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kihouAs we left our intrepid heroes, they were headed to check out Malvora Mansion, with Lewis critical of the wisdom of the plan but coming along to keep the others out of trouble. (You can see this whole series at my "thin ice" tag.
Oh, and I may have mentioned this before, but there's also a campaign map. (Though the island off the coast of Newfoundland makes the default zoom suck now.)
As they watch the mansion, they see a beat-up old sedan pull up. Two human goons drag Kate out.
Goon: "You thought you could escape us by leaving town, eh? Thought you were cleverer than that."
Kate: "I wasn't running away! If you'd just let me explain…"
One of the goons cuffs her. "Save your 'explanation' for the boss. We've got strict instructions not to believe anything you say." Kate opens her mouth to say something else. The other goon interjects, "We've also got instructions not to do anything dumb by taking that order too literally. So just shut up."
Mike rushes in to fight the goons, with support from Rebecca on slingshot. They get away with Kate, narrowly escaping from a White Court vampire who gets Lewis's license plate. Mike's wallet, unfortunately, is left behind with the goons.
They take Kate to Rebecca's place at the BPL. Rebecca ties her hair back with the silk scarf from the handcuffs, and Lewis holds onto the actual cuffs. Lewis puts his car in a public garage for a few days.
Lewis examines the handcuffs the goons used on Kate. They're wrapped in silk, made of cold iron, and inlaid ebony carved with abstract curved design. Using a ritual to examine them, he finds that they're designed to keep someone from using glamours. He sticks them in his back room for now.
Rebecca makes a pallet on the floor for Kate and they have a sleepover. Rebecca has a vision but forgets it; Kate says she only remembers "The key that opens a false door opens a dangerous path" and something about "being born in the fall". Rebecca's pretty sure she knows more, but doesn't push too much.
The next day (March 21, the gallery opening, day before the Spring Equinox), Kate's gone. A cake shows up at Mike's Dojo with a note. The cake reads "Happy Birthday Rebecca". The note reads: "What's a few Weeks between friends? Not like it actually came this year."
(I got a real cake as a prop. It was delicious.)
There's some buzz about the gallery opening at Lewis's shop.
They eat cake.
Lewis calls up James Keith, a jeweler he knows well with an interest in antique jewelry. (Interesting guy. Obsessed with crafting.) He asks about emerald-cut rubies. "DeVore got it yesterday. Seemed to be a collector, attired oddly." Lewis mentions the gallery opening.
The party talks about the prophecy.
Chuck shows up at the Dojo again; he seems to be stronger and faster than average, but not supernaturally so. He's picked up by a driver: a large man in a suit looking straight forward who doesn't turn as Mike says that Chuck is unusually talented. Mike: "Is he always this sociable?" Chuck shrugs awkwardly. "It gets old pretty fast."
Later, Saskia comes to Lewis with misgivings. She got an invitation from Jilli to the gallery opening, but Jilli's been acting distracted lately, and Zajak has an iffy reputation on the Paranet: some minor practitioners who were grad students under him report odd behavior and being experimented upon without their consent through trickery, so she's a bit concerned. Seeing Rebecca, she asks "Is that your kid?" (Rebecca can't use the internet much but has the Paranet handle "swrebecca"; Mike's handle is "surfthedao".)
Mike gets a phone call from Kate's phone: "You see your friend, you tell her we've got a tracker on her and she's not getting away. If this is really all a misunderstanding, it'll go much easier for her if she comes to us peaceful-like."
Rebecca looks up blueprints for the museum ahead of time and figures out that it has a Single Point of Security Failure.
Opening the exhibition, Erwin Zajak gives a speech, introducing Dr. Howe and Gregory Fu of the White Council. (Apparently, even Zajak doesn't know Dr. Howe's first name.)
Jilli and James Keith are there, as is Tom the cat from the character creation adventure.
There are various artifacts and curiosities on display. The following are of strength Good (+3) in Lewis's sight:
Jar of the Harvest (Mayan jar)
Twilight's Blade (Obsidian knife)
Betrayal Gladius (Roman gladius)
Shriven Torque (said to relieve one of sins)
Cupid's Mirror (large cloudy quartz mosaic disc said to glow when gazed at on opposite sides by two soul mates)
Scroll of Truth (meditate in front of it to detect truth)
Fu Dog of Dire Peril (animates only at greatest need)
He also sees that Rebcecca has a Slow-Moving Aura.
Finally, he sees that May's Tear, the center of the exhibition, is of strength Great (+4) and has something to do with "flowers". The description given is:
"May's Tear, (~500-1000 CE)
Called by some Spring's Majesty, legend says this artifact has a strong connection with the season of Spring. Claims of its origin vary: it is said in some sources to have accompanied early setters from Holland to the New World, by others to have been obtained in an exchange of gifts with a Pennacook tribal leader. It has been in a private Boston collection for several hundred years. Attempts to determine its origin by materials analysis have been unsuccessful."
Suddenly, the power cuts out. Charles DeVore, mad scientist, has decided to ruin Zajak's opening. He breaks in through the east fire exit with his Abscondomatic, a proton pack-looking device that teleports artifacts away by hitting them with a red beam. There is lots of panic, and most head outside. Mike and Lewis try to stop DeVore while Rebecca hexes his device. Unfortunately, this hexing causes Saskia to collapse, delaying Mike due to his White Knight nature. She's okay, though. Gregory watches the chaos and notably doesn't help; stealing doesn't break any laws of magic, after all. After a battle involving much comic entangling and falling down stairs on DeVore's part, he lets out a last beam at May's Tear as he collapses. There is an explosion: stone crumbles and falls, knocking out Gregory Fu, and a perfectly round, stable portal to a snow-covered hillside hangs where May's Tear was. Its strength is at least Legendary (+8).
Rebecca dismantles the Abscondomatic and takes the ruby. Lewis, with help from Mike and Nevin Redcrosse, puts up an 8-shift ward around the portal to keep anyone from coming through, using a circle of salt, in which Redcrosse's contribution causes 5 seedlings to grow. Saskia and Dr. Howe are still here. Saskia seems to be okay. Dr. Howe is intrigued by the portal, and says he'll go find a payphone to call the White Council.
There is the sound of broken glass to the west. When the party gets back from investigating that diversion, the unconscious Gregory is missing. They wake up and question DeVore, who mostly acts like a mad scientist and isn't very helpful. They note the large amounts of snow that seem to be gathering outside the building and the cold drafts from the open fire exit, but don't think much of it. Then, a white-robed elfin figure approaches from the east, accompanied by two large white-furred wolves coming from east and west. Then it hits Lewis: it's not the other side of the portal they need to be worried about. "The entire building got transported into the Nevernever."
We'll pick up there next time.
Oh, and I may have mentioned this before, but there's also a campaign map. (Though the island off the coast of Newfoundland makes the default zoom suck now.)
As they watch the mansion, they see a beat-up old sedan pull up. Two human goons drag Kate out.
Goon: "You thought you could escape us by leaving town, eh? Thought you were cleverer than that."
Kate: "I wasn't running away! If you'd just let me explain…"
One of the goons cuffs her. "Save your 'explanation' for the boss. We've got strict instructions not to believe anything you say." Kate opens her mouth to say something else. The other goon interjects, "We've also got instructions not to do anything dumb by taking that order too literally. So just shut up."
Mike rushes in to fight the goons, with support from Rebecca on slingshot. They get away with Kate, narrowly escaping from a White Court vampire who gets Lewis's license plate. Mike's wallet, unfortunately, is left behind with the goons.
They take Kate to Rebecca's place at the BPL. Rebecca ties her hair back with the silk scarf from the handcuffs, and Lewis holds onto the actual cuffs. Lewis puts his car in a public garage for a few days.
Lewis examines the handcuffs the goons used on Kate. They're wrapped in silk, made of cold iron, and inlaid ebony carved with abstract curved design. Using a ritual to examine them, he finds that they're designed to keep someone from using glamours. He sticks them in his back room for now.
Rebecca makes a pallet on the floor for Kate and they have a sleepover. Rebecca has a vision but forgets it; Kate says she only remembers "The key that opens a false door opens a dangerous path" and something about "being born in the fall". Rebecca's pretty sure she knows more, but doesn't push too much.
The next day (March 21, the gallery opening, day before the Spring Equinox), Kate's gone. A cake shows up at Mike's Dojo with a note. The cake reads "Happy Birthday Rebecca". The note reads: "What's a few Weeks between friends? Not like it actually came this year."
(I got a real cake as a prop. It was delicious.)
There's some buzz about the gallery opening at Lewis's shop.
They eat cake.
Lewis calls up James Keith, a jeweler he knows well with an interest in antique jewelry. (Interesting guy. Obsessed with crafting.) He asks about emerald-cut rubies. "DeVore got it yesterday. Seemed to be a collector, attired oddly." Lewis mentions the gallery opening.
The party talks about the prophecy.
Chuck shows up at the Dojo again; he seems to be stronger and faster than average, but not supernaturally so. He's picked up by a driver: a large man in a suit looking straight forward who doesn't turn as Mike says that Chuck is unusually talented. Mike: "Is he always this sociable?" Chuck shrugs awkwardly. "It gets old pretty fast."
Later, Saskia comes to Lewis with misgivings. She got an invitation from Jilli to the gallery opening, but Jilli's been acting distracted lately, and Zajak has an iffy reputation on the Paranet: some minor practitioners who were grad students under him report odd behavior and being experimented upon without their consent through trickery, so she's a bit concerned. Seeing Rebecca, she asks "Is that your kid?" (Rebecca can't use the internet much but has the Paranet handle "swrebecca"; Mike's handle is "surfthedao".)
Mike gets a phone call from Kate's phone: "You see your friend, you tell her we've got a tracker on her and she's not getting away. If this is really all a misunderstanding, it'll go much easier for her if she comes to us peaceful-like."
Rebecca looks up blueprints for the museum ahead of time and figures out that it has a Single Point of Security Failure.
Opening the exhibition, Erwin Zajak gives a speech, introducing Dr. Howe and Gregory Fu of the White Council. (Apparently, even Zajak doesn't know Dr. Howe's first name.)
Jilli and James Keith are there, as is Tom the cat from the character creation adventure.
There are various artifacts and curiosities on display. The following are of strength Good (+3) in Lewis's sight:
Jar of the Harvest (Mayan jar)
Twilight's Blade (Obsidian knife)
Betrayal Gladius (Roman gladius)
Shriven Torque (said to relieve one of sins)
Cupid's Mirror (large cloudy quartz mosaic disc said to glow when gazed at on opposite sides by two soul mates)
Scroll of Truth (meditate in front of it to detect truth)
Fu Dog of Dire Peril (animates only at greatest need)
He also sees that Rebcecca has a Slow-Moving Aura.
Finally, he sees that May's Tear, the center of the exhibition, is of strength Great (+4) and has something to do with "flowers". The description given is:
"May's Tear, (~500-1000 CE)
Called by some Spring's Majesty, legend says this artifact has a strong connection with the season of Spring. Claims of its origin vary: it is said in some sources to have accompanied early setters from Holland to the New World, by others to have been obtained in an exchange of gifts with a Pennacook tribal leader. It has been in a private Boston collection for several hundred years. Attempts to determine its origin by materials analysis have been unsuccessful."
Suddenly, the power cuts out. Charles DeVore, mad scientist, has decided to ruin Zajak's opening. He breaks in through the east fire exit with his Abscondomatic, a proton pack-looking device that teleports artifacts away by hitting them with a red beam. There is lots of panic, and most head outside. Mike and Lewis try to stop DeVore while Rebecca hexes his device. Unfortunately, this hexing causes Saskia to collapse, delaying Mike due to his White Knight nature. She's okay, though. Gregory watches the chaos and notably doesn't help; stealing doesn't break any laws of magic, after all. After a battle involving much comic entangling and falling down stairs on DeVore's part, he lets out a last beam at May's Tear as he collapses. There is an explosion: stone crumbles and falls, knocking out Gregory Fu, and a perfectly round, stable portal to a snow-covered hillside hangs where May's Tear was. Its strength is at least Legendary (+8).
Rebecca dismantles the Abscondomatic and takes the ruby. Lewis, with help from Mike and Nevin Redcrosse, puts up an 8-shift ward around the portal to keep anyone from coming through, using a circle of salt, in which Redcrosse's contribution causes 5 seedlings to grow. Saskia and Dr. Howe are still here. Saskia seems to be okay. Dr. Howe is intrigued by the portal, and says he'll go find a payphone to call the White Council.
There is the sound of broken glass to the west. When the party gets back from investigating that diversion, the unconscious Gregory is missing. They wake up and question DeVore, who mostly acts like a mad scientist and isn't very helpful. They note the large amounts of snow that seem to be gathering outside the building and the cold drafts from the open fire exit, but don't think much of it. Then, a white-robed elfin figure approaches from the east, accompanied by two large white-furred wolves coming from east and west. Then it hits Lewis: it's not the other side of the portal they need to be worried about. "The entire building got transported into the Nevernever."
We'll pick up there next time.
