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

Actually, I'm still up, trying to figure out what writing sample to send WotC since I'm applying for their Senior Narrative Designer position for Magic: the Gathering. The job posting mentions 'character voice,' and there just ain't that much dialogue in ZEITGEIST.

Monologues, sure. But aside from Nathan Jierre, the Duchess, and Asrabey in adventure one (which was hardly Tarantino-level snappy), I don't think there are *any* dialogues.

Right now I'm thinking of sending the beginning of the Player's Guide, an excerpt from The Grinding Gears of Heaven (because it digs into multiverse and planar stuff, which I know M:tG cares about), and maybe a book chapter with some dialogue.

Session 11 - Prologue 1

We've been building up to a special, extra-long May Day session (finished an hour or two before I finds myself typing this post). I hoped to finish the adventure this session, but it didn't quite turn out that way. As you will see, fate conspired to have us finish on an even better climax, with the final fight as yet incomplete. (At first I was frustrated, just out of habit. But now I realise the timing couldn't have been better.)

Enough of that for now, that was a total tangent: my point was to emphasise that this was an important session and I wanted to hit the ground running. So I emailed the group some additional details, instead of play them out at the table. Some of this is verbatim from the adventure:

Before returning to the Impossible (where you encounter Beshela) you attended a mission briefing on the deck of Cavallo de Guerra's flagship. The news that there might be an actual dragon tyrant still alive has dramatically altered the mood of the Berans, shifting it from a rational response against a strategic threat to an emotionally charged battle for the identity of the nation. Corta Nariz has learned alot from Korrigan and makes an impassioned speech that wins a round of applause and has Glaucia nodding furiously.

You have filled a hole in Ber's knowledge as to who exactly is in charge of the gnolls. Their last chieftan, Rachi the Silver, was said to have been slain several years ago. Divinations have revealed that some powerful figure has united the gnolls of Isla dolas Focas, sufficient that he has powers akin to a proper ruler, and has been able to forbid teleportaion onto the island without his consent. Now everything is making more sense! (Fortunately, none of the Berans thinks to question the source of your information. But clearly they have no idea Risur has been harbouring their old masters. This is the 'secretive' element of the information Harkover shared...)

Cavallo has gathered as much information as he can on the fifty-mile long Isla dolas Focas. The ultimate target of the mission, he says - with thanks you you and Lya's team for leading it - is the old lair of the (supposedly deceased) dragon tyrant Gradiax, an active volcano with several cave entrances. Divinations reveal that somewhere underground is a factory complex that built the duplicants.

A small city of ten thousand gnolls, called Karch, lies along the coast, five miles from the peak of the mountain. The Beran military plan is to use a portion of their naval force to circle around the island and feint a landing south of Karch. When the gnoll fleet moves to intercept, the rest of the Beran fleet will pincer them. Since the cult is known for its disdain of metal weapons, Cavallo is confident that Beran cannons will provide great tactical superiority.

Once the nautical defenses are crushed, marines will make landfall twenty miles from the city and set up a base of operations. Detachments of the fleet will return to Renza to pick up more troops, making multiple trips over the course of three weeks while the fleet’s ships of the line bombard Karch. Eventually a force of ten thousand will march on Karch and offer the gnolls a chance to surrender.

The Beran fleet consists of forty ships: Six ships of the line—250-ft. grand frigates with over 100 cannons apiece and hundreds of marines. Sixteen frigates—175-ft. warships with 50 cannons apiece and dozens of marines. Ten corvettes—90-ft. schooners with 20 cannons apiece. Eight steamships—85-ft. steam-powered iron-hulled ships with 2 turret-mounted heavy cannons apiece.

Lux Profectusque will add its substantial might to the frontal assault, taking part in the pincer movement.

This will be the first engagement to see use of the eight steamships at their disposal. Intelligence suggests that the gnolls have at most two dozen ships, mostly corvettes and caravels, with no metal armaments.

Another challenge to be overcome is an odd weather phenomoneon that floats near the island. On the west coast, stretching between the island and the mainland, there is a constant storm system that produces incessant rain and erratic winds but, eerily, never any lightning or thunder. They call it 'the Silent Storm'.

Session 11 - Prologue 2, GM's Introduction

DM's Preamble At this point I had all the pieces in place to run the 'Lady and the Liar' encounter from adventure #7. The unit had invited Rock Rackus to Seobriga (but hadn't had the opportunity to see him again themselves); they had King Aodhan lean on Beshela to open the fishing lanes; Copperhat the Headless had already given Leon the absurdist web having gotten his timelines mixed up. It seemed natural to have it happen now rather than later, with the party setting off on a nautical mission.

Although I didn't include it in last week's write-up, I actually kicked off the encounter at the end of session 10, to give the players some time to contribute on-line. The first three players to chip in would then make checks at the very beginning of our marathon session, to see what effect they had on Beshela. I gave them bonuses because their raps were so much fun, and both Uru and Rumdoom rolled 20 and 19 (major and minor effect in Cypher System). Not only did they win Beshela around, but she gave their ship a boon of extra speed (the Impossible now cruising at a cool 25) into the bargain.

As an added bonus, the party now have both the magic items they need to fulfill their infiltration mission in Schism without having only just been handed them (which felt a bit too convenient). The fey portal pad qualities will also come in useful during the Storm-tossed battle...

Session 11 - Prologue 2 - Epic Rap Battles of History (Some parts verbatim from the adventure.)

On the morning of their departure, following a final briefing aboard Cavallo’s flagship, the unit returned to the Impossible to find evident consternation among the crew, and a commotion on the deck. The water around the ship churned with fish. On the fo’c’sle, surrounded by wary marines, and ignoring the angry demands of Captain Smith, stood the archfey, Beshela. The air around her was moist with sea spray and she greeted them imperiously. Beshela reminded them (as if they needed to be reminded) that she was once an ally of Duchess Ethelyn of Shale, and that the duchess feared a shadowy force would take control of Risur. Since the unit defeated the Duchess, Beshela reasoned, they must be stronger than her, making them the best weapon against this shadowy force. (Uru grimaced and gnashed his teeth at the inopportune timing, since operatives of said ‘shadowy force’ were now standing on the deck beside them…) Beshela said she was also grateful for the recent opportunity to demonstrate her loyalty to the king, in obeying his command to open sea lanes to the Berans. In light of all of the above, she had come to present them with a gift, whereupon she waved her hand and a strange wooden dais appeared on the deck: A five-foot diameter disk, traced with incomplete golden arcs and inlaid with green gemstones in the form of the vesica pisces – two interlocking circles representing mystical connection. This, the archfey declared, was a fey portal pad. It would allow teleportation from deck-to-deck (or from deck to shore, or anywhere within line of sight) and would also allow the ship to transition briefly to the Bleak Gate or the Dreaming. Both very useful properties indeed!

Both Uru and Leon thought this magnanimity was out of Beshela’s character, but before the unit could respond, there were sounds of a ruckus on the wharf behind them. Rock Rackus led a motley band of Dockers and Panoply adherents, boistrously singing Rock’s ribald classic “I Had a Three-way” about how he went to the moon and slept with the fey queen. Rock called out to the party excitedly, but did a double-take when he saw Korrigan, as he apparently expected the Marshal to be standing beside him. Rock appeared to be under the impression that the unit had invited him along on their next mission (odd, because they had considered and dismissed the idea) and had decided, in light of the huge popularity their recent joint venture had garnered, to publically and demonstratively accept. He was interested to know what their mission was and what his role would be. Once again, even before the unit could respond, the strange situation took another twist. Voices shouted from the crowd, objecting to Beshela’s presence, accusing her of sinking ships, urging the constables to arrest her and, finally, threatening violence. Things were turning ugly, but Uru noticed that he hadn’t seen anyone actually shouting those lines, and that every voice had a faint high-pitched whine accompanying it. He recognised the influence of creeping fey even before Copperhat the Headless appeared. On this occasion, he was not diminutive, but almost human-sized.

Copperhat teleported beside Beshela, draped an arm across her shoulder and said, “Good day to you, Agents of King Kelland.” Then he turned his invisible ‘head’ and made a smooching noise close to Beshela’s face. She detached herself coldly and glared at him. Copperhat walked around changing size shape as he talked (first a large cricket, now a huge grub of some kind, always headless, and wearing a top hat). Occasionally he stood at right angles to gravity on vertical parts of the ship, and once or twice, upside down. He said he had come to warn the party not to trust Beshela, then revealed that the Unseen Court was having some disagreements. “It’s at times like this when exciting, stupid things happen, like long-delayed revenge.” Then he landed on the teleport pad whereupon he and it vanished and reappeared on the wharf, amid a gaggle of Dockers. He dropped the dais, kicked it a few times, and then the wood and stone of the wharf started to dissolve.

Beshela seemed to grow in stature and her indignant voice boomed, “Servants of Shadow and Steam! Bird-voiced singers! Oafish walruses!” Tentacles writhed about her feet and the spray become violent, and stung the flesh. Korrigan decided now would be the time to attempt to reason with the archfey, before things got out of hand, but Uru and Leon realised that fey logic would not be appeased with rational argument. Instead, they challenged her to a boasting contest! Rock Rackus thought this was an excellent idea and announced the event to the entire wharf. He predicted that his friends would show “little miss fishy what real heroes look like; chew her up and spit her out like day-old calamari”.

Beshela took the first turn, and mocked the party by saying that she had sunk a dozen Risuri ships these past six months, but there was nothing they as defenders of Risur had done to stop her. She proceeded to recount the sea beasts she sent to devour the many captains who went down with their ships.

Uru took the unit’s first turn, practised as he was in weaving stories into rhymes. Conquo provided bassy beat-box support and Xambria whispered a reminder that he had felled Borne with the eschatologist's bomb:

You got a metal man rampaging through the fey realm
You would be better off with me at the helm
Three-hundred foot tall knocked down flat
By the Lord of the Ettercap
I’ve seen fresh water hags with green teeth
Have more accomplishments than your salty bleats
I may be unseen but my deeds are legendary,
I’ve stolen into fey courts while you were sedentary

There were cheers of support from the Dockers.

Next up, Beshela bragged about inspiring the greatest symphony Risur ever created, when she saved a handsome drowning violinist in the middle of a hurricane, and over three weeks of incessant love-making she told him all the secrets of her kingdom. But when she returned the man to shore, he remembered nothing of her secrets, and instead wrote the Hurricane Symphony to try to win her back. She let him die famous but alone.

To everyone’s surprise, Rumdoom was up next:

Still surrounded by the debris from the previous fight,
There came a creature so enormous that it blocked out the light.
Munching on the rigging in its five massive jaws
It seemed certain that they'd soon all be
On the sea floor.
One by one they were dropped.
It seemed it couldn't be stopped.
What's that, Beshela? We're sure words would have failed her.

But forward came the dwarf with a love of eschatology.
Cries of fear all around; they quizzed his methodology.
Rushing at the beast, would he find a good ending?
Or would his soul to heaven, soon be sending?
Rumdoom screaming out about "The end of the world"!
Seconds later to the deep, the beast had been hurled!
And while Beshela plays around with her band of merry merfolk
One day soon we all can hope, that her powers...
They are revoked!

The crowd roared in approval at this one.

For her final boast, Beshela crowed about saving the lives of Aodhan and Ethelyn before they were royalty. They had stolen a steam warship from the Danorans, but they could not outrun the enemy fleet alone. In exchange for a promise of friendship and rights to all the sunken treasure, she awoke the sleeping fey titan She Who Writhes and lured her to destroy the Danorans. This drew gasps of awe and wonder from sailors, Dockers and marines alike.

Korriganprovidedthefinalcontributionforhis group:

Oh mighty Beshela, the queen of seas or whatever,
Your deeds are great no question I tell ya.
If bragging of things you could do by just waving a finger
Is the best you can offer for your fey family dinner.
Drowning thousands of sailors is your claim to glory?
You’re making it too easy for me, and I was beginning to worry...
Hey, want some advice? Nobody’s even got to die for it!
You don’t get to brag about your power without responsibility.
Your argument in my book has zero validity.
Hey, how does it feel when a lowly mortal
Is giving you a smackdown of basic morals?
Now listen to someone who’s fought for every inch
of what’s dear to him and has no time to bitch!
I have no great power, no minions, no riches
But I got something you don’t, nor have other witches.
See here? I have my bros and homies behind me,
We own this earth and we choose how to define it!
Some humans, some orks, some others - all mortals
But tell you what - time comes our sons and daughters
Will prosper and live while whose who oppose us
Will have no place here their deeds forgotten.
For the real power is without doubts or clauses
In our unity and the will to follow our causes!

Korrigan's rap is greeted by stony silence. Only after a moment of chagrin does he realise the silence is awed, not disapproving. One or two bystanders are shedding a tear. Someone begins to clap, a clap that gets picked up, echoes and scatters, and builds to a thunderous round of applause.

Beshela bowed to him. She said that they had returned her favour - a surprise for a surprise - and her enmity was gone. Not only could they keep her gift, but she unwove the curse upon it and promised to aid them in the future if she could. As a final parting gesture, she filled their sails with sea air and said that for three days they would make good speed no matter what the weather. Then she dissolved and flowed off the deck.

Only when she was gone did a movement in the rigging reveal that Matunaaga had been keeping her in his sights the whole time.

Rock Rackus came aboard, thrilled to have witnessed the epic rap battle (having used his magic to broadcast it across the wharf). He dismissed his loyal crowd with a wave and once again demanded to know what his part in this adventure would be. Before anyone else responded, Copperhat the Headless pulled a gilded envelope from his inside pocket and handed to Rock. When opened, a tiny tree grew from inside, bearing silver fruit that popped about and turned into birds that flew around Rock's head and sang an invitation in every language: He had been invited to the Moon by the matriarch of the Unseen Court.

For a moment Rock was torn, crestfallen. Then he turned to the unit with a guilty smile, shrugged and said, "Sorry, guys. Booty Calls!"

Then he and Copperhat vanished.

(Holding back tears.) I'd like to thank the Academy...

Session 11 (134) - Part One: Storm-tossed Battle

Glaucia and her adult cubs came aboard the Impossiblejust before the fleet set sail. Her eldest, Kauchak, approached Korrigan and said with a snarl, “I’m told my mother gifted you her bracers. Be sure to live up to them, human.”

On the journey to Isla Dolas Focas, Gupta and Uru both spotted a strange shape riding the bow wave of the Impossible. At first they thought it was a dolphin, but then they saw that this pale creature was humanoid in shape. Captain Smith laughed and told them it was Silky, the ship’s shy fey mascot, who took the form of a white-skinned, white-haired human boy. Some of the unit now recalled that the poor creature had been assaulted by Krazy Krauss back when they sailed on the Impossible for the Ziggurat of Mavisha. (Silky made the mistake of surprising Krauss when he was on watch duty and received a savage beating.) Captain Smith nodded and laughed and said that Silky remembered them only too well, and that’s why they hadn’t seen it on board!

When they neared the island, the fleet divided as planned. The Impossible accompanied the wing destined to complete a pincer movement on the gnolls, and peeled away at the last moment, heading for a range of cliffs identified on a map of the island by Xambria (who had also managed to track down the map). The idea was to come at the gnolls from a section of the coast where they would least expect intrusion. Uru would cast a waterwalk ritual and he and Conquo would scale the impossible cliffs, dropping rope ladders behind them. Then the rest of the group would clamber up.

Long before they reached the cliffs, they caught sight of a hostile caravel. It had clearly spotted them too, and with flag signals drew two more corvettes down upon them. Matunaaga volunteered to put his phalanx through their paces, and boarded it instantly using the fey portal pad. After just a few minutes, they were in control of the vessel and steering it towards the others. The Impossible was able to easily outpace the corvettes, though a gnoll shaman summoned huge elemental scorpions just before they passed out of range. These creatures crackled with lightning energy, and posed a grave danger to the crew, flying into the rigging and lashing about them. The unit fought the creatures off fairly easily – throwing them overboard when their forms shifted and they lost their flight power. During the fight Rumdoom was surprised to discover that his blunderbuss had been replaced by an umbrella. Lemon would be squeezed when they returned!

They neared the cliffs, out of sight of the gnolls. Smith said he would double back and support Matunaaga as soon as they had disembarked. As he bid farewell to Korrigan, he lit a cigar off his forearm and puffed deeply. “For luck,” he said.

As they approached the cliffs, they got their clearest view of the Silent Storm. Korrigan put out a hand and staggered on the choppy waves as he was subject to an unexpected vision, similar to those the unit had experienced in the Ziggurat of Apet:

“The stars that surround you stood here over two centuries ago, so this is a vision of the past. You float, the constellation Draco beside you, and beneath you the planet Avilona is balanced on a pin of white stone. Dense, swift clouds cover its face, and where they part you see glimpses of majestic towers.

“Unseen waves batter you, and the white pin shatters. Its head plunges into a hungry black gyre below, and with no noise, no grand cataclysm, the clouds of Avilona slow, thin, and vanish. You see ruined spires falling to the surface of the lifeless world. To your side, the stars of Draco plummet,and then you too are falling, with no wind to hold you aloft.”

Disoriented, he had to be helped the rest of the way, and his teammates could not help but worry about him. (Korrigan felt fine; the vision had made him appear vulnerable at just the wrong moment.)

They put their plan into action, scaled the cliffs and picked their way across the jagged volcanic landscape, slipping past or taking out the odd gnoll patrol. At length, they came in sight of Karch, and could see the flashing lights and smoke of a distant naval engagement in the swelling sea beyond. Reports came that the gnolls were using eldritch fusillades instead of cannon, and putting up greater resistance than expected as a result.

Merton paused and spoke to a seagull. It ranged up and away and at length returned with the location of the cave they were looking for. When the unit expressed surprise at this ability he said, “I thought you already knew. Otherwise I’d have been more sneaky about it. Wait – if you didn’t know, how come so many of the little birds I sent to spy on your cottage were killed and eaten?” Everybody looked at Uru.

gideonpepys said:

Wait – if you didn’t know, how come so many of the little birds I sent to spy on your cottage were killed and eaten?” Everybody looked at Uru.

Click to expand...

I'm picturing this as one of those oft-parodied beats in the corniest of sitcoms.

Session 11 (134) - Part Two: The Steam Pump Room

They received a sending from Captain Smith to the effect that the three gnoll ships had been dealt with and they were awaiting further orders. He also said that Silky had spotted a large, dark shape deep in the water beneath the Impossible. It had been following them for some time, but Silky was too frightened to go down and investigate. Captain Smith had given orders for the mascot to keep an eye on this mysterious object, and would put some distance between them if it tried to approach.

They followed the gull’s report to the largest cave within view. Water pipes led inside, running all the way down to the town, and a magically warded blue carpet led inside, protected from wear and tear, dirt and mildew. They killed the guards before they could use their signal horn, and headed inside. Uru planted a magical eye in the entrance to the cave, so he could keep watch from a distance for any approach from Karch. Taking to the ceiling, he then ranged ahead of the others, fascinated by the spark-gap lighting (and using his Bleak Candle to hide despite its light). He soon came back to report the first real line of defence: many gnoll archers ranged throughout a huge pump room, and a pack of hyenas. Staff and robes whirling, Glaucia led the assault, keen to take on the Cult of the Steel Lord. She protected her family with a ward against arrows, and the unit followed in behind them. With a wave of his sonic staff, Merton sent the hyenas whining and howling to the back of the pump room.

As soon as they entered a cry went up from the gnolls. “We’ll hold them off. Be ready to kill the hostages if we fail.” An archer dropped the lights and a priest revealed himself when he assailed them with unholy fire despite the darkness. The archers used its light to pick out targets, but Glaucia’s ward protected them. Gupta had brought her RHC Standard Issue Equipment Kit, but couldn’t find her sunrods in the dark. (She made a mental note to reorganise things in future.) Uru’s ghostly friends soon switched the lights back on, and Leon at once took out the nearest gnoll. In response, the priest summoned another column of fiery light, but this one took out munitions planted on huge water tanks, flooding the whole area. Worse still, the water was electrified. The agonised howling of hyenas was thankfully short-lived. Conquo grabbed Gupta and got her out of the flood water, while the rest of the team and their allies rescued themselves. Conquo then launched himself at the platform near the southern exit and, though it bent and buckled under his weight, was able to make a dash for where he hoped hostages might be. Leon and Rumdoom followed him.

Another cry went up: “They’re coming! Quickly, kill the hostages!” Beyond, a whole host of feral cultists stood, spears bristling, gnashing their teeth. Conquo rampaged straight through them, tossing gnolls about like mere weasels. But he was brought up short by the steel anathema of a cult priest, who threw him against the chamber wall and pinned him there. At that moment, Pardo pounced from the shadows and attacked Conquo. But this was an inferior duplicant, and with a howl of frustration Pardo withdrew invisibly, unable to harm the huge golem. Rumdoom took on the remaining gnolls and went down under a scrum. Leon scoured them with witchfire and the stench of burned hair filled the cave. Rumdoom struggled to his feet, unhurt.

The priest attacked Conquo with his magical flail, but should have stayed out of reach: Conquo thumped him hard enough to kill him and continued his relentless trundle into the cave complex. Two gnoll cultists raced ahead of him, turning around only when they reached a cave that was decorated with a huge frieze depicting Gradiax’s hoard. When they refused to cooperate, they too were dropped and Conquo soon found the secret door they had been ‘guarding’.

Meanwhile, the pump room had been secured. Lya immediately began to search for a means to open the downward hatch. Korrigan reminded her that they would not be here but for the Beran fleet and their first duty should be to rescue the hostages if they could. Lya duly relented and their truce stood firm.

Back in the mines, Pardo attacked Leon. Gupta now stood on the entrance gantry and asked the gnoll fanatic a Question, “Don’t you remember what you made her do?” Pardo stood frozen in his tracks as Glaucia pounced and destroyed him. As he fell he cried out, “I will forever be at my master’s side.”

With Rumdoom and Leon alongside him, Conquo pressed on through the secret door. Beyond they found dozens of pallets occupied by captured Berans. Some had already been murdered by a group of four gnoll cultists dressed in a wicked parody of human physicians, with white clothes and masks on their faces. They were killed quickly. Each of the supine forms was blindfolded, adorned with shamanic beads and ritual paint, and had a small vial of witch oil on their chest. Once this was removed, they were able to move, though the ones who had been here longer than a few weeks found it difficult to do so. One, a dwarf, was particularly wizened and appeared to have entirely withdrawn into himself. When released he did nothing but shiver and curl into a foetal position. This turned out to be Khaled Valchek. Leon persuaded Rumdoom not to kill him right away, and said they would deal with him later. Kenna Vigilante was found among other conscious prisoners in cells to the south. She volunteered to galvanize the military personnel and join the unit.

Session 11 (134) - Part Three: "Welcome to My Volcano Lair."

Elsewhere, Uru had discovered a quicker way down. He set off a pit trap near the mine entrance that gave way onto a conveyer belt leading to a grinder. Once he disabled the mechanism, Conquo was able to pull it apart. Beyond was a chamber that lay directly beneath the hatch in the pump room. A large mining cart stood expectantly on tracks that led through closed double blast doors. A disembodied duplicant head lay in the cart, but when it saw them it turned into Tinker and said:

“I wondered when I’d see you again. Please, please, get in the cart. It will be a pleasant ride, and my subterranean domicile is far, far too large for you to have to walk all the way. So, so vast. You could get lost in it. Certainly your mind could. I have an inkling you’re going to get quite violent toward me, and our previous interactions were much, much too brief. So please, please: into the cart.”

Lya and her team obeyed instantly and the blast doors slid open, but before they could set off alone, Conquo grabbed hold of the cart and held them there while the others decided what to do next. They checked the magical eyestalk and discovered that suspicious gnolls were already approaching from Karch. Glaucia and Kenna said they would hold them off in order that their allies could complete their mission. Korrigan thanked them and Rumdoom summoned his magical carriage. Once the rest of the unit were inside, Conquo clambered into the mining cart to sit like a hippo in a bath tub, squeezing Lya, Rush and Merton into the far end. The cart set off, followed by the mechanical carriage. “This is ridiculous,” said Lya Jierre whose modus operandi was usually distinguished by greater élan.

As they trundled along the rail line, Tinker continued to converse with them through the duplicant head. Alcoves to either side of the line contained posed duplicants that took up his side of the conversation and broadcast it to both carts. “You’re here about Borne, yes? I’d love to tell you all about him. His design, his structural flaws, and his personality. Such a nice boy. Smartest one of the lot. Not like you. You, if you’ll pardon me, are fools. You’ve walked into a trap. “Not that I wanted to trap you. It’s odd to be affected by a type of mind control you built. Built when no one else could, I’d remind you. I can tell someone else is in charge, but I don’t mind so much. Much better than to be mind controlled and not remember. Remember what I said about not wanting to trap you? You upset my employer, and as long as I’m still in this—I remind you—quite masterful invention, I won’t be agreeing to any of your overtures, short or brief or long or huge. You should meet my boss. Gnomes and dragons are natural allies. We gnomes love to speak to burrowing animals, burrowing animals love caves, and who loves caves more than dragons?! Well . . . dwarves, I suppose. And they do have more hair. And they are smaller. I wish I had a pet dwarf.”

A new voice butted in: the memorable, rich tones of Risuri industrialist Benedict Pemberton. The duplicant’s head transformed to match his face. Alright there. That’s quite enough of that, son. Time to let the people with functional minds have a conversation. Greetings, interlopers! Some people used to call me the Steel Lord Gradiax, but these days I do prefer Benedict Pemberton. Welcome to my volcano lair. Now if you don’t mind, kindly either leave the premises or put your weapons away so we can talk in peace.” Negotiations with both Tinker and Pemberton were stymied by the presence of the Ob. Pemberton tried to persuade the unit to withdraw, even to help him against the Berans in return for access to Tinker. He said he was hoping things wouldn’t come to this, which is why he let Tinker tell them a lot of what he thought they might want to know back in the Bruse’s palace. “I have no quarrel with the Risuri, just want to claim what’s mine.” When Korrigan accused him of breaking his vow, he said that Isla Dolas Focas was never part of Ber, that the gnolls remained independent, and that the attacks on Seobriga, Reo Pedrosco and Renza had been conducted by Khaled Valchek, albeit with resources purchased from Pemberton in his capacity as an international vendor of mechanised armaments and munitions. These paper-thin rationalisations fell on deaf ears, as did Pemberton’s attempts to persuade them to turn against their Beran allies and help him to fight them off, in return for his help defeating the Ob. If they helped him to keep his island free, he would let them take Tinker away, he said.

By now the atmosphere had become very dry and very, very hot. Suddenly the cart picked up speed and entered a huge, brightly lit cavern, filled with sound and steam. End of the line! Conquo put out an arm, grabbed a stone pillar and yanked himself and Merton out of the cart. (He liked Merton, he had decided.) Lya and Rush leapt out too, and not a moment too soon: the buffers collapsed, pitching the cart over the edge of the platform and down into a cauldron of lava. The rest of the unit piled out of the magical carriage and Rumdoom stowed it.

On a much higher platform, accessed by steps, they saw an enormous steam suit occupied by Tinker Oddcog. It was brightly lit by a terrible beam of magical energy that fired constantly down into the lava pit from a high gantry. (“Explains the lava,” thought Xambria.) Alongside Tinker stood Benedict Pemberton, whose voice was magically broadcast throughout the noisy cavern.

“It doesn’t look like they’re listening to reason, son. You’d best seal the exit and kill ‘em all.”