Session S.O-05
1629, Fire Season, Death Week, Fireday to Wildday
Dramatis Personae
PCs
Berra
Irillo
Suuraki
Valseena
NPCs
A guard
A healer
A sick man whose name we find out then forget
Some newtlings (piratical but cowed)
A boy
Some vultures
A dead merchant
Three living horse lords
Events
After leaving the Inhuman King, the group talked a little over which headwaters to choose, and elected to go to the top of the Oslir, by Queen’s Post. Berra told them to avoid Muse Roost – she thought Harrek might be there, or might have caused a lot of trouble there.
They set off, and on the first day came across a village that had the same sort of strange plague as in Alda Chur. Valseena showed them how to deal with it, as it was magical. Salid accompanied her as a guard, as Irillo reckoned he was unlikely to catch anything that humans would.
While they were waiting on her, Berra noticed that the newtlings were looking particularly piratical, like they intended to take prisoners – or sacrifices. She told Irillo, who could not apparently get it through to them that they should not, and then went underwater herself, using her matrix, to ensure that she could shout at them properly. Although they did not seem particularly scared, they seemed to understand her, and as far as she could tell they were agreeing not to take prisoners.
Valseena healed one of those who was sick and stayed within the village for a day to help and to train other healers in the magic and what to look for. When she reported what had happened, there was a discussion, as this was a very strange plague indeed. Berra wondered if it was sent from somewhere, and went and checked the direction of the rashes – the red light all seemed to be from the glowline, up North.
Irillo asked what visitors if any had come by the village, and was told that there had been a few of the horse-lords coming by, boasting of having won a great battle. They gave some coins to the healer for her aid and left. Irillo asked to see the coins, but did not touch them, emptying out his strongbox to be sure that he had a safe place to put them. He bought her money with money that was untouched, and warned the village that anything touched by of made by the Lunars would be suspect. Then, the group left. Not long afterwards, Berra and Valseena spotted birds. Valseena was able to say they were vultures, and so the group went that way, in case there was a body in need of burial.
There was – they found the body of an Etyries merchant, along with three of his killers still living, and another one dead. The three who were alive had the strange plague, and were badly-off. Two were by an iron strong-box that was open, but empty save for a strange waxy disk. Irillo recognised it as a passport of a sort – a declaration that goods were carried on behalf of another.
Several things did not add up. The box was iron, but the merchant was not the sort to have earned it yet, and he had left it unlocked. The group eventually decided that the merchant had it unlocked because then it would not have to be unlocked at the other end – it was someone else’s property.
When they had healed and looked after the Horse Lords for a while, they got a fuller story. The warriors had found a caravan without permission to be there, but they are all confused – they remembered bearing down on the enemy, and knowing it was a foe, and thinking it was Lunar soldiers. The raiding felt right, as if it was something they were meant to do. Everything was strange when they looked back, and they could not remember going to get bandages.
One recalled a blinding red flash when the box was opened, and something red escaping into the long grass.
Once the bodies had been buried, the group elected to move on, with the horse lords offered the chance to come with them.
Session Quotes
((NO DYING)) – Maalira
“WHY NOT?” – Berra
“What do you have against Humakt?” – Berra
“The cannibal virgins.” – Irillo
“And their less reasonable sisters.” – GM/Suuraki
“So what is at the Smoking Ruin?” – GM/Suuraki
“It was a lot of cursed burning corpses, but the other group dealt with them.” – Berra
“They’ve been put out.” – Berra
“Well, I’d be pretty put out if I’d been on fire for 300 years.” – GM/Suuraki
“A technique that gives you steppe-cred.” – Irillo
“Can you describe the symptoms”: Valseena
“Yeah, Homer’s really fat….” : Irillo’s player gets cut off before he can say “And Marge has tall blue hair”
“It is imperative you do not attack passers-by.” – Irillo
“Oh, we no attack passers-by, we grant great honour of participation in ritual!” – Newtling
“This big brother’s river. We hear him say. All waters are his waters.” – Newtling
“If you attack the horselord’s people as they pass through, the horselords will stop us travelling. By killing us.” – Irillo
“And this will mean the great one won’t get hatched.” – Irillo
“So you say we must be stealthy and silent.” – Newtling
throws the thesaurus at them – Irillo
“Alright, who came here two days ago? … Someone good with people should find out.” – Berra
*looks to Irillo* – Valseena
“Irillo’s already walking in that direction.” – Irillo
“There was a patrol of the horsemen nearby, who had been in some kind of fight – a couple came here to get bandages and such. Nothing else.” – Villager
“The fight – did they say with whom?” – Irillo
“Well, they didn’t really talk to us… but they said they had fought a great battle against the Lunars. Doesn’t seem likely to me, but…” – Villager
“Did they have any booty?” – Irillo
“Well, they paid with some of their actual Lunar Lunars. There’s lots of them about.” – Villager
“Can I see them?” – Irillo
“We paid the healer with them.” – Villager
smile – Irillo
“Fairly pained smile. It sounds like someone has been messing with the coinage.” – Irillo
“So, the prologue…” – GM/Suuraki
“There is a small religious matter I may have to deal with… may I see the coins taken from the Lunars that were used to pay you, by the horse lords? I need to see the exact coins.” – Irillo
“It’s a nice hovel, as hovels go.” – Suuraki
“I was going to say I’m gladly not au fait with hovels, but I’ve been in Sartar for a while.” – Irillo
“I was going to say, you’ve been to the Blue Tree a lot.” – Berra
“Nice hovel, have you been peasants for long?” – GM/Suuraki
“They died of what would appear to be a case of horse-lords.” – GM
“They kill merchants? Why we help?” – Salid
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘got em by the short and curlies’?” – Berra
“No…?” – Salid
“I don’t know if trolls have short and curlies…” – Berra
“We can get the troll to sit on him.” – Berra
“Ah, heavy sedatives.” – GM
“41… Not a freebie.” – Irillo
“Yeah, the first one’s free. You know how Issaries works. After that he’ll give you very reasonable rates.” – GM
“Get me a hundred kilos of Dark Troll, stat!” – GM
“Administered topically, not for internal application.” – GM
“Do some ritual…” – Berra
“All sales are finaaaal.” – GM sings
“I have successfully Prepared Corpse, by the way.” – Berra
“Isn’t that just the sword skill?” – GM
“Irillo, this one’s up to you. Unless you want me to lean on him. But he’s a professional leaner.” – Berra
“So, we’ve heard tales of a heroic battle.” – Irillo
“We found a lunar who had no permission to be here.” – Horse lord
“So, you took him prisoner…” – Irillo
“No, no we didn’t.” – Horseman
“So instead you forced his strongbox, and took what from it?” – Irillo
“We didn’t have to force it. It wasn’t locked. It was like it wanted to open.” – Horse lord
“It’s not the most unusual thing, though.” – Irillo
“What’s the most unusual thing?” – Berra
“Why have a lock-box and not lock it?” – Irillo
“We rode down the enemy soldier… no, that isn’t right. That was years ago.” – Soldier
“Be a caravan guard, they said. See the world, they said.” – Berra
