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lathanyYesterday was the Monde session, and a plotty one at that.
We returned to our rooms at the end of the night whilst our hostess' party was still in progress. After a certain amount of discussion the Squire (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smiorgan) was sent to get the room keys so that we could lock the doors and get a good night's sleep.
However, for the first (and last) time on the moon we all had dreams again. I dreamed of Lord Arjin (the Majordomo of the Emperor). He was walking the streets of the Faded City when a hoard of starving white scavengers surrounded him. Each of them approached him in turn and fed from his palm - drinking a black liquid. But not all of them drank, some stood back and shouted "No ! No !" Similarly, the others all had dreams, except the Squire who believed he did not dream at all. Instead he was visited by a dark-haired woman named Nizo (she might have been an Image). She wanted to escape the moon too.
The following morning, the party split into three groups. Sable (frax) and I went to visit one of the richer lords who was building himself a large airship. I obtained little useful information from him, beyond the fact that his sister had been exploring the mists when she contracted an illness which gave her a fever (although, interestingly, she did claim to see a green garden with flowers in the sunlight). Sable did better talking to the lord's servants, determining that there were rumours that the supply shortage was actually less of a shortage in the Palace than elsewhere.
Katako (triskellian) and Sigurne (ealuscerwen) sent out messages that they would be interested in meeting with other scholars. We had discovered the previous evening that, in the wake of the supplies crisis, many of the nobles were returning to their studies and we hoped to learn something more of the history and, hence, the present situation.
Finally, the Squire and Andreas (onebyone) went to the Palace to see what they could find out there. After having a good look around they decided to try to get inside. One brainwave later and they were telling the guards that they had a message for Lord Grasp. They were shown in and directed to the third floor.
Lord Grasp had left the moon again (due to be gone for some years), but Lady Ajel Masque (another of the Lords of Tointier) was staying in his rooms waiting for the Emperor to return from the mines. She commented that there was no portal back to Monde and, though Lord Bound had made three attempts to open a gateway, he had always failed. Lady Mask offered to hear the message in Grasp's absence.
Consequently another visit was made back to the Palace. This time the Squire, Sigurne, Katako and I went whilst Sable and Andreas stayed behind to guard the sacred skull (or play football with it - I'm not sure which). However, before we had reached Lady Masque we were intercepted - by Lord Arjin himself. He spoke to Sigurne, claiming her as an old acquaintance and equal and invited her to join him for a meal.
During the meal it became clear that Lord Arjin was not human (he referred to mortals as another species) and obviously believed Sigurne to be the same. He asked her if she intended to return to "The Pool" (one of his questions was "Did the Pool send you here ?") and admitted, with embarrassment, that he had been exiled. He also extended his hospitality, including the use of any of the Palace's portals, to her and commented that the Emperor was becoming a little feeble minded in his old age. He also told her that the supply situation had been instigated by himself to redraw the political map upon the moon.
Sigourne left the group as soon as we escaped Arjin's presence and we continued to see Lady Masque. However she was not terribly forthcoming, mainly because she realised we were ignorant of a number of things (she was another who wished to keep her own secrets). She did however acknowledge that she was waiting for the Emperor to return so that she could use a portal and move on.
That afternoon we wrote a letter to Council Wisdom explaining the reasons behind the supply shortage and, therefore, discharging our duty to them. We decided to stay one more night in case there were any more dream messages (particularly from Nizo), then depart through one of the portals.
The night passed peacefully, we said goodbye to our hostess, then we set off to the palace again. Sigurne told the guards that we were expected. They disagreed but, suddenly, their eyes turned black and Lord Arjin spoke through them. He came to meet us and took us down to the portals. Sigurne asked for the portal to the Pool and we stepped through.
We arrived in a dark landscape and followed a road to the Pool itself. Then a number of winged beasts (demons ?) arrived and spoke to Sigourne in one language and us in our own. We waited for a cauldron to be brought and black smoke poured into it. Sigourne's uncle appeared ! He said he had been travelling with Sigourne all this way, since the Knights had destroyed his body (he indicated that they had killed him before he had been able to speak to the head of their order). He built a black sphere to protect us from the demons that were arriving. We waited inside until the meeting was over. Then he agreed to take us back through a gate which would put us on a path back to Monde. A path once followed by the sages of the Unity.
He had been around since the encirclement (or before ?) and seemed to be a scholar and a powerful mage (he said his name was Hoeler). He was happy to answer the party's questions - a welcome surprise. He said that the black and white scrolls of origin were simply two different views of the origins/purpose of the Walled Stone and Monde. He was unhappy to talk about the Fourth (particularly at the Pool ?) - it seemed he was unable to journey to Prime because it opposed him. Of particular interest, when shown the symbols of my grandfather's work it hurt him (flashed light at him) and he commented that it was a copy of the symbols on the Walled Stone.
Hoeler also told us his belief that the Weapon had been created to stop the encirclement (completely), not the other way around. That the encirclement had been devised to keep some power or knowledge within Monde or to Monde's use only, it was a little unclear. This might have been the Walled Stone itself, although the Stone had been around for many, many years (perhaps it was the caches - after all, four of the biggest five and the greatest of all is still uncovered ?).
I asked if the three Mantars might eventually take down the Fourth and he was amused by the idea - after all, they had lost the first time around (we didn't mention the skull, though). He had heard of Gyed
and said he was long lived of the Images. When asked further about Images he indicated that they seemed to follow specific patterns or purposes and implied that they could not change their natures. He had not heard of Galine or Jédén.
He then opened the portal and we travelled through to somewhere else. Looking to find a way back to Monde.
If the other players would like to comment, amend, add other details (any dreams publicly discussed for example), please do so. Ifbateleur would like to correct the spellings of his NPCs names - feel free !
We returned to our rooms at the end of the night whilst our hostess' party was still in progress. After a certain amount of discussion the Squire (
smiorgan) was sent to get the room keys so that we could lock the doors and get a good night's sleep.However, for the first (and last) time on the moon we all had dreams again. I dreamed of Lord Arjin (the Majordomo of the Emperor). He was walking the streets of the Faded City when a hoard of starving white scavengers surrounded him. Each of them approached him in turn and fed from his palm - drinking a black liquid. But not all of them drank, some stood back and shouted "No ! No !" Similarly, the others all had dreams, except the Squire who believed he did not dream at all. Instead he was visited by a dark-haired woman named Nizo (she might have been an Image). She wanted to escape the moon too.
The following morning, the party split into three groups. Sable (
frax) and I went to visit one of the richer lords who was building himself a large airship. I obtained little useful information from him, beyond the fact that his sister had been exploring the mists when she contracted an illness which gave her a fever (although, interestingly, she did claim to see a green garden with flowers in the sunlight). Sable did better talking to the lord's servants, determining that there were rumours that the supply shortage was actually less of a shortage in the Palace than elsewhere.Katako (
triskellian) and Sigurne (ealuscerwen) sent out messages that they would be interested in meeting with other scholars. We had discovered the previous evening that, in the wake of the supplies crisis, many of the nobles were returning to their studies and we hoped to learn something more of the history and, hence, the present situation.Finally, the Squire and Andreas (
onebyone) went to the Palace to see what they could find out there. After having a good look around they decided to try to get inside. One brainwave later and they were telling the guards that they had a message for Lord Grasp. They were shown in and directed to the third floor.Lord Grasp had left the moon again (due to be gone for some years), but Lady Ajel Masque (another of the Lords of Tointier) was staying in his rooms waiting for the Emperor to return from the mines. She commented that there was no portal back to Monde and, though Lord Bound had made three attempts to open a gateway, he had always failed. Lady Mask offered to hear the message in Grasp's absence.
Consequently another visit was made back to the Palace. This time the Squire, Sigurne, Katako and I went whilst Sable and Andreas stayed behind to guard the sacred skull (or play football with it - I'm not sure which). However, before we had reached Lady Masque we were intercepted - by Lord Arjin himself. He spoke to Sigurne, claiming her as an old acquaintance and equal and invited her to join him for a meal.
During the meal it became clear that Lord Arjin was not human (he referred to mortals as another species) and obviously believed Sigurne to be the same. He asked her if she intended to return to "The Pool" (one of his questions was "Did the Pool send you here ?") and admitted, with embarrassment, that he had been exiled. He also extended his hospitality, including the use of any of the Palace's portals, to her and commented that the Emperor was becoming a little feeble minded in his old age. He also told her that the supply situation had been instigated by himself to redraw the political map upon the moon.
Sigourne left the group as soon as we escaped Arjin's presence and we continued to see Lady Masque. However she was not terribly forthcoming, mainly because she realised we were ignorant of a number of things (she was another who wished to keep her own secrets). She did however acknowledge that she was waiting for the Emperor to return so that she could use a portal and move on.
That afternoon we wrote a letter to Council Wisdom explaining the reasons behind the supply shortage and, therefore, discharging our duty to them. We decided to stay one more night in case there were any more dream messages (particularly from Nizo), then depart through one of the portals.
The night passed peacefully, we said goodbye to our hostess, then we set off to the palace again. Sigurne told the guards that we were expected. They disagreed but, suddenly, their eyes turned black and Lord Arjin spoke through them. He came to meet us and took us down to the portals. Sigurne asked for the portal to the Pool and we stepped through.
We arrived in a dark landscape and followed a road to the Pool itself. Then a number of winged beasts (demons ?) arrived and spoke to Sigourne in one language and us in our own. We waited for a cauldron to be brought and black smoke poured into it. Sigourne's uncle appeared ! He said he had been travelling with Sigourne all this way, since the Knights had destroyed his body (he indicated that they had killed him before he had been able to speak to the head of their order). He built a black sphere to protect us from the demons that were arriving. We waited inside until the meeting was over. Then he agreed to take us back through a gate which would put us on a path back to Monde. A path once followed by the sages of the Unity.
He had been around since the encirclement (or before ?) and seemed to be a scholar and a powerful mage (he said his name was Hoeler). He was happy to answer the party's questions - a welcome surprise. He said that the black and white scrolls of origin were simply two different views of the origins/purpose of the Walled Stone and Monde. He was unhappy to talk about the Fourth (particularly at the Pool ?) - it seemed he was unable to journey to Prime because it opposed him. Of particular interest, when shown the symbols of my grandfather's work it hurt him (flashed light at him) and he commented that it was a copy of the symbols on the Walled Stone.
Hoeler also told us his belief that the Weapon had been created to stop the encirclement (completely), not the other way around. That the encirclement had been devised to keep some power or knowledge within Monde or to Monde's use only, it was a little unclear. This might have been the Walled Stone itself, although the Stone had been around for many, many years (perhaps it was the caches - after all, four of the biggest five and the greatest of all is still uncovered ?).
I asked if the three Mantars might eventually take down the Fourth and he was amused by the idea - after all, they had lost the first time around (we didn't mention the skull, though). He had heard of Gyed
and said he was long lived of the Images. When asked further about Images he indicated that they seemed to follow specific patterns or purposes and implied that they could not change their natures. He had not heard of Galine or Jédén.
He then opened the portal and we travelled through to somewhere else. Looking to find a way back to Monde.
If the other players would like to comment, amend, add other details (any dreams publicly discussed for example), please do so. If
bateleur would like to correct the spellings of his NPCs names - feel free !
