This week’s session brought the opening of Flowers of Algorab to a conclusion, with the crew making the find that really opens the campaign up. We were without Graham (Lieto) this week, and his character was shared out.
No technical issues this week, except for my video stuttering a bit. I think that was more ISP related than any of the platforms that I use.
Our Crew
- Arda Qamar, a Guild Surveyor and Traveller who came from the Far Colonies from a Mining Combine operation. She’s the bird handler and Scout for the team. (Played by Hattie).
- Meristo Koulas, an Esoteric Coriolite Seer who grew up in the Fog of the Haze, and has ties to the Black Toad. (Played by Paul).
- Lieto Miesma, a Scholar specialised in Builder Archeology who came from deep inside the Factory City of the Turbine Halls, with a background in the Machinist's Guild. (Played by Graham)
- Fassour Faradi, a roughneck deep miner who also came from somewhere the eternal fog of the Haze, and - like Merits - has ties to the Black Toad. (Played by Simon)
- Rashid al-Masri, a scoundrel Hull Cutter who came from among the hulks and wrecks of Hull Town, and has connections to the Gardener's Guild. (Played by Andy).
- Corvus the Bird, a specter; cobalt blue, with a long beak, always observing. Usually handled by Arda.
The New Seekers (Fassour, Rashid, Meritso, Lieto and Arda & Corvus)
The Session (Spoilers for The Flowers of Algorab).
In the depth of a forgotten vault where the air was tinged with the remnants of the blight, our intrepid heroes found themselves threaded into another tapestry of danger. The sinister figures of the Wardens of the Well emerged, brandishing quicksilver-like blades and screaming accusations of heresy.
Rashid, acting in his role as the crew's guard, assessed the threat swiftly and considering the charged atmosphere and the close quarters, decided on a fiery deterrent. He unleashed his flamethrower, setting three of the aggressors ablaze, which threw their ranks into chaos.
Meanwhile, Fassour, spotting an opportunity amidst the confusion, drew his pistol in a quick motion - a classic gambit where blade meets bullet preserved in media from the Old Horizon and earlier. His shot found its mark, though the damage was less than lethal. As the enemy countered with a powered swing of a Mercurium blade, Fassour skillfully parried the attack with his axe, his heart racing against the hum of the dangerous energy blade.
Meristo, the delver and shadier side of the group, then chose his moment to strike, opting for the simplicity and surety of his Fusillade pistol. Stepping away from immediate danger, he took aim and shot, wounding another of the fiery opponents.
Arda, on the other hand, let loose a battle cry that would have chilled the bones of a lesser foe, inspired by the legendary tales she loved reading. After declaring her intent, she too engaged her pistol, firing upon an enemy attempting to assist his burning comrades.
Further from the front lines, Lieto, though distanced from the immediate fray, attempted to provide assistance by aiming with his own weapon, though his shot missed its target.
As the flames continued to dance upon the robes of their adversaries, the team stood resolute, understanding that their unity and quick thinking in these blighted depths were their best hope for overcoming the threat they now faced head-on. Thus the battle raged, with each member playing their part in a ballet of gunfire and flames, each moment unfolding into the next with perilous unpredictability.
As the battle raged on, Rashid, still wielding his infamous flamethrower, contemplated a strategic retreat from his immediate adversary to utilise his weapon without harming his allies. Despite the combat complications, Rashid made a fierce attempt, only to suffer a penalty due to the cumbersome nature of his delving suit which impeded his agility, relying instead on raw strength.
Meanwhile, Fassour faced a quicksilver-like lightsaber with mere brute strength, a great risk against his formidable foe. After an intense exchange, he managed an impactful blow with his mighty hull axe, though he wondered if a more forceful push might have yielded even a more devastating result. Ultimately, his perseverance paid off as he achieved a critical hit against his opponent, dramatically smashing through the enemy’s defences.
On the battlefield's periphery, Meristo seized the chaos, expertly firing his Fusillard pistol at the burning Wardens attempting to flee, scornfully rendering their efforts futile as he struck them down decisively, exemplifying his sharpshooting prowess.
Arda, haunted by her previous actions which led to an enemy's death, decided amidst a whirl of emotions to harness her bond with her avian companion. She sent her bird, Corvus, in a vengeful strike against an escaping foe, demonstrating a poetic blend of nature and combat.
Each move and countermove by the valiant group weaved a story of courage, quick thinking, and the harsh realities of combat, as they stoically faced their spectral foes in a forgotten vault, each action echoing through the cursed halls like the whispers of ancient spirits. As they pressed forward, their resolve only hardened, driven by the unity and grim necessity of their quest. They knew they could not let the Wardens escape lest they bring allies to face them.
In the thick of an intense confrontation, Rashid considered alternatives to his explosive weaponry, debating between the fiery efficacy of his flamethrower and the more controlled Fusillard carbine. Fassour, along with others, voiced concerns about the uncontrollable nature of the flamethrower's damage, steering Rashid towards a more meticulous approach. Eventually, Rashid opted for precision with a dagger attack, though his lack of stealth left him in a direct hand to hand fight. An unskilled melee exchange followed, supported only by his dagger's bonus, resulting in Rashid successfully striking his foe but failing to conclusively finish him.
Meanwhile, Fassour, having lost the use of his axe due to an injury, resorted to his dagger in a brutal and decisive move. He exploited his opponent's distraction, driving the dagger deep into the enemy's heart with a lethal twist. This grim yet effective action marked the end of the skirmish.
With the immediate threat neutralised, the adventurers turned their attention to the repercussions of their violent encounter. They recognised the slain warden of the well, Ser Aren Mir-Bilal, from their past dealings, escalating their concerns about blight-tainted corruption amongst the Coriolite sect. Rashid and others quickly realised the gravity of their situation, predicting potential repercussions as their opponents would seek to slay them to protect their secret about a source of Blight in Ship City.
The aftermath involved strategic body management to prevent any supernatural resurgence of their foes, utilising the environment to their tactical advantage. With the immediate area secured, attention shifted to collateral management, encompassing both physical injuries and potential diplomatic fallout from their actions. As the adventurers contemplated their next moves, they had to address the physical injuries sustained, particularly Fassour's broken arm, highlighting the ongoing risks they faced in their quest.
As they proceeded, the crew's focus shifted to exploring the vault they initially sought, uncovering more about its mysterious contents and preparing for any further encounters that might arise from its depths. Throughout, they maintained a wary approach, documenting their findings meticulously to bolster their claims about the chaotic and perilous situations they encountered. This blend of exploration, tactical maneuvering, and forward planning underscored the multi-faceted challenges they faced in a world brimming with ancient secrets and ever-present dangers.
In the low purple-blue glow of the vault, the crew saw a dais with a space-suited figure sat on it. The suit was an old design, with a faded white finish, quite unlike the more brightly coloured designs favoured today. The dais was wrapped with blight vines and the air full of purple sparkling particles, like embers drifting in the air. Rashid and Arda brushed the vines away from the body.The figure's suit had a logo that they recognised from history, the icon used by the lost ark-ship, the Nadir, the vessel that their ancestors had cross the void to find. There was also a name: Nikovar.
The figure had a weakly shimmering black orb the size of an apple. Scanning it with the artefact scanner, Arda identified that it was a form of Builder technology. It had anomalous gravitational readings, almost as if there was a singularity entrapped within its spherical form. After discussion, Arda and Rashid started to work at opening the clasp on the suit helmet to see the face of the long lost traveller. As they struggled to release it, Fassour reached out to pick up the Singularity Sphere before it fell from the fingers of the long dead voyager.
As Fassour's fingers wrapped around the orb, the weak gold glimmer in it seems to come alive, rising in intensity to the whole chamber is blindingly filled with light like a nova. A shrill sound starts to echo through all their com links. And then everything went black.
Fassour has a feeling that something somewhere far, far away has responded to the signal that has just been transmitted, a single powerful enough to knock out the crew's electronics. Some kind of creature, some form of intelligence far away that is now aware that you have touched this artefact. Fassour is dazzled by the light and signal that emitted and struggles to see anything.
No one else sees the same intensity of light and feels the signal like Fasosur. For the others, suddenly the heads up displays on your suits cut out, the recycling systems on your suits suit out and the flow of air stops. The lights go out and you're held in darkness.
They can hear their breathing echoing in their suits without the reassuring noise and feel of the flow from the recycling systems. Every device they have has stopped. Rashid immediate assumed his suit has suffered a catastrophic failure and started to reach for a chem-light and then batteries to try and reboot his suit. Meristo cautiously backed away, also looking for a chem-stick light, concerned that something has been disturbed that shouldn't have been disturbed. He felt panic rising within him and focused on getting a grip. Arda was reach around to try and find her colleagues.
Fassour gently let go of the sphere, his eyesight burnt our with a purple-white afterglow from the brilliance of whatever happened when the signal was emitted, like the after image of a flash gun being fired at your eyes.
Perhaps thirty seconds later, everyone's suits started to reboot and power started to restore. Fassour stumbled away from the figure, twisting the medallion he often turned to for solace. As the others looked at him, his eyes are wide and raw, with blood dripping from the tear ducts. He looks like he has been up all night with too much caffeine and more.
Looking to the rest of the crew, he said:
"It sent a signal. I'm sure it sent something out. And what's even more terrifying is I think whatever it was received it. I'm not sure we should stay here much longer."
And with that, he leaves the chamber, going back the area where they fought the Wardens.
Lieto found a mysterious dried white flower sealed in a sample bag in the figure's suit pocket, igniting a flurry of hypotheses about its origins and purpose. Rashid, with his background in the Gardener's Guild, examined the flower but could not identify it, just establishing it wasn't from the Lost Horizon or the Old Horizon as far as he could tell. Arda takes the flower.
After some more debate, Lieto carefully bagged the orb, trying to minimise contact. There is no reaction from it, and he secures it in a pocket in his backpack.
Meristo and Lieto open the helmet, revealing the somewhat mummified head of a human male, dark haired, slight goatee beard, with a drugs line connected to his neck. Checking deeper, the line runs to a package that has writing in Old Horizon script, writing that indicates that it is some kind of hibernation drug. It has expended; Meristo observes that Nikovar has just slept for too long.
Lieto reminds the crew that this is probably a priceless find and that they need to get it out of here, lest the Warden's destroy it before they return in an effort to hide their crimes. They resecure the helmet. Fassour debates whether it is wise to disturb it, and surely archaeologists would want to examine it in situ.
After some debate, they decide to recover the body. As a compromise, they take plenty of video recordings and photographs, plus samples. They evacuate the atmosphere they've added to the helmet and gently remove it from the dais, securing it so they can carry it up.
They headed back out, fortunately not encountering anyone else on the up and reach the mausoleum at without incident, perhaps six hours after they originally entered the delve. Although it's very early in the morning, there's a lot of light and commotion around the Palace of the Departed. They can see a young Warden surrounded by a crowd of panicked looking people.
They all get out of their delving gear and stash it in the mausoleum. Fassour needs help with his broken arm. Working their way into the crowds, they discover that there's been a huge power surge and blackout and the whole of Ship City's lights and systems tripped out. There's rumours that maybe a portal has been opened to the Old Horizon or a Ghost Ship's nearby, or even that the Builders have returned. And there's a lot of very panicked and excited people and worried looking young Wardens who are having hurried conversations.
Rashid, on behalf of the crew, contacts Master Moska and briefs her on the find at the bottom of the Well off Souls. He advises of what they have found and also asks for decontamination kits to be brought.
About 90 minutes later, there's a commotion around the Well as some of the Wardens try to try to intervene as a group of the Navigator's Guild Purple Guard in full armour and equipment head through, accompanied by members of the four Guilds. Master Moska approaches in a light delving suit with the Purple Guard alongside and Navigator's Guild representatives who are also suited. Meristo takes her to Fassour, who quietly explains what has happened. Lieto gingerly hands over the Singularity Sphere, still bagged, and Arda passes over the strange white flowers.
Moska beckons to one of the Gardener's Guild representatives, who comes over and examines the flower. Rashid recognises her as Nefeli Bar-Ezravili, the High Gardener herself. One of her colleagues pulls up a tabla they check through it, and she turns to Moska and yourselves, saying that the find of this flower is a gift to our peoples. It's not from the Old Horizon or this Horizon, and may indicate that there is a world out there with beauty and life that we could find.
The crew show the body of Nikovar. There is much awe and wonder, as the Nadir has long been sought but never found. The head of the Navigator's Guild asks Master Moska to get the team decontaminated, and having heard their story, says that they will contain the Coriolite sect.
The body is placed into a sarcophagus, and everything is decontaminated before being removed the Vermillion House, the Explorer's Guild headquarters.
In the aftermath, the crew underwent a rigorous decontamination process and were debriefed extensively at the Vermilion House. Their findings were scrutinised, and while the sphere they discovered remained inert, it induced a flurry of excitement and speculation within the Guilds. The thoroughness of their actions was evidenced in the cautious approach to handling the artifacts and managing the fallout, ensuring that their bravery was not only recognized but deeply respected by their peers.
An inquiry and debrief is scheduled for a week's time. The night before, Fassour has a strange dream:
You're standing alone in a white void. The endless whiteness is broken only by a mirror before you, but the reflection isn't yours. Instead, you see a man with black hair and sharply styled black hair and a goatee beard, wearing old heirloom style vacuum suits, white and worn, but in good repair. Faded insignias and ancient tests are on the breastplate of the suit, including the strange symbol on the helmet. The stars above a crescent moon, the emblem of the ark ship Nadir. He beckons, raising your hand to open his visor properly. And as the visor opens, you wake up to a lingering sense of premonition that stays with you. You feel like someone is coming. You have a strong sense of that.
Source - initially Tabletoprecorder.com, heavily edited for names, clarity and brevity with some parts injected to explain or catch elements missed in the summarising.
