Episode 5: Hide and Seek - The Orrery of the Wanderer

Episode 5: Hide and Seek. Airship Attack By The Six The characters (now 5th level) know that Horn Enclave is the hiding place of the last unclaimed clockwork component of the Orrery of the Wanderer, called the wheel of stars. They also know that Horn Enclave is all but impossible to get into. Thankfully, Acquisitions Incorporated has the party's back. With the help of Acq Inc fixer Flabbergast, the characters make use of a unique ritual that lets them swap bodies with a group of dwarves heading to the enclave for a wedding. This gives the characters access to the vaults, but the deception creates complications as they struggle with the deep secrets of their possessed dwarves and must try to keep the wedding on track. Accessing the orrery component vault reveals valuable information from the clockwork creatures that guard the vault. But the characters are ultimately chagrined to discover that the component isn't there, with the vault set up as a ruse to distract anyone attempting to rebuild the orrery. Still, the orrery's creator-a wizard named Lottie-wishes to meet anyone savvy enough to have come this far, provided they share her interest in ensuring that the orrery's power is never used. Traveling in style in a borrowed battle balloon, the characters journey to Lottie's sanctum in the Greypeak Mountains. But en route, the franchise is intercepted by airships belonging to the Six. The characters get their first glimpse of Splugoth the Returned, one of the Six's mysterious members, and the point goblin for the plan to claim the orrery. In fact, the attack is only a distraction, providing cover for an attempt to steal the orrery housing and the components the characters have obtained. Continuing across the Greypeaks, the characters reach the ruined town of Fortune and the casino resort known as Lottie's Palace. There, they discover that Lottie is a lich whose exclusive retreat holds secrets and deadly threats in equal measure. With no hope of winning a fight again...