The Runic Storyhour: An Oriental Adventure in The Dream
Rune
Once A Fool
Ocean Deeply Sleeps' Elegy for the Fallen PCs:
Four wandering fighters who find themselves trapped in a chaotic universe without a philosophy will wind up dead. "If ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in terror." (The Art of War, Sun Tzu) Our companions have not died in vain.
Four wandering fighters who find themselves trapped in a chaotic universe without a philosophy will wind up dead. "If ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in terror." (The Art of War, Sun Tzu) Our companions have not died in vain.
Rune
Once A Fool
Session 4, part 1
Out of the House Dragon
It is with great relief that we leave the chamber at House Dragon to visit the bodies of our fallen companions in the Shugenja temple, where we have been all but assured that our companions in the hands of the Priests will be brought back from death. Can these nobles perform such miracles? Two dwarves guard the entrance to the main altar. It is so unusual to see dwarves, and their appearance is so barbaric, that their presence in this temple seems so…out of place. The priests, give them accusatory looks and shy away from them. When they speak of them at all (never too them), they call the dwarves barbarians. They are worse than the lower-castes, except for the untouchables. Not only are the dwarves not nobles, but they eat the holy flesh of the most sacred of animals. These dwarves are crude and distasteful, even for dwarves.
The bodies of Intelligent Chameleon Survives and Swift Serpent Strikes lie alone on the cold slabs, eerie in the light of the lamps. Cloying incense permeates the air. One Shugenja, more elaborate in raiment than the others, acknowledges our presence, scowling at the monkey perched on the halfling’s shoulders and the small tiger cub playing on the monkey's head. The Shugenja speaks. "This will require some sacrifice…I will have to…touch…the body. We will revive one now and one tomorrow." The tiger cub, playful, drops to the floor and leaps upon the Chameleon's body, and we nod to the priest to proceed. It is recorded. We owe the Shugenja a debt of honor. We begin our wait, as the Shugenja starts his ceremony. Fighting Man Dances and I both meditate, but each time I close my eyes I struggle to keep out the black image of the terrible spider.
As the halfling sinks deeper into the void of meditation, the monkey snatches the bag of Rice-Months given to the halfling by Dragon Silently Hunts, and scampers out of the temple. Fighting Man Dances casts a longing look toward him but he does not interrupt his mantra. The antics of the monkey are a foreshadowing of what is to come, I think.
DM note: the monkey is being summoned as a familiar. Because I wanted to add some humor, I decided that the material cost for the summoning would be dealt with in this manner. When the monkey returns, he will come back with less (or none) of the halfling’s money.
And then, I notice the tiny spiders playing in the far corner and close my eyes again. I have seen enough of spiders.
Near dawn, and near exhaustion, Chameleon's willing soul returns to his body. A deep chorus of singing fills the church, as the Dream rejoices in the rebirth of Intelligent Chameleon Survives. But the Chameleon does not hear it; he screams, "I wasn't supposed to die!" and plows through the guards before they can subdue him. He rushes out into the street and is gone.
DM note: Intelligent Chameleon Survives has retired and is now an NPC. Later, it is possible that the character may be picked up again as a PC.
A lower-ranking Shugenja enters the chamber and whispers to the high priest. Shortly after, another enters and does the same. Then the exhausted priest raises his head to face us. He is about to speak when yet another Shugenja bursts into the temple and shouts out, "Another one has been spotted in House Typhoon!" Only then does the head Shugenja tell us: the Silver Hill neighborhood (where the nobles dwell) and the North Crossing neighborhood (in which this temple is located) are being invaded by monstrous spiders. There have been dozens of sightings of the spiders, and a few deaths. The Governor, Laughing Monkey Rules, has ordered the evacuation of the neighborhoods. The nobles all have other cities to go to. If the spiders spread to the rest of the city, however…
I am asked (and when a noble asks something of a lower-caste person, they assume that they have commanded it) to help with the evacuation of the neighborhoods, since we have had previous dealings with one of the spiders. The dwarves are ordered to go with us. "Find the Commander of the Guard, and aid her!" the Shugenja says.
My first thought is for Swift's body still immobile on the slab.
DM note: from the actual draft of the author’s log: My first thought is we're screwed. Just kidding.
I am trying to ignore the prattle of the dwarves around us, boasting of their skills in battle and how they are ready to stomp spiders. The first dwarf, Strong Dwarf Stands, (more appropriately, Strong Dwarf Smells), looks up at me and says, "we brave men, don't fight like women." I let the insult pass, because he is needed to carry Swift's body. My heart is sinking. I go forward out into the city as one who walks a narrow precipice. I do not look down. My only comfort is that the halfling remains with me for this battle, for battle is inevitable, it seems, if we stay in the city.
The dwarves are distracting me from my thoughts of death. They are brothers, and they both wear strange armor and bear the huge axes of the barbaric peoples. Strong Dwarf Stands’ brother named, Drunk Dwarf Snores. These are, of course, names given to them by humans, when they entered the human lands. I have no idea what their dwarven names are. They are probably unpronounceable, and fit less aptly.
These two tiresome dwarves sing and hop and blather as if they are on the way to a hearty breakfast, and not to become some gigantic spider's meal. I can not stand it. I would laugh if I could, at the absurdity of it.
In the distance, in the north, east, and west, we can see that the spiders are perched upon the roofline. No. They do not perch. The buildings in the distance are crawling with an innumerable mass of spiders, varying in size--crawling and leaping from building to building. It is truly terrifying. Dear reader, you must be thinking at this time that this is the last you may know of any of us. That is a reasonable assumption.
DM note: from the actual draft of the author’s log: (Or you must be thinking that the man in the DM hat is mad. Certainly, I do. For by day he is a soft spoken scholar with a kind smile and by night he is Grinning Tiger......[the author associates me with said NPC often. I’m not sure why.])
But I digress, not wanting to return to that street, only wanting to close my eyes and see my lovely ocean with the light gleaming on the water, far above all of this insanity. But here, in this reality, the streets are devoid of humanity. We hurry to the North Gate. What we see is not good. The entire city wall is covered with spiders, and flames leap over the other side, keeping the monstrosities inside the city. We are not getting out of the city this way. We head south, toward the Merchant Street neighborhood, in the center of the city.
We are surrounded by the enemy, and harassed by two dwarves, balancing the body of the fallen Swift, as we proceed down the broad street. "Oh, we got spirits of fire, ain't that right brother?" the repulsive dwarves sing as they go. We are running now, toward the market place and setting fire to the aisles of wooden carts, baskets, barrels, and any other flammable material with which to barricade the spiders and extend our miserable lives more than a moment. Anything to slow the coming tide.
In the Market Street we see a mass of humanity. Mass hysteria dominates the crowd. We see the Commander, Night Softly Calls, calling out orders. There are around thirty of the City Guards—clearly not enough to bring order to the chaotic mob. We speak to Night Softly Calls, and she encourages us to help with the task at hand in whatever way we can. Apparently, by this point, the Governor has ordered that the entire city be evacuated; he is even, we are told, staying in the city (somewhere) until it is entirely evacuated. Then, the city will be razed. Fighting Man Dances asks for permission to set up some barriers and traps to delay the inevitable onrush of spiders. The Commander assents.
DM note: the player of Fighting Man Dances shows himself to be a deft strategist. Most of the following preparations are his.
The halfling explains his plans. Then he begins to push the heavy carts that line the Market Street, to the great amusement of the dwarves. When the dwarves have stopped laughing, they lend a hand. They are immensely strong. Within little time we have set up a barricade that stretches several hundred yards from east to west. Now, we douse the carts and their contents with whale oil and prepare for the onslaught. We set up spears behind the wall, so that when the spiders leap over the flames on the carts, they will impale themselves. We find several ceramic pots of a volatile oil and set them around ourselves, within easy reach. The halfling lights a torch and we wait. The streets, behind us, are teeming with people, running and yet, looking as if they face a great void. The South neighborhood has no gate, and the entirety of the lower-castes must exit the city through the East Gate, or the West Gate. The crowd moves very slowly. "Gonna' kill me a hairy spider," the dwarves hum.
We wait.
Out of the House Dragon
It is with great relief that we leave the chamber at House Dragon to visit the bodies of our fallen companions in the Shugenja temple, where we have been all but assured that our companions in the hands of the Priests will be brought back from death. Can these nobles perform such miracles? Two dwarves guard the entrance to the main altar. It is so unusual to see dwarves, and their appearance is so barbaric, that their presence in this temple seems so…out of place. The priests, give them accusatory looks and shy away from them. When they speak of them at all (never too them), they call the dwarves barbarians. They are worse than the lower-castes, except for the untouchables. Not only are the dwarves not nobles, but they eat the holy flesh of the most sacred of animals. These dwarves are crude and distasteful, even for dwarves.
The bodies of Intelligent Chameleon Survives and Swift Serpent Strikes lie alone on the cold slabs, eerie in the light of the lamps. Cloying incense permeates the air. One Shugenja, more elaborate in raiment than the others, acknowledges our presence, scowling at the monkey perched on the halfling’s shoulders and the small tiger cub playing on the monkey's head. The Shugenja speaks. "This will require some sacrifice…I will have to…touch…the body. We will revive one now and one tomorrow." The tiger cub, playful, drops to the floor and leaps upon the Chameleon's body, and we nod to the priest to proceed. It is recorded. We owe the Shugenja a debt of honor. We begin our wait, as the Shugenja starts his ceremony. Fighting Man Dances and I both meditate, but each time I close my eyes I struggle to keep out the black image of the terrible spider.
As the halfling sinks deeper into the void of meditation, the monkey snatches the bag of Rice-Months given to the halfling by Dragon Silently Hunts, and scampers out of the temple. Fighting Man Dances casts a longing look toward him but he does not interrupt his mantra. The antics of the monkey are a foreshadowing of what is to come, I think.
DM note: the monkey is being summoned as a familiar. Because I wanted to add some humor, I decided that the material cost for the summoning would be dealt with in this manner. When the monkey returns, he will come back with less (or none) of the halfling’s money.
And then, I notice the tiny spiders playing in the far corner and close my eyes again. I have seen enough of spiders.
Near dawn, and near exhaustion, Chameleon's willing soul returns to his body. A deep chorus of singing fills the church, as the Dream rejoices in the rebirth of Intelligent Chameleon Survives. But the Chameleon does not hear it; he screams, "I wasn't supposed to die!" and plows through the guards before they can subdue him. He rushes out into the street and is gone.
DM note: Intelligent Chameleon Survives has retired and is now an NPC. Later, it is possible that the character may be picked up again as a PC.
A lower-ranking Shugenja enters the chamber and whispers to the high priest. Shortly after, another enters and does the same. Then the exhausted priest raises his head to face us. He is about to speak when yet another Shugenja bursts into the temple and shouts out, "Another one has been spotted in House Typhoon!" Only then does the head Shugenja tell us: the Silver Hill neighborhood (where the nobles dwell) and the North Crossing neighborhood (in which this temple is located) are being invaded by monstrous spiders. There have been dozens of sightings of the spiders, and a few deaths. The Governor, Laughing Monkey Rules, has ordered the evacuation of the neighborhoods. The nobles all have other cities to go to. If the spiders spread to the rest of the city, however…
I am asked (and when a noble asks something of a lower-caste person, they assume that they have commanded it) to help with the evacuation of the neighborhoods, since we have had previous dealings with one of the spiders. The dwarves are ordered to go with us. "Find the Commander of the Guard, and aid her!" the Shugenja says.
My first thought is for Swift's body still immobile on the slab.
DM note: from the actual draft of the author’s log: My first thought is we're screwed. Just kidding.
I am trying to ignore the prattle of the dwarves around us, boasting of their skills in battle and how they are ready to stomp spiders. The first dwarf, Strong Dwarf Stands, (more appropriately, Strong Dwarf Smells), looks up at me and says, "we brave men, don't fight like women." I let the insult pass, because he is needed to carry Swift's body. My heart is sinking. I go forward out into the city as one who walks a narrow precipice. I do not look down. My only comfort is that the halfling remains with me for this battle, for battle is inevitable, it seems, if we stay in the city.
The dwarves are distracting me from my thoughts of death. They are brothers, and they both wear strange armor and bear the huge axes of the barbaric peoples. Strong Dwarf Stands’ brother named, Drunk Dwarf Snores. These are, of course, names given to them by humans, when they entered the human lands. I have no idea what their dwarven names are. They are probably unpronounceable, and fit less aptly.
These two tiresome dwarves sing and hop and blather as if they are on the way to a hearty breakfast, and not to become some gigantic spider's meal. I can not stand it. I would laugh if I could, at the absurdity of it.
In the distance, in the north, east, and west, we can see that the spiders are perched upon the roofline. No. They do not perch. The buildings in the distance are crawling with an innumerable mass of spiders, varying in size--crawling and leaping from building to building. It is truly terrifying. Dear reader, you must be thinking at this time that this is the last you may know of any of us. That is a reasonable assumption.
DM note: from the actual draft of the author’s log: (Or you must be thinking that the man in the DM hat is mad. Certainly, I do. For by day he is a soft spoken scholar with a kind smile and by night he is Grinning Tiger......[the author associates me with said NPC often. I’m not sure why.])
But I digress, not wanting to return to that street, only wanting to close my eyes and see my lovely ocean with the light gleaming on the water, far above all of this insanity. But here, in this reality, the streets are devoid of humanity. We hurry to the North Gate. What we see is not good. The entire city wall is covered with spiders, and flames leap over the other side, keeping the monstrosities inside the city. We are not getting out of the city this way. We head south, toward the Merchant Street neighborhood, in the center of the city.
We are surrounded by the enemy, and harassed by two dwarves, balancing the body of the fallen Swift, as we proceed down the broad street. "Oh, we got spirits of fire, ain't that right brother?" the repulsive dwarves sing as they go. We are running now, toward the market place and setting fire to the aisles of wooden carts, baskets, barrels, and any other flammable material with which to barricade the spiders and extend our miserable lives more than a moment. Anything to slow the coming tide.
In the Market Street we see a mass of humanity. Mass hysteria dominates the crowd. We see the Commander, Night Softly Calls, calling out orders. There are around thirty of the City Guards—clearly not enough to bring order to the chaotic mob. We speak to Night Softly Calls, and she encourages us to help with the task at hand in whatever way we can. Apparently, by this point, the Governor has ordered that the entire city be evacuated; he is even, we are told, staying in the city (somewhere) until it is entirely evacuated. Then, the city will be razed. Fighting Man Dances asks for permission to set up some barriers and traps to delay the inevitable onrush of spiders. The Commander assents.
DM note: the player of Fighting Man Dances shows himself to be a deft strategist. Most of the following preparations are his.
The halfling explains his plans. Then he begins to push the heavy carts that line the Market Street, to the great amusement of the dwarves. When the dwarves have stopped laughing, they lend a hand. They are immensely strong. Within little time we have set up a barricade that stretches several hundred yards from east to west. Now, we douse the carts and their contents with whale oil and prepare for the onslaught. We set up spears behind the wall, so that when the spiders leap over the flames on the carts, they will impale themselves. We find several ceramic pots of a volatile oil and set them around ourselves, within easy reach. The halfling lights a torch and we wait. The streets, behind us, are teeming with people, running and yet, looking as if they face a great void. The South neighborhood has no gate, and the entirety of the lower-castes must exit the city through the East Gate, or the West Gate. The crowd moves very slowly. "Gonna' kill me a hairy spider," the dwarves hum.
We wait.
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Rune
Once A Fool
Session 4, part 2
They come.
We light the wall of carts. The dark stream black fur and legs halts before the fire, watching, their many black eyes reflecting the fire. Then, some of the spiders advance into the flames and are killed. Others leap over, onto the spears. We are throwing the ceramic jars of liquid fire at the creatures. We are firing burning crossbow bolts into them. Always, we are retreating. The spiders keep coming. Some are as small as dogs, some as large as horses. Soon, we can retreat no more, and the sea of people attempting to flee the city swallows us. We are carried to the south, but find ourselves in a clump of the Guards. Night Softly Calls is with us. Strong Dwarf Stands still has the body of Swift Serpent Strikes with him.
DM note: hey, it was a valiant attempt at defense, but with that many spiders, what are ya gonna do?
People are dying around us, their bodies becoming paving stones for the spiders’ path. Three spiders as large as horses are visible to the south, over the heads of the hundred or so people surrounding us. To the north, a colossal spider appears. It is easily the size of a small building. And it has an egg sac on its back. We are truly terrified.
The guards break and run, but Night Softly Calls charges forward to attack the spider with her three-section-staff. She never makes it. The beast leaps forward and clips her body into two unequal parts long before she is close enough to strike. There should be a reality shift. What I am praying for is a wall of water to sweep the city clean and drown the spiders. The Dreamer is not listening.
DM note: I would relate the reality shifts, but after a certain point you just lose count. I have no memory of what happened when Night Softly Calls died.
"Throw another priest on the fire!" one of the dwarves shouts, as they advance to do battle with the lesser spiders. I have no idea what he means. Perhaps it is some barbaric war cry.
DM note: actually, I said that. It’s a lyric from a Black Sabbath song. It helped set the mood, I thought.
We rush southward with our swords and spears; we throw lanterns and burning matter. None of us is crazy enough to rush the enormous spider. The guards who have not fled are falling. But they are also killing the smaller spiders. More are coming. We battle as the Mother-spider moves on to another part of the city. The smaller ones keep coming. When the Mother-spider returns, we retreat to the east, the direction from which we entered this city.
We find our way blocked by long houses and narrow alleys. The buildings are covered in spiders, and filled with them. We have no choice; we must press on. There is a five-foot alley that we must get through. To the great pleasure of the dwarves, we can see a sewer opening on the far side (they have plans to enter it and escape the city through tunnels). To the great horror of the halfling and I, there is a steady stream of very large spiders crawling from it and jumping to the buildings.
We agree to run for the opening. We cannot find passage in the streets. Every roof-top has its sentinels; many thousands of eyes watch us, and we run through the narrow ally toward the sewers. We are caught in the webs. And we lose precious time cutting each other out, hacking away till arms and weapons are freed. The colossal spider has returned, and has leapt to the top of a nearby building…and then to the adjacent one. Finally we are free, and the dwarves rush forward to hack away at the steady stream of spiders coming from the sewer. Fighting Man Dances and I are not far behind. We wish to get away from the buildings as soon as possible.
DM note: you would too, if you couldn’t see the buildings for the giant spiders crawling all over and through them.
The dwarves, in great madness or great bravery, I cannot decide which, have leapt onto the backs of nearby spiders and are hacking away with their great axes. The halfling swings his tai chi sword bravely (it is like a greatsword in his hands), but when we kill one spider, another takes its place, and looming, advancing toward us on the roof-tops, always we feel the gaze of the colossal matriarch, bearing a clutch of eggs on her back, surveying the work of her silent army.
At least the spiders are no longer coming from the sewer. They are not infinite in numbers, after all, it seems.
In every direction the city is now burning. We cannot retreat, we cannot stay above and yet to go under is to be trapped in darkness, facing our enemies. Suddenly, I realize that somewhere back in the chaotic crowd, we have lost Swift's body and that we will never see him again. We will never even be able to give him a proper funeral. This is a great blow to our honor.
In the sewers, the dwarves report that they see thick webbing blocking the way in either direction, east and west. How the spiders moved through it is a mystery.
Drunk Dwarf Snores wants to take a final jar of liquid fire and cast it down into the tunnel, to the east. The halfling insists that this will only smoke out the spiders that may still be down there. They would come back, and be very angry. None of us believes we could outrun the spiders in the tunnel. We decide to chop away the webbing with our blades. Above, fire is advancing behind us and webs entangle the passageway that will hopefully be our escape, but we plunge downward.
Throughout the tunnel, we hear scuttling. And then silence. All the dying has reached the Dreamer and a great earthquake rattles the city. Wind sweeps through the tunnel. Stone and debris pour down upon us. Strong Dwarf Stands is knocked unconscious (he took a very fierce blow when he leapt on the back of a live spider. His brother was more clever. The spider that he jumped on was already dead). His loyal brother drags him forward toward a pinpoint of light, as the halfling and I hack away the thick webbing. Our progress is slow. And there it is: the opening is up ahead. It leads us out of the side of a hill, some great distance from the city. A pool of sewage lies blow us and over the ridge, we can see the death of the Silver City.
And that, my friends, was some five years past, but as I write this it is as if I am standing there again, marveling at a circle of sky appearing at the end of the dark tunnel, leading into the sweetest night that we ever knew, for we had survived. And this is the story of how the Silver City came to be destroyed by its own Governor.
--Ocean Deeply Sleeps
End of Act I
DM notes: notable moments--perhaps the most notable moment was the introduction of the miniatures. I'll leave it up to my players to enlighten you on the matter, but I think that the reaction was pretty favorable.
Ocean Deeply Sleeps is coming off as a deep thinker, not only in the story hour, but at the table, as well. And her player always brings the best snacks! Smoked salmon dip, this time!
Fighting Man Dances is proving to be more of a leader every week. Go, little one!
Drunk Dwarf Snores is the human-given name of the new character of the former player of Chameleon. He's a dwarf. A very uncharismatic dwarf. Who apparently snores very loudly. He's a fighter, not a barbarian, but he's still barbaric.
Strong Dwarf Stands is the human-given name of the new character of the former player of Swift. He's a dwarf. A very uncharismatic dwarf. The antics of the two dwarven brothers had all of us cracking up at the table, but killed any kind of horror mood that I was aiming at. Oh well.
I don't think one of my players will appreciate it when I really get into horror, if he didn't like the pace of this one. I won't tell you which player I'm talking about.
They come.
We light the wall of carts. The dark stream black fur and legs halts before the fire, watching, their many black eyes reflecting the fire. Then, some of the spiders advance into the flames and are killed. Others leap over, onto the spears. We are throwing the ceramic jars of liquid fire at the creatures. We are firing burning crossbow bolts into them. Always, we are retreating. The spiders keep coming. Some are as small as dogs, some as large as horses. Soon, we can retreat no more, and the sea of people attempting to flee the city swallows us. We are carried to the south, but find ourselves in a clump of the Guards. Night Softly Calls is with us. Strong Dwarf Stands still has the body of Swift Serpent Strikes with him.
DM note: hey, it was a valiant attempt at defense, but with that many spiders, what are ya gonna do?
People are dying around us, their bodies becoming paving stones for the spiders’ path. Three spiders as large as horses are visible to the south, over the heads of the hundred or so people surrounding us. To the north, a colossal spider appears. It is easily the size of a small building. And it has an egg sac on its back. We are truly terrified.
The guards break and run, but Night Softly Calls charges forward to attack the spider with her three-section-staff. She never makes it. The beast leaps forward and clips her body into two unequal parts long before she is close enough to strike. There should be a reality shift. What I am praying for is a wall of water to sweep the city clean and drown the spiders. The Dreamer is not listening.
DM note: I would relate the reality shifts, but after a certain point you just lose count. I have no memory of what happened when Night Softly Calls died.
"Throw another priest on the fire!" one of the dwarves shouts, as they advance to do battle with the lesser spiders. I have no idea what he means. Perhaps it is some barbaric war cry.
DM note: actually, I said that. It’s a lyric from a Black Sabbath song. It helped set the mood, I thought.
We rush southward with our swords and spears; we throw lanterns and burning matter. None of us is crazy enough to rush the enormous spider. The guards who have not fled are falling. But they are also killing the smaller spiders. More are coming. We battle as the Mother-spider moves on to another part of the city. The smaller ones keep coming. When the Mother-spider returns, we retreat to the east, the direction from which we entered this city.
We find our way blocked by long houses and narrow alleys. The buildings are covered in spiders, and filled with them. We have no choice; we must press on. There is a five-foot alley that we must get through. To the great pleasure of the dwarves, we can see a sewer opening on the far side (they have plans to enter it and escape the city through tunnels). To the great horror of the halfling and I, there is a steady stream of very large spiders crawling from it and jumping to the buildings.
We agree to run for the opening. We cannot find passage in the streets. Every roof-top has its sentinels; many thousands of eyes watch us, and we run through the narrow ally toward the sewers. We are caught in the webs. And we lose precious time cutting each other out, hacking away till arms and weapons are freed. The colossal spider has returned, and has leapt to the top of a nearby building…and then to the adjacent one. Finally we are free, and the dwarves rush forward to hack away at the steady stream of spiders coming from the sewer. Fighting Man Dances and I are not far behind. We wish to get away from the buildings as soon as possible.
DM note: you would too, if you couldn’t see the buildings for the giant spiders crawling all over and through them.
The dwarves, in great madness or great bravery, I cannot decide which, have leapt onto the backs of nearby spiders and are hacking away with their great axes. The halfling swings his tai chi sword bravely (it is like a greatsword in his hands), but when we kill one spider, another takes its place, and looming, advancing toward us on the roof-tops, always we feel the gaze of the colossal matriarch, bearing a clutch of eggs on her back, surveying the work of her silent army.
At least the spiders are no longer coming from the sewer. They are not infinite in numbers, after all, it seems.
In every direction the city is now burning. We cannot retreat, we cannot stay above and yet to go under is to be trapped in darkness, facing our enemies. Suddenly, I realize that somewhere back in the chaotic crowd, we have lost Swift's body and that we will never see him again. We will never even be able to give him a proper funeral. This is a great blow to our honor.
In the sewers, the dwarves report that they see thick webbing blocking the way in either direction, east and west. How the spiders moved through it is a mystery.
Drunk Dwarf Snores wants to take a final jar of liquid fire and cast it down into the tunnel, to the east. The halfling insists that this will only smoke out the spiders that may still be down there. They would come back, and be very angry. None of us believes we could outrun the spiders in the tunnel. We decide to chop away the webbing with our blades. Above, fire is advancing behind us and webs entangle the passageway that will hopefully be our escape, but we plunge downward.
Throughout the tunnel, we hear scuttling. And then silence. All the dying has reached the Dreamer and a great earthquake rattles the city. Wind sweeps through the tunnel. Stone and debris pour down upon us. Strong Dwarf Stands is knocked unconscious (he took a very fierce blow when he leapt on the back of a live spider. His brother was more clever. The spider that he jumped on was already dead). His loyal brother drags him forward toward a pinpoint of light, as the halfling and I hack away the thick webbing. Our progress is slow. And there it is: the opening is up ahead. It leads us out of the side of a hill, some great distance from the city. A pool of sewage lies blow us and over the ridge, we can see the death of the Silver City.
And that, my friends, was some five years past, but as I write this it is as if I am standing there again, marveling at a circle of sky appearing at the end of the dark tunnel, leading into the sweetest night that we ever knew, for we had survived. And this is the story of how the Silver City came to be destroyed by its own Governor.
--Ocean Deeply Sleeps
End of Act I
DM notes: notable moments--perhaps the most notable moment was the introduction of the miniatures. I'll leave it up to my players to enlighten you on the matter, but I think that the reaction was pretty favorable.
Ocean Deeply Sleeps is coming off as a deep thinker, not only in the story hour, but at the table, as well. And her player always brings the best snacks! Smoked salmon dip, this time!
Fighting Man Dances is proving to be more of a leader every week. Go, little one!
Drunk Dwarf Snores is the human-given name of the new character of the former player of Chameleon. He's a dwarf. A very uncharismatic dwarf. Who apparently snores very loudly. He's a fighter, not a barbarian, but he's still barbaric.
Strong Dwarf Stands is the human-given name of the new character of the former player of Swift. He's a dwarf. A very uncharismatic dwarf. The antics of the two dwarven brothers had all of us cracking up at the table, but killed any kind of horror mood that I was aiming at. Oh well.
I don't think one of my players will appreciate it when I really get into horror, if he didn't like the pace of this one. I won't tell you which player I'm talking about.
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Broccli_Head
Explorer
Just a little BUMP! for old time's sake! Hurry up and get caught up, Rune!
Rune
Once A Fool
Act II: Honor
Year 3150
A new town is born
where the Monkey's mind is gone.
Whose honor is lost?
Session 5, part 1
Five years have passed. Already, memory of the horrible events that have led us to this point begins to fade. The halfling is affected more severely than the rest of us, but our memory will blur, as well. That is the nature of the Dream.
DM note: one of the side-effects of living in someone's dream is a short memory--and the halfling's memory loss is exaggerated in this case, just as all other attributes of halflings are also exaggerated. They are truly "half-people."
It has been a long five years, it seems. The dwarves have been fighting the Nightmare in their barbaric homeland. The halfling has been in seclusion, still trying to teach his monkey in his monkish ways. I have had a son.
Then, we get the invitations. Each of us, it seems, has received a dozen invitations to a great party in the newly rebuilt Silver City at the Governor’s Palace, on the night before this year’s Rice-Cake Festival. That is how the three of us (Strong Dwarf Stands is still out fighting the Nightmare, his brother tells us. He will join us later.) find ourselves walking together toward the terrible city of spiders. We have not yet decided which invitation to accept. It is clear that we will insult any house whose invitation we decline. For most of the houses, this is not a problem, as we do not recognize them. Two, however, are distinct. We are invited by House Bamboo, House Sky, House Hawk, House Monk, House Naga, House Immortal, House Fire, House Spear, House River, House Water, House Typhoon, House Dragon, and House Monkey, specifically, by the Governor of Silver City, Laughing Monkey Rules. After much discussion, we settle on the Governor's invitation.
DM note: ...instead of the invitation from House Dragon (specifically from Dragon Silently Hunts). Even though House Dragon is one of the most powerful houses in the Empire and the Silver City is Dragon Silently Hunts' home city.
A new city has been born from the ruins of the fire, an exact duplicate of its original design. Down to the cracks in the walls and the insane babbling old beggar at the East Gate, through which we once again enter the city, as we did five years before. Again, we are asked to peace-bond our weapons. We are wary, but we comply. We seek out an inn—the same inn that we stayed at on our last visit to the town—and prepare for the night’s party.
Soon we are ready to go. We weigh the advantages and disadvantages of showing up armed (albeit peace-bonded) and armored to the party and decide that we will be out of place in either situation. We might as well be prepared for whatever dangers this city still holds.
The Silver Hill neighborhood is amazing in the Rose Season. The red tint that saturates all of the Dream is reflected marvelously in the silver leaves of the silver trees, and on the silver bulb-shaped domes that top many of the buildings. The dwarf is so taken that he pulls a shining leaf from a nearby tree, but the fine sheet of silver crumbles to dust in his rough hand. It is spring, the land exists in the freshness of a new season and the rose glow lingers in the air. As we walk through the neighborhood toward the palace, we occasionally sense a presence moving along behind us out of the corners of our eyes. We separate and fall back, to ensnare whatever pursuers that we have, but we can find no one. The streets are empty, as everyone in this neighborhood is certainly at the party.
Inside the Governor’s Palace there is an abundance of food and drink. Musicians are playing and there is an undercurrent of celebration in the air, but the stiff formality of the situation kills any true celebratory spirit—for all but Drunk Dwarf Snores, that is. The dwarf quickly helps himself to the food and pushes his way through the crowds. Our host is nowhere to be seen.
DM note: I usually don't have music playing in the background for my games, but I had some very nice Vietnamese music from the Khac Chi Ensemble and it made for a pleasant atmosphere.
It is quickly apparent that our presence has become a sort of a fashion. The family who was able to bring the "Heroes of the Night of Spiders" to this party has gained honor. The stories that relate us with that night astound me with their lack of accuracy. One persistent rumor even has us slaying the colossal spider. This is going to be a long night, I fear.
DM note: just how the world knows about the PCs' events that night, in the first place, is still a mystery.
When we finally spot Dragon Silently Hunts, we advance to speak with her. She greets us precariously with, "I see that you have accepted the governor's invitation." Drunk Dwarf Snores has walked over to us from a table where he has torn a large leg of fowl from the tray and begins to suck the meat from the bone. Dragon Silently Hunts pointedly ignores him. We ask of her where the Governor is, and she replies that he just stepped out. He should be back momentarily.
DM note: and here we see the well-played low-charisma character. The rest of the PCs wanted him to go away, and he just wouldn't leave. All night long!
We have not been standing with the head of House Dragon for long when a murmur swells through the crowd and all of the nobles drop to the floor in deep bows. We sweep down when we see the boy enter the room. He is dressed in golden raiment and is followed by a train of servants. He cannot be more than ten years old.
The boy demands that the dwarf, intent upon his food, pay respect to the EMPEROR. The dwarf gives a little bow, pointing his fowl leg toward the floor.
What could bring the emperor to the Silver City, the home of the powerful House Dragon? The halfling is full of suspicion.
DM note: isn't that cute? The halfling is full of suspicion! Wait...the halfling is always full of suspicion. Maybe his player knows me too well...
Fighting Man Dances looks at me. "I fear we have stepped into a trap." Is it only our own paranoia about the invasion and destruction of the city, or the imminent return of the spiders? After all, we are in a great hall filled with every manner of delectables to eat and are surrounded by beautiful music.
Just as the question is forming in our mind and Drunk Dwarf Snores has resumed his visits to the tables, we agree, we would like to leave the celebration. The Governor has not returned. Near the exit, we stop short, staring directly into the eyes of Grinning Tiger Rules. "I fear the trap is sprung," Fighting Man Dances says beneath his breath.
"Leaving so soon?" Tiger smiles. "Have you not spoken with my mother? She will be upset that you did not accept her invitation." A tense moment passes between the young noble and our uncharismatic dwarf. The halfling manages to pull the dwarf away from Grinning Tiger Rules and explain to Drunk Dwarf Snores why the dwarf does not want to engage in a duel. Tiger leaves to speak with his mother, and then departs from the room.
DM note: what's a party without Grinning Tiger Rules?
It is at this point that the halfling and I see shadows cross the windows outside. Someone is clearly out there.
Before we have time to contemplate the implications of this, the Emperor overtakes us. "It would please me to have an audience with you in the courtyard."
Year 3150
A new town is born
where the Monkey's mind is gone.
Whose honor is lost?
Session 5, part 1
Five years have passed. Already, memory of the horrible events that have led us to this point begins to fade. The halfling is affected more severely than the rest of us, but our memory will blur, as well. That is the nature of the Dream.
DM note: one of the side-effects of living in someone's dream is a short memory--and the halfling's memory loss is exaggerated in this case, just as all other attributes of halflings are also exaggerated. They are truly "half-people."
It has been a long five years, it seems. The dwarves have been fighting the Nightmare in their barbaric homeland. The halfling has been in seclusion, still trying to teach his monkey in his monkish ways. I have had a son.
Then, we get the invitations. Each of us, it seems, has received a dozen invitations to a great party in the newly rebuilt Silver City at the Governor’s Palace, on the night before this year’s Rice-Cake Festival. That is how the three of us (Strong Dwarf Stands is still out fighting the Nightmare, his brother tells us. He will join us later.) find ourselves walking together toward the terrible city of spiders. We have not yet decided which invitation to accept. It is clear that we will insult any house whose invitation we decline. For most of the houses, this is not a problem, as we do not recognize them. Two, however, are distinct. We are invited by House Bamboo, House Sky, House Hawk, House Monk, House Naga, House Immortal, House Fire, House Spear, House River, House Water, House Typhoon, House Dragon, and House Monkey, specifically, by the Governor of Silver City, Laughing Monkey Rules. After much discussion, we settle on the Governor's invitation.
DM note: ...instead of the invitation from House Dragon (specifically from Dragon Silently Hunts). Even though House Dragon is one of the most powerful houses in the Empire and the Silver City is Dragon Silently Hunts' home city.
A new city has been born from the ruins of the fire, an exact duplicate of its original design. Down to the cracks in the walls and the insane babbling old beggar at the East Gate, through which we once again enter the city, as we did five years before. Again, we are asked to peace-bond our weapons. We are wary, but we comply. We seek out an inn—the same inn that we stayed at on our last visit to the town—and prepare for the night’s party.
Soon we are ready to go. We weigh the advantages and disadvantages of showing up armed (albeit peace-bonded) and armored to the party and decide that we will be out of place in either situation. We might as well be prepared for whatever dangers this city still holds.
The Silver Hill neighborhood is amazing in the Rose Season. The red tint that saturates all of the Dream is reflected marvelously in the silver leaves of the silver trees, and on the silver bulb-shaped domes that top many of the buildings. The dwarf is so taken that he pulls a shining leaf from a nearby tree, but the fine sheet of silver crumbles to dust in his rough hand. It is spring, the land exists in the freshness of a new season and the rose glow lingers in the air. As we walk through the neighborhood toward the palace, we occasionally sense a presence moving along behind us out of the corners of our eyes. We separate and fall back, to ensnare whatever pursuers that we have, but we can find no one. The streets are empty, as everyone in this neighborhood is certainly at the party.
Inside the Governor’s Palace there is an abundance of food and drink. Musicians are playing and there is an undercurrent of celebration in the air, but the stiff formality of the situation kills any true celebratory spirit—for all but Drunk Dwarf Snores, that is. The dwarf quickly helps himself to the food and pushes his way through the crowds. Our host is nowhere to be seen.
DM note: I usually don't have music playing in the background for my games, but I had some very nice Vietnamese music from the Khac Chi Ensemble and it made for a pleasant atmosphere.
It is quickly apparent that our presence has become a sort of a fashion. The family who was able to bring the "Heroes of the Night of Spiders" to this party has gained honor. The stories that relate us with that night astound me with their lack of accuracy. One persistent rumor even has us slaying the colossal spider. This is going to be a long night, I fear.
DM note: just how the world knows about the PCs' events that night, in the first place, is still a mystery.
When we finally spot Dragon Silently Hunts, we advance to speak with her. She greets us precariously with, "I see that you have accepted the governor's invitation." Drunk Dwarf Snores has walked over to us from a table where he has torn a large leg of fowl from the tray and begins to suck the meat from the bone. Dragon Silently Hunts pointedly ignores him. We ask of her where the Governor is, and she replies that he just stepped out. He should be back momentarily.
DM note: and here we see the well-played low-charisma character. The rest of the PCs wanted him to go away, and he just wouldn't leave. All night long!
We have not been standing with the head of House Dragon for long when a murmur swells through the crowd and all of the nobles drop to the floor in deep bows. We sweep down when we see the boy enter the room. He is dressed in golden raiment and is followed by a train of servants. He cannot be more than ten years old.
The boy demands that the dwarf, intent upon his food, pay respect to the EMPEROR. The dwarf gives a little bow, pointing his fowl leg toward the floor.
What could bring the emperor to the Silver City, the home of the powerful House Dragon? The halfling is full of suspicion.
DM note: isn't that cute? The halfling is full of suspicion! Wait...the halfling is always full of suspicion. Maybe his player knows me too well...
Fighting Man Dances looks at me. "I fear we have stepped into a trap." Is it only our own paranoia about the invasion and destruction of the city, or the imminent return of the spiders? After all, we are in a great hall filled with every manner of delectables to eat and are surrounded by beautiful music.
Just as the question is forming in our mind and Drunk Dwarf Snores has resumed his visits to the tables, we agree, we would like to leave the celebration. The Governor has not returned. Near the exit, we stop short, staring directly into the eyes of Grinning Tiger Rules. "I fear the trap is sprung," Fighting Man Dances says beneath his breath.
"Leaving so soon?" Tiger smiles. "Have you not spoken with my mother? She will be upset that you did not accept her invitation." A tense moment passes between the young noble and our uncharismatic dwarf. The halfling manages to pull the dwarf away from Grinning Tiger Rules and explain to Drunk Dwarf Snores why the dwarf does not want to engage in a duel. Tiger leaves to speak with his mother, and then departs from the room.
DM note: what's a party without Grinning Tiger Rules?
It is at this point that the halfling and I see shadows cross the windows outside. Someone is clearly out there.
Before we have time to contemplate the implications of this, the Emperor overtakes us. "It would please me to have an audience with you in the courtyard."
Rune
Once A Fool
Session 5, part 2
The immense courtyard is opulently lined with silver trees and little else. The rose-tinted ocean reflects down on us from above, lighting the courtyard as bright as day. The Emperor seems excited to be in the presence of the Heroes of the Night of Spiders whose exaggerated tales have reached his court. He has little more than begun to interview us, however, when Grinning Tiger Rules enters the courtyard and bows to the emperor. He then rises and stares at the young boy. Whatever moment that the two are exchanging is beyond our knowledge, but it is not, to our eyes, on friendly terms. We learn nothing more, for now, an evil trap is sprung!
The Emperor crumples to the ground.
From out of the shadows of the silver trees, two black-clad figures rapidly advance, dropping blowguns and drawing kris-bladed knives. They are on either side of us. Within seconds, they have advanced half of the distance of the courtyard.
The halfling immediately moves to the Emperor’s side and casts some protective spell, nearly losing his footing as the Dream pushes against him in retaliation. The dwarf tears off the peace-bonding on his massive axe and rushes forward to intercept one of the assassins. I remove the bonding from my naganata and move to protect the Emperor on the other side. We are not sure which side Grinning Tiger Rules will take. We are thinking that Grinning Tiger will act to protect the emperor, but with the deftness of a betrayer.
On his knees, the emperor lets fly a magic bolt from his fingers. This time, the Dream’s reaction catches the halfling and I off guard, and we are both almost pushed away from him.
Tiger’s katana is bared and he moves in between the Emperor and the assassin that the dwarf faces. We still cannot tell who his enemy is.
The assassins strike at us. The dwarf’s heavy armor fails to deflect the blow of his opponent, but he shrugs off whatever vial sting the assassin’s blade offers. The assassin whom I face advances, but I make a lucky hit with my long weapon. He is fast, and rolls off of my blade, but I evade his strike.
Drunk Dwarf Snores’ mighty blade tears a nasty gash into the side of his enemy, but it is not a killing blow. The halfling attempts to find the poisonous needles in the Emperor, while I attempt to drive my assassin away. Grinning Tiger Rules springs into action, dealing a fierce blow to the dwarf’s foe. The figure before me turns and strikes at the halfling. Fighting Man Dances cannot avoid the blow, and a moment later, the poison on the blade nearly brings him low. He backs, away, while, in an impressive display of great strength, the dwarf strikes again, bringing his opponent to the ground. He is not dead.
When the other assassin sees his companion fall, he breaks and runs for the trees. In seconds, he is gone. We yell out to Tiger not to kill the assassin, for we wish to question the attacker, but we are too late. Grinning Tiger Rules brings his katana down on the fallen body, and a great surge of vileness washes over us as the Dream claims the life of the attacker. The Emperor expresses his gratitude to Grinning Tiger Rules, and to us, for protecting him. Soon, the guests are upon us, congratulating us, and holding us up as heroes.
DM note: one minor detail that has not been mentioned is that the body of the killed assassin is missing part of a finger, which leads the ever-suspicious halfling to believe that the Yakuza is involved somehow.
And in what seems like a moment only, one assassin lies dead on the ground and we have come to the aid of the emperor. Who are the heroes? What is there in this world that we can trust? Among a celebration, evil has planted a seed that would have killed the Emperor without our intervention. What further destruction waits beneath the towers of the rebuilt city?
--Ocean Deeply Sleeps
DM note: notable moments--the showdown between Drunk Dwarf Snores and Grinning Tiger Rules was very, very tense. It was mirrored in a similar (but wordless) showdown between the Emperor and Grinning Tiger Rules. The players suspect that Grinning Tiger Rules does not play well with others.
Drunk Dwarf Snores was a perfect addition to the party (and, indeed, his player informed me that this was his favorite session, so far). No party among the nobility is complete without a boorish dwarf shouldering his way into conversations, dripping the juices of roasted fowl into his beard, and slinging grease across the room as he points with his food.
Fighting Man Dances is a crafty little halfling. He picks up on all the clues and leaps to particularly deft conclusions (see the Yakuza comment, above). They may be wrong, but they are still deft.
Ocean Deeply Sleeps was the main spokesperson for this session, as the dwarf was an obnoxious barbarian, and the halfling was...a halfling. She acquitted herself marvelously (this was the most role-playing intensive session we've had, which means this is the most role-playing intensive session she's ever experienced). I think she enjoyed not running, for a change. She's still sure that her character will die at some point, though.
The immense courtyard is opulently lined with silver trees and little else. The rose-tinted ocean reflects down on us from above, lighting the courtyard as bright as day. The Emperor seems excited to be in the presence of the Heroes of the Night of Spiders whose exaggerated tales have reached his court. He has little more than begun to interview us, however, when Grinning Tiger Rules enters the courtyard and bows to the emperor. He then rises and stares at the young boy. Whatever moment that the two are exchanging is beyond our knowledge, but it is not, to our eyes, on friendly terms. We learn nothing more, for now, an evil trap is sprung!
The Emperor crumples to the ground.
From out of the shadows of the silver trees, two black-clad figures rapidly advance, dropping blowguns and drawing kris-bladed knives. They are on either side of us. Within seconds, they have advanced half of the distance of the courtyard.
The halfling immediately moves to the Emperor’s side and casts some protective spell, nearly losing his footing as the Dream pushes against him in retaliation. The dwarf tears off the peace-bonding on his massive axe and rushes forward to intercept one of the assassins. I remove the bonding from my naganata and move to protect the Emperor on the other side. We are not sure which side Grinning Tiger Rules will take. We are thinking that Grinning Tiger will act to protect the emperor, but with the deftness of a betrayer.
On his knees, the emperor lets fly a magic bolt from his fingers. This time, the Dream’s reaction catches the halfling and I off guard, and we are both almost pushed away from him.
Tiger’s katana is bared and he moves in between the Emperor and the assassin that the dwarf faces. We still cannot tell who his enemy is.
The assassins strike at us. The dwarf’s heavy armor fails to deflect the blow of his opponent, but he shrugs off whatever vial sting the assassin’s blade offers. The assassin whom I face advances, but I make a lucky hit with my long weapon. He is fast, and rolls off of my blade, but I evade his strike.
Drunk Dwarf Snores’ mighty blade tears a nasty gash into the side of his enemy, but it is not a killing blow. The halfling attempts to find the poisonous needles in the Emperor, while I attempt to drive my assassin away. Grinning Tiger Rules springs into action, dealing a fierce blow to the dwarf’s foe. The figure before me turns and strikes at the halfling. Fighting Man Dances cannot avoid the blow, and a moment later, the poison on the blade nearly brings him low. He backs, away, while, in an impressive display of great strength, the dwarf strikes again, bringing his opponent to the ground. He is not dead.
When the other assassin sees his companion fall, he breaks and runs for the trees. In seconds, he is gone. We yell out to Tiger not to kill the assassin, for we wish to question the attacker, but we are too late. Grinning Tiger Rules brings his katana down on the fallen body, and a great surge of vileness washes over us as the Dream claims the life of the attacker. The Emperor expresses his gratitude to Grinning Tiger Rules, and to us, for protecting him. Soon, the guests are upon us, congratulating us, and holding us up as heroes.
DM note: one minor detail that has not been mentioned is that the body of the killed assassin is missing part of a finger, which leads the ever-suspicious halfling to believe that the Yakuza is involved somehow.
And in what seems like a moment only, one assassin lies dead on the ground and we have come to the aid of the emperor. Who are the heroes? What is there in this world that we can trust? Among a celebration, evil has planted a seed that would have killed the Emperor without our intervention. What further destruction waits beneath the towers of the rebuilt city?
--Ocean Deeply Sleeps
DM note: notable moments--the showdown between Drunk Dwarf Snores and Grinning Tiger Rules was very, very tense. It was mirrored in a similar (but wordless) showdown between the Emperor and Grinning Tiger Rules. The players suspect that Grinning Tiger Rules does not play well with others.
Drunk Dwarf Snores was a perfect addition to the party (and, indeed, his player informed me that this was his favorite session, so far). No party among the nobility is complete without a boorish dwarf shouldering his way into conversations, dripping the juices of roasted fowl into his beard, and slinging grease across the room as he points with his food.
Fighting Man Dances is a crafty little halfling. He picks up on all the clues and leaps to particularly deft conclusions (see the Yakuza comment, above). They may be wrong, but they are still deft.
Ocean Deeply Sleeps was the main spokesperson for this session, as the dwarf was an obnoxious barbarian, and the halfling was...a halfling. She acquitted herself marvelously (this was the most role-playing intensive session we've had, which means this is the most role-playing intensive session she's ever experienced). I think she enjoyed not running, for a change. She's still sure that her character will die at some point, though.
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Rune
Once A Fool
Ocean Deeply Sleeps’ player could not be present for this session. Session 6 is written by the author of Strong Dwarf Stands and is written from his point of view. I have edited slightly.
Session 6, part 1:
I finally make it to the party and the first thing that greets me is a crowd of people in the courtyard of the Governor’s Palace in the new Silver City. The city still looks exactly the same as it did five years ago, before it burned down. I don’t like it. Makes my beard itch. And all these rich fops lookin’ at me make me want to axe some necks. So what if I didn’t take a bath before I came? I don’t have time for sissy stuff like that.
The stench of human aristocrats mingles with the shouts of praise at my brother and his comrades. Apparently they went and did something like help some guy protect the human’s precious Emperor from some assassins or something. Before too long, the crowd splits us up somewhat. I don’t even know where that Ocean Deeply Sleeps she-human went off to.
Well, it’s a party, so I help myself to some food. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I have a belly to fill; killing Nightmares takes something out of a body, that’s for sure. If it weren’t for these damned nobles, this party would be fun.
I spit at a noble and try to feed the halfling’s monkey some monkey brains from the table. That damned ingrate wouldn’t take any! I find my way to the kitchen and get into a food-fight with the staff. One of them asks if I killed the colossal spider on the "Night of the Spiders."
"Er…um…Of course I did! Now outta my way!" I says real smooth-like.
Yeah, they’re impressed, alright. ‘Course, I didn’t tell them which big spider I killed. How do they define "colossal," anyway? Well I’ve had enough talk with these humans, so I head back out into the party and start filling up my burlap bag with food. I notice that these noble fops have a lot of respect for me, because they’re all keeping their distance.
Looks like the halfling has let his monkey get too close to some fancy fop of a noble that they call "Smiling Bobcat Rules," or "Grinning Tiger Rules," or somesuch. He looks more pissed than a gnome with a gem up his arse. He grabs the monkey and takes it to the halfling. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but they sure don’t seem to like each other. The man tosses the monkey to the halfling and I head on out to the courtyard in search of me brudder [my brother]. Looks like some big human caught him stealing leaves from the silver trees.
DM note: I still haven't determined that either bobcats, or gnomes, exist on the continent, but...eh.
That man is big. He has the look of someone who has…er…"given his man-hood to the Empire," as the saying goes. He has an unnatural glow about his eyes. He may be big, but he’s clumsy; he almost trips over the halfling, who has just showed up.
So I says, "Hey, he’s stupid, but he’s our halfling, so don’t step on him!"
The halfling is concerned about the Emperor’s well-being (they took him away to other parts of the palace before I got here), but the big eunuch-guy won’t let us back into the party. He points his finger in my face and I nearly bite it off, but my brother pulls me away. Fine. We’ll go back to that inn that my brother and the halfling are staying at.
DM note: leaving behind...Ocean...Somebody...
We are walking down the street toward the center of town when the gong tower sounds. Now, here’s a funny thing: everything in this town is exactly the same as it was before it burned down, even the cracks in the walls. But I could swear (and my brother agrees) that there was never any gong tower in the center of town. I simply don’t remember it being there; it wasn’t there. A dwarf never forgets!
DM note: ...but a halfling does! Actually, dwarves do too, just not as quickly.
Then things start to get really weird.
We catch a glimpse of the old Captain of the Guard, Night Softly Calls. I catch up to her, and sure enough, she remembers us. What she doesn’t recall is being devoured by the colossal mother-spider. She must be forgetful; you’d think that since human’s lives are so short, they would remember something like that. Anyway, she gets angry with me for some reason or another, and tells us to go to our inn and walks away. Bah.
Well, we’re not quite ready to sleep, so we go to the gong tower to snoop around. There are some ratlings there that say that the tower has been there since the city was rebuilt and they claim it was there before the city burned. But I know it wasn’t. He won’t let us in tonight, so we agree to come back tomorrow and head to the inn and grab a drink or few. All they have some piss they call "sockie" or something. Nasty crap. They need to order some good dwarven liquor.
There is a drunken (presumably) off-duty guard mumbling something about unexplained murders, a mutilated Captain of the Guard, rats, a bribe that he is not currently drinking, and the Southern Ward. Nothing important, really, just drunken ramblings. When he passes out, I dump his last drink over his head, but he’s out cold.
DM note: ...nothing important. Really.
We should get to our room and grab some sleep, too.
Session 6, part 1:
I finally make it to the party and the first thing that greets me is a crowd of people in the courtyard of the Governor’s Palace in the new Silver City. The city still looks exactly the same as it did five years ago, before it burned down. I don’t like it. Makes my beard itch. And all these rich fops lookin’ at me make me want to axe some necks. So what if I didn’t take a bath before I came? I don’t have time for sissy stuff like that.
The stench of human aristocrats mingles with the shouts of praise at my brother and his comrades. Apparently they went and did something like help some guy protect the human’s precious Emperor from some assassins or something. Before too long, the crowd splits us up somewhat. I don’t even know where that Ocean Deeply Sleeps she-human went off to.
Well, it’s a party, so I help myself to some food. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I have a belly to fill; killing Nightmares takes something out of a body, that’s for sure. If it weren’t for these damned nobles, this party would be fun.
I spit at a noble and try to feed the halfling’s monkey some monkey brains from the table. That damned ingrate wouldn’t take any! I find my way to the kitchen and get into a food-fight with the staff. One of them asks if I killed the colossal spider on the "Night of the Spiders."
"Er…um…Of course I did! Now outta my way!" I says real smooth-like.
Yeah, they’re impressed, alright. ‘Course, I didn’t tell them which big spider I killed. How do they define "colossal," anyway? Well I’ve had enough talk with these humans, so I head back out into the party and start filling up my burlap bag with food. I notice that these noble fops have a lot of respect for me, because they’re all keeping their distance.
Looks like the halfling has let his monkey get too close to some fancy fop of a noble that they call "Smiling Bobcat Rules," or "Grinning Tiger Rules," or somesuch. He looks more pissed than a gnome with a gem up his arse. He grabs the monkey and takes it to the halfling. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but they sure don’t seem to like each other. The man tosses the monkey to the halfling and I head on out to the courtyard in search of me brudder [my brother]. Looks like some big human caught him stealing leaves from the silver trees.
DM note: I still haven't determined that either bobcats, or gnomes, exist on the continent, but...eh.
That man is big. He has the look of someone who has…er…"given his man-hood to the Empire," as the saying goes. He has an unnatural glow about his eyes. He may be big, but he’s clumsy; he almost trips over the halfling, who has just showed up.
So I says, "Hey, he’s stupid, but he’s our halfling, so don’t step on him!"
The halfling is concerned about the Emperor’s well-being (they took him away to other parts of the palace before I got here), but the big eunuch-guy won’t let us back into the party. He points his finger in my face and I nearly bite it off, but my brother pulls me away. Fine. We’ll go back to that inn that my brother and the halfling are staying at.
DM note: leaving behind...Ocean...Somebody...
We are walking down the street toward the center of town when the gong tower sounds. Now, here’s a funny thing: everything in this town is exactly the same as it was before it burned down, even the cracks in the walls. But I could swear (and my brother agrees) that there was never any gong tower in the center of town. I simply don’t remember it being there; it wasn’t there. A dwarf never forgets!
DM note: ...but a halfling does! Actually, dwarves do too, just not as quickly.
Then things start to get really weird.
We catch a glimpse of the old Captain of the Guard, Night Softly Calls. I catch up to her, and sure enough, she remembers us. What she doesn’t recall is being devoured by the colossal mother-spider. She must be forgetful; you’d think that since human’s lives are so short, they would remember something like that. Anyway, she gets angry with me for some reason or another, and tells us to go to our inn and walks away. Bah.
Well, we’re not quite ready to sleep, so we go to the gong tower to snoop around. There are some ratlings there that say that the tower has been there since the city was rebuilt and they claim it was there before the city burned. But I know it wasn’t. He won’t let us in tonight, so we agree to come back tomorrow and head to the inn and grab a drink or few. All they have some piss they call "sockie" or something. Nasty crap. They need to order some good dwarven liquor.
There is a drunken (presumably) off-duty guard mumbling something about unexplained murders, a mutilated Captain of the Guard, rats, a bribe that he is not currently drinking, and the Southern Ward. Nothing important, really, just drunken ramblings. When he passes out, I dump his last drink over his head, but he’s out cold.
DM note: ...nothing important. Really.
We should get to our room and grab some sleep, too.
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