The episode opened with our party finding their seats in a small temple contructed by and used for generations by Delilah's family just half a day's walk west in the mountains of Bur Boldor. As they sat down and Bjorn took his place in front of the forge and anvil, they thought back to the happenings over the past few weeks.
LUCKY: Recevied a letter back from Fabian:
Light on your purse, Lucky,
Brick-Nest stacked neat until the Gray-Curtain flipped the board. Now a hush lies thick as forge-soot. Big-Scales keeps hearth-folk snug, yet the dune-striders in the Brass-Sea caught the stone-kiss—rock racks, every one.
If glass-stars break that kiss, two rabbit holes gape in Sky-Nest:
Lift ’em—sweeter tune. Crack the night-veins below and shake loose the sparkle. Whistle, and I’ll chalk the crawl.
Dance for the Cat-Queen. Present your faces, ask to be “weighed and wound” inside her Cog-House. Step soft; the gears bite.
Mind, when the stone-sweep rolled, Sky-Nest sprouted wings—now drifts high, ringed by a razor dust-devil. Bring a sky-rig and brass guts.
Shadow’s grace, Fabian
Hi Lucky,
Things had been progressing well here in Kad-Abrah. That is until it seems the world turned upside down. It's like some spell has fallen on the land here. The power of Novax, our dragon, seems to have someone shielded those within our growing stronghold from the effect, but for those wandering in the desert at the time, they were not as lucky. Stone-- all of them. If the diamonds are what you need to help with this petrification I can definitely help you with some leads. You have two options with Al-Khazam. You could steal them, which is more fun, or you can prove yourself to Tabitha, the leader of Al-Khazam. The first option would be cooler. If you're looking to steal them you'd have to target the mines in the Underdark. If that's the direction you want to go I can meet up with you all again and develop a plan. Just let me know. If you want to prove yourself to Tabitha, you need to present yourselves to her and state that you want to be examined in the Clockwork Temple. But do so lightly. I've heard of horrors that lie therein. Another factor is how you intend to get the Al-Khazam now. When this stone force swept across the land it triggered some sort of mechanism in the city. It floats in the sky now, surrounded by a violent sandstorm. You'll need some sort of solution and a heavy set of balls.
Best of luck, Fabian
Lucky gains a deep sense of understanding that the Clockwork Temple is a trial.
GALLOGK: Finds his time in Dhur Dezo to be fruitful. He is able to lift he curse on Tirithiel. Deeply moved and grateful, she changes her name to Tyr-ithiel as a symbol of her conversion to the Tyrran faith. She becomes a Paladin of Tyr and swears to defend Dhur Dezo with her life and use her time to bring more people to the faith. Gallogk with gain +5 followers per week as converts to the faith. During his time, Gallogk is plagued by the same dream every night:
Stepping onto the last span of the silver lattice bridge, you find yourself hanging over an impossible hollow—an inside-out sphere whose walls glow like distant aurora. Suspended at its center turns a colossal engine of creation: three concentric rings the size of citadels counter-spin on mismatched axes, one of black adamant, one of living crystal, one of molten daylight that flows yet never drips. Between them swarm dozens of lesser cog-wheels, each rimmed with mirrored runes that shatter the light into whirling comets. No metal grinds; instead a single bone-deep chord thrums through the air, resolving every few heartbeats into a syllable of Celestial you feel more than hear. Sparks of scripture drift off the rims like fireflies, and each breath tastes of ozone, forge-heat, and oncoming rain. Stare too long at the innermost wheel—a fractal spoke spinning so fast it appears motionless—and the void tilts, as though gravity has forgotten its place. In the center, where an axle should be, gapes a column of perfect nothingness. The whole contraption radiates both sanctuary and threat, as if the next heartbeat could birth a new world—or erase this one without notice.
SANKARA:
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