Salt for a Silver Army

Antony runs a very profitable salt production business at the water sphere. With a crew of three others and a security detail of five more, they have a smoothly run operation. But since it is located on a ley line nexus formed by the confluence of three ley lines, things never run smoothly for long. When they don't, Antony's instructions are clear: Evacuate with as much salt as possible and come back another day.
Along one of the ley lines marches an army of Foil Ants heading straight for the nexus.

Structure

Exposition

If the characters arrive in Dwoemer before they discover the water sphere, Forsythe will attempt to hire them to provide security for the delivery of a new pump and some more spare parts, food and equipment needed by Antony's salt production operation. The trip should only take about three days via a ley line hover barge. The hover barge is a Techno-Wizard contraption that uses the ley lines' energy to transport people and goods. While the pilot must be someone capable of using magic, it requires no special magical abilities, only the training to pilot it.

Only the pilot of the barge knows the route to the water sphere. The route switches ley lines at two nexus points along the way. If something bad happens to the pilot, the party must find their own way back or towards the destination.

Conflict

An army of Foil Ants is marching down a ley line towards the nexus where Antony has set up his shop around the water sphere. They will arrive in about an hour.
The Cargo truck Antony usually uses to haul the salt and store the mobile portions of his workshop is not functional. Investigation will reveal sabotage.
Can Antomy find a way to save all the salt he's collected and save his workshop? Or will he have to abandon it all and start fresh some other day?
Unbeknownst to all, The Splugorth are using a lure to attract the ants. They want to take over the salt production, invade the water world and create a galaxy-wide market for the salts.

Rising Action

If the players discover the water sphere before they are given the job by Forsythe, they will be there when the the army of Foil Ants is discovered and when it is discovered that the trucks are disfunctional. Without the trucks, they can only save what they can carry. Antony will pay the characters to help him if they don't volunteer. When the hover barge arrives at the water sphere, the ants are only minutes away.
The army of ants is hundreds of thousands strong, but they can't reach the hover barge if it is lightly loaded. Antony wants to unload the barge and put as much salt on it as possible. He will personally ride it up out of the way during their assault.

Climax

Following the Foil Ants are a team of Sunaj assassins. Their mission is to dispatch any remaining defenders, secure the nexus, and disable the ant lure. The number of assassins should be low but they should be able to eliminate Antony's guards with ease. Increase the number as necessary to present a serious challenge to the PCs. Since they are naturally stealthy, it should be no problem to introduce them one at a time as combat progresses.
They will attempt to shoot down the barge if it is hovering above the ant army. They hadn't planned on the barge being there and it is throwing their plans amok.

Falling Action

If the Sunaj are defeated, they will collect any of their dead they can and withdraw they way they came, leaving the ant lure in place and active.

If the sunaj are successful, a follow-up group will arrive an hour later and begin to set up a defensive camp to wait for the rift to open next. Their mission is to travel into the ocean planet to set up a beacon so the Splugorth space fleets can find the planet. This follow-up group will consist of a slaver barge with full complement carrying a pair of Kittani scientists with their equipment. The leader of the group is a Kydian Overlord. Combined with the surviving Sunaj, this force will probably be unbeatable unless the PCs are very powerful themselves.

Resolution

If the sunaj are defeated, the rune that powers the sphere is damaged during the fighting. Was it intentional? Will it work next time the rift opens? The ant lure is still there and the ants are all milling about the nexus. The Splugorth's follow-up group may also have something to say about it, especially if enough Sunaj were able to retreat. The Kydian Overlord will have to make a judgement call whether or not they can eliminate all witnesses or not. It want's to avoid any overt ties to the Splugorth if at all possible. That's what the clandestine Sunaj were for in the first place.

A shifter will be able to tell that the rift will open again in four days. Antony is not a shifter, but his experience with this particular rift allows him to estimate it will open again sometime within the next week. Will the players be able to repair the rune or retake the nexus point before the rift opens again?
This is the Splugorth's last and only attempt to achieve this mission unless they leave no survivors.

Components

Goals

There are two origin points for this encounter.
1. The City of Dwoemer. Forsythe will pay the party to provide armed escort for the Hover Barge supplying Antony. He will offer them a daily dose of the salt each as payment.
2. The water sphere. Antony will desperately offer the characters whatever he can to enlist their help saving the salt and equipment from his workshop.

Moral Quandaries

The main focus of this encounter is to force the players to make a judgment call about what constitutes a mission success. Will they make a suicidal last stand? Will they take the salt and run? Will they make a fighting retreat to save as many lives as possible? The goal is to create internal drama within and between the players themselves.

Cruel Tricks

If the players are taking the hover barge to the water sphere, something should happen to the pilot. Maybe a Shemarrian patrol takes him out, or a dragon snaps him up. The purpose of this is to make the players attempt to find the water sphere on their own. If they haven't used rapid ley line travel before this time, this would be the introduction to it.
If the players take a wrong turn on the way to the water sphere, use this opportunity to have them come at the nexus from the opposite direction, allow them to see the army of Foil Ants for themselves. Doing so should add drama and a sense of urgency when they are the ones who realize the threat and must warn Antony and his team.
Making the players figure out how to pilot the barge also gives them a chance to bond with it and they may want to keep it when this whole encounter is over. If they save Antony and get him and his salt back to Dwoemer, he will be amenable to allowing them to have it as thanks. (he won't offer it on his own, though; especially since it really belongs to Forsythe)

Relations

Protagonists

• Antony Saltmonger - The showrunner/ foreman of the salt production business located at The water sphere.
• Betrix - Assistant #1
• Mory - Assistant #2
  (Betrix and Mory despise each other openly, but will steal away and shag whenever they get the chance)
• Carver - Psi-Stalker. leader of the guards.
• Grunt - An actual Ogre. Armed with an impact hammer and a chainsword, he has a disdain for ranged combat. He will be looking for a good death in battle.
• Cammie - a Grackle Tooth wilderness scout
• Bickit - A Quick Flex gunslinger
• Loni - A D'Norr Ley Line Walker (emphasis on healing and support)

Allies

• Forsythe - The financial backer and actual boss of the salt production operation. Works out of Dweomer City, in the Federation of Magic. (reports directly to High Lord Creator Leizan D'zir himself).

Adversaries

• Foil Ants - A countless horde. The players should not be expected to do anything more than slow them a bit. They can not hold the ants back. The players can, however, try to clear a path through them for whatever reason, such as to find the lure.
• Sunaj special operatives. As many as necessary to kill off the guards and give the party a good fight. (without being endless, of course. There shouldn't be more than six of them) Remember that they were not expecting the barge or the party, so the party should have a chance to fight them off.

1. At least two assassins. Fill out the numbers with more assassins as necessary.
2. One Temporal Wizard (this is the guy who sabotaged the trucks by sending the power converter eight hours into the future)
3. One Stone Master (if introduced, this NPC will come up from underground, having been there the entire time since planting the ant lure under the nexus)

• Splugorth Expedition Team (Whether or not they make an appearance is up to the judgment of the GM. The goal is not just to tell the story, but to make an entertaining encounter for the players)

1. Kydian Overlord - In charge of expedition, will make a judgment call whether to fight through the party and leave no witnesses, or try to maintain secrecy and withdraw
2. Slaver - In charge of the slaver barge and entourage of Altara Warriors
3. Four Altara Warriors
4. The Kittani field scientists with the beacon and diving equipment.

This is a potentially nasty encounter. The ants alone are enough to debilitate even the strongest parties. The Sunaj and follow-up forces sent by the Splugorth are even nastier. But nothing is making the PCs make a foolish and fatal stand. In fact, if the party and Antony run away with the salt on the barge, by the time they return, there will be no trace of the splugorth's minions anywhere, hiving successfully completed their mission.
This should be a good test of the judgment of the player group.