Mission 7: The Goose and the Goblin

## Murder mystery begins

Upon arrival at the Rock, Rodney and Rom hit the town with their new found gold to spend. Rodney finds a map in the spaceport and locates a suitably nice magic shop to visit with Rom. When they open the door they find a well-tended shop with glass cases all over the room. The interior is lit by warm ever glowing light balls, giving it a cozy feeling. An elderly tiefling male with red eyes and purple skin and a large beard is working behind the counter.

Rom's lack of experience in a big city shines when the shop keeper cannot contain himself laughing when Rom offers down payments and interest for a fancy magic dagger. The two adventurers eventually persuade the owner and claim an assortment of interesting items for a steal. Rodney invests in some fresh ink and a swiss army wand. Rom is more practical with a greater healing potion and in classic fashion also purchases a bag of tricks. They rush back to the ship to show off their new toys and it wasn't long after they returned that things took a dark turn. While showing off their newly acquired items to Cora in the common area, they all experience a moment of black out.

When they wake up, confused and in pain from a clear bashing in their head, Rodney hightails it up a column into a ceiling nest he created.

> "*Treachery!!! There is a shape changer! I can sense it! It could be any of you!" - Rodney*
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The three adventurers begin, a not so stealthy, search of the ship for the intruder. Cora suggests they bring everyone to the common room to interrogate everyone at the same time. Suspicion is immediately drawn on Iris as Rodney and Rom realize she doesn't remember being invited for their shopping trip. They are weary but could not make out for sure, and decide for the time being, to look for the newbies of the passenger list instead. Realizing they don't know which rooms the new guests are residing, they instead announce over the ship's intercom system a not so subtle "*family meeting*" announcement.

> "*Yeah we got some shit going down everybody wake up and get to the common room!*" - Rodney
> "*Hadron, you too!" - Rom*
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Once everyone gathers, Cora uses her abilities to cast a moonbeam across all members of the crew and passengers. A silvery pale light rains down upon everyone, engulfing them in ghostly flames. The good will of a creature grants a level of protection and minimizes pain. For shapeshifters, the deception and lies that surrounds them renders them greatly susceptible to such moonlight, exposing their truest form. Only the strongest willed of shape-changers have even the slightest chance of surviving the light that seeks to reveal their true form.

For shapeshifters with a good heart and true intentions, the light can be resisted and minimal harm done. Rodney, unfortunately, is not prepared. Cora's moonbeam causes him unimaginable pain as a half-blooded shape-changer. Curled up in a ball, screaming, Rodney's form ever so slightly changes as he is forced back into his original form. Unfortunately, he is unable to fully recert in the time allotted.

### The chase

Iris screams in agony and starts twitching and jumping. Her person slowly morphs and fades in and out of view of her surroundings until a gangly gross creature remains. The crew is in shock, Rodney is having a seizure and the creature dashes away from the moonbeam. Before the crew can react and stop the shape-changer it makes it's way out of the ship and into the streets.

Seemingly from no where, A.N.I.O.N comes speeding into the room with steam coming out either side his head.

> *"Sorry I am late! I tried to make some comfort food for you all once I heard the announcement over the intercom! what's happening?? I uh...wouldn't go into the kitchen for snacks anytime soon... kind of a mess..."* he then slowly rolls up to Rodney who he sees is hurt and troubled. "*waffles?..."*
> Unfortunately, A.N.I.O.Ns waffles are given little attention as one by one, the crew dashes out to chase the doppleganger. They leave the little robot behind with tiny oil tears.
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Rodney stops for just a moment in his pursuit to try and hit the doppelganger with a fire bolt and marks him but fails and misses. Cora suddenly stops in the crowd, and the group gathers in frustration as they debate how to now find a shapeshifter in a sea of townspeople. With no success from wisdom or magic to identify their enemy, the group makes haste back to the ship in fear of what has become of Iris. They reach Iris' room with the door locked but thankfully A.N.O.I.N comes bursting through the group with a key. Taryn places his hand on his warhammer and points to the closet door. He waits for others to ready themselves as he approaches slowly. He places himself at the side of the door then opens it quickly, hammer up just in case something aggressive jumps out. An absolute horror show awaits the crew behind the closed door. A significantly melted corpse has been stuffed in the closet.

### A crew member is lost and the quest for revenge begins

Taryn stares upon the melted… flesh. With horror in his eyes he looses his balance but holds himself steady with the closet door. He almost vomits at the gruesome scene but holds it in. A heavy chemical smell drifts throughout the room. A.N.I.O.N looks upon the sight with unimaginable sadness, small sparks fly from his joints, oil dripping from his eyes and he shuts down...literally....he experiences an overload of emotion and turns off all circuits. His arms and legs retract into their sockets and be becomes but a cube of material. Olga pulls her scarf up over her nose and mouth to cover some of the unpleasant smell, seeing Taryn falter and A.N.I.O.N's reaction, she prepares for the worst. She pats the cube gently and moves so she can peer in past Taryn. Rodney seeing the others reaction stays out in the corridor, trying to not be conflicted and have his mind wander about who is going to power the food regenerator the rest of the month. After a short period of mourning and confusion, the crew jumps into action.

### The crew is on the trail

Cora heads out with Taryn, Rom and Rodney into the town. With the help of Rom's orb, the group hopes to find Iris' sword and thus locate the shapeshifting creature that murdered their friend. As they set off with a determined stride and much haste, Taryn uses his large bulk and newly glowing hammer to make easy work of navigating the bustling crowds. The orb pointing directly towards its target is rather difficult to follow on the network of streets and dead ends and alleyways. It takes them the better part of an hour when suddenly Rom stops. As he looks at the orb in his hands it is full of red light, the group is close and must begin to search the immediate surroundings themselves.

As the group takes in their surroundings they realize they're in the mid town market district. There are open stalls spattered everywhere in a large open market bazaar surrounded by large two-story shops making a perimeter around the entire thing. The bizarre itself is 600 ft long (200 m) and half that wide in a roughly oval shape. Rom starts searching for weapons dealers to look if the sword has already made it on the market. He walks to a particular brick and mortar shop and grabs a sword from one of the attendants who is beginning to place the sword in a display window. He stares at the blade, motionless.

The group learns the sword was Iris', sold within the last couple hours to this merchant. Unfortunately the owner is unable to provide any significant descriptors to help locate the seller but are given directions to a shop with materials for chemical cleanup, Bracklems General. After gathering the needed supplies, Cora respectfully gathers Iris' remains.

### Midnight: A hero remembered and honored

Cora in her vestments, holds the bag of Iris' remains, then places them down on the ground. She makes a circle around it with chalk, then looks around at the crew members who have gathered. Those that joined experience a moment, one second on the rock, the next is a sea of colourful cosmos and wonder. A breeze blows through the silent night, rustling the various morning clothes worn by the attendees bringing you back to solid ground

Cora gathers her breath, looking up the sky

> *"The moon is change, it is transition. It gives us a way to speak of our lives, our deaths, both as inevitable as the passing of the night into day and back again."*
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She turns to face the group

> *"Iris was taken from us, in a terrible way. Even so, it was only one part of a life that continues on to whatever awaits beyond the physical"*
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Turning back, Cora holds her hands up and sings softly in Undercommon. It's a gentle, mournful melody that comes through the harsh consonants.

*"I know she's not one of yours, but please, help her find her way home she prays in her head to Selûne"*

The following day, the Captain takes the ship into the atmosphere and spends nearly an hour flying around.

Just at the point when they decide it's time to go ask the Captain what he's looking for, they hear the landing gear open up from the bottom of the ship whining hydraulically.

The ship lands and as they look out the windows, they see he has expertly landed the craft most of the way up a magnificent mountain peak.

Cora looks around, then one more time down at the bag "*It was very fun knowing you. I hope to see you again someday, in whatever world awaits us"*

She opens the bag and holds it into the wind, letting it carry Iris' remains into the air around them. As the remains blow into the wind they start feeling a heavy charge in the air. As the crew looks around they notice Rodney is deep in spellcasting, raw power pours out from him and into the winds with Iris's remains. A presence joins the group in the immense area of the open mountain range and it feels at peace. The Spector of a God appears in the wind and the heroes feel as if Iris is there too, until both drift on the wind away.