Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Boris the Remnant, Ol’ Jardiner the Harbinger, Yonne the Rain.
Last time, Yonne met her people. This time, we take it easy with a trip to the library.
The Fellowship takes the Dwarven Waterways to HIdden Library. Ol’ Jardiner has a library card because he participated in defending the Hidden Library against invasion. Yonne’s on thin ice because her acidic nature is dangerous to the books. Fortunately, Buckle donated some fire-proof suits to the library that are also effective against acid. The Fellowship now recognizes the suits as products for Lichenton.
Boris shows the vampire geneology book. He doesn’t want to leave it here, but there’s an Elven scribe here who can make a copy. Whitney recently left the Lazy-I Ranch to pursue the life of a scholar instead of a rancher.
Whitney: I might know some of the people in here.
Boris knows what the symbol of the Forgotten Lands looks like, and wants to find similar symbols used by other families or organizations. The Ghost Librarian recommends a book of heraldry.
- Tell me about the family crests that resemble the symbol of the Forgotten Lands? What are they doing? What will they do next?
- Boris finds illustrations of sailors on the southern seas (near the Saphhire Islands) wearing wool sweaters with emblems smilar to the Forgotten Lands. A circle of Druids live on the Sapphire Islands. The top of the Druids symbol is an abtraction of the shape of the islands, and the bottom looks like the top part of the Forgotten Lands’ symbol. Recently en exile from the Sapphire Islands (the Druid Gleador) was allowed to return.
- Is anything hidden or out of place?
- No.
- What do my senses tell me about the library?
- Some scholars and scribes have arrived, so Ghost Librarian has a staff and can act as head librarian instead of trying to do everything herself. They’re pretty sure anyone who wanted to attack the library already did, so they aren’t overly concerned about invaders.
Yonne wonders about finding some more lost Rain and sending them to the Rain Comet. The books in the Hidden Library are old and out-of-date. Ghost Librarian is very interested in Yonne’s up-to-date knowledge of the Rain, so they have a chat. Mostly Yonne rambles and Ghost Librarian transcribes.
A messenger bird arrives, carrying a scroll in a cute backpack.
Ghost Librarian: Ah, a message from the head office in, ummm, I’ll deal with this later.
Yonne: My friend is trying to make a bird that can carry messages also.
Boris: What do you know about training birds in the way of delivering things?
A few birds were trapped inside by the ritual 100 years ago. They are ghosts now, like the librarian. There are also live birds that come in from the other library. Once a bird knows the route, apprentice birds can follow it and learn the route.
Boris: So having a consisent route is the important thing.
Ghost Librarian: We get that for free by being a library. We can’t move.
Boris: Do you have any insight for someone who would be mobile? Or is most of your training based on stationary elements?
Ghost Librarian: Birds have very good vision, so if you’re within a few miles of their route, they will spot you. If you get on a boat and just leave, they have no way to find you. Maybe with magic.
Yonne: Ol’ Jardiner is good with magic.
Boris: I have a plan that might be worthwhile. Thanks you, that was helpful.
Ol’ Jardiner has a book of curses from Von Till’s castle, and wants to decipher it so he can use its spells safely.
- Tell me about the curses in the book. How could they hurt or help me?
- Curses require equivalent exchange, so to curse someone’s looks, you have to give yourself a scar. Tricking someone else into casting the curse gets around this requirement.
- What will happen if I try to integrate the cursed book into my Endless Scroll?
- The Endless Scroll will become cursed.
- Tell me about the authors of this book. What are they doing?
- Each curse is written in the language of the person who invented it. One author is trapped inside the book. He wanted all the credit for writing this book, so he banished the other author to the Forgotten Lands. The equivalent exchange was being banished into the book.
Ol’ Jardiner realizes that the book of curses must contain something beyond a sequence of characters, because the Endless Scroll contains all sequences of characters. That’s how it always has an appropriate ritual for any situation. The only trouble is finding that sequence. As he researches, he finds that the extra something is a soul!
Ol’ Jardiner writes a request for an inter-library loan of any books related to the Forgotten Lands and leaves it with the Ghost Librarian to send with her next messenger bird. He doesn’t realize that the head office is in the Forgotten Lands!
Ol’ Jardiner: What if we find all the cool libraries, then permanently install Infinite Windows in one and open a window to every other library?
Boris: I’m sure librarians would love that. Inter-library loans would be so fast.
Atlas: There are security implications. That provides a new entrance into fortified cities.
Ol’ Jardiner: If they’re all in fortified cities, then invaders would be stopped by a fortification before getting into the library.
Yonne: Can you control the size of the windows? Make it only big enough for books.
Boris: Those horrible fairies could still get through.
Whitney: The Elven cities on either side of the Gulch of Enmity both have libraries. They’d send spells through to attack each other.
Ol’ Jardiner: But I wouldn’t get to use Infinite Windows anymore, and it sure is useful.
Ghost Librarian: I can wait until you retire.
Boris leaves his bird here to train with the messenger birds
NO END-OF-SESSION MOVE