After uncovering the truth about Rosenhall’s corruption and the grip of the Golden Rats, the party decided to leave the city behind and continue their quest to locate the missing Duke Ondor Sev, investigate the Chardalyn dragon, and seek out the Ravenknights.
Before departing, they stopped at the Clock Tower to follow a lead tied to the Ghost Ship’s trade manifest. Zahkir used her pendant to unlock the gear-marked door, causing time to freeze. Inside, they found only a table with an hourglass. Touching it transported them 10,000 years into the past, to when Rosenhall was still the Elven capital of Elkmire. There, horologists were working to map the sun’s movement to create a calendar. The party met Amar, an eccentric custodian who shifted the timeline of the room based on objects given to him. He casually mentioned that a plague doctor had once purchased gears from him
“at some point in time.”
When the party left, they found themselves standing outside the tower as if nothing had happened.
Back at the Guildhall, the group stocked up at Mezer Dread’s auction house—purchasing a +1 longsword, caltrops, and a hookshot, then turned in for the night. Saratauc’s dreams revisited the night he lost his arm. He recalled a chilling voice commanding the flamboyant cleric tending to him not to
“waste his magic on a minion,”
forcing Saratauc to live with a prosthetic. The memory confirmed he had been traveling with a white-haired elf named Montgomery when it happened.
The next morning, Saratauc discovered complimentary tickets to board the Azmar Express, gifted by Dr. Cauldwell. The party boarded the lightning rail, though Mayla bristled at the Artificer-made marvel due to bitter experiences with the Artificer’s of Azmar.
The interior of the train was opulent, and the party dined lavishly before settling in. But rest didn’t last. Mayla heard suspicious noises and discovered a bag of gems and an illegal firearm strewn in a nearby car. Reporting the theft to the no-nonsense railway sheriff, Anna Abraham, the party traced the cabin to Leo Di Salvatore, a sly Tabaxi fresh off a decade-long sentence for smuggling.
Under interrogation, Leo admitted he had snuck dimensional shackles and a wand of command (undead only) on board, intended for a vampire spawn stashed in the cargo bay, destined for a collector in Charmed Cove. But the vampire had escaped, the control items were now missing, and something undead was stalking the train…