cinaed

Session 178: Days 28 through 33 of Saedan (1/2)

Yolov doesn’t know how to relax, so he checks in with the adventurers they rescued from Rezod and offers them parchment for letters to write to loved ones. The adventurers look among themselves, mostly not having families, before they thankfully accept the parchments and write letters to friends.

Then he examines the soul steel, trying to figure out if the souls inside can see into this plane. There are many souls drifting by, though one presses up with milky eyes before it drifts away. He knows that these people are within a demiplane, and that there are ways with spells like Plane Shift to get into this demiplane.

He also realizes that this soul steel is attuned to that demiplane. The longer he studies the soul steel, the more the souls pay attention to him, but they cannot keep their attention on him for long. He realizes that this place is not meant to keep the souls intact or alive. The people who created it didn’t care about the happiness or sanctity of the souls, and it is diminishing them inside the longer they remain trapped.

It means that time is of the essence.

He tucks the soul steel away for the moment. Then he goes in search of Calan’tala.

He finds her in the trees near where Cal’travor and Hava have been making daisy chains and flower crowns. He gets the impression she has no intention of leaving her brother alone. He uses Telekinesis to carry himself up on the branch, and makes Cal’antala jump and ask why he didn’t climb.

He says his sister was always the better climber, he never had the upper body strength for it. She asks if that means only one of them could climb the tree, giving him a bit of a side eye. She says she’s seen people weaker than him climb the tree.

He says the Telekinesis spell lasts for ten minutes, so even if he fails he can just use the spell again. He lowers himself down and then surprises himself and Cal’antala by climbing up the tree without needing any assistance. He says his sister will never believe him.

Yolov asks how she’s doing. Calan’tala says she’s fine, nothing happened to her. Yolov tells her that he also had someone taken by dangerous people and had to spend time not knowing what was happening to them. He knows that can be extremely difficult. When she says that she could have helped, he agrees, saying that she’s very capable, and adds that she did help. She held onto Cal’travor, which slowed Rezod down, and she warned the Hooligans about the dangers they were facing.

They talk for a little bit about Calan’tala wanting people to see her as an adult, as well as her feeling a little frustrated with her own destiny. Yolov listens sympathetically and tells her about Luna, Hava’s sister, who also has her own destiny and leadership role, but has found ways to find some happiness even if she doesn’t leave the island.

Cal’antala thanks him quietly as they throw rocks.

The rest of the evening is left to their own devices. Az gets extremely drunk, sullenly muttering if he could change his name and flee the country. Hava drinks a pleased toast when she realizes Audacity and Galowen don’t make it to dinner.

There is a joyful celebration now that Rezod and Elathias are dead.

At dawn there is a thrum of excitement as people start a process of reflection. There is a quiet excitement and energy. Galowen’s mother gathers up the Hooligans and brings them to the split tree once more.

As soon as Galowen gazes upon it, it feels as though the tree is alive and pounding in his chest, matching him breath for breath. Everyone is gathered in a semicircle around the tree, giving a respectful distance of thirty feet or so.

Viallo and Adraetha are standing in front of the tree. The twins are nowhere to be seen, but they don’t look worried. They have the quiet nervousness of expectation. The sun is bright with an unseasonably but not uncomfortably warm air. It lays over them as a chilly wind rustles through the leaves of the ancient tree.

They are all ushered to the front, in a place of honor, being the people who twice over ensured this would happen, first saving Cal’travor and then defeating Elathias.

The center of the tree has almost a split that looks like ten feet tall, like a crack, though without festering or rotting. Something wounded this tree a long time ago.

Adraetha peels away from Viallo and addresses the gathered crowd: “Family, friends, honored guests. This has been lifetimes in the making. It has long been said that when we are faced with great and terrible strife, when calamity threatens us, our maker and our goddess sends forth a cleric, someone who will shepherd us and guide us. What little information and stories we have don’t ever mention that this is rarely enough. My job is to nurture and to guide. Often this is enough to see us through peril, not to prevent it. When true evil looms, it is not something we can simply endure. When we are faced with the destruction of everything we hold dear, that’s not something that simple hearts and minds and love can see us through to the end. When true threats befall us, Caletras sends us a defender, a champion.”

All eyes turn to look at Galowen, who tries to look normal and almost convinces himself he’s fine.

Adraetha nods towards him and says that Caletras sends us a defender and champion. She does so now not just because destruction looms above us all, a threat that can be eradicated, but she sends a cleric and a champion because the time is coming, not now and not for us, but from the soil that we nurture and the earth that we protect, and from the lives that we defend. Eventually a new tree will grow.

Adraetha turns and touches the split on the tree, which widens just long enough for the twins to step out from where they had been encased within.

Cal’travor’s arm is fully regrown. In each of their hands, cupped in both hands, they have little sproutlings. They both kneel and begin to plant these saplings. Galowen sees that Cal’travor’s shadow is taller than he actually is, and Cal’antala’s is in the shape of a giant elk.

Once they are done, their hands coated by the fresh earth, they both stand beside their mother. They hold her hands and she takes theirs without a second thought.

“When we have become nothing but nourishment for the soil that grows our future, they carry with them the hope of a new dawn. Pieces of what was born and died here once before. And when it’s time, they will give those pieces to the new.”

She gestures towards the little saplings. “From this gift and these saplings, both Caletras and her elk will be reborn.” She kisses both of her children’s heads.

Around the Hooligans, everyone drops to a knee, bowing in deference to what will one day bring Caletras back to the world. Galowen belatedly kneels as well.

The twins both trade a look and peel away from Adraetha. Cal’travor steps in front of his sister and says that they come from their communing with Caletras with a gift for their champion and their saviors.

When he gestures to the Hooligans, both taking each of their hands as they walk from one Hooligan to the next. With the touch, there is a bolstering of their hearts and their spirits. When they get to Galowen, Cal’travor asks him to lean down for a moment.

Galowen does. Cal’travor touches his father’s amulet and vines grow around the elk horns.

Then Adraetha tells everyone to spend the rest of the day in reflection. People began to depart, going to find private places to talk or pray. Galowen’s mother finds him and asks if they can talk, and Galowen says he was thinking the same thing.

She says great minds think alike, and he says his mind isn’t that great. She says he’s so clever. When he looks at her, he realizes that she is sincere, though she speaks of his wisdom with survival and people, not book learning.

She leads him away from the party. She says she never knew she was raising a champion of Caletras, though she should have. When he asks what that means, she says she knew he was destined for great things. Now they know what those great things are.

Galowen says he’s just trying his best.

She says his best is fantastic. Then she says he has to go soon, doesn’t he.

He says he thinks so. They have somewhere to be.

She makes an affirmative noise and asks how long she thinks he’ll stay. He asks here, and then says they haven’t discussed it but he hopes for a couple of days. She says that would be really nice. She doesn’t want to say goodbye to him quite yet.

He says me neither and she tugs him down and gives him a kiss. She says this isn’t goodbye yet. Galowen says not to think like that. It’s not happening now, so just enjoy the time that they have.

Galowen asks if she saw what Cal’travor did to his dad’s amulet. She says she saw it’s covered in vines, probably so that it can’t ever be used, which is for the best, since it’s the key to her tomb. Galowen says he figured as much. He kind of wanted to use it.

She says maybe one day they still can.

Galowen says one day. She says one day, but certainly not today, it’s several days walk to the temple and none of it is left still. Then she adds meaningfully that there are plenty of private tents for him to use over the next few days.

She leaves him a little shell shocked.

They spent another day there, where Hava can go indulge in soaking in a cold river nearby. She chats more with Cal’travor, hanging out with him.

Yolov takes Galowen aside and asks if he would like to be Polymorphed into an elk so he can spend an hour with Glyn in the forest. Galowen agrees readily.

The conversation is surprisingly formal, with Glyn saying how honored he is to serve as his faithful steed. His only request is that he lets Glyn remove things caught in his hair and one day earn the same treats as the fat little dragon. Galowen reminds him that he doesn’t have to eat but gives him some of the mango chutney when he transforms back into a firbolg.

Yolov also sends to Professor Dailiir, updating her about the soul steel and the current situation. She responds back saying that sounds dreadful but she’ll work with Ivaesian and have more information for him when they meet at the Archive. She tells him to be careful. When he Sends to Asa, she thanks him for the information and that he’s all right.

The twins are mostly nowhere to be found over the next day, recovering from their commune.

When the day arrives for them to leave, Mae approaches Diana with rations and a reminder that she agreed to return the sword after ten years. She says it’s not an immediate goodbye, they’ll escort them to the edge of the forest.

Diana says it’s nice to know she has family here, and to know in ten years she’ll return and pass the sword back. Mae says it’s good too, and that she’ll miss her. Be strong and be brave. Diana says she’ll miss her too and she’ll be brave.

When Mae pats her cheek, Diana touches it and says she likes this. When it’s time for them to go, not long after dawn, Mae collects all of them together.

Galowen’s mother joins them to say goodbye. She pushes a handwoven scarf into his hands, made out of fiber of moss and lichen, extremely soft to the touch. It’s green and warm and smells like her. She wordlessly pulls him into a tight hug and says that he has always been the most important thing to her. From the moment she felt him stirring, she knew that he had all of her heart with him. She asks him to be careful. He’s always been so brave and so good. The world needs that more than she needs him home, even though it’s really hard to let him go.

He says he knows. He thanks her for the scarf, though he thinks she might need it more since he’s going somewhere warm, but he’ll take it. He’ll be back. He promises.

She says she loves him so much.

Galowen says he loves her too.

She says she’ll be here, they’ll all be here, before she kisses his cheek one last kiss. Galowen gives her a big Galowen hug.

They are all given fresh fruit and vegetables, dried meats, and woven scarfs and blankets from the people of this place, the goods that they have to offer, things to keep them warm and keep them fed and nourished.

The last people they see as they step out of the grove are Adraetha, flanked by her two children, both looking relatively weary. The twins offer each of them a big embrace and soft thank yous, and Adraetha says, “When the time comes, we will see you again. This is not goodbye.”

Diana says, “Then see you later.”

Hava gives Cal’travor an extra hug, which he returns.

Adraetha says as much as they wished they could stay hidden forever, when the Hooligans need them, they’ll be there. She squeezes their shoulders one by one and they are led out of the woods.

Once they reach the edge of Kelfemma, Yolov uses the Staff of the Arctic Fox to teleport the Hooligans back to Little Nest where everyone is waiting for them.

Taion is as happy to see Hava as he always is. Their friends are excited to see them, and Zorash is excited to privately show Az all the magical things he’s learned in his absence. The party knows they can get to Dragon Spine Village via Jax’s teleportation circle and then get to Maeve in Bridge Cross City who can sail them to Port Sciathan.

Audacity takes Diana aside and offers her the Amulet of Health, which he says he doesn’t need now that the twins did whatever magic they did to them. Diana accepts it as Audacity asks how Mae treated her once she was done threatening to kill her. Diana says it was good and says that she learned she’s just like the rest of her family. She also needs to learn how to do her hair like Hava all the time.

Audacity plops down and takes his hair out of his usual bun and starts demonstrating on his own hair to show Diana a few tricks and hair braiding styles. As he does, Diana says that she does have a question though. Now that they’ve killed Elathias, fuck him by the way, what do they do now.

Audacity says they have to kill Elathias’ boss first. Diana complains that there shouldn’t be another boss and that it’s dumb. Audacity says he’s very dead at least, and they can kill his boss too.

Diana says she just realized that they may have killed Adrin’s dad. Adrin nods and seems unconcerned. Audacity holds out a hand to her and congratulates on having bad dead dads.

When Yolov Sends to Kiva and tells him that Hava misses him and that Elathias is dead and the item has been recovered, Kiva says that’s wonderful and suggests that Jax pick them up from Dragon Spine Village and get them to Port Sci. The group readily agrees, and Yolov casts one more Sending, this time to Maeve to let her know to meet them at Port Sciathan.

At last it’s time to use the teleportation circle to Dragon Spine Village.

They know they’ve arrived there by the almost prickling heat that hits them. It’s a staggering difference from winter in the Avisian mountains. The teleportation circle is on a beautiful rug, next to a ‘Welcome to Dragon Spine Village’ sign. There are seats and an enchanted brush sweeping nearby. It has the feel of a lobby that leads out into a well-polished entry way.

The teleportation circle is in the town hall, below the mayor’s residence.

Az gets a sinking feeling in his stomach at the click of boots approaching.

Even before they see him, they can hear the man speaking.

“If Kivasaul says that I should assist you, then he should give a little more advance notice. Not that it is any fault of yours, but I was in the middle of contemplating adding jewelry to my aesthetics and decor.”

Jax, currently an elf with bright red hair, rounds the corner and says Kivasaul expects them quickly. He knows one of them is Havasaul, he can smell Kivasaul’s stench on her. He always has an eye for pretty things. Hava says thank you. Jax says that he would shake her hand but Kiva would kill him, and since he is bigger and a bastard, Jax would prefer not to antagonize him. Hava says she understands.

When Galowen begins to antagonize Jax by saying he thought Kiva was the small one, Az intervenes and formally greets Jax on behalf of his father. They briefly discuss the lumber situation before Jax confirms with them that they’re making a quick stop at Bridge Cross City and then meeting the Col’Far and Maeve at Port Sciathan.

He looks them over and says he has a question for the little blue one. For a second Hava thinks he means her, but he means Yolov. He asks if he thinks he can hold onto one of his friends or have his friends hold onto him. Puzzled, Yolov says he believes so.

Jax leads them outside where they watch him transform into a large bronze dragon. Then he extends a wing and a tail so that they can all climb aboard.

They will be flying via dragon to Bridge Cross City and to Port Sciathan.