9. Thronehold Means Freedom! Report

General Summary

Lhara realised they'd need to go through Blackbones to get to Khyber's Gate anyway, so gave them both jobs.
They went to investigate the blinding light. They arrived on the bridge to find a woman with an aberrant dragonmark being pushed up against the edge of a bridge by a member of the Sharn Watch, while a crowd on each side called for her death.
Terfel intervened, talking the guard down. The guards dispersed the crowd and made themselves scarce.
The woman is Valerya Hooke, an Ornithologist at Morgrave University. Or, she was. Now she's an aberrant.
Valerya was planning a trip to the Shadow Marches, she thinks she'll probably do that sooner rather than later.
Warden gave her some rags to cover the mark with.
The Mist Walkers flagged down an Orien coach to get them to Cogsgate, where they took an elevator down to Blackbones.
Warden asked a nearby warforged for directions to Drummond Independents workshop, and also for the Red Hammer.
The party made their way to Drummond Independents, and found a picket line. The warforged are on strike!
The strike is being led by a Warforged Juggernaut named Stoke. He's a pacifist.
The party is spoken to by a gnome named Tresca Teesbeak, who explains the situation. They'll need to resolve the strike if they want to collect the Burning Idol for Clifftop.
Terfel Glas and Kalshana join the protest, while Dax' Athla and Warden go to the Red Hammer to try and get more people.

Terfel and Kalshana speak to the protestors, and learn the following:

There is no law enforcement in the Cogs
House Cannith controls most of the forges in the Cogs, and also exploit the warforged.
The Red Hammer is a tavern and smithy run by warforged for warforged. The proprietors, Blue and Crucible are pillars of the community.
There is a criminal syndicate operating in the Cogs called Daask, which is primarily composed of immigrants from Droaam.
Terfel heard it mentioned only once, that an unknown member of House Cannith is funding the Red Hammer.

Warden and Dax'Athla arrived at the Red Hammer and spoke to the forged there. They managed to move Blue with their tales of the situation, and Blue made signs and shut up the tavern temporarily, declaring that they all had somewhere more important to be.

The entire clientele of the Red Hammer made their way to the protest!
Everyone joined in the protest, with Dax' Athla giving a rousing speech that drew not only Warforged, but goblins to the protest. In fact, word spread quickly, and warforged from all over the Cogs came to join the protest.
With a chorus of steel and stone, the warforged presented their terms with a unified voice, and demanded better treatment from all of their employers, including House Cannith. Having retreated to his offices, Drummond returned with a sack of coins and begrudgingly agreed to their terms.
With the protest resolved successfully, and in their favour, Stoke and Tresca Teesbeak said they could finish the Burning Idol.
First, they had to help stabilise the forge. The Cogs are a manifest zone to Fernia, which causes fires to rage out of control. Tresca performed a ritual, which drew the ire of small fire elementals that attacked.
The party defended Tresca as she completed the ritual, stabilising the forge.
The party took a short rest while Tresca finished the Burning Idol.
Warden took the finished Burning Idol and is carrying it. He needs to be careful, it contains the endless fires of Fernia.
On their way out, a giant woman showed up. Twelve feet tall, built like a lightning rail car, and sporting two heads, she proclaimed they were there to collect. Money or blood, Drummond.
Terfel didn't allow the Ettin to break Drummond's legs. There was a scuffle, with the Ettin giving up and leaving.