TLDR
The university pays out at last. Master Bahadir cracks the notation in The Recovered Documents: they are equations that need inputs, partly in old dwarven symbols, apparently about angles on a sphere — and Ari, with the orrery and Master Najlad’s reading of its rings, gets three candidate lines on a map — where they cross another line are three possible locations for the Moon site — plus a second set of less static intersecting lines whose equations the party doesn’t have. Estelle returns to Farraj’s dreams — apologetic, awkward, and with a caveat: the orrery is a copy of the original, and may not work exactly the same (the party suspects the original is the Monastery of the Dawn’s long-lost orrery). Then south by sea to the Menenia estate by the small town of Castromar: four days of courtship with Silvia (her mother helped edit the letter; her cousin thinks Gnaeus a “dissipated playboy”; the Duke floats Opia instead), while Atilius finds a map with the mirror lake on it. Two weeks down the pilgrim’s road, the party reaches a ruined town the pilgrim’s journal said would be there — and someone has been digging it up, on the advice of a man called Gaius.
Key Developments
Al-Hakim University
- Master Bahadir’s result: the unfamiliar mathematics in The Recovered Documents are equations. Some of the symbols are old dwarven. The equations require inputs. He translated them into a more standard format, using the ideas of the noted mathematician al-Jabar (the note-taker’s gloss: algebra).
- Read through his work, they appear to involve angles — such as on a round, spherical shape. Like the world would be, if the world were round: general consensus is that the world is flat, and the GM said at the table that it may not be round.
- Ari thinks the orrery can fill in some of the blanks — i.e. supply the inputs.
- Master Baram, shown the copy of the pilgrim’s notes: he has heard the names of some of the stops, but doesn’t know where they are. He mentions that House Menenia is obsessed with this kind of stuff.
- After a few days with the orrery and the equations, Ari has three potential lines on a map — the party can’t tell which is the right one. The party is fairly sure the three points where those lines intersect another line are the three possible locations for the Moon site (Aaron). At that point nobody knew where the mirror lake was.
- Through Berdi, the party copied maps of southern Hazad and the old, abandoned Imperial areas to the south.
- Master Najlad saw the orrery. Haroun very successfully bluffed him about its origins. Najlad seemed intimidated by the orrery and how it was produced, and had ideas about what the rings are — specific stars, constellations, the moon, etc.
- Najlad’s notes led Ari to think there are intersecting lines crossing the main lines — “less static” — and the party appears to be missing the equations for those.
- Gnaeus wrote to Silvia: the party would be passing through, would love to meet, and would like access to the House Menenia archives.
Estelle, again (Uryula)
- Estelle returned to Farraj’s dreams — hill, tree, stars — her first appearance since S5.
- She opened with an apology for the lack of consent.
- Farraj mentioned he is from Hazad; she had guessed but wasn’t sure — she cannot see what he actually looks like, only what she imagines he might look like.
- She seemed awkwardly unsure what to talk about this time.
- The orrery she gave the party is a copy of the original and may not work exactly the same — she can’t accurately recreate it in the dream.
- The origin point for the equations is arbitrary, as far as she knows. She has significant mathematical knowledge.
- Farraj told the rest of the party. He forgot to ask about the missing intersecting-line equations (Aaron).
Castromar
- Chartered a ship from Uryula — fair winds — with a stop at Ankarata, the House Menenia capital; landed at Castromar, a small town outside the nearby House Menenia estate. (The notes call the estate itself Castromar; per Aaron, Castromar is the town.)
- In residence: Duke Mettius (fiftyish); his wife Festinia (late thirties, pregnant; they have no other children); his first brother Aulus with daughters Silvia and Opia; his second brother Drusus with his son Atilius (about 25).
- Day 1 — a ride with Silvia: she told Gnaeus her mother helped her edit her last letter (which answers the S7 question of who helped write it); her mother, Camillia Balventia, was away on business elsewhere (Aaron, as best he recalls). She admires her cousin Julius, the Eagle knight — who apparently views Gnaeus as a “dissipated playboy” (probably Silvia’s report; possibly another family member’s — Aaron). A pleasant outing; they got to know each other better. Silvia seems to view Gnaeus as old — but has been instructed to make sure this goes well.
- Day 2 — gifts exchanged: Silvia showed hers — wind control and flight (wobbly flight). Gnaeus showed his; it made her sick, and he rewound it — “perhaps not as reassuring as he wanted.” She was the target of the rewind, so she remembers it; nobody else present would remember seeing her sick (Aaron). Meanwhile Haroun and Farraj talked maps with Atilius, who is quite enthusiastic — and found a map with the mirror lake on it.
- Day 3 — ale tasting with Silvia; an uncomfortable conversation about elves after Silvia asked about Ari. The map work stalled; Atilius went off in a sulk.
- Day 4 — the Duke hinted that Opia might be a better match. She does seem to like Gnaeus more. Atilius came back to the problem.
The pilgrim’s road
- South, following the pilgrim’s path: a week within House Menenia lands; then the roads peter out and the country is sparsely populated; then a week in dense forest past the border.
- Past the border means the old Imperial lands, not The Badlands (Aaron).
- Ruins of a small city or large town — expected from the pilgrim’s journal. The account’s route is holding up on the ground.
- Signs of other people within the past few days, and a big recent excavation — weeks of work by multiple people — down to a cellar with multiple rooms. The party explored it and found nothing of particular note (Aaron).
- Locals ambushed the party. They had dug the pit. A man named Gaius tells them where to dig for money — sometimes right, sometimes wrong, so they say. Not trusting them to leave the party be, the party killed half; the rest fled.
New People Met
Mettius Vesilius Menenius (Duke of Charsanon) · Festinia Titiana (his wife) · Aulus Sabucius Menenius (Silvia’s father) · Opia (Silvia’s sister) · Drusus Sornatius (Julius’s father) · Atilius (cartographer, Julius’s brother) · the diggers at the ruins (unnamed)
Named but unmet: Gaius — the man who tells the diggers where to dig · al-Jabar (a noted mathematician; historical, no page)
Notes
(raw session bullets — click to expand)
- Plan is to head to Al-Hakim University and follow up with various researchers
- We stick around Uryula for a few days, resting
- Trip is uneventful
- The town outside the school is lively, as always
- We check in with Master Bahadir
- He made some progress
- They are equations
- Some of the symbols are old dwarven
- The equations require inputs
- He translated the equations into a more standard format (using the ideas of noted math scholar al Jabar = algebra)
- Looking at his work, they appear to involve angles?
- Such as on a round spherical shape (like the world - if we knew the world is round, which the GM says it may not be)
- Note, general consensus is that the world is flat
- Ari takes a look
- She thinks you can use the Orrery to fill in some of the blanks
- He made some progress
- Check in with Master Baram and show him the copy of the pilgrim’s notes to Mirror Lake
- He’s heard of the names of some of the stops made by the pilgrims, but doesn’t know where they are
- He mentions that House Menenia is obsessed with this kind of stuff
- We give Ari a few days to suss out the orrery and the new equations
- She has three different potential lines on a map of interest, but we can’t tell which is the right one.
- We’re going to need some maps, we know Menenia will have some, but we check here since we’re here
- We coordinate with Berdi to access some maps and make copies of the relevant areas (southern Hazad and the old, abandoned Imperial areas to the south)
- We show the orrery to Master Najled, Haroun very successfully bluffs him about its origins
- We get the impression that he’s intimidated by the orrery and how it was produced
- He has some ideas about what the different rings are (specific stars, constellations, the moon, etc)
- We take the notes from Master Najled to Ari
- This makes her think that there are intersecting lines with the main lines she found
- These intersecting lines are less static
- We appear to be missing the equations for those
- We should ask Estelle about this next time we have a chance
- Gnaeus pens a letter to Silvia, mentioning that we will be passing through and would love to meet, as well as access House Mennenia archives
- The Ducal estate is called Castromar
- We travel back to Uryula, no issues
- In Uryula, Farraj dreams of the hill and the tree and the stars again. Estelle again
- She starts with an apology for the lack of consent
- Farraj mentions he is from Hazad, Estelle says she guessed that but was not sure
- Apparently she cannot see what he actually looks like, only what she imagines he might look like
- She also seems to be awkwardly unsure what to talk about this time
- The orrery she gave us is a copy of the original and may not work exactly the same
- She can’t accurately recreate it in the dream
- She says the origin point for the equations is arbitrary as far as she knows
- She has significant mathematical knowledge
- Farraj tells the rest of the party about it
- After resting a few days in Uryula, we charter a ship to Castromar
- Fair winds the whole way and make good time
- We do make a stop in Ankarata, the House Mennenia Capital
- There’s a small town where we land in Castromar
- We are led to the estate and given rooms
- Stay at the estate
- Currently in residence
- Gnaeus and Silvia go for a horse ride the next day
- It turns out her mother edited her last letter
- She seems to have a lot of admiration for her Cousin Julius, the Eagle Knight
- He apparently views me as a “dissipated playboy”
- In general they have a pleasant outing and get to know each other better
- Silvia seems to view Gnaeus as old, but has been instructed to make sure this goes well
- On Day 2 - Silvia shows Gnaeus her gift, wind control and flight (wobbly flight)
- Gnaeus demonstrates his gift in return
It makes her nauseous (she yarfs!) ⇐ This never happened (Gnaeus re-winds time)- Gnaeus undoes causing Silvia to puke, which is perhaps not as reassuring as he wanted
- Haroun and Farraj talk to Attilius about maps, which he is quite enthusiastic about
- Attilius finds a map with the mirror lake on it
- Gnaeus demonstrates his gift in return
- Day 3 - Gnaeus and Silvia go for ale tasting
- Day 4 - Mettius hints to Gnaeus that possibly Opia might be a better match
- She does seem to like him more
- Attilius gets back to the problem
- We head on south, following the pilgrim’s path
- First week is easy, still within House Mennenia’s lands
- Then the roads peter out, sparsely populated
- After a week in the dense forests past the border we encounter the ruins of a small city or large town, which was expected from the pilgrim’s journal
- We see some signs of other people being here within the past few days
- We find an area that someone has been digging up, relatively recently. It’s a big affair, weeks of effort by multiple people
- They dug to a cellar, multiple rooms
- Some yokels try and ambush us
- They dug the pit
- There’s a guy, named Gaius, who tells them places to dig for money
- Sometimes he’s right, sometimes wrong
- So they say
- We don’t trust that they will let us be, so we thrash them (we kill half of them and the rest flee)
Addendum (Aaron, 2026-10-03 — not in the original notes)
- Farraj forgot to ask Estelle about the missing equations for the intersecting lines.
- The orrery we have is the 10–20-year-old one. We suspect it’s a reverse-engineered copy of a much older version — the one gifted to the Monastery of the Dawn long ago.
- We didn’t know where Mirror Lake was, but we’re fairly sure Ari’s lines denote possible points for the Moon site — or rather, the three spots where those lines intersect with another line are three possible locations.
- The map correlation at Castromar was resolved as much as it could be — enough to set out.
- We’re following the pilgrim’s path as best we can. The country past the border is the old Imperial lands, not the badlands.
- Silvia herself said her mother helped her edit the letter. Her mother wasn’t present — business elsewhere, if I remember correctly.
- Silvia was the target of the rewind, which is why she remembered. Nobody else present would have remembered seeing her puke.
- Ankarata is the capital city; Castromar is a small town outside the nearby House Menenia estate.
- We explored the diggers’ cellar and didn’t find anything of particular note.
- We sent Lindse and the other servants home on a ship, deeming it too dangerous to bring them with us. Titus and Ari, of course, came with us.
Loose Threads
- Which of the three intersection points is the Moon site? See The Sanctum Investigation.
- The missing equations for the intersecting, “less static” lines. The party meant to ask Estelle — and then she appeared, and Farraj forgot (Aaron). Next visit.
- The orrery is a copy — the party suspects of the Monastery of the Dawn’s jeweled orrery, missing since ~1639. Who reverse-engineered it 10–20 years ago, and from what? See The Monastery of the Dawn and the Orrery. And the copy “may not work exactly the same” — the party is computing sanctum locations on an admittedly imperfect instrument.
- What did Haroun tell Master Najlad? A very successful bluff is a cover story the party now has to remember.
- Old dwarven symbols in Owl/Phoenix mathematics. Whose tradition is this? Compare the orrery’s Clan Grum workmanship.
- Who has been digging at the ruined town, and who is Gaius? An Old Imperial name, a man who tells diggers where to find money, at a waypoint on the pilgrim’s road to a possible sanctum. And half the diggers got away.
- The courtship. Silvia is dutiful rather than keen and sees Gnaeus as old; the Duke is floating Opia, who likes him more; Silvia’s mother helped edit the letter and Julius is calling Gnaeus a playboy. The house wants the Ulpia match — whether it wants it with Silvia is now open.
- Festinia is pregnant. The Duke has no other children — so this pregnancy may matter to the Menenia succession (inferred from the Gazetteer’s male-preference primogeniture; nobody there said so).
- Did the party get the Menenia archives? Gnaeus asked in his letter; the notes record Atilius’s maps, not the archives.
- Reporting. The notes don’t record any report to Uncle’s Men about Bahadir’s result, Estelle’s visit, or the southern trip. Maybe there was one; if not, the party is now weeks beyond the border on its own initiative.
Assumptions & Open Readings
For Aaron — two minutes, and it saves a session's worth of rework
Everything below is something the notes did not say and the wiki now assumes. Notes taken during play are lossy, so filling gaps is expected — but each fill is listed here so a one-word correction lands before anything gets built on it. Strike what’s wrong; the rest hardens into fact.
Status: ⏳ open · ✅ confirmed/resolved · 🟡 partly · ⚠️ superseded
| # | Status | The assumption | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ✅ | Bahadir’s equations are the math from The Recovered Documents — the copy Ari made him in S3. → Confirmed (Aaron, 2026-10-03). | The Recovered Documents; Master Bahadir |
| 2 | ✅ | “The equations” Estelle says have an arbitrary origin point are the same equations. → Confirmed (Aaron). | Estelle; The Sanctum Investigation |
| 3 | ✅ | The notes don’t record Farraj asking Estelle for the missing intersecting-line equations. → Resolved (Aaron): he forgot. Still to ask. | Estelle; Home |
| 4 | ⚠️ | The Monastery of the Dawn and the Orrery; Estelle | |
| 5 | ✅ | Ari’s three lines are about the Moon site. → Confirmed, more precisely (Aaron): the party is fairly sure the three points where those lines intersect another line are three possible Moon-site locations. Nobody knew where the mirror lake was at the time. | The Mirror Lake; The Sanctum Investigation |
| 6 | ✅ | The map correlation was solved well enough to set out. → Confirmed: “resolved as much as it could be” (Aaron). | The Mirror Lake; Atilius |
| 7 | ✅ | The party followed the pilgrim’s described route. → Confirmed: “as best we can” (Aaron). | The Mirror Lake |
| 8 | ✅ | “Past the border” = into the old Imperial areas; Badlands question left open. → Resolved (Aaron): the old Imperial lands, not the Badlands. | The Mirror Lake; The Badlands |
| 9 | ✅ | Silvia herself told Gnaeus; her mother = Camillia; was Camillia present? → Resolved (Aaron): Silvia said her mother helped her edit it; her mother was not present — away on business, as best he recalls. | Silvia Menenia; Camillia Balventia |
| 10 | 🟡 | The “dissipated playboy” line came from Silvia. → Probably Silvia; possibly another family member (Aaron). Hedged on the pages. | Julius Menenius; Silvia Menenia |
| 11 | ✅ | Silvia remembers the rewound nausea. → Confirmed (Aaron): she was the target of the rewind, which is why she remembers; nobody else present would. | Silvia Menenia; Gnaeus Clodius Ulpius |
| 12 | ⚠️ | Their pages | |
| 13 | ⚠️ | Ankarata is the duchy’s capital, and Castromar is the ducal estate. → Partly wrong (Aaron): Ankarata is the capital city; Castromar is a small town outside the nearby House Menenia estate, not the estate itself. | Ankarata; Castromar |
| 14 | ✅ | In-game timing: roughly early autumn 1739. → Confirmed (Aaron). | Timeline |
| 15 | ✅ | The notes don’t record the party looking into the diggers’ cellar. → Resolved (Aaron): explored; nothing of particular note. | The Mirror Lake |
| 16 | ⏳ | The notes don’t record several of the planned university questions — Najlad on the mirror lake / “glory of the moon,” Baram on Moon Court sites and the Holy Orders of the Five Courts, a wider archive search with Master Beczat al-Azari. Marked “not recorded” on Home, not “not asked.” Any of them answered? | Home |
| 17 | ✅ | Titus and Lindse traveled with the party. → Half wrong (Aaron): Lindse and the other servants were sent home on a ship as too dangerous to bring; Titus and Ari came. | Lindse |
Reviewed with Aaron, 2026-10-03: fifteen of seventeen resolved; #10 stays hedged, #16 is still open.
Canonical-name picks this session (Gazetteer spelling wins): Atillius / Attilius → Atilius; Master Najled → Master Najlad (settled already); House Mennenia → Menenia (settled already). Session-note spellings kept above and as aliases.