Episode 92: The Blaze Market

Previously...

After trekking through the underground and discovering the lair of the Corsairs, the Wayfinders were surprised to find the place overrun instead by five other gangs who called the space theirs. After successfully weedling their way out of the situation, the group reconvened at the Kasari House now aware of the threat of the warforged Kanos and his impending plan to attack downtown.

General Summary

Early in the morning, over breakfast, the group discussed their next plan once they were able to determine the most traffic in downtown would be the market as today was a big market day in the Blaze Market. With little other course of action and very few allies within the city to call for aid, Swan hired a mercenary from the Sanctum and sent him to scout the area ahead of them while they spoke with the local authority.
Able to secure an immediate meeting with the Leonin Captain Lightbreath, they are escorted towards the offices where Swan dumps the skeletal remains of the dragonborn officer and the broken blade they had recovered from underground (next to collapsed hallways and burnt furniture). Able to determine the location of the underground crossroads both above ground and from the underground tunnel maps, the party explained what they had found there. However, a gray dragonborn with a cybernetic eye and prosthetic jaw, seethed with fury at Lionheart upon the discovery and hearing the news.

"I knew they were there, but you didn't listen."

— Officer Drakkos to Captain Lightbreath

Told immediately after to take the rest of the day off by the captain, Drakkos was immediately stopped by Swan who matched his anger with her own aggression reminding him about there being innocents down there as evidenced by the chalk drawings on the walls. While the reminder didn't assuage any of the officer's anger, he left with a growl. Leaving the group to tell Lionheart of their assumption that the Corsairs intended to attack in the market due to the increased thoroughfare today.
After taking a sky ferry over, Vasya and Plum went to go meet Ladd- the gnome mercenary that Swan had hired- at the largest tavern in the market and follow up with his discoveries as they investigated and shopped around the market themselves. After a quick browse through and eventually coming across a higher ranked officer by the magic district, the group was able to get a missive given to them by Lightbreath and met with the district's captain, Briont, who shifted into civilian wear to meet with them.
As he guided them through the market, he informed them that he and his men had discovered what they believed to be Corsair activity in the same area that Vasya and messaged (via a Sending reply) they were headed to as well due to Ladd's discoveries. However, before the group could reach the area, gunshots rang out forcing the group to engage with the closest threat, an overturned 8-foot cart and a wounded officer on the ground, beginning to bleed.
Told that there were hostages and they were going to be killed, Swan attempted to approach the barrier in order to drag the officer away from the cart after healing him to ensure he lived. In the meantime, Gideon too had approached with his hands up in an attempt to help while Valentine, skirted his way over the cart to the area beyond to assess the situation. As gunshots rang out and bullets missed Swan's feet as she dragged the guard back, Lix fired back at the sniper inadvertently causing the death of a hostage as Valentine witnessed.
As the body was thrown over the cart in proof and as Captain Briont ordered the party back, the Wayfinders snapped into action. Valentine killed the goblin that had executed the woman while Swan revivified the victim through her familiar while Gideon carried the woman off to safety. As Valentine dealt with the Corsairs who had set fire to their barricade, the others raced over to help once the injured ones were secured.
Before long, the Wayfinders along with Captain Briont found themselves dealing with snipers, riflemen, and a large steaming automoton ordered to stop them at all costs. As Gideon held the front line with Swan trying to disable the automoton, Briont and Lix dealt with the half orc brute while Valentine took out the snipers. In the distance, riflemen were firing at guards, able to shoot down a couple as something was whirring to life in one of the large empty courtyards.
Just as the steaming automoton seemed ready to explode with heat and steam, Swan managed to banish it to a demiplane, freeing up Gideon to chase after the ship that began to slowly rise into the sky. Though precariously hanging off the edge of the ship, Gideon managed to hold on with one hand as he damaged the nearest propeller. Soon after, both Valentine and Briont ended up on the ship but while the former was able to land some shots, Briont had missed allowing Kanos to retaliate, disintigrating his legs and kicking him off the ship into the courtyard below. Fortunately, while the captain survived the riflemen did not as Terra, Vasya, Brin, and Plum reached the party to help just in time to watch as Lix reduced the size of the ship after hearing a younger Corsair yell something about the cannon being tampered with which would kill them all.
Though the spell was undone by Kanos dispelling the magic, it bought enough time for Swan to board the ship and for Gideon to damage the nearest propeller just enough to prevent proper steering, causing the ship to list to one side, nearly knocking everyone overboard and killing a paralyzed Corsair. While Gideon had been able to drop down onto the roof and Captain Briont escaped from being crushed by the listing ship, over all the noise, Kanos heard the pleas of a vengeful Corsair being melted by a Heat Metal from Lix.

"Avenge us, Kanos."
"No."
"What?! But you swore to us-!"
"I said no such thing."

With a slew of gunfire, Kanos shot and killed one of the Corsairs as Vasya killed the second rifleman that had attempted to escape and Plum attempted to keep Kanos from firing the canon. In a shifting of events, Kanos turned the canon to point down into the ship and shot the ship into the sky, rising at a steep angle that sent Swan plummetting into the roof below. However, mid-fall, as she passed by the canon and recognized the arcane battery, she cast Dispel Magic and watched as the spell disabled the canon safely.
Though everyone was battered and bruised and Vasya and Plum separated to capture the young Corsair that had warned Kanos of something, the group watched as the warforged sailed the ship further and further up into the sky left with nowhere to go. As a canon echoed in the sky, the strike hit the ship and in a blaze of fire and arcane energy, the airship exploded high up in the sky clear of the market level but not without fallout damages.
With just seconds both to revive the man that had been killed trying to escape and to prepare for the arrival of the banished construct, the party retreated before the automoton appeared yet again, this time charging his closest enemy unaware of what had changed. Luckily, within moments, the automoton was destroyed and the group able to investigate what it was they had stumbled upon.
Meanwhile, right after the explosion, Swan had kept her eyes to the skies and had scanned it very carefully. While she knew the size of the explosion could have done something, she had not seen what she had expected, the bulk a flaming warforged frame fall from amongst the debris as it scattered down.

Report Date

16 Jan 2022