Twilight's Children

Sunday, April 2nd, BC (Barovian Calendar) 730
Karina, Invidia
On a rainy night Kerri is attacked by Erik, who says she is a liability.

She trips him with her whip, and escapes. Running through the rain, she sees a kindly old man at an open door, who ushers her inside. He introduces himself only as "The Engineer."

Monday, April 3rd, BC 730
Karina, Invidia

Around 4pm, Ludovic, Leif, and Duffy leave the Temple of Milil with Raul & Nikko and head north toward the clocktower. As they walk, the festival thins, and they stop to ask for directions to an inn. A reveler directs them to the Wine Garden, a plaza with six fine inns. In the Wine Garden, the rude hunter they saw on the river enters on horseback and proceeds to the Laughing Maiden. They rent rooms 2 & 6 at the Clock's Tick. Leaving Raul & Nikko behind, the boys walk to the clock tower through the Commons, passing dancers, jugglers, and a general loud ruckus.

The golden granite Clocktower sits on an unnaturally round hill. They ring the bell, a strange periscope-like contraption looks them over, and a voice asks what they want.

Duffy says he seeks the Engineer in the name of Gustav Malvoni.

An old, old man with thick spectacles lets them in. The Engineer introduces himself (but not the young lady at his table) and makes some delicious tea.

The girl doesn't say much at first and watches them carefully. The Engineer asks what they want with Malvoni and if Duffy's relationship with him was a good one. After receiving his answers, he reveals that the tea contains catstongue root from the Forlorn Highlands, which will make them speak only truth for 10 minutes.

He apologizes for the ruse, but did it to protect Gustav and himself. To protect their privacy, he leaves with Kerri for the remainder of the 10 minutes. In the next room, he tells her that the tea proves they are trustworthy, and perhaps she we be safer traveling with them than alone.

Drinking more of the tea himself upon his return, The Engineer reveals that Malvoni visited for two weeks, many years ago. He claimed to know the Engineer by reputation and that he was being chased by someone named Talos. He was raving mad, talking about "the sort of thing that the mists listen for." But after Talos didn't show up, they worked together, trading techniques and he left something wondrous. He takes them to a lift, which carries them up near the roof of the tower. On the way up, Ludovic nearly loses his head from a passing scaffold.

At the top floor, Ludovic and Leif(?) notice the boy in black from the docks is sitting in a window frame.

Leif tries to talk to him. The boy says "ready for some fun?" and then jumps, as six large bats fly from the rafters and attack.

Kerri and the Engineer run after the boy, and see him disappear in a puff of foul black smoke as he hits the ground.

As the group fights off the bats, the boy reappears on the scaffold and tries to touch Duff, who shoots him, and feels a chill on his spine again.

Leif leans down and smacks the boy in the head with his staff, feeling a similar spine-tingling chill.

But the boy grabs the staff and disappears with Leif, reappearing in thin air between the scaffolding and the wall of the tower. They fall.

While the battle rages, Leif manages to swing the boy against the wall and push off to land on the scaffolding, instead of the ground below, saving himself from certain doom. They boy proclaims that they are no fun, and disappears. Ludovic and Duffy pick off the remaining bats while Kerri sees to the Engineer and Leif slowly makes his way back up the stairs.

The Engineer shows them the "gem drive" Gustav made, to power the moon phase and constellation guide of the clock.

The Engineer doesn't know how it works. He just changes the gem once a month or so. When Lud detects magic, he sees a darkness, the opposite of a glow.

The Engineer concurs; he noticed that Ludovic was a fellow "artisan" during the battle. A magnifying glass from a nearby table flies into his hand, showing that he knows some magic as well. He says the gem drive isn't magic; he offered to teach Gustav, but he refused anything to do with magic, and it caused a rift between them. When he finally left, he said he'd go back to his workshop in Darkon.

At 7:42 by Duffy's estimate, someone notices what appears to be a keyhole in the top of the gem drive.

The Engineer says that that section is especially mysterious since it doesn't seem to connect in any way to the rest of the drive. Duffy tries to pick the lock, but can only feel the shape of the hole. Leif suggests that his description sounds like a clock hand.

Duffy removes the minute hand from Gustav's clock, and opens the lid, revealing 4 colored dials and 2 doors. Lud notices a red 4 in circle on the back, and they try to get a 4 to be revealed in the red door. Duff figures out that the numbers in the doors are the number of correct colors and the number of colors in the right position. Kerri deduces the right answer, but Duffy tries a few more before listening to her. Then the lid opens fully.

Inside is a set of three lettered gears. They remove them, and use them to decode page 43 of Gustav's journal:

"Finally I accept my suspicions as fact. A heart is more than a machine. Man's true soul is beyond the reach of science and I dare not turn to magic. Worse, Talos has taken my last gem. I fear what he will do to get more. I know what must be done. I saw a man in Lamordia with a weapon of gears and flame. I think I can make one myself."

At 9:27, The Engineer gives a strange set of goggles to Duff and Lud asks if he has any spell ink or spells to teach.

He politely refuses to teach, saying he stopped taking students of that nature a long time ago. But the spellbook ink could be ready in a few days.

The boys leave at 10:23, but Kerri goes after them and asks to join them. They don't put up much of a fight.

The newly expanded party heads back to the Clock's Tick to meet Raul and use the Chalice. Duffy tries to meet Captain Timothy and go to the dogfights, but meets up with the boy in black, who says that they are "ruining his fun." He also says, "Mother is calling" before disappearing. A huge flock of ravens suddenly arrives and pursues Duffy down an alleyway. He valiantly picks off a few of them with his pistols, but they crash into him, killing themselves against his body and the wall behind him.

Ludovic follows a few minutes later and finds him bloodied and surrounded by dead birds. They return to the inn to rest. Leif and Lud spend some time in the common room, where they overhear two men arguing politics. One says that the best thing that happened to Invidia was the death of Bakholis. The other says they need a strong leader to stand up to Von Zarovich in the east and the dark knight in the south.

Leif takes a much-needed bath. (Surely the addition of a young lady to the party is entirely coincidental.) That night, Ludovic dreams of his mother's death once again. For the first time he can clearly see the face of her client.

Tuesday, April 4th, BC 730
Karina, Invidia

Leif wakes up with a sore shoulder, but shrugs it off.

They spend the day mostly resting. Duff works on some small trinkets to sell, and Lud studies his spells. Around midday, Kerri and Duff go shopping, and see wedding decorations going up in the Wine Garden. When they return later, they are being removed, since the bride and groom had a fight.

Duff tries to sell one of his wind-up toys to a drunk man, but the man has no money(??). Lud takes a trip to the Engineer, but his ink isn't ready yet.

Around 8:30pm, the group hears a commotion outside, and the wedding is apparently back on. Duff and Kerri (and Lud?) go outside to watch. Leif watches from the window. A young lady named Giselle puts the moves on Duffy.

The marriage is performed by a priest of Milil, but the ceremony is interrupted by the brother of the bride challenging the groom to a duel, over his sister's honor. They fight with rapiers, and both collapse, gasping. Lud (?) detects poison on both swords. Kerri and Leif rush to try to save them. They manage to save the brother, but the groom is dead. The families argue as the town watch arrives. The watch is led by Captain Johan, and the boys give him the details.

He says that duels are commonplace, but poison is dishonorable. They can find him at the Citadel if they remember more.

Meanwhile, Duff goes off with Giselle for a drink.

She doesn't have much money, so he buys. She hides in fear as Radu Gerdanok of the town guard passes by.

She says he was Baron Bakholis's cruel slavemaster when she was sold to the baron as a child by the Vistani. She invites Duffy to spend the night at her room at the Silver Star and he goes off to inform the others. They convince him to bring her back to their inn instead. He goes to find her, but sees her go into an alley, and hears a scream. He follows, but only finds a bloody handkerchief. The others catch up to him, and Leif finds muddy bootprints going to the Citadel. On the way, Duff becomes confused, and unsure why he was following her in the first place.

At the Citadel, they see Radu, just coming off patrol. He seems nice enough. Ludovic(?) lets slip that they were going to the dogfights. Johan presses them for information. He says the dogfights are illegal and they try to stamp them out every year.

Duff deflects the attention by blaming Captain Timothy and the hunter and agreeing to stay away from the fights. Johan identifies the hunter as Matton Blanchard, a well respected noble.

They run to the dogfight at 11:40, and reach the Black Swan Inn just before midnight, but Nathan Timothy has already left. They try to find the fights on their own, but the Falkovnian guards at gates of the Falkovnian quarter won't let them in past curfew. (8pm)

Wednesday, April 5th, BC 730
Karina, Invidia
In the morning, the innkeeper tells them the boys have a message from a man staying at Laughing Maiden about a business offer. On the way to the Engineer, (why??) they pass through the commons, and see a crowd gathered to watch a dancing bear. The boy in black is in the crowd. He waves to Leif with his 6- fingered right hand. Then looks at the bear and disappears. The bear flies into a rage and bites the trainer's head, bursting it like a melon. The crowd flees in terror.

Leif tries to calm the beast, but between the boy's mysterious influence and Duffy's bullets, the bear is unresponsive.

The bear breaks his chain but Leif secures it to the stage. Lud calls forth the touch of the grave (and chilled spine) and the bear is weakened.

Kerri is knocked unconscious by the bear's claws, and Leif drags her to safety under the stage. Duffy finally slays the bear with his new Rongeise rapier, Ezra's mercy.

The city guard arrives and takes them to Citadel for questioning, despite very reasonable protests. After some brief questioning, the guard says that the witnesses' story doesn't match up with the party's.

He arrests them, escorting them to cell 11 and 12 of the Citadel's dungeon. He says their trial will be tomorrow. Leif asks for a note to be sent to the Engineer. It begins, "Dear The Engineer, ..."

In the dungeon, Ludovic sees guards that no one else does, in old uniforms.

They don't respond to his voice or touch. A creepy man in the next cell, named Balton Suzerik, is sentenced to death for murdering several women. His sentence is signified with a black scarf tied to an iron ring. Through the day, Duff tells him about Ezra and gets him to repent.

Later, Captain Johan appears, and says that something strange is going on. The file says they killed the trainer and that's all, no mention of the bear's attack. He promises to do what he can to help.

At 11pm, Ludovic hears the ghost guards say, "The rebels are coming!" and run into the wall. Everyone hears wails of pain and crackling flame from beyond the wall. A few cells down, an inmate sobs, "not again!" Flaming ghosts fly out of the wall and attack and age Kerri and Leif, and continue down the cellblock.

One ghost passes through Ludovic, and then returns into him. The ghost speaks through Ludovic, saying he will not rest until the country is brought out of the anarchy that arose when the Witch of Loupet killed Baron Bakholis. He wants to leave the Citadel with Lud to find a strong leader for Invidia. Lud blasts himself in head with a spell to disrupt the energy of the undead. The ghost seems to leave.

The other inmates report that this happens relatively often. One inmate says he sees them every night.

Thursday, April 6th, BC 730
Karina, Invidia
That morning, a guard comes in with a glazed look in his eyes. Only Kerri is awake. He puts black scarves on their cells, ominously saying, "He told me to play with you," as he walks away.

She wakes the boys and they plan their escape, picking the lock of cell 12 with bits of wood and Leif's necklace.

Cell 12 gets a visitor, who is searched for weapons by the guard. They are surprised to see it's Vir, the Burly Man!

He seems upset at them for not telling him about the Heart Chamber. He says when he left Mordentshire, he nearly did something nasty to a happy family of rabbits in his rage, and when they escaped he found himself turned around to face the city, which made him wonder what exactly brought the boys to Mordentshire, so he returned to investigate, and found out they were holding out on him.

He makes an offer to build trust between them: he will answer questions truthfully for them for each that they answer truthfully for him. Quid pro quo, as they say in Darkon.

(*** Unfortunately this whole section of questioning is a bit hazy in my mind, and I may not have some of the questions and answers exactly right. Doubly unfortunate since some of them are kind of important. So, players, please let me know what I have wrong. ***)

Leif asks first: "Can you and will you help us escape?" He says he can, and that he might, depending on how they answer his questions.

His first is "Why didn't you tell me about this Heart Chamber, when you knew I was looking for a mechanical heart for Eva?" They reply that it wouldn't have worked for her; it was built for a machine.

They ask, "How did you get through the wall of nausea between Borca and Mordent?" Vir says he doesn't know what they mean; he simply walked from Borca to Mordent.

He asks, "What are these clues that brought you to Mordent?" And Duffy replies that there were some notes they found in Gustav's house.(???)

They ask, "How do you run so fast?" Vir says he doesn't know, it's an ability he's always had.

He asks "What brought you to Karina?" (???) And throws a hidden dagger through the bars, where it sticks in the wooden bench next to Duffy. They answer: ??? (Man, I wish I remembered, help!)

They ask, "Do you know about Gustav's workshop in Darkon?" He answers, "Yes, I grew up there. It's near Mayvin."

He asks, "How does it work? " as he pulls the heart chamber out from under his cloak!

They tell him again that it wouldn't work for Eva; it was part of a machine that ran amok and killed its creator. He shouts, "I don't believe you!" and smashes he fist against one of the iron cell bars.

He snarls, "I will enjoy watching you hang, deceivers!" as he stalks away.

Soon after, they hear the arrival of another visitor, here to make an identification for cell 11. Cynthia enters, looking distraught.

Kerri tries to sway her, but she ignores her. "Yes, that's the girl that was singing when my purse was stolen," she says, "she must have enspelled us with her witchery." The boys see her surreptitiously pass a pouch of coins to the guard behind her back. "Not to worry," replies the guard, "she's already marked for death. Justice will be served." Ludovic calls to her, saying, "you were there when my mother died, did you find Van Richten?" (?) She remembers him, "The Vistani seer, the little boy, the Mist! It was your fault!" she cries and runs off in tears.

After she leaves, Kerri explains that she was suckered into performing at an inn while Cynthia, Erik and Scar stole from the audience.

When the coast is clear, they execute the escape plan. They make makeshift clubs from the wooden benches, Leif takes the bar that Vir knocked loose to use as a staff, and Duffy opens the lock on their cell. Kerri calls the guard over, and Duffy kills him with Vir's dagger. They free Kerri and several of the convicted criminals, including Balton Suzerik.

Only the one who saw the ghosts refuses. He locks his own cell and awaits his execution. They kill one more guard and knock out several others. Upstairs, captain Johan is holding back several guards with the glazed look, and tells them to run for it. Duffy and Kerri help save the Captain from one angry escapee, while Leif and Lud go after their belongings. After fighting off two more guards, Leif smashes the chest with their belongings, and everyone escapes, telling Johan to meet them at 8 at Goldfinger. On their way out they see several guards snapping out of their daze and joining Johan. They also see Balton Suzerik's body.

They head to the clock tower and tell the Engineer everything. They spend most of the day resting there. Duffy notices that Gustav's journal is missing, and also finds the strange hilt wrapping from Alanna Shadowborn's sword, which he had forgotten.

An examination by Duffy and Lud shows that when wrapped around a weapon handle, tendrils of magic reach into the weapon. They try it on Ezra's Mercy, and it flows up the blade. They try it on Lud's staff and the magic flows to both ends. They try it on Duff's gun, but the magic seems blocked, and the wrapping loosens.

They settle on leaving it on Ezra's Mercy.

Leif uses The Engineer's telescope to check on Raul, Nikko, and Matton. He also scans the town, noticing a worried Matton Blanchard gathering information, some town guardsmen recapturing the escaped criminals, and a pickpocket stealing from a man in an ornate jeweled and feathered mask.

Lud finally gets his ink from The Engineer, who also gives Kerri and Duffy 4 vials of Quintessence (pure distilled positive energy), 2 of which they use immediately to heal themselves.

The Engineer tells them of Baron Bakholis, who once ruled Invidia with an iron fist. He also tells of Manfred Taige, Bakholis's steward who ruled Karina from the Citadel, and who was burned alive in the Citadel's North Wing by revolutionaries after the Baron died. An unsettling conversation between Ludovic and the ghost in his head confirms that the ghost is in fact Taige, who whispers things in Ludovic's mind occasionally from now on.

Ludovic also asks the Engineer what he knows about Dr. Rudolph Van Richten. The Engineer knows him personally and he is a renowned monster hunter, a doctor by trade, who used to live in Darkon.

At 8, Captain Johan arrives, and the group asks the Engineer to fix him some tea. Under the influence of the tea, he tells them they are cleared of all charges, and an internal investigation is proceeding to find the cause of the guards' behavior. Most suspect the Witch of Loupet, who the locals believe still lives in Bakholis's Castle Loupet, deep in the Vulpwood, and is blamed for any mysterious happenings. The investigation also uncovered a bribery ring among the guards. Mayor Beauchamps has extended the Festival by 3 days to allow them to recapture the criminals whose executions were to end the festivities. Ludovic asks Johan to investigate the ghosts in the dungeon, for the sake of the prisoners' sanity.

They return with Johan to read the Citadel's visitor log. Radu shows it to them, and it shows only two: Vir Stannum of Darkon for cell 12 and Cynthia DeGrieves (wanderer) for cell 11, escorted by Ventress Targo.

They learn from Johan that Targo was one of those implicated in the bribery ring, took a turn guarding the chest, and was killed in the jailbreak. Ludovic asks to check the cells for "a lost pendant," but the ghosts are gone.(?)

Back in the Wine Garden, the party goes to The Silver Star to look for Giselle. Duffy rents a room so he can sneak upstairs and pick the lock of Giselle's room. Inside they find a fine silk gown, an empty infant's basinet, and empty vials with a residue Kerri identifies as poison.

At 8:45 they meet Matton Blanchard at the Laughing Maiden. He is looking for his lady love, Gabrielle, who has gone missing. He believes she is being held prisoner at a Manor house north of town, but doesn't know which one. He heard that she had been seen with a new suitor, and he believes this man is holding her. He offers them 400gp to escort him to the dogfights as bodyguards, where he will meet an informant who has more information. Kerri turns on the charm and talks him up to 800gp.

They agree to return at 11.

Outside, they see Nikko and Raul wandering off in a daze. Alarmed, they follow, but Raul says, "Everything will be alright now, they are here."

He leads them to a booth in the commons, where they see a colorfully dressed Vistani man with a green parrot, with red wingtips. The man has a large black closet-shaped box, which he calls the House of the Mists. He says it's a perfectly safe illusion that will show them the ghosts of the past.

Ludovic agrees, and steps inside. He fights the Mist that killed his mother and destroys it with a blast of positive energy. Duffy tries next, and faces a Falkovnian soldier. Curious to see what happens, he lets the soldier cut him in two. He exits the box unharmed. Kerri goes in and sees nothing until she is stabbed in the back by Erik. She also leaves unharmed. Leif wants nothing to do with it, until the vistana asks, "Don't you want to know what's wrong with your arm?" Even then he is reluctant, but eventually goes in, where he faces the Mordentshire Miser. The snappily dressed skeleton first caresses Leif's right shoulder with bony fingers, and then slams a fist into his shoulder, knocking him down. Leif also leaves unharmed. The man tells them, "The help you need can be found in the Vulpwood, but only if you possess courage." Then he steps in the box, and disappears. Curiously no time seems to have passed on the clocktower during this encounter.

Raul seems very anxious to go the Vulpwood, and Leif(?) agrees to go soon if they can. They leave Raul and Nikko at the Clock's Tick and meet up with Matton who brings them to the Falkovnian quarter. He avoids the guarded gate and enters through a secret passage. They sneak through the empty streets, and as the clock tolls 12, they see a man in the fog, in a wide brimmed hat, with a dark scarf and cloak and a wickedly serrated dagger. Matton warns them of the legend of the Midnight Slasher, who kills exactly at midnight during the 3 nights of the crescent moon. As they pass the where they saw the Slasher, Kerri notices a note. The note holds a severed finger, with a Falkovnian signet ring.

It reads, "The darkness is mine, the anger is mine, the vengeance is mine."

They arrive at 123 Bog St. and Matton reveals that his contact is Scar Tabor. Kerri nearly flees, but whips up a makeshift disguise. Matton gives the password: Arkandale lives. And two Falkovnian guards let them in and take their visible weapons. Leif claims he needs the staff for a hurt ankle. The guard humors him.

Inside the warehouse, they find a rowdy crowd gathered for the dogfights, including Nathan Timothy, Scar Tabor, a high-ranking Falkovnian officer, and Cynthia DeGrieves.

Several people tell Matton he's not welcome. Nathan is glad they could make it. Duffy places a bet on a long shot, #7. Lud goes to talk with Cynthia, who seems distracted and watchful.

Kerri sits a safe distance from Scar and Cynthia with some ruffians.

Cynthia tells Ludovic that Van Richten murdered someone she cared for. After the séance she searched Mordent for him, but couldn't find him.

She first saw the Mist at the séance, and since that day, the Mist has followed her, killing those she cares for.

Scar tells Matton that Gabrielle is at Cliff house, the old Haptmeyer Estate, probably held by "the boy." Then two of the crowd reveal themselves to be werewolves and attack Matton. Leif trips one to the ground and Matton pounces on him and pins him. During the scuffle the crowd gathers and Nathan bets Duffy 100gp, 3:1 against them. Lud tosses out silver daggers and they slay the two beasts. After the fight, the crowd returns to the dog pit, and Nathan offers to go double or nothing on the next bout, at 6: 1 odds. Meanwhile Scar has ducked behind a curtain and the group follows. They find a pile of dog corpses and two Falkovnian guards who they kill, taking their short swords.

Duffy opens the door the guards wouldn't let him open and sees Scar and Erik trying to open an iron lockbox. Scar says to stay out of it, and they run out with the box through the bar.

One of the barmaids leaps on the bar with a crossbow and wolfs out, firing at the thief. Several other patrons shift into half-wolf form and attack Scar and Erik. Matton suggests the group leaves and they start to do so. The hideous wolf-beasts maul Erik to death, and Cynthia wails in anguish. Scar notices Kerri, but is preoccupied with fleeing.(?)

Nathan grabs Duffy, and asks why he's leaving so soon. He shows him that #7 is a sobbing woman with a dagger facing down a snarling dog. Duffy runs, feeling a shiver of ice water down his back.

It lingers a bit, and disappears. Lud stays behind to save Cynthia, while the others and Matton leave.

Once they claim their weapons upstairs, Duffy dodges the guards and runs back to get Lud. Kerri leaves with Matton and Leif goes after Duffy. Scar escapes. Cynthia tells Lud to just leave and shoves him against a table with surprising strength.

He asks where to find her. She says the Pale Rose Inn in the Maze. Lud sees the Midnight Slasher run from behind the curtain, dive into the pit and haul the woman out. The Slasher exits, pursued by werewolves, including Nathan Timothy. Lud flees, and catches up to Leif and Duff, and everyone leaves, led by Leif's direction sense back out of the Falkovnian quarter where they meet up with Kerri and Matton.

Matton thanks them for their help, and asks if they will accompany him again to Cliff House the next evening to find his Gabrielle. They are unsure, and he gives them time to decide. If they wish to join him, they can meet him at 8pm at the Laughing Maiden.

So Leif's disease seems to remain, although he refuses to tell anyone, and the ghost of Manfred Taige resides in Ludovic. And now, Ludovic, Duffy, Leif, and Kerri, must choose if they will assist Matton further, or investigate the Vulpwood to please Raul, or search for the creepy boy in black, or perhaps the mysterious Giselle, or find Cynthia again, or follow any number of other leads, or leave Karina entirely for Tepest, Darkon, Lamordia or elsewhere...

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