July 31, 2004

Hook

Adventurers needed to track raiders and recover stolen property. To arrange a contract, meet at the Stopover Inn, Room 2, at 9 a.m.

Plot Synopsis

Upon arriving at the Inn, adventurers are brought through a portal to meet their employer in another portal hub. A strange creature introducing himself as S.kurzan greets them and gets down to business. He explains that the museum of curios at the Hub was broken into and several very expensive display items, all relating to unknown tech, were stolen. The raiding party retreated through a portal near the hub that has not been mapped yet, and the adventurers are to retrieve the stolen property, though anything else the raiders have on them is up for grabs. After some insisting, S.kurzan and his barrister, Mr. Lanster get them to sign contracts to this effect, and the party is directed to the proper portal after investigating the crime scene.

Once through the portal, several party members notice that some of their normal abilities do not seem to be working. Jennifer in particular is irked by this, and remains so throughout the adventure. The party manages to find the trail taken by the raiders, and sets off. They walk along an ancient overgrown road, and towards the end of the first day come to a long abandoned structure. They rest here, but in the middle of the night are set upon by attackers. The attackers are not nearly as successful as they had hoped to be with their ambush thanks to the efforts of Claude, but one, after throwing an obviously Phantasmal Ruby Death at Dr. Winder, gives Jacob quite a surprise by hitting him dead on with a real one. Unfortunately, by this point, the rest of the party has pretty much mopped up their attackers, with only Jacob coming out rather singed.

In the morning, the party continues its tracking. After some time, they spot a ruined city. Deciding to be cautious, a Shadow Mount-Drako is created with which many party members sit on. Jennifer decides to scout, and comes upon a man sitting against a wall near a large dome-shaped structure. The man appears to be babbling nonsense, and then looks directly at the invisible Jennifer. Slightly disturbed, Jennifer attacks the man, who whips out a sword and proceeds to go to town on her. By this time, Claude and Dom are both are approaching the town as well. Claude sees the man fighting apparently thin air, and heads that way. The strange man fights very well, until Claude comes up behind him and matches him swing for swing. Meanwhile, Dom begins getting sniped by bullets from nearby buildings. He spots one sniper, and begins heading for cover. As he does so, a hatch at the top of the dome opens and a large mechanical suit, one of the stolen items, flies out and begins taking potshots at Dom. Claude finishes the strange man Jennifer was fighting, and heads back to help Dom. Dom is now fighting the sniper, who seems unnaturally quick and strong, another incredibly strong half-man half-machine construct, and the flying mechanical suit is rapidly approaching. Eventually, between Dom, Jennifer, and Claude, the three attackers are taken out, though the adventurers sustain significant damage.

Jennifer then proceeds to investigate the dome, finding an entrance, and has a pitched battle all her own with the two persons she finds inside, one a mage standing in a strange blue rift, throwing lightning at her even though Jennifer is still invisible, and another, a quiet man sitting in the middle of the dome. Eventually, these two die and are looted. The party manages to recover all the stolen items, though the mechanical suit is in many pieces, and return to the Hub. They are paid and sent home.

Later, the wife of S.kurzan is killed in the streets of the Hub by an unseen presence wielding magic of Anubis. Jaernian access to the Hub becomes restricted.

Noteworthy Postgame Events