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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cypherblade" data-source="post: 9818621" data-attributes="member: 7048389">[spoiler]A new edition of the Flint Observer is circulating. All contributions from the RHC come across very well. There is also a new edition of the gossip paper Alarm Bell. The RHC, Rock Rackus, and the doom-minded dwarves all get a mention.Audits:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Kane will receive a promotion. Staf is demoted.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ayleen was criticized for a lack of explanation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">All magical items must be handed over to the RHC after the mission. Apparently, this did not happen for one amulet from Axis Island.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Will we ever be sent on a mission in Danor with Staf as a member? We will request strict instructions for such missions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Restitution for the amulet: Kane, Felix, Ayleen, and Sarïa pay 160 gp each. Staf must go beg his brother.</li> </ul>The B-team reports the murder of Bergeron, the murder of an unknown individual in a water mill, the break-in at Saxby’s, and the disappearance of Xambria Meredith.We begin at the Silver Swan, Flint’s most expensive hotel, where Bergeron was murdered. The receptionist refers us to his two bodyguards. Bergeron had not left his room for three days (since Saturday). When those three days were up, the bodyguards, Gerald and Francis, checked on him and found him dead. The bodyguards testify: the door was locked (the key was on the inside). The windows were closed.Upon arriving at the room, no one is standing guard. The lock was forced (by the bodyguards) but not tampered with (confirmed by Ayleen). No magic is detected. A tiefling lies in bed, a large rust-brown stain beneath his head. The windows are still closed and locked. The bathroom is immaculate. Blood came from the corpse’s mouth, causing the pool beneath him. His jaw is crooked, broken. His brain is missing. We recall that at the fair, a Gidim monster pulled a dwarf through itself, and that victim was also left without a brain.Bergeron is wearing a ring: gold with a white stone, inscribed “Old Bergeron Gold.”On the desk lies a map of the continent, with two locations marked: one in the High Bayou, one off the coast of Ber. There are numbers, likely coordinates. Kane detects planar energy from Gidim, but no magical residue. Can those Gidim monsters (semi-real) pass through walls?Bergeron’s suitcase (a wooden chest) contains ten magical Sending scrolls and has a false bottom, which turns out to be empty.Kane attempts Speak with Dead, but due to the broken jaw the body cannot answer clearly:The broken jaw makes speech difficult and only some words are clear.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What did the creature that killed you look like? “Wah wah wah” (—“six tentacles on…”)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What does the seal removed from the ziggurat do? “.... Outer world......”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Who was your employer? “I can’t say.”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What are the plans for the seal? “.......Ritual............”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Is Lya Jierre aware of your assignment? “I can’t say.”</li> </ul>We search the room one final time. In the desk drawer we find torn-out reports from the Bayou expedition journal: a description of the first room; the image on the wall with the beam striking the figure (and the stone already missing); a chamber of light with pillars and bridges of light that appeared and vanished over spear-filled pits. That puzzle led to a room with a map carved into the floor, with a construction for a tripod holding a prism that shone light onto the ancient map. This ziggurat (of Apeth) was found through a reference from the ziggurat of Jiese, which points to Mavisha, the water planet. They suspect that one of the two seals is actually a trap. We believe it was the one in the room where we ended up.Did the Ancients restrict interplanar travel by creating the seals?We realize that we still have not found Xambria Meredith’s expedition journal.Kane considers contacting Von Recklinghausen via Sending to ask whether an expedition to the ziggurat off the coast is currently underway.The second murder: the head of a golem was found at Parity Lake, in the basement of a water mill where metal was being smelted. The corpse is older. It lay within a large rusted ring. Kane detects energy from the Bleak Gate. No magic. The body appears to be several weeks old. It is human and male. Arms and legs were secured with a bent metal rod. This reminds us of Leone Quital.Nearby lies an advanced golem head, extremely complex, according to Ayleen possibly capable of up to 150 instructions. Other parts are present as well, including a torso that has burst open.The human corpse wore a necklace, of which remnants remain. This reminds us of the amulets needed to access the interstitial dimension. His skull was crushed by the golem. An old gunshot wound is still visible in his leg. A half-empty bottle of oil lies nearby. The corpse has oil in its throat. The bottle lies to the side without its cap. There is a brochure for sea voyages to Elfaivar (the eladrin lands). His socks bear the initials A.G.The golem is man-sized, finely built, and made of bronze—very finely crafted.Karlao goes to RHC headquarters to retrieve the medallions. Along the way, he briefly checks in on Saxby to see if she is all right.Back at the water mill, Karlao attempts to descend through the iron ring while wearing the amulet. He sinks into the water. On a second attempt, he manages to emerge into the Stanfield Canal, but in a dimension with muted sound and light: the Bleak Gate. Kane signals him by tugging on the rope that he must return.We decide to all make the transition to the Bleak Gate. We leave a note behind and brief Dima, who had brought us there.In the Bleak Gate, we feel a connection—a thread—linking us to the entrance. Kane sees a glow in the distance, toward Nettles at the foot of Cauldron Hill. The thread pulls hard, it's hard to stay here, it feels like being pushed back to the Waking. Sarïa nevertheless notices that beneath the bridge there is a circular iron ring.We commandeer a small boat and, wearing the medallion, pass beneath the bridge. We seem to enter a hazy pocket dimension—not the Bleak Gate, but an intermediate dimension. We make plans.In addition to two murders and the break-in at Saxby’s, there is also the disappearance of Xambria Meredith. A lot of work. Even more reports to write…[/spoiler]</blockquote>

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