Every month a sealed order from Aurica names ten prisoners to move from Gold Cage to the Cold Cells on Ivoire. A Dominion prison ship called the Constance carries them. The ship never reaches the Cold Cells. Its captain and crew are Unbound. They fly to the Needle Peaks on Ivoire and hand the prisoners to the Still Dome, the hidden Unbound observatory. There the cult drains the mages' aether to keep its signal lamp lit toward Rim Gate Seven.
Doctor Armand Morel comes with the ship as its transfer doctor. He leads the cult cell aboard. In Linen Ward he draws blood from each prisoner and tests it with a brass needle box. Strong blood means strong aether. Fabien Garreau, a records clerk in Warden Tower, is Unbound too. He lifts the seal on the order, adds two names the doctor wants, and seals it again. Last month he added two young mages who had studied Old Maker ruins with Auguste Delorme. One of them was Adrien Sallis's client. Fabien also sold charged crystals from Draw Hall to the ship's crew. Hermine Sorrel knows he is the clerk who agreed to that sale.
Tonight's order has ten names. Fabien added two of them, and one is Auguste Delorme.
Armand Morel wants ten prisoners aboard by 23:30 and no questions.
Fabien Garreau wants the list to pass. If he is found out, he runs to the ship.
Honorine Vasseur found two names last month that she never signed. She wants proof of who added them, and she keeps the record room locked at night.
Auguste Delorme is on tonight's list and knows what happened to his students. He wants a letter carried to the Order on Candor. He studied the Rim Gate seals with Caelan Morvane for twenty years.
The old woman with the oranges is waiting for her son, who left on last month's ship. Nobody answers when his name is called.
The player characters are the Benevolence crew, who fly the hospital cutter Benevolence. Saressa Tavi is the Vasht doctor who captains it, Marcel Duprat is a former Dominion spy whose grafts let him change his face, Caelan Morvane is the old Tessari scholar who studied the Rim Gate seals with Auguste Delorme, and Annelise Brougham is the Order priest who writes down every promise made to a prisoner. The player runs one of them. The GM runs the other three as companions.
Gilles Marchand is the Dominion priest who runs Linen Ward and signs prisoners fit.
Adrien Sallis is an Ashen court scribe who writes petitions for families. One of his clients left on last month's ship.
Hermine Sorrel is an Ashen prison clerk who runs the Tally Shop and is paid in favours.
The waiting room (Petition Dock). The clerk calls the old woman's son's name twice. Then he tells her the man was moved and has no new address. A DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check gets the dock clerk talking. He wrote to the Cold Cells last month, and the reply says no ship from Gold Cage has arrived since month 1. He keeps the letter in his desk. The Constance ties up at the far end of the arm at 12:00 with its lamps dark. Visitors are searched for crystals, blades and spell books. Hiding a small item takes a DC 16 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. Marcel Duprat has done this many times.
The fit check (Linen Ward). At 14:00 Doctor Armand Morel brings the ten prisoners to the ward. The priest must sign each one fit by 18:00. The Benevolence's petition lets Saressa Tavi and her crew into the ward to treat them. The doctor draws blood into glass vials and touches each to his brass needle box. A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check shows he is measuring aether in the blood. A DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check shows strong readings please him. A DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check spots a Black Ring on a chain under his collar. Auguste Delorme is one of the ten. He passes a note to anyone kind to him, and at once to Caelan Morvane. It names his two students and the Old Maker ruin they studied, the Star Vault.
The record room (Warden Tower). The record room is locked from 18:00. Hermine Sorrel has a wax copy of its key, and Marcel Duprat can wear a clerk's face to walk in before 18:00. Comparing tonight's order with the warden's own copy takes a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Caelan Morvane and Marcel Duprat have advantage on it. Two names are in fresher ink, and the seal was lifted with a hot blade and set again. Fabien Garreau's desk holds a Black Ring and a receipt for charged crystals signed by the ship's mate. If the crew is caught here without leave, 2 Warden Knight, 4 Brass Turnkey and 1 Spire Guard Mage come to arrest them. Fighting them makes the crew outlaws on every Dominion world. Giving up quietly costs a night in a cell and a fine.
The warden (Warden Tower). Honorine Vasseur hears anyone who brings a petition. With the altered order or the receipt, a DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check wins her trust. Without proof it takes DC 19. Once convinced, she has Fabien Garreau held. She sends 2 Warden Knight and 4 Brass Turnkey to the dock at 23:00, and they follow the crew's lead. Held and pressed with a DC 15 Charisma (Intimidation) check, Fabien says the ship goes to the Needle Peaks, not the Cold Cells.
Fabien runs (Petition Dock). If Fabien learns he is found out, he goes to the ship at once. Spotting him in the hall takes a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check. A chase along the arm takes 3 rounds, with a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check each round to close in. If he reaches the Constance, Doctor Morel loads the prisoners early, at 21:00.
The night loading (Petition Dock). At 23:00 the dock lamps go dark. The ten prisoners walk to the Constance in their collars. Aboard and on the gangway are Doctor Armand Morel (use the Unbound Speaker stat block), the ship's bosun (use the Black Crystal Brute stat block), 6 Unbound Zealots and 4 Unbound Acolytes in navy coats. They fight to cast off with whoever is aboard. Once the ship pulls away, jumping the widening gap takes a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check, then 1 round. If the fight goes badly, the crew can fall back down the arm, and the cult will not leave the ship to chase them. The doctor carries the collar key. A prisoner whose collar is opened can cast spells and fights on the crew's side.
The ship's log (Petition Dock, aboard the Constance). The log shows a course to the Needle Peaks and a landing place in the snow below the Still Dome. Last month's ten prisoners are listed by name, with a mark beside each name the doctor wants for the lamp.
Encounter math. Crew of four level 8 characters. Low budget 4,000 XP, Moderate 6,800 XP and High 8,400 XP. The ship fight is 2,300 + 2,300 + 2,700 + 200 = 7,500 XP, High (budget 8,400). Honorine's 2 Warden Knights and 4 Brass Turnkeys add 5,400 XP to the budget as allies, which makes it a Low fight. The record room arrest is 2 Warden Knight, 4 Brass Turnkey and 1 Spire Guard Mage, 6,100 XP, Moderate (budget 6,800).
1042-04-06, 23:30. The Constance leaves with ten prisoners, Auguste Delorme among them.
1042-04-08. The ship lands in the Needle Peaks below the Still Dome.
1042-04-10. The old woman with the oranges is sent home with no answer.
1042-04-15. Fabien Garreau learns the warden is checking. He burns the record room copies, and the Council of Houses blames Honorine Vasseur.
1042-05-06. The next ship comes for ten more.
Good. The Constance is stopped, the ten prisoners stay on Gold Cage, and Fabien Garreau and Doctor Morel are held. Honorine Vasseur knows the truth.
Mixed. The ship escapes with some prisoners, or the warden does not believe the crew and the doctor walks free.
Bad. The Constance leaves on time and the crew is blamed for a fight on the dock.
Honorine Vasseur pays 240 Crowns from the prison purse and gives each character a signed visitor pass to Gold Cage.
Auguste Delorme's family sends 300 Crowns to whoever carries his letter to the Order on Candor. Annelise Brougham can deliver it to her own chapter.
Doctor Morel carries a Crystal Tester, a Black Ring and 75 Crowns.
The Noble Passenger Run gig, offered by a noble house whose daughter stayed off the list.
The dock clerk becomes a contact. He sends word of strange orders and ships at Gold Cage.
Heroic Inspiration for each character who stands between the prisoners and the ship.
The Still Dome. Last month's ten prisoners may still be alive in the Needle Peaks. The ship's log shows where to land.
The Star Vault. Auguste's students studied the Star Vault on Ivoire. The Unbound wanted what they knew, and the Order wants it too.
The order from Aurica. Someone on Aurica writes the eight real names each month. The seal is real. Adrien Sallis can trace which court office sends it.