Session 001P
Dreams Come True For Panya
210831Panya tries her best to follow the tenuous trail of the missing mace. She fears she may fail her promise to the Abbot in this endeavor. Her only lead brought her to the small town of Veseya. Not one to willingly leave a task undone, Panya perseveres and walks through the town talking with merchants along the way, looking for the slightest bit of information that would guide her to the thief’s whereabouts. However, the person rumored to have a magical weapon for sale in the area has seemingly vanished. Later in the day, as she passes by a newly arrived and heavily ladened caravan, Panya experiences a strange feeling, like her head is wrapped in soft cotton. Her vision flickers for a moment causing her to hesitate lest she stumble on the dusty road.
As her vision clears, she sees two individuals that most definitely look familiar. These are two of the people who regularly appear in her dreams. She stares at them, one being of faun heritage and the other is a young man who glows from within, with the light of a hundred flickering lanterns. Now she is certain these are two of four people from her dreams.
She moves away from the caravan towards the docks while trying to decipher the meaning of what she saw. Yet, here among other people moving around the area, she sees the other two people from her dreams. The musician and the dusky hued man walk along the pier, obviously leaving a boat. They begin walking towards the town but suddenly stop and stare at Panya. Panya feels light headed, her legs give way. She stumbles clumsily against a fortuitous, sturdy barrel where she plops down hard, her mouth agape. The dreams and visions were standing before her!
The moment passes as the two men continue their walk into Veseya proper. Recovering quickly, Panya follows them closely, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. That’s when she overhears them talk about someone she had recently met, Fergus Proudsun. Fergus knew there might be people looking for him, and asked her to pass along a message if she met any of these people.
Timidly, Panya approaches the men and attempts to explain how she met Fergus but before she could deliver the message, the Faun and the Bright One step into the conversation, also apparently looking for Fergus.
She learns their names, Malakai, of Faun Kinship; Talyn, the Bright One, Lucky the Musician and Dak the Exotic Skin. She delivers Fergus’s message and a brief conversation follows. The group splits up. Lucky and Dak pair up and head towards a tavern. Malakai and Talyn are guards at the caravan she saw earlier and they head in that direction. Momentarily unsure of what she should do next, Panya decides to discreetly follow the pair heading to the caravan. She has no understanding of how these four people will affect her life, but she knows that meeting up with them was no coincidence. Destiny has an agenda and she is willing to follow the best she can.
Panya finds a spot near enough to the caravan to hear any commotion, yet far enough not to be in their way or even noticed. She gets a few hours of sleep and wakes up in time to perform her morning rituals. She ends with a recitation of the 8 Legs of Spiritual Life. When she finishes, she gathers her belongings and carefully packs them in her bag then sits down to watch the activity surrounding the caravan and its workers.
Lucky and Dak, who seems unwell, arrive at the caravan looking for work. She isn’t sure if they got jobs or they just decided to follow the caravan anyway. But she didn’t want to lose contact with the four so Panya decides to join, walking along beside the wagons as they pull out of town heading north towards Castellan Keep. In reality, this is backtracking her journey, heading back towards the Monastery of St. Yulric. Her heart is heavy that she hasn’t managed to find the holy relic.
As the caravan journeys northward, Panya doesn’t find many opportunities to talk to any of the four, so she keeps her eyes moving while enjoying the panorama of nature. Suddenly the caravan stops. Orders called down the line state that there is a large tree fallen onto the road. As caravan employees come together to deal with the obstruction, an arrow flies into the midst creating chaos. Panya runs forward keeping an eye on the spot where she is convinced the sniper is located. She launches herself from a nearby rock, trying to kick the bandit. Unfortunately, the man is able to move out of the way in time to avoid the lunging kick. He turns and slashes at Panya. She is barely able to keep from being sliced.
When the fighting is done, all the bandits are severely injured and unconscious. Panya notices that Malachai is bleeding, injured during the fight. She applies first aid to his wounds by tearing strips of cloth from the shirt of one of the nearby bandits.
After the bandits are tied up and loaded into a wagon, Panya and Dak attend to the various wounds received in the battle. Dak points out the strange bluish growths around the ears, and coloring under the eyes. The bandits would not answer any questions about who they are or what the growths were. It was decided to bring them to town and check for any outstanding bounties.
The day isn’t done yet, and more excitement, appaling as it is, soon arrives. The road ahead was strewn with clutter and as the caravan approached, a plaintive cry for help was heard. A merchant’s cart had overturned and most of the cargo lay in the dirt. A Hin named Isaac was leaning against a tree, a crossbow bolt protruding from his side. Panya attempts to heal him after the bolt is removed, but fatigue gets the better of her. Dak helps with first aid, and Isaac is loaded onto the caravan as well.
Panya uses the time to gather Isaac’s belongings while some of the men turn the cart upright. Finding and capturing the horse is another matter. Malakai locates the beast, who in turn informs Malakai that his name is Bob, Bob the Horse. However Bob is reluctant to pull the cart, having had enough drama for one day.
Eventually, Bob gives in and is hooked up to the cart allowing the caravan to reach the town of Bergoi where the caravan master, Tsorvano, plans to spend the night. The bandits are given to the local authorities, and a local priestess is contacted to heal the injured. The Bright One questions the priestess about her religion and decides to talk with her further. Panya is tempted to stay as well, but she is still unsure about Talyn and whether or not he would appreciate the extra company. Besides, morning comes early for her. Her spiritual meditation each morning is a necessary and welcomed ritual. It keeps her balanced and centered in her own faith.
Panya heads for the caravan camp, noticing that Lucky and Dak once again head for a tavern. What is the fascination of a night filled with inebriating drink and no sleep? One day she will try to have this conversation with Lucky and Dak. Panya notes that Malakai arrives at the camp before her. She thinks that perhaps he is of a like mind about the need for sleep.
The few hours of slumber go by quickly. Panya rises for her morning meditations, noting that Malakai had returned to the camp sometime after she fell asleep. She completes her rituals and carefully packs her backpack, ready for the next leg of the trip. She decides that if given the opportunity, she will go to the monastery to speak with the elderly Abbot. Her update on the missing mace will be sparse with no more information about the thief. Panya had the opportunity to see what was in the bandits belongings after the ambush, and the mace had not been in their possession.
Dak and Lucky show up just in time as the caravan begins its journey northward towards Castellan Keep. Panya notices that Dak looks ill, and for some reason is only partially clothed, the unusual color of his skin is even more obvious. Panya quickly looks away as it is not considered appropriate to view another person’s unclothed body unless it is necessary for healing purposes.
This day’s journey is relatively uneventful and Panya spends most of her time watching the scenery scroll by. There is one unusual interruption when a group of travelers going the opposite direction stopped to talk with people in the caravan. Panya overhears a conversation about attending a tournament where individuals fight each other in competitions. It makes no sense to Panya, why would you want to hurt someone for money. There is enough pain in the world without needless suffering inflicted on purpose.
The caravan eventually makes it to Novaci and prepares to bed down for the night. Panya notices that Malakai slips out of camp almost immediately. In spite of her curiosity, she knows that it is none of her business where he went. Surprisingly, Lucky the Musician, and Dak the Exotic prepare to bed down for the night near the caravan’s campfires.
Panya is torn between going to bed early or heading to the monastery now. She is sure she can make it there, spend some time with the Abbot and be back in time tomorrow to leave with the caravan. Her duty to the Abbot is more important so she quickly heads out and climbs the wandering path to the Monastery.
Session Notes
This was a player written account of the first session (last post) from the point of view of their character, Panya.Cast of Characters:
Malachai, Faetouched, Wilderness Defender - played by JeCorey HTalyn Dilectus Vanyilam, teenage Celestial warrior on the run - played by Don K
Dak, a Makai islander fluid mage - played by Ben L
Panya Masika, a bronze skinned Nithian monk stranded out of time - played by Carol C
Vlajic Savago, the Lucky Savage, a Traladaran bard - played by Dan E
