- Morning at Angarad’s homestead We curl up under the trees, its’ a cool night, late october in the foothills.
Storr would like to spar with K and the bronze katana.
Branwen practices her leech craft on Silas.
Silas practices training Arthen. He’s now well trained as a suburban border collie.
Overnight we hear owls and some howling, which we wish were farther away.
Light rain and fog in the morning.
Branwen goes to chat with the woman.
She stand sat he door and says Good morning! Did you sleep well?
B: You seem to have a green thumb you might know these lands. Do you know any local plants that could help me in my studies?
She smiles and says, mm, yes. She walks out to her garden. She asks, “What do you see in there?”
B rolls medicine (14) B tells her about some of the herbs she sees as medicinal. As she does, she looks at one B doesn’t recognize and hums the tune Kallenen sang for her.
Woman: What is it that you’re humming?
B: A woman that was wise in the world once sang this to herself as she collected herbs. I am learning.
Woman: She looks at B, taps her on the hand, goes out to the garden and collects some things and gives them to B. (Her healer’s kit is now charged back up to its max, 10 uses) B sees tat there’s a plant near the back that has died back just because it’s autumn. The leaves are green and dried. Blue and purple flowers. She takes some of those petals and puts them in a special puch and gives it to B and tells her it’s called “Bredydh” “This is a special herb that you should have with you in your kit - but you shouldn’t advertise your having it to other folks.” It’s known for bringing good dreams to those who need it.
Storr introduces herself. Angarad is her name.
Storr engages in conversation with her.
A: The mountains that you come to as you follow the river do thrust far up into the sky. Perhaps that’s what you’re looking for?
S: “we’re trying to avoid certain entanglements. The Sun King in the city. Have you seen his army? Are you aware of their presence?
A: I’m aware, but not of his emissaries have come to bother a little old woman in the woods.
S: We hope it stays that way. We don’t mean to bring any unnecessary attention to you.
Silas asks how safe she feels here.
The forest is my home, I feel as safe within it as one should feel anywhere. When you understand a place, there becomes less reason to fear.
Silas says he understands more than she knows. But in light of the recent threat at the city, he offers her the Better Obsidian Dagger in case things go sour.
She takes it and spins it around with a dexterity you don’t expect, she takes it and drags it against her hand, a little bit of blood beading up. She puts her hand to her mouth, looking at Silas. She puts pressure on it. Still looks at Silas.
S: Have you seen weapons like this before?
No, but she’s heard of them?
S: In what way?
A: Knives made from a stone of night are said to have special properties.
S: How is your hand faring?
There is a small cut, a little dried blood. It’s stopped bleeding. The wound seems clean and small. Not abnormally healed.
Storr: How long have you lived here?
As long as I can remember.
Silas asks about Seren.
Why do you ask?
Silas explains how they were separates as children.
A: Amongst the mountains, there is a place named Twr-Seren, which is the tower of the stars, which is what your sister’s name means. And perhaps, do you suppose maybe that is her tower?
Have you been to this tower?
No
Have you taken an interest in the stars?
Looking at the stars is the earliest form of storytelling. Stars make good companions, but she seldom if ever leaves her small plot within the woods.
Storr: What do you know of the bear and the twins?
What of them?
Do you believe that its real or myth>
Honey, why coulven’t they be the same?
S: Have you been to the tree of whispers in the center of the lake?
No.
Have you heard of it?
She’s heard stories, yes.
B: I’m new. Can you tell us more about the twins.
She nods over in Silas and Arthen’s direction. “There’s one.” And she looks over to a tree to the north of the plot, and says, “There’s another.”
The tree is a derwen.
Storr, Silas and Angarad have several coy exchanges over who she meant by “there’s one”. She provides no clarity, and just laughs at the questions.
Branwen touches the derwen, hoping to listen to it and nature, and drown out the banter of the others. The sound of the wind and the leaves comes into sharper focus, and she feels…better.
- We continue journeying
Image:
The complete journey to Twr-Seren.png
WE CONTINUE JOURNEYING
B rolls travel (16) - succeeds, 3 days out.
3rd event. Terrain is pretty rugged, trees are more evergreen, less deciduous. Terrain getting steeper and rockier. Silas (11) Fatigue saving throw increases by 2. As we’re traveling along the river, Silas is scouting for a way and comes down to the bank. For a moment he loses himself and he’s listening to something on the wind. He standing on the edge of a river and listening, coming from the south west. It phrases up, his eye gloss over a little, and he falls in the river. Arthen is able to leap in and grab him by the back of his shirt and pull him up onto shore and goes running like Lassie to the party that Silas fell in the well. They all come down. The water is cold up here. There’s been frost a couple of morning. Need to build a fire to get Silas warmed up. Lose a day to get S back into good health.
B rolls travel (19), succeeds. We’re climbing a path into the mountains. More and more rugged. We’re actually able to find a set path that’s clearly laid out with stone and steps, ascending up a long valley, we see the river further and further down below. We come out over a rise on the evening of the second day, and see a tower. The mountains “loom black and terrible.” B remembers the phrase. A vision of Koweth landing in a tree. (more here.)
The Journey ends.
- The welcome at Twr-Seren The tree is a ways off, a hard scramble to reach. We decide not to push our fatigue saving throw any more and just observe. From this distance, we can see its a pretty gnarled squat tree, beat up by the weather, autumn lives, twisted, strong, roots tangling down into the rock.
We got go the door and knock. We hear footsteps. We;re being glared at by a girl of about 11 or 12, she’s got long braided red heair that falls down her back. Jst standing there looking somewhat suspicious, and looks at us.
“What do you want? What are doing here?”
We discuss that maybe we should ask if we can enter and gaze upon the celestial beauty of the stars andSTORR BARGES IN, calling the girl a “witless worm” the girl manages to kick one of Storr’s feet out from under her and fall flat on her face. Storr takes 4 damage.
B apologies for the barbarian. Tells her of their mission.
She sighs and turns away and yells, “There’s someone at the door!”
We wait. Make awkward conversation. “Crazy hike.” “You all see that tree?” We see some heads peak out around the corner to look at us. A woman’s voice says, “Out of the way, out of the way.” Around the corner walks this woman, late middle aged, matronly build, shooing those behind her away, comes down into the vestibule and says, “Ah, I welcome you to Twr-Seren. What brings you here? I’m sorry about the welcoming party.
B: Thank you for the welcome. The welcome party was what we deserved. We’re not quite sure exactly why we’re here. We’ve had a calling from some higher powers to come here. We’re trying to find out what is special about this place.
Alright, well, you may as well come in and we can see what we can do for you.
She beckons for us to follow.
We go up a spiral staircase, 10 or 12 foot ceilings, huge oak joists with flooring over the top, look off to one side and there’s a big closed double door. In the room there’s a bunch of torches around the walls, a fireplace with a fire going. Some seating and some rugs on the floor. Looks pretty comfortable as a space. A couple of things lying around, a table against the wall ahs a bunch of pieces of glass and some sand on one side. There’s a harp, some books scattered around. Some seating has some blankets. Does kind of look like there were some people that were just here in that left quickly. Not pristine. The woman we just spoke to goes over to stoke up the fire, says over her shoulder: “Grab a seat wherever you would like, I’ll just get this going.”
B chats up the woman.
Storr apologizes for barging in.
She asks, “Can I get you something?”
B: Seems like you’ve had a busy day, you don’t need to wait on uis.
W: That may be true, but here, the day is just starting.
B: What would you recommend
W: Tea?
All: Tea.
She disappears and comes back with a well made wooden tray that has an interesting mismatch of cups: coffee mug, porcelain tea cups, chinese, no handle. Honey pot with a spoon. You must try the honey - it’s my specialty, made by my bees.
W: Please make yourselves at home. I need to run upstairs and see what’s going on up there.
She leaves out another door. Her footsteps fade away.
- Exhaustion: Silas and Storr gain a level.***
We try the honey in our tea. She hear scuffling as if some pre-teen girls are waiting outside the door trying to listen if anything is happening.
Silas gets up and goes over to the desk. There are some clear chunks of rock, crystal. Some scratched up, some in various shapes, circular ish shapes. Drawings on parchment in charcoal with a bunch of lines and curves onto the shapes, not really clear. Nothing looks like a shell or a staircase. Some drawings are lens-shaped.
Silas: Balthazar, check this out. (He checks it out, to be worked out later)
- The strange orphan girls Storr stealthily sneaks up tot he door where the girls are behind, and she OPENS IT. These four girls are outside the door, startled. One of them is the girl that greeted us. Storr cracks a smile and asks, “So what’s your name?”
“Don’t have one.”
“What’s yours?”
“None of us have them.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Don’t know”
How long have you lived here?
A while.
Have you had this honey?
We have tea everyday, and she makes delightful biscuits.
Are there any biscuits around.
The one who is talking to Storr has brown hair, and wearing horn rimmed glasses. Another has black hair and is very pale and a little ragged, and doesn’t speak. The fourth is tall, blonde, and stands strongly, got some muscle, she’s the tallest and looks the oldest.
Glasses Girl looks to the tall one and asks us, would you like me to get some for you?
Please, thank you.
She again looks to the tallest girls and slips out the door the woman had gone through and comes back with a little jar that has some cookies in it.
Here you are.
What do you do for fun?
B wants a cookie. Storr shoves one in her mouth. From across the room while he and Balz are checking out science, Silas notices there are cookies. B tosses one. He rolls with disadvantage now from exhaustion, 22 and 7, fumbles the cookie, but holds it.
We were going to go up and look at the stars.
We’d like to come.
I’d have to ask Serydhwr. Gwenynen is the woman who brought us tea and honey.
Blond girl walks out and says, why are you here?
Storr: That’s a long answer.
G: Are you doing anything else?
Storr: Well, child, we were looking for a child that was missing.
She side eyes the other girls.
Storr: We were going to see if we could find this child and bring her back to her father. She was an infant.
What if she doesn’t want to go back?
S: Hadn’t thought of that. She may not know she wants to go back.
B: Why are you here?
G: I don’t think I have anywhere else to be.
B: Have you always been here in your memory?
G: Yes. Is that true for all of us?
The girl with the glasses has gone up the stairs after Gwenynen. The others nod.
B: Anyone else here?
G: No, just the 6 of us.
Storr: What do you do here?
G: Mostly we work to keep the place going and Serydhwr looks at the stars. Sometimes Berythen and her family come up from the valley adn visit. That’s how we get more of our food.
Branwen is relatively confident we have not met anyone by that name.
Will Serydhwr be down soon?
Probably not.
(The girl with the glasses that went up stairs is potentially the one we’re looking for)
Branwen has her raven fly onto her hand and fly over to the shy black haired girl gently. She’s apprehensive, but calm.
B: “Put your hand out child.” Koweth lands on the girl’s hand. Looking to the raven, she tries to discern what the raven will do.
Silas brings over Arthen. The blond girl does not show much fear, she comes over and is inquisitive about the bear. Red headed girl, she looks at the bear, not sure what to do, walks right over to B and says, “Can I look at your sword?”
B: You’re not going to attack her with it are you? (looking at storr)
G: I don’t think so.
B unsheathes Rhiannon’s Gale. The girl impulsively reaches for it. The blond girl is distracted by the bear. B asks if its okay if the red head touches the sword.
Blond girl: I’d be careful, she breaks everything.
I do not!
B: This is precious to me. You may look, but do not touch.
She sighs heavily. B sends Koweth into her hair. She swats at the bird.
Silas asks if the blonde girl wants to get on the bear. She does without hesitation, and Silas commands Arthen to “throw your rider” which he does. (Silas’ commands are in Drudic) “Why did you do that?” “Just wanted to test out our training.” She looks at Silas and doesn’t know what to make of him.
B says to the red head, I respect your interest in my blade. Here.
She takes it and holds it up in the air. She swings it a little and she feels some air currents in the air that weren’t there before. She’s totally distracted and not listening. The wind is picking up stronger and stronger. The blond looks over and says “Stop it! Stop it!”
Red head: What? I was just playing around.
B: Are you familiar with this sword?
Red head: No don’t think so.
Did you expect it to control the wind?
No, it just did.
B is not surprised. It is the swords’ nature after all.
B says seriously, “Time to give the sword back.”
She does.
B: If you have any intuitions about this sword, find me later.
Inspired by B, Storr is going to unsheathe K, ask her if she’s seen anything like this.
She looks haltingly at Storr.
Silas offers free rides to the blonde girl on Arthen. She lays on Arthen flat on his back, as he ambles around the room.
We speculate on the connection of these girls to our own backgrounds. Silas asks if his folk tend to be toe-headed. (Mostly brown hair.)
Storr asks B what her sense is on these girls. Connection with the four seasons?
Storr: One seems malnourished?
Not sickly, but thin.
Blond strong one is on the back of Arthen, seemingly has a connection with the beast.
Red head has whipped up a storm with R’s Gale.
Brown haired with horned glasses is up the stairs.
The other girl returns. She looks around the room. Gale and the red head left the room scattered.
“What happened?” She sighs at the red head. He said you can come up as long as you promise not to distract him. I’m going up there, and you’re welcome to come along.
We follow. The blond says, “I’ve had a long day, I’m going to bed.”
B says to the black haired one, “You look to be someone who looks and listens.” She looks and nods and comes over to B. They make a slow motion awkward fist bump.
Blond girl asks Silas if the bear can sleep in her room. He agrees, and she’s happy.
We ascend the stairs.
Next time/this week:
- Balthazar checkin out that science shit
- Will Branwen and Silas play chess one night?
- Look into ways to relieve exhaustion (Branwen’s healing powers?)