Session 90

The next day, Gardain brings the party to the market district to a small beaten up boutique shop with a sign reading "Ferrek's Filamentory". Entering the shop, they see an Ashenfolk man holding on to a glowing thread that he is slowly extracting from the arm of an Elven man. Noticing Gardain, the Ashenfolk man finishes extracting this thread from the Elf, who looks haggard and nauseous. He tells the man to leave and come back tomorrow.

After the Elf leaves, Gardain says that he was told Ferrek could help him with a problem. Ferrek reaches out and conjures a glowing thread in the air connected to the monitoring device above the doorway -- the glow coming from it changing from white to blue. He then tells Gardain to speak. Gardain tells Ferrek that the party, clearly not Dwarves, need to enter the mainland. Ferrek understands, saying that what he is seeking is called a glamour, and says that he will require not just payment, but Dwarves he can use as the basis for the glamour that will disguise the group's appearance. He also goes on to describe how the glamour is not perfect and that a sufficient amount of damage from magical sources can cause imperfections or even failure in the glamour. After agreeing, Gardain says he will send some of his compatriots to Ferrek's that night to have their Filament extracted. Dain decides to take the time to go buy some new Mason's Tools and he then sells some magic items to Morgrym and Mortrum at Aellor's Astonishing Archive. Afterwards, the party retires for the night. Returning to Ferrek's the following day, the party sees several small spools with only a small amount of Filament wound around them on a table. Ferrek takes turns going through the process with each of the non-Dwarven party members, taking about two hours per person. He pulls out some of each person's Filament and then binds the Filament of one of the Dwarves to theirs, then inserting it back into their body and performing a ritual which slowly alters each of the party's bodies to resemble the Dwarf the Filament was extracted from. He then extracts a small amount of Filament from each party member, calling it "insurance", saying that if they betray him, he will know and the Filament will allow him to find them no matter where they hide. The party decides to depart Greentide immediately, wanting to test their new "glamours".

As the party reaches the gate, the Runeguard briefly interrogates them, implying they need to make sure they aren't Elves in disguise or something, and ask a ridiculous question, wanting to know the secret ingredient in Dwarven Stonebread, a recipe they say no Dwarf would share with an Elf. After Summer, in her new guise as Lurka Grayheart, correctly guesses the ingredient, the Runeguard laugh and reveal they were just fucking with them while they waited for their Runetech to finish scanning them, and that they were all set. The Runeguard comments about how they should watch out for Yetis on the road, and that while there are some Forgeborn patrolling, you never know where they'll pop up. Another Runeguard lowered the barrier to the outside, and the party passed through. They began their long 23 day journey to Shimmerwind. Along the way, as they were passing through the forest between Greentide and Shimmerwind, a blizzard picked up. They spot some kind of figure on the ground ahead and as they get closer, Dain realizes it's a Forgeborn which has been ripped apart. He investigates further, finding several more Forgeborn which have met similar fates. They decide to ignore it and press on, making camp. Given the fate of the Forgeborn they encountered on the road, they decide to take shelter in Merrick's Tiny Hut, allowing them safety despite the harsh weather and possible predators around them. However, the blizzard carries on into morning and as they break down camp, the Yetis approach and ambush them. The battle is fiercely fought, and all but Summer and Gardain nearly die to the Yeti's savagery. However, they manage to survive the encounter and continue on their way to Shimmerwind. When they arrive, the party except for Dain and Gardain are astonished by the sight of a high speed metal object exiting Shimmerwind to the west, glowing just like all the other Runetech. They question Dain about this and he reveals it's called a Runeway and is used to travel to other places in Reshyk at high speed. The party wonders why they could use such a thing to reach Shimmerwind, and he offers the simple explanation that they simply don't want foreigners to see it. Approaching the city, the Runeguard briefly ask the party about their business, and Gardain pipes up to say that they are here to enroll the party at the Runesmith College and that Dain is their mentor, and Gardain their escort. The Runeguard seem content with this and warn the party to stay away from The Foundry, as they've been working on something lately that has been causing a fierce unpleasant odor. With that, the party moves into the city…

Entering the city, the group sees several sights, including a market stall selling many books with a Dwarf operating the stall wearing special garments that Dain identifies as a member of the Veskim Nul, a Dwarven group that collects all the knowledge of the world to be stored in Hat'aellor, the grand library of Reshyk. They also some more Forgeborn being demonstrated. However, most interestingly, Summer spots a small Human child and a Human woman trailing behind her browsing the market. She points them out to Dain, who is confused, but recognizes them as Samira and Sabine. He goes after them and asks Samira what they are doing there and seems to believe they are going about unnoticed -- however, Samira corrects him, reminding him of Sabine's nature and their pilgrimage to the seven Wellsprings, commenting that Aellor's Wellspring is just north of Shimmerwind. She tells Dain that they got special permission from King Rangrim to enter, though Samira's presence was difficult to get permission for and that the Runeguard were keeping a close eye on them. She also brings up that Sabine is apparently having episodes of extreme panic, glancing west towards Arak, and she is worried about what this could mean, and asks Dain if anything has happened since they have been gone from Arak that could explain this. Dain eventually comes to the conclusion that perhaps this is in some way related to their choice to destroy the Chronicle of the Dead by casting it into Lys' Wellspring. Samira finds this troubling, saying that she needs to speak to Archmage Kyran immediately, and after Dain has a brief reunion with Sabine, the party parts ways with them. They continue to the Relieved Librarian while Gardain seeks Marnia in the city. The party gets settled before heading out to check out the local shops. Merrick takes the opportunity to purchase a Rod of the Pact Keeper +2 from Nola at Royal Runecraft, Ferrek's sister, who is not amused by Dain's mention of "ash butt", which Ferrek seemed to indicate would earn them a discount. Nola requests that Dain give him a thrashing next time she sees him. Heading back to their rooms, Merrick decides to attempt to commune with Orick, but something apparently goes wrong and The Deep One appears instead. He appears angry that Merrick has not yet sought the knowledge of how a Flow Cell works, despite Merrick reiterating that he has no idea what that is. After clarifying what they look like and how to find them, the Deep One begins demanding that Merrick carry out his task. Merrick decides to stand up for himself and refuses The Deep One's assertion that he is Merrick's master. The Deep One becomes angry and lashes out at Merrick, flinging him against the wall. After more defiance, the Deep One nearly kills Merrick by siphoning his very life force away. Panicked, Merrick agrees to seek the information, then passes out.

The party rendezvous' with Gardain at the Relieved Librarian, and he takes them over to the industrial district, pushing past the powerful stench being emitted from The Foundry, and bringing them to a small out-of-the-way home where they meet Marnia, as well as several other Dwarves and even two Ashenfolk. She introduces them as a group called "The Underminers". Marnia meets the party and after some banter between her and Gardain that seems oddly flirty, she takes interest in Gardain's cover story that the party are apprentice Runesmiths seeking to join the college, and suggests that they pursue that and see if they can find a way to enter the research department from within, and that perhaps Dain could use his alumni status to add some credibility, and maybe he could throw his name around to get access. However, Dain becomes interested when Marnia mentions her plans to meet with a whistleblower from King Rangrim's royal court they plan to meet with. Marnia does not know the identity of the whistleblower but says they plan to meet with them tomorrow morning and that the information the whistleblower has could be vital. Dain insists on accompanying them and the next morning, he makes himself invisible before trailing along. Arriving at the meeting spot in an alley near Hat'aellor, Dain notices signs that there may have been a struggle, noticing erratic footprints in the snow and a small amount of blood. Marnia agrees to leave and they disband, but not before Marnia suggests that Dain pursue getting the rest of the party into the Runesmith College.

Returning to the Relieved Librarian, the party attempts to find Merrick, and barge into his room, finding him drooling on the floor, still passed out after the Deep One's assault. They wake him and he begins questioning Dain in a panic regarding the Flow Cells the Dwarves use to power their Runetech. Dain is adamant about not revealing this information and even threatens Merrick that if he attempts to obtain this information or to obtain one, he'll kill him. Merrick persists and says that he believes that the Deep One could become a significant problem for the party if they don't get him the information, but Dain and Summer disagree, telling him that it's his problem. Merrick decides that though it may not keep him away for long or at all, his Ring of Mind Shielding is possibly his only defense against preventing the Deep One's random intrusions, noting that when they were in Seryndor, he only ever had communications with the Deep One when he contacted the being first.