Loose threads Someone performed a ritual on the moon to contain something. Murals of the Saqqaran prophets depicted Remi, Balkan, Sarah, and Kon. Mihsu, leader of the serpentfolk who attacked us, might still live.
Participants Balkan, Konnie, Sarah Liu, Remi
Locations Desert of Rydess, Saqqaran Observatory
Short summary:
Had a great trip aboard Big Rud's Landin' Belle'. Shared some recipes and made quite a few new friends. When traveling through the desert we ran into Rydess. We eliminated some drakes at a nearby oasis to appease her. We then traveled to the observatory and managed to gain access to the observatory's main observation room. After eliminating serpentfolk opposition, we completed our observation and confirmed the presence of arcane symbols indicative of a ritual performed on the moon's surface, and that the moon's surface is in much disarray.
Full Report
I was glad to see Balki was already at the Pug when I arrived. Seeing a friendly familiar face certainly helped when I noticed the threads were already attached to this path without me knowing. C'est la vie. It looked like Balki and Kon had an unresolved issue, and things were tense for moment. They were able to move past it by the time our 4th, Sarah, arrived at the scene to hear the last part of the explanation for our mission.Kon explained to us how, from their perspective as a follower of Ashava. they were more than a little interested in knowing what was going on with the moon. Konnie seeks others to
accompany them to an observatory in the desert to monitor the situation,
handling the "spiritual side" while needing help with the "practical."
I shared with the party what I learned while doing some research on my own: the moon cracking apparently released a "dead goddess" who cultivated and slaughtered civilizations, potentially involving dragons. The goddess's name is unknown, but an adventurer by the name of Hecret was directly involved in said incident.
Finally, a red-skinned tiefling that introduces herself as Alissa, arrives as the guild's correspondent for the adventure. She will not be joining but provides information and a "primer" pamphlet with basic translations of Saqarran pictograms (numbers 1-5). She confirms the guild is on good terms with the local Watcher's Tribe kobolds and their dragon Rydess, whom they should avoid. The group will not travel directly into the desert yet but will take a ferry from First Landing Port to an island closer to their destination. Alissa states the chance of encountering Rydess is small but possible anywhere in her desert.
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We headed to the First Landing Port to meet our transport, Captain Big Rud. Our large, orcish friend greeted us aboard the "Landin; Belle" and, once gotten past his rules, got to teaching us about how to stay useful and alive on his keelboat. I think I shall be using the "Boudreaux twist" now and then! Funny that part about the night whistle, though. I wonder if he was being serious. Oh well! I'm just glad no one ended up accidentally looking at Gusteau's unlucky side.
I think we all had a great time working with Big Rud's crew. I learned quite a bit working in his kitchen, working the decks is good exercise, and there's always something new to see! It was funny seeing Konnie and Balki struggle with the spicy food, too, hah!
It was a bittersweet moment, saying goodbye to Big Rud. Perhaps I shall visit them sometime soon to go on another trip of my own fancy. Just for fun!
The desert. Oh, what can I say about the desert. It was incredibly hot. Do not recommend. Solid 0/10 except at night.
Just when we thought it would be getting better with a little bit of rain, Rydess appears. I don't know exactly how, or why my heart didn't jump out of my chest. There was just this serene calm at the forefront of my panicked background thoughts. I got to practice my draconic in less-than-ideal circumstances to negotiate passage through the desert. In exchange, we agreed to take care of a drake problem for the queen.
And so we traveled a short distance to the east, to an oasis where the drakes lived. Taking care of them wasn't terribly difficult, and to my surprise they were edible. Delicious even! I brought back a recipe.
At night we got some visitors - Kobolds from the Watcher's Tribe seeking audience with the queen. They'd gotten lost and were hungry so Kon woke me up to cook something for them. Less than ideal circumstances but I was happy to have the chance to experiment more with the exotic meat.
We parted our ways next morning, with the Kobolds promising to deliver our offering to Queen Rydess. We arrived at the observatory just in time to seek shelter from the worst of the noon sun.
I wasn't expecting the observatory to be made of obsidian. It was quite a sight. Konnie managed to translate, magically I believe, all the saqqaran we encountered. Our first cryptic clue was "walk where the eyes watch the sky." After some discussion and investigation, our combined effort allowed us realize that a series of mechanisms could be used to redirect sunlight into the spot where figures in the mural of the room we arrived at seemed to be looking at. There was a bit of sand wedged in the mechanism that we unlocked but nothing that a bit of finesse, magical and otherwise, couldn't fix. Activating this mechanism opened a door into another room for us.
This revealed a broad, circular chamber under a partially collapsed dome. The room contains an ancient, moving planetary model. The walls are covered in a continuous mural. It depicts the rise of a civilization, then shifts to show figures near orbs, intertwined dragons (one identified by Konnie as a 5-headed Tiamat), and culminates in a depiction uncannily resembling... us. Me, Balki, Sarah and Konnie. All being relentlessly observed by some sort of split eye in a black void. I wish I could be more surprised than I am. It is remarkable that mortals were ever able to have this level of prescience.
Deciding to move deeper, we spotted a small maintenance door/shaft. Gusteau helped us by going up the tight shaft to scout, but he was unfortunately unable to open a heavy hatch at the top. Sarah volunteers her strength, climbs the shaft, and with a focused punch drawing on inner strength, forces the hatch open.
Konnie climbs up next, followed by Balkan. They emerge onto the main **observatory deck**. The dome above is open, revealing the sky and spotlighting a large, turquoise-green telescope. The room also contains spare parts, broken lenses, a control panel with a lever, and a floor tiled with a map-like pattern. Konnie is able to tell us that the lever controls an "Open/Close" mechanism. Konnie flips the lever to "Open," causing a loud rumbling as something (likely the dome cover) shifts open above.
Before Konnie's Translate spell fades, we quickly search for any written information. They find a plaque near the telescope lens dedicated to "High Oracle Beshara" and her "Midnight vigil," copying its text and symbols as other potential writings have faded over time.
I was helped up the hatch not a moment too soon. We soon begun hearing approaching steps, and so heeding Konnie's warnings about serpentfolk activity, we prepared for battle. Konnie's prediction was correct and we defeated a few serpentfolk who attacked us on sight. It is worth mentioning they claim to work under another called Mihsu.
We stayed en guarde for a long time, but thankfully no other incidents ocurred. As night fell, I helped with aligning the telescope with the moon. Konnie looks through the eyepiece first, seeing the moon's surface in detail: deep, glowing fissures, a massive chasm, crystalline dust, hovering rocks, and pulsing, vein-like cracks.
I then took a look and specifically identified pale etchings around the fissures as runes for a powerful, complex binding ritual. I couldn't help but notice how... familiar? Yes, the magic used for the circle was very reminiscent of my own. Adjusting the view, I panned up into the sky and observed the space around the moon is disturbed by a silvery-blue mist. Even more alarming, I saw that many constellations that should be visible are simply missing. Where they stood now there's nothing. Merely holes in the sky.
Konnie questions if the missing stars are connected to the moon's damage, which prompted us to realize that the pattern of the missing constellations matches one of the runes on the moon, suggesting a separate ritual was performed on the stars themselves, possibly to contain something.
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Personally, this mission... broke me a little. I now have this nagging feeling that this thread I'm trying to get at to cut just cannot be cut. We'll reach the end of the spool. But now I now too that the tapestry doesn't end there. The pattern is turned around. The shuttle is reset, the spool refilled. It all goes on and on. Nothing matters except our journey. The friends we make along the way.