Intrigues 21: Where heroes tread back in time and Goddesses weep.
Intrigues recap 21: Tears of the Moon
Renegar Subitai: Pete
Jek Kemetou: Steve
Taefala of Vamana: Mike
GM: lil’ ol me, Storn
[i]No Bob, so Cirian stayed on the island of Windward along with Lillastra. I posted a quick map of Dydae’s Cover, that I did at the end of Recap 20. All the action takes place on Dydae’s Cove.[/i]
After beaching the boat, Renegar, Jek, Taefala and Jarita start to muse on how to find the Control Crystal from Bartholomew’s airscout ship. Which there was a possibility, it landed here, some 30 years ago. Taefala decided to call upon Vamana, her goddess of justice, to see if there could be some divine guidance [i]Taefala actually has a cleric move now that allows her to request guidance and this was our first time using it. She got a 7-9, partial success[/i]. But before she could complete her ritual, an officer from the long dead Ashanti empire burst out of the jungle and yells at the party to pick up their gear and ready their weapons and prepare to repel invaders and runs back into the jungle, not waiting for a reply. [i]Here is the “but” for that 7-9[/i]
Jek realizes that this man is not living. He is a spirit who doesn’t realize he is dead. Or stuck out of time. Taefala completes her ritual while Renegar sprints after the Ashanti officer, Jek in tow. Renegar quickly realizes that the officer is leaving no footprints in the sand while he is on the move towards the long dead Ashanti fort Meanwhile, Taefala is compelled and pulled in the opposite direction. When Jek and Renegar that Taefala is trailing off in a different direction, they pull up and rejoin her.
Truthbringer, Taefala’s spear, is pointing towards a small grove with a sparkling pool. It is another grove of 13 gods, including a statue of Vamana. Similar to the one that was ransacked on the Island of the Nagas. But this one is in excellent shape, worn by weather and time, but still remarkable and beautiful. There is a sense of serenity and peacefulness. And then they step into one of those pesky Time Slips.
Suddenly, they are back in the past. Sometime after the Ashanti Empire fell, but before their present. As there are human islanders who are presenting offerings to each of the Goddesses. They are surprised by the intrusion by the invaders from another time. Jek can barely make out the dialect, but crude communication of “we come in peace” is managed. Certainly, Taefala, wearing the sigil of Vamana is accorded due respect from the 5 women.
Renegar, who’s magic is very good with natural forces, but not so much with divine forces, tries to commune with the grove’s water anyway. He wades into the water. He is stunned to find out that this is the birthplace of the Mother Goddess, the Sea Goddess herself, Goddess of Life, Kellis. Yet the statues were built some time after the Ashanti Empire fell.
[i]A great meta-talk sprung up around this action. We had not defined any of the 13 Gods beyond Vamana and her sister, Nanamav, goddes of vengeance… who actually is NOT in the pantheon of 13. The table decided, much to my delight, that all 13 were Goddesses. There are not major male gods in the world at the moment, although minor ones are sure to lurk here and there. We will probably define the rest of the pantheon as needed and one is defined later in this very adventure. This group of gamers is excellent at world building and it makes running Dungeon Worlds so much fun.[/i]
Renegar also determines that the waters are not connected to the Control Crystal and somehow the Control Crystal seems to be in two places at once. He comes out of his trance and somehow instinctively knows the right ritual for scatter water onto land and that appeases the women attendees. Figuring that being back in time is not a good thing, the trio quickly find the exit of the Time Slip and return to the Present.
Jarita is worried about how long they were gone upon their return. The party decides that the boat is in a safe enough place and want to turn their attention to the Ashanti fort, easily seen on the only hill on the Atoll from the water’s edge.
When just a few hundred yards from the hill, another Time Slip catches them. Suddenly, they are transported back to a cacophony of death and destruction. The fort, now in its prime, is firing wildly at incoming drop ships of the Illithid, the, or a, Black Spire overhead disgorging the Illithid troops. Ashanti and Illithid mega-sorcery weaponry warps and woofs across the sky. Our heroes are struck by a bolt of insight. Which results in understanding. Understanding that the combination of the weaponry of these two ancient empires creates the Time Slips!
An drop ships splashes in close to our party and charging the party are several Shock Troops, these mind controlled Kuo-Toa, a giant purple ape like thing with a shockingly long spiked tongue and an Illithid lieutenant. [i]”Grape Ape” as his table given name, was a great creature that I found on the Google+ Dungeon World Community. Thank you whoever thought up of this monstrosity! [/i]
Renegar reacts quickly, creating quicksand that snags two of the Kuo Toa in their own sinking drop ship. Jek tries to close in on the Illithid Lt. But the huge purple ape gets in his way, settling for hand to hand combat, Jek wounds it with his Ashanti scimitar [i]which has anti-Illithid enchantments[/i]. But gets smashed back for his troubles. Taefala charges the Purple Ape and manages to snag its retractable, spiked tongue, wrapping it around Truthbringer. Renegar trades bolts of black magic for bolts of psychic energy with the Illithid officer. Almost succumbing to the Illithid’s mind control, Jek manages to slip around and separate the officer’s head from his shoulder. Taefala makes short work of the purple ape, running Truthbringer through its skull and Jek engages the trio of Kuo Toa, taking them down quickly with some help from Renegar’s magic.
Realizing that the battle from eons ago is quite in full fury, the party cautiously backs up, trying to get out of the Time Slip. Just before they do, AShanti submarines crest the surface, opening up and spewing Quetzalcoatl serpents ridden by Ashanti sorcerers. They rise up attacking the Illithid Black Spire, doing damage and then POP! The crew is back in the Present.
Jek was badly hurt by the skirmish. Patched with some of the Illithid med kit taken from the scout pod on Windward Island, Jek hopes to heal up by sleeping it off. Electing to forego the exploration of the ruined fort, they make camp for the night. But sleep is interrupted by a silent, large black frigate class ship slips into the cover. Taefala wakes the rest of the party, knowing that they are spotted by their campfire which is a orange ember easily seen from the sea for miles.
Jek decides he will call upon his ancestor spirits to try and scare off the pirate ship. Pirates, definitely confirmed by Jarita. Jek settles into his ritual, but instead of his ancestors, he taps into the restless spirits of time and battle, summoning both Ashanti and Illithid from the conflict centuries ago. [i]Oh, yeah, totally botched roll! [/i]
The spirits swim and writhe right up the frigate’s side. The pirates are certainly frightened, but worse, they are taken over, souls invaded, bodies mutated by the vengeful, evil revenants that Jek has summoned. [i]This was a table/group riffing, it wasn’t just me arbitrarily deciding this. Steve was as much part of delineating Jek’s hubris as me. Too much fun! STeve is a huge Call of Chthlhu fan. I wanted a “psychic” debility to be levelled due to the insanity that Jek was seeing through his summoned creatures eyes. Thinking of Call of Chthlhu game, which has various phobias. Eventually after much fun table talk, it became a curse instead. The goddess of the Moon was angry, it was a full moon, of course. She had witnessed such misuse of dark forces and has cursed Jek. The key to lifting the curse is to stop the Black Ship. In DW terms, he has a -1 at night. “Is Jek now a necromancer,” Steve asks the table. “Might be, depends on how you take your next levels” seems to be the consent. [/i] Much to the horror of the observers, after what seemed forever night filled with screams of terror, the ship pulls up anchor and sets back out of the cove. What abomination has been set upon the Seas?
Back at the grove of the goddesses, that statue dedicated to Yemaya, the Goddess of the Moon, weeps.
But the sun comes up. The Black Ship is long gone and Jarita hopes that its first stop won’t be Windward island, but they could never catch up in a boat at night anyway. Better to press on with the mission of recovering the Control Crystal. Fight the Black Ship another day.
The heroes manage to make it to the ruined Ashanti fort, avoiding the Time Slips. On a tower, the Control Crystal is found, seemingly blinking in and out of reality. Jek sends Scout, his monkey to touch it. Scout doesn’t like it much, phasing a bit himself… but no permanent harm.
Renegar communes with the crystal. He discovers that the Time Slips from the ancient battles acted as kind of a funnel, catching the Control Crystal as it fell. The psychic energy of the Control Crystal magnifies and resonates and rebounds off the Time Slips, making the local Time Slips even more powerful and more erratic than the ones first discovered back at the Temple.
The party think they have a way to wrestle the Control Crystal out of the “funnel” because each represents a different power. Jek’s spirit magic. Renegar’s wild magic. Taefala’s divine connection. And Jarita’s latent psionic abilities. The all touch at the same time and the Control Crystal gently phases into the real world. [i] I think the roll was like an 11 or 12, total success! [/i]
[i] And that is where we leave it. We will start the next game on Windward Island (assuming Bob is back). Trying to figure out how to repair the air ship. Figuring out what to do next. This was a fun session for me. The grove of the gods was made up on the spot due to Taefala’s communing. Making up Kellis and Yemaya was very cool. I love it when stuff like that comes from the players. I REALLY like the major pantheon of this world being all goddesses. It is a small detail, but feels fresh and new to me in its implications.
I did prep the Ashanti commander coming out of the jungle as a bullet point in my prep. I expected a conversation with him at some point, perfect for Jek’s spirit magic… but the conversation never seemed like it had a place to come to the table. Such is DW. I also realized, at the table, during play, that it was this super science sorcery used by both sides that let to the Time Slips was that wonderful “aha” moment. Again, a small window dressing point, but cool to me to have it dovetail with the exploration of what these empires were up to in the long ago.
I had a blast running this session. I hoped the players did too. [/i]
