B-Team
Karlao is still alive, but he looks severely battered. His breathing rattles through his dented armor. Dima heals him. All kinds of noise can be heard throughout the area—gunshots, shouting...
Karlao recognizes the sound of volley fire. That can only mean one thing: regular army soldiers are fighting in the streets. And is that... an elephant?
Kaea recognizes it as a mammoth, but one with
two trunks. It is black instead of brown. Sure enough, a small detachment of soldiers is firing at the beast, which eventually collapses under their volleys.
According to the sergeant, several such monsters are roaming the city—in fact, all across Flint. That is why the governor has mobilized the army. This is clearly not normal, but we cannot determine where these creatures came from. They are not undead, nor do they resemble the monsters from the Bleak Gate that Team A encountered in the past.
The army appears to have the situation mostly under control, so we decide to investigate the lawyer's villa once more.
In Quentin's villa, Kaea discovers a notebook containing strange descriptions of an experiment. The experiment involved five runes inscribed on a crate positioned at the canal bridges, yet the crate itself never disappeared. The runes possess some kind of magical power, though Kaea cannot determine exactly what it does.
Dima finds another ledger detailing various transactions. Two transactions are scheduled for tomorrow. One concerns narcotics hidden inside a shipping container.
Another entry describes a forced-labor operation. People are presented with a "contract" and coerced into signing it. Tomorrow, these individuals are to be transported somewhere referred to only as
"the Factory."
We return to the RHC to deliver our report. By now, the city has become calm again. Apparently between four and six (
this is kind of a running gag) monsters emerged from the harbor.
A-Team
From the city we hear strange sounds—gunfire, shouting, confusion. Odd.
However, since we do not want to leave the children unattended, we remain at the orphanage. Ayleen takes the first watch.
During the second hour, she hears crashing sounds in the forest. A strange reptilian creature with short forelimbs and an enormous head comes snorting through the woods. It passes by the tree without stopping.
Ayleen has seen something similar before in the Malice Lands during the train safari incident, but such a creature certainly does not belong here.
The rest of the night passes quietly, apart from the constant noise of crying children and the smell of soiled diapers.
11 Spring 501 A.O.V.
In the morning, Gianni sets out to warn the mayor. About an hour later he returns with people who begin restoring the orphanage.
When we return to the city, we learn that several of those strange monsters also wandered through Flint during the night.
Upon arriving at the RHC, we report to Stover Delft. In turn, he briefs us on everything the local police have uncovered and on the activities of Team B. The news that the lawyer escaped is a heavy blow.
Our first task is to meet with Debby Macon, our liaison with the local police stationed at Hotel Aurum. She has identified three genuine safehouses where multiple guild members were hiding. Teams of ten officers have already been dispatched to each location.
Two illegal transactions have been intercepted. The other known Kell properties contain around thirty people in total, while Casa Kell houses twenty-two, and Machete Hill another twenty or so. The lawyer is expected to attend the opera tonight.
The lead concerning Soknik Repairs has not yet been investigated. This is the company whose forged work order was used to facilitate the attacks.
Through a
Sending, we also learn that Gale is apparently chatting with Asrabey Varal.
The major question is which lead we should pursue. Those forced laborers being transported to
the Factory could very well be headed for the Bleak Gate. Since we ourselves are trying to reach the Bleak Gate, following them may be our best option.
Before making any decisions, we pay a visit to the King. He is in a meeting, so we speak with Harkover Lee instead.
We ask whether Varal has already spoken to the King, but apparently he has not. Harkover recalls that Varal has been searching for his wife for a very long time—years, perhaps even since the fall of Ssrasama.
The King will grant him permission to enter the Bleak Gate. Refusing him is apparently not an option.
We decide to investigate the ship.
At the harbor, we find considerable damage, possibly caused by the strange monsters from last night. In a tavern, Sarïa overhears talk about dwarves dressed entirely in black. Felix questions the witness further.
According to him, twelve dwarves unloaded a ship. They unloaded several large beast cages before the vessel departed again. The cages contained a mammoth, a gorilla, a tyrannosaurus, and a hydra.
We investigate and discover four cages. In one of them, Kane finds mammoth fur. Nearby witnesses confirm the story.
We canvas the district. Every now and then someone reports seeing one of the monsters, but nobody has seen a group of black-clad dwarves.
Suddenly, a young boy approaches Gianni and hands him a note. It is from Morgan Cippiano.
I have men in your organization that tell me Lorcan Kell is priority one. I have men in Kell’s organization who can deliver him to you. Meet me at the Brave Hall fashion show, corner of Yearling and Healers in Central this afternoon, and we can make a deal.—Morgan Cippiano
We stop by the RHC and inform Stover of our plans. He agrees that listening to what the Family has to say is worthwhile, but warns us to be careful.
Ayleen studies the runes Team B recovered. They clearly relate to the Bleak Gate. Each rune moves a person or cargo incrementally closer to the Bleak Gate, and the order in which they are used is important. However, something is missing to complete the process—a focus of some kind.
Possibly an amulet.
Our first stop is the fashion show, where we meet Morgan Cippiano.
He apparently knows that Lorcan Kell is involved with the Obscurati. Since he has an informant inside the Kell organization, he is willing to arrange a trap to lure Kell out.
In exchange, he wants Giovanni Algardi, known as
The Sculptor, released from prison. Algardi was capable of animating statues and used them to commit murders.
Cippiano promises to take the man to Crisillyir and even guarantees that the killer will never set foot on Risuri soil again.
We relay the proposal to Stover. He is not entirely opposed to the idea, but only if no alternatives remain—and for the moment, we still have alternatives.
We stop by the opera house in search of Kell's lawyer. He is apparently expected in Box 3.
Afterward, we visit Debby Macon again in the hope that she has additional information. The team sent to investigate Soknik Repairs has not yet returned.
The container full of illegal narcotics has been seized, with an estimated street value of 10,000 gold pieces—a significant blow to the thieves' guild.
During our discussion, an RHC agent arrives with a message: Stover wants us back at headquarters immediately.
Apparently, Kvarti Gorbatiy has voluntarily turned himself in, but he will only speak with Ayleen and the team.
The dwarf admits that he allowed himself to be influenced by Grundun Zubov. Several months ago, he was recruited by Zubov in Drakr. He knew about Grundun's ties to the Philosophy of the End and admits that the dwarf's views were rather extreme.
After witnessing the attacks at the harbor, however, Kvarti no longer wants any part of it.
Today, he was supposed to lie in ambush outside Soknik Repairs, but when two police officers passed by, he could not bring himself to kill them.
He further claims that he was not involved in the university attacks, though he condemns those actions as well.
It appears that the offices of Soknik Repairs will be our next destination, and Kvarti is willing to assist us.
Excellent. Perhaps that cooperation will help reduce the severity of his punishment later—after all, he has already seen the wanted posters bearing his own face.
