It's been a month since the De Facto Explorers left Riverbend on a mission for the Restorationists. They have travelled into the alleged Glow Lands to discover a parts of an Ancients' power-cell facility deep in the zone. They search was cut short by some giant explosion and paranoia among the Hoppers allies. They were able to discover actual treasure and have returned to the shore of the Big River to be ferried back to Riverbend.
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Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend. He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters. Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust. Recently married to the now-pregnant Thunnelda Haycock.
Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout. Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers. Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"
Sonny Helianthus: an over10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with four arms, and trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable, but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. Sonny may have recently detonated an atomic device in the petrified woods... although no one else knows.
Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places, and finding it often. He has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair. Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms.
Luna of the Restorationists: Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who was part of the group who had discovered the artifacts across the River that led to the mission. An attaché, an intern, another set of snooping eyes against the Explorer's methods, ready to report back to the Restorationists.
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The final morning of the journey back was a difficult go. The cart they had brought with them was a hassle to port through the woods from the river. A fully laden cart with gold, gems, and a feeble Luna made everyone grumpy.
No one in the group was a teamster or heavy laborer, so tempers flared, and discussions that had been concluded resurfaced, like whether Luna was worthy of a share of the treasure.
Pete: Why does she deserve anything? She did nothing out there and has been dead weight for the past week? She better not be taking any of my snuff as she's lounging in the back of the cart...
Sonny: Pete, no one wants your snuff. Hell, you shouldn't want your snuff.
Lathar: Seriously, give her a fair share, I'll give her a big smooch and that should earn us good standing when she goes back to the Restorationists...
Sonny finally teleported across the river and fetched Clover Haycock.
It took Clover two trips to bring everything back. Sonny gave him two of the diamonds as payment (Clover: I would have done it for free! Lathar got my sister out of my house.). They split up the loot, giving Luna her equal share and she departed.
Pete wandered to his tree house by the river. No traps had been set off. He washed off, grabbed his mandolin and wandered back into town, finding the rest of the group in Ye New Leaping Happy Eagle.
Squiggles ventured there with Lathar and Sonny, to find his daughter, Sophie the Keg. She climbed up to a stool to reach the bar.
Sophie: Manchi!!!! You've returned!
Squiggles: Pour me a pint and tell me the news, my favorite offspring!
Sophie, ever the wise bar manager, still charge the Explorers, even her father, for drinks.
Of all the rumors and news in town, his daughter was still perseverating on a Radish Toss tournament they hosted that went sideways.
Sophie the Keg: Remember Tumble Jacques? He was in the finals. His final radish flew across towards the board, only to vanish in thin air. People went crazy We were forced to call the tournament. We even called Justinian from the Restorationists to investigate to figure it out, and he had no clue. I guess it's an okay thing. We didn't give out the trophy, so we can use it next time.
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| "Tumble" Jacques - Rogue, Scholar, Radish Toss Cheat? |
Some crackpot fella named Zohan showed up, saying the vanishing radish was an omen of agricultural doom. We haven't really messed with him yet, but he has pulled some of the villagers to an enclave outside of town.
Apparently there is some toll on the road to Fair-Town? Some folks came up from Fair-Town for the tournament and they were accosted by invisible people called the Sky Lords?
Pete: I told you we should have killed them, or at least beat them cut and take a cut of their operations...
Pete had broken off from the group, to find the other musicians and set up a jam session, with the rest of the Explorers departing, he was the only one who heard the hills away from the riverside lit up blue again in the distant hills along the horizon.
Sonny had barely made it back to Farmer Yulius' place, and was pondering just purchasing his barn, since he no longer fit in the shack he and Squiggles had previously live in. A courier for the Restorationists arrived, requesting his presence at Ascension Hall.
He was led to the large room in the back of hall. Justinian was already sitting there...
Sonny, what the hell???
Sonny crouched down in the room, as he was taller than the ceiling. He began giving the leader of the Restorationists a full briefing, edited for deniability, all the while knowing Luna had already give him her version of the events.
Sonny mentioned the troglodytes, gun turrets, monsters, a tube-based horror.. that he admitted creating, He admitted the site was a facility for power cells, with heavy glow spots and a hallway of death. He mentioned the hoppers and seemed perplexed as to the source of the mysterious explosion that forced them to leave.
Justinian bought some of it... rolled his eyes at other time. As a sunflower perplexed by human social cues, Sonny simply continued giving his report. Justinian did admit he was intrigued by a power cell facility not dedicated solely to weapon power cells.
In fairness, it had been quite awhile since Sonny and Justinian had caught up to their projects. Sonny finally admitted to the Toard Jakey facility far from the village "The Pool House". Justinian somehow did not request any more information about that than Sonny had provided. Sonny did promise to return tomorrow with a piece of the crystal sample they found at the epi-center of the explosion. Justinian still offered tinkering space for the sunflower's projects.
Lathar finally arrived at his childhood home, currently home to himself, his mother, and his pregnant bride Thunnelda. Chambray the peacock waddled out to great his master.
Thunnelda, another month pregnant was far more excited to see her beloved than disturbed that he abandoned her for an entire month, right after the wedding. The only thing that irked her. He had taken the very ornate hinge "their very furry friend Pete" had given them as a wedding gift... and Lathar had to admit he destroyed it to save the group.
Lathar pulled out one of the clear gems to Thunnelda.
Thunnelda: "Wow, that looks a lot like the one Clover brought over to show me, very nice."
Lathar: "We can always bedazzle a hinge with these.... "
Thunnelda had avoided the Radish Toss Tournament and admitted to seeing the blue lights in the distant horizon, away from the river.
After he settled in, Lathar's mother pulled him aside.
"A raccoon showed up. He was riding a giant goose. He demanded three hard-boiled eggs for himself and a bath for his goose before he would delivered this letter.
Lathar stepped outside onto the porch, alone, and read the letter....
Lathar
If this reaches you, then the winds of fortune favor us still. I set out years ago, following the whispers of a machine buried beneath the glowing plains, one said to heal both flesh and spirit. The Wildlands held me longer than I wished—storms, beasts, and the shattering of roads.
I have not perished. I endure. Know that I sought no abandonment. Every fire I kindled, I thought of you. Every night I kept your name upon my lips.
If word can travel to Riverbend, then so too may I, in time. Trust the Restorationists with caution, my son. Their faith is a chain as much as a torch. Seek the valley where the black reeds hum—there, perhaps, we shall find one another.
Your Father,
Harkonn of the Old Marks
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| Lathar stares off into the future, and that future is uncertain... |
The session ends with Lathar stares off into an uncertain future, with the strains of Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind" playing until the fade to black....
GM Notes:
*This was the first time we actually needed dimensions of the Big River. Pete had wanted to try to use his telepathy to reach out to Clover, and upon my refence, I realized he was like 100 yards short. Thankfully, it was still within the range of the sunflower's teleport, and he easily made his roll.
The Big River is at its maximum up to 300 meters across. Most of the river was nine foot deep, a few areas, like the one a few miles north, are fordable, while other spots are more than 20 foot deep. a
*Quote of the Night: Mike (Pete): Your daughter's charging us for drinks, after we set her up in this bar?
Steve (Squiggles): I'm not raising worms, I'm raising Ferengi.
*Jim (Lathar) requested Mandolin Wind playing at the end of the episode....
Next: #115 - The Letter Makes Its Rounds
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