Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

As the political scene in Taldor explodes into chaos, heroes take on the mantle of agents, advocates, and saboteurs working for Princess Eutropia to help secure her claim to the Imperial throne and prevent the Empire from collapsing in on itself in civil war. Will they grow from relative nobodies to powerful politicians and spymasters in the deadliest political arena in the Inner Sea?

Run by the GM ManWithDoor
Post Reply
Zorbeltuss
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1939

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Zorbeltuss » Fri Dec 13, 2019 5:48 pm

"I agree with the grumpy one, if we can get back by teleport, we shouldn't linger". Mercutio groans. "If we have to walk back, then there's no particular rush"

User avatar
Vardaen
Admin
Admin
Posts: 66394
Location: Miskatonic University
Title: Great Old One
User Class: Unshackled AI

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Vardaen » Fri Dec 13, 2019 7:25 pm

"I like to think I'm practical, not grumpy." Theodrix grins at Mercutio.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

User avatar
Othniel
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1545
User Class: Wanderer

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Othniel » Fri Dec 13, 2019 11:07 pm

"The boxes may contain something that will help us do that," Astraea explains. "At the very least, we should not let useful matériel go to waste. When we get outside, we may find battle in the streets."

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by ManWithDoor » Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:45 am

Astraea goes about clearing the boxes out from the corner wall. All the boxes look alike, nothing special. Everything they've opened so far has been rotted foodstuffs and the occasional mummified ration. They hit the jackpot earlier finding the well-preserved toolkits, making their lives easier. They others aren't as enthusiastic as Astraea, but she leads the charge anyways. Eventually the others begrudgingly join in.

A couple rows in, suddenly the boxes get heavier. Like, a lot heavier. So heavy that it takes at least two people working together to move them aside. Curious as to the cause, someone gets a crowbar under the lid and opens it up. Inside, similarly preserved in sealing wax as the first room, are groups of armor! Chainlink shirts that are free from rust, various leathers and metal combinations, even full sets of plate. Whatever worst-case scenario that the good Senator thought would happen back in the day, he was prepared for it.

Behind the boxes is a stunning fresco painting, depicting Galitian Maramaxus, hero of the Fourth Army of Exploration, battling the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains. A brass plate identifies the fresco as "Noble Galitian Maramaxus, hero of the Fourth Army of Exploration, champion of Taldor." It is an involves piece, with artistic swirls and varying colors that would have taken a master artist to create. It is clearly wasted down here. But perhaps most curious, when someone checks back on the Orb and sees the southern wall, the magical scrying reveals more detail. Certain sections of the fresco shimmer in an odd pattern, repeating over time.
Now for Armor! Feel free to grab whatever Masterwork Armor you would like, that you are proficient with. Go Leather or go Full Plate, that's your business! :)
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

User avatar
Othniel
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1545
User Class: Wanderer

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Othniel » Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:48 am

Astraea's eyes go wide as she digs into a chest and starts finding well-kept plate mail. "Strange how we ended up here and are finding what we may need once we hit the streets." The woman lifts a helm - part of masterly-crafted set depicting a stylized griffon. "I'll need someone to help me get into this," she says, starting to remove pieces from the box. "I'll walk you through it."
Yeah, I'll take the Mwk Plate Mail. Now I'll actually be wearing what the armor looks like in my picture. ^_^ It takes 4 minutes to put on a suit of plate and you need someone to help or it is donned hastily, so I need a volunteer.

User avatar
Grimbold
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10309
Location: Austria
Title: Professor
User Class: Scholar

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Grimbold » Thu Dec 19, 2019 9:49 pm

Bertram also takes a simple breastplate. "It protects, but you can travel in it." He turns to Astrea. "I can help you with that."

User avatar
Vardaen
Admin
Admin
Posts: 66394
Location: Miskatonic University
Title: Great Old One
User Class: Unshackled AI

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Vardaen » Fri Dec 20, 2019 4:56 pm

"Well...." Thoedrix digs for something as well and finds a masterful set of black leather armor with silver studs. It is perfect sized for him, and has some very nice styling and designs on it. From the black boots up to the gloves its a fine set. To top it off he locates with it a leather helm, one that has a bit of a lightning like look to it. The whole thing gives the impression of a wild storm striking down. The helm includes a face mask that would pull across the mouth, while the helm comes down from the brow over the eyes. Whomever wears it would be hidden from identification. Before anyone notices the helm he tucks it away, I'll have to save this for later.
And I'll take my vigilante's mask cowl and armor thank you very much!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by ManWithDoor » Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:32 am

Astraea, Theodrix, and Bertram are the first to dig in, finding things that are quite to their liking. Aurelia isn't likely to burden herself with thick leather or stiff metal, but Mercutio might later find something dashing to enhance his feats of derring-do. Astraea definitely requires the most work to get in and out of her armor, but the results speak for themselves. With that much plate between her and danger, most things are barely going to be able to worry her at all.

With that finished, the group can get back to the business at hand - solving the mystery of the fresco. Theodrix is distracted with helping Astraea with her armor, who is similarly dedicated to proper armoring, since it's her flesh in danger if everything doesn't align just right. The remaining trio form an investigative team to tease out the secret of egress from this place. It seems overkill to have security against exiting from a secret 'Panic Room', but perhaps the paranoid Senator wanted any unauthorized and uninformed intruder to be trapped here forever!

But they left too many clues, and too many tools here to stump the rising stars of Taldor. The Enchantress provides the magical insight, while Bertram and Mercutio use their keen eyes to tease out the exact pattern revealed in the Orb. Bertram has the pleasure of pressing the tiles in proper sequence, and upon pushing the one the fresco splits open, revealing a hidden compartment beyond. A small bag lies inside the niche, holding 20 visibly magical gold coins, each bearing the Voritas family crest. Aurelia's magical sight immediately notices that they have the exact same aura as the escape wall in the north-east room, and are also obviously the perfect size to fit into the slot in the wall.
V - when you were describing your Helm, until you got the identification masking part, I thought you were describing something in specific. Lightning look, part of the helm pulls down ...

Image
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

Zorbeltuss
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1939

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Zorbeltuss » Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:56 pm

Briefly considering something that must have been fashionable back in the day and could quite possibly catch on like wildfire, Mercutio opts for function over fashion and picks out a chain shirt.

User avatar
Vardaen
Admin
Admin
Posts: 66394
Location: Miskatonic University
Title: Great Old One
User Class: Unshackled AI

Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 2: Lost in History

Post by Vardaen » Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:04 pm

Add a mask over the face and I'll take it! Gotta keep my Alter Ego Identity hidden
Theodrix aids Astraea in getting into her armor, he doesn't show her much humility, he's seen women before, and unless she mentions it he just dresses her without thought or chivalry. Once they are both ready he turns to the others, "Well? Can we get the hell out of here or not?"
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

Post Reply