Caldera is set in a world where an ancient kingdom who wielded innate magic freely was cataclysmically torn asunder some two hundred years ago. Since then, the surviving denizens of that kingdom, the Durathians, have become tribal and disparate from one another. Living so close with nature and such raw magic, many of them have taken on fey-like traits… misconstrued as demonic by those in the rival kingdom to the east. |--| Those of the Integrated Realms, several kingdoms now unified into a single nation with others of its kind, believe that what happened to Durath was both inevitable and deserved. Such unbridled and unrestrained use of magic is seen to have been unwise and even sinful – an affront to the natural order of things. It is a widely-held belief that the Reckoning occurred because the first level of Hell opened up and swallowed the entire kingdom, leaving the Caldera behind. A massive crater roughly 450,000 square miles (that’s around 1,165,500 kilometers for the metric folks out there), filled with the ruins of an ancient civilization… filled with the magic of the ages before its demise. |--| The people of the Integrated Realms have now been expanding into this desolated territory to mine the multitude of magic items, scrolls, potions, tomes of forgotten spells, relics, and other valuables that have now been buried for these past centuries. All of these things are decreed by law to be sent back east, to the city of Edgestone, for the study of the wizard academies there – places where the only sanctioned magic is practiced. Though the Duke still sits on the throne of Edgestone, his monarchy is little more than a formality… and he is content to throw lavish party one after another. The real power lies in the Council of Six, a group of the most powerful wizards that the Integrated Realms has ever produced. And what’s more, they are now each of them, an owner of a line of railroads stretching westward to better facilitate the reclamation of magic. These men are known as the Mage Barons. Fresh off of the nighttime defense of the abandoned jailhouse in Salvation, the group decides to head down into the mine at the north end of town. Having seen many of the zombies flee into this opening in the earth, as well as one of the Four Horsemen, the posse pressed on with caution. Rusted tracks and a newly mending mine cart led them down into the entrance. right up to a small shoreline with an underground body of water. Taking a moored rowboat and its tethered raft, the group found the zombies they were looking for lurking just beneath the surface of the water. A tense battle ensued, culminating in a shootout with the last remaining Horsemen - who took to flight within the large cavern they found him in. With that dealt with, they then turned their attentions to the Cathedral of the Bridled Sun - the rumored resting place of St. Pemard. Though underground, the stained glass windows shone with colored light. which infused the undead guardians of this holy place with greater power. And now that the scuffle with them has ended, the posse has turned their eyes to the beautifully decorative features on the far side of the Cathedral. Be sure to check out Eli's live play games - in the Blackwood. I will periodically be a player in his game from time to time as well. Here's the link to his channel.