Session 22: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story
General Summary
After the discovery that Medea was being magically dominated by the spiteful Aphrodite, Medea retreated to the inner sanctum of her palace with Jason and the Golden Fleece in tow. The party reconvened and resolved to go to the temple of Hera, Jason’s patron goddess, to ask for her aid in defeating Aphrodite. Kallos and Aegis hid out to guard the chained-up Helios, since you can’t exactly go dragging a chained Titan around town without getting asked uncomfortable questions, while the original trio, Amara, Callidora, and Meredythe, went to a tavern called Kottabos Corner to get a drink.
Immediately upon entering, the three adventurers had to dodge a glob of wine dregs being thrown in their direction by rowdy, drunk patrons. The dregs missed them and splattered on the back wall, to the disappointment of the crowd. This was kottabos, a drinking game where players would throw the globs of wine from the bottom of their drinking bowls at a shallow dish balanced on top of a pole. The party took refuge in a forgotten corner, out of the spit-throwing range, where some musicians were playing and being widely ignored by the raucous crowd. Someone explained that the prize was free baklava, which Meredythe had never heard of. The man was skeptical and asked where she was from; Meredythe lied and said she was from Ithaka.
At the word “Ithaka,” one of the musicians—a lyre-player with clouded eyes—reacted with surprise. He introduced himself to the party as Omeros of Chios and told them that he was working on an epic poem set partially on Ithaka. Amara asked if he knew any songs about the Fates, which he didn’t. He did know a war epic about Troy and Achilles, which startled the adventurers, as his version was entirely different from what happened when they were in Troy.
Before they could question him further, though, a wildly miscalculated kottabos throw flew over the bard’s head. Callidora sized up the situation and decided to try her hand at the game. The bartender mentioned that it was customary to dedicate your throw to your lover, and that winners of kottabos were favored by the goddess. The irony was noted by all, but Callidora nevertheless won the game and the free baklava.
Omeros started up a different song, which began as the Homeric Hymn to Hera but soon diverged from the text. He sang of a secret wellspring where Hera goes bathing every year. As she washes herself, letting her hair down, she becomes brighter and purer—something is restored to her by bathing in these waters. Omeros says that he learned that song from his mother.
The party discussed among themselves whether they should tell the blind bard about their own quest. Reasoning that, should they die, it would be nice to have someone pass down the memory of them, and that the world should have new songs rather than repeating old ones until they are stale, they take him outside and tell him their story. He said,
“You three really are heroes, aren’t you? Perhaps the muse will come, and I will sing your song.”To Meredythe, he added,
“It’s curious that you said you were from Ithaka. My epic—it’s the story of Odysseus that you met, but he spent so long trying to get home. After the end of the poem, he’s never really satisfied with home. I think he always wanted to be a wanderer. His home was somewhere different. I hope you find your home, wherever that is.” “Thank you,” said Meredythe. “Also, it’s really funny that he tried to rob you and you robbed him back.” “Yeah, he was a right bastard.” “Oh, yeah,” said Omeros. “Tell me about a complicated man.”
Character(s) interacted with
Omeros (Homer)
Report Date
18 Nov 2019
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