The power of love

Rectitud is a village in Mechanus where nearly every aspect of life is dictated by a law or a rule. There are laws that tell you when to be awake, the amount of time you have to work, or the age at which you can have relationships with others. This last law has become a problem for two youngsters in the village. Calixto, a 19-year-old boy, has fallen in love with Melibea who is 16. She is too young to be allowed a relationship and he's more than twenty months older than she, making the relationship doubly impossible. A priest of a goddess of love (such as Sune or Aphrodite) discovered this and tried to help them, but he made some mistakes, was captured, and then got put in the dead-book. His mistress has learned of this from his soul and wants to help the smitten couple.

1: PC involvement

The characters will be approached by a Sensate known to them. He has some news that they could find interesting. It seems that a proxy of the goddess is looking for a party who believes in the power of love and who are willing to help it to grow. If they are interested, the Sensate will lead them to the portal to Arborea (or the plane of the goddess, if she’s from another plane). There, they'll have a meeting with the proxy, a man astonishingly handsome who will offer them the possibility of helping two lovers and obtaining the gratitude of the power. If they accept, they'll be informed about Rectitud and the young couple and will be given the direction of a gate to Mechanus near the cog Rectitud is located on.

2: Rectitud

When they arrive at the village they'll see a completely ordered village, with ordered trees, fields and streets. Their first concern will be the necessity of a cover to be able to spend some time in the village (travelers are only allowed to stay for 30 hours if they don't have a special reason to stay in the village). One of the city guards will inform them of this and will lead them to the Bureaucratic office to inform of their intentions. During their stay, they'll be able to see the industry of the village and witness the sheer quantity of rules. They'll be able to meet one of the two youngsters (or the two of them), and if they talk to them, they'll see the strength of their feelings, both their love and the fear. The families know nothing of the affair and if they would, they'd oppose the relationship and would warn Jagrath (the ruler of the town) to fix the problem (by brainwashing them).

3: The escape

Now, the characters have to come up with a way to join the two lovers and escape from the village. It is next to impossible, since the inhabitants and the city guards are both extremely alert and work perfectly together, and the PCs will stick out like white crows on a black field (especially if they are found after the allowed time to be in the street). Their actions are bound to be discovered, but if their plan is imaginative enough they might not be exposed until they have nearly pulled it off.

4: Attack

Just when they are going to be executed or merely punished (if they didn't break too many laws) a flock of goblins will begin to appear and attack the inhabitants. The border to Acheron is becoming thinner because of some of the more mean-spirited laws and a little army of goblins is attacking Rectitud. The guards’ attention is taken off the PCs and fully focused on the invaders. Suddenly, the PCs have three options: they can flee alone, try to flee with the lovers or help the guard. In the first case, they'll manage to get away but they won't get any reward (they have been cowards and they'll be treated as such), in the second one, the lovers won't want to escape while their village is being attacked but they can be convinced otherwise (although the characters must be very convincing). In the third one, they'll have to fight the goblin petitioners with the help of the guard and the modron company of the cog. After the battle, the septon officer will thank them and forgive them for breaking the rules (the rules of the village are to be revised, anyway). If they were distracted in the combat, they'll notice that the two lovers have fled when the combat was almost won (they saw that their village was not in danger anymore).

-Conclusion-

If the characters helped the two lovers flee, the goddess raises their charisma permanently by one, as a reward (or another reward you find fitting) and a minor magical object. Jagrath won't forget their involvement and he'll try to take revenge in the future. The amount of experience should be generous with if their earlier plan was imaginative.