It is day 14 of month 4, 1042, 08:00, on Grindstone. Block C of the Cage Stacks has been in revolt for nine days. About forty convicts welded the doors shut. They will open up when Seam Twelve is closed. The riot boss, Dragan Petrak, bought Rush on credit from the back room of the Scrip Store. His Rush ran out three days ago, and his men are sick and angry.
Seam Twelve broke into a cave of black crystal three weeks ago. The five missing miners are husks now, and they still walk in the cave. The two blank miners in the Dust Clinic have black crystal splinters in their hands. If nobody takes the splinters out, they become husks at 02:00 on day 16.
Governor Agna Krall keeps the foreman's report on the seam in her desk. A Union inspector's ship docks at Chain Dock on day 17 at 10:00. She wants Block C quiet before then. At 06:00 on day 16 she will send 12 guards and 2 dogs to storm the block.
The Vesper Syndicate hides Rush in food crates on the supply barge. Its man on the barge wants the Block C debt paid before the barge leaves on day 15 at 18:00.
Agna Krall (Quota Office) wants the block retaken and her quota safe. She will pay to keep it quiet.
Grusha Vell (Rock Yard) wants nobody killed and the convicts' complaint carried to Brakka.
Dragan Petrak (Cage Stacks, Block C) wants Seam Twelve closed, no beatings after, and Rush.
Tomas Hartig (Cage Stacks, Block C) is Lena's younger brother. He did not join the revolt. He is trapped inside and tends the hurt.
The barge cargo hand is a Syndicate man with no name he will give. He wants his money.
The pregenerated characters are the Deliverance crew, the famous jailbreakers who emptied a Gallow cell tower in 1037. Lorcan Abernethy is the pilot who leads them and did two years in a Union work camp beside Dragan Petrak. Thokka Varn is a Gorr pit fighter. Ilsabet Corvo is an Ashen breacher and former Syndicate runner. Ignatius Fairbanks is the Cogling doctor who opened the Gallow gates. They fly the stolen prison brig Deliverance, docked at Chain Dock. The player runs one of them. The GM runs the other three as companions.
Bruno Mardle is the convict doctor at the Dust Clinic. Fitch Nobble is the convict trusty who runs the Scrip Store. Lena Hartig is a Union medic from Brakka who came to pay her brother's fine. All three are NPCs who follow their description.
Fitch Nobble sold Rush for the Syndicate, and that is his past. He is a decent man who is afraid of the Syndicate. He is never the villain here.
Stat blocks. Dragan Petrak uses the Raider Captain stat block. His hardest men use Rush Brute, the rest Rush Brawler. Guards use Mine Guard, and their dogs use Tunnel Mastiff. The barge cargo hand is a Syndicate underboss in a cargo hand's coat and uses the Syndicate Underboss stat block. His helpers use Syndicate Headhunter and Syndicate Enforcer. The miners in the seam use Husk. Budgets for four level 16 characters are Low 15,200, Moderate 24,400 and High 39,200.
Supply day, Chain Dock, 08:00. The clerk tells Lena Hartig that no fine is paid for a Block C convict while the block is in revolt. Tomas owes a fine of 90 Crowns. A guard sergeant wants a third of Lena's medicine as dock tax. A DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check keeps it all. A guard dog stops at a food crate and barks. The sergeant shuts the crate and waves it on to the Scrip Store. A DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check shows he was paid. The barge cargo hand watches Fitch Nobble the whole time and asks him to come aboard at 20:00.
The blank miners, Dust Clinic. The two miners stand in the corner and stare at the wall. Their skin is cold. A DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check knows these are the signs of a person becoming a husk. A DC 18 Wisdom (Medicine) check finds thin black splinters under the skin of their hands. Taking them out needs a Healer's Kit, 30 minutes and a DC 16 Wisdom (Medicine) check for each miner. Ignatius Fairbanks has done this kind of work before and is the best hand in the crew for it. A miner who is treated eats by evening and speaks on day 15. He says five friends still walk in the cave. A miner who is not treated rises as a Husk at 02:00 on day 16. Bright light from a lamp gives Advantage on these checks.
The yard delegate, Rock Yard. Grusha Vell knows the block's terms. She will walk to the barricade with the crew. With her there, every Charisma check with Block C has Advantage. She asks the crew to carry a written complaint to the inspector.
The barricade, Cage Stacks. Block C sits on the third level. The catwalk to it is blocked with steel sheets. Climbing past needs a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Dragan Petrak, 4 Rush Brutes and 3 Rush Brawlers stand at the welded door. About 35 other convicts will not fight. Petrak knows Lorcan Abernethy from the Coldwell camp, and every Charisma check with him has Advantage while Lorcan is there. A DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check gets the sick released, Tomas Hartig among them. A DC 20 check, or a DC 16 check with a signed order closing Seam Twelve, opens the block. Petrak also asks for Rush. If he is refused and the crew pushes, he fights. Encounter. 1 Raider Captain (3,900), 4 Rush Brutes (4,400) and 3 Rush Brawlers (600), 8,900 XP, Low (budget 15,200). The Brutes and Brawlers run when Petrak drops.
The governor, Quota Office. Agna Krall offers 30 Crowns to each crew member to end the revolt quietly before day 17. She tells them about the storm at 06:00 on day 16. A DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check shows she is hiding something about the seam. The report is in her desk. Taking it while she is on the floor needs a DC 18 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, and Ilsabet Corvo has the quickest hands in the crew. A DC 21 Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) check makes her hand it over. Proof from the seam makes that DC 16. With the report out, she signs the order to close Seam Twelve.
The black cave, Seam Twelve. The ride down by ore cart takes 40 minutes. The cave is a Strong Vhal site (DC 13 Constitution save each hour, see Vhal Exposure). Lamps give only Dim Light. Encounter. 2 Husk Makers (16,800), 2 Frost Striders (7,800), 2 Drill Drones that no longer obey (900) and 5 Husks (500), 26,000 XP, High (budget 39,200). The husks wear the crew tags of the missing miners. Proof is a crew tag, a black crystal in a lead box, or the frost on the drills. A crew tag lies on the cave floor by the entrance, so the crew can take proof without a fight. If the fight goes badly, the ore cart can carry the crew back up, and nothing in the cave follows past the cart rails. A Blast Charge set with a DC 17 Dexterity check using Tinker Tools or Rune Tools brings down the cave mouth. Ilsabet Corvo can set it in a moment.
The debt, Scrip Store. At 20:00 the barge cargo hand comes to the back room with 2 Syndicate Headhunters and 2 Syndicate Enforcers. He knows the Deliverance crew by sight and is not happy to see them. He wants 50 Crowns, or a crate of Rush carried into Block C for Petrak. A DC 17 Charisma (Intimidation) check sends him back to the barge, because dock guards are close. Encounter. 1 Syndicate Underboss (5,000), 2 Syndicate Headhunters (4,600) and 2 Syndicate Enforcers (900), 10,500 XP, Low (budget 15,200). If he is beaten, he leaves on the barge and the Syndicate remembers.
The storm, Cage Stacks, day 16 06:00. Only if the block is still shut. 12 Mine Guards and 2 Tunnel Mastiffs cut the door with torches. This is not a fight for the crew to win, even though they easily could. Fighting the guards makes the crew outlaws on every Union world. Anyone inside is in the way of both sides.
The inspector, Chain Dock, day 17 10:00. A Union inspector from Brakka steps off a grey Union cutter. She listens to anyone with the report, a crew tag or Grusha's complaint. With proof she closes Seam Twelve and orders the governor to Brakka.
Day 14, 20:00. The barge cargo hand calls on the Scrip Store for the debt.
Day 15, 18:00. The barge leaves. Two crates of Rush stay in the store.
Day 16, 02:00. The blank miners rise as husks and hurt two patients in the Dust Clinic.
Day 16, 06:00. The guards storm Block C. Eight convicts and two guards die. Dragan Petrak is shot. Tomas Hartig is badly hurt.
Day 17, 10:00. The inspector finds a quiet block. Agna Krall keeps the report, and the night shift goes back into Seam Twelve.
Day 25. Three more miners go missing in the seam.
Good. The block opens with no deaths, Seam Twelve is closed, both blank miners live and the inspector reads the report.
Mixed. The block opens but the seam stays open, or the seam closes after the storm has already killed people.
Bad. The storm goes ahead, the miners become husks and the report never leaves the desk.
Agna Krall pays 600 Crowns to each crew member if the block opens before day 17, even if she loses her post later.
The inspector cuts Tomas Hartig's fine to 40 Crowns. Bruno Mardle and Fitch Nobble each get 60 days off their sentences.
The dock boss offers the Raw Crystal Haul gig to any crew with a ship.
Grusha Vell becomes a trusted contact among Union workers. Bruno's clinic gets a Medkit and two Fog Masks from the inspector's stores.
Heroic Inspiration for saving a blank miner, Tomas Hartig or the convicts of Block C at real risk.
The Syndicate. The supply barge comes back in month 5 with a new cargo hand. He asks for Fitch Nobble by name and offers a deal to clear the debt.
The complaint. Grusha Vell's complaint must reach the Union council on Brakka. She asks the crew to carry it and to speak for the convicts.
The black crystal. The Order of the Last Light hears about Seam Twelve and wants the crystal in the lead box. So does a Dominion buyer on Chain Dock, who offers more.