The party awakens early the next morning, purchases some supplies, then heads for the Western Gate to began their journey.
There they are met by Woger de R.F.D, who shows them the Caravan. Six wagons, each with two horses and a driver. Three of the wagons contain Livingstone Bricks. One contains Vampire Wine, and the other two carry supplies for everyone for the week. Woger is eager to get started.
The party introduces themselves to two of the drivers while deciding where to ride. Jerik is a very nervous human, wearing a simple brown tunic as he repeatedly checks and re-checks the horses. The second is Turlin, an orc, who is sharpening a knife. Torinn asks him what the knife is for, and Turlin only responds with “Meat.”
An autowagon, crudely painted in garish, almost glowing colors and driven by Kel and Kel arrives. The party climbs onto the wagon carrying the Vampire Wine, and the Caravan sets off.
The day passes slowly, but without incident, and as dusk is falling the Caravan arrives at the Last Chair Salon. Woger seems almost eager to get there and says that they will be staying there that night as it is the last bit of civilization before the Grasslands. When he tells them that their room and board will be provided for, everyone decides this is a good idea.
The party enters the Salon. Most find a table, but Johann goes to the bar where he meets the owner and bartender, Marsa Vinable. He asks for the “specialty of the house,” and she gives a glass of a warm, yellow, foamy liquid. He hesitates, but tries it and finds it quite enjoyable and slightly euphoric. He quickly finishes it and orders another.
The others have been checking out the Salon and see that Woger has found his own table and has several of the staff around him. They question their waiter, and he tells them that Woger comes here quite often. But, when he does, he is usually accompanied by more “personal” companions.
They also check out the other guests. Most of them are herders, watching the flocks of ranchers who are probably back in the Violet City. There are also a few other caravaners, all returning to the city. The party asks about things on the road and are told that the travelers have encountered goblins who were behaving strangely. They were shuffling around, almost as if they were sleepwalking, but attacked anyone and anything they stumbled into.
They also learn that the trail is called “The Low Road and the High” because a Long Ago road runs parallel to the new path. It is suspended in the air on pylons and is safer to travel on for that reason. But, some sections have collapsed, forcing travelers to make a dangerous return to ground level and then another climb back up to the next section.
Johann returns to the table and starts performing on his electromonica. Kel and Kel almost immediately appear from somewhere and sit on the floor nearby, nodding to the music.
After a bit, one of the herders wanders over and joins Kel and Kel on the floor. When Johann finishes, the herder approaches and introduces himself as Duman, and asks if he can follow Johann to the Black City.
Johann is a bit taken aback and asks what he can do. Duman says that he is a tinkerer and that he can keep oldtech working. He also knows about the Grasslands. After discussing it a bit, the party agrees to let him join them as long as he provides his own way. Kel and Kel say that he is welcome to travel with them in their autowagon, and he accepts.
The time is getting late, and most of the party retreat to their rooms. The inn has three floors, and the rooms are above. Everyone leaves except for Mortimer, who stays in the bar.
Everyone settles down, but Syrvelse is soon awakened. She finds her room is brightly lit, with a fire active in the fireplace. She first notices that Sylvester is not with her, then she sees an ancient Gnomish woman sitting in the chair beside her bed.
As soon as Syrvelse sees her, the woman asks, “Do you want redemption?”
Syrvelse asks multiple questions; who is the woman, why is she here, what is she talking about, and what does she mean by “redemption.” The woman only responds by repeating the question. After several repetitions, the woman vanishes, and the lights in the room cut off.
Syrvelse immediately wakes up and finds herself in her dark, empty room. Sylvester shifts at her feet and, when asked, communicates that he has seen nothing out of the ordinary. Syrvelse eventually goes back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Johann is awakened by a metallic, grating sound. He eventually realizes the sound is coming from the fireplace. The fireplaces on multiple floors apparently share a single flue, and the noise is coming from somewhere below.
He approaches the fireplace and can make out an echoey, metallic voice repeating the phrase “I must return.” He is about to leave when he hears a door open, and a different voice says, “OK, let’s get it calmed down again,” followed by several voices chanting. He knows enough about Arcana to recognize the chanting as a binding spell of some kind. He also recognizes the voice as that of the bartender, Marsa Vinable.
He leaves his room and returns to the bar, where he finds Mortimer. He looks for the bartender, and she is nowhere to be seen. He asks Mortimer about her, but Mortimer does not remember when he last saw her. Johann stays in the bar for another few minutes but, when Marsa does not return, he returns to his room.
Mortimer gets curious and goes outside to relieve himself. He then walks around the Salon until he finds a door and enters through it.
He finds himself in the kitchen, and several staff members tell him that he is not allowed there. He apologizes as he looks around. Not seeing Marsa, he finds the door to the bar and, continuing to apologize, exits through it.
There, he sees that Marsa has returned to her place behind the bar, but he simply goes back to his table. He remains there for a while longer before retreating to his own room.
The next morning the group continues on their journey. Johann and Syrvelse tell their stories, but no one seems to know what to make of them.
The only interruption on the journey is when a group of goblins crosses the road ahead of them. All are stumbling as if asleep, and all of them have a strange growth on their foreheads. The Caravan stops until the goblins have passed and then resumes its travel.
After a week, they arrive at The Low Road and the High, so-called because the raised Long Ago road returns to ground level and joins the new trail here. Several Long Ago structures are here. One is a series of stacked platforms where autowagons, carts, and other forms of transport are parked, and a low, wide building containing dozens of sleeping rooms serves as an in. Several other caravans and groups of herders and explorers are here as well.
In the parking platforms, the party is getting their wagons into position. They see several autowagons parked nearby, all painted bright red with a blue sigil on the side. Each autowagon is also equipped with a ballista and has a guard near it.
Torinn approaches the autowagons, but the guards step towards him and tell him to stay back. The guards are armed with hand crossbows and whips and wearing red, scale armor. They also have a mark of some kind on their foreheads, but Torinn cannot get a good look at it. Torinn backs off, and the party leaves the parking platform.
Outside, Ceaser sends her cybernetic eye up to look around. Beyond the two main structures, she sees the ruined foundations of several more. Well-defined roads are leading off to the north, north-west, and west, as well as the way back to the Violet City to the east.
She also sees two more of the bright red autowagons parked on either side of the north-west road about a mile away.
Seeing nothing else at the moment, the party enters the inn.
—-
Checkpoint: Survive the first week in the Grasslands. Party advances to level 2.