#AND have the new dnd stuff all planned out in a lot of capacities

[mareenavee]

Counter-question for you. What are some of the lines of exploration you wish you'd taken with your story (TES or otherwise) but realized sometime mid-way that there just won't be enough room? What becomes of ideas like that -- do they get repurposed for another side-story, do they get yeeted into original, or do they live rent-free in your head?

Hi Friend :D This is FANTASTIC. Okay so I usually have a ton of ideas living rent free in my head. I have to keep a physical notebook if I'm away from my desk to write stuff down or I'll forget the context. I tend to use whatever I can't fit into a current project in some capacity for dnd -- for either a character concept or as part of my ongoing campaign.

Specifically with my fic, there's a lot I really love about Skyrim, and the Elder Scrolls in general and I would love my LDB to be able to tackle all of the side quests but the thing would be a million words long. So what I've been doing is introducing characters for specific pieces of the main quest who can or have already taken on some of the side quests, opening up the doors for side-stories, short form or otherwise.

An example found in what's already up on AO3:

LDB is not the Harbinger of the Companions. Instead that goes to Aela. Easily, easily, I would and could write a short story from her point of view and have ideas and fragments in my planning docs about some of the things that led to this outcome. Slight hints at a few things to come, for instance:

Someone else has already helped the Thieves' Guild recover from Mercer Frey's nonsense. There is already a new guildmaster and it's all been decided before the LDB even interacts with them. I have fragments of that story too :D

In ten years or so after the events of my fic, another character will be handling the College of Winterhold Questline. LDB is not a student there, and it's my opinion another strong mage will be a better candidate for all that will unfold. I have part of this fic already bubbling away on the back burner.

Dawnguard will be handled by a set of two entirely unexpected characters. LDB and Teldryn will be involved in this questline, but not until the trouble has become much more obvious. It's a separate fic and lots of pieces have already been written as it ties in quite nicely with the latter half of my current project.

And last but certainly not least, I have a project that has been simmering since I started this fic featuring a certain Altmer individual whose motives seem not as aligned with the rest of his order as they may seem at first glance. I am not sure if I'll tackle this as a rotating pov story or just from this character's eyes. And it has a lot of work still to do in planning. I don't know if I can promise fast work on any of these -- but I know the storylines had to be trimmed out of the main fic :D They still deserve love. And this is what happens -- the ideas float around and start to take on this whole other life of their own until a series starts to build in my mind. I only hope I can do these ideas justice. (:

[addoration]

like. not quite a month ago i had made plans to end my life and was so close to doing it, too. but today i'm attening a life drawing class in the evening and im spending the day learning to code. yesterday i had some friends come over to my acnh island, and i video called another friend. on friday my stepdad took me to the driving range to learn a bit of golf. this coming weekend im meeting a friend who's also the dm for my dnd group.

its like...... life isnt fucking easy but you rlly are the one in control of giving urself enrichment. idk how to word this properly but doing stuff.... getting out the house..... engaging with friends and with strangers in whatever capacity..... it's literally life changing. am i cured of the mental illness? ofc not! i still feel like shit a lot of the time. but its certainly easier to handle, and i haven't felt suicidal since about a month ago, and i truly believe its all down to the fact that im just doing stuff now. and i dont mean sitting at home watching tv or playing a game for hours on end, though those are worthy activities too! but youve gotta like. get out of the house. do other things too. push yourself to try something new because it can be exciting and really worth it.

and like the other thing is that i have got to remember that things come in waves. a bad time is followed by a better time, hopefully even a great time!! but sometimes, instead of waiting for the bad time to pass by itself, you can help it along by trying a new activity etc. just a thought.

[dragqueenpentheus]

oh the vibes today?

[arsonforcharlie]

Hello! Love your blog! Your hair is also really cool! I was wondering if you had any tips for dm'ing. I'm currently getting back into dnd with some friends and I might be interested in dm'ing once we are wrapped up with our current campaign. Any tips and points of advice for someone who would be a first timer and utterly terrified at the thought?

thanks! i do have a pretty tolerable blog and pretty great hair

alright, so, like, i get that, dming is pretty intimidating! there’s a lot of moving parts and if you’ve never done anything like that, it’s a bit of an adjustment, especially if you’re only used to playing. when i got back into it, it was the first game i’d been involved with in any capacity in a few years, and also i decided to run pathfinder because a friend of mine had sent me his old books, so that was a Lot on the mechanics front.

first, some general tips-

figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and try to play to those, especially for your first adventure. example, i’m naturally a pretty casual person who is pretty good at helping to create a chill goofin’ around world, and when i wrote the first dungeon of the fuck squad i was sort of trying to go against that and make a Real Serious Dark Adventure. that didn’t really work out because me and my friends are all goofballs, so i switched gears to a goofin’ around world and now people are invested enough that i can pull out a bit of drama and they get sad in real life! :) hi sergei!

similarly, if you don’t have a system picked out, shop around a bit. dnd is dope if it works for you, but if you want to run something different in tone, perhaps there’s something else that works better for you.

if you’re intimidated by mechanics-

no shame in a cheat sheet or five. i’ve got a few that i always have up for common things that i always forget. they can’t see what you have up behind the screen, after all.

you do not need to know everything! before i started running the fuck squad, i read, like, the entire rulebook because i felt like i needed to have at least a slight understanding of everything. you should aim to have a basic grasp on what your PCs can do, and a decent understanding of the stuff you’re putting in, but you don’t need to know every class and every spell, or, like, memorize swim DCs when there’s no way they’re getting near water for the next five sessions, say.

if you need to pause to look something up, your friends will guaranteed understand. (if not they’re rude and don’t run games for them) they’re playing new characters so they also won’t know everything immediately, after all.

depending on the system, you can fudge a lot. you don’t need to know the exact DC for getting the Big Powerful Wizard to believe a ridiculous lie off the top of your head, but you can more or less guess that a 13 bluff check is not gonna cut it.

if the narrative side of things is getting you nervous-

it might be easier to start with a one-or-two-shot adventure and go from there instead of slamming into a full campaign. if you dig the characters or think there’s a good jumping off point from the first dungeon you run, you can always use that as a starting point for a campaign later.

you don’t need to have the biggest most original idea in the world. cool campaign settings and plots are cool, but i guarantee your players will also have fun starting out in a tavern and being told that there are monsters attacking the city and every able hand is requested to help, and it’s a lot more manageable than starting off in the plot equivalent of a rube goldberg device.

once you get a feel for how your players tend to work things out, it gets a lot easier to plan encounters- or, failing that, not plan them. that last wizard dungeon had several rooms where i just wrote what was in the room with a way i had imagined they would find their way out but with a lot of room to fuck around and try some off-the-wall shit because that’s the way my group works.

that said, even with off-the-wall-shit on the board, try and have a small list of Things That Should Happen Unless Shit Goes Buckwild. this is gonna look different depending on your game- if you’re doing a mystery have a list of information they need to get from some source or another, if you’re doing a thing where they’re trying to stop some evil force, have a list of things Evil Steve will do unless he’s stopped, sort of thing. there’s still a chance that things will go entirely off the rails, of course, but until one of your PCs releases a biohazard into the wizard’s tower by having a skeleton stand on a t-rex skeleton and break a greenhouse roof with a trowel, you’ll at least be slightly on track.

some final tips that aren’t in a category

do not be afraid to say no. (oh hey one i’m still working on.) like, being open to shenanigans is fine, but if your players keep saying “i am going to roll athletics to try and jump from here to the moon oh hey i rolled a nat20 now i did it” you can absolutely remind them that you tell them when to roll checks, and that you’re not going to get them to roll a check to do something impossible.

try and keep a close eye on people at the table’s boundaries and be prepared to intervene if they get crossed. this shouldn’t be that much of a problem if you’re all friends who play together, but just in case.

check in with your players! ask them if they’re having fun, what they like, what they don’t like, that sort of thing. you get validation and guaranteed they do not mind your few missteps that you agonize about days later. 

have fun! you’re playing too, and if you’re not having fun there’s a problem somewhere. at the end of the day, you’re playing a game with your friends.

also listen to our podcast it’s great

[bookenders]

Novel Prep Tag

Big thank to @stardustandnightsky for the tag! I did Heart to Heart before, so now I’ll do All Our Painted Colors. I’m super pumped about the world building for this story, I’m having so much fun with it.

More super cool stuff under the cut, long post is long.

General Guidelines: Answer the questions and then tag as many writers as you can or want to.

FIRST LOOK

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

(Still working on the full plot outline, but I do have some concept stuff to share.)

At 15, Teva is the oldest of the tribe’s children to not hear The Call, no matter how hard she tries; with the legend of the Wanderer - a man who was exiled for being in Teva’s position - looming over her, there is even more pressure on her to do the impossible. As the day of her sister’s wedding approaches, Teva must make a choice: wait for the tribe to kick her out, or take matters into her own hands and forge her own path.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

Just one for now. If I figure out how to expand it I’ll consider more in a series, a la Discworld.

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Earned sunburns, thick flaking body paint, cliff diving, wide open plains, campfire storytelling, local legends come to life, rain-soaked soil, tall clay pots. 

And, to quote directly from the story, the most aesthetic thing I’ve written in my life:

His home is full of the smells of seasons, divided into shades and hues. Jugs of dusky petals lay before shelves of vibrant stone that stole its color from the long sky. Patches of blooming grasses grow from the sun-soaked holes in the walls. Pots stacked as tall as my father hold what comes before the dyes and stains. Sarevo smells of sea and land and sky, all competing for his favor. They mix in brief moments of peace until he moves and I am struck by sea-salted summers and soft floral chills. In his home, the seasons exist as one.

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

Polynesian history and myth, the Codex Alera, super old oral storytelling traditions, and all sorts of ritual/spiritual practices. Basically, stories in general. This story is about stories. #meta

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

MAIN CHARACTER(S)

6. Who is your protagonist?

Teva! She’s 15 at the beginning of the story. She is a younger sister, a stubborn artist, and extremely dedicated to her people and their traditions, unafraid of outside danger, and eager to confront the uncomfortable. 

7. Who is their closest ally?

She has two: Sarevo, her teacher and mentor, and her sister, Keema. Keema and Teva are very close, like twin-close, and are crazy supportive of each other and their stupid ideas. Sarevo is uncommonly understanding among the people of their tribe, and was the second person to believe in Teva’s promise as a ritualist (Keema was the first, of course).

8. Who is their enemy?

Well... herself. And the stories that made her believe the way she does. Technically, the Elders, too. If you wanna get very technical.

9. What do they want more than anything?

She desperately wants to belong somewhere that will accept her for her whole self. Unfortunately, she believes she has to go a long way to find that somewhere. 

10. Why can’t they have it?

#society. But, really, she’s her own worst enemy. The one thing she can’t do is the one thing she thinks the tribe will abandon her for. It’s a personal/societal culture clash. Her people will exile her if she can’t connect, and she can’t connect because she’s afraid of exile. 

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Teva thinks she’s broken, and that no amount of help will get her to where she thinks she needs to be. And that she’s totally alone because no one understands her.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

Here’s a better version of the pic I have on the AOPC character page. Fun fact, this picture is what inspired me to make the world and write its story in the first place.

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

Teva thinks she’s broken, the worst person ever, and has some self-hatred issues at first. Her sister is getting married and won’t live with her or spend time with her anymore, her parents are always away on gathering trips, the elders don’t believe her, and after the events at the beginning of the story, no one in her tribe wants to even touch her. She thinks she’s a monster like the stories say she should be.

14. What is the external conflict?

Culture clash, enforcing certain stories over others, using stories to control people, where do you go when your world doesn’t want you, that whole protag vs. the world thing.

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?  

Hm... if people refuse to acknowledge her existence. It happens a few times in the story and every time, Teva breaks a little bit more and it hurts me. She’s a questioner, a learner, and very stubborn. Even though it looks like she’s fine, there comes a point when even the smilers forget how.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?  

What the rude Elder’s deal is and why she’s so distantly concerned with Teva’s plight. It’s significant.

17. Do you know how it ends?  

I know where it ends emotionally. That’s about it, though.

18. What is the theme?  

Make your own self worth. Stories have great capacity for change. Just because no one else sees the way you do, doesn’t mean you aren’t who you know you are. Don’t define yourself by another person’s dictionary. Art is a tool of the artist, not a slave.

19. What is a recurring symbol?  

Paint is a biggie. Colors, too. And the concept of rituals, and what they’re used for. And maybe birds. Teva’s culture is symbolism heavy.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

So I originally made this tribe/culture/area/world for my homebrew DnD game, wrote a story about it for class, and then my players moved out of the state. So I got a fair bit of world building done for it and decided to make it a book. 

Teva’s village is in an area called the Painted Cliffs. They’re named for the layers of sediment that make the cliff face look like those bottles of multi-colored sand. The buildings are laid out in a lollipop formation around a huge unlit bonfire, with one end opening to the cliffs and the other capped by the Elders’ Longhouse, where all the tribe’s elder leaders live. To the east/north is a mountain range where they send expeditions to collect flowers, herbs, and various other materials for painting and crafting. To the west is a great wide plain that is as vast as the sea to the south. Her people are pretty isolated from the rest of the world, but there are nomadic groups that wander the plains.

Paint and art is the pillar of her people’s culture. They paint themselves with important colors and patterns when they go to commune with the spirits, they paint their stories and history on the walls of their buildings, each member of the tribe places a hand print on the backs of a married couple during the wedding ceremony, and coming of age is marked by a young person painting their personal sigil (which is derived from what paint is left on your body after you cliff dive when you hear the Call) on the Namestone at the center of the village.

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?  

The opening is already written and the second clearest image I have. The clearest scene is the inciting incident, when Teva makes a choice and goes against everything she thought made her world. Keema’s wedding is already written and it’s pretty cool, if I do say so myself. 

22. What excited you about this story?  

Cliff diving culture! Body paint as a ritual ceremony! Stubborn character who questions a lot of things and makes writing conflict easier! Making up myths, legends, stories, traditions, rituals, etc. for a whole new civilization! Oh man, the myths and traditions are so cool you guys. I love making myths and legends.

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!  

Copying from the Heart to Heart post:

I get an idea that’s a little weird. Then I let it sit in my brain for like 3 months to make sure I’m interested, I can think of enough material to fill a story, and I feel like someone needs to read it. Then I think of a feeling I want my readers to have while reading this story or when they finish it. After that, I do concept work for a looooooong time. Like seriously, I have so many Scrivener documents full of rando rambling paragraphs of unused nonsense.

Characters come first, usually from a vague mental image, small action that rings true for a specific kind of person, or a line of dialogue I can only hear them say. Then I build around that, and adjust as the rest of the story/plot/other characters come together.

Then I think of the ending and the climactic scene. I work backwards. Ending usually comes first, then the Big Moment that gets there. This is when I playtest my characters. What choices do they make at this moment, how do those choices affect other characters’ choices, how do they affect the plot, and how do I get to the ending with maximum impact?

Beginnings are typically thought of in this part of the process, then I connect it and inevitably lose 80% of this work because I thought of a Thing that is Good and fits way better than my other stuff so I write from that point and finish the story in one big long writing session. As you can probably see, I am not a big planner. I like to think as I go, which is also how I edit.

Thank you for the tag! It was really cool to explore this story, I hadn’t given some of these things as much thought as I should have by now. 

Frodo Taggins: Since I’ve done one of these before, I want anyone who wants to do one of these to do it and tag me as having tagged you so I can see your beautiful work. 

[rebeckaomalleywriter]

25 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @wolvesofarcadia for this. Thank you so much!!!

1. Is there a story you’re holding off on writing  for some reason?

I have a trilogy in the works. It was actually what I planned on writing first, but I got passionate about my current WIP, and decided that the trilogy would be better for me once I’ve got more experience. So, it may happen next : )

2. What work of yours, if any, are you embarrassed about existing?

I don’t think I’m embarrassed about anything. Everything I’ve written, private or otherwise, has led me to where I am now, so I am so happy for every single word.

3. What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favorite scenes first? Something else?

Generally I write chronologically, but there are times where a scene pops into my head, and I must write it down. I keep One Note notebooks for different WIPs, and use that to write out random scenes and dialogue, both while i’m planning, and while I’m writing. Sometimes, a scene pops into my head, and that is what sparks the idea for the rest of the story.

4. Favorite character you’ve written?

Man, this is hard. I love Regina, because she is complex, and so different to me. Writing her really provokes me to consider the world differently. Maliel is a lot of fun, because he is so... Maliel. 

5. Character you were most surprised to end up writing?

I was actually very surprised by the turn Maliel took. He wasn’t initially planned, but I realised that Regina needed someone on side, who would support her through all the crap, and a small role became a bigger role for him. I ended up really loving him.

Outside of my current WIP, I’ve been writing short stories for a future DnD character, Helin, and it has been a blast to explore a bit more of my darker nature.

6. Something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

I’m honestly not sure about this. I am editing my current WIP, so at this point I can change anything as I wish. There might be a few small things in my Helin short stories that I ended up not being completely happy with, but I have already shared them with my best friend (who is playing Helin’s brother, Alfirin, in the future campaign).

7. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

I’m not embarrassed, but I can be cautious I suppose. I do tell anyone who asks me what I do that I’m a writer, but I can be guarded about going further, because I am so damn hard on myself. I am working on being more confident, especially now that I am editing, and that much closer to publication.

8. Favorite genre to write

Fantasy, though to be fair, that is the only genre I’ve really written in any serious capacity. I also love the idea of horror, and am fiddling around with a few ideas there.

9. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

I read. A lot. Every book I read fuels my imagination, my passion. I also listen to music, and try to find songs that relate to my works. Sometimes I lie awake for hours imagining music videos in my head while listening, and that helps get a different perspective on it all.

10. Write in silence or with background music? Alone or with others?

I listen to music. I have a playlist for my WIPs, filled with music that reminds me of the characters, settings, plot points, and so on. I put it on shuffle, though if I am working on a scene that I feel suits a piece of music in the list perfectly, I’ll click into that one while I’m writing. I think I do better alone, though I like going up to the cafe to write, if my agoraphobia will let me. Still with music, because the sounds of conversation can be distracting sometimes.

11. What aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

Hmmm... I suppose my dialogue has changed a lot. I used to write without contractions, so everyone sounded ridiculous and overly formal. I’ve worked on not doing that, and on creating voices for each of my characters, because no one speaks exactly the same as their conversation partner.

12. Your weaknesses as an author?

I am way too critical of myself. I question every little thing, from my writing, to my desire to be published. I am slowly working past this, and I am determined to finish and publish my current WIP so that I can start all over again ; P

13. Your strengths as an author?

I think my strength really lies in emotion. I am pretty good at conveying emotional moments and details. Maybe because it is my favourite part of writing, so that is conveyed through my writing. I am a very emotional person, very empathetic, so I put a lot of emphasis on it.

14. Do you make playlists for your work?

Yep! Like I said above, I have one for each WIP.

15. Why did you start writing?

Because there is nothing I love more than a good story. Ever since I was a child, I have loved to read and write. I used to write poetry primarily. I felt like I wanted to be able to express myself through words. That is truly how I am. 

16. Are there any characters who haunt you?

I’m not sure really. It depends on what you mean by haunt. There are characters that don’t really get a happy ending, and I think about that a lot. If we’re talking about ‘oh god, why isn’t this character working?’ I am still trying to work on my antagonist for a different WIP, the trilogy I mentioned.

17. If you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

I’m still new at this really, but I would tell her to just write it. There are always going to be reasons not to write. Be your own reason to write.

18. Were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? What were they?

I think most people probably are influenced by previous works, whether we’re conscious of it or not. I know that Terry Pratchett is a big inspiration, but I’m not sure if he affects my writing style.

19. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timelines, ect.?

I use OneNote. I have separate notebooks there for my WIPs, and tabs for different characters (their backstories, motivations, dreams, etc), the timeline, important events, places, and so on. It is a relatively easy way to keep everything organised and easy to find.

20. Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

Both really. Sometimes I can’t write for long periods of time, due to my health, so writing in small bursts is the only way to make any progress at all.

21. What do you think when you read over your older work?

"Use contractions in your dialogue woman!”

22. Are there subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

None that I’ve found so far. In regards to reading or watching other works, the only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable really is animal cruelty, so I’ll be avoiding that I think. Sometimes writing about difficult topics is confronting, but it can help open a dialogue if done well.

23. Any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

My experiences with depression have helped me with some aspects of my writing I think, especially in regards to particular characters. I think dealing with several mental and physical health issues has helped me to be a bit more patient in the process. I don’t have to match anyone else’s pace. I think I am a very empathetic, observant person due to all of my experiences, so I hope that translates into more realistic characters.

24. Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

Expert is probably a bit much, but I do a lot of random research. Where is the best place to stab someone to disable, but not kill them. How long could you push on with an arrow sticking out of your shoulder. Different mining processes. Stuff like that.

25. Copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of.

Regina took her time replying. “If you’re telling the truth, then it’s nice to see that criminals like you still exist.”

“I take exception to the term ‘criminal’,” Finn’s usual bravado had returned to his voice as they pressed on. “’Rogue’ is more my style.”

“Well, then you should stop claiming that we’re in the same line of work, because I’m no rogue. I’m a hunter. I’m a murderer. I’m a terrorist. I am a criminal.”

“You left something off the list,” Finn said.

“I think I covered it all, actually.”

“You’re all those things, sure. But to a lot of folk, you’re a hero.”

“And I take exception to that term. Don’t ever call me that.”

Finn stopped and turned to face Regina again. He looked as if he was trying to figure out what to say, before he shrugged, and turned back to the road. “Your call.”

I am going to tag @writingtofindmyself @brynwrites @winnieleighwrites @rychillacases

[les-bi-katamari]

SESSION 12

We pick up right there in the middle of the road. The carriage-driver has taken off - Brianne tells Ghorza her demon book was in it.

Ghorza turns to the soldiers, unarmed, and says, “I hope you can believe that we are not your enemies.” We start talking about the undead in the forest - the soldiers were entirely unaware of them, saying it sounded impossible since ranger captains regularly patrol the forest. We started asking them more about Theris, and tell them the real story, and ask if any of the rangers have gone missing. They suddenly start to remember many, many, many people who have vanished, that they hadn’t been thinking of, how could they not have realized -

Ghorza suddenly remembers the thing Megs had saw, that had stolen their memories of it. When she brings it up, Megs doesn’t really know much, but says that it’s very “out of sight, out of mind.”

While Ghorza tries to comfort them, Apphia and Brianne go to investigate the Purifier’s sword. Apphia managed to pick it up, with no adverse affects aside from getting a faint sense of the violence inherent in it.

Brianne examines the sword more. The Abyssal text is similar to what we’ve seen before; only the gold in the runes is different. Gold is, of course, a metal associated with purity - and Lyrae’s scales and leaves were also gold. It seems to be significantly associated with more powerful monsters. This transformation was also instantaneous, with no prolonged ritual necessary, and produced a much stronger creature. The ritual may have been prepared ahead of time?

Reminder note: one of Galaias’s epithets is ‘the golden-scaled’

Most of the people the soldiers have been talking about are outriders, rangers. Apphia recognizes a couple from her friendship with one of her dad’s guards? Brianne retrieves the fake warrant from the ground; Ghorza talks soldier talk with the remaining elves and invites them back to Vassarein, where their patron might help protect them.

Apphia asks Ghorza to carry the body of the fallen soldier over to her. Since the fire, everything smells like blood and fire and Ghorza… likes it. When she approaches the corpse, broken and bloody, torn by the Knight’s jaws… GOD it smells good. She’s hungry again. She carefully avoids drooling, sets the body down, and backs the hell off. Apphia lets the soldiers say their goodbyes and give last rites before the pyre.

We start discussing plans for getting to Vassarein. The soldiers have two horses; Cadence is a third. That accounts for six riders: we have the three elves, Ghorza, Apphia, Brianne, Megs, and Nemeth. Nemeth (and then Megs) offer to stay and wait for the next carriage.

“Megs says, ‘We’re basically best friends now!’ Nemeth stares at you like she’s on the Office.”

We also decide to leave the sword with Nemeth, since it doesn’t seem magicky any more. She’ll bring it and we’ll have it melted down.

[I, OOC, insist that Ghorza should ride with one of the elves, since that will leave Apphia and Brianne together on Cadence. Plus she’s like bonded with the soldiers and stuff.]

There’s a LONG discussion between Gwen and Megan about which of Brianne and Apphia should be in front, whether animal handling proficiency would be necessary to ‘steer’ Cadence (Lin: “CADENCE IS NOT ACTUALLY A HORSE!”), and land vehicle proficiency (Lin: “yes, she would count as a land vehicle”) before we finally set out.

We get back to Vassarein and track down the carriage pretty easily - it’s more Fantasy Amtrak, it’s a public service, core infrastructure of the Marches thing - and tip him very heavily as we retrieve our stuff. I give the elves some money for a meal, send ‘em to the Orcish Forge and tell them to tell her moms that Ghorza sent them. It’ll be an hour until the next carriage arrives.

While waiting for the tieflings, we read up on demons:

“Bloody-Handed Galaias was once summoned at the behest of a sadistic elven warlord who desired the subjugation of another elven city that had resisted his assaults up until then. Having long nursed his hatred and arcane power from the depths of the Abyss, she answered his call and led an army of elves and demons to reduce his enemies to ruin. Then the Purifying Light tortured the elf to death, trapped his soul, and forced him to watch her devour his family before devouring him as well. Drunk on the blood and terror of her summoner’s former subjects, she was later banished by an alliance of powerful heroes, and the tyrant’s nascent empire collapsed in her wake.”

…Ghorza’s resolve to not give in to Galaias is strengthened because WHAT THE FUCK.

We wonder if this might be the history of Isvanir and Tarjanir, the ruined elven city where the Oneiric Lens was found? It is NOT, according to Apphia; this is something else. That said, it IS kinda similar. “Two is a coincidence, more is a pattern.” Galaias ‘the Feybane’ seems to be targeting elves again, and places linked to the Fey like Azure Glade.

The fall of Tarjanir: it was besieged by the dwarves, and the desperate elves did… something. The dwarves vanished from their mountain halls shortly after - at least, they haven’t been heard from since, and they are presumed dead. The site of Tarjanir is abandoned now, said to be haunted by the ghosts of elves and dwarves, and people Do Not Go There. Tons of refugees from Tarjanir settled in Vassarein, living mostly in slums.

[Various ooc quotes: “Yeah, I’ve plotted Apphia’s family all the way back to the dragon and the dragon-fucker.” “Dragons are too powerful for gender” “True vers / Neutral bangin” “With Ceremony, I could only marry humanoids within 10 feet of me, so we’d be limited to a 25-person marriage.” “Unless… we create new geometries in defiance of the DnD rules…” “Okay so how many wives could we stack into a 10-foot cube?” “Well, a dome is a more stable structure.” “Okay, so for the stability of the WifeDome…” “You know, in the Astral Plane there’s no gravity, so we could make it a complete sphere, maximize the number of wives in the spell’s volume.”]

OKAY BACK TO THE BOOK “Galaias was a giant in life - a Fomorian. She is a patron to them, but is a minor power, despite her immense strength, because the Fomorians were cursed by the Archfey to lose their beauty, their magic, and their minds. There are few Fomorians remaining who have the mental capacity remaining to understand Galaias, let alone worship her. Thus she reaches out to the lesser races.”

The next carriage arrives after an hour with the Tieflings - Megs is riding on top, sprawled and clinging to a luggage rack. We hear laughter from inside - a older gentlewoman in fine clothes, middle merchant class, is blushing and saying “Oh, you’re TERRIBLE!” Nemeth says, “Oh, you have no idea yet how terrible I can be. I’ll see you again.” She flirts a lot more as the woman leaves. Ghorza gives Nemeth a high-five.

It becomes apparent that no one else remembered that The Orcish Forge is a bakery, so we just stash the sword there for now, and do not melt it down in the bread ovens.

Megs suggests that she could probably sneak in, like, you know, she could. Apphia says her plan is to Alter Self into a specific maid, get to Ivandra, and get her to bring Silenne with her. Megs says “okay, well, I was just saying I could. I don’t have to or anything. I’ll just go try to swipe some food-” “Did you literally just tell me you’re planning to go steal from my parents.” “NO, I’m not going to steal from them! Just like see if they would give-” “You said swipe!” “I just meant, like, they might give me some, cause we’re friends now!” It was beautiful. Lin plays Megs REALLY well.

We head off - the rest of us are going to go into the castle too, but try to hide in the conservatory to ambush not-Silenne. Apphia will get a head start.

[She heads up first - the servants’ entrance is unlocked. She enters, holding a cloth bundle that is actually her cloak. She heads up to Ivandra’s room - it appears to be just the two of them. Ivandra looks exhausted, her chambers disorganized. Apphia’s plan goes off without a hitch and she heads on down to meet us.]

The rest of us just kinda headed on up to the servant’s entrance and didn’t know what to do. We don’t know the way to the conservatory. We decide to just walk in and act like we’re supposed to be there. Ghorza absolutely talks chummily to the chefs and offers to help them out, and there’s no problem. I chat with them a bit. Apphia comes to fetch us and we go to hide in the Solarium, waiting for Ivandra to bring not-Silenne. It’s empty and beautiful. We all take up positions.

Megs tries to hide behind a flower arrangement and Ghorza herds her back to the wall. M: “I totally had it under control, and it was fine, and you just had to cramp my style-” G:“Yeah, I hate fun.” M: “You kinda do?” G: “Sorry. I’ll make it up to you, okay?” A: “Please keep quiet!”

As not-Silenne walks in and the doors shut, Apphia immediately charms her. We start investigating and discover Silenne is alive, locked in a cupboard in her room. We convince her Ivandra is on the cult’s side now to keep her talking, making allusions to killing off Aren.

Spy: “Well, he is busy - facing the Hordes of Ardazhan alone - if I was facing them down alone I’d be worried”

Uhhhh. We press for more, what the fuck?

Spy: “Whole lot of nasty characters went dormant after a failed conquest of this region. And now… they’re waking up. Dwarves, from the north. They’ve fallen to demons. You know. Aron’s gone up with soldiers to try and stem the tide. He’s hoping Isvanir will send help, but I think we both know it won’t be coming! Soon Cyric will have what he wants.”

G: “…and what does our God want, again?”

Spy: “Heh, you should ask this one [Ivandra]. It wasn’t too long ago you were playing for the other team.”

I: “No more! No more talk! We need to stop her, now!”

And it’s a fight, as a teal-green light builds up in Ivandra’s hands and she hurls a spell at the spy. “Silenne” flickers, and the illusion drops, revealing a gaunt woman with messy brown hair and a twisted scar across her cheek and jaw, dressed in studded leather armor. We drop her EXTREMELY fast, nonlethally. Ivandra says, “What are you doing?! Finish her!” but we talk her down. Ivandra rushes off to find the real Silenne, and we loot and tie up the spy.

She had some standard armor and shortsword, as well as thieves’ tools and a poisoner’s kit. We decide to keep the tools as a spare (Ghorza will carry them). Then there’s this exchange.

Ghorza: “Is Megs gonna take the poisoner’s kit?” Megs: “Uh, NO? Why would you think I would want that?” G: “Um, sorry, I just - you pick locks and stuff-” M: “That doesn’t mean I KILL PEOPLE! … I mean, I do, but like, it’s not one of my favorite pastimes or anything! I don’t go looking for new fancy ways of killing people! Arrow does just fine.” G: “Yeah. Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.” M: “Tell you what. Bake me something good, and we’ll call it even.” G: “Deal”. Megs raises her hand. Imp: “Ok, Ghorza goes in for a- wait was Megs going for a fist bump or a handshake? (Handshake.) Okay, Ghorza goes in for a fist bump, but then switches to-” “Megs also switches.” They sorta give up. (beat) Brianne: “So if noone else wants it, I’ll take the poisoner’s kit!”

We tie up the unconscious spy and mull over the new revelations.

End session.