July 25, 2009

Hook

An other group of adventurers wanted for a different seek and extract mission. Meet at that pub with the red roof in Little Karfelon at noon.

Plot Synopsis

Group meets at the Red Roof (there are 2 other pubs with red roofs but this was the one with the sign that said to meet here). Their contact for the mission explains that his employers daughter has gone missing. They are unsure of the exact date of the disppearance and received the ransom note yesterday. The note reads simply: we have the girl. 200,000sp in dumpster in alley between silver buckle and Jase Brink's studio by dawn on the 26th. The contact says they've already gone over the note with the usual magics and mundane analysis to get a clue and struck out.

He gives the party a crystal which, when touched, give the toucher a mental picture of a young (they are told she is nine) girl dressed in winter clothing. Some of the party uses their knowledge of fashion to gather a feel for her parentage. She is also wearing a well crafted amulet. Rown, who has an artist's eye, decides that something about the shape of the girl's lips reminds him of Lord Warren.

He tells the party that the girl has always been a bit of a problem child and was known to have set a few fires in years past. Because of this she was sent to Gil's Adventuring Academy's youth program to drill some discipline into her. She has been at Gil's for about 5 months. Gil and some of his staff have already been questioned and they can only be sure the girl wasn't kidnapped as of about a week ago, they couldn't positively narrow it any further than that. At Gil's she is enrolled under the name Shelly Potts (not her real name). Real name withheld as not relevent to their mission... which is to find the girl and retrieve her unharmed.

Difuge immediately attempts mental communication and fails meaning the girl is either magically warded, time stopped or completely obliterated (not dead, obliterated). Their contact confirms that that is what their people believe as well.

The party decides that their first stop should be Gil's. Rowan says he'll catch up and heads off to check out clothing stores for leads (after drawing a quick picture based off the crystal image). He goes to a clothing store known to cater to that level of wealth and that sells the specific styles. The clerk is at first reluctant to talk about the girl but is persuaded to give over some details, enough that Rowan decides this avenue is a dead end and heads off to join the party.

The rest of the party goes to Gil's main training camp just north of Pregada. The guards are impressed to be visited by such famous adventurers (they are all adventurers in training after all). Once inside the compound they see a lot of military activity and quickly learn that Gil's has also branched into training military personnel and has the exclusive contract for adventuring and special needs personnel. The party talks to Gil who explains that Shelly had been a fairly good student and was sent off a week ago on a solo assignment. Her job was to go to the Rhineview resort in Oceanshore. She was to keep an eye on this old man and once per day go through the papers in his room looking for anything suspicious. Gil tells the party that they can't always find actual criminals to practice on so they often practice on unwhitting innocents. Tomorrow the girl would have found something incriminating (which Gil's people would have planted) and reported back marking the end of her assignment... or she'd get caught and that'd mark the end of her assignment. They haven't seen or heard from her since they sent her off. The party talks with another guy (Sebastion) who was her squad leader and actually assigned the mission, he didn't seem to know anything more. The party checked out her bunk area (nothing) and left.

The party (including Rowan) go to the Rhineview resort. It clearly caters to an older crowd. They talk to the manager (who assures them that the last people who questioned him on this topic were pretty rhourough). He has seen the girl around but not for a few days, he thought she was related to one of the guests. The party questions the old man she was trailing who also says he's seen her around but thought her mom worked in the kitchen. They questioned the kitchen staff, all of whom had seen the girl but were sure she was a guest. Once of the kitchen staff (katya) expounded on how she had just started this job and didn't know they were supposed to keep tabs on people.

When asked the manager reveals that there are currently only 4 rooms occupied (2,3,7 and 9). The party gets the keys to the rooms on either side of the old man's (room 7). They discover that one of the sinks looks like it has been used and surmise that the girl has been staying in that room (in reality it was sloppy maid serivce and the girl was actually staying in room 6 and had cleaned up after herself too well). No one thought to question the cleaning people. Rowan slips off to followup on the amulet angle. On the theory that maybe the kidnappers also dumped the amulet he trolls the local tourist traps looking for a fence. Very quickly he is approached by a man trying to sell him jewelry. He describes what he's in the market for. The man says he will ask around. Rowan says he's staying at Brent's Ridge (one of the taller resorts, set back from the ocean but with a great view of the more common routes into and out of Oceanshore) and goes to rejoin the party.

Exploring the firebug angle, the party learns that the Dolphin's Retreat recently burned down. The building was one of the older resorts and was in the process of being torn down when it burned. Rowan and Difuge check it out. They ascertain that it was definately arson and that a small girl could have done it. They find a basement mostly untouched by fire and evidence that the girl had been there.

Upon returning to his hotel, Rowan received a "I may have what you want" message and returns to the market. Its reaching closing time but his seller is present. He shows Rowan two identical looking amulets that are almost exactly what he was looking for. Rowan examines them and finds that one is original and the other a much cheaper knock-off. Neither matches the little girls exactly but they are definately by the same artisan and based on the same pattern. Rowan persuades the seller (Jorge) to point out his "friend" who actually sold the items. Turns out to be a shoe salesman. Rowan catches him in an alley, knocks him out and takes him the the Dolphin's Retreat basement where he questions him. The guy tells him that he normally just deals in shoes but about a month ago this attractive woman approached him needing money. She had really nice shoes (Verci!) which he bought but the woman needed more, he made her a lowball offer on her amulet that she took... its taken him this long to unload it (because he sells shoes, not jewelry). Rowan uses a little magic on him and gets a picture of the woman who sold it. It is Katya from the Rhineview kitchen staff.

The rest of the party talks to the concierge of the resort next to the Dolphin's retreat asking about its owner and if they've ever seen the little girl. They find out that the owner is Johan Smit (he gos by Smit) and that it was in the process of having the plumbing removed when it burned. Rumor around town is that the fire was caused by a plumbing accident. They party decides to check up on Smit. Its too late to ride back to Centralia where he lives but Erica (who has done a long and boring but thourough pass through the City) remembers seeing a room with a sign over the bed that says 'Smit is your God' and teleports to that room on the theory that there likely aren't that many Smits. She gives the rooms the once over finding enough evidence (including some timestops in the closet) to warrent more investigation. She teleports back to Oceanshore and tells the party. Tanis and Dena accompany her back to Centralia. Difuge accompany's them with the intention of talking to the jeweler who made the amulet.

The jeweler isn't at his shop but a nearby shop that is just closing has an employee who escorts Difuge to a Jewelers only party at a nearby club. There the jeweler who made the amulets is approached and it is learned that an important client commissioned 15 of the amulets that should be similar but unique. He doesn't know what became of them and winkingly won't acknowledge that Warren was the client.

At Smit's apartment the party learns: the sign over Smit's bed rotates through 4 slogans using some sort of clock work mechanism (Smit's your Daddy); the timestops contain large clams that when opened contain papers, thigh high boots and two rubies (Dena pockets boots and rubies). They wait outside for Smit who shows up sometime later with a woman on his arm. Dena approaches him and Smit angles for a threesome... in the end the party decides he's a dead end and head back to Oceanshore.

In Oceanshore the party questions Katya before she heads home for the night. She confesses that she used to be a mistress in Centralia. One day she just got fed up and left, coming to Oceahshore to find work (maybe performing). After a week of not finding work (tourism way down) she became desperate and sold her amulet and, she isn't sure why, her shoes also. Freeing herself of the amulet was obviously good luck because she got the kitchen job at the Rhineview that same day. Not the greatest job but at least she was making it on her own. Just before she sold things she had an interview at another resort with a total jerk. He would only offer her a job if she demonstrated that she could play well with management. Rowan gets a picture from her mind of the jerk and discovers its the man who sold him the amulet. Rowan got an image of the jerk and the party instantly recognizes him as Sebastion, one of Gil's lietenants.

At this point the party decides they aren't going to get anywhere and head back to Little Karfelon to get in on the ransom delivery. Their employer says they are ready to hand over the coinage. They are employing all of the usual tricks (very small coins to increase the size of the bag, special materials to Find, Joined coins, etc...). The party puts in a joined coin and Erica poses as yet another coin. The delivery is made and the party kicks back to watch. Time passes, more garbage gets dumped into the dumpster. When the following night comes rats enter the dumpster and open the coin bag, swallow a few coins each and head off down the alley. The party things they are on to something but then the rats return to the dumpster puke the coins into a pile, eat new coins and head out again. A stream of rats follows this behavior until all the coins have been moved once, then the rats head off.

Toward dawn a Prall comes and dumps the dumpter into a wagon. He seems oblivious to 200,000 coins. The garbage goes onto a barge which is taken to the garbage portal outside Prall. Through the portal it is shoveled off onto the garbage world. The shovelers also seem oblivious to the 200,000 coins. Erica holds position as a coin, and Tanis watches from nearby.

Rowan tracks down the garbage guy and detects that he is under a bit of captivation. Once free of the captivation the man remembers that two nights ago a stranger bought him drinks. The stranger looked like Sebastion from Gil's.

The party returns to Gil's and show around the picture of the amulet seller. A couple of people recognize the picture and say that they've seen Sabastion with that guy. Gil and the party take Sebastion into a room for a chat. Sebastion also seems to have a small captivation. Once freed of it he discovers that he has been way busier than he remembers doing. He remembers doing a lot of missions for two Hegemony operatives. He swears he didn't know... It was one of these operatives who told him to send Shelly to Oceanshore. He also went out of his way to make Katya feel like a failure. He tells them that this whole kidnapping is a distraction. That in a few minutes a second note would be delivered along with one of the girls fingers. The note would not be as well made as the 1st and the magical probes will show where the girl is. The employer will commit serious resources to her recovery... resources that will no longer be guarding the true objective: The Lordship Pacts. The party has only vague rumor-ish, urban myth kind of feeling of what that is but udnerstands that it is important.

Meanwhile on the garbage world a disembodies voice is talking to Tanis and expressing its boredom. Says if nothing happens soon he's going to call a couple of operatives to come through as random dumpster divers and "find" the coins. Tanis gets a headstart and ends up with about a third of the coinage after much fighting with the pretend dumpster divers. After which he returns to Little Karfelon to report in. In Little Karfelon the employer is sitting with a man in a top hat. The employer announces that a second letter has shown up and that they have divined the location of the girl and are mobilizing a recovery team.

Difuge calls Tanis (from Gil's) and relays what they have learned. She asks Tanis to hand th radio to the tallhat man and mentions the Pacts to the tallhat man who says "is this an open channel? Crank caller, crank caller", tosses the headset to Tanis and promptly heads out the door. Difuge reports the location of the girl to the rest of the party. Sebastion reveals that he has a meeting scheduled with his Hegemony contacs for tomorrow at the Baracks Bar outside the compound. The party heads off toward the little girls location into what is obviously a trap.

In the woods just outide Litle Karfelon Erica finds the girl buried in the center of a clearing inside a timestop field. She also spots several people in trees waiting to ambush. She takes the obvious approach and fireballs the hell out of the whole area. As the party gets closer they hear a compelling voice say "surrender". Tanis counter spells with his own Divine Word telling people to surrender to him instead. Difuge surenders to Tanis. Erica surrenders to everyone. The rest of the party hides inside a quickly constructed Quiet area. A Pain Wail is felt by all not inside the quiet area. Rowan tosses a smoke grenade and uses the vibrations in the smoke to poinpoint the origin of the pain wail. Dena and Tanis use alternate methods to achieve the same result. They simulteneously destroy the point of origin and the whole surround area. They find the carcass of a cricket :)

The party digs up the girl and drops the timestop. They find the girl alive and unharmed (except for the missing finger). They identify the corposes from the trees as more of Gil's students. The Girl is returned and the party paid.

The party then returns to Gil's and tells Gil about the guys in the trees. He says its more of Sebastion's recruits and issues recall orders personally for any of Sebastions other recruits that are in the field on the theory that they may be either compromised or at least doing stuff they shouldn't be. Erica takes Sebastion's form and keeps the meeting with the Hegemony operatives. Only one shows up. He turns away from Erica after giving orders and Erica pops him in the back of the head with a crowbar. Operative taken.

Difuge goes to Warren's place. Warren isn't home but after a bit of persuading the doorman points Difuge at the donut shop next to the CGoW.. says "they are all hold up there". Difuge goes to the donut shop orders some donuts and says she needs to speak with Warren. The donut guy looks confused and says the women's room is down the hall on the left. Difuge goes to the women's room and finds the entire Lordship inside talking and eating donuts. She tells them everything and gives them the operative.

3750 eeps.

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