Session Forty Four: The Twelve Moons

General Summary

Introduction

  You walk through one of the Spire of Life's trees, seeing the light on the other side. There is a cold breeze coming through from that direction, with some stray snowflakes drifting along. And as you step out onto hard rock, noting that you came from of a strange-tangled looking tree. You notice that you are standing about 30 feet away from a sheer drop. Beyond the cliff, you see that you are above the cloud line. The dawn sun still low but blinding, peaking over the clouds in the horizon. The fresh air stings you with thousands of ice needles and you see the vapour of your breath. The ground is very lightly dusted with snow. And you smell... wet vegetation....   The next part of your journey has begun.  

High above the clouds

  The climate is cold. Snow petals can be seen and the frosty air stings the party's faces. The party discusses how to descend. It seems slippery so Griff offers to fly them down as an owl and asks Godric to help. Malak casts fly undetected and “walks” on the clouds, pretending that he cannot float down. The group roll their eyes at this Dad joke and slowly descend. Once below the cloud line, they find that they were no as high up as they had assumed. The frosty air has changed into a damp fog, but it’s still VERY cold. It seems to impact all but Emir, who wrapped a cultist robe around himself. They fly over a wooden bridge as the morning fog finally dissipates. And on the other side of the bridge, they do not touch down on solid ground but more log floors as they find themselves in a city built on stilts.  

Zarash’ak, the city on stilts

  As they land, they see people and hear children playing. The majority of the people they see seem Orcish but there are also other races present. The party realises that they are standing on a large artwork painted in an ochre red color on the ground. A large sickle moon with 12 smaller orbs surrounding it, each with their own symbols. Emir is pulled to two as Tristan is pulled to another. Griff’s tattoos start glowing in the circle and he is greeted by one of the smaller children who greets him with an unfamiliar sign. Griff explains to the group he learned a different greeting by his mentor, Marcus. Griff then demonstrates by making his arm mimic an elephant's trunk. Malak flies up a bit to see the whole properly. The symbols all seem familiar but he can’t place from where… except for one resembling the eye mark worn by the Elves.  

Buy some warm clothes

  The group are approached by an elderly Orc. Tristan greets him with the circle greeting the child did and the man tells him he is not a Gatekeeper. Malak apologizes for them. He asks them if they arrived like this and upon learning they are freshly in, he shows them his warm wares and tries to scheme the party. Griff wanders off to the children as Emir and Tristan bring the price down from 50 gold to only 12 gold. They both buy a more tailored set. The man explains the symbols that stand out to the group:

The Lantern: Closest moon, shines brightest

The Book

The Sentinel

He explains he is however not an expert and that the Gatekeepers know more.  

Lost balls, evil frog man and the Froghemoth

  A kid lost his ball and Griff offers to help. As a Bullywog named Mas-Mas appears and tries to take the kid along but Griff does not trust it and follows. As the group follows, Mas-Mas splits and they try and get the ball. Griff ties himself up and with a rope lowers himself some bit to use shape water to bring back up the ball. Sadly a Froghemoth seems to not want to give the ball back and offers to trade if for a child to eat. Griff throws it a Thranian fish after trying to bargain with it. It gobbles it up.  

Don’t mess with the Froghemoth

  The kid’s mother, Forni, shows up and tells Nilis off. when learning about the Bullywog, she explains that they are zealots who believe that Froghemoths are gods. She thanks the group for saving her son.   She takes the group to her tent where she serves them some stew and bread. Nilis explains he wants to be an adventurer but he has no real skills. Malak gifts him a bow and 3 arrows so he can practice and shows Forni how to use the balls to make the arrows non-lethal. Forni, noticing that Griff, Silmer and Malak are lacking proper clothes, fixes them up some of her wears. When asked about her spouse, she explains that Kai is not home at the moment and is out with House Tharashk doing who knows what.   When asked about the town, Forni explains that Zarash’ak is a harbor town and a ships come in for trade. There are only 3 houses with a station here. Orion, Sivis and the main office from House Tharashk. Most are running on skeleton crews now. The Lyranders can mostly be found in a bar called the Slimy Sod. She also explains the location of the Golden Dragon inn.   She explains that Froghemoth is very dangerous but “dumb as fuck”. Considering the reach of its tentacles, it never thinks to reach up to the deck of the city. The town prefer to keep him, however, as he scares away all the other monsters that live in the mash. All the town needs to do is ensure that he is fed so that he might not consider coming after anyone unprompted. Malak sends Myri out to play with Nilis and tells him to not lose her and that she can’t swim.  

Any rumors?

  The party asks if there are any rumors. Forni explains that odd refuges have arrived recently that seem to keep their hoods on. They are very tall and seem very heavy. Much heavier than even a Tortle or an Orc. Every morning one or two of them are seen at the Tharashk station. Exa does not seem pleased with this.   They ask if she has ever seen another Tortle and she mentions she has. But she finds it hard to tell them apart. Griff asks if she might know someone related to Muffin and Pancake from Flamekeep. And after jokingly mentioning names related to breakfast items she mentions she does know a Croissant who is a Gatekeeper.  

Settle down in the Golden Dragon inn

  After taking their leave from Forni and Nilis, the group arrive at the Golden Dragon inn. It’s a lot smaller than the one in Flamekeep and they all get one room they have to share amongst themselves. In their room, the group loops in Tristan and Griff on the Warforged encounters that have happened throughout the campaign and the link regarding Goliaths.   The group then decides, as it’s close to the evening, to check out the Gatekeepers’ “Secret Ritual”.  

This ritual is lit

  The group follows the direction given to the secret ritual site and find a well lit path along the way. They arrive at a stone circle of 12 15tf high stone slabs with the moon markings etched in facing the center. It’s surrounded with lanterns and there is a large bonfire in the middle of it. The group is welcomed with Lei’s and the lady seems to mark each of Griff’s moon tattoos. Griff asks why she is doing this and she tells him so that he can be seen in the dark.   Silmer stays at a distance and observes and goes to the snack table where he finds mostly moon themed cakes and fruit. There is dancing going on, not in a specific style, just rhythmic movement. Tristan inspects the stones and people keep walking up to Griff touching him with seemingly invisible paint.  

Barrakas

  Emir joins in the dance and loses himself to the movement. As he dances, people around him stare at him in awe. As he moves the crowd, lost in his own thoughts, a voice suddenly mentions “Barrakas” as he dances past. This breaks his concentration as he is trying to find where it came from. He is unsuccessful. He dances on but without the previous vigor.  

Dance of the Gatekeepers

  Music swells and then drops. The lanterns and fire go out. The Gatekeepers are all glowing blue from a bioluminescent paint on their bodies. They all join arms and start moving counter clockwise. They ensure that Griff joins.   As the dance starts the tattoos themselves start glowing too. They move clockwise around the embers of the fire, going faster and faster. It creastes a Milky Way-esque visual.   In the center an old man speaking in tongues. He talks about the 12 moons and that Children of Syberis will come together very soon. It will be the day of darkness. The Gatekeepers need to be ready for when that day comes. As they will bring light to the world once more He then claps his hands, the movement stops, the fire lights back on and the music swells up again.   Silmer is convinced this is a cult and gets himself a sandwich.   Malak tells a Gatekeeper he is looking for Croissant. The Gatekeeper explains that he is at House Tharashk with Exa but he should have been here.   The group also notice that Emir looks quite shaken. Tristan asks him what’s wrong and Emir tells him what happened while he was dancing. He then explains the significance of being referred to as Barrakas in relation to accepting a feather.  

Meeting with the elder

  Griff looks around him and recognizes the elder. He dances toward him and greets him with the elephant trunk greeting. The old man smiles and asks if he’s Marcus’ friend. Griff nods and mentions that he’s here to finish the tattoo. He asks about the day of darkness and mentions there are some people he would like him to meet.   Griff fetches everyone (and a snack) and introduces them to the Elder.   Griff explains what has happened in Dal Quor, the sicklemark, Sickle the beholder and The Eyes. And the stories related to the Commodore. The Elder recognises Sickle’s name and tells the party that he is trying to recruit in the Shadow Marches but the people here do not fall for his bullshit. He explains they are all better of without him here. Sickle believes they were impacted by the war. But that is not the case.   The Elder explains that they have a history of protecting Khorvaire. For generations they have protected it from attacks that are not of this plane. The party asks him if he knows Sickle’s intent but the Elder mentions he does not know. He has not seen him personally but has heard of the man with the rainbow eyes and the fact he is a Beholder. Griff mentions they do seem to teleport around. They were in Athandra two weeks ago. They asks about the Dreaming Dark and the connection between the planes. “Elder” explains that the Shadow will emerge on the darkest day when the moons align during the Shrouding Syzygy. On that day all the shadows from Dal Quor come into our realm.   Silmer asks if this has happened before. “Elder” explains that over 1000 years ago, Tira Miron destroyed it by sacrificing herself and her Couatl, creating the latest version of the Silver Flame. He mentions it’s not the first iteration of the Silver Flame, nor will it be the last. Griff mentions he has walked through a silver flame and held a relic. “Elder” asks him if his eyes look different. They seem the same still. Griff mentions Malak has been sent on a Quest by Tira to find pieces of her blade as she is still fighting the shadow in Dal Quor. Malak seems slightly annoyed by this being shared but confirms it. “Elder” mentions that they fought beside Tira and they will join the fight again. There is, however, a new movement making this time different. He explains that 12 different individuals who will wield the power of one of each of the moons.   Malak asks Emir to show the Elder the cultist robe and the symbol printed on it. He asks the Elder if this has anything to do with the Moons. The Elder is unsure but he explains that an eye symbol has been used to represent many things and has been repurposed over the ages. Emir asks him to explain the different moons and what they represent.   The Elder mentions the following and elabrates when prompted: • Zarantyr – The Storm • Olarune – Sentinal (the square): Protector. If you look at it just right, it looks like a shield. Those who swear to or have a desire to protect are said to have been born under it (whether or not they are born with the mark of the sentinel). Attributed to those with a strong sense of justice. • Therendor – The Healer • Eyre – The Anvil • Dravago – The Herder’s Moon • Nymm – The Crown (also known as King Nymm) • Lharvion – The Eye • Barrakas – The Lantern (the two squiggles): Brightest of Eberron’s moons. Often valued by hunters. The moon that everyone uses to navigate with. Often referred to as “The Guide” and linked to helping lost ones find their way, alongside the Traveler. • Rhaan– The Book (the rectangle): Often linked to scribes and those who like to tell stories. Also for musicians and poets. Anyone who “tells” a story and passes it on. The Book empowers creative thought. • Sypheros – The Shadow • Aryth – The Gateway • Vault – The Warding   Emir is very much unsettled by the information about Barrakas and Rhaan. He then flicks at his feathered braid and asks if the elder has ever heard of a group called The Feathers. He has not. But when asked if he had heard of the Dodecaphony, the elder seems to have heard of them but not sure what they are exactly. Emir explains that it’s a group of 12 bards that he belongs to and is where he was named Barrakas.   The Elder seems to join some dots in his head and then smiles at both Emir and Tristan. He explains that he could tell that they were linked to these symbols somehow but he was not sure why. Emir is linked to two… but you can’t be two.   Tristan mentions he feels pulled toward The Sentinel and the Elder asks him if he also joined. Tristan explains his sister joined them. The Elder mentions that more things seem to be happening besides the Dodecaphony, pointing out that Tira is trying to reforge her blade. Griff asks why he only has six moons tattooed. the Elder explains that it’s a rite of passage and mentions that he’s clearly grown since the last time they met. Griff tells him that a lot has happened since they last saw each other. He also helped the spire unite with the keeper of the heart.   The Elder mentions that he’s glad that the Bride of Balinor has returned. Griff asks “Elder” what it means and “Elder” explains that she’ll serve a higher purpose, but not while mortal. Griff mentions that the Keeper was concerned with what this would mean. But it seems to just be destiny. Griff asks what is required to finish the tattoo. “Elder” explains only Marcus can finish it and he can call him back. That would take a few days though. Griff mentions that he is not in a rush to leave and plans to leave the place better. Emir asks about Il-Yanna. The Elder explains that, if Il-Lashtavar is seen as the Shadow, the Il-Yanna is seen as the Light. If the Shadow is defeated, Il-Yanna will awaken instead. It’s unclear what that would mean for the world as they have never defeated the Shadow. They only suppressed it. The Elder believes that it can’t be suppressed again.   Griff asks if there is anything that the party can do for the Gatekeepers while they are in town. The Elder says that they’ll let the party know if the Gatekeepers need anything… like party favours for the next ritual or something (the group realise that this “secret” ritual happens every night). Tristan asks if Sickle could be nearby. The Elder explains that house Tharashk is not around, so neither is Sickle. Tristan asks if they can have a talk about a personal matter regarding dreams. “Elder” says that will be fine.   Silmer asks who would win in a fight. Sickle or the swamp monster. Could it be that Froghemoth is keeping Sickle at bay? The Elder says the Froghemoth would definitely win and world needs more Froghemoths. Silmer asks Griff about breeding options. Griff asks The Elder if he has seen a Tortle that looks like Silmer, as they are looking for his brother. “Elder” answers as “Ah, you’re Dhyn’s brother”….