Game-Summaries:10/13/2018 Recollections

Ci's Shanjiu Inspiration

Ci invites Dereth, Cassio, Ember, Amon, and Loco to the Shanjiu Keep for a meal a few nights before their upcoming adventure. It's a simple meal of roast fowl and vegetables, and though the ingredients are humble they are well seasoned with spices you find it hard to recognize. You discuss the progress on the keep and, as usual Cassio dominates the conversation with stories about Cassio. In in an uncharacteristically quiet moment while Cassio devours a small squib, Ci begins speaking quietly…

"There once was a raven that lived near small village on the shores of a great ocean. The raven was a great and powerful raven, indeed his brethren called him king raven, and he got first choice of the garbage and offal left out by the villagers about town. He often went about with his chest feathers puffed out, cackling and cawing when others of his flock came too near, or the stones thrown by the village children came to close to knocking him off his perch. "I am greatest of all the birds don't you see? I am the strongest, and can fly the farthest, and have more tricks, and more wisdom than all other birds? How could there ever be a bird greater than me?"

“It so happened that at the end of a grey day in the fall, when the chill of the coming winter was just beginning to creep into the air, the ravens saw a strange sight in the sky. A large flock of swans were flying all in formation from the north. They made a long circle about the small village, and alighted on the shore just as the last rays of the day were winking out in the west over the water. The ravens were all a twitter with talk about the swans.

"How majestic!" they said and "How beautiful!"

"Did you see how they flew?" said another. "All in a line! They must be the smartest birds we have ever seen, to learn to fly like that!"

“King Raven was quite annoyed at the talk of the other Ravens. ‘That is no feat to fly in straight line!’ he cackled. ‘Why any fool bird could do that... I can fly in a hundred different ways, up down and sideways. I can zoom and I can swoop, and can turn and I can flip! See, this is how a King of Birds flies!’

“He proceeded to demonstrate his flying for all his flock. Indeed so great was his display and his commotion that it drew the attention of the villagers and swans as well. The villagers watched and said, ‘that fool raven is up to his old tricks again’, and laughed and threw him bread, which he snatched from the air as he swooped and dove. The swans merely watched from the shore, and when he finished politely clucked and shook their feathers, which is what passes for applause among swans.”

“The raven, now more full of himself than ever, strode out to the shore to speak to the swans. They welcomed him warmly, and congratulated him on his fine display. King Raven said ‘Indeed, I am quite talented as a flyer, as you have seen! Can any of you fly in a hundred ways, up down and sideways? Can you snatch bread from the air, and turns flips and dive and swoop?’

“Humbly the swans answered, ‘Indeed no, friend Raven. We swans can fly but one way, the way we were taught by our foremothers and forefathers.’

“I thought not!’ crowed the raven, and he went on ‘I bet there is not one of you that can fly with me! I challenge any of you to a contest of flight! the winner shall be called King of all Birds!”

“One rather mature swan that had been listening to the raven cluck and preen, picked her head up from foraging and settling in for the night and said, ‘We have no time for such foolishness, and certainly no desire to be king of all birds, but we will fly with the first light, as is our way, and you are welcome to fly with us and demonstrate your talent."

"I accept your terms,’ croaked the Raven. and he flew off, with one last loop for good measure.

“In the morning, the raven met the birds on the shore, somewhat after first light, as the raven was not by nature an early riser. ‘Well, let's begin then!’ he called to the assembled swans. ‘We have been only waiting on you friend raven, but we don't have far to go today, so we could afford the delay,’ and with that the entire flock took the air as one. They had launched themselves and assembled in the air, before King Raven could even move a feather. They made one more slow circle of the village and then headed out over the western ocean.”

“The Raven finally recovered, gathered himself and took off after the swans. he approached at great speed calling, ‘that was impressive I admit, but taking off is not flying, and this how a REAL king flies!’ He then proceeded to swoop and dive around and among their formation. He looped one bird then the next. He dove between them and climbed ahead of them. he flew so that his wings almost touched the waves, then climbed so high the swans could barely see him. He put on such a display as they had never seen.”

“Just as he finished a great loop around the whole flock, the raven noticed the sun had climbed high in the sky, and it was now late morning. He realized he had had no bread or entrails today and was quite hungry. He also noticed his wings were a bit tired from all his swooping a diving, and as he turned to find his village he realized he could not see the land! He saw nothing but miles and miles of ocean all around, and for the first time in many years he was afraid. In his pride, he resolved not to say anything however, and flew on. He grew more tired and more tired, and begin to dip lower and lower towards the waves. He was not cackling and cawing now, and indeed, feared he might not survive. He noticed then, perhaps for the first time, how effortlessly the swans flew. They seemed no more tired now than when they had taken off this morning. their formation was still precise and their speed though modest was steady and strong.

“When he could bear it no more, he called out ‘Friend swans! I submit! I cannot fly any farther! I fear I will drown!’ Without a word, the flock turned and glided towards him. The swan at the head of the formation flew beneath him, and just as his wings gave out, she caught his body on her huge back. Then as one, the flock turned back towards the way they had come, and slowly climbed back into the sky.”

“It was a long while before the raven could speak, and when he did he simply said ‘How? I am the greatest flyer of all time! How could you have bested me?’

“The old swan on whose back he now perched simply said, ‘Did you not see how we flew? Together? No one in the lead too long, no one left out or left behind? In this way we make each other stronger. This is the lesson we learn from ancestors and teach to our children, that we are all greater together than we are alone, and doing well that which we are born to do, is better than trying to be something we are not.’

“And with that the swans slowly glided back the shore where they had slept the night before. They settled in again, and the raven stumbled off to collapse in exhaustion. In the morning when the raven awoke the swans were long gone, flying with the sun at the backs and the breeze in their faces. For a long while the raven did not cackle or crow or puff or preen. He did sometimes look to the west however, and when he did, he always next found someway to be helpful to his flock."

And with that Ci, resumed his meal, as if he had not been speaking at all. From the far side of the table, you hear Ember chuckle, "Cassio! Hey Cassio! What did you think of that story?" Cassio mumbles "Hmm? What? I am sorry Ci I am sure it was a fine tale, but I quit listening when I realized that it was not about me."

"Was it not?" Ci says. "Hmm..." and resumes his meal.

Recollections by Cassio

Dearest Cambert.

I write this letter posthumously as a testament to your unique soul, and a soul truly for the ages. For you see i have traveled these lands for many years. I have trained young pups and humbled giant brutes, but yours was one of brief brilliance in my illustrious career, so here i pay tribute. Your facial features and body type mostly unremarkable but what clearly set you apart from the rest of the riff raff and near do wells was you understood my greatness. In all the lands and seas and mountains never was there a being who understood my absolute perfection such as yourself. To follow me to greatness in observing me in all my glory as i slay the evil of the world and protect the innocent. To gaze upon my greatness as i cleave down bands of raiders and even gods!

So enraptured with my skill and utter talent it is wonder why no more of your companions sought to bask in my chiseled physique and rapier quick wit and rapport.

Imagine my disappointment to find you were actually a faceless horror from beyond the deep wearing the face of one such as myself. Who knew celebrity would be such bloody work...

No Matter, I will always remember Cambort.....Camhert?......Cam..furt?..My greatest fan.

Sincerly, and with fiery justice. Cassio Lista

Recollections by Ci

I realized during this mission that as ill-suited as I am for espionage, our dear Cassio is hopeless indeed... though inflation of his personal importance comes naturally, it does come from a place of honesty. Cassio truly believes himself to be that important. Bless his armored heart, he cannot help but tell the truth as he sees it. This does not seem to be a desirable trait when infiltrating a stronghold of the Cult of the Kraken. Dereth, Cassio, Ember, Amon, Loco and I accompanied the House of Water on a mission to investigate a gathering of suspected Cult Members on yet another mysterious island outside Kraken's Landing. The Blues were initially unimpressed with our skills as spies, though we eventually concocted a passable cover as a troop of travelling minstrels.

We met our cult contacts on board ship, and managed somehow to convince them that we were the entertainers we claimed to be. We traveled uneventfully to the island, and were ushered in as part of the entertainment for a celebration feast to be held that evening. After our initial arrival I was able to to hide myself in the main chamber as preparations for the feast were made. During the preparations and after our surprisingly well received performance, we were able to discover a few key bits of information. First, we were able to confirm that this group was in fact the Cult of the Kraken that we had encountered on multiple occasions. Second, I was able to identify the leader of this group of the Cult. Lastly, and perhaps most ominously, I was able to discover that this celebration was in honor of the completion of something called "The Cannon." I immediately thought of the shipboard magical cannon we found in Windy Bluff... I had thought that secured by the Magistery in Windy Bluff! It turns out we had the thing in our hands and let it go...

Cassio also attracted a fan, to everyone's surprise but his, and from him and one of the Cultists who wanted to preach his faith to Dereth, we learned that whatever plot they have in motion, will come to fruition on the New Year. We also learned that these cultists actually revere the being we know as the Nameless. One them not only spoke its name but did so with almost fevered devotion! Fearful of this utterance, we ended our meeting before we could learn more, however.

There was a passage leading lower into the island, we resolved to find our way past their guards. We hoped to find and eliminate an aspect of Shar Ngolyeth we did before, in order to return this island the sea. We both found and did not find what we hoped. After a stealthy take down of the guards, we discovered that many of not all of these cultists are not human at all, and instead some form of the creatures we had known as the Deep Ones. What followed was a harrowing dive into what seemed the entrails of some great beast, periodic fights with these Deep Ones, aided by liberal use of spells of Water-breathing. We eventually made our way to a series of chambers separated by organic membranes. Among these we did indeed find and eliminate Aspects of Shar Ngolyeth as before. We did indeed manage to destroy them, but unlike before, their death had no effect on the island. Indeed, Cassio's infallible sense for evil told us we must tread deeper. What we eventually found shook us mightily.

At the lowest level of this island we came face to face with Shar Ngolyeth himself, rather than some pale aspect of it's power. This creature turned out to be an Elder Brain of immense size and power, and It was nearly the death of us. Friend Amon, had not been quite himself through this journey, and when we faced Shar Ngolyeth] it was revealed why. This thing was actually his Patron! It commanded him to do battle with us, and though he attempted to resist, he was forced to turn the powers granted to him by this monster on us. We fought valiantly however, and were nearly able to fell this thing, despite most of the party being unconscious and myself having to fight from a seated position after being charmed by Amon and dominated by the sheer will of Shar Ngolyeth.

In the end however, the creature was able to flee not only from the island, but from this plane of existence however. Along the way Amon was severed from his connection from Shar Ngolyeth and left adrift without patron or powers. The flight of Shar Ngolyeth then, had the desired effect... the island was returning to the sea from whence it came. We managed to escape the flooded tunnels and rejoin our spymaster, only to find all of the cultists dead either by her hand or by the flight of the Elder Brain. We left the island in a state of shock with more questions then answers from this mission.

• If a being such as Shar Ngolyeth can be enticed to do the will of the Nameless, what other horrors has it co-opted?

• Where is the cannon that we let slip through our hands, and how will it be used to bring about the coming of the Nameless?

• What can be done to interrupt the plot we still know precious little of, other than the date of its activation?

• Is the Nameless at the center of all these plots, including the machinations of Danifae and Zuggtmoy, and if so, how can we hope to defeat such a being?]]

These questions haunt me as I write these words in the candlelight of my rooms here in Shanjiu Castle. With the reminder of the price of failure burning with a green glow in the Great Hall below me, I hope we are up to the task of answering these questions. If not, I fear they may be no one left to build a memorial for the rest of us should we fail.

Recollections by Dereth

I am thankful for Ci for giving everyone the big picture of what we encountered in the Mind Flayer cave. I'd only like to elaborate on a few details that may come up again.

Amon met Fleur of the Blue with Vaughn. Vaughn is a man whose partner Lissa was taken by the Cult of the Kraken. We doff our armor and set ourselves up as a performance troupe. Jan (Ci) was our acrobat, Lassio (really?!) was our tarot reader, Mammon (Amon) acted as fortune teller with Morgjorb (Loco) assisting him, Margaret (Fleur) played harp, Ember acted as fire-dancer, and Gawain (myself) acted as medic and tambouriner.

Nothing of note happened on our transit to Kraken's Landing, but we noticed that the ship was laden with food stuffs and other basic supplies. The cult can not cultivate anything yet, it seems. A cultist escort deactivates traps along our route into the keep. The cult of the Kraken has made their own keep from the risen rock. We are taken the their main hall where Ci stealthily hears Captain Heck ramping up the group for a celebration, but he also hears mild dissent that "red eye" is truly revered and only Umberlee truly matters. After being referred to as "R'Lyeh's chosen", it was our time to perform. I am wildly impressed with Cassio's self-control and our ability to use our talents for fun. Perhaps we should be doing more of that for people...

Aside from the reverent preaching, we also learned about what could have been the origin of the gods. Was it fate or chance that could have directed this Nameless creature to "win" the gods. Let us never hear the song celebrating the Red Eye of Azathoth during THIS feast that the priest, Wratha, tried to sing.

Using Cassio's ability to sense perversions of magic, we descended while Fleur "interrogated" the captain and the other cultists. Ci covers Amon's Folly well, but as a man devoted to another god, I do not blame Amon. If the Lady of the Lake told me I was in a den of snakes, I would turn and root out that evil without thought. Amon's questioning of his patron's wishes was savvy and saved us, at great personal cost. While I may not believe he chose the best god to devote himself to, I am happy he has found a more clear path.