Session 8
Beyond Brimstone
Beyond Brimstone
General Summary
The sun hangs low over Salda's Saloon as the party boards the Copperfield's Autocarriage, steam venting from its brass exhausts while its integrated droid driver mantles its helm. With a grating hiss, the reinforced wheels grind over Brimstone's cobbled road before hitting the open trail beyond the town’s limits. Dust whirls in their wake as the arid terrain shifts from scorched scrubland to sandy flats. Jagged stone ridges dot the landscape like broken teeth, remnants of tectonic scars long forgotten. Rusted road signs, half-buried in dunes, bear faded markings from when the region saw more traffic. Occasionally, they pass abandoned outposts or rusting supply pylons—imperial structures stripped of their purpose. As the night passes into day, the paved remnants of the Imperial road give way to coarse gravel and loose stone, and the ghost of civilization starts to slip away. The air grows drier and the wind carries with it a sharp, metallic tang—like ozone after lightning, only without the storm. As mid day approaches, they spot along the main road a homestead thats seemingly abandoned, at the entrance is a sign that says "Thorne". The party realizes this must be the home of Jebediah Thorne, brother to Father Gideon Thorne and whom he requested the party to check on.
The party approaches the residence, wherein they find evidence of humanoid remains. Upon further investigation, they uncover a hidden entrance to an underground crypt, where they are attacked by Jebediah Thorne who has been risen from the dead as a Wight. After a spooky battle with Jebediah and another skeleton, the party manages to defeat them and retrieve their possessions. Boost discovers a journal in the crypt belonging to Father Gideon Thorne, the contents of which incriminates him for necromancy. The journal recounts Gideon's plan to resurrect his dead brother as a wight, to do his bidding and kill those in his way. He would manipulate people and send them on false missions to check on his sick brother, who would then kill the unsuspecting guests. According to Boost, the journal implies Father Gideon Thorne may be sort of Warlock. After checking the rest of the property, the party departs and sets back out on the road.
Later that night, a checkpoint comes into view. Constructed from metal beams and crumbling concrete, this border post is long-abandoned, its Imperial banners shredded to tatters. The reinforced gates have been forced open and rusted into place. A weathered sign reads, “United Colonies Border: Authorized Passage Only". The Wildlands looms ahead—untamed, lawless, and unforgiving. The moment the party crosses through the ruined Imperial checkpoint, the change is immediate. The sand stretches like a great sea under starlight, vast and empty. No paved road guides the wheels now—only fractured paths and ancient caravan routes half-consumed by the dunes. The autocarriage jostles violently with each dip and ridge, but it's engineering holds steady. The sky grows darker with each passing hour—not from nightfall, but from storms on the horizon. Wind lashes across the salt flats, painting veils of grit across the glass windows. Shapes move in the distance—maybe wildlife, maybe something else. None draw near. The Wildlands have a way of watching from afar. By late morning, the party is fully engulfed in an incoming Sandstorm that had crept up on them through the night. With their destination the Oasis no longer visible on the horizon, the party decides to stop for a moment to let the storm pass.
