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Dramatis Personae
Player Characters
- Taiyo –
a forest nymph bard, who was implored by the voice of the forest to seek a
replacement sun and save the world, and thus joined this mission
- Wilkins – former
raven familiar to a now-dead master; an illusionist and informant to
Princess Claire
- "The Druid" – A female human druid with no name
- Lieutenant Paragon Douglas – a human fighter, officer in the royal
navy, and professional investigator
- Rosemary – A
female human ranger
Non-Player Characters
- Lord Gonren Nostrod – Young male zorakith and Lord Berdek's nephew. A talented telepath and died-in-the-wool cynic. Haughty and amoral.
- Lahav Brahn – A venerable male All-Seer and respected prophet. He has immaculately groomed white hair and beard, and wears intricate, lacey robes. He is surprisingly handsome and vigorous despite his advanced age. He has recently published a new book of prophecy, “The Coming Dark,” which hints at the destruction of all realities by a “great, shadowy beast.”
- Queen Rahati V – a divinely ordained ruler. The blessings of her office have changed her, and she appears as a much larger All-Seer with iridescent wings and a halo. She is an intelligent and ruthlessly pragmatic ruler.
- Radaria Brahn – Middle aged female All-Seer and proprietress of the Orpheum.
- Raphes Gollanz – Middle aged male All-Seer inquisitor working for the College of Prophets.
- Samandir Matus – Male All-Seer. Servant and emissary of the Queen. Pompous. Aloof.
- Dr. Remli Levitan – Young-ish female All-Seer. Young and inexperienced Doctor of Psychology in charge of the Asylum.
Summary
The
heroes set out from Trinellonde’s Lantern with a fleet of five warships
accompanying them. Their destination was Argus, home of the All-Seers. The
lirovan wise woman Hagora deGurn had advised them to seek out a prophet there
to learn what hardships they may face before achieving their goal.
En-route
to Argus, they sighted a strange object floating nearby. It was a large,
free-floating greenhouse with a pair of blinking red beacons attached to it.
Those who looked upon the magical light of the beacons were filled with a
supernatural sense of unease.
They
investigated the greenhouse a found it was full of overgrown alien foliage, and
a door that was sealed with arcane runes. Taiyo was able to communicate with
the plants inside and learned of their murderous intent. Despite their
curiosity, the heroes decided not to disturb the seal.
They
found Argus to be a city of broad boulevards and intricate metalwork buildings
pelted with constant rain. And very few people walking the streets. As soon as
they disembarked, they saw one of the All-Seers, a race of tall, spindly,
white-skinned humanoids with four golden eyes, standing nearby holding up a
placard with all of their names written on it. Accompanying him were another
All-Seer servant and three lirovan mercenaries.
The man
introduced himself as Samandir Matus, a seneschal to the Queen, and told them
that their arrival had been foretold. He conveyed them to the palace to see the
Queen.
Queen
Rahati V told the heroes that a prophet, Lahav Brahn, had authored a book of
prophecy detailing how the heroes’ actions would release the Shadow Worm into
the Azure Aetern, dooming all life within. Worse, the prophecy had an effect of
causing madness in those who read it, meaning the asylum was full to bursting.
Brahn had gone into hiding because the Temple of Anevene, and the College of
Prophets, deemed him a heretic and wanted him dead.
The
Queen tasked the heroes with finding Brahn. She said she needed to reach into
Brahn’s mind and see the vision he saw firsthand, so that she could then author
a counter-prophecy. It had to be the heroes, she said, because a first rate
prophet like Brahn could anticipate other prophets’ attempts to find him. The
heroes, however, were a wild card.
The
heroes, accompanied by the Queen’s seneschal Samandir, set out for the Temple
of Anevene to search for clues. Within Brahn’s personal apartment, Taiyo
noticed a potted plant. When she spoke to it, it told her there was something
lodged amid its roots. Taiyo dug out a message in a bottle written by Lahav
Brahn. It said, “I am hiding in the asylum. My niece, Radaria Brahn, knows
nothing of this. Please do not involve her.” Taiyo then convinced Samandir to
stay in the apartment and work on translating Brahn’s notes, so that they could
act independently without worrying about the Queen’s loyal servant reporting them
for defying her.
At the
asylum, they searched high and low for Brahn, but did not find him. Finally,
they entered the basement, and the Druid turned into a cat to scout ahead.
Using her superior night vision, the Druid saw three armed men lurking in the
darkness. She went back to warn the others, but in the few moments they stood
around discussing it, they were attacked.
A phon
mercenary with a jetpack and a pair of machine pistols came flying around the
corner and pelted them with a hail of bullets. Lt. Douglas and Rosemary’s wolf
both took damage, but Lt. Douglas caved in the phon’s skull with a hammer.
Wilkins conjured a smokescreen using the magic pipe looted from the pirates.
Using
the cover of the smokescreen, Lt. Douglas advanced and persuaded the two
remaining mercenaries to surrender. The mercs informed him that they were hired
by Brahn to kill them, and that Brahn was actually hiding in the Orpheum. Lt.
Douglas forced them to hand over the money they were paid and let them leave
with their lives.
At the
Orpheum, there was a brief confrontation with Radaria Brahn, proprietress and
niece of Lahav Brahn. Seeing that they had bashed in the door and were heavily
armed, she readily surrendered and showed them to Lahav Brahn’s hiding place.
Lahav
Brahn surrendered, saying that he was only doing his job by reporting a
troubling prophecy. He was hiding because he feared there was a good chance
that once the Queen was done with him, she’d turn him over to the College of
Prophets, who would execute him.
Wilkins
used his illusion magic to disguise Lahav Brahn (and himself, accidentally) as
Radaria Brahn, and so disguised they went to see the Queen.
The
Queen read the prophecy from Lahav Brahn’s mind and channeled the presence of
Anevene, the Goddess of Prophecy. The Queen revealed the following:
- Lahav Brahn’s prophecy of inescapable doom was influenced by the Shadow Worm itself.
- The heroes’ actions will release the Shadow Worm into the Azure Aetern.
- The Black Worm Pirates will try to stop them from defeating the Shadow Worm.
- They MAY fail and be devoured by the worm.
- They MAY learn crucial information by using telepathy on the worm.
- They MAY destroy the worm with a barrage of light rays.
- They MAY tame the worm by binding it in unbreakable chains.
- They MAY postpone doomsday by sending the worm into the future.
- They MAY put the worm into a deep slumber with a dire poison.
Where Lahav Brahn saw only doom,
the Queen revealed several possibilities that they might triumph.
Taiyo pleaded with the Queen to spare
Lahav Brahn’s life, promising to smuggle him off world. She agreed, on the
condition that the heroes never return to Argus.
TL;DR
The
players traveled to Argus, the land of the All-Seers. They learned that the
prophet Lahav Brahn had prophesized that their actions would release the Shadow
Worm into the Azure Aetern. The prophecy had caused a plague of madness to
spread among the All-Seers, and the College of Prophets wanted him dead. The
Queen, however, believed that if she could read his mind to see the vision he
had seen first-hand, she could author a counter-prophecy.
The
players were tasked with finding Lahav Brahn. They searched his apartment, and
after a red herring where they were tricked into an ambush under the asylum,
they found Brahn hiding under the Orpheum. They took him to the Queen, who
recognized that his prophecies were clouded by the influence of the Shadow
Worm. She then foretold many possible ways the heroes might defeat the Shadow
Worm.
The
players pleaded with the Queen to spare Lahav Brahn’s life, and she agreed,
provided that they smuggle him out and never return.
Concluding Thoughts
One of
my players was against coming to Argus but got voted down. I couldn’t help but
agree with the desire to move things along, so I tried to make Argus into an
interesting encounter and adventure that would provide ample information to the
players while also being able to wrap it up in a single session. I’m glad to
say that I succeeded.
Also,
the idea of a dissident prophet seeing a forbidden vision was inspired by the
description of the “Catch Flame” incantation in Elden Ring, which mentioned
that prophets who foresee the burning of the Erdtree are exiled for it. And I
admit, I stole the name “Anevene” from a Numenera supplement. It’s just a
really cool name.
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