Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra Daughter of Jarang
Nala of the Unicorn Ladies
Tiwr (played en-troupe)
Rajar son of Ranulph
Serala- GM played when necessary
Vestra
Mellia

NPC

Irillo Jasilsson- Initiate of Issaries Goldentongue, and Merchant Adventurer
Salid the Sniveller (Sid)- Trollkin Guardstrollkin
Koraki- Wind Lord of Orlanth
Crone Priestess of Maran Gor (Name unknown)
A local peasant of the Shaker Temple (Name too insignificant to know)
A mule (Of unknown name status, unloved but respected, and doomed)
A mixed panoply of hallucinations/visions

Our heroes gathered themselves, and committed themselves to their Gods. Before they set out, however, Berra and Nala both went in search of people suitable to give them information on the mountain. Berra, being somewhat less charismatic found Generic-Peasant A, who was able to tell her that the Mountain’s main dangers were of the cold, and of visions. He acknowledged that there was a shrine about a days climb up, but opined that there was supposed to be another further up. Nala sought out someone far more…’interesting’- a Crone Priestess of Maran Gor, who suggested blood sacrifice up the mountain in order to propitiate the Gods, whilst implying heavily that Rajar would do nicely as a victim.

Vestra, having little truck with unreliable things like human sources hit the library in the Shaker Temple to try and get a little more information. Unfortunately, it hit back, being written in Hjortling, which she didn’t speak, although she was able to get the phonetics right. Using Berra as a hearing-ear-Humakti, she gained more information about the higher temple which was ‘Within Kero Fin’s Vulva’. Whatever that meant.

Thus forewarned, our heroes set out, making the ‘low temple’ towards the end of the first day, and bivouacking in the A-frames and tripods set up there securely in rock set sockets for such a purpose for pilgrims. None suffered in more than discomfort (Berra and Irillo), whilst others positively thrived on the cold.

Setting out again the next day they approached the cloud-line. Progressing, roped together, through the mist, each in turn had a vision, in the thinning air.

Nala was first of the players (Koraki was ahead of her, and did not share what he experienced), and she felt the rope had vanished, and the Earth gave way beneath her. She managed to leap and grasp the edge of the sudden crevasse. As she hunt there, a pair of sandaled feet appeared in her vision, and she looked up to see her mother there. “Your mother is dead” it helpfully announced. Nala took in the runes ‘Earth and Death’. “Do you want vengeance?” As Nala considered this point, a hand closed around her dangling ankle, and she recognised the voice of the crone priestess of Maran Gor, asking if she wished secrets. The pair asked in unision who she would follow, now her Mother was dead. She said she would follow the Earth, and tossed a votive offering into the crevass, the voices in unison said that her mother was NOT dead, and she found herself back on the path, seemingly unchanged, but without the offering.

Tiwr did not experience any visions (RACISTS!)

Vestra was walking along in the same mist when she looked up from the book she was reading in a cool breeze in the Great Library back in Nochet. As she did so, she saw the High Priest approaching. She knew he was the High Priest, despite the fact it wasn’t anyone she recognised. The clothing was right… but only for the statue, and his beard was not squared off in the style of Nochet fashion, but straight for a length then forked, like an inverted Y. Her God then asked her about her commitment to gathering knowledge…. even if it meant breaking oaths of secrecy on the mountain. She declared she would. And found herself back on the mountain, but with the winds tugging at her, towards a cliff.

Berra found herself, a follower of the North Wind Humakt, surveying the world from Kero Fin. On her shoulder where Berra’s death rune would have been, there was an air rune carved by the God himself, with his axe, to mark her as a Guardian of the North Wind. She barely noticed the absence of her rope, but her missing sword was enough to bring back her rage. She saw someone off to one side, holding Windtooth, saying, “Look what I found, brother.” He offered her the sword if she came to him, and abandoned her friends. She saw the sword, and taunted him into attacking her, and then took the sword from him, and found herself back in place, as a real Humakti.

Mellia found herself amongst wounded warriors, clad in gold chased armour, in the Lunar style. Somehow she could read the unit markings which only Vestra had managed before- 1st Legion, 1st Century, 1st Maniple. She also saw her friends lying broken on the rocks below, still feebly moaning. The leader of the Gold Warriors called upon her to help his men. She said she would return to heal them, after healing her friends. He called upon her by her duty to heal them, and she reluctantly complied. He then informed her he would not let her heal his enemies. She attempted to make him (Berra…) sleep, but failed. She then talked him into letting her proceed, but before he let her leave, his 3 fingers touched her right hand, and seared it with 3 lines, of the Harmony rune. She went to the Wind Tribe did, healing her friends also, and Koraki (in the role of Orlanth) touched her left hand with his gloved fingers, and it was like an icy touch of two triangular glove ends, leaving the fertility rune, and she found herself back on the mountain path, and roped once more.

Sid found himself a slave once more. Tied by a rope around the waist. His master was the dread Sun Emperor, who burns the innocent Troll, and at his side was his son, and slave master, Lodril. Despairing, but still patient, the trollkin saw Orlanth slay Yelm, and whilst Lodril was distracted, he grabbed the Fire God’s spear from him, with the help of a Dark Troll Figure in Sunglasses, and beat him around the head with it (for at that time, Argan Argar had given the spear, but had not taught its use as anything other than a club). Once the Sun God was subdued, Argan Argar showed him how to cover his eyes and head from the Sun, and how to use the Spear, and he stood prouder, understanding the rope was a bond of loyalty, not of servitude.

Irillo found himself in a burnt out Nochet. His mules were dead. The city was destroyed. Even the Lunars who had taken the city had died there. His goods were on fire. There was nothing. He had nothing. His pockets were empty. His staff was broken. He despaired, for he had nothing to trade, and without trade he could not travel, and without trade and travel, he could not spread understanding to the world. He called upon friendship, and Sid gave him some bolgs. He called upon kinship and Vestra lent him cloth, and Mellia shared food. He called upon Honour, and the rest of the leapt to his aid. And he found himself, shaken, and cold, but back on the path. Just as Rajar had a little moment.

Rajar found himself the gentle Zephyrus breeze that lightly plays over the lush pastures and orchards of Prax, where the most bountiful things lived. He lived at peace with his wives, Ernalda and Uralda/Eiritha. He knew the place was perfect, without Chaos. But as soon as he thought of it, and somehow it was his fault, Chaos came. But it came to only half of Prax. He knew if he confined it, rather than fighting it, the other half of Prax could have been kept. But he tried to fight. The clinging arms of his wives around his waist prevented him lunging forward, so he tried to free himself, flailing with his axe, knocking his helmet loose, preparatory to launching himself against chaos. Which is the point Sid knocked him unconscious.

After some first aid from Mellia, the party were able to proceed upwards, and came up above the cloudline, into clear air. Nala attempted to lead the party over a crevasse, but the others noted the two ridgelines coming up and together up the mountainside, with a cave at their junction. They climbed towards this, and as they did so, they noted the area around the cave and in a triangle above the cave entrance was carved with a mass of air runes, forming a pubic hair analogue. They climed up, Mellia falling off, and then, thanks to a handy ‘flight’ spell, wafting up to the cave. They stepped inside the cave, Serala standing, as the faithful Thane at the doorway as guard. Inside, each perceived the place as reflecting their own home culture, and someone who looked like Serala who had been left to guard the place in the absence of its Lord and Lady (or Lady and Lord for the Esrolians) apologised for their not being there. It bade them eat, drink, and take refreshment. It also permitted them to take some scrolls (or parchments. Or Praxian knotted strings). Nala meditated, and saw the truth of the cave, and explored deeper, finding a deep cleft into which she thrust her hand, feeling secrets of the deep womb of the Goddess. The others ate, Koraki left arm rings, and then they all left, meeting Serala once more, and Nala left the last of the moss from her alcove at Whitewall in the appropriate place, before climbing down (Koraki flying down). They descended once more by stages still suffering from the cold, down to the Temple, where they checked the ‘scrolls’. These proved to be a Hjortling manuscript of the Stationary Lightbringers Quest, which they resolved to take back to Kallyr, and two Esrolian papyrus scrolls of ‘How to return the Boat Planet’, and ‘The Nativity of Giants’.

We leave our heroes back at the Shaker temple, trying to defrost.

“As mentioned, smooch her from me.” – GM
“Remind me never to get ill.” – Berra

garbled stuff – Rajar
“Are you sure you’re not actually broadcasting from on top of a space hopper.” – Nala

“I’ve come undone.” – Nala

“I also wanted to go learn sleep, because Oratory doesn’t work on PCs…” – Mellia

“We have a 100% record of not falling over a cliff to our deaths.” – Rajar
“Everyone says so, who comes back.” – Rajar

“Well, there’s the cold. And the snow line…” – Lay Member
“Snow line?” – Berra
“Well, even when you get higher, even though it’s not Dark Season, there’s snow on the ground. And if you get higher, you may be blessed with visions.”

“But she is only slightly possessed.” – Nala

“I really could do with a prehensile tail sometimes. Or better telekinesis than I have got.” – Vestra
“Vestra, with the prehensile tail, in the library.” – Nala

“We might want to send the Storm Bull in first as he’s got a lot of wives.” – Berra
“I have no idea what you mean!” – Rajar

“No, you suggested it… I want to be perfectly clear about the blame and the credit here!” – Berra
“*I* don’t have any particular tie to truth…” – Nala

“RAJAR IS BIGGEST.” – Berra
“We should sacrifice him!” – Berra

“TAAKE YOUR FRIENDS” – Berra
“You ain’t having Billy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” – Rajar

“When you go above the shrine supposed to be the place of the birth of Orlanth you may proceed to a higher cave which is in my mind the true one. If you are graced then once you have entered Kero Fin’s vulva you may receive visions. (Small stuff about the making of the shaker temple.)” – Book Vestra found and read out to Berra

“GM, never ever hold your hands like that while wiggling them again PLEASE.” – Berra
*makes very crude accidental gesture on purpose, innocently* – GM
“Now you are just trolling us.” – Berra

Nala . o O (SHIT! WHAT DID I SAY TO KORAKI?!?!?)

“Tea.” – Everyone
“Do you like Jasmine?” – Nala
“Lovely Girl.” – Rajar

“No satisfaction…” – GM
“Rocks fall, everyone dies, yeah yeah.” – Berra
“More, stones roll.” – GM

“Survival, 20.” – Berra
“I’m in the sixties.” – Nala
“That’s the Rolling Stones we were doing earlier.” – Berra

“I do not do survival. I sit around waiting to fight. You keep your expensive jet fighter in a hangar.” – Rajar
“You are not a jet fighter. You are a battleship.” – Berra
“Fair.” – Rajar

*fails survival roll* – Berra

“So this is the shrine for beginners, is it?” – Rajar

“It’s Cult Lore Storm Bull, isn’t it. Oh, it’s not that great…” – Rajar

“I specifically said I wasn’t bringing Billy. I remember how fleet-foot and gazelle-like he is.” – Rajar

“I figure that walking up and down the mountain is better than having to walk back to Prax.” – Rajar

*fails survival roll* – Berra

“You need the bison fat body rub, then.” – Vestra
“WHICH BISON?” – Berra

“Who’s in the lead?” – GM
“Someone who understands how to find a path in the snow.” – Berra
“Oh shit.” – Nala

“There are in fact manicured toes on the sandals.” – GM
“Is it Koraki?” – Nala

“Your mother is dead. Will you seek revenge?” – Babeester Gor
“And someone grabs your ankle.” – GM

“It would be really hard to slaughter a deer from this position.” – Nala

“To whom are you dedicating it?” – GM
“To Earth.” – Nala

“Tiwr! Are you alright?” – Nala
“No! I’m up a mountain and it’s bloody freezing!” – Tiwr, per GM
“And I’m surrounded by a bunch of idiots who are all RACISTS, and don’t have enough HOOVES!” – Tiwr, per Berra
“Oh good. I do love you, you know.” – Nala
*Whinny* – Mules

“This book is the clearest study you have ever seen of how it works.” – GM
“Book.” – Vestra
“Yes. Book that you are reading.” – GM
“Reading. I thought I was climbing.” – Vestra
“Why would you be doing that?” – GM

“You’d know that smell of incense and despair anywhere.” – GM

“Lankor Mhy will smite her for talking in the library.” – Berra

*pre-rolls religious nutjobbery* – Berra

“You were just about to walk off a cliff. You feel the wind tugging at you.” – GM
“Bad wind. No Vestra.” – Nala

“Sprouts!” – Rajar
“…sprouts?” – Nala
“Bad wind.” – Rajar

“There is a sacred sign known to all of Glorantha…” *gives the bird* – Berra

“Now, behind Berra… was Mellia.” – GM
“Oh boy!” – Mellia

“My people need healing, White Lady.” – Yelm
“So do mine. I will do my best I can to heal all.” – Mellia
“Where will you start?” – Yelm
“Both honour and love dictate I start with my own people. I will do my best for all of you.” – Mellia
“I will not let you leave.” – Yelm
“Luckily I have a cure for this attitude…” – Mellia

“So, can you roll under 75?” – GM
“Let’s find out.” – Mellia

“My people need healing NOW, White Lady, on your oath.” – Yelm

“When you think you have done everything he says, ‘Now, why should I let you go to my enemy?'” – GM
“Because I will try to make peace between the two of you if you do.” – Mellia
“I see…. Go then.” – Yelm

“Irillo does have a moment…” – GM
“We’ll tell you later what that is.” – Berra
“It involves being destitute.” – GM
“Shit, that’s worse than I could come up with.” – Berra

“Almost worth the walk up here!” – Rajar

“It’s so peaceful!” – GM
“Errrrgh. Well, I’m sure I could do something about that.” – Rajar
“Well, no. You are the zephyr breeze that gambols over this land…” – GM
“Hmmmmm…..” – Rajar

“This is how Prax should be.” – GM
“This is how Prax was.” – Rajar
“This is how Prax is.” – GM

“It would be like this if it wasn’t for the Devil.” – Rajar
“And as soon as you have that thought….” – GM
“YOU BROKE IT RAJAR.” – Berra

“You can keep Half of Prax as it should be.” – GM
“Never. Charge.” – Rajar
“Which considering that I am roped to everyone else, could be a problem.” – Rajar

“You are charging, but the clinging hands of your two brides are holding you back.” – GM
“Cut the rope man, cut the rope!” – Berra

“Calling upon my rage to power me.” – Rajar
“What do you mean by ‘calling upon rage'” – GM
“Well, I’m not going to pull the trigger, because I can’t see the devil yet…” – Rajar

“Rajar first defeated a tree, then a mountain.” – Berra

“So, Irillo is closest to you… Would you like to make your grapple?” – GM
“OK, GM. That would be a fumble. That would be a 99.” – Rajar

“Let me find the correct table for someone fumbling on a narrow mountain pass in the fog while hallucinating about fighting chaos.” – GM
“That’s a very specific table.” – Berra

“I’m going to specify which bit. It’s your helmet. Because although Irillo missed his attack, Sid made his with his pike used as a quarterstaff…” – GM
“It’s amazing how often I wake up like this.” – Rajar

Sid’s vision entailed Argan Argor, God of Darkness and Harmony. Which is why, when you wake up, you have … it’s like there’s a triple line on your forehead.” – GM
“Not at all because Sid’s vicious.” – Vestra
“Vestra, I want you to sit down and think about what you’ve done.” – GM

“Well done that troll! Bags I not carry him.” – Berra
“I can probably bring him around. There’s plenty of snow here to use for ice packs.” – Mellia

“Waking up unconscious with lumps on my head is fairly standard, really.” -Rajar

“Check if I can see if Prax is OK, and assume I have saved the day!” – Rajar
“You do have this haunting thought that… you /could/ have saved Prax.” – GM
“And I will.” – Rajar

“Check your private window, Rajar” – GM
“private significant pause window.” – Berra

“Ur, is this a bad time to say I’ve run out of blanks?” – Vestra?

“After a moment to revive your Storm Bull…” – GM
“And to reassure Sid.” – Nala

“Whatever the healer is doing that involves the strange spell focus of a bag of snow on your head, it’s working.” – GM

“It would have been religiously inappropriate to run off that cliff.” – Berra

“It’s like going up a ladder into a hay loft. It’s beautiful sunshine up here, and you can see this solid floor for you to walk on, all the way to distant mountains where the dragons were…” – GM
“Let’s not.” – Nala

“That gap in the clouds looks just like a duck!” – Vestra
“That looks a lot like that thing we were trying to pronounce earlier, Vestra.” – Berra

“Rajar, they’re talking about Vulvas.” – GM
“Excellent!” – Rajar

“Charge!!!!!” – Rajar

“I’m going to do an anatomical drawing in the snow. We got up /that/ way and wave a lot in the right direction… But not so many times, or nobody’s enjoying themselves.” – Berra
“Have you got the buffalo fat handy?” – Rajar

“Berra. Your mission, should you chose to accept it… Sid in sunglasses.” – Nala

“So Sid basically looks like a cocktail.” – Nala
“Long straw, cocktail umbrella.” – GM

“My hands should work better than this.” – Berra fails a climbing rolls

“Hey, maybe mountains aren’t as bad as I thought! (Boing boing boing)!” – Tiwr, on rolling an 01 on his climb roll and being one with his (mountain) goat heritage
“Show-off.” – Nala, about to botch her scan roll

“84/41 Climb – someone had better catch Mellia.” – Mellia

“Mellia, you start plummeting downwards…. And then you start plummeting upwards.” – GM
“I believe I can flyyyyyy.” – Mellia
“It looks like beautiful controlled, if startled, flight.” – GM

“Carved in the shape of pubic hair. Lots of little spirals. All around the edge of the cave.” – GM
“One has to admire the artistic fortitude for carving at altitude.” – Rajar
“I don’t think the people who carved this worried about air.” – Berra

“Step through into a long house. A sartarite… sorry, it’s not a sartarite longhouse. It’s a beautiful marble-lined Esrolian Villa…. oh wait, it’s a yurt… You each see your home culture.” – GM

“Speaking in what used to be called YNL. Your Native Language.” – Nala

“I need to find a deer. For the sacrifice.” – Nala
“It’s why I brought the mule.” – Irillo
“smug GM” – Berra
looks smug – GM

Scrolls:
On the Nativity of Giants
How one may return the Boat Planet
The Stationary Lightbringers Quest

“You may eat and drink as you wish here…” – Elmal
*perks* – Rajar

“We were told we should meditate upon this place.” – Nala
“Elmal laughs. ‘You are here.'” – GM
“We are living a meditation.” – Berra

“Rajar, hand over the Champion’s Portion, seeing as I’m here… oh god, I have to eat all that.” – Berra

“Speak for yourself. I want to find out what happens if you meditate in a meditation. I’m here for the secrets, man!” – Nala

Nala sees that there was an empty cave, and people were eating mule meat.

“Nala could hear the heartbeat of the mountain, or maybe of the child Orlanth before birth.”-GM
“Why do you miss when my baby…. Ahem.” – Berra

“Funny it looks like a longhouse. I wasn’t sure what to expect.” – Berra

“You step outside. Serala is standing outside…” – GM

“Koraki pauses, and takes a step into the air – and drifts down.” – GM
“BASTARD.” – Berra

“Mellia appears to have had the vegetarian moss option.” – GM

“Are Berra and Rajar covered in blood?” – Nala
“Yes.” – GM
“Nothing new.” – Rajar

*fails survival roll* – Berra

“Although she has the plan of snuggling next to Rajar.” – Berra
“My warmth is your warmth ……..er er…” – Rajar

“You’re supposed to rub the bison fat over you, not eat it!” – Vestra

“All dark and cold and clammy.” – GM
“So great, there’s no roof, I love it!” – Nala

*fails survival roll* – Berra

“It’s good, I’ve started shivering again!” – Berra

“A verry larege mushroom attacketh the badjer.” – Berra attempting translation of Heortling to Trade Talk

“I did a basic Heortling phrasebook…” – Vestra
“First of all, the word you used for phrasebook was wrong…” – Nala

“He looks at it. Looks at Vestra. Asks Vestra to read it.” – GM

“I got to sock Eurmal in the jaw.” – Berra
“Which you spent all of last week wanting to do.” – GM
“Yes, but I didn’t know that.” -Berra

“All the Lamias you can eat.” – Berra
“Yay?” – GM
“Lamassu is more fun to say. Lamasuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.” – Nala