After stewing a bit over the galling robbery of their hard-won items by Wuntad the cultist, the group investigates the contents of the cultist’s folio they discovered in the icy walls below the cult-keep. They ponder a bit over the contents within and come to the realization that there are multiple organizations afoot in the city that are actively working to bring about an apocalypse of some sort. This could interfere with some of Bayga’s long-term plans of establishing a temple, and it certainly doesn’t intersect with a general trend for self-enrichment that runs in the party.
The group is approached by the local armorer. He knows that his apprentice has ‘interacted’ with the group before – and it might have something to do with the bloody robbery that took place in the alleys not far from Delver’s Square – but he’s not here to judge. He asks for help in convincing the apprentice that he is getting involved with dangerous people. Not that the party isn’t dangerous, of course…but they seem less ‘generally murdery’ and more ‘murdery when necessary’. That small distinction seems important. So, Bayga and Sniffles agree to meet with the wayward apprentice in the local tavern, while Digin sits at the bar, warming his usual seat along with KegDrain. Fingers the Second disguises himself and takes up a position of overwatch – to try and alert the party in case of cultish shenanigans. Meanwhile, Zaal babysits the party riches and enjoys a moment of solitude.
The talk from the clerics accomplishes little and although it seems that there are other watchers in the room, no one seems to make a move. The apprentice leaves and Fingers trails him to Tavern Row and watches as he enters the Rat’s Nest Tavern. KegDrain tails two clerics that seemed interested in the conversation between apprentice and party clerics, but they head into St. Gustav’s Chapel and don’t reappear.
In the following days, a rumor appears on the lips of many delvers. Talk is of a rampaging barbarian horde that is coming to sack the city because the Imperial Emperor ordered his kidnapping and is holding him as a bargaining chip. Others think it is is the work of one or more of the cults that seek to destroy the world. It is against this backdrop that the armorer reappears. He begs forgiveness for bothering them again, but the apprentice is missing, and has been for days. He left behind a strangely worded note and vanished. Based on the note and the information from the cult folio, it seems likely he is seeking out a figure known as The Surgeon, known for his ability to ‘enhance’ the human body with strange mechanical accessories. The armorer has contracted an investigator, who returned with an article of clothing from the apprentice and was headed to investigate the surrounding area to see if there were any witnesses. The investigator has not returned, but the armorer knows where they were exploring. Thus the group finds itself helping the armorer for the promise of a suit of magical armor and a discount at the armory. It seems another trip to Oldtown is in the cards.
The journey to Oldtown is routine by now and the group spends the day wandering about. They spend the night watching the area around the location described by the armorer and identify a likely warehouse that looks rundown and decrepit as a potential place of interest. The following morning they case the joint, sidle down an alleyway then decide where to make an entrance. They choose the shipping office – but have to locate a secret door in order to enter the interior. The door is located, and it douses Fingers with acid as a welcome. The acid wash is followed by the attack from a strange individual wearing a corset equipped with extra cleaver-tipped mechanical ‘arms’. The party rallies, engages and swiftly defeats the foe – only to be attacked by a second individual. This one is a crazed looking dwarf who wields a flaming axe to great effect. Defeating the dwarf and quickly poking around leads them to the operating room, where the apprentice is strapped to a table and a robed individual looms over them, cutting away a good portion of one arm. Strange tubes snake about the apprentice and as the party advances, the doctor departs into thin air.
There is a strange sword-armed guardian to defeat before they are able to rescue the apprentice. Healing spells are expended and once stabilized, the group hauls him into the open air. Zaal renders him invisible – so as to limit the number of flapping tongues that might link them to the raid – and they hail a carriage and haul the apprentice back to the armorer. The joyous armorer thanks and thanks them again and again. After a few days the apprentice seems to snap out of his delusions and realizes how close he came to being swept into the cult. He provides several bits of data to the group and now they are forced with an interesting decision about how to proceed. While they aren’t necessarily for the public good, it seems that in this case their interests align with those of the general populace and they might be forced into doing good for all. How galling! So much gall these days.
Somewhat disgruntled, they realize that they are going back to Oldtown. This time they are going to investigate an apartment building that the apprentice tells them is the site of a joint venture between two of the chaos cults. Anything that two cults are cooperating on is probably not the best news for the rest of the city, so they hire a carriage and away they go.
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