Our heroes include:
- Edel Naergon, high elf bard (archivist) 5.
- Fatou Damiri, human wizard (evoker) 3/cleric of Yaziel 2; and Nochaesh, owl familiar.
- Jumari Boneface, half-orc inquisitor of the Lost Egg 5.
- Skarlo Rockhopper, gnome summoner 5; and Skuttledust, scorpion-like eidolon
- ZhaZha, half-orc cavalier (order of the dragon) 5; and Zafira, camel mount.
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Last time, our heroes experienced some frustration when trying to find out more about the resistance, who did not trust the newcomers yet. They did, however, learn a bit more about the upcoming winter solstice festival.
During the week before the solstice, ZhaZha found employment as a guard at a gnomish shop, where her size and watchfulness did much to discourage troublemakers. In her free time, she worked on making her banner. [This led to the conversation between her and Jumari appended to last session's summary. They have yet to share any of that discussion with their companions.] Jumari also found some work as hired muscle, but was not trained to be a soldier, so earned less. Edel's performances during this time were enjoyable enough, but garnered him a disappointing amount of coin.
With Skarlo's help, Fatou located a gnome illusionist willing to allow her to copy some spells from his spellbook (for the usual fee). The young wizard also shopped for arcane supplies, and scribed a handful of new spell scrolls (including enlarge person for Skarlo, as thanks).
Fatou also wished to meet the priests who would be leading the solstice rituals. Yaziel's cleric made a good first impression on the four leaders, who eagerly explained some of the basics of their faith. In return, they listened attentively to Fatou's talk about her own, as about the gods of the giants. Of the local priests, only Banwyn was familiar with the Javanian faith, but all knew something about the elementals gods--especially the earth god Genesib, who is popular among gnomes. Edel joined her for this meeting, and made an even stronger impression on them. Skarlo tagged along, too, because he was related to the two gnome leaders.
On the eve of the Winter Solstice--the last night of the year in most calendars--Jumari went into the forest around Galdar to find a secluded clearing with a view of the night sky. Her devotions at each new moon involve stripping nude to pray under an open sky, so she needed solitude. (ZhaZha offered to watch her back, but the inquisitor declined. She was still close enough to Galdar to be seen by a few nocturnal travelers, who all gave the scary skyclad albino half-orc in a trance a wide berth.)
Jumari rejoined her companions well before dawn, when the pageant was due to begin. They made their way to the marketplace, where a wooden platform had been erected, with four simple thrones in two tiers. The religious procession began at the river at the break of dawn. The four leaders marched with an honor guard from the banks into the center of town to the raised thrones.
The first pair represented the Faerie Sovereigns of Autumn and Winter, who ruled supreme during the season that was ending. The elf druid Daenestra wore hides and antlers to show her devotion to the Autumn prince, Basaran, lord of animals and the harvest. The gnome Felvar, repesenting the sinister Winter Queen, Maridor, wore a long gown of black leaves, and had turned his skin and hair snow white with either makeup or magic. (As explained last time, a layperson always represents the goddess of cold and death; Maridor is an essential part of the annual cycle, but those who favor her above the other three Sovereigns are not welcome in civilized lands.)
The second pair represented Spring and Summer, whose power was secondary during the autumn. Skarlo's cousin Banwyn, a gnome cleric of the Spring Princess, Nalanimil, was dressed as the fertility goddess in vines and scarves and not much else. This revealing costume showed off the small but obvious bulge of her pregnancy. Beside her was Ornthalas, a high elf priest of Vanatar, the Summer King and lord of light, who was dressed in a shiny breastplate, a mirror-like shield, and a helm with a metallic unicorn horn and mane. Although both Daenestra and Banywyn carried quivers and slung bows, Ornthalas was the most conspicuously armed member of the group, with his spear trailing a banner of woven flowers.
When the four actors reached the platform, they performed a bit of sacred mummery, speaking ritual words as they exchanged partners. Winter remained ascendant on Her holiest of days, but took Spring as Her new consort. Autumn joined Summer in decline. With Banwyn and Fulvar being a married couple, the new ruling pair's ritual kiss lasted longer than strictly necessary--to some knowing cheers. The Sovereigns then assumed Their seats on the four thrones, with the two gnomes taking the more exalted seats.
Representatives of the town's most prominent businesses and families took turns offering gifts to the Sovereigns. This took quite some time, as the "gods" gave their thanks for each gift. This part of the ceremony allowed the party to take better note of the crowd. They spotted a number of kobolds watching the proceedings from the edge of the crowd. Most of these were gathered on the side of the market closest to their garrison (a cluster of elven stone buildings surrounded by a kobold-built palisade). Jumari and Fatou could tell that the kobolds were on edge throughout the ceremony, and spotted some who openly sneered at the gift-giving.
While that was still going on, Fatou and ZhaZha noticed a disturbance as a new group approached from another direction. This proved to be two satyrs, one of which started playing his pipes and dancing as the pair approached the stage. The other carried a fancy hunting horn, held aloft to let the crowd get a fine look while he pranced up to the stage. He bowed and, speaking in Common, presented the horn as "a gift from the satyrs of the forest to the true gods of the land." Some of the kobolds understood his words, and clearly took offense. Those reptiles translated into Draconic for their fellows, and a handful of kobolds rushed off in the direction of the garrison.
The satyr remained kneeling, and exchanged greetings with the actors. Autumn presented a wineskin to the satyrs in thanks. They sampled it, and praised Daenestra's work. A bad of musicians near the stage was given an unseen cue, and started to play. The two satyrs joined in with their pipes, and led the dancing that followed. With the solemn part of the festival concluded, the rest of the day was for celebrating the return of the sun. Stalls around the edges of the market square provided ample food and drink of many kinds.
The four actors remained on the platform for a while longer. Skarlo went to his cousin and, somewhat awkwardly, congratulated her on her pregnancy. The gesture pleased her and her husband, so he asked when the baby would be born. Banwyn expected their child to arrive in late spring, which she felt would honor her patron goddess.
Fatou offered to buy drinks for all her friends. The two half-orcs, however, declined, resolving to stay sober in case of any trouble. (Jumari also wanted to keep her face veiled.) Instead, they wandered around together, feeling lost among the followers of this strange religion. ZhaZha made sure to inform Edel that the kobolds were antsy, but the elf was determined to join in the carousing. He even asked to take Skarlo for a spin, and the gnome agreed--though he left Scuttledust with Fatou, for her protection.
The wizard tried to keep an eye out for the return of the kobolds who had gone to the garrison, but got too caught up in the festivities. After some time, the party heard a commotion nearby: one of the two satyrs was arguing with a kobold wearing rich, fancy robes and bearing a dragon-headed staff. Going closer, they could hear that the satyr was insisting that the kobold join the party. The kobold and his two guards all wore insignia of garrison officers. The small reptilian was angry, insisting that the fey mind its own business and behave itself. Just as the party arrived, the argument turned into an exchange of insults in multiple languages.
Edel attempted to intercede and make peace: this was a festive occasion, which everyone should celebrate in their own way, and there was no need for such hostility. He succeeded, and the other two backed down. (Edel and his companions were somewhat disappoionted that they didn't get to join in a fight after all.) The satyr feigned boredom, and asked Fatou to drink with him instead. She agreed, and was led off to the nearest drink stall. Skarlo followed to keep an eye on her.
Jumari then addressed the kobold: "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" The kobold scoffed, and stated that wherever it chose to go in this town, it would. It soon decided that the half-orc and her friends were not worth its time to talk to, and walked off to where some kobolds were erecting a sunshade for it to sit under.
The two half-orcs decided to "wander" in front of the kobold to "accidentally" block its view of the continuing festivities. This gave Jumari time to determine the kobold's alignment (faint evil). It wasn't long before they were accosted by one of the junior officers, who barked at them to move along because they were blocking the view. When Jumari stubbornly replied in only Orc, the officer signaled the handful of soldiers beside the spellcaster, and they all leveled their crossbows at the half-orcs. At that, ZhaZha feigned difficulty getting her camel to move out of the way, but she and Jumari withdrew. The kobolds just glared at them and cursed them in Draconic.
Meanwhile, Fatou was in some trouble. The satyr had offered her a drink, and her lack of tolerance to alcohol left her too drunk to notice him getting handy, or to understand her owl familiar's warnings. Fortunately, her friends tracked her down her before the satyr got any other ideas, and extracted her from the fey's clutches. Fatou fuzzily thanked her friends, who took her back to the inn to sleep it off. Skarlo pointed them towards a shop where they acquired some alchemist's kindness for her. With Fatou safe again, Edel returned to the party as quickly as he could.
(ZhaZha has attached her new banner to her lance, and is working on a way to attach it to her armor so that she can display it with her hands free. During the day of the festival, the rest of the party noticed it, but only Fatou immediately picked up on the resemblance to the Tarrasque symbols in her home village.)
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One of our players has started a new job that, unfortunately, makes scheduling this game more difficult. It may take us a couple months to find an alternative time slot that works.
During the week before the solstice, ZhaZha found employment as a guard at a gnomish shop, where her size and watchfulness did much to discourage troublemakers. In her free time, she worked on making her banner. [This led to the conversation between her and Jumari appended to last session's summary. They have yet to share any of that discussion with their companions.] Jumari also found some work as hired muscle, but was not trained to be a soldier, so earned less. Edel's performances during this time were enjoyable enough, but garnered him a disappointing amount of coin.
With Skarlo's help, Fatou located a gnome illusionist willing to allow her to copy some spells from his spellbook (for the usual fee). The young wizard also shopped for arcane supplies, and scribed a handful of new spell scrolls (including enlarge person for Skarlo, as thanks).
Fatou also wished to meet the priests who would be leading the solstice rituals. Yaziel's cleric made a good first impression on the four leaders, who eagerly explained some of the basics of their faith. In return, they listened attentively to Fatou's talk about her own, as about the gods of the giants. Of the local priests, only Banwyn was familiar with the Javanian faith, but all knew something about the elementals gods--especially the earth god Genesib, who is popular among gnomes. Edel joined her for this meeting, and made an even stronger impression on them. Skarlo tagged along, too, because he was related to the two gnome leaders.
On the eve of the Winter Solstice--the last night of the year in most calendars--Jumari went into the forest around Galdar to find a secluded clearing with a view of the night sky. Her devotions at each new moon involve stripping nude to pray under an open sky, so she needed solitude. (ZhaZha offered to watch her back, but the inquisitor declined. She was still close enough to Galdar to be seen by a few nocturnal travelers, who all gave the scary skyclad albino half-orc in a trance a wide berth.)
Jumari rejoined her companions well before dawn, when the pageant was due to begin. They made their way to the marketplace, where a wooden platform had been erected, with four simple thrones in two tiers. The religious procession began at the river at the break of dawn. The four leaders marched with an honor guard from the banks into the center of town to the raised thrones.
The first pair represented the Faerie Sovereigns of Autumn and Winter, who ruled supreme during the season that was ending. The elf druid Daenestra wore hides and antlers to show her devotion to the Autumn prince, Basaran, lord of animals and the harvest. The gnome Felvar, repesenting the sinister Winter Queen, Maridor, wore a long gown of black leaves, and had turned his skin and hair snow white with either makeup or magic. (As explained last time, a layperson always represents the goddess of cold and death; Maridor is an essential part of the annual cycle, but those who favor her above the other three Sovereigns are not welcome in civilized lands.)
The second pair represented Spring and Summer, whose power was secondary during the autumn. Skarlo's cousin Banwyn, a gnome cleric of the Spring Princess, Nalanimil, was dressed as the fertility goddess in vines and scarves and not much else. This revealing costume showed off the small but obvious bulge of her pregnancy. Beside her was Ornthalas, a high elf priest of Vanatar, the Summer King and lord of light, who was dressed in a shiny breastplate, a mirror-like shield, and a helm with a metallic unicorn horn and mane. Although both Daenestra and Banywyn carried quivers and slung bows, Ornthalas was the most conspicuously armed member of the group, with his spear trailing a banner of woven flowers.
When the four actors reached the platform, they performed a bit of sacred mummery, speaking ritual words as they exchanged partners. Winter remained ascendant on Her holiest of days, but took Spring as Her new consort. Autumn joined Summer in decline. With Banwyn and Fulvar being a married couple, the new ruling pair's ritual kiss lasted longer than strictly necessary--to some knowing cheers. The Sovereigns then assumed Their seats on the four thrones, with the two gnomes taking the more exalted seats.
Representatives of the town's most prominent businesses and families took turns offering gifts to the Sovereigns. This took quite some time, as the "gods" gave their thanks for each gift. This part of the ceremony allowed the party to take better note of the crowd. They spotted a number of kobolds watching the proceedings from the edge of the crowd. Most of these were gathered on the side of the market closest to their garrison (a cluster of elven stone buildings surrounded by a kobold-built palisade). Jumari and Fatou could tell that the kobolds were on edge throughout the ceremony, and spotted some who openly sneered at the gift-giving.
While that was still going on, Fatou and ZhaZha noticed a disturbance as a new group approached from another direction. This proved to be two satyrs, one of which started playing his pipes and dancing as the pair approached the stage. The other carried a fancy hunting horn, held aloft to let the crowd get a fine look while he pranced up to the stage. He bowed and, speaking in Common, presented the horn as "a gift from the satyrs of the forest to the true gods of the land." Some of the kobolds understood his words, and clearly took offense. Those reptiles translated into Draconic for their fellows, and a handful of kobolds rushed off in the direction of the garrison.
The satyr remained kneeling, and exchanged greetings with the actors. Autumn presented a wineskin to the satyrs in thanks. They sampled it, and praised Daenestra's work. A bad of musicians near the stage was given an unseen cue, and started to play. The two satyrs joined in with their pipes, and led the dancing that followed. With the solemn part of the festival concluded, the rest of the day was for celebrating the return of the sun. Stalls around the edges of the market square provided ample food and drink of many kinds.
The four actors remained on the platform for a while longer. Skarlo went to his cousin and, somewhat awkwardly, congratulated her on her pregnancy. The gesture pleased her and her husband, so he asked when the baby would be born. Banwyn expected their child to arrive in late spring, which she felt would honor her patron goddess.
Fatou offered to buy drinks for all her friends. The two half-orcs, however, declined, resolving to stay sober in case of any trouble. (Jumari also wanted to keep her face veiled.) Instead, they wandered around together, feeling lost among the followers of this strange religion. ZhaZha made sure to inform Edel that the kobolds were antsy, but the elf was determined to join in the carousing. He even asked to take Skarlo for a spin, and the gnome agreed--though he left Scuttledust with Fatou, for her protection.
The wizard tried to keep an eye out for the return of the kobolds who had gone to the garrison, but got too caught up in the festivities. After some time, the party heard a commotion nearby: one of the two satyrs was arguing with a kobold wearing rich, fancy robes and bearing a dragon-headed staff. Going closer, they could hear that the satyr was insisting that the kobold join the party. The kobold and his two guards all wore insignia of garrison officers. The small reptilian was angry, insisting that the fey mind its own business and behave itself. Just as the party arrived, the argument turned into an exchange of insults in multiple languages.
Edel attempted to intercede and make peace: this was a festive occasion, which everyone should celebrate in their own way, and there was no need for such hostility. He succeeded, and the other two backed down. (Edel and his companions were somewhat disappoionted that they didn't get to join in a fight after all.) The satyr feigned boredom, and asked Fatou to drink with him instead. She agreed, and was led off to the nearest drink stall. Skarlo followed to keep an eye on her.
Jumari then addressed the kobold: "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" The kobold scoffed, and stated that wherever it chose to go in this town, it would. It soon decided that the half-orc and her friends were not worth its time to talk to, and walked off to where some kobolds were erecting a sunshade for it to sit under.
The two half-orcs decided to "wander" in front of the kobold to "accidentally" block its view of the continuing festivities. This gave Jumari time to determine the kobold's alignment (faint evil). It wasn't long before they were accosted by one of the junior officers, who barked at them to move along because they were blocking the view. When Jumari stubbornly replied in only Orc, the officer signaled the handful of soldiers beside the spellcaster, and they all leveled their crossbows at the half-orcs. At that, ZhaZha feigned difficulty getting her camel to move out of the way, but she and Jumari withdrew. The kobolds just glared at them and cursed them in Draconic.
Meanwhile, Fatou was in some trouble. The satyr had offered her a drink, and her lack of tolerance to alcohol left her too drunk to notice him getting handy, or to understand her owl familiar's warnings. Fortunately, her friends tracked her down her before the satyr got any other ideas, and extracted her from the fey's clutches. Fatou fuzzily thanked her friends, who took her back to the inn to sleep it off. Skarlo pointed them towards a shop where they acquired some alchemist's kindness for her. With Fatou safe again, Edel returned to the party as quickly as he could.
(ZhaZha has attached her new banner to her lance, and is working on a way to attach it to her armor so that she can display it with her hands free. During the day of the festival, the rest of the party noticed it, but only Fatou immediately picked up on the resemblance to the Tarrasque symbols in her home village.)
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One of our players has started a new job that, unfortunately, makes scheduling this game more difficult. It may take us a couple months to find an alternative time slot that works.
