The Stockholm So Far

The Stockholm So Far

## Prehistory

On April 4th 1914, through the valiant
efforts of several Centurions from two generations and the Royal Navy, the
Shadow Federation’s mad bid for immortality no matter the risks or costs was
ended. And though the mood of the heroes on the ground in the obscure and devastated
British town of Saint Haven was a good deal more grim and frustrated than this
description might imply, it seemed to them that they had accomplished a great
victory. But while it would take some time for most of them to learn of this
cruel twist, it was around the same day that a new and even greater menace
would emerge to terrorise Europe.

The young Centurions who took part in the Battle of
Saint Haven had split up, their mission done and their fates – and mentors –
pulling them in different directions. Sarah Hayes had vanished without a trace
on the day after, though later there would be scattered reports of someone
matching her description being seen in certain parts of Africa. With the
beginning of the Great War, however, the Century Club and all of its individual
members soon had bigger things to worry about. Although Sarah did indeed end up
back in her native continent and stumbled into some truly astounding if also
sometimes horrifying adventures, that is, for now, another story not directly connected
to the one that led her former teammates to Stockholm in 1917.

Viktor Vaughn died just after the end of the final
confrontation in the inner sanctum of the Saint Haven Citadel, but the body and
spirit underneath that persona lived on. Now calling himself Gregor Kovacs, the
boy travelled on his mentor’s instruction to Rotterdam and then to Paris, where
he was charged with establishing a spy network. Already in Rotterdam, and mere
days after Saint Haven, he had a run-in with what might have been Schwarzmeer’s
first monster, at least as of the 20th century. Referring to his
‘benefactor’ as Meester van der Graaf, the thug transformed into a hulking
creature, but failed to kill Gregor. Having escaped its clutches and fled to
Paris, to carry out his assigned task with the help of Czarna’s coven
transferred to him by faerie magic, Gregor began to encounter more and more
such monsters, as well as cultists and other agents working for the man of many
names, eventually even making brief but traumatic contact with what appeared to
be a shard of Schwarzmeer himself, for that, indeed, appeared to be his
favourite name. Having immersed himself in Paris’ underworld, Gregor discovered
multiple groups doing this sinister master’s bidding – most particularly,
combing the city for an old artefact related to one of the antagonist’s past
identities. Reluctantly teaming up with some unlikely allies and narrowly
escaping the burning light of Schwarzmeer’s enforcer Maius, Gregor and his
coven saw to it that the artefact was destroyed, but afterwards he had to depart
the City of Light, French authorities having been thoroughly infiltrated by the
enemy.

His other comrades’ encounters with Schwarzmeer’s
minions and creations were not quite so intensive and prolonged, but
nevertheless noteworthy. Fernando José Salas del Monte determined to take part in
the Giro d’Italia 1914, only to find himself wrapped up in a web of intrigue
and violence unfolding along its route, as his fortuitously acquired bike (or
maybe a certain item carried by its previous owner prior to his unfortunate
death) attracted the attention of a small squad of Schwarzmeer monsters – while
the simultaneous Futurist riots also turned out to have been influenced by the
villain’s agents. Having successfully and violently resolved both matters,
Fernando finished the delivery of the artefact to a priest named Domenico di
Diomedio. The father turned out to be a Century Club contact, who filled
Fernando in on the peril of ‘il Svevo’ and recruited him for Europe-wide
efforts to combat his agents. Lin Tsao’s first encounter with the “black dragons”
(as Schwarzmeer’s agents were dubbed by British intelligence) was as part of
Unit 1 of the Century Club Junior Squad, when, during the Battle of Gallipoli,
his assassination of Kemal Mustafa coincided with a sudden eruption of monsters
commanded by people in black robes. Those monsters attacked both sides, and
while Lin and his fellow Centurions managed to defeat them with relative ease,
the attack made it impossible for the British forces to follow up on Lin’s
success. Lastly, Else Rommel, who became part of the Research and Development
Division’s Gaffgarion Project, found during the Battle of Verdun that some
sinister individuals seemingly affiliated with the French Army were using some
highly unusual and disturbing magical technology to attempt to separate her
from her new demon-plane, one of them also using a black amulet (like the ones
encountered by Gregor and Fernando before) to transform into a monster in a
pinch. The culmination of her confrontation with them came when a huge, thick
magic fog was created by the French, an animated and malevolent entity that
turned scores of the French troops into monsters and invaded Else’s very soul
before she and her countrymen could destroy the transmitter towers channelling
it into the world.

In all of those encounters, some common themes could
be seen to emerge. The Centurions’ enemy was almost totally obscure, arising
seemingly out of nowhere and hiding behind multiple names and multiple groups;
and though they could thwart some individual schemes and defeat some specific
minions, their master himself always remained out of reach. This knowledge,
coupled with the continent-wide menace he represented and the sheer abhorrence
evoked by his monstrous creations and twisted, never before seen magic, made it
inevitable that their first encounter with him would not be their last. Gregor,
after escaping Paris, moved around Europe in an effort to stay ahead of the
vengeful pursuit and put together more of the big picture, his mentor having
dropped out of touch again. Fernando, as mentioned before, was sent out to stop
and destroy individual cults and collaborators in different cities, learning
less but doing more immediate damage in the process. Lin was the least aware of
the group, but even he was thrown – sometimes by fate, sometimes by the British
military – into further encounters with cultists and monsters. And Else, while
redeployed and denied further contact with this enemy, who has at any rate
switched to more subtle tactics for a time, worked tirelessly to study and
prepare for their next meeting.

The Great War divided and distracted the Century Club
and its resources, allowing this threat to grow and spread, free from the
threat of any coherent response. Nevertheless, the young Centurions (both those
four and some others) were not the only ones trying to find a way to deal with
this threat once and for all. Others, more experienced and well-connected,
worked on it as well, trying to find out more about this enemy’s nature, plans
and whereabouts, so that a knockout blow could be delivered. Towards June 1917,
those efforts finally paid off.

## Prologue

Stockholm in 1917 had the advantage of being the
capital of one of the few European nations still clinging to neutrality. This
did not mean, however, that the war had not left its own mark there. Hunger and
economic downturn; sympathies towards one side or the other; overall growth of
radical sentiment – all those tendencies had added to the northern kingdom’s
already considerable domestic strife, giving rise to riots, militias and
paranoia – an atmosphere in which Schwarzmeer’s agents, as well as other
criminals and agitators, were bound to thrive. Its neutrality, and ties to both
sides, had also served to attract revolutionaries, smugglers and agents of all
sorts. For all that, however, it was also a seemingly safe meeting place for
those hoping to sidestep the war. The Socialist Conference, dead in the water
as far as its peacemaking efforts were concerned, still became a significant
forum for various European left-wing groups hoping to work out a new way
forward – and others using them as cover for their plans. The gathering of the
Conclave of Magicians likewise attracted fewer attendants than was hoped, but
still drew out some unexpected guests – even as it gained some untoward
attention also. Finally, Adam Vinter, a Century Club agent involved with the
Schwarzmeer investigation, arrived with fresh intelligence out of Russia but
also with a healthy paranoia. He let news spread, through what he hoped were
secure channels, that he intends to meet up with Centurions wishing to tackle
this problem and share what he had learned.

Given the conditions of war and mutual suspicion, fewer
answered this call than he might have hoped for, but perhaps they were enough.
It helped that, with the recent Russian Revolution and growth of socialist
influence in that country, the Socialist Conference acquired a new kind of
political and strategic importance, the Russian delegates becoming a link to
some of the major factions in the unstable young republic. The British
government dispatched Lin Tsao, hoping to catch two birds with one stone: both
deal with the “black dragons” and ensure that Russia, apparently troubled by
their activities, remained in the war. Else Rommel’s mission from the Order of
the Dragon was in curious parallel to this (take out both Schwarzmeer and
Russia out of play) though unlike Lin she was assigned to a rather more
involved senior agent on the ground. Gregor Kovacs’ allies and his suddenly
though briefly resurfaced mentor both pointed him towards Schwarzmeer’s Russian
base as well, the latter informing him of Adam Vinter’s whereabouts and
instructing him to go to Stockholm first.
Lastly, Fernando’s path to Stockholm was the most contrived of all, as
he attempted to corner an old enemy, Dr. Mostro, only to discover that the mad
scientist had terminated his alliance with Schwarzmeer and used him to tie down
the pursuit while he escaped. But it was not before Mostro dropped a hint as to
Schwarzmeer’s plans for Stockholm, and when Domenico’s network confirmed the
rumblings coming out of that city, Fer jumped on his bike and pedalled like the
wind. Unbeknownst to them, the Saint Haven Team was converging once again...

### Ill Met in Stockholm

Of course, one advantage of being a spy and keeping an
ear to the ground was that Gregory Kovacs – or as he now became, Anthony Starks
– had learned about this meeting in advance. He arrived into the district of
Sodermalm a month and a half before the main event, accompanied by a recently
recovered member of the coven, Tomasz Grobnik. Together, they worked to set up
a small network of informers and a miniature criminal empire (a couple of gangs
paying him tribute), finding, however, that it was much harder to make headway
without the numbers Anthony could scoop up in much more occult-heavy Paris.
Still, some important groundwork was ready by the 16th of June, when
events suddenly began to accelerate out of control. The first indication of
this came when Sybille de Montparnasse, once Gregor’s right-hand woman in
Paris, tracked Anthony down and informed him of the magicians’ gathering being
almost ready to begin. Briefing him about what little she was able to find out
so far along the way, such as the Order of the Dragon apparently keeping
participants from the Central Powers away and the efforts of the organisers to
draw in more Americans and Asians to compensate. Their stroll across Stockholm
was interrupted by an encounter with Tomasz, who was apparently mugged during
his attempt to collect the taxes from the gangs, on the behalf of an emergent
player in the criminal game. Noting this new development Anthony sent the Pole
on his way and asked Sybille to get them to the magicians’ gathering place
faster. With a little help from her supernatural friend, Sybille complied, and
after a short interdimensional swim the two of them emerged in an obscure
section of the Guide House, soon meeting and briefing another newly returned
magic minion: Balthazar Lucknow.

Not long before they had arrived, a scene unfolded on
Guide Street, the Stockholm side of the Conclave’s meeting place. Master
Theophilus, the main organiser of the gathering, had arrived there at the same
time as Albrecht Falkenrath, a fellow magic-using Centurion who had not been
seen in well over a decade. The two elder Centurions were accompanied by
youngsters as well: Theophilus by Lin, there to act as his bodyguard while
waiting for further developments, and Albrecht by his apprentice Seraphine
Ziemniak. In a moment of characteristic wizardly neglect, the two elders
slipped out into another dimension to access the Guide House and exchange magic
gossip, leaving Lin and Sera without adult supervision for a few minutes. The
result was a disaster.

Fortunately it was one that was relatively easily
contained, although it also raised some troubling questions. After getting
bored of talking to each other and failing to determine where they were
supposed to be going now, they began to search the area and bother what few
people could be found on the strangely obscure street. When Sera finally found
someone willing to talk to her, however, the elderly German-sounding man turned
out to be decidedly unnerving, oddly well-informed and eager to offer himself
as a “friend”. Getting antsy, the young sorceress decided to summon up some
magic fire for self-defense... only to somehow wind up starting a fire that
soon spread throughout the street, with some apparent assistance from the
gratified stranger. When Lin finally noticed the man and took exception to
whatever he was doing, the latter withdrew and allowed them to put out the fire
with some inventive teamwork, at which point the elder magicians arrived to do
damage control, quickly whisking them away into the Guide House and mostly
ignoring their concerns about the weird old man while their colleagues took
care of the burn victims. It was an auspicious start to both their visit and
the Conclave’s work. Afterwards they were given intact clothes and escorted to
the Forum to make their introductions, meeting some other magicians before the
main event, including Granny An.

Else Rommel had arrived into the city only the night
before, flying her bound-demon plane, Gaffgarion. Along the way, she spotted
what appeared to be a military air patrol, but decided not to interfere,
focusing on getting to the destination mentioned in her instructions as quickly
as possible. The green fire of Gaffgarion flew like a comet through the
Stockholm night sky, creating a good deal of agitation among local paranoids and
some work for the Division’s allies. Nonetheless, she arrived safely in
Djurgarden, and made her way into what she would later learn was Jarlson
Mansion, escorted by the Swedish soldiers placed at the disposal of the local
agent, Irene Tannhauser, “the next best thing” after their superior could not
or would not assign a Centurion to the region. Meeting Irene, Else found that
she was not what the woman had wanted as her reinforcements. Nevertheless, they
got to work, determining the limits of Else’s autonomy, the priorities of their
work and Else’s first assignment – to track down a Century Club contact known
as Adam Vinter.

Finally, Fernando’s epic bike journey across Central
Europe had culminated in the nick of time during the day as he rode into
Stockholm. Approaching the city, he encountered a fellow cyclist; a young woman
who turned out to be a fellow Centurion, Danica Krdzevic, now on her way to
meet up with her mentor in the city. They had to split paths, but not before
enjoying a pleasant high-speed conversation and Danica could point Fernando at
where he would need to go (as he had neglected to ask back in Italy): the local
Century Club meeting hall.

### Missed Connections and Black Moves

The June 16th preliminary gathering and
introductions at the Conclave of Magicians proceeded smoothly enough, if not as
planned. Falkenrath’s reintroduction to the world of magicians was full of
mutual snarking and disparagement, though mostly jovial enough. This continued
when he introduced Seraphine, much to her repressed dismay. Lin, on the other
hand, made himself popular with his funny jokes (it was the way he said them)
and his legendary sword, even though he refused to tell the curious wizards
exactly how and where he acquired Excalibur. Just then, Sybille de Montparnasse
and Balthazar Lucknow arrived, flanking a new face: the mysterious and fearsome
Magister Sparks, a seemingly young man who nonetheless possessed a gravity and
flashiness far beyond his apparent age. His cryptic hints and intimations
served to both confuse and intimidate the assembled magicians, with the
apparent exception of Falkenrath, who publicly assured everyone that he knew
who this was and privately soon made it to the new arrival that he wasn’t
falling for it and was expecting something in return for playing along. The
official beginning of the gathering was put off for lack of sufficient wizards;
nonetheless the introduction served as an acceptable beginning to their
mingling, though many of the participants soon sought to depart. On the other
hand, new magicians continued to arrive, including Ariadne Rikskjold, whose presence
soon distracted Falkenrath from his blackmailing attempt.

In the midst of his scheming, the rogue wizard found
time to ask Lin to accompany Sera (or as he put it, use her as a bait) to
investigate that weird old German they all cared so much about, in case he
showed up again. The two of them, not eager to get cooped up with a bunch of
wizards, got back into the real world to investigate the scene of Sera’s
rampage for any signs of the man, but found nothing. Instead, someone found
them – a rather beat-up British agent, who requested their assistance. The
safehouse that he tracked Adam Vinter to had come under attack. A combination
of boredom and duty obliged the two Centurions to investigate, travelling to
Kungstradgarden in Norrmalm with the spy.

When they arrived it became clear that they were too
late: there was an explosion in the hotel where their contact was apparently
holed up and now the police was out in force. While the spy took all of this
in, Sera’s mind wandered and she once again spotted the stranger from before. This
encounter proved no more fruitful or enlightening, at least not on a conscious
level, though he did drop some more cryptic hints when Sera and Lin came at him
with obvious questions. As the man went away and the spy got the Centurions
back on track, their initial bumbling attempts to get the police to let them
through to investigate caused Sera to panic and start another fire. In the
confusion, they managed to get to the hotel, where they found that Adam’s room
was practically destroyed by the explosion, but there were no human remains in
sight. Instead Lin found a strongbox marked with the Centurion symbol; cutting
it open, he found an address (to Adam’s other safehouse), an antique key (which
would later turn out to allow one to go into the Guide House without wizardly
assistance) and a ring.

This investigation was interrupted by the arrival of
two huge and bizarre monsters downstairs, slaughtering their way through the
cops and menacing the spy. Lin and Sera leaped into battle with swords and
sorcery, respectively, the latter summoning an unearthly monster of her own to
assist. Although the monsters put up a very stiff resistance, the Centurions began
to prevail. From upstairs they heard the cultists who set the trap exclaim
their dismay; they hoped to ambush Lin, but did not account for Sera being
there as well. While Sera rushed to investigate, Lin finished off the monsters
before they could retreat, surviving the explosions set off by their dying
bodies even though they forced Sera’s “wraith knight” to withdraw back to
wherever it came from. Meanwhile Sera scared off the cultists and survived the
trap they left for whoever would dare follow them. She let them escape and
instead scooped up some of the black goo, papers and bizarre equipment she
found in their room. With the sense of a job well done, the Centurions picked
up their now further-battered spy and went back to the Guide House, deciding to
rest and heal up for the day rather than follow up on the new address.

Meanwhile, Anthony Starks resurfaced in Guide Street
and briefly got lost in the labyrinth of Gamla Stan’s streets. After cautiously
ignoring what seemed to be an apparition of his old friend Fernando in
distress, he finally found his way back to Sodermalm where he conferred with
Tomasz, finding out that he had another run-in with the men who beat him up and
took revenge, capturing one of them and interrogating him rather forcefully to
find out that he and his friends were working for someone named Hjarna (or “Brain”),
who recruited them at Karlssen’s. His questionably alive prisoner then spoke to
them, or rather someone spoke through him, saying that he did not desire to
continue this fight and that Anthony should back off while he still can. Then
the corpse exploded. Unamused, Anthony set out to investigate Karlssen’s, or
rather sent one Ghostface Killer to do so on his behalf. After grilling a
lowlife known as Old Vasiliy about the inn and its proprietor, the worthless
son of the legendary old crime boss Gustaf Karlssen, Ghostface Killer strode
right in there with the Russian still in tow. While Vasiliy introduced him, the
man in the fencing mask was drawn into a conversation with an individual known
only as the Romanian, who took him for an agent of Starks and restated Hjarna’s
warning, then attempted to persuade him to switch sides and tell Starks that
Adam Vinter, a former Century Club agent, was seen meeting with Hjarna in that
very inn. Aside from this peculiar offer, Ghostface Killer’s efforts to make
friends in the communist-infested drinking hole did not go well to say the
least, and he had to retreat, noting on his way out the presence of a
Schwarzmeer monster.

Earlier in the day, Else’s and Fernando’s paths converged
as they both set out for the Century Club Meeting Hall as the most obvious lead
in their respective missions. Both had encounters with peculiarly
well-coordinated Swedes, that went from disturbing in Else’s case to harrowing
in Fer’s. Nonetheless, they both survived and met up on the small island of
Riddarholmen, soon finding the Century Club Meeting Hall and finding out, from
its solitary clerk, that Adam Vinter had come and gone, but not without leaving
a hint on how he could be found, and a message that underscored the urgency of
this pursuit. Their visit was interrupted by the Swedes from before launching
an attack on the Meeting Hall, seeking to capture the Roll of the Treasures of
Sweden. They were no match for Else and Fer, however. Investigating the Roll
itself, they found out that Adam had looked through it, presumably searching
for whatever the Schwarzmeer cultists were after in Stockholm, but could not
find anything that he was sure of. They left determined more than ever to find
him.

### Talking in the Dark

The day was drawing to a close, but neither it nor the
Centurions were done yet. Except for Lin and Sera, who basically were and
shortly went to sleep.

As did Anthony, having crawled back to his home.

But Else and Fernando were not done; they headed down
to Horn Street and found what appeared to be Adam’s safehouse, only to be
warned off from going into it by a small boy, who pointed out that it was
trapped and asked them to come back in the morning to meet Adam Vinter in the
courtyard. This they agreed to do, but not before attempting to
take care of the irritatingly numerous interlopers spying on them. They killed
one man and left another for the dead, after learning that he and presumably
his friend were working for someone called Hjarna, but they failed to catch a
quite possibly magical snake and did not even quite spot the third man...

Who quickly ran back to his master, who was then
having a bad dream.

Not for the first time since her death, the man who
was Anthony dreamed of Madam Czarna. But this time it was different, as if a
part of her was still defiantly clinging to life – and now trying to get back
at him, perhaps through a certain pendant he had recovered at the ruins of her
family mansion in Poland. However, she had another goal beyond mere terror and
humiliation. She ordered him to bring her pendant to her “successor” at the
Conclave of Magicians and then seemingly did something to his soul to make sure
it would stick.

Then he woke up, in the scarcely more pleasant company
of Balthazar who informed him that he spotted Else and Fer, his old associates,
looking for what was probably Adam Vinter in Horn Street, and likely to
continue this tomorrow. He also mentioned the arrival of more magicians to the
Conclave. After hearing out all the details, the spymaster reluctantly set out
to re-establish contact with his fellow young Centurions.

Sera’s awakening on 17th of June was
followed by a confusing and ominous conversation with her mentor, following
which Falkenrath rather unceremoniously shoved her headfirst into a different
room, where...

Lin’s morning was both more and less eventful than
that, as he got lost in the Guide House looking for food and ended up opening
the shutters in a certain room looking out into the dark void. This seemingly
brought several entities into the room: a woman who avowed to be Uliana
Gorinova, a Russian Centurion whose arrival was previously advertised by
members of her coven who arrived ahead of her, and what appeared to be demons
of fire. A confusing struggle began, as the room’s own magical defences were
activated and Uliana barely guided Lin away from doing anything too stupid,
outside of being set on fire during his overzealous attacks on the demon. She
then led him to a swimming pool elsewhere in the Guide House, letting him put
out the fires while she slipped away after a brief chat with Falkenrath. The
older wizard then found Lin, for some reason pretended not to have noticed
Uliana and assured him that Sera was “cooling off”, before handing him over to
Master Theophilus who was getting a bit impatient for Lin to finally track down
Adam Vinter. Then Lin got magically thrown out into Stockholm to go do so
already.

Else’s and Fer’s plans for the 17th were
already set, but the late evening of the 16th still held a couple of
interesting encounters for them. Else went back to the Jarlson Mansion to once
again speak with Irene, receiving her go ahead for cooperation with other
Centurions and a warning about subversion in parts of Sweden’s security
apparatus. Meanwhile Fer lodged at the Century Club Meeting Hall, where he
dined with the clerk, Frida, and her “uncle Adolf Bernard”, only realising
towards the end of the conversation that the man was in fact King Gustaf V. Sad
at having been discovered, the Swedish monarch nonetheless gave Fer a Guide
House key and charged him with keeping his city safe.

### At Last We Meet Again and Apokalypsis

So it was that early on the 17th of June, four
of the Centurions were reunited – though Anthony of course did not bother to
disclose his previous identity. Despite this and the tension between Else and
Lin, the four soon decided to work together, a decision that was reinforced when
it became apparent that their contact was now under attack, from both Hjarna’s
mind-controlled “soldiers” and the police. Half-sneaking, half-charging towards
the courtyard, the team swung into action, facing down superior numbers – a situation
made even worse when a few of them used their black dragon amulets to transform
into beings like the trolls of Scandinavian myth, and another man deployed a
highly destructive djinn from a thrown lamp in a desperate revenge strike.
Hjarna also seemed to have endless reserves, rushing out the tenants of nearby
buildings against the Centurions when they seemed to gain an advantage.

Despite all this, they prevailed. Gaffgarion’s outspoken
and overwhelming hatred of djinns as filthy, debased mongrels successfully
motivated Else to destroy the one rampaging in the courtyard, while Lin and Fer
did not hesitate before slaughtering trolls, thugs and ordinary Swedes alike in
a bloodthirsty rage. Anthony delivered some punches and some taunts, saving
Adam from the apparently subverted or perhaps deceived police. One of Hjarna’s
last men on the battlefield was killed before he could use a second djinn lamp,
which was promptly secured. Finally, Hjarna’s attempts to bring reinforcements
from elsewhere in the city drew the attention of the Swedish military and
especially Irene’s ally Major Archibald Douglas, who promptly arrived to bail
them out and put an end to this horrible fighting in broad daylight.

The battle reaching its conclusion, Douglas arrested
the misguided policemen and had some of his men secure the area and identify
the dead Hjarna troops, none of them having shown any willingness or ability to
surrender. He then escorted Adam, the boy Anders, and the Centurions back to
the Jarlson Mansion, which now became an improvised headquarters for the
Century Club’s efforts to stop Schwarzmeer’s schemes in Stockholm and beyond.
Having finally succeeded in gathering some people together, Adam proceeded to
brief them on what he had learned. Schwarzmeer’s headquarters was indeed somewhere
in Russia, and he had been pulling his assets together there to prepare for a
ritual that would lead to something called the Black Moon being brought into this
world. Adam also revealed some of what he had learned about the structure of
Schwarzmeer’s network of villainy: while there was a fairly small core of true
and trusted loyalists, the bulk of it was made up of competing groups that were
being manipulated into serving his ends, sometimes without their knowledge,
sometimes just with flawed information. Hjarna, or Gustaf Karlssen as he was
doubtless called, was the leader of one such group, a cult leader of local
importance, quite likely acting without coordination with other groups – like the
one that sent the policemen, for by now there was no question that some part of
the police had been infiltrated and subverted as well. Whatever Schwarzmeer was
up to in Stockholm, Adam still did not know, though he agreed with Else’s guess
that it likely concerned the Conclave of the Magicians in some way. Combating
Schwarzmeer, he warned, would be especially hard as the Century Club branches
in both Sweden and Russia have all but ceased to exist, in Sweden back in the
1820s, in Russia much more recently. Nonetheless, this was the task that now
fell on their shoulders. And so they made plans...

## Characters

### Century Club, Allies and Assets

* **Lin Tsao**, **Else Rommel**, **Fernando José "INSANE" Salas del Monte**, **Anthony Starks** – the so-called “Saint Haven Team” minus two plus one. Despite having only worked together once before, those up-and-coming Centurions have already acquired something of a reputation in certain thus far narrow circles... though it does not appear to have reached Sweden in any meaningful way until now.

* **Oskar Gustaf Adolf Bernadotte**, AKA **King Gustaf V**, the ruling monarch of Sweden. Unlike some of his predecessors, well-inclined to the Century Club (and Fernando in particular). Apparently the uncle of **Frida Lungstrand.** Also the official host of the Conclave of Magicians, and owner of the keys that allow one to access the Guide House.

* **Frida Lungstrand**, the sole Century Club clerk left minding the Century Club Meeting Hall, very surprised to suddenly have actual work to do. And dazed by all that blood and fire everywhere.

* **Adam Vinter**, a Norwegian Decurion of the Century Club who has been investigating Schwarzmeer’s activities for a while now and narrowly escaped Russia after discovering that it apparently contained the antagonist’s main base of operations and largest concentration of servants. He fled to Stockholm in hopes of assembling a team of Centurions to take the battle to the enemy, only to discover that the city was likewise teeming with Schwarzmeer’s agents. After two weeks of evading them, he was finally cornered but rescued in time by our heroes. Currently engaged in trying to get them up to speed on what he learned.

* **Anders**, Adam’s son? Or just some weird kid who follows him around. Resourceful.

* **Danica Krdzevic**, a bike-riding inventor and apparent Centurion whose mentor called her to Stockholm for some mysterious reason. Briefly chatted with Fer along the way into the city.

* **Irene Tannhauser**, a special agent of the Operations Branch of the German Army’s Research and Development Division, AKA the **Order of the Dragon**. Though not directly connected to the Century Club and working in Stockholm to advance the Order’s own agenda, she is the direct superior of Else Rommel and de facto a major ally, having provided the Centurions with a base (the Jarlson Mansion in Djurgarden) and the assistance of her Swedish contacts. Not a vampire.

* **Major Archibald Douglas**, a Swedish nobleman of Scottish extraction and Irene’s main military contact, in charge of the hand-picked Swedish soldiers seconded to her and now apparently the Centurions.

* **Captain Ranstrom**, Major Douglas’ young but loyal second in command.

* **Tomasz Grobnik**, a member of Starks’ coven (and, like all of them, previously a member of Czarna’s). A hulking Pole and family retainer of the Twardowskis. More cerebral and educated than his appearance might imply, but nonetheless mostly muscle. Possibly quite older than he seems.

* **Sybille de Montparnasse**, a member of Starks’ coven and previously Gregor Kovacs’ “right arm” in Paris. An increasingly powerful and knowledgeable magician in her own right, but despite this pathologically loyal and helpful. Associates with a demon known as Murmur.

* **Balthazar Lucknow**, a shifty bastard and a member of Starks’ coven, though unlike Sybille he had not seen his new master since Saint Haven. Apparently obedient, due to magic, but very snarky. Prior to his time with Czarna, had been a member of Master Theophilus’ coven, but grew sick of Theophilus’ sanctimonious and aloof attitude and switched, with his permission, to a more congenial master; when Czarna died, was uniquely eager to be enslaved by the Faerie Knight rather than Viktor Vaughn.

* **Magda Koestler**, a member of Starks’ coven. An old lady of limited magical ability, but knowledgeable, observant and experienced. According to Balthazar, has now arrived to attend the gathering of the Conclave of Magicians.

* **Robert Campbell**, a British spy whose Scottish surname clashes with his Cockney accent. Got terribly beat up at some point. Then was afflicted with Lin and Sera, but somehow pulled through. Funnily he might be the leading non-Centurion British agent in Stockholm for all everyone knows.

### Magicians

* **Master Theophilus**, a British Centurion, Claviger of the extraordinary gathering of the Conclave of Magicians, mentor of Simon Laffey. While technically he is also meant to be Lin’s principal contact in investigating the “black dragons” and other sinister occurrences in Stockholm, he seems much, much more preoccupied with the affairs of magicians. Congenial enough outside of that though. Apparently hopes to use the **Conclave of Magicians** to work for peace in some as yet unclear way. Specialises in manipulation magic or metamagic. Has many students but has not apparently brought any of them to the gathering.

* **Albrecht Falkenrath**, a German-ish Centurion. A long-time recluse who had unexpectedly come to this gathering to insult people and present them his apprentice Seraphine. Somewhat disagreeable and roguish, and tainted by rumours of association with disreputable people and obvious disinterest and contempt for Theophilus’ high-minded goals. But apparently a powerful wizard in his own right, specialising in stasis, whatever that means. Seems to be up to something or other.

* **Ariadne Rikskjold**, Centurion. Another recluse who unexpectedly decided to attend. An actual real life Swedish Centurion, a rare breed. Rather arrogant, with a small coven of her own and some past connection to Albrecht Falkenrath.

* **Seraphine Ziemniak**, young Centurion, a natural sorceress of great but poorly controlled power. Her great-aunt (or whatever) was a powerful magician as well, but her mentor Albrecht has steadfastly refused to reveal that woman’s true identity. Very bratty and susceptible to uncontrolled magical eruptions. However, briefly provided Lin with assistance in investigating the **Kungstradgarden** explosion and acquitted herself well in the battle that followed. Afterwards, according to her mentor, went to “cool down”. Was not heard from since.

* **Uliana Gorinova**, a young Russian Centurion of apparently partly-Asiatic origins with her own small coven already in attendance. Took a shortcut on her way from Helsingfors through the deep dark void outside of the Guide House and might have paid for it with her life if not for Lin’s help. Apparently whatever has brought her to Stockholm must be very urgent...

* **Granny An**, a Teochew Centurion based out of Paris, a sweet little old lady and a powerful witch. Supposedly.

* **Edhard Vidocq**, a drugged out paranormal detective and another French Centurion rumoured to have made an unexpected journey to Stockholm to attend the gathering.

* **Stella Borealis**, not a Centurion, but a magician; not too powerful, but still capable; apparently the permanent caretaker of the Guide House and also charged with accommodating the visitors. Not very happy.

* **Magnus the Swede**, he turns into a bear or something. But also has healing powers? Or at least helped some of Seraphine’s victims in some way. Maybe by turning into a bear?

* **Theognosis Lombardi**, an Italian magic healer. Rather uptight, but helpful and decent enough. A Neoplatonist. Has a particular personality conflict with Falkenrath.

* **Felicity James**, an American magician and sister of Celerity James. More of a dabbling socialite than anything. Interested in Excalibur.

* **Celerity James**, an American magician and sister of Felicity James. An evoker of note, with apparent ties to the Washington Century Club.

* **Sir Khaleed**, an Arab explorer and occultist, associate of Master Theophilus. More knowledgeable than powerful, supposedly, but above all very mysterious.

* **Magister Sparks**, an enigmatic but surely very puissant new participant, who appears to be somehow linked to the Twardowski family – has hinted that he is Jan Twardowski himself, returned to save the world from a shadowy peril! No one is quite sure what to make of him, but most are quite awed.

* **Cedric**, a man who claims he is a druid, a heir to ancient Celtic magical traditions, but has an Anglo-Saxon name. What a dupe!

* ,a mysterious old **German man** in a **top hat**. Not an official attendant, but probably a magician? Possesses eerie abilities and an unknown agenda. Stalks Seraphine for unknown reasons and encourages her to use her magic more.

### Retainers of Schwarzmeer

* **Hjarna**, AKA **Gustaf Karlssen**, an old criminal lieutenant of the mysteriously disappeared Shadow Centurion Lord Allard turned an occultist and at last a cult leader and lieutenant of Schwarzmeer. Possesses some manner of magic that allows him to control his underlings directly and absolutely. Said underlings, his “soldiers”, include both a large array of criminal toughs and militiamen and some ordinary unfortunate tenants in areas under his control.

* **The Romanian**, or at least someone with the accent, apparently working as a more subtle messenger for Hjarna, hanging around Karlssen’s inn and trying to poach the Ghostface Killer away from the employment of Anthony Starks.

* **Francois** and **some as yet unidentified woman**, black-robed cultists who were doing... something at Kungstradgarden. The woman appears to have seniority in this pairing, and is evidently trusted enough to be left in charge of two advanced Schwarzmeer monsters known as **Ravagers**. Having lost both, the cultists cut their losses and retreated in an unknown direction.

* **A Summoner?** Whoever put those djinns in their lamps...

### Socialists

* **Comrade Parvus**, apparently one of the true masterminds of the Russian Revolution or so they say.

* **Joseph Lyndon**, formerly one of Masque’s anarchists, now an unofficial British delegate at the conference.

* **Hawštyn Krabat**, ditto but German and more legit, will probably not come up again due to his first name being too hard for me to casually reproduce.

* **Erik Karlssen**, the son and heir of Gustaf Karlssen, but apparently quite at odds with his father (and unaware of his father’s agents all around him). A strong believer in the communist cause.

### Others

* **Mr. Ming**, the European Chinese crime boss. Possible Shadow Centurion. Whether or not he is present in the city personally, his agents most certainly are, and are currently engaged in a turf war with Schwarzmeer’s agents.

* **Ghostface Killer**, a recent local urban legend. Is he a ghost? Is he a killer? Why does he wear a fencing mask if he doesn’t have an epee? Some (particularly those who are neither local nor superstitious) just think he’s a police agent. Others that he’s an enforcer for Anthony Starks or some other criminal player – maybe even Mr. Ming.

* **Satan**, AKA **Lucifer**, **the Devil** – a fallen angel, the adversary of humanity and the master of all evil. Rumoured to be in the city, possibly connected to the witches gathering there to serve him and to the freakish green fires spotted in the sky the other night. Is said to have made some manner of deal with Jan Twardowski back in the 16th century.

* **Old Vasiliy**, a shifty old Russian smuggler and middle man.

* **Snakes**, elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes. Found in unexpected places all over Stockholm.

### **Norrmalm**:

Northern mainland city district, containing both industrial and business areas; according to some of Anthony’s informants, Hjarna’s “gang” moved in from there, even though Karlsson’s old haunt was in the south; regardless, it is by now common knowledge among those in on the plot that the enemy is active in the region.

* **Kungstradgarden**: public garden, site of one of the “witch fire” incidents.

* **Torlof Birger’s**: an unexpectedly shoddy hotel near Kungstradgarden. One apartment there was briefly used as a safehouse by Adam Vinter and also the location of the explosion he used to fake his own death. Another was occupied by a pair of Schwarzmeer cultists and their equipment. After Seraphine and Lin arrived to investigate and ended up fighting a couple of advanced Schwarzmeer monsters (while allowing the cultists to escape), the hotel became even shoddier and was closed for a thorough investigation.

* A Schwarzmeer base is supposed to be somewhere in this district, but the location has not yet been narrowed down.

### **Riddarholmen**

The Knights’ Islet, a brave little island connected to other parts of Stockholm by a number of bridges. Full of historic buildings. Recently disturbed by intrusions of both Centurions and their adversaries.

* **Birger Jarls Torg**: central square of the island.

* **Sekelstorn**: the Century Tower, the Century Club Meeting Hall. Mostly neglected since the 1820s, due to the conflict between the Century Club and the Swedish monarchy at the time. Nonetheless, contains some items of note and considerable records (including the Roll of the Treasures of Sweden); also a kitchen and some bedrooms for visiting Centurions. Slightly burned.

### **Gamla Stan** (AKA **Staden**, **Stadsholmen**)

The Old Town the central island of Stockholm, a historical, political and cultural centre. Narrow streets and houses to match.

* **Stockholms Slott**: the Royal Palace in Stockholm, residence of King Gustaf V.

* **Guide Street**: an obscure street of no importance or interest whatsoever. The site of another “witch fire” incident, but it’s just not important, okay?

### **Helgeandsholmen**

Another small island adjacent to Gamla stan.

* **Riksdag**: the Riksdag.

### **Djurgarden**

An eastern district located on a large island, mostly divided between a giant park and numerous aristocratic mansions. Also contains various docking facilities.

* **Jarlson Mansion**: normally just another mansion, though lavishly decorated with battle scenes on the inside. Currently however lent by one of Major Douglas’ friends to the Cause, and used by Irene Tannhauser as her headquarters. Increasingly crowded as more and more people are brought in on the operation, with highly varying degrees of trust.

### **Sodermalm**

Southern district located on a large island, industrial, seafaring, impoverished, bohemian and criminal. Teeming with lowlifes of all sorts. Among other things, the apparent heart of Hjarna’s operations at the moment.

* **Starksshuset**: a tiny (but well-furnished) house bought by mysterious American journalist, traveller and amateur crime boss Anthony Starks. No one actually calls it Starksshuset.

* **The Sunken Waste**: a run-down (but spacey) inn formerly used by Tomasz Grobnik as his residence because he could not actually fit in through Starksshuset’s door frame. He had to move after a corpse exploded in his room, blowing his cover.

* **Horn Street**, one of the main (and widest) streets of the district. A common haunt of Hjarna’s “troops”, among others. One of the apartments there was used as a safehouse by Adam Vinter, though at some point it turned into more of a trap. Horn Street became the site of the first major battle of this investigation, as Hjarna sent his troops after Adam at his improvised dugout in the apartment building’s courtyard and also attempted to destroy the meddling Centurions that came to answer the Norwegian’s call to action. In the process, he tipped his hand and drew the attention of the elements of the Swedish military working with Irene Tannhauser, who arrived in time to intercept his reinforcements and witness the slaughter carried out by the Centurions in the courtyard. After this point, the underground struggle became utterly impossible to conceal from the citizenry and Horn Street retained a major military and police presence.

* **Karlssen’s**: located somewhere in Sodermalm’s dockside, once an inn ran by Gustaf Karlssen (side by side with his full-time job as local crime boss) and used as a gathering place of criminals, now ran by his son Erik Karlssen and used as a gathering place of communists (and criminals). In spite of Erik’s denunciation of his father, it is still very much in use by shady individuals connected to Hjarna and presumably Schwarzmeer.

* **Stadsgarden**: the aforementioned dockside of Sodermalm, used primarily for civilian rather than military shipping. Also crawling with Hjarna’s troops as of quite recently, but apparently strongly contested by Mr. Ming?

* Another major **Schwarzmeer base** is theorised to be somewhere around here...

### **Guide House**

A special extradimensional location anchored to Stockholm (particularly Guide Street in Gamla stan). Outside of normal time and space. Accessed with special keys and/or magic. Used by the Conclave of Magicians for their gatherings.

* **The dark void outside**, with swirling green symbols. Apparently can be somehow travelled through, but this is ridiculously dangerous.

* **The Outer Portal**, by the aforementioned void. Normally its windows are shuttered. Guarded by magical statues and countless other cryptic magical effects.

* **A swimming pool**, surrounded by mysterious boulders and enigmatic magic presences. Good for when you are on fire. Also at one point functioned as another portal between itself and the waters of Stockholm.

* Various individual rooms, sometimes not quite where you left them but you’ll find them anyway.

* **The Forum**, the largest room by far, with a domed ceiling painted to represent the night sky and eight walls depicting various fantastic landscapes. The floor is blank, however in the middle of it there is a large surface that seems like it should be reflective (but it isn’t). Has various seats and room for loitering. Often also augmented by gaudy magic tricks. Used by wizards for their official

and semi-official meetings.

* **The Blue Room**, or **the Inner Portal**. A largely empty room with blue walls (hence the name), which are decorated with golden torches, eye symbols, scrolls, staffs and wands, no furniture, no windows and just one door leading further into the Guide House. The area through which one arrives into the pocket dimension from Stockholm, or leaves it for Stockholm.

**The Baltic Sea**: A large body of water. Might be Air Pirates in there somewhere.