Session Season 6, Prax 18

1629, Dark Season, Stasis Week, Windsday to Godday

Dramatis Personae

Events

On the afternoon of Windsday, Xenofos headed through the Zebra Gate in full panoply, but without a shield. At Geo’s, he found a message from Varanis saying that she was at the remains of the Storm Bull Temple. He braved the cold to get to the temple and found X11 and a Storm Bull, Hanatha, guarding it.

In the tent, he found Varanis with Kolyey and Maalira. Varanis was digging despite her blistered hands. Maalira was tending the fire. Kolyey was, in theory, napping.

He presented his report on what had happened with the newtlings. Varanis explained what had happened with Berra and Belvanie. Much swearing was involved.

Meanwhile, X11 caught someone leaving the entryway after stashing a note. X11 ordered him to stop, and Varanis overheard. She flung the door open and added her opinion to the situation. He moved to hand her a note, but then deliberately dropped it at her feet. She challenged the Sun Domer, Andrenos, after he repeatedly insulted her. Hanatha turned up, raging at Varanis to do her duty and at the Sun Domer to get out of her temple. Varanis told the man that they would meet again when she was no longer under Hanatha’s command.

Xenofos read out the letter. It was from Berra and told Varanis not to cave to Belvanie. After being judged and found wanting, Varanis sulked by doing guard duty in the snow. Inside the tent, X11 began turning up bodies. He dug them up and Kolyey prepared them for their afterlife.

The next morning, Xenofos went to the Library to worship. While there, he found himself popular amongst the scribes, who demanded that he tell them what had happened. He sang of the Mistress of Harp and Moon and her melody, continued with wrestling a croc and descending to the Underworld, then the meeting with the fiery-headed spider troll goddess and her rhythm. He sang of the further descent with Berra and their arrival at the riverbank, where Humakt disappeared, Yinkin attacked a Stormwind and bit chunks from it, Chalana Arroy tamed the Bull, who had just attacked the Lady of Salt and Teeth, and then both disappeared beneath the waters. After that, they returned.

Maalira helped Kolyey and also did her best to make the rest of them look after themselves. Hanatha did her best to bait Maalira, referring to the healer as a killer and making similar remarks. Maalira did not allow herself to be flustered.

On his way back from the Library, Xenofos stopped at the Ulerian Temple, where he made it clear that Belvanie did not have Varanis’ backing, or his own, but that he trusted Uleria to choose wisely.

Outside the tent, Kolyey met with a group of six dwarfs. They offered to build walls and an altar. Price negotiations followed. These were not trader dwarfs.

In the night, Varanis worshipped Eril and was able to learn that Berra was still alive. Kolyey, at the Humakti temple, learned that Berra was somewhere to the northeast. Varanis ordered Xenofos to take Maalira to Gorovan to get an escort to the Strawweavers so that they could take her to Berra.

Gorovan noted that if the Strawweavers were close, there might be a problem, as the Blue Llamas were on the east side of the river and the Strawweavers were on the west, and the two should not meet. Gorovan managed to arrange an escort for Maalira consisting of a couple of Wind Lords, some Vingans, and a burly Orlanthi.

Maalira went off into the wild white yonder. They rode for a while before Lofty went aloft. They flew for a long time before landing by a tiny shrine. It took three attempts to find the place where Berra was holed up. The Orlanthi provided them with a pile of supplies and promised to check back later.

Xenofos, while on watch, saw Inora part ways with the Winter King, Valind, far away. Valind saw Xenofos. The god could not see a target without attempting to attack it. So the scribe called out an insult to him. Yay.

Hanatha made the weather go wild while activating the altar. Things started to emerge from the darkness.

Kolyey, armed with shield and fireblade, faced one of the creatures and its rider. She dodged a javelin. Then she struck it with a fireblade, doing huge amounts of damage to its leg. The thing swiped at her, but she dodged.

Varanis tried to dodge the opponent coming at her with a javelin. She struck her with an air-inspired attack. Very, very airy. The attack hit the mount’s leg.

X11 braced for the attack and watched as the javelin missed him anyway. He was then hit and badly injured, his right arm being broken. He used his shield to break the top of the kiln he had made.

Like X11, Xenofos refused to move. The javelin missed. Xenofos stabbed the creature in the abdomen, causing it to shatter. The rider landed in front of him, and Hanatha went for the rider, disarming it by removing its right arm.

Kolyey faced both beast and rider. The rider tried to hit her with an ice spear, only for her to shatter both it and his arm. She slashed into his abdomen, shattering him. His mount fled.

Varanis dodged an ice spear and then struck the ice beast, doing seventy-four points of damage to its head. Soon after, she exploded the rider’s head as well.

X11 parried an attack from a spear, then dodged nimbly as the creature struck in the wrong direction. He then attempted to shield-bash the rider into the furnace. The rider ended up in the fire, and Valind, or perhaps Inora, roared in the distance.

Xenofos parried the attack against him and attempted to slash the rider’s throat, but missed. He called out to the ice demon to yield and, surprisingly, it did, kneeling at his feet. The snow melted, and the creature fled with Xenofos’ consent.

By dawn, half the snow and ice in New Pavis had melted and the weather had eased.

Xenofos gained the capacity to summon a hollri for one favour.