September 02, 2023

Hook

Gu Tong Disease Part 1; (Co-GM, Gray) (Tiancheng, Ruefang, Cahyali)

Plot Synopsis

The game started with Fianon and Blue meeting up at Dr. Yisheng’s office in the hospital she works at. With some sarcastic banter, the duo learned about Tiancheng’s origins and the fact that the city was divided into almost quarters underwater. They learned that many people from a specific quarter have been getting deathly sick as of late, many suffering symptoms of both metal poisoning and radiation poisoning, likely from uranium. This has caused parts of the like to turn green. The doctor believes it has something to do with Lithicore, as all the journalists reporting on it either moved out to Lithicore Ranch in the following weeks, or mysteriously disappeared. They began to suspect that perhaps they were being listened to, and found that a priest of Anpu (Anubis) was spying on them, and tried to intimidate him. He left, but secretly still reported them. It was here that Keynes Friedman joined the party, as they all got their checks of 150 gold from the hospital.

Next, they went to inspect the fish in the market to see if any of them had strange mutations. Quite a few had them. One of the fishermen selling things in the market told them a story of a sea monster he saw recently on the water. It was here that Keynes noticed an old lady spying on him and the rest of the group from a nearby apartment. They interrogated the old lady, finding her to be both decently smart and surprisingly strong. Keynes eventually snuck in, posing as someone from the landlord, and proceeded to investigate her house. He found a demonic-looking altar, which would generally be illegal in Ruefang, and the party reported her to nearby Maru (T’orites) to take care of. They did not find anyone else spying on them for the time being.

Here, the party went to the docks and met Ellis “Gumbo” Jenkins, a ratman from the Rat Empire of Jaern who made his home on Cahyali not long ago. They spoke with him about getting a boat ride to try and get rid of the pollution, with Gumbo offering it for free due to his love of the lake. The party went to the market to get some equipment, with Blue buying a Thneed. They sailed off towards the probable source of the uranium pollution.

Along the way, the party found the sea monster, learning it was a guardian spirit of the lake that seems to have become corrupted by all the pollution. During a brief chase sequence, Blue used wind magic to make the air-boat move faster across the water. Keynes “fixed” the engine, and Fianon helped Gumbo move the ship from “gone” speed to “outta there” speed. From there, the guardian spirit left them alone, as the party sailed towards the location they believed to be the source.

Noteworthy Postgame Events