Session 14 - All Very Puzzling
General Summary
Before leaving the stockade, we search the giant, but don’t find anything. Brovar, Digby and Tripp take the opportunity to stock up on arrows, and we also prepare supplies. We reckon that it is another five to seven days to Gulumi, and although some of us are still injured, we decide to head off before the raiders return. We travel at an easy pace to allow ourselves to heal.
Baka is still not sleeping well, and she thinks that this must be due to her connection to Riele. The others take her watches on the nights of the journey, in the regular party order, Brovar, Tripp, Sai Kyo, Lilrie, Baka and Digby. We reflect on the giant, the mosaics that are scenes of what has happened, or perhaps will happen: giants meeting 6 humans in towering, icy mountains, the lead human figure holding a staff, as tall as a man and entwined with golden serpents, seemingly presenting it to the lead giant. The other showing a giant fighting a massive hawk. We wonder who that figure is and ponder the significance of the staff.
The next few days are hot, but manageable, as we make our way thru desert punctuated with rocky outcrops, and scrubby trees. Our nights are interrupted by the howls of wolves, but fortunately nothing else. On the morning of the 6th day, we see bits of masonry sticking out of the sand, and the occasional roof tile, signs that we are approaching Gulumi . It has been consumed by the sand. Trying to dig out some of the bigger pieces of ruin is futile as the sand flows back in quickly. Wandering deeper into the area we wonder what we are really looking for as there do not seem to be any features to aim for. Digby and Lilrie sees some desert foxes and rabbits, but Sai Kyo has trouble seeing past the sand. Lilrie finds larger paw prints, that look like being from a big cat. In desperation Baka asks Riele to find Gulumi, but the hawk just looks around herself and back to Baka.
We take the Mirror of Keldyrion out and are surprised to see that it is still showing Sirenna Caryn , who is now chained and asleep in a small stone cell. She is still breathing, but it looks as if someone has been working her over. We take it in turns to call her name into the mirror, but there is no reaction, whether because she is asleep, or she cannot hear us, we do not know. From time to time one of us glances at the mirror to see if anyone enters her room. It is three weeks since we were in Sunom when it was the 30th day of the 9th month. It is now 2875AC, day 2 of the first month. Each month has 30 days and each week 6 days.
We spread out and follow a search pattern to cover the ground of the grid 20 mile by 20 mile square on the map. After some time, Baka, Lilrie and Tripp catch a faint whiff of woodsmoke. Heading in that direction we see two curved-wall towers, about 20-foot high, poking up out of the sand with smoke rising from one of them. The towers are plain, with rounded walls and slit windows. There does not seem to be a door. Around us we see clusters of other stones, which may be the remains of other towers. These remains seem to form an hexagonal shape with the surviving towers.
Sai Kyo decides to try to pole vault onto the top of the tower with the smoke rising out of it. His run is good, but as he plants the pole it sinks and he realizes he will not be able to get up there. If there was a slab of stone that he can rest his pole on he may have a chance. He starts looking for one. The others walk round the towers and conclude that these are the tops of towers which is why there are no doors left above ground.
Brovar knocks an arrow as Digby throws a grappling hook up the right tower. His first attempt misses, as does his second, but the third just catches the lip and is secure.
In the meantime, Sai Kyo finds a stone with a perfect groove into which he can set the pole. Brovar looks forward to seeing Sai Kyo fall on his face, but with stunning style he clears the top of the tower, his feet landing lightly on the roof. Looking around he sees a hole from which there is a fair amount of smoke, which smells of wood and possibly food. There is a ladder which looks slippery and dirty and the smoke does make a descent attractive.
On the other tower, Tripp climbs up the rope attached to the grappling hook, but Baka is struggling to find a foothold. He also sees a trap door, this one open revealing a ladder leading down.
Brovar and Lilrie put the reins of the horses under a rock to hold them so that they can explore further. A few moments later Tripp and Lilrie look up as they hear shouts in the distance, and a high-pitched cry from out in the sand. The cries are coming from the direction from which we came, and we can just make out three figures running towards us. We check the mirror, but Sirenna’s situation is unchanged, so she has not escaped. As we continue to watch the three runners, we see a larger group of a dozen or so lightly armoured figures, some mounted, in pursuit. As they get closer, we can see the runners are teenagers, two boys and one girl, lightly dressed and carrying bows.
We quickly decide to help them as we need information about this area which they may be able to provide. Preparing for battle we draw our bows and ready our spells. Sai Kyo shouts to them to get behind us, but they stop at his shout, seemingly uncertain of what to do.
The bowmen start letting loose with Digby making one of the most perfect shots of his life. It slams into one of the pursuers doing a 31E puncture critical, striking him in the thigh for 3 more damage. Tripp follows suit, his first arrow hitting for a 13C puncture critical and 3 more hits, and his second an 11C puncture critical, for 3 more hits, stunning the man for 2 rounds and putting him on 2 hits per round. Brovar fumbles, losing his grip and electing not to attack.
Next round, Digby hits the same guy again for 9A for two more hits and putting him on 2 hits per round. Tripp’s first arrow hits for a 14C puncture critical, doing 6 more damage, putting him on 5 hits per round, knocking him off his horse, as the second arrow is a 12C puncture and 3 more damage. He now looks like a pin cushion and is thoroughly dead. Brovar makes up for the last round as he hits one of the men for 42 damage and an E and B critical, shattering his weapon arm, stunning him for 3 rounds, putting him on 2 hits per round and doing 13 more damage.
As the horsemen close, the three youngsters having seen what we have done, heed Sai Kyo’s call, and get behind us. We can see that the young girl is favouring her right light, an arrow in her thigh.
Digby continues the attack with a 25E puncture critical, the arrow going straight thru his back, taking the man to the ground, where he bleeds out. Tripp fires again, his first arrow for an 8B puncture critical, the second doing an 18E puncture critical, shattering his weapon arm, doing 10 more damage. Brovar also hits, doing a 21D puncture critical, killing the man.
Lilrie carries out first aid on the young girl, stemming the bleeding, taking the arrow head out and telling one of the boys to apply pressure. She then turns to the fight, taking out her new mace.
Tripp and Digby hang back, as Baka, having cast Shield on herself, moves up to protect them from the nasty men.
Sai Kyo has prepared with Adrenal Speed so attacks twice, the firsts a 9D sweep critical, and two more hits, the second a 7C sweep critical, unbalancing the man so that he is unable to attack, with Sai Kyo getting +20 on his next attack. Unfortunately he is hit for 13 damage, slashing the muscle in his calf, taking another 6 damage, putting him on -40, and a further -10 as he has taken more than 25% of his hits. Shit. Brovar’s long sword does an 8A crush critical for 2 more hits to his opponent, forcing him to parry next round, and his mace does an 8A for one more damage. Brovar is also hit for 10 damage, slicing thru the muscle in his long sword arm, putting him on -30.
Digby fires into the melee, landing a 26E puncture critical, taking the man thru the leg, killing him instantly. Tripp aims for the man in front of Baka, his first arrow doing an 18E puncture critical, taking him in the chest for 5 more damage, putting him on 4 hits per round, forcing him to parry next round. His second arrow breaks. Baka is not able to hit with her attack.
Sai Kyo attacks first next round striking the man for a 13C critical, doing another 8 damage, stunning him. Brovar’s long sword hits for a 14B slash critical, doing 2 more damage, putting the man on 2 hits per round. His mace attack is poor as is his opponents reply. Lilrie attacks with her new morning star doing a 24D crush critical, stunning and shocking the man, doing 10 more hits and stunning him again. Digby fires his long bow again for an 8B puncture critical and 2 more hits. Tripp fires also, his two arrows doing 11 and two A criticals, stunning the man, making him unable to parry, putting him on 4 hits per round. Baka fumbles her short sword, and ends up juggling her weapon for two rounds. Her Shield protects her as both of her opponents fail in their attacks.
Next round Brovar hits with his long sword for a 14C crush critical, doing 5 more damage. His mace attack is better doing a 17D crush critical, killing another one of the pursuers. Digby misses badly with his long bow, luckily not hitting Baka in the back and dooming Ellios forever. Tripp’s first arrow is a 13A puncture critical and he gets +10 on his next roll. His second does a 17D puncture critical, stunning him and putting him on 2 hits per round. Sai Kyo hits for a 2A critical hitting him on the weapon hand, stopping him attacking this round, and stunning him. Lilrie attacks with her morning star doing a 17C puncture critical, stunning the man so much that he falls backwards, unable to move. Baka parries her opponents’ attack away.
As we prepare for the next round, we hear whistles behind us, and Digby and Tripp see figures on top of the tower who lose arrows into the attackers. Seeing this the attackers break off and start running, arrows picking them off. The newcomers eye us with suspicion, some of them jumping down from the tower, others keeping their bows aimed at us. Lilrie turns back to help the girl again, who shouts out “Nelnor, it’s okay, they saved us”. Nelnor, we later learn is Tasyo for father. The man she spoke to approaches us and says “thank you, my name is Jotun, it seems you were here at just the right time”. He bears a resemblance to the girl, and they both seem to look a little like Sirenna. We ask Jotun if they live in the tower and he welcomes us in, calling one of the men to take care of our horses. Digby and Tripp try to gather their arrows.
We follow them up into the tower from which the smoke is rising, and we can see a pipe which now seems to be the source of the smoke. Descending with them into the tower, the rooms on each of the floors we pass all seem to be of the same size, and after three to four levels we hear more noise, including laughter. After 10 levels we emerge into the base of the tower which seems to be used for cooking and see that the clay pipe is cleverly crafted to capture the smoke of the fires. Jotun ushers us beyond thru a cavern and into an enormous open, circular space, 200 foot across, offering to help us with our injuries. In the middle there is a well and Jotun says that in the 12 years they have been there, they have not need to lengthen the rope.
The roof is domed, rising 100 yards above us probably to just below the ground level. There are two larger entrances, to the east and the west, which are completely blocked by falls of sand which spread into the dome. There seem to be other doors, that are now covered by sand. The floor is sandstone and there are two staircases leading down. There are random piles of sand, seeming to have fallen from above, and in the pale light from some kind of fungi we can see sand falling from above. Looking up we can see a vast mosaic, and seeing our interest Jotun calls out to some others who are carrying long poles tied together on top of which is a vast bundle of the fungi. As they lift it up the mosaic is illuminated and we can make out the details.
One side depicts a pool of water, mirror-like in its stillness, in a forest clearing, and in the center of the pool is a 15-foot square stone building on a small island. The other side shows six figures, four male and two female, in a desert scene. One of the women wears a band on her head with a feather motif. Her hand is outstretched and the sand seems to be flying away from her as if in a sandstorm. It is difficult to see detail, and there may be other figures in the middle of the sandstorm. In the center of the room, in a recently cleaned area, is an odd-looking metal frame.
Jotun notices our interest and we decide to show him the mirror. He asks what we have done with her, and calls out to others in alarm. We explain that she was with us in Sunom, three weeks ago. We start talking about our background and that we are still trying to find out who we are. As we tell him that we were dropped off as children, he says “you are the six, what happened to Aenwyn?”. He says that there is a legend of six children who will save Ellios from the Serpents of Amnos. We tell him that we are searching for the Oharith and their translation. He tells us that Sirenna said they must guard this location from agents of the Serpents, and that he hasn’t seen her for 12 years. He suggests we go down to see the doors.
Leading us towards the stairs, we pass the frame in the middle of the room. Pausing for a moment, we can see that the top is 3 foot from the floor, with a bracket in the centre holding a hemispherical bowl, the same size as the spheres we are carrying. Directly above it, in the centre of the dome, the mosaic finishes and there is a large smooth crystal disc, impossible to scratch. Jotun says that the disc is covered, but completely clear if the sand is cleared away, and that then the midday sun shines thru.
We continue following him down the stairs and enter a room at the bottom, feeling a little uneasy, as if the room is cramped. One wall is dominated by a pair of 10-foot high, unmarked sandstone doors, which appear firmly closed. Each has a large circular opening, about 6 feet above the ground. The size matches that of our crystals. We ask Jotun if he knows how to open them, but he says that they resisted all attempts.
We decide not to try to open them yet, but instead to insert the moon sphere in the frame above to see what happens. Before doing so, Lilrie does muscle repair on Sai Kyo and heals Brovar and Sai Kyo. As we take out the moon crystal Jotun is astounded and he calls others to see them. They gather round, none older than 50 or 60, and ask us about Aenwyn, the stockade and our journey. We answer their questions and after a while ask Jotun how we can clear the sand off the crystal in the roof. He sends people up to clean off the top of the dome and sometime later we begin to see pale moonlight shining thru. As we wait, we show Jotun the brass coin, but he doesn’t know what they are as Sirenna was the expert.
Placing the moon crystal into the frame, we wait and for a while nothing happens. The lens above focuses the moonlight onto a patch of floor on one side, and this focal point slowly approaches the frame. As it touches the crystal, the crystal begins to glow, casting a bright light into the whole dome, illuminating the mosaics even more clearly. This illumination reveals words and numbers in pairs, around the circular edge. Taking out the brass coin, we can see a double head arrow which seems to point north. The moon has moved on, but gem continues to shine, and we can still see the double-headed arrow on the coin, by its light. Looking more closely at the words and numbers, Baka notices that one word for sun has a capital L, perhaps the starting point?
It is late now and we settle in for the night. We sleep well, full and relaxed after a fine meal, and during the night the crystal continues to shine, bright as ever. Getting up the next morning we check the Mirror and see Sirenna eating some kind of slop out of a bowl, seeming to have been beaten up again during the night. Jotun is not happy to see this and we call to her, but there is no reaction again. Tripp looks thru his lockpicks, picking one to throw thru, but it just bounces off the Mirror surface. He tries putting his hand thru holding the lockpick, again with no success. There is no sound from the Mirror now.
We wait for midday and put the Sun gem into the frame. When sunlight hits the gem, it explodes with a golden light, far brighter than the Moon gem. It continues shining as the light moves on, and does not reveal any more information in the mosaic. Lilrie heals Brovar’s muscle repair and Sai Kyo back to full health. We descend again to the door and Baka takes the Sun gem, putting it thru the door to the left. We hear it rolling, zig-zagging backwards and forwards, dropping once and continuing to roll again. She does the same with the Moon gem, thru the door to the right, with the same result. She tries to open the doors, with no luck.
After a while the doors, imperceptibly, start to swing open. The gems seem to have settled into matching holes, and illuminate the room, showing two more doors exactly the same as the first pair, again with no markings. She does the same again, hears them rolling once more, but this time they pop out down by our feet, as the doors swing open. We pick them up and enter the circular room. In the centre there is a lantern and around the edges of the room are a series of carvings, some golden, depicting the Sun, others dyed black, depicting the Moon.
The lantern seems to have a lid, a lens cap, and a focusing lens, like a bullseye lantern. Lifting the lid off the lantern there is a hemispherical recess into which the gems would fit. Looking round the room, all the carvings seem identical. We notice that the lantern is mobile and it could be directed at the markings on the floor. Tripp thinks that putting a gem in the lantern could illuminate the markings on the floor, and together we work out the starting point. Baka puts the Sun gem into the lantern and illuminates the carvings in the order dictated by the pairs of words and numbers from the mosaic, switching the gems and using the lens cap to hide the light in between. As she illuminates the last one, we hear a clunking sound as a spiral staircase opens up in the center of the room.
Going down the stairs we reach another pair of sandstone doors and Baka, putting her hand on them, opens them easily. We are now beneath the old ground level, and the open doors reveal another strange room. The central area is a grid pattern, with two lanterns, one on either side of the door, which are fixed, but can be swiveled to 45 degrees. On the far side is a three-panel mosaic, the first panel showing a sun design over a closed door, the second a moon design over a closed door, and the last an open door above which the sun and moon are superimposed. There are a series of mirrors around the room, each with the symbol of either the sun or the moon. To one side, we can see a collection of mirrors on metal stands which are fixed and can be placed in the center of a square or at an intersection.
As we enter the room, and the door shuts ominously behind us to show a picture of the sun and moon combined on the reverse of the doors.
Kitty
- Session start – 1135 gold, 187 silver
- Income – none
- Expenses – none
- Session end – 1135 gold, 187 silver
Report Date
19 Mar 2021
Primary Location
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