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Episode 6: There's a Moose Loose - 27 Jan 2020 00:18
Setting
Mostly on Fireday of Disorder Week.
Earlier in the day there had been an attack on a farm outside Apple Lane, by two Tusk Riders, who had kidnapped a farmer. He had been rescued, and the group repaired to the Tin Inn. Saronil, who had not been there, was escorting a group from Clearwine.
Plot taken from Chaosium GM Pack. This was the actual Defending Apple Lane plot as written, with last week's used as an expanded preamble.
IC Play
Saronil, Laika Pigwife (no close relation to the famous Leika) and Rastar the Entertainer were on their way from Clearwine to Apple Lane when the weather came down hard, and they had to force their way through the snow. About an hour away they saw shapes in the trees, and Saronil made the decision that they should not investigate, but press on despite the weather. They met a horseman coming the other way in the dark, and he had met Saronil before - he was Hendroste from Apple Lane. He took them via routes that were mostly clear of snow, and they got into the Tin Inn safely, if a little cold. Hendroste reported to those who were there that he could not get through - the shapes in the trees were probably Tusk Riders. Instead, he had brought back Saronil the warrior, and some famed members of the Ernaldori.
Introductions happened - Laika was chiefly famous for having negotiated with a Stone Goddess and brought her into an alliance with the Clan, while Rastar claimed to be an entertainer, but had a fine sword with him, and armour to wear as well as his bright clothes. Laika said she was there to try to arrange to buy cattle. Ethrava recognised the story, and knew that Laika was enmeshed in politics. The Colymari knew a little about each other already.1
The group prepared for the coming fight, with a warding in front of the Tin Inn and one at the back gate.2 They spent much of the night pouring water onto the ground where it could freeze under snow. A wagon was pulled into position to help bar the big front gate, and the Sun Elk, Gnasher, was tied just behind the wagon.3
Around dawn, six Tusk Riders came, along the road and then filtering through the trees. They stopped out of spirit magic range to put on their own magic, and then charged. The first one in line slid on the ice4 and came in sideways, and was hit by the fourth in line, also sliding5. The other pigs managed to charge the gate but did not do much damage. Meanwhile, Androus peppered them with arrows6. Saronil leaned down to Repair the gate, using his spirit magic. After one of the tusk riders was left dead the group split up with some going around to the back while others stayed at the front.
Saronil and Ethrava dashed for the back, and Androus stayed up top on the wall. The biggest Tusk Rider took down his shield and he aimed for that man as they charged. Things got a little complicated as the gate took hammering after hammering. At the back a tusker managed to break the gate, but came to a dead halt as it did, only to run itself into Ethrava's befuddle spell, blocking the doorway. Its rider leapt off to face Saronil, and Laika stepped up to be the Humakti's back-up.
Despite Hendroste and Androus' defence at the front, the main gate gave way, but there was only one Tusk Rider there as a second lay dead on the ground with an arrow in his eye. On the ground were Rastar and the Sun Elk, Gnasher. Rastar stepped up and put his sword through the last Tusk Rider's abdomen, but got his sword stuck.7 This made very little difference as no sword could have helped him - the tusker completely mashed his head, destroying his helmet on the way.
Saronil managed to bring the Tusk Rider down, eventually. Laika calmly stepped in and finished the job when the man just refused to die. Ethrava then befuddled one of those who was going back around to the main gate.
Varaema threw herself off the wall where she had been crouching in case the archers were injured, and cast Harmony, making everyone calm. Everyone except Gnasher, who calmly ignored the calm peace offered by Chalana Arroy and threw a tusker into the air, damaging it badly.
The end result was a very dead Rastar, a sleeping Gnasher, and the bodies of several8 of the riders and tuskers. Androus saw one of the Tusk Riders pulling away the body of the leader, dead with a Yelmalian arrow through his eye. His geas to challenge darkness creatures to a first blood duel kicked in. With Saronil alongside and Asprag the farmer as a tracker, they set off into the snow. Pretty soon they saw the body of the leader of the tuskers, but they had to keep following the trail - three of the beasts had left this way.
Laika and Hendroste escorted Varaema and the body of Rastar (with extra bits in a bucket) to Clearwine, as fast as they could, with the body tied onto Varaema's High Llama. As they cut through the forest they found they were being followed by something, or else something huge was going in the same direction as them. Once they were out of the trees they could hurry along, but Hendroste was very apologetic over the danger he had put them in.
In Clearwine, Varaema had the body brought into the Lightbringers' Temple, where she used Heal Body to give Rastar a head back. They asked for their friend to be brought back to life, and on the spirit plane, Rastar met a goddess dressed in white. He recognised her as Chalana Arroy, and took an apple from her and ate it, on her instruction. This reminded him of the world, and it was delicious but strangely heavy.9 He woke with the taste of apples in his mouth.
Meanwhile the group had successfully followed the trail of the Tusk Rider who got away, but only Androus could keep up, so he ended up pulling ahead of his comrades. He managed to draw blood on his enemy, but the tusker charged him, the rider kept using some sort of spell10, and Androus turned11 and found Saronil again. They did not pursue further.
Back at the inn, Ethrava had calmed people down, helped make sure all was going well, and settled in. Everyone gathered there, and shortly there was a party in their honour. Hastur Lawspeaker arrived the next day to thank them on behalf of the Queen, and ask them as great killers of pigs to deal with Red-eye the boar.
Right at the end of the session, on Godsday, a letter arrived for Saronil. It was from Lord Eril, asking him to call on the Boldhome Temple as a personal favour.12
Other Things
Laika has decided to pick up Command Swine. Rastar has decided that Eurmal stole his Divine Intervention Rune Point, and is sulking. He is also rather poor again, having spent his ransom. He and Laika did some serious talking about wills and property if they should die.
Tags: 1625 androus apple_lane asprag colymar dark eril ethrava gnasher hastur laika leika rastar red_eye saronil varaema
Episode 4: Hide and Seek - 16 Jan 2020 21:46
Setting
The adventurers were on their way to deal with the dragon, having obtained the loan of magical arms and armour from the ghost of a King.
Plot is from the Chaosium Game Master Adventure Book from the screen pack.
IC Play
The game opened with the adventurers on the road to the Thunder Hills, on their way to fight a dragon. Ahead of them on the path Saronil noticed fighting. Up ahead was a spearman backed up against a rock by a trio of rough-looking men, obviously bandits. They rode up to help, making enough noise that the spearman at least noticed them. Saronil dismounted at speed but could not get the bandits to take notice of him until he finally tapped one and got his attention, meaning that the fight was honourable. Shortly thereafter, with the spearman bloodied and the bandits outnumbered, they fled. Varaema bandaged the man, and he introduced himself as Androuranos, or Hawk-eye. Rather surprising Varaema, he was from the Praxian Sun County temple, but did not speak Praxian, nor did he look blond-haired. Nevetheless he made it known who he was and they introduced themselves.
As they had saved him, it was clear he owed them a life debt, and they found themselves with a spearman, while in possession of a magical dragon-killing spear.13 They repaired to the hills, interrupted on the way only by a strange meeting.
Coming along a path they encountered some dragonnewts. Several were dancing. One was sitting, crosslegged and in a meditational posture, on a bird at least six feet tall, with thick, strong legs and a sharp beak. The dancing dragonnewts froze save for one who made his way towards them with elegant and sacred but above all very strange steps, and introduced himself to the here-and-now-meat-things as the Mouthpiece of Yanah Yaqal. Every time he mentioned his master's name the other dragonnewts took up a different tableau pose and waited again. He told them a dragon was imprisoned and asked them to help free it, offering a sword made of what he haltingly translated as 'flint' and the adventurers failed to recognise as obsidian. However, they had heard stories of enchanted flint, and decided this was the black blade stuff. The dragonnewt told them to cut off the imprisoned thing's head and take it to the place of holy travel, or as they called it, 'plinth'.
They went on to the tomb, while making plans. Soon, they found the place, a carved cave in a hillside.14 They went in, and the Yelmalian spotted tracks in the floor like a huge long weight had been dragged, and claws a half cubit long had scratched the ground. Cautiously, they advanced, with Varaema and Ethrava going first and supporting the great shield, and Ethrava also holding the bag of winds given to them by Dunorl.
They advanced into a chamber which had a sacrifice pit, and discussed fishing out the klanth and the gold they could see there, but decided against it. Then, in the next room, Androus15 (and then others) spotted the dragon they were after, wrapped around a cuboid altar there. On noticing that it had been spotted, it raised itself and with the logic of dreams became a woman who commanded them to worship their once and future goddess. After a resounding round of 'no', she took on her draconic form once more and attacked, and they attacked her. Yerezum Storn breathed toxic fumes, but the air elemental that Ethrava let out of the bag was enough to keep the air clean. Androus was able to stab her in the tail, crippling it, as she concentrated on Saronil initially. He overcame his fear of Dragons to step up to her, only to be met with the Demoralise spell. He ran to hide behind the shield. Seeing him run towards her, Varaema got the wrong idea and cowered away, leaving Ethrava in an exposed position as she had just cast Earth Shield for Androus, and was in the middle of casting Befuddle. Amazingly, this made the dragon pull up, confused. Yerezum Storm failed to cast a spell at the Yelmalian, who stabbed her through a wing, breaking the spell. She ran for it, trampling over the shield and flattening the three under it. Varaema, unarmoured, was hurt - the others were protected by their armour.
Androus was falling behind the dragon but she stopped to breathe fire at him, killing the air elemental but failing to make contact with him fully - the gouts of flame splashed off his shield. He managed to bring his spear to bear and struck his third, killing blow. Yerezum Storn died blocking a doorway.
They soon found a treasure room, where Androus claimed the many golden goblets there in the name of Yelmalio, despite the calls of others. However, as they came out of the room the goddess statue on the cubic altar woke, and declared she was free, and this was her Temple. Her name was Orgovale Summer. For their help she gave Androus a golden amphora, but not the goblets - he relinquished his claim on them. Varaema was given some earrings that were a spell matrix, and Ethrava was given an arm ring and the offer of establishing a Temple. Saronil was given a flat look.
They went out, having cut off the dragon's head and squeezed past its corpse, and soon found a plinth where dragonnewts were waiting, dancing an entirely different dance. This time they were all painted half black and half white, save one who was painted half green and half a slightly different green, and the one on the demi-bird, who was not painted.
The same one as before approached them, and said that Sanah Yaqal was in their debt and would come if they placed purple nardus flowers on the plinth. This was not the same name as it had used before, but it seemed to be the same dragonnewt being indicated.
The news was taken to Queen Leika, who celebrated by giving them land, a hide each, and twenty cattle from her royal herd for Ethrava to divide. Ethrava asked Kalis to provide a new priestess for the Temple, and asked her mother to help oversee it, effectively sharing out her pat on the head from the Queen.
The weapons and armour were returned to King Berenvenos16 and all was well.
Other Things
There was some magical loot. which should probably be recorded. There was some Temple and Magical training, then it was the end of Fire Season. While Saronil was training at the Temple of Humakt in Boldhome, he was challenged for his sword, and won, and his opponent's sword was almost broken in trying. Later, Saronil learned that Eril had personally noted he would be displeased if anyone more tried to challenge that season. Saronil also found out that the Boldhome Humakti had a blacksmith.
Tags: 1625 androus boldhome clearwine colymar earth eril ethrava kalis leika orgovale_summer saronil thunder_hills varaema yerezum_storn
Episode 3: Dragon yer Heels - 07 Jan 2020 18:09
Setting
Ethrava, Saronil and Varaema were in Boldhome, where Ethrava was the newest Initiate in the Temple.
Plot is taken from the Chaosium Gamemaster Screen Pack adventure book.
IC Play
High Earth (or maybe Low Earth) Priestess Kalis asked her dear Ethrava to deliver a letter to Apple Lane, and to take a guard or two with her. Ethrava grabbed Saronil and Varaema and took them that way. Varaema also agreed to get some Red-root powder from the Horsemaster there.
On the way, however, they saw17 a dragon flying overhead. The dragon scared their mounts as it flew off into the distance, meaning Varaema had to put the Sun Elk to sleep to let Ethrava catch it again. They then woke it up and hurried onward, reaching a steading with dead cattle and dead people. The poisonous breath of the dragon had killed much of what had not been killed by the beast itself, including one of the farmers. The survivors, helped by Varaema's knowledge of how to treat poison, burned their dead. The adventurers then gave them an escort to Clearwine, to see the Queen.
Queen Leika was concerned about the report, and asked them to look into whether it was in the Thunder Hills, and also ask the Dryad Tarndisil18 for what knowledge she had. Dunorl, Storm Voice of Orlanth, gave them the run-down on how to deal with dragons, and after that Hastur the Law-speaker told them about the history of dragon-killers in the area, and an old grave or two where he thought they might be buried. Dunorl also gave them a bag that would command the wind inside it, just in case they happened to run into the dragon while investigating. They lodged the letter and the message for the Horsemaster with the Lawspeaker.
Then, they dutifully went off to see the Dryad19, and she did them the honour of coming to the edge of her grove20 so that Saronil did not have to leave his sword behind. She spoke mainly to Ethrava, who was a Priestess-in-training of Ernalda. Tarndisil was generous with information about the dragon known as Yezerum Storn, whom she remembered from the time of the Empire of the Wyrms Friends. She probably wished for worship once more, and was likely in or by the Queen's Tomb - both of the Sartarite Natives knew where that was.
She also said that if Leika wished for a lasting peace, she could create it by bringing Tarndisil the tusks of Red-eye the boar.
They came back to Clearwine21 with the message to find that Leika was away, searching the Starfire Ridge for the dragon. Dunorl bored them for a while until Hastur moved him gently aside to explain a point of law, and suggested that while the Queen was away they could go to Apple Lane with their message, and take the chance to go past the Old Grave he had mentioned, on Malani lands.
This, they did.22 They found their way towards the grave site, pausing along the way only long enough to insult a group of Malani hugely when a trade-talk conversation went wrong23. Fortunately, the person doing the talking was a White Lady and therefore not immediately a target. Thus, they blundered around for a few days, until they found hospitality at a hearth where the farmer knew which old grave they meant, and sent them there with his boy.
They found that the place had already been opened some time ago, but on crawling in - Ethrava first as she was of the Earth24 they found themselves in an offering chamber. There was a body there, a corpse holding a silver cup as if he had died in the act of theft. There were also bowls and cups that might once have held offerings. Saronil put the cup back where it looked like it went, and then filled the cups and bowls a little before Ethrava led the way into the next room. There was a pile of grave goods and the ghost of a big man who appeared to be angry at them that he was forgotten. Ethrava talked him around quickly, and he agreed to let his equipage be used for this single task as long as the Colymar came to make offerings once a year, at his grave.
With this managed, they borrowed his kit, hauled the dead corpse outside to make sure its spirit had gone on, and set off for Clearwine. On the way they saw the dragon flying overhead again, probably heading to the Tomb, and certainly for that area.
Other Things
The group paused a little early to allow other adventurers to join the group next week.
The GM would like a medal for not calling this episode 'enter the dragon'. For one, that might be next week when she kills them all.
Tags: 1625 apple_lane dunorl earth ethrava hastur kalis leika red_eye saronil tarndisil varaema yerezum_storn
