- GM’s note: We continued on from where we left off. The PCs are in Bartertown, leaping from one disaster to another. They have just rescued a Psiclops named Kel who has asked for their help – apparently Psychics are marked for death in this realm.
We also have some time with Vala on the Old Stair.
- Twelve hours away to Psidonia and supposedly there is a blockade to run. Grant and Ethan wonder how they are going to get a ship. There are many ships in Bartertown but they don’t like their chances of stealing one. So they talk to an insectoid creature who is selling vessels. One is a cargo carrier which is flyable but slow. Some of the cargo loading mechanisms need repair. There is a second vessel which looks good and even has ‘racing stripes’ but Grant can tell that it is a dud. The engine configuration looks decidedly dangerous.
- After spending a few hours weighing up their options, they decide to steal the merchant vessel that they just arrived on. The vessel that limped its way to Barter after being shot up by pirates. It’s in such a bad state that it is poorly guarded. (The crew were thankful to make it to Barter alive and have gone to get drunk to celebrate their fortunes.)
- With Grant at the helm and Ethan trying to do what he can to keep the ship flying, they set course for Psidonia. On the way, bits continue to fall off the vessel but Ethan keeps the primary boosters humming and they make it there safely. Despite Kel’s assurance that there will be a blockade, they see no ships on their approach. (confirming a Divination that Ethan did on the way)
- The planetary fragment has been heavily bombed. Kel is able to guide Grant to the hiding place of the Nightwing. It is under an observatory which appears mostly intact. As they approach for a landing, an Anathraxian Warship screams out of the clouds, guns blazing. Grant attempts to evade but the ship handles like a dog and the merchant vessel is raked in the first salvo. Descending rapidly and on fire, the vessel crash lands a short distance from the observatory and all three of them run from the wreckage before it explodes. They use the smoke as cover and make it to the building without further incident.
- Kel leads them through the building to a circular chamber which houses a huge telescope for studying the heavens. He has told Grant and Ethan that there is a trapdoor in this chamber which leads to an underground cavern where the Nightwing is hidden. However the trapdoor is open. Grant warns the others but Kel’s response is to head straight for the open trapdoor. At this point, a trap is sprung.
- A squad of ape-men (Anathraxa’s ‘Primals’) has been waiting for them. They charge – three of them are armed with swords, one has a tangler gun and the leader carries a blaster. Kel ignores the danger and heads straight for the trapdoor, forcing Ethan to tackle him to get him out of the way. For his troubles, the leader of the Primals blasts Ethan, sending him flying into nearby machinery (which collapses on him for good measure). Grant goes to work, taking the Primals out one by one, all the while trying to protect the staggered Ethan from being skewered by the other ape-men.
- Grant takes them all out. Ethan says that he is okay but the blaster seems to have scorched him. He seems a bit disoriented and his hair is standing straight up and is even smoking in places. Looking around, Grant realises that Kel has gone down the trapdoor and Grant resolves to follow him. He tells Ethan to pull himself together and then follow (Grant is worried about reinforcements).
- Descending a set of narrow spiral stairs, Grant reaches a dimly lit cavern. Sitting in the middle of the cavern is the Nightwing. She looks like an old Earth sailing ship with a single master to centre and a small cabin at the rear. A glass dome covers the open deck. Kel is standing on deck at the top of the boarding ramp, a look of terror on his face as he faces off against a total of nine Primals. The leader has his weapon pointed at Kel’s face and he orders Grant to drop his weapon or he will waste the Psiclops. Monologuing, the leader of the Primals also tells Grant that there is an atomic device in the chamber that will blow the place to smithereens in three minutes. (GM’s note – pretty dumb to be monologuing whilst a nuclear bomb is ticking down but hey, these Primals are not particularly smart)
- Grant grits his teeth and decides to ‘go for it’, despite the risk to Kel. He blasts the Primal officer but unfortunately a second shot goes off and Kel falls to the ground with a head-wound. Grant charges, racing up the deck and using one of his Ninjaworld moves to dodge through a hail of gunfire. He lands on deck and engages the Primals at point blank range.
- As Grant ducks and weaves through the melee, Ethan walks into the chamber, still looking quite dazed. Oblivious to the fact that there is an atomic device which is counting down to detonation just by the entranceway, Ethan runs to help Grant. Instead, Grant yells to Ethan to ‘stop the bomb’, forcing Ethan to stop and head back to take a look at the large device with the strange digital clockface.
- The atomic device politely tells Ethan that there are only two minutes until the device detonates. (GM’s note – a talking bomb?)
- Meanwhile Grant blasts some of the Primals off the ship and goes toe to toe using his sword against others. One of the other Primals skewers his own leader by mistake. The leader slumps.
- Unfortunately Ethan’s first attempt at changing the time on the atomic device results in the voice politely telling him that there is only one minute until detonation.
- Grant fights hard against the remaining Primals. They are dumb brutes who just don’t like to quit. Even a blaster at close range seems to make them mad and it takes more than one shot to prevent them from getting back up again. Hearing the ‘one minute’ warning, Grant yells to Ethan to ‘hurry up’.
- Ethan promptly finds the ‘Off Button’ and suspends the count. Grant finishes off the Primals and goes to check on Kel. Luckily, Kel is alive but he’s disoriented (his head is leaking blue blood).
- Ethan uses a little bit of Eidolon (the little he can use in this place) to help Kel and stop the bleeding. Grant is keen to get out of this place before more Primals arrive. The ship that they came in is toast – they clearly need the Nightwing to escape. Grant goes to fetch the atomic device, assuming that it would come in handy and they quickly load up the ship.
- Kel comes to his senses and explains how to make the Nightwing work. There are special helmets onboard that focus a Psychic mind and enable the ship to operate. Kel dons a helm and a psychic sail blooms into life. The ship starts moving at once and accelerates quickly towards what appears to be a wall of rock. However, it’s an illusion.
- The Nightwing takes off and they quickly head into the clouds. Below, they spot an Anathraxian Warship on the ground near the observatory. Grant decides to prime the atomic device and decides to ‘nuke’ the warship, dropping the bomb from the Nightwing. There is a flash and a mushroom cloud as the device is detonated.
- Kel appears happy. He is sure that the Nightwing will be a beacon of hope for his people. He asks if Grant and Ethan would like to stay onboard and is disappointed when they ask to be dropped back at Bartertown as he had plans to rescue some of his fellow Psiclops and he could use some help. Grant insists that they return to Bartertown and they manage to return without incident. Kel promises to remember them and he leaves quickly.
- Back on Bartertown, Grant and Ethan hope that no more crazy adventures will come across their path. They find another place to eat and drink - this one is called Rocky’s Rest. In this place, they find Vala waiting for them. She has not been waiting long.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- After a meal, a few drinks and sharing the stories of their adventures, Vala takes Grant and Ethan to a place in Barter where there is a Door to the Old Stair. The Door is not complete – it has to be assembled. Vala has already warned them that there are places in the Old Stair that are dangerous – and the things contained within do not wish to be contained.
- This section of the Old Stair is very drab as if it is has been drained of colour. Even the colours of their own garb seem somehow less vibrant. It is an old feeling – of age, and perhaps being spread too thin.
- They explore a realm that Vala picks out from the many Doors in this section. There is a strong Umbral presence here. The people appear to be suffering from a wasting affliction. They are literally melting, like wax falling from candles. The people seem largely normal but once the affliction inevitably takes hold, the rate of melting will only increase over time. Ethan feels weak in this place. Grant feels like his own Umbra powers are clashing with the entropy of this place. Grant notes that tiny beads that are not sweat begin forming on his body. Here, he melts too.
- Their trip is brief and they leave. Returning to Bartertown, they deconstruct the gate. Ethan asks if there are many places like these and Vala confirms that they are. She remarks that the Lords of Gossamer have hidden away or sealed off many strange and dangerous worlds. Grant asks if cutting off worlds from the Stair can result in these realms falling into Shadow. Vala thinks on this and finally says that it sometimes happen.
- They book passage on a rocketship to Angelis and talk further on the journey. Vala explains that there have been many threats over the centuries. Some have been defeated. Others have been shut away. In the ‘old days’, the simplest answer was often to sever the connection to the Stair. She does note that the connection to the Stair was often a stabilising influence on the realm and things tended to get worse after the realm was severed. Nevertheless, it was done many times and sometimes, the things that had been buried found their way back out onto the Stair. She notes that the angriest of those were often Lords of Gossamer that they had imprisoned in worlds without Doors. She admits that this has happened too.
- GM’s note: I’ll try to get the Christmas Special (Session 198) up by Christmas.
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