Session S5.O-16

1629, Fire Season, Illusion Week, Wildday

Dramatis Personae

Events

The group travelled North, heading for the battle lines once more. Nayale kept silent on some days, and she and Berra walked on some days, and all geasa were observed correctly.¹Nayale remembers that she needs to spend a day in silence and thus everyone must play charades again. This amuses the GM and he says she can tick Devotion Humakt. When she replies that it is already ticked: “Well, sucks to be you!” As they passed into Tarsh, towards the end of Fire Season, they noticed how the land had been stripped of food. Berra took in the patterns of troop movements precisely.

They were notice by a patrol about a day into Tarsh, and identified them as Grazelanders, greeting them on approach. They won the cavalry-off, and the leader recognised Berra; as it turned out, Eril was looking for her. Berra reported what she had seen to them, freeing up the patrol to move in a different direction. The group was given a pair of Grazelander guards and set off again, travelling for another day.

As they approached the camp, Berra was able to reach out to contact Lord Raven, to let Eril know she was arriving. He warned her that the High Sword was in a terrible mood, and she let the others know, perkily.

At the encampment, Kallyr’s banner was present, and so was the Luminous Stallion King’s, but Argrath’s was not. They went to the main tent to present themselves, and found that Kallyr was not available. The Luminous Stallion King was there, talking about himself to others, and on the other side of the tent was Venna, looking grumpy. Between the two, the adult in the room, was Tennebris. Eril was also nowhere to be seen.

Tennebris asked after Irillo and then Varanis, looking disappointed that they were not there, and finally addressing Maalira as someone not of Sartar. He explained that the Sun Dome Regiment had closed themselves in their compound and were refusing to march, or to say why they were refusing, on the grounds that Kallyr should know. Maalira, however, might be able to get into the camp and even take her bodyguards with her. Kallyr was currently staying out of the way, and Tennebris did not let Berra speak with her High Sword, on the grounds that he was in a very bad temper, and it would be bad for her moral education, if good for her vocabulary.

Tennebris tossed the topmost of his parchment documents to Venna, thus demonstrating that he had noticed she had been trying to read them, and hurried the group on their way. Outside, there was a one-eyed duck of doom waiting. Berra greeted her Sword Lord with joy, and Nayale looked on the legendary D’Val with awe. D’Val hurried them along, as if every minute was important. He explained a few things on the way.

Argrath’s people had been making a lot of mess and noise, and had been sent further North. Sword Graria had gone with them, and Venna stayed with the main camp. Then about a week before the group had arrived, a horseman came in along the road from the East, went straight to the Yelmalians, and they put down anchor stones. Apparently the army was expected to know what was wrong.

D’Val pointed out that Beneva and the Temple of Chalana Arroy were seen as more loyal to Kallyr than anything else, and had been refused access to the Yelmalian camp. That made Maalira one of the only people who might get in there. D’Val walked them right up to the Yelmalian gate. There was apparently a hurry on. Nayale was searching for threats as she went, doing her best to be a bodyguard. Berra was just looking casual. D’Val was looking feathery.

Maalira was able to say that she had just arrived, and Berra and Nayale were admitted as her bodyguards. Within, in a hospital tent, three healers were dealing with far too many wounded, and Maalira joined them, letting one go to sleep for a while. Maalira did her best, with Berra helping out magically for the worst cases where Humakti healing would be better than staying hurt. Nayale was taking being a bodyguard too seriously to do any healing. Maalira noticed that some of the wounds were fresher than the last battle, a week ago. Nayale wondered if troops had been bored and fighting. Maalira and Berra hypothesised ‘discipline’ had been applied, maybe for speaking out.

As they went among the beds, Maalira asked what had happened, but nobody wanted to embarrass a White Lady by telling her. “I couldn’t say,” came up a lot, and there were hints that the Duke, the leader of the Yelmalians in the compound, was the one putting the pressure on. Nayale found out from servants that the messenger had been from Sun County, but the man she was speaking to did not know what was happening. Meanwhile, Berra was able to apply money to the servants around her, and found out there had been some sort of heresy in Locaem lands, and it was an absolute insult to Sun County.

After they had worked in the main hall for an hour, the now-refreshed White Lady came back from her nap, and Maalira went to stretch her legs around the camp, making for where the horses were, and trying to imaging them as really badly rendered zebras. After she healed a messenger’s horse, he told her that the Locaem were carving a huge Sun Horse, a representation of Elmal, on a chalk hill, big enough to be seen from Sun County. He drew the image in the dirt and smudged it out again very carefully.

When Maalira came back with that information, Berra volunteered to go pick up more medicines, and after being cleared to do that, set off at a run, letting Lord Raven know what was going on while she got closer to the command tent. There, she was held up by a soldier, until a cough interrupted them. Lord D’Val pulled rank, and threatening attitude, and Berra was allowed in without having to cause a fuss. Meanwhile, the guard was asking Lord D’Val, ‘You and whose army?’

Within, the big three were casually sitting down to wine. Eril had his politician’s game-of-Ur face on. Kallyr was on edge and irritable, Tennebris was just on edge; on being told what had happened, Kallyr nearly exploded. Tennebris just face-palmed. Eril sipped wine, but probably appreciated it without enjoying it.

Kallyr was loud enough to get the attention of the Luminous Stallion King, but Berra pointed out that they were talking about infantry, and he rather lost interest. Eril suggested an immediate apology now that it was known there had been at least a potential insult, followed by a full investigation. Berra was dismissed so that the commanders could plan.

Outside, the guard who had been arguing with D’Val had found out what it was like to lose to a Death Drake, and had been given a dagger, and a sentence to say when asked for the next day. Berra went to grab Maalira’s spare medicine bag, and ran back to the Yelmalian camp. At the end of Maalira’s shift, they left in good order. A camp messenger invited Maalira to go have herbal tea with High Healer Beneva.

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  Nayale remembers that she needs to spend a day in silence and thus everyone must play charades again. This amuses the GM and he says she can tick Devotion Humakt. When she replies that it is already ticked: “Well, sucks to be you!”