SESSION RECAPS

[Written in a mad hurry immediately upon returning to Geb, near illegible in parts. The writing occasionally veers off the line as if she were fighting the impulse to write in a spiral.] The way back to Geb is a narrow bridge with buffeting crosswinds, we have to hold each other close to cross it. At last we complete our journey and reach the Place of Going Forth where the Nodwyddau Princess waits for us, she hitches a ride in Lamina's ugly statue thing. On the way we spot a gigantic stag with starlight in its antlers. We journey some more to unlock the secrets of Colfen Hebonnaid, returning to the city and visiting a foundry. Sesen recovers the strange black branch and a sticky web veil, it lets me see as a tylwyth does, time and states of potential in many layers. It's a hard battle but the Magister and Fomori fall, their defeat echoing through time. At the foot of the tree an all-out fight ensues, the Magister challenges my magical capabilities while the Fomori punch us from the past. I realize where he's headed, to the big tree under the moon just outside the city, and I start madly teleporting toward it to head him off. We manage to harm his credibility but the Magister doesn't back down, forcing us to give chase. We wait until he's said his piece and confront him in view of everybody. He's addressing them, telling them he has a way to bridge their world and Geb and promises opportunities therein. The layout of the streets eludes easy understanding and in the middle of it all is the Magister we seek. A walled city on a promontory holds the only life we've seen all year, the tylwyth inside are different and strange I'm happy to see them. In the reflection of a river we all look aged, but Lamina is gone completely. I fish at a small village by a lake, the fish leap and sing in gratitude as the sun rises. It's raining. A tylwyth, part sewing machine and part flock of crows, sells us wares on the road. The Headless King greets Govannon gladly and offers us a boon, cracking the star over us like an egg to make us stronger. A year has passed but we still lack permission to leave, Govannon steels himself and leads us to the Castle Perilous of the Headless King. Sesen climbs the maypole and hoists the banner, we dance with the mysterious dancers circling it. Denis is already there, waiting for us. It feels too dangerous to stay and keep playing, we move on to the Banner of Springtime Joy. The first riddle fumbled and the kobold turns to a doll, but the second wagers the Star and wins him back with surplus. The Nodwyddau Princess is an overgrown, spoiled girl wrapped in razors - she sits with us for dinner and proposes word games. We take steamy baths and don fine robes in preparation to meet her. A human man stands at the gates of the Graceful Palace of the Summer Queen, welcoming all with a bright, clear voice. My stomach is too full. For the market to happen, we need to go see the appointment of the Welltyn - there's nobody there so Lamina sits atop the cairn and gives us permission to leave with her newfound status. We walk through a fall marketplace which is all set up but empty of people, so I gorge myself on the food left out. We scan the shelves and even find some texts from Geb, one of the parchments I read has text that slides around the page as if affected by gravity. It tells us we may explore the library for answers but that it can offer no further assistance, as it's already helped us. We ascend the tower into a library - a gigantic, cloaked, multi-armed figure sits in the centre reading multiple texts simultaneously. There's a gap in the ceiling and in the harmony, we fill it with a bit of ice, twine, paint and magic. We step into a room with a vast garden of hanging glass windchimes, the wind sings through them. There's a circular door of ice emitting tones, I find a dead Cerulegilt explorer under a pile of snow when I check around it. We resolve to travel to a place that resembles "Grota" and arrive at an icy tower in the blink of an eye. A large map appears on the wall with markers and spiral text, I take the time to translate it. Govannon leads us to an eerie, dilapidated cottage on a hillside. A figure known as "The Herald" arrives to greet us, tells Govannon to seek permission from two of the royalty to leave, and condemns us to remain a year and a day, experienced backwards. We suddenly arrive in a stony field and I can see colors in the lichen that I've never seen before.