7th Sea: A merry bunch of thieves

[telerib]

General Arnold Klepper of Heilgrund needed to get his withdrawn and moody Eisenfurst Stephan Heilgrund's attention. What better way than to bring him one of the Syrneth relics he loved so well? So a team was assembled...

• Leon, a Vodacce pirate who would work in exchange for some strings being pulled to get a few charges dropped.
  
• Colin, an Avalon, same. (NPC)
  
• Thierry le Fusil ('the Gun'), a Montaigne with good skills who needed some cash.
  

It belatedly occurred to Klepper that someone who knew something about the Syrneth would be good; he didn't know anyone, but the Eisenfurst's advisor Odel recommended Esperanza, a well-educated Castillian woman he had been in correspondence with.

Finally, the Svenson family of Vendel got wind of the proceedings and sent their son Magnus, to impress the General much as he is trying to impress the Eisenfurst.

With an offer of 1,000G each and the possibility to negotiate for any unneeded artifacts that they bring back, the team was sent to Freiburg, where a "haunted house" was thought to contain a Syrneth device. En route, they spent a bit of time skewering small tentacled monsters that crawled up onto their riverboat... just another trip through Eisen.

Setting up shop at the Green Leaves Inn, they proceeded directly to the house. Leon and Thierry asked around; the previous occupant had been Vodacce and had been missing for some time: killed either by the ghost or poison (isn't that how all Vodacce die?).

A wide array of doors presented themselves - 20 in all. Esperanza, Thierry and Colin tried a third floor entrance at the stop of some stairs; Magnus and Leon nimbly scaled the walls to a second-story balcony. They had a brief, shouted conversation with the across-the-way neighbor, who was rather concerned that they'd "let the ghosts out." The stubborn upstairs door resisted Thierry's foot, although Colin had rather more success with lockpicks.

Leon pondered his door, cracked his fingers and moved his hand towards some tools on his belt - then whipped around and, with a quick apology, grabbed Magnus collar-and-belt and heaved him at the door. The Vendel went crashing through in a shower of splinters!

Upstairs, Esperanza had determined that a pair of bookends were Thalusian amber - possibly artifacts, possibly not, but worth taking along. A library was to be explored in detail later, and Thierry went first down the stairs.

Magnus and Leon, in a small sunroom of sorts, heard the clomp-clomp of the Montaigne's boots, then a sudden cresendo of the device's eerie ghostlike noise, and an excited exclaimation of "Zootalors!" Thierry burst into the sunroom as the other two were about to go in. A device in there had tried to kill him with a blast of lightning!

There was a latency period while the thing recharged, its noise quieting then increasing in volume. Esperanza checked this by tossing books down the stairs until one was destroyed in another loud discharge. After she felt she had the timing down, she threw one more book and made her own dash for the sunroom. Colin thought it'd just be best to wait on the stairs; later, he'd claim that it was so he could throw books.

(I'll skim some of the maneuverings in and out of the room here. The important bit is) Esperanza recalled a report of another beam-throwing device that used silvered mirrors to split its beams. Although they were killer death-rays, they didn't harm the mirrors at all. Silver could possibly be used to deflect this beam as well. But how to shut it off? There was something else in the report that she couldn't quite recall... Magnus clapped his hands, remembering. The device had started when a door above it had opened, allowing sunlight in. It was finally shut off when the survivors got the door closed again. Leon had previously tried interfering with the thing by tossing a swath of upholstery at it, but that hadn't been enough. Something more opaque was needed...

More books were thrown, and the device was locked into the potbellied stove that stood in the study. In its dark recesses, it finally ceased its infernal noisemaking.

Thierry brought a silver serving tray from the kitchen, and the thing was hustled into that. For safety, the lid had to be tied down. Not liking an arrangement of ropes on the smooth and slippery domed lid, Esperanza slipped out of a petticoat and wrapped the whole arrangement in that. The house was looted, netting three more artifacts, some bottles of good Vodacce wine, lots of silverware, books, scientific apparatus, and a letter from Vodacce Prince Vincenzo Caligari to the previous tenant (whose form was a black shadow burned into the floor in front of the table on which the artifact had rested).

Loaded down, the triumphant heroes boldly walked out the front door...

To be confronted by several ranks of musketeers, lead by an extremely poofed and powdered Montaigne.

While Thierry spat and cursed at the man, who barely deigned to notice him, he politely relieved Esperanza of the device (although allowing her to retrieve her petticoat). Leon bluntly demanded money, as they had apparently done this man's work for him. He didn't seem averse to the idea, although not at all certain he could come up with all 4,000G requested, and asked where the money could be sent. Magnus provided a business card of sorts. Taking it, he and his gunmen left.

The party, of course, followed...

Comments

[edg.livejournal.com]

Does this mean I shouldn't track Herr Frou-Frou down and show him the letter from the Prince? :)

[telerib.livejournal.com]

That would be interesting!

The main thing I have to do is to keep him and Thierry from each other's throats until Game 3. Having him take your artifact is just a way to get the *rest* of the party to hate him, making that final confrontation more satisfying all around.

[edg.livejournal.com]

Oho. Well, in that case, I'll let things lie - or at least, not stir that particular spice into the stew. :)