2025-06-05 Games and Respite

We came upon a village whose people were holding games and a feast to celebrate the visit of an old friend named Gildas, a Celestial guardian known as an equinal. We were welcomed to join in the celebration. They called us eachtrai (AHK-tree), their term for mortals who enter the afterlife in dreams.

It wasn't all completely fun. Xander was confronted as "devil-tainted" by a woman whose brother lost his soul to a devil. Varanis talked her down. A goliath called Galvyn lost a fight to Harad, and seemed fine with that, but lost his temper when Iain also bested him. His pride only led to greater defeat, as he was no match for Iain in either staff or unarmed combat. Harad healed the bloodied and bruised goliath in a gesture of reconciliation, after which Galvyn seemed contrite.

Aside from that, the celebration was mostly a welcome respite from previous travails. We partied long into the night with this boisterous community. Varanis stood out during the games, using humour and magic to challenge and amuse the other athletes, including Gildas, but it was Leo's epic storytelling that captivated and delighted the entire village and the rest of us as well. It attracted the attention of someone who identified himself as only a wandering bard, a human man seemingly in his late 30s, and who indicated he too had passed from his mortal life. He was impressed by Leo's storytelling, and after a short conversation, revealed he had travelled all over Tír na nÓg and could lead the party to The House of Knowledge.

As we prepared to leave, Enkidu revealed he experienced a kinship with this place and these people, and felt compelled to spend time here. When that time was done, he would try to find us again.