De-Markation

Session S5.O-20

1629, Fire Season, late in Truth Week

Dramatis Personae

PCs

Berra
Dormal
Maalira
Oriana
Rajar
Serala

NPCs

Andrin
Andrin’s brain cell
Leina
A sodding great horse
Quite a lot of Earth Goddesses in one body
Vanasa
Some Sun Dome Guards

Events

The group having met up1…because these are the Hero Wars, and coincidences abound, they found their way to the Yalmoring clan and village. The chief there, Andrin, was very welcoming. The Earth Witch went to sleep in the pig pen. While Maalira was offered a bed as a White Lady and King’s Emissary, she refused it, and the group camped outside.

There was an evening meal which was a good one, and the group listened to stories of the Horse and the Yalmoring, but did not do a huge amount. There was talk of doing the autumn ploughing with horses and not oxen, although that was a change. The horse had been helping them, so they built a huge shrine. It had not been their plan to anger the Yelmalians, but that was seen as a bonus. The horse’s spirit priest was Andrin, with his acolyte one of the house servants, Leina. When questioned, Leina said that the spirit spoke Heortling, but everyone present did as well.

Rajar found an old Storm Bull, and talked to him for a while. He said there was not a Chaos problem nearby – the horse was not suspect in that fashion.

The group discussed the problem amongst themselves later, outside, coming to the conclusion that Andrin was so dim he would not offend a Mistress Troll, and that he had not caused the problem of his own accord, but might have helped make it worse.

In the morning they noticed that the pigs were now asleep in a perfect square shape, with the Earthwitch in the centre, looking serene in an open sort of sarcophagus. As she breathed in and out, the pigsty’s surface was going up and down slightly. Berra woke her, and she went from horizontal to vertical in a straight line. Rajar dunked his head.

The group, plus the Earthwitch, went up to see the horse spirit. Andrin came with them, to help. On the way, Dormal looked towards Sun County to see if there was a Yelmalio sigil in return, but there was not.

Andrin talked about how people had mostly been in favour of the carving of the horse, although the loremaster had pointed out it might annoy the sundomers. He was dismissed as an old worrier. Rajar looked on in admiration of Andrin’s reality refusal field.

As they got closer to the top of the hill, some of the party2Those who passed a POWx3 noticed it getting warmer. Those who did not just started sweating a bit. Meanwhile, the entire party just speeded up, even those walking3Such as Rajar, who was not going to bring a bison to a horse-place. The same people kept hearing hoofbeats at the gallop around them.

Serala suddenly found herself seeing as if through a hawk’s eyes, riding the sky, or even on an invisible horse, up high. Pag was down below, where her body was, and there was another horse galloping towards her. Rajar walked into an invisible wall, and stopped moving. Maalira passed through the strange wall.4Those who passed POW were stopped. Maalira didn’t register to the horse, having failed it.

The horse talked to Serala, calling her a descendant of its master, ‘The King’. That was, it seemed, Ironhoof. It asked about worship, and said that it would make beasts faster and worthier, and bring great fertility to herds. It did not think it had upset anyone. Asked if it was staying it said that it had always been there, and had been woken. A little later, Serala woke up in her body, and revealed what had happened. The Earthwitch started swearing. At her feet, a Disorder Rune cracked the ground. People hid behind each other, and Berra stepped forward to ask her not to do any earthquaking. She listened for long enough to demand that one of her husband-protectors kiss her. Serala stepped in, and after a few moments the Earthwitch took a deep breath and flowers started to sprout at her feet. It was possible that she was pregnant, but she was definitely a Fertility person again.

She talked about how the horse could help, and the drawbacks of helping it – it would need to be worshipped in this place. The King of the Centaurs had raised the spirit, and might possible have a call to do so without saying there was trespass, as once no human foot had walked the lands. The Earthwitch was puzzled over how dramatic the carving was, however, as normally a standing stone would suffice.

The Earthwitch idly moved her foot by the Disorder Rune’s remains, and the turf leapt out of its way. She drew an Infinity Rune, which some people recognised. Dormal commented on it, and Berra looked up at the Earthwitch, seeing the Infinity Rune on her forehead, plainly, which she had not noticed before. While the others started off back, she asked about the Rune, and took in the answer.

On their return to Yalmoring, Andrin’s wife Vanasa greeted, and in order curtseyed to, the Earthwitch5Of whom she was probably very nervous, Maalira, Berra, and Serala. She invited them for refreshments and took the women in to weave. Berra counted up who had gone in, and told Dormal to go where he shouldn’t. Dormal did so, with an illusion of a form that Maalira recognised as the wettest lettuce from the Hospital in Nochet, Hanky Lady.

Vanasa talked about how the horse carving had been brought up, and who supported it. She thought it had been Leina, but was not sure, and perhaps there was another voice, and her husband had been vehement about the size of the carving. Dormal6With a special on Insight to let him know she was unsure about something felt this was somehow familiar, like the missing part was a Eurmali Rune magic, the Lie. On Dormal’s prompting, Maalira asked which voice, and Vanasa was sure that Leina had said it, but someone else perhaps had as well… Maybe one of the elder men? Vanasa was making the best of it, and even mentioned she would be open to taking an Elmali or Yelmalian husband.

Oriana’s thinking was that a strong wind would lead the chief, but Dormal was puzzled because Andrin was so swayable in general, and yet on this he was so unmoving.

A hand reached out from behind a neighbouring loom and tapped on Oriana’s shuttle at the loom. Two things happened: the weaving got a hell of a lot better, and there was a lot more of it. About half of what Oriana had ‘woven’ was deep green – about 5m. The other was about 5m of pure white. The hand retreated back behind its own loom. Earthwitch had happened.

After Vanasa had goggled at the weaving, the women went out and Dormal told the group that there was likely to be a Eurmali involved. The group took in this information, and then rode towards Sun Dome County, armed with it.

Session Quotes

  • 1
    …because these are the Hero Wars, and coincidences abound
  • 2
    Those who passed a POWx3
  • 3
    Such as Rajar, who was not going to bring a bison to a horse-place
  • 4
    Those who passed POW were stopped. Maalira didn’t register to the horse, having failed it.
  • 5
    Of whom she was probably very nervous
  • 6
    With a special on Insight to let him know she was unsure about something