The Roving Council

The Party: Kona, Dacien

In the weeks since the last adventure, Dacien began having troubled dreams of his lost empire and planar creatures. Strange powers begin to manifest in his sleep, including an unseen servant that the sleeping Dacien calls out to as “Dalton,” the name of a long dead servant. In his dreams, he begins to accept the shadows. In waking life, this influence leads him to reforge his weapons, his sword into a magical pact weapon and his pistol modified to accept planar shards as a power source.

Kona, too, had strange visions, seeing himself underwater greeting a stray water spirit. On waking from his meditation, he finds the spirit manifested in the real world, a walking shark being he dubbed “Castaway,” who he adopted as his companion and mount. He also commissioned a new shield from Lanternwurm’s resident blacksmith Estley, a piece etched with shark tooth motifs representing his faith.

When Dacien and Kona returned to the control room for their next assignment, they found Linde speaking with a stranger, a rotund man with brown skin and a short grey beard. Linde introduced him as Armas, or “Uncle” Armas, as the man insisted they call him. He would act as a guide into their next mission: a diplomatic affair called the Roving Council.

The Roving Council was a political meeting of mobile sanctuary engines to discuss trade, territories, and other orders of business. Linde had called upon Armas to introduce Lanternwurm into the Council, hoping to find allies and call attention to the Strangers problem. Armas explained that the Council was still a relatively new organization, and as such they should expect a challenging situation, with many players and conflicting aims.

Four major sanctuary engines made up the Council.

• Cloudhope, the clan Armas belonged to, was one of the larger clans, led by Overseer Manu, a blue dragonborn interested in bringing unity and order to a chaotic world.

• Truespear, also a large clan, was led by human matriarch Overseer Ida. She and her half-elf son Shiro were strong, direct leaders, proud of their role in striking out and pioneering the new world.

• Sirenshell, a smaller clan Lanterwurm had previously traded with, was led by Overseer Amira, a triton woman who led a clan mostly of aquatic races in one of the few known ocean-bound engines.

• Whitespark, a small clan co-led by a couple, orcish Overseer Bori and human Overseer Evette. Together, they urged the council toward exploration, invention, and resource extraction, combining Bori’s magical abilities and Evette’s scientific and engineering knowledge.

The meeting would consist of a reception, where the adventurers would be able to meet and mingle with the other clans, followed the next day by the council proper where clans, including Lanternwurm would vote on current issues. Armas advised that Lanternwurm consider their actions and votes carefully. Every decision would affect how the other clans perceived them, and it would be difficult to please everyone.

Linde, never really the politician, would rely on Dacien and Kona to help guide and support their efforts. Dacien decided to commission a gift to the Council in preparation, a medallion styled as a wheel with five spokes representing the five clans.

The Council meeting this year was being held at The Blackroot. Once a site of great magical power long-since drained, The Blackroot was set in a forested grove and featured the stump of what was a massive tree surrounded by large standing stones.

The night of the initial reception, Kona and Dacien found themselves accompanying Linde and Armas. As they approached a large longhouse that had been constructed for the reception, they caught sight of the other sanctuary engines, parked near the meeting site.

In the longhouse, the party began scoping out the situation. Musician played background music and food was laid out along a table in the center of the hall. Dacien, leaning on his role as negotiator, began making great efforts to understand the other clans.

He first had Armas formally introduce him and Linde to Overseer Manu of Cloudhope, a stately blue dragonborn with a fin atop his head like a mohawk, dressed in traditional knight’s armor adorned with rose motifs. He was accompanied by his secretary, Kamilla, an efficient, slender, red-haired dwarven woman. Dacien made formal conversation with Manu, finding common ground in a respect for history and the past. Impressed, Manu invited Dacien to participate in a small “gift-giving” ceremony with Cloudhope later in the evening. Dacien agreed and Manu had Kamilla make a note of it.

Kona, somewhat hesitant to engage in politics, stuck near the food table, a mish mash of cuisines that had been supplied by all the clans. Nonetheless, he found himself approached by Amira, Overseer of Sirenshell, a beautiful triton woman with blue skin and teal hair. She had been drawn to him by the aquatic shark motifs of his armor and holy symbol. She was followed closely by a gruff, hulking tortle with a brown bandana and large club, who she introduced as her guard Sandro. Kona surprised Amira by speaking in Aquan and they soon began trading philosophical sayings in the watery language. Amira offered to host Kona at a salon she was holding later near the water.

Dacien then made his way to Overseer Ida of Truespear. A middle-aged asian woman in fine black robes, she acknowledged the new player to the council, speaking on the need for strength. Shiro, seated nearby, added a disparaging remark against Cloudhope and their tendency to try and solve all their problems with money and talking. Dacien agreed, hoping to ingratiate himself with the Overseer. In response, Ida began to speak conspiratorially, wondering if Dacien would be willing to prove his words with a task later that evening, one that may be somewhat frowned upon. Dacien considered, but also knew he had already committed his time to Cloudhope.

Kona, taking a respite from the party, found himself outside staring at the assembled engines in awe. Not often was there a collection of such power in one place. From behind, a voice commented on how impressive the engines were. It was Bori and Evette of Whitespark, leaving the reception early to work on an ongoing project back at their engine. Bori, in red wizard’s robes, gestured excitedly with his staff as he spoke about the engines. The group was shortly joined by Dacien and Linde. Dacien showed off his pistol and was surprised to hear Evette recognize it as from the old Steamwork Empire. Evette, wearing what looked like a heavy leather lab coat, described their many experiments in the fusion of magic and technology and offered to show what they were working on.

Taking time to confer, the group realized they would only be able to have further meetings with two other clans. Dacien decided to follow through on Manu’s invite to Cloudhope, and Kona chose to meet with Amira and her Sirenshell clan.

At the gift-giving ceremony, Kamilla instructed Dacien on the expected words and movements of the ritual where Dacien was meant to offer a valuable gift to Cloudhope’s leaders. Dacien chose to give a blue jasper gem and performed the ritual flawlessly.

Kona met with Amira and a small group of sea elves and tortles. They spent the evening in philosophical banter, Kona impressing the group with a short poetic speech accompanied by graceful martial forms.

[Relationship changes: Cloudhope +3, Truespear -1, Sireshell +4, Whitespark -1]

The day of the council kicked off with the introduction of Lanterwurm. Dacien offered his gift to the council, gratefully accepted by most clans, though Truespear found it to be a touch ostentatious.

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope +1, Truespear -1, Sireshell +1, Whitespark +1]

What followed were a series of votes on Council business, each clan vying for their specific interests, and watching closely how the new member would cast their vote.

1. Resource Distribution

The members of the council have agreed to pool some amount of their resources (food, planeshards, valuables) to be used to support the council as a whole. How should these resources be distributed: equally or by the size of the clan?

Votes:

• Equally (3): Sirenshell, Whitespark, Lanternwurm

• By size (2): Cloudhope, Truespear

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope -1, Truespear -2, Sireshell +1, Whitespark +1]

[Truespear change nullified by Dacien’s flashback to a discussion with Ida and Shiro about side trade deals. Truespear +2]

2. Trade Routes

Should the engines of the Roving Council spend their time expanding their trade routes to new territories, or focus on strengthening their existing routes?

Votes:

• Expand to new routes (3): Truespear, Whitespark, Lanternwurm

• Strengthen existing routes (2): Cloudhope, Sirenshell

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope -1, Truespear +1, Sireshell -1, Whitespark +1]

3. Cloudhope’s New Addition

Cloudhope wishes to induct a new tiny engine into their clan, adding to their size and power. Does the council give their blessing or call for a delay and further consideration?

Votes:

• Give blessing (3): Cloudhope, Sirenshell, Lanternwurm

• Call for delay (2): Truespear, Whitespark

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope +2, Truespear -2, Sireshell 0, Whitespark -1]

[Truespear change nullified by Kona’s flashback to an encounter with Shiro where he impressed with the strength of his new steed. Truespear +2]

4. Incident of Ocean Corruption

A coastal engine has been polluting and causing corruption of the local ocean. Should the council pressure the offending engine into repairing the damage or let it go?

Votes:

• Pressure for repairs (1): Sirenshell

• Let it go (4): Cloudhope, Truespear, Whitespark, Cloudhope, Lanternwurm

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope 0, Truespear +1, Sireshell -2, Whitespark +1]

5. New Resources Discovered

A new vein of planar shards has been discovered in what is traditionally considered territory of The Locks. Should the council take the resources for themselves or notify The Locks and negotiate?

Votes:

• Take the resources (4): Truespear, Whitespark, Sirenshell, Lanternwurm

• Notify The Locks (1): Cloudhope

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope -1, Truespear +2, Sireshell +1, Whitespark +2]

6. The “Agony Engine”

Rumors of an “agony engine” destroying destroying another sanctuary engine, Steeljaw, represents a looming threat. Should the council agree to seek out and take action against this threat or attempt negotiations with them?

Votes:

• Take actions against (1): Truespear, Cloudhope, Lanternwurm

• Attempt negotiations (4): Cloudhope, Whitespark

[Reputation changes: Cloudhope -1, Truespear +2, Sireshell +1, Whitespark -1]

Final Reputations: Cloudhope +2, Truespear +4, Sireshell +5, Whitespark +3

In the end, Lanternwurm was able to make decisions that generally pleased all members of the council, though Cloudhope in particular had hoped for more from the new member. Sirenshell was the most impressed by Lanternwurm’s actions, fertile ground for a stronger partnership in the future.

The next order of business had Linde presenting the issue of the shapeshifting Strangers and the threat they represented. However, in the middle of the discussion, an explosion was heard coming from Whitespark’s sanctuary engine. Fiery debris was blasted out and landed near the council site and a shockwave of strange energy blew through the area, stunning many of the people present.

Dacien fired off a pistol shot at the larger creature, and retreated to cover, but was surprised to see another nearby fire patch swirling in strange ways and shaping itself into a multi-limbed form.

After many back and forths, Kona and Linde were able to beat one of the creatures into an inert puddle of substance, suffering through minor burns at every blow. Dacien casted a number of arcane hexes against the other creature, glaring menacingly, but also took some painful slams from the creature. Kona called upon Castaway to rush to Dacien’s side, and dispersed the strange living fire with a smiteful blow of his rapier.

With only the enlarged blob left, the three combatants took turns striking blows. Linde revealed a secret trick, firing off the fist of her mechanical arm to strike the weird creature from a distance. Both Dacien and Kona called upon the holy wrath of their faiths to damage the creature. Despite a close call as Dacien fell briefly, the battle was finally won with a final blow that rippled through the creature, turning it back to a cold liquid substance.

In the aftermath, the council members gathered themselves and began demanding answer to what happened, some of them blaming Whitespark. The next day, Bori and Evette were able to make a report that the creatures did emerge from one of their ongoing experiments, however the explosion that released them and caused the damage was the result of sabotage. Someone had actively threatened the council.

The situation bolstered Linde’s warning about the Strangers. Could there be members of Whitespark, or any of the other clans, who were in fact Strangers in disguise? It was enough for the council members to agree in principle to support the effort against the Strangers.

With council business concluded, some final gifts were presented by each clan to Lanternwurm as welcome into the organization. The future held fresh possibilities for Lanterwurm, with new allies and unanswered questions.

Loot:

• Docent (requires attunement): A gift from clan Cloudhope. A docent is a small metal sphere, about 2 inches across, studded with small planeshard pieces. A docent is a sentient item of any alignment with an Intelligence of 16, a Wisdom of 14, and a Charisma of 14. It perceives the world through your senses. It communicates telepathically with you and can speak, read, and understand any language it knows (see below). A docent is designed to advise and assist its holder. One of the simple functions of a docent is to serve as a translator. The docent's properties are under its control, and if you have a bad relationship with your docent, it might refuse to assist you. This particular docent is efficient and to the point. You suspect its personality is modelled after Overseer Manu’s secretary, Kamilla. The docent has the following properties:

  • Languages. The docent knows Common, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Halfling, and Elvish.

  • Skills. The docent has a +7 bonus to Nature.

  • Spells. The docent knows detect magic and can cast it at will, requiring no components. The docent decides when to cast the spell

• Returning Shortsword (requires attunement): A gift from clan Truespear. This sword is in the style of the Truespear clan, with a straight, double-edged blade and almost no hilt. A magical red thread is tied to the handle end, the other end meant to be tied to the wearer’s wrist. The sword has the Thrown (range 20/60) property and it returns to the wielder's hand immediately after it is used to make a ranged attack. It counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance.

• Cloak of the Manta Ray: A gift from clan Sirenshell. The material feels slick and smooth like seal skin, adorned with wave patterns. While wearing this cloak with its hood up, a magical bubble is generated within it, allowing you to breathe underwater and granting you a swimming speed of 60 feet. Pulling the hood up or down requires an action.

• Pyroconverger (requires attunement): A gift from clan Whitespark. It is a firethrower that consists of a medium-sized tube with a special bag attached to the end of it. The tube opening is stylized as the mouth of a phoenix. It carries a risk of malfunction each time you use it. As an action, you can cause the Pyroconverger to project fire in a 10-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Each time you use the Pyroconverger, roll a d10 and add the number of times you have used it since your last long rest. If the total is 11 or higher, the Pyroconverger malfunctions: you take 4d6 fire damage, and you can't use the Pyroconverger again until you finish a long rest.

• -50 gp for council gift

• -50 gp for Jasper gem in gift-giving ceremony