The party tries to feed Cricket water from the bowl in the stone circle, but it falls through th hole in his chin and runs down his bloody chest.
The Boatman is here. There are townspeople approaching.
Storr asks if the boatman can save Cricket.
B: I cannot reverse someone’s choice
Bal: What was his choice
B: Your friend made a choice to sacrifice himself for your good and I cannot undo it.
S:l Can anyone save him?
B: Not here, but honor his sacrifice.
The townspeople approach. Storr gives himself and Krambler a healing potion.
Bal: Why are they coming up here?
B: You’ve made quite a stir. I suppose they’re curious.
Winter man is wearing armor made of ice and the sword is made of ice as well. A pouch with 5 gold coins. Basic traveling gear.
Monk lady has a couple of ice daggers that seem like they are melting. The armor is cracked and broken.
Silas posts up behind The Boatman. He saks him to help them with the crowd, to which he nods. The others hide. Storr stays by Crickets body.
The approach. The Boatman puts up a hand. They stop. He looks to Storr.
B: Do your people not send off they’re honored dead by flame?
S: We do.
B: Perhaps this friend of yours could be honored in the same way.
Storr asks the townsfolk who they are. They look to The Boatman, he says no, and they look back.
B: I think they come out of curiosity. It’s not everyday we have visitors entering through standing stones.
The group is unsure if they should put him on a pyre immediately
Storr says some good words about why we need to let go. We could take Koweth with us and any other items of value he would want us to have.
Krambler and Bal go to find wood.
Silas sits and communes and tried to locate and Koweth, but senses he’s not close, and perhaps not in this world anymore.
B asks if he can see the flute. Storr is unsure, but hands it over.
B: I wonder if you would allow me to take this as payment as passage to the island.
K and Bal return.
B: I have not seen its like in many years.
Bal: What do you know of that flute>?
B: Just that flutes of bone are ancient artifacts and this one seems of a high quality workmanship. He wonders where one such as this would have acquired such a thing? (It was Mannix’s)
B: I saw a glowing ember you took from him too. Perhaps you should light the fire with it?
Storr holds it out to The Boatman but he says to keep it and use it.
Everyone says or does something in honor.
The flames rage up. The townsfolk are watching and seem confused and overwhelmed. They look to everyone trying to piece something together. Once the fire is raging, The Boatman pulls out the flute and plays it. He begins playing the song Cricket started playing the other night. The smoke billows up and around. Some of it is goung up into the sky. The wind shifts and the smoke is blowing around us and at the foot of what was formerly the tree and we see something in it.
A female voice comes through the smoke:
-
I woke in a land of charcoal and grey shadow, and a great swirling sky filled with a storm of darkness. I lay in a bower of black vines with flowers of purple and blue and lavender which glowed in the darkness. Nearby I heard the crackling of a fire, and saw that instead of red and orange flame, the flames were made of the same flicking of blue and purple and utter darkness like the flowers and the sky. I heard voices, and footsteps around and behind me, but whenever I turned to look, I saw nothing, and the voices and footsteps immediately hushed. I was afraid, and I knew not where I was, or who I was, or how I got there.*
-
I looked down at my naked chest, and saw black coagulated blood run down my body.*
-
Then I heard the music of a flute coming from the fire, and I recognized a tune - though I knew not from whence I knew it. I approached the fire, and feeling no heat from it, I stepped into the flame, and was consumed and all went black. And I felt that I rose up into the sky in a swirling tumult, and suddenly felt my feet on the ground, and felt my eyes and opened them, and found myself standing here amongst you.*
We see a figure among us with dark hair. We don’t recognize this person. The smoke clears and we see a young woman, named, in the smoke, dark black hair, violet eyes, Cricket’s age-ish.
The woman approaches Krambler and takes Gale from him. “And here I become death, destoryer of worlds.
Silas asks her name. She says “Branwen” Silas offers her a cloak, but she refuses and goes and takes Cricket’s cloak. She does not know Mannix.
Bal: What do you know of Cricket
Br: Nothing.
Kr: Do you have any healing powers?
Br: I have nothing. If someone has a healing kit…
Silas hands her one.
Bal: huddles with the party.
Boatman holds out the flute to Branwen. “I believe this is yours”
We give Branwen scale mail and a wood shield. She focus her energy on it. It glows and she sheaths it.
Branwen requests the ever burning rook pendant.
Silas asks if the townspeople are entertained.
“We are mystified”
B: (Looking to us) I believe you have a choice to make.
Silas: We’ve made our choice.
Koweth reappears and lands on The Trilithon. Branwen looks to him and raises her hand and Koweth flies to her and lands on her hand. The Boatman looks to us and says “I believe that your choice lies through that gateway. Is there anything that you ask of me before you continue on your way?
Bal: Where will the portal take us?
B: I believe on a path to the mountains amongst the stars
Bal: It may not be aplace with a name you know
Bal: Know anything about these two people that attacked us? Seems that they wre on a mission
B: You seem to have subdued the forces of winter.
Storr takes her katana and sticks it into the fire. It gets hot.
Storr is going to take some ash and swear it on her face as a cultural tradition. Then throws the bodies on teh fire. There’s a lot of hissing as the last of teh ice melt and the flames leap up and mix in orange and blue. The fire loses its heat and the temperature is intense, but we can’t tell if intense heat or cold.
Bal: Any advice boatman?
B: I do have some skill as a healer. Can I offer you my expertise?
Storr buys in. He asks her to lie down. He takes a cup of water from the basin. Under his cloak he has pouches. He heals us all (we all tka e short rest and roll a d10)
Branwen sees a lavender path through a triathlon and we seen a plane and its night.
Storr: is The Black Water still holding back what its meant to keep back?
B: Perhaps one day you’ll find out.
Kr: Who’s side are you on?
B: I am on no ones side, because no one is on my side.