Session 09.0: Nestora, City of Guilds
After a month of in the Service of the Beer Baron, the party began to enjoy the benefits of their patron. Brew Core proved to be a very useful homebase, with variety of services and resources to access. The party spent considerable time learning various nooks and crannies of the centuries old Brewery.
Ba’Vek got some leads not only on finding information on the Orb, but also some leads on the paintings he is so interested in. Durshara got some disturbing news from home. Kaliet learned that her past has returned to haunt her. Ragnar’s inner self was questioned. Vjorn yearned to return to her home in orbit.
Gurlock sends the group on a mission to finish some business as well as investigate the Orb’s function and origin. Their destination is the city-state of Nestora. Once there, they are to securely transfer funds for much needed parts to repair the brewery. Once done, they are to seek out Farkaya the Knowing in the Market Bank area to inquire about the Orb.
Nestora is a city ruled by the tyranny of the Guilds, with the worker class constantly beneath the boot of their rule. The party discovered this first hand coming across an Autonomous Front bombing of a Guild Caravan delivering riot gear to the authorities. This was not a random attack, they determined, as a celebration called the Exaltation of the Fallen was taking place the next day. Parades, festivals and revelry – what a perfect time for an angry resistance to make a statement.
Farkaya the Knowing was no immediately helpful but promised results in a few days. The Sage’s shop proved to be curious place, home to a variety of artifacts that the party members found interesting. Keliat found a brooch shaped like a great beetle that the Sage called the Brooch of Awakening Soul. Ragnar bought a find pipe shaped like an eastern sailing vessel called the Pipe of the Golden Stormguard . It once belonged to weather mage on a ancient merchant ship, so she said. VJorn found a set of tools that were shamefully maintained. Durshara purchased a fine elven blade – Blade of the Fallen Champion.
That night, they all checked into an inn that set along the main drag and went about their own personal business. Durshara investigated his grandfather’s whereabouts and the status of the corporation he was supposed to be part of. VJorn developed systems to patch into the various camera and video systems found in the city in hopes of helping the resistance. Although it would take more than a few days to complete, the design was solid and if the resistance had competent techs, they can implement the design in a short about of time. While doing this, she spotted a group of people she assumed were resistance casing out the main drag which just so happened to be the main route of the parade.
Ragnar had a strange experience investigating the pipe (and the smoking substance that came with it). Finding an establishment called Obsidian’s, he found another pipe that the proprietor was willing to sell cheap for a drag from the Stormguard pipe. This pipe was called the Horn of Caydrath the Red – said to be made from a red dragon’s horn. He envisioned himself as a dragon, ridden by a warrior into battle. From what he could tell, it was a battle of the Chaos Wars. A huge flight of multiple colored dragons flew in unison against an unseen enemy, at first. But soon a cloud of equally large beasts came into site – HUGE black and obscenely twisted wings, horrifically massive maws and eyes in places they should not be. They could have only been described as chaos dragons.