Solo 'Through Sunken Lands' RPG, Part 2, say hello say goodbye to the Impossible city.

 The Jade Dragon is a beautiful galley ship, long and slender with its two banks of oars three masts of colourful sails and a figurehead of a great jade dragon.  Its captain has sailed the seas of the sunken lands for a decade now, trading and profiteering, things have been good, really good, his crew and himself have become wealthy, not stinking rich, just wealthy, that was until recently. 

 Recently, over the last 9 months, trade has been bad, the ship has come close to sinking and the crew have suffered illness like never before, even worse, the captain has lost money on nearly every sailing.  The Captain has done nothing different to what he has previously done, always a winning formula, what has changed is his crew.

Things have only gone wrong since the last 4 new crew members were taken on.  He has given them the benefit but now his crew are threatening to leave if they stay, the final straw came when the Eldritch one, Alrak, tried to blame the captain for the ships ills, telling him he should have given offerings to the Elemental gods and then striking the captain with a oar.  If it had not been for that Barbarian Sana or whatever her name is, pleading his case, the strange one would have been thrown over board, as it is as soon as we dock in Jundarr, those two and their two friends Doranus and that awful lute player Marianne, will be shown the door and the bad luck the Jade Dragon and crew have suffered will be over.

Dockside at Jundarr.

Time 9:30am 
Date 11th March

Weather - Fine but a little cloudy

The PC's find themselves unceremoniously evicted from the good ship 'The Jade Dragon', they are stood, or sat, on the dockside, some of the crew of the Jade Dragon are looking over the side of the ship shouting less than fond farewells to the 4 characters, indeed many are shouting obscenities at them, all of which are unrepeatable here. 

GM - you have all been roughly escorted off the Jade Dragon, Alrik and Sana, you find yourselves manacled together and are both sat on the dockside, Doranus and Marianne, you are both standing, all of notice that you have nothing but the clothes you are wearing and the ship is about to leave.  You then notice the captains mate appear at the side of the ship, he throws 4 blanket rolls onto the dockside, they land just a little away from you.

SANA - I will attempt to run over to the blankets.

DORANUS - so will I. 

GM - Sana, you are manacled to Alrik who not in a position to move, Doranus, as you walk over to the blankets something strikes you on the head.
roll on oracle to see if Doranus is injured Roll d20= 16, d6 = 3, so 'Yes (unless).  Doranus will take 1d4 hits unless he can dodge (roll against Dexterity), 

DORANUS - I have athletics skill, will that give me a bonus for my Dex roll
roll on oracle d20 = 18, d6 = 1 so a straight yes.
I need to roll 12 or less on d 20 and roll 4, so I don't take any hits, what was thrown at me.

GM - it was Mariannes Lute.

MARIANNE - not my lute!, its rare and  the only thing I have of any worth, I hope it's not damaged?

roll on oricle d20=10 d6 =3 so 'No (apparently)'

GM - No, apparently its hard and Doranus head is soft so neither took any hurt.  Alrik, you are feeling a little woozy but a thud near you brings you round a little.

ALRIK - Woozy?  why am I woozy?  I turn my head to see what made the thud.

GM - it would seem you had been drugged, you are just coming around, a fancy spear has a ring with a key attached to it over its shaft.

SANA - is that my spear? 

GM -  yes.

ALRIK -  I will attempt to get to my feet and get the key off the spear, I guess it is to unlock the manacles.  Free me Sana please!

GM - you get to you feet with the help of the spear, Sana has no option but to get up as well.  Sana is able to pull the spear out of the wooden planks of the dockside and you are able to take the key and release the manacles that bind Sana to you.  The Jade Dragon is already heading away from the dockside, some of its crew are still jeering at you and there is a small crowd gathered around you all laughing at you.

DORANUS - I pick up the blanket rolls, 4 of them you say, okay, one each, I will give one each to my friends.

MARIANNE - I will open my blanket, is there anything inside it.

GM - yes, it has Alriks possessions in it, including his longbow and 15 silvers.

ALRIK - well thats something, what is in the other three, everyone else's possesions I guess.

GM - yes, just about everything you brought with you when you first boarded the Jade Dragon those months ago, not much but enough to get you on your way.

SANA - including my fine silk? great, that crowd laughing at us, do they look like trouble?

GM - possibly, it is Jundarr docks.

SANA - I think we should get away from the docks, perhaps find a nice tavern.

DORANUS - I want to head to the temple district find a temple for the water element goddess.

ALRIK, MARIANNE & SANA - okay, thats where we will head towards, does doranus know the way to the temple district?

roll on Zathrum 2.2 probability table 60% chance he does, roll on d 100, 74%, so no.

GM - The Impossible city is impossible to not get lost in and after 50 minutes you all realise you have no idea where you are, lost in some slum area.  Make a 'group passive  perception roll'.
Doranus has the highest wisdom, 13, so needs to roll 13 or less on d20, roll 10.
Out of the corner of Doranus eye he spots a shadowy figure on the roof tops, he calls out but before you can do anything but draw your daggers, the figure drops down in front of you all, two small crossbows, ready loaded are fired towards you,

TILLY - idiots, just as well I am hear to save you.
 Tilly rolls 2 d20 to see if she hits the ruffians behind the PC's with either crossbow bolt, she need 11 or more to hit and rolls 14 &20, two easy hits, there are two thuds behind the PC's, when you turn around you see two desperadoes rolling on the ground, crossbow bolts in places they should not be.
Don't hang around, leg it, there are half a dozen more and they wont care about those two on the ground, follow me.

ALRIK, DORANUS, MARIANNE &SANA -  With a choice of being attacked by 6 or more ruffians or taking a chance with someone who seems to be on our side, we all run after Tilly, we  will take a risk she will lead us somewhere safe.

GM - Tilly leads the PC's through the warren that is the slums of Jundarr, their pursuers seem to be giving up the chase.  As they pound down a narrow street, Tilly grabs Marianne who is just behind her and pulls her through a door into a grubby little house.  

TILLY - In here everyone, then get up the stairs.  I think we have lost the crowd chasing us, we should be safe for a little while here.

GM - Tilly bolts the outside door and follows the others up the stairs through a second door to a small room with a table, a couple of chairs and a bed.  She shuts the second door and jams one of the chairs between the floor and the door handle.  Somehow Tilly manages to sit in the only other seat before anyone else can, the rest of you are either forced to sit on the bed or stand.

SANA - I will ask Tilly why she has jammed the door to this room shut?

TILLY - Better to be safe than sorry, I wouldn't want anyone to burst in here uninvited.

MARIANNE- I will ask Tilly if this is her home?

TILLY - It belongs to a friend, they don't need it at the moment.

ALRIK - I will ask Tilly why she helped us?

GM - Tilly produces an ancient document and a hand drawn map, she lays them on the table and tells you that a friend gave her the document as she no longer needed it, it contains directions to a treasure hoard but it is so old it is almost impossible to decipher the exact location, however Tilly says she has managed to work it all out.
She tells the PC's that she saw they were in trouble at the docks and followed them, she helped them because one good turn deserves one in return and she needs help to get the treasure.  Tilly hopes they can all help each other and share the rewards. 

Tilly spends a little time showing the PC's the document and her map, then there is the sound of someone or something trying to break down the door from the street to the house, Tilly gathers up her map and old document and put them back in the pocket, she grabs Doranus by the collar and drags to the window.

TILLY - Quick, grab your stuff and through this window, all of you out NOW!

GM - There is a sound of splintering wood followed by heavy boots running up the stairs.

MARIANNE - I shall load my crossbow and cover everyone, if anyone gets in here I will fire at them.

ALRIK, DORANUS & SANA - We will risk the window with Tilly, she almost seems to know what she is doing.

GM - Alrik is the last of the three to follow Tilly, as he jumps out of the window, the second door bursts open and a huge lumbering man sticks his head around the door.

MARIANNE - I fire my crossbow

GM - you need 12 plus for a hit

MARIANNE - I roll a 16, a hit, and 2 hit points.

GM - the man is a giant of a human, the crossbow bolt hits him and slows him down but he still carries on towards you.

MARIANNE - I leg it to the window and jump hoping for the best.

GM -  You make it out of the window before the intruder gets anywhere near you, your fall is broken by a pile of soft straw and you find yourself in a cart full of straw along with the others, Tilly is up front with a horse which is attached to the cart.

TILLY - That felt like the last of you hitting the cart, in that case, hold tight, its time to leave Jundarr.

SANA - I ask Tilly if the cart also belongs to a friend who doesn't need it at the moment.

GM - Tilly does not reply but she does get the horse and cart going at a dangerous trot, you all notice that the intruder is looking out of the window you all just jumped out of, he is shaking his fist at you all and shouting at you, thankfully the noise of the street and of the cart drowns out his words.

TILLY - looks like you are all coming with me then, lets make good time out of the city then we can slow down a bit, I think we can make a tavern before night fall.

DORANUS - I will ask Tilly who that madman was who seemed intent on killing us.

TILLY - Just someone looking for a friend of mine, not sure why.

Leaving Jundarr through the main city gates and a quiet journey north.

Time - 11:20am
Date - 11th March

Weather - fine but a little cloudy

The characters and Tilly have no further issues as they travel through the city and out of the main city gates.  They head north along a road which after a few miles turns into a dirt track.  All is quiet and the PC's rest while Tilly takes the horse and cart at no more than a walking pace towards their first stop at the village of Crescent Hilt about 10 miles North from Jundarr.

It is 4:40pm when they arrive at Crescent Hill and Tilly takes them directly to the tavern, the 'Tanners Wife'.
The oracle is consulted to see if everything is as it should be at the 'Tanners Wife',  roll d20 = 15 d6 = 6, so 'Yes' and +1 intervention point (+2 intervention points now).

GM - Tilly stops the Horse and Cart outside the Tanners Wife tavern in the sleepy village of Crescent Hill, she secures the horse and leads you all into the tavern.  The landlady, one 'Melonie Tanner' seems delighted to see Tilly, and calls out her name asking what she can get her.

TILLY- Afternoon Mel, can we have a table, that one by the window seats five and its free, can you bring us all something to eat, I suppose its beef stew again, and five ales will be welcomed, been a long journey. Oh, and my friend Alrik here will pay.

GM - You all sit around the table, Alrik looks a little displeased at having to pay for the food, he does and it leaves him with just a 6 silvers to his name, Melanie Tanner asks if they will be staying the night as she only has two rooms available, the third id already taken, Tilly says they will and two rooms will do, the three girls will share one, the boys the other and Doranus will pay.  

The tavern is quiet all evening, just a few locals popping in and out, by 9.00pm Tilly calls it a night, she wants a good early start in the morning and leaves the PC's who realise that Tilly has paid for nothing.  Soon the Tanners Wife Tavern empties of patrons and the PC's retire for the evening to.

Part 3, to journey on or stay and solve a crime, that is the decision to be made.