Session 5.S.05

1629, Fire, Death, Waterday to Windsday

Dramatis Personae

Events

Thanks to Finarvi for the write-up.

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Early morning in Whitewall, the day after the feast. We’re in the upper city, the temple region.

We are wandering around outside feeling a bit sorry for ourselves.

Inpira spots a couple of giant wasps. They seem to be getting closer. There’s only two. They circle, then seem to be circling around the three of us.

Finarvi decides they want to eat us and heads towards the guards who have gathered. The wasps follow him. Varanis and Inpira follow him. 

We retreat to the longhouse. They’re circling too high for Detect enemies. The buzzing fades, and after a while a guard comes in and says the wasps are gone, and Haralast wants a word.  

Haralast asks what that was. Finarvi briefly recounts the fig incident. Haralast asks that if they come back asks us to negotiate a peaceful resolution. He sees that we have breakfast, then another guard comes in with a message for Varanis. 

The message has the seal of the Cinderfox – a letter from Silor. 

I, ever your friend, beg this personal favour. A merchant known to your friends is coming to Whitewall. I hesitate to ask you to take the advice of your friends, but nevertheless in this, I should I feel remind you of the requirements of a Wind Lord to be protective.

Inpira and Finarvi give Varanis the detailed version of what happened, and that Silor is hunting this merchant’s handler. We share the merchant’s appearance and runes with the guards, and head out of the city. 

We leave messages for those not present, and head off to find the chief. We brief him and head towards Wasp Nest. 

We travel towards Wilmskirk, there are no giant wasps. We encounter a caravan up ahead. The caravan boss is Gerant – the merchant of the description. 

We hail each other politely, he recognises Wind Lord Valseena. He says he travels east Sartar but has Beast Valley and Dangerford goods – spices and the like, North Grazelands, S lunar, orange peels, candied fruit, but he also has heavy wagons.

He knows Varanis and is disappointed to have met her here. 

She asks if he was seeking her out. He says he as a proposal for her but it’s not one for his friends and guards.  So we turn around and travel with them back towards Whitewall. It’s mostly small talk but the guards are earwigging. He suggests they ride behind the caravan to speak privately.

He aks us to swear we are not Seven Mothers, he wants his family to be kept safe, his family are being threatened by a man who makes him do things. Wife and 2 children 8 and 4, at Hirren’s Cross, Sylangi lands (west of where we are, far side of Sylangi lands). Sylangi and Kultain are one big hot mess. He asks us to get his family to safety. 

He explains it started out as a favour for a friend, then the things he was asked to do got worse and worse.

Varanis agrees and asks Gerant to speak to the Cinderfox chief Silor in return. E says he can send him a message.  

This man who threatens Gerant’s family and makes him do things is from the Heartlands, was a member of 7 Mothers, passes himself as a Issaries merchant. He’s had a few names, he knows how to send him a message, can arrange a meeting. Gerant gives us a description of a Lunar looking guy. Lunar-pale, Harmony and Moon Runes, straight black hair, pretty tall and slim, but in a way that makes him look like an interesting foreigner. Uses Sartarite name Tarkalar. He usually hangs around in Beast Valley. He probably picks up the messages in person. They have a series of drop boxes. 

Send message, and have a guard on wife and family. Tarkalar will have a spy in the village. It’s a walled village, palisade, fields, no dedicated market, nothing of importance. 

We can get Silor to hunt Tarkalar and protect the wife under guise of diplomatic factfinding. 

Gerant sent a message to the cinderfox under another name, letting them know he was heading to Whitewall, and then we turn up to help.

Finarvi and Inpira to scout the village, Inpira as his bodyguard, and Varanis will head to Silor for help. Finarvi rides ahead to tell the chief that we’ve checked the merchant out and he’s clean.

Varanis pushes ahead and arrives in Wilmskirk in early evening. The guards don’t seem to recognise her this time – possibly deliberately. Business has kept Silor in town so he welcomes her in for dinner. She’s taken to a private room to eat, and then he clambers in through a window ten minutes later. 

She fills him in on the meeting with the merchant on the road, the story he told, and the details he shared. She also covers the plan she’s hatched with us, and Silor offers half dozen very reliable people – 2 windlord friends. Silor asks to be in command of this matter as he knows who the people involved are. Varanis agrees and gets an early night. 

Outside the eating room is Yamia. Tamakt is there too, meditating. Yamia offers her help in this highly secret thing she does not comprehend. Varanis tells her to have a word with her father as she intends to go to bed early.  Yamia says Silor has been lax of late so she’s going to go and tell him to do better. Varanis joins Tamakt in meditation and comes to to find a boy of 3 asleep in her lap. Yamia comes back, picks him up and takes him to bed. Yamia won’t be joining her tomorrow. Lots of complex emotions there.

Meanwhile Finarvi and Inpira get their stuff ready and arrive at the Sylangi village the following afternoon. The message should go out today, Tarkalar should pick it up tomorrow so we just get settled in. Hirron’s Cross.

Chirrik, the head man, greets us and asks to see our wares. Finarvi gets into doing some repairs and showing off his castings. The chief offers a tour of the cross itself. It’s in amazingly good condition for a 400 year old carving. 3 or 4m tall, seems taller than it is. The top is slightly blurred as if by distance. Covered with carvings of dragonnewts doing ordinary boring Sartarite stuff.

Silor sets the group off at different times and casually they meet up at a rendezvous point. This is completely habitual for him. How unusual. 

Finarvi gets back and does redsmithing stuff. Inpira scouts the village and checks out escape routes. Just one gate out. 

Garant’s wife is Mahda, his son is Trilast, and his daughter is Eldana. 

Inpira has been hanging out with the gate guards when she notices a stranger arrive. A woman with a small child on her back and a small death rune on her forehead. She says she is travelling. The guards are nonplussed. They don’t know what to make of her. She doesn’t ask to be admitted, she just waits, smiling. She doesn’t look like Sartar stock – too pale. One of the guards goes off to tell the headman. The woman now turns her smile on the woman and the other guard. She seems unafraid of them all. Child is pale too, with dark curly hair. Inpira waits. The headman arrives, and the young woman bows to him and says she is passing through and does not think she brings trouble with her, does not intend to cause it, only stop it should it arrive.

The headman goes pale, steps back and welcomes her in. Intimidated. 

She goes and settles down next to the wall not far from the gate and begins unpacking a tiny little lean-to cover. She can see most of the village from here.

Finarvi recognises Yamia and later that afternoon he goes over and offers them food as nobody has offered hospitality, and she asks to see his wares and orders a broadsword for her 3 year old Tamakt.

Tarkalar brings bodyguards and Silor sets an impressive ambush. He’s done this before, a lot. Silor aims to bring Tarkalar down, the wind lords handle the guards. Silor wants Varanis to fight and help take down Tarkalar, he is backup/second round. Bushwhacking. Trying to do it so fast he can’t offer ransom. 

Silor falls over with a yelp and a clang¹Fumbled Move Silently. and Varanis makes too much noise too. The two windlords hit the bodyguards, at least. He draws his sword on Varanis. Tarkalar rises into the air and is slammed into a tree and turned upside down by Silor. Varanis punches him in the head with her sword hilt and knocks him out. One of the windlords is still fighting – the surviving guard yells out his ransom. Tarkalar gets very tied up. Silor is ebullient (and muddy). 

Finarvi meets Mahda when she comes to ask about a bent tripod. Someone fell against it, 

Tamakt and Eldana play, and Yamia comes over and is charming and chats with Mahda. Inpira looks on alert so Finarvi gives her a reassuring smile.

Mahda invites Yamia to stay the night she declines but Tamakt stays with  her friend. 

Later we see the assassins. A centaur and a minotaur. They approach the gate like they already mean business. The guards are not up to this, they come in broad daylight and just charge in. Inpiira and Finarvi both see them coming. She grabs her battleaxe, smashes the lance in parrying and smashes the centaur’s neck with the return blow. The minotaur runs in and falls over. Finarvi catches Yamia’s gesture.

There is silence, then shouting. 

Nobody tells Chirrik anything.

Inpira explains the situation to Mahda in full, though, quite terrifyingly. They don’t want to travel. Finarvi turns on the charm and persuades her to travel with them to reunite them with her husband in a place of safety. 

We all end up back in Whitewall. 

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  Fumbled Move Silently.