29/08/5-10

The group finished their rest in the dome on the lift. They woke up in the dark and could see B72 leaning against the wall, inactive. They decided to leave them rest while they question the captive. He had buried himself in the salt, but was still alive. Valeyo used Suggestion to question him and Otto used Tongues on the captive, to make his speech understood. His name was Igor Kubin and they began questioning him.

1. What is the Violet Flame? - Our God and our saviour.
2. What are your goals? - We trying to make Kingdom of Dragomir the best version of itself.
3. What are your steps for going about this - The whole world under one banner. Not necessarily conquest, but if we all work together, the world would be better.
4. Name some of the influential member of your group. - I can't do that, I only know the one above me, Millian (man we killed) and the one above him Vid.
5. Where are you based? - Here. We don't have bases, we are a people program, trying to make Dragomir the best it can be,
6. What is the Orb that you were carrying? - I do not fully know. I know it is linked with controlling the phoenix. My job was to protect it and I failed.
7. What language were you speaking before? - An old language, the language of the Flame.
8. How did you learn it? - As part of my training I was taught to speak it.
9. Where were you trained? - In Dragomir, on Vid's property.
10. Who is Vid? - A tailor for nobles?
11. How were you recruited? - I was using Vid's services, being from a well-off family (but not truly rich). They were talking about what is best from Dragomir and decided this was it.

They then got out the book and asked him to read from it. He looked over it for a while, but found himself unable to read from it. He said the letters didn't form words. It was likely a higher up could have read it, such as Millian.

1. Did they do anything to you? - They gave me a holy symbol and a tattoo.

On back, right on the shoulder blade was a tattoo in violet ink with some of these letters around it. It seemed unfinished, more likely the start of something bigger. Valeyo turned to Milivoj to ask if he also had one of this tattoo. Milivoj just grabbed his journal and started sketching the tattoo that this man have.

1. Valeyo asked if he had come from Dragomir straight here. If not where did you go and who did you meet. - He went to Skalenvru a few mounts a go and met a dwarf with white hair, without being old and had an enormous beard. He met him at the docks, at Vid's instruction. It is where he grouped up with Millian, before coming here.
2. What was the orb for? - They would use the orb to contain the phoenix and then put it in the large warforged to activate and control it.

Milivoj recalled hearing of the Kubin family, not a large one, but famously trading in silks and textiles. They began talking about what to do with him. Valeyo suggested throwing him through a teleportation circle to Novograd and having Dr Stanov pick him up. They agreed and as B72 was still inactive, they decided to start with returning Sapphira's memory. Cassini cast Greater Restoration and removed not one modified memory, but many.

Sapphira's memory started with her long past, when she was around 15-16. Her stepfather Amir was walking her to Tilda's house. Nobody was doing well financially and when he saw a notice looking for talented individuals, to be guided by the Countess, he took it. The compound was filled with desperate families, looking for a way to lift themselves out of the poverty in Duchtig. Sapphira passed their assessment and she watched her stepfather be given a bag of money and leave, while Sapphira was taken away to meet Tilda. The countess was surprisingly small for her imposing name. Immediately after, she wiped parts of Sapphira's memory. The next memory is of being asked what skills she had, while Tilda began casting spells that affected her mind and changed her way of thinking. Sapphira was part of a small team that "hunted" traders. She was told it would be in the best interest of her family to follow Tilda's orders. They were given lists of names, people to be found tortured and executed for stealing or taking more of their fair share, people who were just trying to survive. Sapphira lived as an enforcer for a while, almost 2 years and eventually her team was up for promotion. They were taken into a laboratory and injected with a large volume of a thick blood-like substance. A magic ritual was performed on them and they were put into tubes, before having their memories changed again. She now remembered the team they worked with, there were five of them - Sapphira, a half-elf, a half-orc a gnome and a human. They were left there to gestate, until the giant walking skull appeared in the lab and began causing havoc, which allowed her to escape. She wasn't sure what happened to the others.

After the memories stopped flowing, Sapphira collapsed on her knees and quietly said "It was all a lie.". She stood there for a while staring at her bow, before saying that there might be other like her. Valeyo told her she didn't need to speak about it if she didn't want to. She said she had hoped this would give her the strength to go back to Velinde, but how she felt like she had been set 2 steps back. He needed time to process this and left. The group spoke amongst themselves, saying it much have been bad memories and deciding to give her space.

Meanwhile they decided to speak with B72 and prepare for speaking with Vincent about the discoveries here. Sadly, B72 wasn't an expert on the technology here, it was G4562 who designed them. If they could find him they could access his memories, but B72 said he had left the facility in a larger ship. They decided to proceed with communicating with Vincent. Otto used Transplanar Telepathy and told Vincent there was a discovery they had made they wanted to share with him. Vincent asked if they knew how early it was, but after hearing what they wanted to show him, he said he would do it. In the next few minutes, they gave him a rundown of the power manufacturing machine and a quick glance of the engine. He asked what it was they wanted him to do and they told him he could use it as part of his work, a more stable way of storing energy than what he had devised. They started to tell him about their plan to buy Sky Stone, but the spell timed out.

They planned how they would do their fly to Moratopp, which would take over 20 hours of flying. They had enough fuel, but B72 wanted to give someone else an explanation on how to fly the Sky Skiff. Milivoj volunteered and while the other were emptying the salt crate, he learnt the basics of flying the vessel. At the designated time, Valeyo sent the captive through a teleportation circle to Novograd with a note asking Dr Stanov to tell them who it is, they are meant to meet.

With that all of their preparations were eventually completed and they loaded the skiff on the lift, which sent them up, revealing a bright sunny day. An so they began travelling south-eastward towards Moratopp.

On the flight over, Valeyo asked Sapphira if she was okay. He told her he could take them to Erlrinner and it would only be a short train ride south to Stormgard. She began telling him a bit of what she had seen. It ended with her asking him if he thought she was a good person. Valeyo assured her that she was and told her that after the war there were many such cases of people having been controlled by the vampires and a lot of debates around their culpability. They way he saw it, they couldn't be held fully accountable for their actions. She thanked him and asked if he was planning his trip to Velinde to be a long one. Valeyo told her there was still much he had to do in Ikoval, so it would only be for a few days. It has been almost 3 years since he had seen his family, his mother will have had another election and his sisters would be college age now. He hasn't exactly been very good about writing home, since they started travelling so much.

Dr Stanov sent Valeyo a message, the person they were to meet was a goliath called Dobrovnik Kartofi. They find him at the Cable House.

After a long flight, they could see the spiraling city of Moratopp, built on the side of a mountain, now quite as tall as the one they had come from. Above it, inactive was the Peladin forge and to the side was a Sky Port with a much larger Skyship than their own. Milivoj parked the vessel carefully. They all got to stretch their legs and Valeyo told them of Dr Stanov's message. Otto recognized the Cable House as an restaurant and hotel in the north eastern part of Moratopp. Valeyo asked if Otto had any recommendation of where to stay. While they was chatting one of the Skardir in a the brass coloured armour of the Sun Guard approached. He told them this was an unscheduled arrival and asked after their boat. They told him it was an odd one and Valeyo asked if he was city watch. The man said that he effectively was, explaining there were two city watches - the Sun Guard and the Hawks. The Hawks tended to go further afield than just the city and saw themselves as more important. Both had the law behind them, but only one protected the solar forge. They warned him of their "pet" and the guard said that was not a pet and he wasn't sure what protocol was. Ultimately he decided to take them to a holding room where they could wait for the portmaster. He walked them over and wished them a pleasant stay in Moratopp.

While waiting they talked about the Solar Forge. Otto mentioned he had seen parts of it, but not the full thing, as they only really let craftsman walk there freely. He did say, he could work on getting them some accommodation and sent a message to his mother Aina, telling her he was at the Sky Port with some friends. She was very glad to hear it and told him he should come home soon, as they had to speak. Milivoj asked B72 if he remembered there being a town here in the past. After thinking for a bit, he said he had believed there was, but not nearly of this size.

After a bit the door opened and an old white haired dwarf with a short beard and thick robes walked into the room. He greeted them and said they were no expected. Valeyo told him they were travelers looking to pay their port fees and be on their way. He looked over the group and the displacer beast and asked if they knew where they were staying. Otto said it would be at the Brandvold estate. The dwarf asked if he was a member of the clan. When he confirmed it, the man gave him his condolences before telling him Ulf Brandvold died three weeks ago. The portmaster told them they could leave and their documents would be sent to the Brandvold estate, before leaving. Valeyo asked Otto who Ulf was and saw Otto's dark expression, as he said it was his father. He told them it was probably best if they came with him and left their stuff, then they could do whatever they wished, while he dealt with family matters.

Soon after they arrived at the finely carved stone walls of a large building with a sign reading "Brandvold Distillery". Shiek mentioned Janske having had some of the alcohol on his ship and otto told him not to mention it to his mother, she would be livid at being wasted. They walked in and on the wall by the door were a large number of awards from all manner of contests and establishments praising the quality of the bar.

After they had entered, from the back came a female Skardir that Otto didn’t recognize. She was holding a baby dwarf and walked up to him, saying "You are Otto?.". He told her he didn't know who she was and she introduced herself as Linda, Gunnar's wife, before holding up the baby and saying this was Selma, his niece. Otto said he was surprised his brother had settled down. Linda told him she would take him to his mother and asked if his friends wanted to come it. He told her they would just walk around town and followed her in.

The others talked about what to do, wanting to occupy themselves so Otto could have some space. Valeyo suggested they go to the Cable House to see about this contact. Milivoj mentioned wanting to sell the Temerian Swords, but decided it may be best to do so when they visit the forge. After asking around, they were told if they needed to head to the lower they get to the Cable House, as they were in the highest level, where the forge and other esteemed craftsman were. Their goal was the Cable House itself, which was a large building by where these cable carts, which were large enough for whole wagons, cycled through. The Cable House itself was a large building of white stone, which had a sign saying "Cable House, hotel for distinguished travelers and craftsman." Sat inside, they could easily see the only goliath there. A large man with no hair on his head of dace, covered in tribal-like tattoos, weaking plate armour. His pale blue skin almost blending in with the colour of the steel. By his side were a traveler's pack and a large great axe with icy mist exuding from its edge. The rest of the restaurant was packed, as it was near dinner time.

They approached the table and asked the Goliath if he was Dobrovnik and he said they must be Dr Stanov's guys. He was surprised they were missing two of their group, but Valeyo told him one of them was busy and the other just outside with his cat. Dobrovnik said it was probably best that they left the displacer beast outside. They were surprised he knew of it, as they got it after meeting Dr Stanov. He them said it was best if they spoke alone and lead them up to his room. They noticed he was extremely tall, standing at 7 feet 3 inches and seemed to be in his early 30s. Once in the room, they asked what the information they had for them was.

He said he didn't have everything, as they only shared info every few days. From what Dr Stanov and the others he recruited had found, the incursions have been going on for around 6 months and had been see as far north as Itacey. King Dragomir has been advised to spend more resources on resolving the incursions, which caused Zelik Chernov and Marta Grabow to start recruiting people to help the effort of pushing the incursions back. Dobrovnik was trained by Marta. They asked why he was here and he said Dr Stanov had taken him in his employ and had sent him here to try to learn more about the different variations of the incursions. When asked what demons he had seen he listed four, some of which the group recognized. Dr Stanov's theory is that a high ranking member of the courts of Dragomir might be involved in this, but he had no evidence to confirm it. Dobrovnik said that the Dr was usually right, in his experience, so this is not looking good. Valeyo asked why he was to meet them here exactly and Dobrovnik got quiet. A bit later he said that Dr Stanov believed there may be an incursion here in the next few days, but he wouldn't say how he knew. Dobrovnik himself had only been told a couple of days ago and Dr Stanov had been saying he is more and more sure of it happening recently. Milivoj asked if he knew the target and was told it was likely the Solar Forge. When asked about his training with Marta, Milivoj said he didn't look like the squire type. Dobrovnik admitted that he used to be a farmer, he suffered a demonic attack and was saved by Marta, who then offered to train him. Valeyo asked why he was working for Dragomir, when he was from Malzem. Milivoj looked at him funny, but Valeyo continued. Dobrovnik said he wanted to help protect other, regardless where they were from.