Abigail’s Galleria Alhambra is located near the hotel. She does a decent amount of business with tourists and visiting executives.
Her gallery is located in an old Cairene house. The artifacts and art installations are kept in the walled gardens surrounding the main house. The house itself is more of a warehouse, with offices and living quarters on the second floor. The main floor served as a storage and shipping area, with packing materials and drones dedicated to shipping and delivering purchases. Abigail checks her inventory about once a week. She rotates in new items and boxes up items that are sold.
Generally speaking, magic artifacts have a lifespan of three months in her shop. If it hasn’t sold by then, she dumps it off to one of the many street vendors in Cairo. The gallery has a Rating 4 security system, with biometric access on the doors and windows.
Hacking into the gallery’s node renders an important bit of paydata. It reveals that Abigail has been in communication with several of Adegoke’s rivals. An adept hacker can also pull up her private correspondence with Yabuku and her attempts to get him to eliminate Olaleye privately. The node has decent security for a private individual (Firewall: 3, Encrypt: 2) but Abigail is not expecting a hacker to access her holdings. The node is barely sculpted, mostly keeping the default settings of someone that doesn’t give much thought to their network. Everything in the node is basic shapes on a grayscale—restricted items are black, open areas are white, and anything administrative or relating to the business is gray.
Abigail is aware that Issac is being setup for a hit. She is not aware of the runner’s role in the puzzle, and they may set themselves up as potential clients to get a look at her or her operation. The gallery is open by appointment only. Getting an introduction requires a Charisma + Etiquette (3) Test. Failure means that they still get an invite, but Abigail has deduced they are connected to the hit and plans accordingly. She quickly convinces the runners she’s on their side. Otherwise, Abigail is aloof but charming, and very knowledgeable about her inventory.
A MATTER OF REPUTATION ... some people feel about classic cars or vinyl records. Sure, bioware
and nanotech might be more efficient, but chrome has style, man.
Cairo is Yabuku’s first trip out of Lagos. He is professional enough to stay by Issac’s side, but he is also excited to be living the high life. He won’t compromise his role as Issac’s bodyguard, but observant runners might be able to use his excitement against him to get Issac alone. Yabuku views this as a working vacation. Yabuku is staying in the room across the hall. It was his idea to get separate rooms. The hotel is secure in its own right, but he is close enough to come running should Issac be in danger.
Yabuku is meant to side against the runners no matter which side they choose. If they eliminate Issac, he sacrifices himself in the name of his lifelong friend. If they attack Abigail, her attempts to buy his loyalty are successful. He loves Issac, but the money she talked about would let him get some of the best cyberware that he could only dream about in Lagos. If Yabuku proves to be a worthy adversary the players enjoy, he might be worth bringing back as someone who is willing to go to his Essence limit to gain his revenge. His death could also have long lasting implications for the runners. Adegoke could insist on holding them responsible for the money he spent on chroming up the enforcer, leading to another job or two to stay in the king’s good graces.
B A R S C I L W Edg Ess Init IP 5 5 (8) 4 (6) 5 (7) 2 5 2 3 4 1.08 10 (12) 1 (3) Condition Monitor Boxes: 11 (13)/10
Armor (B/I): 10/5
Qualities: Guts, High Pain Tolerance, Incompetent (Hacking) Skills: Athletics skill group 4, Automatics (Submachine Guns) 5 (+2), Blades 4, Heavy Weapons 4, Infiltration 4, Negotiation 2, Perception (Visual) 2 (+2), Pilot Ground Craft (Bike) 1 (+2), Pistols 4, Unarmed Combat 5
Knowledge Skills: Firearm Design 3, Safe Houses 4, Security Techniques 3
Languages: Swahili N, Arabic 2
Augmentations: Cyberarm [left obvious customized, w/ Armor 2, Enhanced Agility 3, Enhanced Strength 2, small smuggling compartment], cyberarm [right obvious customized, w/ Armor 2, Enhanced Agility 3, Enhanced Strength 2, spur, shockhand], cybereyes [alphaware, Rating 3, w/ flare compensation, low-light vision, protective covers, smartlink, and thermographic vision], dermal plating 1, wired reflexes [alphaware] (2)
Gear: Armor vest (w/ Rating 2 Nonconductivity Modification), commlink [Device Rating 3], FFBA (shirt), medkit [Rating 5]
Weapons:
2 x Ares Predator [Heavy Pistol, DV 5P, AP –1 or –5, SA, RC —, 15 (c), w/ 10 clips normal ammo, 10 clips APDS ammo, smartlink]
Ingram Smartgun X [Submachine Guns, DV 5P or 6P, AP
— or –1, BF/FA, RC 2 (3), 32 (c), w/ 10 clips normal ammo, 10 clips EX-explosive ammo, detachable folding stack, gas-vent 2, smartlink, sound suppressor]
Katana [Blade, Reach 1, DV 6P (7P), AP –1]
Stoner-Ares M202 [MMG, DV 7P, AP –3, FA, RC 3 (9), 40 (c) or belt]
Survival Knife [Blade, Reach —, DV 4P (5P), AP –]
attention of several corporate headhunters. After spending time further refining her skills and her contacts working for Monobe, Abigail struck out on her own as an independent contractor .She
struggled to build a reputation for herself as an art gallery owner, selling pieces for display in offices and lobbies. She couldn’t get much help from financial backers, so she turned to the black market and found Oni Adegoke. It was a match made in heaven.
Abigail was able to profit more for her sales and Adegoke found a way into the more lucrative world of corporate art sales.
She also has no problems dealing with Adegoke’s rivals, either.
She passed off her duplicity on Issac, but when he was sent to meet her in Cairo, she knew that one of them wouldn’t leave town alive.
Her network of contacts extends into the Apep Consortium, which wields a considerable amount of influence in Egypt. She found out about the current location of one of the artifacts from an old lover on the inside. If the assassins sent to kill Issac come after her instead, she uses that information to her advantage. The exact location and artifact are left up to the gamemaster. Abigal is an excellent way to get players into the Dawn of the Artifacts adventure series (starting with the second adventure, Midnight), or give them another shot at an artifact that they missed the fist time around.
If the runners side with her, she severs ties with Adegoke and flees to Europe. Abigail could become a contact for the runners in Europe covering a high-class clientele with a specialized knowledge of art and artifacts. Dealing with her can be quite profitable. But they should also realize that Abigail looks out for herself above anyone else. Runners looking for someone with a high sense of loyalty should probably look elsewhere for a contact.
She is useful, though, because she is in a better position to track the other artifacts and may come up with more information should that become a focal part of your campaign. There may be a point in the future that Adegoke finds her. If this happens, she’ll use the same tactic she did before—except this time, the runners will take the fall for her indiscretions.
B A R S C I L W Edg Ess Init IP
2 2 3 2 4 4 3 2 2 6 7 1
Condition Monitor Boxes: 9/9 Armor (B/I): 5/2
Qualities: Perceptive (5 BP)
Skills: Computer 4, Data Search 5, Etiquette (High Society) 3 (+2), Hacking 2, Hardware 2, Negotiation 3, Perception 3 (4) Knowledge Skills: Fine Arts 5, Cairo Rumors 4, Yoruba Tribal Organization 3
Gear: Commlink [Device Rating 3], Zoé Executive Suite Line (short jacket, plain blouse, skirt)
Weapons:
Survival Knife [Blade, Reach —, DV 3P, AP –1]
YABUKU (ISSAC’S BoDYgUARD)
Yabuku came up in Oni Adegoke’s organization alongside Issac Olaleye. He is five years older than Issac, but he doesn’t have the head for business his younger friend does. Yabuku feels he owes Issac his life because Issac convinced Adegoke to pay for his first cyberware. It was a cyberarm that replaced the one he lost from an explosion during a drug deal gone bad. Since then, Yabuku has embraced chrome and spends most of his money looking for
. . . ALREADY HERE . . .
>. A.contact.of.mine.came.across.this,.and.I.wanted.to.pass.it.along.
since.I.know.we’re.collecting.as.much.information.about.such.
events.as.possible ..Athena.Tatopoulos.is.the.KSAF.editor-in-chief,.and.Jason.Steele.is.a.former.UCAS.FBI.agent.who.worked.
out.of.Washington.DeeCee.until.his.retirement.early.last.year ..It’s.
a.transcript.of.a.virtual.meeting.between.them,.and.I’ve.verified.
that.it’s.the.real.deal ..I’d.heard.a.few.rumors.about.this.back.then,.
but.nothing.concrete .
>. Pistons
Athena Tatopoulos: Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, Agent Steele, even under such unusual circumstances.
Jason Steele: You’re welcome, Ms. Tatopoulos. I’m not entirely sure what help I can be to your story though. This was a long time ago, and frankly, always struck me as a bit absurd. And it didn’t end particularly well. And it’s just “Mr. Steele” now. I haven’t been an FBI agent in a long time.
AT: Mr. Steele, then. And believe me, I think your story makes an interesting connection to this so-called “Artifact Rush.” Let’s just start at the beginning, shall we? It started with the Year of the Comet, yes?
JS: Actually, no. It goes back a bit further. Back to the death of Dunkelzahn. Hell, it goes back a lot further than that, really.
Maybe it goes as far back as the early 20th century, to some old black & white flatscreen movies. Or maybe back to the 16th century, and a gift to King Charles V of Spain from the Knights Templar. Some of it seems like fiction, even. The lines blur. My final report to my superiors reads like Dashiell Hammett’s original novel. Despite the evidence, despite losing one of my team, despite recovering that cursed thing for them, I rode a desk for the next ten years anyway. I took my pension after that and retired. And now, here we are.
AT: Here we are, indeed. I’ve done my research on the known history of the item, so we don’t need to rehash all of that. Let’s start with fairly recent events—the dragon and his will.
JS: Sure. That’s as good a place as any. When the Big D died in
’57, he left a public will. In the will, he bequeathed the Maltese Falcon—that’s right, the one from the movies—to one Lionel George Astor, a classic film buff down in Florida who was head of a project to restore old films and transfer them to simchips.
Not a big deal, and one of a thousand such seemingly random will bequests. However, in ’61, things get a little interesting. The Smithsonian Institution in DeeCee was putting together a big classic film noir exhibit, and they asked Mr. Astor if they could borrow the falcon for their exhibit.
>. The.Maltese.Falcon?.Really?.Have.we.really.run.out.of.important.
things.to.talk.about,.and.we’re.down.to.discussing.bedtime.stories.
and.boring.old.movies?
>. Slamm-0!
>. If.anyone.would.know.about.bedtime.stories.these.days,.it’d.be.
you,.eh.Slammy?
>. Bull
>. For. those. who. don’t. know—or. who. share. Slamm-0!’s. willful.
ignorance—The Maltese Falcon. was. published. by. Dashiell.
Hammett.in.1930 ..The.film.that.most.folks.are.familiar.with,.
starring.Humphrey.Bogart.and.Mary.Astor,.was.produced.in.1941 ..
What.most.people.don’t.realize.is.that.it.was.actually.the.third.
film.based.on.Hammett’s.book ..In.the.142.years.since,.there.have.
been.17.film.versions,.including.a.remake.of.the.classic.Bogie.film.
that.was.released.on.simchip.in.2069.that.was.a.critical.flop.for.
Horizon.Media .
>. Traveler.Jones
AT: I remember visiting that exhibit when I was in college. It was a fascinating display.
Inc oming . . . .
ALREADY HERE ...
Inc oming . . . .
JS: When the Falcon arrived at the Smithsonian, they discovered two things about it. For one, it was the real thing. Actual gold, actual jewels. Not a movie prop.
AT: Astor never realized this?
JS: No. He was just a movie lover. He simply assumed it was all fake gold and glass gems. He had it insured, of course, but as a valuable piece of movie memorabilia. After all, everyone assumed that Hammett made up the falcon for his book.
>. Most. historians. agree. that. the. golden. statue. was. a. fiction.
invented.by.Hammett ..In.reality,.it.was.a.live.bird.that.was.given.
to.King.Charles.V,.a.breed.of.falcon.that.was.native.to.the.island.
nation.of.Malta ..Whatever.this.statue.was,.it.couldn’t.have.been.
the.real.thing .
>. Snopes
>. Don’t.be.so.sure ..I.had.a.chance.to.study.this.briefly.while.it.
was.at.the.Smithsonian ..The.craftsmanship.was.masterful,.and.
the.style.and.construction.were.similar.to.those.used.during.the.
1500s,.and.the.Smithsonian.followed.up.with.a.number.of.tests.
to.confirm.the.falcon’s.age ..Every.test.agreed.that.the.statue.
was.between.500.and.600.years.old,.leading.credence.to.it.being.
either.the.real.deal,.or.at.least.the.source.of.the.myth.of.the.
Maltese.Falcon,.anyway .
>. Man-of-Many-Names
AT: That must have come as a bit of a shock to Astor.
JS: It did, as did the second thing the Smithsonian found. The falcon was effected by Halley’s Comet passing, and it became astrally active shortly after it was delivered to the Smithsonian Institution.
AT: Became? I thought things either were or weren’t magical.
Did someone enchant the falcon?
JS: Because of the nature of many of the exhibits in the Institute, they have some very active sensors and magical security. One moment the Falcon was mundane, the next it was registering as a magical object. The Smithsonian scientists concluded that when the comet spiked the mana levels in the world, it activated some dormant magical properties, or some such. Honestly, I think they were just as baffled as everyone else and inventing explanations.
AT: A lot of people during that year were scrambling to find any explanation they could, as I recall.
>. Again,.I.studied.the.falcon.and.can.confirm.this ..The.change.
was.sudden,.happening.in.a.matter.of.minutes ..Magical.sensors.
detected.a.faint.magical.aura.around.the.statue,.and.less.than.
two.minutes.later.it.was.giving.off.a.strong.astral.signature ..I.was.
never.able.to.determine.the.exact.nature.of.the.magical.energy.
as.I’ve.never.seen.anything.exactly.like.it.before.or.since,.but.the.
closest.comparison.I.could.find.was.to.a.spirit.binding.focus,.but.
it.didn’t.match.up.with.any.specific.spirit.type.that.I.could.find .
>. Man-of-Many-Names
>. Could.it.be.a.binding.focus.for.some.of.the.more.unusual.or.rare.
spirits?.Toxic.or.blood.or,.Ghost.help.us,.insect?
>. Ecotope
>. Doubtful ..It.didn’t.resonate.on.the.same.astral.frequency.as.
any.of.those ..One.theory.I.had.was.that.it.might.be.universal,.
able.to.augment.the.binding.of.any.spirit ..I.could.never.confirm.
this.though,.nor.could.I.see.any.way.to.attune.it.to.allow.one.to.
channel.energy.through.it,.as.you.would.a.normal.focus ..I.know.
my.way.around.foci,.but.I.couldn’t.figure.out.how.to.activate.this.
thing,.so.maybe.it.wasn’t.really.a.focus,
>. Man-of-Many-Names
JS: Despite the change in status, Astor agreed to allow the falcon to stay in the exhibit, but he wanted the information kept under wraps. He was interested in the item only as a piece of movie history. He was convinced that this was the same item used as a prop in the Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor film from 1941.
Shortly before the exhibit opened, however, the falcon was stolen. And that’s where I came into the story.
AT: You were working for the FBI at the time, and were assigned to a special task force to retrieve the falcon.
JS: Correct. A group of thieves broke into the Smithsonian and stole the falcon, though they weren’t the only interested party.
The Knights Templar, the Children of the Dragon, and the Atlantean Foundation all were involved as well. The thieves, a group of shadowrunners who weren’t local to DeeCee, stole the item and handed it off to someone who smuggled it into Denver.
My team and I followed the trail there, and eventually tracked down the individual behind the theft. I’m not really sure how much more I should say here, Ms. Tatopoulos. After the incident, my superiors ordered the records sealed and locked down all information about the event.
AT: I understand Mr. Steele. But, you came to me, remember?
JS: Yeah, I guess. Very well. Maybe you can figure out what was ultimately going on. We never found out. The entire thing was orchestrated by Ghostwalker. We’re not certain what he wanted the falcon for. We followed the trail of the item and managed to catch up to it just as Ghostwalker was taking possession of it.
One of my team foolishly tried to arrest the dragon. He pulled a gun on him, and the fraggin’ wyrm just … it ate him. Just bent down and … it was awful. The rest of us were stunned, and there wasn’t much we could do. We weren’t equipped to fight a dragon.
Who ever is?
AT: That’s horrible!
ALREADY HERE ...
JS: After that, the dragon took the falcon and just stared at it for a minute. Then he simply tossed it to me, like it was a piece of garbage, and said “This is of no use to me. Begone.” He said it in that dragonspeak thing they do, where you hear it in your mind.
It gives me the chills even now, thinking about that awful voice and what that thing did to Stevens. All that death. There were 23 dead in DeeCee linked to the theft, you know? Security guards and members of the various groups involved. Another seventeen deaths in Denver, including Agent Stevens.
AT: All for nothing, at that. Any idea why Ghostwalker was interested in the Maltese Falcon?
JS: No clue. He refused to comment, and who can make a dragon say anything it doesn’t want to? Afterward, the falcon went back to the Smithsonian Institution for the next year, then went back to Astor’s private collection. As far as I know, it’s still there.
AT: Thank you, Mr. Steele, for meeting with me and telling me this story. It’s fascinating, and it may have some relevance to the story I’m working on.
JS: Thank you. Hopefully it can be of some use. Just remember to keep my name out of things. The FBI wrapped this up tight. It was an embarrassment, and I would rather not risk my pension over this.
AT: Of course.
>. Yikes ..The.White.Wyrm.ate.an.FBI.agent?.And.then.sent.the.rest.
of.the.team.running.home.with.their.tails.between.their.legs?
>. Stone
>. I.remember.hearing.some.chatter.about.this.on.the.Denver.Data.
Haven.back.in.the.day ..There.was.a.lot.of.curiosity.about.this,.since.
not.only.were.the.FBI.running.around.Denver.causing.problems,.
but.the.Knights.Templar,.the.CotD,.and.the.AF.were.leaving.bodies.
but.the.Knights.Templar,.the.CotD,.and.the.AF.were.leaving.bodies.