The old man and the sea
| The old man and the sea | ||||||||||
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| Part of Artifact hunt | ||||||||||
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||
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ShadowHaven Sea Dragon Sphinx | Metaplan of treasures | Toxic Cult | ||||||||
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Pell La Rapide Glamor Swerve |
8xShakals 1xSoldier 1xPriest 1xSuper Soldier 1x high Priest |
2xToxic Adepts 3xToxic Mages 1xAbomination 3xNuclear | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| Glamor (Burned Edge to life) | 8xShakals, 1xSoldier, 1xPriest, 1xSuper Soldier, 1x high Priest | 1xAbomination, 3xNuclear, 3xToxic Mages | ||||||||
| IG Run for La Rapide and Glamor | ||||||||||
Summary
Sphinx stood on the beach and waited. The moonlight illuminated the scene. In front of him, the water parted and a huge shadow obscured the part of the beach where he stood. He could feel a powerful mind connecting with him and then he heard his master's voice in his head.
"The scouts were successful. The collector is hiding in LA. Assemble a group of runners to recover the key and obtain the artifact."
Sphinx nodded, "As you command mistress."
The shadow turned and moved back into the sea. Just before the light of the moon reached Sphinx again, he paused. "Make sure they are motivated. I don't care how, but this is too important to just leave it to some runners. Have him accompany you."
Then the shadow disappeared into the ocean and when the wave of displacement reached the beach Sphinx and a very powerful looking spirit in astral space were already on their way back to Seattle.
Runners are drawn into the Run because of personal entanglements or blackmail. After some hardships, they acquire a keystone that opens a portal to a Metaplane where ancient artifacts are safely stored. The guardian of the Metaplane requires them to pass a quest in order to obtain the desired artifact. The runners succeed in passing the quest and when they leave the Metaplane they are confronted by Sea Dragon herself, who wants her artifact.
Background
General background can be found on the Metplot Artifact hunt. Sea Dragon has gathered enough information to recover the Book of the Underworld. She sends Sphinx to hire runners and motivate them by any means to recover the artifact. At the same time, a detachment of Saeda Krupps monitoring Sea Dragon's activities has become aware of the activity and is trying to acquire the keystone needed to open a portal to the metaplanes of treasure before they do or get it into their possession. The keystone was found by an old artifact dealer named Tian Lu (aka The Collector), but Tian Lu actually wants to keep the artifact for his collection. When he realizes that some powerful parties are after the artifact, he goes into hiding in Los Angeles through his contacts with the Triads (Twenty-Eight Hands).
The Meet
La Rapide
Raps receives a call from Emelie who seems desperate and calls in her favors with Raps. Emelie lets it be known that she has gone a bit too far in a private investigation and is now being held captive by some pretty nasty people who are demanding that she perform a rather dangerous run. Since she is sure that she doesn't have the necessary skills, she offers to send a substitute. Emelie promises Raps that all debts would be settled and Raps agrees. Emelie sends her the meeting place for the meeting with the Johnson, a fish restaurant downtown.
Glamor
Glamor receives a call from an unknown number. She picks up and Sphinx answers on the other end. He tells her that he and the organization he works for know about her wanted status and that they are in a position to solve the problem. All Glamor has to do is participate in a run. Glamor accepts and she receives the information about the meeting in the fish restaurant of Sphinx.
Pell
Pell is on his way to Vashon Island to see the latest collection of Jaqueline Morrison. On the ferry to the island, she stands at the railing and the water starts to get choppy. Then Wusan appears in front of her and reminds her that she owes him a favor that he wants to collect today. He tells her that he is in debt to a very powerful entity and that she needs reliable runes. Pell accepts and Wusan describes the fish restaurant where the meeting will take place.
Swerve
Swerve is contacted by Amélia Bezerra who informs her that she has smuggled her name onto a list of trusted runners for a J named Sphinx. She is told to accept the assignment and report on the activities for Nebelherr, but not to do anything about it. Amélia conceals the fact that the name on the list was created in such a way that sooner or later Sphinx must stumble upon the involvement with Nebelherr - Swerve's involvement is a message to the Sea Dragon in dragon fashion. She actually receives a call from Sphinx a little later telling her the time and place of the meeting.
The Fish Restaurant
Sphinx (together with two powerful spirits in astral space) receives the more or less voluntary runners and explains to them that they are looking for a keystone that leads to an artifact. The keystone was found by a person called the Collector (an old man named Tian Lu), but he refuses to sell it. The Collector is in hiding in Los Angeles with his Triad allies. The Runners are not supposed to hurt the Collector because he might be important in the future, but they have to convince him to sell the keystone (there is a pretty unlimited expense account for that). How it goes on if the runners have the keystone Sphinx does not want to tell them but offers that the runners can get out after this step if they want. For getting the keystone Sphinx offers 20.000 Nuyen as well as discounts on magic utensils and the release of Emely. The runners accept and Sphinx leaves the restaurant but mentions that he will pay for the food if the runners order something.
The Plan
The runners start by calling contacts (e.g. to organize a shelter) and searching the matrix for information. They arrange a passage to Lost Angeles with Bilge-Rat Jones. Their research reveals that there is a P 2.0 influencer (Nathan Wiland) who claims to be connected to the Twenty-Eight Hands. If one follows his publications he makes also quite indirect advertisement for the Triaden. The Runners decide to pay Nathan Wiland a visit.
The Run
The Runners arrive at the port in LA and, thanks to Pell's high life style, first rent a boat to go to their hideout. After settling in, they make their way downtown where Nathan Wiland is live on the air and dining in a restaurant. Glamor and the other ladies ambush Nathan at his table and flirt with him. He suggests going to a club, but the ladies convince him to go to a quieter place (his apartment). So Nathan takes the four with him to his apartment. Once there, he is overpowered and subjected to thorough mind magic. After the runners have all the information they want about the triads and their meeting place, Swerve changes Nathan's memory so that he thinks he had a nice night. With the help of his passwords, the surveillance videos can also be deleted.
La Rapide and Pell first spy the restaurant (Chicken in) downtown the next day. They can observe some Triad members talking to a well-dressed man and then disappear. They follow the men on their bill collector tour until they disappear in the basement of a hotel and ride away on motorcycles. In the evening, Glamor and Swerve go to the Chicken in and ask the waitress to talk to the Triad boss. After some back and forth, the two are taken to a back room. They hear strange noises coming from the walls. Then Juan Han, the current boss of the Triad in LA, comes into the room and explains that he knows he's dealing with banshees and that they need to be aware that the whole room has explosives in the walls and that they are being watched. If something strange happens, we all die together. Glamor and Swerve try to convince Juan to be taken to the Collector. He demands something in return, so far he has refused a visit from various people to the Collector (the runners are not the first to ask), but since he currently has an urgent problem that needs to be solved he would be willing to let the runners go to the Collector if they take care of the problem. It is a construction site (one of those sites that must be 50% complete within 1 year to claim the land) that has stalled because they accidentally dug into the headquarters of a small but militant toxic cult during basement excavations. Juan does not tell the runners that this is a toxic cult. He offers an additional payment of 20,000 Nuyen after a short negotiation. The runners agree.
The Runners go on site and summon ghosts as well. La Rapide explores the underground facility and is able to find a circle of toxic mages and adepts. She reports this to the others, who try to enter but are attacked by toxic spirits that La Rapide manages to sneak past. There is a brief exchange of blows and after the spirits are destroyed, the Circle members retreat deeper into the facility. The Runners follow them into the deeper regions and the background counts rises. The toxic contamination of the old skyscraper that stood here before the great flood is clearly perceptible. In an old auditorium, the Runners have their final encounter with the Circle. The mages and a nuclear spirit can be destroyed, but the adepts try to escape.
The Runners report to Juan and he gives them the address of a Triad safe house downtown where they can find the Collector. They order a cab and drive there. It is a high-rise building near the coast. When they get there, people run out of the building in panic. After a short exploration of Swerve in astral space, she can see that the panic is coming from the penthouse of the building. Swerve enters the penthouse through the ward and finds a scene of dead Triad members and a man kneeling being questioned by some mercenaries. The mercenaries are all mundanes, only the prisoner is a mage. The runners close in and enter together. Thanks to a banshee cry from Swerve, the mercenaries can be put to flight or one remains there as a living stature. They free the old man who turns out to be the Collector. After being harassed by the mercenaries he suddenly doesn't want to keep the keystone anymore and agrees to sell it. On the way back they meet the LA Police. Thanks to a convincing performance they can pretend to be fugitives and escape in a cab. The Collector receives his payment and the Runners set off with the keystone to meet Sphinx (who is now also in LA) in a restaurant.
The runners meet with Sphinx and hand over the keystone. Sphinx explains the second part of the run and emphasizes once again that the runners can get out here if they want. The runners want to continue. Sphinx offers 30,000 Nuyen for this part and the Runners agree. For this part, the keystone must be brought to a submerged cave in the nearby sea and a portal to a meta-level must be opened. Sphinx shows them a picture (a painted one) of the item he wants (The Book of the Underworld). He explains that a guardian entity will test them before handing over the book. What this test looks like, Sphinx himself does not know. But he provides special diving equipment that also has drone control and allows Emely to assist the runners. He mentions the spicy part that the entrance of the cave is a zone without any magic worth mentioning at the end. The Runners retreat for another day to rest and Sphinx prepares a boat with the equipment.
Together with Sphinx and Emely, the Runners head out to sea. Arriving at the place where the cave can be found on an undersea slope, the runners are lowered into the water. They dive to the cave and arm themselves for the magic free zone. They all succeed in crossing the zone, but Swerve has some problems. After a long tunnel, the cave opens to a larger "room" and the runners can see some ancient buildings that are partially engulfed by rock masses. At the end of the cave there is a wall with a perfectly drawn circle. An opening in the circle allows to attach the keystone. The runners use the keystone and Glamor first enters a slightly shimmering area in the circle. After a short time the others follow.
On the meta plane, the runners find themselves on a mountain. A huge jungle spreads out below them and they can see giant dinosaurs. Then a small being comes floating towards them - the guardian of the meta plane. He appears in the form of a small Leprechaun and greets the Runners quite enthusiastically to finally have a visitor again. After finding out what the runners are looking for, he explains that they must first pass a test and the landscape turns into a sandy desert. In the distance a huge pyramid can be seen. He provides the runners with the following clue:
Follows the path.
Defeat the priest and his jackals.
Climb up to the pyramid and let the stone guardian sleep.
Visit the top and pray before the ancient Pharaoh find his secret.
Open the door to the underworld and put your blood in the well to find the further way.
Defeat the high priest and follow the path.
Now you just have to answer the question of the sphinx and the book is yours.
The guardian of the meta plane also thinks it would be very boring if he didn't experiment a little on the visitors. The result is that the three banshees are now metahuman again and magic to hide doesn't work. The calling of spirits is also not allowed. Each participant of the test will also be put into clothing and armor suitable for the setting and the weapons will be adapted. Thus handicapped, the runners may now set out on their journey. The runners reach the pyramid. The entrance is guarded by skeleton-like creatures. A priest, a soldier and some jackals confront the runners. With some difficulty and strong magic, they manage to defeat the guards and find a key from the priest. With this they can open the entrance to the pyramid where they first recover from the fight.
Thanks to several Levitate spells and a Silence spell, the Runners can safely pass through a room with a stone guardian and all the traps along the way. They find the Sarcophagus in the top of the pyramid and after a prayer interlude they can open a secret compartment underneath the sarcophagus and take a diamond. This fits perfectly into a picture representing the underworld in the room with the stone guardian. When you insert the diamond, a secret door opens and opens the way to the depths of the pyramid. They follow a staircase and find a fountain filled with blood. All runners sacrifice blood into the well and get back some of their life force. A hidden door in the wall opens and the runners move on. They find the high priest and a very large soldier as well as some jackals. Thanks to a good combination of spells from Glamro and Swerve, all the enemies can be eliminated except for the soldier. The soldier manages to sink a throwing spear into Glamor, bringing her to the brink of death. Pell can finally take out the soldier together with La Rapide. Another staircase leads even deeper into the pyramid. At the bottom, a stone sphinx is waiting for them, holding a book in its paws (the object they are looking for). She poses a riddle that Glamor solves in seconds. The sphinx releases the book but warns explicitly not to open it.
The guard appears again by changing the entire scene. The runners are now on a tropical island at 40 degrees and sunny. Fortunately, the Banshee are still metahuman. After a short conversation and another warning not to open the book, the guard opens a portal that leads back. The runners leave the meta plane with the book. In the underwater cave they first make contact with Emely and ask her for help, because they are very battered to leave the cave. At the exit of the cave they discover some metahuman corpses that have been bitten to pieces. They cautiously continue to grope as the contact with Emely breaks off and a huge shadow moves towards them. Sea Dragon makes her personal appearance and demands the artifact from the runers, which they hand over without resistance. Afterwards, the dragoness has a short conversation with Swerve in which she reveals that she knows Swerve works for Nebelherr. She gives Swerve the message for Nebelherr that he can bathe in the ocean if he wishes, but that he should be careful because the ocean is much rougher than his little pond. Then she swims away. With the help of Emely, who is back in contact with them, the runners manage to board the boat and collect their payment.
A few days later there is a knock on Swerve's door. It is Nebelherr himself in his human form asking Swerver how the run went. Swerve tells him everything. He thanks her and assures Amélia to put in a good word for her. Then he disappears again.
Aftermath
- Sea Dragon has put her claws on the book of the Underworld
Rewards
For "The old man and the sea" 2.16 Time Multy Semi-Prime:
- 50.000 Nuyen (25 RVP) or double in Magical Gear (incl Ochialcum from Sea Dragon and Foci from Sphinx) Foci up to AV 24
- 20.000 Nuyen (10 RVP) from Triade
- 35 Karma (35 RVP)
- 32 CDP (15 RVP)
- Pell +1 Favor Wusan
- Raps +4 Favor Emely
- IG 7 Discount Glamor
- IG 5 Discount La Rapide
- Swerve +10 Nebelherr Reputation
All: +10 Sea Dragon Reputation
Optional (paying with RVP from above):
- Sphinx C8/L3 for 10 RVP
Glamor:
- Quick Healer (3 RVP)
- Too Pretty To Hit (3 RVP)
- Watch The Suit (3 RVP)
- Buy off Wanted (10 RVP)
Raps:
- Guts (10 RVP)
Swerve:
- Rise Loyaltiy for Amélia Bezerra to 3 for (3 RVP or 6 CDP)
- Too Pretty To Hit (3 RVP)
- Shoot First, Don´t Ask (2 RVP)
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Pell
I've always wanted to visit the media capital of the 5th World! Shame the rest of Los Angeles was flooded. :pensive:
The rest of the team was regulars on the Haven, which was nice. Felt awkward being the only uninfected of the bunch, though. The others were all so pretty, too. D:
The run was pretty standard, aside from the Toxic radiation cult. The Metaplane jaunt to get the book was neat though.