Narrative

Day 59 began after the party’s rest and arrival at Belburn. The table explicitly confirmed, “It’s a new day.” Belburn was rocky and arid, earthwise of the desert, in low foothills and quarry-like country. The main routes to Lost Vein were a broad upstream river with small canal barges or an old road that locals avoided because Lady Envy’s people used it to extort travellers and residents.

The Belburners were pale-skinned, Goliath-like people with freedom-oriented customs tied to Bridged. Their town seemed ramshackle, open, and loosely owned. People changed professions often and disliked being tied down, though an observer noted that they were oddly rigid for worshippers of freedom: when it was party time, they partied; when it was pot-making time, they focused on pots. A local marker said there were six days until the Tri-moon.

The party heard that Belburn’s town hall had Evalina’s buried dragon beneath it. Local rumour said someone laying their head on the floor could hear the creature rumbling, though the party heard nothing. User clarification confirms that the buried dragon is Lady Evalina Hartwall and that she is one of Envy’s enforcers. Lady Envy had been quiet since one of her enforcers was pushed into the ground, but Belburn still paid her “tithes,” or “gifts.”

The party hired a wagon and three lizards from a female Goliath lizard-dealer who had lived in Belburn for seven or eight years. She accepted Dome currency as precious metal. The party paid 80 gp: 30 gp for hire and 50 gp as a returnable deposit, with seven days of feed included, and Dirk handled the lizard team. The lizards were Slinky, Mr. Green, and Lizzy. Mr. Green was black with orange markings, Lizzy had a bow on one horn, and Slinky had spring-like or wheel imagery. The animals responded to treats rather than whips, liked meat and dried fly-cake treats, had good endurance, and struggled in cold.

The lizard-dealer said Lady Envy “runs most of the air around here” and had taken over the kobold mines. The kobolds were already under Envy’s thumb, mining for her, but now her camp had moved in. Kobolds were described as good at eating, mining, and murdering each other; nearly as good as dwarves at mining, but worse craftsmen.

At Bridged’s temple, Geldrin bought 100 gp worth of high-quality ink used to illuminate holy texts. The priest expected the Bleak Stormers to bring more ink. Lord Bleakstorm followed Bridged, was said to have “our lady’s ear personally,” and was described as eternal and tricksy. A coin was offered or sacrificed on the temple floor, and prestidigitation made a silver coin look gold because Bridged “always did love a trick.”

The party also visited an unnamed Belburn inn or pub with no bar, self-serve barrels and bottles, coin bowls, and haphazard foreign cloths. Drinks included rough, live Cracker Jack ale; magically cold dwarven Frost Rime whiskey with mellow pineapple or cassis notes; and good spiced rum.

On the road toward Lost Vein, the party found a hidden cairn-like refuge marked with cloth. Dirk stayed with the cart, and Morgana stayed with the animals in bird form while three others investigated. Dotharl pointed out the very recent kobold footprints near the entrance, which also had a crude bell tripwire. Inside was a kobold mother with nine children, though she said she had been taxed for “17.” She had fled Lost Vein after a tax collector took all her jade. She said Envy’s people used the mines and old buildings there: “cat butts” (the kobold’s phrase for Llamia), snake people, and others. The mines produced copper, gold, jade, and amethyst, and had once been rich enough to attract dwarves. Jade miners were favoured by Envy but taxed most heavily: “Lady Envy likes us the most… she also took from us the most.” A copper snake man was important in Lost Vein, but the kobold’s map was useless. The party redirected the family to Belburn, roughly three hours away, though their fate remained uncertain.

Later, the party passed a robed snake-person traveller from the Flame Scar with a wagon. A strange passenger with a long or ovoid head watched from inside. The traveller warned that Lady Envy was not known for trade: “we call it gifts.”

At night, the party hid the wagon off-road. During watch, Dotharl saw an eight-wheeled, metal-clad, dwarven-looking armoured or prison wagon pulled by four armoured lizards, travelling toward Belburn. Its owner and purpose were unknown.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures include Eliana, Dirk, Morgana, Invar, Geldrin, Dotharl, the Belburners, Bridged, Lady Envy, Lady Evalina Hartwall, the female Goliath lizard-dealer, Lord Bleakstorm, the Bleak Stormers, the kobold mother/refugee and her nine children, the copper snake man, the snake-person traveller from the Flame Scar, and the long-headed passenger.

Groups and factions include the party, Belburners, Bridged’s worshippers, Envy’s people, kobold miners, snake people, Llamia called “cat butts” by the kobold, and travellers from the Flame Scar.

Places include Belburn, Belburn town hall, Bridged’s temple, the unnamed Belburn inn or pub, the road to Lost Vein, the hidden kobold refuge cairn, Lost Vein, the jade/kobold mines, the old road, the broad river route, and the Flame Scar.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Items and resources include the hired wagon, Slinky, Mr. Green, Lizzy, lizard feed and fly-cake treats, 80 gp paid for lizard hire and deposit, 100 gp of high-quality temple ink bought by Geldrin, the trick-offered coin, Cracker Jack ale, Frost Rime whiskey, spiced rum, jade, copper, gold, amethyst, the useless kobold map, the Belburn pan and penny teleport trick from the prior transition, and the eight-wheeled armoured wagon.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

Belburn still lives under Envy’s tithe system despite its freedom customs. Lady Evalina Hartwall’s buried dragon form beneath the town hall and her role as one of Envy’s enforcers are confirmed by user clarification. Lord Bleakstorm and the Bleak Stormers may be significant Bridged-linked figures. The kobold refugee family’s safety is unresolved. The copper snake man’s role at Lost Vein is unknown. The armoured wagon heading toward Belburn may indicate tax collection, pursuit, military movement, or something else.