Ariel: We should go on a quest, girl.
Leilar: A quest? But the fight is still on. Don’t you want to see who goes to the final dance?
Ariel: I want to see that shit, but this Melee is making my eyes bounce off the side of my head.
Leilar: There’s less than half an hour left. We can quest when it’s over.
Ariel: Are they starting the Dance right after?
Leilar: That’s a good question. Who would know the answer?
Ariel: GM? Are you there? We haven’t rolled to do anything in a while, maybe that’s over.
Game Master: I’m here. There’s a few of us. What do you all need?
Ariel: Once the Melee ends, will the Dance start right away?
GM: It’s up to Hysteria, and I think she wants to give time after the melee for the participants to prepare. How much time? It seemed like she was thinking more than a short rest, at least a day, but she’ll announce it at the end of the Melee.
Ariel: Is there a simple side quest we could get into while we wait for the Dance to start?
GM: That seems like something I should be able to whip up. And you want to be done by the time the Dance starts?
Leilar: By the time the Melee ends, right?
Ariel: That’s fine, we wanna be here when everybody gets back from Hysteria’s moon.
GM: You two could retrieve the lost pipe of Jeje the Aziza.
Ariel: Who is Jeje the Aziza?
Leilar: The Aziza are real?
GM: The Aziza are very real. Your mother and the mmoatia originate in the forest half of Agê’s disc. The Aziza inhabit the jungle side.
Leilar: My mother told me stories about the Aziza, that they were the strong mothers of the trees that nursed everything born on the disc. I guess she never said they were fairy tales, but I assumed she was talking about the trees or something.
Ariel: So, who is Jeje?
GM: Start your quest to find out. Ariel and Leilar are in the Umbatia swamp watching the Melee…
Ariel: Oh, so you’re just gonna start narrating? Ok, let me shut up.
GM: I gotta set the scene. So Leilar and Ariel are watching the melee when they hear a commotion along the edge of the swamp. Why don’t you both give me a roll for action order. 1D20.
Leilar: I rolled a 4.
Ariel: I got a 16.
GM: Great, so you all are hanging out, watching amazing fights, and then you hear a commotion along the edge of the swamp. Do you all want to do anything, specifically you Ariel?
Ariel: What kind of commotion is it?
GM: Aside from the two of you, there are other people and Fonlanders roaming the swamp, most of them are Umbatia. You all hear what sounds like an argument from the edge of the swamp.
Ariel: I am very nosey so I think we should go check this out.
Leilar: Let’s.
GM: The edge of the swamp is mostly dense woods and as the two approach, they see two bare chested, male Umbatia in short skirts pushing one another.
Ariel: Can we overhear the argument?
GM: Are you guys close to them, or are you trying to be close without them noticing?
Leilar: We’re close enough to hear and we’re not hiding in the woods so they would see us.
GM: You hear one of them, Mensah, reprimanding the other, Badú.
Mensah: You said you found the road.
Badú: I did find it, just like it shows on the map.
Mensah: If it’s the road, where’s the pipe?
Badú: It wasn’t there!
Mensah: Then it wasn’t the right road!
GM: They notice you and both get quiet.
Badú: Why are two pretty girls sneaking around spying in the swamp, Mensah?
Mensah: I don’t know, but it’s less than would be swarming around us if we were small size. And maybe these pretty girls are looking for some adventure.
Badú: The pipe of Jeje wouldn’t be interesting to pretty girls.
GM: They both bow and introduce themselves.
Ariel: We heard somebody talking about that pipe. What it do? Is it special?
Mensah: It’s a legendary pipe, said to have been lost by the great Aziza, Jeje, when he traveled to the Earth Realm. Some say it does not exist, that Jeje never traveled to Earth, but we know better. Legends say that the pipe never needs to be filled and when someone smokes from it, they gain deeper knowledge and understanding of whatever they are contemplating. It’s like smoking knowledge.
Leilar: What do you two want it for?
Mensah: We want it so we can discover more sources of Divine Essence nearby so we’re not stuck in the swamp. I know there have to be other breaches in reality to the Fonlands, Pultine wasn’t just in the swamp when she was here before.
Leilar: You want to help them find it?
Ariel: I guess, but I wanna hit the magical pipe too. If we help, y’all sharing?
Mensah: Of course, the pipe never empties. There is plenty to go around.
Badú: Are either of you Earthers? Do you know this area?
Ariel: My mama don’t live too far from here, but I haven’t, like, walked around this area before.
Mensah: Maybe this will make sense to you then.
GM: Mensah shows you, Ariel, what looks like a restaurant paper placemat that waitresses have for kids with those three crayons.
Ariel: Are you serious?
GM: It says Shoney’s really big at the top on one side and that side also has a maze. The other side is Pirates of the Caribbean themed
Ariel: Those pirate movies that Omar Epps was in?
GM: Yes, in this universe, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starred Omar Epps. I know of another universe where Johnny Depp was the main star of the franchise.
Ariel: That’s absurd. Omar Epps consistently kills it in the Pirates movies. It’s blasphemy to suggest someone else taking his place.
GM: Do you know who Johnny Depp is?
Ariel: Maybe?
Leilar: I don’t know what either of you are talking about.
GM: Sorry. So the Shoney’s menu has a cartoonish map on the backside.
Leilar: This is a child’s puzzle?
GM: Pretty much, on the map there’s like hidden objects you have to find, I guess.
Ariel: These fools think this is a real map?
GM: If you inspect the map closer, you might discover more about it.
Mensah: And we can hear you by the way.
Badú: We’re standing right here in front of you.
Mensah: Look closely at the ancient Shoney’s kids placemat and you will see something significant.
GM: You guys can roll 1D20 for Intelligence to see what you can discern from the map.
Ariel: 7
Leilar: 11
GM: So with an 11 Leilar, you can tell that the map has been altered. Someone has drawn things onto this kids menu map and it seems to suggest it may be an actual map written on it. One that you all could follow to find Jeje’s pipe.
Leilar: I don’t think I read Earther languages…
GM: Presumably you do not. You were traveling on your mother’s amazing ship Top deep in space far away from Earth before you came here, and you are probably using a universal translator now to understand all us Earthers.
Leilar: Ok, so I point it out to Ariel. Hey look, there is something written on this. Do you recognize any of the things on here?
GM: Ariel, Leilar shows you the map and you recognize the name of the street where your mother lives. There is a long line that comes to a stop at a vertical line.
Ariel: Like the street leads to a road that you can turn right or left?
GM: Exactly. The vertical street has a line off of it horizontally at the top that is sort of zigzaggy. The other lines are just straight, the one at the top is zigzags. The zigzags lead to what I guess are trees like woods, and there’s a tall tree in front of it and there’s an X on the tall tree.
Ariel: So maybe we can just fly to my mama house and orient ourselves from there. She’s not home, she hasn’t been back there since she saw Jophiel flying in her backyard.
GM: Alright, so I presume all of you will fly in the direction of Ariel’s mother’s house, and Ariel will lead everyone.
Leilar: Yes.
Mensah: Let’s get to it.
Badú: Yep.
GM: So Mensah, Badu, you are Umbatia and you do not possess Third Hearts. The longer that you are away from the swamp that has a direct portal to the Fonlands and is transfused with Divine Essence as a result, the less Divine Essence you will have, unless you do find another source of Essence. Your Divine Essence level is your Hit Points. When your Divine Essence level hits 0, you have seven turns to get back to a source of Divine Essence, or you will die.
Ariel: Oh my God!
GM: Yeah, Fonlander’s can’t survive without the Essence. Descendants of Fonlanders and beings of this realm can, though, so Ariel and Leilar will not have to make Essence Retention rolls to see how many Hit Points they lose passively as they go through the world. Mensah and Badu have 160 total Hit Points each. I will let you both know when to roll to see how much Divine Essence you have lost since leaving the swamp, and then since the last roll. Leilar, I do not believe that you have a Third Heart.
Leilar: I do not, no. But I can survive without Divine Essence. The stuff is great though, I try not to leave home without it.
GM: Perfect. Ariel, you do have a Third Heart.
Ariel: Yes sir!
GM: All of you have the ability to transfer your Divine Essence to one another, but Ariel can do it and replenish her store of Divine Essence within herself, she does not need an outside source. She does need time to regenerate and I will let you know when to roll to see how much Divine Essence you have recouped since depleting your stores. Your Hit Points will increase and decrease depending on your loss of Divine Essence through attacks or healing others, so be mindful of that if you’re in battle or anything, Ariel.
Ariel: Sounds good.
GM: So off you all go. Ariel leads Leilar, Mensah and Badú to her mother’s house. You all fly with your cool wings. Ariel and Leilar’s are feathered and the Umbatia have chitin wings, like insects. This takes how long Ariel?
Ariel: Not very long. Maybe like fifteen, twenty minutes.
GM: Ok. So you’re all at Ariel’s mom’s house. It’s one story, but wide and it is an impressive home from the street. Let’s roll again for action order since the party has doubled. 1D20 everybody.
Ariel: 9
Leilar: 11
Mensah: 16
Badú: 9
GM: Mensah, you are up first. What do you want to do now that we are on the main street of this map?
Mensah: Badú, is this the street that you were on before?
Badu: Obviously not, or I would have the pipe wouldn’t I?
Mensah: Idiot. Do we know which end of the road is which? How where we are matches up to the map?
Ariel: I believe we go to the right and we’ll come to the street that ends in the left or right turn. If we go left, the road curves up and through more houses and then widens into four lanes.
GM: So that’s not an action Mensah if you all decide to fly to the right to follow the map. You’ll be first when you all encounter something.
Mensah: Lead the way, Ariel.
GM: Ariel flies down the road and swoops to the right. They all follow up and the road is a pretty boring two-way street with trees lining the side. It is very picaresque and nice looking, but there’s not much going on. How about you all roll for Intelligence for me.
Ariel: 17
Leilar: 5
Mensah: 2
Badú: 10
GM: So Ariel and Badú, after you all have been flying for a hundred yards, you notice a clearing in the trees to your right and what appears to be a dirt road.
Ariel: Maybe this is the zigzag line on the map, since the regular paved road is the straight line.
GM: They all agree and turn onto the dirt road. There are no trees lining this road and there is an incline. You fly over the hill for about the same distance as you flew on the other road before you come to a wall of trees with a large tree growing in front of the woods. The tree is so wide that it doesn’t look like it belongs on Earth. The top of it is a tree house, a large elaborate house made of wood in the canopy.
Mensah: Thank Mawu-Lisa the two of you showed up. Badú and I have been looking for this tree for a long time and you all found it in a couple of hours.
Ariel: Jeje live here? Did y’all come here to steal the man’s pipe from him?
Leilar: Did we just help some criminals?
GM: Have the Umbatia used Ariel and Leilar to find an ancient Aziza so they can stick him for his magical pipe? If so, that’s messed up. But you’ll have to come back next week to find out.
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