Loops and Leads

The Party: Arcturius-9, Corwen, Farrow, Khonshu

Springtime after the Quiet Year.

The splinter faction formerly on Lanternwurm have split off with a small section of the engine and disappeared. Disillusioned with what they felt was becoming an oligarchy that did not represent them, they took some of the population with them, not all willingly. The party discovered they somehow stole the Enigma of Combination that they had recovered and found a way to use it to reconfigure part of the train to separate more easily. The mysterious Section 37 that disappeared from Lanternwurm may also have some involvement.

Through their own channels, Corwen, Arcturius-9, and Khonshu all heard chatter in the criminal underworld about the new ship engine that appeared called Hades Plunder. It was becoming a point of interest for mingling and information gathering. Arcturius-9 roughed up some contacts at a fighting pit event but gained no more details. Khonshu had been getting more involved with the new leadership aboard the train and tactical development but didn’t hear anything else either.

However, Corwen learned that on the coast, near the northwestern edge of the Bluespire range, there was a meeting place in one of the mountainsides. It was mostly a bar but also served as docking point where the Hades Plunder had started making regular discrete landings. Though the ship was becoming known for its merchant trade, there was a pirate element that interested the criminal world.

Taking the chance to speak to an infant Tarkin, Corwen also visited the former leader and tried to gain any pointers on how to approach the Cathedral of the Damned as a potential information source. He could only glean some words about faces and wearing a face to enter the strange place. Not able to learn any more, Corwen spent his time training and brewing some potions, though their limited resources and a rocky patch of travel left him with only one new good vial.

Farrow meanwhile had thrown herself into her work in engineering, mentoring other replacement workers, and also training her hoar fox to be less greedy. She found a missed message on her comm crystal. It was from Einkhorn explaining the splinter train had kept some of their cloaking technology and asking her not to endanger herself looking for them. Distraught from the heartfelt message, Farrow just then received a call. It was static-filled voice, scrambled and pitch modulated, it garbled some sentences or questions, but she could out only a few random half-words and “pandemonium.” She asked who it was and where they were to no avail.

Meeting together with Agent, the party presented their information and thought of how to find information on the splinter group. After discussing various leads and potential sources of the mystery message, they decided to call on the Locks.

Conversing with Master Crow, he told them the Locks was focusing on getting rid of the First Flame cult within their walls. But he had also heard of more trade with the Hades Plunder and that it was making contact along the shore. He referenced the same meeting space that Corwen had heard about, and the party decided it was as good a place as any to start.

The party disembarked near the Spindrift Channel to try to contact one of the rangers there on the way to the contact point. Finding themselves being watched by a single elf, they had a brief exchange. The ranger didn’t provide much information besides saying the area they were headed seemed free of monster attacks. Continuing down to the shore, they walked the trails towards the presumed destination. Along the rocky trail at the edge of the shore, Corwen spotted a rare plant that could be useful in allowing users to breathe in saltwater. The half-elf harvested some of the sea lung to prepare later.

Entering a cave, the trail led past a hanging bridge and into a meeting area filled with mostly humans, drinking and conversing amongst themselves. This must be the meeting place they had heard of. A half-orc bartender told them to seat themselves and the group tried to think of what to do next.

There was an announcement that the ship was coming in, and everyone started exiting to line up outside. The Hades Plunder appeared and floated nearby as smaller boats came to ferry people aboard. In the lineup, the party saw the people ahead of them drop two coins and trace something onto a crystal tablet to get transit.

Farrow attracted the attention of a man lined up behind them. Infatuated, the man offered information saying that the Hades Plunder was taking them to Pandemonium. They learned the ship wasn’t the full engine, it’s only the most mobile piece. Pandemonium was the floating city, and visitors were being allowed to visit their club sector.

In the club sector, the main section was called the Shining Monkey, and the group found themselves surrounded by crowed of assorted people. Some were there for entertainment, others for dealings. Under neon crystal lights, posters and graffiti covered walls. A mysterious authority figure called Mad Eye was referenced in some of the propaganda. Not able to get any further into city, the clubs were sectioned off and guarded. Arcturius-9 felt somehow familiar with this scene.

There was blaring music, some live performances, elemental dancers, gaming tables, and all types of drink. Under the alias of Peppermint, Farrow made friends with the eye-patch wearing bartender and got a special shot of fire lizard eye liquor, which blacked her out momentarily. Mule snagged her heel before she could be crowd-surfed away. Coming back to her feet, Farrow learned the owner of the Shining Monkey was a man named Captain “Rigger” Balik, a portly figure in a turban with a parrot on his shoulder. Bringing a round of shots to her friends, Farrow shared the information as they found a relatively quieter area on the outdoor patios.

They overheard some deals being discussed, someone was looking to secure a shipment of rare adamantine metal from the Underdark, and wondered if they should have a cover story about having something to trade to get more on how information travelled around here. As Farrow tried another drink, this one created a halo of faerie fire around her head, Khonshu disapproved and the two exchanged some words on staying on the mission.

Corwen blacks out from fire lizard eye shot, but saw a portly figure on a patio balcony some distance away when he came to. The group made their way over, being stopped by some bodyguards, but Captain Rigger allowed them an audience, he seemed captivated by Farrow for some reason and they were able to speak about business.

The Captain offered a round of drinks after accepting a fire lizard shot from Farrow. A glowing green liquor was given to the group, and everyone shared a drink. A sensation overcame Farrow and Corwen, preventing them from lying in the next sentence as the Captain asked them why they were here. After they suggested that they were looking for a way to their missing community, the Captain also answered honestly when they spoke. He said he had heard about the splintering on Lanternwurm and had something that could help them in their search, but he wanted a task completed first. He had a demon cargo problem this night at the docks nearby workers, were dying and he hasn’t been able to get it cleared up.

The party sprang into action, Arcturius-9 and Khonshu engaging it with greatsword and polearm, and Farrow firing drone shots. However every time they struck it, a wave of retributive pain emanated out to a large radius, causing migraines and sapping their vitality. The hardier party members were better able to shake off this effect but it made them question their tactics.

Closer to shore on the piers, Corwen took aim with his bow, but two more of the demons crawled up at points nearer to him. He figured out he could strike with arrows from a safe range if planned properly. Khonshu used a bait and switch tactic with Mule and gained some distance to assess the situation. Conversely, Arcturius-9 kept fighting at close range, after taking a moment to draw their javelin of lightning to throw at one of the demons down the dock. The creature seemed only marginally affected by the electricity. In fact, their rubber flesh seemed to be slowly healing when given time. Corwen was able to deal grievous damage with some well-aimed arrows from his magic bow, though the damage reverberated to some of this companions. The small size of the monsters allowed them to dodge away from an omnistaff beam from Farrow and a magically catapulted piece of boat equipment from Khonshu.

Pushing the fight down the pier to an intersection, Arcturius-9 drew all three of the creatures near, grabbling two of them in his mantis claws. This allowed the others to take shots at them with projectile weapons and spells. When a demon wriggled free, the cyborg fighter would snatch it back again, weathering the damage from their claws as well as the retributive auras. A wooden pieve of debris magically launched by Khonshu impaled one of the grappled monsters and Farrow’s drone finished off another one. Mule would go down from the demonic aura, but Arcturius-9 ripped apart the last one in time. Their bodies became dust as they expired.

Farrow patched up Arcturius-9 with her medkit and Khonshu took some time to get Mule running again. Corwen found the promised chest on the main boat, within were a pile of copper and electrum coins, as well as a set of dice with a magical one and instructions, and a fancy scroll box. Looking at the scroll, it showed a painted rainforest waterfall scene and had an Elvish poem saying, “Secrets lay hidden behind the waterfall.”

Leaving the bodies for the Captain’s workers to investigate, the party went back to the club to search for their payment. A new bartender, a purple mohawk-wearing Halfling, directed them to the catwalks above the dance floor. A ladder in the corner led them upwards, and a bodyguard let them through to find Captain Rigger. The Captain ushered them onto a rooftop patio where he had a table and a small box waiting. The bodyguard brought some champagne for them to toast their success.

Captain Rigger gave them a small crystal, explaining it was a tracker eye graft. It would help them find their engine, it could track planar trails like a hound. After interfacing with an engine’s power core or other integrated planar artifact, the eye would display a proximity sensor, a compass and a hot cold reading. However, the installation would require the loss of an eye.

Wishing them well, the Captain provided an extra piece of information. He had learned that the splinter engine was last sighted near The Green, a week or two ago, before in went invisible again.

The party took their leave and Farrow installed the eye into Arcturius-9 successfully with Khonshu looking on. They rested to recover from their skirmish. In the morning, the Hades Plunder ferried people back to shore.

With their new lead, the party made their way back to a pick up point. Aboard Lanturnwurm, they went over details with Agent and set their sights on the Green while discussing the questions their experience had left them with.