Delving Death's Domain "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come." PREVIOUSLY... Abandoned qephilim ruins and mines are scattered throughout the Nammu Mountains of Hazurrium. The city of Shalmarn is built over one of those ruins, and indeed, many of Shalmarn’s buildings are converted remnants of structures first built during the Age of Myth. Several entrances into deeper, buried ruins open in and around Shalmarn, but most lead to closed off areas that have been previously looted of ancient relics by adventurers. A ruin entrance near the city’s center is called the Winged Arch. Most everyone in Shalmarn knows the Winged Arch leads to a much more expansive area of subterranean tunnels that have yet to be mapped or looted, thanks to unspeakable creatures that guard the way. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ruins beneath the Winged Arch is precisely where your search for your neighbor Tom Mallard has lead you. As best you and your companion Ramis can figure, Tom has gotten entangled with some local warlord who calls himself the Master. Tom has been leading a secret life as a recursion miner--somebody who travels to Ardeyn to "mine" it for his own benefit. Just how he found out about any of this is completely unknown, but it seems he's in over his head. According to Ramis, the Master has attempted to fight his way into the underground ruins below the Winged Arch in years past, but local heroes fought off his disgusting, debased sark mercenaries. The files suggest that Tom is aware of something called the Gospels of Lotan. Perhaps the Master seeks Gospels, too? Does that mean Tom get captured by the Master because of his knowledge? Ramis suggested that it was brave but foolhardy to go into the deeps to look for Tom, though that was the only lead she could offer. While initially suspicious of you, Ramis has been seemingly forthright that she's from Earth--specifically Ohio. She hasn't denied any of the information about her you shared with her from Tom's dossier, but she hasn't confirmed any of it either. Still, she's going into danger with you and that counts for a lot. Whatever dangers or conspiracies my lie in the ruins below, it seems the search for Tom is taking you right into the heart of it. NOW... Beneath the Winged Arch Shalmarn, Queendom of Hazurrium Ardeyn You awake, a read mist swirling around your body. It's remarkably more dispersed than it was before. How long ago was that? Your head swims in molasses as your brain claws its way back to consciousness. Around you is the darkness of the large underground room, the walls and ceiling made of cold, silvery stone. Your only light is Ramis' oil lantern laying on the ground nearby, a feeble flame sputtering in the overturned casing. Your clothes are the only thing protecting you from razor sharp crystal shards, the broken pieces of that feathered dragon statuette that formerly occupied this side of the room. You must have toppled it over when you fell, for most of it lies broken around you. Previously, the red mist spewed forth from the crystal dragon's mouth, creating a haziness in both sight and mind. Whatever it was, the mist put you to sleep when you tried to sneak across the darkened room. But what were you trying to sneak away from? Horror of unknown, organic shapes--memories from before you passed out--flood into your mind. The hulking body of a hydra used to occupy this room, presumably also drugged into unconsciousness by the red mist. Someone must have brought that crystal statuette down here to keep the hydra at bay, but you unwittingly set it free. And it is free, you're certain, because a quick glance over in the direction it originally laid shows that space empty. It's gone. And so is Ramis. A group of people shouting angrily wipes the last vestiges of sleepiness from your brain. Nearby in the light of the overturned lantern you can see the four-legged, ten-foot-wide body of the hydra engaged with some unknown person obscured behind its bulk. Several of its heads have clearly been slain, the hairy tendrils that once attached them to the central mass laying limply on the floor. Much of that area of the room is covered in a frothy liquid, the dead heads being particularly drenched in the stuff. What remains of the heads are shouting and cursing angrily at whomever they are engaged in a fight with. Fortunately, for whomever it is, he has managed to retreat through a far doorway that is too narrow for the hydra's bulk to fit through. The hydra can only fit in one or two heads at a time to bite, making them easier targets. The hydra appears to be unaware of your presence, at least for the moment. What do you do?

[Link to sheet] Might:  5/14 (0), Speed:  7/12 (1), Intellect:  9/16 (1) Recovery Rolls:  1 Action, 1 Action, 10 Minutes, 1 Hour, 10 Hours Numb:  Imbibing some of Ramis' medicine deadened your pain but left you feeling a little numb.  Your movement related actions are hindered.

Dani McKenna a Resilient Quickened who...   TIER 1 EFFORT 1 XP 2   MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT POOL 14 EDGE (0) POOL 12 EDGE (1) POOL 16 EDGE (1) Recovery Rolls (1d6+1):  1 Action, 1 Action, 10 Minutes, 1 Hour, 10 Hours   SKILLS Specialized None Trained Might defense Intellect defense Persuading Deceiving Healing Sneaking Fleet of Foot (special ability) Inability All knowledge tasks and figuring out puzzles and problems Moving, bending, and breaking things   SPECIAL ABILITIES (Type) Quickened Action Hero:  When acting in initiative order you always act at least every other turn. Prowess: Distribute a total of 4 extra points into Stat Pool(s) of your choice; You are trained in 3 non-combat skills. Translation: You can participate in he process of traveling to another recursion. When initiating a translation, choose to Initiate as a Paradox, Hasten as a Spinner, or Ease as a Vector. Action to initiate. Versatile:  You know 2 additional special abilities selected from among all three character Types and may select from among these Types with future picks. Speaker Practiced w/ Light and Medium Weapons: You are skilled light and medium weapons, though if you use a heavy weapon the attack is hindered by one step. Enabler. Fast Talk (1 Intellect): When speaking with an intelligent creature who can understand you and isn’t hostile, you convince that creature to take one reasonable action on the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action. Spin Identity (2+ Intellect):  You convince all intelligent creatures who can see, hear, and understand you that you are someone or something other than who you actually are. You don’t impersonate a specific individual known to the victim. Instead, you convince the victim that you are someone they do not know belonging to a certain category of people. “We’re from the government.” “I’m just a simple farmer from the next town over.” “Your commander sent me.” A disguise isn’t necessary, but a good disguise will almost certainly be an asset to the roll involved. If you attempt to convince more than one creature, the Intellect cost increases by 1 point per additional victim. Fooled creatures remain so for up to an hour, unless your actions or other circumstances reveal your true identity earlier. Action. Erase Memories (3 Intellect):  Your words twist the mind of a target within immediate range who is able to understand you, erasing up to the last five minutes of its memory. The target forgets what it experienced during that time. Action. Vector Fleet of Foot (Trained):  If you succeed at a difficulty 2 Speed roll to run, you can move a short distance and take an action in the same round. Enabler.   ... Solves Mysteries on Earth   SPECIAL ABILITIES (Focus) Solves Mysteries Investigator: You can spend points from your Might Pool, Speed Pool, or Intellect Pool to apply levels of Effort to any Intellect based task. Enabler. Sleuth: You are trained in perception.   EQUIPMENT Offensive Unarmed Attack: Light melee (2 Damage) 1-step attack advantage Collapsible Baton: Medium melee (4 Damage) .22 Semi-Auto Pistol: Light ranged (2 Damage) Short range Defensive ARMOR:  1 Leather Jacket: Light (1 Armor) +1 Speed Effort penalty Artifacts Cypher Box (Level 5):  This small, lead-lined box is quite heavy but allows you to carry one additional cypher above your limit. Miscellaneous MONEY:  $300 Laptop computer Flashlight Utility knife Cell phone Ardeyn: Land of the Curse, player's guide Keyring from Tom Mallard's house Painting of a fractal landscape by the Master A recursion key to the Lamsblood taproom's pantry in Shalmarn, Ardeyn Tom Mallard's filesRAMIS OF ARDEYN: One filing-cabinet file is a dossier on “Ramis of Ardeyn,” complete with a hand-inked likeness on parchment of a woman in heavy leather robes, notes on Ramis’s ownership of something called the Lambsblood Tap in a city called Shalmarn, and a timeline of Ramis’s occasional travel between Shalmarn and a known Estate safehouse in Hazurrium. The travel implicates Ramis as an undercover Estate operative. GOSPELS OF LOTAN: Another folder is labeled “Gospels of Lotan.” According to parchment scraps in this folder, the gospels are “real” artifacts in Ardeyn, though mostly lost. According to the file, the quantum code responsible for Ardeyn’s anomalous creation might actually be imprinted in any one of the gospels, of which seventeen are believed to exist. One of those gospels almost certainly lies in the qephilim ruins beneath Shalmarn. A message written on a sticky note adds, “Soon, the Master will have what he seeks.” MASTER'S LAIR: A final folder is labeled “Master’s Lair.” This file is fragmentary, but it suggests that Tom Mallard frequently visits someone called the Master in a secret lair in Ardeyn. One loose piece of parchment contains a painted likeness of the Master sitting on some kind of throne. ... Names on Ardeyn     SPECIAL ABILITIES (Focus) Names Name (1 Intellect):  You attempt to discern the common, given name of a person, creature, or object within short range. This ability doesn’t give you power over the target, but it does allow you to address the target by name or potentially learn the real identity of someone in disguise or the common name of an odd object. Knowing the name of a person who hasn’t revealed it to you could provide an asset to your attempts to persuade, fool, intimidate, or ingratiate yourself with the target, depending on the situation. Action. Onomatology: You are trained in the origin, history, and use of names.  Enabler.   EQUIPMENT Offensive Unarmed Attack: Light melee (2 Damage) 1-step attack advantage Whip: Light melee (2 Damage) 1-step attack advantage Dagger: Light melee (2 Damage) 1-step attack advantage Defensive ARMOR:  0 None: Light (0 Armor) +0 Speed Effort penalty Artifacts Artifact (Level):  Description Miscellaneous MONEY:  17 Crowns Scholar's clothes Quill and ink Lorekeeper's Guide to ArdeynA reference book. Study for an hour to get asset on knowledge checks about Ardeyn Lore Notebook   CYPHERS Cypher Limit:  3 Analeptic (Level 1d6+2) Substance restores a number of points equal to the cypher’s level to the user’s Speed Pool. Curative (Level 1d6+2): Substance restores a number of points equal to the cypher’s level to the user’s Might Pool. Meditation Aid (Level 1d6+2): Substance restores a number of points equal to the cypher’s level to the user’s Intellect Pool. [Cypher Box] Matter Transference Ray (Level 1d6+3):  This Cypher was found in Tom Mallard's house.  The user can target one nonliving object within long range that is no larger than the user and whose level is less than or equal to the cypher’s level. The object is transferred directly into a random recursion. If the GM feels it appropriate to the circumstances, only a portion of an object is transferred (a portion whose volume is no more than the user’s).   CHARACTER ARCS Solve a Mystery:  My neighbor Tom Mallard has mysteriously vanished--what happened to him? ✔️Opening: Pledging to Solve the Mystery ✔️Step:  Research.  You get some background. Step(s):  Investigation.  You ask questions.  You look for clues.  You cast divinations.  This likely encompasses many such steps. Climax:  Discovery.  You come upon what you believe to be the solution to the mystery. Resolution:  In this step, which is fare more active than most resolutions, you confront the people involved in the mystery with what you've discovered, or you use the information in some way (such as taking it to the proper authorities). Learn:  How do I overcome my moving, bending, and breaking things inability? ✔️Opening:  Focusing on the Problem. Step:  Finding a Teacher or a Way to Teach Yourself.  Now you can truly begin. Step(s):  Learn.  Depending on what you've learning, this could involve one step or quite a few. Climax:  The Test.  You put your new knowledge to the test in a real situation. Resolution:  You relax a bit and decide what to do next.   ADVANCEMENT Increase Capabilities: +4 points into stat Pools Move Toward Perfection:  +1 to the Edge of your choice Extra Effort:  +1 into Effort ✔️Skill Training/Other:  Train in a skill or specialize in a trained skill