The Warforged Problem
After the dust settled, the Foundation approached the Sovereign Chapel’s spire with caution. Rasp used the find traps feature to sense that the door to the spire was booby trapped, as was the door to the balcony above and two more arcane proximity mines on the balcony itself. Rasp then blew down the door with spiritual fire, triggering the trap there, but Bal and Rasp managed to hold their breath long enough for the trap to disperse. Bal then disarmed the other traps and the Foundation took to investigating the scene.
Mila immediately approached the dead warforged and searched his pockets. Inside, she found a missive that simply read:
“Assign: New Cyre”. After reading that, Mila kicked the warforged until its body fell apart. Vax and Rasp went below and checked the rectory that resided inside the bell tower. Vax found and stole a solid gold and beautiful tithe box made to worship Olladra, the goddess of feast and fortune. Rasp, meanwhile, found carved bone and ivory talismans to Balinor, god of beasts and the hunt.
Back at the balcony, the Foundation realized they wouldn’t get much information from just investigating the scene, so Rasp cast
speak with dead. A semblance of the warforged’s soul returned and the following questions were asked:
Who are you?
- The warforged responded saying, “Pry open my chest and take my nameplate if you must,” a jab at the now taboo practice of identifying the bodies of warforged on the field of the Last War.
Who sent you?
- “You already know the answer.”
Who was your target?
Why?
- The warforged seem to gain some energy at this question, his voice growing loud. “Because I watched thousands of my brothers and sisters die in a war that meant nothing!”
Why were you in the Shadow Marches?
Then the warforged came to rest. Rasp, using his bone mace, pried open the chest of the warforged revealing a copper name plate on the inside which read “Sif FL-1”, which Mila knew meant he had been built for front line combat and had likely spent most of his time at the very front of the battle lines. Mila pocketed the name plate.
Alexei and a squad of watchpersons and guards arrived to survey the scene, with a medic confirming the civilians that had been shot were indeed dead. He asked Mila what had happened and after explained that this was not the first disgruntled warforged who had wanted revenge against Cyre, though nothing as brutal as a sniper attack. A mancer guard then disintegrated the body of the warforged and the foundation and Alexei discussed that in light of the attack they might speed up their plans. They then planned to make the announcement about Mila being alive the following morning at dawn on the steps of the Manor.
Before the party retired for the night, a courier arrived with a letter from Turk which read:
“Couldn’t trust any other form of communication. We are safe.
When you get back to Sharn, take in a cabaret.
Signed, Dr. Bartholomew Turk.”
Princess Natalya Lives
The next morning, the party woke and had a quick breakfast just before dawn, then joined Mila and Alexei on the steps of the manor. Gathered were the people of New Cyre as well as members of the press including a photographer. There, Alexei made the announcement, letting the people know that Mila was alive and well and that they kept her a secret for the family’s protection. Now, however, he believed the people needed hope and also announced an expedition to the Mournlands to look for, and hopefully bring back, survivors. After the announcement, a photograph was taken of Alexei, Mila, and the Phaeros Foundation to go along with an article in the Korranberg Chronicle.
After the announcement, the Foundation quickly headed to the stables where Alexei surprised Mila with her old horse, Zashnik, which he had found and bought a few years ago. With that, the foundation headed out into the Brelish countryside towards Gorgonhorn.
After a nearly day-long ride the party began to see the thousand foot tall wall of grey mist and smoke that was the Mournlands. Opting to navigate around the goblin city of Gorgonhorn, the Foundation headed straight for the massive Argonth floating a mile out towards the Mournlands. As they approached, eldritch cannons fired at regular intervals towards the imposing wall, seemingly doing nothing.
The Argonth
Once aboard, they were escorted up to meet Col. Henry Knox Craig, or rather meet him for a second time. He welcomed them to the Argonth and greeted the newly announced returned princess of Cyre as he handed them a copy of the evening edition of the Korranberg Chronicle. The headline read, “LOST PRINCESS ALIVE!” and had a large sepia photograph of the Foundation and Alexei above the fold. Craig then handed the paper to Jin and showed them a note attached mentioning that Marcella was a former Audarian spy and Craig asked if they could put those things behind them, to which Jin agreed.
Craid then discussed the Argonth’s position at the edge of the Mournlands and that they were defending themselves and the border from organized scouting strikes from within the Mournlands, many of which seemed to be mutated warforged. Craig also said that he believed Valenar’s and the Talenta Plains’ closure of their borders was connected to these scouting strikes. Before more questions could be discussed, Craig invited the Foundation up to his offices to speak in private.
On the Officer’s Deck, Craig came clean with the Foundation after asking them to swear to keep these next pieces of information secret. Despite the Treaty of Thronehold forbidding official military actions within the Mournlands, Craig has been sending scouting strike teams of his own up to a mile inside the Mournlands to gather information. The most recent team was entirely wiped out except for one soldier, who he called up to his office. Lt. Fillmore was a human woman who was missing two arms, replaced by warforged technology. She recalled, under order, the attack on her team, and the appearance of what they believe to be the creature leading these mutants, which soldiers have taken to calling the Mist King.
20 ft tall, matching the description of one of Metrol’s famed Titans, except its face had been replaced by a massive skull and the creature bled. Craig asked the Foundation to kill this abomination, especially if they plan on returning to the Brelish border with any found survivors.
Before they left Craig’s office, he sensed the curse on Vax’s hand and told him to visit the Restoratory on the City Deck where Madame Ebere could help him. Hesitantly, the Foundation took this advice. There, they met a halfling woman who evaluated Vax’s hand and showed him the curse placed on it. After Vax agreed to have the curse removed, Ebere first tried
remove curse, but the curse proved too strong for this. After some internal debate, Ebere took a coatl feather from a jar and told Vax that it was going to hurt before casting
greater restoration.
Vax managed not to initially pass out from the spell, but when Ebere pulled the curse from his body, Vax’s mind reeled. There, in some strange space, Vax saw a tawny skinned, pointy-eared person from the back. The figure noticed Vax’s presence, put on a mithril mask with a 0 carved into the forehead, and turned to face him.
Facing Amon
Amon asked where they were, and wondered aloud how it was happening before realizing that the curse was being removed from Vax finally. Vax tried to taunt Amon, but his prodding fell on much more confident ears. Amon returned the favor, telling Vax that for all of his showboating and names he’d given himself over the years, none had been truthful. Instead, he suggested more accurate names: Vax the Lonesome. Vax the Empty.
In stunned silence, Vax listened as Amon continued, noting that he had found confidants, yes, but asked if he could really call them companions. Did he really know them that well? Would he truly die for each and every one of them? Then, he called Vax out for his newest friend, Azazel, implying that the pact with him was not strength, but an admission of weakness. Lastly, he wondered aloud why the devil had struggled to broker a deal with some of Vax’s companions. Who held that power that bested a patron capable of bestowing magic on mortals? With that, Amon’s presence left Vax and he returned to the Restoratory as the curse was pulled from his hand, turning to dust that fell to the ground. Madame Ebere immediately blew the dust from her quarters and Vax turned invisible and misty stepped from the room. He wandered to the edge of the City Deck overlooking the open countryside and stood there for a while. After some time, he disguised himself and headed to the nearest bar on the City Deck where he drank himself into a stupor.
The rest of the Foundation knew that Vax would come back in time and finished talking to Madame Ebere, thanking her for her services. They spent the next few hours buying and readying supplies for their expedition, unsure of what they would do should they find survivors inside.
As night came upon the Argonth, the war sirens began to blare. On the ground at the border of the Mournlands, mutant warforged began to charge from the mists and twenty feet above, a skull wreathed in metal appeared from the wall.
Comments