Red Laughter
Summary
Adventure: Red Laughter
GM: Jim A
Season: Autumn 824 wk
Night: Sunday online
Level: Medium
- Party
- Jedburgh - Mighty warrior
- Kel - harmless coiffeur
- 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.
