Narrative

Day 5 began on 20th Dec at about 07:15 as the party approached the Barrier. Two large carts were in view. The party left the path, tied the horses in a dip in the land, and circled around to approach from another direction. They found Cromwell the ranger badly injured. Tracks nearby looked like heavy steel boots, possibly a goliath in full plate mail, or Core [uncertain]. The party judged that they were about halfway between the shield pylons. The carts were empty. A large group of people had gone toward the Barrier around 7:30, and a smaller group had gone toward the swamp around 7:45.

The party followed the tracks. Some seemed to come back on the goliath, who had gone to put Cromwell somewhere safe. The party chose to follow along the shield toward the larger group. They heard a big group of people standing next to the Barrier. Dirk felt that something was watching them, and then the party was attacked by a grubby sheep farmer creature. They killed it, along with eleven militia and eight townsfolk. Eight other townsfolk were tied up with rope. After the party killed the sheep-farmer creature, a black dog thing disappeared, but the maggot stayed. When they killed the maggot, it let out a massive shriek, and all the remaining townsfolk started to attack. The party located and subdued a halfling girl.

After a short rest, the party retrieved the horses and Cromwell, then headed back along the path to find a patch of trees where they could hide the cart. This sequence ran from about 08:00 to 09:10. They then took a long rest from about 10:30 to 18:30. During the rest, a sword was enchanted to add +1 until Invar’s next long rest.

The party learned or concluded that two twins had been commanding the affected people. One twin had gone to the swamp, and the other had gone to the Barrier; the party had killed the Barrier twin. The party then headed toward the swamp, following the tracks. They tied the horses outside the swamp. The tracks showed four individuals, and Geldrin’s compass followed the same direction. By about 20:00, the party reached a clearing at the Barrier containing a stone building. A marble dome pressed against the Barrier, with a large telescope passing through the dome. The tracks led right up to the building. The structure was about 1,000 years old. A strange humming came from the door, which reverberated.

Inside the building were two plinths. One was empty, and one looked as if Core had been dismantled on it. A head clattered off and rolled through the left door. The party went through the door by the plinths into a library. The shelves showed that all books on one shelf were missing: the “T” shelf in Astronomy, guessed to be Tri-moon information. A picture showed a well-groomed tiefling holding a baby girl. This tiefling was identified as The Mage, one of the five who made the Barrier, with the name or title Visage Ennuyé.

The paperwork looked recent. One drawer had been forced open and contained diagrams of the stars. Another drawer held a rabbit/deer teddy. Inside the teddy was a gold-band ring with runes. The ring was similar to Dirk’s, and Dirk saw the teddy back up [uncertain phrasing]. A vase bore the inscription: “part of me can be with you while you study all my love - Joy.”

The runes on the teddy ring read: “a pact in darkness made in sorrow to bring (no sharpness) back Joy” [uncertain: “no sharpness” may be a note on pronunciation or text]. Dirk’s ring read: “A Bargain struck in shadows for souls to be held in infinity.” The paperwork contained measurements of the Tri-moon before the Barrier went up and twenty years afterward. The Tri-moon seemed to be getting bigger. Before the Barrier, it had been as big as the other moons. Geldrin took all of the notes.

The party found an invisible cloak on a hatstand and took it. Dirk put Geldrin on the hatstand, and Geldrin’s clothes disappeared. When things touched the hatstand, they disappeared. A dagger and a handkerchief fell to the floor. The handkerchief was clean and had a “J” in the corner. The dagger looked like a letter opener.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Dirk, Geldrin, Invar, Cromwell, Core, the halfling girl, two commanding twins, one Barrier twin, one swamp twin, The Mage, Visage Ennuyé, Joy, militia, townsfolk, shield pylons, the Barrier, the swamp, the stone observatory building, the marble dome, the library, and the Tri-moon.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

The party used carts and horses and hid a cart in trees. A sword was enchanted with +1 until Invar’s next long rest. Geldrin’s compass tracked the same direction as the swamp tracks. Observatory items included two plinths, a dismantled-Core-looking plinth, recent star diagrams, missing Astronomy “T” shelf books likely concerning the Tri-moon, a rabbit/deer teddy, a gold-band rune ring, Dirk’s similar ring, a vase from Joy, Tri-moon measurement notes taken by Geldrin, an invisible cloak, a disappearing hatstand, a dagger or letter opener, and a clean handkerchief marked “J.”

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The Barrier attack involved controlled militia and townsfolk, a sheep-farmer creature, a black dog thing, a maggot with a shriek that triggered further attacks, and two commanding twins. One twin went to the swamp and remains unresolved. The observatory is roughly 1,000 years old, built into or against the Barrier, and contains Tri-moon research. The missing “T” Astronomy books, recent star diagrams, and measurements showing the Tri-moon growing are significant. The Mage/Visage Ennuyé was one of the five Barrier creators and is tied to Joy. Joy’s ring and Dirk’s ring both reference bargains, pacts, darkness, sorrow, souls, infinity, and bringing Joy back. The disappearing hatstand, invisible cloak, handkerchief marked “J,” and letter-opener-like dagger are unresolved magical or personal clues.