Session S5-W.07

1629, Fire Season, Death Week, Wildday

Dramatis Personae

Events

Propitious omens for travel! Thanks to Finarvi for the write-up.

Finarvi wakes up to find Serala preparing to summon Grandfather. Orgovale Summer spell, with her horses forming the circle, and a cold campfire the rune’s centre. She takes 3 strands of horsehair from her favourite horse, plaited through her own hair, seals the ends with wax, turn it into a bracelet and place it on her wrist. 

The horses begin to react to something that isn’t there, the breeze brings a smell of fresh earth, then the sound of hoofbeats and a light pressure on her shoulder, Eldest Grandfather is there.

Eldest Grandfather finds Whitewall ‘too high’. It’s the bridge. ‘Horses are not good with delicate stone bridges.’ Which bridge? Grandfather sees a different world than Serala sees. A cliff 500mm high with a single bridge guarded by Ernalda her self in the form of a very long drop. So he will meet her at the bottom. 

Serala calls out to let Finarvi know she is going with Grandfather to see Broyan. 

Rajar is there for when things go sideways. Toras the rhino rider accompanies him.

Varanis is there too, a little short on sleep but she knew that Serala was up to something.

Every single horse moves to the exit gate, following Grandfather. Finarvi sees a faint outline of Grandfather. Varanis can see an evil twisted horselike spirit dragging the horses away. She asks Rajar to sniff it for Chaos. Rajar confirms it’s not chaotic, but as it’s horse shaped he agrees it’s evil. 

Serala reassures Varanis that this is Grandfather. The guards on the gate close the gates so that the horses can’t leave the city. At which point the two herds realise they’re two different herds. Manasa is biting and using her feet to assert her views. Once the herds have sorted themselves out, the guards reopen the gates. We ride out. Inpira joins us on her slightly bruised zebra, with Manasa toothmarks in her armour. Manasa trots away happily, having tasted human blood. 

The battlefield is just East of the Dancing Apple Inn. A shadow seems to lie over the land. It’s oddly dark there. It stinks of chaos. Toras frees his lance and muscles ahead.

The spirit of darkness is centred around the top of the hill that would make a perfect camping ground for an army. The two stormbulls decide to ride the perimeter and wait for the chaos to find them.

Grandfather tells Serala he sees nothing at all, the area is too subdued. Far too subdued. Some sort of magical protection is there, Grandfather doesn’t understand it. Maybe even the spirits there were killed. But after 4 years you would expect things to have moved back. 

Serala warns Grandfather not to risk himself and stay safe. He accepts this and fades. Finarvi sticks close to Serala end readies his bow. Toras shrugs and spurs Tiny forward.

As we advance, many have trouble getting their mounts to move forward. Finarvi notes horse loathes the whole area but is afraid of certain patches more. He sees lumps and bumps here. They’re avoiding the areas with more lumps and bumps – not necessarily avoiding bodies, but where there are more bodies the horses seem more afraid. The bigger the piles, the more fear. 

Manasa pulls free of Varanis’s control and runs out of the chilly creepy area. Varanis is now infantry.

It’s early evening. There’s a lovely sunset over that way, though it’s rather overcast here.

The ground here is dotted with verdigris bronze, bones, rotted leather. Varanis steps carefully. Grandfather says to Serala there are a lot of spirits here now. 

Serala: “Didn’t I tell you to stay safe?”

Finarvi suggests that as the sun is setting we should leave the battlefield, make camp, and observe the area overnight. Serala likes this idea.

We leave and Varanis tries to catch Manasa. Manasa’s reverted to her old Hates Everything self. Even Serala fails to get her to com and has to ask Grandfather to get the mare back. 

Toras and Inpira first, Rajar and Serala second, Varanis and Finarvi third watch. 

Godsday. Darkness over the battlefield intensifies massively. Grandfather goes urgh. The battlefield is a spirit of darkness, teeth and malice. 

Finarvi casts a warding around the campsite.

We can see wispy grey things rising up out of the darkness and sinking back in. Looks like a giant flattened Stasis rune made out of blackness. It’s just lurking, not moving. 

The horses stay inside the warding and the darkness does not do anything. Are all the spirits of the battle trapped here by this stasis spirit?

Varanis could use Divination to ask Orlanth if Broyan is here now. 

Serala and Finarvi are conscious this is a hideous thing that has killed and likely trapped our former comrades, and while we came here to answer a question about kingship, we cannot leave this wrong unrighted. 

Inpira suggests we need a lot of Ty Kora Tek priestesses to see these unburied dead are given proper rites.

Grandfather suggests Serala should set up a hearth here and make it a home here for when she next summons him. 

Serala sets up a hearth and lights the fire. There is a sharp demarcation towards the battlefield where the light ends and the darkness begins, or the darkness ends and the light can begin. Grandfather Centaur helps her second attempt. Finally the line of darkness is pushed back somewhat. 

First Watch.

Toras and Finarvi spot a piece of darkness pulls towards us, Finarvi sees it didn’t start moving, it twisted off the main darkness, and started drifting. It’s not coming straight towards us, it’s flanking. Grandfather is now solid enough to see. Varanis has managed to fall asleep and we wake her. Everyone else is awake and readying for battle. It’s visible, and capable of spirit combat. 

Toras calls to it. It drifts closer, teeth chattering. It otherwise doesn’t react to anything he shouts. We prepare for battle!

The thing touches the warding and recoils, shredding. A hiss as it hits the ward, remains of it flutter backwards and disappears.

It’s peaceful. Grandfather patrols the camp. Toras and Finarvi try to sleep. Middle watch. Rajar and Serala are on watch and Varanis is awake. They see the darkness is coming and has eyes or spots in odd places. The darkness is drifting straight towards us, and dimming the firelight as it comes. Magic bounces off it. It passes the warding, battered and tattered but through. Rajar swings his iron axe at it, gashes it. It is heading for Rajar. Varanis and Inpira finish it. It dissipates with horrible hissing sound. Grandfather says when a thing comes out it’s definitely being sent. Serala sings to the hearth and Grandfather walks around it, keeping the hearth strong. 

The next attack comes an hour later. Serala notices the fire beginning to go down. Grandfather adds things from his pouch and it springs back up. Serala sings to feed the fire (10 magic points from the spirit matrix) The fire blazes up and the darkness retreats and shows a 3-4m wide blob of blackness and teeth. It’s coming up faster than the others but from further away. This is the largest so far. We’re all awake and up. Rajar positions himself to hit the thing as it crosses the boundary. Varanis yells to wake everyone and stands by Rajar, casting Fireblade. It gets through the wards and stays coherent. A magical attack bounces off Rajar’s wards. Everything is chilly and weird. Her song falters. Toras casts Demoralise and it eats his spell. Grandfather shivers and says this has to be destroyed. The thing goes for Rajar’s face, teeth and troll tusks. Finarvi puts an arrow through it, it’s like shooting mist. Toras yells ‘magic my sword!’ in trade tongue. Inpira hits it and it dissipates. 

Rajar spits into the darkness and bellows a war cry in challenge. The darkness shimmers and nothing else comes forth. And the fire recovers.

Morale from Serala’s ritual: add 500% to attack.

Finarvi gets a +3 Bladesharp on his broadsword from Rajar. Inpira guards the back. Finarvi gives Serala’s +2 Bladesharp matrix to Toras but he fails to cast it. 

The line of firelight presses in towards us. Grandfather is calling on spirits for favours.

The hearth is a great light rune now, and the fire rune has sparked up more. Serala has guarded the hearth all night, and given heer magic away to those who need It like Elmal.

The dark thing pushes through the wards. It’s cold. But Serala is the fire. She casts Sunbright. The brightness strips away the darkness in this area. All is left is hunger, teeth and jaws and boniness. It’s a creature of darkness and something else, but the mouths are now screaming in pain and horror but it’s no longer silent. It’s clattering. Finarvi yells and swings his broadsword and hits it some of its many mouths. It’s pretty much just teeth and jaws. Rajar’s axe follows a moment later, smashing shattered bits of bone that melt like ice when they hit the fire. Varanis crunches, Grandfather is kicking something, bones are still hanging in the air and throwing themselves forward but not so fast now. Toras hits, and the fire brightens. 

Finarvi sees his warding posts have been eaten, but the darkness has gone, and half an hour later dawn comes. Varanis decides not to slay Yelm that morning. She will just salute him and end the ritual there. We decide to do the same. Serala sags, too exhausted to lead us in this ritual.

Toras and Rajar explain we now know what is here and we should take this knowledge back to our leaders.

Serala’s Bladesharp matrix now has a second matrix on the back of the first. Which should be impossible.

We return to the road and head South towards Whitewall. As we leave Kultain territory, along the river come a lot of people – rabble. Heading from the East to the West towards the road. They may be heading for Whitewall. 20 or 30 people moving in a hurry. 

Minimal weapons, but ready, and spears. No pros. Greyish skin – not quite human but not troll. Crossbreed – look human but for grey – Kitori. Darkness people displaced by Tarkalor Trollkiller when he set up the Sundome.

The Stormbulls hail them. They look like refugees. Rajar asks them what they are fleeing. Armoured raiders. At the lake/water. Angry animal runes/markings. Would eat zebra.

Finarvi fills group in that the Kitori have been causing grief to the Bakofi, according to a trader. Zatern lake is the lake north of Bakofi land. We pass them to see an army – Rajar and Varanis spot a scout. Wolf pirate armour and feathered helmet at his waist. A hundred more in the distance. He’a signalling but does not think he has been seen. We put arrows in him. We take him prisoner. He names his ransom and Toras puts him on the back of Tiny. The wolf pirates are infantry so we outpace them on the way to Whitewall. 

100 wolf pirates with 2 banners. 2 ships.