Brave New World • Chapter 04

## Come Hell or High Water

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### The Library*(26th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Lionel and Evendur spend an hour in the library, attempting to untangle the mysteries of this strange domain. They get separated early on, as Lionel begins to determine that the corridors are not simply looping in on themselves, at least not always. At the hour mark, the magic that brought them there wanes, and they find themselves back in their bedroom at the Torre degli Angeli. After some discussion, and excited back and forth, they eventually go to sleep, resolving to continue investigating the matter at a later date.

### Lavente*(27th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The following morning, the group is called to Marsilio's office, where they find him busy at work writing various notes and messages and handing them off to Vanquish, his tiefling bodyguard, to be dispatched. He grimly informs them that there had been more attacks by the seafolk on more coastal villages, closer to Lavente. The problem, it seemed, was escalating, and the Church was scrambling to find a response. He also informs them that the raiders were not just sahuagin, but other sea creatures such as harpies and bullywugs.

"*It seems the more desperate folk are beginning to band together, to escape whatever hell awaits them in the ocean. It is as I warned you. It was only a matter of time before the wars of gods boil over into the realms of men.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

Upon Marsilio's instruction, they begin to pack up to leave quickly. Within the next hour, they leave the tower and head back to the hidden pier where a gondola awaits to take them out of the city proper. Along the way, Evendur is hailed by a sleazy looking man, who bears the upside down golden triangle of the Drowner Triads on his lapel. Curious, Evendur approaches to talk with him.

"*Brooks sent me. 'e said to give ya word. There's an assassin on yer tail. Goes by...Gyo...Gyodi? Gyoda? somefin' or other. Watch yer back, 'e said. Wants to make sure 'is investments was secure.*"
 ― Triads Messenger

### Edraxis Countryside*(27th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Paying the man for his troubles, Evendur returns to the group, troubled. They make haste to leave the city, taking the gondola upriver and into the small lake west of Lavente, where they make land at an abandoned pier on the southern bank. From there, they cut across country southward, eventually reaching the road and taking it south towards Decime.

The countryside here is quiet, and the day passes uneventfully. They make camp that night by the side of the road, and have some discussion about their upcoming journeys. Evendur also hits a breakthrough with one of his spells, with assistance from Nicolaus. The rest of the night passes without trouble, under the careful watchful gaze of Ironstrong-4 in sentry mode.

### Edraxis Countryside*(28th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Their journey the next morning leads them further south past the town of Sietro. At around noon, they come across an army travelling east: a long column of soldiers, horses, and cannonry trudging through the dust and mud for roughly half an hour. They surmise the army to belong to the Vigil Inquisition., presumably headed to deal with some part of the ongoing war.

After the army passes, they press on, and eventually camp in a small clearing near the road. That night, during their watch, they hear the distant sounds of gunfire and cannons, rumbling like thunder. It lasts for an hour or so before fading away, but no trouble comes their way in the meantime.

### Edraxis Countryside*(29th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Eager to move and reach their destination, the group moves on quickly, leaving behind the vineyards and farmland south of Lavente and crossing into a brief section of hills south of Sietro. Though still warm and sunny, the sky today is thick with patches of white cloud, that provide some welcome shelter from the sunlight.

A few hours past noon, they once again hear the crack of gunshots, much closer this time, followed by a series of echoing screeches, like the cries of hawks. Moments later, a sky ship trailing smoke and flame flies past above, seemingly beset by a flock of harpies. It crashes beyond the treeline just ahead of them, the Dellian cores that kept it afloat exploding seconds after in a giant plume of fire.

Hoping to rescue the survivors, the group rushes toward the wreck, and engage the harpies there. A brief scuffle ensues, and the party emerges victorious without too much trouble, but upon rushing into the remains of the ship they find they were too late. Most of the crew inside has suffocated, burnt, or succumbed to wounds from the fighting. They dig through as much of the ship as they can before it collapses, surmising it to have belonged to the Black Kraken Company.

In one of the wrecked rooms, Gaeldrim also finds an assortment of belongings that seem to have been taken from Anterra, most importantly a case bearing the mark of his pride. Retrieving it before the flames can claim it, he finds inside a beautifully crafted mace of obsidian, carved with ritualistic patterns and designs that seem to tell a generation-spanning story, running up the entire haft. Recognising it as an artefact that had once belonged to his people, he claims it for his own, along with a small chest of coins that also seemed to have been from Coreleao.

Leaving behind the wreckage, the group continues onward for a few hours, eventually stopping to make camp by the side of the road. That night, while most of the group sleeps, Lionel and Oondak visit the library together, making some more progress in untangling the complicated puzzle of the twisted corridors.

For the rest of the night, Ironstrong-4 keeps watch alone. Some time after midnight, he hears distant punctuated rumbling to the south, cannon fire and explosions, and distant screeches. The sounds persist for an hour or so, before fading away into quiet once more.

### Edraxis Countryside*(30th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

They wake early the next day to the sound of shrill screaming, abruptly cut short. They hear approaching yelling, shouts, and gunfire, and scramble for their weapons just in time to be assaulted by a rabid pack of ghouls, including a much larger one that tears through their camp. After some frantic fighting, they kill most of the assailants, and emerge alive and largely unscathed.

They set off shortly after down the road, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings to avoid any other ambushes. In the dreariness of the cloudy morning, a faint smell of smoke hangs on the air, and they eventually come to the remains of a battlefield a few hours into their day's journey.

"*You smell it before you see it, the sickly sweet smell of death. Then you turn a corner around a cluster of trees and a broad, open, gentle slope of low grass sprawls out in front of you, covered in the remnants of battle. The bodies are everywhere, three deep at points, piled in haphazard clumps that almost make them look like boulders, until you look closer and see them already crawling with flies and scavenging birds pecking away at the soft flesh beneath the armour.*"
 ― The Storyteller

Bodies of sahuagin and humans alike litter the battlefield, along with broken muskets and spears, abandoned cannons, harpies and strange frog-like creatures they hadn't seen before, and more packs of ghouls who ignore them, too busy feasting on the corpses and remains.

Stopping only to scavenge some amberglass from the artillery line and to take the heads of one of the harpies in the hopes of speaking to it later, they move on quickly, trying to leave behind the stench of death and smoke. Come nightfall, they set up a better defended campsite and rest, recovering from the day's ordeals.

### Edraxis Countryside*(1st of Riferen, 4E 776)*

As soon as they wake up the next morning, Oondak sets about interrogating the harpy head they had recovered, using one of his spells. They learn little, but discover that the coalition of seafolk was being led by someone called Praksis, though who or what this person is they do not know. With more questions than answers, they continue southward towards the Andrel river, knowing that their only crossing was at a village in the hills called Barco.

When they finally catch sight of Barco, after hours of uneventful slogging through the hills, their hopes of easy passage across the river are dashed. In the darkening twilight, they see smoke rising from the watchtower by the bridge, and hear the sounds of ongoing battle. Moving quickly, they rush towards town, hoping to fend off whatever was assaulting it before it was too late.

### Barco*(1st of Riferen, 4E 776)*

They find the village under assault by a horde of sahuagin, harpies, and a powerful water elemental that devastates entire swathes of defenders. Fighting their way up the stairs into the village proper, they manage to defeat the attackers before they can take the bridge, and fend off the assault with not insignificant difficulty.

During the fighting, as Gaeldrim strikes down a powerful water elemental, a green and gold spectral figure appears from his wartotem to fight alongside him. Once the fighting is done, the figure introduces himself as Felren Heartrock, one of Gaeldrim's ancestors, first of his bloodline.

"*These creatures; I have fought them before. They die easily, but they are plentiful. Offer their heads to the Life Mother in Shakti bil’Shtaan. It will bring good omen to our journey.*"
 ― Felren Heartrock

After some back and forth, Felren discovers some of Gaeldrim's past: how he was taken from Coreleao as a child, how he was raised in captivity, and how he was generally ignorant of any of their people's ways.

"*A child of the heartrock? Taken from our ancestral homes by force? Has my line fallen so low? That then is why you have summoned me. We are to restore our pride to its former glory.*"
 ― Felren Heartrock

Felren resolves to assist Gaeldrim with his quest, telling him he has much to learn. In the meantime, the rest of the group coordinates with the remaining soldiers and guards, setting up some sort of defence in the event that the seafolk were to return. They also set up camp across the bridge in a plaza, resting here for the night, while Ironstrong-4 takes up position at the top of the watchtower to keep an eagle's eye on things.

During his watch, Lionel returns to the library, hoping to continue untangling the puzzle of its many halls. He makes progress, but emerges at the hour's end with more questions than he had answers. He and Evendur have a small talk about things, but are too tired to get anywhere, and wake up Oondak and Gaeldrim for the next watch.

While Oondak decides to patrol the bridge for a while, Gaeldrim attempts to commune with his ancestors and perform the ritual of Shakti bil’Shtaan, by entering a rage. In doing so, he relinquishes control, and anger takes him on a bloody path towards Oondak. Noting that Gaeldrim had unresolved business, Felren urges him to settle the argument once and for all and kill Oondak, while the party scrambles to stop him. They manage to do so, thanks to a timely banishment by Yuli, and take Gaeldrim into custody once he returns, having calmed down.

The rest of the night is a long back and forth. Angry discussions are had, with Gaeldrim and without, while the group decides how to proceed and whether or not Gaeldrim could continue travelling with them. Gaeldrim explains his position to the rest, talking of his responsibilities, his struggles, and his past, but some of the group remain unconvinced. Ultimately, Lionel convinces Gaeldrim to swear an oath in the eyes of the Allfather and his own ancestors: to protect the entire party to the utmost of his ability, die trying, or if failing to do so to kill himself in shame.

Under these conditions, the party gives Gaeldrim another chance, though they have a long talk about what keeps them together as a group, and how they should act in a more unified direction. Following a suggestion made my Ironstrong-4, they establish a series of objectives and goals to follow, hoping it will give them a more cohesive plan of action moving forward.

### Edraxis Countryside*(2nd of Riferen, 4E 776)*

The next morning, the group leave Barco and follow the road south on their continued journey towards Decime. The weather remains cloudy and dull, but the countryside is blissfully empty of danger for the time being.

That evening, they come to the ruins of the village of Mede. Little remains of it: the houses are smouldering piles of charred brick and ash, the streets stink with rotting flesh and smoke, and a few corpses are visible amongst the wreckage. Once again speaking with the dead, Oondak performs a few more interrogations of the harpy heads they had recovered, as well as one of the bodies they find in the ruins. They learn little, except that the seafolk had taken some of the villagers as slaves during the attack, but slaughtered the rest.

They retreat back to a hill just before the ruins and make an uneasy camp there that night. Lionel and Evendur visit the library again, spending some more time there in the hopes of making a breakthrough. The rest of the night passes uneventfully.

### Edraxis Countryside*(3rd of Riferen, 4E 776)*

A light drizzle starts before dawn that persists through the day. They press on over flat countryside, ruined fields, and burnt buildings, following the winding road south. Despite the clear signs of warfare around them, it is deceptively quiet.

They spot the town of Decime by the early evening. It stands on a low hill that sticks out in the surrounding countryside, and for once does not seem to be in immediate danger. Them closer they get, the more details they begin to make out. The town was surrounded by impromptu fortifications, spiked wood fences and dirt ramparts, as well as two cannons on the haphazard gatehouse built along the road. A number of sahuagin bodies litter the road up to the town, indicating that they had survived one or more assaults. When they get near enough, a cheerful voice with a decidedly non-Edraxian accent calls out.

"*You go much further lads, I'll blow ya to kingdom come.*"
 ― Eddie Thatcher

After some back and forth, they convince the owner of the voice, who introduces himself as Captain Eddie Thatcher of *The Bloody Venture*, that they aren't a threat. He lets them inside, and walks them into town, telling them that he'll catch up with them later at the Penrose Inn.

### Decime*(3rd of Riferen, 4E 776)*

They head towards the inn, but are contacted shortly thereafter by Marsilio's contact, who anxiously leads them into a small safehouse off the main road. The contact, a slick-haired halfling who does not offer his name, hurriedly takes them into the backroom and presents the items he had acquired for Marsilio. One of the three items he gives only to Evendur, stating that Marsilio had given instructions to only trust him with it.

The transaction hastily done with, he shuffles the group out of the safehouse, and they continue on their way to the inn. Shortly thereafter, Evendur receives a series of sendings from Marsilio.

"*Evendur. I am told you have retrieved the package. I think you will find what is inside interesting. I entrust it to you. It is too dangerous for you to return to Lavente. I understand you are bound for Tyrenter. I will have my people contact you there. In the meantime, discover what you can of this artefact. Be careful. Do not allow it to fall into anyone else’s hands. Keep it safe. And Evendur, I understand that he is your friend, but it would be prudent to not share more information than absolutely necessary with Mr. Forrester.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

Mulling the secretive messages over, Evendur quickly heads to his room and sets about inspecting the artefact in question. He finds it to be a cube of metal, of the same nature as the plate they had found beneath the ruined chapel some time ago.

"*The inside of the box is lined with velvet. Nestled in the middle is a cube which, best you can tell, is the source of the humming; though from the looks of it its not vibrating itself. The cube itself is made of a very familiar metal: a faint bluish-silver akin to the material that held the blue crystal in place in the artefact you had found beneath the chapel. This time, the metal does not look dulled and corroded by time, instead it gleams splendidly and reflects the firelight.

The cube’s surface is not smooth. It has a number of channels running across the surface arranged in intricate lines and arcs connecting to six circular holes, one in the very centre of each face. These holes are maybe a centimetre deep and fitted perfectly into them are circles of glass-like crystal, which itself seems to be engraved with more fine grooves in precise circles and lines.

You pick up the cube to inspect it more closely. When you do so, you can feel the minute vibrations emanating from inside the cube, and from beneath the glass openings begins emanating this pale amethyst glow, which in turn branches out through all the connected channels and furrows until they’re all lit with the same glow. It’s only now, under this pale glow and from a closer distance that you can see the outside of the cube is covered in this tiny, impossibly small writing.*"
 ― The Storyteller

Though Evendur burns with curiosity to continue studying the artefact, he and the others head downstairs to have some warm food and talk with Eddie Thatcher and his crew. He introduces them to his first mate, Tiny Pete, his cook/surgeon, Gustav, and his head engineer Ellie. He tells them how he and his crew had been running some paid scouting missions out of Thyr, but had been ambushed by harpies and had to crash-land their ship a few miles east of town. They'd managed to salvage a couple of cannons and rally the townsfolk into a defence just in time, and had successfully pushed back a few sahuagin assaults. Now, they were stuck here until they could find a way to salvage what remained of their ship or find a better alternative.

Intrigued, Evendur brings up the possibility of hiring the crew if they managed to get to Tyrenter and find a ship or a means to repair the Venture. Eddie seems quite pleased with the idea of work, and says they would definitely consider it. In the meantime, he and his crew would hold out in this defensible position close by to their ship's wreckage.

While all this talk is happening, Ironstrong-4 strikes up a conversation with Ellie, an eccentric gnome tinkerer who seems readily interested in taking a look at the warforged's clockwork. Despite a very haphazard and potentially dangerous approach to messing with the delicate framework inside, she does inform Ironstrong-4 that he had damage to his personality core, a crack, which could explain his memory problems. Thanking the gnome for the trouble, Ironstrong-4 heads outside to run some diagnostics, in the hopes of finding out what else is wrong.

After the talking is done, Lionel and Jendora take up watch on different parts of the wall, the former using the quiet to think more than keep an eye on the dark beyond the torchlight. For the most part, the night is quiet. The non-existent sliver of the new moon, and the clouds covering what little starlight there is, give an eerie gloom to the entire town. A light drizzle patters against shingles and wood and brick, but there is no breeze, no rustle of grass and leaves. Later into the night, both Lionel and Jendora spot a bank of mist building up along the grass approaching the wall, growing denser and denser. They realise what is happening, only in time to hear the alarm bells going off at the southern edge of town.

Back at the inn, Yuli is having a nightmare in which she is sailing across an endless ocean of dark water on a creaking ship that plummets into an abyssal void beneath her feet. Mist cascades down the sides like waterfalls, tendrils reaching out like cold fingers, and all around a bottomless emptiness, until a presence of unfathomable age and overbearing will moves in the deep. She wakes screaming, reality mingling with the dream, to find the cold, clammy fingers of Abbie Walker, what remained of her, wrapped around her neck.

"*She demands your presence...and she. Will NOT. Be. Denied.*"
 ― Abbie Walker

Stabbing Yuli with her cutlass, Abbie teleports outside into the dark streets of Decime with a crack of thunder, taking Yuli's body with her. The rest of the party scramble to rescue her, and a desperate chase ensues through the winding alleyways and corners, now flooded with the drowned: an assortment of monstrous undead and aberrations. Fierce fighting leads to most of the group tethering on the edge between life and death, and Lionel ultimately antagonises Abbie in an attempt to slow her down enough, for which he pays with his life. Finally, Gaeldrim and Felren strike down Abbie Walker and rescue Yuli, and the group retreats back to the church to regroup.

Here, after finding out from Eddie Thatcher that the attack had burst through their defences on the southern edge of town and left many wounded or dead, they set up an impromptu field hospital and help out with the injured. Eventually, they drift off to sleep, hoping to resurrect Lionel the following morning.

### Decime*(4th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

Still bruised and weary from the night's ordeal, the group wakes and sets about making preparations for a resurrection ritual. Despite Oondak's fervent prayers to the Earthmaven, the ritual fails, and Lionel does not wake. Distraught, the group contemplates what else they can do, of which there aren't many options, but when Evendur and Jendora return to the side room to take care of Lionel 's body, they find the familiar figure of Balthamos inside, poking the corpse.

"*Oh my, my. This* is *a predicament. Shame. So...double or nothing?*"
 ― Balthamos

Evendur and Jendora have a long discussion with the devil about a possible extended deal, building on top of the one that Lionel had previously made. Balthamos seems displeased with their lack of progress so far but agrees to give them another chance with extra stipulations and claiming some additional souls as collateral. He asks them to find the relic and to figure out where it was headed and why, go there, and retrieve whatever else they could for him. He also insists that they don't tip off the competition, and that they kill anyone at all who looks like they could be getting in their way.

"*See the thing is...I think so far I’ve been* too *benevolent. There’s no...pressure. No incentive to be better. And with so many distractions floating about, it’s good to have some focus. Wouldn’t you say? Fortunately for everyone involved (but particularly me), you’re not the only snacks I have in this proverbial picnic basket. Some of my more productive nibbles have been hard at work making up for your failures, and if they were to get the relic first...poof goes Leopold, poof goes the cat, and poof goes you. Now doesn’t that sound fair?*"
 ― Balthamos

Ultimately a deal is struck, both Evendur and Jendora's souls now also on the line alongside Lionel and Gaeldrim. Seemingly content, Balthamos vanishes, resurrecting Lionel on the way out. With no time to waste, the group quickly gathers their things, says goodbye to Eddie, and heads south out of Decime at as fast a pace as they can manage.

### Edraxis Countryside*(4th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

Feet splashing in the muddy puddles of the road, they follow it south through a persistent drizzle of rain, eventually reaching the outskirts of denser woodland bordering the Iter river. They eventually come to a bridge across the water, guarded on the far side by a guardhouse signifying the border of Thyr. Approaching cautiously under instruction of the soldiers there, they are questioned and searched, but ultimately let through. Ironstrong-4, being a strange sight, is made to wear an arcane collar that would make it easier for the authorities to track him down if necessary.

### Disos*(4th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

Having travelled quickly, the party finds themselves tired and worn out, and decide to spend the night at the small village of Disos, a cluster of houses around the border guardhouse. Walking into town and searching for a tavern, they note that the air here is much more relaxed. There is no sign of recent violence or trouble, and they see people smiling and chattering and going about their day, seemingly unaware of the war going on just across the border.

They book a room at an inn by the name of Taverna Mythos, and rest here for the night, keeping a wary guard to make sure they are not ambushed again. Though the drizzle outside persists, and the night is a bit chilly, it passes uneventfully.

### Miaris Forest*(5th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

Heading out early, the group spends the day walking through the calm woodland of Miaris Forest, a welcome change from the war-torn farmlands of southern Edraxis. The thick canopy and broad oak trees provide welcome shelter and shade, and before long they can feel themselves relaxing slightly in the blissful spring morning. They pass travellers on the road for the first time in a while: merchants, guards, woodsmen, or shepherds, heading about their business. It's all very normal, and very peaceful, which is certainly a reprieve from the events of the past week or two.

By the evening, they settle into a small clearing to make camp, where Evendur continues his studies, making a few breakthroughs. With no imminent threat, they bed down for the night and rest away their exhaustion, ready to continue their journey the following morning.

### Miaris Forest*(6th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

Following the signs pointing towards Tyrenter, the party follows the network of roads cutting through the forest, passing by the occasional travelling merchants and farmhouses. The day is calm and sunny, a few clouds dotting the sky filtering through the bright green leaves of the forest. The morning mist still trapped beneath the canopy gives the air a pleasant cool damp to it in the soft breeze coming from the north west.

Some time after noon, they come to a part of the road that seems to have half-collapsed sideways into a small boxed gully. The strange land feature, relatively oval-shaped, is dotted with a lattice of haphazard tunnel entrances around the sides, evidence of some form of burrowed network or hive. Strangely, they also spot the skeletal remains of a body floating in the air, seeming to hang on a metal rod that is fixed in one place mid-air. The body also seems to be wearing some kind of ring that glitters in the sunlight.

Investigating, and hoping to retrieve the rod and whatever valuables they can find, they venture into the gully and begin attempting to retrieve the body from the air. Midway through their efforts, Oondak notices faint tremors coming from the tunnels, evidence of a multitude of creature rushing to the surface. The party scrambles to leave, being beset shortly thereafter by an entire swarm of exikoros, large insects native to the area that emerge to defend their hive against the would be intruders. They manage to retrieve the rod and a couple of items from the body, escaping at the last second and fleeing down the road.

When they regroup, they examine the objects they managed to retrieve and discover them to be an Immovable Rod and a Luckstone, as well as a strange silver ring with a compass inset into its top. Oddly, the compass seems to not point north, instead leading roughly southeast. On the inside of the ring is a faded inscription, written in a foreign language that they eventually translate.

"*To Jen. Find your way home.*"
 ― Inscription on the Ring

Giving the curious ring to Jendora, due to the similarity of the name, they rest for some time then continue on down the road, eventually stopping to make camp near the outskirts of the forest and spending an uneventful night resting from the ordeal of the day.

### Miaris Forest*(7th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

The next morning, they follow the road on its wide eastward arc. The forest around them begins to slowly but surely give way to quaint farmland, stretching over the low hills and flat grassland as far as the eye can see. The countryside seems utterly undisturbed: no signs of war or conflict, or even smaller petty troubles.

### Tyrenter*(7th of Riferen, 4E 776)*

By the mid-afternoon, the outer limits of the city of Tyrenter begin coming into view: small groups of farmhouses at first, surrounded by fields, and then growing denser into a sprawling network of houses with white limestone walls and brown-red shingles, built with little to no rhyme or reason, some staggered along crags in the countryside, some clustered together, some further apart.

Heading into these suburbs as the suns set into the low evening, their travel slows, becoming mired in the crowds that populate these streets, milling about their business. Clusters of chatting women, stalls of fish and fruit and meat, guards at random corners watching over the chaos, and all while seagulls teem above, diving down occasionally to snatch and squabble for any scratch. They look for an inn to stay at for the night, finding one by the side of the main road. While they eat and rest, against the setting rays of last light, they catch their first glimpse of the city itself.

"*With the twilight setting in towards last light, you see, far ahead of you along the road, your first sight of the city of Tyrenter. An outer layer of high stone walls coated in white lime, that reflects the sunset in shades of orange and red. In the centre rises the acropolis, atop a large crag of stone, sloping down towards the bay, which is still hidden by the houses around you. And there, dominating the centre of the city at the highest point, is the Colossus of Thyr, a massive humanoid statue of bronze, representing a more human interpretation of the Sunspear, the god of the sun. It is styled in the manner of a Myrmidon of Thyr, holding a spear pointed at an angle towards the ocean in one hand, and a large metal orb in the other, which now in the growing dark comes alight with a bright magical flame that is visible like a beacon even from this distance, casting a glow over the rooftops to rival the dying sunset.*"
 ― The Storyteller

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