Sessions 56-57: Sea Leopards are Very Serious, You Will All Regret Laughing At Them

When last we left our heroes... Sneaking out of the Busty Baroness disguised as workers of that fine establishment, the companions managed to elude their pursuers, infiltrate Tengelbur's family mansion, and rescue Talarja, getting the entire guard staff (and Tengelbur) extremely high in the process. Headed back to the city, they tried to break it gently to the staff of the Busty Baroness that they would most likely be wanted for questioning (or worse) by the Governor after what they had been tricked into helping the companions do. Horrified, the chief of the wagon drivers began to shout for the authorities, which the companions took as their cue to make like a tree and leaf, heading to the docks to set off (some time after midnight) in the Venture Capitalism.

There, they met a young priestess by the name of Feiala, who for her own reasons was looking to take passage from the isle. She convinced Tengelbur and the rest to let her hitch a ride on the Venture Capitalism, and they set sale for the isle which they had originally come in search of, and which they hoped would lead them to a means of healing and redemption for Anaris, as well as possibly cluing them in to the location of the Anvil of Lanenomen and/or the so-called "Son of Midnight," the former of which they hoped would explain why the so-called "Sons of Orusen" were hunting them.

Regarding the so-called "Son of Midnight" or "Prince of Midnight," Thoranrai finally answered some of their questions, cluing them into a bit of local history: The legendary founder of civilization in the Leopard Isles, Anerkanera, slew the previous ruler of the isle, a great black panther known as the Son of Midnight. According to obscure local legends, the hame of the great beast has been preserved and passed down from father to son in a secret lineage that claims to predate the line of Sencan, and which claims rule over the Isle. In the present day, the followers of the current bearer of the cloak have formed something of a cult, to which Thoranrai once belonged, which resulted in her bearing a son to the cult's charismatic and mysterious leader. Wanting to protect her son from his influence, Thoranrai found the Scarlet Sisterhood, who agreed to keep her son safe and protected in return for Thoranrai's service as a spy.

After sailing for a little more than three days, the companions finally came within sight of the island they sought--just in time for their ship to be assailed by a number of Sea Leopards, who I swear you guys, are very very scary.

Session 55: The Busty Baroness

When last we left our heroes... It was quite a bit of work, but Reiana, Vanera, and Anaris finally managed to get in to see Mother Superior Zishunei of the Convent of the Ram of Dawn. The conversation with the Mother Superior was... less than illuminating, but she did eventually tell Anaris what she needed to know to complete her pilgrimage, and she agreed to put the Companions in touch with members of the local Resistance. They were to meet them outside the city gate the following evening. 

In the meantime, Tanurendal and Tengelbur were busy pursuing their own line of inquiry: having left the Perfumer's tent, they headed back almost immediately after deciding that they needed some kind of "knockout gas" to use on the Governor's guards. Although the Perfumer didn't have anything matching that description, they eventually paid a hefty price in silver for hallucinogenic honey from the Northern Moors. Taking the honey to the nearest local tavern with a catering service -- the aptly named "busty baroness" -- they catered a party at the Governor's mansion for that evening. 

Meeting back up with the unlikely duo inside the Busty Baroness, Reiana and Vanera were a little aghast at the plans that had been made without their input (to say nothing of consent). Thoranrai eventually suggested that the women in the party dress up as serving staff from the Busty Baroness, while the men pass themselves off as drivers and cooks. In the meantime, though, they seem to have been followed to the Busty Baroness by hooded figures--either the agents of the Governor, or possibly more of the so-called "Sons of Orusen..."

Session 54: The Prince of Midnight

 When last we left our heroes...

Unceremoniously deposited back in the port city of Dlakfi Klorpeim, the companions decided to split up to cover more ground: Tengelbur and Tanurendal would take Thoranrai to the local bazar, in the hopes of finding any of Thoranrai's old Resistance contacts, or perhaps some of the Scarlet Sisterhood, while the rest of the Company went to the Convent of the Ram of Dawn, hoping to speak directly with Mother Superior Zishunei in the hopes that she would be able to do something to help free Talarja (without the Companions having to resort to murder).

A reluctant Thoranrai led Tengelbur and Tanurendal to the tent of a Perfumer named Yalafir, where they breathed deeply of burning bowls carved of the Setelnor tree, and spoke--in a vision, or a dream, or perhaps a trance--with the enigmatic leader of the Resistance, one who calls himself "The Son of Midnight." It seems that, with the recent push of the Royalists to retake the Leopard Isles, the Son of Midnight and his followers have gone into hiding for the time being. The encounter, while not entirely helpful, did give them some clues as to Resistance activities in the Isle and a possible connection between the Son of Midnight and Thoranrai. The Son of Midnight offered to rescue Talarja if the companions could find for him the Anvil of Lanenomen, the "Starstone" as he called it, and bring it to him. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the companions made their way through the narrow streets towards the Convent of the Ram of Dawn. Along the way, they were first distracted, and then ATTACKED! by a sausage-merchant, who turned out to be one of the so-called Sons of Orusen, intent on preventing a prophecy supposedly made by Orusen from coming to pass. This prophecy apparently included the names of the companions, as well as the fact that they would undertake a journey to these isles. After defeating their attackers and interrogating one of them, the companions continued to make their way to the Convent...

Session 53: Ill-met in Caur-i-Klorpeim

When last we left our heroes... The companions examined the body of the sorcerer Tanurendal's arrow had killed: they found it covered in strange, eye-shaped scars, and the remaining Njeitbori sailors quickly became convinced that they were all cursed, under the gaze of one of the Many-eyed ones. Concerning these, Vanera recalled legends that he had encountered on the periphery of the literature he had studied: of Deep Men who sometimes encountered and worshipped many-eyed monstrosities in the depths of the Sea, and whom they worshipped in occult pacts for terrible powers. But if this was a legend to Vanera, to the Njeitbori on board it was a vivid reality, and when soon a yard arm broke off and came crashing down on Tanurendal's head, the sailors took this as proof positive that the Deep One would kill them all--starting with Tanurendal--in return for having killed his prophet. Tengelbur managed to convince his men to work, and after giving the bodies a burial at sea, the companions resumed their voyage to the Leopard Isles. When they were still a few days out, they were set upon by Nalshbori pirates, but after a harrowing chase (and the exchange of a few arrows) they managed to outrun them, arriving at last at their destination:

For first-time visitors from the North, the Feirkan Kerakamu, or Leopard Isles are a marked contrast. Where the seashore of the northern coast of the sea is dark and frequently stormy, here it is white sand beaches and clear green surf flecked with seafoam. It's notably warmer here, and you find yourself inclined to shed the outer layers and heavier seafaring gear, as the warm breezes of early summer are already blowing steadily, whereas by now the North has only just finished thawing out from the long winter. The houses are quite similar in style to those in Sencankarr--whitewashed granite walls accented with blue waterstone, but here the construction is rather more spacious and most of the living spaces are open on at least three sides to the air around them, albeit with heavy shutters which could quickly be closed in case of a storm. The population, particularly of the largest island Caur-i-Klorpeim, is markedly cosmopolitan, the port city of Dlakfi Klorpeim featuring large populations of Oornan, Aaran, and Kothorlas traders, Equisliad adventurers, and Ambori from across the three corners of the Sea of Ambori. Tropical heat, Kothorlas spices, a babel of tongues, and the shouts of longshoremen all wash over you in a disorienting wave as you step onto the pier.

The companions decided to begin with going to the ancestral home of Tengelbur and Talarja, their vacation spot in the Isles, which was located some ways out of town. Arriving there, the companions found that the new Governor--Weiksura Amlalar--had taken it as his permanent residence following the declining fortunes of Tengelbur's family and the violent suppression of recent unrest in the Leopard Isles. Surrounded by the Governor's guards, they were accosted by Thauthenai, the beautiful concubine and captain of the secret police of Governor Neratsoan, for whose murder many of the companions had already been framed. Taking them inside and treating them to a fine meal and the best vintage of the family wine, Thauthenai told the now-unarmed companions how matters stood:

After the death of Governor Neratsoan (for which the companions had been framed, though in truth he had been killed by Thauthenai), Thauthenai, as part of a deal with King Onwae, married the new appointee--Weiksura Amlalar--and ran the Northern District as the real power in the governor's mansion. Following the unrest (which the companions had partially helped to foment) in the Leopard Isles, Weiksura and Thauthenai had been sent to the Leopard Isles to crush the revolt, which she seems to have done with some aplomb. There are still dissidents, however, and Thauthenai decides that Valarja will stay with her ("for safekeeping") while the companions (most of whom are wanted for crimes and/or considered legally dead) carry out a task for her: assassinating Zishunei, Mother Superior of the Convent of the Ram of Dawn--the spirtual symbol of the rebellion, and the head of the archipelago's powerful Old Rite sect...

Vanera's letter to his mother, Spring 454

Dearest Mother,

I realize it has been over two years since I last wrote to you. That was unintentional. Due to some strange happenings, I was lost to the world for two years, parted even from me dear Talarja. I am glad to say that we are reunited once more, and we are expecting! Though it is still early on, the midwife suspects that Talarja is carrying twins. I was shocked by the news but am incredibly happy about it.

I hope you, Father, and my sisters are well. I do miss you all very much. Do write and tell me how you all are. Vitherai must be old enough now that you are thinking about her marriage.

I am sure you are wanting to know how Anaris fairs. She does not fair well. I hesitate to even burden you with this knowledge. I am very worried about her. Her looks have changed. You would not even be able to recognize her, dear Mother. I have tried talking to her, but you know how she can be. Thankfully, she has sought help and is taking action to remedy her ways. But she has been saying the strangest things, and it is about these things that I desire answers from you.

Anaris tells me that we are illegitimate, or that she is at least illegitimate. I would not believe her that either you or father would have done something so dishonorable. She says it was upon finding out that she left home. Mother, if this is true then tell me. Am I not really a son of the Kjavabo family? I think once upon a time knowing that I was not truly a son of the Kjavabo family would have ruined me, but after having parted under less than good circumstances I would not be surprised if you and Father have disinherited me and cut me off from your lives altogether, and I may have not been an excepted son all this time.

Do know that I love and miss you all. Talarja sends her love as well.

Vanera

P.S. Do not hesitate to send name suggestions. We will need two, after all. 

Session 52: Fishermen Raving

When last we left our heroes... As Anaris was getting her marching orders concerning a pilgrimage by which she might possibly lessen the stain of corruption on her soul, the rest of the party was discussing matters with Palfeinan, the scholar of Cheykor. Palfeinan had spent a good deal of time considering the fragment which Vanera had found in the Serpent Temple and translated. The fragment seemed to reference Orusen, one of the legendary forefathers of the Amborian people, but it had several features which Palfeinan found to be idiosyncratic:

• Although it mentions Orusen, it seems to reference a hitherto unattested legend (at least in the knowledge of the loremasters of Sencankarr) about him, that he received the Anvil of Lanenomen as a bride-price and sailed south to the Leopard Isles on a great floating city, similar to those which the Njeitbori use.
• Considering the stories the Companions had told him about the Anvil of Lanenomen and the strange, if still-not-understood fate of their old companion, the Njeitbori Orusen, Palfeinan has proposed the following theory: What if the song that the Swan-maiden sang to the Companions during their adventures "back in time" indicated that the soul of Orusen had been planted in the ancient tower and had grown up to become the tree that had been missing when they awoke from their long sleep, and which Anaris had prevented from being wounded by stepping in front of Mawish's spear? Although many of the connections are still unclear, Palfeinan proposes that the poetic fragment Vanera unearthed may point to Orusen's having somehow survived the Tower, and carried the Anvil of Lanenomen away to the Leopard Isles. If so, it is vital that the Companions retrieve the Anvil before someone else does.

Since all ways now seemed to lead to the Leopard Isles, the companions spent the next few days rigging the Venture Capitalism for a sea voyage (which included picking up a couple of extra companions: a Well Priestess named Artana and Neras, a Njeitbori archer and sailor [played by Grace and Daniel Stephenson, respectively]. Additionally, they picked up Thoranrai, whose memories have been spotty since she was rescued from the serpent temple. She agreed to accompany the party, hoping the sea air and her old homeland (currently undergoing civil unrest which the Companions all, in their own way, helped to foment) would do her good. Talarja, Vanera's wife, also accompanied the heroes. As soon as the feast of Orusen was past, the companions began the month-long voyage which would take them to almost the very southern edge of the Amborian Sea.

About three weeks into their journey, Tengelbur found himself with a mutiny on his hands: five of his crew, Njeitbori sailors all of them, attempted to lure him up onto the deck and murder him, after one of them had captured Thoranrai, carving a series of strange, staring, blinking eyes into her skin in order to cast fell sorceries upon the crew. Thanks to the light of the Polestar which shone around Atarna, the companions were able to fight their way in a grueling hand-to-hand battle towards the bow of the ship (except for Anaris and Tanurendal, who spent most of the battle overboard), eventually killing the ritualist and his associates. Just before he died, the sorcery said, "You will not stop us. We have heard the prophecies of Orusen, and we know who you are. They will not come to pass. They will not--" and then he fell with Tanurendal's arrow in his throat. With the sorcerer dead, the eyes on Thoranrai's body faded to ugly cuts, but Tengelbur was left puzzled at this betrayal at the hands of men who had worked for him for several years.

Sessions 47-51: The Temple of the Serpents

When last we left our heroes...

Session 47: Pressing the old woman, more closely, the companions at last managed to ring the truth, or at least part of it, out of them: the old woman Yenara, and the much younger woman--scarce more than a girl--Aryanyan had been pursued by the Gaunt Men across the North for quite some time. They had knowledge of the Gaunt Men and Nalshbori who had taken over Kor-Paurja, at first ostensibly because they'd been fleeing from it. Apparently, an old beggar Yuralesh, who another company had encountered in sessions 33-34) had betrayed the village to the Nalshbori, letting them into the stockade. Later, it would be revealed that Yenara and Aryanyan were actually headed back in that direction, as there was something near the village that the old woman wanted. What was more, they revealed that they knew about the "key" that Peibo had spoken of; what was more, they knew why the Gaunt Men had been capturing young women: it seemed that some young woman or other either was the key, or at least knew the location of the key, and for that reason they were being captured. With Yenara's help, the companions attempted to sneak into the village of Kor-Paurja by a back way, hopefully liberating it, but they botched an attempt to sneak past a Nalshbori patrol and were overwhelmed, falling unconscious one by one (with Tengelbur falling last, and only after a prolonged duel with the Nalshbori commander, before which he had felled three of the enemy with his own hand). Yenara and Aryanyan had vanished into the countryside long before the battle was over. When the companions awoke, they found themselves in an ancient subterranean temple, about to be sacrificed by being burned alive in a great brass pan, while the Serpent Woman of legend officiated from her carven throne.

Session 48: Just as they were about to be sacrificed, the companions were freed by one of their Nalshbori guards, who turned out to be Peibo in disguise. Another one was revealed to be Aryanyan, who began firing arrows into the guards and gaunt men surrounding the Serpent Woman's throne, while Peibo freed the others and engaged the Gaunt Men, telling the companions to run. For the most part, the companions chose instead to stand and fight (sans their weapons), leading to Tengelbur falling unconscious again, horribly wounded as he attempted to strike down the Serpent Woman herself and was in turn overwhelmed by two Nalshbori of the Sea Scorpion clan. With a flaming sword in hand, Peibo managed to fell the Gaunt Men and lead the companions (including an unconscious Tengelbur) to an adjacent room, an armory, in which the companions barricaded themselves and tended to their wounded.

Session 49: Having found weapons and armor (including some items of ancient, even magical provenance) in the armory, the companions re-armed themselves and located a secret passageway that allowed them to slip down into the lower level of the temple. Moving through several sacristy rooms full of horrors (including a strange sacrificial knife that Anaris kept for herself, and a coffin used to drain the blood from living victims), the entered the main throne room of the temple, where they found eighteen young woman unconscious, seemingly comatose, under the effects of some spell. They were on the verge of waking these when Aryanyan and Peibo revealed that coming back to rescue the companions (who had been captive for something like two weeks or more before they were awakened for the sacrifice) had only been part of their reason for coming to the serpent temple -- they were also here to locate something, perhaps a scroll or tablet, which Yenara and Peibo believed might hold the key to finding the tomb of the Stone-king that the Serpent Lady was seeking for. The companions agreed to help find the table, then try to find some way to awaken the maidens and flee the temple.

Session 50: Fighting their way through the temple complex (in which some kind of a civil war seemed now to be raging between the Nalshbori on the one hand, and Gaunt Men and Arjagbori servants of the Serpent Woman on the other--why this was happening, the companions never learned), the companions made their way to the Serpent Woman's private quarters, where they discovered a whole cache of scrolls and tablets. Taking all of these, they fought their way back to the throne room and sought for some way to awaken the sleeping women. Thanks to Vanera's keen intuition, they realized that the sleep of the maidens was connected to the huge orbs of red amber which made up the eyes of the two stone serpents coiled around the empty throne at the far end of the room. After some unsuccessful attempts to approach and destroy them, the companions managed to pry them loose--Anaris keeping two of the orbs for herself (despite the protests of the party) and Tanurendal meanwhile secretly keeping a third, which he hid in his gear when the rest of the companions were not looking. Awakening the girls, the companions fled from the temple complex -- which, with the spell of the Stone Serpents broken, was beginning to collapse. They fought their way through the Arjagbori guarding the door, losing two or three of the young women to falling rocks in the process, but made it out with the majority of them safely to the surface world. From there, they did what they could to return the girls to their families, taking the rest (including Thoranrai from the other company) back to Cheykor.

Session 51: Back in Chekor, Vanera found his worst fears unfounded: Talarja had waited patiently for him, and had kept herself busy learning the work of an amber-cutter in the meanwhile. After a joyful reunion with friends and loved ones, the companions took a long-needed and well-earned rest, taking their seasonal undertakings:

• Tanurendal integrated the red amber into his moorland bow, augmenting its power in combat--but has begun to suffer from evil dreams as a result.
• Vanera spent his downtime trying to decode the tablets taken from the Serpent Woman's lair. In addition to a map which he believes will allow him to safely navigate the Serth Hatama and find the Tomb of the Stone-king, he also found a strange inscription on an ancient clay table, now mostly broken.*
• Tengelbur spent his seasonal undertaking tending to his shipping business, which unfortunately seems to have lost a bit of money in his absence.
• Reiana searched for answers regarding the Nalshbori incursions on the West side of the Cheyth, and managed to locate their landing spot -- as well as the information that in the following season (Spring 454), the river would be too flooded to cross at that point, meaning that Nalshbori would be totally cut off from escape or reinforcements and as such could probably be dispatched with a small force.
• Anaris' fate has taken the strangest turn, as a number of her deeds together with the corrupted items she had accumulated in the Serpent Temple had... changed her for the worst. In addition to random fits of animalistic behavior, in which she would throw off her clothes and eat grass like an ox, her weight increased by some 300% as she became more and more anti-social, passing the time by hunting down deserts from the River Legions and turning them in for bounty.

As winter came to its end and Spring began to thaw the North, the companions staged an intervention for Anaris and Tanurendal, confronting them both (but especially Anaris) about the choices which had led to their corruption. Finally humbled and scared of what was happening to her, Anaris went (and/or was taken by Tengelbur) to see the Well Priestess, who (after Anaris handed over the Red Amber and the evil sacrificial knife that she had kept) assigned her a pilgrimage to a small unknown isle in the Leopard Archipelago. There, the Priestess told her, if her repentance was genuine, she might find healing. The rest of the companions, meanwhile, argued with Tanurendal about his bow while Vanera debated whether or not he should go off adventuring again -- his wife, as he had recently learned, was pregnant with twins...

* THE INSCRIPTION WHICH VANERA DECIPHERED:

Orusena, first of fathers,

Out of bloodshed, out of warfare,

First of fathers brought an anvil,

Brought a bride-price for his daughter,

Brought a gift of Lanenomen

When the tides of blood were flowing

Over Northlands, when the thunder

Fled from heavy stroke of hammer.

Orusena brought the anvil,

Brought the bride-price, fleeing danger,

Then he took a mighty forest,

Built a city on the waters.

That fair town upon the waters

Orusena sailed to islands

Fleeing battle on the Moorlands.

To the Isles he brought the anvil.