Narrative

Day 27 was Sunday, 11th Tan, with 7 days to Trimoon and 5 days to the auction. A note records “Gull level down”. Geldrin needed 4-5 hours to calculate the shard’s trajectory. Cardenald came to Baytail Accord and helped Geldrin calculate it. The shard would probably still hit Grand Towers if nothing changed. If the party stopped another shard, it would not be on course for ship 2. Garadul was possibly setting up another plan. Cardenald was to go to the Salinus statue with merfolk and destroy it.

The party teleported to the statue close to Dunensend, a giant statue of Serra. Two guards were at the statue: one sphinx-tabaxi with ebony skin and human features, and another with reptilian hide skin and spears. At 12:00, the party headed down to Dunensend, which shone blue and orange and had a very Arabic style.

The townsfolk had many piercings, and ear tunnels seemed very natural. A guard approached the party, thinking they might require refuge. Gelinn or Geldrin might not write new spells because laws had been in place for 1,000 years. Refugees were housed in the water gardens. The rules were no alcohol, no spell writing, and no worship of liar or darkness.

Many deaths had occurred in the city. Vulturemen, Arahuoa, were mentioned, along with a moving fort in the desert. Mother and Father were not hurt. The party met a friend of Dirk and healed his shoulder. Fire Demons had attacked at night; snake-lizard people attacked back, and when the snake-lizard people retreated the demons stopped attacking. The demons were led by a fiery demon with two arms, and some people had been attacked by a green dragon. A good place to smoke down the road was called Deserts Haze.

The Father held open courts, usually as the heat cooled off. The court included Father, Mother, Hearth Master, and Huntsmistress. A little girl with an afro approached and said her mum told her to be careful of dragons, a message that seemed intended to scare her off. At 14:00, the court was expected around 4pm, and the party could get an appointment if they were agents of the excellence, meaning Infestus.

Guards dragged a vulture bird-man into the courtyard. He was apparently one of the assassins lurking in the deserts and may have killed the Chancellor. The party went to the bathhouse, then returned to court at 16:00. Father Haithes [uncertain] wore many copper earrings and a copper marygal chain associated with the God of Attabre. Mother was a human Dunar lady named Egraine Brook, associated with the goddess of life, fertility, and harvest.

The Father said they had captured one of the assassins and believed him to be the murderer. The party went through to an atrium or court area and joined the queue. The Hearth Master had flames for hair. The Huntsmistress had red braided into her hair and dogs dyed red. The party became known as “The Slayers”.

The Vulture birds were infiltrating, but nobody knew how. They had recently become sloppy. Ennui the betrayer was mentioned. The Mother had healing powers, as did “The Mother”; Ennui had stolen it, which was the reason no spells could be written. The Mother did not have the ability to alter memories. Someone in the court was looking for the ancestral grounds of the Goliaths, and many people had asked about them over the last day. The Hearth Master brought trade logs showing trade stalls and confirming the party’s map.

Three Vulture men seemed to be leaving feathers behind. The assassins had attacked within the last week. The party wanted to speak to the captured bird-man and needed a broken claw to see him. He said he had not done anything, which seemed true. He claimed none of his people had gone missing, which was a lie; hunters had gone missing. Dirk unchained him. Feather colouration might show who was responsible.

A blowpipe dart appeared in the bird-man’s neck. A guard in the room started running away, and the party chased him. Ball bearings were thrown and missed, but he seemed to stumble even though they fell behind him. Geldrin cast Wall of Fire, and the guard turned into a weird lion-woman thing. The party killed her, catching both legs. The Huntsmistress returned with the feather and said trouble really does follow the party around. The party picked up the blowgun and received the feathers, which were similar to the arakobra feathers.

The bird-man recognised the feathers. The attackers were after his master because the master had done something. One looked like Stilix, who was missing. He gave Eroll a message to the master. Two guards were present; one was letting the other speak and seemed off. Agugu was questioned and felt like metal underneath. When his arm was cut, he had a delayed reaction, then tried to run. The party grappled him. He said “unit compromised - core overload” and exploded, consuming the body completely. The party found fragments of a core cage. Agugu had a wife and had been around about 5 years.

The party was taken to a room. The bird-man’s boss was in the Elven Ruins and was a six-legged cat-man. The only Elven Ruins known to the party were Grand Towers or Valenth’s lab, and Eroll flew off firewise from Dunensend. Searching the room, the party noticed soil that was different. When they pulled it out, a small mechanical spider came from the pot: an automaton, possibly an Eroll-type device. Eroll returned with mission success: the message had been delivered.

A message from Cardenald reported that the Salt was sorted. Seaward should be fixed, but something else seemed to be affecting the barrier. He had to use magics and other means to get there quicker. Eroll had forgotten he gave the party the message. Dirk told the spider they could do with a chat. A Dunar guard knocked on the door and turned out to be another automaton. It did not know why it was there. The whole place was riddled with automatons. It was a prisoner, not part of the barrier, under Grand Towers, and not one of the three. The control room was completely empty of people.

“The guilt” was one of its names. It kept calling Eliana sweetie. It knew who was behind the message from Cardenald and wanted to make a deal, saying it had been freeing itself to communicate again. It could reset the control room and would do one as a show of help. It laid a golden ring on the bed with Abyssal writing: “He pride for a head taken, the shame for a friend betrayed yet the guilt unburdened”. It said there should be five of the party after all, but because there were four they had gone under the radar. Alistair in Everchard was the same as with the wizards, as one disappeared upon barrier creation. It would fix a prison to show it would help. The prisoners hardly existed when it was imprisoned. The party chose Valentinhide to fix first, and Geldrin saw him.

There were many spiders around. The party thought the imprisoned being under Grand Towers might be light or dark. The Huntsmistress reported that many automatons had been located and blew up when confronted. No other lion-beast things had been found. Grand Huntsmen in Grand Towers had been contracted. The Goliaths might be linked to the matter. Haemia, the lion lady beast, was a creature created by a dark power. The notes ask whether Darkness and Light Excellence exist. The Haemia might be trying to make space or clear out.

The guards were allowed to go home. Two guards stayed at the palace entrance, others guarded Mother and Father, and everyone was on high alert. At 17:50, the party went walking and told the Huntsmistress about the bugs and the likelihood that more than one thing was going on. Geldrin could use his compass to detect the automatons. The Huntsmistress was not one. Two guards on the gate were not. The party checked priests in the temple; they were wearing armour despite the boiling heat. Three priests and Duners gave no reading.

Huntsman Indanyu, second in command, went to another room to talk. A broken bowstring was in the room. The party told Indanyu about things; he had not heard anything, but the people were talking about the murders. His attacked sisters were potential new mothers. A side note identifies Mother as Igraine, life, pleasure, and harvest, and Father as Attabre.

A week earlier, about three shops had been turned over, with nothing taken, out of about ten shops in total. Fire creatures seemed to have made an encampment close to the barrier, around where Geldrin’s calculations pointed. They looked like Salamander-type men. A Lamasu, a sixteen-legged cat beast, was allegedly a creature of good. Dirk sent a message to his dad via Eroll. They did not know if they could get an army to help, but could send a message to scouts near the camp and get word back by morning.

The party visited the Sister obligators. One attacked shop was for lovely modifications. Three people protested outside. A red-skinned Dragonborn tried to move them along. The proprietor apparently had another shop in Brookville Springs and was sharing their secrets. The place looked like a tattoo parlour, run by a woman with a tribal look. Dirk wanted a tattoo. She had opened a shop, and people worried they would lose the knowledge. She was the only one to have done so far. What they did was on the edge of what they should do, but helped them earn money. She was not sure her skills could be written down. Geldrin said he had seen the book.

Other break-ins seemed as though the culprits were searching for something. They happened every other night, so one might occur that night. Geldrin planned to ward the shop when it closed in 2 1/2 hours. The party thought they should start at Sister Proulsothight [uncertain], who had always been on the edge of what they should do.

At Sister Proulsothight’s shop there were no protesters or guards. She asked if the party wanted refreshments and took them into a back room with mini bunks and many different drinks. She asked whether they were there for the box. When they said yes, she gave them a box like the one from Gelissa, but not the same. This was what the break-ins had been about. She did not believe them and told them to leave. The party messaged The Basilisk to ask whether she should have it or whether they should retrieve it.

Eroll returned with a message from Ingris, Dirk’s sister: Dad was not available, and they should come to Salvation because help was needed. The Basilisk returned a message asking how they found these things and telling them to leave it alone because they were in over their heads.

A massive verdian or veridian Dragonborn approached the shop with two sickly Goliaths, entered, and banged on something. The party told The Basilisk this was when they could reset the stone. A figure stood on one of the dome roofs. The party tried to stealth. It waited until the streets were clear and approached into the shop. The party heard words from inside the building. Invar channelled and walked toward the shop. A side note says wizards were on the payroll.

Invar resisted, and the voice invited the party in. Uncle Hortekh told his wife the party was intervening. He threatened Dirk and the Goliaths, saying he would get him one day. The party returned to the Sisters. The heat box had been intercepted, which was the party’s doing. The Basilisk had been looking for the box.

At 22:00, the party met a human named Morgana with two birds. She had been sent by The Chorus and had the pigeon who helped the party in Everchard. Her home forest, Everchard, had strange things happening in the forest, including large animals. The Chorus had sent her so there would be five of the party. Morgana had seen a bright green Dragonborn with sickly Goliaths near a poisoned part of the forest and had healed it.

The party went to Stricker’s camp. Stricker was helping out now. Morgana gave goodberries to heal some of the refugees. Stricker Senior had gone to Salvation to work out plans to get back the people who attacked them. Stricker did not know of a city for Goliaths but had seen some Green Dragons. Stricker would stay to look after the refugees but wanted to join if the party went to war. The party headed to an inn.

The Hard Cheese was a cafe down the road for people out of towers and sold booze. One of the locals was marked by Geldrin’s shield crystal and seemed to drink. The Chorus had been hearing visions from the ancient where things went bad and there was not a lot of water, waterwise. The visions went better when Morgana was there, as there should be five of them. The party sent a message to The Basilisk about the Sister’s shop.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Geldrin, Cardenald, Garadul, Grand Towers, ship 2, Salinus statue, merfolk, Dunensend, Serra, Dunensend, the sphinx-tabaxi guard, the reptilian guard, Gelinn/Geldrin, refugees, water gardens, Vulturemen, Arahuoa, the moving fort, Mother, Father, Dirk, Fire Demons, snake-lizard people, green dragon, Deserts Haze, Hearth Master, Huntsmistress, the little girl with an afro, Infestus, the Chancellor, Father Haithes [uncertain], Attabre, Egraine Brook, Dunar, Ennui the betrayer, The Mother, Goliaths, trade stalls, Stilix, Eroll, Agugu, Agugu’s wife, the bird-man’s master, the Elven Ruins, Valenth’s lab, Cardenald, Seaward, The guilt, Alistair, Everchard, Valentinhide, Grand Huntsmen, Haemia, Darkness and Light Excellence, priests, Duners, Huntsman Indanyu, Sister obligators, Brookville Springs, the red-skinned Dragonborn, Sister Proulsothight [uncertain], Gelissa, The Basilisk, Ingris / Dirk’s sister, Salvation, verdian/veridian Dragonborn, sickly Goliaths, Invar, Uncle Hortekh, Morgana, The Chorus, Stricker, Stricker Senior, Green Dragons, Hard Cheese, and the ancient were all mentioned.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

The shard trajectory calculations required 4-5 hours and indicated Grand Towers remained threatened. The Salinus statue near Dunensend was targeted for destruction by Cardenald and the merfolk. Dunensend’s rules prohibited alcohol, spell writing, and worship of liar or darkness. The Hearth Master produced trade logs confirming the party’s map. The party received feathers similar to arakobra feathers, a blowgun, fragments of a core cage from Agugu, and a small mechanical spider automaton from a pot.

The guilt placed a golden ring on the bed with Abyssal writing: “He pride for a head taken, the shame for a friend betrayed yet the guilt unburdened”. It claimed it could reset the control room and would fix one prison to prove its help. The party chose Valentinhide first. Geldrin’s compass could detect automatons. A broken bowstring was found in Indanyu’s room. The party learned of a box like the one from Gelissa, but not the same, held by Sister Proulsothight [uncertain]. The heat box was intercepted by the party, and The Basilisk had been looking for the box. Morgana carried two birds and had the pigeon that helped in Everchard. Morgana gave goodberries to heal refugees. The Hard Cheese sold booze.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The shard would probably still hit Grand Towers unless something changed, and Garadul may have been setting up another plan. Stopping another shard would alter the course for ship 2. Cardenald was sent with merfolk to destroy the Salinus statue, while Seaward was reported fixed but still affected by something else in the barrier.

Dunensend was under multiple pressures: Vulturemen or Arahuoa assassins, fire demons, snake-lizard people, a moving fort in the desert, green dragon attacks, deaths in the city, and possible assassination of the Chancellor. The captured bird-man seemed innocent of the immediate crime but lied about whether his people were missing. Feather coloration may identify the true attackers.

The weird lion-woman Haemia, the automaton guard Agugu, and the mechanical spiders suggest multiple infiltrations at once. Agugu had existed as a guard with a wife for about 5 years before revealing metal underneath and exploding. The guilt said the whole place was riddled with automatons, that it was a prisoner under Grand Towers, not part of the barrier, not one of the three, and that the control room was empty of people.

The guilt’s offer remains unresolved. It can allegedly reset the control room and fix a prison, but its identity, imprisonment under Grand Towers, relationship to light or dark, and motives are uncertain. It said there should be five party members, but the party having four let them go under the radar. It also connected Alistair in Everchard to the wizards, where one disappeared upon barrier creation.

Someone in the court had been asking about the ancestral grounds of the Goliaths, and many people had asked in the last day. Fire creatures or Salamander-type men had encamped near the barrier around where Geldrin’s calculations pointed. The bird-man’s master was said to be a six-legged cat-man in the Elven Ruins, perhaps Grand Towers or Valenth’s lab, and Lamasu were noted as sixteen-legged cat beasts allegedly of good.

The shop break-ins seemed to target a box like Gelissa’s, held by Sister Proulsothight [uncertain]. The Basilisk warned the party they were in over their heads and told them to leave it alone, yet The Basilisk had been looking for the box. Wizards were noted as being on the payroll. Uncle Hortekh and the massive verdian/veridian Dragonborn with two sickly Goliaths remain active threats.

Dirk’s family situation escalated when his sister Ingris reported that Dad was not available and asked the party to come to Salvation because help was needed. Stricker Senior had also gone to Salvation to plan how to recover people who attacked them.

Morgana was sent by The Chorus because there should be five party members. The Chorus had visions from the ancient in which things went badly when there was not much water, waterwise, and went better when Morgana was present. Morgana’s sighting of a bright green Dragonborn with sickly Goliaths near poisoned Everchard forest links the Green Dragons, sickly Goliaths, and Everchard’s worsening forest troubles.