Scene I.
Duesday 1st Frost. A
room at the Guild. Daytime.
Enter The Party (except
Pent)
and Il Capitano.
The Party have assembled in a room at the Guild to take
up the offer of employment of Il Capitano (currently known as Captain
Brown). He tells how he hails from Proscenia, a distant shore (and
other plane), where once he was captain of the palace guard, and chief
of the Mime Division of Artistic Enforcement. Though now retired,
and a private citizen, Il Capitano, acting as a consultant to the
palace, is concerned that Mimes will once again cause havoc at
Proscenia's annual Carnival. He has come to Alusia, and sought
brave (expendable and deniable) heroes to assist. "Brown" is
dressed after the fashion of a Destinian but in brown and tan, with
some patches of colour. He appears to have no College, but
does have a magical power of "mimicry".
Proscenia it seems, a peaceful and stable kingdom, is blighted by
mimes, practitioners of mummery, an unlawful form of magic,
and unlike to the normal (and legal) known colleges. He tells
how during his term as Captain the top five Mime Lords were all
captured and thrown into Dom Daniel -- a form of planar oubliette -- a
box from which none can escape and inside of which none can be read
using the arts of the Astrologer.
He also tells how last Carnival, some 11 months ago, there was much
unpleasantness with mimes, and how the old and senile king Arturo
abdicated his throne, and retired from public life, in favour of his
half-brother Antelone. Later, both the old king's chancellor
(also his jester), one Arlecchino by name, and also a court musician,
Brighella, much known for his singing, were found to be mimes and cast
into Dom Daniel. Fortunately for Il Capitano, he had resigned
his commission as much as an hour before the change of government, and
was happily pensioned off.
Recently he says, there have been mime incursions, and he fears that
either a new Mime Lord has arisen or some have escaped
from Dom Daniel. This latter fear is supported by recent
successful astrology readings that should have failed as they were made
about
those in Dom Daniel. Il Capitano wishes the party to verify whether
mimes have escaped from Dom Daniel, and reveals his most cunning plan.
The Cunning Plan: Il
Capitano plans to have the party remove their equipment and be
transported to Proscenia, where, arrested on trumped up charges of
mummery, they will be taken to Dom Daniel for permanent incarceration.
But there, instead of being
stripped and bound and thrown into the oubliette, Il Capitano will
have their equipment waiting and fully outfitted they will voluntarily
leap into Dom Daniel and then try to count the Mime Lords therein and
then escape. The party demur.
Il Capitano also warns the party that while they should
be successful in preventing most disruption of the Carnival they should
not be too successful, for such a degree of success would most probably
result in them being tried for High Treason, and either slain, or if
deemed too dangerous, stripped and bound and thrown into Dom Daniel.
By way of payment Il Capitano offers up to 50 lbs of gold,
depending upon degree of success, and leaves same deposited with the
Guild.
The party discuss options, dismiss the cunning plan, agree to travel
back to Proscenia with Il Capitano, and leave about their various
affairs.
[Exeunt]
Scene II.
Duesday 1st Frost. The
same room at the Guild late that evening.
Enter All the Party and
Il Capitano.
The party re-convenes. Braegon is now covered by an illusion of a large
and hulking man, but no longer appears to be made of stone.
Serendipity now appears to have feet. Pent joins
the
rest of the party and Il Capitano reports that mimes have followed
him to Alusia. He believes that at least three mimes have
followed
him and there are reports from the Seagate guards that they have been
busily arresting street performers this night and escorting them out
of town. They report having arrested some 30 mimes and taken
some
to jail; one is still there, but from what we know of Proscenian mimes
we believe the poor chap languishing in durance vile is probably an
innocent Alusian. The party cast various and sundry defensive
magics and then depart for Il Capitano's planar pick-up point.
[Exeunt]
Scene III
Duesday 1st Frost. New
Seagate Town Square, a little after midnight. Enter The
Party and Il
Capitano on wings
.
Arriving in the town square the party checks for suspicious characters,
examines trees and statues, and notices a chestnut seller. At
half past the hour of twelve, Il Capitano begins an oration designed to
attract his planar pick-up. It is a particularly
flowery piece of martial poetry apparently exhorting soldiers to die
for some fellow named Crispin. In response to his oratory,
far
off in the night a shaft of bright light appears, not unlike a Solar
Flare in appearance, and begins sweeping towards New Seagate.
Also
at this point mimes appears in and around the square, and throwing off
their disguises of fruit trees, municipal statuary and a chestnut
stall, they converge on the party's position apparently intent on
sharing our
planar portal back to Proscenia. The party attempts to
prevent this;
Braegon erects rings of stone and iron, Pent ices the top.
Some mimes
leap the walls while others find their way through them, the iron does
not
effect them, though they are temporarily discommoded by a wall of
thorns.
Various of the party attempt bodily harm on the mimes within the walls
with
mixed success. As this frantic action is taking place the
shaft of
light approaches at speed and suddenly transfixes the scene with a
dazzling
glare. All goes bright and then dark.
[Exeunt Omnes]
Scene IV
Immediately thereafter.
An open place of no known location.
Enter Each of the players
separately.
Each of the party find themselves utterly alone, in a place of
emptiness with no sight or sound or tactile sense, though they
can still feel the existence and position of their bodies. Slowly
sight returns and other members of the group, initially far off, draw
closer with no feeling of movement. All of the party, Il
Capitano
and seven mimes are present. The elementalists find that they
cannot draw mana, though Roke and Mortimer can. Some of the mimes
attempt to sneak away. Despite the lack of elemental magic
the party throws various effects at the mimes; Roke webs some who begin
sawing out with mimed hacksaws, Dawn conjures a bear that
proceeds to dance with one
of the mimes, mimes caught in areas of light freeze, Pent unlimbers a
pie
throwing gonne (which proves most successful), Braegon experiments with
calling "Hey You!" at them and the like.
Three mimes manage to sneak away, the four caught in light we nickname
from their clothes (and former disguises): Zorro, Patch, Woody and
Peach. Roke uses telekinesis to take Zorro's mask -- there
appears to be no head behind it and Zorro hides his face in his hands.
Peach is dancing with the bear, and as she extricates herself Mortimer
curses her with two left feet. Serendipity hits Patch with a flour bomb
that strikes him upon the heart shaped patch on his chest and he "dies"
dramatically. Braegon rallies the remaining mimes with a
call to mess and they line up, allowing Pent to throw more pies.
The party takes a few more pot-shots and the remaining mimes
run off.
Patch is examined and found to be seriously injured. He is
stabilized by cleaning the cloth heart patch, but remains unconscious.
The patches on his outfit are affected by a strong magic of "organ
transferral" and appear to absorb shocks and provide triple jointing.
Divination reveals that he has been affected by various mummery magics
including organ transfer, wall walking, stealth and communication.
We roll Patch up in a large rug that Roke happens to be
carrying.
In the distance a light appears, it draws closer and we
find ourselves out of the inter-planar space.
[Exeunt]