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Dunmari Frontier - Session 82

Pyravela Festivities: in which the party returns to Tollen for Pyravela

Featuring: Seeker, Delwath, Kenzo, Wellby
In Taelgar: Dec 25, 1748 DR to Dec 30, 1748 DR
On Earth: Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Tollen

The Dunmar Fellowship engages in Pyravela celebrations in Tollen, exchanges stories, and uncovers clues about a magical jade garden.

Session Info

Summary

  • The Dunmar Fellowship arrives in Tollen, receiving messages and splitting up for various tasks.
  • The party attends the Pyravela parade and later the Isinguer party, where they meet Hugo Dupontand discuss the acidic ooze in Isingue
  • At the university party, they encounter playwright Thomas Hawke, exchange stories, and learn of a potentially significant jade garden.
  • Finally, the party prepares for their own Pyravela feast and consults Umli about crafting.

Timeline

  • Dec 25, 1748 DR, late morning: Depart for Tollen.
  • Dec 26, 1748 DR: Travel towards Tollen
  • Dec 27, 1748 DR: Travel towards Tollen
  • Dec 28, 1748 DR: Arrive in Tollen late afternoon; split up for various errands
  • Dec 29, 1748 DR: First day of Pyravela; attend parade; Isinguese party on Scrollwright Street hosted by Guy Marchand; student party at the university
  • Dec 30, 1748 DR: Work on party preparations; speak with Umli

The Mirror of the Past

Notes

Narrative

We begin as the party has been traveling for three days, across the Western Green Sea and the interior forests of Vostok, and is approaching Tollen. During this time, Delwath has been scrying, and messages have come in.

Arriving in Tollen, the party receive letters from various contacts from a halfling messenger sent by Wendel Quickstep from The Windward Sail, and split up to handle errands. Kenzo speaks with Cecilia Lister, from whom he learns about the Dyer’s Guild Pyravela party, and also hears that Jane Chapman is a good person to speak to about Ursk. Kenzo also meets with Escobar at the university, who tells him that Thomas Hawke is the person to meet; he’ll be at the university party tomorrow. Wellby tells the story of the destruction of the scepter at various halfling inns, spreading the word and building its tale into the song of this year. Seeker works on mechanical devices, with mixed success, building a pinball machine that is quite fiddly to actually load balls into. And Delwath spreads the word about the party, with mixed success. Between Kenzo and Delwath, it is clear that the word is out, but many people are a bit surprised that an elf and a Dunmari are hosting a Pyravela party, given the holiday’s association with Mos Numena and The Wyrdling.

The next day, the party attends the Pyravela parade, full of floats depicting miracles of The Wyrdling, and led by a procession of the elders of the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Philosophers, said to be the oldest guild in the city, dating to before The Downfall of Hkar. Also watching the parade is a centaur, Aurelia; Delwath and Kenzo speak with her briefly, learning she has lived here for 20 years, turning away from the migratory habits of most of her people to really get to know one place.

After the parade, the party heads to Scrollwright Street, finding the Isinguese party hosted by Guy Marchand spilling out into the street. Everyone is wearing floral colors, feather masks, and dancing in a big circle around a fire, to the melodies of an accordion. A huge spread of food – long, snake-like pastries, tomato jam, cheese, and lots of mulled wine – is set up next to the band, and everyone seems to be having a great time. Guy eventually waves Sarah de Gray over, who is a young girl of maybe 16, and who seems to be having a great time at the party. Wellby begins talking about the acidic ooze infesting Isingue, which doesn’t go over so well in the party atmosphere, and then eventually asks about Ursk. Sarah doesn’t seem to know much, but introduces Wellby to Hugo Dupont, a professor at the university.

Hugo is an older man, not in the best shape, but still clearly enjoying the party and dancing as best he can. He is interested in Wellby’s news about the acidic ooze occupying Isingue, and says he will write to people he knows in the south, but also asks Wellby if he would visit the Refounded Alliance of Aurbez. He is a scholar of comparative divinity and practical theology, and while he doesn’t have much news of Ursk, he does report that there are curiously no records of the form the gods take in that land.

Later that day, the party leaves the Isinguer street party and makes their way along Scrollwright Street to Magus Street, the university district. It is much more of a carnival atmosphere: one of the main courtyards is lit up with magic, people are playing dice games and other games of chance, and the vibe is noisy and raucous. Drifting through the party, the party finds Thomas Hawke, elegantly dressed and handsome. He is speaking at a packed inner courtyard full of his fans, reciting a monologue from one of his plays. It is the story of a sailor, shipwrecking, bemoaning the poor choices in his life, praying to The Wyrdling for another chance to make things right. After the recitation is done, the party talks to Thomas, who is a playwright and a collector of stories. Although he has little to say about Ursk, he agrees to an exchange of stories. Wellby tells the story of Arryn the Wanderer and the mirror dimension, as Thomas records with a magic quill, changing Wellby’s name. In exchange, Thomas tells a story about magical jade, the inspiration for Luminastra’s Gift, the play his monologue was from, a story of Luminastra, a magic whale, and Geoffrey the Sailor, shipwrecked, rescued, and taken to a magical world below the ocean. This, Thomas says, was inspired by a real tale, a story from the oceans west of Chardon, where a garden of magical jade rows beneath the ocean, tended to by Merfolk, who would grow names in their garden. Obviously, the party reliezes that this may be related to a Jade Piece of Rai’s Hand.

The next morning, the party spends time in preparation for hosting a Pyravela feast on Vindristjarna, and then heads to The Fire and Stone to meet Umli in the afternoon. She is excited by Delwath’s shadow metal, which she says is called Inkaye (in-ka-yay) by her people. It is a metal that can absorb and repurpose extraplanar energy. She can shape it into something new, if desired, and also make weapons or armor with the Skaer Steel the party brought back. The session ends as the party leaves The Fire and Stone, to handle last minute preparations for their feast before heading to the Dyer’s Guild party.