Sunday, November 9, 2014

Session IV, Part IV

After registering as adventurers at the Keep, the party begins investigating the local situation.  First, they head to the city of Crossroads (this isn't on the original B2 area map but I placed it appropriately enough at the crossroads of the main trade road, the major waterway, and the road to the Keep), the major population and commercial center in the vicinity.  For reference, I give the PCs this additional map and tell them Crossroads is located at the same place as Cutter's Ferry:



Aleena suggests they visit the local church, where the PCs meet the Reverend Mother Nina:




One of Sister Aleena's instructors at Seminary, Reverend Mother Nina was then assigned here as the local parish priestess.  Although herself Vietnamese, Nina is appalled at Colonel Thứ năm's treatment of the Cham and secretly contacted High Inquisitor Guinan for help.

In terms of B2, the Reverend Mother Nina is the reskinned version of the cleric who's sympathetic to the natives and working against the Keep and is therefore "evil".


Since none of the PCs speak the Cham language, Reverend Mother Nina introduces them to a 9-year old girl from the parish's orphanage, Mary:




Named after the mother of the Anointed One, Mary can speak Latin since she's an altar girl.  The young orphan has a bit of hero worship for the party, saying she'd like to be an adventurer someday.  Aghast, the PCs try to dissuade her, without success.


Suddenly, there's a commotion on the main street!  Rushing outside, the PCs see a showdown between Colonel Thứ năm and Reverend Mother Guinan:




After several tense moments, the Colonel realizes that he can't provoke or intimidate the High Inquisitor and heads back to the Keep.


[OOC] K asks, "How did Guinan catch up with us so quickly?"

[As DM] I say, "Remember how you guys took the long, safe route to the Keep (avoiding several horrific preset encounters)?  The quick, dangerous route isn't a problem for a High Inquisitor."


With the help of their 9-year old translator, the PCs then find out that Mayor Po Nagar of Crossroads is the secret head of the local Cham dissidents:




Madame Le Mayor says they'd like to do something about their Vietnamese overlords, but don't have the weapons or training to mount a real rebellion yet.  She also mentions that, as a result of said overlords displacing the Cham in order to create new estates for Vietnamese nobility, the natives have been forced to move to less desirable areas closer to the swamps, where they've been attacked by the lizardfolk, whom the Cham and the Vietnamese believe are just dumb animals:


Investigating, the party sneaks up and quietly notices the lizardfolk trading with a strange hooded figure clad in gray robes.

[As the nameless Magic-User] S says, "Well, since the lizardfolk are traders, they must be intelligent enough to negotiate.  Maybe we can work something out with them."

Following the strange hooded figure to a bar in Crossroads, as they approach, suddenly the PCs feel a lightning bolt coming on.

[OOC] K says, "Wait a minute, I know who this is!"

[As Zakalwe, irate] K says, "Listen, okay, we don't work for the Cat Man!"

[As Ranme] I say, "I know you don't work for the Cat Man… because you work for the Cat *DUDE*!!!"

[OOC] S says, "Oh my God!"

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