Legends Never Die
Nib joined his friends Mal, Jarock and Juniper to assist a windling cavalryman named Elisen in tracking down the final resting place of the great troubadour Rikka. Lyrics to the song of our adventure are transcribed below.
In Service,
Nib
...
Note: link to The Sound of Silence by Disturbed below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4
[Verse 1]
Hello Rikka, my old friend
I hear you’ve fled your fame again
Because the people did all seek you
Took your art and all but drained you
And your song, Astendar’s gentle gift
Broke apart
Now there is, just silence
[Verse 2]
Your restless roads we walked again
Narrow trails and mountain pass
Through the egos of the obsessed
A piece of you is all they wanted
When my soul was opened
by the echoes of your song
That pierced my heart
And touched the edge, of knowing
[Verse 3]
Clues in the art you always loved
Handed down through all this time
Music loved through all the ages
Music lifting up through darkness
Music guarding souls, throughout the Long Night
And all its fear
Do we dare, to find you
[Verse 4]
“Beasts”, said I, “You do not know”
What lies ahead upon this road
We seek the echoes of our own hearts
Past the Howls of Lupine Hunters
And our blows, like a rain of arrows fell,
And echoed in the depth of forest
[Verse 6]
And the nature spirits fought
O’er the snowy youngling owl
And the mother screeched its warning
As the battle it was forming
And the Seekers said:
“The Songs of the Singer are
Written as her time has come.
In peace at last"
And echo in the song, of spirit
...
Locations:
Lalai Gorge, hex 52.10
- Gilded Tail Tavern by the Riverside, Ohumu Kipi Syrtis, t’skrang troubadour lost in his own ego
- Hanai Varna Syrtis, basket weaver by the river, family treasured the Journals of Rikka for generations
Waterfall with elemental echoes of Rikka’s songs, edge of hex 53.07/54.07
Plateau of Echoing Song with a bench inscribed with her story, where the journal said she went to sit when her time had come, hex 53.05
AAR: [4H] Legends Never Die (2020-09-11 @ 23:30 GMT)
Moderator:etherial
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sigfriedmcwild
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Re: LFG: [4H] Legends Never Die (2020-09-11 @ 23:30 GMT)
From the memoirs of Elisen of clan Adorjan, Haressa-tis and Lore Keeper
I find it quite ironic that with my induction in the ranks of the Troubadours I stop submitting songs to the library and instead begin keeping a real journal of my experiences. While I'm still very interested in the oral traditions of my people and all namegivers, recent experience has taught me that it is too easily warped by time and even the loss of a single person may lead to irreparable damage to our knowledge.
So here begin my chronicling of my life in a more durable and less stylised format in the hope that some of what I record may be of use in writing a better tomorrow.
Lados Chance, a Troubadour from the Throalic Institute of Arts, contacted me with a request for assistance. Almost exactly a year ago, a similar request of theirs had sent me and a few other adepts to retrieve Rikka the Reveler's songs from their tomb, an unfortunate caper where Ursal's life was lost (my experiences then are recorded in my Songs of Dawn). Has my heart been hardened so much since then that I find myself barely spilling a tear in Ursal's memory?
But back to Lados and their request, they'd spent the last year trying to understand why Ricca's tomb was empty to the point of obsession. They had found a number of theories from the time of Rikka's death, such as becoming the mistress of king Varulus I, or retreating to a moot in the mountain to defend it from Therans. At this point Lados was quite clearly grasping at straws to find more leads and asked us to talk to one Ohumu Kipi Syrtis in the Lahai Gorge, since the traditional songs in the region show a strong resemblance to Ricca's style
I'd found a few others to join me on this journey:
- Jarock Hammer-Shield, an orc Weaponsmith
- Solanus "Juniper" Pyrocantha, an elven Shadow
- Malonin "Mal" Turnith, an elven Archer
- Nib of clan Skyreader, a windling Wizard apprenticed to Zivilyn of Skyreader Isle
The trip down to Syrtis was without trouble, we took the roads north to Sosanopa and then bought passage on a boat down the Serpent and reached the city in the gorge in just over a week. Once there I started asking around to find Ohumu. Most of the people I asked had heard of them and considered them to be some kind of grifter or scoundrel. This was not very surprising, artists are often treated little better than criminals unless they have the backing of a patron.
Eventually we found Ohumu in an inn called the Gilded Tail, trying to convince the owner to let them set up a stage inside instead of on a riverboat as per t'skrang tradition. I approached Ohumu as he was about to leave and asked about Ricca, they initially did not want to talk, bearing some kind of grudge against Lados, but eventually I got them talking by pretending we were writing a play about adventurers trying to discover Ricca's real fate.
Apparently I am too trusting for this kind of work as I took Ohumu's suggestion to look in the Twilight Peaks sersiouly. Luckily Juniper is much more familiar with dealing with this kind of double speak and learnt of an old weaver living in the city who knew a lot of songs that could have been Ricca after death's.
We set out to go talk to the weaver after Nib thoughtfully bought some hot food to bring as a gift. The weaver, whose name is Hinai Varna Syrtis, lived and traded in baskets near the city fisheries, which as a note smell terrible due to the local eels or something. We talked with the t'skrang for a bit, they sang us a song that could have been by Ricca and then offered to go look for the book they'd learnt the song from if we watched their wares while they were away. Juniper and I manned the stall and, after Juniper started spinning some yarn about "true elven goods", I started making up a bit how these were "windling approved baskets" that I would "happily live in". This seemed to attract the locals' attention and we made brisk business, I think. When Hinai returned, they were surprised at the amount of stock sold and let us have the book and the pack they'd kept it in.
I started skimming through it, but Nib offered to research it thoroughly and proceeded to read faster than Jacint eats a mouse. The book was a journal, presumably by Ricca, and described three locations that were especially suited for song, some kind of natural amphitheatres. The first was in the cliffs above the city so we immediately visited it and I sang the song in the journal closest to the description of the location. One of the Troubadours in the area gave me and Juniper, who sang backup, some pointers to improve. The help was great and appreciated, but I don't think my body will ever be capable of sounding like an adult troll. Maybe I should see if I can teach Isidoros to cover the low notes for me.
The next day we set off towards the next location. Juniper and Jarock looked like they hadn't slept much, but Juniper had some more insight on the journal, they felt that is was written to intentionally obfuscate the identity and location of the author. Was Ricca running away from obsessive groupies?
Mal took on the duty of keeping us on track, while Jarock kept an eye out for threats, and I foraged. I thought I'd done a good job until we got to cooking and the size of the pot reminded me of how much tallfolk eat. You'd think the size would be enough of a reminder.
Despite the grumblings about portion size, the journey was quite uneventful as we progressed up the Caucavic river. After a few days we reached the second location, a gorgeous but otherwise nondescript bit of the valley. Once again Juniper and I sang and the environment seemed to provide backup singing for us. Nib saw some kind of astral imprint activate in response to the music but couldn't quite tell what it was. We sang some more songs to try and repeat the reaction but could not get to the bottom of it, so our journey resumed.
A few days later (and some better foraging) we found ourselves ambushed by a pack of dire wolves, the fight was long but not dangerous as Jarock held the attention of the wolves while the rest of us picked them off. At this point we thought we were only half a day or so from the third location so we pressed on.
Soon I heard some singing further on in the forest, Juniper and Mal tried to sneak up to find the singer but the voices just moved ahead, when they came back, I tried to sing a response to the music, which got some kind of reaction from the voices. At this point we started advancing and the voices seemed to lead us forward until we reached a clearing where six horror constructs looking like humanoid deer and boar were circled up around a bird of some kind.
Horror constructs are always bad news, so we prepared to give fight even if we were already tired by the encounter with the wolves. Once again Jarock tried to hold the enemies attention while the rest of us took them down, but this time it almost cost them their life. Juniper and Mal were also seriously injured and Juniper resorted to pretending to be knocked out.
The bird turned out to be a Cloudbird chick and its much much larger parent swooped down to give a deafening cry mid fight. Eventually we prevailed, the concerned parent took their child away and we continued on, even if at this point we were completely exhausted.
Soon after we reached a plateau with a small stone cabin (well small for tallfolk), inside the cabin we found several journals clearly identified as Ricca's and more songbooks. Nib one again devoured the journals and explained that Ricca had been researching a fusion of the Troubabour art and Elementalism and exploring the "musical properties of the world". The last journal ended with a mention of Ricca feeling like her time was over and that they would go outside and sing until they were no more.
Outside we found a bench overlooking the river, and despite not being able to find any body, we performed an improvised funeral rite. Much like the previous location, the mountains seemed to provide back up singing here.
Eventually we made our way back to Throal, where Lados was delighted with the information we provided and offered to train me as a Troubadour.
I find it quite ironic that with my induction in the ranks of the Troubadours I stop submitting songs to the library and instead begin keeping a real journal of my experiences. While I'm still very interested in the oral traditions of my people and all namegivers, recent experience has taught me that it is too easily warped by time and even the loss of a single person may lead to irreparable damage to our knowledge.
So here begin my chronicling of my life in a more durable and less stylised format in the hope that some of what I record may be of use in writing a better tomorrow.
Lados Chance, a Troubadour from the Throalic Institute of Arts, contacted me with a request for assistance. Almost exactly a year ago, a similar request of theirs had sent me and a few other adepts to retrieve Rikka the Reveler's songs from their tomb, an unfortunate caper where Ursal's life was lost (my experiences then are recorded in my Songs of Dawn). Has my heart been hardened so much since then that I find myself barely spilling a tear in Ursal's memory?
But back to Lados and their request, they'd spent the last year trying to understand why Ricca's tomb was empty to the point of obsession. They had found a number of theories from the time of Rikka's death, such as becoming the mistress of king Varulus I, or retreating to a moot in the mountain to defend it from Therans. At this point Lados was quite clearly grasping at straws to find more leads and asked us to talk to one Ohumu Kipi Syrtis in the Lahai Gorge, since the traditional songs in the region show a strong resemblance to Ricca's style
I'd found a few others to join me on this journey:
- Jarock Hammer-Shield, an orc Weaponsmith
- Solanus "Juniper" Pyrocantha, an elven Shadow
- Malonin "Mal" Turnith, an elven Archer
- Nib of clan Skyreader, a windling Wizard apprenticed to Zivilyn of Skyreader Isle
The trip down to Syrtis was without trouble, we took the roads north to Sosanopa and then bought passage on a boat down the Serpent and reached the city in the gorge in just over a week. Once there I started asking around to find Ohumu. Most of the people I asked had heard of them and considered them to be some kind of grifter or scoundrel. This was not very surprising, artists are often treated little better than criminals unless they have the backing of a patron.
Eventually we found Ohumu in an inn called the Gilded Tail, trying to convince the owner to let them set up a stage inside instead of on a riverboat as per t'skrang tradition. I approached Ohumu as he was about to leave and asked about Ricca, they initially did not want to talk, bearing some kind of grudge against Lados, but eventually I got them talking by pretending we were writing a play about adventurers trying to discover Ricca's real fate.
Apparently I am too trusting for this kind of work as I took Ohumu's suggestion to look in the Twilight Peaks sersiouly. Luckily Juniper is much more familiar with dealing with this kind of double speak and learnt of an old weaver living in the city who knew a lot of songs that could have been Ricca after death's.
We set out to go talk to the weaver after Nib thoughtfully bought some hot food to bring as a gift. The weaver, whose name is Hinai Varna Syrtis, lived and traded in baskets near the city fisheries, which as a note smell terrible due to the local eels or something. We talked with the t'skrang for a bit, they sang us a song that could have been by Ricca and then offered to go look for the book they'd learnt the song from if we watched their wares while they were away. Juniper and I manned the stall and, after Juniper started spinning some yarn about "true elven goods", I started making up a bit how these were "windling approved baskets" that I would "happily live in". This seemed to attract the locals' attention and we made brisk business, I think. When Hinai returned, they were surprised at the amount of stock sold and let us have the book and the pack they'd kept it in.
I started skimming through it, but Nib offered to research it thoroughly and proceeded to read faster than Jacint eats a mouse. The book was a journal, presumably by Ricca, and described three locations that were especially suited for song, some kind of natural amphitheatres. The first was in the cliffs above the city so we immediately visited it and I sang the song in the journal closest to the description of the location. One of the Troubadours in the area gave me and Juniper, who sang backup, some pointers to improve. The help was great and appreciated, but I don't think my body will ever be capable of sounding like an adult troll. Maybe I should see if I can teach Isidoros to cover the low notes for me.
The next day we set off towards the next location. Juniper and Jarock looked like they hadn't slept much, but Juniper had some more insight on the journal, they felt that is was written to intentionally obfuscate the identity and location of the author. Was Ricca running away from obsessive groupies?
Mal took on the duty of keeping us on track, while Jarock kept an eye out for threats, and I foraged. I thought I'd done a good job until we got to cooking and the size of the pot reminded me of how much tallfolk eat. You'd think the size would be enough of a reminder.
Despite the grumblings about portion size, the journey was quite uneventful as we progressed up the Caucavic river. After a few days we reached the second location, a gorgeous but otherwise nondescript bit of the valley. Once again Juniper and I sang and the environment seemed to provide backup singing for us. Nib saw some kind of astral imprint activate in response to the music but couldn't quite tell what it was. We sang some more songs to try and repeat the reaction but could not get to the bottom of it, so our journey resumed.
A few days later (and some better foraging) we found ourselves ambushed by a pack of dire wolves, the fight was long but not dangerous as Jarock held the attention of the wolves while the rest of us picked them off. At this point we thought we were only half a day or so from the third location so we pressed on.
Soon I heard some singing further on in the forest, Juniper and Mal tried to sneak up to find the singer but the voices just moved ahead, when they came back, I tried to sing a response to the music, which got some kind of reaction from the voices. At this point we started advancing and the voices seemed to lead us forward until we reached a clearing where six horror constructs looking like humanoid deer and boar were circled up around a bird of some kind.
Horror constructs are always bad news, so we prepared to give fight even if we were already tired by the encounter with the wolves. Once again Jarock tried to hold the enemies attention while the rest of us took them down, but this time it almost cost them their life. Juniper and Mal were also seriously injured and Juniper resorted to pretending to be knocked out.
The bird turned out to be a Cloudbird chick and its much much larger parent swooped down to give a deafening cry mid fight. Eventually we prevailed, the concerned parent took their child away and we continued on, even if at this point we were completely exhausted.
Soon after we reached a plateau with a small stone cabin (well small for tallfolk), inside the cabin we found several journals clearly identified as Ricca's and more songbooks. Nib one again devoured the journals and explained that Ricca had been researching a fusion of the Troubabour art and Elementalism and exploring the "musical properties of the world". The last journal ended with a mention of Ricca feeling like her time was over and that they would go outside and sing until they were no more.
Outside we found a bench overlooking the river, and despite not being able to find any body, we performed an improvised funeral rite. Much like the previous location, the mountains seemed to provide back up singing here.
Eventually we made our way back to Throal, where Lados was delighted with the information we provided and offered to train me as a Troubadour.
Last edited by sigfriedmcwild on Tue Sep 22, 2020 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: AAR: [4H] Legends Never Die (2020-09-11 @ 23:30 GMT)
*Written in precise and un-flourished penmanship on clean, fresh paper with bright blue ink*
Lados Chance, a music historian, has a job to find the actual “final” resting place of Rikka the Reveler. Elisen was singing, in the job board area, about Rikka and the quest to find her. It took me a couple minutes to realize he was actually recruiting. I enjoy music and had nothing better to do, so I joined the forming group. We ended up getting together Nib, Jarock, and Juniper. We talked with Lados Chance who wishes for us to track down a potential contact that may have information on what actually happened to Rikka the Reveler.
The next morning we headed to Sosanopa and then downriver to the Cliff City to contact Ohumu Kipi Syrtis. The trip was uneventful and after arriving, we found Ohumu in the Gilded Tail tavern. It took Elisen and Juniper to squeeze the info we needed from him, which lead us to an old T’skrang weaver named Hinai Varna Syrtis. She had a journal that we believe to belong to Rikka originally. Nib combed through it using his impressive book skills and determined there were three locations we should travel to: above the Cliff City, waterfall upriver to the north, and a plateau overlooking the river.
First we went to the location above out the city. Nothing stood out but Elisen tried singing a song from the journal with no luck. This part seemed like a bust so we headed upriver to the waterfall.
When we got to the waterfall, Elisen tried singing another song from the journal and this time something interesting happened. There seemed to be something else joining in to enhance the sound. Nib saw something atrally that he couldn’t explain. There wasn’t anything else we could do so we continued upstream to find the final location.
When we got to a plateau that overlooks the river, we found a small cabin. There were instruments and more journals. One of the journals seemed to be the actual final entry of Rikka the Reveler who seems to have died here on the plateau. The rest of the books seemed to be very important to Elisen and Lados.
Lados Chance, a music historian, has a job to find the actual “final” resting place of Rikka the Reveler. Elisen was singing, in the job board area, about Rikka and the quest to find her. It took me a couple minutes to realize he was actually recruiting. I enjoy music and had nothing better to do, so I joined the forming group. We ended up getting together Nib, Jarock, and Juniper. We talked with Lados Chance who wishes for us to track down a potential contact that may have information on what actually happened to Rikka the Reveler.
The next morning we headed to Sosanopa and then downriver to the Cliff City to contact Ohumu Kipi Syrtis. The trip was uneventful and after arriving, we found Ohumu in the Gilded Tail tavern. It took Elisen and Juniper to squeeze the info we needed from him, which lead us to an old T’skrang weaver named Hinai Varna Syrtis. She had a journal that we believe to belong to Rikka originally. Nib combed through it using his impressive book skills and determined there were three locations we should travel to: above the Cliff City, waterfall upriver to the north, and a plateau overlooking the river.
First we went to the location above out the city. Nothing stood out but Elisen tried singing a song from the journal with no luck. This part seemed like a bust so we headed upriver to the waterfall.
When we got to the waterfall, Elisen tried singing another song from the journal and this time something interesting happened. There seemed to be something else joining in to enhance the sound. Nib saw something atrally that he couldn’t explain. There wasn’t anything else we could do so we continued upstream to find the final location.
When we got to a plateau that overlooks the river, we found a small cabin. There were instruments and more journals. One of the journals seemed to be the actual final entry of Rikka the Reveler who seems to have died here on the plateau. The rest of the books seemed to be very important to Elisen and Lados.
-
bronzemountain
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News from the Underground
RIKKA THE REVELER'S RESTING PLACE EXPOSED
The Brick Hole is a dingy, smoky ratskellar of a bar tucked into the cellar beneath a mason's workshop. Trolls and Obsidifolk must duck to enter, and leave with sore necks. And yet the room is packed, Namegivers seated shoulder to shoulder. We are all here for a performance of Rikka the Reveler's Mother Smile by Anatha Parumaran.
I am sitting beside Lados Chance, a Troubadour and music historian who is passionate about Rikka the Reveler. "Of course her work is beloved throughout Throal and well beyond," says Lados, as he nurses a pint of Brick Hole #7. "Her life is well known but her death is a mystery." It turns out a recent expedition to find some of her lost compositions took the life of one Adept, and revealed an empty tomb. What had happened to Rikka the Reveler? This was the mystery that consumed Lados Chance's every waking moment.
To solve the mystery, he turned to Elisen, Haressa-tis and Lore Keeper of clan Adorjan. The Windling Cavalryman had been on the expedition that exposed Rikka's empty tomb, and they led a group of Adepts to discover the truth of Rikka's final resting place. "Many traditional songs of the Cliff City bear strange resemblance to Rikka's compositions, so that's where we began our search," said Elisen as they groomed their Zoak.
Their first lead was one Ohumu Kipi Syrtis, an often overlooked playwright whose work has surprising bombast and provides enjoyment for, if not the whole family, probably most of it. Fifty percent, at least. "Thank the Passions we had Juniper with us," said Malonin Turnith. "If not for him, Ohumu would have led us on a wild goose chase through the Twilight Peaks."
Nib, Windling Wizard of clan Skyreader, agreed. "Thanks to Juniper's extraordinary charm and disarming good looks, we found that the truth, as it often does, can be found in the humblest of places." The break in the investigation, it turned out, was one Hinai Varna Syrtis, a basket weaver based near the Eel Gardens. Hers is a humble stall, surrounded by the miasma of fish and the bustle and noise of T'skrang hard at work. But, in this humble setting, her baskets are gems; beautifully woven, Windling-approved, of quality to match Elven design.
"I didn't even know this old song book was a clue!" Hinai was surprised to find that the old songbook left to her by her grandmother was, indeed, a journal of Rikka the Reveler's travels in the area. More significantly, the journal elided several details and obscured others, as if Rikka were driven by a powerful desire for privacy. "Also, that boy Juniper, he was such a dear helping me sell my baskets. And those other Adepts, I forget their names."
Following the journal was, it turned out, like journeying through a song. "Waterfall was nice," said Jarock Hammer-Shield, describing a unique and wondrous glen where music and wildlife conspired to create unending songs of heart-breaking beauty. The Adepts also found natural amphitheaters with perfect acoustics, and spirits of song that beseeched them to help a Cloud Bird chick that was in dire straits. As heroes of Throal, the Adepts did just that.
"She was trying to find the music of the world," explains Elisen, as we stand before a modest stone cabin on a high plateau - the final home of Rikka the Reveler. "Perhaps that is what we are all doing, in the end."
News from the Underground - Like Regular News but Way Cooler!
SPECIAL OFFER: Present this broadsheet to receive a discount on up to two baskets at Hinai Varna Syrtis's shop in the Cliff City!
The Brick Hole is a dingy, smoky ratskellar of a bar tucked into the cellar beneath a mason's workshop. Trolls and Obsidifolk must duck to enter, and leave with sore necks. And yet the room is packed, Namegivers seated shoulder to shoulder. We are all here for a performance of Rikka the Reveler's Mother Smile by Anatha Parumaran.
I am sitting beside Lados Chance, a Troubadour and music historian who is passionate about Rikka the Reveler. "Of course her work is beloved throughout Throal and well beyond," says Lados, as he nurses a pint of Brick Hole #7. "Her life is well known but her death is a mystery." It turns out a recent expedition to find some of her lost compositions took the life of one Adept, and revealed an empty tomb. What had happened to Rikka the Reveler? This was the mystery that consumed Lados Chance's every waking moment.
To solve the mystery, he turned to Elisen, Haressa-tis and Lore Keeper of clan Adorjan. The Windling Cavalryman had been on the expedition that exposed Rikka's empty tomb, and they led a group of Adepts to discover the truth of Rikka's final resting place. "Many traditional songs of the Cliff City bear strange resemblance to Rikka's compositions, so that's where we began our search," said Elisen as they groomed their Zoak.
Their first lead was one Ohumu Kipi Syrtis, an often overlooked playwright whose work has surprising bombast and provides enjoyment for, if not the whole family, probably most of it. Fifty percent, at least. "Thank the Passions we had Juniper with us," said Malonin Turnith. "If not for him, Ohumu would have led us on a wild goose chase through the Twilight Peaks."
Nib, Windling Wizard of clan Skyreader, agreed. "Thanks to Juniper's extraordinary charm and disarming good looks, we found that the truth, as it often does, can be found in the humblest of places." The break in the investigation, it turned out, was one Hinai Varna Syrtis, a basket weaver based near the Eel Gardens. Hers is a humble stall, surrounded by the miasma of fish and the bustle and noise of T'skrang hard at work. But, in this humble setting, her baskets are gems; beautifully woven, Windling-approved, of quality to match Elven design.
"I didn't even know this old song book was a clue!" Hinai was surprised to find that the old songbook left to her by her grandmother was, indeed, a journal of Rikka the Reveler's travels in the area. More significantly, the journal elided several details and obscured others, as if Rikka were driven by a powerful desire for privacy. "Also, that boy Juniper, he was such a dear helping me sell my baskets. And those other Adepts, I forget their names."
Following the journal was, it turned out, like journeying through a song. "Waterfall was nice," said Jarock Hammer-Shield, describing a unique and wondrous glen where music and wildlife conspired to create unending songs of heart-breaking beauty. The Adepts also found natural amphitheaters with perfect acoustics, and spirits of song that beseeched them to help a Cloud Bird chick that was in dire straits. As heroes of Throal, the Adepts did just that.
"She was trying to find the music of the world," explains Elisen, as we stand before a modest stone cabin on a high plateau - the final home of Rikka the Reveler. "Perhaps that is what we are all doing, in the end."
News from the Underground - Like Regular News but Way Cooler!
SPECIAL OFFER: Present this broadsheet to receive a discount on up to two baskets at Hinai Varna Syrtis's shop in the Cliff City!