The blessed day has finally arrived for Hallejuah Harnsdottir, she's finally going to give birth.  Her birth is being well attended what with all the local priestesses and acolyte equivalents of the Hearth Mother being in attendance as well as Blueface the Shaman.  Using the traditional birthing chamber Blueface is hoping for an uneventful birth.  Unfortunately the auguries cast for the birth aren't that promising.

Blueface fears Lunar interference in the birth and has taken the following of drafting the party to provide some outside moral/spiritual/magical support.  (Physical attack is a remote possibility as the birthing chamber is quite near to the citadel).  Blueface gives them drugs that allow them to see that which is normally invisible (i.e. spirits).  He requires them to strip naked, ingest the drug he has given them, and chant and dance around the birthing chamber.  (There's a large fire to help them keep warm).  Something Blueface neglects to tell the party is that the drugs he has given them are poisonous and fatal.  Blueface expects that he will be able to administer the antidote before it is too late (as long as nothing goes wrong).   Blueface as a shaman can enter the chamber with the priestesses to lend his support there.  The party and the more mundane guards are left outside to keep watch.

What Goes Wrong

The birth involves a long, hard labour for while Hallelujah is very fit and healthy the baby is a large one and reluctant to leave his warm nest.  The group circles endlessly outside the chamber chanting the words Blueface taught them and feeling increasingly light-headed and dissassociated from the real world as time goes by.   (Why it's almost like they're losing their grasp on the mundane plane!)   Unfortunately, this is the truth for as time goes by their bodies are slowly succumbing to the poisons they've taken.  As they stumble around in a circle (with no real idea of how much time has gone by) they hear a scream from inside the chamber.   Then they "see" (with their mystic sight) a bright red beam shine down from the moon.  The beam enters the door of the chamber and shortly thereafter they see a tiny baby start floating up to the sky...

What Had Happened

Unbeknownst to the party (and Blueface) a troll priestess* of the Blue Moon had stolen into the birthing chamber using her invisibility spell.  (Being a female of a non-warlike cult the magical protections on the chamber did not keep her out).  Once inside she patiently waited for the birth to occur.  Once the baby was born she stepped forward and before Blueface could welcome and name the baby she severed the umbilical cord with a magical obsidian blade.  This allowed "malign" influences to affect the baby and a mystical beam from the Red Moon entered the chamber and stole the baby away!  (It's expected that Hallelujah will try and grab the baby (and of course if she does she will be able to) and when she does she will be dragged out of her body after the baby).  Blueface is occupied with the Blue Moon priestess and cannot assist Hallelujah in any fashion.

Outside

The party sees the tiny baby sailing up into the sky following the red beam.  (Unbeknownst to them no one else outside can see any of this).   Hallelujah has hold of the baby's right ankle.  As she floats by all the dogs in attendance howl (and there are a lot of dogs in attendance).  Their spirits leap out of their bodies circle around birthing chamber and merge into one big dog which sinks his teeth into Hallelujah's left ankle).   Any or all of the party can grab hold of the next ankle passing by in order of DEX.   Eventually there is a long stream of naked people being dragged into the sky behind the baby.  The train of souls soars into the sky leaving Genertela (and unbeknownst to them) the present far behind.  There is a sickening moment of wrenching and twisting as senses are distorted and abused (by the transfer into the Green Age (Godtime).  No matter how hard Hallelujah try she cannot hold on and is forced to let go of the baby!  The party plummets to the ground.

What Next?

The party finds themselves re-enacting events in a rather complicated series of Balazaring myths.  They need to foil the Lunar's attempts to subvert the baby's loyalties through a series of myths.

1) The Green Age

The party finds themselves in a gentle, rolling woodland.   Every plant is covered with berries and fruit.  Somehow the entire party has turned into dogs.  All of them are pure black dogs (because of their worship of Death gods) except Burning Willow who is grey.  They have no access to their spells.  Animals both known and unknown can be seen everywhere living in peace and harmony.  Feathered bison caper next to red and purple tigers.  Any of the animals can be approached and none will offer violence to the party.  Despite the old Orlanthi adage violence is not an option.  Violence has not entered the world yet and is impossible.

The party wanders around looking for the baby and they can meet and interact with any animal that they want.  They will meet Squirrel, the Balazaring trickster spirit as they hunt and he will ask them what they are looking for.  Squirrel understands their true nature and will hinder/help the party as much as he likes/wants.  He finds their activities rather amusing and is actually favorably disposed to their goals (finding the Red Goddess rather humourless and boring).  He won't directly aid them though and will prefer to offer hints and insults as aid.  He will accompany them on their travels unless a concerted effort is made to chase him off or he is very insulted.  (He'll still tag along, he just won't be as obvious).

After wandering a while Hallelujah picks up the scent of her puppy and she starts tracking it.  (Her track by scent is dog base).   Finally the group spots a group of seven red dogs.  One of them, a bitch with swollen teats is trying to get a little grey newborn puppy to nurse under a bush.   The puppy is wimpering and fighting it's desire to nurse.  Hallelujah knows right away that this is her baby.  The party has to think of some non-violent manner in which to get the puppy away from the Lunar dogs.

Once this situation is resolved the puppy will gladly nurse.

2. The Dark Age

Suddenly the sun falls from the sky and an unnatural darkness falls on the land.  Plants start dying and the animals start running around in a panic.   Animals start shoving their way towards the remaining food and the bigger animals manage to keep the smaller ones away.  After this has gone on for quite sometime a loud roar is heard calling "Come!"  All the animals start heading in the direction that the roar came from.  The puppy (who no longer looks newborn) starts heading in that direction as well.  If the party follows they will find the following scene.

More animals than the party can count are gathered in a huge clearing.  Every animal that any party member has ever seen is gathered there and more that the party has never seen.  All the animals appear different as their colours are different (usually brighter or more colourful) than the animals the party are familiar with, or they have feathers, scales or fur they no longer have.  At the centre of the clearing is a large rock on top of which is perched an enormous saber-toother tiger.  The animals are all alarmed and scared and want to know what they can eat.  Tiger explains to the animals why he has gathered them here and asks if anyone has any suggestions as to what they should do about the food problem.  Many suggestions were made but no one could agree on what they should do.  Finally Weasel spoke, once, twice and three times and was finally heard.  He suggested that some animals eat other animals instead of plants!  All the animals argue vociferously about this but finally Tiger gets them to agree to do this and makes all the animals vote.

The Red Dogs want the puppy to join the plant eaters (this will make him much more pliant and peaceful once he's back in his body) and the party will have to get him to join the meat eaters as is mythically correct.

3. Dog and Wolf Have a Falling Out

Myth : How Dog and Wolf Became Enemies

The puppy (no longer a puppy but a young dog) is now wandering hungrily with the party.  As they wander looking for food Puppy sees his brother Wolf.  Wolf and his pack (a group of seven red wolves) tells Puppy about all the food he has eaten.  Puppy wants to know where he can get some of this food as well.   The pack leads him to a dark cave which is full of dead animals.   Also inside the cave hiding in the darkness at the back is Cannibal.

The Puppy's choice here is between Obedience (to his Mother's teachnings) and Freedom (to eat what he will and what some animals have already agreed to eat, meat).  The Wolf's way is Freedom while Dog's way is traditionally Obedience.   (Wolf had been corrupted by Cannibal BUT he later broke that connection and became free of that taint).  Because Puppy is so hungry it will be hard for the party to persuade him to reject the food Wolf offers him.  They have a couple of choices, 1. they can search for some food. If they can collect enough food Puppy will reject Wolf and follow his traditional path. 

4. Joining the Hunter

Myth : How Brother Dog Came to Foundchild

Every other attempt to subvert Puppy having failed the Red Dogs will now bring out their big gun.  When it comes time for Brother Dog to join Foundchild he will be faced with two choices.  The Red Dogs have enlisted the aid of Woraladayla, Immtherian hunting god who will try and take Foundchild's place as Brother Dog's ally and friend.  If Puppu choose the wrong god he will be useless as the Dog Boy since his loyalties will always lie with Lunar allies.

As Puppy wanders alone (except for the party that is) he sees two shining figures coming his way accompanied by Squirrel.  Puppy cannot tell them apart and neither apparently can Squirrel.  It's up to the party to decide which is the right god.  The party will have to figure out some sort of test in order to tell the two apart.

5. The Dead God

As the party and Puppy wander around they see a giant body lying on the ground with a pool of blood welling out onto the ground.  The Red Dog's are guarding the corpse and will drive anyone else who wants to drink from the blood away (especially the party).  The party will have to drive the Red Dog's away by intimidating or killing them.  Anyone who wants can drink some of the blood and then roll 1D100.

6. Returning Home

Now that Puppy has made the correct choices (with the party's aid of course) they are all ready to return home.  But how?  Fortunately for them Blueface has finished his battle with the Blue Moon Priestess and has journeyed to the GodsTime to retrieve the party.  He helps them leave the plane and travel  back to Balazar where he manages to give them the anitodote before they succumb to the poison.

7. The Dog Boy Cometh

Having returned safe and sound without mishap the baby's soul is put back into his body by Blueface and he can now be named.  If the party managed to foil all of the Red Dog's/Wolves' attempts to subvert his nature he will hopefully survive and grow up to be his prophesised self.

*What the heck is a Blue Moon Priestess Doing in Balazar?

The reason there is a Blue Moon priestess in Balazar is connected to the slaying of Marduk the Scarlet.  Being the possesser of a set of sacred moon sweaters made him an important individual.  When he was slain the Red Emperor wanted his killers slain in retribution and the sweaters retrieved.  A Lunar agent travelled to Dykene in the guise of a caravan guard and discovered Hallelujah's whereabouts.   He doused her with giant moth essence so a giant moth could track her down allowing a Blue Moon assassin to find and kill her.  Now once this was done an assassin could be dispatched to kill Hallelujah and retrieve the sweater.  But before the assassin was sent out Lunar mystics discovered Hallelujah's connection to the prophesized Dog Boy (who was to unite the Balazarings and lead them to their promised land).  The Lunars decided to try and subvert the Dog Boy and ally him with a Lunar Dog God instead and they sent the assassin to attempt this.  The birth date was discovered using mystic powers and the assassin was primed.  The baby's soul was to be stolen at the moment of birth, sent to the Gods Time where his nature would be subverted by getting him to ally to aLunar deity, rather than Foundchild.

This page last updated April 28, 2000

Email me at oliver_bernuetz@hotmail.com.