Session 3: The Buried Key

After discussing the matter with Ugen Susa aboard the First Light, our heroes returned to the caves beneath Luxor to try to rescue the remaining researchers. Taking a different path this time, they happened upon 3 more crazed researchers and were able to safely subdue them this time.

Exploring deeper, they found one more researcher who’d been deceased for quite a while. After arguing for a time about the physics of underground streams, the party was nearly ambushed by two more metallic giants when backtracking to explore another branch of the cavern.

Dispatching the creatures, they finally found their way to the ancient artificial structures that were buried deep within the caverns. The first chamber contained many more metallic creatures, but these thankfully did not seem to be animated. In the final chamber, they found the leader of the ill-fated Unseen expedition, Professor Jeong. He was ranting in an unknown language and brandishing a large stone key. Through quick wit and magic, they managed to convince the man to part with the artifact, and to subdue him and bring him back to the ship. Ultimately, they were able to recover 5 members of the expedition alive and confirm the deaths of the 4 others, recovering most of their personal effects as well.

Sensing powerful magic in the key, Samuel carefully bagged it for later study aboard the ship.

Rumors

• The ruins of Rohesia, lost just a few decades ago, have been found. They were occupied by undead creatures pursuing unknown purposes. According to the undead, Heaven’s Grasp had been there as well.
• The city of Quelimane in the periphery has a bad shortage of grain.
• The party has rescued or identified all of the Unseen researchers that had been lost beneath Luxor, and recovered a large stone key that had been entombed there.
• A shipment expected from the mining town of Babis in the Periphery has still not arrived in Ayluk after several weeks.

General options:

• Expedition into The Dark.
  • What rumours have you heard about your destination?
• City mission in Aynuk.
  • Intrigue/diplomacy, stealth, or intimidation?
• Trade mission to The Periphery.
  • What kind of goods are you transporting? What’s the place you’re trying to get to, and what makes you think you know where it is?
• Discovery: A new discovery session is always an option, for example to define a new region.
  • What are we most excited to learn about?
• Downtime: If people want to allow the passage of time and have their characters pursuing some downtime activities (like researching something, training, building things, etc). This combines well with Discovery or Bottle eps to fill up a shorter session.
  • What are you trying to accomplish? How long do you think it wil take?
• Bottle episode: Roleplay-focused episodes are welcome for nights when the group is in the mood for it. Shipboard hijinks, hometown visits, whatever.
  • Where are you? Who is with you? What’s everyone excited/concerned about?
• Hero smash: If the group is having a night (…or week) where they want less thinking and more heroic smashing, we can always create a combat-focused mission.
  • No question, just smash.