Session Notes for 2005-06-09

We head into the city and secure rooms. I stay at the Boar's Foot again.

August 3rd

We regroup in Lyle's private room. I explain my belief that the grey monks to the north might have the Music of Ages.

My monastery is Coller, named for the island it is on. The island of the grey monks doesn't really have a name. Both are about two days north. They are about a half day away from each other.

We find a Captain Starr who is heading to Coller anyway; for six silver pieces each he will take us to Coller. From there we should be able to borrow a boat. I withdraw one hundred platinum pieces from the bank.

Captain Starr's ship is a large cargo ship. The food is fine and utilitarian.

August 5th

Mid-morning we arrive on Coller. I drop one hundred platinum pieces into the donation box. I head in to see Master Torlan. He is quite interested in hearing of my adventures. I tell him everything in brief. He agrees to let us use one of the monastery's boats. I thank him and excuse himself.

If the group leaves tonight, we would arrive at the island of the grey monks in the evening. We decide to wait until tomorrow. I spend the day in meditation and training.

We eat dinner with the monks. We're provided a currently unoccupied hut to stay in.

August 5th

In the morning we head out. The boat is a large rowboat. We take shifts rowing.

Around mid-afternoon we spot an island ahead of us. We row onto a sandy beach. A large forest in the center of the island. We head counterclockwise around the island near the shore looking for the monastery.

As evening approaches I notice a particularly thin area of trees. Perhaps a way in. We head deeper into the island.

Heading inward, I notice a man in a tree. He is wearing grey, but otherwise dressed similarly to me. He doesn't respond to a hail and seems to be in a trance.

We come to a small clearing. A structure fills the clearing. It's more of a shelter than a building, mostly pillars and roof with some walls inside. A group of men, monks presumably, in grey sitting in meditation in the shelter.

Moving around, we see there are more people in a center section. There is a wide pedestal in the middle; something hangs from the ceiling above. They appear to be chimes. The only monk not meditating is standing near the middle. I ask the rest of the party to wait and I approach him.

The man doesn't seem terribly pleased to see me, but he is willing to talk. He doesn't recognize Music of Ages. I learn that they try to meditate and merge with nature. The chimes are a key focus and very old. He doesn't know the history of the bell. The monks do not have a master. I am granted permission to meditate to the chimes. I introduce myself; he says that they have no names. We're welcome to stay, but asked to maintain a respectful distance.

I head back and summarize what I've learned. I suggest that I meditate to the chimes and see if they reveal anything to me. The rest of the group will explore the rest of the island. We'll regroup on shore in the evening.

The wind chimes are very peaceful. My meditation is very deep and productive. Truly these are powerful chimes. My meditation is so deep that evening arrives very quickly. I regroup on the beach with the others. I explain that I believe the chimes probably are the Music of Ages.

I head back to the clearing. The monks are mostly clustered in small groups eating out of small wooden bowls. Dinner appears to be bread and a simple preserved stew. I speak with the same monk. I briefly summarize the situation and my desire to possibly borrow the chimes in the future. He will discuss what I have asked with the rest of the monks; I am to return tomorrow morning.

I return to the group. We eat and camp for the night.

August 6th

I head in to hear the grey monk's answer. I again speak with the same monk. He says the decision is not theirs to make. I must ask the chimes themselves. I can try to take the chimes; if they don't want to go, they won't. Some of the older monks say this has happened before and the chimes has refused to leave. I thank him, explaining that I will not try today. I return to the group and explain the situation.

We row back to Coller. I describe my discoveries to the master.

We wait for a ship on Coller for several days. My order generously provides us a place to stay and food. I use the opportunity to meditate and practice.

August 9th

A Captain Marell sails in. She is willing to provide passage back to Adrigal for one gold piece each. She has a fine and large ship, there is plenty of passenger space and the food is good.

August 11th

We arrive late in the evening. We separate to our various boardings.

August 12th

We head south into the woods. Morn opens a gate back into fairy. The trees shimmer a bit and we ride through. We ask the path to take us to our manor house. We arrive in the evening.

We spend the evening doing some research. Lyle learns about Margot. She is "the Black Lady," as she wears lots of black. She has two sisters. None have been married, all have many affairs. Margot is still around and liked within the court. Dorian learns that Margot spends time in both courts; she watches the King's court. Both the King and Queen like her. She is the oldest of the sisters and has helped create some laws. She had an affair with a mortal; she bore a child but nothing is known of the child's current whereabouts.

Lyle socializes. He learns that Margot is not currently in court. Margot's manor house is nearby; she will likely be at the Queen's court in the next few days. One of her sisters is here.

August 13th

We do some more research. Neither Morn nor myself turned up information connecting the Bloody Queen to the Grey King.

Morn learns that the Ocean Queen has a sizable library on ocean matters. The Grey King hordes books, but it's not known what sort of library, if any, he has. There is a woman by the name of Tisaniere who lives in the woods. She is rumored to have a great library.

We flag down a servant and ask to see the Queen. We continue researching while we wait. Dorian notes that apparently the Grey King was very interested in learning about the Bloody Queen.

An hour or so later, the Faerie Queen arrives. She is dressed in a beautiful green gown. Morn explains the status. The Queen says that Tisaniere is a very nice and informal woman. She suggests that no letter of introduction is required. The path can take us there.

We head out to see Tisaniere. We ask the path to take us to her. We don't travel too far, arriving within a few hours.

We arrive at a large garden with a small hut in the middle. We tie our horses up at the edge of the clearing and head in through the garden. The door is closed; Morn rings. A moment later a short, round lady in a homespun dress. She is very happy to see us and is immediately willing to let us see her library.

Her home is larger on the inside than the outside. Inside the place is heavily decorated with flowers and woven things. She leads us to a large but very disorganized library. She is happy to help us research. She doesn't have much on the Bloody Queen; she isn't interested in battles. However, she may have information on half-Fae.

She offers us dinner; she understands our dietary concerns. We gratefully accept. I offer to help. We chat. She is interested in my life; I'm interested in hers. I learn that she frequently travels between Faerie and the mortal realm. I suspect that she may engage in the sort of strange behavior and punishments and rewards that leads to fairy tales. She knew the King and Queen when they were small children. The King and Queen united the lands.

We head out to the garden. Every fruit, vegetable, and herb I've ever seen or heard of are here. All are ripe and ready for plucking. She pulls all sorts of things and I carry them.

On a tangent, I learn that mortals sometimes accidentally wander into Faerie. It's not sure why. Some "not very nice" fairies were exiled to the mortal realm.

We head inside and I help chop things up.

The rest of the group stays to read a pile of books she pulled down. There are several books on half-Fae, including a medical text.

Morn learns that half-Fae have been rare in recent times, largely because there haven't been much of a connection between the two worlds. There were once many more half-Fae, but it's not clear what happened to them. Half-Fae live longer than humans, but are not immortal.

Lyle reads a gnomish book from the mortal realm. It documents changelings. Human children are stolen and replaced with something strange that die in a dozen or so years.

A second book in draconic is from Faerie. The dragons had to deal with half-Fae dragons that left Faerie. The dragons in the mortal realm helped the half-Fae. The dragons taught the half-Fae magic. The half-Fae lives longer than any other mortal but otherwise were very human-like. They had a great deal of discipline and were exceptional artists. The half-Fae were very respectful of the dragons. The half-Fae were to the south of the Faerie courts. The half-Fae's children were all universally half-Fae. In general the dragons were very positive about the half-Fae an feel bad that the half-Fae were basically exiles.

Dorian reads a book of elven legends. It mentions that the elves come from another realm and their parents being immortal. It's very fairy tale it, but it does suggest that the elves are half-Fae. The legends are bitter about being exiled and describe the Fae as evil monsters.

Morn reads the medical text. The author understood that the non-Fae part of a half-Fae is important, but isn't terribly clear on it. The author basically gives up if faerie treatments don't work. The author finds it interesting that sometimes herbal remedies work that don't work on fairies, but the author is confused about which other races it may or may not work on. The book contains a number of herbal remedies. The book also discusses half-mermaid, half-fish. They're mostly fish and the author has no idea on how to treat them.

Tisaniere and I arrive and announce that dinner is ready. Dinner is large and tasty. Tisaniere asks everyone about their lives, Dorian's wolf included.

Tisaniere suggests that the Dragon Matriarch may know something about the half-Fae/elves. The Matriarch has histories of her own and is in contact with Dragons in both worlds.

We decide to see Margot. Perhaps we should learn why her sisters are fighting; this might be the "family divided". We should then see the Matriarch.

We thank her for her time. She invites us back; she loves visitors. We head back to the manor and rest.

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