Session 19 - Investigating Axiom Part 4 Report

General Summary

In the aftermath of the Pempas attack in Axiom, Rayla Moonshadow and Bramble Lightfeather caught up with Dac Earreac and Feyre Blackwood. Bramble asked if Dac and Feyre would help with their problem with Yira Inkstep, but with the immdediacy of Kara Towers's investigation in the gearforged at Axiom, they decided to table things. Meanwhile, Dac witnessed an exchange between Cadence and a mysterious figure that pulled her away from the market square in Axiom.

Elsewhere, Winnow Olafson decided to find flowers for Nana Rosie at the conservatory in Axiom. There, she was first accosted by a giant spider named Cornell, a sort of pet of Curtis Thorne, a gardner gearforged. Curtis seemed different, saying he was broken, from the days of his recovery from the Mekanos Infinitum. Winnow felt a sort of share bond with him, being different herself. Before she left, a pollenator bee was accosting Winnow, but Curtis led it away with a spray of some sort of chemical.

Winnow decided she wanted to help Nana Rosie get some gearforged parts and went to Axiom hall, hoping to find Cadence. In the headquarters of the Axiom Rangers, she instead met Ranger Vai, an intense gearforged ranger. As Winnow showed concern for Nana Rosie, Vai explained parts such as memory gears or everwound springs are so vital to gearforged existence because they cannot simply be built. No one has successfully replicated the enchantment that makes such parts possible. This means that the Mekanos Infinitum is the only reliable source of such parts. Winnow decided to ask Vai about the dead gearforged the party had discovered in the tunnel not so long ago. It a show of trust, Winnow showed Vai the form of the gearforged they had found by shapeshifting into his form. She immediately identified him as Thomas, a gearforged who worked with the Novus Agricultural Service. Thomas would sometimes smuggle things from the Outer Wilds into the city for pay by hiding them within his chassis. Vai seemed profoundly effected by the display, but spoke about how Thomas had recently fallen in with Coda. Vai explained that Coda is an influential member of the community who has been speaking out against "fleshkin" and frequently, angrily blames them for the many trials of the gearforged in Axiom.

Meanwhile, Dac, Feyre, Rayla, and Bramble enterred to social hall, overhearing an angry gearforged speaking out against the gearforged. They also found Ones, who claimed his business was being stalled. In the meantime, he decided to get the gearforged equivalent of a tattoo from an engraving artist named Graft. Graft explained many of the same tension to the group the Winnow as learning about. Coda is a revolutionary with ideas, but the founder of Axiom, Oratorio, holds a lot of respect still. Still others trust Cadence above all thanks to the work that she does for this city. Feyre also left a few of her sawblades with Graft for modification.

Bramble seemed restless, wanting to tackle the issue with Yira. As the group met outside of the social hall, they were unsure how to move forward. Ones left the group, but not long after the party heard him scream. Rushing to his aid, they encountered a group of gearforged assailants in a nearby alleyway, and ones gravely wounded. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to save Ones, and several of the assailants fled into the streets.