Nobody Comes, They Only Leave

The party, against all their better judgement, ascended The Great Stone Bridge. Nearly two miles across, the party began the long and terrifying process of crossing the narrow structure. Halfway across, Cimers familiar spotted a trio of extremely large figures approaching the bridge in the sky. The three flying machines flew over the bridge, dropping five figures down onto the bridge itself. They claimed to be toll collectors who were here to collect fees for use of the bridge. However, none of the party really bought that excuse, with most viewing the pack of Inventors as being little more than highwaymen. Lucky Smoke did not take kindly to the attempt at intimidation and robbery, and opened hostilities by attacking. The party sprung into action, with Masozi striking down the leader of the group in an instant. Thomph and Cimer attempted to lend their own hands, leaping to attack the offenders ahead and behind the party. However, the group were unable to kill the remaining Inventors before their counterattack brought Masozi down.

The group gathered themselves then, considering the loss of Masozi. Cimer delivered a speech to the party, talking about the things he had thought about five years earlier, things that had come crashing back to him with new weight after watching a compatriot fall. He cajoled the party to seek some kind of bond, to work together with one another, to see each other rather than simply using one another. He then invited the group to decide if they would rather walk away, or follow a different path.

The party continued across the bridge, coming across Tarbender the monk at the base of the bridge. The drunken monk followed after the party, joining them as they now entered Beliard. Their entry into the town would normally have been the only talk of the town, however there was another event that was drawing many more eyes. A large crowd had gathered around a massive man clad in shining steel as he let his hammer fly against a host of gold masked figures. Knowing the creatures to be undead, Cimer could do little but fly to the aid of the steel giant. Slowly Smoke and Thomph joined in on the conflict, only for the group to realize that the towering steel warrior was none-other than Ront. After quickly clearing the remaining undead, the party retires to the inn, where Ront has a room already rented.

It turns out, Ront is in the area for generally the same reason that the rest of the party is. He, too, is looking for the Membari Delegation. The party catches up quickly with Ront, before Cimer returns to speak with the monk Tarbender. Discovering quickly that the monk is looking for someone who was with the Delegation as well, he invites Tarbender to add his fist and eyes to the party, at least until their paths cease to cross. Tarbender agreed, and requested that Cimer fetch him in the morning from the tavern.