Session 148

General Summary

• The party took a brief pause to deal with some of the lingering effects from their last fight.
• Dazki and Dwardazik used their Turmoil-specific meditation techniques to get the dwarf to speak normally again.
• Dwardazik was interrupted by "Barf", and the two had a barking conversation. "Barf" is in a similar situation as Dwardazik, though the dog is much more strongly controlled by the Turmoil entity inside it. "Barf" went on about some "sand wizard", warning that "the sand will destroy the universe" and said something about "getting [their] parents back together".
• Marvin kept scrambling to try to get his "diamonds", so Dazki tried the same with him, but it didn't work. He did learn that the "diamonds" are actually Loadstones, though.
• They rested and then finished traveling to Axecut, full of stumps from dozens of old-growth trees and guards scrambling to set up defenses.
• They learned the locations of two taverns in town: The Cloak and Stagger and The Dew Drop Inn.
• They also found someone who could free Marvin of his cursed items: Noah and his wife, an elderly couple who take care of the shrine to Rillifane in the city's temple to The Seldarine.
• The elderly couple know Siraye and definitely don't like her friends, especially Riley.

Full Recap

Dwardazik barks again, and Kesmet tries to stab him again, in vain.

Dazki: Kesmet! Why are you stabbing people?   Kesmet: I'm not stabbing people. I'm missing people.   Dazki: Could you maybe stop even trying to do that?   Dwardazik: Woof!   Kesmet: I will try...   Dazki: All right, well, this is Turmoil-related, so I have an idea. I don't know if it's going to work, but I have an idea. Can everyone stop stabbing and trying to shove diamonds into their bags, for like, five minutes?!   Dwardazik: Woof-woof-woof! (He aggressively points at Kesmet.)   Dazki: Yes! I know he stabbed at you. I get that! Kesmet,

  Kesmet reluctantly sheathes his daggers.   Dazki: All right, now, ...

Dazki suggests that they might be able to restore people who have been transformed using Turmoil by focusing on the person they were before (taking a cue from something that "Steve" had told them earlier), using the same meditation techniques that they practiced with Kiirni to make it possible to survive in The Phantasmagoria without succumbing to the cumulative effects of infinite randomness.   He starts trying this with Dwardazik, who also participates for a while, but "Barf" interrupts him; the dwarf and the dog bark at one another while Dazki continues the meditation on his own. The meditation is ultimately successful. Later on, in the cart, Dwardazik would explain that they actually both had a conversation:

Barf, yelling at Theran: Step back, foul fiend! You will stay away from my legion! They are mine! You are bad!   Dwardazik: Wha... Barf, you speak? Why haven't you spoken before?   Barf, turning to Dwardazik and looking confused: My liege? I wasn't aware you could speak the mother tongue! We have a great many problems! We must destroy all that oppose us!   Dwardazik: Did our concentration affect you in some way? Are you able to talk to everyone?   Barf: I fear we might not have lots of time here.   Dwardazik, holding his hands up to calm him: OK. This is the first time we've been able to talk to each other, OK? Is there anything you want to say to me? Because I can tell you, straight-up, that Theran is not as much of an enemy as you think. Even though he's sometimes stupid.   Barf: The world will end with a terrible storm of sand!   Dwardazik: Wait... that's the exact same thing that Gemineye has been saying! I thought Gemineye was just paranoid. What are you talking about?   Barf: We will destroy! We will destroy all associated with it! We have to! Our whole livelihood is at stake! If the evil sand wizard wins, we will fall!   Dwardazik: OK... do you know anything about the "sand wizard"? Because how does Gemineye know about this, and how do you know about this?! Help us out, Barf, we're a part of a team!   Barf: Why won't you speak to me?   Dwardazik: The wizard is...   Barf: A being of great evil in a faraway place! It will destroy this land! It will destroy us!   Dwardazik: The wizard is probably bad. But we will see, OK, Gemineye?   Dwardazik makes some motions to the other party members to indicate that he can understand Barf.   Barf: You, my liege! You are still young. You have not completely devoured your host yet, OK?   Dwardazik:

  Barf: I think the only way to truly defeat the wizard is to get our parents back together.   Dwardazik: Uh... right! ...OK, what do you mean by "parents"? Barf, you have parents?   Barf: While my dog brain doesn't understand the question, the fiend that lives within me may. It must have come from somewhere. Yes, I have parents.   Dwardazik: Wait, so, am I talking to Barf or the being inside of Barf?   Barf: There is no difference between the two. Not anymore.   Dwardazik: I trust Gemineye. I don't know what you've done with your "host", but I have a feeling that you didn't respect your host. I'm not necessarily sure I trust you.   Barf: I admit, the beast's nature is sometimes vastly overwhelming to my personality. But this one thing is true: the sand will destroy the universe, and we have to get our parents back together! That's the one thing!   Dwardazik: ...OK. OK, OK, OK. I get it. Is there anything that you need to tell me right now, before we lose the ability to communicate? Because I have a feeling that this is probably only temporary. And I'm taking you a risk trusting you, Barf — you haven't turned us wrong before, but what you're saying is a little concerning. And I don't necessarily understand what you're talking about... "parents"? You mean the creatures of Turmoil?  

"Barf" turns back to angrily yell at Theran, who is trying his best to seem non-threatening towards the dog (Animal Handling 23). "Barf" stares at Theran as he takes a big dump on the ground.

---

Theran: So, what's the deal with those diamonds?   Marvin: Well... they're mine!   Theran: Where'd you get the first one?   Marvin: ...places! I worked really hard to steal get it!   Theran: Er, we just literally stole 3500 gold, I don't necessarily care if you've stolen a diamond.   Kesmet: Did you forget that the rest of us, except for Theran, were at one point arrested as "terrorists"? Your bar is a bit lower, OK? Don't worry about the diamond.   Marvin: But you weren't being "terrorists" to each other — aww, shit...   Kesmet: ?   Theran: You stole this from yourself?   Marvin: What?! How did you get that from — no, I stole it from Dwardazik! ...SHIT.   Theran: I mean, I guess it's a good thing he's concentrating right now...   Marvin: Finders-keepers, losers-weepers, it's mine now!   Theran: Why are you so attached to it?   Kesmet: I have a strong feeling that...   Marvin: 'cause it's mine!   Theran: I mean, my signet ring was also mine, and I gave it away to a dragon. I'm probably never seeing that again.   Marvin: Well, clearly you didn't care about it all that much!   Theran: I guess that's true... so you care about Dwardazik's diamond?   Marvin: It's not his! It's mine!   Theran: You care about the diamond that was formerly belonging to Dwardazik? And therefore, you took it?   Marvin: I saw an opportunity, and I took it! All I had to do was just not announce that it had fallen into my hands!   Theran: And you just... do you realize this is sounding really weird?   Marvin: No, whatever could you mean?   Kesmet: Do you think the diamond might be cursed? You're acting very strange.   Marvin: ... ... ...

  Theran: And you acted really a lot stranger once you got a ton of them.   Marvin: What are you taaaaaaaalkin' about? It's all goooooood...

Theran casts Checkity-Check to see if the diamonds are magical. They're not.   Kesmet goes over to the pile of leftover diamonds and tries to crush it with the pommel of his magic silver dagger, (Strength 9) not making any headway against it. He pulls out his crowbar.

Marvin: Let's not do anything we're gonna regret, Kesmet!   Kesmet: Marvin. Marvin. You've got so many of them.   Marvin: Get my name out of your dirty mouth!   Theran: Marvin?   Kesmet: But you've got so many of them! They're probably just fake. You really want fake diamonds?   Marvin:

  Kesmet: But they're fake!   Marvin: But they're my fake!   Kesmet decides against it and puts his crowbar away.   Marvin: Yeah, that's right, that's right, don't hit it!

---

Dazki wakes from his meditation, and Dwardazik seems to be able to speak to the rest of the party again, though he insists on meditating some more anyway. Dazki moves on to Marvin to try the same meditation trick, and he promises that he will help Marvin get the diamonds back afterward. (Insight 20) The meditation calms Marvin down quite a bit, but he is still just as resolved as ever to retrieve his diamonds. Dazki, a little surprised, honors his promise and picks up a few diamonds to bring them to Marvin, examining them on the way. (Arcana 22) He realizes that these are Loadstones — all 255 of them! — which he describes to the party without using that name right away. They decide to have Dwardazik carry Marvin to the cart. He does, after saying something weird about "I think that the real curse is the wizard of the sand!" and then snapping back out of it.  

Travel

Dwardazik complains to Kesmet about how he just immediately leapt to stabbing him, and Kesmet defends himself by pointing out how Dazki snapped him out of it last time by stabbing him. Marvin obsessively counts all his diamonds, over and over. And then Dwardazik recounts what he and "Barf" were barking about.

Dazki: "The parents"... obviously, one of them is "The Damsel".   Theran: I was more thinking "the sand will destroy us all", as in, the plane filled with red sand, that is known to consume other planes, getting forcibly pulled into this one.   Dazki: Yes, I get that, but then "the parents must get back together"?   Dwardazik: You don't think that means Marvin's parents, right?   Dazki: No, it means "The Damsel" and whomever she created the plane of sand with, would be my guess.   Marvin: What the fuck did you say about my mom?!   Theran: Isn't "The Damsel" the actual Red Desert?   Dazki: ...maybe? I don't know if "The Damsel" is explicitly all of the Red Desert —   Marvin: Did you just call my mom fat?!   Dazki: Think about it like this, the gods allegedly created this world as well, right? But there's also a god "of the ground", a god "of the earth". So I would think that maybe she is just one of the beings in charge of the Red Desert... oh shit, I've had a thought... it's a bad thought, but it's a thought...   Theran: Well, hang on, now. Based on what I've been reading in The Book of the Mirage, people have been talking about getting Mirage Prime to manifest. Gods usually have their own plane. So there were two options: either he manifests in this plane, or he manifests in a different plane that just gets pulled close enough.   Dazki: Yeah, and allegedly, Baxton and one of the others were trying to find a third plane.   Theran: Doesn't the Red Desert sound like what they're trying to... it's already moving around, they would just need to harpoon it and get it close enough. Problem is that if it gets too close, it literally destroys everything!   Dazki: And it is moving closer, because it has been harpooned somehow. That's a good thought, Theran.   Theran: So, in terms of "the parents getting back together", —   Dazki: — we need to get Mirage Prime to the Desert.   Theran: No! We need to get Mirage Prime out of the Red Desert! The people trying to get Mirage Prime into the Red Desert, that's what's going to blow up everything!   Dazki: Then "getting the parents back together", what does that mean?   Theran: This weird Turmoil stuff that's going on with Dwardazik and Barf. It's obviously some of this self-manipulating Turmoil that Mirage Prime has to do with, but it's also creatures from this world. I don't necessarily agree with getting Mirage Prime to manifest here, to not have him be in the Red Desert, but it seems to be what Barf was talking about.   Dazki: Oh. Hmm. So, you think we manifest Mirage Prime here and then kill him?   Theran: Either that or find a way to manifest him here and lock him up. Because he seems to have come from here. The entire point is that he doesn't really have a plane to go to. By the way, I finished the book!   Dazki: OK. Are you working on making a copy like you promised, then?   Theran: Yup. I have some spare paper that I'm doing it with. I was also going to make some... not really footnotes, but more a reader's guide thing.   Dazki: Just make sure you give out a bound copy so that it's actually a book, not loose leaf paper.   Theran: Right.

They chat a bit more, and Dazki convinces Dwardazik to put Baxton's Ring of Mind Shielding in the Bag of Holding while they're in the next town.

Night

Near the end of Dwardazik's and Dazki's watch, Dwardazik convinces "Barf" that the Loadstones in Marvin's pack are actually crystallized bacon, (Animal Handling 20) so "Barf" runs over there to eat one. Marvin keeps the bag away from the dog, but several of the Loadstones spill out, and "Barf" eats some anyway. Marvin wakes up the others in his panic, explaining what had happened when they arrive ready for battle.

Dazki, laughing a little: If you're really that desperate, I'm sure you can get them back tomorrow.   Marvin: Oh, that sounds like great news! ...what? Why are you guys laughing?

Overall, the night is otherwise uneventful.

Next Day: Axecut

Marvin, having diligently counted up all the diamonds again, angrily notes that he has lost exactly 17 diamonds. Dazki has a conversation with Theran about him getting recognized, and people jumping to the conclusion that Dazki has kidnapped him. Theran suggests a few different ideas (the first one being that they can use the excuse that Theran used some of his magic powers to charm his way into the group). They make it into Axecut. Dwardazik hops out and walks alongside, asking where the tavern is. The individual lists two ("that way you can't blame me if you don't like the one you picked"):

• The Cloak and Stagger is big on irony: it has a dress code, where you're supposed to wear a mask as if you were some kind of rogue. "It's like a fake criminal thing, real hipster stuff."
• The Dew Drop Inn is a combination inn / apothecary. "If you like plants and potions and what not, it's a good place to be." (...) "Nuh-uh, I'm not gettin' cursed by a witch from sayin' negative things about the Dew Drop Inn! You can't convince me otherwise!"

They find a temple to The Seldarine where they hope they might be able to get Marvin's curse broken. Dazki gives a brief summary of the elven pantheon as they walk over.

Dazki: ...and the downside is that sometimes it can be plagued with conversation and indecision. Like most elven things.

Inside the temple, they spot a few shrines to the various deities, and Dazki in particular recognizes a shrine to Rillifane, Siraye's deity.   Theran decides on a code name to use while they're out in public: Nathan De'ariator.

The Vale-Woods

The shrine is kept by an an elderly couple (the man is named Noah Vale, and the woman's name was not spoken) who claim to have been married for 600 years. When probed, the DM used many different forms of colorful descriptors for them... my favorite was "these two have not gotten to the part of Up (2009) yet where she's died". The gentleman says he would be able to help Marvin remove his curse, though he warns that sometimes his magic gets a little wild. They accept and show the man Marvin's bag of Loadstones.

Noah: This is very odd, indeed! To have so many in one spot... you don't intend to make a profit off these terrible objects, do you?   Dazki: Oh goodness, no! We intend to destroy them as soon as my friend is free from their curse!   Noah: There's enough Loadstone here to cripple an entire army of soldiers!   Dazki: We certainly have no intent on doing that, I promise you that, good sir.   Marvin: And they can't have 'em! These are mine! You think I'm gonna share these?!   Noah puts a hand on Marvin's head.   Noah: Young man. You are the one who prunes your garden. Tend it well, so that it grows fruit instead of thorns.

Noah removes Marvin's curse... and then immediately becomes invisible. Dazki looks to the wife to see her reaction... she's chuckling quietly to herself.

Dazki, bowing towards the spot where Noah was: Thank you very much for your assistance, sir. What payment would you request of us? Marvin, are you feeling OK?   Noah: Dearie, I want those stones.   Marvin: Guys, I am so sorry for all the fuss I've been causing you guys for the last 24 hours. HOO MAN!   Theran: Does it feel like a great weight has been lifted?   Marvin: Well, I was gonna say "elephant", but, yeah!   Dazki: Don't worry about it, Marvin. It is absolutely what friends are here for, and I believe these two requested the stones, hopefully that they can get rid of them.   Marvin: Yes! Noah, was it? I can't thank you enough. Oh man! I feel like I have my mind back! Not just my body, but my mind! How can I ever repay you, Noah? ...wait, where the fuck did he go?   Dazki: The gentleman turned invisible.   Marvin: Oh. Is he still just right in front of me?   Dwardazik: He is here. I can sense his presence.   Marvin: Wait, when did you get all fancy?   Noah: We would just really like to make sure that those stones don't cause any more problems.   Marvin: If you have the ability to remove them as a problem, then by all means!   Dwardazik: While we appreciate your services... (he turns to Dazki)... I'm not necessarily sure we can truly trust your intentions?   Dazki: Ah, no, give 'em the stones.   Dwardazik: Are you sure about that?   Dazki: Yeah, I would feel comfortable giving them the stones. They have been such a good help to us.   Dwardazik: Hmm. It will assist us, not having to now figure out how to destroy them. Does that mean that you folks will be able to destroy them?   Noah: I think it will be a fun little hobby for us to figure out how to deal with these stones.   Marvin: Do you not want... payment?   Noah: Honey, when you've examined the world as I have, you begin to realize that the things money can buy aren't the most important.   Marvin: I hope to be as wise as you one day.   Dwardazik: All right! Well, then, I have no disagreements. We can check that off from our list. Don't have to worry about those cursed items, now.   Marvin checks and re-checks that there are no remnants of the Loadstones on his person. He counts them up one last time: zero, at last.   Dwardazik: So, your name was Noah Vale?   Noah: Yes, Noah Vale-Wood, to be precise, though the "Wood" is kind of redundant, I feel.   Dwardazik: And is this your shrine? Are you the only caretakers of this shrine?   Noah: I'd like to think everybody's a caretaker, as long as they care. But if you're asking whether or not we get paid, the answer is no.   Dazki: And one question I would have for the two of you. Have you seen a Siraye Quinloth around? She's a friend of mine.   Noah: Oh, sweet girl! Yeah, I do so enjoy her attention. I don't much like her friends, though.   Dazki: I've heard. Especially that Riley can be a bit challenging to deal with.   Noah: Sometimes, I just want to go up there and punch her! But I don't. And it's not because of these weak bones, either.   Dazki: Haha. No, I'm sure you're far too good a man for that. Could you tell us where we might be able to find her?   Noah: Oh, I don't very much know. Usually, if she's in town, it's not long before a ruckus is caused.   Dazki: Heh. Yeah, that sounds like her.   Noah: I say, follow the noise.   Dazki: Thank you very much. And if you end up seeing her, let her know that Dazki is here and he's looking for her, if you would come across us before ourselves? If you would be so kind?   Old Lady: Oh, the... OK! No, I get it! (She winks and makes a gesture with her fingers.)   Dazki: Haha... more like, we ended up just in the area for other business, and I would like to say hello. But we will be staying at the Cloak and Stagger.   Old Lady: Oh! That's very... very interesting.   Dazki: We heard from a local that it was... amusing.   Old Lady: Ho-ho... it's "amusing", all right.   Dazki: Is it fairly rough of a place, then?   Old Lady: It's not rough, I just... I don't think I understand the youths anymore. Everything's a kind of a joke to them.   Dazki: Yeah, well, when things are as chaotic as they are nowadays, it's... you know. You have to find something to laugh at, and why not laugh at the most absurd of things?   Old Lady: Yeah, pretending to be the member of a thieves' guild is so hilarious. "I'm ironically pickpocketing people! You can't arrest me for being ironic!"   Dazki, cracking up: Yeah, you have a very good point there. A very good point.   Old Lady: Those hipsters wouldn't know real upheaval if it bit 'em on the nose!   Dazki: Well... (he looks over to "Barf")... good thing his name isn't "upheaval", then.   Old Lady: So, uh... are you here on government business?   Marvin: You could say that.   Old Lady: You said it was for pleasure... at least, with your eyes... but...   Dazki: Business from Ashport.   Old Lady: Hmm. OK, OK. Well... I guess you oughta be gettin' on with your day! It's gettin' pretty late!   Dazki: It is getting a little late... again, thank you for your help. We are absolutely indebted to you for that.   Dwardazik: Is there anything we can do to pay off that debt?   Old Lady: Oh, no debt, no debt. Just, you know, remember that sometimes people matter more than money or rules! OK, you need to... you need to get going before it gets too dark.   Marvin: Does something happen around here when it gets dark?   Old Lady: It gets harder to see. 'cause it's dark.   Marvin: That's never stopped us before.   Old Lady: Real sneaky folks?   Marvin: No, just really good vision. We eat our carrots.   Dwardazik, jumping a couple of times to make his armor clamor about: Yeah. Real sneaky.   Dazki: Is it just the darkness, or is there something else in the evening after the, you know, sun goes down? The issues that have been plaguing the area lately?   Old Lady: Oh, no, no, they seem to keep this place nice and clean. Kinda have to. I mean, imagine losing this town to the war? That would look real ridiculous for a lot of politicians. Not to mention the harm it would cause to the populace!   Dazki: Yeah, but unfortunately, the politicians don't understand the best how things are going. I worry that politics might be causing problems, is all.   Old Lady: ...you're sayin' that as a government folk? They still let you do that?   Dazki: We're independent contractors.   Old Lady: OH! Oh, yeah, us too!   Dazki: They come to us when something gets out of hand. So, because they need us, we have extra leeway with what we can say.   Old Lady: "Out of hand"...?   Kesmet: Fuck da police! ...we can't say that in the city, though.   Dazki: There's been an increase in certain activity in this area, and they sent us down to investigate.   Old Lady: Oh, there's a whole war going on down there, down south! The area's just infested, I tell you, and the government is just absolutely terrible at dealing with any bits of it!   Dwardazik: How goes the war?   Old Lady: Well, if it's anything like their shoddy construction, ...probably poorly. But, it hasn't gotten this far yet.   Dazki: I think we're talking about two different —   Old Lady: I'm sorry, dear with the green hair, what was that? "Fuck da police"?   Kesmet: Yeah, it's one of those things that we pretend we can say, but we can't really say.   Old Lady: No, no, it's got a good ring to it! "Fuck da police"! Is that cant? I really like that!   Dazki: No, it's just a general expression of disrespect for law enforcement.   Kesmet: ...yeah, sure, it's cant! (Deception 10)   Noah: I guess that's just what the kids are sayin' nowadays, hon!   Dazki: So, you said "the war" down south. We've been sent to investigate certain anomalous happenings. Is there something else you're referring to, with "the war"?   Old Lady: The land is heckin' infested. The only war that's ever happened in this gosh-forsaken country that anyone will recognize is the war against this chaotic force.   Dazki: OK.   Old Lady: I mean, NEVER MIND all the OTHER problems that seem just as important! ...I don't want to get too worked up, just... my heart is a bit passionate.   Dazki: I was just making sure we were talking about the same chaos.   Old Lady: Just, animals seem to get all mutated and infested with stuff, all these weird mineral nodes come out of nowhere and it's driven the dwarves into some kind of gold frenzy... you know, they can't help themselves! A dwarf sees a cave with diamonds, they're gonna go in there! That's their nature!   Dazki: I would like to think that any one person might be able to act differently based on whom they are. Just because someone is a dwarf does not mean that they're going to be have in that manner.   Noah: I'm just saying, you're not seeing any wood elves going down there into those death caves!   Dwardazik: I mean, I personally wouldn't go in there because I have higher priorities, but if I was a bit younger — back when I was goin' through the mines — that's exactly where I'd be right now!   Dazki, through clenched teeth: Dwardazik, you're not helping at the moment...   Dwardazik, shrugging: What!   Kesmet: He's just confirming the stereotype.   Dazki: Yeah. Reinforcing their stereotypes.   Dwardazik: It was my job!   Noah: We're not saying all dwarves are dirt-eaters, we're just saying —   Dwardazik: ???   Marvin: What now?   Noah: — that many dwarves have a tendency towards going underground when it is ill-advised!   Dwardazik: Well, that's just because other races don't often know when it's safe and when it's —   Dazki, cutting him off: I think we should get to the inn! I believe it is getting late! You were correct! Thank you very much for your assistance, and if you need something, you know where we are. We'd be more than happy to help. But I think we should head out now.   Old Lady: All right! (She waves at them as they leave.) And remember, the power of the many is way more than the power of the few elites! Bye!   Dazki gives a thumbs-up, and they all walk away.   Dwardazik: She was a nice lady.   Marvin: That was a very confusing interaction. I have very mixed feelings about all this.   Dazki: Yeah, same!   Theran: Anybody can have good ideas. Anybody can have bad ideas.   One of the young fresh guards passes by her. She taps them on the shoulder and says "Fuck da police! Good job fighting Turmoil!"   Theran: Ohhhhh, they are going to get in trouble. Or maybe not? They seem to be doing pretty OK for themselves...   Dazki: Dwardazik, calling a dwarf a "dirt-eater" is like calling an elf a "knife-ear".   Dwardazik: Oh, I knew that, but I mean, they're... a little bit past their prime. I don't think any god would allow me to, uh... well...   Dazki: Then I very much appreciate your restraint. You did a very admirable job, and I'm proud to be your friend right now.   Dwardazik: Now, the actual thing is... dwarf metabolisms are actually such that there are certain minerals that you can mix into your food to supplement its nutrition!   Theran: Isn't, like, ...salt... edible?   Marvin: ...Nathan. Really?   Theran: Salt, is... like... right?   Kesmet: Salt is an edible rock. That is true.   Marvin: Have you never cooked?!   Theran: Uh, we've always had people to do that for us.   Marvin: You're gonna be cooking with us the next time we cook.   Theran: I don't need to cook, I have an invisible semi-imaginary butler to do it for me, and I can make magic berries whenever I want.   Dazki: It's all right, I don't know how to cook either.   Dwardazik: Didn't we go cooking once?   Dazki: We did! And do you remember how my pancakes turned out?

Everyone immediately remembers, and then very shortly thereafter wishes they hadn't.   Meta-note: there was a promise that the inn is their next destination, and so the next session will start there.