After arriving in St. Petersgrad aboard the VSS Dominion, the party moved ashore to carry out Harold Drekanov’s directives against dissident elements within the city. Navigating the widespread disruption caused by the recent dragon attack, they successfully infiltrated the Viroc Industries campus, located the Arcane Affairs building, and eliminated all personnel inside before withdrawing to reassess their next targets.

Upon disembarking from the VSS Dominion, the party began their journey toward the Viroc Industries campus. They quickly noticed they were being followed by a local—the same blackout-drunk sailor who had ferried them to the quarantined ship the previous night. To neutralize the potential tail, they provided him with money and redirected him to Donny’s Bar, effectively removing him from their path.

The party navigated the post-dragon attack chaos to reach the main Viroc office. Using a scrying globe, they performed long-distance reconnaissance to identify the specific location of the Arcane Affairs building on the St. Petersgrad campus. Their approach was marked by a series of environmental and security hurdles including clearing massive iron conduits and navigating a localized shard-dust storm. The party used social engineering to bypass posted Viroc security and utilized their arcane knowledge to see through the illusion magic concealing the Arcane Affairs building.

Upon entry, Viktor immediately chained the doors shut to prevent any escape or reinforcement. He cast Hypnotic Pattern, effectively incapacitating the majority of the scientists and guards and dictating the flow of the subsequent slaughter. One scientist was vaporized by Lusat’s upcast Fireball, while another was killed when an interrupted experiment destabilized and detonated. The explosion triggered the emergence of a shard-born being—a grotesque fusion of flesh and crystal—from an experimental structure. It attacked with crystalline projections from its chest but was swiftly brought down by Thorun. By the end of the confrontation, all Viroc personnel within the building were dead.

As the party withdrew toward Donny’s Bar, they observed a city in total moral and magical collapse. The air in St. Petersgrad had become dense and oppressive, saturated with raw magical and emotional resonance following the dragon attack. Escaped shardisite, fueled by the widespread fear and despair of the populace, has made magic volatile and no longer subtle. Darker forces have begun to stir just beyond the edges of perception as the environment itself now tangibly reacts to the collective emotional state of the city.