Ashnabis session 31

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Summary

Session

Session date: May 3, 2020
Fair Cycle date:

Introduction


<Ashnabis_Narrator> Late in Latas, just before the fall harvest, the Aummesh of this region hold a festival called Obeba Haar, the Great Obeba. It pairs with Obeba Lin, the Lesser Obeba, which takes place in spring.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> No one seems to know quite what Obeba means - it's certainly not a word you have in Ombesh, nor is the practice known in the Imperial countries.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> One evening - only the reckoners seem to know when - the local folk gather to perform an intricate dance involving swinging empty baskets on ropes, something to do with the harvest.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> As the evening progresses, the young men of the clans start in on drinking raumak, whose main ingredient, a greenish gourd, grows year-round but is particularly pungent and ripe at this time of year.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You know, of course, that the harvest will be thin this season - for fos, for rice, even for the hunt. You're sure the Aummesh know that too - they've lived here forever, and have surely seen drought years before.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> But for one night, the revelers dance, and you can't help but think that they have the right idea.
* Daifan does enjoy dancing!
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Jimba, you've been caring for your charge, the former Stone Prince Lentus Odazhi, in your warehouse for the past several days, since he was restored from stone. The whole thing is very strange still, and the former general is still adjusting.
* Katenzhi does enjoy the drinking!
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Daifan continues to administer healing to your depetrified companion, but you worry that his greater trauma may be mental. It is hard to imagine coming back after three hundred years entombed, to a world where everyone you ever knew is long gone. Even his speech is archaic.
* Veznara takes notes about the cultural practices.

Daifan and Jimba tend to Lentus


<Ashnabis_Narrator> The two of you are at the warehouse with him on this particular evening, as he sits pensively.
<Daifan> (me and Jimba are there, you mean?)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> (yes)
* Lentus is a physically imposing, strong man perhaps in his mid-thirties, with brown skin and a well-trimmed beard. His centuries-old wounds have closed now, although he still moves a little gingerly. He is wearing a simple grey dashi.
* Daifan would have encouraged Jimba to find him something more fun ;)
* Lentus is pacing from one side of the warehouse to the other, back and forth, muttering to himself.
<Jimba> (I'm sure I could at least give him something decent of mine.)
<Daifan> (how bothered does he seem by my corpsebornness? About the same as modern people?)
<AshnabisGM> (not that bothered actually - you haven't inquired about it)
<Daifan> (cool)
* Lentus stops and turns to the two of you.
<Daifan> Is somethign bothering you this evening?
<Lentus> Mmm ... O friends, my liver and kidneys lie heavily, indeed.
<Lentus> I have many questions, so much I wish to know.
* Jimba glances at Daifan to see if she knows what that means.
<Daifan> We're happy to answer what we can, of course....
<Jimba> Well, we're happy to answer what we can.
<Jimba> (heh)
<Lentus> Then tell me, O my friends, how you came upon me in my stony tomb. I would hear it all.
<Daifan> It wasn't a tomb, really. Maybe once it was?
<Jimba> I think he was being poetic, Daifan.
<Daifan> It's been so dry this year that places that were deeper in the swamp were dry
<Daifan> Well... I think there had been structures there once, maybe
<Daifan> but it was all reclaimed by the land....or the swamp for the most part
<Jimba> It was a fort, wasn't it?
<Daifan> at the ruins of an old fort
<Daifan> we were supposed to be looking for some old Sentinel sword
* Daifan agrees
<Lentus> This was Kinjilai?
<Daifan> uhhh... I thik that's what Veznara said?
<Daifan> She knows a lot more about the history
<Lentus> Veznara, who is this?
<Jimba> One of our companions, a member of the Hand. She'd like to speak with you, if you're willing.
* Daifan nods
<Lentus> Ah, yes, very much so!
<Daifan> She's the one who hand your.... protector's remains brought back here to the Voice temple, before you were recovered
<Lentus> I must know everything - about how I was found, and what has happened while I was stone.
<Lentus> My protector?
<Jimba> Buhin Odazhi?
<Lentus> Buhin! My brother's son ...
<Lentus> But what do you mean?
<Daifan> he swore to guard you after you were turned to stone...
<Lentus> O my kinsman! O Buhin you brave fool!
* Lentus bows his head
<Daifan> I bet she'd like to ask you about that too....
<Daifan> I could go and get her, if you want?
<Lentus> Of course!
<Daifan> I'll return shortly then.
* Daifan will go and fetch Veznara
* Lentus turns to Jimba.
<Lentus> She is one of the corpseborn, yes?
* Veznara will come eagerly once she knows what it's about!
* Jimba nods.
* Daifan will hop off to do that
<Lentus> I thought as much. The clothing, the manner of speech, they are all different, but ... the gait and the gaze, those are much the same.
<Jimba> Oh?
<Lentus> A lifetime of knowing that one is lesser, that one is shunned - that is the same
* Jimba frowns.
<Jimba> I suppose...
* Laris is now known as Thelef
<Lentus> How was it that I ended up in your care after I was brought back? Here, and not elsewhere?
<Jimba> Your kinsman thought it best to give you some privacy for your convalescence.
<Lentus> My kinsman - yes. Bohin Lentu - that is actually his name?
* Jimba nods.
<Jimba> (I mean, it is, right? Unless he's lied to me? ;) )
<AshnabisGM> (as far as you have known, over the several years you've known him - that's his name)
<Jimba> He and his wife have been good friends to me.
<Lentus> And he is ... of the people who are local here? While you are of Imperial stock? This part perplexes me, what is the difference.
<Jimba> Geography and culture, mostly.
<Jimba> I was raised here, for instance, but I'm still considered Ombesh.
<Lentus> Hmmm.
<Jimba> Different dialects, as well.
<Jimba> Though I suppose that's cultural, so...
<Lentus> Yes, I see.
<Lentus> I am greatly in your debt, Ghughife Jimba, for your service to me, and to your friend Buhin.
<Jimba> I'm happy to help.
<Lentus> I do not know what my purpose is in this new world, but I must believe that those who entombed me were part of a greater plan, unknown to them, to bring me back. Otherwise ... what was the point?
<Jimba> Hmm.
<Jimba> Do you have any idea what that plan might have been?
<Lentus> No ... no, none.
<Lentus> I have so many questions.
<Jimba> I would imagine so.
<Jimba> I doubt I have many answers, but I'll help you find what ones can be found.
* Lentus smiles.
<Lentus> Then I am doubly in your debt.
* Jimba smiles, and would blush a little if his complexion allowed.

Veznara arrives to assist with their questions about history


* Daifan will knock before comign back in, a very excited hand in tow
* Veznara arrives, having basically dropped everything and followed Daifan as soon as she heard what it was about.
* Veznara smiles gratefully at Jimba as soon as she enters, then turns her full attention on Lentus Odazhi.
<Daifan> Lentus, this is Hand Veznara
* Veznara nods respectfully to him.
<Lentus> Hand Veznara, I acknowledge your holy presence. I am Odazhi Lentus, once General of the Ninth Army, and elder of the Odazhi, now merely a man.
<Veznara> Greetings, Odazhi Lentus. I hope and trust I find you well?
<Lentus> I am not well. That much is clear to me, at least, though nothing else be.
<Veznara> I am sorry to hear it. Is there anything I can do to help?
<Lentus> There is. I need knowledge - both of the world that was, and of the one that now is.
* Veznara nods
<Veznara> Of course. I should be pleased to provide what knowledge I can.
<Lentus> Your friend Jimba has explained to me that my cousin Buhin was ... guarding me, when you found me at Kinjilai.
* Veznara nods
<Veznara> Yes. I am sorry. I have seen to it that his remains are now kept honourably at the local Temple of the Voice.
<Veznara> I was permitted to speak to him through the holy priests.
<Veznara> He explained something of what had happened.
<Lentus> He had undergone that ritual? With the iron?
<Veznara> Perhaps. I do not know of this ritual specifically - I fear much knowledge may have been lost. However, he said that he had been wounded in a battle. Knowing that you had been turned into stone as punishment for your own actions, he volunteered to be your guard through the ages
<Daifan> ....what were you punished for?
<Lentus> That is ... a long story.
* Daifan asks, sitting and snacking on a bacg of something they acquired along the way to get veznars
<Daifan> (Veznara)
<Veznara> He mentioned something of that, too, sir.
* Daifan nods
* Lentus sits pensively for a moment.
<Lentus> I would go there. I would have you take me there. I would see Kinjilai as it is now, not as in my memory. And I would know - if it can be known - what became of my kin, my soldiers, my friends.
<Jimba> I mean, I suppose we can do that.
* Jimba glances at Daifan and Veznara.
* Veznara nods slowly
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> It sould still be dry enough
<Veznara> I am afraid they have all long since become one with the Ancestors, sir. But if you wish it, we can show you the place as it is now.
<Daifan> It would be interesting to hear your stories of how it once was, I think.
<Lentus> They are not all happy stories.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> Even so...
<Veznara> No. I am sorry. The place has a reputation, now, though the reasons for it have long since been lost. But perhaps you could help us to understand?
<Lentus> I will help you? Yes, perhaps that is so. But if I am to live in this world now, it is I who must understand.
<Veznara> Yes, of course. Things have changed.
<Veznara> And yet, in some ways, perhaps they are not so different.
* Veznara looks at Jimba and Daifan
<Lentus> Very well. When do we depart?
* Daifan shrugs. "Tomorrow maybe?"
<Jimba> Well, I can be ready fairly quickly. Perhaps we should let Junan know, at least, since he was with us when we first went?
<Jimba> And I'll tell Kat, of course.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> is Llillilli still away with the Hith?
<Jimba> Last I heard
<Veznara> What about Bohin? I am sure the General here does not require his permission. However, he may not like the idea.
<Jimba> Yeah, I should probably let him know.
<Jimba> Just as a courtesy.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Okay - we can say that you can take time that evening to talk to Bohin, Junan, anyone else you need to meet with. Llillilli can make it back by evening as well.
<Veznara> (Can we say that I talk with Lentus in the meantime? :D )
<AshnabisGM> (why don't you just wait then you can all talk to Lentus as you travel?)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> (there's time built in to talk with him on the trip, so it might be better to just save it for when you're en route - that way other people can join in as well)
<Veznara> (Pffft. I'd pick his brains for as much as I could! But that's okay - as I said before, we can do it as solo time later.)
<Veznara> (Just in case something terrible happens to him on the trip. :/ )
* Daifan can chase you off and say he'll need to rest forthe trip
<Veznara> (Daifan can *try*. :P )

They travel out to the ruins of Fort Kinjilai


<Ashnabis_Narrator> The trip out to the fort will take at least a couple of days, on foot - it is located in an area to the east of Lake Tsidul, not readily accessible by boat, so you'll need to bring enough supplies to camp for a couple of nights.
* Junan needs to find an enchanted wineskin... 4 days of drink will be heavy
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You set out in the morning, once you've prepared, travel northeast along the Colony Road as far as the village of Baziri. Lentus seems to attract little attention - his wounds are mostly covered and healing and there is nothing else untoward about his appearance.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Still, every traveller you meet, you wonder whether something will give him away.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You can talk as you walk, so we can take some time to do that now - maybe Llillilli can tell about her turtle friend :)
* Veznara will continue her questions once they are safely beyond the area where they may meet other travelers
* Lentus walks happily, as if every step is a gift, despite his injuries which are still healing.
<Veznara> I wonder, sir, if you would honour us with your story?
* Daifan will keep an eye on him to make sure he doens't wear himself out, or reopen anything
* Daifan is very excited aout the turtle though ;)
<Daifan> I want to hear about the turtle :3
<Lentus> I have not heard a new story in over three hundred years.
<Jimba> They might be new to us, sir.
<Lentus> Your name, Llillilli, it is a strange one. Are you of the local people?
* Lentus struggles with your name but not as much as you might expect for a guy who has been dead for 300 years
<Llillilli> I am huwhi.
<Lentus> What is that?
<Llillilli> I follow the ways of the People.
* Veznara watches Lentus with quiet interest when he asks his question
<Lentus> I do not understand. What People are yours?
<Llillilli> The Hith.
<Lentus> Ahh. Where do they live?
<Llillilli> Under the sea, in the swamps, some on land but always near the water.
<Llillilli> You have never met one of the People?
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+13
* Daifan rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 16 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 29 ].
<Lentus> I'm sorry, I don't understand ... perhaps your tongue has changed more than I thought. What do you mean, under the sea?
<Llillilli> Under the water.
<Llillilli> In the ocean.
* Llillilli makes a wavey motion with her hand.
<Katenzhi> They can breath in the water.
* Katenzhi adds helpfully
<Llillilli> Yes.
<Lentus> No, no, yes, I understand, I just ... these are anotherkind, with their own First Ancestor?
<Llillilli> We don't worship ancestors.
<Lentus> You look just like the rest of us.
<Llillilli> Indeed.
<Daifan> But the People she follows don't....
<Lentus> (Veznara, he seems very curious and interested)
<Daifan> Did you not encounter the Hith in your time here?
<Lentus> No, never. What do they look like?
* Jimba describes the Hith.
* Llillilli explains how the different markings and crests relate to age grades
* Veznara is taking copious mental notes of all Lentus' comments and questions
<Llillilli> I have only recently been considered as whesef.
<Lentus> Ahh ... we did know there were such beings in the swamp. From time to time there was a report. But no, we never had any contact with them. We always surmised they were fearful of our presence.
<Lentus> I did not know that they also lived underwater.
<Veznara> Did you hear nothing of them from the local people, sir? Local humans, I mean.
<Llillilli> I have just returned from their court.
<Lentus> Do they have a chief, or king? A council? What powers do they observe?
<Llillilli> A king.
<Lentus> And so although you are human, you serve the hith king?
<Llillilli> Not directly. But if you like.
<Lentus> Fascinating. I would meet this king, someday, if it can be so.
<Llillilli> There are... tensions at the moment, between the humans and the People. But perhaps.
* Lentus smiles.
<Lentus> Thank you.
<Daifan> but the turtle...
<Katenzhi> Yeah, how big was it?
<Llillilli> Oh yes... Loeluth
* Llillilli demonstrates with her hands
<Llillilli> They are magnificent.
<Llillilli> I think that Fellis hoped they would eat me
<Llillilli> They are very old... the last of their kind, and filled with so much rage and sorrow...
<Daifan> :(
<Lentus> Then we have much in common.
<Llillilli> But they let me touch them... and for a moment anyway, they were at peace...
<Llillilli> I suppose that is true.
* Llillilli regards Lentus with a new appreciation.
<Katenzhi> You can do that just by touching?
<Katenzhi> Lucky Thelef...
<Llillilli> Well... apparently?
<Llillilli> It was a test.
* Jimba smirks.
<Daifan> which of course, you passed :)
* Llillilli is oblivious to whatever you were insinuating
<Llillilli> If I hadn't, I would not be here
* Daifan nods
<Llillilli> I wish you all could have seen them @_@
<Daifan> me too.... but probably we would have been eaten >.>
<Llillilli> Also true.
<Jimba> They sound amazing.
<Jimba> Might have been worth it. ;)
<Llillilli> I would have thought so :)
<Lentus> Thank you for telling us your story, Llillilli. And while I do not know you, I am glad you were not eaten, so that I might hear your tale.
<Llillilli> You're welcome :)

Lentus relates his story


<Lentus> I have promised you also answers and stories.
* Daifan nods
<Lentus> What would you know?
<Veznara> What happened at the Fort we now travel to, sir?
<Lentus> Ah. Kinjilai.
* Veznara nods
<Lentus> Once, you know, I was a general. I served the Emperor Rusuro of the Tirumfegla, for a dozen years. My sword, and the wealth of my clan, was his to command.
<Lentus> The Osnabi campaigns, they were hard. This land was impassible, the sea routes impossible. The western forts had no lust for the battle - it came from the east, the pressure for more land to settle.
<Lentus> But we served nonetheless - such was our duty.
<Lentus> We came to this country, to build Kinjilai, whose purpose was to allow us to control Lake Zido and all the lands down to the coast. Even then, this part of the country had a good harbour.
<Lentus> My army had fought in the hills, and the open river - that was easy. The lands in the shadow of the mountains. But this, down here - this was different.
<Lentus> It was thought that it would be a matter of months before the Emperor sent enough troops to finish the campaign. But as the rainy season came, it became clear that that was not to be. And my troops, we were not prepared for a rainy season in the swamps.
<Lentus> We grew tired, and we grew sick. Our holy Corps cared for our dead, but fully a third of my army was bubun or shoror by spring. And still, no word of action from the Imperial City.
<Lentus> Over time, we came to wonder if we had been forgotten.
<Lentus> We came to rely on the local folk, the Olodzoi, for what we needed. They were small folk, simple country people, farmers and bronzesmiths and hunters, but brave, and just, and generous.
* Veznara nods
<Lentus> We learned to live alongside them. In time, some of them built a community near to us, the village of Dzugon, and some of us moved there too. We lived together, for five years, in peace.
<Lentus> In time, there, I came to know a woman, fair Liuppina, the brother-daughter of Aimmoch, their chief. And we came to have a son, Taipatus Iuggach, who lived with his mother and her people.
<Lentus> And then came the order to clear the tribes, take their food. No coward am I; my liver is strong and my lungs are wide. But that - it was too much. No more would I fight.
<Lentus> I do not know if my name or my clan is remembered in history, as traitors. I am sure that those who were sent to bring us to bear believed we were.
<Lentus> In the end, we were surrounded by their armies. We knew that they would take the fort. I knew that I would be blamed. So I gave my iftijasi to my brother-son Buhin, told him to take it to Dzugon, and tell the people to flee. I told him never to return.
<Lentus> Now I am here, and now, and my breath grows short at the thought that they too may have suffered. I can bear my pain, and these scars. But I cannot bear not knowing.
<Lentus> The local man, Bohin Lentu - what noble names he bears, for one of the country folk. He believes himself to be my descendant, and who am I to rebut him? But if it is so - that means that my Taipatus survived, perhaps. And perhaps others.
* Lentus sighs heavily.
<Daifan> your... who?
<Daifan> (Oh nm I missed it)
<Veznara> (Do I know what became of the other Odazhi? Artep said they'd died out, but was it specifically because of this? I did fail my original history roll....)
<Lentus> (so then ... no, you don't know)
<Katenzhi> Damn. I'm sorry.
<Daifan> I hope they did - or some of them.
* Katenzhi offers him her flask.
* Lentus takes a drink.
<Veznara> Yes. I am sorry, sir.
<Veznara> Your cousin's son - was he a Stoneguard?
* Lentus nods.
<Lentus> My brother's son, Buhin.
<Veznara> Were there many of his order with you?
<Lentus> Him, and one apprentice. They are not so many, the Stoneguards.
<Veznara> No, nor are there today. Were there more, once?
<Lentus> When the Empire was young, or so it is said.
<Veznara> Why did their numbers dwindle?
<Lentus> I couldn't say.
* Veznara nods
<Jimba> Before even your time, eh?
<Lentus> I suppose so.
<Lentus> I don't know much about Stoneguards - except how to command them in battle.
<Veznara> We have found other signs of them here, and have wondered whether they had a particular significance for the local people.
<Veznara> Perhaps your story explains it.
<Lentus> I don't know, I'm sorry.
<Veznara> Also... forgive me if I bring up an unhappy memory, but... I understand there was a man of the Tertizhi lineage who was part of your trial?
<Lentus> Trial? I had no trial.
<Veznara> Oh... I'm sorry. I misunderstood, then.
<Veznara> Your kinsman said that you were condemned; I, naively it seems, thought there had been a formal trial.
<Veznara> Were you given no chance to defend or explain your actions, then? :O
<Lentus> No, none. My crimes were, I suppose, self-evident at the time. I refused to turn on my family and friends.
<Veznara> I... suppose. If such a refusal is a crime.
<Lentus> As for the Tertizhi, Isha Tertizhi was indeed one of the generals who were present at my end.
<Lentus> A noble lineage, once, or so I thought.
<Veznara> Could you tell us about him? What happened?
* Daifan makes a face when he is talking about his condemnation
<Daifan> How stupid.
<Lentus> Isha was a woman, not a man.
<Daifan> You'd already won the people, why fight?
<Lentus> I didn't know her, really. She was just one of six, in charge of the armies in the area aimed against me.
<Veznara> I suppose you would have no idea of what became of her, then.
<Jimba> Yeah, that seems short-sighted on their part.
<Veznara> (Is Isha the name of the Ancestor?)
<Jimba> If you;d already allied with the people, what need was there to 'conquer' them?
<Lentus> (sorry, which ancestor?)
<Veznara> (Derzen's ancestor)
<Veznara> (Or Dezren's, whichever. :P)
* Veznara frowns and shakes her head
<Lentus> (I don't think their name had ever been mentioned)
<Veznara> I'm afraid it may not have been about politics more than anything else. :?
<Veznara> :/
<Lentus> I refused to obey. That was my crime. I am guilty of it.
<Daifan> Its still stupid.
* Jimba nods agreement.
* Lentus looks at you with surprise.
<Lentus> Yes, of course you are right.
<Veznara> (So is Isha the ancestor Dezren was looking for? Or did he even know the name? He must have...)
<Lentus> (you don't know)
<Daifan> They should have found out the situation before giving orders
<Daifan> It isnt like the people who came after you were successful either.
<Daifan> but they could have been.
<Lentus> In war, there are many times where we act without having enough information.
<Daifan> but they could have!
<Daifan> ahh well.
<Daifan> I'm sorry it played out how it did, but I suppose it's a little late to correct
<Lentus> So tell me of what happened after. What has become of the Empire?
<Daifan> ha ha ha.
<Veznara> Ah. There no more Empire... not as such.
* Daifan lets Veznara field that one
<Veznara> It has fallen, to be replaced with a number of successor states.
<Lentus> Ah. I see.
<Veznara> There is still an Emperor. Or, I suppose I should say, one who claims that title.
<Veznara> He rules over the nation now known as Taizi.
<Lentus> I know Taizi province.
<Veznara> However, he is acknowledged as Emperor only within its borders. Elsewhere he is known as, ah, "The Pretender".
* Lentus nods.
<Lentus> But the people, they still follow the Corps, clearly.
<Jimba> (mutters) For the most part.
<Veznara> Yes. There are still a Hand and Voice. I imagine they may be different from what you know, and I would learn from you what they were like in the past.
* Lentus nods.
<Lentus> What became of the many tribes who once lived here? The Osnabi tribes?
<Veznara> We know the people of this area as the Aummesh.
* Lentus frowns.
<Veznara> They are still here - though again, I am sure they have changed from who they once were.
<Lentus> These Aummesh, though, they are not the tribes.
<Jimba> How do you mean?
<Veznara> Do you speak perhaps of those we know as the Hulti?
<Lentus> No, no, of course I know the Hulti.
* Lentus spits on the ground.
<Veznara> You mentioned a place that you wished Buhin to go to...
* Lentus nods.
<Veznara> Dzugon. I do not recognize that name. Where is it?
<Lentus> Dzugon. The village of Olodzoi people that formed near Kinjilai. Where my family lived.
<Veznara> (There was no sign of such a village that we saw, right?)
<Lentus> (none that you saw)
<Veznara> (Do I remember anything about villages in that area? Perhaps from a previous reading of the Espali Annals?)
<Lentus> (no, but you also know there were lots of little communities once upon a time, mostly unremarked and unremembered)
<Veznara> (Anything about "pacification" of the area?)
<Veznara> (History roll, mebbe? :D )
<Lentus> (I mean, the area in general, sure? but it's not like the Annals have detailed geographic info)
<Veznara> (Oh dear. I have a guess as to what happened. :/ )
<Daifan> They're not *so* different.
<Veznara> (No idea who the Olodzoi would be, either?)
<Daifan> The Aummesh, to the Ombesh, I mean
<Daifan> Maybe more people took your example in the end, and just settles here and married with the locals
<Daifan> oh!
<Lentus> Yes, exactly. If your friend Bohin is right, then they are our descendants. That is ... my greatest wish, I suppose. But I must be careful not to believe in something so fiercely.
<Daifan> They didn't have any weird obsessions with persimmons, did they?
<Lentus> No, nothing like that.
<Veznara> Where was Dzugon, relative to the fort itself?
<Lentus> Northwest, close to the lake. Perhaps an hour on foot?
<Junan> We'll be in the area, might as well take a look.
<Veznara> I... fear it may not be good news. We must be prepared for the worst.
* Lentus nods.

Arriving at the fort, they find some locals salvaging stone from it


<Ashnabis_Narrator> The trip to Fort Kinjilai seems shorter than last time, somehow - perhaps because you know the way better.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> After you head off the road, moving overland north and east around the coast of Lake Tsidul, the travel is quieter. Lentus seems astonished as you walk.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> As you approach the site of the ruins of Fort Kinjilai, you can hear some noise from up ahead - it sounds like hammering and the voices of men speaking to one another in Aummesh.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You emerge through the trees to see three men who are evidently working at dismantling one of the ancient walls, stacking the stones they've managed to extricate off to one side.
<Jimba> (Aummesh) Uh, hello there.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> There is a tall, strapping young man who is busy chipping away at the crumbling mortar that holds what is left of the fort's walls together, and a hefty young man who is in the process of hauling a large piece of stone that his companion has pried loose from the ruined fortress wall, sweating heavily with the effort.
* Daifan blinks in surprise
<Ashnabis_Narrator> As well, there is a grey-haired man of around 50 or so, short and wiry, who seems to be directing the other two younger men, ordering them about.
<Thelef> Older_man
* Thelef is now known as Older_man
<Older_man> That's it, pile it with the others. Just a few more and then you can take a break...
* Older_man turns with some surprise as you approach, but doesn't seem overly alarmed by your presence.
<Older_man> What brings you here? If you seek stone, there is plenty for all here, good quality stone brought from afar.
<Junan> It's more of a historical investigation we are on
<Jimba> Oh, no, we're just here to look around.
* Junan calls out
<Older_man> Ah, well, very well then. Try not to get in the way.
<Older_man> Wouldn't want anyone hit by a falling rock!
* Jimba chuckles.
<Jimba> We'll do our best.
<Junan> It shouldnt be too difficult. It's not like your not making your presence known.
<Jimba> You should be careful around here, though. We've run into some trouble here before.
<Older_man> Oh, what sort of trouble?
* Veznara is quietly horrified at the desecration of this historic site, but doesn't say anything. Yet.
* Llillilli casually looks around for any evidence of recent monster activity
<Jimba> Well, what we ran into is gone, but this place *is
* supposed to be haunted.
<Jimba> Or cursed? I forget which.
<Junan> about the same thing really
<Katenzhi> Also there's always the killer tadpoles.
<Older_man> Ah, haunted. This place, perhaps, but so many old places are said to be... The spirits of the ancient ones still linger in their ruins.
* Older_man says with a bit of a shrug
<Older_man> But this place belongs to no one - the people who built these walls are long fled and dead, and no one lays a claim to it now. Why let good stone go to waste, eh?
<Veznara> Where are you taking it? If we may ask.
* Jimba looks at Lentus to judge his reaction.
<Older_man> To my home! It will serve me well as a good chimney for my house, and with enough left over to build a sturdy wall around the garden too.
<Junan> No arguement against that, just be appropriately careful.
<Daifan> Do you live around here?
<Older_man> Yes, close by - just to the north a ways, closer to the lake.
* Older_man waves a hand in the general direction
<Veznara> Is there a village there?
<Older_man> Well, there is my lineage, the Dusu. My family and I have lived there for a long time, but there is no village as you might call it - just a few houses.
<Veznara> We had heard of a village there once was in this area - Dzugon? Do you know of it?
<Lentus> It is a village on an island - with a great carved stone.
<Older_man> I don't know the name, no. But there is an old story... speaking of spirits of the ancestors... of a village that was on an island, like you say. It's a cursed place, said my grandfather. Many died there.
<Lentus> Ah.
* Veznara frowns
* Lentus wanders off to look through the ruins.
<Veznara> I see. I don't suppose any of your own people came from there, a long time ago?
* Older_man shrugs
<Older_man> I don't know about that. Just what my grandfather said, that it was a bad place to go.
* Veznara nods
<Veznara> Thank you.
<Daifan> :/
* Veznara follows Lentus until he's done, hanging back but watching where he goes and what he looks at.
* Lentus enters into the remains of what might once have been a storage building or guard post, and looks around.
* Katenzhi will go with them also, keeping an eye out.
* Lentus kneels down at the doorway and feels along the edge of the flat flagstone there, before he seems to find some leverage and raises it up in a cloud of dust.
<Lentus> O-ho!
<AshnabisGM> Beneath it is a hollow area, a secret compartment of some kind. Inside there is something that glints in the sunlight - a handful of coins and gemstones, perhaps stashed there as a last hope.
<Katenzhi> Son of a bitch...
* Lentus seems uninterested in those, and pushes them aside to remove something beneath them. It is a flat piece of metal about a foot square, which Lentus takes out and dusts off.
<Llillilli> Hmm?
* Veznara approaches for a closer look, if he will permit
<Lentus> After all these years, still here
<Lentus> Who would have thought?
<Veznara> What is it?
<Lentus> A fortunate find - the bridge-one-carries. This may aid us in our passage to Dzugon, if anything yet remains of it.
<Lentus> And a few baubles - perhaps secured here by my troops at the last moment?
<Veznara> Who else knew of this cache? Either way, I am sure you have first claim to them.
<Katenzhi> The bridge one carries?
<Llillilli> A portable bridge, I assume
<Daifan> huh
<Katenzhi> huh
<Lentus> We used it often, in our travels. It is light and easy to carry, yet turns into a firm bridge for crossing rivers, mud, and other obstacles.
<Katenzhi> That's pretty handy!
<Veznara> That sounds very useful. Is there anything else you wish to retrieve here, sir?
<Lentus> Did you search here when you retrieved me?
<Veznara> (I don't think we did, did we?)
* Junan will help him by gathering up the valuables, and estimating thier value at the same time
<Lentus> (you did, at least somewhat - you found various items)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You looked around the general area and found the items that were left at the statue. But this specific stuff, in this secret compartment, no, you didn't look there.
<Veznara> I believe we did, but this compartment escaped our notice. It is most cunningly hidden.
<Lentus> And what else do you not see here?
* Lentus smiles.
<Veznara> I think that is for you to tell us, sir.
<Veznara> What else did we miss?
<Lentus> There is no sign of a battle - no bones, no arms. The fort is in ruin - of course, after so long - but I see no sign that it was burned.
<Veznara> I believe the fortress was used for a while even after your time, sir, although the Empire did abandon it earlier than other places.
<Lentus> Perhaps so. But it gives me some hope to think that my soldiers may not have fallen here.
* Veznara nods
<Veznara> Would they have fallen back to Dzugon, then?
<Lentus> Perhaps. It's what I would have wanted them to do. My fear was that they would fight to the death for me. But whose ends would be served by such a sacrifice?
* Veznara sighs
<Veznara> From what the man outside told us... that may yet have happened, there.
<Lentus> Then let us not delay.
* Veznara looks grim, but nods.
<Katenzhi> There's still hope. If the Lentu's are really your descendants then some of them must have made it out, right?
<Lentus> That is my thought exactly, O friend Katenzhi.
<Veznara> The people here may ultimately come from there - it seems likely.
<Veznara> Or at least possible.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Okay, you can set off for the village, then.

They seek out the site of the former village of Dzugon, which is Haunted


<Ashnabis_Narrator> You travel north-west of the fort, along the route Lentus tells you to follow, drawing closer to Lake Tsidul.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> The village of Dzugon, as it stood in his time at least, was perhaps an hour's walk away from the fort at Kinjilai, or less if there was a cleared path between the two. As it is, you have to push your way through overgrown brush and wade across shallow streams.
* Veznara will try to Sense Haunt as we approach the village itself...
* Lentus stops now and then to get his bearings.
* Lentus seems to recognize something at last, and points up ahead. You can see some rocky formations that rise up above the low, marshy ground, making a sort of series of islands amid the swamp.
<Lentus> Here stood the village, where the ground was high and safe from shifting waters.
<Veznara> (Er, Investigate. Investigate Haunt. )
* Veznara looks around.
* Daifan also
* Lentus lays the metal plate down and speaks the word "balta". The plate extends to about three times its width, and to a length of some thirty feet, spanning the gap between the shore and the island.
* Katenzhi will keep an eye out for more tangible threats.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> The rocky outcropping is dotted here and there with trees, but there is certainly no village here now, nor even any clear traces of one.
<AshnabisGM> (OK, Veznara, make your Perception check)
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+13
* Daifan rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 33 ].
<Ashnabis_Narrator> All that you can make out, overgrown with vines and moss, is a large stone monolith, standing towards the center of the island, beneath the spreading branches of a huge, ancient tree. Veznara, you do sense that there is a haunt present here.
* Veznara frowns
<Veznara> There is an unquiet spirit here.
<Veznara> There, beneath the tree...
* Veznara points
<Veznara> General, what was that place?
<Lentus> That was Dzugon, once.
<Veznara> And the stone monolith, there?
<Lentus> Yes, that is as a record of the community, its events, its lives.
<Veznara> And that, I sense, is the focus of the haunting.
<Veznara> (Is there anything we can do to, like, un-haunt the place?)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You can see the site in roll20, by the way.
<Veznara> (Hah. And here I was waiting for you to tell us to roll initiative. :P )
<Llillilli> (is that grey block the monolith)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> yes
<Ashnabis_Narrator> There are various ways to deal with haunts, but the only permanent way is to resolve the issue in some fashion - such as by laying spirits to rest under certain conditions or solving the problem that led to the haunt in the first place. But you can also temporarily deal with them with your Hallow power.
<Daifan> maybe there's a record of what happened to the place..
<Veznara> (Well, yes, but I'm not eager to run in and do that if it's only a temporary solution.)
<Veznara> If they were "pacified", I doubt it.
<Jimba> Well, if something bad happened to the people here, they might not be able to record the last thing...
* Veznara sighs
<Daifan> if are were imaginging there were survivors, there could be.
<Veznara> I would gladly put the unquiet spirits here to their rest, but that depends on their being a way to do so that will satisfy them.
<Llillilli> (does the monument look damaged other than by time? like are there fire marks or anything?)
<Lentus> Well, let's go.
* Lentus crosses the bridge.
* Llillilli follows.
<Junan> well we can check the monument to see if there is a clue... I would hate to have the haunt assult us though.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You can't really see it clearly from here - it's covered in moss and vines and stuff. You'd have to get closer to clear it off and examine it.
<Veznara> I will come.
* Jimba will accompany people carefully, keeping a lookout.
* Veznara approaches, softly praying to the Ancestors.
<Veznara> (Don't forget my bubun! They can't be possessed by haunts, can they? If so, imma leave him a ways behind...)
* Junan will have his bow out, just in case
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Although the weather has been clear, now you begin to see a fog swirl around you, making the 'mainland' difficult to see, as if your world is condensed down to this one small island.
<Llillilli> Hm
<Ashnabis_Narrator> The fog transforms, coalescing around you as if turning to a solid mass. You see shapes emerging from within it, first just circles and spirals, but then turning into eyes, mouths. A nebulous arm brushes above your heads - you can almost feel it. A low groan unsettles you.
<Jimba> That doesn't bode well.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Every few moments, a human face, almost recognizable, emerges briefly and wails, before melting back into the mists.
<Veznara> Ancestors, preserve us... help us put these unquiet souls to rest....
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You feel the tug of the shroud pulling at your limbs, every step heavier than the last.
<Veznara> (Can I, like, Hallow a path to the inscription?)
<Llillilli> Ugh.
<AshnabisGM> (that's not how Hallow works)
<Daifan> oh.... these poor people :/
<Ashnabis_Narrator> You can use your Hallow power but not to clear a path, no. You can use it against the Haunt.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Now the fog seems to be pulling at your skin painfully - the faces and limbs clawing at you.
<Veznara> We pray you, leave us be! Let us learn your story, and give peace to you!
<Veznara> (The moment it become too painful, I am Hallowing!)
<Veznara> (How is Lentus holding up?)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> (we're rolling init)
<Lentus> (he seems to be OK you guess - I mean, he's been through a lot, how much worse could this be?)

They confront the Haunt and after some struggles, Katenzhi manages to contain it with a spell


Ashnabis_Narrator: Junan, are you on the bridge still, or on the island?
Junan: on the bridge hanging back to help
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok, well, you're up, so you can see the island get shrouded in fog and then you can't really see your companions anymore.
Ashnabis_Narrator: Junan, do you want to take an action, or hold?
Junan: ill delay since I have no clue what is happening
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok
Veznara: Oh Ancestors, guide and defend us!
Ashnabis_Narrator: Daifan, your turn. The island is covered in fog and there is eerie moaning and wailing and hands clawing at you. You take...9 damage, and then you can choose your action.
Daifan: D:
Llillilli: These are the ancestors : p
Daifan: (Is there anything to act against?)
Daifan will use fortune
Ashnabis_Narrator: not really. there's the fog, but it isn't anything physical/solid to attack. There's the stone, or there's retreating back to the bridge, or aiding someone else, but ... yeah. Fortune it is :) Veznara's turn. Veznara, you take ...6 damage, and now you can act.
Veznara: O Ancestors defend us! Give peace to these tortured souls, and guide us to help them to their true rest! Hallow, for 4d6=13 And I will move toward the inscription, if I can
AshnabisGM: what's your save DC on that
Veznara: 18 or 19, depending on whether you round up or down.
AshnabisGM: always round down, 18
Veznara: 18, then.
Llillilli: is this lethal damage?
Veznara: It affects them, but temporarily.
Llillilli: (I meant the stuff we are taking ftr)
Ashnabis_Narrator: yes
Llillilli: (kk)
Ashnabis_Narrator: okay, Llillilli's turn. 3 damage.
Veznara: Can I move forward, though?
AshnabisGM: you can move forward at half the normal rate, so 15 ft max
Ashnabis_Narrator: Llillilli brushes off most of the fog's damage, taking only 3, and now can act.
Llillilli: I'm going to just hold my action, in the absence of anything to attack
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok
AshnabisGM: the fog is viscous and foul, pulling at you and obstructing your movement
Ashnabis_Narrator: Lentus' turn. He will take...10 damage
Katenzhi: (Ouch)
Lentus moves back - with seemingly nothing to do.
Ashnabis_Narrator: okay, Kat - you will take..7 damage and now you can act
Katenzhi: This is eitehr gonna be brilliant ore really, really dumb...
Jimba: (That's Katenzhi's sweet spot, right there)
Katenzhi casts Calm Air, centered on the tree. Should cover the whole island
Katenzhi: https: //www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/calm-air
Veznara: So this affects beyond the fog on the map... basically, there's no way we can run away. We either take out these haunts, or die. : P
Ashnabis_Narrator: it affects the large island. you can retreat back to the bridge/mainland if you want.
Ashnabis_Narrator: interesting choice. let me briefly confer with Steve on the Calm Air.
Veznara: (So wait - the island is only the area covered by the fog? Or the whole map?)
AshnabisGM: (just the island area)
Katenzhi: (The island is... the island.)
AshnabisGM: the area where the fog is visible
Ashnabis_Narrator: The large island, upon which most of you except Junan are standing.
Veznara: Ah, okay. Good. So we can run away. : P
AshnabisGM: but you could go back onto the bridge, or onto the spit of land at the bottom left
Katenzhi: (Or jump in the water if so inclined, I suppose)
Jimba: (How far does it extend into the water, if any?)
AshnabisGM: it doesn't extend into the water
Ashnabis_Narrator: The fog is confined just to the island. I apologize that the dimensions of the fog cloud I chose don't perfectly match the outline of the island ;)
AshnabisGM: OK, Katenzhi, make your magic check
Veznara: (I mean, this may be particularly important for me if I try something on the monolith and it doesn't work... : P )
Katenzhi: rolling 1d20+12 =20
Ashnabis_Narrator: all of the largest island is covered in fog, none of the water or other small islands are covered in fog.
AshnabisGM: ok, that should succeed. now make a caster check, d20 + caster level
Katenzhi: rolling 1d20+6=11
AshnabisGM: nope
Katenzhi: (Eesh, yeah)
AshnabisGM: (good idea, bad roll)
Veznara: (No way to re-roll?)
Katenzhi: (Next round I can try again)
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok - Jimba's turn. ouch, 11 damage
AshnabisGM: oof. and I hate to remind you, but ... the hippo
Ashnabis_Narrator: oh yeah, also the hippo. only 6 on her
Jimba: Okay. Honestly, I think we're just going to back into the water.
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok, you can just slide into the water off the island's shore, that's fine
Junan, any action?
Junan: call out if anyone needs help, and if no response then no action, or at least delay until someone does need help
Ashnabis_Narrator: well, you probably just saw jimba and Washteppo jump into the water a little ways off
Veznara: Huh. Would I be able to Hallow from the (relative) safety of the water? Asking for a friend... :P
Junan: I think Jimba and a hippo are gonna survive a swim
AshnabisGM: Yes, you can Hallow within 30 feet of the haunt
Veznara: Well, damn. : P That would have been the, ah, less stupid thing to do.
Ashnabis_Narrator: ok - Daifan's turn
Daifan will call out "We just want to help you!" and then back off
Ashnabis_Narrator: 7 damage and then you back onto the bridge?
Veznara: But only if I have enough Hallow power to take it out, which I might not. Not directly by brute force, anyway...
AshnabisGM: don't you have like 7 hallows a day? maybe 8?
Veznara: I do. 7
AshnabisGM: ok
Ashnabis_Narrator: Veznara's turn
Veznara: So I take...
Ashnabis_Narrator: 3 damage, and you can act now
AshnabisGM: it is possible that your GMs did think of how powerful you folks were before designing this : )
Veznara: I continue to advance toward the monolith. Can I tell whether it's the focus of the haunting now? :D My theory is that if it is, I can Remove Curse on it and put everything to rights. But maybe we need to Hallow the freak out of these things first, is al. So can I tell?
Ashnabis_Narrator: Veznara, you don't think the stone is the focus of the haunt, but examining it as closely as you can under the circumstances, you believe it has a series of carvings - not words, but symbols or signs representing individual people?
Veznara: I will try it. I use a Hallow to Remove Curse on here - "O Ancestors, bless and comfort those represented here and their descendents, that they might find peace and no longer rage."
Ashnabis_Narrator: you can try that, but you don't see any effect from doing so.
Veznara: OK, that's my turn! Next turn I will get out of dodge (that is, run to the water line) and nuke 'em from orbit. :P
Ashnabis_Narrator: Llillilli takes 6, and can act now
Veznara: (Unless the massive tree is a focus? Hmmm...)
Llillilli: I'll back up into the water, doesn't seem to be anything else to do
Ashnabis_Narrator: okay
Daifan: (That would mak sense to me)
Ashnabis_Narrator: Lentus takes 3, and can act
Lentus falls to his knees wailing "My people, my people, I have returned!"
Ashnabis_Narrator: Katenzhi, your turn. 7 damage, and you can try your spell again if you like?
Katenzhi: (yes pls) rolling 1d20+12=29
Veznara: Woo-hoo!
Katenzhi: rolling 1d20+6=26 (YES)
AshnabisGM: that ... is a good roll
Veznara: Go, Kat! :D
Ashnabis_Narrator: well that will certainly do to cast the spell, and with that you can suppress the fog. It dissipates, although for how long?
Katenzhi will concentrate on holding it for as long as possible.
Katenzhi: Ok guys... I bought you some time. Make it count...

They examine the stone carvings and manage to learn that Lentus' wife and child survived, as well as dispersing the Haunt


<Ashnabis_Narrator> Katenzhi's spell suppresses the fog at least for now... what do you want to do while you have the chance?
* Daifan releases a breath they didn't know they were holding when the fog clears
* Lentus looks up.
* Llillilli just pokes around the island looking at... whatever there is to see now
<Jimba> Nice Kat!
<Jimba> What do we do now?
* Daifan wants to see if there is anything that might be the focus of the angry dead, like the big tree is over a mass grave or soemthing :p
* Veznara continues to examine the monolith
<Lentus> You are a mystic?
<Lentus> You seem not like any mystic I have known.
* Katenzhi nods, trying not to be too distracted.
<Katenzhi> Sort of...
<Daifan> Similar
* Lentus stands.
<Jimba> Right, so, Veznara?
<Katenzhi> I'm not a fan of their rules so much.
<Jimba> What do we do here?
* Junan will rush onto the island to help investigate
* Veznara also looks around for a focus of the haunting again - *something* to Hallow to put an end to this, or other way of putting these spirits at peace
* Daifan will check out the tree for clues anyway
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Now that you can look at the monolith more closely, Veznara, you can see it is roughly square and at least half again the height of a person. On every side, ornate carvings of people and animals, as well as abstract symbols, spirals, triangles, and circles.
* Junan helps Daifan look
<AshnabisGM> (make another Perception roll, Veznara)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Daifan and Junan can also roll, since you're searching around the tree
<Daifan> If anyone is seriously hurt, let me know, and I can help
* Lentus goes over to the monolith
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+13
* Daifan rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 6 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 19 ].
* Daifan rolls [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 27 ]
<Veznara> (I can re-roll that if I need to)
<Junan> (moment of precience used for roll)
<AshnabisGM> (you can tell that the haunt is still here - whatever Kat did didn't neutralize it, as your power would)
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+13
* Daifan rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 24 ].
<Junan> !roll 1d20+17
* Daifan rolls for Junan: [ 1d20+17 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 17 ] totals [ 26 ].
<AshnabisGM> (its focus seems to be the entire island)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Veznara, you have seen nothing quite like this stone and its carvings; perhaps some of the clan-signs of the Aummesh resemble these symbols, but that may simply be a trick of your mind, knowing what you do of the history of this place.
<Veznara> (Well, I can keep Hallowing it into submission if need be.. but first)
<Veznara> General, is there anything here that is out of place, that has been marred or desecrated?
<Ashnabis_Narrator> It clearly had to have been brought here from a distance - you know of no local stone that could have served the purpose.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Along one edge, carved carefully, is a set of registers of hatched triangles, perhaps a handspan in height. This, you do recognize, at least in its basic elements. It is a representation of an iftijasi, the slates borne by clan elders, both Ombesh and Aummesh, that carry genealogical information about their history.
<Lentus> The village was a place of mud-brick and wood. Nothing survives - but that is no surprise.
<Veznara> Can you think of anything in particular we can do to put the spirits at peace, permanently?
* Veznara quickly glances around for bodies...
<Veznara> If not, I will grant them what temporary peace I can.
* Lentus looks at the monolith
<Lentus> This marking here - this is my iftijasi!
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Junan and Daifan, you look around the tree, but you don't see anything unusual other than that it is a particularly large and old tree.
<Veznara> What does that mean?
<Lentus> When I sent Buhin away, to tell the people of Dzugon to flee, I gave him my iftijasi.
<Veznara> Ah, of course. So he did come here, as you instructed?
<Lentus> This carving here - it was not there during my lifetime.
<Lentus> Someone must have carved it - perhaps Buhin, or my Liuppina, or even young Taipatus, if he survived to grow up.
<Daifan> what about the others with it?
<Lentus> The other carvings?
<Daifan> (Or am I misinterpreting - is it just the one carving that's new?)
<Lentus> Those - many of those, I recognize.
<Lentus> It does look - perhaps - like some of them, I don't remember.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> It's been a long time...
<Lentus> Not for me.
<Daifan> But if someone had time to carve this, then what did happen here?
<Veznara> (Can I figure out any way to use this new information to resolve the haunting?)
<AshnabisGM> (make a K: religion roll, Veznara?)
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+15
* Daifan rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+15 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 15 ] totals [ 16 ].
<Veznara> (Oh, for fuck's sake. If only I hadn't wasted my re-roll earlier. :/ )
<Veznara> I... I'm sorry, Odazhi Lentus. I don't know how to stop this haunting.
<Lentus> If some of these people were killed by the generals, that perhaps others survived? Used this place, after the armies were gone.
<Katenzhi> Maybe something unrelated happened later? A fire or storm or some creatures?
* Daifan looks at the markings that he indicated might be newer (though I think I completely lack context)
<Veznara> I will pacify them for now, if I can. And consult my sisters for their greater wisdom, when we return.
<Lentus> These markings, the Olodzoi use them to represent people and events.
* Junan will look too, cause I know symbols and stuff, and to have a record if we loose the stone
<Jimba> How much can you make out?
<Lentus> It's not like writing. It's symbols and such.
<Jimba> I mean, can you interpret what sort of events they might be recording?
* Jimba nods.
<Lentus> Like - see, here, this one. This is a symbol for Aimmoch, father of Liuppina
* Lentus points to a horned figure.
<Jimba> Okay...
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Katenzhi, as he says that, you feel something change slightly.
<Katenzhi> Whoa...
<Katenzhi> Say that again?
<Ashnabis_Narrator> As if the pressure you're feeling from the spiritual energy diminishes a little.
<Lentus> Aimmoch, father of Liuppina?
<Veznara> Their names!
<Katenzhi> Something happened when you said that
<Veznara> Their names have been forgotten - but you remember them!
<Veznara> Who else, Lentus?
<Ashnabis_Narrator> It doesn't happen again - it seems it worked when he first said that name, but not the second time.
<Lentus> You mean - the names of the people of Dzugon?
<Veznara> Yes! Who else is represented here?
<Katenzhi> Yes, read their names. Out loud.
<Lentus> Muttei, the Cypress.
<Lentus> Caluich, son of Kaitsech.
<Lentus> Erdzeppe, third of that name.
<Lentus> Mobeich and Gannekaa!
* Lentus starts naming various members of the community (you assume)
<Ashnabis_Narrator> With each name he speaks, the force of the haunting diminishes a little further, as each spirit is in turn freed to go on to its rest.
<Katenzhi> It's... it's working!
<Lentus> Buhin, son of Latesh?
<Lentus> Liuppina, and Taipatus?
<Ashnabis_Narrator> No change is detected at those names.
<Katenzhi> wait...
* Lentus just starts naming more names.
<Katenzhi> Those names... they weren't here!
<Katenzhi> They got out!
* Veznara smiles
* Daifan also
<Veznara> They lived!
<Ashnabis_Narrator> After Lentus has named perhaps about 20 names, you feel a peace spread over this island - the haunt is gone.
<Veznara> Oh, Ancestors be praised! They are at peace now.
* Katenzhi breaths a sigh of relief
* Jimba smiles.
* Katenzhi will say a quick prayer to the ancestors.
<Jimba> They just wanted to be remembered.
<Katenzhi> Don't we all?
<Daifan> so... YOur release was for something, afterall
* Daifan says to him, hoping it brings *him* a little peace as well...
<Lentus> So many died here.
<Lentus> My friends - I know for you they have been dead centuries, but for me, it is ... mere weeks.
<Daifan> (when we were looking around, was there any signs fo a battle or anything?)
<Veznara> Of course. I am very sorry, Lentus.
<Lentus> Yet I take comfort that others lived - Dzugon had many more than these.
<Katenzhi> Including your family.
<Jimba> So some of this did live on.
<Ashnabis_Narrator> Maybe a few arrowheads or something? Most signs have long since deteriorated with the centuries, but a few metal or stone pieces might survive.
<Jimba> And still does, with you.
* Daifan nods