The adventure for Sword Noir on which I have been working under the title Scroll Dogs is now titled the Kheufer Scrolls. The adventure is done, maps are done, and I thus I thought the manuscript was done . . . and then I went to edit the NPC section and realized it was not, in fact, done. Yikes!
Fear not, the Kheufer Scrolls will be revealed before the end of June. But here’s a taste of what you can expect.
2. The Contact
These are some possible introductory scenes, each providing the adventure hook based on a different possibility for the group’s occupation. These are just examples, and they could be adapted to address other group concepts, such as smugglers, merchants, or even wizards seeking the scrolls for themselves.
a. the Characters are part of the Urban Cohorts
In this scenario, the characters belong to the Urban Cohorts, but will be operating out of uniform. They may also be private contractors of a sort—people with a connection to the underworld and therefore better able to navigate it than one of the Captain’s regular crew.
The Captain is the leader of the Whites, who are considered incorruptible. They are also known for the excesses they will perpetrate against any individual or organization that threatens or harms any one of the 100 legionaries of the Whites. The Captain is feared by criminals throughout the city and its environs. Few are stupid enough to cross him. Those that do, always regret it.
[boxed text]You meet the Captain on Guild Bridge at the Dyers’ Tower. This time of night, the place is quiet. Business has subsided, as has the traffic on the Bridge. At the third bell of the evening, the gates are closed, barring all those save the residents of the Bridge. The Captain, though, can have pretty much any gate in the city unbarred if that’s his wish.
The tubs in which the clothes are dyed lay empty throughout the large hall. The Captain stands with Usanj, his constant shadow and quite possibly the most dangerous person in this dangerous city. The Captain eats an apple, looking out the window at the stars over Mother Ocean. Usanj leans against one of the wood columns supporting the tall roof, watching you.
“I’ve received word that something bad is going to happen. It’s got to do with some scrolls, supposedly cursed, definitely trouble. Don’t ask me where I get my information—that I can’t tell you. I can tell you that some very nasty people are looking to get these scrolls. They are called the Kheufer Scrolls, and are held in bone cases, inscribed with blood characters, and tied with a golden cord. They came by ship, across Mother Ocean. Word is, they’re in the city now.
“Someone brought them here, either to deliver them or market them. The scrolls must have moved through the Tides. I would bet a gold soldus that the Shore Wolves and their boss Lachlainn are involved somehow.
“We need to know who brought the scrolls here and who is trying to sell them. Find the scrolls, find out who wants them, and I’ll round them up. Get me the scrolls, get me the people with the scrolls and the people who want the scrolls. Find their fences, their snitches and their thugs. Get a line on their horses and their fucking pack mules if they’ve got them.
“I’m not playing games or telling tales when I say this is bad. Some very big people started sweating when they heard these things were coming into town.”[/boxed text]