March 05, 2005

Hook

Adventurers needed for an offworld Search/Recovery mission. Unusual conditions. Meet Marcus Clarke at the Dancing Draco at 1:30.

Plot Synopsis

The adventurers show up at the Dancing Draco at various times and are directed back to room C. Inside, they find two men, one writing in a ledger, the other reading off numbers from a different paper. He introduces himself as Marcus Clarke, the Field Director of the Seltaris Mining Conglomerate- Aileron Division. He goes on to explain that they mine various valuable gems using specially designed mining ships. When pressed, he explains that the world he works on has no real ground and they work off of flying mining platforms and airships, and that anyone with a fear of heights might want to seek alternate employment. The Conglomerate tracks all of their mining ships, and that recently a strange chain of events has been happening to them. One ship, the Aurora, was tracked as suddenly coming to a dead stop. At first it was dismissed as mechanical trouble. After a few days with no change, a smaller resupply ship was sent out to assist. It disappeared completely, and the Conglomerate is becoming suspicious. They believe the planet to be uninhabited, but something seems to be preying on their ships. In any case, the Aurora is still drifting, and within a week, will be pulled into a storm system and destroyed. The adventurers will accompany another ship, the Otana, and assist with recovering the ship and any possible survivors, and helping against any threats.

The group agrees to the terms and they depart on the Otana. Along the 3 day trip to the Aurora's believed position, some group members poke around the propeller driven airship, though the 'Engine Room' door is kept securely locked. (This doesn't stop everyone). On the third day, the ship is attacked by flying predators called Scree, but the approaching flock of boomerang shaped creatures is fireballed and sunstruck before they get close enough to do damage. Eldain notices that that fireball looked quite a bit larger than it normally would, and suggest caution when using fire-based spells, as something around here is definitely more flammable.

The Otana reaches the Aurora and cautiously approaches, with several party members flying over to have a look. The ship's hull is riddled with holes and the supporting balloon has been partially deflated. Upon closer inspection below decks, a number of foot-long metal darts are found shot into various surfaces, and a few bloodstains and a single corpse are found. One bloodstain is different, being yellow-green in color. Anything and everything has been stripped, including all the Engine Room equipment. While the crew of the Otana rigs the Aurora for towing, Gronk questions their pilot about the possibility of a mutiny or a betrayal on the Aurora, or if any of the ship's logs suggest anything unusual. He replies that they have never had any shipboard crew problems beyond brawls, and the crewers are paid too well to mutiny.

Mini-G takes note of the fuel substance used by the Aurora and overloads for a Locate, believing that he might be able to find whoever looted the Aurora based off the stolen material. On the second try, he gets a fix on some of the substance a day's distance away, and he Aurora goes off after it.

They soon find themselves closing nose to nose with a smaller airship of different design. Eldain, Mini-G, and Tanis all go invisible and proceed to fly out to board the approaching ship, and attack the crew, which is comprised of beings which appear similar to elves but significantly meaner looking. They attack with swords and odd-looking rifle weapons which fire metal darts like the ones seen aboard the Aurora. It isn't much of a fight, as the beings seem incapable of doing magic damage, but Eldain does get bonked over the head with an unloaded rifle and remembers why it's always a good idea to wear a helmet. Eldain pops one of his Mentos and orders the survivors to help him get below decks, but they just look at him funny because they don't understand his language. Meanwhile, back on the Otana, another airship is seen closing from behind, and Dom flies out to meet it, even as it fires a ballista at the Otana, dispatching a number of the crew but taking a few shots himself. Barry uses his gun on the balloon, puncturing it in several places as it pulls up beside the Otana and the hostile troops attempt to board. Roan chucks a few lightning bolts and Gronk and Stephan beat on the boarders as Dom slashes the balloon wide open. The boarding vessel goes into a steep dive and disappears as the rest of the boarders are dealt with. On the first airship, Tanis manages to get into the lower deck and attacks the commander, putting him out of commission. The pilot pulls a large red lever, which separates the hull from the balloon. Mini-G and Tanis fly off, as does Eldain, after taking a moment to steal what he can.

The group returns and retrieves the Aurora, towing it back to base, interrogating the one surviving prisoner. Marcus goes pale at the sight of the prisoner, saying that he is Talarian and is his people's ancient enemy, who had supposedly disappeared 700 years ago. They take custody and the group is paid 1100 silver apiece for a successful retrieval, and Marcus hints that they may need more assistance in the future.

Noteworthy Postgame Events