Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Aphonion Tales: Adventures in the Spice Lands and the War in Hanal, a tween and teen D&D game (edited notes, posts Tuesdays, most recent 3/7/23)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8952540" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>Session 52 (February 19, 2023)</p><p></p><p>Night of 16 Kas (Greater Festival of Mists, Silver, Emerald, and Violet)</p><p>As night is approaching, Noah approaches Trudie with a question.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, you're an astrologically-like knowledgeable person..."</p><p></p><p>"I am not in the way that some people are, but there are connections between the moons and various things that affect the womenfolk, so I have some awareness."</p><p></p><p>"Is there a purple moon coming up?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, the purple moon should be full tomorrow night or tonight... let's see..." She fishes out a farmer's almanac, flips through to the calendar. "Yes, I think that that the Violet Moon should be full tonight--along with several others, in fact. A Greater Festival of Mists, as the astrologers call it. Is the Violet Moon relevant to you?"</p><p></p><p>Noah seems reluctant to answer at first.</p><p></p><p>Trudie prods a little more. "Do you have concerns?"</p><p></p><p>"So, when I was slightly younger, I was..." he trails off.</p><p></p><p>"This is going to be a 'when I was young and foolish, I'm old and foolish now' sort of story, isn't it?"</p><p></p><p>"Primarily, yes."</p><p></p><p>"I see. I know its type."</p><p></p><p>"I was involved in... I was good friends with... I still am good friends with the person. A worshiper of the Lady of Chaos."</p><p></p><p>"Which Lady of Chaos are you referring to?" says Trudie, suddenly giving the conversation her full attention.</p><p></p><p>"Whimsey!"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, that's all right, then. From what I hear, she's a nice lass-- a little flighty, but you know."</p><p></p><p>Noah is too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice that Trudie described Whimsey in terms completely unlike any Hanalian he's ever talked to before. "Yes. In some way, as part of this, I contracted a form of lycanthropy. I'm not sure if there's been anyone else afflicted with this condition, and I don't think it's transmittable by me, but I've never been in a situation where this has been tested. And frankly, I don't want to."</p><p></p><p>"So. What type of lycanthrope?"</p><p></p><p>"I am a weremouse. This sounds like a setup for a bad joke."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, well, that's all right, then."</p><p></p><p>"It is not."</p><p></p><p>"Well, I mean, I think it is a bad joke, but it's a bad joke being told by someone who operates on a rather different level than we do."</p><p></p><p>"That's fair. Basically right."</p><p></p><p>"So, do you go in for all of that chaining yourself up stuff, or do you just wander around and, I don't know, chase after cheese, and eat corn?"</p><p></p><p>"I've attempted the chaining myself up thing. I think that mostly it is a harmless thing. I would like to be more in control of myself during the transformation, obviously. And I've been hard at work on that."</p><p></p><p>"All right."</p><p></p><p>"But I don't think I've ever caused damage that a decent amount of silver was not able to fix."</p><p></p><p>"Decent amount of silver in the sense of coin?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, in the sense of repaying people for damaged goods and stuff."</p><p></p><p>"Well, that seems entirely reasonable. And here I thought you were going to have some real problem."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, that would be the fact that we're thousands of miles away from home territory, fighting a dangerous war with an artifact of the enemy."</p><p></p><p>"Well, lad, we're only tens of miles away from my, and unless I miss your accent, we're only hundreds of miles away from yours."</p><p></p><p>"That's true, although the stromnate which I am technically heir to is under occupation. It's funny, I think, that if you had asked me, maybe five years ago, I would have been both thrilled and absolutely determined to get into this war entirely on the basis of reclaiming it, and at this point I'm mostly just involved in this war because it seems like what's gotta be done to help out the people there, and the people in general."</p><p></p><p>"And what has to be done because of the enemies that the user that the Queen-Empress is aligned with."</p><p></p><p>"That's true."</p><p></p><p>"You've mentioned some awareness of these cults?"</p><p></p><p>"We believe I was kidnapped by one of them at one point. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be the type to keep detailed records of what their various cells got up to."</p><p></p><p>"You're lucky to be alive then."</p><p></p><p>"Yes. My guess is that they were attempting to impose a doppelganger in my place. We've had some experience with them doing it on other people."</p><p></p><p>"Hmm!"</p><p></p><p>"Nobles, in general. I believe that is probably what happened with the with the current usurper, which is that there may have been a legitimate elder child--there may not have been, but at the very least that one of these cults thought it would be advantageous for them to insert a usurper, and from the way things have worked out, I'd say it almost certainly was."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed!"</p><p></p><p>They wrap up their conversation, post watches, and prepare for the night.</p><p></p><p>About an hour into Ravokris's watch, in the middle of the night, his skin begins to itch intensely--it's sort of a mix between an itch and a tingle. Mx. Aster is also on watch, and their skin also begins to tingle.</p><p></p><p>Ravokris notes that figures are emerging, one at a time, onto a flat open space nearer to the water than the group is. A couple are coming out of the sea as well. Some look human, some do not.</p><p></p><p>Ravokris and Mx. Aster wake everyone. People and things have gathered in a cluster near the water. It looks like there may be fey. The humans build a fire and put a cauldron on it.</p><p></p><p>Noah says, "We are not getting mixed up in this. It smells way too much of fae nonsense."</p><p></p><p>Trudie gives him a frown. "It would be very poor if we did not express our friendliness and hospitality to the good folk."</p><p></p><p>"That's true."</p><p></p><p>"You can stay here if you like, but I will go and pay my respects."</p><p></p><p>"I feel I will." Noah heads over with an offering of silver coins and with wood for the fire.</p><p></p><p>One of the dancers gestures to them as they approach. "Join the dance. Behold the moons! Behold the presence of sidhe of change!" Whether they said "sidhe" or "she" is anyone's guess, but they're likely both true.</p><p></p><p>There are a couple more people that have come out of nearby cover and will slowly creep over to join them. One of them touches Noah.</p><p></p><p>"Join us. Celebrate Her. You have been touched by Her."</p><p></p><p>"I have, yes."</p><p></p><p>"A blessing upon you."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you."</p><p></p><p>Noah begins chopping wood and bringing it over to the cauldron fire. An old gnarled fey of some sort keeps stirring the cauldron. "More, lad, more for the fire! Let the brew steep! Lad, too often all want to dance and revel and none want to work. I'm glad to not be alone this night."</p><p></p><p>Ravokris, Mx. Aster, and Trudie join in with the dancing.</p><p></p><p>Finally, a new figure emerges from the woods--tall, slender, almost elf like, though the deer antlers give that away. Trudie thinks he is a sidhe, though the antlers are unusual for the sidhe. He begins a more stately dance, and reaches out a hand to Trudie to join him. He is as beautiful as any of the sidhe, and she dances with him vigorously and flirtatiously, taking any opportunity to reach out to him. She becomes entirely smitten, almost glamoured. After dancing for some time, he leads her away from the fire, and they are otherwise occupied for the night.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the others drink deep from the draught. For two days after, Mx. Aster's body odor is ten times stronger. Noah gains the ability to strike twice with his axe for an additional 2d6 points of dessication damage. For the next 4 days, Ravokris can temporarily make two weapons keen by touch.</p><p></p><p>As the purple moon begins to set, everyone except the group rapidly departs.</p><p></p><p>17 Kas</p><p>They remain camped, waiting for the elven vollers to come. A bear strides into their camp, followed by two burly men.</p><p></p><p>The bear says, "Hail and well met!"</p><p></p><p>Noah replies, "Greetings!"</p><p></p><p>"You're waiting for something, aren't you? I'd be careful."</p><p></p><p>"Thanks. How can you talk?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, I forgot." He throws off his bear seeming and becomes another large man.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, are you a werebear?"</p><p></p><p>"I am."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, actually, I think we met some werebears. They were nice."</p><p></p><p>"Generally we are, unless you try to steal our sheep or something like that."</p><p></p><p>"That's fair."</p><p></p><p>"But there are a couple of elven ships that come through here regular-like, and bombard things on the ground, for no reason."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, we're waiting for them. We have something that we want to make sure that they get."</p><p></p><p>Trudie says, almost grudgingly, "They have their reasons, actually, for what they attack on the ground. It's destructive, but for a reason."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, well, as long as you don't mind the risk, I guess. Doesn't matter to me, you know. You don't look like you have much victuals. Care for some mutton?"</p><p></p><p>"Sure!" says Noah.</p><p></p><p>One of the men whistles, and shortly thereafter a heavily laden mule comes trotting out of the woods. He carefully removes a package of mutton and four huge potatoes. "Mutton and taters. Makes a good meal."</p><p></p><p>"That it does."</p><p></p><p>"Well, just thought we had to stop by and give you a warning about the elven ships. Have you seen them open fire?"</p><p></p><p>"Unfortunately, I have," responds Trudie, thinking of her ruined village. "Would you know how long it's likely to be until their next arrival?"</p><p></p><p>"Two days. They're like clockwork. I don't know how they schedule it that well. Lord of Darkness knows, with what the Queen-Empress is doing to the people, that's probably for the best. But I don't think they're doing as much good as they wish they were. I think it's the purple one that's due."</p><p></p><p>Noah says, "That will be the Noldor, then."</p><p></p><p>The three large men sit and chat with them for a little while, and then all of them will turn into bears. "Have a good day now. We've got to go back on patrol trying to keep the damn troops off the locals."</p><p></p><p>"Well, our thanks for that," replies Trudie.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, that is certainly for the best," agrees Noah.</p><p></p><p>"Fortunately, they haven't figured out what type of weapons will hurt us yet. Well, fortunately for us." They didn't know that a large bear could grin, but he grinned. The werebears then trot off.</p><p></p><p>Night passes uneventfully.</p><p></p><p>18 Kas</p><p>Day passes uneventfully</p><p></p><p>19 Kas</p><p>The evening of this day, they see soft, violet radiance shining from a crystal ship in the sky. The ship is high in the sky. The flight pattern of the armada above them stops. A moment later, two flitters descend from the craft.</p><p></p><p>There are no sign of drow on the flitters, but there are shadowelves on the ship. Ravokris recognizes them. He attempts to control himself as the bloodrage rises. Ravokris narrowly controls himself, though he is actually trembling. As they land, and the elves spread out in a half-circle rapidly, Trudie steps forward and quickly speaks before things can get out of hand.</p><p></p><p>"I greet you in the name of the Ecumenical Council, as a senior cleric of one of the signatory temples."</p><p></p><p>"What?" says Noah in surprise, shooting a quick look at Trudie.</p><p></p><p>The officer, a bone-white elf with something of a different look from the shadowelf soldiers, raises three fingers and the elves stop. They were obviously moving into an aggressive formation. "As signatory of the Ecumenical Council, on behalf of my Lord Aufaulgautharim, I greet you in honor of the Ecumenical Council. What, exactly, do you have under that lead sheet?"</p><p></p><p>"We have a resonator," answers Noah.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed, it is a terrible device that we have recovered from the enemy that we need to turn over to a people such as yourselves, who are capable of keeping it safe and hopefully destroying it. We do not possess the capability to do so," explains Trudie.</p><p></p><p>He gives a curt nod. The arrogance of his expression is unmistakable. He lifts two fingers and a sudden very stiff wind blows directly at the blanket, moving it enough so that he can look at the object underneath. He pauses, and then almost reluctantly says, "You have done good work. I am sure that the Ecumenical Council will be pleased, and on behalf of my lord I also extend our thanks." The last seems almost pulled out of him with tongs. "You were wise to come here and wait for us." They didn't say that they did, but they realize he has likely been reading their minds casually.</p><p></p><p>Noah is really tempted to capitalize on the gratitude, though he wonders if that is a good idea.</p><p></p><p>"My lord can destroy this, and will." The officer seems to focus for a second.</p><p></p><p>"I don't suppose we could be allowed temporary passage on your ship..." says Noah. "Where is your ship headed towards next, if you do not mind my asking?"</p><p></p><p>"Our patrol route looks as follows:" Suddenly, Noah has a clear image in his mind of the entire patrol route over the whole of Hanal. "We cannot deviate, for if we deviate, we might accidentally find our cousins, and that could be unfortunate."</p><p></p><p>Noah concludes that it would take weeks to return to Dwarf Mountain, though it would be entirely safe. "Could we have ten minutes to consider?"</p><p></p><p>"By all means, consult with your fellows. I will remove myself from your mind, so that you can do it in private."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you." Noah gathers the rest around. "So from the information that was just bestowed upon me, we could stay on board their ship for a while. It would take us longer to get there, but it would be safe. It would be a lot smoother than our journey on the gnomish voller. But it would mean spending weeks more until we could launch the full frontal assault on the shield."</p><p></p><p>Mx. Aster expresses no opinion.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, Noah has a thought: "Actually, there is the issue that if Ravokris is on board, he would need to be repeatedly struggling with the blood rage."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yeah, that," replies Ravokris, who was concentrating more on retaining control of himself than really thinking what a long flight on a Noldor voller would be like.</p><p></p><p>"Also, do you assume that none of them would have issues with the blood rage?" asks Trudie.</p><p></p><p>"That means we can't do it," says Mx. Aster.</p><p></p><p>"Part of me is interested from a tactical sense," says Noah. "I doubt Hanal has any sketches of the inner workings of a Noldor voller. But at the same time I think that any snooping I did would be met with a strong response."</p><p></p><p>"For what it's worth," says Trudie, "Hanal has perhaps the greatest sky navy of any human realm."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but that is human realms and there are certain technologies which, had this opportunity been presented at some other point, I would have been eager to investigate, but I think that that for the time being it makes more sense for us to do the treacherous journey on land. It just wouldn't be feasible for both reasons: the blood rage and the timing, since we would be likely to make it there faster on foot."</p><p></p><p>"The other thing is, didn't you say that your army was trying to reach the city and was on the outskirts near our village?" asks Trudie.</p><p></p><p>"Yes."</p><p></p><p>"So without this terrible rack, we could, if we wish, proceed directly to where your army is supposed to be, and see if we can meet up with them there."</p><p></p><p>"That's true. Hey, can you cast sending? You just openly admitted you were a cleric."</p><p></p><p>"Of course I can. There are a limited number of people who I can send to. For what it's worth, I felt that it was necessary to reveal myself to avoid a potentially difficult situation with the elves. I would prefer people would pay no mind to the fact that I serve my Lady."</p><p></p><p>"I'm fine with that. Honestly, I think that religious tolerance is something that our nation could work on, to say the least."</p><p></p><p>"There we agree more than you can understand."</p><p></p><p>"If I provided a description of the Lord High Inquisitor, do you think you could cast a sending to them?"</p><p></p><p>"If I have ever met him, I can easily. If I haven't, with a sufficiently clear description, I may be able to. I can't promise." Trudie thinks for a moment. "Although... Excuse me, my lord captain-- is that inappropriate?"</p><p></p><p>"My Lord Aufaulgautharim captains the ship. I am simply his adjunct."</p><p></p><p>"Have you perchance met the Inquisitor General for this region?"</p><p></p><p>"The Paranswarmian Inquisitor General? Yes. He has a very clear mind for a human."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed. Could you place an image of him in my mind?"</p><p></p><p>"Certainly." She gets a startlingly clear image, right down to every wrinkle.</p><p></p><p>"Thank you. I will be able to send to him without difficulty now. I will need to wait until the morning. I did not prepare sending and do not usually."</p><p></p><p>Noah says, "I think we've figured out our general course of action. We're going to wait here until the sending can be cast, and then we are going to travel to the front to meet up and rendezvous with our forces before launching the attack. You are almost certainly, or at the very least, your Lord Aufaulgautharim is almost certainly informed of this. There are plans amongst the allies of the Ecumenical Council for a large scale attack into Hanal City. Partially to attempt to cordon off the palace, partially in an attempt to vanquish the blood driven." He suddenly realizes that the Aufaulgautharim were part of the plan to bombard Hanal City to drop the energy shield so that the army could get in. "Never mind, you probably know all of this."</p><p></p><p>The officer raises one eyebrow and nods politely, managing a remarkable combination of politeness and arrogance. "On behalf of my Lord Aufaulgautharim, I thank you for the tremendously difficult effort that you have made to obtain this resonator, and he pledges before the Council that it shall be destroyed utterly."</p><p></p><p>"Excellent!" says Noah.</p><p></p><p>"On behalf of my temple, we extend our thanks to the temple of Morgroth and his great followers."</p><p></p><p>He inclines his head to Trudie almost as if she were an equal.</p><p></p><p>None of them actually touch the resonator. They take out these odd mitts that look like a mix of silk and lead woven together to handle it with and carry it up onto the deck of one of the two flitters.</p><p></p><p>"Have any of you extensively touched this thing?"</p><p></p><p>"No," says Noah, "although are you aware of the entity beneath Hanal City?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes," the officer replies curtly.</p><p></p><p>"Apologies. We only recently discovered in our investigations."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, yes, there are times when I think my people from the beginning of time are responsible for most of the difficulties that face the world. Now, we but do what we can."</p><p></p><p>Trudie points out, "The two uruk did carry that for quite some distance. I don't know if they touched it directly."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, I also carried it at various points, but my understanding was that it was primarily for drawing the energy out from wounds," adds Noah "I recognize that this is a situation in which the less I am informed regarding its use and practicality, the better."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, it is. With your leave, I will check you, and then I will check them."</p><p></p><p>"You have my leave." He feels a presence in his mind and then rippling over his entire body.</p><p></p><p>"You are not corrupted." He turns to the first uruk. Both of the uruks have been kneeling silent this whole time--they are not Morgrothian, but they know who the Noldor are and how they were made. "You are not corrupted," he says. He then turns to the last uruk. He shakes his head, with just the tiniest bit of regret. One of the shadowelves shoots the uruk with some form of purple energy beam, and the uruk falls over dead.</p><p></p><p>"He was corrupted?" asks Noah.</p><p></p><p>"He was, sadly."</p><p></p><p>Noah had actually reached toward a little notebook of ideas he had had for the Alpha Gophers, and then he moves his hand back, thinking that he won't give them any ideas.</p><p></p><p>The officer nods towards the corpse. "Do you wish to bury that, or shall I just have it disintegrated?"</p><p></p><p>"I'd prefer burial," says Noah. "If the remains are safe."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yes, all energy within him has been dissipated by the death lance."</p><p></p><p>Noah takes out a trench shovel from his stuff and starts digging.</p><p></p><p>The two flitters ascend to the armada above, and it goes on its way.</p><p></p><p>"I do wish that I occasionally could meet representatives of any of the other faiths in the Ecumenical Council, except for the Weeping Woman, who were not tremendously arrogant and destructive, but there you go."</p><p></p><p>"I want to say that I've met people of Paranswarm who did not fit that bill, and yet, I cannot say that truthfully," replies Noah.</p><p>[End Session 52]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8952540, member: 7030144"] Session 52 (February 19, 2023) Night of 16 Kas (Greater Festival of Mists, Silver, Emerald, and Violet) As night is approaching, Noah approaches Trudie with a question. "Hey, you're an astrologically-like knowledgeable person..." "I am not in the way that some people are, but there are connections between the moons and various things that affect the womenfolk, so I have some awareness." "Is there a purple moon coming up?" "Yes, the purple moon should be full tomorrow night or tonight... let's see..." She fishes out a farmer's almanac, flips through to the calendar. "Yes, I think that that the Violet Moon should be full tonight--along with several others, in fact. A Greater Festival of Mists, as the astrologers call it. Is the Violet Moon relevant to you?" Noah seems reluctant to answer at first. Trudie prods a little more. "Do you have concerns?" "So, when I was slightly younger, I was..." he trails off. "This is going to be a 'when I was young and foolish, I'm old and foolish now' sort of story, isn't it?" "Primarily, yes." "I see. I know its type." "I was involved in... I was good friends with... I still am good friends with the person. A worshiper of the Lady of Chaos." "Which Lady of Chaos are you referring to?" says Trudie, suddenly giving the conversation her full attention. "Whimsey!" "Oh, that's all right, then. From what I hear, she's a nice lass-- a little flighty, but you know." Noah is too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice that Trudie described Whimsey in terms completely unlike any Hanalian he's ever talked to before. "Yes. In some way, as part of this, I contracted a form of lycanthropy. I'm not sure if there's been anyone else afflicted with this condition, and I don't think it's transmittable by me, but I've never been in a situation where this has been tested. And frankly, I don't want to." "So. What type of lycanthrope?" "I am a weremouse. This sounds like a setup for a bad joke." "Oh, well, that's all right, then." "It is not." "Well, I mean, I think it is a bad joke, but it's a bad joke being told by someone who operates on a rather different level than we do." "That's fair. Basically right." "So, do you go in for all of that chaining yourself up stuff, or do you just wander around and, I don't know, chase after cheese, and eat corn?" "I've attempted the chaining myself up thing. I think that mostly it is a harmless thing. I would like to be more in control of myself during the transformation, obviously. And I've been hard at work on that." "All right." "But I don't think I've ever caused damage that a decent amount of silver was not able to fix." "Decent amount of silver in the sense of coin?" "Yes, in the sense of repaying people for damaged goods and stuff." "Well, that seems entirely reasonable. And here I thought you were going to have some real problem." "Yes, that would be the fact that we're thousands of miles away from home territory, fighting a dangerous war with an artifact of the enemy." "Well, lad, we're only tens of miles away from my, and unless I miss your accent, we're only hundreds of miles away from yours." "That's true, although the stromnate which I am technically heir to is under occupation. It's funny, I think, that if you had asked me, maybe five years ago, I would have been both thrilled and absolutely determined to get into this war entirely on the basis of reclaiming it, and at this point I'm mostly just involved in this war because it seems like what's gotta be done to help out the people there, and the people in general." "And what has to be done because of the enemies that the user that the Queen-Empress is aligned with." "That's true." "You've mentioned some awareness of these cults?" "We believe I was kidnapped by one of them at one point. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be the type to keep detailed records of what their various cells got up to." "You're lucky to be alive then." "Yes. My guess is that they were attempting to impose a doppelganger in my place. We've had some experience with them doing it on other people." "Hmm!" "Nobles, in general. I believe that is probably what happened with the with the current usurper, which is that there may have been a legitimate elder child--there may not have been, but at the very least that one of these cults thought it would be advantageous for them to insert a usurper, and from the way things have worked out, I'd say it almost certainly was." "Indeed!" They wrap up their conversation, post watches, and prepare for the night. About an hour into Ravokris's watch, in the middle of the night, his skin begins to itch intensely--it's sort of a mix between an itch and a tingle. Mx. Aster is also on watch, and their skin also begins to tingle. Ravokris notes that figures are emerging, one at a time, onto a flat open space nearer to the water than the group is. A couple are coming out of the sea as well. Some look human, some do not. Ravokris and Mx. Aster wake everyone. People and things have gathered in a cluster near the water. It looks like there may be fey. The humans build a fire and put a cauldron on it. Noah says, "We are not getting mixed up in this. It smells way too much of fae nonsense." Trudie gives him a frown. "It would be very poor if we did not express our friendliness and hospitality to the good folk." "That's true." "You can stay here if you like, but I will go and pay my respects." "I feel I will." Noah heads over with an offering of silver coins and with wood for the fire. One of the dancers gestures to them as they approach. "Join the dance. Behold the moons! Behold the presence of sidhe of change!" Whether they said "sidhe" or "she" is anyone's guess, but they're likely both true. There are a couple more people that have come out of nearby cover and will slowly creep over to join them. One of them touches Noah. "Join us. Celebrate Her. You have been touched by Her." "I have, yes." "A blessing upon you." "Thank you." Noah begins chopping wood and bringing it over to the cauldron fire. An old gnarled fey of some sort keeps stirring the cauldron. "More, lad, more for the fire! Let the brew steep! Lad, too often all want to dance and revel and none want to work. I'm glad to not be alone this night." Ravokris, Mx. Aster, and Trudie join in with the dancing. Finally, a new figure emerges from the woods--tall, slender, almost elf like, though the deer antlers give that away. Trudie thinks he is a sidhe, though the antlers are unusual for the sidhe. He begins a more stately dance, and reaches out a hand to Trudie to join him. He is as beautiful as any of the sidhe, and she dances with him vigorously and flirtatiously, taking any opportunity to reach out to him. She becomes entirely smitten, almost glamoured. After dancing for some time, he leads her away from the fire, and they are otherwise occupied for the night. Meanwhile, the others drink deep from the draught. For two days after, Mx. Aster's body odor is ten times stronger. Noah gains the ability to strike twice with his axe for an additional 2d6 points of dessication damage. For the next 4 days, Ravokris can temporarily make two weapons keen by touch. As the purple moon begins to set, everyone except the group rapidly departs. 17 Kas They remain camped, waiting for the elven vollers to come. A bear strides into their camp, followed by two burly men. The bear says, "Hail and well met!" Noah replies, "Greetings!" "You're waiting for something, aren't you? I'd be careful." "Thanks. How can you talk?" "Oh, I forgot." He throws off his bear seeming and becomes another large man. "Oh, are you a werebear?" "I am." "Oh, actually, I think we met some werebears. They were nice." "Generally we are, unless you try to steal our sheep or something like that." "That's fair." "But there are a couple of elven ships that come through here regular-like, and bombard things on the ground, for no reason." "Yes, we're waiting for them. We have something that we want to make sure that they get." Trudie says, almost grudgingly, "They have their reasons, actually, for what they attack on the ground. It's destructive, but for a reason." "Oh, well, as long as you don't mind the risk, I guess. Doesn't matter to me, you know. You don't look like you have much victuals. Care for some mutton?" "Sure!" says Noah. One of the men whistles, and shortly thereafter a heavily laden mule comes trotting out of the woods. He carefully removes a package of mutton and four huge potatoes. "Mutton and taters. Makes a good meal." "That it does." "Well, just thought we had to stop by and give you a warning about the elven ships. Have you seen them open fire?" "Unfortunately, I have," responds Trudie, thinking of her ruined village. "Would you know how long it's likely to be until their next arrival?" "Two days. They're like clockwork. I don't know how they schedule it that well. Lord of Darkness knows, with what the Queen-Empress is doing to the people, that's probably for the best. But I don't think they're doing as much good as they wish they were. I think it's the purple one that's due." Noah says, "That will be the Noldor, then." The three large men sit and chat with them for a little while, and then all of them will turn into bears. "Have a good day now. We've got to go back on patrol trying to keep the damn troops off the locals." "Well, our thanks for that," replies Trudie. "Yeah, that is certainly for the best," agrees Noah. "Fortunately, they haven't figured out what type of weapons will hurt us yet. Well, fortunately for us." They didn't know that a large bear could grin, but he grinned. The werebears then trot off. Night passes uneventfully. 18 Kas Day passes uneventfully 19 Kas The evening of this day, they see soft, violet radiance shining from a crystal ship in the sky. The ship is high in the sky. The flight pattern of the armada above them stops. A moment later, two flitters descend from the craft. There are no sign of drow on the flitters, but there are shadowelves on the ship. Ravokris recognizes them. He attempts to control himself as the bloodrage rises. Ravokris narrowly controls himself, though he is actually trembling. As they land, and the elves spread out in a half-circle rapidly, Trudie steps forward and quickly speaks before things can get out of hand. "I greet you in the name of the Ecumenical Council, as a senior cleric of one of the signatory temples." "What?" says Noah in surprise, shooting a quick look at Trudie. The officer, a bone-white elf with something of a different look from the shadowelf soldiers, raises three fingers and the elves stop. They were obviously moving into an aggressive formation. "As signatory of the Ecumenical Council, on behalf of my Lord Aufaulgautharim, I greet you in honor of the Ecumenical Council. What, exactly, do you have under that lead sheet?" "We have a resonator," answers Noah. "Indeed, it is a terrible device that we have recovered from the enemy that we need to turn over to a people such as yourselves, who are capable of keeping it safe and hopefully destroying it. We do not possess the capability to do so," explains Trudie. He gives a curt nod. The arrogance of his expression is unmistakable. He lifts two fingers and a sudden very stiff wind blows directly at the blanket, moving it enough so that he can look at the object underneath. He pauses, and then almost reluctantly says, "You have done good work. I am sure that the Ecumenical Council will be pleased, and on behalf of my lord I also extend our thanks." The last seems almost pulled out of him with tongs. "You were wise to come here and wait for us." They didn't say that they did, but they realize he has likely been reading their minds casually. Noah is really tempted to capitalize on the gratitude, though he wonders if that is a good idea. "My lord can destroy this, and will." The officer seems to focus for a second. "I don't suppose we could be allowed temporary passage on your ship..." says Noah. "Where is your ship headed towards next, if you do not mind my asking?" "Our patrol route looks as follows:" Suddenly, Noah has a clear image in his mind of the entire patrol route over the whole of Hanal. "We cannot deviate, for if we deviate, we might accidentally find our cousins, and that could be unfortunate." Noah concludes that it would take weeks to return to Dwarf Mountain, though it would be entirely safe. "Could we have ten minutes to consider?" "By all means, consult with your fellows. I will remove myself from your mind, so that you can do it in private." "Thank you." Noah gathers the rest around. "So from the information that was just bestowed upon me, we could stay on board their ship for a while. It would take us longer to get there, but it would be safe. It would be a lot smoother than our journey on the gnomish voller. But it would mean spending weeks more until we could launch the full frontal assault on the shield." Mx. Aster expresses no opinion. Suddenly, Noah has a thought: "Actually, there is the issue that if Ravokris is on board, he would need to be repeatedly struggling with the blood rage." "Oh, yeah, that," replies Ravokris, who was concentrating more on retaining control of himself than really thinking what a long flight on a Noldor voller would be like. "Also, do you assume that none of them would have issues with the blood rage?" asks Trudie. "That means we can't do it," says Mx. Aster. "Part of me is interested from a tactical sense," says Noah. "I doubt Hanal has any sketches of the inner workings of a Noldor voller. But at the same time I think that any snooping I did would be met with a strong response." "For what it's worth," says Trudie, "Hanal has perhaps the greatest sky navy of any human realm." "Yes, but that is human realms and there are certain technologies which, had this opportunity been presented at some other point, I would have been eager to investigate, but I think that that for the time being it makes more sense for us to do the treacherous journey on land. It just wouldn't be feasible for both reasons: the blood rage and the timing, since we would be likely to make it there faster on foot." "The other thing is, didn't you say that your army was trying to reach the city and was on the outskirts near our village?" asks Trudie. "Yes." "So without this terrible rack, we could, if we wish, proceed directly to where your army is supposed to be, and see if we can meet up with them there." "That's true. Hey, can you cast sending? You just openly admitted you were a cleric." "Of course I can. There are a limited number of people who I can send to. For what it's worth, I felt that it was necessary to reveal myself to avoid a potentially difficult situation with the elves. I would prefer people would pay no mind to the fact that I serve my Lady." "I'm fine with that. Honestly, I think that religious tolerance is something that our nation could work on, to say the least." "There we agree more than you can understand." "If I provided a description of the Lord High Inquisitor, do you think you could cast a sending to them?" "If I have ever met him, I can easily. If I haven't, with a sufficiently clear description, I may be able to. I can't promise." Trudie thinks for a moment. "Although... Excuse me, my lord captain-- is that inappropriate?" "My Lord Aufaulgautharim captains the ship. I am simply his adjunct." "Have you perchance met the Inquisitor General for this region?" "The Paranswarmian Inquisitor General? Yes. He has a very clear mind for a human." "Indeed. Could you place an image of him in my mind?" "Certainly." She gets a startlingly clear image, right down to every wrinkle. "Thank you. I will be able to send to him without difficulty now. I will need to wait until the morning. I did not prepare sending and do not usually." Noah says, "I think we've figured out our general course of action. We're going to wait here until the sending can be cast, and then we are going to travel to the front to meet up and rendezvous with our forces before launching the attack. You are almost certainly, or at the very least, your Lord Aufaulgautharim is almost certainly informed of this. There are plans amongst the allies of the Ecumenical Council for a large scale attack into Hanal City. Partially to attempt to cordon off the palace, partially in an attempt to vanquish the blood driven." He suddenly realizes that the Aufaulgautharim were part of the plan to bombard Hanal City to drop the energy shield so that the army could get in. "Never mind, you probably know all of this." The officer raises one eyebrow and nods politely, managing a remarkable combination of politeness and arrogance. "On behalf of my Lord Aufaulgautharim, I thank you for the tremendously difficult effort that you have made to obtain this resonator, and he pledges before the Council that it shall be destroyed utterly." "Excellent!" says Noah. "On behalf of my temple, we extend our thanks to the temple of Morgroth and his great followers." He inclines his head to Trudie almost as if she were an equal. None of them actually touch the resonator. They take out these odd mitts that look like a mix of silk and lead woven together to handle it with and carry it up onto the deck of one of the two flitters. "Have any of you extensively touched this thing?" "No," says Noah, "although are you aware of the entity beneath Hanal City?" "Yes," the officer replies curtly. "Apologies. We only recently discovered in our investigations." "Yes, yes, there are times when I think my people from the beginning of time are responsible for most of the difficulties that face the world. Now, we but do what we can." Trudie points out, "The two uruk did carry that for quite some distance. I don't know if they touched it directly." "Oh, I also carried it at various points, but my understanding was that it was primarily for drawing the energy out from wounds," adds Noah "I recognize that this is a situation in which the less I am informed regarding its use and practicality, the better." "Yes, it is. With your leave, I will check you, and then I will check them." "You have my leave." He feels a presence in his mind and then rippling over his entire body. "You are not corrupted." He turns to the first uruk. Both of the uruks have been kneeling silent this whole time--they are not Morgrothian, but they know who the Noldor are and how they were made. "You are not corrupted," he says. He then turns to the last uruk. He shakes his head, with just the tiniest bit of regret. One of the shadowelves shoots the uruk with some form of purple energy beam, and the uruk falls over dead. "He was corrupted?" asks Noah. "He was, sadly." Noah had actually reached toward a little notebook of ideas he had had for the Alpha Gophers, and then he moves his hand back, thinking that he won't give them any ideas. The officer nods towards the corpse. "Do you wish to bury that, or shall I just have it disintegrated?" "I'd prefer burial," says Noah. "If the remains are safe." "Oh, yes, all energy within him has been dissipated by the death lance." Noah takes out a trench shovel from his stuff and starts digging. The two flitters ascend to the armada above, and it goes on its way. "I do wish that I occasionally could meet representatives of any of the other faiths in the Ecumenical Council, except for the Weeping Woman, who were not tremendously arrogant and destructive, but there you go." "I want to say that I've met people of Paranswarm who did not fit that bill, and yet, I cannot say that truthfully," replies Noah. [End Session 52] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Aphonion Tales: Adventures in the Spice Lands and the War in Hanal, a tween and teen D&D game (edited notes, posts Tuesdays, most recent 3/7/23)
Top