Chapter 1, Part III: The Gilded City
Based on notes by Cartographer Darwin Fox (Justin)
The party fought Torc and his crew, the Roguish Rogues, in a heated battle to reclaim a mysterious orb. Notable moments included Darwin using Suggestion to briefly convince Torc to nap, Ardyn turning into a shadow made up of spiders, and Mews landing the killing blow on Raygun. After Torc surrendered, the party tied him and his ally Jeffrey up. Searching the area, they discovered a Drow named Asher, who claimed he had tried to get their adventuring party to back out of the AGI contract once he learned that there was actually a living person in the orb. The orb revealed itself to contain Professor Ulysses Benson from the Mystics and Magics Academic Institution in Gilding. He explained that he was Gericho's friend and assisted him during summers at the castle for many years.
Ardyn tortured some information out of Torc and Jeffrey, learning they were supposed to bring the orb to Oleg in the Holcroft Caverns to complete the quest. After, they brought Jeffrey and Torc back into the house and locked them up with Rufus. They then initiated the panic button in Gericho's workshop, which would erase the last 24 hours from the minds of anyone outside of the panic room, including Jeffrey and Torc, who they then sent off into the world, dazed and confused.
Professor Benson and Gericho, a former royal magical adviser thought to be dead for 20 years, revealed that the King of Materhawk is creating deadly magical phenomena known as Snarls by manipulating the rare Element 707. These Snarls can cause catastrophic magical storms with unpredictable effects. The King's work with element 707 predated a war, The Equilibrium Conflict, fought over its control, ending with the element being placed under the Council of the Five's supervision. Benson and Gericho recruited the party to stop the King's experiments, offering quests through the Adventurers Guild (AGI) as a backchannel for operations.
During travel to Gilding, Boris revealed that his real name is Owen Lively, the son of a noble family in Gilding. He ran away because he felt unsupported in his passions as an writer and was worried that adventuring might put his family in danger. The party learned that the city of Gilding, a massive urban hub divided into highly guarded and class-tiered districts, houses Brawlmart, a sprawling magic store owned by the be-plaided Aaracokra CJ Brawlton.
On the way to the city center, the party encountered the Beefly Bruisers, a group of adventurers that seemed to be made up solely of high school bullies, during their tram ride through Gilding. They participated in a pullup competition with Ardyn claiming victory.
Once in the city center, the group headed off to Filly Buccillo's Fillies, Foals, and Fanciful Freights to buy a wagon and some horses. They bartered a deal by agreeing to have Filly's store name on the side of their wagon as mobile advertising. They then made their way over to Brawlmart Megastore. While shopping, Victoro tried to steal a crossbow but, despite a near perfect execution, was caught by CJ. The Brawlmart CEO gave the crossbow to Victoro free anyway, but not before letting the rogue know that HE knew what he was up to.
The group followed a lead to Holcroft Cavern, where they navigated traps and discovered glowing magical stones. Deep in the cavern, they were confronted by two massive water creatures, setting the stage for their next battle.