Anomaly 1: Was This a Mistake?

Character Creation

Create a new character, with the following character creation rules:

Create a 5th-level character, with the same or extremely similar name as your main character. You begin with a 5th level, 4th level, and 3rd level permanent magic item You can downgrade an item to two items two levels lower. Example: Instead of a 5th, 4th, and 3rd, you could start with a 4th and three 3rds, or all the way down to 2 each of 3rd, 2nd, and 1st. You begin with 100 gold to spend on consumables, supplies, and other gear. All existing homebrew rules are in place (particularly automatic bonus progression), so don't focus on magic items that just give bonuses like runes or skill increase items. You can choose one dominion bond from the Path Not Taken - from ANY character, not just your own. Avoid Lawful characters, particularly Lawful Good characters.

Our Adventure Begins...

...in the port city of Norcaste, on the western coast of the Fractured Lands. Braving the Still to save time on your last job probably wasn't the best plan, as the damage to The Nine Lives was almost enough to lay all of you to rest at the bottom. Through no small amount of effort and luck, your ship was able to limp into port, leaving you with a problem: the last job was nowhere near lucrative enough to fix your ship.

Norcaste is somewhat famous, having made a name for itself after the Fracturing by reinventing itself as a city of scholarship and learning. The city hosts any number of academies of art, science, and magic. The gates to the city on both sea and land sides are flanked by massive statues of the four scholars that held the city together through the Fracturing. Unfortunately, the city isn't overly fond of...less than reputable folk, making it quite difficult to find the kind of work that pays what you need it to pay.

After a week of hunting, your berthing fee is becoming a problem and you still haven't found a job paying enough to cover your repairs. As your near-desperation reaches its peak, you are contacted by a mysterious man and offered a job of...questionable wisdom. Naturally, you leap at the offer, and find yourself involved in a plot to steal the Norcaste Diamond, a magical relic rumored to have protected Norcaste during the Fracturing.

Captain X looks across the hallway to Fire-Eye, a Cheshire grin forming on his face. Fire-Eye mirrors the grin, with a hefty dose of manic excitement piled on top. Ashktor hunkers down, his bat-like ears well-covered in preparation for what's to come, while Jeremiah looks on with practiced nonchalance.

Cap gives Fire-Eye the go ahead nod, followed by a squeaky bellow as Fire-Eye depresses the plunger on the large detonator in front of him. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!"

Upon Your Return...

You quickly review everything you learned in the anomalous iteration:

There was a city named Norcaste on the western coast of the Fractured Lands. It was utterly destroyed in the iteration. Your past selves managed to steal the Norcaste Diamond for Mr. Bondergan, which created a slew of new questions: What is Mr. Bondergan really? What did he do to cause the city to be destroyed? What impact, if any, did the Norcaste Diamond have on this? How did Mr. Bondergan cross the Lightwell in the first place? The Norcaste Diamond seemed to have powers directly related to time, and was famous for having protected the city during the Fracturing. As far as you know, your past selves died with the destruction of Norcaste when the iteration was reset.