Blood in the Snow
Summary
Adventure: Blood in the Snow
GM: Chris C
Season: Spring 814 wk
Night: Tuesday
Level: Low-Med
- Party
- Arandor MS - played by Phil J
- Rahne S - played by Stephen M
- Ibrihim - played by Andrew W
- Cher - played by Sean E
- Mayhem - played by Jim A
- Prue PL - played by Julia M
- Employer
- An Emissary of Narviyk - Borgar Solvtungen of Clan Whitehawk
- Mission
- The party is hired to deal with some problems in the far NNE of Alusia, just south of the permanent ice in The Kingdom of Narviyk. The Lord of Partridge Vale has encountered creatures they are unfamiliar with and seek expert help as the local fighters are fatally unable to deal with the upsurge in hostile natives.
- Wyverns/Drakes, Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Hobgoblins in an old Fort. 3 towns to check on.
- Pay
- Lots of (large) Rubies and Amber. 30,000sp worth by guild valuation up front and 30,000 on completion.
Scribe Notes
One Day East
We meet up and introduce ourselves, some previous companions and some new. Then we are introduced to the large Northerner (6'4" blond large build, middle-aged, lame leg) Borgar, he tells us of his home and of the troubles in the Vale that they would like our help with. The way he describes it the vale is a pleasant place where they send those unable to fight and the elderly to live out their days, then he mentions all the dangerous creatures in the area and it starts to sound like those unable to fight are sent there to be killed.
After the meeting we go our different ways to prepare for morning departure. Mayhem keeps our employer and his companions company as they carouse to ensure they survive the natives of Seagate till morning. Ibrihim and Prue acquire winter survival gear, some luxury goods and some trade goods. Cher sets to preserving and itemising everything. Arandor and I are guards and couriers.
- W'ansday 2nd Thaw
Setting out at dawn, we fly most of the day to the lake south-east of the Filgiso Forest then into the caves and through the portal to the east. We arrive after midnight and camp outside the caves until morning.
- Th'rsday 3rd Thaw
With Prue in charge we travel rapidly down river then across a channel to Laoet Island and into the port of Setagen. There we are met by guards who are unwelcoming until bribed by Borgar, then they remember and welcome him. We are due to sail north on the Grey Storm but it has not arrived yet, the guards encourage us to stay at the Darkened Oak while we wait.
It seems the Darkened Oak is where all foreigners are sent, sitting in the common room when we arrive are merchants from Kin Lu, Raniterre, and Chingapur. Prue informs us over mind speech that most of them are probably spies. We acquire two rooms on the top floor where it is coolest.
Embark the Grey Storm
We spend the afternoon shopping in the market, followed by spies and thieves, ripped off by merchants, both ours and theirs.
That evening we study the other residents of the Inn under the cover of some of us fraternising. Mayhem retires with the dancing girls, Moe, Rihanna and Coco.
Late in the evening, after a storm rolls in, the Captain of the Grey Storm enters. They rode the front of the storm into harbour and will be leaving in the morning as soon as the storm lifts (Ibrihim assures us that will be in 17 hours). And it seems that all of the foreign residents of this Inn are his passengers.
- Frysday 4th Thaw
We report to the ship mid-morning, a couple of hours before the storm clears and are shown to our cramped cabin. Shortly the Captain comes to see us, his Water Mage has unexpectedly resigned and left the ship, and it seems someone has identified our colleges as the Captain asks pointed questions and tells us it will be a long slow voyage without a replacement Air or Water mage. Prue and Ibrihim accept positions on the crew for the duration of this voyage, Ibrihim surprises us by negotiating strongly with the Captain for their ship's share.
- Reapsday 5th - W'ansday 9th Thaw
We sail north then north-west, heading for the port of Varnod. After 5 days at sea we start to see Ice Bergs, on the 6th day we approach a heavy fog, Cher who has been flying ahead scouting returns to report sounds of battle in the fog ahead.
We prepare then take to the air to investigate, Ibrihim calls a Windstorm to clear the fog around our ship and make it difficult for anyone to approach.
As we reach the area of battle we see people and small boats in the water amongst wreckage, then we see the giant sea serpent that has presumably destroyed the ship and is now eating the people.
The Sea Serpent
We attack. Prue lands on an Iceberg near the survivors and wields her Water magic to rescue survivors and drive off sharks; Mayhem tests a water landing then quickly decides the Iceberg is warmer and a better take-off platform; Arandor shoots flaming arrows into the serpent; Cher lands in the water to protect survivors from the circling sharks; Ibrihim assails the serpent with a small sand storm; I charge in making flying strikes against the head of the serpent, trying to distract it from slaughtering the survivors; Mayhem returns to the air and after a couple of passes to establish his line of approach, lands on the back of the serpent and starts stabbing it.
Together we make the serpent bleed, it dives underwater to flee, Mayhem hangs on, I grab its tail, Ibrihim is a moment too late and is left in its wake. Mayhem and I continue to strike as we descend to dangerous depths, slaying the serpent and almost expiring ourselves before returning to safety. Meanwhile the others had killed or driven off the sharks and rescued a lot of the people.
With further water magic applied, I locate the dead serpent then Prue and I descend to retrieve it. We take the survivors, as many corpses as we can recover, and the dead serpent (all 130 tons of it) back to our ship.
The survivors tell us the ship was attacked by the serpent, the crew put them in life boats then attempted to defend the ship, the serpent crushed the ship and ate the crew before turning on them. We find out that it had been controlled by powerful Witchcraft, the survivors can't name any likely enemies to have targeted them. The passengers were from several reasonably wealthy families in Svelteford who chartered the ship to move south to warmer lands near Chingkapur.
Cher creates appropriate tools and we enlist the marines to help in butchering the sea serpent. We take sections of skin and scale to potentially make armour or shields, teeth and bone for weapons, preserved eyes and internal organs for alchemy, and large cross sections of meat which are dehydrated and itemised for transport.
We then resume our journey.
- Th'rsday 10th - Moonday 14th Thaw
We proceed north and then west uneventfully apart from the increasing cold and cramped conditions to finally make port at Barneod, in the Principality of Vyberg late on the 14th.
Chapter 4
Selling serpent, buying furs, artefacts and local specialities. Cher's healing lodge.
- Duesday 15th Thaw
Healed, equipped and dressed warmly, our ship awaits.
Chapter 5
- Duesday 15th - Reapsday 19th Thaw
Sail to Narviyk in heated cog. Walk from town to castle of the King. King and son are away hunting, meet with Princess (sister to King) and her consort. Practice flying over and landing in snow.
- This is to say, the others stood around watching Ibrihim fly in strong winds and white-out conditions, knowing he was high on Krrf. Even him landing on the windowsill of a stone tower on a carpet wasn't enough to worry them. It was only the vertical (downwards) take-off from said window that caused them some worry. Speaking of worries - when Ibrihim tried to cast Calm to make the conditions safer for the others, a lightning bolt struck where he was standing, leaving a 5' hole to a depth of 60' through the snow and the bedrock below. It wasn't a backfire, so it appears that 'Calm' counts as a form of Weather Control.
- Sunday 20th - Moonday 21st Thaw
Sail around coast to whaling station in Long Ship. Ice storm.
- Duesday 22nd Thaw
Fly 4 hours (mostly NW) to Boeden Fort.
Chapter 6
Enter fort, which is mostly within the mountain. Mammoth-sleds being loaded with vale goods to ship elsewhere in the Kingdom. Horse/Ox carts bring goods in from the Vale.
Meet with Jarl Sweyn Vorkbeard, lord of Boeden Fort. Discuss matters learn more of the Vale - information that is normally forbidden to outsiders. Dine and sleep for the night.
- W'nsday 23rd Thaw
Catch a ride through the pass on an empty wagon returning to the vale.
In the vale is high mana and a more comfortable (to most of us) climate. We leave our heavy furs in the guard towers and fly up river to Porsgrund.
Land and introduce ourselves to The Lord of Partridge Vale, are granted permission to fly directly into the town.
Then we fly on to the Air Bolder - a house sized rock with an air spring in the middle of it and a narrow opening through which fresh air emanates.
Chapter 7
Entered the forest, scouted and closed on the ruins.
Chapter 8
Captured Hobgoblin scout, 'slept' by Mayhem's gentle touch, hypnotised by Arandor, questioned by Prue.
Their leader has made a deal with the Drow Necromancer that fell from the sky to destroy or dominate the other tribes and then the same for the humans outside the forest.
We leave the Hobgoblin in a statuesque pose in the forest and head towards the old keep. We contemplate climbing into the canopy that is interwoven high above the keep, until we see the chitinous legs crawling about the canopy. Walking Unseen, we cross the open ground to the keep scale the walls with Cher's animated ropes, sneak into a tower and take out the off-duty HG guard resting there. Below are officers quarters and barracks with too many occupants for us to sneak past so we head back out and climb down to the courtyard. Sneaking around Mayhem sends his shadow to peer under doors until the process of elimination leaves us with just the door guarded by 4 goblins. With the clever distraction of a gold coin to lure them out of our way we almost sneak past them until one steps back into Arandor. We strike quickly and take them out but are seen by guards on the walls, stealth and surprise abandoned we open the door and charge in to be met by the Necromancer, her HG guards, and pet Wolverines.
Chapter 9
Arandor and I are met by the Hobgoblins just inside the door, we engage them and start slowly cutting them down. Mayhem manages to slip past most of them and lob a grenado at the Necromancer before being mobbed by her pet Wolverines, one of her HG guards and most of the goblins when they join the fray. I finish off a couple of Hobgoblins then turn to help Mayhem who is busy climbing out of a pile of corpses. Arandor works his way through the Hobgoblins and their reinforcements.
Meanwhile outside, Cher raises a wall and Prue covers the party with lethal (to others) geysers. The HG and G from other parts of the complex emerge and head for us, their chief looses his head as he charges through the invisible noose Cher rigged up earlier which stuns then infuriates his mate. Cher disintegrates part of the wall to create line of sight to the Necromancer, Ibrihim and Prue attack her with Sand Storms and geysers.
The Necromancer retreats into the tower while her HGs hold us off, Ibrihim flies up to track her, she emerges onto the parapet and is met by another Sand Storm and then flying charges from Ibrihim, the last leaving her dead on her feet and Ibrihim impaled with crossbow bolts from the tower guards.
We finally fight our way to the top of the tower, retrieve the Necromancer's body and then proceed to kill the remaining HGs as they come at us. Some flee and several of the goblins get out but the keep is ours.
Chapter 10
Arandor keeps watch in one of the towers, staying in touch over mind speech. We check out the stables and find a giant acidic jelly-fish-amoeba that has been quietly digesting everything that comes within reach. Prue deals to it with her flaming sword and protective geysers while the rest of us wash off acid and stay clear of its touch. A couple of interesting items have survived digestion, we extract and wash them then send them up to Arandor.
Heading down into the basement we find cells (goblin prisoner, fungus colony), store rooms, a torture chamber, and an old shrine to Uller, god of the vale. One of the rooms has a well drawing from an underground river, heading down the well we find water carved caves that lead to a room full of bones and decomposing bodies, a concealed hatch from the torture chamber was presumably used to dump their victims here. Further on we find a room where Mayhem tells us a lot of people have died been interred. A ghostly revenant rises from the ground, Ibrihim heads off to guard our rear, our amulets hold it at bay and we manage to communicate with it. She was slain by Kargor (about 100 years ago) using a foul blade which bound her here, we offer to release her and she indicates a skull with a dagger embedded in the eye socket. Cher uses magic to release the dagger from the skull which releases the ghost but it works too well and the dagger comes flying at Cher who deflects the initial attack with her arm. Mayhem, Ibrihim and I attempt to pin the animate dagger, Prue applies healing to Cher who is being drained by her dagger wound, Chers enchants her hands into hammer and anvil and strikes repeatedly until the dagger is broken.
Investigating the caverns more carefully we find a concealed door that leads to a tunnel that leads roughly south, we head down it, alerting Arandor to our plans as we head out of range. Hours later and we estimate about 20 miles south-ish towards Porsgrund the tunnel ascends slightly and comes to recent workings and what we guess to be the wall of a stone lined cellar. Heading back a little Cher looks up through the ground to see an alley in Porsgrund, she disintegrates a tunnel so we can climb out.
There we find guardsmen, give the passwords to establish our identity and then talk to the Lord of Partridge Vale about what we have found. He quickly organises 50 guardsmen to accompany us back to relieve Arandor. We march back with them then collapse and sleep in the Keep while the guards take over sentry duty.
We stay on in either the Keep or Porsgrund for a few days then fly back to the Pass, through to Boeden then fly on to Narvivyk.
A feast with the King and court.
Sail south to Barneod, then fly south to Setagen.
We stay at Setagen for a few days for Mayhem to finish mapping the city then fly to the Portal and through to the Filgiso. Then fly back to Seagate.
Calendar
| Spring: Thaw (10) 814wk | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moonday | Duesday | W'ansday | Th'rsday | Frysday | Reapsday | Sunday | ||||||||
|
Candlemansa | 1 | Guild Meeting SGT | 2 | Filgiso | 3 | Setagen | 4 | Sail N-NW towards Barneod | |||||
|
7 | 9 | Sea Serpent | 10 | ||||||||||
|
14 | Barneod | 15 | Sail N towards Narviyk | 19 | Narviyk | 20 | Sail W | ||||||
|
21 | Whaling Station | 22 | Fly to Boeden | 23 | Vale: Pass, Porsgrund, Air-rock | 24 | Forest & Keep | 25 | Tunnel to Porsgrund | 26 | Keep / Porsgrund | ||
| Spring: Seedtime (11) | ||||||||||||||
|
|
28 | ...Keep / Porsgrund | 1 | Pass, Boeden | 2 | Narviyk | 3 | Sail to Barneod | ||||||
|
|
5 | ...sailing south... | 7 | Barneod | 8 | Rites of Thunor
Fly south to Setagen |
10 | ...Setagen... | ||||||
|
|
12 | ...Setagen | 15 | Equinox
Portal to Filgiso |
16 | Fly to Seagate. | 17 | Eostre | 18 | Seagate Spring Ball | ||||
Reference
Astrology
- Prue - water scrying #1
- The powers grow across the lands and cause the bones to quake,
- Little one using power without thought brings wrath upon all,
- The land remembers and tracks the offenders,
- Till one day they reclaim the power ripped from its womb
- Prue - water scrying #2
- Secrets buried long ago by great heroes,
- Lie deep within the stone and water,
- Powers thought unreachable,
- Awaiting their true heirs
Rumours and Legends
- Kel Dar Mar
- Stories of a lost Elven city under the ice in the north. Reportedly full of wealth.
- Iceberg Palaces
- drifting in the water, full of Elven treasures.
- Ice Witches
- Coven of witches in the forest under the ice.
People
- Borgar Solvtungen of Clan Whitehawk - emissary from the Kingdom
- Order of the Golden Dawn - Priest Hemrich and 7 monks. From Port Avalosa.
- Mrs Horax of the Svelteford group is some sort of Summoner. She has 3 children aged 5, 7, and 10.
- Sylinky - best healer at Siren's Rest in Barneod. Uses 'healing hut' outside of town to access spirit healing. It seemed to work on Cher's broken pelvis, healing it overnight.
- Captain Brett of the White Stag, our transport from Barneod to Narvivyk. Liselle - water mage (captain's daughter/niece?). A family owned/operated ship.
- Princess Märis (?) and her consort Jorgen (?) at Narvivyk
- Captain Sven of the Longship Vargus - our transport from Narvivyk to the Whaling Station.
- Jarl Sweyn Vorkbeard of Boeden Fort
- Lord of Partridge Vale
- Elementals on the other side of the air boulder. Would like the portal opened. Tried to encourage Ibrihim to say "I wish, I wish, I wish I could go to the plane of air" - presumably by Djinn on the other side.
- Uller, god of the vale (not met but encountered an old shrine to Uller)
Keep Inhabitants
- Venetia - Female Drow Necromancer. Half her body crippled, half healthy. Reportedly fell from the sky into the Vale. Made a deal with the Hobgoblins to extend their territory and drive the humans out. Don't know her others goals.
- Thuggle - leader of the Hobgoblins.
- about 40 Hobgoblins
- about 30 goblins
- Homicidal shrubberies
- acid-amoeba-jelly-fish thing
- Ghostly woman - slain by Kargor about 100 years ago
Grey Storm
105' Carrack. Preservation magical/alchemical, uses Amber, may make it a better target of Ship Strength.
- Captain Lordmark
- Splash McManon - Water Mage (former)
- Mayhem says the name is familiar and was associated with pirates. Could be why he suddenly quit when we came on board.
- 110 Crew
- 100 Marines
- Soldiers from Viborg - up north, the captain is commissioned to train in seamanship and naval combat. They are on their way home. Have 2 Namers.
- Passengers - us and 14 others
- Kinlu 1 - has geometric tattoos on his neck
- Kinlu 2 -
- Soon - from Chingapur, has tattoo of Spider and Snake entwined.
- Ranniterre 1
- Ranniterre 2
- Cervis - from Ebola
- Ebola 2
- Ebola 3
- Adjepbar - 'merchant'
- Hanse - from Ranke
- Ranke 2
- _
- _
- _
Loot
and expenses.
| Item | Qty | Effects | Ar | Ch | Ma | Pr | Ra | Ib |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased | ||||||||
| Scorpion blade venom | 12 | - | ||||||
| Insect Repellent | ||||||||
| stuff | ||||||||
Logistics
Buffs
| Magic | Rk | Effects | Dur | Ar | Ch | Ma | Pr | Ra | Ib |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Traversal (Ch) | 19 | 5 targets +7 tmr on flat ice | 6:40 h:m | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Flying Carpet (Ib) | 12 | 42 mph, 273 miles | 6½ hrs | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Feather Fall (Ib) | 8 | fall up to 3 miles @1ft/sec | 4½ hrs | Y | |||||
| Enchant Weapon (Ra) | 8 | +9% +4 Dam | 13 minutes | ||||||
| Cold Resistance (Pr) | 8 | Protect to -16°C -3 dam. | 9 hours | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Waterproofing (Pr) | 6 | 18 hours | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Water Breathing (Pr) | 6 | 7 hours | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Waters of Strength (Pr) | 9 | [D-2]+9 PS/MD | 50 mins | PS | PS | ||||
| Greater Enchantment (Ra) | 17 | +18% on (R)esistance, (M)agic, (S)kills & Stats, (C)ombat | 5 days | RMC | RSC | RMS | RMC | RMS |
Alternative to Cold Resistance (if temp falls below -16°) Ibrihim can cast Resist Cold: effective temperature improves by 15°C; same rank/duration/damage reduction as above.
MilSci
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibrihim | Mayhem | Prue | Ibrihim | ||||||||
| Arandor | Cher | Rahne | |||||||||
| Default | Double File
Arandor Rahne |
Single File
Arandor |
