Game Date: 4-18 Yearwane, 994 KC; Play Date: 12/16/2001
4 Yearwane: As the clerics prepared to board the ship to Grimfled, Laylah did not mention her discomfort around boats [they remind her of the slave ship that took her away from the Bogmoors], but did ask for a room with a window. She was given a cabin to share with Mistress Theolodia.
Darra and Ruqayyah stopped within sight of the city gate, and in the cover of a small copse of trees, returned to their human forms. They quickly moved to the gates and into the city, where the press of traffic slowed them considerably. They got impatient, and less polite, and managed to regain some speed at the expense of many rude comments following in their wake. They reached the docks, but had difficulty finding the ship they sought. Darra looked for blue robes, and asked people about a ship to Grimfled, carrying Celestian clerics. Ruqayyah looked for Laylah and Pelmark, and called out their names repeatedly.
Laylah heard Ruqayyah call her name, and soon located them in the crowds. They heard her call out Ruqayyah's name, and located her when she repeated the shout. They boarded just before the gangplank was pulled in. As the ship departed, the three of them found a place to sit and talk. Darra and Ruqayyah noticed that Laylah was dressed in novice's traveling robes.
Laylah filled the others in on the itinerary planned by the clerics, involving ceremonies with each duke to tie the Asanos back to the land. Ruqayyah expressed concern that this might make the dukes easier to corrupt; Laylah hadn't asked about that. Laylah's own part would simply be to observe, and possibly act as a conduit in case of trouble.
Darra let Laylah know that her mission to help Yantos succeeded, but did not elaborate. Ruqayyah told them both about her adventures with the amnesiac "Star," including the accident that changed her body into water, an her mastery of the Shield and Death Vision spells. Laylah explained that she didn't like boats, and that she was glad her friends were here to keep her mind off brooding about it. She was working to help make Mistress Theolodia's journey more comfortable; the old priestess dislikes travel immensely.
Laylah quietly shared her observation that Afla and Qutaibah had gotten together. Ruqayyah was very surprised--and curious--but promised to keep her nose out of it.
Darra recalled that she had letters for Ruqayyah and Laylah from Al-Zaki, and handed them over. Ruqayyah's was in Malduzi, Laylah's in Krithian, both signed "Thastygliax" in the dragons' script. Darra revealed that she had learned some Draconic on her visit to Yantos, and started to teach them both some of that language. Laylah asked Darra to help her teach Ruqayyah Sivian as well, because they were going closer to Visala.
Later, Darra gave Laylah a synopsis of her journey to the Haunted Rift to help Yantos.
During the night, Laylah woke in a sweat (uncomfortable in the closed cabin, but not remembering any nightmares). Darra, who had been quartered with her and Theolidia, woke and checked to make sure she was okay.
5 Yearwane: On the voyage to Grimfled, the ship passed along the south coast of the Imperitar, the steep, rocky island on which Krynan was built. (Laylah wished she could dive off those tall cliffs.) Master Volan could often be seen interacting with the sailors, especially the pilot--natural for a Pole Star cleric!
Late in the day, the ship reached Grimfled. The caravan was quartered in guest rooms at the temple.
6 Yearwane (New Moon): The morning was spent in preparations for the ritual. Laylah wore her cat robes, with her hair down. Darra dressed in her desert robes in order to blend in with the Duz present. Because of the new moon, Ruqayyah was quite lethargic, and had to be helped by Afla to dress and groom. Once Ruqayyah was alert enough, she cornered Murshid to inform him that she had mastered Death Vision, and to get instruction with the next spell, Sense Spirit.
Just before the ritual, Laylah was introduced to Duke Dungedan of Southmarch, who was polite and friendly, but showed no special interest in her. Murshid magically scanned the area intermittently. Just as the ritual began, Laylah noticed Mistress Theolidia flinch; she also heard the hissing again, growing angrier and louder as the ceremony continued. She noticed that Murshid looked rather startled after one of his castings, and that he spoke with Qutaibah shortly thereafter. Laylah spent the ritual on edge, with her fists clenched so hard that her nails cut her palms.
An hour into the ritual, Darra prepared to ask her god for help, but stopped herself before doing anything.
The hissing subsided a little towards the end of the ritual, continued a while after the end, and then slowly faded into nothing. Darra and Ruqayyah noticed Laylah's bloody palms, and helped her clean them. Ruqayyah cast a healing spell to repair the cuts, which made her feel more useful than she had been. Laylah described the hissing she heard, then went to report it to Theolodia, who was conferring with the Duz about Murshid's impressions. He had sensed a demon, but was unsure whether it was stronger now or simply more alert and active. Theolodia asked Laylah to share her own conclusions or suspicions. She replied that it seemed that the demon was responding more, and needed to expend more energy to resist. It could be drawing more strength from the growing darkness of the season, or might just be angry, gaining strength through rage, but at the expense of greater effort. She feared that it might be working free of its binding, which Theolodia had warned was a temporary ward at best. Theolodia judged that if the demon was angry, that was good news: its anger would interfere with its judgement, and its anger might be a sign that it had reason to fear what they were attempting.
7 Yearwane: The clerics had another, longer audience with the duke and local priests, and made preparations for the next leg of their journey.
8 Yearwane: The clerics and their entourrage sailed to Bregmund. During this day's sail, Laylah expressed her feeling that protecting the Crown Prince was more important than protecting the Emperor--Prince Sidor was the true source of future Emperors.
9-10 Yearwane: The three women's duties were light, so they had much time for leisure as the clerics prepared. Laylah found a female novice to show her a place to go swimming. The water was far too cold for comfort, but Laylah controlled her grumbling in the face of the novice's excitement at getting permission to leave the temple grounds. Ruqayyah spent time practicing her magic, and took advantage of Qutaibah's presence to experiment with a couple of new spells.
11 Yearwane: The clerics had their audience with Duke Jeraquin of Eastmarch. He was an old, blunt, direct man of soldierly bearing, who wore functional clothing rather than ostentatious finery, and an obviously well-used sword and scabbard. He was civil to Laylah but ignored her for the most part; she, however, quickly took a liking to him and his practical, straightforward attitude.
12 Yearwane (Waxing Half Moon): When Duke Jeraquin arrived for the ritual, he had an argument with a priest about wearing his sword to the ceremony; he won the debate, which appeared to be a long-standing point of contention between him and the local clergy.
Murshid scanned the room before the ritual, and told Theolodia, "It's waiting." She translated this for the others, and they began. Laylah sensed the hissing begin just before they started; it was not as loud as before, but sustained its volume longer. She too comfort in the thought, "I'm not afraid--we're beating you." A couple of times during the ritual, Darra briefly heard a faint slithering, but it faded before she could locate it. Ruqayyah noticed Musrshid looking tired as the ritual went on, and lent him the strength to continue more easily. Qutaibah witnessed this, and nodded approvingly.
Before the end, Laylah noticed that all the priests looked rather tired, especially Theolodia. She felt that, barring new developments, they would be able to complete the ritual, but kept an eye on her teacher nonetheless. At the end, Theolodia slumped, and was helped to sit by the other priests as Laylah fetched food and water.
Ruqayyah asked Qutaibah whether she should try to Lend Strength to the clerics during these ceremonies, or whether they would be offended or distracted by her attempt. He advised her to not do so, because the extra energy would do no good if their concentration was broken. It would be better to save her strength to deal with potential interruptions.
The hissing continued well after the ritual's end. Murshid, tired and annoyed, muttered, "Oh, shush, already."
13 Yearwane: The voyage to Gunrothric was delayed by a day to allow the clerics to rest more completely. Darra, Laylah and Ruqayyah compared notes about the previous day's ritual. Laylah was convinced that the binding was weakening, given the hissing's persistence.
14 Yearwane: The ship carried them to Gunrothric. This city was the home to the second most important temple in Northmarch, after the mother church itself in Krynan. Laylah has been to Gunrothric once before, during her travels with the circus.
15 Yearwane: The clerics and Laylah met with Duke Brodar of Northmarch and Earl Gothnam of Palatine (the county in which the ducal capital Gunrothric is located). Brodar was polite and friendly, but rather distant and distracted; Gothnam was likewise civil, but seemed more attentive to detail.
16-17 Yearwane: The clerics prepared for the ritual. Ruqayyah practiced her spells. Laylah checked on news of Magister Motho's circus; they had passed through Huatwald, but had not followed the Imperial Road all the way to Gunrothric. Most likely, the circus was back in Visala by now.
Darra asked Pelmark about whether she could bring weapons to the ritual; he encouraged her to bring her sword, and any others as she saw fit. She confessed to a lack of patience, and asked for something to do. For starters, he continued their earlier discussion of exorcisms.
18 Yearwane (Full Moon): Master Volan informed Laylah that the weather looked promising for observing the partial lunar eclipse that night, after the ritual. She agreed to join him for that.
Laylah gathered bandages, a supply of high-energy food, and a bottle of water to take with her to the temple. Darra secreted her sword, knife and garrote under her robes. Ruqayyah spent a long while dancing to bleed off her excess energy.
Just before the ritual, Darra heard a slithering noise, as if a snake had just passed behind her, but saw nothing. She told Laylah, who had heard nothing yet. Theolodia and Murshid conferred briefly; the Duz concentrated on the outer reaches of the circle rather than its center as the ceremony began. None of the three young women heard any hissing.
A short while into the ritual, Darra felt something unseen slide over her foot. It seemed to be heading away from Murshid, and towards Laylah. She started that way, and prayed for the power to see it so that she could fight it. She then saw a blurry, snakelike line stretching from the Asanos to a point near Laylah. At the same time, Laylah prayed as well: "Show me the truth so that I may bring light to the darkness of our company." She then heard the slithering of a large serpent nearby, and caught a glimpse of a very faint snake form a few yards away, facing her and rearing up; the body faded out of view just past the point contact with the ground. Ruqayyah soon noticed both her friends looking intently at something she could not see. She tried to improvise a spell to see it, and failed, so moved towards Laylah. Darra interposed herself between the serpent-thing and Laylah, as Laylah began to pray, trusting to her goddess to keep her safe.
Murshid moved closer, sensed it as well for the moment of his spell, and pointed at the spot where Laylah and Darra saw its head. Qutaibah followed, and after getting a whispered report, asked who could see it, and what they saw. Laylah described it as a viper, as tall as she was. Darra said it was a very large snake, whose body spiraled out from the circle of priests, and ended near Laylah. Murshid hadn't seen this kind of spirit before, so was unsure of its capabilities, but it was obviously some kind of demon.
The snake began circling the three women. Darra suggested they move outside its loop; it followed. Laylah stated that she would try to charm the snake. Darra removed her robe, in order to draw her weapons more easily, and readies them in case Laylah was attacked. Laylah then began singing, and praying ("Let them finish--and let me not die"). The snake reared, hissed, and flicked three tongues. It started to look around at the others, not just Laylah. Darra warned, "It's gonna bite," but was uncertain who. Laylah stopped singing, with no immediate change in the snake's behavior, but Darra and Ruqayyah could hear it hissing once she stopped. Darra warned Ruqayyah to "protect Laylah, it's angry"; the mage cast a Shield spell on Laylah.
The demon materialized as a smoky, translucent snake; about 20 feet of its body was visible along the ground, then faded to nearly invisible in a line back to the Asanos. The two Duz stumbled back a step. The snake lunged at Laylah, but she deftly dodged out of its way. Darra prayed for the strength to hit it, and felt an impact as her sword stabbed its head; a wisp of smoke trailed away from the hole. Ruqayyah attempted to cast Death Vision on the snake, to no apparent effect. The snake lunged at Darra, who parried with her sword. The snake impaled itself on her blade, and its body dissipated. Only a barely visible form was left, which retreated slowly back to the Asanos, and vanished. Darra stalked ahead, sword out, careful not to disturb the priests. Laylah smiled weakly and stupidly in relief. "Hail, Darra, killer of smoke-snakes. You get to tell Mistress Theolodia about this." Murshid scanned the area again, and seemed much less tense afterward.
The ritual finished without interruption a couple of hours later. Only after this did Laylah notice a small puncture in the hem of her robe, in the back. She gave a nervous twitch, and gave thanks that she was an acrobat. The priests looked tired, but not as bad as last time; Ruqayyah lent strength to many of them, then rested herself. When Theolodia took Laylah's hand, looked her over, squeezed her hand, then let her go on, Laylah realized that she had witnessed the fight. Laylah and Volan agreed to meet in two hours' time, after a well-deserved rest.
Laylah realized halfway to the tower, where she had planned to meditate, that it was the full moon. Darra had completely forgotten. Laylah sent Ruqayyah to fetch Pelmark as she took Darra to the practice courts. She sang to Darra, who shifted in her lap then stood up. Laylah tried to calm and brush the horse, who was trembling with nervous energy as she stumbled around. Laylah was still singing when Ruqayyah and Pelmark arrived. Ruqayyah continued the lullaby as Laylah told Pelmark that they hadn't had time to plan, so the song wasn't working as well this time. The horse needed a place to run outside the city; Layah thought Darra would let her ride, but hadn't tried. Pelmark offered to get a second horse, so that he could watch her if Laylah needed rest. Laylah resumed the song so that Ruqayyah could bring her a tunic so she wouldn't ruin her nice robes. Laylah mounted successfully, and Pelmark led them outside town. Laylah dismounted, and Ruqayyah led her back to the temple while Pelmark followed Darra.
They returned to the temple just as the eclipse was beginning, and watched it with Volan. The eclipse seemed to have to effect on Ruqayyah's lunar cycle. She spent over six hours in caracal form before feeling any need to change back.
27 Browning 994 KC, Quikara
My Dear Ruqayyah,
I am returning to my home in order to ponder (at great length) all that I have learned in my travels with you, Laylah, Darra & Naima. Because of this, I am uncertain how soon I will see you again. We have a great deal yet to teach each other, so I look forward to that reunion.
Please remember that you can send word to me through Yazdanyar. And please do so promptly the next time you return home.
You have my sincerest wishes for the continued progress of your studies, and the path you follow in service to your Goddess. May She keep you safe until we meet again.
["Thastygliax" in draconic script]
27 Browning 994 KC, Quikara
My Dear Laylah,
I have done all I could to speed Darra back to you, but now I intend to return home. You have all given me much to ponder, and I need time and solitude to assimilate it all. I thank you again for those experiences, and your friendship.
Please remember that you can send word to me through Yazdanyar in Tel Yuli.
May your Goddess keep you safe through your current trials, and until we meet again.
[signature in unfamiliar script]
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