A master of infiltration and disguise, the being known only as Cas remains a mystery in historical texts.

Appearance

Mentality

Personality

Vices & Personality flaws

I'm loyal to my friends, not to any ideals, and everyone else can take a trip down the Styx for all I care.

Personality Quirks

I've enjoyed fine food, drink, and high society. Rough living grates on me.

Hygiene

Impeccable when/ as much as possible.

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March 11, 1306

The Lens in the Lab

by Cas (with ember gaze)

Where was I, last? The celebration. I saw little of it, as I took a vantage point from the side to watch the tall man and Dreadnaught. Gwen and Armando seemed to be enjoying the music, but both were also clearly watching this strange duo.

When suddenly, they both vanished! Gwen must have seen something, because she began to run around the side of the clocktower. She explained that she saw Albert go that way, and that our quarry appeared over there and followed him.

In our chase, we met three other strange individuals:

A strange half-orc librarian, met before. Won't recognize me. Explains things too much.

A hulking figure, well armed and armored. Strange eyes, impressive stature and physique. Apologizes too much.

A small black feathered figure, on the hulk's shoulders. Pet? Doesn't speak much, but parrots words and sounds perfectly. Useful!

We have the same direction, if not the same goal, so we attempt to follow Albert and his pursurers. We fail, and return to the stage, informing Robert Denymede (and a nearby priestess... of Mystra?) of the pursuit. Robert leads us to the lab; he and a guard (Captain Anderson) do a quick sweep of the building before leaving.

We decide to do our own investigation of the building. It is a strange and exciting place.

water that runs with a simple pull of a lever

a self-washing latrine (G is most excited, but won't admit it)

tickets to a Perry Colo concert (now mine)

a stained lab coat (also now mine)

schematics for some sort of mechanical device, it looks rather claw-like. A note accompanies:

"Rob,

With these hands that will not bleed,
Our father’s battle will be won.
Needs counterbalance.

— Al

an empty table, with space and grooves for some sort of light device.

This table deserves more description. I suggested early that this looked like a way to magnify a hidden message. I was right, but that's getting ahead in the story. Maybe I should remember this technique for my own use. Maybe not - it was incredibly complicated even for me.

Regardless, we solve the device and find a hidden message:

YOU MUST NOT WAKE THE IRON MAN

THE WORLD NEEDS ONLY HIS HANDS

IF YOU MUST, THIS CODE IS REQUIRED

IF YOU REPLACE THE WORKING PARTS

YOU GET A DIFFERENT MACHINE

THE WHEEL CANNOT TURN ITSELF

Along with this is a code of dots. I copy both. As I finish, Gwen snaps her fingers at the door, to get our attention. Someone approches! I hear a familiar voice - the tall, coated man with the red hand?

I had no other choice, did I? Only two people in the world know what I can do. Now it is at least 4 more. Though Gwen surely knows something, since I left the curtain looking like Albert Denymede. I don't want to lie to her - this is far more than she signed on for, and it isn't fair to her. But this secret is powerful, and it diminishes with each person who knows. More than that, it is sacred to me and a part of who I am. A part of me that only my parents know.

It frightens me, to be so exposed to someone I barely know.

More happened - a fight with the two thugs as well as shadowy beasts. Guards arrived and balked at the thought of arresting the red-handed man. They let us go. In the fracas, I didn't notice what happened, but the schematics for the claw are gone. The red-handed man is gone. We looked for a quiet place to talk, and I struggled to think of how to explain myself to my companions.

More later.

It was early in the translation process when I realized that there was something familiar to the cypher that is being used. I couldn't quite place it. I would have to keep this familiarity in mind as I continued my translation, in case an epiphany hit me.

— Magalie Strassler, "Uncrackable: the Chronicles of Cas"

Cas (with ember gaze)'s Journal Ordered oldest to newest

A New Bell Tolls
March 11, 1306

The Lens in the Lab
March 11, 1306

The major events and journals in Cas (with ember gaze)'s history, from the beginning to today.