Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
The founding of the group came about in Nonus of 1670 when Juan Aldana de Torres, Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins, Ramiro Pancayk de Soldano and Reinette Varonne worked together to investigate a series of bombings in Avalon (well Ramiro mostly spent the time recovering from injuries sustained in the first explosion).
Hailed as heroes you were invited to go hunting with High Knight Geriant, during your trip you found yourselves the prey of the Sidhe but when they brought you before Queen Titania she bestowed a quest upon you.
Flight of the Drachen
Speaking with Derwyddon you discovered the villain you were after was an Eisen by the name of Wolfgang and had set sail for Arisent. You set sail and on the way rescued a Vestenmannavnjar vessel from pirates – during the aftermath Reinette Varonne was gifted a small pebble with a rune carved into it (Fornuft's Pebble).
Ramiro Pancayk de Soldano gained you access to the local Explorers' Society Chapter House where you were able to discover that Wolfgang was a patron by the name of Wolfgang von Drachen and uncovered the name of a particular researcher he seemed interested in. A little more research after breaking into the local dock offices uncovered where he travelled from here and so you followed him to Barcino, a Castillian town occupied by Montaigne forces. While there you aided a Los Vagos cell in rescuing an innocent nobleman, by the name of Diego Torres, from the gallows.
Next your journey took you to the famed centre of learning known as Altamira. Meeting Carmela Vega]'s assistants you discovered that Wolfgang von Drachen had an artefact known as the Chronometer which could potentially awaken a long dead form of sorcery. While here you actually confronted Wolfgang von Drachen for the first time, he had a hostage and managed to collapse a building upon your group by somehow dissolving a supporting column.
Though injured and delayed you managed to claw your way out of the wreckage of the building and even managed to determine Wolfgang's destination. You also made the acquaintance of some local members of the Free Thinkers Society (a faction of the Rilasciare), they revealed to you that the true source of most sorcery is strange alien creatures that are trying to break through into our reality – apparently centuries ago the Rilasciare managed to wipe out several lineages of sorcery and that reawakening 'Zerstorung' could have grave consequences for the world.
On your way to the docks to pursue Wolfgang you were ambushed by Inquisitor Cheryl Martinez and a sizeable force of soldiers. The conflict started to go poorly when Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins was gunned down but an unexpected appearance by El Vago gave you a chance to haul him to safety and escape to a boat.
Travelling along the river you dealt with the small issue of a many headed squid before being dropped off on the border of Eisen and arranged for passage through the mountains.
Santa Claws is Coming to Town
Unfortunately while on route you discovered the partially devoured remains of numerous reindeer blocking the path and while dealing with that you were set upon by gargoyles who killed the coach driver. Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins's protégé Leodegan Llewellyn was almost dropped off a cliff but he was rescued at the last moment by Juan Aldana de Torres.
Safely through the mountains you stopped off at a small settlement called Sauntendorf where Prophets' Mass was a decidedly understated affair. While in town you discovered that children were being taken by a red furred creature called Vater Kralle and that the townsfolk were (mostly) turning a blind eye. You managed to track down and kill the creature, along with it's green furred minions. Unfortunately most of the children had been mutilated, only one survived and she was horribly scarred.
The Desolation of Drachen
You reached the town of Drachendorf, the burial place of the ancient Senator Severus Draco and Wolfgang von Drachen's destination. While here you met a man by the name of Dieter Heikkenen who captained the elite Ghosts of Heilgrund; he knew of your quest and gave you a set of Dracheneisen mitten manacles which should negate Wolfgang's powers. Shortly after this Juan Aldana de Torres was shot and poisoned by an assassin, you managed to chase him down but he took some sort of poison before you could question him. Luckily amongst his supplies you were able to find a cure and rescue Juan Aldana de Torres. Some sort of enchanted communicating tablet (one of the Linked Wax Tablets) in his possession revealed that Wolfgang was at a Numan tomb in the nearby Black Forest.
Reaching the tomb you confronted Wolfgang von Drachen who had opened the sarcophagus within. While talking with him Inquisitor Cheryl Martinez arrived and leapt to the wrong conclusions. She opened fire on Wolfgang and you were all somewhat surprised to discover he was now powerful enough to disintegrate bullets in mid flight. He escaped in the ensuing conflict and collapsed the entrance to the tomb, leaving you buried under several tons of rubble.
Inquisitor Cheryl Martinez conceded that she was mistaken in her assumption that you were on Wolfgang's side and together you were able to discover a concealed entrance into more extensive catacombs. You uncovered a few interesting Numan objects and the corpse of an Explorer by the name of Henry Jones, his notes however told you that there was another way out.
Fighting your way past increasingly large spiders you confronted a monstrous spider creature which you were able to defeat as a team. A side chamber seemed to be securely locked but you realised that several of the Numan objects fit together to form a key and within the chamber itself you discover plinths holding ancient treasures.
Free of the tomb you were unfortunately lost deep in the Schwarzwald until a strange glimmering light appeared and led you through the trees. It revealed itself to be a woman named Allianna who Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins was familiar with. She fended off some wolf-like creatures made of shadow while you escaped the forest.
Inquisitor Cheryl Martinez reluctantly thanked you but emphasised that you are still wanted by the Inquisition and that she would get around to apprehending you in the future.
The Man in the Iron Mongoose Mask
In his monologuing Wolfgang had revealed that he was going to the grand opening of a permanent porte gateway in Charouse; his plan was to use his new powers inside the portal in order to release unspeakable horrors from beyond Theah. In order to save time you decided to employ the use of porte yourselves and arrived in Charouse with a three week head start. Once in the capital city of Montaigne you used most of your head start to do casual shopping and sort out costumes for the upcoming Grand Masquerade.
The items discovered in the Numan tomb were left at the Explorers' Chapter House and at least some of their supernatural properties were determined – most importantly a gemstone which seems to have the ability to negate magic in a short range.
Reinette Varonne reacquainted herself with an old friend, Nico Rossini, who was as it happened something of an expert on Numan history. Between entertaining Reinette Varonne he was able to shed a little more light on the artefacts you had acquired.
While in Charouse, Reinette Varonne also discovered that her former fencing instructor (Andre Leveque d'Aur) had passed away in a fire. While surreptitiously searching around his home she was confronted by a young musketeer, though she managed to evade him he tracked her down to the inn where the group was staying and turned out to be none other than her brother Phillipe Varonne. He was able to provide the heroes with some limited information on the fire and, as he was on patrol in the area, he offered to look the other way while they gained access to the property.
The heroes discovered a hidden will and a letter which implied that Andre Leveque d'Aur was murdered but the evidence was inconclusive and some of the things found in his home needed to be tested. In the meantime the group acquire a guest list from Sir Geriant of Avalon and began trying to work out who would be wearing what at the masquerade in order to make it easier to identify Wolfgang von Drachen.
Finally at the masquerade itself your group confronted Wolfgang von Drachen at the last moment. Using the anti-magic gemstone they shut the portal down before he could enter and without his powers he was easily subdued. His allies put up a little more of a fight but nothing the heroes couldn't deal with. The unexpected revealing of Ramiro Pancayk de Soldano's dancing partner as a fire mage on Wolfgang's side posed something of a problem until she was put down by a gunshot from a masked woman who turned out to be Inquisitor Cheryl Martinez – she was of course apprehended (as the Inquisition have no authority in Montaigne) but eventually released and evicted from the country.
Time stood still when Titania, Queen of the Sky arrived with her entourage. She reclaimed the Chronometer, thanked her 'Champions' for their service and asked what rewards they desired before disappearing without fulfilling said requests.
Both Wolfgang von Drachen and the fire mage's corpses had a tattoo on their shoulder of a mechanical gear encircled by a laurel, his other allies appear to have been coerced or bribed into helping.
With the immediate threats contained and handed over to Ramiro Pancayk de Soldano's cousin Armande Le Pancaque – the Heroes had the chance to briefly meet Emperor Montegue and were invited to spend the rest of their stay at the palace where they could mingle with the elite of Montaigne.
After the Party
Whilst at the masquerade the Heroes had the pleasure of listening to the famed violinist, Abrianna Lucilla Fiorenza. During the performance Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins noticed a repeating pattern in the music and realised that it was a variation on the Invisible College's math code and that she was asking for help.
Meeting with her after the performance she explained that she was fleeing Vodacce but was worried that one of the Princes had sent someone to take her back. She had arranged transport out of town the next day and Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins stood guard that evening before seeing her safely to her carriage in the morning.
Having verified the authenticity of Andre Leveque d'Aur's will, Reinette is approached by his lawyers who inform her she has inherited a house in Paix and an old sword from Andre's collection named “Arfod” – the sword however appeared to be missing from his collection.
The results of the scientific tests came back in and confirmed that Andre Leveque d'Aur was poisoned – presumably by someone he knew. The changes to the false will and the missing sword eventually lead Reinette Varonne and the heroes to capture Martine Renard, a fellow student who had accidently killed Andre. In exchange for a more lenient sentence she revealed that she had been paid by the famed pirate captain l'Requin to acquire the sword by whatever means necessary and ensure its destruction; she had decided against destroying the blade but had not yet had the opportunity to extort more money from the pirate.
Later that day Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins was invited to see Sir Geriant who informed him that there had been an assassination attempt against Queen Elaine; he was returning to Avalon immediately but passed on a message from Sir Bors McAllister for Matthew to complete his assignment with all due haste.
Juan Aldana de Torres discovered that his father's killer, Francois du Toille (better known as "The Butcher"), was in town and even had their family blade with him (he had worn it as part of an El Vago costume). Unfortunately, as something of a collector of weapons, he showed no interest in parting with the weapon and his political power as a successful general left him virtually untouchable.
Eventually through a series of auctions the Heroes acquired a rare 'spine sword' normally held only in the possession of the Explorers' Society; Reinette Varonne was able to act on Juan Aldana de Torres's behalf and via Francois du Toille's manservant, Lutin, she arranged to exchange the two blades, acquiring the Torres blade and returning it to Juan Aldana de Torres.
Murder Most Foul
The morning after the sword exchange Juan Aldana de Torres was woken unexpectedly in his chambers by musketeers who want to speak with him regarding the murder of Francois du Toille. Ramiro Pancayk de Soldano was able to convince Armande Le Pancaque to grant them an opportunity to investigate themselves and find out what had happened.
It turned out that Francois du Toille and Madame Denevue (of the Explorers' Society) had both been killed in the local chapter house; one of the heroes artefacts – the Numan Throwing Dart – had been stolen and a single rose had been left at the crime scene.
While Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins examined the bodies Reinette Varonne had an encounter with the ghost of Francois du Toille, he was confused about the fact that he was dead but remembered a white porcelain mask marked with a small red heart under one eye. Reinette Varonne realised that Morbanus' Monocle allowed her to perceive the murder victim's ghost.
Investigating further into the rose it was discovered to be a rare breed found only in certain regions of Vodacce; when Armande Le Pancaque was approached with details of the rose it reminded him of a case he had dealt with previously involving a Vodacce assassin named Valentino. Though not really admissible in a court, the mask described by Du Toille's ghost also seemed to be a trademark of his.
A little further research on Valentino revealed that, although his true identity was unknown, he worked as a high ranking henchman and assassin to Gespucci Bernoulli, one of the Merchant Princes of Vodacce.
Meanwhile Matthew "Walsingham" Hopkins discovered that Abrianna Lucilla Fiorenza had returned to Charouse despite her plans to the contrary. Suspecting that she had been captured the heroes were able to liberate her from the house she was staying in, however it turned out she was willingly returning to Vodacce and struggled to escape the heroes. Eventually by using the anti-magic gemstone the heroes are able to counteract the spell she is under. It seems Valentino has used the Numan Throwing Dart to place her under an enchantment.
The heroes tried to get Abrianna Lucilla Fiorenza to the observatory, an Invisible College safehouse, but Valentino confronted them there with some thugs. Though the heroes were victorious Valentino managed to escape with the dart still in his possession.