GoCorral

This session was attended by Jamie, Trajan, Will, Tyler, and Avery. The session was held over Google Hangouts using Roll20 as usual. I arrived late because I was celebrating my dad’s birthday with him. This meant the session was quite short.

The Oracle

With one of the dreams figured out and tied up (at least until they needed to figure out what exactly the Touch of Nature does) the party decided to tackle one of the other dreams, Tagenadi’s. His dream came from Hades, Lord of the Underworld, who told him to “Find the lots!” But what exactly were the lots? Puzzling over it came up with multiple answers. The favorite answer was that the lots referred to the three Fates. Our group of adventurers wanted some outside confirmation on this though and where better to get confirmation on prophetic dreams than the Oracle at Delphi!

The Oracle required an offering of some kind though. King Croesus of Lydia had offered the Oracle six tons of gold when he consulted with her before going to war with Persia. What could the party offer? They had a small cash reserve along with a collection of valuable magical items. One item stayed unused in their portable hole though, a +5 Holy Undead Bane Disruption Scimitar taken from one of the guardians of the Lich Shade. No one had used it and the party had been unable to sell it. Some members resisted selling it as the scimitar was the most powerful weapon in their possession, but eventually the party realized that their own resistance to giving up the scimitar was why it would be a good offering. An offering to the Oracle must feel significant and the scimitar surely was.

After a little more discussion on what they would ask the Oracle, Amalius teleported the group to the holy shrine of the Pythia. A line of pilgrims stood out front, but they parted as the party walked up to the temple. Magic is not a common presence in the lands outside of Cimmeria and the party was positively dripping with it. The pilgrims respected this force and stepped aside.

A priest on the steps of the columned temple greeted the party, “Welcome great lords. With whom do I have the honor of speaking?”
Amalius introduced himself and his friends.
“You are most welcome to the shrine of the Pythia. I trust you have brought a sacrifice to match your stature.”
Amalius pulled the scimitar out of his portable hole and unsheathed it. The sword glowed with holy green light. The priest marveled at it and took it in his hands. He felt the power within the sword and quickly sheathed it.
“A fitting gift indeed. Please, enter.”

The priest led the group onto the shrine and past the first room where a few other worshippers were gathered. They entered the antechamber of the temple where a large painted statue of Apollo stood. At the back of the room hung a thin burgundy curtain. Standing in front of the curtain was a Greek woman wearing simple clothes.

The priest spoke to the Pythia, “These are great men come far from Cimmeria to ask for your guidance.” The priest introduced each member of the party. “You may ask your question when ready.”
Tagenadi spoke and Amalius translated, “Oh, Pythia. I have had a dream sent to me by Hades, Lord of Erebos, in which he commanded me to find the lots. Could you explain to me the significance of this dream and where I can find the lots?”

The Pythia nodded before retreating behind the curtain. Smoke rolled above the curtain and the slapping of skin against stone could be heard behind it. The woman let out eerie moans and the smell of sulphur and burned herbs assaulted the noses of all who were present.

The Answer

The Pythia emerged, sweaty and tired. The priest approached her and she whispered into his ear. The priest looked shocked. He took the Pythia’s hand to support her and turned to the party, “The Pythia has been surprisingly direct. She says, ‘Consult Homer’s first book, the fifteenth of it.’“
Amalius, being familiar with the structure of the book, quickly realized that she meant Book 15 of the Iliad. Eathirilu was well versed in his Homer and, upon prompting by Amalius, recited the relevant passage from memory,

“Poseidon was enraged:
‘He may be powerful, but this is arrogance,
to try and restrain me against my will, and threaten force,
I who share equal honour with himself. Three brothers are we, sons of Cronos and Rhea,
Zeus and I and Hades, Lord of the Dead.
The world was divided in three, and each received his domain.
When the lots were cast, I won the grey sea
for my home forever, while Hades had the dense darkness beneath.
Zeus may have taken the wide heavens, the cloud and air,
but Earth and lofty Olympus are common to us all.
So I will not submit to Zeus’s will. Despite his power,
let him stay quietly in his own third.
And let him not try to frighten me, as if I were a coward.
Let him menace his sons and daughters with angry words,
he begot them and they are forced to listen to his urgings.’”

Homer, Iliad, Book 15, 184-199

So the lots meant the dice that had chosen which of the three greater gods would rule over which domain. And Hades wanted them. Hades, who had gotten the worst of the three with his prize. The group suspected that the lots might’ve been loaded by Zeus to give him the sky. Perhaps Hades wanted to check the dice to ensure the accuracy of that long ago game of chance? For whatever reason he wanted them, where were the dice now?

The grouped held a strong suspicion that the dice were with Hermes. Hermes is the god of chance, boundaries, trickery, thieving, and agreements. Many things that applied to the rolling of the lots that the three great gods did in the past. But if Hermes had the lots would he give them up? Amalius sent his mind out into the universe to find out. He came back with this answer,
“The dice are with their keeper,
The god of luck and circumstance,
His name is Hermes,
To gain them, play a game of chance.”
So Hermes did have the lots! But a game of chance? Wouldn’t that be risky against the god of luck himself?
Tagenadi said, “Well, Amalius’ vision didn’t say we had to win. Only that we had to play.”
Danar added, “And a game of chance isn’t any different than what we adventurers do on a daily basis. We risk our lives every day. How would this been any different?”
How could the party talk to Hermes though?