Narrative

Day 43 began after a restful night’s sleep. The party headed for breakfast. All the wizards seemed to have been called back to Grand Towers, and more and more people were finding lost documents. Memories or information had started to come back about a week earlier, aligning with the party killing The Mother.

Goldenswell was still out of sorts after the kidnappings. Two kobolds were now in the city, one of them a lieutenant who had travelled from airwise and whose story was similar to the party’s. The party met his lieutenant, Grimby the 3rd. Grimby had once worked for an evil wizard and had been helped by adventurers to escape. The wizard had been capturing woodcutters for her army; the name Klesha was noted, and The Basilisk had told the party about them. A lovely Envoy had come to Grimby and taught him how to kill his townsfolk. The Envoy may have been a dragon, described as silvery green. Grimby woke up at Pine Springs in the snow, ran off because of a huge bird sparkling with electricity, and then ran into the forest. He had been kidnapped because he used to sleep on top of his mother. The place he came from had many words, the same as Hartwall. There had been a door in one of the rooms with a goat man in it, but the goat man was gone when he left [unclear]. The name Shriek was noted uncertainly.

The party also discussed Wroth. Wroth trapped Envy when he trapped Mama Hartwall, because Envy was in Mama Hartwall’s head the same way he is in Ruby Eye’s. Geldrin found a disintegrated scroll in Jin Woo’s room. On the back was written: “In her gaze, End of Days.” Morgana found an auction house receipt for a large picture frame with a massive moth. She also found or noted a chess board with the wizards as carved pieces; one rook looked like [uncertain: brakemen]. The pub was called “11th Duke of Hartwall’s wife.” A moustached fat man was there with a very good-looking raven-haired half-elf on his arm. Near the Cathedral of Attabre was an ominous church with the sign “Lord Argenthum’s Rest.”

A dwarf blacksmith pulled Invar aside and said it was good to see others lost around. He was there for other reasons, not just to sell wares, and gave Invar a box. A golden dragonborn had tomes about places the tomes had only just discovered: Ashkhellion, Goliath City, Tradesmalls, Thadkhell, Wormdoo, Oldum, Broken Bounds, Blackshield, and Last Post Airwise. Invar opened the box slightly. It glowed bright and warm, and he closed it to open fully later.

A crowd gathered around a vulture man with a glass box containing a glowing open book. The party queued to see it. The person at the front was an elf with bushy ear-ends. Morgana asked where Ruby Eye was, but nothing happened. When she asked who could help find Ruby Eye, the book drew a pale dwarf with black dreadlocks and a crown; the picture smudged, and the words said, “One more glance a death dance.” Geldrin asked how to wake Trixus. The book showed Benu, Trixus, and Garadul, with two sphinxes behind them and the words “a family reunited” underneath. One sphinx was only an outline. Geldrin then heard a whisper in his ear: “one brief look - last breath Took.” He turned and saw a featureless woman, Valentinhide, reflected in Invar’s armour, then collapsed to the floor.

The book was written by Benu, and there were five books in total: Goldenswell, Snowsorrow, Dumnensend, Freeport, and Hartwall. When the party asked the book for the location of Papa Marmaru, it showed only a blank page. The party also learned about lost dwarf civilisation: second came the dwarves, first of tops and fire of the deep, with three great cities of each. Many had been lost over the years, but each still existed. Benu’s family names were listed as a missing unnamed one, Anadreste, Benu, Garadul with the name hidden on the page, and Trixus. Someone felt a hand on their hand, though nothing was there. The vulture man, or a force through him, said “in her stare Bones laid bare,” though he did not remember speaking.

The party asked what was on page two. The elements seemed to clash; a bright light rose from the page and left a black hole, while many different elements appeared and converged into the world the party knows. The last page showed “The End,” then the repeated death-rhyme: “one more glance a death dance,” “one brief look last breath Took,” “In her stare Bones laid bare,” and “in her gaze the end of days.” The book slammed shut, which it had never done before. This reminded the party of Dumnensend and a children’s poetry book. Morgana had the book whose last poem was that one; the second-to-last was a council meeting with plans to take out Valentinhide.

The golden dragonborn searched for dwarven lost cities and found two books written by a scholar, Lord Hawthorn, who was extracted from civilization after the death of Princess Maesthon and [uncertain: Grin gray] / [uncertain: Atltrino]. The location was in one volcano. Each book referenced the other city, and neither referenced a third. The books referenced the author’s friend Ruby Eye, who was married to a princess of Grincray, but written so the reader would not believe she was really a princess of Grincray, described as a princess of the lost ones. Morgana asked a [uncertain: Shutiny] to speak to the Chorus of the Kings about the location of Grim & Cray. The answer was that the door was the entrance to both cities.

The dragonborn found a book on Hawthorn. Hawthorn was a botanist, and it was unclear why he wrote about dwarves or [uncertain: otres]. The biography was written by Ruby Eye but borrowed 94k, and Hawthorn was one of the first people who left, [uncertain: 90] years ago. He developed giant bees and winter-flowering plants, bred some animals at the Menagerie, created winter rose, and may have gifted a blossoming tree to Goldenswell.

The party returned to the castle to wait for the bird. They decided to open Invar’s box. It contained a small black orb where lava stone went through the racks, and snake heads as eyes. It did not respond to Morgana’s attempt to speak with it, but it spoke many languages. It said it had been in the box for one min moon, 300 days. Icefang said the party could release him. The name Papa Marmaru was given; the orb was only part of him. It knew where the rest of him was and would take the party there to free him and [uncertain: unrasorak]. It was blessed by Anadreste. Friends had extracted him from the lake. The dwarves had seen the errors of their ways and now wanted to release him. Ruby Eye was no longer welcome at the city, and the king there was pale-skinned with black dreads.

Shurling arrived. The Chorus knew where the entrance to Grincray was, but they needed to go through Mashir. The flesh-crafting wands were discussed; something was still out there stopping all of the lost knowledge from being retrieved.

Lady Elissa Hartwall appeared. She had gone with forces from Dumnensend to defend near where the party had been fighting, where many “dragonborn” were defending. Emeraire Hartmor araltar thought Bridlator was going to attack Hartwall, and she had done so before she disappeared. Lady Elissa Hartwall had started remembering things. She remembered Icefang more clearly and that he cared for her. She and Icefang both assaulted Perodita; Icefang was starting to lose his mind. Perodita had appeared unexpectedly for her youth. When the party told Lady Elissa Hartwall about the copper dragon and Snowsorrows, she had a big flash of recognition and remembered gold dragons. They told her about Jin Woo. Grand Towers were done.

The Menagerie was then discussed. The mages who worked there had not returned to Grand Towers and had locked the Menagerie down; no one could get in. It used to be the mage school. Emi’s apprentice was a dark-skinned elf. Joy did not like him, and Mr Browning also did not like him. Browning was described as a nice man, though the note adds that this is not what the party has seen. Storms were bad in the latest reports. Heathmoor plagues were very bad. The land was healing, but the people were not, and the plagues did not share similarities with barrier sickness. News from a rear Ironcraft air site said a tradesman went to pick someone up but that person had “disappeared.” The guilt was Emi’s guilt.

Lady Elissa Hartwall also discussed Goldenswell. The Earl needed to be fair and acceptable, but about eight weeks earlier he had pulled his armies and left Hartwall in the lurch. In Claymeadows, the believers had killed her niece. Lovely Brooching was someone Hartwall would like to see replace the Earl of Goldenswell. Harthden had been demolished by giants. The situation made it difficult to rally Threepaws to anything. Strategic options included rallying forces from Goldenswell, Snowsorrow, and the dwarves; finding out what was happening with Grand Towers; and using Garadul’s feather to speak to him. The feather was a one-person walkie-talkie.

The party tried to speak to Garadul through the feather. It vibrated, and there was a chill in the air. Garadul called them his allies and said they had come to see the errors of their ways. He said “he” had kept them here, that the barrier was his, that the betrayer sat amongst them, perhaps the daughter, and that Mother had been a useful ally. Only the cause mattered. Only one more remained: Anroch or the Grab [unclear]. His friends had trapped him. Everyone had been against him before he convinced the vessel. He asked where his brother was, and the party told him to help bring down the barrier. He had trapped the mages. The fifth sphinx was father. Once the barrier was down, all wrongs against him would be rectified.

Garadul said people did not build things as he taught them and instead ran off to live like primitives. Benu failed because he abandoned his post. Trixus, by contrast, did not fail because he did not abandon his post. The party or Eliana addressed “Dad” and told Garadul that the vulture men were back at Dumnensend and that Hephestos was still alive.

A quick update came by sending stone: the Grand Towers dome was down, and Garadul had probably gone to Ashkhellion. The party debated whether to go to Ashkhellion and get Benu first. They went to the library to speak to the vulture man. He went to get his sending stone to speak to [uncertain: Ashtrigwos], to tell Benu to meet the party at the tower in Ashkhellion. Geldrin asked for magical scrolls and got them just before the teleportation circle completed. The party went to Ashkhellion.

They appeared higher up in the tower, and Hartwall transformed into a dragon to catch them. They went to the prison room. There was a dwarven man with the barrier opener around Hephestos’s prison. Garadul asked whether he wanted to see his brother first and then transformed to his normal self. He noticed Trixus was sleepy. The ceiling above vanished, and Benu appeared. Lady Elissa Hartwall dropped to her knees and started to glow. A humanoid the size of the tower woke Trixus. The family was reunited.

Steven was no longer in his barrier. Benu landed between the party and Trixus / Garadul, while Trixus was still in a barrier. The party asked Garadul to lay down his weapons, but he refused. Eliana tried to get the dome opener, and Garadul killed them. Benu attacked Garadul. Geldrin used a tremor skill to release Trixus. Eliana was revived and saw Valentinhide manage to look away. Benu and Garadul broke through the walls and fought outside. A fight ensued, and Garadul was banished at 5:00.

Benu told Trixus what had happened to Garadul. Trixus asked where Benu had been when his people were in trouble. Dark clouds gathered above the dune. Perodita appeared, looking very bedraggled compared with the previous day. She said she would get back in and wanted the flesh-crafting wands. Trixus said father had put him to sleep. The party returned to the tower and retrieved the barrier tools. Benu knew of a way to live peacefully without the barrier.

Hephestos was only his soul. He wanted to make a pact with the party so they would let him out and wanted to give them information to help him get out. He had been asked to attack the dome, perhaps by Browning. The party needed to save Garadul. Trixus and Benu transformed into humanoids and went to the shrine room to check whether Garadul was there. The party added Brass City platinum to the offering bowl to help communicate with the god. Attabre came through. Garadul was not with him. When Attabre asked what the party sought, they answered that they sought justice. Benu disappeared. Attabre said he sought atonement for his crimes, justice. Trixus was looking but seemed okay. Attabre was angry with Benu. Goliaths were due to get a protector like Trixus. The party began to tell Hartwall about the ancient [unclear].

The party reflected that the barrier was possibly a bad thing, but had been made for noble and proud reasons. Trixus could help with the memories, but a spell within the barrier was interfering. The magic involved Attabre and another force. The location of the spell was waterwise at the Mages College at Riversmeet. Trixus did not like the barrier and did not think the elves should have been able to remove their pride. The party planned to go to Riversmeet and speak to Lady Igraine. They split: Dirk, Eliana, and Morgana took Hartwall to meet Anastasia; Invar and Geldrin took Trixus to see Emi.

With Emi, Trixus was called “the useless one.” Emi said the elves needed help to remove emotions. Cardenald had put a talking door on one of the prisons. Emi said he and Browning should have been in charge but were betrayed. The elves’ protector who taught them how to remove emotions was Benu. Trixus might be able to put Emi’s emotions back, but he would need the emotions in order to put them back.

With Anastasia, the party flew down to the courtyard. The Goliaths were scared. A large Goliath came and warily took the party to Anastasia in a building that was quiet and damaged. Stalwart was the first of the restored Iron Knights. The elders had managed to remove the sickness. Dragons had been sent back to their homes and had gone on the warpath. Tradesmells’ dragons were missing. Ar[unclear] armies had not left. Vathkell / Vathkell under Emeraire had its dragon armies dispersed. Thungle armies had not left. Anastasia was trying to create armies to attack. The party told her that Perodita was outside the barrier. They arranged a pincer movement on Vathkell with Dirk’s father’s army.

An elder came in, and Morgana checked him over. Stalwart’s purification ritual had removed his ailment. Morgana cast Lesser Restoration, healed his maladies, then went out to heal some children. She set up a garden, sang a song while curing them, turned into a crow, and flew off; the notes mark this as creating a legend. Anastasia was worried about where Verdigren went.

Geldrin tried to think of a way to get Hephestus to tell the truth. He had no luck, and Invar carried Hephestus away. The group came down to the ground and met the others. They asked Trixus to help the elders communicate with Attabre. Anastasia’s bird was sent to Cardonald to get her to come to the party for the teleportation circle to Riversmeet. Cardonald appeared. She still had not found Ruby Eye and could not find Errol either; perhaps they were not on the same plane. Cardonald said Hartwall meant a lot to her. The notes ask which one, and then mention Icefang: things would not be as good as they are without him.

Cardonald gave Geldrin all of the teleportation circles: seven prisons with no defences; labs with uncertain defences; three Grand Towers locations, namely factory, control room, and meeting lounge; a gate at the mountains earthwise of Coalmount Hills in Dunnendale; copper mines at Arrofarc; an impact site earthwise of Goldenswell; the Menagerie at Riversmeet; Ashkhellon; and five pylons, with Aegis on Sands marked broken. Everyone headed to bed, and Dirk and Anastasia spent the night together and had a good night.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include the party, the wizards recalled to Grand Towers, The Mother, Grimby the 3rd, the kobold lieutenant from airwise, the evil wizard Klesha, the adventurers who helped Grimby escape, The Basilisk, the lovely Envoy, Grimby’s mother, Wroth, Envy / Envi, Mama Hartwall, Ruby Eye / Rubyeye, Geldrin, Jin Woo, Morgana, [uncertain: brakemen], the 11th Duke of Hartwall’s wife, the moustached fat man, the raven-haired half-elf, Lord Argenthum / Argenthum, Invar, the dwarf blacksmith, the golden dragonborn, the vulture man, the bushy-eared elf, the pale dwarf with black dreadlocks and a crown, Trixus, Benu, Garadul / Garadul / Garadul / Garadul, Valentinhide / Valentinhide, Papa Marmaru, Anadreste, Lord Hawthorn / Hacethorn, Princess Maesthon, [uncertain: Grin gray] / [uncertain: Atltrino], Princess of Grincray / princess of the lost ones, [uncertain: Shutiny], the Chorus of the Kings, Shurling, Icefang, [uncertain: unrasorak], the pale-skinned king with black dreads, Lady Elissa Hartwall, Emeraire Hartmor araltar, Bridlator, Perodita, the copper dragon, the gold dragons, Emi / Emri, Emi’s dark-skinned elf apprentice, Joy, Mr Browning, the tradesman from the rear Ironcraft air site, the Earl of Goldenswell, Hartwall’s niece killed in Claymeadows, lovely Brooching, Threepaws, Anroch or the Grab [unclear], “Dad,” Hephestos / Hephestus, [uncertain: Ashtrigwos], Lady Elissa Hartwall as dragon, the dwarven man with the barrier opener, Steven, Attabre, Lady Igraine, Anastasia, Dirk, Invar, Cardenald / Cardonald, Stalwart, the restored Iron Knights, Dirk’s father, Verdigren / Verdigrim, Errol, and Icefang.

Groups and factions mentioned include the wizards called back to Grand Towers, kidnapped victims, kobolds in the city, woodcutters captured for Klesha’s army, townsfolk Grimby was taught to kill, the people of Hartwall, vulture men, dwarves of logs and the deep, Benu’s family, sphinxes, the Gold Dragon Council, dwarven lost cities, friends who extracted Papa Marmaru from the lake, dwarves who saw the errors of their ways, forces from Dumnensend, “dragonborn” defenders, mages at the Menagerie, the mage school, storms, Heathmoor plague victims, Goldenswell’s armies, believers in Claymeadows, giants who demolished Harthden, forces of Goldenswell, Snowsorrow, and the dwarves, Garadul’s allies, Mother as Garadul’s ally, mages trapped by Garadul, Goliaths, elves, tabaxi or related peoples implied by Brass City, Anastasia’s Goliaths, elders, dragons sent back to their homes, Tradesmells dragons, dragon armies, children healed by Morgana, and teleportation-circle destinations.

Places mentioned include Grand Towers, Goldenswell, Pine Springs, the forest, Hartwall, Jin Woo’s room, the pub called “11th Duke of Hartwall’s wife,” the Cathedral of Attabre, Lord Argenthum’s Rest, Ashkhellion / Ashhellier / Ashkellion, Goliath City, Tradesmalls, Thadkhell, Wormdoo, Oldum, Broken Bounds, Blackshield, Last Post Airwise, Snowsorrow, Dumnensend, Freeport, one volcano containing lost dwarf-city locations, Grincray / Grim & Cray, Mashir, the castle, the lake from which Papa Marmaru was extracted, the city where Ruby Eye is no longer welcome, Hartwall, the Menagerie, Riversmeet, the rear Ironcraft air site, Claymeadows, Harthden, Grand Towers dome, the library, Ashkhellion tower, the prison room, Hephestos’s prison, the shrine room, the barrier, the Mages College at Riversmeet, Anastasia’s courtyard and damaged building, Tradesmells, Ar[unclear], Vathkell / Vathkell, Thungle, Coalmount Hills, Dunnendale, Arrofarc, the impact site earthwise of Goldenswell, Aegis on Sands, seven prisons, the lab, and the Grand Towers factory / control room / meeting lounge.

Creatures and creature-like beings mentioned include kobolds, the silvery-green Envoy / possible dragon, the huge bird sparkling with electricity, the goat man behind a door, the vulture man, the featherless woman reflected in Invar’s armour, sphinxes, Papa Marmaru as a black orb or fragment, dragonborn, the copper dragon from Snowsorrow, gold dragons, Benu, Trixus, Garadul, Perodita, Hephestos as a soul, and Morgana as a crow.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Items, documents, and physical resources mentioned include lost documents, the disintegrated scroll in Jin Woo’s room, the phrase “In her gaze, End of Days,” the auction house receipt for a large picture frame with a massive moth, the chess board with wizard carved pieces, Invar’s glowing warm box from the dwarf blacksmith, tomes of newly discovered places, the vulture man’s glass box, the glowing open book written by Benu, the five Benu books for Goldenswell, Snowsorrow, Dumnensend, Freeport, and Hartwall, the books on dwarven lost cities by Lord Hawthorn, the book on Hawthorn written by Ruby Eye, giant bees, winter-flowering plants, animals bred at the Menagerie, winter rose, a possible blossoming tree gifted to Goldenswell, the small black orb / Papa Marmaru fragment in Invar’s box, lava stone racks, snake-head eyes, flesh-crafting wands, Garadul’s feather used as a one-person walkie-talkie, sending stones, magical scrolls obtained by Geldrin, the barrier opener / dome opener, barrier tools retrieved from the tower, Brass City platinum offered at the shrine, Anastasia’s bird, and Cardonald’s list of teleportation circles.

Spells, visions, and magical effects mentioned include memories returning after The Mother was killed, Grimby’s displacement to Pine Springs, Wroth trapping Envy in Mama Hartwall’s head, the Benu book drawing images in response to questions, the featherless woman reflected in Invar’s armour causing Geldrin to collapse, elemental creation imagery from page two, the book slamming shut, the death-rhyme about Valentinhide’s gaze and stare, the Chorus of the Kings locating Grincray through Mashir, the black orb speaking many languages, Papa Marmaru knowing where the rest of him was, Grand Towers dome going down, teleportation to Ashkhellion, Lady Elissa Hartwall transforming into a dragon, the ceiling vanishing for Benu’s arrival, the tower-sized humanoid waking Trixus, Garadul killing and Eliana being revived, Geldrin’s tremor skill releasing Trixus, Garadul’s banishment, Attabre’s shrine manifestation, a barrier spell interfering with memories, Trixus potentially restoring Emi’s removed emotions, Stalwart’s purification ritual, Morgana’s Lesser Restoration on Stalwart, Morgana healing children through song and a garden, and Cardonald failing to locate Ruby Eye or Errol, perhaps because they were not on the same plane.

Strategic resources and plans mentioned include the information recovered from lost documents, possible aid from Grimby’s story, the pale dwarf with black dreadlocks and a crown as a lead for finding Ruby Eye, the family-reunited clue for waking or resolving Trixus, the door entrance to both Grincray cities, the route through Mashir, Lady Elissa Hartwall’s reports about the Menagerie and plagues, possible forces from Goldenswell, Snowsorrow, and dwarves, the need to investigate Grand Towers, using Garadul’s feather, summoning Benu to Ashkhellion, recovering barrier tools, Benu’s claim that peaceful life without the barrier is possible, Trixus’s ability to help with memories, the plan to speak to Lady Igraine of Riversmeet, the split-party visits to Anastasia and Emi, the pincer movement on Vathkell with Dirk’s father’s army, Trixus helping elders communicate with Attabre, and teleportation circles to prisons, labs, Grand Towers, Dunnendale, Arrofarc, Goldenswell, the Menagerie, Ashkhellon, and pylons.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Memories and documents began returning after The Mother was killed. The full set of recovered documents, what is still blocked, and why the memory restoration started about a week ago remain open.

Grimby the 3rd’s story connects Klesha, a silvery-green Envoy, murdered townsfolk, Pine Springs, a huge sparkling-electric bird, Hartwall-like words, and a missing goat man behind a door. The exact chronology, identity of Shriek, and link to Envy remain unclear.

Wroth trapped Envy in Mama Hartwall’s head the way Envy is in Ruby Eye’s. This suggests Envy can be contained inside people or minds, but the mechanism and current risk to Mama Hartwall and Ruby Eye are unresolved.

The scroll phrase “In her gaze, End of Days” joined the Benu book’s warnings: “One more glance a death dance,” “one brief look last breath Took,” and “In her stare Bones laid bare.” These warnings must be preserved with Valentinhide / Valentenhide.

The auction house receipt for a massive moth picture frame, the wizard-piece chess board, and the rook resembling [uncertain: brakemen] are unexplained but may be clues.

The dwarf blacksmith gave Invar the glowing box for reasons beyond selling wares. The black orb inside identified itself as part of Papa Marmaru and wanted to reunite with the rest of itself and [uncertain: unrasorak]. Its blessing by Anadreste, extraction from the lake, and connection to dwarves who changed their minds remain unresolved.

The vulture man’s book identified a pale dwarf with black dreadlocks and a crown as someone who could help find Ruby Eye, but the caption was smudged. The same book showed Benu, Trixus, Garadul, and two sphinxes as “a family reunited,” with one outline figure. This was later partly fulfilled, but the outline figure and exile question remain significant.

Benu’s five books, the blank page for Papa Marmaru, and the listed family names of Anadreste, Benu, hidden Garadul, Trixus, and one missing unnamed sibling establish a family structure that remains incomplete.

The page-two elemental clash and black hole appeared to depict world creation or current-world formation. The exact cosmology remains unclear.

The children’s poetry book and Dumnensend poem preserve plans to take out Valentinhide. The origin and accuracy of those poems are unknown.

The dwarven lost-city books refer to Lord Hawthorn, Princess Maesthon, [uncertain: Grin gray] / [uncertain: Atltrino], Grincray, a volcano, a princess of the lost ones, and Ruby Eye’s marriage. The third city is not referenced by either book, making it a gap.

Hawthorn was a botanist who wrote about dwarves, developed giant bees, winter-flowering plants, winter rose, Menagerie animals, and perhaps a Goldenswell tree. Why he was extracted, how Ruby Eye’s biography borrowed 94k, and how Hawthorn connects to the lost cities remain open.

Shurling reported that the Chorus knew the entrance to Grincray but needed to go through Mashir. The relationship between Mashir, Grincray, and the two-city door remains unresolved.

Something is still preventing all lost knowledge from being retrieved. This blocker may be connected to flesh-crafting wands, memory interference, or barrier magic.

Lady Elissa Hartwall remembered Icefang, gold dragons, and the assault on Perodita. Icefang cared for her but was starting to lose his mind. The effects of this recovered memory on Hartwall, Perodita, and Snowsorrow remain unresolved.

The Menagerie, formerly the mage school, is locked down by mages who did not return to Grand Towers. Emi’s dark-skinned elf apprentice, Joy’s dislike of him, and Browning’s contradictory reputation are important unresolved leads.

Heathmoor plagues are severe, differ from barrier sickness, and are not healing with the land. Their cause and cure remain open.

The rear Ironcraft air-site disappearance, the Earl of Goldenswell withdrawing armies, the murdered niece in Claymeadows, Harthden’s demolition by giants, and Threepaws’ rallying difficulty create multiple political and military threads.

Garadul’s feather conversation revealed his belief that the barrier is his, that a betrayer or daughter sits among the party, that Mother was a useful ally, that only one more remains, perhaps Anroch or the Grab, that his friends trapped him, that he convinced the vessel, and that the fifth sphinx was father. These claims are self-serving but vital.

Benu’s failure, Trixus’s non-abandonment, Garadul’s rage, and Attabre’s anger at Benu leave the sphinx family conflict unresolved despite Garadul’s banishment.

Steven was missing from his barrier after the confrontation. His whereabouts and whether this is dangerous are unknown.

Perodita appeared bedraggled outside the barrier, wanted flesh-crafting wands, and intended to get back in. Her current goals and condition remain open.

Hephestos is only his soul, wants a pact, and says he was asked to attack the dome, possibly by Browning. Geldrin could not find a way to make him tell the truth.

Trixus can help with memories, but a spell inside the barrier interferes. The spell location is waterwise at the Mages College at Riversmeet and includes Attabre magic plus another force.

Emi’s emotions were removed with help from Benu, and Trixus may restore them only if the emotions can be found. The missing guilt, and perhaps other emotions, remain central.

Anastasia’s reports show varied dragon-army states: Tradesmells dragons missing, Ar[unclear] armies not left, Vathkell / Emeraire armies dispersed, and Thungle armies not left. Verdigren’s whereabouts worry Anastasia.

Ruby Eye and Errol could not be found by Cardonald and may not be on the same plane. This remains urgent.

Cardonald’s teleport-circle list is a major strategic asset. Several entries are uncertain or dangerous, especially the seven prisons, lab, Grand Towers factory / control room / meeting lounge, broken Aegis on Sands pylon site, and Menagerie at Riversmeet.