Previously on The Engine Run

Session: October 3, 2026 · Three player characters

Before the expedition

The party began in Philly, where the Gift provides basic necessities in return for contributions to the Collective. Their colorful armor and equipment stood out beside ordinary citizens' simple clothes.

Jorden had worked as a sailmaker's assistant to Merin Rooe, a senior Katari. Sasa had worked wharf security as a yellow warden. Tarik had worked as a stevedore; he was not very good at it, but he put in his hours diligently.

The Chancellor’s office

At Whitestone Manor, the university described its second expedition into Locos. The company received a rough route diagram and extracts from Vaelis of the Unbroken Strand. Ashin Toa, a Cobalt Blue of the Reflectorium, would lead them to the surviving mana engine.

Sasa argued and applied a measure of intimidation: the company needed supplies, potions, and a reasonable chance to survive. The university agreed to double the upfront payment.

The players were subsequently told that Bendy Tilk took notes during the meeting and delivered them somewhere afterward. The party had not caught him doing it. The destination, method, and purpose remain unrevealed.

The wharf

The company heard the morning benediction and felt the pressure to pay attention. A cutpurse stole Sasa's supplies. The party resolved the incident and had the guilty adults arrested; a boy of about thirteen escaped.

Captain’s Law

Aboard Brandy’s Folly, the company met Millie and Swoosh. They heard a magnificent story-song about the ship's crossing of the Gods’ Teeth. It was a great song, even if it was not a reliable account.

Captain Travin ordered passengers below for the crossing and warned that anyone caught above would go over the side.

Ashin’s Challenge

Jorden became a rat. Sasa used a conversation about whittling to draw the guarding sailor into a room. Tarik put him to sleep, and Sasa stayed behind to watch him.

Ashin and Jorden slipped out and witnessed a vast kaiju turtle carrying Brandy’s Folly across the Gods’ Teeth. There was sufficient wonder.

Where we stopped

The company arrived on the beach at Locos, looked around, and walked toward its strange, beautiful, horrific flowers.

The sand stirred. The first giant crab emerged.

Ashin called, “To me! To me!”

That is where we resume.