009 - The Palantir that fell out of the sky

October 4th, FA 15

The air was brisk and dry over the gap of Rohan. The company, mounted and ready to set out was waiting for Araliniel to read the signs, find some kind of oracle that could be of use in the journey. All around, the rolling land of Rohan and Dunland could be seen. In the distance, all melted into a steel gray haze with the sky. An eagle was flying low over the land. It was making a broad circle over the company. Araliniel took it as a sign, in a near trance, she picked a pebble from the ground. The pebble slipped upward from her fingers and flew right up to the Eagle. This is when Sir Galdor realized that this was not a low flying Eagle, but rather a high flying giant eagle. The pebble flew so fast and so high that all but Galdor could keep it in focus. It hit the eagle. With a jerk, the eagle let something fall back to the ground. No one could see but Galdor, who picked up a glimmer of a spark as the spherical object started to plummet to the ground. Araliniel called out in her loudest voice to catch the Palantir at all cost.



The artifact was falling to the ground over a 30 degree slope to the river Isen. By the time that the Palantir hit the ground, Sir Galdor was already hot on the pursuit. As he prepared to slide to the right of his galloping mount, the giant eagle was completing a dive in an attempt to grapple the young knight. Frustrated, the eagle flew past Galdor and began a tight circle over to attempt the grapple again. Riding down the slope was difficult, and the palantir kept on bouncing on stones as it tumbled down the hill side. Galdor skillfully plunged head first and attempted a one handed catch, with no success. He overtook the tumbling artifact and executed a high speed disembark ahead of the palantir. The Palantir was bouncing over the rocky ground, but Galdor caught it in mid-flight a bare second before the Giant Eagle swept him off hit feet. His sturdy claws slipped along his torso and legs and finally caught into his left foot as Galdor got flung upside down, tossing the Palantir in the general direction of Finbert who was dashing downhill just behind. The Palantir flashed into Finbert's face and bounced once or twice up the hill.

Meanwhile, the giant eagle let go of Galdor at about 30 yard from the ground. Galdor fell heavily to the ground and suffered a near mortal blow to the chest. Completely winded, Galdor lay there on the ground for the rest of the dream.

Back at the Palantir, the sphere briefly stopped its uphill course as Arnadil joined the near pile-up. He opted to skip the dangerous dive and instead use his leadership to stack the odds of success as Halin the masterdwarf arrived nearby. Prompted by Arnadil, Halin slipped off his rohan pony and stumbled to the ground, barely making the catch. The palantir was cold to the touch and dull inside.

Trailing behind trotted Kasper, trying to warm his hand as he gleefully looked at the eagle flying away in an erratic pattern. The flying terror now out of the way. Araliniel was closing the chase on foot, dashing over Galdor's mangled body and towards the Palantir. She snatched it from Halin's hand and gently stroke the sphere. Then something within the palantir began to stir. Her legs gave way, she gently put the palantir down to the ground as it felt like an unberable weight in her hand. The sky color switched back to steel blue. Araliniel lifted her eyes and said:

"I see a sword, underneath a cellar, in a tower of a ruined fortress by a river."

The world vanished gently, leaving Araliniel behind and terribly alone. Never had she experienced such a vision in the past. She woke up and attempted to get hear bearing on reality all over again.

GM Note: Although the dream was really in Araliniel's head, we played the encounter as if it was real. Had the character died in the dream, they would have had to contend with a fight check. This is totally metagaming, but it gives a good motivation to try their best to get the precious oracle, without being reckless.