Abduction in Overlook
Trope, Overlook, 0 kgp / 10 kxp
 
Neomas: previously So-Mean (god m 3k)
Bakkus: owner of Avius (god m 4k)
Quayam: adventurer (elf m)
Thristen: adventurer (m ?)
Gristel: adventurer (f ?)
Romayne: daughter of Quayam and Gristel (f 14)
Daphnie: owner of Eagle Hotel (elf f 1200)
Stoone: bell-boy at Eagle Hotel (dwarf m 75)
Orphus: swordmaster at Avius Gymnasium (m 63)
Rascal: leader of a band of thieves (m 42)
Mode: Rascal's strong man (m 24)
Boysius: captain of the guard (m 75)
 
Avius is a three-hundred year-old floating city. Side-on, the top surface of its superstructure is shaped like the curve of a gaussian distribution, going out to three standard deviations. The diameter of the base is four hundred meters. The height of the center, without the lightning conductor, is two hundred meters. The lightning conductor rises a hundred meters. The level base of the superstructure is twenty meters below the gaussian. The superstructure is made of wrought iron and wood, and is filled with high-density conjured foam that provides enough lift on Overlook (maeon wind 1.6 Yardley, gravity 10 m/s2, one moon) to raise the city. The foam is generated by a dozen "foam rings" within the superstructure. The foam rings are an ancient set of artifacts brought from Luma by the gods. 

The top surface of the superstructure is made of thick wood planks. The central dome is unadorned. The flatter parts of the surface amount to an area of about six hectares, two thirds of which is covered with wood buildings two to three stories high. About a thousand people live in the city. Most of them are merchants, administrators, policemen, or work in the luxurious Eagle Hotel, which has two hundred rooms priced from 2 gp to 20 gp a night. The Eagle is owned, and has been owned since the creation of the floating city, by Daphnie, a charismatic elf who is one of Bakkus's mistresses. The city is moved horizontally by space bridge thrusters. The molecular bridges for these thrusters are created and tuned by a rogue daemon imprisoned in the top of the dome. 

For the last three centuries, the floating city has roamed across the continents of Overlook. It has transported dwarves to distant, mineral-rich mountains. It has been held ransom by a large army, and lost its fortune. For the last fifty years it has traveled between the conjunctions of Overlook, transporting travelers, merchants, and goods. When the adventurers come on board, and take up their rooms in the Eagle Hotel, Avius is about to set off from a conjunction on the west coast of one continent to another conjunction on the east coast.

The city is guarded by fifty hipogriffs and their fifty riders. It is policed by twenty guards. The hipogriffs and the police are under the leadership of a retired adventurer called Boysius. Boysius is good friends with Orphus, the swordmaster, and they spar together every day. They are a good match. Orphus is sa=31, sp=6 (with a sword-stick) and Boysius is sa=28, sp=11 (with a sword-stick). But Orphus has dp=10 while Boysius has dp=30. Orphus believes that drugs should never be used in any form of training. Boysius believes drugs are good, and takes them frequently.

Bakkus's palace encircles the dome, half way up to the top. There are no buildings above his palace. He has a party there once a week for all the guests in the Eagle Hotel. There is an entrance fee, however, of 10 gp per person. The food is excellent, the gardens and fountains are superb, and the view is unobstructed. At this particular party, the one attended by the adventurers, Bakkus will play cello in a dark hall together with half a dozen other musicians. Among them is the god Aries, now called Neomas, and previosly known as So-Mean the bandit-leader in Lomein, Feras. The adventurers destroyed his body during the course of the Captive and the Clowns adventure.

Aries's head was recovered by a friend of his, and transported to Olympia, where he was placed in a new, low-cost body. He still has not become used to the body. He can play his instrument, but he cannot run well, nor write well. Sometimes his speach is erratic. He certainly bears no resemblence to So-Mean. Bakkus plays along with Neomas pretending that he is a tired musician who recently suffered a stroke, because it is considered impolite among the gods to point out that any one of them is not human. 

When Neomas sees the adventurers walk in, he gets excited. He cannot play properly. The audience does not notice, but Bakkus does, and he stops the performance after a few minutes. He turns on the lights and shouts at Neomas, who sulks off the set and into the grounds. Later, he positions himself so that the adventurers will meet him. He makes every effort to befriend them, but is clever and patient about it.

The adventurers are recovering their mental composure (ie. dodging points) after a recent adventure. Once they are at full strength again, they have their daughter, Romayne, gated from Clarus. She is just entering puberty, but has not yet been sterilized. She is clumsy in puberty, and so not much of a swordwoman yet, nor athlete. She admires her parents, although she resents their travels, and will take most opportunities to impress them with her independence and competence.

Neomas quickly decides he must befriend Romayne and have her kidnapped. At first he is daunted: he only has one week in which to organise the operation. But then bad weather in the mountains forces the city to wait in the western foothills, and Neomas has a full week to find men to do the job in the town below. He finds Rascal and his gang of twenty mercenary-thieves. He soon has control of Rascal: Rascal thinks him a fool. 

Neomas says he will bring Romayne down into the town, separated from her parents somehow, and Rascal should kidnap her, take her into the mountains and hide her away. They should make it look as if Neomas was knocked out and bound. Rascal should leave a stuck in Neomas' belt saying, `Pay 10 kgp in diamonds or your daughter dies: let this crippled fool deliver it the day after tomorrow in the burned field east of town, and your daughter will be returned to you safe and unsullied.'

Neomas will go to the adventurers and give them another note, just the same, but with 100 kgp instead of just 10 kgp. He hopes that the adventurers will get 100 kgp of diamonds together and give them to him. He will start off across the field, and on the way remove nine-tenths of the diamonds. At the other side, Rascal will say, `Now get lost, cripple, I'm keeping your share or I tell the adventurers.'

Neomas will pretend to be distraught, but then withdraw. He has 90 kgp and Rascal has 10 kgp. Both are happy. Problems will arise for Neomas if the adventurers talk to Rascal directly and discuss money. So he has told Rascal that the adventurers are wizards, and he should not speak to them lest he be befuddled. So Rascal will insist upon communicating only through Neomas.