After traveling various highways of the US making sacrifices to learn Road-Way magic, using that magic to travel to Lands End Resort in Alaska, crossing the Bearing Way through Faerie, facing the guardian Qualupalik and the enticing bone-chimes of the Ahkinni, sneaking into North Korea to lose The Dragon Compass to a Great Dragon of the Nine Pools and emerging into an abandoned Korean Mall to face the Lich-King of North Korea and his army of undead K-Pop minions, Twilight Compass returns to the relative safety of Vladivostok and the Siberian Pride Hunt, then back to their home in Alameda California.
Session Notes from 12-23-2018
Twilight Compass returned with Val’s family to Vladivostok after escaping North Korea, then took 3 days off in Vladivostok to see the sites.
- Val spent time with her family of The Siberian Pride and Zoe went to visit Grandma in Romania while Gypsy, Jackal and Mama hit the town for food, tourism and shopping!
- Stop off at the Hermitage Vladivostok, Tsar-ist era building
- Admiral Fokin Street full of shops and history
- At a temporary booth, Jackal found a cowboy hat with real Russian Racoon; cost him –3 to Money Pool and a promise to deliver a package to a relative in NYC.
- Twilight Compass stopped at Pokrovsky Park and realized it would be possible to anchor a Way in that park with enough work and a walk through Faerie.
- Stopped at the monument to Vyosotsky
- Visited The Tsesarevich Promenade for more shopping and food!
- Gypsy stopped at the lover’s chessboard and left a lock of her hair. For whom?
- Stopped over at Rusky Island and the monument to Eleanor Pray to check them out
- The island, with it’s greens and campus appeared another potential location for a Way
- Mama and Gypsy realized that Eleanor’s letters might have power if they could locate them and find them; such a letter would allow a Way to the monument probably
- Other tourist activities in Vladivostok included eating unusual seafood from the markets (red king crab and sea urchins), a few hours in the Zarya museum for contemporary art, a soak in the Russian steam baths and a show at the Russian Opera House where Twilight Compass was somehow treated as honored guests and seated in an opulent booth for free on some tickets left at the counter by Constantine.
Note that various activities offer opportunities for long-term or local character benefits. Anyone who wants to spend the 2xp to speak Russian permanently may do so after Gypsy’s spell cypher granted the temporary talet; otherwise you will forget the language when you leave Russia.
After 3 days to gather supplies in Vladivostok, Val’s cousin Nikolai (the hot one!) journeyed to the edge of Russia with Twilight Compass to help find The Bearing Way again. Instead of returning to the location Gregor found the group (Ayanka), after some research Nikolai thought they should travel to Lavrentya by boat, then to the prehistoric site of Naukan by dog-sled where the Siberian Pride’s diviners indicated The Bearing Way might land.
Zoe was able to locate the Russian opening into The Bearing Way with her sight and Val was able to open it with a bit of magic. Twilight Compass was able to travel through The Bearing Way without awakeningQualupalik the guardian, but while traveling, the bone-chimes of the Ahkiyyini echoing across the spirit realms.
Twilight Compass emerged from The Bearing Way into the shallow surf outside of The Land’s End Resort, and drew quite a bit of attention walking in through the surf off the beach in Alaska in November…after some hot chocolate and/or coffee, the 3 witches went out to the SUV to examine the acorn; Gypsy’s sight helped her see that the magic burned out all at once. The general arcane theory is that the Road-Way magic may not be synchronistic with Fey Magic, and so taking the SUV on the road-way may cause this issue every time.
Gypsy bought conventional travel for everyone and paid to transport the SUV back to the Alameda homestead where Twilight Compass had 3 (now 2) back-up Acorns. (-2 Money Pool for Gypsy)
Upon returning home, the whole group went to the Heavenly Paws Animal Clinic to deliver the feather to Doc Kinsey, who revealed that he planned to use it to get in touch with Wallace (at which point Mama Bones looked apologetically at Gypsy and said “Girl, that’s what I wasn’t allowed to tell you…”).
Doc Kinsey revealed to the group that Gypsy’s “attunement” (through Daggun’s spirit) to the Dragon Compass artifact, which she gained during her side-trip, would allow her to call The Dragon Compass back to her with the right ritual, though Doc Kinsey was tight-lipped about the specifics of the ritual, he said that it would involve an offering, a sympathetic link to the compass, and a lot of magical power.
Gypsy returned to find a text-message on her cell account that said, “Gypsy, I think we have some things to talk about, get in touch when you get back. BTW does Zoe want a gig at Mezzanine? -C” from Caitlin.
Mama Bones returned to The Covenstead to find a formal letter delivered with magical “delivery notification” to ensure The Council would know she saw it. The letter establishes a formal complaint from The Razorback Cabal in Oakland against the Twilight Compass Cabal in Alameda related to some young awakened who wants to enroll in Rose’s Academy or something. The complaint is to be heard and adjudicated by Inquisitor Torquemada, who has never been an ally to Twilight Compass.
Looking up his delivery responsibility, Jackal saw the delivery address is in Brighton Beach NY. He is supposed to deliver it within a week, which is only about 3 more days after all the travel and other events. Jackal needs to get under-way.
- GM Intrusions Made During the Session
- Jackal to take a package to NYC (1xp to Val)
- Val on the Bearing Way (declined guardians, 1xp cost)
- Gypsy with Doc Kinsey on the ritual (1xp to Mama)
- Objectives for next session Sunday 1-6-2019
- Mama has to go to The Napa Consilium estate, she can bring other members of TC, but must report or be in contempt of The Council
- Jackal has to travel to Brighton Beach NYC to deliver his package to some pawn shop there
- Gypsy needs to go meet with Caitlin to find out what’s up
- Zoe has been offered a DJ gig at The Mezzanine, a hot SF club
- Val needs to decide what she wants to pursue, if she wants to go with a TC member of pursue her own interests