Session 4: Counting Stars

After escaping the Scooters on the Isle of Grownde, Zitona Malady leads the crew to a secret hideout on the island of Triangle Peaks. As they approach, Oliver's elf eyes manage to get a good look at the hidden docks, a large observatory on the top of the mountain, and a flying figure following after them. Worried about this new threat, they hurry towards the hideout. Kip has by this point finished the project he was working on for Johnny, and hands him a remote-controlled winged turtle, which can fly around on under the mental commands of whoever wears the associated headset. Suspiciously, Zitona has lost her key to the hideout, and asks Ren to do the honors of picking the lock, which she does with no issue. Everyone rushes inside and barricades the door behind them, to prevent their shadow from following them inside. A few minutes later, there is a knock on the door, and Johnny answers it, curious about what the owlin could want. Ren and Kip hide.

The owlin that greets them is nervous, but friendly, and introduces herself as Messenger Twig. She has a message to deliver to "Myrena SilkTalon", who turns out to be the same as Ren. Johnny invites Twig inside, and she is offered tea, cookies, and a rest from flying, which she accepts. Marto is curious about the Owlin Parliament and asks if it's possible for him to learn more; Twig explains that there are plenty of schools where he can learn the local language and the rules of parliamentary procedure. Oliver gives her a recipe for goodberry pie. Ren is eventually discovered; Twig recognizes her, and doesn't seem to bear any animosity towards her peer, but there does seem to be some tension between them. Eventually, Twig decides to depart, leaving the crew to ponder the letter with Kip and Zitona.

The full text of the letter is given below:

To the esteemed Myrena SilkTalon,

This missive is to inform you that a complaint has been filed with your peers in the House of Strigidae. The complaint claims that an unidentified member of parliament used deception and sleight of hand to swindle a shopkeeper by the name of Marinus Samaritas, Order of Water and Platinum first class, out of valuable merchandise, including one enchanted bag of holding, two teak chests, and one Mimic. The theft occurred on the fifth night of the first session of parliament this summer at some time in the early afternoon.

Though neither parliament nor the esteemed Marinus Samaritas have strong evidence that you were involved in this crime, parliament would like to remind you that misbehavior reflects poorly on all of us, and that we are well within our rights to take disciplinary action if a majority of parliament deems it appropriate. You are one of very few members of parliament who do not have alibis in this situation, the others being Tak Saw-Whet, Micra Whitney, and Len Dawnfeather.

Please do not engage in further chicanery, and inform the other suspects if you come across them.

Sincerely,

Wisp Steelhorn

Chair

The Committee on Internal Affairs"

Based on the contents of the letter, the attention shifts to Laverna, who the crew now suspects may be a mimic. Though Laverne seems to have no memory of being anything other than a chest in the care of Marinus Samaritas, they do eventually manage to polymorph themself into a lamp. Laverne still appears to be friendly, despite this revelation, but Marto, at least, is concerned that they may eventually turn on the crew. For now, at least, everyone is happy to keep them around.

Next, the crew must decide what to do about Ren's situation. They could bring her to parliament and turn her in, hoping to take a plea deal and receive leniency. Otherwise, the other suspects may clear their names and bring down the full wrath of parliament onto Ren. It's unclear how much time they'll have before this happens. For now, they decide to stay with Zitona, explore, and receive some math lessons.

Marto spends the next day learning calculus with Zitona. The lessons are complicated, but Zitona is a good teacher, and Marto picks up on it. It is now possible for him to start learning some of the concepts from The Fold, which may lead to some new spell discoveries.

The next day, Oliver leads the crew up the stairs to the observatory on top of the mountain. The observatory is lavishly decorated in an ancient style, constructed mostly of marble, with blue trimming, inlaid gemstones, and decorated friezes. The north door has no lock or handle, and is flanked by two halfling statues, one depicting a woman holding a telescope and the other depicting a man holding a sextant. Since this door appears impassible, the crew heads through the door to the east instead. There, they find a medium-sized, winged metal cube covered in mechanisms. In a hatched compartment, Oliver finds some very fine dust, which reminds him of the stone that he found when he discovered his druidic powers. Ren licks the dust, which causes her to begin belching pure white light at irregular intervals, though it doesn't seem to have any negative impact on her health. Kip seems to think that the device should be able to fly, but isn't sure of the purpose. It isn't there to deploy the dust, and it has no way of dropping anything; nor is it fueled by the stone or dust. Kip thinks that the dust is just residue from larger stones, though.

The next room in the observatory appears to be a library, illuminated by lights the moment that Ren opens the door. At the same time, two holographic images of halflings appear and begin attacking and shouting a wordless alarm. The apparitions quickly move through the door (even after Ren slams it closed and retreats back into the cube room) and almost bring down Johnny in a single hit, draining his health by rearranging his very essence. The apparations are also resistant to most of the crew's attacks, but with the help of Laverne, they are eventually brought down and eliminated.

This grants the crew access to the library, where they find row upon row of scroll labeled with numbers representing years. Each of the scrolls is a star chart, showing very few stars at the beginning, and the full spread of modern stars at the end. In between, the number of stars varies; sometimes, they all seem to vanish and are slowly repopulated. According to this system, the current year is 10,025, and the last dropoff was in 9745. After pondering this, they continue on to the observatory's courtyard, where another apparition is lying on their back and looking up at the stars. They introduce themself as The Warden, and are much gentler than the previous holograms. The Warden seems interested in the stars themselves, and the beauty of the world. The courtyard is enchanted so that lying on the ground reveals the stars above, even during daylight. The Warden explains that the stars were being constantly replaced by the owners of the observatory, who were experimenting with new configurations. They've also experimented with astrology, as shown by the orrery in one of the other rooms. The Warden also agrees to open the door to the telescope.

In the orrery room, everyone receives a horoscope by entering their birthday. Kip's, for example, reads:

Mortimer: The Kakapo. You seek to explore things that others cannot see. You have a deep connection to things both past and future. Be careful with new friends, you can gain much from them, but they may take you to places that you cannot comprehend.

The horoscopes are also associated with mystical powers that appear to be granted by the fates.

Before returning downstairs, they take a quick look through the telescope. But the telescope does not reveal a vast, empty sky. Instead, it reveals false stars attached to a metal backing, bright and glowing, but overall small and clearly artificial. Perhaps the world is naught but a child's science fair experiment.