I-I. Kingston, Jamaica. Monday, January 1, 1725 Anno Domini
- It is early morning and former-Commander John Hayden is participating in a duel against a merchant named Smith, whom he dared accuse of cheating at business. The duel goes ill for Smith – Hayden was much faster, and struck the other gentleman such that his shot went wide. Smith’s second yields and publicly acknowledges that Hayden was the wronged party.
- The crew return to Kingston where Sir Randel receives word from Billy who has discovered the location of Old Tom, who sailed with Captain Morgan’ old crew. Randel is desperate to meet with the old man to question him about the focus of his latest obsession. As they are waiting for Artegal to return from aiding the wounded Smith, the crew decide to break their fast.
- During this repast, Davino is addressed by a stranger who asks for his presence at a church on the outskirts of town with … The Gun. Done with his meal, Rogers decides to accompany him. They go to a church where they discover an exhausted-looking priest tied to a pillar who explains that the Gun’s proper name is Misericordia and that it can kill anything it shoots. The priest states that he recently slew an African shaman near Santiago de Cuba, but was infected by the evil spirit that he (the priest) has been seeking to contain but no longer has to strength. It cannot get free. Nearby, the stranger who sought out Davino is playing a harp, and as he momentarily nods off, the priest’s demeanor shifts to a fierce and angry version. Rogers, feeling quite uncomfortable, urges Davino to do as the priest wishes … and kill the man with his Gun. The stranger, seeing that Davino is quite hesitant over murdering a priest, states that he shall do it if given the opportunity. It is done and the priest is slain. The stranger gives the silver bullets to Davino and the two men depart, more confused than before.
- Once Artegal rejoins the party, the crew head out from Kingston, heading deeper into the interior intent on finding Old Tom. It is half a days walk and this journey turns out to be uneventful, though upon arrival, Artegal notes some men creeping up upon the shack that is Old Tom’s with obvious hostile intent. Hayden orders Davino to act as overwatch while the rest of the crew sneak forward; once in position, he loudly orders the skulkers to stop and identify themselves. Eventually, however, Old Tom interjects himself by firing his blunderbuss, dropping one of the enemy. Words are exchanged … also, certain bullets, and the surviving thugs flee, leaving their wounded behind.
- While Artegal attends to the wounded with Davino providing overwatch, the rest of the crew treat with Old Tom, having gained the coot’s assistance thanks to Sir Randel’s wise decision to bring along rum as trade. The two men exchange what they know, with Randel learning that it is not in the sunken Port Royal cemetery, where everyone is looking, but in the old Governor’s Mansion there. The sound of someone on the roof causes some of the crew to react, though they cannot react fast enough to stop the eavesdropper from escaping into the jungle. Sir Randel rushes out, screaming “Boissonade!” Furious, Sir Randel declares that they are now in a chase…
- After ensuring the surviving wounded are of no threat to Old Tom, the crew rush back to Kingston, making plans about how to proceed. Upon arrival, they discover a strange disturbance and investigate only to discover that Billy, the man who brought info about Old Tom to Sir Randel, has been murdered…
Player Notes:
- Getting shot in this time period sucks. A lot.
- Going to take a bit of effort to get accustomed to shot and powder and the like.
- Need to determine price of laudanum.
- Found it amusing that CommJunkee automatically presumed his rival was behind the eavesdropper.
- This marked the beginning of Giger’s initial run. One player was absent, but her PC should be present next week
See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.