October 28, 2023

Hook

C&M;R&H - Act 2 Scene 3: To Stop an Already Moving Blade

Plot Synopsis

Traps are set around the Zhangsiyuan, in an effort to waylay the assassin if he would try to take Mingxing’s life. Additionally Katsuo succeeds on a Divine Intervention to Marutuk, the god of justice and righteousness. In a divine vision, he was given three likely locations where the assassin would be the next night at dusk, and additionally tasked with a quest: to bring Chenwu in alive to face justice, and receive bountiful divine rewards. He saw a vision of a Zuanshi Steelworks Warehouse, a Naval Gatehouse in Lake Xia, and a medium sized trading ship, flying the flag of Zuanshi Steelworks.

The party waited anxiously and went to rest prepared, but no attack came that night. None of the traps were activated or tripped, and Mingxing was fine. The group decided to spend the morning reaching out to the Commissioner of Sorcery, Zheng Chen, in an effort to persuade her to delay Hua’s plans with the Ars Machina, or to do something to stop her. Chen heard the group out and listened to their case, but said that without more concrete evidence (not in the form of stolen memories), she could not stop the train, and could only work behind the scenes to find Zuanshi Wei and help take Hua down when the time came.

The group then stopped by a Seherine shrine at the College of Mages and Scholars, and confirmed that the assassin would be on the trading ship at dusk.

The investigators rented a few paddle boats shaped like large origami cranes near sunset, and took them towards the ship anchored in the lake. They saw that the ship was guarded, and Taka flew overhead to survey the scene. He perched on the crow’s nest and observed two of the guards gambling at a dice game, and was promptly warned to leave the premises or be shot at.

Taka made a flyby on one of the guards, giving the rest of the group the chance to paddle the Crane Boats up to the stern of the ship, near the rudder and the captain’s cabin. They were able to peek through the windows and see Han Chenwu, without the Ying Ren armor on. The group decided to launch a surprise attack, and after a few exchanges, managed to knock Han Chenwu unconscious before he could put on the armor. They blocked the door into the cabin with a bookshelf while others stuffed Chenwu, his weapons, his armor, and a variety of documents into their bag of storage.

The documents contained evidence that the Commission of Industry was transporting weapons from Ley’Ork to the Ruefang Continental Army, the Raikougan Navy, and also a violent splinter group called The Vengeful Storm. Additionally, they found that Chenwu was sending the money he made from his work to his sister, and they found a missive from Hua instructing Chenwu to kill Mingxing after three days.

The group took the Crane Boats back to the shore and began thinking of their next steps for the following two weeks…

Noteworthy Postgame Events