Nemnosti session 19
Summary
Session
- Session date: December 8, 2024
- Negili Reckoning date: IE 768, Gugivas
Prologue
Greetings, acolytes! We spend much time here at Nemnosti learning about the Corps, of course. It is part of the training of every acolyte, even though scarce few of you aim to join its binary Orders of service, or the stoneguards who protect them. But there are many faiths and to know why we believe the one we do, requires that we know of the others. The Luetkans with their nine whale-gods, and their tradition of Telling. Faraway Umnaka where the lightning-god lords over the Enskrai. Tonight around the fire, let us speak of the Old Folk, that is, the Hulti who are no more in this land.
The speaker pauses, as if unsure whether to add something else in there. Then continues:
The Hulti call their faith ildomo, the journey of truth. But that is the pernicious nature of that creed, that its name itself is a lie. They truck in the value of rujavai, or continuous pretense. If you ever should encounter the Old Folk, in Malfan or elsewhere, know this, or risk confabulation. We do know that they have four stories: the Veil, for creation, the Balance, for existence, The Song of Sorrows, for their relation to the Corps, and the Chain, their history, or what passes for it. They are not evil, and it is important to remember that we too were once as misguided as they still are, unaware of Zunuga's Epiphany, or of the nature of Unfolding. But they are deeply dangerous because their lies can seep into the foundations of what we value here. Above all, do not mistake silence for absence, just as you do not mistake words for truth.
Marga receives a cryptic vision from Ushukuna about a dark spike in the heart of Musune forest along with a grim warning about the Laigrunuf clan, and is granted a token from Her of a powerful feather
[NemnostiGM] Marga, you are flying west, up the valley from Nemnosti, out of the Pardopasu, past Istu Levunu where you found Surgu's body, up into the Ghengom.
[NemnostiGM] Past Hong Sogo and your clan's iftibal, nestled against the lake. You don't see your father there, but then, it is still dark, perhaps an hour still before dawn.
[NemnostiGM] Even the Snapping Dog sleeps at this hour, surely.
[NemnostiGM] You consider dropping by, but you have a higher purpose today. Much higher, in fact.
[NemnostiGM] West still further, west and up. At this altitude, even near midsummer, the air grows bitterly cold at night. Your down-feathers are thin in this arid season, and you feel the chill in your hollow bones.
[NemnostiGM] All the way to the rim of great russet Momichas, the soil stained with the viscera of centuries of carrion long since scavenged and forgotten.
[NemnostiGM] To the ridge of the caldera, looking down upon its still lake, dark and half-dry. Your brothers and sisters are gathering with you, here in dormant Momichas, waiting.
[NemnostiGM] Cra-craa, they cry!
[Vulture_Wake] Cra-craaaaaa!
[NemnostiGM] Eikuuruu lands next to you, his black feathers almost invisible, but you can smell him.
* Eikuuruu rustles his feathers uneasily.
[Eikuuruu] Sister.
[Marga] Brother...
[Eikuuruu] How are the lowlands?
[Marga] Uneasy...
[Eikuuruu] Mm. The uplands too.
[Marga] What's going on?
[Eikuuruu] When the wake gathers, I do not ask why. I obey.
* Eikuuruu sounds as confused as you, though.
[NemnostiGM] A flit, a flicker, a shadow grows across the gibbous moon. You look up and you see Her.
[NemnostiGM] She circles and descends, Her massive wings buffeting you almost off into the crater, you steady yourself, clutching your talons into the red soil at the edge of the volcano.
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/File:Momichas.jpeg
[NemnostiGM] She lands before you. Ushukuna.
[NemnostiGM] Marga, you know it cannot really be so - She is far too large to be standing right in front of you, alone. To address you, alone. Yet it feels just so. Just like you are here with Her and your brothers and sisters in the wake recede into the background.
[Ushukuna] Daughter.
[Marga] Mother.
[Ushukuna] I come in warning. Cra-craaa!
* Marga ruffles her feathers...
[Ushukuna] You must stay wakeful, even in sleep. Remember!
[Marga] What kind of warning?
[Ushukuna] A dark spike has been struck into the crack at the heart of green-black Musune. Veiled still in shimmering raiment, rattling against the spiral ancestors.
[NemnostiGM] Of course, you know the name of Musune, the great forest at the north of the province. Everything else She is saying is quite opaque to you, though.
[Ushukuna] But the masked rebel waits no longer, her teardrop-visage weeps not.
[Ushukuna] The crack becomes the crevice, and then the crevasse.
[Ushukuna] My still sister's unfolding folly moves mountains.
[Ushukuna] Her enemies tremble, they tumble, they remember Her power.
[Ushukuna] But that is when they are most dangerous. Beware their deceptions.
[Ushukuna] The children of Lai, Gru, and Nuf cannot be trusted.
[Marga] (do I know any of those names?)
[NemnostiGM] Marga, you are sitting there, next to the rest of the wake, hoping almost beyong hope that you are not the one being addressed. Hoping to hide among the gathered congregation. None of this makes any sense.
* Ushukuna sees your confusion, and it is as if, in a moment, her size shrinks by half, and her demeanour grows gentle.
[Ushukuna] You do not understand.
* Ushukuna says, kindly.
[Ushukuna] You are stronger than you know, daughter. Smarter than you believe. More potent than you can imagine.
[Marga] Who's the still sister? Nemnu?
[Ushukuna] Just so. See, you show your strength here, in the cold blue sky and red soil.
[Marga] and her unfolding folly is... the stone.
[Ushukuna] Again, your strength shows.
* Ushukuna shakes her wings, and a thin black feather falls from her breast.
[Ushukuna] A token. For strength yet further, in the dark days to come.
[Marga] I'll try my best, Mother
[Ushukuna] Call on my power, for you are never alone. Never.
[Ushukuna] Cra-craaa!
[NemnostiGM] You feel warm despite the bitter chill of the pre-dawn, as her voice goes into you.
* Marga clutchyes the feather in her talons
[Marga] I will...
[Ushukuna] Then go, my children, let me hear your cry!
[Eikuuruu] Cra-craaa!
[Marga] Cra-Craaa!!
[NemnostiGM] You awaken in your bed, back at the ulajeta. But you feel the chill still.
[NemnostiGM] Between your toes lies the red, moist soil of Momichas. And in clutched in your hand, a single feather.
* Marga shivers, and cluthes the feather against her chest
Jevai is meditating near the Fingerprint when she receives a mental missive from Gunuremai who claims to want to cooperate against the Unkind Stone, offering to meet at a site at the end of Musune
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, you have been trying to be as subtle as possible in spending more time up at the Nadenigh iftibal over the past while.
[NemnostiGM] Partly, of course, to ensure that your dad is well, but partly to ensure that the strange crack in the cave near the Fingerprint does not change or grow.
[NemnostiGM] So far, since its first appearance there has been no change, although that gives you little comfort.
[NemnostiGM] You are there now, meditating next to the Fingerprint quietly in the deep caves; outside, it is surely near dawn and you will return to Nemnosti then.
[NemnostiGM] All of a sudden, you hear a voice in your head. But not the one you had feared - although that is perhaps more fearful still.
* Eikuuruu is now known as A_Voice
* A_Voice is a woman's voice, a human voice, as best as you can tell.
[A_Voice] Jevai of the Nadenigh, I come to you to bargain.
[Jevai] ...Who comes to me?
[A_Voice] An enemy, with whom you share a common foe.
[Jevai] ...Gunumerai?
* A_Voice is now known as Gunuremai
[Gunuremai] You are in a strange place. I have not seen it before. Beautiful, in its way. Old.
[Jevai] What bargain do you seek?
[Gunuremai] We have a common enemy. The crack that has awakened. You are with it now, are you not?
[Jevai] What of it?
[Gunuremai] It has been my enemy my entire life, and long before I existed, still it was my enemy.
[Gunuremai] Now is not the time for petty differences to keep us from solidarity.
[Gunuremai] Your Downward has told me much about you. Much to hold in great esteem.
[Jevai] What do you want from me
[Gunuremai] I have much to show you, and you have much to learn.
[Gunuremai] I want you to come to me.
[Jevai] Where?
[Gunuremai] In ancient times, when hills were Kinds
[Gunuremai] We marked the stone with spiral signs
[Gunuremai] Our corpses, cast in widdershins
[Gunuremai] Asleep until the crack begins
[Gunuremai] Then slip between the rocky crease
[Gunuremai] Until unfolding shadows cease.
* Gunuremai pauses.
[Gunuremai] You know this tale?
[Jevai] no.
[Jevai] (I assume no)
[NemnostiGM] (no except obviously the first line)
[Gunuremai] Not everything is retained in Her mighty libraries, then.
[Gunuremai] Meet me at Musune's end. Bring your friends, if you do not trust me.
[Jevai] when?
[Gunuremai] I will wait here for you. I am there now.
[Jevai] Very well.
[Gunuremai] The crack should be stable, for now. You can come.
[Gunuremai] But above all, do not trust Alai. She is touched by it, and one does not simply come back from that.
[Jevai] Noted.
[Jevai] but how do you know this?
[Gunuremai] I am a seeker on the journey of truth. We know many things that you have all forgotten.
[Jevai] we will meet you.
[Gunuremai] I will wait. And, too, a gift will await you there.
[NemnostiGM] The presence in your head dissipates.
* Jevai will spend the next 30 min lodging nondetection
[Jevai] (also what spell was that?)
[NemnostiGM] (the spell that Gunuremai used?)
[NemnostiGM] (you can make a K:arcana)
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 23 ]
[NemnostiGM] You actually don't know if it is a spell. It's not one you recognize immediately.
[Jevai] (goody)
* Jevai will go find her people
[Jevai] (yes including Alai)
The team discusses the two visions, deciding to seek Nemnu’s counsel before deciding whether to meet with Gunuremai, and they identify Marga’s feather as a powerful transmutation artifact
[NemnostiGM] All right, by the time you get back, it's dawn, and you can gather people in one of the small salons next to the great library.
[Jevai] thnak you all for coming
[Alai] you need, we come. What do you need]?
* Alai gives her a smile
* Kuspir nods
[Ifa] What's going on?
* Marga shows up looking a lil disheveled and holding a big black feather
[Jevai] I was contacted this morning through a means I'm unfamilar with... maybe a spell btu I'm not sure
[Jevai] (sec oven song)
[Jevai] by Gunumerai
[Jevai] She spoke to me in my head, and it seemed she could also see where I was
[Ifa] Are you okay? What did she say?
[Marga] did you see *her*?
[Jevai] I'm fine, and no I coudl not see her
[Jevai] She considers us to have a common enemy in the disturbances caused by the Unkind Stone, and would like to meet
[Alai] is likely you were being scryed. Some effects allow for communcation.
* Alai will consume some fos and cast Detect Scrying
[Jevai] yes I guessed it was something like that, and have taken steps since then.
* Ifa frowns.
[Ifa] Meet her where?
[NemnostiGM] (ok go ahead and roll, Alai)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 21 ].
[Jevai] "at musune's end"
[NemnostiGM] There is presently no scrying effect at work in your vicinity.
[Marga] I... I also had a visit in the night
[Kuspir] So back to the fort at Gil Hargush then?
[Jevai] oh?
* Jevai nods to Kuspir though
[Marga] Mother Ushukuna spoke to me
[Marga] She mentioned Musune too. She said a spike has been struck into the crack at its heart. Then something about shimmering raiments and spiral ancestors?
[Marga] She said the 'masked rebel weeps not' - that means the person we've been chasing, right?
[Ifa] Presumably, yeah.
[Alai] Is likely, yes.
[Jevai] Gunumerai mentioned the spiral ancestors as well
* Jevai will repeat the poem
[Ifa] I understood...some of that.
[Marga] Mother said... what's happening, the unkind stone, it moves mountains, and Nemnu's enemies are afraid of it, and we shouldn't trust them... specifically the Laigrunuf?
[Marga] I mean, She said the children of Lai Gru and Nuf. But that's what it means. I think.
[Ifa] All of them?
[Marga] I dunno.
* Marga clutches her feather tightly.
[Kuspir] So, should we prepare to depart? It will take a good while to get to Gil Hargush.
[Kuspir] We will have plenty of time to talk on the journey.
* Ifa nods.
* Jevai nods
[Ifa] I'll start getting things together.
[Alai] were you promised no harm, Jevai?
[Jevai] No. She just said to bring you all if I don't trust her.
[Alai] Feel like a trap, she wants many there.
[Jevai] she did said that you, in particular, can't be trusted.
* Ifa raises an eyebrow at that.
* Izu scowls a bit at that.
[Ifa] Rich, coming from her. Did she say why?
[Marga] Wait, we're going? to talk to this person?
[Jevai] Because of the Abyss, essentially, But she just sees that as being related to the stone
[Izu] Maybe we can trap her instead somehow.
[Alai] we don't necessarily need to talk to her, but is opportunity to know where she is.
[Jevai] I think it is worth going.
[Ifa] Should we be considering reinforcements?
[Jevai] I think it is worth listening.
[Ifa] Or is that a good money after bad issue?
[Jevai] I think we should let Her know. She may forbid us goig, but I think we shoudl regardless.
[Alai] I may... have a way to get us all there in hours, instead of days... there is some risk, and I will need time to recover afterwards.
[Izu] How?
[Ifa] What's the risk?
[Alai] Is not a simple weaving, so mostly to me, which I am fine with.
[Alai] but you must be close when I cast it.
[Izu] Will you be ok?
[Jevai] She is there now
[Alai] so just bring us close, and then take some time rest of way, still be there less than day.
[Jevai] we don't know that she is alone.
[Ifa] I would imagine she would be actively taking steps to avoid us scrying or anything like that, huh?
[Ifa] Is it worth a shot anyway?
[Jevai] I know she has been speaking with Downward - so its possible that the nazNaz sigillant is there too
[Marga] Ugh, that guy is awful.
[Alai] Talk to Her first then lets finish our preparations.
* Ifa nods.
[Alai] Marga, what is the feather?
[Marga] It's from Mother Ushukuna.
[Marga] She gave it to me. For strength.
[Alai] May I examine it?
[Izu] It's from Khuzal?
[Marga] Yes.
[Izu] Ushukuna. The queen of the mountain.
[Jevai] did he tell you anything more?
[Marga] I can't let anyone take it.
[Jevai] the feather?
* Marga nods.
[Jevai] its Her blessing for You.
[Ifa] That's nice, at least.
* Ifa smiles.
[Alai] you can still hold it, I just need to be able to touch it as well
[Marga] You won't... do anything to it, right?
[Alai] I will simple examine any effects the Source may have on it, that is all. Looking, not changing or interacting.
[Marga] Alright.
[Alai] I will tell you what I learn
* Alai casts Identify
* Marga says, still sounding a little apprehensive as she holds out the feather.
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 12 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 25 ].
[NemnostiGM] The feather is a powerful transmutation artifact. Three times, it can be used to change the wielder into a great vulturous humanoid.
* Alai explains this
[Alai] You have indeed been blessed.
[Marga] oh wow :O
[Ifa] That's amazing, Marga. :)
[Izu] Use it wisely.
The team meets with Nemnu who assents to them going to meet with Gunuremai, and invites them to equip themselves suitably
* Izu will arrange for a meeting with Nemnu for the group.
[NemnostiGM] Izu can make quick and easy arrangements for you to meet with Nemnu before you go any further with your plans.
* Gunuremai is now known as Nemnu
* Nemnu is dressed simply, since Izu didn't have time to get Her all fancied up for this meeting, and it's still early morning.
[Nemnu] I sense your urgency, my acolytes. What is it?
[Jevai] Grey Lady, we come to disturb you further...
* Jevai will basically tell her the same thing she told the part: re contacted by Gunumerai
[Nemnu] So, what are your intentions?
* Jevai can add some of what marga said about the forest and the crack and such
[Jevai] I see this as an opportunity to try and learn what their understanding is of what is happening
[Jevai] The awakening of the Unkind stone is having effects beyond its location
[Jevai] if we can use this to leverage some kind of... cessation from them, perhaps
[Jevai] they said they wished to bargain.
[Nemnu] Do you believe her? Gunuremai?
[Alai] Is good chance is trap.
[Ifa] But still our best chance for negotiation.
[Nemnu] You will need to be well-prepared.
* Jevai nods
[Nemnu] Wherever it is that you meet her, she will have the advantage of familiarity.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] we will do our best to be prepared
[Nemnu] Then go, with my blessing and my concern. Take what you need from the treasury.
[Jevai] thank you, Lady
[NemnostiGM] (all right, unless anyone has anything else to say to Her we can move on)
[NemnostiGM] All right, you have borrowed various items from Pavavi in the treasury; as always you are amazed at the scope of Her bounty.
[NemnostiGM] What is your plan? Where actually are you going? Anything else you need to do before heading out?
[Kuspir] (Gil Hargush I thought?)
[NemnostiGM] (that's fine; Gil Hargush is not within Musune though)
[Alai] (assuming we are going to try to Shadow Walk, I'll gather everyone close)
[NemnostiGM] (OK, Alai, you can go ahead and cast your spell)
[Jevai] 9I need time to prep spells -_-)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 16 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 4 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 17 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d100
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d100 ] getting [ 3 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d100
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d100 ] getting [ 41 ].
[NemnostiGM] Alai, not for the first time in the history of the ulajeta, various houseplants bear the cost of backlash.
[NemnostiGM] You also have 2 strain
* Ifa will bring you some nice tea.
[NemnostiGM] All right, you can rest to recover from that strain. Embarrassed but not defeated, you prepare to cast the spell again.
[Alai] ls prehapse fate warning me... but I'm not one to let fate dictate my path.
* Alai tries again
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 33 ].
[NemnostiGM] Finally, you feel the power course through you, and you can step through the shadow and speed overland through to Gil Hargush with your companions.
[NemnostiGM] (Ifa, I don't think you can bring any bubun with you this way, though; Alai can only take six people)
[NemnostiGM] (but then, going to see a Hulti shaman with a bunch of bubun is not ideal anyway)
The team travels through Alai’s shadow magic to the edge of Musune, and Marga scouts ahead as they search for ‘Musune’s end’
[NemnostiGM] Alai takes you into a realm of shadow. Everything is where it should be, but blurred and dim, even though it is still bright and sunny when you leave.
[NemnostiGM] But soon enough, you find yourself in the shadow of the ruins of Gil Hargush.
[NemnostiGM] It stands atop high cliffs, keeping watch over the valley of forested Musune below
[Izu] That was... distressing.
* Jevai pays sattention to the strange realm
[Jevai] hmm
[Kuspir] Still better than walking the entire way.
[Ifa] I suppose...
[Izu] Much better, yes
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/Gil_Hargush
[NemnostiGM] The temple structure lies behind you, away from the valley a short distance. The fort itself of course has little defensive value today, having been abandoned over three hundred years ago at the end of the second great war with Taizi, over a century before the Great Purge
[Ifa] Do we know how to find Gunumerai from here?
[Ifa] Or is it more likely we go and she finds us?
[NemnostiGM] You see no sign of Gunuremai here.
[Jevai] she said at the entrance to the forest
[Jevai] so we have a ways to go yet
* Alai will cast mage armor and ablative barrier on herself
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 20 ].
* Jevai can also do mage armor
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 19 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 32 ].
[Jevai] Musune's end
* Ifa nods.
[Alai] I need to rest for an hour before we continue so plot our path as best you can
[Ifa] Maybe Marga can scout from the air?
* Jevai nods
[Ifa] If we think that's at all safe.
[Jevai] give that these are hill poeple, maybe the treeline rather than the forest below?
[Jevai] but yes
* Jevai looks to marga
[Marga] Sure!
* Marga will be a vulture
[Marga] Cra-craaa!
[Ifa] Be careful!
* Ifa will call after her.
[NemnostiGM] All right, Marga, you head out over the treeline and take a circle around this area.
[NemnostiGM] (I'll let you make a Perception)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 22 ].
[NemnostiGM] You don't see much. If there is a person here, they're not in a visible or high place.
* Marga will circle back then
[NemnostiGM] Alai, there is scrying within the area of your spell.
* Marga lands on the ground by the group and shakes her head. (staying a vulture for now in case they want me to go look somewhere else)
[Alai] (I will try to locate the scrier as per the spell - not likely I know since I know they are a much more powerful caster)
[NemnostiGM] (yup, go ahead)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+6
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+6 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 6 ] totals [ 15 ].
[NemnostiGM] (hahahaha...nope)
[Alai] we are being watched
* Alai announces to the group
[Kuspir] Unsurprising, I suppose
[Jevai] well perhaps they will decide to send us a sign
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, you hear a voice inside your head.
* Nemnu is now known as Gunuremai
[Jevai] ...
[Gunuremai] Into the valley. Along the river, to Musune's end.
[Jevai] She says - into the valley, along the river, to Musune's end.
[Jevai] :what is Musune's end?
[Gunuremai] You will see.
[Ifa] Once more, friends?
[Jevai] mm.
[Kuspir] Let's get going, then...
* Jevai nods
* Marga takes to the air.
[Alai] Marga let us know when we are close
[Alai] like 30 minutes away
The team travels into Musune along the river, and Jevai reveals to Ifa her plan to go with Gunuremai if needed
[NemnostiGM] You head down into the valley.
[NemnostiGM] The treeless riverplain gives way to first shrubs, then trees, and before long you are within the bounds of great Musune, the forest at the far north of Naftusa Province.
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/Musune
[NemnostiGM] You see large boulders here and there, and soon pass near where you slew the great spider and rescued young Kibai from her fate, at the edge of the forest.
[NemnostiGM] But soon, as you march between the high cliffs deeper into the forest's cover, you become invisible to any who would see you from above as Musune swallows you whole.
[NemnostiGM] The valley is deep here, its banks rising almost to cliffs, and the river stronger here than you might expect. There has been little rain over the past month but at least here, in the forest, the water is plentiful, feeding the ferns and trees that lie along the banks.
[NemnostiGM] (Marga, are you flying above the treeline, or staying closer to them, once the forest gets dense?)
* Jevai is going to dislodge her See beyond, as there is supposed to be something weird going on here and maybe she can catch note of it that way
[Marga] (Can I fly along the river where there is presumably a gap?)
[NemnostiGM] (yes, you can)
[Marga] (I will do that)
[NemnostiGM] (make another Perception)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 16 ].
[Marga] (boo I will destiny)
[Marga] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 24 ].
[NemnostiGM] You sense that up ahead there are the scents of humans - two, you think, living. Up beyond the next bend in the river.
* Marga will return to the group and her human form.
[Marga] They're just up beyond the next bend.
[Marga] Two living.
[Izu] Two?
* Marga nods.
* Kuspir will get his hammer ready
[Kuspir] (just in case)
* Jevai nods
* Alai will cast her prep spells
[NemnostiGM] (all right, anyone else with any preparations to make?)
[Izu] (Not quite yet, but once we see someone I'll use Hallowed Shroud on us all.
[Izu] )
[Alai] (freedom of movement x6, greater magic aura x1)
[NemnostiGM] (ok go ahead)
[Alai] (maybe only 3 freedom of movement... im risking doing it 6 times)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 15 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 28 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 18 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 20 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 22 ].
[Alai] (so thats fom on me, kuspir, and marga and GMA on everyone hiding thier spells and magic items)
[NemnostiGM] (yup)
[Alai] (done my prep)
[NemnostiGM] (anyone else? hearing none, I'm moving on ...)
* Jevai just wants to pull Ifa aside briefly
[NemnostiGM] (ok, briefly!)
* Ifa gives Jevai a curious look.
[Jevai] Ifa - I wante to tell you, that I am considering whethwr they will be more to be learned if I can go with them for a time... that's why I picked this ring. If that happens and I'm not back - go to the lanky stones on the next new moon, okay?
* Ifa frowns.
[Ifa] Okay.
[Ifa] I trust you.
[Jevai] thank you
[Ifa] But, just...I don't know. Just be careful.
[Jevai] I will.
The team reaches Musune’s End, a great waterfall against a cliff with embedded spiral ammonites and also sigillant markings
[NemnostiGM] You move forward through the verdant Musune.
[NemnostiGM] At last you reach an impasse - or at least, it appears impassable from here. The valley around you ends in a great waterfall, cascading fifty feet or more against a stone cliff. It is so green here, more green than it has any right to be.
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/File:Musune_cataract.jpg
[NemnostiGM] The cliff face, strikingly, has strange markings upon it, although you can't see them in any detail.
[Jevai] (but nothign weird from a See Beyond pov?)
[NemnostiGM] (Jevai you can make a Perception on those with your See Beyond)
* Izu stares in awe at the sight.
[Ifa] (Do my weird eyesight do anything?)
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 32 ]
[NemnostiGM] (no, Ifa)
[Jevai] (lololol)
[Ifa] (Noice Jevai!)
[Jevai] (AGAIN)
[NemnostiGM] (holy crapdoodles, just give me a sec)
[Ifa] This is beautiful.
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, you see that the markings on the cliffs are of two sorts. The first are spiral ammonites, which you believe are husks of things once living, encased in stone.
[NemnostiGM] Those are scattered randomly at all heights.
[NemnostiGM] Then there a second set of markings, made by humans, also spirals.
[NemnostiGM] Counterclockwise vortices carved into the stone, perhaps in emulation of, or veneration of, the ancestral beasts.
[Jevai] ...oh
[Izu] The Spiral Ancestors.
[Jevai] 9I don't know if you see them?)
[NemnostiGM] These, you see, are centered more at the height that humans can reach, and are located at and around the waterfall where it strikes the ground
[Izu] (OOh, my bad)
[NemnostiGM] And there is something behind it - something beyond. That, though, you cannot discern its nature from here.
[Marga] shimmering raiment...
Gunuremai appears, masked, along with Pughan Nadenigh, who has been magically gentled; she explains that this is the Crease which the faithful of the Laigrunuf used to evade the Great Purge
[NemnostiGM] You step forward and then you see two figures.
[NemnostiGM] The green of the forest makes the red stand out all the more, against the forest and the rushing waters.
[Marga] this is where the spike is...?
[NemnostiGM] A red mask, and black, in the shape of a teardrop. Gunuremai stands along the bank, near the water.
[NemnostiGM] And next to her, beyond all belief, stands Pughan Nadenigh.
* Ushukuna is now known as Pughan
[Jevai] ...Pughan?
[Marga] JEvai is that your --
* Jevai steps towards him
[Gunuremai] Stay there.
[Jevai] Are you okay?
[Pughan] Of course, Jevai, I'm fine!
[Pughan] Gunu's helped me to understand so much.
[Gunuremai] I'm glad you came.
[Gunuremai] But I am no fool.
[Jevai] well then, here we are.
[Gunuremai] I am confident that your instinct is to try to overwhelm me, to kill me.
[Gunuremai] I urge you seriously to reconsider that approach.
[Jevai] We came to listen
* Gunuremai nods.
* Jevai looks up at the ammonites
[Jevai] But I am starting to see
[Gunuremai] This is the Crease.
[Marga] Ohhh...
[Gunuremai] Saza told me you would be impressed.
[Marga] the crack...
[Gunuremai] This is where we made our last retreat. The three old clans.
[Jevai] retreat from what?
[Marga] Lai, Gru, Nuf?
* Gunuremai looks over at Marga, startled!
* Gunuremai nods.
* Jevai smiles
[Gunuremai] Galai, the repeated pummeling of the water against the stone face.
[Gunuremai] Egruchai, the fold, emerging all at once.
[Gunuremai] Nufumor, and it transforms into a haven.
[Gunuremai] I am of the Nufumor.
[Jevai] (I assume all of this is new to us)
[NemnostiGM] (totally new)
[Gunuremai] Your Crone's slaughter was not nearly so full as the stories tell.
[Gunuremai] We left behind the traitors, and left behind our home, to live free.
[Gunuremai] The stories say that we truth-seekers fled up, and up, and up into the hills.
[Gunuremai] But we are sideways.
[Gunuremai] You talk of Unfolding, but we are the folds, the crevices, the cracks.
* Gunuremai looks over you all, assessing you, perhaps evaluating whether you are about to attack.
[Marga] (q to Jevai) Can you tell is something is wrong with the... crease?
[Marga] (if something)
* Ifa just looks warily curious.
* Kuspir has his weapon in his hands, but isn't poised to attack
[Marga] (q) Mother said something about a dark spike...
* Izu has no weapon and looks as neutral as possible.
[Jevai] (q) I'm not sure.
[Jevai] OKay.
[Alai] Is great story, but why are we here? Are you just going to murder Jevai's brother in front of us?
[Jevai] You said you wanted to bargain
* Gunuremai shakes her head.
[Gunuremai] Pughan will be unharmed. He has been ... gentled.
[Jevai] what does that mean
[Gunuremai] Pughan, would you like to attack me?
[Pughan] Oh, no! I wouldn't hurt anyone!
[Pughan] Violence is a bad idea.
[Gunuremai] That is what that means.
[Gunuremai] He is here in case you are stupid.
[Marga] You messed with his head.
* Gunuremai nods.
[Marga] ... more.
[Jevai] Do you understand what she's saying?
* Jevai asks Pughan
[Pughan] Sure! She helped me to not feel so angry anymore.
[Ifa] How?
[Alai] So when we are done here, and you leave, Pughan will stay with us?
[Gunuremai] We are not going to reconcile our theological differences today, Hand Ifa. But rest assured that the Old Folk have many strengths unknown to the Corps.
[Gunuremai] If I leave when we are done here, then yes, Pughan will stay with you.
Gunuremai reveals the two holes behind the waterfall, one of which holds an iron spike or dagger like the one they retrieved from the Hulti temple
[Ifa] Then what are we doing today?
[Kuspir] What do you want from us?
[Gunuremai] We are here to discuss the crack.
[Ifa] By all means.
[Gunuremai] You removed the spike at the temple. Do you have it still?
[Jevai] yes
[Gunuremai] Come here, then.
[Marga] You can't trust her...
* Gunuremai walks over to the cliff face where there is a thin ledge, wet with spray.
[Gunuremai] I agree with Marga. You can't trust me.
[Gunuremai] Nor can I trust you.
[Gunuremai] And yet here you are. You came.
[Jevai] I trust myself.
[Gunuremai] Are you going to come all this way only to stop a few paces from your goal?
* Jevai says, hopefully reasssuringly to marga
* Jevai will go towards her
* Ifa will place an hand on Marga's arm.
* Gunuremai leads you over to the waterfall. You can see more clearly now - here, are clearly the signs of the workings of the tekrur. Two great spirals sit right behind the waterfall.
[Jevai] (how similar kis all thod to the fingerprint?)
[NemnostiGM] (very similar stylistically)
[Jevai] (is all this to the fingerprint)
[NemnostiGM] One of the spirals has at its center the hilt of a short blade. The other, at the center, has merely a hole.
* Alai will move a little closer as they approach the waterfall to have a better view of what they are doing
[Jevai] (but there's noting that (currently) seems weird or wrong?)
[NemnostiGM] All right, Ifa, can you please make a Perception?
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+9
* Jevai rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+9 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 9 ] totals [ 14 ].
[Jevai] ahh
[NemnostiGM] Ifa, you see the hint of a shimmer, something with your sight. But the moment passes quickly, and you doubt yourself even as you see it.
[Ifa] (Just like all across my vision, or somewhere specific?)
[NemnostiGM] (around where Ifa and Gunuremai are. You aren't close enough to see too much specific of what Jevai is seeing, since the waterfall serves as a veil obstructing clear vision)
[Gunuremai] You want to know, don't you? You know there is more, and you cannot bear to walk away.
[NemnostiGM] (I'll take a Sense Motive from anyone who wants to)
[Izu] !roll 1d20+16
* Jevai rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 17 ].
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+11
* Jevai rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+11 ] getting [ 10 ] which, after the modifier [ 11 ] totals [ 21 ].
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 17 ]
[Marga] !roll 1d20+2
* Jevai rolls for Marga: [ 1d20+2 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 2 ] totals [ 10 ].
[Kuspir] !roll 1d20+14
* Jevai rolls for Kuspir: [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 31 ].
[Alai] !roll 1d20
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20 ] getting [ 14 ].
[Ifa] (w to Alai) Do you see anything magical or unusual? I thought I saw something.
[NemnostiGM] Izu, you feel a sense of warmth and love emanating from Gunuremai. Despite your theological differences, you are overwhelmed by the beauty of this place and this ritual moment.
[Alai] (I'll cast Detect Magic Greater)
[NemnostiGM] Kuspir, something is definitely off here. You are no genius but Marga was pretty clear that the children of Lai, Gru, and Nuf cannot be trusted.
[Gunuremai] Hand me the blade, Jevai, and I will show you the Crease.
[Kuspir] Don't do it.
[Marga] She'll make it worse!
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 17 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 30 ].
[Ifa] Jevai, I still trust you, but I think this is a bad idea.
* Jevai is looking up at the carved spirals
[Jevai] May I?
* Jevai reached out as though to touch them
* Gunuremai nods.
[Gunuremai] Saza told me you would be impressed.
[NemnostiGM] Alai, this is powerful magic, overwhelming conjuration and abjuration. It is definitely NOT Abyssal / Unkind - nothing like that.
[Alai] (I'll consume two more fos if there is time before things go down... if not...)
[NemnostiGM] (yes, it looks like there will be)
Jevai dispels the enchantment on Pughan and grabs the lodged spike, but Gunuremai wrests it from her into the water, and then pulls both of them into the realm of shadows. A fight ensues, and Gunuremai retreats, defeated
* Jevai will see if she can subtly unlodge her Supression spell, targeted at Pughan
[NemnostiGM] (sure, Sleight of Hand, why not?)
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20+6 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 6 ] totals [ 11 ]
[Jevai] (destiny)
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20+6 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 6 ] totals [ 19 ]
[NemnostiGM] You dislodge it, but Gunuremai sees you do it. Of course, she has no way of knowing exactly what you've done until Pughan does something about it
* Jevai will then try to grab for the other dagger, and activate her ring
[NemnostiGM] So just to be clear, by 'other dagger' you mean the dagger in the spiral currently?
[Jevai] yes
[Jevai] (I want to pull it out if I can)
[NemnostiGM] All right, you pull the dagger out.
[Jevai] (what happens then?)
[NemnostiGM] (nothing happens immmediately)
[Pughan] Huh, what?
* Pughan shakes his head out.
[Jevai] get out of here
* Gunuremai waves her hand and you feel a pulling on the dagger from some unseen force.
[NemnostiGM] (make a Strength check for me lol)
* Jevai rolls [ 1d20 ] getting [ 5 ]
[Jevai] (man I shoudl have activated the ring more quickly)
[NemnostiGM] The dagger falls into the pool of water amidst the foam of the waterfall.
[Alai] (I'll embrace dark half and cast Black Tentacles in response to the magical effect)
[NemnostiGM] (is that why you needed 2 extra fos?)
[Alai] (yep)
[NemnostiGM] (OK, go ahead)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+13
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+13 ] getting [ 14 ] which, after the modifier [ 13 ] totals [ 27 ].
[Alai] (so spell works)
[NemnostiGM] (yup)
[Alai] !roll 1d20+11
* Jevai rolls for Alai: [ 1d20+11 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 11 ] totals [ 18 ].
[Alai] (sigh.. CMD of 18... wish I could swap those rolls)
[NemnostiGM] (alas, not enough for Gunuremai)
* Jevai is grabbed, then
* Pughan is also grabbed
* Gunuremai attempts to grab Jevai's arm.
[Gunuremai] !roll 1d20
* Jevai rolls for Gunuremai: [ 1d20 ] getting [ 6 ].
* Gunuremai holds you just for a moment, but it is enough
* Gunuremai pulls you into a realm unlike the ordinary realm - but one you have had an inkling of before, when you have sensed Eng-dur.
[NemnostiGM] Ifa and Alai, you can still see Jevai and Gunuremai. The rest of you cannot.
[Ifa] (Could we get to them at all?)
[Marga] Jevai!!
[NemnostiGM] (sure, you can run up to where they're at, on roll20)
[NemnostiGM] (we may have to go on voice here guys, sorry, I did not anticipate a combat happening after the non-combat start of this encounter)
[NemnostiGM] You fight Gunuremai, with Marga taking the form of a great hybrid vulture. You barely manage to keep her from killing Pughan, while you gain control of both of the iron spike daggers. Deeply defeated, Gunuremai escapes into the realm of shadows and silences, grievously injured. You can return safely from the Crease to Nemnosti, armed with new knowledge, and new problems.
[NemnostiGM] Until next we gather by the firelight, young acolytes!
{nem} {nem-log}
