Campaign Updates: Ten Years

Because of unexpected real life distractions, I didn't referee either Barrett's Raiders or Dolmenwood this week. Despite that, I wasn't about to cancel this week's House of Worms session, since it marked the tenth anniversary of the campaign, which began on Friday, March 6, 2015. As I've written numerous times, I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that this campaign would prove so durable. When I started it, I expected that it would probably last several months, maybe a year at most. After all, Tékumel is a hard sell to most gamers and Empire of the Petal Throne, the rules I elected to use to run the campaign, were very old, among the oldest ever published. Furthermore, I had no plan or expectations for House of Worms. I began the campaign simply as a way to scratch an itch and nothing more. In retrospect, it's quite possible that all of these supposed negatives actually worked in the campaign's favor and contributed to its longevity.

That said, House of Worms is winding down and has been for some months now. A combination of factors has contributed to declining player attendance throughout 2024, something I can completely understand. When we all first gathered a decade ago to play, no one present had any reason to imagine we'd still be going so many years into the future. None of the players, including those who remain from the original six, is under any obligation to keep at this indefinitely, especially when so many of the larger threads of the campaign have either been tied up or are in the process of doing so. Even if attendance hadn't been getting spottier, it's just as likely that House of Worms would have wrapped up any way. How does one top the death of the emperor of Tsolyánu and the choosing of his successor from among his heirs, one of whom is a player character?

On that front, the characters have continued their investigations into the unusual circumstances of Kirktá's early life, as the entire empire prepares for the funeral of emperor Hirkáne Tlakotáni, the "Stone Upon Which the Universe Rests." Armed with the information recently obtained, Nebússa called upon a contact in the Omnipotent Azure Legion, the secret police of Tsolyánu, which, among other duties, looks after the imperial succession. His contact was a man who acted as a liaison between the OAL and the Court of the Purple Robes, the court bureaucrats of the emperor. He listened to Nebússa's request and told him that he could probably find out more but that it would take time. He also warned that doing so would probably draw attention to the characters and their activities. "This close to the ascension of a new emperor, many people will no doubt be looking into these matters."

Later that day, a non-descript young man came to Nebússa and the other characters, who were lodging at the Golden Bough clanhouse. The man gave the name of a priest at the Temple of Belkhánu in Béy Sü, saying that he would know more about Kirktá's early life. He also said that there was already an OAL agent in place, keeping an eye on him – someone who's been with him for years and is very close. He would not elaborate, adding only that "Others are also curious about Kirktá. You should be careful." Nebússa then began to ponder just who this OAL agent might be, with suspicion falling on Keléno, his long-time mentor. When confronted, Keléno replied, "So far as I know, I am not an OAL agent – which probably increases the likelihood that I am, in fact, one." 

The matter unresolved, they visited the Temple of Belkhánu and sought out the priest, who was old and seemingly infirm. He claimed to know nothing of Kirktá. When Kirktá attempted to use ESP on him, it did not work, due to some kind of mind bar placed on him. When informed of this, Nebússa surreptitiously made use of sorcery to dispel the mind bar, which enabled Kirktá to then read the priest's mind. His thoughts were incredibly disciplined, making him still hard to read. What he could discern was that the priest was pleased to see Kirktá. "He has finally returned to us," he thought. "I should tell the others. They will be pleased." Nebússa and Grujúng then tailed the priest, to see if he did anything suspicious. When he did not, they returned to the Golden Bough clanhouse.

There, Nebússa used his magic to see if anyone else had been tampered with in any way. He discovered that he himself had been – certain of his own memories were blocked – and the same was true of Kirktá. However, the mind bar placed on Nebússa was "normal," whereas the one on Kirktá was both powerful and "wrong," which is to say, unlike any sorcery he'd encountered before. It was also "leaky," with "holes" in it, suggesting it was in the process of breaking down. This troubled the characters, who decided they needed to seek out someone more knowledgeable in sorcery than they. Keléno suggested reaching out to Toneshkéthu, a student at the College at the End of Time, whom they've known for years and whose existence is temporally out of sync with their own. Upon contacting her, she immediately said, "Oh, wonderful! You're finally getting to the good part."

And that was how we spent our tenth anniversary session of House of Worms.