Mutalos Conclusions

Professor Shalebrow's maddened grin gives way to nervous laughter.

"Looks like nothing untoward is happening, friends. I can't believe I'm saying this but I believe we might have just disarmed the magic of Mutalos and secured its power source for research."

Cairns claps. Nimby jumps up and down with excitement. Gerry and Jonora remain stoic and professional.

Cairns hears a familiar yet distant ting of a coin striking the ground. Now very aware that his coin has struck solid ground after falling down a bottomless pit for minutes, he investigates the hole. There is an extremely faint dark etching of a jagged counterclockwise rune which wraps around the seemingly bottomless pit. It pulsates briefly with a burnt orange hue as the sound of Cairns' coin striking solid ground echoes.

The party takes a long rest in the chamber, contemplating the significance of the four gems inlaid around the pit: blue sapphire, emerald, red corundum, and yellow diamond. Nimby could swear she has seen such gems before but can't quite put her finger on it. Jonora concludes that the gems don't appear to be linked to any kind of conventional trap mechanism, magic or mundane. One thing is certain though: they are magical.

Eventually concluding that they are not related to any kind of trap, puzzle, or evil deity, the party takes one each and sets about returning to Syrinlya.

Designation: MTLS-00-12

The construct hovers towards you as you re-enter the room. It appears to scan you all in an unsettling divergence from its previous routine. Its stalky eyes settle on Professor Gulrim Shalebrow who tightly clutches the jet black orb.

"Authorised per- detected. -ostile presence reclassified. Resetting facilit- normal operational parameters. Standing by for orders."

You are all but deafened by the sound of stone grinding against stone echoing throughout the complex. It lasts ten to fifteen seconds and puts you extremely on edge before falling silent once again.

The immediate sight is jarring: the far door, to the room in which you fought the elementals by calling upon various environmental effects, which was open a moment ago, is now closed.

Gerry heads for the door to see what all the noise was about.

Professor Shalebrow scans the party with that familiar wry grin. “Any of ye ever fancied a robot pet? Looks like it needs a bit of work but it’d be a shame tae leave such a creation here to rust.”

The party learn that the construct is named MTLS-00-12. Soon after, the party learn that it has a Redesignation Protocol which they use to change MTLS-00-12's name to "Goose".

Nimby engages Goose's companion mode. Goose lovingly hovers towards her and matches her every step... until Nimby decides to try to mount the construct. Successfully.

A new friendship was born.

Funeral for a Friend

Through the door, Gerry finds a somber sight.

The pillar room stands untouched, its central pillar restored, and a familiar ginger-haired dwarf kneels with his back to you. His breathing is deep and his body is covered in lacerations.

Lloyd sits with an axe loosely held in each hand, his forearms resting on his blood coated thighs, panting heavily as he stares emotionless at a heap of dark iron, spikes, and blood which is partially merged with the central pillar. The flickering spirits of his ancestors flank him, bowing where they stand as if to show respect.

Nimby leaps off of Goose and runs towards Lloyd to offer some consolation. He notices her and turns to give the party a defeated nod. His eyes are as full of rage as they are with sorrow.

"He gave everything for me, as he always did. Tell me it wasn't for naught."

The party learn that Kay and Lloyd were fighting elementals exactly as they were, though they failed to understand the purpose of the runes in the room. The elemental effects in the room apparently mirrored those which the party was producing - but unfortunately not with such intentional timing. The dwarves fought bravely but Kay Ironglint ultimately met his end under the crushing fists of the Galeb Duhr. His broken remains are now merged with the central pillar of the room, an immovable testament to the violence of his death.

Cairns and Gerry do their best to help Lloyd build a rock cairn around the remains, with Cairns ultimately lighting a candle and placing it atop the construction. Nimby plays a soothing funeral song on her pan flute. Tears stream down the dwarf's face.

Journey Home

The party return to the fishing vessel to make the journey home with Lloyd Tinbeard and Professor Gulrim Shalebrow. It is rough, with Lloyd serving as the only competent sailor on a two-day journey, but they make it. Cairns pulls an impressive nightshift of holding the sails steady. As the vessel approaches Syrinlya, the party notices a pillar of smoke rising from the camp. It is impossible to determine its source from such a distance.

A grand crimson ship is docked in Syrinlya - clearly adorned with the colours of the Dwendallian Empire. The emblem on the ship’s sails does not, however, appear to be that of the Crown. It consists of three diamond-like shapes pointed inward toward themselves, and underneath, eight spires that curl up around it. Gerry recognises this as the symbol of the Cerberus Assembly.

The Cerberus Assembly was established nearly three hundred years ago, when strife and competition between warring mage lords threatened to unravel the social order of the Dwendalian Empire. The house leaders of this conflict nearly destroyed one another in what was called the Eve of Crimson Midnight, an arcane battle within the capital of Rexxentrum that leveled two wards of the city, killing hundreds of civilians. At the peak of the violence, a parlay was called, and the mage lords decided to put aside their differences and avoid mutually assured destruction, instead joining as a unified conclave. When brought before the king for judgment of their crimes, they offered an accord to instead officially instate the conclave and submit entirely to the king's rule.

In the centuries since, the Cerberus Assembly has subtly ingrained itself within most facets of the empire’s government, becoming a force of political and military power that many say could rival the king himself. This reality is not lost on the royal council, and tensions often simmer between the assembly and the Crown.

Syrinlya

As the party reached the rudimentary docks of Syrinlya, a number of things became clear.

The source of the smoke is a arge pyre which burns in the center of the camp, an uncountable number of books and weaponry fuelling the blaze. Three soldiers in intricate armour stand watch over it, periodically poking loose material deeper into the flames to ensure everything burns.

Cairns notices that the splints appear to be made of expensive silver, riveted to deep crimson leather. Chainmail protects the exposed joints, though you can see the cloth padding is an equally deep crimson. This is expensive armour and they are not to be taken lightly.

Two more soldiers walk towards you, flanking a robed individual. His eyes glow an icy blue, similar to the hue of the glowing runes which are inscribed on his bald head.

Nimby spots something slightly off: the mage's robes do not flap in the wind. It is as if there's some kind of forcefield interposed between the fabric and the elements. She immediately puts Goose into stealth mode and attempts to disguise him as a barrel. Jonora takes cover behind the "barrel", readies her bow, and quietly observes the unfolding situation.

Inquisition

“Hail, outlanders. The Cerberus Assembly declares Syrinlya a potential harbour for fugutives of The Myriad. State your business and prepare for questioning.”

Professor Gulrim Shalebrow is ushered towards The Buyer's tent by the mage as the party attempt to discern this individual's intentions. They learn that a fifteen year prisoner, Nathrow Arple, ex-enforcer of the Myriad, recently got his entire crew placed on the same expedition. They murdered their mage handler in cold blood and stole a fishing vessel with the intent of sailing to the nearest port.

The mage and his men hail from Balenpost, a Cerberus Assembly encampment to the southwest, which of course would not be Nathrow's intended destination. Therefore he is either dead at sea or being harboured in Syrinlya - a suspicion apparently raised by The Buyer's answers to the questions.

The party step forward one-by-one to be questioned. The mage produces a weathered ledger which seems to contain the names of Empire fugitives. First is Cairns, who is immediately cleared as an alien with no political affiliation. Second is Gerry.

Upon stating his full name, Algernon Dracovia, the mage's inclination changes. His finger stops midway down a page and his tone becomes highly suspicious. After some time, the mage gives his soldiers the nod and they reach for their weapons.

“Algernon Dracovia, you are accused of desertion and high treason. The Platinum Chapterhouse was ravaged by marauding orcs from the Biting North, and here we find you - the sole survivor - in the heartlands of their territory. Under orders of Starosta Brumae Luddie, by the power invested in us by King Bertrand Dwendal, the Righteous Brand designates you a prisoner of the Crown to be returned to Nogvurot for trial.”

Gerry ponders for a moment before drawing his sword.

Massacre on the Docks

The party fights hard with Lloyd at their side. Nimby, having summoned Goose when all seemed civil, immediately sends him back to the ship for safety.

The mage periodically flashes his ice-blue eyes at Cairns and Gerry, showing them horrific visions of an alternate reality in which all hope is lost. It feels almost as if they are glancing into the future. Mental anguish grips them, causing them to cry out in pain at the horror. Cairns even finds himself stunned by the overwhelming feeling of loss

Nimby summons a great swarm of snowballs from the skies, crushing one soldier and maiming the other, before casting Sleep. The crippled soldier and the mage himself fall face-first into the wooden pier and begin to snore.

The party turns its attention to the three soldiers racings towards them from the pyre. One gives Lloyd a papercut, immediately receiving three counterblows which remove a leg, an arm, and ultimately a head. Another attempts to hack at Cairns but finds his sword slipping from his hand into the frigid water beneath the pier. Cairns bats him into the water to find his sword. The final soldier swings hard at Gerry, cleanly striking his bulky armour. The sword sticks and the soldier recoils with only a shield. Gerry knocks him to the ground and cleaves the shield in two, his longsword coming to rest in the soldier's chest. With a prayer to Bahamut, divine radiance bursts from his sword and detonates the soldier's chest.

Cairns proceeds by waking the mage up with repeated maul blows to his chest until the screams stop. He then silences the screams from the frigid water by pushing the soldier's head into the icy depths. The final soldier, bloody and broken, is tied up and hauled to the fishing vessel.

Nimby finds two vials of Willowshade Oil - an ointment used to reverse the effects of petrification - along with a purple Orb which serves as a spellcasting focus. Cairns retrieves the ledger from the mage before throwing him into the water to join his companion.

What massacre?

Noticing that there is no movement from The Buyer's tent or the wider camp, the party immediately set about tidying up the scene of the battle. Nimby washes the blood from the wood with thorough Prestidigitation while her friends tip the remaining bodies into the water. They sink immediately due to the heft of their splint mail.

With the crime scene cleaned, the party turn their attention to the soldier in the boat as he awakens and begins to fight against his restraints.