May 19th – Balgarn, Krulloc, Luna, and Korrah

As Told by Krulloc

We delved deeper in this underground complex. The sheer size and complex equiptment is startling. I can’t even comprehend what this was, besides some type of base. But a base for who? What caused the damage to the equiptment? It seems obvious there was fighting here, but who won, who lost, or maybe the outcome doesn’t matter?

Luna, since we got here seems to be becoming dazed at times, or even stunned. The little she does say is kinda confusing. She did say, she read her own writing? She must have been here before, but she seems not to remember. I wish I could help her, but, what can I do. I have no power to affect her mind. I just hope she doesn’t daze out when we need her. But we will see. One thing I did notice is that she loves to touch everything, I learned early in life its probably not the best thing.

I think I am starting to understand Korrah. I believe her captivity has changed her, and now since she is free, she searches for things to control her own destiny. Her desire for things that can help her make her own airship might be a way for her to feel more freedom or control of her enviroment. I can’t imagine how it was to be a slave, that is why I am who I am today, a champion for freedom.

Balgarn, I haven’t gotten to know well. He hasn’t really told his story to the party, but we really haven’t had much time to do so either. He seems devote to us and if that means we can be friends, I am all for that. I am just hoping he will find a way to forgive society for the injustice he must have suffered and then decide what he wants. His freedom in my eyes is his own doing. He could have just left right away, but he was worried about others and he still fights for what he feel is right.

As for Thane, what can I say. He looks human, but then again not. He’s very secretive and does as he pleases. At times, I feel that I might not want to turn my back to him. But then again he has been nice to me, but then he becomes flighty. Would I trust him with my life? That is a tough question. As for now, I feel it might be best to try to know where he is when he is close.

We proceed down to the next level. The main stairs end here. As far as I can tell we headed north. I kinda wish I had the sence of a dwarf where you know direction underground. Either way we end up in another room. but this one seemed fairly empty besides another one of those humming boxes. These boxes seem to be set up basically at the edges of the compound.

We had no choice but to go back to the room with the stairs. When we entered it, we heard noises to the south. Thumping sometimes and squealing sometimes. No pattern, rhyme or reason. So we went south. Another basically square room, with a few exceptions. A nice winch in the center of the room and two massive dirt piles. Also another one of those humming boxes. There also seemed to be a fairly new passage to the east, roughly cut out, maybe for a new room or maybe an escape passage or something. I was thinking, and remembering ship design, maybe we could get the wench out of here someday to be used on the airship Korrah keeps saying she wants to have made.

The noised continued and was from the new passage. Wanting to be brave for the party, I enter the passage. Brave or stupid…most of the time I am not sure which. The passage opened up some and two, all I can describe as construction machines, seemed to be working in maybe making another room. We probably should not have bother them, but when me and Luna got close to one that had drills, it attacked her. I knew she loves technological devices like me, but when it attacked Luna, I felt I had to defend her. Both constructs were easily dispatched. We probably should have tried to just put them out of commision but we kinda went overboard and completely destroyed them. We sence that feeling of great power, hairs on my legs standing up, impending doom if we explored further down this passage so we had basically one other way we can go. west from the stair case.

When we went west, we entered a large room, it had had alot of those big desks with clearish black boxes with lots ot controls. Several chairs infront of these strange boxes. Luna again was in heaven. She seemed to go from chair to chair trying to make something work. The opening to another room was more interesting to me. My concern ,as always, is the safety of the rest of the party. That would be the perfect place to ambush the party from. So I went and explored it. There were these big massive devices. Each having a big wheel near the middle of it. I could barely spin one, to me it did nothing.

So we gathered back into that room. We headed south. But one thing seemed odd. These doors seem to have no handles, just places to put a hand. I look down at my mechanical hands and realized their shape would not fit. Luna opened the first one easily by herself. The second one had two palm prints, She tried to do it by herself and it trapped her right hand. That metal plate going accross her hand had me worried and without thinking I immediately used my grip strength and tore the metal that was trapping Luna’s hand away. Thane used his hand and the last door to the south opened up.

This room seemed like it might be a room to harness power, there were six extremely large crystals. They looked alot like the power crystals that power my sword, but a size I don’t think anyone in Mercadia could imagine. It looks like only one is in operation and Luna said something like half drained. I kinda stood there in awe, if the people that created this technology could make these, what else could they make? Could someday I harness technology on this scale? So many questions, so few answers. I for one do not want Mercadia to learn of this. What would it mean to the balance of power if they learned this technology? We, the party, will have to decide what and who we share this knowledge with. The rest of the party might accept all of Mercadia’s policies, but I can’t support slavery. Oh, yeah no surprise, another one of those humming boxes.

The last direction we could head is north. We had another one of those doors, easily opened now we know the trick to them. The passage to the also had one of those ladder rooms that head up to the previous level. But we did find a rod. It had a handle on top, we easily knew that it probably would work with that big humming box on the previous level. Unfortunately I notice, again, I could not use it. Maybe these prosthetics aren’t worth it, but I easily think nah. I can do so much with them that others can’t. We all have our roles to play.

The north room had several interesting items. first there seems to me some type of energy thing inbetween two machines. There is a big pod as before but a little bigger. It also connected to another machine of some sort. There is also some other equipment that looks like its been taken apart and things missing. There also seemes to be a minture pad like the one we arrived in. What caught my eye was all the boxes and crates. We looked though them, we found two more vests, one larger than the other. I gave Balgarn the medium one and I took the large. Now the entire party had some a piece of this, different fabric material, armor.

I was drawn to one crate, a pull I didn’t understand. In it I found wrapped up in cloth a rapier. I felt it was this calling. But before i really had time to examine it well, Something happened, Luna happened. Luna with her wisdom, decided to try to disable this pod. A large whoosh sound errupted from the Pod, and instead of backing away, Luna decided to try to keep the Pod closed, it wasn’t ganna happen.

A large dark figure, with a wierd weapon rose out of the Pod. All I could sense was evil and almost terror. The Party attacked. I called it out and then I charged it and did some damage to it. Then wham. Me, Luna and anyone or anything around it was pushed back. A ball of something shot out of the weapon from the creature torwards Korrah and he easily tumbles out of its path. When me and Luna were push back, we barely were able to land standing up. Not paying attention to what the others in tha party was doing, with a sense of urgency, i knew I had to do something. I charge again, The push back help me by giving me this chance. The knight in me took over and somehow I managed to stike it with deadly accuracy, my sword going through what I assume was its head and it crumbled. I think we all sensed that we escaped with only a few scratches and bruises, basically by luck.

We managed to use the rod in the big box and it seemed to change that feeling at the edges of the complex. We also found a book. I tried to read it, but it talked about other planes and such. Something I could not understand. But it did name the creature we just fought. The Ethergaunts or Khen-Zai. If all I could make out was true, we escape with our lives. It probably could of killed all of us. I pray to Cyriss, if we fight another one of these, we can handle it. If it had minions with it, we probably could not have survivied. Or if there were two…

It does seem to me Luna gets into alot of trouble and I had to try to save her from her own devices seversl times recently. I hope this was just a fluke, I don’t know if I can save Luna from herself. But for now, I guess I need to watch her closely and maybe she needs to learn a lesson about not touching everything. But, I am not going to tell her this.

Addendum to May 5th’s (Not for XP)

As told by Krulloc

As we arrive in the last room on this floor I am kinda shocked at most of the rest of the party. The ugly face of greed seems to be affecting this group leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I just witnessed the people of the group me and Balgarn join basically grab up anything they got their hands on without considering anything but themselves. So my loyalty to them as of right now is fading.

I feel bad for Balgarn, not only has he only been given the equiptment that the temple gave him, after I pleeded for him to get it, the rest of the party seemed to careless that he only had a shirt on his back and no money since he was a slave. When the party found some nice vests, that I figured was little use for me so I didn’t grab one, he didn’t get one. Hmm, let me see, the only person in the group who seems to be able to heal, not given one where it seems it would protect him and even make himself move faster so he could heal every else better, something I consider very important to the survival of the group.

Then on top of that another special item is received, a gun of some what. Now maybe I could use it or maybe Balgarn could have use it, but either way one of the other people of the group took it. So let me count…hmmm 4 items, 5 members but only 3 people took stuff, not even considering the gems which the others took also.

Remember also in the temple room, the half-orc wanted to take the little bit of money in the fountains. Donations to the Gods should never be taken in my opinion. I for one would not be happy to be cursed by the Gods or whatever their revenge would be. So, for this reason, I am a little less thrilled to be with these people. They act like everything is fine, but I feel they might not be whom they seem to be.

My name is Balgarn, and I will be keeping this journal to record my new life outside of the tribe. It has scarcely been two days, and already I have seen things that I can hardly imagine, and so I am deeming it wise to keep record for myself. At the least, I can look back in case I need to recall any detail of importance.

Following a fight with skeletal creatures invested with giant worms (which I won’t recount, as I honestly wish to remove the memory if possible) I found myself in the company of a knight, a gnome, and a half-human. The…foundry? Workshop? I’m unfamiliar with the exact purpose. The building was saved as much as could realistically be expected, not exploding as I had feared may happen. Little would be salvageable from that ruin, however, which disappointed the gnome (who introduced herself as Luna.)

The knight (large for a human, if I were a judge on such things) was quite injured from the fight. I remained silent as the two spoke for some time, not knowing if I could trust them. After all, it was their kind that collared me in the first place. I did tend to his wounds eventually, however, calling on what blessings I could. I would be rewarded, it seemed, as when approached for a reward, they petitioned for my release.

And that is how I regained my freedom, and in so doing owed them a debt of my life. One set of chains traded for another.

With nothing else to do, I joined them at their home, intent on repaying that debt in some way. The opportunity came sooner than I had expected. Apparently my new friends had been wrapped up in some dangerous plots. A detective came by (Finshaw, his name was?) and asked them some questions. I didn’t catch the entire meaning of what was talked about, though apparently there was a murder of a woman, solely for being an annoyance. The phrasing seemed to catch the attention of my new friends, though I didn’t fully understand why. They apparently wish to investigate this, since all signs point to the current suspect, who confessed to the crime, couldn’t have actually slain the woman. The wound does not match, and the details are hazy.

Before such an investigation could take place, the new friends (not counting the knight, but including another of their circle, a man named Thane) were summoned to the castle. Influential people they must be, to have access to it so freely. I was allowed to tag along with their meeting with Amdius in his workshop, a place with all sorts of strange objects that I can not even begin to fathom their purpose. He showed us a strange…table, which summoned up an…image of the castle we were in. He could even move the perspective, closing in on where we were standing.

He also told us that the badges my friends had could be used to instantly teleport to certain locations, and handed badges to myself and the knight, Krulloc, as well. We believed that they would teleport us simply to the throne room, though when Luna and Thane used them, they were not there. As it turned out, they’d arrived in another location entirely. Despite our better judgment, Krulloc, Korrah, and I used the badges and we too were transported. A powerful lurching sensation, and then a fall.

The place we found ourselves in defies description or explanation. There are many machines all around, far beyond anything I had been exposed to, though the others seemed excited by the prospect (Luna and Krulloc especially.) It appeared to be long abandoned. Though the floor was clean (as we would later discover, cleaned by a machine. Quite embarrassing that we almost attacked the thing) there were skeletons of the long departed present through-out the building. Luna seemed…spooked, for lack of a better word, occasionally peering off into the distance at things that we could not see. Had she been here before?

Most of the rooms were empty. Large, humming machines existed in the corners of the first floor, though there was nothing hostile to be found. Merely barracks and lockers. There is something…disturbing about this place, however. I can feel it, though I think the others cannot. There is a disturbance in the spirit world here, like something terrible had happened long ago and the area was still scarred for it. And we, unfortunately, cannot leave, as the machines that brought us in will not take us back out.

The second floor contained several sealed rooms. The air is different here…stale, but also unnatural. Smells wrong. Smells like danger. Within one of the rooms we found pods, most of which were empty or only had skeletons. One had a…creature inside, with a large eyeball that peered back at us. We decided to not open it for now. More concerning was the central yard. Once plants grew here…too bad they are all dead, else the air might smell better. But instead there was a strange voice, speaking in a language we didn’t understand. Then a dragon game, a dragon of iron and steam. It was destroyed, though it left me with only more questions. Was the dragon the thing speaking? What was it guarding, as there appeared to be nothing of interest in here? We took a moment to rest after the fight. Thane has a strong spiritual presence…I may need to question him on it later.

There is apparently an electrical field surrounding this thing that we are in. Our exact location is unknown right now, but apparently underground. We can’t leave until the field is taken down. As we explored, killing an undead creature, rest his spirit, we finally found a room that had more personal significance to Luna. Apparently, she has written her own name on the floor.

Some believe we should make use of this place eventually. If we do, we’ll have to first make sense of what happened here. My friends speak of something called an Ethergaunt, whatever that is. If we intend on using this place, though, it should be cleansed of whatever is making it feel so wrong. And we need to take care of that creature in the pod.

It will be a challenge. I will remain undaunted.

As told by Krulloc’s perception

“Halt the wagons!” I yell so that the first wagon could hear. “We are here in Mercadia, at least the outskirts of the city. Master trader Verlock can take his business from here. Squad, this mission is complete. You each should have your next obligations already. You are dismissed.” In the background I hear several, “Yes, sir.”‘s and “As you command”’s. I return many salutes as I walk toward the local tavern. Most of the people in this part of town, don’t recognize the emblem on the breast piece of his full plate armor. The emblem of the Knights of the Independant City of Horvath (KICH). But they do recognize that the emblem of an officer on the neck guard of the suit.

After sitting down, Krullocs orders some mead and tries to relax a little. But, I do realize I can’t here. I am a glarring symbol of the war or disagreement between Mercadia and Horvath, Slavery and Freedom, and several other comparisons in this strange world and time. I pull out a scroll from my pocket and reads it again. It basically states that I am a guard for Verlock and I have the right to enter the city gates and travel to and from the trade district and any other section of the city in which Verlock sends me. As long as I do not break any city laws, my association with KICH can not be used for grounds of arrest in accordiance with the trade laws of the king.

The tavern I am in, has only a few patrons. Mostly low class workers getting off the night shift. This city is one of the few cities I know has normal workers working all hours of the day, all cities have guards on duty during the full day, but with foundries and such which can’t be shut down easily, having work go all day is very ecconomical, and is used to control slaves so that they are not all awake at the same time. Since the normal day is young, there is few others here as the hours where most people work has already started. But as normal there is always someone spreading rumors or in their thought, talking about bad work conditions.

“Tinkerson is mad. He thinks that pile of metal will be able to surround someone. And deflect bullets, how mad could he be?” someone said to the bartender, who seems to be prentending to listen to the guy, nodding at the right moments, but looks like he’s checking the bottle levels of what he has at the bar. He is being polite to half drunk worker, but is trying to do hids job too. This is one of those bars where you assume the drinks are watered down, the games are loaded, and greed is the name of the game. But even if the drinks are watered down, I really don’t care because I can’t risk drinking to much anyways. “Could some be actually be working on a steamwork super heavy armor set? Wow, that would make knights be dominate on the battlefield. As time passes, guns have become more and more common in warfare, and knight and standard heavy fighters have become basically slow moving targets on the battlefield. Little honor in that, but if there were availiable of armor that can repulse gun fire, then that could make knights a major threat like they use to be in the world.” I think to myself. Looking at the patron that said this, he now looks like he’s in a stupper, and trying to get more information out of him would probably break a city law, a risk I don’t want to take. So I decide to enter the city and find out more of this Mr. Tinkerson and his invention.

As I approach the gate of the outer city wall. The guards there singal me to them. As I stop in front of them, one of them says “State your business.” Knowing that any miss step here would have serious consequences, I hand the scroll over to the guard. I think I actually saw him get more irritated at me, as if I spoiled his fun. The guard brought the scroll into the guard shack and brought it back in a few minutes. A seal with the time, date and record number was impressed on to the bottom of the scroll. He said in a sharp voice, “Don’t lose this or we will have fun at your expense.” With a salute I was through the gate. Knowing that the best place to find out more would probably be another tavern, I looked around and found the Queen’s Blessing, a little more elagant than the first one, but not too snobbish where outsiders would probably not be kindly treated. Knowing this area of town normally is pretty old and that there is no queen at this time, this must have been named when there was a queen. So in I walked set to figure out if the runor is true.

After ordering a drink and giving the bartender a big tip, I asked him if he knew Tinkerson. The bar tender replied, “Know him, no. Know of him, yes. He talk and skinny and evil looking. His dark complection and pointed ears make him look like a demon. I don’t think I could ever trust a drow.” Nodding, I start to piece together that this might be true. Another patron said, “He has been a shut in at the foundries of the Temple. He works the whole day only taking 2 hour naps here and there and eats anything he can that allows him to continue working.” I know of only one temple that would have its own foundry and that is of Cyriss. I buy the patron a drink and head off to the temple. I use to believe in the old Gods, but when I got my mechanical arm, I figured it was a sign and I converted to Cyriss as my patron God.

When I entered the temple area I met up with a temple administration cleric. After a prayer and a heafty tithe, I was told we could see if would see me, but not to hold my breath as most others either don’t get seen or walk away disappointed. Nodding that it might be a lot cause, I follow the cleric toward the work shop. On the path there was a fairy and an orc. I thought this is weird, an orc in armor and no collar in this city? And a fairy companion? I shook my head, but as I finish, I started to see evidence of a fire in the building we were headed for, so my natural instinct to save lives had me running toward the building. The orc also started heading toward the building once the doors blew open. The fairy started running, but not into the building, but around the building. I questioned that in my head, but could only think of it for a second as my mind and eyes tried to evaluate the situation.

Inside we found Tinkerson pinned by a beam from the rafters. The orc moved the beam and started to drag him out of the building, talking to him as he was dragging. I hear some noised in a back room, concerned it was more people to save I ran toward the back room. I looked at what I saw and there was another orc in the building, this one collared and in no armor, only an axe to defend himself with. And defending himself is what he was going to have to do. There was these undead, basically skeletons with like a large worms inside of them. With a fear that the orc might die fighting these things, I look around and yelled, calling them out to fight me, it worked too good. As they all charge me. And then I also heard a noise of a bigger creature also coming toward me. I bit my lower lip and strted to defend myself. I continually tried to kill these things. but they didn’t fall quickly and they were getting past my armor. The orc was casting some type of spells, which I hoped was either hurting these things or helping us.

The other orc was shooting arrows at these things, but just like my sword, they didn’t seem to being much damage. The all of a sudden the fairy appeared in a window holding a long pressurized hose, she dropped it down and the orc took control of the hose. Next thing I knew he opened it up onto several of the skeletons near me, they thrown against the wall in a vilent crah against the western wall. I stepped aside and he knock a few more. The fire continued to burn and spread. We were kinda stuck, we had to defend ourselves, so putting out fires were the least of our concern. Then the large creature appeared, a great big worm, looking simular to the small ones, but so much bigger, it might fit into a storm giants body or a dragon skeleton, that would be something I would never want to see. The orc turned the hose on the large worm, and a battle of will was started. The worm tried to keep heading toward the orc and the fairy but the hose was what the worm had to fight against, as the wate tried to push it back and the worm tried to move ford against the water pressure. The fairy was now shooting up a storm with her pistols, rapidly reloading and firing again.

We finally defeated the mosters, and started to actually fight the fire. We started heading to a storage room where we saw it. A large suit of armor laying on the ground. It seemed to be larger than a set of full plate, it would need to be if the armor was designed to give protection against guns, or if it had steamwork devices for other reasons. It look so cool from a distance, but the fire was raging all around it and when we started to get close, the walls ad roof colasped arround that room, luckily we were far enough away to not be caught under all this rubble. I am secretly praying that it survived or will be salvagable enough where it can be prepared. We were quickly ushered out of this building by the clergy. The collard orc assisted me walking out as I didn’t realize how bad off I was. My adrenaline dropped since I was no longer in combat.

And that is how I saw my first day in Mercadia…

Players involved
Korrah, Tinkerson, Thane and Luna

Game date:
18th of Argon – 3rd of Kython
• The team decides to assist Korrah in investigating the mountains.
• Researching in the library showed that there island of the people has many dangers that have lead many of the merchant houses to ignore it.
• The group goes to purchase equipment and gear for the adventure.
• Amdius provides motor bikes for the group to travel to the fort.
• The group was attacked during one of the nights by cocatrices and Tinkerson failed to awake during the fight
• The group arrives at the mountains and could not progress further with the bikes. They hide them and continue on foot.
• The group encounters a barbarian goliath at the location of korrah’s coordinates
• The goliath offers the group tea, explaining that he recently moved into the cave.
• The goliath allows the group to explore his cave, they found a vault door. Korrah entered the code and the door opens.
• The group enters the vault and the door close behind them and gas begins venting into the vault. The group passes out.

We woke up in some strange place today. It was in de middle of a ruin with odd plants and crumbling walls all around us. In de middle of de place was a pool of water. However, I ignored dat for now. Water could be had after I had spoken to de ancestors and acquired my totems for de day. However, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t speak to de souls. I couldn’t even close my eyes for longer den a moment or two before a vision dat I could not understand flashed before my eyes and forced dem to open. Try as I might I couldn’t contact dem in anyway so, after two hours, I gave up.

At dis point de rest of de party had awoken and already explored de direct area surrounding it. Dey found some sort of…feast outside wid a plethora of food on de table. And den I noticed I didn’t have my armor on. Instead, all of us were wearing dese strange white robes and nobody had dere weapons. When we went to taste de food on de table it was…bland. None of it had any taste and, when we ate it did not satiate our hunger at all. And den I remembered stepping over a goliath of some sorts at the top of the stairs. I felt as if I knew him, but could not recall him at all. It was like a strange déjà vu kind of moment dere. Regardless I went to wake him up…and den he started screaming and kicked me down the stairs of de ruins.

Eventually we calmed de Goliath down and he agreed to travel wid us. By looking to de Horizon we saw a large red storm surrounding de immediate area and, upon further looking, we saw a large tower to de north of us. I wanted to go towards the storm because it looked interesting…but den Tinkerson wanted to go towards de city and I ceded, as de rest to the group wanted to go towards de city. As we traveled I noticed dat I continued to get hungry and thirsty, but no amount of food or water would take it away.

Soon enuff we made it to de city and sprites was it boring. De buildings were all white or grey and nothing was open or even worth looking at. Until we turned a corner and, suddenly, dere was a shop filled to de brim wid weapons. I stood outside, not interested in de weapons in de shop while my companions went inside. Next ting I know dere are zombies outside rushing towards the front of the store. I quickly rushed inside to tell de rest of de party and lo and behold dere was a…machine shop-keeper with flesh falling of its body. Now, dat was strange but not more odd den ze zombies coming towards us.

We managed to dispatch dem quickly, wid our goliath friend taking a few out demselves. The strange part was when dey were killed de zombies disappeared. Dey didn’t scream, dey didn’t fall to the ground, dey just dissipated. It was…odd but de party moved on. I grabbed two daggers from de shop and slid dem up my sleeves just in case of more attacks from whatever may populate de city.

And den I saw a strange man on de corner of one of de streets. He…or she for I could not tell de gender of de person…was wearing a dark grey cloak and, as soon as I saw dem dey ran off down de street and, without a second thought I followed dem. As soon as I rounded de corner I no longer saw de person. Shrugging, I continued walking down de street and, down an alleyway I saw a strange driverless mechanized cart of some sorts. I ignored it, knowing that it was definitely not meant for me for I know not how to drive such an odd contraption. I was about halfway down de street when de rest of de party came around de corner and called for me. Getting nowhere in my own search I went back to dem to find dat dey had found some sort of shop with a bunch of gear.

And den dat cart I saw pulled around de corner and sat dere. Luna was excited to see it and, I suppose, perhaps she is de one dat wanted it to come for it stopped in front of her. We all packed into de carriage and started driving off towards de tower. We drove for what seemed like hours and never got closer to de tower in de middle. However, Luna wished outloud for some sort of library to appear and low and behold we happened to come upon a library on de street we were traveling on. Stopped de cart Luna and I went into de library while Tinkerson, Korah, and de goliath stayed outside.

Dis had to be de most useless library ever. Dere was nothing inside any of de books dere in de library and de librarian said nothing. At least, she said nothing until Luna and I tried to leave. De voice told us that “You must wake up”. And den she repeated it once more as we went outside the library. I got an idea however. We had been creating tings wid our minds supposedly, as we’d been thinking outloud when dese tings had happened. I went back inside and grabbed a book, hiding it inside my robes. As I was walking out for de second time de Librarian spoke to me once more. Dis time she said “Wake the dreamers”.

As I walked outside I immediately interrupted whatever argument was going on by telling dem de same information. Dey didn’t do…anyting really about it other than continue arguing and dats when tings got weird. All around us de same man dat I saw appeared. In alleyways, at de end of de streets, there was a man for every one of us, staring at us silently. We tried to get dem to approach us and dey just ran away.

And den de world shattered and we were falling but…not falling and when we “landed” we were faced wid a group of, perhaps, 20 people all standing dere. Dey spoke to us and said dey were in dere because de plague was still raging and dat de Council would free dem when de time was right. We tried explaining to dem dat the plague was over and dat dere council was likely dead but they repeated de same things.

So as per how our group dynamic works, we told dem to take us to de council. It took some convincing but den we were in some strange room wid odd knobs, levers, pipes, and a large window. After a few minutes de “council” came out of a door on de opposite side of de room and dats when I saw him. I saw de same drecker dat was wid my sister. I didn’t stop staring at him de entire time, no matter who I was talking to. We had a short exchange where I may or may not have told a “god” dat I did not believe in him and den I was hanging outside of a window. It took me a couple swings but I managed to shatter de window, roll, stand, and den de fighting started.

I got hit by a bolt of lightning from the eldest looking one of de group and felt de pain, but my clothes weren’t damaged and though I felt battered and in pain I didn’t see any damage. Dere was a constant pinging in my head, keeping me in constant pain during de entire battle but I was focused on only one thing. Dat man. I had to get to him and make him tell me who he was. It took me several seconds but eventually I managed to get over to him and grapple him and he refused to talk.

At dis point he did something and threw me back quite a far distance until I hit de wall and it hurt a lot. In any case, before I could get to de man again he disappeared and we seemed to have defeated de eldest or dere leader. Without a second though I approached him and dug one of my daggers into his skull in a fit of rage. Standing dere, looming over dis man’s body I knew I wouldn’t get de answers I sought but I wasn’t thinking straight.

And den Luna pulled a lever.

We were falling once again, but not falling in that same breath. It was an odd inky darkness where nothing was there, but you could hear that nothing. And den…

We woke up.

We stumbled out of dese containers, spitting water up, completely naked. In a pile on de floor was all of our clothes and gear. We managed to eventually collect all our of things and den started to explore de place we were at. We all went off in different directions and it seemed like dis was some sort of…warehouse full of dese containers with people in varying state of decay. All of dem were off.

Until I came upon a row of twenty dat were still on. De people in dem were old, decrepit, and barely living. Yet, I remember what de librarian told me. I had to free de dreamers. I opened up de first one, liquid spilled out, and de old man fell out. I caught him in my arms and, before he passed I heard him whisper to me. “Thank you…” They had been trapped there for sprites know how long feeling that same hunger we had felt for only a few hours that might have been weeks out here. I started to go down de line letting each person out, letting them die in my arms, and then setting them slowly to the floor. As I got to de fifth or sixth one Tinkerson found me and told me to stop, dat I was killing dem.

And an argument broke out. Tinkerson argued dat life was precious and dat I shouldn’t be killing dem, and I argued dat dere life was a prison and dat death was release for dem. I reminded him dat I was told to wake the dreamers and he continued to argue against me. As we argued I continued to open de pods one by one, letting each man and woman out of de pods and laying them on the ground. I would have no more of his bickering and toned him out as I did dis. I was in de right here.

Dese people have been trapped here since before de plague. All of dere friends and family had died in dere and dey knew dey were soon. Dey were trapped with immense hunger and thirst, unable to truly live and dat was a prison of de worst kind. Dey had to be freed, to be allowed de escape of death.

And den I spotted in de far corner of de row another tube dat was glowing softly, showing dat it was on. Without a word to Tinkerson I went to it and saw a girl, young and alive, in de tube. Without a thought I opened it.

An investigation by the Capitol Guard of the sights indicated upon the map that Thane “found” on the Ghoul turned up both sights stocked with explosives, sometimes as many as 30 crates or what appears to be recently cleared out areas. Some areas had small bands of resistance that was quickly stamped out by either force or suicide. Little evidence as to the origin or reason for the explosives has turned up. In an effort to wipe away the truth behind the explosive’s design and any connection to the king, all files pertaining to or about the event have been lock away and deemed Classified. With nothing definitive to tie the Akatze Witness or any of its members to the incident the investigation stalled.

Chief Detective Zancan Finshaw came by to let you know how things went on his end. He fared well and is confident that the risk to the city from the ghouls has been taken care of. They discovered a small nest of 6 more ghouls deeper in the sewer system. With what identification was discovered on the bodies and around the area, it would appear that these are the missing people from nearby areas of the district. This case has placed Detective Finshaw on the career fast track. While he did try to give your party their due credit for their efforts he was ordered to remain silent about any outside involvement, thus bestowing full credit upon him. His “official” report reflects “heroic civilian actions” to describe the events that took place in District 6. He does want your team to know that this lack of proper credit does not sit well with him however his hands are tied and wants you all to know that you’ve made a strong friend within the Shields.

As told by Korrah who has limited skill in literacy

1365 Argon 4
We are Korrah, Tinkerson, Thane and Luna
After our fun in the sewerz, also called District 7, we went back home to rekup (rekup crossd out) rest and heal. There was a knock at our door. It was Cheef Detektif Zan Can Fin Shaw. He must be important ‘kuz he haz 4 namz! Tinkerson and Korrah met with Zan Can in the kichin, tho Korrah mostly lisend. Thane lisend from the livin room while Luna played with her toyz upstairs. Zan Can told us that The Sheeldz had made a mistake by not lookin more into the peepl that disapeerd. Zan Can sed that there wur more disapeerd peepl than he had thott. I cud see that Tinkerson was tryin to get Zan Can to tell him stuff without telling Zan Can anythin. From the livin room, Thane said somethin to Zan Can. I don’t remember what Thane sed, but Tinkerson seemd to get mad. Thane wanted to know about Rim Spok. At this point, Korrah became intrestd. Zan Can sed that Rim Spok livd in District 2. Zan Can also sed that we shud not try to find out more about Rim Spok. Korrah thinkz Zan Can was tryin to say that Rim Spok wuz very dangerus.

After Zan Can left, Korrah took her crokodil skinz (Korrah took the skin from the body and all 4 legz. Luna used her gun and blew the crokodilz head off, so Korrah cudnt take that) to a leatherworker to have new armor made. She wants bootz, legginz, a jerkin, bracerz and gluvz. She also wantz the teeth set as studz, espesh (espesh crossd out here) partiku (partiku crossd out too) mostly in the gluvz and bracerz. While Korrah was returnin home, a human female child of maybe 10 years old ran up to Korrah and gave her a map. The girl said that some man, she pointed to a man in a crowd, but did not say which man it was, gave her the map to give to Korrah. Later (after the attack outside our house by zombeez), when Korrah and the otherz lookd at the map, we realizd that it was of a mountain range south of Fort Holidon.
After Korrah got home from the leatherworkerz shoppe that evening, there waz noizez outside that drew our atenshun. It lookd like zombeez came out of the sewerz and wur atakin peeple. Thane rushd outside and hid under a wagon. Korrah went outside and atakd the zombeez. Tinkerson and Luna were trapd in the house bekuz zombeez rushd the house door. After tradin blowz with the zombeez, Korrah waz knokd down. She cudent move! (The zombeez also made Korrah sick. Ghoul Fever. So, 20 hours after the battl, Korra will lose 1d3 Constitushun and 1d3 Dexterity.) Luna called her klok rochez and made them atak the zombeez. The klok rochez turnd the battle in our favor. Tinkerson even got some hitz in. Korrah still cudent move. Korrah waz startin to get mad. Most of the zombeez wur down and one zombee ran away. Tinkerson told someone (Thane?) to get The Sheeldz, but The Sheeldz wur alredy on the way. Now Korrah cud move, but there was nothin to atak. Korrah was reely mad. When we lookz around, we saw that the zombeez wur eatin peeple. Eeeew!

Thane serchd the zombeez. Luna serchd the peepl. Then The Sheeldz came and took over the scene. We went in the house. Thane talked the housekeeper into adoptin little Patzy. Then Thane showd us a map that he sed he fownd on the big zombee. (He reely found the map in the sewerz, but hez not gonna tell us that. Korrah dosnt remember what Luna fownd.) We compard our notz and namd lotz of the bildinz on the map. There wur red exez on the pam (pam crossz out) map. Luna wantd to go to the kasl and talk to Amdius about the map. We saw that as we walkd to the kasl, we wud go neer one of the exez. Korrah, Luna and Tinkerson stopd to see what it wuz. Thane kept goin to the kasl. This red ex was a military camp that had a lot of stord wepons (gunz, bowz and such) and amunishun (bulletz, powder, arowz and such). Luna talked to a Captan who told us to leev. He sed we shud not be here. We left befor bein arestd. We kawt up to Thane as he wuz enterin the kasl. We took the drop lift to see Amdius. (Korrah reely dosnt like the drop lift. It makz her feel like killin something only therz nothin to kill.)
We talkd to Amdius. We namd mor bildinz on our map. Amdius has an epifny and thunk up wher to get a rayr metal needed for steem jakz. He wantz us to go The Platow of The Peepl and do sum skowtin. We hav to go to Fort Holidon to get a dirigibl. We have yet to desid on our cors.. Korrah thinkz we shud go to the mountains south of Fort Holidon, then go to Fort Holidon, get the dirigibl, and fly to The Platow of The Peepl.

Korrah

Game date: Argon 1, 1365
Characters Involved: Thane, Korrah, Luna, Tinkerson

On the first eve of Argon the intrepid band of adventurers of the King’s newly minted agency were hot on the trail of a missing couple, discovered later to be but a few of many gone missing over the past few months. Having followed a trail of blood from the house to an opening of a sewer, Thane, Korrah, Luna, and Tinkerson were in heated debate around the gaping maw, leading into the unknown. There they stood debating the wisdom of traveling into the sewers without any inkling of what they were getting themselves into. But they had to balance that with the fact that two people were in need of rescue, and the longer they stood around debating what to do, the lesser the chances of finding those people alive. How could they know what awaited them? But at the same time, how could they not go…

Finally, it was decided. A quick trip back to the great house for supplies and gear, and down into the sewers they went. The dark was deep and penetrating. Even with the ability to see outlines in the gloom, Korrah, Luna, and Tinkerson could not see into the murky depths of water between the narrow walkways. Thane, the only one among them without the ability, needed to light a sunrod, which he kept partially hidden under his jacket. As they wandered the sewers, they realized they would quickly become lost if they did not make a map. Both Korrah and Thane took it upon themselves to write down what they saw as the group explored each passageway. As they moved further and further from the point of origin, they grew wary. What if someone spotted them before they were aware? They tried to be as stealthy as possible, though each new underground river crossing needed to be forded by Luna’s collapsible ladder. This made travel slow and tedious, and sneaking around became difficult for all but Thane, a master of stealth.

Finally, as the group headed around a corner and spread out, a light was spotted. Those paying attention heard voices in the direction of the light, around a corner of a T-junction up ahead. Again trying to ford the river as quietly as possible, Luna and Tinkerson climbed across while Thane sneaked down the opposite side, and Korrah waited at the rear. Alas, they were not quiet enough, and shot rang out, as the group heard sounds of frantic departure from around the corner. The light went out. Thane, who had made it to the corner of the T, ran away from the gunfire, down the other arm of the T. But he should have been more wary of leaving the group behind, because he ran right into the waiting arms of a crocodile even more stealthy than he! His surprise quickly blossomed into horrendous pain as the croc locked onto him with iron jaws and dragged him into the water. Shocked into action, the rest of the party raced towards his location. Luna tried to get a clear shot at the croc, but it was difficult while Thane was struggling with it. She sighted carefully down the barrel of her pistol, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Meanwhile Tinkerson attempted to jump across the river, but failed, falling into the dark water. As Thane punched the croc over and over, he finally managed to worm his way out of the jaws of death, and finally, Luna saw her moment. In the blink of an eyethe shot went off, ripping the croc straight through one arm, into his heart, and out the other side. The crocodile died instantly, and Thane and Tinkerson managed to drag themselves out of the water. Korrah then decided that crocodile boots would become all the rage this Argon.

Thane, Tinkerson, Luna, and Korrah walked slowly back toward the T, looking at the point where the light had come from. Finding solid metal bars with no opening blocking their path, they searched for a way around. Eventually, they came to a main junction with a central pool, and the remnants of an encampment. Crates were stacked high, and a table with chairs were set up next to a chest. No evidence of occupancy remained, except a few items in the chest. Some rations, vials of snake oils, and a bottle of wine was all that was left. Thane, having just had the ride of his life courtesy of a sewer-dwelling lizard, decided that the only thing for it was to have a drink. Or rather, a bottle. He sat down, kicked up his feet, and relaxed. Luna, Tinkerson, and Korrah investigated the surrounding area. Luna discovered explosive clockwork devices in the crates, and decided the best course of action was to completely disable them, so that no one could get hurt. She also discovered a journal on the table that appeared to be a bible of the prophet, indicating that they had run afoul of a group plotting to blow up portions of the city in the name of this prophet.

Exploring the rest of the area turned up nothing, and they left empty-handed. They immediately went to Amdius, and collected a group of Capitol Guards to investigate the crime scene and retrieve the bombs. Upon discussing the sewer system with Amdius, they found that a map of that district was available for future use. And so, without rescuing the parents of young Patsy, the team left the sewers and retired to their house to discuss the future of the investigation.

Game date: Mirtul 20 – Argon 1, 1365
Characters Involved: Thane, Korra, Luna, Tinkerson

Action items
• The team is taken into protective custody
• Luna becomes annoyed and turns her room upside down
• Korrah is somewhat disturbed that after only five days, she is without her freedom again
• As the team is escorted off the ship, it is noticed by a few that caged spell casters are being taken out of the ship.
• Lin’Konze was one of the chained and caged spell casters.
• The team is taken before the king.
• Thane notices something strange about Count Kozen as he exits the throne room.
• The King thanks the team, but warns them that their lives may still be in jeopardy as they have been made aware of secrets that they should not know.
• The team hears the name Akatze Witness.
• He gives them a reward and liberty until he can decide what he should do with them.
• Korrah, Luna and Thane try getting more from the Five Winds Recovery.
• Tinkerson goes the Temple of Cyriss and reports to High Priestess Rowena.
• Thane, Korrah and Luna visit the Gibolocks Savings and Loan. Thane deposits his money in the banks, Luna exchanges money and Korrah decides against the idea.
• Thane, Korrah and Luna stay the night at the Emerald Dagger.
• Thane hears the name Rinspoke for the first time.
• Tinkerson stays at the temple.
• The team is summoned early in the morning to the King’s presence.
• They witness the king’s son, Prince Roderick, leaving the throne room. Mumbled word are exchanged, and the prince leaves unhappy, meeting up with a mysterious friend.
• The king makes an offer the team cannot refuse; be his eyes and ears in the city and help him stabilize the kingdom answerable only to the king, reporting to Amdius.
• The king sets the team up in district 2. They are given a house and a stipend.
• Thane begins searching the warehouse district looking for information on Rinspoke. After a few days, he notices that lizard men guard a few places. He gets into a brawl with a set of lizard men, killing one before he runs away.
• Korrah begins studying reading and writing. She dreams about airships and visits the docks as often as she can.
• Luna begins setting up the workshops in the house; basement for clockwork and gunsmithing and the top level for steamwork.
• Tinkerson begins setting up his spy network starting by finding street urchins to keep him informed. He starts with Benedict and Lerin. He hires their mother as house keeper and cook.
• Morning of the 1st Benedict comes to the team with a problem. The parents of a friend of his, Patsy, have gone missing and the Shields will not investigate, they are not sure there is reason enough to do so. The team visits the house of Patsy and notice a faint trail of blood that leads down a manhole.

From the Journal of the Tinkerson
Mirtil 21, 1365

It is difficult for me sometime to relate to those native to Salus. I mean, life for them has no meaning and in the end, they have no reward. I hate this place with great passion; I must leave this gods forsaken place. I came so close to losing my eternal spirit stuck without my eternal reward far from the grace of the Selderine and my very own Maiden of Gears. The irony of it does not escape me at all. We dark elves have only recently regained out grace, the chance to be in the accepted once again into the fair realm and here I have been banished to this realm.

Let me explain, earlier today my comrades and I saved the kings own Artificer from certain death and retrieved a valuable artifact for him. As a reward, we were placed under gun point and placed under protective custody. Upon arriving back in Mercadia we were taking to the King. I expected that he would let us go, but that was not the case. He intimated that he was not sure what to do with us and it seems that death was one of the options that he had for us. Amdius took us on a tour down to his work shop. He took us on a fast moving device that took us deep underground. There we saw the first of red books. Amdius placed the second one next to the first. He told us that these books were manuals that told how to repair the machines of the ancients.

It was very hard for me to hold in my rage, I was able to channel it into fear. The king gave us liberty and a reward telling us that he would be in contact when he had made his decision of our fate. I felt betrayed. Our very willingness to fulfill our contract turned to bitter ash in my mouth. But it became clear that this was one more test for me. So, I thrust my faith in the goddess and play my part for I am just a cog in the wheel.

Back at the temple, I spoke with priestess Rowena. She explained to me the background behind the king’s concern. There are forces at work behind the scene that blame technology and magic for many woes on Salus. The king is trying to bring back the wonders as it was before the coming of black vein plague. The Aketze Witness and their leader, called the Prophet, have been opposed to the return of magic and technology. She told me that the leader claims that he was the last person to actually speak with a deity and all those who claim that have are blasphemers. She told me of a small group of them in town, I have decided to keep a wide berth from them. A religious war is something I really would like to avoid. She promised me that she would do what she could to keep the king from killing me. I felt relieved at that moment.

That night I felt peace. After restocking and purchasing better gear, I tithed and cleansed my soul. I was ready for what may come and I am now at peace.

Mirtil 22nd

This day turned out wonderfully. The path the goddess has laid out before me is a burden I gladly shoulder. I compare this task like that of being a master mechanic on great steam powered colossus. We shall be engineers and caretakers. I see it clearly. The blueprint shall be laid and it will be glorious.

This morning the king called us early before him. He gave us an opportunity, be his agents and help him make a better future for Mercadia. I see the pain in his eyes. He sees all around him in jeopardy. I don’t know the current political state, but we all accepted the opportunity. So Amdius takes us to our new dwelling in district 2.

I took the opportunity to start my job. We needed information on what is going on in the city. As strangers, we knew nothing about the city. So I took it upon myself to find some informants. I found a pair of street urchins, Benedict and Lerin. It took some doing, but I convinced them that I was looking to make a difference. To be of help for those who need it the most, I pledged to them to be there. They took me at my word and said that they would put me to the test. I was able to get their mother as our housekeeper and cook.
All is turning out as it should; the goddess’ plan is at work I can feel it. I will not let her down, I will not doubt. If I stay on course, I will be freed from this and her glory be done. I spend my days in the second district and my nights at the temple. I work with Luna in the shop at times. Her brilliance is amazing. At times, though, she is scary as her mind wanders.

Argon 1st

This morning Benedict came to the house in a frazzled state. One of his friend’s parents are missing. He came to us for help. Well the team has agreed. I pen this to be continued.

The following is a telling of events by Thane Wyndancer.

25th of Mirtul

Dese last few days have been very interesting. We arrived at de Castle in Mercadia de same day we left, widin a few hours of leaving de dig site. Our stuf was taken from us and at gunpoint we were forced into…decent rooms on de Spelljammer…but under gunpoint none-de-less. De trip was…smooth…like we weren’t even moving at all threw de sky. De ground was moving so fast and yet…de ride was so smooth it was nuting like de caravan rides here.

We arrived and disembarked and I saw dis disturbing ting. From de hold of de ship a cage was rolled out. Dere were…people in dis ting and dey were hooked up to dese odd machines. All of de people looked ragged and worn and…and I disliked de look of dat thing. Eventualle de Shields came out and, soon, we were escorted into de castle by de Shields and dey had dese really neat swords wid dose glowing tings in dem. Wid my limited knowledge of dese steamcrafty tings it could either heat de blade up, or charge de blade wid electricity. Also…dat would hurt a lot to get hit wid.

I made sure dat my soulmelds were all deformed so dat I didn’t scare anybody. De beastial forms dat dese tings represent put people on edge. Dese people aren’t familiar wid dese beasts except in dat…coliseum fighting dat goes on.

Anyways, de Shields started to bring us in to de castle and, as I looked towards the large doors that seemed to lead to de Throne room, was a man dressed head to toe in black leather and dem steampunk gadgets. You couldn’t see any of dat mans skin. I couldn’t decipher his steam punk tings on his body, dey were to complex for myne knowledge. However, dis man was talked about greatle during de dig. He was Count Kozen, de ruling noble over de Residential district. Apparentle he had gotten soft compared to his earlier years, lowering taxes and the like. I made note to look dis man up later. I’m sure dis Count has some great tings in his house for de taking.

We were put into separate rooms for about 30 minutes, maybe longer. I just laid on de bed and rested. We were gotten by a Shield and brought to de main throne room. De King of Mercadia was in dere to greet us. He told us dat, although we did what he wanted us to do, we were also dangerous because we knew something dat he didn’t want us to know. While he didn’t tell us outright, it sounded like he was going to have us executed or killed but den he spoke about hiring us as his right arm in de city. Regardless, he could not decide den, so he had one of de guards bring in a chest. In dis chest was 4 sovereigns worth of money. He told us dat dis should “buy our silence until he can decide what to do wid us.”

We all took de money and split it between us, one sovereign for each person. Den we went our separate ways out of de castle, after collecting our gear. I didn’t buy much wid my sovereign, instead opting to put it in one of de banks in de Market District of de town.

At dis bank I deposited all of myne money, only retrieving dese very odd bank notes for half of it. After dis I went back to de Emerald Dagger, one of my favorite inns in dis city, if not de favorite. Upon arriving I ordered a mug of ale, a room, and de girl dat I had on my first night in de city. I didn’t know her name, but I gave her description to de person dat was taking my…order…and went up a few minutes later.

De girl at my room was indeed de same girl dat I had wanted to speak to. Once again dressed in dat all too sexy lingerie at de edge of my bed. Grinning I told de girl to sit down and asked her name. She told me dat it was Jailil and asked what I wanted to know. I asked her about why she was in dis line of work, and she told me dat her parents, who were dead, had a debt to a man named Rimspoke. Dey sold her into slavery to dis man and it still wasn’t enough.

I let de girl go and gave her a talon for de information dat she gave me. Hopefully she got to keep de talon dat I gave her and spent it on something she wanted. She was a beauty…and I think I might see her more often.

In de morning Shields woke me up rather rudely…around de 1st hour or so. Me and my fellows were taken back to de Castle and led directly into de throne room. Dey were whispering about something and I remembered de face of de man standing next to de king. Dis had to be Prince Modrick who was “lovingly” known as the Bastard Prince. He looked the same age of his father which couldn’t be right…as his father has to be at least a hundred years old. Dis man was not the favorite to take over when his father passed on.

De King had made his decision. He decided to take us on as his Right arm with Amdius as our…contact persay between us and de King.

On a side note, dere were dese things called Steam Jacks in dere. Dere are only a few of dese working. I believe dat dese were keyed to protect de royal bloodline…and den de King told us dat exact thing.

We were left to our own for nearly a week, given an apartment in the residential district, and told dat we would be contacted.

I tried to find de Street Rats in de factory district, see if anybody knew anything but I couldn’t seem to catch the little bastards. However, patrolling de areas around certain building were dese lizard men. I decided to approach one of dem and after asking a few questions finally figured out dat dese men specifically protected Rimspoke’s buildings. Unfortunately it came to blows and I was forced to kill one of de Lizardmen. It was…regrettable but it had to be done. I ran and found my way home quickly, dropping whatever soulmelds I had. I couldn’t shape the ones I had on for a few days…if not a month or so. Just until de lizardmen forget.