Chadius: SOLD: Summary
Contents
Prologue
Prologue - discovery
Island Number 255, as Alenno's maps call it, was another undeveloped island. During the Wailing Age, Alenno tried to fully investigate the island. The investigators were driven away by the powerful spirits of nature who resided there. After multiple failures, Alenno decided to stop investigating, and dissuaded others from exploring.
10 years ago, the SS McBamf was shipwrecked, and the survivors swam to Island Number 255. They discovered a large cache of gold. They came back a month later and made a fortune from the gold mine. They were not interrupted like the initial explorers were.
Back on the mainland of Alenno, it did not take long for the survivors to flaunt their wealth and tell the secret of their success. Thousands of people from around the world began to settle on Island Number 255.
Prologue - Alenno's response
Alenno initially resisted on giving moving permits, but Alenno soon realized thata they could not prevent people from moving to Island Number 255. Alenno also realized that they could profit from the large amount of gold. So they quickly reversed their position and allowed free entry to and from Island Number 255.
Alenno sent some of their guards to the island. Alenno's best-trained soldiers and defensive agents are called the Guardians. They control the port closest to Alenno. The government-financed ships are among the fastest and best protected in the world. And because they are government-financed, they charge the lowest rates. Behind the scenes, Alenno uses this port to control and monitor who enters and leaves Island Number 255.
Prologue - Nature Defends
Some sections, near the center of the island, have not been mapped out. These areas are also the least urbanized. As the island was defiled by miners, the Spirits of Nature cried out for help. A powerful circle of druids from the Mother Land answered the call, and removed miners from many groves and protected areas. They have bolstered the creatures of nature, and are forcing settlers to abandon their land.
The group of druids calls themselves the Treants, and they are actively recruiting other druids. Alenno condemns their actions as acts of terrorism, so druids who actively use their powers in urban areas are usually arrested and deported. So druids who visit the island tend to disguise themselves as farmers.
Prologue - Rebellion Army
About five years after people began to move in, a new group formed. They were based on the belief that the powerful should help those less fortunate. The group is called the Irregulars.
The Irregulars claim large regions of land and then liberate it. They demand a tax from those who live there. The tax varies by the amount of conflict required to keep it under control.
The Alenno government has labelled them as terrorists, and has sent soldiers against them. The soldiers who survived the attack go mad, and speak of impossible stories of Irregulars flying around, blasting them with magic while Irregulars at the front line grow twice their size and pummel them with tree stumps.
The Irregulars declare that the island, which they call Elysium, is theirs. Theywill wrestle it free from Alenno's greedy clutches, and they will untap the island's true potential, instead of ignoring it like the Treants.
Prologue - Even richer than gold?
When Alenno's soldiers or a citizen talks about someone gaining the ability to fly, or gaining massive strength in an instant, Alenno declares these stories as mere folly. Villagers are warned not to spread false rumors, and soldiers are put on sick leave.
There are more stories along that vein. There are stories of miners becoming millionaires overnight, and then fading away just as quickly. There are stories of an Irregular soldier gaining fantastic powers and single-handedly holding off an entire army, only to collapse into nothing a moment later. There are many people who swear that these rumors are true.
These rumors have a few things in common. When the person gains power, a material glows. Sometimes it is their armor, or a necklace around their neck, or a chucnk that they are holding. But it always glows right before granting them power. The other thing that it has in common are the state of the victims after collapsing. Their bodies are perfectly smooth, with no distingiushing features. They have no face, no eyes or mouth. It is a ghastly sight to behold.
Despite these side effects, some people still actively hunt for this so-called material of power. They are willing to buy it for extravagant amounts of gold.
Just Landed
Goro, Budd, Charles, and Jerry are on a ship, sailing toward the island. There's a crew of mercenaries getting drunk, but one of them is glad to talk about the island.
Apparently, the Celbin family landed on the island first. They found the gold mines first and are the most powerful family on the island. Recently, they found a new supply of gold and are actively hiring mercenaries to defend the area. The Irregulars have been attacking it recently.
Not too far from the island, the ship is attacked. Small metallic spider-like creatures board the ship. The party dispatches most of them, but the last ones sacrificially explode, taking out Budd (who recovers quickly) and Charles.
A researcher on board applies some first aid and revives Charles. They chat for a bit while reviving other injured people. This is the second time this month those mysterious creatures attacked. The ship finishes its trip to Gappagow without incident.
Goro realizes that they will need some muscle. Edward escorts them to the Ambassador's house (next to the barracks.) Joseph decides to join the group, after Goro signs some forms to transfer responsibility to him.
With the party complete, the group heads to a private room to talk. Jerry asks about Aballa. Edward finds the name familiar, but he can't remember much about him. They decide to find the Irregulars and infiltrate the organization.
They head to a bar Edward points out. Two men arrive and start talking about the Irregulars. Dave and Rhoecus tell them of the location for new recruits. Not far from the town there is a burned-out forest; they can train in the clearing.
As the Irregulars leave, the party notices a letter from Edward (he couldn't be there or he would raise suspicion.) "I will meet you at the hotel again after you're done." They head back and go to sleep.
Seeds Sown
The group heads out to the training ground (except Edward, of course.) When they reach the border, the guards report with Goro. They have been warned of an Ireegular transport, and they're gonna catch them in the act.
They get outside of the city and meet Dave, who escorts them to the training ground. He tells the group to wait outside the training ground, while he makes sure it's OK. The group notices (and eventually) reads some writing on a stone. It's from Edward, and he warns them of a Treant attack.
Helle is the trainier here. Normally Argus greets the new recruits. But he had just learned of Alenno's raid, and has rushed off to help the shipment. So people begin some rookie-level training. Just then, a group of druids and long, purple wolves rush in and attack the Iregulars.
Everyone except Charles is fighting. He tells everyone to follow a flying bird. A glowing humanoid bird flies overhead. Charles, Jerry, and Budd follow immediately. Goro heads back to the border to see if he could stop Argus (he was too late,) and Joseph is in a rage (he is restrained by several druids' vines until he calms down.)
The party is led to a beautiful grove, where Belasia the Nymph lives. Hayes is also there. And in there, they describe the Treants. The forces of nature gather in natural, relatively undisturbed areas. Nature Spirits tend not to form nearby gold mines. It seems strange to Belasia that the spirits could have defended the island for so long. At any rate, the Treants need all the help they can get. They need to defend this island from being mined and pillaged by the Guardians and the Irregulars.
The group returns back to town and discusses their next move. After much discussion, a decision is made: defeat the Irregulars, and strengthen the Treants with new recruits so they can withstand Alenno after they defeat the enemy.
With that, the crew goes to sleep.
Confusion
The party heads off to meet Belasia and Hayes and tell them of their decision. They are happy for the help, and immediately need their assistance. Belasia needs Jerry for an emergency meeting with the elders, and Jerry is glad to help. Hayes has discovered a new gold mine that the Irregulars are using. Apparently Argus himself is supervising the expedition. Hayes points out that the Irregulars are hidden in a magical sandstorm. If they can figure out how to get past it while there, that would help the Treants greatly.
As they leave, a forest ranger bumps into Goro. He is actually a member of Elayus, and the group plans to attack the mine in about an hour. The party defeats the front guards and disguise their way in. In some of the gold deposits, the group finds some of the mysterious substance inside. They meet Argus in the back of the cave with four sargeants. The group from Elayus attacks, and the party attacks the sargeants in the confusion.
The sargeants use the substance (combined into various articles of clothing) to breathe fire, grow spikes, stab, and (don't know since Goro killed him quickly.) Argus and the crew are defeated, but Edward detected a telepath in the area. While Goro and the surviving member of the Elayus crew head back to town, Budd collapses the mine.
The rest of the party heads to Hayes to tell him the news. Belasia has left for the emergency meeting with Jerry. Hayes is glad to hear it, and the party heads to back to the prison to interrogate Argus.
Joseph collects his monthly "Thanks for being an ambassador" letter. But this letter is different. It has a few yes/no choices on it, and it also invites him to a meeting to discuss political events!
Goro, Joseph, and Bradley decide to interrogate Argus. He warns them of the Celbin family and their power. He tells them about the Irregulars' goal: To create their own nation, free from Alenno's dominant grip. And he tells them how to get there: a confiscated ring that he wore that allows the wearer to get through the sandstorm. He also tells them of his fate: Alenno's powerful interrogators, "The Wipers," will arrive tomorrow and pick his brain clean before wiping it blank. Goro picks up the ring on his way out.
While discussing how to rescue Argus, Hayes runs into their hotel room, exhausted. Jerry has been captured by the Treant High Council. He will be executed tomorrow (Belasia managed to stall for a day.) The party decides to rescue Jerry ASAP. High Noon Hayes leads the party to the Treant High Council. The lead three are Tesh, a calm and ponderous old man, Aparaz, the vindictive and badly scarred Nymph, and Machre, the leader of the Hurren. According to Aparaz, Jerry killed the Treants leader, Aballa, 9 years ago. She thought she had killed him afterward, but apparently not. Edward suggests a telepathic probe into Jerry's mind, and Tesh agrees to the plan. Machre is a bit busy investigating Charles.
10 years ago, the Celbin family was shipwrecked on this island. The Treants agreed to repair their ship on the grounds that they would never return, and would leave the island sanctuary alone. The Celbins returned a year later, with Alenno's army and some mercenaries. Among the mercenaries was Jegretz, the strongest and most bloodthirsty of them all. Aballa noticed him and challenged him to one-on-one combat. It was a close match, but Jegretz won and massacred Aballa's corpse. Aparaz, angered that her husband died so gruesomely, threw a spear into Jegretz' back, aparrently killing him.
Tesh and Edward manage to pry open these locked memories from Jerry's mind. And then there is a blank and Jerry's memories flash forward to a few months ago, when he woke up on a shoreline in Alenno with his sword and a slip of paper reading "Aballa." Jerry thinks he was a real bastard in the past, but he certainly hasn't been like that since he woke up.
Charles argues that the flesh should not be punished if the mind is different. After prolonged and rather noisy arguments, Tesh gives the verdict. By vote of 2 to 1, Jerry will be released on parole. Edward tells them additionally, Argus has been captured, and Alenno will probably take this time to attack the Irregulars.
As the group leaves, Jerry takes this time to tell them that he has powers like a Solbari: He can fly and turn invisible. Machre catches up to them and gives Jerry a good sniff. He doesn't smell the same as before, and his demeanor is indeed different. While she does want to kill him, it wouldn't help Aparaz. Nymphs are heavily affected by their emotions, and Aparaz is suffering from hatred, vengeance, and helplessness. She felt helpless when Aballa died, and her hatred for Jerry keeps climbing. Simply killing Jerry won't stop her hatred and won't cure her wounds. Until they find the true solution for Aparaz' wounds, Jerry can live. She warns Jerry to keep it clean, and leaves.
At Belasia's grove, Goro and Edward gather a plan. Since the Wipers will know about the ring soon, Goro will suggest that they attack the Irregular Headquarters. While the Guardians attack the Irregulars, the Treants can attack the Guardian Headquarters. With the plan set, Edward gets a few millitary costumes (the tailor has fun with Charles.) Budd heads off to macdaddy the ladies with his new millitary gig.
Overnight, Charles wakes up and notices two assasins in their room. Charles promptly wakes everyone, prompting the assasins to action. One of them bursts into flame, setting the in on fire, while the other grows four arms with swords. Charles and Edward flee, screaming "Fire!" and waking up everyone at the inn. Realizing the assasination has failed, they try to escape. But Budd, Goro, and Jerry catch up and defeat them. One of them tried a suicide pill, but Charles heals him back up. They find a note, sent from the stealthy arm of the Irregulars, Telemachus:
Later that night, Commander Darrett agrees with Goro and Edward's suggestions. He will lead an assault on the Irregulars, with Goro leading a strike force to take out the mage Metis. Once she's out, they will go after Bellerophon. Jerry excuses himself for a moment. Darrett tells them to prepare for the assault tomorrow morning. He wants this as hush-hush as possible, since the Wipers detected Telemachus trying to mind scan the area.
Jerry tells the party that he was dripping...something...out of his skin. When he got it under control, he transformed into a perfectly smooth humanoid figure that consisted of the mysterious substance around the island.
The next day, the party is ready. The Guardians are ready. Goro raises his ring, and a path clears through the sandstorm. The army files in, ready for battle. Who will emerge victorious? Stay tuned to find out!!
Enter: Sendrael
Alenno's Guardians, led by Commander Darrett, enter the sandstorm. The mission is simple: Goro will lead a small strike force to sneak into the castle and disable Metis, then arrest Bellerophon. The rest of the army will serve as a distraction while Goro sneaks in.
While on their way, Edward (now in his Bradley disguise) reads some thoughts and notices a few hostile forces in the army! A group of Irregulars, dressed as Guardians, attack Commander Darrett and the crew. A particularly strong one announces himself as Telemachus, spy of the Irregulars. Darrett is struck by an invisible foe, and Edward quickly finds the REAL Telemachus. Once he is discovered, Telemachus is easily defeated.
Edward quickly scans his mind and discovers the layout of the castle. Metis is on the roof of the castle, ready to use her powerful fire spells on the crowded battalion. They sneak around to the back entrance and reach the roof.
Metis has powerful abilities, but Jerry's flight abilities defeat her. She seems a lot brighter than the other Irregulars, and she knows that the defeat of the Irregulars will only bring disaster to the island - and the world itself. She also knows the room Bellerophon is in, so the group heads there.
Bellerophon is ready for them...with a talk. The substance is made by Sendrael, one of the five heroes who saved the world during the Wailing War 1000 years ago. The substance empowers you, but in exchange it drains the user's soul. This island, Bellerophon concludes, must be destroyed in order to prevent the spread of Sendrael.
The Celbin family is working for Sendrael, helping instigate wars and discoveries to trick more people into using sendrine. He cannot leave this island alone. Alenno will unknowingly spread the substance throughout the world as they conquer it. And the Treants are too stubborn to listen to reason. The fact that she died 900 years ago but her presence still exists is proof of her threat.
The party agrees to help Bellerophon if he cooperates with the Treants. But then, his body lights up; Sendrael has taken her toll. He mutates into a freakish creature. He tears Goro to shreds, and resists Budd's grapples. Charles heals Goro, and it's payback time. Goro takes him out. Edward hears a mysterious voice in his head: "You took him out. Thanks."
Commander Darrett enters and notices what's left of Bellerophon. The Irregulars are defeated, and the Guardians are victorious! But what's outside? Thousands of sendrine-made birds fly through the sky. Sendrael is ready to make her presence known. The crew leaves with a disguised Metis. The battle is over, but the war has just begun.
