The party recovered for a few hours after their investigation and debriefing with Asmund the paladin. Asmund left to strategize with his mentor, Blume, an old elf. Kyllar suddenly realized that neither he nor Asmund has mentioned “Castro“ Kazgaroth and the note Kyllar sent, and left to find his scaled manservant.
As Sharn roused itself for the new day, rumors began to get louder; the threat of a crusade being launched was growing by the minute. The remaining members of the party, consisting of Turnin the human monk, Rhogar the dragonborn fighter, Gnofulk the gnome barbarian and Shadowale the halfling rogue, debated amongst themselves what they should do.
They reasoned that the reason for the crusade was the Daask attack, which they had determined to be a set-up. They (and Asmund and Blume) were the only ones to know this. Perhaps, if they met with the commanding officer of the Silver Flame, a typically stubborn dwarf named Steven Brighthammer von Carlsburg Jr., they could convince him in the error of launching such a violent endeavor. The only dissenting voice was Gnofulk, who wanted to travel to the Cogs, and warn his friends there. However, majority ruled, and the party set out towards the barracks of these warriors of the Silver Flame.
They traversed the city towards their goal, still hearing the fearful rumors of imminent crusade, and soon found themselves joined by Asmund, who greets the party as Friends, and states that he was also on his way to reason with Steve, though he didn’t they would be successful, though mentioned that he and his mentor, Blume, had formulated a back-up plan. Shadowale gleefully inquired what might happen if Steve should be introduced to a knife… but was eventually dissuaded by the rest of the party, who didn’t want to think up a way out of that hypothetical predicament. They walked through a tower, and arrived in a small room with a door open to the sky. Asmund signaled, and a drawbridge from another tower was lowered, and the party entered the barracks.
The party passed a few guards, took a quick turn, and found themselves in a tall, spacious training room. Steve Brighthammer von Carlsburg Jr. was waiting for them, flanked by nearly a dozen Silver Flame lackeys.
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| This Guy. |
The party made their case, arguing that the Daask weren’t responsible; that there was another faction, probably affiliated with necromancy, manipulating things and this was playing into their hands; that there was bound to be accidental deaths as most of the population of the Cogs weren’t actually affiliated with the Daask criminal group.
Each point was stubbornly dismissed by Steve Brighthammer von Carlsburg Jr. It was his solemn duty to smith evil in all its forms. The Daask are evil, and he has a chance to cleanse them quickly from Sharn, so he must take it. The cleric massacre was coincidental – and if another faction is in the mix, they will be dealt with in turn. And even if there are a few unfortunate deaths in this endeavor, it will be worth it to smite the evil Daask. In any case, the orders have already been given; Many of the faithful have already departed for the Cogs.
Surrounded by this many Silver Flame lackeys, violence is out of the question, and the party has determined that like Asmund feared, this diplomatic attempt was in vain. They and Asmund turn to depart. Steve calls after Asmund to stay out of the way, and threatens that if Asmund returns, and it is not to join in this holy work, blood will be spilled.
Once back over the drawbridge and out of earshot, the party sets to planning scheming. After traversing several towers and descending several levels, the party remembers Asmund is still quietly traveling with them. Turnin inquires what Asmund will do, and the rest of the party asks if Asmund would accompany them. Asmund informs the party that he intends to kill Steve, and that he must face him. Alone.
The party is a little unnerved by the calm talk of paladin-on-paladin slaughter. And asks why that would make a difference. The Silver Flame soldiers have their orders, even killing their commander, what would stop them from sticking to their plan?
Asmund states that that is where the back-up plan formulated by him and his mentor, Blume comes into play. The party realizes that they’ve completely overlooked this information, and chide Asmund for keeping all this to himself on their planning stroll.
Blume was, prior to joining the Order of the Wayward Blades, a respected tactician and strategist. Steve is more of an unimaginative “company man,” and needs help to plan and conduct this crusade. Blume has joined on, and has established himself as Steve’s second-in-command. Should Steve meet his end… Blume is ready to step up and call the whole thing off.
Again, the party chides Asmund for keeping this to himself, and ask what they can do to help. Asmund assumed the party would be doing more noble work than he; traveling to the Cogs to save what innocents they could, just like they had been discussing doing. Asmund says he has some preparations to make, and stresses that the plan hinges on dealing with Steve and getting Blume into command. Should he fail (the party trades looks), it will fall to the party to deal with Steve Brighthammer von Carlsburg Jr. Asmund departs, and the party considers the best way to enter the Cogs…
They decide to enter the way they had previously exited; through a large tunnel near the foundry belonging to the society of Warforged, with which they had worked. Unfortunately, as they approached the Cogs, they found their path entirely blocked by a barricade of melted metal fused with the surrounding rock. Turnin politely knocks, but can hear nothing on the other side, nor can see any way to actually open the melted barricade. It would take too long to force their way through, and when they left it a few days ago with Wrench and Gofer, it was abandoned, so there’s a chance it still is, and all that work would be in vain and there would not be any warforged to warn.
So the party abandons this route. They know of two other ways into this area of the Cogs. One is in a Daask controlled neighborhood, which they choose to avoid, and instead enter the Cogs through a more traveled tunnel (the same way they arrived when they first visited), hoping to encounter and save some of the Cogsfolk they have met before, like the goblin Zoop, owner and operator of the occasionally noxious Zoops Soups.
Up ahead, the party sees an armed group of about a dozen humans and elves. They ready their weapons, approaching the group cautiously. They pause when they notice the soldiers aren’t dressing Silver Flame livery; they are members of the Sharn City Watch.
The group cautiously approach, and the presumed leader of the group of Watchmen, an old, stately-looking Elf, calls out to our approaching heroes, warning them away, as the Cogs is about to become a violent place. The party continues to cautiously approach, and soon the party realizes that this must be Blume, and Blue realizes that this must be Asmund’s friends and intrepid investigators.
Blume informs the party that he called in some favors, and taken this small cohort of Watchmen from their usual patrols on his trip down to the Cogs. They will hold this entrance and provide the inhabitants of the Cogs with a safe way out. Asmund will try and slay Steve. Once that happens, Blume has sealed orders in his name to be delivered to the Silver Flame soldiers, calling a ceasefire, which will be honored, as Blume is the rightful second-in-command of this expedition.
The party declines to take the orders, but asks what else they can do to help. The typical rumble of industry and gurgle of lava flowing is beginning to be overtaken by a chaotic, panicked din. Blume doesn’t know the extent of Steve Brighthammer von Carlsburg Jr.’s plans, but knows that small bands of paladins have been sent into the residential areas to seek out the Daask. Blume suggests intercepting these bloodthirsty patrols, and sending any innocents towards this tunnel to escape the Cogs.
The party grimly nods, and sets out.
They don’t wear the colors of the Siler Flame, and are able to convince some bystanders to flee towards the safety of the City Watch. They don’t make it far into the slums before they encounter a Silver Flame patrol, who have scared most of the local population away, but are assaulting a small two-story hut. A small group of goblins cowers on the rooftop, while a pair of Silver Flame crossbowmen take pot shots; a pair of greatsword-wielding paladins try and breach the rubble barricade on the first floor, and a final, fifth Silver Flame soldier barks orders.
The party opts for a more diplomatic approach, and asks what is going on. The commander tries to shoo the party away, and is unconcerned, choosing to focus on eliminating the “evil” looking creatures on the roof. The party points out that the goblins above are not armed, and this isn’t even a Daask neighborhood. The commander replies that the whole area is suspect, and to be treated as evil, and that the party should be on their way.
With a quick nod and a wink, Turnin and Shadowale pounce, and catches the patrol unaware. Turnin is a swift striker, and batters one crossbowman with a few well-placed strikes from his staff, while sweeping the leg of the second crossbowman with a kick, almost as an afterthought. Shadowale, apparently giddy with the thought of violence, lunges at the talker, landing many cuts against the unsuspecting zealot, though none of them particularly grievous. The rest of the party joins in before the Silver Flame patrol can react. Turnin and Shadowale continue their attack; Rhogar charges the pair assaulting the house; and Gnofulk makes an effort to coolly incapacitate the leader of the patrol with the butt of his magical axe.
Turnin likewise takes down a crossbowmen without killing him, and convinces the remaining shooter to try and get the patrol to stand down. The soldier is convinced, but is too terrified to do much, and whispers “guys, we should stop and surrender” a few times to himself before a merciful bump on the head renders him unconscious. Soon, all but one of the assailants at the door is rendered unconscious. Rhogar, who had weathered several blows from the assailants, and avoided being cowed by their zealous, frightening smites, replied in kind, roaring defiantly in the face of the last man standing, who promptly dropped his sword, soiled himself, blasphemed, and was allowed to run away unharmed.
The unconscious patrolmen are tied up and their weapons confiscated by Gnofulk. The goblins are helped down from the roof, and pointed them owards the safe exit held by the City Watch and Blume. The party marched deeper into the familiar areas of the Cogs, pointing people towards safety. They dumped the patrols weapons into the lave flow, when a familiar derpy screech assailed their eardrums.
“Stupid Dumbbird!” the party cheered, with widely varying degrees of enthusiasm. Kyllar’s familiar, tongue lolling out of the side of its beaked mouth had arrived. Unable to talk, the bird gesticulated towards the bridge, towards which the party had intended to go anyways. The party pressed on, Dumbbird circling above.
Taking cover in a nearby alley, the party surveyed the bridge. A larger Silver Flame patrol was entrenched there; swords guarding the sides and a few crossbows standing on the apex of the bridge being watchful, but obviously not doing a great job, as the party had avoided detection.
The party conferred. All but Shadowale were hesitant to lay waste to the Silver Flame paladins and soldiers. Led by Gnofulk, the party burst out from their hiding spot, running towards the blockade and pleading for help. The guards calmed the party down, and their commander ordered a few men to investigate. The party protested. They claimed to be running from the Daask and that a whole patrol was taken out just a few streets away. The commander hesitated, greedy for the glory of the kill, but wary of abandoning his post. The party flexes as a group, while Turnin masterfully spins his staff.
Not being Daask, or belonging to any of the targeted races, the party offers to guard the bridge for a few minutes. Most of the Cogsfolk have fled; no one is around. The commander can leave them in charge of the bridge for a few minutes, and he can go slay some wicked Daask and rescue his comrades. The commander agrees, persuaded by the party’s communal efforts, and his contingent departs. The party shouts encouragement until the last of the contingent rounds a corner, at which point the party abandons the bridge, traveling towards Zoop’s Soups, Kyllar’s familiar Dumbbird in tow.
The party creeps through the shantytowns alleyways, seeing some buildings abandoned, and some with their slain inhabitants, though they don’t recognize any of the Cogsfolk. They approach Zoops Soups, and believe it to be the former, until they hear frantic goblin pssssting from the room. The diminutive purveyor of occasionally intestine-crippling soups gestures to a partially obscured ladder nearby, and the party climbs up to find that Zoop has relocated to the roof of his building, and had brought a trio of cowardly-looking goblins as well as his soup-holding kitchen gear with him, and was preparing to “soup anyone that got too close!” Once he recovered from the shock of the experience, the train encounter seems to have awakened the warrior within the goblin…
The party quietly debates Zoop on the foolishness of four goblins trying to ambush paladins. The party briefly considers sending Zoop and his companions back towards the city guard, but realize that the Silver Flame patrol formerly guarding the bridge is in that area too, and Zoop could be caught. Before a decision about just what Zoop should do is reached, Kyllar’s familiar lands, squawking, and gesturing wildly to the north.
From their slightly increased vantage point on the roof, the party can see something they had not previously seen in their time in the Cogs; a large dam in the northern end of the cavern, regulating the lava flow as it flowed downstream towards the party. No one can discern exactly why the familiar is so excited, but nobody has a good feeling about it...
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