Descendants
The party is grudgingly informed by Kalika that they will be taking part in the algae harvest from Hanu’s underside. The algae is also highly-desirable to insects and birds, so, as “driftwood”, the party is responsible for protecting the tribe members doing the harvesting, or “farmers”.
ENCOUNTER: The party is tied to the side of Hanu and, using a series of winches and swings, are able to move around their assigned area and protect the farmers. They manage to take down an incoming seagull fairly easily, but the giant, poisonous beetles they face are more formidable: two of their assigned farmers are killed.
Despite their losses, Kalika seems satisfied with their work. Tethys, the kinder guard we met previously, explains that the bioluminescent algae (aka NOVA) has magical properties. Nim casts Identify and discovers it’s a source of divination magic.
The next step for the Nova is a sort of refining process, but the steps are secret, and not for outsiders to know. Everyone is now preparing for the Harvest Festival, a celebration to be held in the village that evening.
During their work, the compass had to be closed, which means it reset. The party returns to Daruna’s now-empty Yurtle to open it again and get another reading in privacy. Once again, the compass points in the direction of the Guardian’s hut, but they can’t be sure if it’s in the hut on or on the Guardian herself. They agree to wait and try again during the celebration, when the Guardian will outside her hut and their reading will hopefully be clearer.
Brin, very curious about the secret Nova refining process, wants to follow the farmers and learn more. Toulouse joins him. Kor and Dango venture into the jungle towards the beach, hoping to discover the current state of their boat. Ikki, Grig, and Nim go for general walkabout, attempting to recon the Guardian’s hut.
In the jungle, Kor and Dango discover the tree they downed for a makeshift mast replacement is still where they left it. They continue back to the beach they originally came aground, but the landscape is vastly different; there is a sharp drop-off instead of a beach now, and their ship is gone. They decide to return to the village and seek out Rugaroo.
Brin and Toulouse travel the same direction as the farmers did, and eventually come across a stone structure alongside a river. Brin detects a lot of magic coming from the building. He attempts to peek in a window, but the view is obscured. Toulouse manages to see a bit, spotting a table with a large mortar and pestle, where the Nova is being ground into powder.
Eventually, they just decide to knock on the door. A suspicious woman named MERIDIAN answers, asking if GLYCERIA sent them. They try to get more information about the refining process from Meridian, but she brushes them off, insisting that it’s for the residents of the village only. Brin hints that he’s considering staying on Hanu, and attempts to read her mind. She thinks it’s perhaps a prank, and is obviously irritated at their interruption. The two leave, but Toulouse suggests coming back later using invisibility.
Nim, Grig, and Ikki move through the village, closer to the Guardian’s hut. Ikki flies overhead to get a better look at the layout of the village with the compass; it is clearly pointing at that hut. There are guards outside, one of whom is Tethys. Apparently the Guardian is “communing with Hanu”, but they get no solid answer as to whether she’s doing so inside the hut or not.
On their way back to the village, Brin and Toulouse hear someone muttering. They discover a very old woman in ratty clothes who questions them about their visit to the Nova refining facility. This is Glyceria, clearly a Nova addict, who is not allowed to work in the facility anymore.
The two guide her deeper into the jungle and she tells them her story: As a child, she failed the “Guardian test”, then later worked in the mill. When Brin asks about the test, she will only say that it’s only for the young girls of Hanu. She tells them the “little FERRYN girl” has only been Guardian for about 7-8 years; the previous Guardian died (“Hanu doesn’t trust them when they get too old.”). The refined Nova apparently allows the Guardians to speak to Hanu, and it’s stored in vast vaults beneath the mill.
They ask Glyceria how long Hanu will be walking, and she says only the Guardian would know that sort of thing. It could be a very long time. Brin and Toulouse leave the woman with vague promises that they will help her.
Brin and Toulouse meet up with Nim, Grig, and Ikki in the village. They wonder if the Nova is the end product or secondary to whatever is being done. Kor and Dango arrive and reveal that the boat is gone.
After securing lunch, Dango spots Rugaroo in a crowd. The approach the group to see a lot of villagers working together to repair vast fishing nets, and a very drunk Rugaroo seems to be “helping” in exchange for booze. When they try to tell him that the boat is gone, another man in the group reveals that it’s not gone, the villagers only moved it to their harbor area for safekeeping. Rugaroo seems pleased.
The party follows the path toward the harbor area and sees a lot of boat houses and repair facilities near the edge of Hanu’s shell. Inside one of the facilities, they discover their boat. It is in the process of being repaired by a young woman NADINE. Using detect thoughts, they can tell that she’s very bitter and hates her life on the island, and especially hates Harvest Day. Brin convinces her to talk with them, and she explains that the Guardian test is “unfair”. Hanu picks a winner, she says, but the village treats you like shit if you fail. It’s obvious this is personal for her. When Brin suggests that she leave the island, she explains that the shortest journey he’s ever taken was 2 days, but often much longer than that.
The party offers to take Nadine with them when they leave, but she will only accept if it’s part of a trade, so she owes us nothing. The party takes information as a trade, and Nadine tells them:
- Hanu is apparently ancient, predating even Tempris.
- The first Guardian was ZERA, the daughter of a lord. She saved Hanu from being eaten, and they escaped and protected each other after that. When she died, the responsibility passed to her descendant, another young girl.
- The warriors on the island are referred to as the Warriors of Zera.
- Zera wasn’t able to speak to Hanu any longer when she died (maybe she was killed so the Guardian position could be passed on?)
- The Guardian test involves taking Nova and sitting on Hanu’s head, which is outside the protection of the Unseen Circle, as he dives under the water; the Guardian is protected by Hanu during this process… until she isn’t.
- The oldest Guardian lived to be 35 years old, and she was considered a strange outlier.
- The necklace is handed down from Guardian to Guardian, but old images do not show it, meaning it’s more recent and probably more ceremonial than necessary.
Nadine took the test and failed, which was heartbreaking for her, as she’d been made to feel special prior to that. She explains that the same thing happened to Glyceria. At that point, her boss checks in, and the party agrees to talk to her later at the Harvest Festival.
~ end of session ~
random notes
- “Dagger, dagger, m’beetle.”
- “We can definitely kill this old lady.”