Session 3.13

1628, Fire Season, around Fertility Week

Dramatis Personae

Events

Rajar negotiated for an iron axehead from T’Dwarf.¹This will only end in tears, sir.  T’Dwarf would only supply wrought iron, not ‘power matrices’ or in fact the rather more useful steel.  Berra, given the chance to ask for a favour, asked for the people of Alda Chur to be protected if the bat came that way.  The Dwarf said she would owe him, and Berra nodded to Koraki and said that was his problem – but any favour to her could be for just agreeing to do that if it was necessary.

The Dwarf revealed that the Bat was 100km away²and presumably there was a discussion over what a km was to the North-West.  It was not moving fast, meaning that it was not easy to tell if it was moving at all, given the problems of what he reluctantly explained as air spirits getting in the way of Yelm’s gifts.³The PCs obviously had no idea about refraction and heat mirages.  T’Dwarf had no previous information on where it had been, and thus which way it was moving.  He mentioned that if he was going to be ‘firing banishment grapeshot at 45 degrees’ he did not want to fore-warn his opposition.

The caravan headed from the Mine toward Dunstop, making reasonable time given the animals and the terrain. En route, they spotted a party of riders not far from the Dinosaur Graveyard, and Berra sent Suuraki to investigate in case it was Onjur. He and his high llama found a hilltop from which to loom impressively and from this vantage, he was able to observe some people butchering a thunder lizard whilst others stood guard. The guards watched him watching them and there was a brief display of weapons, but nothing too overt. Suuraki circled back to the party to report and spotted similar tracks, coming back to report there had been at least two wagons.  This worried Berra, who thought they might be preparing for camps to be filled, and soldiers to be fed.

Rajar recalled they were close to the Earthshakers Graveyard and noted that relying on the meat of old animals was not ideal.  That meat was probably for prisoners.

The caravan continued on its route and after a time, they spotted a group of Grazelanders pacing them. Rajar made a show of looming ominously between the Grazelanders and Irillo’s people. Berra decided it might be unwise to let him take lead on any conversations with them and made sure to join him as two of the Grazelanders rode closer.  Berra tried to do the Humakti threat-making to help Irillo negotiate, and ended up having an attack of very cute sneezes.⁴Fumbled Intimidate. The Grazelanders were eyeing Rajar’s new axe with a little too much interest.

Irillo treated with the grazelanders in the time-honoured tradition of a merchant, which is to say that he offered them a gift (bribe) of wine for their queen.  Berra managed to derail herself rather than blurting out how much she thought the wine was worth.  Varanis ended up convinced he had given away the good stuff.  A little later Irillo kicked himself, having given the riders some of the good wine by accident.

The remainder of the journey to Dunstop was uneventful.  The ferry crossing on the final leg brought them into contact with a talkative ferryman who told them that he’d recently transported a rhino rider.⁵He might have meant bison, given he referred to Calamity and Followed as rhinos. He provided little by way of useful information and much by way of irritation.  Lunar Tarshite military units became more common. Xenofos identified them as likely belonging to Fazzur.⁶So did some other people, by guesswork.  Xenofos seemed to actually know. 

At Dunstop, Irillo bribed his way into the city and set up at the market. He was visited by an initiate of Etyries, Daughter of Issaries, who appeared to have been an old friend. Some trade and banter were exchanged and Irillo came out the better of it. At the end of the day’s trading, after he packed up, Irillo got directions to the palace. He sought entrance to deliver gifts for King Fazzur and Queen Mirava and was eventually given an audience with his guards.

After the usual formalities were dealt with, Mirava, looking pregnant, granted them a private audience. There, she and Varanis made politely pointed remarks. Berra crossed the line into discourtesy⁷…stayed across the line on holiday with a thick book and 200lb of excess baggage… more than once, but both Mirava and Varanis mostly ignored her. At one point in the conversation, Rajar quietly offered to kill the pregnant queen.⁸This is probably a thing Varanis should talk to him about.

Varanis told Mirava about the threat of the Bat⁹Her sister interrupted to make pointed remarks.(Mirava commenting on Varanis’ lack of baby fat and Varanis asking about her sister’s other daughters). and asked for her husband’s advice on getting by in Lunar lands.  Mirava gave her an address and said to tell them that she knew – but Fazzur did not need to.  They left, with the address on a bit of clay that Mirava baked for them.  Varanis worked out from how Mirava was acting that these would be Eurmali.

Once they returned to where they were staying, Varanis decided that the visit to the Eurmali required a small party. Not everyone was told who they were going to talk to, chiefly to keep Berra (and maybe Xenofos) from finding out.  She asked Nala to be the voice of it, not wanting to make herself too obvious in the process, and then told Rajar and Suuraki that she wanted them to act as slightly drunk guards, but preferably not to kill anyone.

The house Mirava directed them to was close by, so they walked. Nala knocked at the door and a peephole opened up. There was a brief discussion through the closed door, during which Nala persuaded the guard to let them in, rather than name drop in the street. Once inside, she passed along Mirava’s subtle threat about knowing where to find them. Nala explained that they required a passport and an older man with keen hearing appeared. He produced a large bronze tablet of sorts that would grant them safe passage in Lunar lands and said he’d send the bill to the palace. Nala worked out he was almost blind from how he was acting.  She thanked him with beer. The four of them made it back to the caravan and weren’t even followed in the process.¹⁰Presumably because the Eurmali probably already knew where to find them.

Back at the market, the others had a quiet conversation, a bit of a drink, and a game of knucklebones.  Berra explained her behaviour to Valseena and Maalira – once Valseena worked out that Mirava was an elder sister, it all made sense.

• 1
  This will only end in tears, sir.
• 2
  and presumably there was a discussion over what a km was
• 3
  The PCs obviously had no idea about refraction and heat mirages.
• 4
  Fumbled Intimidate.
• 5
  He might have meant bison, given he referred to Calamity and Followed as rhinos.
• 6
  So did some other people, by guesswork.  Xenofos seemed to actually know. 
• 7
  …stayed across the line on holiday with a thick book and 200lb of excess baggage…
• 8
  This is probably a thing Varanis should talk to him about.
• 9
  Her sister interrupted to make pointed remarks.(Mirava commenting on Varanis’ lack of baby fat and Varanis asking about her sister’s other daughters).
• 10
  Presumably because the Eurmali probably already knew where to find them.