A contest by ellusive benefactors. A magical train. An adventure the likess you’ve never seen! Join the players on a voyage into the deepest realms of their psyche, learn about The Crown’s interdimenional surveilance network, see facets of history as-of-yet unrevealed.
First Letter
The following advertisement is distributed far-and-wide: it appears in any publication with meaningful readership across the major empires of the West, translated into many languages. The initial ad is always wedged into prime space on page 1. In tight bold typewritten ink, you read:
Penny for your thoughts, friend? no, A penny for your dreams! enter for a chance to win an all expenses paid trip for the maiden voyage of the Grand train incanabulum, dEep iNto the unexplored and beautIful reaches of the aNtremhas junglEs. dare to learn more? the recent past holds your key!
Thus begins your route into the contest: by whatever means (your own cleverness, stealing it from someone else, being tipped off, you decide - and tell me) you find an otherwise unreferenced ad on page 9 of the previous week’s edition of that paper:
Of course, clever folk like you are the ones we want. Why waste the exotic depths of our destination on boring people? Entrance to our contest will cost you little and tax you some! Those sharp of wit, it is said, fight their battles thrice: before, during, and after. We seek to follow grand traditions, and so to enter we ask only that you expedite postage of traditional payment for the safe conveyance of a soul to: REZNIKOV & FARROW INDUSTRIES 108 SALT STREET - PORT GLORY. Include means of contacting you in return.
A bit of research later and you find the origin of the saying on battles: General Hegewald of the Teutarchs. Translated from its original germanic language:
At the last, I have won through once, but felt the sting of defeat twice. How creative my minds eye in that first fight. Us sharp of wit are burdened with each fight three times over; so perfectly in the plans spread across the table, so messily across the killing fields, and so very finally as we are forced to look back at our sins.
If your character is historically minded, you would immediate realize the following (otherwise further research reveals it): Hegewald commanded the final major (losing) battle of the Teutarchs against The Crown’s northern invasion. This text comes from his final journal entry before his execution 91 years ago.
Additionally, the Teutarch culture held that one must always carry two pennies for their safe journey after death. The first would pay for safe passage onward, the second was held in case a chance to return presented itself.
These are what I need from you! (1) Consider a character who would be interested in such a hook. (2) Send me info (or post it here) on how you acquire two Teutarch pennies, and which faces they are (see below). They are worthless, but somewhat rare due to falling out of circulation for close to a century. Made of thin, stamped bronze they are prone to damage; most collectors are only interested in the finest examples. The pennies have 6 possible faces: horse, sword, star, tankard, quill, and house.
Second letter
A courier finds you at whatever return address you included in your submission. He avoids knocking, and catches you either on your way to or from the building. He asks, apologetically, as to the faces of the coins you sent, “to ensure confidentiality, of course”. After these formalities, the man produces a small envelope of creamy ivory colored paper out of his waistcoat. It bears a solid wax seal with the letters R&F.
If you are based outside South America, the courier then hands you a small pewter case from his satchel. “A constitutional, for the humors of the new world.” Similar in size to a cigarette case, the outside is unadorned. It has a purple ribbon around its equator. Later, opening it in the privacy of your lodgings, you find it contains a tidy hand written dosage schedule and 8 small vials of translucent liquid. Each is stamped with the letters SG. Two vials per day, starting 2 days out from Port Glory, taken orally with food.
Having handed you the item(s), the courier bows deeply (or some similar local mark of respect) and takes his leave.
Inside the envelope is a folded letter, typewritten on high quality paper bearing the R&F letterhead. You also find one of the two pennies you sent (I’ll send you each which face was returned to you), and tickets for express and luxury transit to Port Glory. The letter reads:
Dear sir/madam, It is our great honor to inform you that you have been chosen by the fates as a lucky winner in our contest! We are humbled by your cunning for working through our puzzle and your ability to acquire such prime examples of a dead currency. Formalities aside, we are genuinely excited to make your acquaintance in person. Let us introduce ourselves briefly: myself and my associate are veterans of the engineering world. Having each worked as cogs within the vast industrial complexes of different nations, we both have acquired newfound creative freedom on this side of the vast ocean. For the past 11 years we have been working tirelessly on our greatest creation: the Incunabulum. It is a train without compare. Enclosed you shall find tickets for a journey to Port Glory, our incubator for this project. Our whole retinue will be arriving over the course of a few days, so lodgings will also be provided in town prior to boarding the train. On Saturday, once you have all reached the New World, we will be meeting for an evening of cocktails, introductions, and intrigue at the Firtina observatory north of town. Formal attire requested. Sincerely, Vazil Reznikov & Thorogood Farrow
Maps
The original map:
The map of The Shroud:
