Yrstub’s Manywoven Clockfold Path is one of hundreds of tiny cults in the desert city of Maril. They meet every (days in the month) x (5) hours in the study/shrine below a distillery which is owned by Qasha (described below), the cult’s organizer. Their topics of interest are brass, copper, mathematics, systems of measurement, and mechanical puzzles.
The cult was founded 84 years ago by Hrajal, the son of a distiller in Maril. He had left home under good circumstances at the age of 14 to apprentice at another distillery in the great city of Tan Vosgo with the intent to spy on that city’s trade secrets. After falling in with some mercenaries on his way there, he abandoned this mission and roamed the land for nearly a decade before he found something magnificent in a ruined fort in the north.
It was a large mechanical device of mysterious purpose, and he became obsessed with it. He holed up in this remote nook of the ruined fort and spent 3 years studying it, hunting in the dense woods around the fort, robbing and murdering the occasional passers by. It was at this time he took on the name Yrstub which seemed odd enough to be fitting for a wizard, which he now fancied himself to be. Over these years he came to understand it was a device for timekeeping, and he managed to get it into what he imagined was good working order. Excited with what he had, he loaded the device into one of the wagons he’d collected in his time here, and made way back to Maril.
Though his family was angry and initially turned him away for his betrayal, he eventually managed to show them the ancient wondrous device, and they became enthralled both with its function and his mastery of it. He set the machine up in the cellar below the distillery, and over the years it became assumed by those close to him that he had built it.
A year after returning to Maril, Yrstub died of infection after a cart ran over his foot, but his work is carried on today by his great-great granddaughter Qasha who now owns the distillery, organizes the cult, and controls what pieces of her great-great grandfather’s wizarding notes are seen by others.
Cult Rules
Show up to every meeting on time. No exceptions.
Always have a project that somehow aligns with the groups interests, and provide progress at every meeting.
Never discuss the cult publicly. A member can only bring in one new member, and they must not be told what they’re being brought to.
Pay five copper every other meeting to the bar upstairs before you enter the meeting.
Members of the Path
Qasha Almuk. Tall, strong, heavy set, sharp, and business-minded. Dark complexion, dark eyes, always smells of alchemicals. She maintains a study adjacent to the clock chamber which is well secured by lock and alchemical trap. Her study is filled with texts written by her forbears, a wide assortment of writing materials, and a collection of waxes, dyes, and stamps. Current project is to chart out the growth of coral in Maril’s bay, which she’s convinced has a fractal pattern. Her skills include alchemy, arithmetic, calligraphy, coppersmithing, distilling, engineering, forgery, and hammers.
Avel. Plump, charming, and brutal. Big smile, always looks a bit sleepy. Deep tan, curly reddish brown hair, speckled eyes. Used to be a thief in the mountains to the south, but has stuck around in Maril due to his obsession with the cult (also there’s a nomad clan in the mountains that wants him dead, but no one in the cult knows this). Current project is developing a balanced septenary system. He is the only one who likes it. His skills include astronomy, cooking, daggers, deception, lockpicking, palmistry, sabotage, and sleight of hand.
Meluga. Doesn’t take any shit. Absolute unit. Terse and uncomfortable in public, loud and jovial in private. Light tan, dark hair and eyes, heavily scarred. Has a mutation she picked up after being stung by a dire jellyfish that allows her to change the color of liquids she touches. Has lived in Maril all her life and works as hired muscle even though she attended academy for over a decade and did well. Knows the city better than anyone. Current project is designing a mechanism which can track and time the movement of Grun-Kerstyx, a constellation associated with fortune in trade. Everyone is excited about this, but Qasha is secretly afraid Meluga might dominate the group. Her skills include anatomy, arithmetic, brawling, cudgels, history, languages, medicine, physics, pub games, rigging, and wrestling.
Telgi. Short, tough, wiry, fierce, and mercurial. Fair skinned, heavily freckled, dark eyes and hair, androgynous. Hailing from the far dark north. Has traveled widely and practiced many professions to little fame. Now works as a performer on the streets of Maril. Only actual magic user in the cult. Tortured by nightmares. Current project is solving a puzzle box they bought from a street vendor. Their skills include auditory illusion magic, brawling, crossbows, dancing, haruspicy, juggling, oud, scrimshawing, singing, and shortbows.