Narrative

Day 36 began at about 04:00, approximately five hours outside Brookville Springs. Scum 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 Hartwall 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 Garadule. 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. Seneshell mentioned that Pride 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 Kalissa 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. 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 Garadule, speaking through his greater gravel children. Garadule was locked downstairs and heard him when he was ready; he had walked into Browning’s trap. Ruby Eye said they would sort Garadule 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; Hartwall turned into a dragon, then Browning activated the device and she 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 Garadule. 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 Belburn 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 Belburn. 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 Lady Evalina Hartwall in silver dragon form on top of a building. She said she had come for payment and Envy would have her due. In dragon form, Hartwall 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. Erol 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 and out. Noxia’s terms involved the trinkets and barrier sickness caused by living near or touching the barrier. The merfolk and babies were infertile, and Browning made sure they needed the wizards. Kasha’s terms were more than suffering: she received the unborn merfolk babies across the whole race, though the barrier seemed to stop this slightly. Lady Evalina Hartwall was unhappy and did not know about half the deals made. The wizards had found ways around most bargains involving the god of Darkness. Kasha did not want the barrier because she was getting a lot of business but allowed a bargain to be made. Ennuyé 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 Lady Kalissa Hartwall’s curse was not his normal thing and was definitely his sister’s work. He said, “there you go,” and claimed that Lady Kalissa 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. Lady Kalissa Hartwall wanted to transform and left the chamber for the courtyard, where she transformed. She was slightly bigger than the Peridot Queen. In Seaward, there were not many known reports; nobody stated that the racist automatons had exploded. Lady Kalissa Hartwall’s Raven had exploded, and there had been several explosions across the city.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Scum, Elementarium, Invar, Errol, Lady Newgate, Lady Newgate’s sister, the Peridot Queen, Lady Thorpe, Bridged / Bridge, Geldrin, Dirk, Morgana, Seneshell, the Guilt, Pride, Garadule / Garadul, Browning, Mercy, Briker / Magi, the Dollarmans, Terry, Metallics, Incara, Ruby Eye / Rubyeye, Valenth, Lady Envy, Lady Kalissa Hartwall, Lady Evalina Hartwall, Icefang, Hartwall, Gazzy, Gideone, Arik Belburn, Wrath, Sopparra, Erol, Noxia, Kasha, Ennuyé, Sheriff Fathrabit, and the other nobles.

Groups and factions mentioned include Brookville Springs guards, Claymeadow contacts, Hazy Days staff, all twelve gods, Grand Towers wizards, Avatars of Pride, the Underbelly, the Dollarmans assassins, goliaths, Blackscales, ore kobolds, hellflings, priests of the gods, merfolk, racist automatons, and the gods involved in the barrier bargains.

Places mentioned include Brookville Springs, the Bridged Statue, Seaward, Claymeadow, Hazy Days, Grand Towers, Mercy’s place, the Drunken Duck, the Grand Towers passage, floor 74, floor 65, floor 98, Belburn, Goldenswell, Hartwall, the castle gates, and the courtyard where Hartwall transformed.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Money, transport, and communication resources included the copper piece at the Bridged Statue, 25 platinum paid to the captain, the Bird that did not work, the mage’s ring, Terry the obsidian bird, the lucky cyclops eye, Ruby Eye travelling in the bag, Mercy’s Grand Towers passage, teleport circles, Bridged’s door travel triggered by Grand Towers pennies, Ruby Eye’s teleport to Dirk, and Hartwall’s Raven.

Magic, spells, and objects included Invar’s remove curse memory, the fallen bracelet, purple building explosions, the Guilt’s dangerous chest, Mercy’s favour, Grand Towers orb visions, Ruby Eye’s lab orbs, the Jelly Fish Broach, the Skull of Tremon, trinkets including Scorpion, Snowlee, Jelly Fish, and Ant, Wrath’s impersonation of Ruby Eye, Wrath’s imprisonment spell and silver dragon statue, Hartwall’s dragon curse, the inverse hammer, and the barrier bargains involving Bridged, Noxia, Kasha, Ennuyé, Browning, and the god of Darkness.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Brookville Springs suffered purple explosions across human buildings and the lead human vanished. The Claymeadow message reported explosions, Newgate’s doppel or imposter, and a Bird that did not work. The exact cause and target selection of the explosions remain unresolved.

Seneshell said Pride had been eaten by Garadule, leaving the Guilt unconscious in a dangerous chest. Pride, the Guilt, Seneshell, Browning, Grand Towers, and Garadule remain tightly connected.

Incara warned that the party’s compatriot wizards might be working against them and might be responsible for infertility. Mercy’s contractor wanted the Jelly Fish Broach for a female buyer outside the barrier. Both requests remain active.

Grand Towers visions exposed wizard bargains, Icefang’s snow entombment, black snowflake guards, Browning’s device, Hartwall’s disappearance, and the trinkets used in old bargains. Ruby Eye wanted the Skull of Tremon more than he admitted, and Wrath also wanted it because he had seen the wizards make it.

Wrath impersonated Ruby Eye, cursed silver and black dragons, imprisoned Lady Evalina Hartwall, and described nine little demons of Darkness including Wrath, Pride, and Envy. He asked the party to tell Envy he had done it, while claiming the party were not working for him.