41 For A Song
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09/03/2022-16/03/2022

After a long and arduous journey north towards the Canopy, Luthor leads the group through a pass and into the verdant valley of Ingria accompanied by the sound of a violin. In the valley below, they meet the kullas (cow herds) signing to their grazing cattle. They meet up with Swards Jenny, who tells them there is indeed a violin virtuoso here but he lives in a cabin in the woods, and wonders if they would like to attend tonight’s birthday celebration for one of the girls.

During the festivities, Percy makes a good friend in Mattias Freya who helps him exercise in the woods while Jack finds the musician strangely reluctant to help. The group learn of a series of disappearances (a cat and some cows) and Luthor suspects foul play. Once the jollity has subsided, Kat and Luthor decide there is no need to wait and venture off to the cave they found earlier to investigate.

The next morning, their concerned companions track them around the lake and discover them face down in the water. Speedy actions save them from drowning and fire a desire for revenge. The group approaches the cave but on entering some are completely beguiled by the music within, as are the group of girls that have followed them. Kat, Jack and Percy engage with the strange “Nooke” and struggle to overpower it without the assistance of their companions. With final desperate discharge of her weapon, she penetrates the monster’s magic and consigns it to the deep.

With everyone freed from the spell, a party is thrown to celebrate and Jons the violinist persuaded to help, though he is burdened with guilt. Hoping t0 break the influence of the Nooke on Lisbets and Jons they travel north once more, with Matthias in tow to keep Lisbets and Percy company.

At length they arrive in the settlement of the Makokamit people, whose technologies interest those of a scientific mind. They advise an alternative strategy to approach the Canopy, and in any case Jons is so filled with despair he blinds himself. A cloak of feathers and mask are presented to Kat, who must now decide if she will make first contact with the Avians.

42 In the Clouds
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03/2022-04/2022

The Avians greet Kat’s dancing with enthusiastic glee, and she wins many new admirers. A path is shown to the bridges that lead to the high city of Spiretop, where the group meets Mr. Beakin Bodminton. All are invited to the great Dawn Chorus party but in the meantime, there is Aero Aether to find. Initial investigations come up blank, though Percy notices one of the maids acting suspiciously. Flightless and downtrodden because of her broken arm, Katrilla agrees to do what she can to help.

As the sun begins to set, the guests enter the ballroom. Orange light fills the room, streaming in through the glass domed roof. Avians wearing their finest clothes mill around the central ball room as tuxedoed waiters serve wine and canapés. Maids and butlers attend the nobles, holding bags and offering a mirror or handkerchief when requested. A glittering chandelier hangs from the ceiling. A cool breeze drifts from a large balcony that looks out over the city and the mountain peaks below. An elaborate fountain fills the air with the tinkle of water, merging with the chatter of the guests.

At the party, the group is introduced to a Corvid named Prince Corey who seems very interested in the newcomers. Mayhem follows when a firework explodes and one of Beakin’s granddaughters loses her valuable necklace. She claims this will stop her singing in the Dawn Chorus, and she is devastated. Percy watches Katrilla flee away from Spiretop, while the remaining guests prepare for the main event.

The Chorus is completed without further incident, the group is invited to Prince Corey’s hut where he talks of the days’ events, the Aero Aether and makes a proposal. He offers several avenues of investigation, but the group decides to see the Elders first. In their floating hall they greet the group with suspicion, but offer a task – to assist the village of Newcombe in their efforts to question a young man from over the mountains, who has been raving about a cave full of gold...

43 Marlowe's Cave
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04/2022

After travelling further into the high mountains of the Canopy the small village of Newcombe is discovered, raised on stilts rather than in the high branches as the denizens are flightless. A man named Brannon is alone in a hut, claiming there’s gold in the hills. The villagers just want him gone, so the prospector leads the group to the cave opening, where there is a long dead fire and some evidence of burn bones, possibly human.

Inside, there are strange paintings and glyphs and walls daubed with blood. The guide starts raving at this point, and is escorted out before being tied to a tree. An exploration of the passages leads to a piecemeal attack by other deranged men who are easily dispatched. More butchery is discovered before a deep pit is revealed and its alien occupant attempts to drag those who get too close down into the depths. Fortunately, it can’t see very well and an opportunity to escape is eagerly grasped.

Before exiting the cave, a sealed tomb is uncovered, and some artifacts recovered. One is the stone head of a staff, which Ninevah discovers holds the spirit of a shamaness, Kapihi.

Outside, Brannon’s body is discovered nailed to a tree. Tracks lead away, and a scouting party is sent ahead. Luthor finds the Nandi Bear rather than the proper path, and a fight ensures. The creature is slain, and Luthor takes some trophies before they work their way back to the cave. On the second attempt the descent is made without incident, though the village of Newcombe is abandoned and the mists thick and threatening. They press on to Spiretop, which has also been abandoned, though the corvids remain.

Prince Corey arrives and barters for access to the Book. After rejecting his initial offer, there is agreement and he lends everyone (except Kat, who already has one) a feather cloak. This makes the journey back considerably quicker.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:47, Fri 03 Nov 2023.

44 Homeward Bound
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04/2022-05/2022

At Cahokia the newcomers are greeted with music and dance, but the Shamaness Kapihi is not impressed:

“You keepers of tales, have you forgotten the most important of all? That from the failing of the fourth sun another shall rise. From the cold shall shine forth light. Here you are in your green fields tending your corn and your turkeys and for what? Do you not know the empires that sit beneath your feet? Do you not yearn to raise your temples to the sky, to reign over a united empire instead of grubbing in this thin mountain soil? Here are the heroes who can set you on the path to dominion. It is a sign. Throw the idols of Teslan in the sea and turn your face to the sun: Ayida’we will rise!”

One of the elders, the wisewoman Thitis, steps forward, accepting of her fate. Kapihi takes control of her body. She then calls forth Jons, the fiddler from Lake Silyan, to accept his guilt and when he does she touches him with her staff and he crumbles to dust. Matthias and Lisbets who accompanied him here are understandably shocked. Jack takes the Shamaness aside and tells her some home truths. She is accepting of his counsel.

Refreshed if a little shaken, the group depart but are held up by an ambush site in a ravine. While the ladies wait in a protected spot, the rest of the group spring the trap and try to pick off the ambushers, with some success. After a difficult encounter with the mutated tribesfolk a few of them retreat and the group press on to the safer grounds of Ingria and the sweet singing of the kulla. There, Matthias’ father and some of the menfolk are waiting. Congratulations appear to be in order.

Percy shows he is as good as his word like a proper gent and marries Matthias, and there is much partying and rejoicing. The priestess witnesses the revelry with glee:

'Open the Gate!” she whispers in Ninevah’s ear. “Don’t you want to see your lover again? Tonight is the full moon, what could be more perfect?”

With Jack’s consent Danny agrees to provide a distraction for the priestess, but once the excitement has died down gates are opened to allow each of the group to return to Corjen; some directly, others by a more circuitous route.