"They Rode to Perdition" starring Arcade's Gang (D&D/Boot Hill)

[Silver Moon]

Game #10 - 5/16/04

Chapter 57, “Confrontation with Evil”, December 20th , 1881:

The evening’s game begins with CelticWolf commenting that “I saw a special on the History Channel about Billy the Kid and they got it all wrong! They didn’t say anything about Arcade’s Gang, Promise City, or any of the stuff that actually happened."


Back in the basement of the Royal Observatory the group continue to look for but not find any entrance to underground chambers. Morgana sings and keeps looking for patterns in the ley-lines on the floor. Hank suggests that they just stop and head back into London to question William. Morgana insists that the answer must lie where they are and how she can tap into the energy focus of the Earth itself. Hank replies, “Well I’ll leave that up to you little lady. I ain’t getting involved in any of that peculiar stuff.”

She isn’t able to come up with anything more definite. Arcade points out that the original scry did not show an actual entrance, so even though they may be above the cavern, the door may be elsewhere. He then says, “For all we know, this place is just where the local astrology nuts go.”

Morgana wants to try one more thing, and explains how she needs to locate the ley-line in the earth that reaches to North America to talk to her ancestors. “Can it work from this distance?” Qualtaqa asks. She replies, “Distance should not matter if I can find the right line.” She attempts this, locating it, and asks it how they should proceed. A voice says to her in a Yiddish accent “What, you want that I should tell you everything?” Morgana’s player protests “Hold on, what’s with the accent? Morgana is Irish and Indian!” The DM replies, “You don’t get to pick your spirits.” The conversation continues, but she doesn’t get told anything useful.

They decide that they need to return to London. Before leaving Morgana suggests that they may want to hire a student at the University to do some research for them in the event that they have to return. Arcade says, “I don’t think that we want to involve any schoolboys in this mess.” Wes points out that most of the students are sons of Lords and other wealthy individuals, so wouldn’t really need extra money.

Next she suggests that they maybe should leave Sam behind to look around, as he could blend into the University pretending to be a student. “Like Sam would really fit in here,” Hank comments. “Like Sam can even write,” Arcade quips. Sam doesn’t like the idea either so they abandon it.

They hire a hansom cab to take them back to London. Arcade gives the drivers directions to the business district where the Arkadiam business office is situated. They arrive at a large multi-story building and exit the carriage. They pass by the door of a ground floor counting house with a weathered old sign reading “Scrooge and Marley”, a lone clerk inside the main room working at a ledger well into the evening hours.

Arcade leads the group through a door with a number of brass plates mounted to the wall beside it, one of which reads “Arkadiam World Headquarters”. They take the staircase up several floors, finally stopping on the fifth floor. They approach a door, where light is seen coming from under the door. “That’s it,” Arcade whispers. Louie observes, “Light under door steady, not a fire.” Qualtaqa replies, “True, but my guess is that the office may be on fire by the time we leave.” Morgana approaches the door and listens at it. She comments that she hears William’s voice inside and it sounds like he is casting spells.

Louie and Morgana both get their throwing daggers ready. Arcade, Hank, Sam and Qualtaqa all get out their guns. Wes unstraps his lute from his back, to which Hank asks “You planning to hit him with that thing?” Wes replies, “You fight your way, I’ll fight mine.” Wes suggests to Arcade, “Maybe you should go in first. He’s your brother.” Hank says, “Yeah, and at the first sign of trouble we’ll come in shooting.”

Louie checks the door, finding it locked. He starts to reach for his lock picks when Arcade says, “Don’t bother. I have a key.” He uses the key to open the door and enter the room. The others follow. The office is comprised of a single room with filled bookcases running the long walls to both sides. William is sitting at the far end of the room, behind a large desk with a large glass window behind him. The rooms is lit by gaslights on the walls and William has three books open in front of him on the desk. The books all appear to be ledgers with accounting notes.

William looks to his brother and exclaims, “Why are you here.” Arcade replies, “What are you up to.” He states, “Managing the family business. Somebody had to after you ran off.” The party all move forward, the gunfighters all holstering their firearms. Morgana and Louie continue to keep their daggers up their sleeves within easy reach. Qualtaqa and Sam approach the right side of the desk while Morgana move up along the left side. Arcade marches right up to the center of the desk directly across from William.

“What do you people want?” William states. “To audit the books,” Qualtaqa replies. Hank draws his gun again and says, “It’s time for you to come clean. We know you’ve been up to no good with the business and with your father.” Ignoring the Indian and the gunslinger, William tells Arcade “Why are these….people here?” Hank yells to Arcade, “Make him tell you what is going on.” Something about the way he says that catches Morgana’s notice, and she begins to hum a native song that is the incantation to a detection cantrip. She notices a wavy aura superimposed over William and tells Arcade “Something else is here, masking itself as William.”

Hank points the gun in William’s direction and says, “She’s got a strange way of looking at things but she’s usually right. What type of weird supernatural stuff are you up to boy?” William glares at Hank and says, “You should have come earlier when I was handling snakes.” “I want to know what you’re up to now!” Hank exclaims. “Just reading my books,” William replies.

Morgana takes a good look at the books, changing her lowly stated song to a blessing and she suddenly sees through the illusion covering the books, revealing them to be magical tomes. She glances at the books in the bookcase, but they all appear to be just ledgers. She tells the others what the books really are. “You’re spoiling all my plans,” William states. Arcade says, “Get used to it. That’s what sisters-in-law do.” She says to William, “Are these books what you are using to bind your Father’s will?”

Sam reaches out to grab one of the books but Qualtaqa stops him.
Morgana continue to disbelieve the illusions and sees a larger image of pure evil superimposed over William. “It’s here. The evil behind this is in front of us,” she states. William’s voice deepens and he exclaims “Damn you!” He slides his chair back, closer to the window. Morgana pulls out one of her two vials of holy water, but instead of tossing it at William she pours it onto the books, and they burst into flame. Qualtaqa mutters to Sam, “Guess I was right about the fire.”

William is enraged and yells at her “You fouled up everything! But I will still prevail. You mortals are now all stuck.” “Mortals?” Wes comments. Morgana replies, “That’s not really William.” He gives an evil laugh and replies, “William is in here too.” She blurts out, “And we will separate the two of you.” “Why don’t we just kill him,” Hank comments as he raises his gun. “Not sure how I feel about that. Not really opposed,” Arcade comments. Morgana says, “No, you would just kill William and the evil would then inhabit one of us.”

William backs towards the window and Morgana now notices something out of phase about it, realizing that it is really a portal. She tosses up a Web spell to prevent him from going through it. William curses. “Grab him,” Arcade yells. Hank does as instructed and Arcade gives his brother a solid punch across the face, knocking him unconscious. Sam uses his cowboy skills to hog-tie William. They drag him to the other side of the room and away from the portal. Hank says, “And where were you planning to go in such a hurry?” The evil one smiles and says, “To be with my father.” Morgana states, “I think he’s telling the truth, but I don’t trust him not to call out for help.” Wes assists and a Silence spell is then cast upon William.

The group discusses going and finding a cleric or high priest to assist them with this, but conclude that might take too long and the father needs rescued immediately. Qualtaqa agrees, stating that “Now is the time to free him from the book.” They decide to leave Wes behind to guard William while they head through the portal. Morgana casts a “Protection from Evil-10-foot-radius” spell onto herself. Despite being unconscious, William's body recoils and rolls out of the effect of the spell. "Guess the creature didn't like that," Hank mutters.

Morgana kisses Wes on the cheek and says, “We’ll be back, and if not, they you’ll have quite a story to tell.” She dispels the web and the six then enter through the portal.



[Next Chapter: The long awaited combat encounter.]

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 58, “Battle against the Evil”, December 20th , 1881:

The group land on the other side of the portal, landing in a large underground room. The room is lit by gaslights along the walls. Arcades father is sitting behind a desk reading from a large tome. Behind him are large pieces of machinery, with various gears, pulleys and cranks. The gears are all moving and slowly turning in a counter-clockwise direction. The men in the group withdraw their firearms and the party begins to move closer to Arcade’s father.

As they near Morgana comments “He’s totally oblivious to us.” Arcade states, “Yes, he is mesmerized by that book.” Morgana moves in close enough for the protection aura to surround Lord Arcadiam but there is no discernable effect. Louie starts to grab for the book, but is stopped by Qualtaqa. Lord Arcadiam continues to stare blankly at the book, muttering odd words to himself. “We need to stop him,” Sam states. Hank says, “I’m not sure, seventy-year-old men reading books aren’t my usual foe.” Louie comments “He afraid of old men?” Sam states, “No, he’s afraid of books.”

Gesturing to the moving gears Hank asks, “What’s with all the machinery?” Arcade comments, “I don’t know but it can’t be good.” They are unsure of what to do next, but that decision solves itself when Wes’s body goes flying through the portal and lands in a heap at their feet. Morgana notes that he is still breathing, so is unconscious rather than dead. They look to the portal and see that William has crossed through, standing there with his arms hands on his sides and leans his head back and lets out an evil laugh. He then states “We Elders are not to be underestimated.”

“Elders?” Hank asks. Louie says, “I thought his father was old one.” William then bellows “Chumagohta is not to be taken lightly.” Morgana tosses holy water onto the book in front of Lord Arcadiam and the water steams instantly away, leaving the book intact. William says, “You’ll have to do better than that.” Hank grabs Lord Arcadiam and pulls him out of the chair and away from the book. The old man collapses into a heap on the floor. Louie uses his dagger to push the book off of the desk. It lands on the floor and closes shut, with the party seeing the title spelled out on the cover, which reads “Necronomicon”.

William continues to laugh and a mystical opening begins to appear beside the machinery. Qualtaqa tells Louie, “I have an idea. Grab the other end of the desk.” The two of them lift up the large oaken desk and then hurl it into the machinery, causing considerable damage At the sight of the machinery being harmed William yells out “NO!” and begins to undergo a transformation. The machinery continues to turn, although the damage causes many of the gears to screech and grind, with several of the metal pieces banging against each other.

William continues to polymorph, becoming a large green creature, presumably Chumagohta. He is approximately ten-feet in diameter, with over a dozen eyeballs floating around in his protoplasm form. He also has several dozen tentacles, grouped together from several points along the body. At the sight of this creature Arcade, Hank, Louie, Qualtaqa and Sam all have the same idea, drawing their handguns and commencing to fire into the creature. Morgana begins to chant.

A deep voice bellows from the creature yelling out, “The difference engine was only to control the device. The portal will open regardless.” The group sees that the inter-dimensional rift behind them, with it expanding by several feet every minute. A structure made of white marble begins to form inside of the rift.

Qualtaqa stops Louie from shooting and has the two of them kick the desk further into the machinery, this time causing the gears to slow their turn to a crawl to the sound of grinding metal, as smoke and sparks appear in several places. The creature yells “Even if you stop the dark ones from coming the portal will stay open.” The rift continues to grow, the building now appearing to be a small Greco-Roman temple with a marble floor and ceiling and supported by marble pillars.

Arcade, Hank and Sam have scored over a dozen shots into the creature that is slowly making its way across the room towards them. A few eyeballs have been shot out and parts of tentacles have been shot off, but the creature still appears to be primarily intact and relatively unhurt. The creature retaliates, targeting Arcade, who is overwhelmed with fear. He drops his gun and runs back towards the portal to the office in London. Morgana attempts to stop him and is then targeted by the creature as well. She is also overcome with fear and runs towards the entranceway alongside her husband.

Qualtaqa decides that desperate measures are needed and fires his gun directly into the Necronomicon at point blank range. The bullet makes a hole into the book. The book then heals over almost instantaneously, expelling the spent lead, the cover sealing up to look as it had been. Qualtaqa decides to try something else and pulls off his jacket, using it to wrap up the book without having to touch it directly. Hank and Sam continue to fill the creature with lead, having inflicted in excess of 100 points of damage at this point. Several stalks of tentacles have drooped or fallen off although the creature continues its forward progress towards the party.

The creature yells “Yogoroth and The Dark One will still rise from the Ocean’s Depths!” Hank bellows back, “Oh, shut the hell up!” as he fires two perfectly fired shots point blank into two of the creature’s eyes. Louie comments, “That building now here,” the marble temple now standing in the room where the machinery had been.

Louie joins the other men in shooting at the creatue, scoring a few shots. Qualtaqa charges towards the side wall with the book, cursing the fact that he no longer has horses legs to carry him. The creature stops and begins to change direction towards Qualtaqa and the book. Qualtaqa in turn changes his direction too, charging towards the entranceway, as Morgana and Arcade reach that location.

The creature also moves back in that direction, although his movement is greatly slowed by the ever-decreasing number of tentacles falling off of it, as Sam and Hank reload their guns and commence firing again. Tentacles lash out at Qualtaqa, almost grabbing him. He starts to call out to Arcade and Morgana to “Catch the book” but they have already exited the room. With his last ounce of strength the centaur turned half-elf dives through the portal with the book, the doorway closing up behind him. Hank mutters an expletive as the creature turns around and continues to move towards him, Louie and Sam, now trapped inside the room with it.

 

[Silver Moon]

Game #11 - 5/23/04

Chapter 59, “Looking for a Book Depository ”, December 20th, 1881:

Arcade and Morgana find the fear dispelled from them as they look around the room of the office. Qualtaqa is still carrying the tome, which he sets onto the floor and tells them what has transpired. Concerned about the other members of the party, they attempt to locate the portal, but find that it no longer exists. They discuss what to do next.

Back in the underground cavern Hank says, “I don’t care what this thing is, let’s kill it!” He charges towards it, firing as quickly as he can. Louie and Sam take that as a cue and do likewise. Clusters of tentacles are blasted to bits and fall off of the creature. It begins to move away from them, which only prompts the trio to quickly reload and commence firing into it again. The last of the tentacles slump to the ground and nearly all of the eyes have been destroyed. All three gunslingers then score perfect hits with their next shots and the gelatinous creature explodes, leaving behind an unconscious slime-covered William lying face down on the floor.

The three of them notice that the machinery has completely stopped but that the temple building is now totally inside the room. “What the hell is that thing?” Hank asks. “No idea,” Louie comments. “Maybe he’ll know,” Sam says while gesturing to Wes. Hank takes out his flask of whiskey and pours some into the bard’s mouth. It has the desired effect with the bard regaining consciousness. They quickly bring him up to speed as to what has happened.

Wes is in awe of the stone temple, saying to the others that he thinks he knows what it is. He tells them of legends that describe such a structure as being the Portal of the Planes. “So it’s evil?” Sam asks. Wes replies, “No, it is a mystical device. Think of it as a doorway to anywhere and everywhere.” Louie exclaims, “Great, we can use it to get out of here.” Wes replies, “Yes. It works for those who are pure of heart and noble of purpose.” Hank exclaims, “Pure? Noble? I’m screwed!” Wes says, “I think it will work. You just need to have clear intentions of where you want to go.”

They discuss what to use for a destination. Sam suggests they go back to Promise City. Louie suggests they go to the Arkadiam Estate. Wes says, “We should join up with the others. Wouldn’t they have gone to that French witch-woman to have her look at the book?” Hank says, “They just left here a few minutes ago. They’d still be back in the office.” “Let’s go there then,” Wes comments. Louie picks up William and Sam takes Lord Arkadiam. They each then walk into the portal while visualizing the office in their minds.

Arcade is still discussing what to do next with his two companions when a gate of light appears in the room and the others mysteriously walk through it. Both groups give a brief recap. William begins to regain consciousness, not knowing who any of the people are except for Wes and his brother. Arcade slugs William back into unconsciousness “Just in case.”

Morgana points out that they can’t bring William anywhere until they find some clothing for him. A coat is found on a nearby coat rack which they put on him. Sam asks, “Won’t it look odd us carrying around two unconscious guys?” Wes replies, “Not around here at this hour of the night, if anyone asks we’ll just say that they are drunk.” Hank adds to this cover by pouring some whiskey onto William’s coat.

They decide to head back to the magic shop, so head downstairs and flag down a pair of hansom cabs to take them. It is late and the shop is closed up but there is a light on in a second floor window. The party knocks loudly at the door. Eventually the woman is seen coming near it. Hank says, “I have a pretty good sense about people. I suppose that I can do the talking.” Morgana disagrees and moves to the front of the line.

“What do you want?” the woman asks. Morgana states, “I need some healing magic for two associates.” She opens the door and begins to let them in, but stops as soon as Qualtaqa reaches the doorway holding the draped tome. The woman points to him and says, “You and your bad book go away!” She is adamant that the evil thing isn’t coming into her shop.

The party discusses what to do with the book. Wes suggests that they bring it to France. Hank exclaims, “We ain’t going to any foreign country.” Louie says, “If we go there on boat we can throw it into ocean. Ocean very deep.” Morgana points out that one of the creature’s comments referenced monsters rising from the deep, so tossing it directly to them might be a bad idea. Hank reiterates, “We ain’t going to France.” The French shopkeeper says, “Yes. Keep that evil away from France!” She then forces the party out of her shop slams the door shut in their faces. Hank mutters, “I hope the boys back in Texas don’t get wind of my being involved with a book.” Arcade says, “I’m sure nobody would ever associate you with any books.”

Hank gestures to the very incoherent Lord Arcadiam and says, “Forget about the book, we need to get this babbling idiot taken care of.” Arcade does not like Hank’s description of his father but says that he agrees with that course of action. Morgana looks to her husband and says, “I’m starting to worry about you. You’re now taking advice from Hank." Qualtaqa says they should all return to the Arcadiam Estate. Sam asks, “Why?” Hank interjects, “Because it isn’t France.” Louie says, “We could get rid of father and brother there.” Qualtaqa says, “Oh yeah, that too. I just wanted to pick up our other weapons.” Arcade says, “We can’t bring them back like this. That monster might just get hold of them again." Morgana suggests that they go find a Celtic church to heal both men.

With Wes’s assistance they find the largest Celtic church in the London area. It is late getting late in the evening and all appears quiet. Qualtaqa comments, “I would have thought there would be more night-time activity here?” Morgana says, “Think of this as the calm before the storm. The Winter Solstice holiday is tomorrow night.” The see a long rope attached to a bell and ring it a few times. A window is thrust open and a man wearing green clothing pokes his head out and yells down to them “Who rang that bell?” Morgana states that she is a follower of his religion and that she seeks healing for two of her associates.

The man soon lets them into the large cathedral-like building filled with various potted trees and other assorted flora. There is a large opening in the center of the roof and the stars can be seen above. Despite the opening directly to the outside, the building appears to be rather warm inside, with a large fire pit with fire in the middle of the floor. As Qualtaqa approaches carrying the book the man’s eyes flare and he steps back. Morgana gestures to Lord Arcadiam and William, telling the Celtic druid “It was that which has corrupted the minds and souls of the two who I seek healing for. Both have been touched by the great evil.”

The priest has the two men placed upon benches and examines them why still paying close attention to where the book is. Taking that as a cue, Qualtaqa asks, “Would you know of a good way for us to get rid of this thing.” The druid says, “Yes, throw it into the fire.” Qualtaqa does so. The fire immediately blazes up then just as quickly becomes completely extinguished, the fire pit area now radiating cold instead of heat. Qualtaqa comments, “The book....it’s gone!”

The priest replies, “Yes, an evil artifact of its powerful can never be destroyed. The holy flames of my church were anathema to it, and it fled to another location far from here.” Louie comments, “Just so it not come back to us.” The priest casts various healing spells on the Lord and his son, saying that it will take some time for the magics to work. He offers to let the group spend the night at the church, which they accept. He also offers to let them join him in a ritual, which all but Morgana decline. They then discover that the drinking of alcoholic beverages is involved in these rituals and reconsider.

The fire is relit and the priest and Morgana each dance around it while the others drink. “What are they doing?” Hank asks. Wes comments, “I believe it is a fertility rite.” Louie asks, “Dancing causes that?” Wes replies, “Well, the more Puritanical religions think so. The Queen believes so too.”

This leads into a debate about monarchies. Hank comments about how the people should be allowed to vote for their leader and how he doesn’t believe in Kings.” Arcade replies, “Well in that card game last week I remember you praying for Kings, Queens and one-eyed Jacks.” The debate rages on with Wes pointing out the advantages of England being a monarchy. Sam comments “I didn't know they had a king here? I thought it was an autonomous collective.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Game #12 - 6/06/04

Chapter 60, “Back to Hastings”, December 21st, 1881:

The group awakens in the Celtic church in various states of disarray with only vague recollections of what may have transpired during the night. Hank comments that he is in desperate need of black coffee. The druid priest says, “I don’t have any of that but we have other stimulants that I can offer you.” Hank chooses to pass.

Lord Arcadiam and his son William are still unconscious but their coloring is much better and they look to finally be sleeping peacefully. “They look much better” Morgana comments. The priest says, “Yes. They had been possessed by great evil but with the departure of the book that seems to have passed.” Hank comments, “We know, we ran smack up against some of that evil.” The druid exclaims, “You fought that evil? Tell me about it!” Hank replies, “Well, it was real scary like so we whooped it.” “Ah, such detail,” the priest sarcastically replies.

Arcade tells the man, “We thank you for helping us out in our time of need.” The priest answers, “We’re Celtic, we live to help others in need.” Hank says, “Well, what can we do to repay you for your hospitality?” The man answers, “Speak well of us. Tell the world of our assistance.” Hank answers, “I ain’t go not problem with speaking well of folks who help us.”

The priest then approaches Qualtaqa and says, “Are you comfortable in that form? It is unnatural to you.” He replies, “Yes, but the others find it more convenient in the city.” The priest replies, “Perhaps I can help.” He hands Qualtaqa an amulet and casts a spell. He then instructs Qualtaqa to remove his pants and touch the amulet and his true form will return. The party insists on draping a blanket over him first and he does as instructed, returning to his centaur form. “We’ll never get him on the train that way,” Arcade mutters. “Touch it again,” the priest states. He does so, and transforms back into the two-legged elvan form. Hank comments “Quick let’s get him onto the train before he changes again.”

They head to the train station and board the train, arriving back in the Hastings area by late morning. A messenger is sent to the Arcadian Estate to get the coach and they arrive home shortly after lunch has been cleared. William and his father are still barely conscious and are taken up to their respective rooms by the servants. Hank tells Arcade, “The first thing you have to do when your brother wakes up is give him a good ass-whooping.”

Lady Arcadiam makes a grand entrance into the room. “Did you have a good trip to London?” she asks. Hank replies, “Yep, and a successful one too. Your boy was in a mess of trouble but we got him out of it.” She replies, “Oh? You managed to get his marriage annulled?” Hank says, “Pull up a chair and I’ll tell ya’ all about it?” She states, “In your profane vernacular?” Louie mutters, “She use too many big words.” Hank says, “Ma’am, I’m well educated. I’ll have you know that I went to the Sam Houston Grade School. And you should be thanking us. We’ve been very busy helping out your husband with his illness?” She replies, “Oh, so now you’re a doctor?” Morgana says, “No, that’s me, but that’s another story entirely.”

Hank says, “Ma’am, this was your son’s fault. He got involved with undesirables.” She replies, “I know. He married one.” Hank says, “No, I mean your other son.” Lady Arcadiam has no interest in hearing anything further and leaves, heading back upstairs. Hank says, “I’m beginning to think that everyone here is nuts.” Louie comments, “No, just English.”

They head upstairs and stop in at William’s room, where his mother is doting over her son. Hank starts to tell her that he was the cause of all the trouble. She replies, “Oh, you must be mistaken. William is a good boy. He cares deeply for his parents and would never abandon them or break their hearts by marrying below his station.” Hank decides to quit while they are behind and the group head back to their rooms.

Morgana suggests that they gather more information from the servants. Qualtaqa suggests that they start with the Butler, as he is the head of the household staff and may have been involved. The DM comments, “Oh yeah, the butler did it! Give me a little more credit than that!” Morgana says that the kitchen staff is the place to start, as they interact with everyone in the household. She heads downstairs to the kitchen.

The only one currently working in the kitchen turns out to be the main person she was looking for, the head chef. He is French and she begins a causal conversation with him in his native tongue, eventually getting to the subject of Lady Arkadiam. He indicates that her demeanor changed shortly after her husband took ill, how she was generally unpleasant prior to that but now had a happy almost rosy disposition. “Yeah, except for when she’s dealing with me,” Morgana comments. She also discovers that for the last several months Lady Arkadiam spends a great deal of time alone in the gardens outside, which is now seen as rather strange behavior for cold December days.

She then asks about William and a look of utter disgust crosses his face and he spits into a bucket on the floor. He says that the “Young Master” doesn’t do any work and now acts as though he was the Lord of the Manor. She then asks about how the household was prior to Lord Arkadiam taking ill.

Following the conversation she heads back upstairs and fills in the others. Qualtaqa comes up with a bizarre conspiracy theory about how William and his mother may have had their personalities magically shifted into each other’s bodies. Hank says, “I think you’ve been smoking too many peace-pipes.” They discuss Lady Arkadiam’s visits to the gardens. Louie suggests that he use his thieving skills to do surveillance there.

He has to wait over an hour in the cold before she arrives but the time pays off, as once she is alone she removes a small glass marble from a hidden pocket in her dress and begins holding and caressing it. When he relates this to the others they conclude that it is a magical device that is controlling her and suggest that Louie attempt to pick her pocket to get it away from her. Arcade is less than thrilled with that idea and sarcastically comments, “And what exactly is the proper etiquette for feeling up a seventy-year-old woman? They collectively decide to have him attempt it just before dinner in another hour or so.

Most of the party gathers for dinner with Louie waiting patiently by the staircase for the Lady’s arrival. As she approaches he tells her “May I have the honor of escorting you to the dining room and try to prove that we are not all savages?” He is less than convincing, as his smile as he states that clearly displays his fangs. He brushes against her but is unsuccessful at obtaining the marble.

Qualtaqa gets the Lady to spend much of the meal in conversation by asking her about William and having then talk incessantly about her favored son. Hank mutters, “My, you sure are proud of that boy.” She turns to him and says, “And are your parents proud of what you do. What is it? A poker of cows?” He replies, “Just plain poker is my preference.” Louie chuckles and earns her attention, with her asking him “And what do your parents think of you?” He replies, “I eighth of twelve children. They barely noticed me.” She comments, “Eighth? Your poor mother. Having children must have been like firing them out of a cannon.” He replies, “That how I was born. That why my name means Bad Thunder.”

During all this Qualtaqa keeps refilling her wineglass but this seems to have no effect on her, which he whispers to Hank. Hank mutters back, “No surprise there, she probably has a high tolerance to alcohol. These folks don’t work and don’t believe in sex so all they have to do is drink.” The Lady starts to get up to leave. Qualtaqa suggest to Morgana that she attempt to obtain the marble. She reluctantly does so and is successful, Lady Arkadiam collapsing onto the floor as soon as the marble leaves her person. Servants rush to the Lady and Hank says, “She had too much to drink.” “Again?” the butler mutters and orders her brought upstairs.

Arcade tells Morgana, “Good job.” She looks at him with a vacuous expression on her face and says in a chipper voice, “Anything to please you dear!” “Uh oh,” Sam comments. Morgana says, “My what a happy day this is. Whatever should we do?.” Arcade says, “What would you like to do?” She replies, “Whatever you wish to do is fine with me dear, your opinion is all that matters.”

Qualtaqa pulls Arcade and Hank aside and starts to discuss ways to get the marble away from her. Arcade says, “You actually expect me to conspire to take a device away from my wife that makes her blissful and obedient?” Qualtaqa says, “This is not the woman you chose to marry.” Hank replies, “No, she’s better.” Qualtaqa says, “You’ll get tired of her acting like this.” Hank says, “Yeah, after a couple of decades.” Arcade says, “Perhaps we can move to Stepfordshire. I hear that all the women act like this there.”

Next: The Conclusion

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 61, “Conclusion”, December 21st, 1881:

Arcade reconsiders his current situation and says, “Maybe we should get that thing away from her. It will happen eventually and the longer we leave her like this the angrier she’ll be with me.” Hank replies, “Well, whatever you do you know it will wind up being your fault.” Sam comments, “Maybe she like’s this way better. How are you feeling Morgana?” She answers, “I feel fine. I was thinking, maybe I should start knitting some baby booties.” Arcade exclaims, “Get that thing away from her NOW!” Hank laughs and comments, “What’s the matter? Don’t want the pitter-patter of little feet around the hacienda?”

Hank retrieves his leather gloves while the rest of the gang lures her out into the garden and away from Arcade’s family and servants. Arcade grabs her while Hank reaches into her pocket and pulls out the marble. He then grabs the hat off of Sam’s head and drops the marble into it. “Okay, you can let her go now,” Hank states. Arcade does so, and she appears to have returned to normal. Arcade asks Hank, “Is that thing affecting you any?” Hank replies, “Not at all, Sam has it.” Louie asks, “It affect Sam?” “Who could tell,” Arcade comments. Qualtaqa want to destroy the marble but Morgana insists on putting it inside of a small wooden chest instead.

Morgana says, “Well, it looks like Lady Arkadiam is better, let’s go check on her husband.” The group of Hank, Louie, Morgana and Qualtaqa head upstairs and the Lord is still sound asleep. Hank removes his flask and puts it to the man’s lips. With the taste of the whiskey the man awakens and sits up yelling, “Gads, that tastes awful! Where’s the good stuff.” “Sir, do you know we are?” Qualtaqa asks. Looking around the room and recognizing he is in his bedroom he says, “No, and I really don’t care.”

“Sir, what is the last thing that you remember?” Qualtaqa inquires. He replies, “I was having drinks with a couple of friends at the Hellfire Club.” “The what?” Hank asks. The Lord replies, “A private gentleman’s club in London.” Hank says, “We think you got poisoned there. You’ve been in bed here for a long time.” “Tonight is the night of the Winter Solstice,” Morgana adds. “You mean Summer Solstice,” he replies. She answers, “No. Winter. You’ve been incoherent for the last half year. By the way, I’m your son’s wife.” The man looks her over and nods his approval.

Louie says, “Your wife seem to want to keep you asleep.” “My wife is a pain in the butt,” he replies. Morgana says, “She’s better now. She was under the influence of a magic spell but we healed her.” The Lord replies, “But she’s probably still dangerous. She has a tongue that can cut through any decent folk.” Morgana adds, “Yes, I’ve been on the receiving end of that.” The Lord says, “Oh just ignore her. We’ll it’s nice to see that William has finally settled down.” Hank starts to correct him but Morgana stops him, whispering to him, “Not yet, he’s had enough shocks for just now.”

Not having heard that comment, Qualtaqa then tells Lord Arkadiam, “Your son William has been in charge of the family funds for the last half year.” The Lord exclaims, “WHAT, Get me out of this bed.” Hank says, “Your son Josiah will fill you in on what has been happening.” “Josiah?” the man exclaims. Morgana says, “Yes, he’s here. I’m Josiah’s bride, not Williams.” He turns back to Hank and says, “Maybe you should give that flask back to me, I think I’m going to need it.”

They asks for some more information about this Hellfire Club. He says that it is a private establishment with a limited membership that has been in existence since the mid-1700’s. The group try to persuade him to not go there again. They decide to let him rest and depart. They find Arcade and fill him in on his father’s condition. Arcade and Morgana then decide to head outside for a private Solstice ceremony.

December 22nd, 1881:

Arcade and Morgana make their way back inside a few hours after dawn. Morgana comments to him, “If your mother was that nasty to me when under the influence of the marble how mean will she be to me normally?” “Let’s find out, here she comes,” he comments. She is surprisingly pleasant to both of them and escorts them to the breakfast table. The others soon join them.

During the mean conversation she asks about the actual wedding ceremony. Morgana is rather vague, but Louie blurts out that it was on the journey from America, aboard the ship. “What type of ship?” she asks. Louie describing to her the liner Oceanic. She is impressed that they booked passage of such a fine ship, commenting about the ship’s Captain performed the wedding ceremony, with nobody correcting her.

The meal is interrupted by the arrival of Lord Arkadiam, who yells to his wife “Damn and Blast it Woman! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier! I have lots of business dealings to check on.” Hank says, “Howdy, pull up a chair and get yourself some grub first.” He gives Hank an odd look and says, “Who are you and where the hell did you come from?” The reply is, “Name’s Hank and I’m from Texas. My old man fought at the Alamo.” Arcade mutters to Morgana, “He actually has parents? I just assumed he congealed inside of that 10-gallon hat of his.”

After the meal Arcade’s parents each go off their separate ways. Morgana suggest that they all go check on William. They arrive in his room to find him sleeping. Hank shakes him and says, “Wake up you mangy sidewinder.” William wakes with a start and exclaims, “Who are you?” “I’m your sister-in-law,” Morgana blurts out. He exclaims, “My what? I’m not married so I don’t have a bride with any siblings.” She replies, “No, I’m married to your brother Josiah.” “And we’re Josiah’s associates,” Qualtaqa adds.

William exclaims, “I need a good stiff drink.” Hank says, “Not until you answer a few questions. You got yourself into a mite bit of trouble there and we had to bail you out.” William says, “I can explain. I told him that if he just gave me another few weeks I would pay him in full!” Qualtaqa says, “That’s all taken care of.” “It is?” Sam whispers to him. Qualtaqa whispers back, “It had to have been. It’s been half a year, so they would have collected by now.”

Morgana asks him, “What do you know about your father getting sick?” “Father is sick?” he asks. Hank says, “Let’s cut to the chase. Have you been to the Hellfire Club?” He replies, “Yeah, that’s where I ran up the debt.” “How much?” Morgana presses. He replies, “I couple of pounds.” She stares intently at him and he corrects it with “Okay, a couple of hundred pounds.” She continues to stare and he finally says, “Okay fine, it was a hundred-thousand pounds.” Hank asks her, “How much is that in real money?” “A lot” she replies.

Morgana says, “And what were the terms for the repayment of this?” William replies, “He gave me a few weeks and asked me to run a few errands for him in the meantime.” “What errands?” she asks. He replies, “Well, he wanted me to deliver a book for him.” She replies, “And you looked at this book?” He answers, “Well, I was curious what it was.” Louie interjects, “Know anything about a magic marble?” William says, “Yes, he gave me one of those two. It’s here on my nightstand in this small lead box.” He opens the box and is surprised to find it empty. “I’ll take that,” Hank says, grabbing the box out of William’s hands and handing it to Morgana. She examines the various runes carved onto it.

Hank says, “So what’s the name of this varmint how made you his errand boy.” William replies, “One of the Hellfire Club leaders. His name is Alister Crowley.” Morgana exclaims, “Uh oh. Not good. I’ve heard of him. He’s a powerful wizard.” Hank says, “Then it’s best that we don’t tackle him ourselves. We’ll turn this over to the local sheriff.” William is still confused. Morgana tells him, “I believe that your debt is paid, but I’d suggest that you stay away from the Hellfire Club just in case.”

The group return to their rooms and fill in Arcade. He comments, “Well, that Crowley guy will probably not be happy about our taking away his toys, but I’m glad my family is back to normal. Now we can leave.” Qualtaqa says, “We should probably stick around a few more days just to make sure.” Sam says, “Sure, why not. It’s the middle of the winter back home. I’m sure that things have quieted down after we left.” Hank comments, "Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting back."

Meanwhile, back in Promise City, Arizona a worker from the Silver Belle Mine named Arthur “Bullhead” MacGinnley has just been shot dead and is lying face down on the floor of the Long Branch Saloon. The patrons of the establishment all stare at the man who fired the shot, the newly appointed Town Marshall Wyatt Earp. Marshall Earp casually steps over the body without even looking at it and heads out the door. The gambler Conrad Booth comments to Hamilton Fisk “If Arcade and his gang have any brains they won’t be come back here anytime soon.”

 

[threshel]

Excellent!

J

 

[Silver Moon]

Module 126 - Game 1 - 6/13/04

Chapter 62,"Hogmany", December 29th, 1881:

The Gang has remained at the Arcadiam Estate for a week, with Louie commenting that it is nice to have servants waiting on him instead of him having to serve. The formerly possessed members of his family have gone back to their former personalities which is not quite ‘normal’. However, Arcade point out that “We’re rich, so we are allowed to be eccentric. We’re not even the most eccentric family in the district – that would be the Greystrokes.”

Wes comes by and invites the gang to join him for a short trip. He planning to head up to the city of Dunedin in Scotland for a New Year’s Eve celebration known as Hogmanay. This causes a debate as to when the “New Year” starts, with Morgana insisting that Spring Solstice makes the date and Louie insisting on the Chinese calendar. Wes ends the argument by saying, “Look, it’s a fun party. Do you want to go or not?”

Arcade, Louie, Morgana and Sam decide to join him. Qualtaqa opts to remain behind, as he has been enjoying his private runs around the estate in centaur form (plus the fact that his player is the DM for this module). They take the train up to Scotland, discovering that the English refer to the city as Edinburgh. Morgana comments, “I don’t understand why these English insist on changing the names of everything. They did the same thing in America.”

December 31st, 1881:

The group arrive in Dunedin just as the celebrations are beginning. Wes explains how Hogmany is basically a city-wide open house, with people wandering from house-to-house being invited in for food and drink. Wes and Morgana both offer up song to reciprocate their hosts, and their voices soon attract others to join the group. By dawn they have acquired fifteen others to their group. One of these is a dwarven cleric of Odin, named Angus McDuff, who invites them to accompany him back to his village. He had accompanied his neice Meagan to the celebrations. Wes however has other ideas, as a lovely young human Lass who joined the party has taken an interest in him, so he says he will be spending time with her instead.

January 1st to 15th, 1882:

They take a carriage of Angus’s north to the other side of the bay, to the area of land known as West Fife, travelling until the reach the village of Culross. Culross is home to the MacDuff Clan of dwarves, although around half of the village’s population is human. Angus introduces the party to his brother, Meagan’s father Donald. Donald says he has been looking after the home of some friends who had gone off to fight in a Clan Skirmish in the Highlands, and that the gang can lodge there. “How long have these friends been away?” Morgana asks. “Oh, three, maybe four years,” Angus replies.

The village of Culross is quiet and pleasant and the party soon find themselves falling into the peaceful and rather simple life of the village, staying for two weeks. Morgana gets involved with using her druid skills to help with the livestock, casting “Fertility” spells onto the sheep and goats to increase the flock. Louie finds that he gets along surprisingly well with the dwarves, as the antipathy between his and their race never made it as far as Scotland. Sam spends most of the time flirting with the young ladies of the village. Arcade just enjoys the break from his parents and brother.

January 16th, 1882:

The gang’s respite comes to an abrupt end with the arrival of an English gentleman in the village. He is a very large human man with wide shoulders and a muscular build. He is a man of his early twenties, with a neatly trimmed dark beard and mustache. He is attired in find woolen clothing and riding a large horse. The man is directed to the cottage the party is staying at and knocks on the door. The gang opens the door and eyes the man with suspicion. “Who are you and at do you want?” Arcade states. The gentleman replies, “Please allow me to introduce myself. The name is Bond, Campion Bond.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 63, “Your Mission, If you Choose to Accept it”, January 16th, 1882:

Morgana asks, “And what can we do for you Mr. Bond.” He replies, “Actually, I believe that we might be of mutual assistance to each other. May I come in?” She gestures for him to enter and the door is then shut. He has a satchel hung over his shoulder from which he extracts a large envelope sealed with wax and hands it to her, stating, “Here is a letter of introduction.” She very carefully breaks the seal, then removes a piece of parched paper from inside and starts to read:

“To whom it may concern.” “What,” Arcade exclaims, “It’s not even addressed to us? Just some general form letter!” Morgana gives her husband a look that silences him and she resumes reading. “Please allow this letter to serve as an introduction to Mr. Campion Bond and for me to request that you afford him every courtesy. Mr. Bond is a civilian in the employ of Her Majesty’s military. Your assistance in helping him would be greatly appreciated.” She then adds, “It’s signed Willaim Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of Great Britain, and is marked with his official seal.” Arcade casually tells him, “If you’re expecting us to be impressed you’ve found the wrong people.”

Bond says, “Actually, I came here to offer you some assistance and to see if you might also do something for me in return for some monetary compensation.” “What can you do for us?” Sam asks. Bond states, “It has come to my attention that you’ve recently run up against one Allistar Crowley.” Arcade exclaims, “What do you know about Crowley?” Bond replies, “Quite a bit actually. My operatives have been watching him for quite some time.” Morgana says, “Ah, I get it. You’re a spy.”

He replies, “My associates and I gather information that is important to protect the British Empire.” She says, “Right, a spy. So since Crowley uses wizard magics that automatically makes him an evil person in the eyes of your government.” Bond says, “Actually, I personally take a far more enlightened view towards magic than many of my associates. I see it not as good or evil, but rather an instrument that could be used by both. In Crowley’s case, he uses magic in such a way that potentially causes further harm.”

Arcade interrupts, “Yeah, but back to her original question. What do you know about Crowley?” Bond replies, “He is an ambitious man who craves power and has manipulated the Hellfire Club to be the primary base for his power. Rumors have it that he is in league with demons and devils and that he spent most of his youth residing on an evil dimension. I tend to believe those rumors, as he now has the appearance of a man in his early to mid twenties and yet it is documented that he was actually born on October 12th, 1875, a mere six years ago.”

“And you think he’s after us?” Arcade comments. Bond replies, “I know it for a fact. Two of his operatives followed you to Edinburgh. And they are waiting for you there now for when you to return to it. I, however, have the means to transport you away from this village undetected and return you safely to your family estate in Southern England.” Louie says, “These guys waiting for us? They’re wizards?” Bond replies, “Yes, but at very low power levels. It is safe to assume that Crowley is unaware that you are also the group of American vigilantes known as Arcade’s Gang, otherwise he would have sent a more formidable group to deal with you.”

“So we could easily take these guys?” Arcade comments. Bond answers, “Yes, but that would also draw attention to yourselves and raise Crowley’s suspicions. You’ve done a fine job of keeping a low profile during your British journey until this point. In fact, I would not have been aware of who you really are if my people hadn’t also been trailing the lawyer that first sought you out in America.”

Louie says, “So, if you get us out of here what do we have to do in return.” Bond replies, “I have an associate who is currently in a prison on an island off the coast of France. I would like for your group to rescue him.” “Why is he in prison?” Morgana asks. Bond replies, “My associate is a physician named Dr. Henry Jeckel. He is also an alchemist, but since the majority of magical-based plants in Britain have been outlawed and destroyed he needs to go to the Continent to gather components for his various magical potions. He was on one of these gathering expeditions in France last month when he was captured and imprisoned, accused of being a British spy.” Morgana says, “Well, they’re right. He works for you, so he is a spy.”

Bond replies, “No, he is not in the employ of my Government at all. I have secretly been sponsoring his work without the direct knowledge of any of my superiors.” “Why?” Sam asks. Bond replies “I expect to have need of him in the future. I have a vision of one-day gathering together a group of gentlemen who can put wizard magic and magical abilities to work for the protection of the Empire.” Arcade exclaims, “Extraordinary!” “Indeed,” Bond states, “But until magic is more readily accepted I must do these activities in secret. My superiors do allow me a wide degree of latitude as my results warrant it and it still maintains a level of plausible deniability for them.”

Arcade says, “Well look, I have no problem with killing Frenchmen for you, in fact it sounds like fun, but what’s in it for the rest of the gang?” Bond states, “I am prepared to remunerate you a thousand pounds.” Sam says “A thousand pounds of what?” Morgana says, “British money Sam.” Louie inquires “How much is that in real money?” Bond replies, “The current exchange rate is two-point-one American dollars to the pound, so that would be approximately $ 2,100.” Louie is very interested in the sound of that but Morgana shakes her head no and says, “That’s all? It hardly seems worth the risk. A prison will be very well guarded.” Bond replies, “This one has primarily political prisoners and is rather lightly guarded.” She responds, “I still don’t feel motivated to do this.”

Bond smiles and says, “Ah, but there’s something else in this for you. Dr. Jeckel isn’t the only prisoner being held at this prison. Have you ever heard of a woman named Louise Michel?” Morgana says, “The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.” Bond says, “She is a French author, poet, revolutionary and anarchist. She was born in 1830 and has had a very colorful life. She was a French patriot who helped fight in the wars against Germany. When Paris surrendered to the Prussian Army in 1871 she helped to lead the insurgency against the occupying army. After the war she was a founder of the French Commune, which strongly opposed the Versailles Government that then took power. Most of the leaders of the Commune were executed and she was sent into exile. However, she recently returned to France and was captured. She is now being held prisoner and you can free her at the same time that you rescue Jeckel.”

Morgana says, “Why would I care about rescuing her?” Bond replies, “Because she is also a high-level druid, in fact, she is one of the most powerful druids in all of Europe. You’ve made an enemy of a powerful wizard. Having a powerful druid as your friend can only be of help.” “Why come to us?” Sam asks. Bond replies, “My using the British military for this mission could not only spark another war, but would also bring Dr. Jeckel’s work to the attention of my superiors. Using your group will not, plus at least two of your group apparently know druidic spells. If some witnesses are left alive at the prison that see you tossing druidic spells and speaking phrases in French they will just assume that you are all French followers of Louise Michel.”

Louie says, “Okay, so Arcade gets to kill some Frenchmen, Morgana gets to free a druid and I’m in it for the money, but what does Sam get out of it?” “I’ll take money too!” Sam exclaims. “We all will,” Morgana adds. “Where exactly is this prison?” Arcade asks. Bond replies, “It is called the Chateau d’If, and is located a mile off the coast of Marseilles, France’s second largest city.” Arcade exclaims, “That’s not on the Atlantic! It’s on the Mediterranean Sea!” Bond replies, “Yes, but I have the means to get you there both quickly and stealthily. You could be there in a matter of days” “That must be some fast ship,” Arcade comments. Bond smiles and replies, “Indeed it is.”

The gang briefly discuss the situation and agree to undertake the mission. Bond says, “Splendid. I will speak to your host about getting you to a rendezvous point tonight while I will go make the arrangements for your passage. Expect to see me again around midnight.” He exits, speaks briefly to Donald MacDuff and then hands the dwarf what appears to be a pouch of coins. Bond then mounts his horse and rides out of town.

The Gang spends the next several hours packing up provisions. As night falls they climb into the back of the MacDuff’s wagon, and are driven by Donald and Angus several miles from town, to a quiet spot along the coast at a long deep inlet. They stop where a good-sized rowboat is sitting along the shore. They put the provisions into the boat and all climb in.

The two dwarves handle the rowing out into the bay. A nearly full moon lights the sky, and they row until they are a far distance from shore. The MacDuffs then stop rowing, letting the boat drift softly in the waves. Sam comments, “Why did you stop? There’s nothing around here.” Donald replies, “The big man told us to wait here. He paid me enough to keep my family fed for a year, so I’m doing exactly what he told me to.”

Ten minutes later Morgana says, “Wait, something’s wrong. I’m not sure exactly what.” Louie points a short distance off of the bow and says, “Over there.” They notice a disturbance in the water, as hundreds of air bubbles now break as they reach the surface. A faint red glow is then seen rising up from the deep. The boat shakes as a crimson-colored hundred-foot-long giant squid brakes the surface of the water, its tentacles stretching towards them and its large glowing eye clearly visible.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 64, “The Nautilus”, January 17th , 1882:

Both Sam and Louie draw their pistols and fire at the crimson beast as it rises to the surface, creating a wave that pushes the rowboat back. “I thought these things were all in Loch Ness,” Angus exclaims.
The bullets bounce off of the creature with a distinct sound of metal striking metal and Arcade orders them to cease firing. He states, “It’s not a sea monster! It’s some type of ship.” Taking a closer look, they notice that the tentacles are all firmly mounted to the side of the craft and that the squid’s glowing eyes in the front appear to be made of opaque glass, with people underneath.

Angus comments, “If you ignore the beastie decoration on it looks to have a cylindrical hull. I’d guess that it’s around two-hundred feet long and twenty-five feet wide. It looks like it is tapered at both ends, like a cigar.” A doorway at the side of the craft then opens up. Standing inside the lit doorway is Campion Bond, who gestures for Angus and Donald to row over to him.

Campion helps the party off of the rowboat and through the doorway. Much to their surprise Angus joins them, with Donald then rowing back to shore alone. “You’re coming?” Louie asks. Angus replies, “It sounds like a fun adventure. I was getting bored back in the village.” Arcade says, “I can see that. Taking care of sheep was about the most exciting thing going on there.”

“Welcome to the Nautilus,” Campion states. Morgana acts very apprehensive about this ship and gets nervous when the doors shut behind them. They are then approached by a tall man wearing what appears to be a naval officer’s uniform, but not from any Navy that they are familiar with. He has a neatly cropped beard and mustache of a tannish-blond color and appears to be in his fourties.

Bond gestures to the man and says, “Allow me to introduce you to Captain Andre Nemo. He is a scientist, mechanic, engineer, inventor, freedom fighter, and to some a pirate. He is also the creator of this wonderful craft that you are riding in. The Nautilus, otherwise known as the Sword of the Ocean.”
Captain Nemo greets his guests and noting Morgana’s discomfort assures her that the vessel is safe. He states that from the Nautilus he has seen the world over and over, from above and below. Louie is also concerned about the vessel’s safety and Arcade says to him, “Louie, I’m sure it’s far safer than the vessel that you crossed the Pacific Ocean in.”

Nemo takes them on a tour of the vessel. They head down a metal ladder to the level below. The first room reached is a combination drawing room/salon/museum, that is thirty-feet long, eighteen-feet wide, and fifteen-feet high. This incredible room contained an organ, an art collection of great value and very large number of marine specimens. There was also a fountain made from a shell about six-feet across. Finally, the salon had two large oblong windows protected by sliding panels.

Louie mutters, “These Englishmen just get weirder and weirder.” Angus whispers to him, “Nemo’s first name is Andre, so he is probably from either Belgium or France.” Nemo turns to Morgana and gestures to the large pipe organ and states, “I was told that you are a musican. Please feel free to utilize this instrument at your leisure.” Louie mutters to Sam, “Yep, he’s a sailor alright. He just invited her to have some fun with his organ.”

Morgana becomes concerned at seeing fish swimming outside the window and yells out “The ship is sinking. We’re all going to drown!” Nemo assures her the vessel is seaworthy, but also pulls on a lever that lowers metal screens outside of the window, which causes her to relax somewhat. Nemo speaks to one of his crewmembers and the man goes on ahead and lowers the screens on other windows prior to the group’s arrival.

Moving aft through watertight bulkheads, the next room is the library. Nemo states that it has over 12,000 volumes, which they are free to read any of during the journey. The room has several nice and comfortable pieces of furniture in the room. Next they arrive at the captain's dining room, with a long oak table and fine chairs. Nemo says that they will be taking all of their meals in this room.. Both of these rooms were exquisitely furnished. They pass a central staircase leading to the deck platform. Nemo tells them that they will take the stairs to go topside when it is safe to do so. He states “Further back are the galley and storerooms.” He then cautions them to avoid traveling the front of the ship, stating that the wheelhouse and Captain’s quarters will be off limits to them.

Next he has them take a ladder another level down, leading to an underwater airlock for ocean access. Morgana becomes hysterical at seeing that, yelling out “There is a hole in the bottom of your boat! We’re all going to drown.” Nemo assures her it is safe and shows her various pieces of diving gear that they use when venturing outside. She is unconvinced. He calls over a crewmember and asks the man to show them up to their quarters. She keeps muttering, “There’s a hole in the boat.”

Morgana and Arcade are given one room, Louie and Sam another, Angus and Campion are each shown their own rooms. The beds are comprised of bunks built upon a type of gyroscope mechanism, to keep them level and still even when the ship is moving at steep angles. The rooms are state-of-the art and include hot and cold water taps and also flush toilets. The group sleeps for the remainder of the night, being woken by the sound of a crewmember knocking on their doors to escort them to breakfast.

Breakfast is comprised of a combination of both familiar and unfamilar foods. Nemo explains that he and the crew eat primarily food harvested from deep in the ocean but that he made sure that “surface” foods were also brought on board for this journey for the comfort of his guests. Following the meal the Captain excuses himself, and heads off to the front of the vessel. Campion asks the party to join him in the library.

Campion states, “Our voyage will take eight days. Your time would probably be best spent reading the books that I have set out for you.” He gestures to a desk, with half-a-dozen books on it, one in Chinese, one in Dwarven, one in French and three in English. Campion says, “These are all translations of the same book, The Count of Monte Cristo written by the French biographer Alexander Dumas. “I’ve read it before,” Morgana states. Bond replies, “Yes, but you’ll want to read it again now for different reasons. The book tells of the Count’s imprisonment at your destination, Le Chateau D’If. The details described in the book about the cells, layout of the prison and daily routine of the guards are apparantely still quite accurate. You won’t find a better reference source than that to prepare for this mission."

He then shows them a panting of the Marsailles side of the Chateau D’If, pointing out that the dock and exterior doorway is the only entrance into the building. “Then we should probably come in from the other side,” Arcade comments. Louie adds, “Yeah, those walls look easy enough to climb.” “Well, we have a week to plan this,” Bond replies.

“Do you know this Captain Nemo very well?” Morgana asks. Bond replies, “Not really, but I know of him. Andre Nemo was born in Nantes, France, a childhood friend of the French biographer and novelist Jules Verne. Nemo's career as a worldwide adventurer began at a young age, when he left the comfort of his shipbuilding father to journey into the great sea of mystery. In his career, Nemo has seen wonders that have been hidden to all other eyes, fought creatures long thought imaginary, and transported himself in ways previously thought impossible. He enlisted to fight in the Crimean War. Nemo was captured by an Ottoman caliph and ordered to turn his genius towards the eventual creation of this great sub-marine boat, The Nautilus. This tremendous vehicle is much like its creator - fast, elegant, and deadly.”

“Why is he working for you?” Arcade asks. Bond replies, “He is a true enemy to oppression, Nemo has often waged a personal war against war itself, claiming affiliation to no soverign natiion. He is often considered a pirate. Nemo is in fact a freedom fighter, dedicated to bringing down injustice in all countres. His interest in this mission is the rescue of the French Druidess Louise Michel whose writings he knows and admires.” The gang begin their readings.

January 17th to 23rd:

The journey continues. At no point during the trip does Morgana become comfortable with this mode of transportation. A couple of times during the voyage, while the vessel is out of sight of both land and the main shippings lanes, it surfaces and rides atop the waves. The party are envited to climb up to the topdeck and outside during these times, and Morgana is releaved to see the open skies and breathe in fresh air again. She is still bothered by the fact that when riding at its highest point 90% of the vessel is still beneath the waves.

Angus is fascinated at the mechanics behind the construction of the vessel. He spends much time with the ship’s engineer down in the engine room. He also regales the party with much of his newfound knowledge, but they have little interest in hearing about propellers, watertight bulkheads and diving planes.

During the passage through the Straight of Gibraltar the Gang are asked to remain totally silent, as magical devices being are used by the Spanish and Portuguese to guard the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Nemo explains that they are “crawling slowly near the bottom” during this time so as not to draw the attention of the forces above, who would drop bombs upon them from magically-created winged mounts if they were detected. Once into the Mediterranean the remainder of the journey is uneventful.

On the afternoon of the 23rd they arrive at a point a few miles southwest of Le Chateau D’If. For the first time the Gang are escorted to the main bridge of the Nautilis. Nemo lets them each peer through the periscope at the island. He explains that they are still a good distance off, that the periscope also utilizes magnifying glasses for better viewing. Arcade comments, “I get it. Objects in Mirror are larger than they appear.”

They decide to wait until after midnight to mount the attack. Nemo offers the gang use of his underwater geer, but Morgana flatly refuses. They plan to use the longboat instead, with Nemo agreeing to get as close to the Island as he feels is safe before releasing the boat. He agrees to keep watch on the island. It is decided that if they send up a signal he will bring the ship up to the dock and doorway alongside the prison.




Source Material: The exterior design of the Nautilus was derived from Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; The interior of the Nautilus was taken nearly verbatim from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; The life story of Captain Andre Nemo was derived from Kevin J. Anderson’s novel Captain Nemo.

 

[Silver Moon]

Module #126 - Game #2 - 7/11/04

Chapter 65, “Le Chateau d’If”, January 17th, 1882:

The five gang members climb up to the surface of the submarine and make their way to the longboat that is uncoupled but still tied to the ship. The ship dives lower to where the waves wash up alongside the large rowboat as it nears the island. While around 500 feet out the submarine dives deeper as the ropes are released, the Gang rowing to the island from that point. They manage to make it to the rocks undetected and quickly exit the boat, pulling it up onto shore and hiding it from sight behind an outcropping of rocks.

They cautiously make their way to the outer wall, the full moon shining the cloudy skies above. They make their way around the main tower and down across the sidewall of the fortress. The only illumination other than the moon is from magical red lights at the distant guard barracks. Louie successfully scales the wall despite the annoyance of the extra layer of clothing worn atop his regular clothes, worn to give them the appearance of being French druids.

No guards are on this level of the wall but he spots the back of a guard’s head in the uppermost level of the adjacent tower. He also sees more guards in an open courtyard area two levels below him. He makes his way carefully over to the tower itself, so he will not be seen unless the guard looks directly down the side of the building. Louie then lowers a rope down and helps to pull up his four comrades, motioning for them to be very quiet.

They decide to use the tower itself to get out of sight and travel, with Louie unlocking and opening the doorway at this level. They head down instead of up and are disappointed that it only descends one level. From there they have a better view of the three guards in the courtyard now immediately below them. The area is partially lit by two more of the magical red lights, but Louie believes he can move low on stairs side ramps alongside the walls and not be seen. The group is in agreement not to use firearms at this point, with Arcade and Morgana positioning themselves with throwing knives as Louie’s backup. Angus stands ready to cast either a Silence or Hold Person spell if needed. Sam plans to charge back up the tower to the top if the guards there begin firing.

Louie manages to successfully get to the lower level and makes his way up to the first of the three guards. The second and third guards don’t realize anything is wrong until after Louie has slit the throat of their ally. The third guard falls from a combined knife attack from the two druids above. The final guard raises his rifle towards Louie, but the half-orc is upon him before he can fire and stabs the dagger into the man’s heart.

Much to the party’s surprise (and also the DM’s) the two guards in the tower did not hear any of the commotion below. Louie pulls the three bodies back and out-of-sight as his friends carefully make their way down to that level. They decide to continue downward.

A staircase goes down from that point and they descend. The next level appears to be fifty-foot square, the southern two-thirds of it are comprised of cells with stonewalls on three sides and iron bars in between. There are no guards or prisoners seen on this level. The northern third of the level is only accessible through a locked iron door, which Louie is unable to open. As there are no sounds from behind that door and no light from under the door crack they decide to just continue further down.

The next level is identical to the on above it, with Louie again unable to pick the lock on the iron door. They see a faint amount of light coming from the bottom of the stairs and the next level down, which appears to be the lowest level of the structure. They very carefully make their way down. The layout of this level is similar to the two above, except the hallways and cells appear to make a square shape around the entire 50-foot square instead of having the separate northern section. As such, the hallway goes both directions and turns from the staircase bottom in the middle of the western wall, with the light coming from around both the northern and southern hallways.

Louie very carefully moves forward and peers around both way hallways. He finds the place symmetrical with both halls running to the far eastern wall, with another hallway connecting them thirty feet beyond the bend. The light appears to be coming from someway along this eastern hallway and there are armed guards standing at the intersections. The guard at the “T” intersection of the southern and eastern hallways is holding a shotgun. The guard at the “X” intersection of the northern and eastern hallways has a revolver sticking from an unfastened holster on his belt.

The party pulls back and plans their next move. The three spellcasters all run through their current spells and the Gang all review what they have for weapons. The group brainstorms about a number of strategies using various spells and maneuvers after which Arcade states “Or we could just shoot them.” They conclude that they are deep enough underground that the sound of gunfire is unlikely to be heard by the guards at the top of the tower.

They discuss using a Silence spell to further help muffle the sounds. Morgana suggests that they use the spell to keep one guard from noticing anything while they deal with the other. Angus is sent back upstairs to cast the spell onto a coin. Once he’s gone Arcade comments, “There’s a major flaw to this plan. It’s dependent upon a Scotsman voluntarily giving up a coin.”

Angus soon returns, the coin bringing the Silence to them and preventing any further verbal plans. Morgana moves to the southwestern corner while Angus and Louie go to the northwestern one. Arcade decides to stick with his wife and Sam follows the other two. The Silence is now away from the two druids, allowing them the possibility of spell use. Morgana spots a prisoner in the cell halfway down, around ten feet from the guard, and points this out to her husband. She says, “Be ready to shoot him.” “The prisoner?” Arcade comments. “No, the guard. I’m going to distract him once they toss the coin.”

At the other corner Angus rolls the coin down the hallway, the spell on it preventing any sound from coming from the metal striking the stones. It rolls for around fifteen feet before hitting the bars to a cell, which then deflects the coin into the cell. “Damn,” Louie mutters. Angus whispers back, “No, it’s still okay. The radius will still cover the guard and is far enough away for me to cast a Hold spell.

Morgana steps out into the hallway and catches the guards’ attention, calling out “Bonjour”. She then attempts to talk to him in a fake French accent as he raises his shotgun in her direction. Angus notices that while the coin prevented sound from coming from the northern hallway, the guard before him still heard Morgana’s voice from the southeast and also saw his friend move. The man begins to draw his gun as Angus tosses the Hold Person spell, which successfully freezes the man. Meanwhile, Morgana continues to try to talk to the man, trying to act friendly and non-threatening. The man however, says nothing in reply as he takes aims and then fires his shotgun.