Suihkulahde: Session Thirteen

I wasn't nearly as nervous about returning this story as I thought I would be. Over the last few months I've beening playing Hearts of Wulin and Against the Darkmaster, and just... decompressing. After two to three campaigns a week for almost two years I'd just... needed some time off. Playing other games, after drinking from the fountain of Burning Wheel so intensely, was a really eye-opening experience for me, and gave me a bit more perspective on what I wanted out of Burning Wheel in the first place.

And let's be honest: I was definitely trying to live up to The Undertow. That campaign was absolutely the type of journey I wanted to have in RPGs, and I wanted to do it again. That, of course, is stupid. I can't do it again, that's what makes it special! With a bit more perspective (and two different stories/systems) I was ready to go.

Last arc on...

Anneli was on dail way to save the world... and literally had dail sister, (a now pregnant) Nomi, dropped into dail lap. With a magic sword. Nomi had not only betrayed Anneli, but had been personally responsible for torturing and injuring Thungal and Fingar, Anneli's friends. They did not take to this kindly. Anneli and Nomi had to kill them both as The Light from Mikansia's sacrifice faded.

And then they were back in time, with Nomi on the ship. Thungal remembered the alternate future and cracked. They left Thungal on an Island with some folks who might have been able to help dai. They then got caught up with Leviathan, almost giving into his influence.

Anneli and Nomi then used Sydanelma to go further back in time, to try and stop Aloysius from killing Nomi's husband, The Crown Prince of the Argentum Empire, Constantine. They failed, in part because Anneli had left Aloysius, not knowing he would be kidnapped... and stabbed with a Dagger of Betrayal, making his killing of Constantine not of his own volition. Nomi's wrath was almost incalculable. 

They came back to the present to find that Fingar's brain had broken as well; Fingar stabbed Anneli, who met Mikansia as she was about to go through The Gate. Mikansia's mentor and friend, Akseli, gave a part of himself to Anneli so dai could return to the world. Anneli returned just as Nomi killed Fingar. 

Thungal came, utterly transformed by evil, with an army of twisted things at her back. Anneli and Nomi fought her in the pounding surf on the beach. Anneli was wounded in the head and went down like a rock. Nomi killed Thungal. And then stayed by dail sister's side, even though there was really nothing Nomi could for Anneli. 

Telos and Marian helped get Anneli stitched up. A few months into the process of Anneli healing they left to deal with the fact that the sun hadn't returned. They said if they didn't come back within four months they were in trouble.

It's been five months. Anneli is now fully healed.

So I knew I wanted to keep tying all three campaigns together, ever tighter and tighter. I want them to be three parts of the same story. Just the concept of doing a trilogy is so freaking cool that I couldn't avoid it. So I figured out a way to do it: Aloysius, Alpertti (the Crowned Prince of the elves from The Undertow), and Tara (the human lover and betrayer of Spar from Sabina's Castle, who should be dead) would show up, looking for Anneli and Nomi. I figured that would get quite a reaction out of Andy and Lena. 

Whaddaya know, I was right! Here's what they gave me, before the session.

Anneli

B1. Something has changed about Aloysius; I will cut to the truth of his heart.

B2. Nomi is changing; I will give dai the spark of a new ideal.

B3. My bond with Akseli is profoundly new; I will learn how to strengthen it.

I1. Akseli Instinct: Always rely on others.

I2. Always let Nomi draw steel first.

I3. Never abandon kin.

Traits: Call of the Island, Dreamer, Mortally Wounded in the Head, Shaky Hands, Bound to Akseli, Commanding Aura, Driven (Pilot), Aura of Determination

One of the many things I enjoy about Andy's RPing is how fully he buys into the concept he's set up. Anneli wants to be the hero. Dai thinks heroism is a necessity, a duty. Like, no matter what happens Anneli has this drive to do the right and idealistic thing. It's a lot of fun to watch the character get battered, but I still walk out impressed by how Andy has this core of Anneli down.

If I had to boil down what a GM's duty, his first job, was then I'd say it was to enjoy your players. Find the things you enjoy about them and encourage those things.

Nomi

B1. I trust Fish’s truthfulness; I will gladly help him ensure Tara isn’t a problem. 

B2. Whatever new idealistic game the prince is playing at here, I cannot trust mu to have accurate intel or read of the situation

B3. I can’t afford to grieve; there is more to be done.

I1. Always act towards my own goals first

I2. Always bend the truth when advantageous

I3. Never put my son in unnecessary danger

Traits: Call of the Sea, Spite, Deceptive, Compulsive Liar, Memory’s Influence, Guarded, Charismatic,   Pregnant, The Killer, Familial Loyalty

 See, this was the character I was really excited to watch this particular session. Nomi had been close associates with Prince Alpertti's father, before dai had started to get dai's life together. Nomi had a very particular opinion of Alpertti, as a goody-two-shoes who needed a serious dose of real life. That and seeing how Fish handled Tara (who he had killed awhile back) was another thing I really looked forward to.

Anneli had taken to walks on the beach and sitting contemplatively, slowly recovering dail strength. Fish was also taken this form of recreation, and the two took to sitting on the beach together, watching the dark waters, torch in hand. Nomi had kept herself busy with tasks to keep her mind busy and distracted/focused. Keeping food stocked, small tasks to prep the ship, and so forth. Nomi did not want to be sitting still.

Now, we'd already talked about the situation, but I didn't want to start in media res. Burning Wheel has never really been an in media res game to me. I've always wanted to savor it. For me, my primary inspiration for fantasy are the treks of Tolkien, the surrealistic sadness of Gaiman, the paradoxes of Wolfe. And those require set-up, not rushing... time. They require time. And it had been months. I wanted to just... sit... in it for a little while.

There was the sensation of approaching lowering airship- there was a familiar change in air pressure - nearby. Everyone independently goes to investigate. Aloysious and an incredibly pale redheaded woman, with an eyepatch come off this definitely elven airship. Anneli had spotted an elf flying the thing but couldn’t make it out. The ship was circling the ground in a textbook landing pattern, as in, learned from a book not the maneuvers of an experienced captain, with lots of wobbles. 

As soon as he saw the red-headed woman, Fish charged her, knife appearing out of nowhere.

Aloysious reaches down and picked him up, tossing him straight into the ocean.  Fish bobbed and sputtered, but couldn’t swim. Nomi had been stunned into silence for a moment, not expecting to see Aloysious again quite so soon after…everything. Anneli held dailself back to see what would happen, choosing to not get involved yet in a fight. Nomi angrily sputtered at Aloysious and went to pull Fish in out of the water.

This was a Steel test on Nomi's part, which dai failed pretty epically. Andy did not want to make a Steel roll, given that he did not want to intervene. He watched with great amusement as Lena had Nomi go out, yelling and cussing at Aloysius for throwing Fish so far.

After Nomi went to get Fish, Prince Alpertti exited the ship. Anneli tried to make the appropriate respectful greeting but it was a little awkward as Prince Alpertti was a dai now, and no longer a mu. There was talk about respect being based on grief and social hierarchy, and how complex it could be to work it out. Alpertti brushed it off: it wasn't important right now. Prince Alpertti asked if dai as talking to Anneli, and then asked where Nomi and Sydanelma was. Anneli pointed; the glimmer of Sydanelma could be seen from where Nomi unbuckled and left her, at the waters edge. Prince Alpertti asked what were they doing here. Anneli was flowery and gave a cryptic answer. 

Nomi stomped back up, cussing Aloysious out, and realized the crown prince was present. Nomi didn't respect him personally, but did attempt a socially appropriate acknowledgement.

Fish charged Tara again; this time Aloysious knocked him out cold. Nomi drew Sydanelma from the beach and demanded to know who Tara was and why they were there. Seeing Nomi brought back something painful for Alpertti. There was an exchange about how she was unworthy to carry that sword and if he hadn’t had it on good authority from someone dai trusted, that dai would have killed Nomi where she stood. Nomi cooly replied that dai felt the same way. Anneli tried to settle the building tensions. Everyone turned and snapped at dai.

We were definitely just jawing at this point. Honestly I'd just missed all these characters enough to where I really didn't want to do a lot of mechanical stuff. I could have and probably should have called for rolls a good deal sooner than I did, but Andy and Lena play off of each other so well I just enjoyed hearing the chatter. Eventually  I made Andy make a check... which he failed. And we got a good laugh out of it.

Alpertti said dai had been visited by Mikansia in a dream, and had been told to collect them. Alpertti was looking for Anneli, as one of dai's few remaining captains, and Nomi, the bearer Sydanelma, sword of legend, because dai needed to find hope for dail people. Alpertti talked about how the Ring was nearly destroyed in confrontation with the Nameless, how Mikansia saved them. But there was still immense collateral: the Ring of Tears, the home of the elves, was nearly destroyed. Many had died. Would Nomi and Anneli come, to help bring hope?

 Anneli focused on the fact that what they were doing here was more important, without actually explaining anything. Nomi said Alpertti was being such a typical arrogant noble; dai just assumed they’d drop their plans to come at his beck and call. Alpertti was angry: "If you wont answer me, and just want to sit around and fight, go fuck yourselves for all I care, I’ll go die holding my people if I must." Prince Alpertti stormed off to go start undocking the ship and fumbling with knots. "COMMONERS!

Nomi teased Alpertti about dail bad knots but wanted to know what happened to Mikansia. Alpertti told Nomi about Mikansia's death, and kinda half apologized for losing dail temper. Nomi also softened a touch and mentioned that dai hadn’t been part of the cult for some time now, and only wanted to save the Ring not see it ripped apart. Prince Alpertti knew, that’s the only reason he was even willing to talk to Nomi at all; dai had many things to do other than talk to those who would ignore dai.

Anneli talked with Aloysious and Tara, sorting out a little of their stories. Tara mentioned having a dagger put in her back by Fish, and that being why he hated her for turning him into a dragon. “It’s the dagger that binds us all together.” said Anneli. Tara quipped that it bound Anneli just as much as it did everyone else. Tara was strange, in how she spoke and moved. Not quite alive exactly…cracking sounds, head spinning, no teeth, odd vocal quality. Even Tara wasn't quite sure why she was there but she was certainly willing to believe in destiny, considering.

Before dai left, Alpertti tried to remind Anneli of the oath  dail had taken, as one of Alerpitti's captains. Alpertti released Anneli if dai was clearly unwilling to follow it. Anneli spoke to Nomi directly, about having an idea since dai was the only true captain here. Nomi caught the glint of what Anneli was doing and was only too happy to support Captain Anneli at Alpertti’s expense.

Anneli addressed Tara and Aloysius directly, demanding to be let aboard as the only true captain here. Tara sort of laughed and asked why, what did she plan to do. There was a bit of a steel-off, Anneli trying to maintain authoritative composure to let Tara rant herself out. Tara being pragmatic and wanting something known versus gambling on an unknown risk, since Anneli wasn’t offering anything descriptive. Anneli mentioned walking amongst the flows of time, and other beautiful descriptions of their experience, and how dai didn’t present what they were looking for because dai held the key, the key to the Island. If they really wanted to do this, then they needed to let dai aboard and give dai the ship because her path was the one that could do something. They should be helping Anneli and Nomi and not the other way around. To help sway the balance and knowing the sword carried some sense of awe to these people, Nomi held up Sydanelma and asked if they'd really rather bring back what they called the sword of legend just to serve as some figurehead, or if they wouldn’t really rather it be doing what it was meant to do, here, actively working.

So this whole thing was going and going and going. I was really enjoying RP'ing Alpertti, whose evolution since The Undertow had been something I'd found really interesting. Alpertti, who had once been such an idealist, had been changed by the constant death of dail people. This young monarch loomed large and pitiable in my mind. So Andy and I kinda got into it.... and I kept expecting him to make a call for a roll. I don't know why I did, but I was having fun, so off I went! Finally I made it clear that if Andy wanted a roll I was more than to do so, but I was having fun. Andy said he'd been hoping for a roll five minutes ago!

Abashed, I called for an Oratory roll. Lena threw in a helping die and and advantage die from Sydanelma. I put the obstacle at 8; Alpertti was not amused in the slightest, Tara didn't give a crap for flowery speeches, and Aloysius refused to get involved. Andy just barely passed.

Alpertti…sighed kind of sadly but agreed to give Anneli the ship to use if she would first return dai to Kohtae Mah, as his place was with his people. Anneli agreed. Aloysious told Nomi to kill him, his life was in her hands. Nomi…surprisingly couldn’t bring herself to do it. Aloysius said he remembered two time lines, how was this possible? Nomi and Anneli said they did as well. Aloysius said he owed his life to the both of them. Nomi but said he could start paying that debt by carrying the unconscious Fish up to the ship. He did. Nomi warned Tara to stay out of the way going forward; Tara chuckled and said the ship was a bit small for that.

Anneli walked the ship to begin learning the feel of handling the new vessel and its operations. This was Alpertti’s personal vessel, top of the line and super fancy. Anneli promised to bring it back but mentioned not having the best track record for keeping ships intact. There was an awkward call back look to Nomi for dai's prior sabotage of Anneli's first ship.

It was agreed and done. Anneli took command of the prince’s vessel Isän Rakkaus: Father's Love. They set off into the black sky.

So that was the first session after the break! Light on mechanics, but man it felt good to be back in this world. With this game. I can't wait to do the next session. I've really missed this game. Even though I'm in the middle of designing my own there is a special place in my heart for Burning Wheel, a spot that I doubt it will ever leave.

A sincere thanks to Lena for taking the notes for this session. I needed the help!

Suihkulahde: Session Twelve, Trait Vote the First

I tried something different this time: I didn't push for this arc as if it was the last, and spent most of the time building forward. And it was a very strange experience! I've always striven to make sure each arc was self-contained. Even if my sessions aren't, they all added up by end of the arc. But this focus led me to suggest skipping parts of the narrative in The Undertow that could have been really interesting.

So I may or may not have gone the other way.

Way the other way.

I think I may have overdone it. Slightly. But this wasn't a total wash. We had created a prologue of sorts for the rest of the game. There had been a lot of tension between Anneli and Nomi. This arc hadn't removed the animosity completely, but it did put Anneli and Nomi on the same side.  By putting the sisters in a situation that removed them from their friends (and preventing them from able to communicate the problem to said friends) Anneli and Nomi forged a completely unique bond. And that's where we cut it: a rekindling of sorts between Anneli and Nomi. It's not perfect, it's certainly not pretty, but they won't necessarily be at each other's throats in future arcs.

So before we start this trait vote here's the traits as they stand:

Anneli

Call of the Island, Righteous,  Mortally Wounded in the Head | Shaky Hands | Slightly Clumsy, Bound to Akseli, Commanding Aura, Driven (Pilot)

When Sabina's Castle ended, Anneli was in a very interesting place. She had just saved the Argentum Empire from Aloysius, but was unable to figure out how to address Nomi. The entirety of this arc was about Anneli's assumptions getting just shattered. Seeing that Nomi, who Anneli had abandoned in confusion, had not only changed, but was pregnant, with a husband that had loved her, would have been enough. 

But then she failed her sister and Nomi's husband, Constantine, was killed. And then the Akseli helped mend her broken body, changing Anneli's soul. That's a lot. A lot of a lot.

So when looking at the traits I know I'll be suggesting swapping out Righteous for Fearless, drop Slightly Clumsy, and add Tough.

Nomi

Educated, Call of the Sea, Spite, Deceptive, Compulsive Liar, Callous, Charismatic, Memory’s Influence, Bitter, Guarded

Ah, Nomi. From NPC to PC, there's been a lot of development for this character that Andy first envisioned as just simply "Anneli's sister". Nomi, having lost her husband Constantine, needed a new anchor. And I think she found it? Or at least is willing to look for it? Even that much is a lot. And I think she's willing to find a new anchor.

I'll be suggesting swapping out Compulsive Liar for Snarky, nixing Guarded, and adding Aggressive.

Lead Up to the Vote

The first thing we had to figure out was how long Anneli, who'd taken a mortal wound, was out for. Given that life-giving water from the center of the earth was available, I decided that would help Marian, Telos, and Decima heal Anneli, giving dai quite the boost. So I told Andy that all healing checks would pass, giving Anneli +3D to dail Health rolls. The water also meant that, no matter what happened, the recovery time was at the minimum. That's a bit of cheating, I know, but it's the life-giving water. Those 3 dice really helped! Andy passed like a champ. Five months of recovery! So that's what the downtime is.

Feedback

I next asked folks for feedback: things they liked, things they didn't like and wanted addressed, as well as things they wanted introduced. With the format explained, I led.

Nathan (GM)

I really liked the character work going on; no matter how wonky things got Andy and Lena stayed relentlessly focused on how things affected their characters. They also played a lot with subtext, describing in pretty great detail little facial shifts and other stuff that I just adored. All the little twitches that siblings are so sensitive to they played up. It was great.

Less great was my own lack of focus. I had tried a few things that fell apart as they hit the table and had created a bit of a mess. I had partially intended to not make an arc that was self-contained, but felt that I had gone too far. 

I personally wanted to see more of what made someone become a member of the immortal Council. What did it mean to be immortal? What had to be given up? And what if not all of them were good? What did that look like?

Andy

Andy agreed that the character work was really strong and enjoyed it. He and Lena had crafted some really good emotional scenes. The arc had retained a good emotional core. He also really liked going back to the Argentum Empire and seeing it again.

Andy's criticisms were... completely on point, and not what I expected them to be. Andy said that the plot about the stars vanishing had been more or less dropped, and that had been a primary piece of concern for Anneli. Andy also wanted to see more of the fallout from the time traveling that happened, specifically the Dahaka. What had happened there? He wanted more definition on it.

I honestly just kinda expected them to want to drop the arc entirely.

Andy also asked about somehow getting back to the Ring of Tears. He wanted to reconnect Anneli to that piece of the past.

Lena

Lena agreed about the emotional core. She had found that, as weird as the plot had become, its focus on character was amazingly consistent. She also agreed that she wanted to see more of the consequences of the time travel. What had they accomplished? What sorta backlash was coming? Lena then asked if we could find a way to not only get back to the Ring of Tears but to see more of the fallout of the Lone Keep cult. Nomi had been a member of that cult for a while, what would happen if dai ran into more members of that former cult? I honestly hadn't expected that.

The State of the Sky

Andy brought up a good point: the plot about the vanished sky had dropped out. Part of it was that introducing Nomi significantly affected the plot, changing the focus of the story. So now that we had resolved the myriad conflicts brought about by bringing the two sisters back together, what were we going to do about the sky?

I said that I didn't really know how to approach the problem and wanted to broach that with the folks at the table. Naturally speaking the cloud that surrounded the planet would be dying down around five months or so. Now, speaking on a meta level that wasn't a problem; we needed to determine what answer we wanted. I broke down the three states we could do: sky remains black, cloud goes away, or something strange happens. If the sky stayed black that would mean someone was probably keeping it that way, and that while that would change the plot it would keep Anneli's motivations intact from the start of the campaign.

We all opted for that: the sky would stay dark. And that meant someone was keeping it that way. Which kinda implies the meta-goal of the next arc. I think. 

The Trait Vote

We're finally here! The trait vote! Here's the actual thing. We listed out our suggested traits, and then started to have our conversation.

Anneli

Nathan

Drop Slightly Clumsy, change Righteous to Fearless, and add Tough as Nails

My logic was that Slightly Clumsy, a trait earned from a Mortal Wound from years ago, just didn't really apply anymore. Anneli was no longer the Righteous icon dai had become in the eyes of the Argentum people, but had become a fearless, badass warrior, whose body was toughening up in the face of constant adversity.

Lena

Drop Slightly Clumsy, Righteous to Cool-Headed, add Aura of Determination

So Lena was in complete agreement about nixing Slightly Clumsy and Righteous, but wanted to add Aura of Determination. Anneli had been the bedrock of the sisters, constantly helping Nomi regain dail composure at key times. So Lena wanted something to reflect Anneli's leadership, but at the time she didn't really know what particular trait she wanted.

Andy

Drop Slightly Clumsy, swap Righteous for Dreamer, add Aura of Determination

Turns out nobody thought Slightly Clumsy and Righteous should go. But Andy wanted to go for Dreamer, as that allowed Anneli to take dail experiences with Dream and seeing other things from other worlds and making that a part of dail plans. Lena and I adored that idea, and took to it at once. Lena, who was looking for a trait, loved that idea.

And so this is what we ended up with:

Drop Slightly Clumsy

Swap Righteous for Dreamer

Add Aura of Determination

Nomi

Nathan

Drop Guarded, Swap Compulsive Liar for Snarky, add Itching for a Fight (C-O Intimidation, start in Aggressive stance)

I saw Nomi as becoming more open and not as openly secretive, as well as being openly hostile to those who got in the way of Nomi and dail sister.

Andy

Drop Compulsive Liar, swap Bitter to Grief-Touched, add The Killer

Andy saw Nomi as opening up more, and emphasized dail's growth from Bitterness to someone who was may be willing to grieve. The Killer makes Nomi better at Fight! and Ranged and Cover. 

Lena

Drop Educated, swap Callous for Familial Loyalty, and add The Killer

Lena brought up that Educated didn't come up... at all. Not at all. Like, at all at all. Lena wanted to get rid of Callous because, at the end of the day, Nomi had started to care about something... dail family. The rest of the detritus hasn't gone away. And this was another situation where The Killer just became a unanimous vote. 

Drop Educated

Swap Callous for Familial Loyalty

Add The Killer

And there we have it! We're going to take a break, as Andy and I go onto do an eight session gameof Hearts of Wulin while we all digest everything that went down. In about a month I think I'll start writing up my thoughts on the arc and see what it is I want to throw at the campaign. The idea of going and ending the darkness that was unwittingly started by Mikansia but now continued by... something else. Maybe throw in some of the folks from the Lone Keep, get some time glitches and loops thrown in, all from bad members of the Council?

We'll see!

Suihkulahde: Session Ten

In  order to understand what's about to happen we need to talk about Akseli, the Elf Who Remembered. Akseli had been a captain of the Sword Singers, who were dedicated to keeping The Nameless away from the planet Heranyt.  Akseli was not the best warrior against the Nameless, but he was certainly more than competent. He was certainly well-known. He had fallen in love with Makirta, who had helped him become a better person and warrior, not to mention a better friend. All was well.

Until Makirta revealed herself to be a dark elf agent of The Lone Keep. Akseli's goodness had driven Makirta to repent of her ways. She asked for help in atoning for her crimes, especially against Akseli. Enraged, Akseli drove Makirta away. She pleaded for forgiveness and was refused. Shortly afterwards Akseli threw himself recklessly against several Nameless and "wiped", a process wherein all your memories are removed from the person. For most humans this is an instantly lethal process. For elves they may live, but they will never get their memories from before the attack.

Except for Akseli. He came back.

Akseli's best friend, Yngvar, would not give up on him. Over the course of several decades Yngvar helped Akseli get back almost all of his memories from before the Nameless attack. This included most of Akseli's memories of Makirta, who had been missing for decades. Akseli looked for her, but was unsuccessful. He was heartbroken.

Decades later Akseli met Mikansia, Makirta's daughter by her brother, the vile Krakeru, who had accidentally become a member of his Sword Singer unit. Miksansia abandoned the Sword Singers to try to kill Krakeru, which is when Akseli realized who she was. After Mikansia had killed Krakeru, Akseli abandoned the Sword Singers to help her discover who in the elven nations was helping Krakeru and The Lone Keep. This investigation led to Yngvar being killed by an elf called Zaina.

Akseli was devastated by the loss of Yngvar. He got the chance to meet Yngvar in Dream, the world between the living and the dead, where Yngvar asked Akseli to let go and grieve as he should. Akseli refused; he had lost too much. While in Dream Krakeru attacked Akseli, and forced his own memories into Akseli's mind, corrupting Akseli at his core. Akseli, however, worked to fully integrate the corruption, attempting to become a new person. Instead of succumbing to his new influence he resolved to integrate it. He asked for Mikansia's understanding in this unique transition.

She was unable to give it; Akseli died in her arms, his sorrow disintegrating him. Mikansia was able to face Akseli later and accepted his forgiveness, as well as help free Makirta, who had been used to keep The Lone Keep in the sky. Akseli had last been with Mikansia, helping her destroy Zaina and save Kotae Mah.

With the debacle of last session's mistake past us, we all got ready for a nice and simple beat down. Lena in particular has a taste for violence as a way of venting, which we always have a good laugh about. "Murder!" is usually the cry we start up. It's great.

So Fingar had welcomed The Nameless in, swearing revenge on Anneli. Nomi, no matter how mad dai was at Anneli, would never allow Fingar to kill dail sister. It was a very short conversation. Everyone thought they knew what they wanted.

This is what came back to me:

Anneli

B1. Indecision brings disaster; I will never hesitate again.

B2. I had a hand in Fingar's pain; I will relieve dai of it.

B3. Something strange has happened to Nomi's grief; I must uncover what.

I1. When in doubt, lie.

I2. Always command the hesitant.

I3. Always give Nomi a space to speak.

Traits: Call of the Island, Righteous, Mortally Wounded in the Head, Shaky Hands, Slightly Clumsy, Haunted, Commanding Aura,Driven (Pilot)

Nomi

B1. I can’t forget what Anneli did for Constantine, but Fingar will not be allowed to deal with dai. 

B2. There is no time for moral grandstanding: Fingar and the Music must be stopped quickly by any means before we lose the entire crew. 

B3. Grieving doesn’t get things done. 

I1. Always bend the truth for personal advantage

I2. Never worry about others’ personal feelings

I3. Always act towards my own goals first.

Traits: Educated, Call of the Sea, Spite, Deceptive, Compulsive Liar, Callous, Charismatic, Memory’s Influence, Bitter, Guarded

Fingar swore revenge. And then ran into the forest by the beach. Anneli and Nomi collapsed under the weight of The Music that began, only for the Prostitute to take over Anneli's body and begin to sing along with The Music. Nomi slapped Anneli as they both came out of their respective stupors. Remus, Brutus, and Aloisio lay screaming on the ground; The Music always hurt humans more than it did elves. Nomi said they needed to kill Fingar, immediately, as dai was clearly the source of The Music. Anneli disagreed; Fingar was in pain and needed help! Both agreed there wasn't time to argue and they'd figure it out when they got there. The Music changed, somehow, almost like Fingar had begun to manipulate it. Anneli and Nomi went in after Fingar.

I had called for a Steel test... which Andy failed by three heartbeats and Lena by one. Andy gave the idea of The Prostitute singing along with The Music. This concept caused Lena and I to shudder. We'd had a lot of experience with The Music in the story and the idea of anyone singing with it was a bit stomach-churning. I had Andy roll a Tracking roll to go after Fingar. He failed. Horribly.

Fingar's shadow, now on its own, ambushed Anneli. Anneli didn't see the shadow in time and was stabbed by a mysterious blade the shadow wielded. Anneli's eyes lost their color and dai went. Fingar jumped out at Nomi and tried to stab dai in the back; dail blade bounced off Nomi's armor. Fingar had poised the blade dail shadow had used against Anneli. It had been intended for Nomi, but Fingar wasn't disappointed that dai had to take on Nomi; this was better. Nomi swore revenge.

This was where I started to spring my trap. Andy and Lena didn't know it yet, but Fingar had been greatly empowered by The Nameless. I made a quick roll to poison Fingar's blade from an orc power I'd found. I had pumped up the skill test at six dice. I threw in Intimidation as dai was manipulating The Music. 

I rolled all successes. 

That was plus seven on power.

Dear God. 

So at that point it was up to Andy: was he going to pass that Tracking test, or not? Well, Andy wasn't trained. And Andy bombed the roll. Horribly. So Fingar's shadow got a good jump on Anneli. I just needed to scratch Anneli, even barely, to deal a B10 wound.

How on earth did I roll all successes again??????

That bumped it all the way up to a G8 wound. Andy and Lena balked, while I stared at my usually unlucky dice. This was supposed to be a simple "gang up on the sub-boss and barely scrape it out". 

Yes, sub-boss. Thungal's coming. The players were happy with that idea too. Anyway.

Andy immediately had an idea and asked if we could get to see Anneli on the other side. Lena and I had done quite a bit of stuff with the other side, so we were excited to see what he had cooked up.

Anneli came to on the banks of a river; the Prostitute was beside dai. She told Anneli she couldn't get on the boat. Just as Anneli was wondering what that meant a bored ferryman appeared, along with his boat. He asked them to hurry up, he had more passengers to collect. There was a coin in Anneli's hand; Anneli wasn't sure when it was never not there. Anneli gave it to the Prostitute, saying dai would find another way back to the land of living and dai wasn't in the mood to die anyway. The Prostitute thanked Anneli and finally introduced herself: Flavia. 

The boat left Anneli alone on the shore.

And that. Was. Awesome. Anneli letting Flavia go was quite unexpected and Lena and I really thought it was cool and said so. I said I had an idea, one how to get Anneli back to the land of the living. Lena was excited; she knew where I was going with this. 

Anneli was not alone for too long. Merry-making could be heard from afar. Up came that strange elf who'd dropped off Nomi in the first place, surrounded by elves, half-elves, and a human with some elven heritage. The elf asked if Anneli needed help, and where was Nomi? Anneli said Nomi was in trouble and that dai needed to get back.

Mikansia introduced herself and then Akseli, who she said could help Anneli. Anneli knew who Akseli was: the Elf who Remembered. A bit of a rockstar moment ensued. Akseli told Anneli that dai could be sent back to help Nomi, but that Anneli would be different. Anneli accepted. Akseli handed Anneli a white stone with a name on it in gold letters; that stone was part of Akseli and would help "glue" Anneli back together, allowing dai to continue on in dail body.

Andy was a bit... overwhelmed. He'd not read The Undertow, and didn't know about white stones, not to mention Akseli. Lena and I had to explain who Akseli was how everything worked. Andy was a bit reserved at first, but once he realized that this was a well-established fact of the world and not us trying to weasel him out of a Mortal Wound he accepted excitedly.

Anneli asked if Mikansia had any words for Nomi. With great warmth Mikansia said 'Tell Nomi dai has what it takes. And always has." Anneli came to, looking up into the dark trees of the island.  Dai heard the exchange between Fingar and Nomi and phased out, white stone cool in dail hand.

It was already a bit strange role-playing Mikansia. I'd offered to Lena the opportunity to play her old character, but Lena was way too pleased to see what I would do with Mikansia. No pressure, not at all! I knew I needed to make it good, particularly with Andy's request. So I said the only thing that came to mind. It wasn't until later that Lena let me know I'd nailed her old character completely. Way to go making me wait to find out, Lena!

When we got back I asked Andy what he wanted to do. Andy said he wanted to Lena to take point. If she didn't take out Fingar he would join in. I asked Lena if she had an idea, and she said she did. She wanted to try to use the Fugue of Discord to temporarily separate Fingar from dail bond with The Nameless. I'd honestly no idea, so I looked it up in the Codex, decided Obstacle 5 was more than high enough to at least try, and told her to roll.

Nomi sung the Fugue of Discord, a tune that normally made people fight and disagree with each other. Dai hoped it would separate Fingar from the Nameless, even if for a moment. Fingar's eyes widened in surprise; The Music stopped for a moment. Nomi knocked Fingar over and ran dail head through with Sydanelma.

Lena crushed the Obstacle 5. Dear God. She also crushed the roll against Fingar, stabbing dai with the grey-shaded sword.

Anneli finally got dail bearings and sat up. Nomi didn't expect that but didn't show it. Anneli told Nomi Mikansia's message, which affected Nomi deeply. Anneli tried to show the stone to Nomi, who couldn't see it, but had known about it from Mikansia.

Anneli mourned over Fingar's corpse. And realized that Nomi just... wasn't. Couldn't. Anneli pointed it out, that Nomi couldn't mourn. Nomi said that Fingar had it coming. Anneli didn't disagree; there was a comfort in this ending, that it couldn't be done again. They couldn't go back. Nomi remarked coldly that was such a neat and tidy bow.

I called for a Perception roll from Andy as he and Lena described their character's reactions to Fingar's death. I had been dropping Andy's belief about figuring out what had happened to Nomi for three sessions. That needed to stop. I needed to get it done.

They heard the humans screaming for help, so they rean to the beach. Aloisio was screaming over Brutus's corpse. Anneli managed to calm Aloisio down with song, as well as Remus. 

They all saw a blue glow on the ocean; an army of strange blue humanoids, walking on the water. Everyone somehow knew Thungal was at their head. 

I mean, it wasn't a "feeling" for the players: I told them.