S3E6 - Valtara Roads Take Me Home

General Summary

Zedd can still use the Guild Signet #3: Gauntlet, and believes it's the only thing keeping him alive outside of the pocket dimmension, even though it now has Pact Magic back in it.

Backstory Refresher Time:

Jace Beleren has returned.
The last time we were in the 10th district, we had some heat on us. The House Dimir and the Cult of Rakdos are after us.
Theo and Da'Har both owed the Orzhov Syndicate thier souls. Theo was caught and her debt was punishment. Da'Har promised his sould for returning the staff. But then the Freespars ordered Theo to destroy the staff if it was ever found so that Da'Har could not pay off his debt. Theo's usefulness depleted when the cops came investigating her, so her new deal became ensuring that Da'Har died before he could return the staff. So long as she doesn't act against them, her soul will be free. She also left Haku, her ex and ally, back in the District.
Dream had a heart to heart with her Uncle, who is concerned about her getting involved with Guild Pack dealings. He doesn't know that she knows about his unethical dealings with Brobourg and evicting those people (the Boros, kakerlake who ended up in the refugee camp near Mercadia, Miraxos. That's also tied to Kraterellin's backstory, as he was one of those refugees.
The Duke finds our secret base as his ALUR traces the Staff and the Cube Guild Signets.
Jace is now back, likely in the 10th district, where the Chamber of the Guildpact is. The Guild Signet #7: Thymea's Stride is also in the 10th District with the Selesnya Conclave's leader.

Now, back to the present:

We take a long rest in the valley in the Duke's hut. We ask R04M to organize all of the notes that Theo had in the bag of holding, and update Archmage Callum.
Sending to Da'Har: We're headed home. Can you send us a large ship and boxes for us and our cargo to head south? Best of luck buddy. -He says they'll be there by morning.
Plan in 10th District: -Bring Zedd and R04M to Essan and Mizzix so they can study them and the Gauntlet. See how they're progressing with stripping the Guild Pact magic from the Signets. -Try to talk to Jace. -Then we need to figure out returning to the swamp where Mirax is.
We travel through the mountain to the northernmost point of the Mercadian ocean. While we travel, we try to detect Mizzianite to sustain R04M and Zedd, but they need to touch it to do so. Dream casts Locate Object, but it seems that nothing can be easily mined.
Med'et Kal returns with a ship in the morning. We get Zedd and R04M and the mech suit into boxes, and send a message to Zana Vosp to pick us up in south Mercadia. She charges us 200gp for fuel, and Rizz and Razz load up the ship, but they struggle with the weight. The Duke hops into the mech suit instead and moves the box with Zedd and R04M in it, then puts the mech suit back inside and we seal them on up. That way the Duke finally gets to play in the mech suit.
We safely travel to the 10th District, and Zana says if we ever need an airship again, we can call her (if we can afford her). We rent a cart for 25 silver from a minotaur, and use that to transfer the mech suit and Zedd and R04M to the University. A half orc greets us, and the Duke specifically, and asks what we need. He tells the half orc to bring it to to his office/lab, #80085. We label the box V-X Suit. Then we take the cart with Zedd and R04M back to our secret hideout in the underdark.
Inside our hideout, we don't see anyone. We hear clanking in the lab upstairs, and Mizzix and Essan come to greet us. Theo gives a small kiddo 6 silver to return the cart. Inside the hideout, we introduce Essan and Mizzix to Teri, R04M, and Zedd. Lots of exposition. They tell us that the Rakdos aren't actively hunting for us anymore, and Jace is back. Zedd explains to E&M that he thinks he can help them study the guild pact magic. They also want to study Teri.
Downtime to figure out level up and skill development.
Dream wants to do some politicking at the Azorius to save a bit of face and go check in. There is a stack of papers on ehr desk, but no one really acknowledges her return. She starts dutifully going through her inbox. No one was following up on her case, which was to investigate the staff and Essan. She goes to the Chamber of the Guild Pact, which is more bustling than normal. She goes to Filok to say that she wants to speak with Jace about what happened to Sylas.
Theo lays low, taking odd jobs, and listening to the whispers of the city. She hears that after the Rakdos attacked our airship and the Boros investigated Garrock, Lord Rakdos was pissed and dismissed Garrock. Since Jace has been back, there have been a bunch of conspiracy theories about why he was gone and what he's doing now. He randomly appeared in the middle of a plaza in the 2nd Precinct. He looked bloodied and immediately fell unconscious. He was found by citizens, and the Boros and Azorius rushed in to aid him. No one knows what he's up to. He was given medical attention at the Sun Home Hospital in the Boros Guild Hall. In her downtime, she also acts as a local robin hood, stealing from rich assholes and spreading their wealth amongst whoever they were mean to.
Teri spends most of his time in the lab with Mizzix, Essan, R04M, and Zedd. He picks up a bit of arcane knowledge while they all run experiments. He visits his old home, which has a sign that says, "Hangeman's Bounty - Coming Soon" aka a casino.
We send a Sending to King Zu'ah Ha, to ask him to send word to Jace to meet with us as heroes of Mercadia. He says he'll try his best to set something up.

Report Date

08 Jul 2024