Giraine Summaries

Shrett goes to train up in bronze-smithing while you investigate The Paralos at dock. No one remembers details of it before the Ramalia war! The guess is that magics were used to eliminate its knowledge from the Harbourmaster. But the Guild of Spies has had a man overseeing its investigation, and you meet this black-cloaked official at the dock. He says that it is planned to be cleaned and sold. It has been thoroughly searched. It doesn’t take much convincing from you to get on board. You search and find a patch of corroded wooden flooring back in a now-empty area of the hold. You debate what this might have come from, and Krarsht comes up, but there are too many explanations at present.

You go back on deck and the spy shows you three bodies lying under hides at the stern. He indicates that one in the middle is the body of Captain Gartrig of Kaxtorplose which just showed up in the harbour amidst other corpses that gradually floated up, bloated. The smell is awful and the corpse is face-down, almost unrecognisable as human. He has three small bronze weapons embedded in his back. You inspect them. Each is a five-pointed star with a jagged mouth in the centre and carvings to emphasize its monstrous visage. Bog grabs one and hands it to Fraud, saying that it’s from Krarsht, and Fraud retreats in horror. Bog recalls that Krarsht fought the Uz underground in the Chaos Wars and was defeated. But in the Second Age her agents were heard of in cities; unlike most Chaos they are attracted by population centres, politics and lawlessness. He doesn’t recall too much more. The spy recognises the item as a Tooth of Krarsht; an assassin’s weapon that may be coated in poison or something. He says that it has been a long time since Krarsht’s agents wereencountered in Handra, so this is not good, and they’ll look into it.

The Guildsman also knows more of the cargo, and divulges to Boamund in private away by the bow: the disquieting thing is its variety, from many countries. Forbidden grimoires of black sorceries including evocations of Chaos. Scrolls describing malevolent entities, or myths of Chaos, or uncouth scholarly studies like the vivisection of a human. Deadly poisons (Basilisk blood etc.) and strong acids and toxic alchemical agents. Pieces of Chaos things, or other nasty things. Some odd bits of bronze mechanisms; probably Mostali. And quite a few documents of Second Age Nysalorian Riddles. The tablet Fraud saw has been destroyed. You thank him for the info and leave; opting not to invoke any of the Truestone magics to pry further.

That night you get together and hunt for info about Bradde Mukkh, but no one had seen him for about the same length of time that you hadn’t. Bog recalled saying goodbye to him one night outside of the Guild of Heroes. You spend another day doing various things, and Shrett eventually gains some basic information on the two market towns in Caratan of Vison and Rikhnos Crossing (the latter is on the north border on the Manirian Road). Nothing shocking, but good to know.

You try finding Old Teelis at night. The Guild of Heroes had heard of him but knew nothing. Along an empty dock area, someone tries connecting with Fraud’s mind but he rejects it, fearing that it is the Purple Prophets. He tells you this and you say that it might have been Old Teelis so maybe he should allow it if it happens again. It does not until you’re almost back “home” for the night. Fraud allows the Mindspeech to reach him, and the voice tells him to cross back over the bridge from Queue Isle and follow directions. He does, and comes to a dark alley where a patch of extreme darkness unfolds itself, revealing Old Teelis – but changed. Darker. More sinister. But not threatening. He continues the Mindspeech, welcoming Fraud into the curtain of Hell-Darkness that he controls. They huddle together in the isolation of this magic and converse.

He is “Unnamed” now—only thieves his property, does not partake of the “Deception of Owning”. He teaches Elandrans in return for stolen goods; Old Teelis is his ‘gone-name’ – now he is one of “the ones who once was named”

“I’ve spent some time in Elandra’s Cove in the Underworld. Taking what secrets I can. And returning anew. I’ve been freed by Elandra. Death is just another of Eurmal’s lies. No longer does it weigh me down. I know corners of the Underworld that no one else does.” Etc.

Fraud asks if the man might know something about allies in Ralios. He does. He names a contact in Ralios, Kurgzum Aragat. His name is well known in the Argan Argar Chain, and Old Teelis’s gone-name could be used to gain audience with him, as they have a history together. Kurgzum is very well-connected. He is from Halikiv but mostly travels; as usual at night; and this year returned from The Swarm’s venture into Dragon Pass. [Old Teelis] does not know them. He stole this knowledge by listening to a conversation between Kitori traders.

The Unnamed also offers Fraud an Elandra blessing: a 1-use sorcery Evade Divination spell, with which he can hide from magics that seek him (incl. Panoptic Curse vs. Arkati, temporarily). But: after given, he acknowledges that this blessing was stolen from Black Arkat. This magic takes the night in meditation to confer.

Parting, he says that “I’ll be in the shadows but we’ll cross paths again. There is a false crown to be stolen, and a wicked Church to be exposed.” Fraud likes that farewell. He returns to the Heroes Guild to rest and tell you a bit about what he learned. And then you prepare to leave. The Heroes Guilders say their goodbyes; Ka the Waertagi has an awkward moment where he says he does not like farewells, Epic Cub goes bear-form and gives Shrett a nice warm hug, and Targ quacks a few words that might have been “See ya dudes”? whereas Twinman Twinman watches from an introverted distance.

So you meet your otter guide, Fattbut Sadsong – “Bestest guide. New Fens.”, he says. And you leave Handra at last. He sSwims ahead a little, coming back and forth to chat and direct you. You travel for two days, with Fraud controlling the 2 coracles lashed together. You get to know Fattbutt. He has a great sense of humour, is mercurical/emotional, and can (mostly wordlessly) sing the great song of the Mournsea, which is quite the tearjerker. Fattbutt can manage stunted Tradetalk [15%] which is rare for a Lutrai; but understands it better; and is superb w/nonverbal communication. He has a high-pitched otter tongue (human mouths cannot manage it) and does not even understand Beastspeech. So you get used to that. He wears a sturdy leather harness for holding things (it also can tow your coracles a bit), adorned with colourful, shiny shell decorations. You bond together over music and your journey, and teach him the Sky Ship tune, which he loves and pesters to sing over and over again. Narak joins you but is mostly distant and quiet, contemplative.

That next morning you notice figures stalking ahead of you along the shore, and discern that they are three newtlings. You hail them, feeling no threat, and they meet you at the shore. One leads the discussion. She is Izorg Quickstab, the local champion; a bachelor (semi-adult, roaming) newtling. Her village nearby has problems with a “Hag” (they don’t know a name) with “children” that are monsters, who has cursed the village’s spirit, and Izorg was sent to find help. You agree to do so, and head into the Fens down a side-stream. She stops after an hour and points to a fallen tree across the stream, where she says monsters have lurked before and she thinks they might be there now. Narak has remained behind.

You sneak in from a few directions, and soon see four lumps of flesh with eyes and gaping mouths – brollachans, you’re later told; the children of the Hag. They begin throwing spells at Boamund and Fraud, to no effect, and the two close in with Bog sneaking behind and Shrett watching with an arrow ready. Then the fight begins. You slash into them and soon down a couple, when there is a terrible scream from deeper into the Fens and the swamp goes silent except for the fight. Uh oh. The brollachans, now 7, are closing in while Shrett pins some with arrows, and then the Vough/Hag rears up in the form of a huge undine and swamps Boamund and Fraud, crippling them. Fraud staggers back, his arms useless, and defends himself against one brollachan while Boamund gets himself together and faces off with the undine, dealing it a nasty blow which is followed up by Bog and Shrett. It gets terribly damaged and collapses into the tall, wiry form of the Vough/Hag, shrouded in matted swamp-weeds and wielding a wicked whip formed of vegetation. She claws at Boamund and he defends, then she has to roll to the ground to avoid his sword and his next blow cleaves into her face, knocking her out. Izorg calls out to cut her head off, quick! He does in one deft blow, and she is dead! The remaining brollachans freeze in anguish for a moment, buying you some time as Fraud has had one biting at his legs and Bog got swallowed! Shrett dispatches one with arrows and then the one holding Bog, which vomits him out, and you finish off the last. It was a disgusting, painful fight though. The newtlings heal you, Fraud does his best with bandaging, and you continue to the village.

The village is mostly submerged, within a pool area, with a side-pool that is some kind of shrine. You meet three important newtlings in sequence: Pagnok Red-Back, the Boss Newt adult (gilled, fully aquatic) chief, then Bulbub Has-New-Things, bachelor Issaries merchant (who gives Bog dried stoneflies rubbed in newtling “butt-juices” and Bog rather likes it after a while), and Golbig Bright-Tail, shaman adult. All but the latter can converse with you. They explain that the shaman wants to summon an ancestral spirit to help drive off the Hag’s Baby that is within Nazaliuma, their river-horse spirit, whom you see in the shrine-pool, suffering from this pulsing black-tendrilled blob. He takes the Hag’s head to make medicine to begin the ritual with, and you watch from dry land nearby. The local young newtlings get curious watching you, and you make music that aids the shaman’s ritual, and they like that. But the ritual goes wrong. The baby seems to be emerging, becoming physical from the mostly-nonphysical body of Nazaliuma. She might die, Golbig cries out – they must be helped! But something else is happening. The area takes on a foul stench and the waters darken. Spirits are gathering around the village, and you feel them pulling at your souls, trying to drag you into the Spirit World!

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