Shaking Manshaka

"Shaking Manshaka" (C1.S09.4) is a one-shot in the first campaign of The Vanguard.

## Synopsis

Weeks after the daring raid on Revel’s End, members of the Vanguard gathered back in The Den to volunteer to infiltrate a warehouse located in the city of Manshaka. Julae Butterbranch, Mirabellis, Kereg, Leaping Cloud, Algol Underwood and Cherish all sat at the bar playing rollies with Doxxie, as Izzarina finished up meeting with Vine Skiphoof and Thoren of Eldoria in what seemed like a tense exchange. As Vine and Thoren left, Doxxie instructed the members to join Izzarina who was afraid she had overextended herself during the previous conversation.

Valas Dyrr, a rising member of the ShadowHand and now a top operative of the house, had promised the MonoMaterial to serve on a detail guarding a warehouse that had been on the receiving end of shipments from Chult. These shipments were unknown in nature save they were important to the Material and kept hidden for some time. Izzarina instructed the guild members to find Valas, locate and bring back evidence from these shipments, and raze the building and its contents to the ground. As the group set off, she gave them a Scroll of Pass Without Trace and a Bag of Holding for use.

They landed via airship near the docks of Manshaka, jarred by the stench and bustle of the city. As Valas greeted them, hood up to protect his face, he led them through the streets of Cheapside that border the area where the warehouse was located. As they made their way, the group encountered its first slave auction. Jarred from the dragonborn bellowing the price for the lots, Cherish and few others were gutted as a small female human cried for her mother who was separated into another lot of adult females. Distraught by the sight, there wasn’t much to be done as the price of freeing the children was too costly and fighting may have caused too much of a scene.

Upon reaching the safehouse, Valas gave them an overview of the warehouse with possible avenues to pursue as they tried to formulate a plan to infiltrate and sneak around the building undetected. Valas informed the group that he often met slavers in the adjoining safehouse that was attached to the warehouse. He also let them know he had been working on trying to pry boards from the wall but only made a little headway as he wasn’t often left alone. The group decided to pose as slaves for Valas with Kereg acting as hired muscle and Leaping Cloud providing eyes outside for the group. Under the guise of being sold, Valas and the other members would kill the slavers getting access to the safehouse allowing them time to find a way into the adjoining warehouse.

The group entered the safehouse and the acting slaves took cover in the jail cell, careful to hide their weapons from view. As the 4 orc slavers entered the room, a few words were exchanged as they took a careful look at the lot in the jail cell. Almost detecting the rouse, the guild members managed to get the drop on the slavers. As Valas gave Kereg the nod, the first orc fell immediately to the two blades being driven through his head by the Drow assassin. Kereg raged and grew, filling up the space and the fight began. After several strikes due to fighting at the front, Algol fell but was quickly revived by a potion. Valas helped harry the orcs from the doorway as Mira, Julae and Cherish fought bravely. Leaping Cloud distracted a guard at the warehouse door and made his way through a grate in front of the building and down into the sewers, popping expertly back up in the cell to join the fray. Eventually, the last slaver ran as Valas struck him leaving the safehouse, Kereg skewered him like a kebob, pulling him back into the room shutting the door to leave Valas outside explaining to the warehouse guards why there was no need to worry.

The group searched the adjoining room and found the boards loosened by Valas behind a desk that had a locked drawer. Algol swiftly unlocked the drawer, finding a note covered in blood at the bottom. The text implored them to keep an item safe but also encouraged them to push through the pain warning that whatever is being protected is powerful. Kereg pried some of the boards off as Leaping Cloud used thaumaturgy to make the warehouse room brighter. Unbeknownst to the group, the warehouse was being protected by a gnome who was then put on alert by the commotion. As he spoke with the guards outside and went to inspect the noise, in a stroke of genius, Mira used minor illusion to cover their attempted entry and Cloud dropped the lights bringing things back to normal. Entering the room using Pass Without Trace, they found a locked box. Using the note they found to unlock the chest, almost all of the group were immediately paralyzed, stuck in a realm of nightmare. After seeing the terrifying visions of others and enduring a bit of psychic pain, Julae decided to untether himself from this unidentifiable object. Kereg, Mira, Algol and Cherish decided to push through the pain and began to endure nightmarish scenarios of their own, reliving past traumas and enduring horrific personal encounters. As the second wave of psychic pain hit, only Cherish decided to remain connected to the object. Seeing stars and galaxies she was granted a boon by this unknown entity allowing her to cast Legend Lore once at her command. She was ejected from the connection and suffered one last painful blast of psychic damage, almost knocking her unconscious.

Inspecting the object in the chest they found an immense rock-like fragment that was void of all color or reflection. They could see cosmic objects speed past inside of it and, looking long enough, two ember-like eyes flit past. Kereg tried to move the object with a rod but couldn’t make it budge suffering minor corruption even indirectly making a connection with it. Inspecting the chest holding it, Mira and Algol were able to discern the box was heavily enchanted and Algol, son of a craftsman, identified the box as Eladrian in nature and specifically Eldorian in make.

Getting back to the task at hand, Leaping Cloud tried to lure the gnome in with a distraction and sensing he was hesitant, Kereg bounded from a door charging. After unsuccessfully trying to grab the gnome, he escaped under a black curtain which dropped to reveal a monstrous mech suit he climbed into. Setting fire to boxes, the group began to battle the mech. The gnome piloted the construct around the area putting out fires as they came up and after a bit, a huge gout of flame erupted from the torso as Algol, Mira, and Julae went down at the same time.

After a chain of potions were given to the downed members, Leaping Cloud maneuvered taking shot after shot at the mech. In a daring, and possibly life-saving gamble, the Tabaxi was able to wrench the mech to a stand-still using an Ensnaring Strike. With the construct unable to attack, Mira firing eldritch blasts, and Julae shooting from afar the gears began to grind and sparks started to fly. Sensing danger, the mechanical monster closed on the rogue halfling, picking her up and tossing her across the room. Kereg finally managed the filling blow by parting the leg of the mech, tearing open the cage that held the gnome pilot, and using the leg to pulverize the driver into red paste.

Valas burst into the room to check on the progress and the group quickly opened crates to find eggs. They gathered 3 eggs and stuffed them in the bag of holding along with the dead gnome and made their escape back to Waterdeep. Removing the gory remains of the gnome and eggs for Izzarina, they watched as a baby raptor hatched from one of them. The group stood around in amazement watching the creature emerge as a sensation washed over Kereg. Staring ahead, voice detached from emotion, an ominous message reverberated around the room as Kereg spoke aloud *“Interesting. My reach grows at every rising of your star.”*

## Guild Dispatches

The following are messages from the guild members who participated in the mission. They contain valuable information the guild can use to piece together clues.

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> *Our second assignment  was to help Valas Dyrr, who was undercover, to get information from this warehouse and then burn it to the ground--meanwhile killing everyone in it.*
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> *We accomplished our mission but some of us almost died—Algol almost twice.*
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> *Strange things happened in that warehouse.  We found this one chest that we opened.  It gave us horrible visions of things that might have happened to us.  Those of us that had the visions have been scarred mentally.*
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> *The warehouse was guarded by a gnome.  We were pretty confident that we could take him but then he jumped into this contraption and was suddenly very dangerous.  He was 2 or 3 times bigger than us and a lot stronger.  He was also able to shoot out fire from various openings.  We did finally manage to kill him and burn the warehouse down.*
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> *We returned and turned in the information we had gathered.  Oh!!  We also brought back some dinosaur eggs.*
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> *- Cherish*
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> (Original Source)
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> *Madam Izzarina Leaping cloud and the others have returned from your request to clear out the warehouse as well as bringing down the building by the ways of fire. We met your contact the Valas man at the docks. Valas man brought us through the market place where we saw many strange peoples's, including small human that was being sold from the warehouse place you wanted made gone. Valas man then brought Leaping Cloud and thems to hims hide out not far from warehouse. Hims gave many details about all ways we's could gets in, his most favorite being putting Leaping cloud in shackles to fake guards (Leaping cloud did not like this idea). Other peoples's say they like idea of shackles but Valas man's said there be second way inside that be more sneaky. Leaping Cloud suggest Leaping Cloud make sneaky entrance while others's take fake shackles on and trick guards. Leaping Cloud did this very well no guard see Leaping Cloud sneak into storm drain Valas man's talk about. After make torch fire Leaping Cloud find small hole to sneak up through where me finds peoples's fights big ogre men. Leaping Cloud help make kill of ogre men and make ways to warehouse wall that we hads to have Tempest make boards not on walls.*
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> *Whens we's mades in rest of warehouse we's finds many big crate and one big shiny crate with big locks. Leaping cloud kept watch whiles others's figure out locks. When locks open strange box make all peoples freeze and stare at nothings. Leaping cloud was very confused Tempest told Leaping Cloud hims saw many scary visions him didn't quite understand but hims has been seeming real scaredy since box opened. After box got closed Leaping Cloud suggest we's deals with small gnome man on other side warehouse. Whens we try make jump on gnome man's hims disappear behinds curtains and become huge metal machine man. Huge machine man very strong and did many hits to Tempest and peoples. Leaping cloud and peoples beat huge machine man and burn warehouse.*
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> *We's leave strange box though, Leaping Cloud now think strange box maybe should not leave. We's did find big eggs to bring back big eggs seem important. One big egg break open and have small scaly monster but is not like drake Tempest. Leaping Cloud think thems warehouse mens be making something not good for peoples.*
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> *- Leaping Cloud*
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> (Original Source)
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> *Manshaka Mission Report*
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> *From: Algol Underwood*
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> *To: Izzarina Whellerton, ShadowHand*
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> *Per your direction a group of Vanguardians travelled to Manshaka by airship to assist Valas Dyrr in investigating imports from Chult, obtain any useful items from the warehouse where the imports were stored and to destroy the warehouse, its denizens and contents.*
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> *After consultation with Valas we pretended to be slaves and/or guards and entered a safe house adjacent to the warehouse. We subsequently killed some slavers who came to the safehouse then broke into the warehouse. While investigating the interior we found documents and vials and a heavy chest constructed in Eldorian style made from some sort of magical or enchanted wood. I suspect it may have come from a group of woodworkers in Neverwinter Wood who work with materials from the Fey realm. It had a puzzle lock I was able to solve. The chest contained a strange black rock. Those of us exposed to the rock experienced a variety of strange visions. I recognized members of my family being killed in one vision. Talking with others as we travelled back it appears the visions were of alternate pasts that were worse than we experienced in reality.*
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> *The only inhabitant of the warehouse was an unassuming gnome. Once he realized we had broken in he entered a huge mechanical man that we fought and eventually defeated. Further search of the warehouse found some eggs, one of which hatched a dinosaur while we were reporting to you.*
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> *To High Seeker Valetta Vabir, House of Inspired Hands*
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> *Per your recommendation I continue to assist The Vanguard in their efforts to thwart the plots of the MonoMaterial. On a recent mission to Manshaka we determined that MM have been importing dinosaur eggs from Chult. While investigating the MM warehouse in Manshaka we encountered a strange black rock in an eladrin chest. Those exposed to the rock suffered waking nightmares of disastrous events in our pasts that did not actually occur. I believe I may have suffered some permanent mental stress from those nightmares. The main opposition in Manshaka was a huge mechanical man operated by a gnome within. I’ve included drawings of as much of the details as I could remember after the fact as I expect they would be of interest to some of my fellow Seekers.*
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> *- Algol Underwood*
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> (Original Source)
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> *Izzarina:*
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> *It is done. The months of undercover work have, I believe, yielded some fruit. By now you are aware of the dinosaur eggs. The broker is a Bugbear known as Bozzuk. He operates a smuggling ring out of Chult and has indicated he isn’t concerned by this setback, but I don’t believe a word he says. He makes a living out of lies and swindling. That many fried eggs on the sidewalk during the midday sun and you could tell his pockets took a hit. I’ll follow any lead I have in the coming days but in the meantime, we have bigger problems. Literally.*
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> *The fire that was set to the warehouse yielded no casualties save 4 slavers we sent to the doorstep of Vhaeraun and a gnome that I think the big man delivered to you as a pancake of sorts. The gnome is Forfiz Cogswright of the Cogswright clan – manufacturers of mechanical marvels and constructs of wonder. I believe he was being punished with guard duty but whatever those guild members downed wasn’t one of a kind.*
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> *After the embers died down, there was a large chest found in the wreckage completely unscathed. It had to be lifted by two remotely controlled constructs off the premises. It seemed important and I tend to agree. Almost everything was melted or burned to a cinder and that box looked pristine. I’d say it deserves our utmost attention but our bag of dire threats to the universe is full already.*
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> *Be back soon Mimi. Give my regards to the group that returned. They acquitted themselves well. It’s not easy to stay on task in this city. I hope I never return.*
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> *- Valas Dyrr*
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1. ↑ Be aware that this is told from the player’s perspective of the adventure. Details and happenings may have been presented with some liberties taken to fill in the blanks from poor memory and scribbled notes. Other players should be asked about their views of what happened, and are also welcome to type their stories to share.