Where We Left Off

Three months have passed since the Last Summit in The City of Bells, where the nations of the world formally decreed the Fellowship to stand against The Entropy Shepherd. The world grows colder by the day as the Shepherd's influence spreads, crystallizing entire civilizations in temporal amber and draining the warmth from reality itself.

The Current Crisis

The Fellowship finds themselves in the City of Bells as a dire situation unfolds:

• The Ash Dancer (formerly the fire giant Surtur) leads an assault on the city as the Shepherd's first general
• The Ember Thieves - remnants of burned-out heat giants - swarm the outskirts, draining heat wherever they go
• Two of the seven bell towers have already been sabotaged, disrupting the city's defenses
• The remaining five towers continue their constant appeals against entropy, ringing on a 24-hour schedule

The Fellowship

Ale-ore Bridge - Dwarven entrepreneur who profited during the great drought by selling water from deep wells. Secretly uses orc alloys in his crafting and drunkenly gave Mortimer a barrel of dynamite. Accompanied by Maker (his devoted blacksmith) and Hew (expert tunneler).

Kurg "Breaktooth" Randalar - Orc war profiteer who lost three teeth (now kept as dice) while negotiating peace through a bidding war between three armies. Travels with Grox (meticulous accountant) and Tiny (massive but simple enforcer whose life was saved by Mortimer).

Mortimer Montgomery - Street urchin from Blackwharf who joined the Fellowship because they had "much fanfare." Now carries a mysterious barrel of dynamite and takes blacksmith lessons from Maker while grooming Ulion's unicorn. May be the subject of a forbidden harbinger prophecy about "a particular common human defeating great evil."

Ulion the Sleepbringer - Lord of The Winter Court sent to rekindle bonds between humans and fae. Former friend of the Shepherd before his transformation. Accompanied by Kifu (a compassionate unicorn) and Rost (an untraceable elven shadow). Currently holds Ale-ore's imprisoned cousin.

Nyx of the Pale Flame - Former harbinger who rebelled against the Overlord organization. Wears forbidden jewelry crafted by Ale-ore and rides Vkkal, a black Pegasus. May have been Surtur's familiar before his inversion to the Ash Dancer.

Key Intelligence

• The Shepherd's Weakness: New creation disrupts his power - "a newborn, an original song performed for the first time, a genuinely forged friendship"
• Conservation of Suffering: Any harm dealt to the Shepherd transfers to someone nearby
• Temporal Omniscience: He knows how everything ends because he's "already read it"
• The Orc Connection: Orcs may share origins with the Shepherd, explaining their apparent "immunity" to his influence

The Stakes

This is more than just defending one city. Blackwharf represents one of the last bastions of organized resistance. If it falls, the Great Withdrawal will accelerate, kingdoms will close their borders completely, and the world will fracture just as the Shepherd desires. The Fellowship's actions here will determine whether there's still hope for a united front against entropy itself.

The bells of Blackwharf continue to ring their defiant appeal against the dying of the light. Will their song endure, or will silence finally claim the City of Bells?