The Virus Bright

"The Virus Bright" is episode 15 of SuperQuest Saga. The Eternal Empire has followed Carter, Persephone, Sebastian, and Primina to Outlaw's Horizon and lay the city under siege.

Introduction

 * Will Stark will be your illuminated dungeon master for this evening.
 * Josh Freeland is playing Sebastian Crenshaw, half-orc paladin.
 * Your Special Guest Jake is playing Persephone Goldpetal the firbolg druid.
 * Brian is playing Carter Huttenburg, the level 4 human warlock.

Recap
Last we left, the party was being celebrated as heroes before an enormous audience on live tv. Then the elves showed up and told everybody that Primina and Sebastian are bad guys.

Jazz Music Plays
The scene opens on the balcony of the 70th floor of 4VTV stations. At this point, the elven ships are in the sky and sending dropships down; everyone looks at the entire party with looks of shocked horror. Victoria tells Carter, Persephone, and Sebastian that they should all get the fuck out of here. Carter gets close to a mic and points to the sky saying, “Look, another ship!” in an attempt to cause a distraction. The crowd looks up at the ship, but the people on the balcony don’t. Victoria and Watt run towards the door. Sebastian scans the crowd for any familiar Iron Legion faces but is certain there are none.

Victoria ushers the party to follow and they all flee through the door, into the tv studio filled with various sets of camera equipment, wires, and staff members hiding. Through the next door is a brightly lit hallway, lined with doors and bisected with another hallway, with an exit sign at the end. They hear an automated voice over the intercom announcing that there is a city-wide emergency.

Carter asks Victoria for the fastest way out. She has no idea but points at the exit sign. About halfway down the hall, they see to their left a hallway with an elevator lobby at the end. The exit door they were heading towards slams open and five V.S.S. agents pour through along with a quadrupedal android vaguely shaped like a panther with mechanical tentacles extending from its shoulder. An agent holds up a gun and tells them to freeze.

Persephone asks if they’re running. Carter looks to Primina and Sebastian since they’re the ones in trouble; Primina looks almost unresponsive and deeply upset, Sebastian stands stoic and faces the agents. Carter knows that they should be able to operate the elevator and starts running that way. Victoria and Watt follow. Persephone casts Entangle, snaring the panther robot and two V.S.S. agents, slowing the others down.

The party runs to the elevator with Sebastian covering the back; Carter presses the elevator button and the doors open immediately. They all enter the elevator; it is a glass elevator on the outside of the building so they can see out into the city. Chaos unfolds all across Outlaw’s Horizon; dropships are landing, other smaller war vessels patrol the skies, crowds flee in various directions. The elevator descends at a frustratingly slow rate.

After they descend a handful of floors, they hear the motor of a helicopter and on their right they see the 4VTV station helicopter filming them. As soon as he sees the camera, Carter casts Vicious Mockery on the cameraman. “You let that thing go, skinny!” The man drops the camera, grabs his head, and falls over. The helicopter slowly backs away and the elevator continues its slow descent. The party sees the broadcaster put down her microphone and point down to the party’s left. They look over and down to see a second elevator running parallel to theirs, and as the two lifts become level, they see that the other elevator has two V.S.S. agents in 10-ft tall mech suits. Victoria yells for everyone to get down as the mech suits open fire and smash all the glass open.

Have a Nice Trip!
Carter casts Eldritch Blast on the mech closest to their elevator door and does some serious damage to the armor. Persephone casts Thorn Whip and hits the mech on the right, pulling it off the elevator’s ledge and causing it to fall. Sebastian tells her that was a genius move. The remaining mech backs up and raises its arms to blast the party with a sonic blast; Carter and Persephone are knocked prone. Sebastian pulls out his BFG and hits the mech.

Carter gets up and fires an Eldritch Blast, but misses. Persephone pulls out her arbalest pistol but does hit. The mech lifts an arm and fires, missing Carter but bloodying Percy. Sebastian continues to fire with his BFG, but misses.

Carter snaps and tries for an Eldritch Blast again, but misses. Persephone tries her pistol again and lands a shot. The mech does the same thing, firing at Carter and Persephone, hitting them both. Sebastian moves in front of Carter and Persephone, then lays down more fire. The mech starts sparking and twitching.

Carter casts another Eldritch Blast that misses. Persephone casts Thorn Whip and pulls the mech closer to the edge of the elevator. The mech backs up and fires on the party again, critically hitting Sebastian. Sebastian fires and misses.

Carter casts Eldritch Blast and hits the mech; the blast punctures a hole straight through the mech’s chest and it slumps over. Sebastian fires some shots at it for good measure.

Gardeners
The elevators reach the street level and the party jumps down directly into the street. Persephone sprinkles some fur onto Sebastian and casts Enhance Ability, causing him to grow some cat ears and a tail. Watt messes with this bracer jack and reports that all signals and the internet appear to be jammed. They are downtown and The Brunhilde is four sectors away in Starwind Bay. Sebastian tries to contact any Iron Legion members, but doesn’t get through since the elves are blocking the signals.

They start running to follow the monorail tracks and get to the nearest train station. Sebastian uses Lay on Hands to heal both Percy and himself. Primina starts breaking down and the party hears her blaming herself for all the chaos; she tells the party to leave her behind but Carter refuses. Carter scans the area for any alternative form of transportation as they run. Sebastian spots an alleyway they can use as a shortcut. As they approach the train station, a dropship flies right over their heads and lands right in front of the station.

The party watches as firbolgs begin exiting the dropship. They are all dressed in crimson armor with dark green accents, each armed with a twisted wooden staff topped with crystal, and wearing metal chokers that glow with green stones. Victoria and Watt dive into the alley out of sight, dragging Prim with them. Persephone slowly follows, watching the other firbolgs, and Victoria pulls her into the alley. “Gardeners.” Victoria whispers. In his research on the elves, Carter has come across information about Gardeners; elite firbolg guards of the Elven Empire. Most firbolgs are Singers, but some are trained as warriors because of their natural druidic powers.

Victoria peeks around the corner of the alley and reports that the Gardeners are setting up a watch to man the train station; she doesn’t think leaving by train is an option unless they decide to fight the five Gardeners. Percy is nervous about fighting five versions of her because they might be too strong. Carter thinks they should continue their current course on foot and be as stealthy as they can. Persephone looks at Sebastian and tells him he looks super cute with his cat ears, but she is dropping the Enhance Ability spell to cast Pass without Trace on everybody to aid their stealth. Before she can cast the spell, they hear a voice from down the alleyway. “Well, well, well. Look who it is. Fancy meeting you here.” And when they turn, they see five Dreadstars, and the hobgoblin they met before.

Space Elves Change Everything
The hobgoblin has a scar on his face that wasn’t there last time they saw him, but he stands there with a big smile on his face. Carter gets up and turns around, “Yes, indeed. You’ve come to join us, I see.” Persephone sighs. The hobgoblin informs them that his employer would very much like to meet the party and help them escape the city. Carter would love that and asks what his employer’s name is; the hobgoblin informs him it is Mr. Night. Carter tells the hobgoblin to take them to Mr. Night and the hobgoblin is surprised that it was easy to convince them; the party was very uncooperative in the past. Percy says it’s because The Dreadstars were assholes and Carter shushes her while telling the hobgoblin they’d be happy to go along with him.

The hobgoblin steps forwards and peeks around the corner to see the Gardeners. He instructs the party to follow and The Dreadstars lead them out the back end of the alley and onto the street. Carter follows, turns around and gives Persephone, Primina, Sebastian, Victoria, and Watt an expectant look and they hesitantly follow. Persephone is hesitant, and Sebastian and Victoria are clearly not happy about it. Carter gives them an unsettling smile and tells them not to worry.

The Dreadstars lead the party around the corner, down a couple buildings, and into another alleyway where four hover-motorcycles wait. Carter asks what the hobgoblin’s name is, and the hobgoblin introduces himself as Armin Zane. Armin orders the other Dreadstars to make a distraction, and after they scatter he hops on a hoverbike. He tells the party to follow him, and they all hop on the bikes. Sebastian is still distrustful, but discerns that Armin’s intentions are what he says they are. They load up on the hoverbikes in pairs; Victoria and Watt on one, Persephone and Primina on another, and Carter and Sebastian on the third. Carter drives and tells Sebastian not to worry; he’s got proficiency using vehicles.

Let's Ride
Armin Zane begins to lead the party through winding roads and highways of the District Four metropolis. The streets are mostly void of traffic, but the amount of abandoned vehicles on the road inhibits the party’s speed a bit. They see crashed taxis and whatnot. At first, the only signs of elven activity is the occasional dropship overhead, but as they approach the Paradise Sector, they come across a straight strip of road with barriers set up on either side. Armin stops for a bit, and it looks like Outlaw’s Horizon law enforcement and civilians are in a gunfight with the elven military on the other side. Armin revs his engine and charges through the gunfire. Carter casts Dancing Lights along the edge of the buildings as a distraction. Victoria and Watt follow Armin and charge through; Watt gets hit in the shoulder as they pass. Persephone tells Primina to hold on as they ride through with Carter and Sebastian. None of them get hit.

The party comes to a bridge that is a major highway branching over and directly into Paradise Sector but there are two burnt out dropships blocking the entire road. Armin stops and tells the party that those weren’t there when The Dreadstars came through; this road is the only way into Paradise without losing thirty minutes of travel. Carter asks if anyone has any grenades left; Sebastian takes his two force grenades and uses them to blast a way through. Armin stops them before they ride forward; up ahead is the gateway to Paradise which is being used as a checkpoint by the elves. They can go in hot and try to speed by or try to pass undetected, but once they’re through, Armin can get them off the grid faster than the elves can follow. Victoria suggests they just speed through, and everyone agrees.

They zip up and over the bridge, at the end they can see a gateway with elven soldiers. The soldiers don’t notice them at first, but once the party catches their attention the soldiers draw up their weapons to blast, but it is too late. The party speeds straight at them, causing the soldiers to scatter, and they make it safely into Paradise.

Armin leads the group into the Las Vegas style metropolis area and into a dead end alley; but as they approach the end of the alley, the floor sinks down and they ride down into a secret underground tunnel. They pass through the tunnel unimpeded and exit out into a parking structure. Armin zips up a level and parks his bike, expecting the party to follow. He leads them down an elevator and out of the parking lot, they approach a building with a large neon sign that reads “The Virus Bright.”

Big, Fancy Hell-Boy
Armin heads inside The Virus Bright casino, Persephone asks if there are germs inside since the name doesn’t sound very good. He tells them to just follow him and walks in. The party enters The Virus Bright and it is a neon cathedral of opulence; there are brilliant slot machines, card tables, carved statues, glittering chandeliers, and exotic dancers. It is like the chaos outside doesn’t even exist; despite the siege, the booze here is flowing and music is blasting from the various clubs that line the casino. Carter spots Fred Luo walking by, and Fred ducks into a club when he sees Carter’s companions.

Armin leads the party through the casino to a VIP elevator in the back. The elevator is large enough to fit everyone comfortably and there is only one button for the penthouse suite. At the top, the elevator opens directly into an enormous penthouse suite. The party sees a ludicrously sleek and modern luxury lounge equipped with an indoor spa and beautiful open balcony over the city skyline. There are various servant bots moving about the place, cleaning and whatnot. Seated at a long gilded table covered in fruits, exotic meats, and cheeses, is a very large, male cambion.

The cambion is a giant, red-skinned humanoid, standing roughly 8-ft tall, built like a peak-condition Olympian powerlifter. He’s dressed in a tailor-fitted purple suit with archaic style wrist and chest frills. His face is rather horrifying with two long black horns on his brow and glowing red eyes. His mouth is far too large for his face and it is filled with sharp razor-like teeth. His chin is covered in spines and he is voraciously feasting upon the meal in front of him.

Armin steps up and addresses the cambion as Lord Saturos. The cambion stops eating and looks at the party. “What filth have you dragged in here this time Armin, you pig-faced idiot?” Carter scowls, Persephone’s eyes are wide. Armin asks if Mr. Night is in; and Saturos responds angrily that he is not Mr. Night’s keeper. Armin tells him that he just needed to speak with the boss, but as soon as Saturos hears “need to speak with the boss,” he grows severely upset. Saturos bristles at the statement and stands. “You forget yourself, mortal. Are you not mine to command? Is my voice not a cracking whip upon your back, spurring you to obey?” At this point, Armin grovels for forgiveness.

Mr. Night
As this scene unfolds they hear a voice from the other side of the room. It’s a whisper, but a whisper that seems to cut through all the noise. “Now Lord Saturos, is that any way to behave in front of our new guests?” Standing in a doorway to another room is a very short man with a very slight build. He’s dressed in a Dreadstar uniform with inverted colors, a pure white suit with a red pentagram. The most notable thing about this strange man is that his skin, his eyes, and his hair are black as obsidian. Saturos sits back down and says “No, sir.”

The man gracefully enters the room and approaches the party. He gives a slight bow and introduces himself as Xaserbane Night. It has come to his attention that the party is in need of assistance, and that The Dreadstars owe them a debt for killing the Nymphae Collosus. Carter introduces himself and states that he believes their meeting is long overdue. Mr. Night shakes his hand. Carter tells him that they are in need of assistance, and they would gladly accept if he is generous enough to offer. Mr. Night explains that he has his own distaste for the elves, but before he gives his help freely, he asks why the elves are after them, and suggests they do not lie to him.

Carter tells Sebastian it is time to come clean. Sebastian gives Carter an incredulous look. Persephone tells Mr. Night that they honestly don’t know why the elves are after their companions. Carter adds that they had a run in with the elves a while ago, but it wasn’t enough to provoke this sort of reaction. Carter asks Sebastian what he’s been up to. Sebastian says he just killed some elves. Persephone thinks the elves are assholes. The party starts bickering while Mr. Night watches.

Primina’s voice rings out and she tells Mr. Night that the elves are after her. Carter tries to tell her that is ridiculous. Xaserbane Night says the elves claim she is a terrorist, but she does not look like a terrorist to him. Primina reveals that the elves created her, or had a hand in creating her, and they want to use her for some unknown purpose. Carter takes notes. Xaserbane Night finds that interesting, and turns to Lord Saturos. He tilts his head towards Primina and asks Saturos what he thinks of her.

Saturos stands up with a big shit-eating grin, looking gross and menacing, and steps forward. He looks at Primina and leans in, almost too close, and takes a deep breath. Persephone steps a little closer to Primina. Saturos says she smells familiar to him and asks Primina what she is. Primina shrugs. He stares at her for a minute, intrigued, and pulls open his jacket and hands her a business card. Saturos turns to Xaserbane and says that Prim is special, but he can’t tell much more than that. He sits back down and starts eating.

Carter isn’t sure exactly what is going on, but they do need to get out of Outlaw’s Horizon fast. Any assistance would turn the tables on debts, the party would owe The Dreadstars for his aid. Xaserbane states that a thorn in the side of the elves is a friend to him. He tells Armin to take his private cruiser and drop the party wherever they want; he believes their ship is docked in Starwind Bay. Victoria asks how he knows that, but Xaserbane Night just smiles and walks away.

As they exit the casino, Carter starts talking up Fred Luo and Armin will keep his eye out for him. Armin leads the party down into the basement of The Virus Bright and to a gorgeous, silver, limousine-like cruiser in the garage. Everyone piles in, Carter calls shotgun, and Armin flies them out. Things seem to be getting more hectic in the city, there’s smoke and some fires seem to have broken out. Armin makes a beeline for Starwind Bay and drops the party off at the Bay entrance. Sebastian thanks him and Percy says bye before Armin immediately dips back into the city. It is eerily quiet and Carter, Persephone, Primina, Sebastian, Victoria, and Watt find themselves staring up the stairs to the entrance of Starwind Bay.

The Party

 * Sebastian Crenshaw: A half-orc paladin. Looks super adorable as a cat.
 * Peresphone Goldpetal: A firbolg druid. So close to meeting more of her peoples.
 * Carter Huttenburg: A human warlock. Talkin up his boy.

NPCS

 * Victoria: A tiefling woman. Captain of The Brunhilde. Concerned about Mr. Night's knowledge.
 * Watt: An elderly gnome. Has no clue what's going on.
 * Primina: A young woman of mysterious origins. The MacGuffin. Deeply upset about everything.
 * V.S.S. Agents: A group of law enforcement with a panther robot.
 * 4VTV Film Crew: Some newscasters trying to get the scoop.
 * Bob: The V.S.S agent who fell in the mech suit.
 * Gardeners: Elite firbolg warriors who serve the Elven Empire.
 * Armin Zane: A hobgoblin and higher up member of The Dreadstars. He finally has a name.
 * Fred Luo: A human low-level Dreadstar. Carter's criminal contact.
 * Lord Saturos: A cambion. Huge dude with some anger issues. Very interested in Primina.
 * Xaserbane Night: A man and the leader of The Dreadstars. Knows a lot more than he's willing to share.

Music

 * SuperQuest Saga Theme - by Brian

World Building

 * There is usually one Choir of Singers aboard each elven warship. The Singers cultivate and grow the tree that becomes the vessel.

Nat 20's (2 total)

 * Brian (Intelligence)
 * Will (Attack as mech)

Nat 1's (2 total)

 * Will (Charisma Save as cameraman)
 * Brian (Perception)