Here There Be Dragons: Let's Play Ryuutama (Anime is Real Edition)

:allears: :clap:

I messed up the map and drew a really awful rendition of the borders as they currently stand among the major players. Here it is:

I’ll probably put it in the 2nd post and reserve the first post for the world map (which I also keep changing as I/We add more factions)

Oh whoops, I never got around to posting last week’s journal. This was the session in which everybody fucked up, emotionally speaking.

Session 5 Journal

12th of Forta (Midnight), 1107
During the night, we were summoned by the Grand Inquisitor, Vryne. Deneb refused to wake up, as I later learned, due to a drugged cup of tea. Vyrne is the last obstacle between us and freeing the Nimhish, as she believes their rat-like behavior to be an act. She’d be willing to sign the paperwork, but she wants Deneb and/or her grandmother in return. Alas, as long as Deneb is asleep I am not making any deals with any scary gun-wielding ladies, even if she is very intimidating. Very, very intimidating. Thankfully, I was able to leave without anything horrible happening, so I’ve staved off some sort of horrible confrontation for at least one more day. Which means I can go pass out now, bye.


12th of Forta, 1107
Today went pretty well, despite my lack of sleep. During a brief hotspring episode, I got to meet Ryaan’s sisters, and they were nice. I agreed to be fake girlfriends with Beatrice, because much like Ryaan she’s been under constant pressure to marry. I guess a preference for adventuring runs through most of the family.
It didn’t take long for me to realize I was being watched at the party. Vryne, of course, took an interest, as did another party guest who I hadn’t met before. And given I still had Deneb, I decided to take a bit of a risky move. Koal seemed busy; during the party he ran up and requested the compass, then quickly returned to his table. Apparently his, uh, date, had some ups and downs that I’ll have to ask him about later.

Some of the guests, (though I couldn’t guess if they were invited before they invited themselves,) were a small group of fairies, headed by someone who may or may not be a/the Fairy King. In exchange for Deneb’s safety, he only wanted to know a bit about the Nimhish, (which, upon reflection, I’m surprised he hadn’t heard of. I distinctly remember a river that was in pretty close proximity to the encampment itself, so you’d think they would be a little familiar with it.) Either way though, he obliged, freeing me up a bit to enjoy the party.

The first competition was precisely my jam: the cooking competition! I started by making omelets, (special thanks to Beatrice for sneaking the good mushrooms and egg in. I’ve been dying to use those.) Second round I made burgers. Extremely good, mozzarella and bacon burgers. In the final round, though, I faced some difficult competition. This round we had to make ice cream, and my opponent had quite the fancy recipe prepared. Good as it was, though, my dad’s strategy of “simplistic but well made” was the way to go, and my mint chocolate ice cream (barely) won.

With Deneb safe and my competition won, I decided to speak with the very intimidating man glaring at me from the other side of the room. His name is Shrike, and he’s a Dragon like Caper and Pash. As a Black Dragon, he’s less interested in travels than the two of them. Speaking with Shrike was enlightening; he and Vyrne are still together, but it seems like he has an interest in other peoples’ stories, (read: ours,) as well. He also vagued about how stories help the dragons grow, and how there are many types of love Pash should be satisfied with. I’ll reflect on his words more when I’m not about three seconds away from faceplanting a pillow. That being said, we ended the conversation and, heroically, I managed to not wet myself.

It was about that point at which Deneb’s grandmother came in, Annabelle in tow. It seems the two had quite the argument, and Deneb’s Gran had a few words for Vryne as well. Beatrice kindly offered to kick the ass of anyone I needed, but we were interrupted by the second event: the dance competition. I was with Beatrice, Deneb had woken up and immediately found herself dancing with Annabelle, and both Ryaan and Koal were dancing with women I’m not familiar. Deneb won, but I think Ryaan and I should both get runner up awards for not making our partners cry directly afterwards.

Vyrne’s little argument had gotten heated by the time both Deneb and I had freed ourselves from the rest of the party. And by “heated,” I mean Deneb’s Gram was preparing to storm off when Vyrne pointed a gun at her. Reacting in the only way I could, I flopped straight into Vyrne just before she fired, and the bullet hit Wyserias instead. In response, Deneb and her Gram hexed Vyrne, so now she’s blind. I


checked on Wyserias, and oddly enough he didn’t seem to bleed. Personally I was so panicked I could have believed I just didn’t see it, but he wasn’t bothered by a bullet wound so something’s going on there. He only told us he wanted to speak with our group before he rushed off.

Before calling it a night, I asked Archie if there was anyone who would sign in Vyrne’s stead now that she’s blind. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t seem there is. He offered to forge a signature, but such an action would definitely come down on him, and as angry as I am with him for drugging Deneb’s tea last night, I wouldn’t feel comfortable throwing him under the bus in exchange for the Nimhish. Maybe now that Vyrne is under a hex we can all come to an agreement without anybody suffering. Any more than they have.

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Thanks for the Journal. Oh, by the way, we’re all playing tonight right? No changes? I’m ready.

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What won the swimsuit competition?

You might be surprised!

https://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/wolf-underwear.jpg

YEAH.

OH BY THE WAY:

  • Red
  • Black

0 voters

:iiam:

Edit: I’m always so amped up after game! Here are some of my ideas for next session.

Exactly what kind of story are you feeding your dragon?

Red Dragon:

  • Pendel, Arbor, and Decent get invaded by the ETE.
  • The Party gathers allies and goes to Warswept to fight off the invaders.
  • After repelling the invaders they must go save Pendel for it has fallen to the ETE.

Black Dragon:

  • In Warswept, Koal can use the Compass and the Dousing Rod to discover the source of their repeated tragedies. It’s all coming from the same place.
  • Grand Duchess Cecile gets assassinated, leaving her son, and Ryyan’s elder sister, to rule the Duchy and leaving Beatrice to be the heir. Beatrice abdicates to Ryyan.
  • Deneb’s Demon-Mom???

Ultimately I’ll make it work and I don’t want to bias the vote in any way but I think going from Black to Red will flow smoother. However, it really is up to you.

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Ryyan's Journal - Session 6

We are at war with Etru.
After everything that has happened just today, it still feels unreal to even write that sentence. I tried so hard to find a way to avoid this. I half expected that by giving Pash the story he wanted, we could leave and not have to face Wyserias. I have failed.
In trying to remove the other dragons that were interfering in Pash’s story, I inadvertently found a match for my sister Beatrice. She looked so happy with Alice, but seeing her walk hand in hand with Emerene away from the quiz show made me doubt my actions. I haven’t even asked Alice how she feels about this. After all, they’ve been together for months now.
What’s worse is that I offended Annabelle to the point of being challenged to a duel when I named Deneb the winner of my quiz show. I did not expect her to attack me like that, nor did I expect Deneb to step in harm’s way. I failed to consider Annabelle’s feelings during this whole affair.
My proposal I asked Deneb to When I was ready to
She said no. I should have listened to her when she said that she wanted someone who had really thought about marriage before proposing. I could have waited until well after this whole ordeal in Flamewrought. But I was so afraid of meeting Wyserias, because I felt that there could be only one outcome. Proposing to someone during a war just seems… wrong. I just wanted to solidify our bond together, to protect her by bringing her into my family. Looking back at how she received Annabelle’s affections, I should have realized that she had no interest in relationships like that. I am such a fool.
I doubt Pash would agree, but I no longer really put any faith in his advice.
The meeting with Wyserias proved to be worse than I expected. Not only had he been influenced by a red dragon, but he had been possessed by a demon for decades! And after exposing him for the monster that he is, he struck Deneb and Annabelle took him out the window. They both disappeared over the cliff, but not before he declared war on my country.
I wanted to end this fiasco with Pash without hurting anyone. But I have doomed countless lives to the oncoming war. This is my responsibility, and so I will see it to the end.
Whatever the cost that may be.

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Shrike it is. Time to get to work! Gotta make maps and such. This post is gonna be edited because I wanna explain his benedictions and artefact. Gimme a few hours.

OK, so we’re gonna have Shrike’s introduction in character next session and then I’ll update the Ryuujin in the OP. Until then here’s what I’m thinking for Shrike. The pertinent information, as it were:

Shrike’s Artefact:

Shrike’s Benedictions:


Shrike has a final Benediction since I get 4 as a level 4 Ryuujin and I’m making my own called: Briar of the Liar’s Tongue which forces characters (NPCs and PCs) to tell the truth if Shrike beats their condition.

Let me know if you think this is too powerful!

My Promise to You:

  1. I’ll not kill anyone arbitrarily.
  2. I’m not a jerk.
  3. Shrike rulz ok?
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Ryyan would question number three, but he also has met Pash, soooooo

Proud to be the second-least likely character to murder someone. Unless fantasy PETA is a thing, in which case: dang.

Pash's Journal (Session 6 Summary)

13th of Forta, 1107: Koal had a long talk with Oh-Kae, Ryyan had a long talk with his mom, Deneb had a long talk with Annabelle. All these soulful conversations were great for my story even with all the conflicting stories at play. We resolved to get rid of as many dragons as we could.

14th of Forta, 1107: Well we did it. We managed to get rid of my cousin Tear and Sprig, the green dragon, by rigging the dating show and sneaking the adventuring party out respectively. Then they got swimsuits, which was lovely. The red dragon with Wyserias, his name is Cruor. Wyserias is not one of his travelers and Cruor answered my inquiries only with the insistence that he see my story so he might know what I’ll be feeding the seasonal dragon.

When it was Ryyan’s turn at the dating game he picked Deneb to win. I’m just as surprised as you! It’s great for my story. Baron Sedwick started hunting for armies and a new opportunistic red dragon made her appearance. During the swimsuit competition, Koal won with his magnificent wolf shorts.

At the end of the day, Ryyan proposed to Deneb, but Deneb said no. What drama! What heartbreak! This story is amazing!

Alice confronted Grand Inquisitor Vryn, with Ryyan’s assistance, and Vryn wanted only her wife saved and interaction with her daughter (who is Deneb.) The negotiations went poorly, leading to Vryn swearing to kill the Nimhish.

Grand Duchess Cecile largely ended the festivities but Ryyan called his meeting with Wyserias and brought Vryn and the Sunset Sentinels (Nesrin Suremar, her wife, and their guard Est) to the meeting. There he put Wyserias on trial and it was discovered he was possessed by a demon before he struck Deneb with dark energy and was charged by Annabelle. Both he and Annabelle fell out the window and into the sea.

I don’t know where to take my story here. A lot of drama and outside players factored in. But I feel my travelers have grown closer than ever. This will be a fine story the the seasonal dragon.

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It’s Wednesday and for the second week in a row only one person did a journal. I’m all ready for tonight, in which I guess we’re gonna do a murder mystery or something. Shrike likes murder mysteries, right?

Session 6 Journal (13th and 14th of Forta)

13th of Forta, 1107
Okay, so today didn’t go well. At all. It started in the dead of night, and I was already dead tired. But we realized we didn’t have swimsuits, so Deneb and I went to town to buy some for all of us. Of course, Deneb did most of the work because everything looked like a pillow to me. We also helped some girl, (I missed her name. I think it was Lufia? Lucina? Luna…r Dragon Song? I was tired, I’m blameless,) and her party escape the treacherous confines of this event. They left to continue their adventure, and Pash had one fewer dragon to concern himself with.

Purchasing swimsuits went well, and upon our return Deneb did a sweet jump up to the balcony. We met the Red Dragon as well, and he revealed that he wasn’t with Wyserias. I’m glad he didn’t stick around; I beelined for bed.

At the very least I was able to sleep off most of yesterday’s stress, despite that midnight interruption. And honestly, the afternoon was nice enough. Beatrice took part in some dating quiz show, and did fantastically. So much so that, despite being a set up by Ryaan or something, she and the person, (a traveler like us,) actually got along pretty well. I can’t say I quite follow what the real and fake dates were throughout this entire competition, but Beatrice seemed really happy so I suppose everything worked out.

The second round went poorly. Deneb and I both took part in the game for funsies, and in this particular quiz Ryaan was the bachelor in question. Now, I think I did pretty well, even with the killjoy sitting next to me, but Deneb won overall. None of that was the bad part. The bad part was when, what now seems fairly predictable, Anabelle charged in, very angry that Ryaan and Deneb were leaving hand in hand. And even worse, her feelings were amplified by a Red Dragon. She attacked Ryaan, and it definitely seemed like she had the advantage. But Deneb came up with a good plan on the fly and aimed a spell at the Dragon. And thanks to my even-faster reflexes, I managed to pin her to the wall with a couple of expertly tossed spoons, (a feat which I absolutely need to tell my Mom about next time I mail her,) the spell hit its target. Without the influence of the Dragon, Anabelle was able to calm down. We left the room in relative disarray, and moved on to the swimsuit competition.

Okay, so I will admit that in my tired state I may not have thought my choice of swimsuit for Koal out all that well. Did it have a very real-looking wolf printed on it? Yes. Did it visibly induce fear in Koal when he laid eyes on it? It most certainly did. But did he dominate the swimsuit competition, leaving all of us peons in the dust? Oh buddy, you damn well better believe he did.


Okay so afterwards was the worst part of the day. I tried to talk some sense into Vyrne. And it seemed to be working. Like Anabelle, she doesn’t trust witches for some reason. But her wife, Deneb’s mother and the daughter of Gram, apparently turned into a beast. Given we’re on good terms with the Sunset Sentinels, I could have gone to see if there was truth to her words and if there was anything we could do. Then Ryaan came in, full of piss and vinegar for some reason, (if this is over the swimsuit competition I’m gonna throttle him,) and basically ruined the entire damn thing. I was this close to maybe getting Vyrne to release the Nimhish, and then Mr. Competitive comes along and ticks her off to the point where she’s threatening to execute them. Great. Good. Just what I wanted. If I can’t smooth things out, I’m going to have to stage a jailbreak. Cool.

14th of Forta, 1107
So today was worse. Ryaan had his meeting with Wyserias, as well as other delegates from around Theras. We got more insight into the situation of Vyrne’s wife, and it seemed like people were willing to help. Wyserias was a demon. That’s about when everything went south. Deneb was the one to point it out, no doubt her boredom led her to using that relic of hers. Wyserias attacked her, and the wound was pretty bad. Not fatal, but bad. Annabelle reacted promptly, and she knocked Wyserias out the window. She followed. Last time I checked it was fairly chaotic in that room. I had to duck out and do some writing. This day’s not even half over and it’s already felt like a week.

A Letter to Alice's mother, Katherine Northwoods

Dear Mom,
I dunno if I’m in the best place to write this. And I know I just sent a letter home, like, a week ago. The short of it is, we’re apparently going to war. At least, if the words of a man falling out a window are anything to go by. I was fine with my first journey, and even this one, but war’s something else entirely. And I don’t know if I have much of a place here. If the southwestern peninsula stays neutral, then literally the only reason I have to stay is because I have friends who will be involved.
I don’t know if I’m cut out for fighting, but maybe I inherited something of combat from you and Dad. Which is why I want to ask you if you have any advice. And if you can send any of your old weapons. I wish I had time to train with you, but I have no idea where I’m going to be in the near future. If you have anything to help, I’d really appreciate it.
Love,
Alice
P.S. I nailed a Dragon-bird to the wall with spoons. It was a really cool throw, you would have been proud.

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Session 7 Journal

14th of Forta, 1107

A lot has happened, so I should probably start writing it down.

I should start with the good things: I am engaged to be married to Oh-Kae Li of Dacafe. I’ve only spoken to her a few times, but I hope we end up liking each other. Part of me says it’s a bad idea to get engaged to someone you’ve just met, but I think this is just how things are done.

Something else worth celebrating is the emancipation of the Nimhish. While I was busy speaking to my neighbors, a̶n̶d̶ b̶u̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ h̶e̶a̶d̶s̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ P̶e̶n̶d̶e̶l̶ b̶r̶a̶t̶ Alice and Deneb were navigating the Flamewrought bureaucracy. The Nimhish are safe now, but we’re still going to take them home.

I’ve avoided writing it about it long enough. Pendel has blood on his hands.

During our confrontation with Wyserias, I attempted to shove him out of the castle and to his death. As soon as I took a step forward, Pendel grabbed my arm and told me to stop. Even though I listened to him, Wyserias still went through a window. And he took Annabel with him. In her honor, I’ll never strike down another boar. She bested me in life, and she shall continue to best me in death.

Shortly after this, our group changed hands yet again. We decided to follow Shrike, a black dragon. This proved to be a mistake; within ten minutes he murdered the Grand Duchess by using Archie. She was immediately succeeded by one of Pendel’s sisters, which is awfully convenient for him. While I no longer believe has plans for Oh-Kae, I still can’t trust him.

15th of Forta, 1107

This day kicked ass.

To start, we stopped by the Earldom of Decent. Apparently, it’s actually a democracy; Earldom is just a name to them. Decent had been taking in witch refugees who had been displaced by the ETE, and were running short on food. While this is obviously horrible, it was good news to me because Alice and I got to fight sharks and a zordfish. We were unstoppable! I’m not washing off the shark blood. I want people to know that I’ve been killing sharks.

And for the cherry on top, I got to show up Pendel when I got back!

Ark, who is a Guardian, not a “Nimhish,” revealed that my island is being ravaged by a corrupted dragon. My people have suspected that the dragons were responsible; knowing that it’s the fault of an anomalous dragon, rather than a dragon in complete control of its sense, is oddly comforting.

Shrike was not eager to accept this. In what I can only assume was a misguided attempt, Pendel tried to call him out for not caring about other dragons. I couldn’t stand this hypocrisy. My people have lived in horrible circumstances. As far as I know, the Sunset Sentinels were the only group that was willing to help.

After shouting about my hometown, the leaders of Decent decided to send aid to my island as well. In order to help them reach the island safely and avoid the ETE blockade, I loaned them our magic compass. There are now 2,000 soldiers en route to Calamity Isle. I know that they will keep my people safe.

A̶l̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶,̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ m̶a̶y̶ n̶o̶t̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ b̶e̶e̶n̶ a̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ i̶d̶e̶a̶.̶ T̶h̶e̶ B̶a̶r̶o̶n̶y̶ o̶f̶ P̶e̶n̶d̶e̶l̶ i̶s̶ u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ i̶m̶m̶e̶d̶i̶a̶t̶e̶ t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶.̶ D̶o̶n̶’̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ n̶e̶e̶d̶ p̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ n̶o̶w̶?̶ M̶y̶ i̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶,̶ t̶o̶ m̶y̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶l̶e̶d̶g̶e̶ i̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ e̶v̶e̶n̶ u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ a̶t̶t̶a̶c̶k̶.̶ H̶a̶v̶e̶ I̶ j̶u̶s̶t̶ a̶n̶t̶a̶g̶o̶n̶i̶z̶e̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ E̶T̶E̶?̶

That is all for today.

16th of Forta, 1107

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

Right out of the gate, our “”“Glorious Leader”"" immediately took us through the most dangerous route he could have. I think Alice and Deneb managed, but I felt miserable.

When we tried to camp for the night, we were quickly attacked by Bog Dogs. I still hadn’t washed off the shark’s blood, a̶n̶d̶ I̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ a̶t̶t̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶m̶ because I thought it might have preserved my fighting spirit. It didn’t.

Alice, Deneb, and I were all heavily assaulted by the dogs. Pendel, of course, wasn’t touched. He helped, I guess, through his magic; but when push came to shove, he made sure that all three of us were between him and the Bog Dogs.

I’m going to bed. I hope I dream of killing sharks.

17th of Forta, 1107

We arrived at the Guardian’s Great Hall. It somehow took the entire today. I’m still miserable.

18th of Forta, 1107

Some good news, finally. We quickly got an audience with Freya, the speaker of the Guardians. Apparently, they already had plans to ally with the Usagi Taguel. Getting them to come to the defense of the Barony of Pendel was not difficult at all. With that handled, we can turn our attention to our other main goal: rescuing Deneb’s mother.

…I don’t know what we’re going to do about that. Apparently, Deneb has a plan. It’s probably best to just leave her to that, then.

Additionally, I think I need to talk to Oh-Kae’s little brother. I knew he wasn’t happy about me, but I though he was only mad about my actions. After all, I did make his sister cry for several hours. But apparently, his anger runs deeper than that. As in, “send a letter to a place nobody knows exists to call me a fuckhead” angry. Hopefully, I can talk him down from this. I don’t want Oh-Kae’s family to hate me.

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Ryyan's Journal - Session 7

I have made a terrible mistake.

When we were offered the choice between going to war with the ETE immediately, or taking the time to find allies first, I thought choosing the latter would prevent unnecessary deaths.

Instead, not five minutes after that decision, when my aunt, the Grand Duchess, expressed hesitation as to breaking her alliance with the ETE, Shrike killed her.

I know that Archie was the one to wield the knife, but Shrike pulled the strings. He knew Katarina would succeed as Grand Duchess, and that Pendel would have a powerful ally in the Flamewrought Vigil. But to end her life so quickly, without even trying to debate the issue… I am certain we could have convinced her to change her mind!

Even as I write this, days later, I still am in shock. As we traveled south with the Nihmish (or Guardians, as they prefer), I could barely muster the effort to move my feet. Visiting the Earldom of Decent would have been a pleasant outing, had I any desire to take in the sights of such a unique culture. My companions were invaluable in assisting the Earldom with the needs of their refugees, and it was their efforts, not my own, that secured two legions of soldiers to secure Koal’s island.
The swamp we trudged through the next day was bleak and exhausting. We barely had our camp set up before we were attacked by two bog dogs. Again, I froze in the middle of combat, and had to force myself into motion, before we were overwhelmed. Once again, my companions demonstrated their skills in battle, while I simply stood back to support them. At least our arrival to the Nihmish Great Hall went well, and now Pendel will be a bit safer with their warriors bolstering our forces.

I feel the eyes of my companions on my back, and I sense their questioning of my actions. I am starting to think I was never fit to be their Leader. Is this Shrike’s doing? Is he trying to tear us apart, as much as Pash tried to force us together? Why do these dragons care so little about the harm they cause, the strife they sow?

I miss Caper. At the very least, she asked us if we liked the story she led us on.

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Shrike's Journal (Session 7)

Glorious is the blade that kills without needing wielded. Grand Duchess Cecile was always a coward who sent her little assassins out to do the ETE’s whims. Well… except Annabelle. Ah, Annabelle… the writing is shaky here I must not think too much on that. The writing hardens again, thick ink drawn in deep lines. At least she took that devil Wyserias with her. Which reminds me, Cecile, a glorious lapdog for Wyserias that kept my friend Vryn tangled in her leash, is no more. Katrina Pendel Oslam will no doubt be a better ally to her little brother than that wretch of a woman. Good job, Archie. Oh he looked quite shaken but humans are resilient and he’ll be just fine. Katrina sent off scouts to get an idea of the ETEs movements. No doubt Fritz will be carrying out Wyserias’ orders, especially if Cruor, that red dragon that was with Wyserias, has anything to say about it. But now, now is the time to undertake our deal. We must free Iris from the Great Bane which… which…

The writing is shaky again It can’t be a dragon… this cant be the fault of dragons. The ETE has been meddling with the travelers, corrupting the stories they feed to the seasonal dragons. That’s what the Guardian, Ark, says. But the constant brushfires in the Duchy, the clockwork travesties on the Isle of Calamity, the whirlpool that makes it so difficult for the Sunset Sentinels to send ships anywhere, and all the other issues? They can’t be the dragons fault. Even if Ark is right the dragons are just victims to the travelers who are victims to the ETE’s meddling. This, is all the ETE’s fault.

The ink strengthens again We went to the Earldom of Decent, a safe haven for witches, there we found over a dozen witches injured by fire and wind. Injured by Flamewrought Vigil or ETE? It matters not they were acting under the same hand until I handled it. They permit the monarchists to call them Earls here but they choose their leaders democratically. Maybe I’ll visit here during the next election cycle, find some travelers, and really stir things up. Or maybe these folks will actually be useful and able to create the ritual they talk of which will free Vryn’s wife Iris from the demons summoned by the Great Bane. They sent two legions of soldiers, the largest amount of help we’ve received yet, to the Isle of Calamity to assist with slowing down the advancement of ETE. But this will be a heavy toll on Decent’s forces (I know they only have about 30,000 soldiers, the ETE has at least 100,000, though how many they dispatch to Calamity is uncertain.)

We went to the Guardians, once called the Nimhish next and Pash fed the dragon under their care his awful tale. The dragon seemed amused by it, maybe it wasn’t so terrible after all. I think this is just proof that the Guardian’s theory is bullshit. No matter, the Speaker herself is leading an army of to Pendel lands and the Usagi-Taguel have promised to bolster their ranks. Who knows what their numbers will be but hopefully it will be enough.

On our way out we Deneb received a letter, her Grandmother will help with the ritual but needs some reagents which Deneb hasn’t told us yet. Koal got a letter too, it seems he has in-laws that dislike him and family that doesn’t quite understand whats going on with him. Perhaps its something I can muck with, though family drama is more Pash’s gatehouse. Truth is, these travelers are wholesome and largely good, they lack the temperament I usually prefer in a traveler. They lack the ruthless desire to get something done no matter the cost. But I’lll work with them, and I’ll remove every barrier I can to recover my original travelers and finish my original story, and this story as well. They mentioned Usagi-Taguel were being kidnapped? Perhaps that means we’ll find Eiji on the field of battle. Then its just the matter of locating my last original traveler… I can do this

But for now I need to look after my current travelers, I can’t lose another story to ETE meddling. Let’s gather the reagents, go to the Sunset Sentinels, get Iris (she’s Deneb’s other mom) and take her to Decent. Of course we’ll also need an appealing body to pull the demon out of Iris into… but I’m sure we’ll think of something. Hm hm hm.

Shrike’s Introduction is now up in the post where I introduce Ryuujin (I believe it’s post two?) for all to read, I haven’t done much preparing yet so I better get on that after I watch four episodes of Princess Tutu.

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Last session, we fought some fish and there were no other battles whatsoever.

Session 7 Journal (14th to 18th of Forta)

Deneb also slipped out during the confusion, and she was nice enough to see how I was. Admittedly, I was far better after seeing my father. They certainly called him up quickly enough, and for my sake he left Mom and Gallie to run the restaurant for now, (though I can’t see mom staying for long. And Gallie’s going to be 18 soon so she can run the restaurant.) He couldn’t stay long, he had to go right to the front. Still though, even will all this suffering and death, at least seeing family can still be refreshing.

Oh no Gale’s birthday is in a month and I don’t have a present for her yet aaaaaaaaaaaagh.

I left my room just in time to find the Nimhish being led to the council room. Ryaan demanded they be freed on the spot, as did his sister Katherine. Trek freed them and immediately received a well-deserved backhand from Ark’s grandmother. We decided we’d travel to the Nimhish Guardians’ citadel and see if we could gain them as allies. We need a lot of allies not only to fight the ETE, but to defend Pendel as well. I must admit though, I do have to wonder why Katherine’s so involved. She’s one of the Pendel kids, she doesn’t rule Flamewrought.

15th of Forta, 1107
We set off from Flamewrought at last. I must admit, I missed travel. Everyone was pretty energetic, though Ryaan had a bit of a rough time on the way. Reaching the Guardians’ Citadel would take some time, so we stopped in Decent Stronghold for the day.
We were greeted by the Earls of Decent, though Esse and Yuri are some of the most relaxed rulers I’ve ever met. They only took the title because that one was entertaining to them. Either way though, they’ve been taking refugees, and I was happy to volunteer catering for them. Supplies were short, but


beans and rice is a really easy dish to make. So I whipped that up real quick, left Deneb to heal them before they second course, and took Koal to the river to fish.

Koal and I managed to catch some pretty hefty fish! We isolated a Zordfish, and loathe as I am to serve Zordfish, it is a good hearty fish so it was perfect for the situation. It’s a pain to cook and hard to swallow, but I’d have to deal with it. But thanks to my disdain for the fish and Koal’s general Koal-ness, we trounced that Zordfish. And when its blood attracted two sharks? Yeah, we kicked their… asses? We kicked something and took home dinner, is the point.

I came into a conversation between everybody after finishing up some fish dishes. Decent could spare only a few legions, but it’d have to be enough. We also discussed a way to free Deneb’s mother; Esse knew a ritual to transfer demons from one body to another, and as they informed us that was pretty much the only thing we could do short of killing the host. The only problem is that demons will always inhabit a body, though they do prefer to stay in a stronger host. So I believe we need to fool the demon into thinking it’s entering a stronger body, when in actuality it’s entering something easy to kill. Now how we actually go about that, I have no clue. But we can work that out later.

16th of Forta, 1107
Today was, sadly, a bit less productive. We bid farewell to Decent and thanked them again for their aid. I got another good night’s sleep, thank goodness. Ryaan and Koal must have slept poorly though, because they were arguing most of the way. Then there were leeches. They didn’t deal well with the leeches.

I figured I’d help out tonight and set up camp. I did a pretty poor job, unfortunately. Swampier lands are my usually my kinda territory, but I was doing pretty poorly even before a couple of Bog Dogs attacked us. I felt really bad; the encounter exhausted us further, and we didn’t even have a good place to rest. Sorry, everyone!

17th of Forta, 1107
Well, that day didn’t get off to a good start. I mean I slept well, which was a good change of pace, but we were a little iffy on the route, and both Deneb and Koal were stung by wasps on the way. And when both your navigator and strongman have that kind of day, you don’t get to your destination quickly.

At the very least, we made it the Guardians’ Citadel before the day ended. I’m just thankful we made good time yesterday. And even better, they were pretty welcoming. Ark’s grandma told us they’d be distrustful of humans, and while I don’t begrudge them a bit of rudeness, I must admit I’m relieved that there haven’t been any open hostilities. They led us to bed, and we’ll have our meeting tomorrow.

18th of Forta, 1107
We awoke early in the morning, and after getting ready Ark brought us all to meet their leader. Frey promised us the Guardians would be aiding in the defense of Pendel, and that they would be working alongside the Taguel. Now that we have plenty of allies, we’re free to go and help Deneb’s mother.


Before we take our leave of the Guardians, Pash is going to feed our journey to the seasonal dragon. I don’t know if he reads this when he does his magical transfer thingamajig, but I’d like him to know that I appreciated his enthusiasm. It’s just, his excitement could be better utilized elsewhere. And in the end, Koal seems happy with Oh-Kae, and Beatrice wound up with that Emerine girl despite them both being disinterested in romance, so Pash must be doing something right. It just seems he’s more effective without those “shipping charts,” whatever those are.

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Deneb's notebook

Gran sent me a list of instructions and components we’ll need for the ritual that will attempt to exorcise the demon that is currently possessing my mother.

This spell is… way more complicated than anything I’ve ever cast before. Gran said I’ll have to be the one to cast it too, because I’m my mother’s daughter. I can’t help but worry a little about that. She also went on for about a page about how it’d be so much simpler and quicker if we could blood sacrifice a goat as part of the ritual but the other witches talked her out if it, saying it’s bad “optics”, whatever that means.

Gran directed me to find a pouch of faerie dust from a highborn faerie (given willingly, she specified), a pouch of diamond dust, a sealed bottle of red wine that’s at least 50 years old, and worst of all, the demon’s True Name.

I’m going to have to talk to everyone else, I don’t even know where to begin for most of these. I have no idea how in the world I’m going to learn the True Name of a demon… this is really stressing me out.

And, it gets worse. The ritual will only expel the demon, not destroy it. It’ll still be able to jump into another body. Everyone else thinks we should give it a tempting target to possess that we can fight, but I’m worried that could go terribly wrong and I wouldn’t want to sacrifice someone, even for my mother.

If only there was some way to stop it from being able to possess someone… or trick it into going into an inanimate object.

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Thread
In which the rivalry bond got stronger in the span of a few short rolls.

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Ryyan: I find the sea breeze quite invigorating, don’t you agree Koal?
Koal: :face_vomiting:

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Koal's Journal

Whoops. I forgot to keep this daily, and I’ve lost track of the days.

Whatever. I’ll just sort things by event. I don’t think the dates matter that much. OOC: I’m so sorry, I wasn’t taking notes! I have no idea how many days passed in the last session! Just assume that each entry is entered at the end of each event.

Fish Slaying

After leaving the Great Hall of the Guardians, we set out to find ingredients for our exorcism ritual. First up was f̶a̶i̶t̶h̶ t̶r̶u̶s̶t̶ a pouch of pixie dust. Alice knew where to find a whole island of fairies, so we chartered a boat and set out immediately.

It wasn’t long before we were attacked. Thankfully, it was only a large alligator. Since an alligator is just a legged fish, I wasn’t too worried. After all, I knew Alice had my back!

During the attack, Deneb was knocked into the water and I soon followed. I just know Pendel is going to say that I was knocked in too, but I deliberately fell in so I could attack the gator.

Alice, my aquatic annihilating acquaintance, leaped in after the two of us. The gator’s fate was sealed in that moment!

Pendel, of course, stayed on the boat. I know he uses a bow, but would it kill him to at least pretend to have an ounce of courage?

Dealing with the Fairies

Why do we trust Pendel to do anything? We asked him to look around town to find diamond dust and a 50 year old wine cask, which are two more components of the ritual. He came back smelling of brine.

Apparently, he fell into a barrel of pickles at some point during his search. Now, I’m just a builder. Civic planning is more Ash’s domain. But I’m pretty sure that the place that brines pickles and the place that sells diamonds and wine would not be anywhere near each other.

After that debacle, we had to get to the top of the fairy’s mountain. We took a cable car up. It was expensive, but Pendel heard that it stopped by a hot spring, and then we just haaaaad to take it.

I think he came to regret his decision. I saw Deneb chasing him with a bar of soap; that was probably all sorts of unpleasant.

Alice managed to find the Fairy King. He was willing to do us a favor if we did one for him, and he wanted us to clear out some ETE scoundrels who opened up a toll booth on the path up the mountain. Pendel found some more barrels of brine (because of course he did) owned by an old hermit, and he decided to use them to get rid of the ETE. The combination of being hit with a barrel and smelling terrible was an idea with merit. I decided to grab a barrel so I could enact the plan the right way.

Sure enough, Pendel completely screwed up his own plan. Both he and Deneb just threw their barrels down the stairs. Barrels are designed not to break when dropped, so they just bounced down completely intact. Deneb managed to break hers with a spell, which may have been her intention from the get go. I, on the other hand, did not want to take chances. I broke mine open on the wall of the cave, and threw it down at the ETE. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. I guess that should have been expected from one of Pendel’s plans. I rescued our operation by rushing into the confused ETE toll both while swinging my axe and screaming at the top of my lungs. They could not get out of that cave fast enough.

The Fairy King made good on his promise to Alice, which brought us one step closer to saving Deneb’s mother.

The 50 Year Old Wine Cask

I hate the ocean. The ocean destroyed my town, multiple times. The ocean has taken the lives of many of my friends. And the ocean made me look like a fool in front of Pendel.

Deneb and I got seasick. It was horrible. Pendel, through some inane stroke of luck, was completely fine.

It’s hard to overstate how disgraceful this felt. I grew up by the sea! And the Barony of Pendel is landlocked!

Once that unpleasant experience was over, we arrived in Alice’s hometown. Her family, in addition to being a lovely group of people, had a cask of wine that we could use. They were willing to part with it, but only if we could help them run their restaurant for a day.

I don’t know for sure what everyone else got up to; I was running deliveries all day. I did manage to see what Pendel got up to. Apparently, he got a job as a host. This job had a uniform; specifically, a maid’s uniform. O̶f̶ a̶l̶l̶ t̶h̶e̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ u̶p̶s̶e̶t̶ m̶e̶,̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶a̶c̶t̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ h̶e̶ l̶o̶o̶k̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ i̶n̶ a̶ s̶k̶i̶r̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ n̶o̶t̶ o̶n̶e̶ I̶ e̶x̶p̶e̶c̶t̶e̶d̶

We didn’t screw anything up, so Alice’s family was willing to part with their wine. And the maid uniform that Pendel spent the day in. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ h̶e̶’̶l̶l̶ w̶e̶a̶r̶ i̶t̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶

The Pouch of Diamond Dust

More time on the vile ocean. I’m going to strangle Pendel by the time this journey is over. It’s not enough that he found his sea legs immediately, he just has to gloat about it.

well MAYBE some of us just can’t get used to the ocean. maybe some of us despise it. maybe the thought of being surrounded by it is upsetting. maybe i’m not vomiting because of motion sickness. maybe i’m remembering. in great detail. what a drowned corpse looks like, PENDEL

I’m back on solid ground, and the ocean is at my back. Once again, Alice did most of the work in securing the ritual component. She went to speak with the Fisher King; both to secure an alliance for the Barony of Pendel and to secure a pouch of diamond dust.

Thankfully, the Fisher King only asked for one thing in return for both requests. Pendel agreed to send a regiment of troops to defend the Fisher Kingdom, and the Fisher King agreed to give him a navy and a pouch of diamond dust. We’re heading back to the Sunset Sentinels, by way of Pendel’s home town.

Maybe I’ll get lucky, and I’ll accidentally chop my own head off before we get there.

̶̶I̶ P̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ T̶h̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ U̶p̶ W̶i̶t̶h̶ R̶y̶y̶a̶n̶̶̶
̶̶I̶ O̶v̶e̶r̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ M̶y̶ A̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ I̶s̶s̶u̶e̶s̶̶̶
I Stop Being A Piece of Shit

I don’t want to write anything, but I feel like I have to. I definitely can’t talk to anyone right now, so writing is all I can do.

I fucked up. I fucked up!

I ruined a large portion of Ryyan’s castle. I don’t even have a reason.

I was trying to find him. I couldn’t find him, so I started yelling for him. He didn’t come, so I started destroying things.

I think Shrike told me to do it, but that doesn’t matter. I still listened to him. It’s still my fault.

I didn’t even focus on Ryyan’s stuff! I destroyed his mother’s throne! I didn’t even see most of what I wrecked!

How many family portraits did I destroy? How many heirlooms? How many mementos and keepsakes?

I was tearing down the door to Ryyan’s door when Deneb dragged me to talk to him. I was so angry. I couldn’t think straight.

I tried to guilt-trip him. I told him that it was his fault Annabel died. I don’t even believe that anymore. The second it left my mouth, I felt my stomach tie itself in knots.

Ryyan was having none of my bullshit. But he was stilling willing to apologize. He wanted to make me feel better.

I felt disgusted. Not with him, but with myself.

Pash tried to help. What he said was true, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I couldn’t make excuses anymore.

When he was done, he hugged me. It felt nice. I have to thank him.

Ryyan must have been willing to listen to him, because he forgave me.

I’m going to better.

I have to be better.

I need to be better for Ryyan, for Alice, and for Deneb. For Ark, for Annabel, and for Arrata. For Oh-Kae, and for my island.

I need to make their lives better not worse. I need to push them forward, not hold them back. It’s the only way I can make up for my behavior.

A̶n̶d̶ i̶t̶’̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶ o̶n̶l̶y̶ w̶a̶y̶ m̶y̶ f̶a̶m̶i̶l̶y̶ w̶i̶l̶l̶

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Ryyan's Journal - Session 8

The last few days have been going well, I suppose. As we set out from the Guardian stronghold, we set a course for collecting the ingredients Deneb needed for the ritual to remove the demon from her mother: a bag of noble fairy dust (given freely), a bottle of wine (at least 50 years old), and a bag of crushed diamonds. She also said we would need the true name of the demon, which I guess we’ll have to pry out of it somehow, and also one other thing she didn’t seem to be specific about. Something to house the demon? I’m not sure, but I’m confident that Deneb can handle that.
Our trip down the river into Fairy lands was surprisingly uneventful at first. I had heard tales of the tricks fairies loved to play on people, and was expecting our party to be led astray at some point. But the worst thing that happened was an attack by a river alligator (or was it a crocodile?). It was tense at first, as Deneb got knocked into the water, but Koal and Alice seemed to be in their element when fighting in the water, so I let them handle most of it.
I am embarrassed to say it, but I was completely useless when it came to finding anything when we arrived in Basin Pass. Through my own negligence, while discussing matters with a local merchant, I was not looking where I was walking, and stepped off of the raised walkway, directly into a barrel of brine. The smell was atrocious, and it made the trip up the mountain in the ropeway carriage rather unpleasant. Both for myself and my companions. I was looking forward to cleaning off in the hot springs, but Deneb wouldn’t leave me alone. I’ve never felt more embarrassed than when she started bathing me!
Anyway, the King of the Fairies was willing to give us some fairy dust if we removed an illegal ETE toll booth in the middle of the tunnel road. We put to use some barrels of brine donated by the local hermit, and managed to drive the ETE out without anyone getting hurt. Once we had the dust in hand, we chartered a ship to Alice’s hometown of Obsidian.
Overall, the voyage was rather pleasant. I had never been out on the ocean before, and the sea breeze was quite invigorating. I get the impression that not all of my companions felt the same way, but I must admit I’ve been trying to avoid them recently. They probably could accomplish more without me dragging them down. Alice’s family’s restaurant was quite nice, and her mother agreed to give us the wine we needed if we helped out around the place. Alice and Ark were deft hands in the kitchen, while I waited tables and seated people out front. I will admit, I hadn’t worn a skirt since the last time my sisters convinced me to play dress up with them, but I found it somewhat fun. Of course, if my sisters ever find out, I’ll never hear the end of it.
Once again, we set sail to the the Fisher Kingdom. We surmised that, if anyone would be likely to have diamonds, the most prosperous trading kingdom would be it. And once we arrived, they were open to negotiating an alliance with my family as well. With diamonds in hand, we set out on the road towards my home, on our way to learn the demon’s true name.

Things have been going well, but I still feel unprepared for what lies ahead. Seeing the armies of the Usagi Taguel mustering reminded me of how costly war can be. How many of those people will come back home? When we got to my family’s estate, I wanted nothing more than to be alone for awhile, to think over my recent decisions. I… may have snapped a bit at Pash, about what had happened during his period of watching over us.

Koal… Koal has every right to be angry now. Despite his rampage through the manor, I won’t hold it against him. His people have suffered far more than mine. He’s right, I could have saved her if I
We talked things over. I hadn’t considered how it must look when I fail to show how I feel outwardly. Being raised as a noble, one is taught that openly showing what you feel is oft considered a sign of weakness. I have spent most of my life trying to conceal how I truly feel, to the point that I must look like a monster when tragedies occur.

What will happen if Beatrice doesn’t come back? How could I possibly live up to her legacy?

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