Episode 17: The Secret of Korda Goldmaster

General Summary

The Returners descended deeper into the Goldmaster Vault, uncovering the truth behind the vault's former mistress, Korda Goldmaster. During the infiltration, they discovered that Korda had once used the legendary Oathkiller Blade to sever all emotional and parental ties to her child with Gundar, a child whose existence had been completely erased from memory and records.

This Lost Child, nameless and forgotten, now lies in stasis in the Empty Heaven, at the distant end of the Clockwork Road. Korda, free of all attachment, revealed the truth to Gundar and left the decision to retrieve their child up to him.

Sable, Gundar’s 4th ex-wife, Sable, and now an ally, confessed that she had wanted the Oathkiller Blade to break her pact with the demon Pis Pis Noel, the Prince of Demons. She will seek the Returners’ help in severing the infernal contract in the near future.

Meanwhile, Veoric’s patron, the artificer Oyxuysi Oyxuys, granted the warlock a 14-use magical web consumable, likely in preparation for the ritual to come.

The party learned of a ritual known as the Ritual of the Lost Name, which may be able to restore the Lost Child to memory and reality.

Back on the surface, the dwarven grapevine buzzed with news: Gundar's many ex-wives had begun sharing a hedron-based group chat, comparing stories about his many eccentricities and legendary beard.

Veoric's Story

As told to Nadja, time the 17th

So, the guard couldn't tell we were there because Jackie had made an illusory door, and we just got him in the back. Taela with her arrows, Salamin with a pounce, Jackie with some insults, Gundar with his thighs, and I knocked him out with my shadow axe.

We were practically drooling over all the magical treasure in that armory, but then I realized two of those armors were starting to move by themselves. They were helmed horrors and started spouting something about activating the traps in the art room.

Thankfully, they didn’t know the door was open and put their blades into me—and a tiger I had tossed at one of ’em. Turned out tiger claws, Taela’s arrows, and Gundar’s fists weren’t very effective, but Jackie calling them “rust buckets” had them all bent out of shape.

I saw the danger of them heading back to the other room, so I hopped off the wall and grabbed them both, wrestling them to a stop. That had them mighty angry, but I masterfully dodged their attacks, pushing away their blows but not letting them go.

Nadja: "You? Masterfully dodged sword attacks?"

Yes, of course. It was then Gundar grabbed the lot of us and dragged us into the art room—even though that was where all the traps were. Taela and Jackie both gave him an earful while they pushed into the armory and attacked from there. These armors were tough. I pulled out my trusty zap gun, but the armor made it hard to hit the animating parts underneath.

Nadja: "I thought you said you were holding both of them. How did you shoot a gun?"

Well, I was holding one with my teeth, of course. Still, it's kind of hard to hit something with a pistol you're holding in your jaws.

Even Gundar was having trouble hitting these things effectively. Getting chewed out by the others must have had an effect. It even got him to drag us back into the armory before we finished the stubborn things. Then we were able to loot the armor, Taela’s new bow, and my axe.

The next room was filled with dreadful beasts, but Taela made friends with them like they were just any other lost mole in the Tortoise.

The next room was some kind of library, and there was a hidden threat only Jackie could see. I felt awful strange just stabbing and swinging at the air, but it kept howling in pain. Then Jackie played his saxophone and all the howling stopped. He said it disappeared. Either way, it left us alone.

The library didn’t have anything special, and even had some children’s books, which seemed a little out of place. Come to think of it, there was a picture of a dwarven girl back in the menagerie as well.

More to the point—we passed through there and found the stairwell to the second floor of the vault. You'll never guess what happened up there.