The Rebellion Arc - Subscenario 01: Xein and John

In which two friends are offered and out, ignore it, and proceed deeper in. 

28th of Tenthmonth 9995 DK

Xein and Nakmander came to an agreement, Xein would do murder on the behalf of Nakmander, and in exchange, Nakmander would be more lenient in his control of Xein. Xein and John met Nakmander at The Jigging Jackass at the appointed time and discussed the agreement and the task at hand. Xein also inquired about some research Nakmander was doing in regards to a ledger of figures on his desk. Nakmander explained that he was studying the potential for sorcerous energy within the city, which the walls of the city supposedly absorbed and stored and he hoped he could someday harness to unleash upon the foes of the city.

Nakmander tasked Xein and John with finding a certain alchemy shop in the city and eliminating any Soulless or Fallen on the premises so he could freely access their laboratory where they were conducting experiments on fragments of the black walls of the city. John and Xein snuck into the shop and explored it, encountering and killing two Soulless, then advancing into the depths of the alchemy shop. In the basement of the shop they found a sorcerous laboratory and a Fallen. The Fallen was an unarmed, hand to hand combat expert and gave John and Xein a very difficult battle, but in the end they succeeded and destroyed the Fallen.  

After the death of the Fallen, Xein and John found what appeared to be some sort of devotional altar in the basement. On the altar they found burning incense and a stylized representation of The Bleak Tyrant, along with a collection of beads on a long bracelet. Curious, Xein investigated the bracelet and found that he could use his sorcerous knowledge to activate it, but only through sheer luck. When Xein activated the object, he suddenly found his mind in danger of being crushed by the attention of an ancient and unknowable intelligence that terrified him. Luckily, he dropped the object before the entity could turn its full attention to him and incinerate his mind.

John and Xein agreed that if they left the shop untended, someone might wander in and disturb the contents. Xein's knowledge of explosives told him that the alchemy shop was constructed quite sturdily and if they detonated some explosives on the first floor, the basement full of sorcerous experiments would be left more or less intact. Apparently, Xein and John detonated the shop, but had no memory of it. The explosive detonation of the sorcerous and alchemical contents of the shop put a blank spot in their memories, and they only came to as the blast was flinging them across the street. Once they recovered and guessed what had happened, they reported to Nakmander and then returned to the mansion. 

Edit After The Fact: This subscenario was also kind of about exploring Pathfinder and friendships between characters. During it, they also discovered that some Fallen apparently worship The Bleak Tyrant as some manner of deity. A discovery that isn't every really pursued or addressed in any way. I guess I should also explain that our friend John always plays human characters, or at least as close as he can come to human, and names them John. I'm not sure why. Jeremy once came up with a fun concept explaining that John the player wasn't playing John the character. He was actually playing John the character's steam rifle. In the continuity of the campaign, this subscenario takes place between the eighth and ninth scenarios and builds off of stuff Kethranmeer and D'alton discovered in their subscenario.