[AMRCA - THUNDERSTRUCK!] The Hunt for Zeus' Lightning

[gedren_y]

14 minutes ago, Ross Fisher said:

 list

"But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list,
O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love-"

Okay, I've quoted from Hamlet. I'm done now.

[Mesabi]

@Ross Fisher

The object that had been found underwater was certainly a key, but as to what was another question, one that would require further research. 

And while the search for underwater clues had gone relatively unnoticed, nothing of the sort could be said for the Padre's pyre. But some of the reactions were... surprising.

While the clergy of Astrapi was appalled, sending all sorts of official complaints to the heads of the order, both locally, and back in Granoleon, the peasantry was an entirely different story. At first, there had been an atmosphere of fear, but as rumours of the great wealth accumulated by father Sellefort and his decadent lifestyle started spreading, the mood towards Padre Francois changed to something near admiration. While the support of the people is not to be trifled with, the alienated clergy might turn out to be challenge...

And the pyre seemed to have cowed the Prometheans, at least for the moment.

Clues:

• The Key
  The sea cave gave them the key - even if there was still no clue to its use, apart from a bolt of thunder engraved on the handle.
• Sellefort's testimony
  The seemingly innocent pastor did budge under the skillful... interrogation and revealed a legend that the divine weapon was hidden in a temple, protected by a secret order and numerous traps.

Before the expedition could proceed, however, they needed another clue...

Options:

The Church

• The Archives
  • The Archives contain legends and the original survey information for the island. You can certainly find some useful information. 
• The Catacombs
  • There was a rumor a while back, that a former priest kept notes of his confessionals in a journal. Such a document would be quite scandalous, and would have been buried with him. 

The Town:

• Charitable Work
  • You can certainly find something to do to profit from the support of the people...
  • ...or handle the growing discontent from the clergy...

Follow the Map:

Two locations were marked on the Promethean map. The other markings show what appears to be a dock or landing on the north side of the island. 

• The Smuggler's Dock:
  • They're bringing something to the island, what could it be? (1 build required, should be dock related)

2 options may be taken this turn, each requiring a build. 

[Ross Fisher]

Thanks @Mesabi I will get to building. Possibly with fewer immolations this time round... No promises though! 

[Ross Fisher]

Extract from a letter from Brother Diaz of the Mission of Zeus at Astrapi to the Holy Fathers of the Church of Zeus in Granoleon, intercepted by agents of Padré François at the Port of Astrapi.

...and, what's worse, the evil man seems to have won the locals over. Just like that. As if he hadn't just burned their parish priest to death in the town square. 
I suspect that it may be something to do with the way he disbursed the late Father Sellefort's fundraising efforts. He has set up a fund to support widows and orphans of sailors lost at sea. This had the secondary affect of endearing himself to the Widow Delamere, whose husband was captain of one of the local pilot vessels. As a result, she knows all of the captains who operate out of Astrapi, their families, and anyone else of importance in the town. In the absence of a confessor, people will take their gossip to her, and she will take it straight to the Padré.
Therefore, I once again request a new priest for this diocese with all urgency. Leaving the position vacant will only encourage the felon's reign of terror!

 

[Khorne]

That first shot is great! It totally conveys the fisherman's shack feeling with the rolled up net above the window, the bottles hanging high, the picture of a boat, the oars, the light/heat from an unseen stove... Nice details all around that really set the scene!

[Ross Fisher]

@Khorne thanks! It's based on a scene in In The Heart Of the Ocean. 

[Fraunces]

@Khorne describes it perfectly! Nice scene!

[Ross Fisher]

Your Eminences,

Please forgive me if my understanding of the proper protocol for this communiqué is lacking. I have not had the opportunity to address senior clergy members of the Order before, and I believe urgency is more pressing than propriety in this singular instance.

To the crux of the matter, I am delighted to be able to inform you that Father Sellefort, the Priest of Zeus assigned to the Parish of Astrapi, is alive and well. 

He was discovered by your colleague, Padré François, as he explored the catacombs of the temple this afternoon. It seems that his suspicions had been raised by the prospect of burials in the middle of a temple of Zeus; typically burials are, of course, the realm of the Underlord.

When the Padré discovered a locked door he, under his own intuition, tried it with the key discovered by Monsieur Jones in the sea caves beyond the edges of town. It worked. Inside, he found the Father, on the edges of madness, dressed in nought but rags, and as thin as a rake.

I believe we will get a full story in time, but it seems that the Father was captured several years ago, while en-route to take up his position as Parish Priest. The Promethean smugglers who captured him considered holding him to ransom, but then saw an opportunity to plant an imposter in his place. It was this imposter that the Padré burnt at the stake.

The real Father Sellefort is still in a very vulnerable state. He remained sane by mentally composing a magnum opus "On The Merits of Virtue", and the Padré is currently helping him transcribe it now, while he still remembers it.

We have not moved him far, since the Padré sees some merit in keeping his identity secret at present. 

If one good thing has come of this, it is that the real Father Sellefort apparently knows where Zeus's Lightning is, and will direct our expedition there when he is in a fit condition. 

I am your humble servant,
René Duchamps

 

Full build:

Edited March 4, 2019 by Ross Fisher

[blackdeathgr]

Yay! The story continues!!! It's been a while but on the bright side, I have ample great stories to read from you guys!!!

[Ross Fisher]

@blackdeathgr Glad to have you back!

[Bregir]

The communications reaching the heads of the order had resulted in the outraged local clergy, fearing for their own comfortable positions, standing very much alone, getting no support, nor an explanation, on their requests for support. Some had accepted this and quieted down in nervousness, while a few in vengeful fervour was rumoured to have joined forces with the prometheans to retrieve the godly artefact and prevent it falling into the hands of the Order.

In the dungeons, Padre Francois had ardously transcribed Sellefort's opus magnum and had been rewarded with the location of an ancient ruined acropolis, riddled with traps, where the temple should hold the lightning of Zeus.

However, Sellefort was afraid he had already enclosed the same location to the prometheans, who would surely be converging on the polis in force. On the upside, a number of peasant volunteers had vowed their services to the Padre's cause, effectively doubling his forces.

How will the padre proceed?

@Ross Fisher

[Ross Fisher]

Extract from "The continuing adventures of Padré François by his companion, Monsieur Gallo."

...and then, by Hades, we walked our pilgrimage. Until now, Monsieur Jones had been our guide and pioneer, but now he struggled to keep up with the Padré. Compelled by the advice of the real Father Sellefort, and by the gods themselves, the old man was untiring and unwavering. Even the soldiers, who were used to forced marches, began to flag. Only the fittest of the townspeople who had joined our cause were still with us when we reached our destination.
The polis was to the south of the island, near to the location that the Prometheans had marked on their map, and close to the spot that the real Father Sellefort had come ashore, before he was kidnapped. Hidden beyond the ancient acropolis, in a small vale beneath deep vegetation, was the mouth of a cenote. These natural wells have long been sacred to the natives of these seas, but now they will hold a reverence for me, also. For it was in this place that the weapon of the gods truly touched the realm of mortals. 
We had begun a discussion about how we should approach the descent when, without warning, the Padré dived directly into those waters.

We watched the spot where he had crossed the watery threshold for several long minutes, til the ripples became calm. All of us wondering whether he had met his end in that stygian gloom. 

But suddenly; an arm broke the surface! Clutched tightly in the Padré's hand was a pure beam of light - the bolt itself. To my dying day I will never forget that moment. The water sparkled in the light cast from Zeus's armament, and our righteous leader thrust his head from beneath the waves in a mask of ecstasy.

After this, many of us jumped in afterwards, keen to join our leader and rejoice in the completion of our mission.

Those who could claim no competence in swimming quickly set about building a rope ladder, with which to access the cenote.

In due course, we had all met with the Padré, reverently touched that streak of light, and whispered our own prayers to Him on High.
Eventually, we all grew tired, and ascended to the lip of the cenote. The lightning bolt was wrapped in linen by the Padré, and interred into a travelling chest, which a guard of honour watched through the night.
In due course, the pilgrimage beat a slower return journey to Astrapi. The Padré summoned a third conclave of the Astrapi Collective Diocesan Council, this time in the temple itself, and with Father Sellefort in place of Brother Aquila. 
It was agreed that the lightning bolt would be returned to the Order of the Faith in Granoleon for security. Padré François would carry out this duty, and would keep the lightning bolt with him until such time as he could complete his task. Little did we realise at the time just how long this would be...

 

@Bregir I need to get better at reading instructions. It was only as I was submitting this build that I realised you'd set me up for a battle in an ancient acropolis. Next time I'll do better. 

This concludes this AMRCA. Looking forward to the next one!

Edited May 6, 2019 by Ross Fisher

[Bregir]

2 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

 I need to get better at reading instructions. It was only as I was submitting this build that I realised you'd set me up for a battle in an ancient acropolis. Next time I'll do better. 

This concludes this AMRCA. Looking forward to the next one! 

No worries. Don't you want a closing statement? I feel like this should result in something of an advantage, having found the artefact, and I have a few ideas. It will probably require something in terms of building to reap them, but rather than just hiding it away in granoleon, I would like to offer you at least a few alternatives, with some pay-off.

[Ross Fisher]

@Bregir Absolutely! I was thinking of turning the Cenote into a temple, and keeping the Lightning as a weapon. Possibly one mounted on a ship? 

[gedren_y]

Something for the Padré to consider: if the scepter once used by the priests of Zeus, now on display at the Grand Halos History Museum of Kings Port, is based on a real artifact, could the scepter once used by the priests of Hades be similarly based on a real object?

[Ross Fisher]

@gedren_y Not sure what you mean, but lightning bolts are made to be disposable, so Zeus has more than one of them...

[Bregir]

23 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

@Bregir Absolutely! I was thinking of turning the Cenote into a temple, and keeping the Lightning as a weapon. Possibly one mounted on a ship? 

You will get some options (next turn) - and we will see what you make of it! ;)

[blackdeathgr]

A nice conclusion to this adventure! Especially the splashing of Padre was really well thought of!

 

On 5/5/2019 at 1:02 PM, Ross Fisher said:

...and keeping the Lightning as a weapon. Possibly one mounted on a ship...

Pew pew god style???

Greek Oleander fire lightning!!!

Edited May 6, 2019 by blackdeathgr

[Ross Fisher]

10 hours ago, Bregir said:

You will get some options (next turn)

Do you want me to submit another AMRCA form?

[Bregir]

10 minutes ago, Ross Fisher said:

Do you want me to submit another AMRCA form?

Just as a reminder. That would be good :)

[Bregir]

@Ross Fisher

There was no doubt the lightning bolt of Zeus was a relic of great importance. While opinions to its true power varied (those pesky heathen Corlander scientists would put it down to the economic and morale effects of an important relic; the profiteering Eslandians would simply put a price on it; and the Order, righteous in its piety, had already  proclaimed it a true miracle), its effects had already shown on the populace of Astrapi, which had been celebrating since the Padre's arrival.

With the packet boat a sealed message had arrived, though, from the heads of the Order, causing the conclave to reconsider its decision to send the relic to Granoleon. In it, the Order expressed a wish for the full potential of the relic to be exploited, and put this in the hands of the Padre. So what would he do?

• It is the weapon of Zeus and shall be employed as such: to smite our enemies!
  Mount the lightning bolt on a warship. It will fuse with the figure-head and be inseparable from the vessel, to be lost or taken with the vessel. Adds a BoBS card locked to the vessel with 2+ to both firepower and hull. (Vignette required showing a figurehead holding/having the relic mounted, specifying the vessel in question)
• It is a symbol of faith, and shall be placed on display for all to see!
  Build a temple for the relic in Astrapi, which will add a trade value of 50 dbs to the settlement. (Build the temple)
• No, this is too risky! We *must* take it to Granoleon for safe keeping in the vaults of the Order!
  Show the relic being locked away in the vaults of the Order, which will compensate you with 250 dbs in cash.

[Ross Fisher]

@Bregir Thanks for this! It's definitely going to be one of the first two options. I just have to see whether I can find the DBs (and the parts) to mount it on a decent ship. I'm assuming the temple would come free with the build?

[Bregir]

16 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

I'm assuming the temple would come free with the build?

You do not need to license the temple :) (But can)

16 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

I just have to see whether I can find the DBs (and the parts) to mount it on a decent ship

It can be mounted on an existing Olean vessel.

[Ross Fisher]

1 hour ago, Bregir said:

It can be mounted on an existing Olean vessel.

True, but this is the weapon of the gods! I'm not going to mount it permanently on on the tiny escort that constitutes my entire fleet right now. Until I know I'm not going to to go bankrupt next month, I can't afford to shell out for a new ship.

[Bregir]

20 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

True, but this is the weapon of the gods! I'm not going to mount it permanently on on the tiny escort that constitutes my entire fleet right now. Until I know I'm not going to to go bankrupt next month, I can't afford to shell out for a new ship.

Ah, well, I was thinking one of the capital ships of the Olean navy was an option, but I can understand if you want to keep it for yourself ;)