The Harbringer - Act One
Contents
Chapter One: The Necromancer
After a six week sea journey aboard Halar Highwind's boat The Materion Teuluol, The Circle arrives at the city of Noble on the Blessed Isle. On landing, they seek out their contact, Charles Aberdeen - cousin of Gus Aberdeen - whom is owner of the Linear Inn in the city. The party spends some time in the inn, talking with locals and the waitstaff in order to discern more information on the supposed necromancer in Noble whom might have information for them pertaining to the The Underworld. A young affluent noble named Seus Ocho is convinced to reveal information of a known spell-caster and collector of items. Jon Stark and Bianfu Komori set out to make contact with this man, who is found to be residing in a rather secure-looking townhouse on the south side of the city. However, though the party had been warned on several occasions to not make mention that they were looking for a necromancer - due to the activity being, at best, frowned upon and rather illegal on the Blessed Isle - upon meeting the man Jon immediately inquires if he is a necromancer. This results in a swift door in the face, and a refusal to further the conversation. Luckily when Isosceles Sanchez is brought to the house in hopes that his affluence and business status would help convince the man of the party's reputation, it is revealed that the man is in fact Isosceles's uncle, Ohreinn "Dirty" Sanchez. He welcomes the party - sans Jon - into his home for stale biscuits.
Chapter Two: The Bar Fight
The Circle wastes no time with pleasantries and describes to Sanchez their goal: to reach the underworld. Sanchez plays dumb, but after some "persuasion" from Bianfu and Mugen Rokuro, reveals that he knows of a way to safely pass through the underworld, but laments that he has in fact sold the keystone needed for said passage to a rich noble in town. He offers help in any way he can, but insists that not much can be done without the keystone returned. Being a frequent visitor of Linear Inn, visiting every other night, The Circle decides to wait there to try and find the noble. While waiting, Isosceles joins up with a band of drunkards and stoners, and proceeds to get plastered with them. Halar spots Seus Ocho, the same noble who had helped them locate Ohreinn, and it is eventually revealed that he was the one who had purchased Sanchez's keystone. He too is a collector of rare artifacts and stones, and after Halar convinces him that the Circle has one with which they'd like to trade, he agrees to a meeting between Halar and an accomplice to meet him at his manor the next day in order to do business. Isosceles then fucks everything up by getting drunk and starting a bar fight. During the next day, each member of the Circle spends some time doing various things. Jon goes and practices his craft with the local blacksmith, V'Deef B'chi, and produces a gemstone in which to trade with Seus. Halar purchases some things from a local shop, while Isosceles receives a strange yellow crystal. Mugen and Bianfu scope out the manor to determine points of entry and layout of guards, but are found out by the patrol outside the manor and are forced to play dumb/retreat a distance. That night, the Circle meets with Ohreinn to discuss the plan. He places a mild charm on the fake stone to make it be able to be tracked by an enchanted talisman, as well as enchants a talisman to indicate the location of the artifact inside Ocho's manor.
Chapter Three: The Deal
Halar and Bianfu finally meet with Ocho to deal with stones. Ocho, unfortunately, does not produce the artifact in question, and instead offers three supposedly magic stones - though Bianfu is able to discern through character judgements of both Ocho and his appraiser that they are valuable in some fashion. After some negotiating, Halar agrees upon trading the Circle's fake artifact for two of Ocho's stones. Halar and Bianfu leave the residence, and meet with the rest of the Circle on a hill outside the manor to review their stones and discuss the next course of action. By encircling the residence, Iscosceles is able to determine the gem they traded away is in the south-east corner of the manor's lower levels, and determines that is likely where the keystone also resides.
Chapter Four: The Heist
It is decided the Circle will attempt to rob the manor by sneaking in at night. Jon is sent to ready the ship and bring it alongside the manor for them to escape onto. Mugen sneaks into the upper levels of the manor and makes his way downstairs, knocking out a guard by the lower level stairway. He hides the unconscious body in the basement, and signals to the other Circle members to sneak in as well. Halar and Isosceles manage to scale the wall, but Bianfu slips and causes an audible noise that is heard by the outside guards. They rush to the wall and discover the three Exalted trespassing, signaling to the guards inside for help. Mugen hastily follows the guards and ambushes them once they're outside. The Circle handily defeat the guards, knocking some unconscious and killing the rest. Stark arrives at this moment with the boat, and The Circle proceeds into the basement. They enter through a room with a stack of crates blocking one doorway, while voices can be faintly heard around the corner of the other doorway. Bianfu, Mugen, and Halar creep towards the corner of the room and are able to spot two heavily armed guards in the adjourning room playing cards and arguing; using the Easily Overlooked Presence method Bianfu sneaks into the next room and spots two more guards standing at attention in front of a large gate. He signals back towards Halar and Mugen what he's found. Halar and Mugen decide to utilize a teddy bear they had found next to a guard's bed as a distraction. Meanwhile, much to the protests of Jon, Isosceles begins to move the crates from the doorway. In an attempt to crush the guard with the crate, Isosceles lures the guard over by imitating the noise of a crate shifting. He is unable to push the crate onto the guard in time before he positions the crate back into place, but is able to remain hidden. The two groups then coordinate their efforts for distraction, with Iscoceles kicking a crate down while Halar throws the teddy bear across the room. Bianfu uses Invisible Statue Spirit in order to remain undetected while one of the guards in front of the gate - hearing the crate smash against the floor - comes into the room to investigate. As suspicions run high, Halar makes a last-ditch effort to imitate a ghost noise in hopes of spooking the guards; this fails miserably and their location is revealed. Taking the brief advantage of surprise, Halar jumps out and throws knives at the guard while Isosceles jumps out from the stack of crates and kicks one of the guards in the spine. A scuffle between the guards and The Circle breaks out - during which Halar accidentally stabs Isosceles in the stomach, and Isosceles manages to tumble into Halar - and the Circle renders most of the guards bloodied and unconscious (save one whom Mugen had severed the arm from and quickly bled to death).