Blood, My God the Blood

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Blood, My God the Blood.

• Scribe notes entitled: After the Greys

GM: Jillian Mitchinson
Season: Autumn 806 WK
Night: Wednesday night
Level: Medium.

Party

• Motley - A Giant Non Mage, Pacted. Scribe and unranked Military Scientist played by James Mitchell
• Morgan the Orc - A female Orc Non-mage and Healer played by Cherie Nouwens
• Cher - A Suarime Binder played by Sean English
• Penni Female Elf, Namer and Republican (Party Leader) played by Lisa Rose
• Bartholomew, Male Human, Mind mage. Travelling with an Orc body-guard Soremena Played by Jon Mcspadden
• Mary-M - Female Hobbit, Namer and Healer. Pacted. Played by Helen.

Time on adventure

tbc 826 WK to tbc 826 WK

Employer

Lord Socks, the Cisco Cat sender

Mission

To return Lord Di Anima Draco to the main land, in working condition.

Scribe Notes

Day 1 (Duesday 1 Fruit 806)

Session 1: Wednesday, 15 March 2006

Lord Socks, the Cisco Cat sender, has arrived at the Guild to hire a party to go to the plane of Morphran and find Lord Draco - who will heal the plane.

Day 2 (W’ansday 2 Fruit 806)

After the usual preparation at the Guild, (wings, restorative potions, but no healing potions as they are not available this season. .. ), we meet Lord Socks in the evening and are sent over to Morphran.

Bart has performed an astrology reading, and found that we may need to exaggerate the dire need of the plane in order to recruit Lord Draco, and that it may be a good idea to do something about the Cher’s sword of Petris gunk.

Session 2: 22 March 2006

Again, in case it is needed sometime later, we noted down our order of travel, being Motley, Morgan, Cher, Soremena, Bart, Mary-Em, and Penni.

On arrival at Takari, we are greeted by Killit who will be our guide. The idea is that we go to the coast and meet with some Orcs that have a boat, and will take us to Lord Draco’s island.

Before we set off, an alarm is raised. We sce a large column of light shining up into the sky from over in the direction of the Human settlement of Riversdale. Very odd, but too far off to investigate. We set off for an all nighter on Doggie back. It is not easy to get a sound sleep, as the Doggies are rested every 4 hours and the rest of the party complain, loudly, of being saddle sore - but such is life for a pixie in a hammock.

Day 3 (Th’rsday 3 Fruit 806)

At dawn Killit orders a halt for breakfast, and a 2 hour rest. Bart and Morgan apply ointments, and the party sleeps - except Motley who watches and Mary-Em who is divinating some grass. She spots some of the strong magic that has been operating on the plane.

The warm weather is about to change into a blizzard, so it is back onto Doggies to outrun the bad weather.

Session 3: 29 March 2006

We push on in 4 hour stages until the evening, when we take an hour for a hot meal.

A column of light bursts into the sky a few miles away. Mary-Em and Motley fly off to investigate, Cher and Mergan follow on Doggie, leaving Bart and Penni to tend the stew.

The light is coming from the cracked, broken ground of a destroyed settlement. The black Morphran gloop is oozing out of the cracks in the ground. The gloop still has a GTN of “blood”, and its function is “life”.

On the other hand, the light is magical and its nature is “Power”.

Something is approaching, so Mary-Em and Motley decide to grab some gloop for later divination, and rejoin the others. Fortunately we approach this with caution.. . trying first to scoop some into a leather pouch, we are surprised when the pouch wriggles and its GTN changes to “living” with a hint of bovine. We confirm this “extra life, more vibrant life” idea by watching some grass get covered by the gloop.

Finally Mary-Em emptys a potion and uses the glass bottle to hold some gloop (the glass slowly becomes warmer), and we pop back to Cher and Morgan.

We hear several screams as though someone was dying, and return to the light to see three people. Two are in the gloop reaching out for the Light, one standing or treading on the other, both are formerly living as of a few minutes ago and have received a magical “overdose of life”. The third is on horseback watching {with a magical aura), then rides away.

We return to the hot food.

We ride, except for Mary-Em who sits on a flying tarp and tries to divinate the gloop, but this proves quite hard. Soon afterwards the blizzard hits and the party adds “wet” to “tired and saddle sore”. I have a nasty moment when my Doggie stumbles and I am knocked out of my hammock, but I manage to get over the cold and shock to re-string the hammock under the bivouac, and eventually get off to sleep again.

Day 4 (Frysday 4 Fruit 806)

At mid-morning the Doggies slow and we move through the indistinct shapes of buildings. The blizzard is still blowing, but we are at the edge of Arricton. Once we have holed up in a building, the cats go to find our contacts, and the party goes to sleep. Motley watches while Penni divinate the gloop. In the late evening some Undead march past the building - they are the only sign of life we have seen since entering the town.

Mary-Em also divinates the gloop, which is definitely the life blood of the plane, and hates the Power or burning light.

Day 5 (Reapsday 5 Fruit 806)

The blizzard is still blowing, but we decide to go with the cats to meet our Orc contacts now rather than wait for the blow to finish, We are travelling to the waterfront, and the city is completely deserted; snow is piling up against the buildings - which show signs of recent combat, notches in the walls, missing roofs, that sort of thing.

Down at the waterfront, near a warehouse, Killit fails to mentally contact the Orcs. When she returns we enter the warehouse and start to treat the wounded. In all there are twenty bodies, thirteen still alive.

Some have been clawed, some drained as by Greater Undead. Strangely there are Orcs and Humans together in this group... Mary-Em starts work resurrecting the Orc in charge. Penni tries some of the Morphran “blood” {now formerly living) on a wound, which it heals a little. Motley uses the mirror to watch the attack from last night (a little after the Undead past our position), comprised of 10 to 15 Human Ghouls, and 5 very bright Humanoid Greater Undead. The Undead have a very organised attack directed by the 5 shiny ones; the Human and Orc defence is pretty organised too, but not enough.

The resurrected Orc is Captain Rankin, and he introduces us to First Mate Lancet (and Orc), and Lord Ranson (Human, and leader of the Human group). Captain Rankin confirms they were ambushed, and the attack was too well organised.

This group, who do not have the hostility between Orc and Human that we had expected, are not from the mainland. They are from an island - not Lord Draco’s island, but their ancestors did help spirit him away there.

Captain Rankin explains we will have to wait for the storm to settle before we can use the long-boats on the beach to get to the ship waiting off shore. We caich up a little on the situation in the city (deserted), Mary-Em offers to fly to the ship and deliver a message, then Mary-Em and Penni set to with the resurrecting; and Motley and the Cat Rattail stealth out to map the extent of Undead in the area.

Information

Some things we think we know after gossipping to people.

1. from Lord Socks at the briefing
   1. Lord Dianima Draco is a dragon, and the essence of the plane of Morphran
   2. Lord Draco will be found on an island, where the Orcs (urged by the Cats) sent him when the Greys arrived - for his own protection.
   3. “Dianima” translates to blood.
   4. Duke Arric has been killed.
   5. Trog society is in upheaval (revolution?).
   6. The plane of Morphran is experiencing eruptions, earthquakes, and volcanoes. The weather is changing from burning hot to icy cold from day to day; however the intervals between extremes is getting longer.
   7. The Goddess stuff is sent from Lord Draco.
   8. The Cats have split into factions along clan lines.
   9. Does the plane need healing because of the 2 items previously buried by parties? 1. Evil Grey castle buried under a mud scab, 2. Evil sword of Petris stuff buried under running water (to spread the infection further?)
2. Bart’s astrology
   1. “Exaggerate the need” to get Lord Draco’s aid.
   2. “Yes” the Petris sword is damaging the plane and should be moved.
3. Mary-Em’s divinates grass, and finds the demonic control was through the medium of a “True Light” magic. It was very powerful and sustained over a long time.
4. The Power and Morphran blood
   1. the Light that breaks from the ground (?) and shines as a column into the sky is known as the “Power”, and the “burning Light”.
   2. the Morphran blood hates the burning Light.
   3. Assumption: the Power is associated with the Greys - maybe the castle. Gloop is trying to purge the plane of the infection.
   4. Morphran blood is about healing and life, but may cause the death of living things in the process.
   5. the purpose of the blood is to support the plane.
   6. Assumption: Human Undead (or other Grey remnants?) are attracted to the Light, but stepping in the gloop to get to it kills them.
   7. Assumption: the column of burning light is caused when the magic item at the centre of a Human manor (used to control Undead, etc...) falls into the earth and is broken apart (by the gloop?).
5. about Arricton
   1. the party of 10 to 15 Undead who attacked the Orcs and Humans tallies closely with the group that passed us, but we did not “see” any Greater Undead.
   2. the city has been deserted since the Trog civil arrest following Duke Arric’s death. The groups have splintered and slaughtered each other.
   3. there may be no Orcs left on the mainland, since the Trogs have been killing them to try and generate more Goddesses.
6. about the Undead and the Humans
   1. once the Greys were gone, all the Undead became uncontrolled, and the Mind control amongst Humans (mostly females) stopped.
   2. there seems to be a backlash from the Undead amongst the Humans, now that the Undead are uncontrolled.
   3. many Humans were killed after Mind control stopped.
   4. the Undead have begun possessing Humans, and there is rumour of a Human/Undead army.
7. Captain Rankin and Lord Ranson
   1. the Orcs and Humans live peacefully together on an island.
   2. they are descendants of the people that took Lord Draco away when the Greys arrived.

The People and Places

Andrealphus

A demon with an interest in the casket.

Archfield

Plane the Greys come from.

Arric, Duke

A Trog leader. Died sometime after the Greys left.

Arricton

Duke Arric’s city. Built as an extended barracks.

Burning Light

aka, the Power

Casket

Magical item which releases the icy blue stream when opened. Is locked by a magical pin.

Castle Attia

Target for the Gnome portal magics. May be on the plane of Archfield.

Centre of Orcanian civilisation

The big glowing thing down in the Orcanian tunnels. Maybe what kept the Orcanians from being destroyed when the river of icy blue came for them.

Cisco Cats

Very large cat/lion beasts. They have an ability to “send” thoughts to communicate, or travel between planes. Live in the mountains. They partner with Trogs, who train the young as warriors/riding beasts.

Decrabia

A demon. Made the casket of icy blue, and is able to monitor through it.

Draco, Lord Dianima

A dragon, and the essence of the plane of Morphran.

Enrico

A well dressed Orc from the Trog’s plane. Met on previously as religious clerk for Duke Arric.

Ferris

A Cisco Cat, and master of the fortress Takari.

Foras

A Guild approved demon.

Gnomes

Traders. They deal with Humans and Trogs. They are also summoned to move the Greys around as required. The Cisco Cats tend to attack them on sight.

Goblins

Seem to be allied to the Gnomes.

Greys

Demonic avatars who came to the Trog plane and completely disrupted the existing society and weather patterns. They have the Humans in mind-controlled subjugation. The Gnomes also do their bidding, transporting them around the countryside. Only two have been seen by Guild parties.

Humans

Appear to be standard Human. They live in manors/farms which have a protective barrier to exclude Trogs and the perpetual autumn - instead they have perpetual summer. The barriers are kept up with a magic item fuelled by either life force, or just blood. Servants are either human or Greater Undead {and former family), the latter are bound while in the area of the patriarch. At a marriage, the Greys perform the “Ritual of Claiming” (with much blood) to endow gifts - including massive mind control on the bride.

Icy blue river

A magical “liquid” that can be targeted to destroy entire races. The target is frozen on touch, and the river spreads throughout a plane very quickly. First seen as the “river of infinite cold” in the Orcanian tunnels.

Island

the island where Captain Rankin and Lord Ranson are from.

Killit

Cisco Cat guide.

Lake of Not-Water

A black viscous substance surrounding the Grey’s castle in the centre of the land ripples. Aura is “formerly living”, with primary magic as “containment”. GTN is “Morphran”, so it is probably the blood of the plane.

Land ripples

Ripples that spread out like waves from a central impact point in the mountains. The centre seems to be where the Greys are.

Magma

Cisco Cat ambassador to Duke Arric’s court. Highest ranked non-courtier skill is “Unarmed pounce and rend.”

Morphran

Name of the Trog plane.

Morphran Blood

aka “gloop” and “ooze”. GTN is “Morphran”, and it is the blood of the plane. Its purpose is to support the plane, and its function is “life”. It is the same substance found in the Lake of Not-Water. It is oppossed to the “burning light”.

Orcanians

Giant undead Orc-like creatures. A long dead civilisation with hidden underground cities. They really dislike the Trogs, and cast mean dark spheres. Orcanians have been attacked by the “river of icy blue” but have been kept on as undead by an item known as the centre of their civilisation.

Orcs

Unlike Alusian Orcs, these Orces are well spoken, well dressed, and rather intellectual. They serve as clerks (civil and religious) in the Trog society. They are descended from the Orcanians.

Petris

A race on the plane of Archfield. Casket has been used against them, so they may not exist now. Linked with the icky black stuff in the Goddess harness.

Rankin, Captain

Orc captain from an island.

Ranson, Lord

Human leader from an island.

Redfelt, King

The Orcanian king who opened the casket given him by the Greys, releasing the river of icy blue. Released and killed by a guild party.

River of infinite cold

A channel of liquid running through some rooms in the Orcanian city. First seen in a larder and thought to act as a means of preserving food. May also be a treacherous gift from the Greys. See the “icy blue river”.

Smoke

A Cisco Cat guide.

Socks, Lord

A Cisco Cat sender (planar traveller).

Stillgate

Human manor/farm. Formerly ruled by Lord Ranolf, now ruled by his son Lord Randell and his wife Kalend; whose marriage was officiated by the Greys.

Takari

Cat fortress near the centre of the land ripples.

Trogs

Like an Ogre, but bigger (10 feet tall), better looking and more heavily muscled.

Wharfran

Plane the icy blue river is created on.