4. Days in the Caves

16th Eyre, 999 YK

• Tamara recaps the previous session, earning an Advance on her least developed theme.
• She doesn't want me to say that she missed some stuff
• Before they head out for the day, Ruckus asks Ban to cook up something before they leave.
• What specifically?
• Just something
• Hmm
• His thinking is if they run into any more ogres, it'd be good to have something to give them to throw them off.
• Ah! Good idea!
• Ban makes some banger crepes.
• They continue their travel through the mountains, and they get caught in a rockslide. They make a mad dash to get out of the way, but each of them loses something in the escape.
• Ban dropped his bag of herbs and spices! (Tragic!)
• Charlie dropped his coin purse
• Damien teleports ahead and wanders off (cos his player isn't here). He'll probably find his way back to them later.
• Nerys lost their Clan Soranath ring (which their mom got them for their 38th birthday)
• Ruckus dropped his wrench, limiting his ability to create
• and Yashira got her cloak snagged and had to abandon it.
• This is more devastating for some of them than others.
• Turns out that Ruckus' named his wrench Simon. Simon is lost.
• Nobody was hurt, thankfully!
• Nerys suggests they go back into the rubble and try to find their things, they're not in that much of a rush.
• Yashira asks if anyone lost anything important? Ruckus is already digging.
• Yashira agrees to let them spend a couple hours looking for their things.
• Yashira helps the others rather than looking for her cloak, as others lost something important. She helps Nerys to find the ring, and thankfully it's not too badly damaged.
• Ban helps Ruckus to find Simon. Ruckus deploys his exo-suit to help him move the rocks. Unfortunately, unlike Nerys's ring, Simon fared significantly worse in the rockslide and is badly damaged.
• Ruckus is distraught, but Ban assures him that he can probably fix it!
• Charlie manages to find his purse, but some of the money is missing. The moth is okay though (there was a moth)
• Altogether finding their stuff took them a couple of hours, but they think it was worth it.
• They continue following Nerys map, and arrive where the map said there should be a tunnel, but there is no tunnel? It's just rocks.
• Maybe it got blocked?
• Yashira asks if any of them can cast some magic and just move the rocks out of the way?
• Ruckus doesn't know about that but he does have a grenade launcher.
• Yashira doesn't love that idea, that would make a lot of noise.
• Ban is concerned about the possibility of it creating another landslide.
• Nerys looks through their stories for something to help
• Yashira engages her detective brain and examines the rock face. It's a little too uniform to be a rock slide, she's suspicious.
• There's something off about these rocks.
• Yashira walks up to the rock face, and goes to lean on it with her hand pressed against it to look for a rock out of place, and she just falls through the wall. It's an illusion!
• She fell on her face, but nobody saw it because of the illusion.
• Nerys calls that Yashira is a genius!
• Yashira regains her composure before the others get through. Her pride is the only thing wounded.
• So, two days through the tunnel. Yashira asks if anyone has anything to pass the time?
• Nerys has something! I spy with my little eye, something beginning with S.
• ...stone?
• "You're so smart Yashira! Now it's your time"
• I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B
• Brocks?
• Nope
• Yashira asks if they need a hint? It's something on Nerys' person!
• A book!
• Nope
• Bells!
• Yes!
• It's gonna be a long two days
• Nerys gets excited and jumps up and down, making the bells ring. When they stop, they all hear a beautiful voice on the wind, singing. It's gone as quick as it came.
• Nerys jumps up and down again to try and get it to happen again, but it doesn't.
• Maybe an effect of the manifest zone?
• It would be pretty cool for someone to be so musically talented that just jumping up and down sounds like singing
• Yashira suggests they could sing? But she won't sing, obviously
• Ban has a lute! He can play
• Nerys has bongos
• They could totally sing
• Secret tunnel!
• Charlie interrupts them. Aren't they meant to be doing stealth?
• Aww
• Charlie apologises but he doesn't want to be eaten by an ogre!
• Okay fine. They'll just keep an ear out for the sound again.
• Yashira puts her fingers to the wall of the tunnel, just in case there's an illusion again. She'll run her fingers along it.
• As they travel through the tunnel, Nerys gives them updates on the time every couple hours since they have a better internal clock. Sound is very echoey in here.
• A couple of hours in, they hear a rumbling, roaring sound. Nerys identifies it as rushing water, and they try to assuage the worries of the others.
• They come across an underground stream blocking their path. They need to get on the other side, and the water is quite fast. There's a real risk of someone getting carried away by it, especially the smaller members of the party.
• Charlie steps up, and freezes the top of the stream into an ice bridge. He tells the others to be careful, it's slippery because it's ice.
• Nerys asks if Charlie has ever tried to make sculptures?
• Not particularly
• Nerys comments that regardless, they can imagine ice magic is very useful in Sharn. Charlie explains that it's actually harder for them to use it when it's hot.
• Everybody carefully crosses the bridge, and nobody is harmed!
• They continue on for several hours, and Nerys starts to get tired and falling back a bit. Yashira takes point, as she can see well in the dark.
• As they walk, Yashira comes to a sudden stop as she notices something dangling just in front of her face. It's like a translucent fishing line?
• She asks the others if they can see it? Ban holds up his lantern and reveals it. They can't see the top or where it goes.
• Yashira suggests giving it a wide berth. Ban agrees they shouldn't touch it.
• There are other fishing lines too, at varying heights. Ban and Ruckus are fine, none of them go so low, but the others are all at risk of touching them.
• They carefully weave through the fishing lines, and Yashira catches a glimpse of carapace. Nerys and Ruckus both have an idea of what this means, the filaments belong to Cave Fishers.
• Ruckus mentions seeing one in Sharn, which freaks Yashira out. Why didn't he tell anyone? Is it still there!?
• Ban asks if they're good? Like, taste?
• They don't know, they haven't tried
• Is it worth the risk?
• They think it's probably not worth it. If they were delicious, maybe, but not if they don't know
• They continue, carefully.
• They wonder where Damien went, but they're sure he'll catch up.
• A few hours later, when Nerys is starting to feel like it's probably getting dark above ground, they hear singing again. It's a different tone, and just as fleeting, and hauntingly beautiful.
• Ban wonders if it's Damien
• Nerys comments that they should probably be careful, it's a bit weird to hear a beautiful singing voice under the mountain. Maybe they should plug their ears or something.
• Ruckus makes a counterpoint: they sing with the beautiful voice. Eh? Eh?
• They decide to make camp, and think they should do watches. Ban wants to make food. He's so hungry.
• They do have the crepes from the morning, they could eat those, and Ban can make something else in the morning.
• Ruckus uses the opportunity to fix Simon, his wrench. He's like brand new.
• It hits them that they have another day at least in these tunnels.
• We'll re-define relationship tags between this session and next, rather than taking the time to do so mid-session.
• About an hour in, the tunnel lights up a bit as tiny, luminous specks of crystal in the walls and ceiling light up. It reminds them of the night sky, and makes them feel a bit more comfortable. It helps distract them from the thousands of tons of rock that rests above them.
• Ban takes last watch, which lets him start cooking before the others are awake.
• Towards the end of Ban's watch, he hears singing again, and although it's faint and distant, it instantly wakes everyone up.
• Huh
• Eggs are ready
• Yashira comments again on the singing. It's concerning.
• Ruckus says there is definitely something wrong with this tunnel.
• Ban doesn't seem too concerned, it's not doing anything bad
• Yashira concedes it doesn't seem to be doing anything bad, but it may be worth tracking when they hear it. She gets out a little notebook and makes a note of it. They've heard it three times now. Roughly at mid-day, once when it (presumably) got dark outside, and again now waking them up.
• So it seems to be time related, like a musical rooster.
• Another day's travel to go
• "I spy with my little eye something starting with R" posits Ban
• Rock
• Yes!
• Several hours later, Charlie begins to cough. Then Yashira. Then Nerys, and then the real small ones.
• They can't see or smell anything, but something is making them cough.
• Uh oh
• Yashira covers her mouth with some cloth, which helps a bit but she's still coughing.
• Yashira asks Nerys if this is common? Nerys confirms that gas leaks are pretty common, it'll be an issue if they're breathing it for too long
• They all cover their faces with their cloaks. Ban vibes so hard that he's pretty much fine, Charlie gets light-headed, and the others are coughing enough that it's debilitating. They don't have many options, they can only go back or keep going.
• Yashira suggests powering through
• Ban wants to go back and take stock of what they have that could help
• Yashira asks Charlie how he feels, since he seems to be affected a bit worse than them
• Charlie is kinda woozy and passes out for a second
• Ban says again that he thinks they should go back, they don't know how much longer they'll be moving through the gas
• Ruckus suggests if they go back, and he can make something to help them breathe. Or they can push through or die trying.
• Yashira is convinced, they go back to safety. Their lungs feel rough even when they're out of the gas (or where they think the gas began).
• Except for Ban, he's fine
• Ruckus then makes 3 respirators, and Ban provides some spices to make them smell nice. This exhausts many of his materials, so this is all he makes.
• He presents them to the group, but there's not enough for everyone. There's 5 of them (Damien is still missing), so he suggests they rotate them. He gives them to Charlie, Nerys and Yashira first.
• Once one of the others starts to struggle, pass the mask to them.
• With the respirators, they're able to make it through the section of tunnel that is suffused with deadly gas. It's rough and their lungs are screaming at them, but they do it
• Living the dream
• They're all very impressed that Ruckus was able to do that with scraps in a cave!
• They passed mid-day during the gas, but they didn't notice the singing. It may have happened, but they didn't hear it over the coughing and the respirators.
• Ban says he didn't hear it, but to be fair they were all being very loud with the coughing
• They pour one out for Damien, may they find him one day safe and sound, and not passed out due to an odourless poisonous gas
• Nerys thinks about it and because of the back tracking, they're going to be in the tunnels longer than they wanted to be. It'll be night time when they get out the other side.
• Several hours later, roughly late afternoon, the singing comes back, but it's not fleeting now. It's constant, but quiet, at the edge of their hearing.
• How curious. Nerys thinks something is going to try to eat them
• Ban doesn't think so
• Weirdly, it doesn't get annoying even though it's the same song. It's like humming?
• Nerys comments on that, and Ruckus makes a note not to talk too much in case it annoys Nerys
• No Nerys doesn't mean that! They'd probably be dead if not for the others
• Ban says the singing doesn't seem close, anyway, though they do seem to be heading closer to it.
• The voice seems to be uplifting them a bit, they aren't as tired as they were
• Yashira has been writing this all down, but hasn't drawn any conclusions about it yet.
• They continue on, and the song lifts their spirits and takes away their aches and pains. Before they realise, they step out of the tunnels and into a well lit, lush valley.
• There are small hills dotting the landscape, and little winged humanoids that look like feathered elves sat in small caves. The elves are singing, and it washes over the group. It's the most beautiful sound they've ever heard.
• Ban and Nerys are fully enthralled, walking out into the valley. Charlie is unaffected, he's got his own spooky elf, the others are partially influenced but snap out of it.
• The harpies stop singing when they notice the group, and look horrified.
• Three of the harpies approach the group, with a black-feathered one in the lead. She's aggressive initially, asking who the group is and how they found this place?
• The harpy is aggressive and rattled, nobody is supposed to know about the Shining Valley.
• The group appease her because they are stupid, and she doesn't think they're capable of deceiving her.
• She asks if they're associated with the Daughters? They're not! They swear!
• We briefly talk about the Daughters of Sora Kell, introducing them to the group.
• The lead harpy introduces herself as Mieno. Her flight is called the Haunting Song, and they refused to fall in line when Droaam was formed. The other flights attacked them, and they are sure if they are discovered that they will be attacked again.
• The group explain why they're there: to charge the Sunlight Sapphire (and also Charlie's cheaper crystal) and to map the valley.
• Mieno will allow them to charge the crystals, but no mapping. It's too dangerous. She demands they forget the way there.
• Charlie promises to, and when she shakes his hand he feels a tingle go up his spine. That's probably fine.
• Once the sapphire is charged, they'll need to leave.
• Mieno explains that the group interrupted their evening song, how they close off the day. They're Songbirds, harpies who have trained their voices to do far more than just lure. They use their singing to wake up, help them sleep, energize and motivate them during the day. Their voices are versatile and powerful.
• Ban would love to have someone like that in an inn or tavern!
• Mieno doesn't know what that means
• Mieno leads them to the place where she feels the crystals will charge faster, a big luminous crystal fountain the center of the valley. They can leave the gems there, and the harpies will continue with their evening prep. Mieno will get them some food, and find them a cave to sleep in.
• Mieno leads them to their cave, and we end the session before their camping scene.
• Gosh, I wonder where Damien got to?