[Notes for the run of June 3, 1999.]

The temple pillars on one side are white, on the other black.  The High
Priestess is wearing multicolored robes, but also the symbol of the "white"
church (two concentric circles with three bars radiating out).  (If she's
also wearing the "black" symbol -- which she probably is -- we don't seem
to recognise it.)  The colors of things here (but not things we brought)
seem brighter.

Mia walks down the pillars looking at the pictures (carved into the lintels
over the pillars): A man, a woman looking at the next man, a man looking
towards the woman who's looking at him, a woman looking at the moon, a
short squat guy with a big beard, a small child, a woman, a man, and
finally she thinks a man but she's not sure.

At the far end of the temple are steps that go down to a grassy area.  To
the sides, in the distance, the ground slopes down to an iron fence.
(There's a roof but no walls.)  The sky seems reddish, which we realise is
because it's dawn, though it wasn't dawn in Torat when we left.  Mia senses
that her clerical spells are refreshed.

Paris asks, "How do I guard the keys?"  "Understanding is key."  HP leans
forward a bit and a trick of the light makes her look more like Genelle
again.  "You have to find the key and use it wisely."  She leans back and
looks more like the HP again.

Anton: "What is this guardian and keys business, anyway?"  HP looks
non-plussed.  "Who are the guardians, what are they guarding, and why?"
"You have heard her (Paris's) answer: there are two keys of Tarot."  Mia
chimes in, "Man and nature.  But what can they be used for?"  "Everything."

"Are they physical keys, like to open a lock?"  "There ARE physical keys."
[Some question I missed.]  "Yes and no."  "Will we know them when we see
them?"  "If you understand them.  Understanding is key."

"Are Paris and Red the only two guardians of the keys?"  HP asks Paris,
"Are you?"  Paris replies, "No."

"Is there something we can do to help us understand the keys?"  "I am the
last of those who will help you easily.  Those who will help you gain
deeper insight will require a service of some sort.  Which reminds me, I
must reward you for the service of escorting me here."  Mia says, "No
reward is necessary."  Calais quickly adds, "But we won't turn it down."
HP continues, "Come with me."

We follow her to a fountain.  Anton checks and determines that everything
seems magical; he can't particularly distinguish the fountain.  The liquid
in the fountain would smell like lemonade if we knew what lemonade smells
like.  She draws out a cup much like Mia's, dips it, and offers it to us.
Paris sips.  It adds 5 experience that must be used immediately for skills
(including levels) and/or knowledges (not stats), and we can take things
that we haven't had training for.  (Calais wants to take it as +2 in
Inventor and a Knowledge of transporting and preserving magical
liquids. :-)  After some discussion of how to use the XP (buying levels
to cancel armor was a popular choice, though we do think we can find
training for that in town), the questions continued.

Anton asks what happened that caused the world to end (when Tarot and Torat
split apart).  "The world was torn asunder."  "What caused that?"  "When
the two became one, a choice was made, and the world was torn asunder."
"What two?"  "The two who became one."  "Are they still together?"  "Oh
yes."  "Then how did the world come back together?"  "I don't know.  It may
simply be healing, but the tears are still there.  You can see them."  She
points out of the temple at the iron fence.  "Tarot is not joined.  The
tears are still there."

"Will fixing the tears make the world a better place?"  She repeats the
question back at Anton.  "_Will_ fixing the tears make it a better place?"
She goes on.  "You have choice.  If you find the keys, you will have a
choice."

"What or who is causing the fell creatures to come into Torat?"  "They are
escaping through the tears.  They can move freely about."  "Are they in
Tarot before they enter Torat."  "There are monsters in both lands.  The
ones with the faces unlike yours are only in Tarot, the ones with faces
like yours are in Torat."  Paris remarks that some of the monsters from our
world stay in our world.

Calais: "If we fix the tears, will it prevent the fell creatures from
traveling between the worlds, or will the two worlds become one and allow
all to travel freely between them?"  "There are places one can travel
between the worlds, like this temple here, but I will not permit the orcs
to travel through here.  I cannot say the same for the others."

Anton asks if we are all cards in the Tarot.  She asks, "Are you?"  Since
he just finished taking a lemonade-inspired knowledge of Tarot, he looks in
the fountain and sees his reflection as the Page of Wands.  He looks at the
others.  Claire is the Page of Pentacles.  Mia is the Ten of Cups, a card
that combines the rainbow and cups, and is devoted to family.  Paris is the
Knight of Swords.  Calais is the Two of Pentacles, which depicts a juggler
and represents someone skilled in the art of making things.  Brillig's card
bothers Anton a bit: the Ace of Swords, a card of great force and
destructive power.  Red (though not present) Anton figures is the Nine of
Wands.  Anton senses that if one of us dies, someone else will eventually
take over the position.

Though it's harder to identify people one doesn't know well, Anton tries it
for some NPCs.  Thinking about the Duke, Anton is not sure.  He could be
one of the four Kings, or he could be a Major Arcana.  He thinks about
Lorraine, but doing so gets him totally distracted and he forgets all about
the Tarot for a while.  (The dice speak! :-)

Mia, who also took knowledge of Tarot, thinks about Henri, the other priest
of chaos whom she spent the week training with.  Answer hazy (depends on
back-play TBD).

"Were the worlds created together?"  "Which side of a mirror is created
first?"  (Mia mutters, the silvered side, but the analogy is undeterred.)
Brillig quotes the church's version of Genesis, "In the beginning, God
created everything."  HP says that's not quite right, the translation
must've slipped a bit over time.  She says it should be, "At the first, God
created all that is."  She does not elaborate on the distinction.  Mia
objects that the beginning is, "Before the first, in the time before time,
there was all, there was nothing, they were one."

"Who else are cards and how can we recognise them?"  "Understanding is
key."  (In other words, you have to know something about the person, and
that combined with knowledge of the Tarot will tell you.)

"What are the keys for?"  "You know that."  "Right, they're for man and
nature.  Why were the keys made?"  (Missed the answer amidst grumbling
about mystic foo.)  Paris says she believes the keys were necessary so that
man can relate to nature and nature can relate to man.  "Then why isn't
there a key for gods?"  Paris replies, "Gods relate to man and nature by
other means."  More metaphysical discussion followed that went by too fast
for me to capture word-for-word and that I couldn't follow well enough to
paraphrase.)  Somewhere along the way the discussion brings up the elves,
and some comment is made about their long lifespans and how much time has
passed since they were last here.  The mention of time makes us realise
that it's still sunrise.  We ask about this.  "_Here_ in Tarot it is always
sunrise, because that is the time of replenishment."  (Priests could cast,
replenish, cast, etc.)  We're told that each place in Tarot is a different
time, but that different places are fixed at other times.  (It's not clear
whether there are also places in Tarot where time varies.)  We're also told
that more time passes in Torat than seems to pass here.

HP leans forward as Genelle again and suggests that we exit the temple in a
different direction, coming out in the elven forest rather than amidst the
orcs.

"Who is the next Arcana we will meet?"  "Only the layer of the cards
knows."  "Who lays the cards?"  "You have met her.  The one you know as
Dierdre.  Meet her only at birth or in the light of the full moon.  You do
not want to meet her in the dark of the moon."  (The "dark of the moon"
refers to the three days around the new moon.)

"Did Dierdre create the worlds?"  "No."  "Does she control people's fates?"
"She lays out the cards, shows those that bear, but those of the minor
arcana have choice."  "The major arcana do not?"  "They do not, and the
forces are strong even on the lesser arcana."

"What's the relation of the arcana and Dierdre to the gods, or is there
one?"  "Dierdre lays out the cards.  She isn't a god, or goddess.  She is
outside the Tarot."  "Are the gods part of the Tarot?"  "The Tarot
encompasses all but Dierdre.  She could not exist without it."

"Is it possible that the worlds, having come back together, could be put
asunder again?"  "Yes, those that have choice could do that."  Those with
knowledge of the Tarot realise that the World is the last card in the major
arcana.  The HP is #2, the Magician is #1, and the Fool is #0, but is often
placed between #20 and #21, between Judgment and the World.  #3 is the
Empress.  "Can you tell us anything about the Empress?"  "She is of the
Tarot.  I am the High Priestess, I deal with the gods; the Empress is of
the Tarot."

We're told that others of the minor arcana will come here at times.  "If
someone asks us how to find you, should we tell them?"  "Certainly, but it
won't help them unless it is their time to find me."  "Does that mean we
won't see you again?"  "I don't know.  I think we may meet again."

"What shall we tell those of Jouet who ask what became of you?"  "Tell them
that Genelle has found a church where she belongs and can teach."

We ask if she can help if one of us dies hereafter, as she'd offered
earlier.  "If you can bring the body here, more or less intact.  Those who
become strong enough in their relationship with the gods can also do it."
How does one become strong enough?  "The relationship grows over time, with
experience."  (Spend points! Spend points!)  Brillig tries to pin down
which gods, i.e. which religious package eventually includes raising the
dead.  It appears that both religions offer it, but it's probably not a
"monk" skill.  (In general, the High Priestess manages to avoid indicating
whether there are gods plural or god singular.  Pat warns that he's not as
good at it as she is, so some of the above quotes should be taken with a
grain of salt.)

Paris: "How can we get the god's help in the prince's quest?"  "Either
bring the prince here to ask me, or find some other way to intercede to
achieve the god's (gods'?) blessing."  "Do you teach intercession?"  "There
will be those who come to learn, to take this job when I grow old."

The HP indicates that she will be busy once we leave.  "There are many
rituals the High Priestess must do, and it's been a while since they've
been done."

Eventually we leave.  "The gods' (god's?) blessing upon you all."  We leave
in the direction she indicated led to the elves.  We walk east toward the
(still) rising sun.  No sign of insects or animals.  No tracks.  Calais
goes off to the side 30-40 feet to look at the fence.  It looks like a
typical iron fence, about 12 feet tall.  Brillig goes to have a closer look
also, to see how it feels to his "sensitive".  It feels "deader", whereas
the rest of the temple grounds feel especially vibrant.

We walk a long while, still on temple grounds.  We've lost sight of the
temple, but we're still clearly on the grounds.  We see a gate in the fence
on the right.  We examine it.  There is a lock.  In fact, there are two
locks, but they are just keyholes, with no internal mechanisms.  We realise
these correspond somehow to the two keys, man and nature.  Nevertheless the
gate is locked.  On the other side of the gate we see a woman on a very
comfortable couch, holding a sheaf of wheat.  Those with knowledge of the
Tarot recognise her as The Empress.  She rises and walks toward us.  Anton
(who recently took Courtly Graces) bows; Paris drops to one knee.  Most of
us spot something about her face, or posture, etc., that reminds us of our
mother.

"Rise, children."  Paris says, "We are in search of understanding."  "Yes,
as well you should be, and you are on your way, I sense.  But there is
danger ahead of you.  Our warlord has gone to your land of Torat, and seeks
now to raise the armies."  Anton figures this refers to the card called The
Chariot, whose rider is sometimes known as The Conqueror.  "He has wound up
on that side, and is going to conquer, unless stopped."  Is he doing this
in your service?  "We do not wish the lands of Torat.  If left to himself,
he will simply conquer, until nothing is left."  Is he using the orcs?  "He
will use any who obey him, and the orcs obey well."

She indicates that her husband may be able to help us deal with him.  The
warlord has to obey the emperor.  Also, if we can defeat him in the mundane
way, he will retreat.  If we can trick him back into Tarot, he'll be
subject to the Emperor's orders.  If we could remove the fences, the
Empress and Emperor would be able to communicate better and could perhaps
call him back.  If we could put the world back together, that'd do it.

"There is little I can do to help you.  If you need any plants or seeds?"
Paris asks for and receives grape cuttings.  Anton asks for a pretty
flower, and gets a seed.  Mia asks for the herbs that go into waybread, and
gets a bundle of seeds; she'll still have to figure out the recipe, though.
We also get some mundane food seeds, and Mia and Claire ask for some
medicinal herbs.  The Empress returns to her couch.

We continue on.  About the time we're thinking of stopping and setting up
camp for the -- day? -- we come to a gate on the left.  Behind it is a
stone chair adorned with ram's heads, but no Emperor.  This leads to some
discussion of whether it is possible -- and safe -- to cross the fence.  We
realise the Empress handed the seeds through the fence to us, so her hands
did pass through it.  We toss a pebble through the fence, no problem; ditto
over it.  Anton casts Detect Magic, and the fence seems somehow to be
sucking at all the magic in the area.  Anton takes Brillig's big staff,
pokes it through the fence, bonks it against the bars.  Nothing exceptional
happens.  Anton levitates up, and as he goes up it seems to him that the
fence continues to get taller to match.  The rest of the party thinks he
stopped at the top of the original fence.  Anton explains that the fence
got taller; we tell him what we saw.  We also disagree how much rope got
paid out on the lines tied to him.  Similarly, Calais thinks the bars are
far enough apart that he could contort through, but as he tries it seems a
lot narrower than it looked.  Mystic foo.  The fence is built on more
points than we are. :-)

We sleep a while.  The mage pools don't replenish.  The cleric spells always
replenish.

We journey for another day.  The fences slowly get closer together, until
finally they both embed into a big tree.  Since we can't get our heads
through the fence, we can't tell if the fences continue beyond the tree.
(For that matter, there might not be any world beyond the tree, though such
a concept is probably beyond most of us.)

Calais climbs up the tree, which gets leafier and leafier until it's like a
green tunnel.  Finally he pops out and finds an elf, who seems to be on
guard.  Calais greets him and asks permission to pass through the forest.
The elf asks who led him here, and Calais says it was the High Priestess.
The elf seems to understand this, and suggests going to see the queen.
Calais asks that his friends be permitted to join us, and we all go off.
The queen asks what happened with Genelle, and we fill her in.  She gives
us permission to pass through.

Paris asks the queen if she's seen the Emperor or the Warlord.  "No, is the
Warlord at large?  It will be bad if the Warlord is unchecked."  How do we
stop him?  "His troops will come toward you.  You fire lots of arrows at
them.  They fall down."  If there were such a battle, would you send
troops?  "Send troops where?"  We're not sure yet.  "It might be arranged.
We would first have to send our own scouts to confirm any reports."  We're
told it's okay if we send messengers (with sheathed weapons and diplomatic
tongues) to bring word if we learn of an upcoming battle that the elves
might want to help in.

Calais asks how long it's been since we were last in the elven forest, but
the elves don't pay attention to time on a daily basis so they can't say.

We get an escort out of the forest again.  As we walk, we debate whether to
detour to have a look at the orc cave.  But as we come out of the forest
and orient ourselves, Calais (scouting ahead as usual) hears the sounds of
combat.  He hurries back to tell the party to pick up speed, then heads
forward again to sneak a look.  A phase ahead of the rest of the party,
Calais sees a heavily armored figure fighting four orcs, mostly
defensively.  One of them notices Calais and lets out a squeal.  As the
party catches up, Calais pants out, "Four orcs fighting one guy."

The orcs all disengage and run.  Brillig pegs one with a rock.  Paris
dashes out ahead and cuts them off.  Mia, Anton, and Calais pace the orcs.

Paris bonks the most distant orc, but doesn't stun it; it disengages and
runs some more.  Brillig smacks the rock-tagged orc with his staff and
stuns it.  Calais strikes quickly before it can recover, aiming for the
head.  He connects and knocks it seriously unconscious.  Mia strikes a
third, opening a nasty wound in its thigh; it then disengages and moves
further.  Anton's target moves first and runs further, with Anton in hot
pursuit.

Paris catches up to her target again and puts it down for good.  Anton
finally catches his.  We fast forward to the remaining orcs being dead.

The armored man finishes catching his breath, and thanks us.  He introduces
himself as Baron duBois.  ("Our" baron.)  We say we've been looking for him
for weeks.  He is confused, saying it's been just a long day that he's been
fighting his way out.  He has to get to the Duke to tell him how to save
his (the baron's) family.  They were in the castle when the alarm went off.
As they fell back, strange things happened, and they ended up in various
places.

As we continue traveling Dukeward, we fill in the Baron.  We try to find
out how he got where we found him.  He can't describe the path he took, but
he feels he could lead a rescue force along it.  He thinks the armor helps
him see the path.  Anton starts to cast Detect Magic to check the armor,
but the Baron stops him in alarm, saying he's had bad experiences recently
with people making gestures.  Anton apologises.  The Baron asks how many
battle mages the Duke has; we don't think he has many.

We note privately that we actually don't know the Baron particularly well,
and this fellow hasn't shown any more of his face than can be seen through
a raised visor on full plate.  But oh well, we'll assume he's the Baron
until we get screwed for it. :-)  He does not seem to eat, sleep, or
poop, so he never takes off the armor.  He does mention that he found the
armor along the way and put it on.  We note, again privately, that this
differs from how the Duke acquired his armor, which simply appeared on him.

On our second day of travel we spot a Duke's patrol, which approaches us
with caution.  The Baron asks Paris who they are, and Paris fills him in.
The Baron asks how many patrollers the Duke has, etc.  (In general, this
guy is asking a lot of questions about the Duke's headcount.)  But Marion,
the head of the patrol, does seem to recognise the Baron somehow.  He
offers a horse to let the Baron ride in, but the Baron says the armor's
legs won't spread enough.  Marion's horse does seem particularly skittish
for some reason.  (The privately noted implication is that the armor or the
man inside it bothers horses somehow, and the bit about the armor's legs is
just an excuse to avoid getting on a horse.)

We learn that we've been gone for 2-3 weeks, so time indeed runs
differently in Tarot.  We tell them about the orcs and wolves, and find
that the orcs did NOT attack the Duke's patrols the day after we left.  We
also mention the existence of the Forest Kelli, but don't attempt to go
into details, simply warning them that the inhabitants are friendly as
long as visitors ask permission.

The Baron doesn't even appear stunned by the appearance of the Duke's city,
though admittedly we did warn him about it.  As we approach the Duke's
castle, though, he looks up and says, "Maybe I'd better clean up first."
We offer him the facilities in the Jouet section, but he says he'll just go
to one of the inns we passed.  He thanks us again and walks off.  The next
run presumably picks up with us reporting in to the Duke.  (Calais is torn
between trying to look good with the Duke and tracking the Baron, but since
I don't have real Shadowing (just Stealth) I'll probably stick with the
main party.)