M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 49

At least I had the foresight to take a firm hold of a rope as we entered the labyrinth.  It likely saved me another trip overboard.  This time because a serpent burrowed up from the sandy ground and burst through the labyrinth’s shallow waters to attack us.  Almost running us aground in the process.

Naturally Cindy wasted little time in leaping to attack.  Which turned out…not to be the best of ideas.  It left Duamatef vulnerable.  That made one thing suddenly, and abundantly, clear.  With the girls protecting the Deities of the Canopic Jars, and Andrew guiding the ritual, I was the only one truly free to deal with the serpent.

So I told them to get out of there.  I’d take the snake while they got to safety.  Is it reckless of me?  Certainly.  It’s stronger and tougher than I am, more agile than Cindy.  It’s more powerful than anything I could reasonably be expected to handle on my own.

But it still looked like our best bet.

Besides, Marduk was ostensibly outmatched by Tiamat, and for all his strengths Zeus is not the engine of destruction that Typhon is.  Yet both gods defeated those foes.  Even if it is mutual, my uncle Jormungand is fated to fall to Thor.  Hino unceasingly hunts the horned serpents, and should he find them there death is inevitable.  Though Andrew was the one that finalized the mystical bindings it was my father who weakened Kur enough to be bound by a pair of Demigods, and I was the one that wrapped him in the chain Gleipnir.

It is a theme that echoes across tales, cultures, and time.  Dragons fall like autumn leaves in a gale before those who lord over such winds.  I will simply have to ensure that it stays that way.

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 48

Helheim is renowned as a land that’s as bleak as it is harsh; a place of gloom and freezing cold, permanently expressing the extremes of the northern climate that the ancient Norse resided in.  Having been there myself I know those tales are not far off.  Mere exposure to the frigid temperatures themselves would be enough to kill any hapless mortal who made it that far down Yggsdragsil alive.  There’s not a scrap of comfort to be found anywhere in the realm unless Hel herself decides to provide it.  And my Mother is hardly known for such kindnesses.  Not to mention that despite being its unquestioned ruler she wants little more than to escape the chains of the land that has been her prison for all her life.

All this is true, and I’m not even sure mere words can truly express what the place is like.

Yet I’d sooner spend another month in my Mother’s realm than another second in Duat.  I may no longer be immersed in the river Urnes.  But the sense of dread inevitability it imparts cannot be sluiced away so easily as its waters.  As we passed through the second and third gates I could feel it, waiting beneath us.  Even if most of us survived the disastrous encounter of a few hours before we have not escaped, not in the eyes of the river.  We have merely managed to gain a reprieve.

It is still waiting, it will always be waiting.  Until we slip up, and it can claim us for its endless, ebon, depths.  That time isn’t necessarily far off as we approach the labyrinth.  Rocks loom just beneath the surface, and extend upwards to form the walls of the maze.  A single mistake is all it will take to shred our hull like paper.  Then we will be spilled into the river once more.

Except this time there will be no sanctuary to return to.

This time the river will relinquish no prizes.

This time...will be the last time.

M.I.S.T Campaign: Session 47

If I never have to dip so much of a toe into the River Urnes again I’ll consider myself fortunate.  It is, perhaps, the most trying thing I’ve done since my visitation.  Not physically.  No, that bit of swimming is something I could do a thousand times without tiring.  In ordinary water, at least.  But that river wears on you; emotionally, mentally, spiritually.  It seeps through flesh and bone, without care for either, to set its hooks into your soul.  So easy is the temptation…to close your eyes, stop struggling, relax, and sink.  To be lost forever in its dark depths.

It is a fortunate thing that I took Kebauet up on her offer, assumed a Virtue of the Psedjet and of my Father.  For without the strength of will it granted I might well have been lost to those dread waters.

As it was, I was the only one to enter them who emerged from them out of his own power.

Andrew might have been able to, I suppose.  But I was close to him, not taking any chances, and short on time.  So I simply tossed him out of the river, onto the deck, before turning my attentions elsewhere. For it was the Vigil Brand I’d placed on Rufus blaring like a claxon within my mind.

We pulled him from the river twice.  The first time when Ken snagged him with her shadows and the two of us pulled him to the barque.  But as soon as I had a moment to take stock of what had happened I realized that the river had separated his being into constituent parts.  We’d dredged up his soul, but the river had not relinquished the body.  So I went right back in after him, dark as the waters were I barely even managed to find him.  But I did, tied a harness to him, and we got him pulled back to the surface.

But of course it couldn’t have been that simple, not with this river.  The body wasn’t alive or dead.  But it was animate, and hostile.  It snapped at Ken as soon as she drew near.  I was quick enough to pull it away from her but…she must have seen something, known somehow that what was happening was beyond our ability to solve right now.  Because the next thing I knew was the roar of a gunshot, the muzzle flash from her rifle, and Rufus’s blood cooling against my skin.

It’s…sobering…the first time we’ve really lost somebody.  Even if Andrew was able to bind his spirit, prevent it from departing.  I mean, Einherjar have died over the course of our adventures, sure.  But we can’t just throw a feast to get Rufus back.

And I haven’t known my Einherjar for a fraction of the time that Ken’s had Rufus as her companion.

And I’ve never had to put one of them down with my own hands.

I can’t even imagine what she must be feeling.

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 46

So all those snakes, cutting through Kebauet’s waters to get up to the barque in time…not actually an issue.  As it turns out Imhotep possesses some measure of talent with illusions, and wanted to “test” us before leaving.  Slightly annoying, but no harm done overall I suppose.

Anyway, while we were subject to the illusion he led us to the room where Ra was blessing the souls that Kebauet had prepared for the journey across Duat. We were paid very little attention throughout.  Not that it was exactly a surprise.  It was a formalized ritual, thousands of years old, which we had no place in.  The gods present simply performed their duties, as they had for thousands of years, and then set off to continue their journey.

Then Khonsu arrived to pursue an old grudge with Thoth.  Except now, apparently, he holds it with Andrew instead.  He made the effort of making his reason for coming appear superficially beneficial, I suppose.  But was almost openly antagonistic towards Imhotep and did little to hide his disdain for Andrew.  He claimed that we’d never be able to keep up with the Solar Barque without his assistance, more specifically his influence over the passage of time.  And offered to bet them against the five days he lost to Thoth in a similar gamble so many years ago.

Unsurprisingly, Andrew was hesitant to take him up on it.  He also asked Khonsu if the loss of those five days really continued to rankle him even after all these years.  It was a question to which…Khonsu took exception.  And his response was to hit Andrew with some manner of Moon boon, bastard.  Then he left, saying that Denise would know how to contact him if Andrew changed his mind.  Which served as a reminder that she’d suggested we could gamble with Khonsu for time before we even arrived at the gate.  I’ll wager a mountain to a molehill he was planning on having that confrontation, gave Denise a suggestion that he hoped would lead to it, and decided just to show up anyway when it didn’t happen on its own.  It’s so very comforting to know that the specter of a Titan-aided divine invasion does nothing to curb divine pettiness.  At least Andrew claimed to be fine afterwards.  But we’ll probably have to keep an eye on him just in case.

I suppose I shouldn’t exactly be surprised that Claire seemed to manage to offend Kebauet somewhat with her remarks about the situation.  It would be nice if she’d stop doing that to seemingly every other Psedjet of import we meet.  I imagine it’d probably make it a whole hell of a lot easier work with them to turn back the Dodekatheon.

Nevertheless, she did offer aid when I asked if she had any advice for us before we left.  More specifically, she allowed us to immerse ourselves in her waters if we so chose.  Doing so would re-align our souls slightly, she explained, replacing one of the virtues held dear by our pantheon with one of those held most sacred to the Psedjet.  Which, in turn, would make it easier to navigate Duat.  And on a more personal level the Psedjet virtues are also much closer to those of the Yazata than those of the Æsir are.  So, in addition to navigating Duat, the other main reason I took her up on the offer was the hope that doing so will help me better understand my father’s people.

Ken was the only other one who took the plunge, so to speak.  Well, Andrew did as well, but he was already in possession of Psedjet virtues anyway.  It felt…a little strange going through the waters, refreshing in a way, perhaps?  It’s a difficult thing to describe.  And I’m afraid that I don’t really have the words to do so.  Regardless, there weren’t exactly any pronounced and noticeable differences upon emerging.  But I don’t doubt that some will show themselves in time.

Then as we left Kebauet offered one last bit of aid, to me specifically.  A silvery vial she referred to as her “hour of moonlight.”  She expressed confidence that I’d know when to use it.  Hopefully she’s correct, as I’m not really sure what it does.  But I’m certainly grateful for all she’s done to help us nevertheless.

Then we got back to our Barque to continue the journey downriver and Claire…I have no idea what she was thinking.  She decided to use her sun boons to light us up like, well, a Solar Barque.  Because becoming a target was just what we needed.  Sure enough something hit us pretty much before anyone had a chance to react.  The jolt was enough to knock me overboard, not that I consider going into the water personally to be much more than an inconvenience.  But Andrew went over too, which I found significantly more disconcerting.  And I’m pretty sure I heard a third splash.  Just a bloody mess…