A Pylos construction worker named Syne lies awake throughout the night, unable to sleep. His bunk is one of many in the barracks where the rest of the construction army sleeps, feeds, and washes.

• Syne hears noises of people outside, not so loud as to wake anyone up, but the dutiful construction worker knows no one should be sneaking around at this time, and he gets up to investigate (*As he gets up, he rouses his bunkmate, Cade, who will join him shortly).

• Outside, he meets a small group of suspicious people (*We later learn it is a terrorist organization), and he is attacked before he can try to make sense of the situation. (This is the player's first encounter with combat, and the fight seems impossible with only Syne against all the others.)

• Cade joins the commotion and assists Syne in the fight. The two construction workers drive the attackers away, the last one dropping the load he was carrying so he can run.

• Syne inspects the dropped contraption, speculating that it might be some sort of explosive device. Cade nearly flips out right there, but the older, cool-headed Syne says that the working day will start soon; he'll take the device and report to the foreman at once.

The working day at Delta starts, and troupes of construction workers continue their tasks on the nearly complete facility. Cade joins his place with the ground crew, and Syne is summoned to the foreman's office.

• The foreman has inspected the contraption Syne found, and remarks that the situation is delicate. He orders Syne to go with an escort to Titan City, the new capital, and where Pylos Headquarters is located, to deliver the foreman's confidential report. Normally, a courier would take care of this, but apparently the foreman doesn't want anyone else to know about what happened.

Syne and his unenthusiastic escort start down the road to the town of Trosene in a TW buggy, and plan to travel from there across the lake to Titan City. Before they get far, they are intercepted by a large dragon; the escort (who was supposed to be acting as a guard) doesn't last long at all. Syne is nearly killed, when Delloran (who is not human; he appears to be some sort of small draconic being) swoops in and convinces the large dragon to back off.

• Syne awakens in a cave, and Delloran ("Dell" for short) introduces himself. Syne mumbles a thanks, and Dell is very curious about his "new buddy." At first, Syne is hesitant to be friendly in return, but his good nature wins out, and he accepts the company of the quirky creature. When Syne inquires about what Dell is, exactly, the dragon-like creature simply says he's "one-of-a-kind."

• Dell gives Syne a simple quarterstaff from his cache of goodies that he keeps in his caves.

• The two leave that evening for Trosene.

The two travel the road a ways, and finally come to a crossing over the Titan River called the Firebridge. Before they can start across, they are met by a very large and unforgiving [Petrolan] Gygan (a species equivalent to orcs or ogres); the battle is tough, but with Dell's help, Syne is victorious. They cross the bridge into Trosene.

[room for development]

Upon arriving in Trosene, Syne and Dell find that there is a lock-down in effect; no shops or venues are open, the streets are practically deserted, and no boats are being released. (*The city has been locked down by the Titan City military in an effort to look for terrorist operatives, who have been reportedly seen often in Trosene. In actuality, the military is quite slow and ineffective; this will later lead Pylos to take matters into its own hands.) There are a few denizens strolling about, offering choice rumors and gossip to Syne and Dell:

• Anger is more than evident about the economic status of Trosene; most people tell Syne off because they dislike the effect Pylos has had on their town. One refers to a popular inn that has very suddenly gone out of business as of late. (*Ironically, the inn serves as a base for the terrorist organization.)

• Rumors about a terrorist group attempting to utterly destroy Pylos are vague and sketchy, but quite dramatic (*not to mention a bit inaccurate).

• There are also accusations that Pylos' mining is ruining the environment. Syne denies them instinctively, and Dell defends him by saying that Syne would never be a part of that awful mining stuff. Dell's presumption begins to raise a few doubts in Syne's mind.

Syne and Dell make their way to the harbor, which is also locked down. There are some shadowy run-down areas along the shore nearby, however, where there are a few small, unattended rowboats. Syne gets in one and, despite Dell's objections, heads off across the lake toward Titan City.