Dear Diary,
Sigh.
Our visit to the Opera proved enlightening, if not helpful in completing our mission. The building was clearly occupied by legionnaires and the occupants were taking security seriously. We decided to openly attempt to establish communication. Our two negotiators presented themselves and were immediately ordered to lie on the ground, whereupon they were shot. An Eidolon shield protected William, but not Jane, whereupon I immediately opened fire targeting those who were actively firing upon us. While Sturm advanced in challenge, Jane managed to find cover and avoid further injury.
With an abruptness I am beginning to get accustomed to the front wall of the Opera House became one large arched opening, revealing the MechaMage standing at center stage next to it’s mecha suit. The mecha suit, sans MechaMage immediately attacked Sturm. Various attempts were made to establish our credentials, mainly revolving around Beef Bourganoin with Tomato Sauce. I continued killing snipers.
The MechaMage threw his axe at William, striking his shield whereupon an attached spell removed all his physical possessions, somewhat discomfiting both William and the MechaMage who apparently was anticipating a somewhat different result. The axe then sprouted legs and started crawling back to master while the mecha gave Sturm a bear hug which managed to crush his mecha and crack several of his ribs. An attempt to dissolve it into a pile of rust was stopped and the effects almost immediately countered.
The opera took a comic turn as the stage disappeared with the same suddenness as the front wall of the building and the Lead Villain of the night disappeared into the laundry chute revealed beneath. Exit, stage something. The axe and mecha quickly followed their disappeared master.
The final act was somewhat disappointing. Sturm attempted to establish himself as their new commander. They were having none of it. They routed, no semblance of discipline remaining. An enclosing room appeared around one of their number before he could escape so that we might have someone to question, but in the end he proved too resourceful and managed to escape his prison before we were ready to confront him. Sturm, disgusted, announced that the fleeing troops had been thoroughly broken and were now useless as a military force, acting together here simply out of a common self-interest in survival. Thinking back, I now understood the suicidal determination to escape this world we saw in the legionnaires we first encountered when we came through the door. They’ve simply seen and experienced too much.
One positive element did come out of our efforts. Apparently in his haste to leave the MechaMage left behind his diary. From it we learned that the present crisis in Fierce began as a failed attempt by Morhold, the Knight of Beasts, a former apprentice to Drake, to create soldiers who could engage the Dwimmerfold in whatever Gossamer world they might appear by empowering them with a tiny fragment of eidolon taken from an artifact he and discovered. He failed to control his creations but managed to escape, possibly being the one to suggest to Drake that Fierce be sealed off. When this was reported to Baudemagus he said we were to pursue the artifact.
The story of the tenth century was a bit more tragic. After six months Soma-sata’s cohort was down to half strength and the heroic rescue mission had turned into a grim battle for survival. The Mechamage and Soma-sata finally parted company over the question of whether those taken over could be saved or should simply be destroyed, the MechaMage’s tenth century having taken to committing atrocities while pursuing that destruction.
While we were in the process of updating Baudemagus I was contacted by my uncle. I told him about our mission, and explained that I hadn’t mentioned it to him before we left because we were clearly defying the spirit if not the letter of Drake’s order to Baudemagus and I didn’t want to put him at risk of Drake’s anger if Drake found out he knew about it. I also filled him in on everything we had discovered to date. He told me that the MechaMage, Amir, was of a clockwork race whose leaders had been contacted by the same people who had contacted Ilsa’s people back on our world, and who they had wanted me to find. The passed on the symbol they used and suggested it might be useful in getting Amir to talk with us. Sturm later recognized the symbol and said the same people had been talking to his leaders, but they were already dealing with Drake.
Moving on, we found ourselves a hotel for the night. Rates were quite reasonable (we simply helped ourselves), but the service was terrible (as in nonexistent). There was the corpse of a massive winged creature non-native to Fierce in the lobby. We elected to stay in the penthouse.
In the morning Asseih used the Umbra to animate the corpse after first having Cyra put wards in place around William to protect him from it (he being both of the Eidolon and not a Warden of the Grand Stair). Once revived it bowed to the Masters of the Grand Stair and coughed up a small delicate black crystal to each and also to Assieh. Due to their delicate appearance I created protective lockets to safely carry them in. Assieh also told us she believed they would crack upon our deaths.
From the hotel we proceeded towards the train station from whence Amir had parted company with Sota-sata six months previous, the last hard fix we had on her location. Unusual footprints encountered along the way led us to investigate a crystal temple. I remained on guard near the entrance while the others went to check out the two eidolon signatures, following only after hearing the sounds of combat. The laser guide beam from the plasma rifle was refracted by the crystal structure of the temple and bounced around proving more of a hazard to us than our opponents. Sturm took one of the out while the pure Eidolon fragment was driven from the other. It proceeded to order us away while it protected us by attacking Mena (but not William who was magically warded). Having learned my lesson with the plasma rifle I tried delivering it a flying kick but was ineffective. Cyra was at this point very effective in destroying it, causing it to explode mightily. Said explosion threw me violently across the room and I managed to avoid being totally eviscerated only by the greatest of luck.
Several lessons offered themselves in the immediate aftermath of this battle. First: Both of our Eidolon Masters need to be warded. Second: I need more flexibility in my attack options. Third: I should take great pains to avoid close physical proximity to anything Cyra considers an enemy.
Written by Dave Nebiker