ZEITGEIST Aartvb's Zeitgeist

[aartvb]

Unfortunately Trips player moved to another city, so he had to leave our group. Luckily we have already found another player! You will discover below what character he plays!

Session 33 (6-9-2023): A Talk with the Boss and the Gala of the Ancients

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 26
The group arrives in Flint and heads to the RHC. Lady Saxby is waiting for them and informs them that Lord Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill has built a substantial file on them. She reviews the file with them. The most particular accusation is against Trip for the murder of Frindia Randell. The circumstances seem like Trip’s usual style: Frindia was shot. A letter was found stating that “he” was glad they had taken over smuggling operations, though Frindia could pose a problem. A bag with 400 gp was also found on the table.

The group quickly realizes this is a setup. Nigel then enters, indicating that there must be consequences for their actions. Frustrated with the bureaucracy, Trip resigns, wanting to pursue adventures freely. Nigel seems satisfied with this outcome and says that they will likely see each other again at the upcoming peace summit (celebrating the peace between Risur and Danor, scheduled for six months later).

Lady Saxby gives them funds to purchase new equipment, and they are sent to meet Stover Delft at the Museum of Natural History.

As they head to the museum, they notice an open warehouse door—a rare sight in this well-organized part of the city. Inside, they find scattered papers and some robots under construction. After a quick look, they continue to the museum.

At the museum, Stover Delft is with Hans Weber, the museum curator, and ten police officers. Stover informs them of an alarming rise in reports of fear, paranoia, hallucinations, obsessive behaviors, and corpses found without brains. Hans Weber has also received a disturbing letter from Xambria.

Stover expresses disappointment over how Viscount Price-Hill and Lady Saxby treated them. He is saddened by Trip’s resignation. He shares that tomorrow evening, the Gala of the Ancients will take place, attracting many scholars. Two magical artifacts—the staff and a sword—will be on display, and Stover suspects that the creature possessing Xambria is interested in these items. This creature will probably come, which will provide an opportunity to find Xambria and the entity controlling her. For this reason he asks the group to be here.

Stover and Hans Weber ask them to hand over the magical staff. Though Galarin initially resists, eventually he complies due to RHC regulations. He puts the staff in a protected vault of the museum, adding a protective ward, and Zuna sets up bear traps around it.

Stover also informs them that Kaja Stewart, a key researcher in MacBannin’s lab, was arrested. After MacBannin’s fall, she had stolen the magical artifacts—the staff, sword, and an amulet—and sold them through Lorcan Kell’s network. Zuna reports having spoken to Kaja.

The group then leaves to prepare for the gala, inspecting the museum surroundings to note any unusual activity. Oskár returns to the warehouse and accidentally activates a robot named Ben, a Deforming Ennobled Robot (D.E.R.), who has been dormant for years. Ben promptly runs off in search of Margaret Saxby and accidentally collides with Morthos. Together, they head to the RHC, where Ben, a former colleague of Saxby, is distressed to learn he’s been deactivated for ten years and that his 'mother' has passed away. They arrange for BEN to undergo a check-up, after which he’ll join the group on their mission the next day.

Meanwhile, Zuna and Galarin visit Morgan Cippiano. Zuna is, as usual, distracted by food while Galarin converses with the crime boss. They exchange information, with Galarin updating Morgan on recent developments, and Morgan mentioning the new subway being constructed. Galarin and Morgan brainstorm ways to make money from toll booths, but Galarin’s main priority is ensuring Trip finds a suitable new place. Morgan agrees to take care of that.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 27
The next morning, Ben joins the group. That evening, they attend the gala.

At 6:00 p.m., the artifacts are retrieved from the vault. The gala begins at 7:00 p.m., with most guests arriving later. Rock Rackus is among the notable guests. Although the group isn’t fond of him, he talks with them. He introduces himself to Ben, and shares his plans to form a workers’ union. Hans Weber also isn’t thrilled with Rock’s presence, though some attendees believe what he is saying and are charmed by him, he is a famous docker after all.

At precisely 8:00 p.m. (the bells are ringing) Xambria descends through the ceiling, aiming to seize the relics. When she is denied access, she uses telekinesis to pull them toward her. It’s clear that Xambria is possessed by another being. A battle ensues. Some monstrous creatures are attempting to enter the ears of some characters.

Note: Did you get the reference?... Ben D.E.R....

 

[aartvb]

Session 34 (20-9-2023): Unmasking Shadows and the Gidim's Grasp

The fight continues.
Rock Rackus aids in the battle against Xambria and the monsters.
During the fight, a young man (a guest) suddenly pulls out a pistol and tries to shoot Rock Rackus. He misses three times. Zuna kills the man with her Moonbeam spell.

An implanter (a type of small worm) crawls into Galarin's ear and explodes. This causes him to develop an irrational fear of anything with teeth (he sees the monster with teeth and associates his fear with it).

After taking significant damage, Xambria suddenly drops to her knees and surrenders. Three eyes have appeared on her arm. She asks the group to capture her so she can try to explain about the entity possessing her.

After this, they quickly defeat the remaining monsters.
Zuna examines the man who tried to shoot Rock Rackus and finds a peculiar gold coin.
Morthos recognizes the man from a meeting with the Vekeshi Mystics.
Zuna uses a spell to speak with the dead man. She discovers that he was a member of the Vekeshi Mystics and claims that "the Old Stag" wanted Rock Rackus dead.

Morthos knows that the Old Stag is a high-ranking figure in the Vekeshi Mystics. According to the dead man, the Old Stag wanted Rock Rackus killed because of his terrible music and for insulting the Unseen Court. The woman on the gold coin is revealed to be Srasama. They leave the corpse for further investigation.

The group heads to the RHC to interrogate Xambria. They take her staff and sword with them, considering it safest.
Upon arrival at the RHC, Saxby asks if she can speak with Ben. However, Ben insists on interrogating Xambria in the prison first.

Xambria begins rambling, revealing the following information:

• The entity in her mind is called Sijhen. It is a Gidim (or originates from the plane of Gidim). It was trapped for thousands of years in a pocket plane near the ziggurat.
• Sijhen consumed brains, thereby gaining the knowledge of its victims.
• Sijhen manipulated Xambria, causing localized memory loss.
• Sijhen was interested in the Obscurati (a name it discovered after consuming the brain of Caius Bergeron).
• The Obscurati (The Ob) operates in secretive "cells," with members hidden from one another. Only those at the top know the full structure. Caius Bergeron was not at the top.
• Mayor Reed Macbannin was also part of the Ob, at about the same level as Caius Bergeron.
• The Ob is seeking information about ancient seals. Caius funded research into these seals.
• Sijhen kept opening portals but failed to pass through. Its goal was to escape and return with an invasion force.
• Saxby possesses something Sijhen desires and was also connected to the Obscurati, working for Macbannin.
• Sijhen wanted the group to capture her, intending for Xambria to be imprisoned here.

Suddenly, a wave of energy washes over everyone, leaving them Stunned. Gradually, their surroundings become translucent. They can see through the entire building, including down to a metro tunnel under construction. They also see a group of darkly clad figures sneaking toward them in the prison.

Due to the transparency, Xambria escapes her restraints. She flies upward and heads toward Saxby's office. Everything returns to normal.

The group is attacked by the darkly clad figures. The fight becomes more challenging due to a "Darkness" spell that is cast.

Shortly after, everything becomes translucent again. They see Sijhen yelling at Saxby upstairs.

Note: For the encounter at the RHC, I put the map in Roll20, even though we play in person. That has helped a lot, since it's such a huge map! I have a plus subscription for my WotBS campaign (which is online), so I was able to use dynamic lighting for this.

 

[aartvb]

Session 35 (4-10-2023): Phasing Realities and Unfinished Business

The group manages to defeat the darkly clad figures.
At the moment of their death, they are pulled into another plane, making it impossible to collect loot.
Meanwhile, the surroundings continue to phase in and out, sometimes completely transparent, and at other times appearing normal.

They see that Xambria has gone to Saxby. They are shouting to each other.
When the fight is over, Xambria has disappeared.

The group decides to head upstairs.
There, they encounter Saxby, who is leaving with several members of the RHC.

Oskár manages to acquire a large collection of healing potions from the RHC vault, with Zuna assisting.
Meanwhile, Galarin is completely drunk and disillusioned.

Ben is busy repairing his robots.
Morthos is fighting a tentacle monster in front of Stover Delft’s door.

 

[aartvb]

Session 36 (8-11-2023): A Portal of Chaos

Most of the group joins the fight against the tentacle monster, which is ultimately defeated.

Stover Delft has completely lost his mind. He believes everyone is a doppelganger. Using a clever trick, the group manages to convince him otherwise.

As they look around, they see that Xambria is conducting a ritual in the subway line beneath the building. Everyone heads down once things become transparent again, with Stover Delft accompanying them.

Galarin studies the ritual and discovers it is creating a portal to another plane. There are eight lanterns that can be magically deactivated.

Some characters work on disabling the lanterns, while the rest fight Xambria. Zuna, in her bear form, is somewhat clumsy and destroys one of the lanterns, causing the ritual to become unstable.

In the meantime, Xambria is killed, but Sijhen emerges from her body and continues to live. Xambria’s consciousness transfers to the mind of Morthos, keeping her spirit alive.

Sijhen is also defeated.

In total, four lanterns are destroyed. The remaining four are carefully deactivated by the other characters. However, the instability of the ritual leads to a massive explosion. The overflowing energy focuses on the character closest to the portal—Galarin—who is killed in the blast.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 34
Eventually it turns out that Saxby has fled, having been unmasked as a member of the Obscurati. With Saxby gone, a new Chief Inspector/Lady Inspectress must be appointed.

Zuna applies for the position with Lord Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill but is not selected unfortunately. However, she and her comrades are promised promotions: they will now work directly under the new Chief Inspector/Lady Inspectress, giving them more authority to direct RHC colleagues and the ability to request more assistance.

Ultimately, Stover Delft is appointed as the new Chief Inspector.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 35
The group members receive a generous salary from Stover Delft to purchase new equipment for their next mission.

Their next task will be to investigate the train journey from Beaumont to Vendricce, scheduled for Winter, Day 11.

Note: I want to note two things here. Firstly: Galarins player was tired of playing Galarin, so the insta-kill was with full player permission. Secondly: Officially, according to the adventure, if one lantern was destroyed, I had to release some monster from Apet. However, my players were getting a bit tired from all the fighting. So I decided it would be a 50/50 chance between the monster appearing and just Galarin exploding. I rolled, and the dice decided it would be the second option. And I think it was the best option.

 

[aartvb]

Unfortunately another player left the group, this time it was Oskárs player. At the start of this new adventure, we are joined by another player. This is still the player composition, no players have left until now. To me it feels like a closer group now, so it would slightly surprise me if another player would leave. If that were to happen, it would probably due to personal reasons, since I feel like everyone is really having fun on our D&D nights right now.

Session 37 (29-11-2023): A New Mission

Stover Delft introduces Ravarel as a new team member. Ravarel is a human with numerous scars, having once fought in the war. The group learns that Ravarel is searching for John Merkanter, who wronged his family in the past. He has agreed to work for the RHC in exchange for help in locating John.

The group us briefed on the new mission by Stover Delft.
Delft explains that the Obscurati have endangered Flint twice already: first with the witch oil spill after an earthquake, and second with an escaped monster.
The mayor's butler, Cillian Creed, is still on the run.

Note: I completely forgot to add a note on this earlier, but at the end of adventure 2, they were supposed to kill Cillian Creed. But well... they didn't. And they are quite sure they will meet him again. I think I will make him one of the enemies in the bleak gate factory with Borne.

Previously, the group discovered that Caius Bergeron was planning to meet someone on a train. The group is tasked with going undercover on the same train journey to investigate whom he was meeting and to uncover any connections to the Obscurati or related conspiracies.

The mission's goal is explicitly not to apprehend or attack anyone but to gather information.

Key questions to answer are:

1. Who was Caius Bergeron meeting in Vendricce?
2. Who else was attending that meeting? Who from that meeting was also on the train?
3. What allies and accomplices did they have? What possible alliances and connections does this suggest for the Obscurati conspiracy?
4. When did each of those people of interest board the train?
5. What did they do each night when the train was stopped? Provide an answer for each person of interest and each stop — Cherage, Orithea, Trekhom, Nalaam, Sid Minos, Vendricce.
6. Did you notice any patterns, codes, or other identifying traits?
7. What do we know of the conspiracy’s goals? How will they accomplish these goals?
8. Do you have any clues who in Risur might be allied with them? What about allies in other countries?
9. Who do we tell, and where do we go from here?

The train departs on the 11th of Winter (in 90 days) and will arrive in Vendricce on the 20th. Its route passes through the following cities: Beaumont, Cherage, Orithea, Trekhom, Nalaam, Sid Minos, and Vendricce.

The group has the option of traveling to Beaumont by sailboat or steamboat. They choose the steamboat, the Khalundurrin.

Note: I consider this a mistake of my DM'ing again. During last adventure they captured the ship Il Draçon de Mer. They wanted to go to Beaumont on this ship. However, I made the mistake to stay too close to the text of the adventure, thinking of an in-game reason for that ship not being available, so they have to choose between the ships the adventure offers. But I'm the end it doesn't matter at all which ship they take, and I should've just let them take the Il Draçon de Mer! I know this is a pitfall of me as a DM, not allowing myself to get away from the text of the adventure enough. But hey, it's never too late to learn!

Delft explains how magic will work during the journey:

• They start In Danor, magic doesn’t work at all.
• In the Malice Lands, magic behaves unpredictably.
• In Orithea, magic suddenly functions normally again.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Days 36–85
The group spends 7 weeks preparing for the mission. Each character chooses one of three actions each week: Secrecy, Cover Identities, or Contingencies.

The group achieves partial success in secrecy and developing their cover identities.

Cover identities:

• Morthos -> Morgoth
• Ravarel -> Damavik
• Ben -> Red
• Zuna -> Claudia

Note: Until now, Galarin's player called Morthos Morgoth lots of times accidentally. So that would be the perfect cover name for Morthos 😁.

They also prepare three contingency plans:

1. Ravarel contacts a contact in Cherage for potential assistance there.
2. They arrange a backup boat in Trekhom, Sid Minos, and Vendricce, which can also provide supplies if needed.
3. They acquire five Potions of Disguise Self for the journey.

The also gather some aditional information:

• Morthos learns from his Vekeshi Mystic contacts that the city of Sid Minos (a stop on the route) has an island called The Isle of Odiem. On this island is an ancient crypt that played a significant role in the death of the goddess Srasama (or her avatar), though the details are unclear.
• Ravarel uncovers detailed information about the train's layout and operation.

 

[RangerWickett]

Thanks for all the regular write-ups. It's good to hear some of the early churn in party composition has ended and things have settled.

 

[aartvb]

Session 38 (20-12-2023): Journey to Beaumont and Onwards

Note: Last session, Galarins player was absent, but during this session we will meet his new character!

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 85
The group boards the ship, and their journey begins. They sail through the Yerasol Archipelago toward Beaumont.

500 A.O.V., Autumn, Day 89
While passing the Yerasol Archipelago, they notice smoke rising from the water, as if from a steamship, but no ship is visible. Upon closer inspection, they realize it’s the top of a submarine.
Shortly after, two ships from Danor approach to investigate (named 'Canis and Carnes' and 'Amicus Selachii'). The papers of the group are in order, and nothing suspicious is found (thanks to their thorough preparation). The ships depart.

501 A.O.V., Winter, Day 1
The group arrives in Beaumont, where they meet a new member: Aurelius, an Aasimar Deva. Aurelius doesn’t speak Common but knows Infernal, Celestial, and Abyssal. He communicates using Comprehend Languages. Highly religious, he frequently speaks about the "Light of the Dawnbringer".

501 A.O.V., Winter, Day 11
The group boards the train in Beaumont.
The conductor introduces himself as Xorin Marchant. The chef is Kov Marik, and the pianist Doris Gavagne.
A half-orc family also boards the train. After speaking with them, the group learns their surname is Griento, and their names are Damata (father), Ejeka (mother), Tarro (son), and Dabo (daughter). Tarro is a mischievous boy, while Damata mentions he invests in buildings.

Another notable passenger is Brianne “Bree” Kaldeckis, who has a prominent scar on her arm, which impresses Tarro.

Later, Malia Baccarin, responsible for the train’s security, stops by. She explains a tradition to hunt monsters in the Malice Lands (between Orithea and Trekhom). She offers weapons for 100 gp per person. Both Bree and Damata (along with his son) express interest, as do most group members, except for Ben/Red.

At a stop in Keskay, more passengers board:

1. Elanor Yanette, an exotically dressed woman accompanied by a gagged and chained figure.
2. A well-dressed tiefling named Olivert Boone, who enters arm-in-arm with two ladies.
3. Verzubak Tantalovich, a dwarf.

The group becomes curious about Elanor Yanette, who is revealed to enjoy erotic literature. The figure chained to her hums with a youthful voice, but Elanor silences them with a slap.

Aurelius attempts to preach his religion to passengers in third class.

After some time, Tarro runs in excitedly, announcing that someone has died on the train. The group investigates and discovers that a passenger (Argibald) choked on a nut after being bumped by Verzubak. However, their assistance isn’t needed, as Malia assures them she has the situation under control.

To lift the mood, Olivert Boone offers a round of drinks for everyone.

After a while, the train enters the dead-magic zone of Danor.

Note: So... about Aurelius. The character basically came from some other demon-filled plane, coming here to revert people to 'the dawnbringer'. But also, he's a deva, a reïncarnated Galarin? Don't ask me how it works with the Zeitgeist planar physics and the Deva proporties, we're just gonna roll with it 😛.

 

[aartvb]

Session 39 (16-1-2024): Adventures in Cherage: Luck, Secrets, and Suspicions

Verzubak is sitting in the lounge where the group is also gathered, reading a book titled The Science of Luck Manipulations. BenD.E.R. strikes up a conversation with him and quickly reads two other books Verzubak has with him, copying all the contents to his hard drive at lightning speed. While the books lack scientific evidence, they provide numerous explanations appealing to the desires of people searching for good luck.

Aurelius is seated at the bar. In about 20 minutes, the train will arrive in Cherage, where it will remain for the night. It’s currently winter—cold, wet, and dark.

Malia informs everyone that this is the final stop for the day, that the station will be crowded, and that passengers should be careful with their belongings.

Background on Cherage: The city experienced riots in the past, resulting in a curfew. This means people cannot travel between districts at night. Hotels, theaters and more are available, and the train departs again the next morning at 7:30.

Upon arrival, it’s clear that several buildings in the city were burned down and have not been rebuilt. Industrial areas dominate the background, and remnants of the riots are visible everywhere.

After disembarking, the group notices an unfamiliar figure peeking around a corner before disappearing. Aurelius follows but finds nothing.

The Griento family quickly leaves after checking into the hotel, while other notable individuals remain. Elanor receives some papers from the staff and prepares to leave. Damavik approaches her, discovering that the papers are a travel permit for entry into a wealthy district.

Red (BenD.E.R.), Damavik (Ravarel), and Morgoth (Morthos) enjoy food and drinks, after which they head to The Silver Steampipe for more drinks around 7:00 PM. Meanwhile, Aurelius sits near Olivert Boone’s door, curious about his nighttime activities.

At 8:00 PM, Olivert’s door opens, and he heads downstairs. Aurelius follows as Olivert orders drinks for some women at the hotel bar. After some flirting, Olivert leaves, with Aurelius in pursuit. Olivert ends up in a cheap bar, and continues to flirt there. Asking around, Aurelius learns that Olivert calls himself an adventurer. Interestingly, Olivert always keeps one hand on his pocket, even when laughing or cheering, ensuring his pistol is never far from reach.

Damavik leaves a note with a bartender, asking if there’s a contact in Orithea for smuggling goods onto or off the train.

BenD.E.R. successfully gathers four university students for a bar crawl, joined by Damavik and Morgoth.

Around 9:00 PM, Verzubak suddenly raises a toast to adventure and to never waking up in the same bed twice. He then approaches Aurelius, and they enjoy a game of dice. Aurelius finds Verzubak entertaining and engages him in a lively discussion about his religion.

After leaving yet another bar, Damavik, Red, and Morgoth encounter the Griento family, who mention visiting the Archaeological Museum. Damata Griento highly recommends it, sparking Morgoth’s interest (notably, Xambria’s consciousness resides in Morthos’ mind, and she is very passionate about archaeology). Morgoth decides to visit the museum.

As the Grientos continue walking, Damavik and Red overhear drunk individuals slurring, “Oh look, it’s those Orcs,” along with other insults. After Dabo slaps one of them, she heads back to the hotel, followed by Levy (Red’s bird), Damata, Torro, and the mother.

Red and Damavik spot Verzubak in a fancy bar called L’wabe du Fonne and join him. After a game of Liar’s Dice, Verzubak proves to be likable but not yet that skilled at influencing luck. However, he doesn’t reveal any information useful to the group.

Meanwhile, Morgoth enjoys his time at the museum before returning to the hotel. The rest of the group eventually reunites there.

Later, they notice a man running down the street wearing only an open coat, being chased by four city guards. The man leaps unnaturally high between two train cars and hides. Bella pursues but fails to tackle him, and the man escapes.

The city guards explain that the man had been in the hotel, occupying the most expensive room, the Pink Room, which he wasn’t supposed to be in. The group warns the room’s rightful occupant: “If you don’t want an 'STD', don’t use the bathtub.”

Throughout the night, the four women stick with Red, accompanying him back to the hotel. At Damavik’s request, Red stays in the lobby, observing who enters, at what time, and whether they appear drunk or to have been partying.

501 A.O.V., Winter, day 12
At 12:30 AM, Bree arrives. She looks tired but sober and neatly dressed, indicating she likely wasn’t out partying. She heads straight upstairs, presumably to her room.

 

[aartvb]

Session 40 (31-1-2024): Mysteries, Malice, and Magic on the Rails

In the morning, the group wakes up to find four young women sitting around Red at breakfast.

Torro Griento arrives with another dramatic tale: supposedly, a woman has been murdered, surrounded by blood. According to him, a staff member mentioned this, but now he can no longer find that person.

After a while, a boy comes downstairs, saying the staff member is upstairs. It turns out to be a young woman from housekeeping. She recounts that a woman was found in an alley, with her intestines wrapped around her and her organs in her hands (a liver in her right hand, a heart in her left, and blood in her hair). However, she says she heard this story from Annelien.

The group returns to the train, which is heading from Cherage to Orithea.

As they board, they notice Malia loading a large crate onto the train, bearing the logo of a well-known arms dealer.

A man approaches her, his wrist chained to a briefcase. This turns out to be Cardiff Hengehill. After speaking with Malia, he boards second-class, car 14. Some group members attempt to investigate Cardiff's briefcase, but he refuses. Similarly, when they approach Malia, she also denies them permission to examine the case without a valid reason. However, Malia does reveal that the large crate contains the weapons they had ordered.

In car 18, two new passengers board: an elf and a tiefling. Some recognize the tiefling as Luc, the nephew of Danor’s leader and brother to the Minister of Outsiders.

The group engages them in conversation. When they learn that the elf follows the Clergy’s faith, Red asks if he can perform a ritual to bless a piece of coal. The initial attempt has little to no effect. Upon the elf’s advice, the ritual is performed following religious protocols, resulting in a remarkably strong effect.

They repeat the ritual, this time on a book of names. When they ask which of Red’s family or friends wish her harm, the name "Ottavia" appears randomly from the book. It turns out this is the name of the elf.

As the train enters the Malice Lands, it stops at a fort where many soldiers disembark. From this point, magic will behave chaotically, but the train will stop in Orithea, where magic functions normally. In Orithea, tours are offered to explain this phenomenon.

Bree is seen wearing only a t-shirt despite the cold. Her arms appear to be prosthetic. It’s revealed that Bree is a war veteran from the Fourth Yerasol War, having lost her arms and legs to a jaguar during the conflict.

Malia announces that the group can practice shooting at “Malice Beasts.” The real hunt will begin the following day.

The group shoots at various beasts from the train. Levy, Red’s bird construct, retrieves multiple creatures, including a cheetah with a skeleton head, a bird with eight wings, a land-octopus, a fire-breathing wolf, and more.

Suddenly, they notice a man standing on the train ten cars away, waving a crowbar. He yells for them to quiet down. It turns out to be the same man they had seen running through the city the day before.

Note: Fun fact, I noticed that my note taking style has changed quite a bit since the beginning. At first, I mostly noted down only the things relevant for the written down adventure. However, now I write down quite a bit more about what the players do, even inter-personal developments which don't have a lot of impact on the overall plot.

 

[aartvb]

Session 41 (28-2-2024): Chaos in the Malice Lands

After a while, they come down from the roof.
Malia visits the group and mentions that all clocks need to be set forward by an hour.
Soon after, they see aurora lights. They are instructed to return to their own places. Within five minutes, they arrive at the station of Orithea.

As they enter the city, it becomes clear that everything is bended and skewed, the city has a completely different architectural style.
However, at the station itself, everything is straight and orderly.

In the Malice Lands, magic behaves strangely, but in this city, magic functions normally.

Morgoth has heard of a museum in the city and sets off to find it. At the museum, he is nearly persuaded to join a tour of the Malice Lands to see "magnificent relics," but he is warned just in time by someone that it’s all fake—a tourist trap.

Red goes in search of Ottavia. He speaks to her using sign language and invites her for a drink. However, Ottavia says she’s tired and goes to bed. Red decides to drink alcohol instead. Red goes on to drink some alcohol. He notices that the entertainment here is far more subdued than what they are used to.

Claudia and Damavik go shopping. Claudia buys a shield (7050gp) that doesn’t need to be held.

Bree invites Red and his companions to join her at the Effervescent Cub. Morgoth also heads to the club after his museum visit.
Boone arrives shortly after, with a lady at his arm.

Verzubak makes an announcement: "Owners of this bar, you give us a drink, and we’ll give you a toast!"
Boone leaves with the lady.

Red and Morgoth follow them and sit quietly within listening range. After some time, Luc and Ottavia walk by, arm in arm.
Boone eventually heads to an inn with his companion. Red and Morgoth follow and decide to also have a drink. They then heads back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, Aurelius follows the Griento family. This family attended a puppet show until 8 PM. Afterward, they visited a tower for the view and then ate at a restaurant. The children were misbehaving, but the parents danced together before they all returned to their hotel.

Damavik and Claudia visit the night market to shop. As they arrive, they hear Elanor screaming that she is being attacked. They see the man in a long coat that they encountered before, running away.
When they ask Elanor what happened, she shares the following story:

Elanor went to the night market and bought various items, including potions at an apothecary. There, she noticed she was being followed by a man in a long coat. This man started reciting a love poem to her slave. He then tried to pull away the slave’s veil. Elanor tried to grab an item, but the man in the long coat grabbed her wrist.

Elanor is relieved to have run into Claudia and Damavik. They take a detour back to the hotel.

They try to find the man in the long coat on the train but fail. However, they do find Malia in the train’s cargo wagons. She says she’s checking if anything has been stolen but claims that everything seems to be in order and that she hasn’t seen the man.

When everyone is back at the hotel, all the fire (lanterns, etc.) around them suddenly transforms into water. The group is startled, but the locals remain unfazed. Apparently, strange things like this happen often, and the residents are used to it.