The Journey of the Heroes, Season 1

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One Hell of a Time - 27 May 2020 00:43

Tags: 1626 berra boldhome chalana_arroy dormal dragon eurmal fire ginna_jar heroquest humakt irillo issaries kallyr lhankor_mhy lightbringers mellia nala orlanth rajar salid tiwr varanis xenofos

Season, Week, Day

Fire Season, Truth Week, Godday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, playing Humakt (and herself)
Dormal, playing Eurmal (and himself)
Irillo, playing Issaries (and himself)
Mellia, playing Chalana Arroy (and herself)
Nala, playing Ginna Jar (and herself)
Salid Troll-Killer, playing Flesh Man (and himself)¹
Varanis, playing Orlanth (and herself)
Xenofos, playing Lhankor Mhy (and himself)

Rajar, standing guard

NPC

Kallyr, playing Yelm (and herself)
A dragon, playing a truth Lhankor Mhy could not comprehend
Draznk, possibly but not definitely playing himself and/or Zorak Zoran
A troll who ran away, and lived to eat another day
Dead villagers
Undead villagers
A spider troll, spider-troll, does whatever a spidertroll damned well wants to
Beneva, only as herself
Some guards, who may have wished to be other people

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[" Good day! We seem to be over holidays, sickness, and attacks of rodents both human and otherwise! So, now let us move onto the Lightbringer's quest. Unfortunately much of this section has been badly damaged, and it appears that not all of this is accidental and the passage of time. The attempt to purge the consequences of this quest seems systematic, and the cause of much of the confusion about Gloranthan history in this period. Let us begin with a little scenesetting from the little know Vareena fragments, and then to the ever reliable Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga. It is my contention that the Vareena fragments refer to the same individual as the Varanis of the Sonnets. We can discuss why later. "]

Woe! Word went wide. Wise White Prince was lost.
Vingan Vareena vainly wept, giving voice to vanguishment.
Came then Humakt’s Herald, called her to his hall.

Oath-ordered rose only she, in guise of Overarching Orlanth.
Led line of Lightbringers, to Sartar’s light loyal.
Humakt hollered halt! Hovered before hall’s threshold.

“Make right the riven wrong, which you had wrought.”
Swift struck the Sword-Champion. Sword severed life.
Heart of hale Orlanth hewn by hand of Humakt.

To Sartar's Sacred Stele
Swiftly swept Leika's sept!
Lighting flames lofty leaping
Laying Kallyr's light to rest!

"Now" Night clad Noble Eril
"Near is your path now."
Smote he Sartar's Sevenchild
Swiftly hellward spiralling.

["This segment is well known, of course, from Staffords masterly history of this period, but note the differences here. The Saga authors are suggesting that Leika's early lighting of Kallyr's funeral pyre was in some fashion unnecessary. This is a major departure from our normal reading of the history. One needs to ask what the motive was either for the poet, or the historian, to alter matters. Let us continue."]

Dark, deserted doom
Dauntless heroes descended.
Reaching river riven
With red-rend writers²

Led by light flaming liquid
Launched in lances against walls
Trickster taking a touch
Testing the tale.

Ferryman forbade forward passage
Frowning at folks still living.
Goldentongued Guide giving
Gift of graceful going

["Thus far we are broadly in keeping with our other accounts of the various Lightbringers quests, although very much abbreviated- notably the entire prelude quests are cut short, as it were, by Eril's sword, and presumably the implied human sacrifice is the suggested explanation for that. Naturally a 'stand in' for the central figure must have been utilised at this point. 'Lhankor knows the paths' is missing, but given the fragmentary nature of the texts, this is probably lost to time."]

Death troll before him, the knowing God led
Death to the Beserk God, leaving him dead.
The Sage to the battle, Flesh man before
His pike pierc'd the foe man, striking him raw

His magic back turn'd, the lance in his head
Fear felt but mastered, Flesh troll sav'd the stead³
And thus they went on then both full and fair
On to the only old one's castle lair

["Interestingly digs on the Tell al Bihome, note that 'B-home', incidentally, ladies and gentlemen; ahem. Digs on that Tell have discovered another _Salidstele."]

_{Here, as Flesh Man, Salid struck down Zorak Zoaran}

Flame-farewelled Fürst Kallyr, fiery-haired and fervent,
Hale she harked with spark in hand, from Humakt’s halls.
Daughter of Vinga, Vibrant Virgin Prince of Sartar's vaunted vales.

Sanguine still Vareena stood, armour slick with battle-sweat,
Princely glinting gift of golden limb-fire gleaming on graceful arm.
Kinswoman, knight, and king’s grandchild, she bent the knee to Kallyr.

What Really Happened

Ginna Jar entered the gate of the Underworld a bit behind the others, but kept pace with them, making the river crossing and arriving at the Obsidian Castle. As the party prepared to leave, minus Issaries, alarm bells went off and Orlanth was accused of a breach of hospitality because of Eurmal’s theft.

Ginna Jar suddenly found herself in a vast desert, drier than Prax. She called out for her mother and things became confusing. Her mother was divided. Her mother was many. Her mother was one.

Lhankor Mhy walked and walked along the thing that he could not comprehend, denying to himself all the time that it was a dragon.⁴ He entered a cave between ivory stalactites and stalagmites.⁵ There was a wet, slightly spongy floor⁶, and the path he knew of lead out through more stalactites and stalagmites. He saw an armoured skeleton between two of the ivory pillars - it was Uncle Sestar,⁷ thought killed by Tusk Riders. He pushed past the skeleton, following the path, and crawling over the dead man. Outside, alas, he was ambushed by a Troll and captured.

Chalana Arroy revisited villages she had been to before to find that in the first one, they were all dead rather than simply wounded and her healing salve was embedded in their wounds, having apparently eaten in and killed them. She had a crisis, although she also managed to find herself a walking stick.⁸ There was a lot of crying. She made her way to the second village and found that more than merely dead, the inhabitants here were undead. She ran, fell, and was scooped up by a troll mere moments before a zombie bit at her.

Flesh Man saw that Yelm had a spark he was holding, desperately cradling it, and went to get it a torch, offering Yelm food for the spark. The torch burned but the spark did not seem to get stronger.

Humakt ordered warriors, including Flesh Man, who had been a self-appointed guard to Yelm, to form a war party around him and go looking for the living that the God of Death could sense in his realm.

Orlanth finally forgave Eurmal. They discussed directions, spotted a path - it leads to a Lead Castle with lots of trolls. They crept up to investigate. In order to enter, Eurmal made himself look like a Troll, as he understood them, and Orlanth wore shackles as a prisoner. Eurmal bluffed them in past the guards. Once inside, they spotted a giant troll spider carrying a wrapped body-shaped bundle. They followed, at speed, and found themselves in the troll larder.

Present in one room of the larder, marked for feasting, they found a bleeding Chalana Arroy and an unconscious Xenofos, and the silk-wrapped wrapped forms of Issaries and Ginna Jar. Everyone was freed, made conscious.⁹ Clever Ginna Jar and Eurmal wound up the spider silk, saving it against future need, and making a great spindle of Issaries' walking staff, after which they tried to sneak out. This turned into running out after the illusion spell ran out right at the gates. Impressively, Eurmal had enough manacles for all of them.

With a bit of help from each other and mobility spells, they managed to run away, pursued by a pair of trolls. One troll made a tactical withdrawal on hearing Humakt challenge the other. Humakt, Flesh Man, and a war party of dead warriors met them. There was a fight in which Zorak Zoran lost a leg to Humakt and an arm to Orlanth. Flesh Man bravely tried to stab the big troll in the face. Humakt was struck on the arm, and healed himself enough to return to the battle once he had retrieved his sword, but there was no need.

There was some discussion between Humakt and Orlanth, in which Humakt pointed out to everyone that the living did not belong in the Underworld, and that they had to leave or be dead. Orlanth offered to leave, if Yelm could come too. After a bit of back and forth, Humakt ended the discussion by killing Orlanth. Again. Everyone appeared in the Hall of the Dead, where Yelm was waiting patiently, guarding the Spark he was holding in his hand. Orlanth got all oratey, Yelm agreed to go, and Humakt agreed to let them because they were disrupting the peace of his hall, directing a special speech to Yelm about how she did not belong there yet.

The earth split around and above them, and they emerged, but there was unsureness all about, as to whether this would happen again. Taking the silk that the spider-troll had used, Nala wove it around her in a dance, creating a web that would keep such destruction from happening again.

And they all woke up in the Temple of Humakt, including Kallyr whose hand was blackened by the spark. Varanis woke looking into the concerned face of High Healer Beneva, but felt fine, really. Nala and Tiwr somehow rushed Kallyr from the Temple up the stairs of the Palace and all the way to the brazier. Varanis and several of the others took the back route and managed to make it there in time to witness the lighting of the Flame.

Boldhome erupted in jubilation. Kallyr ordered the summoning of her priests and Varanis took off, with Xenofos on her heels, to make it so. She went looking for Chief Priest Tennebris first, only to find out that he’d had an accident with the pointy end of a dagger which resulted in at least five stab wounds. He was recovering at the Temple of Chalana Arroy.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Big scary troll…" - GM
"Small scary troll. Only size 20." - Humakt
"But he was playing someone else." - GM
"BIIIIIG Scary Troll." - Humakt

"Sid is partying with the dead!" - Humakt
"I got dark Trolled." - Flesh Man

"Sid is currently dead. So, Orlanth…." - GM
"But it took four of them and I got the Death Lord. YAY Sid." - Flesh Man

"Varanis knows that she has to forgive Eurmal, but she's having a hard time doing that…" - Varanis

"Connection is shit." - GM
"It is his end. As it were." - Humakt
"I don't want to know anything about the GM's 'end', thank you very much Berra." - Varanis

"We went through all the forgive-y stuff…" - Varanis

"We're not about blame. We're about solutions." - Salid
"And the lying, don't forget the lying." - Dormal

"Can you make me battle rolls, please?" - GM
*laughs* - Varanis

"Are they pa-trolling?" - Humakt
"-_-" - Eurmal
*heavy regretful sigh* - GM

"What should I roll for Trust?" - Orlanth
"I would have said, fail a sanity check." - Mellia

"Mellia. I think we had left you with an unhealing wound." - GM
"Oops, Sorry!" - Nala/Ikadz

"Is there more healing to do here? Can I borrow a walking stick?" - Mellia
"All of them are dead." - GM
"Well, at least they don’t need walking sticks anymore." - Varanis

"I don't know about burying them—this is Hell!" - Mellia
"In your expert medical opinion, do any of them require their walking sticks?" - Varanis

"Something seems to have eaten into their wounds. And on the last one, right at the bottom of the wound, where it's eaten into his heart, you find some of your healing salve." - GM
"What have I dooooone!" - Mellia

"I'm going to breathe in and out." - Xenofos
"Breathing. Breathing is good. Are you trying anything else?" - GM
"Yeah, walking." - Xenofos
"One step at a time. Remember to breathe. Remember to walk." - Xenofos

"There is a strange wind, blowing from behind you for five minutes. Pausing. From ahead for five minutes." - GM
"Interesting. Like breathing. No nonono. it can't be that big. It's just the wind." - Xenofos

"Give me the good news first, so the bad news is even worse." - Xenofos
"The scale-like movement up and down has stopped. You're on a smoother surface where the going should be easier." - GM
"So that was the good news…" - Xenofos
"There's a sort of cave entrance. Between ivory pillars." - GM
"Are the pillars more like stalactites?" - Varanis
"Half. The others are Stalagmites" - GM

"Do you have any passions which would inspire you?" - GM
"Well, I could roll Fear (Dragons), which would certainly get me out of here." - Xenofos

"Devotion (Lhankor Mhy). For Science!" - Xenofos

"Keep breathing. And keep walking. You’ve got this." - Varanis
"That has got HIM." - Humakt

"So this may be my fault." - Humakt
"And I have to say it's the sort of thing I do." - Humakt

"You come to understand there are living beings in your realm" - GM
"Well, this is awkward." - Humakt

"If they were a five-meter across spider, they would leave tracks like this." - GM
"And me without a newspaper." - Nala

"The other spear wielder. The burning one. What's he doing?" - Salid
"He seems to be cradling a little spark." - GM
"Food? Food for spark?" - Salid fetches a torch!

"Mellia. Are you done with existential angst yet?" - GM
"Yes, but I cried a lot…" - Mellia

"To be fair, dead is what they definitely are not. You might go so far as to call them Undead!" - GM
"Eeeeek! Perversions of life!" - Mellia

"And some of those faces look definitely familiar. All those people you failed to save through your career. They are definitely the slow, shambling type of zombies, but you know they'll follow you forever." - GM

"Do you want to make me a quick dodge roll?" - GM
"Yes. I may not succeed however." - Mellia

"I'm not going to argue with however's pulling me away." - Mellia
"You sleep now." - TROLL VOICE

"Rajar doesnt really grok punching people. I mean why would you when you have axe?" - Flesh Man

"There are scratchings outside each door…" - GM
"Best before dates." - Humakt

"Well, how much worse COULD it be?" - Xenofos
"He keeps asking that question!!!!!" - Varanis
"That's the bravest thing I ever heard anyone say." - Humakt

"A half-decayed skeleton wedged in there." - GM
"Well, this is a private hell… Anyone I know?" - Xenofos

"I do miss Issaries at this point!" - Lhankor Mhy

"Fire doesn't work in here. I should have known." - Lhankor Mhy fails to inspire himself with his Fire Rune

"It's ok, I speak dragon." - Eurmal
"Thhhhaaaaaannnnnkkkkkk yoouuuuuuuuuuu." - Eurmal

"Oh, the bars are on this side? I'm used to it from a different perspective." - Eurmal

"Well, I'm going to try to heal that one wound." - Orlanth
"Go for it." - GM
"I rolled a six… is she healed?" - Orlanth
"No." - GM
"But that's Chalana Arroy. If she can't heal herself, that doesn't mean someone else can't heal her." - Orlanth
"But where do you get your healing magic from?" - Eurmal
"Shush you." - Orlanth

"There are these dark shapes looming over you, Mellia and Lhankor Mhy." - GM
"Hello, delicious friend." - Eurmal

"You are one-hundred percent sure that is not a him." - GM
"Three-hundred percent." - Mistress-race Eurmal

"Release everyone you can. We'll need the distraction." - Eurmal
"There are no other prisoners here." - GM
"3/10, would not break into again." - Eurmal

"I'll put on the chains. I'm no good in a fight anyhow." - Chalana Arroy
"Now you have lead chains to hit people with." - Eurmal
"Just reflect on who you are talking to." - GM
"Rules are made to be broken." - Eurmal

"Because I can't shoot into melee…" - Nala
"You totally can!" - Eurmal

"Humakt leans on his sword and ponders." - Humakt

"'Lanth. You rebel." - Yelm
"Your Imperial Highness!" - Eurmal

"How can you be sure this will not happen again?" - GM
"I don't think you're looking for 'nail Kallyr to the floor'." - Ginna Jar

"The earth splits asunder in front of you." - GM
"OW." - Ginna Jar

"I'll just stand around in the background as if I'm supposed to be here. Which I totally am." - Dormal

"Bring the High Priests to me for counsel." - Kallyr
"Um, does anyone know where Tennebris is?" - Varanis
"The Chief Priest? He was cleaning his dagger and he fell over." - Guard
"… five times." - GM

"Hurrah for Eril!" - Humakt
"Thppppppppppt" - Ginna Jar
"He's the best." - Humakt
"thpppppppppt" - Ginna Jar

"Ernalda feels empty, and needs something inside?" - GM
"She obviously needs Eril's sword." - Berra
….
"Varanis, can you come on video for a second so you can go off video?" - Berra
"NOPE!" - Varanis

"It is a long-term on-again off-again thing." - Irillo
"Mules that pass in the night." - Berra

- Comments: 0

Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby - 27 May 2020 00:42

Tags: 1626 beneva berra boldhome chalana_arroy dormal dragon eurmal fire ginna_jar heroquest humakt irillo issaries lhankor_mhy lightbringers mellia nala orlanth rajar salid varanis xenofos

Season, Week, Day

Fire Season, Truth Week, day?

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, playing Humakt (and herself)
Dormal, playing Eurmal (and himself)
Irillo, playing Issaries (and himself)
Mellia, playing Chalana Arroy (and herself)
Nala, playing Ginna Jar (and herself)
Salid Troll-Killer, playing Flesh Man (and himself)¹⁰
Varanis, playing Orlanth (and herself)
Xenofos, playing Lhankor Mhy (and himself)

Rajar, standing guard

NPC

Eril, playing Humakt (and who needed help getting his sword up)
A dragon, playing a truth Lhankor Mhy could not comprehend
Draznk, possibly but not definitely playing himself and/or Zorak Zoran
Ezkankekko, the Only Old One
Greater Ungoron, a Monster (with a capital M)

Events

["Ladies and gentlemen, I trust you will excuse last week's events, when through no fault of our own, "

Powercut ]

What Really Happened

The common room of the White Grape Inn once again hosted our host of heroes. A sweaty messenger arrived from the Temple of Humakt to say, “Lord Eril suggests, now.”

Armoured and robed appropriately, they set out for the Temple. En route, some of the party noticed the scent of sandalwood smoke in the air. A funeral pyre had been lit at the palace.

Upon arrival at the Temple, Eril confronted Varanis. Humakt confronted Orlanth, who agreed that he would put things right. As he began to say, “Y-”. Humakt guided Truth into the heart of Orlanth, with a little bit of help from Berra, as Eril was struggling against his wound. Varanis fell. There was a moment of nothing happening, and then the quest began.

Orlanth came to himself on a dark path, accompanied by Chalana Arroy, Lanhkor Mhy, Issaries, Eurmal, Flesh Man, and Ginna Jar. Behind them, a large gate stood closed. Before them, a path wandered down into the darkness, lit by the trail of Yelm’s blood. Eurmal dipped a twig from his bag into Yelm’s blood, and it burned without consuming the wood. They followed the trail until they came to the River of Swords.

The ferryman told them that no man may pass, but cunning Issaries bargained well. They were gods (and an enlo) and not men at all, and the ferryman accepted their fee and carried them across the river. Eurmal attempted to steal some of the water, but the blades pierced his cup, thereby creating the first sieve and so Eurmal came to be known as the God of Sieves.¹¹

Safely across, they continued down the path, only to find their way blocked by Zorak Zoran, in semblance of his Rune Lord Draznk Backbreaker. Zorak Zoran summoned a spirit, which Flesh Man turned against him. The rest of the Gods prepared to attack, but it was as if Flesh Man was filled by the spirit of Argan Argar himself. He thrust into the face of the troll god and drove him out of the path and out of the quest.

The Gods and Flesh Man found their way to Obsidian Castle, beyond the River of Swords, seeking to take back the light that was lost. Alas! Yelm was not there, but they were welcomed by Ezkankekko, son of Argan Argar, who greeted them as host. They ate and rested for a time, but Issaries wandered away and was lost, and Eurmal proved light-fingered. As the party tried to leave, Ezkankekko accused Orlanth of breaking hospitality through Eurmal, and thus Eurmal betrayed Orlanth. Lhankor Mhy called upon Eurmal to speak Truth, but when Orlanth turned to find him, the Sage had gone. Indeed, all had gone save Ezkankekko, Orlanth, and Eurmal. Orlanth grabbed Eurmal by the scruff of the neck as Ezkankekko threw Orlanth from the path. The two Gods tumbled together, astray in the darkness.

Chalana Arroy encountered many who were sick and dying in this place of death. She brought love, healing, and comfort as she could. Even the monster Greater Ungoron permitted her passage because of the depth of her self-sacrifice. She followed the path of Yelm’s bright blood until at last she found a man who asked if she was the change for the better that he had heard about. He barred her way, demanding healing, but when he showed her the wound, his heart was missing, and she could not heal it. He called her a fraud, and hit her and by some foul magic he shared his blight with her and Chalana Arroy was taken by the wound she could not heal.

Lhankor Mhy too was lost along his own path in the darkness. He who knows and understands all, observed the details of the Underworld until he found himself on the back of what he knew must be, but could not be, a dragon. His mind rebelled and could not accept such a thought.

Flesh Man found himself facing trolls he knew - an overseer and his old master, killed along with his mates - and first he tried to creep past them. When they followed he fought with the fury and desperation of a free Enlo. That is, with slings, while running away. Unfortunately, he fell into a pit and as they tried to bury him, he danced and dodged the dirt and debris until one looked over the edge to see if he was alive. At last he was able to strike back, with the Pike that Argan Argar had shown the Enlo how to use. He was still a long way down when, a massive maul crashed down on the side of the pit and he could start to scramble out on the debris, avoiding Death for a brief moment. Then the mace crashed on the side of his skull and he dropped dead.

Orlanth, lost in the dark with Eurmal, battled with his own fury. While he did not strike a blow against the Trickster (in spite of the voices in his head), forgiveness would not come easily. Eurmal’s betrayal was a blow to Orlanth’s Honour. He (she) who had forgiven so many times before, spent his (her) rage dragging Eurmal towards a path that remained frustratingly distant.

Flesh Man woke in a hall of dead heroes, where he was welcomed by Humakt, who saw the spear and took him to where another of the Fire Tribe - dead Yelm - was seated, still bleeding.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"What if there was a hero quest and no one came?" - Xenofos
".. Uleria would be disappointed?" - Berra
"Good thing I was only reaching for beer." - Xenofos

"Humakt does indeed stick the sword into Orlanth where the sun doesn’t shine, because Yelm is dead." - GM

"Lord Eril suggests, now." - Humakti initiate

"Would you like to make me Scan rolls?" - GM
"No, I wouldn't." - Rajar
"You've decided not to." - Berra
"Yes." - Rajar

"He looks - well, the word 'cross' springs to mind." - GM
"No pun intended." - Varanis

"It feels just right, somehow." - GM to Berra
"Varanis!" - GM
"It doesn't feel so nice to me!" - Varanis
"It feels so wrong!" - GM

"Was this just? Was this necessary?" - Mellia to Lord Humakt
"Yes. And yes." - Eril/Humakt

"I'm not criticising you, you understand, Lord Humakt. But how is this helping?" - Dormal
"All will become clear to you." - Eril/Humakt?

"Besides, I've already attacked one Rune Lord lately, and I'm thinking I should leave it." - Rajar

"Yelm is in deepest Hell." - Lhankor Mhy
"Then we had better start walking, hadn't we?" - Chalana Arroy

((we all fail our lore rolls. 40 years later…)) - Dormal

"I'm waiting for Lhankor Mhy to say 'I wish I had a brain'." - GM
"Be careful or I'll sing." - Lhankor Mhy

Dormal: twocs Yelm's blood
"Well, we put rocks on sticks and roast them. That's very much the same thing." - Salid

"Yeah. Rrriiiiight." - Lhankor Mhy rolls sarcasm

"If it weren't for the fact he's already dead, he'd be dead from blood loss." - GM
"Oh, it's alright. I can heal him." - Chalana Arroy
"Yes, Chalana Arroy can heal all wounds, can't she?" - GM
"Yes!" - Chalana Arroy

"The flowing, flickering surface of the river seems to be made of bronze, with bits of iron." - Berra
"Flesh man. It's made of sodding swords." - GM
"Aaaaah!" - Flesh Man

"I think we're going to have to bend the rules a little on this one…" - Eurmal

"Are you sticking your hands into a river of swords?" - GM
"No, of course not. I'm planning on getting someone else to do it!" - Dormal
"Who are you planning to have do that?" - GM
"I'm looking around… It's not a good crowd." - Dormal

"Firstly, you appear to have invented the sieve…" - GM
"You also appear to have invented the shower." - GM

"A Great Troll…" - GM
"In character, I suppose I am thinking 'a what-what?' because they haven't been invented yet." - Dormal

"'That's OK, because THOSE all flee from THIS.' I shall hold up my lit twig." - Dormal

"I thought I always stole that, in the Darkness. But I'll steal it again." - Troll
"This? You can't have. Because if you stole it, you'd already have it." - Dormal
"He lifts a big club in one hand, and a flaming club in the other, from behind his back. And you're sure he didn't have that before." - GM

"Put his head on a pike. It’s customary to sever it first." - Xenofos

"He is a Death Lord, so he does get divine intervention. " - Varanis
"Cheater." - Mellia

"saved by a spear carrying trollkin?" - Xenofos

"Sid Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooocks." - Flesh Man

«does a little jig» - Flesh Man

"Oh. Black architecture." - Xenofos

"Rajar plans to spend plenty of time in the temple boning up on Storm Bull lore." - Rajar
"You mean, drinking." - Dormal
"Yes, I do." - Rajar

"What's it like here?" - Eurmal
"Well, opulent." - GM
"Keep talking." - Eurmal

"Uh, vegetables please, and no elves?" - Chalana Arroy

"Eyeballing the place for any small, moveable items that might want to be somewhere else. Movement is important." - Dormal

"And it'll go into the bag? Well, everything goes into the bag. I'm pretty sure I've got a bridge in there, but I can never find it." - Dormal

"Nom nom nom nom nom. Ham beetles just like mum use to make!" - Salid
"No, she never used to make ham beetles for you." - GM
"She used to make them, but Salid never got any." - Berra

"It's not exactly an epic sacrifice, is it? Got lost in host's halls." - Dormal

"What's the implication on losing Flesh Man?" - Orlanth
"Oh we need him for the horrible tor… uh, the trials later." - Eurmaml

"So, you take a step over the threshold…" - GM
"WOOP, WOOP, WOOP!" - Dormal

"That's not yours!" - Orlanth
"It's totally mine, I found it!" - Eurmal

"He believes that to be true. Beat him anyway." - Lhankor Mhy

"My plan if ever caught in Lhankor Mhy truth spells is to meditate on that time I saw Harrek tear someone in half." - Berra
"Because if I can't give a scribe horror flashbacks, I have lost." - Berra

"Oh good. I will go in that direction. I am sure the others will catch up." - Chalana Arroy

"Don't worry. I'm just rolling some dice. Nothing to worry about." - GM

"Lhankor Mhy. You're on a dark desert highway. Cool wind in your beard." - GM

"Orlanth. You get a soft landing." - GM
"Cult of Eurmal Cushion." - Berra

"Did you do this?" - Greater Ungoron
"Heal the villages? I certainly did!" - Chalana Arroy
"Bring comfort to the hopeless?" - Greater Ungoron
"I am Chalana Arroy, daughter of Glorantha. This is what I do." - Chalana Arroy
"Comfort is a rare currency here. Go on with my blessing." - Greater Ungoron

"I'm just going to do the math." - Rajar
(+s) o . group
"You left off a letter…." - Varanis

"This is the point where the first shovelful of earth gets added to the pit." - GM

"This is the point where someone hits the lip of the pit with a crush-enhanced maul." - GM
*whimpers* - Salid

"That means I'm dead!" - Salid
"We'll leave you there." - GM
"That's a good place to leave me. Dead." - Salid

"Xenofos rolls Fear Dragon…" - Berra
"His heart is weighed in the scales." - Berra

"I'm dragging him down to the path." - Orlanth
"You know, this is a lot less relaxing than it looks." - Eurmal

"Hello. Are you the change for the better I've been hearing about?" - Man
"Maybe. I'm Chalana Arroy." - Chalana Arroy

"Well, heal this, then." - Man
"And he pulls up his shirt and shows a gaping hole where his heart is." - GM
"Uh-ohhh…. I don't know if I can pull this one off." - Chalana Arroy

"You're a fraud. The world is wounded and you can't help." - Man
"He snorts. And punches you in the kidney." - GM

"Traditionally, fists just cause bruising. Traditionally, that is." - GM
"Is this not a traditional fist?" - Chalana Arroy
"Well, it seems to have gone in further than a traditional fist would." - GM
*IS VERY RESTRAINED* - Berra

"We are going to draw a delicate veil over that, as he basically beats you to unconsciousness." - GM
"Ow. Ow. Ow." - Chalana Arroy

"You shouldn't do that to Chalana Arroy." - Xenofos
"Oh, we're against beating now?" - Dormal

"The one on your kidney. It's not going away." - GM
"Uh… oh…" - Chalana Arroy

"Flesh Man. You wake up." - GM
"That was unexpected." - Flesh Man
"Do I need to do a lot more betrayal? A little more? Am I under quota?" - Dormal

- Comments: 0

Palace Athene - 27 May 2020 00:41

Tags: 1626 berra boldhome dormal eril fire heroquest irillo kallyr koraki leika lightbringers mellia nala rajar salid tennebris varanis xenofos

Fire Season, Illusion Week, Fireday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra
Dormal
Mellia
Nala and Tiwr
Rajar
Varanis
Xenofos

NPC

Irillo (mostly off screen)
Eril (mostly off screen)
Tennebris
Koraki
Leika (off screen)
Leika's honour guard.
A selection of palace guards.

Events

[[Lecture cancelled. Lecturer attacked by a rodent of unusual size¹².]]

What Really Happened

We find our heroes still with the problem of a dead and non-resurrectable Kallyr. After much debate, Rajar is brought to see if the scent of Chaos is on the Prince, explaining her lack of return. Unfortunately, with a roll which is the theme of today, he establishes Tennebris is the problem, and prepares to strike him down. Unfortunately this attempt rouses both Koraki from his lounge (parrying it with his silver-hand, and lightning striking Rajar) and Tennebris from his catatonia, to eventually teleport Rajar outside. From the 2nd floor. In the meantime, the others have explained that some foul Lunar Magic is preventing Kallyr from returning. Tennebris calls upon Orlanth to dismiss any such thing, and…..

… Kallyr vanishes.

Our heroes realise she was an illusion, and start planning to get her back, calling on Vinga for guidance as to where she is. They are told she is in the Hero Plane, and our heroes plan to perform the Lightbringer's quest, with Varanis opting to take the 'short cut' of being killed by Humakt.

And then Leika arrives in Boldhome, with one of her guards overhearing Dormal saying something unflattering (3 fumbles in a row) about her. A brief chase ensues, before Dormal escapes, to warn the others about this complication.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Well there was this beaver…." - Rajar

"We picked you up from the Temple before dawn, so we could avoid people helpfully trying to find us." - Berra

"He's there, and sober, even more remarkably." - Rajar
"Is it the real Rajar?" - Nala
"Jury's out." - Rajar

"Mellia? They're not closing. Like the wound on Irillo." - Rajar

"BE WELL, Prince of Sartar… I said, BE WELL, PRINCE OF SARTAR!" - Tiwr
*taps with hoof, looking puzzled* - Tiwr
"This has never happened before…" - Tiwr
"Horn went limp?" - Berra
"Tiwr is having performance issues." - Varanis

"Rajar buffs Sense Chaos with Hate Chaos, and that's a success… and oh fuck." - Rajar
"The Sense Chaos was - I have to say - a fumble." - Rajar

*hides behind own hand* - Rajar
"This could be bad!" - Rajar

"Called shot at Tennebris' head." - Rajar

"First off, can you make me another resistance roll?" - GM
"I sincerely hope not." - Rajar

"Mellia, what would you like to do?" - GM
"Put Rajar to sleep before he gets us all arrested." - Mellia

"You think Tennebris just teleported you out of the window." - GM
"Probably for the best." - Rajar

"TENNEBRIS IS CHAOTIC, COME HELP!" - Rajar

"Just ask yourself, What would Storm Bull do?" - Dormal, who is helping

"Befuddle: inside voice vs outside voice…" - Rajar
"And the other axes." - Guard
"DAMNIT!" - Rajar
"I swear I saw a tentacle!" - Rajar

"Mellia takes a few sips and thanks Nala." - Mellia

"<Okaaaaaaaaaay thats a little bit embaressing>" - Rajar
"Still your outside voice" - GM

"He must have had gas. that can smell lioke chaos" - Rajar
"Smell?" - Nala
"Sprouts. I blame sprouts" - Rajar
"Chaos has this particular smell" - Rajar
"Like bad gas and sprouts and little of that spice they serve in New Pavis." - Rajar

"I obviously sensed deception" - Rajar
"««Totally Vindicated»»" - Rajar

"Well, shit." - Nala

"Ahem. now maturity." - Berra

"Kallyr's body vanishes… You're all standing around an empty bed." - GM
…
"OK. Where did you leave her last?" - Rajar

*offers Dormal fist-bump* - Berra
"Well, punch. But in slow tempo." - Berra

*rolls fumble on Passion* - Mellia
"Tonight the dice do not love us" - Rajar
"They love the GM." - Berra

"The angst and existential despair have left you at least." - GM
"This means I may actually come back from under the bed." - Mellia

*quiet talking on mic* - Varanis
*louder talking on mic* - Dormal
"Dormal, be quiet. Your mistress is talking." - Berra
"She's not my mistress. Would you care to correct your mistake." - Dormal
"I apologise. I was wrong." - Berra

"And yes, Rajar, the wyter is the Flame and I will recover it." - Varanis
"Eril has offered me a shortcut." - Varanis

"This new Eril is disconcerting." - Xenofos

"That is a 98, which is I believe also a Fumble…" - Dormal
"And would you like to make an insight: own species?" - GM
"I see how this is going to go… Yep, another Fumble!" - Dormal

"All I said was, this fish was good enough for Colymar…" - Dormal

"Right. This seems like maybe I should make myself scarce." - Dormal
"That would be traditional at this point." - GM

"RAJAR, wake up, there's beer!" - Berra
"HURRAH! Is this the kind of beer that requires armour?" - Rajar

"There is a man waiting for you." - Initiate
"Fuck him, who is it?" - Nala
"She'll be about twenty minutes finding out." - Berra

"Good morning." - Xenofos
"Well, one of those things is true." - Nala

"Oh, Mellia. Lord Eril wishes me to reassure you that High Healer Beneva was entirely … um, some long word." - Berra

- Comments: 0

Natural Tendencies - 27 May 2020 00:39

Tags: 1626 beneva berra demon dormal d’val eril fire irillo kallyr mellia nala rajar salid silor tennebris tiwr varanis xenofos

Fire Season, Illusion Week, Clayday to Fireday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra
Dormal
Irillo
Mellia
Nala and Tiwr
Rajar
Varanis
Xenofos

NPC

Silor Tamainsson
A host of Tribal and Clan leaders
Salid the sniveller
Eril
Eril again, in a different guise
Kallyr ( present but not voting )
Tennebris, Chief Priest of Orlanth in Boldhome
Beneva, High Healer of Boldhome
D’Val the Sword

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga and The Death of Rajar. There will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[The bringing of the Cross to Wilmskirk and Boldhome was not without its alarms. First of all, a messenger brought news of the death of Kallyr. The result for Varanis was to make her immediate magical heir to Sartar, without preparation.]

She vowed t'avenge her kin, with words that burned with fire,
To strike out at her killers with a rage that would not tire.
Preserving then the throne against all hell and mortal strife
That Kallyr might return to it when reuinited with her life

[And we will see later how that went. Here, two threads of narrative are overlapping, and while the Death of Kallyr is important, we are also following The Death of Rajar and his many, many deeds before that happened.]

I only hired him.
I didn't tell him 'touch Death'.
Don't be Cross with me!¹³

[As for the rest of that tale, we know that the Cross came to Boldhome, and indeed this event is recorded in Temple Records. It is also recorded in NalaTiwrSaga, in the Love of Ikadz, Hate of Eril section, from which we take this:]

{"Do not ask for credit, as a betrayal often offends."}

Knowing you want death,
knowing you want its respite,
why would I grant it?

[It is, indeed, a good question. Five hundred words on why Death should be granted in Late Bronze Age Glorantha, Sartar area. And here is Death, in a loud glory, and a brief mention. Rajar and Berra JarangsdottiHumaktiSaga.]

To summon up rage
Must be done with due honour
To Storm Bull's hot air

Dire duty done
Onward drew Dagger

[We know that High Sword Eril of the Boldhome Humaki was replaced pro tem, at this point, although records are sketchy. We know he was 'unable to fulfil his duties' but we do not know why. Much speculation has wasted much ink. Our best clue is from Mellia.]

So into Death's cold hall she walked with loving eyes set soft.
No fear was in her of the ending, for she saw it oft
Upon the field of battle and the birthing bed,
And as a Mercy Lady her white robes were often red.

Still lay the Sword of Humakt on a bloodied couch of oak,
Within his room austere and deathly, on a gore-drenched cloak
All cut about with many wounds that tore the surface skin
And dying slowly from the blow that cut away his sin.

Within delirium of pain he spoke of secrets deep
Of knowledge that would blast one who could not a secret keep
But Mellia calmed him as she would for any patient there,
And Eril slept beneath her knife and lived beneath her care.

[And thus we return to the beginning - the news of the death of Kallyr. Of all those who reacted to it, Xenofos was the most closely related, by Clan and oath.]

So often thoughtful ere the battle call should sound
He cast aside the stupor that is in the Library found.
First to rally to her side lest danger at her spring,
He earned the seat of knowledge then when Varanis formed her ring.
Stout through the night he guarded her as foes came in to see
If she had weakness but the Scribe was armed most faithfully.

[And let us see if we can get Professor Tomm back after his extraordinary computer problems last week. Professor, are you there?]

["Ah yes, yes, I am. I'm sorry for last week. It appears that a wild boar released by animal rights activists dug up and ate the fibre bundle. What are the chances? Now, we have reached the end of what is known as the 'Erillo Cycle'. The Accounts are their usual concise self, and are best seen as a means of confirmation of other sources. Let us consider this entry."]

Free from my mind.
Am I changed?
A love grows. A darkness within, but also an understanding of his code.
A respect for Humakt. So different from my own Way.
Such dedication- to carve a difference into yourself for the good of Sartar.
I would not have the Will.
I admire him, and dislike him both.
But I can keep the balance and harmony in my mind.

What Really Happened

The morning of Clayday dawned wet and drizzly. Various things happened to slow them down (see log list below), but eventually, our heroes were on the road to Boldhome, by way of Wilmskirk. Conveniently, Silor Cracks-Rock and a large number of his best friends, all heavily armed, happened to be riding to Wilmskirk too. Silor’s men acted as outriders and a serious guard for Silor, who travelled just behind the wagon carrying the relics.

Along the way, a messenger intercepted them with an urgent message from Boldhome for Silor. Kallyr had died, according to rumour. Silor shared this dire news with Irillo, who told everyone in the party in his own time.

They travelled on to Wilmskirk, their mission now more urgent. Arrival in Wilmskirk was in the late afternoon. They sought a place to stay the night, but a lot of inns had no vacancy signs. Eventually they were settled at the Praxian inn known to them already. While Berra guarded the relics, others had various activities (temple visits, shady doings, and the like). In the morning Rajar recruited a couple of Humakti to help guard the relic, but unfortunately one of them died immediately, as he was curious about what was in the wagon, and touched it. Varanis recruited a few more, but this did make a scene.

Irillo spoke for Silor in court for the blow the Chief had accidentally struck Mellia, but he was found to be responsible and told to take a donation to a shrine of her choice, on foot. Eventually, the party continued to Boldhome. They might have been followed by some of Silor’s men, but if so, it was surely a coincidence. Just as much of a coincidence was the scouting party who had swept the road in front of them.

On Windsday morning they arrived in Boldhome barely ahead of Prince Kallyr’s party. Rushing to get the relic to the Temple of Humakt, the party was stalled when Irillo was sucked into a Heroquest again, with a number of familiar looking faces who all seemed to be Eurmali. This one saw Erillo/Humakt horribly tortured¹⁴ by the loving hands of Ikadz and barely saved by Chalana Arroy. Rajar the Eurmalite broke free before he was likewise tortured.¹⁵

Erillo, it seems, had a passenger in the form of a demon who took over his body after a brief spiritual struggle. There was a great spirit battle, the highlight of which was a giant Uroxi spirit who played bounce with Irillo’s body. Mellia dismissed the spirit and Irillo fell to the ground to be saved by his armour. Rajar put him into a wrestling hold. Berra knew she could harm the Demon inside Irillo with her fireblade, but it would hurt him too. She challenged the demon to single combat and for some reason, it agreed and exited Irillo to fight the Humakti. Irillo was in terrible shape, in spite of healing by Mellia, and had a wound that would not heal. As soon as his body was vacated, Rajar scooped him up and carried him to the market, followed by Dormal, to get him behind wardings. The fight was a near thing and Berra looked outmatched, but she won and cut it to pieces, with her fireblade. The quest ended to reveal our heroes nearly at the temple of Humakt.

The Humakti would not allow the relic wagon into the grounds, but kept it outside. Mellia was called on to heal a gravely injured¹⁶ Eril within the Temple of Humakt, although no reason was given to the others. Eventually a yard was found for them nearby. It was around this time that Kallyr’s procession entered the gates and went straight up to the Palace. Nala and Tiwr rushed to the Palace, only to be turned away. Rajar took up a place at the palace gates to guard for a time. Xenofos and Varanis snuck in the back way.

Varanis managed to score a meeting with her Prince, who was sadly looking very dead and was therefore very uncommunicative. She left a message with Koraki as to where the Palace could find her, then she and Xenofos left. Finding Rajar, they updated him. Dormal nipped off to report the happenings to Roka, and returned to offer Irillo one of his healing potions. The healing caused him great pain as his magical wound kept ripping itself open. Dormal took Irillo along to the White Ladies. Rajar came back from being on guard, could not find Irillo, and went to his Temple. Varanis and Xenofos decamped to the White Grape. Nala badgered the Temple of Humakt into sending Mellia to the Palace, which D’Val would not do until Beneva turned up in person, when Tiwr sent a message. Beneva told Mellia that she had tried resurrection repeatedly, but some foul Lunar magic had hidden Kallyr’s spirit. Berra kept standing guard. Dormal lurked where the wild weasels go and came in to the White Grape late at night.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Have dice. Have beer. Have D’Val Mug." - GM

"There is a wagon that Berra is walking alongside. Yamia is not invited." - GM

"The thing is that Calamity is quite sure-footed." - Rajar
"Not when she's attached to Billy, she's not." - GM

"Slight complication…" - Irillo, of Kallyr's death

"There are all sorts of political complications." - Irillo
"One catastrophe at a time." - Dormal

"Is Leika likely to kill her?" - Irillo
"No, she's more likely to try to marry her." - Berra
*horrified look* - Varanis

"Varanis just became the most eligible bachelor in Sartar." - Berra
"I mean, she's got good legs, but I wouldn't…." - Irillo
"I would." - Berra

"Maybe we'll have refutation or resurrection by then." - Irillo
"Whaaa?" - Berra
"Re-fu-tation." - Irillo
*blank look* - Berra

"Varanis." - Irillo
"Yes?" - Varanis
"Um." - Irillo

"So… it appears that Kallyr may be dead." - Irillo
….
"Am I sitting?" - Varanis

"I still don’t know if Silor knows who I am." - Varanis
"He plays his knucklebones really close to his chest." - GM

"I’m just going to… oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear." - Rajar
"The Humakti falls down dead…" - GM
"Rajar picks over his gear." - Rajar

"Is Berra actually giggling?" - Varanis
"No, the GM is giggling. That's different." - GM/Berra

"Do we need more guards?" - Varanis, looking around
"I hired a couple, one broke." - Rajar

"Of course, nothing could go wrong in my absence… WHAT, IN THE NAME OF ISSARIES' WRINKLY COIN PURSE…?" - Irillo

"Of course it’s about to rain, it’s Sartar and it’s not raining." - Irillo

"You don’t rip all the skin off the sheep at once." - Dormal

"If I’m still at the front, I’m not sure I’d have noticed Berra flinch." - Varanis

"Are you still interested in becoming richer?" - Eril
"Everyone should have a hobby." - Roka

"You mean I look tired and should rest?" - Eril
"Everyone rests in the end." - Ikadz

"He did not keep a promise to his Regiment. He has pride in the wrong things. He has committed murder. He loves, desperately, with a flame that burns for someone who is not his God. He would prefer her over others, if she were in danger. He despises his own father. He is afraid to die with his work undone. He has pain for his family, despite being cast out. He has uncompleted ambitions. He has Hope." - GM

"Let me see if I can get this off. I should be able to." - Mellia

"Please, Gentleman, Ladies, have I been aggressive?" - 'Eril'
"…. YES." - Nala

"You probably don’t want either Rajar or the demon to have a love potion, Irillo." - Varanis

"Wait, Irillo has a permanent wound???" - Varanis
"Mebbbeee." - GM

"Let me just roll to try to fail honour… Damn, passed." - Nala

"In future times, she will be known as Berra the Blurt" - Nala

"Varanis does the only things she can. Watch, pray, and send by-standers away." - Varanis

"That broke up. Was that wound done to Berra or by Berra?" - Varanis
"Nobody spoiler Varanis!" - GM
*whistles* - Nala
*middle finger to every camera in turn* - Varanis

"What in HELL?" - Humakti guards
"Yes." - more than one person.

"D'Val. Kallyr needs Mellia." - Nala
"The Duck says, "The Temple needth her too." Small and determined, he looks up at her." - GM
"I understand. But," voice drops very dramatically, "only Mellia can call the Prince. The Head of the temple has tried." - Nala
"She'th operating. Can't be disturbed." - GM

"What species am I currently?" - Irillo
"Well, you look human. Do you want me to check under the covers?" - Dormal

"D'Val, if I get the head of Chalana Arroy to swap in, is that okay? We're against time with her." - Nala
"The High Sword was emphatic. Only the lady Mellia." - GM

"Your loyalty to the Temple is noteworthy, and has been. Your loyalty to the Prince?" - Nala
"D'Val raises a ducky eyebrow - the only one you can see." - GM

"Nalan levels a stare downwards." - Nala
"He levels his stare straight ahead, at her midriff." - GM

"Shall I inform the palace the Swords deny them?" - Nala
"Silence." - GM
"(Thilenth.)" - GM

"My boy, may I just say how pleased we are with your scholarly approach?" - LM Chief Priest
"Aaah, that is a bit surprising but I am happy to hear it." - Xenofos

"I missed what he said!" - Varanis
"They would like money and patronage, please." - GM
"She’s not dead yet! Oh shit. She is." - Varanis
"And to promote Xenofos to Rune Master ASAP if he would just do them a little favour." - GM

- Comments: 0

Marshing Orders - 27 May 2020 00:38

Tags: 1626 berra cinder-fox dormal fire habela hengrast irillo mellia nala rajar salid silor thenaya tiwr upland-marsh varanis venlar yamia

Fire Season, Movement Week, Godday to Illusion Week, Windsday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, when not NPCd
Dormal
Irillo
Mellia
Nala
Rajar
Varanis

NPC

Berra, some of the time
Tiwr the Magnificent
Salid the Sniveller, Guardstrollkin
Thirteen other trollkin who are also not Salid
Two Ghouls
A Ghost
Uncountable zombies
Also some skeletons
Lots of bodies
Some very lost frogs
Silor Cracks-Rock and his children:

• Habela, an Earth Priestess
• Venlar, a nice person and Orlanthi
• Yamia Humakti, not a nice person, but very cute if you are a Storm Bull
• Hengrast, a great big puppy of Orlanth

Thenaya, Thrallmistress
Silor's Warband

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga, and The Death of Rajar. There will be extracts from the Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[Good afternoon, estudentia. Except for Professor Tomm, joining us by video link. To him, good evening. We have a lot to cover today, so we will be diving straight in. Not into the Marsh, but Rajar's emotional state.]

The girl over there
Looks AMAZING. Oh so cute.
Death Rune just like mine!

And she likes axes
Enough to tell me mine's great,
And she … walked away…

[This is believed to be his reaction to Yamia Silorsdottir, unusual because of its explicit existence. She takes up more room than Kalia, a known lover, and yet seems to have no feelings for the Storm Bull. The question I would like you to answer, in five hundred words; from the known works we have that mention Yamia, does she have feelings at all?]

[We do have an example of those who have feelings for each other. A small pack. NalaTiwrSaga]

Distant view of foes
A band altogether, high
Hilltop Triumphant

Dash and ride and run
Carry and sit and keep by
Pause and pause and pause

[We know from the fragmentary SiloriSaga that Nala brought the news of raiders to Venlar, who took it to his father. The Silori, his children, were not all present. It was understood to be Venlar's place to guard the stead while Yamia guarded him; Jengharl, on the other hand, was volunteering for war, along with his own dedicated band. However, the message arrived. Most sources agree this, and that Silor set out to guard his Clan - or seize whatever was found. Meanwhile the others were fighting their way through this odd fragment of the Upland Marsh. Rajar again and then Berra.]

It is not often
This very thoughtful Urox
Gets to make a splash

Mighty marsh murder
Maiden mauled [word lost]
Finding foes foul
Fighting fierce unforebearing
Reed refuge refused
Repulsing raft raiders

{"Berra is on the other raft? I'm sharing with the goat!"}

[And another five hundred words on whether the murder is the death that Berra brings, or the death that was already there. And while you are digesting that, we shall pause, or at least, our heroines and heroes will. Back at the Tula of the Cinder Fox Clan, Varanis has been left behind to sooth ruffled feathers, or prepare the way for the group to return.]

Around her self she pulled her cloak of Sky-dyed blue,
And in her ears set drops of gold and jems of every hue.
Upon her arms the ring that Kallyr gave and more,
And pinned her hair and in styling such that Hengrast must adore.
Around the Tula walking in her finest Esroli'n gear,
Her voice in fine song did she lift that all might know and cheer.

[SiloriSaga does mention the stay of Varanis, in Hengrast's Lament. However, SiloriSaga also mentions a very important relationship at this early stage. Mellia appears to Venlar. One of the great love stories of our time? A tragedy? Only time will tell. If you have NOT read ahead, next week's spot exam will shock you all. If I decide to set one.]

She walked towards the Upland Marsh alone and unafraid
From Xenofos's sick bed coming swift to give her aid.
WIthin the den of foxes of the hearth of Silor free
She paused to offer help to all, for generosity.
When from afar young Venlar kind saw Mellia by the gate
And felt his young heart quicken as he understood his fate.

[And, if Professor Tomm is available, we will allow him to reveal what was found, with his excellent understanding of the Accounts.]

["Ah yes, thank you Professor. Now, the Accounts give a very clear and informative description of this period. It allows us to get to the heart of the psychology of both Irillo and his reading of Eril. The phrasing is particul…."

Static]

[Aaah, tuned to a dead channel, I see. Never mind - catch up on your own time, and let us see if Professor Tomm is superfluous. Five hundred words on what you think he was going to say.]

A vision or two from Irillo, and a conversation with Berra.

Thenaya opens the door, and Eril, who tells himself he can face any truth, yet again fails to admit that his sudden fast heartbeat means anything.¹⁷ He obviously does not have feelings for her that are in any way important. It will be very awkward explaining this to her if she is visiting for the reason young women do slip into young men's private rooms, but she has not ever tried that. But it is late at night and she is here, and he'll have to tell her that a relationship is inappropriate and her love is just a crush based on his kindness to her, and he's gone over that in his mind already, and he absolutely knows how to walk her gently out of his room after that, without taking advantage of her closeness or noticing again how her hair smells of elder blossom or her arm is exactly the right height for him to take or the dimple at the side of her lips is so eminently there or her heart-shaped face is unique in the Clan or —

It's absolutely and in no way a crushing disappointment when she says, "There's trouble, Lord. The thrall house." But that's good, because Lords don't love cottars, especially not cottars they have freed personally. It would be wrong. Not technically unlawful, but the law is written to support behaviour as it should be.

---

((From Berra's Thread: ))

Context

Fire Season, Movement Week, Godsday. Session 41

CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS

Events

… And then Irillo is awake and there's a woman there, although it turns out to be two women because one is Berra, who hangs back. The other, with a lamp held in a familiar way, is Thenaya.

"Yes?"

"Your Humakti has apologised to my daughter," she says, "And I'm told one of your party may need a healer."

He groans slightly, and reaches for a robe to pull on without leaving his bed, and then swings out, and nods, "I see." A beat. "Actually, no I don't. Healer first. Who, and why?"

"Varanis," Berra says. "Her eyes are sunken, and her lips are dry. I think she's having a problem with water. The thrallmistress - this is Thenaya - was awake already. She said she would take a look."

"Yes, I remember." And then a brisk nod. "Alright. So, she needs to get over her problem, doesn't she? Is Mellia with her?"

Berra points to where Varanis has returned to their room. "I don't know where she was, but she's here now. Mellia hasn't caught up. She's going via Boldhome."

"She was with Hengrast," Thenaya says. "But that was private, so unless we have to, we shouldn't ask him how she was."

Varanis is sleeping in a bed in the corner of the room, and she does look ill. Hot and yet not sweaty.¹⁸

Thenaya creeps over and takes a look, taking her time rather than getting the light too close, and then steps back. "I've seen this near to Pimper's Block," she says, "But never in Sartar. You see it when people have been lost in the desert for a day or two. They use their spirit to keep from dying when they run out of water. She's been healing herself with magic, but she's dehydrated. Badly."

Irillo pours a little water from his jug onto a cloth, and puts the wet end between Varanis' lips.

Thenaya says, "She has eaten plenty, so give her no salt. Her problem is water only." She leaves anything else unsaid, On her throat there are three bars tattooed for Harmony, in charcoal. Nothing on her cheeks. A line of hennaed squares above her brows. She looks like she is genuinely here to help, even though Berra is looking slightly awkward in her presence. She does have a different face to everyone else, probably denoting a different clan or even tribe.

Obviously. She was a thrall. Irillo waits a little, then wets a bit more of the cloth, and puts it to her lips, to see if she sucks at it. At least some is dribbling in. "I can't heal. Do you have a White Lady?"

"We have an initiate, but this is not a problem for her. I can heal - but she should drink. That is the main problem. Letting her use magic will stop her from doing that." Thenaya gives Irillo a smile and an explanation. "I take care of much of a household of people. We can let the White Lady sleep tonight - your friend is in no immediate danger."

He nods, "Until she wakes properly, she can't drink properly, and it will worsen. Is this not so?"

Berra is looking blank, expression on Varanis.

There is a pause, as he adds, "She is an idiot, but as my cousin, she is my idiot."

"Slowly," Thenaya says. "But if you wish.." She leans forward, laying a hand on Varanis' dry forehead, and murmurs a spell. She sighs, and tries again when it fails to work, and then Varanis seems a little easier. "She is just tired," Thenaya says. "Exhausted. She will wake. I do recommend letting her need water, or else she will have no reason to want to drink. It is very rare people forget such things. The last time I saw this a man was so desperate for water he threw himself into a forbidden pool at an oasis, not knowing where he was."

"Of course. As soon as she wakes, we will get it done. "

"I forgot to eat once," says Berra. "She helped me. But I had to tell her it was happening - she doesn't want to let us down."

"It is an aftereffect of the spirit she threw herself onto to protect another cousin. I am sure it will pass. With gentle reminders." A beat. "Even if I have to ask Rajar to do the gentle reminding."

"You do that, and I'll gently remind you that I can thrash Rajar," Berra says, and then Thenaya looks at her mildly, and the Humakti falls silent, rather sullenly. "However it is done, try to make her eager for water," Thenaya advises. "If you make it a fight, she will learn to fight it."

He considers, "Perhaps it is for Lord Orlanth to remind her. To let his fructification fall upon her."

Thenaya gives Irillo a steady look. "Are you asking for our High Priest to call on rain?"

"If he will. Otherwise, it may be that it happens naturally." A beat, "Although up here you don't get that much in Fire Season, do you?"

"You are our guests - I will ask him when he wakes. But we have plenty of mountains to bring him joy and make him fertile. Ernalda reaches up to touch him here and there. It is late in the season, but it could happen."

Irillo nods, and dribbles a bit more water onto the cloth, "Oh cousin, I do love you, but you can be such a pain to follow."

"I'll leave you," Thenaya says. "But your guard knows where to find me, if I am needed."

"I'm not his guard," says Berra. "I'm with him because I want to be."

"All the better." Thenaya takes the lamp, but lights another from it as she prepares to go. She doesn't even flicker her eyes towards Berra's bedroll to check for signs of use. She just accepts the declaration of friendship and lets it make her happy.

"Go well, Thenaya. And I am glad you still find the elderflowers."

She pauses, looks, smiles. Off she goes, hair shining in the lamplight.

Berra does not ask. She has settled down to watch Varanis.

Once she has left, Irillo says, "I wonder if she knows. Because that should have caused more questions."

Berra considers briefly. "He knew her? I suppose he knew a lot of people. But I… and this is stupid given what I know… I just assumed your father had been here. But yes, that was a bit strange now you mention it."

"He knew her. Owned her. Freed her. I only wonder if he…. knew… her."

Berra takes a moment to process that. "I suppose he was young once. Back then, in fact. It's really hard for me to think of him as anything but how I know him. I can't imagine the High Sword wanting someone, or even feeling desire. It's a thing Humakti strive not to do." She shudders slightly.

"Strive, but not always achieve, perhaps?"

Berra might be blushing. "I still feel. I just don't act. Although seeing Lanasha hit me pretty hard. That was in Nochet - I don't think you met her. But it gets easier. The really important thing isn't not to love people - I do what I do because I want to protect everyone equally and that needs some form of love. It's to treat them equally. Appropriately. But if she knows, why is nobody saying anything? Do other people know too?"

"I don't know. Just something to consider."

Berra's discontented look is mostly grimace, but might also be tiredness. "Yamia is her daughter. Yamia daughter of Silor." She pours a drink from Irillo's jug and finds a cup for him as well, either to drink from or help with the watering for Varanis.

The Vingan might have swallowed a little, but is still asleep.

"Maybe. Similarly her son." He shrugs, "The woman quite often takes a new husband from the same tribe as her last, if one dies or leaves."

"It wouldn't be odd in Sartar either, but I'd expect it to be a marriage between people of rank. I don't know what rank a thrallmistress is here. She has responsibility, certainly, but she's not noble." Berra is speaking to Irillo but watching Varanis.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I forget your odd attitudes to gender."

"Don't worry. You're forgiven. This one is about rank, anyhow. Nobles tend to marry nobles. I don't know where Aelna's from, but she looks like she's always been used to sitting at the top table." Berra shrugs. "Not really a thing. But that does make me wonder if he had a personal shrine here. Would you … no, I shouldn't ask. That would draw attention."

"I can think about it, if you want. We need all the help we can get."

Berra sighs, half growling. "But if we ask them, they know. Is that worth the chance of their help?" Maybe she does not understand what thinking means, in this context.

"Eril would know."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose so. But the High Sword is not going to look on that kindly… oh hell. Are you going to tell him you met his maybe-girlfriend? How much of his private thoughts are you seeing?" Berra's face has the expression of someone who knows her commanding officer's temper.

"Some. Not all."

"I am so sorry. He'll probably understand. He just won't like it. If this was a proper Heroquest that would not be happening. Did you think up any plan for when we find things? Is now the time?"

Berra's replies are broken up and choppy, the swift subject changes a good indication her mind is racing.

"Not really that's why I wrote. I hope his reply reaches us soon."

"Fair enough. But if he's in Tarsh, we might be on our own. So what is important? To prevent whatever started this from finishing it? To survive?" Berra sips at water, gives Varanis a pained glance.

"Maybe to turn the tables on them. I suspect it's the Lunars."

"We could try to make it all vanish again. We could try to fight them. We could try to stop, but I don't think that's a good idea for you. Or we could try to fail. Those are the only ideas I've had. We can't let the Lunars win against him now. So if you need a distraction while you get away, I'm it."

"Hmmm. I think we might call on the Tribal Eurmalite and pull a bait and switch. We have other silks. We have other wood. We have other things."

"That leaves Humakti relics with the Tribal Eurmalite. It's probably better than the alternatives, but you should know I'll have to protect those things. I can't not, unless there's something even more important, and I think this is probably more important than my High Sword's life. Maybe than my Regiment. I don't know."

"Not necessarily. I believe that there is a precedent for Humakt taking the secrets of Death from Eurmal."

Berra laughs, briefly, a blort of amusement before she manages to get it under control. "Yeees. But that wasn't quite what I meant. There'll be a time we're trusting the Eurmalite. Or Chief Silor. If Thenaya knows, does he? And then that means I have to be Humakt and out-smart Eurmal. But I guess if we're depending on me to bring Death into the world, that makes me very Humakti and I can't refuse." She shrugs. "But to return to the subject from earlier, I don't think me visiting his shrine would help, even if it's still around, even if he had one. So don't do that on my account. It's just me wanting to know more about my High Sword."

"Alright. I wasn't sure if you had a chance to worship."

"I did, in Wilmskirk. For me it's nights, not days, remember? Humakt is as much with me as he can be. And we should probably time going into the swamp for after I … well, should we have a ritual of morale, or should we make it easy to fail?"

"I think the important bit is survival."

"Then we want to be enough in control, so we'll feel hope, at least. But you need to be prepared to make hard choices - even if you think you can win, save your men. Indrodar's band was tight around him. This is before the seven-fold quest begins, so you haven't yet found them all, but they were noted for loyalty to each other. The first time he went into the swamp, which is what I think we're probably going to do, he was completely unprepared, but he managed to get some out. The next Quest would be a year later, and it's the one where they find the necklace. The circle of stones. That's the first one in the cycle. A Humakti marries an Earth Priestess."

---

Of course you were a tight band, bound to each other. That group of companions was a triumph of politics, woven under your father's gaze, without him ever realising. Setting up careful rivalries, the amusement inherent in nobody else spotting what you were doing, until one day Silor looked at the fact that he and his brother both had equally matched thegns who were competing to do great things for the Clan. Each one of them genuinely a friend, but you chose them to be certain that you would not overbear Silor, and he would not overbear you, and by the time you were eighteen your band was almost exactly as famous as your brother's, and he was twenty.

He asked about it, directly rather than roundabout, just before you went raiding. You explained how to earn a man's loyalty - that it was done by being worthwhile, but you were allowed to make sure he saw that. You even, once he got over the shock of realising how famous you were making him, suggested a future path for the two rival companies. He planned it with you. Always keeping the competition in check, always being certain to show your genuine appreciation of those things that men under his command did. He really understood in a way that father would not. Then you were sent into Firebull lands, and you don't know who betrayed you. Someone must have. Nobody would perform that Heroquest, unless they were of Delecti's … corpus. Not unless they knew exactly who was coming.

Twenty warriors. The ground went soft, suddenly. Twelve survivors by the time you got out, and you already knew what was coming. You'd had to order the horses abandoned. You all knew the ambush was coming, but that did not stop it. Then Humakt was with you, and you were leading your friends, none unhurt, out of the snare that death laid, and nobody else could have brought back any more. They were not trying to take prisoners. They were trying to take you.

Five walked back with you. Three were later ransomed. Twelve separated, gone on too early. Humakti shouldn't cry for Death, but you're allowed to miss those who are gone, surely?

Losing friends always hurts. All people can be of equal value, if you do not dare to have friends.

And, maybe, safer not to have rivals.

What Really Happened

On the road to Boldhome, Mellia and an unconscious Xenofos met Jaldis, who gave Mellia an impromptu but rather snide lesson on politics, and took Xenofos from Mellia as a patient, to give him care. Mellia hurried on to the Cinder Fox Tula.

Meanwhile, there had been a feast at which many of Silor's children were present. Hengrast was a near-perfect copy of his father, only younger. Venlar was identical to Eril, but for a long, puckered scar over his eye. Irillo recognised Yamia as being identical to Thenaya, the thrallmistress, in her youth. Yamia got into a staring match with Berra and lost very badly. The Clan Eurmalite tried to beat Rajar in an eating contest, which he won despite her use of Rune Magic. Venlar sang a song of welcome, and was joined by a lot of Trollkin, creeping in from the stables. Varanis and Hengrast got friendly for a while overnight, but when she came back to her shared room, Thenaya visited to check on her, and pronounced she was highly dehydrated. Irillo and Berra woke her up to make her drink and get her talking.

The next day, Irillo had done a morning's trading, with the only problem being that Silor's Eurmalite tried to pick his pocket to plant money on him. This was smoothed over with a modest payment and Silor tying the offending hand to a horse and sending a rider out to take it for a long trot, whether or not his Trickster wished to go with it. He also promised Irillo a favour.

The band set out, minus Varanis, who was not ready to face that much water, and felt that the Marsh might be a turning point in her destiny. She stayed at the Tula to make friends, and talked for a while with Thenaya, the thrallmistress, as well as generally making herself agreeable to earn allies for the group.

The others went out of Sambari lands, and into land owned by the Enstalos Tribe, where they spotted what looked like a raiding party. Tiwr saw it, but Berra saw it and was sure it then faded away. Nevertheless, Nala and Tiwr went back at full speed to warn Silor, who was their previous host, and still hosting Varanis.

Silor had asked Varanis for an official meeting, during which he angled to get the story about what she was doing, and then helped her to read a letter from the High Sword, Eril, about the group. Eril had asked for Silor's help in giving aid to them at a distance. Varanis then told him a little more. Silor called for his warriors, preparing to set off to help. Nala arrived to say there were raiders and set off to keep Zinat ahead of the alynx pack that would be following, while Mellia joined the warrior group, being dropped off with her friends by four veteran warriors shortly before dark.

After some discussion, Salid and Berra took out the Trollkin as night scouts to try to spot the raiding party, while keeping the Trollkin from encountering Silor's warriors. Four of the twelve decided they did not want to be associated with the deadly game, and left. No raiding party was found.

In the morning, Berra performed the Morale Ritual, cheering everyone up and bonding them as a unit, even the trollkin. Nala danced for them as part of the bonding ritual, making such an impression in the world that the ground she had used for her dance became a square of fertile green grass, dry and firm on the boggy ground. They held the ritual there, and went into the Marsh. Pretty soon they found they were in a Heroquest. The trollkin had become Bolo Lizard riders, and the Unicorn was a goat. Berra kept to the raft that the goat was not in.

After some time, they were attacked by ghouls, the howling of the sounds they made not penetrating the Ritual of Morale for most people. There were only two, but with no way to attack their spirits, they kept on coming until Irillo cast Turn Undead on one, calling on Eril's knowledge, and the group began to flee through the swamps. Half of the trollkin were killed on the way¹⁹ and most of the group were wounded when they found the land rising around them and they approached a broken-down barn that made Mellia nervous. Irillo remembered it, and remembered at least one ghost guarding it. He went in first with Nala, and the others filed in. A ghost formed, and he tried to tell it its time was over, but it attacked him, nearly rendering him unconscious in one blow. Everyone else attacked it too, and it dissipated, going to its judgement.

The barn was searched. Dormal spotted the cross shape in the wood of the roof structure, and a hollow beam that held something, while Mellia found another hollow beam. They scraped away the wood, and Berra very carefully pulled out a banner and a rod of iron from their hiding places, which were beams that had been hollwed then repaired with spaces inside. Meanwhile Nala spotted Silor's troops outside, and after some discussion it was decided that if Yamia was required to help Berra get the cross down, they might as well have help from the people who massively outnumbered them and were heavily armed.

Silor explained he was there as an ally, and wanted to deal with the people who had caused his brother to be ambushed, and believed that some were still alive. He had 'come for a ride' with his 'friends', some of whom were from the Firebull Clan, before it was dissolved. He sent for a chariot so that Yamia could drive the cross back to the Tula.

That night they camped out. Mellia saw to someone with a cut on his foot, and in the morning made washed frog drink to help keep Berra and Irillo awake. Irillo was not tired, but his pupils were hugely dilated. They returned to the Tula, where Berra had the cross put into a bothy where she could sleep in front of it, and everyone settled down to rest for the evening and the night.

Letter from Eril to Silor

Formal written greetings from Eril Sambar Humakti to Silor Tamainsson, Chief of the Cinderfox Clan.

It has come to my attention that a group of travellers is investigating my whereabouts and actions after the fall of Boldhome. While this was begun without my permission, it is continued with my support. Should they visit you, do not feel any need to protect my name within the Clan, for my sake. For Sartar, I understand it appropriate that they should be rendered aid. If calling on my name to do so will assist or expedite this, please do so.

Those involved are ~ Berra Jarangsdottir, a Humakti of the Boldhome Regiment ~ Irillo, Issarian of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Mellia, Chalana Arroy Initiate of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Varanis, Vingan of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Xenofos, Lhankor Mhy Initiate of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Dormal, worshipper of unknown god of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Rajar son of Ranulph, Praxian of the Bison Riders ~ Nala of the Unicorn Tribe of Prax.

Notably, the circumstances surrounding their approach to knowledge are shrouded in deceit. The honour of Berra Jarangsdottir is not in question. My word should suffice to obtain her admittedly limited understanding of the current situation, if someone she trusts will read the above for her. Others who are making enquiry or following the group should in my opinion be apprehended and questioned. Having no call on you, I ask this as a favour, which I shall return if the call from Sartar is insufficient.

Further MASSIVELY SPOILERY visions for Irillo

On the way back, all is good, and although Berra and Yamia are giving each other a LOT of very wary room, all is going to be well. You get to be escorted by Silor.

"I have questions," he admits. "Chief among them being what in hell is happening, of course."

It is just before you settle down for the night, a discreet distance from the pond and the barking of terrified frogs.

"In short, I'm not sure. Someone I think has been manipulating us. For these. The who will determine the what."

"That’s the raven-eye view. Give me the wolf." He looks at you, old and shrewd and big, dangerous for many reasons. "You came to my Clan, and did not tell me you had information about my dead brother. Call me nosy, but I would like to know more about this."

"It is unclear. We were locked into his acts. Perhaps an apotheosis to herodom."

"If he is dead, it is a loss to the Kingdom," Silor says with a brief moment in which sadness shows. "And he would do something spectacular like this. He was always a showman. Any hope he caused it?"

"It is possible… if he had caused himself to forget. I wrote him a letter."

"Mm. He wrote one to me, too. As of two days ago the High Sword of Boldhome lives. He still remembers, too, how to prick through armour. What sort of favour should a clan ask of such a man, do you think?" Behind the smile, this a test. Silor looks like he is waiting to hear certain things.

"Of the man? Whatever you want. Of Sartar? Well… I am a foreigner "

"That is a diplomat’s answer, not a merchant's. Come, be the Issarian here. At least a generality on how to come together? Something soothing about harmony?"

He laughs. "Why do you suppose we aren't diplomats? Well… for Sartar … no price. The lunars are your foes too. For the man? I would ask for a future favour, myself."

"He offered that. Strange to be given such a chance by a dead man." Silor reaches into a wide pouch, and pulls out a flat letter case, offering it over. "His hand is largely unchanged, but his style is different. Read it while you still have light, if you like. I'll be keeping that for a while."

He does so

It is a little odd, the words unfamiliar even when the syllables are known, but with a little work Irillo can puzzle it out.

Formal written greetings from Eril Sambar Humakti to Silor Tamainsson, Chief of the Cinderfox Clan.

It has come to my attention that a group of travellers is investigating my whereabouts and actions after the fall of Boldhome. While this was begun without my permission, it is continued with my support. Should they visit you, do not feel any need to protect my name within the Clan, for my sake. For Sartar, I understand it appropriate that they should be rendered aid. If calling on my name to do so will assist or expedite this, please do so.

Those involved are ~ Berra Jarangsdottir, a Humakti of the Boldhome Regiment ~ Irillo, Issarian of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Mellia, Chalana Arroy Initiate of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Varanis, Vingan of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Xenofos, Lhankor Mhy Initiate of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Dormal, worshipper of unknown god of the Esrolian Saiciae ~ Rajar son of Ranulph, Praxian of the Bison Riders ~ Nala of the Unicorn Tribe of Prax.

Notably, the circumstances surrounding their approach to knowledge are shrouded in deceit. The honour of Berra Jarangsdottir is not in question. My word should suffice to obtain her admittedly limited understanding of the current situation, if someone she trusts will read the above for her. Others who are making enquiry or following the group should in my opinion be apprehended and questioned. Having no call on you, I ask this as a favour, which I shall return if the call from Sartar is insufficient.

"He makes no mention of the fact you are, in effect, being him," Silor muses. "Perhaps he thought that would be obvious."

"Or unnecessary or embarrassing "

"Well, you know him better than I." Silor takes the papyrus back. "But you need help, and he is offering it through me, and the more I help you, the more my Clan can ask of him. If, of course, there is an insufficiency in helping purely for the sake of Sartar. The little bastard. He was always like that. Would make you do the right thing just by mentioning it."

There is fondness in Silor’s voice, and nostalgia. Mourning seems absent.

"I expect to be ambushed by whoever set this in motion. I would like to prevent that. "

"I’ve got enough people who know the area with me to keep an eye on things, and enough people who don’t, to keep an eye on them. I can escort you to Wilmskirk. If I go any further, the Sambar Ring will find out, and the Wilmskirk Council will notice a few moments after that. Can you find protection there? Are you taking it to Boldhome?" Silor gives the cross and its two Humakti guards a distasteful look, despite one of the guards being his daughter.

"Probably to the army. But that would be up to the High Sword."

"Burn it. Burn it and be done. Can you not feel what it is?"

Silor shudders, and looks away from the Humakti again.

"It is death. But death is part of the plan of the Gods."

"It’s more than that. Look at her." Silor’s eyes go back to his daughter. "Never mind. It’s… it’s just an old man thinking too hard. You’ve fixed the Marsh. We see you safe from here. It’s well." Whatever mood came over him, he dismisses it.

Clearly, into Irillo’s head, drops a rationale. If leaving someone dying here means he can come back and fix the place, then he needs to come back and fix the place. That is the only justification for what he has just done. Otherwise it was …

The thought trails off, splintering away.

… it was legal. No human law forbade it. Only morality. So it was not murder, but it felt like it.

How does that even work? Why should the feeling be different? The fear of death is in so many men already. They did not fear for long.

He left them. He meant it. He killed them on purpose to create a situation in which he would manage to advance his plan.

Not again. Never again. Cannot go back now. Not thinking clearly. But there are dead men and they will take a long time dying, and it’s because of him. Maybe that is why he feels so dull and flat. This is the end of that part of the plan.

Almost finished now. Drained and defeated by himself, but almost done.

It was murder, a part of him knows. It was entirely justified, another part of him points out. It was good to feel that power, he almost thinks. To use Death so easily as a servant of Death. Then despite the tiredness and the possibility he should be feeling crushing guilt and the pain of the wound over his eye, he rallies himself, because no, that is NEVER a reason for killing. Get back home. Find Silor. Talk about money. Ask his help. Sleep. Pay for the dead, and for the living as if they were dead. Say nothing. Keep going.

Oh. Not murder. Just not honourable. The two parts of thought come together. He was allowed to. He just should not have. He’s failed to keep himself free of the mire.

Still got to get home. A few miles more. Some bastard keeps leaving trees and rocks in the way. It was not so far on the way out.

Dreaming is strange. Irillo wakes unsure when he stopped talking to Silor, and why there is no sword in his hand. His head stops hurting as it clears, though.

Odd, because you found the thing. That was the end of it. But you almost feel as if you are still questing somehow. But you have the Cross and the Iron and the Banner.

Raven’s Wing Banner.

Give it its proper name.

Much Esrolian Swearing!

Important things to do. Because some idiot failed to realise the Royal Treasury was an asset. And maybe a bit of wandering around in circles really wishing you had not lost your pack to a skeleton who was probably not going to use the food in it anyhow. Selfish. And your head hurts, and your spirit is hardly touching the world right now. That Ghoul was not a mere servant of undeath. Do Ghouls have chieftains? They certainly have graves, and thank Humakt for the gift of knowing where the undead are. The God prepared you well. He only chooses the best.

Maybe best not to go in through the gate. Lord Tamain may be back by now. No point in facing him until you're ready to leave. That way, you'll have the time you need. It will hurt to leave the Clan, but they will live on, even if they are cut off, and you can't be traced there if you are not a part of it.

Sad, because you do really like most of it. But at least you'll get to tell Tamain Cracks-Rock to go get lost in a forest and die. Every storm brings some good.

Speaking of lost in a forest, you're lost. In a forest. Ironic, really.

After some time…

You're still lost. And you're going to be cut off from your Clan. Unless you die here. All the people… well, the ones you didn't get killed. But nobody will be able to trace your Clan if you are cut off from it. One last pain, before the agony. First, have to live that long. Bad, bad, bad feeling. Only time for one thing. Face hurts. Ghoul poisoning, but worse. Infected wounds don't care about careful planning. Pour everything you have into a solution - but should you ask Humakt for help, or rely on yourself? A tenuous connection to him. But you don't seem to be reconnecting to the world, and if you try to heal yourself and your spirit does not swell with magic, you'll die of exposure. God, or self? Man, or God?

God.

There is a sudden image of his private shrine, the touch of Humakt, the smell of the air in this charcoal-darkened room, the soft embrace of the flagstone floor accepting you…

And Irillo has clarity, at least for now.

Eril's last thoughts, as he loses consciousness, are that it would be really awkward to be found here, that Thenaya will almost certainly clean his room in the morning, and that as Humakt was not kind enough to take him, he is going to have to go ahead with his plan. Unconsciousness is better than sheer terror, but he still does have to write himself some coded messages, get his brother onside, plan a revolution or two and let Silor know about how to communicate safely with unknown writers by letter, and even as passing out, do not think about the thing ahead, which will make him turn aside from his course. The money must stay in Sartar to do most good, so he must stay in Sartar. Humakt has not called him. He must go on.

Eril in the Tula, in Darkness

Yelm is slipping down the sky and Irillo is back in the Tula.²⁰

After various conversations, and planning, and with the confusion of a place that he half knows all around him, Irillo finds himself in an old, familiar room. The walls are swimming but if he closes his eyes, he is almost steady.

Silor and Thenaya are fussing around him. Around you. Silor. The only man who seems entirely immune to whatever you have so much of, the cold, calculating thought. Silor can reach the same conclusions but for good reason. Simple. There will be little joy in the pain there. Silor is vital to your sanity and survival, but his light is too strong, and sometimes you cannot look at it. Another reason to be grateful to your father; the shadow on you is the shadow in you.

The cold, cruel, articulate, analytical feeling wells up. Of course, if you were the sort to take joy in power over others, and if you spent your life forcing that down and doing the right thing, that brings you to Thenaya. And why shouldn't something bring you to Thenaya? You deserve her. She owes you. All of your life has been spent selflessly, because of her. A thousand people know their rights, know what the collar means as a shield as well as a restraint, because of you. Did you ever ask anything in return? Not even that she stay with you. She could have left. She did not. That is sufficient to know what you read in her eyes, what her lips never say.

Eril's sense of entitlement, his anger, his desire, his possessiveness, overcome him only for a few moments, but it is enough to put a hand on hers and hold it, in a way that only a lover would, once Silor has gone. Even the curl of his thumb to stroke hers is calculated. A purely theoretical calculation, of course. Only a person who was interested purely in the reaction, as an intellectual exercise, would do such a thing without meaning to carry it through. To make sure that someone in love will stay in love, will be a partisan for him over the next years, will support him from afar if needed, with all her heart. Caging her is the same as creating any asset. He cannot lie to himself around his brother. He cannot tell himself the truth about her, which is that he wants her so badly he pauses in what he calls asset creation. He justifies it with the notion he must get the words exactly right, but deep down the satisfaction when she kisses him is complete. Whatever he pretended to himself, he knew just what he was doing.

Then again, to refuse her now would also put her in his power…

Cruelty within him is astounded as it is met with his determination, side-stepped, and tripped. His own talent used against himself, for the sake of what is right. Eril triumphs over himself, deep in exhaustion. Then she says, "Please?" as he starts to pull away from her.

She owes him so much that this can never be a free decision. Her freedom, her safety here, and her position. Her whole life was given to her by him. Honour dictates he refuse her. Honour drowned in the Upland Marsh. He could compound failure, and embrace her, and be happy. Just one night of rest will be enough. Her presence is a joy and she is the one offering more. Happy. With her. Free from this fear and able to think clearly, and know his next steps are worthwhile. It would help him, surely. Help Sartar. And it’s what she wants. A life of self-denial awaits. Surely, just one night? Just one?

Honour, or love?

Love

---

It should all be over. But some IDIOT failed to get the Royal Treasury out in time. So; Ask Silor for help. Brief him on politics and how to use money, on the way back to Boldhome. Cannot go to Prax. Or even Esrolia. The money must stay in Sartar to be used most effectively.

So he, Eril, must stay in Sartar to use it most effectively. Therefore… Get exiled from Clan on way out. Make map, use stone-breaking dance - hooray for being of the Cracks-Rock Clan. Father's gift of life to you is useful yet… Hide map in Lhankor Mhy stone.

Arrange betrayal by Eurmalites. Don't puke in fear. Ikadz the Torturer. Ensure he cuts out memories. Rescue by Eumalites (Silor is the back-up plan, but who would make his brother face that if he doesn't have to?)

More betrayal by Eurmalites, to the Lunars. Be freed, innocent.

Wait a year, or more, if memory enough survives. Timing will make it easier. Retrieve map. Very important to remember the stone IS important. Just not why. Coded messages to himself, sent now, delivered later, will help.

Split the rock, retrieve the thing. That's all you need to know. Failing that, Silor must do his best with the treasury and Humakti will mourn Humakti. The stone will take sacrifices. One day the Truth will be known.

Complicated moving parts are easy. Undergoing the worst Heroquest that a Humakti can manage is called for. So the decision is easy, at least. The only way. Just don't go so far with father that he calls you unblooded as well as Clanless. Don't make him admit failure.

Is it kinstrife to manipulate him so? Or is it just learning from him?

The queasy feeling of fear stays with Irillo as he blinks back to being himself, in a room that was once Eril's, but the terror has gone. The writing stool is too tall for him. The documents left on the tilted scribe's table are in decent calligraphy, on parchment. The great house is quiet around him. The shadows in the corners are representative of Darkness, but could always be kept away with lamps. His shrine is charcoaled, but this room, where he slept and worked, has chalk-stucco walls.

A few things have changed. There is no longer a stone cross with the Y-Rune beneath it, hanging on the wall. There is still a woven rug, imported from Esrolia, but it has been turned around, so the wear patterns are all wrong. The sword that hangs by the bed is not there, but neither is the owner. Adding a small loop to the buckle so the belt leather would not be damaged by folding over the nail in the wall was a reaction to Tamain telling him he should put a proper peg there. The nail is still there, a tiny spike of bronze rebellion.

It's dark, so it must be Clayday by now. Irillo is in someone else's room. Nobody else seems to be occupying it.

Eril leaves his Clan

Irillo is finding that he should be having visions, but is not. They keep on failing to materialise for him.²¹

There's a Raven, and it should trigger a thought, or a memory. Ravens were so important. But it doesn't.

Then Aelna. The chief's wife. Something about Tamain and marriage. Something that slips away before it is thought, leaving only a mud-trail in the mind.

Warriors in the hallway. A packed house with men in armour. And again it SHOULD mean something. And nothing. Nothing at all.

The weight of your amphora in your hand. Still a fortune in gems inside it. But no hint as to what it means or why or how or… anything. No context. Just that it was about to happen.

---

It is easy enough to find Silor. Even in a crowd of professional warriors, even at the age of fifty, greying of beard and hair, he sticks out. Still tall, still strong, and still smart, he spots the approach of the pair before they are anywhere near his bodyguard, and leaves the men there while he goes off to a quieter part of the village, pointing the way so Irillo and Mellia know he has seen them.

Mellia walks to the indicated spot, staying with Irillo on the way.

Irillo also ambles along.

Silor leads the way to a quiet part of the rocky area, and turns around with a smile. "Do choose a chair," he says, and sits down. There is an odd CRK like stone breaking, and he says, "I'm not that heav—" and then he and Irillo swim in silver.

Silor seems to grow, broader and heavier and harder. His expression is one of displeasure and disdain. Irillo looks taller, and his stance somehow has something of the older Eril's confidence in it - or at least, the arrogance. And in his eyes, taking the place of colour in his irises, are infinitely deep Darkness Runes.²²

Mellia murmurs, "White Lady, help me." She shifts position, so she can interpose at a moment's notice.

Within the Quest, Tamain Cracks-Rock folds his massive arms over his chest, looking down at the spot where he expects his son to stand.

Erillo steps foward. Not quite to the indicated spot.

That earns a tiny sneer, and Tamain looks up. "You've done it again. Another failure."

Mellia watches closely, body tensed to spring between them.

The deep voice of the Thane, not fully present in Mellia's world, can nevertheless be felt through the soles of her feet.

The smile is placid, and self confident. "I have succeeded more than you would ever know, Chieftain."

"Another dozen warriors dead, and you dared not even do it when I was home. Did you need to wait for a war to call me away before you could slaughter my property?" He is, oddly, not building up to rage yet. It is still the part of the conversation where he despises his younger son. Theoretically at least this is bad news.

A snort, "Your war? And where are your triumphs, then?"²³

He freezes. "Do you think even I can stand against the Crimson Bat? We needed every man, and you have taken them from me, for your own pride. I, who gave you command, should never have done so. It was ever my error."

"Then own your error, and do not blame others. Accept your failing."

"You. You are my failing. I should have had that soothsayer beaten. You are no hero, no great warrior. You're nothing. Yet it is not your fault."

"Is that then why you keep me? Because you trust the Soothsayer's judgement over your own? Aye, a good choice."

"Because you fled, rather than face me last time. Because I could not take the shame of casting you out, or Silor's remonstrations. Why can't you be like him?"

"And here I am. As myself. Facing you." He curls his lip slightly²⁴, "And you lack the courage."

"And for your mother's sake." No remorse. Nothing. Just that.²⁵

"And you tried to stone the birds the God sent. What of that, Chieftain?"

"What of it? You should have been for Orlanth, all along. That is what a Hero is. A leader." He stands, massive and overbearing, and says, "For your brother's sake, and her memory, I kept you here. You look like her, not me." He walks closer with the arrogant swagger of the strongest person in the room. "Ask, only ask, only show me the respect that is due a father, and I would welcome you ever. But admit what you have done. Give up this foolishness with the Firebulls."

"You are not worthy to be my father. Perhaps you aren't. As you say, I do not look like you." Again that easy sneer. "Respect is earned, amongst the brave."²⁶

Mellia says, just in case she can be heard, "Please, Eril is ill. I beg you, calm yourselves." She tries to touch Eril on the arm and get him to back away, sit down and be healed.

That accusation from his son, finally, brings the rage. Tamain is big enough to lift Eril up, but he does not bother. He goes straight for the punch. And there is someone in the way, one of Eril's distant cousins, a healer pushing herself into the way, and a sudden, horrible choice. Save her, and take that massive punch, and maybe end up unconscious and be unable to goad him the RIGHT way, or let her be hurt, and make sure of his plan to save the Clan from him. Family, or Clan?

Clan.

For Mellia, everything goes silvery. There is Eril, and then there is Tamain, in one of his rages… And she is in the way.

"Stop, I beg you!" She stands firm, casting Shimmer.

Tamain's shoulder brushes against the girl, and that is enough to cause him to pull the blow, but there is a casual, dismissive backhand instead. Easy enough to block, or dodge, if Eril has the strength to try.

Eril decides to block, as movement is difficult and he is having trouble standing.

Tamain pauses when the deed is done. "No kin of mine would take a blow," he says. "You are no kin of mine." To the healer, he turns, and while the anger is still there, it is not aimed at her. "Go tell his woman to pack his things. He has until noon to leave the Tula." And to Eril, his last words are just, "Get out," snapped in a way that indicates he has had enough of this conversation and is ending it.

He stands, and nods, "Very well, Chief, you have lost another battle." And he bows, stiffly, and turns to stalk away.

The grass re-establishes itself where the hall was. The caw of a raven is in both worlds briefly, and then Silor's awed, horrified voice says, "Oh Orlanth… Did I hurt you?" Naturally, he is speaking to the White Lady.

"It is alright," Mellia reassures him. "You weren't yourself. The blame lies with your father."

Irillo turns and says with faint amusement, "No. No, it hurt a lot less than the arrows. Sorry, I wasn't expecting that."

Silor turns his attention to Irillo, and blinks. "I was him. I… I was my own father." He looks shattered, although he looks back at Mellia again, obviously giving her the once-over for injuries or maybe even emotional evidence of them.

Mellia is being brave right now.

She may be rubbing her shoulder, though.

"Yes. Yes, you were. You were play acting, in a Hero Quest. It does not reflect on you. If it's any consolation, you did what was needed."

"I struck out and I hurt a White Lady," he says, and bows his head. "No matter who did it, or how, it is on me."

Mellia bends to look Silor in the eyes. "I forgive you. I forgive you."

"I don't," says Silor quietly. "In all my life, I have done as a Lightbringer should. Would you let me alone a while?"

From above, big raindrops start to fall.

Irillo says gently, "Your father struck his son, and missed. That is not on you. You are a Lightbringer. It pales before killing Yelm." He looks to Mellia, "I'm sorry I let you down there. It was…. how he is. But… Xenofos needs me. Perhaps I need him also."

"Perhaps so, Irillo. I forgive you, too. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I am going to the altar of Chalana Arroy."

Silor goes down to a knee to say, "As you desire."

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"CHICKEN!!!!!!!" - Rajar

"Can I do it a second time?" - Varanis
"YES!" - Varanis

"Esrolian girls…." - Irillo
"Wish they could all be…" - Nala

"I've been a bad host." - Silor
"I've been a bad host. The poison is unforgiveable. I do apologise." - Rajar

"Oh! I can read today!" - Varanis

"…Why are you not ON the sofa like the rest of us?" - Nala
"Low table." - GM

"Respectfully stalk out of the room. - Varanis

"Not Rajar's bad wind of doom." - Rajar

"ZINAT IS HAPPY! ZINAT IS RUNNING!" - Nala

"He's not invading. He's merely moving into space that is about to be vacated." - Nala

"It's like that time I tried to eat two roast bison…" - Rajar

"The Trollkin are playing a drum-beat song and drawing attention to the area." - GM
"But it's a rousing song to make us brave." - Rajar

"In fact, that is the IDEAL dance." - Irillo
"Ooh ooh oooh ooh, stayin' alive', stayin' alive!" - Irillo

"Indrodar II: The Need for Reed" - Dormal

"GOATY!" - Rajar
"GOATY McBOATFACE!" - Irillo

"I am going to go get a cup of tea, because there is about to be action, and I would hate to have to break halfway through." - GM

"Dammit should have parsley." - Rajar. Context lost.

"I can't figure out what to use for throwing rocks." - Mellia

"Hmmmmmmmmmm were we not meant to lose that [fight]?" - Rajar
"We did. We ran away. And now we're here." - Berra

"Toss the Eurmali like a salad!" - Nala

"I managed a climb roll!" - Nala
"DON'T CROSS THE BEAM!" - Dormal

"This is totally not going to scar you for life. Eril doesn't leave scars. That's not his MO." - Nala

"Ironic… wait, bronzic? I don't know what the word is." - Dormal

"Tell me no one died!" - Varanis
"Nobody died, V." - Irillo
"Um." - Dormal
"Yeah. Nobody died. Totally. Uh huh." - Nala
"Quite a lot of Enlo." - Dormal
"She didn't ask for the truth. She asked us to tell her." - Irillo

- Comments: 0

The Brazier with the Hazia - 27 May 2020 00:37

Tags: 1626 berra dormal falnin fire irillo jalnarion nala rajar salid tarlyr trollkin varanis xenofos

Fire Season, Movement Week, Fireday to Wildday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, when not NPCd
Dormal
Irillo
Mellia
Nala
Rajar

NPC

Xenofos
Varanis
Salid the Sniveller, Guardstrollkin
Tiwr the Magnificent
A troll trader
A trollkin who is not Salid
Twelve other trollkin who are also not Salid
Tarlyr, a passing passer by who was just passing
Jalnarion, a spearman
Falnin, a Storm Voice of Orlanth

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga, and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[Good morning again, my adopted students. Professor Tomm sends his apologies, but his house has been picketed by Animal Rights protestors, following his response to previous attempts to arrive in time to teach you. Those of you who are wondering if I get paid for this may be relieved - I am here purely for pleasure but not ever for exposure. Again, Professor Tomm will be joining us by video link with his thoughts on the Accounts, Heroquesting, and Darkness.]

[We open in Wilmskirk, at the slave market, where Rajar is in a contemplative but profitable mood.]

When the winds of chance
Blow up the Creek-stream river
A sale is a sale²⁷

[But if that Praxian is taking the form of a thrall trader, where are our Praxian Thralls?]

Hatred seeps outward
A poison wind from my skin
Cloying the free Air

Had I only bone left
It would splinter itself now
Darts of hate can wound

{"A bribe, you say? Nonono, not in any way! We call it a tax."}

[Here, let us pause and go to our Irillo expert for his reading of the Accounts, at a highly interesting point for our merchant. If you have time to ask him about the Beggar Prince Hypothesis, I advise you not to.]

["Ah, thank you Professor Garin. Now, let us consider what the Accounts actually say about this."}}

Net loss:

40 L to Rajar in Heroquest.
10L to Dark Troll ["Name is unfortunately illegible. Possibly 'Daystrider'? If so a boast-name."]
13 Thralls manumitted.

Net gains:
13 Thralls (trollkin). See above.
A suspicion that I am being taught a lesson. But what?

["Now, this seems back to transactional, as of early Accounts, but there is that question at the end which clearly dates this, beyond even the merchants careful notation, to the later period of the Accounts. Was this part of his process from Merchant to Merchant-Hero? I leave that as an exercise for the reader…. and for, of course, your next essays. Back to you, Tanya."]

[That's Professor Garin to you. And, indeed, I'll be looking at your essays on what lesson is being taught with some interest. In the mean time, we'll take a look at the other thralls. Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga.]

Halter held heroine
Hand-tied in hate
Leather like lead
Laid on limits
Spitting struggled suddenly
Sandal sliced shin
Boot bruised buyer
Bloodied from bonds

{"I'm… really not sure who to cheer for. Genuinely torn."}

[Obviously, parallels to the capture by Draznk Backbreaker there. leather like lead. But rather less obviously, while this is happening, there is another drama being played out. Xenofos has agreed to undertake a dangerous vision quest for Varanis, and to lead her through it in the hope of showing her how best to help her quest.]

Bold in knowledge and advice to give Varanis fair,
Wise Xenofos mixed Dreamroot with the element of Air,²⁸
To lead Varanis from her body safely to a vision,
And bring her safely back again to help her in decision.

[Within the visions brought by Dreamroot smoke
The very soul within Varanis stirred and moved and woke.
Then straight she knew the path before her dipped below the sea,
And into that she must go bold for Light to rescued be.]

[But oddly, The Sonnets to Mellia tell a different story. For once, a very different one, so much that this is sometimes considered out of the ordinary cycle.]

Seeing how the smoke of weakness overcame his mind,
Mellia spoke o'er Xenofos, with gentle words and kind.
Entreating him with powers by her goddess sent in care,
And purging of the poison sent by enemies of Air.

[Enemies of Air. The plot thickens. But now, as a special treat, back to Professor Tomm - for a salidstele. Professor, without invoking my name, are you there?]

_{^{Here Salid gathered his army. Bought and paid for. Freed by Irillo29}}

What Really Happened

In Boldhome, Mellia had been working with Jaldis, who had kept her busy for a day, and then sent her off. Her friends had gone to Wilmskirk, so she set off after them. On the way she found several bandits hanging from trees, and realised that one of them was Rastip Stormborn, the kin-slayer from Greyrock Rise. Not knowing that the local custom was to leave bandits in the air as a warning to others, she built a pyre and burned them, meaning that she arrived late enough she stayed outside Wimskirk that night. She then had to go about looking for her friends.

In the morning of Freezeday, the Praxians went towards the market to be ready in case anything happened. Irillo found himself once more being pulled into a Heroquest, and so did everyone else. Rajar remembered to put the agreed-on dirt on his own face, and looked around at what he had. He recognised a war zebra as probably being Tiwr, and there was a tall warrior woman there as well, and some short stunty people. Dormal, in the shape of a Lunar patrolling soldier, looked in, and decided that this was a sting by one of the Lunars' new allies³⁰. Eril bought them, and looked around for more, finding a small but vicious thrall who was tied up heavily. She fought as soon as he got close enough, inflicting damage on Irillo even though he was wearing armour in the Middle World, with a well aimed, powerful kick to the knee. She also wounded one of the Lunar soldiers after Eril had bought her, and he had to pay damages.

Rajar came out of the experience with a profit of 30L, after taxes. Irillo was down 40L, and had bought Nala, Tiwr, Berra, Salid, and an unidentified Trollkin. He searched around and found the owner, a Dark Troll within the pens, and bargained for several other Trollkin, on Dormal's behalf. Mellia found the group, around this point. Irillo went to the Library with the Trollkin to have their manumission witnessed. Meanwhile, Salid tried to explain to them what freedom was, winding up with persuading them that Irillo was to be followed, and that nobody would eat them³¹. The group split up again, with the Trollkin following Rajar. As the inns were so close together they were able to put a plank over an alleyway between the compounds so the trollkin could scamper back and forth. Dormal returned what was left of his bolgs to the Temple of Argan Argar, to change it back into Lunars, paying the trollkin to act as porters, to their massive confusion.

Rajar bought food and drink for all of the trollkin, who ate some of the cutlery and made some into percussive instruments, to drum along with while they sang a surprisingly beautiful multi-part harmony about not being eaten, please.

Later that evening, those who were in private rooms in the inn heard a body falling above them. They ran upstairs to find Xenofos' room full of smoke, with Varanis collapsed just inside. Irillo soaked his clothes in clearwine, which he was still carrying, to help make a purifying mixture of Water and Air, to help him breathe, and he pulled out Varanis. Dormal failed to haul Xenofos off his bed, but Berra arrived to help, and the two were carried downstairs and out into the courtyard to get Air into them. Rajar overheard and sent the Trollkins to check on who was around the place, and hauled in someone who was admiring the view, for questioning.

Varanis came round as water was poured on her to purify her, only to panic over the very concept of water and try to enlist everyone's help to defeat it. Dormal attempted to convince her he was a sorceror, and had defeated water, only to be met with her not believing him, so instead he pretended he had been seen through and defeated. Not even Irillo or Berra would help Varanis plan to take on Magasta, but Nala volunteered to take Varanis to the Temple of Earth.

Nala and Rajar piled around to help out, and Mellia instructed everyone in how to treat the poison, which she had recognised as a mixture of Dreamroot and Hazia. Nala noticed someone who had been watching them now retreating, and went to intercept, stopping a spearman and demanding to know what they had been doing. He told her to get out of his way, as he was off to report the use of hazia. She refused, and also refused to fight him, so he went for her with his spear.

Rajar, who had followed when Nala slipped out, urged Billy to a charge, and almost killed the man, whom Tiwr then healed. Shortly thereafter a crowd gathered and a Storm Voice of Orlanth decreed that Xenofos had done an illegal thing, and there should be judgements over the attacks on each people within the town. Dormal, left alone with Xenofos, whispered nightmarish things about bad filing systems and ruined parchments. The group went to the Temple of Orlanth to sort out the cases against them. Rajar acted as a character witness for Nala, while Berra argued a case for Rajar. It was decreed that Nala had been in the wrong to get in the way of a free man of Sartar doing his duty, and she was to do a week's service at a Temple of Air within the year. The man who had struck at her had not hit, so there had been no violence. Rajar was wrong to charge without warning, but right to strike to protect his friend, and he was charged 40 Lunars, but with a rebate because the healing by Tiwr had been instant, and so he only paid a tenth part of that. He considered not paying, but the man he had hit had shaken his hand, and it was very surprising to be able to apologise afterwards to someone he had hit, so he paid up.

Mellia took Xenofos to the hospital, telling Storm Voice Falnin that he would not leave, and in the morning took him on to Boldhome, with an escort of a couple of spearmen. Varanis woke and followed after the others to the CInder Fox Tula, after a quick conversation with Mellia before she left.

Nala's Meeting in the Stables

The stables are a peaceful place, with Tiwr wisely informing the Trollkin about how to select the best hay, and the Trollkin hunkering down in a small pile from which squeaks and grunts sometimes escape. At least two or three are awake at any time, usually the ones closest to the top. They are a surprisingly musical set, and one of them sings Zinat to sleep.

This whole village is about three giant clusters of houses, under thatch, and so the stables are under the same roof as most of the rest of the buildings, with the thrall house elsewhere. There is a big external door, but now there is a voice raised in song from through a small internal door, a foot shorter than Nala's height.

It is a song of greeting, one she has heard here and there in Sartar, although she does not know the words. It is being sung flawlessly, by a man with a beautiful, rounded singing voice, and it sounds peaceful. The trollkin nudge and kick each other awake. One tries to join in with his gnawed drum, but he is quickly sat on by the others to silence him.

Nala sidles over to the small door, and bends to peer in

There is a corridor beyond, going left and right. Just bending to come through is the singer, a man of about her age with a big scar running over his right eye, puckering it almost closed. He has the brown henna tattoos of the nobility over his cheekbones, and his eyes are wide and startled to see someone so close. And, beyond mere coincidence, he looks like Eril. This could almost be the boy from the Heroquest. The hated face is there, the tall lean frame, the curled hair.

Nala sees the tattoos first, then she looks at the rest and sees a person. She jumps backwards in shock and clocks her head on the low ceiling. "OW!"

"Uh!" He did manage to keep up the song for a moment, but when Nala jumps the man does much the same, although he does not have the doorframe to contend with and comes off better.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" He comes into the stables just as Tiwr pushes forward to check, and his horn brushes against Nala and takes away the pain.

Tall and thin, unarmoured, scarred. The man stares at Nala, barely sparing a gaze for the Unicorn.

This is a human, not something sensible like a pack of hostile shadowcats. Nala has no skill in this. "Um. Yes. Sorry."

"I didn't mean to scare you. I was practicing." He takes a slow breath to steady himself, for a moment looking like Eril. Without the worry on his features the resemblance is stronger. It fades after a moment as he adds, "Um, I heard wolves."

Then he spots the trollkin and stares again, but this time at them.

Nala laughs a bit, gesturing at the thirteen trollkin, the unicorn, herself, the unicorn, the wolf. "The Enlo, except for Salid, are new. The rest of us are pack." At the word "pack," Zinat comes up to Nala mournfully, because first she will defend Nala and maybe this man will understood how MORTALLY WOUNDED AND OWIE Zinat is. Nala kneels swiftly to embrace the wolf. "No, Zinat. Enough getting in the way of strangers.

"I think you heard the Enlo singing."

The Enlo, right on cue, hum the same note. The boy who is not Eril blinks. "Uh, you're in the wrong key," he tells them. "You want ha-sora-fra as your first notes. If you're singing welcome." The trollkin, on a word from Salid, troop out and stand in a huddled group.

Not-Eril continues to stare at them. "That is a lot of Enlo."

"Salid is their leader and protector." She repeats this in Darktongue, and then has no idea what to say.

Salid nods. "Freed at Wilmskirk," he says. Not-Eril nods. "Welcome strangers to my home," he says after a moment. "I am Venlar, son of Silor. You are under my father's hospitality." As confidence returns to him, he stands straighter, but his face shows a smile that would never appear on Eril's features. There is no malice in it.

(Does not compute…) "Um. Zinat thinks I think that the new freed Enlo are her puppies. She has always been fond of Salid. So when the cats bit her I brought her here so she could have a fuss made."

"I've never met a wolf before," Venlar says in a quiet, even voice. It's a perfect voice for not scaring animals or Enlo. "We're an Alynx Tula. Have you everything you need here?" His diction and his noble accent are familiar, precise, made strange by having warmth in them.

Nala is bad enough with humans without her brain giving her mixed signals. She is coping by staring at Venlar's left big toe. Having learned the Enlos' names in Wilmskirk, she introduces them, then says awkwardly. "We're used to the stables, thanks."

"And I suppose if they are free, then they have no place in the Thrall House," he replies, agreeably. "Then… I'll stop disturbing you. Thank you for healing her, Unicorn. I would like to meet you all when there is not a feast to come." He bows to everyone, even - after a moment of confusion - managing Salid and a gesture to the Enlo Huddle. They take it as some kind of signal and start on a version of the Song of Welcome, to Venlar's obvious joy. His laugh is happy, spontaneous, and generous.

Nala stands awkwardly as a wallflower, limbs suddenly feeling much longer. She tries to huddle into a corner and not be obvious. Sadly for her, she's six four, cha 40, and has a wolf and a unicorn.

Venlar gives Nala a nervous but genuine-looking smile, and heads for the door himself. This time, he fails to take into account his own height, and there is a thud, and an 'ow!'. He leans against the wall on the other side of the far corridor, making the sounds of someone swearing under his breath.

Tiwr does not attempt to get to him to heal him.

Nala tries very hard not giggle. "imitation is the sincerest form, and all that. I thought I'd done that so you wouldn't have to. Tiwr, my love, would you, please? It's already turning blue. Um. The bruise. Not the air. I mean. Um." She talks herself into awkwardness again.

Tiwr mutters, quietly for a unicorn, "I don't like him," but he steps forwards to look under the door. "Step forward? There…"

"Thank you," says Venlar, prompt and polite. "But I was getting out of your way, so I'll continue doing that."

Tiwr backs up, and says, "He's gone. I don't like him."

"It's like someone pulled Berra's high sword backwards and inside out through time. He's very like what I saw in the quest. I don't know what to think. My brain was shouting sixteen different things at once and I was trying to be polite and not fall over or vomit or anything."

Nala's voice is quiet as she can make it

"He looks like Eril. I'm waiting for him to act like it." Tiwr head-shakes, and stamps a foot. "Any moment now."

"I don't think Eril's ever laughed in his life. That was really weird."

"Just ignore it. Eril was a colt some time too, I suppose. That one will stop laughing and start insulting people easily enough."

"Nala switches to Praxian. "I saw him as a young man. That's what I'm saying. I saw Eril young and old and all at once. He was still a shithead. Maybe all the shitheadedness in his family concentrated in him so the rest could be normal people. Maybe he's the one we are going to have to fight in the swamp and lose to.. That would make a weird sort of sense."

Tiwr nods in the way unicorns do - a shake of the head that is not a full head-shake. "I didn't hear that part, but the sounds bounce strangely in here. I think it's all one house inside. Which is why it's dark, which must be why he banged his head."

Nala leans on Tiwr and puts her head on his neck. She knows better than to try to get a last word.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Check my chicken wagon." - Rajar

"You wouldn't call it a Great-Axe. It's more of an okay axe." - GM

"There are a lot of Lunars about." - GM to Rajar
"Easy chewie…" - Dormal

"The Zebra mutters, 'This is undignified,' quietly." - GM

"Rajar." - Rajar
"I think you know my name." - Irillo, trying to be discreet

"SO MUCH HAET" - Nala
"I shall look at the guard with hate. Equal opportunity haet here." - Nala

"The guard has a couple of other guards behind him." - GM
"And about 20,000 soldiers behind those." - GM

"If I fell into a horse trough, would that soften the collar enough?" - Nala
"I assume my nails are already broken." - Nala
"Lasted for generations that collar has, my father used it on my mother and granny on granpa." - Rajar

"Sotto voce unicorn voice: I am worth twice that!" - GM
"Sotto voce: You are priceless, love, and you know it." - Nala

"Mother, father, lovely little children. I'd hate to break up a family unit. Please ignore the different species." - Rajar

"Eye the back of Erillo's knee thoughtfully." - Nala

"The warrior has just enough slack in the bonds to kick you. Roll Dodge, please?" - GM
"That's a no." - Irillo

"I'd better catch up with them before they get badly hurt." - Mellia
"Hurry up so I can badly hurt Irillo! - Nala

"The Great Warrior of Issaries, Lord of War!" - Irillo

"Weevil biscuits! lawful weevil!" - Nala

"Eril and the Munchkins." - Rajar
"Trollow the yellow brick road" - Nala

"Lots of trollkin aspire to be slaves. Rather than, you know, food." - Rajar

"Rajar philosophy :- Buy lots of food and drink and make friends. Before you kill everyone by accident" - Rajar

"I don't think Eril really groks 'happy'." - Rajar

"One of the Trollkin wants to know if you will kick him and give him more bolgs, instead of just giving him bolgs and not kicking him." - GK

"The trollkins are eating the food… and the spoons. One is gnawing on his bowl." - GM

"I'll have a pint" - Irillo
"Of clearwine. You need it." - GM
"Uhuh." - Irillo

"Well, I didn't sell your cousin. You can thank me later." - Nala

"Wings of Dragon or wings of Bat. Neither is right. Should the relics see daylight. If I could make sure they would be hidden forever I would, but can we take risk they resurface in wrong hands? The wings. Erillo is silvery. Is that Moonglow or pyres of Bolddhome? Harsalter, separated. Andrin, separated. Jarang, separated. Farnan, separated. Saronil, separated…." - Xenofos
"Seriously, even when he has a trip, he's boring!" - Dormal

"What's got into them?" - Mellia
"Dreamroot, mostly."- Dormal.

"Do you think it would be bad… no…" - Irillo
"Well you have to ask the question now." - Dormal

"That's a very disappointing 14 points of damage." - Rajar

"Dormal soothing a hallucinating Xenophos: 'ooOOOoooOOOoo badly written records… poorly kept ledgers…'" - Dormal

"Right now, he's your patient. You could tell them you're taking him to the Great Hospital in Nochet and there's nothing they can do." - GM
"I am tempted to send him to the Great Hospital in Nochet too…" - Mellia

"Why were you carrying a spear in town, then?" - Nala
"Because this is Sartar." - many people

"Which gives me a +20 on Orate… which makes it 35…" - Rajar

"He's been smoking Dreamroot, too." - GM
"Is that illegal?" - Dormal
"No, it is just very very stupid." - GM

"Poison and insight." - Irillo
"Um… treat poison, obviously." - Irillo

"Mellia - could you tell him [Xenofos] when he recovers - I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed." - Dormal
"I, on the other hand, am both angry AND disappointed." - Mellia

"That was new levels of Esrolian stupid." - Nala

"I was just checking on my cousin and then the water was attacking me." - Varanis

"We are already on a quest and a half and we need to start another quest and lose it?" - Dormal

"I want to be there!" - Varanis
"You're not there, Varanis. Marshes have water, anyhow." - GM

- Comments: 0

Lightning Strikes Twice - 27 May 2020 00:35

Tags: 1626 berra dormal eril fire irillo nala rajar rastip salid tiwr varanis xenofos

Fire Season, Movement Week, Clayday Dawn to Fireday Night

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, when not NPCd
Dormal
Irillo
Nala
Rajar
Xenofos
Varanis

NPC

Berra Jarang's Daughter (not Jarangsdottir) when not being a PC
Salid the Sniveller, Guardstrollkin (and a pile of 20,000 bolgs)
Tiwr the Magnificent
A crate containing not nearly enough chickens
A dead man known to Irillo
Some other dead men, also known to Irillo, but less important

NPC (but in the past)

Almost certainly Eril
Maybe an innocent merchant
Definitely some guilty Lunars
A dead man known to Eril
Some other dead people, not known to Eril

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, and Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} and {T} voices appear.

[Good day, estudentia i esperantia. Today finds us still following the so-called Heroquest of Eril, although there is much discussion whether this particular segment should be counted as part of the narrative, an interjection, or a a later addition or mis-filing. Dr Tomm will be calling in, as before; his attempt to make his way here by public transport was stymied by escaped baboons, I'm told.]

[We will start with the single native-born Sartarite, in this most Sartarish of incidents - an ambush performed for grudge. Famed as a warrior, Berra's secondary sources often have her described as a scout. Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga.]

Sharp-sighted soldier slayer
Saw spears road-slipping
Cried caution call
Clarion loudly clear
Battle-bold brave
Brought ambush bane
Laid leapers low
Line's last rest

Hired as protection
Called on for danger money
Time for me to charge!

Calamity stays
Disaster is upon us
Billy fails to turn

[But it is in NalaTiwrSaga that we find our moral today - if we have one at all, of course. Five hundred words on the duality reflected in the unicorn-rider pairing, on my desk by the usual time.]

If she should strike first
My heart swells with pride for her
The weapon of Prax

[Be sure to cover how often we get Nala, Tiwr, or both in NalaTiwrSaga - you may come to an interesting conclusion. We'll move on to Xenofos - almost entirely the opposite here. Assume a javelin weighs a kilogram, and is bulky enough to grip easily. Why might he be carrying a dozen, when they have never been mentioned before? Why is Rastop not called by name? Was Xenofos really there?]

Down from his horse he sprang in haste to aid
The merchant stout, and 'bout him flew his blade
As he had killed a dozen striking with a javelin each
Declaring 'twas the time for action, not the time for speech!

{"Action. Funny way to say 'falling off your horse and hurting your head."}

{Nala did not fall off me.}

[And Varanis, hardly struggling at all.]

She strove to catch the bandit ere he melted into Air
To bring him back for justice under doughty Humakt's care.
And by the power of Orlanth she could call the lightning flash
And turned his tree - his hiding place - to charcoal and to ash!
Then o'er before Irillo she did throw him to the ground,
The life of man gave to him without another sound.³²

{"Credit to them for not actively trying to burn down the forest. Just by accident."}

[Before we go to Professor Tomm for the Accounts, I'll give you this, as a piece of written evidence, including spellings. Translations on the right are cited in your handbooks.]

Yr Magnificence,

We find ourselves in a HeroQuest embodying yr actions at the tyme of the Fall of Boldhome. We had been guided back into it by the Yrn Lord, when it began without warning, and went awry. Are heading to Wylmskirk. Would welcome yr guidance and advice.

In Service,

Irillo Saiciae. Landholder in Colimar, Blue Tree Clan

[Five hundred words; did Irillo write that? And now, Professor, do we have you?]

["Ah, yes, you do. Or rather, as the texts indicate, 'We are all Us'. Now, this week's entry from 'The Accounts' is sufficiently simple that even the most dedicated Berra specialist can make it perfectly clear. So, let us look at what he says."]

Death a sacrifice to a mission?
Order, but not necessarily Harmony.
Perhaps a touch of Darkness.
Willing to sacrifice all, including self.
Dangerous, because he cannot compromise.
Powerful, because he will not.
My weakness is my strength.
Compromise, my Art.

["Naturally, I do not think this needs elucidation. We see the elements of Eril and Irillo mixing. Erillo, as has been coined by some 'wag', as it were. It has been remarked, by I think von Sydow, that together they make one really admirable man. I note that none of you…. none have yet completed the five hundred words set by Professor Garin, so perhaps we might have some class discussion on the topic of 'Is the difference of the characters supposed to indicate something on a wider basis?'"]

Irillo's Vision (CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ERIL'S THOUGHTS/ACTIONS)

A flashback as long as blinking: One does not find an Issarian in public, of course. Finding out where he lives, visiting in the evening, when there are people on the streets. This is sensible. ( What sort of man looks for a merchant in a temple of merchandise, anyhow? That would indicate he does not already know what he is getting. ) Aroth. A man with wagons but no mules. His funds are mostly outside the city. He needs money to buy more animals.

Gold will suffice for his silence. It makes some loquacious. Gold, for the wagon and driver, and Eril will promise to guard his premises overnight. They both know that means smuggling, but Aroth needs the money.

The texture of an adobe wall under fingers calloused by the sword. Enough gold to pay a bribe hidden under where armour should be. Hatred of the murderers put away for long enough to speak.

—-

Later…

A sound catches Irillo's ears, and a colour catches Eril's sight. There are Lunars in the area. He is safe within the roof of this place, the thatch repaired over the way he pulled himself up, and chinks in the darkness letting him see out. It is a big enough space to sit up and even to lie down if he wants to stretch. The cache of money there is enough to buy the entire street.

Aroth has handed over the wagon. A driver is arranged. Enough goods to make it look like he is leaving the city are piled onto it. The dancer will help to disguise Eril himself. It's going well. And best of all, a yinkin has joined him from time to time. It might be the one from the hospital. The striated marks are similiar, but who is to ask shadowcats what shadows they bear on them? The yinkin is nowhere to be seen right now, but it's a good omen.

And outside, there is a group of Lunar soldiers patrolling the area. That is unexpected.

Lie still. Lie quiet. Patience is the mark of the warrior.

They pass by close, and do not see him, but they do see someone else. They are homing in on a poor unfortunate… Issarian, apparently, from their calls to harmony and riches. Looking for bribes.

Thus it is. Thus it ever has been. Nothing is to be gained by interfering.

It goes exactly as he would imagine, for the first few seconds, until the bonhomie stops, and their leader asks, "Why so nervous, friend?"

And Aroth answers, "Nervous? I'm not nervous."

There's a slight, sad sigh. But no movement. The man is disposable, as the cart has been moved. He will talk his way out with the Goldentongue, or he will not.

A little voice inside asks, 'what if he describes the cart?' But surely he would not.

The voice is stilled. The cart is being remodelled. That's right. A smart man does such things. Makes it impossible to be betrayed.

They drag Aroth away, after a while, and he's crying out for help. They've shaken him down for his gold. They know he's a smuggler. There is a mercy you could offer him. Plenty of time as he's taken across that square.

A bow? A Javelin? Whatever is to hand. Guided by the God

It is given to Humakt to sever the spirit. A spell. Sent by the God.

Pure, painless. Precise. Death is always sharp.

Ah. Yes. He reaches out.

What Really Happened

Irillo had a vision, which happened at the same time as Berra and Salid had their Darkness Runes literally freeze. This made both of them collapse, as Irillo woke. Tiwr trotted from the stables to the inn, when Nala asked him to, found Berra also collapsed, healed her, and then remembered he should have healed Salid and went off to do that.

Irillo revealed that he had seen Eril kill a merchant, cold-bloodedly. He also mentioned that the adding of the Royal Treasury to the Humakti relics had been an afterthought.

Berra explained that the Darkness Rune she had was part of her, and it had not appeared spontaneously. However, the effect was very worrying. The group agreed to go to Wilmskirk, the next place where they were likely to find information on Eril, as fast as possible.

After some discussion about how to proceed, they decided it was best to travel as a group, with the Praxians and Berra at the front, Irillo in the middle, with his mules and Manasa carrying a load of wood, the rest of the party following behind. They had a pretty uneventful trip, right up until they were a few hours out of Wilmskirk.

Bandits ambushed them, led by Rastip Stormborn, who still had a grudge against Irillo. With the Leap Rune Spell, the bandits managed to dodge most of the charges from people on animal-back, and with successful Dodge rolls, most of the rest. One met Berra, Rastip met Nala and didn’t even have to meet Rajar, and two others were killed. After a chase through the forest and Varanis blasting a tree with lightning while trying to blast a person, they managed to take one of the bandits alive. The resulting fire did not spread. Varanis’ honour slipped rather and she told Dormal to extract the information they needed in any way he deemed appropriate while she went for a walk. Irillo offered the man his life in exchange for talk, and the bandit revealed their rather unexciting camp in exchange for being let free.

They sent the Praxians on ahead so that Irillo could later meet them as Eril. They headed into Wilmskirk despite the late hour, after Nala sweet-talked the gate guards. Rajar, Nala, Tiwr, and Zinat camped out at the market, where a few interested folks tried to purchase Nala and Tiwr. Much later in the night, the rest arrived and camped outside the gates until dawn.

When Yelm rose, Irillo led the others into Wilmskirk. They went in a few different directions after picking an inn. Berra and Xenofos went to the Temple of Humakt, where they learned that Eril came from the Cinder Fox Clan (aka Grey Fox Clan). They went from there to the library, where Xenofos was able to find out about Eril of the Cinder Foxes. He was the second son of the then-chief, Tamain Cracks-Rock, and also a lay member of the Temple of Lhankor Mhy. His work was the go-to reference for everything on the rights and responsibilities of thralls and thrall-holders.

Dormal, Irillo, and Salid went to negotiate a money exchange, in order to facilitate the purchase of a number of trollkin. They had successful business dealings and changed up a ridiculous quantity of bolgs for their shopping pleasure. Meanwhile, Nala and Rajar found a watering hole that welcomed Storm Bulls. Nala entertained them with some stories and dancing. The clumsy bison story was particularly popular, with the Storm Bulls learning the dance so they could fall over onto each other.

The party found rooms at various inns and temples, with the Praxians staying slightly closer to the market, where there was a place with stables that could hold large animals properly.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Berra looks at Irillo, says, 'What the f-', and falls over." - GM
"Rajar stands up, grips his axe in his left hand and cautiously sips his beer while peering at Irillo and Berra." - Rajar

"Berra is frozen!" - Varanis
"<more beer>" - Rajar

"The cold-hearted bastard!" - Irillo
"I'm not so bad!" - Tiwr

"If you've ever taken a bath with Berra, it might come up…" - GM

"Fair enough, not new and therefore not suspect." - Rajar
"Other than having been frozen." - Varanis

"Salid? are you ok?" - Nala
"OW…. yes but my heart!" - GM

"OK. Tell me if it starts again." - Nala
"'Will fall over,' he says in tones of agreement." - GM

"How many pieces can we split the party into?" - Varanis
"LOTS." - Rajar
"MANY. But I get to punish you all if you do." - GM
"7 and than some? with an axe." - Xenofos

"Are you mounted Berra?" - Xenofos
"Yes, I'll be mounted." - Berra
*looks at Berra as she says that, but says nothing* - Nala

"The King's Road." - GM
"Almost the same thing as the wilderness." - Xenofos

"We could take you to the Bad Place?" - Rajar

"Berra's happened to that guy there…" - Berra
"You'll leave him without a leg to stand on." - Nala
"Legless? At this time of night?" - Nala

"Does Billy wheel too?" - Varanis
"Billy cannot wheel." - Nala

"Timehonored light cav tactics - do I see someone's back - preferably the enemy?" - Xenofos

"I was charging at him when he leapt away." - Varanis
"Me too." - Nala
"THE BASTARD. It's like he's thought about this already." - GM

"His right arm is not a happy place right now. I'll go out on a limb and say that." - GM

"Ride 00" - Xenofos
"ouch" - Dormal
"ouch" - Xenofos

"That guy's not getting up anymore. He's laminated." - GM

"Just pick up my sword, my shield, my dignity, and see if anyone is in range." - Xenofos

"Your bow?" - Irillo
"Dormal, I'm pretty sure that someone just ordered you to shoot into a melee with Berra in it. I know that's going to be hard for you." - GM

"KILLL THE TREEES!" - Rajar

"I rolled 88" - Varanis
"So, no." - Varanis

"Burn the forest, only way to be sure." - Xenofos

"Bet you a lunar they manage a friendy kill with no enemies around." - Dormal
"Not taking it." - Irillo

"Oh look they're calling lightning into a forest in fire season." - Dormal
"YEP." - GM

"Bet you a lunar that forest fire gets out of control?" - Dormal
"I'll take that." - Irillo

"Thank you for not shooting me, Dormal." - Varanis

"Unless you want to do prepare corpse for the living guy…." - Varanis
"Doing it for the living one might work as a nonsubtle threat." - Xenofos

"JUST make the last one. So one fail." - Nala
"Which was Rastip." - GM

"Will let Berra string them up" - Nala
"Berra will do that, although she'll ask Rajar to do the lifting." - GM

"Bandits are scum. And they are dead already. Makes it easier for the crows and vultures" - Rajar

"How long do we have to wait until the market? Clearly going to need an inn. Is there some place with a bath?" - Varanis
"…No." - GM

"Wave my—-oh, Did I remember to put thehead back on the body?" - Rajar

"Are you going to do this, or are you going to practice your famed Esrolian charm?" - GM

"So apart from being a murder cultist, he's also a lawyer." - Xenofos

"The troll is pretending to be a table." - GM
"If he thinks he's a table, well, he should know. In our meetings, after all, we always have a chair. It's probably cultural." - Dormal
"No, you don't have a bureaucracy skill." - GM

"20,000 slingshot bullets!" - Irillo

"The sound of a Trollkin sitting on 20,000 bolgs and giggling is the cutest thing." - GM

"This is a lot of bolgs." - Dormal
"How does anyone ever buy a lot of things at once in the dark market?" - Dormal
"They're mostly Trolls." - Irillo

"I'd prefer to stay somewhere with hot tubs. But this place will have to do." - Varanis
"That'd be Esrolia." - Dormal

- Comments: 0

Those Fearless Vampire Hunters - 27 May 2020 00:34

Tags: 1602 1626 berra boldhome dormal eril finarvi fire irillo jaldis lunars mellia nala rajar red-robes rondrik serala tiwr varanis white-grape-inn

Fire Season, Movement Week, Freezeday to Clayday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, when not NPCd
Dormal
Finarvi
Irillo
Mellia
Nala
Rajar
Serala
Varanis
Xenofos

NPC

Berra Jarang's Daughter (not Jarangsdottir) when not being a PC
Rondrik, innkeeper at the White Grape
Tiwr
A crate of chickens worthy of Storm Bull's soup
Jaldis

NPC (but in the past)

Almost certainly Eril
Some other chickens
An initiate of Chalana Arroy, exhausted by healing, who bears a curious resemblence to Jaldis

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, NalaTiwrSaga and The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun, the Lays of Finarvi, and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue. Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[Dr Tomm will be joining us once more by video link, as it appears rubber car tyres are not immune to the outbreak of Palmetanised Ants which were in the area, nor indeed was any other non-ferrous part of his car.]

[We will start with Nala-Tiwr, and the strangeness within meditation.]

The earth moves, quakes not
Blood runs as water, feeds her
Patience lies beneath

So dark and so cold
And so patient and patient
Waiting forever

Coldness is cruelty
Darkness below the water
Darkness in Boldhome

[No record of the Unicorn's reaction seems to have come down to us. But we do have another odd non-reaction. Berra would be expected to react to vampires, as indeed would Varanis, given the urge of the Humakti to fight such things, and of the Orlanthi to protect their flock.]

Veered Vareena Valiant
From vampire hunt
D'Val Dagger dismissed
Death-dregs devising
Brave belief-balm
Belying blood-breather

[It seems, although little else mentions it, that there was a rumour of a vampire, ignored or tested and found wanting. But meanwhile, someone not found wanting, when the call comes. The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun.]

She stay'd in Boldhome as a guard and guide,
To keep Irillo on the course that he did ride,
Advising him that he could find the Ladies' outpost high,
Its place unlocked by order of Yelmalio of the Sky.
And then as equals came a servant of the Feathered Queen
To bow low to Serala who saw him with eyes hawk-keen,
And showed respect as any do who know the Feathered Horse.
T'was then arranged the meeting that would alter history's course!

[Those of you who have read ahead, know. As for the rest, I don't care about spoilers. Read ahead. Now, moving onward as swiftly as the hooves of a grazelander escaping a city…]

{"On a stolen horse."}

[The companion of Serala, Finarvi. This time, not a Lunar.]

Red Smith within the tale they tell of Eril Sambar's woe
He found the wagon that would bear the Cross of Death³³ below
And bore the weight of Lunar hate as soldiers found his den
And begged release and felt the peace of Death come on him then.

[Which is, oddly enough, not mentioned in the Accounts… at least not at that point. There are certain hints of what could be murder, regret over deaths caused, or cold-blooded killing of allies - but on the death of the Redsmith who helped him, Eril and Irillo have no comment.]

[We have little from The Death of Rajar, although our not-yet-dead hero will most certainly star in the near future, for Eril's journey is not without violence, and where there is violence, we will find Rajar. But, let us not forget we also find him where there is peace.]

White Lady Temple
Foundations are strong, set deep
Holds patience³⁴ tightly³⁵

[This week lacks any significant Sonnets to Varanis but I draw your attention to the Vareena of Sartar instead - look it up. It's not on the syllabus and if you don't know it, you're missing out.³⁶ What we do have is Xenofos and Mellia in two very different parts. Mellia continues to be a healer in any guise, reference to her strength of character.]

Within the lofty hall³⁷ of Boldhome's troubled past
Sweet Mellia found herself as healer first and ever last,
As swift to find those needing help as e'er the Goddess be;
As slow to them abandon as the Storm Bull is to flee.
In bravery unbidden save by love within her heart
In Heroquest and Middle World sweet Mellia plied her art.

Wise Xenofos came from the Temple of the Written Word
To tell to stout³⁸ Irillo what was read and had been heard;
How Eril was a Sambar, who in Wilmskirk made his name,
Initiate of Humakt before threat of Lunars came.

[And over to the video link for our Accounts.]

(Tommy, are you there?)

["I am, thank you. Now, as we know, Irillo is drawn from his usual financial focus in this element, and we find him in thoughtful mood."]

"Lost Chalana Arroy Hospital. Does the service hallow the place? Does the same for trading outside a Market? Where does Jaldis fit into this past?"

["Later, we find him thinking more."]

Sacrifices for expedience. A poor reward for aid.
At the gate, Truth gives way to Harmony.

["These have been greatly debated. Perhaps people might suggest interpretations. Now we find him asking the question here, which others must have on their minds. "]

What profits him, in these things being lost?

What Really Happened

Nala had been meditating in the Earth Temple, and could feel something strange and dark around and especially beneath her, as Clayday began. Looking for it within the city, she found Berra, and they talked a little about the Darkness Rune.

Irillo and Rajar were joined by many others as they looked for the old site of a Chalana Arroy outpost, set up to heal Sartarites because the Lunars were hogging the main Temple. Irillo finally found it by walking around enough, and people fell into the Heroquest. Rajar found himself on guard, while Varanis and Xenofos followed Irillo into the loft hospital. Serala, on guard outside, found herself tapped on the shoulder by a Grazelander who called himself a representative of the emissary of the Feathered Horse Queen, and arranged a meeting with her the next day.

Irillo, as Eril, was healed after some time, as he needed magic to ensure he had no scars after scraping off his distinctive Clan tattoos. It helped that his companions applied first aid and healing magic to the rest of the patients. Shortly after that he walked, still in a heroquest, to the market to find a merchant who could help him out of town, and when he woke - still up by the old hospital site - he knew what the relics were that Eril had taken with him.

Mellia had a curious dream in which she was in a hospital, in a loft, healing someone who looked like Eril…

And then people returned to the White Grape, rounding up those who had not been there. Xenofos and Berra revealed that Eril had been initiated at Wilmskirk, and was probably a high-ranking Sambari nobleman, but they had not found out his Clan. It was decided that Mellia was heroquesting in her apparent dream state, and she went with Varanis and Rajar to the Temple of Chalana Arroy to ask about the healer known as Red-robes after the state of her white clothing. This went pretty well for Rajar, who found people happy to talk to a Storm Bull who was not causing trouble and could help hold down patients for difficult operations. It went very badly for Varanis, who recognised Jaldis as the younger initiate from the loft, while Jaldis was asking Mellia pointed questions about the difference between hiding in cowardice, and being safe to be able to help others. Varanis accused Jaldis of lying, and was asked to leave, with Rajar escorting her to the door. Jaldis mentioned to Mellia that the woman who had created the illegal outpost was now dead.

Jaldis talked to Mellia over the midnight shift, underlining her own thinking about staying safe and helping many. Also overnight, Irillo was plagued by fragmentary dreams, about disguise, escape, and how to stop people from being captured. He talked them over with Dormal and they agreed to go to the gates after Dawn and see what if any Quest happened there. With most of the others, they attended, and found that Eril had been there too…

Irillo was pulled into the Heroquest once more, with some slightly jumbled memories of having talked to a young entertainer. The entertainer, Roka, was played by Dormal. She was good at disguise and had helped him look less obviously like a young noble. Others played guards. Berra was carried away by events and found herself drawn to the wagon that one of Eril's hirelings was using to drive the wooden cross of the Household of Death out of the city. Mellia, also in attendance, found herself reacting to the wagon far more strongly than she ever did even to the Temple of Humakt.

Xenofos and Nala managed to persuade Berra not to search the wagon too hard, and it got out of Boldhome, to meet Eril, who started to allow himself to think about the next steps. Irillo could therefore begin to remember them. Everyone went back to the White Grape.

Serala, meanwhile, went to meet the emissary of the Feathered Horse Queen, along with Finarvi and Varanis, as escorts.

What Dormal Did Next (contains spoilers)

Roka comes bustling along to the alleyway and brings a ladder with her, a few minutes after Dormal gets there. She props it where it would be hard to push over for the delicate task of pulling herself up it.

Dormal climbs up to the roof, pulls the ladder up.

"Good news and bad news," she says. "Maybe the same news."

It looks like the same ladder as before, presumably hidden somewhere nearby.

"Did you get what you needed?" asks Dormal.

Roka replies, "I got what you got. A stone thrown into a crow-roost. My best source says the spy is not one of his people, but something about Sambari tattoos. Did you get what you wanted?"

"Not as much as I'd hoped. And since rat-face gave the secret of the quest to the thane, she let the Humakti in, which is going to cause problems when she talks to her temple… Still haven't tracked down the goods. That's going to be tricky, the thane's men are all over it. I'll try and get you word before they get to it if I can, but…"

"Rat-face got that much? Damn. I wonder if the letters got intercepted. My ally and I don't meet. But yes, you do that. Goods, and money." Roka squints thoughtfully at her hands. "How can we stop a Humakti from blabbing?"

"Pretty hard really. If she thought there were Lunars in the town she might be distracted for a bit. Short of that… got a spare Zorak Zorani deathlord stashed way somewhere?"

"No… but would it endanger her friends if she told people? Maybe for their sake she should keep quiet until she knows more." Roka frowns again. "I don't think I could arrange a Death Lord."

"She doesn't give a counterfeit bolg about endangering her friends, and she'd probably try to pin it all on me anyway, and she definitely doesn't worry about that."

"Tricky then," Roka agrees.

"So if you're going to make a move… do it before he gets back and make yourself extra scarce when he does. Although… only one Lhankor initiate knows about the falsified record in the temple. If they found out that had happened… I don't know that it would be enough, but it might cause some havoc."

Roka grins, crookedly. "He'll be back when the others are. As a hero again, I'm sure. I need to be ready when he does. Falsified records is good. I'll add it to the list. I should make a list."

"Do you know how much time he had between the fall of the temple and finding you? He'd either hidden the goods already, or that's the last time he can have done it, right?"

"Well, as much time as I had. About a week. But he came back. It's complicated and I think he was lying to me. Or this young girl he found to help him. A dancer, she was, as I recall."

"Remember anything else about her? Also, rat face. Was he one of yours? Is he still?"

Roka gives Dormal an odd look. "She got swept away. And there was a war just finishing. We all had to do hard things to survive." But then she shrugs. "I have an idea about rat-face. I don't meet my ally. We got runners that meet. If he's been reading - if he can read - that would explain a lot. So I'll keep him on running for a bit, but maybe high on some rooftops where it's windy in case I need an accident."

"Either he can read, badly, or he knows someone who can and he's got a good memory."

"Eh?"

"Slip him a bit of fake info in the next message. Something juicy. See if he goes for it."

"Yes, I know. Don't worry about that - unless you got suggestions. I'll think of something." Roka smirks.

"In fact, rush back now all excited like and send a message to your ally saying you found the treasure, and give some unlikely and hard-to-get-to location. But include some hint to your ally so they know it's fake. Maybe mention a conversation, face to face, that you never had. That should flush out rat-face and anyone running him."

Roka's eyes narrow as she thinks that out. "Yeaaaah. Time to get moving, I think. Any face in the other face? Your death-cult girl?" She seems to be looking for suggestions of who she might have been talking to. And the way she talks is sometimes genuinely weird. Her mind makes odd connections, or she just thinks she's making sense.

"No, best not to touch that one. You don't want her any more drawn in than she already is."

Roka looks like she is turning things over in her mind, head tilted to one side.

"Just mention your meeting with your ally someplace neither of you have ever been, but which is plausible. Hmm… there's an Aldrya shrine South of Wilmskirk. Say you talked there. Everyone and their dog already uses that place as a dead letter drop anyway."

"I can do this, oh breaker of bonds," Roka replies. "Just thinking through the other nuts to put under the hammer."

---

(Later, Dormal finds himself briefly playing Roka (or someone like her, with the same name) in the very Heroquest that Eril is in. Eril is a perfect gentleman and he pays Roka to help disguise him to get him out of the city. Amusingly, she tricks him by laying an illusion on someone she knows to be Truthful, although he would probably not find that funny.)

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Enchanted Lunar circular biting Chicken of DOOOOM" - Rajar

"Yes let's be stealthy. Let me fetch the smaller marching band." - Rajar

"first aid 15… not offering first aid, maybe water to thirsty people with stomach wounds." - Xenofos

"That’s quite a lot of awesome horse." - GM
"Can I steal it?" - Serala

"Haladeen - from the Feathered Horse Queen." - GM

"For a second, I thought you said 'Royal paddles'" - Varanis
"Is that a Euphemism?" - Irillo

"You’re going to make them be up at dawn?" - Varanis

"Wait Irillo has a moon rune?" - Dormal
"Yeah… apparently." - Varanis
"Does anyone here not have a Moon Rune?" - Dormal
*frantic waving* - Varanis

"You are at the market. There are many fine merchants. Some of them seem to be selling axes and chickens." - GM
"Do the chickens wield axes?" - Finarvi
"MURDER CHICKENS I TELL YOU. ALL AXES ARE FOR MURDERING CHICKEN!" - Rajar

"(( if there are Duck Swords why not chicken axes… ))" - Xenofos

*fails Acting roll and does Dick van Dyke accent* - Irillo
"Make me an omelette with a dozen eggs." - GM

"You’ve come to a red smith stall for some wheels? When did you hit the wine this morning?" - Finarvi

"Rajar grabs his axe! And then looks at Dormal." - Rajar

"Are you sure we didn't do it? Sometimes I wake up covered in blood." - Rajar

"I drained him of blood… And left the body for someone to find." - Dormal
"Rajar, he's being sarcastic." - Irillo

"If someone is guiding the quest, could they be using blood to do it?" - Finarvi
"Yes." - Dormal

"Is it possible for you to NOT call on your holy rage?" - Dormal
"Oh yes." - Rajar
"Good, because, how shall I put this…. we want to kill fewer people than the vampires would have." - Dormal

"I can walk. Or run." - Berra
"Can you reach the inn faster than us?" - Finarvi
"In the dark? In these streets? Depends how fast you take those cobblestones… Let's walk." - Berra

"mutter mutter interbred Esrolians mutter" - Serala

"((The night they burned old boldhome down…))" - Xenofos
"((And all the bells were ringing))" - Nala

"Rajar's drinking beer and somehow whistling too." - Rajar
"He looks amazingly nonchalant." - GM

"We're really focused on this, but there's also a vampire. And hunting down the vampire is the honourable thing to do." - Varanis
"We think there's a vampire. Finding out the truth is the first thing to do. Then we worry about hunting it down." - Serala
"Alleged vampire." - Dormal

"If there is a vampire here we shall find them or they shall find us. we are heroes. These things are drawn to heroes like flies to shit." - Rajar

"How did people determine the body was drained of blood, anyway?" - Finarvi
"They held a glass under the wound and waited a bit to see if it filled? :smiley:" - Serala
"((Trying to make black pudding))" - Irillo

"Varanis, we'd discussed acting before thinking before…" - Serala

"Rajar drinks. If they want to fight us there will be a scream soon. <listens>" - Rajar

"He was a very bad member of the Household of Death, then, as he didn't die with them." - Nala
"No, they cast me out… they cast HIM out." - Irillo
"Berra looks sad." - GM

"I'll let D'Val know." - Berra
"((Heroically resists temptation to say, 'You just Duck out and tell him'))" - Irillo

"I shall be investigate Rondrick's wine cellar" - Irillo
"Cellar? Back room. And small bonded warehouse." - GM

"I felt a great disturbance in the force." - Dormal
"As if someone went on a diplomatic mission. And then Made Friends." - Dormal
"And Influenced People…." - Serala

"Personal honor code? LIke mutable truth…" *@mutter*@@ - Xenofos

"Honour is a feather, an axe to the head is heavy." - Rajar

"My current working theory - and it's a bit of a reach - it's that my god thinks I have something to learn from him." - Irillo

"I can't see much of his plan. He won't let himself think far ahead." - Irillo
"Perhaps his mind shattered under the strain." - Dormal
"No, I think he knows that Lhankor Mhy could see inside minds." - Irillo

"(casual strolling armoured to the gates… not looking suspicious at all)" - Xenofos

- Comments: 0

Chick Flick - 27 May 2020 00:32

Tags: 1602 1626 berra boldhome dormal eril finarvi fire irillo rajar rondrik sanra-eel serala varanis

Fire Season, Movement Week, Freezeday to Waterday

Dramatis Personae

PC

Berra, when not NPCd
Dormal
Finarvi
Irillo
Mellia
Rajar
Serala
Varanis

NPC

Berra Jarang's Daughter (not Jarangsdottir) when not being a PC
Rondrik, innkeeper at the White Grape
A chicken worthy of Storm Bull

NPC (but in the past)

Almost certainly Eril
Some chickens
An unfortunate child hit by a chicken cart, and his father
An initiate of Chalana Arroy, exhausted by healing

Pre-event Scenes

THIS LOG SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A MILD TO MEDIUM SPOILER

Dormal's Next Conversation

The roof of the Society of Orphans is pitched so it would be hard to stay on for long, although there are plenty of nesting spots nearby. From the old meeting spot the ladder has gone, which is a bit of a hint. Nobody seems to be hanging around on that nice, interesting roof either.

Dormal settles down to watch the society for a bit then.

There is quite a lot of coming and going at dawn, and mousy-guy is replaced by someone stoatily different after about an hour. Then Roka walks in, after stoat-guy has looked around a bit, obviously on some signal, and failed to see you. The place settles down. Either she's staying in there today, or there's a back way out you don't know about. Or else she hasn't come out yet.

After an hour or two, Dormal does a circuit of the place at rooftop level, look for ways in and out, comings and goings, and so on.

There are a couple of ways in and out, and a couple of roof guards. One is asleep, the other is either really good at hiding, or is shaped like a chair. One front door, one hole cut in the back that would work as a door, and a window that has a ledge that while perfectly innocent would allow anyone going out that way to perfectly innocently get up to that plank wedged between two posts, and so up onto the roofs around here.

Dormal waits for a rooftop messenger to leave, and after they've got a little way away, gets their attention and tell them he has informaion for Roka.

That takes about twenty minutes, and the guy nods, asks for a tip, looks hopeful.

Dormal tips him a couple of clacks - the usual sort of fee, plus a little on top. "Tell her I'll be where we last talked."

He has to go run his errand, but he promises to be back. When the messenger comes back, there isn't a rush of people pouring out of the place, and Dormal strolls over to the ladder spot.

The stroll is a pleasant one, and Roka is already there, although this time the ladder's a knotted rope that she tosses down.

Dormal heads up. "Somebody talked. When I got there there was a whole squad of Thane Vareena's men waiting."

"Well, crap. So then what?"

"I got into the Heroquest by sn[e]aking round, they weren't on top of the rock so I had room."

She wrinkles her nose thoughtfully.

"But somehow they ended up in the Heroquest with me. Not just the people I trusted, them too."

That gets a face-palm, although not one that stops her from watching Dormal like a hawk.

"I saw the target come out of the Lhankor Mhy Temple, not the Humakti one. I was in a Lunar patrol in there. I didn't know where everyone else was yet."

"Well, yes. The Humakti one is a bit up the way. You can only see it if you stand on the roof. But the Lhankor Mhy temple, huh? Iiinteresting."

"They started vacillating, I wasn't the commander and they were going to let the target walk away, so I shouted the alert so he'd have to run and we could follow."

"Fair enough."

"Here's the thing. He was wearing arnour, the good stuff, showy, and he was armed - but he wasn't lugging a cache of jewels. The only thing he had was a scroll, maybe. Something small and light. So if he stashed the gems, they're in that temple. I didn't get to see more because the Thane's men mobbed him and put him down… I do not know why they did that. It can't have been my people that talked because I didn't tell them where we were going."

Roka purses her lips. "Someone probably shouted to stop him, or something. But… they can't be there after all this time, can they?" She seems to be thinking things through, and then shakes her head. "He was splashing money around afterwards. Enough to think he had money. Can you get into the temple?"

"Maybe? I do have legitimate questions to ask them about an unrelated matter."

"You'd be looking for a bag or two. Or something hollow but that would have to be the size of your head. A lot of people joined that Temple just before they died. Tithes, you see? But no expenses."

"I can have a look around but it'll be tricky, if they've been hidden all this time and not found. Of course if he has a guy on the inside they could have trickled the jewels out."

"Yeaaaah." She shakes her head. "That's not it. Whatever it is… more likely, yes. It'll be significant, but I don't know what. But hey, at least you now have people who can finish the Quest, right?"

"If I can stop them putting an axe in my head, they were already working their way up to blaming me for their actions in the quest when I left."

"Hmmm. Maybe someone who tells them you're in trouble and need help? What nasty person lied to you? What do you need to happen? A bit cut up around the face, maybe? Or you're ill because you tried to fight off that disease spirit only people got in the way of the Quest?"

"They're not the helping type. They're more into blaming. No, I just need to stall the axe to the face until I can talk them round. Although if you could find out who roped them in…"

"You know them best. If all else fails, sob at Orlanth's feet and he'll let you into the tribe and take on all your punishments - but then he gets to punish you, so you might want to think about Orlanth as a resort of someone who's just taken an axe to the vitals. And I'll look into my people. It's the problem with having people. You'd think a charitable concern would be honourable, but there's always someone listening."

"How many people knew where I had to be?"

"I thought it was just me," she says carefully. "And an ally who didn't have reason to do that. So now I have to think carefully."

"Falling at this Orlanth's feet would be a bad move, I already took all her land. Not ceding that upper hand."

"Like I said. Axe to the face incoming, you want it to be her face, not yours. But anything short of that, yes. Freedom is a religious calling, and who are we to refuse?"

"Indeed."

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga and The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun, the Lays of Finarvi, and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, and also Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue . Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[Dr Tomm sends his apologies, but the state of wildlife around his house leaves him unable to attend in person, but he can join us on screen. Those of you who are joining us post-exam may wish to know I am Professor Garin. First name, Prof.]

[I will be reciting certain passages of poetry, of varying value to the ear but great interest to the historian of Late Bronze Age Glorantha. You will listen, mark, and inwardly digest. Class discussion and tutor groups will help you with this. You will be required to demonstrate understanding of context as well as content. Marking is by spot essay, sudden exam, and end of year swotting up.]

{"And corruption, we hope."}

[We left our various heroes and heroic constructs having just failed at the strangest of known Heroquests, and their discussion is not, in most cases, recorded. Still, there is some thinking from Rajar and some action from Finarvi. With Serala they form a good understanding of the Heroquest. And yes, the chicken is a literal one.]

Forward to battle
Taking up any weapon
Last one's a chicken!³⁹

Within his mind of water and quicksilver change of speed
Finarvi stood as infantry and left his mighty steed.
It being better as he thought to infantry portray
Than in his pride to freely ride but Heroquest betray.
His orders to his crew of two were subtle as his heart,
All calculated to confuse and keep them in their part,
So although he called to catch a man his orders caused delay
And by the Light within his heart helped Eril find a way.

Upon the horse she took as loot from treachery of Moon,
Rode proud Serala, Cold and Pure, as bright as Yelm at noon.
Within the quest she took the part of highest as was ever right,
And thrust the peronality of Sanra-Eel to endless night,
So when the young Lord passed before her in his panicked flight,
She answered the surrounding Darkness with the challenge of her light.
Her voice rang out to guide him to an alley safe and near,
And bolstered him although he fled, and left him safe from hunting fear.

[Not too difficult to follow, and in general all of the sources seem to agree here. But as a reminded that this strange quest could pull people in, literally from their sleep elsewhere, Mella.]

The sweetest of all women toss't in slumber
Her love for all immeasurable, no number
Could be given to all those she healed in love
E'en in sad Boldhome, pressed down by the iron glove.

{"Iron? You know what that glove must be worth? I can find you a buyer."}

[Meanwhile, the reactions of other, more Esrolian adventurers, tells a different story. Varanis sees another vow, and Xenofos a visit to the Temple of Knowledge.]

Then Orlanth stood upon his longhall's roof in storm
And spoke unto the winds that threatened others harm,
And offered peace to those who fought with honour by his side
And swore their works would be sung loudly were they thus allied.

Within the labrynthine and turning scrolls
Keen Xenofos found mention in the Deathly Household's rolls—⁴⁰

[And, last - unusual for such a swift runner - Berra This fragment is sometime associated with the almost non-existent DevevalSaga and on this I shall allow you to make up your own mind.]

Deep death disclosing
D'Val throat-sword drew
Feather-favoured favourite
Flew from failure

(( Tommy, again over to you. You're the Irillo Expert. G. ))

[ "Thank you Professor Garin. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what, precisely the Accounts have to do with the rest of the myth cycle. They are the dry, often dull, financial accounts of a minor merchant in late Bronze Age Dragon Pass, whilst our other heroes are just that. Heroes. And their stories are full of the fantastic, and amazing, and indeed the scarcely believable. They are works of literature, with all that means and implies. So, why Irillo? As Tanya… as Professor Garin has indicated, why do I make the Accounts my study, and why involve them here? Because they are dull, and boring, and prosaic. They provide a lynchpin, and sheet anchor, if I may mix metaphors. They show us where the other myths are straying from boring reality. They give us the texture of the Late Bronze Age. As such they are fascinating, especially after 1626, when they stop being primarily financial, and include some of his thoughts. But occasionally he seems to have allowed himself to stray, sometimes in a most interesting fashion. So, in this instance, we see his jottings:"]

Lost learnings leading through time's ledgers
Loyal Lord lacking reward
Eril earned plaudits unspoken in past era
Echoes of Boldhome's Ending.

Balance beyond belief
Bestowed upon Boldhome's best
Sartar saving, speaking nothing
Sword Lord, standing apart.

["Five hundred words for next week on _why_ this is interesting. In the meantime, in the more prosaic way, he says,

Debit: Suit of armour (greaves, linothorax, vambraces, open helm): Votive sacrifice. To whom?

What Really Happened

Around mid afternoon on Freezeday, Berra arrived at the White Grape, rather loudly, drawing most people to the common room. Mellia was absent (at her Temple), as was Nala (at the Earth Temple). Dormal was also conspicuously absent, hiding in his room.

Berra presented a battle report about her interactions with the Iron Lord. Apparently, Nala came to the Temple and spoke with the Iron Lord. He said something along the lines of “To put it right, it should start from the beginning.”

Dormal casually sauntered in through the front door a few minutes after Berra called his name, having left through the window. Rondrik, after looking at the assembled heroes, decided the back alley needed cleaning again and left quietly, whilst Dormal was encouraged to explain things from his perspective. His story was that he had intended to enter a quest to get information and was displaced from his position within the quest. On questioning, he revealed that the quest was to learn about events during the invasion of Boldhome. The Lunars came looking for something, but didn’t find it. Apparently, neither have the Sartarites. Others displayed various degrees of belief or disbelief, with some questioning of the story.

In the meantime, Mellia visited her Temple in order to get some answers. It was a long discussion, as Jaldis talked to her about the difficulties of creating a Temple structure, a wyter, and enough worshippers. She returned to the White Grape through an anti-pick-pocket experience which left her with a clay tablet tucked into her robes, while most of the party was still in the common room. The tablet, when read by Irillo who was wincing over the terrible spelling, indicated that a blood sacrifice on the truth stone would start the quest, and saving Eril was paramount. Berra recalled that the stone had once been white, but in the three days after Boldhome was taken, enough blood flowed out of the Humakti temple to make a path down to the Truth Rune of the Lhankor Mhy temple, where a white rock turned red. Faking a ritual by pouring blood on the ground instead of the stone would probably be the same as pouring it onto the stone, she thought.

A long conversation ensued about whether or not the quest should be attempted again, and if so, how. It was eventually agreed that the best first step would be to attempt to flush out the rat-faced man who enabled Varanis and Finarvi to bring some of the others to where Dormal was attempting the quest in the first place. The fallback would be that they ended up in the Heroquest, so they planned for that as well.

During the afternoon and evening, Rajar acquired a chicken for a pseudo-sacrifice (which was not expected to work, as Dormal said a thinking being’s blood was required). Irillo and Finarvi went armour shopping. Most everyone else chilled out or prepared in their own way, with Dormal and Berra scouting out the area.

In the wee hours, the group made their way to the square in front of the Lhankor Mhy Temple, most out in the open, but with Dormal on a rooftop and Berra lurking out of sight. Rajar attempted a Peaceful Cut sacrifice of the chicken, but it bit him viciously, resulting in a mix of chicken and Rajar blood on the stone as he beat it to death, and our heroes were plunged into the quest.⁴¹

This time, they knew who they were. Serala was once again Sanra-Eel, but this time she was mounted on horseback and patrolling the streets. She headed in the direction of the Temple. At the Temple, Finarvo, the Lunar leader, and his small gang of soldiers was confronting Erillo as he attempted to escape from the Temple with something. Rajar found himself playing a chicken farmer who was smuggling weapons. Most of the Lunars were playing ‘enemy’, people without names or much of a personality.

There was a comedic chase scene, in which Erillo flicked his scabbard at Finarvo as a distraction and took off, pursued by Finarvo and two Lunar soldiers, who were in turn pursued by a chicken farmer with a cart pulled by a very bison-like animal, possibly a mule. A weaselly Lunar sniper followed along the rooftops. Sanra-Eel/Serala rode into the mix, coming between the impressively fast Erillo and his barely competent pursuers. Erillo ducked into an alley, and Serala made a spectacular dismount, giving chase, but alas (hooray!), he escaped. The Yarnafil Tarnils initiate who was very, very fast could not keep up with Eril, although she nearly managed to intersect him.

In the meantime, Mellia was awoken to tend to an injured child. The child was run over by a man in a chicken cart. She healed many broken bones and prepared for more injured as the day dawned on a burning Boldhome.

Everyone except Irillo (and Mellia and Nala who were absent) came back to themselves in or around the square. The sacred stone in front of the Lhankor Mhy Temple was covered in chicken blood and feathers. With some encouragement from folks inside the Temple, Xenofos⁴² and Varanis did some clean up and return to the White Grape, where most of the rest have regrouped. Irillo was missing. Rondrik hastily made chicken soup, on Rajar’s demand, and so the Holy Meal of a blood sacrifice was eaten.

For his part, Irillo went into hiding, after ditching his beloved heirloom armour so he could not be traced by it, and managing to fix his mind into Eril’s thinking. He dropped out of the Heroquest in an attic with no exit, one of Eril’s many, many bolt-holes years ago. He required rescuing with an axe, almost got arrested, but bought his way out and returned to the inn, without his new armour.

Irillo explained what he recalled, as well as he could; that Eril had a plan to smuggle out the royal treasury, and the relics of the Household of Death. The treasury was potentially used to bankroll the rebellions ever since, meaning Eril might just have saved the Kingdom. He had been cut off from his Regiment, freeing him from the oath of the Household of Death and his geas to die for Sartar. He had been coming out of the temple of Lhankor Mhy after writing himself out of the records there, so he was no longer a person who could be traced.

The chief topic of discussion was what might have happened to the Relics, as they had never resurfaced. Berra was certain they would have been heard of. For some reason, Eril had never reclaimed them. Rajar suggested he had also cut himself off from memories of them. The discussion broke up into smaller talks.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"You were in a Heroquest, playing Lunars." - GM
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWR (guess how Rajar feels)" - Rajar

"I'm sorry Irillo. I didn't set you on fire, if that helps at all." - Varanis

"Feeling any better?" - Xenofos"
"Not on fire…" - Irillo

"Dormal central to trouble? Surely not!" - Rajar

"We made a mistake - we gave Dormal more than five seconds to come up with a good story…" – Serala

"It's going to be like that scene in American Werewolf, isn't it?" – Irillo

"91…? I was wrestling during that lesson…" - Xenofos

"Xenofos throws bits of broken kindling to fire. Snaps his rapier out and in of sheath. Smiles. A bit pale." - Xenofos

"It's raaaaaat face!" - Serala
"Rodent-featured!" - GM

"Rajar looks pleased that the White Lady is here. It's always good to know you might not accidentally kill all your friends/associates/the poor innkeeper." - Rajar

"Can we playact the restarting of the quest to draw out our rat?" - Finarvi

"I SNEAK REALLY WELL" - Rajar

"Eril, the chicken…" - GM

"With our luck, sacrificing the chicken will put us in a Dragonnewt quest." - unknown
"If a thunder lizard appears, something's gone wrong." - Berra
"To be fair, that's the case no matter what." - Dormal

"I CAN BRING BILLY AND CALAMITY!!!! We will run them down with our fleet footed charge!" - Rajar

"We spot him and then use the famous tactic of my people?" - Rajar

"Xenofos - Dormal said it had to come from a thinking being." - Varanis
"Rajar counts, even." - GM

"Fetch me a chicken, I'll be back for breakfast!" – Rajar

"I have a spare set he could wear. It would fit… more or less." Rajar, re: loaning Irillo armour.

"Some very unfair people keep describing Irillo as 'Stout'." - Irillo
"He is the very figure of a slim and slender trading god. Like me." – Rajar

"Irillo, take a blood pressure and cholesterol roll." – GM

"Time for the choke the chicken act." - Rajar

"PUNY CHICKEN!" - Finarvi

"Would that be a fumble?" - GM
"Yes, yes it would." - Rajar
"The chicken takes a lump out of your hand. A round bite at the base of your thumb." - GM
"SMACK SMACK SMACK DEAD FRIKIN CHIKIN!" - Rajar
"Rajar blood and chicken blood fly everywhere… The question of whether animal blood is sufficient becomes moot. You're in a Heroquest." – GM

"Head my cart of chickens towards the temple. Check the cart for weapons." – Rajar
"You appear to be smuggling rather a lot of them, in fact. Under your chickens." - GM

"I'm going to go into battle on my cart of chickens waving axes!" - Rajar
"Chickens don't wave axes, Rajar." - GM

"CHARGE WITH MY CHICKEN CAVALRY" – Rajar

"Making sure my squad continues its slow yet apparently enthusiastic pursuit of Erillo." - Finarvi
"Should we dress the ranks, optio, with the tribune around and all, this formation is a bit sloppy?" - Xenofos
"Good point, let's stop and sort ourselves out. There's a commander ahead and we look like a bunch of children chasing a pig." - Finarvi
"Hopefully our snipers can follow him." – Finarvi

"Lost the suspect sir, but our formation was perfect." – Finarvi???

"It's not easy chasing someone across the rooftops when they have mobility!" - Dormal
"I can put an arrow through him, no problem." - Dormal
"But he got tetchy about that." - Dormal
"Yeah, he will throw an axe at you if you arrow him." - Finarvi

"Slow down my chicken cart." - Rajar

"Did someone take my name in vain?" - Mellia

"WE KILLED A CHICKEN!" - Dormal
"With extreme prejudice." - Rajar
"But it fought valiantly against all odds." - Xenofos

"Slow motion running. And trying to follow orders." - Varanis

"CHICKEN OF DARKNESS!" - Irillo

"So Rajarblood counts as sentient…" - Xenofos

"The priests of Lhankor Mhy demand to know what's going on. Please roll your Esrolian Charm." - GM

"They'd believe you but you're foreign, and here you are with a Praxian and a dead chicken…" - GM

"I'll help Xenofos clean the stone, so we can chat and make sure that our understanding of events is similar." - Varanis

"I have rather bad feelings of this. Blood is sacred, sentient people's blood should not be used in sacrifice… " - Xenofos

"Where are you cooking the chicken, Rajar?" - GM
"As the flame of Sartar isn't lit, I can't bake it." - Rajar

"Was he limping a bit?" - Rajar
"No chicken had attacked him…" - GM

"I dont know nothing, but at least I got chicken." - Rajar
"Any day we eat meat and live is a good day." – Berra

"It all rests on Irillo now. We're doomed." - unknown

"Did he cut himself from the Kingdom?" – Rajar
"No. Worse. His Regiment." - Irillo

"There were technical issues with the chicken." – Rajar to Irillo

- Comments: 0

Red Sky at Night - 27 May 2020 00:31

Tags: 1626 berra dormal eril finarvi fire humakt irillo iron-lord nala rajar rondrik salid sanra-eel serala tiwr varanis zinat

Fire Season, Stasis Week, Godday to Movement Week, Freezeday

Dramatis Personae

PCs

Dormal
Finarvi
Irillo
Mellia
Nala
Rajar
Serala
Varanis

NPC

Zinat the Wolf
Tiwr the Magnificent
Salid the Sniveller, guardstroll
Possibly Eril
Berra Jarang's Daughter (not Jarangsdottir)
Rondrik, innkeeper at the White Grape
Rondrik's children
Some unnamed Lay Members of the Cult of Humakt
The Iron Lord, Black Sword of Humakt
Some Duck Footprints but no more

Pre-event scenes

Preamble: Dormal in Wilmskirk

In the usual sort of inn, with the usual sort of customers, there's a strange one. He sat down not far from you, and ordered a drink and paid the barman. Not a local. And he's got a thief mark on his hand. It's one of those things that you can only see if you're Eurmali. There's a brief moment of eye contact, and then he ignores you.

At some point I will be out back in an alley, alone, as if I'd wandered out there drunk.

And there he is, apparently back after having left some drinks ago with another tiny moment of eye contact. He checks the surrounding area, in your opinion badly, and then jerks his head away, and walks off at a pace a drunk man could track.

Check the area myself. If I don't think he's headed directly to trapsville, stagger on after.

You don't think you're being watched, but you're close to the inn. And a few alleys later he stops for the apparent leak, although it smells of beer when you get closer.

"You're with that lot there. The short one with the yap, and the big fat one."

"Yeah, those. What about them?"

"The little short yappy one has a really annoying Lord." The man's accent could be from just about anywhere, as long as it's lower class.

"You're not wrong. And she's pretty annoying herself."

"Yeah, well. She's not the filthy rich one. If I knew someone with the best sting against a guy so up himself he loses a hand every time he… well, you're too young to know that one. But if I knew a thing and you could help, would you want to?"

"Hmm. What's the risk and what's the payoff? I'm interested but those guys do not have a sense of humour."

"Risk? Pretty low. You get caught up in what you're doing anyhow, and sorry, your honour, how was I to know it was something that dangerous lunatic was going to start? And the payoff… If he won't pay cash to keep his history quiet, we get his history. And back when you were a gleam in your dad's eye, he paid a lot to keep his history quiet. I mean, enough wheels that you could build a lot of really tiny gold wagons if you wanted. And all you need to do is guide it so it gets started. Then make sure nothing gets into the wrong hands when you could look after it." Mr Honest gives a grin. "I'd do it, but Roka won't use me."

"I'm interested. What's the timeline like? I've got till this lot finish preparing for their suicide run and I have to check out when they do."

"It'll wait if they go try to kill themselves. But I… I don't know. But it's not urgent. If I couldn't find you, that wasn't a problem, yeah? Just we heard you was passing through. If you're in, that's good. Probably you just need to do a thing but you should speak to a real lady about it when you get to Boldhome next. Look for Roka. Society of Charitable Orphans."

Dormal nods. "Anything I should know not to say to Roka?"

"She's a very forgiving lady when she's talking about most things, but Hail Humakt is probably bad, huh? It's business. She don't expect you to come in knowing the deets."

"Good to know."

"Maybe a small donation for the orphans, but you know how it goes. Who knows but they might be generous too."

Dormal nods, and lets the stranger decide if he wants to leave first, then heads back to the inn

The stranger does not move until Dormal has gone, and then he doesn't seem to follow.

Dormal in Boldhome

The Society of Charitable Orphans. How are you finding it?

Probably find some moderately upscale inn, spend the evening socialising, get the topic round to growing up, whats it like here in Sartar, at some point mention that I was very nearly orphaned, steer the conversation in that direction.

There doesn't seem to be a Society for such. Who would need it, when there are temples, and your parents were Initiates?

Eurmali Lore: Nobody who wants to start a gang is going to call it 'my gang of bruisers' but there are definitely different ways of approaching it. It's hard to say that there is a hard and fast rule, but calling something a society for doing good probably means that there is a base, and some amusing begging for change, probably to help the orphans, and it's a handy excuse for when you shake down the locals. It's going to be a protection racket, or else it wouldn't have a name. That's pretty organised for a Eurmalite. Eurmal the Protector isn't one you've come across personally, but he exists, and when he does, he's probably scary. But you have a name, Roka, if that's a real name, and you can look for streets that have a mark that say 'under protection'. And by casually asking around once you're in those places, you can probably find it and keep your kidneys. Especially if you ask the right sort of people with the right sort of marks and the right sort of lounging about obviously so they are not keeping the building but the street under eyeballs. That last bit is important.

It takes a morning to find the place - a mark, a big guy sitting lazily in the shade, the fresh mud rendering on the surfaces where everything else is a little tattered, and the casual way that Dormal is looked up and down and discarded - except that he's now definitely being watched as well. This is the only place in town that he's found with the combination of those things, let alone the organisation to have a thug sitting there on guard, obviously.

Now and again, people come over, talk to Carl Thug, and usually go inside. Sometimes they go on. (( Scan roll please? ))

screw it, not getting anywhere like this, attempt to fire up ye olde glamour and walk over

"My, what's a nice thing like you doing in a place like this?" asks a voice with not enough purr and too much whine in it. "Hoping to be charitable to a girl down on her luck?" It's… not an impolite voice, in that it's not directly behind you and doesn't have a knife. That you can feel. Just as the spell went off, too.

"Got word for roka from wilmskirk."

"Course you do. We can go there arm in arm if you like. Turn round so I can see your pretty face?"

She gives a big motherly smile. She's a short, weedy looking woman, and the smile does not suit her at all. "A young man like you, he doesn't want to be working out his life with that sort. Let's take you somewhere sensible before you do anything silly?" She… has a certain lack of charm about her.

Carl Thug doesn't seem to have noticed the interplay. He's in conversation with someone who is apparently really annoying him.

The woman makes a coy, faked gesture like a bad Ulerian, and there's the mark on the base of her hand, just inside the protection of her wrist.

Dormal makes a lead-the-way gesture and follows, scanning for an ambush just in case.

She gives Dormal a smirk. "We were going to go arm in arm," she says in disappointment that happens after the smirk but seems genuine, but she does walk away from him. "Dear, what are the youth of today coming to? Such suspicion. It's a sad life I tell you."

"Tragic, really."

"I blame the parents, myself. Or lack of them." There's a sharp glance from her.

"They will go off and die at inopportune moments. So inconsiderate."

"Leaving behind people who don't know how to grow up. Take a sharp right here, young man, and then up to the roof. It's a steep one so you might want to pause when you get up there and make sure that nobody looks up my skirts as I come up but at least you can be sure there's nobody above you huh?"

She seems to be walking Dormal on no particular path, although 'up' would indicate something odd.

There is a casual ladder, casually leaning against a casual wall, as if someone casually left it there. But the roof itself is a solid adobe slab, unusual here. It has a little ridge on it, and it affords a surprisingly good view of the area, and of the not-Ulerian struggling up the ladder.

Dormal offer a hand if she needs one.

She takes it gratefully, after a moment's suspicion that seems ingrained, and then she settles down, leaning against the roof. "Just pull the ladder up, dearie?" she suggests. "In case of accident, you understand. Then we can talk about the sting."

"Well. Names, then? You first. You're the young one." This time she offers a hand in greeting, and the traditional attempt to pick your pouch of valuables.

"Dormal."

"And I would be?" She smiles as she utterly fails to get her friendly left hand around Dormal's arm at all.

"Roka, assuming there is a Roka."

"Oh, there might as well be a Roka. If you want there to be. It's good enough for charity work. Who says there's nothing to learn from the Lunars, ey?"

"Not me. Always happy to learn."

"Good. Then relax and mother Roka will tell you about a foolish young lady who was led astray by a pretty face, and a lot of money. You'll know the pretty face, even." Roka keeps her eyes mostly on the alley below and occasionally glances over her right shoulder, away from Dormal.

"The fall of a city's terrible bad, it is, and you must know this young lady had nobody to fall back on, so she stayed in Boldhome, and do you know what, she met someone who was trying to get out, with some rather expensive stolen gear? And him nobility too. Damned looters, eh?"

"Terrible. What's the world coming to."

"Well, the Hero Wars they say. But we must do our best. She helped him to leave the city, and him with his bad conscience paid her but I think the pretty boy fell for her too, if you get me, because a while later he was back for more help - only he'd stashed all of those things that he stole. And although he stayed in her bed for a while, he didn't tell her where, or anyone. But she was smart. Mouthy I grant you, but smart, and she came to me, and I saw her right. Or maybe I was the attractive nurse. Hard to recall, really."

"What is the truth anyway? A point of view. Or a memory. slipping through your fingers."

"Nothing more, lad. Nothing more. Except it had bloody better be, because I know how it can be remembered. Not by him. I know how to steal his memories." She smiles, vulpine stretching to lupine, all sharp.

"Now that would be a trick worth learning."

"It's… a lot of work but low risk, and no heavy lifting. Empty city like this, army away, Prince away - something's waiting to happen. It just needs a little push and the paper walls fall and we find out who's really giving Ernalda a good time when her husband's away excuse my colourful language. With a little bit of help I can give you, you can trap someone into a Hero Quest. Did you know that?"

"I knew it could be done, but not how."

"I don't have to explain how. There are… allies. Expensive ones, but I can pay, because I know what he had, and I know what he hid. I'll have his sword in a vise before he knows it, and he's got a reputation to protect now. He'll want this to go away. We really will be doing him a favour. But I do the approach. You just do the part where we find the information. Then you're visiting your sick aunt in… where does she live? Somewhere far away I guess."

"Rhigos."

"Oh, the poor dear. She must be exhausted!" Roka fans herself with her hand.

"Certainly a tricky city to look for people in."

Roka nods appreciatively. "Now you've been good so far, but it's right you know what's at stake for the High Sword. Did you know, when they came into the city, and left with the contents of the temples and the palaces, them damned Lunars never took anything but corpses from the Household of Death? Not anything in that parade that wasn't faked . Not a single thing but the swords and armour the dead had on them. Not the treasury."

"Faked? They pretended to loot it? Sorry, my trade talk isn't so good."

"Well, they couldn't exactly say they'd had it pinched from under them, could they? Wouldn't look good when one of them had bloodied their Emperor a bit and then they'd all gone and died. Frankly it looks incompetent. But some pretty boy had danced off with it and then, like a young housebreaker, panicked when he got the goods, and needed help getting out of the city, and didn't dare sit tight, on account of being young and inexperienced. Which was a thing our young lady tried her very best to help him with of course. But that man, I tell you, had a Temple's ransom on him. Mostly gems."

"Ah."

"Yes."

"I take it the none of the treasure ever made its way back to the coffers it came from."

"I suppose he thought it was a shame to waste it on the dead. Who would know, with the blood running like that? But no, not it didn't. Only… it would be bad enough if someone picked it up. Worse for him if they picked up some and then let him know, perhaps. Again, not for you. Too much danger, and you were promised an easy ride, and anyway, this is between me and him, really."

Roka, rambling slightly, comes back to the subject of him with surprisingly fierceness.

Dormal headtilts and looks at Roka.

"If you wouldn't be insulted… a word of advice?"

Her eyes are narrowed, her mouth pursed. This seems oddly personal. It also seems, perhaps, faked. "Oh, do go ahead," she says lightly.

"If it's getting personal… well, that sort of thing can cloud your judgement. Be careful."

Roka tilts her head, considering, and then shrugs. "To be honest, the amount of money I am thinking about will buy off a lot of personal insults to a young lady," she says, in a tone of agreement. "But how does that sound to you? Percentage, with risk, or solid payment, half down, half on delivery?"

"Percentage."

Roka nods approvingly. "Two. I have expenses, and you have little risk involved."

"I'll do it for one if I get equal access to any information uncovered."

"That… yes. Except for anything I dig out of the old man after the event is over and you're paid. I don't want anyone young spoiling my thinking. He's a canny one, and hard to play. Unblinking."

"Fair enough."

"Mind if I ask a couple of questions? You don't have to answer."

Roka considers. "Ask, young man, and it shall be given unto you."

"Why me and not your scout in Wilmskirk?"

"Because the High Sword knows him, and if they meet in a Hero Quest, might recognise him."

"Ah, fair enough."

"If this pans out, or even if it doesn't and you need a place to go… would you be interested in some work down in Nochet?"

Roka thinks only briefly. "I could travel, but it would have to be worthwhile. Let's not pull that curtain closed."

"We'll talk later then. I have to survive this other nonsense my cousin has set in motion too, anyway."

"Word is, your little Humakti friend was last seen crippled. If you want an easy time of it, get her in - but crippled. No right hand, see?" Roka's look is innocent, that of an ingenue or new woman to the world.

"Would have loved to, but my cousin's pet White Lady turned up."

"But she's still crippled. These things take time."

"Hmm. I'll see what i can do."

"So. The parts of this plan that I need to know."⁴³

"Good. Now, the Lhankor Mhy temple. There's a red stone outside the top end with a cleft-fork on it." The Truth Rune. "As many people as you can get, that you want to pull into this - the more, the better, because it'll help me. And then the stone needs to get blood on it. Anyone's, but it should be a thinking person, not an animal. If they die on it, all the better, but it could be you cut your thumb and sit down to bandage it. After that, any information you come by, or I come by, we share. Clear?"

"Do they have to be human? The trollkin is surprisingly useful."

"There's probably only one other in the group I can trust not to blab."

"Trollkin. Duck. As long as they can understand what Death is. I can send someone along if you like but then, well, you're getting someone you don't know for someone you do."

"How much do they need to know? Anything they shouldn't do while they're in there?"

"The usual Heroquest things. Don't die. Don't kill Eril. I never was privy to all his plans."

"And does everyone need to bleed on it or just one?"

"Just one. It just needs blood, and if it's from you then you should be the beginner, so you don't get sucked in, but if you want to play along then have it be someone else."

"The beginner? I thought we were all meant to get sucked in. I need to practice my trade talk."

"Oh, in that case, hmm. " Roka signals for quiet for a moment, and thinks. "Right. I can arrange that. If I can't then you'll have to bring fresh blood, but I should be able to make it happen for you. Allies, like I said. The most of my expense."

"Oh, I think I see. if it's my blood I need to be first in, yes?"

"Trade talk isn't arranged like Esrolian. Confusing."

"If it's your blood, that was going to keep you outside, which was how you were going to get to see your sick aunt, but Rhigos is a terrible long way away. Trade Talk's hard, dear. Meant for honest labour. But I'll tell my alli…es, and they'll see you right in there. Makes it easier, really, in some ways, I suppose."

"I can get fresh blood. when do we need to go, and how do we meet up afterwards?"

"Best time of day is dusk or dawn, but any will do. You know where I work now. Come along with a donation when it's done."

Insight: Roka probably twigs that Dormal has caught an inconsistency in the plan/story.

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga and NalaTiwrSaga, from The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun, the Lays of Finarvi, and The Death of Rajar. As with last time there will be extracts from the Sonnets to Varanis, and also Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos and The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia. There will be reference to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue . Editorial commentary will be recorded [thus]. The {"D"} voice appears.

[A rather smaller class than usual, which, in itself, is not unusual at this time of year. Dr Tomm does keep year on year records, and so I can tell you that your hung-over classmates are a larger section of the year group than they were last year. Knowing the habits of students we may safely infer both that exam results have arrived, and that many of you had something to celebrate. If you intend to fall asleep in this lesson, please leave now. If you don't intend to, just make sure you're quiet if you're wrong.]

[This is a … complicated moment, in the lives of our various heroes. Looking back on this matter we might think of the old medical concept of hysteria, or of group hallucination. We will touch briefly on Rajar.]

Water, a life gift
From the hand of a Vingan
To the heart⁴⁴ of me⁴⁵

[Touching, but tangential. Now, the reason for all of this. Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga who has failed as Humakt, affecting others.]

Fireward feather⁴⁶ flew
Figure-fit reforming
Simple salve sought
Stern sword-sower
Time telling Truth
Tireless stop take

[Approximately that time would cleanse any problems with the Quest, and therefore nothing interesting was likely to happen for some time. Which brings us neatly to the Accounts of the Travels of Irillo Goldentongue ]

(( Tommy, you said you had that write-up from the 3rd chapter of the 1983 book? That's going here as the spine of the lesson. I hope the snakes that replaced the giant bees haven't been too troublesome. G. ))

The nature of finance is transitory.
It is a tool to bring harmony⁴⁷.
Harmony brings peace⁴⁸
To concentrate on the tool is to overlook the task.

To enter the dream of one who cares nothing for the material
Teaches me that money is a dream unless it is used.
This could have happened to any of us.
We are a group.

But it was me.
The gods show a path.
To make me a better tool to the Goldentongue
A better person to my friends and lover.

["This is by far the longest prose entry in 'The Accounts' so far, and it finds our author in very meditative state of mind. But what does it mean? A discussion on this next week."]

(( Thanks, Tommy. ))

[So, this strange quest has taken perhaps the least likely candidate.]

{"Perhaps, yes."}

[Let us look at someone we might have expected to be in a position of command. Sonnets to Varanis]

Her purity of spirit held her back from high command,
For even then she knew the price a Lunar would demand,
But guarded she her allies with her strength of will alone,
And set herself to guard them and her rapier's blade to hone.

[An explanation of her inner thoughts? Was Varanis truly present? We often find her in competition with Serala, but this is entirely different. Does anyone here know this section of The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun well enough to give us a — Oh, splendid. Do go on.]

No doubt within her mind, she rose from meditation
The burning of the sun within her searing such ination
As takes the merest hawk in sleep or horse at stable,
But Pure High Bright Serala was as ever more than able.
She slew within her trance all trace of Lunar that she saw
Save that inside her Sanra-Eel she made a prisoner of war.
Then by Yelmalio's Temple stood a while in trance of thought
Until a memory the Lunars stole, by Lunar pain and blood was bought,
And from the Lune she snatched again her friendship with cold Eril
The bond of sword-kin offered her when she saved him from peril.

[Thank you. A perfect selection. And very very different from the Varanis. Also different from our understanding of Eril, but perhaps - just perhaps - that will develop as we go along. But perhaps the difference in Varanis and Serala can be explained within the Sonnets in Praise of Xenofos.]

The Sartarites have pride within their hearts to match their God
So said the man of wisdom with his grey beard and his walking-rod
Then begging proud Varanis to let Sartar⁴⁹ have its turn
That he might watch in peace their actions and from those actions learn.

[You will all be writing me five hundred words on the apologetics of Xenofos. Mostly, because if I start talking about them, we may be here for rather too long. So let us move on to The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia]

She lay outside her Temple as exhaustion touched her brow
But e'en in sleep she dreams of healing, then as ever-now.⁵⁰
So deep within the vision even she received a call
To help and aid, and so she did; White Ladies stop for all.

[And, then. The Lays of Finarvi.]

He found himself commanding as the city burned around
Outside the Temple to the Truth where Eril went to ground
As in his ears there came the sound of cheering from afar
The Death-Song of the Temple Of the Lord of Death and War.

[And we all know the result of that. Finally, NalaTiwrSaga]

Crawling horror
Impurity of being
Dragged into this mire

Repentance of deed
A whirling that is no dance
Head splits, feet bleed. Grief.

—

Show Rajar's Vision

Rajar is meditating. which is to say he has taken watch from his only remaining Axe Brother is sitting watching the fire, axe at hand ready to defend the sacred halls of bull. (wait what?)

The axe brother is snoring. The fire is burning. The city is burning. That's good, right? Good. Because they shouldn't have resisted. They should not have resisted the LOVE OF THE GODDESS….

Rajar thinks about himself… Centurian Rasshar, maybe? But names are not important. What's important is looking over the city, and to that end, he's up at this accursed height, where the insane followers of the Sky Bull lived before they rightfully died on the walls. Right? That's a good thing, right?

This armour doesn't fit properly. It was made for a smaller man. Shouldn't have inhaled quite so much when getting it fitted.

Hmmmm. Any sign of the foe?

Oh, most of them are dead. You can see from here that the palace is now entirely under the control of your forces. With the logic of not having to walk anywhere, you can see other places, too.

There were several strong points, and the Lunars hold all of them. Over the walls, down from that three-peaked mountain, and a lot of magic, it took. And now, finally, the last place has fallen. As Rasshar watcesh the cross-shaped roof of the Humakti Temple falls in over the end that houses their altar. The poor bastards that had to take that one. Three days, the poor savages held out. But now look - Sartar can know love. And he can see where he led his Century in, where a dozen of his officers fell, where the spears ambushed him in an alley. It's been hard.

The light of burning thatch and the cheers for the last temple taken are clear even from here. For a moment Rasshar could imagine you were flying across the city.

He cheers for the mother goddess and keeps an eye on his men. Can't let order fail now.

They are cheering too, delighted, happy. They are all in good order, all fine troops. Fewer than they were - a sad thing, but necessary when one brings the light of love to the savage. From the corner of Rasshar's eye, something flashes red, like blood or the moon.

He spins and watch, weapon drawn and ready and a order on his lips

It's… difficult to pin down, but his eye is drawn back to the Temple down there. There was red from there. They say that Jar-Eel was going to go in, although almost certainly enough Rune Masters would suffice. Yarnafil Tarnils defeated his master. That's the way it goes.

And there is is. That funny squiggle that they draw as the Rune for Sartar. In red, like blood flowing, between the Temples of Death and Truth.

That is when Rajar realises that he is not a Lunar Centurion. He's just playing one on a Heroquest.

……… and this is not right

He is also leaning out dangerously over a rock he does not recognise, and the 'men' who were with him are roosting cliff bird. Those two things at least are par for the course for when a Storm Bull wakes.

Then he's suddenly, completely Rajar.

Well. I've woken up in worse places….but hmmmmmmmm this is not correct. Ug

It's almost dawn. He can see the faint glow of Yelm starting to suffuse the sky to the East.

Hw wraps his robe around himself, shoulders his axe and marches down.

Somebody better talk quick or there will a blood debt to pay

At least the armour fits now. That was a BIG guy.

---

On your way down from the Temple - which takes a while because first you have to get TO the Temple, you'll end up meeting a young boy, exhausted from step-climbing, who whimpers that you're wanted at the White Grape, and then theatrically asks for a tip.

Rajar tips him generously!

He perks up, and says that there was a lot of getting up and he didn't know he had to get everyone up but he did, so apparently he's here to get you up.

"So what has happened boy?" "Uh… Um. I came up here? Oh, right. I woke Master Dormal, and then Thane Varanis and the horseman Finarvi woke up and I woke everyone else up because they were all sleeping through, and then they went out. And did I have any thanks for my work in waking Lord Irillo? Did I hell! But then the Thane and the horseman came back and then Lord Irillo sent me in about three directions, so I sent my sister to the temple of Yelmalio and I came here. And very happy I am that I did so Lord."

"Hmmmmmmmm go home to your mother and avoid the inn today. There will be blood."

"Um, my mother lives at the inn Lord…" He calculates briefly, and then without further word sets off at a run.

Show Serala's Vision

Context

Fire Season/Movement Week/Freezeday
At the Elmali/Yelmalian temple in Boldhome

Session 37

Events

Serala settled herself outside the temple at dusk, where the horses run when their companions are inside performing their devotions. For meditating, Serala feels more comfortable under the skydome, watching them. Their movement, their fluidity, the sound and feel of their hooves on the earth. Just letting the sense of the wind and the sky give her some space and peace.

Time passes. It's evening, and then getting towards dawn. She's slept a bit, and the horses have been happy enough, and then… suddenly, there's a weird effect when she blinks. Everything goes oddly red. The horses vanish, and the city… seems to be on fire. That wasn't there a minute ago. Not all that flame. At all.

City on fire. Not good. More to the point, where are the horses? Serala comes to her feet, but doesn't rush off anywhere. Where is there to rush to? Something's not right, maybe cities randomly burst into flame, but horses don't just vanish. She purses her lips and whistles, the sound that will always bring Pag to her if he's in earshot.⁵¹

For a few moments, it occurs to her that she is in the right armour. Her sword is the right shape. It's curved like a scimitar. The cries and flames as the city of Boldhome is taken and looted are entirely justified. Those who resist the love of the Lunar Empire will die - and then everyone can share.

That's… when her essential personality breaks through. She's dressed as a Lunar. There was a weird-coloured flash and things changed.

Serala's lip curls. Dressed… as a Lunar. This is incorrect on so many levels. "For the love of… Elmal! Yelmalio! What is going on here!?" Is that a prayer? It appears to be as close as Serala is going to get to it. She spins on her heel and stalks into the temple proper, turning to glare towards the altar for a moment. "Cleansing. I do not call this outfit cleansing."

As she walks, she sees a couple of bodies. Horses, people. There was fighting here. The personality of the Lunar keeps trying to make itself felt. The Temple room is full of people in the wrong damned uniform, and a few very frightened-looking initiates, who nevertheless are Yelmalian, and so are attempting to argue with the invaders.

Horses. She closes her eyes, pulling in the focus on the horses. Anyone who kills horses has no place here. Her blue eyes are cold before she opens them again, stepping to take a few hairs from the tail of a fallen mount, pale, similar to Pag. And she wraps the strands around her wrist, a talisman to hold onto as she fights to maintain her proper place in the world. "Get out!" she yells at the Lunars. Well, she's apparently wearing their uniform, and there's chaos, who knows… they may just listen. "Get out of this temple. Right. Now."

They look at her. There's a salute. "Yes Sanra-Eel!" And out they file, at high speed. One slows to bow, but only in motion. He doesn't stop.

Eel? Eel? Serala feels bile rise, before she chokes it back down. This isn't happening. And yet it is. She looks over her shoulder to the initiates. "After I leave, barricade the door. Anyone else tries to come in, tell them Sanra Eel's command is that this place should remain inviolate." She allows her lip to curl slightly, not at all put on, distaste at the situation helping her hang onto herself. "Tell them they'll answer to me otherwise." And with that, she steps out into the street, mind racing. This isn't right. She's not strong on Lunar history, should she know when this is? Past? Future, even? She needs answers, she needs a historian. A library. But no.. if this is happening now there's no information already written. "Little help here would be nice. I am not the right person for this." she grumbles to her God as she pauses to take in the situation outside.⁵²

Fire. Purity. Enquiry. All information is with her, and the personality she has refused to let conquer her tells her, obediently, that this is the 1602 invasion of Boldhome, and the munificent Lunar Empire is victorious. All will be peaceful. All rich and magnificent under the loving rule of Ignifer.

She shakes her head, rejecting the outcome. The Lunar Empire will never be victorious while even one person stands against it. And she will always stand against it. Kallyr will rise.. the dragon will rise. She will not play the part that brings this heroquest to a successful outcome. Which might be a shame, if someone wants this to complete successfully… but that's Serala's standpoint. So if the invasion is to fail, what does she need to do. Who does she need to kill. Possibly herself, but that might be a step too far, too early. She pauses again, trying to make sense of the chaos around her, trying to establish where the commanders might be.

As she walks, Boldhome fades, but the redness stays. This is some other form of vision now. Something else. No longer Sanra-Eel, but… it is hard to keep any understanding of who or what she is, let alone remember to walk. And then a far more recent memory returns to her, one stolen from her by the Lunars and their foul magic.

She was reporting to Eril. He was dry, competent, in control. He did not like D'Val's handwriting, but nevertheless read the note carefully, several times, and listened to Serala's report.

In short, she remembers the battle that the Lune's insanity took from her, giving her amnesia.

She has to admit Eril has the timing well.⁵³ He's also personally impressive - the High Sword of Humakt rather should be. His laconic, "Try not to die," is a good instruction. He trusts her on his left, a shield for him, and they seldom have to cut anyone down. To be honest, he could probably have done this alone, but if he wants a messenger with him, he brings a messenger - and there is blood on her blade, and on Pag's hooves. And then to the left there is a Lune rising, the horrid red thing that she recognises and remembers. It could be going anywhere, doing anything.

Eril has almost stopped focusing on the battle. He is entirely bent on getting to the red-headed leader of the Lunar army.

Serala's jaw tenses, temptation to turn on the Lune rising high. However.. Eril probably doesn't need her. But she's at his side. Watching his back. And he's monofocused. So although she wants to simply ride down the thing, she keeps her place, acting as Eril's bodyguard should anything, anyone, try to break through and take him down.⁵⁴

He has broken through the outer ring of defences when the red flash approaches Serala. In from the left, whirling and changing, a red glow that forms and re-forms and seeks to pull her in.

Serala hisses, turning in her saddle, lifting her broadsword. No idea if bronze will do anything against the monstrosity, but unwilling to go down without a fight. Shield in one hand, sword in the other, controlling Pag with her body alone, keeping close to Eril, even while she slashes out at the approaching horror.

It engulfs her as she slices. Some part of her mind remembers the same red flash earlier, and knows this for a memory. The rest of her panics, but this time she gets to watch her own wild flight, her horse saving her where nothing else could. She hears the cries of victory and the sound of an army turning in rout, as she watches herself be taken off the field.

And she remembers his expression. Eril's face was not made for hatred. Too … emotional. But his focus on his task was clinical. His focus on her? On the red-head? That was personal.

She doesn't understand, her automatic steps slowing to a halt, a frown creasing her features, looking down at her hand as though expecting to see a sword there still. Her legs are suddenly shaky and she takes a step, leaning back against the nearest solid object, trying to sort through. Eril and the Lunar leader.. that sort of emotion doesn't come without history. What is the history.. is it important? What has just happened tonight? Fingers touch her temples lightly, tapping, almost as though trying to settle the restored memories into their proper place. "Tonight is just weird." she notes to herself, taking solace in understatement.

She is back, outside the Temple of Yelmalio, surrounded by horses. Safe, and unharmed.

Show Nala's Conversation

It is a little after the stroke of noon when Berra comes out of the main temple, to come over towards Nala. She falls into a bow on her knees that, while in Nala’s direction, is far too low for her, and far too respectful.

Tiwr makes a satisfied noise.

Behind Berra, a man old enough that years have lost meaning walks. He is dressed in a loincloth and a strange pattern of black dust that makes Zinat nose-wrinkle and look curious. Even Nala can smell it - oil and something sharp and ashes, a touch of charcoal. It looks like it has settled on him and run in slow patterns of sweat. It is not unpleasant, but it is not something that Nala has seen up close before. Even the last time they saw him, he was without it.

Berra’s position on the ground is impressively boneless.

Nala flows up from the hunker and down again into a bow, roughly appropriate for what one should give the senior of another cult

The Blacksmith, eyes shut behind Truth and Death, sits. He does not invite Nala to, but his lack of stare is straight ahead, a little above the bow. Tiwr does something with his hooves that might indicate respect or indigestion.

Nala will, as default, hunker down so out of respect her head is lower than his.

This may or may not be a Praxian thing.

He says nothing, but reaches out his hand to hover it over her head for a moment, and withdraw it to his knee. He is in something like the lotus position, perfectly still there.

Nala is good at waiting, and being still. She waits for a cue.

Tiwr's head may begin to lower a bit. Animals sleep when they can, not knowing when the opportunity will come again. Zinat, however, is sniffing and sniffing the air, and probably wondering where that other wolf went.

Either the dust-clad man is also waiting, or he has fallen into a meditational trance. Berra lifts up her head to look, and nods to Nala. It’s a ‘yes’ rather than a greeting.

“Elder, May I speak? I am unsure of protocol within this cult.”

“That is as it should be, child of Earth,” he says in a voice with a deep sound somewhere within it. “Say what is in you.”

Nala draws a few deep breaths, then starts with a sort of apology. “I am bad at words, and most of my good words were used to honour and assist an elder a few days ago. I apologise for this, and that my tradetalk I learned in Argrath’s army may seem inaccurate or, um, seemingly inappropriate in Sartar for a maiden.”

She gathers herself in stillness for a moment, and then launches swiftly into a torrent of words, so full of movement they jostle each other form unexpected eddies. Plus, there is currently the smell of salt. She has learned the art of the blurt from Berra. If she didn’t know it already.

“I was invited to a heroquest, by someone who knows what I am sworn to do. I was given no details, which caused me to misgive, but the person has been kind to me and I had no reason to suppose they meant me harm. Before this, I had only ever been on one heroquest, which was intensely personal and only involved my risking myself, so I thought perhaps this would be asked again and that is an acceptable risk. My life partner Tiwr has as far as I am aware never been on a heroquest for the godtime has heretofore ignored him. And nor has Zinat, my other companion. They had no basis of what to expect, only their trust and love of me.

“We entered the heroquest and we were all wrongly cast, as lunars, and my partner as polluted filth, which started anger in me, for he is purity. And there were far more of us than there should have been. And here is a thing. The godtime seems to look on us as one unit, which is both untrue and injurious to us, but when in a situation such as the heroquest means in some ways we are all constrained to act in some kind of concert.

“There was a person coming out of the Lhankor May Temple. And here is where the first wrong thing happened. This person had a face that should t have been there. This person was a person Tiwr and I and many of the involved group hold in deep hatred and disgust. So somehow we were put at a disadvantage by this face being used.

He was trying to escape and he didn’t. That’s the skinny, really. Someone shot his arm off, and there were some other missile weapons, and he was charged and my partner—I am guessing you have something like marriage in Sartar, and we are something like married— with his own hatred, and having no experience of what was happening, relied on me and knowing our usual hunting tactics, set him on fire. I knew something was wrong so we hung back, and I managed not to shoot nor he to charge, but watched.

“That is when we fell out of the vision.

“It is important not to forget that at the end he wore a different face that might in fact have been the true face of the person we were supposed to save. This must be remembered.

“So we failed. I have been doing nothing but thinking since.

“Clearly we need to re-enter the world and save him. And we did not see him actually, die. He fell out. So it is possible that Tiwr, being very fast, on re-entry could charge to heal him, and preserve his life, and then we could pick him up and ride off with him. I assure you that should that face we hate be the true face, having him touch either of us and ride Tiwr will be…will be…”

And Nala suddenly vomits, managing not to hit the iron lord, and vomits violently, full body.She pauses and wipes her mouth, still shuddering, “adequate punishment for both of us.” She finishes.

That is what I think we must do. I cannot speak for the others. I am not knowledgeable of what the others experienced. I may be wrong about being constrained to act in concert, or it may be that if Tiwr and I start to act as I have described the others will follow, and it may be that they attack us and we will be grievously injured or die, we know this. But it must be done.”

“Truth is not to be decided by those who walk within it,” he says gravely. “But by itself. The Middle World is more in error than the god time. If you cut the threads of lies about you, what is broken?”

He seems amazingly unworried about having been narrowly missed by Nala’s vomit. Berra cringed away from it and he seems not to have cared at all.

Nala has forgotten the fact of the vomit. It was necessary; it happened.

“Elder, I am blessed neither by truth nor lies, nor by life or death. I cannot see any of them clearly.” A smiles tugs at one corner of her mouth despite herself. “ I’m a bit of an odd fish as earth people go.”

"There is no time, for gods," says the Iron Lord, "But what you bring with you. Take the correct step, not the broken one."

Nala hangs her head. “Elder, I am grateful for your words, but I haven’t got a bloody clue what you are suggesting. I am no good at oblique. I am a child of the desert.”

He pauses before continuing, to think this through, and the answer takes several moments. He seems to have tested it repeatedly before he speaks. "Do not go to where he is wounded. Go to where he is whole."

Nala’s eyes widen. “I think I begin to see. I am not sure when—where, (she corrects herself) that would be. Or which face, the one we saw or the one I glimpsed at the end, I should be traveling to. The hated one struck me as wrong, for many reasons. But hate occluded well. I hope you can see more clearly from my description, whether the hated one was a misdirection, as I hope. And is it possible to enter a hero quest by specifying simply “ the one we saved during the attack” and believing it hard enough that regardless of which face it was we get there?”

Ah. Too many questions at once. I am sorry. Once I start to talk, I can’t stop. It is why, I think, I was paired with Tiwr. So I have to shut up.”

The unicorn is jolted out of sleep and says, elegantly, “snzwhanow?” Nala creeps over and furtively kisses him on the bridge of his nose.

"Do not start a fire with extinguished ashes. Beginnings are the best places to start. Then travel." With his eyes closed, perhaps he cannot imagine occlusion by anything he sees.

Nala shoots a look at Berra, as much to say “are you getting any of this?” As anything else

The Iron Lord, too, looks at Berra. He reaches out to put his big gnarled hand on her head, either getting her attention or giving her permission to speak. When he returns to his meditational position Berra sits back on her knees, and says, "With the Iron Lord's permission, I think in the Middle World things happened to begin the Quest, and they could be done again, or something like them found out. That would allow the beginning to go right, instead of wrong. Maybe the enemy doesn't need… uh, sorry. Maybe the person with the face of the enemy doesn't need to be shot already, for you to get in."

Nala nods. “I do not want to overestimate my importance. Berra, could you, do you think, talk to the others?” Berra does not need insight to realise suddenly that Nala is, essentially, extinguished ashes, going on metaphorical empty since Greyrock Fall. Simultaneously, Nala says, “I like the bit about only the middle world being subject to time. Elder, correct if if I’m wrong, but I think I need to think and dance for a long while before I do anything at all.”“

The Elder does not correct her, just faces straight ahead, eyes closed, breathing low and slow. Berra looks at him for permission, and her face shows a trace of awe, a subtle mix of fear and adoration that is hard to mistake. He looks at Berra, and gives a nod, and goes back to looking at nothing Nala can see, and all the time his eyelids have not opened.

"Yes, I can do that," Berra tells Nala, once she is clearly not going to be addressed by her superior.

“Thank you” says Nala. She waits for a bit to see if there are any other pronouncements she can imperfectly understand.

After a moment Berra looks to Nala, and makes an 'over there' gesture. The Iron Lord stays where he is, the pulse in the back of his hands the only indication he is not a statue. Berra bows to him and backs off.

Nala goes to where Berra gestured. Zinat sniffs Berra to make sure she hasn’t become someone else in the last few minutes.

Berra, who is not a wolf, holds her hand for Zinat to sniff as she walks over to Nala. "One of the things that he said that you might not have caught was it wasn't your fault and you should not punish yourself. But… what happened?"

“No, I didn’t catch that. What happened was exactly what I said. I was a lunar and that confused the fuck out of me. Eril legged it out of the Lhankhor May Temple. Made no sense. Somebody cried out “ gettim ,he’s got something!” And then the entire pack went for him. Only it was Irillo. Who wasn’t supposed to even be there.”

Berra blinks a few times, and says finally, "The High Sword?" She does not sound disbelieving so much as incredulous.

Nala says dismissively, “is that what you call him? Eril.”

"Yes, because he's my High Sword." Berra smiles politely, and then changes the subject. "Yes. About the truth. You said a thing had to be done, and you didn't like it. Otherwise the Iron Lord wouldn't have said that. He doesn't speak often. Or move, really."

Nala shakes her head to clear it, and stumbles a bit. “I don’t understand.” She’s very pale under the desert tan.

"I said it was wrong. None of it made sense. He wouldn’t be hiding, he wouldn’t leg it, he wouldn’t be there in the first place, he’d be with the fyrd, or Kallyr. It was all wrong, which is why I didn’t shoot. That’s why I thought it had to the the young kid, the second face, with the Eril mask removed. But I’ve shot my wad. I’m done. I really need to go curl up. Huljeem—words are hard." Zinat presses against one side and Tiwr moves onto the other to support her

Berra bows, and says nothing more. She just goes to let the guard on gate know Nala can leave now.

On thinking back, things begin to settle. It was definitely all wrong, but it is possible to set aside parts of it, and examine them.⁵⁵

Thinking on secrets of balance and time, it seems eventually to Nala that on seeing Eril, she understood Eril as he is now, the object of hatred, a crowd-pleaser who would let the mob judge his enemies. On seeing him, how could she do anything but know all he was? But there has to be balance, and so later, all of that worthiness of hatred was stripped away. The young, armoured noble and the cruel Priest are the same man, one held in bondage by the Lunar arrest, one by his own refusal to face up to himself. Take away the subtle workings of ink on his cheeks, add twenty or thirty years and that would be him. It could physically be a son or a brother, but conceptually, they are divided and united.

If Nala had seen the young man clearly at first, no doubt she would have seen the older Eril later, for they cannot be divided, only … something. It is not entirely clear, and there is some occlusion, but she saw both because she saw one.

As she rides out the door because walking has ceased to be an option: “Oh fuck.”

Berra is just taking up her position as guard again, and signals to the man with her to take a quick run to the other end of the courtyard. She gives Nala a questioning look, but does not ask directly.

"I really, really need to talk to Kalis and Ma…. Berra, I think I just saw, but, words. Unclear. Might be hallucination. But my feet hurt." She says this not as a complaint, but as an explanation, as if Berra should know what that means.

"I can’t. Be. Kind. To. Demons." Nala looks ready to vomit again. "Ask, please, your order what Eril knows of….Lhankor Mhy. Ask Xenofos….Eril."

"My feet hurt. Temple."

Nala slumps and Tiwr runs off into the middle distance, promptly outpaced by Zinat, promptly caught up with by a mobilised unicorn.

What Really Happened

After a celebratory send off from Greyrock Falls, the party travelled to Wilmskirk, seeking information about how to fix the broken Heroquest. In Wilmskirk, Irillo sold some salt, lots of salt, an awful lot of salt, and made money for those who had given him salt to share.

The folks who like inns stayed at the inn. Those who prefer the great outdoors camped out. Overall, the visit was short, because the Humakti in town told Berra that she needed to get her answers in Boldhome.

There was an uneventful trip to Boldhome, but on arrival in the city, the party discovered it to be mostly empty, at least of anyone of fighting age and ability. Many Temples had only one or two initiates in attendance. The palace had a token guard watch, and the walls only a little more than a token guard. The party members sought out their local temples for information and some gathered back at the White Grape to share what they learned. Some chose to stay there, as they had before, while others found other sleeping places (Rajar at the Storm Bull Temple, Serala at the Yelmalio Temple, and Nala at the Earth Temple, for example).

At the Storm Bull Temple, Rajar found an unhappy initiate on duty all by himself. He challenged Rajar in hopes of trading places and Rajar used his fists to show the other guy why he wasn’t ready for the front lines yet, and then the boot for some gentle constructive criticism. Varanis’ visit to the Vingan Temple was more peaceful and resulted in some intel - mainly that Kallyr and her forces left a few weeks prior and were traveling north, either to Tarsh or Dangerford. They were bringing the fight to the Lunars. Xenofos did some futile research in the shamble Sartarites call a library “aided” by a local bumpkin who was unfailingly polite and condescending which Xenofos may or may not have noticed.

Dormal disappeared on some shady business for a day and then talked Sid and Nala into being a part of it: Nala by appealing to her thirst for secrets, Salid bargained for 12 enlo to be freed. He made some assignations with them for later and then slept at the inn. He tried to sneak out, but Varanis overheard him and stealthily followed. Somehow, Finarvi heard and followed too. It must have been all the noise Dormal made. Sid met Dormal outside the door of the inn and thus began a comedy of unmentionable proportions as Varanis attempted to follow Dormal and Sid, and Finarvi followed Varanis. Dormal and Sid vanished mysteriously, leaving Varanis to accidentally find Finarvi instead. Luckily, there was a guy willing to sell them some information for the cheap, cheap price of 10 Lunars.

Varanis and Finarvi returned to the inn to round everyone up. Irillo sent runners to find Serala, Rajar, and Nala. The rest rushed out headlong and carelessly (or from their perspective, well-armed and very discreetly) to find Dormal and see what trouble he was causing.

They ended up outside the Library/Lhankor Mhy temple. Dormal led his group round the side wall of the temple so as not to be seen too soon, walked up to a rock just outside it, and appears to touch it: Suddenly the sky was red with the light of the Moon and the town was on fire. Dormal’s group knew this is a heroquest: The others did not. The Heroquest was a hot mess. Literally, because Boldhome was burning. The PCs found themselves in the roles of Lunar soldiers patrolling the freshly sacked town of Boldhome. As they debated what to do about an armed Humakti leaving the Lhankor Mhy temple one of the patrol shouted that a non-Lunar citizen was going armed in the freshly conquered town. This prompted the armed Humakti, recogniseable to some as Eril, (later discovered to be Irillo) to turn and run, casting Mobility on himself as he goes.

Archers in the patrol opened fire, one of them striking true and skewering Erillo’s arm, while at least one patrol member with Mobility caught up to him. A fight ensued, with Erillo fighting off-handed. The patrol member (Varanis) and Erillo traded blows, with Erillo getting the worst of it, and then another patrol member, rather horse-shaped, cast Ignite on him. Wilting under the onslaught, Erillo faded from the Hero Quest, followed shortly afterwards by the rest of the group.

They all came out of it, with Irillo injured and rather cross. Mellia healed him and everyone else appeared to be completely confused, except the definitively vanished Dormal, and the temporarily vanished Nala. She and Tiwr came back at high speed, as if they had only just arrived. Tiwr helped with healing Varanis. Once he was healed, Irillo looked around for the guilty archer, saw Finarvi holding a bow and looking shamefaced, and expressed his displeasure by throwing an axe at him. It bounced off his armour.

The party dispersed with most people opting to go back to bed. Irillo sent Xenofos back to the library to find out what happened during the sacking of Boldhome, so the group could a way to unfork this quest. Then he went back to the inn to get drunk. Finarvi went with him to hold his hand and then his hair.

Nala went to the Humakti temple to speak to the blacksmith, and found Berra on guard. Berra did not seem to have been affected. Maybe she just didn’t notice.

Notable Moments and Quotes

Session Quotes

"Okay, I’ll go get more pillows. I’m apparently a lot heavier than I was this morning." - Nala

"We are Yin and Yang. And sometimes the shades of grey win…." - Serala

"A library with good reputation, by Sartarite standards if I remember correctly" - Xenofos

"Berra doesn't get given any salt." - GM
"Why not? If it wasn't for Berra, there would've been no expedition." - Serala
"Because she got rescued instead." - GM

"I thought she purposefully set up the troll dude in an ambush." - Serala

"Finarvi plans to tithe while here. Preferably with salt." - Finarvi

"Sorry, Jesus is in the way of my dice." - Nala
"That's what I thought you said…." - Serala

"They are making it REALLY HARD not to be an insurgent." – Nala after finding Boldhome empty.

"I knew the bronze crotch piece was a good idea!" - Rajar

"We drew straws, and then I was unconscious for a while." - storm bull initiate

"Want me to hit her with an axe?" - Rajar
"White Lady, Rajar…" - Irillo
"It could be a small ish axe" - Rajar

"Rajar isn't Fat. He's just……okay fat." - Rajar

"You seem to have been involved in a failed Heroquest." - Jaldis
"How did she know that?" - Varanis
"What a WONDERFUL question, Varanis." - GM

"Like I said AXE" - Rajar
"I could shake her some." - Rajar

"What are you doing at the LM Temple? What are you trying to look up?" - GM
"More worship." - Xenofos
"(They would not have proper esrolian books anyway…)" - Xenofos

"Library Use, or Massive Bribery of Librarians Roll, I think." - GM

"He’s been perfectly polite and massively condescending." - GM
"THAT IS THE WORST KIND OF RUDE!" -Dormal

"SENSE CHAOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Rajar

"Oooh. Yeah, you don't think there is Chaos here." - GM
"The beer is safe." - GM
"But you should test it personally too." - GM

"Rule 1: Fight a war on someone ELSE'S farmlands" - Irillo
"Doesn't work so well when invading Russia." - Dormal

( Did the plan involve beating the impurities out of us with a large hammer? ) O o . - Irillo
( Yes. ) O o . - GM

"Someone is doing a divination to see how I can clean my aura, but the bad news is that it's Jaldis." - Mellia
"Well, she's unlikely to lie, right?" - Berra

"SENSE CHAOS" - Rajar
"Beer is still not Chaotic." - GM

"Who has the Tame Bull spell?" - Varanis
"I want to go on Rajar rides!" - Varanis
"Wait. Not like that! Stop!" - Varanis
"Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot." - Rajar

"I'm looking for Nala of Prax." - Dormal
"What gives you the impression she might be here?" - Tiwr

"ENLO LIBERATION FRONT" - Rajar
"Liberation through saving up for people." - GM

"Dozen enlo." - Salid

"Our little secret." - Dormal

"I will have grabbed my sword at least." - Varanis
"Well, yes." - GM
"I'll have grabbed a weapon too." - Finarvi
"PLEASE tell me it is made of wood or bronze." - GM

"Sense Chaos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" – Rajar
"NO CHAOS IN THE BAR!" - GM
"Easily fixed." - Dormal

"Mellia really isn't trying to hide. Hiding in white robes is difficult." - Mellia

"Wait… we are Lunars?!" - Varanis
"Oh yes." - Finarvi

"I will shoot, and Tiwr will IGNITE Eril" - Nala

"Whose brilliant idea was this?" - Xenofos

"I made a scan roll. Do I see Dormal?" - Varanis
"Yeah, you're all visible in a.. was that a weasel?" - GM


"The proposition we'll be testing is ARE THE BAD GUYS SUPPOSED TO WIN?" - Irillo
"Second proposition: ARE PEOPLE WAVING SCIMATARS THE GOOD GUYS?" - Irillo

"We're getting a lot of practice failing at heroquesting." - Finarvi
"Hey you guys failed. Some of us succeeded." - Dormal

"Now. Shall we work out how to UNFUCK this up?" - Irillo

"You're going to have to talk to the really condescending initiate again." - GM
"Charm did not work , intimidate, through extra polite snobbish veiled threats of hindering research at time of imminent war… 80/20 nope" - Xenofos

"To be fair, on past history ignite has never killed anybody." - Nala

- Comments: 0

Footnotes

1. Played by Rajar's player

2. An interesting kenning, playing both as it does on the red colour of bronze, but also on the wounds a weapon would 'write'.

3. This is a very obscure passage. Some authors (Wiermonken et al) have suggested this means a troll of some sort was playing the role of Flesh man. Others have argued (Fox et al) that this is merely a scribal error. Furthermore Flesh Man is hardly the normal participant for 'Guarding the stead'.

4. But was definitely a dragon.

5. Which were most definitely not teeth.

6. Which in no way at all could have been a tongue.

7. Varanis’ father

8. This definitely was not stealing, because they were too dead to need walking sticks anymore.

9. Xenofos woke up face to face with a troll mistress and contemplated stabbing it with a knife, but didn’t, which was good, because it was Eurmal with his illusion.

10. Played by Rajar's player.

11. This effect will end on Eurmal’s High Holy Day, or Sacred Time, or whenever Eurmal gets bored and forgets.

12. "ROUSes? I don't think they really exist OOOOOOPHHH!"

13. Spurious Rajar:

If pockets had been
Invented in this era
I could go through his.

{"So. Proud."}

14. Oh no. No no no. That is not just inaccurate, that is wrong! It is like the time I had to purify that poor grey sage who could not punctuate. And these are not footnotes, they are corrections.

Eril was guilty, and he was burdened. He could not pass on to reward or his just punishment yet. He was impure.

For those who, vainly, idolise him, let me list his impurities. I assure you these are only the most egregious.

He did not keep a promise to his Regiment. He had pride in the wrong things. He had committed murder. He loved, desperately, with a flame that burned for someone who is not his God. He would have preferred her over others, if she were in danger. He despised his own father. He was afraid to die with his work undone. He had pain for his family, despite being cast out. He had uncompleted ambitions. He had Hope.

I don’t think you understand what it is to bear love for such poor men.

15. Sigh.

16. pure

17. Irillo passes Insight (Own Species), a roll which Eril managed to fail whenever he saw Thenaya.

18. Irillo failed First Aid, but Thenaya makes a special.

19. Fumbled battle roll for that boat.

20. Fumble on Moon Rune. Bad Things Happen to Berra and Salid's Darkness Runes, and Irillo sees through the worst lens Eril has.

21. Six failed Moon Runes in a row, after the fumble that gave him a vision from the selfish point of view.

22. Mellia passes a Scan Roll to see this.

23. Mellia rolls a special on First Aid: Eril, as she sees him now, has a nasty cut over his right eye, in a way that is familiar, both in shape and in colour. In shape, it is just like Venlar's, making it hard for him to see. In colour, and the redness around the edge, it is like she treated on Geriol, with the suggestion that the infection is probably fading - the puffiness she would expect has gone.

As for the rest of him, he looks tired, and thin, close to the point of exhaustion behind the arrogance. She has seen young Eril in visions, on this Quest. This is half him, half the High Sword, as if the pride were always there and waited only to be revealed.

24. Which is made easier by being wounded, and the pull of damaged skin. And is familiar on his face, for Mellia, watching.

25. Eril knows that his father drove off ravens when he was being born. Ravens can control Death Spirits.

26. Mellia passes Insight (Human): It is hard to tell what is keeping him upright, but sheer determination would be the fore-runner. A low grade fever, blood loss, pale skin. Emotional outbursts would be bad for Eril right now.

27. Spurious Rajar:

Collared doves go coo
Collared slaves go ARGH a lot
Collard greens are nice

28. Burning Dreamroot was said to be physically the safest but spiritually the most dangerous way of taking this volatile drug.

29. Transliterated as 'Err-Ill-O', or 'Mistakes of sickness for none'

30. Fumbled Insight: Human

31. With the possible exception of Rajar.

32. Varanis, famous for her oratory, is here oddly silent. An indication perhaps of how little she felt a single warrior could be a challenge to her.

33. Literally two Death Runes together, in the original

34. The patients/patience pun works in the original. The use of 'patience' would indicate some importance is given to Darkness here, perhaps mercy holding cruelty in check.

35. Spurious Rajar has it:

It was the one time.
So why is my eke-name now
Small Chicken-choker?

36. Here is a sample verse:

Blade-bearer's face dripped - bright battle sweat.
Hardened Hand of Humakt - into hidden healer's hall,
Seeking sweet solace. -
Sanguine Vareena,
Ring rich noble, - rested red rapier.
Wise in the ways - of wound binding,
Offered all aid - as healer's assistant.

37. Probably a literal loft-hall.

38. Here, 'brave-hearted' as well as the usual overtones of the successful merchant.

39. This play on concepts, if not identical words, has been passed down the ages. People forget that chickens are bred from fighting jungle birds.

40. This is an untimely break in the manuscript.

41. Imagine the Incredible Hulk bashing Loki back and forth like a ragdoll and you’ll get the idea.

42. Yet another failed Charm Roll from Xenofos.

43. At this point the GM swears. Having copied and pasted the details of the plan because Dormal had a good question above, GM forgot to actually send them… Dormal: Unreliable Internal Narrator Error.

44. 'Guts' or 'centre' would also be appropriate.

45. Spurious Rajar:

Prax is very dry
No spare water means that my
Jokes are quite filthy

46. Generally, taken to mean arrow-swift, this phrase must of course be compared with such epithets as D'Val-Dagger and Small Sword. The relationship with the hero Deveval is hinted at, if not more.

47. Some translators (von Sturm) give this as 'Understanding'

48. von Sturm gives this as 'Understanding brings Nirvana'.

49. Seemingly, only Berra. Conceptually, those not of Esrolia.

50. Did Mellia apotheosise? Is this the famous White Lady Mellia? Here is our first hint.

51. Sky Rune: Pass.

52. Sky Rune: Pass.

53. Battle: Success

54. Scan: Success

55. Special on Moon

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