Run By: Soldier of Misfortune (3 xp)

Players: Caol Tzun

Synopsis: Caol Tzun stumbles upon a little band of traders, then offers to help the local god find peace...through vengeance!

The Hundred Kingdoms are rife with little towns. Small places, little places, places that usually have some little tiny claim to fame. For instance, Ipsalyn, with its famous peppers, or Rill, where a precious flower grows once every year at a specific date and dies the next.

 So when a sign in riverspeak scrawled with WELCOME TO MYRI greets weary travellers - a small caravan who were on their way to the tiny town - they are understandably confused as to the fact that there appears to be no town to match the signpost.

 Not simply no town, in fact - there's no buildings, no people, no nothing. It's as if someone just randomly dug a road through an empty plains, spiked a sign in the ground, and said 'oh well!' and walked off.

 "It's supposed to be here," says Japhet the peddler, scratching his head at the empty view. "It was here last month!"

 "I was with you," Morry sighs, hand on the sword hanging at his waist. "I know."

 "Well then how did it just up and vanish!?" Japhet replies sharply, "Do you know that?!"

 "No," Morry answers, "No idea."

Caol Tzun approaches the site of the non-existant village and thusly the caravan atop his horse. With no arms readily visible, he stops a respectful distance away and calls out, "Hail caravan."

Japhet turns. "Traveller!" he calls respectfully, "Do you have any clue what in the Dragons' names happened here? It's sure stumping me!"

 Morry sighs and leans against the Yeddim pulling the carts.

Caol Tzun takes the fact that they are speaking him as permission to close to a distance more conducive to conversation. He takes a look at the caravan and then at the area around them. "I'm sorry, no. You got here before me, and as far as I knew there was a village here. I had planned to rest my mount and get a hot meal."

"Well," Japhet sighs, "Looks like we're short one town. Shall we pitch tents?"

 Morry looks up as the sun begins to set over the horizon. "Sounds wise. Care to help us out, traveller? We'll share what we've got with you - it's not much, but it should work for all of us."

 The other caravan workers are already starting to unload tents. "I'm Japhet," Japhet introduces himself, holding out a hand to Caol, "Master of this humble caravan. This is my bodyguard Morry. Perhaps it's your good fortune we came upon this place together, hm?"

Caol Tzun leans over from atop his horse and takes Japhet's hand in a firm but friendly fashion. "Well met Japhet, my name is Caol... and yes, I'd be pleased at the company. If it's to be another night of camping out, at least a couple of friendly voices to share the evening with will make it a bit more passable." With that Caol gets off his horse. "How can I be of help?"

"If you're willing, we could use some help pitching the tents," Japhet offers as he and Morry move to grab some tarp and poles, "But it'd be useful if you're willing to gather firewood." Japhet tilts his head in the direction of the woods nearby. "Assuming the forest doesn't bother you?"

Caol Tzun looks slightly puzzled. "Either is fine. Is there a reason the forest should bother me?"

"A disappearing village near a forest that's still there?" Japhet raises an eyebrow. "It bothers -me-. Dragons walk with you."

Caol Tzun shrugs noncommitally. "Anything in that forest that could cause an entire village to disappear could likely do so to us either here or over there. But I'd be happy to get some firewood." Caol grabs a length of rope from his bags and makes for the forest at a brisk pace.

The inside of the forest seems peaceful enough. There's firewood aplenty a little ways in, and Caol has no trouble whatsoever getting a good bit of kindling.

(Judge) Caol Tzun rolls 4 + 3: [ -1- 2 3 7 7 8 9 ]

        Resulting in 4 successes.

A little sound - on the edge of audibility, just barely there, as though it weren't quite wholly in this world - follows Caol as he makes his way deeper into the forest. It sounds like something fluttering gossamer wings, but there's no actual noise - more like the feeling of noise, the sensation that noise is being made -elsewhere-.

 It's starting to get kind of dark now.

Caol Tzun is definitely on his guard. But he came here for a reason so he lays the rope down on the ground begins picking up dead wood for the fire. He'll stop periodically to take a look around but he's not going to waste time.

"WHAT ARE YOU?"

 The voice is overpowering, omnipresent, thrumming in eardrums and the air and the very Essence around Caol, like a thousand rustling wings and chirping crickets thrusting their voices forth at the same time.

 "WHO ARE YOU?" It demands.

Caol Tzun drops the wood he was carrying and is now completely on his guard. He looks around before answering, "I am Night of Long Shadows. Who and what are you?"

"WE ARE LOTUS DREAMS ONE THOUSAND DREAMS OF MIDNIGHT!" the voice/s roars as from the shadows thousands, millions, billions of butterflies - obsidian black, darker than the night and the shadows themselves - flow together, congealing into a massive creature with hundreds of compound eyes blinking out at him, a mass of dripping gossamer threads and giant butterfly wings growing from its back, mandibles bursting forth as the head leans down to look at him. "NIGHT OF LONG SHADOWS, WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS HERE?"

Caol Tzun regards the apparition in front of him stoicly. "Right now I just want some firewood and perhaps to find out what happened to the village."

"FIREWOOD." The creature looms, tilting its head to the side, those compound eyes blinking at him carefully. "THERE IS WOOD APLENTY HERE. BUT IF YOU WANT IT, YOU MUST HELP US."

Caol Tzun returns the scrutiny coolly. "And please explain to me why that is. Does the wood belong to you? Does the forest belong to you. I am not averse to offering you my help if you truly need it, but I would appreciate an explanation of why I MUST help you."

"THIS IS OUR LAND!" Lotus Dreams One Thousand Dreams Of Midnight hisses, "ALL THAT IS HERE IS OURS! AND THEY TOOK OUR DREAMS FROM US - WE WANT THEM TO PAY!" The god lowers its head again, blinking right in Caol's face, and a horrible smell - like decaying flowers - rushes over Caol. "WILL YOU HELP US, NIGHT OF LONG SHADOWS?"

Caol Tzun crosses his arms and regards Lotus Dreams with as much patience as he can muster. "Perhaps if you more fully explained?"

"THEY CAME TO OUR HOME, OUR SANCTUM. THEY WANTED TO FREE OUR DREAMS - WE REFUSED, AND THEY TRICKED US! THEY TRICKED US, BLINDING US WITH LIGHT, HATED LIGHT...THEY HURT US! MALICIOUS MOON-CHILD AND HER FRIEND, THEY SANG TO US AND BROUGHT US LOW...THEY STOLE WHAT BELONGS TO US!"

 Lotus Dreams One Thousand Dreams Of Midnight's massive compound eyes blink, and upon close inspection, it's easy for Caol to tell - the god is blind.

 "HELP US, AND WE WILL HELP YOU AND YOURS," they offer, the tone in the god's incomprehensibly multitudinous voice shifting from rage to honeydew, "WE WANT THE VENGEANCE OWED TO US, AND NO MORE...AND WE WILL REPAY YOU! GRATEFULLY!"

Caol Tzun 's mood softens as he notices the god is blind. "I don't know who Moon-child is. How did they do this to you? Does it have anything to do with the missing village?"

"THAT VILLAGE WAS OURS! THEY CAME AND THEY WOKE IT AND THE DREAM WENT AWAY, AND WE LOST THOSE WHO SUSTAINED US! WE COULD NOT SUSTAIN THE VILLAGE!"  The god lowers its head all the way, four monstrous arms erupting from the mixture of butterflies and threads and sinking under its chin. "THEY ARE CALLED AZAMI A NO-MOON LUNAR AND PHILOKRATES OF GREAT FORKS STUDENT AND SERVANT OF THE THREE WORLDCIRCLER ARROWMASTER WINDSTRIDER TORTURESUFFERER LIESMITER LORETEACHER QUICKERSILVER FALCON CHOSEN OF SOL CONSECRATOR OF OATHS AND DECLARATIONS, WHO TOOK OUR DREAMS AWAY AND STOLE OUR HOME FROM US!"

Caol Tzun now looks shocked. "A Solar and a Lunar did this?" Caol sighs wearily. "No wonder they call us Anathema. Lotus Dreams one thousand Dreams at Midnight, I cannot make any promises but what I can do, I will do."

"YOU WILL HELP US?" Lotus Dreams One Thousand Dreams Of Midnight asks, tilting its head, "THEN YOU ARE FRIEND TO US, NIGHT OF LONG SHADOWS, AND YOU AND YOURS MAY REST HERE THIS NIGHT FREELY, WITH ALL THAT WE CAN PROVIDE."

 The god waves its massive hand, a cascade of butterflies taking off through the forest.

 "WE WILL WATCH OVER YOU THIS NIGHT, THAT YOU MAY HELP US WHEN THE TIME COMES."

Caol Tzun nods respectfully. "I thank you for your gifts. I will be about this business as quick as I am able."

"WE THANK YOU, NIGHT OF LONG SHADOWS, FROM THE DEPTHS OF OUR DREAMS. WE WILL GIVE YOU PLEASANT DREAMS THIS EVE, AND SO THAT YOU CAN RECOGNIZE THE FIENDS, WE WILL SHOW THEM TO YOU AS YOU SLUMBER."

 The god bows once more, breaking apart into butterflies and swarming into the sky.

Caol Tzun bows in return and picks up the wood he has bundled, ties it off and heads back to the caravan.