Session 1: Suddenly, Adventure! Report

General Summary

After a few weeks in town, the party got paired up by Pamki and the Sheriff to go clear a ruin. They decided they all worked well together and have decided to party up for the time being.   Last night, a few of the notable residents of the town had reached out to various party members asking for their help. The Sheriff had heard rumours that Ghoka had found a ruin to use as a base and wanted someone to find out where it is. Mex needed someone to go into a ruin to see if it has the iotum she needs to build some healing numenera for a sick homestead. In addition to deciding that the water situation needed to be dealt with now that growing season was over, Pamki had also recieved word that a caravan of supplies and potential settlers had been attacked and is now lost in the wilderness.   And as if life out here in the frontier wasn't bad enough, someone had stolen something Mex had been keeping in the warehouse last night. Someone had also broken into Pamki's manor and stolen some numenera and some personal belongings. After talking to Pamki and the Sheriff, everyone agreed that it was probably the same person. Thefts that require break-ins are pretty rare in Ararholm, and for two to happen on the same night would be an unusual event.   While talking to Mex, Zeno got asked on a dinner date and accepted.   Once the party had met with the Sheriff, Pamki, and Mex they set out to begin some investigations. Heading over to the warehouse, they found a few physical clues. Some powder often used by current and former members of the Royal Army as a stimulant was found near the spot where Mex's box had been stored. Near the entrance they found a mug from the tavern and a partially eaten meal of Dibbler's "streat meat". After talking to the innkeeper Lowen Hob, they put together what they had discovered.   A party of adventurers that called themselves "The Adventuring Corporation" had caused some trouble last night. Known for their distinctive green cloaks and somewhat arrogant and haughty manner they are not well-liked within Ararholm. After getting in a fight with some of Ghoka's men at the tavern late at night, one of them had run, taking the tavern mug with him. After getting some food from Dibbler, he made his way to the warehouse. Somehow passing through the foot-thick door, the theif grabbed Mex's box and quickly departed. At some point before or after that, they broke into the manor and stole a few things there as well. Meeting up with some of their friends, they trailed one of Ghoka's men as he left town -- obsensibly heading for Ghoka's hideout.   After talking to the Sheriff, the party learned that he had tried tracking one of Ghoka's men, but had lost the trail a short ways south of the town. He gave the party directions to the Dry Gulch and wished the party luck as they headed out.   Making good time, the party followed the Sheriff's instructions and twenty-five minutes later were standing on a small hill that looked down on a section of the Dry Gulch. A strange area just south of Ararholm, the Dry Gulch is an area of the grasslands that is under the influence of something that transforms the area into a dessert. All moisture is sucked out of the air, and when it rains the ground quickly drinks the water down -- and never ceases to look like a dry and dusty desert that hasn't had rain in centuries. Despite the dry ground making tracking nearly impossible, Fox was able to find where the green cloaks had entered and exited the Dry Gulch. The interferrence zone that marks the boundary forms a kind of hard clay; perfect for capturing foot prints.   Having re-found the trail of their quarry, the party headed out again. Within an hour, they found themselves looking at a strange hill. A bit taller than the surrounding hills in the area, this hill stood out due to it's height, and the fact that it looked like it had been pushed up from beneath the ground. With bits of synth and metal sticking out creating masts, domes, and false cliffs it was obviously a ruin of some kind.   Unfortunately, the party hadn't expected there to be any kind of lookout. They discovered the lookout when a bullet tore up the earth near their feet, prompting them to drop to the ground. Ureos Kathak and KL3P-70 V1.0 used some esoteries to give the party some protection, one creating an illusion that raised the crown of the hill to cover them while the other put up a resonant barrier. Seeing a group of bandits about to charge up the hill to them, Belel attempted to fire a paralysis ray from a cypher but was unable to hit any of the bandits. Zeno winged the sniper and nearly put them down, while Fox prepared to deal with the approaching mob of bandits.   Charging forward under the cover of their sniper lookout, the bandits tried to close with the party but weren't quick enough. Ureos, deciding he was going to try and end this quickly without much more bloodshed used a cypher to swap places with one of the approaching bandits. Back on the top of the hill, Fox nearly knocked out the bandit suddenly standing right next to him.   "Put down your weapons and we won't kill you!" Ureos stated loudly after appearing where their friend once stood.   Already unnerved by the sound of Zeno's rifle, they quickly complied. Their sniper friend though, used the opportunity to fire one more time -- and managed to wing Ureos. Dropping to the ground from the shock, Ureos stuck his hand in the air to give a thumbs up so his friends knew he still lived.   Incensed by the sniper, Belel strode forward. Ignoring Ureos and the group of bandits, she stalked towards the sniper. When close enough she drew upon her strange powers to partially blind the sniper with streamers of twisting black energy. Zeno, perturbed that all his hard work had nearly been wasted by the death of Ureos, fired at the sniper agin. This time the bullet struck true, killing the sniper.   After a quick interrogation of the bandits, the party learned a few things:  

1. This was indeed Ghoka's hideout
2. He might not be there
3. The bandits hadn't explored all of the ruins, only using a small portion for themselves
4. The sniper and the group didn't have any way to signal their friends inside -- one of them was supposed to have gone inside to warn the rest, but had got caught up in the rush

  With this information, the party decided that the best course of action was to hide the body of the sniper and return to Ararholm with their now prisoners. Hopefully the jail was big enough for the six of them.

Rewards Granted

The bandits had the following on their persons, which they handed over without complaint for being allowed to live:  

1. 19 shins

2. Sparkle

   Effect

   Causes 1d6 glowing lights to shoot from the end of the device, travel a long distance, and explode in a flash of brilliant colors that blinds anyone in an immediate radius for one minute

Missions/Quests Completed

The party has found the ruin currently being used by Ghoka as a hideout, the Sheriff may have something for the party to thank them.

Notes

Post-game rulings:  

1. Healing (Points in Pools): You can administer aid through bandaging and other succor, attempting to heal each patient once per day. This healing restores points to a stat pool of your choice. Decide how many points you want to heal, then roll for an Intellect task with a difficulty equal to that number. The Healing skill can ease this difficulty, as will simple medicial tools ( bandages, poltices, etc ).
2. Healing (Damage Track): Healing a level on the damage track is a level 4 or 6 Intellect task depending if the character is impaired or debilitated. The Healing skill can ease this difficulty, as well as medical tools.
3. Stores that sell common goods ( anything that is common and not special, rare, or very rare from the Player's Guide equipment list ) take shins, for special or non-common items merchants tend to barter ( the price in shins will be higher than what's listed in the book if that's how you want to pay )
4. Unless specifically called for by the situation, the players won't be dealing with hex maps. I'll create a "symbolic" map that will get updated here on World Anvil after each session that new places are found in the area.