Session 96

Agreeing with Balvin's suggestion of meeting with his other brother, Thovil, in Rimelight, Dain sets about gathering up the bodies of the Forgeborn they had fought and piling them up, along with the inert Forgeborn Infiltrators found in the crate the Runeguard were transporting. He rigs one of them to cause a feedback loop in their internal Flow Cell to cause an explosion and the party retreats to a safe distance to watch the fireworks as the Forgeborn are consumed by a large blast of raw magical energy. Afterwards, figuring that word from Shimmerwind has probably reached Greentide about them, and the fact that Glondor had spotted Dain in Greentide when they sabotaged the Forgeborn, they figured it was time to get going to Rimelight. But before moving out, Balvin decides to change his appearance a bit by disguising his bright red hair by running some grease through them to turn his hair black. The party then got on the road, taking about 38 days to reach the town of Rimelight, a fishing town with a small port. The town was quaint, not having as much Runetech in usage and featuring architecture more akin to that of Arak. The party made their way to a tavern called the Keening Cod to settle in and get some rest and food before trying to find Thovil.

Inside the tavern, they found a busy scene with many tables full of Dwarves talking animatedly while a bar maid rushed around to bring people drinks. Then Merrick's eyes settled on a table with a lone woman who was very much not a Dwarf. It took a moment for him to realize who he was looking at, given that her appearance was slightly different than last he saw her, but he realized it was none other than Estrea. He moved over to the table, with the other Dwarves seemingly oblivious to her presence, and Estrea took a sip from a mug of ale, commenting about being unsure as to why mortals enjoy the drink, as it tastes quite vile. Merrick questioned about her presence and Dain realized a little later than the others who he was talking to, commenting about her change in appearance. Estrea replied that she changes her appearance as it suits her, as a mortal woman might change her makeup. She then told Merrick that she was aware of the Deep One's increasingly angry disposition and that he seeks only one thing -- to understand WHO and WHY he is, but said that he is apparently incapable of comprehending this and that if he ever were to discover the nature of his existence, it would be "catastrophic" for Aellorah. After Merrick questioned whether Estrea herself knew what he was, she confirmed that she did, but could not say more, as it was dangerous information that could have strong implications for mortal relations with divine beings, and she did not want the information making the rounds. She told Merrick that under no circumstances should he comply with the Deep One's requests for information regarding magic, divine beings, the creation of the world, or the Dwarves, and that he was right to resist the Deep One's probing about Flow Cells. She said that although she is unsure yet exactly what, giving the Deep One information of any kind appears to have some impact on the world. She said that for all of his other insane requests, it was best to just comply for now while she and her sisters sought an answer. Estrea told Merrick that he was in a better position than he believed to resist the Deep One and that she believed he would not take his life, only make him wish he had, and that he needed Merrick and his other Fathomless to seek information for him. She also told him that he was an "Adamant", someone who for unknown reasons had the ability to resist the Deep One's whispers, explaining why he had not died the day his parents had in the Whispering Abyss, and why the Deep One had taken an interest in Merrick in the first place. She concluded by assuring Merrick that Orick would return shortly. As the party digested this, they decided to have dinner, feasting on some fish and chips before retiring for the night. As Merrick did some light reading to pass the time, he heard an extremely unnerving gurgling sound from somewhere in his room and froze, not seeing anything in the darkness, and felt a sensation of the room closing in on him. He figured it must be the Deep One, toying with him, and tried to "poke the bear" so the speak by goading him, eliciting a sudden ear-piercing shrieking sound directly right next to him. He further prodded the Deep One, asking what he wanted. The Deep One replied with his latest incomprehensible request -- he wanted to know how Balvin's hair grease tasted…

The next morning, as the party gathered for breakfast, Merrick made everyone VERY uncomfortable by casually walking past Balvin and dipping a finger in his hair before running off to his room, where he tasted the hair grease, gagging before asking the Deep One if he was happy. The Deep One groaned in amusement and suddenly, Merrick found himself unaware of the events of the past few minutes, looking at his finger wondering why it was covered in grease. He wiped it off before thumbing through his Book of Shadows, finding an odd note saying "The Deep One wants me to taste Balvin's hair grease…" Very confused, he wanders downstairs, where the rest of the party begins chastising him for being weird, to which he seems to genuinely not remember the events. He suspects the Deep One is responsible, but is unsure how yet, and apologizes to Balvin. Unnerved, the party decides to head out to find Thovil.

Arriving at the town port, Balvin speaks to the dockmaster and is pointed toward his brother's ship. As the party walks up the plank to the deck, Thovil spots them approaching and throws up his hands with a grunt of displeasure. Dain questions this, wondering what his problem is, and Balvin says that Thovil has been rather cross with his brothers for choosing to advise on King Rangrim's council due to King Rangrim's policies and maintenance of his father's border closure, which he feels stagnates Dwarven culture by cutting them off from the rest of the world. Balvin attempts to talk to his brother, but Thovil is rather grumpy and refuses to talk until Dain steps in. The two share a brief exchange where Thovil seems very agitated and just wants to go about his business and doesn't want to get involved at all. However, Dain manages to convince him to at least give them a ride to Frostport, the location of The Nexus. Thovil tells them to get their things on board and be ready to leave the next day. After setting out, the party spends a turbulent 11 days sailing toward Frostport, dealing with some very choppy, stormy waters. However, they arrive safely and disembark, almost immediately being met with the sight of posters on walls with a crude drawing of King Rangrim pointing toward them with the text (in Dwarvish) reading "King Rangrim wants YOU to be a Forgeborn Pilot!", with instructions to inquire about the program at the Icepeak Inn. Deciding to investigate, they made their way to the Icepeak Inn, where they inquired about the program. They were directed toward a Dwarf sitting alone at a table. They spoke to the man, who began to ask them questions about why they were interested in the program and a few other questions that seemed geared toward judging their sense of national allegiance. The man seemed pleased with the party's answers and decided to bring them to their orientation at The Nexus to get them trained and put them on their first shift. He led them to an apparently abandoned building, where Dain commented that it must be more than what it appears to be, and the man replied by waving his hand in front of a wall, causing the brickwork to fold to the side, revealing a passage to a small room with several Forgeborn guarding a platform. He led them to the platform, where they were lowered into the ground. After being lowered for a seemingly long time, they arrived at the bottom, where they found metallic hallways where the man led them to a training room. The party took their seats alongside some other Dwarves and the instructor began to explain how the piloting worked, showing a set of pieces of Runetech that were used for controlling the Forgeborn remotely. They spent several hours listening, learning what was expected of them, before the instructor decided to lead them to the Control Room so they could get started.

In the Control Room, the instructor led each of the party members to a pilot's booth, where a small platform allowed them to walk continuously in one direction without actually moving. The room was seemingly filled with hundreds of similar booths and about half as many Dwarves operating them. There was also seemingly a supervisory area where numerous screens lit up a small platform with a single Dwarven woman watching the screens. Dain connected to his Forgeborn first, being treated to the sight of an Elf in an unfamiliar place having a Forgeborn in tow, bringing him into a secret basement of a wealthy-looking home, and entering some sort of laboratory where he had several people captive in cages, some of whom were missing appendages. He removed a woman from a cage, who tried to struggle, but the Forgeborn restrained her at the Elf's request, and pinned her to a table, where he surgically began removing one of her hands. Dain struggled to watch the gruesome scene, but looked for identifying details that might help reveal who this Elf was in case they had the chance to bring him to justice. After putting the exhausted woman back in her cage, the Elf returned to the surface, and Dain decided to disconnect. The instructor commented that these sorts of things happened, and they've seen worse, but that Dain should be sure to record anything he sees so they can document it in case they found enough information to bring people like this to justice later. Next, Summer connected to a unit, and comes face to face with none other than Tamas in Fort Elden, with a now adult Ronan in the background, both looking with scowls at the Forgeborn who was standing in the midst of the human encampment in Fort Elden. Summer attempted to give Tamas a warning not to trust the Forgeborn, but as soon as the Forgeborn moved of its own volition, Tamas and Ronan immediately had their weapons trained on it. Summer bent to the ground and used the Forgeborn's finger to write a short message in the ground identifying herself and advising him not to trust them, to which Tamas responded with "But… we already don't!" Merrick is treated to the sight of a Forgeborn leading a group of Enforcers he recognized as those the group encountered on their way to Nolaviath on their journey to Reshyk, into a cave where the Forgeborn is attacked by Goblins who attempt to shoot it, only for the arrows to bounce off its chassis. It then charged forward and decapitated several Goblins before decimating the rest. It returned to a startled Enforcer, who commented "Damn things will put us out of a job…" Finally, Dorin was connected to a Forgeborn who was seemingly in Mythwell based on the magic appearance of the city it was in, and it was led by what appeared to be a magic user into a laboratory in the basement of the Elf's home. The instructor began to get nervous, and as the Elf began studying the Forgeborn and then casting a spell to contain it within a cage, the instructor decides to hit the Abort button on the control panel, after which Dorin sees a brief flash before his connection to the Forgeborn is severed. The instructor explains that occasionally someone gets too curious and attempts to study the Forgeborn, and that they need to take such measures to ensure nobody uncovers secrets of Runetech by such means.

Dain decides to go around looking for a Forgeborn pilot's booth with a connection to a Forgeborn in Eldham. He eventually locates one and redirects the Forgeborn, taking it to the Messy Cushion and checking to see if Chandira's shop was in town. Seeing that it was, he proceeded to try to enter, but was warded away. A startled Chandira jumped to her feet, wand in hand, cursing at the Forgeborn and telling it to get away. Dain used his fingers to draw Aurum runes in the air to phonetically spell out his name, which Chandira picked up on. She let him in before concealing the entrance and asking what he was doing. He explained the situation and told her not to trust the Forgeborn. After disconnecting, he leaves the Control Room. The rest of the party splits up, trying to gather information. Dain is in luck and finds 3 sleeping Runeguard alone in the barracks, and removes their Runelinks, which allows him, Summer, and Dorin to explore some previously locked areas, including the Manufacturing Area, where they are startled to see a large warehouse full of machines producing hundreds of Forgeborn, including two massive 30 ft. tall Forgeborn in the rear of the warehouse. There is a Dwarf wandering about giving orders that appears to be some sort of foreman. However, seeing nothing of use here, they head around to various doors looking for one they can access, but are disappointed to see that they still do not have clearance to enter any of the important rooms, such as the Archive, Flow Repository, or the Overseer's room. They decide to try to chat up Overseer Kali in the Control Room to see if they can gather some information. Dorin's idea of gathering information is to try to flirt with her very awkwardly, which elicits an uncomfortable and irritated response from Kali -- however, Dorin never intended to gather information and simply wanted to familiarize himself with her face so that he could scry on her later. Meanwhile, Dain spoke with her and learned her full name, Kali Jendor, and briefly attempted to ask her about the Flow Repository, which made her suspicious and caused her to dismiss him, telling him to get back to work. As Dain walked away, he spotted a Dwarf who seemed to have a look of recognition on his face, who began speedwalking away from Dain…

Dain decided to pursue the Dwarf, who walked out into the hallway, where he began sprinting. Dain caught up to him and grabbed Stormsmasher, threatening the man and demanding to know how the man knew him. The man played dumb, and they were unable to get any real information out of him. Seeing him as a threat to their cover, Dorin read his thoughts and discovered that the man was thinking "Have to warn Glondor!". At the mention of his uncle, Dain told Dorin to put him down for a nap, and Dorin used Suggestion to put the man to sleep. Then, they had an idea, and decided to return two of the Runelinks to the sleeping Runeguard in the barracks, and fitted the third one to the sleeping Dwarf, and doused him in alcohol, hoping that when the third Runeguard awoke, they would find the sleeping man and think he drunkenly stole their Runelink. The party then made a beeline for the Mess Hall so they could settle down and gather their thoughts. While there, they overheard some gossip, with one group talking about the Vesperkin who had not only dismantled Runetech, but escaped from The Vault, alongside a Dwarven man named Veit, who when Dain asked, the group filled him in that Veit had previously been caught attempting to share secrets of Runetech with members of the Sorcerer's Cabal, and that they were afraid of what might happen if he made it off the mainland before they found him.