All Campaign Reports

Non-narrative Reference Links

Artificer-Forager deck (Constructed at beginning of campaign)
Deck as Amand has progressed in the campaign (Note, this is current to my latest progress in the campaign, not necessarily the Day you are reading. In other words if you are reading Day 6 but I’ve played to Day 22, you will see the deck from Day 22.)
Campaign Log

1. Day 10
2. Day 11
3. Breaking the 4th Wall

Day 10

High Basin

The climb from Branch up to the High Basin the previous night did me no favors today. I slugged out of my tent and made a breakfast. It was raining again, still, forever.

The warmth and bitterness of my cherry moss tea started to chase my fatigue away and the murky dawn light began to do the same to the surrounding shadows. A low mist clung to the small lake but I could start to distinguish the massive dolewood trunks from each other. They disappeared into the rain clouds above, like pillars holding up the sky itself.

Among them somewhere I hoped to find Vira, and quickly. There was no telling what kind of trouble she might be in. Despite our best efforts to understand our place in the order of Valley, nature was not our friend and had a way of swiftly punishing missteps or, as I had discovered days earlier, arrogant ambition. Hurt, wet, and cold, Vira must be in some trouble she couldn’t get herself out of.

I found the first sign of her trail just outside of camp. I saw a scuffing on the bark of a nearby Dolewood that Vira must have left climbing the massive tree. Perhaps she had been lost and climbed the tree to try to find the trail down to Branch, or perhaps she was chased up it by an angry, and roused, bearsloth. I peered up the tree into falling raindrops and decided that Vira probably wasn’t still in the tree. Cherry moss hung from the lowest branches and a large chunk of it had been torn away, and recently. Upon closer inspection I saw boot prints in the sodden ground beneath the branch. Vira was indeed not in the tree and appeared to have fallen getting out of it.

I found her huddled down the slope against a small outcropping of rocks. My hunches proved correct. She twisted her knee when the wet moss had torn away on her way out of the tree. “It was getting late and I was tired. I should have just camped and looked for the trail in the morning. So foolish of me!” I took a look at her injury and knew there was little I could do in the field and I doubted Branch had the necessary medical facilities either. Beyond Branch was Crossroads Station and, being accustomed to nursing foolhardy Rangers back to health, would surely have what Vira needed to get back on her feet.

While we were making a plan and getting underway we failed to notice that two bearsloths had found us. I shuddered at the realization that they probably sensed Vira’s weakened condition and were waiting for their opportunity. What if I had arrived a few hours later? What would I have found then?

I distracted one with the glass rabbit and threw my Camoweave Cloak over myself and Vira and darted between the trees back towards the trail to Branch. It was all going according to plan until Vira’s knee gave out and she stumbled into the undergrowth. I will never again underestimate the speed and agility of a bearsloth. It rolled off the branch it appeared to be asleep on, swung off it, and landed on the same bush Vira had fallen into! I feared the worse until it ejected itself from the bush and fled back up a tree.

“My legs might not work, but my arms do,” Vira said when I asked her breathlessly what happened. She held up a bloodied blade. “I don’t like to hurt animals but I didn’t exactly have a choice.” She winced. The bearsloth had gashed her as well, across the right upper chest. But we had made it to the trail and hurried away before it came back for more.

Branch

I was frazzled by the time we made it to Branch, keeping my eyes, ears, and nose open for any sign of Bearsloths, Puffercrawlers, bees, caterpillars, angry looking branches, or big rocks in the path. Anything that might slow us down or hurt Vira any further. I saw the Evergreen Hall above but resisted the temptation to stop and trade stories over a mug of ale. Vira’s condition was worsening and I couldn’t risk getting us into any further danger because I wanted a drink.

Crossroads Station

The rangers at Crossroads Station swiftly took Vira into their medical facility. “You were good to get her here this quickly,” said a woman with curly hair. “If a Bearsloth attacked her, she must have been weaker than she let on. They only attack prey that’s almost dead anyway.” Clearly that bearsloth had a thing or two to learn and Vira’s blade had been a good teacher.

The rain was starting to lift when Vira emerged with barely a limp. “Ranger medicine is truly miraculous,” she said. “When we got here I felt I couldn’t go another step and now I’m ready to wrestle another bearsloth!” Her brown eyes glistened. “But seriously, if you ever need to get anywhere, and I mean anywhere, you come find me in White Sky. I owe you my life.”

I never expected to be in the position where someone would say that to me, so I didn’t quite know how to respond and said nothing. Fortunately Vira did the appropriate thing for me and reached for my hand, and then an embrace. She wanted to leave immediately for Branch and insisted she was okay to travel on her own. “I’ve traveled this Valley my whole life, I don’t need a babysitter now. Especially one that is barely older enough to be my son,” she said with a wink.

I stayed to look around Crossroads Station. I heard Ren Kobo was in the area and I thought I might trade with him. Instead I found the inestimable Quisi Vos. I seen, or rather heard, her in Lone Tree Station pestering everyone about everything. I’m not quite sure how an 8-year old girl gets around the Valley as well as the most experienced Rangers, but here she was again. I was prepared to yield the rest of my day to her pestering when I remembered my Kinetic Glass Rabbit. Perfect. I handed it to her and it so engaged her I never heard from her the rest of the day. With Ren eluding me and nothing much else to do in Crossroad Station I decided to hit the trail again and head back towards Branch.

Branch

Back in the lofted city my first stop was Evergreen Hall. It felt so good to shake off my rain-sodden cloak and unlace my boots that I seriously considered calling it a day and drinking the evening away in good company. It had been a great day, a fantastic day, already. Rescuing Vira from the Bearsloths was quite the achievement, I felt so myself and everyone in the hall agreed. If I had stayed I wouldn’t have had to pay for drinks all night, so exuberant were the villagers and fellow travelers. But Seilo Griss sidled up to me at the bar and lured me away from a bottomless mug with tales of intoxicating honey from Philosopher’s Garden. He also told me he had seen Ren Kobo heading that direction. I did have that Guazeblade to trade… I did like honey… I shouldered my way back into the cloak and boots and dipped back outside with not a little remorse.

Philosopher’s Garden

Even in the dwindling light Philosopher’s Garden was just a short hike away and sure enough we found Ren setting up his camp for the night. Convincing him to set aside his warm dinner to trade with me was surprisingly easy. Ren Kobo was a delightful human, always ready to help. I gave him a Gauzeblade for a Carbon-Forged Trowel. The more time I spent wandering the Valley, the more convinced I became that violence was not my path and so had little need of the blade.

I’m not sure how he did it, but Seilo found the bees as it was turning dark. His eyes might as well have been fireflies when he tasted the bees’ honey. I, however, was exhausted and fell asleep to his ramblings and muttering at the profundity of his discovery.

Day 11

Philosopher’s Garden

I woke up astounded at how much I had been able to accomplish yesterday, which I hadn’t been able to appreciate the night before because I was so tired. I crisscrossed the old growth forest around Branch, saving Vira, and helping Seilo find his Philosopher’s Honey. All in a downpour. It was still raining but I didn’t mind, my spirits so buoyed by success. What had been different about the previous couple of days than the ones from before was that I spent them helping others rather than narrowly pursuing my own research ambitions. I suspected my research might yield results in the impending clash with the ancient biomelds, so I knew I ought to refocus in the days to come. Lending a helping hand to individual villagers was gratifying but I had the sense the fate of the valley hunting the balance.

To that end, I resolved to further unravel the mystery of the Verdessian and its trail of vines. Although I hadn’t the time or energy to examine them, yesterday I had seen many of those vines throughout the forest. I also wanted to connect to Lyn Mira, the famous boat builder in Branch. I supposed I could accomplish both easily.

I roamed around Philosopher’s Garden as dawn sent long shadows through the geometric trees. Before long I found the Verdessian standing over a prostrate reclaimer. The reclaimer slunk away into the forest and I inched closer but the Verdessian startled and melted directly into the ground. Where it had been were a few barbed darts oozing with a strong-smelling goo. Was the Verdessian somehow drugging the reclaimers? Could I replicate the active element in goo to use against them as well?

Clearly more study and observation was needed but I also felt an intuition that the non-scientific would be just as important. The Verdessian was, after all, another living being and although strange and miraculous by my standards perhaps there was some pathway to collaboration and communication that wouldn’t be found by poking, prodding, and disassembling to prove a hypothesis.

My reverie was broken by Umbra’s unmistakable shadow. I darted against the nearest tree and watched the massive bird fly low over the treetops searching for weakened or dying prey. Not wanting to end up in its talons, I deployed my Kinetic Rabbit to use as a decoy when needed.

Now for the hardest part of the day, extracting myself from the mazelike trees of the Philosopher’s Garden. Just when I seemed to understand the path through the forest, I lost it and ended up walking in circles. Using the Rabbit to manage Umbra whenever she appeared, my darter to disperse some bees, I slowly got a bearing on the path back to Branch when Calypsa and Kal stumbled out of the trees, seemingly equally lost.

It felt very different talking to them now, not even two weeks into my Ranger career, but with some real triumphs under my belt. Calypsa had heard of my rescue and my staredown with the Clicker. Sil’s painting was all over the Valley, she informed me, and smiled at my deep blush. “You should be proud. Clicker has maimed or killed more Rangers than I care to recount. Perhaps if they had taken the compassionate approach you did they wouldn’t have ended up that way.” Kal was silent, pretending to be deeply engrossed in navigating through the Garden, but I could tell he was listening and a bit resentful of the acclaim I was receiving.

“Say, you two,” started Calypsa, no doubt sensing the frigidity between us, “let’s have a contest one. A friendly one,” she added pointedly. A Ranger must weigh short-term fatigue against long term goals, she went on to explain, and challenged us to push ourselves as far as we could. I readily agreed to the idea. And so did Kal, betraying his feigned indifference to my presence.

Kal crashed off through the undergrowth, to what aim I wasn’t sure. Perhaps he hoped to discover the trail to Branch by blunt force, but certainly all that bushwhacking would leave him quite exhausted and well on his way to winning Calypsa’s challenge. I was tempted to do the same but pulled back. I had larger objectives for today than getting into a bushwhacking competition with Kal Iver. Perhaps in my pursuit of my objectives I could also demonstrate to Calypsa my willingness to exert myself.

Sure enough, nearby I found another trail of vines through a rotting Dolewood. These fallen behemoths were dangerous and precarious and I carefully scouted my approach. The vagaries of the paths through the Garden put several obstacles between it and me. While I bided my time the heavy rain further wetted the Dolewood to the point of collapse. I seized the opportunity and judiciously chipped away at the log with my Carbon-Forged Trowel and brought the whole thing, along with some Cherry Moss and nearby trees, crashing down. Not the most delicate method, I thought, as I picked my way through the vegetative rubble looking for the flowering vines of the Verdessian. It was hard work, and I sighed with a smile imagining myself keeping pace with Kal in our contest.

As I broke through to the clearing beyond I nearly crashed into the Verdessian, who was just as surprised as I was. To my great fortune, we were standing on a small outcropping of rock and the strange creature couldn’t perform its melting magic escape. It collapsed into a writhing tangle of roots and vines. Without thinking I bundled it into a sack.

I feel Nal’s presence instantly in my mind. Images of the waterfall at Tumbledown streamed past my inner eye and I understood she wanted me to meet her there with the Verdessian. Something about feeling Nal’s presence awakened my heart to what I’d done in trapping the Verdessian. I had imprisoned this fantastic being because I wanted to learn more about it and extract its knowledge and, perhaps, components of its very being. How far would I go? Would I kill it? I imagined that mass of roots and vines writhing in the sack and cursed myself. There must be another way to earn its trust, communicate and learn. Yet if anyone could bridge that gap it would be Nal. I had no choice but to proceed to Tumbledown, but I resolved to do it as swiftly as possible.

Extracting myself from the Philosopher’s Garden proved to be very tricky with Calypsa in tow and Umbra circling overhead. I certainly didn’t want to deal with Umbra all day and eventually I was able to devise a way to scare her away and escape to Branch. It was a close call, with a Puffercrawler lurking and Calypsa injured by a bearsloth but we made it out in one piece.

Branch

Once in Branch I immediately tracked down Lyn Mira, the boat builder. The more I thought about it, the ability to travel by river would be indispensable in getting around the Valley, especially to Tumbledown with the sacked Verdessian. It was back to the High Basin for us and we were quite an entourage – myself, Lyn, Calypsa, and Kal somewhere just out of sight (but not always out of earshot).

High Basin

I found the proper Dolewood for the canoe and marveled and Lyn’s craftsmanship. Truly unbelievable and one-of-a-kind work. When it was finally complete I couldn’t believe it was for me. I didn’t feel worthy of it, yet there was not trace of disappointment in Lyn’s face when she gave it to me. “You earned this through your dedicated work to Vira, Seilo, and all the residents of Branch. Use it well and may it speed your journey throughout the Valley.”

That evening Calypsa, Kal, and I gathered around a campfire. Though it was small, it was burning the dense Dolewood and put off such an intense amount of heat we kept inching backwards until we barely sat in its glowing circle. Kal and I recounted our days and I felt no trace of the animosity between us. Perhaps it was the magic of the fire, the pure water of the high mountain lake, or the explosion of stars above us. Or all of them and a million other things combined. The pettiness of human conflict has no place in the majesty of natural things. Kal was my brother, at least on this night.

A deep silence filled the campfire’s halo as I told them of my encounter with the Verdessian. Even then as I told the story I could feel it trying to escape from the pouch. I nearly released it then and there but Calypsa stayed my hand. “Your conflicted feelings are not a signal that you are making a mistake. You feel like you do because you care deeply, and that, above all, is why you are a Ranger.

She handed me a Ranger Badge. “Take this and remember how you feel right now. Let your broken heart guide you and it will never lead you astray.”

Breaking the 4th Wall

I’ll keep these sections brief, but I want to make a spot for any thoughts or observations I have that are a bit awkward to try to include in the story.

• I think I’ll give up on taking pictures. I don’t know. Maybe close crops of the artwork to illustrate the story I’m trying to tell? But pictures of the tableau don’t really seem like what I’m going for.
• Unfortunately I couldn’t camp so I can’t get the Dolewood Canoe into my deck yet. Tomorrow I think I might make a trip north to White Sky to connect with Silaro, camp, then take the river down.