The Money Pit

The Money Pit
Date 2082-8-8 GM Sarcarian Location Halifax and Oak Island
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven DracoFoundation Ryan Mercury	Irving, Pentax
Relay Zenith Mara	Vermithrax A Drake Minion

Summary

Three runners head to Halifax and Oak Island to retrieve a small idol from a deceased dragon's vault. On the way they meet a dragon, two brothers, a drake and a legend.

Background

The Irving Corporation working with the local university and Atlantean Foundation have been working on a dig. The target of their efforts is a vault on Oak Island, at the terminus of a Ley Line, formerly owned by Dunkelzahn. They have uncovered the main door, but have not yet been able to gain entry. At the same time Vermithrax, a dragon with keen ambition, has been working on taking over the Irving Corporation using his holding company, Pentax.

The Matrix Meet

The runners are called and asked to join a meeting in VR. Inside they meet an unknown Johnson who describes a high paying job (40k and 1 'item of value') to fly to Halifax and retrieve an object. The runners get out of their prospective employer that the place is well guarded, though not extra-territorial. They will be responsible for their own travel, but the expenses will be reimbursed. And of course there's somebody else after the loot.

Upon accepting the job, the Johnson reveals the object is an obsidian and orichalcum idol of a dragon standing over a crystral structure. It is also revealed that it formerly belonged to Dunkelzahn and that the vault was also his. Perhaps foolishly the runners accept the job and begin to make their preparations.

Travel Plans and Seeing the Future

Relay books a flight to Halifax under the guise of traveling for a fundraising opportunity for MERC. He contacts Bradley Keith Irving and his brother Keith Bradley Irving to arrange a meeting. They seem interested in the project and Relay plans to couch it as a chance to get some positive name recognition in Seattle.

Starting off on a high note, Zenith decides to do some Oneiro. He intends to find another way in, and sees a lights on a large vault door. It's night time, but some distance away there is a crevice, perhaps just big enough for a metahuman to squeeze through. Amrei Veidt is happy to help Zenith get to Seattle to pick up some gear. She then bargains for a debrief to cart him back to Halifax. Zenith relents with the idea of Laesing himself so that he can't provide the debrief.

For Mara's part, she contacts Cascade for help smuggling herself and a shipping container with one of Relay's drones. The smuggler is happy to help and it was almost certain that nothing bad was going to happen.

Dragons and Matrix Searches

Arriving at the air field, Mara meets Cascade with her luggage and the two board the plane. Once they are in the air, the smuggler asks Mara if she would like to try her hand at flying. Seeing no particular risk, Mara magically analyzes the craft and takes the yoke doing a passable job of flying. Meanwhile, Zenith picks up his gear and gets on board with Amrei. The two play cards, with Zenith cheating. The spy catches him through her card counting, but regards his skill with respect and the two discuss Halifax with Amrei being cagey about what he might find there. On his commercial flight, Relay decides to read a magazine and then decides to do some matrix searching.

The bulk of their legwork is done in transit with Zenith talking to Amrei, Mara talking to Lady J and Relay sifting through the matrix for interesting tidbits. They learn many things.

From Amrei:

• Pentax is trying to take over Irving.
• The CEO of Pentax is a dragon named Vermithrax, who is not well regarded among other dragons. He was devastated by the crash and has been rebuilding since. He has made substantial donations to the university in charge of the dig they plan to rob.

From Lady J:

• There is a Ley Line from Dunkelzahn's lair to the dig site.

From the matrix:

• Irving started as a logging company and all but own Nova Scotia.
• They've been in competition with Pentax which has been buying up other competitors.

Things progress on an even keel with Zenith and Relay arriving without further incident. Mara on the other hand has taken to flying again as they make a low approach over the water. A ping on the radar is the only warning before the huge form of a copper dragon breaks the surface of the water. Quickly Mara passes the controls to Cascade who deftly dodges the dragon and his breath. Unable to resist, the mage opens a window to assense the dragon. His aura is like radiant amber reaching toward the edge of reality, though it also hints at a lingering wound and a lot of magic. The smuggler dips toward the water, forcibly ditching the wings to submerge as Mara closes the window and sits in shock.

Rewards

Rewards for "The Money Pit" (1.33x multiplier for run length):

• 50k nuyen
• 20 karma
• 10 CDP
• +5 Draco Foundation reputation

For Zenith: Signed Dunklezhan campaign shirt and a selfie with Ryan Mercury. One Draco Foundation Coin of Favor.

For Mara: Saw what a dragon's aura looked like and had it breathe fire at her. One Draco Foundation Coin of Favor.

For Relay: 100k donation to the Metroplex Equal Rights Commission. One gold memorial plaque.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.