Travel
New York, Finger Lakes (New York State).
Characters
| Player Characters | Non-Player Characters |
|---|---|
| Anjuli, Rajkumari of Shahpura (me) | Athos – Under-Sheriff of Ulthar, a city in the Dreamlands |
| Anthony, Robert – retired to contemplate the insides of his eyelids after “too many monsters” (Simon) | Holmes, Monica and Munroe – twins |
| Cooper, Dresdina Belle (me) | McPherson, Mhairi – Shadow Investigations |
| Houston Krescke, Sam (me) | O’Dey, Francis – Shadow Investigations |
| O’Shea, Killian – short, red-haired Irishman, British SAS sniper specialist, now a public speaker and successful author (Ben) | Seelie of the Ash Grove, and their Queen |
| Taylor, Angela (me) | Wormwood – Magician up to no good |
| Washington, Sydney George “Snake” – – private investigator, ex-CIA (Mike) |
Involvement
Angela knows that Mhairi McPherson is in New York and may help return Sam, Anjuli, Monica, and Munroe to their rightful era. Robert, Killian, and Snake must report back to Shadow Investigations re their previous adventures.
Write-Ups
This adventure has two write-ups, one from myself and one from Ben.
Andra’s Write-Up
A Friend in Need
The Party travels from Wisconsin to New York via hiring cars funded by some of Rajkumari Anjuli’s jewels. On arrival in New York, Angela finds appropriate accommodation with Mhairi, while Robert, Killian, and Snake report at Shadow Investigations.
At Shadow Investigations, Francis tells them that Dresdina was overdue while working on an assignment from Jocelyn. When he went to see why she hadn’t returned his calls, he found her lying on her bed in a coma. Dresdina has been in hospital in a coma now for over a month. The lads note Francis is evasive and won’t answer all their questions. They suspect Jocelyn has told Francis not to discuss Dresdina’s condition or the assignment she was working on. After visiting Dresdina in hospital and finding out nothing new, the lads rejoin the rest of the group at Mhairi McPherson’s apartment.
After being introduced to Mhairi, the lads take Mhairi, Sam and Anjuli to Dresdina’s apartment to see what they can find out about the cause of Dresdina’s condition. Mhairi admits she will be able to get in, as she’s a skilled lock picker. While the others are at Dresdina’s apartment, Angela, Monica and Monroe stay behind to work out a way to get fake degrees so that Monica and Monroe can earn a living in the 1990’s.
While at Dresdina’s apartment, Anjuli notices a book on a bedside table with a bookmark keeping place partway through the book. The book is “The Three Musketeers”. Anjuli feels this is significant, as the book was what Dresdina was reading at the time she fell into a coma and it is out of place with Dresdina’s other reading material.
On returning to Shadow Investigations, the lads get copies of the police report filed at the time that Dresdina was moved to the hospital. The report shows that a glass found on her bedside table was sent to a toxicology laboratory, but no results have since been recorded. On contacting the toxicology laboratory, the lads are informed that the glass was taken from the toxicologist before he completed his analysis. He had already determined a strange mix of herbs before his superior removed the glass, but he was told not to complete the work, or file a report. Most unusual.
On referring the list of herbs to Shadow Investigations’ computer, the lads were rewarded with the information that the particular mix found in Dresdina’s glass would allow her to enter the Dreamlands. From the information provided, the lads concluded Dresdina shouldn’t have fallen into a coma if anything went wrong while she was in the Dreamlands, but simply awoken. There was a risk of death through heart failure if things went seriously wrong, but Dresdina was in a coma, neither awake nor, thankfully, dead of a heart attack.
On referring this information to Mhairi, the lads learn she knows about the Dreamlands. They return to her apartment and discuss the situation with her, Angela, Sam, Anjuli, Monica and Monroe. Mhairi confirms, based on her experience, that Dresdina’s condition is very unusual for a Dreamer.
The following day the lads return to the hospital to talk to Dresdina’s doctor. He tells them that Dresdina had taken something very unusual that included soporifics. He also tells them that Jocelyn knew what Dresdina had taken and had commented that a coma was not a usual side effect. Jocelyn had instructed the doctor to watch Dresdina carefully. Now the lads were convinced the Jocelyn was actively covering up whatever had happened to Dresdina.
Back at Shadow Investigations, Robert and Killian distract Francis while Snake rifles through Jocelyn’s office. There he finds a fax regarding a recently deceased RCMP officer 84 years old at the time of his death, as well as a report detailing Algren’s nervous breakdown.
After returning to Mhairi’s apartment, the lads attempt to convince Mhairi that she should take them to the Dreamlands. Mhairi adamantly refuses as “something bad happened” last time she was there. Sam is the only one who can persuade her. Given Jocelyn’s duplicity, the lads feel Jocelyn shouldn’t be involved or even informed of their intentions.
The Party hires a cabin in the Finger Lakes and travel there the following day. As Angela can’t Dream, an outcome of the Wish granted her by the Swan May, she agrees to monitor Mhairi, Robert, Killian, and Snake while they Dream, with Sam and Anjuli to back her up if need be. Mhairi “sings” the Dreamers to sleep, including herself, and their shared Dream begins.
In the Dreamlands
After descending a seemingly endless staircase, the Party (Robert, Killian, Snake and Mhairi) are questioned by a couple of strangely dressed Priests. After passing the initial interrogation, the Party descend stairs inside a giant tree trunk and step out into a dense forest. Following the path takes them out of the forest and over rolling hills to a small village. Here, one local appears to recognise Mhairi and reacts in a frightened manner, retreating inside his dwelling.
The Party travel on to the medieval city of Ulthar. Here a fair is in progress. Once again, Mhairi is recognised, this time by a large aggressive woman in peasant style clothing. “How dare you come back here again” the woman cries. The Party decamps to somewhere else before the guards arrive.
Listening in on conversations gathers them the information that the Under-Sheriff is missing. He was investigating the sudden appearance of several dead “funny looking” foreigners whose bodies kept turning up in back alleys. After querying some of the townsfolk on this matter, the Party is directed to Curren, the Under-Sheriff’s Deputy. Here, they discover the large aggressive woman in conversation with Curran, telling him to “do something about that woman, she’s back”, in reference no doubt to Mhairi. Once again, the Party decamps before attracting any further attention.
Killian wins money wrestling, so now the Party has sufficient funds for food and lodging. They return to Curren and, in the woman’s absence, convince him to tell them about Athos. It becomes apparent during Curren’s description of events that Athos has met and teamed up with Dresdina, before both disappeared through a portal in the sewers. Athos had tracked the most recent “funny looking” foreigner from the location of his body back to this portal. Although Curren is very wary of Mhairi, he takes the Party to the portal in question, now guarded by some of Ulthar’s finest.
On stepping through the portal, the Party finds themselves in a tunnel. After noting a vibration building in the tunnel floor, the Party hides behind a rock while a large, organic “drilling machine” passes them by, driven by Algren’s identical twin. After travelling further through the tunnels, the Party encounters a giant, lobster like monster humming in a subsonic range. It is using this compelling sound to control several beings identical to Algren. It has enslaved these beings and is forcing them to conduct the mining activities.
The Seelie of the Ash Grove
The Party avoids a direct confrontation with this creature and continues on through the tunnels. After some time, they come to another portal. This one takes the Party somewhere else again, a land of verdant green grass and brilliant blue skies. Here they find Dresdina, a man they take to be the missing Under-Sheriff and two other “Algrens” battling a night-gaunt. The Party joins the fight and dispatches the night gaunt, but not before Dresdina accidentally stabs Athos. Her horrified reaction and obvious care for Athos show that they have become far more than just associates working on the same case. Killian successfully treats Athos’ wound, much to Dresdina’s relief.
Athos recognises Mhairi and reacts badly to her presence. According to Athos, Mhairi kidnapped Mama Barouch’s granddaughter and killed many people. She is a demon sorceress who tried to sacrifice the young girl. All look askance at Mhairi!
The party continues on towards a castle in the distance. They pass through a orchard of strange fruit being picked by several Algrens, some male, some female. These Algrens greet the two with Athos and Dresdina as long-lost members of the family. They have been missing for some time.
The Party continues on their way to the castle, where they are met by Wormwood the Magician, who greets the returning Algrens by name. He leads the Party to the infirmary, where the Algrens are treated with tea and sympathy. This strange care seems to work wonders for the Algrens, but not for Athos, who has no option but to heal naturally.
On their way to meet the Queen, the Party come across a group of Algrens singing. They inform the Party that they are preparing for an upcoming festival at which they will sing to move a mountain. This will show that they have souls, as Cuthbert taught them when he converted them.
On meeting the Queen, she transports Mhairi, Robert, Killian, Snake and Dresdina (from her hospital bed) bodily into the Ash Grove, as it’s rude to be only half here. In the Waking World, it is only several hours after the Party commenced Dreaming. Angela, Sam and Anjuli are astonished when the physical bodies of Mhairi, Robert, Killian, and Snake all vanish at the same instant. Back in the Ash Grove, the Party is shown to their rooms. They gather in one to discuss their circumstances.
A knock on the door interrupts the discussion. One of the Algrens rescued by Athos and Dresdina, known as Koran, tells the Party that he has noticed the Queen acting very vague. She appears to have forgotten that she sent Koran and his companions to investigate several disappearances. Koran “went” to where the others were held captive. The Queen can send her subjects to other worlds. She can also return missing subjects to this world once she knows where they are. The Queen and her subjects are the “Unseelie of the Ash Grove”.
Costumes for the approaching festival are brought in by more of the Queen’s subjects and are tried out by the members of the Party. Some Party members turn down interesting propositions from the Algrens, some don’t. Athos discovers there are advantages to being forced to lie flat on his back while Dresdina finds gentle and creative ways around his healing stab wound.
Some time later Koran returns with news of Wormwood the Magician, the Party’s prime suspect for the Queen’s forgetfulness. As he is outside supervising the beginning of the festival, the Party decides to investigate his quarters. Here they find a very staged “Merlin’s Cave”. Inside is a strange box with a “creepy” feel, empty but with a space for a rod, probably magical.
On returning to the festival, now in full swing, the Party sees the Algrens singing and attempting to move the mountain, while Wormwood, magical rod in hand, stands to one side waiting. Assuming the Magician is waiting for the mountain to move to start something nasty, the Party attacks Wormwood. Big fight. Wormwood attacks using magic. Very unpredictable results. Party members gifted with strange abilities.
The Queen is grateful for the return of her subjects and for the defeat of Wormwood. She returns all Party members to their rightful places – Dresdina, Killian, Robert, Snake, and Mhairi are returned to the cabin in the Finger Lakes from when and where they left, Athos is returned to the Dreamlands proper, while Sam, Anjuli, Monica and Munro are returned to Shahpura, India in September 1925.
Ben’s Write-Up
A Friend in Need
We return to New York from our inter-dimensional/time-travelling jaunt and drop off our new companions at Mhairi the Younger (our resident “Demon-Sorceress”). This was arranged with Jocelyn when we arrived in the American boondocks.
We’re surprised to find that we’re not greeted by Algren, but by a new face that knows our names. We’re told that “Mister O’Dei” wanted to see us. After a few blank looks at each other, we remember that that’s Francis’ name. He tells us Dresdina is in a coma. When pressed, he says she was asked to do something (as a favour) for Jocelyn. He hints we should not bring the topic up with her. So, of course, when she turns up later, we confront her but she doesn’t give us any information (need to know, and all that). This makes angry/peeved. We head to the hospital where Dresdina had been admitted and look for the doctor who has helped us in the past. Unfortunately he couldn’t give us any information either.
During the afternoon, we decided to enter Dresdina’s apartment to see if we could find any clues that the police would have missed, but we don’t know how to gain entry into locked premises. So we asked Mhairi to help. Anjuli and Sam wanted to come as well. Once inside Dresdina’s apartment, we find that there are a few pertinent things missing like her computer box, and her current project book (a job routine she follows of writing down everything about a case in a single book). But we do find a book The Three Musketeers by her bedside, which we all think is highly suspicious, as this seems so unlike Dresdina.
Anjuli notes that the book smells of perfume and proceeds to inform everyone, but we can’t think of what that might mean. Since no one amongst us in good with NYPD, we hire a lawyer to obtain a copy of the police report for Dresdina’s incident. When he gets it, and returns to us, he has become very enthused about this as he sees we have a case to sue the police (for not providing the report) and the hospital (for not finding any drugs in her system). In the face of the wave of his gushing enthusiasm, I usher him out saying we’ll call him.
Within the report, we find out that the police had found a glass on the bedside table that had the remains of some strange sticky substances. The toxicology report has been mysteriously pulled (by Jocelyn, I surmise), so we trace where the police would have sent the evidence to be tested. We locate the toxicologist and he tells us he hadn’t had a chance to complete the testing before it was taken away. However, verbal pressure from me compelled him to give me a list of the components he had managed to identify. A number of them were herbal stuff (some of it rarer than rare) that is known for their sedative effects.
Take the list back to “The Computer” and do a search for an elixir/potion/formula based on the list of components as ingredients. Success! It is a potion to enter The Dreamlands. Read till our minds are full of SAN rolls about The Dreamlands. But nothing we find explains what has been happening to Dresdina. Pretty much whatever happens in The Dreamlands, you wake up (or die?), but do not go into a coma.
We discuss amongst ourselves that Jocelyn knows what we’ve done so far, or will if we investigate her connections. We also contact Mhairi again to find out if she knows of The Dreamlands, which she does. So we then prevail on her to help us.
We check the hospital the next day, where the doctor confirms Jocelyn advised what was found couldn’t have put her into a coma. Ah ah! Confirmation that Jocelyn is hiding stuff. We return to the office and overhear a phone call message for Jocelyn to call the adoption agency. When Jocelyn receives the message, both she and Francis are very excited and Jocelyn leaves without locking her office.
I distract Francis (as if he needed any help) while Snake sneaked into the office. He finds stuff including odd ones like details requesting for information on a dead 84 year old Mountie, the missing toxicology reports, meeting time for a weird church (according to Snake), hospital report on Algren who has had a nervous breakdown, and a rejection notice from an adoption agency which listed both Jocelyn and Francis as the “parents”!
Time is now in short supply, as Jocelyn would soon find out we had snooped (security cameras, you know). We went to pick up Mhairi, Sam, and Anjuli and headed to some log cabin down by the Finger Lakes in New York State. Supplies were obtained for a week’s stay. Mhairi was there to guide us, while Sam and Anjuli were to take care of our bodies. (Which would not be a thankless task while I lived!)
In the Dreamlands
We went to sleep, and all except Robert found ourselves alone naked in what appeared to be a tall tree. There were circular stairs (on the inside, remember), which led down to an area that had some basic kind of clothes; they seemed pretty bland to me – no colour, really. We exited and found ourselves gathered, with the exception of Robert. He appears a little later, and said he didn’t want to talk about it and he had that air he gets when he’s on the verge of losing it.
Anyway, we walk along what seems to become a path, past some farmhouses. I go off to one of them to find out anything about these realms, but I’m told to go away through the closed door. Trouble must frequent these lands, then. The path becomes a road and leads into a town; the kind you’d think would be medieval.
As we enter town, a big, overbearing woman (whom I can’t help but name Big Momma) comes at us with great speed. Since I’m at the front, I step aside and let her come face to face with Robert. She jabbers away saying I don’t know what, but she gestures at Mhairi a lot and throws venomous glares at her. Mhairi is being very disdainful of the whole thing. A crowd is gathering and not looking too happy, so we take the better course of valour and move on as quickly as possible.
We reach an area where there is a market, and lots of people haggling and mingling. At first we wandered around trying to overhear any rumours before asking after Dresdina. We hear that the Under-Sheriff Athos of Ulthar was missing, and that he was investigating a string of murders of foreigners.
Worried for Dresdina, we head off to where our gossip-informants tell us the Sheriffs building is to see Curran. There, we see someone who we believe is Athos deputy, Curran, speaking to Big Momma. To speak to him means waiting a while, so I hatch an idea to get us some money.
I get Snake and Robert to get some bets laid on me wrestling anyone … there’s bound to be some idiot who thinks they’re a great wrestler/fighter (66). I can’t help but win extremely easily, as I had thought my (now-dazed) opponent would know something about wrestling. Snake and I return to Curran, while the rest stay at the market.
Speak to him, and convince him to give us all information about Athos case and Dresdina. Dresdina and Athos had tracked the last “foreigner” to a portal that only they could go through. No one else had been able to pass through it. We huddle together and work out that dreamers (like Athos and Dresdina) can use it, but natives can’t. Being the heroes that we are, we say we’ll go and rescue them. Curran can’t (or is unwilling to) find any objections.
So now we return to the market to get Mhairi and Robert. However, Curran stops dead when he sees Mhairi. We convince him we told the truth and we go to the sewers to get to the portal. We pass through, and find we’re in a tunnel on the other side. There is a grinding machine that moves through the tunnel, and is in fact creating the tunnel. In a cage at the back of the machine is Algren, or at least a look-a-like.
We find a cats eye marble, which I reckon is used to work out the slope of the tunnel … something I reckon Dresdina would have used. Moving through the tunnels, we see a huge lobster-like creature … kind of king Kong size and decide to go back down the tunnel, and try another way.
The Seelie of the Ash Grove
Eventually, we find a new portal. Passing through this one, we see a strange flying creature attacking Dresdina, a guy (who looks like Benton Fraser, probably Athos) and 3 Algrens (who look … well … exhausted, starved, malnourished, etc). We charge in to help. I punch away at this monster, as it grabs Athos just as Dresdina seems to slip and stab him in the back. (I thought she was competent.) But we still manage to kill the creature.
Now we can pay attention to the scenery. We had been fighting on a hill, below which is an orchard that leads to a gothic castle with flying buttresses in front of a huge mountain. Giving it due consideration, we then started bickering away. Robert asked what the monster was and then told us it was a Night Gaunt.
While I first-aided Athos and the Algrens, Athos is making spiteful looks at Mhairi and questions Dresdina. He says she is a sorceress. Robert had not been paying any attention at all to this until that point, but he suddenly says “Demon-Sorceress” and storms off. I question Mhairi and she says she remembers enough to know that she doesn’t want to remember the rest.
So we decide to continue through the orchard to the castle. The orchard has trees with all fruits next to each other. Snake has some of them, and I have some when one of the Algrens in the trees says I’m nice, and keeps asking me to stay. The Algrens have very little differences between them. They’re… Androgynous.
We go to the castle and are greeted by some seneschal. He greets our Algrens as Lord Coran, Lord Andron and Captain Laros. The 3 are sent to the infirmary. Dresdina follows them, Athos follows her and I follow him. Robert went his own way, and Snake followed him.
The infirmary looks like a waiting room. The doctor comes in and coddles them with “there, there’s” … and they start to look better. Dresdina insists he does it to Athos and he does, but it doesn’t help him. We talk about it afterwards and I point out that plants get better when they’re talked to and this upsets Dresdina. Meanwhile Robert has been shanghaied by Algrens who want to teach him how to sing for the Festival of the Mountain.
Snake found an Ash Grove garden and meets the Queen. She thinks it’s rude and brings his body and does the same for the others (?). Wormwood is a human who amuses her and acts as her adviser.
Dresdina was asked to return Algren for Jocelyn. She goes on to tell us “all” about her dreaming experiences (its obvious she’s holding back).
Lord Coran comes to us and we talk about the Queen. She’s become vague now. The Queen had sent the 3 Algrens we had rescued, to find out what had been happening to the missing Algrens. They went to the other Dreaming Land and couldn’t return. The lobsters had been using them to create a 3D summoning circle. They also hummed, which prevented the Algrens from leaving (teleporting). BTW, Algrens have the innate ability to teleport in these dimensions.
They are Un-Seelie (or a sub-set, thereof). … Unseelie of the Ash Grove. We decide to investigate Wormwood’s apartment. Lord Coran will get someone to ensure Wormwood won’t be there and will direct us there.
Courtly clothes are delivered to us, and everybody goes up to their own rooms (with the exception of Dresdina and Athos) to change. Whilst changing, though, an Algren who was floating outside my window propositioned me (!!!). In fact, so were Mhairi and Snake. Mhairi said so, but Snake was late (?). Mhairi has long hair now (!)
We are led off to the Festival. Strange music is playing in the background. A gaggle of men are trying to follow Mhairi around, so we go as a couple to prevent others from constantly propositioning either of us. Robert is doing magic tricks. While there, Wormwood comes creeping around and Robert begins to distract him. Meanwhile, Athos, Dresdina, Mhairi and I go off to investigate his room.
Mhairi picks the lock (truly a talented woman) and we search his room. The appearance is of a staged Merlin’s cave … you know the eye of newt kind of stuff. We find a box that has a place where a large rod would have been. We return to the Festival where Robert has been telling lies about Mhairi and me and now suitors who consider us a challenge surround us.
Each of Mhairi’s suitors tries a different approach (including one in feathers) and my suitors are either following traditional methods or being forceful and trying to command me.
Wormwood is standing around waiting for something. I move Mhairi and our coterie towards him. Both Mhairi and I work out that that it’s a gathering of power to activate the summoning circle. She says we need to … mug him, or something.
So I make my way to behind him (“scuse me … scuse me” and gently but very firmly moving those who don’t) while Mhairi distracts him by propositioning him. I king-hit him from behind, and he turns and fights. I keep hitting him but it doesn’t seem to be affecting him much.
He keeps trying to hit me with his rod but keeps failing, then he points it at me and I have a sense of inner struggle and feel weaker. Then Robert and Mhairi dive in to take the rod from him. Unfortunately, they fall on it and break it. (OH OH!) All the power that had been siphoned off the Fae in the past few months explodes out.
We are affected in strange and mysterious ways (some good, some bad … Mine should be really, really good (02), but I think Robert’s is really, really bad (fumble)). Snake is saying the Fae can continue their Festival and at the same time, the Queen comes out of her daze.