The Story So Far
Chapter One: N0RM4N
Session One (9/14/2025)
Our little group of convicts found themselves scrapping on a small island that used to house the Pendergras facility and were in the process of tearing apart the six story building. Helena (she/her) was their guard for the day and keeping watch over all of their progress. Fane (he/him) found a half-decent safe of fallen world money and valuables on a top floor and threw it down the various floors to get to the base of the building, Kranik (he/him) was breaking down filing cabinets, Nihlus (she/her) was pulling out wiring the ceilings between the floors and Henrietta (she/her) was attempting to avoid work, as usual.
One of the other prisoners, Berlin (he/him), a slim Drakona, attempted to weasel his way into trouble with Kranik. Then when Sparkbugs began to attack Henrietta, Kranik and Fane assisted her while Nihlus became trapped inside the safe, which Berlin attempted to steal away. He is caught and taught a valuable lesson about gravity.
When they return to the Argent Correctional Facility, they are all immediately taken to the infirmary, where Doctor Pergamon (she/her) is waiting to given them an inoculation. They are given trackers and explained that they've been chosen by the warden to go on an expedition to turn Motherboard off and back on again to reset her from the corruption and damage done by the Sonrise Coalition.
This idea was given to her by one of the now-sentient clanks, N0rm4n (he/him), who in his new sense of self, has decided to go against what the Sonrise has done and restore the Mother who came before. He believes he also knows exactly how to shut her down, repair and restart her, he just needs a proper escort and assistance.
Session Two (10/5/2025)
The ex-cons are given their ikonis, network tethers, and quantum discs and ride along with the Warden on a barge to Caskin. The driver of the barge is Alamo is doesn't seem all that concerned when Nihlus attempts to "fix up" the barge. She accomplishes nothing.
On the north shore of Caskin, they go to a small fenced in community that acts as a work release program and housing for well-behaved prisoners with smaller sentences. Here, the party finds their fifth, Blue (she/her)! The Warden asks Blue if she can still talk directly to Motherboard and how Blue feels about N0rm4n, since his consciousness is a product of the Son and not the Mother. Blue seems confident that they can trust N0rm4n and joins the party. Beleez (she/her), Blue's work supervisor, tells Blue that she was the best worker she's had and she never believed she belonged in the prison system.
The warden leaves our group at this time, putting 500 quantum on Blue's disc and telling her to buy a seaworthy vessel to go to Motherboard to do the work that needs done and then to get whatever supplies they need, wherever they usually acquire them. They head to the local docks where Henrietta knows some Infernis who are pilgrims of the spire and Nihlus knows some Fungril and Faeries who are fishers. The fishers point out three people who are currently selling boats.
- Lexington (she/her) is selling a former Tuna remnant she's made into a submersible.
- Boston (he/him) is selling an old merchants ships
- Augusta (she/her) is selling a travel barge that needs hefty repairs
After quite a bit of begging, pouting, reasoning, and bargaining with the rest of the group, Nihlus manages to convince them to get the Tuna submersible, which they call the Errar, after that's all Nihlus can say when she is asked what she will name it.
With a little money left, they head to Resupply, a common bounty hunter and criminal trading island that floats around the crater. Here they are able to trade scrap with Troy, get potions with Ithaca, basic supplies with Avaris, and check the "mailbox" with Babylon (she/they). Babylon tells them she currently has two "deliveries" that need taken care of:
- On north Ossuary, there is a thief who ran off with several quantum discs that pinched from a Chuck's Gambling house.
- Off the coast of West Cof, there is a hammerhead shark remnant with a relic inside that acts as a filtration unit that separates augments from flesh
The group takes the bounty on the thief, but Nihlus takes notes on the relic quest for her own means. Fane takes note of a woman he recognizes, but can't remember what from.
Kranik is waiting outside with N0rm4n at the Errar.
Session Three (10/11/2025)
Still at Resupply, the crew of the Errar heads over to talk to the Avaris (they/them), who's stand is for basic supplies and the occasional high tech device. They notice that Avaris keeps checking the door, but as they observe them more, they realize they have the kohd for Motherboard on their neck. This causes Blue to curse Avaris, who immediately signals for security and as they are beginning to get thrown out, they hear the screech of something like an owl outside.
Moments before, Kranik and Norman were enjoying a few moments alone. Kranik shared about his life in the the gladiatorial arena on Caskin and Norman encouraged him that once they had completed their mission with Motherboard, he hoped he would see his life's goal fulfilled, though he worries that if he commits murder, he'll wind up back in prison, but Kranik assures Norman that if a death occurs in the arena, it is not a crime. Norman enjoys a moment of peace before they also hear the screech and a woman with owlish augments called Gotham swept down and grabbed him by his shoulders. She attempted to fly away with him but Kranik moved quickly enough to smash the motors thigh panels and wings, making her drop Norman, who cannot swim and begins to sink.
The others emerge from the Resupply just in time to watch Kranik finish off the best of Gotham's augments but Blue, in a moment of blind rage, sent out her chaos and wrath and with that ripped off Gotham's head.
Ready to make their escape, Nihlus suspects a tracker inside Norman and that's how Gotham found them. Nihlus gives him a look through and pulls out the tracker. During some downtime, Fane fishes and they put the tracker inside the fish to throw Sonrise off. Henrietta sunbathes and scars several members of the crew for life.
As they arrive at Motherboard, they carefully traverse her external fixtures until they reach the central spires and then wait as Norman opens a door to go inside. While consulting the console to learn more about how to repair the Mother, he realizes that something is wrong. With Blue and Nihlus' help, they open the relic cases to look into the six relics from the six islands that helped form Motherboard and find that they are all missing.
Henrietta, knowing the calling card of different thieves' guilds, recognizes that the roman numerals on the name plates are the relics are recently carved on. Using the numbers and putting the letters in order of the different islands, they discover that the calling card spells out "LOCUST". Kranik recognizes that with the roman numerals and the name, it's a criminal group he knows from Caskin.
