Return of Salem

Cathedral of Dawn, Floor Plan

Cathedral of Dawn, South Elevation

Cathedral of Dawn, West Elevation

The Companions of the Rising Sun are confronted by an old nemesis, who kidnaps a friend's little sister and sends them on a scavenger hunt.

Opening

The party is summoned to the Leaves of Learning Library, apparently by their friend, Brother Denehan ClearStone. However, when they get there, they discover that their friend is out of town, doing research at the library in the Spire.

Returning to the Rusty Wing, they discover a bar fight had broken out, and in the chaos, the little sister of their friend, Phantos RustyWing, Lilly, has been kidnapped. A ransom note , addressed to the Companions, reads:

To the Brotherhood of the Rising Sun

If you wish to see the girl alive again, follow these instructions to the very last detail. Deviation will result in her immediate death.
Proceed immediately to the alleyway adjoining the Boulevard du St. Antoine and the Warehouse District, where you will be met by one of our emissaries. He will instruct you further. Do not attempt to follow him, or waylay him or harm him in any way. To do so will guarantee the girl’s quick progression into the afterlife.
Do not seek to inform your elders of this matter; it is not of their concern.
Do not hesitate, or all is lost
The Coven of the New Moon

Horn of a Gargoyle

A shadowy emmisary meets them in the designated alleyway, hooded in black and threatening. He instructs them to obtain the horn of a gargoyle, and bring it to 299 Rue du Chaad in two hours.

Knowing of only one place in the Luminaux where there were gargoyles, the heroes proceed with haste to the Cathedral of Dawn, blustering past the attendant priests and running up multiple flights of stairs to the roof. There, they encounter a creature, seemingly made of stone, who claims to be the last of his kind. He attacks them without mercy, and they fell him. Literally, as he is airborn when Karmann's bullet claims his life, and falls from the roof of the cathedral to the ground below, shattering to rubble.

The heroes collect his horn from the pieces left of the creature, and make haste to Rue du Chaad.

Ten Black Pearls

The same shadowy figure meets them at the designated address, and gives them new instructions. They are to obtain 10 perfectly matched black pearls, and bring them to the Graveyard de Fortissimos by dawn.

Lacking the funds and time to purchase such a treasure, the party makes a difficult choice - to become burglers. They choose a reputable pearl merchant on Newbridge, and Karmann and Kimo break into the store through an accessway on the roof. They get into a gunfight with the merchant's guards, but manage to obtain the pearls and get away with their lives. Meanwhile, in an attempt to create a diversion, Perrin contemplates setting fire to the section of town known as Old Luminaux, and is punched in the nuts for his trouble by the Druid Who Shall Not Be Named.

Chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Moon

Night Rose

They are again met by a shadowy figure, who takes their ill-gotten treasure, and informs them that there is one more task they must complete. They must obtain a Night Rose and return it to the Island of the Sun by noon.

A quick check with the druid who is not to be named reveals that the only place locally that the Night Rose grows is at a small convent just out of town, the Chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Moon.

Rushing to the convent, they find it locked up tight, as the Sisters are nocturnal, caring for a mystical plant, which only comes out in the light of the moon, and will evaporate in the harsh light of the sun. Banging on the door seems to scare the sisters, and they prepare to mount a defense. After some negotiations and misunderstandings, the Companions are told that they will be granted one Night rose, provided they can provide the sisters with some unicorn fewmets for fertilizer. After looking up "fewmets" and discovering it is an old word for "droppings", which is to say, "poop", they are led off on an entertaining and inept quest to track down some unicorns, and pick up after them. The womanizing Jericho, the ne'er-do-well Karmann, and the ribald drunk Kimo are all declared ineligible for unicorn contact, leaving poor Perrin to do the task alone, which he humiliatingly fails at for quite a while.

Eventually, he manages to gather a bucket of poop, and returns with it to the Sisters, who give him a rose, contained in a light-proof box.

[Editor's note - the DM would like to heartily apologize to the players for this section of the adventure, which veered off course radically to become a notorious farce. It seemed like a good idea at the time.]

We Don't Negotiate with Terrorists

Finally, the Companions have had their fill. They meet their adversary on the Island of the Sun, who turns out to be none other than Salem, a former crimelord and undead who seems to have followed them here from Corvis. The party trades the box for Lilly, and as soon as she is safe, Perrin shoots the box, causing to open and the rose to vanish in a puff of smoke.

Fighting ensues.

When all is said and done, the Companions are victorious, destroying Salem and taking his minions captive. Lilly is treated for injuries and shock, and returned home to her frightened father and brother.