"The Malletta Caper" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)

For the players

You are a charismatic gang of rogues, notorious all around the Coradian sea for your daring exploits – or so you like to tell yourselves. You’ve been hired by a representative of a certain Parcelus Pike, a merchant and collector of strange antiquities, usually based in the great city of Ferromaine.

Pike, however, has arranged to meet you at the small island of Malletta, long the regional base of the order of the Knights Protector. Malletta has been a vital defensive outpost against the incursions of corsairs and the occasional Ta’ashim expeditionary force. It is heavily fortified, boasts a grand cathedral and what is thought to be the world’s largest hospital – but the dusty city of Malletta has also seen more prosperous days. It is an unusual place to be deploying your distinctive gifts, but Pike has a reputation for paying well.

The Knights Protector

To give them their full name, the Order of Knights of the Sanctuary of St Zachariah. They began as a monastic order devoted to the shelter of the sick, poor and injured, then acquiring a more active role escorting and defending pilgrims to holy sites. They administer the island of Malletta as a vassal state of Algandy. The official language of the island is Bacchile, though around the docks you’ll more commonly hear lingua Coradia. The flag of the order is a white triangle on a red field, said to represent the opening of a tent, and the knights’ tabards follow the same design.

Meeting Parcelus Pike

Pike has paid for the characters to travel by ship from Ferromaine (or elsewhere) to meet him in Malletta. Upon arrival at the docks, the sights, sounds and smells of the city fill the senses: the screeching of the gulls, the shouts of market hawkers, the bustle of porters and dock workers carrying produce, the smell of spiced meats, fresh fish, and the ripe sewers of the town.

One sight stands out in contrast against the dynamic backdrop of the docks: a small figure sits motionless on a stanchion, gazing out at the ship carrying the characters. As the gangplank is lowered and they disembark, the figure – dressed in bright silks and a beret – stiffly stands and walks towards them. Although he appears to be a human male, there is something uncanny about his overly smooth and mannered movements; he wears thick makeup and will not give a name, introducing himself only as the servant of Parcelus Pike.

Should the characters follow the figure as invited – or, perhaps, refuse and then shadow him through the city streets – they will be shown to a handsome townhouse on a side street less than a half a mile from the docks.

Malletta is small, dense city built on steep, rocky slopes with a defiantly gridded street-plan. Buildings are typically terraced and three or four stories tall, gardens are scarce, and all but the largest thoroughfares are narrow alleys, the better to shelter from the fierce Coradian sun.

Pike’s house boasts ornate carved oak doors, and inside, along a corridor, it opens into an atrium with a fountain (a rare and expensive luxury in water-starved Malletta) and comfortable wicker chairs. Pike is bald, middle aged, and speaks with a stammer that might at first mask the fact that he is a confident man and the peak of his wealth and power. He introduces himself as a collector of antiquities; the characters may conclude that he is some kind of sorcerer. Who is to gainsay them?

Pike offers generous payment for what he acknowledges is risky work: he has in mind three treasures he wishes the gang to “acquire” over the next couple of days. For each one he will offer a silver ingot up front, and two more ingots when the job is complete. Within reason, he is open to negotiation.

The first job: The Feast of the Two Saints

The 24th of Yule-monath is the date of a great feast for the Knights Protector – the feast of the two saints (St Zacharias, the patron saint of the order, and St Stephanos). This is the only moment in the year when St Zacharias’s Cup, the most ancient and holy golden chalice of the order, is removed from their impenetrable vaults. Pike wants the party to obtain the chalice for him; he has made an approximate replica so that they can recognise the treasure in question, but they may also decide to use the replica as part of their attempt to steal the real thing.

In the early evening, the great cloister will be bustling with activity, as the knights roast several oxen (a rare treat in Malletta, where fish is a more common dish) and distribute their bounty to the city populace – at this stage the order’s chalices are displayed on a high balcony above the feast.

The hospital is a grand three-storey building that dominates the square where it stands. The chalice is visible in a brightly lit arched window on the top floor. (An open window, of course – no glass.) The building has a flat roof so it is possible the characters will try to reach it from there. The snag is that the chalice is clearly visible to the couple of hundred revellers in the courtyard below. Also (though this is not obvious from either ground level or the roof) there are two guards at the back of the chamber where the chalice is on display.

or, if you prefer the artistry of Bing:

Later in the evening – about 8pm – the grand banquet inside the hospital begins, for the knights and their most esteemed guests. The most ancient and holy chalice, St Zacharias’s Cup, is brought down to stand on high table in front of Grandmaster Aloysuis, Bishop Benedict and Inquisitor Paln. It will later be passed around high table (24 people) for each to take a sip in honour of St Zacharias, St Stephanos, and the recently-deceased Grandmaster Emeritus, Lucius, who was buried just a couple of days earlier. Since Pike is an influential man, it is possible that one member of the gang can secure an invitation as a guest of honour.

Complication: Three Marijah assassins have slipped into Malletta and plan to assassinate the grandmaster. They may interrupt the feasting, or alternatively may cross paths with members of the gang.

The second job: King’s Mass

Several masses will be held overnight at the cathedral of St Zacharias: the midnight mass or Angel’s mass, the dawn mass or Shepherd’s mass, and the mid-morning mass or Kings’ Mass.

At the King’s Mass, finest Kaikuhuran incense will be burned – it is blessed in a private ceremony in the cathedral vestry, shortly before the mass (sometime between 10am and 10.50am for the 11am mass). The incense may be unguarded at that moment but in any case must be taken after being blessed and before being burned, so there is a limited window for action.

Complication: After the heist last night there will be extra guards. Inquisitor Paln will be at the service and he is a formidable opponent with a number of potent prayers at his disposal.

The third job: The Fragrant Dead

Pike wishes the gang to visit the Necropolis, the vast network of tunnels under the city where the dead of Malletta have for centuries been buried. In one of the most honoured tombs, former grandmaster Lucius was buried three days ago. His body was wrapped in myrrh-infused cotton. Pike wants the cotton wrappings to be removed and brought to him. Broadly, there are two ways into the central Necropolis where the grandmaster is buried: the more direct route is through the cathedral undercrypt, but that may be guarded, especially if the gang have acquired a lot of heat over the previous 24 hours. An alternative is to go by way of tunnels that extend to sea cliffs just outside the city, but that involves more clambering around and there is a risk of getting lost.

The Necropolis is widely thought to be haunted. Pike gives the group a bronze flute and teaches them the three notes which, he assures them, will summon a djinn who will bear them to safety with their prize.

The Necropolis is indeed home to a creeping horror; the party will find that every shadow looms black, that hundreds of eyes reflect every sweep of their lantern or flicker of their torches. If they linger too long their will give into despair or madness – or if the black wisps of the shadow touch them, they will experience days of dehydration or weeks of starvation in a few moments. Severe mental harm (insanity, despondency) or physical harm (heart failure due to starvation) is likely if they cannot find a way out.

Complication: The djinn is, in fact, the strange stiff little servant who first met them at the docks. If the tune on the flute is played, the djinn will step from the shadows and offer to transport them all to safety. In truth, he lacks the power to transport the entire group – instead he will follow the instructions supplied by Parcelus Pike, finding an excuse to hold the myrrh-infused cloth and blinking back to Pike with the spoils. The group may expect this and prevent him by holding firmly onto him – in which case the djinn may be a reluctant but potent ally against the creeping darkness. Even the djinn, however, fears the shadow and may well be overwhelmed. In any case, the party must make their own way out.

Aftermath

If the group make their way back to Pike’s townhouse after the third heist, they will find it derelict – dusty, overgrown and apparently unoccupied for many years. Inside there is a silver balance. On one dish sits their agreed final payment; the other is empty, waiting to receive the myrrh-soaked shroud. If they try to take payment without placing the cloth on the empty dish, their hands will pass through the payment – it is insubstantial and illusory. However, if they fulfil their part of the bargain, the arms of the balance will level off and they can collect their treasure – at which point the balance and the myrrh will fade and disappear.

If the gang has been successful, they will have stolen holy treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh from the noble order of the Knights Protector. They may wonder what, in fact, Parcelus Pike plans to do with these treasures – and they may be contemplating revenge against him, if they can reach his home city of Ferromaine. They will not be the only ones contemplating revenge, and would do well to avoid the attention of Sir Marco and Inquisitor Paln in future.

Notable characters

• Parcelus Pike, collector of antiquities
• Sir Marco, grizzled veteran and captain of the guards at St Zacharias’s Hospital
• Grandmaster Aloysius of the Protectors – in late middle age, somewhat soft
• Bishop Benedict – from the Cathedral of St Zacharias, a guest of honour at the feast
• Inquisitor Paln – head of Malletta’s inquisition, thin, bony and ruthless. He is a pilgrim who can speak prayers of doleful vengeance; not to be crossed

Pike will avoid direct action, but Marco, Aloysuis, Benedict and Paln will be at both the feast and the King’s Mass the next morning. There is ample opportunity for the characters to get away with one heist but then be recognised later.

* * *

Regular readers will have guessed that the scenario is by Tim Harford, our traditional guest-referee at this time of year. Last December, pressure of work prevented Tim from running his usual pre-Christmas game, so we played this one in January instead. The balmy Mediterranean-style setting, in contrast to Tim's usual backdrop of a freezing Elleslandic winter, helped us to ease back into the seasonal spirit long after the turkey bones had been picked clean.

The game system was Tim's own Forged in Annwn, a variant on Blades in the Dark set in the Dragon Warriors world of Legend. That helped push the action in a heist-narrative direction, but any set of rules would have done as well. Dragon Warriors knaves and assassins will shine, though our party also included a hunter, a barbarian from the hinterlands of Opalar, and a man who claimed to be a knight.

If you want a soundtrack, how about Mare Nostrum (Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI) or Musique de la Grece Antique (Gregorio Paniagua) for the scene-setting in the early parts? Or I'd be inclined, seeing as it's Christmas and hence a time for low art, to go with Buddha-Bar. In our game, Tim used Atrium Carceri for the third part in the catacombs, and very creepy it was too.

Tim mentions that Malletta is modelled on Valletta, the capital of Malta. The Knights Protector are of course Legend’s version of the Hospitallers. The island is located in the southern Deorsk Ocean on the main sea routes from the Coradian lands to Outremer. For flavour it's worth looking at Rupert Thomson's novel Secrecy, though that might provide more ideas for Ferromaine than for Malletta.

If you're unfamiliar with Legend, I know of no better summary of what it's all about than this post by Joseph Manola on the Against the Wicked City blog.

Also, Tim's books make excellent Christmas presents for intelligent and enquiring readers. Find them on Amazon US, Amazon UK, or wherever you normally shop.