Babes in London: Act Three, Scene 2B (Part 1: Follow-Up Gehenna Consortium—Main Conversation)

SCENE 2B: FOLLOW-UP (GEHENNA CONSORTIUM)

About an hour after your call, the limo arrives. It takes you, in dark-windowed silence, to a house on a quiet surburban street where a roll-up garage door closes behind it and you exit into a flood-lit parking bay. Alice McIntyre and her usual escort of expensively-suited goons are waiting to greet you. “So,” she says, as you follow her into a white corridor, and then an equally white reception area, “What is it you have to report?”

We think Anika’s parents have been kidnapped:

Could you explain?

She has the PCs explain as best they can, also drawing out as much information about their investigation as she can. What Alice WON’T tell the PCs is that, unlike LN7, the Gehenna Corporation sees a use for the cultists, and will do its best to get them on-side and in their employ. She extract as much information about the cultists from the PCs as she can, and later sets about making contact with the cultists. Alice impresses on the PCs how important such information is to the welfare of the corporation, and offers a bonus for any more useful information the PCs can dig up. She also instructs the PCs to retrieve Anika’s mum and dad ‘at all costs’ rating the corporation’s interest in the little girl more important than any potential new allies that might be found in the cultists. While she will try to balance the two interests, she knows where her company’s priorities lie.

Someone tried to kidnap Leyila’s parents:

Do tell.

Once again, Alice tries to extract as much information as possible from the PCs and, in the end, congratulates them on their success. If they failed, she is disappointed and instructs them to do everything possible to find Leyila’s parents also.

Showing Anika’s Book of Law or Leyila’s Book of Songs:

If PCs show Alice Anika’s Book of Law or Leyila’s Book of Songs, Alice becomes very excited – even though she tries hard to mask her interest, she fails. Asking the PCs all sorts of questions about the book, she eventually tries to keep it if at all possible, using tactics ranging from trying to borrow it for ‘just a few days’ (in which case, the PCs have lost it, because she has no intention of giving it back, and has a whole corporation to hide it in), to trying to convince them that, since it is part of the investigation they have been hired to do the book rightfully belongs to her consortium, to buying it outright for £1000. She will, however, allow them to walk out with the book. (This does not mean she is ready to give it up, just that she needs the PCs too much, right now, to kill them for it; she will organize another group to steal it from the PCs at a later date, however.) If the PCs in any way let Alice take the Book of Law or Book of Songs, they do not receive it as a reward at the end of this Act and do not receive any benefits related to its ownership – it’s gone, unless the GM is willing to run a retrieval mission later for them.

Showing the disc:

Where did you get this from? I don’t recall seeing that symbol before.

Once again Alice exudes suppressed excitement. She does not recognize the symbol, but she is intrigued that there is another organization out there that recognizes the existence of dragons. She is also desperate to know who these people might be, as they represent a new set of rivals to her company’s interests. Alice asks the PCs if they might know who these people are; and tries to ferret out every detail of each encounter they have had with the Setites. She also gains authorization (in a private phone call – Excuse me, for a moment. I need to make a call.) to offer the PCs another £500 for information that leads to more details on the group. While the company has more than enough resources to lead them to the identity of the group, they also believe in cross-referencing – and, besides, if they don’t have the records, the PCs are a useful backup.

Setites are behind the kidnapping of the parents:

“I’ve not heard of that group before? Are you sure? How did you find out?

Alice’s response to this piece of information is exactly the same as her response to the disk; she is desperate to gather information on this group of potential rivals (or allies) to her company, and gains authorization to offer the PCs £500 for more information on the group.

Revealing the PCs draconic heritage/incarnation:

Alice pauses. For a few seconds, her body becomes very still, and she looks carefully at each of you. “Is this true?” she asks. “Do you all have the dragon’s gift?”

Alice is most interested in having the PCs sign onto the Consortium’s payroll, but she keeps it well-hidden. While the Consortium would benefit from having dragon scions in its employ, Alice knows many scions would not agree with the way the Consortium runs things. She asks the PCs to complete the task and then come back to her, as there might be ‘other work’ for them. What she is doing, in fact, is giving herself time to consult with Consortium higher-ups while providing the company with a testing ground for the PCs abilities and loyalty.

Someone tried to kidnap the artist David Markovin:

“Now why would anyone want to do that?”

This news is possibly the least interesting to Alice and the Consortium, but it is still interesting. While they are aware of the supernatural inspiration behind David’s unicorn paintings, they are unaware of its source. The Consortium would like to find the source to see if they could somehow tap into it and use it to their advantage. Alice wants to know what other groups might be interested in David as she is always curious about rivals to her company’s interests.

Setites are behind the kidnap attempt on the artist David Markovin:

“Setites? What are they?”

Once again, Alice’s interest is heightened by the fact that she has never heard of this group, and by the fact that it represents a potential rival or ally to the Consortium. She gains authorization to offer the PCs £500 for more information on the Setites, if she has not already done so.

Revealing what happened when PCs investigated the disc at the library, museum or university:

This news evokes the same reaction from Alice as revealing the disk and/or the existence that Setites are the group behind the attacks on the Andrews’ family and/or artist David Markovin. She wants to know more and her company is willing to authorize further payments to the PCs to obtain it. (£50 for all information, with the possibility of greater bonuses depending on the value of the information to the Consortium.) She is also fascinated to know that the reference book exists and makes arrangements for the Consortium to ‘obtain’ a copy without telling PCs.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.