Deciding to take it easy for the rest of the day, the troupe cleaned up and sat down. Fisch went to go hunt for fresh food, and brought back … fish and a deer. The rest of the day was spent ‘processing’ everything.
The next day, their third in New Vasselheim, the group woke up (Rinn with a dick and a snarky comment drawn on his face), ready to explore. Their plan was:
- Check out the bastion of the platinum dragon
- Check out the Titan
- See if they can find Victor
- Come back to check out the temples
- Put out the flame (or partway)
- Enter the bastion and find Tāmarai’s ‘thing’ (Luxon)
Thus prepared, they hiked up the trail, down the road, around the buildings, and up the stairs to the Bastion of the Platinum Dragon. After the first flight of stairs, Tāmarai noticed that some of the rocks were moving. Not like an avalanche, but like they were … people? The group ran but the best path was up a double-tall flight of stairs, with no railings or sides.
The small gnome was unable to keep up, and the group started to loose speed. Neither Tāmarai’s hold person nor Stubby’s Thunderwave were effective, though Tāmarai’s Faiere Fire did light up one. Risking a point of exhaustion, Fisch agreed to carry all three of them, which allowed Stubby to cast Spider Climb on Fisch. The bear ran off the edge of the stairs, running along the wall.
To their surprise, the constructs followed (some sort of suction pods in their hands and feet let them run along the wall as well), but at a somewhat slower pace than a running bear. Stubby used her ingenuity to cast Grease, which caused two of the constructs to slide down to the base of the stairs. The third one, Stubby recognized a marking on their shield. It was the familiar 3 finger salute of Victor!
Stubby and Tāmarai held up their hands, shouting that they were friends. When Stubby shouted “Learn from my mistakes!” the constructs stopped chasing! They all held up their right hand in the 3-finger salute. While unable to speak, the constructs followed ‘orders’ and waited for the group to investigate the pyre of magical fire.
Around 90 feet in circumference (like one of those Redwoods you can drive through), it shoots a pillar of eternal flame that doesn’t burn. It’s not hot. The color changes slightly with the seasons, but it’s mostly blue today. As it turns out, the pyre wasn’t really fire. More like a belt sander, it could shave down rocks and sticks and rope. But… It didn’t ‘destroy’ clouds or smoke or water. Water did react, but it didn’t put the fire out.
Stubby took a good look and found there was a bottom and she could see it! Just at the edges of what her vision reached, it looked like the pyre was coming from a
Meanwhile, Rinn found a way in! There was an old shit-shoot, widened by whatever magical eruption had spewed forth. Thus prepared, they opt to go find the Titan and Victor first. Along the way, they take time to raid the remaining buildings (especially the rich ones) and find a bevy of amazing things (see table below).
Finally, though, they left the city and things felt much better. The red stain to the ground was retreating, and maybe that was a little hope. The road to the Titan was clear and safe, though once there a group of six bandits saw them, and the constructs, and said “Hell no!” and RAN THE FUCK AWAY.
Items Acquired
| Rinn | |
| Stubby | |
| Tāmarai | |
| Fisch |
Players
- Rinn Shrike – Half-elf Sorcerer/Rogue (Storm Sorcery)
- Stubby – Half-elf Artificer/Artillerist
- Tāmarai Shikomi – Gnome Bard (College of Lore)
- Fisch – Bear Fighter (regular NPC)