- The group headed to the Night Drive club in the Neon Green to find Victor Malstrick, trying to get more info on the corporate string-pulling that seemed to be going on and to figure out how he fit into all of it.  After talking their way inside, they managed to find him through a woman called Lilith.  Victor told them he would tell them where they could find Balthazar - one of the former Aethercorp execs - in exchange for doing a job for him (and in addition to the 500k payoff), and they agreed.  They would need to plant an object and some data inside the HQ of a corp called Corvin-Systova.

- The next day, they met with the DCPD, who'd contacted them again via their ghost card.  The man who met them told them he was there on behalf of Sgt Kyotu (whom they knew).  The job he was sending them on was a bounty - they were after a man called Alexandre Makarta, a mid-level Proto-Nine executive.  They were offering 200k.

- V was contacted again by Rory, who gave him a datadrive from the Proto-Nine messaging system that might contain recoverable messages between high-level P9 execs.  He also told V that P9 was raided and that it's collapse was imminent.  He tried to extract the deleted data, but found with the tools he had available, it was going to take a significant amount of time.

- After meeting with Victor again to pickup up the package, the group made their way toward the Corvin-Systova HQ.  Just as they were putting their plan of infiltration into action, Sara received a mental contact from the girl she believed was behind the psychic shrieking she had experienced - this time, however, the contact seemed delibrate and contained some context clue as to her location...

- +3xp

- While V went to meet with Marion Plaskov to inquire further about the Watchful, Kendra, Mario and Sara went to meet their employer and make the delivery.  This went without incident: their contact, Hwan Byeong, was impressed with their performance and the group walked away with another 80k along with the suggestion that future contracts might be considered.

- V wasn't able to get much out of Plaskov other than the fact that he'd been hired by someone to hit the armored van.  He was hesistant to mention the Watchful or any of their activities.  He implied that they might be able to speak more freely in a legal environment, and V gave him his contact information so that this might be arranged.

- V was contacted by his old coworker Rory who had become aware of the disarray in the Proto-Nine HQ.  He wanted to know if V knew anything about it, and the two talked a little about what the group had seen when they broke into the facility.  V offered Rory some pay to stay at P9, do some prying, and report on anything he might be able to find out about what had been happening.

- Delpub was airing more news on "monster" sitings as well as Corvin-Systova's rebuttal to Ullertech's assertions that they were behind the incidents.

- Sara tried again to contact whatever disturbed mind was sending out the psychic shrieking she and other members of Delphi had perceived.  The target seemed to be a child, probably a girl between the ages of 9 and 13.  While solid contact proved elusive, she was able to send a simple telepathic message asking "what did you lose?".  She was met immediately with a mental shout showing a man and a woman, whom Sara suspects might be the girl's parents.  Calling V over, she shared their images with him and asked if he could find anything about them.  Initial searches, however, turned up nothing.  A few days later, she was able to contact the girl again - this time while she was asleep.  From the disorienting dream-mind, Sara was able to extract her name: Ryma Forsben.

- The group received another message on their ghost card for another meeting...

- +3xp

- Kendra & Mario did their best to avoid the camera and hotwired their way past the old keypad.  Inside they found a debris-filled hallway that appeared to be under construction.  There were no stairs to grant access to upper levels, and the only door was on the back side.  Finding no obvious way to open the door, the two had V (who was still hacked into the system from the sewers outside) open it for them.

- Inside, they found a much different environment: a clean and brightly-lit corporate research facility.  They made their way to the elevators only to be confronted with a heavily armed and armored security guard.  Fortunately for them, they got the jump on him and were able to take him out before he could even respond.

- On V's direction, K&M headed up to the 5th floor where the vaults that supposedly contained their target were.  Using a backdoor in the security system, V was able to bypass the compex computerized lock on the vault they wanted and opened it.  Unfortunately, it was about that time that the corp became aware of his presence in the system and, not too long after that, the fact that there were intruders in the facility. V locked all of the doors, but not before the other security guard made it to their level.  She sent out a request for backup, but V had already hijacked their outgoing data connections and her alert was funneled into a black hole.  She fired a few bursts of automatic gunfire at K&M, who were saved by their bulletproof vests, and Mario was eventually able to knock her out with his robotic arm.

- Meanwhile, Sara was outside keeping an eye out trouble approaching on the street and also probing for whatever was generating the psychic noise she'd been experiencing.  While she wasn't able to make contact with it, she was able to feel its presence just past the edge of her perception.  It seemed to be a young mind, a powerful psion, and one not completely in control of its powers.

- K&M grabbed the device they'd come to recover and made their way neatly out of the building.  Thanks largely to V's efforts, there was no cavalry coming to make things more difficult for them.  The group returned to Kendra's Klunkers to talk about their next move.

- Sara returned to Delphi's offices to speak with Deidre Telns about what she'd learned, and V made his way to the antique shop "Passed Gems" to speak with the Watchful.  He gave them the other case they'd swiped from the Proto-Nine HQ and told them he and his friends were interested in bringing down the corrupt corporations...

- +3xp

- The group decided to meet with the mystery contact that had messaged their ghost card.  The arrived at their usual meeting place early, and saw a limo approach and a group of people get out: a man in a nice suit with a half-cybernetic face and several obvious bodyguards.  He told them he'd gotten their info from the group's DCPD contact and that he had a job for them: the rival corporation Ullertech had stolen a cybernetic prototype and he wanted them to get it back.  They'd be paid 20k up front and another 80 upon completion.  After some discussion, they decided to take the stranger up on the job. 

- That night they saw the news broadcast about the creature attack they'd witnessed.  They were somewhat unnerved to see themselves in some footage from a corp security camera and hoped the poor resolution would be sufficient to keep their identities a mystery.

- The next day, the group made some preparations and V sent a message to his hacker contacts looking for info on Aethercorp - a defunct corporation they suspect might be behind Justin Mills' activities and the monstrocity.  Sara returned to the Delphi office in hopes of talking to Dr. Telns about some psychic disturbances she'd experienced: a sound like thousands of distant screams.  Dr. Telns didn't seem to be present, but Sara spent some time talking with one of her associates who relayed a request from the Dr to her: Deidra Telns was hoping Sara could use her abilities to locate the nature and source of the disturbance.

- That night, the group traveled to the target area indicated by their employer: an area of Old Harbor still sparsely inhabited.  Finding a power substation and following the largest conduits running through the sewers, they located the likely target building.  While V spliced himself into the data lines and gained access to the facility's computer systems, the others broke their way in through the door at the bottom of the back stairwell.  Once inside, they found their way through the dark and damp basement to the stairway up into the building.  Looking up they saw a metal door, a very old and worn-looking keypad, and camera pointed in their direction...

- Having received multiple messages from Rory about the state of the case, the made arrangements to meet him for their payoff the next day.  They finally managed to break on of the cases open.  Inside they found 32 vials of some substance and an injector.

- Deciding to see what "Justin Mills" wanted in his message to Mario, the group headed over to the address at 3am.  The location turned out to be an old Ullertech warehouse.  The guards outside didn't know anything about "Justin".  As they were leaving, a 12 foot monstrosity emerged from the shadows and began smashing its way into the facility.

- As the firefight began, the group retreated to a "safe" observing distance, where they happened upon a young woman videotaping the scene.  Sara was able to assess that she was related to the media/press in some way.

- The creature did a lot of damage, took a lot of gunfire, and limped away.  The group followed it an eventually found it collapsed and apparently dead in an alleyway much further into the Old Harbor district.

- The following day, the met with Rory to give him the untouched case, and told him they were gravely concerned about what was inside.  He gave them their payoff, and they left.

- The group received a message on their ghost card indicating another time and passphrase, but the fact that it didn't seem to originate from their contact at the DCPD concerned them.

- V told the rest of the group that he suspects the whole thing to be the work of corrupt corporations - Proto-Nine, and the defunct Aethercorp that they suspect "Justin" is working for.  His aim is to bring them all down somehow.  And Sara tells them that she had received another message from the Watchful - the "resistance" group that seemed to have a similar aim...

- Deciding it was their best shot at getting access to the upper laboratories, V used his neural link to venture into the Proto-Nine computer system, heading for the security area.  Once past the System Sentries, he found a panel full of door lock indicators and releases - the only problem was, he could only override them for a few seconds.

- The rest of the group made their way up to floor 82 and slipped through the door after V opened it.  They found the labs on this level to be in a state of complete disarray.  Sara located the case they had come to grab without too much trouble, and headed down and out of the building with it - playing off an encounter with Bluestar Security using some fast-talk and her psionic empathy.

- Kendra and Mario, meanwhile, grabbed another case and decided to check out some of the upper levels.  V told them that the upper floors were all VIP/CEO penthouses and executive meeting spaces, but when the two arrived, they found the place completely abandoned.

- Returning to meet up with V who escaped from the VR system only after a tangle with one of the Sys-Ents, the three were able to convince Bluestar that they were legit and exit the building as well.

- The group met back up at Kendra's shop.  They tried to open one of the cases, but only managed to scratch up the exterior.  Meanwhile, Mario went to talk to some doctors about plastic surgery to repair his scarred face and on the way back stopped at one of the city's PostTerms where he found a message containing only an address and a time from Justin Mills...

- +3xp

- The group left the DCPD and split up.  Kendra, Mario, and V made their way to the Marquee District to find some high-end communicators.  The place they found, called "Comms & Bombs" was a bit lower-end for the district, but had what they were looking for.  A bit pricey, but the team walked away with 4, subtle in-ear communicators that would reach a distance of about mile through most kinds of barriers.

- Meanwhile, Sara went to the Lift District to a generic office block in response to a message she'd received.  There she met with Dr. Deidre Telns, a woman who claimed to be a part of an inter-planetary neuroscience firm called Delphi.  As they conversed, it became apparent that they were, in fact, an organization dedicated to emergent psionics.  The meeting was a little tense, and Sara remained very suspicious, however much the Dr claimed not to want anything more than to offer her organization's support in exchange for info about Sara's gifts.

- After the group reunited, they paid a visit to "Passed Gems", an antique shop buried in the Neon District.  They mentioned Marion Plaskov and, after some persistence with the shopkeepers, learned that they were associated with an organization looking to depose corrupt corporations - one of them being Proto-Nine.

- The group then returned to Kendra's shop to plan their heist against P9 that night.  Using the parking pass and IDs Rory had given them, they took the elevator up from the parking garage.  On one of the lower-middle floors Kendra managed to swipe a Clearance 2 keycard from a worker who had fallen asleep at his desk, getting them up to floor 64.  They managed to get inside one of the manager's offices on that floor, ducking the patrolling Bluestar security guard.  While V tried to learn what he could from the computer system, they heard the guard's radio go off just outside and the announcement it made - apparently, they'd aroused some suspicion...

- +2xp

- The group found themselves under attack by mystery agents - presumably tied to the RVR corporation.  Hotel Bluestar security arrived on the scene shortly after, but the chaos of the situation was already out of hand.  The group managed to fight off the attackers and escape before more Bluestar arrived on-scene.

- Having obtained the data from the designated contact, V made the swap with K-Method for info on "Justin Mills".  The alias was apparently being used by a corporate mercenary and assassin by the name of Victor Malstrik who seemed to be hired by a defunct corporation called Aethercorp.

- The group received a message from the DCPD on behalf of Marrion Plaskov, who had requested to speak with them.  Their conversation didn't make much sense, but he did slip them a business card for an antique shop in the Neon district with the word "Watchful" hand-written on the back.

- V got a message from Rory offering a job.  He apparently needed whatever was in the case Victor had taken, and is offering the group 60k to swipe another from the upper levels of the Proto-Nine headquarters...

- +2xp

- Concerned about a double-cross from Justin, the group hurried back upstairs.  There they did indeed find someone with a gun in the room with Plaskov, but it wasn't the thug - it was Rory, a former coworker V knew from his days at Proto-Nine.  V and Mario were able to talk him down enough to pass on what they knew about Justin and the case he had taken, at which point Rory bolted out of the room, apparently in pursuit.  Unsure exactly of what was going on, the group kept tabs on the room until the police arrived - just to make sure no one else came in trying to do something with their target.

- They met up with Sgt. Askara again the following morning.  She told them their pay would be on the card, but commented that there were a few details of the case that didn't make any sense.  For one, Dynamics (the primary financial corp of the city) hadn't said word one about the missing cash.  Also, they'd had an odd call from someone at Proto-Nine asking if they recovered any of the company's property when they arrested the perpetrator.

- Meanwhile, V got a response from someone within the hacker collective he'd asked to dig up info on their medic friend, Justin Mills.  The contact, a person going by the handle "K-Method", told them there were 16 records for "Justin Mills" in Delcron's personnel database, only two of which were active.  None of the 16 looked anything like the medic.  The contact said they had additional info, but if he wanted it, V was going to have to do something for them.  Namely, he needed to go to a casino in the upscale Marquee district and exchange an ID card for a data stick from a certain man.  After some discussion, the group decided they'd make the exchange. V made the card per K-Method's instructions, and the crew bought some fancy clothes and made their way to the White Stag Hotel Casino.

- While Mario made some money gambling, the others set about looking for their mark in the sprawling 4-level gaming hall - eventually finding him among a group of wealthly-looking individuals from the RVR corporation - the single most powerful corp in Delcron City.

- When V gave the man the ID card, he was given a hotel keycard and a room number instead of a datastick, and was advised to 'keep an eye on' a particular man that seemed to be watching their exchange.  The group headed into the hotel, pretty sure they were being followed, and made their way up to floor 56 which was undergoing renovations.  While the others waited in the cluttered hallway, V found a suitcase in the room containing the datastick and a silenced, high-caliber pistol with a note reading "just in case".  About that time, Kendra heard a crashing sound of something coming up behind them...

- +2xp

- The group made their way to the Gale-James Hotel and set about trying to figure out whether Plaskov was there and where he might be.  They ended up running into Justin Mills - the medic from the previous night - and learned that he was actually after Plaskov too: not for the man himself, but for something he had apparently stolen.  Some sort of tech his "clients" wished to recover.

- They'd figured out a likely floor, and after their discussion with Justin, decided they'd just go room-by-room, with a skeleton-keycard V had made from a room key lifted from one of the guests, until they found him.  Sara's empathy gave them a clue, and they found Plaskov, apparently passed out drunk on his hotel bed.  They bound him with ducttape and found the combination to the room safe.  Inside was a bunch of cash, and the case Justin had been looking for, which he took and left.

- Not sure how they'd get Plaskov out of the hotel without raising a LOT of suspicion, they decided they'd tell their police contact where he was and just let them pick him up.  While Sara was downstairs sending the message from the hotel's PostTerm, she saw Justin Mills have a brief exchange with another man as he was walking out - a man that happened to be one of the bikers from the night before - the one who'd shot Mario... 

- +2xp

- The group broke into an abandoned apartment building across from the bar to stake out and watch to see if their target return - and he does, very early in the morning, meeting some kind of medic. 

- The group decided they'd go grab him, but they hadn't counted on a trio of bikers arriving, apparently after Plaskov as well.  The insuing firefight left Mario, Kendra, and the bartender wounded, the bar shot up, and Plaskov chased out of the bar.

- When the group met up the next day, they decided to sneak back into the closed bar to see if anything left behind might point them toward their quarry.  Here they finally had some good fortune: Plaskov's jacket.  Inside they found a folded piece of stationery from the Gale-James Hotel with what looked like a product model number for something secretive produced by V's former employer...

- +3xp

System: Savage Worlds

Setting: Delcron City

Players: Sheri, Taylor, Dave, Stephen

Schedule: Every Few Fridays

This game was started on Stephen's suggestion, and Taylor and Dave were really interested in getting to play something.  After some voting, we settled on a cyberpunk-style game using the Savage Worlds system.  I'm using a portion of one of my homebrew settings for this game.

Template: The party are a group of friends who have been taking jobs as private investigators and bounty hunters for the last year or so, and it's proving lucrative - or, at least, more lucrative than their crappy jobs.

Characters:

- Sara [Sheri] :: a medic and emergent Empath

- Mario [Dave] :: an asteroid miner and pub bouncer

- Kendra [Taylor] :: a mechanic who runs a junk shop

- "V" [Stephen] :: a hacker now wanted by his former employer

Opening Session Highlights:

The crew got a message from their contact at the DCPD about a possible job.  When they met up with sgt. Askara Kyotu at the usual place (an abandoned pier in the Old Harbor district), they were told about an armored car holdup.  Three attackers, one of whom apparently killed the other two and was injured and on the run.  They'd ID'd the man as Marrion Plaskov, a corp-worker in his late 40s who'd been let go about 15 months previous.  The PD had gotten a tip about a man matching the description at a place called "Hotwired 6" in the Neon district near Res II.  Askara told them bringing him in would be worth 20k to them.

- The group went to the bar, which was crowded and loud.  They looked and asked around a bit, eventually talking to a couple of thugs who subsequently attacked them in the street outside.  After Kendra took a wrench to one of their heads and Sara paralyzed the other with indecision, they learned that the group's target had paid them to "take care of" anyone asking questions about him.  The thug told them the man indicated he would be back to the bar, and then fled down a back alley.

- +2xp

- Concluded negotiations with goblins, humans granted right to settle on island under some conditions.

- After some time, talk resumes of continuing the expedition, to see what else is out there.  In all likelihood, the Wind's Wings will be sailing forth soon, while most of the expedition remains for rest and repairs...

- Met Elistanna, agreed to aid her in exchange for help negotiating with the goblin ruler, as the expedition needed more time before it could possibly leave, and might even prefer to remain.

- Organized a meeting with the goblins, offered cooperation, trade and exchange of information in exchange for the right to settle part of the island.

[auxilliary scene]

- Back on the Wind's Wings, the deck hands were hailed by a group of men in long boats approaching the vessel.  The approaching men claimed captain Collette had sent them to the ship to retrieve additional tools and blasting supplies from the ship's hold.  Once some were on board, they turned on the Wind's Wings' crew.  The ensuing battle was bloody and hard-fought, but the Wind's Wings' crew ultimately prevailed.

[.end auxilliary scene]

- meanwhile, the group in the goblin canyon decided to make a break for the surface.  being stealthy was going to be difficult if not impossible and they really didn't want to engage an entire civilization in combat, but options seemed limited.  As they darted down catwalks and through stone halls, they did their best to avoid groups of the goblins.  They didn't realize until too late that they were being intentionally drive downward - deeper into the hive.

- ultimately, the group ended up cornered and driven into a large cavernous hall filled with dozens of goblins.  These, however, had a very different appearance to those they had previously encountered.  Their skin was more of a blue grey, and they wore nice though exceptionally worn robes and exotic jewelry tarnished with age.  One sat on a large throne in the far corner of the room.  When they entered, he began speaking to them.

- the goblin "king" informed them that they - and their fellow "creatures" - were encroaching upon his territory.  He told them that they had three days to leave the island or else they would be annihalated.  One of the other goblins seemed to want to say something, but the king quieted her.  The group was then permitted to leave the hall through a tunnel that ultimately led them back to the forest on the surface.

- upon returning to the beach, they began telling the expedition leaders about the situation and that the island wasn't safe, when they were interrupted by some commotion further inland.  Making its way through the encampment was a small, hooded figure.  When it removed its hood, the group recognized the goblin from that had tried to speak in the king's hall.

- the creature that had emerged from the sunken city had only started speaking - in some language Zatara inexplicably understood - when skeletal figures began emerging from the water onto the building tops around the group.  The conflict escalated until the first creature was dragged back into the pool and a bright burst of light swallowed the room.  When it subsided, the skeletons were gone.

- the group followed the caverns and tunnels out of the city until they found themselves in a small cavern with a hole in the ceiling through which some light filtered - though it was occupied by a group of crazed goblin-like creatures.

- the group was eventually able to climb up and out of the hole, the wall near which seemed specifically designed to prevent it.  Above they found themselves in a small, hewn stone room which apparently acted as a kind of jail.  The room exited onto a wooden walkway attached to the cliff-side of a massive canyon wall.

- the canyon was honeycombed with hundreds of similar chambers, connected by catwalks, ladders, stairs and lifts.  A river of magma flowed out of the far canyon wall and plunged down to the canyon floor somewhere below - and steam billowed up from those depths.  Most concerning though, was that there were goblins everywhere.

Guest PC: [Pat] Delilah O'Mari - Artisan/Smith

- the group had finished their conversation with Kilmer on the beach, and were following him through the crowd to speak with the ship captains.  Before they had made it off the beach, they ran into Caroline with a middle-aged woman - just as the ground shook with a tremendous earthquake.  The ground beneath them collapsed inward, and a torrent of water from the sea washed them down into a massive cavern.

- it took the group some time to collect themselves.  The opening above them had re-sealed itself in the cave-in, and it was completely dark.  Breeze and Zatara managed to catch themselves on a higher ledge, but Lucas and the woman, called Delilah, were washed into a larger pool further in.

- Lucas and Delilah began planning a way to produce a light source, while Breeze and Zatara tried to feel their way down to the others.  When Lucas called out for Caroline again, she answered him from some distance away, as a blue light began to emanate from her direction, illuminating a massive cavern - at the far side of which was the facade of a large, palacial building which had, apparently, been consumed by the cavern.  The architecture and design were unrecognizable.

- As Lucas approached the building, a large, mangy wildcat emerged and pounced on him - though it's diseased state was apparently ill-suited to subduing the sailor, and he eventually put it down.

- Deciding they could not return to the surface the way they came, they headed through the palace, hoping there was a way out the other side.  Breeze discovered a kind of workshop down one of the limestone-coated halls.  In addition to some unusual objects, the workroom also contained the remains of a mural which depicted a building similar to the one they were in as well as the bow of a great ship.

- While they were investigating the palace, they were attacked by some large insect-like creatures, which they managed to fend off without significant injuries.

- When the group managed to work their way through the building, they emerged into another massive cavern complex, which contained the buildings of a sizable city.  Near the center of the city was a large flooded area, which was bubbling and issuing steam.  As they approached, a strange, morphing being emerged from the pool and began approaching them, speaking in a strange, nearly-subsonic voice...

- as the group settled into camp, Lucas noticed that Morgan, one of the men from his ship he'd brought along, wasn't around, and no one really seemed to know where he went.  They were concerned that whoever had been watching the camp had captured him.

- the next morning, the three took Julia and began tracking the prints she'd found back to their origin.  This lead them a considerable distance to the west where they entered a hilly region and eventually began to see signs of human(?) presence - namely, the stumps of some trees that had clearly been chopped down.  When Julia did not return from scouting ahead, the group rounded a bend and found themselves in a kind of forest village, seemingly composed largely of lumber scavenged from wrecked ships.

- the village appeared empty, but the group got the clear impression people were present.  Lucas decided to take a direct approach, walking to the center of town and calling out - saying they meant no harm to any of them, and that if they were castaways, their expedition could offer some assitance.

- the speech was responded to by a variety of individuals, several of which seemed to have differing motives.  There were a series of half conversations, offers and threats before a man called Cerrick started hostilities and a brief skirmish erupted, during which Julia was freed.  After the assailents were defeated, more talks insued.  It turned out that the village was composed of a variety of castaways from at least three different ships.  Most of them were much more inclined to negotiate than Cerrick had been, and were keenly interested in what this expedition could offer them (in one way or another).  The group spent the rest of the day talking with the inhabitants, learning about who they were and about the island they now occupied - even looking at a rough map one of the villagers had drawn of the island.  When Lucas asked about Morgan, he learned from a woman, Roxanne, that he had come to speak with Cerrick the night before.

- the next morning, they returned to the beach, where most of the expedition had now landed and land was being cleared for a more permanent, temporary camp.  Many of the passengers and crew were enjoying the chance to be on land once again.  The group informed Kilmer of what they had learned, and asked if Morgan had returned.  Kilmer told them that Morgan had returned in the late morning, saying that he'd gotten lost in the forest the night before.

- the group met with the expedition leaders and formed a survey team to be lead jointly by Lucas and Kilmer.  It was composed of Lucas, Breeze and Zatara as well as Kilmer, Josiah and Hal (two sailors from the Wind's Wings), Morgan and Alexander (two sailors from the New Legacy), and Van and Julia (two hunter/woodsman types who were passengers on the Grand Alexis).  Their goals were to scout the immediate area so that the expedition proper could make a safe landing, and discern whatever was possible about the nature of the island in general.

- the survey team decided to land where Breeze had spotted a couple streams flowing into the harbor.  They decided to split up and each hike a mile or two inland following the streams.  The teams discovered that the streams joined a river which originated at the closest mountain.  The edges of the forest were very dense with undergrowth, but the interior contained larger trees with a thicker canopy and the forest floor was remarkably open.  They also discovered a marshland to the west where Van found some interesting tracks.

- when they met again on the beach, Van and Julia discussed the tracks and wanted to return to where they had been found - at the edge of the swamp.  The three accompanied them.  There they caught site of a small, grotesque but humanoid creature.  When they pursued it, they found themselves ambushed by several more of the goblin-like creatures - two of them riding massive lizard-like beasts, the tracks of which Van had found earlier in the day.  In the skirmish, Lucas was severely injured, though the others were able to drive off the remaining attakers.  

- when they returned to the beach, it was well after dusk and Kilmer and the others were making camp for the night.  Julia noticed several sets of boot-prints at the edge of the camp, behind a rise - a place where none of them had been...

- Lucas made his way back down to the Grand Arcadia, thinking he might grab some coin from one of the chests and make a run for it now that it seemed quiet.  Once down at the ship however, he encountered a strange woman who was speaking enigmatically to a barely-conscious Julius who'd been pinned to something like a large red sofa with 4 large black spikes.  The room was lit with a reddish glow by rows of paper lanterns hanging around the hold.  She seemed to be interested in what Julius was looking for and whether he found it.  When Lucas arrived, she turned her attention to him.  Being around her seemed to cause his mind to call up random and vivid memories.

- meanwhile, Breeze, Zatara and Kilmer made their way further into the rock tunnel.  They encountered a great snake in a bone-filled cavern.  As they tried to escape, Breeze was bitten and flung across the room, collapsing in a bone pile on the other side.  Kilmer tried to revive her - to no avail - while Zatara finally managed to drive off the snake after wounding it.  Despite Kilmer's concerns about moving her, they didn't have much choice, and that since the snake retreated down the tunnel they'd come through, they decided to continue in hopes there was another way out.

- the tunnel continued to another cavern - this one covered with rune-like carvings - and eventually up and out onto and exterior cliffside that seemed to merge with old, carved ruins.  There they encountered a young woman humming to herself and painting random designs on the stone around her.  She seemed excited to see the newcomers, but their conversation had only started when another woman appeared from the tunnel behind them.  This second woman was older and with features that seemed to blur when observed directly.  She attempted to convince the young girl that these intruders must be destroyed and ordered her to do so, while Zatara and Kilmer made the case that they meant her no harm.  Eventually the tense situation eroded as the girl ran sobbing from the room, and the other woman vanished in anger.  The path continued to the summit of the rock where they found a kind of look-out post, but no way down to the shore.  Frustrated and tired, they realized they'd have to go back.  Fortunately, the descent was relatively unobstructed and they soon rejoined the two sailors they'd left outside the tunnel.  Breeze had stabilized and was breathing, but could not be revived.

- Lucas spoke uneasily with the strange woman in the wrecked ship for some time, trying to discern who she was.  Conversation with her seemed disjointed, however, and she tended to jump lines of inquiry unexpectly.  She eventually became frustrated with him and returned to Julius.  As the light from the lanters began to suddenly fade to darkness, Lucas, throughly disconcerted, made his way back outside and, upon locating one of the long boats that was still intact, returned to the New Legacy with news that the landing party had not gone as planned.

- Breeze was revived a couple of days later by a strange, old woman called Agatha who was a passenger on the Grand Alexis.  There had been much talk, and it had been decided that the expedition would continue toward their original target island.  The journey was not easy on anyone, however.  Overall morale had been crumbling for some time, and an as-yet-unsolved murder (a man called Darren, apparently repeatedly stabbed by someone) that happened only a few days out from the rock-isle made matters worse - even with Breeze and another performer named Brooke doing their best to keep people optimistic.  It was nearly a week past the time they "should have" reached the island on their heading, but when land was finally sighted, they found an island even larger than they had anticipated...

- The expedition set out toward the theoretical large, volcanic island.  As they proceeded, their course veered northward near the rocky island they had previously discussed and, since the opportunity had presented itself, they decided a slight detour may be worthwhile.

- The expedition was caught in a sudden storm as they approached the island which threatened to capsize them or drive them into the rocky shore.  Fortunately, the storm disappated as quickly as it had hit and, while the Winds Wing's sustained some minor damage, it seemed largely intact.  The Grand Alexis was no longer visible, however, but Collette seemed to think the captain had chickened out and headed back east away from the storm.

- The captains of the two remaining ships met briefly and decided upon a plan of action until the expedition's leaders (largely on the Grand Alexis) rejoined them.  The New Legacy would sail northward to circumvent the island and the Wind's Wings would send a survey team ashore.  Breeze and Zatara were part of the survey team, but the leader, the first mate Kilmer, said he was unable to find Lucas before they cast off.

- Lucas had, in fact, returned to the New Legacy at the invitation of Julius Edmund, the first mate of that ship.  He had made some mention of personal gain and Lucas suspected that Edmund had something up his sleeve.  After a couple hours of sailing, the New Legacy spotted Edmund's target - the wreck of an enourmous ship on the island coast.  Lucas recognized the ship as the Grand Arcadia - a sister ship of the Grand Alexis that was said to have disappeared with a large cargo of silver, jewels and other treasures.

- Julius led a contigent of crew ashore - along with Lucas.  He seemed somewhat confused but unconcerned with the fact that the ground around the wreck was littered with the skeletons of sailors - most of whom showed obvious signs of violent death.  Julius led the group into the bow hold of the great ship where they found more skeletons and dozens of chests full of treasure.  They soon found themselves attacked by water-soaked zombie-like sailors who had come up and out of the sea.  Seeing a losing battle, Lucas began to climb up and out of the hold, but the frantic Julius seemed unwilling or unable to join him.  Outside, Lucas saw the wreck was beset by hundreds of zombie-like warriors, some of them pulling on glowing, spectral lines trying to drag the wreck into the ocean.

- Lucas jumped from the stern of the ship and fought the surf back to shore away from the onslaught.  When he finally reached the outcropping above the ship, he was surprised to find that he could see no trace of the zombie horde - but neither could he see or hear any sign of the New Legacy crewmen.

- Meanwhile, Zatara and Breeze found themselves in the forest on the backside of the rock-mountain that was the island's prominent feature - and face to face with a giant.  It was nearly 20 feet in height, even hunched over as it was.  Its features were deformed and it seemed of primitive intellect as it did little besides howl and attempt to smash them with a great tree-trunk of a club.  They had noticed a carved doorway in the cliffside behind the creature, but only they and Kilmer were able to avoid the giant's blows and reach it.  The three of them saw the other two sailors (one of them injured) make their way northward away from the clearing as the giant howled and bludgeoned the cilff face outside.

- the ghostly woman began questioning Lucas in some unknown language, becoming more and more urgent until Lucas answered the question she seemed to be asking in the affirmative - at which point she relented and her form began to disappate.

- Zatara was approached by a young girl - perhaps 7 or 8 - and she asked him if he would take her to her mother.  Upon reaching the temple room where Lucas and Breeze were still looking at each other as though unsure of what just happened, the girl directed her attention of Lucas, calling him "Mother", and asking if they would finally be going home.

- As eveing approached, the group left the mountain and headed back toward the village, where they noticed they could see no torchlights.  Upon arriving in Basnet, they found the place deserted - apparently for some time.

- Lucas insisted he needed a drink, and made his way toward the Dockside tavern.  It, too, appeared to have been unoccupied for at least a decade, though the bar was still stocked with untouched spirits (though they tasted a bit off).  It wasn't until they were getting ready to leave that they noticed the woman who had told Lucas about "Old Caroline".  She had been sitting at a table in the corner near the door, chuckling to herself.  When the others saw her, she made her way to the exit telling them over her shoulder "This won't be the strangest thing you will encounter in these waters!", before pushing the door open and heading into the dark night.  Breeze chased after her, bursting through the door just after it had closed behind the woman, but she could find no trace of the gossip outside.

- The group returned to the Wind's Wings and informed the captain of what had happened (and offered some explanation as to the girl that was accompanying them).

- The following day, the New Legacy and Grand Alexis arrived, but there was to be no landfall.  The crew of the Wind's Wings scoured the abandoned village for anything of use, but thereafter the expedition decided to press on past Basnet.  They decided to alter course to the north, however, when a lingering and forboding storm on the southwestern horizon refused to disappate.

- The expedition's cheif navigator presented some sea charts to a meeting of the expedition leaders and a few others gathered to discuss course.  He mentioned three islands - a southern coral atoll closer to their original projected course, a rocky prominence to the north west and a rumoured large, volcanic island beyond it.  The existence of none of these islands had been confirmed, but as part of the expedition's goals was exploration and since the stop at Basnet had not gone according to plan, investigating one or more seemed reasonable.

- There was some discussion as to what course should be taken, but the majority seemed to favor seeking out the large island as the other two seemed to have relatively little to offer...

- the party struggled with the "fish-man" until Breeze wounded it and it fled - crashing through a parlor window

- as it did, a man entered the house/inn and seemed to be asking where it had gone.  Fredrick seemed to blame him.

- only moments later, they heard commotion outside and saw that a fire had started in the town.

- the group joined the firefighting efforts and ended up engaging two other "fish-men" at the periphery of the scene

- the following morning they met with the captain.  Breeze was concerned that Lucas (and possibly herself) had become "infected"

- they talked with the local Chairman about the expedition as well as the previous night's adventure

- Lucas spoke with a local gossip about "Old Caroline", a witch who had "died" as a child, supposedly lived on the moutain and was "certainly" responsible for the fish-man curse

- the next day, the group decided to investigate the mountain and the rumors of the "witch".  Near the top, they found a boulder, next to which was some sand, seashells and the skeleton of a small, humanoid figure wearing a gold necklace (which Lucas, who had been having some strange feelings about the place, decided to pick up and put on).

- behind the boulder was a cave entrance with carved steps leading down into a ruined temple-like chamber with a large bronze sun.  They were still examining their surroundings when animated skeletons began attacking them.

- as the group was destroying the last of the skeletons, a ghost-like woman entered the temple.  It stopped briefly to say something to Zatara - touching its finger to his forehead - but seemed to take a greater interest in Lucas.  Specifically, the necklace he was now wearing...

Characters:

[Sheri] Clara "Breeze" - Wind's Wings crew, sea singer

[Tony] Lucas - Ex-priate, Wind's Wings conscript

[Adam] "Zatara" - Castaway, amnesiac

Session:

- the party aboard the Wind's Wings (captain William Collette) was ~3 days ahead of the rest of the expedition.  The ship was just arriving at Basnet, an island fishing village and the western-most point of the commonly-travelled sea. This was the last stop in the known world before the expedition was to head into the western sea.

- it was a bit after sunset, and the captain sent the group ashore to ask get the harbormaster's permission to moore the next day, as well as to speak with the local authority about the arrival of the rest of the expedition and to ask about the availability of provisions for the expedition's resupply.

- on their way into the village, they encountered a nearly-capsized fishing ketch.  They helped the three crewman right the vessel, though there seemed to be something more to the situation than the captain's explanation of a 'freak accident'.

- in the village, the group spoke with the harbormaster and the proprietor of the local tavern.  The patrons of the dockside establishment seemed unusually dour, though the bartender explained that many were simply tired of their monotonous.  He also steered them toward the town's "inn", which rarely saw customers.  The innkeeper and his wife were indeed very happy to see them.

- it was some hours into the night when they were awakened by the sounds of a scuffle in the lobby area of the house-turned-inn.  They arrived on the scene just in time to be nearly deafened by the report of a musket being fired indoors.  Before the black-powder smoke obsured their vision, they caught a glimpse of a scaley, hunched creature with bat-like ears and a maw full of tiny, pointed teeth...