Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue
Greetings, forumites! Some of you may be following the story of Mattea Vishi in the Chaotic Pioneering campaign and noticed that while sometimes there's a new log entry each week, other times there can be a long time between sessions. While it's to be expected that as adults, we have other obligations that occasionally take priority over gaming, I would like to get my regular fixes of role playing. The solution was to gather another group to play with, which worked well. This other group is now on its second campaign. At first, I was the only overlapping member of both groups, but for the new campaign, two members of the Chaotic Pioneering group joined up.
As in my other log, I will be writing this one from my character's point of view. We've played ten sessions already, trekking into the wilderness to perform a magical experiment. The journey went reasonably well, but when we returned, different motives, opinions and allegiances surfaced, causing much turmoil among the characters. I won't go into too much detail at this time, but some of it may come up in the logs. The characters tried to come to an agreement, and made some headway, but at one point I realized that what the others were planning to do, my character had absolutely no desire to be part of. So I took the GM aside and told him I wanted to retire the character. The week between the tenth and eleventh session, I spent creating a new character, someone who would get along with the others better than my old character. A flurry of emails and text messages was exchanged with the GM, and we came up with a very interesting character concept, so interesting in fact (at least in my opinion), that I decided to log her experiences here on the forum. We kept the new character secret from the other players, and I played my old character in the eleventh session, dropping hints along the way that he wouldn't be joining them on their next expedition. The GM role played my new character during the first interactions with the other players, guided by my detailed character description and a torrent of secret messages. When the other players at last figured it all out, we switched, delegating my old character to NPC status. Warning: All members of our group are adults, and our game features topics that some readers may find inappropriate or disturbing, like sex, religious fanaticism and slavery. I will use the literary technique called "fading to black" where necessary. Please be respectful in your comments. Explicit descriptions of sex/nudity are not allowed on this forum, and will be deleted. This is a TL3-ish fantasy campaign, set in a homebrew world. I'll be writing from the point of view of a person living in that world, but I'll try to explain things in the log if I can find a natural way to do it. Feel free to ask questions if there's anything you don't understand, references you don't get, etc. I'll answer as best I can, or maybe I can entice the GM to elaborate. You shouldn't expect to receive secret information that my character doesn't have access to. If you want to see the story from another angle, check out Xipil's version here: Campaign log: Report to Great Priest Ixanama |
Backstory
Khordak’s Inn
Who I am? Didn’t you expect to see a strange young woman in your basement, at ease among your snakes? You shouldn’t be surprised I’m unharmed. My greeting gesture identified me as an initiate, and by your response, I know you’re one, too. Like the snakes, we are Ashtar’s children, so why should I fear them? I expect you’re the caretaker of this chapel, and responsible for the snakes, but you needn’t worry. Like the snakes are my brothers, I am their sister, and they will not suffer by my hand. I am a Fang, and on a holy quest, and thus you should know I’m under no obligation to share information with you. However, I come seeking aid, so it would be prudent for me to divulge a little. I’m traveling east, and thought that here in Byblos, the capital, I might be able to get passage with a trade caravan going to our neighbors in the Prince’s Cities. On the other hand, our faith encourages us to share stories, that we may grow in wisdom. I will tell some of mine at the Meet, when your friends get here tonight, but since you identified yourself as an Ashtarite of relatively high rank, I assume you can hear more. May the Divine Mother of Snakes fork my tongue so I speak only according to Her will. Orphaned at a young age, I have no recollection of my family. Their faces are gone, their names are gone. Even my own name is lost to me. My features tell nothing of my heritage; having brown eyes and hair is fairly common in Arland, and while my skin is fairly dark compared to most of our countrymen, my natural tan, as I call it, doesn’t imply foreign roots. I was taken in by an innkeeper named Khordak, but it was not an act of kindness. I had to work long hours helping out at the inn, and for my efforts, I only got a blanket in the attic, and scraps and leftovers to eat if I’d been good. Khordak always said I should count myself blessed I wasn’t a slave. I quickly learned to follow orders and to be polite to the staff and customers. I still got regular thrashings in the alley whenever he felt the need to remind me of my place; he had a stick in the kitchen, leaning on the wall next to the back door, just for me. I would have run away, but I thought that would make me a slave, and I’d be even worse off. I know the inn is in the vicinity of the city Sam, but while I’ve prayed to Ashtar to let me pay him back, I haven’t tried to find the place, afraid I’d collect an unsanctioned bounty if I ever lay eyes on Khordak again. After a few years, a rich man entered the inn. Escorted by three guards, he was finely dressed, not the usual patron at this run-down place. I served him his meal, and afterwards he beckoned Khordak to approach. He pointed at me and asked if I was for rent. I didn’t understand, but coins changed hands, and Khordak came over to tell me to follow him upstairs and be good to him. I still didn’t understand, but it didn’t seem like the rich man would hurt me. Oh, how wrong I was! I’ll spare you the details. As I mentioned, the inn was rather shabby. There was something wrong in every room, be it a drawer that wouldn’t open or a dented chamber pot. This room had a cracked bedframe from before my time, when something heavy had dropped on it. Sharp splinters protruded from beneath it, and I managed to break one off. The sound startled the bad man, and I punched the splinter into his neck. He collapsed on top of me, blood gushing out of the wound. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t shift the body. A cold tingle, like the chill of death, crept over me, and darkness took me. Initiate I dreamt of the creaking of axles and the clomp-clomp of hooves, and then a wheel hit a hole in the road and jolted me awake. Someone had wrapped me in a blanket and stuck me among coarse sacks in the wagon bed of a cart. A faint scent made me guess they contained vegetables. Although my head stuck out of the blanket, the rest of me was trapped, and I started sobbing quietly. Khordak hated the sound of crying, and the threat of his stick loomed large in my mind. To my surprise, it was a woman’s voice I heard, asking how I was feeling. I was afraid and trembling and didn’t answer. She tried to soothe me with assurances that everything was all right, that the bad man would never hurt me again. The cart stopped soon after. The woman lifted me out of the cart and helped me out of the blanket. We had stopped at a small creek, and the woman instructed me to wash. My chest was covered in dried blood, except where it had stuck to the blanket and been torn off. While I washed, the woman emptied a sack and cut three holes in it, providing me with a makeshift dress. We traveled for a couple of days. I spent most of the journey crying or sleeping. The woman’s name was Rhuk, and she knew I had no family. From what she’d heard, there was nobody I cared about that would miss me if I didn’t return. She did offer to turn the cart around and bring me back, just in case. The look of terror in my face said all that needed to be said. She asked for my name, expressing doubt that my mother had named me “Girl”. I whispered “I don’t know” and started crying again. “There, there, we’ll get you a new name, to go with your new life.” Rhuk began teaching me about Ashtar, and I found comfort in her tales. A higher power watching over her was just what a terrified child needed. We arrived at a large but nondescript building in Sam as the sun was setting, and an old man came out to meet us when Rhuk parked the cart in a dark alley behind the building. Rhuk told him, “This is Nuur-Karif, who wants a new life with us. By Ashtar’s will, I delivered her from evil. I also bring your cargo.” The man went inside, and I asked why Rhuk called me that. She explained that it meant “Red Twig” in the ancient tongue, and reminded me of the splinter I had used to defend myself from the bad man. There’s also an insect that’s called a twig because it looks like one, seemingly harmless, but with a deadly sting. Also, I’d been as red as the splinter when she found me. She thought the name suited me. She told me that the truth behind my new name was a secret between her, me and Ashtar, and if I wanted to share it, I could, but she swore she’d never speak of it again. “A mentioned secret is no secret,” she quoted. The old man came back with two younger and stronger men. Rhuk gave specific instructions for unloading the cargo, and left the younger men to it. The rest of us entered the building and descended into the cellar. We washed our feet and hands, and entered a chamber with snakes all over, but the grown-ups didn’t seem afraid of them, so I determined that they couldn’t be dangerous. They sat down on the floor, facing each other, and Rhuk directed me to sit in front of her, between her outstretched legs. Whenever a snake came near us, she gently pushed it away. Maybe there was some danger, after all… Rhuk was mostly silent while the old man spoke of Ashtar. Some of it I had heard from Rhuk already, but much was new. He asked what I thought of these things, and I answered honestly that while there were some things I didn’t understand, I had a feeling deep inside that told me that this was right and good. After a while, other people came inside to listen, all grown-ups. They sat down, but said nothing. Eventually, the old man told them my name, that I had come here to dedicate my life to Ashtar, and now it was time to see if Ashtar would accept my offer. He taught me how to pray, that I must formulate words of praise or supplication. I didn’t have to speak out loud; Ashtar would hear my prayer as long as my tongue shaped the words. This would come with practice, but for now, I should speak the words clearly. He gave no instructions regarding any specific words I should use, so I just said, “Ashtar, I want to live here with your people and learn from them. Please, can I?” A surge of relief washed through me when the old man nodded, and I smiled. He told me to put my belly to the ground like the snake, and let the snake throne above me. If Ashtar accepted me, no harm would befall me. I lay down on the ground, and it didn’t take long before one of the snakes approached me. It climbed up on my back, hissed, and continued on its path. The old man said some ritual words, and the congregation answered, then everyone came over to me to congratulate me and wish me welcome. I was now an Ashtarite, too. |
Backstory
Shelter
I stayed in that building for years, only leaving to run errands. The main part housed the Ashtar-Muriak, “Ashtar’s Fangs”, and the snake-filled cellar was the holy temple of our faith. The Fangs, as you know, are our holy warriors, our guardians. Those not stationed elsewhere, or on a mission, lived and trained there in Sam. I practiced with them, and learned how to defend myself, unarmed and with a knife. I helped out in their offices, learning how to read and write, and discovered that they regularly took bounty hunter missions, tracking down and bringing criminals to justice. The authorities knew what to expect when they hired Fangs as bounty hunters; the last part of the expression “wanted dead or alive” was superfluous in mission briefings. After all, Ashtar is the goddess of death, and no Ashtarite hunted bounty without her blessing, thus no target was brought back alive. Of course, my work and practice with the Fangs was secondary to my work and practice in the temple. I became familiar with the rites and rituals of Ashtar, and learned the holy stories. I soon figured out that there were things they didn’t tell me, but I was patient and said nothing. Knowledge would come when I was initiated to higher ranks. The ritual with the snake crawling over me had bestowed upon me the lowest rank, Spawn. I determined to be obedient, dutiful and devout, not because I desired knowledge, but because it felt right. I had a small room all to myself in the living quarters, but I often took a blanket down to the temple and slept among the snakes. They were so fascinating! I was sad when one of them passed away, and overjoyed when a new one hatched or when someone brought one as a gift. The first time I bled, I woke up with cramps on the temple floor, and I was afraid one of the snakes had bitten me, but when I looked at them, I saw no hostility or anger, and I remembered that Rhuk had told me this would happen when I got older. When the caretaker came to feed the snakes, I was praying to Ashtar, caressing a viper that had slithered into my lap. I calmly told her what had happened, and she helped me clean up. She told me that in addition to working in the temple, she was a midwife. She helped women who were sick or injured, or who had trouble giving birth. She offered to take me on as an apprentice, but that didn’t feel right to me. I had my duties in the temple and with the Fangs, I explained. She insisted on giving me five-minute lessons each morning, and I learned a lot from her over the years, even with such short lessons. I had stayed in Sam for about a year when I was initiated as a Bearer. I lay down naked on the temple floor, and was covered from the feet to the neck with sand and dirt, before volunteers from the congregation washed the dirt off me, starting at my feet and cleaning each body part in the proper order. Rhuk came and went as her job demanded. She was a cart driver, mainly transporting produce from farms to markets. When she was in Sam, she always looked in on me, often staying with the Fangs for a few days to take part in teaching me. She never mentioned it, but eventually I came to see that she was the one who made sure I got all the skills I learned during my stay. It didn’t take long to figure out that she was a Fang herself, and a pretty high-ranking one at that. Everyone treated her with great respect. Fang I was around sixteen when Rhuk took me out on my first bounty hunt. We followed a murderer to Byblos, showing a detailed drawing of him to people along the way, asking if they’d seen him. We believed we were one day behind when we reached the capital. Rhuk pulled up at an inn, and sent me to get some supplies while she got settled. By pure coincidence, our quarry bumped into me on the marketplace. Thinking fast, I apologized and engaged him in conversation. I directed the exchange, guiding him to invite me to have a drink with him. I happened to know an inn nearby, so we went there. While I distracted the man, Rhuk added a few drops to his drink. He slumped over the table, and Rhuk displayed our papers, identifying the man as a criminal and us as bounty hunters. She said she had drugged him so we could bring him to trial. We took the body up to our room and left for Sam early in the morning, the corpse wrapped in a blanket on the back of the cart. Rhuk was impressed with how easily I had lured the man to the inn, and with how little the kill had affected me. I asked her why she expected it to bother me. It was by Ashtar’s will this man was dead; I had done as my Goddess desired. Feelings didn’t enter into it. As for how I got him back to the inn, I had just told him what he wanted to hear. I explained that I often knew when people lied to me or didn’t tell me the whole truth, and that I just made sure I didn’t give away any of the markers I knew how to look for. Rhuk said she would mention my talents when she made her report. After several successful bounty hunts with Rhuk, I was taken to a sacred place. I will not tell you where, but I remained in seclusion for three months. I have few clear memories from the dream-like state I was in, but I remembered someone praying over me, as if I was dead. Many secrets were revealed to me, but not in the sense of shared knowledge. It’s difficult to explain; it was more like my body was imprinted with muscle memory. Although I knew how to fight already, when I reemerged into the world, my body was a weapon. I had truly been blessed by Ashtar. Bestowed with divine gifts and the knowledge of how to use them according to Ashtar’s will, I felt like a new person. Rhuk welcomed me back to the land of the living. A ceremony in the temple celebrated my ordeals, and as the priest spoke the ritual words, I realized I might not have survived. I asked Rhuk about it, and she admitted that while the priests only submit those they think are worthy to the trial, two out of three succumb to the tremendous power they are subjected to, and join Ashtar in her realm. I had witnessed this ceremony twice before, but this was the first time I knew what it was actually about. Among the Fangs, those who underwent and survived the trial share a sense of brotherhood, a feeling that we are special, and of course we get the most difficult missions. I don’t know how many we are in total, but the next day, eight of us gathered for our own celebration. Rhuk was there, of course, but all the others were men. The other Fangs arrived after a while and I was officially included in their numbers. At the next Meet, I was initiated to the third rank in our faith. A cup of poison was passed around, and we had to drain it completely before the evening was over. I had no reaction to it, even though I drank my fair share, but some of the others became unwell. We all became Daggers, though. |
Backstory
Assassin
My next mission would take me to Ur. A nobleman there was marked for death. This was a holy mission, and highly illegal, according to the laws of the land, so I would have no papers to prove my right to kill my quarry. I was to be the main agent, but Rhuk and two priests helped me plan. We knew that the nobleman rented escorts out of a certain establishment, and I decided to get a job there. I’ve never felt the desire to be intimate with a man – I would rather relax with my girlfriends if I’d had any free time – so I thought I should get some experience. I felt no fear or shame. Just like killing, this was a task given to me by Ashtar. As I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, I asked my councilors for advice. The priests blushed, but Rhuk told me she’d teach me how to seduce a man. A couple of days later, I tested my new skills on one of the Fangs, a fellow just a few years older than me, who I considered a friend. I noticed the marks of attraction that Rhuk told me to look for, but my friend rebuffed my attempts at seduction. “Let’s sit down and talk,” I suggested when I realized I was getting nowhere. I explained that I wasn’t really into him, not like that, but that I was learning seduction for use on a mission, and wanted someone I knew, someone I trusted, to be my first target. He responded that he had always thought I was beautiful, but because the temple sheltered me, and because I had never shown any interest earlier, he’d considered me off-limits, and consequently never made a pass. When I tried to seduce him, he thought it was some kind of test of his resolve. Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, he didn’t mind if I tried again. He promised to be gentle, and to respect that sleeping with me once did not bestow any rights for a repetition, or a relationship. It still hurt, I told Rhuk the next morning. She procured a lotion I could apply before the next time and an herb I should take afterwards, so I wouldn’t get with child. I told her I knew about the herb from the midwife’s lessons, but Rhuk warned me that I needed to take a much higher dose than any midwife would prescribe. The dosage I needed would be lethal to weaker people. I learned in the Dagger ritual that I have a higher tolerance against poisons than is normal, even among Ashtarites. I tried again with my friend, and then I went to town, honing my skills on strangers in bars. Both Rhuk and my friend offered to tag along as security, but I showed them my teeth and said I could take care of myself. Two weeks later, I travelled to Ur. This time I took Rhuk up on the offer of protection, and invited her along. I sought out the establishment and got a job there. After a few days, the nobleman showed up, and I got him to pick me. It wasn’t hard; all the other girls were experiencing bellyaches, and weren’t particularly alluring. I followed the nobleman home, feeding him grapes in his carriage under the watchful eyes of his guards. The guards searched me thoroughly for hidden weapons before leaving us alone in his bedchamber. The searches became less thorough over time, but there was nothing to find. On my fourteenth visit to his mansion, I straddled the nobleman and leaned in for a kiss, telling him to close his eyes. Then I tore his throat out and muffled his death rattle with a pillow while I moaned loudly. I dressed hurriedly, left though the window and disappeared into the night. I would have brought his head, but didn’t have anything to cut it off with. I wasn’t about to ask the guards to borrow their blades. My next several missions were regular bounty hunts for various criminals. I often worked alone, but sometimes with other Fangs. Once, there were nine of us, tracking down a band of outlaws. One of my companions took out their sentry; the other bandits died in their sleep. My fourth ritual of initiation required me to locate a particular snake among the multitude in the temple and to devour it alive. Ashtar guided me to the right one, a brown-and-black-patterned desert viper about the length of my arm. I struggled not to gag while it slid down my throat. I gasped for breath, and felt Ashtar’s essence suffuse me. The snake settled calmly in my belly. I had become a Toxiner. Then I got another holy mission, which brought me here. So, can you help me? |
Introduction
The Blekborg Quest
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! By Your will, the chapel I found in Byblos was able to locate a group of merchants from the Prince’s Cities. The caretaker paid my fare all the way to Blekborg so I could travel with the foreigners. I did not identify myself as Your follower, for I knew that in the Prince’s Cities, Your faithful work in secret. Of course, the merchants noticed my devotion, but they respected my wish for privacy when I whispered my prayers or made the holy signs with my hands, and asked no questions. We passed through Arland without trouble, although the guards at all the nobles’ checkpoints were alert with the rumor of a slave uprising near Istan in the north-east. A few nights before the border crossing, the caravan made camp in a grove of trees. A viper approached the fire to bask in the heat, and the merchants were startled, leaping to their feet. Some drew weapons, but I seized the holy creature and protected it in my lap. I recognized it as a good omen, a blessing for my quest. The merchants were uneasy and gave me a wooden box to keep it in. In Blekborg, I wished the merchants farewell and began my search for the chapel. I found it in the poor quarter, in the cellar beneath a soup kitchen called “Sissi’s”. A secret sign marked the chapel for what it was. I identified one of the diners as a fellow believer. Baldrian was a half-elf around forty years of age. He was a Bearer, and very talkative. He was about to leave town, as his business would take him east the next day, and wouldn’t attend tonight’s Meet. He told me that on his travels, he was more comfortable if he had other believers with him. Being on Death’s side lessened his worries. When I asked about the chapel, he bade me remember that “the masked one” was an elf. It seemed important to him that I knew this, for some reason. The Meet was already in progress when I entered. I sat down quietly, and when the time was right, I introduced myself. Sissi was there, a Dagger who served as the caretaker of the chapel as well as running the soup kitchen above. In her mid-twenties, she was a few years older than me. She invited me to stay with her while I was in town. Leading the Meet from behind a snake mask, the alleged elf didn’t give his name or rank, but I deduced that he was a Serpent, which would make him Rhuk’s superior, and she’s a Night Stalker! He seemed old. He had anticipated my arrival, and instructed others to provide me with information and equipment, as needed. He appointed a man named Odin, a fellow Toxiner, to be my guide. I brought out my wooden box and offered the viper as a gift to the chapel. Odin didn’t speak during the Meet, he just nodded when he received his instructions. The next day, he took me sight-seeing, communicating with gestures when needed, otherwise he just led the way to the next place I wanted to see. Sissi had suggested some sights to see at breakfast, but I also had some ideas pertaining to my mission. I had come to believe that Odin was mute, and was surprised when he dragged me into an alley the next day, to hiss an answer to one of my questions. Like me, he has a forked tongue, but his words were mangled, so I understood why he wouldn’t speak in the presence of outsiders. I spent two weeks studying my mark. Klodrik Angdal was a high-ranking city guardsman, but evidently corrupt and generally considered a bad man. If I hadn’t known my mission’s source to be a holy vision, I would have thought that someone from Blekborg had summoned me to get rid of him. I discovered that Klodrik was having an affair, and that he kept it secret, even from his guards. At least, he visited his mistress alone and in disguise. One night, I waited for him in a dark alley. He didn’t spot me among the shadows. I moved up behind him and impaled his neck from both sides. He crumpled to the ground and I said the ritual words over the body before I took his head away as proof. Not that my word wouldn’t suffice, but one should follow the proper procedure, if one can. Odin helped me seal up the head in a box of salt so it wouldn’t rot on the long trip home, and then I settled down in the chapel to lay low for a while. After a couple of days, I learned that rumors about me were spreading in the underworld. I asked Odin to find someone who would travel west soon. He’s impressed me with his ability to get things done while pretending to be mute. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 11 (2020-01-12)
14th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I waited all day in Your chapel, while Odin looked for traveling companions for me. There’s a head I need to bring to the temple in Sam, and it’s wise not to travel alone. It’s easier to hide in a crowd. Odin arrived in the evening. He indicated that he had found someone, and wanted me to come and meet them. We encountered one of them outside an inn, and I must say he didn’t make a good first impression. Lunari Grandiflora, an elf with flowers painted on his face, had obviously been at the bottle. He had a lady of loose morals on his arm, and she was clearly worried he would dump her now that someone younger and prettier had appeared, and urged him to come away with her. Odin managed to arrange for us to meet again tomorrow before the pair vanished. Odin and I might have gone in for a drink, but the place reeked of vomit, so I decided to go back to the chapel. I brushed my teeth and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 15th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! While sightseeing with Odin earlier, I had noticed the sign of another chapel in one of the wealthier parts of town. I suspected that the masked man lived in the mansion above it. The chapel entrance was visible from the street, but a locked gate barred entry. I decided to check it out again, today. The gate was unlocked when I arrived. There were guards on the street, but I walked in as if I owned the place, so nobody bothered me. The chapel was empty except for the ever-present snakes. A washbowl stood in the entry hall, of course. I had no activities scheduled before tonight, so I took off my dress and washed properly, each body part in the right order, from feet to hands. I could have done just my feet and hands, but I’ve always thought that one should cleanse one-self as thoroughly as time permits, before stepping onto holy ground. My Lady, You know I don’t consider myself any less modest than other girls, and I don’t go around flaunting my body like the harlot I met yesterday, but I have no problem being naked in front of strangers while serving You, so I wouldn’t have panicked if other Ashtarites had arrived while I washed. Of course, if an intruder had entered, he would have felt Your holy wrath for trespassing, and I would be honored to dish it out. I spent an hour or two among Your children, studying them with fascination. There were several kinds I didn’t recognize; please forgive my failing. I had dinner with Sissi, and asked her if she or anyone she knows has visited the other chapel. The answer was no, and it didn’t seem like she was particularly interested in going either. She was content here. Odin brought me to the Handsome Elf, a tavern just outside the slums. In addition to Lunari, who I met yesterday, a lizard-man and a troll was there. I studied the lizard-man, Xipil, with fascination until I discovered he wasn’t a snake-man. That would have been something! The troll was named Grogg, and was in Lunari’s employ. The three of them would be traveling to Arland soon, and I offered my knowledge of the land in exchange for food and shelter on the journey. They wanted to go all the way to Guling, in the far west. I expect we can stop in Sam on the way, so I can report in about my recent quest. It was getting late, so we made plans to meet again tomorrow, but Lunari wanted to talk some more and to buy me a drink. I accepted, and explained the power structure of Arland. Lunari tried to shift the conversation to more personal topics, but I knew where he was going with it, and I wasn’t interested. Odin was silent, of course, and left when I did. Xipil followed us out of the tavern. Was he spying on us? Anyway, we made sure to lose him in the slum before wishing each other a good night. I sharpened a twig to dislodge a piece of food from between two of my molars. It had bothered me since dinner, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep thinking about it. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 16th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I stayed in the chapel most of the day, playing with the snakes. In the afternoon, Odin, Sissi, Baldrian and two others arrived, and we had a Meet. Baldrian made small talk, and invited me to go out for a drink afterwards. I apologetically told him I already had an appointment at the Handsome Elf with someone called Lunari. It turned out Baldrian knew Lunari, too. In fact, he had planned to go see Lunari later tonight. We decided to go to the tavern together. We talked for a while with Lunari and his friends, and I asked if we would be leaving soon, perhaps tomorrow at this hour? Lunari dragged on his answer. He was waiting for someone named Kurt. Maybe we’d leave tomorrow, maybe not. I told them I was ready to go on short notice. I had packed already, and could be back here in fifteen minutes, if necessary. Lunari tried to charm me with stories of his adventures. I listened politely for a bit before saying goodbye. I paused outside, kneeling down as if to fiddle with my shoe, to see if anyone followed. The location of Your chapel should remain a secret. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 11 (2020-01-12)
17th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I met my traveling companions to be at the Handsome Elf after breakfast and played moklatar with Lunari. He had hand-carved the pieces for the board game himself, and proudly told me that he had gathered the wood for them from all around the world, on his travels. Odin arrived with a note for Lunari. The two of them go way back, I gathered. This was evidently what they’d been waiting for, for Xipil asked if I needed help with my luggage. I accepted his offer, but strolled over to where Odin had seated himself first. I told Xipil I wanted to say goodbye to Odin, but in fact, I asked if there was anything I needed to know. Lunari had made sure I didn’t see the note. Odin pulled my head closer, as if to give me a kiss on the cheek, and hissed that I needed to watch out for them. I asked if that was because they were dangerous, or because they needed protection, and he just chuckled. Both, I guess. Xipil and I went to Sissi’s, and I introduced them. Sissi brought out my backpack and waterskin, and I armed myself, biting each of my four knives ritually while Sissi distracted Xipil with small talk. Then I put on my cloak, hiding the blades from view. I handed the backpack to Xipil. It was a lot heavier than the waterskin, but I figured since he had offered to help me, maybe he wanted to show off. I was wrong. He thought it was too heavy for him, and suggested we’d carry it between us. I shouldered the backpack and gave him the waterskin instead. We met Grogg and Lunari outside the Salt Guild. Lunari was playing the violin when we arrived, a melancholy tune, but he put it down and went inside. He came back out with a large wagon a little later. It was very fine, and had four dwarves on top, two drivers and two guards. We’ll be traveling in style, it appears. Another dwarf, wearing a broad-brimmed hat with a veil covering the eyes, came out and approached Lunari, thanking him for their adventures, and wishing him luck on this one. Lunari gave a metal ring, almost large enough to slip onto my wrist, to Grogg and a small bottle, presumably a potion or a poison, to Xipil. He counted out twenty coins as well to the lizard-man, and my eyebrows rose when I noticed that it was gold. I have three silver pieces and three copper pieces in my pouch. Luckily, the others are paying for me. I wouldn’t get far on my slender purse. Lunari explained to Grogg about how to drink alcohol in a sensible manner. There must be some story behind this. Maybe they’ll tell me; we have a long way to go. We stopped at a farm just outside the city, where Baldrian was waiting. He had his own wagon, which was filled up with crates and boxes, and a companion who I guessed was a guard. He was a little concerned about the Salt Guild wagon. I don’t know why. Lunari said that the finer wagon only was going as far as Fort Holte, the border town overlooking the pass that led to Arland. The two wagons would travel together that far, and then we’d come and ride with Baldrian. Lunari, Xipil and I rode in the fancy wagon, with Grogg on top, so he could stretch out his legs. I told the others a little about myself, that I’m religious was obvious to them, so I explained that I had left home to see the world, and to offer my services as a medicine worker. Maybe I’d find a physician to apprentice myself to, although my skills were advanced enough I could make a living with them. Turning the conversation to Arland, I discovered that I needed to correct a few misgivings that Lunari and Xipil shared. We found a place to rest for the night just before Tovre, with a farmer Baldrian knew. I asked the farmer respectfully where I could pitch my tent, but he just waved his arm and said anywhere I’d like, as long as I didn’t trample his grain crop. I raised my tent near the wagons and went inside to remove my belt of knives in private. I put my weapons into the backpack and retrieved my toothbrush, listening to the chatter outside with half an ear while I made ready for sleep. I closed the backpack so it would be ready to go in an instant, and wrapped my cloak around me as I lay down. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 18th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I said my morning prayer, rolled up my tent, tied it to my pack, and joined the others for breakfast. Over the meal, we discussed religious signs and gestures, for the others noticed how Baldrian and I lifted each food item in praise before biting into them. I revealed that You are my Lady, the great Mother of Snakes. While we traveled, Xipil and Lunari told me a little about themselves. Xipil came from a foreign land, far to the south, but Lunari was from the Prince’s Cities. They had met by chance in the jungle, while Lunari and Grogg was traveling with the Salt Guild dwarf. Krupik, his name was. On their travels, they had encountered some grey-skinned humans who worshipped a death god. What little they had learned about that god, struck me as wrong. A god of death shouldn’t be like that. You are the true master of death, Ashtar. I’d never heard of those people or their god, and I said as much. We talked about medicine and herbs as well. Lunari showed me a pouch of black crystals, and asked if I knew what it was. I told him I knew it as “crow’s toes”, and that he should be careful with it. While it strengthens the will of someone who takes it, the crystals are highly hallucinogenic, and can be dangerous if taken too often or for too long. Outside, Grogg started singing a wordless melody, trying to sound like a raven. I told Lunari and Xipil that ravens, while not necessarily evil, were not to be trusted. In the evening, we arrived at another farm known to Baldrian. I didn’t think much of it yesterday, but when he did it again, I noticed that Baldrian deliberately hid his wagon from view from the road. Either he’s carrying valuable goods in his inconspicuous wagon, or he’s carrying contraband. Most likely both. I decided to consult him about my box. Lunari suggested stargazing. Elves are known as children of the stars, and he told me all about them while we lay in the grass, looking up at the sky. Xipil meditated, but Grogg was sitting with the ring Lunari had given him, watching the celestial bodies through it. I asked if I could have a look, and I saw there was something weird going on with the moon, as if it was of a color I’d never seen before. Strange. I handed the ring back to him and wished them all a good night. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 19th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! We traveled onward. Lunari pulled out his violin and played a merry tune. I tapped the beat with my foot and nodded my head. Lunari sang along to the next melody. It was about a nobleman who got a farmer’s daughter drunk and lured her out of her clothes. I sniffed and turned to look out the window at the terrain rolling by. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 11 (2020-01-12)
20th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! My homeland, Arland, is sometimes called the Land of the Stone Circles. Xipil asked me about it while we rode along. I explained that there are stone circles scattered all around. Our people rarely bother with them, except as a source of building materials. I think foreigners add mystical importance to them that they don’t deserve. They’re just stones that our ancestors erected long ago, for whatever purpose they didn’t deign to share with their descendants. Now, the circles are toppled, overgrown and demolished. I told my companions that I’ve seen a couple of them, and that it isn’t worth the detour just to have a look. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 21st of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The wagons rolled onwards, steadily climbing towards Fort Holte. Baldrian called a stop before we came into view of the city, and I asked him if he could help me smuggle a 15-pound box across the border. He told me he had to enter the city to arrange some things, and refrained from answering my question. He took his companion along, leaving the rest of us make camp, and to relax or stretch our legs, if we wanted to. I assumed he’d be able to answer me when he got back. I talked for a while with Lunari, Xipil and Grogg. The dwarves kept to themselves. I asked my traveling companions if any of them knew much about medicine, herbs and the like. Xipil admitted to possess some knowledge about poisons, otherwise they were rather ignorant of the topic. I implore You to protect us from injury and sickness, but if You choose to test us with such afflictions, I have my medicine kit, and by Your gift, the skill to use it. When the sun set, I made Your sign in recognition of the death of another day. I erected my tent and spent some time in prayer before brushing my teeth and going to bed. Lunari seems to be a ladies’ man, and I didn’t feel like fending off his advances when I could contemplate Your holiness instead. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 22nd of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Baldrian and his friend returned early in the morning. I invited Baldrian to come inside my small tent. Lunari turned green with envy, and it was obvious his mind was in the gutter. Baldrian said he would take my box, and I retrieved it from the bottom of my backpack. No particularly damning items had to be revealed while I emptied the pack – they were hidden in my medicine kit – but my tiny red dress would certainly have set Lunari off had he seen it. Baldrian went over to his wagon to hide my box among his, and I stuffed my belongings into my backpack again and packed down my tent. Lunari dismissed the dwarves, and they left, going back the way they had come. Lunari had watched my tent carefully while Baldrian was inside with me, and had spotted the box. At breakfast, he asked what it contained. I told everyone it was salt, a gift from an acquaintance in Blekborg to one in Sam. They seemed content with the answer. Salt is much cheaper in the Prince’s Cities than it is in Arland. We rode in Baldrians wagon into Fort Holte. He had to show his papers twice on the way in, but nobody searched the wagon. When the road steepened, Grogg had to get off. He’s nearly twice my height, and probably several times my weight. Baldrian had to display the papers again before we could leave the city, and then we were in the pass through the mountains. The road was for the most part relatively flat, but Grogg had to get off occasionally. Baldrian said we needed to keep watch at night. As he and his companion hadn’t had much sleep last night, the duty fell on Lunari, Xipil, Grogg and me. I told the others I could take any of the watches, as I see fairly well, even at night. It’s colder up here in the heights, so Xipil had to beg a blanket from Baldrian. Grogg would take the first watch, so I pitched my tent, did my ablutions, and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 11 (2020-01-12)
23rd of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Lunari woke me for my turn at the watch, and warned me that there might be orcs nearby. He pointed to the north and said that he had seen movement there earlier. I asked what I should do if orcs approached, feigning worry. “Scream, and hide behind us,” he replied, and asked if I had any weapons. I told him I had a knife that I could wave around. Lunari had told me to wake Xipil before sunrise, so I did. I asked the lizard-man if he was going to take over the watch, for mine hadn’t lasted very long. He said yes, so I went back to sleep. We moved on after breakfast. Baldrian was worried about orcs. There should have been more patrols in the area. Lunari showed me his spear. It was made on the plains north of the Prince’s Cities, and while I’m not a connoisseur, I could tell that the weapon was very fine; it must have cost him a small fortune. I asked if I could touch it, and he handed it over. I displayed a lack of skill with it, waving it dangerously about. I showed him one of my knives in return, and pretended not to have any skill with that either. My two throwing knives would have given the ruse away, but the long knife I showed him was plain and simple. He recognized it as Arland-made and explained to me how similar blades from the Prince’s Cities were slightly different. He told me that when we came out of the pass, we would see the site where he and Grogg once defeated a band of orcs. He implied there would be a monument erected there. Xipil scouted ahead, I stayed near Grogg, and everyone kept their weapons close. After a few hours, Xipil returned to tell us there had been an avalanche, and the road through the pass was blocked. There was mumbling about a possible ambush, and Baldrian turned the wagon around, retreating a safe distance, while Lunari, Grogg, Xipil and I climbed a cleft to the north of the road. When we reached the top, Xipil stealthed ahead. Without his huge cloak, his skin melted into the surroundings, and I found it difficult to keep my eyes on him. When Xipil returned, he told us he had found tracks of two trolls and up to eight other people. Humans could have made the tracks, but Xipil had spotted a green-skinned bowman who watched the pass, so there was at least one orc among them. Grogg sniffed the tracks, and agreed that trolls had been here recently. I listened to the others discussing how to proceed. We could sneak up on the ambushers and attack them from behind, but that might be risky, as we didn’t know where all of them were. We could probably get one or two, but the sounds of battle would alert the others. I said we shouldn’t count me as a fighter, so it would be three of us against ten of them, including two trolls. Even if Baldrian and his friend joined us and were able to fight, the enemy would outnumber us two to one. Another possibility would be to bribe the ambushers with something from Baldrian’s cargo. If they were runaway slaves, part of the rumored uprising, the shortswords and crossbows Baldrian brought would be very useful to them. However, if we gave them weapons, could we be certain that they wouldn’t use them against us? We agreed that Xipil should take another scouting foray. On this trip, he discovered three orcs watching the road. I suggested that we might go around. That would mean that Baldrian had to turn back, as he wouldn’t get the wagon up the cleft we had climbed to get above the orcs. Lunari and I went back to Baldrian to discuss what to do, while Grogg and Xipil remained to watch. While Lunari explained the situation to Baldrian and his friend, I rummaged through my backpack, which I had left on the wagon when we went to explore. I smeared a few drops of poison onto each of my knife tips, taking care to keep the cargo on the wagon between the others and me. Lunari said that we would sneak up on the three orcs we knew the location of, and then begin bargaining. Lunari retrieved a giant crossbow and asked if I would take it, but I thought it was too heavy, so he took it himself. He made an agreement with Baldrian about what kind of deal he should make with the ambushers, and then we went back to Xipil and Grogg. We were still discussing exactly how to proceed when we spotted an orc approaching. He was armed with bow and arrow, and carried a backpack. Grogg stood up and bellowed something in what I assume was troll speech, before switching to common: “I am Grogg Orgalogg and I want to speak to your leader!” The orc took cover, but a troll voice replied. The two of them shouted back and forth in their own tongue for a couple of minutes, then two trolls and another orc joined the first orc below us in the cleft. Above the avalanche, a few orcs looked around, uncertain what was happening. One of the trolls approached us and asked us to lower our weapons. I hadn’t drawn any, but Lunari and Xipil put down their crossbow and bow. Grogg led Lunari towards the troll, and I followed, peeking out from behind Grogg’s back. Grogg introduced Lunari as his elf daddy. Lunari commented that the two trolls looked very similar, and asked if they were related. The other troll called himself Nark, and it turned out that he and Grogg hailed from the same region. Nark remarked upon Grogg’s weapon, a huge maul, and called for one of the orcs, Dorr, to come take a look. Dorr prostrated himself before the weapon, which clearly had some cultural significance to the orcs. I wonder where Grogg got it. Lunari offered to sell weapons to Nark and his band, in exchange for safe passage and any trinkets they might possess. Grogg, Lunari and I followed Nark into a nearby cavern, where they had a box of marble sculptures that the former slaves had grabbed when they escaped. Nark seemed pleased to give up the marble for weapons. Military grade shortswords and crossbows were a clear upgrade over the improvised weapons they carried. We returned to Baldrian, and he was seemed satisfied, too. We made the exchange, and the bandits cleared the road so we could pass with the wagon. Baldrian asked Lunari to do something about the box of marble; he couldn’t sell it as it was. He claimed it looked like someone had dumped loot in it. We decided to make haste so we’d clear the pass before nightfall. That meant that Xipil couldn’t range ahead, but we figured it wasn’t likely that there would be two bands of former slaves waiting to ambush travelers in the same area. By Your mercy, we emerged from the pass without further incident. I pitched my tent as soon as we stopped. I needed to pray, I explained. I kneeled down inside and licked clean each of my knives. I prayed silently while my glands slowly excreted fresh poison into my mouth. I only paused occasionally to spit out a few pale, green-yellow drops. Four hours later, the vial was as full as it would get, and I packed away the medicine kit, brushed my teeth and went to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 11 (2020-01-12)
24th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I could hear the others starting to get up, but it felt like I had just closed my eyes, so I rolled over and tried to ignore the noise. I thought it was strange that nobody woke me for a turn at the night watch. Some time later, Lunari called my name, so I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, said my morning prayer and got up. At breakfast, we discussed the checkpoint we would reach soon. The tiny marble sculptures would fetch a better price in the Prince’s Cities anyway, so Baldrian’s partner dug a hole and buried them so they could retrieve them on their way back. They could only bring trouble if we took them along. Baldrian wanted to open my box and pour the salt into less bulky leather pouches. I pulled rank, hissing in his ear that he didn’t want to do that. I sent a prayer to You, and felt that it would be all right if I left the box here, to be fetched later, when it would be easier to avoid the checkpoint. With the wagon, we had to follow the road. I declared that I would bury the box for now. Lunari agreed that it wasn’t important to deliver the gift immediately, but Grogg told him that he mustn’t lose his head. That made me suspect that they knew what was in the box. I fetched it from the wagon and noticed a faint odor rising from it. Odin and I had packed the head very carefully in salt so it shouldn’t rot. The box didn’t look like it had been tampered with, but when I broke it open, it was clear someone had removed the head and replaced it imperfectly on top of the salt. I pulled out the head and held it up so everyone could see. Baldrian flinched, but I saw no other signs of surprise. On the contrary, it seemed to me that they were pleased that Klodrik Angdal was dead, even Baldrian. I explained that the killer, who I wouldn’t name, tasked me with delivering the head to Sam as proof of a completed mission. Lunari offered to make a wooden statue and hide the head inside it with magic, in return for a kiss on the cheek, and a promise that I wouldn’t reveal him as a mage. While he worked, I told Baldrian I was a Fang, and that he should keep it a secret. As a fellow worshiper, he deserved to know the truth. He’d deduce that I had come on a holy quest to kill the man; I didn’t have to tell him the whole story. There were enough rumors flowing through the streets of Blekborg that he should be able to conclude precisely what had happened. I would have told him I was a Biter, but as a mere Bearer, he wouldn’t know the name given to those who survived metamorphosis. I inspected the carving Lunari had made, smelling nothing through the wood. I pecked his cheek and repeated my promise to keep his secret. Moving out, I seated myself in the front end of the wagon, resting my head on Baldrian’s shoulder while he guided the horses, trying to get some sleep. I felt safe there. Considering what I’d just told him, he would believe that touching me inappropriately would be tantamount to suicide. As I dozed off, I heard him gloating to Lunari. I didn’t care; those were just words. I didn’t get any real sleep, but I pretended to be just waking up when we stopped at the checkpoint. I wanted to convey an impression of innocence to the soldiers there. There were about twenty of them, and they told us to take a seat on a bench in the shade while they searched the wagon. Xipil, Lunari and Grogg took their personal belongings off the wagon, but I left my backpack there. My weapons were hidden behind my back, under my cloak. Baldrian went off with the officer in charge, inside the building. I leaned against Grogg, pretending to doze off again, but in reality, I watched carefully while the soldiers searched the wagon. They were very thorough with the weapon crates, but glanced quickly over my backpack. Then they came over and asked us to empty our packs on the ground. Mine had already been searched, so I remained on the bench while the others rose to comply. The soldiers looked over my companions’ belongings carefully before telling them to put everything back. Baldrian returned and told us the soldiers wanted to escort us to Badahan to make sure the weapons didn’t reach the slave uprising. I told Lunari that I was worried about the attention the soldiers would give to a pretty, young woman like me. Could we possibly pretend to be a couple? I realized when I uttered those words that I might be sticking my head in the lion’s maw. When we got back up on the wagon, he put his arm around me, caressing by back and hip through my cloak. I felt him counting my knives, and he probably noticed that I wear cloth armor under my dress. One of the soldiers watched me with lust, although he tried to be inconspicuous. Seeing Lunari’s arm around me, he kept his distance. We came to a village in the evening. The soldiers instructed us where to park the wagon, and to be back there early in the morning. We entered the inn and while Lunari rented rooms for us, he asked for information about stone circles. He was told about one near Sulla, but what little remains of it isn’t worth the trip, according to the villager. |
Session 12 (2020-01-19)
24th of Varatga, year 412 (continued)
The soldiers escorting us had gone off duty, and sat in the common room, relaxing. One of them openly leered at me; he had been more circumspect earlier. I didn’t care for it, and asked Baldrian if he knew a chapel in this village. We talked in codes, so his answer was ambiguous, but I got the impression that I might want to visit the other side of the village. I borrowed the room key from Lunari and went upstairs to change. I removed the belt with my knives and rolled them up in the cloak. I went back downstairs and stuffed the cloak into my backpack. Baldrian said he’d keep an eye on my gear and bring it up to his room if he retired before I returned. He wouldn’t lock the door, so I could get my stuff back without waking him. Soup had arrived, so I hurriedly emptied a bowl and stuffed some bread into my pouch, so I could eat it outside. I didn’t want to remain here any longer than I was necessary. Lunari decided to accompany me, for my protection, but he wanted to talk privately first, and brought Xipil, Grogg and me back up to our room. Lunari asked if we were on board with “buying” Baldrian’s weapons shipment when we reached Badahan. Then we could “sell” it back to him, so he could bring in to a more profitable market. I wasn’t keen on the idea of provoking the law unnecessarily. We agreed to delay a decision until we could assess the risks more thoroughly. Xipil and Grogg tagged along when Lunari and I left the inn. Outside, we passed two men in Amrosh uniforms, tying up their horses. I noticed the quality of the horses, although the men looked rather ordinary. They seemed absorbed in conversation, and paid us no heed as we passed. After a short walk through the village, I spotted a hidden Ashtar sign on a general store. I told the others I wanted to enter alone, so they remained outside. I identified myself as an Ashtarite to the shopkeeper and asked if there would be a Meet tonight. He returned the gesture and apologized. I asked if he minded me going downstairs to pray for a while. Of course not. That’s what the chapel is for. He showed me the hatch in the floor and I descended. The shopkeeper closed the shop and came downstairs. I didn’t care if Lunari and the others got tired of waiting for me, so I had undressed for a complete wash. The shopkeeper tried not to stare as he hurried through the ritual cleansing of his feet and hands. He was obviously the chapel’s caretaker, for he did some tidying up before sitting down to pray. I reveled in the presence of the holy snakes and prayed, too. Another man entered while we were making small talk. He prayed out loud, unlike the shopkeeper and me, who had been mostly silent. For some reason, spoken prayers always make me think the supplicant is a newcomer to the faith, even though I know that for most, it’s a matter of personal preference, and it has nothing to do with experience or the lack thereof. He left when he finished praying, and the shopkeeper and I left as well. Lunari and Grogg had found something better to do, but Xipil must have waited, for he caught up with me when I set off back towards the inn. He must have concluded that I had done something related to my faith, for he started talking about how there are great snakes in the jungle of his homeland. I was fascinated to learn more about these snakes, and he told me some of his people considered them holy. They seemed like sensible people, even if they’d never heard of You. At the inn, Lunari was teaching Grogg rude gestures in the common room. Baldrian hadn’t retired for the night, yet, so my backpack was still there. I picked it up and got the room key from Lunari again, and I noticed the Amrosh people were glaring at us. Maybe they thought Lunari and Grogg were making the gestures at them. I asked my companions if there was anything they wanted of me before I retired. Grogg asked for beer, but the others wished me a good night. I locked the door so Lunari wouldn’t walk in on me while I brushed my teeth. Once I was satisfied with my dental care, I packed everything inside my sack and knelt down on the floor to pray. I didn’t want to go to sleep before I had made certain arrangements with Lunari. He knocked on the door a little while later, and I opened it for him. Lunari entered and started to undress. I hurriedly grabbed a blanket from the bed and lay down on the other side of the room, but Lunari insisted that I should get the bed. I thanked him and moved over to the bed, turning my back so he could finish undressing. I put a hand on the floor and said my evening prayer: O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 25th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! This morning, Lunari asked me about the way of life of an Ashtarite. I told him we don’t have many rules, except for being a little secretive. Then Grogg was hammering on the door, and Lunari got up and dressed. I waited for him to leave before following suit. Over breakfast, Xipil mentioned that my friends had been looking for him last night, before traveling westwards. I had no idea why they would do that, and told Xipil as much. Lunari tried to flirt, but I ignored him, so he went to talk to our escort. I slipped away and crossed the village. The shop above the chapel was open, so I entered and asked what interest the shopkeeper had of Xipil. He was just as clueless as me. We exchanged pleasantries for a while, and I returned to the inn. After a couple of hours along the road, we arrived at the site where Lunari and Grogg had beaten the orcs. Lunari told me all about it, and pointed out a stone by the roadside, with the inscription that Gromgar had fallen there. Gromgar was the previous owner of Grogg’s impressive maul. Both Lunari and Grogg wanted to move the inscription to where the orc had actually been killed, near a small copse a short distance away, but they settled for carving an arrow into the stone, pointing the way. There was some traffic on the road, but most travelers were going in the same direction as us, converging on Badahan for the upcoming sun festival. Our escort led the way to a smaller village, off the main road, and gave us similar instructions as yesterday: Leave the wagon over there and be there at dawn tomorrow. The tiny inn had only two rooms for let, and the soldiers took one of them, leaving us to decide how to assign the four bunks in the other room. At dinner, we overheard the soldiers talking about the slave uprising. They suspected that it had been coordinated, for there had been revolts on several locations on the same day. It seemed like the slaves had tried to negotiate after taking control over the work sites. When one of the soldiers talked trash about orcs and trolls, Grogg snapped and kicked the chair out from under him. One of the others drew his sword half-way, and Grogg apologized while stepping on the dwarf, for being a big, stupid and clumsy troll. The four soldiers walked outside and yelled at each other. The dwarf wanted revenge, but the others eventually calmed him down. Grogg seized one of the abandoned beer mugs, but the innkeeper told him off, and Lunari asked him to come and sit down again. The leader of the escort, another dwarf, poked his head inside and summoned Baldrian. I touched the floor and prayed, asking You for permission to slay the soldiers. It would be easy to slip poison into their beer mugs while they were outside. As I expected, You remained silent, allowing me to exercise my own judgment of the situation. The innkeeper came over and asked us to leave. Baldrian had to bribe the escort with a gold coin and berated Grogg and Lunari. The innkeeper arranged for us to stay with an elderly woman. She was hard of hearing and squinted when she looked at us. Her small cottage had three beds, and just enough room for Grogg on the floor. She started preparing food for us, and I crossed the room to help her. Grogg took out his sewing kit and made her a potholder. Lunari showed me a small bottle with an orange-yellow liquid that had a sour smell. He asked if I recognized it, but I didn’t. He explained that it made you happy. Him and his recreational drugs! Definitely not my idea of a good time. I desire nothing but to bask in Your glory. If he wants to ingratiate himself with me, he should discard such mundane pleasures and join Your faith. I excused myself and turned to the old woman. She seemed tired, so I suggested we all go to bed. That confused her. I asked if it was all right with her that we stayed the night, and she beamed at me that of course, it was all right. Baldrian claimed one of the beds, and thought that I should have the last one. Xipil had already gone outside to sleep or whatever he does outside at night, and Grogg followed him to stand guard, in case a vindictive dwarf showed up. Lunari and Kork bedded down on the floor. Pretending shyness, I faced the wall while brushing my teeth. I didn’t want to display my fangs. I closed my eyes and said my evening prayer: O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 12 (2020-01-19)
26th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! We woke early in the morning, and let the old woman sleep. Baldrian asked me if I thought she’d mind if we used her kitchen to make breakfast. I didn’t think so, considering how welcoming she had been yesterday. I thought she must be lonely, her children long gone to make their own homes. Baldrian left a few coppers on the kitchen table, and I put a silver piece on the bed I’d borrowed. Kork and I did the dishes, and I said a prayer over the old woman. She was still sleeping when we left. Xipil asked me about raising snakes, how to feed them and take care of them and so on, and we discussed it on the way through town. We met Lunari and Grogg by the wagon at the inn, where the dwarf who had insulted Grogg had been replaced by a militia man from the village. The escort didn’t mention yesterday’s events. We stopped for lunch on a hilltop, and could see Badahan and the great river in the distance. Actually, we could see the river bed, as the river itself had almost dried up. I overheard Lunari and Baldrian talking about contacting people in the city who could “buy” the cargo, but I didn’t hear if they came to a decision. It wasn’t really my business. We had to wait in line to enter Badahan, but got in after a while. After bringing us to an inn loyal to Durban, the noble house who had been so kind as to provide us with an escort, the soldiers ordered Baldrian and the wagon to remain while they went to “check something out”. We waited with him. Eventually, they returned and gave Baldrian a merchant’s pass. Baldrian brought us to an inn he knew in the harbor district. Kork declared that he would remain with the wagon, now that the soldiers weren’t keeping an eye on it for us anymore. I asked Baldrian if he was familiar with this area, and he gave me directions to a chapel further on towards the river. Baldrian paid for rooms until after the sun festival, which is in three days. With the throng of people coming into town from the surrounds, rooms weren’t guaranteed unless we paid now. I ran quickly up to the room and removed my cloak and knives. I left my pack with Baldrian and strolled down to the chapel. It was a nice one, both spacious and decorated with snake motifs. I washed in the hallway outside the main room, and entered to find a man praying and an older dwarven woman who just sat there thinking. I introduced myself and asked the dwarf if there was anything that worried her. She confided that she knew and cared for people on both sides of the slave uprising, and was torn with uncertainty because of it. I prayed for her, asking You to grant her wisdom. Then we heard someone washing, and I asked if there was going to be a Meet tonight. The dwarf said that she had come here to think precisely because she knew that there wouldn’t be many people here tonight. To my surprise, it was Xipil who appeared at the entrance, hesitating to come inside. He had clearly recognized some of the snakes as dangerous, but I bade him enter, if he was willing to open his heart to You. He glanced at my waist, where I keep my knives when we travel, uncertain if I spoke literally. The dwarf spoke the ritual words beginning a Meet, and we initiated Xipil. He lay flat on the floor, and allowed a holy creature to slither over him. Then we all congratulated Xipil, and welcomed him to Your coils. The joy of it all brought inspiration to the dwarf woman, and she left. I offered prayers of thanks, that you allowed Xipil to come to You. I was bursting with elation and told stories about You for several hours. When we returned to the inn, I woke Baldrian so he could congratulate Xipil, too. Then I lay down on the other bed in the room. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 27th of Varatga, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Lunari was sore and stiff at breakfast. Thinking that my medical services may be useful, I asked him what he’d been up to last night. Grogg answered by calling him dancing king and less flattering titles and got a kick on the leg for it. I took Lunari’s silence as a sign that he didn’t want me to meddle in his affairs. Baldrian left it to Grogg, Lunari, Xipil and me to decide whether we wanted to remain in Badahan for the festival or not. It turned out the papers he had received allowed him to bring the weapons further, to a more profitable market, he just had to lose the wagon before going home. We compared the sun festival customs in Arland and the Prince’s Cities, and it turned out they were mostly similar. That was no surprise, as we are neighboring countries with much trade between us. Lunari wanted to check out the travel conditions, but Xipil looked to me to suggest activities for the day. I proposed to look for another chapel. We agreed to meet again for dinner, and parted ways. Rummaging through my head, I recalled that I visited a chapel here in Badahan a couple of years ago, while I was on a bounty hunt. We found it after a short search, and I explained to Xipil the importance of the ritual cleansing before entering a chapel, and how to do it properly. A series of paintings on the wall above the wash stand had been enough for him to reason it out, yesterday. You absolutely have to wash your feet and your hands, I told him, but if you have the time, you should wash the rest of your body, too. Xipil raised an interesting conundrum when he pointed out that his tail isn’t mentioned in the order of body parts to wash. I explained that he should wash the tail after washing his legs, but before proceeding with the torso. A small voice inside my head, Your voice, I presume, told me that he had to wash the tip of the tail if it had touched the ground since his last cleansing. Putting words into practice, I undressed and washed, and Xipil copied me. Xipil impressed me with his calm attitude, sitting among the snakes. An inexplicable urge made me ask him to show me his tongue. It had forked since I noticed it last. It isn’t usual for initiates to have their tongues fork that soon, but I considered it to be a sign of Your approval, a blessing. I opened my mouth to show Xipil that my tongue was forked too. He didn’t comment on my slightly elongated upper canines, and I didn’t draw attention to them. By contracting certain muscles in my jaws, I can thrust them forward. I consider my fangs to be my primary weapons, sharp enough to penetrate leather. Connected to my poison glands, they can take down a strong enemy in seconds. At dinner, Lunari asked if we had visited one of Your temples, and I said yes. He isn’t to know the difference between a chapel and a temple. Grogg expressed worry that Xipil has joined a death cult. I made a joke about it, but then I turned serious and told him that we don’t meddle with necromancy, raising the dead and suchlike, if that was what he was worried about. Lunari had judged traveling conditions to be favorable, so we left after the meal. Progress was slow through the mass of people inside the city, but once we crossed the river, we were able to speed up. We encountered a party of festival-goers wearing lion masks that impressed Grogg mightily. Baldrian raised a concern about the next checkpoint. Before we reached Badahan, our escort had allowed us to pass them without delay, but the merchant was worried about Lunari’s drugs. He and Lunari took some precautions, but once we got to the checkpoint, the soldiers just waved us through. For a fee, of course. We left the main road in the evening, going the short distance to a small village. The only inn was full, but the innkeeper allowed us to park our wagon there and sleep near it. Lunari noticed a bakery next door, and ventured inside. An angry woman chased him out shortly and accused him of hitting on her daughter. I shook my head in resignation and turned to the innkeeper, asking if it was permissible for me to erect my tent to get some privacy. He took me through to a small vegetable garden behind the inn, and said I could pitch my tent there. I got permission for Xipil to stay the night there, as well. Passing through the common room after a chat with Baldrian, I spotted Lunari with two women about my age, or perhaps a little younger. He was buying drinks for them, and it was clear to me what he was up to. The girls were rather pretty, and would probably have been married already, if they hadn’t been servants. Their simple clothes and unsophisticated manner gave that away. Nevertheless, I found them intriguing, and walked over to admonish Lunari to be kind to them. I crawled inside my tent, but noticed that something was happening outside when I tried to sleep. Outside, Xipil was meditating, his eyes glowing blue with collected starlight. It didn’t seem to pass, so I prodded him. His eyes stopped glowing, and he turned to me and told me he’d had a disturbing vision of dark clouds blowing in from the east. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 12 (2020-01-19)
28th of Varatga, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Grogg was bellowing for Lunari, waking the entire village. I rushed out, but nothing was wrong. Lunari sauntered downstairs, having spent the night in the common dormitory. After breakfast, I went up there to check up on the girls he’d been with last night. One of them was still sleeping, or had gone back to sleep after Grogg’s disturbance, but the other one was just getting up. I talked to her, and she complained about a hangover. I gave her water and tried to make her comfortable. She told me that Lunari had been so nice to them, and she seemed sincere, which made me happy. For some reason I felt protective towards them. Grogg, Lunari and Xipil were talking about the wind, perhaps spurred on by Xipil’s visions, and Grogg told us about how his god once battled a dragon god named Palo. We brought the discussion along when we traveled. Grogg had to explain what a dragon is. If the visions come true, dark clouds on tomorrow’s sun festival would be a bad omen. Xipil was worried, and explained that some visions cause those who see them to lose their minds, but I assured him that You would help him remain rooted. I noticed that Grogg was watching my mouth, so I kept it closed most of the day. Xipil cleared up my misunderstanding of a few days ago, saying that it was the Amrosh people that had been looking for him that night. I assumed that they wanted to enslave him. We found a large farm off the main road, and Baldrian sent me ahead to ask if we could spend the night there. I made arrangements for us to stay in the wagon shed, although we had to reorganize it to make room for our wagon and horses. The huge troll was very handy in that regard. Xipil asked if I could watch him while he meditated, in case something like last night happened again. Of course, I agreed, and I asked him when I should start to worry. We decided I should wake him after an hour or two, if he didn’t come around on his own. We ate, and went outside to look at the stars. Xipil closed his eyes, and I prayed. Lunari came over after an hour and asked if I smoked. I told him I didn’t, because it would discolor my teeth. He then asked to know my profession, and I claimed to be an herbalist and said that I had been looking for people who needed my services while we traveled. Just then, Grogg appeared and asked what kind of services I provided. I don’t know why I responded as I did; maybe I wanted to see the look on Lunari’s face? I professed that my services were oral, although I worded my short reply rather obscenely. I don’t think they took me seriously. Xipil woke up from his meditation, and I went to bed. Grogg remained outside, worried about the storm that might be coming. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 1st of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke to the sound of Grogg and Lunari talking. I said my morning devotion and packed down my tent. Grogg was convinced that there’d come a storm, and soon. Out in the yard, the farmers were erecting a sun, made of flowers, on a pole. Lunari joined them in song, celebrating the sun festival, while the rest of us watched. The farmwife had made scones and fried eggs, and shared freely with us strangers. I don’t like to honor another god but You, although I allowed myself to partake in the breakfast meal. Mitra, the sun god, has enough followers already. The farm folk set about their work with inhuman vigor, and Baldrian was impatient to get on the way. My sleep was cut short, so when we had said goodbye to the farmers, I asked Baldrian if I could borrow his shoulder again. “Of course, my dear,” he replied, to Lunari’s benefit. I woke some time later, when Grogg started to get agitated. Along the eastern horizon, I could barely detect a thin, black stripe. A farm lay about a quarter of an hour to the north, and I suggested we head that way, to seek shelter from the bad weather. Kork urged the horses on, and when we arrived, the whole eastern sky was black. Lunari jumped off the wagon and banged on the door of one of the houses. The farmer who opened had seen the sky and ushered us inside. We brought our backpacks and someone got the horses stabled, but the wind hit before we could do anything about the cargo. Grogg seized a roof beam and held on. Still keeping up the ruse of being a weak, little girl, I pretended to be afraid. I kneeled on the floor and prayed fervently for protection. The roof sounded like it would rip off at any time, but I knew I was safe in Your coils. Lunari asked me if my god could belay death, and I answered that of course You could. Lightning struck one of the neighboring houses, and the farmer screamed that we needed to hide in the cellar. Grogg held fast to the roof, howling curses at Palo, and Xipil stayed for moral support, but the rest of us took cover below. The wind shook the building, and we heard things fall off their shelves and break on the kitchen floor. The storm disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Lunari, Kork, Baldrian and the farmer climbed up the ladder to check on the damages, but I remained in the cellar with the farmwife. I called after them to send for me if someone was injured, as I had some skill with treating wounds. The farmer returned shortly. The lightning had started a fire, and we couldn’t sit idly in the cellar; I had to search for wounded myself. I put my backpack and the severed head on the wagon. It was still on the west side of the house where we had left it. I found a woman in one of the other houses over whom a cupboard had toppled. I treated her leg as best I could, I even went back to the wagon to fetch my medicine kit. Then Kork appeared to inform me that Grogg had collapsed. I rolled up the kit and followed Kork to the troll. He lay in the middle of the yard, and I examined him. I found no wounds and told Kork that he was just exhausted from the ordeal of battling the wind for possession of the roof. Just then, the dark sky opened up above us. I fetched my tent and erected it above Grogg and me to protect us from the rain. There was barely room for the two of us, and his legs lay in the open, but it was better than nothing. Lunari came over and wanted to pull Grogg into the stable. I asked who he thought would venture into the torrent to help him, but he stated that he could do it on his own. He cast a spell making Grogg slippery, took hold of a leg and pulled him away. I was amazed. I tore down the tent and hurried after them. I put down my medicine kit and tent in the stable and ran to get my backpack from the wagon. I was completely drenched, despite my cloak, when I returned to the stable. I hang up the cloak to dry, not bothering to hide my knives from my companions or from the two farmhands who had taken shelter with us. I put up my tent again to get some privacy and took off my soaked dress, tossing it outside, asking Baldrian to hang it up. Folded up inside the pack, my skimpy red dress was mostly dry, so I put it on. Baldrian returned and gave me a blanket. There weren’t enough of them to go around, so he asked if I minded sharing. I said that he or Xipil could share it with me, if necessary. I stuck my head outside the tent and wrung out my hair before going back inside and wrapping myself inside the blanket. Baldrian came back a little later, with an armful of hay to put on the ground to soak up moisture. I repeated my offer to share the blanket, and Xipil arrived shortly afterwards, shedding his cloak after entering the tent, so the farmhands shouldn’t see his lizard body. He told me that the Azura priests had predicted a cataclysm, and that the priest back home had done the same before Xipil left. He asked if You also knew in advance what would happen today, and I said that if You did, You hadn’t told me about it. Lunari had saved his violin from the rain, and played a melancholy tune. I prayed. After an hour, the rain stopped, and talk commenced of leaving. It seemed like the farmhands wanted to come with us, but when Baldrian mentioned that they’d have to pay for their own expenses, they backed out. Xipil put on his wet cloak again, and I wrapped the blanket tightly around me before leaving the tent. Baldrian lent me some dry clothes, so I’d have something to wear, and I returned briefly to the tent to change. When I came back out, Lunari pointed to my bottom and stated that “those are good quality”. I harrumphed loudly in protest, and he claimed to be speaking of my throwing knives, which are indeed fine. The road was quiet. Nobody else seemed to dare leaving shelter just yet. We worried about conditions in Sulla; we might not want to enter the city if things are too bad. Baldrian was concerned about the destruction inflicted on the Prince’s Cities, as the storm had come from there. Lunari launched into a drinking song to change the dour subject, and Kork handed around a bottle of liquor. Eventually, we found a place by the road to park the wagon for the night. Baldrian sighed over the weather. The ground was soggy, but we stretched out Lunari’s tent under the wagon so people could lie upon it. I reorganized some of the crates and made a roof over the wagon bed with my tent. Grogg grumbled when I disturbed his rest, and the inside of my cave reeked of troll, but I’d rather sleep next to Grogg than huddled together with Lunari and Kork under the wagon. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 12 (2020-01-19)
2nd of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Lunari woke me up to take watch. With the dense cloud cover, it was quite dark. By Your gift, I could see just fine anyway. When it was time to wake someone else, I felt a desire to remain awake a little longer. In fact, I remained on watch until morning, letting the others sleep. Baldrian made soup for breakfast again. My clothes were still moist, so I didn’t change into them. I left my knives in the pack, for we would arrive at Sulla soon, and I didn’t want them to be seen. Small, blue patches broke through the dark clouds, a good sign. I tried to get some sleep on Baldrian’s shoulder while we traveled, and woke when some farmers in a cart, coming the other way, informed us that the gates of Sulla were closed. I could see the city was not far off, perhaps an hour or two. We continued on, in spite of what the farmers had said. We parked the wagon some distance from the city, and Lunari, Grogg, Baldrian and I went ahead on foot to check out the situation. There were quite a few people sitting and waiting outside the gate. Baldrian knocked on the gate, and a small window opened just long enough for a surly guard to tell him that we couldn’t enter. Grogg was tall enough to see over the palisade, and I asked him to lift me up so I could have a look as well. The Mitra temple used to have a golden sun on its tallest spire, but that seemed to have fallen down in the storm. This was indeed a bad omen, and no wonder they had closed the city. They’d have to open soon, or else the populace would starve, I told my companions. Baldrian asked if I knew of a noble mansion somewhere in the vicinity, where he could hopefully sell his weapons. I didn’t know the exact location of the Vasulla hall, but I asked the locals, and got directions. When we returned to the wagon, Xipil said he wanted to sneak inside the city when it got dark, but I was fairly certain I had learned all there was to know about the situation. After skirting Sulla, we found a village on the north side and checked into the inn. We were about the only customers, and the innkeeper came to talk while we ate. He was clearly a Vasulla patriot, and told us about the feud between Vasulla and Furkan. He brought up a duel that had occurred between the two houses, and how Furkan had cheated, and I commented that this was old news, having taken place months ago. Lunari showed me an exotic bird’s beak, and asked if I wanted him to fashion it into a knife for me. I thanked him for the consideration, but declined the offer, as I didn’t think I’d have much use for it. I have enough knives already. My dress was dry now, but it was travel-stained and grimy, so I gave it to the inn’s staff to have it cleaned. Then I retired to my room, took a bath, brushed my teeth and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 13 (2020-02-09)
2nd of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Even though I was up most of last night, I couldn’t sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, I got up and went down to the bar. Everyone else was there, as well as two strangers. Xipil asked me if I could ask the innkeeper about stone circles nearby. I told him what I knew already, that there are some just south of Sulla; the innkeeper didn’t know much more, and thought it was strange of me to ask. I explained I was the local guide for these foreigners, who apparently were curious what it was all about, Arland being called the Land of the Stone Circles. Lunari mentioned the power of the stars and said it would be good to find an intact stone circle. Good luck with that! We talked a little about the way forward. Baldrian and Kork would return to the Prince’s Cities when they’d sold their cargo, but the rest of us would go on, to Guling in the west. The innkeeper gave the impression of knowing something about occurrences in Sulla, something more than just the golden sun falling down from the temple spire in the storm, so I asked to speak with him privately. He brought me into the kitchen, and I got his story. Religious fanatics, or evil forces, had killed some Mitra clerics during the storm. I haven’t heard anything about a conflict between You and Mitra, but I operate on a need-to-know basis, so I wouldn’t necessarily hear anything as long as I wasn’t expected to assist. I still found it more likely that another cult had seized the opportunity during the chaos of the storm. I needed to think, and went to bed again. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke up when someone hammered on the door and Xipil, Grogg and Lunari barged in. Grogg held an unconscious raven, and handed it to me so I could apply my medicinal skills to it. I noticed a silver needle piercing it, and pulled it out, but then Grogg went crazy and put it back in. I glanced at Xipil, who told me the needle had healing powers. Grogg had put it there to heal the raven when it crashed through their window. Xipil also informed me that this wasn’t actually a raven, but in fact some kind of elf who had used star magic that backfired. I found that hard to believe. Lunari said the ravens had helped them before, and they felt they owed them something. I wasn’t that interested in helping a raven, untrustworthy creatures that they are, and when the others kept on talking, I snapped at them for interrupting my sleep and said something derogatory about the bird. Grogg grabbed the blanket off my bed, and I asked Lunari to tell him to give it back. Grogg wanted me to apologize to the raven. That wasn’t about to happen, instead I told them all to go. I took the blanket from Xipil’s bed and went back to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 3rd of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Xipil woke me again in the morning and let me know the raven had died. Even with the story about it being an elf – really! – I couldn’t care less, so I asked if we were leaving soon. Probably not yet, he replied, so I rolled over and tried to get some more sleep. Xipil returned a while later. My dress had been washed and dried, so I put it on instead of the flimsy red thing that Lunari couldn’t keep his eyes off last night. My knives and cloak followed, and then I was ready to go. I asked Grogg how the raven was doing, feigning interest and compassion. He said it was fine, but didn’t let me see it. I noticed there was more traffic on the road than yesterday, before dozing off on Baldrian’s shoulder. I startled awake when we took off from the main road. Lunari said that Grogg needed some time alone. He brought his maul along with the raven and a shovel. I presumed that he needed to grieve for the raven, and Lunari confirmed that Grogg was upset that it had died. In the distance, we heard Grogg howl. When he returned, I put on a sad face and came to meet him. My bluff worked, and he gave me a bear hug. Lunari played funereal music on his violin when we moved on. We came to the village where Baldrian was going to sell his cargo of crossbows and shortswords. Xipil and I left in search of a chapel, not that I had much hope of finding one here, deep in Vasulla land. I was overjoyed when we discovered Your sign. The tiny chapel was empty but for three snakes when we washed and entered. Xipil and I sat down and talked. He revealed that he could never return to his homeland, because he didn’t have permission to leave in the first place. His country is ruled by priests, but they’re not Your priests, so I said that if it was me, I wouldn’t care about what they said. He was welcome in Your coils. An elderly lady entered. She explained that this chapel doesn’t see much activity, but she regarded our arrival as a good sign. She would contact the other Ashtarite she knew in these parts, and there would be a Meet, either tonight or tomorrow night, depending on when her acquaintance was available. I told her we’d return to the chapel tonight, but couldn’t promise we’d be here tomorrow. Xipil and I returned to the inn to get something to eat. I told him we should look for a snake, to offer to the chapel, and that we should get Baldrian to accompany us to the Meet. Baldrian had finished the sale, and he and Kork had started celebrating. I talked to the merchant under four eyes, and urged him to come to the chapel tonight. Maybe he should take it easy with the drink. After dinner, Xipil and I went to see if we could find a snake. It’s not really snake terrain around here, but I hoped we might find one hiding among the shrubs that grow along the low stone walls that separate the fields. Grogg sat under a fruit tree, and rose to follow us. I didn’t mind, as long as he stayed back. He’s quite noisy, so I didn’t want him to startle and scare off any snakes we might find. An hour or two later, Xipil spotted snake tracks, and we eventually discovered two grass snakes. We enticed them to approach, and Xipil settled one of them in a pocket on his large cloak. I pulled out my neckline and slipped the other down between my breasts; my belt would prevent it from falling through. We returned to the village to fetch Baldrian. Kork complained that he wouldn’t have anyone to drink with, but some coins from Baldrian shut him up. We washed and presented the snakes to the empty chapel. It was time to begin the Meet, and as the caretaker and her friend weren’t there, I assumed they couldn’t come until tomorrow, but as I recited the opening words, we heard someone enter and start washing, so I paused to let them come inside before I continued. The old man who entered with the caretaker had a long beard. He seemed to outrank me, so I found it only natural that he should take over leading the Meet. He said that this was an important time for Ashtarites, and I spoke up to tell what the innkeeper had claimed had happened in Sulla. Xipil whispered to me if it was all right if he spoke as well, and I said that of course it was. He told us that Azura had foreseen a cataclysm. After the formal part of the Meet, the old man confided to me that it probably was someone else who killed those Mitra clerics. He also wanted to know the destination of our travels, and I said we were headed for Guling, although we might visit other places first. Baldrian had brought some wheat buns, and we shared them on the way back to the inn. Xipil climbed up on the roof to look at the stars, and I went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 13 (2020-02-09)
4th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Baldrian, Xipil and I met at breakfast and discussed the road ahead. Baldrian and Kork were going to return to the Prince’s Cities, but might accompany the rest of us while we backtracked to Sulla, before heading downriver towards Sam and Guling. Grogg appeared after a while, and shortly afterwards, a maid with messy hair came down, and Baldrian claimed that she had spent the night with Lunari. Lunari himself emerged a little later, and then Kork, who suffered from a terrible hangover. Baldrian studied him and declared that they would remain here for a while longer, and leave after lunch. Xipil and Lunari talked cryptically about an enemy in Safan and Xipil wanted Lunari to warn Baldrian. This enemy seemed to be an earlier employer that had double-crossed them. Lunari appeared to be a member of an organization called the Claws of the Seagull. I can’t say how the enemy relates to that organization, and whether he targeted Lunari in particular or if any of his acquaintances were in danger. When we said goodbye to Baldrian and Kork, Baldrian gave me Your sign, very properly. It seemed to me that my example has rubbed off on the formerly not-so-devout Ashtarite. I hugged him and wished him well on his travels. He replied to all of us that we should take care of each other, but his eyes were fixed on mine. The barmaid had donned an apron and brushed her hair, and she came with a parting gift for Lunari, a small bag of buns for the road. Then we were off. We sat down to rest after walking for a while, and Grogg handed the magic ring to Xipil and asked him to view him through it. Xipil exclaimed that Grogg looked odd, and Lunari took a look as well, explaining that Grogg had become magical. Lunari decided to pass around a bottle of strong ale, and I took a sip to be polite. In the evening, we were back in the village where we had been just two nights before. We checked into the same inn, and Lunari told the innkeeper we were going to look at stone circles. I shared a room with Xipil, as I’ve done these last few nights. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 5th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I was having breakfast with Xipil when Grogg and Lunari came in the front door of the inn, carrying all their luggage. I asked what they’d been up to, and Lunari clamped his mouth shut, but Grogg chuckled. I assumed that Lunari had had a female encounter of some sort. When we were back on the road, Xipil asked again what had happened, and Lunari confessed that Grogg had received a key from a raven, and when they tried it on the door to their room, they couldn’t get it unlocked again. Ravens are indeed untrustworthy creatures. A strange flash of light hit us from the south just after the sun had climbed over the horizon. It looked like a light on the sky, but Xipil insisted it wasn’t a star. What can it have been? We sat down by the roadside to have lunch, and while we were packing up, a strange entourage came thundering from the north. It looked like Vasulla nobles and Mitra priests on horseback, and we assumed they came from the Vasulla castle, maybe to investigate the light? One of them called a halt just as they were passing us, and Lunari mumbled that they had come because of the illegal arms sale we’d been involved in. The priest who had ordered the stop looked at me, and I nodded politely. He dismounted and came over, standing uncomfortably close to me. I could have sunk my fangs into him while he studied me. I crossed my arms and studied him back, defiantly. The priest introduced himself as Kamal, and while I’m not familiar with the ranks and titles of Mitra’s clergy, I understood he was in the upper echelon, and probably the top dog in the castle temple. I gave him my name. He said that his party was on an important errand, and were going to Sulla. He also claimed to have heard about me from the Mhalak, who had told him I needed to find the prophet in the south. “The Mhalak has said it, and so it must be,” he finished. I asked who the Mhalak was, and he said it was a messenger from Mitra. Then they left, the thunder of their hooves quickly fading. I told Xipil I needed to seek advice about this in a chapel in Sulla. The city was still closed to travelers, but soldiers had set up a kind of marketplace outside so that goods change hands and get funneled through. We followed the road along the palisade to the west, thinking that it might be easier to gain entrance at the harbor. Unfortunately, the harbor was closed in a similar fashion. Workers were building new docks outside the city, so it looked like the lockdown was going to continue for some time. After gaining assurances from Lunari that he wouldn’t snoop in my belongings, Xipil and I left him and Grogg. I didn’t believe him, of course, but I carry nothing that he’ll recognize as suspicious. He knows about the severed head and my knives already. I left everything but my pouch behind. When it was completely dark, Xipil and I climbed over the palisade. City guards were patrolling the streets, but otherwise, everyone was inside. Curfew, probably. The guards inside were different from those outside the wall, and I assumed reinforcements for the outer security had been hired from Badahan. Relations between the Furkan and Vasulla noble houses were strained at the moment, so I didn’t think it likely that the local authorities had requested help from Talan. I know the location of a few chapels here in Sulla, and headed for one on the other side of town, where I figured the chances were highest to encounter someone of rank and knowledge. We had to weave our way through the city, dodging patrols, so it was around midnight that we finally arrived. We washed and entered after Xipil had had a look at the stars. There were two men there, one asleep and one awake. The latter man greeted us with Your sign when we approached, and we returned the gesture. He was a Toxiner, like me, and on a holy mission. I said I was on my way home from a holy mission myself. He asked about Xipil, and I explained that he was new to the faith. Because of the curfew, it was unlikely I could get the help I needed tonight, so I wondered if the Toxiner could bring a message to our friends outside the city, so they didn’t worry when Xipil and I stayed for another day. Regrettably, he wasn’t leaving town, as his mission was here in Sulla. Hopefully, Lunari and Grogg will stay put for a while before doing anything reckless. As Your Meets usually take place after sunset, there wasn’t much chance for a large gathering in the foreseeable future. Still, we had a small ceremony, and I told the Toxiner I needed to get in touch with someone of rank who could advise me on my current conundrum. He said he would go out tomorrow and see if he could find someone. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 13 (2020-02-09)
6th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The four of us talked a little after waking up. We learned that the priests had mounted the golden sun again, and that it was that which had flashed last morning. In fact, it flashes at both sunrise and sunset, and the curfew is in effect between the flashes. Once the streets outside were getting busy, our companion from last night left. The other man wasn’t very talkative, so I spent some time playing with the snakes. After a couple of hours, the Toxiner returned with a Night Stalker, a woman maybe about Rhuk’s age. I started telling her about the Mitra priest I met yesterday, but she interrupted me and said we should pray first, so that You would be in our minds even when we discussed other gods. We even left the main chamber to do a quick wash. I told the Night Stalker about Kamal, the high priest, and what the Mhalak had told him. The woman said that everyone should pick up a snake, and then we’d pray again. I found one that called out to me. Xipil wasn’t sure that he was included, as he was just a Spawn, but I told him to find a snake and do what I did. As the woman chanted a poetic prayer, the remaining snakes started climbing all over her. Her chant died off fifteen minutes or so later, and the snakes receded. I let her have some time for herself to process the experience; it wouldn’t do to pester her. She beckoned me to approach after a couple of minutes. She told me that there is indeed a prophet in the south, not an Ashtarite. He carries something ancient, and he should be somewhere in the far south of Arland. Stones surround him, and if I go to meet him, I mustn’t go alone. I asked if I should find fellow Ashtarites to accompany me, but we agreed that my current companions would suffice, although I should seek further advice when I reached Sam. I talked some more with the Toxiner, and came to the conclusion that he’s a Biter, too, just like me. Then somebody came in with food and beer, and changed the wash water. The priestess and the Toxiner left soon after. Xipil and I waited for cover of darkness before exiting the city. Grogg and Lunari were still awake when we arrived, a couple of hours later. Lunari showed me through the magic ring that Grogg had a ghost raven on his shoulder, which I saw as a bad omen. We’ll run into trouble soon. My backpack didn’t show signs of tampering, but I still accused Lunari of messing with it. He protested his innocence, but I didn’t believe him. Not that it mattered. I don’t think he discovered my secrets. Both Xipil and Lunari were eager to check out the stone circles south of the river, so I agreed to cross over with them tomorrow to take a look. The prophet can wait. I brushed my teeth meticulously before going to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 7th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I asked Lunari to fix breakfast while I went to find someone with a boat. Plenty of guys at the docks were eager to give me a ride, but the interest faded when I said brought three companions. I still managed to arrange for a crossing in one hour. Once we got up from the river bank, the land was as flat and boring as a boy’s chest. Xipil stood on Grogg’s shoulders, but didn’t see any stone circles nearby. I figured we needed to proceed towards the south-east, and found a path between two fields, going in approximately that direction. We weren’t supposed to be there, on private land, so when we saw a group of people working in the fields, I hailed them, and two of them came over. I explained that I was guiding some rather particular foreigners, who had gotten the idea of checking out the stone circles around here for some reason. I gave them my last two silver pieces, and one of them offered to show us the way. He took us to a stony piece of land where nothing grew, about fifty yards across. Our guide let us go and have a look around while he waited outside. The area was just as boring as I suspected, but then Xipil bade me look through the magic ring. I looked around with amazement. Twelve priests were present, apparently doing whatever tasks they remembered from when this was a temple. I noticed that our guide didn’t come onto the stones, and when I asked why, he claimed he didn’t want to step onto unnatural ground. That corresponded with the superstitions of bad luck that the lower classes have about the stone circles. However, considering what I’d just seen through the magic ring, I thought maybe there was something to it, after all. We got the guide to take us to the other two stone circles in the area. The one we just left was the largest one, and the smallest had no strange sightings through the magic ring. There were twelve more priests at the last circle. The guide was insistent that we had to leave before sunset, so I asked him to take us to the village I knew lay on the south shore of the river. He looked at me expectantly when we reached the village. I gave him a peck on the cheek as I was out of silver. He seemed satisfied with that. Once he left, I told Lunari he owed me three silver pieces. I had paid one when we stayed with the old, senile woman a while back, and Lunari had agreed to cover my expenses. We entered the inn and ordered dinner and rented rooms. Lunari and Xipil were eager to check out the stone circles in starlight, and I suggested that Grogg and I stayed behind to cover for them. Grogg can’t sneak, anyway. I promised Lunari I wouldn’t go through his stuff. There were three men in the common room. Merchants, I gathered. I asked if they wanted to buy me a few drinks. One of them was very eager, but the others held him back. He had clearly caused some trouble for the other two earlier, in a similar situation. I think they mistook me for a prostitute. The eager one gave me two copper pieces in the end, and I walked over to where Grogg sat at the bar and ordered beer. Grogg gave me a shot of something and I downed it in one go. As I worked my way through the beer, I pretended to get gradually more intoxicated. Of course, Your blessing has made me resistant to the effect of alcohol. After a couple of hours, I started dancing, and the bartender showed some talent with a flute. The horny merchant looked longingly at me, but I ignored him. His companions made him stay put in his seat, anyway. When Grogg asked if I wanted company, I responded slurrily, “Oh, yes! I’m going to wake up Lunari and get him to ram me against the wall. It’s going to be fabulous!” I staggered upstairs and locked myself into my room. I brushed my teeth and prepared for bed. Then I finished the night’s performance by making loud sex noises for a short while. I made sure to shout Lunari’s name in between moans and groans. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 13 (2020-02-09)
8th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Someone knocked on my door in the morning, and I got up and opened to find Xipil outside. He had drawings of fangs, a spiral and a flower in the face, and I asked if he’d had fun with Lunari while I rummaged for a mirror. I completely forgot to ask why he didn’t use the window to enter. He went to sleep, and I went to have breakfast. The merchants were there already, and one of them scowled at me. I smiled inwardly; I had been loud enough last night to make them believe Lunari was there. Outwardly, I feigned a hangover and ignored the merchant. He pointedly ignored me as well. Grogg came to have breakfast, and I kept up the charade, unconvinced of his ability to keep a straight face if I clued him in on my act. I asked the innkeeper if it would be difficult to hire someone to take us back over the river. Not at all; with Sulla closed, business here was slow, and many would be eager to earn a few coins. I glanced at Grogg, who had taken up needlework, and was embroidering ravens onto a piece of cloth. His steady hand surprised me, for he is usually rather clumsy. I went to wake up Xipil and Lunari. A hunch told me we might want to get out of the area, in case they’d been observed last night and someone came to investigate. I left the inn to find transport while Xipil and Lunari got dressed. We had walked a distance to the east, yesterday, so the rowers had to take us downriver again before crossing. Lunari ran his mouth off, telling tall tales and engaging the rowers in conversation. At one point I had to hint to him that he shouldn’t talk about the Farmers’ Republic. We paid the rowers when we arrived at the makeshift harbor village outside Sulla. We found a ship going downriver tomorrow morning; it would make a short stop in Byblos before continuing towards Sam. The whole journey would take four days. Two groups of merchants and a trio of Amrosh cavalry had also bought passage. Lunari and I haggled a little with the captain, as I thought he suggested an unreasonably high price at first. Grogg helping with loading the cargo would lower the price even further. When we got a moment alone, Xipil and Lunari told Grogg and me what had happened at the stone circle last night. Xipil had meditated, and Lunari had thought that the spectral priests had noticed it somehow and became worried. Xipil alarmingly remembered nothing from his meditation. He was completely out of touch with reality, and failed to wake up even when Lunari painted on his face. Lunari went to the marketplace to buy fabric for Grogg, the price of his labor. I stayed near and on the ship all day. We already had a cabin under deck where we could store our baggage and where we’d spend the nights aboard. In the evening, Xipil pointed at some stars and told me that was the Snake constellation. I didn’t think it looked anything like a snake. What’s happening on the sky doesn’t interest me. Grogg asked if I could see a raven on his shoulder when I looked through the ring. I did. Apparently, the raven had disappeared inside him for a while. He held some food up for the imaginary raven to eat. I shook my head and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. Lunari asked if my tongue was split like Xipil’s. I pretended to be asleep. 9th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Someone from the crew knocked on the cabin door in the morning, impatient for Grogg’s help. The troll left the cabin and the rest of us went back to sleep. When the ship cast off some time later, the Amrosh soldiers stood in the stern, looking back at Sulla. Lunari and I walked over to them to chat. Lunari told the story about how he and Grogg beat Gromgar, again. Something was disturbing one of the soldiers, a man named Batto, and he paid little attention to the story. I didn’t like the way he stared at me, and eventually, he dragged his companions away to their cabin. I hurried down to our cabin which lies next door to theirs, and listened to the wall, indicating to Xipil, who was there to conceal his lizardness, that he should do the same. My hunch paid off, for Batto told the others, Hadi and Moshen, that I was a wanted killer, who had committed murder both on Amrosh land and in the capital. Xipil looked at me questioningly, but I only shrugged my shoulders and focused on the conversation behind the wall. Batto told his friends that he was a former member of an intelligence agency called the Moon Shadows, and as he still held some sway there, he took command of this situation. For now, they would pretend that nothing was wrong. I heard their door open and close, and then it was silent on the other side of the wall. It is true that I’ve sent souls to You from those places, but I don’t consider myself a murderer any more than an executioner is. Xipil and I discussed possible escape routes. He wasn’t very keen on the idea of being interrogated, so if I run, he’ll come with me. We agreed that we needed to bring Lunari and Grogg up to speed on the situation, so we went up on deck where the crew had prepared soup. Xipil went back to the cabin after eating, but I sat down with Lunari and explained to him about the Farmers’ Republic, a relatively safe subject, while keeping an eye on the Amrosh people. Moshen looked at us over his shoulder, and I smiled and waved. The separatist Farmers’ Republic is a topic best discussed in private, I explained to Lunari. The people living in the region of Arland to the south and west of Sam would very much like to have their own sovereign state. Talking in support of the Republic in the rest of Arland can get you arrested for sedition, while talking disparagingly of it while there can just as easily spell doom. In Sam, where I’m from, you need to be extra careful, for you never know who is listening. I wanted to get Lunari down to the cabin, with Xipil keeping watch, before I broached the more urgent subject. Lunari asked if I’d share a drink with him tonight, and just as I acquiesced, one of the merchant parties drifted over. I felt we couldn’t leave them, so I waved Grogg over and asked if he could fetch Xipil. I played moklatar with Lunari until Xipil arrived. I excused myself for a moment and told the lizard man that I wanted him to keep watch while I talked to Lunari and Grogg. As long as the Amrosh people were on deck, we should be able to talk safely. The merchants were rather insistent that I should play more, and were clearly betting on the game. They kept badgering us to play, and in the end, I had to be rather blatant when I invited Lunari down to our cabin, but that took Grogg out of the picture. Lunari would have to fill him in later. I revealed to the elf that I’m a bounty hunter, and that all my kills have been sanctioned, so I don’t consider myself a murderer. I admitted to have taken a life ten years or so ago, without orders, but claimed self-defense. I could hear the wheels turning in Lunari’s head when he calculated how young I must have been at the time. I left out that some of my kills were direct orders from You, that they weren’t recognized as legal by the gentiles. He wouldn’t understand. I told him I needed to pray, and he left me alone. After a while, You gave me guidance. Batto, my accuser, may die if I choose to make it so. You showed indifference to the fate of the other man, Moshen, but Hadi must live to return to Amrosh. She had given me no indication that she was one of Your followers, so I struggled to see why. In her mid-twenties, she is rather cute, but that shouldn’t matter to a goddess. However, far be it from me to question Your wisdom. |
Session 14 (2020-02-16)
24th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
I handed over my disguise kit, medicine kit and the sculpture head to Lunari for safekeeping, in case I needed to disappear over board. I opened the medicine kit and showed him my vial of brownish belladonna extract. He didn’t recognize the name, so I told him it was dangerous, and that he should get rid of it rather than be caught with it. Then I showed him the vial containing my own poison. I emphasized that this green-yellow liquid was even more lethal than the belladonna, and that if I vanished, he had to promise to empty the vial. I put an empty vial in my pouch, so I’d have a place to store the next batch. Lunari has given me the impression of being a willing experimenter of unknown substances, but I had to warn him that in this case, curiosity would definitely kill the cat. They say that cats have nine lives, and I conceded that if he should somehow survive the belladonna, he might have one life left. The holy venom is strong! If we are separated, Lunari should take Grogg to the Lazy Hound inn in Sam. Xipil too, unless he left with me, which was likely, because he said he didn’t want to be left behind to answer questions. He was concerned that the exoticness of being a lizard-man could land him in trouble. Foreseeing the need to keep a watch tonight, Xipil tried to get some rest, while Lunari and I went back up on deck. Lunari asked the captain about the possibility of going on shore tonight, and learned that it would cost him dearly, for the captain planned to sail through the night. I relaxed, leaning on the shed where the crew served the soup. Because of Your warning that Hadi shouldn’t be harmed, I wanted to have a word with her, out of earshot of the other Amrosh soldiers, who at the moment were talking with her near the middle of the ship. Catching her on the way to or from the “lavatory” on the bow should give me that opportunity. I had told Xipil and Lunari that Hadi wasn’t to be harmed, and Lunari tried flirting with her, but she seemed to reject him, so he walked around on deck for a while before going downstairs. To my surprise, Hadi followed him down. I thought I’d give them a quarter of an hour before following, but just as I was about to leave my post, Hadi reemerged. She walked over to Batto and Moshen and sat down with them, but didn’t engage in the conversation, instead staring off into the distance. I waited and waited. Grogg was still playing moklatar with the merchants. The Amrosh soldiers finished their dragged-out meal and moved further away from me, towards the stern. Just then, Grogg got up and approached me, and said, without looking directly at me, “Kraa, kraa! Can you help me win a game?” I asked if he was talking to me, but he just hushed me. I could hear wings flap around him, but saw no bird. A feeling of dread settled in my stomach as he returned to the moklatar board. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was obvious he lost. His clumsy hands even overturned the board a couple of times during the game. I can’t fathom why he thinks of that spirit raven as a blessing. Can’t he see it for the curse that it is? Lunari came up on deck again and helped himself to the last, cold soup while requesting my presence in our cabin. He stopped to talk with Grogg before following me, but Xipil had overheard the conversation between Lunari and Hadi while pretending to sleep, and told me that she wanted Lunari to pay the captain to stop in Daram. I told Xipil that it’s an outpost on the Amrosh border. Lunari confirmed the tale when he came down. I didn’t know if it was a good idea or not, if we could use the landing for our own purpose in some way, and told him I needed to think on it. I returned to my post, and Lunari followed me there after a few minutes. Lunari told me he had paid the captain to dock at Daram, but I didn’t have time to berate him before Hadi passed us, glancing at Lunari as she went by. She stopped behind the shed and I made as if to walk away, but in fact positioned myself inside the shed so I could hear what she had to say to Lunari. The elf joined her and told her that he’d arranged to borrow the captain’s cabin so the two of them could have some privacy tonight. She reluctantly agreed to meet him there, and I felt anger rising inside me. When Lunari left, I rounded the shed and initiated a conversation about how difficult it is to be a beautiful woman alone in male company. With a broken voice, Hadi told me how chauvinistic men are. She gave numerous examples of how Batto and Moshen didn’t treat her with respect, but said nothing about being physically abused or molested. Had she done so, I’d have gone back and murdered the both of them, witnesses be damned! She never mentioned Lunari, so I expect he’s been respectful enough. Hadi suddenly clammed up with a horrified expression in her face when she realized she was opening her heart to a murderer. A hunch caused me to flash her Your greeting, and she grabbed my shoulders and said “they” would take me in Daram. She didn’t dare to say any more, and left. I watched the moklatar players for a while before going below. Xipil informed me that he had heard sobbing from the Amrosh cabin. Filled with compassion, I knocked on Hadi’s door, knowing that she was alone. She didn’t answer until I identified myself, and she didn’t want to open the door, even then. I asked if there was anything I could do for her, and she begged me to talk to Lunari and let him know she wouldn’t visit him tonight. I went back up on deck, and when Lunari finished his game, I waved him over so we could talk without anyone overhearing us unseen. “You’re not likely to have female company tonight,” I began. Something Hadi had told me clicked into place, and I continued by telling him I thought that Batto had already paid the captain to stop at Daram. Lunari suggested shaping wood to make a hidden compartment for me to hide inside, so they wouldn’t find me when they searched the ship. I went down to the cabin and told Xipil about Lunari’s plan, but he was unconvinced that Lunari could hide me well enough to fool them. Batto seemed like a guy who could tear the ship apart, looking for me. Instead, we agreed to leave as soon as it got dark, hopefully hours before reaching Daram. Lunari could make a temporary hole in the wall, so the two of us could slip out and into the river without making loud splashes. Lunari came inside and we told him our decision. He declared that I needed to take my suspicious stuff back, for he didn’t want to have it found in his possession. Xipil and I emptied two waterskins and filled them with air, and tied them to my overstuffed backpack. I borrowed pen and paper from Xipil, and wrote a note: “Batto: Meet me in the garden outside Atan under the full moon at end of the month. Come alone if you dare!” I didn’t sign it, but I didn’t think he’d have much difficulty figuring out who had written it. I have no intention of going deep inside Amrosh territory to meet him, alone or otherwise, and he might easily see through the ruse. However, as he couldn’t be entirely certain I was lying, he’d probably send someone, just to check, someone who therefore wouldn’t be following my true path. The bell rang for the evening meal – soup again, as promised – and I went up to fetch food for Xipil. All the Amrosh soldiers were on deck, so I slipped inside their cabin. I quickly identified which pack was Hadi’s, and put the note in one of the others. I went back up to keep an eye on the soldiers afterwards. When the sky started darkening, the soldiers went below decks, and I told Lunari it was time. We went down to the cabin, and I took off my dress while Lunari waved his hands over the wall, the wood opening silently under his spell. I rolled up the dress tightly, hoping that would prevent it from soaking up too much water, all the while standing behind Lunari. Xipil slid through the hole easily, and I approached it, holding my backpack close in front of me, robbing Lunari of as much view as possible. I imagined he was drooling over my backside while I passed the pack to Xipil and followed the lizard-man into the water. It was a long and exhausting swim to the west bank. We took a breath while I retrieved my dress, cloak and shoes from the backpack. They were all wet, of course, but it was better than going around naked. Xipil noticed that I have better eyesight than he does in the dark. I refrained from telling him it was a gift from You. He’s too new to the faith to learn such secrets. We walked for an hour and reached a village. Two militiamen kept watch on the docks, but they were easy to evade; we just had to keep out of the light of their lantern. We searched the village for a chapel, but without luck. Instead, we stole a small rowboat. One of the guards gave me a fright when he erupted with laughter, but we got away unseen. Xipil knew how to steer our magnificent vessel, and gave me instructions. We alternated rowing and resting. While I rowed, he had a line and a hook with which he tried to catch some food. He had caught two small fishes when we saw lights ahead. This had to be the border to the King’s land. We braved the turbulence in the middle of the river so we wouldn’t be seen. It was exciting for a while, but we passed the lights safely and Xipil rowed closer to the shore before suggesting I get some sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 14 (2020-02-16)
10th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Dawn was upon us when Xipil woke me up, and I hadn’t slept very long. Should we go ashore and hide, continuing downriver when it got dark again? I pondered for a while, and came to the conclusion that while it was less likely that we’d be seen at night, in this region it’s regarded as very suspicious to be active after dark. We agreed that it was safer to travel by day. I went back to sleep, instructing Xipil to wake me before he got too tired to steer. Just after he woke me again, we heard Lunari’s voice hailing us from behind. Should we acknowledge him? What if there were Amrosh soldiers on the ship still? We had passed Daram, so it was unlikely. I asked Xipil if he wanted to borrow a knife or two, just in case, but he said he had his own. I waved back at Lunari, and we were soon back on board. The Amrosh cabin was empty, and Lunari told us we shouldn’t mention our nightly excursion to Grogg, who was still sleeping. The voices woke him up, though, and he showed us that he had sewn a star. It actually didn’t look too bad, and we all complimented him on the artwork. Lunari and Grogg had had their own adventures last night. Batto had drugged Grogg with crow’s toes, and the troll had been high as a kite when the soldiers, reinforced from Daram, had searched the ship. Batto had been furious that I had vanished from under his nose, and had kept the ship at the dock under guard until morning. Lunari also mentioned that Moshen had asked him why I had sympathized with Hadi, who apparently had vanished as well, and now the elf wanted me to explain myself. I told Lunari that Hadi didn’t have an easy life, being a pretty girl alone among men. Grogg brought up that I’d had sex with Lunari, only that Lunari was away with Xipil looking at stone circles at the time. He couldn’t see how I’d managed that. I apologized for confusing him, but explained that the ruse was intended to persuade the others at the inn that none of us had snuck onto private land in the middle of the night. He had to agree that nobody doubted that Lunari had been there. Lunari complained that I only had made sex noises for about fifteen minutes; he could keep it going for at least fifteen hours, he bragged. “I’m sorry,” I lied, “I’d had so much to drink I fell asleep.” The soup bell sounded, and I climbed up to get food for everyone. The captain was there, and I engaged him in conversation. He complained about the Amrosh soldiers, they’d seemed hell-bent on harassing his crew and his passengers. He had recognized their authority, but it had nearly come to blows. I started flirting with him, giving the impression that I needed a protector, someone like him. I excused myself, saying I should take the soup below to my companions. When I got down there, I removed my knife belt and hidden cloth armor, expecting there to be at least some fondling later. I continued flirting with the captain, and he allowed me to overhear him telling one of the merchant parties that we wouldn’t be docking at Byblos after all, because of the delay at Daram, and since everyone onboard were going to Sam… That was one concern I could put behind me. I stayed with the captain the rest of the day, keeping him company while he did his marine duties. We talked for a long while, and then he suggested we share a bottle of wine in his cabin. I feared where this might be leading, but I needed to keep him wrapped tightly around my little finger, so I could stand a little discomfort. I’ve faked orgasms before. However, it didn’t come to that, for I fell asleep snuggled up to him while we were passing the bottle back and forth. He had wrapped me in a blanket on the bench and lay in the hammock when I woke. He said good morning and offered to get food for us. Confused, I sat up, but I said yes, please. The small window told me it was darkening outside. I touched the floor and said my evening prayer, not knowing if I was going to be private again before I went to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. The captain brought back a bowl of soup for each of us and some bread, and retrieved another bottle of wine from his locked cabinet. He told me what the Amrosh soldiers had accused me of, and I feigned horror. Of course, he didn’t believe them! Anyone could see I wasn’t capable of such fell deeds. 11th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke on the bench with the captain’s arm over me. I stirred to confirm that my sartorial integrity was unviolated, and my movements awakened him. We made some small talk and visited the soup station. Lunari came over while the captain poured for me, and mentioned that he needed me to teach Grogg about the nasty side effects that overuse of crow’s toes might have. Grogg had been productive with his needlework yesterday, and I could see a small banner he had embroidered with a raven-and-moklatar-piece motif when I went down to bring Xipil some food. The troll was still asleep, so Xipil and I ate in silence. I didn’t have the chance to brush my teeth last night, so I did so now. Xipil and I prayed quietly together, and then I went back upstairs. Lunari was playing the violin, and the captain was singing, so I danced for them. Afterwards, I seized the captain’s arm and followed him around while he gave instructions to the crew. Occasionally, I stepped in to give him a hand when it looked like I could be useful, and he often signaled that the task was done by putting an arm around my waist. It was actually kind of nice, for his hands didn’t wander. The crew would remark suggestively from time to time, but we both ignored them. I quickly brought Xipil lunch when the bell sounded again, then hurried back so I could keep an eye on the captain. I had him right where I wanted, and it wouldn’t do to let him drift. I started spinning a story about living in Istan, but he seemed more familiar up there than I was, so I changed the tale to having visited recently instead. We retreated to his cabin eventually, and had fun drinking wine, singing and telling stories until he yawned and said he had to go to bed. I acknowledged that I was tired as well. He invited me to join him in his hammock, his disarming gestures making it clear that he expected nothing, so I lay down next to him, my head on his shoulder. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. Forgive me for not touching the ground. |
Session 14 (2020-02-16)
12th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The captain told me we’d arrive in Sam this evening, having passed Byblos yesterday. I replied that this was good, but gave him a sad sigh. We broke the fast with soup, again. I received instruction in how to handle the ship from the captain. I pretended to be fascinated and even shouted at Lunari: “Look! I’m steering the ship!” The captain explained the difference between a ship and a boat. Boats like this travel on the river, while ships are at sea. Lunari asked if the boat could go as far as Guling, but the captain declined. He didn’t want to try to traverse the boggy delta in the south. I assume he has business upriver as well. I had lunch with Xipil who had had ample time to think and asked me how the bounty hunting business worked. I explained while we ate, and then I brushed my teeth, and we prayed a little before I returned to the captain’s side. When it was time to disembark, the captain gave me a gold coin, presumably for the rowboat that he had taken possession of. He also exclaimed that it had been a pleasure to have me on board and that I was more than welcome back. I thanked him for the journey and called him an angel. “A Mhalak?” he responded, eyes beaming with rapture. Thinking quickly, I said yes. We walked down the gangplank, and I heard him tell the crew how I had called him a Mhalak. Lunari asked me how he could experience such a mood, and I told him to find religion. The docks are a short walk away from Sam proper, although the distance between has long since been filled with buildings. I showed the way up towards the city, while telling Lunari about the horrible side effects of crow’s toes. In Grogg’s hearing, of course, and Lunari chimed in, until he discovered a brothel. Xipil and I agreed to meet him and Grogg for breakfast at the Lazy Hound Inn tomorrow. Anyone could show them the way, once they got up to the old town. Grogg asked if Xipil and I could take their luggage. We glared at him until he realized his stupidity. His load probably weighs more than Lunari, Xipil and me put together. Xipil and I walked on, and soon arrived at the office. I took him around to the back entrance. It didn’t feel right to return through the public front office of the bounty hunters, not when I was coming back from a holy quest. The building houses many people, almost like an inn. I was welcomed back by old acquaintances and got rooms for us. Xipil wanted a room of his own, and had to pay one silver piece for it. I got my old room back, happy that it was available, and retrieved my meagre belongings from storage. We left our packs in our rooms and went downstairs to the temple in the cellar. It had been a long time since I washed properly, so we took our time cleansing ourselves. Inside the chapel room, we found Rhuk and two others, and I beamed at her. I thought I’d seen one of the others before, and they looked to be from the Farmers’ Republic. Rhuk introduced them as Nils and Lise, and asked about Xipil. I let him explain who he was and how he had come to the faith. I consulted Rhuk regarding the prophet in the south, and she was very suspicious about him. There would be a Meet tomorrow night, she revealed, so I could hope for more advice then. I also told her about Batto and his soldiers. Rhuk warned me not to poke my hand inside that hornets’ nest. Xipil and I wished the others good night and returned upstairs. He asked me if it was possible to get up on the roof. I said that shouldn’t be a problem; the window on his room could be opened. We left our dirty clothes to be washed, and entered our rooms. I brushed my teeth and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 13th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke up, feeling fresh and restored. It was good to be home again! I brought my blades down to the back yard for a practice session. It’s been over a month since I used my knives. Other believers practiced as well, and I greeted both old friends and new. Xipil arrived after a while, and I suggested we should head over to the Lazy Hound, but he wanted to shoot some targets with his bow and arrow first. Lunari and Grogg had already eaten when we met them, so I ordered breakfast for Xipil and myself, indicating that Lunari would pay. I told the others there were quite a few things I needed to take care of now that I’ve come home, so they could spend the day resting if they wished. As I had some free time this morning, I offered to show everyone the sights of Sam. They took me up on it, but Lunari wanted to see my tongue first. I refused. I started the tour by showing Lunari where all the whorehouses are located. That should keep him occupied and out of my hair. Lunari asked what I knew about trade to Guling – is there any lucrative merchandise he can buy cheaply here and sell when we get there? I had to admit I didn’t know much about trade, but we talked to a fellow who claimed that timber would fetch a good price in Guling. Sam’s not a rich city, and definitely not known for its public displays of art. I showed Lunari that there are wealthier parts of the city, but those communities are gated and guarded, and he wasn’t allowed inside without an appointment. Grogg was tall enough to look over the wall, but the guards didn’t like that he did so, and asked us to go away. Grogg muttered that he didn’t see anything interesting inside anyway. Xipil wanted to visit the temple district. I explained that we didn’t have one, as such. The temples in Sam were more scattered than they are in some other cities. I took them to the Mitra temple first, and Lunari asked if there was a pleasure cult somewhere. I told him there was, but I didn’t want to take him there, because I didn’t know if he’d come out again. Instead, I brought them to the Anati temple. A statue of a nude woman decorated a fountain in front of the temple to the goddess of cleanliness. Anati is depicted with clothes in the Prince’s Cities for some reason, where Lunari and Grogg live, and Lunari in particular couldn’t keep his eyes off her. It was time to eat, so we found a restaurant nearby that served fish, vegetables and wine for lunch. Lunari kept staring at the Anati statue up the street, and Xipil asked if there was anything that could get them chased out of town. I repeated that they shouldn’t mention the Farmers’ Republic, otherwise the laws are mostly similar to those of the Prince’s Cities, as far as I know. Xipil and I left the others; there was talk of them visiting the Anati bathhouse. We had another practice session in the back yard, although I spent much of the time talking to friends. I learned that we Ashtarites have increased our presence in Talan, so if I hadn’t had anything else to do, I might have gone there. We had dinner in-house and I kept socializing while we ate. I retrieved the head in the sculpture Lunari had made, and brought Xipil to the chapel. We weren’t the only ones to arrive early for the Meet. I wondered if it was proper to bring a head inside the depiction of another’s head and prayed for guidance. You told me clearly that it wouldn’t do, so Xipil and I left. We found an axe in the workshop and destroyed Lunari’s artwork. Time had taken a toll on the head inside, even packed in salt, and it was a mushy lump that I dropped into a leather bag and brought back to the chapel. This time, we only washed our feet and hands (and Xipil’s tail). We had, after all, done a thorough cleansing not half an hour ago. I told my story at the Meet. A woman sniffed with disdain when I mentioned the Mhalak, Mitra’s messenger. I quite understood. After the formal part of the Meet, people drifted into groups to talk or pray, as they wished. The priest beckoned me to approach, and I instructed Xipil not to follow. I didn’t know if we would go to a place someone of Xipil’s low rank shouldn’t see, but we just found privacy in a side corridor. The priest warned me that the Mhalak has been observed near Guling. I gave him the severed head, which he promptly passed to someone of lower rank to deal with. Rhuk was at the Meet, too, and offered to bring my party to Ur on her cart. I repeated that one of my companions was a troll, in case she had forgotten, but she said her cart would be empty but for passengers, so it wouldn’t be a problem. I had already arranged to meet Grogg and Lunari at the Lazy Hound around breakfast time tomorrow, and told Rhuk that we should be able to leave around midday. I talked to more friends, glad to be home. Xipil asked what I thought about individuals who don’t go to You when they die, like Grogg’s ghostly raven. I told him of my deep distrust of such people (and birds). You are the Keeper of Death’s Door, I explained, and without Your blessing, we can’t hope for a good afterlife. Xipil wanted to know if I knew of any way to send such individuals to You. I didn’t, so I asked the priest. He said You would grant me knowledge when You found that I was ready. I turned to Xipil and translated that low-ranking people like us weren’t trusted to know. Xipil remained in the chapel to meditate when I went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 14 (2020-02-16)
14th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I had breakfast with Rhuk and picked her brains for local news. She disclosed that Guling and the Farmers’ Republic had entered into a secret alliance, which concerned her deeply. This may bring unwanted attention from the other noble houses. She had also heard rumors about wild orcs supplying the slave uprising. I knew that the Farmers’ Republic welcomed escaped slaves, and asked if she knew whether they had a hand in coordinating the uprising. She hadn’t heard anything of the sort, and thought it unlikely. But it wasn’t impossible. I knocked on Xipil’s door so we could go to the Lazy Hound, but he wasn’t in. I found him in the chapel, still meditating. It was still early, so Xipil ate at the inn while we waited for Lunari and Grogg to come downstairs. I started to worry after a while, and asked the staff about the elf and the troll. For two copper pieces, I learned that their luggage was still in their rooms, but they hadn’t spent the night there. Xipil stayed in case they should make an appearance, and I returned briefly to the office to delay Rhuk’s departure. As he hadn’t had any sleep last night, Xipil lay down on a bench in the common room to get some rest when I got back. Lunari arrived an hour or so later, having spent the night in a brothel. He had expected Grogg to be here, as the troll had left the whorehouse before him. I roused Xipil and said we had to go out and search for Grogg. I valued Rhuk too much to disrespect her time, so I sent a street urchin to the office with a message that she should come by the Lazy Hound when she left town, and if I wasn’t there, she should leave without us. Xipil, Lunari and I split up to search for Grogg. I asked around, describing Grogg to various people whom I knew paid attention to the goings-on of Sam, and eventually bumped into Lunari again, who had tried to track Grogg from the brothel. We spotted our lost companion on the docks a short while later. I called out to him from a distance, and Grogg berated me for scaring off the raven. Lunari pointed out that the raven was inside him, and I urged them to hurry back to the inn with me. Xipil was already there, as was a message from Rhuk, informing me that she was waiting at the office. Lunari paid for the rooms while Grogg retrieved their packs. We found Rhuk asleep in the office, for she planned to drive into the night. She had another passenger, a young man named Talo who had come to the temple a few years ago. We knew each other already, so I made introductions. Rhuk fetched a small leather bag, and we were off. It was too small to hold a head, but I knew enough not to ask its contents. To the guards at the city gate, she said she only carried passengers, no cargo. We made a brief stop once we were out in the open, to erect a shade above the cart. It can get hot in the stony desert between Sam and Ur. |
Session 15 (2020-02-23)
14th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
Lunari noticed two Amrosh soldiers watching us from a hundred meters away, and started walking towards them while I was helping Rhuk set up the canopy for the cart. Grogg followed him. Lunari talked with them for a few minutes before coming back. I asked what they had discussed, and Lunari told us they had “investigated the conditions towards Ur”, and warned him not to check into any inns on the way there. Rhuk snorted. We both knew that the inns held no danger. There were two inns, just before and after a cross in the road, the Cross Lodge and the Bizarre Bean, and Rhuk intended to stop at the Cross Lodge. Because of our late start, it would be dark when we arrived, but that should present no difficulties, for the Cross Lodge was run by a family of Ashtarites, a couple with two teenage children. The owner of the Bean was a good friend of Rhuk’s, and affiliated with the Farmers’ Republic. Hilde shouldn’t be a danger to us, either. The next inn, once we truly entered the stone desert, was the Watering Hole. Both Rhuk and I have been there several times, and couldn’t figure out why we should stay away from there. Recalling that Batto had recognized me somehow, I lay down in the cart, hiding behind Grogg while we passed the Amrosh soldiers so they wouldn’t get a good look at me. Xipil asked me if it was all right for him to ask Rhuk about the grey men they met in the crater. I told him to go ahead. His culture must be very peculiar, for he seems extraordinarily careful not to offend anyone. From his description of the grey men, Rhuk recognized them, but only as figures of stories and legends, and called them “dead men” and “ghost men”. Lunari wanted to know what my religion thought about undead. “Sacrilege!” I responded. “But what if those you kill come back to haunt you?” he wanted to know. I told him they didn’t, for whenever I take a life, I send the soul to You. The cart wheeled on. Lunari recounted the places he’d visited, and complained that it’s so expensive to travel in Arland, what with all the toll posts. Speaking of which, Rhuk asked if he could pay when we reached the next one. Lunari agreed to pay for his party, including me as his guide, but not Rhuk or Talo. The toll post was crowded with Loyalist soldiers. Rhuk told them she only carried passengers, and that we were going to Ur. We paid the required price, but I got the impression that they held us back so the wagon in front of us could get a head start. I found it very suspicious, and thought to myself that I wanted to overtake that wagon to see why, but then I noticed that the wagon behind us was held back too, once they let us proceed. Rhuk grumbled about the Loyalists having a toll post here. It was harassment, and they only pretended to protect the road! Lunari thought they were looking for someone, which apparently wasn’t any of us. Lunari commented on the terrain. The sharp distinction between swamps on the left side of the road and stony desert on the right seemed unnatural to him. He wondered what kind of city Ur might be, and I explained that it was a small one, located in an oasis in the desert. Ratanu, the god of laws and philosophy, has a large temple there that has mostly fallen out of use. After a couple of hours, we left the swamp behind. Talo engaged Grogg in conversation, but needed some time to get the troll to open up. Lunari wasn’t as heroic in Grogg’s version of the story of Gromgar. Rhuk pointed out that there was less traffic on the road than usual, which played into Lunari’s concern for the warning about the inns. I repeated that there was no danger from the staff at the Cross Lodge and promised to question them about it. Lunari declared that he was going to lock the door to his room. I teased him, asking if he was afraid that I’d come for a late-night visit. In that case, he said with a meaningful look at me, he didn’t have to lock up. I responded that while I thought of him as a decent enough fellow, I just didn’t find myself drawn to him in that way. The sun went down and the sky darkened. Lunari had us stop and remove the canopy so he could watch the stars. He pointed out his star sign, the Fox, which Xipil knew under the name of the Slurping Toad. Elves are mystically connected to their star signs. We stayed longer than necessary while Lunari and Xipil did their stargazing, and they had apparently seen enough, for they lay down to sleep when we continued, as did Talo. Suddenly, Grogg started sniffing in the air. He had caught the wind of something he couldn’t quite identify the source of, it seemed, for he smelled the rest of us. “Yuk, soap!” he deduced when he pulled in my scent. I asked what he was doing, and he told me he smelled a burnt odor. I tried to detect what he had, but smelled nothing out of the ordinary. “Kraa, kraa! Where’s the fire?” he asked his spirit raven. Rhuk looked at him with disgust and I nodded agreement. Unseen wings flapped in the air and faded as the raven scouted ahead. “Grogg, now that it’s gone, know that this is a messenger you can’t trust,” Rhuk told the troll, “You need to think for yourself.” Grogg retorted that if he was thinking for himself, he didn’t have to listen to her either. Rhuk agreed, but Grogg made a badly veiled threat. He doesn’t like it when people speak ill of the raven. Twenty minutes passed in silence and then the raven returned. Grogg watched it through the magic ring, and the raven gave him something, which he poked at Lunari’s neck. Lunari woke, screaming in pain, for the something was a hot piece of burnt wood. Lunari examined the wood and determined it had been a part of a plank of decent quality, so it wasn’t likely retrieved from a campfire. I suspected that the Cross Lodge had burned down, for that’s the nearest building in the area. It’s a good twenty-minute walk from there to the Bizarre Bean. Rhuk declared that she was convinced the inn still stood, but I knew her well enough to recognize signs of distress. Grogg and Lunari tried to get information out of the raven, but it only replied “Kraa!” Xipil asked what we should do if the inn had burned down, and I responded calmly that we’d just move on to the Bean and stay there. Xipil jumped off the cart and ran forward, saying he could smell burning. Rhuk sped up the cart with a curse, and Grogg grabbed Xipil and put him back inside when we passed him. Lunari expressed concern for the cart, going this fast in the dark, but Rhuk told him it’s her wagon. “Shut up and hold on!” Talo nearly fell off when we made a sharp turn, but Grogg caught him in time. Abruptly, Rhuk turned the cart off the road and leapt off, running towards the Cross Lodge. I followed at once, but Talo took the time to unfasten the lantern from the cart. The Cross Lodge lay in ruins, thin plumes of smoke still rising from charred timbers. It must have burned down last night. I started searching for bones among the ruins, hoping to find none. Rhuk fell on her knees, bursting into tears. She knew the family that ran this place much better than I did. I tried telling Talo to shine his lantern where I was searching, but he kept running back to Rhuk. Lunari lighted another lantern and searched for tracks with Grogg and Xipil. Xipil found tracks of four horses that had been present recently. They hadn’t stayed long, and had fancy shoes, so they weren’t owned by the proprietors. I suspected the arsonists had ridden them. I discovered the charred remains of the inn’s cat in the food cellar, and Rhuk told me the daughter of the house had been very attached to it. I paused my search to listen to Rhuk’s stories about the people who used to live here. Lunari seemed cold and uncaring, and went to sleep on the cart, but I started digging up the chapel afterwards, with Xipil’s help. Rhuk came over to lend a hand once she calmed down. We discovered human bones, and it became obvious that the poor family had perished. |
Session 15 (2020-02-23)
I asked Xipil, Rhuk and Talo if they believed the Bizarre Bean still stood, but they were all uncertain. Rhuk told Talo to go back to Sam to tell what had happened here, but just then, we heard two horses approach, and turned off the lanterns. Someone called out, and Grogg answered. A rider dismounted to tell Grogg that we shouldn’t be here; something’s beginning.
It was clear that the riders were the Amrosh soldiers Lunari and Grogg had talked to earlier today, and Grogg asked if they were Nightriders, which they confirmed. Grogg also asked them for crow’s toes. I rolled my eyes in the darkness. The soldiers said he could get it in Guling, and I heard disapproval in their voices before they left. Rhuk insisted that we needed to get going, and asked if I thought we should go through the Farmers’ Republic. That wouldn’t get her to Ur; she might have to go all the way to Guling with us before turning back east. I said I wanted to stop by the Bizarre Bean to find out if Hilde knew what had happened here or if that inn had been burned down, too. On our way there, we spotted riders with torches, but they were heading away from us. Rhuk thought those riders were chasing the Amrosh soldiers, for Nightriders don’t use torches. The hunters might be coming from the inn, so we stopped the cart once we saw lights from the building, and Xipil and I scouted ahead. Talo returned towards Sam. There was a torch at the road and two guards, also with torches, at the door. Xipil and I crept closer, taking care to stay out of the torchlight. The guards wore regular clothing over their armor, but I thought they looked like Loyalists. Three tents were erected behind the inn, so Xipil and I went to check them out. The largest tent held horses, one had an empty wagon, and the smallest tent contained a few wooden boxes. Xipil studied the ground outside the tents and recognized the fancy horseshoes from the Cross Lodge. Peeks inside the windows without shutters told us nothing. Xipil tried picking the lock on the unguarded back door, but his dagger got stuck between the door and the jamb. It took some time to get it loose without making noise, and while he was working, a rider approached carrying a torch, so we assumed it was another Loyalist. The rider aimed for the guards in front of the building, and I went around the corner to listen. I recognized the Loyalist greeting, clearing the last vestiges of doubt from my mind. The guards wanted to know how “it” had gone. The newcomer sounded like an officer, and told them that they had chased away the Nightriders. They talked for a little while, and from what they said, I estimated that they were around twenty people, including six people on guard, four of whom must be inside the inn. The officer went to put up his horse in the tent, so I returned to Xipil, who had managed to open the kitchen door. We slipped inside before the officer could spot us. It was completely dark in the kitchen, and Xipil and I cautiously navigated our way to the other door, which I knew led to the common room. The kitchen seemed remarkably uncluttered, which led me to believe Hilde wasn’t in charge anymore. She had to be dead, captured or evicted. We heard scraping of chairs on the floor when the four guards in the common room saluted the officer. When he sent two of them off to bed, I was tempted to go inside to kill the others, but as they might be looking in the direction of the kitchen door, I deemed it too risky to try. Xipil and I returned outside and checked out the tents more carefully. Using a knife, I managed to remove a bolt from one of the wheels of the wagon, but the others were fastened too hard to remove without making noise. Xipil opened one of the three boxes in the smallest tent and discovered it was full of crossbow bolts. He suggested burning them all, but a fire would be noticed too soon. I preferred to do sabotage that wouldn’t be discovered until morning. I went inside the largest tent to steal the horses. With the officer’s horse, there were four of them. My plan was to remove them one by one to a safe distance, and then bring all four in a large circle around the inn and back to Rhuk and the others. Unfortunately for me, the horses became upset when I entered. I tried to slit their throats before they could whinny, but only managed to graze one of them before they erupted in wild panic. I hadn’t poisoned the blade, so the horse should live. I rushed outside and got Xipil to follow me into the darkness before the soldiers came running. When we got back to where we had left the cart, only Lunari remained, and he made as if to light his lantern, but I stopped him. Hadn’t he heard the commotion? Lunari told us that Rhuk had started the cart back towards the cross in the road, intending to head for the Farmers’ Republic, but without the lantern, how could we find our friends? I told him to relax and follow me. We found Rhuk and Grogg with the cart a little later. I told them what Xipil and I had discovered, and Lunari thought the Loyalists were intending to invade the Farmers’ Republic. Rhuk suspected that the Loyalists had uncovered the alliance between the Republic and the Aldera family of Guling. Rhuk told everyone that it’s possible to get to Guling through the Farmers’ Republic, but the way is a closely guarded secret. We stopped after a while, and Rhuk waved the lantern. Another light responded from up ahead, and we were good to go. Behind a rampart stood farmers with weapons and armor. Rhuk and I talked with them, and alluded to the disturbances north of here. It seemed they already knew. Rhuk told them that she sought someone named Ander. “It’s not my place to prevent you,” the leader sighed. Who could this Ander be? He seemed like an outcast. We moved on, and I noticed that there were fences, ramparts and ditches all over the place. It should be easy to defend this place if and when the Loyalists decide to intrude. It was getting really late, so we stopped at an empty house, clearly meant for this purpose. Rhuk ordered Xipil to take the first watch, then turned in. Xipil asked me how long he should watch. I guessed that sunrise was just about three hours from now, and we agreed that watches of one hour would suit. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. Lunari woke me some time later, and I woke Grogg when my watch was done. I had to explain that he should wake the rest of us if someone approached, before I could go back to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 15 (2020-02-23)
15th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Rhuk made vegetable soup for breakfast. Some of our party were pretty fed up with soup from the boat ride, so we spiced it up with some travel rations. “Welcome to the Republic,” Rhuk announced. Lunari had entertained himself by decorating the cart with calligraphy while we traveled, yesterday. All the writing was in the elven script, Lithin, but Rhuk understood what it said and asked him not to write any more on the cart. She didn’t translate, but told me privately that it was all toilet humor, and he apparently had a fascination for my derriere. I didn’t know whether to be offended or to be pleased to have discovered a weapon against him. People worked the fields and mostly ignored us as we traveled south. We passed a couple of villages and some minor streams, before arriving at a village on the bank of a larger river in the evening. Rhuk stopped the cart outside the village and bade us wait for her while she entered the houses. I washed the horse blood off my knife while we waited. Grogg called me “Nurkia” and “snake woman,” but I told him I would ignore him unless he used my actual name. He called me “Nuur-Karif,” and we had a pleasant conversation. Rhuk returned and told us we had to leave the cart for the next leg of our journey, so we went a little distance back, to a farm where they knew her. There were both orcs and humans there, and Lunari talked to one of the orcs, but seemed to insult him, for he spat contemptuously on the ground and started walking away. That set Grogg off, and he dragged back the orc to apologize to Lunari, who wisely defused the situation diplomatically. We had grilled vegetables for dinner, and then we returned to the village. Rhuk told us to wait by an apple tree. The look she gave me warned me that she didn’t know how long we had to wait, but there was no hint of danger in her eyes, so I settled down calmly. Lunari pulled out a bottle of liquor and told dirty jokes to Grogg. I tried to ignore them, but it wasn’t easy. At least my name wasn’t mentioned. Rhuk returned with at lantern and a big grin, after dark. She also brought a man named Ander, who would be taking us further, while Rhuk tried to find her own way to Ur. I gave Rhuk Your signal and pointed discretely at Ander. She nodded, so I knew he was trustworthy. Ander was around thirty years of age and carried a rope around his waist. I wished Rhuk good luck and we went our separate ways. Ander wordlessly led the way towards the village, but soon turned towards a river channel where he jumped in. The water didn’t reach much higher than his knees. The rest of us followed him into the water and then along the maze of channels for about a quarter of an hour. We arrived at some ferns, which Ander pushed aside, revealing a wooden door. Ander entered, and I followed. Grogg was skeptical of the small, dark space, but Ander insisted, with gestures and a syllable. Once everyone was inside, he went back outside, leaving us with a short command: “Sleep!” Xipil followed to study the stars. Ander watched him impatiently. Lunari asked me who we were hiding from. I told him I didn’t know, but now that we’re in their land, we have to do what they tell us. Xipil came back inside after a while, and Ander closed the door. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 16th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! When I woke up this morning, the only light was a glimmering strip above the door. I expected Ander to arrive with our marching orders soon, but felt at peace in this underground lair, so I lay back down to meditate. Lunari wasn’t quite as patient, and retrieved his violin, about which Grogg and Xipil protested loudly after a few strokes of the bow, so he packed it down again and went to peek outside. Ander arrived after a couple of hours, tossing a sack inside with a single word, “Food!” I opened the sack and distributed grilled fish and vegetables. Lunari asked Ander why we’re sneaking around, but got no reply beyond a queer stare. “Is there no road we can take instead of trudging through the channel?” the elf continued. Ander counted on his fingers: “Raft, kill, Guling.” Xipil asked me if I knew what he meant, but I wasn’t certain, so I said nothing. The tranquility that had settled on me replaced the desire for knowledge. What comes, comes. Lunari suspected that someone would try to kill us if we took a raft to Guling. We followed Ander a short distance to a raft, where the channel connected to the main river. He gave Grogg and Xipil a pole each, and the three of them pushed us over the river. On the other side, Ander nudged Grogg ashore and gave him the end of a rope and instructed him to pull. And Grogg ran. Until there was no more land; then he continued into the water. Lunari told him to get onboard as it would be more efficient if he took a pole and pushed. Now that everyone was awake, nobody protested when Lunari took out his violin again. He played and sang, and I enjoyed the entertainment, feeling like a noble since everyone else was working. Ander had another sack of food which he shared out at mealtimes. We stopped when it was getting dark, at another hidden room in the end of a small channel, similar to the room we stayed in last night. We entered, and Ander closed us in. Grogg was hungry, so he found travel rations in one of his large sacks. Xipil went back outside, presumably to look at the stars. When he returned, he told me that he got the feeling that something has to die tomorrow. He mentioned that he was sitting on the ground at the time, making the sensation more trustworthy. I sat down to pray, for I thought there was something You wanted me to hear. I prayed for two full hours, but got no answer. That made me anxious. I noticed Xipil was meditating when I was about to turn in. He has told me to wake him if he sits too long, so I prodded him. He seemed woozy, so I asked if he was all right. He was not. He felt sick, and told me that something bestial and something with ugly teeth was on an island, and they were going to die. I asked if his vision had indicated that we should intervene in some way, but he didn’t know. I’ve heard that people who get visions when they’re not ready for the experience, often get stressed out or worried. I asked Xipil if he felt anything like that, but he claimed he didn’t, he only felt like he was going to sick up. I suggested that we should try to get some sleep. Most likely, he’d feel better in the morning. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 15 (2020-02-23)
17th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Lunari opened the door to let in the morning light. With a good night’s sleep behind him, Xipil felt better, and his vision was clearer. The bestial being had four legs. The other thing was larger and had either bad teeth or dark eyes; there seemed to be some vagueness remaining, after all. They both had to die, though. Ander came with food while we were talking, and we left after a quick bite. Grogg, Xipil and Ander picked up the poles again, and pushed the raft back into the river and then south. Grogg and Lunari talked to the raven, who failed to answer in the affirmative when they asked if Lunari was kind. We were moving towards an area with fewer farms and villages, so not many people were in a position to observe their odd behavior. Just after lunch, Ander directed the raft towards land. There were many bushes on this river island, so we couldn’t see very far. Ander tied the raft to one bush and went to sleep under another. Xipil and I went to scout the island while Grogg and Lunari sat down to smoke. Eels frolicked along the shoreline, and Xipil asked what to think about them; they did resemble snakes, after all. I wasn’t certain what to respond, so I put my hand into the water among them. The eels ignored me, which could mean that they’re related to snakes. Grogg arrived to tell Xipil that Kraa, the spirit raven, said he shouldn’t meditate without stars in sight. Did he come just to relate that piece of information? I refrained from telling Xipil not to listen to the unholy vermin, making a mental note to remind him later, when Grogg wasn’t around. Xipil asked Grogg if he could borrow the magic ring, so he could have a look around the island with it. Ander woke up after an hour or so and was staring out at the river when I returned. Lunari had provided him with tobacco. Xipil failed to find anything magical with the ring and returned it to Grogg, then he tried to catch some fish. He had caught three when Ander thought it was time to depart. Ander didn’t want us to go very fast now, watching the surroundings keenly. He directed us up a branch of the river. Lunari started telling Grogg a joke, but Ander hushed him. The side river forked again and Ander pointed at the end of the long, narrow island ahead of us. He looked nervously around, catching everyone’s attention. “Kill!” He pointed at the island again. I rubbed my hands in anticipation and rummaged in my backpack for the medicine kit. Lunari asked me if I knew what this was all about. I was convinced that You had marked whatever inhabited this island for death, but I didn’t know the specifics, so I kept my mouth shut. In retrospect, I should have said something, but how could I know that Lunari would turn out to be such a wuss? Xipil removed his cloak and strung his bow. I prepared all my knives with poison, ritually biting each of the blades when I replaced them carefully in their sheaths. Lunari withdrew to the other side of the raft. It seemed I had instilled in him a proper sense of respect for the holy venom. It was no mere belladonna I was smearing on the sharp steel. Xipil, Grogg, Lunari and I moved ashore and tied a rope between the raft and a bush. Xipil got my permission to scout ahead. His camouflage skin made him all but invisible among the vegetation. Lunari protested that he didn’t want to be a part of this, killing just because Ander said so, and started wading back to the raft. Ander pushed the raft away from land, as far as it could go without cutting the rope, so Lunari had to swim to get on board again. We heard barking in the distance, and Xipil returned. I felt a little disappointed. Dogs?! I suggested that we wait for them and kill them when they arrived, and thought that Lunari would come ashore now; certainly, he couldn’t have qualms about killing a few mad dogs? Lunari disabused me of that notion, shouting that we should get on the raft. Ander hushed him again and prepared throwing knives. I spotted the dogs when they were about thirty meters away. Xipil aimed his bow at one of them, but Grogg squinted at the vegetation, for he hadn’t seen the dogs yet. I drew two blades, one long knife and one throwing knife, and nodded towards the dogs so Grogg could see. The dogs continued towards us, still barking, and I took aim at one of them. There were two dogs, I could see now. One of them sped up, but the other started dancing around. I thought the behavior was peculiar, until I realized that the dogs were trained. Grogg held his maul at the ready, but the dogs turned around. An arrow from Xipil’s bow took one of them in the flank, but it kept running. More barking came from the distance. Grogg rushed ahead, and I followed, although he has longer legs than I have and soon put some distance between us. Two orcs approached with two more dogs. Grogg stopped to shout something in the troll language, allowing me to catch up with him. The orcs howled back at him and picked up the pace, axes raised. Xipil put an arrow through the leather armor of one of them. Grogg prepared to strike, but they were still a couple of seconds away, which allowed me to take aim at the uninjured one while sending a silent prayer to You: “O Ashtar, Keeper of Death’s Door! Let Your humble servant send these orcs to You!” No countermanding of the kill order arrived, so the orcs would die. |
Session 15 (2020-02-23)
The first orc reached Grogg and parried the maul. His counterattack missed the troll. As did my knife when I hurled it at the orc. The dogs tried to surround Grogg and me, clearly intending to attack from behind. Grogg smacked the orc backwards with a wet thump to the chest, but he came forward again to attack; Grogg retreated out of the way of the axe, however.
I pulled my other long knife and prepared to defend. One of the dogs launched itself at my side, but I whirled around and parried, the poisoned blade scratching the dog’s face. The dog was dead when it landed. Grogg gave the orc another solid smash, but took a blow from the axe in return. The second orc swung at the troll, too, but missed. I ran over to the closest orc, but missed with both knives. Grogg stomped heavily on the dog that was nibbling on his leg. The orc didn’t have room to swing his axe at me, so he headbutted me instead. That hurt a lot, even through the hidden cloth armor covering my torso. The other orc moved after the retreating troll. I prepared to dodge, and moved close to the orc to prevent him from using the axe. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dog with an arrow in its side tried to limp around to my back. Grogg landed another hit on his orc, who refused to go down. My orc dropped his axe and tackled me to the ground, the unexpected maneuver taking me completely by surprise. He landed on top of me. Desperate to finish the orc before the dogs could get at me, I tried to skewer the orc’s neck from both sides, but the shock of having the air knocked out of my lungs caused me to fail spectacularly; I strained my left arm and lost the grip on the knife in my right hand. Grogg finally sent his opponent crashing to the ground, and I heard a whimper as he stepped on another dog. The orc on top of me tried to break my nose with his forehead, but my bad luck had run its course, and he missed. I chomped on his throat, extending my fangs and injecting venom. The orc shuddered and died. I pushed him off me with my good hand and heard a splash. Ander had jumped into the water to save Xipil from drowning; the lizard man had retreated into the water to escape the dogs, but his injuries caused him to faint. I picked up the knife I had dropped and stood up. Grogg felled one of the dogs with his throwing axe, and then there was only one dog still standing; Lunari chased it through the shrubbery. Lunari ran supernaturally fast and stabbed the dog with his spear. I sheathed one of my knives; my left arm was useless at the moment. I looked for the knife I threw at the orc at the beginning of the combat. Just as I was picking it up, Lunari turned around and came back to Grogg and me, calling in a low voice that there were more foes. A shriek of pain followed him. I sheathed the knife, and Grogg told me to move, for I was between him and the sound. I retreated towards him while aiming at the female orc who came out of the forest. She was frothing at the mouth, and her eyes were just as bloodshot as her fallen friends’ had been. Grogg threw his hatchet, and it stuck in her chest. I flipped my knife at her throat, and she crashed lifelessly into Grogg. Ander put his arms up in celebration and declared “Guling!” I retrieved my knife, watching Ander run to give first aid to Xipil, who was lying on the raft. I determined that the orcs must have used some kind of drug to drive them into such a frothing frenzy. They had also filed their teeth, which might have impressed someone else. I agreed with Lunari and Grogg that the dogs had to be trained to hunt and attack humans. Ander seemed to have Xipil’s wounds under control, so I offered my services to Grogg, who was staggering towards the raft. He refused, which I respected. I washed the orc blood off my face. I didn’t bother to get my mirror to have a look, but I must have been quite the sight. Xipil was unconscious, and Grogg and I clearly injured, so Ander gave Lunari a pole, but he threw it in the water. Ander used his own pole to get it back, and tried handing it to Lunari again, but I grabbed hold of it with my good hand. Grogg decided that Lunari needed no protection, and stuck his magic needle into his own neck. He fell asleep immediately. When Xipil woke a minute or two later, I made a comment to him that I don’t care for men who can’t handle their poles. Lunari protested wildly at the insinuation, and complained again about having to kill someone. I ignored him. He hadn’t attacked anyone, let alone injured or killed them. A fleeing dog didn’t count, rabid or not. Once my left arm had rested for a bit, I regained the use of it. With two hands, I was more effective at helping Ander push the raft. The sun was setting when we returned to the main river, and I saluted the dying day, in Your honor. Ander pointed questioningly at the needle in Grogg’s neck, but Lunari forbade me from telling him about it, so I just had to say that everything would be all right. The needle purportedly has healing powers, but it didn’t save Kraa from dying. I’m not sure I believe Lunari’s claims, although Xipil has confirmed them. Proper medicine was what Xipil needed. We landed near an orchard, and Ander instructed us to wait before walking into the night. I grabbed a handful of soil from the orchard, and asked Lunari to confirm that he was uninjured. He lifted his shirt and told me he had strained a muscle when skewering the dog. He still was the halest among us, so I asked him to spit into my hand. I mixed the spittle with the dirt in my other hand and sat down to work on Xipil. The healthy saliva replaced Xipil’s injured fluids when I massaged the skin around his wounds with my dirt. Xipil told me things had maybe gone more smoothly, had Rhuk prepared us – that is to say, Lunari – about what was going to happen. But I don’t think Rhuk knew. Ander returned and took us to a small cottage. Lunari expressed worry that there might be angry orcs in there, but I took Xipil inside and confirmed that it was safe. Grogg got his needle back from Lunari and lay down, sticking it into his neck again. Ander produced some food, and told us, “Eat, sleep, Guling!” Then we went outside and closed the door. Xipil told Lunari that the more cooperative he was, the sooner we’d get to Guling. He tried to entice Lunari with the promise of “party-elves”. I ate and pretended to go to sleep, but actually, I lay down to pray, asking You for fresh venom in my glands. After an hour, I could spit some poison into the little vial. After four hours, the vial was as full as it could be, but I still needed another hour to restore the glands, so they’d be ready for use again. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 16 (2020-03-08)
18th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Grogg woke me to ask how to get high on God. Light was streaming through the windows, but I rolled over and told him grumpily to go back to bed. Lunari brought Xipil and Grogg outside. How thoughtful of him. Unless they were going to discuss secrets, in which case I’d rather they did it in my hearing. Ander shook my shoulder carefully some time later. “Guling!” he declared. I got up and we joined the others in the sun. Xipil was concerned that the orcs might not be dead, and wanted to go back to check. Admittedly, I had been swept up in the others’ rush to get away, but two of the orcs has tasted my venom, and those two absolutely wouldn’t be getting up again. The third one, I was uncertain about. Grogg had landed at least three solid blows on him, so I was pretty certain he was dead, too. Ander was satisfied with our work on that island, and in the end, that was what mattered. To my surprise, Ander didn’t lead us back to the raft; he took us in the other direction. I pulled him aside. Lunari tried to listen in, but Xipil prevented him. I asked Ander who or what had sent us to the island to kill the orcs. Of course, I was already convinced that ultimately, it was You who had issued the kill order, but I wanted to know more, if only to stop Lunari’s complaining. I failed to get anything out of Ander, though. He only replied “Kill!” and “Guling!” After a couple of minutes, we arrived at a clearing in the orchard, with a few, small buildings. A dwarf was sitting on the steps before one of the houses, merrily playing a mouth harp. Next to him stood a half-elf, who Lunari and Grogg knew from before; Lunari called him Lunas. There were two humans there as well. I guessed they were hunters from their attire, and they seemed like unimportant underlings from the way Lunas ignored them. Lunas tried talking Lunari into coming to the Evening Fort outside Guling to take missions for his family. That made him a scion of the Aldera family, I thought to myself. Lunari told the half-elf that we were already on our way there. It didn’t matter that Ander wasn’t very talkative, for it became clear that Lunas and his crew of hunters had been chasing a band of outlaws, including the orcs we killed and a troll that Keri, the dwarf, shot through the eye with his crossbow. Ander must have made an agreement with Lunas or his representative, to have us help with the orcs in return for transportation to Guling. Keri seemed half drunk, but roused when Lunas asked if he was ready to go. He went inside to get his pack and said goodbye to whoever was in there. Lunas asked Lunari what he’d been up to lately. Had he saved any more nobles? It turned out Lunas was one of those who Grogg and Lunari had saved from Gromgar and his orcs. Lunari was uncharacteristically vague about his exploits, but said he was ready to go on another adventure. Lunas needed half an hour to get ready himself; we were going to take a raft through the swampy delta for a couple of days, before taking their boat upriver towards Guling. I sat down in the shade, leaning against one of the houses, trying to get some more sleep. Grogg picked me up when it was time to go. I pretended to sleep; I once heard the expression, “Fake it till you make it,” and I gave it a try. Kraa stood on Grogg’s shoulder, uncomfortably close to my head, but I tried to ignore the spirit raven. Suddenly, Grogg tilted my head down, for someone to take a look at my face. I prepared to burst into action, but then a woman’s voice said one of Your prayers over me. My hand twitched in Your greeting, and I felt the woman put something down my dress, between my breasts. She whispered in my ear, “For those who won’t die.” I woke at the river bank, to the sound of Keri’s mouth harp and Lunari’s violin. Grogg told Lunari that a woman had come and touched me “inside the shirt” and gave him money. “Did you pimp out Nuur-Karif?” Lunari exclaimed skeptically. He lowered his voice and explained to Grogg what a pimp was. “I only got one copper,” Grogg muttered defensively. Lunas asked who the best rafters were among us, and Xipil volunteered for pole duty. I told the noble that Grogg was very strong and very capable, so he got a pole, too. This raft was slightly smaller than the one we used earlier, and floated treacherously low in the water, once everyone was aboard. I was sure we were going to get our feet wet. Lunas asked Lunari how he had ended up here, in the middle of nowhere. Lunari explained that he received Lunas’s letter in Blekborg and decided to make the trek. He regaled how the Loyalists forced us to go through the Farmers’ Republic. “Loyalists! Hah, Betrayers are more like it!” Lunas interjected. I noticed that Lunari mixed up the Cross Lodge and the Bizarre Bean, but I didn’t bother to correct him. Lunas told Keri that “they” had set things in motion already, as if the dwarf couldn’t easily hear what Lunari was saying. Lunas said we had to get back to civilization as soon as possible; he needed to get the word out. Grogg asked if the Betrayers and the Nightriders were one and the same, but Lunas and Lunari explained that the Betrayers, or Loyalists, depending on your point of view, were the Larma family and their adherents, while the Nightriders were elite cavalry from Amrosh’s ranks. I stood in a corner with my back turned to the others, and fished out what the woman had stuffed into my cleavage. It was a small vial of yellowish liquid. I opened and sniffed it, identifying the liquid as holy venom. I have my own, of course, but the effect of this one might be wildly different, although the end result should be the same: Death. I suddenly regretted pretending to sleep, earlier. I very much wished to talk to the unseen, unnamed woman who had given me this gift, as precious as a piece of her soul, but I feared my path wouldn’t take me anywhere near her again. Lunas and Lunari entertained themselves by comparing prostitution in different parts of the world. Lunas claimed that all the whores in Guling do it completely voluntarily. I found that hard to believe. Grogg told a story about Lunari being thrown out of a brothel in Sam, causing Lunas to bend over double with laughter. We went ashore to have lunch. Lunari mentioned that he could make some more room for us on the raft if he had some timber to work with. There were two large, half-rotten logs lying in the water, and Grogg swam out to retrieve them. Lunas asked again about how we came to the Farmers’ Republic, and Lunari told him that I’m their guide, although we hired Rhuk in Sam, who knew plenty of people around here. Lunari mentioned that I’m an Ashtarite, and that Rhuk may be one, too. Three Fork-Tongues may have been too many to contemplate, for he said nothing about Xipil. Lunas claimed that he doesn’t care what people believe, but tried to question me about my faith anyway. I pulled an Ander, clamming up. Lunari and Grogg went to work on the raft; Lunari used magic to attach the two logs to the raft while Grogg lifted it up. The raft rode slightly higher in the water when we continued. Grogg reeked of swamp from his swim, but that only made his scent fade into the background. Lunas told us about the public bath in a park in Guling, which we may want to visit when we get there. Lunas continued his questioning, this time he wanted to know if I had been in the Republic before. I saw no reason to lie, and answered affirmatively. Lunas said he would like to hire all four of us, and for some of the tasks, having someone with knowledge of the area would come in handy. Lunari was talking with Keri about taking lives. The dwarf claimed he was good at it, but that’s why he’s drinking. Lunari tried to find out more about the orcs we killed, but didn’t get much out of Keri that we hadn’t already learned. The dwarf went off on a tangent, saying that the Bush Rangers are solid people who pay a dear price to keep the Republic safe. That was a name I hadn’t heard before. Lunari produced a bottle of wine and shared it with Keri, and the topic changed to a discussion about alcoholic beverages. Keri preferred stout dwarven ale, the stronger, the better, and he made the strongest himself. We put ashore when it was time to go to sleep. We’ve left the agricultural landscape behind us, and thinking back, I could only recall seeing three other people while we traveled, all fishermen. I erected my tent on a dry piece of land and had a bit of food before retiring. Xipil scraped at the tent flaps and asked if he could come inside. He wanted to know what the woman had wanted, earlier. I showed him the vial she gifted me, and retrieved the vial with my own venom, saying it was similar to that. I made sure not to say anything incriminating; the fabric of the tent only gave an illusion of privacy, after all. I showed Xipil my teeth and tapped on a fang with my nail, in case he didn’t understand my vague words. We prayed together before he left me to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 16 (2020-03-08)
19th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The others let me be a little longer this morning, allowing me to catch up on my sleep. When I got up, Lunari was telling Grogg that someone at the Evening Fort would like to say hello to Kraa. Grogg exclaimed that it smelled of horse. He seemed a little off, and Xipil asked if he’d had enough sleep. Lunas was impatient to move out, so I hurriedly packed down my tent. Lunari told Grogg to start poling. The troll was still standing on dry land when he made the motions with the pole, making it clear to everyone that he wasn’t in the best of shapes. Lunari got him aboard the raft, and Keri took Grogg’s pole. Lunari tried getting Grogg to sing with him, but Lunas stopped them. Talking was fine, but loud noises should be avoided; danger lurked in the swamps. Lunari and Lunas discussed the Farmers’ Republic, and I listened with half an ear in case Lunas provided information that was new to me. He didn’t. We had lunch on shore, and were about to board again when Grogg suddenly threw his sack into the water. I jumped after it, but didn’t get hold of it in the murky water. Xipil dived in, too, and caught it. The sack was too heavy for him to get up on his own, so I helped him get it back on the raft. Lunari instructed us to empty the sack and dry off the contents, all the while Grogg raved about horses surrounding us. Lunari gave him a pipeful of tobacco. The sack had held Grogg’s travel rations, and Xipil convinced Lunari to work the pole while he tried to catch some fish. Grogg’s food had suddenly become a lot less tempting to eat, although it still seemed edible. Lunari wanted to give up after only half an hour. I commented that I thought he could keep his pole going for fifteen hours. That was his other pole, he explained, the fun one. I encouraged him to go back to work, and discovered that it was only his attitude that had grown tired. As long as I distracted him from that, he was able to put in a good day’s work. When we stopped in the evening, Lunari complained about his arm hurting, so I gave it a massage. I pitched my tent and slipped inside to finally change out of my dress, which was only damp by now. Lunari watched my little red dress intently, hoping for a wardrobe malfunction. He offered me a pipe of tobacco, when he and Lunas started smoking, but I told him they should enjoy the tobacco themselves and not waste it on me. Keri didn’t smoke either, stating that his only vice was ale. We talked for a while before I retired. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 20th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Xipil caught fish for breakfast. It was only a couple of hours before we’d reach their boat, according to Lunas, who thought we’d have reached it yesterday, if it hadn’t been for Grogg’s … condition. Grogg felt better today, so he and Keri took the poles while Xipil fished. The lizard man caught an eel and asked me what he should do with it. I told him to release it. The next fish he got was also an eel, which he promptly released, but then he caught a non-snake-like fish. He had just reeled it in and put it away when we caught sight of Magda, Lunas’s boat. It was much smaller than the river boat we took from Sulla to Sam, but then, its only crew was Keri and Lunas himself. While the rest of us “admired” Magda, Lunari spotted a pair of large, predatory eyes on land. Nobody else could see what was hiding in the bushes, but Lunari told Grogg to load his crossbow, just in case. Suddenly, Lunas realized what it must be, and told Grogg and Keri to push us to shore, as fast as possible. “It’s much more dangerous in the water!” he explained hurriedly. We got ashore, and Keri started tying the raft to a bush, but Lunas told us to get away from the water. Something large dove into the river, further up. We spread out among the bushes, between five and ten meters from the water. Keri started loading his crossbow. Lunari threw himself to the ground so he could operate the large crossbow Grogg had loaded for him, watching for the beast to emerge from the river. I calmly put down my backpack, opened it, and retrieved the medicine kit. With practiced hands, I unwrapped the leather roll and took out the vial with my venom. I drew one of my long knives, smeared poison on its tip, and put the blade in my mouth, before drawing the other long knife. Lunas instructed us not to go nearer the water. I was poisoning my other blade when two huge paws seized hold of the raft and pulled it under. Then the beast burst out of the water, holding the raft in front of itself like a shield. It hurled the raft towards Lunari and me, and the elf retreated, but I saw that it would fall short. Grogg attacked with his maul, but the beast evaded the attack. Keri fired, but missed, throwing dwarven curses at the creature instead. I stoppered the poison vial, and slid it into my belt pouch. The beast lashed out with a paw at Grogg, who retreated into a bush and lost his balance. Xipil put an arrow in the beast’s side. Lunas, weaving and dancing in front of the beast, sword in hand, called out for someone to get behind the beast to flank it. Grogg smacked the beast, crippling its foreleg, and Lunas swung his sword, but missed. The beast lunged at Lunas, but Grogg moved between them, powerful teeth sinking into his leg. The beast started dragging Grogg towards the water, but Grogg struck its back with his maul, forcing it to the ground. Keri dropped his crossbow and surged forward. I rushed to the beast’s side and attacked its neck, missing with one blade and failing to penetrate its thick skin with the other. Grogg dropped his club and seized the jaws of the beast to pull them apart. I stuck a poisoned blade into the beast’s left eye, penetrating deep. It was Grogg who brought it down, but I made sure it would never get up again. The troll tore open the maw, releasing his foot. I uttered a prayer of thanks as I studied the beast; it looked like a wolf-and-cat hybrid with lizard-like skin and webbed paws. I licked off the knives and sheathed them. Lunari fired his crossbow at the raft. Grogg drew his hatchet and cut his way into the beast’s chest, extracting the heart. I thought he was going to eat it, but he declared that he was burning the evil. We built a fire and Grogg put the heart there. We left it while it was still burning; the foul stench was unbearable. We boarded Magda, and Lunas suggested that Xipil and Grogg take one shift, and he and Keri the other, so we could travel night and day. This beast wasn’t the only danger in the swamp, so it was wise to keep moving. I sat down to meditate, occasionally spitting droplets of venom into the small glass vial. Grogg and Xipil lay down to rest, so they’d be ready for the second shift. I played moklatar with Lunari the rest of the day. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 16 (2020-03-08)
21st of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I was enjoying my breakfast when Lunas approached me with a serious look on his face. He needed to know if I held loyalties to any of the noble houses. “Of course not,” I responded quickly, eyeing him like I almost took offense at the question. “Why do you ask?” “So that our cooperation will be trouble-free,” he responded. I told him that the Loyalists had most likely killed everyone in a family I cared about, and a partnership with him could give me the opportunity to pay them back. We discussed the King’s illness and lack of an apparent heir. Lunas was concerned for the King and hoped he’d get better soon. Talk drifted to Lunas’s family. I already knew who his father was, of course. Who hasn’t heard about Madan Aldera? It isn’t like in the Prince’s Cities, where they have more noble families than they have subjects. Here in Arland, we only have seven noble families. I’m not closely acquainted with any of them, but everyone knows the names of the family heads. Turns out Lunas has a brother, Mir, and a sister, Isa. Lunari mentioned a group of travelers from the Prince’s Cities, who had left for Guling two or three months ago. Had Lunas heard about them? From Lunari’s tone of voice, it seemed to me that they had vanished, or at least not returned when they were supposed to, and that he had an interest in locating them. Lunas had indeed heard about them, and even knew that they had continued north from Guling, but we had to talk to others in the city to learn more. He hadn’t had anything to do with them. The river forked and rejoined many times during the day, and I was glad to have Lunas and Keri there; without them, we’d have gotten lost for sure. Xipil and Grogg had stayed up last night to handle the boat, and slept through most of the day. Xipil told me he was feeling stressed, and thought it was a consequence of meditating under the stars. He wanted to know if I had noticed anything out of the ordinary while he meditated, which I hadn’t. I gave him a massage to ease his tension. Lunas informed us that the navigation tonight would be difficult, so he’d take another shift along with Keri. I suggested that one of them could go to sleep; they didn’t both have to navigate, surely. It turned out that Lunas was the navigator, and he claimed it didn’t matter if Keri had no sleep tonight. Grogg wasn’t feeling tired, as he had just slept, so he took out his embroidery. I shook my head, brushed my teeth and went to bed. That’s a peculiar hobby for a brutish, clumsy troll. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 22nd of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! We were approaching a village when I woke up this morning. Lunari complained about aches from his hard labor earlier and asked for a massage. I told him to lie down on his stomach. He didn’t see my dress slide up my legs when I straddled him and set to work. I didn’t have time for much before it was time to go ashore, though. The villagers recognized Lunas and helped us moor Magda to the docks. Lunas told us we had to split up for a while, but he’d meet us again in Guling. He told us about a house on the other side of the village where we could get transport. Our motley party drew some looks when we passed through the village. I knocked on the door to the house Lunas had described. A man opened, and I smiled winsomely, making a good first impression that only improved when I explained that Lunas Aldera had sent us. We got invitations for soup while they prepared a cart for us. The village lying off the main trade route, I could see the fellow struggled not to ask how we’d come to be there. He and I had an impromptu competition of who could be the politest. Two farm boys were called in to drive the cart. Lunari wondered what we should do to pass the time, and I requested the violin. I should have known better. His most innocuous lyrics were about him waking up with a woman who was prettier the night before. We stopped outside an inn when it was time to get some food. Only the large, middle-aged woman who ran the place was present. She served our meal, and Lunari decided to pay for dinner for the farm boys, too, who took seats at another table. The proprietress asked if we were staying the night, but we chose to go on. The boys were willing to drive through the night, and anyway, it wasn’t dark yet. The ride was a little bumpy, and I found it difficult to brush my teeth while we were driving. With time and care, however, I got it done. One can’t let a little discomfort get in the way of one’s dental hygiene! O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 16 (2020-03-08)
23rd of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke in the middle of the night, realizing the cart had stopped rumbling. The farm boys were gone, scared away by Xipil’s glowing eyes. He had meditated too long, again. I poked his shoulder and snapped him out of it. Xipil said he needed to get to a chapel, and I told him we’d find one in Guling. Our voices roused Grogg and Lunari, and Lunari got the horses moving again. I went back to sleep. I woke again when the sun came up. Xipil had stayed awake while we were driving, and feared to go to sleep outside holy ground. Finally, Guling appeared ahead of us. I directed Lunari towards the only gate in the city wall, which wasn’t very difficult, for that was where the road lead. Lunari asked everyone to wash themselves and put on clean clothes before we went to the Evening Fort. Going before nobility, we should look our best. The Evening Fort was aptly named, for it lay on a small island just outside the city, and the only access was a land bridge that only appeared at sunset. As it was still early in the day, we had some hours to spend before we had to go down to the seaside. We left the horses and the cart with the guards at the city gate, and proceeded through the city on foot. A smile and some polite words to the guards rewarded me with a promise that they’d take care of the horses and the cart. Although Guling covers less ground than Sam, its population is about the same; people just live closer together, and the buildings are generally taller here. I led the way to the Wheel and Staff Inn, and agreed to come back with Xipil to meet Lunari and Grogg an hour before sunset. Xipil and I trekked back towards the gate, to a chapel I knew near there. We washed thoroughly and entered. This early in the day, we were alone with the snakes. There were several exotic species there, and I sat down with them, full of fascination. Xipil told me about his vision, that someone tried to harm someone else. He claimed it was connected to the Digging Rat, a star sign that only recently became visible in the sky. I informed Xipil that I was going to the park to wash our clothes. If someone entered before I returned, he should show them Your sign, and if necessary, let them know I’d be coming to explain soon. At the park, I did what the locals did, undressing to wash my clothes and Xipil’s cloak. I realized I should have brought something dry to wear on my way back, for I got a few looks, dripping wet as I was. I had washed every item of clothing I owned. I washed again when I returned to the chapel, which I suspected was in fact a temple. Not that the difference mattered when I was with Xipil. I hung all the clothes to dry, and sat down to play with the snakes again, letting Xipil sleep on. Someone did arrive, after a while, a young man and an older woman. As I was kneeling among the snakes and letting them climb all over me, I felt decently covered, but the fellow couldn’t stop staring at me while the two of them spoke their prayers. I don’t even think he registered that there was a sleeping lizard man in the room. They didn’t stay long; the woman dragged him out. Remembering that I needed to make as good an appearance before the nobles as I could, I dressed and went back outside. I located a seller of makeup in the marketplace and provided for his starving children for a month or more, spending the gold coin the boat captain had given me. On my return to the chapel, I just did a quick wash before going inside to wake Xipil. We had to leave now to make our appointment with Lunari and Grogg. Xipil told me he was still concerned about his vision, and I had to admit I hadn’t received inspiration regarding it. We stopped by the market again, so Xipil could buy a piece of thread. He claimed he planned to use it to practice knots. I thought to myself that a thin rope would be more convenient, but the thread only cost him a copper piece, so I figured he could afford a rope as well when he figured it out for himself. We met Lunari and Grogg at the Wheel and Staff. Xipil mentioned something about a box. “What box?” I asked. Lunari said he didn’t want me to know unless I bound myself to helping them. Lunari explained that they had two tasks, one was helping the people at the Evening Fort, and the other was to locate a magic star box; he didn’t know much about the box, but it seemed to me that it was filled with magic power from the stars. None of these tasks seemed to interfere with my duties to You, so I told the others I would help them. The land bridge was still under water when we arrived at the seafront, so I fished out my mirror and set to work with my new makeup kit. I went for a discreet look that accentuated my natural beauty. The moment the sun met the horizon, water fell away, revealing the land bridge, and we started walking. The guards at both ends of the bridge ignored us. Climbing the road up to the plateau of the island, we passed old fortifications, but they had long since fallen into disrepair and were abandoned. On the plateau lay fields and orchards, and a cluster of houses where farmers were enjoying an out-door dinner in the nice weather. We approached the cliff on which the Evening Fort stood. A cat man loped down to meet us, and Lunari asked if he was the fort’s charmer; Lunas had told him about the cat. His name was Nujan, but he called himself charmer, habitual liar and master thief. Lunari showed him the letter he had received from Lunas, inviting him here. Nujan scanned it briefly, then snorted and stuffed it in his pocket. He claimed the Lord wouldn’t have time to see us. There were guards at the gate to the fort, but they ignored us when they saw Nujan was with us, turning to watch the sunset, which was rather beautiful. I saluted the dying day. Nujan recognized the gesture and told me that the people of Kajar, the country where I presumed that he originated, respected “Hasshtar”. Grogg asked Nujan for crow’s toes, but was told to ask someone called Groman Burk, a dwarven scholar who apparently had put his books away after an unfortunate incident. Grogg spotted something strange through his magic ring, which he passed to Lunari, who passed it to Xipil after having a look. Nujan took it from Xipil’s hand and observed Kraa. He suggested that Grogg should have Kraa snoop in Groman’s money. Grogg sent the vermin off with a few words. Nujan pointed at various places, explaining what was where. He told us that over there, on the second floor, we would be staying. If we were allowed. Or we could just take a room. Xipil asked if it wasn’t very easy for thieves to operate here, considering how little the guards paid attention to us. “Why do you think I like it here?” Nujan replied. The cat man climbed quickly to the roof of the hall, and sat down to watch the sunset. It was an impressive feat, and I got the feeling he liked showing off. Lunari called up to Nujan that it was nice meeting him, and we continued inside. Finally, someone challenged our presence. I couldn’t determine if they were servants or artisans, but we explained ourselves, and they told us where we could sit down to wait for Remi, the chief of staff. Remi was a finely dressed sixty-year-old, and brought another high-ranking servant, a woman I put around thirty. Lunari introduced himself and Grogg, for they were the ones who received the letter from Lunas. Although we didn’t have the letter anymore, Remi knew about it, and reasoned that they had to be who they said they were; others wouldn’t know about the letter. Remi wished us all welcome to the Evening Fort, and showed us where we would stay. Food and water would be brought up. Remi told us we could go where we wished on the island, except for the inner courtyard. Xipil asked for someone named Pak, and Remi replied vaguely, finally introducing his companion as Mina. Remi and Mina left us, but three other servants, not so elegantly dressed, appeared soon. Most of the rooms in the guests’ hall were empty. Lunari and Grogg decided to share a bedroom, but Xipil and I got rooms for ourselves. Mine had a huge, canopied bed, making me feel like a princess for staying there. I dropped off my backpack and was about to return to the others when a knock came on the door. It was Xipil, who asked if I wanted to come with him to look for Pak, who according to rumor has a fascination for death, which after all was a topic close to my heart. Going down the stairs, we met three soldiers. The sergeant gave his name as Markus, and wondered what we were doing there. I told him we were on our way to see Pak, but that didn’t satisfy him. I said he had to talk to Lunari about our reason for coming to the Evening Fort, and the man lit up. “Lunari! Is he here?” I gave directions to Lunari’s room, and Markus and his underlings rushed up the stairs. |
Session 16 (2020-03-08)
Outside, Nujan was still on the roof, and Xipil waved at him, so he came down. Xipil asked for directions to Pak’s whereabouts. According to Nujan, he was in the inner part of the fort, and repeated that we shouldn’t go there. The entrance was guarded by a pair of soldiers, and I noticed several symbols above the gate, one of which was Yours. I approached the guards and gave them Your greeting, but they didn’t recognize it, so I just made some small talk.
As Pak was seemingly off-limits, at least for the moment, I returned to Xipil and Nujan, and told my friend that I would like to go to bed. Xipil wanted to look at the stars, and desired my company in case he got another vision. I asked Nujan if there is a chapel of Ashtar on the island. I was sad to hear his negative reply. He respects You, but the others here don’t. Things may have been better before Varja died. Nujan walked away. I thought Varja might be the Lord’s wife, but Nujan didn’t seem willing to speak of her. Xipil sat down to read the stars. After a short while he told me that the Digging Rat was planning something. We should watch out for the plague, he said. I don’t think Your blessing protects me from disease, I thought to myself as we headed for our luxurious beds. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 24th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Mina was waiting in the hall when I left my room this morning, having slept late. Lunari emerged from his room at the same time, and Mina told us breakfast was ready. Xipil and Grogg came after a minute, and we all went to get something to eat. A maid stood ready to serve us when we entered the dining hall. A soldier was just leaving, and mockingly called us early birds on his way out. Lunari retorted something about the soldier being late for assembly. Another soldier entered when we were about to dig in, and I recognized him from last night. Markus sat down to chat with Lunari, and I realized they had been good friends since Markus had been in the company that Lunari and Grogg saved from the orcs that time. Lunari asked if Markus had heard about the expedition from the Prince’s Cities that had come to Guling a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, Markus didn’t know much more about them that Lunas had, and suggested that we ask around town. Lunari tested the waters with Markus to see if he could get us an audience with the nobles here; according to Lunas, Isa would be interested in meeting Grogg. Markus though Xipil would be more intriguing, but Grogg had Kraa make some noise, making Markus see the picture. Isa seems to be interested in the exotics. Markus had no authority to request an audience for us, and said he hoped Lunas returned soon. It shouldn’t take too long, based on what the half-elf had told us before we separated. Xipil asked Markus about Pak, and the sergeant pointed out Pak through the window, a troll lifting crates. Xipil and I hurried outside; Lunari and Grogg followed. Pak seemed depressed and sighed when he asked what we wanted. Xipil told him that Lunas had said we should talk to him. Pak didn’t seem interested in talking, so Xipil and I helped him move his crates. After a while, Pak asked some servants for permission to go to “the village” to fetch some stuff. I understood that to mean the small cluster of houses where the farmers lived. Lunari asked Pak about getting off the island at other times than sunset, but the troll insisted that we shouldn’t try. I decided to find a way to get Pak out of his depression, although I realized that I may not have the necessary skills. We all followed him towards the other side of the island. |
Session 17 (2020-03-15)
24th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
The island was mostly cultivated, but there were some patches of wood here and there, and some shrubs along the edge of the plateau. Xipil asked if I thought there were snakes in the bushes, but I found it unlikely. A blessing if there were, but unlikely. The farmers greeted us when we arrived at the “village”, offering food, but we had just had breakfast, so we declined their offer. Pak stood shyly in the background. Lunari asked what they did for entertainment around here, but the farmers said they had enough to do, indicating the fields around us. With nothing better to do until Lunas arrived, Lunari suggested we help them. The farmers were grateful, and explained that they had been ordered to chop down all those trees, and were any of us familiar with axes? Lunari tried to indicate Pak, but he withdrew from the weapon-like implements. Pak had other responsibilities anyway, so I asked the farmers where his cargo was located, as he didn’t want to interrupt while we were talking. Xipil helped Pak with the smaller sacks, and the two of them returned towards the fort. I borrowed an axe from the farmers, and headed for the trees with Grogg and Lunari. Grogg had his own, troll-sized hatchet, and Lunari wasn’t really into manual labor after all. He decided to whittle a flute instead. Xipil came over after a while, and told me that Pak probably blamed himself for something that happened to Groman, the dwarven scholar. One of the farmers came to tell us it was time to eat, and we all returned with him to the “village”. Over a meal of soup and bread, the farmers asked if we were the extra hands they had been promised. We explained that we weren’t, we were staying at the fort, and only offered to help because we were bored. As soon as we revealed where we were staying, the mood changed. Guests at the fort shouldn’t do farm work! I had to talk them into allowing us to continue chopping trees after we had eaten, although Lunari took the “job” of watching goats, and continued working on his flute. Xipil walked with Grogg and me back to the trees, but soon left to look for Pak, who had said he would come back down from the fort. Xipil couldn’t find him, and came back after a while. Lunari and Nujan strolled over as well, to look at Grogg and me working. Then a farmer arrived to let us know it was time for the evening meal. On the way there, Xipil talked about going to town to visit the chapel, but wasn’t eager to spend the night in town, which he’d have to do, as the land bridge is only open for an hour or so. Nujan and Lunari headed for the fort, hoping for a finer meal there, but the grilled fish and vegetables the farmers served Xipil, Grogg and me were delicious. Lunari and Nujan returned shortly; they must have changed their minds about where to eat. The whole village gathered to socialize, and I noticed Lunari was watching Nujan more than he watched the two farm girls or me. They were both pretty, and I thought they were sisters. The little sister looked to be around fourteen, so I figured she was too young for Lunari, but the big sister was around my age, so I couldn’t fathom why Lunari didn’t make a pass at her. He didn’t make a pass at me either, for which I’m thankful, but his body language has made it clear that it’s only a matter of time. Not now, though. Something about Nujan held his attention. Lunari played the violin, and some of the villagers danced. The young girl watched her big sister dance, and I detected a touch of envy. Since nobody invited either of us to dance, I asked her if she would like a twirl on the green with me. We danced for a while, until Lunari put away the violin and started telling the story of Gromgar. In the middle of the story, Grogg cried out for Kraa with desperation. He declared he was going to the mainland, for that’s where Kraa was. Xipil followed him. The farmers got nervous because of the loud troll, and started to disperse. Lunari and Nujan left, too, but returned before I could decide where to go. Lunari offered me “fun juice”, but I told him I didn’t see the charm in it. Since everyone had left the village green, we headed out, too, towards the fort. Grogg and Xipil turned around once they remembered they could have difficulty getting back over the land bridge, and came to the fort with us. At the fort, Mina told us dinner was ready, and so we wouldn’t seem ungrateful, Lunari, Grogg and I followed her to the dining hall while Xipil watched the sunset. We met him in the hallway afterwards, and he said that Nujan was concerned that something magical in town didn’t glow anymore. As a side note, he added that Markus had gone to town, and didn’t return before the bridge disappeared beneath the waves. Grogg thought that I should look more through his magic ring, so we all went out on a balcony overlooking Guling. Through the ring, I noticed that something was disturbing the shadows around a tower there. This had upset the others to varying degrees, and Nujan was talking to the guards to the inner courtyard. We were too far away to hear what he said, but his arms waved with agitation. Xipil prodded me to ask the guards at the main gate what that tower was. Once I pointed it out, they exclaimed that the tower was supposed to have a light. As long as the light was lit, everything was well in town. The guards were unconvinced of the veracity of their statement, making me think that someone had tried to spread a rumor about the light being a good omen, but with varied success. I returned to the others and relayed the information to them. Lunari yawned and declared he was going to bed. He had worked so hard today, he claimed. I rolled my eyes at his retreating back and thought to myself that it would have been more accurate to assert that he had hardly worked today. Xipil wanted to look at the stars, and Grogg and I joined him going down to the plateau, where he could touch good, safe soil while meditating. Xipil warned me that I should try to say his name before prodding him awake, should I decide it was necessary. Maybe that would pull him back more safely. I sat down to pray beside him, and Grogg got out his sewing kit. Immediately, Xipil told me that star essence coming from the dark tower blocked his view of the stars in the sky. The star essence was starlight without the light, he explained, and he felt as if he was looking for faint lights behind a bright lamp, just without the light, if that made any sense. Through Grogg’s ring, I could see dark tentacles reaching heavenward from the tower. This darkness must be what blocked the heavenly essence from reaching us. Without the ring, the stars were just as visible as always, but there’s something special about Xipil’s meditation, and he wanted to find a spot in the shade from the tower. We tried a few places, but returned to the fort once we realized that nothing else blocked the tower completely from sight. In the courtyard, Nujan was speaking to a servant, and we approached them. Xipil told them that the tower had gathered large amounts of star power, and Nujan told us he’d let Remi know; the chief servant was expected soon. Xipil sat down by the wall to see if it blocked the tower enough for him to get anything useful from the stars. Grogg went to fetch Lunari. This was too dire not to have him with us. When they returned, Grogg was saying something about the Digging Rat doing something in town. Grogg decided to bellow for Kraa again, and everyone turned towards him. Soon after, the door to the inner courtyard opened up. A young girl stomped her foot and made it clear to the guards that she was going out, their orders be damned. When she came closer, I could see that she was an elf, so even if she didn’t look much older than the young human girl in the village, I guessed she was in her thirties. She was beautiful. |
Session 17 (2020-03-15)
The girl approached Grogg, curtsied and called him Master Troll. Grogg said “Kraa”, and Kraa responded from his shoulder. Grogg remembered that he had sent Kraa to see Lady Isa, and she had clearly followed when the spirit raven returned to him. Xipil asked her to confirm her identity, and she nodded.
Kraa took off, and Lady Isa followed, so the rest of us dashed after them. Suddenly, Lady Isa burst out, “Oh, no! Oh no! This is bad. I need to find Daddy!” She ran back to the inner courtyard without giving us an explanation. The guards at the gate stopped Xipil from following. They thought he had scared her away, and took a dim view of that, blowing a whistle to summon reinforcements. Our party gathered at the foot of the steps up to the inner courtyard, and one of the guards said that we should go to our rooms. I thought that was a good idea, figuring we could clear things up in the morning. I wasn’t as attached to the stars as Xipil and Lunari, and it didn’t really concern me that someone on the mainland was messing with them. Grogg wasn’t as diplomatically inclined as me, but refrained from doing anything stupid, aside from refusing to go to bed. Xipil insisted that we should go to the balcony by the main gate. I guessed he wanted to keep an eye on the dark tower. Thinking that splitting the party would be a bad idea, I followed when the other three headed that way. Two guards came after us, and three were there already, making for an awkward mood with their glares. Nujan and Remi came running and asked if there was a physician among us. As I have some skills in that regard, I stepped forward, asking if I should fetch my equipment. They wanted me to come at once, so I had to send Xipil to get my things. Luckily, I’m always prepared to move out, so everything was stored in my backpack, even my knives, but I didn’t think I’d need them for this. Grogg gave me his magic needle, the one with healing powers, purportedly. The guards let Remi and me through to the inner courtyard, but Remi told Nujan firmly to remain on the outside. As we crossed the courtyard, I could hear a man scream in agony. Remi led me to a fancy boudoir where Lady Isa was kneeling in prayer before the massive bed. The man writhing in pain was presumably her father, Lord Madan Aldera, although he was a half-elf, and she pureblood. I didn’t have time to ponder that conundrum at the moment. I asked Lady Isa how long her father had been like this, and she told me it started just now. She mumbled something I didn’t understand, and then the door opened to reveal Xipil and a guard, and my backpack. I retrieved my medicine kit, trying not to let the screams get to me. The lord’s voice was twisted; it seemed like two men were screaming on top of one another. Examining the patient, I realized there was little I could do. I could end his pain by sending him to You, but I didn’t think Lady Isa or the guards would appreciate that. I sat down to pray, and Xipil joined me. Xipil noticed a hostile presence, coming in the windows to possess Lord Madan. He hurriedly closed the windows and the drapes, but the enemy kept coming. I told Remi and the guards outside that we needed to move Lord Madan to the cellar. One of the guards dashed off to get a litter. I asked Xipil if he thought Grogg’s needle would help. He was doubtful; the needle hadn’t saved Kraa. I stuck the needle in Lord Madan’s arm anyway. One of the voices fell silent, but the twisted one continued screaming. I removed the needle, reasoning that the nobleman needed to remain awake to fight the intruder, however much it pained him. Guards entered with a litter and we moved the patient. In the cellar, Remi led the way to a long, narrow staircase going further down. We emerged in a small dungeon. Four prison cells lined the hallway, but we entered the room at the end, which I thought was once a torture chamber, although the room held none of the instruments associated with it. The guards put the litter on a large table. A small hole in the wall, near the ceiling, let in starlight through a long shaft. We plugged it with sacks as best we could. Poor Lady Isa was on the breaking point, but I told her she needed to be brave, and help me watch for the intruder. The sacks weren’t enough, but I recalled that Nujan was an adroit climber, so I asked Remi to send instructions to him to climb outside the fort, locate the other end of the shaft, and seal it with something. We heard knocking inside one of the prison cells, and an orc eye peered out through the small hatch in the door. The guards closed the hatch forcefully. Not knowing what else to do, I sent Xipil for some handfuls of clean earth, and had Remi send along a servant so the lizard man wouldn’t be stopped from reentering the inner courtyard. My mundane medicine was unlikely to help, but I needed to do something. I sat down to pray while I waited. An out-of-breath soldier arrived at the door, and he came inside to bow to Lady Isa, who ignored him. The soldier tried telling her that they needed the boat, but the noblewoman didn’t reply. I threw him out, saying that we couldn’t have people in the sickroom who had no business being there. Lunari, Grogg, Nujan and Xipil arrived a couple of minutes later. I got the earth from Xipil and spat on it, setting to work on the patient while asking why the others had come. They were there to seal the shaft, and I noticed Grogg was carrying planks. Nujan removed the sacks, and Lunari, sitting on Grogg’s shoulders to reach the hole, shaped the planks into seals with his plant magic. When Lunari finished, I thought Lord Madan’s screaming worsened. His daughter ran to his side to study him. Grogg looked at the patient through his ring, and I asked to have a look. I didn’t see anything I could do anything about, so I resumed the massage. My jaw dropped when Grogg licked Lord Madan’s face. Lady Isa grabbed Xipil and said it was too late. “Tusa is back,” she cried, pointing at her father. Xipil asked who Tusa was, and only got in reply that Tusa killed her mother. Lady Isa was sad and scared, so I hugged her, stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. Lunari asked Nujan about Tusa, which seemed to frighten Lady Isa even more, so I ordered them out, but Grogg interrupted. “Someone’s throwing magic at him,” the troll asserted, “so why are we sitting here?” I asked if he was suggesting a raid, still stroking Lady Isa’s hair and depositing soil in it. “It’s too late,” she whispered, too low to be heard by anyone else. Again, I instructed the others to go outside. Again, they ignored me. Grogg asked Kraa to show him where Tusa was. The spirit raven landed on the patient, but then something seemed so smack it away. We all heard the invisible raven crash into the wall. Grogg ran over and picked it up, and asked me for his needle. Then they left. Lunari returned a minute or so later, once they had come to a decision. They were going to the mainland to raid the dark tower. I explained to Lady Isa, and said that I would be going with the others. She didn’t want to be left behind “alone” on the island, and determined to come along. I strapped my knife belt around my waist, and slipped my poison vials into my pouch, but left my other equipment in the backpack. Foreseeing the need to swim over the strait, I didn’t want to carry more than was absolutely necessary. Lady Isa showed Xipil, Grogg, Lunari, Nujan and me the way to a dark corridor. The others realized they needed to arm themselves, and left Lady Isa and me there with Kraa in the noblewoman’s arms. Singing elven lullabies to the sleeping spirit raven seemed to soothe her. The others returned shortly, and we traversed the dark corridor, at the end of which, Lady Isa unlocked a door, revealing a cavern with a rowboat that was barely large enough for all of us. Xipil and Grogg took the oars. Once we rounded the island, we could see fires in Guling. Two of the three ships at the harbor were ablaze, and flaring patches of yellow and red shone from several places among the buildings. Lunari thought that the Loyalists were behind the fires and the mystical attack on Lord Madan. Xipil asked me to prepare his knives, handing me a poison vial. I sniffed the fluid with interest, but didn’t recognize it. Lunari thought we should assassinate the Loyalist leaders, and Xipil asked if I was able to climb the dark tower. The twenty-meter-tall building had an overhang, being wider at the top, so I thought it would be difficult unless we could get a rope up there. The seafront buzzed with activity. Citizens filled their buckets to fight the fires, and the third ship was casting off. Someone pushed a swordsman off the ship, and Lunari noticed that he wore the uniform of the city guard. It seemed mercenaries were making a run for it. Probably the arsonists. They didn’t seem very familiar with the ship, and Lunari asked Nujan if he’d get in trouble for sinking it. Guards on the docks demanded that the mercenaries come back, and Nujan said he didn’t think so. Grogg and Xipil changed course, and we overtook the ship in short order. Lunari waved his hands over the stern, causing the rudder to fall off, and a large hole to appear in the hull. We headed for the dark tower, unseen by the mercenaries who fled the sinking ship in a panic. |
Session 17 (2020-03-15)
The Loyalist quarter stood outside the city walls, and had its own docks. On the pier stood two men wearing the uniforms of the city guards. Nujan informed us that this was odd, for the Loyalists handled their own security; the city guards had no business being there. Something was wrong. Xipil slid into the water, swimming under their pier to listen. He returned, saying that these men seemed like genuine city guards, so we rowed closer, allowing them to spot us. They pointed crossbows at us and told us to stop. We let Nujan ashore so he could identify us as friendlies, but he disappeared into the darkness.
I told Grogg to call out to the guards that we were surrendering, but he refused, so Lunari did it instead. The guards told us to light a lantern and approach. We had no light source, we told them, but rowed closer. The guards were tense, but then Nujan arrived with Sergeant Markus, who vouched for us. I told Markus we had come because they seemed to need help, and he explained what was going on. Markus had rallied city guards when he discovered foul play, and had assaulted the tower. While they had fought their way inside and taken control of most of the ground floor, the defense was too tight for them to continue the assault up the stairs. Some city guards still held the front door, and controlled the two adjoining buildings. Other guards had barricaded the streets leading to the tower. This part of the city seemed deserted except for city guards hiding behind cover from archers and crossbowmen in the tower. Lady Isa saw more with her mystical sight. Witnessing “souls without a home” at the dark tower, she wailed and sank deeper into despair. She held out her hands and sent Kraa to hide, whereupon the spirit raven sought refuge inside Grogg. Xipil said we needed to take the tower, as soon as possible. Nujan and Xipil planned to enter stealthily through one of the high windows, hoping a frontal assault from the city guards, now reinforced by Grogg and me, could draw attention while they climbed. An ambush from above would hopefully overcome the defenses. The two of them took a trip around the tower to scout where they best could climb it. Lunari asked Lady Isa to remain with him while the rest of us attacked; we wouldn’t want her to get hurt. Lost in thoughts, she paid him no attention at all, so I had to make contact before I could repeat Lunari’s words and convince her to wait outside until we had control inside. Several lanterns hung about the tower, lighting up its exterior. The climbers requested that the city guards shoot them out, so they wouldn’t be seen scaling the building. An exchange of bolts and arrows ensued, as the defenders responded when our team started shooting. A city guard staggered inside the building where our party had taken cover, a crossbow bolt through his limp arm. I set to work. I removed the bolt, bandaged the wounds and massaged the arm back to a usable condition. The guard returned to his position outside. “I’m gonna get that …” The guard’s expletive drowned when a nearby window shattered. Nujan and Xipil left once the spilled oil from the broken lanterns had burned out, and I prepared my knives with poison, ritually biting each blade before returning it to its sheath. Lunari cast a haste spell on Grogg, and the troll charged the tower. Four city guards and I followed as fast as we could. The guards wore armor and carried shields, so I made sure to stay hidden behind them as arrows and bolts pelted us from the tower. Grogg had removed a door from another house, and used that for a shield. Inside the tower, stone stairs led to a walled balcony, and on that balcony stood the defenders, shooting down. Grogg held his door above him as he made for the stairs. City guards emerged from the two adjoining buildings and aimed their crossbows at the defenders above. One of the guards in front of me went down. A body tumbled over the railing above when our crossbowmen returned fire. I aimed at one of the elven archers above us, who aimed back. The shield bearer in front of me fell to his arrow, and I hurled my knife at the archer, planting it in his throat. The other archer fired at Grogg, but he dodged. I drew another throwing knife and dashed after Grogg, who had reached the top of the stairs and was chasing the archer. Grogg threw the door at the archer, but it fell short, crashing to the floor below. The elf returned the favor; his arrow missed, too. The two guards remaining from those I had entered with, rushed up the stairs, and I followed. The remaining defenders upstairs had retreated up a ladder and through a hatch in the ceiling, leaving the elven archer alone with Grogg. The massive troll crashed into the puny elf, somehow managing to slam him over the railing. If there was life left in him after the seven-meter fall, our crossbowmen downstairs would deal with him once they reloaded. The hatch in the ceiling was about three meters above the balcony floor, but that was no hindrance for Grogg, who nearly scraped the ceiling with the top of his head. He punched the hatch, and on the second attempt, it blew off its hinges. The enemy stood ready above, and rained arrows and bolt at him. Grogg dodged heroically, but one arrow struck his skull, and he fell to the floor. I reached the top of the stairs, having passed the slower guards, and saw that Lady Isa was making her way up. I picked up my knife from the archer’s throat and sheathed it. Grogg started to rise, but got a bolt through his thigh. An arrow also struck the shield of one of the guards. Grogg stuck his hand up through the hatch, grabbing a leg. Two melee fighters took the place of the crossbowmen above us while they reloaded, and tried to help the archer Grogg had grabbed. Suddenly, a dense fog appeared, covering the hatch and the swordsman I was aiming at. Grogg tried to pull down the archer, but his friends must have been holding on tight, for that elf shouldn’t be able to win a tug-of-war with an angry troll. Grogg yanked again, and the elf slammed into the floor in front of me. I drew a long knife. A ball of lightning appeared in the air between the elf and Grogg, and a bolt struck out at the troll. I could hear a commotion above me, it sounded like they were covering the hole with something heavy. I kicked at the elf, but missed. The lightning ball increased in size and fried Grogg again. Grogg smacked the elf into the ceiling and back into the floor. I drew my throwing knife again and whipped it at the prone enemy in a single motion, striking his throat and making him finally lose consciousness. Maybe some poison was left on the blade. |
Session 17 (2020-03-15)
Glass shattered above us as the crossbowmen on the streets prepared Xipil and Nujan’s entry. I retrieved my knife and moved to stop Lady Isa from coming too close to the danger zone around the lightning ball. She yelled at me to let her pass, and even though I was making myself big, I made no effort to grab her when she ducked under my arm. Instead, I called to the soldiers in the stairs to get the door that Grogg had thrown down; he might need it again.
Taking advantage of the short lull in the fighting, I poisoned my throwing knife again. Lady Isa cast a spell that made the lightning ball vanish. Sergeant Markus was suddenly by my side, and asked if I had heard glass break above. I nodded as I bit my throwing knife, and he said we had to go up to help Xipil and Nujan. I nodded again. Lady Isa made the fog vanish, and Grogg set to work with his hatchet. Soon, crossbow bolts tumbled down through the hole he made in the box the defenders had placed above the hole. Lady Isa summoned a lightning ball of her own, but I thought it looked unstable. More commotion ensued above; someone was shouting, “Are they in here? Did it come from outside?” I stood ready with two poisoned throwing knives when the box collapsed and fell down the hole. An enemy must have leaned on it, for he came crashing down, too. I planted a knife in the throat of a swordsman above; we had swordsmen of our own to take care of the foe at my feet, Markus among them. We also had two crossbowmen, and two of them fired up, felling another enemy. Lady Isa enhanced her lightning ball behind Grogg’s back. I hoped he didn’t see it, for he’s abnormally afraid of lightning. I drew a melee blade and asked Grogg for a boost. Grogg lifted me up easily, but the enemy was waiting, and I had to dodge a sword-cut. Nujan was in the room, as were a crossbowman without a loaded weapon and two swordsmen. Nujan slammed into the crossbowman, who fell to the ground. I threw my knife at the back of one foe, and stabbed at the swordsman, but missed with both attempts. Markus appeared, followed by Grogg. I dodged another sword blow and drew another melee knife, going after the crossbowman, who was getting back on his feet. Both my blades darted for his neck, but missed; one of them twisted in my hand. Markus landed a blow on him, though, but he kept rising, swinging his knife wildly at Nujan who had no trouble dodging. A swordsman also attacked Nujan, but the cat man’s shield took the blow. Xipil was standing above a hatch in the ceiling, and calmly felled one of the swordsmen, who had no idea he was there. Nujan cut at the knife-wielder with his sword, but the man parried. I plunged my poisoned blade through the neck of the last swordsman, and he dropped dead to the floor. Grogg took out the knifeman with a thrown hatchet. I retrieved my throwing knives and shared the last drops of my holy venom between them and my used long knife. Xipil told us that there were more enemies above. Nujan asked everyone to be silent. I imagined I could hear the flapping of bat wings. We climbed up two ladders, to a room where it was completely dark, but Xipil brought a lantern he had found. Bats swarmed Grogg, who ran into the wall to squash them. Markus struck out with his shield at the bats. I stood ready to cut at approaching bats, but I wasn’t eager to strike with poisoned blades near the heavily wounded Grogg. Another swarm surged down on me, and I cut some of them before one managed to bite my arm. I could hear more flapping above, even through the din around my head. Grogg and I both dispersed our swarms in time to see another flock go for Markus, who cleared them away with the help from two city guards. Lady Isa had also climbed the ladders, with a ball lightning in front of her. I sheathed a melee blade and drew a throwing knife instead, so I’d be ready for an opponent at any range, before getting another boost from Grogg. It was dark up here, too, but I could make out that it seemed like an office. Markus followed, and Xipil with a lantern. At the edge of the chamber was a zone that even the lantern couldn’t light up. Xipil put the lantern on the floor and the three of us approached the darkness cautiously. Suddenly, Markus and Xipil turned around and jumped down the hole, leaving me alone, just as I was calling for Lady Isa to bring her lightning ball. The noblewoman swore loudly in Lithin when she saw the spells in the room. Maybe loudly enough for Lunari to hear, outside. Lady Isa whispered that there was evil magic here. Nujan had followed her up, but turned around, succumbing to the fear spell. I put my head into the darkness, thinking maybe it was a barrier, and that I could see fine behind it. I was wrong, so I pulled out quickly, but then I felt the air vanish around me, making it impossible to breathe. I staggered back towards Lady Isa, and could suddenly breathe again. Lady Isa approached the darkness and stuck the lightning ball inside. I identified the border of the zone with difficult breathing, and noticed that Lady Isa stood inside it, but she seemed unaffected. I put away my melee blade, and stood ready to grab her if she should falter. Which she did. I pulled her away, just in time before her lightning ball exploded. Sergeant Markus came upstairs again and helped me lower her down to the below floor. I asked to borrow the sergeant’s sword so I could poke around in the darkness. Xipil called out instructions to Lunari to get the city guards to shoot out the windows on the top floor. Seconds later, glass broke above me, and Grogg came up to join Markus and me. The fear spell seemed to have disappeared, and so did the darkness spell, revealing another ladder. I had Grogg smash the hatch covering the hole in the ceiling. The light from the top floor was blazingly bright. Just looking in the direction of the broken hatch was uncomfortable. I started cutting strips of cloth from a bed to make protection from the light, but my eyes seemed to get used to the glare, so I asked Grogg for a boost, knives ready for whatever might meet me. A person with fine, white clothes lay on the floor, dead, and I thought he might have been killed by Lady Isa’s exploding lightning ball, but when I examined him, he had no visible wounds. Come to think of it, he had been on the other side of the hatch from the explosion. The light source was a box, too bright to look at directly, but Nujan found a larger box that Xipil and I could put it inside, thereby shutting away the blaze. A magical rope lay along the circumference of the room, having blocked the light from being seen from outside the tower. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
24th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
The dead elf on the floor had blood on his hands, but it was not his own. Xipil licked the blood to taste it, and said it hailed from an elf-like being, spilled a while ago. I suspected the blazing box of being the box Lunari and the others had talked about recovering. In that case, the blood may have come from one of the missing expedition members from the Prince’s Cities. Xipil made a cut in the corpse’s wrist to taste his blood, too. Lunari climbed up and wanted me to give first aid to Grogg, so I returned to the room below. My medicine kit was still in the Evening Fort, so I looked about for something to cut into bandages. Ah! Those bedsheets looked clean enough. I borrowed Nujan’s knife to shred the sheets; mine were still tipped with poison, not something I would want to introduce accidentally to an open wound. Grogg wasn’t the only one in need of care. There were two wounded city guards up here as well, but I learned that their companions on the lower floors had been brought outside for treatment. I finished the rounds by wrapping some bandages around my own arm. I had been wounded by those magical bats, but even though the scratch was superficial, I thought it best to cover the wound. Through the hatch in the ceiling, I could hear that Lunari and Xipil were discussing the mercenaries we had chased ashore by sinking their ship an hour or so ago. Xipil maintained that we had to find and arrest them, but Lunari didn’t believe they were important. Let the city guards deal with them, was his opinion. Lady Isa had come to, and climbed up to the top floor, and I followed her. The noblewoman was overwhelmed by all the magic up there, and said we mustn’t touch the rope, lest the dead outside come in. She pointed out the window. The rope lay along the walls of the single room up here, but there was some space between it and the walls, where I noticed someone had scattered small ceramic tokens, about forty in total. Lady Isa picked up one and explained that the souls had been transported in them. I offered to find a priest to exorcise the evil spirits. Lady Isa spat on the elf corpse, and I asked if she knew him. She didn’t, not personally, but knew that he was a hired mage. Xipil, who had tasted his blood, grimaced. Evil lingered there. Lady Isa looked pensive, but made no comment about it. Instead, she expressed a desire to return to the fort. Since I didn’t feel we were quite finished here, yet, I asked her to watch over Kraa and Grogg. I mentioned to Sergeant Markus that I was going to find a priest, and he told me to go to the shrine of Azura. I looked questioningly at him, and he explained that he had met an elderly, but still pretty, human woman with a dark purple dress there, before the chaos erupted. She had told him to go to this tower and stop what was happening, and for some reason, he had trusted her completely. From her dialect, he thought she was a noble from the Prince’s Cities. Xipil was still hung up about the mercenaries and revealed to Sergeant Markus that we had sunk the ship. He groaned, not wanting to hear such admissions. Xipil asked if he wanted to go hunting mercenaries with us, but Lunari interrupted that we had to go to the Rama temple instead. I had more confidence in Your priests, and Markus left us to discuss amongst ourselves, to see if he could find the mercenaries. After coming to the conclusion that we’d never agree on which priesthood would be best suited to exorcise the evil spirits, we split up. Lunari and Nujan went to the Rama temple, and Xipil and I took off for Your temple. On our way across Guling, we saw several burned houses, and a sudden downpour broke over us. The rain would be good, considering the risk of fires spreading, but rain during a month of the sun god Mitra was a bad omen. It usually heralded the death of someone important, and I feared the king had drawn his last breath. At the temple, which I called “chapel” where anyone could overhear, Xipil and I met a man and a woman. They were dressed as mercenaries and had been fighting; the man had bandages on his arm and the woman was wiping blood off their weapons. I gave them Your greeting, and the man responded in kind. I introduced myself and asked who they were. The man revealed they were on a quest, so he couldn’t share any more. I placed his dialect from Furkan’s land. Not locals, they couldn’t help me locate a priest. Xipil had already sat down to pray, and I joined him. The mercenaries skulked away in the night. While praying, I got the sensation that the spirits had been stolen away from You, preventing them from finding the eternal rest. I didn’t know what to do about it, but a hunch made me delve into Your domain; I told Xipil to remain with the snakes, and not try to follow. I found nothing, and returned to the land of the living, doing the appropriate rites and prayers on my return. A sense of relief settled over me, and I realized that You weren’t offended by my short visit. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
Xipil and I took off, sneaking across town again, towards Azura’s shrine. We discussed rank in the cult, and Xipil mentioned Baldrian. I told him Baldrian was very low-ranking, although I had to concede that Xipil’s rank was even lower.
Not far from the shrine, we passed a group of city guards who were besieging a shop. There had been an exchange of arrows and bolts, but things were quiet when we got there. Xipil asked me if we should offer our assistance. Sergeant Markus wasn’t there, though, so I figured the guards would get the reinforcements they needed soon. We snuck by without letting anyone see us; Xipil is quite remarkable, being an exotic lizard man. Azura’s shrine had been torched, but the simple building was made of stone, and stood still. There was no sign of anyone in the vicinity, though, so I went back to the city guards and asked if they had seen the lady in purple. They were startled by my sudden appearance, and asked me politely but insistently to stay away from this area. They hadn’t seen any ladies, purple-clothed or otherwise. Xipil told me the Digging Rat was retreating when I got back to the shrine. I remembered that I knew where the temple’s caretaker lived; she would know where to find the local priests. I had to knock a few times on her door before she opened, even though I could tell she had been awake already. I told her I needed a priest, immediately, and she pulled on a cloak and stepped into the rain. Xipil gave her a fright, but I told her he was one of us, and they greeted each other with Your sign. We entered an apartment building, and knocked on one of the doors inside. An elderly woman opened the door, and the caretaker apologized profusely about disturbing her at this time of night. The priestess beckoned us to enter, and we said thank you and goodbye to our guide. I explained the situation with the spirits and asked the priestess what she could do about them. She muttered to herself and dug up a small bottle of poison. She said this wouldn’t be enough, so I showed her what I had in my pouch. The belladonna was of little interest, and the vial I had used to store my own venom was empty, but she identified the third poison I had, the one I got from the unnamed woman in the swamp. She explained that this poison would prevent someone who died from lingering on in this world. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t help for someone who was already dead, like the spirits flocking around the tower. The bottle she gave me contained a substance that would let my weapons harm the spirits, but she repeated that it wouldn’t be enough for forty of them. She recommended that we should stay away from the spirits and make sure that the authorities blocked off the area. We thanked her for her help, and returned to the tower. On the way there, we ran into Nujan, who brought us the rest of the way back. There were three priests of Rama mucking about doing their thing, which currently consisted of whipping one of their own, occasionally glaring at Lady Isa and Grogg. I failed to see how any of that would resolve the spirit situation. Lady Isa had no respect for them either, and had even had some kind of confrontation with them. I told Lady Isa that I had a vial of poison that would let my weapons affect the spirits. This upset her; I don’t think she realized that I was talking about the evil spirits surrounding the tower. She begged me not to become a spirit slayer. I told her I thought we might try to combine my poison with her magical explosion to take care of the evil spirits. She laughed and said it would be fun to try, but we agreed to follow Your priestess’s advice and leave. Lady Isa thought that someone called Tivito was behind the mystical attack. Tivito seemed to be a group of Loyalists who had succeeded in making into law that they had to be called in to deal with possessions. Lady Isa was convinced they stood behind the possessions in the first place. We rowed back to the cave under the fort, and Lady Isa explained that there lay a spell over the island that prevented people from docking elsewhere. The trip back was miserable because of the rain, but I sat next to the noblewoman and held my cloak over the two of us as best I could. Lunari suggested that we should check how Lord Madan was doing, causing his daughter to break into tears again. I lead the way through the dark passage from the cave, and we alighted in the inner courtyard. Lunari told the guards there we needed a safe place below ground to store a jar full of evil. The best place would be the cells, but we didn’t want to place the jar near the sick lord, so the guards sent for Remi so we could see about moving the patient. I got the chief servant alone and whispered that someone should escort Lady Isa to her bedroom, as she was overtired. The child-like noblewoman overheard my words and stomped her foot in denial. I managed to convince her eventually, and we got her off to bed. We put the jar in a cell, once Lord Madan was removed from the dungeon. Remi told us that it was too late for the lord, and that we had to keep our mouths shut about it. He feared Tivito, too. The guard who followed us down to the dungeon admonished Xipil when he tried speaking to the orc in one of the other cells. The guards weren’t allowed to talk to him, so neither should we. Once we exited the inner courtyard, the guards noticed that Nujan had disappeared. He should never have been allowed inside, they muttered, ringing the alarm bell. Xipil went out into the rain to meditate, but Lunari, Grogg and I returned to our rooms. It was late at night, but I couldn’t go to bed before I had restored my poison glands, so I sat down on the bed to meditate. I took a break to brush my teeth when the sun rose, before returning to my rituals. I had to improvise because my toothbrush was in my backpack, which I had forgotten in the dungeon. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
25th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The day had come, and I didn’t feel like going to bed. I went downstairs for breakfast instead. Xipil was there, but the others were sleeping late, I presumed. I asked a maid how Lord Madan was doing. She claimed he was just fine. Xipil asked about Lady Isa, and got a rote reply about the whole family being well. The maid was able to tell us that the guards had found Nujan at last, just an hour ago. She thought they had locked him up. Xipil asked if she could procure a map for us, to which she giggled and told him to talk to Groman. Xipil was very talkative this morning. He wanted to know what we were going to do once Grogg and Lunari got up. I yawned and said I didn’t know. After the meal, Xipil went for a walk outside. I remained in the dining hall, forcing myself to remain awake while waiting for Grogg and Lunari. Lunari arrived around noon, just as large bells in town started tolling. The servants explained that the bells meant there was an announcement from the city council. Grogg came down after having had a bath, and Xipil returned to join us for lunch. Lunari mentioned teaching Pak to play the flute, but Xipil said he was in the inner courtyard, out of bounds for us. The others left again after the meal, but I asked the servants for pen and paper. I wrote a note to Remi, asking for my belongings from the dungeon, and left it with the servants. I was embarrassed when I came up to my room, where my backpack stood waiting. I sat down on the side of the bed to rest my eyes for a minute, but Xipil knocked on the door. He asked if I wanted to come and test the magic lamp we had found in the tower. I vaguely remembered that something had given off a red light in the top room of the tower, but with everything that had been going on, I hadn’t paid much attention to a seemingly unimportant lamp. Lunari was waiting for us in a ruined tower on the other side of the island, playing his new flute. I thought he was playing very well, and he seemed completely enraptured with the experience. The lamp had been shining blue when Xipil and I arrived, but it changed color to red once we got within fifteen meters of it. Xipil had me touch the lamp, and then it turned blue again. Evidently, it shines red if someone unknown to the lamp comes too close, and blue otherwise. Lunari “borrowed” a hen in the village and discovered that the lamp didn’t react to animals. We returned to the fort, to Lunari and Grogg’s room, where the troll was sleeping with the magic needle in his neck. There was that magic box, lined with fine cloth and too small to hold the star box, that Lunari wanted to test next. He opened it, and a swarm of bats erupted from it, flying up to the ceiling. We went outside and closed the door, but remembered that Grogg wouldn’t be safe if the bats decided to attack, so we went inside again, just as the bats were stooping down on the sleeping troll. Lunari hurriedly removed the needle, and Grogg bounced out of bed in a panic, nearly trampling Lunari while running around waving his arms at the bats. I nearly bent over double, laughing at the spectacle. The swarm disappeared once Grogg had smacked enough of the bats. Lunari cheered with the discovery of the box’s powers. Grogg wanted to go back to bed with the needle, but Lunari convinced him to play the flute instead. He was actually good, and Lunari joined him with his violin. Xipil and I danced, enjoying the festive mood. Lunari suggested that we take the party to the village, but a maid waited outside the door; she hadn’t wanted to interrupt, seeing the sock on the door handle. Remi wanted to see us. We met the chief servant in the dining hall, and received a formal invitation to join the nobles for dinner in an hour. We accepted, of course. I went upstairs again to put on my makeup, delayed slightly to explain to Xipil that we couldn’t go to dinner naked. Remi escorted us into the inner courtyard, to another dining hall, where servants waited with bowls of rose-scented water to wash our hands. We rose when the nobles arrived. Remi pushed Lord Madan in a chair with wheels, followed by Lady Isa and Lord Mir. Lord Madan had looked fine, yesterday, except for being in excruciating pain, but now he looked like a man who had been sick for a decade, dazed like his mind wasn’t there. Pak, Groman and Nujan entered through another door, and we all sat down at the table. I cast my eyes around the table. Lord Mir seemed pretty normal, but Lady Isa looked embarrassed for some reason. Groman was grumpy and Pak was sad as usual, but Nujan grinned. Remi wished us all welcome on behalf of Lord Madan, and thanked us for what we did yesterday. Then servants arrived with food, wine and a fine dish with meat I didn’t recognize. The trolls got milk as well, and double-sized helpings. Remi had to feed the lord. Lady Isa talked baby language to Kraa for some reason, but the rest of us sat in awkward silence. I studied Lord Mir. He was a half-elf, and well-behaved, but took his meal in silence. Groman, the only one who had ale, belched loudly to announce that he wanted more, and a servant complied. The second dish was also a meat dish, and I noticed that some extra pieces found their way from Xipil’s plate to mine. He’s a vegetarian, and only ate the fruit mix stuffing from inside the chickens. The third dish was a small meat pie, some cheese and sausages, all glazed in honey sauce. Groman belched again, having drained his tankard. Lunari, seated across from me, was getting a bit tipsy; he was really enjoying the expensive wine. Once the servants cleared away Groman’s plate, he stood with a bang, but seated himself again when Remi clinked on Lord Madan’s glass with a spoon. His speech oozed of falsehood, stuffed with assurances that everything was fine with the Aldera family. Lady Isa shook her head through the whole séance, but Lord Mir was unaffected, almost like a doll, I thought. Remi finished by saying that those who wished to mingle, could do so in the lounge upstairs. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
Only our party and Nujan went upstairs. Xipil tried to get Pak to come, but Groman dragged him away. The two noblemen arrived after a while, but Lady Isa had remained downstairs, so Xipil went to talk to her there. I tried to engage Lord Mir in conversation, and it eventually became clear that he was an impostor who had practiced some platitudes and common answers. He was relieved when the servants rolled Lord Madan out, and he could follow.
Lady Isa and Xipil came up almost as soon as they were gone. Lady Isa threw herself down on one of the divans and blew a relieved breath. Lunari tried to get her to join him and Grogg for a smoke, but she said she preferred drink, and produced a bottle of rose wine. Xipil was admiring the books that stood on the shelves here, and I went over and asked him in a whisper if he had gotten any information out of Lady Isa. He said she had told him Mir wasn’t Mir, and Xipil thought he might be an illusionary construct. I didn’t think so, for I had seen the relief on his face when he could escape my interrogation. I thought it more likely that he had been placed here to pose as the real Mir, so the outside world would think that he was here. I joined Lady Isa and Lunari at a table where they were playing some kind of game. I thought it was good for her to relax a little. She’s too young to have the responsibility of the family on her shoulders, but she has to bear it, with the state that her father is in, and her brothers being away. Xipil asked her if there are any stone circles nearby. She thought it was a strange question, and didn’t seem interested in talking about them until we revealed that Lunari and Xipil had seen the priests there at night. Then she wanted to come along with us to have a look for herself. We made no promises. Grogg took over Lunari’s pieces when their game ended. Kraa helped him, but Lady Isa still trounced the troll. A flutist came to entertain us with some music, and Lunari asked if I would dance with him, but I declined. I didn’t like the way he looked at me. Lady Isa danced with Xipil, and on Lunari’s request, the lizard man took off his cloak and showed us a traditional dance from his homeland. Lunari tried to replicate the moves, but it was difficult without a tail. Lady Isa wanted to go to the land bridge to see if someone came over from the city. I went with her to her room; she wanted my help to get out of the fancy dress she was wearing, and into something more practical. We gathered up the others in the lounge before venturing outside. A maid followed Lady Isa, holding an umbrella over her. The lady grabbed the umbrella and sent the maid away, before offering the umbrella to me. She claimed she would like to get wet, as she usually isn’t allowed. Xipil and Lady Isa talked about the stars. I saluted the dying day, and then the land bridge emerged. Two figures started towards us from the other side. When they got closer, we saw their Aldera uniforms, but none of them were Markus. Lady Isa said she longed for Lunas to return, and Lunari wondered if he had time to run over to buy wine, and dashed off. The soldiers told us that Markus had been chosen as leader for the city, and went on their way towards the fort. My mind was drifting, and I longed for my bed. I didn’t catch the beginning of the conversation, but Lady Isa asked me if there really were women in Sam who wore that short dresses. She held her hand to her upper thigh to demonstrate. I told her that certain women of loose morals occasionally wore dresses that short. “Do you have any dresses that short?” she continued relentlessly. I told her I had this one, which bared my arms, but little else, and a shorter one. I was not about to admit to her that I owned something as indecent as that. Grogg asked which dress I wore when I last cut someone’s head off, and I told him it was the one I was wearing now. Lunari returned, and shortly after him, Keri. The dwarf had to run to get across before the bridge closed, but he was no more than a little wet on his feet when we could wish him welcome back. Lunari gave him wine, and he told us Lunas was in the north, and with Lady Isa’s permission, he told us that Lunas had a green-skin problem a couple of days north along the coast. He also told us that Ur had had its share of arsons, and was now under martial law. We walked up to the fort together, and Lady Isa asked if her brother was ok. I swayed as I walked and zoned out of the conversation. I barely managed to remain awake long enough to brush my teeth and say my evening prayer. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
26th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I slept late this morning, and Lunari woke me. I grabbed his offending hand and forced it up his back, marching him out of my room, and intended to go back to sleep. Lunari said we had to hold council, so I grunted and said I’d be there in a few minutes. I had forgotten my makeup last night; rain and sleep made me look a mess. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and said a short prayer before joining the others in Lunari and Grogg’s room. It was the star box they wanted to discuss. Xipil was curious if it still glowed. It did. The light was bluish, but very sharp. They explained that we needed to discharge the energy stored in the box, and recharge it fully. Completely charged, it would not discharge over time, and we could hand it over to Azura. Lunari and Xipil determined that we had to travel a little to the west before charging it. The easiest would likely be to travel north along the coast and then west. According to Lunari and Xipil, the box would discharge more rapidly underground. Lunari suspected that some of the energy in the box had been used to fuel the ritual that attacked Lord Madan. Using it that way was very risky, he claimed. We heard sounds outside the door. It was Lady Isa and Pak, and Lunari gave the sad troll the flute he had made. It took some persuading to make him accept the gift; at first, he had claimed he was unworthy. Pak started playing, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks. Lunari took Lady Isa aside and asked for compensation for our work. Lady Isa rightfully thought that two hundred gold was too much, and agreed to give us a hundred. She fetched the money and handed it to Lunari, but we couldn’t tell anyone, especially Nujan, that she had paid us. Grogg gave her some of his embroideries. Lady Isa and Pak walked away, but Xipil followed, wanting to discuss magic with the lady. Grogg went after them as well. Lunari returned to his room, commenting that now that we had reached Guling, our agreement that he’d pay my traveling expenses was concluded. He returned shortly with a pouch with twenty-five gold coins. I’ve never been so rich! Once Grogg returned, Lunari gave him four gold pieces, keeping the rest safe. Trolls have practically no sense for the worth of money; it’s a racial thing. Lunari had explained to me earlier that he allowed Grogg to have some coins, for impulse shopping, but if he needed something expensive, Lunari would pay for it from a pouch he kept for Grogg. Xipil got a pouch of twenty-five. After a while, Keri knocked on the door, commenting that things weren’t going very well around here. I guessed he had learned about the attack on Lord Madan. We had decided to go help Lord Lunas, as that would be on the way to where we could charge the box. We didn’t mention the part about the box, but told Keri that we would go north to help Lord Lunas. This was good, Keri said. That way, he didn’t have to dispatch soldiers to the north, soldiers who would be needed here. We couldn’t leave before sunset, so Keri brought the others down to the dungeon where they could put the star box so it would discharge faster. I sat down to pray. Keri came back after a few minutes. Xipil had sent him to get me, and Keri babbled about an orc, so I asked if I should get my knives. He made me ask for permission before killing anyone. I had no difficulty making such a promise; I always ask You before I take a life. Xipil reported that Krull, the orc in one of the cells, had said I was coming to take him home. It seemed like a misunderstanding, or at least a statement that could have two meanings, so I sat down in the torture chamber to pray for guidance. You told me in no uncertain terms that Krull should not die. Lunari was concerned that I’d kill Krull without asking the nobles for permission, and insisted that we leave, but Xipil hadn’t finished talking to Krull. Lunari tried to pull him away, but the tiny elf failed to overpower the lizard man. I tried to ask Xipil politely to come, but he refused. In the end, Lunari had Grogg pick him up and carry him out. Krull was singing in his cell, and Grogg translated from the troll language. The song was a troll children’s song about how cowardly elves were. Lunari fumed. As we left the dungeon, Krull called after us to tell the cat that it was time. Xipil called back that we would. We agreed to meet to fetch the box a half-hour before sunset; that would give us enough time to retrieve it and cross the island and leave before the land bridge closed. Lunari wanted to check in to an inn and spend the night in Guling, for he needed to make purchases for himself and Grogg, and the stores would be closed when we got there. Keri insisted that it was urgent that we make as much haste as possible to reach Lord Lunas, and claimed he’d fix it so that we’d get what we needed tonight. |
Session 18 (2020-03-28)
I went up to my room to pray, but Xipil interrupted. He wondered what Krull had meant; the orc had made claims about You. I told him that Krull seemed confused and sat down to pray again. Xipil suggested that we find a cellar to pray in, as that would take us closer to You. We headed for the village. It was still raining. I got permission to borrow a food cellar under one of the houses. Xipil asked if we needed to wash before praying, but I explained to him that the ritual of cleansing is only required in chapels.
Lunari arrived in the village a little later. We could tell from the faint violin music that reached us. During my prayer, You repeated that Krull shouldn’t die, at least by my hand, and revealed to me that he didn’t speak with Your voice, but with someone else’s. I got the impression that he might be the “prophet in the south” that I was looking for, but his talk seemed like nonsense to me. However, considering that it was Mitra who sent me for the prophet in the first place, I didn’t have very big expectations. I talked it over with Xipil, and then we prayed some more. I knocked on the door to the house again, and thanked them for letting us use their cellar. I was more than welcome to borrow it again. Xipil and I met Grogg and Lunari back at the fort, in the dining hall. I asked if they had packed their things and were ready to go, but they hadn’t. Lunari groped one of the maids and asked where we could obtain traveling rations. The woman returned shortly with a sack, probably enough for three days. If we needed more, we had to buy it in town. Lady Isa, Remi and Keri walked in, for Lady Isa wanted to say goodbye to Kraa. Remi handed each of us a pouch. They contained eleven gold pieces each, payment for “specialist services” for the last four days, and for the coming week. Remi claimed he had no authority to give us a bonus, but Lunari said we were going to meet Lord Lunas, who could deal with it if he thought we deserved it. Nobody mentioned Lady Isa’s payment. Grogg, Lunari and Xipil went with Keri to get the star box in the dungeon. I spent the time talking to Lady Isa. I explained that even though the situation seemed dark now, everything would be all right in the end. I felt that I got the message through, for the noblewoman’s face lit up with happiness and hope. When the others returned, Xipil asked Lady Isa to tell Pak from Krull that it was time to start moving backwards. I shook my head in confusion, but Lady Isa promised to relay the message. She and Keri walked with us across the island. Lady Isa said goodbye in the village and gave us all hugs. Keri followed us all the way to the land bridge, and gave me a rolled-up letter that I was to show at the city hall. Heavily armed city guards stood watch there, and I showed them the Aldera seal on the letter, so one of them escorted us to Markus’s office. The former sergeant sat behind a pile of paperwork, and groaned when Lunari offered congratulations on the promotion. I gave him the letter, and he unrolled it on the desk, allowing me to see what it said: “Sorry. Help them. Keri.” Below the dwarf’s message, with finer script, stood: “Remi has seen this letter. Remi.” Lunari asked Markus for a crossbow and a bolt for himself, and a shield for Grogg, and Xipil chimed in that he needed to restock arrows. Markus took us to the armory of the city guard, which was located there in the city hall, so it wasn’t far to walk. I spotted some fine long knives, and asked if I could have them. I licked my old knives, in case there was a bit of poison left on them. There shouldn’t be, for I had cleaned them already, but You know… I bit my new blades ritually before sheathing them. The armory contained more than weapons. Lunari took some oil for his lantern and Xipil got a map and a rope, although Markus had to send for the map. Lunari asked then if everyone had received what they needed. I thought I should procure some birth-bane root, but I sincerely doubted that the city guards stored that in their armory. Not that I was planning to sleep with anyone, but I deemed it prudent to have some, just in case. I made no mention of it to the others, of course. They were all men, or at least not females, I corrected myself: Xipil is genderless. Before we left, Markus asked our advice about the tower. We recommended that he keeps the area off-limits, and that he burns the corpse. Markus had a message to Lord Lunas, that the “swamp route” was desperately needed. We said goodbye and good luck. On the way to the wagon yard, we passed a brothel. Lunari stopped and stared, for obvious reasons. I found it likely that they had birth-bane, and stopped as well. I asked if I could have five minutes; Lunari asked for an hour. We didn’t want to wait that long, and tried to convince Lunari to come away with us. The birth-bane would have to wait. Our raised voiced caused the bouncer to come out and ask us to go argue somewhere else. Xipil pulled Lunari after him, and we got to the wagon yard. It was an inn attached to a large hall filled with wagons. I walked up to the bar and told them that the Evening Fort thought we needed a wagon. The bartender eyed me suspiciously and asked who at the Evening Fort thought so. I smiled winsomely and dropped Remi’s name. That got us a wagon, and we erected a canopy to shield us from the rain. Someone brought two horses and harnessed them to the wagon. Lunari took the reins while the rest of us filled the wagon bed. Then we were off. |
Session 19 (2020-04-04)
26th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 (continued)
By the light of the lantern, we studied the map that Markus had provided. It covered Arland and the Prince’s Cities, as well as what was just beyond our borders. I could see that the map wasn’t made here in Arland, so the others’ theory that it came from the Prince’s Cities seemed reasonable. At the city gates, the guards were about to stop us, but they recognized the sigil on the wagon and let us out. I paid attention to where Lunari guided the horses until I was certain he knew where to go, then I lay down and closed my eyes – after brushing my teeth, of course. Xipil was concerned for a green-skin ambush on our way to Nadder, the village where we hoped to meet Lord Lunas. We managed to calm him down; we should be safe at least for the first half of the trip. As it was important that we made good time, I told Lunari to wake me when he grew too tired to drive, and I’d take over the reins. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 27th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke in the middle of the night. I had a moment of panic when I couldn’t see anyone at the reins, but once I sat up, I saw that Lunari had fallen asleep, slumped over in the seat. I moved up to him and took the reins carefully so I didn’t wake him. I drove awkwardly, for since I didn’t want to wake him, I had to sit over him, leaning on the low backrest. When the pre-dawn light hit his face, Lunari started stirring, his hand caressing my calf and moving upwards between my thighs. I gave the arm a solid punch, and even though I pulled my blow, I expected a colorful bruise to adorn him for the next couple of days. He startled awake, if he wasn’t already, and proclaimed his innocence. I shouldn’t blame him for moving in his sleep. I explained, quite calmly, that his hand had no business being where it had been, sleeping or no sleeping. He slunk back to the others in the wagon bed. We passed some farmers coming out to do the day’s work, but they ignored us beyond a short glance. The rain had abated somewhat, making it less tedious to work the fields, not that I have any experience with farm labor. We found a small village, and I pulled up at the inn so we’d get some breakfast. We had kept a sedate pace during the night, but we hadn’t made any stops, so we figured the horses needed a rest. Recognizing the Aldera sigil, militia-men asked who we were and what our errand was. I explained that we were going to help Lord Lunas against the green-skins. They hadn’t heard about the green-skin threat, so we assumed we’d have safe travel for most of the day. Polite words went a long way, for they offered to feed the horses while we broke our fast at the inn. Being blessed with good looks didn’t hurt, though. After the meal, I asked the soldiers for local news. They had heard of the martial law in Guling and Ur, but were confident that the Aldera family could deal with whatever was going on. They had no new knowledge, at least pertaining to our quest. Lunari, Grogg and Xipil came outside just as I was asking directions to the village’s wise woman, and decided to come along when one of the soldiers offered to take us there. Lunari asked for crow’s toes, earning a frown and a huff from the elderly woman. Grogg gave her a gold coin, and she said she’d examine him; his magic needle hadn’t healed all the wounds from the tower raid, yet. The rest of us were shown the door. After a while, Grogg and the wisdom came outside, and she invited Lunari in for a talk. Grogg glared at me, and I asked if there was something he wanted to ask me. He said there wasn’t. Once Lunari came outside again, I slipped inside and asked for birth-bane root. The wisdom said she’d give me a dose for free, but I told her I needed more. I didn’t tell her of my resistance to the drug; that was none of her business. I figured I’d rather have her believe me a lightskirt than give away Your secrets. I got eight doses at a steep price, and a similarly disapproving frown as she had given Lunari, earlier. It should be enough for two “incidents”, taking my resistance into account. The wise woman’s assistant was ignoring his patient, caressing me with his eyes instead. I couldn’t help but wink at him when I left. I don’t know why I did; I have no desire to pursue a relationship with him, nor did I wish to take him for a tumble in the hayloft. Xipil wanted to know why Grogg stared that way at me. I didn’t know. Grogg does many silly things. Xipil also asked what my errand was with the wise woman. I explained that I needed medicine. “Are you sick?” he continued worriedly, but I assured him that this was not the case. We stayed in the village for another hour, and Lunari made a pass at the young woman who worked in the inn’s kitchen. She saw through him, and rebuked the attempt. When we left the village, I thought they were going to talk about us for days to come, if not weeks. We stopped in another village for lunch, and one of the village women changed into a shorter dress and offered her services to Lunari. They vanished into a room adjacent to the common room. The walls weren’t very thick, so Xipil and I decided we’d go look for a chapel. We didn’t find one, but we discovered a small seamstresses’ shop, and Xipil sent me inside to buy some fabric for Grogg. When the sun was nearing the horizon, we found a slightly larger village and entered the inn. Lunari’s eyes immediately fell on the working girl who was talking to a local when we entered. Lunari hired the girl and the only available room. She seemed impressed with him being a foreigner. Xipil and I went in search for a chapel. Again, we failed to find one, but we spotted a vineyard outside the village, and went to check it out. Anything was better than having to listen to Lunari’s antics. There were guards at the vineyard, but they didn’t challenge us. A middle-aged man came to meet us and correctly deduced that we weren’t merchants. I told him we were travelers, curious about the wines. Maybe we’d buy a bottle or two. The man took us on a short tour of the facilities and allowed me to taste his wines. Even with small sips of each, the amount I imbibed would make another person at least tipsy, so I pretended to get a little drunk. The salesman was on the job, but took some sips himself as well, and made the occasional flirtatious comment. He didn’t go so far as to become a bother, and I ended up buying a bottle that I thought Lunari might enjoy. I felt a little bad for punching him as hard as I had done; he’s so frail! Back at the inn, Lunari was still bouncing about with the strumpet. I commented on the noise to the innkeeper, and got permission to pitch my tent among the fruit trees out back. Xipil and I went outside. He asked if he could sleep in my tent. I don’t mind sleeping in the same room as him, generally, but the tent is really only large enough for one. He climbed one of the trees instead, after we had done our evening rituals. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 19 (2020-04-04)
28th of Mitra’s Second Month, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I woke while it was still dark. The animals in the village were restless. I slipped my knife belt around my waist and put on my cloak, meeting Xipil, Lunari and Grogg in the orchard. I suggested that we take a look around the village to see what was going on. We soon spotted a flock of hens in the street, heading north, out of the village. Grogg told us he smelled something strange and asked if he should get his club. The poultry were not the only animals on the move; sheep and goats were also walking off, with frantic villagers trying to gather them up. When Grogg returned, he said that Kraa was reacting to something. We decided to follow some hens that the villagers had failed to round up, sending Kraa ahead of us. I sent Xipil forward as well, reasoning that someone with the capability of communicating what they saw would be more valuable as scouts. Grogg glared at me. We followed the poultry for about an hour, and Lunari commented that he thought someone was using animal magic to summon the animals. He suspected it was the goblins. I took off my cloak and gathered up the hens in it. Xipil had found more animal tracks paralleling our path, and reasoned that all the animals were headed in the same direction. Returning to the village, I handed the hens over to their owner, who was thankful for the assistance. Lunari wanted to return to bed, but I told him we had to leave; he could sleep on the wagon. The horses were affected by the spell, too, and wanted to leave the road, but I managed to keep them on the right path, with some difficulty. I’m not a teamster. Xipil sat by my side, watching the stars. Five minutes out of the village, he removed his cloak and leapt off the wagon, disappearing into the night. I called after him, but he didn’t reply. I was a little concerned, for he seldom took off without telling me where he was going, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Neither Grogg, Lunari, nor I were capable of tracking him down, at least not in the middle of the night. The accursed full moon was disrupting my night vision. The bright side was that it gave off enough light for me to see the road. Xipil knew where we were headed. We just had to hope he didn’t run into trouble on the way. Lunari slept through the whole incident, but Grogg was awake. After a while – it seemed like hours, but the sun had yet to show up – he started sniffing around Lunari, waking him, and explaining that he could smell wicked horses nearby when Lunari complained. Grogg picked up his boss’s spear, and Lunari tried to take it back. He exclaimed that it had become magical, something to do with the “Ancient Stallion”. Grogg gave back the spear and told Lunari that Xipil had vanished. Lunari started looking around, but I told him it happened hours ago. Lunari suddenly remembered that we had forgotten to bury the star box when we went to sleep, and told Grogg and me that we had to help him remember, tonight. I asked if he could take over the reins so I could get some more sleep. Xipil was back, and woke me when the wagon rumbled into a palisaded village. Lunari swaggered around, holding his spear with extreme confidence, filling soldiers and villagers with awe. One soldier called out “Commander Lunari arrives!” and everyone snapped to attention when we followed the elf into a building where Lord Lunas was having a meeting with his officers. Lunas told Lunari to relax the magic around his people, but Lunari explained that it was the stars that were especially active; he hadn’t done anything. Lord Lunas asked if we had spotted animals heading north, and Xipil told him that the animals were led into the desert by giant ants about the size of goats. Lunari told him everything that had happened in Guling. The half-elf lord said he had to go back, but Lunari assured him that we could take care of the ants and the goblins. Lord Lunas told us what he knew about our opposition. It boiled down to that goblins of the Flame Clan had allied with fire ants, so called because their bites burned. He emphasized several times that we shouldn’t trust the goblins, whatever they said or did; they were the epitome of deceit and treachery. The fire ants were not intelligent beings, they were only animals, but the goblins controlled them somehow. There was only one horse in the village that suited Lunari’s extreme mood, and he was able to convince Lord Lunas that he needed to borrow the war stallion. Lord Lunas told everyone that we were in charge here when he left, and to give us whatever help or equipment we required, but I don’t think anyone would deny Lunari anything, the way they were fawning at him while he strutted about with his spear. We got something to eat, and two rooms with two beds apiece, and Xipil and Grogg tried to get some shuteye while Lunari pranced around on his new horse. I walked with him outside the village, and buried the star box so it would discharge faster. Lunari stood on the saddle, showing off. The enchantment oozing off him didn’t seem to affect those of us who knew him from before the same way it spellbound strangers, but I found myself glancing admiringly at him from time to time. I stomped on the feeling and reminded myself that he really was a whining coward. |
Session 19 (2020-04-04)
Lunari insisted that I should ride a little, so we found a horse for me, too. My dress wasn’t split for riding, so I was baring more skin than was decent, but even though Lunari admired my legs, I thought he did so in a respectful manner. Xipil came while we were riding around. Lunari commented that horses don’t like him. For that matter, I thought to myself, my horse didn’t seem to like me either; I was having trouble controlling it until Lunari’s enchantment took hold of it, and then it only followed his horse, wherever that went. Xipil told us that Kraa had returned with a small glass bottle. Grogg had opened it in Xipil’s and my room, and had spread its rank fragrance there. Even though the bottle only had been open for a second, Xipil suggested that I didn’t return for a while.
Xipil had brought his two pet frogs, Slikk and Slakk, and asked if I could persuade a villager to look after them while we went into the desert looking for goblins. The frogs wouldn’t like the climate out there. Xipil explained that the frogs needed water and insects, and I relayed the information to a more than willing villager. When I returned to the house where we had rooms, Xipil handed me a small bottle. The others had found it on an earlier expedition, but hadn’t managed to identify the contents. I didn’t recognize the liquid either, and suspected that it wasn’t natural. I suggested they take it to a magician for analysis. Suddenly Grogg rushed at Lunari, who used his spear to trip him. The troll complemented Lunari’s skill and stood up again. I scratched my head. Xipil asked if he could touch Lunari’s spear, but Lunari clutched it possessively and said he had to admire it from afar. I gave Lunari the bottle of wine I had purchased, and apologized for punching him so hard. I left my disguise kit and my makeup in my room, holding my breath while I was in there. My backpack was still heavy, and I was glad I had a horse. With it, I wouldn’t be the slowest party member anymore. When we left the village, Lunari was bedecked with wreaths of flowers; his spear was still affecting the villagers. Lunari muttered to himself about invading Loyalist land, and I glanced worryingly at him. The spear’s enchantment seemed to be going to his head. He put the spear down occasionally, and I thought he looked pensive. The overconfidence returned as soon as he gripped the weapon again. Xipil was scouting ahead, and in the evening, he reported that he had found a depression where all the stolen animals were kept. Further scouting discovered a cave nearby, with four or five fire ants outside. By the tracks he found, it could be as many as ten goblins and twenty ants there. Lunari’s first plan was to have Xipil throw the foul-smelling bottle that Kraa had found into the cave to see what happened. He asked me to check if the rank liquid was an acid. I took the bottle and asked for his arm. He took the bottle back, and poured some on a leaf. He broke off the twig and rode back towards the village. He returned after about ten minutes, declaring that the liquid wasn’t an acid. He gave the bottle to Xipil, and instructed him to pour a few drops onto an arrow, and shoot the arrow into the cave. Xipil did as he said, and walked towards the cave. Five angry ants came at him, so he ran away. They followed him until he dropped the arrow, then they buzzed around near the arrow while Xipil made his escape. I thought it might be a good idea to go kill those ants while they were away from the cave, divide and conquer. Lunari didn’t comment on my suggestion, but mounted his horse and rode away, towards the cave. Grogg followed him. Xipil asked me what we should do, and I sighed and said we just had to follow. Outside the cave, Lunari was shouting that he was Lunari Grandiflora, and that he had come to conquer the goblins. “Come outside! You are bound by the rules of single combat! Don’t let Lunari Grandiflora, the great conqueror, wait!” Seven green-skinned goblins with blood paint on their faces came out of the cave, followed by ten fire ants. One goblin stepped forward, mocking Lunari. I sat my horse, watching the proceedings while I applied poison to my knives. The presumed leader of the goblins, who I thought was a fake, hiding the true leader, snapped his fingers, and two ants drew a large circle on the ground. Lunari dismounted and met the goblin, spear against flail. Lunari started by casting a haste spell on himself. The goblin rushed him, but missed, and Lunari retreated, giving the goblin time to cast a spell of his own. Lunari stepped forward, stabbing with his spear, but he missed. The goblin swung his flail at the elf, who dodged elegantly. The goblin blocked the next stab with his shield, and again he failed to connect with the flail. Lunari’s next attack pierced the goblin’s shoulder, enraging the goblin into making an all-out attack, but Lunari dodged again and stabbed the goblin through the thigh. The goblin fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. The other goblins bowed in the dust for Lunari. Lunari commanded that someone should patch up his wounded subordinate. I stayed in the saddle, watching the goblins carefully for signs of betrayal, but they only spat on their former leader while he bled out. We followed the goblins inside the cave. Most of them didn’t speak Common, but one of them revealed their plan to curse the animals and release them back to the stinky humans. Now that Rama’s month was approaching, the humans couldn’t slaughter the cursed animals. However, it wasn’t midnight yet, so Lunari ordered the goblins to kill a pig and roast it for his victory feast. Lunari shared out his wine, and he and Grogg feasted with the goblins. Xipil and I brought a lantern, and checked out the rest of the cave. We found traces of animals already slaughtered for food, and saw that the goblins had travel gear, including harnesses for some of the ants, which they apparently used as pack horses while they traveled. Some animals were tethered in the deepest part of the cave. The goblins fawned all over Lunari, but glared at the rest of us, although they seemed to accept us as part of Lunari’s clan. Xipil received a bottle from Lunari, who had got it from the goblins, with instructions to cover ourselves with it. The liquid inside smelled like goblin, or perhaps it was the goblins who smelled of the liquid. We determined that the liquid would make the ants regard us as friends. I prayed for Your permission to butcher the goblins. Lord Lunas had made it clear that we couldn’t trust them. I took Your lack of reply as an endorsement of my plan. The goblins settled down to sleep eventually, only one awake and patrolling. I watched the patrol routine, and told Xipil to take out the guard the next time he went outside the cave. |
Session 19 (2020-04-04)
1st of Rama, year 412
The goblins were lying in a row along the cavern wall. The one who spoke Common was on one end. I started in the other, intending to spare him so we could interrogate him further. I stuck a poisoned blade through the neck of the first goblin. I had planned to reapply poison to the tip of the knife before moving on to the next, but the goblins slept very lightly, and the next one sat up, about to scream, so I skewered his neck with both my long knives. The penultimate goblin started screaming before I could do anything about it, but I moved towards him, stabbing the throats of the two before him as I passed them. The screamer ran away, but I didn’t think it was necessary to follow; Xipil would take care of him, or at least he’d be able to track him down if he escaped. I turned around and finished off the goblin that I had barely scratched in the rush to get to the screamer. The Common-speaker put his hands up and begged for mercy. I told him that since he pleaded so nicely, I’d spare his life. From the outer part of the cave, I heard the thunder of hooves, and the sudden cessation of screaming. Lunari appeared on horseback, and the last goblin begged him to be spared. Xipil tied up the goblin, and I made a gag and stuffed it in the captive’s mouth. Lunari promptly removed the gag, and started talking to the goblin. He convinced him that we’d take up their plan of sending cursed animals to human lands, and learned that the animals in the cave were prepared. Lunari explained to Xipil and me, once Grogg had carried the goblin outside, that he had agreed to the goblin plan to gain credibility in the captive’s eyes, hoping to learn goblin magic and ant lore from him. He wanted Xipil and me to kill the cursed animals after he and Grogg had taken the goblin away from here, but I reminded him that this was a bad idea in Rama’s month; we needed priests of Rama to deal with the animals. We untied the goblin and headed towards the village. After a while, the goblin mentioned that we had forgotten to release the animals so they could bring the curse upon the humans. I turned my horse around, saying I’d deal with it. Instead, I made sure the tethers would hold, and looted the goblin corpses. They had a few coins and a collection of small glass vials, similar to the ones we had seen earlier, both those that made the fire ants friendly, and those that made them angry. I caught up with the others just before the sun should rise, but it was still dark as night, the full moon taunting me from above. I handed the goblin bottles discreetly to Lunari. He was in the thrall of the spear’s enchantment and said we had to go to the Plains of Eternity to find the Ancient Stallion. Fortunately, he was enough in control of himself that he remembered that we had business to take care of here, first. I asked the goblin if he had a name, and he implored Lunari to give him one. Lunari declared that his name was now Sly Slumsnurr. Grogg and Sly remained outside with the ants, but Xipil, Lunari and I washed the goblin stench off us and entered the village. I washed my dress as well, in the small brook, out of sight of Lunari and Xipil. In Nadder, we were welcomed back by villagers who were convinced Lunari could bring the sun back. There were lanterns everywhere, and guards on high alert. Lunari told the villagers that we brought victory over the goblins, and everyone cheered. Lunari summoned the sergeant in charge of the garrison, and we went inside the head quarters to talk to him. Lunari explained about the curse, and the sergeant agreed to send scouts to keep an eye on the captured animals until priests of Rama could be summoned. Lunari gave the sergeant six bottles for the scouts to use to make them seem like allies to any ants that might appear. Xipil revealed that we had captured a goblin and planned to use the fire ants as pack animals. I groaned inwardly, but Lunari overruled any protests that the sergeant might have had, saying that it was all right, because he had conquered the goblins. Xipil and Lunari wanted to discuss our next moves, and the sergeant excused himself so we could talk privately. Lunari had an urge to go to the Plains of Eternity, but Xipil reminded him that we had things to do here, such as filling the star box and helping the Aldera family. The sergeant reappeared to let us know that ships were sighted out on the sea, heading towards Guling. Lunari, Xipil and I agreed to cast votes about where we should fill the star box. Lunari voted for a ship’s mast or a spire mountain to the north-west. Xipil wanted to go south, to the swamps. I was concerned for the lack of privacy on a ship, and preferred deserts to swamps, and cast the deciding vote. We’d go to the spires. In the desert, we could use the fire ants both as pack animals and as protection, and I offered to fetch the harnesses that we had left in the goblin cave. A few hours later saw me back in the cave. I made sure the tethered animals were still there, then I rummaged around for the ant harnesses. I found ten in total, so we didn’t have enough for all fifteen ants, but it should be enough for our purposes. I met Lunari on my way back to the village. He said that we needed to get the goblin corpses, to feed the ants. He’d never stack seven corpses on one horse, not even when they were small as goblins, so I returned with him. We brought the corpses back to where Grogg, Sly and the ants waited a safe distance outside Nadder. I dropped the corpses unceremoniously off my horse and told Lunari and Grogg that I was going back to the village, to return the horse, which the sergeant said they needed, and to sleep. When I entered our room, Xipil woke up and told me that he had seen star activity above the Plains of Eternity. He was also convinced that we needed to do something about Lunari’s spear. I told him I had a plan, and to let me deal with the spear. I just had to get some sleep, first. In the room next door, Lunari had company. I brushed my teeth, said my evening prayer although it was only afternoon, and went to bed with my head under the pillow. The walls here were so thin! O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 19 (2020-04-04)
2nd of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! The villagers celebrated the return of the sun this morning. Loudly. Annoyingly, they attributed it to Lunari. We brought food out to Grogg and Sly and had breakfast with them. Sly gave us ant oil – the friendly variant – and we applied it. Lunari and I dug up the star box, that is, Lunari watched me dig up the star box. It still glowed a little, so we put it back in the hole while we prepared to move out. Lunari fetched supplies in the village after shaking off the ants which thought he was a nice guy to follow. We couldn’t very well bring the ants into Nadder. Lunari tried learning goblin magic from Sly while we traveled. Suddenly, Xipil farted loudly, and Sly exclaimed that his magic didn’t work on lizards. Then he pointed at me and asked Lunari, “What about her? She seems very attracted to you.” My plan to relieve Lunari of his spear had three steps: First, I would pretend that I was attracted to him, by casting longing glances at him, looking away as soon as he saw me, as if I was shy. Second, I’d contrive situations where we’d brush against each other. Third, I’d get him alone, and when he undressed, I’d grab the spear and run. I’d proceed from step to step whenever I deemed it more urgent to separate Lunari from his spear. Sly had clearly noticed that I was implementing the first step. Lunari asked if I could be a guinea pig for the spellcasting, but I said no, so Sly tried his tricks on Grogg instead, without luck. When he finally succeeded with his spell, it was targeting an ant, which promptly dropped to the ground, lying still on its belly. Xipil tried riding on one of the ants, but it didn’t go very well. It was awkward without a saddle, so Xipil asked Lunari if he could reshape one of the harness baskets to a saddle. Lunari tried, but it went horribly wrong. The basked cracked the ant’s carapace, killing it. The other ants went wild. Luckily, we were all smeared with ant oil, so they didn’t consider any of us as enemies, but they mangled several of the harnesses. The dead ant was reeking, and Sly asked Lunari if he should wash away the stench. We decided to fry the corpse instead. With the smell gone, the ants calmed down. And the meat was edible, and tasted not too bad. Even Xipil tried it, and he doesn’t usually eat meat, although he didn’t appreciate the taste. Lunari and Xipil repaired the broken harnesses, Lunari with his plant magic, and Xipil the old-fashioned way. One of Lunari’s spells backfired, disintegrating Grogg’s hatchet handle. Sly used the break to demonstrate how the goblins extracted the ant oil. When we resumed our travel, I asked Lunari if I could sit behind him on the war horse. He didn’t mind that at all, of course, so I clung tightly to his back while Sly continued teaching him goblin magic. Xipil and I both noticed animal burrows while we were traveling, and when we stopped, we did so near a fox’s den. We thought it was empty, but when we pushed the still-glowing star box inside, we heard the fox’s displeasure deep inside. We figured it wouldn’t harm the fox to have light inside its den, at least not for just one night. And it wasn’t unlikely that it had another exit, if it needed to get out before we removed the box. Lunari transformed an empty water barrel to a cradle where Xipil could sleep while we traveled. That way, he could stay awake at night, keeping watch. Tonight, though, we had to share the watches. We agreed on a schedule while we ate, and I sat down to meditate. I needed to refill my poison vial. Lunari sat on the horse, sleeping with the spear in his hand. Grogg took the first watch. Suddenly, I noticed that Sly was standing next to Lunari and the horse, and it was the goblin who was holding the spear. Sly cackled maniacally and told Grogg that Lunari was nothing without his spear. Lunari rode out of reach of the spear and turned around, as if to charge Sly, but instead, he dismounted. Grogg walked over to Sly, and the goblin asked him what they should do now. Grogg told him to hand over the spear, but then he went to fetch his maul. Lunari asked if Sly would give him back the spear, or if he wanted a duel. Grogg ran back to the goblin and smacked the maul into the ground next to him. Scared out of his skin, Sly dropped the spear and ran for it. My throwing knives followed him. One bounced off the leather armor, but the other took him in the neck. I hadn’t removed the poison from the blades yet, so the traitor dropped dead. Everyone was of the opinion that Lunari needed a timeout from his spear, so Grogg made a deal with him that Lunari could keep his magic needle while the troll held on to the spear. It would be easy for Lunari to stick Grogg with the needle, making him fall asleep so he could retrieve the spear, but he didn’t take that opportunity, so maybe he didn’t think of it. I was certainly not going to mention it, in case it hadn’t crossed his mind. Xipil wanted to know if holding the spear made him go crazy, but Lunari didn’t want him to try, and Grogg, the three-meter-tall troll, held the spear high. I went over to the goblin corpse and picked up my knives. Lunari was a little annoyed that I had killed Sly, but I thought we had learned all we could from the little trickster, and Lunari grudgingly agreed that it wasn’t likely that he could learn much magic from him anytime soon. We knew how to milk the oil from the ants, and that was what was important. Xipil and Lunari went back to sleep, and I sat down to resume the meditation after licking clean my blades. After four hours, Grogg was still on watch duty, spear still held stubbornly above his head. I erected my tent and went to bed. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
3rd of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Lunari complained about insect bites this morning, and Xipil mentioned having been stung, too. After treating Xipil’s sting, I discovered that Lunari wasn’t just whining. He had swollen up in several places, the skin pink and tender in areas larger than the bruise I gave when I punched him earlier. I treated the stings and took down the swelling. I checked myself for bite marks too, and found a couple, but whatever puny venom the insects had injected didn’t affect me. Grogg had stayed awake all night guarding the spear, and Xipil asked if he had plans to conquer the world, like Lunari had when he held the spear. The spear apparently didn’t affect Grogg in the same way as it did Lunari, or else it made Grogg a much better liar than I would think possible. He claimed he had no more desire to conquer anything than he did yesterday. I believed him. He didn’t seem to possess the same overconfidence and determination that Lunari had demonstrated. We had breakfast watching the carrion birds circling high above us. Xipil was concerned we didn’t have enough water and wanted Lunari to send the horse home, as it was our largest consumer of water, by far. Lunari refused to give up that fine specimen. We applied ant oil and dug up the star box. It wasn’t completely discharged, so Lunari suggested to remain with the horse and his spear, catching up with us once the box had emptied its mystical energy. Xipil and I thought this was a very bad idea, both because of the spear, and because we didn’t want anyone to be alone in the desert, for however long it took to empty the box, which could be days, yet. Heading north, Lunari and Xipil rode their respective mounts while Grogg and I walked. Ahead of us were sharp peaks and tall mesas. We traveled towards the nearest mesa, half a day away. Xipil and Lunari talked about filling the box on top of the mesa, where it would have a clear view of the night sky. We wouldn’t be able to get Grogg or the animals up, but I guessed I’d manage the climb if Xipil could get a rope up first. When we got nearer the mesa, the others found tracks of humanoids hunting. Xipil said they had tried to hide their tracks. Maybe something more dangerous hunted the hunters? We were still several kilometers away when Lunari spotted a tent west of the mesa. I couldn’t make it out, but we sent Xipil ahead to scout. We buried the star box while we waited for him to return. The vultures had followed us sedately all day, but suddenly they flustered with activity. Kraa had apparently plucked a large feather from one of them, and delivered it to Grogg. The feather was thick with stinging insects, and I warned the others, causing Grogg to shake the feather, and the insects to wake up, seeking blood. A swarm of them buzzed quickly towards me, so I legged it. I managed to lose them in the desert, but not before being stung. Some of the insects tried to get Lunari, but on horseback, he outpaced them easily. Returning to the others, I compared the fresh stings with those I got last night, but they were practically invisible since the venom didn’t affect me, so it was hard to say whether they were caused by the same types of insects. Suddenly, Xipil called out from afar. I couldn’t see him, and failed to discern his message, but there was someone between us and Xipil, running westward. I noticed Lunari eyeing the spear in Grogg’s hand, and darted towards the troll, in time to leap up behind Lunari on the horse before he charged after the runner. Grogg came loping after, and the fourteen giant ants followed. Lunari and I soon overtook the runner, a human dressed in hunter’s garb, a bow on his back and a quiver on his hip balancing the axe on the other side. He put his arms up and begged for mercy, even dropping to his knees. Once Grogg, Xipil and the ants got closer, he got even more frantic, wild eyes darting around. Lunari called to Grogg to keep the ants away. Lunari asked how many were in his party, and the hunter admitted that there were four others. Lunari also wanted to know what was on top of the mesa. The hunter didn’t understand why he wanted to know, but told him there were only a few hardy plants up there, growing in crevices in the rock. Lunari didn’t believe that he only was a hunter, seemingly thinking that he and his friends wanted to ambush us. Still on his knees, the hunter didn’t get away before Lunari trampled him. Miraculously, the man got back on his feet, and he turned to me to beg for his life. I didn’t have time to reply, for Xipil moved up to him, and the hunter shouted for his friends to run. Xipil struck him with his staff and told him to shut up, which he promptly did. I took the hunter by the arm, and we all returned to where the star box was buried. The fellow was on the verge of tears when he explained to me that they were out here hunting armored lizards. Lunari interjected a question of whether any of them were magicians. No, they were all hunters. Lunari grumbled that he still thought they were planning an ambush, but Xipil turned to me and asked my opinion of our prisoner. I said I thought he seemed sincere and truthful. I didn’t even want to tie him up when Lunari ordered me to. I complied only when the prisoner asked me to, himself. I passed his weapons to Grogg. I thought he might have internal bleedings, and treated him as best I could. I asked his name, and he whispered that his name was Milen. I gave him my name, as well. We talked for a while, and I learned that his village lay to the south-east, in Aldera land. That was a surprise, for we had all assumed that he was an outlander from the wilds. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
Xipil asked Milen if he would be our guide here in the desert, paid of course. He agreed, once I promised to deliver him safely home and protect him from the ants. I told him we had found a way to trick the ants into believing we were their friends, and smeared some ant oil on him. Xipil asked him what dangers we needed to watch out for in the desert, and Milen explained that it was safest to hide during the day and be active at night. We should use fine-meshed netting to prevent insect bites.
We dug up the star box and proceeded towards the mesa. Milen’s friends had taken off with all their equipment. We sat down in the mesa’s shade and ate. Lunari tried to milk the ants like Sly had showed us, but he didn’t get the hang of it, so he ordered Xipil to do it instead. Lunari had his spear back, and was in command mode. I reburied the star box. Xipil climbed the mesa and returned to tell us what he found. It was greener up there, but there were no plants large enough to hold the weight of climbers on a rope. He borrowed Grogg’s axe head, thinking he could fasten it in a crevice and tie the rope to that. With the rope, Lunari and I managed to get up as well, and Milen tied our packs to the end of the rope so we could get our stuff up, under Grogg’s supervision, of course. Milen didn’t want to remain below with the ants when Xipil, Lunari and I planned to remain up there for some time, so Xipil and I pulled him up. His injuries prevented him from climbing. Lunari wasn’t too keen on having Milen for a witness, so I suggested that he should instruct Grogg to send up the needle, so we could put him to sleep. I was more interested in sharing its healing powers, but didn’t say that out loud. Anyway, Grogg refused to let the needle go unless Lunari threw down the spear first. Needless to say, Lunari didn’t let go of that voluntarily. I pitched my tent and sat down in the shade with Milen; Lunari and Xipil tried to get some sleep, as they were going to stay up all night to fill the star box. The ground up here was rocky, but I buried the box as best I could. Milen, in his mid-twenties, told me this was his second year of hunting in the desert. Ato, the leader of his expedition, had picked him after he had excelled in the “hero games” last year. I learned that the Aldera family paid the winners of these village games generously, and that the prize money had outfitted Milen for these hunting expeditions. On a hunch, I asked Milen if he had heard of someone called “the prophet in the south”, but the title was unfamiliar to him. Lunari was sleeping soundly when the sun approached the horizon, so I walked over and touched his spear. I didn’t feel anything, not even an urge to take it away from him. I woke Xipil and Lunari, but Milen asked if it was all right if he went to sleep. I thought that was a good idea; rest was what he needed now. The star box was finally empty, and Xipil discussed with Lunari how to charge it. They agreed to stay with the box for half-hour shifts, alternating between charging the box and resting. I asked anxiously if there was anything I could do, and they told me to keep watch. That, I could do. Lunari also thought they might need medical treatment afterwards. My eyebrows rose with surprise, but I promised I’d patch them up if it came to that. I walked the perimeter of the mesa, and noticed that Grogg had gone to sleep among the ants below. I stayed clear of the star box, which slowly gathered up light. After two hours, it shone as bright as a lantern. After four hours, it was nearly as bright as day up on the mesa, and Milen woke up. I told him that the magical experiment the others were performing wasn’t harmful, although it was uncomfortable to look directly at the box. Milen turned his back on the box and swore he wouldn’t tell anyone about what he’d seen. The light confused the small birds that lived up here, and some of them even seemed intoxicated. I understood Milen’s sentiment. The entire box-filling process took eight hours, and the light grew brighter and brighter. At the end, even Grogg in the shade at the foot of the mesa was surrounded by daylight. When the box was completely filled up, though, it stopped glowing. I breathed a sigh of relief, watching Lunari put the glassy contraption into its bigger, wooden container. That container was not to be opened, he instructed. Milen, who hadn’t struck me as particularly devout, was praying fervently to Azura for protection. 4th of Rama, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! We refreshed our ant oil, but Milen still wanted me to go down first. Our equipment came next. Xipil tied the star box carefully to the end of the rope, but it slipped out of his hands and plummeted towards the ground. I tried to catch it, but I wasn’t fast enough, so the box crashed onto the rocks, exploding in a shower of wooden splinters. Astonishingly, the glass-like apparatus inside was intact, not even a scratch showed. I lifted it up carefully and placed it inside my backpack. Lunari and Milen joined me on the ground. Lunari gathered up the wooden splinters and took the apparatus from my pack, going a little distance away before repairing the wooden box with magic. Lunari lay down to rest; he had been reeling from the exertion of charging the box, and the spellcasting he just did wasn’t effortless either. The loud crash had woken Grogg, and he walked over to Lunari and tried to take the spear. A fight ensued. Milen was scared and cowered behind me, but I could see that Lunari and Grogg weren’t really trying to kill each other. Grogg just tried to grab the spear and rip it out of Lunari’s grip; Lunari tried to trip the troll. Neither of them were successful in their attempts. I watched with interest while Xipil free-climbed down the cliff face. The warhorse thought that Lunari was in danger, and tried to intervene, slamming Grogg to the ground and trampling his leg. Grogg got up again, anger gleaming in his eyes, but I still reassured Milen that it was just a friendly scuffle. Lunari started using the sharp end of the spear when Grogg punched the horse in the face. Grogg was still reluctant to use deadly force against Lunari, but once the troll was reeling from his wounds, Lunari ran away, causing the troll to snap. Grogg took off his helmed and hurled it at Lunari’s fleeing backside. The elf crashed to the ground, and Grogg sat down, making it clear that he was done fighting. Lunari would be sitting gingerly for some time to come, so I asked if he wanted first aid. He declined the offer, so confident with the spear in his hands, but Grogg didn’t, so I bandaged his arms, where Lunari had stabbed him. I winced on Lunari’s behalf, when he climbed the horse. He had decided that he wanted a break from Grogg’s company, so he ordered us to meet him in Nadder and took off. Grogg waved and called after him, “Good fight!” The rest of us had breakfast, watching the ants devour one of those armored lizards that Milen had been hunting. Then we headed for Nadder. As both Milen and Grogg were reeling, we didn’t move very fast. Xipil lay in his cradle on one of the ants, and asked Grogg if he could borrow the magic needle. When we stopped for the night, I removed the needle from the sleeping lizard man and returned it to Grogg, who needed it more. Milen offered to stay awake to keep watch, but I didn’t trust him enough for that, so I told Xipil that he and I should split the night’s watch in two. Xipil had to take the first half, as I had stayed awake all through the experiment last night. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
5th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I was still bone weary when Xipil woke me, but I managed to stay awake through the watch. When the sun came up, and we had had breakfast, applied ant oil and started moving, it was easier to keep my eyes open. Grogg and Milen weren’t reeling anymore, so we reached Nadder in the afternoon. We shook off the ants an hour before reaching the village. Milen was relieved. He had been so scared of the ants, even when he was covered in ant oil. Xipil gave Milen two gold pieces for his help and reminded him to keep silent about what he had seen. Xipil’s loose tongue revealed that we were working for the Aldera family, but that turned out to be a good thing, for Milen was devotedly loyal to them, and apologized deeply for making trouble for us. I told him he hadn’t been difficult at all, and that it had been a pleasure traveling with him. Milen headed for his own village when the rest of us entered Nadder. I asked the guards at the gate if Lunari was there, but they couldn’t reveal where he was or what he was doing. We tracked down a sergeant instead, and learned that Lunari had gone to check on the cursed animals in the cave. We got rooms, food and water for washing, and I retrieved the equipment I had left here. After a quick meal, I washed and brushed my teeth, before collapsing onto the bed, one hand on the floor as I mumbled Your evening prayer. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 6th of Rama, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I was completely refreshed when I woke up this morning, and I recited a prayer of thanks before joining Xipil for breakfast. Xipil thought we should hurry back to the Evening Fort; he thought Lord Mir had returned. Xipil went to inform Lunari, but he had company and told him we should travel ahead. On his fast horse, he’d catch up with us in no time. Xipil woke Grogg and went outside to see about borrowing a wagon. Lord Lunas had left with the one we brought with us when we first came here. It took some time to arrange the wagon and horses, and Lunari met us just as we were leaving. He hadn’t had breakfast yet, so he repeated that we should just go ahead and let him catch up. We tried to push the horses, so we’d arrive in time to cross the land bridge before it closed tomorrow evening. Even so, it only took Lunari an hour to overtake us. We found an inn in the evening, and Lunari looked about for company. There were no working girls at the inn, so Lunari decided to make a pass at me instead. His feeble attempt to seduce me failed miserably; he must have gotten too accustomed to paying for sex. I told him I had expected better from him, and he replied sourly that if it was that time of the month, we could hook up another time. He was wrong about the time of the month, which surprised me. We’ve traveled together long enough that I would have believed he had picked up on my cycle. Not that I’m announcing when I bleed, but there are small signs, for those who pay attention. And Lunari has certainly paid me more than enough attention; maybe he just doesn’t know what to look for? I grumbled a bit about the moon. Luckily, it was waning now, but at full moon, everything seemed to go wrong with me. Poor night vision, bleeding, cramps… I snapped out of it, reminding myself that You had blessed me with a fairly light period, unlike some girls I knew, who could barely walk upright when the cramps took them. Xipil told us he was going outside to look at the stars. I offered to accompany him in case something happened, but he claimed it wasn’t necessary, so I went to bed instead. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 7th of Rama, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I frowned at Xipil’s unused bed on the other side of the small room we shared as I did my morning ablutions. I went to get breakfast in the common room and found Xipil and Grogg talking at the bar. I asked Xipil where he had been, and he told me he had stayed in the chapel. He had sat down on the roof to meditate, and woke up in the chapel. Lunari wasn’t up yet, so I said I’d go for a short visit, as it had been a while since I last basked among Your snakes. Xipil gave me directions while I waited for a piece of bread to eat on the way – we did have to hurry to if we wanted to cross the land bridge tonight – but then he decided to come along. The chapel was a tiny one. It was barely enough room for both of us to cleanse ourselves at the same time, and when I lay down among the snakes, I could touch the walls with my outstretched hands and feet. The lack of a light source didn’t bother me at all. I counted five small snakes slithering over me. Xipil’s voice broke through the bliss, asking how long I planned to stay here. I told him I wanted half an hour, but then we heard a horse outside. Xipil thought it had to be Lunari who was out there, having heard from Grogg where the chapel was located. I remained below while Xipil checked it out. It was indeed Lunari, and Xipil exclaimed that Grogg clearly couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Lunari asked if there were snakes here, and if I was present. Xipil answered “maybe” to both questions, claiming that this was just a dark cellar, beneath Lunari’s dignity. Xipil shut the hatch and came back down. He explained that Grogg had come here last night, without cleansing himself before entering. My fingers caressed the hilts of my blades, and I hissed between extended fangs, but Xipil said he had felt that You weren’t too offended. I told him I had to pray on this. It felt good, lying among the snakes. I got the impression that Xipil might be a blessing for Your followers, but that he wouldn’t reach a high rank because he couldn’t reconcile his way of thought to Your teachings. Nothing on Grogg, though, so I supposed he could live. We returned to the inn, fetched our belongings and hopped on the wagon. I told Grogg that if he wanted to visit one of Your chapels, he should tell me, so I could bring him along and show him the proper behavior. He responded that he didn’t know that it was a chapel, he had just wanted to find Xipil, and followed his scent there. It took me a while to realize that the horses pulling the wagon were adjusting their speed to Lunari’s, and Lunari was going slowly. I told him crisply that he needed to pick up the pace. The sun was setting when we reached Guling, so we really had to hustle to get to the land bridge in time. When we got there, I grabbed my backpack and jumped onto Lunari’s horse behind him. We just left the wagon there. Lunari raced over the bridge, leaving Xipil and Grogg in the dust. We took an extra lap around the village, which I noticed had grown considerably since we left here a week ago. Several new hovels were erected, and there were more people and animals. Lunari was still holding his spear, so the villagers all but ignored me, calling out happily that Lunari had returned. The guards at the fort welcomed us back, too. Lunari rode all the way up to the closed gate to the inner courtyard. The horse lifted a hoof and knocked on the gate, and one of the guards there asked our errand. Lunari told them that Lord Lunas wanted us to report as soon as we returned. A couple of minutes later, the half-elf appeared. He repeated his annoyance that Lunari affected his people with the charismatic aura he was exuding. Lunari didn’t comment, having already told Lord Lunas that it wasn’t his fault. Instead, he jumped off the horse. I dismounted, too, and took Lunari’s arm, and Lord Lunas commented that we had “found each other”. Walking back towards the stables to put up the horse, Lord Lunas asked if it was the spear that was driving Lunari insane. Lunari responded that the spear made him a new and better version of himself. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
We entered the guests’ dining hall, and Mina served us dinner. Lunari and I sat next to each other, and he propped the spear up against the chair on his other side, placing the other hand in my lap. Lord Lunas reiterated his displeasure that Lunari spellbound his subordinates, and under the lord’s withering gaze, Lunari failed to observe mine. I grabbed an offending finger and bent it backwards just as Grogg and Xipil entered. Lunari pulled his hand away with a yelp.
Lunari told Lord Lunas about the goblin curse, and he and Xipil dug out the remaining ant oil vials and handed them over, so Lord Lunas could send them back to Nadder, where they might be needed. Grogg sent Kraa to visit Lady Isa. Xipil commented that there was light in the tower on the other side of the causeway; someone had removed the rope that prevented the light from escaping, and according to Lady Isa, the spirits from entering. Lord Lunas said we could discuss this later, and left. Xipil dug out some papers and handed them to Lunari, wanting him to proofread what he’d written. From Lunari’s comments, I gathered that Xipil had written a propaganda text for Aldera, against Larma, the so-called Loyalists, based on events related to our tower raid. Lunari emphasized that it was important that the text made it clear that Larma were the villains of the story, but without naming them. Lunari then asked me about pottery traditions here in Arland; his thoughts were on the forty ceramic tokens used to transport the spirits. I told him what little I knew of the topic, but a small voice in the back of my head urged me to go down to the dungeon and take a look at the jar we had placed in one of the cells, the one with evil inside it. I told the others I wanted a look at the jar, and we left the dining hall to put our packs away before going downstairs. While we were in our rooms, Lord Lunas came back. He told us to put on decent clothes and to come out in five minutes. He wouldn’t say why, or what was happening; he only barked to Lunari that he had to smarten up the troll. Luckily, I had been able to take a bath at the inn last night, so I wasn’t all sweaty and yucky. My dress, however, was covered in dust and dirt. I only had one other, the indecent, red one. I cursed Lunari and Grogg for making me leave Sam without time to reorganize my luggage. The red dress wasn’t appropriate attire in the company of nobles, or really in any company, but it would have to do. I slipped it on, and hastily applied my makeup. With smoky eyes and lush, red lips, I emerged into the hallway a couple of minutes late, although Lord Lunas had only had time to call out to Lunari that he needed to hurry. Lord Lunas stared at me, and I felt his eyeballs rolling down my cleavage. He tore his eye away when Lunari appeared, and told him that he had to put away his spear. They agreed Lunari could store it in the armory. I got the impression that Lord Lunas tried to sneak us out and through to the inner courtyard. My dress might have had something to do with that. In the armory, Lunari put his spear away, locking it inside a closet, and insisted on keeping the key afterwards. Lord Lunas let his eyes linger on me when we left the armory, his urgent glance saying that he would like to see more, but not now. He took us to the dining hall where we had eaten with the nobles earlier. Lady Isa was sitting there alone, making big eyes at my near lack of dress. I smiled and waved at her when her brother led us past, going to the lounge upstairs. Keri was there, and Lord Mir and his double, as well as Pak, who was glaring furiously at Groman. Remi was there, too, more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, and two foreign-looking elves that nobody could convince me were from Arland, or from the Prince’s Cities, for that matter. The elves said something to Lord Mir before leaving. Lord Mir addressed his brother. “So, Lunas, you’re finally going to show me… Yes, what have you dragged in, now?” We sat down at one of the tables, and Lord Lunas made introductions. Lord Mir looked at each of us as we were named, but his eyes kept returning to me. Remi served wine, and Lunari explained his goblin conquest, with more embellishments than were strictly necessary. Lord Mir told us that he had been in the west, feeding the dragon, and he said it as if it was an expression, albeit one I’ve never heard before. He also said something about orphanages and sick houses that I didn’t quite follow. Then he focused his eyes on me and asked from where I had come. I admitted that I hailed from Sam. “You have no loyalty towards me, do you?” he continued, and by the tone of his voice, I thought he sought a negative answer. “And not towards Lunas, either?” I answered “no” to both questions. “And what if someone asks if you’ve worked for the Aldera family, what do you reply?” “Aldera who?” I replied, and he looked satisfied with my answers, muttering to himself that Grogg, Lunari and Xipil weren’t even from Arland. It was clear to me that he had plans for us. Xipil asked him about the dragon and the orphanage, but Lord Mir didn’t answer the question, at least not directly. Instead, he mentioned having made a trade treaty with someone. He seemingly jumped from one topic to the next, and said he wanted to improve the lands around here. He told us a story about two countries to the west, each with their own king, and the two monarchs wanted to determine who had the best soldiers. It sounded like a fairy tale, to be honest, and I didn’t understand why he was telling it to us. Lunari applauded and shouted “Bravo!” and I couldn’t quite decide if he was being sarcastic. Lord Mir walked around the table, clinking his glass against ours as we toasted. I sipped politely at my drink, unlike certain others, who were most unmannered. Lord Mir commented to Lunari that his companions weren’t exactly military types, but Lunari protested that at least he and Grogg were from Blekborg, which definitely was a town of soldiers. Lord Mir quizzed him on strategy and tactics. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I got the impression that Lord Mir thought of himself as a great leader who had returned home to do wonderful deeds. He almost seemed as megalomaniacal as Lunari did when he hadn’t put down his spear for a while. Lord Mir left the room, and Lord Lunas asked what we thought of his brother. I told him Lord Mir seemed effervescent. Lord Lunas explained that it was twelve years since he had seen his brother, although Lord Mir had come back for a short visit eight years ago, while he was away. And now Lord Mir had returned, with barrels upon barrels of miracle powder. I blinked in confusion, but Lord Lunas continued rambling; someone had been given the city hall building in Guling, as part of the trade treaty Lord Mir had made with the westerners. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
Grogg was looking around the room though his ring when Lord Mir returned, and the lord identified that it was magical, and wanted to see through it himself. He glanced about and gave Grogg the ring back, and then the megalomania returned. Lord Mir bragged about how he was going to revolutionize the Aldera military, insinuating plans to seize control over the rest of Arland. I couldn’t fathom why he was telling us all this, but I didn’t feel like asking Grogg or Lunari, who were seated next to me. Xipil asked Lord Mir what he had been doing in the west, getting a short reply that he had conquered someone there.
Shifting the topic to local politics again, Lord Mir told us that a summons had arrived for the royal council, presumably to determine an heir, now that the king was dead. Lord Mir asked our opinion, should he send the impostor in his stead? Lunari mentioned that the council meeting might be a trap, earning nods of agreement from Lord Mir. Lord Mir changed the subject again. What would happen if someone brought lions to Vasulla? What if his father became king? With those questions still up in the air, the noble brothers left us so they could talk privately. Pak lightened up when he got permission to play the flute, and thought Grogg’s singing was awesome. Even knowing that it was children’s songs and lullabies, I stood up and danced for a while. Lord Mir’s double excused himself. Remi chatted with Lunari, and even Groman seemed less grumpy than usual. Keri, drunk as a skunk, climbed the table and danced there. I decided to go see if Lady Isa was downstairs still, but found her sitting in the staircase. She eyed my scant garment and asked if this was how the nobles in Sam dressed. I told her they most certainly didn’t. Young and immature, she still must have realized how indecent the dress was, for she asked if Lunari really allowed me to dress like this. I answered with a sigh that he greatly appreciated me wearing this dress. Lady Isa came back up with me, giggling every time she looked at the dress. We sat down in a corner, in a sofa a little away from everyone else, and talked. I asked her how she was doing, remembering that her mind-state had been very fragile when we left her last week. Lady Isa was overjoyed that both her brothers had returned. Groman signaled to Pak that he should stop playing, when Lords Mir and Lunas reentered the room. Lord Mir said it was time to be serious. “Nuur-Karif is a known name,” he said, looking me in the eyes, “and Lunas believes we can trust the Moon Shadows, who have offered a price for your head. I hope this won’t be a problem.” I almost swore, feeling my body prepare for battle, but Lord Mir moved on. He faced Lunari, saying that his spear was magical and locked away in one of his chests; he would like to buy it. Grogg and Xipil chimed in that they didn’t think the spear should remain in Lunari’s possession. Lord Mir wanted to know where Lunari had acquired it, and Lunari explained that he got it on the Plains of Eternity. Lunari considered the request for a moment, and told Lord Mir that he wanted another spear, of the highest quality, as well as a new and better breastplate and one thousand gold pieces, if he were to relinquish the magical spear. Grogg thought Lunari should ask for a vineyard, so he could import wines to his inn in Blekborg. Lunari asked Lord Mir if he could remove all the toll posts between here and the Prince’s Cities, when he had conquered the rest of Arland. Lord Mir more or less ignored the question, and had Remi write down Lunari’s initial price. Lunari wanted to go down to the dungeon to check on the jar with the evil inside. Lords Mir and Lunas led the way down from the lounge, and Xipil, Lunari and Grogg followed. Lady Isa wanted to come, too, so I brought up the rear with her. We headed for the armory first, and Lord Mir retrieved the magical spear. Lunari vented his concern to Lord Lunas, that his brother might not be able to put it down, and when we arrived in the dungeon, Lunari asked Lord Mir if he was going to conquer the world. Lord Mir ignored him, instead unlocking the cell with the jar. I wasn’t the only one who wanted a look at the jar, but Lord Mir closed the door with a bang and locked it again. In answer to Lunari’s question, he locked the spear inside the neighboring cell. Without further ado, he declared the evening had come to an end, and left with Lord Lunas. Lady Isa tried to hide behind me, and while Lord Mir hardly glanced at her as they passed, Lord Lunas gave her a look that said that she wasn’t supposed to be down here. The rest of us looked at each other, confused for a minute with their abrupt departure, but Xipil declared that he wanted to talk to Krull, the orcish prisoner. I decided I needed to have a word with the lords, and dashed up the stairs after them. |
Session 20 (2020-04-12)
When I caught up with them, I asked if we could have a private word. Lord Mir wanted to leave it to Lord Lunas, but I said I would like them both to hear what I had to say. I confessed that I didn’t want to make trouble for them. Considering that the Moon Shadows wanted my arrest, if affiliating with me would make difficulties for the Alderas, I would rather leave. The brothers stepped aside to discuss it. I considered which of them might be the most difficult opponent; that one would get my fangs in his throat if they tried something, while I hoped my fists could deal with the other one. I wouldn’t have time to replenish my poison glands mid-combat.
Only Lord Lunas came back to me. He said that they would like me to work for them. They recognized Ashtar, he continued, and I should decide for myself when it was time to go. I told him it was You who sent me here, so I couldn’t see how Your, and therefore my, interests would conflict with theirs. I professed that I would like to cooperate with them, along with Xipil, Grogg and Lunari. Lord Lunas seemed pleased with what I had told him, but he seemed even more stressed out. I had a feeling that the price on my head caused it. Anyone else might have felt guilty about that, but not me. I’ve only done what You have required of me. That thought reminded me why I was here. I had come here on Your orders, to meet new people, to connect with them and build relations. But more urgently, I needed assurances that I wasn’t to be handed over to the Moon Shadows. I looked deep into Lord Lunas’s eyes. “Would you like company tonight?” He took my hand and guided me upstairs. He glanced about nervously, but made no attempt to sneak past all the guards. Lord Lunas claimed that he hadn’t planned for this to happen, but I had seen the desire in his eyes. We passed the second floor, where I knew Lady Isa’s rooms lay, and entered Lord Lunas’s rooms on the third floor. He told the soldier guarding his door, “If someone wonders if new or old guests are doing something they shouldn’t, the answer is no. Let them have their fun, it’s been a while.” Door closed, Lord Lunas hugged me close, then he kissed my forehead. Before I could decide how to proceed, he moved away and lit a lamp, and shifted some mess away from the bed and from two chairs. “Would you like something to drink, or …” He opened a cupboard with some food and a few bottles. “I’ll take whatever you’re having,” I responded huskily. He picked out a bottle of wine, and took a chair. I sat down in his lap, one arm around his shoulders. We drank right from the bottle, and Lord Lunas fed me grapes. I didn’t really want to sleep with him, so I was relieved when he started talking about how dreary the last days had been. I could sit on his lap and be a good listener all night, if that was what he truly wanted. Lord Lunas apologized if he had let his stress affect me. It should be glaringly obvious that I was willing to go all the way, if not why. If he still were reluctant, I would offer a massage instead; I had heard that a good massage was nearly as good as sex, to remove stress. Lord Lunas picket up another grape and moved it towards my mouth. I opened up shyly, for I didn’t want to display my fangs, even retracted, but he pulled it away teasingly and had me wrestle it from his lips with mine. That opened a floodgate of activity. Even as I crushed the grape triumphantly between my teeth, his lips latched on to mine, and his hands expertly slipped the dress off my shoulders. I suppressed the urge to cover myself, reminding myself why I was here. I had picked up a few tricks from working girls when I researched this topic, and with that knowledge, I set about giving Lord Lunas the time of his life. Afterwards, we lay on his bed, talking. I would have pulled up the cover, if Lord Lunas hadn’t enjoyed the sight of me as immensely as he enjoyed the feel of my curves under his hand. It didn’t take much prompting to get him to reveal what he knew about the Moon Shadows. The Amrosh intelligence agency had a long tradition of cooperation with the Aldera family, although it had never gone beyond sharing of information. Lord Madan had told his son that the Moon Shadows would get the information anyway, so they might as well share, keeping relations cordial. Lord Lunas didn’t know how the Moon Shadows got all their information, and claimed it had been safest not to ask, but what they told the Alderas was always trustworthy. In a land of rumor mongers, that was a rarity. I tried spinning a story about being innocent of the charges they directed at me. Maybe someone bore a grudge against me, and had framed me for their own crimes? Lord Lunas didn’t believe that, but assured me his family wouldn’t hand me over to the Moon Shadows. He admitted he had pangs of conscience when it became clear that they were harboring a fugitive, but confessed that it would bother him even more if he put me in danger, or Lunari. He seemed to think that while doing my duty as a bounty hunter, I had angered someone powerful in the Amrosh family. Lord Lunas gave me a warning. Although I was safe here, I might not be so elsewhere in Arland. If I was afraid, I should turn down Lord Mir when he proposed missions to other nobles’ lands. He distracted himself with my breasts for a moment, and then added, “If you want, I can introduce you to Yana tomorrow. She’s the one around here who knows the most about disguises. You don’t have to think about payment for her services.” I possess some skills in that direction myself, and already had a few ideas, but accepted the offer. A consultation with Yana, who turned out to be the assistant to the tailor here at the fort, wouldn’t hurt. Lord Lunas thought she had a very good eye for what suited different occasions, and pointed out that Lady Isa would be overjoyed to escape being Yana’s dress-up doll, if only for a while. I recalled that she didn’t seem comfortable in the fancy gowns she had to wear. Lord Lunas said I was welcome to bring Xipil, Grogg and Lunari, too. “Speaking of Isa,” Lord Lunas said, “You can sleep here if you wish, but I don’t want my sister to know about us. She might get some unfortunate ideas into her head, and do something she will come to regret. She’s bored with life at the fort, and lacking an appropriate role model … I had to have a long talk with her after your tower raid. She knows deep inside that there are good reasons for her not to go off adventuring.” He didn’t want his brother to know about me either, but would endure the embarrassment if it came to that. Once Lord Lunas fell asleep, I got up and dressed, taking care not to wake him. I sent You a silent prayer. “O Ashtar, the Mighty Serpent! Watch over Lord Lunas and his family. They may not be Your children, but they are good people nonetheless.” I made Your sign in the air above the sleeping half-elf, and then I slipped out. I made my way back to my own room on silent feet, seeing none but guards. One of them nodded at me with a knowing smile on his face. The guards were certainly going to talk about me, but I hoped they confined it to the barracks. Having Lunari learn about this might be awkward. I filled up the washbasin from my water skin. I cleaned every trace of Lord Lunas off me, as well as the makeup. It had hardly smeared, and I was glad I had bought the most expensive stuff. Fishing my medicine kit out of the backpack, I retrieved the small pouch of birth-bane root while praying for You to revoke Your blessing for the moment, so the herb would take effect. I measured out about half of the eight doses from the pouch, and swallowed the herbs with a sip of water. I could get terrible stomach pains in the morning, but that was better than the alternative. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 21 (2020-04-19)
8th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Nauseated and with cramps, I woke before the sun came up, and offered prayers of thanks. I changed into my everyday dress, fresh from the laundry, and went downstairs. I forced myself to eat a little before returning to my room, sitting down to rest my hurting stomach. An hour later, I heard doors opening and closing, and joined Lunari and Xipil on their way to the dining hall. I intended to keep them company, but I didn’t feel like talking very much. I could tell Lunari wanted to ask what I had been up to last night, but he noticed my condition and concluded that I had been at the bottle. Through the windows, we could see Grogg staggering out of the inner courtyard and plummeting into a fountain. He was drunk. I recalled he had been drinking rather heavily last night, but I had thought his constitution could handle it, unless he had significantly more to drink after I left the others in the dungeon. I myself had doubled my intake since then, but another half-glass of wine wasn’t likely to affect me, even if I didn’t sip it over the course of hours like with the first half. Xipil brought some fruit for Grogg, and Lunari and I watched while they talked. Grogg filled a bucket of water and took it up to his room, while Xipil returned to us in the dining hall, commenting that Grogg was feeling even worse than I did this morning. Lord Lunas entered with a spring in his step; the stress from last night had vanished. He asked concernedly if we had managed to put Grogg in bed. We assumed he had got himself safely back to his room, as we surely would have heard something from the servants if he had passed out in the hallway. Lord Lunas made a comment about me sneaking off. This might be leading to something I absolutely wouldn’t want to discuss in public, so I excused myself and said I had to go and relieve myself of my breakfast. It turned out not to be a lie. When I returned after my stomach had settled itself, Lord Lunas was saying that Lord Mir had left, and that now that he was the master of the fort, we should resume our cooperation. Xipil asked if we should go somewhere else, to continue the talk in private, but Lord Lunas simply dismissed the servants and set guards on the doors. Lord Mir’s sudden departure had his brother believe him more concerned than he originally thought. Xipil suspected that the jar with the evil inside it, that Lord Mir had seen in the dungeon, had something to do with it. Lord Lunas hoped that Lord Mir was going to the Moon Shadows, and not to the capital, a hope I did not share. Anywhere would be better than with the Moon Shadows. Lord Lunas instructed us to maintain the deception of Lord Madan being in charge, and of Lord Mir’s presence at the Evening Fort. Xipil interjected a question about the formerly dark tower, but Lord Lunas didn’t answer. Instead, he said there was something he wanted us to see, here on the island. Lunari and Xipil fetched Grogg, and then we made our way to the inner courtyard. We stopped outside the door to the nobles’ dining hall, and Lord Lunas told us that if we remained there for a while, we’d see something interesting. He was looking meaningfully at me the whole time. We glanced about the now-familiar inner courtyard, but I kept peeking worriedly at Lord Lunas. He smiled at me, but I thought he looked nervous. Xipil nudged me and pointed discreetly above the door to the dining hall. Among the carvings, I spotted Your symbol, and asked Lord Lunas if that was what we were supposed to see. It was, but he was uncertain if Lunari and Grogg should come further. I thought they could come at least as far as the door to the chapel, and led the way inside. Now that I knew what to look for among the decorations on the walls, I found the way to Your chapel, through the dining hall, upstairs and past the lounge, then into narrow servants’ corridors and down again. Other symbols marked the way to other places of worship, but I had only eyes for Your signs. In a deep cellar, following footprints in the dust, we emerged in an antechamber with a bench in the middle of the room, and empty closets and boxes along the walls. Above the door on the far side of the room, a symbol marked the entrance to Your temple. I sent You a prayer, asking if the infidels were allowed inside. Lord Lunas mumbled something that might indicate that Ashtarites should feel welcome on their island. I opened the door, revealing two small oil lamps shedding light on wash basins. We had brought another lantern as well, through the dark corridors, and I handed that to Lunari, asking if he could wait in the antechamber with Lord Lunas and Grogg. He wanted to know why he had to remain outside; now that he had come this far, surely, he could take a few more steps. Lord Lunas tried to placate him, at the same time asking me if it was right of him to bring us here. I smiled and gave the noble a hug. It was more than right. Xipil and I entered and closed the door to the antechamber behind us. We washed our feet and hands, and Xipil washed his tail. Bringing one of the small lamps, we proceeded to the chapel. The room was nearly empty. Only a stone altar stood on the middle of the floor, with the largest snake I had ever seen coiled up on top. It had to be at least ten meters long, and it was even a venomous snake! I approached it cautiously, not because I feared its bite, but because it practically exuded an aura of holiness. I kissed the top of its head reverently, and Xipil asked if he should do the same. Your teachings demanded no such thing, so I told him he could if he wanted to; I only did it because it felt like the right thing to do. This snake, the only one in the room, was ancient. I sat down by the altar to pray, and then I told Xipil that I was going to see if the others wanted to come inside. Lord Lunas was very respectful, making it clear that he wouldn’t come if his presence would offend You. I assured him that it was all right, and proceeded to instruct him, Lunari and Grogg in how to cleanse themselves properly, feet and hands. There were only two basins, so Grogg had to wait while Lord Lunas and Lunari washed. Grogg refilled one of the basins with clean water, and then he lifted it up and started drinking. My eyes popped in disbelief at the sacrilege, and I yelled furiously at him to get out. He stomped out to the antechamber, leaving behind a threat about what would happen to me if Lunari came to harm. I paid little attention to his words, as it took all my effort not to sink my fangs into his filthy hands. I slammed the door shut, and brought the visitors down the corridor to the chapel. When Lord Lunas and Lunari approached the opening to the chapel on my heels, the snake on the altar stirred and raised its head, hissing towards the infidels. I told them to remain in the corridor so as not to agitate it, and dashed forward to caress the snake. Soothed by my touch, the snake settled down on the altar again, but kept its eyes on the two intruders. I asked Lunari if we should go back to Grogg, or if he felt a desire to become Your follower. Returning to Grogg, Lord Lunas exclaimed that he was impressed, but I could see that he was relieved to get out of there. I thanked him earnestly for showing us the chapel, and for the respect his family shows for Ashtarites, even if they aren’t believers themselves. He replied that we were welcome to visit the chapel again. I glared heatedly at Grogg and told him that the invitation did not include him. Back outside, Grogg muttered about the brightness of the daylight. Serves him right, for drinking to excess! Xipil asked about the tower again, but Lord Lunas brushed him off again, saying we should talk to Markus about it. We went back to the lounge, and Lord Lunas asked if we wanted anything. Xipil asked for fruit, and I nodded agreement, but Lunari wanted wine. I asked what we were supposed to do now; Lord Mir seemed to have had plans for us, but he was gone. Lord Lunas explained a little about the Moon Shadows to the others, among other things mentioning that they certainly knew that I was near Guling. Xipil and Lunari opined that I should get a new name and a new look. Lord Lunas nodded agreement. Grogg interjected that he was protecting me when he called me “Nurkia”. I told him that whenever he mangled my name, I took it as an insult. My name is Nuur-Karif, and it was my first gift from You. I asked if the others needed to disguise themselves, too, and Lord Lunas pointed out that they are an elf dandy and a massive troll from the Prince’s Cities, and a lizard man. We definitely need to think about their appearances, too. |
Session 21 (2020-04-19)
Sharing information given to him by the Moon Shadows, Lord Lunas told us about the expedition from the Prince’s Cities, that had brought the star box here. They had been led by a representative of the Company, assisted by two mages from the Academy. Those are two of the four ruling organizations of the Prince’s Cities; I think the Salt Guild is another, but I don’t recall the last one.
There had been discord among the expedition members. After visiting Guling, they were observed at the Larma headquarter. Lord Lunas suspected the Larma Loyalists of being in cahoots with “The Family”, apparently a power factor within the Company. He also suspected the two Academy mages of being held captive by Larma, betrayed by the Company man. Xipil didn’t think it was very important to get to the bottom of this. Breaking out the captives, if that was indeed what they were, had to yield priority to delivering the star box to the Azura temple in Mistvan, back in the Prince’s Cities. Lord Lunas couldn’t understand how we could trust the Azura priesthood, and Lunari explained that they were only interested in the knowledge that was stored in the box. Xipil claimed that we could trust the Azura priests because they are the only ones who know what’s going on, and I assumed he was talking about the night sky, how the stars are behaving more oddly than normal. Lord Lunas thought we should get Pak and Groman involved in the discussion. I asked why, and he explained that the two of them had traveled widely, studying old ruins and such things. Lunari told Grogg to go fetch the historians. The troll lurched towards the door, and Lunari decided to go with him, as he seemed sauced up to his eyeballs still. While we waited, Xipil asked what Krull’s deal was. Lord Lunas told us that they put him in the dungeon a long time ago, and Lord Madan had promised to explain about it, but he had apparently put it off, again and again, and now it was too late. Lord Lunas knew some of the story, and had figured out other parts over the years, and he related to Xipil and me: Years ago, there was an orcish warlord named Gromgar. Under him, the orcish raids were fewer, but they targeted the power structures of Arland, making them much more disruptive. Someone else was behind it; a brute like Gromgar didn’t have the brains to think much farther than the end of his maul. Unlikely as it seemed, Vasulla’s lands were spared, but they denied the allegations of collusion, and asked Aldera for help to figure out what was really going on. Lunari and Grogg returned with Pak and Groman, interrupting the story, but I asked Lord Lunas if they had discovered that Krull was the mastermind behind it all. He was reluctant to go on with Pak and Groman in the room, but continued anyway. Lord Lunas and company were escorted through Vasulla land, and crossed into Orkheim, where they were captured by orcs and brought to Krull. Krull asked what they were doing there, and Lord Lunas had told the truth, that they were going to arrest him, bringing laughter from the old orc. Lord Lunas explained to him that his activities caused trouble between Furkan and Vasulla, and Krull answered that that had been his intention all along. Then he let the Arlanders go. “Then how did Krull end up here?” I asked. When Lord Lunas started explaining that his father thought his mother suffered from King’s Fever, an illness that only affected royals and other important people, Pak interrupted, saying that we were supposed to talk about important stuff, not to rip up old wounds. Xipil told him that we had a box filled with star energy, and Pak asked to see it. Lunari stood up to retrieve it, and I reminded him that it was in my backpack. He asked if I preferred to fetch it myself, but it seemed that the cramps in my stomach had lessened somewhat, and I didn’t want to agitate them by standing up. When Lunari returned with the box, Groman began studying it. The dwarf claimed that the box was asleep. He added that when we first arrived here, he had heard that we were asking about his books, which made him upset. He shook his head and continued. There wasn’t just star energy in the box, it also held information. Pak carried Groman out, for the dwarf wanted to read up on something. It seemed I wasn’t the only one with a tender belly this morning. Xipil followed them. Grogg tried to make Kraa touch the apparatus, but Lunari snapped the box shut. From what he just heard, Lord Lunas understood that the box was powerful, and reiterated that he couldn’t fathom why we trusted Azura. As he and Xipil had already made their thoughts clear on the subject, Lunari didn’t bother to repeat himself. I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t trust Azura any more than Lord Lunas did. Glancing around the room, I thought to myself that I didn’t trust anyone present. I liked them, even if I seethed at Grogg at the moment, and wanted to cooperate with them, and I even thought I understood their motives, but trust? No. My trust lies in Your coils. I asked Lord Lunas if he could continue the story about Krull, now that Pak and Groman had left. He didn’t know if Lady Varja and Lord Madan were suffering from the same, but they suspected demon possession in both cases. Anyway, Lord Madan had sent his sons away when Lady Varja fell ill, Mir to the west, and Lunas to the north. Lord Lunas sought out Krull again, and convinced him to come back with him. Gromgar found out about this, and followed the party over the great river. South of Badahan, he caught up with them. As it happened, Lunari and Grogg were in the vicinity, and Grogg challenged Gromgar to a duel, felling the mighty warlord and taking his maul for his own; the rest of the orcs fled back home. I had heard the story of how Lunari and Grogg saved the Alderas several times already, so Lord Lunas skipped over it quickly. Back at the Evening Fort, Krull spent long hours with the sick Lady Varja. Lord Lunas had to go away for a time, and when he returned, his mother was dead, and Krull was locked up in the dungeon. Lord Madan forbade anyone else from talking to the prisoner, but as we knew, that ban wasn’t enforced very thoroughly. Lord Lunas suspected that Krull had something to do with the death of his mother, but he had no proof. The others returned, and Groman had Xipil show on our map where the star boxes were to be filled up. Pak managed to point to the eastern location before Xipil could; it was near a large crater, according to my companions, who had been there. The western location was just north of here, of course, but we didn’t know the exact spots for the northern and southern locations. Pak and Groman didn’t believe that the directions were very important, rather they thought that Azura wanted image captions of the night sky near certain locations. They also believed that it wasn’t the sky as such that was important, but I gathered that the night sky somehow reflected information about powerful forces tied to those specific locations. Or perhaps the locations were connected to forces on the sky. The stars aren’t important in Your teachings, so I let my mind wander, and didn’t pay all that much attention to what the others were discussing. I recalled that Xipil had mentioned Krull saying something about me taking him home, so I asked the lizard man to repeat exactly what the orc had said. Krull had told him that Ashtarites were going to bring him home, Xipil corrected. So, I thought, it might not be me. |
Session 21 (2020-04-19)
With permission from Lord Lunas, I went to visit the prisoner. Xipil wanted to come as well, but I snuck out while he was busy discussing with Lunari a book he had read once; I feared the guards might make a comment I didn’t want Xipil to hear. The guards were very trusting, I thought to myself when they let me in. Perhaps they thought I had wrapped Lord Lunas around my little finger, and thus had no need to make up that he allowed me to see Krull.
Krull was asleep when I knocked on his door and opened the little hatch. He said he was glad to see me. I asked him to explain what he had said about Ashtarites taking him home. He watched me, his huge eye pressed to the hatch, and said something cryptical about not listening to rumors or traditions, but to search within myself for the answer. I told him I’d be back, but I added a “maybe”. He asked me why, and I explained that I intended to return, but who could really tell? We bantered about it for a minute, and then I gave him Your blessing and closed the hatch. Krull shouted that he knew why I didn’t like him. Confused, I opened the hatch again and asked what he meant by that. He didn’t answer. I shut the hatch and left, shaking my head. I had neither like nor dislike for him. Halfway up the stairs, I met Lunari, who asked if I had been able to say what needed to be said to Krull. I told him I had, and that now, I was going to search within myself. Lunari continued down; I continued up. I went past the room where Grogg, Pak and Xipil were sitting, and strode determinedly towards the temple. I reminded myself to call it a chapel; the others aren’t worthy of the knowledge of the difference between a temple and a chapel. I thought it was strange that a place like this should have a temple. I undressed at the wash stands and cleansed myself thoroughly. I brought the clothes down to the altar, in case I grew cold, but I wanted to feel close to You, so I didn’t dress. Instead, I climbed up on the altar and entwined myself with the snake. It stirred slightly, then settled down around me. Wrapped in ten meters of bliss, I prayed. I’ve never had such a comfortable bed, and stayed for hours, beseeching You for guidance. As time passed, a feeling grew inside me. The place where Krull belonged was not here, and that place had nothing to do with You. I received no instructions to take Krull away from here. Sighing, I freed myself from the snake’s embrace, and got dressed. I returned to the dungeon, and told Krull that I wasn’t the one who would take him away. He took it well, and asked if I could send Grogg down with something to drink. “Don’t bite anything I wouldn’t!” he called after me. I told him I couldn’t make that promise, and he laughed that he had expected just that answer. Grogg and Lunari were dozing on the sofas when I reappeared in the lounge. I passed on Krull’s message to Grogg, but the troll muttered that it wouldn’t happen today. Lunari told me that we would eat with Lord Lunas tonight. In the nobles’ dining hall, a little later, Grogg and Lunari were talking about crossing over to Guling when the sun set and the land bridge appeared. Unlike them, I waited politely for Lord Lunas to arrive before I started eating. When he entered, the lord declared that he was going to town tonight, and looked me in the eyes when he asked if anyone else was going. I hadn’t planned to go, but I asked if he wanted me to come. He said it would be nice, so I accepted. Lord Lunas convinced Xipil to come, as well. Lord Lunas asked if we wanted him to arrange lodgings for us in town, but Lunari insinuated that he had plans to stay with some ladies of negotiable morals, and I said that I would go off on my own and find somewhere else to sleep, unless he wanted to hang out. Lord Lunas replied we could do that another time. He clearly had business to attend to, and I asked what it was. He answered that he and Keri were going to see Markus; running a city wasn’t easy. We rushed across the causeway, passing carts going both ways. Lunari asked if Lord Lunas could recommend a brothel, and got directions to a particular district here in Guling. Lord Lunas and Keri headed for the new city hall, but gave us the name of the Golden Rooster Inn first. I told the others that I’d meet them there for breakfast tomorrow, and said my goodbyes. Xipil had deduced that I was on my way to the chapel, and he stopped me to ask if something was happening there tonight, but I told him I didn’t know. If there was something, it would be soon, I added, and he said that he’d be there shortly. I went to the chapel, and immediately got the impression that not much had happened there in the last days. Still not feeling entirely well, I lay down with the snakes to sleep after a short prayer: O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. Xipil arrived before I dozed off, and told me that the great, old snake on the island was guarding something. I told him I was of the same opinion, but I didn’t reveal what it watched over. Xipil told me they met Nujan, who had seen that there were lions in the tower. He also wondered if the priestess here would be able to identify the vial they found earlier, but I recommended that he should ask a magician. Realizing it wasn’t really that late, and with Xipil in a talkative mood, I initiated a Meet. It felt a little strange, with only the two of us present, but we followed the liturgy, just the same. During the final prayer, You told me to descend to Your domain, where I would find She Who Can See Both Sides. I told Xipil not to try to follow me. If I wasn’t back before breakfast, he should tell the others that I was dead. I was going to the realm of death, after all. I left the lizard man among the snakes, disappearing into one of the side corridors before I took the journey to Your realm. The priestess was there, praying, and I told her I had come to see her. She seemed distressed, not with my presence, but more like a woman who’s sent her sons and daughters to war. She explained that the spirits from the tower had been driven insane, some of them haunting her, and that she had sent Your other followers away and sought refuge here. The Ashtarites had all gone east. Even though the Rama priests had driven the spirits away from the tower, they might still be lingering nearby. I told her I’d pray with her. When we finished, she looked at me with grim eyes and told me You had told her to kill me. My stomach fluttered, but I replied calmly, “If this is Ashtar’s will, go ahead!” I tilted my head away from her, baring my neck. The priestess intoned, “O Ashtar! You are the one who knows who shall die and who shall not. Nuur-Karif lays her life in your hands, returning only to the world of the living if that is Your will!” As she prayed, she lowered me to the floor, and suddenly, she sank her fangs into my throat. I knew I was dying, for a burning heat spread through my body, but for some reason, the pain wasn’t as sharp as I had feared it would be. Why wasn’t it? I should praise You, but I had no strength left to utter the words. Darkness took me. I woke in the same place, feeling no pain at all. The priestess was gone, but I knew she had prayed over my corpse before leaving. The experience felt similar to my metamorphosis, vague, unclear and confusing. How long had I been dead? I touched my neck gingerly, but the wounds from her fangs were healed, leaving only small scars. |
Session 21 (2020-04-19)
9th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I prayed for permission to leave Your domain, and returned to the chapel, finding Xipil asleep on the floor. I sighed with relief. I had no idea of how long I had been away; it could be days, weeks or months. Maybe even years! I checked the sky outside; the first grey of pre-dawn was showing in the west. So, it had only been a few hours. I had feared that the others were long gone. Not that the idea concerned me too deeply. If You had wanted me to find them again, I would have, and otherwise, You would have given me another task. I sat down to pray among the snakes, and Xipil woke up after a while. He gasped that I was covered in blood. Looking down, I saw that he was right. Funny that I hadn’t noticed. I smiled and told him it was all right, and that I had been granted the rank of Slitherer. You must have put those words on my tongue, for the priestess had said nothing of the kind, so You must have wanted me to tell him. I added that what happened in Your realm should stay there, belaying Xipil’s questions. I wasn’t keen on revealing what I had learned, but some of it could be useful for him to know. Maybe the time would come when it was all right to tell, but that time was not now. Subconsciously, I knew I now had a choice regarding how to serve You. I could become a Watcher or a Subduer, but like my new rank, these were titles that simply appeared in my mind, without context. I could intuit nothing about the choices, but what the everyday meaning of those words revealed. I have been quite happy doing Your work as a bounty hunter, but clearly You have bigger plans for me. Being a Subduer sounded like it could be in that same line of work, but if that was the case, why offer me the choice? Perhaps there was a deeper meaning to it? Regardless, I am confident that You will guide me to the right choice. I peeled off the blood-soaked dress and cleaned myself at the wash stands at the entrance. I put the dress back on, but luckily, I had brought my cloak; it lay on the chapel floor where I had left it with Xipil last night. With the cloak covering the dark red on my dress, and the hood hiding the scars, I was almost ready to go. I had recently come into quite a lot of money, and thought I should share some with other Ashtarites, who perhaps weren’t as lucky. Counting out coins from my pouch, I left five gold pieces on the floor, among the snakes. That should make it clear that those who needed them were welcome to it. Xipil copied my offering. We found Grogg in the common room of the Golden Rooster. He smelled of soap, so Lunari must have forced him to bathe. Grogg sniffed the air when we approached, and told me pointedly that there was a bath tub in his room. I said I didn’t need a bath, and ordered breakfast, all the while wrapped up in my cloak. Grogg repeated that he thought I needed to wash. Xipil found Nujan, and Grogg gave the cat man a gift, an embroidery of a pig with sore buttocks being chased by a harlot. This was an impressive piece. I could even make out flowers on the pig’s cheek, making it clear who the pig was supposed to represent. Nujan suggested to have it framed and put it on a wall at the Evening Fort. The pig sauntered down the stairs and joined us. Lunari looked like he had been up all night, partying. I asked Xipil if he had a room here, and if I could borrow his key. Lunari accused me of killing someone; he must have heard from Grogg that I reeked of blood. Just then, Lord Lunas came in from the street, and he didn’t look as if he had had much sleep either. I grabbed Lunari’s arm and pulled him with me, pushing him into a corner away from everyone. “Not lately,” I told him in response to his allegations, and opened my cloak and turned my head so he could see the scars, and conclude that it was my blood that stained the dress. The scars looked old, but I hoped he couldn’t see them that clearly in the shadowy corner where we stood; hopefully, he had taken notice of my unblemished neck before. Covering myself again, I returned to the others to pick up Xipil’s key. Grogg hinted that there would be a bath tub in Xipil’s room, too. I asked the staff if I could have a small sack, and they obliged. I found Xipil’s room and took off the dress, putting it in the sack. Naked but for sandals and knife belt, I put on the cloak again, pushing all the knives around to the back. If someone should get a glimpse under the cloak, knives might provoke questions; the best I could hope for was awkward silence and perhaps a dropped jaw. Of course, if some guy found the sight too tempting and decided to corner me in a dark alley, he’d get to see the blades if his eyes were quick enough to catch sight of them before they found his throat. Borrowing makeup from Lunari, I covered up the scars on my neck. Alone in his room, I left the sack with my dress in his backpack. I did tell him about it, of course, and asked him to bring it back to the Evening Fort. Now, I had to go shopping for a new dress. |
Session 22 (2020-05-01)
9th of Rama, year 412
It occurred to me that the priestess was a Watcher. The thought came seemingly from nowhere, so I knew You had planted it in my mind. If I let the seed grow, it might ultimately inform my decision, but right now, the knowledge was of no use to me. I told the others I was going shopping, and left them to discuss the new spear and armor Lunari was going to get in exchange for the magical spear. After browsing the marketplace for a while, I found a small shop that sold simple clothes. Canvas walls were erected, giving customers privacy to try on the clothes, and I put on an unadorned, grey dress. Inexpensive, it was something the poorer citizens might have for their everyday outfit, but it fit quite well, and as I expected to redo my entire wardrobe later, with help from Yana, the tailor’s assistant at the Evening Fort, it would do. Decently dressed, the flutter in my stomach subsided, and I strolled over to the park to look for snakes. I realized that the south-eastern area of the city might be just as likely to harbor Your wonderful creatures, with its irrigation ditches and small-scale farming. However, the park was closer, so I went there first. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed my walk in the park even though I didn’t find what I was looking for. Just as I decided to head for the other likely snake area, the priestess found me. We greeted each other, and she told me she was happy to find me, even though she knew I’d be here. We crossed the city and entered the chapel, washing our feet and hands, as is proper. We sat down to pray, and after a while, the priestess asked to see my weapons. I drew my long knives and my throwing knives, lining them up on the floor between us. She picked up each of the four blades in turn, biting them ritually and praying over them. “All your weapons,” she added expectantly, and I gaped and extended my fangs; she blessed them, too. The priestess instructed me to kill the spirits that were haunting the region. She knew it would be a difficult task, for an evil will lead them, more dangerous than the “ordinary” spirits. With my blessed weapons, I should be able to deal with the spirits, she said, but she strongly advised me to recruit assistance. Someone less devout might decline the quest, thinking they had a choice in the matter. I knew it for the command that it was, Your divine will, so of course, I promised to undertake this mission. I retracted my fangs and sheathed my blades, biting the blessed weapons reverently before putting them away. The priestess wished me good luck and went home to sleep. With everything that’s been going on recently, she hadn’t had much time for sleep, but she told me not to worry about her. I stayed for a short prayer before venturing out to look for snakes again. I found several water snakes, about half a meter long, and two of them deigned to accompany me, so I slipped them down my dress. They settled down in the small space between my belt and my breasts, cold scales against my stomach. I was ecstatic, feeling like I was walking on holy ground. It was time for lunch, so I returned to the Golden Rooster, where I understood Lord Lunas was picking up the bill. None of the others were there. I expected them to be at the tower, looking at the lions, unless they had gone to Lord Lunas’s weaponsmith. I joined a group of merchants for the meal, and learned that business was good, which was surprising, given the martial law both here in Guling and in Ur, the nearest other city. I went outside and found an alley, having set aside a few scraps of meat, so I could feed the snakes where no one would see me. Dropping food down my cleavage, I wasn’t exactly acting normal. I had no fear of being bitten, of course, not by Your children. The water snakes settled down to digest their meal, and I returned to the Golden Rooster. Back inside, I found a game of dice. I lost a few coppers, but the other players claimed to feel sorry for me and used some of their winnings to keep me supplied with beer. I’m not sure they weren’t trying to “loosen me up”. Lord Lunas entered, and I joined him in the corner with the nice sofa where we could talk privately. Markus had received reports of incidents related to an old grave site in a grove near a village a half day’s walk outside the city. Ghosts, apparently. I offered to take the gang out there to investigate, even though Lord Lunas was concerned we might not be able to do anything about them. I didn’t tell him about my blessings, but said we’d check it out, and if nothing else was possible, we should at least manage to return with more information about what was going on. Lord Lunas asked me to inform Markus on leaving Guling. I said I needed to fetch some equipment on the island, and expected that I wasn’t alone in that. We could go to the Evening Fort tonight, rushing to our rooms to get the gear, and cross the land bridge to Guling again before it closed. At least, we could if the others were as organized as me; I was always ready to go on a moment’s notice, I informed Lord Lunas, my backpack filled and placed by the door, but I suspected that Lunari might need more time to get organized. I understood from what Lord Lunas said that it shouldn’t be a problem if we remained on the island for a day, but if it took longer to get ready, we should send a message to Markus. I remained in the sofa after Lord Lunas left, caressing the snakes under my dress absentmindedly while I thought about what I should do for the rest of the day. It was still hours until the land bridge opened. I considered going to the weaponsmith to look for the others, but I had no business there, and was content remaining here. The sofa was comfortable and the snakes exhilarating. |
Session 22 (2020-05-01)
The door opened, and Grogg, Xipil, Lunari and Nujan walked in. I waved them over. Grogg carried a huge axe, styled fancifully, and I congratulated him on the acquisition, as he seemed very proud of it. I told them about Lord Lunas’s task for us, in broad lines. We ordered dinner and ate while we discussed it. Grogg and Lunari wanted to bring Lady Isa, since she was able to see the spirits at the tower, but Xipil warned them that Lord Lunas wouldn’t like it if we exposed his sister to danger. I suggested that we returned to the fort tonight and departed for the quest tomorrow night. That way, we’d have time to talk to Lady Isa and hear her opinion before making a decision.
Lunari mentioned wanting to visit an herbalist, so Xipil, Grogg and I joined him for a short detour on our way to the land bridge. We had ample time before it opened. Lunari and Grogg demanded party drugs, and while they held everyone’s attention, I snooped around, looking in shelves and drawers. Behind the counter, where I expected I wasn’t supposed to be, I located the poison section of the store. In a drawer next to the belladonna, I discovered birth-bane root and measured up eight doses into my hand. Returning to the customers’ side of the counter, I caught the shopkeeper’s attention. I showed him what I held in my hand, and asked what he wanted for it. He hurriedly opened the drawer where I had found it, but couldn’t see that the contents had diminished, and accused me of pulling a prank, insisting that I must have brought what I held in my hand with me when I came to the store. I tried telling him that I had taken it from his drawer, but he was so certain, I had to persuade him to allow me to pay, and even then, I suspected he only required a symbolic payment. Once the others had made their purchases and we went outside, Grogg sniffed Xipil, mumbling that it would probably be all right. I wondered briefly what he was on about, but dismissed it as none of my concern. Neither was it any of my business that Grogg had bought a strong cleaning agent that he planned to use on his clothes, almost certainly ruining them. I recognized the stuff; I use it to clean my poison paraphernalia. We also stopped by the Rama temple. The guards outside were on high alert, but the inside seemed practically abandoned. A priest appeared to ask what Rama could do for us, and Lunari asked if they had taken steps concerning the cursed animals that the goblins had kidnapped. They had. The priest warned us not to take animals on a journey. Lunari wanted to take horse and wagon when we left for the graveyard, but I argued that we didn’t need to. It was only half a day away. I assured the others that I felt no desire to follow instructions from a priest of Rama, and I nearly spat the name, but opined that we shouldn’t provoke them needlessly. Lunari popped inside a tavern, picking up a glass bottle and a small barrel, which he got Grogg to carry, of course. We met Nujan at the land bridge, and Grogg got back his embroidery so he could show it to Lunari. The pig-elf took it well, and didn’t object to the plans of hanging it on display in the fort. Grogg sniffed Xipil again, and Nujan. Something was clearly going on, but I thought Xipil would let me know if he felt it was necessary to involve me. A city guard asked Grogg if he could help move a cart of building materials over the land bridge. Grogg looked to Lunari, and the elf accepted. At the fort, Xipil said he wanted to speak to Groman and Pak, and I said I was going to the chapel. Xipil changed his mind, asking if it was all right if he came with me. Of course, it was, I told him. The guards clearly had instructions to allow us to enter the inner courtyard, but while they looked askance at Nujan when he followed Xipil and me, they didn’t stop him. In the chapel, the large, ancient snake was curious about the small ones I pulled out of my dress, but after a quick inspection, it seemed to accept them. Xipil and I sat down by the altar and prayed. I felt the need to address the great snake, and I stood up and asked it why. It hissed at me and studied the scars on my neck. I asked the snake why I was there, but it only hissed again, still intent on my neck. I got the impression that it wanted to bite me, so I leaned towards it slightly, tilting my head away. I ignored Xipil’s gasp, and then the snake struck. It latched on to my neck, and held on as I staggered into the altar and leaned heavily on it. Venom coursed through my veins, burning. The snake told me this was a taste of a gift to come, then it let go of me, hissing at my wounds. Xipil worried about my bleeding, but I told him it was all right. I did put a hand on my neck to staunch the bleeding, though, as I went back down on my knees to pray. I didn’t bleed as copiously as wounds that size would indicate, but I still stained my new dress badly. The bleeding abated in pace with the diminishing burning sensation. My prayers confirmed that I had had a preview of a gift, and I noticed that the great snake had fallen asleep. I also thought that I was supposed to become a Subduer, although I still had no idea what that entailed. Xipil was curious about what the snake had done to me, but I only told him that I had received the taste of a gift that might be mine someday. I admitted that it was vague, and said it was difficult to tell any more. I stood up and kissed the snake. It opened an eye and peered at me before closing it again. It seemed to want to convey something to me. It came across as “do deadly, do quietly”. I pondered the cryptic communication as Xipil and I left the chapel. Xipil went to visit Groman and Pak, but I headed for the guest hall in the outer courtyard. A guard looked at me questioningly, but I told him I was all right, and he opened the door for me. I knocked on Lunari’s and Grogg’s door. Lunari called out tiredly, “Can it wait until tomorrow?” I responded that I just wanted the sack with my clothes. Lunari shuffled to the door and handed it to me, alongside a shocked look. I told him I was all right, that he could go back to bed. I put all my bloody clothes in a pile for the servants to launder, and washed and bandaged my neck. I had stopped bleeding, but the wounds could break open again if I wasn’t careful, and I had been taught that unprotected wounds invited disease. I fetched my tooth brush and sat down on the bed while I worked the brush methodically. It was two days since I last brushed, and my mouth felt foul. I returned the brush to my pack and readied my red dress, in case I needed to receive visitors before the other dresses were cleaned. I said my evening prayer and went to sleep. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 22 (2020-05-01)
10th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I felt a lot better this morning. The cramps and the nausea were completely gone, and my neck hurt markedly less. Rising late, Grogg and I arrived in the dining hall just when Lunari and Xipil were leaving. Mina served breakfast for us, and I asked her if it was possible to set up a meeting with Yana. Mina said that Remi had told her about that, and went to fetch the tailor’s assistant. Yana was darker of skin than most Arlanders, myself included, so I suspected she came from the south-east, where a darker skin tone is more common. She asked what she could do for me, and I explained that when it was time to leave Aldera land, it might be convenient with a disguise. Yana looked me over thoroughly, a craftswoman scrutinizing what she had to work with, and I studied her right back; she was quite pretty. Yana nodded agreement as I told her I considered coloring my hair, changing the style of my clothes, and altering my dialect. She had a look at Grogg, too, and recommended that we put makeup on the metal parts of his skin, as well as giving him a wig. Some trolls do have hair. Turning her attention back at me, Yana asked if I cared to dress up as a man. She could provide me with a false beard or a mustache. I admitted that while I thought I could pull it off – I’m a decent actress – I wouldn’t feel comfortable like that, not for days and days. “Then what about curls?” she asked. I thought that sounded like a much better idea. Yana asked if there were others who should be disguised, too, and I mentioned Lunari and Xipil. As she didn’t know the reason for the disguises, Yana thought Xipil was the most important one to camouflage. Lunari and Xipil turned up after a while, and I made introductions. “Hello, darling!” was Lunari’s opening remark to Yana, and I told him sharply that he shouldn’t try anything with her, because she was here to do a job, namely making disguises for when we leave. We relocated to Yana’s workshop, and I noticed how she looked at Xipil, a challenge unlike any she had come up against before. Grogg got a pony tail wig, and Yana covered his metal parts with makeup. The makeup didn’t stick very well to the metal, so it came off when Grogg scratched at it. When we leave, Lunari has to make sure he doesn’t rub it off. Xipil got makeup on, too, something dark to cover his color-shifting scales. He asked if I was the one to organize this session, but I admitted that it was Lord Lunas who had made it happen. Yana provided Xipil and Grogg with jars of the stuff; there was a lot of them to cover. Yana placed Lunari and me in small chairs while she did our hair. She added extensions to Lunari’s hair and recommended that he did it up elegantly instead of pulling focus with flowers painted on his face. Those flowers were really characteristic for him, and they would make him instantly recognizable. She dyed my dark hair a nearly white blonde and put in curls, a rare combination in Arland, but having traveled with Lunari for two months now, I didn’t think I’d have any problems imitating his dialect. Yana also gave me makeup tips for how to achieve an elvish look; without doing something about my ears, I’d never pass for a pureblood, but following her instructions, it wouldn’t be difficult to pose as a half-elf. Grogg thought it would be funny if Yana disguised me as a troll instead, but neither of us thought it was a good idea. I made sure to ask what herbs Yana used to dye my hair, so I could maintain the disguise while my hair grew. It felt nice, talking to Yana, and we discussed clothing styles and color choices, as well as makeup and hair. She was delighted to chatter with someone who were skilled with disguises, she said, but really, I thought she appreciated talking to someone who took an interest in her art. Dressing up Lady Isa was a thankless job, I imagined, knowing how the noblewoman felt about fine clothes. I reminded the others that we had to talk to Lady Isa about leaving, rather clumsily, as Yana shouldn’t know we might take her with us when we went. I explained hurriedly to Yana that Lady Isa had taken care of Grogg’s pet for a while, and that he wanted to bring it when we went. I’ve never felt so flustered in my life; it was a wonder I got the words out at all. Grogg corrected that it wasn’t a pet, it was a companion. The others went to find Lady Isa. I remained with the seamstress, discussing Lady Isa’s dresses, waiting for my hair to settle. I tried to relax myself, stooping to making small-talk, but even that was difficult. I had to go to the chapel, for I was feeling strange. Maybe it was after-effects of the great snake’s venom, although I found it odd that it should strike so suddenly, just as Xipil and the others were leaving the workshop. I invited Yana to come with me to the chapel, but I was being so convoluted about it, she might have misunderstood, for things got awkward. Yana asked if Lord Lunas was here, but I told her he was still in Guling, as far as I knew. She told me to take good care of him and practically threw me out of the workshop. I walked through the nobles’ dining hall on my way to the chapel. Lady Isa was there, talking to Xipil, Lunari and Grogg. She looked up and asked if many people in Sam had hair like mine, curly and blonde. Having lived a sheltered life here, she displayed a remarkable ignorance of knowledge I took for granted. I gave her a short “No”, intending to move on my way, but she followed up, asking where people have such hair. “In the Prince’s Cities,” I replied, copying Lunari’s accent. Isa thought my hair looked unnatural, but very pretty, she added. At the chapel, I washed my feet and hands, and sat down to pray. I asked about how I was feeling; the feverish jumble that was my emotions perplexed me utterly. I prayed for and about Yana, for I failed to comprehend her. What was her purpose? Why had You put her in my path? I was certain there was more to her than someone who could help me disguise myself. Finally, I asked about the blessings I had received for my weapons. How should I use them properly to serve You? First, I received instructions not to kill Yana. That answer felt woefully incomplete, yet adequate at the same time. Then I was drawn into a dreamlike state where I watched a rhythmic fighting scene. One, two, cut, stab. It looked almost like a dance. Watching it, I understood how to fight spirits, how to use my blessings to make them vulnerable to physical weapons, if just for a short while. I vaguely noticed Xipil entering the chapel, but when the dream ended, he was gone. I ran into Lady Isa on my way out of the inner courtyard, and she told me she was holding a party in the village, in honor of the farmers there, who deserved recognition for their hard work. We would slip away during the festivities. Lady Isa asked me to gather Xipil, Lunari and Grogg and meet her in the outer courtyard in half an hour. |
Session 22 (2020-05-01)
I went up to my room and rearranged my backpack. I thought we would be walking to Limban, the village near the old graveyard, and removed the things that wouldn’t be needed, so I could travel light. Then I knocked on the door to the room Lunari shared with Grogg. I informed them that they should come downstairs in half an hour, then I corrected myself, making it twenty minutes. I asked Grogg if I could borrow his magic ring, and dashed over to Yana’s workshop.
I asked the seamstress if she could attach some strips of cloth to the ring, so I could wear it over my eye. She took the ring and peered at me through it, and sighed that she could do it. Feeling that I was intruding, I left the room to let her work in peace, and leaned on the wall outside to wait while she sewed. Yana noticed me standing there, and told me I could wait inside if I wanted to. Going back inside, I started chatting about clothes and makeup again, and that lightened the mood. I thanked Yana when she was done, and slipped the thing into my pouch. Lady Isa was organizing a procession in the outer courtyard, but she clearly hadn’t thought about a disguise. She was about my size, but lacked my curves, so I told her we would put her in my clothes when we left the island; I could ride inside Grogg’s huge sack. I thought I could stand the discomfort better than her. I fetched my backpack in my room, as well as my simple, grey dress, and returned just as the procession started making its way towards the village. Lady Isa made a short speech in the village, and then there was cake eating, wine drinking, singing and dancing; Lunari played the violin. The villagers talked incessantly about how kind and generous the Aldera family was. At sunset, Lady Isa and I slipped into the food cellar where Xipil and I had prayed before, with Grogg guarding the door so no one could walk in on us. We took off our clothes, and I gave Lady Isa the dress I had been wearing, and draped my cloak around her, warning her to keep the hood pulled as far down her face as possible. I put on my plain, grey dress and climbed into Grogg’s sack. Lady Isa was unused to carrying a backpack, so I was glad I had lightened it. Hopefully, her awkwardness with it wouldn’t destroy the disguise. Grogg came and picked up his sack, and we were off. Lunari lingered for a few minutes – I could hear the sounds from the violin vanish into the distance – but caught up with us while we were crossing the causeway. Grogg complained that he had never carried anything this heavy, and I gave him a sharp elbow in the back. Lunari and Xipil talked about leaving flyers around town. I thought it was the propaganda text that Xipil had written that they wanted to distribute. As slowly as Grogg was lumbering, they caught up with us again at the wagon hall. The guards there didn’t recognize Lunari and Grogg immediately, disguised as they were, so Lunari had to give their names before we were allowed inside. I hadn’t had time to tell Lunari exactly where we were going, so there was some confusion concerning if we could take a wagon that was large enough for four people, including a troll and a lot of luggage. A wagon that size might not be able to go along the smaller roads, but Lunari decided to risk it. I knew that the roads were wide enough, at least as far as to Limban, so I had no need to break cover from inside Grogg’s sack. Lady Isa and Xipil had waited outside so the noblewoman wouldn’t be recognized by the guards, and we picked them up when we left. I could finally get out of the sack, and stretched as well as I could inside the compartment. The small space had two benches, and Grogg took up most of one, while Lady Isa, Xipil and I squeezed together on the other. Lunari drove. At the city gates, I alighted from the carriage and talked to the guards. I gave them my name, and asked them to send a message to Markus that my friends and I were going to Limban at the request of Lord Lunas Aldera. The guards thought the message was vague, but I assured them that Markus would understand. There was a small hatch that opened up behind the driver’s seat, and I opened it to tell Lunari where to go. Grogg started smoking something with a peculiar odor, driving Lady Isa and Xipil to join Lunari in the fresh air. Xipil voiced his concern to Lunari, but the elf took it calmly, saying that the stuff wouldn’t agitate Grogg, rather the opposite. Lunari let Lady Isa try her hands at the reins, but she didn’t have the knack for it. With Grogg caught up in the smoke, and the others outside, I prayed. I needed a new name, but I didn’t want to call myself anything other than Nuur-Karif without Your blessing. You replied that as long as I remembered who I was and who You were, I could call myself anything. Grogg had finished smoking when I opened my eyes again, and was talking about weapons, drugs and adventures with Lunari and Xipil. I couldn’t see Lady Isa’s eyes, but I imagined they were large with wonder, from her comments. I proposed a new name for myself, Twiggy, but Lunari thought it sounded silly, and suggested Petra instead. I didn’t like the tone of his voice, but Grogg put forward Godana, which he said meant “grey branch” in the troll tongue. That suited me perfectly, so I told the others that they should use that name when they addressed me from now on. I brushed my teeth, said my evening prayer and lay down on the front bench. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. Lady Isa came inside and lay down alongside me, muttering annoyedly about Lunari sending her off to bed. The bench wasn’t very deep, and Lady Isa couldn’t sleep, nearly falling down on the floor several times. Her twitching kept me awake. Finally, Grogg gave up his bench, and sat down on the floor. He tried offering Lady Isa his magic needle, but she was afraid she might not wake up again if she used it. To demonstrate that it was safe, Grogg stuck the needle into his own neck, and promptly fell asleep himself. I closed my eyes to keep them from rolling. |
Session 22 (2020-05-01)
11th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! There was a lot of rummaging and stopping and starting of the wagon while we traveled, but I managed to get some sleep, at least. I woke, hearing voices in the middle of the night. It was Lunari, talking to militiamen in Limban. They recognized the Aldera wagon when Lunari told them that Lord Lunas had sent us, and opened the guest house, fetching mattresses and bedding, and hay for the troll to sleep on. Lunari dragged a sleeping Xipil inside the house. Lady Isa stumbled over there half-asleep, and asked after a glance at the lumpy mattresses if this was how farmers slept. Lunari told her it was. He removed the needle, so Grogg could walk on his own to the guest house. I dropped off my backpack inside, but didn’t feel like sleeping just yet, so I took a walk around the small village. I could tell that the villagers were farmers and woodcutters. I saw no signs of a chapel, but I didn’t look too hard. Returning to the guest house, I met Grogg, who asked about his ring. I pulled it out of my pouch, displaying Yana’s handiwork. He made no move to take it back, so I slipped it back into the pouch. He had just wanted to reassure himself that I hadn’t lost it. I woke before the others, and prepared breakfast. Everyone except Xipil joined me to eat; we let him sleep. Lady Isa thought travel rations were boring. After the meal, Lunari got concerned for Xipil, and asked me to take a look at him. He woke when I removed his false beard, and Lunari asked if he had seen anything worth mentioning in his vision. Xipil claimed he had only seen the moon, and how the stars reflected their light in it. Lady Isa insisted that Xipil had been casting way too many spells last night, and had passed out from the exertion. After a meal and a wash, Xipil felt better. Drawing attention to our mission, I explained to the others that I now possessed weapons that could make the spirits vulnerable to physical attacks for a short period, and with Yana’s ring contraption, I should be able to see the spirits with my hands free to wield my knives. Having made the spirits vulnerable, it might be possible for the others to see them, too. I also mentioned my vial of special poison that would make weapons treated with it able to affect spirits. Lady Isa disliked the idea of killing the spirits, and made me promise that this should be a last resort. Maybe we could communicate with them after I had materialized them? Grogg called for Kraa, but got no reply. I didn’t mention that I had considered testing my new powers on the spirit raven. |
Session 23 (2020-05-16)
11th of Rama, year 412 (continued)
Xipil and Lunari wanted a bit more rest, so I took Lady Isa and Grogg outside to see if we could gather some information. Speaking with Lunari’s dialect, I introduced myself to the villagers as Godana, and asked if anything out of the ordinary had happened lately; we were here on behalf of the Aldera family, who would see to handling whatever it was that needed to be handled. We were brought before a woman who seemed like an authority figure around here. The headwoman offered soup, pastries and tea while we talked. She told us there is a forest nearby, with a graveyard in the middle. The villagers aren’t supposed to enter the forest, and a group of rangers called “the elves” even though they’re mostly humans and half-elves, live in the forest and keep others away. What rests in the crypts mustn’t be disturbed. An elderly couple on a farm near the forest claimed to have seen ghosts some days ago, and although the headwoman didn’t consider their testimony reliable, she had still sent for aid. Lumberjacks from the village have a small cabin outside the forest, but they’d been pulled back to the village, just in case. The headwoman warned us not to scare the villagers. With Lady Isa and Grogg in tow, I talked to the lumberjacks, too. I gained permission to use their cabin, and asked if they’d seen anything unusual out there. All they could think of was a slightly increased activity among “the elves”, but they hardly thought it was worth mentioning, but I kept the conversation going, talking about inconsequential things while allowing Xipil and Lunari to sleep. I eventually filled in Xipil and Lunari on what the rest of us had learned, and I suggested that we seek out “the elves”. According to the headwoman, they had among them a medium, and I thought she might be able to shed some more light on the situation. Lady Isa added that she thought everyone was so nice and friendly around here. She had remained wrapped up in my cloak, observing quietly from the recesses of the hood, while I talked to people. I mused on this while we walked outside. Several factors had likely contributed to the villagers’ attitude: Dropping the name of their well-liked lords, being polite and compassionate, and possessing an honest face that’s easy on the eyes, I had expected nothing less. I borrowed a saddle and saddlebags from the headwoman. She reminded us of Rama’s decree that we shouldn’t travel with animals, but we ignored it. Lunari wanted to sleep with the needle while we traveled, and having Grogg carry him, as well as their luggage, would have us moving at a crawl. It was better to load up one of the horses with their gear and carry Lunari on the other. I rode that horse, holding Lunari in front of me. Xipil discussed magic with Lady Isa on the way, and we reached the lumberjack cabin after an hour. Grogg retrieved the needle, waking Lunari, and I put on my knife belt and the ring contraption that Yana had made for me. With the ring in front of my eye, I should be able to spot spirits, and by Your blessing, I could materialize them. I tied the horses to a log, and Lunari and Grogg deposited some of their cargo in the cabin. We wasted no time there, and proceeded into the dense forest. Grogg went first and made a path for the rest of us. Some meters into the woods, the undergrowth thinned and disappeared. The canopy blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the ground, so that was only natural. Xipil climbed a tall tree. Above the canopy, he could see that the forest was quite circular, and there was a small square in the middle where no trees grew. After about a hundred meters, we found a path that went both left and right, paralleling the forest’s edge. Neither direction seemed any better or worse than the other, so we just picked one at random. Going left, we soon encountered “the elves”. Two hunters came running towards us, calling for us to stop. Two more hunters joined the first two, and they stopped ten meters away, glowering at Grogg, who stood in front of our party. Lunari stepped up and explained that the Aldera family had sent us to investigate the graveyard. The hunters seemed skeptical, and retreated to talk among themselves for a short while. They decided not to try to chase us away, and said we could follow them. Three of them led the way along the path, and the last followed behind us, presumably to keep an eye on us so we didn’t try to slip away. After a half-hour, the path forked, and we took off to the right, towards the center of the forest. After a few more minutes, we arrived at their camp, meeting four more of their kind. In a cave under a large, fallen tree, they served dried meat and tea. Everyone except Xipil ate, and then one of the hunters came to talk. They accepted that Aldera had sent us, and wanted us to return with a message. They currently had no medium, and therefore knew little of the state of the forest, which made them uncomfortable. If we could relay this to Aldera, they would be most thankful. The hunters weren’t as ill-informed as they made out. A few questions and some guesswork revealed that the forty spirits that had haunted the tower in Guling had come here, to the graveyard, led by an evil one. The hunters hoped that most of the spirits had moved on, but it seemed reasonable that some still lingered around the graveyard. Grogg asked me if we should go talk to the spirits, making the hunters believe he was their new medium until we cleared up the misunderstanding. While it was true that some in our party could see the spirits, and possibly talk to them, we had to move on once our quest here was complete. The late medium had had an apprentice, a seven-year-old girl. She wasn’t ready to take on the duties of a medium, but she might still have some knowledge that we might need, so four of the hunters brought us to see her. We returned to the circling path, and came to a similar campsite after a while. Lady Isa asked if I thought she was supposed to take over as the medium for these people, but I assumed that her brother would want a say in the matter, and asked her not to make promises. The cave at the new campsite was cordoned off. Six new hunters looked questioningly at us when we arrived, but one of our guides talked to them, and they opened the cave so we could enter, while they fetched the apprentice. This cave was the abode of the medium. Grogg sniffed the air and asked if someone had died here. With a borrowed oil lamp, we went inside to check out the cave. A corpse lay on the floor, a woman in her fifties who bore clear marks of having been tortured. I knelt down to pray while the others, mainly Lunari and Xipil, searched the room. A goat and two squirrels had been sacrificed, and Lunari theorized that the medium had performed a ritual that had gone horribly wrong. Xipil tasted the blood of all four corpses, and determined that the medium had been terrified when she died, while the animals had passed peacefully. He also found tracks on the floor. The medium had run around, possibly running from or fighting someone who had stood in the middle of the room, someone who had neither entered nor left the way we came in. We suspected a ghost had materialized and tormented the woman before she died. Considering her corpse, I thought the medium looked unnaturally pale, maybe drained of blood. Lunari studied the footprints, and was convinced that the ghost must have been the elven mage we had found dead in the tower, the one who had attacked Lord Madan from afar. His death there must have been intentional. Lady Isa found the scene disturbing, and broke down in tears. I tried comforting her, saying that we would make things right. Grogg tried to needle the medium, but it had no effect on a days-old corpse. Whatever had been here, torturing and killing the medium, had to die. I felt it, deep in my soul, and knew that You had spoken. First, though, we had to bury the medium. Lunari asked for water and a cloth, so I could wash the body properly, and prepare it for burial. Cleaning the corpse thoroughly, I realized the full extent of the cruel treatment she had received, but I spared the others the details. Lady Isa wasn’t the only one who was upset. I tried to keep a neutral face while she helped me with the washing. Grogg dug a grave, and when it was finished, Xipil and I carried the medium outside and laid her to rest. The hunters turned away when we emerged with the corpse. Maybe it was too painful for them to watch, or maybe their customs were like that. The apprentice had arrived, and she cried while I performed the last rites for the woman we learned had been her mother. I completed the ritual words while Grogg covered the grave with dirt, but knew that my work was not yet done, not while the killer was at large. Lunari spoke a prayer to Rama, and I glared furiously at him. A red-eyed hunter came over and took my hand in thanks. He thanked Lunari, Grogg and Xipil, too, before crying with the apprentice. He had to be her father. |
Session 23 (2020-05-16)
Xipil and Lunari had talked to the apprentice while Lady Isa and I prepared the body, and Xipil filled me in on what they had learned. The apprentice had warned them that someone named Gritt was sleeping at the graveyard, and mustn’t be awakened. Xipil tried talking to the girl’s father, asking who Gritt was, but he didn’t know much.
Lady Isa went to comfort the apprentice, and promised the seven-year-old almost exactly what I had done to console her a little while ago, saying that we would make things right. Lunari asked if anyone could show us the way to the graveyard, but nobody stepped up. The apprentice just pointed towards the center of the forest. Her father knelt in front of Lady Isa and kissed her hand. He had clearly reasoned out her identity. Lunari begged him not to tell anyone else. Walking off, we decided on a cover name for Lady Isa: Katrine. On the wagon ride, yesterday, we had come up with names for the rest of us, in preparation of when we’d leave Aldera land, and had used them all day to get used to them, but we hadn’t thought to find another name for Lady Isa, until now. Xipil was Hisse, Lunari was Turvil, and Grogg was Mork. I gave Xipil the ring contraption, as he was going to scout ahead, but Grogg decided he needed to fetch Lunari’s crossbow, which he had left at the lumberjack cabin. Lady Isa joined him, running down the path. Xipil climbed a tree, and I sat down to pray. Lady Isa and Grogg returned some time later, the noblewoman gasping for air and lying down on the ground to rest. I didn’t see Xipil around, and asked Lunari about it. Xipil had gone ahead to look at the graveyard, apparently. He returned half an hour after Lady Isa and Grogg. There were nine crypts, he told us, laid out in a grid. They had all been opened recently, and Xipil had spotted a spirit floating around. Lady Isa was annoyed with herself. Her abilities to see spirits didn’t let her affect them in any way, and she desired very much to talk to some of them. We made our way to the graveyard, Lunari and Grogg following a little distance behind, as Grogg has never been very good at being quiet. We stopped short of the wall that surrounded the graveyard, and Xipil returned the ring, which I affixed over my left eye. Xipil had led us to the rear end of the crypt. The gate through the wall was on the other side, but a part of the wall had crumbled on our side, so we could see through to the crypts. We watched and waited, but nothing happened, so after ten minutes, Xipil, Lady Isa and I snuck closer, though not all the way to the wall. Lady Isa detected something dangerous in the middle crypt of the three at the back of the graveyard, nearest us. Lady Isa and I pulled back, hiding behind trees, then Xipil put his hand through the hole in the wall and dashed away. After a few seconds, a distorted figure appeared which I could only see through the ring. It came out through the hole in the wall, then got spooked and vanished back inside. Lady Isa thought it was one of the spirits that had haunted the tower in Guling. Rejoining Lunari and Grogg farther away, we discussed how to attack. I have a vial of holy venom that allows weapons to affect spirits, but Lady Isa was no fighter, and only she and I were able to see ghosts, unless I gave up the ring. I would use my powers to force the ghosts to materialize, so the venom wasn’t particularly useful for me either. We decided that I would try to lure out a ghost, like Xipil had, just now, and materialize it, so Grogg could grab it and bring it away for questioning. Xipil assisted Grogg, so he could come to the wall undetected. The hole was not far from the corner, so Grogg waited just around the corner, while I stood on the other side of the hole. Grogg loaded Lunari’s crossbow, and Xipil carried it back to the elf. I drew my two long knives and applied my regular poison to one of them. If I had to strike to kill after materializing a ghost, I hoped the venom would work like it did on living beings, but I wasn’t certain. I put my foot through the hole, and a ghost appeared immediately. I stabbed it, focusing my will, and it materialized. I gave Grogg the code word while I took in the sight. The woman who stood before me looked to be in her thirties, and was just as beaten up as the medium had been. She looked terrified. Grogg came around the corner and bumped into her. She fell to her knees in front of me, begging for help. I told Grogg to carry her out, and she started screaming. With all her wounds, being grabbed by a troll had to hurt. I shushed her as we walked back towards the others, and muttered a short prayer. Lady Isa was pointing frantically at the hole in the wall, and I leapt into action. Following Your will, I put my clean blade through the woman’s throat. She was on death’s door already, and any scratch would end her miserable existence. I whirled around to face the graveyard while the poor soul whispered thanks and passed on. Grogg didn’t pick up her last word and swore at me. Unceremoniously, he hurled the corpse at me, but missed. Ignoring him, I dashed back to the hole in the wall and noticed a shimmering on the other side. Grogg stomped after me angrily. A new ghost appeared, and I stabbed to materialize it. Grogg even tried to parry barehanded, but he failed. The ghost turned into a middle-aged man wearing the leather armor of a city guard, and he looked just as tortured as the other one. Stabbing with the poisoned knife, I slipped the blade past Grogg’s parry, luckily for him. The former ghost collapsed in a way that spoke of multiple severe fractures. It was a wonder he had been able to stand upright at all. Lunari shouted for me to stop killing the ghosts, but Xipil told him to be quiet. Grogg tried to seize my arm, but I dodged away from him. Lady Isa shouted “Stop!” and rushed forwards, just as more spirits appeared. One passed through Grogg, and I told him they were thankful that I ended their tortured existence. Grogg replied that it was all right, but we had to talk about it. Through the ring, I saw more spirits passing through Grogg, and I thought he shivered. One tried to attack me, but I dodged, and stabbed to materialize it. My attempt failed, and the ghost surged through me, causing a freezing sensation to shoot through my body. I felt I was being ripped apart. Lunari fired a bolt at the wall, the idiot. We had to run. Grogg couldn’t see the ghosts to dodge their attacks, and I wasn’t comfortable going up against four of them, not when my friends couldn’t help. The ghosts didn’t seem interested in following, so we got away easily. While running, I got the impression that we needed to enter the dangerous crypt and find out what was hidden in a chest there. Thank you, Ashtar, for Your guidance. While the rest of us discussed how to deal with the ghosts, Grogg sat down against a tree and put the needle in his neck. Lunari was angry that I had diverged from our original plan and killed the spirit that had materialized first. He blamed the others’ attacks on me. I tried telling him that the other ghosts had appeared before I killed the first one, and that when Lady Isa alerted me to their presence, I had struck out instinctively to neutralize the enemy within reach before she could turn intangible again. I was afraid that my power might only work for a few seconds, and if it wore off, it would be too late for Grogg to do anything, even if he was holding her. After a prolonged and heated debate, we woke Grogg, and Xipil scouted ahead with the ring in front of his eye. The rest of us followed at a distance. Xipil spotted no spirits, and waved us forward. The two materialized spirits still lay where they had fallen, decomposing much faster than I would have thought possible. Our new plan consisted of firing at the ghosts from a distance, so I poisoned one of Xipil’s arrows, and was ready to apply the venom to a second one. Grogg ran up to the hole and back, but no spirit appeared. We waited for two minutes, and neither Lady Isa nor Xipil spotted the tell-tale shimmers, so Grogg walked up to the wall again. He looked through the hole, and walked pensively back to us. The stone slab that had lain in front of the dangerous crypt was gone, and Grogg thought the ghosts had replaced it, covering the hole into the crypt. Lady Isa was frightened and wanted to leave. The ghosts were certainly up to no good, and seemed to have holed up in the crypt. Lunari showed fear, too, but Xipil and I argued that we had to go in to deal with the ghosts before they succeeded in whatever endeavor they were undertaking. Lunari had confiscated the evil elf mage’s clothes, and Lady Isa put them on, once he convinced her that she might be able to scare the ghosts. He even put on makeup to make her more severe-looking. I got the ring back from Xipil and attached it to my face. Walking towards the crypt, we saw no spirits, but we noticed something about the eight other crypts. A sarcophagus stood in a deep hole under the floor in each of them, and all the lids had been opened, and the corpses removed. Lunari thought it was peculiar that there were no footprints inside any of those crypts. Xipil climbed down to one of the sarcophagi and meditated. I spoke a quick prayer, and You told me that something here must die, and something else must not wake, but we had to open the last sarcophagus. Xipil told me he had heard a voice telling him to come, and he didn’t think it was any of the ghosts who had said it. He also informed me that You had told him to seek out the forces of darkness. |
Session 23 (2020-05-16)
Lady Isa told us that Gritt was still here, still asleep. I drew my blades again, not bothering to apply poison to them, for I assumed the remaining ghosts would be just as fragile as the first two, once I materialized them. I stretched, waiting for Grogg to open the last crypt. Lady Isa warned us not to touch anything that belonged inside. Suddenly, she and Xipil froze. Lady Isa thought that something was happening inside, and Xipil agreed.
Grogg removed the stone slab from the opening. Inside, steps descended into darkness, and Lunari rushed back to where Grogg had put his stuff, coming back with a lantern. Lunari insisted that he should get anti-spirit venom on his spear, and I obliged, even though I thought it was a waste. Xipil got a dose on his knife, too. I handed the vial with the rest of the venom to Xipil. I certainly had no need of it. I entered first, followed by the others. Grogg had to squeeze through the narrow passage and would have blocked the light if he didn’t come last. The stairs led to a small chamber with an altar, and a spiraling staircase led further down. I spoke a quick prayer before entering the realm of the dead, and got the impression that I needed to listen to Xipil, and that something wicked waited below. I descended towards a faint light of bluish purple. Something smelled burnt and sour, with a hint of spice. Lady Isa whispered that she felt a presence, but couldn’t see anything. Should she reduce the light? I thought it was no use; whatever made that purple light must have seen our lantern by now. A cold wind came up to meet us, and Lady Isa agreed that they had to have noticed us. In a large chamber, the ceiling held up by nine stone pillars, a figure knelt before a large sarcophagus. Other shapes flittered about the room, only visible to Lady Isa and me. The faint, purple light came from bowls burning incense. I recognized the kneeling figure; it was the ghost of the medium. She was clearly up to no good, so I dashed over to her and put a knife in her back, materializing her. In case Lunari was right that the spirits got angry when we killed one of them, I refrained from plunging my other blade through her neck. The medium shuffled around, facing me and crying like a baby, wailing, “I don’t want to wake him!” I looked around the room. Three other ghosts were approaching me, so I prepared to dodge. Xipil came running towards me, brandishing his poisoned knife and shouting for Lunari to follow. Lunari stepped forward, poking his spear at nothing but air. Lady Isa stepped into the room, too, and the medium noticed her garb, flinching away with terror in her eyes. The three ghosts split up; one turned around and one stopped completely. Only one tried to attack me, but I outmaneuvered it, feinting and stabbing and materializing it into a middle-aged woman. The rapid changes of direction that were so easy in spirit form were not even possible in physical form, and the woman tripped and fell. Having seen clearly the outfits of several of these poor souls, I concluded they all had to come from the Loyalists’ land. Well, apart from the medium, whom Xipil reached just then. Lady Isa pointed at one of the spirits, and Lunari rushed to meet it, squinting. Could he discern it in the light from the incense? The woman on the ground moaned with pain, and the medium begged and pleaded. I dashed for the ghosts in the rear of the room while Xipil told them comfortingly that it was all over. Lady Isa and Lunari moved towards the sarcophagus, and Grogg finally squeezed himself out of the staircase and entered the room. Leaning against the columns were the corpses that had been fetched from the sarcophagi above, but I paid them no attention. I stabbed towards one of the ghosts to materialize it, but my arm twitched and the blade fell to the floor. Xipil ended the medium’s suffering and sent her to You, and Lunari skewered a ghost, who let out a blood-curdling scream. I bent down and picked up my knife, and Xipil called out, “How many more?” A glance around the room revealed that Lady Isa was pulling at one of the corpses. One ghost was trying to escape up through the ceiling, and two others tried to get away from me. I struck one of them, turning it solid, and answered, “Two more!” I didn’t count the one that Lunari had struck; the holy venom dealt with it. I materialized one more ghost, but the last escaped before I could strike it. Lunari and Xipil helped Lady Isa lower the corpses to the floor so they could rest more easily, but I made for the stairs. Leaving the graveyard, I spotted the ghost fleeing through the trees, and I hurried after it, and when I caught up, I sent it to You. It made no effort to resist. I walked slowly back to the others, catching my breath. Lunari had smothered the incense, so only the lantern lit up the deep chamber. Grogg was in the process of returning the corpses to their sarcophagi. Lady Isa studied the elaborately carved sarcophagus. The materialized ghosts were decomposing, and the room stank of rot. I asked Lady Isa if we should remove the heavy lid. She asked if it was safe to do so, and Xipil mirrored her sentiment, so I knelt down to pray with Xipil. Suddenly, I realized that I had left the realm of the dead without performing the proper rites, and anguish gripped my heart. I begged You for forgiveness for my unconscionable transgression. You remained silent, ignoring my desperate pleas, the tears streaming down my face. Lunari’s voice intruded on my prayer. He said a powerful artifact was hidden in the sarcophagus, and that the evil mage wanted it. He was convinced the mage was coming for it, and suggested to Lady Isa, Grogg and Xipil that we waited here to ambush him when he appeared. I shut out their discussion, raising my feverish, broken voice. Feeling that something nearby blocked my connection to You, I pulled Xipil away from the sarcophagus. Halfway up the stairs I fell to my knees again to resume my prayer, but Xipil continued upwards. Through the haze, I sensed Grogg squeezing by, carrying the corpses upstairs, and I thought Lunari stood near me, curious. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the stairs, and Xipil had returned. I asked him and Lunari how long I had been out. Lunari claimed I had been sleeping for quite a while, but Xipil told me he was joking; it had only been a minute or two. Your words rang in my head: “The prison is broken. You must bear the crown. You are dead while you bear it. Friends will help.” As if he could hear You, too, Xipil asked how he could help me. I said we had to go down to the sarcophagus. We hadn’t studied it for long before Lady Isa and Grogg joined us, and Grogg asked if I was all right. I said I was fine, but we needed to remove the lid. I explained that I was to carry away whatever was inside the sarcophagus, and Lunari hoped that I intended to bring it to the Evening Fort. |
Session 23 (2020-05-16)
Grogg pushed the lid away, and Lady Isa gasped. Inside was a corpse, clad in armor like the other corpses, but it also wore a gold circlet with a large gemstone on the front. I snatched the circlet before Grogg could, and he pushed me away. I staggered a couple of steps backwards, and put on the crown. It felt heavier on my brow than in my hands. Lunari asked what I thought I was doing, and I told him You instructed me to wear it. Lunari responded that he thought it was irresponsible and impulsive, and that he didn’t think he could trust me in the future. Lady Isa pulled Grogg away, whispering fiercely. The corpse, along with the armor, crumbled to dust.
Suddenly, Lady Isa and Grogg ran for the stairs. Lunari ran after them, and I told Xipil we had to run, too. As I approached the top of the stairs, Xipil called out a warning. Grogg was standing around the corner, ready to ambush me. I slowed down, ready to dodge if Grogg tried to hit me. He attempted a grab, but I slipped back inside. Grogg claimed there was a demon inside me, and warned Xipil against it. I felt just fine. If I was possessed, shouldn’t I be in excruciating pain, like Lord Madan had been? An unexpected thought appeared in my mind, though, a certainty that Grogg would put himself to sleep with the needle if I asked him. Maybe I was possessed, after all? I seemed to be in control of myself, but I thought the others would feel safer if Grogg held me, so I stepped forward calmly, intending to let him grab me. When I set foot outside the crypt, he planted the needle in his neck, and slumped to the ground. How strange. I removed the needle, letting him awaken, and held it out to him. I didn’t want him to think I was resisting anything. He stood up, took the needle, and walked away, grabbing his large sack from our hiding place outside the graveyard. Xipil and I followed, and the lizard man pointed out that Grogg was slightly heading in the wrong direction, if he wanted to return to the lumberjack cabin. Grogg stomped through the forest, turning slightly to the right, but otherwise ignoring Xipil and me. Approaching the cabin, we could hear Lady Isa and Lunari were having a row behind it. He had clearly done something that displeased her mightily, and took off at a run when we came near. Lady Isa called after him, “Idiot! Coward! Traitor!” Looking at us, she seemed traumatized, saying that Lunari doesn’t want to help. I ran towards her to comfort her with a hug. Grogg tried to trip me, but I jumped over his foot. Lady Isa rushed for Grogg, and I tried to stop her. Magical energy appeared between us, and she screamed, running away from me. By Grogg’s side, she called to me not to take her, and I promised I wouldn’t. She conferred with Grogg and Xipil, whispering while I looked at them from afar. The pain of losing her trust was choking me. After a while, Lady Isa turned to me and asked if I could drive the wagon, but then she retracted the question. She would rather be seen than having the crown I wore revealed, and came towards me, taking off my cloak that she had borrowed. I removed my knife belt and held it out for her, but she wouldn’t touch it, so I gave it to Xipil instead, before putting on my cloak. Lady Isa pulled up the hood to cover the circlet, warning me to remember who I am. I promised I would, for You had given me that same instruction, not long ago. In Limban, a guard was preparing the wagon when we arrived. He looked worriedly at the horses, and told us he had to return to his post. The villagers fell to their knees when they recognized Lady Isa. She shouted that she was on a very important mission, and needed the best wagon driver in the village. Practically everyone stepped forward to help, giving Lady Isa a much-needed confidence boost. She pulled the hood down my face, and Xipil and I climbed inside the wagon. The villagers agreed on who their best driver was, and then we were off to Guling, Lady Isa and Grogg sitting up front. Xipil suggested we pray. I thought that was a good idea, and lost myself in communion. We must have prayed for hours, for my reverie was interrupted by Lady Isa’s voice, demanding that the guards at the Guling gate fetch Markus. The guards apologized that he was unavailable, so the lady commandeered an escort instead, to take us quickly through the city, to the land bridge. Through the small hatch, I could see that it hadn’t appeared yet, but Lady Isa had the guards clear the area, presumably so no one should see the crown. Xipil proposed a visit to the chapel, once we reached the Evening Fort, and I agreed immediately. When the causeway appeared, Lady Isa opened the wagon door with a big grin. She looked at me and asked in a loud voice, “Noble Madan, may I escort you to the fort?” I nodded. Lady Isa instructed Grogg to follow behind us, making sure nobody came after. Once we had crossed, she told the soldiers there to let the rest of the people come over. There had been a crowd in Guling, waiting to cross, but strangely, nobody waited here. We walked up to the Evening Fort, and I told Lady Isa that Xipil and I wanted to go to the chapel. She didn’t quite follow, so I had to explain that there is a chapel dedicated to You in the cellar under the fort. She said she wanted to come with us, and Grogg added, “Me too.” Inside the fort, the first guard to spot us dashed off towards the inner courtyard. I assumed he knew Lady Isa had been missing since last night, and ran to tell whoever was in charge at the moment that she was back. Grogg decided that he wanted to visit Krull, but I wanted to go straight to the chapel, so we agreed to split up. Lady Isa stayed with the troll, but Xipil and I headed for the chapel. After washing thoroughly at the entrance, I realized that it would be wrong of me to enter, unless I brought the right people. I assumed You meant Xipil, Grogg and Lunari, and possibly Lady Isa, and said as much to Xipil. He was reluctant to go inside without me. |
Interlude
Interlude: A Prayer
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, I beseech You! Bestow Your wisdom upon me, that I may serve You as You desire. By Your command, I have joined Lunari, Grogg and Xipil in their endeavors. I have grown to enjoy their company, even if they have their peculiarities, but that is life, is it not? It is not our way to preach Your gospel to outsiders. It is by living devout lives and being good examples for our fellows that we bring new spawn to Your coils. Xipil came to the faith several weeks ago, and I am pleased with how he has embraced You. Lunari and Grogg have not followed Xipil’s example. Putting words to my thoughts, I realize that I have acted incorrectly towards them. The two of them have insulted You on occasion, and I have felt righteous in my indignation and fury, but now I believe that was wrong of me. Their transgressions were not intentional, but rather blunders out of ignorance. Instead of upbraiding them, I should instruct them patiently in proper behavior, encouraging them to learn. To my shame, I have been so angry that I nearly sent them to You for judgment in the afterlife, even though I know that You are the one who decides who shall live and who shall die. My venomous fangs should strike only in execution of Your command. My forked tongue should speak only Your words. I have let my indignation take precedence over Yours; please forgive me! I would like nothing more than if all the world came to revere You. I acknowledge the existence of other deities and realize that they have their places in the grand scheme of things, and thus I must coexist with their followers. Still, Lunari and Grogg don’t seem sworn to any particular deity. With Your permission, I will actively try to recruit them to Your faith. Several times, our adventures have brought us to life-and-death situations, and I think that my reluctance to share Your wisdom with outsiders has been an impediment to cooperation, leading to greater danger. Why, even today, Grogg tried to obstruct me mid-combat because he didn’t know what I had learned, and Lunari ran away from me in fear. Please, watch over him and give him courage to seek me out again, to seek You out. I do not fear death, Your final embrace, but You have plans for me still, in the world of the living. I want to see those plans come to fruition before I join You in Your domain for eternity. Allow me to share Your instructions with Lunari and Grogg. Their unwillingness to cooperate comes from a lack of understanding. Understanding brings sympathy, and sympathy brings devotion. I will bring Lunari and Grogg to Your cause. O Ashtar! I am Your servant, now and forever. Grant me wisdom, that I may know Your will. Grant me strength, that I may follow Your command. Grant me venom, that I may smite Your foes. |
Re: Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue
Continues to be excellent. I love reading this log, please keep writing it.
I would love to see some letters from the other characters, if only to get some ideas of how they see the events. I understand we cant all be accomplished writers though :) Maybe just a short "Letter to mom" kinda of thing. Thumbs up on all the developments! Give my regards to your GM as well. |
Session 24 (2020-05-31)
11th of Rama, year 412 (continued)
I looked longingly at Xipil as he walked towards the chapel, which was forbidden to me. He sat down before he entered the main chamber, so he could keep an eye on me while he prayed. Peculiarly, he pulled a piece of string from his pocket and tied knots in it while muttering to himself, then he stood and came up to me. “Can I see the crown?” he asked. I had completely forgot I was wearing it, but now the weight of it suddenly became noticeable. I told him he could look to his heart’s content. He used his string to measure it, and I waited patiently. He asked if we should let Pak and Groman study the crown, for they’ve shown aptitude for identifying magic items. Before I could answer, he added that it might not be wise to show it to them, seeing as they’re a bit careless. “In that case, let’s not show it to them,” I responded. Xipil claimed the crown had magic in it, unrelated to the demon Gritt. Xipil wanted to join up with Lunari and Grogg, so I told him he could go and fetch them while I waited here. I couldn’t enter the chapel, but I didn’t want to leave it, either. Xipil was a little worried about leaving me alone with the demon, but I assured him that I was in complete control. He replied that he’d be fast, but it took some time before he returned. Contrary to our agreement, Xipil had brought Pak, and I raised an eyebrow. Xipil told me Lunari was too cowardly to come near me. Lord Mir had arrived, and he and Lady Isa had disappeared into the nobles’ quarters. Xipil said something about auras to Pak, and the troll asked who had taught him magic. “Nobody”, Xipil claimed. Pak looked me over and said he saw nothing wrong. He walked closer, to study the crown. He confirmed it was magical, and asked if I felt all right. I said I was fine. Pak and Xipil discussed magic for a couple of minutes, casting glances at me, then Pak pulled pebbles from his pocket, placing them on the floor around me while I stood on the bench in the middle of the antechamber. After some thought, and likely some magic, he asked me control questions, like where we first met, and what my name was. I answered adequately, and he took his pebbles and went to talk to Groman. Xipil called after him, “What shall I do with her?” “Take care of her,” was the reply. Xipil pointed out that Pak seemed worried that I should forget who I was. “Ashtar has instructed me to remember, so you don’t have to worry about that,” I guaranteed. As Lunari was too chicken-hearted to come to me, we decided to go to him instead. On the way out, Xipil told me that Lord Mir had brought someone to tutor his sister, someone named Ebsalon. I hadn’t heard of him before. When we emerged into the inner courtyard, Grogg and Lunari were there, but they slipped away as soon as they spotted us. Xipil and I decided not to follow, and went to eat instead. Afterwards, I started feeling tired, and wanted to go to sleep. Xipil was concerned for me, and insisted to watch over me while I slept. I didn’t think it was necessary, but I didn’t mind him staying in my bedroom either, so I allowed him to come and stay. I brushed my teeth, and we prayed together, then I lay down and closed my eyes. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. 12th of Rama, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Xipil didn’t sleep last night, so I asked if he wanted me to wake over him while he slept, like he did for me, but he said it wasn’t necessary. We had breakfast, and then went in search of Lady Isa. I asked one of the guards outside the building where the nobles live if he could go inside and ask if Lady Isa would see us. He popped his head inside to relay the message, and Lady Isa showed up in no time, accompanied by Ebsalon, her new tutor. Lady Isa clearly wanted to prevent Ebsalon from meeting me, pulling him off to somewhere as soon as she spotted me, so I sent Xipil after them to ask if she would have lunch with us later. I asked the guards if Lord Lunas was present on the island, and learned that he wasn’t. Not waiting for Xipil to return, I headed for the chapel, passing Lunari and Grogg. Grogg was smoking something, I believe, and was completely out of it. Lunari fled as soon as he lay eyes on me. I wasn’t there for them, anyway, so I continued towards the chapel. Grogg suddenly asked Lunari why he was wearing a dress. Lunari was already gone, so I thought Grogg had to be hallucinating. While I was washing outside the chapel, Xipil arrived, and I nodded to him, but paid him no more mind. Speaking in that unnamed language I had just gained a rudimentary understanding of, I asked for help, loudly enough that the great snake inside heard me. The serpent approached and lifted its head to study me, then ordered me to leave. It looked ready to attack if I tried to enter the chapel. I was heartbroken, and pulled back to the antechamber. Xipil asked why Lunari had been climbing out a window, but I had no answer for him. Could Lunari be so afraid of what I carried inside me that he fled through a window? We passed Grogg on our way out, and I asked if he was feeling all right. He sniffed some herb, and didn’t reply. Xipil cast a spell on Grogg, and explained when I asked that he was looking at his aura. We returned to our rooms, Xipil to have a bath and some sleep, while I wanted to pray. When it was time for lunch, I went downstairs again. Grogg peeked inside the dining hall, but didn’t join me. Instead, he went back upstairs, and shortly after, a great crash reverberated through the building. The maid startled, and I dashed upstairs to see what had happened. Xipil and I converged on the door to Lunari and Grogg’s room, which the troll had kicked in. Grogg emerged from the room, carrying Lunari over his shoulder. He went downstairs and put Lunari in a chair in the dining hall. I checked to see if he was injured, but the elf just seemed tired. Xipil and Grogg found chairs of their own, a little away from Lunari, and I resumed eating, while explaining how awesome You are. Remi arrived with a guard, and told us how lucky we were. He did not look happy. He told us Lord Mir invited us to festivities after dinner, and exhorted us to behave ourselves, for we would be meeting important people. When Remi left, Grogg said that we were meeting Pak for dinner. He poked at Lunari, but failed to wake him. I continued preaching. Xipil interjected questions to verify that I was myself. After the meal, Grogg went to repair the door and Xipil went to get some more sleep, leaving me to my thoughts. Grogg came down again shortly and fetched Lunari: “You have to fix the door, it broke!” Lunari went upstairs, but Grogg sat down with his sewing kit. |
Session 24 (2020-05-31)
I went to see Yana. She wanted to know if there was something wrong with my hair, since I was covering it with my hood. I pulled the cover back, revealing the crown. Yana looked at it, perturbed. I told her Lord Mir had invited me to some kind of festivities, along with Lunari, Grogg and Xipil, after dinner, and asked if any of the garments she had undertaken to make for me were ready and suitable. She didn’t think so, but suggested that she could alter one of Lady Isa’s discarded dresses. She took my measurements again. Didn’t she have them already? She must have cast some spell to help her in her work, for it tingled every time she touched me. Yana is so nice, and it’s pleasant conversing with her, so I didn’t mind. When she complimented my figure, I blushed. I wanted to respond that she was rather good-looking herself, but my throat was suddenly parched, and I had to swallow. When I had my voice back, she had moved on, chattering about fashion.
Yana told me to come back twenty minutes before I was going to see Lord Mir. I left, but watched her for a while through the window. She bustled around the shop, and then she disappeared into the basement, where her work station is located. I returned to my room and prayed. I put on makeup before returning to Yana. She produced a breathtaking gown and had me try it on. We discussed clothes and disguises while she made the last adjustments to the dress. When I put it on again, she fine-tuned my makeup to suit the gown. I thanked her and was about to leave when I suddenly recalled that I was wearing a crown. I asked her if she had a scarf or something similar that I could use to hide it. Yana came through, of course. She wound a scarf around the crown, making it seem natural, like it wasn’t hiding anything. I gave her a hug for thanks and left. Lunari and Grogg were sitting at one end of the long table, and places were set for four more people at the other end. Xipil and I sat down there, and I asked him what the deal was. Lunari was still afraid of me. I considered having the servants move the place-settings over to Lunari and Grogg, but refrained from it. I didn’t want to scare Lunari. Pak and Groman apologized for being late, and Pak went over to Grogg to whisper with him, before joining Xipil and me at the other end of the table. The others were awkwardly silent, so I broke the silence with some inconsequential chatter. Groman and Xipil discussed geography. Groman tried to pull Lunari into the conversation, but he remained stubbornly at his end of the table, talking with Grogg. Groman moved to the middle of the table and addressed us all, saying we possessed a powerful box. What were our plans for it? Lunari asked him if he had learned anything about the box, for Groman and Pak had been studying it, lately. Groman didn’t answer the question, and told us instead that we had two choices. Either we could take it to Azura, or we could try to collaborate with him and Pak. Lunari asked if Groman intended to study the box further, but Groman wanted to know first if we planned to take it to Azura. Lunari said there was a more urgent matter to discuss, first. The topic was me, of course, and the crown and the demon. Groman wanted to study the phenomenon, but at a safe location, perhaps in a food cellar down in the village. I was fine with that, but mentioned that we had to see Lord Mir first. Groman envied us. Xipil said we could go to the village now, but I wanted to finish the meal, and then we would have to go to the inner courtyard if we were to meet Lord Mir in time. The others could go to the village if they wanted, but I didn’t want to stand up Lord Mir. Pak and Groman walked away immediately, and I asked a maid to have their dessert brought up to their rooms. I asked Xipil if we should move over to Grogg and Lunari, causing Lunari to leave, as well. The rest of us enjoyed the dessert, and then we headed for the inner courtyard. Xipil worried that we’d be executed for kidnapping Lady Isa. Instinctively, I asked if he had brought my knives. They were in his room, he said. That was just fine, I replied when I had time to collect my thoughts. When we came to the inner courtyard, Grogg remained outside to wait for Lunari, but Xipil and I entered. In the lounge above the nobles’ dining hall, we found Lord Mir and one of the strange elves that had been with him earlier, and Lady Isa and her tutor. I curtsied for Lord Mir, and he introduced us to his companion, Nulius, and to Ebsalon, formally. “Come have a drink, and let us see what happens,” Lord Mir said. Xipil and I joined the others at the table, flanking Lady Isa, as it happened. Lord Mir returned to his discussion with Nulius about some ancient battle; they were debating whether tactics or luck had caused one side to prevail. Lady Isa recognized my dress, and I thanked her for not wanting it, although I expressed that I thought she would have looked good in it, at least before Yana made her alterations. Grogg and Lunari arrived, and sat down as far away from me as possible. Nulius stood up and went over to them to talk to Lunari, but he returned soon, and conferred with Lord Mir in a low voice. Everyone fetched their own drinks, but Lord Mir asked what I preferred, and brought it to me himself. He said it was in thanks for how well I treated his brother. Lord Mir raised his voice and stated that he believed that we had wondered his whereabouts. He explained that he had been to Ur to fetch Ebsalon. I realized that they had to have hustled, for they had made the trip very quickly. Ebsalon told us a little about himself. He had studied magic in Ur, and had been a member of the Council of the Eleven for the last seventeen years. I had heard about them; they’re supposed to oversee magicians here in Arland. Nulius also spoke of himself. His titles were foreign, so I didn’t understand them, except there was something about lions. Lord Mir wanted us to say who we were, too. Lunari claimed to be a merchant, which might be true. Grogg just gave his name, as did I. Xipil said a few words, but not much compared to Lunari, Nulius or Ebsalon. We raised our glasses and toasted. Lady Isa whispered a warning that my drink was a strong one. She should know, for I had asked for whatever she was having. I replied that she didn’t have to worry; I’d be fine. She took several quick sips, and I warned her to take it easy. Nulius and Lord Mir went back to their battle talk. I asked Lady Isa if she knew why we had been invited, but she didn’t know. She asked her brother, but he held up a finger, signaling her to wait. Xipil urged her to go on, and she demanded an answer. Lord Mir replied that he loved to party with people who don’t know how to behave. I didn’t know if he was serious or if he was chastising her. Lord Mir added that there would be a meeting later, and that Nulius wanted to make up his mind about us before deciding if we would be welcome there. Nulius pulled Xipil aside for a private talk, and Lord Mir did the same with me. He asked for details from my encounter with Lord Lunas. I feigned ignorance, but not very successfully. After roasting me, Lord Mir talked to Nulius again. Grogg told Kraa to steal Nulius’s glass, and when the spirit bird started flapping, Nulius drew his sword and positioned himself in front of Lord Mir, as if to protect him. Lord Mir laughed, and Nulius put away the blade, saying, “Mir, this will be fun. Bring them all.” Then he walked out of the room. Lord Mir grinned and raised his glass, then shook hands with us all, telling us we made a good impression on Nulius. Sending Lady Isa and Ebsalon away, Lord Mir brought the rest of us up another flight of stairs, to a council room. Nulius was standing at the window, looking out. Lord Mir dropped into a chair and put his feet up on the table, asking us to sit. I sat down next to him, and Lunari sat on the other side of the table. Lord Mir told us what had happened in Ur was worse than what had happened in Guling, bad as that was, with arsons and a rogue mage. He had gone to Ur to “activate the Council”. Now, he was going to the capital, to the king’s council. What did we think about that? There are Loyalist patrols all the way between Ur and Byblos, according to Lord Mir, so Lunari suggested going through the swamps. Lord Mir was vague about his intentions. The king’s council was supposed to select a new king, but it was clear that Lord Mir had ulterior motives for going. Seemingly jumping from topic to topic, Lord Mir mentioned that the Furkan family were in the pockets of the Loyalists, and Furkan controlled the orcs. Lunari thought that it would be clever if we could make our activities appear as orc troubles. Lord Mir thought this would make the Loyalists send an army onto Aldera land. He seemed to think this would be a good thing. I figured he needed the Loyalists to make transgressions that would cause the other noble houses to turn against them. We discussed this for a long time, about different factions. Who might ally with Aldera, and what would it take for them to do so? Lunari brought up Krull, causing Lord Mir to send Nulius outside. I think there is bad blood between him and orcs. After a while, Grogg blurted out that we took Lady Isa away from the Evening Fort. Lord Mir would like to know what happened on our excursion, and Lunari looked at me. I stared back at him, asking if he really wanted me to be the one to explain. He told the story himself, keeping mostly to the truth, while skipping over some embarrassing incidents, like when he argued with Lady Isa at the lumberjack cabin. |
Session 24 (2020-05-31)
Lord Mir sent Lunari to fetch Pak and Groman, and Xipil added that I have a demon named Gritt inside me. I explained that I have the situation under control. Yana camouflaged the crown well, for when Pak and Groman arrived, Pak had to feel the scarf to check if I wore the crown, still. Groman claimed that I had become a prison for Gritt. He explained that long ago, before the last cataclysm, there had been someone called the “seven immortals”, leaders of armies. They might once have been normal mortals, but at a certain time, they’d shed their mortality and transcended to something more. Gritt was one of them, and very dangerous. As he wasn’t welcome in the realm of the dead, Tivito wanted him locked up for eternity. The seven immortals were to be buried in crypts near already ancient stone circles, but from what Groman knew, some of them might not be. He showed us where the stone circles were marked on our map.
Groman thought that as long as I was myself, everything should be fine. Xipil mentioned that Krull knows about Gritt, and Lord Mir asked if we were willing to transport a precious cargo far away from here. We assumed he was talking about Krull, and Xipil said that Krull wouldn’t come with us while I carried Gritt. Lord Mir concluded the meeting, taking Pak and Groman outside, and saying that he had promised that Nulius could have some words with us in private. Nulius came back inside, and told us he hoped we hadn’t put ideas into Lord Mir’s head. He said that Lord Mir had Zeta’s skill in battle. Xipil asked who that was. From Nulius’s reverent explanation, Zeta seemed almost like a god, but was at least a legendary general. Nulius also said that Lord Mir – he called him Imirel – had bragged that his father had an orcish ally, and in that case, it was just as well that said father was senile. Nulius advised us not to ally with barbarians. Nulius was certain that with Lord Mir, Arland might restore its lost greatness. He claimed that Lord Mir was Lord Madan’s only son, the only one who could bring the blood forward. The Aldera family was the only noble house in Arland as old as the royal family, and Nulius didn’t have much respect for the other houses. Grogg sent Kraa after his pouch when Nulius left. Xipil, Lunari and Grogg left, too, and Groman came and joined me. He took the nearest chair, but pulled it a little bit away from me. I asked if he wanted to find a food cellar, but he didn’t think this was the right time, so I left. He followed me back to my room. I intended to go to bed, and Groman asked if I minded leaving the door ajar. I told him that I did mind, but that he could come inside if he wanted. I hadn’t expected him to take me up on it, and he seemed as uncomfortable as I felt. Groman took a chair and faced the wall, giving me a semblance of privacy as I brushed my teeth, removed the makeup and got ready for bed. I thought his ears peaked when I uttered my evening prayer; at least someone was listening, I thought bitterly. I made sure he didn’t sneak a peek while I undressed and slipped under the covers. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. After a while, someone knocked on the door, and Groman shuffled hurriedly out of the room, joining Xipil, Pak and Grogg outside. I asked them to close the door, and Xipil obliged. I still heard Grogg saying that he would accompany Xipil to the chapel. I burst out of bed and ran to the door, calling after Xipil. He came back, and I told him to make sure Grogg acted respectfully. He assured me he would. Thinking about Grogg, the infidel, being allowed inside Your temple while I was denied, I cried myself to sleep. 13th of Rama, year 412 O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I went to have breakfast. Grogg was there, holding up food for Kraa. I preached Your gospel. Lunari arrived, but left again when he saw me. Groman and Pak came in just after he was gone, asking after Xipil. Grogg went and fetched both Xipil and Lunari. Pak tripped eagerly from foot to foot. Groman looked ready to fall asleep, but Pak made him do the talking when the others came in. Groman pulled out a map and pointed to a symbol, saying he would like to know who drew it there. It marked the location of a place that had been left in a hurry, which made him think that there might be forgotten knowledge left behind. Pak and he had planned to go, but something had come up, and the expedition was postponed and ultimately abandoned. Groman hoped that there might be books there, discussing topics that Tivito had acquired a monopoly on. It had to do with spirits or demons, I gathered. Last night, Xipil and Lunari found a secret room with old, occult books locked away in a tower. As soon as he heard about it, Lord Mir forbade anyone from going there, and now Pak asked us to convince the nobleman to reopen the tower. Lunari asked for writing utensils and retreated to his room. Xipil filled me in on the details of their discovery. He also relayed that Nujan had claimed that cats were immune to demonic possession. It sounded like something Nujan would say; he has only a passing acquaintance with the truth. |
Re: Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue
The next installment (session 25) is laden with emotion. I realized after writing it that some of Nuur-Karif's thoughts may come across as homophobic when taken out of context, so please don't do that. Remember that she lived a very secluded life in Ashtar's cult for most of her ~ 19 years, and that she's only been exposed to the real world in short glimpses, until a few months ago. She hasn't encountered openly gay people before, and hasn't yet realized that it is possible to have a romantic relationship with someone of the same gender. That she thinks of it as laughable, ridiculous or even offensive, is only because she hasn't accepted the physical possibility of it.
I try not to offend anyone with my writing, but at the same time, I try to stay true to Nuur-Karif's character. On a lighter note, Xipil's player tells me he's going to make a separate thread with Xipil's story. I'll link to it when he publishes. |
Session 25 (2020-06-06)
13th of Rama, year 412 (continued)
I thought about what Nulius had said, that Lord Mir was the only true heir of Lord Madan. It struck me as odd that I had seen no pictures of Lady Varja anywhere, but then I remembered seeing one in Lady Isa’ s room. Lady Isa had Lady Varja’s features, so it seemed reasonable to assume they were mother and daughter. Perhaps Lord Mir and Lady Isa were half-siblings? I guessed that would be the case of Lord Mir and Lord Lunas, too. Actually, Nulius had said that Lord Mir was Lord Madan’s only son. Well, I knew for a fact that Lord Lunas wasn’t Lady Lunas in disguise. Yana burst into the dining hall with a pile of clothes in her hands and a wide grin on her face. She was wearing a simple, yet well-made and practical dress of pastel colors – green and yellow, today, its pockets filled with the tools of her trade: scissors, measuring tape and so on. Her pincushion was affixed to her left wrist as usual. Yana had completed everyone’s disguises, and handed them out to Xipil, Grogg and me. Xipil put his new clothes on immediately, not at all concerned about flaunting his nakedness in front of everyone. Being ashamed of nudity is a thing of mammals, he would say. I looked at Yana, visualizing her without her dress. My mind’s eye saw a shapely figure, slender and long-limbed, about my height, her almost black hair dancing about her shoulders with a reddish sheen. Her skin was light brown, golden and smooth as silk. She caught my eyes, and I blushed furiously. Yana sat down and the two of us started talking about clothes and makeup, as we’re wont to do. I quickly forgot my embarrassment. Before coming to the Evening Fort, I hadn’t had much interest for the topic of clothes, but Yana was so skilled, so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic, it was contagious. She didn’t look that much older than me, maybe twenty-five, but I bet she started sewing before I was born. We talked for some time about unimportant matters, before Yana asked what I was planning to do. I was hoping to find a way back to You, some method of ridding myself of the demon inside, but I didn’t want to scare her, so I said I didn’t know. Yana said she wanted to come with me when I left. “I’d love to have you along,” I replied, “but are you sure? There will be dangers along the road.” Yana was certain, but she dreaded the talk she would have to have with Remi, and asked if I would talk to him in her stead. I told her it was the least I could do; she had been so helpful. After a while, I realized that Grogg and Xipil had vanished. I didn’t care. I could talk to Yana all day. I told her about You, and she listened attentively. Yana announced suddenly that we had to leave, that we needed to get away from here. I asked her what was behind her urgency, and she replied that this wasn’t the right place for me to be. She thought that my place was somewhere to the north. At that point, Xipil reappeared, and Yana went back to talking about clothes. Xipil informed us that Remi had forbidden us from loitering around the inner courtyard, and Yana opined that Remi also had realized that we had to go. I explained to Xipil that Yana had told me we had to go north. Xipil replied that Krull also thought so. Yana whispered a question in my ear. Could we trust Xipil? “Of course, we can”, I responded. Xipil went to consult Krull again, leaving Yana and me to resume our conversation about fashion. Lunch was served, and Xipil came back. I asked him what Krull had said, and he tried to send Yana away. Yana looked at me, and I told her I needed a word with Xipil in private. The hurt look in her eyes tore at my soul. Yana went outside, but appeared at one of the windows, staring at me while I talked to Xipil. Xipil thought that the crown had affected Yana, for Krull had said that Gritt wanted to go north, which we had to prevent. Krull wanted to go north himself, to the Night Mirror, a mystical lake in Orkheim. Xipil hoped that Pak and Groman could find a solution to my Gritt problem, and in the meantime, we should keep me and the crown isolated. I asked Xipil to contact Pak and Groman, but he didn’t want to, because Remi didn’t want us in the inner courtyard. Instead, Xipil said he could go to Your priestess in Guling, once the land bridge appeared at sunset. She might have advice for us. It would be best if I remained behind on the island, as there would be fewer people here for Gritt to influence. Xipil’s words rang true. I feared that Gritt had done something to Yana. Xipil suggested I tell her that I was retiring to my room to pray, alone, and suggested that I ask the servants for a key, so I could lock myself in. A quick question to the servants revealed that Lunari had received keys to all our rooms. I could retrieve my key from him. I went over to the window to talk to Yana, intending to reveal my fears, but I realized we could be overheard, and I didn’t want Gritt to become public knowledge among the servants, so I invited Yana to come to my room, where we could talk privately. I told Yana I had a demon inside me, and that I was afraid it was influencing her to encourage me to go north. Yana took my hands, and looked me in the eyes. Her eyes were radiant jewels. Golden near the pupils, her irises had an emerald ring along the outer edge. She glowed with compassion, and pulled me into a hug. She stroked my back and my hair comfortingly, and then she grabbed my bottom. My eyes widened in surprise. “Eep!” What did she think she was doing? This was awkward! But she was such a nice person, I didn’t want to throw her out and break her heart. My yelp caused her to release her grip, and I tried to step backwards, but she followed, her hands returning to my back, making their way slowly up and down, comforting again. My head was spinning, but I relaxed, not realizing that she was undoing the buttons on my dress. When she moved to pull the dress off my shoulders, the cold air against my back made me retreat in panic, and I tripped over the edge of the gigantic, luxurious bed. Yana untied my belt and straddled me before I could think. She caressed me, leaving trails of goosebumps where her hands had touched my bare skin, and I moved to push her away, but Yana guided my hands, and they gained a mind of their own, mimicking her moves and fondling her through her dress. Yana leaned in and planted her lips on mine, and my head exploded. “Make them go away!” Yana hissed from under the bed cover, and then someone knocked on the door. It was Xipil, Grogg, Lunari and Nujan. Grogg wanted his magic ring back, so after hiding Yana behind me, still under the bed cover, I raised my voice, allowing Xipil to come inside to retrieve it. Grogg could smell Yana, and after an awkward dialog between me and him, Yana burst from the covers, pulling her dress up from her waist to cover her chest, and fled the room. Lunari told Grogg to restrain her, but Yana dodged and weaved through the crowd at the door. Realizing that my own dress was adorning the floor, I tried to chase them out, but they ignored my outrage, so I hid under the blanket. They talked about contacting someone named Luk to have Yana arrested, and Xipil asked if I wanted to come along. I didn’t reply, and they left. I peeked out from the blanket to see if they had closed the door. My heart was racing and my mind ablaze. What had just happened? Had I really been seduced? The tables had been turned, it seemed. I had never felt the desire for physical intimacy before. I’ve had more partners than most girls my age, but whenever I’ve slithered into someone’s bed, it has been to further Your goals, to twist their minds so I could complete my holy mission. My body is a weapon, in more ways than one. And now, Yana had taken that weapon and turned it against me. Could I ever trust myself again? Could I ever trust Yana again? What was her motive for doing this? I should be outraged, furious, but I found myself wishing for her to come back, to slide between my legs and do it all over again. A blasphemous thought burned inside my head: Denied Your holy grace, I would find ecstasy elsewhere. I’d ask for forgiveness, but You weren’t listening. I dressed and left the room. The others were standing in the hallway, about to leave. I asked where we were going, but they wouldn’t let me come. Xipil repeated that he thought Yana was under Gritt’s influence. He asked Grogg to look at me through the magic ring, but Grogg didn’t want to, in case Gritt looked back. Since I wasn’t allowed to come along, I returned to my room, slamming the door. I heard Grogg’s and Lunari’s voices trail off down the hallway. Xipil was still outside, praying loudly, presumably so I should hear him and follow suit. I knelt down, following his example, and sought solace in the familiar ritual. I eventually calmed down, and heard a small voice in the back of my head, telling me there was something wrong with my friends. I didn’t want to trust that voice. It had become abundantly clear that You weren’t speaking to me, and Your last missive had said that my friends would help me. I feared I knew what name belonged to that voice: Gritt. |
Session 25 (2020-06-06)
I opened the door and joined Xipil in the hallway. He told me that he, Lunari and Grogg were going to investigate the tower, where he and Lunari had found that secret room last night, and let me come along, although I had to camouflage the crown, first. It suddenly felt heavy, now that I remembered I was wearing it. I took the scarf Yana had used to hide the crown earlier and wound it carefully around the circlet before resting it on my brow again. The scarf had complemented the fancy, purple gown I had worn to Lord Mir’s get-together, but clashed awfully with the grey pauper’s dress I wore now. I thought about retrieving my everyday dress from Lady Isa. Or I could let her keep it, now that I had received my disguise. Yana could adjust my dress to Lady Isa’s smaller hips and bosom.
The guards at the gate to the inner courtyard scowled at us, but allowed us to enter. We headed for Groman’s and Pak’s rooms, and Lunari asked Grogg to knock on the door. Pak came out, and Lunari informed him that we had received permission to check out the tower. Pak went inside to talk to Groman. I studied my companions, looking for signs of Gritt’s influence. They didn’t look demon-possessed, but they seemed confused concerning the whereabouts of Grogg’s magic needle. Did Pak and Groman have it, or did Grogg? Pak came with us to the tower. A guard was posted there, and he wouldn’t let us in. He had heard nothing about us being allowed inside. The tower was closed. Lunari convinced him otherwise, though, and the guard opened the door for us, all the while saying that the tower was closed. Inside, Pak told Lunari that Lord Lunas wouldn’t like that he was bewitching his men. Lunari was glowing, I noticed when we entered the relative dark inside. He also smelled strongly of flowers. Your symbol was on the wall, among other symbols, guiding the way to other chapels, presumably. Lunari asked Pak if he recognized any of the symbols. The troll scholar identified Kabal and Elik among them. While the names sounded familiar, I failed to connect them to anything. Pak thought Ebsalon might know one of the other symbols. We climbed to the top of the tower, past a Kabal door and an Elik door. The symbol on the Kabal door teased my brain, and I thought to myself that I would like to have a look inside. But first, we searched the room at the top of the tower, where Lunari and Xipil had been last night. Pak instructed us not to touch anything, which we handily ignored. In one drawer lay a few rolled-up paper notes. Lunari picked up one of them, but Pak spotted him and made him put it back. Xipil was fingering a mechanical contraption, and once again, Pak harrumphed. My emotions were all jumbled up. I didn’t know what to do about Yana, and I couldn’t ask You for help. A careless comment made something break inside me, and I slipped outside when everyone’s backs were turned. I plumped down in the middle of the winding staircase and let the tears flow. I wept silently, not wanting the others to hear. Realizing the cause of my despair, I whispered, “Ashtar! Ashtar! Why have you forsaken me?” Nujan had remained below, but now he climbed the stairs on silent feet and held out a bottle of liquor and a handkerchief. I drained the whole bottle in one long swallow, then set about drying my eyes. I managed to staunch the flow for a little while, but Nujan made a well-meaning statement that didn’t sit well in my current state. I had just realized that the booze was making me tipsy, which it wouldn’t have done while I still had Your blessing. “It is good to get down from the tower. It brings you closer to Hasshtar,” Nujan offered. I howled in anguish and took off down the stairs. Nujan alerted the others to my flight, and Xipil called for me to wait, but I ignored him. The others followed me all the way back to my room, where I slammed the door in their faces. Xipil asked what was wrong, but I couldn’t muster the strength to reply. Instead, I collapsed on the bed and soaked the pillow. Once the tears stopped flowing, I retrieved my medicine kit and weighed it in my hands. I made a decision. I opened the door and handed the leather roll to Xipil. “I’m not worthy to keep this.” Xipil accepted the kit reverently, saying he’d take good care of it. He knew it held my holy collection of poisons as well as my healer’s equipment. Xipil convinced me to come with him to see the priestess in Guling tonight. I asked if he had pen and paper for me to borrow, and we fetched it from his room. I reentered my chamber and composed a letter to Yana. I explained that I thought she was very nice, but that I feared Gritt was clouding her mind, making her want to convince me to go north, thus bringing him to where he wants to be. I wrote down what I knew of the demon, which wasn’t really that much, and ended the letter by blaming Gritt for making things awkward between us, hoping that neither Gritt nor I had hurt her too deeply. I asked Xipil to deliver the letter. He seemed skeptical, and wanted to know what it said. I let him read it, and he promised to take it to Yana at once. I went back inside my room to think. What use did I have of prayer, when You had made it clear that I was nothing to You? After a while, Xipil knocked on the door and said it was time for dinner. Would I join him and Nujan? While we were eating, a rotten twig hit the window, making a sticky smear. Xipil and Nujan dashed over to the window to see. Nobody outside was near enough to have thrown it, but more twigs and branches were scattered about the courtyard. Xipil asked a servant about the twig. This was a bad sign, the servant thought, as there was no storm outside to have deposited the wood this way. I remained seated, muttering fatalistically, “What’s a few rotten twigs compared to being spurned by one’s goddess?” Xipil had a bad feeling about it, though, and took Nujan and me along to investigate. We heard a guttural scream in the distance and picked up the speed. The inner courtyard was strewn with dead wood. Lord Mir and a squad of soldiers stood ready in full battle gear. Xipil explained to them that Lunari, Grogg and Pak was inside the tower, and Lord Mir called out, “Forward, men!” He and his troops stormed up the tower, with Xipil, Nujan, Ebsalon and me following behind. With their heavy armor, the soldiers moved slowly, but I had no interest in overtaking them. Denied Your gifts, I’d be no more use in combat than Yana. Pak, Groman and Grogg were coming down the stairs, and Lord Mir asked them what was happening in his fort. Pak announced gloomily that Lunari was dead, and I saw that both he and Grogg were pretty beaten up. I should be sad for Lunari, but I had no more tears to cry. My heart was already broken. I had reached my emotional bottom. Lord Mir looked Pak and Grogg over, and ordered them to find rest, then took Groman back upstairs. Xipil followed. Grogg called for Kraa and whispered something to the spirit raven. Powerless and unworthy, I felt there was nothing I could do. I considered giving Grogg a careful hug, but his expression said no. Pak accepted one, though. Grogg took Pak, Nujan and me to the dining hall, and Pak sent for someone knowledgeable about first aid, before telling me and Nujan what had happened: Lunari had entered a temple garden inside a large room in the tower, and Pak and Grogg had followed after a while, when they started getting worried. They found Lunari in the center of the garden, where he had just triggered a trap, causing a clay statue to come to life. The statue was clearly hostile, and they tried to get out of the garden when there was a large explosion, and more statues attacked. They killed Lunari and injured Pak and Grogg grievously before the trolls made it out the door. A servant named Linda appeared with bandages, and both Pak and Grogg insisted the other one should be treated first. Grogg threatened to bash in Pak’s skull unless Linda saw to him first, so she patched up Pak, then Grogg. Her methods were foreign to me. Were they truly unknown, or was this yet another example of Your grace being denied me? I did learn my skills in Your holy temple, after all. Xipil entered and said we had to hurry if we were to cross the land bridge. I told him I was ready to go; I had my purse at my belt, all I needed for a night in town, at least in my current state. Nujan just nodded. Xipil wanted to fetch his weapons, and asked if he should bring my knives too, but I maintained I wasn’t worthy of them. “Do you mind if I carry your knives?” he asked. I told him to do as he pleased. While he was gone, a soldier arrived with a letter from Lord Mir, which I wasn’t supposed to open until tomorrow. I showed the sealed envelope to Xipil when he reappeared. We walked towards the land bridge. Glancing at the sun, I realized that we didn’t have to hurry after all. Lord Mir and his soldiers were just mounting up, to the sound of a fanfare, and the nobleman started making a speech. Xipil, Nujan and I reached the land bridge first. |
Session 25 (2020-06-06)
The guards there were calling over to the city side, shouting that the wagons and trolls waiting there couldn’t cross yet. It was obvious they didn’t want anyone to block Lord Mir’s entourage. The sun touched the horizon, and the land bridge appeared. Lord Mir had still not arrived, so Xipil, Nujan and I started running. A lone city guard hurried towards us from the Guling side. He had a letter for the Ashtarite, Nuur-Kalif? I corrected him on my name, but refrained from saying I wasn’t an Ashtarite anymore. The guard handed me the letter and said he had promised to forget that name as soon as he had delivered the letter. As that was his only mission on the island, he turned around and ran with us back to Guling, before disappearing into the crowd.
Xipil asked if we should seek out the priestess immediately. I gave him a short “Yes”. Serendipitously, Xipil spotted her in the crowd and walked up to her. Nujan and I moved off to the side, so I wouldn’t stand near so many people. I asked Nujan if he was certain he wanted to be alone with me, but he pointed out that we weren’t far from the townsfolk. We could see Xipil talking to the priestess for a minute or two, and then they approached us. I was glad to see the priestess, but her appearance filled me with dread, too. I asked what was happening, and she said she was going to take over the burden of carrying the crown. I asked if she was sure. She was, but she also wanted me to find her once this was all over. I couldn’t entice her to tell me where she was going, but I understood that Xipil knew. She pulled Xipil aside and talked quietly to him. They returned shortly, and I kneeled in front of the priestess and bent my neck, turning the scarf-covered circlet towards her. Xipil started praying, and the priestess fell to her knees in prayer, too. Then she seized the demon crown from my head and put it on herself. She looked around in confusion, and left. I looked inside myself, searching my feelings. I had hoped for the comforting sensation of Your sheltering coils, but I felt disappointingly normal. Suddenly, images flashed before my mind’s eye. I saw myself casting spells on Grogg and Lady Isa and I was inflicting fear upon Krull. These were evil deeds that I had unwittingly committed, but my mind saved the worst for last. I was standing in my bedroom, talking to Yana, distracting her with chatter while I directed dark tendrils to seize her mind. Realization dawned on me. I hadn’t lain with Yana. Gritt had. I felt violated and used, and nearly vomited. Forcing down the bile in my throat, I decided I needed to shed myself of whatever “truths” I had learned after picking up the crown. I thought I could trust the bare facts of what I’d seen or heard, but not the conclusions I’d drawn from them. I had to retrace my reasoning and arrive at new conclusions. Foremost in my mind lay Yana. What did I really know about her, about us? I had felt pleasure, ecstasy even, in our encounter earlier today, but that feeling should be discarded. I hadn’t been myself, and neither had Yana. So, what did I truly know? She was a nice person to be around, and we could talk for hours on end. We haven’t known each other very long, and our talk mostly pertained to clothes, fashion, disguises and makeup. I seemed to recall that Yana had shied away from more intimate topics, like when I invited her to Your chapel. She had asked after Lord Lunas on at least one occasion, out of the blue as far as I could figure out. Could she be harboring secret feelings for the nobleman? Gathering my thoughts, I concluded that we were acquaintances, sharing an interest in clothes and fashion. We enjoyed each other’s company, and I thought we might have become friends, had things been allowed to develop naturally. I feared that my hopes for a friendship were doomed. She’d probably never talk to me again, not after what I’d done. I had to apologize, sending Xipil as my proxy if she wouldn’t hear me out. Xipil shook me out of my dark thoughts and asked if we should return to the fort. We could go to the chapel. I thought that sounded like a good idea, but Nujan wanted to do a favor for Grogg while he was in Guling. He hoped he’d finish his business before the causeway disappeared again, and ran off. Lord Mir and his troops came up from the land bridge, and a town crier announced that the Aldera family was answering the call of the king. Once the riders cleared the ramp, Xipil and I walked back over. I told the lizard man what Pak had said about Lunari’s death. Nujan passed us before we reached the fort, heading for Grogg, while Xipil and I made for the chapel. Outside the tower, a guard told us it was important we knew that the tower was closed. Xipil and I ignored his words, and he made no move to stop us as we entered. We found the wash basins and cleansed ourselves thoroughly. I called inside for permission to enter, speaking in the hissing snake language, but even before the great serpent replied, I felt Your glowing presence welcoming me home for the first time in what seemed like ages. We entered. The serpent was overjoyed with my return, and we had a long talk, before I had to explain to it that Xipil didn’t understand snake-speech. The snake wrapped itself around me, more than ten meters of bliss, and I hugged it back. I realized I had a few tears left, but these were happy tears. Xipil reminded me I had to finish my quest concerning the spirits. There were thirty-odd ghosts still unaccounted for. We also had to release Krull from the dungeon, and Xipil informed me that the priestess was going to go to the Night Mirror with Gritt, but that it was imperative that Krull got there first. I flexed my fangs. It felt good. “We can listen for rumors about ghosts, but it may take some time to track them down,” I said to Xipil, focusing on my quest. Xipil told me that Groman thought the spirits would seek out the other crypts of the immortal ones, and suggested that we go to the one near Ur, because Lady Isa apparently knew a way to get us there fast. We debated whether or not we should bring Grogg. He was badly wounded and needed healing before traveling anywhere, so I thought it wise to have him use the magic needle, in case we wanted him to come with us. I realized I was losing my skepticism towards the needle. I told Xipil that Grogg had proven himself capable. In the interest of honesty and openness, we should tell him that we planned to go on a ghost-busting tour, and ask if he would like to join us. Xipil responded that since Grogg had accompanied us this far, he believed he might want to come along. I sighed and stood up. The serpent reluctantly let me go. I had to try to talk to Yana, but on the way there, Xipil reminded me that the priestess had instructed us to release Krull. We decided to talk it over with Lady Isa first, but I noticed a commotion at the tailor’s shop. Yana was locked inside her room in the basement, and banged on the door, yelling, “Let me out! I need to follow Nuur-Karif! Open the door!” I ascertained that someone was going for a spare key before approaching the door. I told Yana I was there, but she maintained that I had left. I asked her if she had read the letter I sent, which Xipil had pushed under the door. The banging and shouting stopped as she picked up the letter and read it. Someone arrived with a key and unlocked the door. Xipil left to check on Grogg, now that the situation was resolved. I pushed open the door and saw Yana looking up from the letter with disbelief in her beautiful eyes. Standing in the doorway, I tried to apologize for what I had put her through. “You’re not here. You’ve left me,” Yana mumbled. Of their own accord, my feet moved into the room and my arms enveloped her in a hug. “No, I’m here, Yana,” I whispered, her name on my tongue sending shivers down my spine. “It seems Gritt still clings to your mind, but I know a cure for that. Come to the chapel. Ashtar can fix anything. A mere demon is no match for the Keeper of Death’s Door!” Strangely, Yana put on a quick disguise before taking my hand. Fearing she might bolt, running after Gritt, I interweaved my fingers with hers and strengthened my grip. She walked a half-step behind me, making it appear like I was dragging her after me. Yana tensed when the tower guard declared that the tower was closed, but I ignored them both, and pulled her along to the chapel. I closed the door to the antechamber before letting go of her hand. The door would be an obstacle if she tried to escape, and I kept my eyes on her while demonstrating how to wash one’s feet and hands properly. Yana was silent, exuding uncertainty, but she did as I instructed. I took her hand again once she finished washing. “You can bring one of those lamps,” I told her, pointing. “I hope you aren’t afraid of snakes.” Yana stiffened, but I promised I wouldn’t let them harm her. “Ashtar is the Mother of Snakes,” I explained, “and we are all her children. They won’t harm me, and my presence will protect you.” The snakes sensed an intruder, of course, and approached us. I interposed myself between them and Yana, taking hold of her other hand, too. She trembled, but managed to stutter, “I-i-impressive!” when the great serpent reared up, ready to strike. It hissed, “Friend?” and I answered: “Friend.” |
Session 25 (2020-06-06)
Satisfied, the large snake chased away the two smaller ones, and settled back down on the altar. I clasped Yana’s hands all the while, and her tremors reverberated up my arms. “Let’s sit down over there and pray,” I told her, indicating a spot half-way between the wall and the altar. “O Ashtar, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my prayer! Bless Yana here with Your protection and drive the demon from her mind! Banish the dark cloud that enthralls her!” I spoke loudly, with a commanding voice, for Yana’s benefit. I felt Your presence, and knew what I was doing was right. Yana whispered that she thought it was working, and I continued.
I was exuberant. Basking in Your glory, I could keep this up for days! However, the time soon came when I felt it was right to stop. The demon was cast out, and we left the chapel. Nujan and Xipil waited in the inner courtyard. Xipil said we had to release Krull. He tried to keep his voice low, but I still held Yana’s hand, just in case, and she overheard. That turned out to be a good thing, for Lord Lunas had tasked her with preparing a disguise for Krull some time ago, making her promise not to tell anyone, not even Lord Madan. I took it as a good sign that she was spilling the truth for me. Xipil, Yana and I retrieved the disguise from a secret compartment in her room, along with a pouch of coins that Lord Lunas had set aside. Xipil handed me my belt of knives and my medicine kit. Caressing the leather roll, I realized what really had triggered my handing it over to Xipil. Within lay a small vial of a pale, yellow-green, viscous liquid: My holy venom, a way to Your domain while Your protection was revoked, and I had nearly been desperate enough to try. Nujan had remained outside, and Xipil went to talk to him. I put my gear in the secret compartment to be retrieved after we had broken Krull free. Nobody should die tonight, if I had my way. If worst came to worst, Yana had a knife in her belt, as usual. My eyes lingered on her shapely hip while I planned how best to draw that blade. Xipil came back inside and said Nujan had gone to talk to Lady Isa. I asked him if he had managed to talk to Grogg. Xipil relayed Grogg’s thoughts: The “man in white” had to die, and the others too. I smiled. We were in agreement. Xipil proposed a return to the inner courtyard to see if Nujan appeared with Lady Isa. We found a hiding place in the shadows there, where we could keep an eye on everything. Yana was uncomfortable. She wasn’t supposed to be in the inner courtyard, and certainly not hiding. I started talking about clothes, complimenting her on the stitchwork on Krull’s disguise. She relaxed, settling down to a familiar, safe topic. Yana spotted Nujan first. He was on the roof of the building where Lady Isa lived on the top floor, and reached a hand down to tap at her window. Nothing happened, so he tapped again, this time making contact, gesturing that Lady Isa should come outside. The drapes closed, and Nujan vanished along the roof. When he emerged in the courtyard, Xipil made a signal, and Nujan headed over to us. Lady Isa was crying, and couldn’t come out, he informed us. The question of whether we could get Krull out without her help was debated. There should only be one guard post between the cells and the rowboat, with one or two guards, and Yana offered to distract them, if that was all right with me. I smiled and told her I’d help. Then I raised the issue of the locks. Xipil had acquired the key to the cell door, but the cavern with the rowboat was also behind a locked door. Yana said she could try to pick the lock, but Xipil had a set of lockpicks, and thought he could manage. I looked at Yana. The tailor’s assistant possessed another skill set. I looked forward to discussing it with her. She noticed me considering her, and smiled. I smiled back. We entered the nobles’ house. The guards at the door followed us with their eyes, but Xipil and I, at least, had been granted certain privileges in thanks for helping the Aldera family, one being that we could visit Krull. We descended the stairs, and came to the crucial guard post. One door led to stairs down to the dungeon, another led to the cavern with the boat. A guard stood in front of each of them. Xipil and Nunan entered first, sauntering past the guards like they owned the place, and continued down to the dungeon. I let go of Yana’s hand. She drew a deep breath and approached one of the guards, all the while talking to me about inconsequential things; I followed her inside, chatting along. She complained that our companions had left, and asked me what we were supposed to do now. I told her we might as well find some other company. Yana turned to the guards and declared that the one who told the best joke would get a prize. She made a show of whispering something in my ear. We giggled while the second guard made his way across the room. By standing like we were doing now, Xipil, Nujan and Krull could move through the room unseen by the guards. I trusted Xipil and Nujan to be able to move silently, but was more uncertain about Krull; he’s pretty big. The guards told their jokes, and watched with anticipation while Yana and I whispered and giggled. I let Yana declare the winner. “And the winner is … you! The prize is a kiss from one of us! You can choose who!” The winner looked us over before pointing to me and then to his cheek. I was stunned. How could he not select the epitome of beauty standing next to me? It had to be the exoticism of me being a stranger. I pecked his cheek, half expecting him to turn his head so I’d kiss him on the mouth instead, but he behaved gentlemanly in that regard. He strutted around the room for a few seconds, then came back, beginning a story about orcs and goats, and his partner coughed, signaling that this joke might not be suited for sensitive, female ears. Yana declared that she needed a drink, if she was to hear it, so the jokester left hurriedly to fetch some wine, promising to finish the story when he returned. Yana looked deeply into the eyes of the remaining guard and told him she had always had a crush on him. He looked so handsome in his uniform. Behind her back, she signaled for me to delay the return of the other guard. I started up the stairs when they began making out. “It’s just an act,” I told myself. I shook my head to clear it. Why should I care who she kissed? It wasn’t as if she was my husband, or even my boyfriend. I laughed at the silly image. I did care, though, so much that it hurt. “It’s just an act,” I repeated defiantly. I met my guard half-way up the stairs. “What do you have there?” I asked, and he showed me a bottle of wine. I made a show of studying the label, although I’m no connoisseur. “Is this a good one? Have you tried it before?” I held up the guard until Yana called out that she was thirsty, at which point I brought him back down to the others. We drank and made merry. The story about the orcs and the goats was indeed a dirty one, on par with some in Lunari’s repertoire. That thought struck me with sadness. Nujan and Xipil returned after a while through the boat door, having led Krull to the rowboat and sent him on his way. Yana and I announced regretfully that we had to leave. Back outside, Yana said, “Thank you, Nuur-Karif. The darkness is gone from my mind.” I told her we’d return to the chapel under the tower tomorrow and have it confirmed. Yana glanced across the courtyard and warned me about the tower. It was dangerous. I thanked her for the warning, but she hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know. The tower contains a lethal temple garden. There’s a similar one in Sam, and You have sent me to one in Amrosh land as well. There are many secretive cults in Arland besides Yours. I went with Yana all the way to her quarters, holding her hand again. It felt good, comforting. She both lived and worked in the cellar under the tailor’s shop. I fetched my knives and medicine kit and we said good night. I heard Yana bar the door, and sat down, leaning against it. Just in case the darkness wasn’t gone, and she tried to escape, of course. I briefly considered the possibility of her having a secret way out, but discarded the idea quickly. If she had had one, she would have used it earlier. I itched to go brush my teeth, but told myself to be strong, to remain vigilant. Things seemed to be going well between Yana and me. Maybe we can be friends, after all? It dawned on me that I would be leaving soon, and my throat constricted. “Relax, Nuur-Karif. You’ve made up with Yana,” I thought to myself. Yana and I could part ways amicably now, and I determined to be satisfied with that. I put my palms against the cellar floor, overjoyed that You were with me again, that You could hear my prayer. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Re: Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue
Stomoxys has created a separate thread for Xipil's version of the story: Campaign log: Report to Great Priest Ixanama
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Session 26 (2020-07-06)
13th of Rama, year 412 (continued)
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! I had just dozed off when Keri, Lord Lunas’s dwarven companion, prodded me awake. I was requested in the guest dining hall. Keri asked if I guarded something, and I had him take over the watch over Yana, with instructions to find me if she left. In the dining hall, Lord Lunas politely pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down next to him. Lady Isa, Grogg and Xipil were present, too, and Pak who was still sleeping with the needle. A huge, cloaked figure covered with weapons was the first one I noticed when I entered, though, and Lord Lunas was talking about setting him up in one of the rooms above, where we too have quarters. Xipil told the nobles that we had successfully released Krull. They nodded, and Lord Lunas informed us that he would assume the command of the island, now that Lord Mir had left and Lord Madan was incapacitated. Before going to deal with Remi and whatever issues had cropped up, Lord Lunas said he had found an alternative to Tivito, indicating the cloaked fellow. Xipil commented that only Tivito are allowed to do what they do, here in Arland. Lady Isa took her brother’s arm and went with him, and the cloaked guy followed them outside, where they stopped to talk. Xipil joined them. I asked Grogg how he was doing, and he told me to give him the needle. I removed it from Pak and handed it to the other troll. Grogg pressed it into his neck and fell asleep. Pak didn’t wake up; he had to be really tired. Xipil and the cloaked figure returned, and I stood and shook hands with him, giving my name. The giant wore heavy armor and a full helm with a visor, but I got the impression that this being was a large human, rather than a small troll. His name was Wolfram. Servants arrived with food and drink, and Wolfram removed his helmet and gauntlets, revealing a hairy head with a bushy, unkempt beard. He asked about the Kabal temple, where Lunari had died, while Xipil went through Grogg’s pockets and said he couldn’t find the ring. I said we needed it. Pak started waking, mumbling something about Kabal taking souls. He looked around in confusion and scratched his head at Wolfram. I decided to pull a prank, and asked him why it seemed he didn’t recognize Wolfram, who had been at the Evening Fort for quite some time now. Wolfram took Pak’s comment about Kabal and souls very seriously, and I started worrying about Lunari’s soul. Pak told us we had to talk to Ebsalon before retrieving the corpse, as he had crafted a protective spell around the temple garden. Groman had been present at the casting, so we decided to talk to him first. Wolfram put on his helmet and gauntlets, and then we walked to the inner courtyard. The guards at the gate stared at us, but allowed us to pass. We climbed the stairs up to Pak’s and Groman’s rooms, and Pak knocked on the door, asking Groman if he were alone. “Almost,” the grumbling dwarven voice answered, before opening the door slightly to see who Pak had brought. He thanked us for bringing Pak and tried to dismiss us, but Pak made no move to enter. Groman tried to pull him inside, but Wolfram, who had supported Pak up the stairs, held on. Groman clearly didn’t want anyone but Pak to enter, but Ebsalon appeared behind him and said it was only polite to invite everyone inside. We took seats inside, and Wolfram and Ebsalon shook hands. I told the mage we had to enter the Kabal temple, but he replied that we had to wait until his spell expired, in forty-six hours. If we tried to enter now, our souls might be left outside. Xipil and Wolfram wanted to go and see anyway, and Ebsalon said it would be best if he came with us. “You have to take care dealing with magic,” he said, and Wolfram agreed heartily. Ebsalon explained in depth about protective magic, and it seemed like Wolfram understood. Ebsalon, Xipil, Wolfram and I left to look at the ward. Ebsalon enthused about the idea of teaching Xipil magic, but Xipil seemed unwilling to commit, at least for now. There were mystical symbols drawn on the floor and walls outside the temple door, and not much else to see. Ebsalon shooed us out after a while. I took Wolfram’s arm and let him escort me outside. Ebsalon wished us all a good night, and reminded us that we shouldn’t enter the tower again before seeing him tomorrow. I asked Wolfram what he was doing here. His dialect was a rougher variant of Lunari’s, so I understood he came from the Prince’s Cities somewhere. Wolfram answered with a question, asking if we were working for Lord Lunas, and whether we were loyal to him. I just replied that we had done some favors for him, recently. Wolfram seemed to accept that, and continued by asking what we thought of Tivito. Xipil responded that they seemed suspect, while I remained silent. Wolfram disdained Arland’s law that wizards were responsible for witch-hunting and exorcisms. It was clear to me that he thought this was the domain of priests. Wolfram and Xipil discussed demons, and the giant seemed well versed in the topic. He explained that demons were powerful souls that remained in the world of the living after their bodies died. Xipil wondered idly if Krull was a demon, for he had apparently claimed to be immortal. I laughed it away and explained to Wolfram that Krull was an orc who lived here until recently, and was absolutely not immortal. Xipil added that Krull was headed for the Night Mirror to stop Gritt, who definitely was a demon. I asked why Wolfram was so curious about demons and other nasty stuff, and he finally admitted that he was an agent of Tiri, and had come from the Prince’s Cities to deal with “nasty stuff” here. I recalled that Tiri is the goddess of the moon, but nothing else. My religious studies have focused on You, obviously. I yawned and said good night to Xipil and Wolfram, and returned to Keri. He was quite intoxicated and rather unsteady, and offered me a drink, but I asked him to stand guard for just five more minutes. I ran up to my room and brushed my teeth. Then I relieved Keri at Yana’s door. O Ashtar! I surrender my life to Your coils. Take me while I sleep, or grant me another day in Your service, as You will. |
Session 26 (2020-07-06)
14th of Rama, year 412
O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession! Seated as I was against the cellar door to Yana’s room, I woke when people started moving around the courtyard. I tried closing my eyes, and soon drifted off to sleep again, for we had stayed up long talking last night. I next woke when Yana began stirring behind the door, but I thought she’d take her time getting out, so I shut my eyes again. Then the door suddenly opened, and I fell backwards, frightening Yana. “Did … did you sit outside my door all night?” Yana asked. “Wouldn’t you like to get some sleep?” I would like to, but I couldn’t sleep away the day, so I stood up and yawned. Yana was going to the kitchen to fetch her breakfast, and I joined her. We brought the food back to her room and talked while we ate. Yana was concerned that this simple fare was too plain for a Guest at the Fort. I assured her it was just fine. Food doesn’t need to be fancy, as long as it gives me the strength I need to serve You. Speaking of which… I reminded Yana that we had agreed to go to the chapel again today. I also told her that I planned to bring my friends, that is, my other friends. Yana was clearly nervous about the snakes, but I assured her she didn’t have to worry as long as I was nearby. Yana was still concerned, so I decided to change the topic. We didn’t have to go to the chapel just yet. I mentioned that Lady Isa seemed to have expropriated my everyday dress. She had borrowed it when we left for the crypts where we found Gritt, and hadn’t returned it. “Why don’t you adjust it to her slenderer frame?” I asked. “I can’t wear it when we leave the island, since I’ll be using the disguise you provided.” “That dress is a bit … characteristic,” Yana admitted, “so leaving it with Lady Isa seems wise.” She smiled, “I’ll do my best with it for the lady.” I smiled back. We were enjoying a cup of tea when Xipil knocked on the door. Ebsalon and Groman had come to tell what they had found out, and I should be there to hear what they had to say. I excused myself to Yana, who insisted I brought along my cup, which she could retrieve later. Crossing the courtyard, I told Xipil that I was planning to bring Yana, him and Grogg to the chapel, where I’d tell them a little about myself. Xipil asked if I should invite Wolfram as well. Lord Lunas seemed to trust him, and I thought I’ll need help against the spirits, so perhaps … I told Xipil I’d think about it. Ebsalon and Groman had dug up some information about the seven immortals, and started with their names: Yori, Volkir, Tusa, Gritt, Albor, Darvan and Krull. “Krull?!” I burst out. The others looked at me as if this was the most natural thing in the world. “How can Krull be an immortal?” I insisted, but Ebsalon and Groman just continued. They had had trouble connecting attributes to the names, but had made some progress. Gritt had something to do with compassion and was some kind of guardian, while Volkir was an attacker; light was connected to him. One of the others was related to ashes and anger, another to dancing and perhaps animals. One had to do with shadow and blinding sand. One had a title that translated into something about vision, heat and bad-smelling thoughts. Finally, Krull. His title said something about “the last” and his aspect concerned empty thoughts or something like it, and he was described as one who can see the threads of fate. Wolfram expressed concern that we allowed Krull to escape, although he didn’t seem like the worst of the seven. Xipil blurted out that Lunari had been in possession of a book from the tower, and Groman and Ebsalon wanted it back, so they went to search Lunari’s room. I told Xipil I was going to the chapel, and once they were done here, he should bring along those he found worthy of Your holy chapel. I found Yana’s room empty, and felt a twinge of panic. Was she still under the influence of Gritt? Had she taken the opportunity to escape? People in the courtyard could tell me that Lord Lunas had sent for her, though, so I relaxed and headed for the inner courtyard. The guards at the gates let me through, of course, and those at the door to the building where the nobles live didn’t stop me either; I’d have been worried if they did. Lord Lunas’s room was empty, but I found him and Yana in Lady Isa’s room. Lady Isa still wore my dress, even though it hung a bit loosely on her, so I officially relinquished ownership of it to her. To explain my intrusion, I told the nobles I had an appointment with Yana, but they should of course finish their business with her before I took her away. I waited in the hallway for a few minutes, and then Yana arrived, with Lady Isa in tow, who wanted to come along for the girlie stuff. Once we got out of hearing distance from her brother, Lady Isa asked what we really were up to. I explained that Yana and I were going to the chapel. Lady Isa was nervous about the snakes and asked if it was dangerous. I admitted that the snakes were indeed deadly, but while I was there, they wouldn’t hurt anyone. Lady Isa looked worriedly over her shoulders as we crossed the inner courtyard, but relaxed once we entered on the other side. I led them up and down stairs and through long, winding passages, until we came to the chapel entrance, with its two wash basins. For some reason, I felt apprehension, and a small voice in my head told me to show the girls how to wash one’s feet and hands only. I’ve never been shy about performing Your rites, so I smothered the voice and undressed. Lady Isa followed suit, as did Yana, albeit a bit more slowly. I instructed the others in how to wash properly, each body part in the right order. I paid particular attention to Yana, as I wouldn’t want her to get it wrong. She really was beautiful! I had caught a few glimpses the other day, but she had spent most of the time under the bed cover. She had only stripped to the waist that time, anyway, but now I got to see all of her. In her mid-twenties, she should have been married long ago. Knowing her, she was probably too caught up with her work to consider it. “You missed a spot!” I pointed at Yana’s hip, my fingers not quite daring to touch the smooth chocolate skin. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is this better?” Yana asked, but I didn’t have time to reply, for at that moment, we heard footsteps approaching. I slammed shut the door and called out that they had to wait a minute while we finished washing. Xipil’s voice came through the door, asking why I closed it. I explained that we mammals value such things as modesty and decency, and it just wasn’t decent for females to wash in front of non-females. I could practically hear Xipil’s next question as it formed in his mind – I had washed in front of him many times before – but I gave him no time to utter it. I started explaining to Wolfram how he should wash his feet and then his hands. He would have to remove his boots and gauntlets, first. Yana and Lady Isa turned slowly so I could inspect their washing. Lady Isa has a fine figure, by all means, but my eyes locked on to the human. “We should get dressed and go inside so the boys can wash,” I told the girls hoarsely, then used the rustle of clothes to mask clearing my throat. Yana and Lady Isa clung to my arms as we approached the chapel, where the snakes waited. I hissed loudly that I brought friends. The great serpent hissed acceptance and settled back down on the altar. Xipil called down the corridor to ask if it was all right if Wolfram brought his weapons. I replied that of course it was fine; we were all friends, here. I directed Yana and Lady Isa to sit on the floor, away from the snakes. I approached the altar, standing between the snakes and my other friends, and started praying. I hoped to ascertain that the shadow that had held sway over Yana’s mind was gone. Xipil and Wolfram entered and sat down with the girls. Wolfram respectfully delivered a prayer of thanks for allowing visitors, and the others joined in. |
Session 26 (2020-07-06)
When I felt my prayer was done, I invited Yana to approach and meet the great serpent. She grasped my hand so hard it almost hurt and squeezed her eyes shut, but she came. I asked the serpent, hissing in the snake tongue, if it could sense anything wrong with Yana, and it replied that all was well within the chapel. “What did it say? Is everything all right?” Yana whispered in my ear, voice trembling. I gave her a hug. “Everything is all right!”
Xipil was praying, too, and when he finished, I told my story. How You had saved me from my miserable, tortured existence at Khordak’s inn. How it came to be that I was now traveling with Xipil and Grogg. How my current mission was to track down the rogue spirits and lay them to rest. I didn’t reveal any of Your secrets, of course, like how I got my gifts; that knowledge is privileged to those who give themselves to You. Wolfram declared that he would join Grogg, Xipil and me on this quest. In his words, an evil mage capturing souls and exploiting them, that was an abomination. Since he decided to join us, Xipil and I revealed what we knew about the mage and the spirits, including my possession by Gritt, and the attack on Lord Madan by Tusa. I left out the part about Gritt influencing Yana, and was grateful to Xipil for not mentioning it either. Wolfram was eager to begin, and asked when we’d start the hunt. I told him we needed Grogg to get well, first, and that we needed to retrieve a magical ring that Lunari had on him when he died. Xipil asked Lady Isa if she could get us to Ur quickly, for we were fairly certain we could find some of the lost spirits near there. Lady Isa knew a way, but thought it was risky; some of us might vanish. Lord Mir had used this way to get to Ur earlier, when he fetched Ebsalon, and Lady Isa had been worried sick for her brother at the time. We might get more information from Ebsalon, if we decided to risk it. Lady Isa was practically squirming, so I decided to change the subject, proposing that we go get something to eat. Lady Isa invited everyone to lunch in the nobles’ dining hall, and I made sure that Yana was included. I had had breakfast at her place, and promised to return the favor. I told the others that since my past was a sensitive subject to me, I would prefer it if what I had spoken of earlier remained in the confines of the holy chapel. They all agreed, and then we left. I sent Xipil to pull the needle from Grogg so he could have lunch with us; Lady Isa missed the big brute. Lady Isa decided we should have cake for lunch and talked to the staff about it. The rest of us sat down at the table. Wolfram pulled his sword and started polishing it. I decided not to comment on the faux-pas and left him to it, and talked about clothes with Yana instead. Yana loves the topic, and has a way of making me interested, too. When Xipil and Grogg arrived, Xipil and Wolfram started talking about religion, so my ears turned their way for a moment, before I realized that they were discussing unimportant divinities. I turned my attention back to Yana. She was much more interesting. My gaze was drawn in by her mesmerizing green-gold eyes, and after a while, Yana asked why I stared at her so. My flustered response made Yana giggle, but she did lock eyes with me. Lady Isa commented that Yana had pretty eyes, so she understood why I stared at them. “Yes, they’re very nice, aren’t they?” I managed. Beautiful. I was suddenly reminded of the half-eaten slice of cake on my plate when I heard my name. It was Xipil, asking if all Ashtarites carried knives. I told him we don’t, not all of us, and those who do, don’t bring them around everywhere. My own knives were back in my room. I took another bite of the cake, and promptly forgot about it. As delicious as it was, it couldn’t compare to the green-gold jewels that stared back at me from across the table. Suddenly, Yana broke eye contact. I looked where she was looking. Lord Lunas had arrived. In fact, he was already seated and talking to Xipil. Grogg was slumped over the table, the magic needle sticking into his neck, and Wolfram had vanished. After a minute, Lord Lunas said he would talk to us when we were all gathered again. It seemed we had spent quite some time at the lunch table, so I apologized to Yana for keeping her from her work. I knew Lord Lunas and Lady Isa had need of her services. She said it was fine, that she had enjoyed herself in my company, and asked if she could come over in the evening. Of course, she could! When Yana left, a profound sense of loneliness settled over me. I told Xipil that I was going to the chapel; he could find me there if he needed me. I washed my feet and hands before entering the chapel, where I spent an hour or so, working out. It wouldn’t do for the cakes to settle on my hips. Where did that thought come from? The proper thought should be that I needed to remain fit, so I could continue to serve You. I’ve never been concerned with the way I look before. I know I’m pretty, and I’ve used my looks to further Your agenda on several occasions, but this twinge I felt, thinking about losing my good looks, that was new. And unwanted. I prayed while I worked out, but You never spoke to me. It was as if You knew I already had discerned the truth. I took a bath in my room after the workout, then I put on the outfit that Yana had made for me. It was a well-made white dress, rather plain if not for all the blue embroidery near the hem as well as on the sleeves and bodice, and while I knew Yana could have done so much more, its simplicity made it unremarkable, the perfect disguise, something a woman of modest means could own. It would cover my cloth armor and was different enough from Lady Isa’s hand-me-down that I shouldn’t be recognized easily. I arranged my white-blonde curls around my shoulders. Those would help, too. I finished the look with some light makeup before heading for the dining hall. Wolfram and Xipil were there already, and Wolfram asked about the possibility of sending a letter to the Prince’s Cities. I started explaining about how he would want to contact a merchant caravan, but then I recalled that the Loyalists are watching the roads out of Aldera land, and they might well decide to read any letters they come across. I had to explain about the Larma family to Wolfram, them being called Loyalists or Betrayers, depending on who you’re talking to. Xipil left to fetch Grogg, who was probably still sleeping with the needle. A servant arrived with a letter for Wolfram. That reminded me that I had letters in my pocket. One was a note from Markus about a woman looking for me. I was pretty sure he was talking about the priestess, so I put it out of my mind. The other letter was from Lord Mir, making a point out of him going to the capital to do his duty so a king would be chosen. If we were nearby, he wanted us to pay him a visit. The letter seemed strange; why would he say this in a letter when he could have said it to my face before he left? Xipil asked about the letters, and I showed them to him. He said Lord Mir had written a code, asking us not to put his sister in danger. Hmm… He could have said that too to my face. I burned the letters in a metal bowl which had previously held fruit. Wolfram said that his letter was from Ebsalon, a reminder not to go near the tower until tomorrow. Xipil asked Wolfram if he knew of an incense that allowed us to see spirits. He said he hadn’t heard of any such thing. Just then, Yana hurried into the room. I could tell she had come straight from work, for she had measuring tape over her shoulders and a needle cushion on her wrist, as well as pockets bulging with the tools of her trade. I stood and showed myself to Yana. “Should I doll up, too?” she asked, but I told her she was just fine the way she was. “Are you sure? You’ve put on makeup and everything,” she continued. I relented, “Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing you dressed up.” I tried to envision what Yana was going to look like; she was stunning now, in her work outfit and with her hair not as tidy as it could have been. For some reason, the image I sought failed to coalesce. Instead, the scene from the chapel entrance intruded, where Yana had twirled to show me how clean she was. Yana left, and Lord Lunas arrived, joining us at the table. He asked Wolfram if we had told him about his father. Lord Lunas nodded appreciatively when Wolfram answered, then informed us that his father had taken a turn for the worse the last two days. Lord Lunas wanted us to do whatever preparations we needed, and then come to see Lord Madan for ourselves. Xipil wanted to check out the urn in the dungeon, and I told Lord Lunas I needed to retrieve Lunari’s ring, the one that enables me to see spirits, but Wolfram said he had a method for rendering spirits visible. He asked Grogg for permission to demonstrate on Kraa. |
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