The Plot So Far...IntroIn
Humble Beginnings, we are introduced to the lovable dopes of Fools-Errant as they return from an excavation of some nearby space ruins in an asteroid or something and surprise, somebody has destroyed their ship! They volunteer to escort a merchant vessel belonging to one Rosco Nailbrain in exchange for passage back to Gateway, turning down an offer to escort a neutral vessel in the company of Beatrice or a private vessel under the employ of the Runed Man. Rosco's vessel is damaged en route and he opens a rift to Mechanus to give the party a chance to find some metal, at which point Jimmy picks up a trapped item and summons a horde of angry Clockwork Horrors. Fools-Errant nobly battles them and fends off the approach of a Clockwork Queen as the Gehenna, Hjard and his four brothers attack, having rigged Rosco's ship to explode to make the ambush possible. Fools-Errant defeats Hjard, accepts a plea bargain from him to go to his headquarters to retrieve an item, and promptly decapitate him when he fails to pay up. They rescue Beatrice from the hideout, as the vessel she was on was attacked by Hjard first.
Upon returning home, Fools-Errant is thrown into a 500,000 gold debt for the loss of their ship by it's owner, Finneus Firebrand, the head of an asteroid strip-mining operation. He also places Fools-Errant in danger by threatening to revoke their status on the ruling Council of Gateway by the end of the month.
Week 1Acting fast, the Fools head out on a variety of urgent tasks.
Pursuing a lead on a deadbeat, they first encounter the mad mage, Ottimus Oppenmeyer, who attempts to set them up to take a fall with the Knights of Pelor. His cronies are defeated and the Fools flee the scene.
They also pursue a bit of diplomatic relations with
the Academy, having the first and only polite meeting with it's reclusive "Empress", Millicent Tousk the 7th.
And finally, they take up
a dubious offer from a woman in devil's clothing to explore some old abandoned ruins, discovering the artifact The Hand of Entropy and putting a brutal end to Evelynn's preying on adventurers.
Moving into the next week,
Ragjen befriends one of Ottimus' assassins and the Fools meet
the crime lord Damien "Lightspark" Reinbach the Fifth, who is eagerly seeking facts about Evelynn's sudden demise. For now, silence is the best policy.
Muscles has his first big adventure.Week 2Thing kick into high gear as the Fools
pay a social call to the Church of Pelor to explain their presence at an exploding warehouse,
are contracted to track ravenous deer-eating beasts by the reincarnating eco-scorcientist Elizabeth Duval, and
generally track down miscellaneous leads, including Karvan's brief return to the Underbelly's brutal pit fights and Ilex's ham-handed attempt to solve a mystery. The week climaxes
with a dramatic confrontation against Ottimus Oppenmeyer, who plots to disrupt the political landscape of Gateway with a dramatic assassination plot. He is defeated and perishes with his super-ooze creation and most of his lieutenants are captured.
We are also introduced to
Tikka, a clockwork remnant of the Academy's last two-hundred years and
Azura, a halfling suddenly thrown through space-time into the Underbelly's criminal workings.Muscles has his second big adventure and rocks the house!Week 3After a brief breather, it's back to work!
Bertram is off to Labyrinth to visit his dying Aunt, a noble head of house,
Isaac is fired and departs to pursue the Legend of The Big Deal,
Ilex visits the clan of explosive hot-head Orcs in the northern Gehennaean Reaches, and
Meran is determined to find out why a pack of necromancers are paying tribute to the Raven Queen!Muscles tries to go on another adventure!