Session 24: The Genesis Project Report

General Summary

Left with only the elusive but hilarious name 'Raven's Foot Bungary', the Masters of the Nine Elements wander the dingy streets of the Lantern Ward in search of the tavern, on their way scooting past a small speech made by the city benefactor, Auldron Feugelhaig, (whom the party previously met yesternight). Upon entering the famed 'Bungary', they are welcomed by a rustic building, empty bar the Shadar-kai barman, who introduces himself as Reggii, and another Shadar-kai rocking it on the harpsichord in the corner, Ajax - creator of Eunuch Jelly Men. Sus of the pair, Ondor uses his witcher senses and leans against a slightly discoloured brick he found on the fireplace and opens a secret hatch to the real hideout. Reggii and Ajax both look at each other as if to say "why do we even bother", before the barman guides them downstairs to meet with Murdoch and Skeen.   Underneath the tavern, a fight had broken out between the Vane brothers and a mutiny of dopplers that had long since infiltrated the guild, who ended up massacring most of the Shadar-kai in the central chamber, leaving Murdoch and Skeen, backs against the table, fighting for their lives. The Masters of the Nine Elements are quick to step in and put an end to the double-crossers (in the process, Elkas also makes a charitable 100gp donation to the floorboard charity). Once the immediate threat is dealt with, Murdoch, the mastermind behind Da'ernam Grye and man of many facets, thanks the party whilst his more sadistic brother Skeen licks the blood off of his blade. Murdoch explains that the team they sent to steal the hilt yesterday hadn't returned, even with Ajax writing a threatening note to the tannery. Suspecting something was wrong, they proposed a search party for the missing artefact but were quickly swarmed by a group of dopplers that revealed themselves - dopplers who had been members of Da'ernam Grye for several years. The party figure that the group of Shadar-kai who stole the hilt from the other Shadar-kai must have been a member of this rival Doppel-gang, and make a deal with Murdoch that if they eradicate the hidden syndicate of dopplers and pay a further 1500gp to Da'ernam Grye, he'll let them keep the hilt.   Donevan, still unsettled sweeps the room for evil and good forces, eventually picking up the barman, Reggii, as a highly evil force. They question him about his involvement in the guild, at which point he breaks, sundering his illusion and bolting out of the tavern in doppler form. A chase ensues, with Reggii closely tailed by the party running across the ramshackle rooftops and hull decks of the Gutter, leaping across 50ft gaps and using roof tiles as handbrakes. In hot pursuit, the Masters of the Nine Elements follow him to the Trades Ward, forcing them to dodge and weave the midday bustle of merchants and buyers. Averel sends a crate of oranges flying, slowing the rest of the party before Ondor takes the entire market stand and flings it onto some poor chap's roof. A brief skirmish unfolds in a holding bay near the monorail station, leaving the doppler prone as Rostliem in snake form ground pounds from 80ft in the air and constricts him, but he's a slippery little bugger, so teleports away.   The final leg of the chase occurs as soon as the party follow the doppler to the monorail. As the train begins to gain speed and break out of the city walls, the party search the carriage for impostors. Donevan once again picks up on the evil oozing from Reggii and the fight breaks out again. The doppler attempts to shapeshift into Averel but is paralyzed by Ondor before he can do any harm, after which he is beaten to a pulp by the party. It is now that his two doppler friends reveal themselves from the crowd, and as one of them shapeshifts into Rostliem and mimics his Erupting Earth ability, the back half of the carriage is torn apart, sending Gudhi, an random civilian child and the real Rostliem hurtling out at speeds in excess of 100 feet.   Once the other two dopplers are dealt with, and one more civilian death makes Elkas shooketh, Ondor decouples the train carriage by creating a large stone rod in the cavity between, bringing their car to a stop. Ondor then revives Reggii and immediately knocks him out, as part of a plan that would make Walter Hartwell White blush. Reggii awakens, tied to a chair in the middle of the desert, his grave in front of him. The party begin to interrogate him under the beating desert sun but he doesn't crack, even after Elkas threatens to turn him into a Eunuch Jelly Man. The doppler then proceeds to imitate many characters that could bemuse/intimidate the party, but after turning into Ablio , Elkas gives up and kicks him into the death hole, killing him again. This waste of space is given a third chance to live as Donevan revives him, adamant on learning information. In exchange for freedom, the doppler finally tells the party that the train leads to a port on the coast, near which is a set of underwater caves that lead to their secret base. Satisfied, Elkas cuts him loose and Ondor lets him enjoy 60ft of freedom before damning his soul to eternal torment, brought to you by today's sponsor, Taco Bell.   One long trek through the desert later, leaving Ondor's metal hotter than the end of a seatbelt on a warm day, the party approach the small port at mid-afternoon. The wharf is quiet, though filled with interesting characters: merfolk, tritons, blackbeards, greybeards, beardbeards, and stereotypical pirate captain Hookpeg Hookpeg, who prides himself on having no limbs left whatsoever. The party purchase board from a man with two eyepatches and sleep until morningtime, by which point Averel and Rostliem have already descended into the depths alone to scout out the caves. Rostliem ends up locating a water elemental with a very predictable movement cycle blocking the way and Averel finds a ring that he pockets for himself and a cloak that he gives to Ondor, allowing him to turn into David Hasselhoff from the Spongebob movie.   Come early morning, the full party are ready to infiltrate the caves. Most make it past the water elemental without much issue, though Rostliem gets whelmed by it during his crossing. In a stroke of genius, Ondor gives the water elemental crippling hydrophobia, and upon realising that it was made out of water, the elemental literally tore itself apart, setting Rostliem free and adding to the tally of horrendously bullied elementals (which now rests on a solid 2). On the other end of the snaking caves is a large hollowed out temple that rises up above the water level and acts as an air pocket. However, it is completely infested with dopplers - not too many to fight, but too many to try and kill in a combat that lasts less than 8 hours. Not to worry! Averel Talekin rolls a 41 in stealth. He has always lived here as a resident doppler. He greets them hello as he waltzes past, asking them how their day's been before exploring every nook and cranny. Nobody bats an eye as not even the gods see him troll. On his travels he finds a horde of gold that he pilfers and a long stretch of hallway said to lead to Feugelhaig Villa. The party quickly connect the dots and come to the realisation that their friendly dwarven buddy who gifted them the shield ring had been playing them for fools this entire time, and was somehow connected to this underground Doppel-gang.   They follow the tunnel for hours, ending up outside a well-to-do house in the Quay Ward of Sota. Feugelhaig is nowhere to be found, leaving the villa empty except for a few cooks and butlers that busily prepare meals from the kitchen. Ondor once again uses his witcher senses and finds a large stone button in the kitchen that opens up an elevator in the centre of the fountain in the courtyard Despicable Me style. The elevator takes them down to the artificer's workshop, a messy room cluttered with gears, dials, cogs, valves and scrapped machines under white cloth. Elkas finds blueprints for a grand machine left on Feugelhaig's desk: Octane. The back of the plans detail Feugelhaig's desire to create his own Arbitrators and protect the city of Sota from the evils of the Lantern Ward. Octane is only the first of many, in a long thought out scheme he calls..   THE GENESIS PROJECT   (name drop goes hard ong)