also cheerily let them know that Saxby wanted to see them, for a debrief now the audit is completed.
Will Professor Webber survive his foolish museum event in the days to come? And more importantly… What does Saxby have to say about the team’s performance during the audit? In either case, take heart in the jingle of sweet coin, my friends because we are getting paid! How much? Find out today, in the Adventures of Team BAD!
DM Comments
I'm not a fan of how I ran this session. I think I'm uncomfortable with the explicit railroading devices I used.
Written by Lisandra's player
Last week on Zeitgeist, our team found themselves in the middle of Ber oceans after tracking down Xambria Meredith at another Ziggurat off the coast of Pezarillo. After signalling for parley with the hostile Crisillyi ship resulted in a warning shot from one of their many canons, Team BAD decided to do a little subtle scouting below the surface. They negotiated the use of Paco’s lanterns to afford a more convenient means of breathing underwater and returned to their vessel. John turned himself into a fish and made his way down towards the Ziggurat for some preliminary scouting. During his search, he found markers that indicated the area was under the care of a druid, and unwilling to trespass, left a message for the local Druid to come to the Mistrunner to speak and returned to report his findings to the rest of his team.
The team deliberated on steps forward, attempting to piece together an agreeable plan, though John remained staunchly unwilling to move into the druid’s territory without first speaking. They agreed to sleep on it, and see if the Druid showed up before they resumed further planning in the morning. Frustrated at the risk of letting yet another potential monster on the world while they waited, Lisandra returned to her cabin to retire early, praying such manners would not result in disaster. The opposing views were for naught, come morning, as the ocean waters became unnaturally choppy, and dead sea creatures began to float to the surface.
Quickly, the team made moves to dive below and make their way to the Ziggurat and found themselves greeted by a tense party of mercenaries and magic users, in the midst of the retrieval process. After warning them to halt what they were doing, and relaying the news of their benefactor’s gruesome demise, Finona, the tiefling scholar in charge of the group struck a deal; their safe departure, for all the information she had, and they would leave the seal intact. With the local Druid making himself, and his two shark friends known behind them, Team BAD had ample reason to accept the deal, but as one of the wizards moved from the ritual space, the broken rocks and silt of the seabed shifted, and the protective wards around the seal shifted out of alignment.
An incredible burst of energy sprang forth, washing over the group and assaulting their minds as the water unfurled into a huge element. Grotesque, fish-like men sprang forth and filled the waters around them. The team fought hard with their unlikely allies, fighting both the water and their minds to gain footing. Angharad drew the elemental's attention as the mercenaries helped the team pick off the fishmen, one by one. Ella swam to the ritual circle, hoping to find an arcane answer to banishing the creature, as Lisandra finally found her nerve, calling on the whispers of long-drowned sailors to evoke rays of spiritual energy that pierced the water, and the creature with more ease than a weapon. It was a well-placed bullet from John’s rifle that finished it, piercing through it’s centre and disrupting it’s will to stay intake. As the elemental dissipated and the water calmed, all present collected to regret the fallen and make good on their word.
Finona filled them in on her work with Caius, and how her team were responsible for cleaning up the mess Xambria’s has made. It appeared that they were not responsible for releasing the creature from Apet. She offered the constables a letter which detailed not only her work agreement with the late Caius Bergeron, but also spoke of bringing her ‘into the fold’ with his associates in Crisillyr if her good work held up. Before he team made way to leave, she offered them a ring, gifted to her by Caius, made from gold with an inscription reading ‘Original Brave Ideas’.
As Finona and her guards departed, we turned to see the blaze of an explosion in the distance. Team BAD hastily made their way to the surface to see Captain Jack Glassman’s ship in flames. The Mist Runner made haste to pick them up, Ribbles explaining that there had been an explosion, and they had not found any survivors onboard, or anyone leaving the vessel. Angharad summoned Gariad, who flew ahead and into the flaming vessel to inspect the damage. Xambria was nowhere to be found, though Glassman lay on his cot, surrounded by empty bottles and a severe lack of a brain in his head. Literally. Through sharing senses with Angharad, the flaming bird could sense the foul stench of Apet on the air that indicated a spell was likely the source.
The Risuri vessel lost, the team caught up with Captain Diego and his crew on the Ber ship, reporting their findings with Paco and warning him of the dangers of opening the seal, should he wish to inspect the site himself. Captain Diego assured there were no stowaways on his ship, nor did he see anyone jump overboard, but he did offer that the explosion was akin to an over-abundance of firedust, likely self-sabotage in his opinion.
Remembering Xambria’s pendant gave her the ability to teleport short distances, Team BAD decided to dock and spend some time searching for any signs along the coast that she may have made it to shore. Turning up dry, they decided to head back to the Mist Runner to rest. Lisandra retired to her quarters, leaving John to tend to Sydney’s wounds and socialize with his feline friend, as Angharad dedicated to forgo sleep. Taking a nip of some illicit substance, the Cipith headed out to the Ziggurat, retrieving a corpse of one of the Fishmen and taking it to shore. He found and paid a local shaman to spell the corpse to prevent it from rotting and brought it back to the ship. He found Ella asleep on deck, presumably awaiting his return and traded the corpse for her, leading her to bed. She awoke in protest, but at Angharad’s insistence she was carried to her quarters below deck, before the Cipith headed to his room for a short rest of fitful, drug-addled dreams.
After a week of travel, come sunrise, the crew of the Mistrunner made their way back to Flint. After reuniting Ugen with his hat, Ella received a message from Delft, letting them know that there was a lead at the Museum of Natural History.
A quick stop by HQ for Lisandra to dump her travelling gear was a cause of small victory, as Maxwell shared the welcomed news that paperwork for their next stipend was ready! With the promise of pay on the horizon, the team headed out once more to North Shore to meet with Delft.
The Museum had several curious onlookers about the entrance, and inside our constables met with the Assistant Inspector, looking even more tired than he usually did, and Angharad’s old pal, Professor Webber, the impressive articulation of a fossilized dragon looming behind them.
Delft informed the team more cases of Distant Madness had cropped up during their so-called ‘holiday’, and every day another victim with a missing brain. Professor Webber also alerted them to an odd message he had received from Xambria the day prior. It was filled with a plea of help and warnings about the creature that has her and it’s motives. It wants the three artifacts. The three artifacts that are currently stored safely in the RHC facilities next to HQ, which Lisandra is quite familiar with, Delft noted with a wink. The three artifacts that will, apparently, be displayed publicly at the Museum’s heavily advertised event in a few days time. Delft expressed his mutual concern and informed them his hands are tied, but he would appreciate them all working security for the event, to keep an eye on things. He also cheerily let them know that Saxby wanted to see them, for a debrief now the audit is completed.
Will Professor Webber survive his foolish museum event in the days to come? And more importantly… What does Saxby have to say about the team’s performance during the audit? In either case, take heart in the jingle of sweet coin, my friends because we are getting paid! How much? Find out today, in the Adventures of Team BAD!
DM Comments
I'm not a fan of how I ran this session. I think I'm uncomfortable with the explicit railroading devices I used.
- The party really really did not want to go underwater. Understandable, their main DPS is a fire kineticist and a gunslinger druid. I had to really amp up the descriptions of the chaotic waters for them to even consider going down as a group.
- I think a wizard accidently knocking a rock into the seal ritual circle was a clumsy narrative device. I knew the players would enjoy the combat encounter and more knowledge about the seals, but I don't like the way I initated it.
- I struggled to find a motivation for Finona and her crew attacking the players on sight. They are fundamentally researchers, with hired help to guard. As Team BAD did not show up threatning violence, I did not run the combat encounter.
- Not mentioned in the recap, as the party left the Museum of Natural History, they spied the reason why Weber was so hung up on keeping the artifacts on display---they were plastered across every bit of promotional material:
