Kuno - An Update

It's been awhile since we've seen you, in the physical sense, of course. I have to ask, did the temporal shift affect you as well or was the six month discrepancy when we returned to Caracara only accounted for in the travel? How has prolonged existence within the monolith affected your perception of time and space? I mean, its an extension of the Elder Dream after all, but since you aren't as connected as I, I wonder how you've faired. Make sure to be extra mindful of ledges when you return!
 
There was a bunch of things that were settled within Caracara when we returned. I think there is a report somewhere, but frankly, with all that's been going on in the Ragged Valley, most of it has slipped my mind. We did pick up a representative from Baz! Aegis is a construct that has come to entreat us to help them out. We were going to go to the Monolith of Assembly--not really because of Aegis, more because...I mean, a structure of the Ancients designed to create things, need I say more?--but people from Naldonia started doing things and Avin got really angry, carrying a corpse across town.
 
We found Dunben! He's been hanging out with a bunch of tek-backwards tribesmen. He was originally looking for Marta, who was looking for the elven lady who tore Malrubeus apart. But there is a whole megastructure beneath the Ragged Valley that's crawling with Chaos Frogmen and Naldonian Mindcontrollers...and those are only the recent additions! From what I can tell, the megastructure is a containment unit from somewhere out where your people came from. Or maybe where the elves came from. Out beyond the crumbling ruin where we found the Proto-gnome souls.
 
Raelyn and Maul-Moir seem a bit concerned that I may be running a settlement without fully understanding "relations between people" so I've been trying to pay extra attention out here. I mentioned a couple groups before, but the total count seems to be the Tribesmen, the Monikans, the Naldonians, and the Chaos Frogmen.
 
You remember the Naldonians, right? The lady who woke the Monoliths was one, Malrubeus is one, there is also that automaton-looking guy who tried to kill us in Caracara--wait, you weren't there for that. Anyway, they seem to be doing some kind of mind control thing with the towers that the local humans use. Those are the Monikans, haven't actually met any yet, so if you're curious you can ask Avin. Avin could probably tell you a lot about this region, he's actually from here. Well, kinda, he lived here a lot after escaping from some...exultists? But they might have been fake. Not actually clear on those details.
 
The Chaos Frogmen are...frog people from the void. They seem similar to things that you seemed worried about, but I don't really remember what all that was. They sacrifice people. Not sure what for, they've got this weird 'magic' that does not abide by the laws of tek. Maul-Moir seemed to make some discovery about their bite, but if the Stone can abolish their marks then we're probably in good shape. I've create a couple devices that spatially displace them.
 
The Tribesmen are the tek-backwards folk that Dunben fell in with. They don't like anyone it seems, but they dislike the Monikans the least...maybe? They are willing to help us take the Monolith if we help get rid of the Chaos Frogmen or the Naldonian influence on the Monikans. They've got giants that they just follow around, so I'm not sure how much help they'll be anyway.
 
Of course I have designed the solution to our problems, though! Something that will deal a blow to both the Naldonians and the Chaos Frogmen. The towers that transmit the Naldonian mind control are placed throughout the region, with a central hub that just so happens to be close by to a large rift where the Frogmen are spawning. With Dunben providing an unnecessary grounded perspective, I've modified the plans he designed to seal the rift left by Avin's temporal impossibility. Using the broadcasting powers of the towers, I can counter or maybe even replace the mind control frequency with Dunben's rift sealing equation. We'll be able to slow down the Chaos Frogs and disrupt whatever the Naldonians are trying to do and it should be easier to get passed them all to get to the Monolith of Thought. Dunben did make a weird face when we went over the long term effects of this interference, but that just means we gotta secure the Monolith fast and then put everything back--really shouldn't be a problem.
 
That's about the gist of what we've done in the Ragged Valley. Right now we are heading to the Megastructure entrance closest to where we can disrupt the signal. Dunben gave us an extremely mobile device, nothing like our snail, but serviceable. I think Aegis has taken to it more than any of us. I'm trying to help Aegis understand what its like to be 'squishy,' but I think maybe I should take a step in the other direction first. I've just finished the plans for a new set of lungs. I should be able to implant them myself, but I think I'll invite Maul-Moir, just in case.