Tim explains that he will either be tremendously late or not here at all, as he is helping his girlfriend pack. As it turns out, he is completely absent, the attractions of a real life proving more alluring than the vicarious imitation offered by gaming. Chris (Peter Sangaree), Nick (Brother Xavier) and Dan (Montgomery Burns) all prove to have decided differently, and elect to put in an appearance.
Sister Joann elects to leave the other characters in Llanfyrth, claiming that they are too unreflective to be allowed to remain in her presence. The last the characters see of her, she is signing on to a Brother Battle expedition to slaughter Vuldrok sinners in the Gwynneth system asteroid belt for the next 20 years.
The characters conclude that enough time has passed that Brother Caldmon in the Surreveil Valley monastery must have come up with some useful information from them. In particular, they have had him looking into locating the transoceanic fiberoptic land link sites. Having finished with their business in Llanfyrth, they elect to take the Luftking to the Surreveil Valley.
The characters arrive in Surreveil to find that it looks very much like it did the last time they were there, save that there are fewer killer robots wandering around. Peter Sangaree stays with the plane and the pilots while Brother Xavier and Montgomery Burns walk up to the monastery.
Brother Xavier and Montgomery Burns find Brother Caldmon down in the basement, among his books and his think machines. He isn't too happy to see them, but he does admit that his studies in the old GyCeMiSS archives have borne a certain amount of fruit. He hands over a huge book of maps and printouts. He claims that they document two things. First, the design and cable routes of the original Gwynneth transoceanic fiberoptic lines. Second, the existence of a Second Republic deep core mine wellhead in the mountains near Fennen Marsh. Brother Caldmon claims that while the actual wellhead structure and support buildings may be long gone, the actual deep core structures in the mesolith of Gwynneth are certainly still there.
Brother Xavier and Peter Sangaree spend some time looking through Brother Caldmon's folio. The documents are all written in near impenetrable Urthtech jargon, and organized according to Brother Caldmon's unique style.
The characters fly back to Llanfyrth with the folio. During the flight, Brother Xavier gives himself a thorough headache trying to understand parts of it. He finds that the words are too difficult for him, so he eventually satisfies himself with looking at the pictures, trying to determine exactly where the terminal junctions for the suboceanic fiber links actually are. Given that all of Brother Caldmon's maps are over a thouand years old and rely upon landmarks that haven't been there for nearly half that time, this proves to be just as painful as trying to read the actual text.
With the characters back in Llanfyrth, Peter casts about for a way to purchase another CNC lathe, to replace the one that Thomas Ossy ab Gehallen's goons put to the torch. He quickly discovers that while there is a rather theoretical price tag of some 30,000 FB attached to such a thing, this is very much a theory on Gwynneth, as there are none to be had in the marketplace. The characters spend some time debating whether or not it would be a good idea to send off to the MachtArbeiterBank and Director Stephen Yie to use some of their line of credit to purchase one in Lenbow on Delphi. They finally decide to wait until Sir Brindal Karth feels well enough to offer his opinion (and his own signature for the letter to the Reeves).
While everyone else frets about expensive and possibly heretical pieces of industrial machinery, Montgomery Burns casts about among his network of contacts to try and learn something about the Vuldrok presence on Gwynneth. Considering that he has bought and sold goods with them in the past, and knows several factors who are functionally Vuldrok agents, this is less difficult for him than it might otherwise be.
He already knows that there are at least five different Vuldrok factions, all with slightly different goals. However, he has never actually been to a real Vuldrok base, or really dealt with anyone willing to admit that they are, in truth, Vuldrok. From his various mercantile experiences, he knows that they control several ships, ranging from metal-hulled freighters to steam tramps to coastal luggers. He suspects that they do not control any of the fast hydrofoils that make the run from Llanfyrth down the coast to Tuam.
By the time the character need to leave Llanfyrth, Montgomery has arranged a meeting with a Vuldrok factor who operates out of Tuam Port. He hopes to use this contact to get the details he wants.
From Llanfyrth, the characters fly to Fort Sabwran. They have an appointment with some of the Master Processor-Wright Dennis Thorne's dissident NPAE technicians, and do not wish to be late. Their eagerness is fueled in larrge part by Thorne's promise that his men will bring with them a thinking machine to install into Peter's modified Scorpion ARM anti-aircraft platform.
When the characters arrive at the Fort Sabwran they notice that the airfield features a lot more guards (with automatic weapons and jumpgate crosses) and barricades than it did before. Before the characters are allowed to leave their plane, they are subjected to a curious "health inspection" at the hands of a dour-looking Amalthean healer who seems to be primarily interested in rampant signs of zombieism ("Any signs of death there? Still breathing? Good.") Not wishing to throw gasoline on the bonfire, the characters tell Brian the Goat to hide in the back of the plane and stay there until they leave Fort Sabwran. Brian, never one to foolishly risk his life without the opportunity for senseless heroism, agrees to stay under cover.
With the "health inspection" out of the way, Brother Xavier strikes up a conversation with one of the guards. The guard claims that the Commandant has assured everyone that the situation is under control, and that the zombie plague will soon be done with. In the midst of the conversation, automatic weapons fire breaks out near the airfield perimeter. The guard looks towards the source of the gunfire, shouts, "Oh my God!" and heads for the disturbance at a dead run. The characters edge away from the incipient crisis.
The characters discover that there is now an escort service from the airfield to the town, available for the low cost of only five Tuam Shillings each. They elect to pay their money. The service proves to be two guys with jumpgate crosses and double-barreled shotguns, plus a monk chanting phrases from the Omega Gospels. As an added bonus, all paying customers are lent a jumpgate cross for the trip. From what the characters can tell, the escort service's precautions are effective: they don't see a single zombie during the fifteen-minute walk.
The characters quickly discover that the ongoing zombie plague has had a number of effects upon the mood of the community of Fort Sabwran. The people look tense. Monks and soldiers are everywhere, and unlike better times the soldiers are carrying guns and wearing armor. The characters are also informed that a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in effect.
Peter notes another side effect, one that the other characters swiftly start to examine for profit potential. He purchases a bowl of soup from a shop, and finds that the cost is now four Tuam Shillings, double what it had been only months ago. He also notices that the soup-seller offers to add "blessed anti-zombie salt" to the soup for only another Tuam Shilling. The characters spend a little time trying to decide if importing food would be a good way to make a quick buck. They drop this plan after they find out that the Commandant of the fort has already arranged to ship supplies in for the soldiery, and that nobody else really has any money to buy anything, no matter the price.
The characters spend a bit of time wandering through the market before heading to the Red Crescent Inn to meet with the NPAE technicians. Montgomery Burns spends 1 Claw getting 20 realistic-looking fake reciepts showing tax paid, as a gift for Robert, the Flyers' Association bus driver in Paintersville. He also locates the local tailors, hoping to be able to convince one to join the characters' colony in Fennen Marsh. Unfortunately, he is less successful in this quest than he might have hoped.
The characters encounter the NPAE representatives in the Red Crescent Inn. There are four of them, sprawled around a table in the back of the common room, sucking down ale. Peter approaches them first, introducing himself as a member of Sir Brindal Karth de Hazat's entourage. The leader of the technicians disconsolately offers him a chance to share their ale, though he points out that it is "wretched stuff, treated with anti-zombie salt."
Even with this somewhat unpromising beginning, the remaining characters approach and introduce themselves. In return, the NPAE men introduce themselves. They are led by Freeman Lefman Bask, a Journeyman Softcrafter, a thin man with long, spindly fingers and thinning hair. He is accompanied by Freeman Gerlau Lomgren, a soft block of a man and a Journeyman Processor Crafter; and Freeman Defry Gath, a thickset rustic who seems quite old to be a mere Apprentice Processor Crafter. Most alarming is the final member of the group, a man wearing Hawkwood military insignia who claims to be the Lancer Gembly the Ox. Lancer Gembly explains that he is a soldier in the 83rd Phallebreight Mobile Lancers who has been hired to protect the guildsmen on this trip. He boasts of many years of service, and two substantial trophies: an al-Malik polymer knit jacket, and a pair of Decados long cartridge revolvers. The characters decide that they care nothing for the Lancer's military accomplishments. Instead, they are threatened by the thought that they might have to bring an actual Hawkwood to their little colony.
Even while they arrange to get the technicians' equipment and supplies transferred aboard the Luftking, the characters debate the Hawkwood problem. They finally decide that the best plan is to arrange for some kind of horrific accident to befall him should the need arise.
Peter Sangaree and Montgomery Burns head back to Tailors' Row to see about recruiting a tailor. They manage to find one who seems interested, inasmuch as he is willing to entertain any offer that will help him get his family away from the threat of zombie attack. The characters try to persuade him to go alone, but he points out that that wouldn't serve any useful point. They then ask how many people are part of his family, and are amazed when he lists off his wife, his two children, his father, his mother, his uncle and his grandfather.
The characters finally decide to leave him in Fort Sabwran. However, they do commission him to make them 50 shirts and 50 pants, in various sizes, at a price of 10 FB. The characters emphasize that the clothing needs to be durable, and possibly waterproof. The tailor promises that he'll use good canvas to make them, and will have them done in 20 days.
As a side errand, they stop by a cobbler and order 50 pairs of sandals, fitted so they can be worn with leggings in winter. They provide 10 FB to cover the cost, and extract a promise to have the work done within 15 days.
The characters stop briefly in Tuam on their way. While the Luftking is being refueled and readied for the long flight out to Fennen Marsh, they head into town on several errands.
Peter, who remembers that the people of the Chibren Cooperative claim to be able to manufacture plastic containers given a supply of vegetable matter to process, decides to look for a local market for plastic containers. He heads for the local Engineer Guildhall, gaining a +3 bonus to his Merchant skill for his Rank. He gets into a conversation with several Engineers who work in the main Tuam nanoabrasives plant. They need containers to hold their products, but they are very picky: the containers must be extremely clean, with no contaminants or particulates remaining inside, and must be sealable. The need for this last feature is dramatically demonstrated by one Engineer, who coughs and wheezes continually, spitting up bloody phlegm. He claims that he accidentally inhaled a bit of nanoabrasive powder. When Peter later relates this story to the other characters, they immediately start thinking about trying to drop this stuff on the Vuldrok, 'cause it seems both toxic and dangerous.
Meanwhile, Montgomery Burns and Brother Xavier head to the port to talk to some of the Vuldrok factors Montgomery knows. Their goal is to learn who the different Vuldrok factions are. They find Sven Ulfven lurking in the Rutting Calf Inn, down in the more disreputable section of Tuam Port. He appears to be a Vuldrok who has gone native. He tells them that there are five different Vuldrok groups operating in and around Gwynneth: the Utag, the Nabbek, the Gammel, the Tyrgard and the Fenris. He is personally loyal to the Gammel Kingdom.
Ulfven is most willing to talk about those factions other than the Gammel, as he does not wish to endanger his own people. However, the amount of detail he knows about any of the other factions is none too complete. He says that the Utag are quite powerful, and want to colonize the world. They have thousands of people onworld, plus at least two assault landers specially modified to carry disassembled aircraft down to the surface. However, they don't possess any ships larger than a frigate, so they are unlikely to be able to dislodge the Hawkwoods and their half-dozen ships of the line.
He dismisses the Nabbek and Tyrgard factions as minor, with no substantial power. However, he suspects that there are thousands of Tyrgard colonists living as tribals on the second continent, where they have been for hundreds of years.
Finally, he claims that his own faction, the Gammel, are strong. He also states that they do not want to actually conquer the world, simply to raid it. He is less candid about the forces the Gammel are able to bring to bear towards this goal.
In return, Ulfven requests some help from Montgomery. He claims that he will pay for information on Hawkwood frigate or orbital interceptor positions. He also says that he needs 8mm rifle ammunition, in fairly large quantities. Montgomery promises that he will do what he can.
Montgomery Burns stays in Tuam to manage his financial machinations, while Brother Xavier and Peter Sangaree head out to Fennen Marsh with the NPAE technicians. When the plane touches down, they are greeted by Bob Lungflook, who describes himself as "Administrator of this facility." He tells the characters that things are going fairly well. Most of the convicts are doing okay, and only a few (not including Red Billy) have proven to be any trouble. Those that have made trouble, Bob has assigned to breaking rocks on the edge of the settlement. In the meantime, his people have built a hut over the oven and barbecue pit to protect it from the rain, and built earthen berms about the walls of the other buildings and moss on the roofs to make them look like a series of low hills.
After a few introductions, the NPAE technicians set to work on the golem. Their work takes about five days, progressing with no more than the normal share of disasters. By the time they are done, the golem will move on voice command ("Go there"), stop ("Stop"), search for targets ("Find Targets") and then fire only on specific command. Towards the end of this process, Peter experiences a thrill of excitement when the technicians accidentally leave the golem's radar turned on overnight. The following morning, the machine twigs to the motion as Peter approaches it, and tracks him with it's gatling gun. Peter has a dreadful moment of déjà vu before he has the thing turned off.
With the golem theoretically active, the characters have a bit of a conversation on how to appropriately disarm golem when friendly planes are coming in. They make up enough of a plan to ensure that they won't be instantly shot down the next time they fly in.
While the technicians work on the golem, Brother Xavier reads the book Brother Caldmon gave them. He really tries to understand technical stuff, then gives up and turns it over to the group's surveyor in the hopes that the man will be able to correlate positions on the thousand-year-old maps inside to the maps he has made of the area.
Peter has Groupleader Ribben forward the plastic container specs given him by the Engineers at the Tuam nanoabrasives plant up to Chibren. He hopes that the Chibren manufacturers will be able to meet the specs and provide yet another source of income.
Montgomery Burns gathers all sorts of information while everyone else is off in Fennen Marsh. In addition to following up on his various Vuldrok sources, he works from the shopping list that the other characters left him.
He manages to find a supply of 30 drums of "slightly irregular" antilaser prismatic mist in the town of Willowbend, a garrison town on the Eastern coast of Lachann. Each drum is pressurized, and should cover a 50m by 50m area. Montgomery's source is willing to sell them for 50 FB each, but hasn't been able to sell them to the Hawkwood quartermaster at Willowbend. Montgomery sends back an offer for the stuff.
Montgomery also hears from his sources in Pernley Bay. The dyemaster at the textile plant there says that he uses about 100 barrels of dye per week, and currently pays 20 FB per barrel. He sends word to Montgomery that he would need to get a much better price to consider changing his sources.
Montgomery also sends a message to an artisan family up to coast, requesting a price and delivery time for an order of 8000 rounds of 8mm rifle ammunition.
Finally, he makes a side trip to Paintersville for 5 FB in a Flyers' Association plane. Once there, he gives Robert the forged reciepts he got from a man in the Fort Sabwran marketplace as a favor. He arranges passage back to Tuam with Rebekah & Fergus for 2 FB.
The remaining characters rejoin Montgomery in Tuam after a few days. They discuss the information that Montgomery gathered, and decide to make an offer of 17 FB per barrel of dye to the dyemaster in Pernley Bay. They also decide that they will accept a price of 15 FB if the dyemaster won't accept 17 FB. Note that each barrel holds 100 liters of dye. The characters carry on negotiations by mail with the Pernley Bay dyemaster, paying a total of 10 FB in courier fees. The characters gather up this money by selling Brindal Karth's body on the streets. They finally manage to ink a deal for 15 FB per barrel, with 1 month's contract guaranteed and a five months' extension available if the first month works out.
The possibility that the characters may be able to get into the dye industry brings up the question of how to bring the stuff in from Fennen Marsh.. Peter calculates that the Sutter Kane can carry about 1600 full barrels. An empty wooden barrel masses 25 kg, while a plastic barrel masses only 10 kg. Right now the characters own 100 wooden barrels, all of them in Fennen Marsh. Cornhusks and sawdust costs about 2 FB per ton (mostly cartage costs to get it to the Port), and can be used as raw material to manufacture plastic barrels in the Chibren Cooperative. The basic plastic manufacturing process is about 25% efficient (e.g., 4 tons of vegetable matter makes 1 ton of plastic container). Wooden barrels cost ¼ FB each in Tuam.
The characters finally decide to spend 150 FB buying 600 wooden barrels, as they realize that they don't know how quickly the Chibren are able to manufacture plastics. They then blow 454 FB on corn husks, most of which is funded by Brother Xavier.
Montgomery Burns also gets a quote back from the gunsmithing family on the coast. They inform him that their price for 8mm ammo will be ¼ FB per round for 8000 rounds. They can deliver half of the ammunition in two weeks, and the remainder in four weeks. Montgomery turns around and cuts a deal with Sven to sell the ammo for 4000 FB and 200 doses of elixir. Sven agrees.
Dan agrees to keep track of the group's finances, as Tim may not be showing up as often. Chris agrees to help out on the current round of transactions. The session ends with the characters plotting how to complete their various deals and then strike at the Vuldrok. Everyone gets 3 experience points.