Session 17: The Verdant Athenaeum
Queensport — Library District
TONE: Payoff and departure. Corster’s true
nature becomes clearer; a party member’s arc may close; Ranga
enters.
The Library
The Verdant Athenaeum is Germonia’s largest library — three floors of
shelves under a vaulted green-glass ceiling, staffed by clerks who
communicate primarily through disapproving looks. The party has time to
research while they wait for Corster.
| Research Topic | What Can Be Found |
|---|---|
| Dagon / the deep pact | A small monograph on ‘maritime spiritual traditions’ with a chapter on ‘the debt of the old kings’ — vague but confirms the deal is real and old. |
| Princess Sable | Genealogy records: legitimate heir, mother Snow White, father unknown in official records. Marginal note in a different hand: ‘See Elysande’s correspondence.’ |
| Amaranth Nettleweed | A herbalist’s reference with a page on Amaranth’s ‘contributions to deep-sea ward-working.’ She was part of a tradition that predates the current kingdoms. |
| The locket (if lost) | No records. The item was never written down. |
Corster’s Briefing
Corster arrives in a reading alcove wearing the kind of calm that
takes years of practice. He listens to everything the party tells him —
Grumpy, the Dagon debt, Snow White’s plans — without expression. Then he
confirms it all, quietly.
*‘Snow White has been corresponding with Dagon’s agents for eight
months,’ he says. ‘She believes she can manage the transaction. She
believes she has leverage.’ He pauses. ’She is wrong. Dagon does not
negotiate from a position of equal standing. He never **has. Sable must
not go to court.’ He slides an envelope across the table to the party
member whose family matter he promised to address. ‘As promised.’*
DM NOTE: If one of the party members has an outstanding personal
promise from Corster — a cure, a contact, information about a loved one
— this is the moment he delivers. The envelope contains whatever was
promised. If that character’s player is departing the campaign, give
them a genuine farewell scene: they’ve been with the party since Session
1 and the other players should feel the absence. Leave the door open for
a return — the character can promise to send word if they learn anything
more about the Dagon network.
The Zeppelin
Corster arranges passage on the Celestial Drake, a luxury airship
making its run across the Cerulean Sea to Neverland. Before boarding, a
new potential party member — a young hobgoblin named Ranga who is
traveling alone — causes a minor incident in the boarding queue that
brings them into the party’s orbit. They are chaotic, funny, and about
to become a valuable addition to the group.
On the zeppelin: a food fight in the dining parlor that the party
fails to prevent (and possibly accelerates), and a discussion about
exploring the swinging chairs on the upper deck that goes exactly as
well as you’d expect.
-
Meeting Corster and receiving the briefing: 300 XP
-
Farewell scene for any departing party member: 200 XP
-
Ranga joins the party: 150 XP
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