Eighth Session
| Campaign | The Primordial Campaign |
|---|---|
| Game Date | Sunday, Mar 23, 2021 |
| Start Date | Mamir 12, 261 IM |
| Start Location | The Lazy Pearl, Karagay |
| Ending Date | Mamir 21, 261 IM |
| Absentees | David McIntyre/Rayjok the Rayngerian :( |
| Prev Session | Seventh Session |
| Next Session | Ninth Session |
The Eighth Session began one early morning at The Lazy Pearl in Karagay. After a cozy night the party sat down for breakfast with the other patrons. They overheard banter about investing in Balagash thanks to the creation of a new river and new trade possibilities. A professional man at arms attached to a trading party mentioned to Matteo Alleman that he'd heard of a fighting pit in the city and would be attending.
Woden Time[edit]
Greef, Matteo and Obsidian headed to the Temple of Woden. Where Greef ran into an old war friend, Tumar Gali, who was the attendant cleric at the temple. Happy to see Greef, he invited the group to check out the temple and bring his business back the next morning when there were fewer worshippers.
Obsidian Black lingered to observe the temple and picked up various feelings of deja vu from the tapestries and even the smell of the temple. From this he has directed his dreaming toward these phenomenon.
Meanwhile at Nils[edit]
Matteo Allemand explored Nils the Farrier's place of business to discover that his stable yard was serving duty as a fighting pit. The pit was run by the Wrecking Crew, who had young boys running through the crowd taking bets on fights. In the center of the pit, an announcer with a booming voice shouted out the next match, with two combatants bearing cruel sounding names. Matteo placed a wager on the more butchery sounding name, only to see him fall in the fight. The crowd murmured something about the superiority of The Unthinking Strike.
Wanting to recuperate his losses, Matteo approached the local pit boss Aiganym Margulan and asked if he could fight in a match. The boss agreed, selected a fighter for him to face and gave 3:1 odds against him. Matteo Allemand bet all he had left on Matteo Allemand. The fight began and many blows were exchanged. Both combatants were armoured and there was much clanging of steel on steel. Matteo witnessed what may have been the Unthinkng Stike, but he was not felled by it and remained unimpressed, throwing sand into his opponent's eyes and battering him mercilessly.
Matteo's foe yielded. He left the pit to collect his winnings. Aiganym Margulan offered that he should join the Wrecking Crew, having fought so well, but Matteo indignantly declined.
People in Glass Towers[edit]
After examining more temple art, Obsidian Black noticed a tower in the distance of what appeared to be a sorcerous intent. The tower revealed itself to be made of black glass, perhaps obsidian? At the very bottom, was an ordinary (black glass) door with an ordinary (black glass) knocker. Obsidian knocked (a good name for a band). The door was answered by a valet in livery. Assuming there were sorcerous intentions, he directed Obsidian to wait in the drawing room and went to inquire if his mistress would take a visitor (thump, thump, thump, thumpthump, thump, thumpthumpthump, thump, thump, etc.).
Upon meeting the mistress, Aizhana Baksilik, Obsidian began asking her about her place in this world. She explained that she was not from here, but from the south and could not handle all the religion (almost assuredly Ontustik), and that the town had secured her help in fighting the Grendel and Ungir during the war. Obsidian inquired about Ylem to which she drew a blank stare and asked Obsidian what it was.
In the end, her advice to the young(ish) Sorcerer was to inquire into the very source of his power, his draconic blood. She suggested that more blood might mean more power, but did not elaborate. She suggested to Obsidian that he read more books. Obsidian said that he had little time for that wizardly stuff, to which she replied, "Sorcerers read and remember. It's wizards who write stuff down." She dismissed Obsidian shortly after this.
Sampling the Local Beverages[edit]
Meanwhile, Panamon Cree decided to sample any gambling that might be available. The concierge at The Lazy Pearl indicated that he might try his luck at The Tsar's Palace (DM embellishment, formerly "The Casino"). Avoiding the gambling tables, Panamon headed to the bar. He was recognized as a warlock, and the bartender indicated that another of his 'kind' was a regular at the casino. Panamon tipped the bartender to pay for her first drink. Some time later the aforementioned warlock did appear and Panamon Cree introduced himself.
The cordial conversation turned specific and Panamon revealed his copy of the Nine Herbs Charm. His warlocky friend, who introduced herself as Kulyash Nurassyl, looked at the document and dismissed it as religious nonsense. She expressed the need for warlocks to do constant research on the nature of their power and the nature of the creatures who apparently give them their power. When asked, she declined to say who/what granted her her warlock powers.
She did go on to lay out a reward system for Panamon Cree should he come up with any interesting research and share it with her, starting with gold, possibly followed with increased power, and even possibly with REDACTED should he make a convincingly good find. Panamon found her charisma to be undeniable, reminding him somewhat of his Matron, Æski.
There's Got to Be a Morning After[edit]
The entire party headed to the Temple of Woden, Dusenbi morning. Matteo Alleman had healed his wounds, but had a clear case of the Dusenbis. Greef Roake and the party were once again greeted by his old war buddy, Tumar Gali who invited them over to an alter area to talk. Greef presented the Nine Herbs Charm to Tumar. Tumar was amazed.
He explained that this document is a spell to activate a protection charm and that the document does not go on to explain what the ingredients are. He further explains that there is a larger book, the Lacnunga from which this fragment is a part... and that all of these parts likely come from Before Erasure times. The spell itself implies that the charm, when created successfully was very powerful; perhaps powerful enough to stand up to and even break a dragon?
Riders of the Storm[edit]
Post interview Matteo Alleman took his winnings to a local armorer who happened to have some size L full plate in stock, which he traded for Matteo's half plate and a stack of gold. The party got a second great night's sleep and headed back toward Balagash. The trip back was uneventful, save one aberration; Greef Raoke detected the "floop... floop" of dragon wings in the early evening during his watch.
Balagash[edit]
Arriving in Balagash, the party was greeted by Gulshara Rysbek at the door of The Stuffed Kobold and warned the party that the Balagash City Guard were asking after them. She did not mention a threat, but suggested that the party might be wise to leave town again before daybreak. Gulshara said that she had not been harassed herself, but that Hedgewind Jalinbeti had left his position as Captain of the Guard and was likely in his newly forming town.
Meanwhile, Panamon Cree had a strong desire to investigate the Balagash Keep lower level a second time. With no other party members willing to go along, he rendered himself invisible and entered the back of the keep via the moat. There he discovered fresh tracks of what he knew to be dragon, crawling out of the moat. Upon entering he discovered the basement to be barren, but with signs of recent activity. One cot had been slept on, the throne and research rooms cleaned up slightly and the dragon bed... covered in gold pieces. Panamon recovered the gold and escaped the basement without incident.
Go West Young Man[edit]
The party arrived at Koboldy Rock without incident. The preparations to make the keep livable were well underway and the common quarters had enough beds and supplies to make the keep livable. The party decided to push on the future site of Jalinbeti the next morning, and did so, again without incident.
The party was greeted by a pleased Hedgewind Jalinbeti who was presiding over a flurry of construction. The outline of his keep was already set in stone, looking as though it will eventually be massive. Pegs and spikes demarked the location and the actual beginning of construction for dozens of buildings. Hedgewind offered the party his hospitality including a delicious Ælfen wine. When asked, he explained that he had no reason to stay on as Balagash's Captain of the Guard and quit the post, further noting that he did not think the current governor, Irimshik Akimi would last long now that he's left.
Obsidian Black, with his own questions about the world hinted to Hedgewind something about Ylem. Hedgewind did not react, however, Obsidian did note that Hedgwind's hair has changed and that he now sports a white streak of hair at either temple, which was jet black previously.
River Phoenix[edit]
It's unusual for a river to just spring from what was once 'not a river' and the party decided to investigate the source. This source turned out to be about 10 miles south and up into mountainous terrain, making travel with the horses impossible. The party announced their intention to inspect the source to it's suspected creator, Hedgewind, who accepted the news with aplomb.
When the party arrived at the site after a day of travel, they discovered a fissure coming straight out of the rock spilling an endless stream of very cold, very fresh glacier water. With no means to investigate the spring further, the mystery of the sudden appearance of the spring remained a mystery.
Close Encounters[edit]
In the early evening, the party was overflown by a pair of young white dragons, one bearing an Ungir cleric rider. The party did nothing to alert the dragons and were not spotted. The dragons headed toward the town of Jalinbeti, but swerved east to follow the road, very clearly searching for something (or someone).
From the heights the next morning, with the help of a flying imp, the party observed a Kuuliki (goblin) war band of nearly 100 Kuulik breaking camp and heading south. The party headed north back to Jalinbeti, where they accepted another night of hospitality from Hedgewind, some more delicious Ælfen wine and at first light, headed back to Koboldy Rock, where this session ends.
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