On the roads again

Their biggest obstacle in leaving was that the Sakbe road guards didn't really want to let them leave, and there was a steady flow of refugees cluttering the lowest level coming into Tumissa. There were a few members of Merchant clans heading towards Butrus, but anyone headed out of Tumissa would be swimming against the tide.

It was observed that the middle Tier was nearly empty, and the party started conspiring to get an upgrade. In order to do that, they were going to need to become part of a party with some Status. Mriga went to his temple, and he made some contacts. They found a High status Priest of Thumis who was looking for body guards, and they signed on.

Even so, security was tight, and they only made it one third of the way on the first day, when the Sakbe road guards announced that Mu'ugs had been reported on the road ahead, and no one was allowed through. (Unless, of course, they insisted, and had the status to back it up - which our priest of Thumis did.) They made good time for the morning, then they hit upon a guard house, Tower, with the doors locked from the inside. There were signs of a fight outside, debris, perhaps a merchants retinue? And blood. The Gate house on the lower level was passable, but the stairway up was locked. They climbed up the wall, and cautiously peered at the top Tier.

Technically, none of them had any right to go up to this level. Probably a capital offense. But there was blood on the Beautifully inlaid path, and it lead to the door to the tower. The group reasoned that someone of import had been attacked, and further reasoned that they would not be judged any less harshly by the system if they failed to attempt to render aid.  So they climbed onto the sacred third tier. The blood led to the tower. On the far side, on the wall facing the Chakas and Mu'ugalavia, a lone long slender ladder scaled the wall. Probably not the work of the Mu'ug army. Deserters? A strike team? Spies?


If you are not knowlegeable of the ways of Tekumel, the Sakbe roads are tiered to reflect the class conscious social structure. The bottom tier is for commoners, the next for nobles, the top tier is for imperials and the highest nobles.

The image should give you more information if you follow it to the source.

 Mriga discussed attempting a spell to force the door, but wiser heads prevailed. It was generally believed that the Sakbe Roads Gaurd houses, being both roads, and imperial bastions of defense, also contained wards - said wards being geared to protect against Military magic. A solitary priests spell would probably only result in his own death.

They decided to check the roof, where they did find a open hatch, and they went inside. What they found was a body. An imperial messengers body. He had, apparently, been running the top tier when he came across someone and was injured. Perhaps he was the target, or perhaps a victim of circumstance.

Now a note on Tsolyani culture. In most RPGs, a dead messenger would be an invitation to loot the body. On Tekumel, this would be a crime. And crime has consequences. Our heroes bound up the body as they found it, built a litter, and carried, otherwise unmolested, back to Butrus. There they underwent a long, and serious line of questioning. And a few moderately intrusive spells. But, as their story checked out, and they did the best they could at securing the messenger and his cargo, and did not shirk their responsibility to the Empire, they were released, provisionally, to their respective clans recognizances.

Butrus was suffering a shortage of legionary defenses. The Itos had stepped up, and organized the various temple guards to pull watches, and patrols. The Itos, being the most powerful local clan, with a history of rebellions against the Empire, and establishing their own independent principalities, could always be counted upon to try to run things in times of trouble. The big question would be if they would be as willing to stand down when things were calm again.

Word came that the Itos had also begun snooping about the cave entrance area. It was decided to stage a cave in, and close down the cave entrance, try to hide it, and cease operations there until they knew which way the wind was blowing.
 

Time to catch up to the Party..

When we last left our heroes.. well, that was a while ago anyway..It has been over a year since my last post on the campaign..

When we last left the party, they had just arrived in Tumissa, amd Mriga had met his charge, and learned he would be going to Avanthar to deliver her to the festivities of the Kólumejálim, but they had some time. Sanjesh made inquiries, but Mis would not see him, as she was in a state of ritual preparation for the 32nd Unspeakable act. In My tekumel this involves the death of the Officiant, an experience every Devotee should try at least once. He learned the purpose of the  Chnehl that had been the focus of so much effort was to rend her into pieces. There was a new body awaiting her, should all go well. Should things go badly, there was a fair chance that the new body might need to be donated by her hand maiden - a woman of whom Sanjesh was quite fond. But still, duty, and all, it was not his to interfere.  Well, not much. It proved also to be true that he was given the honor of being listed as an alternate in the ritual, should any of the primaries become incapacitated.. not that there was any reason to thing they might..

Word was coming from the lines that the Mu'ugs were closing, the local legions, outnumbered, were falling back to defend the city and the roads, and at some point, it was expected that the city would go into lock down to endure a siege. With no emperor, and no heir yet chosen, it might be a bit before relief came. This wasn't a huge concern. Tumissa has survived sieges before, but the party had places to be. All save Sanjesh, whose top priority was to attend the ritual. It was agreed that, should the situation reach critical, the rest would leave him in Tumissa, and they would make way back to Butrus, and then on to Avanthar.


Sanjesh made contact with the serving slaves of some of the primaries, with the help of Mis hand maiden. He also acquired some minor poisons. A deal was struck, the slave would be purchased, and taken back to Butrus, to be given a safe and pleasant detail in Sanjesh' clanhouse, if she would deliver said poison to one of the guards from the ritual. Nothing designed to kill, only to make him ill, and unable to take part. And so Sanjesh found himself called to duty at the last minute.

The ritual was long, and complicated. The problem presented to Sanjesh, and the other guards, was to keep the Chnehl at bay, and away from Mis, until the appropriate time. If they reached her too soon, they would ruin the ritual, and it would be far less likely she would survive her death. There were alternatives in place, but they were chancey. 

We didn't go into a lot of detail on the process here. I think, however, it could serve as an interesting miniatures game, and I may try it one day. Suffice it to say, though a guard was injured, none were killed, and the ritual went off as planned. It was not a pretty sight, and the Chnehl were then herded of for sacrifice. But, by morning, word had come that Mis was well, and recovering, in a new body - no explanation was given as to where she got it. She still could not receive visitors.

And word also came that the last of the legions were headed for the city gates. It was time to leave.

Emperor Hirkáne, ‘the Stone on which the Universe rests' is Dead

This was the news that met them when they returned to Camp. All of Tsolyanu was in morning, and they closed down all non essential operations at the cave and returned to Butrus to aid their temples and clans in showing their respects, and anguish, and engage in any political posturing necessary. Suni volunteered in her temples public rituals of mourning, Mriga in recitations of the accomplishments of the great emperor, and Sanjesh, and the temple of the Green Lady, did what they can be expected to do in times of uncertainty. This continued for an appropriate time, and then things returned to "normal", save the increased interest in imperial politics, and concerns about the now leaderless nation at war, with enemies on all sides.

However, the tree of time grows despite the desire of men to take a moment to sort things out. With Mis  Ritual of the the 32nd unspeakable act closing in, the group decided to make another trip to Tumissa, and do a bit more business for Mrigas clan. They loaded up slaves with 10,000 K worth of paper and similar products, and headed out again on the Sakbe Roads. Mriga hired himself a personal body guard,  an clan Cousin who has a deep desire to join the 1st Imperial Legion. And Sanjesh had his Temple Guard and Suni her Pachi Lei interpreter slave. Mriga was also tasked with bringing a package back to Butrus, which he should pick up at his clan house in Tumissa.

 At the half way point, they stopped to rest, and encountered a Pachi Lei merchant, with a Chlen Cart worth of arrows, quarrels, bows, and spears, heading for Tumissa. Along with that came news that Moog legions, not skirmishers, but full legions, had been seen coming through the Chakas en route, apparently, to Tumissa. Through the interpreter slave they spoke with the merchant, who was interested in buying their slaves, and any others they could obtain. They wished to transfer as much of their cargo to slaves, to move it to Tumissa and the Legion of Tangled Root Eaters, before a major confrontation could take place, and the Chlen were proving to be too slow. They negotiated a deal, where in the Pachi Lei could rent their slaves,  for the next few days, for an outrageous sum, and the group would load their own cargo onto the cart. The also leased the use of the interpreter for the night.

In this way, the Pachi Lei acquired a small army of slaves, and the party found itself traveling at Chlen pace, along with several others who had made similar arrangements with the Pachi Merchants. There was a  couple from a high clan (purveyors in recreational powders, filters and other consumables), a Lower clan Carpet peddler, a Tinilaya lock and trap-smith, and a few others of little note. They also traded in a bit under one days travel for just over two.

The next day travel was slow, and they were passed by many travelers unburdened by the pace of the Chlen. The High Clan couple left the operations to their agent, and traveled well ahead of the rest of the party, and the smell of the Chlen. Suni took a position with her interpreter, also a bit ahead, not far behind the couples Palanquin. By afternoon, she and her slave had picked up a notable contact high from fumes wafting off the palanquin, but, other than some unintentional Public Displays of Affection between the two, there appeared to be no serious consequences. Until morning, when the Slave was found dead, apparently from a bad reaction.

There was immediate talk of Shmatla, which was reported by the Couples Agent to the couple. He was authorized to negotiate a simple settlement. However, mistaking the PDAs from the night before for a more long standing relationship between Suni and the Slave, he ended up seriously over estimating the slaves worth. Suni, who comes from a Merchant Clan, took every advantage, and played up her price, so that she cleared perhaps 5 times the slaves cost. The slave was dutifully buried just off the Sakbe  roads, in a manner fitting for such a skilled slave.

They also briefly encountered the Priest of Qon they had met earlier. He had, apparently, left the roads after their last encounter, and now returned, again crawling, and salting his wounds, and still trying to reach Tumissa. He had heard of the movements of the Moogs, but was not concerned. If he did not reach Tumissa before the conflict, he would have to simply wait for it to resolve. His preparation rituals were more important. So, they left him behind (even at a chlens pace, they were leaving him in the dust).

Upon arriving in the City, they split up. Sanjesh and the Tiny went off to locate the Pachi Lei in the foreign quarter, discussing Tiny Culture along the way.  Suni reported to her temple and Mriga hired local porters to bring his cargo of fine paper to this clan house. And there he met the Package.  The Clan placed him in charge of delivering their most talented young scribe, a girl of maybe 13, as a gift to the new emperor, as soon as one is chosen, after the Kólumejálim. This was, he was told, a prestigious honor for both the Girl, and the bearer of the gift. He and his Cousin had been chosen for the honor, and though they could turn it down, (and expect considerable loss of status in the clan) they would at least be expected to deliver the girl to Butrus, and pass her along to another who would take the job. 

Spoiler 
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Instructions.. Mouse over this text.. from here to the word end. The text is in white, so I think this will work..

Well, that is what he told the rest of the party. In fact, what he was told was that his girl was and Imperial Heir, far to young to compete in the Kólumejálim, it had been decided that, none the less, it would be very prestigious for the clan to bring her forth and reveal her in Bey Su, or Avanthar at the contest. It was also a concern that some agents in the competition might wish to eliminate her prior to her revealing, and that, during this time between emperors, she was most at risk.  As a result, they advised him to take an indirect route to the games. It was decided they would travel south to Jakalla. 

In through the out door.

Let's see if we can start to bring this up to date.

There has been some disunity in the party of late. As a ref, I could have encouraged a more unified party composition, clan, or temple affiliations..perhaps. But I didn't. So we have two followers of change, and one of stability, all with very different world views. Having brought some level of closure to the story arc concerning the property rights of to the cave, which has been at times dubbed "The Abundant Womb of Hrihayal", the parties common interests have ebbed.

They decided that it was now important to determine who holds title on the land with the back entry to the caves, so they went out to the site, and then climbed to the approximate location where the chimney exited the cave system.   They spent the evening of arrival looking, but found nothing.  Well, not nothing. Mriga found several small blue insects, known for healing properties, and not common to the area. This led him to also find a small, very old, very rusted, iron insignia, possibly dating back to the age of the dragon riders. It caused a bit of discussion.

That night, Suni suggested they all break open the wine, to celebrate being out camping again, but Sanjesh thought that this was a bit suspicious, as she had never suggested that she enjoyed the camping that much. He believed there might be skullduggery afoot, but, in keeping with his temples precepts that one doesn't pass up pleasure, he allowed the guards to imbibe. Which they did. What happened after dark could lead to spoilers, so,
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Instructions.. Mouse over this text.. from here to the word end. The text is in white, so I think this will work..

For Sanjesh's part, he tasked a slave to keep an eye on Suni for the night. 

For Suni's part, she had slipped a mickey into the wine. And the guards got woozey. And tended to fall asleep, on duty. But she also noticed that she was being watched, so she took the slave for her pleasure, and drugged the slave as well. 

Sneaking past the sleeping guard, she went to the chimney.. oh, she had found it earlier, but not informed the others. Suni had instructions from her temple. They had sent a team to do an recon mission into the caves, and they had not returned. She was supposed to destroy the evidence, and, if possible, determine what had happened. First she decided to climb down and take a look around. 

At the bottom of the chimney she felt a very strong flow of other planar energies. It was centered on the Stele, which, it appeared, was shifted slightly off it's base. There were smudges on the cave floor, and nearby rocks that indicated what had happened to the recon party, who had exceeded their authority , with disastrous results.  And she felt she was being watched. 

Suni exited, cleaned up any evidence, roused the guard on duty, and sent him to find his relief, and went to bed with precious little time to sleep. 

end spoiler.. for now..

The next day Sanjesh advised his guard to go hunting, and that they would only eat what they caught, as a penalty for drinking too much on duty. The group set out again to find the chimney, and, by noon, had found it. They also found an abandoned campsite, a ways away, low enough to see the fires of their own cave site, but far enough from the chimney that they may not have been related. The chimney, for its part, seemed undisturbed and sat in amoung the ruins of a very old, and quite simple foundation, as noted by Sanjesh, whose comes from a clan of builders. Suni expressed and interest in climbing down, and, based upon her agility, she was allowed to do so.
Spoiler
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Instructions.. Mouse over this text.. from here to the word end. The text is in white, 

Then a stranger approached her. The stranger from Tumissa, though he shimmered, as if ethereal. He explained that he wasn't really there, just a projection, made possible by the brooch she had been given to trigger communications. She asked if he could see what she was up to through the brooch, and he said that, yes, he could, though he usually didn't bother. (Suni, as you can imagine, was none to pleased with this information.) 

He informed her that these findings: increase in interplanar energy, the remnants of the earlier group, all increased his belief that the object he sought was, indeed, in the cave. And that it would be quite large. He also told her that she was not safe in the cave alone, and things were watching. He wasn't sure what they were, but he was sure they were there. 

End spoiler

Suni exited and reported that things were all normal in the cave, and the party packed up and returned to the base camp. 

Because there have been a few adventures since my last update, I will take them in small chunks. Expect more in a few days.

Wrapping up the Catch up...

Back in butrus, the party split up for their respective temples, clan houses. Arrangements were made to meet with the local recruiter for the Legion of Tangled Root Eaters, for whom they had papers with instructions for clearing up the transfer of lands. This was at the Palace of Glorious War. They were mildly surprised to learn that, while the Legions officers had left them cooling their heels in Tumissa - something they had attributed to typical Tsolyani bureaucracy - the legion had sent a runner to Butrus with instructions for the office to have a scout view the land, to determine what all the fuss was about. The legion had decided that, though there was potential there for prophet, the whole thing looked to be a pot of trouble looking to boil. Certainly it would demand resources they could not afford to redirect during these times of international intrigues. They would be happy to facilitate any process that, in fact, kept them out of it.

A meet with the Clan mistress of the Plume of White, an octogenarian, and a bit traditional, led to scheduling a meeting where all parties could fill out proper papers and authorizations and properly transfer all claims to the Temple of Hrihayel on a day that would be auspicious for such and action.

That meant a couple more days wait.  I think during this time they recieved a report from the cave site, which indicated things were going well, generally, though some workers lost, when the refugees who had come in after the Mrur attacks on the local villages were found to be performing sacrifices in the caves during their shift work. The administrator they left felt this might lead to a general lack of discipline, and, who knows what else..  So he dismissed all the refugees and sent them back to their homes.

At the last minute, on the day for transferring the property, Sanjesh decided that it might be good form to dress out his 20 Guards and give the Clan Mistress of Plume of White a ceremonial retinue, in addition to her normal attendants.  The march and ritual (civil) went smoothly, and after escorting her back, the game went into hiatus.

I did let them know that this simple act, had, according to reliable sources, prevent some nefarious actions that may or may not have been instigated by the Ito clan from taking place. I had hoped to end the season with a big fight and a cliff hanger, but I couldn't see the opposition as being so crass as to send a large group against the Plume of White in the middle of the city.

An attempt at elucidation of the non players..

There are other things that happened in this narrative that I have kept secret, some from you, dear reader, some from the party, some from parts of the party. I don't want to include them here, as my players do read this.. which I think is good. But it is sad that the other readers can't..  so, here are some spoilers..
Spoiler
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Instructions.. Mouse over this text.. from here to the word end. The text is in white, so I think this will work..

Most of my secrets so far involve Suni, who, being a preistess of  Grugánu: Knower of Spells, Black Sword of Doom, and Reader of the Incantations of the Dark, is prone to them.

First, in Tumissa, she was approached by a stranger the first night when returning to her temple, and told that he represents a party interested in an item they think might be in the caves.. And that they might offer assistance in return for considerations if that object is found. He didn't know what kind of assistance she might need, so he gave her a brooch, which she could wear, as a signal that she would like to contact them, and request aid. He then stepped back into the shadows and, quite literally, disappeared..

Second, Quite a while back, Suni passed the information on the chimney egress from the caves back to her temple.  They sent a team to do their own investigations into the Stele and the big round room. They have not reported back. We shall learn more of them soon.

Third, not all the villagers who were lost were actually sacrificed. A few are gone missing in the caves..We MAY learn more about them later.. 

Probably enough for now. All I can think of anyway...

End spoiler

Back to Butrús

Well, with an agreement in hand the party decided to set out for Butrús again, but, they were now concerned about their shadow. When they left town they encountered a guard on the Sákbe roads who simply would not accept their papers. It appeared they were being intentionally delayed. Never ones to plow through what they can go around, they began to look for a means to travel on the second tier of the roads. They sought a Patron who, by virtue of their clan status alone, would intimidate Road Guards and keep them honest. Mriga found one through his temple and that Grey Robed Priest.

The Party was taken on as guards for a high ranking Priest of Thúmis ( a different priest, one from a higher clan, and with higher status in the Temple). He was travelling south anyway, and felt that having a party of soldiers (well, Hriháyal guards are soldiers, in some sense) would be wise, considering the threat of Mu'ugalavyian troops encroaching in the Chákas. As a high noble he took his party up onto the second tier of the Sákbe road, and, again as a high noble, no one much said boo about it. They were advised that travel could be dangerous.

They pressed on without much delay for the first third of the journey, where they reached a guard tower who reported that no traffic was advised beyond that point. There was a confirmed reports of Mu'ug troops on the road the night before, and a dispatch had been sent to Tumíssa to bring a cohort or two of the Tangled root eaters to investigate. But owing to their patrons status, the road guards dared not actually forbid travel. When it appeared likely the troop would continue despite the warning, the guards offered to augment their parties defenses with an extra ten men. At least some of these men were, apparently, members of the Ito clan, though that is not uncommon on the Sákbe roads near Butrús..

Not trusting the offer, the party elected to press on alone. At approximately the mid point between the two cities they found Tsolyáni bodies, merchants, outside the guard tower, which was locked. There were also bodies of a couple road guards, As best as they could tell, the merchants had either arrived late, or left early, and been ambushed on the road. The guard had responded, and also died. It was probably not the whole caravan, some of whom may have escaped and were probably the ones referred to as confirmed reports. And the Sákbe guard tower gates were locked on the second tier.

Climbing down to the lower tier, they found the gates open, but the stairs to the second tier of the Tower locked. And the far gate on the second tier was also locked. Since they were all barred from the inside, it implied that there was someone there, but no one answered. So they decided to breach a bit of protocol, and climb up to the third tier and look around. On the lovely mosaic tiles of the Royal top tier, they saw a blood trail, that led to the guard house door. Which was locked.
 Now, that was too much to ignore, so Mriga decided to try using levitation to manipulate the locks – really just cross bars – to get inside. However, all he achieved was a ringing head ache, as the guard houses all have some level of magical warding against such chicanery. Live and learn. At the top of the Guard house is a watch tower, and someone suggested that there had to be one last door into the structure there. So Suni scaled the guard house and found a door unlocked. Inside she found an imperial messenger, dead from a wound by a Mu'ugalavyian' crossbow. He had managed to retreat to safety, but was not able to survive his wounds.

The party wisely wrapped the body, without too much snooping, and prepared to leave, when they heard foot pads running from a distance, growing louder. Going out, they saw another imperial messenger, approaching. He slowed when he saw them, wary. They shouted that there were Mu'ugs on the road, as he drew near. They saw him evaluate the group, and then, double his speed as he headed to Tumíssa.

Arriving in Butrús, they turned the body of the messenger over to the local officer of the AOL. There were lots of question, but, it appeared nothing had been disturbed on the body, and so, they were released, but advised they may be sought for further questioning.

Still More from the Campaign

I am beginning to understand why I have been avoiding this. A lot happened in the last few adventures, though their wasn't a great deal of activity.

The next day they all paid a visit to the temporary billets of the Tangled root eaters, and made an attempt to gain audience with the Kerdu, G-Gum-Shoggu, or other officer who could make their claim to the land outside Butrús stronger. Their basic story was noted by the officer of the watch, and he promised to move it on to his superiors. They should wait for a reply. So they cooled their heels, did some more sight seeing, and discovered they were being followed. They set a trap, but must have spooked the tail, because it disappeared.

Eventually, they gained audience with the Quartermaster, who had been authorized to deal with the matter. They made their case,

Point 1, the tangled root eaters, a most honourable and devoted legion of the Empire had, with good faith, transferred title of the land in question to the Plume of White clan, and this arrangement had been seen by both as noble and in the best interests of each party and the empire. But for the bumbling of a low level scribe, that would be the end of the story, and none of the parties has ever shown sign to regret the decision.

Point 2, The party bringing the objection (the Ito Clan) to the long established transfer, though, undoubtedly doing so only in the interest of protecting the Petal Thrones deep devotion to perfection in all things of Tsolyánu, and most certainly abhorring, as the Emperor must, any flaw that might stain the imperial record-keeping.. can be assumed to have no other interests in the property in question.

Point 3, Any outcome contrary to the long running understanding can only reflect negatively upon the Empire, the Palace of the Realm, The clans involved, and the Tangled root eaters, for they have allowed this error not only to occur, but to fester, which can only lead to doubt in the standing of all claims of title, and from thence, in the edicts of the empire.. doubts which the AOL would, reasonably, be expected to erase, and probably with blood.

Point 4, Abolition of the long running understanding would would be inconvenient for all involved, as the Clan of Plume of White would probably expect recompense, to include interests, going back a approximately 1000 years, and the Tangled Root eaters would be saddled with land they no longer found useful to their mission. The expenses for the Tangled root eaters would be especially inconvenient, during a time of war, when monies might more readily be spent on armour, and training.

What the players didn't know, but would learn, is that some of the delay that had given them so much free time in Tumíssa was to allow the TRE to send a scout to investigate the property before a final decision. The Quartermaster and the Tirrikámu had learned enough to be very suspicious of the potential hazards that might be associated with laying claim to the unnatural caverns. They chose not be be distracted in war time with a place where the dead walk, without even the calling of Sárku.. to assist them. Better to leave that, in fact, to the temples to sort out.

So they authorized the deal that our party was suggesting. They would have an officer in Butrús with authority, meet with representatives of the Clan of Plume of White, and the temple of Hriháyal, and the former two would both sign over rights to the later, so that no matter the outcome of any challenge, the final owner would be the Temple, and it would all be completed before Avanthár would have any reason to be upset by the errors in paperwork. The will of the Emperor would thus be done.

The learned one other thing from all this. The bureaucrat whose name was associated with this error had, despite his considerable rise in rank, a reputation for similar, minute errors in paperwork that created the potential for challenges to long standing documents.

note: if any one is new to the story, and wants to go back and find the beginning, I have tagged all the narrative posts as campaign..

Back to our featured presentation

Well, time to start drafting that update..

I am thunderstruck when I realize the last post on the campaign was in March. It ended as this.

They heard rumours of Mu'ugalavyá scouts and small skirmishes being fought in Do Cháka, up near Tumíssa. The Bulk of the Legion of Tangled Root eaters, a Páchi Lei legion, was currently up in Tumíssa, operating the defenses against said Mu'ugalavian incursions. As players are wont to do, they took an end run around my Jájgi plot line, and decided to approach the Legion, to sort simply replicated the original purchase agreement, or make a deal to purchase the land directly, if the courts should determine that they still owned it.

I have drafted enough already to break this into two or three posts, and am nearly caught up with the narrative, so without further ado..

...The players outfitted a small excursion to Tumíssa. And figured they would do some business on the side, in part as a cover for the real mission. That didn't actually keep anyone from following, as their opposition in this affair is both numerous and dedicated. Due to my neglecting to bring my maps, I over estimated the travel time from Butrús to Tumíssa. I explained this away by heavy traffic and heavy security, what with the harvest season starting, and Mu'ugs in the Chákas. There were some casual encounters along the way, but things were mostly quiet.. again, due to heavy traffic and heavy security. They did meet a Priest of Qón who was crawling.. as a means of mentally preparing to fight demons.. to Tumíssa. He was a dedicated demon fighter.. and an Ascetic, and a bit of a crazy, by the parties reckoning. Still, he invited them to his temple to research the Goddess of the river.. and possibly related matters. The party figured he might take a month to get there, at his current speed.

On to Tumíssa. , They traveled as a Merchant Caravan transporting fine papers from Mriga's Clan for sale in the big city, and Sánjesh brought his Hriháyal Guard for protection. Once in the city they did a bit of touristing, finding two places of great interest. The first was the Hall of Cool Air.. Which Mriga returned to repeatedly. The other was the Avenue of Stele, where they found another stele which seemed markedly similar to the one in the cave. It had been unearthed during the construction of the Lushman canal, and, as they had learned from other sources, that event appears to have coincided with an earlier renaissance in worship of the Goddess of the Turín river. Sánjesh stopped by his temple to try to toady a bit with Mis hiRakádi, and her entourage, but Mis was in a state of seclusion in preparation for the Ritual of Ecstatically Traveling to the Isles and Back again. He did find her protégé Kaiyor, and she invited the party to a the special holiday festival that were in store for the evening. Mriga nervously bowed out, returning to his own temple to do research, But Suni and Mriga attended. As it happened, the festival was a feast, more than an orgy, which brought in all the most exotic foods that could be had at the beginning of harvest, for the gluttony of the temple faithful. (It was noted by Suni, that there might be a correlation between the nature of the festival, and the rather severe diet I had place upon myself about a week prior... suni is wise, I suspect, as I was rather obsessed with food at the time..) The party goers (well Suni, I think) ordered a plate to go to be delivered to the studious Mriga... who had discovered that the Priest of Thumis from chapter 2 was doing research in the facility on the Stele they had all discovered in the caves..

The next day they all paid a visit to the temporary billets of the Tangled root eaters, and made an attempt to gain audience with the Kerdu, G-Gum-Shoggu, or other person who could make their claim to the land outside Butrús stronger. Their basic story was noted by the officer of the watch, and he promised to move it on to his superiors. They should wait for a reply. So they cooled their heels, did some more sight seeing, and discovered they were being followed. They set a trap, but must have spooked the tail, because they disappeared.

Playing catch up

Well, last month I failed to make a post. For unexplained reasons, the month blew by. We did play, and I will try to bring this up to date. This first post is several weeks overdue and will be sparse on details, I am afraid.

With the midnight ritual droning on, the party began to explore again. They returned to the halls near the library, and found the ranking priests offices, and quarters. They entered and found another copy of the book, an older copy, which they pilfered. And eventually found another exit but it led down, not to the sewers, but to the Tsu'urum. It was locked, and chained. They left Suni to pick the lock, and went back into hiding, and awaited a report of success. She was successful, though it took a while, but she made did not alarm anyone in the process. She made a furtive effort to explore below on her own, but she had no lighting. She returned for the group, and they escaped to the level of the red hat Ditlána of Xkcd. They emptied into a chamber of Thúmis, with, apparently, only one exit. And, to their surprise, it appeared to be guarded, or at least light could be seen, and footsteps heard. (Here I will say that I was unprepared for this eventuality. I had not expected them to go this way, so I went to Dave's Mapper, and started mapping randomly. They knew they needed to find a way up to the sewers, or perhaps to underworld temples to one of their Gods, preferably Hriháyal or Grokking.. And these were both Northish. Trapped in this room, they searched for secrets, and found a hidden exit North. Ksárul must be favoring them.

They then wandered aimlessly, finding old clan houses, and clan house temples. They managed, by pure luck, to avoid a number of hastily justified encounters, simply by choosing the right exit from areas. They nearly stumbled on some items that had surprised me. But, it was surprisingly uneventful until they found a Clan House for a Clan that follow Sárku. There they disturbed the Mrúr Guards. Here they used a wedge like object to jam a door, and fled. This led them to a ladder, which led them to the surface, in the slave pits of a slaver clan, just north of the north wall. Here they found an Ahoggyá slave keeper, who found their predicament amusing. And took a liking to them. So, he made a deal with them to ransom the group in exchange for slaves, and Sanjesh went to purchase some while the rest remained hostage. The Ahoggyá held up his bargain, and when the slaves were delivered, the party was released.

They took the books to Mriga's clan, paper-makers, and scribes, and set the resources of the clan to work copying and comparing them. That was the end of the game session, and the next week was largely book keeping, as the players waited for the copies, and did research.

They were notified by the temple of Hriháyal that the purchase agreement for the land was being contested by the Ito Clan, who had unearthed a 1000 year old flaw in the title paperwork. Ito's had dispatched a messenger to Avanthár as well. They learned that the current owners of the land, the Plume of White, had purchased it from the Tangled Root Eaters at that time, and they had received it as a land grant at their formation, approximately 1400 years ago. They also learned that, the bureaucrat who had made the error was believed to still be roaming about, having earned the prestigious status of Jájgi. It was suggested that they try to find him, and clear up the error.

They heard rumors of Mu'ugalavyá scouts and small skirmishes being fought in Do Cháka, up near Tumíssa. The Bulk of the Legion of Tangled Root eaters, a Páchi Lei legion, was currently up in Tumíssa, operating the defenses against said Mu'ugalavian incursions. As players are wont to do, they took an end run around my Jájgi plot line, and decided to approach the Legion, to sort simply replicated the original purchase agreement, or make a deal to purchase the land directly, if the courts should determine that they still owned it.

More in a day or two...

Stuck in a box

Backing up a moment, Our heroes convinced the Swamp Folk to assist them to get into the sewers inside the walls again. The Swamp Folk agreed to take them down into the restricted level of the Tsu'urum to lead them under the walls. They knew of an old Clan house there of the Great Stone Clan, which contained a labyrinth, which led, among other places, to a passage. The party would have to travel in darkness, so as not to attract what might reside in the labyrinth. But the Swamp folk, who are sensitive to “wrongness”, knew a way through the labyrinth, and would guide them.

So, hand in hand, they all made their way, quickly and silently as possible, through the maze, with their non human guides leading and taking the rear. Suni toyed with the idea of detecting foes, but, decided not to risk attracting attention with a spell, even a psychic one. The came out, and were given directions to a room that would lead back up into the sewer levels, and were left to their task. They were advised not to try to take this way back out.

Once back in the sewers, they moved downstream until they found a junction, just above the SW gates, leading to the river. They split into groups, to try to avoid looking conspicuous, but, somehow, they managed to attract the guards notice. Still, the guards let them pass without question – there was nothing technically illegal about being in the sewers, even if their arrival from that direction seemed odd. Technically, the guards were there to keep people out, not interfere with people who were already inside. So the party moved back upstream to the north, and eventually found the sewers that should put them below the Temple of Avánthe from the Red Hat Ditlána of the mid 1700s. And with much searching, they found the trigger to open a wall, and go in.

They found themselves in a supply room, off two converging halls, with the sound of chanting coming from each hallway. The halls were empty, and they knew it was getting on in the day. They assumed that rituals were in session and they decided to take advantage of this to look around. Down the right hallway they found three doors, two apparently private quarters, one a communal quarters, and a dead end, leading to UN-excavated space. Down the left they found Lavatories, and an office. Both directions seemed to flank the main ritual hall with doors that probably led inside.

Further left they found the smell of cooking, and, accidentally ran into slaves carrying Hot water to ritual baths, but the slaves were too busy to take notice of which priests were in the hall way. They found a side passage that led to administrative rooms and, in that section found the library. It took a little time to figure out the organization, but they did locate the book “A history of the flood of 643 and the appearance and disappearance of the Irriguous Dead”. They purloined it, and a few random others, and beat back to the storage room. Unfortunately, they still had not found the mechanism to open the door from the inside. And the ritual ended, so they hid back in the stair well. Slaves brought ritual paraphernalia into storage, and left and the halls outside became much more active. Another thorough search of the room, and still no mechanism. It was late, and eventually, the halls quieted down again. The midnight ritual to bring back the light began, with a skeleton crew of junior priests and priestesses, and the ranking members retired. A quick journey into the hallways found “Silence, I slumber”, Méshqu plaques on various doors. And time ran out for the session...

Into the underworld

Well, The party was given instructions to find a clan house for a Pé Chói liquor trader in the foreign quarter. Given a primer on Vintner clans from the eastern empire, they were expected to make passable conversation with the clan elder and then ask to see the Brandy store rooms. A code phrase was given, they they were to give to the keeper of casks and this would get them access to the underworld. All went according to plan. They were left alone, to try the brew they had requested, and when they picked up the bottle, the cellar wall slid silently open. Down steep spiral stairs, and they found themselves with a very small bottle of a vintage called Orange Silken Treacle, in a sub-cellar beneath the foreign quarter. They found no obvious way out, but Suni looked for a place to set the bottle again. Once located and used as expected, (and balanced to offset a small portion of the bottle they had tasted (it wasn't actually very good, in their opinion – overly sweet, heady, syrupy)), another door opened into the sewers.

The sewers under Butrús are actually fairly well populated by her “sub” citizenry. They were fortunate enough to not open the door onto a party of people, or others, having failed to find the peephole that would tell them the coast is clear. The sewers are two levels down into the Tsu'urum, and serve as the main streets for the upper two levels, which are used and they are home to Nakomé, poor lineages of low foreigners, and the idle, lost, or dispossessed youth of the city. At least the areas they were in for the moment were considered part of the city, if only the foreign quarter, and patrolled. They stood out, as the interlopers that they were. But they went unmolested towards the main lines. When they reached the first gates, under the great walls of the city, they were told to contact a specific guard, when he was alone, present him with a token from the temple Hriháyal, and he would let them out. But when they arrived they found 6 guards at the gate, at the far end of a large chamber where several sewer lines met, and which served as a bit of a sewer life market place. As they waited to see what would happen next, they were approached by a young entrepreneur who, suspecting they were after the wealthy lower levels, offered to help them procure proper papers for access.

The sewers mark the lowest level of the Tsu'urum that were accessible to the masses of Brutus without specific authorization from the city government. A mere couple hundred years ago, Butrús had suffered an unpleasant level of uninvited attention from below. Whole families had disappeared from invasions that came from their own sub-cellars. Rumors of Shunned ones and Ssú raced through the streets and troops were sent down to secure the Tsu'urum. They chose the level of the sewers, which had been saved through the past two Ditlána, as the line of demarcation. Access below would be strictly controlled, under penalty of impalement, or worse, I suppose if some force less friendly than the city or tomb guard caught you. Above the Sewers were two Ditlána of underworld, in more active use by the Temples and clans who valued their traditional sites for rituals and observances.

As they spoke with this man, they noticed that four of the guards at the gate had taken notice of the group. The dealer, eager to avoid “Imperial entanglements”, offered a to take them to a safer site. They agreed to hire him as a guide, if he could lose the guards. Back up the sewers they all went, their new guide stopping, occasionally, to negotiate, (and allow the guards to catch up, to maintain a negotiation advantage..). It became clear to Mriga that he was also trying to make sure the party was lost, so he made mental notes of the route. Eventually they came to terms of two K per day, assuming they all survived, and considerably less if they all died.. and their new guide led them to a clan house that hid them while the guards passed. They then doubled back to the “plaza” and the guide negotiated passage through the gates, saving the party the necessity of using their token, which might now allow them to exit later by this gate. Good move..

The party passed under the City walls and out side the current city to what was, several Ditlána ago, the sewers under the old foreign quarter. Here they found evidence of whole clans, and Nakomé, whose social status was in question because of the current hostilities with Yán Kór, and a few social groups who are less social to the humans above. Specifically, they were aware of Pygmy Folk, Ahoggyá, and a clan group of Swamp Folk. They initially avoided contact with these groups. The directions they had been given were based upon re entry to the city at the SE sewer gates. But the SE gate was now guarded by a dozen guards, far more then they had been told to expect. The party had come down with only two bearer slaves, so the odds, should they try to force their way past, would be 4 to one against. They began to seek an alternative.

Though Suni had reason to believe the Pygmy folk would know of alternative entry points, Sánjesh and Mriga felt they would not be trust worthy, and might be hostile. They elected to send their new guide to speak to the Swamp Folk first, as they seemed most likely to be warm to humans. They offered simply a gift of one bottle of Orange Silken Treacle, and the chance to socialize and gossip with some outsiders. Surprisingly, this worked. They were invited in, and spent some time gossiping with the Swamp folk, They learned that the guards in this portion of the Sewers and at the gates were more numerous and more active as a result of rumors of Mu'ugalavyian activities in the Chákas. The Party told them a small amount about the Mrúr activities, and the subject of the Goddess of the Turín river came up, as Sánjesh thought perhaps, being water dwellers, they might have insights or know legends. The party learned that the last known manifestations of the Goddess were a up in the area of the Lushman Canal project, and the Swamp folk had heard of these drowned undead, and several of the strange “bounties” that they had encountered emanating from the caves (mushrooms, Étla, etc) had been noted at that time. This was 2000 years ago, and the dates coincided with the alleged authorship of the book they were seeking. As it turned out, no one much liked the Orange Silken Treacle..

It was agree that the swamp folk would show the group a way into the Sewers under the city.

Chnéhl, the final episode

Our Heroes set out in pursuit of the Chnéhl. They opted to push hard during daylight, but not to press on at night, both because of the inherent risk, and because it would hamper tracking efforts. They are fortunate that the escaping Chnéhl decided to slow down once they put some Tsán betwixt themselves and their hunters, because, if they had simply pressed the advantage, they were faster than the party by a significant enough margin that the delays of tracking would have allowed them to escape. But it quickly became apparent that the Chnéhl did not have a plan for exactly where they were going, and they lacked the skills to disappear stealthily into the forest.

Day after day the party closed the gap. I can't say this was extremely exciting, but the drudge of daily tracking tests was probably realistic. It didn't become exciting until they they closed the gap to an hour or two separation. It was at that time that they discovered they were in the territory of a pack of Feral Rényu, and the forest became alive with yipping calls back and forth, as the critters tracked them, while they tracked the Chnéhl. This was the Chnéhl's end game, but our heroes were having none of it. They decided that, if the Rényu attacked, they would deal with it, but if not, they would give them no reason to do so.

They focused, single minded, upon the Chnéhl, and closed to within sight, sending the resting Chnéhl running, Bigfoot-esque through the undergrowth. A couple of well placed, drugged arrows took down the first, and Sánjesh, ordered three spear men to stand guard. Luck was with them, and a moment later, perhaps 50 yards hence, they dropped the second one. (Their animal handlers advised them that this was certainly good fortune, because if they had split up, the chance that the Rényu would attack one group or the other would have gone up substantially.)

Some applied healing skills, and drugs, and they had recaptured Mis's valued ritual subjects. They were kept heavily drugged for the trip home, as the Slaves, really, a bit over burdened by the task, carted the glorious prizes back. They decided to retrace their route, rather than risk a random encounter in uncharted forest, while heavily burdened. The trip back was laborious, but uneventful, until they got back above the tree line on Silver mountain. From their they could see the remaining smoke trails rising from the river village that had rescued Sánjesh and company during the unprecedented summer flooding so long ago. Our heroes quickly surmised that the Semétl of Mrúr were probably afoot again. They made as quickly as possible for the Camp at the Cave entrance.

Upon arriving they found more refugees were streaming in. Fewer, and mostly children, capable of outrunning the Mrúr, who had, this time, killed everything they could catch. The river village had been less defensible in many ways, sitting between the river and steep banks. The Mrúr had entered from two sides. The young man who had accompanied Sánjesh and the Hriháyal guards during the initial search for Mis did survive, though he feared he might well be an orphan as the village was, to the best of his knowledge, his entire clan. He reported that the village had taken strongly to the new practices of the goddess of the river, adding them to their worship of Belkhánu, and believing, perhaps, that their might be more to their lives than simple escape into an honorable death, in time.

After a rest, the great Chnéhl were loaded, along with what was left of harvests from the cave, and the party, onto a Chlén cart for a long, slow, and hopefully relaxing trip into Butrús. Signs of occupation had begun to return to the village by the Sákbe Road gate, and the guards were complaining about extra duties, now that there were reports of rogue Semétl of Mrúr, along with the wet ones.

In Butrús Sánjesh received his promotion to Tirrikámu, though he was not given a command, as yet. This was in part because there was none to be had, and, in part, because his independent operations might prove more profitable. The party collected and divided the bounty, paid off the labor, sold the Gerednyá, and other critters they had acquired along the way, visited their temples and clans, and took a break. Well, they used the time to better themselves.

Suni gave most of her earnings to her clan, and went to study with her temple. This will give her better access to clan resources, when the time comes. Mriga kept his personal wealth, as this venture had not been funded by his clan. He also went to his temple to study. The temple of Grugánu was taken by his tales, and he has been tasked to record what he can of the cave, which has tentatively been title “The Silver Womb of Hriháyal” as his labor of reverence for his advancement to second circle. Sánjesh was assigned training for his new rank with the Temple guard. Mis packed up her entourage and her Chnéhl and headed for Tumíssa, to complete her variation on the ritual of the 32^nd Unspeakable act. I can not tell you how that went, however. But before she left, she gave the party a few pointers and instructions on how to access the underworld of Butrús, and, if they were lucky, obtain the book they had been seeking in the temple of Avánthe about a few weeks before.

Quick campaign update pt 3

Now our heroes had decided that the whole Chnéhl adventure was getting both dangerous, and frustrating. Suni had nearly been killed twice, and their targets had eluded them several times. They climbed back to the lair. The Beast handlers believed that the Chnéhl might have abandoned the area, but they found no sign to support the theory. They had brought along two of the mountain Hmélu to use to drug their prey, but the plan this time was to use zoic domination on heavily drugged animals and walk them right up into the cave. It was a matter of dosing them correctly to keep them alive just long enough to get them into position. The set up a defensive perimeter at the high camp late in the evening. But the night was not quiet.

During the first watch the party was attacked by Shánu'u, the giant distant cousins of the Hláka. They struck from above, and attempted, primarily to separate the party from the Hmélu. Overall, it didn't go well for the Shánu'u, losing nearly half their number, but they injured a few of the parties guards, and made off with one Hmélu. One Shánu'u was captured. In the morning the party decided to follow through with the plan with the remaining Hmélu.

The Hmélu, drugged and ensorcelled, made it to just outside the cave, where some young Chnéhl cautiously approached to investigate. They prodded it with sticks a couple times, then bashed it once or twice, celebrated their hunt and dragged the poor creature inside. Our heroes waited an appropriate time for the drugs to do their work. Then they cautiously approached the lair.

Exploring the lair they found the young Chnéhl had all succumbed to the drug, and the mothers were, if not unconscious, incapacitated. But they did not find the alpha males. Searching they found a larder, and a back exit. Now, it seemed reasonable that, under normal conditions, the Alpha males would have been the first to eat, so they deduced that they had not been in the cave. No idea where they might have been. The high camp was currently only occupied by the slaves. But the Chnéhl normally won't attack a group larger than themselves, and there should only be two, while the slaves numbered ten. Our party decided to wait in the lair and hope the Alpha males returned. In the morning, they did.

A single slave head rolled in through the cave entrance. I don't who, but someone suggested responding in kind, and the party killed and decapitated one of the females. Her head was tossed out. Another slave head rolled in, and then nothing. More waiting. Eventually, our heroes came out, to find that the Alpha males had left. The tracks lead off around the mountain, counter clockwise. They found one more slaves head, in the bushes, simply discarded.

And that brings us to this week's game, I think. I may have missed something, but I hope not. Their plan is to press on after the Chnéhl and bring this to an end.

Quick Campaign Update Pt 1

Our heroes spent the next day deciding what to do with the captured Chnéhl. They considered releasing a couple of the smaller males in order to keep the local family group alive, in an effort at herd management. They had them all drugged, for easy compliance, and trundled all but two off on a Chlén cart to collect bounties from Mis. They then went off into the local woods to look at the traps they set up. Then they discovered the tracks. The Chnéhl they had captured were not the largest Chnéhl in the area during the fight. It appeared that two other Chnéhl had sat in the woods and watched. Had they simply realized the attack was doomed, or had they actually used our heroes to eliminate their potential rivals.

Our heroes decided to make another attempt on the Chnéhl. They climbed up to the area of the Chnéhl lair looking for Mountain Hmélu, which they planned to drug, in the hopes that the Chnéhl would catch the weakened beasts, eat them, and, thus also be drugged. In the first attempt they found a group of Hmélu just off the lairs entrances. (The Chnéhl lair has three obvious entrances, in close proximity..). They spent a good deal of time trying to close on the Hmélu close enough to get a shot off. Despite her perfect balance, Suni couldn't seem to make a stealth roll, and repeatedly startled the flock. She had the weapon with the shortest range, and Mriga, who is not adept at this kind of thing, controlled one of the Beast handlers with an Atle Atle, and the longest range. So he moved to a decent range, and waited, aiming, for several turns while Suni struggled on a slope of loose gravel. In the mean time, Sanjesh had noticed some of the Chnéhl females watching from the cave mouths. Finally the Hmélu had enough and bolted, so Suni quit trying to be sneaking and gave chase. Mriga, who had been aiming forever, found his foot asleep, and tumbled backwards when he went to throw, firing wide. Suni managed to tag one with a well tossed dagger, but she didn't really have time to savor the moment, because she found that she had come to close to the lair. The two big Chnéhl roared forth from the lair and attacked her, and, nearly killed her in the next few moments. But the others leapt up to attack, and, again badly outnumbered, the Chnéhl wisely fled back into the lair. Our heroes scooped up Suni and retreated to their high camp. They prepared for what they expected to be a night on Defense, but the Chnéhl never came down.

The next day they went up, hoping perhaps the Chnéhl had taken the Hmélu and thus been too stuperous to press the attack. They saw no sign of the Chnéhl, and tracked the blooded Hmélu along the mountain side. Eventually they found the flock, and the wounded Hmélu down. Stringing out their slaves as herders, and moving up the flanks and ahead, the party managed to capture, if I recall, the entire flock. They also discovered that the downed Hmélu was dead, but it had attracted some local fauna. Curled up near the carcass were two lskjdlfj that had succumbed to the drugs in its system. The party used nets and sticks to bundle them up and cart them off as well. All in all, an excellent hunt.

Quick campaign update pt 2

I don't recall what prompted the group to drop that thread for a couple days and go back into the caves. I suspect I tempted them, as they discovered from the workers who were going down, that there was a form of grass growing on the cave floor. Entry added mystery on mystery, as they also discovered the cave had developed a weather pattern all it's own, with a minor monsoon season every 20-30 hours, and thunder and lightening. The eco-system was cycling at an accelerated rate, with a full crop of grass and such growing, withering and regrowing each day. The players packed up an entry team and made their way upstream, investigating the apparent source of the daily weather cycle.

Again, they found themselves up in the area of the Stele and the temple like room. Here they were attacked by Dlaqó, who were quickly run off when one of the Beast handlers used Zoic Domination to control the leader and he was hacked to death. The carcass, they decided, would just attract other critters, so they dumped it down the deep hole across the way. (Remember that hole.. did I mention it? The players have expressed the belief that it is the pathway created by a HUGE Aqáà?. This made our more conservative player a bit nervous about attracting much worse than more Dlaqó.) They also found a chimney, and Suni scuttled up it, past Hu bat guano, and an apparent hu bat nesting site directly out to the surface. She noted the location, which was outside the area that Mis had agreed to purchase, and came back down. That was significant, because, in theory, they no longer controlled all access to the tunnels.

The next morning the Suni and Sanjesh took ropes and went down the Aqáà hole. At the bottom they found a shallow water feature and a large, round room, filled with a slightly unnaturally persistent darkness. They found a large room, with 6 large doors, More or less equally spaced and three small doors clustered up on a dias. They had no tools for opening the doors, but one small door was slightly ajar, and they could see a white tiled room on the other side. They could not get it open. They also found three platforms on the dias, and pried one up. It created sparks, and a bit of ozone. The others were trod upon and they lit up. Then they heard a low grating rumble, and the sound of water draining down an opening. They also found that the water was quickly emptied of thousands of small frogs up onto the dias where they stood. Sanjesh caught one, to take out for further study. When the climbed off the diase, the water on the floor had gone down, and the sludge was a bit thicker. They made their way back to the ropes and climbed out.

Sometime on the exit Sanjesh discovered his frog had escaped.

When Life Hands you Étla

I seem unable to create a proper sense of danger in my players.

Faced with a writhing mass of Étla, they retreated to the surface, then used the Chnéhl cage as a filter to keep the largest at bay (actually, the largest couldn't manage the stairs). They then set about capturing the smaller ones that came up and made crab of dinner. Like the water, the Étla carried a drug effect, a mild hallucinogenic, euphoric effect. Someone came up with a plan to make money. They set up a simple processing facility, and smoked all the Étla they could manage to capture. Suni took this to Butrús to find a market. En-route, she came to the village at the Sákbe road gates and witnessed a crowd, piously taking in the instructions of a small cluster of dead children.. Concerning, but not enough to keep her from finding a vendor in Butrús who gave her a big contract for all the wunder-crab she could deliver. With the money from the initial batch, she hired more guards, a Chnéhl specialist, and bought a few more slaves. She also contracted a Chlén cart to come to the camp. None of this was what I had in mind when I envisioned a writhing mass of Étla rising from the cave floor..

The Étla processing attracted meat eaters, so they moved the processing farther from the camp. As the harvest declined, Dlákolel came in force and raided the processing site. The Slaves were brought back to camp, the processing abandoned, and the focus became, once again, fortifying the camp. They left the Chnéhl expert and others to oversee this, and Mriga, Suni, and one Beast handler took 10 guards and 10 slaves into the cave to free Sanjesh. The vast majority of the remaining Étla had long since run out of food. The remaining Étla foraged among their carcasses, and the cave reeked. Slaves swept away the remains, and Guards drove off whatever seemed bold enough to approach. They found Sanjesh, a pink Étla free zone, and hit him with a charge from their excellent ruby eye. They lost one slave on the way back to a Haqél that was, surprisingly, in the river. They also encountered Hú bats near the entrance. It has become a ritual now for the players to eat every thing that they find in the caves, so they caught a Hú bat. It was only {meh..}

Leaving the caves, Sanjesh returned to Butrús to see Mis, the Hriháyal high priestess. This was due to a mis communication, but it worked out well. First, Sanjesh got the reward that Mis had hinted would come his way. Several times. He also told her about Mriga and Suni's attempts to get into the library of Avánthe, and Mis suggested that they probably needed to go into the underworld. She offered to help get them in. He was also promoted, with the recommendation of his boss, and the support of Mis.

Back at the Camp, Mriga, Suni and the Chnéhl experts went off in search of Chnéhl. They found a trio, not the ones they sought, but ones from the local group. Someone used a sleep spell, and then the beast handler used zoic domination to control one Chnéhl. They escorted it down to camp. It was the idea of the Chnéhl expert that, owing to the strong community bond of the Chnéhl, the others would come to its aid. They finished fortifications, set a few traps, finished pits, and waited.

The next session was a miniatures battle. Our heroes, vs a large group of Chnéhl . The heroes were pretty well defended, with several pit traps, a low thrush wall, and various traps in the woods. The Chnéhl approached at dusk, but triggered a trap, and then waited until nearly dawn to attack. This is easier to tell with a few pics, so, I have some eye candy. Note that Chnéhl miniatures are not real common. I tried to find a decent proxy, but on short notice, I ended up using a bunch oft mage knight figures of werewolves, and bears and such.. It worked, but I am still trying to find a decent Chnéhl proxy

The Chnéhl approached fairly cautiously, until they got to the wall. They knew quickly that they were out numbered, and showed a surprising sophistication in attempting to capture Suni, rather than drive deep into the camp. They lost a leader into a pit trap, and that was a major hindrance throughout. They finally managed to grab Suni, and pass her over the wall to the other leader, but it was too late. The beast handler took a contingent and blocked their way back to the woods. The leader and his companions wrestled Suni to the ground, and placed a maw on her throat, but didn't bite down, in a move intended to cause her to surrender. They appeared to be attempting to barter. But Suni, if you will recall from way back, has bloodlust and overconfidence, and was having non of it. She managed to to wrestle out her dagger, and stab the beast. Surprisingly, she managed too enough damage to stun it, and this allowed her to press the attack. I don't recall if anyone else joined in, but, she did win, though she only barely survived. The remaining upright Chnéhl attempted to flee, but fell into a pit trap. I think the players captured 7 or 9 Chnéhl. Including the leaders.

Finally, something written

Glorious readers, with abject apologies, I prostrate and flagellate myself before you. I have been ruinously remiss in keeping this blog up to date. There is much to tell. So much, that I am sure to miss bits here and there.

When Last we left our party they had fought with the priestess of the Blue Lady and won. They then recovered her from the underground river, and she was suffering the hallucinogenic quality of the water. When she was revived, they interrogated her. She was recalcitrant, but realistic, and offered up information that seemed to not surrender her mission. She maintained that the attack was self defense, as the party had locked them into the caverns. Starving, and out of water, they were sure that they would not be allowed to live if they did not have a hostage.

The party maintained that they were just controlling access to the caves that they had found, and would have let the leave, had they asked. As a gesture of goodwill, she offered to have the temple provide an excellent ruby eye to release Sanjesh. In return, she asked for permission to look for her two lost guards, and leave. Our heroes agreed. The party left a slave to watch the stairs and provide fresh food and water for the priestess. I think that is who alerted them to the undead. It arose from out of the river, and began to (horrors) lecture them on the proper method for sacrifices. Some in the party could understand its speech, others could not. I don't recall who was who.. At any rate, the tried tossing a net over it. And it crumpled back into a much more natural pile of corpse. They identified the corpse as the Avánthe guard who had fallen in the river during the fight that left Sanjesh in stasis.

They exited and left the cage off the entrance so the priestess could leave at will, propping the cage so that she could drop it over the hole when she was out. The party left of Butrús, both to obtain the eye, and to research and resupply. In Butrús, they discovered Mis was hosting a party, in part to honor her rescuers, and in part because she can. The crew got invitations, though she was disappointed to learn that Sanjesh had not returned with the party. She had received and understood the message suggesting the temple acquire the land. That was another function of the party.

The land in which the cavern mouth sits belongs, currently, to the Plume of White, a clan locally dominated by Chegárra worshipers, and none to wealthy. With the war raging against Yan Kor, and their members joining legions and posting to far off lands, Mis figured they might be open to the idea of selling some land to finance the effort. The members of the Four greater black clans were also hoping to buy the land. They arrived at the party as well. The Group was given the task of keeping the Black Clan representatives busy so that Mis could cut a deal with the Plume of White.

There was the ordinary hob nobbing and such, but the action got interesting when Suni found the pit fighting rings and people started gambling. Wine and a few powders were flowing freely, and pretty soon Suni was signed up in the early competitions. Nothing lethal. But, as a complete unknown, she garnered a good deal of speculative betting. I don't recall the individual fights, but Suni eventually bested the lot, with help form her ring manager and personal healer Mriga. At the end of the night, Suni had an open offer for contracted bodyguard work, and Mis had an agreement to purchase (assuming all clerical paperwork was processed and accepted in Avanthár) the land in question for the temple of Hriháyal to open a small retreat for wayward girls. Mis also offered the party a contract for both the Chnéhl she had lost, and any others they could capture, with a hefty bounty, and some up front funding.

They spent most of the week in town, figuring Sanjesh was pretty safe, being in inter dimensional stasis and all. Suni got word from her temple that she could probably learn more about the Goddess of the Turin River if she could acquire a book from the library's of the temple of Avánthe entitled “A history of the flood of 643 and the appearance and disappearance of the Irriguous Dead”. It was probably held, they told her, in the second level below the temple. She took this to mean the basements and sub-basements. She recruited Mriga to go fetch the book.

A dutiful friend, and convinced that his temples alignment with stability and close ties between Avánthe and Thúmis would make him a better candidate, Mriga agreed. He entered the temple, toting a blue statue he scrounged from an unkempt storage room in his own temple, and made offerings, then slipped below grade. Down into the kitchens, and the coolness of the dorms. He could not find a Library. Eventually, he simply asked someone where he might find a book on past floods. He was directed to up and over to the temple of a lesser followed aspect. I think he fetched another offering, and tried again. He found the scholastic libraries this time, and, having some success with this approach before, he decided to simply ask again. The librarian looked in his records and told him they had no such book. Mriga returned empty handed.

But Suni was not about to give up that easily. If I recall, she bought an offering from the temple vendors and made her way down to the library. What she didn't know was what the Librarian had actually found when he looked in his records. The book had been tagged as heterodoxy, and moved to the secret libraries in the Tsu'urum. Mriga's request had been relayed to the temple guard, as was protocol, and initially just written off as random request for the book by a scholar who had seen it referenced some where. But when Suni asked for the book as well, the librarian suspected something was up. He had her wait, and told her he would get the book. Then he got the guards. She found herself outnumbered and didn't put up a fight. They escorted her to a small cell block and told her to wait. The book was valuable, and this was the only way she would be allowed to see it. Then they got the the fifth circle head of the order for preservation of the purity of the Ladies aspects, who came to interrogate her.

Now, she had not done anything wrong, and Suni was pretty sure that if they meant to kill her they probably would have done so. But she was also pretty sure they weren't interested in seeing her simply walk out. They asked why she wanted the book, and she told them it was for a fictitious scholar, who sounded to me a lot like Mriga. They sent queries to determine the validity of the story. The temple wasn't sure they could simply kill her and be done with the issue. There were suggestions that people might miss her and since they might be forced to release her, they were hesitant to harm her. She pushed the idea that her clan would demand Shámtla, and eventually they asked on what grounds? “Holding me against my will she replied. “We aren't holding you”, they replied, “you are waiting for a book.”. And with that, she decided to quit waiting, and they were forced to let her go, as their other option was to hold her against her will, and they weren't sure if this was worth the path that might eventually follow.

Mriga encouraged the party to leave town. They returned to the caverns and found that the Avánthe priestess had left, with or without her lost comrades they did not know. They entered caves to find and free Sanjesh, but suddenly discovered the floor seething with Étla. From large to small, and representing varieties from all around the empire and beyond.

Check in soon, there should be more.. (not like last time..)

Don't drink the Bong Water

This is the second of two posts in short order. If the action seems to jump here, you probably need to read the post below first..

Loaded for Zrné, the party went down into the caves.. The beast handlers stayed outside, to direct the slaves and progress on the encampments defenses and potential for Chnéhl trapping. So, it was Mriga, Suni, Sanjesh, two priests of Thúmis and about ten slaves. Wit added light, they could see what looked to be a body on the ground, across the river, behind a stone column. It was discussed to send a slave across to investigate, but, all the slaves denied any knowledge of how to swim..

The ground was slippery again, because of the mushrooms, which were everywhere. They had learned from experience that the hallucinogenic quality was not absorbed by skin, but had transferred to the underground river, so drinking from it was out of the question. They traveled up stream, but the land bridge they used before now looked treacherous with mushrooms. They decided to go upstream and look for another crossing.

Later that day, they heard howling upstream. They pressed on, always closing on the intermittent noises. Eventually, they found a lost slave, from the Avánthe expedition, stoned on mushrooms. She attacked Suni, but was quickly taken down, restrained, and given real food. When she recovered her senses and got over her fear, she told the party that the Aridáni had released them to fend for themselves when they had found the ladder gone from the cave entrance. She did not know how long ago that had been. The party claimed her as their slave.

They made camp. Sometime in the night, Mriga heard voices, come and go, not far away, but muffled. It was brief. In the morning they investigated, and determined it to be an acoustical anomaly. They found that upstream the caves system splintered into many branches, each a separate source of the river. It was wet, but they found a fordable spot that kept their mouths safely above the water, and eventually move down stream. On the second night, Mriga was again on duty when he heard something. This time it was real, and close, as another lost slave attacked him. Others came to his rescue, and again, the slave was quickly subdued, restrained and fed. She confirmed the story of the first slave. By this time they had come to the cache site that Sanjesh and party had stored all the spare provisions in their first entry. It had been raided, but had mostly consisted of a few spare torches, so no great loss.

On more familiar ground they moved up to the goal, at least for the priest of Thúmis, the mysterious writing near where they had found Mis. En route, they found tracks for a another slave, but decided to leave his fate to the weaver of skeins. If they stumbled upon him, they would deal with it. The writing was, our Priest believed, from the time of the Dragon Kings. He could not decipher it, but it appeared to be technical data, and a caution or warning. His theory is that it was a guide for other explorers.. They spent the night there, and decided they could afford one more day in this location before turning back. They went to more carefully explore the cavern in which Mis had actually been found, and discovered a Stele, again, perhaps, from the time of the dragon kings. They also discovered that the stone columns had a very orderly and, dare say, architectural regularity, and that the far end was stepped, perhaps as a dias..

Mriga assisted with taking rubbings and writing notes on the stele, while Sanjesh and Suni, again a bit impulsively, started exploring again. They took a couple slaves, and torches and lined up lights on the dias and at the writing, and moved on in a straight line past the curtain walls, and, interestingly, towards the mild winds that had been noted earlier. Eventually, they found a large hole that went nearly straight down, with a distinct cool draft coming up. They considered it might be a trail from an Aqáà, but if it were it was huge, maybe 30 or 40 feet in diameter.. Still, if it was, they weren't going to out run it now, anyway, so, they tied off a rope, sent a slave to tell others, and Suni scuttled down the hole. At 75 feet she was out of rope, but not out of hole. Sanjesh dropped a torch, which fell past here at least another 100 feet before striking something, and shooting off out of site. They didn't have enough rope, or enough supplies to make a real attempt to explore this. So they came back up. Just as Mriga came running to try to stop them from doing something crazy.. So that all worked out..

Running low on supplies, and having accomplished their goals for this trip, they went back down. They didn't feel they had time to go up stream to cross again, so Suni lead roped her way across the land bridge. And was beset upon on the other side by two Aridáni. They made the mistake of thinking she would surrender, like a sane person. She was, after all, unarmed, and outnumbered. But she was also Suni, and not a pushover, so she began to wrestle with one for a spear, which she got, then promptly used it as a quarterstaff and knocked one out. That Aridáni fell into the water.

In the mean time, Sanjesh, scampered across the land bridge on the ropes she had placed. Upon entering the scene he heard a third person say don't. Again, a sane person.. oh, never mind, he did. Sword drawn, he dove into the fray. A click and a blinding pink light, and he was frozen in time and space. But Suni had already dispatched the other Aridáni, and was now swinging randomly for the voice. Another click, and a fizzert, and a slight smell or smoke, followed by a curse. I don't recall what distracted Suni, but the Priestess of Avánthe used the opportunity to dive into the water and make a break for it. She figured she was out numbered and out gunned, and wasn't Suni.. mores the pity, cause rational thought in an irrational situation can get you in trouble. Suni went after her. Suni had the presence of mind not to open her mouth. The priestess did not. After that, it was just catching up and restraining her. And that was where we left it..

I am proud to announce this was session 10, of my campaign. I think it is going well.

Squatters Rites

Well, we are two game nights behind on the blog, once again.. Must be more diligent.. The first one was short, as I failed to coordinate everyone ahead of time. I will try to sum up..

After leaving the cluster of temple offering sites the party move back to their high ground camp site. Coming into the area the encountered slaves cutting trees, and eventually found that the black clan hunting party had camped in their site. “Ola,” they said, “We found it empty, and wondered what had become of you.” Well, not quite empty. They had found an Okhíba, bellowing in the Chnéhl trap, which they had killed, to quiet it down. It was being prepared for dinner. Would they like to join? At first the party was annoyed, but, when it was pointed out that, upon their first meeting at the lower, now abandoned camp, the black clans had said this would be the general area in which they would be hunting, and Our heroes had, in fact, been the ones who moved up the hill. A surreptitious check indicated that the cave entrance had not been disturbed. Our heroes decided to wait it out. The Black clan only intended to stay one more day. But they also intended to buy the land, which they said proved to be good hunting.

Feasting that night, and discussion of the lost Chnéhl, indicated that a small clan of the beasts was living up the mountainside. So, the Black Clan agreed to take them up to the area on their final days hunt. Tracks, nothing the size of their prey, were found. But, it did present the possibility that these two, highly aggressive males, might try to take over this clan of Chnéhl. That could prove a problem..

The Black clan left the next morning, and Sanjesh sent his three Hriháyal guards to inform Mis of what they had learned, with a loosely coded message, advising she or the temple make an attempt to buy the land first. Then, the campsite to themselves again, they set to work making a more permanent stair into the caves.

In the process they discovered that the caves were now rife with Mushrooms, everywhere the water had made the rocks wet. Sanjesh, being a devotee of Hriháyal, and Suni, being a bit impulsive, ignored the more restrained Mriga and had some with dinner. As our reader can probably predict, hilarity ensued. The mushrooms were hallucinogenic, and with a hint of paranoid aggression and a piquant aftertaste. Quick thinking, and naturally a bit paranoid, Sanjesh tried to corral the two, successfully getting Sajesh into the Chnéhl trap and secure. The more lithe Suni was off into the dark, dark woods. The party, well, Mriga, and others, pursued. It was a long chase, but Suni has perfect balance, and was hard to track. And once into the dark, honestly, the Beas handlers had little incentive. Mriga did eventually find her, hanging in a tree, believing herself a Biridlú, wrapped in what was left of her blanket. She was coming down, and more manageable. They wrestled her back to the camp, where the slaves had been poking Sanjesh with sticks, while he was stoned in his cage.. Still, no one got hurt, worse than cuts and bruises.