Free Adventurer’s Guide to Aeraveska
An Overview of The Flying City of Aeraveska
Soaring hundreds of feet above the surface, the legendary flying city of Aeraveska has existed for centuries as a port of call for travelers, inventors and philosophers. Constructed by the most renowned mechanists and engineers, the city was built with the express purpose of bringing together people from diverse nations without the restriction of borders, or the petty squabbles of rulers and tyrants.
Powered by a mystical arcane generator, the city was made to the highest standards of its era, using the finest materials and designs to make it a place of wonder in a sometimes-bleak world. But time has a way of distorting the original purpose of the most noble endeavors, and Aeraveska is no exception.
The shining streets and towering pinnacles of steel have turned to rust, and as the founding builders passed, so has the ability of the city’s mechanists to properly repair it. Barely resembling its original design, Aeraveska is now a rusting hulk, rebuilt with whatever scraps and improvised machines the mechanists can find or create to fulfil the functions of the old machines.
Gone are the days where noble paladins would walk the streets, discussing the best way to serve the needs of the people. Now, a twisted sort of fanaticism has gripped a portion of the population, who revere the city’s very existence yet actively work against those who are attempting to maintain it. Though it is still an important city that stands apart from the machinations of the lords and ladies below, Aeraveska has its own dangers as factions struggle for control of the decrepit city.
Locations
Paladin Statue
Standing high above the center of the city rises an ancient statue of an armored man, bearing sword and shield and looking outward with an expression of optimism and courage expertly carved into his features.
This is a memorial to Sir Gareth Prescott, the leader of a small band of paladins who worked with an army of mechanists to create the flying city of Aeraveska centuries ago. Time has not been kind to this depiction of the city’s founder, with large chunks of the statue missing and the surface pockmarked with damage from weapons and age, a more fitting tribute to the current state of the city than it has ever been.
Old Glin’s Docks
This squat tower used to be where the city’s chief mechanist used to live, a man by the name of Old Glin. Revered as a brilliant designer and one of the key architects of the city, the tower gradually became home to his descendants who had grown wealthy from his legacy.
This is now the wealthy part of the city and arguably the least decrepit, where small indoor gardens liven up the place. They even have access to their own private docks, where expensive air yachts and balloons are kept.
Supply Docks
Referred to as the old supply docks, this is a small docking area for balloons and smaller airships, which is now mostly used as a passenger terminal. Stacks of goods are piled strategically around the place to provide thoroughfares for people moving to and from their ships, though such goods are mostly the luggage of travelers.
Blue Bridge Inn
Hanging beneath a platform leading from the supply docks is the Blue Bridge Inn, a place where visitors can find a decent night’s sleep during their stay in Aeraveksa. The staff are courteous and polite, and the food adequate but unremarkable.
The big attraction of the place is the view from the common room, where carefully placed windows reveal a panorama of the skies around and below the city, which can make it difficult for those who don’t like the constant reminder of their current location high above the ground.
Ms. Eva’s Saloon
Ms. Eva’s Saloon is the most popular place to enjoy a meal and a drink in the entire city. It is a place where courtesy and good manners are still maintained, even if life outside the bar’s rusty walls has devolved over the decades. Commonly used as a meeting place for merchants, mercenaries and miscreants, the Saloon is a slice of heaven in an otherwise grim locale. Two hulking clockwork golems are employed as bouncers to ensure the patrons remember their manners, and troublemakers are efficiently dealt with so as not to disturb others.
Mechanist Guild
One of the more important buildings in the city, the Mechanist’s Guild is home to the city’s engineers and inventors, the organization responsible for keeping the city functional and safe, even if they have fallen behind in their work. The building is covered by rust as much as any other, but there is a sense of faded glory about the place, with its high columns and vaulted ceilings.
Raseem’s Observatory
This towering, domed structure is home to Raseem Ahmadi, a scientist who uses this observatory to scour the heavens at night, taking notes and looking for revelations in the stars above. When the huge telescope within is adjusted to look at a different part of the sky, it is accompanied by a horrid screeching of metal on rusty metal, which can be heard through most of the city. Not a native of Aeraveska, Raseem sometimes causes a stir with his insights and hypotheses.
Slums
All cities have a place where the lowest rungs of society are left in squalor, and in the case of Aeraveska, this is almost quite literal.
Living in polluted air near the generator core, this place is filled with those who simply don’t fit in anywhere else. The poor, the homeless and those with violent tendencies gather here to try and find whatever work will put food in their bellies. It is rife with crime and the Aeronauts rarely police the area.
Generator
This huge building is under constant guard, for within lies the city’s central power generator which provides the mystical energy that keeps Aeraveska aloft. Smoke billows from improvised chimneys and the constant thrum of machinery vibrates the platform around it, and at night, the dull glow of eerie green lights can be seen through windows and cracks in the walls.
Sky Temple
The Sky Temple is the hallowed meeting hall of The Order of Heavenly Ascension, a religious group that has a moderate following within the city, who the ruling class deem to be bordering on dangerous. The temple itself is one of the more impressive structures in Aeraveksa, with a towering pinnacle reaching to the heavens and lots of glass so that worshippers can bask in the view.
Military Quater
Order within Aeraveksa is kept by the city’s military, who are trained in melee and ranged combat and serve the ruling class, who finance the whole thing. Several times over the centuries, Aeraveksa has been invaded by outside interests who would see it fall under their control, and it is through the expert training found here that the defenders make the best use of their lofty environment to outwit and outmaneuver their enemies with an unbeatable home turf advantage.
Aeronaut School
Anastasia Belle, Sky-Captain of the Aeronauts trains an elite cadre of soldiers deemed strong and smart enough to bear the mantle.
Aeronauts are humans (or similar races who lack wings) who use mechanical wings to soar around the city, fighting off anything that threatens Aeraveksa. Their unique weaponry includes grappling hooks and dart guns, and their incredible mobility allows them to move throughout the city with speed.
Marketplace
Tucked away beneath the merchant’s guild is the marketplace of Aeraveksa, a sprawling arrangement of rusty old buildings in which all manner of goods are bought and sold. It is a chaotic affair, with merchants hawking their wares and customers haggling for the best price, all under the careful watch of the city guards. Nearly a quarter of the market is taken up by Lavech’s shop.
Hang Glider Ramp
A quick way to get around the city is to hire a hang glider here, and ride the winds to your destination. For the wealthy, it’s also a fun diversion from the day-to-day life within the confines of the rusting hulk of Aeraveska, a reminder of what it’s like to fly free.
Trading Docks
Built to replace the smaller supply docks, these are the trading docks, where vast quantities of goods are brought in to feed the city’s insatiable hunger for spare parts. Huge airships and balloons can often be seen here, tethered to the city’s outskirts as workers move cargo on and off these mighty vessels. Passengers rarely come this way, unless they’re looking to keep a low profile.and dart guns, and their incredible mobility allows them to move throughout the city with speed.
Factions
The Mechanist Guild
“Thanks to the genius and innovative designs of our esteemed founders, we continue the endless duty to maintain Aeraveska. In this task, we cannot fail, lest the grand work of generations come to naught and the city itself falls.”
–Alkari Corvus, Grand Artificer of the Mechanist Guild
The pre-eminent organization within the city, this group is populated with descendants of the city’s original creators. Centuries after its construction, the techniques and blueprints of the original city are long gone, forcing these creative individuals to use whatever materials and designs they can come up with to replace worn-out components.
In addition to their primary purpose of keeping the city aloft, they create all manner of inventions, and often come together in their great hall to work on their designs, discuss technical details and collaborate on larger projects.
The True Defenders of Aeraveska
“Our city has become polluted with land-dwellers, those our ancestors built Aeraveksa to escape. In honor of Sir Gareth, our city’s founder, it is our duty as the true defenders of this great city to maintain the purity of our people, and return the land-dwellers to their rightful place beneath our feet.”
–Magnus Sharpe, Lord Captain of the True Defenders
Sworn defenders of Aeraveska, the True Defenders are cultists who fervently believe in the superiority of those born in the city. Led by the disgraced Aeronaut Magnus Sharpe, the group maintain a low profile for the most part, but from time to time they strike out at visiting land-dwellers, kidnapping them and leaving the bodies hanging in prominent places with warnings written in blood. Although their numbers are small, they are a potent force known to cause a lot of disruption to the city.
The Order of Heavenly Ascension
“This holy city that lifts us into the heavens has been corrupted through time and the weak will of its rulers. Through fire and blood, we shall punish the corrupt and restore Aeraveska to its true place of glory in the skies!”
–Dalia Serafina, Matriarch of the Order
Devout believers in the idea that Aeraveska was designed to be a shining light in the skies, this order of religious fanatics is descended from the benevolent paladins that founded the place, but have since lost their way. From their place in the Sky Temple, they see the rusting, crumbling city around them as an affront to the memory of Sir Gareth, the leader of the paladins, and see the Mechanist Guild as corrupting the purity of the city’s original glory.
They make their thoughts known with street sermons, protests, and in some cases, violence, all in service of their goal to depose the Mechanist Guild’s leadership and take control of the city themselves.
Important Characters
Lavech
A tall, lean man of middle-age appearance, this merchant goes by the name of Lavech, yet in spite of his seemingly unassuming nature, it is a name known throughout the city. Quiet and thoughtful, Lavech operates the largest store in Aeraveska, dominating nearly a quarter of the marketplace. There is no signage or official title – shoppers are simply directed to ‘go and see Lavech’ when they have need of something obscure.
In the dark recesses of the marketplace there is a single, ordinary door accessing this shop, and those with an eye for magical may recognize that, upon entry, they are stepping through a portal to a pocket dimension. Indeed, at the whim of the shop’s owner, this single doorway can act as a portal to many dimensions and other places in the world, leading to speculation that Lavech is far more than some mere mortal – some speculate he may even be a minor deity, for he wields this subtle yet powerful magic with ease.
Lavech is known to work as a broker for unnamed wealthy clients, those who need work done but wish to remain anonymous until the right people are found. Only then are the two parties introduced and their business conducted. These are typically high-paying jobs, where ethics is rarely a consideration.
Lavech’s shop is also the best place to acquire magical items, but these can’t be bought with money – only by running jobs for him can these items be obtained. Such work usually entails finding materials or dealing with problems both in and out of the city itself. When Lavech wants to communicate with a client, he freely hands out Sending Stones, which allow him to speak across great distances.
Magnus Sharpe
Formerly a high-ranking member of the Aeronauts, Magnus Sharpe was stripped of his rank and (literal) wings after his affiliation with a radical cult was discovered. Now the leader of the “True Defenders of Aeraveska”, Magnus has cobbled together a set of mechanical wings from discarded scraps, and designed an assortment of gadgets with which to fight for his cause, including a grappling hook and deadly dart gun.
The cult he leads was always lurking in the shadows, with the authorities aware of its existence but paying it little heed, until Magnus took over. With his training and fervent dedication to the cause, he has personally lifted their ambitions and prominence in the city, as well as the danger they pose to society.
Magnus is charming, driven and passionate, but also quick to anger. He uses his knowledge of machinery to maintain his contraptions, but keeps these devices for himself. Magnus is not above using others for his own ends, and his fervent belief that those who live on the land below are unworthy of living in the skies with the chosen people drives him to commit greater crimes in pursuit of his goals.
Sabine Pryce
The dark streets of Aeraveska at night are not for the faint of heart. Crime is rife in many areas of the city, as poverty and desperation drive people to do what they need to survive. While the wealthy are thought to be indifferent to the plight of the common folk, one of their number walks these streets looking to balance the cosmic scales a little.
By day, Sabine Pryce is the daughter of a wealthy noble who goes about her normal affairs in the wealthy spires of the city. But by night, she uses her knowledge of the nobility to infiltrate their homes and take a few precious items they wouldn’t really miss. These trinkets are often worth a small fortune, and Sabine makes certain they find their way into the hands of the needy.
What motivated her to take up this rebellious lifestyle isn’t clear, but rumors abound that her family is involved in some unpleasant business that impacts the common folk, and Sabine felt the need to balance the scales with acts of ‘virtuous thievery’. When out on one of her late-night jaunts, Sabine obscures her appearance by necessity. An opera-style mask covers one side of her face, painted with two diagonal orange lines, which apparently has some specific meaning for her.
Sabine walks with a cane, though it is not because of any specific physical need. When its jeweled handle is pulled, a gleaming steel blade is visible within, a weapon with which she is well-practiced. She speaks rarely while in disguise, but her voice is soft and self-assured.
Alkari Corvus
One of the bird-people who have lived in Aeraveska since it first took flight, Alkari is a person reminiscent of a raven, with smooth, black feathers and an inquisitive mind. He wears belts with an assortment of gadgets around his waist, including concealable weapons that can incapacitate, or even kill an attacker. Goggles adorn his head, though he only puts them over his eyes when he works.
The Grand Artificer of the Mechanists Guild, Alkari is the most accomplished and technically proficient mechanist within the city, and uses his vast knowledge and keen mind to keep the decaying city aloft. He is well-liked within the guild, though he is not without his rivals.
Thoughtful and observant, Alkari tends to let people speak their minds without interruption, before answering with a considered response. It is with this careful and intelligent manner he leads the guild, and although he is advancing in years, he shows no sign of slowing down.
One-Shot, System-Agnostic Adventures with Battlemaps
An Explosive Conspiracy
One day while visiting the floating sky city of Aeraveska, you are given a letter by a messenger dove with a shimmering bronze seal on it. It is marked by the Mechanist’s Guild, and the letter comes from none other than Alkari Corvus; the guild’s Grand Artificer.
The letter writes that the artificer suspects there is a terrible conspiracy going on, one which he cannot trust to many of the locals–and those he does trust, would be recognised instantly whilst trying to uncover the truth. Alkari writes that he’s heard word of your good deeds in the city, and wishes you to meet with him and discuss preventing a possible disaster.
Should you go to meet with Alkari, you’ll find him in the Mechanist’s Guild. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, though covered by rust like most other things here. But there is a sense of faded glory about the place, with its high columns and vaulted ceilings.
If you enter you’ll be greeted by the receptionist, who has curly black hair and dark skin. She is wearing a copper-colored dress decorated with small, shiny bronze cogs, and shimmering bronze lipstick. Upon seeing the letter, she’ll smile warmly and give you directions for how to find Alkari.
His office is at the top of one of the towers, overlooking the surrounding city and sky. When you knock, Alkari will open the door using a complicated rope-mechanism he can peck from his desk. He looks reminiscent of a raven, with smooth, black feathers and a belt along his waist with an assortment of gadgets. A small set of goggles rest on his forehead.
Alkari thanks you for considering his offer, and gestures with a “hand” tipped wing (much like a raven’s foot) for you to sit down in a couple of chairs draped with thick moss. They appear to be welded together from different cogs and scrap pieces of metal, but polished to a high shine, though there are some patches of rust in the depressions.
Once you are comfortable, Alkari will explain in a solemn voice that he has heard wind of terrible rumors. Rumors that there is a conspiracy amongst one of Aeraveska’s lowest slums to blow up the arcane generator which holds the city aloft! You must go there at once, Alkari pleads, and investigate these claims. If they are real, you must do what you can to stop what he fears is a growing rebellion from the malcontents on the city’s lower levels.
He’ll then pull a small, rolled up map tied with a red ribbon out from one of his desk’s draws. Then he’ll hand it over to you, saying that it shows the locations where most of the rumors of violent discontent have been reported. He’ll also offer you a small pouch of gold doves; some of the city’s original currency, which are highly valued.
Should you go to the area, you’ll find it is among the very lowest of the city’s slums. The whole area is made of retired timber skyships, which have been nailed together with more planks of wood. The use of such a short-lived material so close to the long-drop below tells tales about the slum’s desperation. A few patched hot-air balloons have been jerry-rigged to add extra lift to heavier parts of the structure, too.
On top of that, these slums have some of the foulest fumes wafting amongst them; exhaust from the arcane generator that holds the city aloft far, far above. Litter that can’t blow away in the often-strong winds cover the walkways. The sides of ships the locals have made homes in are broken in places, or heavily carved out with graffiti. And the often-scarred residents here wear stained, ragged clothes, often with torn strips of cloth over their nose and mouths.
Because of this, the locals will notice you right away. Many of them regard you with dour looks, while others might try to jump you for your valuables. If you try to ask anyone about the conspiracy, however, they’ll coldly say they don’t know what you’re talking about before excusing themselves.
Should this happen, you will be jumped by a group a few minutes later–once the individual you questioned has had time to run off to tell their contacts that a stranger’s been asking around regarding their plans. If you manage to defeat the group, the other locals will begin attacking you also. They may be poor, and many of them even drug-addled, but they’re a close-knit community with nothing much to lose.
Once the fight reaches a certain size or hits a certain number of casualties, the leader will emerge and try to reason with you. She’ll come out of one of the rooms, with her hands up in the air as a gesture of peace. She is wearing red, worn-through fingerless gloves, and a bandana tying up thick locks of auburn hair. Holy stockings cover lean legs, while a dress that has been patched far too many times drapes her wiry frame.
Her ears are adorned with steel or carved wood earrings, and she has a belt covered with different tools along her waist–predominantly knives. She’ll introduce herself as Kathorne, and say that she seeks an end to this violence for her people. Then she’ll say that you came here asking about their plans, so as a peace offering she’ll explain them to you. Then you can decide for yourself what you wish to do with that knowledge. Fair?
If you listen, she’ll explain with a relieved sigh that yes, they have been planning to blow up the arcane generator which holds up the city–but it’s not as bad as it sounds! They have a mechanist friend who works for the guild, and he told them there are safety measures in place so the city won’t just crash. It’ll drift to the ground.
She continues to explain that her people have been forced to live in these slums due to the overpopulated city’s stagnant economy. There are too few jobs and too many people–we can’t work even if we want to! On top of that, it costs money to get down to the land below, so most of us can’t just leave. There are so many people in the slums, all over Aeraveska, breathing in the toxic fumes from the arcane generator. Most don’t make it beyond 30! All her people want is to leave and start a new life somewhere else, somewhere far away from this dying city.
If you are swayed by her reasoning, she’ll breathe a sigh of relief and thank you, before sending a group out to rig the final explosives and set them off, now that the Mechanist’s Guild is cluing on to them. Before the crowd disperses, she’ll tell you where you can find her in her hovel should you need to.
About an hour later the explosion will destroy the arcane generator. The bones of the city will shudder terribly, and it will slant as it begins a steep slide through the sky, crashing down towards the earth at terrifying speeds. The emergency systems will engage, slowing the descent somewhat magically, as well as sending a barrage of parachutes up behind the doomed city.
Upon impact with the earth below, some of the old and rusted buildings will crumble and collapse. 10% of Aeraveska’s population will die.
If you go to find Kathorne afterwards, her house is among those that collapsed. Should you make your way into the ruins, you’ll find her crushed body, as well as a journal. In the journal Kathorne wrote that she knew the fail-safe wasn’t fully functioning due to the city being so old and in such a decrepit state, but she believed the risk was worth it for her people.
Should you refuse to aid Kathorne in her plan instead, unless you can find a peaceful resolution (such as paying for their passage off the city), her and her people will put up a vicious fight.
Once you tell Alkari about what has occurred however, he’ll puff up all his feathers in distress. Then he’ll remark how horrified he was that they wanted to rely on the failsafe systems, which were created at the city’s founding and might be just as unreliable as much of the old, run-down city. It could have ended in many, many deaths–without even regarding where Aeraveska would land. Shaking his head some more, Alkari will solemnly pay you even more of the golden doves as thanks for making the right choice against what could have been a convincing argument. Thanks to you, he emphasizes, many lives were saved, along with our great city.
As you leave, he muses to himself thoughtfully that perhaps the Mechanist’s Guild can find some way to allow poor citizens to leave, if they wish.
The Screw
There are posters up inside Ms. Eva’s Saloon and the Blue Bridge Inn within the floating city of Aeraveska. They’re from an old woman who is looking for help finalizing her deceased husband’s estate. She writes that she wants to donate a lot of the items to the Mechanist’s Guild, so they can melt them down and use the scrap to continue repairing the city. It’s a simple job, just labor intensive–though it pays alright.
Should you go meet with the old woman who’s offering the job, you’ll find she lives in the wealthy district of Aeraveska, known as Old Glin’s Docks. When you arrive at her considerably well-maintained house (compared to the rest of the rusting city), a middle-aged maid will open the door and invite you inside. Once in, she’ll sit you down at a small coffee table in the midst of an indoor garden, before leaving to get the matron.
When the matron arrives, you’ll see she’s a woman easily in her 80s, with her gray hair tied up in a neat bun. She is wearing a long, blue dress and some simple jewelry made with expensive gold and colorful jewels, and moves smoothly.
She will welcome you warmly, before taking a seat opposite you. She’ll explain that her husband had a lot of things she has no need for, and since his passing she’s been tying up the loose ends to prepare for her own, eventual death. Her now-adult children moved away from Aeraveska many years ago you see, and they don’t have need for their father’s things. So, she’s decided to send much of it to the Mechanist’s Guild to become scrap and much-needed parts to repair the city. If you would take it there for her–chairs, mechanical contraptions, a metal workbench and some tools–she can pay you once the job is complete.
Should you accept, she will thank you, and pay you half in advance before getting her maid to show you where the things are located.
When you arrive at the Mechanist’s Guild, there are two burly men standing outside the front door, with light leather armor and weapons on their belts. Should you try to enter, they’ll say that you can’t in thick voices. If you ask why not, they’ll pause for a moment, before saying the Guild is closed for maintenance.
Should you explain that you’re bringing scrap to donate so that they can melt it down and use it to help repair the dying city, one will shake their head fervently and say that they’re not accepting scrap today, go take it elsewhere. At this point, however, a loud scream will sound from somewhere within the building.
If you insist on entering to see what’s going on, the “guards” will fight you rather than willingly letting you in. Should you make it past, you’ll find a handful more of the thugs beyond the door, in a room with a statue at its heart.
Further in, there are a couple of crumpled receptionists who have been knocked out and tied up behind the desks. If you succeed at waking either of them up, they’ll beg you to free them and warn you that there are armed men in the building looking for an artifact.
Should you free the girls, they’ll thank you before running out the way you came in, saying they’re going to go get help. In the room beyond the receptionist’s section, you’ll find a number of soot-stained tinkerers, wearing leather working clothes, who have been tied up and surrounded by more of the goons. If the goons see you, they’ll attack–muttering to themselves about “giving the boss more time to get the artifact”.
When you’ve defeated the goons and freed tinkerers, they’ll thank you before urging you to hurry. They’ll say that those goons don’t seem particularly bright and kept mumbling to themselves about this being some kind of a distraction!
There’s a loud bang from the upper floor as they say this. If you race up the stairs to see what it is, you’ll encounter a couple of men in brown leather armor with mechanical wings made of scrap metal. They’re in an outdoors area in front of Grand Artificer Alkali’s office. They will attack on sight, flying and using aerial combat to their advantage as well as any trained aeronaut.
The sounds of combat come from Alkali’s office while this happens.
Should you defeat the winged defenders and go into the office, there are a number of holes which have been cut into the ceiling. Dead goons lie on the floor (some with darts in their neck), but there is a tall man with mechanical wings still standing, quite alive. He is wearing light leather armor, with a crossbow aimed at Alkari, but one side of his face is covered with a splatter of blue dye and his body is already covered in scrape wounds.
Alkari is a person reminiscent of a raven, with smooth black feathers and a tool belt on his waist. He is wearing goggles over his eyes, and hefting a small contraption in a clawed “hand” at the tip of his wing, from where he perches on a desk. Unusual traps have been set off all over the tower, and they appear to have done damage to the tall, winged man–who is both frustrated and out of breath.
When you enter the tower you walk into this stalemate, and both the men will look at you in confusion. Alkari will twist his head at you thoughtfully, before asking if you have come to his aid. The winged man will spit, saying of course it’s outsiders. Then he will growl at you to leave the affairs of Aeraveska to the skyfolk, warning that you have no idea what you’re meddling with.
If you ask him what you’re meddling with, he’ll say plans that will enable his people to finally reach the true glory this city dreamed of–plans which Alkali Corvus is getting in the way of.
At this point Alkari will clack his beak, and say that if the True Defenders of Aeraveska’s plans for greatness rely on The Screw, they are doomed to fail. Far more goes into mechanical engineering than relying on a magical artifact.
Should you ask what The Screw is, he’ll explain that it’s a wondrous screw created by Kolgar the Frustrated. It will make any invention it’s added to work, though it doesn’t guarantee that it won’t explode or fail later on. Only a desperate man–or a fool–would wager important plans on such an item. Alkari will then look at the winged man, saying that, while he has had his differences with Magnus Sharpe, he never imagined he was a fool.
The winged man will growl, telling Alkari to stop speaking ill of his leader, and demanding that he hand over the artifact and let them be done with this nonsense. He’ll tell the bird that he does not want to harm one of the city’s own skyfolk–despite him killing so many of his men–but he will end him if he doesn’t hand over what he wants.
At this, Alkari will look at you, a twinkle in his eye, and say that he supposes that you are the deciding factor in this stalemate. He warns you that Magnus Sharpe is a religious extremist, as are his followers. The blood of many innocents are on their hands, and he has never found them to be reasonable. Whatever they are planning, it will not be good.
Should you side with Alkari, if the winged man is injured enough he will attempt to flee back out through one of the holes in the ceiling. Afterwards, Alkari will sigh, and say that today was a near miss. He’ll ask after the health of the mechanists below, and once he knows they were saved, he’ll visibly relax. Then he will hop down to his seat and open up a draw; pulling out a screw from a box amidst all the other junk.
He talks while he hops back over to you with it, saying that he supposes after today’s events it is far too dangerous to keep The Screw here. Magnus is the last person who should be allowed access to the artifact, due to the terrible damage he could do with it. So, as thanks for your good deeds today, you may have it, he says. He finishes with a small, gracious bow.
If you side with the winged man instead, Alkari will not surrender. Instead he will stare you down determinedly, saying that he will never hand over The Screw to a man known to be violent and wholly unreasonable. His death will slow you down, for it’s a large office to search for such a small screw–and by now, the Aeronauts will have heard of the fighting here. They’ll be here any minute.
Should you attack him, he’ll attempt to shoot you with a poison dart from his small revolver. If you manage to kill him, his dying words will be a warning that Magnus may be charming, but he will try to kill you. If you turn back now, you can still save the city from whatever evil he is planning…
Once Alkari is dead, the winged man will step on his small feathered body, spitting that he was a traitor to his true brethren; the skyfolk. He’ll then ask for your help pilfering through all the drawers for The Screw, and when he gets his hands on it, he will thank you for your assistance. After that, he’ll fly out through the hole in the ceiling, before dropping a firebomb from his belt into the room you’re still in; calling you a useful idiot.
He’ll laugh as he flies away, not looking back to see if you survived or not.
Battlemaps for the Adventures
Skyship Slums of Aeraveska
Made for “An Explosive Conspiracy”, download this complimentary free battlemap for VTTs from our Patreon here: patreon.com/posts/64874360.
Mechanist’s Guild of Aeraveska
Made for “An Explosive Conspiracy”, download this complimentary free battlemap for VTTs from our Patreon here: patreon.com/posts/64874360.
Seeds of More Adventures
• It is a closely guarded secret that the city is running low on the machinery essential to maintaining its flight. The few mechanists responsible for maintaining the engines are getting desperate, and need people to go on extraordinary quests to locate obscure resources.
• There’s a rumor that the Order of Heavenly Ascension are going to attempt to destroy the main docks to the city, cutting it off from the outside as a prelude to something bigger.
• The captain of an airship owes money to one of the shadier criminal groups within the slums, and with this debt coming due, may ask a huge favor of the party. The captain is more than happy to offer free transportation to places near and far for eliminating this problem.
• Though the city is usually able to be steered clear of rough weather, sudden and powerful storms can arrive too quickly to avoid. When this happens the systems of the city are sorely tested, with emergency crews in short supply and high demand to save lives and prevent a mortal blow to Aeraveska itself.
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Hope you and your friends enjoy Aeraveska! \(^.^)/
Beb and Luke, with the help of Stephen L. Nowland and The Art of Caustic
