Mediums and Messages

Eyes Unclouded - Session 16

These are the records of a lightly modified game of Cairn 2e that I am playing with an in-person group. I've expanded Eyes Unclouded, a now out of print collection of Studio Ghibli themed 5e adventures, into a more open-ended sandbox. You can find our last session here. I'll try to keep these spoiler free, so enjoy!

Reviewing the Facts

This session, the party was composed of:

We rejoin the party as they recap what they had learned from the hovering orb, the three pools, and the altered memories they contained (see previous session notes for details). With the sounds of battle growing ever more imminent, the party needed to make some decisions.

September called over Esmine and Ophiane, the Court wizards who had accompanied them here. The squirrel tried to talk Esmine into dipping into the pools, but she refused. She was, however, willing to help talk through the evidence they had gathered so far.

Esmine considered a few possible culprits:

She also noted that whoever did this must have something against Alfiann. And if one person made this, why would they leave such obvious inconsistencies? There must be multiple parties involved.

Pulling the Plug

While the others talked, Nanaki decided to climb down a vine into one of the memory pools. They discovered that the vines existed in both the real world and the memory world before signaling Flame to winch them out.

Wary of lingering too long, the party sprang into action. They tugged the vines out of their respective pools. As they did, Ambrose questioned the orb: it seemed to have no memory of what was in the pool but still remembered it was tasked with defending the forest against human intruders.

Finally, before anyone could interrupt, September yanked the vine connecting the orb to the great elk corpse. As they did, the orbs fell to the ground and dimmed. The party began to nervously discuss what to do with it but were interrupted as black ichor began seeping out from under the large tombstone at the center of the clearing.

Ambrose noticed that, underneath a fine coat of lichen, the tombstone was inscribed. Flame torched the stone clean, revealing the image of a human and an elk touching foreheads. A tree emerged from between their brows. Underneath, in an old version of the common tongue, was the text:

Here lies Eirnos, who chose a mortal heart.

Three Options

The tombstone began to sink into the growing pool of muck. Ophiane conjured a giant hand of blue energy and used it like a backhoe to scoop up the rapidly deteriorating elk corpse.

Making a quick decision, the party agreed that they would take the orb and the corpse to the Cat King. The question was how to get there:

  1. Walking to the Verdurous Court would take several days, and the party was leery about bringing the orb and remains close to the wizards' seat of power.
  2. The portal in Wealdstone was closer, but getting there would require passing through the battlefield to the south, then sneaking a giant elk corpse over the town walls.
  3. Finally, they recalled that the Ruins of Mal-Aqat were only a day to the west. They were confirmed to house another portal, but the party didn't know exactly how to access it from the outside.

Watching noxious ooze bubble out of the ground, the party decided time was of the essence. They would head to the ruins!

Running Away

September and Madrigal decided to sneak south to scout out the battlefield while the rest of the party rushed back to the trolls waiting at the edge of the clearing. Through the dead trees, they saw two huge wolves. One was wounded. A group of Ducal Guard in powder blue were in hot pursuit.

Madrigal went back to warn the others while September greeted the wolves. They introduced themselves as Hrova and Skarn. The druid tended the wounded wolf with Cure Wounds, buying at least a little goodwill. They warned September to leave. This was sacred ground and they would fight off any trespassers.

September glided away with as much speed as they could muster and caught up with the party just as they mounted the waiting trolls. Orlock and the other trolls lumbered away as Hrova and Skarn emerged into the clearing. It was difficult to make out their affect in the distance, but the wolves saw the party flee before turning to battle the oncoming humans once again.

As they made their way through the woods, Nanaki experimented with the orb and vines. They touched a vine to the mirror of perfect apology. The orb flickered as some kind of signal passed through the vine. Then, Ambrose opened his mouth. Nanaki put the vine in (to raucous laughter). Another signal.

GM Notes

This was a very tense session! There were a couple reasons why. First, the players had more or less done what investigation they could and needed to come to a decision. Second, I implemented an Underclock. Each time-consuming action ticked the countdown towards someone stumbling into the clearing.

The players did quality "goo-drinking" work, committing to the maybe reckless plan of unplugging the orb and stealing it without fully understanding how exactly it worked. As a fan of the characters, I am excited for whatever consequences this produces!

I felt like the multi-layered, pastiche setting really came into its own here. The players knew they wanted to get to a specific location on their map to talk with a character they had met before. They also knew the routes that would take them there and the drawbacks of each. I supplied some details on the ruins of Mal-Aqat, but I didn't nudge them in that direction at all. Very fun to see all the proper nouns coming together.

Between sessions, we've talked a little bit about Cairn's advancement system. So far, we haven't really touched it explicitly, though characters have gained equipment, spells, experiences, and the like. I want to put on the table that this was a big moment for characters and encourage the players to consider if there is any change this would have on them. I think lessons learned here (or perhaps from tinkering with the orb and vines) would be great catalysts for a growth path.

#Cairn #Eyes Unclouded #session reports