Sapphire:Sessions:20140315
It is the morning of Harvest Time 4.
Trace tells the others that he is thirty-three years old and hails from a place called Ardon. He had spent time at the Mage Guild in Alpina. More recently he has been studying ruins.
About an hour after lunch, Striker sniffs the air and growls. Aliana follows him for about a quarter of a mile to where a band of about 100 orcs and 30-40 horses crossed the path.
That evening's camp is set up in a forest gully which provides concealment. Aliana goes scouting, picking mushrooms and herbs along the way. After a time she hears the lilting sounds of a flute. Moving as quietly as she can, Aliana reaches the edge of a clearing. A beautiful faun is playing the flute for a troop of foxes. Aliana has never before seen a faun. Unwilling to disturb the enchanting scene, she watches and listens for about a half-hour until the faun puts away the flute, waves cheerily to the foxes, turns, and trots away.
Aliana follows the faun, who ascends a tree platform which is evidently her home. Hoping not to startle the faun, after a bit of hesitation Aliana calls out a greeting in her oddly accented Elven. The faun seems happy to have a visitor. She gives her name as Nylene, and gladly accepts the mushrooms Aliana had gathered earlier. Nylene suggests going in search of an "adventuresome" faun she knows, an older male called Neville, recently returned to these woods after wide-ranging travels.
That night in camp:
Chalker feels he is on the verge of awakening. He senses the presence of someone who is impatient and/or anxious. Crouching near his feet is a radiantly beautiful woman who he recognizes as Roo. Before he can speak, Roo says, "Not tonight, Mister Chalker Jackson. You're exasperating."
Aliana feels a fierce, angry presence near her head. Looking up she sees a beautiful woman with the harsh expression of someone who has been greatly wronged but must wait before taking action. Aliana looks straight into Aakbarath's eyes and says, "I've seen you twice now." Aakbarath replies, "Yes. I like that," perhaps referring to Aliana's directness.
Rory hears faint music playing, a flute perhaps.
Trace is unable to fall asleep this night, but he sees a vision of a radiant young man clad in wizard's robes, upon which are embroidered mystic symbols in silk. The hood of his sky-blue cloak is thrown back. Trace tries to alert the camp, "We have a visitor," but all he can utter is a musical hum. The man says, "You have a very inquisitive mind. You study many aspects of the Arts. Choose well." Trace feels certain that this young man is Cor.
The next day, after a morning's travel, the group comes upon another set of ruins of about the same antiquity as the ones where they'd met Trace. Aliana finds the tracks of three orcs, but they are nowhere nearby. Trace takes a rubbing of some runes carved in stone, but the carvings are so effaced by time and weather that he can only vaguely make out a rune meaning "protect."
As the evening's camp is being set up, Aliana goes scouting. She whistles a phrase from the tune she had heard Nylene play; in her path appears a gray-haired male faun, and a younger male leans against a tree. The older faun is indeed Nylene's friend Neville, and he agrees to join the group for dinner. Neville and Rory talk about the layout of this land, mentioning that there are communities of goblins, ellyllon, orcs, and ogres. There's a goblin village about a day and a half away. Neville describes some of his travels; he has been to Sapphire (capital of the Calventine Empire) and Gateway, and has even traveled through Dolyena and Bicarn.