Session 28: Clockwork Problems

General Summary

The Battle Against the Clockwork Defenders

The fight against the Clockwork Dragon was anything but simple. It was a machine of terrifying precision, every motion calculated, every attack relentless. But as we engaged, we spotted its self-destruct mechanism—a nasty device embedded within its chest, glowing ominously.
Disabling it was easier said than done.
Warby and Sunny took point, striking at the dragon’s limbs and forcing it back, creating an opening for Dulb to move in. However, the Clockwork Chopper and its Terra Cotta soldiers weren’t going to make things easy. The soldiers struck relentlessly, their ceramic fists slamming into anyone too slow to dodge. Meanwhile, the Chopper—clearly some kind of advanced combat automaton—relentlessly pursued Dulb, using smoke bombs and unpredictable blade strikes to harass him as he worked.
It was a delicate balance: we had to keep the dragon from rampaging, keep Dulb safe long enough to disable the explosive, and fight off the other constructs at the same time.
When Dulb finally managed to pull the right wires, the core flickered and dimmed. With its final roar, the Clockwork Dragon collapsed in a heap of broken gears. With that, the remaining constructs fell soon after.
The Chopper was the last to go down—a slippery bastard who kept vanishing in smoke clouds, slashing at our legs before darting away. But even it couldn’t outlast us. One well-placed strike later, and the First Hall fell silent.

Keeper Aldric Stonebraid’s Journal

With the defenders vanquished, we searched the nearby chambers, overturning old relics and shattered artifacts until we found what we were looking for:
The Journal of Keeper Aldric Stonebraid.
Its entries told a disturbing tale—of an old lullaby, whispered in the depths of the city, luring creatures away into nothingness. The melody had power, an ancient resonance that neither time nor stone could bury. And worse? It wasn’t just recent—it had been happening for centuries.
The Vanishing at Midnight Armed with answers—and a fair bit of treasure—we left the First Hall and returned to the Menagerie.
By now, the sky had darkened, and the midnight moon hung above Hearthglen. We made our way to the moonlit fountain, where we had spotted the strange musical note engraving earlier. As the clock struck midnight, the engraving shimmered, and for the briefest moment, a whispering voice drifted on the wind.
And then—a sudden silence.
When we turned, Crown and Frostbulb were gone.

Following the Statues’ Path

We didn’t have time to waste.
Gathering our wits, we turned to the moving statues, carefully retracing their trails through the city—skid marks in the stone, overturned crates, subtle patterns in their movements.
As we mapped them out, the realization hit—each statue’s movement formed the shape of the creature it represented. But more importantly, when all the paths were overlaid, they converged on a single point:
A seemingly unremarkable guard barracks.

The Guard Barracks and the Stone Tablet

We stormed the barracks, much to the dismay of a lone guard eating his breakfast, who could only watch in bewildered horror as we rummaged through his workspace.
Then—Warby found it.
A loose plank in the floor. A stone tablet hidden beneath.
The moment Warby touched it, purple runes flared across its surface, and his body went rigid.
And then, in the eerie stillness, a voice whispered in his mind:
"Bring them to me."

Warby vs. the Party

Warby’s eyes turned distant, his movements suddenly not his own. Without hesitation, he turned his sword against us.
We barely had time to react before he attacked, swinging with unnerving precision. We weren’t fighting Warby—we were fighting the will of whatever commanded the stone.
And for the record, Warby hits really hard.
The fight was chaotic and brutal—myself and Chungle included, dodging and weaving as Warby swung wildly at anything nearby. Sunny tried to disarm him, Dulb attempted to restrain him, and Chungle… mostly scurried around waiting for an opening.
Finally, a well-placed bonk on the head (several, actually) snapped him out of it.
With Warby regaining control, we took a breath and turned our attention to the passage below.
Also, Goq suddenly reappeared. When asked where he had been, he simply shrugged and muttered something about "hunting monsters in the wilds."
With our party (mostly) intact, we readied ourselves to descend.
Because whoever—or whatever—was waiting down there… Had been calling to us for a long time.
Sera

Campaign

The New Dawnbreakers

Protagonists

Sunny Grannach

Brazen White Bulb Conquering Red Blossom

Dulb the Deckhand

Dulb's sheet

Level 13 Swashbuckler.

Health

/

Goq-Ixai

Report Date

08 Mar 2025