Pirate Conspiracy - The First Book

inally, after a long break, the Pirate Conspiracy events were resumed. During a guild meeting at the Lion's Den in New Haven a few weeks ago, the treasurer of the Gentle Rest Inn guild named Hefeustus had been lured under false pretenses to a room next door. There he had been knocked out and kidnapped by an infiltrator and by Hawkeye Pike, Captain of the United Pirates. Rumor has it that the pirates are trying to pressure the hiding-place of the huge guild treasure out of him. Hawkeye Pike had written down the secret wherabouts of the hostage on a piece of paper. For safety reasons, this document had been split up and distributed on a series of eight books hidden all over Britannia. To find out the location of the captured treasurer, you'd have to possess all books.

Everyone, be it pirates or landlubbers, were invited to participate and join the scavenger hunt in search for the first hidden book.

The eight participants were sent to the Empath Abbey in Yew, to speak to an old pirate who'd give them the next hint. However, the old pirate said:
"I moight be able ta help yoh! But first, yoh have ta help meh! I want to dissociate from piracy. Want to become ah monk. Free wine, yoh know? Anyways, yoh bring me a monks's robe, and I will help yoh. I'm shure tha robe can be acquired somewhare in Yew..."

The robes could actually be bought from monks in the nearby Winery. After returning the robe, the pirate handed over a map and a hint to find the next message.

Some of the adventurers had problems finding the spot pinned down on the map. After all, it was a local map and not much of the surrounding environment could be seen. One had to be very skilled with the geography of Britannia to succeed. But finally the tower was found and the crate discovered. It contained a message called "The Start". It said:
"Riddles and hints must be thoroughly read, to reveal the path that lies hidden ahead. A sharp-witted mind is needed to find, and thoughts will yield the books concealed. From Umbra, follow the road west until you reach the Brigand Camp. Directly west of the camp, across the road, lies a big house built of stone. Somewhere in this house you will find a wooden crate containing the next clue."

These were clear directions, and easy to find. The large stone building was searched and the crate was quickly found. But the riddle inside was a bit tough. In the crate were also 9 runes leading to unknown locations. Each rune lead to a building or shop in a town, and the first initial of the shop name was equivalent to a number. The second page of the book revealed the code:
"Use them with a sextant wisely. Coordinates they are, precisely! xx°xx' S, xx°xx' E, A=0, Z=25"

This is where the less persistent and skilled adventurers capitulated. Although sextants were provided, some really did not know how to handle them. Obviously not many had traveled by boat before. Some of those who were eager to find the place, got lost in the jungle south of Trinsic. The pirate Steven was the first to find the Supply Cottage in the jungle, not far from the Shrine of Honor. Inside a crate a map and a note could be found. The note said: "The Guards of Trinsic, Guild of old, Their Purplish Colors, a Sight to behold, Have bravely fought for Honor, Fame, And won a Book, the First to name. They hid it safely, hid it well, In southern Fens of Dead, they tell. A place named like a Stormy Port, a Beach out front the Tavern Doors. Down where the Wares and Goods are stored, 'tis where you shurely won't be bored."

The Fens of Dead was a well-known swamp north of Trinsic, and it was home to the Purple Guardians of Honor. The Galehaven Tavern was located directly by the sea. However, the message that could be found in one of the crates in the cellar seemed not very helpful to the hasty one:
"The wise man is he, who is looking ahead. The fool will give up, close the book and forget."
When scrolling to the last page of the book, the real hint was revealed.

As the library was a large keep, finding the next crate was a little tedious. The crate was hidden in the farest corner of the keep, close to the wall, hardly visible. It also had been camouflaged with grey color. A strange, ong forgotten message in ancient writing was stored there:
"If thou followst the gate at a Crescent Waxing Moon, to the City of Compassion it would leed thee. But, if not to the city thou travelst, but on Sylvan Ground southbound thou crawlest, an Ol' Shack thou wouldst find. 'Tis where what thou seekest hath been hidden."

Steven knew that the City of Compassion was Britain. And, the moongate at the Crescent Waxing Moon was the Britain Moongate. Heading south from the moongate, an old shack was hidden in the forest. A small pouch contained a hint that lead back to the Jolly Roger Inn. The message also pointed out that it might be necessary to bribe a person named Steven. The fact that this person had the same name as the adventurer, caused a little confusion...

Steven was a pirate who had been hanging out in the Jolly Roger Inn for a long time. By handing him over some gold, he finally would reveal a secret, the final hint in the quest for the first book! It lead to the building next door, the Black Market.

Inside the crate the sought-after book, the first secret message of Hawkeye Pike, was hidden. Steven recovered it, and Va'lis Razele was on his heels, but a little too late.

Back in the Jolly Roger Inn, Steven was congratulated and received 500,000 gold coins prize money and a very good katana as a reward.
It had become clear that some adjustments had to be made to the future events, to make them clearer and easier to solve. Also, the adventurers had to be prepared better next time. Alltogether, it had been a lot of fun to all the participants.

08/2008

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