Paul (Marik), Chris (Gruul), and Chuck (Arnoux Urag) all show up on time and under budget. Tim (Antok of the Storm Tribe) appears a touch later. Bruce makes noises like he's in charge, and nobody listens. Then he makes noise about a new set of Sparks that has become available and everybody starts to make sounds of actual physical pain.
Everyone celebrates to find that the inaptly-named language Quir Ap is no more. The primary language of the Garden is now called Parqui.
The session starts on the 59th day of the 3086th Stay. According to Marik's old augury, there are 191 days left in the Stay. It is currently Tiersday, giving a bonus of +1 to Meditation and double recovery rate for Recover ST.
The characters are planning on setting out from Doorway City to the ruins of Parcyclus' Castle. They have recently been eating the vegetable cakes Marik makes from "high-grade" compost with his Create Food magics. These cakes have a useful lifespan similar to that of bread: they get somewhat stale after a couple of days, and somewhat bricklike after a week or so.
The characters spend the day gathering supplies. From what the characters know, it should take less than four days to get to the Castle, and then another four days to return. The characters debate whether to try the direct (overland) route, or to go by river. Their debate is complicated by the fact that none of them are exactly wizards at either nautical travel or wilderness survival. Gruul does some estimates to try and determine how many barrels of compost Marik will need to feed everyone. The characters eventually manage to come up with an answer that satisfies everyone.
Antok of the Storm Tribe and Arnoux rib Marik, suggesting that he'd better bring along some sunburn cream for his delicate skin. Marik huffily shoots back, "It'll take more than that big lux gem to give me a tan. Hey, could you scratch my hunch? It's giving me trouble again."
Finally deciding that they'd better not get themselves lost on their journey, the characters ask around in the Market Plaza until they find a guide. They end up hiring Chen Ren, a Faian human from Lin Vu Quo. He knows Market Tongue (albeit badly) and agrees to lead the characters to the Daua Tull monastery, not far from Parcyclus' Castle, for 150 clavars. Once there, he agrees to wait at the monastery for six days (or so), and then lead the characters back for only 100 clavars more. Under his guidance, the characters purchase a variety of supplies:
The characters arrange for a group of bauskers (who else?) to portage their boats from Doorway City to the Lower Juffey River. Chen Ren tells them that there is a trading post at the river, but the traders there charge terribly high prices.
Arnoux does some personal shopping as well, buying a set of good quality lockpicks from one of Ulgutulgun's scabbier relatives for 200 clavars and a cask of rum (5 liters) for 50 clavars.
The characters set out on their way on Wansday, 60th day of the Stay. They leave in a tremendous group, accompanied by a swarm of bauskers carrying the boats and the supplies. The way to the river is well-traveled, a beaten path through the gray and weathered hills. Along the way, Chen Ren describes the miserable history of the area the characters are headed towards. At one time, the entire place was part of the nation of Nircharoon, and ruled by the magician Parcyclus in the name of the Firstman of Nircharoon from his throne in Nircharstal. When the thrux invaded the Garden in the 3072nd Voyage they conquered and sacked Nircharstal. The Firstman was slain and Nircharoon's great relics were lost. Not too much later, Parcyclus was slain in battle against the thrux at Augurn Plain.
With Parcyclus' death, the forests around the Narrow Whistle Flutes expanded explosively. The forest and the creatures that came with it overwhelmed the town of Naukanun. The forests grew out, choking the Upper Juffey River and rendering it's remainder into little more than a miserable trickle. Parcyclus' castle fell into disuse, though lights are sometimes visible at the Tower of Flames. Chen Ren assures the characters that he never goes there, as it is a terrible place.
At this juncture, Chen Ren thinks to ask the characters, "After we reach the monastery, where exactly are you going?" Marik easily responds, "To the castle!" Chen Ren looks horrified, so Gruul chimes in, "We bet a guy 5 clavars we couldn't make it." Chen Ren doesn't look terribly reassured, telling them, "You are crazy. I never sleep again."
Having listened carefully to Chen Ren's story, the characters debate what they should do. They conclude that there might be something interesting in the Naukanun ruins, and speculate that they should visit there after they finish with the Castle.
The trading post on the Lower Juffey River proves to be a collection of ramshackle buildings. A ratty canoe sits in front of one of them, a scrawled sign posted upon it reading, "200 klaverz! Cheep!" Sadly, the joke is lost on the illiterate members of the group, who simply stare at Marik when he bursts into sudden laughter.
The characters ignore the trading post, making straight for a nearby mud bank to launch their boats and bid their bausker bearers good-bye. They give no attention to the Yierdo dwarfs who emerge from the buildings screeching, "Please! Buy our overpriced stuff!" Gruul reasons that the group needs to get Marik away from the place as quickly as possible if he's going to have any money left.
The characters head down the Lower Juffey River, accompanied by Arnoux, who plays the Deliverance theme on a banjo. The river varies in width from six to twenty meters, and is rarely more than a meter or two deep.
A day into the journey, the characters see cultivated fields and a village along the banks. They stop and speak to the Headman, who knows Parqui and a bit of Market Tongue. The characters buy sausages and flatbread at the village, spending ten clavars to buy two days' food, then spend the night in a villager's house.
Gruul notes that the village posts night watchmen and that most of the villagers close their doors and windows after dark. Even though the place looks fairly peaceful, he suspects that the locals are more than aware of the troubles they could face. Marik and Arnoux talk to their grizzled host. The villager tell the characters once more of how Parcyclus was killed and Naukanun was overrun. He also mentions the two great threats of the flute forests: the shard-spitters and the hurbauskings.
Marik becomes interested in the Narrow Whistle flutes and the forests around them. He attempts an augury with his Yaggo Theology skills and learns that the Narrow Whistle flutes are strongly associated with Yaggo. Arnoux speaks out, "Oh! That means the predator-guarded jungles are spreading from the other side of the Yierdogiven Sea!" He refrains from crying out that everyone is doomed, for which the other characters are quite thankful.
The characters spend a lot of time discussing shard-spitters, which they suspect look like some kind of unhallowed long-legged aardvarks that spit quartz shards. Marik is the most optimistic of the group, offering up the comment, "Perhaps we could use them as bagpipes! Or train them!"
The characters rise in the morning to continue their journey. Per their agreement, Chen Ren stays in the village with most of the characters' supplies, though the characters do take along one jar of tar. Chen Ren does agree to take paddle the characters across the Lower Juffey, then take the boats back. He agrees to wait in the village for ten days, and then take one boat and paddle upriver.
The characters are rounding the lower shores of the remains of the Upper Juffey River when Arnoux hears the sounds of conflict ahead, over a small rise. The characters advance with only minimal caution, coming upon a scene of violence. Three brigands confront a monk. Three more brigand archers cover them from the hillside. It is clear that they have already seen service: two Faian humans, possibly the monk's escort, lie dead nearby, skewered through by arrows.
Arnoux approaches first, running fast to avoid the archers' fire. He stabs one archer down, swiftly followed by Antok of the Storm Tribe. Antok takes one arrow as he charges, and then returns the favor with a tremendous aggressive floor lunge at a second archer, downing the man. The third archer flees when confronted with Antok and his spear. Marik contributes by transforming into a tiger's shape and rushing into the fray. Gruul heads towards the three brigands around the monk, making quick work of one, then tripping over himself and casting his fine axe into the bushes. Marik very conveniently arrives on the scene to deal with the third.
By the end of the brief battle, all of the brigands are dead except for one that Marik captured with a quick Glue spell. The monk is also dead, cut down by the lead bandit. Antok gathers all of the bodies downslope while Marik uses Levitation to bring back his prisoner for interrogation.
The characters take a quick inventory of the bandits' possessions. They come up with the following list:
Beyond this, the dead monk was wearing a Church of Yaggo the Redeemer amulet and was carrying two Chiron potions and 200 clavars. His two escorts were armed with shortswords and staves, and didn't have the look of professional warriors.
Gruul has the characters move the captive and the loot about 200 meters away from the bodies. Marik makes the initial attempt at interrogation, but gets only a hostile stare. Gruul steps in and applies some vigorous shaking. He is rewarded with instant breakdown. The brigand says that his name is Druk. The big sword-wielding brigand in the hollow was Gruk, his boss. All of them work for Churdwil the Sewn, who lives in the big house in Naukanun. Druk says that Churdwil is quite the customer: he is covered in stitches, is stronger than two men, can't be killed, and shoots fire from his eyes. Druk claims that Churdwil appeared in Naukanun as the forest started to engulf it.
Druk claims that he was born and grew up in Naukanun, and that briganding is about the only thing left for him since things fell apart. He also claims that he never goes to the Castle, because Surgul Bloody-Arms lives there. The characters ask for more detail on Surgul. Druk says that Surgul was also originally from Naukanun, but was touched from an early age: he could speak to spirits and plants and was quite strange. He went to the castle to find great power, and it looks like he found it.
Gruul asks Druk how he and the other bandits survive the shard-spitters. Druk claims that the brigands normally sneak away from them and stay indoors during the breeding season. He also claims that leaving dead bodies out in the open will draw them from a wide area.
At this point, Antok casts Continual Light on Druk's teeth. Druk asks, "Why did you do that?" in Parqui. Antok answers him in Market Tongue, "I don't speak his language." He offers no other explanation.
Gruul finally kills Druk because the characters can't think of anything else to do with him. The characters take the potions, then gather the rest of the loot together into a pile and hide it. Marik uses his Camouflage skills, then tells the rest of the group, "Everybody memorize this spot!"
The characters have a vision of hungry shard-spitters schnorking snout-sized holes in the bodies. "Schluck... schluck... schluck... schluck..." They leave the area quickly.
The characters continue towards the castle. Along the way, Gruul tells a story to Marik. He tells Marik, "My grandma had a little statue she kept on her mantelpiece. It had a big belly and big ears, and gran said it brought her good luck because when she bought it some guy accosted her and she used it to club him. It wasn't misshapen, but it was made of stone. And whenever she needed good luck, she rubbed its belly. It reminds me of you."
Marik listens to this story, then responds, "That's a very interesting story. Keep your hands away from my belly."
It is twilight by the time the characters have reached the castle. They can see flames bursting from within the Tower of Flames up at the top of the cliff.
The cliff beneath the Tower of Flames is some 30m high, with another 40m of tower stacked on top of it. The other towers are all visibly shorter. The characters hold a short debate on whether or not to venture to the top of a tower in the evening, or to camp and wait until the morning.
Marik finally short-circuits the debate by magicking up a quick four-man Flying Carpet. The characters board it and fly to the top of the Tower of Swords.
The characters reach the top of the tower and look around. Marik sends away the Flying Carpet. The place looks dilapidated, but not terribly threatening.
The situation changes very quickly when three viscous, barely humanoid mounds of semi-liquid sludge surge up from the cracks in the floor and walls to attack the characters. Arnoux is struck hard and bashed into near-death. Antok and Marik are also struck hard, learning that the goo-men secrete a thick fluid that burns even after the impact of the initial blow. Gruul stands his ground, mace in hand, and delivers blow after blow into another of the creatures, watching in frustration as his blows ineffectually slide through the creature. He goes berserk. It doesn't help.
Marik and Antok come to the rescue by bringing magic into the battle. Marik determines that the goo-creatures are just barely smart enough to be affected by mental spells (Stun and Sleep), while Antok makes the even more stunning discovery that Shape Water is more than enough to push the creatures off the edge of the tower.
In short order, two surprised goo-men are shoved over the outer edge of the tower and down the cliff, while the third goes over into the courtyard. Arnoux notices that the creature in the courtyard seems to be trying to reshape itself, so he has Marik Apport a bucket of flaming tar down onto it. It screams in pain and generates a large cloud of black, terrible-smelling smoke before it expires.
Gruul urinates on his mace and shield to clean off the goo-men's acidic secretions and keep them from being ruined. Antok uses Purify Water to clean the goo off his own shield.
The session ends with the characters preparing to spends the night on top of the Tower of Swords. Each character gains four experience points.
Antok of the Storm Tribe spends 10 points to buy High Pain Threshold.