Session Season P6, Prax 16

1629, Dark Season, Stasis Week, Windsday Eve, Storm Bull’s Holy Day

Dramatis Personae

Events

The party found themselves waiting in a slice of time before time at a riverbank. They were very, very cold. Maalira was Chalana Arroy. Xenofos was becoming Lhankor Mhy. Varanis was very Yinkin. Varanis/Yinkin noticed that Berra was missing a chunk of finger. Yinkin also noticed that Storm Bull was rolling up. Chalana Arroy knew that violence was bad. Yinkin knew he wanted to fight. Lhankor Mhy remembered that this was where the Goddess of Teeth and Salt had died. He also suggested this might be the time for Orlanth to tame the Bull. Chalana Arroy remembered she could bring Storm Bull out of his rage.

Yinkin leapt into the sky¹flying and saw the most beautiful croc floating in the river. She tried to pounce from the back of the croc to the sky.²This was derated, quite roughly, by something the croc did…? Magnificently, Yinkin leapt off the croc toward Storm Bull, barely getting his tail away before the croc could bite it.

Berra told Maalira to get back from the bank while running into the water. Lhankor Mhy prepared to fight.

The temperature spiked³it had been freezing before, and suddenly everyone was warm.

X1138 had been standing at the bank. He had been trying to figure out how to make armour from stone, but could not. When his attention snapped into place, he saw the repair unit and recording unit standing near the river. The warrior was running into the river, where there was a giant crocodile in gorgeous stone armour.

Yinkin did not manage to taunt Storm Bull, so he pounced on it and managed to do that successfully.

Kolyey had been doing the burial for the deceased warrior, advised by the angry shaman. A dead body arrived through ritual, albeit a clay one, but very dead in any case. The shaman seemed to sic a spirit on her at the end of the ritual. She learned things of flying and air, and then another spirit attacked her. A third one attacked her after she failed to defeat the second one. The shaman was not impressed by either Kolyey’s or the spirits’ performance, so they had to continue until something happened.

Kolyey saw the dwarf and Maalira disappearing.

Varanis destroyed one small storm, but an angry Storm Bull rushed toward the river.

Maalira asked Xenofos to sheathe his sword, which he did. He took out his kithara and tried to play, inspired by Uleria. Croc-Eel caused that to fail with her wondrous harp music, which completely embraced Xenofos. However, that harp music was momentarily interrupted by the deep rhythm of Gragspider’s drumming, and he managed to sing a defiant song of Uleria’s greatness in comparison to Jar-Eel.

Yinkin ignored the spirit attacking him and chased Storm Bull, trying to catch it by the tail.

Maalira failed in her attempt to get Storm Bull out of his rage.

Yinkin managed to catch Storm Bull’s tail. Storm Bull attacked the croc in full berserker rage. Water flew everywhere!

Kolyey was trying to catch Berra by the library. The town was very dark. By the library, she saw Lord Raven arguing with someone and the Storm Bull temple shaking. Kolyey tried to catch Lord Raven’s attention, but he was busy telling others not to tamper with a heroquest. When Kolyey refused to take responsibility for Lord Raven, the guards tried to arrest him. The guards were zapping Lord Raven with magic when he tried to go to the Storm Bull temple.

At the river, Storm Bull was trying to reach Croc-Eel. Varanis continued biting its tail, and Maalira got another chance to pacify the Bull but failed. X-11 and Spare engaged the first of the numerous crocs. It bit his shield and tried to drag him into the water, which at least began successfully.

The music continued to play. Xenofos knew that it was a tune he had been singing earlier, but not the one he was trying to sing. He placed himself between Maalira and the crocodiles.

A croc bit at the Bull. Varanis destroyed a chunk of the Bull. Yinkin took a cultist by the scruff of his neck, shook him, and threw him away. The dwarf cut at one croc. Xenofos was attacked by another and stopped it with a successful parry.

Storm Bull seemed to be losing to Jar-Eel, who dragged him into the water. Yinkin dropped himself onto a palm tree and tried to pounce on Croc-Eel’s booty and drag it up into the same palm tree. We saw crocs starting to turn into newtlings. A log was floating in the river, and beside it were a couple of dead bodies.

Maalira saved one of the newtlings. There was no sign of Berra, but the river might have been rising. The dwarf suggested getting to high ground. Xenofos tracked Berra to the riverbank.

Kolyey saw substantial damage and disorder in the Storm Bull temple, including water, crackling lightning, and battered guards. Kolyey walked into the Storm Bull temple and observed that there was water at least ankle-deep inside. In the holiest of holies there was a loud berserk. The antechamber was empty. The roaring stopped. Kolyey walked out with water knee-high and avoided being struck by a roof beam as it collapsed.⁴Passing POW 3.

People were soggy to varying degrees as the temperature plummeted. Berra did not answer Xenofos’s shouts. The newtlings said there was no Berra here. They were also worried about trolls, perhaps. No one seemed able to do anything about the cold, especially Varanis. They had come to the Big Rubble.

Kolyey was transferred from the Pavis temple gaol to a Humakti temple cell, which was not actually a cell, but she was under arrest.

The rest of the group got to New Pavis easily enough, except that getting into town was tricky because the dwarf was wanted by the authorities.

Xenofos and X11 were stopped at the gate by the guards, who said that the dwarf was wanted and had to wait for a messenger. Xenofos was allowed to continue to the Humakti temple. He was handed over to Lord Roneer, who said that Berra had last been seen at the inn and that Kolyey was in custody. He released Kolyey into Xenofos’s keeping and sent them to Geo’s for the moment. He made sure Xenofos understood the fallout of the HeroQuest: the Storm Bull temple had been destroyed, every Storm Bull cultist in the city had been killed, and the city had been flooded. They had a lot of new enemies.

(Continues in text-based rp: Messy aftermath)

• 1
  flying
• 2
  This was derated, quite roughly, by something the croc did…?
• 3
  it had been freezing before
• 4
  Passing POW 3.