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→Part 1 Cour des Miracles
=Intro=Teaser==Send to the players before the game :
28th of October 1347, Marseilles (Provence, Holy Roman Empire)
His Magnum Opus cost him everything: his fortune, his family, his soul.
Under the unholy gaze frozen in clay of his demented masters he works tirelessly.
The end is near, his pact is formal.
Soon he will be the richest man in Marseille and probably in the whole Empire !
⚜️⚜️⚜️💀💀💀
28 Octobre 1347, Marseille (Provence, Saint Empire romain)
Son Grand Oeuvre lui aura tout coûté : sa fortune, sa famille, son âme.
Sous le regard impie figé dans l'argile de ses maîtres déments, il travaille inlassablement.
La fin est proche, son pacte est formel.
Bientôt, il sera l'homme le plus riche de Marseille et probablement de tout l'Empire !
⚜️⚜️⚜️💀💀💀
=Intro - Danse Macabre=
* Initial situation :
**Date : 28 October 1347
**Location : Marseilles (Provence, Holy Roman Empire)
There was a date, but no address on it.
On the invitation, there is a drawing of the Saint Victor Abbaye in the background. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_Saint-Victor_de_Marseille
And indeed, a ball is organised there, near the docks.
Every year, a Masquerade (Bal Masqué) is organised in Marseille by the church. It happens in the cathedral : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_Saint-Victor_de_Marseille
The actual point of this masquerade is to gather all the representatives of the different Bone objects.
During the ball, he will give them instructions on how to meet them for the final ritual : The burning of the tower.
Cathedral is a living place, lots of beggars and orphans. People sick and poor. But balls are organised there too.
The players go to the cathedral early. To prepare.
The maskerade is organised every year it's not connected to the lord"L".The lord "L" uses this venue as a way to secretly give instructions on the actual meeting place and time. The meeting will happen in the cathedral where he they will do the final ritual of the bones.The deacon of the cathedral ("Bishop") is corrupted as well.
The danse macabre masquerade
They build a spire of bones, to be sure the workers aren't aware that those are bones, they are hidden in word and straws
* Explanations :
"L" has been preparing a ritual for a very long time.
For his ritual to succeed, he needed lots of skeletons of people killed in a certain way.
That's why he recruited the Merchant "Coin", the Ministrel "Violin", the deacon "Bishop" etc...
They had the task to kill X people in a very specific way. "Coin" had to buy corpses or sell goods that would kill, "Violin" had to dance them to death, etc....
As a compensation, they got gold, support and a "Bone" item.
All these corpses where shipped to him to marseille encased in bricks made of flamable materials.
The point is to make a spire with all the corpses and burn it.
If successful, this ritual will multiply the virality of the plague and let it spread through europe.
* Unsolved mysteries :
Why trigger the Black Plague ?
Who is "L" ? Where does those "Bone" objects come from ?
=Part 1 Cour des Miracles=*0min Meeting with '''Normal : Z_Normal-Cathédrale Silencieuse''' {{Ambiance Track| 5min = Visit of the cathedral and infirmary. They notice how brightly colored the deaconcathedral is, description of the hospiceas they used to be in that time.*| 15min = There's an old man in his bed, with a lady sobbing at his side. She's a whore (she wears very bright colours) and he is her dying father. Her son was taken as well. Her left shoulder is bleeding a strange wound with a strange shape.Une fois interrogéeWhen interrogated, elle explique que on l’as forceee a assister a une cérémonie sataniqueshe will explain that she was forced to partake in satanic rituals. She remembers particularly the stench of sulfur and the heat. Elle se souvient particulièrement de l odeur et de la chaleur(more infos about her in the scenario track.*| 30min = A Leper come to them asking for Alms. He said he was refused in the Leprosy. He is an actual lepper. He tell the players that orphans are disappearing, he also tell them about people meeting at night in the crypt below the cathedral. When he goes there, he cannot find the door, he points to a wall (an actual wall). He just rememebr wrong. '''When he sees the wall Music : Alone in the Dark Mysteries''' *| 45min = They see a man counting coins. When approached he pretends to be blind. He is a thief. After they finished takling to him, their purse is gone. And so is he. '''When he sees the wall Music : Alone in the Dark Mysteries''' His left shoulder is bleeding a strange wound with a strange shape.*| 60min = They go to their room. The hostel owner have been killed. Stabbed at the left shoulder. '''When they see he is dead : Alone in the Dark Mysteries''' Their stuff have been stolen. When they leave the hostel, it burns. When it burns. '''When they see it burn : Berserk Behelith'''*| 75min = A riot between sailors (ville basse) and soldiers (ville haute) they fight against a new tax instored in the ville haute that tax goods coming from the sea and sold at ville haute. The Lepper is found dead in the riot. '''When they see the dead lepper : Berserk Behelith''' His left shoulder is bleeding a strange wound with a strange shape.*100min | 90min = They see a vallet feeding an orphan. He runs away and bring them to the trap. ''When they are attacked : Baston Bridgands !''}}
The players arrive at the cathedral of Marseille. They are Greeted by the ex deacon (évèque) of Marseille : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasbert_de_Valle
THe current Deacon (évèque) stays in Avignon while the cathedral is being renovated.
The evil cult will pay some poor to take part of their rituals, part of the ritual is to wound them in the shoulder. The wound is the shape of a hare foot, it's the sign of the devil.
He greets the players and they talk about the Masquerade that will happen.
As they meet him, he is playing chess against a canon.
The players can make one move.
The game pieces have their specific moves, which are also used for Byzantine (round) chess:
The King moves one square in any direction.
The Counsellor/Queen moves only one square diagonally.
The Elephant/Bishop moves exactly 2 spaces diagonally. It can jump over other game pieces. This means that its movement is restricted to only 8 places on the board.
The Knight moves like the modern chess knight: two spaces forward/backward or sideways plus one space at a right angle (an L-shape). The knight jumps over other pieces.
The Rook moves like the modern one: unlimited movement forward, backward or sideways until it has reached another piece. It cannot jump.
The Pawn moves one square forward when not capturing. Capturing occurs one step diagonally. Unlike modern chess, the pawn does not have the two-square step as the initial move. When pawns reach the other end of the board they are promoted to a counsellor.
He is very cooperative (he's a Trickster).
Action : Ask the orphans where they go beg. See that there is just one street with zero orphan beggars (because that's where they disappear)
Action : Ask the prositute where she met with the person that led her to the statanic ritual.
The prostitute has a lot to say. Her sould is broken since her son got caught and since she partook in the satanic ritual.
She remembers that she was paid by a very wealthy vallet wearing provins blue in a street in Marseille.
Little did he know the horrors she would have to commit to survive.
Then he put a blingfold on her and she walked on pavement, then grass, then some moving stone noise, then crawling underground, then a massive door unlocked and she arrvied in hell.
She cries as she describes hell : The heat, the sulfure. She was like inside a stomach.
There were statues decapitates with weird clay horrors instead of their heads.
There was an assembly of people in black robes. One of them was the master of the ceremony, he was the most cruel. Under his cape there was something like wings. His voice was sweet and seductive, sweet like a knife.
Most prostitutes, orfans and beggars who where brought there died if they refused to submit. She wishes that she had to courage to die, because now her soul is gone because of the horrors she commited.
They made her to horrible things and as a prostitute, she have done disgusting things in the past but nothing of this magnitude. There was rape, but not only, there was murder of childrens, but not only, there was canibalism but that wasn't event he worse of it. She refuses to say what was the worse of it because it broke her sould. (some kind of combination of the three in the wrong order. The point is not to describe gruesome things to the players but to suggest them.)
She cries and want to redeem.
Action : There is a vallet looking through his window all the time. For no reason.
* '''Normal : Psychlopean King in Yellow (put in the background with very very low volume : Vampire Dark Waltz)'''
"Vous qui vivez: il est certain,"
"Quoique cela tarde, que vous danserez."
"Mais quand, Dieu seul le sait!"
"Réfléchissez à ce que vous ferez alors. "
The players attend the Masquerade / Charivari / Carnaval. All the Danse Macabre characters will attend.
This day is All Saint Day, also sometimes considered a Day of the Dead, hence the theme.
It's held in part of the cathedral everyone has masks.
Action : Either they steal the guy's bag discreetely or take the letter from an artifact bearer who is drunk.
The letter is a name and date in the past and a time. It's the name of a person who died. Raymond II des Baux 1237, he was the lord of Marseille a century ago.
Action : Tonight they should go to the grave of the person with the given name. It's a small crypt.
*'''Normal : Z_Flippant-Gyorgy Ligeti''' without '''01-GyrgyLigetiRequiem'''
The secret passage arrives in a strange building. (it's a forgotten part of the crypt of the cathedral)
It is locked.
Action : Put the dagger in the heart One of the deacon with statues is perfectly identical to the CrosierBone Chesspiece. It hides a if they pull it down, it reveals the keyhole. Then either lockpick or use the key.
===Undercrypt===
There is a very strong smell of sulfur that pours from the room behind.
The players puke.
Thé room is very warm. Because the blood pool de was boiling. They question wether they are in hell or on earth.
THe room is an ancient crypt with statues, all of which where mutilated. INstead of their heads there is an awful clay figure sqhowing horrible scenes (rodin gates of hell style)
There are 8 statues (Lucifer is missing) they represent the 9 archdevils of hell. [http://prima.wiki/images/1/15/3_Archdevils.png] [http://prima.wiki/images/7/7e/6_Secondary_Archdevils.png]
There are lots or alchemical equipments and a very strong stench of chemicals mixed with blood.
They find the tower of bones. Then a fire starts.
The ritual is accomplished, they start to burn the tower.
All the artifacts holders keep chanting, they are at the top of the cathedral.From times to time some people doing the ritual fall.
The players try to stop the ritual but to do so they have to climb the cathedral and "CrosierBishop" is there to attack them.
As the tower burns, it reveals all the corpses bound in a spiral.
Phase after phase the fire become more unnatural and stronger. Start to burn more and more of the cathedral.
BOSS fight against the deacon "CrosierBishop".
When they enter the cathedral, "CrosierBishop" happens to be there.
If they have any remo way to attacking him, they skip one step.
There's a very narrow stair. "CrosierBishop" ask a cultist to hold it with a spear. The "cultist" is a poor from before with a mark on his shoulder. He is clearly not himself.
Combat skills can work or any other way to kill him. Otherwise they are wounded.
They climb the stairs, "CrosierBishop" raises a dead cultist poor man corpse. His eyes burns. One of the players clearly see that it is only a big cultist with a skeleton mask. He has a Shield and a mace.
Action : Combat duel can work. Attacking the roof can work. Otherwise one player has to stay and let the others pass. He is wounded or killed.
If they reach this point fast enough, they can leave indemn. Or they are hurt.
if they manage to kill him they can keep the "Crosier"[[Bone Chesspiece]].
Either way, they are separated from the rest of the cultists who run away.
All the city is helping to clear the fire. In the remnants of the cathedral, they find an ocean of burned bones.
In the ocean of corpses, they see there a huge iron egg containing lots of half dead people. One of them only is one alive. It , it is an italian sailor. His body is almost entirely burned. He has a big commplicated pattern completely black on his left shoulder. His body is covered in black spots. He explains in latin that their ship was attacked and they where caught in this weird ritual.
He caughts a lot. He dies in the same day.
The pope is very embarrased that a person very close to him was a heretic, so he decided to change the date of his death, to make sure he couldn't be linked to this incident and made sure nobody could talk about this event. Since only the tower burned, he decides to rebuild it.
There was an actual events where during a masquerade people coevred themselves in feathers and oil and caught fire (even though it was not at that period) it was later called the "Bal des Ardents" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_des_Ardents : [http://prima.wiki/images/4/46/Bal_des_Ardents.jpg]
[[Category:Scenario]]