Narrative

Day 36 began at about 04:00, approximately five hours outside Brookville Springs. Skum stayed seated by Elementarium’s head the whole time. Invar remembered that he knew how to remove curses, heard a clink, and a bracelet fell off his wrist. He did not remember being kidnapped.

The party sent Errol to Lady Newgate’s sister to arrange transport to meet them outside Brookville Springs at the Bridged Statue. Elementarium had not seen the Peridot Queen for about a month, since the party was last in town. The rescuees were to go back to Huthnall and remove the worm from Lady Thorpe’s ear.

The party went around Brookville Springs toward the Statue of Bridged. The statue was a female shape with no other female features, a face, and palms turned up toward the sky. There were no offerings or guards, but a copper piece lay randomly about five feet around it. The notes also connected Bridged to a temple in Seaward where people took bets, as a god of freedom, luck, gargoyles, and trickery.

The party waited by the statue until Newgate’s gargoyle arrived. People leaving Brookville Springs had a hurried energy and warned that it was not best to go in because explosions were happening all over town, including brothels, the guard house, and perhaps golems. Human buildings were going bang with purple blasts, and one human blew up. A pigeon on a ledge by the main building reported that the lead human was gone. The explosions had stopped today but happened late at night on Trimoons day. The party recalled that when they left Goldenswell, one automaton had been on the fritz. They wondered whether the exploding things were meant to explode or had been told to do so.

The gargoyle arrived and did not appear tampered with. A message from Claymeadow said explosions were occurring all over town, Newgate’s doppel/imposter was in quarters, and their Bird did not work. The party arranged to contact them through Errol and to be located through the mage’s ring. They paid the captain a further 25 platinum, and he ran toward Brookville Springs.

Brookville Springs was on high alert, with many patrols of three guardsmen. Geldrin did not locate any golems in town. By 12:00 the leader was gone, vanished. The party headed to the town center. Things seemed all right except for violence. A metal chest or guardsman said the leader had gone missing on the bang night.

The party went to Hazy Days. Dirk, Invar, and Morgana queued for smokes and questioned a server. They learned that the Guilt was gone or had disappeared on the night of the Trimoons, around midnight. Guards had been coming in, guards were looking for him, and some people said they had seen him leave. Seneshell was running the place, and the party would not be able to see him unless they were residents, though a pitboss might work.

At about 15:00 the party went to the main building and queued to get in. They greased the palms of the guards to see Seneshell. The entrance hall contained all twelve gods. Inside was a thick plush red carpet, a chaise lounge, a tattooed female sparrow aarakocra wearing feathers, described as Briker / Magi, and a green lamp. Seneshell said that the Guilt had offered an olive branch, the party had not taken it, and now the Guilt was stuck. The Guilt’s master had not left town and was back in his room.

Seneshell explained that the explosions were the Guilt’s boss’s guardsmen. The reason the Guilt was unconscious was also the reason for the explosions. The Guilt’s boss, Pride, had been eaten by Garadul. Seneshell said the party were much the same as her, because they also just worked for someone. Pride was a dark entity who wanted people to be proud. For the party, her big bad was a bit tougher. The Guilt’s boss had been running things at Grand Towers. Seneshell suggested the party speak to Browning. The Guilt was an Avatar of Pride. [uncertain: Morrowred] had sold out the leaders. Pride had tried to put as many things out of commission as possible before he was consumed. Pride was neither good nor bad.

The Guilt had a portal to Grand Towers, and Mercy would show the party a favour later. The party asked to see the Guilt. Seneshell sent them out of the room. They heard grinding and dragging across the plush carpet. When they returned, there was a chest similar to the one in Envy’s lab, open, with the Guilt inside. The chest was dangerous when armed and had a code to disarm it. The party sent Errol to get Ruby Eye. There was no sign of the Underbelly. The party rubbed the lucky cyclops eye, but it did not go anywhere.

The party headed back to the statue by the outskirts of town. They saw a few shifty people on a corner, including a half-orc and a human female. The party tried to get potions, but the people tried to shut them off and called themselves the Dollarmans, assassins. The party let them go. They seemed to want to fight but were under orders not to.

At the statue, an obsidian bird named Terry, Metallics’ bird, waited with a private message from Incara: the party should be wary if their compatriot wizards were working against them, because the wizards were the reason for their infertility, though this was not yet confirmed. A margin note said the party would go down the passage after getting Ruby Eye.

There was a big flash and Ruby Eye appeared. Valenth was still repairing, and Valenth and Ruby Eye had both been convalescing. Ruby Eye asked about the Skull of Tremon. The party told him they had left it at Hartwall. Ruby Eye did not know about Envy. He said many giants were rampaging at his clan’s settlement. He asked about Lady Envy and Lady Elissa Hartwall. He had made enemies, but the dome was proof of his efforts. He wanted to retrieve the Skull of Tremon and did not want it falling into the wrong hands; he seemed more interested in it than he admitted. Ruby Eye went into the bag so the party could sneak him in.

The party returned to Mercy’s place. Behind Mercy stood a half-elf with rounded ears, the barkeep from the Drunken Duck. Mercy had told him what was going on, and he had come down to ease the party’s worries. They were independent contractors for the Guilt, concerned citizens hired for money. He wanted to cash in the favour now. He wanted something from Grand Towers: a small trinket from the private mage area on the 74th floor, a Jelly Fish Broach. An interested party wanted it retrieved. The buyer was not the party’s current mutual antagonist, but a female outside the barrier. The party promised to attempt to retrieve it.

Mercy took the party through the Grand Towers passage. The corridor was filled with pictures of the Guilt looking at them. A wall was not really there; beyond it was void. Through the door was more corridor. When they turned around and opened the door again, they entered what seemed to be a broom cupboard in Grand Towers. They moved into a room with a coat rack full of robes and headed out. Floors 70 to 90 were schools of magic, 60 to 70 were storerooms and administration offices, 0 to 60 were apartments, and floor 74 held enchantment classes. The rooms were dusty, not used regularly, and had no animal presence such as spiders or rats.

The party got Ruby Eye out on floor 65. There was nothing of note on that floor. They tried a door and felt a magical pull on the lock, but opened it. Inside was a central pillar with shelves of orbs, like Ruby Eye’s lab. They picked one to view. The vision showed a man sitting in a chair, Icefang in human form, in a nice room covered in snow. Another man, seen in the auction picture and private pictures, stood in front and shook his head. They said they were up to no good, would not let someone have him, and that the paysoil would not work without him. They could not let him be entombed under the snow. Guards wore black snowflake tabards. A calm human said he was right but did not [unclear]. A woman replied that they were old enough to tell them what to do. Ruby Eye said he had never seen the vision before, and the party did not think he was lying.

They followed Ruby Eye down the corridor to an elevator room with a teleport circle. Geldrin went with Ruby Eye, looking to a random level as they moved upward through a maze of ropes and similar workings. Ruby Eye said they were going to see Browning. They saw a Gideone chair, Gazzy plugged into an old man, and two people tinkering at the chair’s feet, not worried by their presence.

The party put another ball in the front. This vision showed a Grand Towers boardroom. Ruby Eye, Hartwall, and all five except Browning were present. Trinkets lay in front of them: Scorpion, Snowlee, Jelly Fish, Ant, and others. The other wizards looked uncomfortable. Someone put something into a pouch, and the deal was done. When asked how many more, the answer was about seven signed up and five more to go. The wizards looked uncomfortable, saying there must be another way. Ruby Eye was unhappy and said they were good people, but the only people who would suffer; it would save millions in the long run.

The mages knew Geldrin was following their progress and that he had succeeded in the barrier safely. A chair guy had altered Pride to be eaten by Garadul, speaking through his greater gravel children. Garadul was locked downstairs and heard him when he was ready; he had walked into Browning’s trap. Ruby Eye said they would sort Garadul out, as if Browning was his boss, and said Ruby Eye knew what was good for him.

Another orb showed a person being saved while elementals flew around. The towers were completed, and fighting happened at a panel. Hartwall asked if they were nearly ready to kill them off. Browning said ready, turned into a dragon, activated the device, and Hartwall disappeared. Browning said it was too late and it had started. Ruby Eye said they needed to go now.

A further orb showed Browning in the same room calling out through a crystal ball. A giant green dragon appeared. He asked for help getting rid of his husband. The dragon agreed, saying they could use them as cattle wherever they were done. Browning threw a blanket over the view as Valenth walked in.

Geldrin returned, saying he had been on floor 98 and had found Browning. The party needed to get out immediately, and Geldrin told the others about Garadul. They heard an alarm. Four golems appeared in the circles, and the party ran back down the corridor. They piled through the corridor they had used, but it was all black with no corridor. They closed and reopened the door, and it looked like a church similar to early Bridged temples. The door from the room opened outside, with no dome visible.

The party found a courtyard with many doors. They tried to go up the tower. Behind a door, a red-robed goliath sat, shocked as they walked through. He was a clergyman named Arik Bellburn of Bridged. He said the party had come from the dome and Bridged had freed them. He described Eliana as having skin of evil, Morgana as Bleak glimmer, and Geldrin as lost winner. They were in the town of Bellburn. The people had prayed for freedom from their oppressors, Envy, and Bridged sent the party.

The party heard a dragon. In Draconic, it said it had come for payment. Ruby Eye said they needed to go. Suddenly there were sounds of battle. Goliaths were fighting Hartwall’s silver dragon on top of a building. The dragon said she had come for payment and Envy would have her due. This dragon looked similar to the original Hartwall but meaner and grimacing, with a green tinge to her scales. The goliaths all seemed to have maces made from Seaward stone. Ruby Eye wanted to leave and thought Hartwall hated him.

The party entered the fight and tried to get Hartwall’s attention. Hartwall called out Ruby Eye and told him to come remove the curse he had put on her. It was about 17:00. Ruby Eye cast imprisonment on Hartwall, shouting “Burial” in a voice that echoed like an unearthly command. Ruby Eye sounded odd, like someone doing an impression of him, and seemed furious with Dirk after Dirk hit him with a magic missile. A changing touch made Eliana think Dirk’s sword was the most amazing thing ever for a brief moment. Eliana heard a voice, felt “my brother’s touch” upon them, and wanted the inverse hammer. Morgana’s moonbeam revealed that “Ruby Eye” was actually a red-skinned tiefling: Wrath.

Wrath had made a pact with Ruby Eye to help kill the black dragon, and it was his fault Hartwall was outside. Wrath was scared of Browning, who had teamed up with Pride. Wrath had cursed the silver and black dragons so they could not take human form. He promised the party power in exchange for fighting their enemies. He said there were nine of them in total, little demons of Darkness: Wrath, Pride, Envy, and others. Wrath put Hartwall in the ground with imprisonment using a silver dragon statue. He said the wizards had worked with the demons to help make the dome to protect against them. He insisted the party were not working for him in any way, shape, or form, but could assist if mutually beneficial. Wrath wanted the Skull of Tremon because he saw the wizards make it and it helped people get in and out of the barrier.

Arik had been injured and was healed. The goliaths paid the Blackscales and sometimes the ore kobolds. Doors were sacred to Bridged. A hellfling mayor, Mayor Longbottom, wanted to accommodate the party for the evening. She had woken up in the church one day, was originally from Goldenswell, and said there was no way back into the dome. Wrath had been part of Ruby Eye but left him when the party “took him out.” Ruby Eye was still in the bag. Morgana asked Bridged if she would get them back into the dome, and Bridged took her to the chorus, with good and bad results.

Dirk and Geldrin put a Grand Towers penny onto Bridged’s statue. It disappeared and Bridged’s eyes glowed green. Dirk went through the door. Bridged’s eyes glowed red, and Dirk came out in Seaward. The party told the priest about the penny on the hand, and she shouted at Arik about why they had never given Bridged money. Dirk had gone back to yesterday.

Geldrin dropped two pennies onto Bridged’s hand. Her eyes glowed green and then yellow. The party went into the closet and emerged into a blue-and-white tiled reception room in a great palace with no furniture, reminiscent of Seaward. Dirk felt 400 to 500 miles away earthwise/waterwise; they were still outside the dome. Guards outside the door in blue tabards did not expect the party to be there. A guard chased Morgana and caught her by the door. They tried to confuse him with the room’s appearance, and he called for the Baron. The party closed the door and reopened it to blackness. Dirk had not moved before the door opened, but when it opened Dirk was gone. The party closed the door, stepped out, went back through it, and came into Brookville Springs. Sopparra, identified with Mercy in the notes, said Wrath had been a goliath when they went in.

Dirk remained in Seaward and heard several explosions around midnight. The party got Ruby Eye out, and Ruby Eye shouted at Wrath until Wrath got back into his eye. Dirk reported that most earthwise cities had had explosions, including the Hartwall and Goldenswell areas. Grol found Dirk, and Dirk sent a message back around 20:00. Ruby Eye teleported the party to Dirk.

Ruby Eye explained that the trinkets were part of one of the bargains and should not be much use now. The gods had each required a favour, communication to their priests, and a boon. Bridged gave a way in. Noxia’s terms involved the trinkets and barrier sickness caused by living near or touching the barrier. Nerfili and babies were connected to Arile. They always had issues, and Browning made sure they needed the wizards. Otasha’s terms were more than suffering: she received the unborn nerfili babies across the whole race, though the barrier seemed to stop this slightly. Lady Elissa Hartwall was unhappy and did not know about half the deals made. The wizards had found ways around most bargains, including getting around the god of Darkness by making him the god, Leptrop. Otasha did not want the barrier because she was getting a lot of business but allowed a bargain to be made. Ennik and Browning did many of the deals. Hartwall had been taken out of the group, and the party needed to speak to Valenth about how she ended up with Envy.

Ruby Eye said his pact with Wrath came only from needing more power after seeing how much power Browning had with Pride. Browning wanted the biggest tower and to be the greatest wizard of all time. The party teleported to Hartwall, arriving on target by her statue, and went to the castle gates. Sheriff Fathrabit took them to Hartwall and said the other nobles had arrived.

The party brought out Wrath. Wrath said the curse was not his normal thing and was definitely his sister’s work. He said, “there you go,” and claimed that Hartwall would be fine in a few days, but he was lying. He wanted a favour: for the party to tell Envy that he did it. Hartwall wanted to transform and left the chamber for the courtyard, where she transformed. Hartwall was slightly bigger than the Peridot Queen. In Seaward, there were not many known reports; nobody stated that the racist automatons had exploded. Hartwall’s Raven had exploded, and there had been several explosions across the city.

The notes then mark “Day 34.” At breakfast in the great hall in Hartwall, Lady Elissa Hartwall felt much better. Fighting had been pushed back earthwise to Stone Rampart. There were many mutations, and retreating troops had seen a large explosion in that area. Hartwall would defend the pylon while the party went to get the betrayer. A margin note reads “Da Pig Plaguers.” Reports from the captured leaders said they had all managed to retake their cities with minimal casualties. Three paws on the ground reported the safe arrival of the goliaths.

The party scried on “The Mother.” They saw mountainous terrain, a weird two-legged horse, a little tiefling girl, and a small band of odd creatures. They were together by a small crater in the side of the barrier near the mountain, close to Valenthielles prison. The Mother had been imprisoned last time with help from the [unfinished]. Carduneld had dabbled with Envy but had not entered any [unfinished]. The party met Brother Fracture in the bazaar, with Andy [uncertain: Kallamar?] with him. They had been on their way to the front lines. The party directed Brother Fracture to Lady Fat Rabbit.

The party went to the teleport circle in Valenthielles prison. They arrived in a twenty-foot-square room with no doors, made of seamless stone. When they touched the wall, they felt a slight difference in temperature and found a rock statue. They decided to go down the middle door, where the guard or prison had been. Lucas hit the door, and nothing happened. After hitting it again, the party cracked their doorstop after a while. Heamon’s skull did not open the door. They put a Grand Towers penny on the wall, and the door opened to ten feet of corridor and then darkness. Joy was thick. Daylight made the darkness retreat into the shape of a female figure. Morgana touched it and took damage. A door lay at the end of the corridor, but a peephole at the end of the next space was trapped. Dirk looked through and took damage.

The party opened the door. Smoke lay at the end of the room. Symbols on the floor marked the prison, and smoke on the far side suggested where an explosion may have happened. The female figure laid her hand on Dirk’s shoulder and asked to come with them. When Eliana turned around, they took damage. The entity had had recent visitors, very friendly, who promised to come back but would not be back soon. They had cleaned up quickly, teleported outside the prison, and left Valenthielles there.

Morgana saw Joy in the trees, motionless and looking very odd; it was an illusion. Mutated animals belched out of the woods. The party entered combat with them and the betrayer. Carduneld joined the party. The betrayer was killed. Carduneld and Ruby Eye talked and thought some information would put the party in danger. The party tried to ask what they knew, but they did not want to say and thought the party should focus on the [unfinished]. Ruby Eye was regaining some memories. They were unsure whether they should renegotiate some of the deals made with the gods, and wanted to look into breaking the curse on the inferlite and the damage caused by the barrier. It was not only Ruby Eye’s memories that had been tampered with; Icefang’s had been too. They thought the party should talk to Mama Hartwall, but first needed to head to Stone Rampart earthwise. Ruby Eye and Carduneld left.

At the cathedral, priests walked around dealing with people. Two humans with blistering skin were healed by a priest, who then came to the party. After Highden fell, its armies had retreated to the firewise mountain’s second level by 14:00. There were issues with sickness, internal consumption, from the crystal. The party told him about crystal sickness and advised that people spend time away from the city. He told them to see the Earl, in the other foot. The statue had been created by the five mayors.

The party went to see the Earl. In the park between the legs, plants were in bloom. Militia wore jagged rock keep tabards, and there was much activity. The party left a message with a lieutenant. A note says she did not have it because she was born in Highden and [unfinished]. A frog appeared to Laura and wanted Eliana’s attention, motioning for them to follow. They did not follow, and Sevor-ice could not follow; possible bullying was noted. The party got another sending stone with a new number from someone in the Underbelly. A Highden lizardfolk was on the building, mumbled something as the party left, and Eliana shut up. The creature said hello and cast invisibility. Morgana cast thorn whip on it. It had been skulking because it was scared of the party and had been sent to deliver something by its boss.

The lizardfolk wanted to go somewhere private. The party met an old gnoll in a rocking chair under a blanket, “granny,” an Underbelly liaison. The lizard was named Scurry. Granny knew what the party had done in town but did not know if Hartwall was there yet. The Underbelly was getting back on track now that Lady Coke was back. Granny and Scurry were the only two to trust. Highden was a wreck, troops had taken over the inn, and the place “never sees the sun.” The party sent The Basilisk a note about current events and used a pulley lift system to go to the inn.

A guard on the door was a sixty-foot giant, though not the size of the Tor statue. He led the party upstairs to the commander. The commander was an elf with a laurel of white roses around his head, a beard, and green peach fuzz unlike standard elves, described as a Moss couch elf. He was Captain Briarthorn, of an elf hundred. He hoped to use the natural terrain of the river as the battle point. Thousands of tribesfolk, perhaps goliaths, were involved. A blue dragon had been spotted with them but had not been seen for a while. He would mobilize the troops now that the Mother had been slain.

The command had some “exciting” obsidian ravens. The party advised them to stop using the ravens, because all messages back had been telling them not to support the cause. Gerald went to get the quartermaster. The raven was a stealth version, and the quartermaster did not think anything was wrong. A message was sent to Dirk. Dirk said he would be there in a minute, but the reply came back saying he could not come. The party told the quartermaster to send messages ordering troops to come regardless of any reply. Errol was loaned to the commander for two hours.

The party went to another inn, the Three Full Moons, and talked to Gary, a house farmer with a dog named Shep. They returned to Captain Briarthorn, where Lady Elissa Hartwall was fully armoured. The plan was that giants were close to where the defenders wanted to ambush them. The dragon would try to split off some of the larger giants, and the party would attack. Some towns had responded through Errol and were sending small troops to help. The party arranged to meet Hartwall in the forest and planned to start a fire to separate the large giants from the army. While riding the dragon, they saw a black plume of smoke near the mountain at the edge of vision. The plume was magical in nature, perhaps Hartwall/Highden.

As they drew closer, the smoke shape came to attack them. Hartwall protected the party from the dragon’s flame. A giant attacked, bashing Invar into the ground with his mace while the others closed in. Dirk clung to the giant’s arm and climbed up his leg. Morgana summoned a bear and grappled the giant’s arms. The party defeated all the giants. Hartwall and a skeletal dragon fought each other. The skeletal dragon had the book from Ruby Eye’s lab, and the words he spoke from the book were words he did not understand. The party teleported out to the armies, and the dragon came toward them.

Eliana felt sick, with salt water in their nose, like after holding the White Rune. Dirk had a familiar brain tickle and saw another feeling: a room with other goliaths, a sickly threat on female green dragon armour, a chin tick like Shibble grossing, and a chest around a table that was intense. A female smiled and said, “you need to go back to now.” Geldrin saw a circular table where mages discussed her and slid a paper to her. Another vision showed a man knee-deep in a ford; as he crossed, a woman said no no no, and red thorns were everywhere. Hartwall saw her mother buried in the ground.

The party went to the river to speak to water elementals and ask for help with the dragon flames. Dirk used the rod to speak to the elementals. The water elementals required the party to agree to free Icefang’s ice elemental in the prison at Rimewock. Geldrin summoned the void elemental to help. The void elemental said the party would owe him another favour, since Garadul revenge was the previous favour. The requested terms were not to free Valentenhide and to let Kasher reign, and not to oppose Kasher; the void would bring someone else to the fight. The party agreed to the water elemental. Geldrin told the void they could not accept. The party managed to say that someone might be trapped. When given a dead grub like the ear grubs, [unclear: a wanders].

The party then appeared in their minds in a palace-style room with plush carpets. An elderly gentleman, Icefang, sat looking at them, older than in his paintings, sane and at ease. He said, “I disagreed.” A memory showed the mage table, with Icefang shouting at Browning. A dark elf appeared and dropped a grub in his ear. Icefang said he never would have dropped a rope, was glad he was sane before the end, and said they needed to right the wrongs. The party should not feel sorry for him; he had lived a good life for the half he could remember. The barrier was a good thing, but too many sacrifices had been made.

A black hole opened under the battle. Snowflakes appeared, and a massive frost dragon burst through the hole, seized the skeletal dragon, carried it to the barrier, passed Hartwall, and said “My Child.” Icefang came back through, crashed through the barrier, and soot crashed down from the barrier, badly injured. Eliana felt the salt water feeling again. Icefang crashed into the river, and Soot shouted that he would take them all with him.

Geldrin entered or invoked a dark cavern with a throne made of skulls. He walked toward a pale human female seated on the throne, with bleeding eye sockets and skeletal hands and feet. She said, “hello my child what is it you wish.” Geldrin asked to dispel dragon magic. She said she had only just put it on and had taken him as payment. She had watched him with great interest since hatching. When asked whether some of the other deals had caused her [unfinished], she said no, but taking the Mother down had. Geldrin offered her Garadul. She agreed. Geldrin chanted, Soot’s flames vanished, and his bones scattered. Eliana used breath weapon on the dragon head. A water elemental retrieved Icefang and laid him down.

Hartwall did not know who her father was; she had always been told he died in battle while her mother was pregnant. Tirar’s vision was at Rellport: leeches attacked in the river and made victims believe they were not really there so they could feed on as much blood as they wanted. Hartwall saw her mother in the ground, trapped by a hundred tiny red creatures.

A portal appeared, and Valenth and Ruby Eye emerged. Valenth knew before the party told her. Ruby Eye realized that they had done it to him. The dark elf may have been from Envy’s apprentice, and they had been making plans. One curveball plan was to swap Valentenhide with Kasher. A coin appeared and blue thistles lay on the ground. A portal opened to a carriage drawn by two cows and guarded by very dressed-up guards. An elderly gentleman appeared, the same one from the vision of Provita’s birth: Lord Bleakstorm. He chanted a message from Icefang from outside the dome. He looked no different from his pictures because he was dead. He had not freed the auroch because he could not remain inside the dome long; Browning would find him and send minions after him. Lord Bleakstorm gave Eliana a snowflake coin, a one-use portal to Bleakstorm.

The party learned that kobolds were very good at digging through the barrier. The grub contained nothing but had properties like a leech crossed with a larval fly. Cardunel would take Icefang to be buried near Snowsorrow. Geldrin planned to try to free Justicarus by pretending to be the Grand Towers medical team. The party returned to the troops’ camp. Dirk’s jaw would remain changed for the next twenty-four hours.

[Mathwall] asked what was happening at Goldenswell and wanted to speak to Lady Lyraine at Riversmeet. Dirk’s father and army were now in Sunset Vista on their way to fight the green dragon. [Mathwall] was sending Lady [rabbit] to speak to Lady Lyraine. The party went to Azurescale to speak to the merfolk and gather information about the goliath city. There was a statue to Hydrath.

Jin Woo teleported the party toward the cherry orchard at Azureside, but they arrived in Calcmont instead, by a statue of a pregnant female cat lady holding a rose in one hand and a scythe in the other. They tried again but ended up in Coalmont Falls, a brown-green mining town with steam-powered mine carts. The waterfall occasionally turned black, and the locals did not know why. The party needed into town and found the Smokesblood Stout Brewery/Inn. Morgana turned into an octopus to investigate why the water turned black. She thought it was the creature at the bottom of the waterfall and black sediment. The party took a room at the Fellspour & Prick Inn, which was not busy. The barman said black dragonborn came through occasionally. The town had been quiet, though he had heard about dragon attacks firewise. Pinespring loggers were going missing, shutting down the logging industry. The wealthy Zigglecog mine-cart family was mentioned; their daughter had left town to become a monk at the monastery.

The cave was where the creature lived and what made the water turn black, at least according to the fish, who did not enter it. Morgana went into the cavern, where the water became choppy and hard to traverse. She came back out and investigated. A roar came from the cave, and the water turned black, moving faster than the normal river flow. Morgana took a sample; it smelled like water, did not stain anything, and left no residue. It had not done this when Jin Woo was there 100 or 80 [unclear]. The barkeep did not know how long it had been happening, though he had been there nine years. Pack keeper Hanner might know, so the party travelled down to the lake to speak with her.

Hanner said the black water had happened for the last thousand years. It used to occur about once a month but now happened twice a day. The pattern followed elemental schools of magic. Morgana communed with nature and sensed a large black creature with six arms, shackled by its arms under the water, apparently unconscious. Its chains led up through the ground into an alien material, an obsidian archway. The party suggested the merfolk investigate the cave, since they might get farther. Some water elementals were in the lake.

The party went upriver to investigate the black water. Merfolk, Hanner, and Morgana checked the river while the rest of the party and a merfolk named Derek investigated on land. On land, the shield crystal registered on the compass. The party tried to follow paths into the mountains but veered toward the compass reading. They found a mine, went through it, ran out of it, and found a good path to the lake at about 16:00. In the water, Morgana swam downriver until the water reached a “wall,” then stopped and became much easier to swim through. On land, the party found an ancient old road and an old sign pointing to “Dull Peake,” the same direction as the compass. Dirk spotted a dark figure: a dragonborn with red eyes. When Eliana looked up, the figure noticed.

Underwater, Morgana came into an underground chamber with ledges leading into further darkness. Hanner used a light orb, revealing a twenty-foot statue with five runes hovering in a pentagram around it. The cyclone bottom sounded like one of the main prisoners: !Asmoorade! Morgana tried to touch a rune, and it threw lightning. On land, wingbeats sounded and the dragonborn walked into view. It had dull, deathly, sooty scales and a large overbite. Its name was Nelkish.

Nelkish walked confidently toward the party and announced the Domain of Anthrosite. He worked for Infestus. The party told him they had returned his brother’s skull to Infestus. He called Eliana pure blood, not half blood, like himself. He had no quarrel with their kind under the agreement made. In the water, Morgana continued down the stream, leaving the statue behind, and approached a barrier. Touching it did not hurt, but [unclear: cruched]. On land, the party mentioned Garadul’s plans, and Anthrosite said he would allow them in to use the portal to speak to Infestus. Nelkish had not killed them on sight because Geldrin wore the wizards’ robes, which were part of the agreement; the wizards brought food and similar supplies.

Morgana tried to misty step through the underwater barrier and succeeded. She could see the merfolk but could not touch them, and dispel did not work. The cavern broadened to the left. Derek told the land party about the barrier, and that the others were close by but far below. Jin Woo thought they should have gone to see Infestus. The land party continued down the road, which seemed to stop suddenly. Morgana was stuck and could not misty step again. She tried to dry a torch to see farther into the cavern. Thorn whip struck a crack in the wall and seemed to open a door.

Beyond the crack, the mindless moss stopped dead, and the stone looked freshly cut. Morgana continued to a door with a ticking rune carved on it, but it would not open. On land, the party described Envi to Derek, and the carving looked like him. Morgana travelled farther down the river into a room opening in all directions, where all signs of life disappeared. A noise came from the prisoner, and the water turned black. On land, black snowflakes appeared; white turned white, and black flakes were in the scoop.

The cavern kept getting bigger and downhill, though the water had not changed direction. Morgana saw a giant jet-black figure, one hundred feet tall, standing in a hole in the ground with four large arms stretched out. Water came out of the pit and shot upward like a geyser. It seemed like a statue but felt alive. The party sent Errol to find a cave they could shelter in and went in out of the wind. Morgana went back and told Hanner about the figure. She said “winter roses” at the door, and it came to life.

The figure thought it was Ruby Eye. It could not open the barrier because that might let other people in. Rumplky opened the door, and Envi said it was probably best to come in. Morgana followed the corridor to a circular room with two suits of armour and a pillar with purple cores for automatons who would help with what she was there for: to revive him. She activated one. When she tried to leave, the door started to close, so she activated the other. The automatons did not detect any rings. The door between the automatons opened, revealing an upright hand on a plinth and a [strils] Envi in a tube of viscous fluid. Morgana let her out. The released figure would find the rings, and the robots followed. They left the chamber. One forced a hole in the barrier, and an automaton came through. The automaton introduced himself as Garadul, activated recall protocol, and they disappeared. The party headed back to Coalmont Falls in the merfolk lodge at 01:00.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Skum, Elementarium, Invar, Errol, Lady Newgate, Lady Newgate’s sister, the Peridot Queen, the rescuees, Lady Thorpe, Huthnall, Bridged / Bridge, the lead human, the pigeon by the main building, the captain paid 25 platinum, Geldrin, Dirk, Morgana, Seneshell, the Guilt, the Guilt’s master, Pride, Garadul / Garadul / Garadul, Browning, [uncertain: Morrowred], Mercy, the tattooed female sparrow aarakocra described as Briker / Magi, the half-orc and human female potion sellers / Dollarmans, Terry, Metallics, Incara, Ruby Eye / Rubyeye, Valenth, Lady Envy, Lady Elissa Hartwall, the half-elf with rounded ears / barkeep from the Drunken Duck, Icefang, the human in the snowy room, the man from the auction and private pictures, guards in black snowflake tabards, Hartwall, Gazzy, Gideone, Arik Bellburn, Wrath, Sopparra, Grol, Noxia, Nerfili, Arile, Otasha, Ennik, Leptrop, Sheriff Fathrabit, the other nobles, the Mother, the little tiefling girl, Valenthielles, Carduneld / Cardunel, Brother Fracture, Andy [uncertain: Kallamar?], Lady Fat Rabbit, Lucas, Heamon, Joy, the betrayer, Mama Hartwall, the priest healing crystal sickness, the Earl, Laura, Sevor-ice, the Highden lizardfolk, Granny, Scurry, Lady Coke, The Basilisk, Gerald, Captain Briarthorn, Gary, Shep, Invar, Soot, the pale human female on the skull throne, Tirar, Valentenhide / Valentinhide, Kasher, Lord Bleakstorm, Provita, Justicarus, [Mathwall], Lady Lyraine, Dirk’s father, Lady [rabbit], Jin Woo, Hydrath, Hanner, Derek, Nelkish, Anthrosite, Infestus, Envi, Rumplky, and [strils].

Groups and factions mentioned include guardsmen, patrols of three guardsmen, human buildings / human targets, golems, gargoyles, doppel/imposter, Claymeadow contacts, Hazy Days staff, residents, pitbosses, all twelve gods, Grand Towers wizards, Avatars of Pride, the Underbelly, the Dollarmans assassins, independent contractors for the Guilt, concerned citizens hiring for money, the mages, elementals, goliaths, oppressors of Bellburn, Blackscales, ore kobolds, hellflings, racist automatons, gods requiring favours, priests of the gods, nerfili babies, the god of Darkness, captured leaders, Three paws on the ground, odd creatures around the Mother, mutated animals, priests, Highden militia, the five mayors, troops, thousands of tribesfolk / possible goliaths, merfolk, water elementals, black dragonborn, Pinespring loggers, the Zigglecog family, kobolds, automatons, and Grand Towers medical team.

Places mentioned include the road approximately five hours outside Brookville Springs, Brookville Springs, the Bridged Statue / Statue of Bridged, Seaward, the temple in Seaward where people take bets, Claymeadow, the main building, Hazy Days, Grand Towers, the Guilt’s room, Envy’s lab, the town outskirts, Mercy’s place, the Drunken Duck, the Grand Towers passage, the void beyond the wall, the Grand Towers broom cupboard, floors 0-60 apartments, 60-70 storerooms / administration offices, 70-90 schools of magic, floor 74 enchantment classes and private mage area, floor 65, floor 98, the boardroom in Grand Towers, the elevator room / teleport circle, Bellburn, the early Bridged-like church, the Bellburn courtyard and tower, Goldenswell, the dome, the barrier, Hartwall, the castle gates, the courtyard where Hartwall transformed, Goldenswell areas, Stone Rampart earthwise, the pylon, the bazaar, Valenthielles prison, the twenty-foot-square seamless teleport room, the middle door / guard or prison area, the dark prison corridor, the smoky prison room, the cathedral, Highden, the firewise mountain’s second level, the Earl’s other foot, the park between the legs, the inn taken by troops, the river battle point, Three Full Moons, the forest ambush site, the mountain plume, the river, Rimewock prison, the mental palace room, the dark cavern with skull throne, Rellport, Bleakstorm, Snowsorrow, Goldenswell, Riversmeet, Sunset Vista, Azurescale, the goliath city, the statue to Hydrath, Azureside cherry orchard, Calcmont, Coalmont Falls, Smokesblood Stout Brewery/Inn, Fellspour & Prick Inn, Pinespring, the monastery, the waterfall cave, the lake, the underwater obsidian archway, Dull Peake, the Domain of Anthrosite, Infestus’s portal, the underground chamber with the twenty-foot statue, the underwater barrier, the freshly cut stone corridor, the ticking-rune door, the giant black figure’s geyser pit, the shelter cave, Envi’s circular room, and the merfolk lodge.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Money, payments, and offerings mentioned include the random copper piece around the Bridged Statue, the party greasing guards’ palms to see Seneshell, 25 platinum paid to the captain, the Grand Towers penny used on Bridged’s statue, Geldrin’s two pennies placed on Bridged’s hand, and the note that people should have given Bridged money.

Transport and communication resources mentioned include Errol, Newgate’s gargoyle, the Bird that did not work, the mage’s ring used to locate the party, Terry the obsidian bird, Metallics’ bird, the lucky cyclops eye that did not go anywhere, Ruby Eye travelling in the bag, the Grand Towers portal / passage, teleport circles, Mercy’s route to Grand Towers, Ruby Eye’s teleport to Dirk, obsidian ravens including stealth ravens, the sending stone with a new Underbelly number, the pulley lift to the inn, the dragon ride with Hartwall, Lord Bleakstorm’s cow-drawn carriage portal, the snowflake coin that is a one-use portal to Bleakstorm, Jin Woo’s teleports, and the merfolk lodge.

Magic, spells, curses, and supernatural effects mentioned include Invar’s remove curse memory, the bracelet falling from Invar’s wrist, purple building explosions, golem detection, the Guilt being unconscious in a dangerous armed chest with a disarm code, Pride being consumed by Garadul, Mercy’s favour, void beyond the passage wall, orb visions, the magical pull on the lock, memories viewed through orbs, Browning turning into a dragon, Browning activating the device, Hartwall disappearing, Bridged’s door travel with green, red, and yellow eye glows, Wrath’s disguise as Ruby Eye, Morgana’s moonbeam revealing Wrath, Dirk’s magic missile against fake Ruby Eye, Wrath’s imprisonment spell and “Burial” command, the changing touch that altered Eliana’s desire for Dirk’s sword and inverse hammer, Hartwall’s dragon curse, Ruby Eye shouting Wrath back into his eye, gods’ bargains and boons, Noxia’s barrier sickness, Otasha’s unborn nerfili baby bargain, the god of Darkness / Leptrop workaround, Hartwall’s transformation, scrying on the Mother, daylight pushing back Joy darkness, trapped peephole damage, Morgana taking damage from the dark female figure, illusions of Joy, crystal sickness / internal consumption, invisibility cast by the Highden lizardfolk, Morgana’s thorn whip, messages through obsidian ravens returning false refusals, Hartwall protecting the party from dragon flame, Morgana summoning a bear, the skeletal dragon’s book from Ruby Eye’s lab, teleporting out to the armies, the White Rune-like saltwater sensation, brain-tickle visions, water elemental communication through Dirk’s rod, summoning the void elemental, the mental meeting with Icefang, dark elf ear-grub memory tampering, the black hole and frost dragon intervention, Geldrin’s skull-throne bargain to dispel dragon magic, Soot’s flames vanishing and bones scattering, Eliana’s breath weapon, Valenth and Ruby Eye’s portal arrival, the blue thistles and coin, Lord Bleakstorm’s message from outside the dome, the grub’s leech and larval-fly properties, Morgana’s octopus form, commune with nature locating the six-armed prisoner, shield crystal compass reading, Hanner’s light orb, rune lightning, Morgana’s misty step through the underwater barrier, failed dispel, thorn whip opening the wall crack, black snowflakes, winter roses opening Envi’s door, purple cores powering automatons, the automaton recall protocol, and the automaton forcing a hole in the barrier.

Objects, trinkets, and named resources mentioned include the Skull of Tremon, the Jelly Fish Broach from the 74th floor private mage area, trinkets from the bargains, Scorpion, Snowlee, Jelly Fish, Ant, Ruby Eye’s lab orbs, the chair / Gideone chair, the silver dragon statue used in Hartwall’s imprisonment, Seaward stone maces, the inverse hammer, the Grand Towers penny, the barrier / dome, the racist automatons, Hartwall’s Raven, the pylon, Heamon’s skull, the prison symbols, the chest around the intense table in Dirk’s vision, the White Rune, Icefang’s ice elemental in Rimewock, dead ear grub, black dragon book from Ruby Eye’s lab, the auroch not freed by Lord Bleakstorm, the snowflake coin, the statue to Hydrath, steam-powered mine carts, black water sample, black sediment, alien-material obsidian archway, the ancient Dull Peake sign, the five runes in a pentagram, the ticking rune door, the upright hand on a plinth, and Envi in a tube of viscous fluid.

Rewards, obligations, and bargains mentioned include Mercy owing or showing a favour, Mercy’s contractor wanting the Jelly Fish Broach as immediate payment for the favour, Wrath offering power in exchange for fighting the party’s enemies, Wrath asking the party to tell Envy that he did it, Ruby Eye’s pact with Wrath to kill the black dragon, the gods requiring a favour each plus communication to priests and a boon, the water elementals requiring the party to free Icefang’s ice elemental at Rimewock, the void elemental requesting another favour involving not freeing Valentenhide and letting Kasher reign, Geldrin offering Garadul to the skull-throne woman, Lord Bleakstorm giving the one-use snowflake portal coin, and Geldrin’s plan to free Justicarus by posing as Grand Towers medical staff.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Brookville Springs had purple explosions across human buildings, including brothels and the guard house, and a human blew up. The explosions happened late on Trimoons day and had stopped by the time the party investigated. A Goldenswell automaton had previously been on the fritz, and the party questioned whether the exploding things were meant to explode or had been commanded to. The leader vanished on the bang night, the town was on high alert, and Geldrin found no golems in town.

The message from Claymeadow reported explosions across town, Newgate’s doppel/imposter in quarters, and a Bird that did not work. The party arranged contact by Errol and the mage’s ring, leaving the exact state of Claymeadow, Newgate’s sister, and the doppel/imposter unresolved.

Seneshell said Pride had been eaten by Garadul, leaving the Guilt unconscious in a chest like the one in Envy’s lab. Pride was the Guilt’s boss, a dark entity who wanted people to be proud, and the Guilt was an Avatar of Pride. [uncertain: Morrowred] had sold out the leaders. Pride had tried to disable as much as possible before being consumed. The relationship between Pride, the Guilt, Seneshell, Browning, Grand Towers, and Garadul remains central.

The Dollarmans identified themselves as assassins, included a half-orc and a human female, and seemed to want to fight but were under orders not to. Their employer and target remain unknown.

Incara’s private message through Terry warned that the party’s compatriot wizards might be working against them and might be responsible for their infertility, though this was not yet confirmed. This ties to later revelations about the nerfili baby bargain and barrier effects, but the exact truth and scope remain uncertain.

Ruby Eye wanted the Skull of Tremon more than he admitted and said it helped with passage in and out of the barrier. Wrath also wanted it because he saw the wizards make it. The Skull of Tremon’s exact function, current safety at Hartwall, and risk if obtained by the wrong faction remain unresolved.

Mercy’s contractor wanted the Jelly Fish Broach from the 74th floor private mage area in Grand Towers for a female buyer outside the barrier who was not the party’s current mutual antagonist. The buyer, purpose, and consequences of retrieving the broach remain unknown.

Grand Towers orb visions revealed hidden wizard bargains, possible memory tampering, Icefang’s entombment under snow, black snowflake guards, trinkets including Scorpion, Snowlee, Jelly Fish, and Ant, and Browning’s actions. Browning had Pride’s power, wanted the biggest tower and to be the greatest wizard, trapped Garadul downstairs, worked with a giant green dragon, and used a device that made Hartwall disappear. The notes preserve multiple uncertain or incomplete statements from these visions.

Bellburn appears outside the dome and treats Bridged’s doors as sacred. Arik Bellburn believed Bridged sent the party from the dome in answer to prayers against Envy. Bridged’s door travel responded to Grand Towers pennies with different eye colours and sent Dirk to Seaward, then sent the group through a palace-like room and back to Brookville Springs. The exact rules of Bridged’s doors, pennies, colour responses, time displacement, and locations remain unclear.

Wrath impersonated Ruby Eye, cursed silver and black dragons so they could not take human form, and imprisoned Hartwall using a silver dragon statue. He described himself, Pride, Envy, and six other little demons of Darkness as nine total. He said the wizards worked with them to create the dome as protection from them. Wrath claims mutual benefit rather than control over the party, but his bargains and fear of Browning remain dangerous.

Ruby Eye’s memories and Icefang’s memories had both been tampered with through ear-grub-like intervention. A dark elf dropped a grub into Icefang’s ear at a mage table during a dispute with Browning. The dark elf may have been from Envy’s apprentice. The party is left with questions about who else was altered, what they forgot, and which wizard decisions were made under coercion.

The gods’ bargains behind the barrier are only partially understood. Bridged gave a way in; Noxia’s bargain involved trinkets and barrier sickness; Otasha received unborn nerfili babies across the race, with the barrier seeming to mitigate it; the god of Darkness was bypassed by making him the god, Leptrop; Ennik and Browning made many deals; Hartwall did not know about half of them. Ruby Eye and Carduneld considered renegotiating deals, breaking the inferlite curse, and addressing barrier damage.

Valenthielles prison contained seamless stone, a prison corridor of damaging Joy-like darkness, trapped peepholes, smoke, prison symbols, and a dark female figure who had recent friendly visitors that cleaned up quickly, teleported outside, and left Valenthielles. The identity of the visitors, what they removed or cleaned, and the state of Valenthielles remain open.

The Mother was found near a crater at the side of the barrier close to the mountain and Valenthielles prison, with odd creatures and a little tiefling girl on a weird two-legged horse. The Mother was slain off-screen in the notes after a fight involving mutated animals and the betrayer, but the Mother, the betrayer, the tiefling girl, the creatures, and the exact sequence have gaps.

Highden suffered crystal sickness / internal consumption, blistering skin, military retreat, false obsidian raven messages, and a major battle against tribesfolk, giants, and dragons. The Underbelly was rebuilding under Lady Coke, with Granny and Scurry as trusted contacts, while Highden was described as a wreck that never sees the sun.

The battle near Highden involved Hartwall, a skeletal dragon with Ruby Eye’s lab book, Soot, Icefang’s intervention as a frost dragon, water elementals, a void elemental, the skull-throne woman, and a bargain offering Garadul. Several visions occurred: Dirk’s green-dragon-armour room, Geldrin’s mage-table paper, the ford with red thorns, Hartwall’s mother buried and trapped by tiny red creatures, and Tirar’s Rellport leech vision. Their full meanings remain unresolved.

The skull-throne woman with bleeding eye sockets had taken Soot as payment and accepted Garadul in exchange for dispelling dragon magic. Her identity, relationship to Geldrin, interest in Soot since hatching, and connection to other deals remain unclear.

Lord Bleakstorm appeared dead but active, delivered a message from Icefang outside the dome, and gave a one-use portal coin to Bleakstorm. He could not stay inside the dome because Browning would detect him and send minions. He had not freed the auroch. His current power, limits, and exact role remain unresolved.

Coalmont Falls has black water that has occurred for one thousand years, once monthly but now twice daily, following a pattern with elemental schools of magic. Morgana’s commune with nature found a six-armed black creature shackled underwater, linked to alien material and an obsidian archway. The black water, black sediment, roar, and increasing frequency suggest the prisoner or prison is destabilizing.

The underwater prison or facility contained a twenty-foot statue with five runes in a pentagram, the name !Asmoorade!, a barrier that Morgana crossed with misty step but could not dispel or recross, a freshly cut stone corridor, a ticking-rune door, black snowflakes, and a giant jet-black four-armed figure in a geyser pit. Envi, Rumplky, purple-cored automatons, the upright hand, [strils], and a tube of viscous fluid suggest a hidden revival process. The automaton introduced himself as Garadul and recalled the automatons away after forcing a hole in the barrier, leaving the state of Envi, the rings, and the prison unknown.

Anthrosite’s domain and agreement with the wizards protected the party because Geldrin wore wizard robes and because Nelkish recognized Eliana as pure blood rather than half blood. Infestus’s portal, the food-supply agreement, the returned skull of Nelkish’s brother, and Garadul’s plans remain active threads.