Sand blows gently over the open ground, winding between the ramshackle huts huddled together to form the small town of Il-Tavarsham. This sparsely populated mining town is occupied slightly by dwarves and gnomes, and mostly by warforged–a manufactured remnant of ancient wars long forgotten by those still wandering the Western Expanse.
As night falls across the desert, I find myself perched on a small stool, looking out over an open room the miners call simply, “the barracks”. A bucket of oil and tub of grease are situated near the front door, which is applied to the grit- and sand-coated joints of off-duty warforged as they enter. Clustered near the back are a series of bunks, each containing a sleeping figure. However, it is the man sitting directly in front of me who has my full attention at the moment. Based on the information he is about to reveal, he has asked to remain anonymous for this publication. Given his distinctive dress, he will simply be referred to as “Fez” for the duration.
Fez leans forward, the candle between us adding a dramatic sense of lighting as shadows shift across his face. “You know there are wanted criminals among us?” he begins conspiratorially. “I must admit, I attempted to collect the bounty myself for a moment. Return them to Clearcrest for a not insubstantial reward, hmm? Unfortunately, the criminal is closely guarded by a traveling party–a gnome, a halfling, and a half-orc- who were able to dispatch the various elementals I summoned to subdue them.” At this, he gives a mildly disappointed look but brightens when he seems to remember a forgotten detail, “You see, I actually learned of the bounty when I met a calico tabaxi woman with whom I shared passage across the Arundel Ocean. I figured I’d make an attempt to rid the city of ne’er-do-wells and earn some coin, but where I failed, I suspect she’ll succeed–she bragged of being a professional bounty hunter, you see.”
While this was certainly a fascinating facet of current events in this quiet town, I pivot to something with a more significant impact on the continent at large, and the reason I’ve sought out the man in the first place: the Umbrail, an underground, elemental-powered transportation system that will make travel between Clearcrest and Erast a matter of days instead of weeks. He exhibits considerate enthusiasm for the topic as I begin my questions. “Ah, while I can’t give all of the details, this project is a marriage of brilliant engineering, incredible passion, a great deal of money, and well, a fire-elemental powered engine. The first of its kind, really.” While this may be a secret project, I show a certain amount of incredulity that goads him into revealing a few more details; “I know, I know, it sounds absurd, but as an elemental is sheer natural energy, it only makes sense that, if we could harness their energy, we could use it! So, we simply… ahem, corral an elemental into an engine compartment of sorts and, viola! Clean, natural energy! To be honest, once you’ve got the set-up, the issue is less how to make it go than how to get it to stop. Heh. But never fear. The project leads have every aspect of the plan well in hand…”
As yours may be, kind reader, my jaw was agape at the thought of attempting to contain a being of pure energy. How does one contain so much raw power, you ask? I asked that very same question and was rewarded with a quirky smirk and the following mysterious repose, “Well, remember the criminal and his associates that I mentioned? As it turns out, they’re a little too anxious to prove their worth. When prompted by the generous donors backing this project, they were more than happy to assist with the containment procedure as long as they received a small form of payment. Specifically, they asked for “three checks”. Not a check of any amount of money, just three checks. Except the halfling. He demanded four for some reason…” At this, Fez’s attention drops as he appears lost in confused thought. For a moment, I can hear him mumbling, “I don’t even think they know what a check is, to be honest,” before he begins staring off into space with a bemused look on his face.
When I’m finally able to pull Fez out of his reverie, I ask him to expound on the aforementioned containment procedure and he proudly offers, “While I cannot take full credit–as it’s based on older arcane works–we designed a system that allows the capture of an elemental by weakening it and luring it through a summoning circle, crossing multiple runes along the way. The sigils are each powered by a fraction of the summon’s own power, thus making escape a fight against its own strength!”. I admit to Fez that I’m impressed, not just with the system’s design, but by the courage displayed by those individuals sent in to complete the ritual. “Yes, yes, that has crossed my mind too,” he acknowledges as his eyes start to glaze over, and I realize that I’m losing his attention once more. “Those…criminals, are quite a force to be reckoned with… And for practically no reward, too. Three checks…?”
Now deeply lost in thought for a third time, Fez excuses himself from the table, abruptly ending our interview. However, even with such a truncated explanation, it’s clear there is a slew of excitement occurring out in the sands of the Western Expanse–games of cat and mouse between criminal and bounty hunter, a secret underground railroad system, elemental capturing rituals… This certainly isn’t the end of the story and I, your faithful correspondent, will be here to report on it all. Stay tuned, faithful readers.
The Clearcrest Chronicle 