January 9th, 2010.
The three Lunars pass deeper into the crypt, eventually walking down some marble stairs and finding that it ends in a chasm. The trio begin to shapeshift to learn more about the chittering noises coming from the far tunnel.
After an abortive attempt by Procyon (in his raccoon form) to make cave drawings, Five Blades (in his war form) decides to pick everyone up and jump across, activating his Anima power to leap the 10 yard chasm effortlessly.
Everyone readies for battle and Five Blades leaps forward with Force of Principle in hand. A strange mutant double-spider appears, crawling on both the ceiling and the floor at the same time. After a fast but pitched battle, the Force of Principle wins out with the assistance of Procyon’s moonsilver tattoos and An-Lan’s trusty staff.
The creature dispatched, the trio continues downward, eventually entering a large chamber. Moonsilver worked into the wall outlines a round door, each symbol one of the caste marks of the Lunars (though none of the PCs recognize the missing two).
Five Blades Night approaches the full moon symbol and before he can touch it, the central dome of the door irises open, revealing a glowing lens inside. Jian begins to look through the lens, but his incomparable instincts ward him off and he jumps back, covering his eyes with a clawed hand.
Procyon leaps forward and begins to attempt to prize the lens free from inside the housing. “Be careful, eternal madness lies within!” Five Blades yells to the raccoon.
“Ooh!!!” Procyon squeaks, suddenly staring deeply into the lens. He manages to avoid infinite insanity but this only encourages his scrabbling little paws to look for a way to unhook the shiny object.
An-Lan looks helplessly at Five Blades who gives him the pantomime for yanking the little furball off the door. An-lan silently agrees and Jian lifts the raccoon and places him on his head between his fierce horns. Procyon responds by changing into human form and the pair fall gracefully to the floor and separate.
After a short discussion about what to do, Five Blades approaches his full-moon symbol again and touches it, sending a mote of essence through to the equipment. Procyon follows suit by nearly humping the door and sending his motes through. When An-lan touches the no-moon symbol, there is a strange burst of essence and his caste mark transforms from the current moon-phase (full moon) into the No-Moon he was fated to be.
At this point An-lan sends his essence into the First Age machinery and the entire door irises open in five petal-pieces, revealing a short staircase leading down into a stately burial chamber.
Laid to rest within, perfectly preserved as if asleep, is the gorgeous body of an ancient Lunar sorceress dressed in silvery-white funerary cloths. Floating above her body is a perfect sphere of unadorned moonsilver. An-Lan approaches and as he does the moonsilver drops into his grasp and he instinctively knows that his task is complete.
The trio depart after determining that there is nothing else to steal from this dead ancestor. Five Blades is trapped in his Deadly Beastman Form with a nearly iconic anima display, a burning moonsilver pillar of light with faint traceries of something large looming above him…
They depart the doorway, speaking again to the dead guard (except for Five Blades, who is bound to silence). The guard permits them to rest and reduce their animas, even noting on the tragedy that they must hide what they are.
The PCs leave Sijan and each engages in a sacred hunt. Once finished, the trio begins to wing their way back to Bewellen, each in their Raiton form. On the way Procyon and An-Lan grow closer while Five Blades seems to become a bit more distant.
Soon they arrive in Bewellen and return to the great tree to report their success to their master.
The PCs return to the Thousand Streams area and meet with Kisseki and his three other students. The tall Lunar with long eyebrows and wispy mustache wears a long blue kimono and glimpses of his tattoos are always visible. He seems sad but his voice carries happiness and he is glad that Five Blades and Procyon were successful in rescuing An-Lan.
Kisseki introduces the PCs to his other students:
The first is Incomparable Implement of Industry, a Full-Moon, a broad-shouldered Beaver-man with a massive saw-toothed moonsilver daiklave and tattoos of defensive magic.
Melgris Huttenton is the second student, wearing his athletic human form and fine leather jerkin. His jaunty hat has a feather and he seems to be a changing moon. Seems to be wearing a giant scroll tube strapped to his back.
The third is a tall, lipless man with a turtle-shell on his back, seemingly a permanent feature. Kijuko says one of his students has passed away, but the turtle-man is the emissary of Tetsuda, a beastman child a Lunar.
Sure-Footed Upon the Endless Mount of Knowledge (Sure-Footed for short) in introduced, this being the new name of Peng An-lan, given to him by Procyon. Procyon is prompted to tell the tale of Sure-Footed’s rescue and he does it well.
Then Procyon is laid out across the trunk of a tree and his caste is forever fixed as a Changing Moon by the Master. After Sure-Footed is given the first half of his tattoos by Kisseki, defending him from the Wyld without yet fixing his caste or completing the rituals.
Kijuko then warns of difficult times in the future of Bewellen, a time of strife. He asks his students to take a season to learn the people of Bewellen and begin to prepare them for the future. Tells them to take the Earth season to walk among the people and guide them.
He then changes form and flies up into the great branches, leaving his students to party.
Procyon cracks a joke about an entire barrel being Implement of Industry’s mug and then the group begins to discuss politics and the city of Nexus as they drink tankards.
Implement of Industry seems to be in favor of running Nexus with a firm hand, actively protecting their profits. Melgris says that chaos holds opportunities for advancement and that strongly led organizations should rise to the top like cream.
Jugram’s Falls is being led by Implement of Industry. Melgris Huttenton admits to being the Mayor of Harmonious Homestead. Melgris says that he brokered a pact with the spirits of a local springs to bring profit and healing to the people.
Implement of Industry says that he does not support the worship of the the Little Gods because they are fickle and corrupt, thus he is using technology in Jugram’s Falls to master the river.
Lopra Red-Tail was the Lunar who passed away, the ruler of the Abelshire. Implement of Industry something came from the Black Chase to the south, rode in and called her out. The land was scoured in a field and she was gone, the dark thing evaded the other Lunars and escaped.
When hearing this tail, Procyon and Five Blades argue that she is probably alive and should be rescued from her fate or imprisonment. Implement responds that Kisseki has a sense of things and believes her dead, so they believe him as well.
Oakbridge, run by Tetsuda, a woman Lunar who is apparently very busy rebuilding it from the last Seventh Legion/Wyld Hunt battles ten years prior. (This was a proxy war between the two factions of the Dragon-blooded.)
Hillhome is a desmense that is a goal for the Lunar students of Kisseki, they want to capture and cap it.
The students agree that they must quell the unrest in Abelshire and build the economic and military might of Bewellen. Five Blades Night suggests teaching the humans to build airship-like technology as a means of bringing the region closer together.
There is much politicking and discussions of who should act and where.
Implement mentions that he will soon have a cable to take men and goods up and down the Jugram Falls.
The Moot closes for the night and the Game moves to DOWNTIME.
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