ZEITGEIST [ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.

Cut Scene

Melissa Amerie’s Mansion
Courtyard. The dead of night. Occasional rumbles in the distance indicate that the battle for Seobriga is far from over, but here on the outskirts of the city, there is the opportunity for sleep. A door opens and Kithilrak enters, pushing Khoomrung in his wheelchair. They approach the Skull of Cheshimox. Guarding the skull is Roderigo the half-giant. He stands and greets the two dwarves.
Kithilrak Good night, my fine fellow, and many thanks for your service. We will take your watch now - you may avail yourself of sleep.
Roderigo Thank you, but my charge is to guard this thing until I am relieved by Ludoso. It’s kind of you to offer, but I answer to Dame Melissa and she has a wicked tongue.
Kithilrak Dame Melissa made these arrangements at the behest of our mistress, Hildegaard; you need not fear her disapproval. We are equally stalwart, I assure you.
Roderigo These are serious times. Ordinarily I would yield to my desire for rest and give you thanks. I give you thanks regardless, but must remain where I was asked to stay. Feel free to join me. I have beer in this bucket, cooled by ice which I scraped off the cover, after the shower of rain this evening. You are welcome to…
Khoomrung’s mouth has opened, and from it issues a blast of cold air. Roderigo is frozen mid-sentence, his arm in an expansive gesture. Kithilrak does not seem taken aback, but moves to the front of the wheelchair.
Khoomrung The spell will not last long. We must work quickly. You have seen to the others?
Kithilrak Half a vial each of the draught the mistress uses to put her husband to sleep. Three drops would fell a woolly rhino. She uses five on him. I doubt they will wake at all.
Khoomrung Excellent. Let us take a look at the prize that so captivates our mistress. Wait a moment and I will help you.
Khoomrung stands and raises his arms, exposing the bear flesh of his stumps. He mutters under his breath and his eyes roll back in his head. He grimaces in discomfort as bony fingers sprout from his stumps and grow into skeletal wrists and hands.
KhoomrungWhat a waste of energy. If only that fat fool hadn’t squandered all his money on food and fine-living I might have had my own hands to work with. Thank the End we’ll soon be free of him.
Then he and Kithilrak work to throw back the tarpaulin.
Kithilrak(While they do so.) I will certainly be glad to no longer cow-tow to that boor and his sow of a wife. This find could not have come a moment too soon. But what of the Khum-ruk Nazar? Does our Mistress no longer desire it?
Now the two begin to scribe a teleportation circle on the courtyard flags.
Khoomrung Other means have been found. This skull is too great a prize to leave in the hands of an oaf. I too am glad to be rid of him. I have suffered for many years longer than you. There can be no more dedicated servant to the cause. I have been promised a place at right hand of the Grandis when we sweep South. No longer must I lurk and spy and pretend. No longer must I suffer fools.
Kithrilrak If he was here I should have taken pains to cut his throat, for fear that no amount of poison could pollute the ocean of his belly. I hate him with a passion. Years of study in the frosty towers of the North, the entire focus of what I flatter myself to be one of the keenest intelligences in Llanjyr, devoted to the arcane and Abyssal runes that delineate the teachings of Mistress Kamanov, and yet I find myself wielding a mere fraction of the power this moron masters with a touch.
Khoomrung Like a gifted child, he has a great facility, but no understanding. I had high hopes for him once, but his yearning for the End was purely personal, selfish. And the version of the Eschatol he spouts now! My greatest test was preventing myself from giggling in my wheelchair during his sermons.
Kithilrak Please! I am grateful only that he is too dense to sense my evident disdain, I…
Kithilrak is cut off mid-sentence when a foot stomps on his hand. He looks up an alarm, and takes the full force of a hammer blow to the face. He slumps, senseless, to the ground, blood leaking from his head. Hildegaard stands over him in her nightgown, wielding a hammer and shield. Khoomrung begins to slowly stand, as Thurgid emerges from the other side of the Skull, nervously pointing a blunderbuss in his direction.
Thurgid I… I think you might have killed him.
Hildegaard Good.
Khoomrung I warn you both. I don’t know how you come to be alive, but the condition will not last long if you attempt to thwart me. Tonight I leave with the Skull of Cheshimox, my prize for four long years of agony. You are misled if you think a housewife and a manservant have the power to stop me.
Thurgid Is that true mistress? Will he kill us both?
Hildegaard Stop quaking, Lemon. If he could do it he would do it, not tell us about it.

Khoomrung (Raising his voice.) Do you dare to question the power of a priest of Grandis Kamanov? Yield the skull, and withdraw, or I will slay you both in an instant. And, boy, if you continue to point that gun at me, I will start with you.

On the instant Khoomrung points his finger at Thurgid, the young boy flinches in fear, accidentally pulls the trigger, and blows Khoomrung's head clean off. He stares in horror at the mess he has created.

Hildegaard I think you might have killed him, too.

Session 12 (135) - Part Three - Medium-term Aftermath

In answer to a key question that may arise from your reading of this incident: How did Hildegaard and Thurgid avoid the effects of the sleeping draught? Simple: there are no effects. The draught is nothing more than a harmless tonic, concocted to allow Rumdoom to sidestep the consequences of his own foolishness. Many month ago, to get out of a prearranged appearance at an eschatological conference in Balingrad – which was, at that time of year, cut off by snows – Rumdoom had refused to teleport on ethical grounds. This refusal caused a rather public dispute and Rumdoom was required to repeat his objections to teleportation several times. Hildegaard came up with the idea of a sleeping tonic that would allow Rumdoom to sidestep his apparent loathing when necessary. She would administer it, and he would feign torpor until the appropriate point.

Why, then, did he exhibit such a dramatic reaction in Renza, on learning that he had been teleported against his will? Dear reader, your guess is as good as mine.

MEDIUM-TERM AFTERMATH

Glaucia Evora interrogated Khaled Valchek, and said he had no case to answer as far as the Berans were concerned. He had clearly been dominated by the tyrant. She left his fate in Rumdoom's hands.

Examination of the strange syringes carried by Lya suggested that they contained traces of charged witchoil. Injection may facilitate - indeed, may cause – short-term possession by a specific soul. But whose?

Back in Seobriga, Uru and the Clockwork Count used the Godmind Urn to take control of one of the dockside golems inside the central citadel. Once they had caused it to crash through the main gates, a unit of heavily armoured minotaurs riding king-bred triceratops charged inside and trampled the mechanical defenders within. There wasn’t much resistance anyway, as there was no functioning leadership, now that Pemberton had been driven off, and Valchek had been rescued. Substantial loss of life was averted.

The Clockwork Count asked for two things in return for his service to Ber: that he be allowed access to Tinker’s workshop on Isla Dolas Focas; and that he be permitted to destroy the Godmind Urn by throwing it into the lava.

The Bruse granted both, in an audience with the unit. (They were warned about his face and had to steel themselves when they looked at him. The Bruse refused to hide his injuries behind a mask.) From the outset, Korrigan was keen to address any misconceptions the Bruse may have had about his rallies in Seobriga, by assuring him that there was no intention to challenge his rule, only to promote the succession of a candidate who not only benefit the nation of Ber but also uphold the vision of the founder of the nation, the original Bruse, who wanted the country be strong and united and led on the basis of merit alone. Korrigan hoped that the Bruse would see Corta Nariz de Guerra as a worthy successor, particularly in light of the recent good news from the south. The naval engagement, led by Corta, had been a resounding success.

Bruse Shantus dismissed all of this with an airy wave. He was happy that the Risuri had demonstrated their good faith and best intentions. As far as he was concerned, they were welcome to all of Tinker’s malevolent discoveries. From hence forth, the Beran nation wanted nothing further to do with metal men and stinking factories! (Kenna Vigilante and Zarkava Ssa’litt both remained impassive, but Korrigan could tell they were faking it.) Then he announced that the unit should be regarded as honorary Executores. Later, when they were alone, Glaucia confided in Korrigan that there was no such thing. “You are either an executores, or you are not. You are not.” She didn’t mean that in a bad way, he realised.

More news arrived from the south: The gnolls in Karch refused to surrender, and had been wiped out by the Berans. Karch was bombarded, then invaded and razed. No prisoners were taken, as that would be slavery. From henceforth there would be a new policy of zero tolerance towards the rebellious tribes.

Gupta helped to raise a monument to the dead of Seobriga, just like the ones back home in Flint. She said a few words for poor Bian. Roderigo had survived his encounter with Khoomrung and was there when she went to say goodbye to Melissa and Ludoso. Melissa asked Gupta to stay in touch and gave her the names of one or two fellow journalists Gupta might call upon if ever she found herself beyond the shores of Risur again. Melissa corresponded with them to share stories, and had a contact in most every place (as did Gupta).

Rumdoom dragged Valchek along to check out the submersible built by Tinker back when Pemberton was still allowing him to indulge his obsessions. Valchek also revealed some maps he had scribbled down from memory after Silas Fennac's journal had been stolen from him. He hoped they might lead to the Stone of Not. He clearly expected Rumdoom to take them from him. "Oh, no," said Rumdoom. "You're coming with me."

Long-term Aftermath (or Downtime between adventures 6 & 7)

Keen to avoid lag, and to fit as much of adventure 7 in before our extended summer break (extended by my own second dip in the bracing waters of paternity) I decided that we would handle all downtime between adventures 6 & 7 via email. Players could choose to do as little or as much as they want, with the sole caveat that they could not expect me to convert whatever ideas they had into an full (or even a minor) adventure. Come what may, we would be starting Schism the following week.

Here's what they all got up to (spread over a couple of posts):

GUPTA DOWNTIME

As the dust settled in Seobriga, Gupta made sure to touch base with her Panoply contacts, including Ludoso, Roderigo and, of course, Melissa Amerie. She helped them to raise a memorial to the fallen of the city, similar to those raised in the foot prints of the colossus across Flint. She laid flowers for poor Bian. Melissa wished her luck, and asked that she keep in touch. Melissa felt that in Korrigan’s unit she had found an embodiment of the Panoply’s ideals ‘raised to a position of authority and power’. It gave her hope for the future, she said. She gave Gupta a list of fellow journalists she corresponded with throughout Lanjyr. Although she could make no personal recommendation for any of them, their writing showed consistency and like-mindedness. She had met one or two and felt they were trustworthy.

Gupta and Xambria returned to Flint ahead of the rest of the unit, who were diverted elsewhere for a while. Delft expressed a desire to partner them up once Xambria’s condition had been examined, and her fitness for duty established. Gupta, for her part, asked to continue her association with the unit, but Delft was not to be drawn. Something in the manner of his deflection reassured Gupta that she was being taken seriously, so she did not persist. Her file made a positive note of her survival, to which the results of certain tests were appended:

Delft sent her for tests with Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin, Mayor of the Nettles. Gupta met him and was introduced to his thri-kreen ‘wife’, which was disturbing. The mayor’s tests confirmed that her tissue had gained remarkable regenerative properties, presumably from contact with Doctor Von Recklinghausen (with whose work Isaac was reasonably familiar).

Gupta returned to her extended family: the folk of the Thinking Man’s Tavern, the oft-frequented haunt of her parents. To her surprise, they threw her a huge party, and seemed to know a great deal about her adventures in Ber: healing the sick; thwarting the Ob; defying Beshela; defeating a dragon tyrant! It was enough to impress even Gupta! The celebration ended with a rousing chorus of the Rock Rackus classic, An RHC Hero is Something to Be.

Matunaaga Downtime

MATUNAAGA DOWNTIME

As the only member of the unit who had not returned to Flint, not reaffirmed his loyalty or his vow to Risur or the King, Matunaaga decided to remain in the Hidden Valley until such times as Korrigan called upon him. In the three years since he left, he had reconsidered his position and realised that it was Korrigan he had chosen to follow, Korrigan who had been the subject of his wife’s vision, and whose leadership he had followed. He did not wish to return to miscellaneous duties, but to lend his might against the Ob, or against whatever enemy Korrigan identified.

Korrigan went with him. The hardest part of their return was having to tell their children that Conquo was gone. The little ones were distraught, and it was a hard lesson for them to learn so young. Conquo had lived in the valley four three years and had often been their playmate. They missed him and cried themselves to sleep. Ayesha led them in rituals of remembrance that eased their loss. (But when it came time for them to leave again, the children viewed their departure with sorrow and fear, not excitement as they had done last time.)

The maustin caji was unhappy at his own performance in melee against Rush and Lya. He had come to over-rely on his firearms, he decided, and would spend his time in the valley rededicating himself to the study of the Palimpsest and his goal of becoming a living weapon in the defence of his people. To the outside eye, he appeared to be fishing, mending sails, but that, he found, was the most important element of his training. Matunaaga also spent time helping Korrigan meditate and focus on the most recent change to his schism-wrought form: the absorption of the energy of Tinker’s bomb.

Matunaaga spent the rest of his time training the Phalanx. He was pleased with the way they had performed. Some of them talked openly about returning to fight for the King Of Risur, but Matunnaga had to dissuade them: part of his agreement with the gith elders was that they would remain in the valley and defend it from intrusion.

For their part, the elders – particularly Chenu, Matunaaga’s father – maintained their critical opposition to advancements in weapons technology and remained unmoved by their efficacy. In conversation with both Korrigan and Matunaaga Chenu explained his thinking: "If development is unavoidable, then not one step further than the crossbow. Of course, if mankind deems it indispensable to life that men kill one another, it makes no difference how it is done, and mass murder is more practical. But the romantic yearning of men is foiled by technical development. That yearning, after all, looks for satisfaction only in the encounter of man and man. The courage that accrues to a man from his weapon may enable him to cope even with a multitude. This courage degenerates to cowardice when the man is no longer visible by the multitude. And this cowardice becomes downright baseness when the multitude is no longer visible to the man."

Matunaaga left it to Korrigan to respond: “Mankind as a whole is still a child learning its own strength and morals. One day it will see the wisdom you have already achieved, but the lessons will cost many bruises yet. Until then it is better that those who have wisdom stand at the front line of the progress to guide and temper it.” Later, Chenu told Matunaaga that he understood why he had chosen to follow Korrigan.

Leon's Downtime

LEON DOWNTIME

Leon could not return to Flint openly. Effectively rootless, stateless and without a home, he reverted to wandering this world and the Dreaming. He spent the first few weeks supporting Korrigan in Ber, shoring up allegiances and smoothing future diplomacy

Leon took part in Rumdoom’s extra-curricular undersea mission (see Rumdoom Downtime, below).

He also persuaded Uru to let him create a permanent teleportation circle in Uru’s garden. They placed it on an artificial island in the pool next to the main chamber. With the help of the Clockwork Count, they designed the circle to shift every few minutes, thanks to a clockwork mechanism which was mirrored in a small clockwork toy carried by Leon. At any given time, only he could know the sequence of sigils required to use the portal.

Using this portal, and under a magical disguise, Leon also visited the bayou beyond Pine Island and the cave where the Thinker resided. It was not necessary for him to travel to commune with this being – who had granted him access to many strange powers in addition to those he gained from his pact with the Unseen Court. There, he discussed the matter of certain idols, some of which had already come into his possession, all of which were sought by Jenny Greenteeth and her coven (whose efforts to obtain them he had consistently thwarted). The Thinker enquired after any further reports of gidim activity, for this being of pure thought greatly feared the thought-eaters, but Leon was pleased to report that there had been none for many years. The Thinker helped Leon refine his teleportation magic.

While visiting in Pine Island, Leon heard rumours from the High Bayou: Large trees were spontaneously sprouting in massive clumps along the banks of rivers in the northern reaches of Risur’s Weftlands, then dying almost as quickly. The trees either diverted the flow or collapsed and created dams and new lakes. Trappers in the area had reported finding long-dead animals, some nearly rotted to the bone, caught in traps they laid only days earlier. He shared his findings with Uru, who bridled at the thought that Voice of Rot was still awake and working mischief in the world.

He also met with the Vekeshi Mystics. The Old Stag wondered what had happened to Kasvarina Varal since she was taken away by Asrabey. Kasvarina was one of the founders of their order and it would be good to have her guidance in these troubling times, he said. The Vekeshi were also perturbed by the loss of an irreplaceable eladrin artefact: the golem, Conquo, creation of Lavanya. Leon had not given her much thought in recent years, as if the enchantment she once held him in had faded. The Old Stag told him that she had aged in her Risuri jail cell, and become wizened like a hag. Leon knew that this was not the real Lavanya at all, but a simulacrum he had replaced her with when he persuaded her to stand down prior to their fight on top of the colossus. (A fight which, had it taken place, would have resulted in the deaths of at least two unit members.) But where was the real Lavanya now? He did not know.

When Leon returned to wandering he kept an eye out for news of Borne, and followed the colossus insofar as it was possible. Beran peasants reported local nature spirits wreaking havoc and mysterious massive footprints tracing a path from the Anthras Mountains toward Seobriga. That was many months ago (though time in the Dreaming passed differently as Leon knew only too well.) Where was the colossus now? Crossing the strait from Ber to Elfaivar. Curious titan-watchers had been gathering rumours of all the footprints that marked the machine’s path. The colossus’s invisible approach was heralded by thunder as it collapsed the ground beneath its enormous feet, so most animals were smart enough to get out of the way. Inquisitive on-lookers had not fared as well. One unfortunate ship had been dragged in to an inexplicable whirlpool near the coast where Borne had entered the sea. Had the creature reached Elfaivar yet? There had been no reports from the coastal settlements or colonies as yet, though large stretches of the jungle lands were uninhabited.

(Leon did hear an unrelated rumour from the colonies: Colonists in Elfaivar talked of eerie whispers in the woods. Near the Sharavathi Falls, a site claimed to be sacred to the fallen eladrin empire, several caravans had disappeared except for a single survivor each. All had reported their compatriots vanishing, hearing only whispers and seeing only foot prints of mighty jungle cats.)

Uru's Downtime

URU DOWNTIME

First, Uru accompanied Rumdoom on his aquatic side-quest (sea below, if you’ll forgive the pun).

On his return to Flint, Uru’s activities were mainly focused around his Garden and the Nettles, as always. He fostered a very close relationship with the Clockwork Count, whose technological bent and political agenda very closely aligned with his own. With Korrigan’s help, they began to work to improve life for the disenfranchised underclass in Flint. Together, they built a brand new body for Xambria, and began work on the very first of the technological marvels left behind in Tinker Oddcog’s schematics. (DM's Note to Self: We must decide on what that was!)

Uru was sad about Conquo and wished he could have drawn the golem’s spirit to his garden. He built a huge effigy of his dead friend, or rather, he grew it from strange bleak briars and it became a home for many insects, including certain glowing beetles that lent the effigy a ghostly light.

Uru also allowed Leon to create a carefully guarded teleportation circle in his underground lair. Leon told him all about the strange goings on in the Weftlands. Uru suspected the Voice of Rot, who he decided to hate long ago, and renewed his pledge to one day slay the titan with the Sword of the Black Needles.

Xambria's Downtime

The player wrote his own account of Xambria's downtime. My response is in blue.

Xambria was very quiet in the immediate aftermath and said very little until they returned to Risur. She would have looked to spend a few days with the Clockwork Count to fully familiarise herself with her new body. A few days later she would return to RHC headquarters in Flint to officially enlist. Previously she was a ride along with Malthusius then after his death she agreed to supervise Conquo but that soon changed when the unit fell off the grid. Xambria never thought she had the nerve to be an RHC officer. She had seen the violence that the unit was required to not just endure but dish out. While she understood why, she could never believe that she would be able to do that. She had continued to hope that she would find a way to get her own body and return to her old life.

Then the Ob killed Conquo. Over the three years she and Conquo shared a body a deep bond had formed between the two. By the time the unit returned to action she had come to view him as a little brother. While familiar with the dangers the unit faced she felt that Conquo would be safe. He was such a powerhouse that it almost seemed impossible than he would face any real danger. Then he fought a dragon, followed by Tinker's weapons and finally the Ob. And Lya killed him.

That was the event that caused Xambria to snap. Having finally gotten her hands on a usable weapon her hand was rock steady as she blew Lya's brains out. While unbelievably satisfying to have avenged Conquo she was also horrified to have killed some. When she was first controlled she was made to kill and she had personally fought undead in Conquo's body, but this was the first time she had deliberately taken a life. The very idea horrified her. But acclimatising to her new form had given her time to think. And she was in. All the way. To do that however she wanted to do it the right way. So she joined the RHC.

The rest of her time would have been spent completing the basic training and catching up on all of the files on the Ob that RHC have. Any other assignments set her she would do diligently, but the majority of her free time would be on the Ob case, learning as much as she can.

Your enrolment in the RHC was complete in your spirit form, as Xambria was deemed to be controlling Conquo. However Delft would want to establish that you are both a capable threat and not a liability to the team in your new form. The Clockwork Count's first task, before anything else is attempted, is to refine your artificial form. In fact, he redesigns a shell for Xambria from the ground up, following Tinker’s schematics and incorporating ideas of his own. This model is more refined than the brute force chassis of other duplicants, almost as advanced as the bronze golem Grappa once inhabited. Once you take possession of it, you pass the induction tests set by the RHC with ease.

Delft suggests that you team up with Gupta on the Ragman case for the time being. Would you like to take the opportunity to visit with your parents? (I recall Malthusius went to visit them when you first took up residence in his head.)

Xambria would steer clear of such emotional family matters for now.

DM's Note For anyone who's interested in the Cypher System conversion for our campaign, Dr. Xambria Meredith is a plucky archaeologist who Resides in an Artfully Constructed Clockwork Simulacrum This is a modification of the is a cyborg focus from the Strange. Her secondary focus is 'Would Rather Be Reading'.

Korrigan's Downtime

KORRIGAN DOWNTIME

Easier to report the email exchanges, here:

1. Report to Risur about the mission. I guess it will involve some apologising for failing the objective of obtaining Tinker, but on the other hand we dealt a blow to Ob, so it is still a sort of victory in my book.

Your superiors are understandably frustrated that you failed to capture (or throroughly interrogate) Tinker. Stover tries to be nice about it, but Lauren Cyneburg doesn't mince her words: The whole point of the mission was to find out ways to deal with, control or destroy the colossus. Clearly, the Ob have all the information they need, or they would not have set out to murder the gnome. The only blow you can be said to have struck is to have killed their assassins after the assassination was complete. We are more or less back where we started, unless she has missed something key.

Well, Korrigan can remind them that through the team's actions they also gained a new ally for Risur in the person of the Clockwork Count. His talents are not fully known, but his ability in the same field as Tinker was working is evidently quite considerable, and as a plus he is sane (as far as I know). We also collected a lot of papers from Tinker's workshop which might give some insight into the golem situation.

2. Arranging the necessary steps and presenting Clockwork Count to the Risuri court, as promised. Korrigan will also want to look into what can be done to help those who "live under the city" if I recall Count's words correctly, and who where his people. Probably not much can be done immediately, but he can get some things moving perhaps.

This is an equally fraught endeavour, because of the political sensitivity of acknowledging his people (all of whom are even more disenfranchised than the factory workers). But he is certainly useful, Stover, Price-Hill and Lee recognise that. So they arrange a high-level meeting with all the hallmarks of a royal audience (minus the King). They interrogate the being and Harkover Lee immediately realises that even this is not the real Count. He agrees to allow (indeed, offers to welcome) the Count to work for the RHC on the condition that he reveal his true identity and location. The Count acquiesces and they provide him with Grappa's old workspace. It will be up to you to ensure (if you choose to) that the blandishments they offered with regard to the undercity folk are upheld.

Korrigan would definitely want to make sure that the promises to the undercity folk are kept. I understand Clockwork Count was given Grappa's workshop in Risur, but he asked Ber to be given Tinker's workshop on Isla de la Focas? Korrigan would try to persuade the Count to remain in Risur though, unless he has a good reason not to. Perhaps the transfer of the assets from Isla de la Focas can be arranged.

3. After or in parallel to the above Korrigan will get in touch with the Beran authorities, first of all through Glaucia perhaps, but if needed through any other channels. If the Bruse comes round Korrigan will ask for an audience to personally explain the events (including the issue with him helping to advance the political influence of Cavallo's daughter as we discussed earlier). In addition Korrigan will offer his help as a political advisor or otherwise with getting Ber back in order after all the chaos created by recent events. He will be happy to meet with the political parties he worked with earlier and if needed provide some additional guidance to Cavallo's daughter. Also if there are any tensions between Risur and Ber following the Pemberton affair etc. Korrigan would be happy to do what he can in the diplomatic field.

I covered some of this in the 'medium-term' section of my 'aftermath' session report. The Berans seem to have missed the fact that Risur was harbouring the tyrants, believing instead that the tyrants had somehow escaped. No one ever questioned how you came by the knowledge you did. (Lya and her cohorts heard some incriminating evidence during your conversation with Pemberton as you approached his lair, but lucky for you they're all dead.)

Obviously I don't want to give away Risur's part in this if at all possible. However, this raises a question what happened to Pemberton? I assume they thoroughly searched the island? If he is not on the island does it count as him not having a domain and therefore being open for divination magic? Leaving this guy running around is a bit concerning.


Quite. Sadly, Pemberton has protected himself from divination. You could pursue a higher level divination if you so chose.

4. Regardless of all else it would be nice to spend at least one week with Kai in the Hidden Valley. And while there Kai may also help his dad take control of the strange effects his body is experiencing after absorbing the blast in Bruse's palace...

You are indeed able to spend some time in the Hidden Valley, several weeks if you so choose. As always, contact with Kai tempers your reaction to the elemental energies you have absorbed and your form returns to normal. While you are there, you renew your friendship with Chenu (Matunaaga's father) and try to encourage him to view the phalanx as a positive step. But Chenu is old-fashioned and unhappy with the development and often voices his criticism of guns and bombs. (See his comments, and your response, as reported in Matunaaga’s Downtime.)

You must also contend with Uriel (Malthusius' third or fourth reincarnation). Uriel is very tall, angular, odd and stilted of expression, with a tendency to foresee negative outcomes. If a man will catch no fish that day, Uriel will tell them. If it promises to rain during a great celebration, Uriel will be sure to let you know. He means well, but many in the valley have begun to misinterpret his predictions as causation and would rather be rid of him. Until now, Uriel has been content with his books, reading scripture he brought with him from the Congregation where you found him. The githzerai also have an extensive library, which Uriel has now worked his way through. He tells you that he grows bored and wants to leave the valley, "but not yet. When the Wind Woman comes to speak with you. That's when I'll be needed."

Korrigan can be a patient man when needed Also it would be interesting to discuss some philosophical questions for the benefit of sharpening the mind.

5. With regards to Duchess Ethelyn, Korrigan would take the opportunity to see her since who knows when the next one will arise. I haven't thought this through very well though. I think it would be interesting to know more about the reasons she decided to rise against her own brother and in particular what she knows or suspects about the 'shadow' that Beshela also mentioned. Korrigan would also try and get some information about the schism that appears to be forming among the unseen court with Beshela and Copperhat being apparently on opposing sides. Ethelyn had clearly sided with Beshela's side so she might give some insight in what is going on with that (how strong or big is the faction, who are the most prominent figures, and most importantly what is their agenda). Also Korigan will ask if she can tell anything about Jenny Greenteeth.

Details of Korrigan’s encounter with the Duchess to follow…

Duchess Ethelyn of Shale

Duchess Ethelyn of Shale resides in a lesser palace on the outskirts of Slate - a living, breathing expression of her brother’s mercy. (Other conspirators were executed. The closer they were to Ethelyn, the more cruelly they were treated.)

Concentric rings of guards surround her. Each ring has little or no contact with another.

You pass through empty, but well-tended grounds. Children play there, from local schools. They never see the Duchess.

She resides in a single, newly constructed ‘room’, which is more like a box, built within the great hall of the palace. The room has no windows. It was constructed, to the specifications of Harkover Lee, and consists of cold iron, salt, gold, and a half-dozen more esoteric materials resistant to magical interference. The door is guarded, secret and magically locked. You are blindfolded before you enter.

Inside, within an anti-magic field, the Duchess has a bed, table, chair and latrine (which she covers with a cloak). She is permitted a book occasionally.

The Duchess looks much older than she did when last you met, but still has fire in her eyes and steel in the timbre of her voice.

She makes jokes about Aodhan and her disloyalty; then wonders aloud if you really know who you serve. She asks if you heard that scurrilous Danoran propaganda about him shelling an orphanage. (You did, and one of the Danoran generals was very rude and angry about it during the Peace Conference Banquet). The Duchess now tells you it was true. She and Aodhan were trying to escape with the flagship they had captured (yes – she was there, he didn’t do it all on his own) and to create a distraction, Aodhan ordered the shelling of the nearby city of Cherage. Of course, he didn’t know he would hit an orphanage, and this was a time of war. But to this day the Duchess counts that as the moment she and her brother’s moral compasses began to diverge.

As you talk, she reminds you of the Skyseer Vision that prompted her coup attempt:

"A globe spins on its axis, and a steel ship sets off to war on a sail of shadows. The world passes into night, and blackness grips all of Risur as the stars fall from the sky. The king’s eyes turn a soulless white, and he moves as a puppet, his strings pulled by a man who has already died a thousand times."

She went to Aodhan with this warning, but he ignored her. Then she learned from Nathan Jierre that Danor were building even more grotesque war machines on Axis Island, and she decided she had to act, supported by her fey allies.

She has a sheaf of skyseer visions tucked under her mattress, including the visions of Nevard Sechim (some of which he shared with the crowds in Dawn Square before his murder; others that his friends circulated after his death). These were the visions you and the unit helped him to receive, by escorting him up Cauldron Hill:

“I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow— indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he was controlled by others.

“I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry. In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil.

“I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs.

“I tell you this: Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.”

The Duchess shares them with you in the hope that you will see that these visions came to pass; that the one she followed is thereby validated.

Other visions of Nevard Sechim, which she has been unable to fathom (as have many others) include:

“A woman sat on a leather couch in a waiting room, surrounded by red curtains. She held a gold coin and rolled it across the back of her fingers. A pick lay against the side of the couch. I asked her what she was waiting for, and she answered in a language I didn’t know, saying, ‘The place I’m going isn’t here yet.’

“A trumpeter carried a lantern onto the stage of a darkened theater, and the people gathered for his performance applauded, then lit lanterns of their own. The theater never got bright enough for him to see their faces.

“One man tore himself in two, and his twin selves fought over a
woman, tearing her into three, who ran away.”

“A man carrying a bronze staff with three keyholes was assailed by swords and arrows and fire, but nothing killed him. He began to take off his robes, revealing tiger fur beneath them, while stars fell from the sky all around him. Then the sky was dark, and when the sun should have risen, instead a pale glowing cloud floated in the dark.

“Finally, a tyrant and murderer languished in prison, hanging from twelve chains and hooks that pierced her feet, her legs, her thighs, her shoulders, her arms, and her hands. But the thirteenth hook that sealed her mouth swung loose, and it fluttered in the breeze as she whispered a map that led everywhere.”

The Duchess goes on to say:

“I foresaw my brother’s death in this vision, and tried to warn him. What did it matter if I killed him – he who would die already – in order to save the whole world from destruction? I was by that point beyond familial sentiment. Sentiment is for lovers, poets and lunatics. My target was not Risur, or her king, but their enemies. Enemies I thought I knew, and that, I have to admit, is where I was wrong. I was looking in the wrong place. We tried. Harkover spared some time at least, but found nothing. And you know why?

“Too well hid! To defy the divinations of the most powerful mage in Risur. Unheard of. What kind of power must it take? The Danorans aren’t capable of feats of magic so advanced, or we would have been lost long ago. This enemy must have hidden itself behind something truly ancient.

“Now that enemy has shown its face to you and you have a chance to strike at them.

“But don’t be naïve, Marshal. There are never two sides to a conflict. There may be three, four, five, even more. And within each of those ‘sides’ will be an internal conflict that breaks down into many more factions. And within each faction… Oh well, you get the idea.”

Then she talks for a while about the schism in the Dreaming, and how even that features wheels within wheels. On the face of it, it would appear that the rebellious Hedgehog Court seeks to oppose the Unseen Court and its continuing support of Risur, because of Risur’s technological advancement (which the fey cannot abide). But the Duchess admits she was concerned only with garnering support for her coup, not the finer points of fey politics. Only later did she realise that Greenteeth and her associates (a faction within the Hedgehog Court...) were entirely hostile to Risur’s interests, no matter what. As to their real motives, she has no further insights.

Then the Duchess closes her eyes and says she is tired. You wish her well and depart.

Rumdoom's Downtime

Okay, so the player really wanted to do something with all the new info he had gotten regarding the Stone of Not (and artifact he invented as part of his background). I really didn't want to run an adventure involving it, but when it came time to writing an account of what happened I was way too busy to detail it in full. So I wrote it in the form of a (admittedly far-fetched) to-do list instead:

Rumdoom’s to do list (according to the notes of Thurgid Ironspoon):

Make sure Hildegaard and Lemon are okay.

Dispose of Khoomrung and Kithilrak.

Secure Skull of Cheshimox. (Return it to Flint?)

Check out submersible with Valchek.

Load it with supplies. Water breathing potions, corned beef sandwiches, etc.

Call it the Sunfish and get that painted on the side.

Get Clockwork Count to dismantle gimbal and use it to attach Tyrant’s Eye to the front of ship.

Hire a ship to tow us out to sea. (Xambria recommends La Inspiración.)

Ask Leon and Uru to come.

Make Valchek come too.

See if Uru’s ghosts can operate the Tyrant’s Eye from inside the Sunfish.

Fix the hole they blew in the warehouse wall and compensate the neighbours.

Change mind and bring Hildegaard and Thurgid along.

Arm wrestle for top bunk.

Sail to Cold Claw Sea.

Get better at checkers (to win money back off Leon).

Dive several times over the course of a few days. (Eight hours max.)

Use Valchek’s map to narrow down search.

Send Leon’s spirit dragon out to reconnoitre.

Map the area with Leon’s illusion of the terrain as a blueprint.

Chase off nosey sea monsters with Tyrant’s Eye.

Encounter fleet of unidentified floating objects.

Respond to light signals that appear friendly.

Open airlock and admit visitor.

Parley with deep one ambassador. (Make a note: he looks just like Krazy Krauss!)

Confirm that threatening colossus walking across the sea bed had nothing to do with us.

Promise we won’t send it down there again.

Admit that we are searching for the Stone of Not.

Understand that the Stone does not power their domain, but conceals it.

Note that if we take the Stone, or find their domain, they will be vulnerable to their enemies.

Register the size of their fleet and the presence of several deep ones.

Agree to halt search in return for access to Stone should the need arise.

Reaffirm promise not to send the colossus back down there.

Return to Ber.

Fire a warning shot at creepy undead whale that’s been tailing us.

Listen to Uru’s creepy song about a sea hag called Weary Enid.

Leave light on before going to bed.

Get Sunfish towed to Flint.

Return to Trekhom to settle affairs.

(Decide what to do with Valchek. Bury hatchet? Persecute for old time's sake?)

(At some point in the future, ask the Stone a question about a secret it conceals.)

(Steal stone?)


Only the last three have not been checked off.