Armour stolen, guns acquired, new contracts signed.
Like Clockwork
In the morning, after breakfast there is a knock on the door as Xavier comes in to speak with the party about a new job. The job is to find an abandoned village in the Spineback hills and clear it of anything that may pose a threat to a new town and mining operation.
A 2000gp contract is negotiated, and allowances on any gear needed to prepare for the adventure. The party acquires health potions, a spyglass for Anya, lock picks, and black powder. After shopping, the party reads the book, “A deep and creeping darkness” and goes to the library where Anya is studying the more subtle arts of opening doors not wanted to do as such. After mapping the Spineback hills, a suitable nearby town is found that seems to fit the stories, a town called Maerin. The party sets out down the kings path, and it is a quiet and comfortable 10 days travel until they turn off the kings road to get to Maerin, and walk quite willingly into a Kobold ambush, while walking in they party discusses what to do until they get within 30ft and Aranar fires Clockwork Scorpion.
It is a moment they will never forget. When Beroya gave Aranar the Clockwork Scorpion, it came with an explanation. Aranar understood the theory, the risks. They crafted the ammo and caught a glimpse of what the powder could do. But nothing. Nothing prepared the Beroya for this moment. They saw a threat and simply acted to protect the foundlings. The aiming and pulling the trigger was instinct, but the explosion that cam after was life altering. After taking the shot Aranar simply froze. The noise. The muzzle flash. The splattered destruction it caused. Battle will never be the same again. Aranar feels a sense of wonder and awe and intrigue. The weight of the honour that has been bestowed settles on their shoulders. This changes everything. This is the way.
After a long battle with the Kobolds, two of which are of a warrior skill that none in the party have encountered before the party is eventually victorious.
The party pauses for a short time as a cold gust of wind blows in from the Spineback mountains, on this cold winter day of Tizdan, the 2nd of Bixk.