1629, Fire Season, Early Truth Week
Context
Kolyey catches up with the rest of the group during the events of Session S5.O-18.
Events
Kolyey was given a set of instructions on how to catch up with the group. They were going to the Locaem, that much is sure. She was to meet them… down one of the roads. But this is not her tribe, and the clan names are unfamiliar. She has plenty to choose from, and the road is a good, clear one, and she has a fine, strong horse.
But still, an entire Tribe is a large place, and she is going to have to work out where they are. Somehow.
Kolyey thinks hard. She tries to remember if any of the roads lead to a battle.
She can remember, with absolute clarity, half a dozen famous battles that happened within the past fifty years. Amber Fields is the main one, of course. The Elmalites and the Yelmalians and… a lot of other people… were involved. The Amber Fields are now part of Sun Dome County. Then there have been skirmishes between the Owl and Raven clans, and the Ulanding have raided just about everyone here. None of those are helpful, however.1Failed INTx5
Kolyey curses. Did Berra say anything about reporting to Lord Eril? If she did, Kolyey could just head to Boldhome.
No, definitely not. They are here to solve a problem. Berra was sent here for that. A White Horse has been carved on a hill.
And, visible far in front of her, there is indeed a big carved white horse. She will be on the road ahead for some time, but that might be a good place to start.
Kolyey rides to the big carved white horse. If she meets anyone on the way, she will talk to them.
Well, of course there are people on the road. It is a King’s Road. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, passing along it.
Dozens, maybe hundreds. And, about half a mile ahead, as she can see while at the crest of a rise, there is some sort of disturbance on the road.2Critical on Scan.
Kolyey rides at a trot to the disturbance, muttering bad words.
As she gets closer she can see that people are rushing down the road away from trouble. She will have to ride on the verge if she wants to move quickly. Some are even abandoning carts.
Kolyey rides on the verge. She tries not to slow down.
As she gets closer, there is a dip in the ground, and then she emerges pretty close to a frightening sight. A cluster of a dozen dead men are standing on the road. They have simple armour, and all bear weapons, mostly short, heavy swords or big fighting knives. Not far beyond them, a line of spearmen are set and ready. Two of them are badly wounded, with a third is trying to use magic to heal them. The blood is new on the ground.
If the warriors were not wounded, the numbers would be about equal.
Kolyey quickly casts 1 point of Shield.
The shield glows around her. Humakt protects her.
So far the spearmen – barely armoured, and nervous-looking – have not spotted Kolyey. They do have some dead men to keep an eye on, but she is tolerably obvious. They are most certainly not professional warriors, and probably not even a trained fyrd.
Kolyey then casts Bladesharp and finally 8 Magic points of Sword Trance. Hopefully she can still yell a Humakti battle cry. Kolyey will go after one undead on the edge of the clump.
They hear her, and at least they have the gumption to advance, although they do all seem to be trying to be in a wedge, and not to be the point of it.3Critical on Battle for Kolyey, fail for most of the spearmen, but the zombies have a Humakti to deal with.
Kolyey charges one edge of the clump of undead. Her blows were supposed to peel one away from the rest, but she sends it to Humakt instead.
A perfect slice, a perfect separation. Another falls before her and the Trance takes her. Target after target is met as Humakt would do it, and then she stands on road surrounded by dead men, with the living around her watching in something like terror.
Kolyey yells,”Thank you, Humakt!” The expression on her face is exaltation. She is always happiest when she rids Glorantha of undead.
The spearmen try even harder to hide behind each other. One is dead, and several are lying on the ground, groaning.
Kolyey sheathes her sword, then approaches the spearmen at a walk.
They cower a little, and the oldest steps up and puts his spear-butt on the ground, and then remembers himself and reverses the spear. At least he does not bounce the end off the flagstones. “Lady. Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome. May I look at your wounded, or should I just ride for a healer?”
“Please do. They need help now.” The man looks around with the horror of someone who has not seen war. He must have been a lifelong farmer, not fit for marching to battle.
Kolyey finds what passes for a medical kit in her saddlebag. Kit in hand, she will try to stabilize the wounded.4Fails First Aid, but has a POW crystal to add the extra MP for Heal 2.
Kolyey realizes that the wounded are beyond her skill and casts healing spells until her crystal is drained and she is almost fainting.
There are three who really need her help. One will be fine with a tourniquet and a real healer, although she could get him back on his feet if she really had to. The others need magic, for the wounds are beyond her skill.
Like fools, they wait until the Humakti has almost exhausted herself before one says, “Lady, there might be more.” He is hardly more than a boy, and has tears running down his face.
Kolyey concentrates; are there more undead within range?
Nearby? No. One of the bodies is not entirely dead, however – there are a lot of spear wounds in it, but it is lying down, faking the True Death. That is… not like zombies.
Kolyey frowns and chops the faker’s head off. Well, she tries to.
It is easy enough, and then there are no more undead there. These people were in light armour when they died, and it was not long ago; a few weeks, perhaps? They have the stink of rotten meat to them. Several, chillingly, are armoured like Berra. Her brown leather would fit in well with the cuir-boilli greaves and bracers, and even the brown, feathered helmets. They have more feathers than she does, but the style has something similar to it.5Fumble on INT. These are Wolf Pirates, or were.
Kolyey walks back to the spearmen and takes another look at the man with the tourniquet. Can he be put on her horse, or do they need to make a stretcher?
He could ride on a horse.
The tearful young man drops his spear. There is an awkward silence as he picks it up, and then the old leader asks tremulously, “Should we … follow their trail?” He obviously does not want to, but knows it is the right thing to do.
Kolyey answers, “Your friend needs a healer, I am weary and the locals need to be warned. Which way is the nearest healer? The two best trackers among you should carefully follow the trail and avoid battle.”
“Back to the village.” The old man nods to the South. “There are women there who can help, and we’ll be able to tell them, too.” Everyone seems happy with the idea of getting back somewhere safe.
Kolyey puts the injured man on her horse and sets off south. If she can stay with the spearmen without endangering the injured man, she will.
They cluster around their friend and, of course, the one Humakti present.
The village is a small collection of buildings, perhaps housing a dozen families, with a palisade. The gate is closed, and two women are watching from a watch post. As the group arrives there is shouting and screaming, and welcoming too. There are tears for the dead man left beside the road, and then there is a question for Kolyey; will she please help these men find out what has happened at the old grave mound? The dead walked from there, and it is an unlucky place, much haunted by ghosts and sorrows.
The woman who asks is the mother of young Vingtas, who dropped his spear but is feeling much better now.
Kolyey checks Yelm’s position. How much daylight is left?
She still has several hours; the going along the road has been better than she expected, even with the stop.
Kolyey replies, “I will go look. Which way is it? And if I don’t return by sundown, mount a watch on the wall tonight and keep fire handy.”
The spearmen try to look like they are volunteering, without actually saying so.
They like like, if pressed, they might actually be able to fight. Might. (( The group actually passed a Morale check, but are still glad not to have to go. ))
Kolyey sighs and silently prays to Humakt, then sets off for the burial ground. Her best defense is speed, so she will ride out there and dismount once the burial ground is in sight.
With directions, she can get there in about half an hour… an hour… alright, it’s been an hour and a half, but this is definitely the place.
An old oak tree: check. Bumpy ground with five long barrows and two short ones: check. Gaping hole in the side of one of the big barrows… that was not in the description, and nor were the bodies here and there, another four or five in the light armour and leather helmets now familiar to Kolyey.
Kolyey dismounts and stealthily approaches the barrow with the hole in its side. She gives the bodies lying around a wide berth.
Nothing moves. Nobody rises, dead or otherwise. Crickets chirp in the afternoon sun.
The bodies smell terrible, but at least no worse scents come from the barrow.
Kolyey stealthily peeks into the barrow. Anyone home?
Her eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness, just as a voice hisses from inside, “Please, come in.” There is something there; a faint human shape.
Kolyey would bet a season’s wages that the hissing speaker is undead. She takes a moment to make sure.
No. She would lose that bet, or else there is strange magic here, protecting it even from Humakt. No undeath here. Nothing but tombs and the dead.
Kolyey ponders whether it’s worth the risk to get more information, or whether to just run.
Silence deepens. Crickets chirp on.6Humakti Theology: Well, if they are not undead, they are probably dead and being polite, or alive, very strange, and being polite. At the very least Humakt would be polite in return, unless he had come here to challenge them. After all, this is their home.
Kolyey keeps thoughts of Humakt handy. “Thank you,” she says as she enters the barrow.
Her eyes adjust to the dimness, and she can see a dead man sitting on a chair carved like a throne. His outline glows faintly, and she can make out pale eyes. “Do you come to bring more strife?” His accent is odd. It seems to come from far, far away, but she can understand him perfectly.
At his feet is a pile that could be blankets or a long-dead animal.
“Not at the moment,” Kolyey replies. “Are you disturbing the dead?”
“To belabour the obvious, I am the dead.” The dead one makes a wheezing laughing sound. “Blood was shed on my doorstep. My children tasted it.” With a creak the old relic moves a little on his chair. “They left me. Poor, sad children, in their haste, they forget caution.”
“Who disturbed your rest, ancient one?”
There is a pause, as if it takes time to think that through. “Warriors showed no respect, slaughtering on my bed without permission. Blood fell, and the younglings…” A deep, impossible sigh. “Felt it, and were angered. They argued, cajoled, and then they left me, digging their way out. No good comes of leaving a warm house and a merry fire.”
For a brief moment, a suggestion of firelight falls on the dog at his feet, which stirs in its sleep, and then it is just a mass of dark skin over bones once more.
“There’s three armies fighting not far enough from here. Your children wear light infantry armor. Can you tell me more about the rude warriors, please?”
“I did not leave, child of warmth. Only my children left. They said they would take the bodies that fell, and seek vengeance against the new. But what is vengeance to the truly old?”
“Nothing worth getting out of bed for,” Kolyey says. “Do you know what must be done to soothe your children back to sleep?”
“They will return,” says the ancient ancestor, “If their father calls them. Say my name outside this great hall of mine, and call them. Saffisaak.” It is not a Heortling name at all.
Kolyey repeats, “Saffisaak. Will they sleep of their own accord when they return?”
“I will soothe them. I will feast them.” He sounds tired.
The ghostly smell of food cooking drifts by, and the dog turns over, and then there is only the cold of the ancient grave, and the piles of bones. Even Saffisaak is silent, the glow fading from him.
Kolyey bows to Saffisaak, then leaves the barrow. Once outside the barrow, she calls “Saffisaak!” as loudly as she can. She makes certain that she is not blocking the barrow’s entrance.
The day continues to be warm, but the crickets fall silent within a few moments. Nothing else happens, and yet something did. The crickets are silent.
Kolyey decides to go see to her horse.
Her horse is stamping nervously, too well trained to break away, but definitely sensing something strange.
Kolyey soothes her poor horse. Once the horse is calm enough, she will ride back to the village.
By the time the horse is calm, the temperature has fallen in the little lumpy clearing. Her horse is definitely glad to go.
Kolyey returns to the village. Once there, she looks for the elders.
The woman, Aminya, greets her with concern. “Lady of Humakt?”
“The dead have been called back to their rest, Lady Aminya. They will sleep so long as blood is not spilled in the burial ground.”
Aminya sags down in relief.
- 1Failed INTx5
- 2Critical on Scan.
- 3Critical on Battle for Kolyey, fail for most of the spearmen, but the zombies have a Humakti to deal with.
- 4Fails First Aid, but has a POW crystal to add the extra MP for Heal 2.
- 5Fumble on INT. These are Wolf Pirates, or were.
- 6Humakti Theology: Well, if they are not undead, they are probably dead and being polite, or alive, very strange, and being polite. At the very least Humakt would be polite in return, unless he had come here to challenge them. After all, this is their home.
