Terrorists on the Lightning Rail

[Tigerfire]

Fresh out of training we find or would be heroes being sent out on their first mission. Rolias their Warforged squad leader prepped them.  It seems there was news of a man named Sisrat.  He left Sharn on the last Lightning Rail out.  It is believed that he has information on recent terrorist attacks on the Lightning Rail.  The group was teleported out to either get the information or the man himself and bring it back. 

The group found Sisrat and found out he liked to tell tales.  He spoke of Prophecies and heroes.  It wasn't long before strange things started to happen.  Large groups of people were seen off in the distance.  Then the Train was attacked by an unseen force.  The last to cars (and our group) was ripped from the rest of the train.  The group was then attacked by a horde of goblins that seemed to have the ability to disappear.  It was a rough battle but the group prevailed.  The group started to search the wreckage and found no sign of Sisrat.  They searched everything for clues hoping to find out what was going on.

Tune in next time to find out what they found...

[I am going to try and update this each week.  The first week was a slow start.  Hopefully the next session will be more exciting.  I'll even try to get more detail into my post.]

[Tigerfire]

After searching the wreckage there was nothing of interest to be found.  The squad teleported back to HQ where they reported in.  Fixer the Changeling brought a captured goblin back with him in the hopes that they would get more info out of him.  Wounds were tended to and the squad called it a day.

The next day Rolias brought the squad into the briefing room.  There he informed them that Calnom was being sent out on a different mission.  Therefore Fixer and Oni would be on their own.  The mission was a simple information gathering assignment.  It seems Lord Meb, a renowned user of magic, was getting ready to throw a party at McSwiggin's Tavern.  The mission; find out why Meb is throwing the party and what he has been working on for the past year. 

Fixer used his contacts in the tavern to get info about the party.  It seems Meb had thrown down a large amount of coin for this party.  No reason was given.  There was a list of food and drink given with the stipulation that there should be no "issues" for the night.

The night of the party came.  Fixer and Oni positioned themselves in the tavern as to not draw attention.  Lord Meb had not rented the whole place so regular customers were allowed in.  The night went rather smoothly, the food was good, the drinks better.  Lord Meb even payed for the drinks of those not at the party.  Meb made sure he talked to everyone in the place.  Including Fixer and Oni.  Part of the entertainment included a small magic act.  This mage wasn't very powerful and used sleight of hand and prestidigitation to impress the crowd.  He then told a tale of another land.  This tale seemed catch Lord Meb's interest.  The tale included talk of this lands prophecy that heroes would return to save the world.  Fixer and Oni found it interesting that the storyteller seemed to ask them if they would walk the shadows so others would not have to and if they would fight off the demons.  The tale was over and everyone went back to enjoying the party.

That was until Fixer noticed a strange man on the stairs.  He immediately motioned to Oni.  Oni started to position himself closer to this man.  It was a wasted effort as the real threat showed himself soon enough.  Oni was sitting at a table talking to some of Meb's Guards when he saw the movement.  KNowing the Meb was close Oni moved to put himself between this movement and Meb.  Out of thin air a man in a Grey Hooded cloak appeared.  With one swift strike he stabbed at one of the guards killing him instantly.  At this point the party goers scattered like rats off a sinking ship.  Oni and Fixer tried to subdue this new assailant but they were no match.  That is when the man from the stairs made his move.  He leaped over a table and struck at the assassin.  He was able to knock the man to the ground.  THe assassin, though, was well trained.  He stabbed at his attacked and kicked him off sending the man 20 feet across the room.  Oni and Fixer knew this man that they thought was a drunk was now dead.  THey also knew that they were in trouble. 

Out of no where 4 more assassins appeared.  One yelled to get Meb.  That is when the party goers reacted.  What seemed like people running for their lives was actually a ruse.  The party goers were positioning themselves for a spell.  During their movements they were all preparing a spell for mass teleportation.  When the assassins moved to take Meb the spell was finished and Meb and his party friends vanished.  This left Fixer and Oni to deal with the assassins. 

The fight was brutal.  Things were not going well for Oni and Fixer.  Things got worse when one assassin pulled out a wand.  He cast magic missiles at our heroes.  They let it be known their fight was not with Oni and Fixer.  Knowing they were outmatched  they knew they had to  let the assassins leave.  Fixer had sustained a broken leg in the fight and Oni was not doing much better.  The assassins said our heroes had one chance to get out alive.  They made it very clear that meant not to follow as the cast a fireball at the back wall engulfing the area in flames.  Oni and fixer let the assassins leave.  Then Oni helped Fixer outside.  Fixer used his changeling abilities to hide in the crowd that had formed out side the tavern.  Oni disappeared into the night.  THe city watch of Sharn had shown up and while some went after the assassins others went to get help with the fire.  A mage stepped out of the crowd and walked up to the front door.  He cast a spell that filled the place with water.  He then went in and checked for survivors.  He found none.  It took many hours but Fixer and Oni made it back to HQ undetected.  Rolias informed them that the tavern was a loss.  He also mentioned that McSwiggin's shield was not found among the rubble.  Fixer knew that people had tried to steal this shield before.  The shield was nothing special.  Its worth was because of it's place in the last war.  Mcswiggin was a brave soldier and everyone knew of him.  Fixer believed the whole night was set up by Meb to get his hands on the shield.  It is now believed that Meb used the fight to steal the shield.

So the questions are adding up.  Why does Meb want the shield?  Who ordered the attack on the Lightning Rail?  Where the assassins part of Meb's plan or did they really want him dead?  What is this special mission that Calnom was sent on?

Tune in next time to find out if we get answers or just more questions.

[Tigerfire]

Todays story begins with a new member being added to the group.  Josslyn a Human Female was brought in as a heavy hitter.  Hopefully with her help our trusty heroes will last a little longer.
Calnom was also brought back in from his secret mission. 

It seems there is now evidence that someone is making a device to completely take out the Lightning Rail.  The main body of the device is most likely completed and now the final items to power the machine are being brought to Sharn.  The first item on the list. Rods of Thunder and Lightning. 

Fixer used his contacts in Sharn to try and find out where these items may be and who has them.  They found out that a ship called the Lucky Runner has most likely brought them in.  The ship came into port unloaded its crew and them 3 men boarded the ship.  One man left and the ship set sail.  Fixer and the squad located some of the Sailors from the ship at a rather nasty Brothel known as the Wenches delight.  Lets just say this place had lots of wenches and very little delight.  The squad got very little from the sailors.  They were either dumb, drunk or both.  The squad continued on to find more info when they came across a warforged arguing with someone in a sales tent.  Fixer and Oni creapt up on the situation only to find out it was a trap.  Someone had heard about the search and sent 4 orgres and a warforged to silence our heroes.  The fight was brutal but in the end 4 ogres just weren't enough. 

The squad continued on.  When they rode the nearest lift they were approached by a dwarf.  This dwarf informed them that there were always shady deals going on around the ten torches theater.  Quickly the squad headed to the Theater.  When they arrived they saw a deal going down.  As the buyer walked away a man in a gray cloak stepped out of an alley way and stabbed him.  The Assassin toke the newly purchased merchandise and left.  When he saw our squad of heroes he pulled a rod out of the bag he just acquired, and taunted our heroes.  Knowing they were no match for this man they let him go.  The seller and his guards were slowly leaving the scene.  It seems a lot of people saw the murder.  Our squad followed them and pulled them into an alley way...  that was after they crushed the skull of one of the guards.  The other guard said he wasn't getting paid enough for this and ran off.  The seller eagerly gave up all the information.  The rods he just sold were fake.  He had planned on selling the real ones to a shop to make double the money.  Once Oni asked nicely with his fist the seller gladly gave up the rods. 

When the squad left the alley they found that someone had informed the city watch of the "mugging".  Using a standard escape plan our squad disappeared. 

When they returned to HQ they found out some disturbing news...  The dagger used in the murder and most likely the one used in McSwiggin's has the ability to destroy souls.  It doesn't even leave enough for a speak with the dead spell to work. 

Looks like they better watch their backs....

 What other pieces are being brought to Sharn?  Who is this guy in the Gray Cloak?  Who was that Dwarf?  When will our Heroes learn to be more discrete?  Come back in 2 weeks to get these answers and possibly more.

[Tigerfire]

While I would like to continue with my weekly update of the game I do not think I will be able to continue.  I am pressed for time with other projects and I don't want to leak a game secret on accident.  I have invited Mac to game with us.  Perhaps he will have a character that I can't resist writing about and therefor find a way to add hours to the day or maybe Mac will want to continue the story from his perspective.

I will try to continue the story but I do not think I will have the time right now.

[Dragon]

Thanks for the notice. I hope that this story does continue. It seems like a good one so far.

[tampamac2002]

As the new guy to the secret group sponsored by House Orion, H'Ebrion went with the flow as we tracked down a Rafter's Compass said to be floating around the dock area. After checking out a few leads, we spent the rest of the day into the evening tracking guard movements around a certain warehouse. After carefully noting all incoming personnel, we gathered and exchanged ideas. During this time, a city official was seen leaving the warehouse, we leaped into action, forming a plan on the fly. This could be our only chance to get inside that warehouse. After running ahead of the official, I was called on to charm the official into entering a nearby alley, where we were able to extract him from his bodyguards and knock him out. Fortunately, the guards didn't have much fight in them, and when Fixer put the idea in their head that they could leave, they did.
From here it looks like Fixer is going to assume the identity of the official, and the rest of us will try and look like guards, then we shall see what lies behind door #1 at the warehouse.

[tampamac2002]

Ten Torches ablaze.

While scouting leads to various activities inside the city of Sharn, the current undercover team, #10, found themselves at the Ten Torches Theatre. While mixing in with the crowd, a fire was started at the rear entrance to the theatre, usually where the actors slipped inside at. Unbeknownest to most of the party, Sampson and Doc where trailing Grey Cloaks to this very location. Matter of fact, Doc cast a Entangle spell at the criminals as they descended in their skycab towards the rear entrance. One of the Grey Cloaks managed to set the reaching tendrils on fire, which is where our story picks up.
Seeing the smoke, Fenan decided to leave the front of the building and investigate, cautiously I might add. Lavok stuck with his plan, which involved waiting by the front door to the theatre for his prey. H'Ebrion noticed the fire as well, all while standing outside chatting with a vendor. Upon seeing Lavok, he became suspicious of the fire and headed around the opposite end of the theatre from Fenan. On his way around he noted the rear entrance was free of fire, so he investigated further. That is when he was assualted by a Grey Cloak, striking from shadows. H'Ebrion barely ducked in time to aviod the first of many attacks coming his way. H'Ebrion was locked in a battle for his life at this point.
Meanwhile, Doc and Sampson were embroiled in a fight with two of the Grey Cloaks. Between the fire and entangle spell, they were having trouble taking down the first of them. Fenan was able to see the two companions fighting, so, using his subtle movement he proceeded to sneak up on the enemy from behind. At this point I should mention that Fenan is a halfling and when he sneaks he don't move so fast, and being that he was sneaking through an entangle spell, he was really just treading pavement, kind of moonwalking if you will.
So, back to the front of the theatre, Lavok was keeping a sharp eye out for the royalty he was commisioned to kill.
H'Ebrion was fighting for his life and Doc and Sampson were handling the Grey Cloaks one at a time. Sampson used his flying spell to escape when the damage he took grew threateing, while up in the air he noticed a fight going on by the back door. He healed himself then dove back into the action with Doc. That was when the first Grey Cloak fell. Doc took on the other, whereas, Sampson grew curious about the battle by the back door. That was about the time H'Ebrion fell from a massive blow from the Grey Cloaks sword. Sampson arrived just in time to save H'Ebrion from death's doorstep, or in elven terms, the final trance. Oh, yeah, and Fenan was still sneaking around really really slowly.
Doc finished up the second Grey Cloak and started dragging that one over by the other dead one.
Meanwhile, Lovak was attacked by the Grey Cloak leader at the front entrance. Lovak, being a strong dual axe weilding fighter, proceeded to mop up the front courtyard with the poor criminal leader. Although the leader carried a lethal dagger capable of stealing a persons soul, Lavok avoided it deftly and finished the sod off.
About this time, Sampson and H'Ebrion noticed the last Grey Cloak making his escape. Lavok had grown curious about the brawling sounds around back and made a quick run back there to check things out. He also noted the fleeing criminal. All three closed on the man, although some were affected by some ability that made everyone want to leave the criminal alone, Lavok was able to lay a lethal blow on the man, killing him in his tracks.
At this point, the undercover team decided to get the heck out of dodge and avoid any city guard questions. Everyone split up and headed back to base.

[Dragon]

Cool. Thanks for providing another update.

[tampamac2002]

After a narrow escape, the members of Team #10 rendezvous at home base. After about a week, some new orders come in. Rolias has dire news, the base is in jeopardy. Terrorists are going to steal one of the magical air elemental controlling braziers. One of which is directly over the base, if that portion of the city loses its controller... Let's just say the base will be flattened.
As we spread out looking for leads, the picture starts to come clear. A delivery of a gazebo is being planned for a major party in the Skyway Central Park. Samson has been checking the area out by making carved trinkets while standing by the fountain and statue. H'Ebrion has also kept in sight of the fountain, playing melodies in the nearby gardens on his flute. Rolias makes sure everyone is on time and ready on the dreaded day.
As Samson and H'Ebrion continue the pattern they have established, the others take up positions close by. A group of mages, wearing the correct colors, draws the Team's attention. After keeping an eye on them, Fenan pretends to be blind and gets the mages help with directions and such. Fenan reports he thinks they are legit. As proof of such, a skyship brings a big gigantic crate in for a landing. The mages help to transfer the heavy crate onto a floating disc. Workers push the disc into position, not too far from the statue. Out of nowhere, a sky cab deposits four men around the crate. That is when the crate breaks open from the inside, out comes a Warforged Titan, with a huge digging tool in place of an arm. It is gonna dig up the statue and haul it away.
Team #10 is on the spot. Can they defeat the Titan before it disrupts the very balance of Skyway over Sharn?
Time will tell, tune in next week as the Team fights for the very town itself.

[tampamac2002]

Well, as luck would have it, the Titan released the Air Elemental. Which left the Team's Headquarters in dire straights. When a building collapsed onto the HQ, Team 10 came to the rescue. Only to find that the building was demolished and nobody seemed to know anything about the covert ops that were run out of there for years. Matter of fact, nobody knew anything about it at all. I mean no one.
Team 10 gathered what they could from the ruins of their former home. Then a meeting was conducted at Lavos's tavern. What to do? After an awkward silence, ideas began to get thrown around. Should we go into hiding and wait for HQ to contact us? We were told that may take a month or two. Should we pursue the rumors of the Lord of the North, a new religious man, conspiring with the Children of Winter. Should we investigate the rumor of a Warforged Juggernaut awakened on the northeast of the continent.
After much debate it was decided to travel to the origin of the Juggernaut rumors and investigate what awoke this massive machine, and why it is said to be heading for Sharn. I think Lavos had a big say in this, since he actually owns a business that may get squashed by the thing.
So, off the Team went, aboard a ship bound for the Aldaran forests. Along the way, while crossing the Kraken Bay, believe it or not, a kraken attacked the ship. It seemed to be casting magic spells at the crew, and was heard, by many, to have spoke in common that it wanted what was his. About that time, the finishing blow was landed on the monster from the deep. Not before it managed to kill the Captain of the Lucky Runner. Immediately after the battle, the first mate jumped up and claimed captaincy. Team 10 negotiated a deal to still be delivered to their destination, along with some other dealings kept secret by some of the Team.
Once landing at the ruins on the edge of the desert, they made plans to journey to a remote ruin on the other side of the desert, inching ever closer to the origins of the Juggernaut. Along the way, invisible steel beetles and a few other monsters became ant food. Also a strange middle aged human man, he said his book was north and that goblins attacked him. We were going North so he tagged along. Once in sight of the ruins, our destination, he wandered off, only to return a few hours later with a book. Meanwhile, Lavos acting as scout, brought to our attention, about 500 goblins closing on our position within the ruined fortress. We had about a day to set up our defenses. All in all, we survived, with a little help from the Keymasters of Eldeen Reach. They showed up just in time to wipe out the remaining 400 goblins with a spell that launched a magic arrow at each and every one of them. Team 10 rejoiced.
Now, on to the Juggernaut. What will we find, will we have enough time to do anything about it? Who knows for sure, all we can do is put our feet one in front of the other until we get there.