Jimmy’s acid does nothing but give the metal a bit of a polish. While they are trying to break the gate away from the wall, the creature inside the bubble of light emerges. Perhaps some sort of demons, it is winged and red-gray, with four horns and 4 pits with obsidian glints in place of it’s eyes. After a difficult battle, in which Jimmy is injured, they defeat the creature. Jimmy then goes into the chamber trying to recover a trophy from the creature, but is unable to cut the creatures hide. On the way out…they are attacked by some bandits of the barrens…

After spending the night at Shadowmoon, they have decided to deliver the Scroll to Chalkchain, and have headed across the barrens. So far, they have had no real problems, and they have found natural small rune wells to keep Emily charged. However, late on the second day they encounter a strong runestorm, and seek refuge in a cavern.

Deep inside the cavern, they discover somesort of Rune Linked Machine, which seems to create a globe with agrowing winged creature inside it. THey are unable to get past the metal bars, so Jimmy begins to concoct an acid that may allow them access to the machine…WHile he is distilling, the storm stops, and it begins to snow…

Such a series of hardships for something so… Ill presented. Our Travels took us to part of the Zu, to recover some "Painting for our man. Long story short, we found it. However, it was not much to behold, a sepia toned portrait of a prone figure, and an etching into a rusted bench back. A very interesting picture of a mans face, made out of cogs and sprockets. After dealing with a way out, but not before we actually escaped, we ran into the growing nuisance of the blue coats. However, something they did this time drew this old knight over the line. They had hired a human mage, which at first was no problem, until he had bound a deamon to do his bidding. Emily made it apparent that she was ready to leave, which meant he got away… I have to wonder if he was an emissary of Vaurag’s. A Stormlord Accord who sees my order and my’s actions in the barrens as actions against the treaty. I’ll have to be very cautious with my actions from now on.

After we emerged into the streets of Redwarren without even a second thought, We got back onto the spiral and began our movements back to the twisted fields. It was yet another long trip, I’m sure my compatriots are enjoying the luxury, but it hasn’t been exciting to me since I was a small lad. once we arrived back in the twisted fields, it was going to be a walk to the scrap yard. We weren’t an hour into our trek, when I spotted something approaching over the horizon. I couldn’t make out what it was, but to be sure, I drew “little finger” and “blade Biter” and stood, expecting to be assailed by another servant of Vaurag. The newt and it’s rider cantered closer, and I quickly recognized the seal of a fellow knight. The unfortunate fellow had three bullet holes in his chest, and a scroll clasped in his hand. Emily and I helped the man down and lie him upon the ground. He coughed several words, however through the blood all I could make out was “Take, message, Chain, Chapter.” Seeing as he’s a knight, I can only assume he means for me to take the message to the Chalkchain Chapter. But To my interest, the signet in the wax is from Chalkchain, however the rune on it I have never seen before. Even when We have finished our assignments, a Good Knights work is never done!

It has been an interesting number of days. I sit, propped in a corner of Shadowmoon Salvage’s main building, my recently traded treasures spread around me like a protective ward made of technological junk. A runstorm rages outside and the establishment has been kind enough to allow everyone to ride it out within the safety of the walls. I am just me today… not too high, not too low… it is easy right now to be optimistic and look back on recent events with an amount of perspective even though I spent one of those days desperately low and and two of them crazy high. Today it is just me. I like these days. It gives me a chance to reflect and discard the horrid feelings left by Sue… to mull over and tone down the crazy optimism and enthusiasm of Manic M.

Anymahwhositz. We left Shadowmoon’s with a mission. Rode the Spiral without incident to Red Warren and wandered through until we found The Black Hole. I’d never been to the district before and was amazed and fascinated by some of the things I saw. There were, of course, more Ferrans on the street than anyone else, but the cogs and vehicles and devices on those streets were definitely of a higher class than found elsewhere. I particularly liked the brass monkeys on the street corners with lanterns of different colors, apparently directing traffic. I felt bad for Jimmy who did not appear to be happy to be there, so didn’t take time to stop and look and ask questions. We found the sinkhole without much difficulty, discovering a small rune well along the way. As sinkholes go it was, actually, rather impressive. About a half mile across and 150 feet down it lived up to its name. Looking in we could see several levels, buildings and easily a hundred people digging and sifting and harvesting. It seemed to me at the time, a very odd thing that any treasures at all were still left undiscovered.

Not wanting to just dive in unprepared, we retired to a flywheel overlooking the hole to see what we might be able to discover from the locals. We weren’t seated long before an enthusiastic little Ferran came over introducing himself as Tommy Gaslight. We spoke of the hole, he offered to guide us, although he had never heard of any place called the Chrystal Palace. We poked him for info, bartered a price and paid the mad to show us to an entrance that fit the description and could very possibly be known to others as the “palace” we had come looking for. It was an exorbitant price, but The Baron was willing to pay it, considering the alternative would be for us to pick and hunt on our own down there looking for a vague description of a building. We would never have found it otherwise. The entrance was simply a tunnel of sorts, the reason for the naming not apparent until one entered and could see the ceiling. Tommy left us there, not willing to enter as he claimed that slag rats lived within… and he was not wrong. We headed in, my arc light showing the way. Shortly we came to a ‘T’ junction and looking both directions saw that to our right there were arc lights… so… down to the right we go. The tunnel opened out into a room, the channel down the center of the tunnel continued across the floor and disappeared into another tunnel. Along the wall there were pictures… as I wandered over to have a look there was a rumbling from back down the tunnel dust, billowed out from one side and the slag rats that Tommy was so afraid of came out of the far tunnel and started in to chomping and scurrying and scratching. It was hectic, crazy, shots were fired, Jimmy lobbed devices and what not… we prevailed. However… the tunnel out was now closed with debris, rock and dirt.

Dismayed we explored the wreckage, hoping we wouldn’t have to explore further in to get out and discovered that the cave in actually opened up the wall and exposed a room beyond. Looking in I could see that this long narrow room’s floor was tilted. Windows lined the long walls and in the murk just beyond my arc light I could see another door. As the opening was too small for me to easily get through Jimmy scrambled in to have a look around. He found numerous burned out runestones, one live one… and paintings on the backs of what appeared to be benches in the middle of the room. One of the paintings was of an overwrought and was signed J 313… we found it. What an amazing stroke of luck! How long we could have wandered before we found this room… or cog car as it turned out. Jimmy and The Baron explored the little room, discovering that we could climb up onto the roof and up a scree slope to another car… with some digging and some work we got my own self through and up and out and worked out way through several old cog cars. To me, the things we found, looked like someone had been living in them for a time. There were doodles and discarded things you might find in an old abandoned tenement. Finally, toting the two bench backs carefully wrapped and strapped to my back we find the end car and alight into another tunnel. There are beams of sunlight ahead. It turns out they are being let in by an old drainage pipe…. but… there are stairs further down the tunnel.

The stairs upward begin a whole new trek indeed. At each new level we find doors that lead to sub cellar, cellar than street… but can we just go through the doors and make our way out without trouble? Nope. Someone was in the sub cellar and didn’t like that there were unknowns knocking on a disused door. Those someones turned out to be Blue Coats and one fancy pants who flung magic around. It was hot and heavy and crazy and chaotic… but… we finally made our way out onto the street. I tell you. I have never done so much fighting in my life. Scrapping with roomies or other workers over bits and pieces found by chance along the spiral… whacking rats and other scavenger beasties in the barrens who want a piece of your dinner or your hide… but to date, I had managed to avoid any real honest to clockwork fights for my life. I’m not sure what I think. I know that at the time it was exhilarating, exciting and I know I grinned and laughed at several points… but… in looking back… I’m not so sure I should be enjoying that sort of thing. I did wind up with several handguns… I think I will have to ask The Baron to teach me how to use them, I think he might…. just… if I asked real nice..

So. To make a long story short, I know… too late, right?… our journey back down the spiral to Pitchpitt was uneventful. However. The day spent walking to Shadowmoon’s was incredibly fabulous. I was wandering, adjacent to the road…. as you do…. in the hopes of seeing something no one else had seen before, and I fell into a hole. Well… it wasn’t a hole when I stepped onto it, but I guess several hundred pounds of brass and meat girl was just more than the roof of the shelter could take. The drop wasn’t far, and I wasn’t hurt, shook up a bit, but it was worth it. In that hole I found a clockwork walker of some sort. It reminds me of the feral dogs I have seen in the barrens… four legged, front legs joint forward, back legs joint back… with a few hours of tinkering I got it walking… and I think… I think it is mostly intact. It will take a total break down, clean, repair and replace, but from what I can see the little fella is actually an honest to Gods clockwork companion. He will be a brilliant addition to my life so long as I can keep clear of the retrievers. I know, you are thinking that I could clean it up and sell it to pay off my debt… but… I was forced into that debt. I am not going to pay it. I won’t. He’s mine. I am going to call him Georgie. I knew a Georgie once. That Georgie was my first and only love… although I was only 9 at the time, I knew what love was, and he was mine. I will love this Georgie like I wasn’t allow to love the other. This Georgie will not let his parents send him off to school… will not let my parents sell me to The Spiral….

Storm is subsiding. Time to gather up and move on to the next thing. This job paid really well. I think I like this sort of work arrangement.

Shortly after leaving the confines of Pitchpit, fully expecting a day or more of travel to Shadowmoon Salvage, they see a young Ferren Sifter who watches them warily from his small claim of what could have been a much larger building long ago. He watches them back holding a saber, but waving over his shoulder a [[tailtip}] that had been modified with a broad blade. Although they passed without a word being said, a few hundred paces beyond, Jimmy cackled shortly and relayed the following:

Many years ago, just after I married Jody, when we were living in the barrens north of RedWarren I saw a young Gutterkin wearing a tail tip, that he had polished, polished highly. We were sifting the ruins of a structure that just a small corner came out. Out of the ground, hoping, hoping to find food, or trade goods. He was looking as well. Looking. He was called Aurthur Runewheel. he asked and we offered to join, and search together. He looked like my oldest brother, Harry, but he had a torn ear. Harrys ear was not torn. When he smiled big, the tear parted so one part of his ear bowed to you. (Here he chuckles again) Smiling, gutterkin. when we were sifting, we went in side, as one does, inside. But we were attacked by a pair of growlers. (shakes his head) Aurthur made them follow him, so we could get into a small gap, but they chased him and it collapsed. The floor, it collapsed. Jody and I were sad to have lost a gutterkin, but happy that the growlers were gone. Help! we heard, help, it hurts! That is what we heard, so I scrunched out thinking that I would have to put my new friend out of pain. I went over to see, and saw his shiny tail tip sticking up from the floor, (chuckle) thinking that it would be a good way to remember him. But, (laugh) when I got their, it was still on a tail…Horror I thought, his tail was torn off, like you gutterkin losing a limb, maybe…a limb…Over the edge i looked, (Giggle) and he hung there…by his tail and tail tipin a wedge like crack over a drop easily 5 times his height. Five times. It was not easy to pull him up, but I had a short bit of tanglevine rope. Pulling him up without further injuring his tail, or breaking the tailtip…all while unkindly laughing at him. Fo almost a year we travled, and one of my first litter was named for him, Aurthur Bigdrip. He left though and sometimes I think on him, think on him and wonder if he still has the tail tip, or even, if he yet lives. more than 30 years ago when we last drank glee together in the ZU of GreyMesa.

Here he goes back into his muttering to himself, but with a whimsical smile often creasing his wrinkled snout.

*Back to littering place, into a place called Black Hole…a dangerous sinkhole…
*Traveled down corridor, bigger than many ZU places
*Unsound corridor collapsed and brings Slag Rats to hunt for trapped prey, but we are not trapped.
*Sadly shoot my gutterkin, and capture guardian in grappler spring. Must get better shot, or perhaps a sighting device…
*badly hurt but Rejuvenation extract very helpful, same for Otto. Narrowleaf root may reduce the burning
*Found a room/cog car…with painting and rust ed picture, along with many burned runestones. We leave returning to Shadowmoon

Dangerous fight with the slag rats, but they are victorious. They go back to explore the cave in, finding it is not completely closed, but that some sort of chamber has dropped in. They explore the chamber, finding what may be thier Goal, plus another piece of art. On escaping the chamber they come into a room with Bluecoats, and fight their way out, returning to Shadowmoon Salvage just as a runestorm descends. They are rewarded by Teridar and wait out the storm in the relative comfort of the main building of the Salvage yard.

They enter the Lowe Overlook, a flywheel above the Black Hole. THey meet Tommy Gaslight, who offers them various tours of the ’Hole. They enter a place he calls the Glass way…and there is a shift, causing a cave in, and slag rats appear…

*Off to Downtown in Grey Mesa, where I thought I had come to die. Trugtak did die above the ZU. His sacrafice not in vain…
*Helping a woman…Ghost I think. The Vortex Accelorator works! Need bigger pistol.
*Take her locket back…jumped by grubs. Grapple spring turns the tide. Try wider distribution
*Introduced to her gutterkin, Junkmeister ShadowMoon. Sends us to Red Warren, my littering place. Many gutterkin died there.
*New Companions…one Cog runaway, one Waste Knight. Odd trio, rat, cog and skipper…
*Found Black hole. May use Rejuvination Elixer…perhaps more leyin extract

Upon arriving at ShadowMoon Salvage the get to meet Terridar, who sends them to Red Warren. THey are to go to a place called The Black Hole, locate the Crystal Arch, and find a painting; A self portrait by Jared 313. They take a train through Gaunt Whistle and then to Red Warren District. After a bit of wandering in the downtown area, they come upon the sinkhole called The Black Hole.