System Agnostic/Episode Four: The Brightling Moon

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Resident librarian Celeste comes across a new, different room from those previously, wherein she discovers a contraption that allows her to view the night sky from different points in time, including the distant past. Going back to prehistory she observes the two moons, one of which is obviously a glowing rock, the other less clearly defined—though it does appear solid within.

Moving the device forward in time, she watches a chunk of the moon fly off and hurtle to the planet below. At the place of impact she finds a note, perfectly visible in the moment yet unseen when turning the device forward or back. The note is penned by Sae, directed to her deity Rian. It reads “This isn’t what I signed up for, and I’m so sorry I was a part of it. I don’t know where to go from here, and if it wasn’t for that contract, I’m not even sure I would stay. I honestly don’t know what to do.”

Celeste turns her attention back to the space where the note appeared, finding another roll of film in its place. Eagerly grabbing it, she races back to her spot in the library, which is now overflowing with books.

The film begins with the group coming to a halt close to the decidedly less active volcano. Aranwe and Sae discuss the party’s actions from their previous encounter; Sae is still shell-shocked from the explicit violence (and her part in it) shown towards the oread that was just protecting itself, and Aranwe expresses reluctance at continuing with their task if their earlier mistakes are repeated. Sae regards Indomitus as someone incapable of anything but violence, while Aranwe feels the centaur missed the point of using one’s strength in self defense.

They both reflect on the veracity of Puud Een’s vision, to which the wizard begins to share what she knows of the Brightling moon: whereas other moons have natural waxing and waning cycles, the Brightling moon does not. It’s not even known if it moves in the sky, or remains fixed as the planet rotates. While unproven, many also believe it’s solely the Brightling moon providing the meteorites that fall—meteorites that are highly prized, and very valuable. Puud Een then suggests finding someone that may be in possession of one.

Aranwe realizes the act of removing the heart from the pillar of the volcano has sealed the fate of both the oread and the mountain it protected. Meanwhile, Puud Een continues playing with the obsidian heart, and comes to understand contact with it will provide her an element of resistance against fire.

After a fairly restless night, the group awakens to discover both Indomitus and his “magic” bucket gone, but not before he left a note with Ainok: “Went to take care of something, will find you when it’s done, will try to look into unfettered magic while gone.”

The remaining party members ponder their next move. Ainok mentions a former acquaintance who may be able to help: Azarin, a merchant lord of the above-ground settlement Tharingar, who used to brag about keeping a meteorite in his home. After some very confusing directions from an equally confusing Ainok, the group journeys to Tharingar.

They briefly meet the silent orc town guard and their far more chatty goblin friend, the latter of whom tells the party not to steal and warns them against wandering into the woods. Once inside, Ainok provides a bit more information about Azarin—primarily that the merchant lord was born under the eclipse of the two moons, a fact he frequently mentions, and is so confident in himself that he hires guards to look important more than as protection. The redheaded elf then excuses himself and retreats to the Dryad’s Kiss Inn.

The others make their way to Azarin’s place of business. Sae notices others in the town watching them as they travel, and suggests that Puud Een keep a closer eye than normal on the heart.

Puud Een and Sae enter the large building while Aranwe and Citizen Doctor Merhermbler wait outside. The wizard speaks to the very busy Eladrin secretary, who eventually spares a moment to ask why the pair is here. Puud Een says they have magic items to trade, but the secretary says Azarin is too busy and won’t be able to see them until the next eclipse. The rakshasa eventually manages to convince the secretary to contact Azarin, who allows the party an audience.

Aranwe joins the other two inside the building, leaving Citizen Merhermbler alone. The paladin doesn’t notice his departure, and becomes absorbed in making sand art outside.

Once in Azarin’s office, the trio is met by a formidable-seeming gnoll seated behind a large desk. He inquires what they want from him, to which Puud Een bluntly responds they want to trade him for his meteorite fragment. Azarin responds less than kindly, slamming and locking the doors to his office and leveling a glaive at the wizard’s neck, demanding she tell him what they know about it. Puud Een backtracks a bit, acknowledging its importance to Azarin, and Sae mentions his lending it to the group could end up saving the entire world, making him a hero.

The gnoll leaves the weapon to hover mid-air, and grudgingly admits the meteorite had been stolen and taken into the nearby woods. He offers them a deal: if they can retrieve his property, they can use it for their purposes, but once finished, they must return it to him. Puud Een insists once they retrieve the rock, it technically then belongs to them, and they’re not required to bring it to him. This again angers Azarin, but Sae and Aranwe agree to his terms—and to keep the wizard in check. Azarin clasps both their arms, branding them with a symbol, and tells them he’ll always know where they are. Sae looks a bit deeper at Azarin, and sees something much older than the gnoll before her staring back…something with frost dripping from its breath. Assuming the others see it too, she remains silent. With the deal struck, the group departs.

Citizen Merhermbler finishes drawing a unicorn in the sand, only then noticing she’s alone. Believing the others to be dead, she heads off in search of a new party.

Back in the library, Celeste has fallen asleep. Jerking awake, she notices the film reel has finished while she slept, and sees two ravens sitting on the desk, watching the blank screen. Rewinding the reel to where she’d nodded off, she resumes taking notes.

The others emerge from Azarin’s business in time to see Citizen Merhermbler, who was unsuccessful in finding a new party. She gets angry at Aranwe’s hawk Ronin for scratching its way through her sand drawing, and mourns the loss of her “perfect” artwork. This mourning is interrupted by the emergence of several tiny creatures that, quite literally, pop up out of the ground and sweep the paladin away.

The thoroughly confused party first battles, then follows the creatures—known only as gurblins—to the Dryad’s Kiss Inn. The gurblins whisk Citizen Merhermbler through the inn, past an equally confused innkeeper, down into the basement—closely followed by Puud Een and Sae. Aranwe chooses to stay out of it all, and books a room for the night.

The creatures toss Merhembler into the corner of the basement and stare silently at her, while the paladin appears to accept the current events as her fate. Sae repeatedly attempts to break through to her, trying to understand where Merhermbler’s thoughts are, while Puud Een attempts to figure out why the gurblins are here to begin with. The creatures continue repeating whatever they hear, occasionally throwing rocks at the Merhermbler’s head.

Over time the gurblins leave one by one, causing utter chaos in their wake—and one of them stabbing the goblin innkeeper in the rear (who is then healed by Sae.) The cleric eventually leaves for her own room, while Puud Een chooses to stay in the basement to keep an eye on the paladin.

The last remaining gurblin gives a bottle cork to Merhermbler, who promptly eats it. Puud Een comes to the understanding that the paladin was, essentially, put in “time out” by the creatures, before making her way up the stairs and she, too, books a room amidst the chaos. The paladin, determining the latest events to be a test from her god, stays in the corner of the basement until she falls asleep.

The party reconvenes in the morning and heads to the forest gate, where the half-orc guard lets them through. Upon entering, they’re immediately struck by the fact there’s snow all over the trees, but not the actual path. Aranwe searches for tracks, and finds elven footprints—prints that have left a layer of ice with every step. Strangely, the ice in the prints—and the forest itself—doesn’t seem to be thawing despite the temperature actually being quite warm. The ranger concludes the being who made the prints probably isn’t an elf.

They venture further into the woods, and Ainok also points out how unusually warm it is. Coming to a fork in the road, they lose the footprints. Sae prays to Rian for guidance, and water flows from the symbol on her armor—directly *between* the two paths. The stream of water also freezes mid-air and breaks away from the armor, as a meow catches the party’s attention. A cat with a ragged black coat that still somehow sparkles with frost, part of its tail gone, stares back at them as it hisses before disappearing. Puud Een and Aranwe both come to the conclusion a nymph must be controlling the forest.—and if she’s the reason for the winter wonderland, she’s probably angry and may not appreciate unwelcome visitors.

They discuss the best way to approach an angry nymph, and Puud Een suggests Aranwe give up the flower Vilya had gifted him; the ranger counters that a gift probably wouldn’t lure out a nature spirit. Sae asks the others if they think the state of the forest has anything to do with the frost that came from Azarin’s mouth, thinking they’d seen it too. They hadn’t, and her words surprise them. Aranwe suggests they could instead be dealing with an ice dragon rather than a gnoll, and Sae wonders if the nymph herself possibly took the meteorite from him. Puud Een tries to dispel the magic brand Azarin placed on Aranwe and Sae, to limited success.

The group follows the path Rian indicated until they reach a clearing, immediately noticing two things: a scintillating light partially hidden under a cage of branches—the stone they’re seeking—and a pale woman, covered in ice down to her talon-like fingernails, her once thriving barkskin garments now dead and blackened. She turns her equally cold gaze onto the party.

The reel finishes in the library, much to Celeste’s irritation. Without even pulling the old reel out of the projector she races through the library, trying to find the next film.