We enter this encampment and notice bear skulls above the gate way. We notice two bears like the ones that attacked us… that are being used respectfully as beasts of burden within the village.
Balz notices this is similar to the stone circle set up; similar tradition of earth works. Something similar to the sacred grove around Monsoth. It seems old and we may have encountered similar ruins in the old world during collective travel.
We consensually enter through the main gate. The People are surprised at our arrival; children hide behind their parents to look at us. The guard has let us into the gate…
We speak to the guard and ask who’s in charge - Henavek and Beryan are the elders. Their hut is back towards the central square/meeting place. We ask for breakfast and we are told to come to the elders hut and perhaps we’ll see what they have to say.
We are escorted down the main avenue and we see kids, families. The reaction is surprising to the villages - we are strangers, a curiosity. They are all human looking. There’s a few guards up on walls, looking in each direction. People keep an eye but we don’t see a bunch of soldiers. The guards look like village folk who have some training, watching the country. No siege weapons/defenses - spears with stone tips; flint tips. They are just watching.
There’s not a ton of bears, we see a few around that are very large. As tall as a horse, slightly longer. Significant animals. They are treated with a great deal of respect. They are not beasts of burden, they are domesticated but are respected. These are well cared for animals, and receive attention from the folks in the village. The ones we saw were wild animals, healthy but not domestic.
The village has some minor bronze in the tackle for the bears. There’s not an inn or marketplace. Some huts are for storage, some sides or trade but no major commerce. It’s not huge.
We head to the elders, Henavik and Barrian, and ask us to wait outside. We hear some whispering inside - Silas is translating the druidic tongue, they can speak the common language but not so well. It’s a broken common tongue - not what they’d converse in primarily. We are invited in but we need to leave our metal stuff… we agree. It’s a smokey hut, the elders sit in state… looking at each other and us and say… “Welcome travelers, what brings you here?”
Arthen and the bears check each other out. No issue with Arthen, he enters the hut without any fuss. Of course he’s going to go in and the domesticated bears acknowledged him without much fuss.
Henavek (man) & Beryan (woman) are their names. We thank them for inviting us into their village. They ask us what brings us to the village, and we respond that we seek the source of The Black Water. They ask us why we are seeking The Black Water, why are we seeking evil? We relate our tale thus far, from the abbott to our travels and encounters. We tell them that we have met people who have used it as a weapon, and go on to describe our fight with Mali. The elders ask us to leave the hut while they huddle.
The door guard enters the hut, and we hear voices from within. The guard returns, aggressive, and asks us why we bring evil to this village. He says they brought us there in friendship, and we have brought evil into their midst. Storr attempts to quell the fire by stepping in front of the spear; it only angers the guard further. Krambler suggests that we mean them no harm, to which the guard replies, “Explain yourself!” B thinks they might be talking about The Black Water he carries, but keeps his own counsel. Storr asks why they think we bring evil, and the guard explains that they’ve fought against The Black Water’s evil for a long time and that we come seeking it out. Storr goes on to explain that we meant no offense; we just want to know what it is so we can fight it, too. This seems to calm the guard, and presently the elders appear in the doorway. They ask us what brought us here? We had mentioned The Black Water initially, and that caused them to react negatively. The idea of following or using The Black Water is anathema to their society. They are open to the party explaining themselves further and await our response. They recognize that Silas could be a friend, but they remain wary.
Storr calmly explains that we were tasked with investigating the source and nature of the black water, in order to prevent its use for evil. As we were following the water, we encountered their village by chance and, given our long journey and strange encounters, we sought shelter and information within its walls. Storr asks the nature of the evil; the elders do not know exactly, but know it is ancient and unleashed a terror on the world long ago. They have stood watch for long ages trying to cleave to the ideals of a power that can oppose this evil. As long as they can recall, the black stream has been there. What is the terror they mention? Long ago evil was released and created chaos, and the village was destroyed along with many other things, and a great darkness came. B asks for the source of the black water. They respond that it comes from the Black Lake, high in the mountains. K asks about these powers that can stand up to the evil; they say they are servants of the Great Bear, and they have tried to keep the faith. Have they seen this Great Bear? No, no one has seen the Bear since he went to sleep long, long ago. They pray for His awakening. What is the nature of the Bear? What does he look like? He is giant (they say without qualification), old and strong beyond reckoning. S asks if they ever venture out into the surrounding lands? Are there others like them nearby? They say there are enclaves in this forest, many are secretive. The center of their community is a day or two’s march north along the western bank of the river. They are adept at hiding, though, and there is a splinter sect that lives off to the east that has never come this far (over the mountains), but now and then some travel between the two villages, maintaining a connection. Have they encountered any strange creatures in the forest? They say no, but there are many strange creatures in this forest; its roots go back to the beginning of the world.
It occurs to us that the description of the forest is reminiscent of the dreams we’ve all been having of late. K wonders whether this village is a dream, and “perceives” very confidently that this village is “the real world”.
Silas doesn’t recall having visitors from other sects…they were fairly secluded from the outside. Perhaps the visits to the splinter sect to the east were unbeknownst to Silas…or they occurred before Silas’ time. Silas asks the elders about being called, “Arthyden.” The elders ask, “You’re bear-born?” Silas confirms this, and shares it’s been a point of contention with his bears. Silas explains that he can shapeshift into bear form. The elders suggest we head back to the roundhouse while they meet and confer. What’s up with the bears in your village? These bears are trained, part of our culture, respected and such, seen more as partners, as opposed to domesticated horses as servants. The bears must be respected as equals, and coexist with the humans…what’s with the skulls? - From two old bears that died, guard points out a site outside of the village, to a large hill - excarnation process (sky burial) and the skulls were brought back to the village. Villagers conform to the same custom of excarnation. Storr asks what the villagers eat, we hunt for small game round here…village sustaining itself on the land nearby.
At night there’s a shadow from long ago, must beware at night to protect from said darkness…striving to be watchful more than anything else. They are fearful at night, the Night King of Darkness, “King of the Moon,” brought great destruction and evil…they keep a closer watch at night - flowed down out of the North and into the East…Silas asks about the origins, they say there’s an old Tower - but they feel that the evil’s origin is the Black Lake to the North, the source of the black water. Describes 20 miles to the north there’s another hill rising up, this is the center of their community, where a holy grove of sorts exists. Further to the north, way further, perhaps 40 miles is the “haunted tower.” The black water flows down the stream coming from the north. There appears to be a gap in the mountains about 50 miles from here, from whence the river flows…
To the West there’s one tall peak that juts out from the forest - they call this the Bear’s Fang, the lone peak that reaches further up than the rest. Storr asks to go meet the bears…I guess we go to see the bears. The guard’s name is Corantok, not to be confused with Den.
The bears keep their own names. We call them all Arthen - which is “bear” in our language. Interesting.
Silas encourages Arthen to come say hello… Arthen sniffs around where he’s not welcome, the big bear swats the shit out of his snout, and Arthen gets whacked and laid out on his back, just rolling around making sad noises from being a curious idiot, taking 2 points bludgeoning damage.
Storr cautiously approaches this huge majestic bear and strokes him behind the ear - the bear allows it. The bears allow Corantok to ride him to the grove. He is well respected and is one of those that will be carried by the bears through the forest, where he needs to travel. Storr asks Corantok to demonstrate how he rides the bear, Corantok obliges - he shows him his saddle, etc.
The elders return and quickly confer with Corantok, they invite Silas to walk with them inside the yurt…Looking around, there seems to be small pieces of bronze that are going to be more decorative than anything - they don’t seem to have any steel anywhere…Berion is the elder to speak with regarding healing and such. Storr asks if there’s anything we can share with them for their hospitality. Corantok asks where we’re coming from, what is this city we’re from, tell me about the monastery? Krambler tells a bit about the monastery, the city of Monsoth and this “new” god Mons, who is dismissed away by Corantok. C warns us to be careful at night - these great bears may grow darkness in their hearts, be careful…if you care about the forest, if you commune with nature and become one with the forest, respect and reverence the forest, then you will find moving with nature to go well for you, rather than going against nature, or to attempt to rule over the natural world. If you are open to the Bear’s influence, being respectful to all, then things will go better for you. Evil comes from Man, not from Nature. The Bear has always seemed to be able to hold its own, even when Mankind has attempted to overtake the Bear by force…Storr wants to fuck ride fuck the bear, backwards. Roll dexterity and persuasion…SO MANY PHRASING OPPORTUNITIES…Storr gets it up. Bear says, so, now what? Storr asks Corantok to teach her what the Bear likes. C talks to the Bear, uses his body, suggestively with his hands, it’s subtle, there is understanding. Sexily. Storr wants to learn, longingly. She feels like she would need much practice in this arena. She’s not looking at it like it’s crazy or magical, she’s seen people riding horses in a similar, sexy way. Storr asks if C gets around, or if this is the only Bear for him. Corantok confirms that he is in a monogamous Bear relationship. Storr asks about the village being attacked, seems like they’ve been attacked in the night by packs of wolves, bears, etc. These wild bears hunt large animals in the same manner as packs of wolves. This is strange, as the black bears we’ve seen near Monsoth are fairly solitary animals, so this is weird. For sure.
Silas is talking with the elders…the rest of the party is straight chillin with Corantok…until next time!