Crown of the Giant Queen: Session 5 - Range of Motion

When last we left our heroes… With their first major adventure behind them, the companions took some much-deserved downtime actions:

• Karalin and Shadlaharl worked together to bring in a notorious bandit leader over the Spring, tracking him down and tricking him (with a little bit of luck) to come along quietly. They split both the heft reward as well as the fame garnered by this accomplishment.
• Vasiral took a trip to the Holy City of Sencankarr itself, where he spent two weeks praying at the shrine of Tenuyala, the Wolf. On the second week, the Creator heard his prayer, and his maimed hand was healed, though a scar remains to remind him of the battle.
• Kanuvarja spent the Spring attempting to compose a ballad about a Weixranbori knight who may or may not have been loosely based on Shadlaharl. Unfortunately, the ballad was maudlin and poorly written, and even the common folk would not attend a repeat performance.
• Varjalis spent the Spring corresponding with and travelling to meet religious experts and trace down the origins of a strange set of idols she had begun investigating back when she was in Sencankarr.* She uncovered an ancient fragment, as well as a series of theories which may point to the forgotten truth of the idols.

As the Spring passed to summer, rumors came from Sencankarr of the growing madness of King Onwae. Some say he even drowned a concubine in the royal gardens (though hopefully not in the Queen’s Pool!). A fleet is mustering near Sencankarr, and there are rumors that it will sale for the Leopard Isles soon. In the Bay of Gjanju (the region where the players are), things have gone well, and the initial growing season has been promising. Trade, on the other hand, has been bad, due to the depredations of Njeitbori pirates attacking ships headed up or down the Straights to or from Theyokarr in the south.

On the 9th of Wanorsuna, a Karanral (4th day of the week), the companions were called before Sir Ianral. He was concerned about the growing boldness of the Njeitbori pirates, and wants to establish a forward outpost on one of the three large islands on the eastern edge of the Bay Region (Kingfisher’s Isle, Itus’ Isle, and the Dancing Isle). These islands are considered haunted by the locals, and few have visited them within living memory. Sir Ianor asked the company to survey each of the three isles to determine which one might be most suitable for an outpost. Such an outpost would need three things: 1) a good harbor for the small sloops Sir Ianor’s men use for patrols; 2) adequate stone and wood to construct a watchtower and conduct repairs to ships; 3) a vantage point from which a watchtower could be built to keep an eye on the sea for miles around.

Before they left, the companions stocked up on Bitter Rockweed poultices, and Karalin decided to question some of the local old men (using her feminine charms to do so) about the islands. Between flirtatious overtures (including boasting about the “range of motion” in his hips), one old sailor told her that the islands were “haunted,” “out of our time,” and inhabited by “mudspawn” – simulacra created by an ancient sorcerer, now abandoned by their maker. In his lifetime, only one person from the four villages (that he knows of) ever stepped foot on the islands, a strange old man named Lasuyar, and he never returned.

With as much information gathered as possible, the companions set out for the isles. Their ship, the Jasper Python, was commanded by Captain Anurfal, a crusty but good-natured old veteran, who asked them where they wanted to go first. They decided to begin by exploring Kingfisher Isle. As they sailed into the evening and through the night, they learned the story of the Sunder, four barren islands they passed on the left. According to local lore, the Sunder was the hammer of a giantess, and was shattered in her battle with her kin. It would be reforged at the end of the world, when she would come to reclaim her land. During the voyage, Vasiral had an ominous dream: He was sitting at a table, drinking a bowl of blood drained from the corpses of men. The men were all too small for some reason, and as he drank the blood he wept tears, and his tears were blood as well. 

The next morning, they sighted land. Sailing along the coast of Kingfisher Isle, Vasiral’s keen eyes spotted several huts built on the shore, just within the treeline, clearly intended to be hidden from view by anyone sailing past. Finding a harborage, they sailed in and the five companions disembarked. As they stepped out of the boat and onto the beach, a dozen figures burst from the water around them. They had fallen into an ambush! 

Crown of the Giant Queen: Session 4 - Swan-song

When last we left our heroes… In the aftermath of the battle and burying the fallen, the companions—including those wounded and weary—began a forced march back to Mjathkor. During the first night, their paths were dogged by the “long-ears” – the maned wolves who had attacked them at the beginning of their journey. As they grew increasingly unfit for a battle due to their weariness and their pace taking its toll on them, they were approached by another group of animals—this time, a trio of swans flying overhead. One of these swans spoke to the party through Kanuvarja, the Star-singer [Sophie], warning them of the approach of the wolves. Although the swan and his mate could not stay to help them, a third swan, a warrior named Sha-Rial, soul-bonded with Shadlaharl, and offered to lead the party through the woods by a shortcut, one which would allow them to reach Mjathkor before the feast. 

The company followed Sha-Rial the Swan at a breakneck pace, pushing through the wood by trackless paths until at last, weary but safe, they arrived at the village on the day before the feast. They presented the Serpent to the Priestess Falaru, who gave them food, baths, changes of clothing, and rest before the feast began the next day.

At the feast, almost everyone from the fort as well as from the Four Villages gathered to celebrate the Feast of Orusen. The ritual was performed, the waters cleansed, the Serpent slain and buried for another year, and all was well. Sergeant Garinas as well as Sir Ianor congratulated the companions, and Sir Ianor showed his gratitude by paying them handsomely (including a hefty weregild for Vasiral’s maimed arm). Sir Ianor confided in the adventurers, telling them that he had suspected a growing evil in the region for quite some time. With this first adventure safely behind them, the companions set out to take some seasonal actions…

Monsters avoided:

• 12 Maned Wolves

Crown of the Giant Queen: Session 3 - Terror in the Wood

When last we left our heroes… Stepping into the clearing full of a foul and noisome stench, the companions could see the two acolytes—one chained to a large stone where the other’s body had been splayed out as a bloody sacrifice to some dark god. All around them, the hag-headed vultures—lead by one vulture-headed woman—sang a baleful song. The companions sprang to action, fighting their way through the horrific creatures. Shadlaharl ran forward, trying to free the other Acolyte, but the creatures swarmed around him. For one desperate moment it seemed that the company might be overwhelmed, until the tide of battle turned. 

The Priestess Varjala began singing the Litany of Banishment, sending several of the vulture-creatures scattering like the flock of carrion fowl they were. The valor of the companions overcame the Daughters of the Vulture, and one by one they slew the creatures or set them to flight. The victory did not come without a cost, however: Vasiral, the young thief from the Leopard Isles, had his right arm permanently maimed in the battle, and would likely never be able to shoot a bow again.

In the aftermath of the grizzly contest beneath the trees, the companions spoke with the surviving acolyte, Kjala. Although it took some reviving, they eventually learned from her that the Daughters of the Vulture were working in cahoots with a “beautiful woman clad in silver” who had come to them on the previous night. She it was who had instructed them to intercept the Serpent, and the silver lady spoke of reclaiming “what had been hers long ago.” According to Kjala, the Silver Lady’s plan has been to try to stop the Serpent from being delivered to the Four Villages so that the Rite of Purification for the Feast of Orusen cannot be performed—something which could have potentially disastrous consequences, since it would leave the Four Villages unprotected from evil for the year. Kjala warned the companions that they needed to head back to the village of Mjathkor in order to arrive before the feast. 

The companions also searched the ritual site, finding a treasure hoard beneath the great standing stone. It was an odd assortment of items, some of them extremely ancient, and included an ancient bow of Treian craftsmanship as well as the missing Serpent. The priestess Varjala decided to keep the bow. With the dead properly laid to rest and their wounds seen to for the moment, the companions began the long journey back to Mjathkor through the forest at night…

Monsters killed:

• 6 Hag-headed Daughters
• 1 Vulture-headed Daughter 

Treasure found: 

• Tsobjada “The Bow of Piercing Wind”
• 82 ss worth of random jewelry and other items taken from travelers waylaid by the Daughters of the Vulture

 

Crown of the Giant Queen - Session 2: Shadlaharl, Meet Shadlaharl

 When last we left our heroes… The companions first treated their wounds, then headed on to the village of Mjathkor where they met the local Well Priestess, Falaru. The Priestess Falaru was able to fill them in on more details about the missing package: It was the “Serpent” – the specially forged ritual serpent (made of a secret alloy) which was ritually slain and buried once a year at the Cleansing of the Water for the Feast of Orusen. The serpent was forged in Hurakarr for this feast, but it has not arrived and now there is a real danger that it will not arrive at all, in which case the ritual cannot be prepared. Priestess Falaru believes that if this happens, evil things will befall the community.

The companions set out on the road north towards Hurakarr, looking for signs of the missing acolytes and their escorts, who were supposed to have been returning with the package. Along the way they had a few mishaps – including diarrhea caused by tainted water – but pressed on until they encountered a Shadlaharl (a great horned beast) in the middle of the forest. Avoiding what might have been a costly and disastrous battle, the companion Shadlaharl seemed to bond strangely with his namesake, taming it and allowing the companions to continue on their way.

Another two days north of the village, the companions found the first traces of the missing acolytes—clear signs of a struggle on the road, with tracks leading away both east and west. Following the west tracks first, the companions found the bodies of the two escorts—young men who had been sent to protect the acolytes on the road. They seemed to have died from tearing out their own eyes. After burying these men with a proper funeral, presided over by Varjalis [Augusta], they followed the tracks to the East, which led them into a clearing in which they saw a large standing-stone which had been transformed into an altar. On it, they saw one of the acolytes splayed out in the dark ritual known as the Bloody Vulture, while the second (still-living) acolyte was tied to the stone, awaiting her turn. All around the clearing, clearly waiting for the companions, were a number of massive vultures with the heads of ugly hags, led by one otherwise beautiful woman with the ungainly head of a vulture.

Monsters avoided: 

• 1 Shadlaharl

Crown of the Giant Queen - Session 1: Dancing with Wolves

When last we left our heroes… Our adventures began late in the winter of late 456, on Ijanral (a Monday), the 21st of Setelnor, merely a week before the Feast of Orusen marked the New Year and the coming of spring. Our companions and would-be heroes, a rag-tag bunch with their own reasons for coming to the end of the civilized world, had just been inducted as new recruits into the March Wardens—a force dedicated to patrolling and maintaining the safety of the Royal Wood on the edges of Sothbori society. They were at the southernmost of all Sothbori outposts – Varsh-i-yalir (Varsheilir in the local dialect), beneath the southern edge of the Hurar river, on a narrow strip of forest between the Darak Mountains and the Amborian Sea. 

As we began, the companions were being reamed by their new commanding officer, Sergeant Gerinas, a grizzled old veteran who was not happy with the band of mostly raw youths and women with which he’d been saddled. Looking around at them, it was no wonder. Most of them weren’t, from the looks of it, promising warriors. The obvious exceptions to this were Shadlaharl, the burly middle-aged veteran from the Weixranbo, and Karalin, the statuesque amazon from the Leopard Isles. For their first mission together, they were tasked with what Sgt. Gerinas called “a job simple enough that even a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears boys and girls can handle it.” Priestess Falaru, the Well Priestess at the nearby village of Mjathkor, had requested help locating a missing “package,” something she had expected to have arrived from Sencankarr by now. Sergeant Garinas couldn’t tell the companions more about it (there was apparently some secrecy surrounding the matter), but the companions decided they would head north to search along the road, first taking some time to stop by Mjathkor and see what else the Priestess might be able to tell them.

They began their journey through the dense forest of sand and pines, an ethereal hush falling around them. It was the evening of the second day of their journey (with another half-day or so left) when the silence of their surroundings was broken by the yips and howls of creatures which Vasiral, a bright-eyed youth from Carucankarr, managed to identify as Maned Wolves (one of the predominant apex predators in the region). It soon became clear that the pack was moving in, so the companions stopped and made the beginnings of a bonfire—just in time, as it happens, as ten maned wolves leaped through the trees, snarling and biting.

The subsequent combat was brief, though violent. Varjalis, a mysterious northwoman with the usual gift of her people for the bow, dropped several of the beasts with long shafts from her bow as the clearing was a blur of sparks, fur, blood, and teeth. Shadlaharl and Hasanya (a sword-maiden of the Red Isle) held the center of the battlefield with their great Red Fang Longswords while Vasiral leaped between the jaws of two of the great beasts, for the most part too agile for them to do him any harm. Karalin cut a few of them down, while Kanuvarja, a young woman also from the Leopard Isles, managed to hold her own beside Hasanya and Vasiral. In the end, Varjalis’ shafts dropped a wolf while Shadlaharl summarily executed another, and the remaining two broke and fled. Breathless, and with the sun now setting in the west, the companions find themselves master of the little battlefield beneath the trees. The ground around them is spattered in blood and torn fur, littered with the corpses of eight of the great wolves. Kanuvarja and Vasiral are in need of medical treatment, having been hobbled slightly by the jaws of the beasts.

Monsters killed:

• 8 Maned wolves

Monsters routed:

• 2 Maned Wolves

Sessions 71-73: The Anvil Rings

When last we left our heroes... 

In the aftermath of the battle in Onerama's hall, Onerama declared that he had been wrong about the companions, begged their forgiveness, and asked their counsel about what he should do next. It seemed to him that there were three paths he could take: to remain here in the north and do nothing; to march on Ralakarr and seize -- as the landgrave desired -- the governorship of the North, or to march to Sencankarr and raise its siege. The companions convinced him to undertake a combination of the latter two: liberating Sencankarr would put him in a prime place to bargain with Onwae to be recognized as the North's legitimate ruler. This done, Onerama offered them anything they might need to speed them along their way, and they asked for and were given a ship and crew to bear them to the Red Isle.

They managed to make it safely to the Red Isle some ten days later, but arrived too late in the evening to enter the mountain that night. They decided to split up and see some of the local sights, and then try to find Rinsos the next morning. Tengelbur, Anaris, and Thoranrai headed to the Great Bazaar, where they lost money on some lizard raced before Tengelbur found himself drawn into a duel in the defense of the honor of Ioninei, a young noblewoman who had fallen into bad company with a brash sailor.

In the meantime, Tanurendal and Vanera had gone to visit the local Shrine of the Sons of Orufal. While there, Tanurendal sees a beautiful, matronly woman -- but when he looks upon her, his mind is momentarily taken up in a strange vision of a queen in childbirth, and he is left speechless...

---

When last we left our heroes...

Following his vision, Tanurendal followed and attempted talk to this woman, who turned out to be the Lady Talivara, the wife of Sir Ralerak, one of the great men of the Isle. She was confused and a little put off when he approached her, and soon her bodyguards stepped between them and escorted her away. 

In the meantime, Tengelbur defeated the sailor after a few exchanges of blows, but let the young man live (who limped away swearing vengeance). The young lady he saved turned out to be Ioninei, the daughter of Sir Ralerak and the Lady Talivara. She offered to take the companions back to her home and put them up for the night, in exchange for their not telling her parents where she had been or what she had been up to. Returning to her home (and collecting Tanurendal and Vanera along the way), they met Ioninei's older sister -- Reiana, who in this version of the timeline had never left the Red Isle, as she had felt responsible for looking after her younger sister. 

They also met Sir Ralerak. He asked some probing questions, and one of the companions let a little too much slip -- but this turned out to be all right since Sir Ralerak was both a loyalist and a friend of Norkur, and was therefore an ally. He arranged for the companions to meet with Rinsos the next day.

The next morning the companions were taken by Sir Ralerak and Reiana into the Red Mountain, where they were shown its wonders and taken up to what was very nearly its upmost chamber -- the Red Scriptorium. Here they met Rinsos, and spent the day doing some research on Tanurendal's vision (which turns out to have been about Thoranrai of Feihoth, and her prophecy of doom) before being led by Rinsos to a secret catacomb chamber deep beneath the roots of the mountain. This was necessary because, as Sir Ralerak had explained, the current commander of the Isle was the illegally appointed Baron Cleithal, a man loyal to Onwae, and so the servants of the true prince had to exercise a certain amount of care when they met to discuss such matters. Now, safely ensconced in catacombs deep beneath the Mountain, Rinsos prepared to explain to the companions what he knew concerning the Well of Silence...

---

When last we left our heroes...

The companions had made it to the Red Isle, to the Chamber of the Eight, a secret chamber in the catacombs far beneath the mountain. They were brought there by Rinsos to a meeting of loyalists (people faithful to the missing prince, Onwae) in order to discuss the lore surrounding the location that the companions had been told they need to make their way to -- The Well of Silence. From what they had been told by Norkur, if they can manage to take the pieces of the Anvil of Lanenomen (which Anaris, Arthur's character, had accidentally shattered, altering the current version of history) to the Well of Silence, they should be able to rebuild the Anvil, strike it, and reset history back to the way it was before.

There was a long lore session in the Chamber of the Eight, as Rinsos the Scribe produced (to the consternation of the less well-educated people in the room) a scroll case full of obscure texts. Chief among these were some of the festal hymns for The Feast of Weixranbo, the Ascent of Orusena, and a fragmentary text known as the House of the Half-Ruin.

All of it seemed to indicate a connection between the Well of Silence and the seven offspring of a Stone-king and a mortal woman. One of these offspring -- a Swan-maiden like the one the companions had already met -- had lived in the "House of the Half Ruin," a house built by her Stone-king father, which was half-built of stones from "before the stars were changed," and half-built of stones from the mortal world. In the House of the Half-Ruin, there were various doors which led to a myriad of times and places. The Players (though not the PC's) had been to the House of the Half-Ruin before. They remembered that it had been guarded by a warrior who, if you kill them in combat, you'd be immediately forced to take their place as the new Guardian of the house. They also remembered that one of the rooms they stepped into landed them on a beach outside a city under siege, and assumed (incorrectly) that it must have allowed them to foresee the Siege of Sencankarr.

Rinsos' final trick was producing their "guide," someone who could take them to the House of the Half-Ruin. This turned out to be none other than a future version of Tengelbur, heavily scarred and with a hand of stone instead of silver. He no longer had his shard of the Anvil, and he explained to the companions that they had tried to rebuild the Anvil and had gotten it wrong. He had then used the House of the Half-ruin to find his way back in time so he could make sure his prior self (Tengelbur, Ben's character) got it right this time. As he explained it, as soon as someone removes their shard, they begin to die, leaving only a few brief moments in which they could assemble the anvil. Tengelbur was still at this point effectively immortal, and so he managed to survive when the rest of his companions died, but he lacked the skills to properly assemble the Anvil.

So they traveled back North to Cheikor and picked up the blind Reiana along the way (Sophie's previous character who had been blinded in battle), since she still had one of the anvil shards embedded in her chest, and set out across the Cheith River and into the Serth Hatama. This was the first time the companions had been back to the Withered Wood in a long time, and they quickly ran afoul of its strange magics, meeting a strange half-giant who demanded a toll of "your strength or your joy" to guide them through a particularly thick and loathsome mist.

They refused this, so the half-giant vanished into fog and basically took his toll out of them anyway, which was pretty grueling.

Finally, they arrived at the House of the Half-Ruin. When they get there, they find old versions of themselves heaped in a mound of corpses around the entrance. Future Tengelbur breaks down and explains that in fact, his companions had all been killed when he had come to the House because they had fought the Guardian, and each one of them in turn had become the Guardian. They had continued to fight until they were all slain, leaving him to take the fragments and find his way through the House to the Well of Silence.

He leads the companions through the perils of the House now -- which are things both familiar and unfamiliar to the Players but which the PC's have never seen. Things like a banquet hall, a room full of dancing people who turn into statues the moment anyone enters the hall, a door which leads to a strange beach, a meadow full of children running and eating the flesh of a great giant, a place where it is raining boiling blood, a library of whispers, and so on.

The companions make it through the gauntlet and come to the door which (according to Future Tengelbur) leads to the Well of Silence.

He then begins acting a little erratically and insists on a highly specific order in which the PC's should enter the room. Reiana grows suspicious of this, and finally current Tengelbur (Ben) decides to make an insight check on his future self, and comes to the (correct) conclusion that Future Tengelbur is star, raving mad.

This is maybe a little late to be figuring this out, but when they start not going along with his plan, he grows increasingly erratic and finally reveals that, in fact, he is the House's new Guardian, having killed all of his companions before. He had led the companions here to lure them in, hoping that way to get another shot at the anvil. He had been driven mad by the House, and by the Well of Silence (which had showed him all of his prior lives, as Tengelbur has been stuck in a constant loop of reincarnation due to some crime he committed), and had come to the conclusion that the thing he was about to do (kill the PC's and take the Anvil for himself) was the crime for which every version of himself had been condemned. He attacked Tengelbur, and managed to badly injure both Tengelbur and Tanurendal as the rest of the party tried to get through the door and to the Well.

As they entered one by one (Tengelbur and Tanurendal coming last), they found themselves entering a place of peace. Rinsos' theory had been that the Well of Silence contained the Final Moment, the place beyond the Song of Creation, before the new Song began. His theory was that if the Anvil (which usually only affects local time and events) were to be rung there correctly, it could undo all of the damage that the companions had done to the "drama of creation."

The companions were without weapons, or armor now, but their wounds seemed to be healed. Tengelbur had his missing hand and even Reiana could see. Tengelbur did nearly go mad looking into the Well again, but this time he manages to make his Willpower save.

And they promptly figure out that almost everything else Future Tengelbur told them is a lie; in this place, it is easy to remove the shards of the Anvil, without pain or death. They do so and Vanera assembles the Anvil and Tengelbur chooses a side and strikes it. As the silence overwhelms them, they are bathed in light.

Now, it is important to note that at this point, the companions are missing almost a third of the full Anvil, because of fragments that they lost or which they never recovered (one of the fragments was embedded in the Blind Seer whom they had met back when Anaris shattered the Anvil, and they had no idea how to find him if he was even still alive).

So although the Drama of Creation was more or less rewritten (i.e. the timeline was restored), the restoration was incomplete, and the new Drama was really a melding of the two.

This brings us to the epilogues:

Vanera awakes to find himself once again married to Talarja. They have two twin sons once again -- but they are not in Cheikor, but rather Sencankarr, and Vanera is a court scribe. In his conversation with his wife, it is revealed that in the wake of the events of the Siege of Sencankarr (which the companions had taken a brief part in, and then convinced Onerama the Bald to help lift), many people believe that King Onwae is going mad.

Tanurendal awakes to find himself hunting on the moors near Cheikor, and near the ruins of his village. His life is much the same, but better in one respect: his father, Tanurendal senior, also survived the destruction of their village, and he is no longer alone in the world. His father suggests he marry the red-headed fletcher (who PJ/PJ's character has had a crush on for a long time, but who has been missing) and settle down.

Tengelbur awakes to find himself standing on the prow of his new ship, the Venture Capitalism III. He is with Thoranrai, who has been restored to her Spear-maiden version of herself, and the two of them are apparently on their way back to the Leopard Isles to win Tengelbur's ancestral lands back and also deal with Thoranrai's old lover, the Prince of Midnight. Thoranrai makes a joke that whoever kills the Prince of Midnight would of course win her hand, and Tengelbur accepts this completely seriously (which is kind of a big deal, for him). Thoranrai laughs, then blushes, then takes his hand.

Reiana, meanwhile, finds herself one-eyed, standing with blood on her sword, before the entrance to one of the tombs of the Stone-king, the objective for which she had been searching since she first set out from the Red Isle. Rinsos the Scribe is with her, and the two of them set about opening the tomb, hoping to find in it the path which will lead them to the location of the missing Prince Galal.

Sessions 69-70: Other Selves

When last we left our heroes...

Confronted by his wife, in this alternate timeline, Vanera tried to bluff his way through the conversation. He learned that in this timeline, Vanera (who was now a close advisor to Prince Onwae) was also the foster-brother of Neras Garini, who had been Talarja's husband and who was since deceased in a hunting accident. Apparently, this timeline's version of Vanera had attempted to seduce Talarja the night before her wedding. After a couple of very painful and awkward conversations, Vanera managed to convince Talarja that he had changed, that he was in fact a "different man" than before, and that he had come to set things right. It was for this reason that he -- and the rest of his companions, none of whom Talarja recognized, including Tengelbur -- needed to meet with Onerama the Bald. Since Talarja was attending Onerama's party that very evening, she reluctantly agreed to bring them to the party.

In the meantime, Reiana, Sword-maiden of the Red Isle, retired from adventuring, and was placed in the care of the Well Priestess Feiala. Thoranrai (or at least this timeline's Thoranrai, the Scarlet Sister) would be taking her place in the group going forward. Reiana had a somewhat awkward goodbye with Tanurendal, who had never managed (and still did not quite manage) to express his feelings for her. With this and a few other local errands done, the companions set off in a carriage on the six-hour trip (and a very long and awkward ride it was) to Onerama's farm. When they arrived, they found it much as they remembered it -- except that Onerama was much more open and ostentatious about his pretentions to power. The companions were brought to Onerama and -- after a horribly botched conversation -- were arrested as spies, their weapons confiscated, and they were confined to quarters until time for the banquet. Of note, Tanurendal (who had already tried looking for his alternate self) encountered not himself, but his father -- also named Tanurendal -- in the person of Onerama's captain of the guard. It seems that Tanurendal the Elder was, in this timeline, the sole survivor of the Nalshbori raid on his village, rather than his son.

When the banquet began, Onerama stood to make a speech -- a speech in which he announced his intention to seize the governorship of the Northern District, with the full support of the Northern District's landowners. As he was making this speech, the companions noticed that there were significantly more soldiers -- the retinue of Lt. Samlon of the River Forts -- and that they were all well-armed. As more soldiers began to file into the hall, Samlon declared "Death to the traitor!" and attacked. In the ensuing battle, the companions managed to seize their weapons and rally around Onerama, defending him as Tanurendal the Elder fell protecting his master from Samlon. Tanurendal the Younger also fell in battle, but in a moment of strange fortitude, the Obsidian shard in his leg splintered, and he rose, healed from his wounds, significantly stronger and several inches taller than before. He struck down Samlon, and the other soldiers were soon dispatched...

[And in the splintering of one of the shards of the Anvil of Lanenomen, at least three things from the original timeline have been permanently altered.]

Session 68: The Palace

 When last we left our heroes... The companions were escorted up the hill at the center of Sencankarr and taken, not to the palace proper, but to one of the houses in the palace complex, where they encountered this timeline's version of Thauthenai, the beautiful and ruthless woman who had haunted their steps from Ralakarr to the Leopard Isles. She was, apparently, Prince Onwae's chief "persuader" and after interrogating the companions about their connections to Norkur, made them a deal: She would let them go on whatever silly errands Norkur might be sending them on, but when they passed through the Northern District, they would run an errand for her as well: assassinate Onerama the Bald. Seeing no other choice (and after a few half-baked attempts to worm out of it) the companions (specifically Tengelbur) swore an oath that they would see this done.

Being allowed to continue along their way, they traversed the Northern moors for nearly a month before reaching the outskirts of Cheykor. They had almost reached the village itself when they came across the site of a grim and grisly ritual. While attempting to bury the bodies of the victims, they were ambushed by a pair of Arjagbori -- the great horned men of myth and legend. Although the companions defeated them, their victory came at a terrible cost: Reiana, the Sword-Maiden of the Red Isle, was blinded. 

Finally arriving in Cheykor, the companions entered the village square, where they saw Talarja. She saw them too, and when her eyes came to rest on Vanera her look of recognition turned into one of rage. "What are you doing here, you son of a..."

Session 67: Prophecies and Prophets

 When last we left our heroes... Riding hard to the north, the companions reached the gate of Sencankarr where -- with a little bit of luck and little bit of Reiana's "rugged charm" -- they managed to convince the captain of the guard who was currently on duty to shut the gates and sound the alarm, probably saving the city from sudden assault. The guard captain was loathe to allow them to pass on to the house of Norkur without first interrogating them about why they knew the things that they knew, but they convinced him to do so after swearing on their honor that they would not leave the city without checking in with him first.

Heading to Norkur's private lodgings further up the Hill, they met with the Scribe who -- although he did not remember them -- seemed to have foreseen their coming. As he explained it, the "stream" or "river" of Time had been interrupted, like a current caught in a backwater of a river. This was due -- as Anaris eventually revealed -- the striking of the Anvil of Lanenomen such that it shattered at the same moment that she called upon dark forces to aid her. The black stone shards the companions have lodged in the various parts of their body are the fragments of the Anvil itself, and Norkur speculates that there is one more -- most likely lodged in the body of the Blind Seer, the man with whom Anaris was supposed to change places.

Norkur revealed to the companions that he believes an ancient and obscure prophecy from the text known as the Ascent of Orusen has to do with them and their present predicament. The text is in equal measure clear and obscure about what must happen next: the companions must travel to the East, via the Red Isle, in order to find an ancient artifact known as the Egg of Wisdom. According to the prophecy, the Egg of Wisdom itself will hold the secret necessary both to restore the flow of time to its proper order, as well as rescue the lost prince. 

The companions spent some time arguing about various things -- who was to blame, their objectives, their route, whether they should stop by the homes of their family members to learn whether alternate versions of themselves existed in this timeline, and whether they could abandon the promise they made to the captain of the guard -- when they were interrupted by palace guards. News of their coming had evidently reached the palace, and they had been summoned to Onwae's court.

Session 66: Before the Black Tide

 When last we left our heroes… Sighting the Njeitbori war fleet, the companions sailed westward for several tense days, seemingly outpacing it (other than possibly being passed by dark shapes in the night) before finally arriving at Koruximei, the harbor town which controlled entry to the Royal Forest. There, they found the harbor bristling with gawkers, as everyone had come out to see the Njeitbori -- not expecting any kind of danger at this juncture, and curious about the return of the Njeitbori after they had been totally absent for more than a year. 

The companions tried unsuccessfully to warn people on the pier before deciding to spend twenty minutes or so loading up on as much junk food as possible. It was while they were doing this that they were pulled aside from Thoranrai, now a Scarlet Sister who (like everyone else, it seems) has no memory of them. She had been sent to find them by Norkur the Scribe, but took them first to meet her mistress, the Scarlet Sister and Well Woman Faljanrai (with whom the party had once hijacked a treasury ship). Faljanrai had no memory of the party but was much more knowledgeable than Thoranrai (who was somewhat flustered from Tengelbur’s alternate attempts to flirt with her, neg her, and reveal intimate details about her backstory). 

Faljanrai interrogated the companions closely about the Anvil of Lanenomen (the shards of which they are beginning to believe are embedded in their flesh), before agreeing that Thoranrai should take the companions to meet with Norkur the Scribe, the only man (according to Faljanrai) who actually understands anything about what is going on. As the companions attempted to leave the town, the Njeitbori vanguard emerged from the water and began their attack on the city. The companions were cut off at the north gate of the harbor town by a squad of Njeitbori spearmen, whom they managed to successfully bribe by giving away Tengelbur’s silver hand. That done, they galloped up the road towards Sencankarr…

Session 65: Forgotten

When last we left our heroes… As the anvil shattered, the companions awoke on floating driftwood. They had all of their possessions -- weapons included -- and also sharp pains in various areas of their bodies. After examining themselves, they found that each of them had a chunk of black glass or obsidian embedded in their bodies: Tengelbur in his right (good) arm, Reiana in her chest, Tanurendal in his left thigh, and Vanera right smack-dab in the middle of his forehead. They began using their ropes and the driftwood to put a raft together, but were attacked almost immediately by vicious and unusually aggressive harkel. They fought them off for a few rounds before they were rescued by a merchant sloop, who fended off the harkel and picked the companions up. The sloop turned out to belong to Onerama the Bald, bound for Sencankarr, and captained by Yuralesh (whom they had known as a blacksmith and the husband of Vitherai the Amber Cutter). Yuralesh had no memory of the companions, and apparently the timeline itself has somewhat changed in the time (about a year) that they have been absent:

• Onerama the Bald is now the default ruler of the northern province. Some people believe that a civil war is in the offing; the only thing keeping this from happening is Sir Ralus, who is no Onwaeist, but also will not fight in a civil war against his own people. He still commands the border forts against the ever-present Nalshbori threat.
• Talarja is still alive, and has two young children. She is a wealthy widow in Cheykor, and is the focus of Onerama’s amorous attention. She had been married not to Vanera, but to Neras Garini.
• All of the Njeitbori completely cut off ties with the rest of the Ambori about a year ago. Nobody knows why; any attempts to find their floating cities or meet them along the usual trade routes have ended with the ships who attempted it going missing. Onwae is clearly occupied with other things and has not done anything about it.

As they continue to sale west towards Sencankarr, they sight a massive black fleet without sails headed for the Holy City -- the Njeitbori have returned.