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==Forgotten Suns==
[[Forgotten Suns: Log - Beginning|previous chapter]]


''This section contains excerpts from the "playtesting" sections of the [http://rpg.divnull.com/exalted/forgotten/ Forgotten Suns] adventure.''
==Back to Civilization==
Gutts, a dawn caste solar with a huge sword, started as part of a mercenary company operating in the plains south of Nexus. He dreamt of standing on spire watching the rising sun, surrounded by jungle. His perspective in this dream, on one spire looking out, meant that he never saw the other spires in his dreams, which turned out to cause a lot of conversation later on. He followed the pull to the south fairly readily.
Guen, a changing moon caste lunar who doesn't like other lunars much, started just after her rites of passage, hanging out around the Ten Tribes of the Oak. He dreamt of a moon rising over a five-spired building surrounded by jungle (while in cat form, at night). He followed the pull to the southwest easily.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''10th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
| colspan="2" |'''21st day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
|-
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
|}
Both Gutts and Guen approached from roughly the same direction. Guen was in cat form and Gutts 'smelled unusual' to him. They discussed their dreams very soon after introducing themselves. To cross, Gutts used his massive sword to cut down a tree. One of Guen's animal forms was an alligator, so the two crossed the 60 feet of tree, then swam the remainder. The swimming roll was made less difficult for Guen in alligator form and, with Gutts holding on and both of them rolling pretty well, they made it across.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
[[Varden]] introduced, running into [[Guen]] and [[Jorias]] after a book-buying spree. Circle hears rumors of the "[[White Queen]]" who rescued the costal village of [[Lush]] (near [[Thorns]]) after it had been “abducted by a deathlord”. Go to bar where [[Trieste]] is supposed to be and find [[Sage]], a geeky scholar fascinated by Anathema. He’s been waiting every day for months, so is taken to strip club. Trieste meets there and invites group to meeting with “superiors” in two days, indicating he will give word on where.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''11th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
Gutts and Guen dispatched the spiders without much problem, though they did take damage. They learned a lot about exalted combat, as well as their own strengths and limitations.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''12th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
| colspan="2" |'''22nd day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
|-
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
|}
An NPC ([[Cruxis]]) was introduced in this encounter. Having been ambushed in his sleep while making camp on the lake shore, the bandits were rifling through his belongings and celebrating. Cruxis spent the encounter hog tied, as the circle pretty much annihilated the bandits.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
[[Gutts]] trades soulsteel articulated plate and fair folk armor for suit of orichalcum articulated plate “with some additional powers” with [[Tepet Mason]] (who can’t believe his luck). Still, he has Gutts followed. Suspecting this, circle changes hotel, discovering and eluding their tails. Gutts puts on armor and passes out.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''13th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
Guen, a lunar, has a crocodile as one of his forms, which proved able to kill the serpent nearly single handily.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''14th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''14 January 2004''
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
|}
The pursued was the NPC [[Jorias]], who used Graceful Crane Stance and Monkey Leap Technique to run across the tree branches (and, consequently, glowed brightly). After a brief conversation, combat erupted. The speed of [[Volaris]]' blade kept Gutts dodging most of the combat, though he eventually cut him in half (as well as some infantrymen). Guen took his woolly mammoth form and, though taking a lot of arrows, disarmed and later killed [[Mordock]]. Cruxis eventually managed to kill an infantry man that was harassing Gutts (and was extremely proud of himself). Jorias managed to pretty much savage [[Suriel]], who used Shrouding the Body and Mind to evade him after taking a lot of damage. He also transferred some damage from Gutts to himself, allowing Gutts to continue the fight.
Suriel, meanwhile, attempted to keep attacking, as her comrades were still alive at that point. Her wounds made this difficult, however, and her attacks allowed [[Trieste]] to locate her. He used that moment to switch sides and (with a really lucky shot), he put an arrow in her chest. The combat finished soon after, with everyone but Trieste being killed. The last of the infantry died most spectacularly when Guen (still in mammoth form) hurled him into the air and Gutts (on Guen's back) bisected him in midair.
Trieste was spared, and he delivered his proposal to the party. After some discussion, they agreed to send word to a specific bar in Nexus to arrange a meeting with Trieste's benefactors.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
Gutts has a [[Emerald_Fortress_Vision|vision]] while attuning to armor. To him, it lasts nearly a week but actually took place nearly instantly. Starving, he eats a lot. Circle trains for a while, then sleeps.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''17th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
The party was confused by the [[Lady of the Vine]], and distracted by her nakedness. They behaved themselves, though, and the Lady gained an improved opinion of them, though she elected to remain mostly neutral in what followed.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''18th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
| colspan="2" |'''23rd day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
|-
|-
| ''Eastern jungle''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''14 January 2004''
|}
|}
The first of the mutant thunder lizards didn't last a turn, as he had no interest in dodging. His mate was harder to kill, however, and managed to do a little damage before succumbing.
The party didn't detect the barrier until someone went through it. They all decided to go through and take the essence drain without investing much in stopping the effect.
The circle did 40 points of damage in two rounds, so the spine chains didn't last long.
Through a convoluted variety of techniques, including numerous shape shifts, the characters managed to attach a makeshift rope to the lower balcony of the Dawn tower and climb up.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
As entire party sleeps, a [[mysterious woman|Kerin]] breaks in. Under cover of a Shadowy Simulacrums of Smoke spell and serious stealth charms, she steals the [[moonsilver box]] the characters were to deliver to [[Milo Divivovich]] from Gutts’ bag. She leaves a note in its place:
|-
| colspan="2" |'''19th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
As the circle was new to Exalted, and neither player character had any lore skill to speak of, the NPC Jorias (pg. 54) educated them on manses. Guen attuned to it on the first attempt. Gutts required several, having only one die to make the attempt. Just by coincidence, Guen's dreams were not very powerful or frequent, which led the players to believe that lunars were not as strongly connected to the manse.
The clinching strategy proved fairly effective against the circle initially, particularly since the parrots initially only faced two of the characters. Once the rest of the group entered the combat, the parrots were not much of a problem, though the combat went on for more rounds than expected. The circle, apart from the lunar, also elected to use these birds as food.
The circle befriended the [[Groundskeeper]] and tended to call on him when they were confused.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
<blockquote style="font-family: cursive; font-size: 12pt">Honored Brethren -<br>
|-
I have temporarily borrowed the moonsilver box. It will be returned safely on one condition: that you allow me to accompany you when you deliver it. I seek an audience with the man to whom you intend to deliver it. If you accept this proposal, meet me at midnight tomorrow in the spire of the Silent Bell Tower in the Bastion District.</blockquote>
| colspan="2" |'''20th day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
After all of [[Qurrl]]'s planning, his plot was interrupted when the party's lunar tracked him by smell and found him alone in the magic library (solar sublevel, pg. 41). He immediately unleashed charms, but Gutts was uncharacteristically interested in negotiation. Completely surprised by this, Qurrl simply asked them to turn the barrier off. Guen convinced the party to do this, but only on the condition that the demons return to directly to Malfeas. To enforce this, the demons would be locked into the testing room (solar sublevel) when the barrier was turned off. The demons readily agreed, swearing to return to hell.  
The flaw in this plan is that once the barrier was turned off, the demons could just dematerialize and leave the manse undetected, which is what they did and are now roaming the jungle. Unfortunately for the circle, the only member with enough occult skill to spot this flaw in the plan (an NPC) botched his roll.
The deal with [[Morakken]] was more cordial, and he just left once the barrier was reversed.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
The circle spent the next day shopping (weapons and clothing), but went to the spire. The building, a First Age construction now adapted into a fine winery, had several guards, who raised an alarm when the circle walked in the front door. The circle managed to elude them and head up to the top of the spire.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''21st day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
The solars passed through the barrier while the party was investigating the lunar sphere. After resting to regain their essence, [[Yrminas]] and [[Adrios]] scaled the courtyard wall while [[Righteous Glimmer]] remained in his cloud trapeze.
After a quick tour of the solar tower, they moved to the central building. Yrminas bored of this, and left to explore the lunar sphere while Adrios remained in the central building. The players saw Yrminas coming through the archway of the central building into the lunar courtyard. Given her jade armor and arrogant attitude, they assumed she was dragon-blooded.
After some well-meaning but ill-fated negotiations, two circle members walked out to meet Yrmanis. One of these was Guen, a lunar who bows to no one and really hates dragon-blooded, so Yrmanis' ultimatum did not go over well and swords were drawn pretty quickly.
The length of the courtyard, as well as a Magma Kraken spell, kept the party separated for a good deal of the combat. This proved nearly fatal to Guen (particularly with some lucky damage rolls by the solars in the first round); however, Yrmanis figured Guen would be of more use to her alive.
The Magma Kraken spell was not as lethal as it might seem, though it would have been more so in a more confined space. Towards the end of the battle, Gutts pitted his Peony Death Blossom against Flow Like Blood. The verdict: a blossom plus grand daiklave creates a flow of blood, though Gutts was also fairly badly wounded.
One party member (Cruxis) spent an entire round doing nothing but trying to spot the source of Adrios' arrows, so managed to defeat him. By sheer coincidence, both Yrminas and Adrios were brought down to exactly incapacitated, and the party spared them.
Adrios accepted an offer to join the group. Yrminas avoided death by swearing (and sanctifying) an oath to a) leave the manse, b) release Adrios from his oath to her, c) never attack the circle again, d) show people more respect and e) 'try to help people'. The party returned her armor and weapon, and she left. Glimmer managed to flee in his cloud trapeze, but passed through barrier without enough essence and plummeted to his death.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''22nd day of Resplendent Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}


Two characters spotted [[Saerssa]] trying to sneak out of the lunar Sphere and managed to tackle her before she could escape. She took on her beastman form and broke away, but was soon tackled again. While struggling, the lunar managed to calm her down and convince her to talk. Ultimately, she agreed to trade the hearthstone for permission to attune to the manse and training in how to do so. While being trained, Saerssa took a fancy to one of the NPCs (Cruxis, pg. 52) as a potential (if temporary) mate.
| colspan="2" |'''24th day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
 
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
| colspan="2" |'''1st day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
|-
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''14 January 2004''
|}
|}


The party took in Regret willingly, and brought him back to health.  
The mysterious woman stepped from the shadows and asked for their answer. They argued, but eventually agreed, on the added condition that she disclose what the box contained. She joined them for a late dinner, introducing herself as Kerin. She reveals contents of box as a red seed, and information is exchanged between them.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''2nd day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''21 January 2004''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
|}
The lunar turned into a bird to scout out the approaching army. He managed to slip into the line and talk to the slaves, but was nearly discovered and had to flee.
Meanwhile, the rest of the circle dug a trench around the solar tower (where the main doors are) and filled it with spikes. They also scouted out several ambush sites to use in case the shield failed. From an earlier encounter (pg. 24) the players had access to huge chunks of obsidian, which they used to build deadfall-type traps.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
After sleeping until morning, the circle awoke and, while Cruxis made an appointment to meet Milo Divivovich, the rest trained. After Cruxis returned with news of a meeting for the mid afternoon, a western woman visits, claiming to be a servant of Kerin. The slave indicated that Kerin would meet the group before the meeting. Later, an Immaculate stopped by, giving word that the meeting with [[Trieste]] would be later in the evening.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''3rd day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
This encounter has been changed somewhat because of what happened during field testing. Originally, [[Carrionis]] delivered the ghost's message in person, yelling it from the edge of the jungle. The circle was able to hunt down Carrionis before he could exit the shield (lunars that can fly tend to be able to outrun anything on the ground) and kill him after a pretty brutal battle. This threw all of the plans into chaos.  


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
Before the meeting, a page gave the circle the message that their &ldquo;carriage awaits&rdquo; and they went down to meet it (Gutts racing down to see Kerin). In the carriage was the same western slave, indicating that her lady had sent her instead. Guen didn&rsquo;t trust the slave (and caught slight scents of Kerin) so left the carriage. The rest continued, and Guen trailed in hawk form.
|-
| colspan="2" |'''4th day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}
 
Due to the circle's killing of Carrionis early and subsequent actions, only the early stages of this plan were brought to fruition. Vision had long since fled by the time a negotiation with Makarios would have been completed.
The circle managed to kill Carrionis early (pg. 29) and had a number of methods of reconnaissance available to them (though it took them a while to realize the scrying pools (pg. 39) could be used for this purpose). Guen realized that, being a Changing Moon, he had the ability to appear as Carrionis. This idea was all the more effective against fairly mindless creatures like zombies, and the circle brought the strategy to bear with devastating effectiveness.  
Disguised as Carrionis, Guen visited each working group of zombies, pointed to the manse and said "go". Because the zombies had been raised by the Lover and given instructions to follow Carrionis (and after some really good manipulation + performance rolls on Guen's part), the zombies moved in groups to the manse, where upon they destroyed themselves one after the other against the shield. A fight broke out with one of the spine chains before Guen got to it, but the circle took it down. The other chain happily strolled into the shield. Guen saved her best rolls for the exquisite undead aide, who also was convinced to assault into the shield (leaving behind a sturdy, if confused, horse).  
The same tactics proved as decisive when brought to bear on the other side of the manse. Guen even managed to fool Vision, though her robes were not fooled at all, and attacked Guen. When Vision realized what this meant, she ran. Meanwhile, Gutts couldn't resist swinging huge pieces of obsidian in great arcs to crush many zombies at once. Some of the zombies and deathrings got sidetracked by this and started to attack Gutts, though they were soon redirected by Guen.
As the zombies shambled towards the shield, the captive humans scattered. A couple of them were killed by a fleeing Vision to feed her essence pool. With the zombies dutifully incinerating themselves, Guen took the form of a hawk and tried to track down [[Vision Consorting with the Dead]]. By the time the circle caught up with her, she had sacrificed her horse and entered the Labyrinth.


After driving and being escorted through a startling array of wealth and waiting for some time, the solars in the circle met with Divivovich. The slave girl was not allowed in while, all the while, Guen watched from outside. The meeting progressed amiably, with Gutts&rsquo; brashness surprising Divivovich into liking the group. They agreed that the circle could take the box as payment for the delivery and suggested that, for an orichalcum hearthstone amulet, the circle could perform a task for the factor. He agreed to consider this and sent them to wait downstairs.


Of the different plans, this one was defeated last. Using tactics similar to they way they defeated Plan D (pg. 34), the characters managed to free most of the captives and convinced the undead to destroy themselves. Vision managed to escape, however, after a chase.
As the left the meeting, they discovered the guards left in the anteroom unconscious and the slave girl missing. The circle was shuttled into a room down the hall as the guards mobilized. Guen continued to watch Divivovich who, after waiting a time, took the box and opened a secret entrance to a staircase leading down. Guen followed as soon as was safe. He continued slowly down the stairs, uncovering a secret door that led even further down. He eventually found a first age hallway and strode slowly down it, alert.
The characters allowed the humans into the manse for a night and though Guen tried to convince them (particularly the monk) they had nothing to fear from anathema, Gutts tended to toy with the humans, somewhat defeating Guen's case. All of the surviving mortals were allowed to return home, including [[Moraj]].  


==Interlude==
Meanwhile, the solars were being questioned about the girl. Gutts botched a memory roll and was convinced that Kerin&rsquo;s name was Melissa, giving the guards the impression that she was a casual fling and that they thought nothing of the slave girl. The guards believed that the group had been seduced and duped, and left, re-locking the solars in the room. Shortly after, two thumps sounded from the hall and the solars decided to break out. They left into a hall filled with unconscious people. They went back into the office and found the secret passage as well. Thundering down the stairs, they met up with Guen.


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
While Gutts and Varden broke into a treasure room (containing records of slave and drug trades that the circle never read, minor talismans, paintings and three strong boxes containing talents of jade, talents of silver and jars of heroin), Guen led the others through a secret door. Inside was a thick (open) door into a vast vault. Within the vault was a weeping Milo Divivovich, kneeling next to a shattered glass sphere that appeared to have been filled with rose petals. The petals littered the floor, along with a [[Corn Husk Thief|corn husk]]. (The petals were the souls of his ancestors which Milo believed to have been &ldquo;protected&rdquo; from the Underworld and living in paradise. In fact, they were imprisoned within, not in paradise at all.) Four glyphs were written on the wall in blood:
|-
| colspan="2" |'''5th day of Descending Water, RY 769 to 25th day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Manse''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}


[[Jaguan]] responds to summons. Agrees to train Saerssa if:
<center>[[Image:Ongenwahl.png]]</center>


*He can attune to manse.
The glyphs were speculated to be written in the blood of Milo&rsquo;s daughter . The party ignored Milo&rsquo;s pleadings to leave, and eventually finalized the trade of the amulet for a future task. Milo believes they had something to do with the slave girl and does not trust them, so agreed to the deal in order keep tabs on them, giving them a white stone which will glow when he needs them.
*Guen and Saerssa agree to scarring ceremony.
*Saerssa gives gift in exchange (she chooses horn of the ways).
*Fox gets free access to manse and Saerssa's domain.


Regret bails. Increasingly paranoid about Fair Folk. Resonance increases. Screaming matches with Kruxis on occasion.
Eventually leaving Milo, Gutts insisted on breaking into the remaining doors. He found a room full of skulls (also hiding some first age artifacts which the circle did not find). The other two rooms were filled with gold, sculpture and treasure, but were guarded by traps. One put Gutts and Guen to sleep. The other shocked Varden with electricity. The circle left all of the treasure, more curious than greedy, and carried out their sleeping companions through the other end of the hall, which led into an apartment of Milo&rsquo;s. They did not notice, but a woman (a mistress) slept in the bed of the room they exited. The managed to get out, though Cruxis had to go out a different way (meeting the woman, [[Forgotten_Suns: Extras|Shaylai]], in the process).


Ardios wants to stay behind and guard the manse. Digs the simple life.
The circle made their way to the park surrounding the Tomb of Singing Blades, where they met Trieste on schedule. He brought them to a nearby house and sat them down. Then the lights went out.


Jorias discovers water communication (visual only).Jorias may want to stay and study the manse, but eventually elects not to.
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''28 January 2004''
|}


Lady of the Vine makes a proposal: turn off the shield most of the time, and she will alert us to coming intruders.
After a falling sensation, the lights faded in on a different scene. In place of the table was a large sundial, with Trieste and five robed figures seated around it. In fact, this was all happening in the groups heads, as the sundial is an artifact for meeting in a dream like space. The group was [[Sundial]], and they pitched to the circle their vision that the world was doomed to either endless war, domination by the abyssals or renewed rule by the solars (their preference). They want to be on the winning side. They believe using the blade known as [[Soul Mirror]] as a bargaining chip may allow them to manipulate one or more deathlords (or, at least, aim them in a specific direction). They claimed to know where the blade is, in [[Rathess]], and want the circle to get it.


NPCs during two months:
In return, the circle asked for:
*(Guen) Help in reverting Regret of the Sun.
*(Varden &amp; Guen) Training in Immaculate martial arts.
*(Jorias) An undisclosed favor (help repairing manse)
*(Cruxis) Descrete armor and three virgin daughters to bear his children.
*(Gutts) Wealth


*Regret of the Sun: Headed into desert, possibly to Gem.
At no time did the party ask the names of Sundial, nor did they verify anything about who they were or what they might be. The party agreed to look for the sword and Sundial suggested that this was just the beginning and indicted that Trieste would deliver preparation materials like maps and so on the next morning.
*Trieste: Travel back to Nexus.
*Vision Consorting With the Dead: Walking the Labyrinth
*Yrminas: Witnessed approach of army of dead. Shadowed the group of mortals back to their homes. En route, they were attacked by predators and hobgoblins, and she interceded to save them. Once they reached the village, she left the mortals and a legend behind.
*Qurrl: Exploring the world.
*Limonis: Returned the hell.
*Render, Spew & Margruff: Materialized just outside the manse and traveled through the jungle and into the Marukan Alliance. Raped, slaughtered and ate a village. Discovered and enlisted by Fair Folk.


Circle training at manse.
Returning to the hotel, the circle found [[Jaguan]] in their room. After greetings, he exchanged Guen&rsquo;s sorcery book for a suit of moonsilver reinforced breastplate. He also delivered a message, given to him by a no moon who owed a favor to a spirit:


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
<blockquote style="font-family: cursive; font-size: 12pt">Honored Exalts,<br>
|-
At the recommendation of the huraka [[Morakkan]] (with the permission of his master [[Red Stalking Bear]], Master of the South Wind), your presence is requested at the spire of [[Fakharu]], Censor of the Celestial Bureaucracy, Dragon of Water, for an urgent matter of mutual interest. At your request, the bearer of this missive, Mikani, Messenger to the Spirit of the River of Tears, stands at your disposal to convey your exalted personages to the nearest seashore where a ship will greet you at the sunset of your arrival and bear you safely to your destination.</blockquote>
| colspan="2" |'''26th day of Descending Water, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Grey River''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}


While en route to [[Nexus]] the circle finds a guild checkpoint on the river who have bound [[Mikani]], a water spirit, with a magic jar and are using her to extract tolls. The are destroyed and the spirit is set free.
In discussing what to do, the circle (well, mostly Gutts) decided to return to Milo&rsquo;s place to steal the treasures seen before. After a great deal of argument, the party agreed, sending Cruxis ahead to &ldquo;distract&rdquo; the mistress and allow them to enter the vault through the secret back entrance. In spite of a number of botched stealth rolls by the armor intensive Gutts, they made it into the vault undetected.


Downriver, a village on the river is on fire. The smoke can be seen from many miles away. All of the inhabitants have been killed or dragged away. By the time the boat gets there, it is mostly just smoldering.
Having noticed the broken locks Gutts left previously, Milo had posted around thirty guards in the vault hallway. He then locked himself in the vault and killed himself in grief. The guards, not knowing this, remained at post and tried to drive off the circle. After a slight bit of slaughter from Gutts and some sorcery from Jaguan, the guards fell and the looting began.


[[Griffin]], Gutts' old commander walks the ruins with seven soldiers. They just got there and claim they are tracking some supernatural force that is tormenting Varsi. Reports vary, but it could be Fair Folk, demons or a cult. They always seem to have disappeared by the time the Band of the Hawk gets there.
Jaguan became obsessed with the documents in one of the vaults. Guen became obsessed with the skull room and became convinced that Milo needed to be killed. After breaking into the vault room and finding Milo dead, the circle left the vault, though Cruxis (who came down from his &ldquo;duties&rdquo;) incinerated the skulls.
 
Griffin is intrigued to see Gutts, but the others will give him the cold shoulder.
==Varsi==


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |'''1st day of Ascending Earth, RY 769 to 3rd day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
| colspan="2" |'''25th day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
|-
|-
| ''Varsi''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
| ''Nexus''|| align="right" |''11 February 2004''
|}
|}


Fair Folk have subverted a Barbarian horde. The diplomat feeds on their religious fervor. The cataphract feeds on their lust for battle. The diplomat is also trying to fill the dreams of the inhabitants of Varsi with terror. To this end, they have recruited the tree demons (Render, Spew and McGruff), who sneak into the town and brutally kill three people each night, usually well guarded people. The barbarians (who hold the ape sacred) will eventually invade, with the demons charging with them. If possible, the Fair Folk will attempt to bait and ambush hunting parties looking for the barbarians. Fair Folk frequently enter city, having taken over ownership on an inn.
Gutts, Guen and Jorias trained all night long. By morning Jaguan woke up and watched. Gutts decides to give a talent of silver to each of the servants he bought to take care of his elephant. Jorias suggested another talent of jade may make a good gift for Fakharu.


Barbarians, demons, fair folk.
While Guen and Jaguan visited [[Mikani]], Cruxis and Gutts deposited the rest of the loot from Milo&rsquo;s house in a Nexus bank (19 talents of jade, 18 talents of silver, 21 talismans). He chose a talisman for everyone on the party, including Jaguan:
Birds, snakes, etc.
*Cruxis: walkaway
Aquire [[moonsilver box]] from a merchant named [[Jarvick]], who pays them to deliver it to [[Milo Divivovich]] in [[Nexus]].
*Guen: talisman against disease
*Gutts: talisman against disease
*Jaguan: good luck charm
*Jorias: ward vs. demons
*Varden: walkaway


{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
Upon reuniting, Jorias announced that he would be staying with Jaguan for the time being, surprising everyone (especially Jaguan). Hinting that Jaguan would be teaching him sorcery, he said he would go to the libraries in [[Sijan]] to seek answers to the the circle's [[Forgotten Suns: Questions|questions]].
|-
| colspan="2" |'''4th day of Ascending Earth, RY 769 to 20st day of Ascending Earth, RY 769'''
|-
| ''Grey River''|| align="right" |''6 January 2004''
|}


Mikani sped Cruxis' [[pocket boat]] down the [[Grey River]] tirelessly until reaching Nexus.
After splitting the water used to contact the manse (which the group finally remembered to actually do), the group parted, with Guen, Gutts, Varden and Cruxis going with Mikani.


Horde of karmeus stealing local children for food. What to do with the child? Thorbin from Bounty. Training. Snakebud when near Nexus. Jorius gets nervous as the circle approaches Nexs and wants disguising. Disguised as "Kerrick".
Pleased to see them, Mikani showed them her &ldquo;new toy&rdquo;, a necklace that created a sphere that allowed Mikani to take the group underwater downriver at incredible speed, reaching the coast by sundown. From there, Fakharu&rsquo;s ship picked them up and they slept.


[[Forgotten Suns: Log - Nexus|next chapter]]
[[Forgotten Suns: Log - The West|next chapter]]


[[Category:Forgotten Suns]]
[[Category:Forgotten Suns]]
[[Category:Campaign Log]]
[[Category:Campaign Log]]

Latest revision as of 23:02, 18 September 2005

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21st day of Ascending Earth, RY 769
Nexus 6 January 2004

Varden introduced, running into Guen and Jorias after a book-buying spree. Circle hears rumors of the "White Queen" who rescued the costal village of Lush (near Thorns) after it had been “abducted by a deathlord”. Go to bar where Trieste is supposed to be and find Sage, a geeky scholar fascinated by Anathema. He’s been waiting every day for months, so is taken to strip club. Trieste meets there and invites group to meeting with “superiors” in two days, indicating he will give word on where.

22nd day of Ascending Earth, RY 769
Nexus 6 January 2004

Gutts trades soulsteel articulated plate and fair folk armor for suit of orichalcum articulated plate “with some additional powers” with Tepet Mason (who can’t believe his luck). Still, he has Gutts followed. Suspecting this, circle changes hotel, discovering and eluding their tails. Gutts puts on armor and passes out.

Nexus 14 January 2004

Gutts has a vision while attuning to armor. To him, it lasts nearly a week but actually took place nearly instantly. Starving, he eats a lot. Circle trains for a while, then sleeps.

23rd day of Ascending Earth, RY 769
Nexus 14 January 2004

As entire party sleeps, a Kerin breaks in. Under cover of a Shadowy Simulacrums of Smoke spell and serious stealth charms, she steals the moonsilver box the characters were to deliver to Milo Divivovich from Gutts’ bag. She leaves a note in its place:

Honored Brethren -
I have temporarily borrowed the moonsilver box. It will be returned safely on one condition: that you allow me to accompany you when you deliver it. I seek an audience with the man to whom you intend to deliver it. If you accept this proposal, meet me at midnight tomorrow in the spire of the Silent Bell Tower in the Bastion District.

The circle spent the next day shopping (weapons and clothing), but went to the spire. The building, a First Age construction now adapted into a fine winery, had several guards, who raised an alarm when the circle walked in the front door. The circle managed to elude them and head up to the top of the spire.

24th day of Ascending Earth, RY 769
Nexus 14 January 2004

The mysterious woman stepped from the shadows and asked for their answer. They argued, but eventually agreed, on the added condition that she disclose what the box contained. She joined them for a late dinner, introducing herself as Kerin. She reveals contents of box as a red seed, and information is exchanged between them.

Nexus 21 January 2004

After sleeping until morning, the circle awoke and, while Cruxis made an appointment to meet Milo Divivovich, the rest trained. After Cruxis returned with news of a meeting for the mid afternoon, a western woman visits, claiming to be a servant of Kerin. The slave indicated that Kerin would meet the group before the meeting. Later, an Immaculate stopped by, giving word that the meeting with Trieste would be later in the evening.

Before the meeting, a page gave the circle the message that their “carriage awaits” and they went down to meet it (Gutts racing down to see Kerin). In the carriage was the same western slave, indicating that her lady had sent her instead. Guen didn’t trust the slave (and caught slight scents of Kerin) so left the carriage. The rest continued, and Guen trailed in hawk form.

After driving and being escorted through a startling array of wealth and waiting for some time, the solars in the circle met with Divivovich. The slave girl was not allowed in while, all the while, Guen watched from outside. The meeting progressed amiably, with Gutts’ brashness surprising Divivovich into liking the group. They agreed that the circle could take the box as payment for the delivery and suggested that, for an orichalcum hearthstone amulet, the circle could perform a task for the factor. He agreed to consider this and sent them to wait downstairs.

As the left the meeting, they discovered the guards left in the anteroom unconscious and the slave girl missing. The circle was shuttled into a room down the hall as the guards mobilized. Guen continued to watch Divivovich who, after waiting a time, took the box and opened a secret entrance to a staircase leading down. Guen followed as soon as was safe. He continued slowly down the stairs, uncovering a secret door that led even further down. He eventually found a first age hallway and strode slowly down it, alert.

Meanwhile, the solars were being questioned about the girl. Gutts botched a memory roll and was convinced that Kerin’s name was Melissa, giving the guards the impression that she was a casual fling and that they thought nothing of the slave girl. The guards believed that the group had been seduced and duped, and left, re-locking the solars in the room. Shortly after, two thumps sounded from the hall and the solars decided to break out. They left into a hall filled with unconscious people. They went back into the office and found the secret passage as well. Thundering down the stairs, they met up with Guen.

While Gutts and Varden broke into a treasure room (containing records of slave and drug trades that the circle never read, minor talismans, paintings and three strong boxes containing talents of jade, talents of silver and jars of heroin), Guen led the others through a secret door. Inside was a thick (open) door into a vast vault. Within the vault was a weeping Milo Divivovich, kneeling next to a shattered glass sphere that appeared to have been filled with rose petals. The petals littered the floor, along with a corn husk. (The petals were the souls of his ancestors which Milo believed to have been “protected” from the Underworld and living in paradise. In fact, they were imprisoned within, not in paradise at all.) Four glyphs were written on the wall in blood:

The glyphs were speculated to be written in the blood of Milo’s daughter . The party ignored Milo’s pleadings to leave, and eventually finalized the trade of the amulet for a future task. Milo believes they had something to do with the slave girl and does not trust them, so agreed to the deal in order keep tabs on them, giving them a white stone which will glow when he needs them.

Eventually leaving Milo, Gutts insisted on breaking into the remaining doors. He found a room full of skulls (also hiding some first age artifacts which the circle did not find). The other two rooms were filled with gold, sculpture and treasure, but were guarded by traps. One put Gutts and Guen to sleep. The other shocked Varden with electricity. The circle left all of the treasure, more curious than greedy, and carried out their sleeping companions through the other end of the hall, which led into an apartment of Milo’s. They did not notice, but a woman (a mistress) slept in the bed of the room they exited. The managed to get out, though Cruxis had to go out a different way (meeting the woman, Shaylai, in the process).

The circle made their way to the park surrounding the Tomb of Singing Blades, where they met Trieste on schedule. He brought them to a nearby house and sat them down. Then the lights went out.

Nexus 28 January 2004

After a falling sensation, the lights faded in on a different scene. In place of the table was a large sundial, with Trieste and five robed figures seated around it. In fact, this was all happening in the groups heads, as the sundial is an artifact for meeting in a dream like space. The group was Sundial, and they pitched to the circle their vision that the world was doomed to either endless war, domination by the abyssals or renewed rule by the solars (their preference). They want to be on the winning side. They believe using the blade known as Soul Mirror as a bargaining chip may allow them to manipulate one or more deathlords (or, at least, aim them in a specific direction). They claimed to know where the blade is, in Rathess, and want the circle to get it.

In return, the circle asked for:

  • (Guen) Help in reverting Regret of the Sun.
  • (Varden & Guen) Training in Immaculate martial arts.
  • (Jorias) An undisclosed favor (help repairing manse)
  • (Cruxis) Descrete armor and three virgin daughters to bear his children.
  • (Gutts) Wealth

At no time did the party ask the names of Sundial, nor did they verify anything about who they were or what they might be. The party agreed to look for the sword and Sundial suggested that this was just the beginning and indicted that Trieste would deliver preparation materials like maps and so on the next morning.

Returning to the hotel, the circle found Jaguan in their room. After greetings, he exchanged Guen’s sorcery book for a suit of moonsilver reinforced breastplate. He also delivered a message, given to him by a no moon who owed a favor to a spirit:

Honored Exalts,
At the recommendation of the huraka Morakkan (with the permission of his master Red Stalking Bear, Master of the South Wind), your presence is requested at the spire of Fakharu, Censor of the Celestial Bureaucracy, Dragon of Water, for an urgent matter of mutual interest. At your request, the bearer of this missive, Mikani, Messenger to the Spirit of the River of Tears, stands at your disposal to convey your exalted personages to the nearest seashore where a ship will greet you at the sunset of your arrival and bear you safely to your destination.

In discussing what to do, the circle (well, mostly Gutts) decided to return to Milo’s place to steal the treasures seen before. After a great deal of argument, the party agreed, sending Cruxis ahead to “distract” the mistress and allow them to enter the vault through the secret back entrance. In spite of a number of botched stealth rolls by the armor intensive Gutts, they made it into the vault undetected.

Having noticed the broken locks Gutts left previously, Milo had posted around thirty guards in the vault hallway. He then locked himself in the vault and killed himself in grief. The guards, not knowing this, remained at post and tried to drive off the circle. After a slight bit of slaughter from Gutts and some sorcery from Jaguan, the guards fell and the looting began.

Jaguan became obsessed with the documents in one of the vaults. Guen became obsessed with the skull room and became convinced that Milo needed to be killed. After breaking into the vault room and finding Milo dead, the circle left the vault, though Cruxis (who came down from his “duties”) incinerated the skulls.

25th day of Ascending Earth, RY 769
Nexus 11 February 2004

Gutts, Guen and Jorias trained all night long. By morning Jaguan woke up and watched. Gutts decides to give a talent of silver to each of the servants he bought to take care of his elephant. Jorias suggested another talent of jade may make a good gift for Fakharu.

While Guen and Jaguan visited Mikani, Cruxis and Gutts deposited the rest of the loot from Milo’s house in a Nexus bank (19 talents of jade, 18 talents of silver, 21 talismans). He chose a talisman for everyone on the party, including Jaguan:

  • Cruxis: walkaway
  • Guen: talisman against disease
  • Gutts: talisman against disease
  • Jaguan: good luck charm
  • Jorias: ward vs. demons
  • Varden: walkaway

Upon reuniting, Jorias announced that he would be staying with Jaguan for the time being, surprising everyone (especially Jaguan). Hinting that Jaguan would be teaching him sorcery, he said he would go to the libraries in Sijan to seek answers to the the circle's questions.

After splitting the water used to contact the manse (which the group finally remembered to actually do), the group parted, with Guen, Gutts, Varden and Cruxis going with Mikani.

Pleased to see them, Mikani showed them her “new toy”, a necklace that created a sphere that allowed Mikani to take the group underwater downriver at incredible speed, reaching the coast by sundown. From there, Fakharu’s ship picked them up and they slept.

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