1629, Earth Season, Illusion Week, Fireday
Context
In Prax, after leaving New Pavis. On the hunt for the Straw Weaver Clan. Follows after session 6-9, Mud, Glorious Mud, Thin Air, The Dark Details, Don’t Doubt Humakt, “No, you shut up!”, and Praxian Flat Lands. Xenofos tries to record a melody that shocks his cousin. Berra is weirdly understanding.
Events
In the morning Xenofos looks about as fresh as someone who has had the wolf hour watch and split night’s sleep. While Varanis is busy killing Yelm, he picks up his kithara listens to its tuning and searches for a melody.
Berra looks awake, like she always does, despite having been up halfway through the night. As she builds up the fire she pauses and puts her hand on her iron sword. After a moment’s listening, she says, “The pirates are leaving Boldhome. Many more today than yesterday.”
Xenofos scribbles a note in between picking strings and nods. “That is good news.”1Stuff Xenofos is looking for maybe familiar to Maalira, Varanis or Berra if they listen and pass int*3 or perhaps special sing It has echoes of tune Jar-Eel once played. Lacks all the technical finesse though and is only main theme of the rich fugue flowing from that divine harp now silenced forever.
Varanis snaps out of her morning reverie to stare at Xenofos. “Why are you playing that?!”
“I wanted to write it down before the memory dissipates like the morning mist” , Xenofos answers, adding another point to his parchment notes.
Berra touches her sword-hilt, listening.
“Stop it! Xenofos, you must stop it!” Varanis doesn’t quite yell, but her voice is certainly raised.2Insight: She’s battling between horror, anger, and dismay.
“I think I got it. Not sure of that quick triple note in the middle… ” He shrugs and puts the cithara down “It is but an echo anyway…”
Only now does Berra look up, puzzled.
“It comes from Chaos,” Varanis growls at him. “Don’t play that again!”
Berra scowls in thought, and then her brow clears. “Oh.”
“Not all that is of the Moon is Chaos, Varanis.” Xenofos answers “But I will not, if that makes you uncomfortable. Might be prudent not to in any case.”
Varanis glances Berra’s direction, then back at Xenofos as he starts talking. “Might be? You risk us all with that music.” She shudders.
“It could perhaps attract her attention. But as far as we know she is dead.” Xenofos looks at Berra “Even if it might not last. And if not – I don’t think that it materially changes our situation.”
Varanis runs a hand through her hair, ending up holding onto the back of her own neck as if somehow that can ground her. “Just… don’t. Don’t ever play that again. And don’t record it where others might see and try, Xenofos. Please.”
“You need to know the enemy to defeat her. But I will not make copies of this to unsecure places.”
“Dead doesn’t mean much to her.” Berra stands. “But Xenofos, the way to defeat her isn’t to copy her. If she’s dead, you don’t need to defeat her. If she’s not dead, you don’t want to do those things. You don’t get to choose both.”
“If she is dead, she is worth the tale that records Truth of her. Likewise, if she is alive to be honest. Do I get it all? Beauty, terror, harmony, chaos? No. But I will record bits I come across.”
“Are you in love with her? I mean, you’re sounding pretty smitten.” Berra’s expression is mildly horrified, mildly curious.
Varanis shudders again, staring between the two.
“My feelings are my own, you have said to me, little cousin.” Xenofos snaps but then tugs at his beard for a while “Less than I am in love with you or various other people, but I guess there is love in there.”
“Yeah. You make really bad decisions, but if you don’t try to reject her, I think she’ll get you faster. She’s like that, but it’s because she’s a goddess, not because she’s worth loving.” It sounds like Berra is trying to be nice about this.
“Love is not a decision, Berra.” Xenofos looks over the plains. “And I know she is an enemy.”
“Were you working on this last night? While I was meditating?” Varanis interrupts before Berra can reply.
“You’ll lose tra-” Berra lets herself be cut off.
Xenofos looks at Varanis. “No. But I heard the melody yesterday, you were by the fire by that point?”
Varanis stares at him. “I… heard it too. She’s haunting us.”3Main GM: muahahahahahahahahaaaaaa
“Anyhow, I ain’t saying love’s a choice. I’m saying that you, Xenofos, make *really* bad choices about people you’re in love with.” Berra squats back down by the fire.
“Can we focus on the important bit, please? Why are some of us hearing Jar-eel’s harp?” Varanis demands, her agitation increasing visibly.
“Dunno. But last time, she was playing it when she had time to think. So, right now she’s got that, I figure. Maybe we’re going to get pulled into her resurrection quest?” Berra gives Xenofos a glare. “If we do, try not to fall over your ideals.”
“I will try not be blinded by love should that happen.” Xenofos looks at Berra. “Although last time it might have been preferable.”
Berra looks back to Varanis. “It doesn’t matter. Kinda like Xenofos says. Sometimes you roll with the punches, grab a fist, and bite. If we get ridden over, we get ridden over.”
“I’ll not be trampled by her, or Harrek, or anyone else,” Varanis growls. “No more!”
“Oaks that don’t bend get broken. Have you ever seen me wrestling Xenofos? Turns out that sometimes you do gotta bend.”
The Vingan starts to pace.
Berra puts her hand to her sword, either listening or speaking to it.
“Light on your feet is a good start…” Xenofos looks over the plains “I do wonder if we should stay any longer length of time by the Straw Weavers lest we draw her attention there. We need to try to fix that ghost’s spirit to rest since we promised, but beyond that…”
Berra shrugs. “It could be a trickster spirit trying to put the wind up us. But we’re famous and where we go, we are. Getting pushed around by fear when there’s nothing coming at us yet might be too bendy.”
“A rather mighty spirit if it could conjure such sounds from our memories.” Xenofos looks at his cithara and picks it up but instead of playing places it in its cover. “But we’ll see where we are after talking with Erhehta’s assistant and dealing with that dead warrior.”
“This is Prax. Spirits are big.” Berra shrugs. “Fire’s hot. We should get some water on it.” That is, they should do any morning cooking they need to do, and set off fed.
“I’ll get the water,” Varanis offers. “I might as well put this energy to use. Maybe I’ll get a crocodile to wrestle while I’m at the bank.”
“Try to pick a part of the bank that is not as boggy” Xenofos suggests.
Berra looks confused.
Kolyey, who has been keeping watch, goes to the river at this point. She is just close enough to run in if Varanis finds trouble. No crocodiles aid in the collection of water, though eyes watch from the other side of the bank. Kolyey watches the eyes.
Nothing eats Varanis except a few hopeful mosquitoes, and one would have to be a very dedicated Humakti to think of those as assassins. She swats at them irritably but comes back with water for breakfast and some new bites.
Berra does the polite work of heating up water and getting things cut up and soaked, so someone better at cooking can do the real work.
Maalira gets started on cooking what Berra has been chopping up.
Berra checks a couple of the bits, just to be sure, and then washes her hands lest any of the vegetable pile have stuck to them. “We should probably head away from the river today. It’s going to get rainier, and it’s already pretty muddy here, and I don’t know where people will want to make crossings. I want higher ground so we can see them.”
“We certainly don’t want to get caught out if it floods,” Maalira agrees.
- 1Stuff Xenofos is looking for maybe familiar to Maalira, Varanis or Berra if they listen and pass int*3 or perhaps special sing It has echoes of tune Jar-Eel once played. Lacks all the technical finesse though and is only main theme of the rich fugue flowing from that divine harp now silenced forever.
- 2Insight: She’s battling between horror, anger, and dismay.
- 3Main GM: muahahahahahahahahaaaaaa
