The Village was populated by refugees banished from Gotham, recent unrest has left them vulnerable to chaos incursions.
Hearing of vigilante ‘Guardian Angels’ from Gotham, they have pooled their meager resources to seek aid.

…

Clan MacDonald  already decreed many oppressive laws against ‘the enemy within’ :’illigal aliens’, vagrants,  ‘vigilantes’, etcetera.
Several ‘Guardian Angels’  felt it was wise to leave the city and take refuge in the Village.
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Arriving at the Village, gathering information…

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After the arrival of many refugees from Gotham, the Village has become too crowded: too many people, not enough food!
To make matter worse, many rats were investing the fields, destroying the crops.
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The alchemist brewed some rat poison to scatter between the crops.
Many rats died indeed, but the corvids that ate the cadavers also died!

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Dissecting some corvids, the alchemist discovered some warpstone contamination!
This same contamination was also found in the Broken Hills, where the mutants live.
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According to legends, a star fell down in the Broken Hills; amidst the wreckage was a stunned firedemon thas immediately was bound and inprisoned in the caves under the Great Tree in the forest.
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Investigating the sealed cave:  The seal was broken from inside outwards, the demon has escaped!
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Entering the cave:  Finding some skeletons, apparently remnants of cultist. What killed the cultist?
Finding a cultist journal, reading a scribbled note in the margin ‘we need the Cog and Compass’
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Descending in the mazes of the cave, encountering large poisonous mushrooms and giant spiders!
Narrowly escaping monsters and mechanical traps, finding a secret room with the  clockwork engine that operated the security system.
The Alchemist was able to communicate with the clockwork, ensuring safe travel through the maze!
…
Our heroes escaped the maze to return safely to the Village, knowing that the firedemon was roaming in the world!

Ping: Gotham Blades in the dark revolt – Dreamquest