Session Log 2023-08-08

The group parted ways at the base of the Golarth wall. Ignis and Klaitos made their south way to the center of the city, wanting an audience with whomever was still stationed at the Militia Headquarters. Robin and Ekkels, meanwhile, headed east to see if they could accomplish anything by breaking into the northern Valve Station. Robin paused to muddy the Sirroon Shield to hide its quality.

Ignis and Klaitos sprinted down the main road, drawing curious eyes from hunkering civilians and stray deserter militia, but no obvious pursuit. After several minutes of trying to sprint behind Klaitos's long-legged stride, Ignis found himself winded when they arrived.

Guards around the fortress-like building demanded to know their business, and Klaitos pled that they were there to help on behalf of the Windwatcher's Keep. They recognized the pair, and told them to drop their weapons as a soldier went inside to alert highers-up. Ignis kept a foot on his to make sure he could kick it back up in a hurry.

Ekkels and Robin made their way through the back alleys of north Golarth. Robin made easy progress through the maze of crowded, haphazard streets. Ekkels, following after her, spotted a group of people cowering in a building with the window smashed in. Robin shone her lantern on them, revealing a family crouching over a badly-wounded young man. The man's mother told them that he had been speared by something like a ballista, defending their barricaded neighborhood from raiders, and they had fled here as a result.

Robin inspected the injury but determined it beyond her meager skills. Ekkels climbed to the roof and drew out a crude chaos-magic ritual to amplify his powers. He squinted towards where Klaitos had headed, and spotted his largest friend in the plaza across town next to Ignis. He subjected the latter to his Sptial Exchange magic, and the two suddenly appeared in each other's place.

Ekkels surprised the militia with his sudden appearance atop Ignis's sword. He was able to reassure them by parroting Robin's assurances of aid and nonviolence from when they had encountered the family. Klaitos was deeply confused by the change in roster and only further disturbed by the voice of his other teammate coming from Ekkels' mouth, but the guards kept their weapons down.

Ignis climbed down from Ekkel's ritual on the roof, confused and accidentally disarmed, and healed the man as Robin filled him in. The two of them asked after the raided encampment. They learned that it had been raided by some group from the south, not wearing Torch uniforms, separate from the mutineers to the west. and got directions to see if there was anyone left to rescue. They told the family to make their way to the warehouses and mutineers, and Ignis sent a magic whisper to Torrix to make sure their safe passage was guaranteed.

The two found the encampment a little south of the Valve Station. The area looked as much a warzone as the injured man's torso - the walls and many of the buildings were in ruins, all of which were littered with unmoving bodies. Robin scanned the scene, hoping to understand more of the faction to the south. She found holes and embedded metal bolts that fit what the mother had said about a ballista, but also signs of destructive lightning strikes all over.

Ignis moved from corpse to corpse, looking for signs of life that he could rescue. Wrist after wrist showed no heartbeat, but he felt one move slightly under his arm. He was partway to healing them when it suddenly bolted forward and siezed his arms with a cold grip. Ignis forcefully pushed himself free of the zombie, and sent its head sailing with a vicious kick. Robin realized that more of the bodies were beginning to twitch. They considered burning the battlefield, but decided it would take too long to spread the fire when the city was full of bodies already.

Klaitos and Ekkels were let into the headquarters to find themselves facing down two large squadrons of guards from either side. A giant Torch captain, wielding a sword to rival Krotokos's maul, stared them down. Klaitos explained the situation and made their case: they wanted to secure Golarth airspace for evacuation and supply chain by taking down the mummified dragons. He asked for help only in outfitting the ships of the Hangar for combat, recognizing how little the Torch could afford to truly join forces with them.

The Torch captain, Caergon, told Klaitos and Ekkels that no true alliance based on trust could be forged with enemy terrorists. He refused to tell them if there had been contact with or aid forthcoming from the rest of the Torch. He conceded that if they were willing to cooperate under that level of distrust, he could grant them some assistance - not the least because he didn't want to bet the few squadrons of loyal soldiers he had left on winning a fight with them.

He confessed that deserters had already taken their airships, and he refused to spare so many soldiers that the headquarters would be vulnerable. He instead ordered a handful of militia field engineers to join them to arm their ships. The extended group headed northeast back towards the Warehouse District.

Robin and Ignis arrived at the Valve Station and found it already broken into. A control panel of complex instrumentation had been defaced and abused, but its craft was too sturdy to loot. A periscope-like aperture on the wall had been reduced to a vista of broken lens. On the floor below the control panel sat four small boxes, three of which had been clumsily broken into. Two seemed empty, the third held broken glass and a small yet disconcertingly deep hole. The fourth, Robin opened with care, revealing an apple-sized aether core connected to the machinery of the room.