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

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 66, “The Prison Battle”, January 24th, 1882:

While Morgana attempted to negotiate with the prison guard her husband Arcade peered around the wall. He was careful to not lean far enough to be seen by the guard, watching the man’s hands on his shotgun rather than his face. When the guard began to take aim at Morgana Arcade reached out and grabbed the side of his wife’s dress. As the man’s finger began to depress on the trigger Arcade yanked her back towards him with full force. Thus, she was pulled out of the way just as the shot from the gun flew by, missing her by less than an inch.

Morgana became furious. Arcade wasn’t sure right away if the target of her anger was the guard who shot at her or him for interfering. He figures it is the guard she is mad at when she began the incantation of a Magic Missile spell and then charged back out from behind the wall. She sends a pair of missiles flying from her fingertips, striking the man. The man staggers back but regains his footing and then discharges the second barrel of his gun at her. She had begun retreating once the spell was cast, but is not quite fast enough to completely miss this blast, sustaining a minor injury in her arm.

Arcade yells to his wife, “That’s both barrels. He’s empty, let’s go.” The two of them charge around the bend and rush towards the man. The man drops his shotgun and starts an incantation. Arcade thinks, “Oh crap! I forgot that they also use magic here.” Three Magic Missile bolts shoot from the guard’s fingertips, two striking Arcade and one striking his wife.

Arcade draws his gun and fires back, causing a wound to the guard’s shoulder. The guard turns and runs, with Morgana’s tomahawk then landing in his back between the shoulder blades. The man staggers, giving Arcade time for another shot, a fatal hit to the head. The man falls dead at the intersection of the southern and eastern hallways.

Arcade and Morgana then make the serious error of assuming that he was the only guard near that intersection and stop to converse with the prisoner in the adjacent cell. They then hear the sound of another spell incantation back near the “T” intersection. They turn and are surprised when a pair of Chinese Orcs armed with axes and swords charge around the bend towards them. Arcade lets off a shot, which clips one but he continues to charge. More orcs follow the initial pair from behind the intersection.

Morgana deduces that they are hopelessly outnumbered and decides to play dead, falling to the ground alongside the wall. At this point a total of five orcs fill the hallway. No more appear to be coming, so Arcade casts a Heat Metal spell onto the armor and weapons of these foes. Morgana’s bluff pays off as the orcs charge by her towards Arcade, the lead one swinging his sword right at Arcade’s head. Arcade ducks, the sword knocking his hat off of his head. Arcade shoves his arm forwards, jabbing the barrel of his gun into this orc’s chest and fires. The orc drops but his sidekick is now upon Arcade and swings an axe down towards him, hitting the fighter/druid.

Back at the other hallway, Louie had been charging forward in the direction of the held guard, with Sam and Angus behind him. Their footsteps were silenced by the spell from the coin, which also prevented them from hearing the shotgun blasts. Two prisoners in cells a short distance behind the held man are yelled at them, but the silence also prevents these men from being heard. Just as Louie rushes towards the intersection Angus notices what the men were yelling about, as a rifle barrel is sticking out from behind the bend, aimed squarely at Louie’s chest.

Louie exits the range of the Silence spell and then hears the two prisoners yelling at him in French. Unfortunately he doesn’t know the language, but he then sees the rifle barrel just a few feet away from his chest. In a move that would make any baseball coach proud, Louie drops back and slides along the stone surface towards the man around the bend, temporarily delaying the shot. This guard however follows Louie’s movement with the rifle and once Louie comes to a halt fires point blank into Louie’s chest.

Louie is in anguish as the rifle bullet travels into his chest. It hurts like hell, but Louie soon notices that he is still alive so figures it wasn’t a mortal wound. He is actually correct, as the bullet miraculously missed all of his vital organs and bones, exiting from Louie’s lower back and stopping as it struck his armor pressed against the stone floor. Louie is still holding his revolver and fires a point blank shot back up at his assailant, breaking the bones and hitting a vein in the man’s shoulder.

However, the guard standing over Louie is also a ‘tough guy’. He ignores the pain and kicks the gun out of Louie’s hand simultaneous to shifting his rifle over to his other hand and shoulder for a second shot. Louie is lying helpless at this point and concludes that he is about to die. This would have been a correct assumption if not for Sureshot Sam rounding the bend right then. Sam lives up to his nickname by firing and placing the bullet right between the eyes of his opponent. Louie grabs up his gun as Sam helps him to his feet. They then notice a robed man further down at the other end of the eastern hallway.

Not far from the robed man, Arcade is still fighting with the orcs, all of whom are now taking damage from the Heat Metal spell. He fires into the one with the axe but misses. Morgana has pulled out Billy the Kid’s pearl-handled colt revolvers from the pockets of her shirt and fires, dropping the last orc in line. The next one turns towards Morgana and she fires two shots up at him, one connecting fatally. Arcade meanwhile shoots the one with the axe, dropping him. The sword of the remaining orc is now glowing red-hot from the Heat Metal and he drops it. Arcade and Morgana then successfully catch him in a crossfire.

The robed man now focuses his attention back down to the other end of the hallway and starts to cast a spell in the direction of Louie and Sam. Louie is holding his gun and his shot is faster than the spell, hitting and incapacitating the wizard’s right arm. “That should end spells,” Louie exclaims as he starts to charge down the hallway towards the wizard. The wizard counters with another incantation, falling back upon the only spell left in his repertoire that doesn’t require any arm gestures.

Louie is around fifteen feet away from the man when he becomes enshrouded in a field of magical darkness, which continues back to where Sam and Angus are also now standing. Louie decides to holster his gun and draw his sword. He then marches forward through the darkness, swinging the sword from wall to wall in the assumption that it will eventually connect with the wizard.

The wizard has backed up, stopping just shy of the intersection. He no longer hearing sounds from the summoned orcs in the southern hallway, but decides not to look that way as he hears the sound of Louie’s feet on the stone floor marching towards him. The wizard draws his gun with his good hand and then sees the front of Louie’s sword exiting the darkness. Using the sword movement to guess Louie’s location he fires. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t the hand he normally fires with so the shot is off target. The sound of his gun going off just a few feet away from her refocuses Morgana in that direction and she starts to crawl towards the intersection.

The wizard’s shot barely misses Louie and continues on through the darkness. Fate works against the party as the shot-in-the-dark strikes Sam right in the middle of his chest. Sam yells out and falls. They are still inside the Magical darkness but Angus has been through enough battles to deduce from the sounds what has just happened and quickly finds Sam’s fallen body. Angus casts a Cure spell to keep the boy from immediately dying. He decides that he needs to get them both out of the intersection before any more bullets come flying their way. He lifts up Sam and heads back the way they originally came. He is soon out of the darkness but in now inside the area of the silence spell, so has to carry the dying boy further the hallway before he do any more healing.

Louie has now charged out of the darkness and cuts the wizard down with a bludgeoning blow from the sword. Morgana reaches this point sees this, taking a few point blank shots into the wizard. Louie continues to hack the man as she fires again. Arcade comes around the bend and points out that the wizard is very much dead so they should probably stop attacking him.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 67, “Finding Nemo”, January 24th, 1882:

Louie and Morgana finally stop attacking the wizard. Morgana notices that Louie is bleeding onto the floor and points that out to him. He replies, “Yeah, I got shot again. Could you help me out?” She casts a Cure spell onto him much to his relief. Once partially healed he decides to check the wizards body for valuables.

At the end of the hallway two male prisoners dressed as druids yell out to Arcade and Morgana in French that they want to be let out of the cells. She gestures to the bodies and asks which of the two guards has the key. They reply "Neither of them" and then describe for her the guard leader.

Morgana doesn’t see anyone matching that description, but she now notices that the remainder of the eastern hallway is not just dark but is covered in magical darkness. She extracts from her satchel a tube containing a stone with a Continual Light spell cast on it, using that to negate the darkness spell. She finds the body of the man with the key and uses them to unlock the pair of druids at the end of the southern hallway. She then unlocks the other pair of druids at the end of the northern hallway.

Meanwhile, Louie continues to check out the bodies while Arcade looks around for cells with more prisoners. Further down the northern hallway Angus has exhausted his remaining Cure spells in his attempt to keep Sam alive. Morgana asks what has happened and he gives her a status report. She offers to use her remaining Cure spels but Angus replies, “Save it, we might need it later. He needs far more than low-level healing spells at this point. We’d be better off finding either that high-level druid or medical doctor that we came here to free.”

Morgana asks the druids “Where’s your boss?” One gestures to the eastern hallway and replies, “Somewhere around here.” In addition to the cells the eastern hallway has two locked metal doors. Morgana calls under one of the doors, “Is anyone in there?” A male voice with an English accent says, “Yes. Who is there?” She replies, “We're here to help. Who are you?” He replies, “My name is Doctor Henry Jeckel.” “Pay dirt!” she comments. She quickly gets the cell unlocked and Arcade ushers the doctor down to where Sam and Angus are.

She does the same to the other door, finding the occupant of the solid stone windowless room to be Louise Michel. Morgana explains that they have come to rescue her. Louise thanks them for the effort but defiantly tells them that she isn’t going anywhere. She plans to remain in her cell until she is taken to Paris and has an opportunity to defend herself before the crowds. Arcade cuts her off, telling her in French “Lady, That isn’t going to happen. They’re planning to kill you quietly.” She does not initially believe him but thankfully her four druid followers do and they manage to convince her that it is better to go than to take that risk. Louie helps unfasten a pair of shackles from her wrists and she finally exits the cell.

They all head back to where the Doctor is examining Sam. “Well?” Morgana asks. Dr. Jeckel replies, “The bullet is still inside him and near the heart. I can’t do anything for him without my medical bag, which would be up in the Prison Superintendent’s Office.” Arcade says, “Yeah, right. That’s over in the other building with all of the sleeping guards. We’re not going there.” Angus says, “The ship we came here on has state-of-the-art medical facilities onboard. We’ll have to take him there.” Jeckel replies, “Trying to move him will probably kill him.”

Morgana asks Louise Michel, “What can you do for him?” The senior druid replies, “I have no spells right now Mademoiselle. The shackles on my wrists were magical and prevented me from praying for spells.” Arcade whispers to Louie, “Go back and get those. We might need them at some point.” Louise Michel offers, “I can start praying for spells now.” Arcade replies, “We don’t have the time. The guards in the tower may have heard the gunshots. And even if they didn’t, it’s only a matter of time until the three bodies we left up above get discovered. I don’t want to be trapped down here and give them time to get organized, and it wouldn't take them long to bring in more soldiers from Marseilles. We’ll have to risk moving him.”

Angus says, “We’ll never be able to get him over the wall. We’ll have to go to the boat dock instead.” Arcade replies, “If we can even find it and we don’t have time to hunt where it might be.” Morgana asks the druids if any of them know where it is but none of them do, having been blindfolded when they were brought in. She then asks about the other prisoner and they tell her they have no idea who he is, that he was already in prison when they arrived.

Morgana goes back to the other prisoner and asks in French “Who are you?” He replies, “My name is Philippe Gaston. They call me ‘the mouse’.” She asks, “And why are you imprisoned here?” He answers, “For thievery and escaping from prison. No other prison in France could hold me, so they put me here on this island.” She asks, “Do you know how to get to the boat dock?” He replies, “Yes, of course. Before they placed the guards down here with the new prisoners I managed to slip out of this cell multiple times. I’ve been all over this island. But I am not a strong swimmer and there were no boats, so there was nowhere else to go except to come back here.” She lets him out and brings him over to the others announcing “I found a guide.”

A mattress is taken from one of the cells and Sam is gently rolled onto it. The four male druid prisoners carefully lift it up. Angus, Jeckel, Morgana and Louise walk with them along both sides of Sam to offer assistance as needed. Philippe takes the lead, followed closely by Arcade and Louie. They make their way up several levels. It remains quiet up above and they see the two guards still standing atop the tower, looking bored. Philippe points to another corridor and says that it leads them down a side corridor and a flight of stairs, ending at the doors to the boat dock.

Morgana says, “We need to find Nemo and signal him to bring the ship around.” Louie gestures to the guards and says, “Those guys up there are rather inept at noticing things, but they'll probably spot your magical light stone.” Arcade replies, “Maybe we could be more subtle. Morgana and I each took a Faerie Fire spell.” Angus says, “Doesn’t that only work on people.” Arcade replies, “It works on any living creature, including plants. We could light up some grass along the shore where Nemo should be looking for us. They guards above might not notice.” Louie says, “Go ahead, I’ll cover you,” and using his newly acquired rifle takes aim up towards the guard tower.

Arcade and Morgana make it over to the side wall and cast their spells down, turning the seaweed right below the water and plants and foliage along the shore a glowing shade of greenish-yellow. They head back the others and all make their way down to the boat dock. The door is opened a crack, with Angus peering out.

Ten minutes pass, which seem like an eternity to the group. The Nautilus surfaces alongside the dock. Angus waits until it is fully stopped and on the surface before throwing open the doors. There is no point in being quiet at this point, as the sight of the massive red giant squid rising up to the island has caught the attention of the inattentive guards above.

The guards who sound an alarm and open up signal lights. Alarms and lights also go up at the adjacent guardhouse. The party hurries the makeshift stretcher with Sam out and onto the ship. The tower guards are late to notice this movement below, and do not start firing their rifles until the Nautilus doors are closed with the party all safely inside.

Sam is brought to the infirmary as Dr. Jeckel confers with Campion Bond. The rescued prisoners are all brought to private quarters. For the first few minutes they hear the sound of bullets bouncing off the hull of the ship and then the sounds cease. Campion informs Nemo that they need the vessel to stop so that Sam can be operated on. The Captain tells him it will have to wait, as half the French Navy is docked in Marseilles and they need to get as far away as possible in the next hour.

An hour later Sam still lives, but only due to healing elixirs provided by Nemo’s chief medic. The ship comes to a complete stop and Jeckel begins the operation. It takes considerable time, but the bullet is found and removed with a combination of Jeckel’s surgical skills and Morgana’s careful use of a “Gather” spell. He closes up the incision, which she uses her remaining Cure to seal up. They conclude that Sam will live. Louie then points out that he also still has a bullet in him, which takes considerably less time to find, remove. Arcade provides the Cure spell as the finishing touch on Louie.

The Nautilus resumes its course. At around 3:00 AM the ship comes to a halt along an isolated cove in Southern France. At this point Nemo activates a loud and smoky diesel engine, to give the guests the impression that this was a regular surface ship. Louise Michel and her four associates are put to shore and warned to stay clear of the authorities. The Nautilus then moves off, sailing on the surface with engine sounding for the next thirty minutes. Nemo then kills the sham engine and dives again. They go full speed for another hour.

The submarine surfaces again and pulls into a different isolated cove to let off Philippe Gaston. Bond makes sure that ‘the mouse’ is clearly under the impression that Louise Michael was the objective of the prison break and that they brought along Jeckel because they needed his medical skills and Gaston because he knew the way out. The ship then chugs out to sea and dives when it is safely out of sight.

January 24th to 29th, 1882:

The Nautilus makes an uneventful trip back to England. During this return trip Jeckel uses his apothecary skills to help identify a trio of elixirs that Louie found on the wizard guard. Morgana is given a scroll with three spells also found on the wizard. The rifle from the prison guard leader was of excellent quality so Louie decides to keep it as his. Sam spends most of the journey back recuperating in bed.

January 30th, 1882:

Under the cover of darkness the Nautilus surfaces along the coast a few miles away from the Hastings estate belonging to the Arcadiam family. Bond pays them the agreed upon amount. Nemo’s crew then rows Arcade, Angus, Louie, Morgana and Sam to shore. The rowboat returns and the Nautilus vanishes beneath the waves. They make their way back to the manor house.

 

[CelticWolf]

Wow! It's almost like I was there!

Slàinte,

CelticWolf (Louie's player )

 

[Silver Moon]

We've now played three games now of the next Arcade's Gang module, this one gamemastered by Morgana's player and set in Ireland. I should have the first Story Hour chapter from it up in the next couple of days.

In the meanwhile, please check out my second campaign set on this same world titled "Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year." It is set back in Promise City while Arcade's Gang is in Europe and has a very colorful cast of characters. The link is as follows:

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99053

 

[Silver Moon]

Module #127 - Game 1 - 7/18/04

Chapter 68, “Off to Ireland”, February 6th, 1882:

The group has been back at the Arcadian Estate for a week. Qualtaqa and Hank are happy to see the others back after their month away. During that time apart Qualtaqa spent a considerable time over at the neighboring Greystroke estate, conversing with the rather odd young Lord and also with the local Celts learning some introductory priest spells. Hank devoted the time to teaching all of the local pubs how to sing “Yellow Rose of Texas”. The gang also notes that Hank has started to add the phrases “blimey” and “I say” to his vocabulary.

Morgana decides that since the group is relatively close to Ireland they should make a short visit over to it to see the land of her ancestors. She says that she has a standing invitation to visit from a Jane Fandesca who knew her Grandmama O’Shea. Louie comments “So you want us to go see the ‘old country’”. Sam comments “She have Native American, to her America is the ‘old country’.” Hank asks “So, what do they do in Ireland?” Arcade replies “Grow potatoes and die”, never realizing how much that comment would serve as a harbinger of what the gang would soon face.

Louie comments that he knew quite a few railroad workers who were from Ireland. Arcade says “And the operative word there is ‘from’, nobody in their right mind would want to actually go to that place.” “Are you calling me insane?” Morgana asks. “Well, you married me,” me replies. Sam says “Isn’t Ireland where they drink a lot?” Arcade replies “Only on high holy days, like days of the week that end in the letter ‘Y’.”

Morgana states that “Grandmama is the reason that family left Ireland. She had a sense that the famine was coming and urged the family to leave. They then relocated to Boston. I’ve never been there myself and would like to see where my father and grandparents lived.”

Hank says, “Okay, but you’ll then owe me a visit to my home state of Texas.” Louie comments “Would that be worse than Ireland.” “I’m afraid so,” Arcade mutters. Sam tells Arcade “Be fair, you got to show us where your family lives.” He replies, “Did I ask any of you to come?” Louie says “Actually, you asked for us to come instead of you.” He replies “Well this is only one family home. My grandparents live in India.” “I think I’ll pass on that trip,” Sam states.

The group makes their formal goodbye to Arcade’s parents and brother and take the carriage to the nearest port city of Portsmouth. There are four large ships docked there at the moment and they make inquires as to whether any are going to Ireland. Louie comments “Just book me on a ship that has no leaks and no rats”. “They probably charge extra for that” Sam replies. One will be departing the next morning for America, but with a stop along the way in Dublin, so they book passage on it. They find lodgings at a local inn for the evening.

February 7th, 1882:

The gang gets their passports stamped and boards the ship and is shown to their quarters. Louie is again grateful that he doesn’t have to ride on deck beneath the waterline. Sam starts to notice the various women who have boarded prompting comments from Hank and Arcade about the boy’s lecherous ways.

The voyage gets old fast as the English Channel and the Celtic Sea are not very fun places to be on cold windy days in early February. A snowstorm starts up cutting visibility down to nearly nothing. The gang heads back to the their cabins. They no sooner get there when Morgana screams out “The Fey, it’s coming. She’s angry.” Hank looks at the others and asks “Did you boys go and get another woman mad at you again?”
Louie asks “Sam, who did you pick up this time?”

Morgana clams down and says “It was just a feeling. Don’t you guys know anything about the islands?” “Only the Polynesian Islands,” is Arcade’s response. She replies, “No the Celtic islands….Morgan Le Fey…don’t you know any Celtic history.” Angus says “I do, but I thought that she was just a person of legend.” “Only if you consider my father’s first wife a legend. She’s my step mother, who I was named after,” Morgana replies. She then adds “She doesn’t like Grandmama.”

“Great, we’ve found ourselves in the middle of a family feud,” Hank exclaims. “In the middle of something” Sam says and gestures to the porthole. A sudden storm has come up with lightening and massive gusts of wind. Clouds begin to swirl around the ship. “I really hate the weather around these parts,” Hank comments. “Is your Godmother causing this?” Louie asks. Arcade answers, “Must be the reason for the prefix of ‘God’”.

Morgana says “I’ve never had a problem with her. We’ve always gotten along. She wasn’t too fond of my father taking another wife….” The ship starts to rock and both Sam and Louie act concerned. Arcade says “Don’t worry, this is English weather. Give it a minute and it will change.”

A swirling vortex appears in front of the ship and they pass through it. The storm intensifies and then just as abruptly ceases completely. The ship then rests upon the calm seas, with the sun shining down from above. The temperature is also considerably warmer.” Hank says to Arcade “Guess you were right about the weather changing.”

The ship appears to be at rest alongside a large lush island. A wooden dock comes out to the side of the ship. Arcade, Angus, Hank, Qualtaqa and Sam also notice that they appear to be the only people moving on the ship, all other passengers standing still like statues. Morgana is not among them.

Concluding that she isn’t on board the ship, they head out along the dock and towards the Island. A tall, regal looking woman approaches and stands before them. She is wearing a green gown and robe and has long black hair. She introduces herself saying, “My name is Morgan Le Fey, welcome to Avalon”.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 69, “The O’Shea Family Curse", February 7th, 1882:

“Where is my wife?” Arcade demands. “You claim her?” Le Fey asks. “As she claims me,” Arcade answers. “But you say that she is yours?” Le Fey inquires. “As much as any man can claim a woman,” is his response. “And you are willing to share her fate? And claim her debts?” the woman responds. Hank comments to Arcade, “Should you check with your lawyer before answering?” Arcade says, “It would help if you tell us what this is all about.”

Le Fey says, “When the O’Shea family left Ireland a disharmony overtook the land.” Arcade mutters, “Something that made Ireland worse than it already was? I find that hard to believe.” Le Fey describes the potato famine, which forced much of the population of Ireland to immigrate to America. Arcade asks “This disharmony. It is something that is within our power to fix?” Le Fey says, “Yes, it is. But she cannot go with you.” “We’re not leaving without her,” Arcade adamantly states.

Le Fey says, “She cannot go. And the problem is not here, it is in Ireland.” Hank blurts out “And we’d have been there by now if you hadn’t interfered.” Le Fey says, “There is a curse on the land. Any O’Shea who walks there will die instantaneously.” “Maybe she should stay here then,” Sam comments.

Arcade then asks “So, Milady, exactly what is it that we need to do to restore this balance?” She replies, “The curse was placed upon the land after the family left. This curse needs to be lifted for an O’Shea to set foot there again.” “Good thing we brought a priest,” Hank mutters, gesturing to Angus. Arcade says, “Nah, that’s for dealing with spirts of the dead.” Qualtaqa says “I may be able to help, I know something about earth spirits.”

Arcade asks to see his wife before they go but Le Fey says that is not possible. “What will you tell her?” he asks. She replies, “I do not need to tell her anything, she is in stasis.” “Statis?” Sam asks. Le Fey says, “To her it will seem like it was instantaneous.” “She’s made that complaint before,” Arcade mutters.

The group returns to the ship. The swirling clouds return and they find themselves back at sea just as when they left. The remainder of the voyage is uneventful and they dock in Dublin. Arcade suggests that they find a pub since he believes that there is a local law stating that people are not allowed to be sober. They see that around a quarter of the people are attired in kilts, and several of them are dwarves, so Angus blends right in.

They decide that the best place to start this investigation would be for Angus to make an inquiry at the nearest Norse church. They are given directions and soon reach a large stone structure dedicated to the Viking gods with Angus translating runes about the door as reading “Temple of Odin”. They enter and are greeting by a large blonde female human wearing armor and a hat with horns on the side. “Looks like she just came from an Opera,” Arcade mutters.

Angus asks about a library and is given directions. They reach a large room full of books, but most are written in either dwarven, Gaelic or Scandinavian languages, which only Angus can read. Arcade finds several books about the Celts, some of which are written in common. Hank mutters, “What’s with all these strange languages that sound like you’re clearing your through or spitting when you speak them?” Angus replies, “Well, the phrase ‘will work for pancakes’ sounds more impressive when spoken in Gaelic.”

The workers in the library are being generally uncooperative. Hank says “Hey, maybe we should offer these guys some money.” Qualtaqa goes over to the person who appears to be in charge and sets down a pile of gold coins and says “Perhaps you can find us something to eat or drink. You can keep whatever is left.” This results in the pile of coins immediately disappearing several people running around and a pitcher of mead and a platter of meats and cheeses being brought to the party.

The woman who initially greeted them arrives and introduces herself at the Librarian and asks if there is anything specific she can help them find. Arcade decides to get straight to the point and says, “Yeah, We want to find out everything we can about the curse on the O’Shea family.” Upon hearing that every patron in the library comes to a complete halt and silence follows. Everyone who had pocketed some of the gold coins puts them back in the pile, nobody wanting to have any association whatsoever with this curse.

“Are any of you O’Sheas?” she cautiously asks. Louie gestures to his half-orc Chinese self and exclaims, “Do I look like an O’Shea to you?” Arcade assures her “None of us are, but we are associates friends of the family and would like to see the curse lifted so that the family can have the option of returning.” The woman replies, “Odd, I thought they were all dead.” The woman is hesitant and suggests that it is getting late and the library will soon close so maybe they should leave.

They decide to find a tavern and inn. Angus says to Arcade, “And it might be best to NOT mention your wife’s family.” They find a place to stay where Hank complains to his companion about the food, saying, “Why is it that they feel the need to boil everything?” Arcade says, “Well at least they boil it in beer. Over in England they boil everything in water instead.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Module 127, Game #2 - 8/01/04

Chapter 70, “Lady Wilde”, February 8th, 1882:

The group returns to the Norse church and continue making inquiries. Arcade questions against it, saying that he wouldn’t want regular church attendance to become a habit. They go anyway and discover that the pile of coins still remains untouched so Qualtaqa takes it back. The woman again asks the party what their relationship is to the O’Shea family. Louie says, “One of them is a missing member of our gang.” “Gang? What gang?” she asks. “Respectable gang,” is Louie’s reply. Arcade interjects “We owe them a debt which we wish to take care of.” The woman is still hesitant and asks, “What is this debt?” Hank points to Arcade and blurts out “Him, they let him marry into the family. We owe them big for that.”

The woman suggests “I’ve been told that for the details you should go check with the Wildes. Lady Wilde has done extensive research about the curse and would probably know the most about it.” They get directions and head over that way. Arcade comments, “I’ve heard of an Oscar Wilde, is she related?” “His wife,” the woman replies. Arcade comments, “I believe that he is a writer or actor of some sort.” “They have writers in Ireland?” Hank questions. Angus replies, “Sure they do. The phrase ‘will work for pancakes’ sounds far more impressive when spoken in Gaelic.”

Arcade asks, “Before you go, what else have you found out?” She says that they were all attractive and charismatic redheads whose occupation was that of the bard. She says that they supported their neighbors as well as the people who lived on the O’Shea lands. She says that around forty years earlier the O’Sheas left and the potatoes then turned black. The people blamed the O’Sheas for that but they could not be punished since they were no longer around. So instead, eight other druids who remained on the O’Shea land were blamed. These people were burned at the stake. It is these people who are the spirits that blame the O’Shea family for their fate.

Hank says “We don’t need the history lesson, just tell us how to banish these banshees from Ireland.” The Norse priestess replies, “You need to free them of the injustice and then the spirits can move on.” Angus says, “I guessed that banishing banshees would be no easy task.”

Hank exclaims “Dagnabit! Why do you keep getting a Texas gunslinger to go after foes that he can’t shoot!”? Arcade says, “Sometimes I wonder why we do these things.” Sam interjects “To save your wife!” Arcade replies “We haven’t been married that long, I guess we’re not all that attached.” Qualtaqa says, “The O’Sheas owned a sizeable plot of land here that you stand to inherit if we do this.” Arcade replies, “Well, I guess that would be okay, except for the part about it being in Ireland.” Sam says, “Think of it as something to annoy your mother with.” The woman is thanked for the information at the group departs.

Not knowing exactly what to do next they decide to hit a pub and discuss it further. Angus suggests returning to the Norse church. This results in numerous insults being made at the expense of the large priestess there dressed as a Valkrye. They discuss the possibility of talking to a city official but decide that none would let them in. Louie disagrees, again reiterating that they are a respectable gang. Arcade says, “It sounds like we need to set the record straight to free these banshees.” Hank suggests finding a newspaperman stating, “Maybe they’re not as corrupt over here.”

Hank says “It sounds like the banshee’s curse causes the kids to die right after they are born. We should probably go look for some pregnant women.” Arcade comments, “That shouldn’t be too hard to do in Dublin.” Louie says, “Let Sam do it, he’s good at charming women.” “Pregnant women?” Arcade asks. Hank interjects, “Sure, he helps them get their start!”

They decide to go and visit the Wilde home and a butler answers the door. They are informed that the Lord is currently away on a lecture tour in America. Arcade says that it is actually his wife who they wish to see and introduces himself as Joshia Arcadiam, the son of Lord and Lady Arcadiam of England. The butler says that she is currently home. They are brought inside to meet her.

Lady Wilde soon joins them. She is a very petite human woman who is near the end of a pregnancy. She appears to be fascinated by the fact that one member of the party is a half-orc and another is an elf. She invites them to join her for tea.

Arcade introduces himself and gives a short summary of what led them here. She is extremely interested in this information as she indicates that the baby who she is carrying has O’Shea blood and could also be subject to the curse. Qualtaqa assures her that they will do everything in their power to prevent harm from coming to her unborn child. Arcade says that the best thing she can do for the baby is to share with them everything she knows of the O’Shea family and the curse.

She proves to be a wealth of information, indicating that Morgana’s father is considered to be the Father of the Plague, the potato famine that has ravaged Ireland. She says that while the druids were killed four decades earlier that a secretive sect of druids still remain and that it is them who he should seek out. They thank her for the information and then leave. Louie comments, “Is it just me, or the more we travel the weirder these missions get.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Game #3 - 8/29/04

Chapter 71, “Do you know where the druids are?” February 8th, 1882:

The gang decides to follow up on the premise that there may still be some druids in Ireland who could assist with ending the curse. They discover that whatever druids may be around will be difficult to locate, that they no longer congregate in large groups.

Next they investigate the potatoes themselves, finding out information about the black fungus that destroys the vegetables. Unfortunately nearly everyone they speak to believes the O’Shea family was responsible. They finally give up seeking information for the day and find another pub and inn in that section of Dublin, where lodgings are found for the night.

Hank attempts to tip the bartender heavily and then get information from him. He in able to provide information as to where he thinks the druids may be located and gives them directions, adding that he believed they usually had their ceremonies during midnight of the full moon (it is almost full at this point).

They head up to the hills following the lead. There are no druids around although the party discovers evidence of a fire circle that was probably used by them. They then run into a mysterious man dressed as a druid and under the assumption that he is one ask a series of questions about the banshee.

The man replies “Problems, problems, problems. Mortals should not play with things they do not understand. There is a problem with the potatoes but you need to find out who it was that started it.” “And it wasn’t the O’Sheas?” Sam comments. The man replies, “The O’Sheas saw what was coming but could not prevent it. The potatoes came first.” The man then wanders into the nearest grove of trees.

“Now what do we do?” Louie asks. Angus replies “Sounds like we need to find somebody that knows a lot about potatoes.” Qualtaqa says, “No, more like somebody who can help remove a fungus.” Hank says, “Can’t do that with a gun. I think we’re not the right men for this job.” Louie says, “Maybe we should just dig up a potato and talk to it?” Qualtaqa supports that idea, but Arcade dismisses it and since he is the only druid in the group that works as a veto.

“We should ask that man some more questions,” Sam comments. “He’s gone,” Qualtaqa observes. Arcade uses his tracking skills and looks at the ground to find which way the man went, finding none except for him and his companions and states, “I don’t think he was ever here in the first place.” Qualtaqa replies, “Then we can still talk to him.”

The centaur asks out loud, “What can you tell us of the curse.” The man’s voice echoes from the trees “In O’Sheas blood they will bring the death when birth is given on the land.” The voice then ends. Hank says, “Great, it sounds like we have to follow around a pregnant woman.” Arcade says, “Should be easy enough to find one around Dublin.” Hank replies, “I was referring to that Lady Wilde.” “Maybe there is a way to purify her?” Qualtaqa muses. Sam interjects “Let’s just tell her not to eat the potatoes.” Angus replies, “Or make sure that her kid never touches the ground, the comment was ‘on the land’.” “So you want us to catch the kid as it comes out?” Louie asks.

Louie then suggests, “Why don’t we just find a banshee and ask they what they want?” Hank replies “Maybe we already did. That guy we were speaking to was probably one.” Arcade replies “Nah, banshees are all women.” “I think he was a human druid,” Qualtaqa states, “And used a ‘pass without trace’ spell to hide his tracks.” Louie yells into the trees “Any more suggestions for us before you go?” The voice replies, “Go to the higher hill and inform the others. But don’t stay on the hill after midnight.”

They head up to the higher hill. Nobody is around but there is another fire ring that does not appear to have been used. Hank notices a plant spring on the ground and investigates, telling the others “Look, it’s mistletoe, and it’s still warm.” Since it is now around 10:30 P.M. and they conclude that there isn’t anyone around. They decide to return for the pub and inn for the evening and maybe check back the following night.

They reach the inn and sit down to order a round of drinks. Qualtaqa makes a number of suggestions as to what they can do next. The ideas are not well received, with Angus, Hank and Arcade instead debating about what the centaur’s new nickname should be. Arcade likes “Shecky”, Angus favors “Trigger” and Hank is partial to “Hooves-for-brains.” Qualtaqa gets frustrated and tells them “If you don’t like my ideas than what would you suggest we do?” Hank replies, “We should hit all of the pubs and teach the people there how to sing ‘Yellow Rose of Texas’“. Arcade likes the idea of pub hopping but has reservations about teaching a bunch of drunken Irishmen to sing.

The discussion goes back to the banshees. The conversation is interrupted when pair of barely visible spectral forces pass over the party. Sam asks the bartender “Did you just see two invisible women go by?” Angus had not seen them and says to Sam “I think ye ‘ave ‘ad a wee bit too much to drink Laddie.” Arcade points out that Sam is only drinking water. Angus then tells Sam “Then maybe you should start drinking instead Lad.” A high-pitched sound begins and several of the crystal glasses in the room shatter. “Looks like magic,” Louie comments. Angus says “Nay, ‘tis the banshee. They have found us.” Arcade replies “Good.” Hank interjects “Not so loud, the barkeep will make us pay for all the broken glass.”

They then see the dust on the floor rearrange itself. First it makes the shape of a crescent moon. Hank replies, “Great, it wants us to go to the outhouse.” It then makes a few other shapes, of a building and then a hillside. Louie says “No, we saw those shapes last night near the druid’s mountain.” The final shape is that of a well. “I think we went by one last night that looked like that,” Sam comments.

They all head off towards the farm and well. They hear sounds from up on the druid mountain. Qualtaqa transforms back into a centaur and charges up the hill. Angus decides to follow. The others check out the well. Arcade casts a ‘Detect Magic’ spell and discovers that the well has a faint residue of magic to it. Peering down the well he detects a heavy layer of magic at the bottom.

Arcade decides to go down to investigate, climbing up with both of his feet in the bucket and handing onto the rope. He asks to be lowered down. They do so and as he reaches the waterline and continues. The rope then goes slack. They crack the bucket back up but without Arcade. Louie looks at Sam and Hank and comments “We be Sam’s Gang now?”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 72, “Mother Nature” February 8th & 9th, 1882:

Hank shines the light down the well and doesn’t see anything except water. “I’m going down too,” he exclaims. Louie lowers him down with Hank sending up continuous commentary. He reaches the water level and becomes silent. The group then hears sounds coming from the hill with the druid fire ring. Qualtaqa transforms back into his centaur form and charges up the hill Angus follows. Louie and Sam continue to stay by the well.

Angus follows the trail up to the glade. A bonfire is lit in the fire ring and a group of druids are dancing around the circle. He watches as Qualtaqa moves forward to join them, speaks with the druids, and then joins them in the dance. Angus decides to sit down and watch from a distance “Just in case Trigger needs my help.”

Arcade and Hank have gotten back together. They passed through the water without getting wet and found themselves in a strange land, covered with lush green grass and trees of all varieties. It is also daytime. They wander about out into a grove of apple trees. The apples themselves then yell out “Shake us down, shake us down.” Hank mutters “Hermes help me, the danged fruit is talking.” Arcade asks the applies “Why do you want shaken down?” They yell back in unison “We’re over-ripe, we’re over-ripe.” He shakes the tree and the apples fall. . Hank mutters “Food that tells you when to pick it, go figure.”

They move on and soon arrive at a woodland cottage. They enter the building and find it deserted but smell the aroma of freshly backed bread. They then hear voices yelling from inside of the over and open he door. The six loaves of bread baking inside yell out “Take us out, take us out, or we will burn.”

They do as instructed and Hank says “Is that better?” He then looks up at Arcade and says “I can’t believe that I’m talking to bread.” He replies “That’s better than loafing around.” Hank replies, “Well, that’s a slice of life”. Arcade answers “Just trying to get a rise out of you.” Hank responds “And be known as a heal”. Arcade stays “It’s the yeast you can do.” They continue to exchange bread-related puns for another few minutes. Their ally Louie then joins them. He says that it took a while but he eventually managed to convince Sam to lower him down.

Louie is brought up to speed about what has transpired. He suggests that they ask the bread about how to cure the potato fungus plaguing Ireland. They bread says that it does not know. Arcade says “We probably have to find some talking potatoes to find that out.” They continue on and soon come to another cottage, this one surrounded by a white picket fence.

They see a woman with red hair in a blue demin dress and white apron who looks to be in her late teens or early twenties tending a garden near the cabin. “Hey, somebody who looks normal,” Hank comments. He and Arcade get the woman’s attention. He asks “Is this your home?” She replies, “No, I just work for the old lady.” “Is she home?” Arcade inquires. “Who are you?” the woman asks. Arcade says “We are the three mysterious strangers who you legends speak of that will come from a faraway place who are destined to come here seeking information.” “Huh?” Hank asks. Arcade mutters back “Generic legend.”

They are taken inside and introduced to Old Mother Hubble, who tells them that this is her home. They introduce themselves and Hank then asks her “How long have you been here?” She replies, “I’ve always been here.” Arcade says “And what did you do before that?” She answers, “There was no before that.” “For you or for everyone?” he inquires. “All people and things.” He mutters to his teammates, “I think she’s a druidic deity.” Hank answers “Mother Nature?” “Something like that,” Arcade says.

Hank asks her “What is this place?” She replies, “It is my home. I already told you that. Are you dim?” Louie talks to her about the potato problem and asks if she knows of a cure. She says that she is very much aware of the problem. It was caused not by nature but by humans importing non-native potatoes from South America which had the fungus. Hank says, “So we just need to stop them from importing potatoes.” Louie says “I think we need to fix bad potatoes already there.”

Louie asks if she can give them something to fix the bad potatoes. She replies “What will you give me in return?” Arcade looks at Louie and says “How do you feel about half-orcs?” Louie interjects “What about Sam?” Hank says “I think that she would prefer something of value.” Arcade turns to Louie and says “I think you would be very happy here. Lots of food to eat and fields to run in.” The half-orc replies, “I’m not the centaur, we left him back up top.” Hank interjects “Perfect! We’ll trade him instead!”

Arcade asks “What do we have that you would want from us?” She says that she will be happy to take in return the promise of a future favor whenever she calls. Hank says, “Ma’am, you can count on that. We Texans always keep our word.” The woman then points to the young woman and says “And you can take her back with you. She has been down here long enough and it will now be safe for her to return to where you arrived from.”

She also gives them each a crystal sphere. She also hands Arcade a vial of black powder, telling him that as a druid he will be able to get it to the right person to end the potato famine. She tells them to talk to find the great druid to help. The four head back to the well. They climb into the bucket one at a time and tug on the rope, with Sam then pulling them each back up.

Back up on the hill, the druids have completed their ceremony. They indicate their pleasure that Qualtaqa decided to join them. They then disappear into the forest. Angus head to his comrade and the two notice that the land on the hill is now a fertile green color. A potato is picked and it is free of the fungus. Qualtaqa says “Their ceremony is purifying the land.” Angus replies, “Yeah, but all that dancing only fixed around an acre or two. I think it’s too little too late.” They head back down the hill, Qualtaqa transforming back into elvan form.

The two groups meet back up and the woman, Meagan Kelley, is introduced to the others. They head back to the inn and obtain a room for her. The group then retires for the evening.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 73, “Freeing the Banshees”, February 9th, 1882:

The group sits down for breakfast and discusses what to do next. Hank says he doesn’t wish to go back to that strange place adding, “We Texans aren’t that fond of fairyland.” Arcade says, “I’m not sure we’re much better off than yesterday, all we did was talk to an old woman who spoke in riddles.” Sam comments, “You also brought back a young woman,” gesturing to Meagan. Louie says, “Right, we traded up for a new party member, we just need to get rid of some of the dead weight.” “Feel free to jump down that well anytime you want,” Arcade says to Louie.

Qualtaqa asks Meagan about where she is from. She asks him his name before answering which he states. She then comments that his name is difficult to pronounce. “Just call him Trigger,” Angus states. In answer to his original question she says “I am from right around here, but it has changed. There are a lot more buildings now.” They ask her more questions and determine that she was last here in 1844, shortly after the O’Shea family left. She recalls only being in ‘Fairyland’ a short while. They determine from further questioning that she has had druidic training and would most likely have been killed had she stayed in the area. Angus asks her questions about the potatoes of her time and discovers that the fungus predated the O’Sheas being blamed, which is consistent with the other information that they had obtained.

They suggest that Meagan go visit people who she would know from her own time as they may have information. They follow her to the home of a childhood friend named Gwenyth, who had some druidic training. The man at the house says the she was killed almost forty years earlier and that a young woman like Meagan could not possibly have known her. When pressed the man indicates that he is the woman’s son. They try to convince the man that his mother’s spirit is trapped and that they are seeking to free it. He is uncooperative until they offer to buy him a drink. Hanks says, “This is further evidence that every problem in life can be solved by just going to the pub.”

After multiple rounds of drinks they find out information from him as to how to access another mystical realm via traveling back down the well to find a place where the answers may lie and to look for a waterfall. They leave him at the pub and all head off to this magical plateau and then enter a cave in search of this waterfall. They reach strangely colored stones. Arcade is allowed to pass through but the others are stopped. Angus complains, “Great, now we need a new leader.” “I volunteer,” Hank states. The others all laugh at that suggestion.

Arcade reaches the other side and is bombarded with questions from some sprite-like creatures. He identifies himself as being a druid. They tell him “The druids are gone, why did you return?” He explains his mission to clear the names of the Banshees due to the potato famine predating he departure of the O’Shea family. He is told that he needs to make this information known to the public, perhaps by creating a public spectacle. “That’s something that we’re good at,” he replies. He is told to gather the remaining druids.

Hank manages to get by the barrier. He moves on, going by the water that is a deep green color. Hanks takes a shot into the water but nothing happens. He is told by little pixies “Speak with the Fey”. He eventually catches up to Arcade, who brings him up to speed. “What do you want to do?” Hank asks. Arcade replies “Give up.” Hank asks “What about Morgana?” Arcade replies, “We’ve only been married for a couple of months. It’s not like we’re really attached yet.” Hank says “Well come with me back to Texas then, we have lots of pretty girls there.” Arcade replies, “But to do that I’d have to actually go to Texas.”

Meanwhile, the other have wandered into a different section of the cave filled with grass, trees and other vegetation. Louie climbs up a tree to look around and deduce another way to get where they want to go. He leads Angus, Meagan, Sam and Qualtaqa in a direction of a waterfall that he saw. It takes them a full three hours of hiking to reach that area.

As they move on Meagan begins to recognize the surroundings, having been there once before. They reach a wide and swift river, which she says was only a small stream the last time she was there. Sam suggest that they swim across. Another player says, “Why don’t you change into your bathing suit firs. Of course, in the 1880’s a bathing suit would be made of wool and cover more skin than your regular clothing.” They decide to follow the river until they reach the waterfall.

Louie discovers a path and recognizes Arcade and Hank’s footprints. They head up by some rocks and continue onward. The grass and vegetation beneath their feet attempts to grab them but the group pushes on. They eventually find the waterfall, which Qualtaqa senses to actually be sentient. Sam says, “We have a problem then. None of us speak ‘Water’.” Hank’s bullet then exits the waterfall and strikes Louie in the shoulder for a minor flesh wound.

On the other side of the water Hank and Arcade hear sprites giggling. Hank makes derogatory comments about the little creatures. Arcade pleads their case and explains what they are seeking to accomplish. Arcade is commanded to go forth and through another waterfall. He gets to the other side and is asked “You wish answers?” He replies, “Yes, that and maybe a towel.”

They continue onward. They find a red-haired naked man encased in a giant crystal. Arcade approaches it and is about to walk into and through the crystal but Hank is prevented from doing so, the object being solid to him. Arcade reaches the man inside and converses with him, explaining that he is a druid who is married to an O’Shea. He gives the man the magical powder to the fix the potatoes. They are told that they must now make it publicly known that the druids were not responsible and that the descendents of the women killed must be present with this is revealed.

Hank and Arcade depart, joining up with the others. They return to Dublin and locate the Mayor of the town so that he can witness and declare the innocence of the women. The druids from the hill are led into the city by the banshees. They remove their hoods, showing them to be the children of the banshee. Arcade explains what has been found and that the potato fungus has been removed from the land. The Mayor declares the innocence of those killed and the spirits move on.

The group decides to go retrieve Morgana. They debate taking another ship but then realize that any body of water would work. They find a lake and take a rowboat out into the center, passing through the vortex into Avalon. Morgana is returned to them and she does not realize that three days have passed. They return the boat back to the lake, heading to Dublin and finding new lodgings.

The others want to leave but Morgana insists upon spending a few days in Ireland. Louie just complains about how cold and wet it is. Hank agrees to stay but clarifies it with the comment “And by that I mean you can spend a few days checking out the country while we spend that time sitting in a pub.”

February 10th, 1882:

Louie suggests that Arcade take his wife on a side trip to ‘Fairyland’. Once she hears of the place she wants to go so he reluctantly brings her. When they reach the man encased in the crystal they enter and converse with him. It turns out that he is Morgana’s father, a person who she has never actually met before. They have very little to talk about so the visit is brief, with Arcade being uncomfortable around the unclothed man now that he knows that it is his father-in-law. The two return to the pub with the others.

End of Module