Session 04 — The Nightmare of Warehouse 10
Session Overview
The party secures the refugees in Mansour apartments nearby, but the activity immediately draws attention. Dragon Men do not arrive in force. They arrive efficiently. Spherical Drones, Nullification fields, darkness, and coordinated movement make it clear that this is not a random predatory group. This is a system built to counter people exactly like the party.
The session unfolds as a series of hard choices under pressure. A stand is attempted. It fails. Not catastrophically, but decisively. Retreat becomes the correct call, not the cowardly one. Artifacts are recovered under fire, refugees are extracted,—but the illusion of dominance is shattered.
What follows is consolidation rather than celebration. Refugees are relocated and stabilized. Resources are spent. Favors are called in. And for the first time, magic expands beyond personal powers into something slower, riskier, and far more dangerous: ritual.
The session ends not with victory, but with infrastructure, new knowledge, and the uneasy awareness that every escalation now leaves a paper trail someone else will follow.
The Story So Far
Session 01 revealed the leash. Session 02 revealed the hunting ground.
Session 03 revealed collateral damage. Session 04 reveals the ceiling.
Power exists. Counters exist.
And the world has been preparing longer than the party has been awake.
Major Events & Key Moments
1. Opening Scene — The Hunters Move
Shortly after the refugees are relocated to a low income apartment building, the Dragon Men make their first direct move. Engagement occurs under unfavorable conditions: first spherical drones, then darkness, interference, and suppression fields designed to disrupt powers and coordination.
The message is clear:
· This is not intimidation
· This is capability testing
· And the hunters are comfortable fighting in public chaos
2. Major Conflict / Quest Advancement — Retreat Is Chosen
The party attempts to hold ground. It does not work.
Nullification effects blunt powers. Visibility creates targeting solutions. The fight becomes asymmetric quickly. Rather than escalate blindly, the party executes a controlled withdrawal.
This is a defining moment:
· No casualties on their side, a fallen mind controlled soldier shot during their battle
· No panic
· No last stands for the sake of pride
They disengage because they can, not because they’re forced to.
3. Player-Driven Chaos — Taking What Matters
During the retreat, David Hassan and Yusuf successfully recover critical artifacts, denying the Dragon Men access to several high-value targets. This is not a rout. It is a surgical extraction under pressure.
The refugees are moved. The illusion is abandoned. What remains behind is deliberately emptied rather than defended.
The city notices. So does someone else.
4. Stabilization — Building a Community
The refugees are relocated to safer housing and provided food, medical care, and basic stability. The focus shifts from emergency response to sustainability.
This is the first time the party builds something that:
· Does not rely on constant presence
· Does not require active power use
· Can survive scrutiny for more than a night
Stewardship becomes infrastructure. A little girl has a home...
5. Revelation — Magic Expands Sideways
Artifact analysis reveals a new axis of power: ritual magic.
The discovery of the Tower of Babel Tome and pages of ritual primers reframes what magic can do in this world. Powers are fast. Rituals are slow, dangerous, and transformative.
Rana is formally placed on the Ritualist path with the acquisition of the ritual scroll fragment, gaining access to magic that requires:
· Time
· Preparation
· Risk
This is not escalation. It’s complication. There are other pages out there.
6. Political Fallout — A Favor Cashed
David’s earlier British favor is converted into tangible assistance. The help is real. It is also final. The ledger is now balanced. The company makes clear that all favors have been paid, and now David works for them.
Support arrives with expectations, oversight, and limits. The party is reminded that geopolitical goodwill is not renewable.
7. Ending Beat — A New Thread Emerges
With the immediate crisis stabilized, intelligence surfaces regarding:
· Missing Chinese operatives
· Unusual activity tied to the Fontainebleau Hotel
Character Spotlights
Rana Al-Masri
Rana steps fully into long-form responsibility. Her transition toward ritual magic reflects a willingness to accept slower, heavier solutions that carry moral and metaphysical weight. She also has her first insight into her powers, increasing her skills with her new abilities beyond discovery.
Tariq Mansour
Tariq learns the limits of authority enforced by presence alone. Leadership now requires systems, redundancy, and foresight. The Pharaoh cannot simply stand where danger is and expect it to stop.
Yusuf Khalid
Yusuf proves the value of disciplined retreat. Strength is applied where it matters and withdrawn where it doesn’t. His role as shield expands from physical defense to tactical judgment. Yusuf’s black op reddit post has opened a door into international intrigue that he may find impossible to close shut.
David Hassan
David’s influence finally manifests in concrete aid to his homeland and his companions—and then closes. His illness and previous absence continue to suggest that political leverage carries unseen costs.
GM Notes & World Narrative
· Dragon Men operate as a professional counter-power unit
· Retreat preserves narrative agency
· Ritual magic introduces long-term consequences
Loot, Clues, & Reveals
Items Acquired
· Tower of Babel Tome
· Ritual primer scroll pages (currently two pages) from Warehouse 10 operations
Clues Found
· Organized nullification tactics
· Non-Dragon Men activity patterns
· Signs of a separate intelligence operation at Fontainebleau
Reveals or Twists
· Power invites tailored opposition
· Infrastructure outlasts heroics
· Ritual magic changes the pace of the campaign
Active Plot Threads
· Who commands the Dragon Men?
· How widespread is power nullification technology or magic?
· What are the limits and costs of ritual casting?
· Who are the missing Chinese operatives?
· What is happening at the Fontainebleau Hotel?
Next Session Preview
You survived being hunted.
You learned where the ceiling is.
And now you’ve seen something that doesn’t fit the pattern.
The Fontainebleau isn’t a battlefield, its worse…
THE FONTAINEBLEAU ALEXANDRIA
- Total
Rooms: ~1,150 luxury rooms &
suites
- Floors:
45 above ground, 4 sublevels
- Maximum
Guests: ~2,600
- Primary
Structures:
- Main Tower (Luxury Suites & Diplomatic Floors)
- Conference & Ballroom Wing
- Casino / Entertainment Complex (never officially acknowledged)
- Subterranean Vault & Services Levels
- Architecture:
Glass, steel, white stone, sweeping curves; monumental vertical atrium
- Design
Philosophy: Visibility as power —
everything was meant to be seen
Status: Closed to the public since April 12, 2057
Ownership: Consortium of French industrial families
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| The Fontainebleau Pre and Post Storm |
