Act 1: Inquest
Our story opens in the main conference room of the motherhouse of the Talamasca in Phoenix, Arizona on July 17, 2010. Of course, only SaraLynn is aware of the date. There are three very stern-faced individuals at one side of the room, apparently prepared to pass judgment on our hapless travelers. SaraLynn and Giselle, two members of the Talamasca who happen to be able to speak French are trying to glean as much information as possible from the travelers. Although the adventurers speak a variant of the French that SaraLynn and Giselle know, there are a number of words that they cannot seem to get across…primarily those dealing with technology. Through a complex series of alternate phrasings, the party manages to get the members of the Talamasca to produce some maps. The first is a map they cannot read, of a continent…presumably on the planet on which they are located. They are in a city called “Feenicks” on a planet called “Urth”. Urth is the only populated planet in the star-system, and they claim to have no starports, only a place in “Florida” that sometimes launches primitive rockets.
Marcus has advanced the theory that a small enclave of Droyne has gained access to a storehouse of artifacts leftover from the “Ancients”. The Ancients were a vastly superior race (from which the Droyne have descended) who had technology that sometimes bordered on the magical. Somehow, the Vargr who took control of their ship had caused the ship to misjump within the gravity well of the planet they were on, and they re-entered normal space within the confines of a cave. The Droyne in Marcus’s theory were located in this cave, and through the use of a teleportation device of some kind, the party’s ship, and later the party itself were teleported to another place on that planet. A vast desert plain populated by cannibalistic humans. Later, a human who also had access to teleportation technology rescued them, and brought them to this place…miraculously healing them in the process. It is also possible that they were under some sort of mass hallucination in which the supposed wounds they received were never even incurred. (Most of the party members think their leader is losing it).
The three leaders of the Talamasca have no desire to get involved with the party. They seem to be satisfied that the party was not sent to hurt them. Despite their rather absurd claims to come from another planet, they are obviously human in every way. Furthermore, they are obviously incapable of telling the members of the inquest where they DO belong, so how can the Talamasca be held accountable for returning them “home”?
Wishing to keep their location secret, the leaders of the Talamasca ask the party members to allow themselves to be taken to a relatively safe place outside, and left to fend for themselves. SaraLynn will see to it that they receive lodging somewhere in the city. Reluctantly, the party members pile into the back of an enclosed truck in the garage, and after a long and twisting trip, they are dropped off in a parking garage near the Phoenix Visitor’s Center.
The covered parking garage is dimly lit, and they can see a number of small ground cars scattered among the many spaces. SaraLynn goes to a phone booth to arrange for a hotel. Thann decides to head toward the flashing neon sign that indicates the entrance to the visitors center. The visitors center is comprised of a single large room. There is one counter, at which a teenage girl is sitting. There is a bulky viewscreen on one wall, that judging from the sound, is showing a comedy program of some sort. The picture quality is very poor, and occasional lines of static run through the picture. The room itself has a number of pictures on the walls, mostly of desert scenery. Up against the front wall, in front of the darkened and barred windows, are two males who are probably gang members. They are dressed in leather and chains, and have long, spiked hair. Judging from the darkness of the windows, Thann estimates that it must be after dark in this corner of the world. There are racks of brochures scattered throughout the room as well. Although he cannot read any of the brochures, Thann picks up a few that have pictures. One of the pictures shows a sign of advanced technology…a huge solar collection facility. Viewed from far above, it appears to be a huge rectangular grid of solar panels with five “towers” rising out of the grid.
SaraLynn has located a hotel that is within walking distance, so she leads the group out the front door of the Visitor Center, into the dim afternoon. Here, the players are shocked to see that the sky above them, is merely a ceiling of black panels, approximately one-hundred feet over their heads!
Act 2 – Frozen Shade
The ceiling overhead does far more than just keep sunlight from reaching the ground. The air outside is foul and polluted, all automobile emissions are effectively trapped beneath the panels overhead. Obviously, the picture that Thann saw, is a photograph of what lies above that ceiling of solar panels. The ground around them is littered and filthy. Shabbily dressed people lie in the gutters. Overflowing garbage cans and dumpsters line the curbs. There are flashing neon signs everywhere. The majority of the people they can see are wearing dirty or torn clothing. The streets are lined with large semi-tractor rigs belching diesel fumes into the already thickened air. Flitting among the trucks, small electric ground cars dart through traffic. There are also a large number of motorcycles and scooters. Sounds from overhead reveal other roadbeds, suspended beneath the solar panels. The sounds of traffic above are louder, as if the cars above are not electric, but internal combustion engines. Standing on street corners, in the perpetual gloom are a number of gangers dressed in the same colors as the two they saw in the Visitor Center. All shops they pass have brightly lit neon signs over their heavily barred doors, and armor plated windows. They pass a small newspaper vending machine, and check the date of one of the newspapers. The year 2010 leaps out at them. The last they saw, it was the year 1123…either this planet uses a different calander system, or they are 900 years in their future!
After three blocks, they nearly pass their hotel, since only the “o” and “t” can bee seen dimly flickering in the sign. Passing through the revolving door, they enter the lobby.
The hotel itself is a virtual ruin. The lobby is dark and musty smelling. Instructing everyone else to stay by the door, and to KEEP QUIET, SaraLynn goes to the front desk and rings the bell. Moments later a scruffy man wearing a stained tee-shirt comes out of the back office. He squints at SaraLynn…
DESK CLERK: “Ayuh?”
SARALYNN: “We need three rooms…preferably together.”
DESK CLERK: “You have eight people.”
SARALYNN: “We’ll also need two cots.”
DESK CLERK: “Three rooms is two-hundred a night…plus a ten dollar deposit for sheets.”
SARALYNN: “That’s ridiculous. I’ll give you one-fifty.
DESK CLERK: “One-seventy-five.”
SARALYNN: “One-fifty.”
DESK CLERK: “There’s a Day’s Inn down the street, but it ain’t as nice as this.”
SARALYNN: “Okay, one-seventy-five…INCLUDING the sheets.” The desk clerk sneers at her, then bends down behind the counter. Behind him, on a low shelf she can see a large black rat looking at her. The rat jumps to one side and captures a cockroach that has just slid out from beneath the registry book. The desk clerk pops up (again blocking her view of the rat) and hands SaraLynn two keys.
SARALYNN: “I asked for three rooms.”
DESK CLERK: “You got em! Rooms 302, 304 and 306. 302’s lock doesn’t work…just bang the door with your hip.”
With groans of dismay, the party walks to the rear of the lobby and rings for the elevator. Somewhere above them, old turbines whir to life, and the ancient elevator groans its way down the shaft. By the time it reaches the lobby, the party has already decided to take the stairs.
The staircase door opens, and a terrible smell issues forth from the darkness. Wil uses his light-intensifier goggles to check out the stairwell. There is a wino laying at the bottom of the stairs.
WINO: “Hey! This is my room. Get out of my room.”
They ignore the wino, and climb the stairs to the third floor. As promised, the door to 302 does not require a key, it is in fact, standing ajar. This room has two twin beds…no cot. Room 304 has a lock, but the splintered door panel above the doorknob make the security of this room absolutely nil. This room contains only a king-sized bed. Room 306 has a working lock, and as a result, the only working room phone. SaraLynn uses this to call a car-rental company. She reserves a panel van to be picked up the following day. Everyone is too tired to argue. SaraLynn and Enise take 306. The rest of the guys draw straws for the beds. Believe it or not, the ones that sleep on the floor get more rest!
The first order of business the next morning was getting clothes for everyone. They walked to a used clothing store, and bought a bunch of trench coats. Following the purchase of these coats, they marched down the street, looking like a trench coat gang. It was along the way that Meeho managed to get into a scrap with the punk gangers. They were originally just going to screw around with him, but once he spoke, they realized that they had a foreigner, and were prepared to take it a step further. SaraLynn intervened, calling unwanted attention to herself in the process. Eventually, the gangers got tired of their fun, and let the party continue on. This encounter served to remind them that they needed to come up with some weapons…and fast!
Act 3 – The Aryans
SaraLynn contacted some people she knew at the Sunburst Foundation…a local organization that has recently been specializing in reducing friction between the various Phoenix gangs. Through those contacts, she got the name of a gang that might be able to supply them with weapons. She should try to contact Heinrich, a high-ranking officer in the Aryans. She bleaches her hair to appear more Aryan herself, takes Ben and Thann with her, and goes to the bar where she was told she could reach Heinrich.
“The Fire Alarm” is a club on 17th street. Once inside, SaraLynn approaches the bar and asks for Heinrich. she is told that he isn’t here yet, but she can take a table and wait. They wait.
An hour later, three blond men walk into the bar. They wave a greeting to the bartender and then go sit across the bar. Shortly after one of the cocktail waitresses serves them, one of the Aryans comes over to speak to the party…
ADOLPH: “You wish to speak with Heinrich?”
SARALYNN: “Yes.”
ADOLPH: “Very well, fraulein. Follow me.” The three of them stand up.
ADOLPH: “Nein! Just you fraulein.” She crosses the bar and approaches the Aryan table.
HEINRICH: “Hello. And just how is it that Heinrich can assist you?”
SARALYNN: “I was told that you may be able to help me acquire some…firearms.”
HEINRICH: “Ah, it is a business discussion we are to have then, is it? Please be seated. So, how many crates of weapons are we talking about?”
SARALYNN: “Actually, I was looking more for individual pieces, four handguns and three rifles.” Heinrich gets a decidedly disappointed look on his face.
HEINRICH: “…Ah…I see. Well of course we can deal with such a small order as this…but small orders…cost more.”
SARALYNN: “How much?”
HEINRICH: “I assume you would not want the inferior Russian weapons. Will you need ammunition too?” SARALYNN: “No and Yes.”
HEINRICH: “…Ah…well we could supply you with such weapons for four-thousand.”
SARALYNN: “Four thousand dollars?! You’re crazy!” Adolph jumps to his feet. Thann and Ben, seeing that SaraLynn may be in trouble start toward the table. Heinrich holds up his hand and indicates that Adolph should back off.
HEINRICH: “You seem to forget to whom you speak,” he bares his teeth. “It is rarely a good idea to insult those to whom you come for help.”
The Other Players: “Sleep with him! Sleep with him!”
GM: “Remember that she only bleached the hair on her head…”
The Other Players: “Don’t sleep with him! Don’t sleep with him!”
SARALYNN: “I apologize, but the price you quote is…a little high. Could we discuss it further…” A short time later, they close the deal for thirty-five. SaraLynn is to meet the Aryans at a certain address at 10:30 that evening. She is to bring the money…in cash, at that time.
The meeting takes place as planned. SaraLynn, Thann and Ben deliver the money, and pick up their weapons.
Act 4 – Road Trip
With SaraLynn driving, the party leaves Phoenix in the van. Within minutes, they have left the confining ceiling of Frozen Shade behind them. They are traveling on major US highways. SaraLynn explains that these are the only roads that are regularly patrolled. The desert surrounding Phoenix is not entirely barren. There appears to be a great deal of farmland, worked by huge robot harvesting machines. The crops are a little on the brown side, but that is to be expected in the arid environment.
After a few hours of driving, SaraLynn gets tired. Thann has been watching her drive carefully, and believes he can handle the van. She watches him drive for a few minutes, and then allows herself to doze. Occasionally Thann will ask her questions:
THANN: “Do I need to stay on the right side all the time.”
SARALYNN: “Not if you need to pass another car.”
THANN: “This sign says ‘Exit’, is that a command?”
SARALYNN: “No.”
THANN: “What if the car behind me flashes it’s lights?”
SARALYNN: “Let them pass you.”
THANN: “What if they don’t pass?”
SARALYNN: “What color are the lights?”
THANN: “Red and blue.”
SARALYNN: “Damn! It’s the cops. Pull over.”
There apparently has been a little clerical error with the rental company. They listed the van as stolen rather than rented. Things are quickly cleared up, and the trip continues.
After a little more rest, SaraLynn resumes driving. A few hours later, Thann switches with her again. The quality of the roads seem to be deteriorating the farther they go. Eventually, there are more potholes than not, and Thann is forced to reduce speed a bit. A short time after that, they are overtaken by three motorcycles. The cycles pass the van and continue out ahead of it, and then slow down to match the van’s pace. A little after that, four more motorcycles appear in the distance behind them. These motorcycles catch up and stay behind the van. Ben notices a line of dust matching pace with them from the right. Wil soon spots a twin dust trail moving in from the left. The dust trails are caused by a pair of dune buggies which are matching course with them. Mounted on top of a large tripod on the back of each dune buggy is a large-caliber machine gun. The entourage of bikers is slowly hemming in the van, and forcing them to slow down. Thann brings the van to a stop and the party readies their weapons.
Act 5 – A Death in the Family
To be continued…
This adventure originally took place on January 9, 1993.