Session #6 – Daring Tale #4 – Treasure Of The Templars
[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 6th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play. The narrator is shown in italics.]
In this hair-raising adventure of Tesla’s Power Corp you can follow the exploits of the following heroes:
- Mike Callahan – Tough private-eye with a zest for life.
- Johnny Kelly – Self-taught mechanic and chemist who knows he is the best at what he does…just ask him!
- Miles Ravenwood – Mysterious man-of-means with knowledge in all things arcane.
Auction Action
After dropping off the “modern” Knight Templar without his dirk the Corp returns to the hotel to speak with Professor Dickenson. To their surprise the Professor is nowhere to be found. After Mike asks around a bit he finds out that the doorman got a message from the Professor. The Professor’s message asks the Corp to look for something related to their trip to Paris in his house. The doorman also describes a man dressed in black with a limp and large black hat that left with the Professor.
At Professor Dickenson’s house Miles finds a picture from a trip they once took to Paris. Behind the picture is a note that tells Miles that he is being followed and fears for his safety. He then tells Miles to bid on lot 1307 in a local auction as it will have a clue to his investigation of the famed Templar treasure.
With that the group races to the auction house. At the auction house they find that lot 1307 is going up for auction. The lot is a small statuette of a knight mounted on a horse. When the auction begins the first bid is from a man dressed in black with a strong German accent. As Miles starts to bid against him Johnny and Mike move to the back of the room to watch him. He is seated with a large thug. As the bidding heats up Mike bumps into the man sending his paddle flying! As the man tries to retrieve it Johnny kicks it under some chairs. The two Germans stand up and start to move towards the front of the room to grab the statuette. Coming in from two of the doors are a group of thugs armed with submachine guns! With that the group jumps into action. Miles moves to the front of the room near the statuette then confuses the Germans. Mike lays into the large bodyguard with a right cross. Johnny moves toward the doorway gluing up the guards by one of the exits. As the guards fight to recover Miles grabs the statuette and races towards the exit. Mike does a flying tackle clearing the doorway for Johnny and Miles to escape. After grabbing the German with the black hat the trio jumps into their car and speeds off.
After interrogating the German they find that he is called Herr Templemann. At first he mocks the Corp members as he tries to gain information about them. The group stays quiet and eventually gets him to talk by threatening him with some mustard gas. Herr Templemann says that they are to late. He explains that at this very moment Professor Dickenson is being whisked off the Motherland. With that the Corp members race towards a small airport where the plane is supposed to be departing. Mike barges into the tower explaining that he is a G-Man and that he needs them to tell the airplane that they are leaking fuel and that they need to return. The man places the call. When the plane returns the Corp waits in a nearby hanger as Johnny meets with the pilot posing as an airplane mechanic. At that point Mike storms forward closing distance to the door of the airplane. Raising his arms and announcing his presence to the men on the plane acts as a distraction. This momentary distraction gives Miles the chance to confuse the men with his spell! Johnny decks the pilot while Mike yanks another out of the plane. As someone inside pulls a pistol Mike draws his Colts 1991’s and cuts loose in a hail of deadly .45’s. In seconds the Corp has Professor Dickenson in hand and speeds away to safety.
Inside the statuette the group finds a small marble that when held up to the light shows a simple picture of an Egyptian temple and a strange tower with three minarets on a hill. After some research the group finds that the Egyptian temple is not in any records but the tower is in the Sahara Desert southwest of Cairo. With that the group heads to Egypt.
Terror In The Sands
As the Corp closes on the tower a tremendous sandstorm kicks up. Liam’s plane Smaug bucks and the engines shut down the group makes a crash landing. After gathering what supplies were not damaged in the crash the group heads toward their destination. The group estimates that it will take 2 days to walk to the site. Miles uses a spell to make travel more comfortable as well as provide food and drink. After a day the group finds an oasis. While taking a short break they find themselves surrounded by armed Bedouins mounted on camels. The Bedouins address the group in Arabic then escorts them back to their camp.
The Bedouin camp is a small affair with only 5 or 6 tents and several camels. The trio is led to a large tent where they are greeted by a large Bedouin chief and his daughter Fatima. To their surprise the chief speaks perfect English with an English accent! He lets them know that he went to school in London and has only recently returned to the desert with the passing of his wife. When the group mentions the tower he offers to have some of his men lead them to the area but that they will not stay. He informs them that the locals have many legends about the area. Legends speak of legions of men getting swallowed by the sand.
Upon reaching the tower the Bedouins setup a few tents then leave the Corp to conduct the exploration. As they examine the marble they find the area where the temple should exist. To their surprise when the sun drops the ground begins to shake! Rising from the sand is a majestic temple. After searching the temple the group finds a doorway that opens with a hidden latch. Inside is a long dark staircase leading down.
At the bottom of the staircase is a massive chamber. The roof is lined with gold leaf and the walls are filled with hieroglyphics. At the far side of the room is a statue of the Egyptian god Thoth. A gold box rests at the feet of the status. Running across the room is a shallow stream. At the entrance to the room is a hieroglyphic message that says, “Let the Returned Eye be your passage to safety.”
While Miles and Mike start slowly walking towards the Thoth statue Johnny applies glue to his hands and feet and climbs along the ceiling. When Miles crosses the stream a huge mechanical snake erupts out of the water! It moves rapidly towards Miles who throws spells at the snake to little effect. Mikes fires at the snake knocking off some small plates but not severely hurting it. Johnny jumps on its head and tries to pry out his eye with a crowbar. After getting a close look he realizes that the missing eye is the exact same color and size as the marble that they found in the statuette. Acting quickly Miles and hands Johnny the marble. Johnny then slams the marble into the eye while the snake ferociously tries to buck him off. After replacing the eye the snake passively retreats into the water.
With that the group moves to examine the small gold box. After interpreting some of the symbols Miles carefully picks up the box. When the Corp trio turns to leave the temple they hear clapping then a strong Nazi voice, “You have saved me quite a lot of trouble. Now if you will please hand over the box.” It is Nazi Agent X back from the dead again! As his men come down the stair Johnny cuts loose on them with his flame pellet. Agent X and the Nazi soldiers vainly attempt to escape the inferno as they fall in a charred pile! With that the group leaves the temple and returns to their camp.
The next morning the temple descends again into the sand erasing all evidence of its existence. The Corp opens the box to find an ancient papyrus sheet that is surprisingly filled with Latin text. The text is from a Templar who has taken the treasure to a castle in France. The group heads to Cairo for airplane parts then flies off in Smaug towards France…
Where will the search for ancient Templar treasure send out heroic Corp?!? Watch the next session and the exciting continuation of this amazing tale!