The Fallen World

I told you so.

9 min read

TLDR

The party sails to Halwa — tripled in size, criminal clans, pirates, both churches. Haroun gets jumped twice and stonewalled at the church door. At Kraus’s Folly they find a servant girl who doesn’t know how she got there, a Celestial-runed warp circle, and a regenerating something in the dungeon that prays to the Maker. They grab the girl and run.

Key Developments

Notes

  • Speculation about the Old Empire having better navigation technology than we have in the current era
    • They likely didn’t need it for sea navigation
    • So land navigation?
    • How did they do it without easy view of the horizon on land?
  • Haroun remembered hearing about the Red STar from the interrogation notes
    • Red Star is a wandering star that appears irregularly
    • People view it as an ill omen
      • Sometimes associated with the deceiver
      • Sometimes called, The Star of the Deceiver
      • That’s not Canon though
      • The last time the Red Star manifested was five years ago, when a bunch of bad stuff happened, especially in the west (The Troubles)
      • It also appeared right before the start of the 5th crusade
  • Holy works of the Maker
    • One core, Book of the Maker (Book of Light)
    • Many, many books written by religious scholars since then
  • We need to track down a scholar who knows more about how to interpret the maps/diagrams we have
    • We suspect that the person we’re looking for, if they exist, they are in the west
    • So a trip to the west is likely in our future
  • Next step is likely a trip to Halwa
    • Haroun was actually assigned to Halwa by Uncle before we joined our group
    • Haroun doesn’t remember meeting any scholars with useful skills while in Halwa (he met a lot of westerners fleeing the troubles)
      • He does remember meeting a Morschatti scholar who had an idea for reusable bee hives
    • Haroun’s briefing on Halwa
      • Population has roughly tripled since direct trade between the east and west was cut off
      • Pirates, smuggling, etc
      • Wave of refugees since the troubles in the west
      • Five local clans that operate in the city, essentially criminal clans → Clans of Halwa
      • Both eastern and western churches
      • Rotating cast of wealthy merchants
      • Harbormaster is a significant figure as well
  • We leave AHU and return to Uryula with no issues
  • Haroun sends an obfuscated letter to the agent who replaced him in Halwa, letting him know to expect our arrival and that we will need to travel to the desert.
  • Quick trip down to the capital to check in with Uncle and Ismad before leaving, as well as check the situation
    • Gnaeus pens a letter to Silvia, letting her know that he will be traveling for some time
  • We find a ship sailing to Halwa that has space for us
    • Captain Iram
      • Willing to tolerate an elf, for extra money
    • Two private cabins
    • Gneaus spends a lot of time chatting with the crew and climbing the rigging, trying to learn how sailing works
      • Eventually the captain asks him to stay out of the crews way
    • First part of the trip passes without incident
    • Rough storm about 15 days in
      • Farraj, Ari and Titus are fine
      • Haroun and Gnaeus less so
        • Ari eventually manages to brew tonics that help
      • Haroun’s nausea returns
        • Ari eventually manages to resolve
    • Gnaeus eventually worms his way back into the crew’s good graces through some excellent diplomacy and Retroactive Preparation
    • We make good time, 19 days
      • Haroun notices an old ruin, Kraus’s folly, up on a bluff, as we sail in
        • Kraus, a Morschatti noble arrived with the goal of subjugating Halwa, started building a castle about 200 years ago
        • The locals waged a campaign of rebellion, eventually poisoning Kraus
        • One of the few times Halwa united, usually they are very fractious
        • There might have been a wisp of smoke above the folly
  • Halwa was originally founded as an Imperial Naval outpost, due to a species of trees that was tall and straight, good for shipbuilding
    • The old imperial docks are still here
    • The trees are all gone though
  • Haroun remembers hearing about a confrontation between a group of Owl Knights and Eagle Knights about four years ago
    • It was a big thing in Halwa
    • A whole block was burnt down
    • The owl Knights were captured
    • These captured Owl knights were not the ones that we have interrogation notes from
    • The owl knights were disbanded three years ago, for reference
    • There was another visit by Owl knights before this, maybe 5-10 years ago, that was much quieter
  • We meet Uncles Factor
    • Achmed
      • Genial
      • Middle aged
      • Bit of a gut
    • Uncle’s estate here is close to the docks
    • Halwa Updates
      • Fajan the Younger took over from his father, Fajan the Elder
        • Fajan the Younger has been a bit more violent, to establish himself
      • Father Ignatcio, priest of the western church, arrived recently
        • He apparently pissed off some people from the Uru clan
      • The harbormaster has taken three new apprentices
        • He is known to have gone through many apprentices
      • A herder claimed that some refugees were squatting at Kraus’s Folly
  • Achmed says he will need a few days to arrange a guide, so we decide to hike over to Kraus’s Folly and explore the next day. It’s less than half a day away
  • While waiting, Haroun goes to visit one of his old contacts, Sister Alacia
    • Haroun is attacked on the way
    • After an exchange of blows, both Haroun and the random thug who assaulted him back off
  • We tried again the next day, with the whole party
    • 9 thugs attacked us in the market
      • Ari stabbed one
      • Farraj electrocuted a second
      • Gnaeus teleported away
      • The rest ran
    • We arrive and Haroun goes in to meet the sister
      • Stopped by a guard, who goes and brings the Sister and the new father to the entrance
      • Father Ignacio basically turns him away
  • Achmed has identified a guide, but that guide isn’t in town so we have to wait
  • The next morning we head out to Kraus’s folly
    • It’s obviously unfinished construction
    • While the keep as a whole is in significant disrepair, a couple of doors facing into the inside courtyard are well repaired and more recent
    • Fireplace in the kitchen was used recently, as was some of the cookware
      • Ari thinks they’re cooking for no more than one or two people
    • We find another door on the second floor which is also in better repair
      • The room behind is furnished like a lord’s chambers, perhaps in Morschatti or Averoign style
      • There’s another room in the tower past that
        • Young girl is hiding in this room
          • Wearing a simple smock
          • Looks western
          • Ari establishes that she speakers Morschatti
          • Her name is Lindse
          • Servant of the lord here
          • She’s been here several months
          • The lords quarters were already here
          • She doesn’t know how she arrived??
          • She hasn’t seen her lord since she arrived
          • She’s seen some people from a distance out the windows
          • She seems scared and straight forward
          • From a small village, lord showed up and paid her family for her
          • They traveled a bit, then her head was covered for a bit and then she was here
          • She was treated well and has been keeping the lord’s rooms since she arrived
          • There’s a storage room with food she has been using
      • Three locked doors in the courtyard, which Ari picks
        • One of these locked rooms is storage
          • More food, even longer term food
          • Basic everyday supplies for a garrison
        • Door number two had a harder lock
          • There is a magic circle on the ground
            • Strong magic
            • Not evil or good
            • Warp Sphere
            • Logos magic
            • Runes are in Celestial
        • Door number three
          • Appears to be another store room
          • Small doorway hidden behind some supplies
            • Narrow stairway down
              • To a dungeon
              • Muttering behind dungeon door
                • Lang du terre?
                • Ari says it’s a prayer to the maker
              • Haroun detects magic/evil/good through the door
                • Moderate evil
                • They ‘think’ they believe in the Maker?
              • We open the door and find an emaciated creature with perhaps some wisps of blonde hair
                • She seems to want to die
                • We try to blast her, but she heals too quickly
                • Eventually she stops trying to die, moves quickly and starts beating doors down to get to us
                • We barely manage to run away
        • We search the lord’s room, grab Lindse and run like hell
          • We find some accouterments for a noble lady
            • Comb with some strands of black hair
            • Average to petite size
          • And for a nobleman as well
            • Quite tall

The Title

When the party found the imprisoned creature, opinions split: Haroun wanted to withdraw and report it to the Eastern Church so a more powerful force could deal with it; Gnaeus wanted to leave a polite note for the absent lord and attempt to establish contact. Both reluctantly agreed to smite the creature instead — and it went poorly. Hence Haroun not saying “I told you so,” but heavily implying it. (S4, Aaron’s clarification)

New People Met

Captain Iram · Achmed · Lindse · (mentioned: Sister Alacia, Father Ignacio, Fajan the Younger, the Harbormaster of Halwa, Haroun’s unnamed replacement agent)

Loose Threads

  • The creature in the Folly’s dungeon is loose behind them — did it get out? → The Lord of Kraus’s Folly
  • The original plans are both still on the table: report the creature to the Eastern Church (Haroun), and/or attempt contact with the absent lord (Gnaeus)
  • Who sent the thugs, and why does Father Ignacio want Haroun away from Sister Alasia? → The Halwa Ambushes
  • What is Lindse’s “lord,” and whose are the warp circle and the noble accouterments?
  • The desert guide Achmed is arranging (guide not yet in town)
  • A scholar who can interpret the maps/diagrams — probably in the west
  • The wisp of smoke above the Folly seen from the ship — someone was there before them?

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