The Gossamer Saga ep06 : Homebrewed System

01/19/2014
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution


Episode Six
"Escalation"

Home-brewed Game

Somewhere underneath the ruins of Staniga, Kale, Ash, Quince and the Blacksmith face the cultists that rush down the hall and the invisible guards from the Gossamer Tower.  Up north, the capital is under martial law and General Cray of the army has confirmed that the Regent is gone.  In a random tent in the plains of Waltein, Magda is in a tent looking at the general who is having the Prime Minister executed.  She feels the confusion that plagues the Tower.

Back at the Gossamer Tower, Chi'tairn and Larkspur are brought to different dungeon chambers.  Larkspur is being interrogated by an officer and the answers the gives him are crazy talk about Divine Rapture and the like.  The guard remains skeptical of her answers but fails to get any real answers through her.

*

Kale decides to open a portal, using the strange device embedded into his hand.  He drags everyone to the Glades, including the guards, cultists and captives.  Only Ash successfully reacts in time to land on her feet.  The rest drop against the branches and other foliage of the forest and painfully hit the ground below.  Desiring a weapon, Ash is stunned to see a shaft of light emerging in her hand, forming into a spear.  She pins a guard down and demands to know who he is.  Quince gets up to his feet as a guard lands next to him, and without a second thought, he bashes the guy with a rock.  Kale trips a cultist and the cultist rolls away from him perhaps in a hope of finding safety.  Ash demands for answers, but when the guard doesn't give any, she discovers she can split the spear of light into two short spears, pins them against the man's neck, then draws the dagger she had taken from Kale to threaten the man more directly.

Kale figures out where his companions are while another guard assaults Quince.  The cultist Kale had tripped ends up rolling on the guard attacking Quince.  As Ash pries open the guard's helmet, she hisses that the Bright One wishes Staniga to be avenged.  She demands to know where his token is.  When he refuses to give answers, Ash simply kicks off him.

The group hurries into the woods, lead by Kale who makes sure they are not followed.  Kale leads them towards his village deep in the Glades.

*

Elsewhere.  Back in the Gossamer Tower, Chi'tairn is being guarded heavily.  A smell of the sea permeates the room, and water gushes into the dungeon.  Gorval opens the door to Larkspur's cell and tells her that she changed the time table.  Faraker appears as well.  They are here to bust her out.  Apparently, Gorval is "retiring."  Larkspur insists to be brought down to Hearthkeep, which makes Gorval impatient.  Ballouise brings Chi'tairn over. Larkspur gives Ballouise an embrace and tells her that now she is understood.  She does not seem to grasp, however, that the group is making a break for it.  Ballouise seems reluctant to go far from water, but Gorval finally concedes.  The man takes all of their totems and Faraker uses his ability to bring them all to Hearthkeep.  There, they find Dawn waiting for them.

*

The cultists and the guards battle it out as the captives run away.  The blacksmith takes his silver golems to the woods and departs.  The guards defeat the cultists.   None of them seem to track where the group had gone.

*

Kale talks to the group, mentioning the possibility of using the Trust without the use of totems.  He suggests leaving the totems in the woods.  Not having her own Totem, Ash decides to try channeling her memories of Staniga and decays a tree nearby.  The power is unleashed stronger than anticipated and she ends up creating a clearing of ashen trees.  Kale climbs a tree, gets an egg, uses the Trust to grow the egg into a bird, and leaves his totem on it.  Quince keeps his for now.  Kale leads them to one of his safe houses, a tree house in the middle of the woods, and Ash decides to not ask why a messenger boy would have such a hiding hole.  The group camps down to rest for a bit.

*

Back in Hearthkeep, Larkspur starts whipping up a warm comfy dinner for everyone.  She is blind to how disconcerted everyone else currently is.  After enjoying the meal, Larkspur uses the Trust to check on her erstwhile companions.  She is able to see that the tree are in a tree house somewhere and tells the others.  Faraker offers to fetch them.  Larkspur remarks that she thinks Faraker and Kale act like lovers.

Morning comes.  Faraker finds the other group and nearly gets assaulted by Ash and Quince.  He eventually convinces them to come with him and they appear in a barn.  Ash once again sees the woman she despises and throws Larkspur an insult.  The farm girl responds in kind.

With everyone gathered at the dinner table, they exchange the stories of what they have gone through and they have learned.  Dawn explains that her group had planned on going rogue from the start.  She explains that magic is out there and that "the Trust" and the World Pool are meant to leave others dependent on the Tower.  Chi'tairn explains that there is no need for "a battery" and that they only need to call on what is there.  Pick it out of the environment.   She shares how she was able to get deeper into the libraries before being discovered, and that there is something of the prophecies coming.  The Regent may have been a key to open a doorway of some sort.  The group shares how the cultists could use magic as well and wonders on what the cultists may be hoping to achieve.

Kale draws out the mirror that Magda had given him.  He peeks inside and sees images showing that his father was finally back in their village.  

The group discusses about how they must look for a way to identify the cultists.    The group shares their observations and considers their options.  The cultists may not be of this world or plane.  Chi'tairn admits it is next to impossible to track magic, and that the center of Staniga's explosion was where the Regent died.  He had been inserted with magic.  But the questions remain:  How to find more information on the cult?   Where to find the priest with the staff which the group saw in Staniga?  Or the cultists?  Some suggest to go where the Regent died, others suggest to investigate where he was prior to his death, and some consider finding a cultist to interrogate.

Ash asks about how one can conceal the use of the Trust.  Apparently, one merely need not tap into the World Pool.  Ash shares an idea:  what if the group were to have someone pretend to be the Regent, to bait the person who killed him to come out.  Quince gets impatient and demands Faraker take them to the Glades.  Ash, Kale, and Larkspur follow suit.  Kale clearly is annoyed at Quince's actions.

They return at the tree house, and Quince quickly climbs down, intent on heading where the clearing was.  Ash contemplates on why they were chosen.  Kale tells Quince he is headed the wrong way and eventually convinces him to head down the correct path.

Back at the clearing, the guardsmen are gone.  Quince gathers up the bodies he finds lying around while Kale opts to climb a nearby tree for a higher vantage point to look for a trail to follow. Larkspur uses the cultist's corpse as a focus to find a sympathetic link with the other cultists.  The two seem to be intent on using the Trust to achieve some goal.  Kale decides to stay at the top of the tree and keep watch.   Ash talks to Faraker, and he shares how he was once a recruit like them.  How he used to be from around the Glades.  How he was taken in by Chi'tairn.

The two talk more about the rest of the group, and Ash asks him why the others have chosen this group in particular.  Faraker admits that he has not really though about that.  She asks him of his training, sharing some hints of her darker brutal past.  Faraker says his life practically started with the Order.  He barely recalls anything of his life prior to joining.

Quince is busy transforming the pile of corpses he had collected into a strange construct of human remains.  Ash crawls nearby to him and admits to him her dislike of Larkspur and of religion in general.  She admits she has made a promise to herself to destroy them.  Quince barely responds, too preoccupied with sewing the bodies together.  He uses the necromantic structure to act as a link and tries to gain information from "the hive."

Larkspur embraces the idea of the divine miracles of the Bright One and attempts to raise the dead.  She succeeds in raising the corpse back from the dead to ask a single question.  "Where is the leader?" Sadly, the corpse admits it does not know.

Quince gets glimpses in his mind of the cultists activity for the past week.  He learns that the best is still in the temple.  There was a grand gathering where all the members were called underground, that the moment they had been for had arrived.  The man with the staff talks to them of the Regent and how he has come to be sacrificed so their true masters will come and rule the land.  The Regent's death occurs directly above the underground temple.  Quince learns the man with the staff has a name:  Yogandan.

Kale was making his way down the tree when he finds the impossible has occurred.  An individual have successfully snuck up close enough to him even while he was keeping watch.  He grabs the man only to be threatened by the man's companion to let go.  He also realizes the "men" are not human at all.  They are elves.

Larkspur and Ash realizes Kale is in danger and act quickly, with Ash summoning her spear of light and Larkspur growing massive wings to lift them both up towards Kale.  But arrows fly and Larkspur whips up the winds to form a spherical shield around them.  

Kale tries to parley with the elves, talking to them about how they have not come to fight with the elves.  But as he tries to ask why the elves have come so far away from their own territory, the tree itself becomes unable to carry their weight!  Down below, Quince has transformed the tree into a honeycomb for a brief moment, hoping to make the others drop down.  Kale teleports himself to the ground safely, even as the elves mobilize to attack.  A fight is imminent until Faraker steps foward and starts talking to the elves in their own tongue!

He asks to speak with their leader.  More elves reveal themselves and some don't seem too happy that Larkspur is using magic.  Faraker convinces Larkspur and Ash to cease their magic, and to the others it seems Faraker knows the elves.  They are a scouting party who have arrived to investigate the earlier battle.  Seeing the group, the structure of corpses, and the use of magic, the elves opt to bring the group to their elder.  Kale worries silently about this, knowing how territorial elves are and how typically they ignore anything outside their lands.

*

In Staniga, the cultists are gathered, surrounded by runes formed on the ashes with blood.  Yogandan stands there, drawing power into himself.  The beginnings of a portal begin to open.

The Gossamer Saga ep05 : Homebrewed System

10/27/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution

Episode Five
"Field Work"

Home-brewed Game

Kale, Quince and Ash make preparations to revisit the ruins of Staniga.  The three have realized that the cultists that were encountered in the past were huddled beneath the city's streets. The possibility existed that they had escaped the destruction of the city.  Ash sadly has little to share in the discussions, with her memories addled when she "lent" them to Chi'tairn.  Quince demands a weapon from the Blacksmith and when his demands seemingly get threatening, the smith calls his golem guardians once more.  While they argue, Kale uses the device that had been attached to his hand to open a portal beneath the golems.   Quince even forces the ceiling of the chamber to collapse, forcing everyone including the blacksmith to jump inside.  Instead of reappearing at the rafters where Kale and Ash once arrived at, they instead find themselves in the chamber where Kale had confronted the demon and created a massive tree to escape.

Back at the Gossamer Tower, Larkspur and Faraker return with Chi'tairn who appears in the guise of Ash.  With her totem and memories, Chi'tairn's disguise works well to bring her inside the tower without alerting others.  Larkspur schemes to get back at Ballouise for being always spoken of as the Bright One, and opts to use the cloak Magda had given her.  She recalls the cloak was meant to cause Ballouise's influence to fail.  She considers the idea of unraveling the cloak into thread which she hoped to use in some kind of sympathy magic, but the attempt fails.    But as she learns Ballouise is the center of the religion, Larkspur takes it upon herself to spread the faith, and bring back the light to Staniga.

Elsewhere, Dawn and Chi'tairn are talking about Staniga and what they are up against, but neither of them truly grasps the immensity of their foe.  Chi'tairn protests the choice of Dawn's helper and asks for an artifact which she needs if she is to help Dawn.

Back at the place beneath Staniga, Kale, Ash and Quince investigate the cavern.  The blacksmith and two of his golems are with them, drawn through the portal thanks to Quince's machinations.  As the group argues over how to investigate the location, the blacksmith has one of the golems tear open the door.  Ash continues to struggle through her memories as she finds bits and pieces of recollection on why the place was important to her. She finds the room which drew her close before and starts to look though the contents for anything that would jog her memory.  Kale and Quince argue with the blacksmith, who insists he wants nothing to do with them.    Ash sadly fails to find anything that strikes her as important.

Larkpur, back in her room, gains a visit from Dawn and Chi'tairn.  Dawn tells Larkspur of the importance of Chi'tairn reaching the bottom of the tower, past the room of Seers, where an object of import lies.   Dawn expresses how imperative it is for Chi'tairn to get this object.    Larkspur is tasked to make a distraction, which she accomplishes by using the angelic manifestations her room had created for her to support the Trust.  The angels gain her likeness and with both song and religious fervor, Larkspur steals the attention of the guards and seers quite easily, giving Chi'tairn the opening she needs.

Ash continues to dig through the boxes while Kale considers inspecting the mirror for another glimpse of his father.  The mirror still works and Kale sees the image of a crowd of shabbily dressed people in a dark area.  When Ash cuts herself, it happens to be the same moment when her memories surge back into her mind.  Ash sees the mirror and challenges Kale about an old argument; whether or not there is a time to kill a person.  Kale insists his father is a good man and considers that he and the others may be food for the demon.    Quince attempts to understand the golems.  Using the Trust, Quince recalls the order of the Apiary and gains control of one of the golems.  When the group finally get to the room with the people, Ash realizes that Kale's father is not someone who registers in her memories.  If Ash was to kill someone, it definitely wasn't him.  Kale fails to recognize his father in the crowd.  Quince starts to menace the people, demanding they talk and give answers but none seem to have anything informative to share.

An explosion rocks the Tower.  Larkspur sees Chi'tairn fly through the air and slam into the wall.  As Larkspur quickly moves close, she declares Chi'tairn under her protection.    The guards quickly surround them both.

And back under Staniga, Quince considers calling the demon somehow as evidence once the Order catches up with them.  The group knows the Order is making its way to locate them and they have a limited amount of time to either find more evidence or find a way out.  Tokens surge and suddenly almost completely invisible figures move towards them.  Kale looks at the far wall and sees the corridor beyond it where armed cultists close in on their location as well.    The group finds themselves trapped as cultists close in to catch them, and the invisible assailants turn out to be guardsmen from the Gossamer Tower!

The Gossamer Saga e04 : Homebrewed System

09/01/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution

Episode Four
"The Forge"

Home-brewed Game

A month has passed.

Kale been preparing for problems.  Quince been at the "hive" hoping to learn more about the regent.  The Seers are helping him investigate.  Ash been "courting" Larkspur to gain more info on the Bright One.  Acting interested in her.  Larkspur has no idea that Ash is merely gathering information she can use in the future to pose as Larkspur.

The Regent been missing for sometime.  And yet, the government continues to function without him. No one seems as alarmed, which suggests they either know that he's gone or it is quite normal for him to disappear.

Quince's investigation discovers the following details:
1) The Regent has been missing far longer than they have announced he's been missing.
2) The Imperials have a warrant for him.
3) They are expanding a dragnet. Imperials looking for him.

Quince is in the library and the patterns are starting to form.  Maybe the army was a bigger problem than realized.  Ash and Larkspur are still having "cathecism classes."  Kale sparring with Gorvahl, and deep down is hoping to see Faraker.  Then something happens.

Pain.

Immense pain explodes within the inhabitants of the Tower.  For some, the pain is so intense they lose all consciousness and fall.  Others are overwhelmed and sick, puking out what they had in their stomachs.

Quince sees many seers dropping. Some begin to vomit uncontrollably.
Larkspur falls to the ground in pain, and Ash uses Perceive to see if Larkspur is dying.  Ash can see that what Larkspur is going through isn't something natural.  Larkspur forces herself up, ignoring the pain.  She knows the pain isn't something coming from the Bright One.
Kale sees those in pain, and feels the pain in his head.   The rooms through-out the Gossamer Tower lose their imaging, appearing back as an empty room.  Gorvahl begins to groan in pain and mutters as much as he can, "Dawn... we have to see Dawn..."

Quince tries to tap into the pain.  "The Hive is falling.  The bees are dying.  I want to understand why."  He uses Understand to see what is going on.  He recalls the Apiary and it fuels the use of his magic.  Around 3/5 of  those in the tower are down.  The effect bleeds off back to the Jian madj.  No one in the Apiary is affected.  "This is far spread."  He asks who to report this to, but the woman admits there's no protocol for this.

Ash rushes out, sees the corridor is littered with people.  Ash panicks, thinking the "safe place" of the tower has fallen.  Ash leaps back home to Staniga's Ass to hide.

Kale and Gorvahl realizes the different layers are collapsing into one. Tries to slap Gorvahl to wake him, but he catches his hand.  "Must get to Dawn." Kale tries asking others about Dawn but no one knows what he's talkin about.

Larkspur, now alone, thinking the Bright One is making herself manifest.
"New adherents!" she thinks.  She uses the Trust to reach out to them to calm them and do so.  The people turn to face her. "Why is everyone here now?  What is the conjuction events?"  The man turns and vomits on her.  "The Bright one does not deal in vomit.."

Back at Staniga's Ass, Ash emerges frantic and tense.  The featureless plain is like a field that has been snowed over.  There is nothing there.   The city seems to be gone.  She starts digging into the snow, wondering whats underneath.  But as she shoves her hands in, the "snow" flutters away.  It is ash!  She screams and uses the Trust to wipe the ash away to see what's left behind.  She crumbles to the ground and screams and weeps.

Elsewhere, a familiar armored figure stands in a similar ashfield area.  Chitairn drops her faceplate and weeps.  "I was too late."  There is nothing but ash all around her.  The parts of the city that stand closer to sea and shore have broken off.   Jutting islands from what was once a shoreline.  Parts of the land have broken away.

Ash realizes her city is indeed gone.
Staniga is dead.

Back at the tower, the place begins to reassert itself.  Dimensions are disentangled.  Rooms reassert themselves.  It takes a while for all to get back to normal.  But there remains no word from the Council.

Ash eventually recovers and finds her way back to the Tower.  The others learn from Ash about Staniga.  They learn of a City's death.

Quince slams a fellow person in the mess hall to the table to grab attention.  Ash and Kale join him.  Larkspur apologises the to man.  Guards arrive demanding we explain what's going on and Quince tells them we want answers.  Ash causes a nearby table to food to turn to Ash, "I am from Staniga and that is what has happened!"  "The only person who left the tower has returned and informed us the world has been destroyed."  Gorvahl arrives as Kale asks, "Who do you report to."  "They all report to me," Gorvahl answers.  "Come along children."

All four are lead by Gorvahl to the receiving room.  Walls have runes, parchment scraps, long lines of writing.  Dawn is making cords to connect things and plots in the room.  Her thoughts reach out to the others.

"If you don't want us to ask questions then let us leave to find our own answers," Ash growls.

The Council has forbid all travel.  But the group will not accept it.  Larkspur sides with Ash.  "The Council is not doing its duty, which is to counsel."

Dawn turns to face the others.  She is clearly bothered and stressed by the events. Her features aren't as polished as usual.  "I have not been completely open with you, I must admit.  It is an instinct of the order. There are things that I have seen.. that I have foreseen which I have been trying to prepare for.  Unfortunately not many of the other seers have seen the visions I have.  And so it is being dismissed as inconsequential."

Larkspur questions if there's a process for an entire land being assaulted or an attack on the tower.  Dawn explains it was a side effect.  Kale asks a Side Effect of what.  Quince mutters, "We are assuming it took a large tragedy to take this event."

"The order has become large and cumbersome over the centuries," Dawn admits, "Before a single voice and all prophecies were important."

"A side effect of what?"

"I am not certain," Dawn.

Ash accuses them of ignoring her "inconsequential city."  She asks if the armored woman knew about this.  Asks if she warned them about this.  Dawn looks away.

Quince tells them that they will be blinded by not seeing all the aspects.  Dawn shows the writing she has tried to document.   Only other person who had seen them might not like it.   She might be the only one who can leave the tower too.  The council controls the members through the fact we all draw from the tower.

"What's her name?" Ash asks.

"Send us out," Quince tells them, "Let us figure out why the past has happened."

"Get the boy," Gorvhal is ordered by Dawn.  Faraker arrives with Gorvhal.
Ash questions if he's "inconsequential" and considers what happens when one kills a fellow member of the order.  "Explusion would be a way out of the tower."  Dawn replies, "So is death."

Dawn holds out Faraker's token and it dissolves.  "It is an illusion," she tells the group.  "Faraker does not need the tower.  Not all magic comes from the tower.  You've met Madga.   You've seen the Fallen One, the beast beneath Staniga. The council frowns on this.  Few innate users have gone well.  Most tend to accidentally kill themselves when their magic manifests.  We got to Faraker in time."

"So he's not a member," Larkspur asks.

"Not really," Dawn.

"So killing him won't expel me," Ash.

"No," they all reply.   But it is clear in Ash's eyes she means every word.

Faraker can get the group out and bring them to Chi'tairn.  "She is the best personal fighter I had trained, she would have taken over the guard if things did not.. happen." Gorvhal admits.

"So you can leave and survvie," Larkspur asks.

"People like Faraker and Chi'tairn, yes." Gorvhal admits.

Kale asks if others can train to become like them.  Gorvhal admits not really.  Not everyone has the spark.   Dawn reminds them Faraker is in training and will need guidance.

Ash and Quince threaten that they can provide motivation.
Kale mutters that they will not be back within the hour.  Dawn admits that she will maintain an illusion that the group remains here and it will stand for up to a week.  Then the Council will know.

Dawn draws out a coin.  Explains it is the best way to find her.
Larkspur uses the Trust to transform into priestly garb as she walks up to them.   The group jumps.

*

Disoriented and naseous.  The group struggle to remain focused and calm as they feel their very essences twisted all around them.  They are finally are out of the tower.    They all remember that any use of their Tokens, or tapping onto the World Pool of Essence was to alert the Council.  The group arrives and find themselves in the ashes of Staniga.

Ash asks Kale for the knife she once gave him.  It was the knife she had used to try to attack Chi'tairn when they first met.  Ash tosses it to Larkspur and asks her to try to track Chi'tairn.

"The bright one says, that way."

The group walks.   Kale tries looking ahead, but worried of any threats that could stand ahead, and quickly returns.  The group continues to walk through the ashes and dust.  And soon, standing far ahead of them, is a man in a cloak with a staff in his hand.

"Well met, travellers.  Have you come to enjoy the view?"

The man speaks to the group with a calm peaceful demeanor, but it quickly becomes apparent how much malice the man truly holds.   Ash asks the man if he knows anything about what happened to Staniga.  Quince suspects the man is a threat and subtly gathers a handful of ash.  Ash asks the man about the people, part of her still hoping they were delivered from the City before it was razed.

"Where are the people?  One could say you've been breathing them.  I have never expected things to be this beautiful."

"Did you cause this?" Larkspur demands.

"I wish I had," the man replies.

"Do you know who did?"

"Why should I tell you, lost sheep of the Order?"

"Hardly lost, and hardly sheep," Larkspur hisses.

"Who did this," Ash growls.

"The Regent did," the man grins.

"Tell me more of the regent," Quince asks, taking a step closer as he spoke.

"He has served his purpose.... Which was to prepare the way.."

"Of what?"

"Grandeur."

"That is no reponse," Quince hisses.

"It is all you will get," the man remains steadfast.

"It is empty," Quince mutters and takes another step forward, "He is where?"

"Transcended," the man smiles.

"Religious then?" Quince quieries.

"Oh some would cry out in exaltation!"

"I dislike Religion," Quince growls.

"It is useful," the man challenges.

"It is noise," Quince insists.

Ash angrily takes a step towards the man, and using the Trust, calls upon the dead of Staniga to avenge themselves.  The very ash in the air, the powdered remains of the people of Staniga, become the very weapon of destruction that she forces into the man's mouth.  As the man  feels death devour him from within, his skeletal mummified look begins to get revealed as his parts are eaten away!    And yet, the man continues to have the power to speak!  "Nice trick little girl, you show promise!"

"WHO DO YOU SERVE!??" Ash screams.

But the whole body collapses without an answer.

"Leave," Ash tells the rest.  "Leave before the Council senses us.  I used the Trust.  Surely they would sense my hand in this."  But Faraker tells them all to stop.  Tells them he hears someone.  A voice.  Tells them to all go with him instead.  "If we jump now, there is little chance they will follow!"

The group jumps a second time.

*

The new world is one of stars and swirling skies.  Like the galaxies that flowed outside the windows of the Gossamer Tower, this world seemed endless and devoid of any other life.  But in the distance, a structure.
something else.  A polished steel anvil.  The size of a building.

"Where did you bring us, Faraker?" Larkspur snarls.

"I heard a voice," he tries to explain.  He admits he thought it was someone calling.  Kale breaks part of his staff on the ground, wedging it to the cracks on the stone, then weaves the Trust to make it sprout into a massive wooden bridge.    Larkspur leads the group in crossing the bridge.

Ash hesitates.  She asks Kale for the knife once more and threatens to cut her Token off.  "The Order may still track me.  I rather not endanger the rest of you."  Faraker convinces her to hold on to it, however.  He admits he senses they were all beyond the reach of the Order.

The anvil towers above us, like a massive pyramid, but seems to not have any openings.    The group eats apples at the base to recover some lost strength and sate their growing hunger..  Kale hits it with his staff.  The pyramid feels very solid.  Faraker raps the anvil with the token. It absorbs it.  A faint glow. An outline of a door.  The group steps inside.

They find themselves in a larger chamber, like a steel factory.  Large molten steel buckets moving on its own.  It is noisy and alive, yet seemingly unmanned.  A massive forge.

"She did wear an armor," Ash mutters.

Quince tries to grasp what this place is with Understand, relating the place to the Apiary.  He realizes there are diffent kids of metals being refined.  "This way," he tells the others, grasping where the man in charge would be situated if the place was a hive.   The group reaches a closed door and Quince raps it a few times with a staff.  Door cracks open.  Light shines through.  The man that emerges is dressed in a blacksmith's outfit.  He seems annoyed at the presence of visitors, and it takes him a beat to realize.. "You aren't supposed to be here."

"He brought us here," Ash shoves Faraker forward.
"He made the bridge," Faraker points at Kale.
"Dawn sent us," Kale squarely explains.
"Who?" the blacksmith asks in honest surprise.  The group stares dumbfounded.  Did they just transport themselves to the wrong place?

Larkspur tries to introduce the others, but as congenial as she sounds, she fails to convince the man otherwise of the fact he feels they should not be there.  He leads them to a room with cool air and explains that "she" comes when she needs something.   He shares how he was an artist.  But now builds weapons when asked to.  Ash inquires if he had anything to do with Staniga.  The others explain how it has been reduced to ashes.

The smith gets agitated at how dangerous the group seems to be in his perceptions.  His feelings towards them get worse when Ash suggests how Chi'tairn would rush over if she senses him being hurt.  He quickly draws something from his belt.  Larkspur Perceives their dynamic true enough and tells them, "He creates things for her.  That is all."

Smith getting agitated at how we seem to be dangerous.  Worse when he gets threatened when Ash suggests how Chi'tairn would rush over if she senses he is hurt, he flicks something on his belt.  Larkspur Perceives their dynamic and true enough, he creates things for her.  The Smith causes six silver golems to appear, and the massive things escort the group to a room where they could wait for Chi'tairn.   Ash studies them but finds them far too dangerous to try besting while imprisoned by them.

Time passes.

Chi'tairn arrives. She wears a magnificent black armor. It stands in contrast to her powerful red hair.  "We are here because of an inconsequential prophecy." Quince calls out, knowing the words should catch her notice.
"I was expecting her, not some miscellaneous crew," Chi'tairn admits.  The group talk to her about the Gossamer Tower being on lock down.  How none of them could get to the tower.  Nor leave it.  "That's why were are here."

"She could not come herself?" Chi'tairn asks, and when they shake their heads, she turns to Faraker and mutters, "I guess you brought them here."

The golems dissolve into liquid metal and are drained away.  The discussions move rapidly now, with Chi'tairn offering information the group could not have found on their own.  They discuss how the Regent was behind the attack. Him and the priest.  How the Regent did not intend for this to happen.  How he was merely used as the weapon.  Ash questions her weapons, her forge, and if she kills people - why didn't she kill the Regent before he murdered Staniga.

"I failed to stop him," Chi'tairn admits.

*

A flashback.  Dawn's visions were increasing in succession.  Each one spoke of the Regent.  Chi'tairn tracked the Regent running in the woods of Vohan.  There was a mad dash towards Staniga.  A robed figure, however, suddenly stood in her way.  Chi'tairn dueled against the robed figure, but the time it took was long enough for the Regent to get away.

Every time Chi'tairn would get close, forces would seemingly conspire to prevent her from getting to the Regent.

*

"I had lost track of him in Staniga.  There were just too many cults.  Disrupted the patterns of magic," Chi'tairn admitted that when the event happened, something must have amplified the Regent's potential for power.  Transformed him into something like a bomb.   She had to jump away as the Regent exploded.

She explains how there are many flavors of magic.  How the Order insisted that no other magic should exist.  Only the Trust was the true magic that existed.  But Chi'tairn was a bounty hunter by trade.  It is not easy for anyone to evade her when she hunts someone down.  "There are forces at work that we do not understand.  I do not understand the full pattern but I have seen some of the visions."

The pain that rippled through out tower was no random occurrence. It is attuned to the tower. Something is.  And it is coming for the Order.

Chi'tairn explains how the true power of the Council comes from the Orb at the center of the Gossamer Tower.  The Joining of the Universes.  The Council was formed because the five leaders were repentant.  People who were capable of great evil but because they had recanted, had pledged to change for the better, the Orb manifested.  "That is why the magic is called the Trust.  It was the ultimate gun to your head."

"Gun?" Ash asked.  Chi'tairn apologizes, claiming to have forgotten that the rest have not explored the many other universes.  Ash asks if she can have one.    They ignore her question.

"The Forge is not a fixed point," Chi'tairn continues.  The Tower was made by some greater being.  An overlap on the Universes.  The Forge finds those pockets and stays there, and jumps away when it must.  That's how it remained safe.

"Were you the voice that Faraker heard?" Kale asked.  Chi'tairn admits it most likely was the Smith he had heard.  "You must have picked up the resonance of the Token as he was cursing.  You don't get here by using those Tokens."

Chi'tairn admits she needs to get a chance to speak with Dawn.  The others ponder on what to do.  Ash, however, sees the plan clear as day. She offers her Token to Chi'tairn, telling her, "You can pretend to be me.  You can look and act as me.  And with this Token, the Order would believe you are me."  Kale draws out the mirror he had been given by Magda.  He peers inside and sees the image of the cult in Staniga.  It seemed that they had survived were in hiding.

Chi'tairn reads Kale's head. "That's interesting. A fallen angel. They require sacrifices to live." The cults in Staniga, it seemed, were always underground. As if they were prepared for this.   Ash offers to recheck the underground.  Quince and Kale offer to go with her.  "It may be the best way to make sure."

Back at the work shop.  Chi'tairn gives Kale something:   a frame of metal that encases his arm and a frame that rests on the palm.  Chi'tairn draws a darker onyx and affixes it to the frame on the palm. "This sort of works like a token. This won't rely on the Trust.  So it will hurt every time."  The device is to allow them to traverse the worlds.  Chi'tairn then borrows some of Ash's memories.    "I just need this for a while."

"I am used to not remembering," Ash admits.

"Yes I noticed. That is quite a big hole.  Something was taken from you," Chi'tairn admits.  The two lock eyes.    Somthing indeed.

The Gossamer Saga e03 : Homebrewed System

07/14/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution

Episode Three
" The Fallen"

Home-brewed Game

Months have passed.

Armies have been steadily moving towards the provinces.  The soldiers seem to have been headed towards the Capital on foot.  But these events are not much the focus of the heroes.  Instead, they busy themselves with personal matters.

Kale uses the mirror to peer at his father's location.  He seems to always be in the same room.  While Kale has been having Ash stay in his room to keep her safe from her self-created night terrors, Kale uses the mirror only when Ash is away.   At one time, when Kale summons the visions, the image shows a brighter location that usual.  Candles.  Robes.

Ash arrives.  Kale asks her about "her boon" and Ash admits she does not know what he means.  Kale shows her the mirror he received but Ash instead notices, "that place..." She recalls Staniga's Ass and uses the Trust she had learned to Perceive better.  Ash realizes she recognizes the place.

It was the same temple she was in when Chi'tarn first recruited her for the Gossamer Tower.

"I never got to finish my mission there.  I wonder.  What if the man I was supposed to kill was you father?"

"Could you promise not to kill him," Kale asks after Ash offers to bring him there.  But Ash admits she would never make a promise that contradicts an earlier promise.

*

Larkspur angrily thinks of Ballouise and how she has usurped the identity of the Bright One. She stalks Ballouise, spying on her for weeks.  A knock on door.  Larkspur opens the door to her room and finds Ballouise standing outside.   Larkspur reacts surprised to see her but Ballouise tells her she has noticed the other observing her for the last few days.  "It goes both ways," Ballouise explains as she refers to the use of the Trust to observe another, and the Totems to find another in the Tower.  Reacting to Larkspur's subconscious, the stained glass in the room shatters.  Ballouise smirks, "I just wanted to make sure, since I keep bumping into you in the hallways."

Larkspur subtly accuses her of posing as the goddess.  She clearly still does not believe that Ballouise could actually be the inspiration or source of the stories of the Bright one.  They switch the topic of the conversation to talk instead of a mission to look into the disappearance of the Regent.  Ballouise tells her she should do it with Quince.  Larkspur thinks of the fear and uses it as a resonance to find Quince in the Tower.

*

Quince is supervising the archivists in the library.  They were amused how he periodically returns to observe them, but now they are getting frustrated and annoyed with his constant interference as he tells them of ways to do things more "efficiently."  Over time, they realized it was simpler to just do what he said.    Quince sees only success and proudly remarks, "Now there is a proper chain of command.  It is efficient."

Larkspur arrives, and tells him of the mission to find the Regent.  "What of the others?" he asks.

"The mission was for only the two of us" Larkspur replies.

"How unfortunate," Quince remarks, "I will be back. I will procure a fish."  Larkspur's eyes widen as she recalls how Quince had used fish to handle annoying people.

*

Back in the other room, Kale and Ash continue to argue on whether or not killing is a necessity.  "You should never kill," Kale implores Ash, but she admits, "I never kill indiscriminately."  Ballouise arrives and the two set aside the discussion for the time being.  Ballouise tells them of the Regent of the colonies and how he has been missing for quite some time.  While Kale talks to Ballouise about these things, Ash sees the Mirror which Kale left on the bed, and picks it up.  "Things have been much more interesting since the arrival of the Caerdin army," Ballouise suggests that they should consider looking for the Regent together.

But Kale, being Kale, reaches out to Larkspur using the Totem.  He asks her if they have a mission as well, and tells her that he and Ash were tasked to find the Regent.  Ash, amused to remember the quest she never finished, decides to head there immediately.  Kale panicks upon realizing Ash had left with the Mirror, and quickly shifts out of the Gossamer to follow her.

*

In the temple, Kale follows and is surprised to find himself with her up on the rafters of some building.  Thankfully, Kale quickly balances himself and looks around.  Down below, robed and hooded figures arrive.   Kale asks for the Mirror back, and perhaps to sweeten the pot, offers Ash a knife to keep.  "I don't think we should be here," Kale mutters but Ash insists that she has to finish this job.  Almost as if to force them to make a decision, the two see a young woman brought into the chamber and laid down on a white sheet atop the altar.    "Should we do something to stop this?" Kale asks worriedly and Ash questions doing so with Kale's own words, "I'm not supposed to kill, right?"

"We don't have to kill anyone," Kale stresses.

"Then show me how," Ash mutters.

Knowing Kale was bound to draw the attention of the cultists, Ash slips away to the far side and as Kale distracts those present, slithers through a doorway leading deeper into the chamber.  Kale uses his Trust to empower his own body to become faster and stronger, and leaps down to where the woman is.  He tears off the manacle that locks her to the alter, then carries her on his shoulder as he leaps for the further doorway.  The robed figures shriek and claw at him, but are unable to stop him as he kicks the door open to head out.  But alas, instead of the freedom of outside, Kale finds another corridor and realizes something Ash had not told him:  They are underground!

In the other side, Ash moves silently through the corridors, and uses the Trust to Perceive the walls around her as shadows.  She remembers how back in Staniga's Ass, she would use the shadows to block out distractions and focus on her target.  She uses it here with the Trust pushing her abilities to impossible levels, seeing through the walls as if they were immaterial smoky lines.  Realizing there are so many people in this level, she calls out a false alarm to trick everyone to start rushing off to leave.  In her mind, it would permit her a chance to scan the faces of those leaving.  If her target is seen, then she can deal with him.  But if not, then he is probably imprisoned somewhere and will be left alone.

*

Quince and Larkspur consider heading to the Capital to find the missing Regent.  They discuss on how to find the missing Regent, and Quince suggests they just head there to get information.  But Larkspur admits it would help if they had something of his.  "Why?"  Quince asks.

"Because community links from one thread to another, that's why," Larkspur explains.

But Quince counters that objects are not what represent community.  "People do."

They opt to go to Regent's area.  The place is massive castle that is built against a mountainside.   Larkspur opts to head for the plateau while Quince takes a detour to head for the Apiary. "It has been a while since I've been there," Quince admits.

Larkspur eventually makes her way to a small clearing in the area.  She searches for the city marshal and acts all impressed about seeing the large buildings, pushing the idea she's a common person from the rural lands who happens to be lost.  The guards, accustomed to such people getting lost, offers to show her to where she needs to go.  Larkspur throws a few jokes about having to deliver "buns" and gets them to help her find her way.

Quince visits the Apiary, and they seem to be well tended.  The hives are buzzing with activity.  He gathers some honey, then considers going to the capital to "sell" the wares.

*

Kale uses his magic to delay the pursuers.  But the lack of light makes his escape harder as does not knowing where to go.  He grows a massive tree to help him stay safe against the monks and even takes a branch off to use as a makeshift weapon if he can.

A voice in the darkness.

"Who disrupts my feeding?"

The voice again asks, "Who disrupts my feeding again?"

Seven foot tall woman, greenish skin.  Black glowing pools for eyes.  She reaches for Kale.
The thing breaks the giant tree.  Kale disappears.

*

Ash sees her target and makes her way to him.  A second door catches her attention, with something about it seemingly familiar, but she opts to ignore it for now.  Her mission is her goal.  It has not been fulfilled for far too long.  When she finds the room, she sees it is empty.  But using the teachings she learned of the Trust, she peers using the darkness of Staniga as her guide, and the target becomes visible to her Perceive.  As she pretends not to know the target is there, she suddenly swoops with her knife to slash at him!

He parries with a staff.

"Who?" he asks with far more words than she can recall.

"The Bright One's Shadow," Ash retorts, amused at herself for finding a new way to name herself and she attempts to leap over him.  But he uses some unseen force to slam her against the wall.    Ash swings the blade at him, but instead of aiming with the steel, she visualizes the shadow of the blade as the carrier of her will.  "Destroy," she whispers and begs her shadow to cut the man.  Alas, the man is trained in the Trust as well, it seems, and a magical barrier deflects the strike.

"You may call me, Larkspur," Ash hisses.

"I will remember this name," he growls and vanishes through a portal he creates by slamming his staff to the ground.

Alone, frustrated with having failed, Ash opts to head back to the earlier door.

*

Larkspur uses the hierarchy of the group to look for the Regent.  She remembers the order of her homeland and reflects upon that as she stands at an alleyway to seek out the missing Regent.  However, what she finds instead through the Trust is... the Seneschal.  And oddly, the man seemed to register as not being part of the hierarchy.

"A word if you may, Quince," Larkspur calls out to him using the Totem.  As she explains what she has glimpsed, the odd man replies instead, "There is redundancy here.  Inefficient."

"This finding means he is powerless where he should be most powerful," Larkspur suggests.

"Then we must shake the nest," Quince replies succinctly.  "The Wasps come to a hive to tell them they are here to take over.  In this case, it is because the Regent is gone.  Those who have spirited him away will make their moves."

"But how," Larkspur queries, "How will these people know of this?"

"You are noisy.  You will figure it out."

Larkspur stomps to the park, screeching about as if she were some preacher of the Bright One.  There was a time she would never do such a thing, given her faith to the Goddess.  But given Ballouise, perhaps she is more wont to do this act of sacrilege given the Bright One might actually just be Ballouise's other name.

*

Quince finds a tavern and steps inside to sell the mead he has brought.

As he sells his wares without struggling to generate profit, he takes the opportunity to spread rumors as well of Prosperity being in flames and of others being trapped within until the army that passed had left.  With a gentle prodding of the Trust, he ensures the rumors will spread more by twisting it around people's desires and instigating the urge upon them to seek out the Regent as well.

"Efficiency," Quince mutters to himself.

*

A day has passed.

Larkspur hears rumors that Prosperity is a smoking husk that once was, and that an army has been spreading and pillaging and the like.   She is a bit taken aback since none of those were rumors she created.   Larkspur makes plans to head back to her homeland, so she returns to the tower for now.  She finds the tower in high alert.

"A breach!" the guards exclaim in alarm.

Turns out, as Kale escaped from the monster by shifting back to the tower.  And as he shifted, he took with him the naked woman he had rescued from the robed men.  The Gossamer tower sensed the companion and diverted his shift to the main lobby instead of  his room.   "We have a breach!" guards call out as they rush to the area with their pole arms and intercept Kale and his companion.

Gorval arrives, definitely looking very unhappy with the situation.  He demands Kale explain himself.

*

Ash returned to the door.  She inspected it and tried to see if there was anything odd but couldn't shake the feeling there was something calling to her.  She slipped inside and finds lots of boxes and chests and cabinet doors.  Not wanting any more delays, she called upon the Trust to break each and every door.

The sound alerts others to her whereabouts.  And as they make for the door, she wraps her arms around everything she could gather from the cabinets, and spirits herself away back to the Gossamer Tower.

She had hoped he was able to take with her whatever seemed to call at her.

But falling to the ground, clattering against the stone floor, was a cufflink that bore the Caerdine Imperial seal.

*

The group is gathered once again at the Gossamer Tower.  They are scolded for not working together.  They are told they are grounded for a month.

"With everything that happened, not a single one of you even found any true information about the Regent!"

"We were looking for a regent?" Ash sheepishly asks, unaware of such a goal all that time.

The Gossamer Saga e02 : Homebrewed System

05/19/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution

Episode Two
"Magda"

Home-brewed Game

The Cast is as follows:
Kale, played by Rachel.
He is a young messenger boy who makes up for his lack of Courage with a lot of Cunning. He travels between regions to deliver messages and parcels.

Quince, played by Erich.
He is an apiarist. He has always had a greater connection to the bees than his fellow men. His lack of Beauty made it even harder to reach out and relate to him.

Larkspur, played by Mahar.
She is a farm girl with a strong religious streak. Her being devoid of Cunning made her very upfront and bold of her opinions.

Ash, played by me.
She is a fourteen year-old assassin with little recall of her previous family. She awoke buried under a pile of dead corpses, with faint recollections of three faces. She had no true Wisdom of the world.

*

The group finds themselves standing upon the very surface of the water.  Ballouise speaks to us and informs us that the city at the horizon is the city of Prosperity.   We are told today is a day we are challenged to fulfill a task:  to find a person named Magda.

Faraker will be with the group, and while Kale seems pretty excited about this prospect, Larkspur clearly disdains Ballouise for setting this up.

"I think I got this now. Everybody close your eyes," Faraker tells the group and uses his magic to transport the group to the city.  In a flash, everyone is gone.

Kale and Ash find themselves on the deck of a ship.  The ship is in the act of mooring when the two arrived, and a number of burly men with armor and weapons stare at them - clearly bothered by their sudden appearance.  Ash grabs Kale's arm as she realizes the language of the men is not even familiar.  Worried she instinctively uses her magic to perceive the man's weakness:  His foot is horrifically afflicted with bad athlete's foot and infection.  One step could disable him.  Unfortunately, he holds it away from others.

Even the crest above on the ship is unfamiliar.  Eventually, a man steps forward and happens to speak their language.  As he asks who they are, Ash tries to mislead him by claiming to have stowed away from the vessel.  "Most vessels would not have allowed a woman on board."  Ash even claims that Kale is her father, but the man admits he thinks Kale is a woodsman or ranger.  Kale offers his services to him, but the man clearly knows the gig is up.  He commands his soldiers to chain the two and while Ash considered bringing the events to a fight, Kale tells Ash to calm down.  "It is easier to escape than to fight our way out."

In Prosperity, Larkspur and Quince appear beside the display of fresh fish in the Marketplace.  The seller starts barking at them, angry that the display was damaged by their arrival.  Quince does the unthinkable; He picks up the fish the woman complains over, and stuffs it into her open mouth! As the woman struggles to get the fish out, Larkspur futilely tries to convince him to stop.  But once the old woman pries out the fish and calls for the guards.  Quince stuffs the fish right back in to shut her up.  "She is a nuisance," Quince calmly explains.

Larkspur decides to calmly call on the gentling aspect of Order, touches the woman and makes her forget the last thirty minutes, feeling the glow of the bright one's love. The two walk away from the stunned people in the market.  "I don't want him to fish choke someone else," Larkspur admits.    As the two look around some more, Larkspur tries asking about the Bright One's temple in the city.  The question frustrates Quince, who complains about her being noisy.  When they ask the man about Magda and he does not share information, Quince interprets the man's actions as being a conscious effort to be in their way.  The man calls for the guards before Quince muffles him into silence.  When he still admits to having no information to share, he ponders on whether it might have been more efficient to just kill him.    The city guards arrive, and the two duck into a corner to hide.

Larkspur recalls the lessons from the Gossamer Tower, and recalls her homeland.  She recalls the connections of people back there and tries to perceive the connection that may exist to Magda.  Images form in her head as she sees a  leprous man, sees rich sultan-type people, sees the image of a tent that is drab and gray -  a travelling tent amid a sea of multi-colored tents.  Larkspur can see the western rampart of the city in the images and realizes, "I have an inkling of where Magda is."  They go to a side alley.

Quince, however, is uncertain. "The wasps have been roused.  You must get caught.  You will not stay caught for long."  Someone points at them.  Pikemen switch to a single file to go down the alleyway.  Larkspur stares at them like a caught gazelle.  The Pikemen call out, "Stop in the name of the Regent."

"What is it with this place? Women don't know their place, men don't know their place.  And they don't know their god,"  Larkspur challenges them.

"Stop that. You are worse than my wife."

The Pikemen ask about the chaos in the marketplace, and Larkspur feigns lacking any knowledge of that incident.  She claims to having never eaten fish either.  When the Pikemen insist she accompany them to answer their questions, she makes a huge scene as she tries to convince them to distract the guards and guide her back to the caravanserai where her "family" are waiting.

Back at the ship, Ash and Kale are brought below the deck.  But before they are locked in, they both notice the large number of soldiers present onboard.  Kale peers out the window and sees the signal flags, but sadly fails to recall how to read them.  The Ship seems to have come from Prime Caerdine itself.   There's no denying this is a military vessel.  The two break a stack of crates to see what is inside, and they find food, uniforms and armor inside of the opened crate.  Both hide behind the door, waiting for the guards to come in so they could pounce on them, but sadly the guards are far smarter than they expected and choose to wait outside.

When the guards return, an archer shows up and forces the two to surrender.  The General meets with them again, but rather than punish them for trying to escape, merely orders them to take a seat on the longboat.  The group then paddles to the city.

Larkspur arrives at the western camp with the guards escorting her.  Gypsies begin annoying her with offers for trinkets, charms and the like.  Quince "meets" with Larkspur who then convinces the guards to let her go. As they consider their next steps, a young child walks up to Larkspur and begs for money.  Hoping to create a tiny miracle to help the child, she takes her apron and tries to transmute it into a sandwich.  Failing, the child takes the apron and quickly mutters, You are supposed to do it this way!" and changes it into a sandwich!  Another guy nearby proclaims as well and has birds fly from his hands.  Another motions and light flashes from his hands as he vanishes.  Many start performing tricks around them.

Quince mutters to Larkspur, "They respect deception.  Deceive them and they will respect you."  Larkspur calls out that she is looking for Magda, because her friend owes Magda money, and she suggests there will be a reward for whoever helps her.

"Is that a promise," a child asks.

"The reward to find Maga?  One fifth."

"Never deal in percentages," the child mutters.

"That is a fraction," Quince counters.

"How about that pretty gem, Can I have the gem?" the child asks, and motions towards the gem embedded in Larkspur's throat.

"No, it might hurt you," Larkspur admits.

"Magda is kinda grumpy.  What to tell her?"

"An old friend of hers sent us."

"Which friend?" the child asks.

People gasp as Larkspur muters the name Ballouise.  They talk about "The Bright One being Ballouise."  Quince questions Larkspur's choice to drop to her knees in prayer, claiming it looks like she is waiting for execution.

Back at boat, Ash finds herself thinking of Staniga.  Kale uses his magic to alter himself to be able to run away very fast.  He takes the moment the longboat reaches the port to pick Ash up and run away.  Armies are at the docks.  He runs for quite some time, traversing the city as much as he can to bring them both away from the port side, but eventually he trips over a man on ground.  The beggar starts complaining about what happened, but Ash confronts him and hands him a broken shard of porcelain.  "Force man to think if he should kill himself, and if he fights to live then he is reborn."  She pisses on some clothes, tears it to shreds, and suggests that Kale follow her lead and dress as lepers.  At least that way the guards themselves would stay clear of them.

Kale tries to reach out to the others with the use of the totems, similar to how they did so back in the Tower.  Sadly, he fails to do so.  They overhear a man complaining about stolen horses.  Ash approaches him and easily steals away his money pouch.  The two then head west, deciding to go there and hopefully ask some of the other vagabonds for information.

With the two others already at the west, Larkspur tries to think of her homeland once again, hoping to recall the Bright One, but the area seems to be getting darker.    "Unless the darkness is Magda," Larkspur queries.

"It is not Magda," a voice mutters.

Behind her, a short old woman stands.  Her back is weighed down by a with pack of things.  Larkspur turns around and realizes the two of them were now in some blanket fort.  They discuss matters of Faith, of Mission, and while the two carry a conversation, Magda somehow just turns her head to start a conversation with Quince, who seemingly still stands in the western area.  Larkspur finds herself lost in the blanket fort.

"Why did I need to be found?"  Magda admits she wonders about that, "Why are you following Ballouise?"
Larkspur beings to see her reflections as that of Ballouise.  Reflections of the Bright one.  Larkspur mentally contests it, proclaiming that the Bright One is not Ballouise.  Magda raises the thought that religion is merely something functional.  It is an opinion Larkspur refuses to accept.

Magda offers them a boon.  However, she reminds them,  "MY magick can only extend so far.  I am not all powerful."  Quince asks to understand what hive the Little Queen belongs to.  Larkspur says she will think about it.   Quince is handed a clear vial : 3 drops in blood to know where "she" is from.
They were all actually in the tent.

Ash and Kale arrive at the western side, and with the gypsies and beggars closing in, Ash shows Kale how to handle them.  She shows the money she had stolen from the man who lost his horses, and offers to pay them to lead them to who ever was "in charge."  They meet the "King of the Hill" who admits to being impressed with how she called for him.  She mentions they are looking for two people who were searching for Magda, and the man tells them they were here.  He hands her a "bright blue feather" to keep as a sign they had met, and she gives him the money.  He offers her a knife as well.

In a crowded area, Ash however stars seeing  Larkspur all around.  Kale starts seeing everyone looking like Quince.  Magda taunts them as she tests them, but Ash in a frantic attempt to regain control, slashes the throat of the nearest Larkspur!  Thankfully, they are just illusions.  Magda throws Ash in an illusionary version of Staniga, but Ash catches it as a fake.  "The smell is all wrong," she tells him.  Ash challenges Magda to show her the tower, but Magda admits to having never been there.  "Why are you here?"

Faraker is then revealed.  Shadows part and he is sitting at a nearby table and eating.  Magda offers the same boon to the others, and Kale decides to ask about his father.  "Is he still in the continent?"  Larkspur finally asks for her boon.  She asks for the blasphemous Ballouise to end, that none recognize her for the Bright One.  "If you can make me one with the Bright One's truest form, then why not?"    Ash stares at Larkspur, curious to why she'd use the word "recognize" rather than "confuse".

Magda hands Kale a mirror.  She tells him that it will allow him to see what his father sees.  She hands Larkspur a cloak, and tells her, "Wear this and Ballouise's influence will fail, for as long as you wear it."  Ash considers at first learning who the three blurry faces in her jumbled memories are, but she realizes she would rather embrace the future than seek the past.  She asks Magda for a weapon that can never be taken, a weapon that can cut lies or lives.  Magda tells her that "At a time of need, when you are ready, it will be there."

Magda vanishes.  The group sees an army on the street approaching.  They rush to the nearest house to hide and realize something magically blocks them from returning to the Gossamer Tower.   Quince watches from the second floor to try to see how far the army goes (all the way to the far end of the road).  While Larkspur decides to start cooking something for dinner, Ash and Quince consider options to escape.  The heraldry of the army is unfamiliar.  They are detached from the main country.  Though they are not occupying the city, it is clear they are here for a greater purpose.  Larkspur uses her magic to peer and sees the "web" that blocks their escape.

The group decides to wait it out.

Hours pass as the parade moves, and by nightfall, the parade is over.  Military patrols instead are about.  The group uses their totems to return to the Gossamer Tower, and there find Gorval waiting for them.  He admits he seems bothered by the sigil on the uniforms which Ash and Kale hand to him - the uniforms they had stolen from the ship's crates.   He admits to them that the trip to the city was a test from Dawn.

*

Back at the tent district, night is falling.

The city is turning in for the night, and the imperial force left behind stands there to augment the city's defenders.  The groups are centered around the docks all through-out the city of Prosperity.  A lone figure goes to the grey tent surrounded by a sea of colored ones.  Magda's tent.

The Captain from the boat enters the tent and finds Magda seated on a chair.
"You took your time to get here," Magda chides the Captain, "Brought a lot of friends too.  Why are you here?  And what can I do for you?"

The Gossamer Saga e01 : Homebrewed System

03/31/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution
Episode One
"Basic Training"

Home-brewed Game

My partner, Rocky, only started playing table-top games after I introduced him to the hobby.   After being together for almost four years, he has finally decided to do something that makes me even more proud to have him in my life: he has decided to run a game! And even more awesome, rather than just run a game system that exists, he asked me to help him craft a game based on a long-unfinished story he had written from way back during his school years.  So here it is, The Gossamer Saga.

The Cast is as follows:
Kale, played by Rachel.
He is a young messenger boy who makes up for his lack of Courage with a lot of Cunning.  He travels between regions to deliver messages and parcels.

Quince, played by Erich.
He is an apiarist.  He has always had a greater connection to the bees than his fellow men.  His lack of Beauty made it even harder to reach out and relate to him.

Larkspur, played by Mahar.
She is a farm girl with a strong religious streak.  Her being devoid of Cunning made her very upfront and bold of her opinions.

Ash, played by Tobie.
She is a fourteen year-old assassin with little recall of her previous family.  She awoke buried under a pile of dead corpses, with faint recollections of three faces.  She had no true Wisdom of the world.


The game opens with a group of people from the colony of Jahn Maije walking down a corridor where wisps of people seemingly appear and vanish.  In the tower, the group are escorted by a man in full-plate armor to a chamber where a woman named Dawn awaits them.  She calmly addresses each one, welcoming them to the Order, and shows a number of glowing orbs.  She talks about the Trust, and how the orbs reflect this.  Each one reaches out to the orbs, and it transforms to an object we prefer.  Kale has it become an arm-band.  For Quince, it becomes a throat choker.  For Ash, it becomes a small hair bead.  And for Larkspur, it embeds into her skin, just jutting out from her chest.  Each one finds their thoughts hearkening back to when and how they were invited to join.

Larkspur recalls her introduction to the Order.  A woman meets her after she delivers an ewe.   As they discuss things, Larkspur notices the scent of the sea upon the woman.  She mentions something about the Order, and "invites her" to join after offering to give her time to think about it.  The woman freezes time around Larkspur, trapping her in a strange world stuck in stasis for two days.  Larkspur finally relents, and vows that joining will be regretted by the woman.

Kale was travelling through the woods when he hears a strange thing.  Lacking the courage to deal with it head on, he clambers up a tree to hide.  That's when a young man emerges from the tree as well, and tries to sell him on the idea of being able to travel and visit faraway places.  Though hesitant, Kale finds the young man interesting enough and agrees to join.

Quince goes about his usual day, killing a bear that has been caught in one of his traps, and tending to the bees in his apiary.  A burly man in armor pays him a visit and explains the need for more people like him.  The man discusses the importance of order and of people who can help enforce such order.  The mindset appeals to Quince's curiosity, and so he decides to go with the man.

Ash was in the process of waiting for the opportunity to kill a new target, a cult leader, when a gloved hand grabs her and keeps her from swinging down to decapitate the cultist.  The two suddenly shift and are a distance away from the temple! Ash tries to strike what she perceives as a gap in the armored figure's armor, but the armor it turns out does not have any gaps.  The two argue between need, want, and whether or not the world is cruel.  The woman explains to Ash that she had been sent to recruit her and explained joining the Order is a chance to make a greater difference.  She reminds Ash not to mention to Dawn that she had been the one to get her, and when Ash asks her for her name, the woman admits to having given it up.  Ash is shunted away and finds herself now standing before the Tower itself.

And that was how they were all invited.   As Dawn welcomes each of them, she then dismisses them to retire to their chambers and reminds them the training begins in the following day.    Kale and Larkspur walk down the corridor with Kale trying to befriend Larkspur, but the farm girl instead takes his forwardness as improper and rants about it aloud.  Quince realizes he wants to speak with the young girl, whom he senses is like a "Young Queen" in the wrong "hive."  He waits outside, and meets a woman who seems excited and easily distracted.  She tries to explain the use of the gem, but vanishes before she could finish her statements.  And Ash talks to Dawn, curious to learn more about the Order ("Its like a brother, but with strange arts."), on why it protects the Cult (or at least, its leader), on why it would need someone like her (a killer).  Dawn explains that she sees in Ash someone familiar in the past.   Ash reluctantly leaves, finds Quince outside, and notices a dead bee still stuck in his hair.  She points it out, and he takes it, then eats it.    The others explore the "parallel" feel of the Tower, how it had been magically altered in such a manner as to accommodate far more individuals than the space seems to allow.

As each retire to their rooms, they learn how the rooms adjust to be more appropriate to what the other has grown accustomed to in life.  Larkspur finds a ready stock room and the stove needed to bake some bread. Kale finds supplies to prepare some nice sandwiches and a four poster bed, and a window providing a view of a multi-colored sky with floating islands.  Quince sees a simple cornered cubicle to slide into and sleep.  And Ash, so used to fighting for her life and food each night, finds herself in a shadowy chamber, besieged by faceless goons, whom she kills and scavenges from for bits of bread and meat to eat.

The rooms are absolute.  No one else can enter without the permission of the owner.  The places are attuned to stones we have in such that those who visit have to be invited in.

A new day begins.
The group gathers to meet for studies.  Kale feels sad for Ash who looks disheveled and tired.  She explains spending the whole night keeping watch for assailants until she fell asleep.  He offers her a sandwich to eat.  The group gather in a room to be taught by Gorval the basics of the Trust.  He has a polearm, and wears plate mail armor.  He explains that the room give the occupant  "what we need" but these things are not real.  The need for actual sustenance it seems is held at bay while within the Tower.  The young man who visited Kale, Faraker, appears as Gorval asks him to help demonstrate the basic lesson.  Faraker creates a sapling from what was once his empty hands.  Impressed, Larkspur subconsciously reaches out, hoping it was bigger.  She tapos into the Trust and causes it to grow massively into a gigantic oak tree!  Ash's panic manifests as an attempt to rot the tree, but all she succeeds in doing is make some leaves yellow.  As further talk is shared about the nature of the world, of magic, of miracles and Gods, Ash comes into an argument with Larkspur on whether or not the Shining One is real.   Ash believes in a world abandoned by hope and such illusions of something that cares for us.  Larkspur holds fast to the believe even this Trust is a gift of the Shining One.

As Gorval explains the different facets of the Trust, he explains that each one of the four has become attuned to a specific type.  This attunement helps represent what aspect and facet of the world can be better swayed by the Trust.  For Larkspur, the gem  glows a bright steady white, the color of Order.  For Kale, the arm band pulses with green hues, the color of Nature.  Ash feels the crimson glow envelope her hair band, the color of Chaos.  And for Quince, light pulses between two shades of color, mixing into opal.  There is a general feeling of empowerment.

Class ends and Kale and Ash decide to explore the Tower.  They search for a way to find the highest peak but discover there seems to be no such stairs leading up.  They learn to explore the place through intent, rather than actual walking, and Ash finds herself back home in an eye blink.  When Kale comes over to visit, he overhears her in the throes of battle, and is "invited" to come in and help.  Kale tries to explain to Ash these are all illusions, but Ash does not seem to grasp it.  When he sees Ash has been eating rotten food, Kale insists she stay with him instead in his room.  The two spend the night talking about their lives, and Kale discovers how troubled and violent Ash's life has been.

Quince uses Trust to perceive the "hub of the Tower" and learn more about the true goals of the group.  A man in hub emerges with intricate bead work in his hair.  Quince enters and finds himself in a room lit by thousands of candles.  There, he finds certain answers, and more questions to plague him.

And Larkspur finds herself having a dream.  As she tumbles in her bed, she sees a vision of the Bright One visiting and questioning her if she is truly ready.  It reminds her that to learn, one must unlearn many things that have been learned before.  "The very fact you answer back is proof you have not yet reached a point you are ready to learn."  Larkspur reaffirms her focus and dedication to preaching and carrying the Bright One's word.

Epilogue:
Dawn stands beside the armored figure that recruited Ash.  The two share no words.  Dawn has the odd expression on her face.  "I wasn't sure if you were coming back."

The figure just stares.

"As talkative as ever, you were my most difficult student."

"You didn't have much to teach me, did you?" the armored figure replies.

Dawn nods a bit, "Still, I am glad you brought her.  I know you hate coming back here."

Armored figure responds, "Yes.  I don't know why you need her.  She may be more trouble than she is worth."

Dawn admits, "Yes but, it is what has been foreseen.  We will need her in the end."

"But you are the only one who has seen this end," the armored figure challenges her words, "None of the other seers have.  What makes you certain you are right?"

Dawn, "If you did not believe me, you would have not brought her here.  You've seen it too."

"I don't count.  Nobody ever believes me. That's why I left your stinking order," the armored figure growled.

"No one may seem to believe me now, but the visions are too powerful to ignore.  We must be ready. I fear the end is near.  Things will hang in the balance and we will be the only ones who can save everything, including the order."

"But really, you need that little girl?," the armored figure asked, "I don't understand why. She is dangerous, Dawn."

"They said the same thing about you, firechild," Dawn calmly replied, "And yet I brought you in.  Are you uncomfortable... because she is too much like yourself?"

Armored figure just stares out into distance.

"Do you need anything else from me or is this favor done?  After this, I don't owe you anything else."

Dawn comes up hand on shoulder.  "There is just one more thing that I need you to do."

The Gossamer Tower continues to stand amidst the ether.

*

Without a doubt, I had so much fun in this game!  And yes, it was by my partner who has never run a game before in his entire life!  Woot! I got so excited for this game I ended up creating a logo, character sheet, and a teaser trailer!


 I'm sure he will have a more comprehensive blog post soon about this game world, including the systems we devised around it to represent its crunch and magic system. For now, though, I do hope you enjoyed reading the summary! And here's to more sessions soon.

Character Sheet by Tobie Abad