Nemnosti session 13
Summary
Session
- Session date: August 18, 2024
- Negili Reckoning date: IE 768, Dezhiri
Prologue
[NemnostiGM] Greetings, acolytes! Now, I hope I don't have to go over what we saw this afternoon in class and why it can't happen again. I trust all of you have seen the goats mating and I do not have to give you that specific talk. Thank the ancestors. But it probably is worth me taking just a moment to talk about our relationships. Inevitably, here at the ulajeta, people, being people, will find one another, and pair up. Perhaps especially here, because it can be somewhat isolating, especially for those of you who are apart from your families. And it is certainly true that more than one love-match has been made from among the acolytes of Nemnosti. Why, I myself met my wife here at the ulajeta, even though she came from far away. Now, I am not one of those foolish teachers who will lecture you as why your hands and your other body parts are to be kept to yourselves. The Lady knows that life as an acolyte has many pleasures, and the joy of sharing with our fellows is one of them. Just keep it out of the lecture hall, all right? Good. Now let us talk about another in our series of summer fables, and try to keep our minds off the heat ...
Kuspir talks to Sakasa about the elusive Rondal Rumnoska, and learns about his envoy training and odd encounters in Onighus
[NemnostiGM] Kuspir, since the arrival of the Rumnoska lineage by caravan last week, there has been much consternation in Hertu.
[NemnostiGM] While the ulajeta is not technically responsible for the security of the village, inevitably, given how many of its residents work in the quarries, the fields, or within Nemnosti's walls, it pays to keep a close eye on things down the road.
[NemnostiGM] And then this morning, their hengi, Rondal, presented himself at the West Gate to speak to Nemnu Ula Herself. You wish you had been there upon his arrival, but you had been enjoying a light day with the kids in advance of your night watch.
[NemnostiGM] To everyone's surprise, She allowed the visit, with only Izu as Her attendant during the visit. Rondal spoke with her at length.
[NemnostiGM] Afterwards, Izu seemed quite uneasy, but could not or would not speak of his words for Her, except to say that there was no security concern. Which seems unlikely to you, but it's not like pressing Izu further will work on him.
[NemnostiGM] At any rate, he had returned now to his clan's encampment a couple miles away, just outside Hertu, before you even learned of it.
[NemnostiGM] You had been meaning to talk to Sakasa about your encounter with Rondal, to make sense of him, if you can. She's not often around the ulajeta, but often envoys avoid travel during the hottest part of the year, so she's come home for at least a short while.
* Kuspir will go and seek her out, then
* Lan-home is now known as Jevai
[NemnostiGM] You can find her in one of the first-floor lounges in Carver's Hall, one of the ones lit through alabaster windows.
* NPC-1 is now known as Sakasa
* Sakasa doesn't wear her envoy's hat just around the ulajeta. But there's no mistaking her for anything other than a well-travelled person. Her clothes look perhaps Daligashi in fashion, definitely much more modern than typical here in the high hills, and her hair is loose and flowing, again, not typical here.
[Kuspir] Good morning, Viv.
[Sakasa] Med! Good to see you.
* Sakasa comes over to give you a hug.
* Kuspir hugs her back
[Sakasa] How are the kids?
[Kuspir] Oh, they're good. You'll barely recognize them, they're getting so big, and it's been too long since you've seen them.
* Sakasa smiles.
[Sakasa] I guess that happens.
[Kuspir] They grow too fast.
[Sakasa] I'll make a point of saying hello, when I see them. If they even remember me.
[Kuspir] How have you been?
[Sakasa] Oh, well enough. Spent some time in Onighus, talked to the Wayfinder's people, among other things. Unsettled over there I think because they're expecting some change among the Conduits?
[Kuspir] Oh?
[Sakasa] I don't know, I stay out of religion.
[Kuspir] Mm, probably wise.
[Sakasa] Other than that, honestly, things were much more interesting here than they were out there, I suspect.
[Kuspir] More interesting than I would like.
[Sakasa] From what I hear you've been given a weighty task.
* Kuspir shrugs
[Kuspir] It's our duty, but we live in unsettled days right now.
[Kuspir] Have you heard about the caravan that arrived in Hertu recently?
* Sakasa nods.
[Sakasa] Sure.
[Kuspir] What do you make of it?
[Sakasa] Not sure. What do you make of it?
[Kuspir] Well... there's probably a reason they came, but it's difficult to say.
* Kuspir hedges a bit.
[Sakasa] We nambinne have a name for statements like that.
[Sakasa] Soupskin, we call them.
[Kuspir] Lying over the top and hiding what's underneath? :p
[Sakasa] Like, they seem like you have some hearty stew under there, but you puncture the film and it turns out to just be broth.
[Kuspir] heh
[Sakasa] So what's the actual stew?
[Kuspir] There's a woman who has been staying in Hertu since last year, named Azolte Rumnoska. She hasn't told them much about why she came there or her past, but it seemed like she didn't want her lineage to find her. Now here they have come, and she is with them, but I don't know why. Whether what she said before, about not wanting to be found, was a lie, or whether they are compelling her in
[Kuspir] some way to come back with them.
* Sakasa nods.
[Sakasa] A little odd, but people are complicated. But why bring your whole lineage up the Pardopasu just to find one person?
[Sakasa] That seems much stranger.
[Kuspir] It's very strange.
[Kuspir] And if they came to find her, why not leave once they have done so?
* Sakasa nods.
[Kuspir] So maybe her purpose there all along was other than what she said - maybe she was doing something for them, like an advance scout, or seeking something on their behalf.
* Sakasa nods.
[Sakasa] Have you talked to them?
[Kuspir] I talked to their hengi. A rather unusual man, named Rondal. He says they don't want to impose, but implies they do have a purpose for being here, which he wouldn't disclose.
* Sakasa frowns.
[Sakasa] Big hair, dark eyes, voice as deep as the ocean?
[Kuspir] Yes, that sounds like him. You know him?
[Sakasa] I know him, we trained together in Onighus. Back then, he was known as Rondal Amatubal.
[Sakasa] And yes, a strange man. Interesting, but strange.
[Sakasa] When I was at the court of the Duke of Needs, he was hanging about quite often.
[Kuspir] What can you tell me about him?
[Sakasa] Once upon a time, we were close.
[Sakasa] He never seemed interested in the more professional aspects of work as an envoy. But very serious, very thoughtful.
[Kuspir] Do you think he's a threat?
[Sakasa] Not in any direct way.
[Sakasa] But there's a lot there under the surface. Soupskin.
[Kuspir] Hm.
* Sakasa sits up, as if remembering something.
[Sakasa] There was one time - we had been having a good time, and I was resting up over at his flat in Onighus, just a little shithole halfway up the hill, but nice enough, I guess. There was this tavern, and ... you don't care about taverns in the city.
[Sakasa] Anyway.
[Sakasa] There was a knock at the door and Rondal went to talk to them. It was the first time I ever saw him get flustered. It was like he was being put in his place. But a lot of it, I didn't catch, at least the early part, when I wasn't paying attention.
[Sakasa] I didn't see her face, but it was a woman, probably middle years?
* Kuspir listens, intrigued
[Sakasa] But I do remember one thing. This person, one thing she said to him: "We Sarguni have a greater cause than whores and liquor." I mean, seriously, 'whore'? I feel offended even fifteen years later.
[Sakasa] You know, we envoys, we train our memories. We don't forget things we intend to remember.
[Sakasa] I'm sure of the name. But it doesn't mean anything to me, then or now.
[Kuspir] (I assume it also doesn't mean anything to me?)
[NemnostiGM] (you assume correctly)
* Kuspir nods
[Kuspir] If you used to be close with him, do you think he would talk to you?
[Sakasa] It seems like a lifetime ago. We haven't spoken in - well, it's been a while. We were never on bad terms.
[NemnostiGM] (give me a SM?)
[Kuspir] !roll 1d20+15
* Lan-werk rolls for Kuspir: [ 1d20+15 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 15 ] totals [ 20 ].
[NemnostiGM] (nahh, not against an envoy)
[Sakasa] Would it help?
[Kuspir] I have no idea.
[Kuspir] Not knowing his purpose here, it's hard to say whether trying to pry more information from him would be useful or harmful.
[Sakasa] What I will say is this: if I had to make a list of people to have a secret double life, Rondal would have already been on the list before our conversation today.
[Kuspir] What about all the people with him, though? One man deciding to use different names or travel about on his own mysterious purpose is one thing, but he has something like fifty people in tow, families and children.
[Sakasa] I never knew him to be social like that. Kept to himself, really. And you say he's the hengi now?
[Sakasa] Pretty young for that.
* Kuspir nods
[Sakasa] Do you know, is this the whole Rumnoska lineage? Or just a part?
[Kuspir] Unclear. He said they are itinerent folk so it might be the entire lineage, but I have no other information about them.
[Sakasa] Well I've never heard of them, although that doesn't mean much, if they're country folk.
[Kuspir] Ifa and I went to talk to them but he was not overly forthcoming. He said they'd been in Naftusa before this, but only briefly.
[Sakasa] Maybe his mirifti, or maybe he was adopted and changed his name? But mother's lineages and adoption is unlikely to make you hengi.
[Kuspir] It's most strange that they would come so far only to stop in Hertu. What's there in Hertu that would be important to them? Either come all the way to Nemnosti, or if they were just seeking their one relative, find her and then leave, but staying there... it's strange.
[Sakasa] I agree.
[Sakasa] Maybe more than talking to him, I need to send out some threads to my friends in Onighus. Maybe someone near Borgegus Ula knows more about him.
[Kuspir] The woman who's been there, Azolte, they say sometimes she would go off on her own, but no one knew where or what she was doing. It worried a few people, enough that they talked to me about it. She was close to even being adopted into the Keronaf lineage.
* Sakasa smiles slyly.
[Sakasa] Well, Keronafs will take just about anyone.
[Kuspir] It's true.
[Kuspir] If you do want to make inquiries with your friends in Onighus, it might be useful.
[Sakasa] I'll ask around - quietly, of course.
* Kuspir nods
[Kuspir] Thank you, I appreciate it.
[Kuspir] Now, do you want to come to dinner tonight? The kids would like to see you, I'm sure.
[Sakasa] Not worried about starting more rumors?
[Kuspir] You're their family, why would it be strange? People will say what they want to say regardless.
* Sakasa smiles.
[Sakasa] Then sure, of course, it'll be great to catch up.
[Kuspir] All right, I'll see you later.
Ifa meets with Hojon and with her parents about a potential marriage match for her brother Dadim with Alai
[NemnostiGM] Ifa, the last month or so has been quiet around the ulajeta for the most part. You know that Afra is in the final stages of her pregnancy, while the marriage negotiations with the Sortusai are going slowly.
[NemnostiGM] As always, there are pastoral duties to attend to, bubun to assign tasks to, and prayers to offer, but nothing beyond the ordinary. It is nice to have a little ordinary for a while.
[NemnostiGM] Of course, ordinary here at the ulajeta never lasts. This morning you got a request from Hojon to dine at the hengi's table over at the iftibal this evening, along with your parents. You don't know what it's about, although guesses are easy to come by.
[NemnostiGM] Even for Nemni, except on great feast days, dining with the hengi is quite unusual.
* Ifa probably isn't too happy about it, but she will be sure to dress nicely and arrive punctually.
[NemnostiGM] You arrive and are led into the private dining room in the iftibal where Hojon conducts business. You've been in here before, of course.
[NemnostiGM] Your parents are already there, seated at the table, although Hojon is not yet present.
* Ifa smiles at them and takes a seat.
[Zaren] Hello, sweetberry, how are you?
[Naka] Zaren, stop with that sweetberry nonsense. She's not seven anymore.
* Ifa smiles again.
[Ifa] It's all right, as am I.
[Ifa] How are you?
[Ifa] Do we know what this is about?
[Naka] Well, we imagine it's probably about Dadim.
[Zaren] There have been discussions. I think you probably know that?
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] How does he feel about it?
[Zaren] Specifically, now? He doesn't know anything. Neither do we.
[Zaren] But in general ...
[Naka] It's well past time. And his grumbling won't work forever.
[Ifa] It's managed pretty well so far. ;)
* Naka shoots you a Look.
[Naka] Not funny.
* Ifa 's face resumes a mask of innocence.
[Zaren] Come now, Ovakh, it's a little funny.
* Ifa can't stifle a small smile at that.
* Sakasa is now known as Hojon
* Hojon enters the room, wearing his iftijasi slate around his neck, which he would only do on official business.
[Hojon] I am here, at last.
* Hojon sits at the head of the table.
* Ifa will wait for her parents to greet him first. (That feels more proper.)
* Zaren nods respectfully.
[Zaren] Welcome, revered Osper. We were just catching up.
* Naka remains silent, but nods in respect.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] You honor us with your invitation, hengi.
[Hojon] Yes, well. I have a purpose.
[Hojon] I have called you here because I have had a meeting recently with Roska of the Vegru. He is seeking a marriage into our clan for his adoptive daughter Alai.
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+9
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+9 ] getting [ 14 ] which, after the modifier [ 9 ] totals [ 23 ].
* Ifa manages to keep from making a face.
[Hojon] Now, I am not normally inclined to speak to random commoner hengi who wish to marry a Nemni lad. Our young folk are not so numerous, in any case. Not to mention all of you who keep taking holy vows.
* Hojon definitely looks over at you.
[Naka] Vegru, you say.
* Hojon nods.
[Ifa] Alai *would* be a beneficial addition to our clan.
[Hojon] I know what you may be thinking.
[Hojon] They say Vegru is not even a real hengi nor a real lineage. My father used to call them Luetkan flotsam.
[Hojon] But I aim, as always, to be a more enlightened leader for our clan. And Alai is no ordinary rabble. She is of course the Lady's own chosen apprentice, and possessed of great power.
[Naka] She is talented.
* Ifa nods.
* Naka concedes, saying little else.
[Zaren] We are honored that you are thinking of our little branch of the family, Taishukh. Our long friendship has long been based on trust.
[Ifa] I think she and Dumpling share some...interests, at least.
[Hojon] Oh? In what way?
[Ifa] I take it you haven't talked to either of them yet?
[Hojon] Not yet, no. Although the Vegru may have talked to the girl, I can't say.
[Hojon] Dadim is surely aware that we are looking, though. That cannot be news.
* Ifa nods.
[Zaren] He is surely aware, from our side.
[Ifa] Aware in general and knowing in specific are very different things.
[Hojon] Roska of the Vegru is an enlightened sort of person, like me. He sees the world changing. And he is looking to secure a place for the Vegru here in the Pardopasu, not just ... an afterthought of an ancient war.
[Hojon] Roska explains to me the history, that in her homeland, Alai is of the Atuvasi family, some kind of nobility associated with their ships.
[Ifa] A wise course, to be sure. But we should be careful, as always, to remember that people are people regardless of our high aspirations, and their feelings and attachments may interfere.
[Ifa] I...
* Ifa sighs.
[Ifa] I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Alai already has something of an attachment to a member of our family, or at the very least one of us has such to her.
[Ifa] She and Izu have been...friendly, of late.
[Zaren] Ohhh ...
[Naka] I see.
[Hojon] Well, that is not so bad, then! I'm sure the two of them have quite a resemblance.
[Ifa] Ordinarily, I wouldn't disclose such, but...
[Hojon] No, you are right to do so, Hand Ifa.
* Ifa just stops mid-sentence and stares at Hojon for a second.
[Hojon] Did you have something to add?
* Ifa takes a breath and shakes her head.
[Ifa] I just think it's something to keep in mind.
[Ifa] If I'm honest, it will likely be harder on Izu than on Alai, but he must have some inkling they were not likely to be able to maintain a relationship long-term.
[Zaren] I agree, he's a smart youth.
[Ifa] I just want to make sure we're looking at all the factors, not just the grand scheme.
* Hojon nods.
[Hojon] Zaren and Naka, I know you have had your concerns over your son Dadim, off running his little tavern in Naftusa. And he is, what, twenty-eight, twenty-nine? More than enough freedom for your Dumpling, I think.
[Naka] In that I think we are all agreed, Hojon.
* Ifa nods.
[Hojon] And while more than one acolyte is quite fond of the queenshook that they sell at the Coathook, I'm sure someone else could take up the task.
[Zaren] Presuming that they would live here, rather than in Naftusa?
[Hojon] Well, Alai is the Lady's own apprentice. That is a role not to be abandoned - even if She would release the girl.
[Ifa] What would Dadim do here, then, do you think?
[Hojon] Well, that is a good question. One that I would hope we could settle as part of the negotiations. I agree that having him happy has a lot of merit.
[Ifa] That is good to hear.
* Ifa says with as much false appreciation as possible.
[Hojon] Now, Ifa, I know you know Alai well. What is your sense of her? Is she suitable? What is there that we should know about her before going further?
* Ifa considers.
[Ifa] She's brilliant, I think most know that about her. She's also aware of her brilliance, which can rub some the wrong way. Still, she can be quite friendly for all that. I think it possible she and Dadim could find a reasonably happy marriage, if allowed, and I think a marriage could help her find more roots in our community. Make her feel more directly a part of things.
* Hojon sighs.
[Hojon] 'Aware of her brilliance' is unfortunately true of many who come here to study Source.
[Hojon] Dadim, my impression of him is that he would not be unsuited for a marriage in which he was the, ahhh, subordinate partner.
* Ifa smirks a little bit at that.
[Ifa] I think he can manage. Alai might even be good for him.
[Naka] They're both small of build.
* Naka remarks, sitting up to her full (tiny) height.
[Ifa] Alai has a big spirit, though. :)
[Hojon] Perhaps a better match, then, than some nobleman from afar who would seek to tame her.
* Ifa laughs.
[Ifa] Yeah, I...don't think that would work out well. For the nobleman, specifically.
* Zaren chuckles.
[Zaren] Well, Dadim has his opinions, but mostly on food and drink.
[Zaren] He'll be amenable.
[Naka] We'll see about that.
[Ifa] (Does my mom seem particularly against this match?)
[NemnostiGM] (No, just skeptical, perhaps, that Dadim will agree)
[Ifa] (kk)
[Hojon] Well, for today, this is just preliminary. Although, given what you say, Ifa, are there any actions you might take, either with Alai or with Izu, in advance, to make the path forward clearer?
[Ifa] Yes. Talk to both of them and see how they feel.
[Hojon] Very well, then I charge you with those tasks.
[Ifa] You honor me, hengi. -_-
* Hojon ignores any possible sarcasm in your assent.
[Hojon] Very good, well, then let us eat! I did not mean to hold you so long from dinner.
* Ifa will dig in to dinner and contemplate talking to Alai and Dadim later.
Alai meets with Pavavi who has discovered that the Hulti slate which is some sort of map or chart relating to Source and perhaps the earthquake
[NemnostiGM] Alai, over the past few weeks there hasn't been much research of dire immediate urgency, but since your talk with Nemnu, you do feel a little more in place here at the ulajeta than you had a while ago. And having Avrubai as an occasional distraction has an appeal also.
[NemnostiGM] Tell me a bit about what you've been doing / what you've been interested in recently.
* Alai has been focusing on research on "Kaanath" when not following up on how to deal with Hulti shamans.
[NemnostiGM] All right, I'll let you give me a K:Arcana on that.
[Alai] !roll 1d20+15
* Lan-werk rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+15 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 15 ] totals [ 20 ].
[Alai] (middling roll)
[NemnostiGM] Not too much so far - you do think that Kaanath, whatever it is, is not in Luetkan or in ordinary Ombesh - perhaps some reconfiguration of a word from some other tongue.
[NemnostiGM] You are in the library poking at yet another dead end when you see out of the corner of your eye, Tamandu Sempi, dear Pavavi, enter the room behind you.
* Hojon is now known as Pavavi
* Pavavi is holding a familiar object, the slate you extracted from beneath the Hulti temple. Despite its weight and his age, he carries it with some ease, reminding you that he was once a smith.
* Alai finding her current efforts foiled will approach Pavavi
[Pavavi] Hello, young Ozel!
[Alai] Greeting. Having much success on learning about those Hulti pieces?
[Pavavi] I have, actually!
* Pavavi lays the slate down on the table, with the most decorated face down.
[Alai] Glad someone's research is bearing fruit.
[Alai] care to share your discoveries?
[Pavavi] Well, you and Hestur asked me to look. So in a way, this is your research too. The dagger, and the slate, I think, are much more than mere buried treasures.
[Pavavi] We know, as we have discussed, that the dagger holds a target in place. A living target, at least.
* Pavavi thrusts an imaginary dagger forward as if to mime the action of doing so.
[Pavavi] I had initially thought that its placement in the ground, with the slate over it, was as protection for the magical treasure. That is the simplest idea. And simple ideas have the benefit of not requiring much imagination.
[Pavavi] But what if, I wondered, it was more than that? Young Hestur has talked about the idea that hills are, in some understandings, Kinds of their own. An idea I think she got from Tovra, whose lineage still holds sway over there, by Musune.
[Alai] I have some familiarity with that perspective.
[Pavavi] What if the temple hill were, in some way, held in place by the dagger? And that by its removal, perhaps that was the cause of the earthquake? That in its removal, something has been put in place.
[Pavavi] I had thought this was all just the meanderings of the mind, ideas without attachment to Coherence. I did not want to trouble either of you with hypothesis and conjecture.
[Pavavi] But then yesterday morning I noticed something.
[Alai] It is an interesting conjecture. Would not such a binding leave some sort of residue on the slate?
[Alai] Oh, what did you notice?
[Pavavi] Well, to explain, we will need to go for a walk.
[Alai] I am less inclined in the current weather, but my curiosity has the better of me. Lead on.
* Pavavi picks up the slate and leads you out into the courtyard outside.
* Alai follows
[NemnostiGM] You go out into the courtyard and the elderly mystic places the slate down on the flagstones, again, face down.
[Pavavi] Now, look.
* Pavavi points up to the weather vane atop Carver's Hall.
* Alai looks
[NemnostiGM] You see nothing at first. Then you see what Tamandu is referring to. The second pointer, underneath the first one, is neither in one place, pointing firmly in a direction, nor meandering gently. But rather, it is oscillating, not much, but visibly, an inch east, then west, back and forth, a rhythmic pattern.
[Alai] (is there magic I could use to seens the waves in the Source patterns... the interference or disruption happening?)
[NemnostiGM] (this is definitely what Nemnu Ula's current research is on - not just detecting general direction / strength but this kind of turbulence. It falls under the 'eddies' of her book, Anchors, Eddies, and Lodestones)
[Alai] How?
[Pavavi] Well, the how is hard to say yet.
[Pavavi] I looked further into the slate yesterday. As it was not magical, I did not have much expertise. But I now think I understand it, a little.
* Pavavi slides it with his foot, just a fraction.
[Pavavi] I had looked, like you, at the ornately carved side. But the backside, I did not think much of, but then I saw small holes, pecked stones, in what looked like an almost random pattern.
[Pavavi] But they are not random at all. See.
* Alai observes
* Pavavi slides his finger back and forth between two elements of the pattern, and you see what he's referring to. It is as if the vane is pointing to one constellation of dots, then the other.
[Pavavi] Now, this is still conjecture.
[Pavavi] I may be overinterpreting the whole thing.
[Pavavi] But I think this is like, a map of space, or a calendar in time, or perhaps both.
[Alai] That is possible. How does one read or interpret it? A key we are missing?
[Pavavi] Yes. The dots, alone, the slate, alone, is unmoored from its original position.
[Pavavi] And I cannot imagine you can tell me exactly how it was oriented under the earth.
[Alai] I did not watch its removal.
* Alai shakes her head no
[Pavavi] In any case, my theory is that while not magical, it is, as we might define it, a map to magical lines of Source.
[Pavavi] But the blade, that was placed in the ground to fix something in place, to moor it.
[Alai] along the magical line...
[Pavavi] Yes, something of the sort.
[Pavavi] But without more reference points, we would be at a loss to reach a final interpretation.
[Pavavi] Its meaning, as a single artifact, is obscure. Only in conjunction with other signs can we discern where the weather-vane points us.
[Alai] If we had other maps to compare with... like a chart of currents...
* Alai thinks outloud
[Pavavi] Exactly.
[Pavavi] The whole thing is couched behind centuries of myth and lost knowledge and the ancient faith and everything else.
[Pavavi] Leaving us at a great disadvantage.
[Alai] The implications though. If one simply taps the right line, the right point, the amplification possible.
[Pavavi] And hence, how one would take an object meant to hold a single person in place - and instead, hold a whole world in place.
[Alai] I'm torn. I want to explore this, delve deep, learn... though part of me feels that I should destroy this slate and any that I find.
[Pavavi] I understand that urge.
[Pavavi] From both sides.
[Pavavi] I think we both know if - rather when - we tell Nemnu - she will want to hold this very close.
[Pavavi] If this caused the earthquake - or rather, if it was holding it back the whole time ... well, I do not want to go too far afield in speculation.
[Alai] The Lady asked me not to delve down those lines at this time.
* Pavavi nods.
[Pavavi] And we can understand why.
[Pavavi] But She will want to know more.
* Alai nods
[Alai] I'll leave it in your judgement as to when to bring it to Her. I would not linger long.
[Pavavi] Do you want to talk to Jevai about this? I am confident she would want to know. But it may not be prudent.
[Alai] She should know. I will tell her.
* Pavavi nods.
[Pavavi] I am sure you will convey to her the importance of not letting this knowledge disseminate too broadly.
[Alai] I shouldn't have to, but I will if I need to.
* Pavavi lifts up the slate.
[Pavavi] I will put this in a safe spot. I know just the place.
* Alai nods
Marga and Rechegoko are visited in a dream by Aizhanefer Naznaz who cajoles and threatens them, and when they wake up, they kiss
[NemnostiGM] Marga, for now at least, things are safe around the ulajeta. Scouting and killing, the two things you're best at, are not in high demand at least at the moment.
[Marga] womp womp :(
[NemnostiGM] Rechegoko is the most gentlemanly barbarian in the history of wild folk - he does look at you awfully nicely though, and you have lunch together, go for runs, the usual kind of thing.
[NemnostiGM] After a long day of ... well, a little scouting and not much else, you have settled into sleep.
[NemnostiGM] Your dreams are often of flying, which is nice except that now that you can fly, you can always tell the difference between real flying and dream flying. Feels different on the feathers.
[NemnostiGM] You are flying when suddenly you feel yourself pulled towards the ground, as if you can't get any lift from your wings.
[NemnostiGM] You end up in a secluded river valley that you don't recognize.
[NemnostiGM] Everything feels off, even in dream.
[NemnostiGM] You see Rechegoko there next to you.
[Marga] ].]
[Marga] Rechegoko?
* Zaren is now known as Rechegoko
* Marga tries to orient herself
[Rechegoko] Whoa ... I was dreaming. No, I am dreaming.
[NemnostiGM] (give me a Survival roll)
[Marga] (meh 15)
[Marga] Are you... you?
[Rechegoko] I am. I think I am, anyway.
* Rechegoko comes over to you.
[Marga] D'you know... where this is?
[NemnostiGM] You figure it out after a minute. You're facing downhill, but it's to the west; if this is a real place, you're on the other side of great Momichas, over on the Taizian side of the border.
* Rechegoko looks around.
[Rechegoko] It's like some of the places at home. I think - but not quite right.
* Marga scrunches up her face, puzzled...
[Marga] Why are we here?
[NemnostiGM] As you talk, a man comes out from around a corner. He's a big man, middle years, tall and burly but not muscular like a warrior.
* Pavavi is now known as Aizhanefer
[Aizhanefer] You are here, Marga, because I have brought you here.
[Marga] Huh?
[Rechegoko] Uncle ...?
[Marga] What the what? Who?
[Aizhanefer] She's a bit slow, just like you, Goko. A good match.
[Aizhanefer] I am Aizhanefer of the Naznaz.
[Marga] Oh. Uh. Why?
* Rechegoko seems very small for a giant of a man right about now.
[Marga] Is this because of Auntie Saza
* Aizhanefer smiles.
[Marga] Did she tell you to... get me?
[Aizhanefer] You may be smarter than he is after all.
[Aizhanefer] (https://rocksfall.org/wiki/File:Aizhanefer.jpg )
[Marga] He's plenty smart.
[Aizhanefer] He's not, but you're good to defend him. He has his uses.
[Aizhanefer] You're on the wrong side, Marga. Your loyalty is admirable, but misplaced. Your father would say as much.
[Marga] I don't even know what sides there are.
[Aizhanefer] Tell me this. Do you think that Nemnu tells you the truth, or do you think She holds it back on you, keeps it to Herself?
[Marga] I dunno.
* Marga shrugs
[Marga] She has smarter people to talk to about important stuff.
[Rechegoko] Marga, don't listen to him! He speaks nonsense!
[Rechegoko] You go away!
[Marga] He's just saying the same things as Auntie Saza.
[Marga] Which is, not very much, honestly
[Aizhanefer] Your auntie is blood to you. True kin.
[Aizhanefer] She knows that you have a greater purpose than to defend the Ombans against the consequences of their own mistakes.
[Marga] Sure... That's not what Daddy says. :p
[Marga] what d'you want?
[Aizhanefer] You think you are protected, hiding away in your ulajeta behind walls, protecting your stones with the dead and twice-dead.
[Aizhanefer] You are wrong.
[Marga] I'm protecting my *friends*...
* Aizhanefer extends a hand in the direction of Rechegoko silently.
[NemnostiGM] !roll 10d8
* Lan-werk rolls for NemnostiGM: [ 10d8 ] getting [ 8 8 1 7 6 1 1 2 1 7 ] for a total of [ 42 ].
[Rechegoko] !roll 1d20+4
* Lan-werk rolls for Rechegoko: [ 1d20+4 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 4 ] totals [ 13 ].
* Rechegoko falls to the ground.
[Marga] What did you do?!
[Aizhanefer] He was annoying me.
[Marga] You're annoying me, you shit!
* Marga rushes over to Rechegoko.
[Aizhanefer] Tut-tut, little birdie.
[Marga] (is he dead or just KO?)
* Rechegoko is breathing, but softly and thinly.
[Marga] Did you hurt hm in real life??
[Aizhanefer] It is a myth propagated by the lowlanders that dream and real-life are two things.
[Marga] If you think this is gonna make me pick your side you're dumber than both of us put together!!
[Aizhanefer] You are welcome to continue to pick the losing side.
[Marga] (if dreams are real life can I have my weapon)
[Marga] FIX HIM
[Marga] I'LL RIP YOUR SHITTING FACE OFF
[NemnostiGM] Marga, yes, it turns out that your weapon has been in your hands the whole time.
* Marga attacks him
[NemnostiGM] (ok go ahead)
[Marga] (Is there also a lovely rock I could push off? I feel like there is)
[NemnostiGM] (definitely you are in a rocky valley area)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 15 ].
[Marga] (destiny?)
[NemnostiGM] (sure)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 30 ].
[NemnostiGM] (ok roll damage)
[Marga] (can I assume power attack)
[NemnostiGM] (sure, you should say in advance but it's a dream, time is an illusion)
[Marga] !roll 1d12+13
* Lan-werk rolls for Marga: [ 1d12+13 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 20 ].
[Marga] (I forgot I had it until I was looking at my attack rolls :x)
[NemnostiGM] You hit the man, and he seems briefly perturbed.
[Aizhanefer] I see what she was saying.
[Aizhanefer] You would be a formidable ally, or opponent.
[Marga] (I continue attacking him :v)
[Aizhanefer] Go on, then.
[Aizhanefer] I will not harm you unless you make me.
* Marga hammers away at him until it's clear it's not doing anything
* Marga pants...
[NemnostiGM] You wouldn't say it's doing nothing ... but its effects are strange, as if you're beating him with a baton.
[Marga] We're leavin'...
[Aizhanefer] Go ahead then. Drag your man away.
* Aizhanefer waits patiently.
* Marga turns her back on him and hoists Rechegoko up.
[Aizhanefer] Strong. I see what he sees in you too.
* Marga growls at him over her shoulder as she drags Rechegoko away from him
* Marga concentrates on getting back to Nemnosti.
[NemnostiGM] You begin to walk away, but somehow you don't find yourself getting further away from the man.
[NemnostiGM] No matter how hard you try, you find yourself stuck in the valley.
[Marga] (are there any raptors aroun? ;_;)
[Aizhanefer] Having trouble, I see.
[NemnostiGM] (None you can see)
[Marga] Not as much trouble as you're gonna be when I get my hands on you for real.
* Marga snarls.
* Marga carefully lets Rechegoko down.
[Marga] (be in)
* Aizhanefer laughs at you mockingly.
[Aizhanefer] I don't blame you for your anger.
[Aizhanefer] Misplaced though it may be.
* Marga hoists her hammer again.
[Aizhanefer] I can see that there is no point in continuing this conversation today.
[Aizhanefer] Tell your mistress that no one is beyond my reach. Not even her.
* Marga tries to swing it up right between his stupid legs
[NemnostiGM] (sure, go ahead)
[Marga] (le power attack)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 15 ].
[Marga] (nuts)
[NemnostiGM] (no, you missed his nuts)
[Marga] (lmao)
[Aizhanefer] Wake up!
[NemnostiGM] At that, you awaken.
[NemnostiGM] You are in bed, drenched in sweat.
[Marga] (where's Rechegoko)
[NemnostiGM] (in his room you suppose?)
* Marga busts out of her room to run over there.
[NemnostiGM] OK, you are at the door.
* Marga bangs on the door.
[Marga] Rechegoko??
[NemnostiGM] No response.
* Marga yells louder.
[Marga] RECHEGOKO??
[NemnostiGM] No response.
* Marga tries the door.
[NemnostiGM] Fortunately the door is not locked or barred - Rechegoko has never been in a place where locking doors was even relevant.
[NemnostiGM] You enter, and see Rechegoko lying on his bed.
* Marga rushes over and shakes him by the shoulders
[Marga] Wake up!
[NemnostiGM] He's definitely breathing, but unconscious
[Marga] :(
[Marga] HEEEEEEEEEEEELP SOMEONE HELP
[NemnostiGM] Finally, Rechegoko begins to stir.
[Rechegoko] urrrrrrrrr......
* Marga holds her breath :x
[Rechegoko] murrrrr....
[Rechegoko] grrrrrr....
[Marga] Yeah, it's me, it's Marga, please wake up.
* Rechegoko 's eyes flutter open.
[Rechegoko] huh?
[Marga] Are...Are you alright?
[Rechegoko] I ... maybe ... you?
* Marga nods.
[Marga] What was that... thing he did ?
[Rechegoko] I don't know.
[Rechegoko] You fought for me.
[Marga] I... I did, yeah. Of course I did.
* Rechegoko smiles weakly.
* Rechegoko reaches up to hold you.
* Marga leans in.
* Rechegoko kisses you.
[Rechegoko] Thank you.
[Marga] O-oh... you're welcome... :3
[Rechegoko] I'm sorry.
[Marga] For what?
[Rechegoko] For getting you involved in all this. My uncle.
[Marga] Don't be... I think it was gonna happen anyway. Since my aunt hooked up with him.
[Rechegoko] Does that make us ... cousins?
* Marga laughs...
[Marga] Let's say no.
[Rechegoko] Good.
* Marga kisses him!
[Rechegoko] (!!!)
Jevai and Giri set the powerful temporal stasis with a flourish, and experience a connection with another sigillant or some dark power
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, more than once since taking him on as your Upward, you've been irritated at Giri's passivity. You have learned over that time, though, that he's more than happy to take credit for someone else's good ideas, in which case he can seem almost positively lively in action.
[NemnostiGM] So it has only been a couple short days since you first broached the subject with him, and here you are, with Nemnu's approval, at the Lanky Stones to enact your plan to protect the ulajeta. Or as Giri put it, 'the plan I worked up with Jevai'.
[NemnostiGM] It is early, early morning - the time when there would be enough light to see well but few enough bystanders.
[NemnostiGM] There are a few guards around to keep any onlookers at a distance, while far across in the other side of the courtyard, the Hand is running military drills with the bubun, because that will surely be of greater immediate interest to anyone awake at this hour.
[NemnostiGM] The seven thin, worn stones stand proudly against the rising sun to the east, casting long shadows over you. Their markings are curvilinear, ancient, reminiscent of other monuments in the area, like Istu Levunu. A modern sigillant would not make such simple designs, but they have a great beauty.
[NemnostiGM] Giri has picked out a place upon which to lay the seals, and then you will add a devastating flourish. He has collected various pigments and powders, along with a rough adhesive. The particulars of colour play some role in the lodging, but are to a great degree at the sigillant's discretion.
[NemnostiGM] As for the shapes, only Giri himself knows what it will be, and even he will need to follow the Unfolding during the process - it can never be known fully in advance, like so many things in this world.
[NemnostiGM] That is why, no matter how much preparation one makes, such a powerful seal always carries risk to the caster.
* Giri is meditating quietly next to the stones, his hands twitching as if imagining the pattern he is about to make. Finally, his eyes open.
[Giri] Are we ready?
* Jevai nods
[Giri] This spell, it is not an easy one for me. There is risk.
[Giri] I am sad to say that Saza would have far more capacity than I do to make it work.
[Jevai] I understand
[Jevai] but if we could rely on her, we wold be doing something very different
[Giri] Once it is done, and presuming I am able to confirm it as such, you may add the flourish we discussed.
[Giri] The second seal, that one is much simpler.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] I've prepared my materials
[Jevai] please let me know if there is some other way I can assist
[Giri] And the criteria we seek: is it only if someone enters Nemnosti through the Lanky Stones, or if they try to leave it? Without speaking the word, that is.
[Jevai] I think to enter the Ulajeta is the greater priority, f it cannot be both
[Giri] It can be either way.
[Giri] The contingency can be fairly complex.
[Giri] I simply know that that was how the fake Susuva left.
[Jevai] then perhaps to prevent either
* Giri nods.
[Giri] All right.
* Giri begins the complex set of rituals and marks. The first half-hour of the ritual is purely working with materials, before a stroke has been laid upon the stone.
[Jevai] (I assume he is painting)
* Giri 's work is beautiful, linear, with angles chosen that you would not have imagined, but once chosen, each brushstroke seems like it was surely the only one that could have been made.
[Giri] (yes, with various pigments and powders and such)
* Giri works slowly, methodically. At times you know you would be faster than he is to make the same line, but then you stop and remember that he, unlike you, actually knows how to do this.
* Jevai will work on lodging fox's cunning while he is doing this part, and can just dislodge it on him in the last 6 mn of the lodging
[NemnostiGM] (All right, I'll let you roll to lodge that)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 20 ].
[NemnostiGM] (should be fine)
[Jevai] (yeah all good)
[Jevai] Just a little boost when the time comes for it
* Jevai will say quietly so as not to disturb his work
[NemnostiGM] Finally the glorious and intricate seal starts to take shape, and you see the form of it clearly as Giri places the last few strokes.
* Jevai wll unlodge the FC before he actaully finishes
[NemnostiGM] (OK, guess i should actually roll for this one and see if this roll sucks as much as everyone else's today)
[NemnostiGM] !roll 1d20
* Lan-werk rolls for NemnostiGM: [ 1d20 ] getting [ 18 ].
[NemnostiGM] (that'll do it)
[Jevai] (whew)
* Giri 's eyes open wide as the seal is lodged, full of horror and confusion. He falls to the ground.
[Jevai] Upward!
* Giri comes around by himself after just a moment.
* Jevai will check and see if she can tell what is wrong with him
[Giri] That was ... most unusual.
[Jevai] are you alright? what happened?
[Giri] It is done, but ... I am not certain. Something happened during the lodging.
[Giri] I sensed a presence, as if watching over me. Familiar, almost, in a strange way. Familiar, but foreign.
[Giri] As if another sigillant were present here, with my hands and my brain.
[Jevai] . o O (Upward.... )
[Giri] What if the sigillant from the hills, or perhaps Saza, has a way to know what we have done?
[Giri] Or to interfere with it?
[Jevai] It is possible, but not the only possibility.
[Giri] It felt like, as we were placing an anchor in time, we had laid it across a disturbance in both time and space. Like a dam across a slow-flowing river, altering its course.
[Jevai] We don’t know what they may know about the stones that we don’t... i am beginning to suspect it is quite a lot
[Giri] As if something here is not as it is meant to be.
* Jevai nods, but is worried
[Giri] I do not know whether to recommend that you place the flourish.
[Jevai] I'd like to try... its a secondary effect
[Giri] All right ...
* Giri sounds like his usual noncommittal self again
[Jevai] if anything happens, I know you’re here... and perhaps it will help me understand what you sensed.
* Giri nods.
* Jevai will look at the seal as laid and see what colours call to her for the flourish
[Giri] All right. Be careful.
[Jevai] I will
* Jevai will go ahead and start to lay it out, then
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 25 ].
[NemnostiGM] (make a Perception check)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 13 ].
[Jevai] (LOL uhhh destiny :p)
[NemnostiGM] (fine)
[Jevai] (Unless you think the 1 is more interesting)
[NemnostiGM] (up to you)
[Jevai] (How about this - I'll reroll but if I fail you can treat it as a 1 ;)
[NemnostiGM] (as you wish)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 19 ].
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, for just a moment you have a sense of a shape taking form, just outside perceptibility.
[NemnostiGM] Then it turns sour, and dark. There is a profound sense of being overwhelmed by water, and then ... nothing.
[NemnostiGM] You don't collapse, but you do take a moment to regain your bearings.
[NemnostiGM] You look at the completed flourish. It's there, and as far as you can tell, it is complete and correct. But in looking at it, you are reminded of that moment's sensation, and it feels ... wrong.
[Jevai] ... it is wrong.
[Giri] No, Pebble, it's fine. You did well.
* Jevai looks at Giri in confusion
[Jevai] It feels wrong
[Giri] I don't believe it is wrong. It feels full, solid.
[Jevai] It... felt like drowning in foul water
[Giri] Perhaps that was your experience of the same thing that I felt.
[Giri] I felt no malice, but it did feel like water, just more ... personal.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] maybe ...
* Jevai shakes her head and looks at the glyph again
[Giri] Are you ready to place the hold?
[Jevai] I think... the lodging is fine. it looks solid. But... there *is* something more.
[Jevai] Yes
[Giri] All right. Let me start, then.
* Jevai says quickly, pulling herself together
* Giri returns to the lodging to place hold monster on the stones.
[Giri] !roll 1d20
* Lan-werk rolls for Giri: [ 1d20 ] getting [ 9 ].
[Giri] (that's fine for him, more than adequate)
[Jevai] (no more weirdness from him?)
[Giri] This one did not have the same sense of disrupting time and space, for me.
[Giri] But then, the spell is of a very different kind.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] yes...
* Jevai will go ahead and apply the flourish but can; t say she isn’t reaching out for... something/one... as she does...
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 25 ].
[NemnostiGM] You lay the flourish upon the much simpler glyph, without any sense of wrongness.
[Jevai] ...there.
[Giri] Well. Now it is past midmorning.
[Giri] Let what we have done here today stand against the interlopers.
* Jevai nods to that
[NemnostiGM] Until next we gather by the firelight, young acolytes ...
==Solos==
===Jevai and Alai talk about the Hulti slate and its meaning, and the plan to seal the Lanky Stones===
* Jevai can be found in her room, organizing her paints and pigments, grinding out some more colours
* Alai knocks gently at her door
[Jevai] yes?
* Jevai calls
[Alai] It's Alai. Are you busy?
[Jevai] oh - come in!
* Alai opens the door, considers for a second, then closes it.
* Jevai smiles, setting aside the mortar and pestle she was using
[Alai] I will never get used to this time of year.
* Alai sighs.
[Alai] It's enough I don't snap everyone's head off just for breathing.
* Jevai smiles at that
[Jevai] why npt jjust make yourself more comfortable?
[Alai] decorum prevents me right now, but I'll at least find a place to sit and not move.
[Jevai] pfft
* Jevai will do a quick slate sketch of Endure elements
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
[Jevai] (oh shoot)
[Alai] appreciated for the moment.
* Jevai will touch her friend to release the spll once cast
[Jevai] better?
[Alai] somewhat... I don't feel it, but I KNOW its still out there.
[Jevai] well, its no cool ocean breeze i suppose
[Jevai] so why come down to my dark little hole?
[Alai] Social and serious. How are you?
* Jevai is exaggerating slghtly, we'bve moved up from the accolyte quarters
[Jevai] Better than I had been, I think.
[Jevai] I feel a little more hopeful
[Alai] Good. I worry, you know.
[Alai] Not a joke either
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] I've convinced Upward and the Lady of a plan to help protect the stones
[Jevai] so, I feel better about how things went with Downward
[Alai] Oh that is good. I take it, the plan is not to destroy them then.
[Jevai] No. They are too important.
[Jevai] We will be setting up some contingent seals that will trigger on any unauthorized use
[Alai] A trap then. Feels obvious, but I suppose less labour intensive than guarding all the time.
[Alai] Is this a secret trap or will it be known that there is one... to vex people.
[Jevai] I think the details will not be widespread, at least
* Alai nods
[Jevai] but therer will still be guards - the spell can only affect the first target, so if more than one cones through the stones, the next won;t be affected
[Alai] still very useful
[Jevai] I'm curious what you will think of the choice of spells though - Upward will be doing the lodging of the seal, but I'll be assisting with a flourish
[Alai] Ooh... tell me
* Alai says eagerly
[Jevai] I trust you to be discrete of course... the main spell cast will be a temporal stasis, with a hold monster as a secondary backup
[Jevai] both will be persistent
[Alai] quite the trap... body and mind
[Jevai] hopefully it will never be needed, and someday we will be able to reattune the stones properly
[Alai] It would be nice if that ends up true.
[Jevai] mm.
* Alai doesnt carry much confidence in her voice.
[Jevai] still, we have to set it, first
[Jevai] but it has been approved
[Jevai] but as I said, it feels better to have a plan
[Jevai] how have you been though, other than m,elting?
[Alai] better and worse... Avrubai has be poking around me as of late... so eager yet so exhausting.
[Jevai] I'm sure you can put him in his place ;)
[Alai] have... several times... slow learner.
[Alai] I did have a good discussion with Pavavi about that slate we found in the Hulti temple
[Jevai] oh?
[Jevai] I have been meanong to look at that - I think there is more to it than we initially considered
[Jevai] did he find out anything new?
[Alai] Yes he did.
[Alai] While there is the intricate drawings on the front of the slate, it's the back that is more interesting.
[Alai] there are pits in the back, seemingly random, but they are not.
[Jevai] oh?
[Alai] the Source flows... it has currents, eddies, that are unseen but they are there.
* Alai makes a line in the air with her finger
* Jevai nods
[Alai] these flows have power... not that I or you can simply tap them, you would need to know precisely where to touch it... and again they are unseen.
[Jevai] ...so are you saying it is a map?
[Alai] or a chart without a key or reference
[Alai] that is the supposition. How else could a simple enchantment on a blade for holding a creature hold a mountain instead.
* Jevai looks thoughtful
[Jevai] I'd like to see it again
[Jevai] I had wondered if it was something like a sigillant's slate where a it held or had once held some lodged magic
[Jevai] but we know stone can hold and channle source in different ways
[Jevai] now I am very curious
[Jevai] I had made a sketch of the fron but not spent so much tome with the reverse
[Alai] Pavavi has it safe. She is very interested in this field of magical theory.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] I'll have to go see him then I suppose
[Alai] I'd be curious if there were other ancient slates with similar patterns
[Jevai] I would like to compare it to soem things
[Jevai] perhaps not slates, but other things
[Jevai] The monolith network, perhaps...
[Alai] ooh... I know I'm supposed to leave the whole mountain spirit thing alone, but this is all too interesting. What other things? I did see the pattern of the back.
[Alai] I haven't examined them in details, do they have similar pit marked patterns?
[Jevai] not all, but I have seen one that does
[Jevai] well
[Jevai] I dont know if they are really similar without comparison
[Jevai] but you know the monoliths cna be used to travel - a powerful enough sigillant can establish one anywhere, but many of the stones are old, and I suspect have some other purpose
[Alai] guide posts
[Jevai] whether they use, or mark, or create these eddies...
[Jevai] Downward would know best
[Jevai] perhaps yes
* Jevai says the bit about saza in a resigned tone
[Alai] I'd like to think if the Hulti we are dealing with knew of the slate and what I contained, they would have removed it themselves.
[Alai] May be wishful thinking.
[Jevai] well, their ancestors are the ones who imprisoned whatever it contained
[Jevai] so they may have preferred to leave it
[Alai] we are unlikely to learn the truth of it.
[Jevai] maybe...
[Alai] I'll help with Pavavi.
[Jevai] thank you
