Our Travelers:
Leif, a gigantic, white-haired true-kin. Escaped servitor. Wields a dyad rifle. Owns a singing crystal that wails the cryptic song of Viridis.
Faulkner, “Faulk”, a golden-black new-ibis. Believes he is human. Refuses to wear a mask. His soul was taken by Azathoth, but his body remains on Vaarn, undecaying.
Nullseed, “Null”, a floating drone-companion, known as a troton. Feeds on the dust of sky-stones. Rescued from a lizard lion attack.
Snow Child, an ash-coloured mycomorph, constantly shedding spores. Saved by the Travelers from a tumblesnare.
See how this all started. Check out the list of all my solo plays.
Preamble:
This week (game time), which has taken just over half a year (real time) has been a great adventure in writing and a fun exercise for the imagination. Below I will give a short summary of the first week, both for those new to the blog and those who have been reading since the start but need a good recap (like me). The story has evolved over time, so it is helpful to take stock and prepare for the next seven solo plays.
Another note–I have changed the direction they travelled after leaving the Cynosura. Originally the travelers headed west for Eigin Oasis, because I had a lot of space out that way on my map. But I wanted Eigin to be in a more central location, so now I rewrote it and have them going south, circumventing Xrax’s Lair and finding Eigin amongst the Towering Monoliths. See the map below.
The Tale So Far:
First day: Leif, Faulk, and Symeon accept a quest from Xrax, a retired Thunder-Rider. Their boon sends them to retrieve a memory crystal from the Cynosura wreck. The wreck site is one day’s travel to the north. After an exhausting chromavore encounter, they make it to the Cynosura.
Second day: After they are unable to enter the wreck, the travelers fight off a cacogen pseudo-giant and stumble upon three prowling azure scorpions. Symeon, the synth priest, meets an early demise. They spend the night in a grotto, a distressed Faulk wrestling with his demons–the nightmares of Azathoth.
Third day: Leif and Faulk find their way into the Cynosura, where they see signs of struggle and a bio-tech infestation. They are assailed by yurlings, but fend them off. Soon after, they find an intact memory crystal. But it is in the hands of a small, meditating, blue-skinned child who demands their worship. Leif submits, but Faulk does not, and receives a wound for this displeasure, losing one of his eyes.
Fourth day: Leif and Faulk exit the wreck uneventfully and start off in the direction of Xrax’s Lair. But a certain singing crystal, in Leif’s possession for as long as he can remember, chants in the proximity of the blue-child’s memory crystal. The memory crystal contains stories of Leif’s clans and his noble lineage. The true-kin’s ancestors had once ruled as water-chieftains at the Cisterns of Viridis, which host immeasurable riches in the form of pristine water. Leif, who was captured into slavery as an infant, only knows that his clan was slaughtered and the location of the Cisterns lost. He tells Faulk that he will not return to Xrax, but use the crystals to reclaim his clan’s throne in Viridis. Faulk, won by promises of wealth, grudgingly agrees to be an accomplice, but warns of Xrax’s likely reprisal. Before the day ends, they rescue Nullseer, a troton, from lizard-lions.
Fifth day: The travelers pass by Xrax’s Lair under the cover of a dust storm. Faulk still has doubts they will escape Xrax’s eye, but Leif is optimistic and reminds Faulk that he owes him for saving his life. Leif is the only one able to imprison Faulk’s nightmares. They meet the Monachs of the Weeping Fig, who invite the travelers into a ceremony. They begin to talk about Viridis. The Monach leader, Calbus, tells Leif about the script-bandits at Bent-Gully, who possess a tome which contains the location of the Cisterns.
Sixth day: Along the final leg to Eigin, the travelers encounter a mycomorph lying in the bottom of a pit. A tumblesnare restrains her, slowly feeding on her life. Leif frees her but the corrupt synth lashes onto the true-kin and starts to carry him away while crushing his body. After unsuccessful attacks, Faulk opens his nightmare box as a last resort. The entity inside makes a trade–Faulk’s soul for Leif’s survival.
Seventh day: The mycomorph, named Snow Child, somehow brings Faulk’s soulless corpse and Leif’s unconcious body to Eigin Oasis. Leif wakes to find a mysterious message from Amir Pallak, a local prince-merchant, asking for help to vanquish the bandits at Bent-Gully. Snow Child summons Eigin’s healer, Malamue, who mends Leif’s wounds in trade for the empty nightmare box, a powerful artifact.
End of the first week.
Going forward, I have a few things to keep in mind:
- The travelers will seek out Amir Pallak, who seeks vengeance on the Bent Gully bandits, as a possible ally.
- The travelers will head to Bent Gully and retrieve a tome that will have more information on the location of Viridis.
- The travelers will continue their search for the Cisterns of Viridis.
Afternote: I leveled everyone up (including Faulk).
Below are some small things I want to explore. I’m putting them here so I won’t forget.
- Leif’s dyad rifle
- Snow Child’s background
- Nullseer’s sky stone
- Xrax’s bounty hunt
- Collectors of the Sacchar
- Nullseer’s troton abilities
- The other locations on our map
Here’s a page of doodles. A little thank-you for reading all the way through.
Bucolia 