Ashnabis session 69

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Session

Session date: March 6, 2022
Fair Cycle date:

Introduction

<AshnabisNarrator> The world has one Source and one Unfolding from that Source. The universe is unique, eternal, ever evolving and transforming, but still one. To claim otherwise is the stuff of fantasy, the imagination of fos-addled minds steeped too deeply in dream.
<AshnabisNarrator> So it is taught in the Academy at Dundures in Basai, and all the lesser Academies where mystics hold sway. And to be sure, every generation there is some speaker of madness willing to stake a new claim on the existence of realms large and small beyond the proper Unfolding.
<AshnabisNarrator> And the elders laugh, and the tablet goes onto the shelf, not to be brought up except in whispers, until the next time. Those of you with formal training in the arcane arts know that this is how it is taught: there is no verse but the universe, only one turning of the great Cycle.
<AshnabisNarrator> But those elders had not been to Fenead Asath.

The group debate with the Sashnir cult

<AshnabisNarrator> Just a few minutes have passed since you emerged out of the cosmic disorder into this place that the Maiden's Voice had called the Headwaters, but named so in the ritual, Fenead Asath, in a language unknown to any of you.
<AshnabisNarrator> As your eyes adjust to the strange red-crimson sky of the place, and are drawn away from the great persimmon tree at its center, you see around you the people of the Maiden's Voice, smiling and singing to themselves, as around them what is taking place what can only be described as Coherence.
<AshnabisNarrator> Out of nothingness, a temple emerges out of earth and stone, next to the great tree, and then a longhouse. Ragamen and Bakkus are close to Sashni, as if in communion with her, while others explore their new world.
<Junan> (does my Distance and Direction Sense give me any clue as to where I am?)
* Ragamen is talking to Bakkus excitedly.
<Katenzhi> Oh, for fuck's sake...
<Llillilli> No, no, no!!
<Daifan> (I would like to cohere somethign relly obscne into their little idyl 'cause I'm mad)
<AshnabisGM> Junan, it doesn't work at all. No idea whatsoever. Totally lost.
* Bakkus is looking over at you guys with some concern, but can't hide the giant smile on his face.
* Llillilli looks murderous
* Llillilli stalks towards the two of them.
<Junan> well I'm done
* Junan starts to walk away
<Llillilli> (I would like to grab whichever one is closest by their dashi or whatever)
<Katenzhi> Where exactly are you going?
* Jimba looks concernedly at Llillilli and walks after her.
<Daifan> Junan - wait!
* Veznara follows Jimba
* Katenzhi sits down on the presumed grass and sighs.
* Daifan hurries after him
<AshnabisGM> OK, Llillilli, you can grab Ragamen, the priest. He's probably nearest to you.
<Llillilli> You tricked us!!
<AshnabisGM> He's not really hard to grab, he's an old man.
* Katenzhi looks around for Bivizmi to make sure she is ok.
<Ragamen> Please understand, this was not our desire.
<Ragamen> We had no intention to bring you with us.
<Llillilli> Tricked us so we wouldn't be able to tell anyone where you went.
<Llillilli> You're lying!!
<Jimba> And yet here we are.
<Veznara> Llillillli! Please, calm down.
<Jimba> Can you return us home?
* Ragamen looks over to Bakkus.
<Llillilli> You *will* send us home or your headwaters will run red.
<Ragamen> I do not have that power, nor my brother.
<Jimba> Who does?
* Llillilli seethes and shoves the priest away
<Bakkus> It is not clear.
<Bakkus> We have only just arrived.
* Junan doesnt go too far, just finds a log or a stump and pulls his lute out
<Bivizmi> Is there even fos here?
<Veznara> The saint may know.
* Bivizmi asks, looking around at what there is for plant life in the area, apart from the tree.
* Daifan goes and sits with him
<Katenzhi> I have some with me, but...l beyond that I don't know.
<Bakkus> The fos will grow in the shade of the persimmon, just as it always has. It will take time to flourish.
<Jimba> (Where is she?)
<Bakkus> We have a supply.
<AshnabisGM> Sashni is right next to the two old men.
<Daifan> this is... a lot
<Llillilli> (is she still dead)
<AshnabisGM> (yuuuup, I mean, as dead as she ever was)
<Veznara> Ula Sashni, please... will you not help us return?
* Bakkus is now known as Sashni
* Junan picks at a few note
<Jimba> Well, saint? Can you send us home?
* Sashni speaks into all of your minds.
<Sashni> I did not want you to come along. If you had let the fos-worker come alone, I would have let her remain in the Sestapor, once her task was done.
<Junan> slight understatement... for the first time in years I don't know exactly where I am
<Katenzhi> Maybe if you'd asked instead of kidnapping her.
<Sashni> I do not need or want you here, in the Headwaters. It simply became necessary.
<Veznara> No. It is not, Ula Sashni.
* Daifan nods, listening to the saint in their head and scowling
<Sashni> I would have left you.
<Sashni> But your own words convinced me that this was the only path.
<Sashni> Your priestess made it clear as a still pond that you would share our secrets, our knowledge, with others.
<Llillilli> I knew it!! You DID lie.
<Sashni> That you have the right to take from us our quietness, to impose on us your own agenda. That your interest in our knowledge superseded our desire for silence.
<Llillilli> I will burn your hateful tree to the ground.
<Jimba> So you've chosen to impose your agenda on us.
<Veznara> No! I said no such thing.
<Llillilli> I will scream until the end of my days. I will rob you of everything I can!!
<Sashni> You spoke again and again of how valuable our knowledge was to you.
<Sashni> Of your demand to know it, and to share it with others.
* Llillilli draws her pfethes
<Sashni> You are not the first, of course. Those who took my ancestor from the temple felt the same way, centuries ago. You can hardly be blamed for embodying the rapacity of your people.
<Jimba> Says the kidnapper.
<Veznara> Not a demand! I *asked* you to stay. It was a plea, never a threat!
<Llillilli> (I am going to go and start hacking at their tree)
<Daifan> I will simply curse this place until its end, so that you wil find no peace here.
<Sashni> And so now you will join us, in our peace, here in the Headwaters. In time, we will learn from this experience. We will build new Coherence here. Or we will not.
* Sashni says, leaving the rest to your interpretation.
<Veznara> If I wished to force you, I would have tried to stop this!
<AshnabisNarrator> Llillilli, you strike at the tree but each wound you inflict on it heals over as swiftly as you can swing your weapons.
<Sashni> I will not debate with Ombans. That never works.
<Veznara> Please, Ula Sashni, reconsider. Let us return... help us return. We will keep your secrets.
<Bivizmi> I'm not sure if she can. I mean... no disrespect intended.
<Daifan> disrespect intended, she doens't have any idea what she is doing
<Daifan> all ancient and powerful, shes like a spoiled little girl playing with dolls, that's all
<Bivizmi> But that was a ritual of enormous power, and performing it again, if it would even work, would require similar amounts of fos, which I don't know if they have.
<Sashni> I cannot - at least, now, I cannot. Even if I wished to.
<Jimba> What does that mean, at least now?
* Katenzhi will pull out her fos pouch and -carefully- take a dose of it.
<Sashni> It means that we are here together. To build together. To live together.
<Jimba> Not with you.
<AshnabisGM> (OK, Katenzhi, you feel the familiar surge rush through you of fos power.)
<Sashni> That is as may be. I cannot demand your respect or fealty.
<Katenzhi> (So it feels normal?)
<AshnabisGM> (well none of this feels normal. But make a Perception check)
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+18
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+18 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 18 ] totals [ 25 ].
* Llillilli strides back over to the group, shaking with rage.
<AshnabisGM> (it does feel odd, but you're not sure how. Just ...off.)
<Veznara> But why hate us, Ula Sashni? I know the Ombans of three centuries past did you great wrong - but we are not them.
<Llillilli> (I would like to kick over the chair or whatever they have her propped ip on)
<Sashni> I do not hate you. I know you and your kind, and I fear what you are capable of.
<Llillilli> (if it's a chair I want to kick her right in the chest)
* Katenzhi will attempt to cast arcane mark on a rock, just to use the fos and see what happens.
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 36 ].
<AshnabisGM> All right, you can do that, Llillilli. Sashni seems unperturbed but Ragamen and Bakkus go to help her back up.
* Llillilli then stalks off by herself just far enough that she can't hear what's going on anymore, and sits down on the ground.
<AshnabisGM> OK, Kat, roll 2d100
<Katenzhi> (Oh boy!)
<Katenzhi> !roll 2d100
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 2d100 ] getting [ 2 90 ] for a total of [ 92 ].
* Veznara is taken aback at Llillilli's action, but calms down as she stalks away.
<AshnabisGM> All right, Kat: You can choose.
* Jimba will keep an eye on Llillilli, but stays where he is for the moment.
<AshnabisGM> Either: The caster takes 1d6 points of damage.
<AshnabisGM> Or: The caster gains 2d6 temporary hit points that last 1 hour and don’t stack with any other temporary hit points.
<Katenzhi> (Uhhh... I think I'll take the latter.)
<Katenzhi> !roll 2d6
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 2d6 ] getting [ 5 3 ] for a total of [ 8 ].
<Katenzhi> Holy shit...

They learn that magic is unstable here

<AshnabisGM> All right, the fos is released, and the arcane mark appears. But along with that, the familiar (but rare) experience of a wild surge coursing through you.
* Junan looks at Daifan
<AshnabisGM> You are of course trained in controlling and mastering wild effects, so you are able to manage it.
<Katenzhi> So guys... be very careful casting anything here.
<Jimba> What's up, Kat?
<Katenzhi> There's a primalness to the energy here. It's hard to control, even for me.
<Junan> I'm still working this out in my head. I'm not going to be much help for a little bit.
<Daifan> that's okay
* Daifan squeezes his hand. I think we all are
<Veznara> I do not think we are better or worse than other people, Ula Sashni.
<AshnabisNarrator> The community has begun to occupy this new space their revered Maiden has led them to (constructed for them?) in earnest. Ragamen and Bakkus stay close to Sashni, but the rest of the Maiden's Voice spreads out, presumably to explore their new home.
<Katenzhi> I just got a wild surge from casting a shitty cantrip.
<AshnabisNarrator> It may be just your imagination, but it is almost as if the place itself is expanding as its new residents explore it.
<AshnabisNarrator> You hear a high-pitched scream come from ... the other side of the great persimmon - so strange to not have any way to take your bearings here.
<AshnabisNarrator> The scream is followed by a trembling howl of pain.
<Daifan> I think we shoudl leave this areas
<Veznara> What was that?
<Daifan> ...
* Ragamen looks over in alarm.
<Ragamen> I don't know.
<Katenzhi> Was that one of your people?
* Bivizmi will head in that direction to see what the sound was.
<Veznara> Perhaps this place already had inhabitants...
* Katenzhi will run after her
* Veznara follows htem
* Jimba goes to look.
<AshnabisNarrator> You head over in that direction and see a deep pit in the center of a patch of packed earth, with flowers peeking through here and there. The scream is coming from the bottom of the pit.
<AshnabisNarrator> A young woman, perhaps sixteen or so, is at the bottom. Other than seeing her around the community you don't know her at all.
<Daifan> oh is your new home full of unknown dangers, whoever could have forseen this.
* Junan sighs and gets up to follow
<Katenzhi> (How deep is the pit?)
<AshnabisGM> (maybe 20 feet?)
* Laulen is a very thin woman, dressed in a white dashi tied with an elaborate knot. Her left leg clearly seems to be broken and she's wincing in pain.
<Laulen> Uggggh .... I was just wanting to look for magic around here. I just cast a little spell and - this happened.
<Jimba> Yeah, apparently that's a bad idea just now.
<Katenzhi> Yeah, I just found that out too. The magic here is tempermental
<Katenzhi> Someone have a rope?
<Laulen> I can get out, it's all right.
* Laulen takes some fos and casts a spell.
<Katenzhi> Don't try to climb or use magic, you'll just hurt yourself more
<Jimba> Wait, don't!
<Katenzhi> No!
<AshnabisGM> Her body writhes and contorts, and then it is as her skin hardens to a brown-grey consistency all over her body.
* Laulen looks down at herself and screams in horror as small leafy tendrils begin to sprout from the top of her head.
<Bivizmi> Get her out, quick!
* Jimba looks around to see if there's any rope or something similar anywhere.
* Junan pull his rope out of his survival pack
<AshnabisNarrator> Some of the other cultists are hurrying over with some rope
<AshnabisGM> There are various supplies here, yes. The cultists were apparently not totally unprepared.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can lower the rope down to her.
<Katenzhi> Just relax! It's probably temporary...
<Daifan> why help them
<Katenzhi> <w>probably...
<Jimba> It's not her fault, Daifan.
<Jimba> They've all just been lied to by their tyrant wannabe goddess.
<Daifan> no, but she made a choice to be here and can dea with the consequenced of that choice accordingly
* Jimba shrugs, but will help them get the girl out of the pit.
<Veznara> I understand your anger, Daifan... but let's not offend them.
* Katenzhi will do what she can to help, but without her magic she's about as powerful as a smurf.
<Jimba> Oh, no, I'm with her on that. Offend away.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can assist her in climbing out, although she has trouble
<Junan> Oooh.. not the best choice of words
* Junan puts his rope away
<Daifan> Veznara I have offended these people with my existence my entire life and I am not going to stop now.
* Veznara sighs
<Jimba> (to the cultists) Do you have a healer?
<Veznara> I'm just trying to think how to get them on our side. If possible.
<Daifan> why.
<Jimba> They're never going to get on our side, Vez.
<Daifan> I don't want them
<Ragamen> Several, yes. I have some ability in that realm.
* Ragamen goes over to Laulen and examines her broken leg. It's not a terrible break, thankfully.
<Jimba> Good. You'll likely be needed.
<Jimba> Spread the word not to cast magic here.
<Jimba> It's only going to cause more trouble.
<Katenzhi> Well I say we get drunk because I'm all out of ideas.
* Katenzhi grabs her pack and searches around in it for her flask.
<Junan> Now thats a good idea
<Daifan> I still say - we shoudl leave them
<Bivizmi> That seems like a plan...
<Junan> lets do that too
<Jimba> Sounds like a plan.
* Junan picks a direction
* Katenzhi reaches the botom without finding it and see a tear in the lining just big enough for a flask to fall through.
<Junan> that way
<Katenzhi> Oh fuck me.
* Daifan nods

They separate from the Sashnir group and set up their own camp

<AshnabisNarrator> Ok - if you want to explore, you can pick a direction and start walking that way.
<Katenzhi> This is the worst of all possible worlds.
<Veznara> Bivizmi, can you remember important points about the ritual? Maybe we can reverse it, at least for ourselves.
<Jimba> Llillilli? Care to shove offf?
<Junan> Llillilli! we're going this way and then going to finish off what wine stocks we have left. Welcome to join us!
* Jimba will follow along with Junan.
* Junan starts walking, playing a little a traveling tune.
* Katenzhi will follow them also
<Jimba> (is there a sun on the sky?)
<Bivizmi> I'm not really a great spellcaster - I just know about the quantity and type of fos it needed.
<Jimba> Hey, that's a start
<AshnabisNarrator> There is no sun here, just a steady pinkish-red light that comes from no discernable source.
<Veznara> Yes. Let's make note of that while it's still fresh in your mind.
<Veznara> Don't give up, everyone!!! If we can get here, we can get back.
<Katenzhi> Why did they need pale oracle though? That's best for divination, not teleportation.
<Jimba> Revelation?
<Bivizmi> The ritual needed them to know the name of this place...
<Junan> navigation
<Katenzhi> Right.
<Bivizmi> Fenead Asath
<Jimba> Well, we know the name of home, right?
<Junan> (does that translate into anything other than Headwater?)
<AshnabisGM> (it isn't in any language you know, and doesn't translate into anything_
<AshnabisNarrator> The landscape around you as you venture further away from the tree seems more wild, more chaotic. Trees manifest from the sides of rocks or seem to grow upside-down. It's as if the world is being created the further you travel, pulling itself into some kind of order but not one that is familiar to you.
<Katenzhi> We may not know the true name of home. Or whatever it is in whatever language they were using.
<Junan> (did Llillilli come with us? do we have to drag her?)
<Daifan> (we're not gonna leave her, for sure)
* Katenzhi punches a tree in frustration.
<Jimba> Are there animals here?
* Jimba looks around.
<AshnabisNarrator> A stream flows through the landscape but not in a normal fashion - the water seems to shift directions occasionally, flowing upstream and then downstream. There are clouds of small glowing things that seem like insects, moths perhaps, but they dissipate into sparks if you try to touch one.
<Daifan> who knows what there is for food. They talk about growing fos, but there's no sun.
<AshnabisNarrator> You don't see any signs of wildlife yet.
<Katenzhi> Do we even need to eat?
<Katenzhi> I guess we'll find out.
* Jimba shrugs.
<Katenzhi> i AM not EATING PERSIMMONS.
<Katenzhi> I am NOT eating persimmons.
<Junan> (we need to bring Llillillli if she didnt come with us)
* Jimba will stop once he realizes Llillilli is not with them.
<Jimba> (presumably we haven't gotten far)
<Daifan> (yeah, I don't think we'd go far without her, and ike I said were not gonna just leave her there)
* Jimba walks back towards her.
<Jimba> Do you really want to hang around here with these idiots?
<Llillilli> No.
<Llillilli> (I'm away from them, at least)
<Llillilli> But there's nowhere to go.
<Jimba> That's more true than you know, it seems.
<Jimba> But we can see.
* Llillilli grunts non committally
* Llillilli gets up off the ground though.
<Veznara> Perhaps this isn't the paradise Sashni was hoping for.
<Bivizmi> It seems that casting magic is risky here, and we only have so much fos, but... would it be worth it to try and contact someone back home? Maybe someone who would be able to help us?
<Jimba> Who'd you have in mind?
<Katenzhi> It's worth a shot. Our other options are we can wander around until we either starve or get really bored, or we could try to kill everyone here, both of which leave us the same or worse off than we are now.
<Jimba> The only person I'd be willing to try killing is already dead.
<Veznara> Let's consider all our options first.
<Veznara> We may want to conserve fos to try ourselves.
<Daifan> I think Bivizmi has a good idea.
<Veznara> I get the impression that it may be easier to leave from this side... there's so much ambient power here. Even if it is unstable.
<Daifan> but I am not sure who would be the best to reach out to
<Daifan> ...no, I do
<Katenzhi> Who?
<Daifan> Ughiva
<Jimba> Well, I trust your judgement.
<Veznara> Oh, yes! If anyone can help from the other side...
<Daifan> The folfi would have the power, I think
<Katenzhi> I can try. I honestly don't know if it would work from here or not.
<Katenzhi> What do we want to say?
<Daifan> we could say - we have been drawn against our will into Fenead Asath, a new coherence, and need help to return
<Katenzhi> Would that make any sense?
<Daifan> I think you should let me try to send, it, though
<Daifan> nothing about this makes sense
<Katenzhi> I have the best shot of managing the wild magic surge.
<Daifan> but it will give her pieces she can work with
<Katenzhi> But if you want to try...
<Veznara> Should you mention the pale oracle - was that key to how we got here?
<Daifan> I do. She woudl trust it more from me.
<Daifan> it was key to uncovering the name
<Daifan> not to coming here
<Daifan> but she knows of it - she's used it before
<Katenzhi> Just be careful.
<Daifan> I will
<Daifan> ...
<Jimba> Hmm?
* Daifan pulls out their fos to drink, looks at it, then shakes thier head and passes it to Kat
<Daifan> Tell her who is here, there shoudl be space in the message for our names.
* Katenzhi nods.
<Katenzhi> "We have been drawn against our will into Fenead Asath, a new coherence, need help to return. Daifan, Katenzhi, Llillilli, Jimba, Junan, Bivizmi. Also Veznara."
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 28 ].
<Katenzhi> !roll 2d100
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 2d100 ] getting [ 63 45 ] for a total of [ 108 ].
<AshnabisGM> (shatter, or everyone turns invisible for a round?)
<Katenzhi> (Yay! Everyone is invisible!)
<AshnabisNarrator> Everyone briefly vanishes from sight but reappears in a few seconds.
* Daifan blinks and reaches for the hand of the person who was beside her
<Jimba> Well, that could have been worse
<Katenzhi> Yeah, we were lucky.
<Katenzhi> We won't alway sbe...
<AshnabisGM> After a moment, you get a response from Ughiva. Her voice is muffled, as if through water, or at a great distance. "We will learn what we can, aid how we must, and tell your loved and trusted ones what has happened."
* Katenzhi will relay that to everyone.
<Jimba> Okay, that's something.
<Veznara> Yes. I hope they can help...
* Daifan relaxes visibly
<Daifan> they will.
<Katenzhi> In the meantime, let's see if we can find some food and water.
<Daifan> water we can find. but food.... I dn't know if we need shelter but it seems prodent
<Daifan> prident
<Veznara> Let's wait to see how others react to food and water here first... I don't trust anything here. :/
<Daifan> (PRUDENT fuck)
<Daifan> i coudl go and watch them
<Jimba> I still want to look around.
<Daifan> okay
<Daifan> Llillilli, can you help with a shelter, or maybe go with Jimba?
* Llillilli shrugs.
<Llillilli> If there's anything to work with
* Katenzhi is going to try looking around for anything that looks edible, just in case.
<Daifan> thank you
* Jimba will be doing that as well.
<Jimba> (Looking for anything to use for shelter, any edible-looking plants, any animals, etc. Basic survival stuff)
<AshnabisNarrator> Ok - so Daifan is going back to look at what the cultists are doing, and people are looking for food and shelter options?
<AshnabisNarrator> Those of you looking for shelter and food can make a Survival check.
<Llillilli> (yea)
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+17
<Llillilli> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+17 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 17 ] totals [ 35 ].
* @Lan-werk rolls for Llillilli: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 22 ].
<Veznara> (I'll go with Daifan)
<Llillilli> (I will use destiny)
<Llillilli> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Llillilli: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 24 ].
<Llillilli> (whatever)
<Katenzhi> (womp womp)
<Jimba> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Jimba: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 6 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 25 ].
<AshnabisNarrator> The plants are completely unfamiliar here - but you do manage to find some that have some purple berries, and some that look maybe similar to ferns, and an assortment of potentially edible things. Of course you can't be totally sure, but you can carefully examine them before trying to eat them.
* Katenzhi will gather everything together in a pile in case we need it, but not try any of it for now.
<AshnabisNarrator> For shelter, you do seem able to chop down or break branches off other trees, just not the big persimmon.
<Katenzhi> There's no sun. I wonder if it gets dark at all.
<Jimba> (What's the temperature like?)
<AshnabisNarrator> A moderate temperature - not too hot, not too cold.
<Katenzhi> I hate this. There has to be something we can do besides sit and wait for rescue.
<AshnabisNarrator> Daifan and Veznara, as you head back to where the rest of the people are, you find them engaged in similar activities, as far as you can tell - examining the local plants, gathering wood for fire. Some are centralizing around the big persimmon tree, with others venturing off to explore.
* Llillilli scowls in agreement.
* Daifan will sit somewhere we can watch them, not super trying to hide

A creature attacks one of the cultists and they fight against it

* Veznara will approach Ragamen
<AshnabisNarrator> They seem to pay little attention to you, although some look curiously in your direction.
<AshnabisNarrator> As you draw nearer, you are interrupted by the sounds of people running towards you in fear heedlessly. One of them cries out as they run by "It got Tsuur! Run!"
* Daifan will stand and try and see what they are fleeing from
* Veznara also halts and tries to spot the danger
<AshnabisNarrator> In horror, you see leaping and crawling towards you ... well, you're not sure what it is. Some sort of creature, perhaps humanoid, but shifting, first six legs, then just one; two mouths on its kneecaps, then no knees at all, just all mouth, and then it changes again.
<AshnabisNarrator> (let's move over to roll20 and you can position yourselves as needed)
<Llillilli> Gross.
<Katenzhi> Some paradise.
<Daifan> ....what was that? where did it come from?
<Veznara> Llillilli! Are you alright?
* Llillilli nods.
<Veznara> Good. Thank you.
* Llillilli nods again, but awkwardly
* Ragamen comes over to your group.
<Llillilli> you're welcome
* Daifan will also come closer to the others
<Ragamen> Thank you. That was very impressive.
<Veznara> What of your people, Ragamen? Others have been hurt!
<Veznara> It seems this is not the paradise you hoped for.
<Jimba> What the hell was that?
<Bivizmi> We should check on the others...
* Llillilli goes to the stream to wash the gross off herself (and heal)
* Bivizmi will look around for others of the villagers who might have been injured or worse.

After the fight, they talk further with Ragamen

<Ragamen> Of course we knew that the Headwaters were unknown territory. It was always going to be challenging. While we did not expect to face this particular challenge, we have faced many others and overcome them.
<Ragamen> There is no going back now. We refuse to surrender simply because something unusual has happened to one or two of our own.
<Veznara> But how many of these creatures are there? More than one or two of your people may suffer. :/
<Bivizmi> Where did that thing come from?
<Katenzhi> One or two in the FIRST HOUR!
<Daifan> did it attack them or....
<Daifan> something else >.>
<Ragamen> The Headwaters are more than just a home or refuge to us. They represent the culmination of our work over the last decade, to protect our way of life against the Omban incursion.
* Laulen is now known as Bakkus
* Bakkus goes with Ompi to check on their people.
<Katenzhi> What about protecting your way of life against horrible mouth monsters?
<AshnabisNarrator> Speaking with the villagers who first saw the creature, they relate that it appeared seemingly out of nowhere as they were gathering firewood, and killed one of their number, a man named Tsuur. You can recover his body.
<Ragamen> That will obviously be something we need to do. Sashni will help us develop a plan.
* Katenzhi face-palms
<Ragamen> Now I must plan to resurrect my dead kinsman, and to protect the rest.
<Daifan> to...what?
* Junan will collect his arrows...waste not
<Veznara> Ragamen... why are there none of my order among your people? Why is there no Hand of the Dead among you?
<Ragamen> That is not for you to know.
<Veznara> What is the point of keeping such secrets now?
<Daifan> with the unpredictabilit of magic, you would try such a thing?
<Ragamen> To raise the dead, that is not magic.
* Daifan looks dubious
<Veznara> It remains to be seen whether it will work, here.
<Ragamen> Our own hallowing powers worked here, as you and I both saw.
<Ragamen> There is no reason to doubt it.
<Veznara> That is so. I hope you are successful... but this place is still very dangerous.
<Ragamen> I know this is difficult for all of you.
<Veznara> We were willing to help you. We did not volunteer to come *with* you.
<Ragamen> The Maiden has made her course clear. Now it is our place to obey.
<Llillilli> I want you to understand I came to aid *Veznara.*
<Llillilli> Next time, you all may not be so fortunate.
<Daifan> Mmmhmm.
* Llillilli says as she comes back up from the stream.
<Veznara> We have never wished you or your people harm, Ragamen. Kidnapping us this way is wrong.
<Veznara> You made a *choice* to follow Sashni Ula. We did not choose.
<Junan> no Veznara, since were Omban, our existance is harm to them so, you know, whatever
<Ragamen> You are asking me about a thing that is done. It is now done. I did not choose it, and I have no power to reverse it.
<Jimba> You don't actually know that.
<Jimba> I mean, we got here.
<Jimba> And you might could influence your saint.
* Ragamen frowns.
<Ragamen> You misunderstand much. But I do understand why you would seek to bargain with me.
<Ragamen> It would be very difficult to accept this.
<Jimba> Not for you fanatics, apparently.
<Jimba> Fuck it. Save yourselves next time.
<Daifan> I don't thihnk you understad anything, ether, You talk like this has been your, or her, grand plan all along, when no so long ago you were trying to feed her Kohzra to keep her alive
* Jimba nods towards Daifan.
<Ragamen> We had often thought about this goal. The Headwaters were not a new goal. Your interference with Khozra Ula was unwelcome but not fatal to those plans.
<Daifan> sure
<Daifan> me shakes their head
* Daifan shakes their head
<Katenzhi> Forget it guys, these people are not going to listen to reason..
* Daifan loks to the others
<Daifan> we shoudl secure our shelter
<Jimba> Oh, I know.
* Jimba will walk away towards our shelter.
* Ragamen walks away as well.
* Llillilli heads back to where we were setting up a camp.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can return back to the camp area you were setting up.
<Daifan> now we know we shoud keep watch and not travel alone, at least

They return to their camp, and later see a strange orb that destroys all it touches

<Jimba> (how big are the trees around here?)
<Llillilli> Mm.
* Junan picks at his lute
<AshnabisNarrator> Varying sizes. Some are large, some small saplings, it's a wide mix. Not really like a natural forest, more random.
<Jimba> (Big enough to rig up camping in one of them?)
<Jimba> (The temperatures not so bad, so that'd give us some physical security.)
<AshnabisNarrator> in one of the trees, like up in the branches? sure, I think you could do that
* Jimba will start rigging that up.
* Daifan will keep watch
<Katenzhi> Jimba! Having fun up there?
* Veznara will try to get details about the ritual from Bivizmi, in case they come in useful later
* Katenzhi will start casting secure shelter.
* Llillilli will help Jimba with the shelter.
<Jimba> Honestly, just keeping busy
<Katenzhi> !roll 1d20+19
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 1d20+19 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 19 ] totals [ 28 ].
<Katenzhi> !roll 2d100
* @Lan-werk rolls for Katenzhi: [ 2d100 ] getting [ 59 15 ] for a total of [ 74 ].
<Katenzhi> (Going with the knock)
<AshnabisNarrator> Ok - Kat can create a shelter for you
<Jimba> ...
<Jimba> Kat, you could have mentioned you could do that before we started doing this.
* Jimba starts undoing his work.
<Katenzhi> But like... the treehouse thing looks like it's coming along nice
<Katenzhi> Leave it. We may need it if we're here more than a few days
<Jimba> We may need it down the road, depending...yeah
<Junan> well now that we have a roof... time for wine
* Junan will get his skins out
<Katenzhi> Please, dear ancestors, yes.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can settle in to try and get some rest.
<AshnabisNarrator> (and wine)
<Llillilli> :|
<AshnabisNarrator> Some time passes, although it's hard to tell with the strange unchanging light of this place.
* Veznara does not rest easy. :/
<AshnabisNarrator> Junan, you sense something strange.
* Daifan will snuggle with Junan but try not to be TOO obnoxious
<AshnabisNarrator> There is danger nearby, but you can't tell the direction. It's as if it is all around you.
<AshnabisNarrator> There is something else here - a presence. But it is not in a place, or not exactly. It is in all places, shifting from rock to tree to river to soil, to you and then away, moment by moment. It is an entity of some sort, but that hopelessly vague claim is the best you can do right now.
* Junan bolts up on edge
<Daifan> hmm?
<Junan> danger, near... I cant tell from where
<Junan> an entity
* Daifan will fortune us
<Junan> maybe a haunt
* Daifan will nudge Veznara then
<Junan> Veznara can you sense any haunts?
<Daifan> 9and the others)
<Daifan> (but start with her because ghosts)
* Veznara does her best to sense them...
<Veznara> !roll 1d20+20
* @Lan-werk rolls for Veznara: [ 1d20+20 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 20 ] totals [ 40 ].
<AshnabisNarrator> No haunts here, Veznara. You are quite sure.
<Veznara> No. No, this must be something else.
* Veznara says uneasily.
* Junan will get his bow and step outside
* Daifan will peek out the shelter, as if that means anything
<AshnabisNarrator> For a moment, it is as if a shadow of fog takes a familiar form, then dissipates and tries again, fading in and out of form.
* Katenzhi grudgingly wakes up and looks around.
<Daifan> (oh f he is going I'll go wth him)
<Daifan> ...hello?
<Daifan> what are you - what do you want?
<Daifan> (and what do the GMs mean by familiar)
<AshnabisNarrator> (just 'vaguely humanoid' - not a tentacle monster)
<Daifan> (okay)
<AshnabisNarrator> As if out of this place itself, a boulder-sized black ball of ... thing-ness? non-thing-ness? takes shape and glides through the air. Around it, it absorbs the taller grasses and shrubs that have sprung up. It seems to hesitate for a moment and then zooms off in the direction of the new temple.
<Jimba> That seems...concerning?
<Daifan> mmmhmm.
<Katenzhi> Definitely not normal.
<Daifan> what is, here.
* Daifan rubs the sleep from their eyes
<Daifan> We should follow it, I think
<Katenzhi> I mean, not normal in a way that's even less normal than the normal not normal here.
<Veznara> (Can we see its trail? Is it annihilating everything beneath it?)
<Jimba> I think you just mean 'new'.
* Junan examines the where the flora was absorbed
<Jimba> For all we know, it's a common occurence in Ula Sashni's Crazy Wonderland of Insanity.
<AshnabisGM> (it's annihilating taller things, yes, so you can see its trail)
<Daifan> maybe it objects to Shashni's... coherence
<AshnabisNarrator> Yes, everything in its path is being annihilated, so you can easily see its path.
<Daifan> whatever she's done t make this place what it is
<Jimba> Oh, well, let's at least keep an eye on it.
<Katenzhi> Some kind of correction mechanism?
<Daifan> maybe
<Daifan> I want to see what it does to them >.>
<Veznara> We should find out what's going on, yes.
<Junan> if it causes this place to fall appart, being near where that happens may give us an opportunity to escape
<Katenzhi> Or just, you know, be consumed.
* Jimba nods.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can follow the path of this ... thing, whatever it is, towards the temple.
<Jimba> Hey, six of one...
<Veznara> Let's stick together.
<Daifan> yes
<Llillilli> Agreed.
<Katenzhi> Yeah
<Jimba> Of course.

The orb destroys the new temple and the Stoneguard Ompi

<AshnabisNarrator> It is headed towards the Maiden's Voice temple that Sashni erected. Outside that structure, the stoneguard Ompi places himself before it, hammer in hand. As stoneguards have done for centuries, he stands firm, hammer in hand, to defend his temple.
<Jimba> This isn't going to end well.
<Katenzhi> Oh this will end poorly.
<Jimba> I wouldn't do that if I were you.
<Llillilli> Mm.
* Jimba will call to him.
* Veznara grimaces
<AshnabisNarrator> Ompi looks towards you and seems to take your warning, trying to step aside. The sphere takes no note of him. It comes towards him directly and despite his efforts to get out of the way, it grazes his arm.
<AshnabisNarrator> As it does so, Ompi's left side stretches and deforms, then he is pulled into it as if nothing can hold him fast. In a moment, he has disappeared entirely.
<Daifan> ...
<Daifan> it absorbed him?
<Katenzhi> ...
<Veznara> (Does it grow or otherwise change?)
<Jimba> (How quickly did that occur?)
<AshnabisGM> (couple of seconds, maybe?)
<AshnabisNarrator> (The sphere doesn't grow or change as a result.)
<AshnabisGM> (just like it touched him and then ... he got sucked in)
<AshnabisNarrator> Continuing indifferently on, the sphere reaches the temple, and touching it its wall, draws it into the void, first slowly, then faster, until it is as if nothing were there to begin with. The building is absorbed, leaving behind the people who were inside it, who start up, confused and frightened.
<Jimba> Any thoughts as to what's happening?
<Daifan> I think this is some kind of great cosmic irony
<Llillilli> I think Daifan was right... it's trying to... correct itself
<Veznara> (Where are Ragamen, Bakkus, Sashni?)
<Daifan> that the place that Sahsni took her people to make thier new life resents their meddling attempts to make it their own :p
<AshnabisNarrator> Having absorbed the temple, the sphere seems to pause, as if ... thinking about what to do next?
<Jimba> Some comfort, I guess
<Katenzhi> Man, I wish Sajan were here to see this. He's never going to believe me.
<Daifan> I bet it goes for the tree
<AshnabisNarrator> Again, Junan, you feel that sensation of something dangerous all around you.
* Ragamen , Bakkus and Sashni were all in the temple, and are just standing there now, agape. Well, Sashni isn't, but you get the idea.
<Veznara> What happens then? :/
<Llillilli> We'll see soon enough.
<Daifan> I don't know but I think we should.... stay away
<Bakkus> Ompi? Ompi! ...
* Bakkus looks around for his lost kinsman.
* Junan is constantly looking around to try and find the source of the threat
<Veznara> He's gone, Bakkus. That thing consumed him.
<Junan> I dont think the sphere is the only danger
<AshnabisGM> It feels like it is all around you, Junan. Literally as if there is a ... power? surrounding all of you.
<AshnabisNarrator> Once again, you can sort of perceive a nebulous form, vaguely humanoid, just glimpsed out ot the corner of your eye before it once again dissolves into the world around you.
<Veznara> Please, we have to go back! There is only danger here.
<Daifan> what was that?
<Katenzhi> Something else. Also terrible.
<AshnabisNarrator> The sphere changes directions and heads back towards your camp.
* Daifan will try and look for it again
<Veznara> Let's avoid it...
<Daifan> it might be going to destroy our strcture next....
<Jimba> Well hey now sphere, we didn't do anything to you.
<Daifan> please - we just want to go back to where we came from - we don't mean anythign here any harm
<AshnabisNarrator> It seems to be targeting structures more than people, from what you can tell? It did hit Ompi but perhaps just incidentally, in heading to the building.
<Llillilli> you think it can understand?
<Daifan> I don't know
<Katenzhi> It doesn't like change.
<Katenzhi> Whatever it is.
* Llillilli is going to make sure she is well away from the structure, then
<Daifan> (well, we're not at our camp at least)
<Jimba> (Okay, disregard speech towards the sphere)
<Veznara> Sashni Ula - what is that?
<Daifan> like she knows
* Ragamen is now known as Sashni
<Katenzhi> You need to get us all out of here! Before it destroys everyone here!
<Sashni> I am unaware. It is not mine. If it is an intelligence, it is not one known to me.
<Jimba> Real helpful.
<Daifan> what do you expect.
<Sashni> I do not know how to leave. We would need to know the name of our home.
<Sashni> And I do not seem to be able to speak to this ... thing ... in a way that it understands.
<Veznara> How then can we find the name?
<Daifan> (can I SM her - is she upset to the point where she is actually considering leaving?)
<Jimba> Don't we just need pale oracle, then?
<Jimba> And don't we have some?
<Sashni> (you want to SM ... a saint?)
* Daifan rolls [ 1d20+21 ] getting [ 15 ] which, after the modifier [ 21 ] totals [ 36 ]
<Sashni> We have only a small amount. Not enough, and not refined in the proper way yet.
<Daifan> (yes. I mean, long shot, basically looking at tone of voice:p)
<Jimba> (tone of thought?)
<Sashni> But also ... I am not surrendering the Headwaters so easily.
<AshnabisGM> (I mean ... she does seem to have some rationality to her. That's about all you can tell)
<Daifan> You're no different than us after all, are you
<Veznara> How can we stop it? It absorbed Ompi and the temple in only a few seconds!
<Daifan> Veznara you're wasting your time
<Daifan> lets go back and see if it destroyed the structures
<Veznara> Get closer to that thing? :/
<Daifan> just close enough to see
<Daifan> see if we do understand what it is doing
<Daifan> and where it goes next

They attempt to communicate with the being, which takes form as Fenead Asath

<AshnabisNarrator> Ok, you can follow its path back to your campsite, where it seems like has absorbed your shelter. It hovers in the middle of the clearing, as if considering what to do next. When you appear, it drifts closer to you, but not all the way up to you, just hovering.
* Junan nods in agreement
<Jimba> What's happening now, Junan?
<Junan> (do I still sense danger?)
<AshnabisGM> (probably not imminent danger atm)
<AshnabisNarrator> Not imminent, yeah.
<AshnabisGM> (I mean, this thing is dangerous but you already knew that. You get a sense, perhaps, of some intelligence underlying this, but not a malicious one.)
<Daifan> hello?
<Junan> Can you understand us?
<Daifan> can you.... understand us?
* Junan is watching for some reaction
<AshnabisGM> Junan, make a Linguistics check
* Daifan stays well back from it
<Junan> !roll 1d20+20
* @Lan-werk rolls for Junan: [ 1d20+20 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 20 ] totals [ 37 ].
<AshnabisGM> The entity in front of you, the thing-ness, takes a shape somewhat like your own, but massive, thirty or forty feet tall, still vague of form, but clearly structured with a head and limbs.
<AshnabisGM> Then, as if from every direction at once, or perhaps from no direction at all except around-ness, images come into your minds that Cohere into something more, perhaps not language, but symbols and meanings and structures.
<Llillilli> ...
<AshnabisGM> At first it is a jumble, but then it becomes structure and substance in your minds, and then it is almost as if you can hear its voice.
* Llillilli takes an instinctive step back
<Daifan> @_@
<Entity> I understand.
<Daifan> oh... good @_@
* Entity says, in its language of images and symbols.
<Daifan> Who....what....are you?
<Entity> Who and why are you?
* Junan is shocked by this experience
<Daifan> We were brought here from.... a very different place
* Entity seems most interested in Junan.
<Llillilli> THose others took us here against our will.
<Daifan> We're.... humans. People.
* Daifan squeezes Junan's hand
<Daifan> Talk to it.
<Junan> we are travelers, brought here not by our choice. What are you?
<Entity> I am creation and oblivion. I craft myself.
<Entity> I am Here.
<Junan> we were told this was Fenead Asath... is that you
<Entity> That is ... a name I have been called. But not for a long time. Not in my own language.
* Entity is now known as Fenead_Asath
<Jimba> So you're not a new thing.
* Fenead_Asath turns to you, Jimba, then turns away, as if it recognizes that you are speaking, but in some gibberish.
<Junan> Is there a way from here to return to where we came from? Can you bring us back
<Fenead_Asath> Where do you come from?
<Junan> from Ashnabis
<Fenead_Asath> I do not know that name.
* Junan will describe it in detail
* Junan describes the land, the weather, the inhabitants
<Junan> is any of that known to you
* Bivizmi is now known as Ragamen
<Fenead_Asath> A place of life. A good place.
<Junan> yes
* Ragamen approaches your campsite, to see what is going on.
* Ragamen appears concerned and wary.
<Fenead_Asath> I only know my own place. This is not my home; it is my existence.
<Ragamen> What is happening here? What is this?
<Fenead_Asath> I see, I create, I destroy, but only here
<Fenead_Asath> Why did you come here?
<Fenead_Asath> Why did you enter me?
<Junan> They, the ones in the previous camp came here seaking refuge from our good place. We were brought with them not by choice.
<Fenead_Asath> Why?
<Fenead_Asath> Why did they do that?
<Ragamen> We came to find shelter... refuge, from those who would destroy our people, our way of life.
<Fenead_Asath> These little squabbles. I do not understand them. Destruction and creation, those I understand, the black and the white spheres.
<Fenead_Asath> I know there are other Kinds, other than mine, that fight. But such is not merely Oblivion - it is violence.
<Ragamen> Do we do you .. injury? harm? by being here?
<Junan> Yes are you harmed by our presence?
* Fenead_Asath sends forth images into all of your heads, all at once. It's overwhelming at first, but that subsides. They are images of life and death, of the natural world. Later, you would all agree to one another that what the Fenead Asath showed you is one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen. Coherence and Decoherence, together, but not as opposites.
<Fenead_Asath> There is no harm. You cannot harm me.
<Fenead_Asath> But this is not your place. You may not stay here.
* Ragamen looks at the others of his group, and at you.
<Junan> if you can show us how to leave we will.
<Fenead_Asath> I can open a path. But the name of your world, the true name, is not Ashnabis. Without it, I cannot help you find the road.
* Junan looks at the others
<Junan> can we divine the true name?
<Ragamen> In our efforts to escape, we have only put ourselves in greater risk. We could try to perform the ritual again, but we have not enough fos.
<Fenead_Asath> The name can be learned, yes.
<Daifan> yes
<Junan> how much do you need?
<Daifan> We don't have to learn it here
* Veznara nods
<Fenead_Asath> What do you need?
* Fenead_Asath says to Junan
* Junan reaches into his pouch and produces Fos
<Junan> this I assume, lots of it.
<Veznara> Or the Pale oracle... that would be better, no?
* Junan looks to Kat to see if she has some
<Fenead_Asath> (let's say she does)
<AshnabisNarrator> Kat and Bivizmi can have some, sure.
<Junan> these will allow us to tap the Source and divine the name
* Fenead_Asath ... motions ... if that can be said of an instantiation of a world, and the black sphere is replaced in a moment with a white one. It rolls over in your direction, leaving flowers, earth, rocks, in its place.
<Jimba> Well, that's neat
* Fenead_Asath draws the white sphere close to you. Elements of creation are spinning with in it.
<Daifan> beautiful...
<AshnabisGM> In a moment, fos begins to flow freely out of the sphere. First a few ounces, then pounds of it. A giant pile of pale oracle, as big as a person, sits before you.
* Llillilli 's eyes widen.
<Fenead_Asath> Is that enough?
<Junan> I would guess yes
<Ragamen> I think that will be more than enough...
<Jimba> I don't suppose it can do that with gold, perhaps...
<Llillilli> Jimba.
* Llillilli says sharply
<Jimba> It's just a thought.
<Veznara> Can it restore Ompi?
<Junan> yeah, as your black sphere, you absorbed a person like myself. Is it possible for you to bring them back?
<Fenead_Asath> Coherence and Incoherence are opposites. What is done, can be undone.
* Junan sighs
<Junan> worth asking
<Fenead_Asath> Do you wish me to?
<Veznara> yes, please!
<Junan> yes
<Ragamen> Yes, please.
<AshnabisGM> The white sphere pulls and spins, and then out of its whiteness, a ball of flesh, skin, and hair, takes coherence, into the form of Ompi, utterly naked.
<Veznara> Ompi! Are you alright?
<Ragamen> My old friend, are you well?
* Ragamen goes to check on him.
<Junan> lets divine that name so we can leave
<Veznara> Thank you, Fenead Asath.
<Daifan> yes
<Llillilli> The sooner, the better.
<Daifan> If it means nything to you - we are grateful for your assistance and your mercy
* Bakkus is now known as Sashni
<Sashni> I see that it is impossible to stay.
<Sashni> We will find another home - again.
<Fenead_Asath> Go, then.
<Daifan> (where did she come from?)
<AshnabisNarrator> (carried over by the other villagers?)
<Daifan> (I guess)
<Daifan> well - you're the ones that know the ritual
<Daifan> we'll help how we can

The group perform the ritual to make their way back to their home world

<AshnabisNarrator> With their newly-created supply of fos, the Maiden's Voice gathers sombrely in a semi-circle, as it did back home, to complete their ritual.
* Fenead_Asath is now known as Bakkus
* Bakkus will need to spend some time with Sashni and a giant pile of pale oracle, to divine the name, before the transportation ritual.
<Bakkus> (do you want one of your group to be there with them, in case of shenanigans?)
<Daifan> (sure?)
<Jimba> (Seems prudent)
<Veznara> (Indeed)
* Bakkus is tracing out a kind of map, a pathway, on a scroll. You saw the finished scroll when he did the ritual previously.
<Veznara> (Does this look like the reverse? I hope?)
* Bakkus invokes many powers, and each time, some strange thing happens, a patch of flowers; for a time he turns purple; once it hurts him visibly.
* Bakkus looks up at long last, after what seems like hours of communion with Sashni.
<Bakkus> I have it.
<Daifan> what is it?
<AshnabisGM> (You don't know what 'the reverse' would mean)
<Bakkus> The name?
<Daifan> yes
<Bakkus> Ulnuvi Asath.
<Bakkus> Hmm, I wonder ... well, regardless.
<Bakkus> We can do the ritual now.
<Junan> do we need to... wasnt Fenead just going to open a door for us back
<Veznara> Yes... would that be simplest?
<Bakkus> Yes, if we trust in that.
<Bakkus> But perhaps it is past the time for such things. Perhaps, after all we have seen today, we should just go.
<Ragamen> I think we can trust in it.
* Sashni is now known as Fenead_Asath
* Junan will go to Finead Asath.
<Fenead_Asath> You have your answer? The name of your world?
<Junan> we have the true name Ulnuvi Asath
<Fenead_Asath> Ah! Yes, I know them.
<Fenead_Asath> I can open the path.
<Daifan> them?
<Veznara> . o O ("Them"?)
<Jimba> A being, like this one.
<Junan> you have our thanks and our appoligies for interferring with you
<Llillilli> Hm.
<Ragamen> Yes... thank you. Although it was an error to come here, I cannot completely regret it, for having seen such wonders.
<Jimba> Yes, for what it's worth, thank you, and sorry.
<Bakkus> It has been interesting.
<Bakkus> (ww)
<Bakkus> (although, hey, he can say that too)
<Fenead_Asath> If you are ready then.
<Daifan> Very.
<Llillilli> Please.
<Junan> yes
* Fenead_Asath calls on their black sphere, and then, instead of destroying the land, rips a tear in its own self.
* Fenead_Asath then calls on their white sphere, and the tear becomes a portal, as if surrounded by columns of white marble.
<Fenead_Asath> Now all you must do is gather yourselves together, and speak the name.
<Junan> (I assume we do so)
<Veznara> (Yep)
<Llillilli> (yes)
* Ragamen will help gather the rest of his people together, alongside you
<Daifan> (yes!)
<Bakkus> Ulnuvi Asath.
<Daifan> Ulnuvi Asath
<Veznara> Ulnuvi Asath
<Llillilli> Ulnuvi Asath
<Junan> Ulnuvi Asath
<Jimba> Ulnuvi Asath
<AshnabisGM> As once before, you are pulled into a stream of energy, an aurora that draws you into a beautiful realm that remains in memory only vaguely afterwards.
<AshnabisGM> Then, after that timeless time, you are ejected into a flat mossy patch in the swamp, scarcely a thousand yards from where you left, in familiar terrain, on the banks of the Kaskos in the midst of the mighty Sestapor.
<Veznara> Oh, praise the Ancestors!
* Llillilli lets out the breath she was holding.
* Ragamen shuffles awkwardly
* Jimba looks around.
* Daifan also relaxes visibly
<Jimba> Everybody okay?
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> lets' go home, please
<Ragamen> I will not forget this. I will speak with my people and we will... reconsider certain matters. Be well.
* Veznara nods
* Ragamen gathers the rest of his people together and, carrying their subdued saint, they will withdraw.
* Jimba nods to Daifan, then absentmindely to Ragamen.
<AshnabisNarrator> You can return to your homes, and let Ughiva know you no longer need rescue. You have been gone, as far as you are able to determine, a few days.

Solos

Daifan recounts the strange experience to their roommates

* Idovo is outside playing with Shira when you reach home.
* Daifan smiles as they approach and see them, and will come and sit on the porch
<Idovo> Hey, you're back :)
<Daifan> Yes...
<Daifan> Did you hear from Ughiva?
<Daifan> (Spoons, rather)
<Idovo> Well... sort of. I didn't really understand what she was talking about.
* Daifan nods
<Daifan> that's okay
<Idovo> You were stuck someplace, and she was worried about getting you back home safely.
<Daifan> We got trappes somewhere.... very strange
* Chimi will also emerge from the house and gives you a hug.
<Chimi> I'm so glad you're all right.
* Daifan hugs her tightly
<Daifan> It was pretty frightening, even for me
<Idovo> What happened?
<Daifan> you know the crazy cult I told you about?
<Daifan> with the persimmons and ther secret saint?
* Idovo nods
<Daifan> they tried to abduct Bivizmi - she's an alchemist, and Kat's girlfriend
<Daifan> to help them with some kind of ritual, to lean the name of this other place, so they could just.... leave and go there
<Daifan> we were worried that some of the poeple were being forced, ot tricked, but they were all convinced it was what they wanted, so she agreed to help them anyway, and we weere goig to stay and just... see if this crazy idea ven helped
<Daifan> (err, worked)
<Daifan> and then - they took us with them
<Idovo> Wow... do you think they meant to? I mean why would they want you there in their new home?
<Daifan> they were afraid we woudl tell people where they had gone
<Daifan> I guess iy didn't occur to them that we...could do that anyway.
<Daifan> that was what Sashni said, anyway. Maybe she was lying and hadn't meant to do it
<Daifan> she doesn't have much wisdom, for a saint :p
<Chimi> But you were able to get away?
<Daifan> in the end, none of us could stay there, so we all returned
<Daifan> the...
* Daifan pauses, trying to figure out how to even explain
<Daifan> The land didn't want them
* Idovo looks puzzled at that
<Idovo> It was too dangerous to stay in?
<Daifan> we had to help them, again, to lear the name of.. this place, and then, it sent us all back
<Daifan> it was very dangerous, because it chose to be. I don't know f I can explain it
<Daifan> it was a world that wasn't fully shaped, and things were being made - and unmade
<Idovo> That sounds confusing.
<Chimi> And dangerous...
<Daifan> yes, to both
<Daifan> do you remember the vine hag I stayed with?
* Idovo and Chimi nod
<Daifan> here was a... I dont know. A being? That was he land. Like her but... more than that
<Daifan> it controlled all the making and unmaking. The name they used to go to that place...was its name.
<Daifan> the Sashni called it the Hedwaters
<Daifan> I don't think that's true
<Daifan> I think they're all like... little islands in what we call the Source....
<Daifan> It's all too much to hold in my head
<Chimi> It sounds like a lot
<Daifan> I"m so glad to be back here
<Idovo> We're glad you're back too. We figured you would make it, but we were worried.
* Daifan smiles
<Daifan> I'm glad you have so much confidence in me
<Chimi> You and Ughiva anyway. She was pretty determined. Even if it sounds like ultimately you made it back on your own, she wasn't going to just give up on you either.
<Daifan> I'm glad. Knowing she was working on it made me feel much better - I need to thank her properly
<Idovo> So... what's going to happen with them? the cult people?
<Idovo> Are they going to just... stay where they were, or try to go somewhere else that's less dangerous, or what?
<Daifan> I think they will try and go somewhere else
<Daifan> good riddance
<Idovo> I hope they stop bothering you, anyway.
<Daifan> yes - me too.
* Chimi puts her arm around you
<Chimi> And Shira will be happy you're back too :)
<Idovo> Just because she's absorbed with mud pies right now doesn't mean she's not glad to see you ;)
* Daifan grins
* Daifan leans on Chimi
<Daifan> I know she is
<Daifan> I mean, look how happy she is
* Idovo nods
<Idovo> Just a tip, though, if she tries to get you to eat one, don't.
* Daifan grins
<Daifan> I'm sure I've had worse, but I know I can do better ;)

Daifan visits Moss

* Daifan willtake some time to vibe with the family before getting cleaned up, and then going over to his place
* Sulidein is relaxing on the front porch of his house
<Daifan> oh hey, that looks comfortable.... room for one more?
* Sulidein looks up and smiles to see you there.
<Sulidein> Always :)
* Sulidein gets up and goes to hug you.
<Sulidein> I was worried about you. Are you okay?
* Daifan hugs back, leaning in
<Daifan> I think so
<Daifan> It's so good to be back
* Sulidein walks hand in hand with you back to his seat and will sit down with you.
<Sulidein> Do you want to talk about what happened?
* Daifan snuggles up
<Daifan> I don't know. I did a little with the vaski
* Sulidein nods
<Daifan> I saw, and felt and..met...things so far beyond anything I'd ever imagined, but if I hadn't been able to come home...
<Daifan> I was just so angry and frustrated the whole time
<Sulidein> Are you still?
* Daifan considers
<Daifan> When I think about Sashni and her cult... I'm just weary
<Sulidein> Do you think they're going to still be a problem, going forward?
<Daifan> They'll be someone's problem
<Sulidein> But not yours?
<Daifan> I really hope not
<Daifan> they want to leave, I don't care to know where.
* Sulidein nods
<Sulidein> You're allowed to let other people worry about it for a while.
<Daifan> hopefully
<Sulidein> Speaking of which...
<Daifan> they need to leave me and mine alone
<Daifan> hmm?
<Sulidein> when Spoons let me know about your message, I asked her to, uh, also contact Balinteze and tell them. I hope I didn't overstep. But I thought... if you were in trouble, they might want to know.
<Daifan> Oh...
<Daifan> I. Thank you.
<Daifan> I should let them know I'm okay.
<Daifan> Later.
* Sulidein nods
<Daifan> Right now... I want you :3
* Sulidein smiles
<Sulidein> Do you want to go inside?
<Daifan> mmmm.... do you?
<Daifan> this is comfortable....
<Sulidein> It's comfortable inside too ;) but we can stay here a little longer.
<Sulidein> I'm just glad you're here.
<Daifan> I coudl be persuaded...
<Daifan> me too.
* Sulidein gives you a kiss
* Daifan will happily kiss back and let that lead... wherever :3