# 8. Session Eight — Leaving Berran **In-game start:** Summer 24 | **Played:** 23 September 2026 [[The Rose of Igoda/13 - Session Notes/Session 07 - The Voices|← Session 07 - The Voices]] ![[The Rose of Igoda/99 - Attachments/Scenes/Session 08/Archer_and_Cask.jpg|780]] > [!abstract]+ TL;DR > - [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] finally explains why he followed [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]]. He reveals that [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]] raised, trained and used him; that the Empress sent the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Shuyet|Shuyet]] to recover Rose; and that, after they failed, he believes Torrax turned to [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Zinabda|Zinabda]] and its bounty network. > - Ahkai explains that [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Nezphu|Nezphu]] is another child being used by Torrax rather than an enemy to be blamed. His own experience of what Torrax does to children it considers useful is why he chose to reach Rose before Torrax could take her. > - The group burns the Bardic Circle documents after deciding the information about Rose is too dangerous to leave in physical form. Ahkai then casually asks the date and discovers it is **Summer 24**. Roughly **thirty-one days** have passed, and Springcrest came and went while their own experience felt far shorter. > - The party debate whether returning directly to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]] would protect Rose or simply lead pursuers to her. Their attention instead turns towards the people hunting her and the preserved Rose of Igoda associated with [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Dekinsza|Dekinsza]]. > - Ahkai later produces [[The Rose of Igoda/14 - Books & Records/Boristov Desk Papers|two papers]] taken from [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Boristov Sokah|Boristov]]'s desk. One describes Elarisian efforts to turn a Shuyet operative into an asset. The other concerns [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Nuanstar|Nuanstar]] seeking closer relations and greater unity, with Elaris discussing how to use the situation to its advantage. > - Before bed, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]], Ahkai and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Votoran|Votoran]] challenge [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] over how little they know about her. Sofia refuses to reveal where she comes from, and Votoran then suddenly pops away, leaving Tilly, Sofia and Ahkai behind. > - During the night Rose secretly pops into the tavern and finds Ahkai inscribing his equipment. She has dragged along an enormous bow intended for the blonde, stick-like woman she saw during the previous pop. Rose believes the two of them can stop the rot together, and Ahkai comes away believing Rose wants the group to find more Roses of Igoda. > - Unknown to the others, Tilly turns invisible, slips out into Berran and corners an elderly watcher connected to [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Veska Falrom|Veska]]. She puts a poisoned dagger to his throat and sends Veska a warning: he has made an enemy of the wrong person, and **“a little bird”** sent the message. > - In the morning Tilly and Sofia meet Ahkai's mongoose familiar, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Kephri|Kephri]]. After Ahkai accidentally reveals that Rose visited him, the group connect Rose's request for more flowers to the preserved specimen in Dekinsza and finally settle on a direction. > - Pressure on Sofia resumes. Her emotions trigger visible wild magic: a rain cloud forms over her and then half of her seventy-eight gold melts into one solid lump. She eventually slaps Ahkai with Mage Hand and reveals that she cared for children at an orphanage which was selling them. She still feels as though she left those children behind, which is central to why she wants to help Rose. > - Tilly disguises herself as elderly Matilda and the group head for the docks. A civilian-looking man directs guards towards them, but the party escape scrutiny by hiding in a candle shop and fully committing to an absurd cover story involving **four jasmine beeswax candles** and Granny's aching bones. > - At Berran's docks they secure passage aboard the [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Moonlit Bounty|Moonlit Bounty]]. Tilly's desperate-grandmother act and Sofia's intimidation bring the price down to **thirty gold total for four berths**, with **twenty-three gold paid up front**. The party end the session aboard the ship, waiting to depart for a rough six-day crossing to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]] before heading towards Dekinsza. > [!star]- Memorable Moments > - 🤯 **Revelation — Ahkai:** **“Torrax raised me. Torrax trained me. Torrax used me.”** Ahkai finally explains Torrax, the Shuyet, Zinabda, Nezphu and why he chose to find Rose before the people hunting her could. > - 😱 **Oh Shit — Thirty-one days:** Ahkai asks the date almost casually. The answer is **Summer 24**. The maths slowly lands: they have lost roughly thirty-one days and missed Springcrest entirely. > - 😂 **Chaos — Rose, the enormous bow and moral philosophy:** Rose appears in the tavern in the middle of the night dragging a bow far too large for her, tries to copy Ahkai’s inscription work, and forces him to reduce the morality of theft to **“Don’t steal from friends. That’s it.”** The conversation then ends because Rose announces she needs a poo. > - 🔥 **Savage — A little bird for Veska:** Invisible, masked and carrying a poisoned dagger, Tilly corners Veska’s watcher, holds the blade to his throat, pays him a gold piece and sends Veska a warning from **“a little bird.”** > - 🌀 **Chaos — Sofia’s emotions become weather:** The pressure on Sofia becomes impossible to hide when a rain cloud forms above her. Moments later her anger heats her purse until thirty-nine gold melts into one solid lump, and Ahkai eventually earns a slap from her Mage Hand. > - ❤️ **Heartfelt — Sofia and the orphanage:** Sofia finally gives the others something real: she cared for children at an orphanage, discovered they were being sold, and still feels as though she abandoned them. Tilly stops pushing; that is enough. > - 😂 **Funny — Matilda and the jasmine candles:** With guards actively searching nearby, Tilly becomes a widowed grandmother shopping for **four expensive jasmine beeswax candles** while Sofia complains about the cost and Ahkai loudly plays along. The guard lets them through — after admitting he hates jasmine. > - 😂 **Funny — Lady Marmalade must not starve:** At the Moonlit Bounty, Tilly’s invented cats become the heart of the travel negotiations. Sofia shames the crew for exploiting Granny, **Lady Marmalade** becomes an urgent concern, and the group somehow talks the price down to thirty gold total for four places. ## Session Notes ### After the Bardic Circle Late at night, with [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/The Archer and Cask|the Archer and Cask]] almost empty, the group finally had enough quiet to sit with the documents they had taken from the Bardic Circle. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] was back in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]], but that did not make anything feel simpler. The last stretch of events had been almost impossible to process: Rose had moved them through places they barely understood, she had been badly hurt, and now they were left with records suggesting that powerful people of [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]] had been studying her, moving her and planning around her. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] sat with her head in her hands, overwhelmed by how far things had escalated. She had never set out to become part of anything like this. She had wanted to make money, help her aunt and uncle and get by. Now she was trying to understand what role four ordinary people were supposed to play in protecting a child who might somehow be tied to the fate of entire nations. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]]'s response was simple: none of them had chosen this, but Rose had chosen them. Tilly immediately turned that back on him. Ahkai had promised them a proper explanation once they had time to sit down with a drink. He had his drink. It was time to tell them why he was there and why he had been following them. ### Ahkai Finally Explains Himself [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] began with [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]]. He described it as a machine: a nation where everyone worked for Torrax and for the good of Torrax, with people treated as parts of something larger. Then, for the first time, he explained his own relationship to it plainly. “Torrax raised me. Torrax trained me. Torrax used me.” He had been placed somewhere that gave him access to sensitive information. Through that access, he learned that Torrax was looking for a girl known as the Rose of Igoda. Digging further led him to information about another child, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Nezphu|Nezphu]], who was treated within Torrax as something close to a god-child and was believed to be important to Torrax's future. When [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] called Nezphu [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]]'s evil twin, Ahkai shut that idea down immediately. They did not know the boy. As far as Ahkai was concerned, Nezphu was another child being used by Torrax. Whatever people believed he might become or accomplish did not make him responsible for what adults were doing around him. Ahkai then explained the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Shuyet|Shuyet]]. They were agents of the Torraxian Empress: her hands, used to find information, steal what she wanted and kill when she wanted someone dead. In Rose's case, their task had not been to assassinate her. They were supposed to recover her and bring her back to Torrax. They had failed. After the Shuyet failed to recover Rose, Ahkai believed Torrax had turned to [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Zinabda|Zinabda]]. He asked whether the others knew of the organisation. They did not. He described it as having a bounty board used by bounty hunters, often for violent work. Rose's name had appeared there, but unlike many of the other names on the board, the instruction was not to kill her. People who were normally paid to hunt and kill were instead being sent to find her. That was when Ahkai decided he could not allow Torrax to get to Rose first. He knew first-hand what happened to children Torrax considered special or useful. In his words, he did not want Rose to become another bloodied cog in the machine. ### How Ahkai Found the Party [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] had learned that [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] was being held in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]] and travelled there without knowing exactly where to begin. He approached the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] for information and told them he was looking for the Rose of Igoda. Their behaviour changed when they realised Rose was a girl. Before long, their operation seemed to shut down around him, but by then Ahkai had enough information to be pointed towards the Bardic Circle mansion. He arrived too late to be part of Rose's rescue. Instead, he saw a group escaping with her. At first he thought bounty hunters might have reached her before him. Then he watched what the group actually did. He saw people risking themselves for Rose and for one another, including someone sacrificing themselves to save the others. That did not look like a group motivated only by profit. You cannot spend gold when you are dead. Realising the group were probably trying to help Rose, Ahkai followed them. He tracked the group towards [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Hy-Soran|Hy-Soran]]. The last thing he clearly remembered there was the storm and a bolt of lightning coming towards him. Then, with no journey between the two moments, he appeared in the street behind the party. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] watched him carefully throughout the explanation. For once, despite all of his previous evasiveness, she believed he was being genuine. ### Too Many People Want Rose The explanation did not make the situation safer. If anything, it made the scale of the danger clearer. [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]] had imprisoned [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] and experimented on her. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Boristov Sokah|Boristov]] and the Elarisian military knew what she could do. [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]] wanted her. The [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Shuyet|Shuyet]] had been sent after her and failed. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] believed Torrax had then turned to [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Zinabda|Zinabda]], putting Rose in front of bounty hunters. [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] knew enough to have become involved. Anyone staying close to Rose could become a target simply because they had information about her. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] suggested burning the Bardic Circle documents. They had already read them and shared what they contained. Keeping the physical papers only created another way for the information to fall into the wrong hands. The group agreed. The documents were burned. ### The Missing Time While the papers burned, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] caught the innkeeper's attention. He had lost track of the date and casually asked what day it was. They had been on a long bender, he explained. The answer was the twenty-fourth of Summer (Summer 24). At first, that number did not fully register. Then the group compared it with the date they remembered from before everything had gone wrong. The arithmetic slowly landed. They had lost roughly thirty-one days. For them, the events involving the Valley of Moons, [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]], [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]], [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Dharan|Dharan]] and the strange places [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] had taken them through had felt like one connected, terrifying sequence. Outside of whatever had happened to them, more than a month had passed. Springcrest had come and gone without them. That helped explain why the Bardic Circle mansion and the city around it no longer looked exactly as they had expected, but it raised a far larger question: where had that time gone? None of them had experienced anything close to a month. ### What Do They Do Next? Once the shock of the missing month had settled enough for them to keep talking, the group tried to decide what helping [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] actually meant. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] wanted to return to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]] and see Rose for himself. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] understood the instinct, but she thought going straight there might be the worst thing they could do. If they were being watched or hunted, taking the road directly to Rose's hiding place could lead their enemies to her. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Cassa Redwillow|Cassa]] and the retired adventurers in Thornhollow were far more capable of protecting Rose than the group were. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] was worried about a different problem. Rose might be physically safe, but she was still a child with extraordinary power and very little sense of the consequences of using it. Keeping her hidden was one thing. Helping her understand what she could do was another. Tilly pointed out that distance had never stopped Rose from reaching them before. Rose had already moved them across huge distances and into places they did not understand. If Rose wanted to speak to them, she probably would. That made Tilly favour another approach: rather than walking back to Thornhollow just to confirm Rose was still there, they should investigate the people hunting her and learn more about what everyone wanted from her. If they were dangerous to be around, then staying away from Rose might actually be one of the ways they protected her. The discussion brought them back to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Dekinsza|Dekinsza]]. The documents had suggested that Rose was meant to be taken there and that another preserved Rose of Igoda was involved in planned experiments. Tilly suggested that, instead of simply reacting to the next crisis, they could go and find out what [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]] had been doing there. ### The Two Papers from Boristov's Desk [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] then produced two papers he had taken from [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Boristov Sokah|Boristov]]'s office. The first concerned Elarisian intelligence activity inside [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]]. Elarisian spies believed they had identified a member of the Empress's internal security, described as a [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/Shuyet|Shuyet]], and had made contact. Work appeared to be underway to turn that person into an Elarisian asset. That document suddenly meant much more now that the others understood what a Shuyet actually was. The second paper was political rather than directly connected to [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]]. It concerned [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Nuanstar|Nuanstar]] seeking closer relations, expansion and some form of greater unity, with the Elarisian council discussing how the situation might be used to [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]]'s advantage. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] wanted as little to do with that political side of things as possible. Whatever governments were manoeuvring around each other, Rose remained the immediate problem. ### Sofia's Past Comes Up Before anyone went to bed, the question of [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]]'s past surfaced for the first time. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]], [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Votoran|Votoran]] all pressed her about how little they actually knew. Ahkai had finally explained why he was there, Tilly had already been open about herself, and Votoran had shared her own story. Sofia, by comparison, had still told them almost nothing. They asked where she was from and whether she had any contacts or allies who might be able to help them. Sofia insisted that it did not matter. Ahkai noted how wealthy and well-connected she appeared and jokingly suggested that perhaps her money or jewellery could solve some of their practical problems. Votoran was more direct: she had told Sofia about herself, so why would Sofia not even say where she came from? Sofia continued to refuse. Before the discussion could go any further, Votoran suddenly popped away. Tilly could only remark, “Great. And then there were three of us.” Exhausted and with no answer forthcoming, the remaining three left the subject unresolved and prepared to sleep. ### A Very Small Room The tavern did not truly have spare guest rooms. The innkeeper had effectively surrendered her own small room upstairs to them. It contained two single beds, a basic wash basin and little else. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] asked for a blanket and chose to sleep downstairs in the bar rather than crowd into the room with [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]]. It was not right for him to share a room with women. Upstairs, neither woman immediately slept. Tilly lay with her back to Sofia and quietly listened for Sofia's breathing to settle. Sofia, meanwhile, noticed that Tilly did not seem to be sleeping either. Eventually Sofia broke the stalemate. “For goodness' sake, Tilly. I'm not going to stab you in the middle of the night.” Tilly pointed out that she had never said Sofia would. Both admitted they were still thinking. There was a lot to think about. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] had taken them into [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Torrax|Torrax]], into [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Boristov Sokah|Boristov]]'s private quarters, into the heart of [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Dharan|Dharan]] and into places that might not even have been part of their world. She was a child with far more power than any of them understood. Were they protecting her? Should they be afraid of her? Was someone trying to turn her into a weapon? And if Rose truly believed they were the people meant to help her, what were they actually supposed to do? ### Rose Visits Ahkai ![[The Rose of Igoda/99 - Attachments/Scenes/Session 08/Rose_Bow.jpeg|780]] Downstairs, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] had no intention of sleeping yet. He made a small coin glow for light and continued working quietly on his equipment, carving and inscribing his khopesh, bow, arrowheads and shield. It was part craft, part preparation and part habit. He also realised that he was not entirely alone: having given up her own room, the innkeeper was asleep under a blanket in one of the booths across the bar. A flash at the edge of his vision made him stop. He put on his mask so he could see better in the dark and began scanning the room. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] was peering around a corner. She had ignored everyone's sensible preference that she stay safely in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]]. She was also dragging an enormous bow. Rose was fascinated by what Ahkai had been doing to his weapons. She described it simply as him 'doing things to the stuff'. Ahkai tried to explain it was a way of transferring power, magic, Heka. Rose was less interested in the terminology than in the idea itself. She seemed to be trying to copy what he was doing and believed she could make something of her own. Her explanation remained difficult to follow. Rose referred to the blonde, stick-like woman she had seen during the previous pop and said she thought that woman could help because she was doing something similar to Rose. Rose believed they could stop the rot together. Rose explained that the oversized bow was for that woman, though exactly what Rose intended to do to the bow, or how she believed it would help, remained unclear. Ahkai asked whether she was safe. Rose indicated that she was, although [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Cassa Redwillow|Cassa]] was clearly not pleased with her disappearing whenever she felt like it. The bow also did not appear to belong to Rose, which led Ahkai into an unexpectedly difficult attempt to explain when stealing was and was not acceptable. He tried 'stealing for a purpose'. That was too broad. He tried 'steal from people who can afford to be stolen from'. That was worse. Eventually he found a rule simple enough to end the conversation. “Don't steal from friends. That's it.” Something seemed to connect in Rose's head at that point. Before Rose left, Ahkai asked the question the whole party had been circling around: what should they do next? Her reply was difficult to make out in full, but Ahkai came away believing that the group needed to find more Roses of Igoda. He also suggested that if popping hurt or frightened her, she should try communicating from a distance instead of physically appearing beside them. He demonstrated Message as an example of sending words without moving. As they were discussing this safer form of communication, Rose abruptly announced that she needed a poo. Ahkai, visibly caught off guard, sheepishly asked whether she needed help. Rose said Cassa would help her and that she should go. Before disappearing, Rose made Ahkai promise not to tell anyone. What exactly the promise covered was not entirely clear, though Ahkai understood it as concerning the bow and what Rose thought she might be able to do with the Roses. He agreed. ### Tilly Goes Hunting ![[The Rose of Igoda/99 - Attachments/Scenes/Session 08/Tilly_Rooftops.jpeg|780]] Upstairs, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] eventually fell asleep. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] waited until she thought Sofia's breathing had settled, then cast Invisibility and quietly slipped out through the window. She pulled her red bandana down over her face, coated her dagger in poison and made her way onto the rooftops. She was looking for the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]]. For twenty or thirty minutes, Tilly watched the quiet streets around the tavern and the Bardic Circle mansion. Most of the people she saw appeared harmless: a couple lingering together, ordinary late-night pedestrians and guards keeping watch over the district. One elderly man stood out. He sat feeding pigeons from a position that gave him a useful view of the surrounding area. Tilly watched him carefully and became convinced that he was not simply feeding birds. He was scouting. She moved closer while still invisible. At one point she tried a surprisingly convincing pigeon call to draw his attention. The man looked around for the nonexistent bird and then returned to watching the area. Tilly decided subtlety had done enough. She came up behind him, clamped a hand over his mouth and pressed the poisoned dagger to his throat. “Don't make a sound.” The old man froze. Tilly explained the rules. A nod meant yes. A slight shake of the head meant no. If he made enough noise to alert the nearby guard, he was dead. She asked whether he worked for [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Veska Falrom|Veska]], whether he knew where Veska was, whether Veska was still in the city, what he knew about the Bardic Circle incident and whether he knew [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Edgar Sturron|Edgar]]. The man knew very little. Veska was apparently still somewhere in the city, but the old man himself only did occasional work for coin, watching what he was told to watch. He did not know where Edgar was. When the guard started paying more attention to the old man's strange behaviour, Tilly ordered him to keep feeding the pigeons so he looked normal. Then she placed a gold coin into his hand. “Tell Veska he's made an enemy of the wrong person.” The man promised he would. Tilly gave him one final instruction. “And if he asks who sent you, tell him a little bird sent you.” The dagger left his throat. Tilly disappeared into the alleys, doubled back through the streets, climbed onto the rooftops and returned to the tavern. She wiped the poison from the blade, slipped back through the bedroom window and settled into bed beside Sofia as though she had never left. This time, she actually went to sleep. ### Morning and Kephri Morning came with the smell of sandalwood from downstairs. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] woke sprawled across the bed, her hair a mess and her bandana half over her face. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] had slept curled on her side in a much more contained, almost childlike position. When they went downstairs, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] was already awake. He had also carved more symbols into the tavern table. Before Tilly could properly react, something small darted around their feet: Ahkai's mongoose familiar, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Kephri|Kephri]]. Tilly immediately crouched down and forgot every other problem for a moment. Kephri was dark grey to almost black, with warmer brown streaks through his fur. Tilly managed to coax him close enough to fuss over him and was completely won over. Then she looked up and noticed what Ahkai had done to the table. Her affection for the mongoose did not extend to its owner. Tilly swept Ahkai's things aside and used Mending to repair the damage. Patrons like him, she told him, had been the bane of her life when she worked at the [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/The Pewter Mug|Pewter Mug]]. Ahkai, instead of being properly ashamed, decided she should teach him the spell. ### Min's Breakfast ![[The Rose of Igoda/99 - Attachments/Characters/NPCs/Min.jpg|620]] The innkeeper brought out breakfast, and it was far better than any of them expected: steamed rice, grilled mackerel, boiled eggs, cheeses, soft bread and several drinks. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] also realised that the woman had effectively given them her own bed for the night. She went over, took the innkeeper's hands, pressed a gold coin into them and thanked her. The group had slept properly for the first time in what felt like a very long while, and the breakfast was excellent. The compliment visibly affected the woman. Very few people seemed to tell her that she was doing a good job. Tilly understood the business. Her aunt and uncle ran the [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/The Pewter Mug|Pewter Mug]] in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]], and tavern work was hard, thankless and exhausting. That connection opened the woman up. She wanted to make more of the place and had thought about bringing in music or entertainment. Tilly encouraged her. She did not need a grand stage. A stool and a little space would do. Bring in local performers, street musicians and people with something genuine to offer. Just not anyone from the Bardic Circle. The innkeeper packed some food for the group to travel with, enough for roughly two rations. Later, they finally learned her name: [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Min|Min]]. ### Ahkai Gives Himself Away Over breakfast, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] suggested that they should actively look for more of the strange white flowers. The flower they had carried through [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Dharan|Dharan]] had affected the corruption there, and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] had reacted strongly to it. Instead of wandering around waiting for another disaster, finding more Roses might give them something concrete to do. He even suggested going back to the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] for information. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] immediately noticed the change. The previous night Ahkai had been arguing that they should go straight back to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]]. Now he was suddenly interested in finding more flowers. Why? Ahkai claimed he had simply spent the night thinking about it. Tilly and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] were not convinced, and Sofia was still very keen to see Rose. Then Ahkai slipped. Rose was fine, he said. He had spoken to her. Both women stopped. Ahkai tried to minimise it. It had only been brief. Rose had told him she was safe. That only made them more suspicious. Their read on him was clear: Ahkai might be telling the truth in pieces, but he was extremely comfortable leaving things out when it suited him. Eventually he gave in. “She made me promise.” Rose had popped into the tavern the previous night. She was safe. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Cassa Redwillow|Cassa]] was annoyed with her. And, according to Ahkai's understanding of their conversation, Rose wanted them to find more Roses. ### Dekinsza Becomes the Plan That immediately connected to something the group already knew. The Bardic Circle records had described plans involving [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Dekinsza|Dekinsza]]. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] was supposed to be moved there, and another preserved Rose of Igoda was associated with the experiments there. The documents suggested that [[The Rose of Igoda/05 - Nations & Regions/Elaris|Elaris]] had kept that flower for a long time and had planned to allow Rose to touch it directly. If Rose now wanted them to find more of the flowers, and Dekinsza was the one place where they knew another specimen had been kept, the direction seemed obvious. Go to Dekinsza. Find out what Elaris had been doing there. If the flower was still there, try to get it to Rose. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] was not pretending that this amounted to a grand strategy. She still did not know how four people were supposed to solve the wider problem. But she could understand finding something Rose said she needed and throwing a few spanners into the plans of the people trying to use her. ### Veska, the Harpers and Passage Out The group briefly considered whether to involve anyone else. [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Harpers - Rose Campaign|Harpers]] might be useful. [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] might know how to arrange discreet passage. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] even suggested that [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Veska Falrom|Veska]] might now feel guilty enough about what had happened to Rose that they could exploit that guilt. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] did not share his sympathy. As far as she was concerned, Veska had created the situation by prioritising profit over a child. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Edgar Sturron|Edgar]] might have been the person holding the rapier, but Veska had authorised the entire attempt to take the papers. Tilly wanted nothing to do with either of them unless there was no other choice. So the group settled on the simplest first step: go to the docks and see whether they could buy passage to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]] without involving another faction at all. Before they could leave, the conversation turned back to [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]]. ### Sofia Is Pressed for Answers [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] had now told them far more about himself than he had ever revealed before. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] had been open about her own history. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] remained the one person who still refused to say much about where she had come from or why helping [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] mattered so much to her. When asked directly, Sofia repeated what she had said before: Rose was a child. Children should be protected. That was clearly true, but Tilly did not think it was the whole answer. Tilly did not need Sofia's entire life story. What she wanted was enough honesty to know that the people around her could trust one another once things became dangerous again. Sofia had already been with them through too much for complete secrecy to feel comfortable. Sofia became increasingly frustrated. She eventually admitted that she knew of a child-trafficking operation where she came from and wanted to stop things like that happening. Where was she from? That, she still would not say. The questioning continued. Sofia's discomfort rose with it. Then her emotions began to manifest physically. ### The Rain Cloud and the Melted Gold A small rain cloud formed above [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] and began raining directly onto her. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] stared. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] had never seen it happen before. Sofia tried to dismiss it as stupid magic and asked them to stop pushing. As embarrassment gave way to irritation, the cloud disappeared. Then Sofia felt heat against her body. Her coin purse was burning. Half of the seventy-eight gold pieces she had been carrying melted together into a single solid lump. The value was technically still there, but spending it had suddenly become a much more complicated problem. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Kephri|Kephri]] darted over to retrieve the dropped purse while everyone tried to understand what had just happened. Ahkai, attempting to restart the conversation with something harmless, asked Sofia her favourite colour. Blue. Nobody thought the question had helped. The pressure continued until Sofia finally summoned a spectral Mage Hand and slapped Ahkai across the face. That was enough to make him back off. ### The Orphanage Eventually [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] gave them something real. She had spent a great deal of time looking after children at an orphanage. Then she discovered that the orphanage was selling the children. That was why this mattered to her. That was why [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] mattered to her. And underneath everything else was the feeling that she had left those children behind. The mood changed immediately. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] stopped pushing for a hometown or a full explanation. Sofia had finally given them something honest and painful. She had seen what happened when adults turned vulnerable children into things to be sold and used, and she wanted to stop it happening again. For Tilly, that was enough. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] appeared to suspect that Sofia still knew more than she had said, but he did not challenge her aloud. The group moved on. ### Matilda Returns Walking openly through [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]] while they might be wanted seemed unwise, so [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] brought out her disguise kit. Wrinkles appeared across her face. Her hair was greyed. Her posture folded. Her voice changed. Matilda was back. The cover story developed quickly. Tilly was now a widowed grandmother from [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]] who had travelled to Berran to visit family and desperately needed to return home. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] became one of her grandchildren. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] could use his mask and cloak to make himself look far less recognisable. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Votoran|Votoran]] was still absent after disappearing through the same strange popping phenomenon that had already separated people from the group, but the others intended to account for her if they found passage. Before leaving, Tilly promised [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Min|Min]] that if they ever came back, she would put on a proper performance at the tavern. Min had softened enormously from the sour-faced woman they had first met. Tilly even gave her some advice about makeup and blending her eye shadow. Ahkai told Min that if anyone came looking for them, she should say they were heading for Tolk. Then Min asked an awkward question. What about the girl? [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]]'s visit during the night had apparently left enough of an impression that Min was no longer certain she had imagined seeing her. The group denied knowing what she meant. Ahkai suggested that perhaps the tavern was haunted. Min was left with that thought as the group headed out. ### Someone Recognises Them [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]] looked different in daylight. The wealthy district around them was polished, elegant and busy. It was also much easier to see who was watching. As the group made their way towards the docks, they noticed a man in ordinary clothing speaking with several guards. He had a piece of paper in his hands. He looked towards them. Then he pointed. The group could not prove what was on the paper, but the guards began responding to his directions. There were no other obviously suspicious people nearby. The safest assumption was that the man had recognised them, or at least believed he had. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] spotted an alley and they turned into it, changing their presentation as they moved. His cloak was shifted around, his mask changed his appearance, and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] continued hobbling along beside [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] as an elderly grandmother. Unfortunately, the alley was a dead end. The guards were coming closer. ### The Jasmine Candle Shop The dead-end lane contained expensive little shops rather than useful escape routes: candles, skincare and other luxuries. The group stepped into a candle shop. An elderly shopkeeper greeted [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]]. Matilda instantly developed a tragic backstory. Her husband had died, she explained, and she had struggled to sleep ever since. The shopkeeper recommended jasmine. Sofia quietly admitted that she hated the smell of jasmine. Tilly had already committed. So Matilda bought four expensive jasmine beeswax candles. While the transaction continued, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] watched the street from near the entrance. A young boy stood outside in a place where he did not seem to belong, scanning the area near a raised passage between buildings. Ahkai could not prove what the boy was doing, but he looked far more like a lookout than a shopper. The guards continued to move closer. When the group left the shop, they decided the safest approach was complete commitment to the lie. Ahkai loudly asked Granny what she had bought. Tilly loudly explained the beautiful jasmine candles that would help her sleep. Sofia loudly complained about how much money Granny had spent. They walked straight towards the guards while still arguing about candles. One of the guards stopped them and asked their business. Spending far too much money on candles, apparently. The disguise and performance held. The guard looked at the candles and admitted that he hated jasmine. Tilly replied that her granddaughter did too. He stepped aside and let them pass. Once they were clear, Tilly remarked that she had rather hoped he would frisk her. Sofia could not understand what was wrong with her. ### They Really Were Looking for Them As they moved away, [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] managed to catch fragments of the conversation between the guards and the man who had originally pointed them out. One of the guards complained that he did not mind doing what “he” said, but that the search was a waste of time and was making him look foolish. The other man insisted that he knew who they were looking for, that they should still be there, and that they had been seen. It was not clear who the unnamed “he” was or exactly who had ordered the search. What was clear was that somebody had seen the group, expected them to still be in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]], and had people actively searching for them. The disguises had worked, but the search itself was real. ### Berran Docks ![[The Rose of Igoda/99 - Attachments/Scenes/Session 05/Berran West Docks.jpeg|780]] The docks were completely different from the quiet, wealthy streets above them. Sails cracked in the wind. Crates landed heavily on timber and stone. Workers shouted over one another. Wagons moved cargo in and out while gulls circled overhead. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] had originally arrived in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]] from [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]] by cargo vessel, so she knew that merchant crews sometimes carried unofficial passengers if the price was right. A dock worker told Matilda that the next proper passenger ship to New Haven would not leave for about a week. Cargo ships were another matter. Two ships were heading that way sooner. The [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Moonlit Bounty|Moonlit Bounty]] was due to leave the following day. The Green and Gold was due to leave in four days. The group chose the Moonlit Bounty. ### Granny and the Cats The [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Moonlit Bounty|Moonlit Bounty]] was a substantial cargo ship, not a passenger vessel. The man directing the crew was immediately sceptical of the elderly woman approaching him with her assorted 'grandchildren'. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] explained that she desperately needed to return to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]]. Her neighbour could only watch her cats for a few days. The cats were going to starve. The crewman warned her repeatedly that this was not a comfortable passenger crossing. There would be no proper bedding or guest accommodation. The journey would be rough and would take about six nights. Matilda remained undeterred. She was tough as old boots. She had travelled before. She could get her sea legs back. The cats needed her. The opening price was thirty gold each. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] was appalled. She publicly shamed the crew for trying to charge an elderly grandmother so much money for a rough cargo crossing. Tilly joined in, asking whether this was how the man's mother had raised him and reminding him that helpless animals were waiting at home. Somewhere during the performance, one of the cats became Lady Marmalade, whose welfare was apparently now a matter of international urgency. The negotiation became increasingly ridiculous, but it worked. The price eventually came down to thirty gold in total for four places. The crew wanted most of the money immediately. The group settled on seventy-five percent up front, handing over twenty-three gold, with the remainder to be paid later. The fourth berth was for [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Votoran|Votoran]] if she returned in time. ### Aboard the Moonlit Bounty [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Tilly|Tilly]] and [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Sofia|Sofia]] boarded first. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Ahkai|Ahkai]] held back. His magical disguise was useful for moving through the city, but it was not practical to maintain indefinitely during the voyage. He found somewhere out of sight, changed out of the disguise, acquired another cloak and then approached the ship again as the additional grandchild Matilda had already warned the crew might appear. The crew stopped him briefly, then Tilly confirmed that they had paid for four places. Ahkai was allowed aboard. By the end of the session, Tilly, Sofia and Ahkai were on the [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Moonlit Bounty|Moonlit Bounty]] with passage booked towards [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]]. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07a - Player Characters/Votoran|Votoran]] remained absent, but there was a place paid for her if she returned before departure. Behind them was [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]], its guards, the [[The Rose of Igoda/06 - Factions & Organisations/The Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] and a missing month none of them understood. Ahead was a rough six-day crossing. After New Haven, the plan was [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Dekinsza|Dekinsza]]. And, if they had understood [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Rose|Rose]] correctly, another Rose of Igoda. ## Session End State > [!success]- Where Things Stand > - **Date:** Summer 24. The party now knows that roughly thirty-one days have passed and that Springcrest occurred during their missing time. > - **Rose:** physically safe in [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Thornhollow|Thornhollow]], but still popping away without permission. [[The Rose of Igoda/07 - Characters/07b - Non-Player Characters/Cassa Redwillow|Cassa]] is unhappy about it. Rose wants more Roses of Igoda and is preparing an oversized bow for the blonde, stick-like woman from the previous pop. > - **Immediate objective:** find another Rose of Igoda. The clearest known lead is the preserved specimen associated with [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Dekinsza|Dekinsza]]. > - **Route:** the group have secured passage from [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Berran|Berran]] to [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/New Haven|New Haven]] aboard the [[The Rose of Igoda/08 - Locations/Moonlit Bounty|Moonlit Bounty]]. The ship has **not yet departed**. Once it does, the crossing is expected to take about six days. Their intended direction after New Haven is Dekinsza. > - **Party position:** Tilly, Sofia and Ahkai are aboard the Moonlit Bounty. Votoran is temporarily absent after popping away. A fourth berth has been paid for in case she returns before departure. > - **Passage cost:** thirty gold total for four places; twenty-three gold has been paid up front. > - **Ahkai:** has publicly revealed his Torraxian origin, his knowledge of the Shuyet and Zinabda, how he found the party, and why he chose to protect Rose. Rose also made him promise not to reveal something from their private conversation, though the exact scope of that promise remains unclear. > - **Sofia:** has revealed that she cared for children at an orphanage which was selling them and that she feels she left those children behind. She has still not revealed where she comes from or the full story. > - **Tilly:** unknown to the others, has threatened one of Veska's watchers and sent Veska a warning from **“a little bird.”** > - **Kephri:** Ahkai's mongoose familiar has now been introduced to Tilly and Sofia. > - **Bardic Circle documents:** deliberately burned after the group decided the information about Rose was too dangerous to leave in physical form. > - **Boristov's papers:** one records Elarisian efforts to turn a Shuyet asset; the other concerns Nuanstar seeking closer relations / unity and Elaris considering how to exploit that politically. > - **Min:** was told that, if anyone came asking after the group, they were heading for **Tolk**. > - **Berran:** somebody has seen the group and people are actively searching for them. Their disguises worked, but the identity and authority behind the search remain unclear.