Ashnabis session 68
Summary
Session
Session date: February 27, 2022
Fair Cycle date:
Introduction
<AshnabisNarrator> What now will bind, when no rope holds
<AshnabisNarrator> Fast the hound against the tether?
<AshnabisNarrator> What silent chain can keep us still
<AshnabisNarrator> Before the surging tide and wretched weather?
<AshnabisNarrator> The human cord, our merest heart
<AshnabisNarrator> A soft smile by the warm hearthstone.
<AshnabisNarrator> These words, from the Silver Children of Silikam, are taught to the children of the effete nobility of the Omban heartland, but nonetheless resonate even here, far west in the Sestapor, at the end of the Empire's gaze.
<AshnabisNarrator> Pulled in many directions, cast by foul fortunes into unwelcome decisions, and yet, still, you are bound together by the human cord, despite it all. And despite what still may come.
Katenzhi gathers the others to help with Bivizmi's compulsion
<AshnabisNarrator> When we last left you, Katenzhi, you, almost unthinkably, had had to bind Bivizmi against whatever compulsion she was under. Leaving her under the watchful eye of Gefraz, you left to seek whatever assistance you could for whatever it is that is affecting her.
<AshnabisNarrator> It is the middle of a cloudless night, warm and musty with the scent of yesterday's light rain still lingering at the edge of perception. But here in the city, the smells of civilization mingle against the Sestapor's gentle odour.
* Katenzhi will head first to the Menagerie to grab Jimba and anyone else who is there
* Jimba is presumably sleeping belowdecks.
* Katenzhi will rouse you none too gently or quietly
* Katenzhi shakes you awake
<Katenzhi> Jimba!
<Jimba> Wha?!
<Jimba> Kat? What's going on?
<Katenzhi> It's Biv! They did something to her!
<Jimba> (We can just skip to gathering everyone, if folks want)
<AshnabisGM> (You can gather the others in order to explain your problem.)
* Katenzhi will get everyone together at the boat as soon as possible.
* Katenzhi will explain what happened, how Bizizmi was packing in the middle of the night and talking about the cult and the Spell That Could Not Be Broken
* Daifan will pull themself into something a ittlev more presentable while we listen
<Katenzhi> I tried everything I could think of and nothing would snap her out of it.
<Katenzhi> Right now she's with Gefraz but I had to... restrain her...
<Katenzhi> I... I didn't know what else to do...
<Daifan> we could let her go and follow her?
<Veznara> Can you take us to her?
* Jimba pats Katenzhi's shoulder in a comforting manner.
<Jimba> Hey, we'll figure it out. It'll be okay.
<Katenzhi> I don't want her to be in danger. What if they got hold of her?And we know where she's going. Basically. Yeah, she's at home.
<Llillilli> Maybe Veznara can do... something
<Veznara> Yes, perhaps the Ancestors will help.
* Katenzhi nods.
<Katenzhi> Please just... help her.
* Katenzhi will lead everyone back to her and Gefraz's house to see Biv.
* Bivizmi is still restrained and struggling without much success to get out.
* Katenzhi will check in with Gefraz.
<Katenzhi> How is she?
<Katenzhi> Any change?
* Gefraz is sitting there, a kitchen knife in hand.
<Gefraz> She's been pushing against the bonds. Pretty much constantly.
* Katenzhi sighs.
<Katenzhi> Gefraz, I am so sorry... I never meant to bring this here.
<Veznara> Let's see whether there's anything we can do for her.
* Daifan will try a dispel magic just to chek?
<Bivizmi> I need to go...
<Veznara> Where, Bivizmi? Where do you need to go?
<AshnabisNarrator> OK, you can try that Daifan.
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+10
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 27 ].
<Bivizmi> To help her.
<AshnabisNarrator> OK, spell is cast, now you can make a dispel check, 1d20+your level
<Veznara> To help whom?
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+14
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 32 ].
<AshnabisNarrator> At last, Bivizmi's gaze softens, and her muscles relax against her bonds. She begins to tremble.
<Bivizmi> ... Kat?
<Katenzhi> B-Biv?
<Katenzhi> Are you...
* Bivizmi starts to cry
<Katenzhi> Biv, talk to me, please... are you here?
<Bivizmi> I'm ... I'm all right, I'm me...
<Katenzhi> Oh thank the ancestors!
<Jimba> Oh thank goodness...
* Katenzhi throws her arms around Bivizmi and starts untying the ropes
<Veznara> Thank the Ancestors.
<Llillilli> Thank Daifan
<Katenzhi> Daifan, thank you... thank you so much... how did you do that?
* Bivizmi has rope burns on her wrists and ankles where she was tied.
* Veznara looks at Daifan
<Daifan> If Katenzhi coudln't so it - I just got lucky
<Katenzhi> I tried and I tried and... nothing worked...
<Junan> you were distracted
<Daifan> YOu were upset - it makes everytig more difficult
<Junan> understandibly so
* Veznara continues to look at Daifan
<Daifan> mmhmm.
They speak to Bivizmi about what she remembers
<Daifan> She's alright now - do you remember anything?
<Katenzhi> Daifan... I owe you. Big.
<Veznara> Perhaps it wasn't just luck.
* Daifan asks her
* Daifan just shrugs
<Bivizmi> I... I was dreaming. It was ordinary, at first, I don't really remember. And then I saw her. The girl. She whispered to me. She said she needed my help.
<Bivizmi> I awoke, and it was as if my body was not my own. I knew I needed to gather my equipment. My narrow alembics, and the copper retort I made for processing the pale oracle.
<Katenzhi> Did you know why she needed you? What she wanted?
<Bivizmi> I just know I was going to her. To help her. I don't know why she would need any help with the pale oracle. It was hers to begin with...
<Veznara> Do you know *where* she wanted you to go?
* Llillilli frowns.
<Bivizmi> To her. I felt like I knew where to go, that she would guide my steps there.
* Katenzhi will get some lotion to rub on Bivizmi's rope burns while she talks.
<Bivizmi> She said she needed me. Only I could help her.
<Veznara> How could you help her?
<Katenzhi> The equipment she wanted you to take... it's what you would use for processing the Oracle, into powder, right?
<Jimba> With alchemy, it seems.
<Bivizmi> Yes, for refining it, purifying it.
<Katenzhi> She needs a lot of it for something then. But what? Some kind of scrying?
* Gefraz goes to make some tea for everyone, since apparently there will be no more sleep tonight.
* Bivizmi picks up Vuchu, her little plant friend, to reassure him that she's okay.
<Bivizmi> I guess some powerful divination? That's all it's really good for - it's not as useful for other kinds of magic.
* Katenzhi pets Vuchu if it will let her.
<Veznara> But surely they know how to prepare and use the Pale Oracle already?
<Katenzhi> Whatever it is, it can't be a good thing.
<Bivizmi> You can use fos straight out of the ground if you have to - refining it and processing it helps, of course. I've developed ways to strengthen it still further.
<Veznara> More than they can already, perhaps?
<Bivizmi> Maybe?
<Katenzhi> I am going to find that bitch and personally put her back in the ground for this.
<Junan> or its a way to suggest you come to them that may be more "acceptable" to your mind... calling you for your skill
<Bivizmi> My memory is clouded. But I think she said she needed my help to be able to find a way home. I don't know what that means... maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
<Veznara> Maybe there's a peaceful way we can find out?
<Bivizmi> I didn't have a feeling like she meant me harm, but I guess she wouldn't say that if she did.
<Llillilli> Harm to you, or harm in general
<Veznara> Maybe... maybe she's tired of being a Saint?
* Daifan considered
* Veznara says dubiously
<Jimba> I mean, she was also taking you against your will, which is harm.
<Daifan> They wanted to use Khozra to strengthen her some how
<Daifan> many they wanted to find some other way to do that
<Katenzhi> We need to find them and put an end to this once and for all.
* Jimba nods.
<Bivizmi> This could just happen again the next time I go to sleep, or whenever they decide to try it again.
<Veznara> Or maybe it's the opposite. "The way home" sounds like it could be a reference to joining the other Ancestors.
<Jimba> Well, they can answer that question when we see them, right?
<Veznara> I think that depends on the circumstances.
<Bivizmi> I want to go with you, if you're going to try to contact them. I need answers.
* Jimba frowns.
<Jimba> Are you sure? It's likely to be dangerous.
<Jimba> And we know they want you.
<Veznara> Can we contact just her? Use the Pale Oracle in some way to meet in dreams, or something like that?
<Bivizmi> If you leave me behind, I don't know that they won't try the same thing again, except without Kat here to stop me.
<Katenzhi> I don't like the idea of taking you to her, but... I don't want to leave you here either..
<Veznara> Kat, are you proposing that we go to that village?
<Jimba> Then we'll just have to be on our guard.
<Katenzhi> I'm going there. I would appreciate all of your help but... I would understand if anyone doesn't want to.
<Katenzhi> This is my problem and I need to fix it.
<Llillilli> You are family.
<Veznara> Kat... before that, there may be other ways to find out what's going on.
<Katenzhi> You mean scrying?
<Katenzhi> We can try
<Veznara> Perhaps. Or talking to that woman... Atsa? Or even trying to talk to Sashni herself with magic, or the Pale Oracle.
<Veznara> I think... do you remember that vision she started to give us, at the temple ruins?
<Katenzhi> Yes, I do.
<Veznara> It was distorted... but I think it's something that really happened.
<Veznara> I think that back in Imperial days, a group of Stoneguards came to her village in search of an Ancestor they had traced to there.
<Veznara> And although the vision stopped before we could see it... I think they may have killed everybody in order to take that Ancestor away from them.
<Veznara> That may be how she died, how the people she loved died.
<Jimba> Doesn't give her the right to take other people's loved ones.
<Veznara> No, but it does give her cause not to trust us or expect us to help voluntarily. To her, we're the same people.
<Katenzhi> So what do you suggest?
<Veznara> All the things I mentioned before. Scrying, asking Atsa, or even trying to contact her directly, if we can do that safely.
<Veznara> I wonder what she means by "the way home".
<Veznara> Is it possible she just wants to die?
<Veznara> And if so, what would her priests feel about it?
<Daifan> isn't she already dead?
<Jimba> Is that like a theological thing?
* Jimba nods towards Daifan.
<Veznara> Well - become like other Ancestors, then.
<Veznara> I don't know.
<Jimba> Do you know how one goes about doing that?
<Katenzhi> Lightning bolts?
<Jimba> Can you kill what's already dead?
<Katenzhi> I can try
<Jimba> That's not, like, a philosophical question.
<Jimba> Seriously, can we kill her if it comes to it?
<Jimba> Because it's feeling real one-sided right about now.
<Katenzhi> And even aside from her, the cult has shown that they are more than willing to kill anyone they think is a threat.
* Jimba nods.
<Veznara> Trying to kill their saint won't make that better, though.
<Veznara> I'm willing to try to contact her with the Oracle.
<Katenzhi> Ok. We can try. And if that doesn't work we can see if Atsa knows anything, although it didn't seem like she was in their inner circle.
<Veznara> She probably knows someone who is, though, and might be able to arrange for us to meet them on neutral ground.
* Katenzhi nods.
<Katenzhi> Should we talk to her first then?
<Veznara> I'd rather contact Sashni herself, actually. As I say, I think it's possible her priests may not know what she's up to... I don't know.
<Daifan> that may be safer than trying to contact her directly
<Veznara> I'm willing to risk it. But please keep an eye on me in case it goes wrong...
<Daifan> we know she can draw people into dangerous visions, an her influence is difficult to break.
<Katenzhi> Contacting her directly is very risky.
<Llillilli> I don't know what you think we could do if it goes badly
<Daifan> mmhmm.
* Veznara glances at Daifan
<Veznara> Well, maybe it won't go badly.
<Katenzhi> That's reassuring.
<Daifan> I think we should try Atsa first
* Veznara ponders
They attempt to scry on Sashi, but fail, then contact Atsa and arrange to meet her
<Daifan> I'm not sure we could find her at this time -n but we *could* try scrying now
* Daifan looks at Kat
<Katenzhi> I'll try scrying on the village then.
<Daifan> do you want to give that a shot?
<Daifan> trying scrying on her directly, maybe?
* Katenzhi nods.
<Katenzhi> Do we have a connection to her I can use?
<Daifan> no
<Veznara> I can't think of one. Persimmons?
<Daifan> unless the oracle itself would count - but that shoudol make it easier
<Katenzhi> Alright, I'll give it a shot.
* Daifan nods
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 22 ].
<AshnabisGM> (what are you actually trying? Scrying on Atsa? Sending to Atsa? something else?)
<Katenzhi> (Scrying on Sashni)
<AshnabisNarrator> Make a caster level check, Katenzhi
<AshnabisNarrator> 1d20 + level
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+14
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 17 ].
<Katenzhi> (OMG)
<AshnabisNarrator> The spell returns no result.\
<Katenzhi> Nothing...
* Veznara sighs
<Katenzhi> Dai, you wanna give it a shot?
<Daifan> I can try....
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+10
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 13 ].
<Daifan> (I think that fails lol)
<AshnabisNarrator> (on your scrying magic check? Uhh, yes, that fails by 1)
<Daifan> !roll 2d100
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 2d100 ] getting [ 21 18 ] for a total of [ 39 ].
<Daifan> ...... no
* Daifan says as the area arounf them gets really cold
<AshnabisNarrator> OK: harmless visual effects or area in a 10' radius becomes hot or cold?
<AshnabisNarrator> OK the spell still goes off, though.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can now roll a caster check, 1d20 + level
<Daifan> (oh cool, I mathed wrong ;p)
* Daifan rolls [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 23 ]
<AshnabisNarrator> The spell returns no result.
<Daifan> she's too powerful
<Llillilli> :/
<Katenzhi> She must have a scrying shield of some sort.
<Daifan> maybe
* Veznara grimaces
<Veznara> Well... Atsa next, then?
<Katenzhi> Yeah, I think so.
<Daifan> lets try sending - it will probably wake her up at least
<Daifan> tell her that we need to talk to her about Sashni and can she meet us somewhere
<Veznara> (what time of night is it?)
<AshnabisNarrator> (probably closer to dawn than midnight, by this point. Still dark though.)
* Katenzhi will cast sending then. "Sashni is planning something. She tried to kidnap Bivizmi to process oracle for her. We need to talk. Meet us somewhere neutral?"
<Katenzhi> 20+19
<Katenzhi> (Gah)
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 30 ].
<Daifan> !roll 1d6
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d6 ] getting [ 1 ].
<Daifan> (Okay, the cold was gone pretty fast ;p)
<AshnabisNarrator> After a moment, an answer: "My shop will be safe. At dawn. What you say is true, and more. Perhaps worse."
<Katenzhi> She wants to meet at her shop. At dawn.
<Katenzhi> And apparently there's more we don't know.
* Veznara nods
<Veznara> I thought there might be. I'm glad we didn't just rush in.
<Veznara> I don't necessarily trust everything she's going to say... but we'll see.
<Junan> we'll just watch her carefully to make sure
<Katenzhi> Biv, are you ok to come with us?
<Bivizmi> I think so.
<AshnabisGM> Okay, so you want to head to Atsa's shop at dawn?
<Katenzhi> (Yes)
<Veznara> (Yes!)
<Daifan> (yes)
Atsa tells them of her worries about the cult's current activities
<AshnabisGM> You make your way to the herbalist's perfume shop as the sun is rising, and she opens the door to let you in, looking around in case anyone might be observing you although the street is deserted.
* Katenzhi will hurry in
* Veznara will join them
* Atsa looks concerned as she ushers you inside.
<Katenzhi> Thank you for meeting us.
<Atsa> I'm glad you could come... I wasn't sure if it was safe to reach out to you.
* Atsa is wearing a white dashi that appears to be newly made. She looks tired, though.
<Veznara> I think there have been a lot of misunderstandings... and we'd like to clear them up.
<Atsa> My children are in the back room, so please speak quietly.
* Katenzhi nods.
<Atsa> I brought them because I am afraid for our safety.
<Veznara> So please, Atsa... what is happening?
<Katenzhi> I'll do what I can to keep all of you safe.
<Katenzhi> You've helped us and I appreciate it.
<Atsa> For weeks now, all the talk among the family has changed. Before you intervened with the other saint, they had a different goal. Now, though, their mood has changed - more resigned, but strangely hopeful as well.
<Atsa> Bakkus and Ragamen, especially, have talked about a place called the Headwaters. Someplace that they're looking for, but they can't find. And they're writing or drawing something - a map, I suppose?
<Katenzhi> What is this place?
<Atsa> I don't know. They won't talk to any of us about it, except to say it is a place we'll be safe. But we've been told to prepare for a journey ... and not to expect to come back.
<Katenzhi> So... they want to leave?
* Daifan will cast Silence
<Atsa> My husband, Watskas, he's a priest of the Maiden and even he won't tell me anything. Whether because he doesn't know - or because he does, I'm not sure.
<Daifan> !roll 1d20+10
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 11 ].
<Daifan> (lol NOPE)
<Katenzhi> So they need to oracle to find this place.
<Atsa> I'm afraid that... that the journey they speak of is not in this life.
<Daifan> (rather it still goes off but I get a bad effect)
<Daifan> !roll 2d100
* @Lan-werk rolls for Daifan: [ 2d100 ] getting [ 64 46 ] for a total of [ 110 ].
<Veznara> A mass suicide? :O
<Daifan> (I'll just takr the half duration, anyway)
<Atsa> I'm not sure. I fear that could be the worst outcome. I'm not willing to put my children in danger, but I didn't know where else I could go to seek help.
* Llillilli frowns.
<Atsa> We have earned no trust from our kinfolk in Timiil, much less Kaskind.
<Daifan> maybe whateverbpower they were hoping to get from Khozra they are now hoping to take t=from her followers?
<Katenzhi> Daifan, do you know anywhere Atsa and her children can stay for the time being?
* Daifan considers
* Daifan looks to Junan
<Daifan> Do you now what is happening with the khultu inn?
<Junan> (do I? I assume someone is taking over it?)
<Daifan> if things are in disarray because of Zefa, maybe we could hide them there for now
<Veznara> Atsa, what was that all about? Does the Maiden use others to gain power? Or does she need them... is she, well, dying?
<Atsa> I don't know. I'm not in the inner circle of her followers.
<AshnabisNarrator> (right now no one is really running the kelta but Jaigadu is keeping an eye on it)
<Veznara> During that encounter, she showed us a vision of the past... Ombans came and took the Rushultagri from her village. Do you know about that? What happened?
<Atsa> I know that long ago soldiers attacked the village and she died, but I don't know what you mean about a rushultagri, I don't know what that means.
<Veznara> It was the name of an Ancestor...
<Llillilli> Mmm.
<Atsa> There's a lineage, Ruzuldaar. I don't know about a specific person, and the name is sort of different.
<Veznara> Oh. OH.
* Veznara 's eyes go wide at a sudden thought
<Veznara> Oh... is it possible?
<Katenzhi> ...what?
<Daifan> -_-
<Daifan> lets worry about the living for now
<Veznara> The Rushultagri - the one I just mentioned - was said to be the child of the Prophetess Zunuga...
<Daifan> do you think that we can ke hem to the kelta?
<Daifan> (take them)
* Daifan asks Junan
<Veznara> Is it possible that these Ruzuldaar are descended from the Prophetess Herself?
<Atsa> My husband... the others... they are still in danger.
<Junan> I should be possible in the short term at least, until we find something better
<Atsa> Either they might die, or they might go somewhere where I can't follow.
<Daifan> we will try and sort this out
<Katenzhi> We'll do what we can. But at the very least we can keep you and your children safe.
<Atsa> They will follow her wherever she leads - even if that means their deaths.
<Atsa> Thank you...
<Daifan> where are they now?
<Daifan> are they gaterhing at the village?
<Daifan> (gathering)
<Atsa> I know they haven't given you any reason to help them. They've even tried to harm you. But ... they are still my husband's family, and I don't want them to die because of some ... some misguided insane plan.
<Atsa> Yes, they're at the village. They've been gathering supplies that are supposed to be for this journey.
<Atsa> Food, clothing, fos, everything.
<Katenzhi> Atsa... they've killed for her. I don't know if we can talk them back from that. I don't want to give you false hope. But if we can end this for good without bloodshed, we'll try.
<Katenzhi> I just want this to be over.
<Atsa> If they are truly leaving - if it's not a ruse or a suicide pact - would you help them? if they just want to go away to somewhere they can be safe, is that enough?
* Katenzhi looks at the others.
* Jimba sighs.
<Atsa> I could live, I think, if I knew they were safe - I would miss my husband and grieve for him, but if I knew it was what he really wanted, and he was somewhere safe, I could live with that.
<Jimba> (Bivizmi is with us, right?)
<AshnabisGM> (yes)
<Jimba> Your call, Biv, Kat.
<Jimba> I've got your back whatever comes.
<Katenzhi> Biv? It's your blood that they owe.
<Bivizmi> If I knew it was over and wouldn't come back on us somehow... then yes. I'd let them leave.
* Katenzhi nods.
<Bivizmi> I don't want more people to die.
<Bivizmi> On either side of this.
* Katenzhi takes her hand and squeezes gently.
<Katenzhi> Then let's get Atsa somewhere safe and then pay them a visit.
* Veznara nods
<AshnabisGM> Okay - are you escorting Atsa to the kelta, or just telling her to head there?
<Daifan> (we can take her)
The group make further plans
<Veznara> (After we've dropped her off...)
<Veznara> I know where their Ancestor is.
<Veznara> I don't know if that will be important to them.
<Katenzhi> You mean the one that was stolen?
<Veznara> Yes.
<Veznara> Do you remember when we went to the Auggi?
<Katenzhi> Yeah...
<Veznara> When he was trying to impress me, Bitsaar gave me a tour of one of the crypts.
<Veznara> Anyway: we went back later, and he spoke to the Ancestor in the main sarcophagus there.
<Veznara> That Ancestor claimed to be the Rushultagri
<Katenzhi> And they're still there?
<Veznara> As far as I know. Harder to get to, now, if so... they built extra protections to wall that section off.
<Veznara> You see, after the Stoneguards took him away, they were in turn betrayed by the Voice, who had them massacred.
<Veznara> Presumably that's where they took him after that.
<Katenzhi> Why did they take him in the first place?
* Daifan sighs
<Daifan> I'm not sure it will help, or if they'd just want to feed him to Sashni too :p
<Veznara> He's the child of Zunuga! If what he says is true. That has tremendous implications for the Corps. He isn't supposed to exist.
<Veznara> Their main Ancestor? I doubt it.
<Veznara> I just don't know if they know about it. I do know the Voice made some sort of deal with the Sashnir.
<Katenzhi> It could be leverage. Or a bargaining chip.
<Veznara> Perhaps. I thought you all should know before we go in.
<Veznara> But be warned; the Voice would go to great lengths to keep this secret.
* Veznara glances at Daifan again
<Veznara> ..for many reasons.
<Veznara> :/
* Daifan sighs again
<Bivizmi> About what she said about them looking at maps, papers - the Headwaters? Maybe they need a strong divination to find this place.
<Katenzhi> That's what I assume, yes.
<Daifan> yes, that makes sense
<Katenzhi> If it's a physical place
<Daifan> if we can speak to them, maybe we can find out more
* Veznara nods
<Bivizmi> Do we just... go out to their village and ask to speak with their leaders?
<Katenzhi> If we go to their village... they'll know why we're there.
<Bivizmi> Maybe if we make it clear we just want to talk, they won't attack or something reckless like that? I mean - they wanted me there, so if I'm at the front...
* Bivizmi shrugs a bit anxiously
<Junan> we can try and negotiate something
* Daifan nods
<Katenzhi> If you're the one they want you should stay behind us.
<Bivizmi> All right.
<Junan> I could disguise myself as her and stay up front
<Daifan> Junan can talk to them - I would hope they wud still respect an envoy. If they dont - they will regret it
<Daifan> let them know she is with us and then see if they will talk
<Junan> or that could work too
<Daifan> I thikn it would be better if you could speak as yourself
<Junan> alright sounds like the basis of a plan
<Daifan> enough to get started?
<Junan> at least find out what they want
<Daifan> okay
<Daifan> then let's go
* Veznara nods
<Llillilli> Yes,
<AshnabisNarrator> OK so you're going to go over openly towards their village / temple area, when, in the morning? And Bivizmi is coming with you, but at the back?
<Katenzhi> (Yes)
They go to the Sashnir village where they speak with Sashi herself about her search for "The Headwaters"
<AshnabisNarrator> All right, by the time you get Atsa safe and take a little time for breakfast and preparations and probably more arguing, it's mid-morning.
<AshnabisNarrator> You cross the Kaskos at Timiil and head west into the light part of the swamp towards the Sashnirs' encampment.
<AshnabisNarrator> You don't see, hear, or feel anything untoward.
<AshnabisNarrator> The village, or what passes for it, is really just a lineage longhouse, the Voice temple, and a few additional outbuildings. You guess there can't be more than fifty adults at most here.
<Junan> so who should I be looking to talk to?
<AshnabisNarrator> You do see signs of activity, once you get there - a large clearing west of the temple is being prepared as if for a ritual of some sort.
<Katenzhi> The priests, I guess. Or Sashni herself.
<AshnabisNarrator> The leaders you are aware of are the lineage elder, Bakkus Sashnir, and his brother, the high priest of the Maiden's Voice, Ragamen. Of course the last time you faced them it wasn't under pleasant circumstances.
<Junan> well no time like the present
<Daifan> I'll go with you
<Veznara> I will as well, if you want.
<Junan> sure
<Katenzhi> We should stay together.
<Jimba> Are we not sticking together?
* Llillilli nods agreement
<Junan> yeah, just keep Bivi in back and be ready if things go badly
<Bivizmi> Okay.
<AshnabisNarrator> All right, you head into the village and are rapidly seen, of course. A child scurries into the temple, and a moment later, Bakkus Sashnir emerges.
* Gefraz is now known as Bakkus
* Jimba will stick close to Bivizmi.
* Katenzhi as well.
* Daifan stands by Junan
* Bivizmi stays near the back, as requested
* Bakkus is an elderly man, thin but not stooped, with a well-trimmed beard, and wearing a brown dashi as well as the iftijasi showing that he is the lineage elder
<Bakkus> What is this, then?
* Katenzhi struggles but manages to keep her mouth shut for the moment.
* Junan will try his Calm effect before talking
<Bakkus> (what's the DC on that?)
<Junan> (22 will)
<Bakkus> !roll 1d20+12
* @Lan-werk rolls for Bakkus: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 13 ].
* Bakkus relaxes a little
<Junan> We are here to talk. Discuss several issues actually, if you will hear us out.
<Bakkus> All right. We are busy here, but I will listen.
<Junan> Thank you
<Junan> I guess, right off, I'd like to know what you need Bivizmi for?
<Bakkus> I do not need her.
<Junan> She was magically influenced to come to you, but you had no part in that?
<Junan> to your group
* Bakkus pauses.
* Junan will sense thoughts on him while he thinks on that
<Junan> (ill use moment of prescience too)
<Junan> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Junan: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 20 ].
<Bakkus> !roll 1d20+22
* @Lan-werk rolls for Bakkus: [ 1d20+22 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 22 ] totals [ 30 ].
<Bakkus> The Lady would speak with you.
<Junan> and how is that to happen?
<Katenzhi> <w> I bet
<AshnabisNarrator> A group of bearers bring out the Maiden Sashni Ula on a carved chair.
* Sashni is dressed in simple brown robes.
* Sashni does not move, of course, but at once you can all hear her voice projected into your heads.
<Sashni> You are not welcome here. You should go.
<Llillilli> :|
<Bivizmi> Look, um, ma'am. You tried to bring me here. I want to know why.
<Katenzhi> You invited us here when you tried to steal my friend.
<Junan> an explanation is owed
<Sashni> The time for talking is over. The time for going is now. The Headwaters await us.
<Veznara> Please, Sashni Ula. What are the Headwaters? Why must you go there?
<Daifan> what's the rush?
<Sashni> To rid us of this land, and to rid you of a problem.
<Sashni> Where we go, none will follow.
<Bivizmi> Is there help you need with a spell, or with fos? Is that why you tried to draw me to you?
<Sashni> You are gifted, in the way that few ever have been, in the ways of the oracle.
<Bivizmi> Welll...yes. But what do you need from me? If I understand more, I might be willing to help.
<Katenzhi> Do you know where the headwaters are?
<Sashni> We are finding them. And when we do, we will go.
<Veznara> What are they?
<Daifan> what are you just going to drown everyone here? >.>
<Sashni> No, you don't understand. But that is all right. It is not for you to understand.
<Sashni> In fact, I owe you a great debt.
<Sashni> I thank you, for making this path clear to me.
<Veznara> How did we do so?
<Sashni> At our last encounter, you attempted to reason with me. You said to me that I can't guarantee that we'd be left alone.
<Sashni> You were right. If not you, there would be another group, other soldiers, other priests. Ombans are not going away, and I can't kill them all.
<Sashni> No matter what I desire, you have infected this place, and so all that remains for us is to leave.
<Veznara> But can you not live with them?
<Veznara> I know they did you a great wrong.
<Veznara> But you also saw in the vision that we tried to stop what was happening.
<Veznara> We do not wish your people harm.
<Sashni> You say 'them', but you mean 'us'.
<Sashni> Your faith will never tolerate mine. You will regard us as heretics. You will extirpate us.
<Veznara> There are those who would. But there are many more who do not know the whole truth.
<Veznara> I have learned some of it... and what I have learned has horrified me, at how I may have been misled.
<Sashni> It is the many more that I fear. More every year. More than you can control or convince.
<Daifan> do you really think there is anywhere they won't go eventually?
<Sashni> You are but children. You think that the world will bend to your will. I thought that, once. But sometimes, the best one can do is to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
<Veznara> I do not understand everything. Will you explain?
<Sashni> We will abandon the cords that bind us to this place, to this realm. It is the path open to us. Now that we have found it, that the map has been drawn. We will go where none can follow.
<Sashni> And then we would trouble you no more. That is what you want, is it not? For us to nevermore bother the folk of the Sestapor. You shall have your wish.
<Veznara> But you are a living connection to the Prophetess!
<Bivizmi> Is it ... a real place? in the living world?
<Sashni> It is real.
<Daifan> And it is a place where poeple can actually live? How do you know?
<Sashni> We know many things hidden from sight. The pale oracle, it is new to you, but for us, it has been a part of our lifeways for generations.
<Daifan> that's not an answer
<Daifan> if you were so confident, why did you try and steal away Bivizmi just hours ago?
<Sashni> You do not have the right to demand answers of me.
* Llillilli snorts.
<Veznara> But we do ask them. What of your Founder?
<Llillilli> The one you tried to abduct does.
<Daifan> That's never stopped me before
<Bivizmi> You didn't entirely answer me. It's a place in this world? a physical location?
<Sashni> You will simply ask questions forever, will you not? Again, and again, and again, you seek truth. Are there no mysteries in your world?
<Bivizmi> I want to understand before I know what I'm helping with.
<Bivizmi> If you need my help to get to this place, then I want to know that I'm not just leading your followers to their death.
<Sashni> We will be going away to a place where none can follow. Not a place of death. A place of creation and life.
<Katenzhi> If any of your followers wish to stay, would you let them?
<Sashni> I have chosen those who are to join me.
<Katenzhi> So that's a no, then.
<Veznara> How will you get there?
<Sashni> The path is one of powerful magic. Finding that path, that is why the oracle is so valuable. If you would help me, wielder of flame and glass, then I can achieve it.
* Sashni says, apparently referring to Bivizmi
<Daifan> so you don't know where you are going.
<Bivizmi> So to find the path... or the place... you need divination magic.
<Junan> They know where they are going, just not how to get there.
<Daifan> mmhmm.
<Sashni> Yes, very powerful magic. Far beyond that commonly known.
<Sashni> Finding that path to the Headwaters, and to discern its ancient name. That is what we need to know.
<Sashni> I know you fear that I intend to kill my beloved followers, but if that were true, I assure you, I have the means to do so already.
<Sashni> I would not need your help to divine how to do that.
* Bivizmi looks to the others
<Bivizmi> She has a point there... I suppose.
<Daifan> Oh I don't think you're trying to do it on purpose
* Katenzhi considers that.
<Junan> So once you find the path, you just leave... no consequences here from that powerful magic you are going to do?
<Sashni> That is so.
<Sashni> The consequence is that we will forever be no longer here. And no longer where we can be reached.
<Veznara> That... would be a great loss for the world.
<Bivizmi> And everyone who's going is willing to go?
* Llillilli shrugs
<Bivizmi> can I talk with my companions for a minute? I just want to make sure we all agree.
<Sashni> Of course.
<Katenzhi> Do I have your word that Bivizmi won't be harmed?
<Sashni> You have my word.
They discuss how to proceed
* Bivizmi will step aside with you for a word in private
* Katenzhi will join her.
<Veznara> (As we all do, I assume?)
* Daifan will also
<Junan> (yes)
<Katenzhi> I don't like it... but I don't think we have any other choice. They're going to go one way or the other.
<Katenzhi> And if it means that we're safe...
<Bivizmi> I think if I agree to do this, I need you to stay and make sure I'm safe, and that whatever they're doing is truly what they say. I know she says it won't be harmful but I still don't entirely trust her. But if it really does mean they go somewhere so far away, or so inaccessible, it can't be found, that's what they seem to want.
<Daifan> I don't think she has any real idea what this place is they are tryingto get to and what will happened to peopel who go there. If I also believed they were all willing to take that risk, that's one thing, but I don't.
<Bivizmi> Maybe we can talk to the followers?
<Jimba> If she doesn't understand it, they certainly don't.
<Llillilli> If they *are
* going into it with eyes open, and it's not some kind of swindle, then what right do we have to stop them leaving?
<Daifan> indeed
<Llillilli> The divination would clarify it, wouldn't it?
* Daifan nods to Llillilli
<Katenzhi> It might
<Bivizmi> Maybe, depending on what it is exactly.
<Daifan> but if she is casting it, she's the only one who would kow the answer....
<Junan> She's dooming them just so she can get away because she is unable to accept the world the way it is today and cannot change to it
* Daifan nods to Junan
<Junan> these people will be forever severed from the rest of the world. It will destroy them.
* Llillilli shrugs.
<Llillilli> Maybe
<Llillilli> That's a big assumption
<Daifan> we don't know, and neither do they.
<Bivizmi> I can offer her conditions. That we get to talk to her followers first, and that we get to stay and watch what they do - so if she's trying to do something sneaky, we have a chance to avert it?
<Veznara> Also... I want to know the history of their people. Particularly the Rushultagri.
<Bivizmi> I agree that I think they're doing it either with or without us. With us, maybe we at least have some hope to influence the outcome, or to help people who might be uncertain.
* Jimba nods.
<Veznara> And Kuga Sashnir... she should be treated properly.
<Katenzhi> No offense Veznara, but I think history lessons are the least of our concerns right now.
<Veznara> If they leave, all that knowledge is lost! And it's important. The Rushultagri...
* Veznara puts her head in her hands
<Veznara> Oh. This is...
<Veznara> If what he said is true, his mother died when he was born.
<Daifan> how would he know if he was just a baby
<Daifan> who knows what he was told and by who, or why
<Veznara> Because her followers took care of him.
<Daifan> clearly not all of them
<Daifan> or he woudln't have been way out here
<Veznara> No/ Perhaps his life was in danger.
<Daifan> it doens't matter
<Bivizmi> I'll give her my terms, I guess. If she refuses, then I'm not sure what more we can do here.
* Katenzhi nods.
* Daifan nods
<Katenzhi> If they want to go, we can't stop them, but if they do maybe we can give them a way out.
<Daifan> yes
They agree to help, but also want to speak with some of the cult members to ensure they really want to leave
* Bivizmi nods and will walk back to where Sashni Ula waits.
<Sashni> Very well, I agree.
* Sashni says to Bivizmi.
<Bivizmi> I guess you were listening in?
<Sashni> My way is that of knowledge and divination. It is hard not to know, not to listen.
<Bivizmi> Fine, then let us speak to your followers.
<Sashni> All of what you say is true. My followers do not know what lies at the Headwaters, because no one knows, because no one is there.
<Sashni> If you need to speak to them first, and if you wish to stay for the ritual, then that is a small price to ask.
<Veznara> Then you cannot know that it is better than here, Sashni Ula! Please...
<Bivizmi> I just want to know that they agree to this uncertain plan. It's fine if they are willing to take such a risk, but I want to know that they do so willingly.
<Sashni> I agree.
<Daifan> then let's talk to them
<Sashni> Go, then.
* Daifan will find some peeps
<Daifan> (Like another mom with kids or something)
<Katenzhi> Where is Watskas Sashnir?
* Atsa is now known as Watskas
* Watskas will approach at his name being called.
<Watskas> I am Watskas - what can I do for you?
<Katenzhi> Atsa begs you to reconsider this. She wants you here with her.
<Katenzhi> It's not too late.
<Watskas> How do you know my wife? She has spoken with you about this?
<Katenzhi> She is a friend.
* Watskas frowns
<Daifan> she makes very nice perfumes and make up
<Katenzhi> She does not want you to leave.
<Watskas> She should not speak about it with outsiders. She was never as dedicated to the faith as she should have been...
<Katenzhi> She only cares for the safety of her children. And for you.
<Katenzhi> You have no idea where you are going or what will be there.
<Watskas> I regret that she has chosen this path. I wish she could understand that this is what is safest for us and our children - by keeping them here, she only puts them in more danger.
<Daifan> you say that but have no ide what dangers you may face ahead
<Junan> what makes you so certain of that
<Daifan> the poeple who first came to the sestapoop from OMba were not expecting to find anyone living here
<Watskas> I have faith in Sashni Ula's guidance, she will not lead us astray. She has watched and protected our village for many generations, she will continue to do so in our new home.
<Daifan> she's had you kill your own people before
<Daifan> who know what this new land will have her ask of you, and your children
<Daifan> she doesn't
<Watskas> When they threatened our safety, regretfully, and after much deliberation, it had to be done.
<Daifan> you coud have made other changes
<Watskas> I am glad that it will not have to happen to my wife - if we were to remain here, with her actions, she might be under such threat. As it is, she can live.
<Watskas> For as long as your people permit her to, at any rate...
<Katenzhi> I'll make sure she's safe. And the children too.
<Watskas> Thank you.
<Katenzhi> You won't reconsider then?
<Watskas> Tell her I wish things could have been different, but that I must follow my family's path.
<Daifan> you don't
<Daifan> have to
<Katenzhi> I'll tell her.
<Daifan> there is room to forge new paths in the world you live in now
<Watskas> It's what I believe is best. It's what I believed was best for my family too, but Atsa has chosen differently, and I did not seek to prevent her.
<Daifan> . o O (because you dind't have time :p )
<Veznara> What about your Founder? The Voice have his body... will you leave him behind?
* Daifan will shake their head and try someone else
<Daifan> Are you conviced that this is a risk you want to take for your children?
<Junan> this feels like a waste of time... the people here have chosen to some very immoral things for questionable reasons and as such they have become totally entrenched in their mindset. If we had days to work with them, maybe we could change some minds, but in 20 minutes... unlikely
<Katenzhi> This is their whole lives.
* Daifan will ignore Junan for the moment - he is probably right but it feels better to try
<Watskas> Sashni is our founder, any others do not matter.
* Watskas will say to you, Veznara
<AshnabisNarrator> You find a woman around thirty, Yepri Sashnir, who is willing to speak to you, Daifan.
* Bakkus is now known as Yepri
<Yepri> All of life is a risk. Plant your field here, not there - that is a risk. Marry a man who leaves you for another woman - that is a risk.
<Yepri> If you ask me, do I know what lies at the Headwaters, I do not.
<Yepri> But I do know that our community here, my family, values me, and will protect me. They always have.
<Daifan> that is a bold and brave statement. I wish I had more time to help you see the ways in which what they claim is protection has caused much harm
<Yepri> I do not wish to quarrel. I just wish to leave. I do not want to argue with Ombans about how my life is to be led.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> Well. Good luck.
<Junan> If you have any doubts about this, any, even if you are afraid to say it, tell us now.
<Junan> (suggestion)
<Yepri> (is that also a 22 DC?)
<Junan> (DC 23)
* Daifan will go and stand by Junan
<Yepri> !roll 1d20+2
* @Lan-werk rolls for Yepri: [ 1d20+2 ] getting [ 2 ] which, after the modifier [ 2 ] totals [ 4 ].
<Yepri> I worry, of course! How could I not? But I worry about many things, and I trust in the Maiden and in my grandfather and my other kin. I am afraid, but I fear other things more.
<Yepri> If I told you I had no doubts, I would be lying. But if I said that, you would probably also think that someone without doubt could not be reasonable.
<Junan> I wish I could have talked to you days ago
* Junan sighs
<Yepri> I'm sorry, then, that we did not have more chance to know one another.
The ritual is performed and everyone in the area is pulled into another world
* Bivizmi has in the meanwhile set up her alchemical equipment, and is working with someone you guess is a village herbalist on refining the pale fos.
* Katenzhi will hang out nearby just to keep an eye on thihngs
* Bivizmi will be working on this for a while, so you do (out of game) have more time to talk to people, but we don't have time to play it all out. In general, your impression is that a few people *have* left the village in recent weeks - Atsa among them but a few others too. Those who remain are the most devoted followers.
<AshnabisNarrator> Bakkus and Ragamen spend most of the day together, working on what you presume are elements of whatever it is that they're doing, to reach the Headwaters.
<AshnabisNarrator> As Bivizmi does whatever it is she is doing with the pale oracle, it is brought to them, for their workings.
<AshnabisNarrator> The Maiden herself has been taken back into the temple for whatever preparations are needed.
<AshnabisNarrator> You are free to wander around, to watch - they don't seem concerned that you are here or that you know what is going on, to the degree that you do.
<AshnabisNarrator> At last, the time is right for the ritual to proceed.
<AshnabisNarrator> As dusk fades and the stars emerge, it seems as if the whole community has emerged into the small grove of persimmons next to the Maiden's Voice temple. The blossoms on the trees are fully open.
<AshnabisNarrator> The high priest, Ragamen, stands at the center, with his brother Bakkus, lineage elder of the Sashnirs, beside him, both dressed in white dashis. Their white-clad junto surrounds them in a semicircle.
<AshnabisNarrator> Out of the temple, six young people carry a curtained palanquin into the gathered group, who have begun to sing a low hymn of ancient words.
<AshnabisNarrator> Four leaves / My bones that fly and wither / Upon the ground and scatter thus / Their prophecy, the roots a-dusting
<AshnabisNarrator> Four winds / Against my bark they shiver / Upon the winter’s west lament / My scale-song weeps, its tears a-chanting.
<AshnabisNarrator> Four drops / pitter-patter, hither-thither / Upon my fruit, upon your brow / We taste again the world a-healing.
<AshnabisNarrator> Four leaves / The seasons, winds and weather / Upon your cardinal decree / The spring will soon be new a-borning.
<AshnabisNarrator> They bring their charge to the center, and then lay it down. The curtains are cast aside, revealing the Maiden Sashni Ula herself, resplendent in orange robes and ancient jewels.
* Yepri is now known as Ragamen
<Ragamen> We are here in the lands of the Ruzuldaar, of the Olodzoi, of the Aummesh, the lands of our ancestors' ancestors.
<Ragamen> But this place has become infested. It is sick, it is dying, it is dead.
<Ragamen> And so we, who have remained loyal to the Maiden these many generations, show our loyalty once more, by accompanying her on a historic journey.
<Ragamen> The Headwaters, hidden from all, lie pristine, just beyond our sight, their secret name lost. Until now.
* Ragamen pulls out a scroll and hands it to Bakkus.
* Sashni is now known as Bakkus
* Bakkus begins to trace his finger across its lines and murmur quietly to himself, placing one hand on Sashni's shoulder.
<AshnabisNarrator> As Bakkus speaks, a low rumble can be felt beneath you, and Sashni herself seems to be glowing with a dull crimson and blue flickering light.
* Bakkus turns to Ragamen, who continues:
<Ragamen> With our own Pale Oracle, we extend our reach through Source to streams untapped and futures unwritten.
<AshnabisNarrator> Katenzhi, you are struck by those words. The last time you heard them spoken, it was by Bivizmi, who was reading from the manuscript where she first learned about the esoteric root.
<Ragamen> And from those streams, to the place we now name, the Headwaters nameless no more.
* Ragamen nods to Bakkus.
<Bakkus> Fenead Asath.
<AshnabisNarrator> As Bakkus speaks these words in a tongue unknown to any of you, the rumbling grows and the ground begins to ripple around you. At first, you wonder whether perhaps it is an earthquake.
<AshnabisNarrator> The soft swampy earth near Ragamen parts, as if pushed aside by a great invisible branch, revealing a crimson and blue rift of light, flowing downward - flowing away. And as he speaks the name, others in the group, not all, but some, begin to chant the same words, "Fenead Asath."
<AshnabisNarrator> The rift shudders once, then twice, and then as if a dam had cracked, expands far beyond itself. The chanting Sashnirs are enveloped by it, drawn into this thing, this river of pure Source, and disappear.
<AshnabisNarrator> And then it is your turn, as all around you, every living thing is in a flash drawn beyond all human power into the churning light and warmth.
<AshnabisNarrator> And then ...
<AshnabisNarrator> It is difficult to convey, to those possessed of the sanity of an ordinary human, what it is to be in that place between, in the stream.
<AshnabisNarrator> Later, you would all agree that it was deeply beautiful, but that its cognizance was beyond mere words. Bright colours and shimmering lights - a formless aurora of pure Source - but nothing more.
<AshnabisNarrator> Were you amidst its dazzling waters a minute or an hour or a day? Who can say? But at the end of it all, a flatness, a new Coherence, a tiny fold cut sideways into the nothingness.
<AshnabisNarrator> You come to rest in a place like none other. You are all there, apparently unharmed, along with the various members of the Maiden's Voice, who mostly seem to be as stunned as you are. Amidst them all is Sashni Ula, still motionless, but you think if saints could smile, she would be smiling.
<AshnabisNarrator> And before you, its thick trunk at the center of a world a-borning, is a mighty persimmon tree.
<Katenzhi> Oh for fuck's sake...
<Jimba> Umm...
