Red Laughter

Summary

Adventure: Red Laughter
GM: Jim A
Season: Autumn 824 wk
Night: Sunday Discord
Level: Medium

Party

1. Jedburgh - Mighty warrior
2. Kel - harmless coiffeur
3. Uzi Urksome - well trained beast

Employer

Cerise of Aeaea

Mission

Travel to the Land of Nod in Tanuel, investigate the Red Laughter

Pay

A non-lethal favour appropriate to the adventurer.

Prologue

"Ah, Dr. Wormwood. So good of you to come", the large man said. His voice was warm and, somehow, foreign.

"It was kind of you to invite me", she said, briskly, "Shall we make a start." She was a slight woman of average height with tired looking blond hair, and appeared to be in her early forties.

"Of course." He made a round, curiously elephantine, welcoming gesture and indicated a table attended by a pair of delicate chairs, one of which groaned as he settled upon it. There was a quality of marshmallow softness about him that she found disarming.

"So, it's my claim that there is an invisible hand at work", she said, drawing a slender glass vial from a small silver reticule."Here are my findings and the evidence that I used to form them." She passed the vial into the middle of the small table, the lenses of her spectacles glinting under the lights.

He stared at it as if it were poison and she were asking him to drink it.

"I will review this as soon as we finish here, of course." He paused. "How do you believe we should act on this?"

"Well, surely you could deploy some of your people to investigate? We don't know who is involved, we remain unaware of their goals, and I fear that our security, such as it is, is much compromised."

"I fear, dear lady, that I wouldn't know where to begin. My expertise lies in other areas. Perhaps you'd be interested in a copy of medieval poertry, carefully curated by my own fair hand?"

"I'm sure you'll be taking tea with someone who may be of use, if you were to be appropriately recompensed." She took out another vial. "Twenty years of vibrant, healthy youth."

"As always, Doctor, you make business a pleasure."

---

The young man entered the large, sunny chamber carrying an armload of scrolls. He bustled his way past other robed acolytes bent over inclined desks, and made his way to the senior who was reclining beneath fans wielded by muscular Nubian twins.

"I have the information you requested, Archimandrite," the young man said.

The older man rose to a sitting position in a curiously graceful way, like a whale rising to the surface.

"What information was that, dear boy?"

"That Wormwood matter. You wanted to find someone who might meet the terms of the agreement and yet not point back to us, no?"

"Indeed, dear boy. And you have found someone?"

"Cerise the Medianite, reverend father."

"...A challenging selection. Why her?"

"Well, she's a competent witch, with a highly trained dancer retinue. Admittedly, she is down to three. My guess is that she needs to recruit and train replacements, and for this, she will need money. These things are never cheap." In addition, she has publically expressed a certain contempt for the Order. Should we need to, we can always claim anything she reveals is a desperate attempt to blacken our reputation."

"I find myself intrigued to see how your strategy will evolve, my boy. In the meantime, let us make contact with the dear lady and inform of her of the news. Then retain the Medeanite, but keep each ignorant of the other," the large man said, as a frozen liqueur dissolved on his tongue.

Scribe Notes - Summary

• Meet Cerise and commence travel, reaching House Kerboroth.
• xxx
• Reach Jiroth and fight the Nephalim
• Surah -> Jesurea -> Carchemish -> Harrain -> Dioscura

Scribe Notes - Full

Cerise, accompanied by only three of her five bodyguards, has been engaged by Dr Wormwood to examine what is happening in the Land of Nod. As she is missing some guards and is requesting we complete some for her. She wont tell us any further about what we are looking for as she believes it will bias our actions, but does advise us to return and report back if our lives are in danger.

We are offered most of what loot we recover and a non-lethal favour from her. We discuss the route to reach the Land of Nod and the dangers. We discuss supplies for the journey and agree in 20,000sp in gems, some Amulets, Witchskins and restoratives. We decide to pose at traders so Kel spends a week making perfumes and we and purchase myrrh, ambergris, frankincense.

We head out of Seagate with Cerise and travel or a few hours before we stop and she casts a ritual to open a portal to the astral that we pass through. We commence a six week journey, travelling through the Astral and then the Abyss until we reach the boundary of House Kerberoth.

There is a large boundary wall and we pass through a gate, a rune portal what has been heavily modified, that is guarded by 9ft tall guards. Through the gates we observe more guards with enormous three headed hounds. Uzi briefly considers drinking from the glowing green pond the dogs drink from

Jiroth

The party spend two days in Jiroth arranging the sale of the griffon and communicating with a temple in Surah to seel the eggs. The city is famous for its singing bees and we discover that purifying with the singing bees provides a short term benefit to MA and MR. We charter a carriage to Surah.

Surah

The carriage provides a comfortable and uneventful two-day trip. It’s a fine city whose industry is warfare. Kel purchases some for more format wear. We sell the Griffin eggs to the war temple and, in exchange, they provide some martial training which takes a week.

While at the city we learn of a Nephilim, which is terrorising travellers. Using Kel precognitive abilities we track down the Nephilim as it is attacking a caravan. Its delivers fearsome blows and is very difficult to see, but Jedburgh and Uzi deliver a flurry of blows and manage to slay it. We are able to follow tis tracks back to its lair and find its horde. We spend three days in a caravan travelling to Jesurea.

Jesurea

We briefly pass through the city to reach the port outside the east gate. We discuss options and opt to fly instead of spending two weeks on a boat. The journey will be easy to navigate as it follows the river. As we trailed by a Jasonite for some miles as we depart the city, we confront him and he leaves us his card.

We fly around 500 miles in the first day, Jedburgh struggle with the cold of the weather as we fly. We stay overnight in a small town at the Green Anemone and arrange for a coat to be made for Jedburgh, which takes another day. The next day we fly to Carchemish, and have a rough landing in the mountainous terrain and a lasting injury is inflicted on Kel.

Carchemish

The gate guard recommends staying at the Vamilion Glove, an inn frequented by alchemists. Fortunately, there are a few alchemists there that we are able to buy two flesh pots from, and they are happy to buy the ambergris. We spend some hours discussing perfumes and learning about the city and hear of a gate to hell many miles to the east. The journey to Hurrian is difficult to navigate, and as we lack those skills we opt to join a caravan wagon and spend the next two weeks on camels.

Harrain

As we arrive at the city Jedburgh notices some strangeness to the land to the east of the city that extends to the horizon, it has the aspect of folding. We arrange to meet the city Priest the following day and spend time asking about perfumes, we learn the city is on the silk and black amber trade routes. Back amber is used to become a lich as it has a aspect of age to it, we acquire some for experimentation.
The following day we meet the city priest, Psametikh Khu and ask for a blessing from their sea god for our impending black sea journey. We also inform him of the strange terrain outside the city and we learn the legend of this, it was a mountain terrain that a powerful evil creature compressed an age ago.
We book passage on a boat and spend the next eight days travelling to Al-Marhirbah, a small town near Dioscura. Dioscura is an underwater city.

World Lores

Banishment
If banished you travel along the trail you used to get there, you leaving a trail and only reach the edge of the previous boundary territory. Banishment from the Land of Chaos will leave you in a random location, which could be very dangerous.

Skills

• Anyone with the spy skill are treated with extreme hostility, and are often are interrogated and killed. Never admit to having this.
• People will skills >4 are rare. R6 are the masters.

Telepathy
If you make telepathic contact with something thats mad, you can attract a mental illness.

People and Places

People

• Lady Cerise – Our employee. A Medeanite. Normally accompanied by 5”dancers” (bodyguards), she is only accompanied by three.
• Dr Wormwood – has hired Lady Cerise. A slight woman of average height with tired looking blond hair, and appeared to be in her early forties

Places

Land of Nod

• The land is “ruled” by The Duke of Faces, has a Keep that you need to pass to access the land. Time is a dimension in Nod, there are magics that can impact this. I.e. Sphere of darkness will destroy space and the universe will become smaller.
• Has two temporal boundaries - garden of Eden (source) and the flood (terminus).

Inhabitants
Almost entirely human, but also

• Nephilim (produce of Gregorian (angels) and human). Nephilim are powerful, outcome ois chaotic - tend to he humanoid but can have varied appearances; as heros of old or giants or trolls. Are tall, 9ft+
• Seirim (demon) - look a lot like saytrs. The will try to lure you into sacrificing themselves. Associated with the Seir. If sacrificed they disappear for a lifespan but they take your soul when your die. They tend to offer you a deal and they are the sacrifice.
• Mazzakin (chthonic demon) - violent
• Lilin (chthonic demon) - associated with harming woman and babies
• Pishaka (chthonic demon)- spirits of wickedness
  

NOTE - chthonic demon - don't need to be summoned, they are on plane. They can be banished. Cant be SG or stunned.

Politics of Nod

• Meadenites (lots in Nod) are at was with Jasonites.
• Meadeanite - Bruja (very ugly - fright check)
• The Duke of Faces rules northern Nod - he can't personally extend into the plane as he is from Hell.

Route to Nod
The route from Alusia

• Astral
• Abyss
• House Kerberoth in Tanuel
• Caravan to Jiroth
• Long straight road (carriage can travel 50miles/day) to Surah
• Surah
• Jesurea to Carchemish is about 850 miles north
• Carchemish to Hurrian is about 450 miles north east
• Hurrian to Dioscura 900 miles north east across the Midnight Sea
• Dioscura to Aeaea about 50 miles directly north
• East to the Keep of five faces, 150 miles.

House Kerberoth
Ruled by Tirwh (powerful summoner) and Lady Suneth (chaosites).
Every months there is a bazar outside his castle, these people include;

• Theophrastus - R10 Alchemist
• Jiroth - trade with honey and candles. Their bees sing.

Inhabitants

• 300 chaosites, few of them are wizaeds
• Three headed hounds - were product of experimentation but have become a normal magical creature - they can create degree of uncertainly to make stuff less and more likely. The feed from glowing green ponds, which is full of concentrated uncertainty

Items and Loot

Red Laughter - Treasure

Purchased for trading
6000sp in myrrh, ambergris, frankincense

Obtained from Cerise

• Mouse skin changes x 11
• Amulets;
  • Kel - Enhanced Amulet of Chalcedony, Amulet of Amethyst, Amulet of Elder Flowers, Enhanced Amulet of Jade, Amulet of Luck, Amulet of Black Amber
  • Uzi - Amulet of Luck, Amulet of Black Amber
  • Jedburg- amethyst, Luck and normal Iron

Calendar

Autumn
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
	Lugnasad
Fruit (4)
			1	Guild Meeting Meet employer. Prep in Seagate	2	Prep in Seagate	3	Prep in Seagate	4	Prep in Seagate	5	Prep in Seagate	6	Prep in Seagate
	7	Prep in Seagate	8	Commence travel....	9		10		11		12		13
	14		15		16		17		18		19		20
	21		22		23		24		25		26		27
	28		29		30
Harvest (5)
							1		2		3		4
	5		6		7		8		9		10		11
	12		13		14		15	Equinox	16		17	Seagate Autumn Fair	18	Seagate Autumn Fair
	19	Harvest Moon	20	Arrive at House Kerberoth	21		22		23		24		25
	26		27		28		29	Michaelmas	30
Vintage(6)
											1		2
	3		4		5		6		7		8		9
	10		11		12		13		14		15		16
	17	Blood Moon	18		19		20		21		22		23
	24		25		26		27		28		29		30	Beerfest