Secrets of the Adventurers (Adventurers)
Secrets of the Adventurers is a storyline that began in March of 2019 for the Adventurers supergroup. The team is dealing with the machinations of a secret society called the Order of Osiris, who have a widespread influence and have existed for thousands of years. Through a set of coincidences, the Order has come to identify the present-day Adventurers with another team of remarkable people from a century prior.
Evidence Obtained
The Wall
The Adventurers located a secret wall in the basement of a disused Order of Osiris hideout.
A photo of the Classic Adventurers in the Ypres battle zone, dated 1917.
A letter from SSB Colonel S. Cambridge to Professor Walsingham, April 1917.
A torn-out page from Tank's Memoir.
A torn-out page from Mr. Adventure's diary
The 1704 Travelogue of Edward Gaunt
An minor nobleman from England traveled the Mediterranean in 1699 and accidentally found himself entangled with the Order of Osiris.
Page 199
Page 200
Page 201
The Journal of Carlos Batres
Sombra and Red Spider visited a descendant of Carlos Batres, a.k.a. El Sombra in Cleveland, OH. This person revealed that others had broken into her attic recently, but left with nothing. She had hidden some of El Sombra's personal affects, passed down through generations, in a special hidey-hole in her house. She provided Sombra the journal, which is written in Spanish.
Sections
The Journal of El Sombra broadly has the following sections:
<1> Pg. 1-2 -- A rationale for why he was donning a mask and cape, written as though to his family or future descendants.
<2> Pg. 3-45 -- covering numerous escapades during the Diaz regime in Mexico, 1900- approx. 1904. Pencil sketches of a 'Penelope', a young woman he admired.
<3> Pg. 46-67 - Time with the Adventurers starting c. 1905-1912; end of the Diaz regime, 1911; and beginning of the Mexican Civil War era in which he remained active. There are sketches of another woman who had his eye during the Adventurer years.
<4> Pg. 68-74 -- Details his reunion with the Adventurers, and their final mission in Belgium, 1917. Includes a pencil sketch of a location.
<5> Pg. 75-103 -- Fighting against Villa and Sandinista to secure a peaceful, united Mexico, as well as combating corrupt militias; final appearances of El Sombra; notes of new family life, and rationale for quitting being El Sombra, and messages to his descendants.
Questions
OOC, the RPG mechanic Sombra alone gets to use with the journal is to ask any 12 question of the GM (@historiphile) of the book's contents.
The questions (and answers) Sombra has posed so far:
1) For the sketched location, is there any text that specifies where it is?
Yes. It is a town called Roeslen. The image is of a monastery there, and pits that were dug up around its grounds, including the cemetery.
2) What was the mission meant to accomplish?
El Sombra mentions that Mr. Adventure indicated that the Germans/Osirians were out to claim an ancient artifact, a valuable gem, which they had coveted for millenia. The last time this gem was seen, it had been claimed by Crusaders as a spoil of war. The Adventurers wanted to get the gem before the Osirians did.
3) Did they succeed in their mission?
Yes, after a pursuit, and then raiding a German train, they managed to obtain the gem.
4) What did they do with the gem?
It seems as Jack was first to lay hands on it, he was asked to keep it, and keep it safe.
5) What did they DO with the gem after they got it!
Secrecy was important; it couldn't be destroyed, so it had to be kept hidden. Jack was to take it, and go to Canada with Sister Savior, and live under a pseudonym.
6) How did El Sombra/The Adventurers come to learn about the Order of Osiris?
The first reference to the Order is when El Sombra learned about it from Mr. Adventure in 1906. Mr. Adventure learned that the “Hermandad de Pastores” was trying to woo Presidente Diaz into joining them, and letting them make a temple in Mexico City. At that time Batres was told about their full history, though he found it hard to believe an secret society dating back to Ancient Egypt could be real!
7) Which Adventurer, if any, seemed to know the most about the Order?
By far, it was Mr. Adventure. Batres mentioned that Mr. Adventure had already been fighting them for several years in 1906, was the leader of the effort against them in 1917, and continued to work for the British Secret Service in countering the Order following the war.
The Journal of Aaron G. Baron
Blue Fox contacted a descendant of Aaron G. Baron (aka, Tank) who lives in New Jersey. Persuading them that he is a present-day superhero, and does not believe that Baron was treated fairly during the 50s Red Scare, the family members agreed to courier Baron's sketchbook to Blue Fox. It's the closest thing Baron appeared to have to a journal, aside from the memoir, which is still yet to be discovered.
A crucial page from Tank's sketchbook.
A 1955 letter from Mr. Adventure to Tank.
The Sketchbook of Aaron Baron has the following chapters:
1) Pg. 1-68 – Concept drawings and diagrams of tech he envisions for the Tank, c.1905-1912.
2) Pg. 69-74 – Sketches from the war, including annotated drawings of proposed artillery improvements
3) Pg 75-76 – Pages of drawings of a crystal, with some annotations.
4) Pg. 77-100 – Sketches of some fascinating technological innovations, along with more weapon ideas.
Also, a letter has been folded up inside the sketch book, between the last page and the back cover of the journal.
1954 Newspaper Article About Tank's Then-Forthcoming Memoir
Blue Fox attempted to track down more info about Tank's book, and found a reference to an archive of old newspaper articles. He requested the article from the library in Long Beach, NJ, where the small town newspaper ran the article in question.
A 1954 article from the Long Beach Gazette about Tank's unpublished book.
Mnemon's Visions from Doctor Dickinson
Just as Dr. Dickinson was wiping his own memory, Mnemon pulled a few scattered memories from the man's mind - including the following:
An Osirian gathering?
A Search in Oxford
The team searched Oxford, UK for clues about Thomas Walsingham's life.
While there, Night Star also turned up a clue from a Secret Service friend. She then had to fend off an Emissary of the Order of Osiris who wanted to take it.
Contents of a Secret Service file on Walsingham.
A letter hidden in Walsingham's giant pipe in a museum display - from Tank!
The team also found in an archival fonds:
- A number of documents from his time as an Oxford professor, 1912-1917 - letters, calculations, drafts, papers
- A memo from 1960 promising that Oxford University would be compensated by the Exchequer for use of utilities in an experiment he was conducting.
- A set of blueprints dated 1957, drawn by A. Baron.
- A letter from the Estate of Sir Thomas Walsingham, accompanying items bequeathed by him in his will to the university
Uncovered Facts About the Classic Adventurers
Mr. Adventure
Vital Details:
- Real name: Sir Thomas Walsingham
- Nationality: UK
- Birth: ???
- Death: 1961, St. Albans, UK
- Occupation(s):
- Adventurer
- University lecturer on cryptolinguistics (Oxford, 1913-1916)
- Secret Service Operative
- Naval commander
Historical Facts
Tank
Vital Details
- Real name: Aaron G. Baron
- Nationality: USA
- Birth: 1888, USA
- Death: 1957, Long Beach, New Jersey, USA
- Cause: Natural causes
- Occupation(s):
- Inventor
- Steel mill owner
- Adventurer
- Aviation Consultant
The Aviator
Vital Details
- Real name: Randy Waverly
- Nationality: USA
- Birth: 1888, USA
- Death: 1918, Péronne, France
- Cause: Shot down during a combat engagement
- Occupation(s):
- Inventor's assistant to Otis Barnaby
- Combat pilot
Sister Savior
Vital Details
- Real name: Addison Markeson
- Nationality: Canada
- Birth: 1894, Canada
- Death: 1919, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Cause: Tuberculosis (on death certificate; actual: complications from over-use of healing powers, saving Jack Cunningham)
- Occupation(s):
- Nurse
- Adventurer
El Sombra
Vital Details
- Real name: Carlos Batres
- Nationality: Mexico
- Birth: 1881, Oxtotipac, Mexico
- Death: 1925, Tampico, Mexico
- Cause: Heart attack
- Occupation(s):
- Adventurer
- Vigilante
- Private investigator
Eagle Eye
Vital Details
- Real name: Jack Cunningham
- Alias: Jack Sullivan
- Nationality: UK
- Birth: 1901
- Death: 27 March 2019
- Cause: Complications from losing possession of the Osirian gem
- Occupation(s):
- Adventurer
- Secret Service Officer
