Deals and Lies Part 2

## Episode 7 - The FeyWild West

Seline and Talia arrived at the Airpike library to see Ernest. While in periodicals to access the Researcher’s Respite, they look up the local news for the attack on the Day of the Mother. As before the Observer spun the incident, painting the 42nd present as the heroes of the day while trivializing the actions of local bounty hunters who were also present. The Observer also sensationalized the actions of the Xhin siblings to further emphasize the heroics of the 42nd (most of whom died before the real fight started). In the Devil's Delights, Seline again speaks with Albee who tells her the door between feywilds and a material plane could only have been opened by somebody of both sides and only from one side. Meanwhile Talia talks to Ernest about the second door knob. She asks about a scroll of teleportation, explaining to Ernest just in case they need to get back to Jareth. Ernest offers instead 2 translocation stones that can only be used once to get from the location of one stone to the other. In light of what Ernest discovered in his research of the Venassi, he gives them to Talia. Ernest shares what he's researched so far. Most of it Seline and Talia had discovered already until he brings out an old book with the Venassi symbol on the front. In it is detailed the final rite. The amulets the Venassi receive when they join are always supposed to be worn and always touching the skin so that when the Venassi oath is recited it kills the wearer.

> **Ernest Felson**They say it by whatever means necessary including twisting their own natural order because when they've accomplished their mission, when they're the only thing wrong with the natural order…**Talia Grey**What?**Seline Argent**The only thing wrong?**Talia Grey**That is just asinine. So they're hoping to rid the world of everything they perceive as unnatural including themselves?**Ernest Felson**They see it as a noble sacrifice.**Talia Grey**Oh \*\*\*\* Noble.**Ernest Felson**These people are \*\*\*\*\*\* up on a number of levels and they use their rhetoric of preserving the natural order to gain followers and support.**Seline Argent**What is the point?**Ernest Felson**from what I can tell, to prevent another sundering. They think by removing all extraplanar influence, another cataclysm like the sundering won't be able to occur again.**Seline Argent**But aren't they causing the destruction is sworn to protect against?**Ernest Felson**It's more isolated than that it's the impossible logic of killing a few to save many.**Seline Argent**But it is not just a few.

Seline and Talia mention something's about to go down in Crankshaft and it's being politically motivated. Ernest realizes the Venassi connection to Leroy Brown's campaign slogan. Talia writes a note to Master Talden so that Master Talden and Jareth will meet Talia and Seline at their house when they receive the doorknob they're sending off. Before they leave Seline tells Albee to be careful. He responds soon he will not be able to see everything from the spot and he'll have to move though it might not be soon for Seline. In return, he asks Seline not to trust the Broker. Talia tells Ernest they owe him a favor. They catch a train to Ubendale. Lenore returns passing Raven’s message that things are getting weird in Crankshaft. They check in on Joshua at the DMP station. Joshua looks rough while he's in the process of getting paperwork in order. He says Brown might disband the DMP if he gets an office. Talia lets Joshua know their intention to investigate the orc raids in Crankshaft. On the job board, there's a request for aid at the Harnvel monastery with wolf-like creatures. Another request for aid is from Odinston. also with similar odd creatures. Lastly there's a request for aid for missing children in Duskdown. Traveling to Castle Ridge at the crossroads, they see it has grown, A couple new buildings and a couple more houses. At the DMP office, they find that Branson has transferred out of the office and back into field work. Talia and Seline leave their regards for Branson with the desk. They notice increased mineral shipping traffic on the way from Castle Ridge at the crossroads to Crankshaft.

> **DM Molly**When you come to a hill that overlooks Crankshaft, it ain't the small town you left... What used to be pretty much a one-street town has exploded into a mini metropolis. Out here City still has its main street that goes through the town that looks to be the original street that started but it now sprawls away from the mountainside coming close to the small river... The city stretches now from the edge of the mountain to the edge of the river and it's starting to come back out a way from the small lake there. And you see the small Mining Company up against the side of the mountain has also grown. It's not just the main office, the machine shed and the storage shed. Those are all still there except now there's like a host of supply sheds and three other buildings within the complex and from here you can see people coming to and fro from the mine.

Now they have 2 Starbucks. When they arrive, they find the mine now fenced in with the gate. They asked for Raven mentioning their names, titles, and that they're DMP as well as old friends. The Dwarven gate guard Bernard mutters something about the 42nd and now the DMP before going off to relay the message. Raven arrives to escort them to the machine shed. On the way, Seline and Talia noticed that guards are present with the miners as well as a scaffold tower with a guard on watch. At the machine shed the large mech is gone and more work tables are in its place. Raven says shortly after the incident with the drones, they started mining multiple veins of different minerals (coal, iron, tin, nickel, copper, silver, and gold). Shortly after the discovery rumors of orc raids started to surface in Crankshaft despite no one having actually seen any. The raids to the south have killed people, their weapons stolen sometimes but leaving their trade goods left behind. The 42nd showed up 2 weeks later to investigate unsuccessfully, but not before leaving Leroy Brown political posters have been plastered everywhere. Additionally, Raven mentions a tree with blue leaves has sprouted up in the garden of Titania. Talia asks about Ravens progress on her motivator project and suggests enlisting Nikki's help. Raven says that with the boom in mine production she's been focusing her efforts there. Also that Nikki and she got into an argument about magic and its uses. Seline and Talia show Raven the personal Shield and one of the cylinders for Antoinette before suggesting that Nikki could help her with her projects if they could just get along. They convinced Raven write Nikki a letter in exchange for an ammo cylinder.

## Location

* Airpike
* Ubendale
* Castle Ridge at the crossroads
* Crankshaft

## Characters

### Players

* Seline Argent
* Talia Grey

### NPCs

* Ernest Felson
* Albee
* Joshua Wilben
* Bernard - Crankshaft Mine Gaurd
* Raven Crankshaft