Colonial Gothic: Prelude Part Two
On Sunday morning March 3rd an American Continental Navy Fleet attacked Nassau. 270 Marines and 50 sailors "stormed" ashore in America's first amphibious landing. After firing off three twelve pounders as a symbolic gesture, the defenders, less than 50 British sailors and Royal marines, abandoned the town's eastern Fort. Governor Browne, the British governor of Nassau then negotiated a truce, and handed over the keys to the Towns Main Fort, Fort Nassau.
71 cannon, 15 Large brass mortars, and 24 Hugh casks of gun powder were captured. Still Hopkins swore that there was supposedly almost 200 casks of powder on the island. So on Sunday Evening Hopkins orders a search party formed and he and the senior Lieutenant of the Alfred, one John Paul Jones, assemble several American sailors and marines and begin to search the Fort Nassau catacombs.....
The Players are in sailors and marines enlisted in the Continental Navy. Commodore Hopkins has ordered the search of the catacombs below Fort Nassau in search of “Black Powder”. The search party is formed and Commodore Hopkins and the senior Lieutenant of the Alfred, one John Paul Jones, assemble the American sailors and marines and begin to search the Fort Nassau catacombs
As the Players follow Hopkins through Fort Nassau catacombs Commodore Hopkins appears to be acting strangely.
NOTICE DC 15
Hopkins is looking for something specific.
SEARCH DC 20
Hopkins seems to find what he is looking for; a large ornate chest, hidden behind a thin false wall. The Yankee Sailors and Marines, pull the chest out from its hiding place. Hopkins produces a Scrimshaw pipe and opens it. Inside is a set of ornate swords, cutlass like but with strange tenticle runes upon them, several VERY old books, a pile of strange gold coins, and finally a Gold Skull, which the commodore looks at briefly with an almost familiar air puts aside and continues to search the chest, frantically now BUT it appears another Item is missing.
“Where is the Stone! The Stone is the key to everything!” says Hopkins into the air.
A disembodied Voice replies out of the cavern walls
FORT SAVE DC 20
Failure results in Surprise, confusion, an action lost crying “GHOSTS”! and Loss of their control over their bowels.
“You missed it by a forth night. It’s with Vacour on the Champlain. You’ll NEVER Get it from Him! Killington will retrieve it there, and the treasure and the whole world will be ours! We’ll start by crushing your little rebellion, and then use it as an excuse to put the entire world in its “proper place”!
At that moment, the Gold Skull, emits a Lighting bolt that hits Hopkins rendering him Unconscious. The Gold Skull is gone.
Lt. Jones orders the sailors to carry the Commodore to the surface. He sends one Marine ahead to the Alfred for the ships doctor, then orders the sailors to assist him in getting the commodore to the surface. He Orders one sailor, a Mr. Smith to grab the small chest and bring it along as well.
Word comes back as the sailors reach the dock that the ship’s Doctor has been at the rum.
Lt. Jones orders you to carry the Commodore to the Doctors Mansion.
The Doctor is Count Lazlo Cagiostro, a Italian Count and renowned student of the occult, know throughout Europe and the world. He has been in New Provenience Nassau for the last few years studying the mystic powers of the Caribbean. They take the commodore to meet him in his library, a huge two story room filled with books. He stabilizes the commodore with the use of some of his own special "Smelling Salts". The commodore is then taken back to the Alfred.
A few days latter the sailors examining the chest they found in the Fort Nassau catacombs. Mr. Smith brings the box to the commodores attention , he he seems to be in a claim but semi confused state even days after the event in the Fort. Senior Lieutenant Jones then tells Mr. Smith that the item of the commodores most concern, his Scrimshaw pipe, was sent north on the Charlotte, with half of the captured Black powder. He tells Mr. Smith that he can keep the chest.
Later that day Mr. Smith is examining his prize with his friends and finds a "Map" in a secret compartment of the chest. The map is of fine leather like cloth and appears pretty old. It also has strange writing on it. Sailor Altair Ibn La-Ahad identifies it as Arabic, which he unfortunately, cant read.
Latter that week, a day or two before the fleet is proposed to sail, Count Lazlo Cagliostro invites the sailors and merchants that visited him with the commodore to dinner.
At the meal where they are waited on by a company of fishy seeming servants, Count Lazlo Cagiostro after inquiring about the Commodores ill health, inquires about anything they may have found in the Fort Nassau catacombs. It seems that the fort was built on the ruins of a much older Mezo-American Caribean structure, dating back hundreds even thousands of years. The Sailors show him the map.
Count Lazlo Cagliostro gets VERY Excited. He Says its a map of several ancient "Atlantean" outposts and treasure vaults around the world. The writing is indeed Arabic, But the key requires two items to decipher the certain locations exactly. The Philosopher's stone, and a Certain Book called the Necronomicon, also in Arabic.
He offers to keep the map and translate the map for them, but they politely Decline his offer.
The American Continental Navy Fleet leaves New Providence Nassau March 17th and sails for Connecticut...