Mediums and Messages

Eyes Unclouded - Session 2

Kawase Hasui. Nissaka on the Tokaido Road. 1942.

These are the records of a lightly modified game of Cairn 2e that I am playing with a new 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!

To Wealdstone

This week we rejoined the party on the edge of Orrim the Troll's patch of forest:

They were joined by:

The party decided to camp out for the night, then make the long, 12ish hour walk to Wealdstone. Both the night and the journey were uneventful except for a light rain that picked up around midday. The countryside turned from rolling grassland into increasingly defined plots of farmland, until they found themselves at the south gate of Wealdstone.

The town was home to around 5,000 souls and surrounded by a wooden palisade wall. It straddled the River Alfiann and perched at a low point between two seaside cliff faces. Arriving near the end of the day, the party were joined on the road by farmers returning from their labor and other folks who worked in the surrounding countryside.

At the gate they were stopped by guards in powder blue uniforms, cuirasses, and pink epaulettes. These were members of the Ducal Guard. Madrigal introduced the party as travelers, hear to help with the rapid encroachment of the woods. They also said they had found tradegoods belonging to a DB and wanted to return them to the proper authorities. The guards seemed disinterested in the latter and nonchalant about the former - they were here to "fix" the woods and would have the problem in hand any day now. Still, they told the party to report to Captain Rorin Gilnith, in the guard encampment on the north side of town.

The Alfiann Quarter

Stepping through the gates, the party found themselves on a broad thoroughfare that cut through the center of town. They consulted a map that their patron at the Verdurous Court had sent them. To their left was the brightly painted Thousand Leaves district. To their right was the more stately and residential Alfiann Quarter. Ahead, across the river they could see the top of a big stone dome that looked a bit like a radish if you chopped the greens off at an angle.

The party knew they were supposed to meet with a contact, one Calvero Brightflame, to guide them safely to the Verdurous Court. They knew he lived somewhere in the Alfiann Quarter. The party debated whether they should stay the night at an inn first, report to the Captain, or just check out the interesting seeming Thousand Leaves district, but eventually decided looking for Calvero should be their first priority.

Along the way, we discussed what the broader geopolitical situation in the region was. Did Sir Percius have any obligation to report to this Captain Gilnith? We decided that Wealdstone was part of a duchy, that in turn was part of a larger confederation. Sir Percius owes his allegiance to a Queen who rules a distinct, but potentially allied, state.

Turning down the first street into the Alfiann Quarter, the party immediately stumbled upon a young woman in a sporty robe (think athleisure) banging on the door of a nearby house. The house had a glass, domed roof on top of an otherwise normal wooden building. She was yelling at a "blasted ferret" to open the door for here.

The party decided to investigate and Sir Percius gallantly offered to help. The young lady (who eventually introduced herself as Airen), said that she was the apprentice to a wizard who had recently passed away. The wizard's familiar Whimwick had locked up while she was out.

Nanaki tried to use one of her arrows to pick the lock, but it broke jamming it further. Madrigal suggested climbing up via a rainspout around back, but in the meantime, Nanaki had moved on to dismantling the door's hinges. As they opened the door they heard a crackle of magical energy.

The Wizards Abode

Sir Percius bravely led the way inside the house, only for a large table on the far side of the entry room to come to life and come tumbling towards him. He drew his longsword and deftly hacked it in two before it could collide with him. The rest of the party plus Airen followed inside.

Flame tried calling out to Whimwick, and after a few moments, a curious ferret that looked like it was wearing eyeliner poked its head out from a door on the far side of the room. The party negotiated with the familiar and convinced it to disable further wards and magical traps in exchange for 3 gold pieces. He disappeared and could be heard scrambling about upstairs.

Around this time, someone asked Airen what her late teacher's name was. Calvero, she replied. The party's contact had died of natural causes (purportedly) just a few days prior to their arrival. The party discussed what to do next and decided to check the wizard's mail to see if they could find any further instructions or guidance.

The entry room had another exit - a small door with an ornate golden handle. Airen identified this as Calvero's study. Flame tried the handle, but stepped back when a small face appeared in the ivy-like designs on the knob and asked, gruffly, for a password. The party just tried to guess the password for a while, eventually trying "Whimwick" which turned out to be correct.

Inside, they found a small library and a writing desk full of the late wizard's correspondence. Calvero apparently was an expert on stars - both astronomy and astrology. The letters mentioned that the Verdurous Court had invited several adventurers to come help with matters in the Blue Wood, and suggested sending them through Eleutheria, a region none of the party (or Airen) were familiar with.

Nanaki found what was obviously a spellbook and began reading it. The others combed the books for any hints or references. They found the collection to be mostly books on astronomy and local folklore. In the latter they found references to Alfiann Yve (perhaps a distant relative of the doctor whose package they had recovered?) who apparently had married a spirit of the woods. Additionally they found an old map of the region featuring a manor house located not too far north of Wealdstone and the location of the Verdurous Court, some distance to the northeast, deep in the woods.

To Eleutheria?

The party discussed next steps and decided to see if Whimwick knew anything about Eleutheria or how to get to the Verdurous Court. Airen, helpfully, mentioned that if they were supposed to go "through" somewhere, they might check something out on the second floor. She led them up a flight of stairs in the kitchen at the back of the house and into a narrow hallway.

There, she opened a door into a strangely unfurnished room. The only thing inside was another door, this one looking like the exterior door they had come in through. It had another ornate golden handle as well as a lock knob set with a blue sapphire. Flame tried the door and found that it wasn't locked, but perhaps barred from the far side.

Following Whimwick, they went to the top floor, finding themselves in a glass domed observatory. Complete with a telescope on a rotary mount. The party realized that the glass dome seemed to show the night sky, but it was still well before dusk. Sir Percius tried the telescope and saw a distant, (but otherwise not remarkable) galaxy.

Here they found a hole in the wall where Whimwick made his nest (lair?). Madrigal got down low to peek in, seeing all kinds of treasures and coins in the surprisingly deep space.

The party tried to persuade Whimwick to help them. The ferret seemed uninterested, even when more coin was offered and very sad about Calvero's death. He perked up though when Flame flashed the strange coin with a cat's paw embossed on it that they had recovered from Donahue the curio merchant's cart. The party said he could hold onto it if he helped, but not keep it.

Whimwick led them back down to the room with the strange door and gestured the party in. Before they left though they decided to tie up some loose ends. They brought the crates in from their travois and finally decided to open the chest they had found. Inside were 10 trade bars stamped with the silhouette of a stove. Percius recognized these as the internal financial instruments of the Purple Stove Outfitters - a shipping company and bank that had sprung up over the last few years.

The party decided to carry these valuables and to lead Sir Horsius, their horse up the stairs and into the wizard's house. They figured they couldn't get him back down, but they probably wouldn't have to if the ferret was about to show them some way to magically transport themselves through the Blue Wood. Finally, they persuaded Airen to come along as well. She needed more training before she could take over Calvero's trade and where better to find it than the Verdurous Court?

GM Notes

Wealdstone is a big hub location for the region and the nexus of a lot of the disparate plot hooks. It looks a bit like I've railroaded the party, but really they just happened to turn immediately from the gate towards following up on their letter. Sometimes things just work out that way.

There's been a couple instances where I wish I had prepared the letter the players had received as a handout. I've basically just told them the highlights, but having the exact wording could have led to some intrigue here and given the players more to work with in social situations where presenting it might be helpful. Maybe for next session?

The party is accruing quite an array of followers - a horse, a ferret, an apprentice mage. I've never been great at keep track of hirelings and the like. We'll probably need to formalize how exactly all these secondary characters work at the table so that they don't get lost in the shuffle. I think setting some consistent ground rules will be helpful: "Unless the players persuade her otherwise, Airen is always going to do this..."

#Cairn #Eyes Unclouded #session reports