Full Metal Archivist – 5.10.2021 – Delilah

Rolled into a palm sized tube is a copy of research notes, a notice, and a piece of nondescript parchment written in a mix of common, symbols, and elvish.


ASSIGNMENT REPORT #15

People/Organisations of Note:
Oziah Daybreaker – holy warrior, aasimar (fallen), female; Mount: Deimos (skeletal)
Laurel Shortstride – nature cleric/mage (blessed by Summer?), halfling, non-binary; pet goat, Poppy
Felix Gould – versemaker, dwarf, male
Ivan Erikson – barbarian/berserker, human, male
Carnán – forest walker, firbolg, male; pet direwolf, Ulfr
Quentin Duvius – scholar of planar mechanics (specialising in mechanical plane), elf, male
Garria Bornull – Delver, scholar of Gadenthor, orc, female
Bridger – Arcanetheril, mage, tabaxi, male
Warden Timber – Exterminatus, fighter, goliath, male
Jack – THE FUGITIVE, hexadron, male

Locations:
Daring Heights – Dawnlands city
Gadenthor – fallen Netherese City, just outside of Harnash
The Shades – settlement at the base of Gadenthor, populated by Delvers, Archanetherils, and Exterminatus
The Forge of Tomorrow – mechanical(?) and magical(?) forge located in Gadenthor

Body:

UPDATE ON THE HUNT FOR THE FUGITIVE KNOWN AS JACK! FOR QUEEN MIANDRA EYES ONLY!

Research conducted at Daring Academy was informative, but had been held hostage by one Quentin Duvius – an elven scholar who wanted a chance to explore the fallen Netherese city Gadenthor. The agreement that had been told to me was to help him on an expedition to the ancient city – in collaboration with the local delvers, mages and fighters – to explore a place called the Forge of Tomorrow. There was where we found not only The Fugitive but what appeared to be his overtaking of a mechanical and magical forge, used to build gigantic, mechanical golems.

Whilst the Harnashi Devlers, Archanethril and Exterminatus’ valiantly climbed up or made use of Shortstride’s summoned giant owls to get to the operation control room, the party that had answered the summons to help (Daybreaker, Shortstride, Gould, Erikson, and Carnán) stayed to engage with a huge, mechanical crab-like golem – and The Fugitive.

None of the others knew Jack on sight. Had I not happened to see him when we were in Mechanus even I would not have known for sure – but I had seen him, and he knew that I had. He was unprepared to meet the quick steel in my hands – a stunning dance where the singing of the blades was sweet as the stars in the night sky – but as it transpired the Jack we faced was not the real one. It was but a copy of the hexadron made of ice and snow, something that, though my knowledge of the arcane is small, I did not think possible.

I hope to one day dance with the actual Jack.

As it transpired, the Fugitive was not the one who had reactivated the Forge. That had been the doing of the golem engineer who had run the Forge back when the city still flew in the skies. The forger had reset the forge to the city’s new, sideways orientation and then spent centuries constructing mechanical golems, each deadlier than the last, and since no one was around to tell the creature it had done good or bad work it kept on building and building. It is unclear how Jack came to know of this place – or if, once having built the crab-like golem that we fought, the forger had built anything for Jack – but it had been utterly destroyed by the Fugitive.

The research which had been held hostage from me for over a month was handed over in the end, Duvius keeping true to his word. The key things he highlighted from the research he had assisted with on the mechanical part Jack had taken from the dead Primus are as follows:

• The component removed is most likely a planar gyroscope or stabiliser.
• It is something one would put into a larger machine or device to help with planar stability.
• It is hard to know exactly the nature of it, but it is notable that Jack likely took it from Primus because he is one of the few beings in the multiverse who knows anything about the pieces inside a Primus.
  

It begs the question: Who exactly is the Fugitive? I know it may not be my place but, why did Queen Sarastra (may-her-stars-shine-evermore-through-the-night) have him as a prisoner? I did not see nor hear much of the Amaranthine Games, but how would Jack have knowledge of such things? Or did he know before he escaped his prison?

One final and further update with regards to details in Assignment Report #12: Bornull informed me that there is currently a standstill with regards to the resource found in the sauna of the Wizard’s Club. The Arcanetheril still hold it, but the Delvers have made it difficult for them to maintain such a position. The mages have lost public standing – something that seems to have caused an even greater rift between these them and other factions – whilst the Delvers have tried to destroy the soupy mess, without much success. The loss of standing will do for now, according to Bornull, but perhaps a helping hand could be lent to help resolve things.

Further research will be done when next in Daring Heights. As it stands, I am otherwise occupied in Fort Ettin for the next tenday, at least. Any further updates will be shared immediately.

Report passed on 10 day of Leaffall.


Neh diis lus’a, lus diis’a.