S1 E35: Beyond the Borderlands

General Summary

In which the gang gets jobs and ventures beyond the Borderland Marches for the first time.

• The group follows up on getting an interview with Kannet Colonial Mining, meeting Gonsales Kannet and doing a group interview in which they're asked several probing questions about their goals and what they want to get better at doing and being. Gonsales seems disappointed at the altruistic answers regarding the 'impossible lever' question - you must pull a lever that will either kill a bunch of strangers, a single close friend, or yourself. 
• Mae and Blizzard claim they would self-immolate, without much delay; Lorfel gives a lengthy explanation, landing on a single friend until asked which of his current companions it would be, finally changing his answer to the crowd of strangers. Xi Shi on the other hand just stares at Gonsales and doesn't give an answer, which seems to please him, and he gives them the benefit of the doubt. 
• Gonsales assigns them to Dawi Haddad's crew, and specifically to the Glenhaven colony near Mae's traditional lands and her family's range. Some kind of mishap has evidently befallen the crew and a number of mine engineers are missing. Gonsales is short on specifics other than the need to keep an open mind; perhaps the engineers are victims whose case must be brought to justice; but they might also have gone native or turned against the company in which case they must be found and dealt with. 
• Gonsales tells them their contact is a Hobgoblin Chief Engineer named Mogrid Moghadam, and they discover his daughter is Gonsales' Executive Assistant. Though she seems competent enough it's clear that nepotism is part of the fabric of Kannet Colonial, which is owned by Gonsales' older sister, Katha Kannet.
• Before leaving town, Xi Shi uses the black sending-stone-marbles Ophidra had provided to check in on what the deal is with the Fang of Dendar. Ophidra says that she performed the anchor ritual (which would explain why Lorfel didn't see it when he used Clairvoyance a few days earlier) using the Eye of Quindarin which had been in the possession of the Kobolds in the Caves of Chaos, and ownership contested by the Goblins, who had several werebats among their number - werebats being, for whatever reason, more commonly associated with Goblins than with humans or other species. 
• Ophidra has taken a firm grip on control of the Caves and the Lizardfolk village. She admits that she and Elsinore had some designs on the Keep earlier, but she has decided it's not necessary as long as it remains an ally or neutral in her plan, which she describes to the party as 'doing her part to save the world'. The net-net appears to be that she's not a threat currently and her goals at least in the short term align with theirs, and in fact had they spoken with her sooner, surely she had information regarding the World Anchors and the Eye of Quindarin, which she still possesses.
• The party leaves Marleven and goes past the Keep without stopping in, but they decide to check in on the lizardfolk encampment based on what Ophidra had said. They find them more organized and savvy, giving credit to 'snake folk' advisors, Yuan-Ti sent by Ophidra. But the party finds a great deal more going on than what Ophidra had mentioned: A large stone pyramid is taking shape in the center of the village, but there are significant drainage problems plaguing the construction.
• Dendar, evidently, is meant to be kept inside, as a power source for Ophidra who seems to want to fight the mud gods directly. Her Yuan-Ti have utterly cast out the 'Damp God" Gorgasuul from the Lizardfolk. The  lizardfolk claim that Dendar is a "gigantic purple snake" that will be installed in the pyramid which will then be built around her. The water drainage issues have caused construction delays, but Ophidra has decided to simply carry on regardless; the Lizardfolk say Ophidra's response was "She can just sleep wet." 
• This all has an ominous tone, and though it doesn't contradict what Ophidra told them, it wasn't something she mentioned in any detail either. The description is nebulous, possibly something as simple (and dangerous) as a purple worm, and tantalizingly, maybe it describes Quindarin himself, whom the party has reasoned must be an Ancient Amethyst Dragon. The stone is coming from a quarry on higher ground a half mile further to the southwest from the site.
• Deciding not to interfere, the party continues to the eastern border of the Realm and stops at a caravan at the border crossing to rest before moving on. Not far into the borderlands, they come across an herb peddler named Ogyu and her adult daughter selling Marrowiss, a bone-knitting white flower. They have a small boy named Josuu in tow who is on a quest to find his lost father, Rongo. It seems likely that this is the same Rongo who was once in their party, though his whereabouts are currently unknown. After accepting several bags of free Marrowiss and some gold besides in return for it, the party adds Josuu to their party, assuring him that he can tag along with them until they find something definitive about where Rongo is now. He seems happy enough but is mostly interested snacks and in getting a slingshot.

Rewards Granted

• Contract for 5600 gold plus expenses and commissions for resolving the matter of the missing mine engineers from Gonsales Kannet, Kannet Colonial Mining CFO on behalf of Dawi Haddad, Kannet Colonial Mining COO.
• A map identifying the site was also enclosed with the Enforcer contract, but no instructions on how exactly to get there.

Missions/Quests Completed

• "Get a Job, Hippies"
• "The Border of the Borderlands"

Character(s) interacted with

• Ogyu, herb merchant (Marrowiss)
• Fecilia Moghadam, Gonsales' Executive Assistant

Notes

• New NPC bio: Gonsales "Gonzo" Kannet 

Report Date

06 Dec 2022

Primary Location

The Borderland Marches