Blue Rose: Into the Mists

Friday night is Blue Rose night! (Family game night, I guess, although it's less "suffer through Monopoly" and more "pretend to be elves 'n shit".)

Last time, our intrepid heroes fought and destroyed Clickclack, the corrupt fey tinkerer who'd been following them across the Central Valleys. As we open this time, they're traveling along the road, heading toward Aldis, when they hear music.

Whirlpool goes on ahead to check it out, and sees an encampment of carriages, tents, and lots of people playing music, making food, and dancing. He also sees a makeshift trellis and stage - apparently these folks are gearing up for something. (My oldest: "Wow, we found Coachella.")

Dobbin is pretty set on passing this all by. Clearly these folks are in the middle of something, and they don't need to be exposed to the particular brand of weirdness the characters bring. Arlen, driving the carriage, is in agreement, at least until they start passing by and some folks come out to greet them.

Kisha and Arlen recognize these folks as Roamers, a nomadic folk who do as the title implies. The Roamers wave and chat with the characters, and all seems well until one of them notices Arlen's birthmark and flashes a small card with the Moon on it. Arlen is intrigued and they talk about Selene and how Arlen is the messenger thereof, and the fellows say that their seer, Tashez, would probably love to hear that message. Arlen can't really turn away from this, and despite Dobbin still having reservations, the party stops for a bit.

Arlen and Kisha go into the encampment and meet with Tashez, and old lady reading cards for some younger Roamers. When she sees Arlen, she brushes the younger folks away and has Arlen sit, and reads cards for him. The last card to show up - the card signifying what's right around the corner, is the Star, the card of magic and mystery. (Today's prophetic images provided by the Vision Tarot, available now at Amazon and probably various bookstores.)

She reads Kisha's cards as well, notes Kisha's intent to change her fortunes, and lo and behold, the Star shows up in the same place. Tashez has them go and get Whirlpool and Dobbin, and reads them as well. Of note: The card showing up in challenge slot for Whirlpool is the Devil, and Tashez notes that the Corruption inside him has the potential to pervert everything about him if he isn't strong enough to repel it. But in all cases, the Star shows up in the same spot.

(Note: I didn't use a standard Tarot spread for this, I just kinda laid out a card to signify the person being read, a card for the past, a card for the future, a card for their challenge, and then a card for "tonight." Celtic Cross takes too long.)

Figuring that they're not going to get very far along the road now anyway, it being almost night, the characters take part in the celebration. Kisha and Arlen watch a puppet show depicting the history (in very brief) of Faenaria, the civilization that was home to the Roamers before they took to the road, and the death of Miriana the Seer, the great prophetess who foretold the doom of Faenaria and how she was murdered by Gretta of the White Face (this is all in the Blue Rose book if you want to read it).

Following that, the characters attend a wedding of two young Roamer men, and listen to the "Heart-Song of Valestian," a Roamer song played at weddings and other such joyous events. And then everyone drinks and feasts and dances until they just can't anymore.

The next morning, though, the characters awaken in a dense fog. The Roamers are gone...as its their carriage, and Pirry, and the box with the Mask. They hear singing in the distance, and recognize the melody they heard last night. They follow it and find themselves in a forest, and then the trees part and they emerge into a city.

The city isn't one they recognize, and Kisha notes that the architecture and the clothing is archaic, maybe 800 years old. Dobbin realizes that these folks are poor - their clothes are patched and worn. The folks are all weeping and lamenting, and when asked, one tells the characters it is for the death of Miriana the Seer.

Somehow the characters are in Faenaria, before it fell. Is it a dream? Have they traveled back in time? And what can they do to get back...to the future?