Session 22 - Passing Whispers

"***Uhh, we got ghosts." - Acaelus***

This is the 22nd session of the game Ashes

## Summary

The party gathered up their supplies and headed to Rust Port within Blackdale, leaving the city of Kronstrad for the first time in quite a time. They passed through the Outer Slums and witnessed the poorest district within the city. They made their way through the Shattered Gate and pass through the outer walls, passing through the massive tent city that sits outside the city. The party saw several citizens from Blackdale being stopped at the city gates and being denied entry.

On the first day of travel, the party saw the expansive farmlands and flatlands of the Heartlands of Dunland. The Wearyword road being a large road with plenty of commerce meant that the party was almost never alone on the road. While on the road the party inquired about something Elias had said, that he had been in prison for a chunk of his life. He explained that he had been imprisoned for 100 years within the city known as The Golden City. He explained that within prison he learned most of the languages from other inmates and that he took on a leadership role there. It's where he found his holy book and began practicing his faith. After his long stint of at least 100 years, he was mysteriously set free, apparently, he had done his time. The question then became about each person's souls, and what they believed was inside them. The party discussed the possibilities with Emeran highlighting the fact that he followed more in line with The Old Way and the creation story that the Nine Deities found the planet, and he worshiped those who created it, the Gods of the Wood, Those Born of the Wicker. At the end of this first day the party slept within Acaelus's Tiny Hut for the first time, and Acaelus and Astraea stopped a pair of horse thieves.

The next day the party continued ahead along the Wearyword and found their way nearby the Salmon Run River, and the crossing at the Dauclan Valley Gorge. They discovered a regiment of troops, armed with a spider-like tank keeping vigilant over the area. A Lieutenant named Aiers stopped the party, telling them that before they could cross they would need to wait for the workers on the bridge to give the OK. The railway that runs from the city of Coldport through Buyway is making its way through the heartlands and to Kronstrad. The party exchanges rumors with Aiers who talks about the Haunted Highlands ahead, and even further the roving band of bears, which might not be bears. He told the party that passing through the highlands required bravery, and showing the spirits fear could cause them to descend on the party. The party tells him about the protests going on in the city. Aiers suggests that the group go fishing for a bit if they wanted to down by the Salmon Run, and the party agreed. They caught some sprat, some of which they kept, and some they gave to the railway workers when they finally passed.

Later that night a young woman named Sara and her little brother Otto approached the campsite, looking hurt, cold and hungry. Emeran and Elias went out to speak with them and discovered that they had come up the road through the Haunted Highlands and how the fogs had grown so large that they had no choice but to pass through. Through various ways, the party discovered that the two are initially from Blackdale, and the party warned them that they should probably change their accent and that the city might not let them in. After tending to the two, giving them a place to sleep, and feeding them the party said their farewells and wished the two good luck.

The party passed through the Haunted Highlands of Kronstrad, and as expected the mists had grown immensely, forcing the party to pass through them. As the party began traversing the mists Acaelus began to notice some approach with his detect magic. The ghosts mostly stayed away from the party until a trio of spirits approached the carriage from the front and began to test the party. Seeing that most of the party was becoming scared of the ghosts, and the ghosts growing agitated Elias attempted to cast Bless, which seemed to anger the spirits even more, and they lashed out after a taunt from the cleric. The party kept their composure long enough for Astraea to seemingly be tested, and she was able to stay unafraid. The lead spirit approached her ear and began to whisper a vision:

*You are walking down a street that is unfamiliar to you. It is hard to see ahead of you due to the fog all around, and at this moment you begin to realize that it is not fog, but white ashy smoke. Through the smoke there is a light beaming down the block you’re walking up, making it even more difficult to see. Around you the buildings are scarred, unnatural looking and twisted, within the brickwork there are faces of people smiling out, beneath each craggy brick-looking face is a broken heart, and they are on every building ahead. You pass by an old man who looks like he’s slowly turning to stone, he is sitting with his back up against a building in a chair, and nearby his feet is a loud phonograph playing eerie music. Further ahead you see a woman dancing ballet alone, as you pass her you see that she is turning to stone, and falling to pieces. There is a loud grinding noise above you that doesn’t cause you to look up, and piles of black dust begin falling from the sky for a moment, obfuscating the white ash with black dust causing your vision to blur grey. You suddenly find something funny and start laughing. The light ahead turns from white to red.*

After Astraea recanted what she saw to the party, Acaelus used his historical knowledge of the region to make a guess about what the message means. The Haunted Highlands don't have any particular reason to have a collection of geists, but it is said that the whispers the spirits give can tell a story of the past, present, or future. Some people would seek out these geists for this information, very often Temporal mages looking to seek a way to pass through time. The party keeping this information in mind continued along the Wearyword Road.