Narrative

Day 28 was Monday, 12th Jan 1012, with 6 days to the Tri-moon and 4 days to the auction. Dirk woke with an uneasy feeling and felt something tugging at his brain, possibly a scrying spell. At 5:00, this sense of being watched or contacted was noted before the party’s planned business in Dunensend.

At 8:00, the party headed to the palace to meet the Huntsmistress for mounts and reports back from scouts. They arranged an extra mount for Morgana. The scouts brought worrying news: there was much animation around the statue, though the work was poorly done and its features could not be made out. The statue was surrounded by runes flashing red, and everyone around it seemed excited. There were about 40 Salamander men, the runes were red, and a few creatures made of fire were present. A purple-skinned creature with six arms and two tridents was also seen and identified in the notes as Excellence.

This report differed from the one received a few days earlier. The party tried to understand whether Pride was a friend. Pride was meant to fix the prison, but instead seemed to have opened it. They called on Rubyeye, who thought he knew who the relevant figure was, saying that he and Valenth had long discussed it. Rubyeye said Browning and Ennui had something under the grand towers: an advance in the technology for creating the dome, discovered during excavation for the dome. The notes suggest that elves may have trapped him and Browning and Ennui backwards, and that something had been engineered to create the dome in the workshop or to serve as a power source for the workshop. Darkness and Excellence were both noted in connection with this.

Rubyeye explained that the controls for the overseer, Cardenald, should be separate from the mainframe. The system was double locked by Valentinhide prison and an automaton guard. Pride’s prison was not connected to the barrier network. An entrapment ritual could subdue and hold beings in place by weakening them and activating the runes.

The party suspected someone might be trying to distract them from saving the shield from crushing, setting many things in motion so they would be distracted and unable to get help. They considered visiting the elven ruins with the Vulture prisoner, going to visit mother, and asking the Huntsmistress to lend them a man. They asked about the automatons; the Huntsmistress did not know, but said someone of her talent had made them, probably Ennui and Browning. She had heard about the party’s run-in with the sister the previous night and wanted proof that the vulture people were not behind the killings before she would give aid.

The party spoke to the Vulture-man, who thanked them for helping him. He said they had not found any further Haemia. If the leaders were willing to meet each other and call a cease fire, he would arrange a meeting with his leader in a neutral place so the leader could speak with the party. A side note preserves a possible name: athruygon?.

The party let the Vulturemen out. The Huntsmistress would ready some forces if needed. The party then headed firewise, and the Vulture-man seemed to send messages while they travelled into the Endless Dunes. At 10:00 they were underway.

At 16:00, the party stopped for a rest and saw two very large shapes flying on the horizon, perhaps 10 or 15 miles away. Geldrin felt like he had been scryed on. The shapes on the horizon were large dragons, possibly veridian, searching in the ruins.

The party went the other way and approached an oasis. The dragons seemed to be heading toward them, so they hid in the oasis. The dragons were young adult dragons, and one had two heads. All wildlife disappeared. The dragons knew the party was there and spoke through a purple vision of a dragon, trying to find out where the party was. She said she did not know where they were, while the party kept resisting her attempts to check on them. The dragons nearly found them, but Geldrin fooled them into thinking the party had teleported. The party then took a rest.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Dunensend palace, the grand towers, the dome, the workshop, the barrier network, Valentinhide prison, the elven ruins, the Endless Dunes, the ruins, and the oasis were all mentioned. Dirk, Morgana, Geldrin, the Huntsmistress, Rubyeye, Valenth, Browning, Ennui, Pride, Cardenald, mother, the sister, the Vulture prisoner, the Vulture-man, Vulturemen, Haemia, athruygon? [uncertain name], Salamander men, fire creatures, Excellence, elves, scouts, dragons, a purple vision of a dragon, and one two-headed young adult dragon were also mentioned.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

The party arranged mounts from the Huntsmistress, including an extra mount for Morgana. The statue was surrounded by red flashing runes. Rubyeye described controls for the overseer, Cardenald, separated from the mainframe and double locked by Valentinhide prison and an automaton guard. An entrapment ritual was described as a way to subdue and hold targets by weakening them and activating runes. The possible technology under the grand towers related to creating the dome, the workshop, or a power source for the workshop.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Dirk and Geldrin both experienced possible scrying or mental intrusion. The animated statue, red flashing runes, 40 Salamander men, fire creatures, and purple six-armed Excellence suggested that the situation at the statue had changed significantly from earlier reports. Pride may have opened a prison rather than fixing it, and it remains unclear whether Pride is an ally, a manipulated actor, or a threat. Rubyeye’s account connected Valenth, Browning, Ennui, elves, the dome, the workshop, Cardenald, Valentinhide prison, the mainframe, the automaton guard, Darkness, and Excellence, but the exact relationship remains uncertain. The Huntsmistress withheld full aid until given proof that the vulture people were not behind the killings. The Vulture-man offered a possible cease fire meeting if the leaders would agree. The dragons searching the ruins, including a two-headed young adult dragon and a purple draconic vision, remain a major threat in the Endless Dunes.