In Pursuit Report
General Summary
(Apologies to regular readers but this one is going to be a briefer summary. It runs the span of several sessions over the course of about two months.
Purging the Black Thorns
After scattering the Black Thorn Society agents the scouts task themselves with tracking down the stragglers and rescuing the slaves in their possession.
They divided themselves up to tackle the problem as best as possible in order to save not only slaves but also the black market merchants that fled into the woods as well. Despite their involvement with the Black Thorns they didn't deserve to be left to the hungry mouths of the forest.
This meant prying them from the maws of basilisks, slimes and other predators. It also meant running afoul of a powerful and corrupt nature avatar, a Hydra.
These rescue efforts culminated in Caellana leading the charge against Heinreich Klamp's encampment where he was keeping the majority of the Black Thorn's slaves, whom he hoped to "gift" back to their masters and earn their favor. This was a particularly dire battle as Klamp was partnered with Sifter and his Tengu alchemists, some surviving Black Thorn sellswords, and the monstrous Gatecrasher mercenary trio.
Sifter proved to be a particularly deadly new foe who's serious and methodical manner ran counter to the bombastic nature of Klamp. Even still reeling from the severe burns dealt to him by Beorna after destroying his manacite lab) he managed to knock Caellana unconscious and within an inch of her life halting a rampage that had killed or incapacitated all of the Gatecrashers.
Ultimately, Klamp, Sifter and a few remaining Black Thorn soldiers managed to escape but not before losing their slaves. The heroes took a moment to regroup and speak with rescued slaves. Each of them had their own, unique, story to tell:
Vex: A rather mysterious woman who kept as quiet as possible and carefully watched the others.
Dontan Filbert: Former soldier in Ghal Pelor's army who ended up being captured by Locklanders soldiers and sold to the Black Thorn for cheap
Natasha Bexley: member of the Grand Order of the Lion who had been pursuing Heinreich Klamp since his attack on Frial. Her fellow knights were killed by Klamp and she feels a duty to bring back to Frial to account for his crimes and reveal what he did with the relics he stole during the attack.
Dwenlin Glass: A dwarf from a dishonored lineage who had turned to a life of crime. He could not pay his debts and Black Thorn decided to recoup the loss by selling him as a slave
Kellyn Pascow: A sorcerer who was given to the Black Crown as a gift by Lockland. He has the ability to use magic without Manacite.
Rhona: A half-elf from the elven peasant lands who is currently several months pregnant. She is uncomfortable talking to anyone other than Pascow who she seems reluctantly willing to speak with.
Before they have much time to catch their breath Natasha insists that she leave so that Klamp can't get far. There's tension between her and Cordelia who both want the villain. Cord wants him dead and Natasha wants him to stand trial and give back the relics he stole.
It's at this time that Caellana decides she must leave the party. This section of woods is her home and the animals here her family. Seeing the damage done in her absence deeply wounds her. She and Cordelia share a heartfelt goodbye. Cord opens up about how Caellana help her see the world and believe in something.
The Anomaly
The heroes took time to recover from their wounds before running off after Natasha but her tracks were easy enough to follow. They led to an ancient and devastated ruin surrounded by a large section of forest that looked to have suffered some calamity ages ago.
As the heroes approached the ruined castle they were suddenly swallowed up by some unseen barrier and found themselves in the same section of the forest but rather than ravaged it was pristine. And the castle no longer rubble but alive and functional. And then, the central tower of the castle erupted and unleashed a wave of destruction that destroyed everything in it's path including them. And then, it all restarted again. Them in the restored woods before the functioning castle.
The learned that this was a cyclic of endless destruction and resetting. They were trapped in some kind of knot in time that there seemed to be no escaping. They also discovered that this castle was populated by Fae, not only that, but these fae where from a time long before The Autumn Queen's war. These fae were used to living and working with Tairos' citizens. Many of them were fresh arrivals from the world the fae previously inhabited.
This revelation could not take priority though. Instead, they had to focus on the anomaly they were trapped in. The explosive wave was killing them over and over and it seem to be happening roughly every two hours. Investigating the castle and the village inside its walls provided some clues and context though:
They learned this place was called Castle Konning and ruled by the Konning Sisters, baronesses each and each respected by the community. They decided that they needed to gain access to the main keep and tower where the explosion was coming from. They also learned that the Klamp was here as well and likely involved in the explosion or trying to profit from it.
They also met the sisters. Aelfric was the first to encounter Coriander Konning in the town's tavern. Over the course of several cycles the two continued to meet and bond. Aelfric used her to get access to the castle and learn more about the situation they were trapped in. Also, mysteriously, Coriander began remembering things from different cycles. She became familiar with Aelfirc and connected with him to the point where she would be waiting for him outside the tavern and ready to pick up where they left off.
Erik, Riken and his sister McKenna Became familiar with the youngest sister, Juniper. They found her in the woods hauling away broken magic items to repair or study. They also found that Klamp and his people were after her in each cycle. She had means of getting into the castle's tower via a secret entrance and by interrogating her would-be kidnappers they also learned that Klamp was trying to take a piece from a device kept there. Something called the Mana Auger.
Through the cycles they also met the oldest sister, Sage. She seemed to begin each cycle in the castle's throne room which was packed full of local nobility celebrating the arrival of the Mana Auger. Sage herself seemed disinterested and course with the nobles as if she really didn't want to be there. It seemed the celebration was based around activating the machine for the first time and testing it, per the instructions of the Autumn Queen. It also seemed as if the explosive catastrophe always follows that first activation.
Over the course of cycles the heroes learned more and more about the auger itself and after being able to study it in person during one of the resets they learned the grim truth. This auger, which was supposedly built to demonstrate the creation of Manacite was in fact always designed to fail. It's true purpose was a small-scale test of the Autumn Queen's apocalyptic back-up plan... the Rebuke.
However, earning the trust of the Konning Sisters was not the only obstacle to escaping the anomaly. Heinreich Klamp showed the full extent of wicked potential during these events. In some cycles he killed several of the heroes. In one cycle he slew Juniper, preventing her from assisting the other. In several cycles he actually succeeded in stealing the auger's core but failed to breech the anomaly and escape. His mastery of divination and chronomancy allowed him to manipulate the stability of the anomaly as well. His meddling started to take a severe toll, causing those not native to the knotted time to begin to fade and wither the more they died and reset. Many of his own henchmen blinked out of existence entirely. He even used that power to switch bodies with Riken. This switch happened during the final cycle, leaving Riken stuck in Klamp's aging body permanently.
What would become the final cycle occurred rather quickly. The heroes managed to have all the factors aligned: the sisters' trust, access to the machine, and Juniper's expertise in magical devices. Klamp's interference made the final situation look unlikely to be the last and many had given up on this cycle being successful. Coriander decided to take Aelfric back to her bedroom, assuming this cycle would fail and she might forget some or all of it. However; Klamp was beaten and the auger deactivated.
There was no explosion and a piece of a much older Tairos was restored to the land. A large community of fae are now thrust into a strange new world. Klamp remains on the run but with powerful new body at his disposal. And, the caravan leaders have to decide what to do with several thousand displaced fae.
