                             THREE FLOWERS

        A RuneQuest scenario for 2 - 8 players set in Glorantha

                    Copyright 1996 by Peter Maranci

    A word of explanation: "Three Flowers" was written for publication 
in the Interregnum amateur press association (called IR for short). 
There are three things that should be noted about the writeup: 

        1) It was written for an audience that included people not 
familiar with RuneQuest or Glorantha. Explanations and simplifications
have been included that Gloranthaphiles can simply skip over.

        2) It immediately followed a writeup of the RQ/Gloranthan 
campaign that it was created for. I therefore included notes indicating 
how things went in play. Since my scenario design approach might be 
called "Deist" in the Jeffersonian sense, I retained those notes in the 
ASCII version as useful guides to possible results.

        3) No stats were included in the writeup. Why? 

                A) I feel that the concepts of a scenario are more 
        important than the numbers,

                B) Every gamemaster will do a better job of designing 
        specific stats to suit his campaign, 

                C) it allows portability between different versions of 
        RQ (including RQ:AIG, and 

                D) I didn't generate that many stats ahead of time. 
        To tell you the truth, a lot of the numbers were generated on 
        the fly. :-) 

        It worked out very well nonetheless. 

    If you run this I'd particularly like to hear how it turns out. 
Have fun!

                                                                -->Pete
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Maranci             peter@maranci.net              Woonsocket, RI
Pete's RuneQuest Page! Adventures & more: http://www.maranci.net/rq.htm
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                             THREE FLOWERS

    First published in Interregnum #21, June 1996.

    I should begin by briefly explaining my approach to scenario 
design: I set up situations.  There are gamemasters who can 
devise wonderfully clever problems, puzzles for which the only 
proper answer becomes blindingly obvious just *after* it has been 
deduced.  I respect the hell out of those rare GMs, but I'm not 
one of them. My strengths as a GM are probably my NPCs and my 
ability to work with a situation off-the-cuff. I design scenarios 
to play to those qualities.  

    When creating a scenario, therefore, I work up a situation 
that has certain tensions and plot flows built in. Various NPCs 
will likely be in conflict in some way, and the players will find 
themselves in the middle of it all. I plan exactly what the NPCs 
want, what they know about each other, and what misunderstandings 
they have. I also try to figure out at least a few ways that the 
situation might develop, and how the PCs will become involved.  
Almost always the party finds a new angle of approach, and 
complications always develop that lead to situations that I 
haven't anticipated at all. In that sense, my design philosophy 
is an open-ended one, not necessarily suitable for everyone else.  
I'll include notes in italics to indicate how things went in 
actual play.  

    "Three Flowers" was designed for RuneQuest's Glorantha, but 
it should be possible to adapt it for other game systems. It took 
me about six three-hour sessions to finish, but your mileage may 
differ. :-) 

The Setting

    A grand Festival of Flowers is held once every five years at 
a point several days travel from the home village. The festival 
lasts seven days, and serves a number of functions. It is an 
extremely large market.  It gives people from distant villages a 
chance to meet and strengthen their cultural bonds. Most 
importantly, the Festival is a major religious ceremony for the 
cult of Voria and the Orlanthi pantheon in general.  Other 
activities include plays, dances, and songs.  

    Technically the cult of Voria (Spring) is the host of the 
festival.  However, as part of the ceremony the Vorians (mostly 
female children) remain hidden for much of the event. Priestesses 
and Initiates of the cult of Ernalda serve as proxies for the 
Vorian maidens.  

    The Festival is held at a huge field near a major crossroad.  
Since most of the dwellings there are temporary, tents cover the 
field; however, there are a few permanent buildings. A sturdy 
wood and stone inn called the Broken Flagon is within the 
Festival area nearest to the crossroad. A wooden barn that is 
used by the inn serves as a Temple to Uleria (the Goddess of 
Love), and does a brisk business. A large stage is erected at the 
center of the festival. Several large barbecue pits are spaced 
through the area, and vendors everywhere hawk goods and food of 
all kinds. For the seven days of the Festival, the area is more 
like a city of tents than a field.  

    Groups tend to set up tents in distinct areas: the Orlanthi, 
Yelmalians, Ernaldans, and other groups all have their own 
districts. A delegation of Chalana Arroy healers set up a fair-
sized clinic in a good location.  A small delegation of Humakti 
are present, their campsite notable for several dueling and 
practice rings.  

The Ceremony 

    The primary purpose of the Festival is to insure the return 
of Spring.  It is an ancient ceremony, a re-enactment of the loss 
of Spring in the earliest days of Time, when Winter reigned for 
three years. It was then that the people of the region gathered 
together to chose a Queen of Flowers, rediscover Spring, and 
drive out winter. Since that mythological event, every fifth 
winter has been unusually cold until the successful completion of 
the ceremony.  

    There are two main parts to the ceremony: the crowning of the 
Queen of Flowers and the Rediscovery of Spring.  

    Only the most beautiful women of the region may compete to 
win the crown. Since this is a religious event, entries are by 
cult; there is only one Orlanthi entrant, one Yelmalian entrant, 
etc. These are referred to as Flowers with a cult-appropriate 
prefix. The Orlanthi is known as the Windflower. The Yelmalian is 
the Sunflower. An Ulerian contestant would likely be called the 
Loveflower. If a worshiper of Malia were ever to compete 
(unlikely -- although no cult is specifically barred from 
entering the contest except Valind, the people would destroy an 
openly chaotic delegation) she would no doubt be called the 
Sickflower.  

[When I ran this scenario a couple of Irripi Ontor sages played 
an amusing little game of wits with a Lhankor Mhy PC by coming up 
with unusual cults and trying to create an appropriate prefix for 
each.  Trickflower or possibly Squirtflower (for obscure reasons) 
for the Trickster; Healflower for a Chalana Arroy worshiper; 
perhaps Splitflower or Headflower for a Thanatari; etc.] 

    Thirty judges are selected by the Ernalda priestesses to 
select the Queen of Flowers. Most of the judges are highly placed 
or reputable men of good standing in their community. Women are 
traditionally excluded from judging the contest.  

    There are four main categories for the contest: Song, Dance, 
Oration, and Beauty.  

    The Queen of Flowers receives many gifts from visitors to the 
festival.  Her cult and home village are especially blessed by 
Voria in the following year.  

[When I ran "3 Flowers" I had only three serious competitors in 
the contest: the Windflower (a thinly-disguised Orlanthi 
entrant), the Sunflower (Yalmalio), and the Moonflower (Lunar).  
Other Flowers could easily be added, depending on the makeup of 
the party.] 

    The second part of the ceremony is the Rediscovery of Spring.  
Spring, in this case, is represented by a small ancient flower, 
carved with superlative skill from pure gold and studded with 
gems of all kinds; before the festival it is placed in a wooden 
case and hidden somewhere in the fairgrounds by the Ernaldan 
priestesses. The only rule to its hiding is that it is not hidden 
within any private dwelling, nor in the sacred place of any 
temple.  

    All the men at the Festival are eligible to take part in the 
search.  He who finds the Spring Flower is crowned the King of 
Flowers. He receives a portion of the gifts that are presented to 
the Queen of Flowers. His cult and home village are also 
especially blessed by Voria in the following year. The King of 
Flowers is usually considered lucky for the rest of his life, and 
is likely to receive several advantageous offers of marriage.  

    When the Spring Flower is found, the Voria Initiates (all 
young children) come out from hiding, all carrying flowers which 
they give to one and all. The air, formerly chill, begins to 
warm.  

[This is a good example of a time when I wish that I could come 
up with a clever puzzle; were I better at that sort of thing, for 
example, a priestess might have recited an obscure poem that 
would reveal the hiding place when properly interpreted. Since I 
couldn't think of one, though, I simply went back to the original 
myth; since Winter reigned while Spring was lost, I decided that 
the boxed Spring Flower had been buried next to the spot where 
the Valindi (Ice) worshippers camped. Scott's character Roc 
followed that chain of logic (a path which Vuli started, but 
failed to pursue) and searching that area, he found the box. Roc 
made an odd King of Spring, but it seemed fair that he should 
have won that prize -- particularly since he'd nobly wasted a 
one-use Divine Heal Wound spell at the start of the game.] 

Opening Moves 

    I. Traveling Orders. The village elders have delegated the 
PCs to represent the village at the Festival of Flowers. Their 
duties there will be light: to uphold clan honor, serve as judges 
of the contest if asked, and to present a gift to the Queen at 
the final ceremony: a beautifully crafted bronze rose, studded 
with semi-precious gems.  They are given a large tent, 
(sufficient to house the entire party) to use at the Festival; 
although it is marked with wind runes it is not explicitly 
Orlanthi. The party is advised to look up Azeth Strongarm at the 
cooking pit, who will tell them where to pitch their tent.  

    II. On The Way. Travel encounters are traditional in RPG 
scenarios, of course. None of the encounters on the seven-day 
trip need be of great import, and as many or few may be used as 
you wish. Here are three possible encounters: 

    A) A white deer races through the party camp in the middle of 
the night. Following swiftly after it is an old Wild Hunter, a 
man who lives alone in the woods. He is friendly, and willing to 
talk for a short while, but must continue the hunt before long. I 
find it convenient to sometimes pattern NPC personalities on 
minor characters from film and TV; this makes it easy to give 
them a distinctive feel quickly, and players have never caught 
on.  In this case I patterned the Hunter after Oliver Reed's 
portrayal of the god Vulcan in The Adventures of Baron 
Munchausen.  

    B) As the party marches along, keen-eyed characters may spot 
something odd ahead: a large swath of brush on the side of the 
road is simply gone. As they get closer they may see an odd 
glimmering at one end of the bare area; it looks like a lump of 
water one meter across.  Close observation will show that this is 
a gorp, an acidic and chaotic blob-like creature. It possesses 
two chaotic features: it looks like a blob of clean water, and it 
can leap up to eight meters once per day (yes, even though it has 
no legs. That's chaos for you!).  

    C) A fellow traveler hails the party, and asks if they are 
going to the Festival. He claims to be a storyteller. In fact he 
is an accomplished storyteller, but of the con-man variety; he is 
a rogue and ne'er-do-well.  If he finds out about the gift for 
the Queen, he may try to steal it at night and sneak off -- but 
only if he's sure to get away with it.  He's a cautious, charming 
fellow, and if the party is polite but wary they will find him a 
pleasant companion.  

    III. Arrival. The PCs may well feel overwhelmed when they 
finally reach the Festival; it's the largest gathering of people 
they've ever seen. Once they make contact with Azeth they are 
guided to a place to set up their tent. Their campground is in a 
comparatively quiet corner of the Festival.  

    IV. In The Night. Late that evening after the group has gone 
to sleep a figure staggers pell-mell into the party's tent. It is 
a man, apparently an Orlanthi but lacking any clan markings; he 
is bleeding copiously from numerous stab wounds in the back, and 
is obviously dying. He has no weapons, and a small object is 
clenched tightly in his right hand. Gaspingly he tells the PCs 
that he is one of the Secret Wind; a Lunar agent is after him. He 
has a message that must be given to the Wind Lord tomorrow at the 
Broken Flagon. He knows that he's dying, and insists that someone 
must go for him. The courier doesn't know what the Wind Lord 
looks like, but whoever goes should wear his green serpent broach 
(which the courier is presently wearing). The password is "the 
Bull's guts".  

    Just before he dies, he opens his hand and gives the contents 
to one of the PCs. It is the message: a common lunar (silver 
piece). The back is covered with fine scratches, which look 
random to a casual glance but reveal an odd pattern on careful 
inspection. The pattern is not decipherable by any of the party, 
however.  

    If the party attempts to heal the courier, they find that 
most of his wounds do not respond to healing magic. Some sort of 
poison must be in the wounds, which are oddly small and deep. No 
matter what they try, the courier dies.  

    V. Stuck! The party is now in a real pickle. For one thing, 
they have an extremely inconvenient dead body on their hands. For 
another, they'll soon discover that Lunar patrols are on the hunt 
for a man with a green serpent broach -- someone (the Lunar Agent 
in disguise) has tipped off the law that a criminal at the 
Festival is wearing it. Their religious affiliation demands that 
they try their best to deliver the message, nonetheless...  

The Festival Calendar 

    Day 1 -- Selection. The Flowers arrive, an opening ceremony 
re-enacts the loss of Spring, and people settle in. Judges are 
selected by the Ernalda priestesses.  

    Day 2 -- The contestants are shown to the people on the great 
stage.  This event is not judged; it is as much to give bookies a 
chance to set odds as anything else.  

    Day 3 -- Song. The contestants take turns singing. They may 
also play musical instruments.  

    Day 4 -- Dance.  

    Day 5 -- Oration. A five or ten-minute oration is typical, on 
whatever subject each Flower chooses. Poetry is a popular choice.  

    Day 6 -- Beauty. The contestants show themselves in their 
most beautiful clothes, one at a time. At the conclusion of this 
event the votes for all four categories are totaled, and the 
winner is crowned the Queen of Flowers. As she stands on the 
stage with the King of Flowers warmth and the perfume of flowers 
spread through the air; Spring has finally come. The Queen spends 
the rest of the Festival parading around the ground with the King 
of Flowers (who spends that night with her as well, though she is 
not obligated to sleep with him).  

    Day 7 -- Closing ceremony.  

The Conflict

    Two major conflicts obtain at the Festival; one is obvious, 
one secret.  

    Conflict 1: An Uninvited Guest. Though they have never 
competed in the Festival before, there is a large contingent from 
the Lunar Empire (conquerors of this region) present at the 
Festival this year. Among them is the Moonflower, who will be 
competing to become the Queen of Flowers. The Lunars have roped 
off a large area for their use, and have erected large and 
elaborate tents; their campground is heavily guarded and 
patrolled by a force of forty troops.  

    The Moonflower is the subject of much gossip and speculation. 
She is almost never seen, and the few who glimpse her are unable 
to see her face beneath her heavy veil. Some say that she has 
danced before the Red Emperor himself, and is acquainted with 
dark and seductive mystic arts. No one in the Lunar contingent 
will discuss the Moonflower at all.  

    The Lunar presence makes life difficult for Orlanthi at the 
Festival; since worship of Orlanth is banned throughout the 
Empire, they must be careful not to reveal their religious 
affiliation. Beyond that, all good non-Lunars will be concerned 
that the Moonflower not be selected Queen of Flowers, since that 
would constitute a blessing on the Empire and give them a notable 
cultural foothold in the region. The obvious threat of the troops 
on hand and the power of the Lunar Empire which backs them makes 
direct action difficult and dangerous, however.  

    One or more of the PCs should be chosen as a judge of the 
contest, if possible; the politics of judging should lead to 
interesting conversations and debates. Throughout the festival 
the competition between the Flowers is a common subject of 
discussion, argument, and wagering.  

    Note that the Lunars do not wish to win the Festival. It 
would be difficult to do so in any case, since the majority of 
judges will necessarily be anti-Lunar. The Lunars have come to 
establish a greater presence in the local culture, establishing a 
foothold in the regional consciousness. An outright win would 
antagonize many in the region.  

    Conflict Two: A Secret War. A continuing battle between the 
Lunar Empire and the underground Orlanthi resistance movement 
known as the Secret Wind has entered the Festival as well. Agents 
of the Secret Wind have amassed a large cache of magical weapons. 
Some are ancient artifacts discovered in ruins within the Empire. 
Others have been stolen from the Empire itself. The weapons have 
been buried in a hidden spot a few hours ride from the Festival, 
and a Secret Wind courier is at the Festival to hand over the 
consignment to a disguised Orlanthi Rune Lord for transport 
deeper into Orlanthi territory. Although the courier and the Rune 
Lord do not know one another by sight, a rendezvous has been 
planned to take place at The Broken Flagon.  

    Unfortunately an agent of Lunar Internal Security has been 
close on the trail of the weapons. The agent has captured and 
killed several Secret Wind agents within the Empire, and has 
pursued the courier to the Festival. The true battle at the 
Festival is thus between the Lunar agent and the Rune Lord of the 
Secret Wind. Both are anxious to keep the affair secret. The Rune 
Lord desires secrecy because it will be virtually impossible to 
smuggle the weapons quietly away if things get out of hand. The 
Lunar agent cannot afford a major diplomatic incident with the 
people of the region; if the Empire disrupts an ancient and 
important ceremony they will make many enemies at a time when 
their resources are stretched thin. Another problem is that the 
Lunar contingent at the Festival is unaware of the presence of 
the agent. Telo Apporat, the Lunar Constable at the Festival, is 
rigorously honest and fair even to barbarians. If he were to 
discover that the Lunar Agent had committed several murders in 
the area, he would probably cause trouble.  

    The agent is therefore reluctant to go public except as a 
last resort.  Instead, the agent will use a hired gang of thugs 
to threaten the party and manipulate events.  

Non-Player Characters:

* The Lunar Agent. The agent possesses a daunting array of Hero 
abilities (for those not familiar with Glorantha, a capital-H 
Hero is a mortal who has attained virtually superhuman 
abilities). These include mastery of most types of weapons and 
superhuman strength, vitality, and dexterity.  Most valuable in 
the agent's arsenal of abilities is a Heroic disguise ability.  
The agent is able create disguises that are virtually 
impenetrable.  Alteration in appearance, voice, gender, and class 
are ridiculously easy for the agent. Height may be increased or 
reduced by up to eight inches, and weight by a comparable amount.  
The Agent also speaks an enormous number of languages, including 
Stormtongue, the Orlanthi holy speech. A vast repertoire of 
powerful spells may be assumed as well. The Agent has a small 
dagger of unusual shape; the metal is dark and of an unknown 
type. The handle is a sharp crescent moon, making it virtually 
impossible to wield in combat; it should be treated as a dagger 
with a -25% chance, doing 1-3 points of damage. However, the 
dagger acts as a slave collar when inserted in a victim, blocking 
their ability to cast spells or seek Divine Intervention. The 
dagger also causes a feeling of extreme pain and cold.  

    In straight-on combat the Agent has an excellent chance (at 
least 50-50) of defeating the entire party. Fortunately, such 
combat is unlikely.  

    If the Agent has a weakness it is a touch of arrogance and 
over-confidence.  The use of disguises is almost an addiction for 
the Agent. In fact, the Agent is two of the other NPCs on this 
list! If the Agent becomes aware that the party is somehow 
involved in this affair (which is likely) a plot to trick them is 
the first course of action. If the PCs happen to notice who is 
present and who isn't during various events they may start to 
draw connections and develop suspicions...  

[Unfortunately I can't reveal the identities of the Agent here; 
in the ongoing game some or all of those identities remain 
unknown, and since all the players read Interregnum it simply 
isn't possible to give that information without ruining that part 
of the game. If you're dying of curiosity, or think you have a 
good guess as to who the aliases are, drop me a line!] 

* Azeth Strongarm, Orlanthi Initiate. Human male, 58 years old.  
A tough and grizzled old Orlanthi, he is a distant relative of 
one of the clan elders and is kindly inclined towards the 
characters. He spends most of his time running a large cooking 
pit, where he hears and recycles most of the gossip and rumor of 
the Festival. Bluff and boisterous, he knows almost everyone who 
is anyone at the Festival and is respected by all. He is not part 
of the Secret Wind, though he has heard of it. Physically, he is 
slightly taller than average but very stocky; his arms are 
extremely burly, his skin browned by long exposure to smoke and 
fire, and his beard singed in spots. When he is away from his 
fire it can be noticed that he smells strongly of cooked meat and 
smoke.  

* Telo Apporat, Seven Mothers Initiate, Lunar constable. Human 
male, 35 years old. A fundamentally decent man with a strong 
conscience, which is why he is working as a Constable in the 
barbarian hinterlands.  His responsibilities include Low and 
Middle justice at the Festival, as well as law enforcement and 
investigation. He has been assigned twelve regular troops to 
patrol the Festival. They patrol in groups of four.  

    Telo is intelligent and scrupulously fair. He will 
investigate the murder of an Orlanthi as rigorously as that of a 
Lunar citizen -- that is, both to the best of his ability. If his 
investigations imperil the activities of the Lunar Agent, the 
Agent will contact his superiors and have him taken off the case.  
In that case Apporat will suspect corruption is involved, and 
will attempt to secretly interrogate party members to discover 
what is going on. If he is informed by the Agent or a credible 
proxy that the entire matter is one of State security he will 
reluctantly drop the investigation.  

* Nameless Lunar Noble, human male, 35, tall. He may be called in 
by the Lunar Agent to sit on Telo Apporat if necessary. This 
scary gentleman dresses in black (except for tiny red insignia), 
and silently exudes an aura of menace. He may bring up to 100 
additional troops if these seem necessary, though that would be a 
highly inflammatory choice.  

* The Windflower, Orlanthi. A human female, age 17. As is to be 
expected she is beautiful, talented, lighthearted and brave. Her 
hair is a pleasing shade of gray. Her instrument of choice is a 
small bagpipe.  She is constantly surrounded by her kinsmen and 
female friends.  

* The Sunflower, Yelmalian. Human female, age 19. Tall, 
beautiful, blonde, and patrician in bearing. She is somewhat 
distant and very proud of her education. A cold fish by Orlanthi 
standards. Her instrument of choice is the harp. While her 
talents are undeniably great, her approach is comparatively aloof 
and her song and dance are obscure and emotionally cold; she is 
not a favorite with the audience.  

* The Moonflower, Red Goddess worshiper. Human female, age 26.  
Always heavily guarded, and heavily veiled except during the 
contest itself.  Pale skin, long blood-red hair, very graceful.  
Knows a dance which clouds men's minds (Heroic Dance skill). Her 
instrument of choice is her voice; if she wishes, her singing 
voice can sound like many birds singing at once (an eerie but 
beautiful effect). If caught in conversation she is polite, but 
careful; she is very aware that this territory is still not 
entirely pacified.  

[In play I rolled a critical success for the Moonflower's dance. 
She had not intended to mesmerize the audience, but since I'd 
already determined that she had Heroic Dance skill, I decided 
that such knowledge can be a two-edged sword; she slipped into 
the dance without meaning to. The results were startling, as may 
be seen below. :-) ] 

* Via Bladesong AKA Deathflower, Humakt Initiate. Human female, 
age 25. She is tall, has light brown hair, and is extremely 
skilled in the arts of war. That and her great beauty have led 
some to nickname her "Deathflower", a title that she does not 
find amusing. A child of privilege (both of her parents are 
Priests of Humakt) she is kind but somewhat distant to all but 
fellow Humakti.  

* Urin Thegg, Trickster. Human male, age 24. The party may not 
even meet this rascal, but will surely be impacted by his great 
trick at the Festival -- as is everyone else attending. He is 
thin, dark, and accomplished at running away from angry mobs. He 
has a respectable selection of spirit and Divine magic, and is 
extremely clever. He is also rather ruthless, as can be seen in 
his treatment of the: 

* Nameless Trollkin AKA "Darkflower". Trollkin slave, age 10. The 
Darkflower is entered into the competition by his owner, Urin 
Thegg. He is kept hidden even more completely than the Moonflower 
until the contest begins. At that time he is wheeled onto the 
stage in a large covered wagon. When the cover is removed it may 
be seen that the trollkin is dressed in a red wig and gown that 
strongly resemble those of the Moonflower. The reaction of the 
crowd will likely give Thegg time to escape; the fate of the 
Darkflower is less certain.  

[The Darkflower endured much abuse in play. When the Moonflower's 
Heroic dance began bewitching onlookers at the Dance Contest, a 
Eurmali used Divine Intervention to place the Darkflower directly 
above the Moonflower, twenty feet in the air; the resulting 
impact broke the spell of the dance. It should be noted that DI 
does not normally allow such direct action against others, but 
the argument that Eurmal does not always follow rules, along with 
the humor of the situation, persuaded me that an exception would 
make sense. Incidentally, the Moonflower tended the trollkin's 
wounds after the contest, and had it taken safely away from the 
Festival.] 

* Thurin Farwalker, Issaries trader. Human male, 35. Actually a 
Wind Lord of Orlanth and a member of the Secret Wind, he is big, 
brave, handsome, and clever -- a storybook hero. Depending on how 
the PCs dispose of the courier's body he may be aware that his 
contact is in jeopardy.  Nevertheless he attempts to complete the 
rendezvous at The Broken Flagon. If no one present is wearing a 
green serpent broach (which, given the number of Lunar patrolmen 
about, would be a dangerous thing to do), he will attempt to make 
contact by employing the services of: 

* Ged Sweetvoice, Donandar Initiate. Human male, age 17. A 
scraggly punk, as minstrels go, and a very poor harper. Only 
charity has allowed him a place by the fire at The Broken Flagon. 
When the big Issaries trader makes a special request and offers 
silver, he's more surprised than anything else. Nonetheless Ged 
sings a song which includes a reference to a snake. Thurin's hope 
is that the party will make the connection, but the Lunars 
won't...  

[In the actual run the players mistakenly thought that Ged was 
their Secret Wind contact, followed him outside after the 
performance and gave him the message coin (he assumed that it was 
a tip). This led to a situation I'd been hoping for: the coin was 
loose in the Festival, one among many thousands of others. By the 
time the party was contacted by the true Wind Lord, Ged had spent 
the coin. The party searched everywhere he'd been, and at long 
last found the coin and gave it to the proper recipient. But 
there was definitely a moment of panic. :-) ] 

* Old Storm Bull worshiper. Human male, age approximately 40 - 
60.  Is never seen sober enough to tell his name. Somewhat short 
and grizzled, he bears an axe that he uses with incredible 
berserk skill, if roused.  He's mostly interested in alcohol, 
however, and spends most of his time in a state of stupor. If the 
party will give him alcohol, he'll drink it and sleep it off on 
the floor of their tent.  

* Gerth and Geddy, Issaries Initiates (traders). Human male, 29, 
and human female, 31. This married couple are typical innocent 
bystanders.  As feelings run high among attendees (over the 
Flowers and any other issues that may have risen), Gerth finds 
himself caught up willy-nilly in a fight between two gangs of 
thugs near the PCs' tent. Geddy will plead with the characters to 
save her husband. If they do, the grateful couple will reward 
them as best they can -- they aren't rich, but they do know some 
important Issaries people who have many connections.  They could 
get the party a free consultation with a Lhankor Mhy Sage, for 
example.  

* Unkel Feg, Black Fang Initiate. Ogre male age 26. This bulky 
and moderately handsome fellow has a gang of humans (as many as 
needed) who follow him slavishly. If the it seems necessary, the 
Lunar Agent will hire Feg and his gang to manipulate the group -- 
by planting false evidence, say, or stealing their possessions. 
Feg has few scruples.  

[In play, Feg and his gang were hired to make a midnight attack 
on the party. Their orders were to hurt them, but not to kill 
them. As it happened the old Storm Bull was in the tent at the 
time of the attack, however. Berserk, he killed all of the gang 
members with the help of the PCs, and ran off into the night. 
This led to a long session of questioning of the PCs in Telo 
Apporat's tent.]

Wrap Up

    As the Festival draws to a close, the party is contacted by 
Thurin of the Secret Wind. Several people (including the courier) 
were supposed to help him retrieve the weapons after the 
Festival. As a number of them have been killed, however, he asks 
the PCs to help him. They are not obligated to do so; the task is 
dangerous. If they do accept, they will find themselves in a race 
to beat the Lunar Agent to the cache. How close the race is 
depends on how much information the Agent has gained during the 
Festival. A battle of titans is a strong possibility, in which 
Thurin and the Agent will attempt to destroy each other.  

    At this point the true identity of the Agent will become 
apparent.  In all likelihood the Agent will be alone; this is not 
entirely hubris, however. The Agent has a notable advantage in 
ability and magic. However, if Thurin has reached the weapons 
first (as is likely) the balance with be even again. It remains 
for the players to make the difference in the combat. In any 
case, the Agent is unlikely to be killed; an escape via Divine 
Intervention is assured.  

[In play the party chickened out, and declined Thurin's request 
for aid. They came up with a reasonable excuse, but there's no 
denying that the end of the scenario was a little anticlimactic 
as a result.  Still, I can't fault them for taking the sensible 
course of action.] 

Magic Items from the cache:

    A shaman's belt of bindings that contains 100 spirits of 
various types.  These include spell spirits, power spirits, and a 
great variety of others. Unfortunately many of the uses of the 
belt require a password, but there are certain features that will 
work for anyone: the belt will cast a spirit magic Heal 6 spell 
once per round on the wearer when they are injured, up to a total 
of 80 points of healing. A spirit in the belt will cast a 
Strength 4 spell on the wearer in combat, and another will cast 
Bladesharp 6 at the same time (if a bladed weapon is in the 
wearer's hand).  

    A giant's ring of invulnerability. This bronze ring is large 
enough to be loose around an armored man's waist. As long as it 
is around the wearer, they are protected with the equivalent of a 
divine magic Shield 10 spell (protecting from 20 points of damage 
and up to 20-point spells). Unfortunately the ring is enormously 
heavy -- its weight is equal to to a STR 30. Holding it up 
requires a STR vs STR roll, with the wearer at half chance if 
only one hand is used. The ring could be tied on, but its 
excessive weight will make movement difficult.  Others could 
stand behind the wearer and hold up the ring, but they would not 
be protected by it -- and the situation would be very awkward in 
combat.  

    A scimitar of iron and Adamantium (?) 

    A piece of Moon Rock in a lead box 

    An ebony rod with a Mistress Race Troll hand on the end. This 
rod allows the creation and manipulation of vast amounts of 
darkness.  It may be used to command or destroy Shades.  

    The Wind Shield. An ancient air spirit of great power is 
bound into this shield. At the user's command a driving wind 
bursts from the shield, blowing against anything before it. The 
wind has a STR of 25 that must be overcome to approach it, and 
attacks against the holder are at -50%. Missile weapons and 
arrows cannot strike the user. If the user falls or loses hold of 
the shield, the wind will continue to blow for one round -- 
during which time chaos (small "c") is likely to ensue as the 
shield flies around at random. There are legends that the shield 
may be used to fly by directing its flow against the ground, but 
this would require superhuman dexterity and much painful 
practice.  

    All of these are major objects of power, of course, vitally 
necessary to the success of the Secret Wind. The PCs will not be 
allowed to keep them. Even if everyone else dies someone will 
soon come along to take these weapons away. However, if Thurin 
prevails and the weapons are recovered the Secret Wind will 
likely reward the characters at a later date. A reasonable 
(though not huge) amount of money is likely.  The PCs may also be 
gifted with small serpent-shaped amulets of luck.  These are very 
minor magic items: when the wearer must make a luck roll, they 
count their POWer as being one higher than it actually is.  

    The characters will have the gratitude of the Secret Wind, 
and their names will be remembered in the future should they be 
needed. On the other hand, the Lunar Agent may well remember them 
too, depending on what happened at the Festival...

                            -- end -- 
