™ is note taking. Take it for what it’s worth, I’m doing my best.
Recap! We weaved with these guys (Branwen/Hopps). We learned about the giant raven, things that are smoked on the island, and friends made along the way. We were welcomed into the community and strides were made into the community. Branwen ingratiated herself with a willingness to learn weaving and singing as did Balz. Silas had a hat conversation with a stoner.
After council we got permission to stay for a long rest. The mornings spent weaving baskets, the afternoons they tend their own garden (metaphorically) and chores. Storr was going to pivot into smithing (borrowing Kramblers hammer); Branwen wanted to learn to capture the voices in the baskets; Balz wanted to use the quill to translate the voices on the wind or just go with a stream of consciousness interpreting the voices on the wind.
Lunch had, council done, bellies filled and tea time happened. The afternoon session begins… what are we doing?
Silas will follow Eaves to check on the goats.
Branwen will go crash to shed her exhaustion and focus on recovery for a day then spend the 5 days weaving
Branwen heads to the bee hive, tapped out. First night packing it in…. Prima nocta
Balz and Storr, what they doing?
Balz - will see where he can help out during this time and be hospitable.
There are 9 people there.
- Kanstall - sort of leader. He’s talking about heading down hill where the goats are to collect rushes to make baskets. He’s a basket(case) guy.
- the woman closest to Branwen. She’s heading to her beehive to her loom and will take goat wool that Eaves keep to weave cloth.
- Another woman - younger, she has a flute. Going to play some music close to the ocean, listening to the wind.
- Younger woman - Isolda - young one, takes some rushes that are there and head up the stairs to the peak and keep making baskets.
- And others we didn’t talk about (yet)…
Balz will help Isolda carry her things while she weaves. Sits quietly on the peak to listen to the wind. He’s allowed.
Storr perceives (12) that they are safe. Her sense is that they are not a violent threat to the party; they can’t throw harder than her or the party. Confident that her friends can handle themselves with this group
Storr is going to travel to the western peak that looks down on the crow’s nest. She wants to observe the nest (eggs, bones, etc). She rolls an investigation. (13) Doesn’ t see a raven. She determines that it isn’t abandoned. It’s an active nest.
Balz rolls perception. (10) He sees that Isilda is using a real art in her weaving. She is at Paul McCartney’s peak intuition, but for weaving wind into the basket.Balz is in awe, like, wow, I didn’t know a person could be that good at this. He realizes that its easy to think of a basket of an object, but that object is actually a series of verbs. He sees the effort in the object. Balz is seeing that the things in the world are a result of many processes, many verbs go into making that thing.
(Side bar…. Martin Freeman is coming)
The first afternoon comes to a close. We come back and have a communal dinner in the same space as lunch; not complicated food. Frugal and locally sourced. Delicious without trying to hard to be to be. Not pretentious. The “villagers” go back to their own thing, some go to the peak and do “wind ensemble”, others find some solitude and doing their own thing.
In the evening the party does…
Storr goes up to the peak and listens to the music they are making
Balz joins Storr, imbibes in some honey mead and looks to sit in. It’s not boisterous.
- Storr claps along to the music (Performance rolls a 2 and can’t find time)
- Balz would lend some humming; continuing what he had done earlier in the day when he was by himself. With the full chorus. (Performance Rolls a 8)
Branwen - being tapped goes to bed (constitution roll 7) as she’s down for the count
PRIMA NOCTA!
The next morning - Branwen has lost her exhaustion (yay!)
Storr has an urge to borrow Krambler’s hammer. She offers to make repairs to the folks here. They find projects for her to work on. Using the hammer really grants her insight to the “attunement” with the hammer. Canstel asks for repairs on various beehives, goat fences, etc. Storr finds it was especially comfortable, effective with it, when shaping stone.
Balz is intrigued by weaving voices into the basket, the process, the verbs that go into the basket. He approaches Isilde, figuring the words will come to him, if he can build the basket. Less about the writing and more about the weaving. He rolls slight of hand, old lor and perception (12 13 12). Hes making progress. He believes that he could capture sound, sometimes, but not sure how he did it. Unconscious competence.
Branwen, having slept and heard the flute in the evening, is interested in the voices in the wind and basket but decides to trust in Balz that he’s got the voices in the basket and pursues the flute path. She recalls she has Mannix’s flute and wants to go play it. She seeks Cerdthoriath who played the flute in the evening. Cerdthoriath, red hair and green eyed, she always hums and sing to herself. You can tell her mood and the air and sea around her based on how she’s singing - she is in sympathy with what’s around her. Branwen perceives (7) and old lores (20) and natures (5) and performs (6) her way into Certh’s graces. As they do this together she asks Branwen what music she’s played or what songs mean something to her? Where did the flute come from? The flute from The Boatman (who acquired it from Mannix), and she plays the tune the Boatman played at her birth and what Kelynnen hummed while harvesting plants. It’s the same song. Same song was played (haltingly, by Hopps on a guitar) on the spinning tree island.
The tune is… Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. Dun. (They were all the same song… Cricket’s Lullaby)
Upon playing that, the song is recognized as an lullaby but an old song. The flute came from The Boatman and heard it came from Cricket who gave himself to Mother Night in her creation. This is all very intriguing to Certh (the notion of Mother Night). Certh wants to know more about The Boatman (as do we all). Branwen tells her he’s appeared a few times in their journey and her experience is limited to the rest of the party. But he’s guided them to locations that seemed fantastic and different from their original world. He’s old beyond reckoning and very powerful. Certh asks and is allowed to borrow the flute. She starts playing a song (Bird Song) and says the flute, that song is somehow woven into the flutes fibers. Whoever made it had deft fingers. It’s a beautiful instrument… treasure it. Branwen perceives (15) as the song is played that Branwen senses or feels that Gale is perking up it’s ears (if swords had ears) when the song is played… things get Halberdy. Don’t look the flute, just at Branwen’s breasts.
Certh is unsure what to say but she should speak to Cantspell (his name) as he is wise. She will. Branwen comes to think that these songs, as they are often talked about in terms of magic and creation myths, thinks along that bent. Maybe the whole world is a song. Not a song created by men, only heard, no the wind, from creation. IN hearing Certh’s words, Branwen would come to believe that most songs are an unconscious imitation of this thing. Certh can see that there’s something there, the origin is elsewhere. Song (not specifically this song) is involved in creation.
Branwen speaks to Cantswell… that interaction occurs. He says that Gale also has that song woven into it and suggests that Branwen draw the swords and hum the song aloud.
That happens… welcome to the first level up in this part of Osgog. Branwen and Gale gain the following ability. ** As a bonus action Branwen chooses to sing that song, then a flock of spectral ravens start to become visible to any foe within 20 feet of her and they become frightened of her as long as she continues to sing…every turn she sings this song, any foe, frightened. (Look at the new Branwen pic for reference).**
The long rest comes to an end.
We talk about her she (?) got here. IT was long ago, she hopped on a boat having an idea these islands exist. She got on a fishing boat and they dropped her off out here. But she says these islands are enchanted sort of and have a reputation. They get around.