Session 2
The group travels along the road for a few hours. On a difficulty 5 spot test, they can see a trail heading off about an hour before sunrise, or some sign that someone isn't too far away from the trail.
They find 2 bandits as well as Keira and another (human) child tied up. Everyone is asleep or groggy. They will fight to the death. On the bodies, they find the same general gear as before, as well as 2 cyphers.
Remote Viewer: a handheld device with a screen/mirror on its face. When activated, it shows the bandit camp and the general layout. It flashes at the camp and Shea comes to investigate. It lasts for one hour.
Level 5 Talios Compass: a small rod that appears to have magnetic properties. Can be used to remove a harmful object (heal 5 Might) or a beneficial object (2 damage). Only interacts with metal in living tissue.
Liadon will tell the peasants to head home and report the information to the guard house. She'll continue on to their camp and scout it out to find what she can. She will accept the adventurer's guild instead, but hasn't had particular success with them in the past.
The guards will blow off sending help, actually enjoying the prospect of not having someone ride their ass all the time. Or show them up. The adventurer's guild won't bother with helping since no one has the kind of coin they could make by doing something else (200 shins). It's possible they could be tricked into going out there with the promise of riches in the ruins.
Shea and the bandits will be on guard after the cypher activated. A few children will be in the cages outside of the camp. Bearach will be in a cage closer to the ruin entrance. Ailbhe will be inside the cave. Shea and 6 bandits will be on guard in the camp.
After 2 bandits fall, the other 4 will break. Shea will stop fighting, but won't surrender. If everything remains civil, they'll explain that Bromeir went into the ruins with a group and he was the only one to survive. When he returned, there was some device hooked up to him that he called his phylactery. It hooked up to his weapon and made sparks and he claimed it made him immortal. The second-in-command before Shea and several of his bandits tried to kill him and he did die... just to rise up immediately afterward and slaughter everyone save Shea and their squad, who were on perimeter watch. Bromeir claims that the phylactery requires blood sacrifice, and Shea and their bandits have been collecting weak and infirm villagers to meet his demands. Shea wants to return to normal banditry and has begun collecting children to train them to be normal bandits, but Bromeir has begun growing an interest in them as well.
The ruins are about 20 degrees cooler than the outside and a maze of various traps, most triggered or in disrepair. Bromeir lives at the very back of the ruins.
A series of bodies strung up point to the final location. Each has a small sign, too tiny to read other than directly in front. There is a tripwire in front of the body (Perception 3). If triggered, the body drops and fills and immediate range with an airborn poison (Might Defense 3 or drop one phase down on the damage track, all Speed tasks are hindered for 1 hour). All of the signs have, in very rough handwriting, a bunch of laughter.
The final body points to a small corridor on the other side of a broken bridge (chasm = 8 feet). Difficulty 5 Perception to realize there's a distortion over the chasm, Difficulty 7 to notice the chasm itself is an illusion. If anyone tries to jimp the gap, they run headfirst into the wall and take 1 point of damage for every level of success they have on their jump.
The command words "Challenge the Unwilling" disables the field for 2 rounds (Difficulty 4 listen to hear if someone says it). Otherwise, they can try to break down the cavern on either side of the cavern.
Immediately afterward, a difficulty 2 Listen check reveals that a small device is a bit recessed right in the wall. A small device powering the illusuions is droning on, with a small rod stuck in it, glowing. There are another 10 rods in a case behind it. Difficulty 3 Numenera reveals them to be some kind of power source.
Breaking through the field reveals a small passageway leading to a final tomb-like structure. The door has a sign on it that glows whenever anyone touches it. They hear a voice saying "These people you are with: do not trust them. They have brought you as a tribute." Difficulty 4 Intellect Defense to recognize the vocie as a trap. Otherwise, they believe it is a voice from god.
If they enter the room, Bromeir is at a quarter health, searching for Ailbhe. Ailbhe has 1 health left and has only made it this long by hiding.
Returning to the town, Amy is thankful to see whoever has returned safely and will do what she can to heal them. She has mentioned that the Church of Light has thrown support behind Alastar and is willing to fund whichever project has the most community support, behind the Duke.
Amy has also heard rumors from some of those making use of the cult's services (no one pays attention to beggars) that Alastar plans to drop some kind of new tax.
If confronted, Alastar will play coy. He won't deny that the Duke may impose some kind of tax to support the improvements, but since they town has such a large population of wealthy adventurers, it would make more sense to take shins from them. Alastar claims to have no personal knowledge of the Duke's eventual plans. He is merely a servant.
Alastar plans to have a town meeting to discuss what the Church of Light plans to fund. During the meeting, he announces that his plan is to improve the town, which will attract more travelers to the town, adventurers and otherwise. With the increased traffic, everyone in the town will have more business, and more money. So it only makes sense for the Duke to have some of those increased profits to fund a larger guard (especially with what happened to Liadon), and to continue attracting big spenders.
During one of these meetings (maybe the initial meeting), he begins to rant and rave and go full Whisper, spreading the phrase to everyone who appeared at the meeting. The attendees begin to heat up as the virus activates and fall. Those that die become zombies. Those that survive become Whispers.
If anyone does take the power sources, they hatch into Ethervores the next noon and begin to cause havoc in town. Thise gives Alastar more credence to his taxation plan.
If the end times begin, Amy drags whoever she can to the church and bars the doors (her acolytes). She sends down whoever she can to the basement facility through her desk - Sigurd Frud's lab was below here.
She will destroy her office once everyone's safely away and stay behind with some of her acolytes to keep those that fled safe.
The amulets have fused to the flesh of those carrying it, making them carriers of the various viruses. Any who are not wearing one of the amulets will succumb to one of them, sooner or later.
A large door flanked by two large robots is shortly within the tunnel. The Valma activates in front of the door and attempts to talk to whoever's there. The effigies attack anyone who attempts to break in, but otherwise remain motionless.
The adventurers have escaped and made a perimeter around the city. They will kill anyone that tries to escape.