After my little trip to the Island of Iron, things were looking good, especially in the area of finances. When I presented the Iron Hammer to Edward the Warden he was beyond ecstatic. “Garrett!” he exclaimed “you have achieved what was once thought unobtainable! Your skills are even greater than I imagined!” Placing a finger on my lips, I gently motioned for him to quiet down. Glancing around the small, old apartment that was owned by one of Edward’s associates (who was also an acquaintance of mine) and doubled as a clandestine meeting place, Edward calmed down.

“Sorry my good Taffer”, he whispered with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t want to announce our business to the whole building after all the ‘walls have ears’ you know.” “That’s alright, I knew you wanted to obtain this item rather intensely”, I said handing him the Iron Hammer “now about my payment…” “Yes, Yes indeed you have indeed earned it, my fine thief!” Edward replied, reaching under his thick coat and fumbling for a large sack hanging from his belt. Finally obtaining the sack and handing it to me, I gave it a gentle shake. The click of gold coins was unmistakable to trained ears like mine. Smiling, I placed the pouch on my own belt. In spite of my distrust and contempt for Wardens I couldn’t help but like Edward, the guy was definitely a thief’s best friend. I listened as Edward continued the discussion.

“Garrett we have known each other for several months now and your talents are extraordinary, have you ever considered a change in your career? I have many positions in my organization for a wise and discreet man such as yourself.”

“I appreciate the offer” I said, “but I prefer our relationship as it is”

“Yes I know you prefer to be an independent, but do you want to hide in the shadows forever? With my guidance, in a few years you could be a wealthy man and retire into a legitimate business, giving me my cut of course, and be a man of influence in the City”.

“I have many reasons for remaining in my current profession, besides I’ve always thought going legit is more trouble than it’s worth.”

Edward sighed, “very well Garrett, we’ll leave things as they are…but please keep my offer in mind, when you tire of this adventuresome life you lead, you would indeed be a welcome ally.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, after all I would like to retire rich sometime” was my response.

Edward’s face brightened,“Good! now that we have our present business taken care of, let us set a time for our next meeting, how about next week?”

“Actually it may take longer than that” I stated tactfully “I have some pressing business to attend to, can we meet at the first of next month, trust me its very important, lets just say there are some ‘opportunities’ I have been meaning to take advantage of.”

“Hmm, I could use your services quicker than that” Edward said “but if you have some business to take care of I guess well meet then, just remember not to taff on my turf.”

“Of course Edward it has always been a pleasure to do business with you.”

“Excellent my good Taffer! I will see you next month! William its time to go.”

Edward rose from his seat as the apartment door was opened by Captain William, Edward’s chief bodyguard and well known as a powerful warrior. William was the only other person who knew anything substantial of my business dealings with Edward. As long as I remained on friendly terms with Edward I had little to fear, William was as loyal and discreet as any man I had yet seen. As Edward left, William gave me a nod and made his own exit, keeping close to his employer.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the apartment and went upstairs to the roof. I then began a clandestine journey home. I had expected more resistance from Edward on my taking a leave of absence from the jobs he was constantly bringing me, but he seemed to go along with little protest. That was undoubltly due to the fact that his chief concerns lay elsewhere. The word on the streets was that Ramirez had patched up differences with a rival Warden, the infamous Tranced, and they had become allies in a brewing power struggle against Edward, which was threatening to erupt into a nasty turf war. Although I liked Edward, I had no intention of being sucked up into his or anyone else’s conflicts.

Another problem was that Edward’s overconfidence in my abilities had him sending me on more and more dangerous jobs, neglecting to tell me about all of the risks, like the job on the Isle of Iron. It was time to reassert my independence and distance myself from Edward for a while, but my real reason for moving on my own had nothing to do with him or events in my part of the city.

The night before I had been contacted an old friend who was a member of the Keepers. When I saw the glyph on the wall of my apartment building, I knew I had been signaled to meet with him. Over the last few months my friend has come by at various times to discuss a few of the voluminous secrets contained in the ancient Keeper texts. He revealed to me some information he had gained from some ancient writings of the Precursors stored in one of the Keepers secret libraries. The record told an interesting history. Apparently after the fall of Karath-Din a few survivors of a noble household founded a small fortress near the edge of the great forest. What began as a small fort soon grew into a small town with high walls according to legend, (obviously to protect its inhabitants from any nightly incursions from the wild creatures from the nearby woods). After a century of prosperity, the town went into a mysterious decline and was abandoned for many years.

In recent times however, the Hammerites had rebuilt part of the original fortress into a fortified chapel and barracks, officially as a training area and to keep an eye on pagan activities in the area. Unofficially however, there was far more than what met the eye…. the Keepers had some information that the Hammers in reality were conducting digs in the area and had stumbled across some kind of subterranean tunnel system under the old ruins. From the information the Keepers had gathered, the tunnel complex had served as some kind of underground shelter and storage system, which had been used by the Precursors as a hideout in the old days. In those tunnels many items of great value were discovered: tablets and old scrolls containing valuable new knowledge of Precursor history as well as voluminous items of treasure. (oh yeah!)

Unfortunately, though most of the treasure items were melted down into gold and silver coinage for the Hammer treasury, which was helping to finance their drive to regain influence in the city and to fill a power vacuum left by the Mechanists, who had lost many of the best, brightest (and most insane) members at the “disaster” at Soulforge..oh if people only knew the truth! Many of the scrolls, which held great knowledge of past events, were burned, being regarded as either primitive and or blasphemous by the Hammers. The Keepers had managed to save a few for study, thanks to the help of someone they had on the inside, but much valuable knowledge had been lost. (Ignorant Hammers! No telling what those old manuscripts were worth, to well paying collectors of such things that is…)

“Whatever may have been lost in the complex” my Keeper friend stated “has now been replaced by the Hammerites own constructions, they seem to be engaged in some sort of research…”

“Into what?” I asked

“Come now, I believe you have already glimpsed the first fruits of their efforts on your recent trip to the Isle of Iron”

It hit me! In my journey to the Isle of Iron to get an artifact for Edward called the “Iron Hammer”, I had witnessed a gory struggle between an unusually large and aggressive group of undead and a war party of Hammers backed by Mech-Guards bearing Hammer insignia.

“They’re trying to back engineer Mechanist technology for their own purposes!” I blurted out.

“Yes Garrett, their new high priest seems to be quite flexible in regards to Hammer doctrine when it suits him”

I sneered, “I never had much use for those damn hypocrites.”

“Irregardless of what you feel about the order of the Hammer, there is a serious situation brewing at this time Garrett, although many top Mechanist engineers and their plans were destroyed at Soulforge, remnants of their technology still remain throughout the City. Although most in the City lack the knowledge and tools to maintain these new machines, now that Karras is gone, the Hammers are trying to rebuild Mechanist technology to aid their order in a quest for dominance, needless to say this could disrupt the balance of power in the area.”

“And make my job a whole lot harder” I groaned.

“Yes your ‘occupation’ would be more difficult with mass produced metal faces bearing hammer logos wouldn’t it?”

“Ugggghh..don’t make me sick”, I winced, shaking off a horrifying thought. After Soulforge was wrecked, Mechanist repairmen and replacement parts for their machines had become quite scare, which resulted in more and more of their security devices becoming dysfunctional and ending up in the scrap heap. Obseverving this trend, I had taken full advantage and as a result I had been actually paying the rent on time for a while! But if the Hammers succeeded in their efforts, once again there could be a new plague of electric eyes multiplying throughout every shop, bank and wealthy estate throughout the City, making a taffers life miserable. and short….

“Alright you’ve convinced me that there needs to be something done, and since you Keepers don’t like to get involved in these things, you want me to do a little job for you, hmm?”

The Keeper smiled “Something like that…if you could sneak into the underground complex and find the archives where they keep their research notes plus the Mechanist data books and destroy them, their quest would be brought to a standstill…a new Metal Age under the Hammers could disrupt the Balance, which would have serious consequences considering what lies ahead….”

“Such as?”

“Find the research data and you will find information that will grant you an understanding of the coming events..who knows? You just might just discover some of the Hammers new found wealth too!”

“Ah! That’s just what I like to hear; I’m supposed to meet with an associate of mine tomorrow, then I’ll be ready to go”

The Keepers eyes saddened for some inexplicable reason…

“Oh yes your new friend”

“I don’t consider him a friend, just an associate I seem to be able to trust without getting a dagger in my back, present company excluded old friend.” was my reply.

“Trust me Garrett, though he is not a lawful man, he is indeed a true friend to you and many in the City, after you meet tomorrow, begin your journey and complete the task for lightning form the north will soon draw near…”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

The Keeper rose from his seat to leave.

“You will know soon Garrett, now take this map, there will be some information at the fortress that will enlighten you, for now farewell my friend.”

As I made my way home from my meeting with Edward, I couldn’t help feeling concern over my discourse with the Keeper. Over the years I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) when a Keeper starts giving you cryptic clues, something BIG will happen soon. Making my way down into my apartment building through the rooftop doorway, I arrived at my apartment far quicker (not to mention safer) than an early morning journey through the still darkened streets. No time to waste, I thought better get ready and head out to the fortress area and deal with the Hammers plans soon, so I’ll be free to deal with whatever is next.

Lighting the lamp on my desk, I went to the closet and began gathering equipment. I grabbed a dozen water arrows, 2 gas arrows, 2 rope arrows and several broadhead and moss arrows for my quiver. I stuffed the quiver and bowcase in my large travel bag as well the usual assortment of potions and provisions. Before slinging the bag over my shoulder to leave, I grabbed a flashbomb and some extra gold for the journey and made sure my blackjack was tucked away out of sight, secure in my boot, yet easily accessible. Traveling through the city with a sword at your side would get you little notice since many armed citizens (lawful and otherwise) had them, but an openly displayed blackjack would get you unwanted attention in a hurry since it was known as a thief’s tool.

Grabbing my bag, I left the apartment and headed downstairs, and out into the street, which was brightening from the rising sun. Activity in the streets was slowing stirring as the irritating clamor of Mechanist and Hammer cathedrals could be heard in the distance. Making my way north, I decided to head to North Shalebridge where there was a terminal which had wooden transportation carts available, which were drawn by tamed pygmy (gasless) burricks and run by experienced drivers for quite a reasonable fee. Wearing common dress, with the exception of a dark cloak that wouldn’t be noticed since it was the cold season, I knew I would draw little attention on my travels….

The warm sun caressed my face, in spite of the cold, as I lay stretched out in the back of the cart, with my gear bag laid across my belly for a little extra warmth and shielding from the cold winds blowing over the open top of the burrick cart as it rolled across a great plain on an old, well worn trail. Despite the bumpy ride and the snorting and hooting of the burricks, I had found the ride to be rather peaceful, once I was out of the City. As I sat up, I glanced over at the driver a youngster who, from the look of his shoddy dress and the rough hewn blanket he was wrapped up in to keep out the cold wind, was from the City’s lower class. After taking a glance at my map which had been provided by the Keepers, I asked.

“How far are we to the next town?”

“A few more hours sir, unless you want to go to Lithscon which is three days journey beyond that”

“Actually I would like to stop somewhere to spend the night a little sooner, isn’t there a place a nearby?”

“Well sir, we’re about to arrive at the next outpost to get fresh burricks, there’s an inn there..well not really an inn just a few shacks for rent so travelers can have a place to spend the night ”, the boy stated.

“Isn’t there a Hammer fort nearby? I always feel safer with them around, especially this close to the woods.” I said, biting my tongue to keep from laughing.

“Oh yes sir! just a little to the east from the outpost, but you had better keep away from there, they used to let people passing through the area spend the night in the warehouse by their compound for protection and they would only charge you a gold piece for a meal, real nice food too”

“What happened?”

“Don’t know sir, a few months ago they built the shacks at the outpost and sold ‘em to old man Daniel who used to be one of 'em, said that the area was just too dangerous for ordinary folk to stay there anymore except for their troops, funny thing though all the forest dwellers I met ‘round here were real nice folk and there hasn’t been any mention of any wild beasts in the area for a long time”

“Hmm..I’m sure they have good reasons for taking precautions,” I said musing over the information I had gained.

“I guess so sir” the boy continued, “they’re real adamant about people stickin to the paths and staying away from their fort, said anyone caught near there would be locked up for tresspassin if not smacked on the spot!”

“Thanks for the warning kid, I won’t be sightseeing around there” I lied.

Before long we arrived at the outpost that lay on the thinly wooded border of the Great Forest. The layout of the place was simple enough, a small building, which held some offices and living quarters for the manager of the place, plus a store with a small burrick stable standing alongside it. Across the road there were the shacks the kid had mentioned. None appeared to be occupied at the moment. Hmmm, with few people around and some woods nearby, this place should be ideal for a nighttime excursion I thought. When the cart came to a stop, I grabbed my bag and stepped off. Turning to the boy, I gave him his fee plus an extra tip of silver coins, which made his eyes go wide.

“Thank you sir!” he stammered.

“You earned it kid” I said smiling “when will you be coming back through this area?”

“Well I have some errands to do for the boss, but I’ll be passing through here back to the City tomorrow, you’re not goin to the next town sir?”

“No I just wanted to get out of the City for a night and take some time off away from all of the chaos in town, this looks like a pretty enough place to stay for a day or two”

“Yes sir it sure is, real quiet too” the kid said while unhitching his burricks and leading them to the stable “Just give Mr. Daniel a call at the building over there and he’ll get you fixed up”

“Thanks” I said as I approached the outpost building.

It didn’t take long to get a room. The innkeeper Daniel was a short older man who had a scar on his left cheek and a noticeable limp. I gathered from his boasting that he had once been a Hammerite acolyte who had been released from the Order, due to injuries he had received while serving alongside the City Army on one of the Baron’s campaigns. Although no longer a Hammerite, he still had close ties to the order in the area, which got him first choice to run the facility. Despite his background, Daniel seemed more friendly than fanatical, and he didn’t ask too many questions about the reasons for my stay, which was a definite plus. (I think my gold answered all the questions he may have had) By the time the burrick cart pulled out of the outpost heading on to other tasks, Daniel had already procured me lodging at one of the shacks. Glancing around my small room, I saw it was typical Hammerite construction. Possessing only a small table, closet and cot to sleep on, the place was austere but well built for habitation, at least until I completed the task at hand.

Sunset arrived and darkness soon reigned supreme. I sat in my room chewing on a piece of salted burrick jerky, thinking about my plans for the night. I had just put out the candle on the desk when I observed Daniel step out of the burrick stable across the road, lighting a small ornamental torch before entering the main building. This was a good sign he was headed to bed. Hammers retired or not, often lit a ceremonial light of some sort outside their quarters before turning in for the night as symbolic shield against evil as they slept. Another silly superstition, I thought rather amused by the little display, if the Trickster were still around, he’d walk right past that little light and have himself a Hammer snack, at least it lets me know he’ll soon be asleep and won’t be snooping around. its time to begin…

Two hours later, as I slipped silently through scattered trees and brush, I had discovered one thing for sure, it wasn’t getting any warmer! I wrapped my warm cloak a little tighter around myself as the icy winds began to pick up around me, biting into my face like a thousand knives. Except for the whistle of the wind, all was silent except for the occasional howl of a wolf or some unknown beast, which I found quite unnerving. Getting a reassuring grip on one of my flash bombs, I pressed on.

Stopping to rest, I paused to get my bearings in the darkness.
In the distance, I could make out the outline of the nearby Hammer’s fort which, to my dismay, appeared to be well lit. There’s always a way around, I imagined, even the ‘impregnable fortress’ of Cragscleft had a way inside. Creeping closer, I soon could make out the general layout of the fort. The fort was large rectangular structure two stories high with guard towers at each corner patrolled by archers. There was no moat or any other barrier outside of the fort’s high walls and iron gates, but there were scattered lamp posts around the base of the structure illuminating the area. Closer observation of the careful patrols of several Hammers around the perimeter gave me the unsettling realization that there was the possibility of mines. Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought….

Carefully, I moved a little closer to the fortress and began to make a slow circle of the general area, probing for any weaknesses in the fortress defenses. Not seeing any, I consulted the Keeper map again, hoping all access to the underground tunnels weren’t completely contained within the fort, because there wasn’t any way I could get close enough to the fortress to even shoot a rope or vine arrow without being in plain sight to even the most unobservant Hammer novice if I didn’t get blasted by a mine first. Examining the map, I uncovered a cryptic phrase “Seek the old gateway and you will find the path to knowledge”. Looking around, I saw ahead of me away from the fortress, a mass of boulders and rubble, obviously old material removed from the original fortress and swept aside for the Hammers new construction and rising above it on a hillside….the remains of an old temple with the large, worn columns of its entrance reaching, into the sky…..Now were getting somewhere! I thought.

Circling the trash pile, I began climbing up the hill to the columns, grateful that I was putting some distance between the Hammers formidable outer defenses and myself. Reaching the top, I stood in the darkness between the columns, a weathered but still imposing testament to the creative abilities of an ancient and still largely unknown civilization. As I stepped forward to examine the left column, I was hit by a blast of warm air rising from a mass of rocks and debris lying beside it. After shifting rocks and digging as silently as I could for a few minutes, I was rewarded by the revelation of an opening in the earth. Kneeling down and examining the hole with my mechanized eye, I could see it was the entrance to a rocky tunnel which slowly sloped downward, deep into the earth leading toward the facility. I crawled into the hole and pulled up some rocks in front of the entrance, partially covering it in order to help conceal its presence, just in case any Hammers patrolled near the area.

After crawling a short distance, the tunnel dropped down at a steeper angle and began to widen. I was able to get off my knees and stand, though hunched over to avoid hitting my head on the roof. Advancing through the darkness for what seemed like a hundred yards, I entered a large chamber with tunnels branching out from it in all directions. Shutting my mech-eye, which could see equally well day or night, I glanced around with my normal eye and could see a faint glow coming from one of the far tunnels to the right. Feeling that dimly lit tunnel was my best bet, I made a mark in the dirt at the front of the tunnel I had entered, in order to identify it in case I had to make a fast exit. The mark was nothing as obvious as an arrow, just a simple line I could spot easily with my mech-eye in the darkness but that would likely remain unnoticed if there were any Hammers in pursuit. When this was accomplished, I moved on. The tunnels ceiling became lower and lower, until I was almost crawling on my belly, when it abruptly opened up behind a group of barrels into what appeared to be another large room lit by a single torch. Squelching the torchlight with a water arrow, a quick inspection of the crates and junk lying around the floor revealed the area to be some kind of storeroom with a large iron door on the other side, apparently the Hammers didn’t realize the tunnel I had entered from led to the distant surface. Finding the door unlocked, I cracked it open as quietly as possible and peered through.

What I saw was a large underground chamber that appeared to be filled with a whole variety of Mechanist machinery and devices. There were several combat bots lying around in differing stages of disassembly, plus some electric eyes lying on wooden tables nearby, amidst piles of tools and notes. At the far wall of the chamber were various machines of Hammer origin, smelters, boilers and the like, most of them were shut down but a couple of the boilers furnaces were still glowing, providing the source of heat which had helped lead me here. Nearby was a large metal lift and a ladder beside it, which led to two separate hatches in the ceiling, that I assumed, led to the fort on the surface. Both of the hatches were shut and looked to be locked down, strange in an area that should be awash in activity. Perhaps this is where those Hammer Mechs I saw on the island were reengineered, I wondered but where is everybody?

Except for the glow from the boilers, the only other source of light was from a single electric light hung form the ceiling. With all of the machinery around, I still had plenty of dark shadows to hide in. Making my way around the wall of the chamber, I started to take some notes off a table when I heard footsteps approaching. Bolting away from the table, I took refuge under some piping, in the shadow of a large machine, which looked like one of the devices I used to manufacture mines at Soulforge Cathedral before turning Karras’s playthings against him. Safely hidden, I soon spotted the source of the sound when a nearby door opened and a Hammer priest stepped out whistling one of those silly hymns they were so fond of. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to the boilers and began throwing some coal in with a shovel, which I found bizarre because something like that was normally an acolytes job.

Seeing no one else around, I decided to take him out in order to work undisturbed. Creeping behind one of the machines, I realized that his work was making the fire grow brighter, insuring that it was impossible to get any closer. Deciding the only way I was going to get my hands on the guy meant drawing him to me, I snatched a small metal part from a nearby table. Concealing myself in the shadows between two machines, I let the part fly. It hit a nearby combat bot, making a small but noticeable clang. Startled, the Hammer stopped shoveling and turned around.

“What was that?”

Walking toward my position he spoke again.

“Has someone come down here? You’re supposed to be at the services now!”

Finding no answer, he stepped closer and then turned around to examine the combat bot muttering to himself.

“Hmm, no one here…I swear if someone left one of these things on I’ll” WHACK!

He never got to finish, explosively lunging out of the darkness, I drove the blackjack into the base of his skull with one hard blow, rendering him senseless. As he went limp and collapsed, I grabbed his neck in a powerful chokehold in order to insure unconsciousness and dragged him into the shadows. Once I was sure he was out cold, I let go. Keeping him pinned to the floor with a knee, just in case, I looked around and listened for any possible signs of discovery. Finding none, I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small metal tube. Unscrewing it, I pulled out a small wax coated tablet and placed it in the Hammers mouth, where it would melt quickly, releasing its contents into his system. The tablet contained a powerful mix of natural herbs found in the deep forest. The mixture would insure someone unconscious would remain asleep for several hours, which would save me from having to tie up and stuff him somewhere where he couldn’t make enough noise to be discovered quickly when he awoke. The tablet also contained a dash of a potent form of healing potion, that would help heal any cuts or bruises and reduce the risk of a serious concussion or any other brain damage, after all murder is the mark of the amateur I always felt. Checking his belt, I found a sack with a few silver coins, a medallion and a large key. I placed the loot in a padded sack on my belt.

Leaving the unconscious Hammer tucked out of the way in the shadows, I carefully approached the door the priest had come through and peered inside. I discovered a small living quarters lit by a large candle on a plain desk. The accommodations were spartan; similar to the room I had rented, with the exception of various hammer texts on the desk and the cold rock and metal walls. I ransacked the desk drawers, finding a few more coins and a diary which apparently belonged to the priest. Thinking it might answer why the complex was so silent, I glanced at the last entry while keeping an eye on the door. The passage read…

I can’t believe I have to stay down here for tonight and keep the furnace fueled while everyone else celebrates topside. I know I must keep the wretched cold and damp out of this room to help protect the more delicate inner parts of these machines, but I would rather help lead the services in the main chapel than baby-sit the disassembled remains of a heretic’s creations! If the Grandmaster of the fort would have allowed me, I would have gladly entrusted my vault key to Captain Thoren and let him do this miserable job, he’s strong as a forest beast and totally loyal. But nooo, I couldn’t do that, the Grandmaster told me the regulations wouldn’t allow a lower ranked Hammer to do the job alone down here with the archives all by himself, had to be a priest he said! In my opinion, he resents my influence and just wanted me out of the way while they turn a holy festival into a pagan party! When I get back to the City, I will speak with High Priest Valens about this matter and also petition him to be done with these accursed machines! Although it hasn’t been discussed openly, anyone of any rank among us knows the operation on the Island of Iron was a total fiasco! That’s another job, which Thoren could have handled, with his extensive experience in fighting the undead, but they ignored his request to lead the expedition and instead sent some ignorant excuses of men to lead our brave warriors into battle. (Forgive me Builder, but oh I do hate these lower class scum which have been promoted all to quickly to thy service, they are a disgrace to your mighty name) Worse than that, they backed them up with a group of these lumbering iron beasts that can hardly be controlled even by Master Forgers who hath carefully studied their innermost mechanisms. What did it accomplish?…Disaster and worst of all it was all for nothing!!!
Brother Terius, who arrived last week, has told me that rich ‘man of the people’ Edward (who is a Warden and everyone knows it even though he slips out every trap and trial that is laid for him) claims to have it in his possession and is negotiating with Valens as we speak! Our Master Forgers have confirmed it is indeed authentic, although they have no idea how he gained possession of it and that fat bastard wont tell. Well enough of this raving, the temperature drops, so I must be on my way to fuel the fire, then I will try to get a little sleep.

Underpriest Thomas
3rd month
1st day of holy week of
St. Yora’s festival