The Bastion's courtyard garden, a total mess: two gangly teenage hill giants (Thick and Thack) are fast asleep on the lawn, snoring with a big "ZZZZ", one using a flattened palm tree as a pillow and the other's feet sticking through the hedge, surrounded by gnawed bones, overturned benches and muddy footprints. On the steps, a pale, gothic, vampire-like woman in dark robes (Calavera) holds up a long, gloomy scroll of names with a little rain cloud over her head, questioning the party. A tiny kobold paladin (Haru) tries to reassure her, a large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) with a small grey rat (12) on his shoulder carries a mounted trophy toward a doorway, and an enormous scarred warrior (Gemnar, silver gauntlet with 7 identical red stones) looks at his sleeping giants with a proud, unbothered shrug.
In a candlelit stone chamber of the Bastion, a giant iron cauldron heaped high with white salt glows from within. Out of the salt bursts a pale mind flayer (Qardsavu'ox, face tentacles tipped with small daggers, lab-apron robe), salt pouring off his head, wide-eyed and cheerful, asking "IS MY REVENGE COMPLETE?" A large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) stands over the cauldron with his hands raised, finishing the ritual in swirls of green-gold magic, while a small grey rat (12) on his shoulder facepalms. A big hourglass beside them has just run out.
A cozy spa room in the Bastion with bioluminescent plants. A pale mind flayer (Qardsavu'ox, dagger-tipped face tentacles) sits in a bubble bath while a serene blue fish-man (Glorb) scrubs his head with a giant sponge, saying "Glorb." On a silver platter beside the tub sits a whole cow brain with a parsley garnish, which Qardsavu'ox eyes hungrily. Behind him, a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian, glowing visor slit) holds up a tiny saw and a diagram of a brain with one corner circled, while a small grey rat (12), perched on the edge of the tub, nods in approval. A large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) looks on with a hopeful, slightly worried smile.
Deep in the glowing sewers beneath the Radiant Citadel, hundreds of cranium rats (grey rats with their skull tops missing, showing little glowing pink brains) bow low in rows before a throne made of old pipes and a toilet. On it sits a pale mind flayer (Qardsavu'ox, dagger-tipped face tentacles, lab-apron robe) wearing a tiny crown, arms spread wide, proclaiming "A NEW, KINDER SOCIETY!" Beside the throne is a crude crayon blueprint of a giant space laser and a crate stamped with a cartoon cow head. A large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) gives him an encouraging thumbs-up, and a small grey rat (12) on Toven's shoulder looks back at the rats wistfully. Above, clean water gurgles happily through the newly fixed pipes.
A big breakfast at the long feasting table in the Bastion's common hall, with stacks of pancakes and steaming mugs. A tiny kobold paladin (Haru) stands on the table, one fist raised, shouting "FOR THE BASTION!" A burly, friendly orc stable master in a leather apron (Orbal Houndstooth) raises his hand: "Does the cauldron work on us?" A flamboyant theater director in a swirling cape and feathered hat (Bahram Al'shaaeir) gazes dreamily at a big carnival prize wheel on the wall with pictures of different creatures on it (an elf, a dwarf, a bugbear, a gnome, a goliath). A large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) sips his tea, and an enormous scarred warrior (Gemnar, silver gauntlet with 7 identical red stones) eats an entire stack of pancakes in one bite.
The Bastion's workshop, full of forges, gears and tools. A wiry human tinkerer with brass goggles and wild hair (Sigmar) has lunged at a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian, glowing visor slit) with a magnifying glass and a wrench, and is now frozen mid-air in a crackling bolt of blue lightning with a huge "ZZZAP!", hair standing on end and his skeleton flashing comically. Gordian stands calmly with one glowing finger outstretched and a speech bubble: "NO DESIGNATION." A tiny clockwork hummingbird (Blink) hovers beside him. Behind Gordian, a calm bronze Warforged with reading glasses (Yslana) and a stout, soot-darkened old iron Warforged (Query) stand with their arms crossed, firmly on his side.
In the Preserve of Ancestors, a quiet garden of memorial stones and paper lanterns, a huge, elegant gold dragon (Sholeh) leans away awkwardly from two gleaming silver dragon eggs that a tiny kobold paladin (Haru) holds up toward her hopefully, a sweat drop on her brow, while she hands him a long scroll of incubation instructions with one claw. Floating beside her, a big blue air genie with a wind-cloud tail (Ayazad) whispers behind his hand to a large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven, small grey rat 12 on his shoulder), with a speech bubble: "HE'S A NERD. A REAL NERD." In front of the dragon, a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian, glowing visor slit) silently releases a tiny clockwork hummingbird (Blink) into the air and shakes his head.
The Bastion's sanctuary of Bahamut, a green stone chapel. A tiny kobold paladin (Haru) strains to read a long glowing scroll, sweating. Over his shoulder, a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian, glowing visor slit) taps him with a sparkling finger that gives off a burst of light and a big "+5!". The whole room floods with warm golden daylight. A goofy cartoon ghost, a little red imp and a floating eyeball monster bounce off the glowing doorway with a "BOINK!". In the center, two gleaming silver dragon eggs sit in a cozy straw nest, tended by a calm bronze Warforged with reading glasses (Yslana) holding a thermometer and a burly, friendly orc in a leather apron (Orbal Houndstooth) fluffing the straw.
A tidy customs hall in Yeonido with red lacquered pillars and paper lanterns, just past a glowing gemstone gateway. A stern dragonborn magistrate in formal robes and a tall black hat (no relation to Biggus Dickus, as far as anyone can tell) stamps travel papers with a giant stamp ("KA-CHUNK!"). In front of his desk, a tiny kobold paladin (Haru) argues his case with one finger raised, pointing at a flat black circle of cloth on the floor (a portable hole) into which a glaive, a rapier and a shield are disappearing. An enormous scarred warrior (Gemnar, silver gauntlet with 7 identical red stones) reluctantly lets go of his glaive. A large, gentle firbolg druid (Toven) with a small grey rat (12) on his shoulder and a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian, glowing visor slit) wait with their papers in hand.
Dusk over Yeonido, a city of tiled rooftops, red gates and glowing paper lanterns, with family names carved above every door and dragon teeth hung over the doorways as charms. On a rooftop crouches a very tall, lanky Warforged (Gordian) magically disguised as a plain green-blue dragonborn, his glowing visor slit still faintly showing through the disguise, with a tiny clockwork hummingbird (Blink) at his shoulder. Below, a procession of tall Spirit Arbiters in white robes and blank white masks, carrying lanterns of ghostly blue flame, patrols the street. In the distance, a grand, shadowy hall pulses with an eerie violet magical aura, ringed by more Spirit Arbiters, and a faint, ominous silhouette of a woman in a black veil drifts in the mist above it.