15th Dominion –
names
Blesséd, a fisher priest, played by Barry;
Shoha (smells bad), a fisher priest, played by Matt;
naaholloshi, “white baby,” the milky local liquor;
Ibaapassáa (to help spank), Tishkila’s kid sister, a Lover priestess in training, played by Kim;
Mallichi (to bounce), the Nimas Animæ river;
Kawaakow-oshi, (striped) one of the “kittens” from Iyyonchaba, their fisher priest, played by Kip;
scenes
The Chatelaine speaks with Giles about some disagreements with Jerry, regarding the intersection of Love & Reason and local customs. Giles then meets with Jerry. It’s agreed that the Chatelaine ought perhaps be present at some of the future meetings regarding the townfolk. Also, Jerry needs a secretary.
Some discussion of the management of the salmon run between Iyyonchaba and Nimas Animæ. Shoha badgers Blesséd about the need for a large catch this year. They burst into the Great Hall and perform ichthyomancy with a large salmon on one of the tables to announce the beginning of Tali’ Lakna’ Nani. Cameron performs a perdo animál spell to wipe away the spattered fish entrails, which also destroys his breakfast lox. The daily routine is overwhelmed, as the Gætani covenfolk head down to the river to assist the fisher priests in scooping up the salmon run.
Giles and Calvus discuss weapons training for Giles. —The Julio-Claudien lineage of Ægidians is brought up. Giles is given Calvus’ lead training shirt.
Tully, Giles, and Jerry discuss torch brackets and assistants. Tully decides to recruit Ishta in finding five assistant blacksmiths for Jerry.
Tully’s sun rolls out of his lab, down the tower steps, and out into the courtyard. Tully heads for the river, to go fishing. The guards in the courtyard attempt to cover the sun with some heavy canvas, which smolders and bursts into flame. It’s too bright to look at directly. Ishta sends the guards to find one of the other magi to deal with it, specifically suggesting Perdix Carbonis. Using a blast shield supplied by Ishta, Shotik guides the sun back into Tully’s lab, while Abakoshik lifts it with Unseen Porter. Tully returns from testing his new fishing pole on Murray’s shoulders, but the sun has been restored. He leaves Sonata and Perdix with two of his fresh-caught salmon, which they return to the kitchens. The cook tells Sonata about her conversation with the Finger, who wondered what it was the magi did all day. Sonata speaks with the cook about Manu Tenére.
At the river, Shoha and Blesséd are rather concerned with Tully’s spectacular new fishing pole, which is not the right and proper way to go about it. They sabotage Tully’s pole.
In the kitchen, the conversation between the cook and Sonata has moved on to Bethelion, at which point Giles shows up. The Manu Tenéreans have a “soft” or coddling attitude toward the vestiges of the local religion, does this come from Bethelion? Giles thinks not. But Tali’ Lakna’ Nani, if it continues more than a few days, will greatly impinge on preparations for the Day of Passion. What is to be done? As the cook has worked in the kitchens of Bethelion and Manu Tenére, it turns out she knew Giles when he was Derleth’s apprentice.
Tishkila and Gieron (and Ibaa) bicker about the sad state of the Lover/Brewer priesthoods in this town, the lack of a proper tavern, the Ventrian whorehouse, the Scarecrow King. They agree in their derision of Blesséd, the “shouty fat drunk.” Ibaa is preparing little favor sacks for the festival that celebrates the first night of Tali’ Lakna’ Nani. —Tishkila and Gieron have an infant son (played by Sydney).
Giles receives a note from Ishta and goes to her lab. Ishta, while manipulating her mysterious orb, discusses the journeymen Jerry needs.
Shoha and Blesséd discover a horrible omen: three diseased salmon livers ichthyomancied in a row. Will this be the last healthy salmon run the Nimas Animæ river will ever see? If they were to drive away the dragon-wizards, and get rid of the Brewer-less tavern and the Ventrian whores, would they restore the salmon run? They consult with Kawaakow-oshi, who turns up a perfectly healthy liver. He advises Shoha and Blesséd to do up the first night of Tali’ Lakna’ Nani “proper,” then check again the next day, before leaping to conclusions. Kawaakow-oshi flirts with Tishkila and Ibaa.
Cameron brings the book he’s completed copying to Giles. It’s a bit more colorful than the original. Giles heads for the baths, where Sonata appears, in a fluttering flock of birds, to report the trouble with the salmon livers. All the salmon, she fears, have perhaps been poisoned? Or perhaps it’s augury, and poor omens. Perdix Carbonis and Ishta join them. It’s decided that openly interfering with the fishing would be bad, as would openly honoring or even dealing with the fisher priests as “dragon” mages could backfire. Instead, their knives will surreptitiously be switched, in case the knives are in some fashion to blame, and the fisher priests themselves will be buttonholed, to remind them how important it is that the omens go well.
Ishta recruits Nishoba to swap the knives; he suggests the murder of the Judge is to blame. He approaches Blesséd and offers to pray over their knives. He casts a hybrid intellego vim spell over them, and discovers Blesséd’s knife has Monkey-taint. The Judge’s murder, it seems, has stripped the gods’ protection from Nimas Animæ, and the evil gods can come out to play. Nishoba takes Blesséd’s and Shoha’s knives with him. He discusses the dragon-wizards with the two fisher priests.
meta
Some discussion of the Holy Church calendar, and the tenor of its holidays, with some attention paid to the Day of Passion. (We shall not dwell on the heretical Three Flavors Ritual, or the Horse-Bugger’s Day.)
Some discussion of the rocky relations between the Ventrian whorehouse and the three Lover priestesses. One of the courtesans is named Claudia, a Ventrian; the other courtesan is Voscii, named Lartha. (The Voscii language and names sound somewhat like Etruscan, it seems.)
