#low level

Settlement: Thopperton upon the Clouds

artsource

A quaint little gnomish town that just so happens to be a wonder of artifice, the flying settlement of Thopperton can usually be found anchored above another village for trade or drifting over the wilderness as it makes it's yearly circuit across the countryside.

Recently however the town has become snared in an impenetrable cloudbank that no wind or weathermage seems to be able to breach for more than a moment. Opinions are divided as to whether the town should continue onward (Thopperton and the settlements it visits are reliant on eachother for food and trade, and too many delays risk causing a crisis) or stop until a solution is found (trying to travel without being able to see the horizon risks sending the ship astray, putting them further off their timeline)

Adventure Hooks:

If the party need a reason to want to visit a flying gnomish town beyond sheer curiosity, they could be seeking aid or instruction from one of Thopperton’s famous tinkerer’s workshops. Alternatively they could be tasked with delivering an important message/package to one of the nobles or merchants who’ve decided to keep a summerhome on the airborne settlement. The views are to die for after all.

An impromptu festival has broken out on the streets of Thopperton as the inhabitants look to lift the dour mood imposed by the oppressive fog. Colourful lights and music fill the cloudy streets with phantasmagoria, whole blocks and market squares have been turned into mazes of cloth, and every workshop has opened their doors for an improvised inventor’s fair

The source of the omnipresent clouds is “The Lady of Veils” a djinn who has grown fond of visiting the flying burg and decided to “acquire” it. Conquer is such an unfriendly word after all.  Disguised as a foreign dignitary she’s taken up residence in Thopperton’s most exclusive hotel, hosting a soiree that ensorcels the town’s administration while she works a spell to transport the whole settlement to her fey domain. Her servants move through the fog unseen, forcibly inviting those who strike her fancy and disposing of those who would try to stop her.