Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Dryden of Conwall the Collector/Hunter, Averiela the Elf/Elven Elite, Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre/Knight, Markus the Squire
Last time, the Fellowship defended the Hidden Library against a force of elite mercenaries and artillery.
Dryden opens Infinite Windows to retrieve Edna, and two Ogres step through the portal. Bork, the second Ogre, is a woman with short hair and a bulkier build than Edna who wears a suit that makes her look like a bouncer. Edna introduces her new companion to the Fellowship. Bork used to work in Port Fennrick, but Edna made her a better offer.
Edna: Oh, right, Port Fennrick. Bork, tell them about that.
Bork: So me and O’Later–sorry for working for O’Later, I guess–we were loading up the ships, coming up here to attack the library and a streak of light came out of the sky and blew up City Hall. We were already on the boats. There was no turning back, so we just went and hoped the skeleton crew we left behind could handle it. I’m worried about my friends in Port Fennrick.
The Fellowship laughs because they gave the Anti-Library Weapon bad coordinates. They were aiming for Vieport, but attacking the source of the invasion is good too.
Dryden: How did the library fare? What happened?
Edna: Y’all only let the Undead Dragon through, and O’Later and the Siege Tank got past us because taking care of Bork was more important. Friendship is better than vengeance. I thought the people at the rim could handle it, but there was another assault from underground. When we got back to the library, there was a Dwarven Tunneler jammed into the library entrance, and and army was trying to push it out. They got into the library and got trapped. Their leader–what was her name?
Bork: Bloodletter. She’s real mean.
Edna: We managed to convince her that O’Later wasn’t a good leader because he got everyone killed. She decided to leave the library alone and go take over Port Fennrick.
Bork: Yeah, I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Dryden: What happened to the Undead Dragon?
Edna: We put the head back on. It was that Dragon.
Dryden: Nice! It worked!
Truly a wonderful pile of coincidences led to Zweiharn’s undead body attacking the very mountain where it’s skull was buried.
Edna: We unblocked the river, so transit will not be impeded. Yuri was very concerned that we not harm any ships except the troop transports. We definitely harmed the troop transports and kept the others out of trouble.
Averiela: How’s the librarian doing?
Edna; She’s already dead, so there’s not much they could do to her. I’m sure she’s busy reshelving everything. The invaders were not as respectful to the materials as the librarian would like.
Markus: They lost all library card privileges.
Bork takes the role of Muscle on the Luna Penumbra. She have experience running the docks in Port Fennrick, so she knows all about motivating a team to work effectively.
GM note: One player said we needed to go back to the Forgotten Lands for the Conlave of the Elves, but the Elf’s player said that our previous visit was the Conclave of the Elves, so that quest was already done.
Edna: Markus, was this enough adventuring for you?
Markus is still in shock.
Markus: Fighting is a lot harder than I thought it would be. People die in fights and get hurt. It was really cool, though. It was really cool. I pretty much single-handed saved the library. You couldn’t have done it without me.
Edna: You’re good at fighting by yourself, but splitting off to fight Sparky alone got you whupped. There’s some nuance of tactics that you’ll gain with experience.
Markus: If that’s true, then I need more experience. I’m not ready to go. I’ve only had one adventure. This was only one day. One more adventure, at least, before I go rule to rule forever and never leave again.
Edna realizes that during the “one day” Markus mentioned, she fought two armies on either side of the mountain. She needs sleep! The Fellowship considers where they could take the Luna Penumbra to rest and restock. They’re not exactly welcome in some places. None of them have gotten in trouble in Sugar’s Crossing, so they fly there and Recover for a week. Edna looks north to Lady Evelynn’s estate and tells the Fellowship how she helped with Vestri’s quest, but had ulterior motives. Dryden points out the new bridge and tells the legend of Star Rider.
GM note: Time for the downtime move. Each player sets a scene of what happens while they rest in Sugar’s Crossing.
Dryden goes to the theater and watches “Star Rider the bridge savior” a play about his earlier adventures. He wonders if he should sign autographs. Bingo, Star Rider’s biggest fan, recognizes Dryden.
Dryden: How has the noble pursuit of chivalry gone? How have you been protecting Sugar’s Crossing?
Bingo: I was actually disappointed by your advice. I had my heart on going off on adventures. When all those adventurers came through last week, I tried to sign up with them too, and it seems like it’s universal advice that I should stay here. A gang of my older friends when off with this lady knight. I tried to tag along. She told me to go home to my mother.
Dryden: This lady knight: did she have some Es in her name?
Bingo: She had pink hair.
Dryden: She’s not the kind of person you want to hang around .I’ve actually defeated her three times.
Edna: I’m glad you did not accompany her.
GM note: The Fellowship killed Lady Elizabeth Eleanor Eadwynn and her Halfling fan club while defending the Hidden library, so they almost killed young Bingo too!
Drdyen reaches behind his cloak and pulls out two Eyeball Droids.
Dryden: Sometimes you need something to tinker with to get you on your way. These were from an adventure where I had to go through lots of different obstacles and defeat a vapor person made of energy. Perhaps these can inspire you on your next quest.
Bingo leaves, happy to have something concrete to work on.
Averiela wants to know what happened to Roddie, the sniper with social anxiety that used to travel with the Fellowship. She asks around and is directed to Sarah Miller, who knows all the gossip in town.
Averiela: I’m curious if you could tell me about the other strangers that have wandered through town.
Sarah: You missed it. They all went north a couple days ago and there was a huge ruckus. If you were trying to join up with whatever they were doing, you missed your chance.
Averiela: What should I be wary of?
Sarah: All these people were coming through recently, obviously mercenaries and adventurers. They had plate armor, weird machines, some were huge. But there was one lady who was more unsettling than all of them. She has the worst vibes. neatly dressed, looked almost human, but has horns that lay back along her head. Her hair is arranged to make them difficult to see. Her name is Lucy and she stayed at the best hotel in town.
Averiela: What are you doing, and what will you do next?
Sarah: I’ve been going through the market, talking to people, looking for interesting things. Next I have to do another shift in the mill. It’s always the same, and if there’s excitement in the mill, it’s bad. I love comfortably and have high status in town. I’m grateful. but it’s rather boring.
Averiela: Bingo always wants to leave town. What can you tell us about any strangers that left recently?
Sarah; All those strangers went north, but they didn’t come back, so I guess they continued on.
Dryden: What can you tell us about evil in town?
Sarah: Daddy always says that he can’t decide who’s worse: Evelynn or le Grind. If you’re looking for evil people, you could look in the fort where they lock people up.
Markus is thoroughly bored with all this talk. He slips away without telling anyone and goes to the docks. There’s always something happening at the docks. Markus is such a romantic. Wool clothing makes him think of his fiance Claudia, because her family’s estate produces a lot of wool. He sees sailors wearing wool sweaters in various pastel colors, including a shade of dye that’s a specialty of the Forgotten Lands. Markus wants to barter for the sweater, but he’s so excited that the sailor thinks he’s being mugged. The sailors push Markus back into the crowd where he feels a hand on his shoulder.
Voice: You seem like someone learning for his heart’s desire. I can make that happen.
It’s Lucy, the woman that gave Sarah Miller the creeps.
Markus: I want that sweater, but is that my heart’s desire? I never thought about it. I want a lot of things. I think I just need to try again. I wasn’t communicating clearly…
Lucy turns and leaves. This fool isn’t worth her time. Markus wonders if holding money or some trade good will make his intentions clear. He takes off one of his rings (not the official signet ring of the Forgotten Lands) and offers that to the sailor. The sailor refuses.
Edna is very excited about commerce, so she wants to sell her pre-Calamity Elven helmet. It’s too precious to hawk in the market like furniture or a crate of vegetables. She needs to find a curator or a collector. Lady Evelynn collects irreplaclable items, so she heads north out of town, over the footbridge, to the gate of Lady Evelynn’s estate.
GM note: Most characters in the game have come to blows with lady Evelynn and would be attacked on sight, but Edna made a deal with her and fulfilled it, so there’s no enmity.
Edna explains how she acquired this helmet through a magical quest. It’s from a civilization far away, that was destroyed long ago, so no one else has a helmet like this. Lady Evelynn makes a low offer, but Edna talks her into a higher price: 5 Precious items. Lady Evelynn calculates that attempting to seize the helmet from Edna isn’t worth it
Dryden writes a note to Bingo and has Averiela wrap it around one of her arrows and launch it into the shutters of Bingo’s bedroom window. The note says, “Many adventures start with a valiant companion and the Fairmeadow Fair.”
Dryden finds an old Dwarven lottery ticket in his gear and wonders how he can claim the reward. The highway going east from Sugar’s Crossing leads to Fairmeadow, then to Templeton, a Dwarven town. The Luna Penumbra flies east, passing over Samantha’s Swamp. Markus has heard a lot about Samantha, so he calls out from the deck.
Markus: Samantha! Ferdinand! I want to meet you!
There’s no answer. Crows watch the borders of Samantha’s swamp, but they don’t fly off to report intruders. They look rather confused. Markus takes a rope from the rigging and swings down from the ship to the ground. Will, Markus’s bodyguard, also comes along. Dryden flaps and squawks to communicate with the crows. Both Ferdinand and Samantha have left on separate journeys, so the crows have no one to report to. Ferdinand went south and Samantha went north. Dryden flaps to signal that the Luna Penumbra is a courteous place for crows. He waits to see if they fly up to him, or if they singal him to perch with them. Crows won’t share a perch with anyone who is not polite. The crows come to him.
A crow flies in from the north, signalling distress with a small flap, then a dive.
Crow: I flew north, following Samantha. There was a great battle at a volcano, and she was killed!
Dryden: Wing south and bear these tidings to Ferdinand.
A murder of crows gather for the crew ceremony of death. It’s a sad day in the swamp. There will be no wine at the next Fairmeadow Fair.
As the Luna Penumbra continues on its way, it’s attacked by Harpies! They dive out of the clouds and strike Edna and Averiela. Edna moves to shield Averiela, but she’s too slow. Edna tries to grab the Harpies, but only gets a handful of feathers. Markus draws his Elf-Made bow and looses arrows at the Harpies that all go wide. The Harpies dive on Edna and Markus. Their claws can’t penetrate Edna’s skin, but they do harry and distract her.
Edna: Ssikila, get us out of here!
Ssikila pilots the Luna Penumbra by winding her snake body around the spokes of the ship’s wheel. She can turn the whell in either direction by sending waves up or down her body. Her special piloting technique allows her to outmaneuver the Harpies and leave them behind.
Next the Luna Penumbra encounters a flying peddler cart. The peddler is another Collector, like Dryden. They have history. The peddler’s ship pulls alongside and what look like gunports open, but instead of cannons, display cases emerge. It’s a broadside of savings! When Dryden was in his early 20s, out on his own, he met this collector who was trying to amass the perfect collection by ruthless bargaining and swindling. He had collected a large colony of fire ants, and Dryden demanded that they not be sold, because creatures are not for sale. That was the first time they butted heads. Dryden has many names that he calls him, but the only one he will share is the collector’s frand name: Unrivalled.
Edna and Markus look at Unrivalled’s collection. Markus sees another sweater like the sailor at Sugar’s Crossing wore, the wool that reminds him of his beloved Claudia. He touches it and it’s not wool but another material.
Unrivalled: Ah yes, it’s actually not wool at all! It’s is a special material only made in a remote village. It’s waterproof and warm. Very expensive because it’s so hard to reach that strange village under the waterfall.
Markus loses interest because he has no emotional attachment to this rare material.
Dryden: Unrivalled, good to see you again. Perhaps.
Unrivalled: Where are your treasures? Did you set the rest of your collection free?
Dryden looks through Unrivalled’s wares for items from lands the Fellowship has not visited. There’s an item from a land of bitter cold, where people only survive by co-operating. It’s a little globe and when two people wrap their hands around it, it gets warm. Unrivalled doesn’t care for it, because he doesn’t want to share with anyone. Dryden looks through his collection for something to trade.
Edna: I could give him money.
Viktor gets out her jewelry box and selects a necklace. A certain land mints coins with holes in the middle, and this necklace is made of many of those coins on a string. Edna trades the coin necklace for the cooperative hand-warmer.
The Luna Penumbra flies on and soon Templeton is visible on the horizon. It’s built in a cinder cone volcano, which was built in a matter of weeks by a one-time eruption. It’s the only mountain in wide plains. A few Dwarven Gunners approach Templeton along the road. They aren’t marching in formation. They seem to be in bad shape. Some people in the city are waiting at the edge of town to welcome them back.
Edna: Oh, that’s not a picket line. That’s a welcoming commitee. I guess the strike is over.
Next time, the Luna Penumbra will enter Templeton.