Session 11: Unraveling Aynuk

Part 1

The party split up into two groups to chase down leads. Jack, Devon, and Dr. Steiner staked out the Lithic cult who’d captured Friends of Johnnie in the raid, also seeking building plans from the Freemasons. Meanwhile, Drop, Finn, Mordecai, and Stitch sought after the missing ring from Drop’s mother.

Devon was able to identify that the cult’s symbol is similar to one of the most popular in Aynuk, the gear icon of Jid. Their icon differs however, with an eye in the center of the gear, a symbol unknown to Devon despite his wide knowledge of Lithic iconography.

Dr. Steiner attempted to bluff her way into the Freemasons Guildhall, while Jack snuck around disguised as a dog. The good Doctor talked herself into a tour, while Jack got himself locked in the kitchen pantry. Devon then arrived a bit late and charmed his way directly do the hall of records to search for the building plans. Dr. Steiner then tried to bluff and brute force her way in, while Jack transformed into a dust cloud and floated up the servants’ stairwell to burst through the back door into the hall in full centaur splendor at the same moment.

Across town, the spot where Drop’s mentor first found her is now a dark alleyway beside a boarded-up old church. The team’s posh disguises raised a few eyebrows, until they rolled around in the filth to blend in. Finn’s dowsing from there came up empty unfortunately, so they went to the dry cleaners to spiff up the costumes and try their second bet: the Lighthouse. For better or for worse they located the ring this time… somewhere in the Lighthouse itself, high above. Mordecai helped them obtain paladin disguises and they prepared to infiltrate the Ministry.

Part 2

The Stakeout Crew obtained a whole bunch of plans from the Freemasons’ archive, definitely including the one for the mysterious Lithic cult’s headquarters, and managed to escape unnoticed. Just kidding, they raised every alarm the Freemasons ever imagined.

The Infiltration Crew bluffed their way high above to the antechamber of the Archbishop’s quarters, and then convinced the real Sentinels who were escorting them that they were having a Toilet Emergency. Succeeding in that distinguished ruse, they then snuck out the window to try to climb the rest of the way to the top. They were nearly spotted by a patrol far below, but Finn dropped his faithful Fae warhorse 700’ or so to create a gruesome distraction. A WARHORSE NEVER FORGETS. FINN. -_-

Part 3

The Stakeout Crew escaped from the alerted guard at the Freemasons and used the blueprints from the old bank that the hostile Lithic cult has occupied to devise a plan to dig their way in through a structural defect in the foundation from an adjoining structure that’s been cleared out. Working alongside recruits of the cult of Johnny who’d escaped capture, they prepare their rescue.

The Infiltration Crew managed to re-enter the Lighthouse, guided by Drop’s vague recognition of a chant. They found rows of chanting monks, monitored by a strict teacher. All were blindfolded and intensely focused on the loud, low chanting, so our heroes moved among them undetected. Drop and Finn stepped toward the curved inner wall, but Stitch could not ignore the plight of the monks who were treated as slaves according to the Mento. He connected with a young monk, talking about the exploitation in his past. At the same time, Finn and Drop rotated the screen around the curved inner wall, bathing the room in the warm glow of sunlight… and raising shouts of alarm from around the tower.

Part 4

While the young acolytes began to stir with fear and confusion, Stitch tried to disarm the anger of their teacher by dodging his attacks without returning any and continuing to try to win over the acolytes with his words. Soon, however, Finn detected the ring they sought approaching the door on the right, and prepared with Drop to confront its bearer. Before long they were engaged in battle with the warrior-monks and sentinels who came to defend the inner sanctum of the Lighthouse.

Mordecai hovered above the fray, sniping at the confused defenders below and keeping some of them separated in an area of magical darkness. Drop flipped over the first sentinel through the door to engage with a monk who seemed to recognize her. They battled back and forth, Drop gradually gaining the upper hand and learning a bit about what her enemy knew about her and her mother.

Things began to look grim for our heroes, the numbers set against them and sure to get worse if they lingered too long, so Finn and Stitch sealed themselves off in the rightmost room where Drop and the warrior monk were battling. Mordecai bathed the first room in flaming oil and dodged back out through the window as the enemies below fired beams of light and crossbow bolts up after him. Meanwhile, Drop and the team wore down the ring bearer until Stitch was able to trap him with a net and deliver the killing blow.

Before reinforcements could arrive, Drop snatched the necklace bearing the ring from around the fallen monk’s neck and the team escaped through the high window one by one.

Part 5

The Infiltration and Stakeout crews are finally reunited and ready to liberate the followers of JackJohnny…

Mordecai and Stitch created a distraction in the form of a horse and carriage collision in the street in front of the old bank where the lithic cult is holding the prisoners. Fireworks stored in the carts went off, flames spread, and Mordecai and Stitch escalated tensions with their arguments.

The rest of the heroes made their way in through the hole they’d carefully excavated over the past few days. Taking advantage of the distracted guard, they made their way down to the basement where Jack had spotted some of the prisoners while doing reconnaissance in rat form.

Out on the street, Stitch dove into the burning wreckage of his cart, pretending to rescue burning family. He then turned invisible and snuck inside. Mordecai attempted to climb up onto a balcony to gain entry, but was foiled by a surprised guard who’d been watching the scene unfold below. He snuck off to the keep watch near the entrance instead.

Below, Stitch met up with Devon, Jack, and Dr. Steiner. As they planned how to enter a room from the hall, the door opened… revealing a waiter. Surprised, the snatched the waiter and knocked him unconscious, but then Jack entered the room to find his followers enjoying a casual party with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. He feared betrayal at first, but they insisted that all was well and he would like to meet their new friends.

Later Captain Jamison joined the party and discussed matters with Jack, while Devon stormed out in disgust and Stitch made off with a bag full of snacks. Jack filled the Captain in on lots of important details, telling him all about even some of the sordid details he might normally hold back or embellish. Like about Cannibal Pete, and Samuel Carter’s stone key. The Captain tried to convince them to stay, but our heroes did not vibe with Captain Jamison and took off despite his protests.

Rumors

• The ruins of Rohesia are home to a portal to the Fade, currently reburied at the request of the Eternals.
• The city of Quelimane in the periphery is recovering from their strange famine.
• 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.
• Babis in the Periphery has become a hotspot in a war between two Lithics.
• There are reports of the failure of magic in the town of High Nest in the Periphery.
• Friends of Johnny have been captured by a Lithic cult in Aynuk. They seem to be safe, and their “captors” seem very interested in finding Samuel Carter and his key.
• Drop has been pursued by agents of the Ministry of Light since her childhood.
• The Defiant have been drumming up support in Aynuk, emboldened by a charismatic new voice warning of a new threat: Johnny.

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.