Victoriana: The Kingdom of Prester John

SPOILER WARNING: JOSH, PLEASE SKIP THIS WRITE UP

• GM: Walter Ciechanowski
• Robert Lawrence: Selina Tamworth
• Me: Susanna Havering
• Arthur: Patterson Briggs
• David: Nathaniel Havering
• ???: Tobin Charterton
• ???: Jonathan Havering

The characters were the Havering family, with whom I have long been acquainted. Nathaniel Havering is a gambler from a wealthy middle class family who wanted a title. His wife is Susanna, from an impoverished noble eldren (elven) family who wanted money. Oddly, the two were a love match, having met at the gambling tables, and are unable to recall who first proposed in their whirlwind romance.

Nathaniel's younger brother is the straightlaced Jonathan, a policeman. Well, mostly straightlaced -- he has an addiction to opium. He met Selina in an opium den, and didn't realize that Selina supplied Susanna with opium and absinthe, and Susanna had asked Selina to help Jonathan get out of the opium den. Selina was an orphan taken in by a Chinese family that was part of one of the Tongs. When Jonathan fell in love with her, she was allowed to leave, but it was understood that she owed her Tong a Favor. The Haverings all think of her as Jonathan's fiance, but she does not, not wanting to be perceived as a gold digger or to bring scandal to the family. This aspect of Selina was to be resolved in the second of the two Victoriana adventures running at the convention, "Wedding Bells". But, I digress.

Tobin is a gnome and a Mage. He and Nathaniel told Nathaniel's father that Tobin was teaching Nathaniel magic, but actually, Nathaniel is hopeless at magic. He and Tobin just find it useful to associate with each other. Patterson Briggs is a pugilistic dwarf who always keeps a cold chicken sandwich under his hat. I think he also keeps Nathaniel's revolver there. I'm not quite sure why this is the case, but I think the sandwich is because the upper class folks often don't bother to invite the servants to eat.

Previously, the Havering family had an adventure involving collecting four Mysterious Figurines and traveling to Bombay. They were now on an airship flying over the middle of India, hoping to meet with a Dr. Clark, a woman in Calcutta, to collect the fifth and final figurine. Supposedly, these could solve the riddle of the mysterious Kingdom of Prester John.

The four figurines were being held by Sir Edmund, royal escort. Also involved was the Eldren Baroness Lady Teresa, who was busy flirting with Nathaniel and thanking him for saving her life in the previous adventures. She suggested a private card game for later.

Susanna was indulging in her passion (i.e., addiction) for absinthe, having every intention of rejoining her husband and keeping him from getting _too_ friendly with the baroness. Jonathan was with some of the airship crew, indulging in opium.

Susanna saw three wyverns plus their riders head for the airships. This in itself was unusual, but hardly alarming, as Her Majesty's Government did indeed have a corps of wyvern riders, and they had duties like, oh, delivering mail, which, no doubt explained why the riders dropped sacks onto the decks of the airship. These sacks, Susanna could not help but notice, were moving. And two undead people with clockwork parts got out of each sack.

At least one of these attacked Susanna, which was very annoying, as it made her lose some of her drink. Fortunately, she had not only an armored corset and a small pistol, but also a sword parasol.

GM: You decapitate him --

Susanna: Good! I finish what's left of my drink.

Meanwhile, Selina left to fetch Jonathan and steered him so that he'd be shooting at whoever was threatening Susanna. Despite the opium fog, Jonathan's marksmanship was excellent. Patterson took Nathaniel's revolver from his hat and handed it to his employer. Nathaniel proceeded to impress the baroness all over again by protecting her. Tobin used magic to fight the creatures.

Once the clockwork undead had been decisively put down, Sir Edward was discovered murdered in his room.

Selina (overacting): Oh my God, a dead body! (pretends to faint)

Susanna (dryly): Because we've never seen one of those before.

Selina: Never! And covered with a cloth!

Susanna: Oh, it's the cloth!

In addition to Sir Edward, there were two dead guards, one who had been posted outside the room and one who had been posted inside. A thuggee were no doubt involved, as Sir Edward had been strangled to death.

Naturally, the figurines were gone. The safe was empty.

Baroness: Who cares about the safe?? Where is Sir Edward's _hat_?!

I gather that was where he kept the figurines. However, it was missing, as was one of the native servants aboard the airship.

The airship proceeded to Calcutta, where Dr. Nicola Clark, who had the fifth figurine, was -- missing. She had vanished two days ago and had been under suspicion of something or other which may have had something to do with an earlier adventure in the series. But, the Haverings were fairly sure that she had been kidnapped.

There was a suspect in custody, a Guild mage, which made this a delicate matter, as precautions to keep such a man in custody got in the way of the man being able to communicate terribly coherently. The suspect had been fingered by one Captain McNulty of the Lancers, aka the wyvern riders.

The people the Haverings spoke to, of course, worked for the East India Company.

One such man: We're all company men.

Jonathan: I'd like to say I am too, but I'm not.

Naturally, the Haverings did their information gathering in different ways. Nathaniel and Susanna went to Dr. Clark's home, while Jonathan and Tobin were talking to the British authorities. And what of Selina and Patterson?

Patterson: We are going to find the deepest pit of corruption!

GM: So, you're going to the docks!

Much to Selina's pleasant surprise, much of the docks were run by Chinese.

Selina (who speaks Chinese, or at least a dialect close enough to what the Chinese at the Calcutta docks speak): How fortuitous!

GM: What are your questions and what are you bargaining with?

Selina: Well, I brought you this dwarf...

The dockworkers said that the thuggee might have taken a commission from the Russians, but they didn't believe that the man in jail was a spy.

It just so happened that Captain McNulty had spent 6 months in a Russian prison. And the Company didn't get him out. He escaped, or at least claimed to have escaped.

The Haverings also found out that Dr. Clark was using the services of a riverboat that was not welcome in the Calcutta docks -- something about a disagreement over taxes and tariffs. The riverboat Pink Duck had been seen in the village of Haverpoor, 8 miles north of Calcutta.

Nathaniel and Susanna met the Baroness for lunch. The halfling maitre d' showed them to the back porch. Everyone was treated with such elaborate courtesy that the baroness was blushing a bit. Everyone with any kind of title, she explained, was treated like outright royalty here.

The Baroness's visit with the Governor General had not gone quite as she had hoped. Indeed, she only saw Mr. Fowler, the Lt. Governor. Nathaniel, Susanna, and the Baroness looked at the pieces they had -- the missing figurines, the missing Dr. Clark, the missing kingdom of Prester John, a temple spot where there was no temple, growing discontent in Bengal, the Red Imam, Tea Farm Production, the absent Governor General, and the likelihood that Captain McNulty was a Russian agent.

Baroness (to Nathaniel): I'm thinking something more is afoot. Do you think your brother would accept a commission?

Nathaniel was quite sure that Jonathan would, and indeed, he was proved correct.

Some or all of the group went to see the imprisoned mage.

GM: Mr. Gaughe -- an ogre to extort -- er, escort you.

The prisoner, one Mr. Biscoli, I think, was in a straightjacket, strapped to his chair, speaking in Arabic. He kept saying "pink duck" over and over again.

Prison official: The guild mages said that he might fixate on last thing on his mind when he was subdued. No doubt he saw pink ducks when he was hit on the head.

PCs: No doubt that's it.

The group made its way to Haverpoor, which was more native than Colonial. They found the steam riverboat Purple Duck, which was neither pink nor graceful. Her decks were cobbled together from others.

The captain as a tattooed halfling who emerged from the river, wearing only a loincloth. He had a large fish which he had caught for supper. He welcomed the Haverings aboard and confirmed that the missing Dr. Clark was supposed to come to him so that he could take her to the site of the temple that had no temple. The Haverings hired his services and his boat, which had one other crew member, Sanesh, an elephant man, who was the first mate.

I forget the context of this:

Susanna: We must all dream of something!

Selina: Money. A life of luxury. Money.

The second day on the river, the afternoon heat was brutal. The captain invited Susanna, as the ranking lady, to preside over Afternoon Tea, and, heat or no, how could she possibly refuse? They discussed the hidden kingdom of Prester John, and I think the captain noted that it wasn't as if anyone had ever seen it, so he was dubious that it existed.

Selina: Well... it wouldn't be much of a hidden kingdom if everyone could see it.

The captain pointed out river dolphins in the waters near the boat.

Selina: Do they taste good?

Nathaniel: Are they dangerous?

Captain: No, not really. (pause) They look a little agitated, though.

Selina: What would make them agitated?

How about a macara? And what is a macara? Why, it's a giant elephant-snouted crocodile!

Patterson ran to Nathaniel, handing him his revolver again.

GM: Does your cold chicken sandwich go over the side?

Patterson: I'm holding it in my mouth.

I think Susanna used her derringer, while Selina grabbed a bottle or a chair or something else that she could use as an improvised weapon.

GM: I just want to point out that the captain does have a Samurai sword hanging in easy reach.

Selina: But that's not improvised!

The Haverings and crew killed the animal, which delighted the captain, as there was a lot of meat on it.

The next day, the boat was as close as it could get to the site, and Sanesh took the group the rest of the way. The location was also a former Company plantation. The Company hadn't realized there'd be problems with monsoons and so on.

In theory, the temple site was about a mile away, but the Haverings realized that over the centuries, the river had shifted 3 miles away. Going to the new correct spot, they found a stone ledge and realized the area looked --

Player: Like somebody might have buried something?

GM: Yes.

Nathaniel: Briggs!

The group (i.e., Patterson Briggs) dug their way down to an underground chamber. Some of the stone blocks looked like they had been moved recently, like by another group, the one that had kidnapped Dr. Clark, say.

There was also a pool of water down below, and either a good roll or a fate point or two meant that Susanna just happened to have brought rope.

Patterson: Well, tie it around my waist. (climbs down) The water's fine!

Selina: Is there anything dry down there?

Patterson: No. No, there isn't.

Susanna: Oh dear.

Nathaniel (possibly having some accident): Zounds!

GM (rolling damage): Three -- but three fate points will rescue you!

Player: Okay!

Susanna was able to follow the water and to tap her medium powers. While everyone, I think, saw shattered pedestals with runes and the five figurines, now smashed. Susanna had a vision of people being led by an angel to a particular area.

GM: You know where it is. Following the Ganges River is the best way to find it.

He also reminded us that the Not Quite Christianity religion in Victoriana had to do with Order vs Chaos, and that angels were all about Order. Magic, by contrast, was Chaotic stuff.

The Pink Duck took the Ganges and then the Haverings went to Tezgar, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a place that had lost its luster when it turned out not to be part of a route to Tibet after all.

Following the captain's advice, they went to an inn called The Thirsty Yeti. Supposedly, the rug on the floor of the common room was a yeti's pelt.

Selina: So, a room for Nathaniel and Susanna, one for all the men, and one for me, a single woman.

Proprietor (or possibly the first mate): Of course! I completely understand!

Oddly, for a place that doesn't get many Colonials, the Haverings were the second group that had come by.

Someone at the Thirsty Yeti: The first were the Russians. They picked fight with the locals. They don't handle their drinks very well.

Selina: The Russians or the locals?

IIRC, the proprietor of the inn was Shanda, a Bengal fox woman. She said that there'd been four or five Russian traders, and that they'd been very protective about their wagon. The Haverings guessed that Dr. Clark had been held prisoner there.

Shanda: If you want to go into the mountains, I suggest you get yourself a sherpa.

Patterson: We don't need no --

Someone, possibly Nathaniel: Are you jealous?

Patterson: What makes him so great?

Shanda (amused): Him?

The sherpa she had in mind was a dwarven woman with facial scars who was arm wrestling a tigerman. She defeated him and took a drink.

Patterson: I approve!

Someone: Hire a sherpa, hit on the sherpa.

Patterson offered to arm wrestle the woman.

The Sherpa (whose name I forget): Let's see what you got!

Patterson: Sure -- I'll arm wrestle you for a kiss.

Someone: And Patterson has a place to stay.

Susanna: Everyone's happy! I think this is a lovely little town!

The group headed out at dawn, finding the weather in the foothills of the Himalayas a little colder than they were used to in India. The sherpa picked up the wagon tracks and noted that there were wyvern tracks near where the wagon had been parked. The group saw a wyvern circling a mountain. It was in harness.

Eventually, they came to an island in the middle of a lake, I think reaching it by means of two boats left on the lake's shore. On the island was an eldren woman in monk's robes. She asked if they were worthy to enter the Kingdom of Prester John. Selina said, without hesitation, that they were.

The woman said that the Path of Nazrani, which led to the Kingdom of Prester John, was behind the waterfall. There were multiple paths, and they should choose wisely. The local bird's song would guide them. They had only two chances. After that, they would either find the place of Nazrani or seek no more.

There seemed to be three choices in the form of three caves, but listening closely to the birds singing, the Haverings realized that it came from where Cave 2 1/2 would have been. The woman had not said that there were three paths -- or any other set number. They sailed for the space between caves 2 and 3 and found themselves on a platform with a stone door.

There were symbols on the door, Hindu numbers and multiple dials.

The dials were set to the numbers 3, 8. 15. 24. and 35. There was one final dial as yet unset.

Someone realized that the intervals between the numbers were 5, 7, 9, and 11. Logically, the next interval should be 13, making the final number 48. The Haverings set the dial to that number, and the doors opened.

Inside was a cavern with a dais. There was also a small cubicle and a wheel, which may have been below the dais. My notes aren't clear. The cavern was filled with people.

There was a human wearing a mitre and priestly robes on the dais, flanked by a rhinoceros man and an ogre. The man, presumably Prester John, greeted them in the name of the blessed angel Razzio and welcomed them to Perfect Order, where there would be no sin and no desire. He called on the angel to accept the supplicants, that Perfect Order might be spread.

Susanna (having a really bad feeling about this): I... don't think... we're worthy.

Then, the group realized that Prester John had clockwork arms. Indeed, all of the people in the cavern had clockwork parts.

Someone: So -- we'll all get clockwork bodies.

Patterson: Maybe I'll be taller!

I think Susanna pointed out that he'd also be without desire, which, given his new friend the sherpa, did not suit Patterson at all.

Meanwhile, a woman was screaming at them and struggling to break free of clockwork people holding her.

Someone: Dr. Clark, I presume.

It was indeed.

Dr. Clark: Help me! It's your souls they want -- destroy the boiler!

The Haverings managed to do that and to help Dr. Clark break free.

That's when the wyvern showed up with a furious rider on its back.

Someone: Captain McNulty, I presume.

It was, although I think he may have been possessed by the angel Razzio. He was enraged at the Haverings, but they and Dr. Clark did manage to escape, I think destroying him and the wyvern and, well, the Kingdom of Prester John in the process. It was sheer self defense, I assure you. Indeed, iirc, the GM said that things had just reached the point where the inhabitants of the kingdom could go out and actively proselytize.

Nathaniel (I think): Darling -- did we just destroy a second paradise?

As they fled in their boats, the eldren woman in the monk's robes said, "Thank you" in a monotone. There was a flash of bluish energy, and she fell, dead, released at last from her enforced role.

Selina: See? I said we were worthy!