7th Sypheros, 999 YK (5/12/993 FTC)
- Ell does the recap of last session, getting an extra hero point for this session
- They've just discussed what else to do in Vralkast, and reiterated a desire to see Harrowmark and also Ṱ̷̫͙͙͉̖̹̮̥̓͜ͅḣ̴̨̢̡̢̤̗͎̜̻͇̦̔͛̎̃̄̉͌̄̅͆̎̎͝͝ę̴̛̙̥̟̫͍̖͂̚͜͠ ̸͈̙͚͓̠͔̺̥̳̅̾̽̓̓͛͋̀͠͝E̸̪̎͋̒̾͂̓̊̈̃̚ͅì̵̭͂̍͒̚g̸̛̞̪̀̒̒̊̑͂́̏ḥ̷̝̗̯̣̑̒̂t̵̢͔̞̖̝̹̞̠̤̖̳̺͙͋ḩ̶̛͔̟̈́́̂̎̒̄͛̆͠͝
- They discuss how they're looking resource wise, and whether they want to rest. Bhaltair and Naze are both low on spells.
- Bhaltair is okay with not resting, they're not expecting a fight.
- They decide to go explore Harrowmark, and they'll rest before going anywhere else.
- Rigwi Thromwud is with them, we keep forgetting about her
- They take another gecko ride up the cleft, they're getting used to it. It's not far, either.
- They arrive in Harrowmark, and they're faced with the reality that it is built for giants. Nothing is sized for them, this is the home of the Fomor'ren and the other giantfolk. The architecture is brutalist and pragmatic, built with defense in mind, and there's very little decoration. Runmae appreciates the pragmatism but kinda wishes there were at least carvings or murals to break them up a bit. She's also used to being a bit smaller than everything.
- Valaari is the opposite. They're used to being the biggest, and so it's unsettling.
- Bhaltair is used to large things, they lived in the Reaches, but cities in general make them uncomfortable so this is more of that. The sheer size of the buildings is a little comforting though, it reminds them of the redwoods. Like reverse vertigo? There's lots of cover
- Naze feels similar to Bhaltair, they're used to The Labyrinth and feeling boxed in, but cities are alien to him. Harrowmark isn't any more or less comfortable than the rest of the city though, he's just uncomfortable with the whole thing.
- Warren feels very much underfoot, and skittish. He doesn't like being around the giants, he's worried about being squished. Valaari tries to reassure him, he's too quick to be stepped on!
- Rigwi lets them take it in and then says she can offer some suggestions for landmarks, or they can wander?
- Rigwi talks for a while about the Forum Fomor and the way that Vralkast's government functions. It's kinda anarchistic, democratic, but there's also this all powerful force in the Wyrd Vigil that technically has the final say on everything, they just don't. They only intervene if the security of the city is threatened.
- The Fomorians leave everyone else to kinda self-govern, and over time the people have learned how to function and what gets them killed by the giants.
- Runmae is curious about the structure of the Wyrd Vigil? It has three generals that split responsibility, and they delegate to others. It's the most hierarchical organisation in the city.
- She's curious how often the generals change? Is there not a risk of ones getting popular and causing rebellions?
- Rigwi doesn't know, she can't really answer that. There's no counter to the Fomorians, if one of them tried to grab power, who can stop them?
- There is a story of the Gogmagog, a giant that betrayed the city. Maybe it's happened before?
- Rigwi then lists off some other notable landmarks they might want to see, including a giant bath house with water heated by hydrothermal vent demons.
- As you do.
- Oh and there's Martyr's Square, where the Wyrd Vigil train their members!
- There is broad interest in the Wyrd Vigil, anything they can learn from another military is useful information. They'll go there first.
- As they head there, they make note that almost all of the Wyrd Vigilants are kinda weird. Naze in particular notes they all have grafts or other physical mutations.
- They arrive at the training ground, and they watch a duel between two fomorians. One with a harpoon and shield, one with a greataxe. It's terrifying to watch, these guys are so powerful.
- After it ends, the harpoon wielder wins, and the greataxe wielder makes a notch into a nearby boulder. They then pull each other into a soldierly embrace, and the rest of the fomorians split off into pairs to spar.
- The harpoon wielder then locks eyes with Valaari, and approaches the group.
- She's so scary, but then she gets close and she crouches down and her expression softens. They get a hit of the perfume she's wearing, and she goes "Hi! Are you new here?"
- They are totally disarmed by this
- Valaari goes to speak but Warren speaks first. "ugh yeah you here often?"
- "All the time actually! Gaohargr, Reaptide General"
- She extends a massive hand to the group. They'll need to shake her fingers.
- "Ugh yeah...just here with my group. Did you say you were a general?"
- "Yes! Alongside Balaer and Tuhokai! Were you thinking of signing up"
- Valaari says no, they're just passing through
- "Did you watch the fight?"
- "We did! It was very impressive!"
- "Thank you! It wasn't...too impressive, though, was it?"
- "Why would you not want to be impressive in battle?"
- "Umm...you wouldn't. I just...nevermind. What brings you to Harrowmark?"
- They wanted to see Martyr's Square, to see the fighting!
- They ask if they train every day?
- "Yes! We train new recruits, spar to keep our skills sharp, and to raise morale! To show people what a fully realised fomorian is capable of!"
- "Yeah I can't imagine anyone wanting to fight you..."
- "And yet, people attack the city almost every day!"
- "Creatures from Khyber, you mean?"
- "yes!"
- Valaari dances around arguing that the things from Khyber aren't people
- Runmae has some questions about how the military works.
- Do they fight in formation? She only sees them sparring one on one right now. Gaohargr explains that they do train for it, but most of the time they're fighting things smaller than them. They do train for it, but in practice the smaller folk fight in formation and the fomorians try and maintain a safe distance from them. A misplaced foot can kill someone, they're very aware of their size.
- They also all serve on the serpentkeels at some point.
- Runmae asks if they train in one specific fighting style? Do they split into divisions?
- Gaohargr explains that they all have varied capabilities, but there's a baseline style they all know and then develop on. Body modification is common.
- Naze asks about that, they're interested in it. Are they useful?
- Of course they are! But for the most part, the fomorians aren't the ones with the grafts, it's the smaller folk trying to emulate them. There's a certain level of idolisation of the fomorians and their forms. The fomorians do mutate though, just not intentionally.
- Runmae asks how they communicate orders? For the most part, verbally. There are individuals with telepathic capabilities, but it's not common enough to structure around.
- Bhaltair asks Valaari if they're still looking for allies? "Yes, absolutely"
- Do they want to try and bring Vralkast into their conflict?
- Yes, they think so, but they don't think the Fomorians will help them. Is it worth trying?
- Valaari explains to Gaohargr what they're doing here, what they're fighting, and that they're looking for allies.
- Gaohargr asks what kind of assistance they'd be looking for?
- "Heck, even one Fomorian would be an immense help...we also know our enemies are using Khyber, trying to exit the Labyrinth. Sharing information could be powerful."
- Gaohargr says they wouldn't prevent Everdelver's or merchants from trading with them, but if they want a formal exchange of any kind they'd need to convince the Forum Fomor.
- They ask how they can do that? The next Tidal Moot is in 8 days, they can just turn up and make their case. It'll be tough though. Even if they can convince the forum, they likely couldn't dedicate any significant forces.
- Bhaltair could see the benefit in even one fomorian who can train them.
- It might help their chances though if she vouched for them, and she does have a favour to ask...
- She asks again if she's too scary? or perhaps Tuhokai is just oblivious?
- Warren's rat heart shatters
- Valaari is confused?
- Warren asks if she's tried just being honest? Has she told Tuhokai?
- "Well, no, but is it even worth considering? A relationship between generals would raise eyebrows, could cause dissent?"
- "Sometimes, dissent is fine. It can be worth it"
- Valaari hears "dissent is fine" and shoots him the most bomastic side eye
- "I don't know how long fomorians live, but you don't know how long you're gonna have with someone. You've gotta grab it with both hands, the worst thing she can say is 'yeah I'm not into you', and then you move on."
- Gaohargr isn't sure, how does she even do that without disgracing her position?
- "You could write her a letter, maybe? Or give her something that means something to you? There's lots of different ways to say it without saying it"
- Valaari thinks they're already doing the right thing! How better to build respect than fighting someone?
- Warren says that's not what
- "Why would you want to get close to someone who's a wimp in battle?"
- Naze deflates a little
- Warren says you can definitely fall in love with someone who can't fight, it's not the biggest factor. "Sometimes someone makes you laugh, or has pretty eyes, or..."
- Valaari cuts him off. "How is any of that important? In our lives? You need to know they can hold their own, that they'll stick around"
- Valaari thinks they aren't the right one for this conversation
- Warren says Kalok Shash is all well and good, but sometimes you need something more personal. Kalok Shash has never called to or spoken to him, another person can be something worth fighting for
- "Or maybe I'm just stupid, I don't know."
- "You don't need to take my advice, beautiful giant woman, but that is my advice. You never know what's going to happen, and you'll really kick yourself if you don't say it. Regret is...a lot"
- "I'll think about it. Thank you for the advice."
- "You're welcome, and if you're ever looking for a rebound..."
- Oh this smelly little rat man
- She stands back up to her 28ft tall height, and tells them they're welcome to stay and watch more, but she won't take up more of their time. They thank her for talking to them.
- Jimmy wants to scream about how bad of an idea it is to have a romantic relationship in the chain of command, but his character wouldn't, so he has to hold his tongue
- And nobody else says it
- They stay and watch the sparring for a bit longer, entertained and educated by the way the Wyrd Vigil fight. They would love to have a Fomorian come with them to train them
- They observe several more bouts, including group fights where multiple smaller folk spar with a fomorian. The fomorians are weirdly graceful, very intentional about the placement of their limbs, and that makes them even scarier.
- The party watch that fight particularly closely, to try and pick up what they can about fighting larger combatants
- For the next stop, Naze wants to visit the bathhouse but Valaari wants to see both the Anopticon and the Wyrding.
- Valaari takes charge, and they head to the Anopticon next.
- This structure is sized completely for giants. They have to climb the steps, and when they get to the front desk it is sized for a giant. Bhaltair has to use a spell to fly to get up.
- He lands on the desk, and says Hi (in Common) to the Fomorian working at the desk and waves. Once they have their attention, they point down, point to themselves, and then fly back down.
- The fomorian stands up to look over the desk, and sees them all stood there.
- Valaari tries some broken dwarven to communicate, with Runmae's support. They express curiosity about the anopticon.
- Runmae takes over, Valaari is struggling with it. The desk fomorian asks what they want to know?
- "What is this place?"
- "The anopticon is a refuge for fomorians, where they can get relief from their cursed sight. Each room is filled with anti-light."
- Two questions. What is this cursed sight, and what is anti-light? You mean darkness?
- Fomorians have cursed sight
- No, they don't mean darkness
- "...can we see it?"
- "No, it's anti-light"
- "Can we experience it?"
- "I don't see why not"
- They ask for their names, which they write down, and they gesture to one of the side rooms with a wall of darkness at the door.
- They also warn them to stay close to the wall, because they won't be able to see
- "So it is darkness?"
- "No"
- They enter the room, and experience the purest darkness. Very reminiscent of the Glitterdrift, it is a complete absense of any light whatsoever.
- Bhaltair experiences it as having a physical weight to it, there's substance to this darkness. They can't get the details of how it works, but there are enchantments woven throughout the room maintaining it.
- Valaari tries to use their special friend to ascertain anything about the fomorians cursed sight. They don't learn details of the curse, but they do learn that the fomorians were cursed by an archfey to "resemble the deeds of their ruler". A very, very long time ago. Tens of thousands of years.
- But not what the curse does. Damn :(
- Okay, they head out. They've seen what they wanted to.
- Naze mentions the bath again. Valaari says not yet.
- They head to the Wyrding, an enormous hall filled with meditating fomorians. Valaari wonders if all Fomorians have the capacity for telepathy?
- Each of the fomorians is telepathically connected to one of the serpentkeel ships, and they're all noting on maps where their associated ships are so that the rough whereabouts of everyone can be tracked. It would be enormously useful.
- They go up to the first fomorian they can see that isn't meditating, introduce themselves, and ask about how this all works?
- They're more than happy to explain how it all works. It's not an inherent gift, they are trained to perform the magic that creates the telepathic connection between an Anchorite and a Ship Soul. It's a long term connection, traumatic to break, so it's generally for life for the Ship Soul (but the fomorians live a long time).
- Bhaltair thinks it sounds achievable for them to learn this, telepathic bond is a 5th rank spell. They lack the right spell tradition in the party to do it, but this would be so so useful for the Ghaash'kala to keep track of and coordinate their patrols.
- They ask if they could be taught, but the anchorite is unsure. "You'd need the approval of the Forum"
- Another item on the list
- Even if they can't secure a fighting force to annihilate the tribes, there's still a lot they could bring back from Vralkast.
- Valaari wants to visit the Butcher's Break next.
- A whole street is dedicated to the butchering of leviathans. Massive cranes haul them up from the harbour, and then the fomorians process them into bone, gristle, meat and guts. All of it is used, nothing is wasted. It's a very well run operation, they keep it clean, they freeze the meat to keep it fresh.
- Rigwi explains the Meat Tide, every half-cycle they have a tide where the food gets distributed. It's a bit of a game, districts will try to steal the food in transit from each other. Not everyone is happy with how much meat their district is allocated on a given tide cycle.
- Usually there is enough, but there is not always enough to go around.
- It's also humbling to see giant sea monsters being handled like this. Valaari is practically salivating at the idea of deploying an army of Fomorians against the Carrion Tribes
- They really need to prepare a solid argument. They have 8 days to prepare.
- They're already practicing, trying to think of what they can offer.
- If they have lots of highly trained demon killers, they could try and deal with threats before they reach the city, if only they had a few fomorians to help them deal with the current problem. Eh? Eh?
- Naze asks again about the baths. He's finally getting his wish!
- They head to Journey's End, the only structure in Harrowmark that's been decorated. It's run by a collection of the guilds and unions that run the city, and they operate it as a public service. There are multiple tiered baths, of varying sizes, so that everybody can conceivably be accomodated for. And the best part is that it's completely free!
- It is communal changing rooms though
- Each pool is separated plumbed, Naze is amazed. The plumbing for this place must be insane!
- And the water is heated by hydrothermal vent demons!
- This is the thing that's stretching Will's suspension of disbelief, the plumbing.
- "I draw the line at unrealistic plumbing"
- HYDROTHERMAL VENT DEMONS
- Valaari asks if they're bathing?
- They look around a bit. The baths are communal, and it's very very busy.
- It's the most naked people that Naze has ever seen. He's captivated by all the...bits. Some he recognises, some he doesn't
- But he's a doctor, it's nothing he hasn't seen before.
- "You know what they say, when in Vralkast" - Naze
- "Get your bits out" - Warren
- They get changed. Bhaltair doesn't want to go in a bath, so they're gonna watch their stuff while the others bathe.
- The others all get in a bath. Some of them people watch a bit, but Valaari isn't bothered about others.
- Warren makes awkward eye contact with a naked boggle. It's Big Bingle. He's now seen his bingle.
- Runmae watches some goblins chatting next to one of the fomorian baths, and then the fomorian gets up and the water being displaced washes them into a nearby bath. The fomorian gingerly apologises.
- They wash themselves down before getting into the baths.
- This is also the first time any of them have seen Valaari take off their prosthetic leg! They take it off before they get in the bath.
- (They do keep it clean though)
- This is also the first major opportunity they've had to really bathe and relax other than Bhaltair's magic pool. Taking a bath is a fairly novel experience for most of them.
- Valaari fantasizes about Vralkast being a regular destination for the Ghaash'kala, they could holiday here.
- They're going to deploy a tourism industry after asking for help with the tribes.
- They remain in the baths for the rest of the day, until they're ready to go to bed.
- Next session, they will be trying to enter Ṱ̷̫͙͙͉̖̹̮̥̓͜ͅḣ̴̨̢̡̢̤̗͎̜̻͇̦̔͛̎̃̄̉͌̄̅͆̎̎͝͝ę̴̛̙̥̟̫͍̖͂̚͜͠ ̸͈̙͚͓̠͔̺̥̳̅̾̽̓̓͛͋̀͠͝E̸̪̎͋̒̾͂̓̊̈̃̚ͅì̵̭͂̍͒̚g̸̛̞̪̀̒̒̊̑͂́̏ḥ̷̝̗̯̣̑̒̂t̵̢͔̞̖̝̹̞̠̤̖̳̺͙͋ḩ̶̛͔̟̈́́̂̎̒̄͛̆͠͝, most likely via Bhaltair's liminal doorway.