April 14, 2025

The party approaches Automata, a city of gears and perfect order. Our paperwork expert confirms that we need the appropriate form filled out correctly before waiting in line. We get wait in line for notarization (6 hours) to get the paperwork, then wait 5 more hours to receive the paperwork. The party decides to return to the tower to spend 3 days filling out the halfling-sized stack of papers.

Six, furious after 30+ hours of waiting in line, marches toward the gate, ignoring the modrons guarding it. He is promptly killed by a variety of modron guards. Harvey, who hung back to watch, is identified as a troublemaker and killed as well.

While filling out forms the party is visited by a githzerai names Aristhemus who offers to get us into the city faster if we do him a small favor. An outlaw name Beltha recently stole a logbook for the train that runs through the gate. If we bring her in we'll be granted fast-track access to the gate. Beltha is a githzeri with a tattoo around her eye of a shattered gear. She was last seen in an area under the town called the Inverse.

The party heads to the nearest bar and quickly identifies a dwarf named Zanek with a broken gear tattoo. Harvey comments on the ink and the dwarf says he's a member of the Hands of Havoc. Beltha is their leader... but we need to "prove ourselves" before he'll introduce us to her. Harvey shows off with a sorcerous burst and he's impressed. The dwarf descends through a manhole into the Inverse. Boticelli follows along stealthily.

He returns to the party and leads them down - then up - into the Inverse. A steampipe-lined set of tunnels lead to the lair of the Hands of Havoc.

Harvey persuades the Zanek (who opened the door to the hideout) that another member sent us down.

The party discovers that Beltha has the logbook we're looking for and will sell it to us for 750gp. We make the buy and head back to the surface. The track down Aristhemus at the Ministry of Order and return the book in exchange for the passes to the gate and 500gp. He throws in a fine copper watch as a bonus.

Boticelli describes the gate to the mimir, which processes for a minute, then gives a short speech about the last modron migration. We learn that RO4M participated in the march, ending in a romanirilmani settlement at the base of the spire. It was "looking for it's people". We decide to head there next.

On the way we drop off Renee at the Mausoleum, who thanks us profusely and gives us one of her scales. A massive ancient time dragon flys by to thank us and say it will be there for us when needed.

Two weeks later we reach the rilmani settlement, Dentratus. Two guards turn us away, but a third named Ascetelis approaches with a list including all of our names. He is also looking for RO4M and offers to escort us in our search.

Inside we find a rilmani and persuade it to tell us that he saw RO4M in an area called the Cave of Rust.

Entering the cave Harvey notices many faint modron tracks. We find a modron track leading up a path that follows the wall.