Dramatis Personae

Previously . . .

The spirit encampement remains strange and full of odd things that keep attracting the attention of those within. Twerp shows his grandmother that the campfires emits heat, but doesn’t actually burn him. Rileah decides to experiment and sings a song to dispel illusions. She sings very well but the fire does not dispel. It burns wood and jerky. She then sings a song to detect if it is fire (it is). It is a spiritual (or possibly primal) fire that is there and not there. She ignites a stick and walks to the edge of the encampment, and the fire goes out. The stick was partially consumed by the flame.

The Road to Al-Wazari II

Arsham, Doren, and Rileah
Encampment of the Lady of a Thousand Eyes
Spiritday, Zhven 8th, 2,981 Fourth Reckoning, 7th hour of the Moon
Al-Kahmara, Northeastern Atterallus

After realizing that there are spirits in the encampment, she sings a song to protect herself from spirits and walks into the tent. She sees two guards and the Lady of 1000 Eyes in the center of the room. Rileah follows the typical customs begrudgingly. She doesn’t like the idea of asking for answers – preferring to work them out on her own. When the Lady of 1000 Eyes offers Rileah the scissors, Rileah chooses to snip the 10th stitch of the left eye.

Rileah is standing at home. The smell is odd. It smells like death. Her entire family is sitting at a table – dead in different ways and in different states of decay. The center of the table has a huge sword made of an unknown, black kani crystal with a metal guard. Her father’s hands are stabbed through the table, and his shoulders are stabbed through to the chair. He moans and appears to not be dead. She asks “who did this to you.” He leans into her ear and whispers something. She demands to be removed from the vision. “Are you sure?” the Lady of 1000 eyes asks. “Is this the past, present or future?” responds Rileah. “It is all of those things. You are going to have to make a decision and either way you lose.”

Rileah realizes that the scene before her appears to be some sort of ritual – an extremely dark ritual. There is something familiar about it. The Lady of 1000 Eyes takes Rileah’s hand and tells Rileah “Let the boy take the sword.” The vision ends similar to the other ones except that Rileah did not bleed.

After the vision, Rileah asks about prices. The Lady says that she was directed to come at this time for this one task. She is a “handmaiden of Fate.” Twerp is eating pastries. Rileah seems worried about Twerp, and Twerp notices and brings her a cup of wine.

Other “named NPCs” go into the tent. The atmosphere is nice and happy among the caravaneers. They feel safe like they were in town rather the the middle of the desert. Arsham warns Doren and Rileah to be careful speaking about these events because of the Church of the Light.

Aftermath

The day arrives, but there is no sun. It is a sort of “twilight.” There is a sandstorm raging outside the camp, but it does not enter the camp. The storm is blowing around the camp which appears to be protected from it by some dome shaped barrier. The sand does not penetrate it, but szith are able to stick their hands out into the storm to feel the sand.

One of the “red garbs/guards” asks Arsham, Doren and Rileah if they are interested in testing their skills in some sort of combat challenge. They agree and follow the red garbs/guards through some cave which leads to a canyon with a ring of stones. When they enter the ring, the sand blows off – revealing a stone floor. It is clearly designed for some sort of ritual combat.

After Action Report (GM)

This was a fairly short one – mostly so we could get a game in as things (all the things) kept craping out and that is ANNOYING to me. I got to play some with Merlin and he’s always a blast. Overall, a good session, needs more work on my end. But good.

World Lore Tidbit (Aersalan Fire)

Fire in Aersalus is almost holy. It is often the center of worship in most shenic (the worship of spirits), Arkon-Ha (the worship of the Old Gods), and even Church of the Lucent. Fire keeps the dark at bay, burns the impure, and brings warmth. The Eternal Flame is the ultimate incarnation and is the ur-fire. It is literally the Note of Fire (one of the most primal beings in Aersalus and is a kind of…over-god). The Eternal Flame has other incarnations (e.g., Balefire or Waterfire) that can be summoned and used by the hands of others. Mostly, the Eternal Flame is invoked for protection, blessings for unions, and similiar tasks.

Other Notes

None.

Soundtrack

None.