Session 40 Follow Your Heart
Grippy joins Gomruss on deck to hear the results of his resonite experiment. The revelation, coupled with Gomruss’ penchant for embellishment, melts her brain. The Ascensus describes Miasma escaping the sundered heart of Mundi Eversor—similar to Gomruss’ experiment. However, given resonite is Miasma-corrupted diamond, Eversor’s heart could not have been a resonance engine. The Miasma didn’t exist before the Rising. A chime rings in Arti’s mind. He suggests that Eversor’s heart could have been a diamond like his own, perhaps with Tenebrae’s corrupted soul inside. Firien, worried the warforged may become overwhelmed by paranoia, offers some calming words.
996, Inceptum 8th
Eager to follow up on his new theory, Arti approaches Spiro to ask if he knows of any other weapons that could destroy resonite. The Grand Paladin suggests that such a weapon would need to be blessed by a good-aligned god. Gomruss searches his book of magical artefacts while Guy recalls rumours of divine treasures in the Manyshells. Unfortunately, their research yields no results. Firien strokes their chin, recounting the story of Rex Sol Orbis and the maligned flamberge with which he conquered Atada and Atado. Unfortunately, the Dooming Blade had been lost to time.
996, Inceptum 9th
While Arti harvests his first crop of home-grown tomatoes, Firien checks on Terrence and Brazen in sick bay. They learn of rumours about their relationship with Spiro. Apparently, the Grand Paladin has been more cheerful since the augury. Fortunately, Tuperk calls from the crows nest before the pair can interrogate Firien further. Through his spyglass, Guy spots a squadron of giant manta rays off the port bow. He orders an ascent to evade them. As the docile creatures fly beneath the Verity, Firien examines a manta pup flying beneath its mother’s wing. Its purple hue would suggest it was born prematurely in the Miasma, before the squadron could find adequate nesting grounds.
996, Inceptum 10th
The crew gives three cheers as Captain Brush surprises Firien with a birthday cake! Though hastily improvised, the delicate sponge invigorates the crew. Bantonio’s toast is interrupted when Arti’s head begins to ache. He had lost track of his heart! Guy checks his compass, only to find it spinning wildly. They were entering the field of magnetic earthmotes. Arti fixes his eyes on a reference point ahead to verify their heading while Blythe takes note of every course correction. Before long, Guy calls all stop as the field becomes too dense to traverse. A wall of magnetic earthmotes now blocked their path.
Gomruss examines the wall closely. While the earthmotes appear stable, displacing one of them might cause a chain reaction. He traces a path with his claw and pinpoints the earthmote at the centre of the magnetic field. On Guy’s orders, the crew brace themselves and Eureka fires the cannon. Seconds after the blast, the earthmote shatters! The surrounding fragments snap together, causing a thousand thunderous crashes as a gap in the wall opens up. The crew hold fast as Firien bloats the sails with magical wind.
At flank speed, Guy struggles with the helm and the Verity veers port toward a spinning cluster of earthmotes. The monks spring into action, raising a coordinated golden shield. Without hesitation, Gomruss launches a decisive fireball at the approaching earthmote. It explodes with the full force of a volcano, peppering the shield with molten iron ore! The crew holler and applaud as they pass the threshold. While the crew celebrate, Arti turns his gaze to the bow where the glow of a radiant shield envelops an abandoned fishing village atop a gargantuan moorland earthmote. His headache subsides. His heart was dead ahead.
Moorland Village
Treading carefully, the landing party follow a rickety bridge to the centre of the village and the radiant shield. Tiny eyes watch the Six of Steel from the surrounding marsh. A bulbous frog the size of a football hops onto the bridge, blocking the party’s path. It stares blankly at Gomruss as more frogs emerge. Gomruss bellows, scaring all but the largest frog away. Its tongue shoots out to grab the dragonborn’s arm!
“UN-TONGUE ME!”
Gomruss reels in a frog.
Firien scrambles to remove the frog and boots it back into the marsh. Roused, more frogs hop onto the bridge, licking their lips. The Six of Steel make a run for it! A rotten wooden plank snaps under Bantonio’s foot. A tongue shoots past his ear as his friends help him back to his feet. An army of frogs await the Six of Steel at the roundhouse where a curious magical turret shoots chromatic rays to deter them. The gemstones orbiting the turret return to their owner as Tiamo Trouve descends on luminous wings.
“It cannot be… Arti?”
Tiamo recognises Arti.
Having successfully thwarted the amphibian attack, Tiamo greets the Six of Steel and is elated to hear Grippy is alive and well. The former Diamond Guard explains that only four of the expedition remain including himself: Owain, Kalyptos and Glimback. He warns Arti that his father has suffered a great deal of stress and has begun to hear voices in his head. Arti’s heart skips a beat. Firien places a hand on Arti’s shoulder, as does Bantonio, and the two utter words of encouragement. With renewed resolve, Arti enters the roundhouse to speak with Glimback.