Session 24: Unexpected Aid in a Storm Report

General Summary

Previously

  After encountering the ghostly town with Baba Yaga, the rest of the journey through the strange region passes uneventfully, until the party arrives at another foggy barrier, similar to the one at the edge of the runestorm. Based on the Reality Comb, they believe they have reached the rift beyond which Agaddon should lay. Carefully following Jessa's lead, guided by the Reality Comb, the party steps through. After a moment of disorientation, they find themselves elsewhere. The air is thick, smelling of pollution and smoke. A steam train crosses on a railway ahead of them, and some of the well-dressed passengers notice them as the train steams by, and shake their fists at the party (for no obvious reason).   Beyond the tracks, the party sees a wasteland of rough ground, and apparently long-collapsed structures and uneven ground mostly overgrown with a thick vine with broad green leaves. Far beyond that, they can see a towering metropolis in the distance, and two more smaller urban areas--one to the right, and one to the left. In all three, they can see a single, very tall tower in the apparent center, each of which are regularly struck by bolts of jagged lightning erupting from the raging runestorm up above. The party suspects that the center of the rift will be the large metropolis ahead, and that they will need to take the planar stabilization device there. But first they need to talk to someone and get the lay of the land, and so they start walking alongside the tracks to the right (in the direction the train was headed), towards one of the smaller (but still towering) cities. Distances are hard to judge in the smoky air, with the runestorm thundering above.  

Session Notes

Jessa uses Farsight to get a better look at the largest city. She can discern enough detail to get a sense of scale--some of the building are incredibly tall, over 100 stories. Elevated train tracks can be seen circling many of the buildings, and connecting them with others. She can also see that the runestorm above doesn't cover the entire area, with blue skies and sunlight visible in some places. The party then notices that the runestorm above them starts to change and intensify, the multicolored sheet lightning giving way to jagged forks of raw magical energies that strike down and start to tear up the land around them. The party starts to move more quickly, attempting to get away from the worst of the storm, but then a particularly intense bolt strikes the nearby vegetation. Where it struck, five large shapes start to stir underneath the vines, bits of rusted, twisted metal slowly pulling together and shaking off the vines, stalking towards the part (the party later learns these are called Rust Puppets, and can be animated by runestorms, or by unquiet ghosts.)   Zayer launches into the air and tries to cast Armor, but his magic goes awry in this chaotic environment, and he is struck and momentarily stunned by a bolt of energy. Jessa attempt to blast the attackers with magic also goes awry (but not as dramatically). Windellian flies up, lassoes one of the figures, and pulls into the path of an oncoming train (heading in the opposite direction from the first). The train shatters the rusty figure, and nearly derails as the metal goes under the wheels in a shower of sparks. The group can see the passengers tumble about as the train shakes, but then the train stabilizes and continues on. The group manages to destroy the rest of the creatures, but they still face the intensifying storm above.   A couple of voices, one the hearty hail of a knight-like figure, the other the raspy tones a hunched-up, small man, call to them from the vegetation, telling them to get out of the storm, and offering to share shelter. The party is suspcious, but agree that getting out of the storm sounds like a good idea. The pair leads the party through the dense vegetation for a 100 yards or so, until they arrive at a small campsite sheltering under the overhang of one of the more substantial ruined structures. The group at the camp is as diverse as the party, and once they believe this isn't an imminent trap, they introduce themselves. The group includes:

• Root, a rag-tag sellsword. They learn that Root is stormtorn, having been cast out of his world over twenty years ago when battling a dark sorcerer in his homeland (which the party eventually learns was near the City of Greyhawk on Oerth, in Greyspace). He is a small, gnarled man with a nearly walnut colored skin and short-cropped black hair. His eyes glisten bright and black and when he smiles, he smiles broadly. He has a penchant for profanity and rambling, but since he is so hard to understand, it usually goes by unnoticed. "I is the Honorable Ra’theus Kel Attaway the Fourth, but I’s preferred to be called Root. I is not no secret noble nor no hero. I is just traveling to gets something that someones wants gotten."
• Brocard Goodchild, a Ferren inventor. (Ferren = ratmen). He wears glasses, and a long green duster. He is fascinated by Jessa's equipment, but even more so by Windy.
• Giraldus the Loyal, Human, a Knight of the Order of the Blade. The order is dedicated to protecting those traveling across the wastelands, and he has joined this group to make sure they complete their mission safely.
• Jagdramen, a Malakar Wayfinder. (Malakar, a race of grey skinned, half demons, Wayfinder = a guide through the Wastelands)
• Edgar Kipps, an Overwrought Guard. Edgar is taciturn and bulky, with metal mechanisms grafted to his limbs. (Overwrought = humans who willingly go through the painful process of grafting and surgery to be strengthened in order to find work. Overwrought are given the most dangerous jobs in the city districts, and some, like Edgar, seek their fortune in the Barrens).
• Apparently they were originally 9, but some were lost during their trip when demons erupted out of a Runestorm ("They's were careless, they was.", says Root)
• They have riding creatures called newts, which look like large, bipedal lizards.

The entire group, but especially Brocard and Edgar, seem fascinated by Windy, who Brocard speculates is either a Converted (Overwrought who have joined a cult based at Cog Castle, attempting to give up the last vestiges of their humanity in the pursuit of immortality, or an ancient Automaton, remarkably well preserved). The party (eventually) tells the group that they were sent here from the world Agaddon originated from (the city is apparently now called Scatterpoint), and brought a device that will send the city back home. This is met with various reactions, ranging from Root's sneering skepticism to Giraldus's "I pledge my sword to this noble quest!" However, the party's plan to march to the main city district, and trigger the device at the top of the "Runetower" as the lightning-attracting structures are called, is met with particular skepticism by Root ("You're just going to march to the top of that, the tower protecting all Grey Mesa? I am sure the Autarch will just set out tea for you beforehand, no doubt."   As the storm rages around them, the two groups share the campsite. The party struggles with many unfamiliar references in response to their questions (e.g., "Oh yeah, the Talus created the Malakar when they were stuck here after the Tempest." "During the Overwrought Uprising, the Far Door network was disrupted, which is why the Autarch is an Andari, but no one talks about that. He's just ruled for 900 years.". Eventually, they are able to put together a rough view of the situation, and outline of some historical events. (Apparently, a thousand years have passed inside this city, as well as on Paraxis).    For an overview of what the party has learned, see Scatterpoint Overview for PCs. On the map below, the party entered on the lower right, crossing the railway between Shatter Stone and Pitchpit, entering the area of the Barrens known as the Twisted Fields.    The party eventually learns that Root's group is on a mission for the Andari Terridar ShadowMoon, who runs the independent settlement of ShadowMoon Salvage here in the Twisted Fields. Terridar is known to be obsessed with finding a way to return ScatterPoint to the realm it came from, and so Brocard recommends he might be the best person for the party to talk to next, if they are serious in their mission. However, Root insists (since the group is now short handed) that the party help the group accomplish their mission, which is to retrieve a cache of Runestones which Terridar believes exists in a new stand of Witchgrass that sprung up in the wake of a particularly fierce recent Runestorm. The cache is a couple of days of travel away. (When Jessa learns that Runestones are spherical, polished bits of rock that naturally occur as a result of runestorm activity, and are used to power various runic devices, she becomes much more interested). Once they do, they will return to Shadowmoon Salvage.    The party agrees, but ask what threats they are likely to encounter. Bandits, demons, runestorms and slag rats, which are typically about the size of an alligator and are very aggressive, attacking even if unprovoked. They are angular and their skin is a hodgepodge of fur and scales, while they retain the lean, angular features of their rodent heritage.