A12

Cautiously the party (Dominic, Ignatius, Jack and Drusila) entered the small town on the plane of shadow. It was a tiny place consisting of a small slave market, a massive slave powered water pump, a few buildings and palace that resembled a petrified tree trunk guarded by a few ogres. Searching for information the party visited the local inn, the Rampage. After narrowly getting involved in the establishment�s savage entertainment, they got most of their information from an ogre magi, named Senzu. The village was called Barter Town, which survived by slaves taken from the prime material via a secret portal. A rough and tumble place, it was ruled by a mysterious individual known only as the Leader. No one ever saw him, instead his minion Imp delivered his messages. Few ever returned from the palace.
     As they left the inn they saw that Imp was giving a speech to the local about the laws and obedience. An ancient tiny figure standing a scrawny 3� 2� with pale grayish skin and thin strands of grey hair, Imp was loathsome and hateful. In an attempt to get information, the party incurred the ogre�s wrath. After the ensuing fireball from Ignatius, Imp fled with the aid of a harness of climbing and the party overpowered the surviving ogres. They quickly climbed into an upstairs window and began to search around. The place had smooth round inner halls with numerous gargoyles and other statuary. The upper levels seemed deserted and the dimensional sextant showed that the portal lay below. As they reached the basement, Dominic thought to look ahead with clairovoyance. Thus he saw a cloaked figure waiting up ahead as well as prison cells filled with tiny twisted humanoid figures. They charged in but initially found the fiendish creature a bit tough. But with the help of Dominic�s fiendish ape, the barbazu was forced to flee. The party released the poor creatures and moved on.
     The portal room was empty except for a throne opposite the door and a circle inscribed on the floor. The party cautious investigated the room and the skeleton on the throne before disposing of it. On the throne they found the command words to activate the portal. As the portal very slowly powered up, two cloaked figures crept up the corridor, they were unfazed by a fireball and arrows passed through them, revealing their illusionary nature. Closing the door they soon found themselves in a spell battle with Imp perched on the ceiling. Two loyal minions also burst through the door soon after that. Ignatius was polymorphed in one of the creatures they found but Dominic was able to dispel the effect. Imp concentrated his attack on the one person able to defeat his protections, Ignatius. In the end, Ignatius died from a massive bolt of electricity. Eventually the rest of the party and their summoned creatures were able to wear Imp down as Jack climbed up to him and finished the wizard.
     Once through the portal they traveled through the desert to a distant sign of civilization. They had reached the mighty city of Zandran, city of technology. Well-irrigated green fields surrounded the wondrous city, where towers and buildings rose six, eight, or more stories into the air and vast clouds of smoke billowed from the hundreds of forges and smithies. The sea before the city was full of trade ships from distant lands and several airships drifted lazily in the sky. The city was surrounded by low wall, which was circled by hundreds of new buildings. In the center a massive cathedral stands rose 400 feet above the surrounding desert. The city rang with clanging metal and clockwork.
     The party rushed to the Holy Sanctum of Automita, the heart of her order, to raise Ignatius from the dead. After the resurrection, Dominic wandered about the cathedral investigating the Techsmiths, divinely inspired engineers, and furthering his knowledge of technology. Meanwhile Jack wandered into town to find lodging and investigate legends of treasure hordes.
     Dominic talked with the Patriarch of his order, Lukas Persival, a mighty priest and Techsmith and told him about his journeys and skills. The Patriarch expressed interest in Dominic�s endeavors and his goals for Umbria. During the next few days Dominic ascended to the position of Grand Engineer and acquired the skills to become a Techsmith.
     Jack, in the meantime met a crazy old woman during his investigation of town. She told the tale of the city of Sikak, a wealthy prosperous city swallowed up by the desert following a great battle. A former resident, she said none had ever rested its wealth from the sands. Jack found that what she had said was true and that passage to the nearby city of Hassan could be had for 30 gold per person on the fabled Iron Carriage Line (a medieval locomotive). This journey of 150 miles could be done within 8 hours!!
     Ignatius recovered from his weakened state and they party began to plan an expedition to the ruins in earnest. As they rested at the inn, there was a great explosion next door. By the time the party got there, Old Tom had finished off his assailant. Thomas Ken, their old friend had been hiding out in Zandran, from his mysterious foes from the Arcane Order. The reason he was hunted is his knowledge about the epic spell wail of time, which can destroy an entire city. It was invented by the wizard Myles Stormhowl who Tom served in the war. Only Tom now knew what happened to Myles and where records of the spell can be found. The Order had recently stolen his spellbook and that was the only reason he hadn�t teleported away. After some questioning failed to turn up anything, Dominic did a divination, which warned that the �poor� would be headed north to the desert. Jack learned that the there were people called spellflinchers who specialized in stealing magic items and spellbooks. Questioning the local beggars revealed that a street kid named Minerva had been hanging around recently. With her name they began to wander the city questioning people.
     Soon after that the party found themselves in an alleyway hemmed in by two blind men. A wall of ice capped off the exits, the men invoked darkness spells and the battle began. After a chaotic battle, the blind men, called magi hunters were ripped apart by Evard�s black tentacles and the enchantress Barabel was subdued by summoned bears. After some bluffing about torture she told them that she didn�t know where the spellflincher was. Dominic took her to the church, for a private talk with the Patriarch, while the party chased down kid. After a long invisible chase and several innocent bystanders, they caught the spellflincher, a scrawny half-elf woman impersonating a street urchin. The book was missing.
     As the party began their torture act, she revealed she was quite willing to return the book�for a reward.   Eventually a deal was worked out exchanging Tom�s spell knowledge for book. She had hidden it with her familiar in a rat hole (along with all her valuable gear). The day saved the party rested and awaited their train ride.

Death and Reunions