Our session opened on Molakai arguing with the Her Divine and Imperial Majesty Empress Patience IV. Molakai insisted that the Empress was underestimating how dangerous Constance could be, but was shut down: Molakai had his orders (to conquer the Wildlands) and further insubordination would result in his execution. We then transitioned to a memory of Albert's. Looking not a day younger, Albert was doing exercises with the other crew members on an imperial ship as an officer shouted orders. Next to Albert, a young man (Smithers) was struggling to keep up. The two quipped back and forth about Smithers' poor form and low chances of survival until the officer noticed and approached them. Albert continued to talk back, and the officer claimed he had an idea to knock some sense back into the two troublemakers. We cut then to the two of them tied to the top of the mast as the ship flew through a storm. Smithers shouted that he was sure this was the end for them, but was cut off as the ship descended below the clouds to reveal the desert city of Dun-Simmic burning in the stormy night as imperial ships bombarded. We transitioned to the same shot in the current day as our heroes approached. They decided to bring "The" Cog and The Pleasure Palace and leave Lord Austenwald's Revenge outside the city where it wouldn't draw unwanted attention. Zaiir offered to lead Constance and Albert to a cafe that had, upon the Traveler's last visit, been a haven for people with anti-imperial sentiments. Along the way, they encountered graffiti that read "Ruh-Mara hala yeshior!" , Primordial for "The Heart of The Land still lives!" When they arrived at the cafe, they found it was less than friendly. The proprietor told them that genasi weren't allowed to enter and that they would have to leave Zaiir outside. A pair of guards approached as the two protested on Zaiir's behalf and, upon hearing that they were simply looking for information on Smithers and that they were friends with the Lieutenant, offered (somewhat ominously) to bring them to him. Our heroes were prepared when the guards attacked them, and dispatched the imperials handily. They knocked the guards out, and pulled them out of the street into a nearby home where they began to interrogate them. The guards revealed that Smithers was overseeing operations under the Imperial Governor at the late mayor's manor. They left the guards tied up, along with a note and some coin for the residents of the house, and made their way to the mayor's manor. When they arrived, Constance and Zaiir perched on a nearby roof to provide overwatch should something go wrong. Albert walked directly up to the front door and told one of the guards, clad in mechanical steam-powered armor, that he had an urgent message for Lieutenant Smithers. The guard left to fetch the Lieutenant, and Albert waited awkwardly outside. At the edge of the courtyard, a stocky figure in armor wearing a steel mask with hair like fire walked out of the alleyway. The guards commanded them to stop, and the figure responded in a voice like a roaring bonfire: "Your kind is not wanted here! This city will free itself of your disease!" and their hands burst into flame. "The Ruh-Mara lives!" After an hour or more of trudging through the sand, they found the the half-buried form of Smithers' dead body. Clutched in his nearly frozen hands was Albert's magical spyglass wrapped in an illustration of a blooming mechanical lotus. Zaiir left Albert to mourn in silence, and used the sending stone to call back to Constance and update her as to the situation. When that was taken care of, Albert allowed his power to flow from his hand and cremate Smithers and the two turned to go back to the ship.
