The Lost Treasure of Adeline - Part 1 - A Friday Night EZD6 Session

Rosebud Hollow & The Legend of Lucian

Long ago, a grand temple was constructed in the heart of Rosebud Hollow, to celebrate the legend of Adeline, Goddess of the Deep. Lucian Andromadas, an infamous pirate known for his acts of generosity towards the needy, funded its construction. In fact, much of his plundered wealth was used to build this town from scratch. Over time, the coastal town evolved into an exciting hub, connecting neighboring cities and seafaring routes with its innovative stream rail and harbors. As a result, the old temple was repurposed and transformed into a grand central train station, ushering in unprecedented commerce and trade to the region.

The Train Station Rendezvous

What a session last night! The players were tasked with a rendezvous at the train station in the heart of Rosebud Hollow, escorting Lady Andra Chastain to the Scarlet Siren. It didn’t take long for disaster to strike! A gang of rogues attempted to assassinate Miss Chastain, prompting the players to defend her, battling off attackers from every direction. Lulu tugged Andra behind her, determined to fend off the bloodthirsty assassins with her trusty axe.

Lulu deflected the assassin’s charging blow, saving Andra by a hair’s breadth. In one fluid motion, she counterattacked, her blade slicing brutally through the attacker from shoulder to hip. The strike unleashed a torrent of crimson blood and viscera, painting the opulent gothic station in deathly hues.

Next, Mary Jane narrowly escaped death by a speeding train. At the last moment, she reversed her momentum, hurling the villain onto the tracks, where they became nothing more than a silhouette against the bright headlight of the oncoming locomotive.

After failing to coax steam from the idle train engine in an attempt to conceal Andra, Elena produced a static electro revolver from her satchel. Unsure of its effectiveness, she aimed it at one of the cloaked figures. The mechanism accelerated, clicking and clacking faster and faster until a bolt of pure blue electricity arched forth. It slammed into the assailant just as their sword was raised to strike Andra, vaporizing the leather-armored midsection and leaving a large, smoking hole. Lulu stared at Elena and her smoking gun through the gaping wound in amazement before the assassin collapsed to the floor.

Dr. Trent, tripping over luggage that riddled the platform, by luck or happenstance, loosed a vial of acid onto the face of a rushing rogue. The rogue hissed and spat before the Doc ‘educated’ the man with a large, heavy medical book directly to the head!

When the smoke cleared, viscera stained the opulent pillars and dark wooden floors of the station. After a brief introduction and search, the players were off to the brothel, their mission completed.

Sneaking and Haunting

The next morning, the players met with Chastain in her luxurious penthouse suite at the Scarlet Siren. She revealed that a package of utmost importance was to be delivered at midnight in the stockyard. She warned them that it belonged to the notorious Winslow McGinty and many of his dangerous men would be accompanying it, too many for a head-on assault. If they were caught, they would be on their own.

Andra handed them a small piece of paper with a crude sketch of the sewers that wove beneath the grand gothic train station. The sketch showed several entrances and exits within the confines of the station and the stockyard, presenting a seemingly perfect path to accomplish their goal.

Abigail Rose, an insider working at the station's front desk, would help them gain entry.

With most of the day for recon, they crept around the main gates of the stockyard. Using a spyglass, they could make sense of the grate entrances and exits from the supplied sketch.

As darkness fell, the players entered the train station and approached the clerk. Recognizing them as her contacts, she quickly ushered them into the basement undetected.

Once inside, they found an old door on the northeast wall, supposedly connecting to other pathways and sewers. Opening the door revealed a long-forgotten part of the station, an unfinished and abandoned mine shaft. The cool air hung heavy around them. As they proceeded forward, they narrowly missed a well-hidden alarm system made of fine fisherman's string and five heavy brass bells hanging overhead. Lulu's foot caught oddly on the uneven stone floor, causing her to tumble heavily forward, crashing through the trap and onto the floor. The bells came crashing down and rang out loudly, echoing through the ancient cavernous tunnel.

Within moments, Henrik, the other clerk, and several guards were heard rushing toward their position. A loose stone in the wall proved to be just the thing the heroes needed as they squeezed into a hidey-hole, replacing the stone just before Henrik and the guards opened the door. "I told you! Great Lucian's Ghost! This place IS haunted!" cried Henrik as they talked for several minutes before scurrying away from the dank tunnel.

Once the noise subsided, they realized that the hidey-hole extended much further back than anticipated. Exotic and weird plant life lined the ceilings and walls. Careful study of the plants took place, taking samples of leaves, roots, and flower bits. The entire growth seemed to shudder with each touch. Elena noticed gangling roots reaching down from the dark ceilings, prompting a hasty retreat before the hand-like roots could snatch them up.

They made their way back to the main artery of the mining shaft. Old tools and mine carts lay abandoned, gathering dust and cobwebs. Elena recalled the legends of Lucian's ghost haunting the train station, and for the first time, she started to believe.

Giant stone gargoyle demons lined the far wall, illuminated by an ever-burning lantern. The demonic figures seemed to stare at them in the dim light. Just then, a loud noise was heard—the sound of an old wooden storm door being opened just up ahead.

The Storm Cellar

Mary Jane crept up to the sounds and found a locked door. Pressing her ear against it, she listened:

"That's it. Lower it in here. McGinty doesn't want this thing getting rained on! He said it'll be our heads if it does! And... Bob... he said you have to stay in there with it until the morning," a voice said with a nasty chuckle. "Don't let Lucian get you!" another voice shouted, before the heavy doors slammed shut and thick chains clanked around the iron handles to secure it.

Dr. Trent, always observant, watched this unfold as he waited in the dank cave. A strong cold wind rushed down the tunnel, extinguishing the lanterns and draping the party temporarily in darkness. Trent heard a voice whisper in his ear as if right next to him, "The key to what you seek is in the eye of the beholder." Immediately, Trent began rationalizing that the plants they had encountered must have had hallucinogenic properties, defending his mind against the supernatural with sound logic.

Mary Jane waited until the sounds of the men died down. Lulu readied a fistful of deadly spikes, poised to launch them at the guard as soon as the door was unlocked. Mary Jane used her delicate skills to pick the old rusted lock without making a sound. At the same time, Elena murmured a spell to learn the surface thoughts of those nearby. With this new knowledge, she assisted Mary Jane in the timing of things...

Soundlessly, the door swung open, and Lulu rushed in, arm cocked back to strike. She quickly aborted her attack upon noticing the guard was already snoring. With a flicker of magic, Elena brought a silence to the room that felt like being underwater or wearing noise-canceling headphones. The air grew dense as she lowered her hands, quite literally calming the atmosphere.

Dr. Trent was the last one inside the small storage room. He softly closed and relocked the door behind them and readied the potion he had created earlier. Though this wasn't the first time he had made such a potion, he didn't fully understand how it worked. He just knew that if they drank it, they would be able to hop through one mirror and out another. Luckily, Elena had a pocket mirror. She handed it over to Trent without hesitation, as they had worked together before. Though Elena was the one fascinated by magic and lore, Trent always seemed to be the one conjuring 'real' magic.

Mary Jane stealthily found the marked crate, which was exactly as Andra had described. With quick work, she freed their sought item from its container. She looked in astonishment as the light danced off the intricately carved wooden scroll case. The oak was etched with crashing waves and a pirate ship. Atop the scroll case sat a perfectly spherical ruby, inset like a ring's stone. A firefly light danced within its beautiful orb, and time seemed to stand still, allowing all to take in its magnificent form.

Elena's mind-reading spell picked up several guards approaching the storm doors. Their intent was to scare their comrade and ensure he was awake and doing his job. With the scroll case in hand, they quickly drank the mirror potions, throwing the pocket mirror onto the floor and jumping inside it like something straight out of Mary Poppins! Startled awake, the guard looked down at the pocket mirror, still rocking back and forth. It hadn't been there a moment ago. The door was locked, the crate empty.

Looking back up through the mirror, they saw the guard's eyes go wide as he yelled, "G-G-Ghoooossttt!"