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The Lap

The Lap	14 Jul 2004
After the dragon-blooded leave the dock and head toward the lap, the hire a carriage driven by a man named Blue Mantle. He tells them that the woman who just arrived is Peleps Trinarin, betrothed to Lornight Ragara, son of Alorn Ragara, one of the Triumverate that rules the Lap. Mantle thinks this is an alliance between Ragara and Peleps Tuchet, another of the leaders, against the third Cathak Sijip. Driver also tells them where three tombs are.
They get checked into the Manor Inn, using the name “Jaquelin”. Lenni demands payment, so they find firedust from a merchant named Rajiff. They ask him to check on cunaria. He invites them to a party on the 9th. Some other deal was struck with Lenni, in exchange for removing the words from Gutt’s head (which he hides with a turban). Since Lenni knows the curse will naturally wear off the next day, she accepts.
The eat, train, heal and sleep.
6th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The Lap	22 Jul 2004
The circle checks out the tomb that sounded the most cursed and started looking for regret. Guen smells him faintly and leads them into the catacombs. In spite of growing creepiness, the party doesn’t prepare much for combat (no armor for Gutts, no charms for Varden), so when the 20 ghosts attack them, they get a bit ravaged.
After retreating from the crypt, Guen, the only one unwounded, runs reconnaissance on the dragon-blooded. He spots the resting place of the necklace and several dalliances among them.
7th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The Lap	28 Jul 2004
After resting and healing, they return to the crypt, moving in deeper. Better prepared this time, they fare slightly better against war-ghosts, who they offend with their presence.
The Lap	11 Aug 2004
They move deeper and run into General Lint, a powerful ghost who deals some damage to them, so much that they have to flee. Being immaterial, only Cruxis could do any damage, though Gutts and Guen tried destroying his sarcophagus to no avail. While fleeing, they lose the General, only to run into a black man who smells like Regret. Guen, fearing the Eristrufa might be causing hallucinations doesn’t fully trust the man, though he admits to being Regret.
He asks to talk over beer, and goes back to get his stuff. The circle warns him of the General, but he goes anyway. After a time, shouting his heard, followed shortly after by the man running back down the hall saying “time to go!”. Having had about a half hour to regain essence, Cruxis managed to bring down the rapidly pursuing General.
The circle retired to a bar and, at a secluded table, heard Regret tell them of Autochthon and his desire to go there. They tell him about the possibility of restoring his soul. Afterward, the head back to the hotel and sleep.
8th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The Lap	25 Aug 2004
After training all morning, Gutts was summoned to the roof by Lenni, who made him strip naked, dance, and scream out various demeaning things to the crowd below. She then demanded he go get her another bag of fire dust, still naked, which he did. Coincident to all of this, the words faded from Gutts’ head.
More training followed, leaving the circle to hatch a half-baked plan to steal the necklace. Varden magically enhanced is Larceny skill (spending 25 xp) and joined Guen in sneaking into the dragon-blooded palace. Guen entered easily as a mosquito. Varden used charms to jump improbably over fences and trees to get to the building. After a few close calls, they managed to grab the necklace.
As they were leaving, Guen heard noises that ended up being caused by an automation assassin targeted on Peleps Trinarin, though she was not there, having snuck into the room of her lead bodyguard. At the same time, they saw black smoke coming from under the door and a male scream in pain from the next room. Not knowing what to make of it, they fled. As they were almost out of the grounds, the smoke poured from the room to the roof, solidifying into tentacles and shredding the archers up there (who had begun to shoot at Varden). The tentacles turned back into smoke and then moved to the guards at the gate, turning into what appeared to be an Eclipse caste solar. This caused massive alarm to the guards, who screamed “Anathema!”. The “Eclipse” ran down the street, but by the time dragon-blooded gave chase, disappeared into smoke.
Guen saw the “Eclipse” vanish and tried to pick up his scent. Only then did the circle realize that this was the eristrufa.
9th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The Lap	3 Sep 2004
Awoke to find city crawling with Imperial soldiers. Regret tells about orichalcum mine. Leave to check out mine. Find Stag, and Guen hires him without any thought or consultation with rest of group. Bought horses and went up mountain path. Attack by pig-men

On the Road

The road	23 Sep 2004
Gutts does see-saw to fling last guy into mountains. Regret drank blood and is now shifting and screaming. Stag still in woods.
10th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The road	30 Sep 2004
Decide to skip mining outpost. Stag gives Gutts two points of Limit. Get attacked by hobgoblins.
The road	7 Oct 2004
Hobgoblin battle continues, with the circle killing most of them. Two escape with horses, but Gutts and Guen track down one of them. Cruxis attempts to pursue the other one, but fails. After trying to figure out what to do with the captured hobgoblin, the circle elects to sleep on it, keeping the creature tied to a tree.
11th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The road	13 Oct 2004
In the morning, they let hobgoblin go and continue on. Rather than stop for the night, Guen insists on leading the horses in the darkness. He ends up hearing something in the trees and rushes at it, with Varden not far behind. Four hobgoblins have been shadowing them. After a couple are killed, the remainder are captured and interrogated. One is silent. The other speaks mostly gibberish, but after a while Stag begins to pick out words of Old Realm and a broken conversation begins. They claim to have been told to follow the circle, but not much other beleivable information is revealed.
Stag and Guen decide to let them go but, now awake, Gutts objects. They are let go anyway, and Gutts sprints after them, using his anima as a light. Stag chases after Gutts. At some point, Gutts gets turned around and finds himself back at camp. Stag arrives a few minutes later.
12th day of Descending Earth, RY 769
The road	3 Nov 2004
The circle makes it out of the mountain pass into a valley. With smooth road, they make good time, approaching the town of Watch Valley at sunset. As soon as the last rays of light fell behind the mountains, hobgoblins began to pop out of the ground several hundred yards to the left, right and behind the circle. The circle prepared to fight, but soon the ranks of hobgoblins swelled into the hundreds, with another swarm coming down from the mountains, prompting the circle to head towards the town.
Cruxis began to fire arrows as they fled, inspiring Gutts to unload the fire wands. Guen followed suit and gouts of flame streamed from the wagon. Unimpressed by the weapon's short range, Gutts leaped from the wagon into the oncoming horde and incinerated several before leaping back to the wagon, nearly capsizing it. With the horde closing behind them, the circle managed to get through the town gates.

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