It did not look good. With the Daisygate in front, thinking our heroes had murdered some innocent citizens, and Thornlock at their back, options were few for our heroes.
A few nods between them and they decided to take their chances with Thornlock. Unfortunately, Orlando got cut off by a surprisingly fast Daisyguard, who he gently put to sleep with a sleep spell, while the rest of the Daisyguard pursued the other two heroes as they legged it inside Thornlock.
The whole entrance started rumbling as the stacked make-shift buildings of Thornlock often did, but it was enough to make the Daisyguard think twice about entering so they were left standing at Alfein and Amelia, who equally didn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, Orlando climbed up the exterior of Thornlock, up to what looked like a little house where he met Pip Sprockle, a stammering but cheerful Gnome boy. Pip quickly showed Orlando through the upper maze and out to the clearing where the other two heroes stood.
Suddenly the building started crumbling, so Orlando grabbed Pip and jumped to safety.
The Avenue of Lanterns
With multiple exits, the heroes decided to take the path that led to more light. But it was not daylight. Instead they walked down and avenue with bright lanterns on the walls, the floor, the ceiling.
In the Avenue of Lanterns they met many people, some acting like regular vendors, shopkeepers while other had utterly alien roles like the shouting teeth vendor.
Pip had told them about The Talking Chimney, but also warned them that while the Chimney seemed to have answers for everything, it came at a price.
The Talking Chimney
The Talking Chimney was a large menacing looking chimney with a foul smoke that rather than rise fell to the ground as a thick mist.
Next to the Chimney a tavern had been raised carrying the same name.
Pip did not like the place and stayed out, waiting for the heroes to return.
Inside the tavern the heroes were greeted by Sable, a short stout woman dressed all in grey with long black hair with a fringe going down to her mouth. Sable turned out to be a friendly and accomodating host despite er odd looks.
In the tavern they also met Cinder, tall and slender and silent woman in similar grey outfits with a similar hair cut, and Ash, a small woman also similar outfit and hair do, but sitting frantically writing in a large book.
As the dinner and conversation progressed, the heroes learned that Sable was the host and organised contracts with patrons visiting to ask the Chimney questions, Cinder acted as the mouth of the Chimney and Ash took the payment in the form of memories.
In the end the heroes decided to save questions for the ominous Chimney to another day and left after having been fed.
Memory of Distant Rain
Outside Pip was waiting patiently and the heroes asked if there was anybody they could ask some info and in the end Pip suggested visiting “Memory of Distant Rain”, a large, rather overweight white Tabaxi dressed only in a loincloth.
They showed him the Triarch logo and “Memory of Distant Rain” could tell them it was the logo of the wizards guarding Skylathar, but he was also ambiguous about it as if the wizards both were and were not the Triarch.
While Orlando and Amelia was familiar with the Wizards of the West, the residents of The Aeonspire Citadel, they did not know who the wizards in the other three towers were.
In payment of the answer Orlando offered up a song, not realising that the memory of the song would be taken from him.
“It’s a trap”
The heroes left “Memory of Distant Rain” and followed Pip as he led them to a nice cozy place to stay for the night.
Pip turned the corner and disappeared out of sight and by the time the party caught up, he was gone.
Instead the heroes faced the Inquisitor Lopper and a few Daisyguard, who had come to bring them out of Thorlock safely.
At first, the heroes followed as Lopper was known to them, but they felt something was wrong as Inqusitors always travel in pairs and Loppper was without his partner Karl Jorgenholt.
Suddenly a group of Iron Masquerade appeared and the fight was on.
Our heroes fought valiantly, but in the end fell victims to the sleep poison on the Iron Masks blades.
They woke up inside a armour prison wagon with a destination unknown.