Samba and Nickolai explain the explosion to me. They presume that the Blood Cult are people by noble citizens of Zobeck high society. The cult members who died in the raid needed their deaths explained away to avoid a massive political scandal. Felixia must have had all the dead bodies taken to the bath-house and incinerated in an orchestrated explosion to dispose of all evidence of cult activity. Even my clockwork mind is saddened by this kind of blatantly evil corruption. I know that this sort of thing is difficult to stamp out. When I return to my temple I find I have been gone for ten years. I was assumed destroyed and (in accounting terms) were written off. To resume ownership would cause the temple no end of trouble with the auditors in the scribes guild. The temple decides not to claim me back. This means that I am in an uncomfortable legal grey area of not having purchased my own freedom, but also not being owned by anyone. I officially do not exist. Does this mean that the laws don't apply to me—as well as being restricted by laws, I am also protected by them. The temple however, is happy for me to continue working for them—they just can't pay me for it. Another gearforged, Pious, takes pity on me and allows me to stay in their quarters. Pious explains that during my absence, technical advances have made my model obsolete. He wants to get you up to a modern operating parameter so pays for my reconditioning and an implanted arm-weapon is installed. Meanwhile we settle the affairs of poor Jon (Macky) Mackintosh. His wake is well attended by a wide range of society. Mostly business contacts. As a courier agent he had a reputation for rapid service and excellent quality. While sitting through commemorative speeches Pious comes into the service to find me. He carries an invitation. A request for the party to visit the Clockwork Oracle in the Gearforged Temple. To be summoned by the Oracle is a very rare event and I insist on leaving immediately. The others are getting bored anyway. We respectfully leave Macky's wake and are taken to the Temple of Rava. Pious takes us to the front of a long line of petitioners waiting outside. "Step aside seekers of truth. We have been given top priority. Step aside." He leads us inside to meet the high priestess Lena. "Excellent, You've arrived. Brutes... No more guests. Close the gates! Let's take you to meet the oracle. This kind of personal request is unprecedented in this day and age. We must not delay." We go into a large hall, the walls alive with moving gears. The gears on the far wall are arranged as a giant face. I step up to the oracle, glowing with pride. "My mistress. We are ready to receive your proclamation. Everyone please sit or kneel before the Oracle. There is some shuffling as everyone gets comfortable and the oracles face begins moving as if alive. A strange scraping metallic voice begins to speak. "The ghouls are rising! Emperor Nicoforus the Pale has rallied his armies. They stir underground and will soon climb to the surface, intent on trying to satisfy their insatiable hunger. You must recover the Holy Robes of Sister Adelind, use them to stop the dark wedding, and defeat the ghoul emperor." We are permitted to ask the oracle one question each and learn some more details. Sister Adelind was a shield maiden of Sif who fought against the undead of Morgau at Yarosbirg in Krakova, slaying the notorious vampire lord Otmar the Sallow before dying heroically in battle ten years ago. She has since become a symbol of hope and defiance to those who stand against the vampires and has been declared a martyr by Queen-in-Exile Urzula of Krakova. The dark wedding is an unholy union arranged between vampires and ghouls. The Bride and Groom have not yet been selected but the ceremony is being planned to take place in The “Fallen Kingdom of the Mermaid”, a reference to the former Electoral Kingdom of Krakova, conquered by the vampires of Morgau ten years ago and now one third of the Greater Duchy of Morgau, Doresh, and Krakovar, the so-called Blood Kingdom. The dwarves of the Black Canton of Grisal in the Ironcrag Mountains have been battling the undead of Morgau and Doresh for centuries and possess a wealth of knowledge on ghouls and vampires. Lena recommends that we travel to Grisal, about a 3 week journey, and ask the dwarves about the Holy Robes and where they might be found. "It seems the fates have intervened TK421. You will assist in this quest on behalf of the Temple and bring glory to our Lady." "Acknowledged, Your eminence. I will choose to assist." The journey might be cold, we have passed the equinox and days are getting shorter. We spent the next day arranging supplies and a wagon to carry them in. The following day we set off from the Dwarf Gate along the North Road. The first day is uneventful. That night a pack of wolves skirt around the edges of the camp but Cirdhan negotiates for them to leave us alone and go about their business. They agree, they need to be prepared for the upcoming winter. Despite all the talk of winter, the weather is remarkably fair, the fates must truly shine upon us. Samba claims that he is somehow to blame for the unseasonably warm temperatures. A claim that may well be correct. His conversations often touch on the topic of personal freedom and responsibility, something I hadn't considered deeply myself. I wonder if now that I am a free-forged I ought to adopt a personal name. Something to reflect my abilities. He can be so persuasive, my logic spring can't keep up. Day four and we reach a small frontier town Obersteinau. A large Southbound caravan had arrived earlier that day and all of the townsfolk were occupied with that. We camp on the edge of town knowing we would soon be leaving Zobeck's jurisdiction. The next morning we set off early hoping to make good progress while the weather holds out. Fort Obertal looms on a nearby hill overlooking the town and the road up to the mountains. As we get closer someone can be seen atop the fort. Then we see two Griffins with knights on their backs. "They look like Griffin Knights. They must be coming to check that all is in order before we leave the territory." One of the Griffin Knights lands on the road behind us while the lead Knight flies down and lands a short distance ahead. "Ho travellers. What brings thee forth this fine day?" I step to the front holding my hand aloft in greeting. "Hello Sir Knight, I am Mason Smith of the Church of Rava. We head to The Ironcrags on a Holy quest." "A journey North you say. Then you must pay the road toll." "A toll? This road is free to travel. I believe you may be mistaken. We are holy pilgrims on a most urgent mission. Please let us pass without further delay." "Did you hear that my dear?" the knight calls to his companion. "A machine giving me orders. The impertinence!" I realise as I keep talking that I am only making the knight more frustrated. Humans can be so unusual sometimes. Wrendell stands up on the wagon to speak more firmly with the Knight. "How much is this toll anyway? Let us pay and be on our way." "For your wagon, and also wearing a hat on Moonday is certainly unacceptable. You can be fined for that, you know. All up the toll is 200 gold pieces." "200. That's ridiculous. You call yourselves Knights. Brigands with no honour more like." "How dare you question my honour. Have at you!" The griffin leaps forward onto me, knocking me down, almost killing me. Then before I know it, the rest of our group leap into action. Samba, Wrendell, and Eldon focus on the Knight and within seconds have unseated him and he lies bleeding on the road. I get up, bashing the griffin off me, knocking it to one side with its head spinning. At the back Lea and Nickolai are dealing with the other knight. She stays out of range at first but the griffin is soon killed and she falls to the road. Cirdhan rushed out from the undergrowth spooking the Griffin which leaves the knight and flies off. Samba goes to the fallen knight pulling him up and slapping his back. "It's OK sir knight. Fortunately I am a man of honour and am willing to give you a second chance. You must take a good hard look into your heart and into my light and see that you have clearly fallen awry of your code. You know what you must do to atone. We will return from our holy mission in weeks to come and know that when we do so, we will find Fort Obertal in better shape." The knight and his wife seem legitimately contrite as they walk off towards the Fort. We all get back aboard the wagon and continue on our journey. As we get higher up the mountain pass, the days ahead get colder and mistier. After two solid weeks of travel up into the Ironcrag Mountains we reach the dwarven stronghold Gunnacks. It's a downhill run to Grisal now. With the fates on our side we shouldn't have any more trouble.
