Last time in the mystery campaign, the party found Lyssbetonk Cogswagon dead in her lab, captured the mercenary Tajana, and raised Cogswagon from the dead. This time, the party interrogates Tajana, and things take a dramatic turn. All that and more on this review of the mystery campaign.
When we picked up this time for the players pushing toward the resolution of this mystery, the party was just arriving at the guard headquarters, intent on interrogating Tajana and getting answers for their long-standing questions and suspicions. One of the first lines of questioning was about Tajana's connection to the original murder victim Hildy Analeth. From inside her cage, Tajana admitted that she killed Hildy because she had been ordered to eliminate any witnesses to the break-in at Cogswagon's lab. Under continued questioning, Tajana admitted to a total of 23 murders including Hildy's and Cogswagon's and supplied some details on who had ordered each death.
With the murder of Hildy solved and the murderer in custody, Portia recognized that the party had done their due diligence and were no longer under any obligation to continue their work. But the party carried on, asking more and more questions of both Tajana and Portia. Much to Portia's discomfort, Tajana said that Riviel Jassimir was behind much of the violence in the city going back years.
Under some pressure from the party, Portia privately explained something of a history of intentionally overlooked crimes. She said that Jassimir had been squashing labor movements and competitors with deadly force for years, and that her position as the benefactor of the guards largely insulated her from any consequences for her actions. The party pledged themselves to bringing Jassimir to justice, and Portia offered her own support--she planned to operate outside of the guard in order to help the party bring Jassimir to justice.
Back in the main area of the guard headquarters, Tajana knocked over her cage and caused a commotion, attracting about 40 guards along with the party and Portia. At Portia's suggestion, the party decided to interview Tajana in this public way before all the guards to send a message about Jassimir and the true loyalties of the guards. Ais administered a thorough line of questions to Tajana, trying to get to the bottom of what Jassimir was really up to and how she could be counteracted.
In a dramatic moment, it was revealed that Portia was an agent of Jassimir's. Ais slapped Portia in the face to mark her betrayal, which knocked her to the floor, and Beor upped the ante by swinging his hammer at Portia's head. Beor's blow struck heavily, crushing Portia's head and killing her. Thinking quickly, the party addressed the collected guards, trying to help them see things the party's way and start a revolution against Jassimir. It worked to an extent--the guards split into camps, some loyal to the guard cause and Jassimir, and others loyal to the party's revolutionary cause. In the end, the party's appeals convinced most of the guards, and only a few left the guard headquarters questioning the party.
Suddenly, Izzunech possessed Ais once more. He spoke of the excitement of Portia's death and praised Beor for his violence. After a lengthy exchange between Montana, Beor, and Izzunech, Ais passed out completely. When she rose again, after Izzunech's longest possession yet, the party was struck by the gravity of the situation. Beor held the final rites for Portia, blessing her into the next life. Montana took advantage of Tajana's unconsciousness after the commotion to steal her ocarina after earlier making her promise to learn two new instruments as part of her penance for her life of crime.
That's where we left off for the session. Because the players managed to complete the crime-solving element of the story, I rewarded them with a level up, which brings them to level 10. In the few remaining sessions, they will be able to use their advanced abilities to strike back at Jassimir, possibly with their plans for revolution. It will be a dramatic end to a dramatic campaign, though of course, at this point, the pacing of the final chapter is entirely up to the party. They may choose to confront Jassimir directly or wage a more indirect war on her. Whatever they choose, it is sure to be at least as dramatic as the campaign that has preceded it.
That's all for now. Next time on the mystery campaign, the players will engage in their struggle against Riviel Jassimir and try to create justice for the city of Yamseth. Until next time, happy gaming!
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