DQWiki - User contributions [en-gb]

One Man's Justice

2026-05-31T03:25:27Z

Lisa: /* Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back */

[[Category:Scribe Notes]][[Category:Stephen]]
[[Scribe_Notes#Autumn 826 WK|Scribe Notes]]
<div class="TOC">__TOC__</div>
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''' One Man's Justice 
'''GM''' [[User:Stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''' Autumn 826 WK 
'''Night''' Monday 
'''Location''' New Windsor 
'''Area''' [[Thropshire]], Southern [[Ranke]] 
'''Level''' [[Experience#Quest_Level|Medium-ish]] 

; Party
# [[Tharlin]] - Conal '''Scribe'''
# [[Mavric]] - Lisa '''Main MS'''
# [[Gnash]] - Chris '''Backup MS'''
# [[Peter Smith]] - Mandos
# [[Quentin Ulysses Ash|Quentin]] - Sean
# [[Zardoz]] - Martin
# [[D'Artagnan|Dart]] - Alex '''PL and engaged MS'''

; Time on adventure
: 1st Fruit 826 WK to ?

; Employer
: Jordon Herder
: Charitably supplemented by SAG

; Mission
: Save my son Jordie

; Payment
: 5 gs (60 sp)
: 200sp per week each for up to 5 weeks

; Letter to the guild, received Duesday 1 Fruit 826
: ''To the adventuring heroes of the Seagate Guild of Adventures''
: ''I seek your services in a matter of injustice. Without your aid, my innocent son will be hung on the last Reapsday before Harvest by our lord.''
: ''I enclose 5 shillings to engage your services. Please come with all haste to save his life.''
: ''Yours sincerely,'' John Herder.
: Merino Station, Thropshire, Ranke.
: ''Scribed and witnessed by Alan Talespinner, registered Troubadour.''

D'Artagnan: "That doesn't seem right!"
Zardoz: "Yes, totally wrong... it's ''hanged'' not ''hung''."
D'Artagnan: "Zardoz!?"

== Scribe Notes ==

=== Session 1 - The Path Not Taken (Correctly) ===
'''Duesday 1st of Fruit'''

We arrive at what Zardoz deems a B-grade meeting room around midday for the general briefing on our employment, as outlined in the letter above.

Gnash: So, who is your wife?
Quentin: Lady Chakra, she is away fighting in the drow lands.
Zardoz: On which side?

The Astrology readings indicate that there is no demonic influence or major powers involved, but it may not necessarily be a simple issue.

After some questioning and research, we learn some history about Ranke and that the person responsible for Jordie's hanging is Sir Fulch Fitzwarren, a knight of Thropshire and of minor nobility. He married well above his standing to a lady of very good family in Bowcourt.

Our Troubadours recall that in this area, other troubadours are pushed to guilds and organizations, and those not in said groups are denied work and forced out of service. They deduce that the scribe who wrote to us (Alan Talespinner) is part of a local guild. Mavric also recalls watching a play of his and informs us he is very charismatic.

To add to that, Peter recalls from his tailoring work that Merino Station may be referring to Merino wool, which is more commonly considered Elven wool.

Dart feels his pocket and finds a note with the following: ''"My services are available if you need a scapegoat - ask around about a goat guy on temple street." -Adventuring Patron''.
According to Zardoz, the note is in Dart's handwriting but we figure if it is important and this goat guy is persistent he will contact again so for now, disregard it.
A suspicion is voiced that the "Adventuring Patron" may well be a certain ''Prince'' who is ofttimes ''Willing''.
Before we leave, we stock up on potions and Lyric very kindly offered us her Greater Enchantment services at material cost only.

After much deliberating, we travel by cloud to avoid bandits on land, pirates at sea and move much quicker, as time is of the essence. In theory, it should only take us 4 hours to get there. Because that would be far too easy, our navigator Zardoz, mistakenly takes us too far, but we land and are advised to go East. Another hour or so goes by on cloud and we touch down outside a larger city which has unnatural winds pushing its fumes outwards.

This city turns out to be Alcazar, and a local "Lord" U (Ubiqunoname) approaches on horseback, and advises us to head South-West to get there. He wasn't very fond of Gnash, something about dumb orcs.

Z: He did however appreciate obsequious forelock-tugging. ''Prat''.

We finally land in late afternoon and Quentin randomly picked a hamlet out of six for us to land in. This turns out to be Abcott. We find a pub and speak to the Reeve and barkeep, Leon, who tells us to pitch a tent, and order drinks. A couple pints down and we already have our band of Gnash, Peter, Mavric and Dart on their assorted instruments entertaining the crowd.

'''W'ansday 2nd of Fruit'''

In the morning before we leave for Clun, Peter wanders around helping out where he can, to boost the image of church knights in the area. We get more precise directions and walk for half a day through the wholesome hamlet into the small town of Clun.

=== Session 2 - The Scandal at Fitzwarren Manor ===
As we approach the village from the Southern Bridge, Zardoz changes his form into Grimshore, our human servant, to blend in.

We stop in for first lunch at the Harp of Clun - Clun inn - there seems to be a rise of inns labelled Harp of... in Ranke.

We learn that to reach Merino Station, we must head west up the road for 2 miles. Then at the fork, turn left up to the valley.

Coming into the farm, we are met with some odd/rare sheep, and Jordon.

Jordon recites the story for us, and we find that his son (a peasant) was allegedly found in the Lord's stables with Miss Mabel, the lord's daughter. The whole town saw as the barn doors flew open during a show hosted by Talespinner at Lord Fitzwarren's Manor.

Peter lends me his holy sword so that I can look like a Michaeline while Zardoz changes his clothes to be more Raphaelite, and Mavric is our scribe. We aim to use this guise to question Miss Mabel personally.

We enter through the front doors and speak to Lord Fitzwarren, who claims our services are not needed. We leave, but Dart seems to remember something about the Lord that he can't recall. Mavric promptly hypnotizes Dart to extract the information, which gives Dart the memory of some story about an archer who helped take down an enemy baron/count, while Gnash senses 1 lesser undead to our North.

Gnash, Quentin and I go back to the manor to divinate the stable doors. Gnash laid a minion to divinate the doors from the inside of the stable, who discovered that there was a stored telekinesis, casted by a Mind Mage. Lady Maude le Vavasour - Lady of the Manor, comes and asks us to leave just as Quentin discovers Telekinesis was the last magic to impact the stable doors. He also discovered the Lady to be actively resisting his magic and a short-lived sentient from Bowcourt. She is likely a Mind Mage.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party goes to question Jordie. A warden at the barracks doesn't let them in, so Zardoz sneaks around to DA and speaks with Jordie, who unconvincingly tells Zardoz it was all his fault, while his aura reveals he was last affected by a love philtre.

Mavric (quoting) "Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest?"
Peter: Hey?!

We finish the day off in the Harp of Clun, overpaying for dinner, when two men come in requesting my aid (thinking I was a Urielite) in deciding who the owner of the chicken is. I redirected to Peter.

The story is: a man whose rooster gave another man's hen a golden egg, and they wish for us to decide who gets ownership of it. Currently, Lord Fitzwarren is holding it until they decide who is given ownership. As they don't like our form of justice, Peter tells them to come back when they do.

In the morning, we will eat and track down the Troubadour Alan Talespinner to question on the event of the night.

=== Session 3 - The Talespinner Affair ===

'''Th'rsday 3rd of Fruit'''

We head east, flying in the morning, with Mavric taking Peter on her carpet.

Mavric, Dart and Peter touch down in a smaller village than Clun to get an update and make sure we are going the right way. He left early this morning, so we aren't far behind.

Finding him below, Dart glides down in front of him to ask about his saga in Clun. He gathers no extra information after 30 minutes of walking, while we circle overhead.

Eventually, we crash/land, as Dart has probably told him everything anyway.

Coming to a more rural town than Clun with no inn... we sit for a picnic with Alan, and Mavric very eloquently questions him, gleaming that his guild had been sent a request to perform at the manor on that day, and to do the full saga. Normally, he will only perform the shorter 1-hour version at the Harp of Clun.

Dart: No love potions! We've all heard the cautionary tales about love potions... I'm the result of a cautionary tale!
<Mavric and Zardoz make eye contact and very carefully practice their ''Simulate Emotions''>.
Alan let us know he enjoys visiting a "friend" who lives just outside the village, and we suspect he may have a sheep in every barn..

After staring at him, Quentin learns that the last magic to affect him was magical healing, his greatest magic in effect is a lesser enchantment and he has no college. Potentially done by a caster to hide their influence on him.

We stop bothering him and fly to Alcazar to investigate some more. 

Z: I did offer to render him unconscious for a divination but the party is a goody-eight-shoes.

Zardoz seeks the Royal College of Heralds and sends a message to the Chapter House for Father Peter, the Ureilite, to let us know he will be staying with the Heralds. 

Z: It was terrible. There were a mere six courses at dinner, the tawny port was only 10 years old, and the feather bed was too soft.

The Herald's information was a bit interesting. It appears that about 150 years back the Fitzwarren lands were briefly escheated but later the act was undone, not just reversed but more made to have never happened. <Weird> Nothing useful here on Herder's land as there was no grant of arms, nor anything on the Vavasour family; those records would be up in Bowcourt.

Meanwhile, Peter, Gnash, and I check in at said Western Church Chapter House. We look into contacting the Ureilite bishop, and the party is accommodated in lodgings there. Our appointment is this evening. 
Dart and Quentin visit the Troubadour's guild, finding the messenger's office, who mistakes Dart for a lord due to his haughty demeanour. He manages to arrange a morning tea with the guild masters tomorrow at 10. 
Mavric went to watch a play. 

We still have some questions that need to be answered, and hope that Alcazar will be able to help: 
*Why the delay in the judgment?
*Who planned the whole situation/Who stands to gain?
*Where could a love philtre be bought in Alcazar? - Closest place to Clun to get one
*Who would the Herder's land go to if Jordie were killed?
** How did he get it in the first place?

=== Session 4 - The Proposition ===

Peter brings Gnash to his meeting with the "aged by the world" bishop, who denies Peter's request to investigate.

Mavric learned that any visiting troubadours must pay big money to the guild, and the guild is creatively stifled - less risqué and more sanctioned.

'''Frysday 4th of Fruit'''

We all (-Zardoz) head to tea in the morning at the Troubadours guild, with Quentin staying at the entryway to guard our weapons, then meet an elegant, old lady, Tamsin Whisperwind, who is the master that owns the guild. Despite Dart's poor manners, she was convinced by Mavric to disclose that one of her associates from the Weaver's guild had made the request for Talespinner to perform. 

With that information, we think potentially the Weaver's guild may not be too keen on the special sheep the Herders are nurturing. 

We have religious discussions over lunch while Zardoz seeks more information with the <s>Heralds</s> ''Hobbits''.
 
Z: ''Dwarves'' <sigh> The information on Thropshire came from reliable local sources who are also tea and cake suppliers.

He finds that Count of Thropshire (Gilbert de claire) has certain wants - Men, Women, gambling, drinking, gluttony and some gladiatorial fights that are run to please both him and Countess [[Sanctuary_Nobles#Chenaya|Chenaya]]. 

Dart and Zardoz talk up the new fighter from Erewhon behind the "talent scout", and Gnash displays his talents in a decisive victory. 

We are escorted to the Count's estate, and... a werebear, an orc, and a playwright walk into a manor. A proposition is made, and Mavric discloses that we need a writ allowing us to investigate in Clun. 

After some negotiation, the Count agrees that if Gnash can win an elite-level fight, we will get what we want. 

=== Session 5 - Writs, Wool and Weesearch ===

'''Reapsday 5th of Fruit''' 

Gnash was... in the fight, and while they traded blows, he came out unconscious.

Quentin and I tend to him, while Zardoz works on a letter to send the count and let him know how to come find us. Dart then drops it off at his door while he's still out schmoozing.

We discuss a potential last resort for breaking out Jordie.

Zardoz finds that outsourced materials are frowned upon and are being bought elsewhere. So we need to think about where it's being bought.

Dart, Mavric and I go to make a new proposition.
"Two dwarves and a halfling seek a count, while an orc is out for one."

The count offers that Mavric could have an adventure with him for the writ, or that we could free his cousin's land, which is south, from church knights, and he could give us a writ and extra payment (4500sp - 3sp per acre) as well as a further bounty for reclaimed lands that we might liberate afterwards.

Gnash goes to get a drink with the man who beat him senseless, and Quentin supervises.

Zardoz's research gleans that 150 years ago, when Fitzwarren was reinstated, Jordon Herder was granted permission by the elves to have the land and breed merino for service to the crown. And, if his bloodline ends, the land would go to Fitzwarren, but not the sheep.

Zardoz drafts an official guild contract for the work we would be doing, which we would need to honour, with Peter and Mavric making two copies, so that we have one, he has one and the guild has one. 

'''Sunday 6th of Fruit'''

Zardoz confirms with the heralds (or Hobbits, at this point, who knows where he wanders off to) that the count's cousin did have a walled section on the coast to the south, with a harbour and a dock, and after it was liberated from the dark circle, Lady Grace was appointed as a church/Mordeaux version of a count. When the dark circle came in, the nobles left, and the church knights eliminated the undead, they were told they could govern their lands under the rule of the church and Lady Grace. The issue the church knights and Lady Grace have is that they are not great landlords aside from keeping roads safe.

We all agree, sign the contract and are handed the writ as below:
"To Sir Fitzwarren, the boy found en flagrante with your daughter is pardoned" -Count Gilbear Declaire

Zardoz: Dart, I have a brilliant idea, you just have to trust me.
Dart: Oh no. No good ever comes from that.
Zardoz: No really. And it's something Peter will approve of.

Our main questions when we go back to Clun are:
Where is Herder selling his wool?
Is he underselling it?
Can we question Mabel on her perspective?

=== Session 6 - Tracing the Source ===

I hold my rod, and we successfully cloud away to Merino Station, arriving in the early afternoon.

Cosimo Medici from Sanctuary purchases the station's wool. This partnership dates back to Herder's grandfather, offering a premium 4sp, while the neighbours only get 2sp.

Herder's wife died two years ago, and Gnash attempts to speak to her spirit.

At the manor, we reveal that we are from the [[Seagate Guild]] of Adventurers. Lord Fitzwarren is much more open to conversing with us now than he was when we posed as church knights. We are then asked to investigate on his behalf and carry out the sentence for whoever orchestrated the events.

He takes us down to free Jordie, who is still affected, while Lady Vavasour takes Quentin to divine Lady Mabel. He finds that:
*She possesses inherited traits, including resistance to ingested substances and a form of farsight that allows her to see invisibility.
*She has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*She was affected by the love philtre at around the same time as Jordie, but it wore off after around 2 hours.
*The rank 20 blessing was triggered, not cast, so it could have been invested.

Zardoz talks with Jordie on the way back up to Merino Station and discovers that a range of guild members were serving food and drink at the event.

Quentin divines Jordie at night to find:
*He was affected by a rank 10 love philtre, with 8 weeks to go
*Also has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*Was recently skin changed into a Rat by Mavric and Petit Mort-ed by Gnashdar, lasting one week
*The blessing was also triggered.

''' Moonday 7th of Fruit '''

Mavric and Quentin go to talk to the midwife who delivered both Jordie and Mabel. She recommends them to the Herbalist, who performs blessings on crops, unborn children, etc.

We head to the Herbalist (Roosker) in the forest. They are a long-lived, sentient being, and apparently have not made a love philtre in a while. They can only do an effective rank 10 blessing on unborn child.

Finally, we head further into the forest to find and deal with the undead presence from earlier, which turned out to be a revenant.

Key Considerations:
*Where did the blessings come from? (someone who would have more knowledge of the family's history)
*Does this support the theory that Jordie might be illegitimate? (more motive)
*Whoever orchestrated it likely thought the land and sheep would go back to Fitzwarren, so they may have wanted to get in his good books.

=== Session 7 - Bearly Were-y ===

The group travels, barely were-ily with the Necromancer and Namer leading, and the strongest at the rear.

After hearing a strange wailing, a few of us become more wary, and Zardoz vanishes.

Gnash communicates with the source of the sound, an undead dryad named Tithoria, who has been dead for 150 years, her tree poisoned through a hole in its trunk.

Dart, Mavric, and Quentin investigate and determine that a wizard of some kind named [[Ranke|Ekkehart]] poisoned her heart, effectively killing the forest.

This Ekkehart may be Duke Ekkehart von [[Ranke]] or a close relative.

Peter then performs a miracle, revealing that his god has blessed an acorn, and that restoring the forest will require finding Ekkehart’s descendants and mixing their blood with it.

After around 6 hours, we head back into town to find Ekkehart's descendants, whom Peter can somehow sense.

We learn through conversation with Jordie's friends that an agent from the Weaver's Guild - Joe Dyer - was at the party with his son and apprentice.

'''Duesday 8th of Fruit''' 
Back at the farm, Gnash attempts to speak with the late Jordon Herder..

We head to the manor in the morning to speak with Mabel. She tells us they were served passion tea from [[Konigburg]], which is all the rage, from Dyer's son Jonas, and apprentice Barney. Jordie and Mabel had tea from the same pot and had to drink 4 pots before there was an effect.

The Fitzwarrens sent word to the Weaver's guild to send some liaisons to purchase wool, hoping Joe Dyer would come. I left my Whispering Wind Horn for them to contact us when Joe comes, so that we can investigate then.

In the meantime, we drop Jordie off at Seagate to be un-love-philtred, have lunch, then go south to sort out some church knights.

We remember that the Count of Thropshire's cousin's name is Baronet D'Audley Liulf of the Audley Demesne, which is south of the hills that are south of Fort Flowing.

Landing on the beach not far from a cove with a jetty, we decide to enter in the morning.

'''W'ansday 9th of Fruit''' 
We pass some poorly managed farming activity on the way to the manor.

Once there, we meet Sir Gerard Tom (Raphaelite), who is eager to relinquish control of the estate to Peter, and he has been requesting relief for weeks. Although he initially prepares to leave, poor weather delays his departure.

While Zardoz assists with packing, Peter is briefed on managing the estate, and the rest of the group -Quentin patrols the area.

=== Session 8 - Stewards of the Demesne ===

'''Th'rsday 10th of Fruit''' 

The rain lessens as the morning comes, and Sir Gerard finally leaves.

We find various jobs, with Zardoz and I flying up to Alcatraz to acquire the Count's cousin and bring him back to his manor.

The Count advises us that a representative of Mordeaux needs to recognise that the land is no longer theirs, but nonetheless tells us where to go to find his cousin, Lord D'Audley (a local inn), and to find a steward for his land, as he almost never visits.

Lord D'Audley requests that we find some suitable fighters/farmers who can serve as land managers for him in his stead - a noble job working for a baronet, cousin of the Count. We recruit brothers from the gladiators talent-scouting arena who are looking for an out.

We present them to the Lord, who appoints them Seneschal Albert and Assistant Seneschal Ernest.

We also purchase around 20 spearheads to bring down to the Demesne for defences.

'''Frysday 11th of Fruit''' 
Upon returning in the morning, the party informs us they encountered some owlbears overnight that were hunting a boar. Quentin tells us that they were Shapechanger Owlbears.

We introduce Albert to the staff.

'''Reapsday 12th of Fruit''' 
Then we spend the whole day getting the brothers accustomed to their workload and Peter teaches the locals to make spears using the spearheads.

'''Sunday 13th of Fruit''' 
In the morning, we cloud to South Gate.

Some guards greet us near our landing point, and Peter leads with the truth that we are adventurers from the Seagate guild.

We come in and ingrain ourselves with people around to get a feel of the land. It is a pretty strained and worn-out time, and they are not looking good with winter coming in. The church knights want to be doing something, getting fed up with inaction. Not much money is coming into the Abbey, as the church intercepts most of it.

Some of these knights will be from [[Tuscana]] and some from Mordeaux. Lady Grace is a Ureilite, and so is the Abbess, which tells us the Ureilites mainly run this post.

We are waiting to be seen by the Abbess so that Gnash can pump her for information on how we can get them to give up their claim to the demesne, but we cannot see her tonight.

=== Session 9 - The Cost of the Church ===

'''Moonday 14th of Fruit'''

In the early morning, Gnash is awoken to get some... and get some information.

The church is taxing the hell out of the lands for food, so there is no point in the farmers coming back, which means there is less food overall. Junior church knights were sent out as delegates to manage the land, but, similarly to Sir Gerard, they tend to be pretty useless.

The Abbess informs us that if we can find something of value to Lady Grace, then Southern Ranke could be negotiated to exclude the demesne. She also tells us of Lady Grace's character, that she is efficient and ruthless.

We think of some things we could trade, including holy relics, a piece of land in Borderlay, or a service to the Lady, like recovering a relic.

The Abbess connects us with Lady Grace in a chamber within the Abbey. She wants us to help her receive aid from [[Tuscana]], so that they can stay in the area for longer.

Most factions in Tuscana don't want the church in their home, affecting their politics, and are quite willing to send support to stay away.

The most prominent name not supporting the church is Cesare Borgia.

We try to think of ways we could force support from Tuscana or make the land more sustainable for the church presence, while also having a large debate on which way our moral compi are pointing.

Zardoz ended up "finding" a letter from a Knight Captain to Borgia, with incriminating conversation. We just need a courier (a formerly dead bandit with church armour) to deliver the message to Tuscana.

Before finding a candidate, we make sure to have a bag of various other letters and the right apparel. Couriers around Southgate tend to be light and fast, or armed with troops. We aim for light and fast.

While we were discussing our options, Dart was writing songs about martial excitement to sing when we arrive in Tuscana.

'''Duesday 15th of Fruit'''

We set out to find bandits, tracking from above and fail.

In an attempt to bring them to us, we make an obvious camp, and enjoy a bit of drunken singing.

'''W'ansday 16th of Fruit'''

In the morning, I spot signs of a bandit camp; they were lax in putting out the fire. We find where they may be and land a bit further up the valley.

We figure Dart is the least threatening, so send him first, while others stealthily follow.

A small boy who was tending to 20 goats rounds the corner and notices Dart, running off to a cave, screaming that Dart is a demon - perhaps his demon spider armour.

Dart has a lengthy debate with the people, confusing them and all of us. Then Peter stumbles into frame, and they are understandably scared.

Eventually, they come to their senses, realising they could not win that fight, and they respectfully ask,
"Leave our home and be on your way."
To which Dart responds,
"It's not much of a home."

After Gnash joins Peter, a small retreat stirs within the cave.

=== Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back ===

We eventually decide to move on from the bandits, head down from the pass onto the roads, and camp out near the border.

'''Th'rsday 17th of Fruit'''

We make our way to the border, and there's a Tuscanan border guard. Usually, people will pay taxes then check in at the inn.

Peter asks whether there are any nearby streams that could accommodate 100 men and horses.

The church knights and I start setting up camp, chopping trees, and laying out the foundations for a military force which may or may not be coming.

The guards tell the three shorties that Borgia is a Knight General and a merchant Prince; he is currently in [[Hamburg]], 20 miles away. He is the local equivalent of an Archbishop. He promised during the time of the dark circle that he would help fund the church, but has now gone back on it.

After some thinking we decide that we will request funding from Borgia to send a crusade from Southgate, further south into [[Raniterre]], freeing up the Southgate land.
[[File:PSA.png|thumb]]
With that decided, we cloud to [[Hamburg]], coming down with the sun. We aim to catch a ferry into the city, rather than just landing on his roof. Since they speak Tuscanan, Dart will comprehend their language but we will still speak common, and he will listen in to their private conversations.

Upon our arrival, they speak very broken common "foreigner surrender, witch" with arms raised against us.

Dart listens in; they are waiting for someone more important on their side to make a decision.

After some time, a Gabrielite Captain comes with horses and a troop. They stare at us for a bit and the troops come forward with the leader declaring us unpermitted magic users "occultists are not allowed." We promptly leave the area, by carpet wings and flying before causing any more trouble. We scatter to make it more difficult to find us.

We deem after this encounter that Borgia will not be viable, but we still could look into sending a crusade south into [[Raniterre]].

Running into the same problem as almost every other solution, we need funding, which we can not get from anywhere.

Eventually, we decide to talk with Lady Grace again and sort out a new deal.

After coming back to the camp by the border, Gnash and Mavric make a PSA board for any future adventurers who don't know the rules about magic and affiliation in [[Hamburg]] to let them know.

''Frysday 18th of Fruit'''

In the morning, we cloud back to Southgate and speak with the Abbess who advises if we go back with bad news, we'll be on the back foot with Lady Grace, because she is quite annoyed with failure, even that on impossible tasks. We stay the night at the abbey, some of us getting more sleep than others.

'''Reapsday 19th of Fruit'''
We fly in to check on D'audley Demesne to find that 3 church knights have retaken the Demesne, the big boss is a Gabrielite Knight. We manage to get out with Albert and Ernest and begin to head up to Clun to check in with the Herders.

We plan to then go onto Alcazar to check in with the Count of Thropshire and let him know about the situation.

== Buffs & Mil Sci ==
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
table.AstroNum td { text-align: center; padding: 1px 0.5em; }
</css>
=== Long Term (assumed always on) ===
{| class="buffs" | 
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Duration
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Vapour Breathing (Th)
|class="rk" | 16
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8.5 hrs
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

; Quentin's Allies
: +4% SC, +2 Damage, +2 Damage Reduction, +6% Defence Bonus, +11% Bonus to reaction and fear rolls

=== Short Term ===
{| class="buffs" |
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Flying (Th)
|class="rk" | 11
|class="ef" | 41 mph
|class="du" | 6 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Fall (Th)
|class="rk" | 9
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Za)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" | +32% Def / +16% in Close
|class="du" | 8 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | See 150' in dark / see invis
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Blending (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Invis when not moving
|class="du" | 7 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Not noticed, generally
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Flying 36mph
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Inspirational Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Dice Mod 2, 3 Targets
|class="du" | 90 seconds
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spectral Weapon (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +11% SC and +4 DMG
|class="du" | 15 Mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Wraithcloak (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +17%Def, +11% Stealth and -3Dmg from non magical/silvered weapons
|class="du" | ?
| 
|  Y
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Self Only Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Mind Cloak
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | +_% vs mental Attack
|class="du" | _ hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|  10
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Comprehending Tongues (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Language rank +3
|class="du" | 70 mins
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Support / Non-Combat Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Slumber Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | Extra 2 EN & 3 FT per hour asleep, 3 Targets
|class="du" | Special
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

=== Misc ===

;Tharlin
: Herbalist: Rank 4 for Meal - 3, and Broth - 3

; Quentin
: Military Scientist: Rank: 5 Raise Morale: 2wp Unengaged Initiative: 25 + D10
: Healer: Rank: 6
: Stealth: Rank: 5 (95%)

=== Watch Order ===
<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { min-width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|-
! Hour: !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
||
| colspan="4" | Mavric
| colspan="4" | Dart
| colspan="4" | Zardoz
|-
||
| colspan="3" | Tharlin
| colspan="3" | Gnash
| colspan="3" | Quentin
| colspan="3" | Peter
|}

=== Marching Order ===
{| width="90%"
!colspan="2" align="center"| Skirmish Formations (Front)
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
|align="center"| ''Single File''
|-
| X x X
| A B C D E F 
|}

== Loot ==
??

== Calendar ==
{| width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Autumn"
|-
! colspan="15" | Autumn 826 WK: [[Fruit]] (4)
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan="2" | Moonday
! colspan="2" | Duesday
! colspan="2" | W'ansday
! colspan="2" | Th'rsday
! colspan="2" | Frysday
! colspan="2" | Reapsday
! colspan="2" | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| colspan="2" | [[Lugnasad]]
| class="day" | 1 || ''Guild Meeting''
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 || ''The Hanging of Jordie''
| class="day" | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Harvest]] (5)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 || Equinox
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 19 || Harvest Moon ..
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Vintage]] (6)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 17 || Blood Moon
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 || Beerfest
|}

One Man's Justice

2026-05-31T03:23:37Z

Lisa: /* Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back */

[[Category:Scribe Notes]][[Category:Stephen]]
[[Scribe_Notes#Autumn 826 WK|Scribe Notes]]
<div class="TOC">__TOC__</div>
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''' One Man's Justice 
'''GM''' [[User:Stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''' Autumn 826 WK 
'''Night''' Monday 
'''Location''' New Windsor 
'''Area''' [[Thropshire]], Southern [[Ranke]] 
'''Level''' [[Experience#Quest_Level|Medium-ish]] 

; Party
# [[Tharlin]] - Conal '''Scribe'''
# [[Mavric]] - Lisa '''Main MS'''
# [[Gnash]] - Chris '''Backup MS'''
# [[Peter Smith]] - Mandos
# [[Quentin Ulysses Ash|Quentin]] - Sean
# [[Zardoz]] - Martin
# [[D'Artagnan|Dart]] - Alex '''PL and engaged MS'''

; Time on adventure
: 1st Fruit 826 WK to ?

; Employer
: Jordon Herder
: Charitably supplemented by SAG

; Mission
: Save my son Jordie

; Payment
: 5 gs (60 sp)
: 200sp per week each for up to 5 weeks

; Letter to the guild, received Duesday 1 Fruit 826
: ''To the adventuring heroes of the Seagate Guild of Adventures''
: ''I seek your services in a matter of injustice. Without your aid, my innocent son will be hung on the last Reapsday before Harvest by our lord.''
: ''I enclose 5 shillings to engage your services. Please come with all haste to save his life.''
: ''Yours sincerely,'' John Herder.
: Merino Station, Thropshire, Ranke.
: ''Scribed and witnessed by Alan Talespinner, registered Troubadour.''

D'Artagnan: "That doesn't seem right!"
Zardoz: "Yes, totally wrong... it's ''hanged'' not ''hung''."
D'Artagnan: "Zardoz!?"

== Scribe Notes ==

=== Session 1 - The Path Not Taken (Correctly) ===
'''Duesday 1st of Fruit'''

We arrive at what Zardoz deems a B-grade meeting room around midday for the general briefing on our employment, as outlined in the letter above.

Gnash: So, who is your wife?
Quentin: Lady Chakra, she is away fighting in the drow lands.
Zardoz: On which side?

The Astrology readings indicate that there is no demonic influence or major powers involved, but it may not necessarily be a simple issue.

After some questioning and research, we learn some history about Ranke and that the person responsible for Jordie's hanging is Sir Fulch Fitzwarren, a knight of Thropshire and of minor nobility. He married well above his standing to a lady of very good family in Bowcourt.

Our Troubadours recall that in this area, other troubadours are pushed to guilds and organizations, and those not in said groups are denied work and forced out of service. They deduce that the scribe who wrote to us (Alan Talespinner) is part of a local guild. Mavric also recalls watching a play of his and informs us he is very charismatic.

To add to that, Peter recalls from his tailoring work that Merino Station may be referring to Merino wool, which is more commonly considered Elven wool.

Dart feels his pocket and finds a note with the following: ''"My services are available if you need a scapegoat - ask around about a goat guy on temple street." -Adventuring Patron''.
According to Zardoz, the note is in Dart's handwriting but we figure if it is important and this goat guy is persistent he will contact again so for now, disregard it.
A suspicion is voiced that the "Adventuring Patron" may well be a certain ''Prince'' who is ofttimes ''Willing''.
Before we leave, we stock up on potions and Lyric very kindly offered us her Greater Enchantment services at material cost only.

After much deliberating, we travel by cloud to avoid bandits on land, pirates at sea and move much quicker, as time is of the essence. In theory, it should only take us 4 hours to get there. Because that would be far too easy, our navigator Zardoz, mistakenly takes us too far, but we land and are advised to go East. Another hour or so goes by on cloud and we touch down outside a larger city which has unnatural winds pushing its fumes outwards.

This city turns out to be Alcazar, and a local "Lord" U (Ubiqunoname) approaches on horseback, and advises us to head South-West to get there. He wasn't very fond of Gnash, something about dumb orcs.

Z: He did however appreciate obsequious forelock-tugging. ''Prat''.

We finally land in late afternoon and Quentin randomly picked a hamlet out of six for us to land in. This turns out to be Abcott. We find a pub and speak to the Reeve and barkeep, Leon, who tells us to pitch a tent, and order drinks. A couple pints down and we already have our band of Gnash, Peter, Mavric and Dart on their assorted instruments entertaining the crowd.

'''W'ansday 2nd of Fruit'''

In the morning before we leave for Clun, Peter wanders around helping out where he can, to boost the image of church knights in the area. We get more precise directions and walk for half a day through the wholesome hamlet into the small town of Clun.

=== Session 2 - The Scandal at Fitzwarren Manor ===
As we approach the village from the Southern Bridge, Zardoz changes his form into Grimshore, our human servant, to blend in.

We stop in for first lunch at the Harp of Clun - Clun inn - there seems to be a rise of inns labelled Harp of... in Ranke.

We learn that to reach Merino Station, we must head west up the road for 2 miles. Then at the fork, turn left up to the valley.

Coming into the farm, we are met with some odd/rare sheep, and Jordon.

Jordon recites the story for us, and we find that his son (a peasant) was allegedly found in the Lord's stables with Miss Mabel, the lord's daughter. The whole town saw as the barn doors flew open during a show hosted by Talespinner at Lord Fitzwarren's Manor.

Peter lends me his holy sword so that I can look like a Michaeline while Zardoz changes his clothes to be more Raphaelite, and Mavric is our scribe. We aim to use this guise to question Miss Mabel personally.

We enter through the front doors and speak to Lord Fitzwarren, who claims our services are not needed. We leave, but Dart seems to remember something about the Lord that he can't recall. Mavric promptly hypnotizes Dart to extract the information, which gives Dart the memory of some story about an archer who helped take down an enemy baron/count, while Gnash senses 1 lesser undead to our North.

Gnash, Quentin and I go back to the manor to divinate the stable doors. Gnash laid a minion to divinate the doors from the inside of the stable, who discovered that there was a stored telekinesis, casted by a Mind Mage. Lady Maude le Vavasour - Lady of the Manor, comes and asks us to leave just as Quentin discovers Telekinesis was the last magic to impact the stable doors. He also discovered the Lady to be actively resisting his magic and a short-lived sentient from Bowcourt. She is likely a Mind Mage.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party goes to question Jordie. A warden at the barracks doesn't let them in, so Zardoz sneaks around to DA and speaks with Jordie, who unconvincingly tells Zardoz it was all his fault, while his aura reveals he was last affected by a love philtre.

Mavric (quoting) "Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest?"
Peter: Hey?!

We finish the day off in the Harp of Clun, overpaying for dinner, when two men come in requesting my aid (thinking I was a Urielite) in deciding who the owner of the chicken is. I redirected to Peter.

The story is: a man whose rooster gave another man's hen a golden egg, and they wish for us to decide who gets ownership of it. Currently, Lord Fitzwarren is holding it until they decide who is given ownership. As they don't like our form of justice, Peter tells them to come back when they do.

In the morning, we will eat and track down the Troubadour Alan Talespinner to question on the event of the night.

=== Session 3 - The Talespinner Affair ===

'''Th'rsday 3rd of Fruit'''

We head east, flying in the morning, with Mavric taking Peter on her carpet.

Mavric, Dart and Peter touch down in a smaller village than Clun to get an update and make sure we are going the right way. He left early this morning, so we aren't far behind.

Finding him below, Dart glides down in front of him to ask about his saga in Clun. He gathers no extra information after 30 minutes of walking, while we circle overhead.

Eventually, we crash/land, as Dart has probably told him everything anyway.

Coming to a more rural town than Clun with no inn... we sit for a picnic with Alan, and Mavric very eloquently questions him, gleaming that his guild had been sent a request to perform at the manor on that day, and to do the full saga. Normally, he will only perform the shorter 1-hour version at the Harp of Clun.

Dart: No love potions! We've all heard the cautionary tales about love potions... I'm the result of a cautionary tale!
<Mavric and Zardoz make eye contact and very carefully practice their ''Simulate Emotions''>.
Alan let us know he enjoys visiting a "friend" who lives just outside the village, and we suspect he may have a sheep in every barn..

After staring at him, Quentin learns that the last magic to affect him was magical healing, his greatest magic in effect is a lesser enchantment and he has no college. Potentially done by a caster to hide their influence on him.

We stop bothering him and fly to Alcazar to investigate some more. 

Z: I did offer to render him unconscious for a divination but the party is a goody-eight-shoes.

Zardoz seeks the Royal College of Heralds and sends a message to the Chapter House for Father Peter, the Ureilite, to let us know he will be staying with the Heralds. 

Z: It was terrible. There were a mere six courses at dinner, the tawny port was only 10 years old, and the feather bed was too soft.

The Herald's information was a bit interesting. It appears that about 150 years back the Fitzwarren lands were briefly escheated but later the act was undone, not just reversed but more made to have never happened. <Weird> Nothing useful here on Herder's land as there was no grant of arms, nor anything on the Vavasour family; those records would be up in Bowcourt.

Meanwhile, Peter, Gnash, and I check in at said Western Church Chapter House. We look into contacting the Ureilite bishop, and the party is accommodated in lodgings there. Our appointment is this evening. 
Dart and Quentin visit the Troubadour's guild, finding the messenger's office, who mistakes Dart for a lord due to his haughty demeanour. He manages to arrange a morning tea with the guild masters tomorrow at 10. 
Mavric went to watch a play. 

We still have some questions that need to be answered, and hope that Alcazar will be able to help: 
*Why the delay in the judgment?
*Who planned the whole situation/Who stands to gain?
*Where could a love philtre be bought in Alcazar? - Closest place to Clun to get one
*Who would the Herder's land go to if Jordie were killed?
** How did he get it in the first place?

=== Session 4 - The Proposition ===

Peter brings Gnash to his meeting with the "aged by the world" bishop, who denies Peter's request to investigate.

Mavric learned that any visiting troubadours must pay big money to the guild, and the guild is creatively stifled - less risqué and more sanctioned.

'''Frysday 4th of Fruit'''

We all (-Zardoz) head to tea in the morning at the Troubadours guild, with Quentin staying at the entryway to guard our weapons, then meet an elegant, old lady, Tamsin Whisperwind, who is the master that owns the guild. Despite Dart's poor manners, she was convinced by Mavric to disclose that one of her associates from the Weaver's guild had made the request for Talespinner to perform. 

With that information, we think potentially the Weaver's guild may not be too keen on the special sheep the Herders are nurturing. 

We have religious discussions over lunch while Zardoz seeks more information with the <s>Heralds</s> ''Hobbits''.
 
Z: ''Dwarves'' <sigh> The information on Thropshire came from reliable local sources who are also tea and cake suppliers.

He finds that Count of Thropshire (Gilbert de claire) has certain wants - Men, Women, gambling, drinking, gluttony and some gladiatorial fights that are run to please both him and Countess [[Sanctuary_Nobles#Chenaya|Chenaya]]. 

Dart and Zardoz talk up the new fighter from Erewhon behind the "talent scout", and Gnash displays his talents in a decisive victory. 

We are escorted to the Count's estate, and... a werebear, an orc, and a playwright walk into a manor. A proposition is made, and Mavric discloses that we need a writ allowing us to investigate in Clun. 

After some negotiation, the Count agrees that if Gnash can win an elite-level fight, we will get what we want. 

=== Session 5 - Writs, Wool and Weesearch ===

'''Reapsday 5th of Fruit''' 

Gnash was... in the fight, and while they traded blows, he came out unconscious.

Quentin and I tend to him, while Zardoz works on a letter to send the count and let him know how to come find us. Dart then drops it off at his door while he's still out schmoozing.

We discuss a potential last resort for breaking out Jordie.

Zardoz finds that outsourced materials are frowned upon and are being bought elsewhere. So we need to think about where it's being bought.

Dart, Mavric and I go to make a new proposition.
"Two dwarves and a halfling seek a count, while an orc is out for one."

The count offers that Mavric could have an adventure with him for the writ, or that we could free his cousin's land, which is south, from church knights, and he could give us a writ and extra payment (4500sp - 3sp per acre) as well as a further bounty for reclaimed lands that we might liberate afterwards.

Gnash goes to get a drink with the man who beat him senseless, and Quentin supervises.

Zardoz's research gleans that 150 years ago, when Fitzwarren was reinstated, Jordon Herder was granted permission by the elves to have the land and breed merino for service to the crown. And, if his bloodline ends, the land would go to Fitzwarren, but not the sheep.

Zardoz drafts an official guild contract for the work we would be doing, which we would need to honour, with Peter and Mavric making two copies, so that we have one, he has one and the guild has one. 

'''Sunday 6th of Fruit'''

Zardoz confirms with the heralds (or Hobbits, at this point, who knows where he wanders off to) that the count's cousin did have a walled section on the coast to the south, with a harbour and a dock, and after it was liberated from the dark circle, Lady Grace was appointed as a church/Mordeaux version of a count. When the dark circle came in, the nobles left, and the church knights eliminated the undead, they were told they could govern their lands under the rule of the church and Lady Grace. The issue the church knights and Lady Grace have is that they are not great landlords aside from keeping roads safe.

We all agree, sign the contract and are handed the writ as below:
"To Sir Fitzwarren, the boy found en flagrante with your daughter is pardoned" -Count Gilbear Declaire

Zardoz: Dart, I have a brilliant idea, you just have to trust me.
Dart: Oh no. No good ever comes from that.
Zardoz: No really. And it's something Peter will approve of.

Our main questions when we go back to Clun are:
Where is Herder selling his wool?
Is he underselling it?
Can we question Mabel on her perspective?

=== Session 6 - Tracing the Source ===

I hold my rod, and we successfully cloud away to Merino Station, arriving in the early afternoon.

Cosimo Medici from Sanctuary purchases the station's wool. This partnership dates back to Herder's grandfather, offering a premium 4sp, while the neighbours only get 2sp.

Herder's wife died two years ago, and Gnash attempts to speak to her spirit.

At the manor, we reveal that we are from the [[Seagate Guild]] of Adventurers. Lord Fitzwarren is much more open to conversing with us now than he was when we posed as church knights. We are then asked to investigate on his behalf and carry out the sentence for whoever orchestrated the events.

He takes us down to free Jordie, who is still affected, while Lady Vavasour takes Quentin to divine Lady Mabel. He finds that:
*She possesses inherited traits, including resistance to ingested substances and a form of farsight that allows her to see invisibility.
*She has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*She was affected by the love philtre at around the same time as Jordie, but it wore off after around 2 hours.
*The rank 20 blessing was triggered, not cast, so it could have been invested.

Zardoz talks with Jordie on the way back up to Merino Station and discovers that a range of guild members were serving food and drink at the event.

Quentin divines Jordie at night to find:
*He was affected by a rank 10 love philtre, with 8 weeks to go
*Also has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*Was recently skin changed into a Rat by Mavric and Petit Mort-ed by Gnashdar, lasting one week
*The blessing was also triggered.

''' Moonday 7th of Fruit '''

Mavric and Quentin go to talk to the midwife who delivered both Jordie and Mabel. She recommends them to the Herbalist, who performs blessings on crops, unborn children, etc.

We head to the Herbalist (Roosker) in the forest. They are a long-lived, sentient being, and apparently have not made a love philtre in a while. They can only do an effective rank 10 blessing on unborn child.

Finally, we head further into the forest to find and deal with the undead presence from earlier, which turned out to be a revenant.

Key Considerations:
*Where did the blessings come from? (someone who would have more knowledge of the family's history)
*Does this support the theory that Jordie might be illegitimate? (more motive)
*Whoever orchestrated it likely thought the land and sheep would go back to Fitzwarren, so they may have wanted to get in his good books.

=== Session 7 - Bearly Were-y ===

The group travels, barely were-ily with the Necromancer and Namer leading, and the strongest at the rear.

After hearing a strange wailing, a few of us become more wary, and Zardoz vanishes.

Gnash communicates with the source of the sound, an undead dryad named Tithoria, who has been dead for 150 years, her tree poisoned through a hole in its trunk.

Dart, Mavric, and Quentin investigate and determine that a wizard of some kind named [[Ranke|Ekkehart]] poisoned her heart, effectively killing the forest.

This Ekkehart may be Duke Ekkehart von [[Ranke]] or a close relative.

Peter then performs a miracle, revealing that his god has blessed an acorn, and that restoring the forest will require finding Ekkehart’s descendants and mixing their blood with it.

After around 6 hours, we head back into town to find Ekkehart's descendants, whom Peter can somehow sense.

We learn through conversation with Jordie's friends that an agent from the Weaver's Guild - Joe Dyer - was at the party with his son and apprentice.

'''Duesday 8th of Fruit''' 
Back at the farm, Gnash attempts to speak with the late Jordon Herder..

We head to the manor in the morning to speak with Mabel. She tells us they were served passion tea from [[Konigburg]], which is all the rage, from Dyer's son Jonas, and apprentice Barney. Jordie and Mabel had tea from the same pot and had to drink 4 pots before there was an effect.

The Fitzwarrens sent word to the Weaver's guild to send some liaisons to purchase wool, hoping Joe Dyer would come. I left my Whispering Wind Horn for them to contact us when Joe comes, so that we can investigate then.

In the meantime, we drop Jordie off at Seagate to be un-love-philtred, have lunch, then go south to sort out some church knights.

We remember that the Count of Thropshire's cousin's name is Baronet D'Audley Liulf of the Audley Demesne, which is south of the hills that are south of Fort Flowing.

Landing on the beach not far from a cove with a jetty, we decide to enter in the morning.

'''W'ansday 9th of Fruit''' 
We pass some poorly managed farming activity on the way to the manor.

Once there, we meet Sir Gerard Tom (Raphaelite), who is eager to relinquish control of the estate to Peter, and he has been requesting relief for weeks. Although he initially prepares to leave, poor weather delays his departure.

While Zardoz assists with packing, Peter is briefed on managing the estate, and the rest of the group -Quentin patrols the area.

=== Session 8 - Stewards of the Demesne ===

'''Th'rsday 10th of Fruit''' 

The rain lessens as the morning comes, and Sir Gerard finally leaves.

We find various jobs, with Zardoz and I flying up to Alcatraz to acquire the Count's cousin and bring him back to his manor.

The Count advises us that a representative of Mordeaux needs to recognise that the land is no longer theirs, but nonetheless tells us where to go to find his cousin, Lord D'Audley (a local inn), and to find a steward for his land, as he almost never visits.

Lord D'Audley requests that we find some suitable fighters/farmers who can serve as land managers for him in his stead - a noble job working for a baronet, cousin of the Count. We recruit brothers from the gladiators talent-scouting arena who are looking for an out.

We present them to the Lord, who appoints them Seneschal Albert and Assistant Seneschal Ernest.

We also purchase around 20 spearheads to bring down to the Demesne for defences.

'''Frysday 11th of Fruit''' 
Upon returning in the morning, the party informs us they encountered some owlbears overnight that were hunting a boar. Quentin tells us that they were Shapechanger Owlbears.

We introduce Albert to the staff.

'''Reapsday 12th of Fruit''' 
Then we spend the whole day getting the brothers accustomed to their workload and Peter teaches the locals to make spears using the spearheads.

'''Sunday 13th of Fruit''' 
In the morning, we cloud to South Gate.

Some guards greet us near our landing point, and Peter leads with the truth that we are adventurers from the Seagate guild.

We come in and ingrain ourselves with people around to get a feel of the land. It is a pretty strained and worn-out time, and they are not looking good with winter coming in. The church knights want to be doing something, getting fed up with inaction. Not much money is coming into the Abbey, as the church intercepts most of it.

Some of these knights will be from [[Tuscana]] and some from Mordeaux. Lady Grace is a Ureilite, and so is the Abbess, which tells us the Ureilites mainly run this post.

We are waiting to be seen by the Abbess so that Gnash can pump her for information on how we can get them to give up their claim to the demesne, but we cannot see her tonight.

=== Session 9 - The Cost of the Church ===

'''Moonday 14th of Fruit'''

In the early morning, Gnash is awoken to get some... and get some information.

The church is taxing the hell out of the lands for food, so there is no point in the farmers coming back, which means there is less food overall. Junior church knights were sent out as delegates to manage the land, but, similarly to Sir Gerard, they tend to be pretty useless.

The Abbess informs us that if we can find something of value to Lady Grace, then Southern Ranke could be negotiated to exclude the demesne. She also tells us of Lady Grace's character, that she is efficient and ruthless.

We think of some things we could trade, including holy relics, a piece of land in Borderlay, or a service to the Lady, like recovering a relic.

The Abbess connects us with Lady Grace in a chamber within the Abbey. She wants us to help her receive aid from [[Tuscana]], so that they can stay in the area for longer.

Most factions in Tuscana don't want the church in their home, affecting their politics, and are quite willing to send support to stay away.

The most prominent name not supporting the church is Cesare Borgia.

We try to think of ways we could force support from Tuscana or make the land more sustainable for the church presence, while also having a large debate on which way our moral compi are pointing.

Zardoz ended up "finding" a letter from a Knight Captain to Borgia, with incriminating conversation. We just need a courier (a formerly dead bandit with church armour) to deliver the message to Tuscana.

Before finding a candidate, we make sure to have a bag of various other letters and the right apparel. Couriers around Southgate tend to be light and fast, or armed with troops. We aim for light and fast.

While we were discussing our options, Dart was writing songs about martial excitement to sing when we arrive in Tuscana.

'''Duesday 15th of Fruit'''

We set out to find bandits, tracking from above and fail.

In an attempt to bring them to us, we make an obvious camp, and enjoy a bit of drunken singing.

'''W'ansday 16th of Fruit'''

In the morning, I spot signs of a bandit camp; they were lax in putting out the fire. We find where they may be and land a bit further up the valley.

We figure Dart is the least threatening, so send him first, while others stealthily follow.

A small boy who was tending to 20 goats rounds the corner and notices Dart, running off to a cave, screaming that Dart is a demon - perhaps his demon spider armour.

Dart has a lengthy debate with the people, confusing them and all of us. Then Peter stumbles into frame, and they are understandably scared.

Eventually, they come to their senses, realising they could not win that fight, and they respectfully ask,
"Leave our home and be on your way."
To which Dart responds,
"It's not much of a home."

After Gnash joins Peter, a small retreat stirs within the cave.

=== Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back ===

We eventually decide to move on from the bandits, head down from the pass onto the roads, and camp out near the border.

'''Th'rsday 17th of Fruit'''

We make our way to the border, and there's a Tuscanan border guard. Usually, people will pay taxes then check in at the inn.

Peter asks whether there are any nearby streams that could accommodate 100 men and horses.

The church knights and I start setting up camp, chopping trees, and laying out the foundations for a military force which may or may not be coming.

The guards tell the three shorties that Borgia is a Knight General and a merchant Prince; he is currently in [[Hamburg]], 20 miles away. He is the local equivalent of an Archbishop. He promised during the time of the dark circle that he would help fund the church, but has now gone back on it.

After some thinking we decide that we will request funding from Borgia to send a crusade from Southgate, further south into [[Raniterre]], freeing up the Southgate land.

With that decided, we cloud to [[Hamburg]], coming down with the sun. We aim to catch a ferry into the city, rather than just landing on his roof. Since they speak Tuscanan, Dart will comprehend their language but we will still speak common, and he will listen in to their private conversations.

Upon our arrival, they speak very broken common "foreigner surrender, witch" with arms raised against us.

Dart listens in; they are waiting for someone more important on their side to make a decision.

After some time, a Gabrielite Captain comes with horses and a troop. They stare at us for a bit and the troops come forward with the leader declaring us unpermitted magic users "occultists are not allowed." We promptly leave the area, by carpet wings and flying before causing any more trouble. We scatter to make it more difficult to find us.

We deem after this encounter that Borgia will not be viable, but we still could look into sending a crusade south into [[Raniterre]].

Running into the same problem as almost every other solution, we need funding, which we can not get from anywhere.

Eventually, we decide to talk with Lady Grace again and sort out a new deal.

After coming back to the camp by the border, Gnash and Mavric make a PSA board for any future adventurers who don't know the rules about magic and affiliation in [[Hamburg]] to let them know.

[[File:PSA.png|thumb]]

'''Frysday 18th of Fruit'''

In the morning, we cloud back to Southgate and speak with the Abbess who advises if we go back with bad news, we'll be on the back foot with Lady Grace, because she is quite annoyed with failure, even that on impossible tasks. We stay the night at the abbey, some of us getting more sleep than others.

'''Reapsday 19th of Fruit'''
We fly in to check on D'audley Demesne to find that 3 church knights have retaken the Demesne, the big boss is a Gabrielite Knight. We manage to get out with Albert and Ernest and begin to head up to Clun to check in with the Herders.

We plan to then go onto Alcazar to check in with the Count of Thropshire and let him know about the situation.

== Buffs & Mil Sci ==
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
table.AstroNum td { text-align: center; padding: 1px 0.5em; }
</css>
=== Long Term (assumed always on) ===
{| class="buffs" | 
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Duration
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Vapour Breathing (Th)
|class="rk" | 16
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8.5 hrs
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

; Quentin's Allies
: +4% SC, +2 Damage, +2 Damage Reduction, +6% Defence Bonus, +11% Bonus to reaction and fear rolls

=== Short Term ===
{| class="buffs" |
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Flying (Th)
|class="rk" | 11
|class="ef" | 41 mph
|class="du" | 6 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Fall (Th)
|class="rk" | 9
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Za)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" | +32% Def / +16% in Close
|class="du" | 8 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | See 150' in dark / see invis
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Blending (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Invis when not moving
|class="du" | 7 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Not noticed, generally
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Flying 36mph
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Inspirational Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Dice Mod 2, 3 Targets
|class="du" | 90 seconds
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spectral Weapon (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +11% SC and +4 DMG
|class="du" | 15 Mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Wraithcloak (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +17%Def, +11% Stealth and -3Dmg from non magical/silvered weapons
|class="du" | ?
| 
|  Y
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Self Only Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Mind Cloak
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | +_% vs mental Attack
|class="du" | _ hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|  10
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Comprehending Tongues (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Language rank +3
|class="du" | 70 mins
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Support / Non-Combat Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Slumber Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | Extra 2 EN & 3 FT per hour asleep, 3 Targets
|class="du" | Special
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

=== Misc ===

;Tharlin
: Herbalist: Rank 4 for Meal - 3, and Broth - 3

; Quentin
: Military Scientist: Rank: 5 Raise Morale: 2wp Unengaged Initiative: 25 + D10
: Healer: Rank: 6
: Stealth: Rank: 5 (95%)

=== Watch Order ===
<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { min-width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|-
! Hour: !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
||
| colspan="4" | Mavric
| colspan="4" | Dart
| colspan="4" | Zardoz
|-
||
| colspan="3" | Tharlin
| colspan="3" | Gnash
| colspan="3" | Quentin
| colspan="3" | Peter
|}

=== Marching Order ===
{| width="90%"
!colspan="2" align="center"| Skirmish Formations (Front)
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
|align="center"| ''Single File''
|-
| X x X
| A B C D E F 
|}

== Loot ==
??

== Calendar ==
{| width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Autumn"
|-
! colspan="15" | Autumn 826 WK: [[Fruit]] (4)
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan="2" | Moonday
! colspan="2" | Duesday
! colspan="2" | W'ansday
! colspan="2" | Th'rsday
! colspan="2" | Frysday
! colspan="2" | Reapsday
! colspan="2" | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| colspan="2" | [[Lugnasad]]
| class="day" | 1 || ''Guild Meeting''
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 || ''The Hanging of Jordie''
| class="day" | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Harvest]] (5)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 || Equinox
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 19 || Harvest Moon ..
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Vintage]] (6)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 17 || Blood Moon
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 || Beerfest
|}

One Man's Justice

2026-05-31T03:22:13Z

Lisa: /* Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back */

[[Category:Scribe Notes]][[Category:Stephen]]
[[Scribe_Notes#Autumn 826 WK|Scribe Notes]]
<div class="TOC">__TOC__</div>
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''' One Man's Justice 
'''GM''' [[User:Stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''' Autumn 826 WK 
'''Night''' Monday 
'''Location''' New Windsor 
'''Area''' [[Thropshire]], Southern [[Ranke]] 
'''Level''' [[Experience#Quest_Level|Medium-ish]] 

; Party
# [[Tharlin]] - Conal '''Scribe'''
# [[Mavric]] - Lisa '''Main MS'''
# [[Gnash]] - Chris '''Backup MS'''
# [[Peter Smith]] - Mandos
# [[Quentin Ulysses Ash|Quentin]] - Sean
# [[Zardoz]] - Martin
# [[D'Artagnan|Dart]] - Alex '''PL and engaged MS'''

; Time on adventure
: 1st Fruit 826 WK to ?

; Employer
: Jordon Herder
: Charitably supplemented by SAG

; Mission
: Save my son Jordie

; Payment
: 5 gs (60 sp)
: 200sp per week each for up to 5 weeks

; Letter to the guild, received Duesday 1 Fruit 826
: ''To the adventuring heroes of the Seagate Guild of Adventures''
: ''I seek your services in a matter of injustice. Without your aid, my innocent son will be hung on the last Reapsday before Harvest by our lord.''
: ''I enclose 5 shillings to engage your services. Please come with all haste to save his life.''
: ''Yours sincerely,'' John Herder.
: Merino Station, Thropshire, Ranke.
: ''Scribed and witnessed by Alan Talespinner, registered Troubadour.''

D'Artagnan: "That doesn't seem right!"
Zardoz: "Yes, totally wrong... it's ''hanged'' not ''hung''."
D'Artagnan: "Zardoz!?"

== Scribe Notes ==

=== Session 1 - The Path Not Taken (Correctly) ===
'''Duesday 1st of Fruit'''

We arrive at what Zardoz deems a B-grade meeting room around midday for the general briefing on our employment, as outlined in the letter above.

Gnash: So, who is your wife?
Quentin: Lady Chakra, she is away fighting in the drow lands.
Zardoz: On which side?

The Astrology readings indicate that there is no demonic influence or major powers involved, but it may not necessarily be a simple issue.

After some questioning and research, we learn some history about Ranke and that the person responsible for Jordie's hanging is Sir Fulch Fitzwarren, a knight of Thropshire and of minor nobility. He married well above his standing to a lady of very good family in Bowcourt.

Our Troubadours recall that in this area, other troubadours are pushed to guilds and organizations, and those not in said groups are denied work and forced out of service. They deduce that the scribe who wrote to us (Alan Talespinner) is part of a local guild. Mavric also recalls watching a play of his and informs us he is very charismatic.

To add to that, Peter recalls from his tailoring work that Merino Station may be referring to Merino wool, which is more commonly considered Elven wool.

Dart feels his pocket and finds a note with the following: ''"My services are available if you need a scapegoat - ask around about a goat guy on temple street." -Adventuring Patron''.
According to Zardoz, the note is in Dart's handwriting but we figure if it is important and this goat guy is persistent he will contact again so for now, disregard it.
A suspicion is voiced that the "Adventuring Patron" may well be a certain ''Prince'' who is ofttimes ''Willing''.
Before we leave, we stock up on potions and Lyric very kindly offered us her Greater Enchantment services at material cost only.

After much deliberating, we travel by cloud to avoid bandits on land, pirates at sea and move much quicker, as time is of the essence. In theory, it should only take us 4 hours to get there. Because that would be far too easy, our navigator Zardoz, mistakenly takes us too far, but we land and are advised to go East. Another hour or so goes by on cloud and we touch down outside a larger city which has unnatural winds pushing its fumes outwards.

This city turns out to be Alcazar, and a local "Lord" U (Ubiqunoname) approaches on horseback, and advises us to head South-West to get there. He wasn't very fond of Gnash, something about dumb orcs.

Z: He did however appreciate obsequious forelock-tugging. ''Prat''.

We finally land in late afternoon and Quentin randomly picked a hamlet out of six for us to land in. This turns out to be Abcott. We find a pub and speak to the Reeve and barkeep, Leon, who tells us to pitch a tent, and order drinks. A couple pints down and we already have our band of Gnash, Peter, Mavric and Dart on their assorted instruments entertaining the crowd.

'''W'ansday 2nd of Fruit'''

In the morning before we leave for Clun, Peter wanders around helping out where he can, to boost the image of church knights in the area. We get more precise directions and walk for half a day through the wholesome hamlet into the small town of Clun.

=== Session 2 - The Scandal at Fitzwarren Manor ===
As we approach the village from the Southern Bridge, Zardoz changes his form into Grimshore, our human servant, to blend in.

We stop in for first lunch at the Harp of Clun - Clun inn - there seems to be a rise of inns labelled Harp of... in Ranke.

We learn that to reach Merino Station, we must head west up the road for 2 miles. Then at the fork, turn left up to the valley.

Coming into the farm, we are met with some odd/rare sheep, and Jordon.

Jordon recites the story for us, and we find that his son (a peasant) was allegedly found in the Lord's stables with Miss Mabel, the lord's daughter. The whole town saw as the barn doors flew open during a show hosted by Talespinner at Lord Fitzwarren's Manor.

Peter lends me his holy sword so that I can look like a Michaeline while Zardoz changes his clothes to be more Raphaelite, and Mavric is our scribe. We aim to use this guise to question Miss Mabel personally.

We enter through the front doors and speak to Lord Fitzwarren, who claims our services are not needed. We leave, but Dart seems to remember something about the Lord that he can't recall. Mavric promptly hypnotizes Dart to extract the information, which gives Dart the memory of some story about an archer who helped take down an enemy baron/count, while Gnash senses 1 lesser undead to our North.

Gnash, Quentin and I go back to the manor to divinate the stable doors. Gnash laid a minion to divinate the doors from the inside of the stable, who discovered that there was a stored telekinesis, casted by a Mind Mage. Lady Maude le Vavasour - Lady of the Manor, comes and asks us to leave just as Quentin discovers Telekinesis was the last magic to impact the stable doors. He also discovered the Lady to be actively resisting his magic and a short-lived sentient from Bowcourt. She is likely a Mind Mage.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party goes to question Jordie. A warden at the barracks doesn't let them in, so Zardoz sneaks around to DA and speaks with Jordie, who unconvincingly tells Zardoz it was all his fault, while his aura reveals he was last affected by a love philtre.

Mavric (quoting) "Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest?"
Peter: Hey?!

We finish the day off in the Harp of Clun, overpaying for dinner, when two men come in requesting my aid (thinking I was a Urielite) in deciding who the owner of the chicken is. I redirected to Peter.

The story is: a man whose rooster gave another man's hen a golden egg, and they wish for us to decide who gets ownership of it. Currently, Lord Fitzwarren is holding it until they decide who is given ownership. As they don't like our form of justice, Peter tells them to come back when they do.

In the morning, we will eat and track down the Troubadour Alan Talespinner to question on the event of the night.

=== Session 3 - The Talespinner Affair ===

'''Th'rsday 3rd of Fruit'''

We head east, flying in the morning, with Mavric taking Peter on her carpet.

Mavric, Dart and Peter touch down in a smaller village than Clun to get an update and make sure we are going the right way. He left early this morning, so we aren't far behind.

Finding him below, Dart glides down in front of him to ask about his saga in Clun. He gathers no extra information after 30 minutes of walking, while we circle overhead.

Eventually, we crash/land, as Dart has probably told him everything anyway.

Coming to a more rural town than Clun with no inn... we sit for a picnic with Alan, and Mavric very eloquently questions him, gleaming that his guild had been sent a request to perform at the manor on that day, and to do the full saga. Normally, he will only perform the shorter 1-hour version at the Harp of Clun.

Dart: No love potions! We've all heard the cautionary tales about love potions... I'm the result of a cautionary tale!
<Mavric and Zardoz make eye contact and very carefully practice their ''Simulate Emotions''>.
Alan let us know he enjoys visiting a "friend" who lives just outside the village, and we suspect he may have a sheep in every barn..

After staring at him, Quentin learns that the last magic to affect him was magical healing, his greatest magic in effect is a lesser enchantment and he has no college. Potentially done by a caster to hide their influence on him.

We stop bothering him and fly to Alcazar to investigate some more. 

Z: I did offer to render him unconscious for a divination but the party is a goody-eight-shoes.

Zardoz seeks the Royal College of Heralds and sends a message to the Chapter House for Father Peter, the Ureilite, to let us know he will be staying with the Heralds. 

Z: It was terrible. There were a mere six courses at dinner, the tawny port was only 10 years old, and the feather bed was too soft.

The Herald's information was a bit interesting. It appears that about 150 years back the Fitzwarren lands were briefly escheated but later the act was undone, not just reversed but more made to have never happened. <Weird> Nothing useful here on Herder's land as there was no grant of arms, nor anything on the Vavasour family; those records would be up in Bowcourt.

Meanwhile, Peter, Gnash, and I check in at said Western Church Chapter House. We look into contacting the Ureilite bishop, and the party is accommodated in lodgings there. Our appointment is this evening. 
Dart and Quentin visit the Troubadour's guild, finding the messenger's office, who mistakes Dart for a lord due to his haughty demeanour. He manages to arrange a morning tea with the guild masters tomorrow at 10. 
Mavric went to watch a play. 

We still have some questions that need to be answered, and hope that Alcazar will be able to help: 
*Why the delay in the judgment?
*Who planned the whole situation/Who stands to gain?
*Where could a love philtre be bought in Alcazar? - Closest place to Clun to get one
*Who would the Herder's land go to if Jordie were killed?
** How did he get it in the first place?

=== Session 4 - The Proposition ===

Peter brings Gnash to his meeting with the "aged by the world" bishop, who denies Peter's request to investigate.

Mavric learned that any visiting troubadours must pay big money to the guild, and the guild is creatively stifled - less risqué and more sanctioned.

'''Frysday 4th of Fruit'''

We all (-Zardoz) head to tea in the morning at the Troubadours guild, with Quentin staying at the entryway to guard our weapons, then meet an elegant, old lady, Tamsin Whisperwind, who is the master that owns the guild. Despite Dart's poor manners, she was convinced by Mavric to disclose that one of her associates from the Weaver's guild had made the request for Talespinner to perform. 

With that information, we think potentially the Weaver's guild may not be too keen on the special sheep the Herders are nurturing. 

We have religious discussions over lunch while Zardoz seeks more information with the <s>Heralds</s> ''Hobbits''.
 
Z: ''Dwarves'' <sigh> The information on Thropshire came from reliable local sources who are also tea and cake suppliers.

He finds that Count of Thropshire (Gilbert de claire) has certain wants - Men, Women, gambling, drinking, gluttony and some gladiatorial fights that are run to please both him and Countess [[Sanctuary_Nobles#Chenaya|Chenaya]]. 

Dart and Zardoz talk up the new fighter from Erewhon behind the "talent scout", and Gnash displays his talents in a decisive victory. 

We are escorted to the Count's estate, and... a werebear, an orc, and a playwright walk into a manor. A proposition is made, and Mavric discloses that we need a writ allowing us to investigate in Clun. 

After some negotiation, the Count agrees that if Gnash can win an elite-level fight, we will get what we want. 

=== Session 5 - Writs, Wool and Weesearch ===

'''Reapsday 5th of Fruit''' 

Gnash was... in the fight, and while they traded blows, he came out unconscious.

Quentin and I tend to him, while Zardoz works on a letter to send the count and let him know how to come find us. Dart then drops it off at his door while he's still out schmoozing.

We discuss a potential last resort for breaking out Jordie.

Zardoz finds that outsourced materials are frowned upon and are being bought elsewhere. So we need to think about where it's being bought.

Dart, Mavric and I go to make a new proposition.
"Two dwarves and a halfling seek a count, while an orc is out for one."

The count offers that Mavric could have an adventure with him for the writ, or that we could free his cousin's land, which is south, from church knights, and he could give us a writ and extra payment (4500sp - 3sp per acre) as well as a further bounty for reclaimed lands that we might liberate afterwards.

Gnash goes to get a drink with the man who beat him senseless, and Quentin supervises.

Zardoz's research gleans that 150 years ago, when Fitzwarren was reinstated, Jordon Herder was granted permission by the elves to have the land and breed merino for service to the crown. And, if his bloodline ends, the land would go to Fitzwarren, but not the sheep.

Zardoz drafts an official guild contract for the work we would be doing, which we would need to honour, with Peter and Mavric making two copies, so that we have one, he has one and the guild has one. 

'''Sunday 6th of Fruit'''

Zardoz confirms with the heralds (or Hobbits, at this point, who knows where he wanders off to) that the count's cousin did have a walled section on the coast to the south, with a harbour and a dock, and after it was liberated from the dark circle, Lady Grace was appointed as a church/Mordeaux version of a count. When the dark circle came in, the nobles left, and the church knights eliminated the undead, they were told they could govern their lands under the rule of the church and Lady Grace. The issue the church knights and Lady Grace have is that they are not great landlords aside from keeping roads safe.

We all agree, sign the contract and are handed the writ as below:
"To Sir Fitzwarren, the boy found en flagrante with your daughter is pardoned" -Count Gilbear Declaire

Zardoz: Dart, I have a brilliant idea, you just have to trust me.
Dart: Oh no. No good ever comes from that.
Zardoz: No really. And it's something Peter will approve of.

Our main questions when we go back to Clun are:
Where is Herder selling his wool?
Is he underselling it?
Can we question Mabel on her perspective?

=== Session 6 - Tracing the Source ===

I hold my rod, and we successfully cloud away to Merino Station, arriving in the early afternoon.

Cosimo Medici from Sanctuary purchases the station's wool. This partnership dates back to Herder's grandfather, offering a premium 4sp, while the neighbours only get 2sp.

Herder's wife died two years ago, and Gnash attempts to speak to her spirit.

At the manor, we reveal that we are from the [[Seagate Guild]] of Adventurers. Lord Fitzwarren is much more open to conversing with us now than he was when we posed as church knights. We are then asked to investigate on his behalf and carry out the sentence for whoever orchestrated the events.

He takes us down to free Jordie, who is still affected, while Lady Vavasour takes Quentin to divine Lady Mabel. He finds that:
*She possesses inherited traits, including resistance to ingested substances and a form of farsight that allows her to see invisibility.
*She has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*She was affected by the love philtre at around the same time as Jordie, but it wore off after around 2 hours.
*The rank 20 blessing was triggered, not cast, so it could have been invested.

Zardoz talks with Jordie on the way back up to Merino Station and discovers that a range of guild members were serving food and drink at the event.

Quentin divines Jordie at night to find:
*He was affected by a rank 10 love philtre, with 8 weeks to go
*Also has a rank 20 blessing on unborn child (EN)
*Was recently skin changed into a Rat by Mavric and Petit Mort-ed by Gnashdar, lasting one week
*The blessing was also triggered.

''' Moonday 7th of Fruit '''

Mavric and Quentin go to talk to the midwife who delivered both Jordie and Mabel. She recommends them to the Herbalist, who performs blessings on crops, unborn children, etc.

We head to the Herbalist (Roosker) in the forest. They are a long-lived, sentient being, and apparently have not made a love philtre in a while. They can only do an effective rank 10 blessing on unborn child.

Finally, we head further into the forest to find and deal with the undead presence from earlier, which turned out to be a revenant.

Key Considerations:
*Where did the blessings come from? (someone who would have more knowledge of the family's history)
*Does this support the theory that Jordie might be illegitimate? (more motive)
*Whoever orchestrated it likely thought the land and sheep would go back to Fitzwarren, so they may have wanted to get in his good books.

=== Session 7 - Bearly Were-y ===

The group travels, barely were-ily with the Necromancer and Namer leading, and the strongest at the rear.

After hearing a strange wailing, a few of us become more wary, and Zardoz vanishes.

Gnash communicates with the source of the sound, an undead dryad named Tithoria, who has been dead for 150 years, her tree poisoned through a hole in its trunk.

Dart, Mavric, and Quentin investigate and determine that a wizard of some kind named [[Ranke|Ekkehart]] poisoned her heart, effectively killing the forest.

This Ekkehart may be Duke Ekkehart von [[Ranke]] or a close relative.

Peter then performs a miracle, revealing that his god has blessed an acorn, and that restoring the forest will require finding Ekkehart’s descendants and mixing their blood with it.

After around 6 hours, we head back into town to find Ekkehart's descendants, whom Peter can somehow sense.

We learn through conversation with Jordie's friends that an agent from the Weaver's Guild - Joe Dyer - was at the party with his son and apprentice.

'''Duesday 8th of Fruit''' 
Back at the farm, Gnash attempts to speak with the late Jordon Herder..

We head to the manor in the morning to speak with Mabel. She tells us they were served passion tea from [[Konigburg]], which is all the rage, from Dyer's son Jonas, and apprentice Barney. Jordie and Mabel had tea from the same pot and had to drink 4 pots before there was an effect.

The Fitzwarrens sent word to the Weaver's guild to send some liaisons to purchase wool, hoping Joe Dyer would come. I left my Whispering Wind Horn for them to contact us when Joe comes, so that we can investigate then.

In the meantime, we drop Jordie off at Seagate to be un-love-philtred, have lunch, then go south to sort out some church knights.

We remember that the Count of Thropshire's cousin's name is Baronet D'Audley Liulf of the Audley Demesne, which is south of the hills that are south of Fort Flowing.

Landing on the beach not far from a cove with a jetty, we decide to enter in the morning.

'''W'ansday 9th of Fruit''' 
We pass some poorly managed farming activity on the way to the manor.

Once there, we meet Sir Gerard Tom (Raphaelite), who is eager to relinquish control of the estate to Peter, and he has been requesting relief for weeks. Although he initially prepares to leave, poor weather delays his departure.

While Zardoz assists with packing, Peter is briefed on managing the estate, and the rest of the group -Quentin patrols the area.

=== Session 8 - Stewards of the Demesne ===

'''Th'rsday 10th of Fruit''' 

The rain lessens as the morning comes, and Sir Gerard finally leaves.

We find various jobs, with Zardoz and I flying up to Alcatraz to acquire the Count's cousin and bring him back to his manor.

The Count advises us that a representative of Mordeaux needs to recognise that the land is no longer theirs, but nonetheless tells us where to go to find his cousin, Lord D'Audley (a local inn), and to find a steward for his land, as he almost never visits.

Lord D'Audley requests that we find some suitable fighters/farmers who can serve as land managers for him in his stead - a noble job working for a baronet, cousin of the Count. We recruit brothers from the gladiators talent-scouting arena who are looking for an out.

We present them to the Lord, who appoints them Seneschal Albert and Assistant Seneschal Ernest.

We also purchase around 20 spearheads to bring down to the Demesne for defences.

'''Frysday 11th of Fruit''' 
Upon returning in the morning, the party informs us they encountered some owlbears overnight that were hunting a boar. Quentin tells us that they were Shapechanger Owlbears.

We introduce Albert to the staff.

'''Reapsday 12th of Fruit''' 
Then we spend the whole day getting the brothers accustomed to their workload and Peter teaches the locals to make spears using the spearheads.

'''Sunday 13th of Fruit''' 
In the morning, we cloud to South Gate.

Some guards greet us near our landing point, and Peter leads with the truth that we are adventurers from the Seagate guild.

We come in and ingrain ourselves with people around to get a feel of the land. It is a pretty strained and worn-out time, and they are not looking good with winter coming in. The church knights want to be doing something, getting fed up with inaction. Not much money is coming into the Abbey, as the church intercepts most of it.

Some of these knights will be from [[Tuscana]] and some from Mordeaux. Lady Grace is a Ureilite, and so is the Abbess, which tells us the Ureilites mainly run this post.

We are waiting to be seen by the Abbess so that Gnash can pump her for information on how we can get them to give up their claim to the demesne, but we cannot see her tonight.

=== Session 9 - The Cost of the Church ===

'''Moonday 14th of Fruit'''

In the early morning, Gnash is awoken to get some... and get some information.

The church is taxing the hell out of the lands for food, so there is no point in the farmers coming back, which means there is less food overall. Junior church knights were sent out as delegates to manage the land, but, similarly to Sir Gerard, they tend to be pretty useless.

The Abbess informs us that if we can find something of value to Lady Grace, then Southern Ranke could be negotiated to exclude the demesne. She also tells us of Lady Grace's character, that she is efficient and ruthless.

We think of some things we could trade, including holy relics, a piece of land in Borderlay, or a service to the Lady, like recovering a relic.

The Abbess connects us with Lady Grace in a chamber within the Abbey. She wants us to help her receive aid from [[Tuscana]], so that they can stay in the area for longer.

Most factions in Tuscana don't want the church in their home, affecting their politics, and are quite willing to send support to stay away.

The most prominent name not supporting the church is Cesare Borgia.

We try to think of ways we could force support from Tuscana or make the land more sustainable for the church presence, while also having a large debate on which way our moral compi are pointing.

Zardoz ended up "finding" a letter from a Knight Captain to Borgia, with incriminating conversation. We just need a courier (a formerly dead bandit with church armour) to deliver the message to Tuscana.

Before finding a candidate, we make sure to have a bag of various other letters and the right apparel. Couriers around Southgate tend to be light and fast, or armed with troops. We aim for light and fast.

While we were discussing our options, Dart was writing songs about martial excitement to sing when we arrive in Tuscana.

'''Duesday 15th of Fruit'''

We set out to find bandits, tracking from above and fail.

In an attempt to bring them to us, we make an obvious camp, and enjoy a bit of drunken singing.

'''W'ansday 16th of Fruit'''

In the morning, I spot signs of a bandit camp; they were lax in putting out the fire. We find where they may be and land a bit further up the valley.

We figure Dart is the least threatening, so send him first, while others stealthily follow.

A small boy who was tending to 20 goats rounds the corner and notices Dart, running off to a cave, screaming that Dart is a demon - perhaps his demon spider armour.

Dart has a lengthy debate with the people, confusing them and all of us. Then Peter stumbles into frame, and they are understandably scared.

Eventually, they come to their senses, realising they could not win that fight, and they respectfully ask,
"Leave our home and be on your way."
To which Dart responds,
"It's not much of a home."

After Gnash joins Peter, a small retreat stirs within the cave.

=== Session 10 - No Steps Forward, Two Steps Back ===

We eventually decide to move on from the bandits, head down from the pass onto the roads, and camp out near the border.

'''Th'rsday 17th of Fruit'''

We make our way to the border, and there's a Tuscanan border guard. Usually, people will pay taxes then check in at the inn.

Peter asks whether there are any nearby streams that could accommodate 100 men and horses.

The church knights and I start setting up camp, chopping trees, and laying out the foundations for a military force which may or may not be coming.

The guards tell the three shorties that Borgia is a Knight General and a merchant Prince; he is currently in [[Hamburg]], 20 miles away. He is the local equivalent of an Archbishop. He promised during the time of the dark circle that he would help fund the church, but has now gone back on it.

After some thinking we decide that we will request funding from Borgia to send a crusade from Southgate, further south into [[Raniterre]], freeing up the Southgate land.

With that decided, we cloud to [[Hamburg]], coming down with the sun. We aim to catch a ferry into the city, rather than just landing on his roof. Since they speak Tuscanan, Dart will comprehend their language but we will still speak common, and he will listen in to their private conversations.

Upon our arrival, they speak very broken common "foreigner surrender, witch" with arms raised against us.

Dart listens in; they are waiting for someone more important on their side to make a decision.

After some time, a Gabrielite Captain comes with horses and a troop. They stare at us for a bit and the troops come forward with the leader declaring us unpermitted magic users "occultists are not allowed." We promptly leave the area, by carpet wings and flying before causing any more trouble. We scatter to make it more difficult to find us.

We deem after this encounter that Borgia will not be viable, but we still could look into sending a crusade south into [[Raniterre]].

Running into the same problem as almost every other solution, we need funding, which we can not get from anywhere.

Eventually, we decide to talk with Lady Grace again and sort out a new deal.

After coming back to the camp by the border, Gnash and Mavric make a PSA board for any future adventurers who don't know the rules about magic and affiliation in [[Hamburg]] to let them know.
[[File:PSA.png|thumb]]

'''Frysday 18th of Fruit'''

In the morning, we cloud back to Southgate and speak with the Abbess who advises if we go back with bad news, we'll be on the back foot with Lady Grace, because she is quite annoyed with failure, even that on impossible tasks. We stay the night at the abbey, some of us getting more sleep than others.

'''Reapsday 19th of Fruit'''
We fly in to check on D'audley Demesne to find that 3 church knights have retaken the Demesne, the big boss is a Gabrielite Knight. We manage to get out with Albert and Ernest and begin to head up to Clun to check in with the Herders.

We plan to then go onto Alcazar to check in with the Count of Thropshire and let him know about the situation.

== Buffs & Mil Sci ==
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
table.AstroNum td { text-align: center; padding: 1px 0.5em; }
</css>
=== Long Term (assumed always on) ===
{| class="buffs" | 
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Duration
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Vapour Breathing (Th)
|class="rk" | 16
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8.5 hrs
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|  Y
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

; Quentin's Allies
: +4% SC, +2 Damage, +2 Damage Reduction, +6% Defence Bonus, +11% Bonus to reaction and fear rolls

=== Short Term ===
{| class="buffs" |
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Flying (Th)
|class="rk" | 11
|class="ef" | 41 mph
|class="du" | 6 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Fall (Th)
|class="rk" | 9
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Za)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" | +32% Def / +16% in Close
|class="du" | 8 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | See 150' in dark / see invis
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Blending (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Invis when not moving
|class="du" | 7 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Not noticed, generally
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Za)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Flying 36mph
|class="du" | 3.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Inspirational Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Dice Mod 2, 3 Targets
|class="du" | 90 seconds
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spectral Weapon (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +11% SC and +4 DMG
|class="du" | 15 Mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Wraithcloak (Gn)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | +17%Def, +11% Stealth and -3Dmg from non magical/silvered weapons
|class="du" | ?
| 
|  Y
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Spell (?)
|class="rk" | ?
|class="ef" | ?
|class="du" | ?
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Self Only Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Mind Cloak
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | +_% vs mental Attack
|class="du" | _ hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|  10
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Comprehending Tongues (Da)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Language rank +3
|class="du" | 70 mins
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

{| class="buffs" |
|+ '''Support / Non-Combat Buffs'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Dart" | Da
!Title="Gnash" | Gn
!Title="Mavric" | Ma
!Title="Peter" | Pe
!Title="Quentin" | Qu
!Title="Tharlin" | Th
!Title="Zardoz" | Za
|-
|class="mg" | Slumber Song (Da)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | Extra 2 EN & 3 FT per hour asleep, 3 Targets
|class="du" | Special
|  X
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|}

=== Misc ===

;Tharlin
: Herbalist: Rank 4 for Meal - 3, and Broth - 3

; Quentin
: Military Scientist: Rank: 5 Raise Morale: 2wp Unengaged Initiative: 25 + D10
: Healer: Rank: 6
: Stealth: Rank: 5 (95%)

=== Watch Order ===
<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { min-width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|-
! Hour: !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
||
| colspan="4" | Mavric
| colspan="4" | Dart
| colspan="4" | Zardoz
|-
||
| colspan="3" | Tharlin
| colspan="3" | Gnash
| colspan="3" | Quentin
| colspan="3" | Peter
|}

=== Marching Order ===
{| width="90%"
!colspan="2" align="center"| Skirmish Formations (Front)
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
|align="center"| ''Single File''
|-
| X x X
| A B C D E F 
|}

== Loot ==
??

== Calendar ==
{| width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Autumn"
|-
! colspan="15" | Autumn 826 WK: [[Fruit]] (4)
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan="2" | Moonday
! colspan="2" | Duesday
! colspan="2" | W'ansday
! colspan="2" | Th'rsday
! colspan="2" | Frysday
! colspan="2" | Reapsday
! colspan="2" | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| colspan="2" | [[Lugnasad]]
| class="day" | 1 || ''Guild Meeting''
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 || ''The Hanging of Jordie''
| class="day" | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Harvest]] (5)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 || Equinox
| class="day" | 16 ||
| class="day" | 17 ||
| class="day" | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 19 || Harvest Moon ..
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 ||
| class="day" | 1 ||
| class="day" | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | Autumn 826 WK: [[Vintage]] (6)
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class="day" | 3 ||
| class="day" | 4 ||
| class="day" | 5 ||
| class="day" | 6 ||
| class="day" | 7 ||
| class="day" | 8 ||
| class="day" | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class="day" | 10 ||
| class="day" | 11 ||
| class="day" | 12 ||
| class="day" | 13 ||
| class="day" | 14 ||
| class="day" | 15 ||
| class="day" | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class="day" | 17 || Blood Moon
| class="day" | 18 ||
| class="day" | 19 ||
| class="day" | 20 ||
| class="day" | 21 ||
| class="day" | 22 ||
| class="day" | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class="day" | 24 ||
| class="day" | 25 ||
| class="day" | 26 ||
| class="day" | 27 ||
| class="day" | 28 ||
| class="day" | 29 ||
| class="day" | 30 || Beerfest
|}

File:PSA.png

2026-05-31T03:20:47Z

Lisa:

Poster placed at all entrances to Toscana on the non-Toscana side of the border. Advises magic users to beware.

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:38:05Z

Lisa: /* Return to the Guild */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

====Jungle Travel====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation ship should not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

The remaining crew form the Nautiloid are sighted in the distance and a war party is sent to meet them. We plan our exit strategy - the bulk of the party head through the portal, Seren uses black lightning to destroy the Kilkeg end and then banishes back to Aleusia where we destroy the other end.

===Return to the Guild===
Aeolontrik, Lord of the Moonlit Isles, makes contact to arrange payment and training. We provide maps for him with some detail of the area.

Carat also wishes to give us a boon to repay his debt. Each of us is given a small gold scale. Keep it upon us for 3 full moons and the effect will transfer on to us and will protect us from a vampire's thrall.

Yarag accompanies us to Tac to collect his remaining people.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:37:03Z

Lisa: /* Reprise of the Moonlit Isles */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

====Jungle Travel====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation ship should not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

The remaining crew form the Nautiloid are sighted in the distance and a war party is sent to meet them. We plan our exit strategy - the bulk of the party head through the portal, Seren uses black lightning to destroy the Kilkeg end and then banishes back to Aleusia where we destroy the other end.

===Return to the Guild===
Ayolontrik, Lord of the Moonlit Isles, makes contact to arrange payment and training. We provide maps for him with some detail of the area.

Carat also wishes to give us a boon to repay his debt. Each of us is given a small gold scale. Keep it upon us for 3 full moons and the effect will transfer on to us and will protect us from a vampire's thrall.

Yarag accompanies us to Tac to collect his remaining people.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:33:42Z

Lisa: /* Jungle Travel */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

====Jungle Travel====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation shipshould not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

The remaining crew form the Nautiloid are sighted in the distance and a war party is sent to meet them. We plan our exit strategy - the bulk of the party head through the portal, Seren uses black lightning to destroy the Kilkeg end and then banishes back to Aleusia where we destroy the other end.

===Return to the Guild===
Ayolontrik, Lord of the Moonlit Isles, makes contact to arrange payment and training. We provide maps for him with some detail of the area.

Carat also wishes to give us a boon to repay his debt. Each of us is given a small gold scale. Keep it upon us for 3 full moons and the effect will transfer on to us and will protect us from a vampire's thrall.

Yarag accompanies us to Tac to collect his remaining people.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:32:44Z

Lisa: /* Jungle Travel */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation shipshould not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

The remaining crew form the Nautiloid are sighted in the distance and a war party is sent to meet them. We plan our exit strategy - the bulk of the party head through the portal, Seren uses black lightning to destroy the Kilkeg end and then banishes back to Aleusia where we destroy the other end.

===Return to the Guild===
Ayolontrik, Lord of the Moonlit Isles, makes contact to arrange payment and training. We provide maps for him with some detail of the area.

Carat also wishes to give us a boon to repay his debt. Each of us is given a small gold scale. Keep it upon us for 3 full moons and the effect will transfer on to us and will protect us from a vampire's thrall.

Yarag accompanies us to Tac to collect his remaining people.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:30:18Z

Lisa: /* Portal between worlds */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation shipshould not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

The remaining crew form the Nautiloid are sighted in the distance and a war party is sent to meet them. We plan our exit strategy - the bulk of the party head through the portal, Seren uses black lightning to destroy the Kilkeg end and then banishes back to Aleusia where we destroy the other end.

===Return to the Guild===
Ayolontrik, Lord of the Moonlit Isles, makes contact to arrange payment and training. We provide maps for him with some detail of the area.

Carat also wishes to give us a boon to repay his debt. Each of us is given a small gold scale. Keep it upon us for 3 full moons and the effect will transfer on to us and will protect us from a vampire's thrall.

Yarag accompanies us to Tac to collect his remaining people.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:19:55Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation shipshould not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 || The Crash of the Nautoloid
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 || Opening of the portal
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-12-05T10:17:29Z

Lisa: /* Reprise of the Moonlit Isles */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, the Confederation shipshould not be allowed to leave. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present. We stay away.

====Confederation ship crashes on Kilkeg====
It appears that a nautiloid confederation ship has had an unfortunate accident, plummeting from the sky. Noone seems to know how this has occurred.

====Portal between worlds====
Kesha successfully opens a portal between Aleusia and Kilkeg. Ogres, orcs and goblins go through first, followed by vampires, then a dragon.

===Formal notice of concerns around long-term domination and subjugation of Aleusia by Orcs, Dragon or Vampire Lords===
I, Serendipity, Lady Godrock, do hereby express my concerns around the likelihood of the ogres, orcs, goblins, vampire and possibly the dragon we have resettled from Kilkeg taking over large tracts of territory on Aleusia. Although I have participated in this endeavour as part of my Guild contract and employment, I believe it is important that the areas and groups settled should be closely observed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T09:30:23Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, we will need to take out the Confederation ship. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 || The Moonlit Isle Part II
| class=day | 6 || The Plain Part II
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T09:23:51Z

Lisa: /* Reprise of the Moonlit Isles */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, we will need to take out the Confederation ship. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

We portal back to the ogres to see if we can see where the Confederation vessel is. They are meeting with someone. Yarag sends the message that we should stay away at present.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T09:04:47Z

Lisa: /* Reprise of the Moonlit Isles */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, we will need to take out the Confederation ship. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen. One of the things we must do is be in thrall to the vampire Lord. We decide he is a heterosexual vampire - he wrists the boys and necks the girls. He is lovely and we all feel welcome and wanted.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T08:29:42Z

Lisa: /* The Plain in the Mountains */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

====Reprise of the Moonlit Isles====
We are made comfortable in the settlement and rest up. Our host tells us that he has foreseen that in order for us to get him and the ogres off this plane, we will need to take out the Confederation ship. We spend some time considering plans for how this might happen.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T07:25:33Z

Lisa: /* The Plain in the Mountains */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution. They are less happy to hear about the Lord of the Moonlit Isles...they have a huge alchemical outdoor workshop and start working on ways to keep the earth stable underneath the portal. We decide to go back to the Moonlit Isles and bring the Lord back with his people and establish them at a distance from the main camp. They give us potions to allow us to speak and understand ogre.

Set up camp in the Grove but are rudely woken by a runner before dawn. There is a confederation ship coming. We make ourselves scarce as Yarag's people are probably safer if we're not known about. It takes a while to get the portals going, but we head back to the Isles. The portal is now enclosed within a ward of exsanguination. Kesha rests and we summon the Lord of the Moonlit Isles.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T06:24:38Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

====The Plain in the Mountains====
After a couple more days of storms, tidal waves, winds and generally unpleasant conditions, we come to a plain in a shattered mountain range. It's hard to tell exactly how many people there are, but there are ogres, orcs and goblins everywhere. As best we can gather, somewhere between 30-40,000 in total. We meet with the elders who are happy to hear Yarag has sourced a solution.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-14T06:10:42Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 4 || The Plain in the Mountain Range
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T09:34:01Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 1 || The Drowned City
| class=day | 2 || Flying Storms
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T09:31:30Z

Lisa: /* The Drowned City */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! We then realise thst the wards we've triggered and turned off are to keep this IN not keep us out. It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks and retreat further strategically at speed.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T09:15:05Z

Lisa: /* The Moonlight Isles */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

====The Drowned City====
We come to a city covered in water, after some difficult times with storms, and washing over islands. We do some treasure sniffing. We go under the water and find a large palatial building with terraced gardens now mostly destroyed. We find the remains of a base of a tower, somewhat intact. Probably shaped stone. We descend into what looks like a secret tunnel. The water pressure starts to become too difficult for me, but Bromli continues down with a crystal of vision. He DAs as he goes. Magic hits both of us, we resist a Mol Rec of some sort. 100' below ground level and several hundred feet below the surface. Big open area - circular cavern about 100' across. Shaped rather than mined. Broken statues made of gold which look to have been people/ orc sized and they've been looted. Bromli investigates a little further down some tunnels and detects some movement - a spherical being with a bunch of tentacles floating along the water - about 6' across. A Beholder!!!! It chases Bromli who collects Seren on the way out and we strategically retreat quickly. It follows us up out of the water and we engage it in combat. We feel the breath of mortality on the back of our necks.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T07:46:22Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Klilkeg
| class=day | 29 || Moonlight Isles
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T07:45:19Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on.

====The Moonlight Isles====
We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc, Aeolontrik. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world. We agree to a Truce for all refugees we are going to portal to Aleusia that until the journey through the portal and for 30 days afterwards, there will be no aggression, hostility, violence or killing on the part of any of the refugees. Kesha sets up a rune portal which he will attach once we get to Yarag's people.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T07:32:59Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

===Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on. We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks. They are orcs who look to have had a hard time of late. Not bristling with weapons. Their master, the King of the Moonlight Isles, protects them. This explains why there is still grass and dirt on the island and it's not as badly damaged as other areas we've seen. There's a story about the life sucking vampire king of the islands, but Yarag thinks he's just a story. Their Master has told them that "Eternal of Writing" (Kesha) is their saviour and he will come with the Knight of Devastation (Yarag, trying to overcome his past), the Darkness Within (Seren), the Two Face (Lila) and the Midget of Shapes (Bromli - possibly somewhat lost in translation).

They lead us to a sheltered pavilion in the trees where there are a couple of better dressed orcs. DA reveals they are alive and not pacted to anyone. Inside the pavilion is a Greater Undead Vampire Orc. He speaks common. He wishes us to save him and his people and transport them off this world. He can pay. He wants to resettle his people and continue his astrology work (somewhat true) and he has no intent to conquer our world (true). I again voice my concerns about taking powerful beings to our world.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-11-07T07:07:26Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

==Klikeg==
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before. We think if we take the long way round, it will be about 4 days travelling.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

Lila lets us know that there is a massive stormfront on its way. We manage to take some shelter on an island, but are battered and slightly damaged by the stormfront - especially the huge wave which crashes right over the top. Once the storm settles, we carry on. We come to a larger island with some people on it, trying to attract our attention and writing a word in the ground with rocks.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T09:28:00Z

Lisa: /* The Glowing Ziggurat */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We think we have found our spot!!! Huzzah!!!

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg====
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T09:27:27Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg====
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world - elementals are taking control of what's left of it. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before.

Fly east through the mountains to the coast and fly out over the sea. Hoping to skirt the edges of the elemental battle and island hop so we can have occasional rests. Earth is cracked, sea swell is 50', weather patterns are messed up.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T09:24:35Z

Lisa: /* Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg====
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others. The barrier strips off most of our spells, so we recast most, then carefully walk towards where the dragon was.

The dragon is gold and very large. Situated in the mouth of a valley which would be a killing ground in a cone of flame. They greet us ominously with Welcome to the death of my world. 500 miles to the south east is the continent where we would find Yarag's people, or at least it was a few hundred years ago. Their name is "Carat" and they would like to come through to Aleusia. They will follow us to the portal when we have established it. Yarag has a better idea of where we are now although he has never been here before.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T09:11:34Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg====
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 || Glowing Ziggurat
| class=day | 27 || Glowing Ziggurat
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 || Kilkeg
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T09:00:56Z

Lisa: /* =Klikeg */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg====
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm, 60 to 80 miles an hour. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals. A huge battle ensues which we watch for a while before continuing to fly. Yarag still doesn't know where we are.

We come to an untouched area surrounding a huge peak. A huge dragon head rises and Bromli says there is an area of aura up ahead of us. It is a protective barrier which will remove active spells, so we decide to land and walk through. The landing area isn't great, jagged mountainside, scree slopes and damaged areas. Lila, Yarag and Kesha both land a little away from the intended spot and Yarag is pleased to discover the effectiveness of rune armour. Bromli and Seren make it look easy and wait for the others.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T08:33:11Z

Lisa: /* The Glowing Ziggurat */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

We do some rearranging of stuff and people and work out how to get everyone to Yarag's plane.

====Klikeg===
We arrive on a world rent by flame. Yarag doesn't know where we are exactly. Very inhospitable. We fly up to identify where we are. He tells us his people were near the equator. The biggest city was on the coast, but he's not sure whether the people have had to retreat further. There is an unnatural storm coming from the south. There are mountains to the north so we head that way. Lila can see figures in the storm - elemental sized - riding the front of or dragging the storm. Bromli sees fire elementals leading the edge of the fires. Rock walls are forming to block the fire edge - by earth elementals.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T08:02:21Z

Lisa: /* The Glowing Ziggurat */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside. More carvings inside, suggesting this is a temple. It's a language Kesha doesn't know, but he spends 6 hours studying the writings to pick up as much as he can. Possibly a lost language or civilisation. Seren and Yarag explore outside around the area. Teeming with life, abundant and bountiful. We harvest fruit for breakfast, DA everything. Seems to be a blessed, life filled area, not dissimilar to the mountain in the lake. Kesha gets a name: Showtreekeyqwe - the one that has her skirt of flowers - with the help of a knowledge dragon. Bromli investigates for precious gems or metal and to see if there's a downstairs or anything less obvious. He finds some bracelets and rings made of worked precious metals - very faint traces of fertility magic. These have been scattered and lost rather than a hoard of them. Lila dreams that the goddess is benevolent but faded. Goddess of life and death, patron of rebirth.

Bromli tries an ancient divinate and gets the same information as previous, but the addition of the deity is quite far gone and may need some assistance to come back.

We carefully clear a space for takeoff and landing so that we can come back here as needed. Kesha spends a couple of days building this side of a portal. We check out tepuis in the area to make sure they're not occupied or noteworthy. They are within 30-40 miles, solid piles of rock about 50' across, but provide good landing and vantage spots.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T07:31:08Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction and a lost Lila */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

====The Glowing Ziggurat====
We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the astrology reading. We turn around and quarter off the area back towards the lake. After 6 or 7 hours of flying we can see a patch of bioluminescence. Closer investigation reveals a ruined ziggurat about 120' across covered with flowering vines. About 40 miles from the geothermal area and 80 miles from the lake bowl. There's worn pictograms showing plants growing, flowers, flowering vines, people (mostly human) dancing. There is a recurring figure who seems to be dispensing blessings and seems to have a skirt of flowers. Carvings are very old - a couple of thousand years perhaps.

We find an entrance - check for traps and wards. Somewhat obscured by vines, but we are able to make our way in. The whole thing is really bound together by the vines. It's not going to fall over with no provocation, but if there was a shake, fire, scarred terrain etc there might be issues. Surprisingly open and airy inside.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T07:19:08Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction and a lost Lila */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare. The message is garbled but we gather she's in trouble and lost. There is some debate about how we find her. We try and use a locate potion. Eventually we find her and an agreement is made that no party member leaves the party by themselves.

We finally agree that the geothermal areas WERE the fires referenced in the

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T06:48:47Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction and a lost Lila====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

Lila heads out on her own to the geothermal area and gets trapped in the mud, then loses her way trying to find us again. She attempts to track us using a bat who finds her some apes. She sends a whispering wind to us and sends up a flare.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T06:02:10Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Geothermal Lands
| class=day | 25 || A New Direction
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-24T06:01:15Z

Lisa: /* Calendar */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 || Astrology, and again.
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-17T09:30:07Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes. My reading clarification is around the two dimensional movement of a chess knight, easier in the dark of night, Twice as far in one direction as it is in another. Best to find the place in the darkness - will be more beneficial in the night.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-17T09:28:35Z

Lisa: /* The Shattered Lands */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-17T09:25:58Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Lila sets off a fireball as she flies away and the whole area catches alight. Reveals many colours of minerals.

We fly 10 miles away to where it is more stable and attempt to clarify our readings from the previous night. Turns out Kesha was right in his interpretation of the runes.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-17T09:19:23Z

Lisa: /* A New Direction */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat. Luckily we all manage to get ourselves out of the bad zone - Bromli most successfully although he leaves a trail of destruction behind him.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}

O' give me a home

2022-10-17T09:07:11Z

Lisa: /* The Shattered Lands */

<div style="float: right; font-size: smaller; margin-left: 10px; ">[[Scribe_Notes#Spring_822_WK|Scribe Notes]] __TOC__</div>
[[Category:Chris|User:ChrisC]][[Category:Scribe Notes]]
== Summary ==
'''Adventure''': Ogre: give me a home 
'''GM''': [[User:stephen|Stephen]] 
'''Season''': [[Spring]] 822 wk 
'''Night''': Monday, starting 19th Sept. 
'''Location''': New Windsor 
'''Level''': [[Experience#Quest_Level | High+]] 
; Party
# [[Bromli]] - Dwarven Fighter/Namer - played by Nick
# [[Serendipity]] - Elven Dark Mage - played by Lisa (scribe)
# [[Lila]] - Human Celestial/Air - played by Kelsie
# [[Keshah]] - Elven Rune Mage - played by Mike Haycock (military scientist)

; Employer
: Yarag of Klikeg
; Mission
: Our 3 main requests are:
# Find our people a new home
# Find us a new god so we can be lucky like you
# Help all of our people get there
# Don't let the confederation know where we have gone
; Pay
: Money, Potions, Potion Lore

Ref. [[The Hero's Quintet]]

== Scribe Notes ==
=== Mission Briefing ===
Portals from Tower have been closed, no contact.
Mirandelle is the mage who is draining the Ogre's world to get ours stable. From SwordWorld Confederation, generally unpopular.
Bromli previously has fought these ogres.

Looking for us to repair their world but that may not work, so looking for a new home with gods they can be blessed by. They do not want to fight any more, unless they choose to. Would like coastline, rich jungle, fields or land which can be cleared, hills for hunting. Don't want troublesome neighbours or to drive other residents out. Gods - good ones who are powerful and will bless them. Legend says that they had evil gods and the Confederation freed them. In return, they offer their service endlessly as the Federation wishes to kill all the gods.

<50 people here on Aleusia, 10,000-12,000 back home plus their allies - orcs and goblins allied on their world, approx 20,000 of them.

Considering Terror Nova as a possible resettlement site. Kesha is going to research Orcish gods from Aleusia. Possible ogre worlds. Possible areas to resettle. Agree to recruit junior librarian to assist Kesha. Possibly Delph or lands to west of Mungodia? Decide to take him on a trip around the countryside.

===Travelling South===
We portal to Arabie. They aren't happy about our weapons and armour, so Kesha and Lila consult a mapseller while Bromli, Yarag and I amuse the other half of the guardsmen.

Kesha "We'll buy his map. And we'll buy a blank map."
Lila "A piece of paper then?"

Yarag is a good flyer - he is a shock trooper - he normally gets dropped from 1000 feet and his armour absorbs the impact.

====Desert====
Overnight camp about 40ish miles south of Arabie. Disturbed by mega monster fight club - oversize gryphon (ears webbed with 3 spikes coming out of them - a bit more like a fin than an ear, somewhat aquatic; face shape a little different from normal and colouration is desert browns, a bit more leopard than lion) plus a "serpopard" (leopard/serpent. Leopard head with giant fangs; scales on its chest and neck long and snakelike and strikes like a cobra, plus a long serpentine tail with a barb on the end). Surrounded by normal sized versions of these creatures who are cheering them on. 50' wingspan on the gryphon and bodies are about 20' long.

A bird turns to us and says that we should not be there "Mortals should not watch the gods fight. It means death." The bird is a nightjay, DAs as long-lived sentient, strongest magic is doom. These are more avatars than gods, representing their peoples. They are fighting for control of the mountains. We leave before any dooms can be pronounced.

Large arid area, signs of drake fire as we fly. We identify it as a dangerous place to fly generally, but feel safer as it's night. Heading out of foothills into broken mountains which go up high. Flying through the valleys between the mountains which are bare of snow despite being 10-20,000' high.

====Savannah====
We head somewhat southwest towards the coast a couple of hundred miles across grassy plains. Notice villages every now and again but cannot determine what they are occupied by, although look somewhat human sized and perhaps a little primitive. We decide to rest in one of the abandoned villages. The village has a shallow well with no water at the moment. About a dozen dwellings - houses are thatched circular huts. Has been left in an orderly state - we assume nomadic peoples who occupy different villages at different times. We camp for a few hours in the copse and when we wake up, the well is full. Seems to be perfectly normal non-magical water.

====Jungle====
We fly in the heat of the day for about 60 miles and the savannah suddenly gives way to jungle. It is much more humid. We decide to skirt the edge of the jungle looking for a river as a good place to land and take off from. We bash through the jungle - minor small irritations but not issues for us. Camp for a while and it pours with rain. We head back out through the same path and then fly across towards the coast. Yarag likes the jungle, thinks it would do but would like some coastal area. Concerningly he mentions a spot for the confederation vessels to dock.

====Swamp====
We fly another 200 or so miles from the jungle and come to a river delta. Swampy land, alligators, snakes etc and Yarag doesn't like the area, not for them. We land in the edges of the swamp. Lila's elephant enjoys the mud. We continue to head south and east towards the coast. The swamp area is vast 400 miles or so across - more lizards as we get further east, and maybe a halfling village. We fly for 5 hours more with little significant change although the bay is getting deeper. We look for a beach or sandy inlet to land and camp. Lots of biting insects but again they don't bother us too much. Camp for the night on an inlet.

====Beach====
Fly pretty much due east. Come to more beach-like neighbourhood with jungle to the north. We can see masts ahead so cautiously investigate. There is a watch post, so these people are somewhat organised and careful. We remove wings and proceed with caution. Guards are speaking in Destinian. There is a full galleon anchored in the bay flying Destinian flags. A few smaller boats around. Some sort of trade going on - bundles being passed to and from the boats to the galleon. Looks like people from the swamp a bit to the west are trading here. This is a good harbour space with a river flowing down into the bay. Semi-permanent camp near to the stream; longer term shelters. Looks like it's used somewhat frequently.

We decide to talk to the guards. We successfully capture one but alert the trading party. We fly with our captive and are pursued by someone on wind walk. We head inland (due north), pursued by a Destinian ship. They fire a bolt of something at us which bursts and doesn't do much damage but causes us to be unable to draw mana. We land and question our prisoner. They trade all sorts of things with the humans and halflings but not the lizard people in the swamp. No goblinoids. Further east are the haunted cities - you go too far inland or away from the coast, but the ghosts drive you mad. There are reputed to be cities with gold in them, but those who have sought them return mad, if at all. An island appeared a decade ago inhabited by mad people with mad gods. Hindia is further to the east. South following the coast there is jungle for hundreds and hundreds of miles. There are mountains which have had their tops cut off which stick up out of the jungles. Many scouts have had a look but only some have returned. The nomadic tribes people say this is the land of the gods. These are dangerous gods, not friendly, and their worshippers go mad. Much further to the south near the end of the jungle, there is one of these mountain tops with a colony of mad elves living on it. No interest in trade or the outside world, happy to talk, but they are mad and worship the mad gods.

We discuss what to do and may mention that we are looking for a place for an army of ogres, then realise we haven't checked which other languages the guard speaks. Turns out common is one of his languages and he has understood everything, so instead of letting him go, we kill him.

A philosophical discussion around gods and beliefs arises. We talk, then fly back west only to find that the Destinian ship has travelled all the way up the inlet in the swamp. We fly a further 200 miles south and camp near the coast.

Lila goes up in a cloud to see more from above. We lose her temporarily. There is some flying, landing, splashing, boating, raining. We find a large inlet with a few villages but steep cliffs so not suitable for settling. We continue on towards the...

====Tepuis====
The first tepui we come to has pillars set up on the top of it. Pillars are 10' across and their aura is magical, nature of the magic = gateway. Other magic over the top is "border". Lila experiments by throwing coins across the border magic. They are torn apart by interdimensional forces but a partial coin flips back at her and sticks between her eyes. Bromli tosses a silver coin through the gateway and it disappears partway through.

We decide to go through the portal. We appear on the far side in a kind of damp swampland, not much undergrowth, tall trees. We are in minimal clothing with none of our stuff. Feels like high mana. Spells and talents can be used but some magic has been removed from us (e.g. my shadowform/ strength of darkness) and we can't access items that we would normally pull from other dimensions. No ranger bump of direction, and when I scratch an arrow in the ground to indicate where we came from, it disappears after a few minutes. Bromli divinates the place - our initial guess is it is a pocket plane of some sort. Kesha ESPs and there is around us a vast presence/ being.

We walk back the way we came and come out with our gear as normal. Our spells' durations have gone down by an hour. We move to the next pair of pillars and walk through to see what happens. We are on the top of the tepui which is exactly as we can see - it hasn't taken us through to the pocket plane. We run a few tests and it seems we are still on Aleusia. We progress across the top of the tepui and find a lot of interesting herbs. Kesha would like to spend some time with the herbs, but instead we gather a random sackful of plant matter. We walk until late afternoon and are considering camping when we come across a large hole in the middle of the tepui - about a mile across and roughly circular. Disappears down into darkness - sides not easily climbable.

Lila brings out one of her ravens who flies down for a couple of pulses then comes back saying it's weird down there. Makes his feathers stand on end. He does give us much information about what's down there. Bromli tries divinating himself - nothing he wouldn't expect to see, seems normal. He then does an ancient divination and discovers that 6 or 7 hours ago, there's a blank patch in the magical history. It's like nothing happened in that time. Kesha hypothesises that our avatar selves may have been in the pocket portal while we were physically here still.

We copse for the night after a hot meal. About midnight, Bromli observes a chill coming from the hole. Something seems to be flowing into the hole, but it is not coming from us. Bromli wakes us up. We agree he will divinate it (carefully, roped to one of us and sitting on Kesha's cushion). About a minute into the the divination, the flow stops. We think that it is sucking the souls of living beings who have died into the hole. Misty portions of multiple different auras/ people moving at reasonable speed. Went on for a couple of minutes.

I summon a Darkness Elemental. A spiky type arrives. We send it down to the hole with instructions to come back if there's anything interesting. After about 2 minutes, a bolt of darkness appears out of the hole, and my connection with the elemental is severed. We then try using a crystal of vision to see what we can in the hole. We have much less vision than we would expect to have - burning branch disappears quickly. We jump down we think 900' and all is blackness. We move the crystal back up again and then jump it around where we can see. We spot a path in the wall and follow it as far as we can, but all we can determine is that there is a path leading downwards - a narrow rock ledge 3-4' wide. Kesha makes his boat and floats it around looking for the start of the path. When the boat goes too far over the hole, it tips alarmingly.

Pretty much due south, there is a feature - a shallow cut. A circle about 19' across that slightly overlaps the edge - potentially a giant dark sphere or something like that. There is a 19' hole going almost straight down, mirroring the large hole in many ways. It's very quiet and still when we lean over the little hole - nothing from outside, very muted noises. When we throw a lighted branch in, it goes down to what we think is a bottom, and although it's darker quicker, it seems more normal than the large hole.

We decide that this tepui is not suitable for Yarag's people and we have investigated sufficiently. We will move on to the next tepui.

=====Jungle Travel=====
We fly in the boat above the trees until we are approached by a flying serpent - brown/green snake-like creature with wings, about 40' long and fast. DAs as an avatar of the Great Jungle Serpent God and strongest magic is its inherent serpentness. It is interested in us but only attacks us when we get close to it. We fly away at speed.

====Tepui #2 Melimashitani, the place of devils====
Taller, with jagged sides. Darker, spikier rock with bits which appear to have flaked off. The south eastern edge has a huge flow of water going off the edge of it. Plunges 1800' straight down. Flying over the top, about 10 miles across - the water volume seems too great for this area. Covered with the same black rock (obsidian) including spikes up to 50' tall. No obvious plant life and a rotten egg smell. We hypothesise volcanic or hell. We check for magic zones using rocks and DA. Kesha and Lila land, observing that there is a flattish area caused by something landing here. Kesha identifies rock as a form of obsidian however it has been shaped by maleficence. Does not look naturally shaped and formed. The stream smells of brimstone. Lila uses her alchemical skills to investigate and takes a sample of the liquid and crystals and a few other bits and pieces. Cleans the blades and tongs she is using.

Rains again the afternoon but not as heavily as previously so the wings keep working. Follow the creek which goes from the waterfall. Vegetation is stunted to either side of the river; goes all the way to the ocean and is poisonous all the way. Wider area of beach where sand is yellow from the brimstone and nothing growing. Lila acquires some crystals and confirms it is infernal brimstone rather than natural - could be refined into refined brimstone which could be used to make interplanar portals. Needs a few pounds to make something out of. We head further down the coast to a more friendly environment to camp with the resolve to gather more crystals in the morning. Good place to mine sulphur but not good for collecting brimstone. We leave a rune stick for a quick hop back. We head back up to the top of the Tepui, land safely and harvest some crystals - checking first to ensure they're not living. Make sure they're dry first before storing them in the chest. Spend about 3 hours, collect approx 10lbs of crystals for later use.

====Coastal settlements====
Lots of small villages and boats out in the ocean as we progress west and south. There's a large river coming down to meet the ocean. River is trending west. Wide and slow moving, fairly well-inhabited by dark-skinned humans and halflings or pygmies - villages every 5-10 miles apart on both banks. Easily navigable river but too populous for resettling Yarag's people. Some elven types, similarly dressed in minimal clothing. We land to talk - in the river and move towards the elf. Heavily accented elvish. The elf confirms:

*Treasure and lost Cities are just stories. We will not find these.
*If we are here for the leaves, they do not do that kind of trade. The leaves make people happy and forget to live so they waste away and die.
*There is no room for 30,000 in these lands. They could go in the middle of this part of the land. There are special places in the middle that not many go to. If the tribe is respectful they could get their water from there not from the rivers. Water places, not mountains.
*These lands are dangerous for our tribe. Dangers are the plants, the animals, the spirits, the ground.
*Melimamawangu - place of many blessings. Pilgrims visit there. Pure blessed ones may seek blessings there. Someone who has appeased the land spirits. All land is connected and a wise person lives with and works with the cycles of the spirits and the balance of the land.
*Most tepui are special places.
*South there is the mountain of the crazy ones - they share ancestry with this one we are speaking with.
*South of the crazy ones are the fey - little magical flying ones. They are tricksy and hard to deal with - best to not.
*Common tongue is limited here.
*Far west near the mountains and the other sea are green folk like goblins.

====The Blessed River - Metouliobarekiwa====
We find an excellent camping spot and there are interesting herbs and plants. Foraging is easy.

====The tepui in the lake====
A gentler tepui with a winding pilgrim's path in the middle of the lake. The land in the middle is about 2 miles across at the bottom, about a mile at the top. We fly across and land on the island at the bottom of the trail. Footprints don't stay in the sand. Took us 10 minutes to fly across what seems like 100 yards. We believe we've slightly shifted planes, although we are still on Aleusia. Lila lets her dogs out - they play for a bit but then don't like it - they say they're not from here. This is someone else's territory. We decide to take the trail - follow the rules and pattern as much as possible. Bromli is very well behaved and in full agreement with this plan.

We walk all day, but feel less tired than expected, so we continue walking all night. As the sun comes up, we realise we've completed one loop. We counted a few dozen loops. Our duration magics expired when we expected them to. Yarag asks why we keep stopping and looking around and we realise we've been distracted by the magics here. We decide to go back down, but Yarag will continue on as he seems to have been accepted here. We travel back down in 2 hours and notice that Yarag has slowed down a little. We camp and wait. Kesha begins the work of a permanent portal. Lila drinks the water; it's clear and sweet and has no aura. There is some philosophical discussion about whether we should be doing this at all. After a week, he returns. It was OK but weird. He got bored. He's going to send one of his wise ones to talk to them when they settle.

We decide to follow the river beyond the tepui inland. The river has become a more normal jungle river. There are minimal people, although we see occasional signs of life. This has been occupied at some points in time, but mostly overgrown by jungle. We investigate some stonework - there is a cursed space! About 400' across, nature of the magic is doom. Kesha's ESP picks up half a dozen minds about 200' in who have been there 50,000 years - ancient ruins and minds. Eldaran writing - theme is for heinous crimes and unspeakable acts, ye shall be bound here until the end of days. Let none disturb. We should stay well clear of this place.

Fly on. The river branches a bit more as we go westerly. Lots of tributaries and there is more spread. The land is gradually rising as we head inland. We choose to follow westward as much as possible. Yarag agrees that there is potential in this area but we need to do more scouting on the ground. We spend a half day checking out this area and then will head further westward to see if we can find the place which the elf was talking about. Overnight, Bromli lets us know about lights in the swamp. We decide these are will o the wisps and we should stay away from them. A couple of hours later, Bromli advises us of spirits moving around to the north of us. Kesha reckons they are the ghosts of those lured into the swamp by the lights.

We do some land searching but feel that the jungle in this area is somehow tainted or cursed - there is something lingering. We decide to step up the searching and will fly in a formation scanning the ground below. Equipped with smoke flares made by Lila. Heading along the northern catchment of the river.

====The Aerial Search====
Reach the hills at the edge of the bowl which extends back east. There's a bit of a change in the vegetation and it feels a bit more pleasant. We fly over the hills, so have come about 400 miles and we can see bodies of water in the distance. We land and camp. This piece of jungle is definitely nicer - we have a quiet and pleasant night. Bromli is much happier.

We fly out of the jungle and about an hour later, we come to streams - almost like flooded hills. We observe for a couple of hours. We think this might have been a lake - as if the water has come up the sides of the hills. There is fresh water. You have to wade or swim to get around between the hills, which are almost islands. Sometimes seperated by thin streams, others by deep water. Yarag thinks it's an interesting place. No signs of settlements or villages. Lila lets her critters out to check out the vibes. We scout around the watery hills. The hills get lower and lower further west the water seems to be moving in circular currents around something further to the west. It's not swampy but bigger stretches of water between the hills. We run out of land and come to an enormous circular lake, about 100 miles across, with a circular current, surrounded by low-lying hills. The lake doesn't seem especially deep. We can see fish. The party regroups and we camp where we are overnight.

====The Lake District====
Next morning, we head back to the large lake. There does seem to be a gentle whirlpool as part of the lake which drains somewhat to somewhere. I conjure an elemental and send it into the middle of the lake. The elemental reports that there are things in the water which seem to be coming for them. I release them and a waterspout appears where they were, almost catching Kesha. The water is hot and steaming. We fly back to the shore to divinate and DA and see if there is a water spirit and make contact. The same defenses don't seem to occur further towards the edges - may have been a reaction to the elemental. No signs of habitation in this area. The lake is refilling from various springs and the surrounding land. We posit that there is some sort of water cycling program going on but there is no proof of this.

A wider aerial sweep reveals the lake area is a bowl. Beside it to the north is a more typical jungle area in a flatter bowl with no water. Some habitation but very sparse. We widen our perimeter to the north about 100 miles and loop around to the west. End up on north-western edge of the lake. A little swampy, but mostly that it is shallow water to the land. We land and camp and fish for supper. A variety of fish, plus birds and animals that feed on them. Ancient divination reveals no discernible magic.

we convert Kesha's boat into a submarine and head down to investigate further. We go through a patch of animate water weed with small hook like appendages. Eventually, we get clear of this and come to some underground buildings - an aquatic city. We ESP and pick up sentient life. Crystal of vision reveals a crayfish-like being. Settlement is about the size of a small town, multi-layered housing, at least 200' from the surface. We consider sending our independent submersible (Bromli as manta ray) but cautiously continue towards the centre, watching as we go. There's an area of cultivation - an orchard type thing. We continue towards the centre and the sides begin to drop away. Sideways current is much stronger, less plant life around, smooth sides and bottom. The current becomes too strong so we bail out. We do not cook and eat the locals. As we approach the surface, we see something coming towards us from down the spiral. It's an armed party of crayfish - the local militia? We continue on as we're faster then them.

====The Shattered Lands====

Come up after a time and go back to flying. We can see a huge mountain range in the far distance (500 miles). We see some interesting rock formations below us and swoop down to check them out. We are more to the west. There are giant ravines, exposed rock faces and jungle-like plants at the moment. Vines growing down rock faces and shards of rock pointing up at times. Large exposed sections of rock. Ground seems more broken. Interesting streams and waterfalls. Good cave country. Some signs of something with enormous tough claws have dragged plants out from the rocks and left scratch marks in the rocks. We suspect dragons. We think this would be quite inhospitable and hard to navigate from the ground if you didn't know the layout of the ravines. No large animals here, consistent with a very large predator. There are lots of caves but impossible to determine whether there is anything living in them. Kesha decides to try and lure one out by low-flying.

No luck, but as we fly further west (10km or so), the land is somewhat cleared by slashing and burning, simple farming and planting and there are medium sized pallisaded villages creating 20' high walls with pointy bits on the top. They want to spear something large and they want clear visibility of whatever is coming. We land at the edge of the killing ground and are about to use a crystal of vision when a scaly lizard tries to jump on Kesha. Kesha punches it and Lila lightning bolts it. No time to be subtle, so we check it out with the crystal. Orcs are the inhabitants. Strange dialect of orcish, but Kesha manages to understand that there is a call to arms to rouse the troops to see what is happening at the edge of the forest. They are organised and military. As expected, ballistae inside the pallisade. The settlement is well protected against large creature incursions from outside. We wonder what might be around to cause this level of paranoia.

We fly back to the Lake District and land and camp. We are going to do astrological readings to seek guidance for the direction and locations of the best spot for Yarag and his people. Prevailing wind is north east.

'''Astrology readings'''

Kesha: Walk not the path of the light, but better that than the path of the dark. The wind upon thy face is favourable until it is not. The earth must rise but not too high. The fires indicate you've gone too far.

Seren: The black nights move; lands where you seek. The answers you already know for no good deed goes unpunished. Doom, doom, doom, doom. The ancient ones are called by these drums.

These don't help. We have a big fight about what they mean. Kesha thinks we should go nor-nor-east. I have issues with putting the ogres near the ancient doom place.

====A New Direction====
We fly north east. About 3 hours in, we see rising steam ahead of us. We enter a geothermal area but we don't think that this is the fires indicating we've gone too far. We attempt to land but the ground crumbles under our feet. The 'jungle' was so dried out and coated in weird minerals that it has no substance. There is a wash of noxious vapours, steam and heat.

== Places and People ==

== Loot ==

== Mil Sci ==

<css>
table.watches th, table.watches td { text-align: center; }
table.watches th { width: 3em; }
</css>
{| class="watches" |
|+ '''Watch Order'''
|-
! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12
|-
| colspan="2" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="2" | ?
|-
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
| colspan="4" | ?
|}

{| width="90%" |
|+ '''Skirmish Formations (Front)'''
|-
|align="center"| ''Default''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Double File''
1 2 
3 4 
5 6
|align="center"| ''Single File''
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
|}

=== Buffs ===
<css>
table.buffs { border: 1px solid #BBBBBB; border-radius: 2px; border-spacing: 1px; width: 100%; }
table.buffs th { text-align: center; width: 3%; }
table.buffs td { text-align: center; }
table.buffs th.mg { text-align: left; width: 20%; }
table.buffs td.mg { text-align: left; }
table.buffs th.rk { width: 5%; }
table.buffs td.rk { }
table.buffs th.ef { text-align: left; width: 41%; }
table.buffs td.ef { text-align: left;}
table.buffs th.du { width: 10%; }
table.buffs td.du { }
</css>
'A = Always on.
===Long Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Long Term (assumed always on)'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Shadowform (Se)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +42 def melee, ranged; +21 def close
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Armour (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +25% Def +5 AP 1 SG
|class="du" | 10.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Willow Healing (Ke)
|class="rk" | 8
|class="ef" | 3 EN per pulse x 9 pulses
|class="du" | 16 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Greater Heart Rune (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | heals 13 EN
|class="du" | 21 days
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Smite (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | Resist or D+21, knocked prone, stunned
|class="du" | 21 h
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune of Truth (Ke)
|class="rk" | 13
|class="ef" | PC + 26 + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised
|class="du" | 14 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fire Armour (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 44 ablative fire protection
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Fireproofing (L+)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | Fireproofing
|class="du" | 11 Hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | spell (caster)
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Short Term===
{| class="buffs" |
|-
|+ '''Short Term - Cast as Needed'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Strength of Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 19
|class="ef" | +11 PS
|class="du" | 200 min
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Feather Falling (Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" | Fall no more than 5'/pulse
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Shadow Wings (Se)
|class="rk" | 10
|class="ef" | 40 mph, 220 miles range
|class="du" | 5.5 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Witchsight (Se)
|class="rk" | 15
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 8 hours
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Lightning Strike (Li)
|class="rk" | 5
|class="ef" | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2
|class="du" | 5hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Barrier of Wind (Li)
|class="rk" | 4
|class="ef" | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close
|class="du" | 150mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Walking Unseen(Li)
|class="rk" | 6
|class="ef" |
|class="du" | 7 hrs
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Rune Weapon (Ke)
|class="rk" | 20
|class="ef" | +[D-5]+7 Acid dam x D pulses
|class="du" | 25 mins
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Darkness (Se)
|class="rk" | 25
|class="ef" | Lots of darkness for quite a while
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

===Senses===
{| class="buffs"
|-
|+ '''Ambush/danger senses/skills/magic'''
|-
!class="mg" | Magic (caster)
!class="rk" | Rk
!class="ef" | Effects
!class="du" | Dur
!Title="Bromli" | Br
!Title="Lila" | Li
!Title="Seren" | Se
!Title="Keshah" | Ke
|-
|class="mg" | Sense Danger %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" |
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
|class="mg" | Ranger Detect Ambush %
|class="rk" |
|class="ef" | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6%
|class="du" |
| 
| 
| 
| 

|}

===Misc Buffs===

Lila lucky number = 10

; Mil Sci Raise Morale
: +0 WP

== Calendar ==

{| cellspacing=1 width="100%" border=0 class="Season" id="Spring"
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: Thaw 822 (10)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" |
! colspan=2 | Moonday
! colspan=2 | Duesday
! colspan=2 | W'ansday
! colspan=2 | Th'rsday
! colspan=2 | Frysday
! colspan=2 | Reapsday
! colspan=2 | Sunday
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | || [[Candlemansa]]
| class=day | 1 || Guild Meeting
| class=day | 2 || Research and planning
| class=day | 3 || Portals to Arabie
| class=day | 4 || Mega monster fight club
| class=day | 5 || Savannah
| class=day | 6 || Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 7 || Swamp
| class=day | 8 || Beach
| class=day | 9 || Tepui
| class=day | 10 || Tepui #2 and coastal villages
| class=day | 11 || The Blessed River
| class=day | 12 || The Tepui in the Lake
| class=day | 13 || TITL
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 14 || TITL
| class=day | 15 || TITL
| class=day | 16 || TITL
| class=day | 17 || TITL
| class=day | 18 || TITL
| class=day | 19 || Another swamp
| class=day | 20 || The Tainted Jungle
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 21 || Wide perimeter searching
| class=day | 22 || The Lake District
| class=day | 23 || The Shattered Lands
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Seedtime]] 822 (11)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 || Rites of Thunor
| class=day | 9 ||
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 || Equinox
| class=day | 16 ||
| class=day | 17 || Eostre
| class=day | 18 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 ||
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 ||
| class=day | 1 ||
| class=day | 2 ||
|-
! colspan=15 | '''Spring: [[Blossom]] 822 (12)'''
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon0.jpg]]
| class=day | 3 ||
| class=day | 4 ||
| class=day | 5 ||
| class=day | 6 ||
| class=day | 7 ||
| class=day | 8 ||
| class=day | 9 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon1.jpg]]
| class=day | 10 ||
| class=day | 11 ||
| class=day | 12 ||
| class=day | 13 ||
| class=day | 14 ||
| class=day | 15 ||
| class=day | 16 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon2.jpg]]
| class=day | 17 ||
| class=day | 18 ||
| class=day | 19 ||
| class=day | 20 ||
| class=day | 21 || Floralia
| class=day | 22 ||
| class=day | 23 ||
|-
| class="calMoon" | [[Image:moon3.jpg]]
| class=day | 24 ||
| class=day | 25 ||
| class=day | 26 ||
| class=day | 27 ||
| class=day | 28 ||
| class=day | 29 ||
| class=day | 30 || Walpurgisnacht
|}