This is the downtime thread about your conversation with the chittering masons.


This is the downtime thread about your conversation with the chittering masons. Comment below to receive information. Let me set the scene:

After the agreement is concluded with the Craftsman, the party is conducted along a network of spandrels deeper into the village, arriving at what the Craftsman refers to as "the Archive of Memories". It is one of several larger structures, with multiple bulbs welded together. It spans two major trees, and is supported by numerous cords that run up and down into the forest. The entryway is grand.

The larger spaces within are used by the masons in three dimensions, for there are ledges and cords, and hanging steps everywhere for them to traverse over your heads. You are led into a large room. Up on a stage sits the Archivist, a great old mason, huge and gray with years, with wrinkled skin, and milky eyes. Below the stage there are tiers of benches, some of which are occupied by masons. Above, many more sit in hanging hammocks, suspended high in the air on cords they traverse freely. The room is thick with the masons’ tittering laughter and raspy clicking.

Eventually, it becomes clear that they wish to see Salinger perform now. The first performance of his young art is conducted in silence on the stage before the Archivist, watched by the many unblinking eyes of that alien audience. His craft is young, newly conceived by the lush imaginings of his expanded brain. He has practiced in the moments of rest, at camp, at dusk and the first light of dawn. No doubt the art will be greater when it grows to maturity, but already it is apparent that something strange and wonderful is being born. It draws something from the art of the acrobats of Valon, and also from the wild dances of Altanian tribes, but it is a new form. The elegant contortions of his body, stir passions in the party’s breast, and evoke a whole atmosphere that fills the room like a rich aroma. (Alex, if you want to name this piece, you can. Feel free to fill in or alter the details if you want.)

The masons seemed well pleased with the performance. The Archivist says in a deep rasping voice, “The memory has been received.” Behind him you see several younger masons, feverishly weaving together knotted threads of different colors. “In accordance with the oath,” he continues, “We will now reciprocate with the sharing the precious contents of the Archive. I understand from the Oath Binders that the region of memory is that pertaining to the Summer Palace. What particulars do you wish us to withdraw for you?”

Eric Boyd Aleksandr Revzin Dave Sealy Chris P. Joshua Blackketter

Comments

  1. Ben L.September 25, 2016 at 11:42 AM

    "Before the masters left, they dared not approach. But later, when those who stayed were becoming strange, they grew bold and approached with impunity. They interfered with our fulfillment of the oaths greatly. In the final memories of our archives they did not reside in the palace, but roosted nearby."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aleksandr RevzinSeptember 25, 2016 at 4:41 PM

    Can/will he give us a layout for portions of the Summer Palace? Does he know which Zyan guilds were the guardians of the place?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ben L.September 26, 2016 at 9:19 AM

    "The Archives contain no information about the guilds of the guards. As for the layout of the palace, I may answer in general terms. The Summer Palace has two wings, the north wing, and the south wing. These wings are connected by the garden. There are, in addition various subsidiary structures."

    "The garden lies between the wings in the center of the palace. It is an open-aired, walled structure of some complexity that houses vegetation."

    "The north wing is four stories tall, with one two story tower and one three story tower that rise above that. The north wing ontains the habitations of the main masters. Chambers of consultation and recreation are also located there."

    "The south wing is three stories tall, with three towers rising two stories above that. It contains the habitations of the visiting masters, as well as of the main servants."

    "Beneath the entire palace run the lower level that contains the kitchens, storage areas, and the habitations of many servants."

    ReplyDelete

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