The Circle arrives in Great Forks, which is somewhat on their course to Sijan (if one sticks near to civilization). Xylanthe knows that an old family friend (Loramendi) runs a scholarly academy in town, and intends to use this contact to do some research in the city's many libraries and temples.
Start Date: 3 Descending Air, Realm Year 768
“It is with our passions, as it is with fire and water, they are good servants but bad masters.”
— Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)
After arriving in the academy (which is more elaborate than the last time she was here), they dine with their host, meet a hyperactive student named Lamidan, and learn of the crisis that Loramendi is currently dealing with.
Apparently, a potent First Age artifact known as the Magog Locus of Rathess was on loan to the academy for study, from a young lady named Rani, when it was stolen by person and means unknown. The Xylanthe and Ourna begins to investigate while Tonanti is forced to get some sleep, Develan is off gambling, and Albrecht is commencing preparation of a feast.
End Date: 3 Descending Air
Although this session didn't have a whole lot to actually do, I felt it was necessary to establish what was considered (mostly) normal for Great Forks before turning it upside down in the next session. I foreshadowed later events through some of the minor aberrations of the people at the Academy. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well.
Converted from old log.
As the Circle continues to investigate the theft, the people around them start behaving more and more strangely.
“Men decide far more problems by hate, love, lust, rage, sorrow, joy, hope, fear, illusion, or some other inward emotion, than by reality, authority, any legal standard, judicial precedent, or statute.”
— Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
Start Date: 4 Descending Air
Continuing their investigation of the theft of the Magog Locus, now with the assistance of Tonanti and Develan, the Solars continue to run into frustrating dead ends and lack of evidence. Meanwhile, the people in the shool are behaving more weirdly by the moment. Develan stumbles across the headmaster's wife and a student in the throes of passion. In addition to Lamidan's superhuman powers of nervousness, another student named Hamashk turns up with a rather depressed demeanor, and Loramendi flatly insults Tonanti's training before proceeding to drink himself into a stupor. This is after encountering an EXTREMELY touchy Librarian at another scholarly academy while continuing their research (but not before they uncovered and stole a fragment of a heretical text known as the Blossom of Ages…)
Then the circle hears alarm bells ringing down the street. They go outside to investigate, but before they get off the porch, a cart pulls up at the gates bearing a load of flowers. Tremaen (who was previously thought to be out on the town) sees this and runs down to the gate, gesticulating surrepetitiously. After a frantic whispered conversation, the cart pulls off, and Tremaen comes back, explaining it was the “wrong address”. As the alarm is still ringing down the street, the solars shrug and go that way. They see a squadron of water elementals rush down the street, where it turns out that a fire is burning. Somebody with unusual hair bursts out of the burning building and goes flying into the building across the street, followed quickly by some elemental.
Somebody in the gathering crowd throws a rock at the water elementals … who drop what they are doing and dive for the attacker in the crowd, producing a brawl.
It develops that the populace — humans, spirits, god-blooded, and elementals alike —are rapidly losing control of themselves … the smoke of other fires across the city is spotted. A building crashes to the ground next to the Solars. Develan spots gangs in silver, white, or yellow — apparently each representing one of the three spirits that rule the city — engage in roam and destroy assaults among themselves. The many Temples begin launching catapult attacks across the city at each other. Albrecht's crew, Tremaen, and presumably Jiulan are all affected, as are the people in the school. The city's rulers activate a large yellow dome shield around the city, preventing escape in the Schnellvogel.
Eventually, inspired by a memory of research with her father's team, Xylanthe realizes that they DO have a means to look into motive … Loramendi's notes. Perhaps they will see something that he missed or forgot. This quickly leads them to the temple of a priest named Burrabi Todon, whose daughter Kutari died in an accident during an academy sponsored research mission, and who swore revenge on the school. After minimal resistance, they drive off the lackeys of the priest, and corner him at the altar bearing a crystal orb mtching the description of the Magog Locus. Even as the city begins to return to normal, the priest is wracked with sobs, unable to respond to questions. Then he looks surprised … and falls over dead. The orb is returned to the academy, leaving only one mystery unsolved … just who is this Lord Anthant mentioned in the priest's journal? Did he tell the priest about the artifact, and teach him to use it. Was he the one that expanded the attack to include the entire city instead of just the school? Was he responsible for the priest's death?
A few days later, a much more even-tempered Loramendi tells Xylanthe and the others that the owner of the artifact has arrived. The young woman knocks on the door, looks around, spots Xylanthe, narrows her eyes, and exclaims “You!”
End Date: 8 Descending Air
I have a problem occasionally where I present a situation that looks like the characters should be doing one thing, when they really should be doing something else. Partly this is because I have no sense whatsoever for when clues are too easy, or too hard, nor for when people are intrigued by a puzzle or simply annoyed by it. This session suffered from it, which caused the players to get frustrated when their lines of inquiry failed to turn up anything (of course, the lines they were pursuing had already been covered weeks before by experts, so turning up not much useful on those very cold trails probably shouldn't have been surprising).
Still, despite the frustration (of both the mystery, and of having our food's arrival delayed for two and a half hours) and the anticlimactic feeling of the resolution (given how tired we all were by the time we got to it), there were some amusing and/or nice character bits. I managed to put Ourna in a situation where she'll have to face Tremaen's feelings (and her own), developed Albrecht's crew a little through their responses, and startle Stacy with Rani singling her out…
I'm going to have to nip the “almost everyone arriving at the game late” problem in the bud soon, as it is getting out of hand. I have been unable to deal with the Abyssal set up stuff now for two games running because I don't want to stop the game once I've finally managed to get it started, and lateness is also pushing our game times further and further back — which I'm sure my roommates or neighbors will get annoyed with sooner or later, and which invariably makes the end of the games really weak, since everybody is too tired at 2:30am to do anything but get the session over with. Not to mention, the last time I was actively chomping at the bit to play characterization to the hilt, that mood was completely destroyed by this sort of thing.
Converted from old log.
As the Circle prepares to depart Great Forks, they are given boons.
Start Date: 8 Descending Air
The mysterious Rani turns out to know Xylanthe, though Xylanthe barely remembers her. Rani was around when Imtari Ashat was, and apparently left about the same time.
As the Schnellvogel leaves Great Forks, the Exalted are contacted by the three spirits that rule the city, and given gifts as thanks for their part in solving the recent crisis.
Weaver of Dreams of Victory gives Tonanti the knowledge that the nightmares he is suffering are not natural (which will hopefully enable him to put a stop to them), and points out that he has not suffered them within the city, nor will he if he returns. The rest of the Exalted are gifted with dreams of their triumphs for the next week.
Dayshield grants them protection, in the form of the eponymous “Shield of a Different Day”. This takes the form of a tapestry depicting the airship flying in a sunny sky. The angle and coloring of the scene vary between dawn, noon, and dusk, and the tapestry is blank at night. This is because the shield can only be used once in morning, once at midday, and once near evening, and it cannot be used at night.
Spinner of Glorious Tales looks at their “stories” and gives them the gift of information. He tells them two things about their journey: “the Warden of Night is the key you must seek” and “Expect aid from a strange quarter”. Since the circle is heading to a place about which those of Great Forks do not speak, he cannot elaborate further. However, to make up for this, he allows each of the Exalted to ask three questions, either about themselves or about their companions. The questions and answers can be private if desired.
Xylanthe leads off by asking if her father, Arskelos, is alive. (He is.) She asks for the full story of Sethos and Shardis/Shadris, which reveals that he betrayed his wives because he was unable to trust. Finally, she asks “who here is trustworthy”, which gets her the enigmatic answer “all of you are worthy of trust, when you are yourselves”.
Ourna asks what happened to her father, and is informed that he “was delayed by conflict. He fights, in his own way.” She asks for information on contacting the Unconquered Sun, and is informed that she needs the rites and prayers of a priest of the sun, and will find what she needs at the Spire Invictus. Finally, she asks which man is best by her side (out of “those who came before”, “two two”, and “one yet to come” … all but the last describing Aniam, Melchior, Tremaen, and Keriam). The answer is “the half-fey”. Ourna immediately interprets this to refer to Tremaen. [OOC-ly, several mintues later we realized that that answer could potentially refer to ANY of her alternatives, as far as Ourna knows, and the only one Jenna actually knows would be right out is Aniam. The GM notes that Ourna also didn't realize that she's failed asked whether any were actually good for her, merely which was the best of those choices. And that she didn't consider the possibility that someone she has already met (and thus not “yet to come”) is better than her options.]
Tonanti asks “is she alive”, to which the answer is “yes”. He asks why Develan was in his nightmare with Umbra and Tonanti's dead relatives, and is told that his Hearthstone interacted with the nightmare to drag the sleeping Develan in. Finally, he asks about their relationships in the First Age, and is told that, though the time span in question is broad and they were not always together, there was a time when each of them was associated with the others in much the same fashion as they are now.
Develan asks after his family, and is told that they work much as they did before, though in service to another. He asks “can we win”, and is told, “Yes, you can win. But which conflict should you win?”. Finally, he asks “Am I him (sethos)”, and is informed “You are both him and not him. You walk the edge of a knife between these two, and which way you fall depends greatly on your choices.”
Albrecht asks after his nemesis, Herr Geuber Schickle, and is told to “Seek Vanileth”. He asks what funds they will need for the coming conflict, and is told “Money will not buy you what you need.” Finally, he asks how the Exalted must go about avoiding what happened to them in the First Age, and the response is “You must avoid becoming what you fight, and help one another to resist or contain your aberrations”.
As the airboat returns to normal, each of them notices the discomfiting fact that, excepting only Albrecht (who asked all of his aloud), everyone asked all or most of their questions in private… a fact which Ourna's inner Rozacia is quick to grab onto as evidence of conspiracy.
End Date: 8 Descending Air
This session was short because I was trying to get character creation done for the Abyssals portion before we started playing, and because the Q&A took longer than I anticipated (about an hour and a half to two hours for 15 questions). Other than that, the question seemed to go over well enough … glad Pete suggested it. If I had to do it over with, I would have said that Talespinner could only give the two pieces of info about the future that he provided, and could only answer questions specifically about the past or present story of the PCs. This would focus the information more on what the characters are or have been, than on what they will do or what they may learn later.
Converted from old log.
Synopsis: The Schnellvogel is damaged in a storm en route to Sijan and has to set down to make repairs. While waiting, a few of the group go to a nearby town (Ilmasa?), where they encounter a mysterious red-clothed woman and a man named Driscoll Laguna who fights with an odd whirling martial-arts style.
Date: 11 Descending Air
Most of the players were not going to be present this week, so I encouraged Jenna to run a side-session, which allowed me to play. Driscoll was my Twilight character. The red-clothed woman was, I believe Jenna's Realm-raised Eclipse character.
The first hint of Sijan's proximity came when the Schnellvögel passed over a lonely tomb, and the temperature began to fall. As the Threshold was already feeling the chill of Winter, this made things quite cold indeed.
Start Date: 19 Descending Air
The solitary monument on the plain was soon joined by another … then another, then a group of three at once. As the other circle-mates joined the watch at the bow of the air boat, the burial fields of Sijan began to unfurl before them.
Tombs. Tombs with obelisks. Tombs with statues. Tombs stacked like layers of sediment. Tombs the size of entire towns. They stretched nearly to the horizon, in all their myriad styles and shapes and sizes, unified only by their similarity of materials (marble, alabaster, onyx, and such) and the utter quiet that covered the land like a thick blanket.
Once the ship had crossed the River Avarice, with its twin bridges, they finally arrived at Sijan proper. An old city, Sijan. It was hardly distinct from the mausoleums surrounding it, excepting only the fact that it was raised above the level of the plain and surrounded by a high, white, moss and ivy covered wall. And far denser. Staired gates provided entrance into a labyrinth of jumbled architeture in styles taken from all over Creation and many different eras. But always, always rendered in the ever-present, subdued white and black color scheme, owing to the materials used in its construction.
And it was silent. Solemn. There were no throngs. No festivals. No demonstrations. No open markets. The few people seen going about their business from the vantage of the air boat did so unhurriedly, without fuss or bother.
Anchoring the ship proved to be a problem. The ground around Sijan was covered with burial vaults stretching to the horizon in every direction, save only the rivers to the West and South, and the Black Chase to the North. They lay thickest near the city. There were paved walks between them, to be sure, and clear ground about them, naturally. But neither seemed like good prospects for anchoring, since the paths were presumably there for official business, and the ground probably consecrated. Best not to risk offending either the living or the dead residents of Sijan. With a sigh, Albrecht turned command of the ship over to his cook, ordering that the Schnellvögel circle the city until called for.
Once in Sijan proper, they discovered that the city was possessed of a solemn and restrained demeanor. After witnessing a funeral procession, they spoke to someone who directed them at a Sijanese museum.
At the museum, they are informed that the cultural museums are open to the public for a small fee, but that the libraries are difficult to access.
Ultimately, they meet up with a familiar face … the man known as Jiunan Nightwarden, who they last saw in Seven Willows.
End Date: 19 Descending Air
The players have had no luck getting into the library by the polite route, and Jiunan certainly can't do it for them due to his history with Sijan. He's also not all that great at breaking and entering, but he IS Night caste. There's a Night Caste in the PC Circle (Develan), but he is illiterate, and anyway, Jiunan isn't sure which volume he's looking for, specifically. So they concoct a plan: Jiunan and Develan will sneak in, grab the book, and then sneak back out. The rest of the group will create a huge distraction to draw the guards away from their escape path.
This plan is implemented. It Does. Not. Survive. Contact. with. Sijan.
On level 3, the first level that they are restricted from entering, guards that are in their path are led away by Develan's elemental familiar, but a sijanese guy comes around the corner just in front of them. He goes the other way, but after a few steps, he stops and whirls around. Develan attempts to knock him out with a throwing baton, but he botches. Triple botch.
The knife (not baton; Dev grabbed the wrong weapon in his haste) slices the guy's jugular, which DOES silence him, but not in the way that was intended. (Develan is trying to distinguish himself from his First Age identity, who was a vicious assasin.) This paints the hall with blood. (The human body contains several gallons of blood under high pressure, as any anime fan knows.) Then the knife goes skittering down the hall. The noise attracts one of the guards. Whack … the guard is down, possibly with a fractured skull.
So now, not only will the dead Sijanese and the guard soon be missed, but the hall itself is a dead giveaway that something is up, and a pointer straight to the bodies. Except for one wall, which is the outer wall of a crypt. The blood on that wall seeps into it and disappears, which unnerves even Jiunan.
The pair enter the library through a crypt that Jiunan knows that has a hole in the wall that can be uncovered to provide entrance into the library. Jiunan has used this route before, and doesn't believe this tomb is a danger (it's also their only option.)
Synopsis of the remainder: Ultimately, they meet a ghost, battle the Dragon-blooded in a subterranean Library, and come away with some promising leads on more info on Shadowlands and the Ties-that-bind, only to have several of the books stolen by one of the Night-forged.
End Date: 20 Descending Air
Synopsis: The Circle departs Sijan posthaste with what remains of their research materials. This implies that they must next travel to Rathess … source of the Magog Locus they apparently recovered in Great Forks. The name Anthant is also uncovered … the same one allegedly behind the Great Forks incident?
Start Date: 20 Descending Air
Before getting very far, however, they encounter another air boat … the Haslanti vessel that Albrecht spotted and briefly thought was his own (back in Session 7).
Ultimately, the Circle is caught in battle with a third airship. One of significantly advanced design and obviously potent armament. Captained by Albrecht's mutinous former mate, Greuber!
After escaping, the Circle continues on toward Rathess…
End Date: 21 Descending Air
End of Act II