Session 29: The Bell of Time

When last we left our heroes... A few days into the first week of Summer, the Company was rested up from their previous trip, and their cash flow problems had not really been resolved. Accordingly, Tengelbur decided to ask around town hoping to find some information about the Subijar-i-Yalir, the Sorcerer's Tower. According to local lore and legend,

In the early days of the Third Nalshbori War, a servant of King Orril, skilled in ancient lore and the use of the runes, traveled to the Hiksuyara Peiruar [The Fir Wood] and built a strong fortress, intending to wield the power of the wood in the war against the Nalshbori which were at that time streaming across the Cheyth in great numbers. But he was overmatched by the power which dwelt in the wood, it is said, and in after days things of evil crept in and dwelt there. These were all driven out, or so it is believed, by the Wayateth during the final days of that war, and since then no man has passed beneath its gate of ancient stone and returned to tell of what he saw.

Two roast ducks and a large quantity of tea purchased at the Cracked Beaker was enough to get the information he was looking for. A talk with a plump, chatty woman by the name of Vitherai (no relation to the Amber Cutter) got him at least one local legend: apparently it is not at all uncommon for locals who have lost someone--a parent, a spouse, a child, or some other loved one--to meet with them again on the borders of the Wood. Deciding that this was enough to go on and that where there was that kind of magic there was bound to be treasure, Tengelbur promptly set about recruiting the rest of his friends for another foray into the unknown. Anaris (who had finally caught up with the rest of the party as Arthur rejoins us) was already in the Cracked Beaker and was the easiest to convince, especially since she was forced to flee the Amborian Wood after being pursued by agents from Sencankarr--apparently not everyone there genuinely believes the party to be dead.

In the meantime, Tanurendal, Reiana, and Vanera all showed up (one by one) at the Norinlakor to speak with the scholar Palfeinan. Due to Palfienan's idiosyncratic filing system (which seems to be based on the stellar calendar, but moves at a different pace than time in the real world), they will all have to wait some time for their answers:

• Tanurendal was looking for information about the Nelkenganar and was instructed (using very small words; Palfeinan seems to be laboring under the notion that Tanurendal is illiterate) to return in 2 weeks time. 
• Reiana was looking for more information about the history and function of the magical bow she'd found at the bottom of the sea during the previous adventure. She was instructed to return in three months' time--at the end of Summer--when Palfeinan would be able to access the books necessary to read the Kothorlas script on the bow.
• Vanera was interested in some advice about how best to sell the small book--the description and drawings of the shrine he'd made on Artana's island. After giving him some advice concerning it, Palfeinan offered to store it in the Norinlakor, and instructed him to return in eight days, when the arrangement of the library would be more aligned to receive the new tome.

Tengelbur and Anaris later met up with Vanera at his home, where Vanera reluctantly agreed (at the urging of his wife, who was trying to be supportive) to go on yet another treasure hunt to ancient and magical ruins--basically the most reluctant historian and archaeologist of all time. Tanurendal agreed as well but had some errands to run first, so the Company agreed to head out the next day.

Tanurendal went first to the shop of Telini the Fletcher, the beautiful redhead who seems to have stolen his heart. To his dismay, he found several other local hunters already there, each vying for her affections. Tanurendal gave her the shells he had brought back from the island and purchased an extremely large quantities of arrows, trying to inquire as to whether or not she knew of anyone who might have come from Sencankarr looking for the Company. Telini said--enigmatically, but truthfully--that she "couldn't say she did." Heading from there to the farm of Onerama the Bald, Tanurendal sought an audience with the local strongman--one which he was granted, being ushered into Onerama's bedchamber where he was greeted by the sight of the man's bulky, powerful frame in a huge marble bath. Explaining something of the Company's situation and the need to know if anyone had come from Sencankarr looking for them, Tanurendal asked for Onerama's help. Onerama (while making it very clear that he was entirely comfortable in the nude) agreed, on the condition that Tanurendal and his friend would arrange a meeting with Sir Ralus, commander of the border forts--it seems Onerama has been trying to make this meeting happen for some time, but Sir Ralus has been unwilling to give the strongman the time of day.

Agreeing to this, Tanurendal returned to town, and the Company made plans to set out on the eight-day journey for the ruined tower. Traveling West along the King's Road, they turned northward at the village of Kor-Gilin (where Tengelbur bought everyone a round of the village's famous grain spirit) and traveled, by an ancient and ruined roadway, towards the Fir Wood.

It was rounding a turn of the old road, where it bent around a huge mound raised within the midst of the wood, that they encountered Tengelbur--that is, a second, older Tengelbur, his face heavily lined with age, his hair streaked with grey--and first and foremost, missing his left hand. The company was immediately puzzled and alarmed; all it seems except for Tengelbur, who met his altered self with a joke and a laugh, offering to let him touch his still-intact left hand. The older Tengelbur warned the Company to "drink the cup to the bottom, but do not ring the bell" and then stepped forward into Tengelbur, and both of them vanished from sight.

Now missing a member of their Company, the heroes decided to press forward, not knowing exactly what else to do. On the eighth day they arrived at the tower, situated as it was upon an island in the middle of a moat around which ancient trees had crowded long ago. The drawbridge was down, the gate was open, and the courtyard completely empty. Before entering the tower itself, the heroes decided to explore the courtyard to make sure it wasn't a trap. They found it silent, and empty--too silent and too empty, for there was no sign of man or beast, or even so much as a bird's nest, either within or without the courtyard. Vanera did notice, however, that the foundation stones of the tower--which was too large to be of normal Amborian construction--were ancient. At first he mistook them for late First Eon Neo-Treian revivalist work, but a second, closer examination showed that they were not an imitation of the work of ancient Starland, but in fact the genuine thing. 

Entering the tower, the company was confronted by a massive oak tree, some twelve feet or more in diameter, with branches pushing upward and outward, as though attempting to escape the tower's confinement. The tree was pierced, through and through, by a massive black spear, itself some eighteen inches in diameter and nearly thirty feet long. From the huge gaping wound in the bole, black sap was dripping hot onto the flagstones. Wondering if the sap would melt steel, Tanurendal dipped his dagger in it--and was stunned and horrified to see actual petrification spreading over the weapon and upward towards his hand. He dropped it just in time as the dagger turned completely to stone, melding with the flagstones on the floor. 

Moving closer, Vanera could see that the outer branches of the tree were frozen in a state of half-petrification, though there was no doubt that the trunk was still a living tree. As he moved in a moaning, as of wind whipping through stones, filled the hall, and Vanera seemed to hear a voice in the wind:

Sing to me the song which has never been written.

Bring to me the sword which has never been forged.
Break three hearts but no more.

Go, now. There is not much time.

Heading up the stairs into the upper room of the tower, the company found a small garret in which several tapestries were hung, and in which was sat a table with five ornately carved wooden chairs. On the table was a silver bell and hammer, and set before each chair was a silver goblet full of wine. And slumped over, sleeping in one of the chairs, was Tengelbur.

As Tengelbur awoke, Vanera and Reiana examined the tapestries. They depicted the rise and fall of seven cities set upon seven hilltops--and though the style of the art and iconography was foreign to the eyes of the companions, Vanera was able to identify the cities as the Seven Cities of Lanenomen which were built in the Hills of Jade in the days before Orkon's shadow fell upon them, and they became the Black Hills and the Mines of Torment. Meanwhile, Anaris found the following inscription written in ancient Treian around the edges of the table:

Ring the Bell, or drain the Silver cups:

But if you drink, drain it to the dregs.

The Wine is the heady taste of another's love,

But the Bell will show the hour of your death.

Choose, each--stolen love, or unveiled dread

When fickle Time removes its funeral shroud

Which covers mighty kings and cities dead

And turns to dust the Empires of the proud.

Drink the cup, or ring the bell of Time--

Else moulder here amid the ruin and grime.

This began a long debate between the members of the Company (including Tengelbur who was awake by now, but didn't feel like getting up out of the chair) about whether they should drink the cup (as the aged Tengelbur had instructed), or ring the bell, or do some third option. After a few good Riddle rolls for clues they established that, at the very least:

• Each person would have to choose individually for themselves whether to ring the bell or drain a cup
• The inscription seems to imply that they cannot leave here without doing one or the other
• The heroes suspected strongly that the instructions Vanera heard earlier, to "break three hearts and no more" correspond in some way to drinking the cup instead of ringing the bell

One by one, they made their choice. Reiana was the first to drink the cup, hoping that in so doing she would prevent Vanera (the only married man among them) from having to do so, and she fell asleep in one of the chairs.

Tengelbur attempted to drain a cup as well, but fate was stronger that day. In reaching for the cup, his left hand brushed the hammer and rang the bell, and he fell back in his chair, asleep.

Anaris decided to follow Tengelbur and rang the bell, falling asleep in her chair.

This left Vanera and Tanurendal. Against Vanera's inclinations, both of them drank from their cups since they had been instructed to "break three hearts and no more," and believed that this was in some way related to the cups being "the heady taste of another's love." So they drank, and fell into a deep and forgetful sleep...

---

The world seems to drop away from each of you, as you wander through the waste places of the world, hemmed between darkness and strange stars. You walk alone and unclothed for time out of mind until slowly, gradually, and then all at once, you find yourself in your body, the memories of your past life a shadow--and for some of you, only the shadow of a shadow.

Tengelbur, you adjust the chinstrap of your plumed helm as you stand at the top of the tower, overlooking the vast forest. In the distance--hundreds of leagues away--you can see, with the long sight of the men of Starland, the smoke rising from the ruin of the Seven Cities of Lanenomen. One of your aids appears at the top of the tower beside you, kneeling as he salutes.

"Lord Tengelbur... The Horned Things are coming. What are your orders?"

Session 28: Hook, Line, and Sinker

When last we left our heroes... While the Company had been up on the rock the previous day, Setela the Deep Man had rigged up the ship for their treasure-diving expedition. The next morning the Company went out onto the water, near the edge of (but not actually into) the Poisoned Tide. While Vanera worked some more on his map, Tengelbur and Tanurendal agreed to man the ropes while Setela and Reiana dove for treasure. The ivory would be tied to weighted lines attached to pulleys on the deck of the ship, and Tengelbur and Tanurendal would then haul the treasure up.

Swimming down into the murky depths of the water, Setela and Reiana approached the shipwreck. Reiana looked around for danger, but--as it happened--was not aware of her real peril until it was almost too late. Prying open the hatch to the hold of the sunken vessel, the two of them brought out what treasure they could--Setela retrieving a great ivory tusk, while Reiana, grabbing in the dark, found a strange bow of Kothorian craftsmanship.

Swimming back out with their loot, Reiana was suddenly aware of the Many Eyed Thing (the Nelkenganar they had encountered before) rushing towards them through the water. There was a moment of confusion in the murky depths, followed by panic, as Reiana tried to swim toward the surface, only to find that Setela had tied the rope around her waist (which had been around his own waist as well) to the wreckage of the ship, leaving her as bait for the creature. She managed to cut herself free while fending the monster off, outswimming it as she raced for the surface.

In the meantime, Tanurendal had noticed the lights in the depths of the water and, rightly recognizing the tell-tale signs of the creature that had attacked them at the mouth of the Cheyth, began (with the help of Vanera) trying to get off his armor in order to dive in and help Reiana. Tengelbur, meanwhile, climbed to the top of the mast with two harpoons in hand, hoping to get a vantage on the creature should it surface. Just as Tanurendal got his armor off and dived into the water, Setela pulled himself up onto the deck of the ship, striking Vanera from behind and knocking him into the water as well. As a stunned Vanera thrashed in the water (successfully redirection the attention of the monster from Reiana), Tengelbur leaped from the mast, thudding unceremoniously into the deck and missing the Deep Man.

"Please understand, this isn't personal. Your lives are the price for my freedom," the Deep Man said, snatching up a harpoon and lunging at Tengelbur.

[The implication seems to have been that Setela intended to sacrifice the Company to the Many Eyed Thing as a way of placating it and possibly lifting the curse upon himself. How he attracted its attention originally and whether or not his curse could have been lifted in this way, the Company may never know...]

"Please understand this is intensely personal," Tengelbur said, parrying the blow and driving his own blade six inches into the Deep Man's gut. A couple of more blows were exchanged before Tengelbur disemboweled the Deep Man and sent his body pitching over the side. The Nelkenganar left off of trying to eat Vanera (who was barely conscious at this point) and the last the Company saw of it was its two mouths fighting over Setela's body, as it tore the Deep Man apart. The glowing form of the Many Eyed Thing receded into the depths, presumably taking up residence in the wreckage of the ivory ship once again.

The Company lost no time in returning to shore. Once there, there was a brief debate about whether or not they should attempt to recover the ivory again. Although they may return to do so in the future, for the moment they seem to have decided that this is probably beyond their current capability. The Company spent the next sixteen days on the island, waiting for the next holy day (the Feast of Malfaloth) when the holy water flowing down out of the shrine would swell and roll back the Poisoned Tide enough for them to return to Cheykor. During this time, the Company took their Spring fellowship phase:

• Tanurendal explored the island, finding more of the purple shellfish the hermitess had been weaving. Brought back to civilization, the shells he was able to collect should be worth 2 Treasure.
• Tengelbur tried (to no avail) to clear his shadow via whittling. He appears to have consoled himself by taking possession of Setela's ship, which he has renamed The Venture Capitalism.
• Vanera spent his time making detailed drawings and writing detailed descriptions of the ancient shrine at the top of the island. With the reliefs and inscriptions he was able to detail in this painstaking work, the resulting book--if properly compiled and bound when next Vanera has access to a library--could be sold to one of the great scriptoriums for the hefty sum of 6 Treasure.
• Reiana spent her time crafting a new sheath and grip for her dagger, the addition of which will grant it the keen trait.

On the morning of the Feast of Malfaloth, the waters swelled as Artana, the Hermitess, had promised, and the Company was able to leave the island (now called, for the sake of record, Artana's Isle, unless the Company has something else they would like to name it) and sailed back to Cheykor. Arriving on the eve of early Summer, the company found the village bustling with activity as that year's trade and amber season was now in full swing. Among those swelling the population of the village, they met up with Anaris, who has been off having adventures of her own...

Session 27: The Hermit

When last we left our heroes...

As the battle ended, Reiana interrogated Setela regarding the wraiths. He admitted that they were the same sort of creature who had taken his companions and that, in fact, his ship had foundered in the Poisoned Tide and been destroyed as a result--though he had no idea as to whether or not the wraiths they had encountered were in fact his old shipmates. He assured the Company, however, that once they got to the Island they would be safe--that there was something holy on or about the island which would hold back both the Poisoned Tides and the Wraiths until the evil waters receded enough to sail out again.

It took two more days of slaving away at clearing the weeds and moving the ship forward, inch by inch, through the Poisoned Tide, before the Company at last reached a wide circle of clean waters around the island, and finally made it to shore. The "island" as it happened was little more than a barren rock of granite rising up out of the Sea like the tip of a great finger. From the shore they sighted some ruins at the top of the island, as well some of the tough red-and-green scrub weeds which grow among the rocks. Setela assured them all that they would be safe here on the beach, but warned them against going up into the island, warning them that there was something dwelling on the island which, although it would repel the Tide, was equally dangerous to the heroes.

Vanera began some efforts to map the Island (in case they ever wanted to know where it was in the future), while Setela began preparing to dive and retrieve the ivory. Reiana and the others decided (over Setela's objections) that they were not going to sit on a beach without knowing what else lay in the island, and began the trek up to the heights of the rock, to get a better idea of just where it was they would be spending the next few days, or even weeks. It took them more than an hour to make the climb. At the top of the Island they found the ruins of an ancient Shrine, covered in moss, but (according to Vanera) still bearing writings and iconography indicating construction at the beginning of the Second Eon, and a dedication to the monarchs Fanhal I and Thoranrai the Fair. Beside the ruined shrine there was a small hut, which seemed recently occupied, though its owner was for the moment absent.

Deducing that the shrine, and the water flowing from it, was probably the source of the holiness which kept back the Poisoned Tide, the Company decided that as an act of gratitude for being saved from the evil waters, they should do what they could to clean up the ruined shrine and sing a hymn of gratitude to Nankeinela. While in the process of doing this, they were interrupted by the hut-dweller: a weathered, aging hermitess dressed in sealskins, with seashells of dark purple strung over her shoulders.

As the others finished the work of trying to clean and unblock the entrance to the Shrine, Reiana interviewed the hermitess, who--although very reticent to share anything about herself--revealed the following over the course of their long conversation:

• She had once been a Well Priestess, before fleeing to the island for reasons unspecified
• She was most resistant to the idea, put forward by Reiana, that a Well Priestess should be sent to the island from the mainland; the Shrine offers enough protection that she is able to dwell on the island in relative peace and safety--if people come to the island she will be forced to leave, and it may be difficult to find another such place.
• The Hermitess seems to have been gathering the dark purple shells from somewhere, which she has been slowly weaving into a garment of some sort over the course of many years.
• The man with whom the Company is traveling (Setela) has a curse on him--something which has marked him for its own, which is why the Wraiths refused to touch him, and yet everything on their journey has gone about as badly as it possibly could. She warns the Company against the dangers of traveling with him for much longer
• Though the Shrine has been inactive for centuries, the site is so holy that when Holy Days come (the next one is several weeks away), water flows from the Shrine as though the Ritual of Cleansing had been performed there, and cleanse the Sea for many miles round. If the Company waits for the next Holy Day, they may be able to leave the island in safety. 

Returning to the beach, the Company asked Setela about his curse and argued with him about the hermitess and the shrine at the top of the island. Ultimately, though, it was agreed that they'd gone too far to turn back now, and the Company hoped to still get enough ivory to make the trip worthwhile. Coming up with a plan--or at least an order of operations--they prepared to make their first dive...