Cradle of the Empire

Population Migration / Travel

The party has arrived in the city of Oberrun, Cradle of the Empire, to a cold welcome by a religious zealot and a city on the brink of unrest...

Set into the crater of a city destroyed during The Calamity, the group arrived on a cool spring morning to Oberrun also known as the Cradle of the Empire.    Met at the gates they followed the stream of traders and merchants into the city but found themselves generally accosted by a group of clergy men claiming the will of Helm and that this city is not meant for outsiders. However, the definition of outsiders seemed to stem from a view of "anyone not human" rather than anyone who didn't live there. Moving into the entrance of the city and trying to avoid these clergymen who seem to patrol the city the group almost immediately broke a part trying to accomplish a number of business items over the next few days.   Belomar, having been from this city as a base of operations for his mercenary company once, immediately opted to break off and try to see what has happened to his company's outpost in the years that he'd been away as well as see an old contact regard who or what Vaz'gir may be; the name the group had heard Martuun mention to Balazar about seeing. After meeting up with Skrit Fiblemin in the Timber Orchard of the city who is a relentless informant who plays most sides in the city, Belomar got the location of Vaz'gir who seemed to be some kind of merchant that popped in and out of the city at a moments notice that everyone but the desperate avoid.    Snarlsburg and Glop kept their own company and disappeared into the crowds without a word before eventually finding themselves at the Puzzled Boar after receiving a missive to meet an old friend there named Daiku. Daiku had a job from the Lady of Coins that paid extremely well lined up and had heard Snarlsburg was in the city, all Snarls had to do was move a statuette from the home of a human merchant named Eduna Elrevien to a dwarven rivals home within the next two days. Not asking too many questions the goblin accepted the work and moved back out into the city to get a lay of the target location.   Aegis, the rest of the party found out, needed to be sent to the main Artificer's Academy for repairs and would be out of commission until further notice. With that in mind those left split apart further. Morgan took some time and went out to investigate a lead on a skyship that would be leaving the city in a couple days time for Neverwinter in the Sanctum Conclave as well as get information regarding an associate who was last seen traveling with an Empire attache there. In doing so she manipulated the local Sky Master revealing information that many sky ships are being attacked by a group known as the Tempest Barons and that talks between the warring Empire and Sembian Kingdom are breaking down.   Nox, Seek, and Babbitt left in another direction to scour the city discovering a magic users arena known as Spell Clash, gathering up the requisite entry forms in the process, as well as getting the locations of various bars which came in use for their city spanning bar hop later. Over the next two days they experienced the city, challenged the Spell Clash Arena, and performed jobs for the local Taloned Reach assisting Rainna and Judge with the disposal of a rogue Calamity Engine on behalf of the Artificers Guild.   Snarlsburg managed to complete his job and got paid but not before Belomar, who was assisting, got ran off by the guards and surrounded deep within the city. During this time a grand meeting was being held in the central square by the Ashbringers, the local group that had overtaken the Church of Helm and Brightflame Abbey, who were responsible for a number of pro-human attacks on non-humans in the city and pushing to remove the non-humans from the city. While this meeting was happening a fight broke out between the Ashbringers and locals in the area over the death of the Abbott causing the Ashbringers to full scale attack the gathered crowd. Sensing a problem further within the city via her connection with Belomar, Nox and Morgan whisked away to aide him while the rest of the group dealt with the issue at hand. After a few moments Abbottess Marianna Silverhair, new leader of this sect, arrived and chastise her people for their attack and allowed them to be handed over to Field Warden Rhassar for punishment while also invoking Night Mourning in which the Abbey will be shut to the outside world so they can hold rites for the deceased Abbott.   With new compatriots in tow the party headed to the Field Warden to discuss the Ashbringer situation. Told there would be no reinforcements to help them, Field Warden Rhassar commissions the group to investigate and try to find some local clergy who had gone missing among some fires that had broken out around the city in the past day. Using information from The Mask and Snarlsburg and investigations by Babbitt the group found some access points to get into the Abbey unseen, but not before a failed attempt by new member Griz and a frontal gate assault leading to major wounds for many of the group.