The Name of the Coral
an adventure

Introduction

The Name Of The Coral is a MegaTraveller adventure centred around the investigation of a mysterious death on Yori before the Fifth Frontier War. It is based on the write-up of Yori made for the TML Landgrab exercise on the internet, and the Referee should be familiar with that document. The Name Of The Coral is a sequel to another Yorian adventure: Silence Of The Goatlings.

The Referee needs access to the core MegaTraveller rule books, a couple of six-sided dice, and paper and pencil for note-taking. Other accessories are optional. While pizza is a common food of choice during Traveller sessions, you may find Chinese take-away (or better yet: Thai) is more in keeping with the atmosphere of Yori. (They eat a lot of rice on Yori.)

Some sections of the adventure are meant to be read out to the players (at the appropriate time). It is shown as:

Example text which can be read verbatim to the players by the Referee, but you should feel free to adapt or replace such text as desired.

Finally, the players should have their own Traveller characters … no pre-generated characters are provided here. More or less any number and type of character will do, but it would be beneficial if one character has Admin skill, and another has Streetwise. Although this should be a thinking adventure, there may be an opportunity for combat at the end.

Plot Summary:

Having resolved the case of a missing local businessman’s daughter, the PCs have become known to the librarian of Hemdian University – Gipert Rules. (Either from when they investigated the university in the previous adventure and met her, and/or from their reputation. Gipert is aware of the events at the end of the previous adventure from her unofficial contacts with the Advisor’s Council, and Yorian mythology is one of her specialist subjects.) An old friend of Gipert has died in what she feels are slightly odd circumstances and she hires the group to investigate. The friend lived and died in the mountain community of Blephos (in the Claw Mountains near the city of Bon-Fargoa), and most of the adventure is set there.

This adventure assumes that the group is on Yori and willing to take work if offered. However, it is probable that this isn’t the same visit as the previous adventure.

For atmosphere and tone, the Referee should have seen the film The Name Of The Rose … which this adventure’s name is obviously a pun of.

Gipert Rules

This adventure starts with an invitation to see Gipert Rules at the Hemdian University library. The invite (a text message transmitted to the group’s ship/hotel/whatever) mentions a job offer but gives no details.

The library is just as you remember it: a large open space with a big table, beyond which are isle after isle packed with musty hardcopy books … relics of a bygone age (perhaps an age that will soon return). Gipert Rules, the slight-framed female Zhurphani librarian, is carrying a stack of enormous medieval-looking books far too big for her. She reaches the table and drops them onto it with obvious relief, then turns and sees you. Brushing the dust off her clothes she grins (slightly embarrassedly), gestures you to sit in some nearby chairs, and begins:

“Hi, guys. I have a problem that I need your help with. A friend of mine called Mox Lowli … she hated her first name; we used to call her ‘Moxy’, oh we went to school together … well anyway, Lowli died recently. It’s sad, I know, and these things happen, but there’s something odd here. They said she died of cancer. Nobody dies of cancer if they have regular med scans, well at least not on Yori anyway, and Lowli was always very careful about that sort of thing. Something’s very wrong here, and I don’t know who to trust, so I chose you. I thought maybe you could have a poke around, maybe figure out what the big bad is here. Oh, and I can pay Cr1,000 a day … for awhile. So, er, will you help? Please?”

Gipert has Cr20,000 in total (a fact she does not want to share) if the group try to haggle for more money, she may put up the rate in increments to Cr2,000 a day … but the money will run out sooner. However, she is not experienced at haggling, nor can she really afford this money, so she’ll try to appeal to the group’s better nature and play the ‘damsel in distress’ as well as she can.

If the group accept, then she can cover a few more details in ‘question and answer’ form. The facts are:

  • Mox Lowli was a female Zhurphani in her late 20s (similar to Gipert). They both grew up in Hemdian and went to the same school (District 28 Municipal High).
  • While Gipert went on to university and then joined the university staff, Lowli was training to be a junior Advisor. Two years ago, Lowli was assigned by the government to be a researcher at the Blephos Archives. Although they remained in contact by text message and vid phone, Lowli never hinted that anything was wrong.
  • The Blephos Archives are in the community of Blephos in the Claw Mountains (near the city of Bon-Fargoa). Blephos itself is small, more village than town.
  • The Blephos Archives are an important cultural treasure. Over 600 years ago the fortress city of Bon-Fargoa fell to desert raiders since when there has largely been peace on Yori. When the city was sacked, the Great Library of Bon-Fargoa was also destroyed. At the time the Great Library was the largest single collection of records and documents on the planet. However, a small amount of this irreplaceable cultural treasure was saved in a school further up in the mountains at Blephos. No longer a school, access to the Blephos Archives is heavily controlled by the Advisor’s Council.

As Gipert is the executor of Lowli’s Will she can arrange for the group to stay at the Archive and to have access to the researchers (as her representatives).

Arrival

If the group don’t have their own transportation they can take a commercial flier (grav passenger airliner) to Bon-Fargoa and from there rent an air/raft or similar.

As you arrive at Blephos, you see it is situated on a tiny plateau halfway up an otherwise unremarkable mountain. An apparently low-tech stone Keep is set against the side of the mountain, in front of it are a dozen single-family stone dwellings (one and two stories tall). There is even a cobblestone road from the gate of the Keep, winding through the buildings, passing a small field (which appears to be used for parking for grav and ground vehicles), and on down the mountain. The walls of the Keep are inclined such that they have no top but join into the side of the mountain. Short of landing on the road and blocking it, you are forced to land in the field. There is a blustery wind that seems colder than it really is. Smoke swirls out of the chimneys of some of the dwellings (they must actually have fuel-burning fires). If not for the satellite TV aerials sprouting from half the dwellings the scene would look pre-industrial.

If the group talk to any of the locals, they will quickly discover that they are ‘simple country folk’. They have no useful information and know little about what goes on in the Keep. (If the players haven’t figured it out yet the Keep is where the Archive is.)

At the entrance to the Keep, you are met by a human male. He’s about 30 years old, Caucasian with short bleach-blond hair (swept back), wearing army boots and predominantly loose-fitting black clothes that billow in the wind. He reminds you of a well-groomed punk or juvenile delinquent.

He watches you as you approach and in a loud voice (but like someone who’d much rather be doing something else) says “Right, you must be the people the Gipper sent. I’m Marris Pel, one of the researchers here. I’ve been assigned by the big cheese in these parts to be your guide … tell you where everything is, wipe your noses for you when you sneeze, that sort of thing. I also tell you what you can and cannot see, and since blasphemy can be potentially fatal round here, you’d better pay attention. Now follow me, and I’ll take you to your rooms.”

Despite his odd appearance and demeanour Pel really is a researcher. He can be irreverent and prone to sarcasm, but he is also honest and genuinely wants to help. After he shows the group to their rooms, he will arrange a meal for them and explain the procedures and protocols.

As the group enter the Keep, they will quickly realise that it is just an elaborate doorway and facade to a much larger complex extending deep into the heart of the mountain itself. While the bulk of this complex is carved into the rock of the mountain PCs with Combat Engineering may notice something odd about the construction of the Keep portion …

To notice something is off:
Difficult, Combat Engineering, Edu, Instant (safe).

Referee: On success, the character will notice that the inside of the Keep front is made of large stones, while the outer surface is composed of much smaller stones. This is backwards. It’s as if the Keep were constructed, not to keep something out, but to keep something in. If questioned about this Pel will merely shrug, he knows nothing about this.

After Pel has shown the group to their rooms, he will arrange a meal for them and explain the procedures and protocols. He will tell them there were ten researchers at Blephos, but now there are six. In the past few months, there have been four deaths … including Lowli’s sudden cancer. The other deaths were a suicide, an accidental fall, and a second sudden cancer. This has left some of the remaining researchers on edge, but Pell does not completely accept the assertions of another researcher (Junghan Mim) that this is a sign from the gods that the secrets of the Blephos Archive should remain secret.

The Cast

Since this adventure could be a little freeform, all ten of the Blephos Archive researchers are summarised here. Starting with the Archive Director and then the other nine in alphabetical order. The Referee should feel free to expand on the notes here depending on where the players concentrate their investigation.

Note that the title “Advisor” is reserved for use by senior Advisors only (part of Yori’s ruling class) … protocol requires the title is commonly used. Junior Advisors rarely use their title except in formal greeting. Trainee Advisors never use their title.

  • Advisor Prader Synnko
    Archive Director

    A Zhurphani male. Shorter than average, this gnome-like Zhurphani is a petty bureaucrat interested in order and the smooth running of the Archive. He is, therefore, resentful of the group’s intrusion into his life and will co-operate to the bare minimum required.

  • Denk Ducald
    Trainee Advisor

    A Zhurphani male. Tall but scrawny, Denk is a historian. His knowledge of history is marred by a tendency to romanticise everything … often painting a view of the past that is more noble and honourable than today. This has held him back in his career. If Denk ever had access to a time machine, he would surely be disappointed.

  • Drey Lidsal
    Independent researcher

    A Human female. She is above average in looks but not exceptional, and dresses in a goth style. She is the secret girlfriend of Pell … but given her choice in clothing, it’s not that much of a secret! Drey is from the University of Big Rock Mountain, where she is studying for her doctorate degree in sociology. She has come to the Archive to research her thesis on “Ancient desert clan culture and its impact on modern Yori”.

  • Mox Lowli (Deceased)
    Trainee Advisor

    A Zhurphani female. This is Gipert Rules’ school friend. She was training to be a Junior Advisor and was assigned to the Archive as a learning exercise. Her speciality was desert irrigation, but she also studied Yorian mythology. She fell ill and died suddenly … the cause of death was officially noted as “multiple highly aggressive cancers of spontaneous origin”.

  • Mekuy Mechsu (Deceased)
    Independent researcher

    A Zhurphani female. Mechsu was a doctor researching medical ethics for the General Medical Council. Despite being a medical doctor, her poor interpersonal skills meant she had no real friends and often upset people. Two months ago, she surprised everyone by committing suicide. Her body was found by Krista Petrakov in the Med Room … she’d injected herself with half of the drugs in the Archive’s emergency medical kit and died of an overdose.

  • Refal Menoras (Deceased)
    Independent researcher

    A Zhurphani male. Menoras was a historian researching the earliest records of the Archive. Many of those earliest records till defy translation but Menoras hoped to make some progress. Three months ago Menoras became ill, at first it was assumed to be a minor flu-like ailment, but two days later he was dead. The autopsy (carried out by Junghans Mim) revealed a rare form of lymphatic cancer that caused spontaneous tumours throughout the body.

  • Junghans Mim
    Junior Advisor

    A Zhurphani male. Mim is quite elderly, yet despite his passionate beliefs, he is only a Junior Advisor … a fact that has left him somewhat bitter. He is rigidly orthodox in his view and feels that the Advisors’ Council has sold out on many issues. He is a former medical doctor (but has not practised in years), and so he carried out the autopsies of Menoras, Mechsu, and Lowli. As a historian, he worked with Sade on a joint paper on the application of religious ideals on everyday life.

  • Marris Pell
    Trainee Advisor

    A Human male. His appearance and demeanour are described in greater detail in the section ‘Arrival’. Pell is an ex-thief, and a murderer who got caught and his presence in the Archive is part of a rehabilitation program. He is tough and wants to become a missionary (probably on the streets on Market). He has finished the compulsory part of the rehabilitation program and could leave at any time but stays for the training. He is not very remorseful but now sees the value in being part of society instead of against it. As he sees it, he made some mistakes; now, he is moving on.

  • Krista Petrakov
    Independent researcher

    A Human female. Petrakov was born on Rhylanor but immigrated to Yori when she was 18. Once on Yori she enlisted into the Yorian Army as a fighter pilot with the 1st Aerospace Group, quickly becoming an ace pilot. However, within a couple of years she was kicked out as psychologically unfit (her record states “suicidally reckless”). Somehow she persuaded the Advisors Council to accept her as an independent researcher at the Archive based on her long-time hobby as an occultist. Her demeanour is decidedly ‘odd’, she often slouches and moves slowly as if drunk (but is not). When she bothers, she can move with gymnastic grace and precision. She has a fatalistic view on life, yet finds humour in humourless situations (sometimes sniggering at everyday things). She usually wears her old flight suit, has the ability to nap with her eyes open (which creeps some people out), and thinks she might be the next to die (but what the heck).

  • Rilsey Sade (Deceased)
    Junior Advisor

    A Human male. Born on Yori, Sade had a career in the Imperial Navy and rose to the rank of Commander (Executive Officer on a Ghalalk class Armoured Cruiser in the 214th Fleet) before resigning his commission and pursuing a religious path. This background led him to an authoritarian view of religion, but he was well respected for his personal honesty and integrity. At the Archive, Sade worked with Junghans Mim as co-researcher into applied religious philosophy. Last month, for reasons that were never discovered, Sade left the Archive and went out onto the mountainside during a late-night storm; he fell to his death.

The Truth

The truth is that Mox Lowli and the others were murdered by Junghans Mim. The story goes like this:

A few months ago Refal Menoras was translating a very old document that dated back to the original settlers; it turned out to be a fragment of the captain’s logbook. What it told could undermine Yorian mythology and the right of the Advisors’ Council to run Yori. Menoras made the mistake of confiding in Mim what he had found. Mim could not accept that the religion he had devoted his life to might have been founded on corrupt ideals and so he poisoned Menoras.

Mekuy Mechsu was suspicious of Menoras death and started her own quite investigation. This eventually led to her discovering the truth and Mim poisoned her, too. As Mechsu was dying, she realised what was happened and tried to make an antidote out of the Archive’s emergency medical kit … but she only succeeded in over-dosing on the drug cocktail.

Rilsey Sade, Mim’s co-researcher, now became suspicious. He knew Mechsu and could not accept Mim’s claims that she had been depressed (part of the suicide story Mim made up). Sade did not uncover the truth, but Mim was rattled, things were spiralling out of control. After an argument with him, Mim decided to poison Sade too. Mim’s poison caused delirium in the human (which it had not in his two Zhurphani victims), and Sade ran from the Archive… only to slip and fall off a cliff in the dark and the rain (there was a night storm at the time). Thus with such an obvious cause of death, there was no detailed autopsy.

Things might have ended there had it not been for Mox Lowli. She also stumbled on a reference to the document that Menoras had found and Mim realised it was only a matter of time before she too found out what Menoras had known. Mim had no choice; he poisoned her and hid the offending document. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy it, even though it could destroy him … so he hid it with the works of Tiro Pouadiea (a research subject only he seemed to find of interest).

The more progress Mim sees the group making towards unravelling the events, the more he will complain to the Archive’s Director (see No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition!). And if the group really rattle him he may try yet another poisoning … on a group member.

If the group find and translate the missing scroll, Mim will lose it. He’ll rage at them, boasting to all present of his actions “for the moral good”. If he can, he’ll try to destroy the Archive and the offensive scroll along with it (even at the cost of his own life). A fire in the stacks is one way he could achieve this.

The Cluttered Workstation

One obvious place to investigate is Lowli’s desk. Pell will show it to them. It is in a communal room called ‘the study’. If this is the group’s first visit to the study read the following:

Some way into the complex is a fair-sized communal hall. There are a dozen workstations, arranged in rows like giant school desks. The hall is dimly lit … there is no natural light, and most of the illumination comes from the desks. Several corridors lead off into the shadows. Every footfall or crackle of paper is clearly audible in the deathly quiet. Two of the desks are occupied, the researchers glancing furtively up at the new arrivals. The air is dusty and seems ancient.

The group could attempt to talk to the two researchers, or go to Lowli’s desk.

Lowli’s workstation (like the others) appears to be a modern high-tech desk. Much of the space is taken up by a powerful desk computer with holodynamic controls. A basket beside the computer holds two very old looking tubes (about 40cm long and varying in diameter from 5cm to 10cm), they are ceramic and corked at both ends. Next to this is a box of surgical gloves and some little fist-sized sandbags. The only other item is a framed vid image still of Lowli and Gipert (apparently from their school days). The desk has some draws.

If the group decide to search the draws of Lowli’s desk:

Searching the draws yields an assortment of unremarkable stationery items and a large bowl half full of old popcorn. Pell looks disapprovingly at this last find but says nothing.

If the group want to look at the tubes:

As you reach for a tube Pell jumps forward. “Ah, no. Allow me.” He quickly dons some of the gloves and gently picks up one of the tubes. Unsealing one end, he carefully extracts a rolled sheet of parchment … a scroll! The scroll is very brittle and looks like one snap could crumble it to dust. Pell unrolls it on the desk, using the little sandbags to weigh it down. A delicate scrawl of indecipherable squiggles covers the page.

“Now, this …” he drawls while studying the scroll “Ah, this is Mungo’s Transliteration Of Vowel Sounds.” He glances at you and realises who his audience is. Sighing he continues in a condescending voice “Early Yorian writings … really early … where based on phonetics, words were written as they sounded. The problem with that is that not only does that vary from place to place but the sound of a word will change over time. We use Mungo as a reference to changes in spelling in Fargoanesse in the First Millennium, er, between two and three thousand years ago.” He ends his mini-lecture by flashing an insincere grin that’s gone almost as fast as it appeared.

Pell opens the second tube. The paper inside is in much better shape but still old. “Okay, this one is more recent. Some researcher’s thesis on the early settlers. It’s only several hundred years old.”

He looks puzzled. “If Lowli has Mungo here then she must have been translating something … there should be another scroll.” Shrugging, he cheerily asks “Okay, now what?”

If the group want to access Lowli’s computer they will discover the memory has been wiped. Attempts to reconstruct the data stream from any fragments will be unsuccessful … this wasn’t a simple deletion but a full memory purge.

Another Workstation

After a while it may occur to someone in the group to check out Mim’s desk. Pell will show it to them. It is in a communal room called ‘the study’. The group should have been here before to check out Lowli’s desk, if not then on their first visit to the study read the following:

Some way into the complex is a fair-sized communal hall. There are a dozen workstations, arranged in rows like giant school desks. The hall is dimly lit … there is no natural light, and most of the illumination comes from the desks. Several corridors lead off into the shadows. Every footfall or crackle of paper is clearly audible in the deathly quiet. The room is empty; no one else is currently working. The air is dusty and seems ancient.

When they reach Mim’s desk:

Mim’s workstation (like the others) appears to be a modern high-tech desk. Much of the space is taken up by a powerful desk computer with holodynamic controls. A basket beside the computer holds a single very old looking tubes (about 40cm long and 10cm in diameter), it is ceramic and corked at both ends. Next to this is a box of surgical gloves and some little fist-sized sandbags. The desktop is otherwise empty. The desk has some draws.

If the group decide to search the draws of Mim’s desk:

Searching the draws yields an assortment of generally unremarkable stationery items. However, a hardcopy notepad has some writing … more of a doodle really. The phrase (in Galanglic) “Let all of the poisons that dwell in the log ebb out.” is written several times.

If the group want to look at the tube:

Pell quickly dons some of the gloves and gently picks up the tube. Unsealing one end, he carefully extracts a rolled sheet of parchment … a scroll! The scroll looks quite old. He unrolls it on the desk, using the little sandbags to weigh it down. A fine scrawl of indecipherable squiggles covers the page.

“This scroll appears to be some of the teachings of Tiro Pouadiea.” says Pell, “He was a philosopher at the time of Bon-Fargoa’s fall … one of those morally devout types, all ‘fire and brimstone’. Real fun to have at a party if you’re into eternal damnation. You know it’s a shame that of all the things that could have survived in here, his pen scratchings had to be among them!”

If the group want to access Mim’s computer:

There are no passwords or other barriers to access. You find the usual assortment of calendar files, memos, news clippings, and the like.

You also find a half-finished thesis paper on religious morality in the modern-day. Much of it is lost on you, but as Pell reads it with you he summarises that Mim’s position seems to be ultra-orthodox, some might say extremist. There are many references to the teachings of Tiro Pouadiea. Pell says “I think our Mim wants to be Tiro reincarnated. The sap!” At one point, the thesis advocates the use of the death penalty for murderers. “Now isn’t that interesting …” Pell mutters to himself.

There is a second, earlier, draft. This one co-authored by Rilsey Sade. As Pell reads it, he observes that this draft is tamer, more balanced. “I always liked Rilsey. Solid. Dependable.” adds Pell with what sounds like a touch of sarcasm.

Dead Bodies … One, two, three.

When investigating suspicious deaths, it’s always handy to inspect the bodies. Unfortunately, those of Mechsu, Menoras, and Sade have been cremated (on the request of the various next of kin), and so they are unavailable for examination. However, there are some records …

Death #1: Refal Menoras

Junghans Mim filed the death certificate for Menoras. He also filed an abridged autopsy record which notes “multiple highly aggressive cancers of spontaneous origin” but “nothing suspicious”. The records of the actual autopsy itself seem to have been lost (they are not on the computer). Menoras died three months ago.

Death #2: Mekuy Mechsu

Junghans Mim filed the death certificate for Mechsu. It merely states that death was from an overdose of various drugs taken from an emergency medkit, following a period of depression. There is an appendix containing the records of the actual autopsy. Mechsu died two months ago.

To notice something about the autopsy records:
Difficult, Medical, Edu, 10 mins (safe, uncertain).

Referee: On total truth, the character will notice that some of the blood analysis was faked ... standard figures straight out of a medical text. On some truth, the character will suspect something is wrong with the blood analysis but be unable to pinpoint what.

Death #3: Rilsey Sade

Advisor Synnko filed the death certificate for Sade. According to the declaration, Sade went out onto the mountainside during a night storm (for no discernable reason) and fell a great distance. There is an appendix containing a cursory report by local police who recovered the body. The verdict was “death by misadventure”. Sade died last month.

The just leaves Mox Lowli’s body …

The Autopsy of Lowli

Junghans Mim filed the death certificate for Lowli.  It indicates that an autopsy (conducted by Mim) revealed “multiple highly aggressive cancers of spontaneous origin” but “nothing suspicious” … just like Menoras. The records of the actual autopsy are not on the computer. Lowli’s body is sealed in a casket awaiting cremation.

If Mim is questioned over the lack of detailed records, he will become angry at having his opinion questioned. Requesting the casket be opened will draw a similar response. If pushed Mim will formally complain to the Archive Director (who will, in all likelihood, side with Mim).

If the group do get access to Lowli’s body for an autopsy, the first thing they will see is that no autopsy was ever performed! Mim will justify himself by claiming the cause of death was obvious, and an autopsy, under those circumstances, would have been disrespectful.

To perform an autopsy:
Formidable, Medical, Edu, 1 hour (safe, uncertain).

Referee: On no truth, the character will find cancerous growths throughout the body (just as Mim predicted). On some truth, the character will notice that the growths appeared suddenly and without prior evidence of malignancy (it is more typical for a single malignant growth to ‘seed’ others throughout the body). On total truth, the character will determine that a highly carcinogenic compound was introduced into the body, causing cancerous growths to arise ... this compound is artificial.

Into The Stacks

One area that will be off-limits to the group is the scroll stacks. Even Pell won’t help them here. Since none of the Archive staff are armed Pell’s earlier warning about blasphemy being fatal is a bit hollow, but the group should be under no misconceptions that were weapons present being found here would be met with deadly force. However, should the group sneak into the stacks anyway …

The room is a long rough-hewn cellar-like room with a low ceiling. A wooden rack along one wall (not unlike a giant wine bottle rack) holds hundreds of scroll cases. At one end are several tables holding piles of more popular books and mounds of unsorted loose printed sheets. Little paper gift-tags hanging from strings have recently been attached to the rack providing an index to the contents.

If they find Mim’s hidden scroll, it will be unreadable to them without translation.

To translate the document:
Formidable, Computer, Int, 1 day (safe).

The People did enter the valley of tears, and there they did meet with the First Ones who had been there all along. And the time of the First Ones was drawing to an end, for their time was passed. And the People did have need of the water which was in abundance in the ground. But the First Ones were not ready to pass on yet, and their hearts were full of greed and jealousy of the People. And the First Ones did guard the water and withhold it from the People, even though it was abundant and the First Ones needed it not.

So the People did elect a great leader, and his name was Goshau. For Goshau did see what must be done and he did not shrink from the terrible truth. And Goshau did call forth the Chosen, a band of mighty warriors. The Chosen appeared in the midst of the First Ones, who’s hearts were fouled with greed and jealousy of the People, and the Chosen did smite them down with the fire of Liecs itself.

The warriors of the First Ones were smote, for they stood between the People and the water. The children of the First Ones were smote, for the time of the First Ones was at an end and they had no need of new generations. The womenfolk of the First Ones were smote, for they had brought forth the unwanted children of the First Ones and would do so again if not restrained. And when it was done the People had the water and there was much rejoicing.

But the Chosen had failed in their task. There were still some of the First Ones who had not yet passed. And their foul hearts could not accept the truth that their time was at end, for these First Ones did plot terrible revenge on the People. For the First Ones were strong where the People were weakest, and they did summon the Chosen to battle on a field of their design. The land of unreality. And the Chosen did fall. And when there were no more Chosen the First Ones sought out Goshau, and Goshau also did fall.

The First Ones did then extract a terrible and unjust tribute from the People. That the People would worship the First Ones as gods and praise them and pay homage to them for all eternity. Lest the People be smote in the land of unreality. And the People did bow down and lived in the dirt without enough water, while the foul First Ones did swim and breathe and live in water of such abundance.

In other words: Yorian mythology is maybe not based on true gods, but on an indigenous species with psionic powers. The original Zhurphani settlers, meeting this species for the first time responded by attempting genocide.

No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition!

Sooner or later, the disruption caused by the group’s investigation will prompt the Archive Director to take action. He will lodge a protest with the Advisors’ Council, and within a day Senior Advisor Ganggan Dzen will turn up. (Being found in the stacks, or leaving signs the group has been in the stacks, will trigger this automatically.) Dzen is described in Key People. Dzen will arrive in force … several Advisors, plus an infantry platoon loaned from the Yorian Army.

His actions will be to close the Archive, arrest any of the Archive’s staff who look suspicious (regardless of actual evidence) or who may be witnesses to anything, and to eject the group. Dzen is uninterested in the truth, or in justice. What he is interested in is restoring order. If the group try to remove any original documents or artefacts, or resist in any way, Dzen will unhesitantly order the use of deadly force.

Basically, this is the end of the group’s investigation. They must solve the riddles with what they know now or give up. Gipert Rules’ response will depend on what the group found. Regardless, Marris Pell may question his ambition to be a missionary (but he won’t join the group).

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Hemdian’s Notebook