Weeding 14th Marketday -52 degrees, feel breeze on skin, weather vanes begin to move-rains for seven hours!
-Immersion-smell of urine- E: Positive for Mendy Bleher: the Harm of Good Q: Is someone being robbed? NO Q: A corpse? YES
I wake up to cold, pouring rain spilling across my blanket. For weeks, I’ve slept under a roof, with a mule hauling a tent for me. One night! Just one night I am out under the stars and it finally decides to rain! I get up and start rolling the sodden blanket up to carry with me,a nd then start following the river north towards the mountains.
I walk through the morning, cold, wet and hungry. Corvus huddles up inside my cloak for all the good it does. After an hour or so, I see what appear to be some white rocks along the muddy riverbank. Then I realize that I am looking at bones! But not human bones/ The skull looks somewhat humanlike, but larger and with fangs. Maybe a fanged ogre? the arm bones look more bestial, like leg bones that end in claws rather than long fingers. The rest of the skeleton has been scattered by scavengers.
I travel farther, and come across a human corpse caught in some branches by the river. I drag the man out of the water, remembering the two bandits I unceremonniously dumped in the river myself a month ago. This man is dressed similarly. He has an empty quiver lashed to his belt, and two short blades in scabbards, a tiny crossbow that looks like it can be fired with one hand, and a case of darts for it, and a belt with some potions in it. I take the potions, naturally, and examine the blades. They don’t match! One of them looks very ordinary, but the other has a hilt like a raven’s wings and the bird’s head on the pommel. I take it, and lash it to my belt, for it seems an unusually beatiful weapon.
I then continue following the river north. There are no workers in the field, for the rain is steady. My feet are soon covered in mud, and my stomach is growling. I look for a farmhouse, and spot a small hamlet
Q: Do I spot a farmhouse? EXCEPTIONAL YES (was very likely, since this is a “farmland hex” with 60 person per square mile population density) Generated two people via UNE, one is a titled crook, the other is a an inexperienced champion, so that’s interesting Q: Does one have the other under arrest? YES Q: Is ravenblade a criminal? YES Q: Did champion kill him? YES Q: What are their crimes? I check my bounty hunting table, and it turns out they Ravenblade and this other fellow are both thieves. 140 gp bounty on the one still alive, there is no bounty on a thief brought in dead, which I guess is why he was dumped in the river-
I walk up to the door of the first house and spot a saddled horse outside one of the homes, with the door swung open and a man in mail with a drawn blade facing someone inside. I consider simply taking the man’s horse while he is distracted, but then it occurs to me that he must be robbing some peasants and I can’t really allow that.
“Hey!” I shout over the rain, “Leave them alone!”
Q: Does he hear me? YES E: Action by Remote NPC’s: a Development of the Innocent (My intimidation roll of 2 vs his intimadation roll of 22) Q: Does the arrest go smoothlly? YES Q: Are the man’s kin looking on in despair? YES
“I am arresting this criminal! Get out of here or I will take you in as well!” the man in mail shouts back with fury.
A bounty hunter or sergeant? Either way, I don’t want to get involved, so I slink away and hide around the cornr of another house to wait for him to depart. It only takes a few minutes and then the swordsman is leading another man, shackled by hand and with a rope around his neck, over to his horse to follow along to the baron’s keep. A woman and several young children stare out from the doorway. The man looked like an older version of the corpse I found in the river. His father maybe?
I shake my head. Then I walk up to the doorway, and hold out the blade in its scabbard, “Did this belong to one of your kin?”
The woman starts sobbing and one of the older boys takes the blade. “Where did you find it?” the youth asks. I tell him on a body washed up on the riverbank. I also give him the crossbow and darts.
“Do you have any food? A loaf of bread or something? I haven’t eaten in two days, and can pay.” I ask. They look at me suspiciously.
“They just arrested my father for stealing so we could eat. We don’t have anything,” the lad says, “not until the crops come in. It was a bad harvest last season.” I nod and walk back into the storm.
Then I stop and yell at the family, “He could have sold those weapons instead of stealing! You’d have had food until fall and coin to spare! But I guess some people can’t abide honest trade!” Then I continued on my way through the storm.
I come to the village of Mapej around lunchtime, but don’t want to enter. Instead, I leave the road and start walking through the fields around it. Nobody seems to notice my passage.
Some time later I think I see a flash of light in the sky, not lightning, and a mile later I come to a smoldering stretch of farmland. A huge scorch about 80 feet long and about five feet wide, still warm and smoldering in places. Not a lightning strike, perhaps, a dragon? There is no sign that a dragon killed anything or landed to pick up its prey. Just speculation.
As the dark and clouded sky grows even darker, the lights of the village of Keddale come into view. But I turn south and head towards the timberland to the south. Perhaps the trees will offer shelter that my fellow man dare not. Maybe I can find a birds nest or some berries to eat? Or maybe, something will eat me in the middle of the night and I won’t have to worry about it in the morning!
-survival rolls failed, so she’s hungry!-No overnight encounter though, so she sleeps-
Weeding 15th Sunday -48 degrees, leaves an ssmall twigs in constant motion, flags extended
Immersion-whisper threats to myself-
I wake up in the woods, hungry and frustrated. I curse myself for not having realized Alynn must be possessed or something, or worse yet, has chosen to betray me of her own will! And I’m hungry! But I have been hungry before. It can sharpen the mind. I recite cleaning prayers to dry my clothes, and focus on preparing a different set of spells than normal. Alynn can change how she appears to make courtiers swoon. I can change how I appear to enter a market and obtain supplies. Plus, it’s easier to cross a bridge than swim a river! I change clothes from my travelling gear to what I wore working in Coravos. When i get closer to the village, I will change my face and physique as well.
As I walk towards the gates of Keddale, a sudden gust of wind blows leaves and straw up into my face, and tosses loose strands of hair about. I have to pull hair out of my mouth and reaffix the braid to take every strand in properly. It seems some always slip free! My long black hair and porcelein skin draw more attention than I’d intended, but I subconsiously mimicked Alynn’s new vision of herself! The guards smile and nod appreciatively as I pass, the wolf whistle and lewd whispers spoil my reverie draining my smile away.
I walk quickly to the village square, hoping there is a baker or shop there. Better yet, there is an inn and a general store! I can get a nice warm meal real quick and resupply!
-encounter-Pickpocket attempt -Sleight of hand 16 vs Perception 19-(Normally, one doesn’t do an active perception against pickpockets, but Mendy is very on-edge right now)-
As I am entering the Hasty Knave, a man bumps into me while exiting. His hand tugs my purse, and I whisper, “It ain’t your throat I’ll slit open!” His look of shock is met by my wicked smile as he continues on his way, hands open where I can see they are empty.
-Urban Dressing taproom event-
I sit at a table and quickly devour a plate of boiled sausage with onions, beans and some soft cheese. A tankard of beer washes it down, and I buy a fresh loaf of bread for the road. As I turn to go, a young boy who had already stopped at every other table suddenly appears behind me, “Pretty lady, have you seen my father?”
“Hmmm, no?” I respond, confused at the question. “What does he look like?”
“He’s really, really strong!” the boy says, “And tall! With a black beard and he hasn’t been home in ages!”
I look to the barkeep, who quickly turns away. “Where does your father work?” I ask the boy.
The child shrugs his shoulders, “He’s a soldier, but the sergeant says he isn’t at the barracks. They won’t tell me where he’s gone!”
“What does your mother say?” I ask.
The boy starts to cry,”She says he doesn’t love us and is never coming home!” I take the boy in my arms and hold him for a bit. The other patrons look away, ashamed. I kiss the boy on his head, and say, “If I see your father, I’ll tell him that you love him and he should come home. What is his name?” Cole Ehan is his name.
Q: Is he a miner? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: soldier? EXCEPTIONAL YES Q: Does he have a mother? YES Something Positive happens to Alynn the Apprentice, involving Excitement regarding a Disruption Q: Was Alynn given shelter where the hag cannot reach? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: Did the baroness detect the hag? YES Q: Will the baroness lay a trap for it? YES Q: Was the man lost on patrol? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: Did he desert? YES Q: veteran? YES
I go across the square to the shop and purchase some food for the next few days, a tent, an iron pot, a crowbar, a pick, other mundane supplies, and even a mule that looks like it’s about ready to be fed to the hounds. Which may just happen, in fact!” I then renew the spell of transforamtion upon myself, and head out of town across the bridge and then following the river through the wild praire northward towards the rumored location of the obelisk!
-Immersion-Sound-Rumbling, No Encounter
Scene (negative alteration)-
I follow the river north through the farmland and into some wild praire. I see the forest covered hills of the Axblight looming ahead, and strain my eyes to spot the tower. Then I hear a rumbling sound, as the earth begins to buckle at my feet!
I conjure a ball of fire and hurl at the great carapaced worm that springs out of the ground! Ankheg’s are terrible beasts and this one nearly grabs me by the leg, but I conjure a shield to save myself. I step backwards hurling another sphere of flame at it’s head, but it ducks to the side and I narrowly miss it. Lunging at me, I hurl myself to the side, and rolling back up onto my feet, blast it with a spray of fire that has it writhing on the ground to extinguish the flames. Scorched but not terribly hurt, it nearly leaps at me, and I raise my shield once more so it bounces past me as I get back on my feet. One bolt, two bolts, three bolts of flame…and the instect shudders and collapses in front of me.
I shudder as well. The fight took alot out of me, and I am lucky to have survived it! There is no way that I can face more than one foe like this at a time.
I examine the creature, cutting open its abdomen to check for eggs. There aren’t any, but it is a mature female, so…this area is likely to be infested with the creatures in the future if it isn’t already. Suddenly, I feel very alone.
“Corvus, fly ahead,” I say, releasing my familiar to scout and look for the tower.
Q: Has it laid eggs? YES Q: Does Corvus spot any dangers? YES Q: Does it see the tower? YES Q: Bounty hunter? NO (so roll Axblight, Humanoids, Goblins, tribe on the move!) Q: Are they heading towards the tower? NO
I suddenly flatten myself to the ground. Corvus sees a number of small tents in the treeline, goblins! Thankfully, it is only midday. Most of the goblins are likely sleeping, and few, if any, dare looking out of their tents on a sunlit day. I decide to quietly move past the camp, and try to get up towards the tower before nightfall. As long as they aren’t heading that way, I should be alright.
-My stealth roll is an 8, even with advantage for daylight. Q: Are any goblins watching? EXCEPTIONAL NO-
As I cross the meadow, and slip into the woods some distance from the goblins camp, I start climbing uphill towards where Corvus tells me the tower lies. I soon find the remains of an old trail leading in that direction and begin following it, wary of any danger that might befall.
Along the way, I spook some quail who take flight at my approach, but the road up to the tower is surprisingly uneventful.
Immersion: Speach I swear at my sidekick-Scene Negative Altered:
I reach the tower after an uneventful trek up the road, but then discover that I am not alone! “Damn it Corvos, why didn’t you see them!” I mutter as I stare at the crossbow pointed at my heart.
“Easy money!” says the big black bearded man. “Two hundred fifty crowns for your head. Don’t really need the rest of you so feel free to put up a fight!”
“Cole Ehan? When your son asked me to find you, he failed to mention that you were looking for me!” I offer, hoping to throw him off guard a bit.
Q: Does this soften him a bit? NO Q: Does he like the boy? YES Q: Does he like his wife? YES
“Ah, you met my son. He’s a good kid,” he says, not lowering his guard one bit, “when I hand you over to the baron, I’ll get the boy a fine horse and teach him to ride. Then he’ll understand why I had to leave for a few days. To find you!”
“Everyone in town calls you a deserter. Says you left your wife and boy, couldn’t hack it as a father,” I suggest, “But I told your son that wasn’t true. That I’d find you and bring you back to him. Tell you how much he loves you.”
“Oh, I’ll tell him that myself, and then I’ll remind my wife why she married me,” Cole retorts, “as for the rest, the Tyrants can take them. Now, close your hands into a fist. ams stretched out to eithe side. If they open, you die.”
“There is a treasure in that tower worth ten times my bounty, if you help me recover it, you can have it. Let me go, and we can forget about all of this!” I say in a rush, desperate to avoid bloodshed and capture.
“I’ve got a bird in hand..” Cole’s reply is interrupted the moment I hear his tone as I launch my attack.
Q: were we more than 30 feet apart? YES Q: Does he surrender? NO
Corvos swoops down, pecking his hand and causing the crossbow bolt to fly wide as he pulls the trigger. I hurl a fire globe at the man then turn to run. He is on me in an instant with my crow swooping in and out trying to distract him. I blast a spray of fire at him, but he simply averts his eyes and continues forward, swinging his sword. His first swing slams against my wards, but I avoid any real damage. Another blow I block with a shield, but my fire bolts aren’t landing agains the man!
Another swing is blocked with my shield, and then two more shatter the rest of my wards, while my fire bolts are doing nothing! I reach for a vial in my belt, the dragon’s breath! Quaffing it quickly as I keep trying to slip away, I suddenly breath a cone of flames at him that he cannot escape! He curses and yells and I tell him to surrender! But he keeps coming, and I breathe again.
I look down on the man’s smouldering corpse. And I think back to the child who I was comforting just hours ago, promising to find his father, and to bring the man home.
I collapse to my knees and begin sobbing.
Immersion NPC to NPC normal swearing Scene Altered Positive:
After a bit, I collect myself and start looking for a good place to rest near the base of the tower. There is a little babbling creek nearby where I am able to refresh myself. Cole’s tent is set up next to it already, he must have been waiting for me since yesterday. I smother the fire, not wanting the goblins to spot it, and begin laying down my warning spell so that I might be able to get some rest.
Then I start to hear voices in the woods. A couple of people talking to each other. It’s not a familiar tongue, so I quickly hide in some thick brush behind a tree, and watch the campsite through Corvos’ eyes.
There are three men dressed in animals skins and carrying hunting bows, spears and with throwing axes on their belts. They are savage looking men, like Rognard or Viktor. They look around the camp for a bit, and one of them points to the ground, and then traces his finger up along…and directly towards my hiding place. The three spread out and start coming my way.
The fire still burns in my belly, not as strong as before, but there is enough for one last strike.
I call out, “Hail friends!” in the trade toungue, and I step slowly out from behind the tree.
Q: Do any of them speak trade tongue? YES
The men relax their guard a bit, “Who are you?” They ask.
“Alynn the wanderer,” I lie.
“We saw fire, and then found the burnt man on the trail to the tower,” their leader, an older bearded man says, “was he yoru friend.”
I shake my head, “No. He thought I was a criminal and tried to kill me.”
“You wear the badge of a battlemage,” the bearded man observes, “what crime did he accuse you of?”
“Murder,” I say, nervously. These men, at least the leader, is familiar with our lands and its laws.
“Did you?” he asks.
I shake my head, “I am Mendy of White Tower, and I killed the hag Mypionne who was deceiving people into making sacrifice with a false promise of healing. Her cult must have the baron’s ear, for they continue to grow in number, and a warrant has been set for me. I am at your mercy.” I say, holding my hands out in surrender.
Q: Do they decide to capture me? YES
They stay spread out, but the older man says something to one of the younger ones, who carefully approaches, takes my belt and pouches, carefully binds my hands togetheer, tight so I cannot move them properly. My breathing becomes uneven, my freedom is being taken…and I allow it. He pushes a foul smelling pouch of something deep in my mouth, and then ties a gag around me to hold it in place. I want to gag, but I hold it together.
At this point, the elder tribesman comes forward and adjusts my bindings. He pulls my arms back so so my hands are up above my chest, and uses a thick branch to keep my arms stretched back like that. Then he tilts my head left and right, noticing the tears welling up in my eyes, and my stained cheeks. He grabs me roughly and leads me back to the tent where his companions are already looking for other plunder.
Q: Do they lead me to their camp? YES Encounter-Dressing-a patch of forest where no daylight comes through (but it’s night, remember?) Q: Does he unbind my mouth? NO
We travel quietly through the dark. Or rather, they travel quietly through the dark while I stub my toes and trip over fallen branches because my eyes are unused to walking beneath a thick canopy in the dark. Fortunately, I am light on my feet and am able to save myself multiple times when others might have fallen.
Then we come to an area where the canopy is so thick that no light reaches us at all. The young man that was pushing me along halts me here, and forces me down onto my knees. I hear the man leading the mule stop, they are hanging back in the distance watching. i hear another man man, perhaps the old man, walking towards me. He stops directly in front of meI close my eyes.
It sounds like he kneels down in front of me, and I feel his hands on my face, and then checking the knot on my gag. Then I feel his hand reaching down to my hand, held up high as they are, to make sure those bonds are secure as well. I am powerless and afraid.
Then he leaves. I hear him walk away.
I open my eyes, but still cannot see anything. I hear footsteps all around, as though a crowd of people have come to stand at the edge of the clearing.
Then a woman’s voice rings out, “Killer!” she shouts, “My husband tells me you are a killer! Is that true?”
I nod my head, tears streaming down my eyes.
“Good!” the voice says, catching me off guard,”My people need killers! There are goblins in our lands. Can you kill goblins?”
I nod my head furiously. I’ve never killed a goblin, but I am certainly willing to try if it will buy my freedom.
“Release her!” the woman says, and suddenly, I see the woman. She holds a flame in the palm of her hand, her face is marked with tatoos and her long grey hair is like a bridal veil around her. There there are other women in the circle holding flames in their hands, and many young men and women staring at me from the woods.
I feel the gag being removed, and my hands unbound. I spit out the ball of herbs or whatever it was, and quickly refasten my belt as it is returned to me.
Immersion:Memory from 5 years ago
Scene:
I am taken to the Axlan village and led to their matriarchs lodge, where I am fed and allowed to rest. My wounds are tended, and I am asked to share my story. I tell them about Mypionne the hag, while my former captor, Beryn, translates my words for the audience. But the children grow impatient with that story and want to know more about magic, how I learned to cast spells when I live in a land where The Green has turned gold, or rather, the hunting lands are now fields of wheat. So I tell them about my lessons with Master Telgast, and about the first time I faced a swordsman with only a magical ward to defend myself. I pause as I remember Roche attacking me then with a wooden sword, teasing me as a child, “Hey, Love, you’ll have to do better than that to survive a real fight!” Years later, I did do better than that, and killed him.
As I share my story, I notice that all of the women and youths have viper tatoos across their chests and upper arms. The young men have no tattoos on their forearms. The older men, the adults like Beryn, have other animals tatooed on their bodies, but vipers on their forearms. I ask Beryn about this, and he explains that I am among the viper clan. He was born to the panther clan, so when he married Elan and joined her lodge, he took the markings of her clan. And when his sons marry, they will take the clans of their wives when they move to their lodge. He says this is the opposit of the Adelian way, but it is the best way, because no clan will go to war against another clan, for every clan’s warriors were born to another, and even if the elders wanted to wage war against each other, their husbands wouldn’t fight their own brothers and sons!
I am absolutely gobsmacked! I had read this about the barbarians, but had forgotten it. It seemed so strange to me at the time, but here I am among them, realizing it is true.
I lie down on a bearskin draped across the earth, near the firepit, alongside many of the children and unmarried girls and youths. I have my blanket for warmth, but am offered some other hides as well. It is soon too warm, and I shed most of them, but I sleep well.
Weeding MoonDAY 16th-48 degrees-feel wind on skin, leaves rustles, weathervanes begin to move-
Immersion-Sight, something valuable in the shadows-
Scene- Altered Positive-
I wake in the Axlan lodge as my hosts are preparing for war, one of the younger women, about my age gives me a round leather pouch stitched with strange runes. It smells like the one that was shoved into my mouth last night. The girl smiles and says something to me in her tongue.
Beryn explains, “That is Genali, she made you a medicine pouch. Chew on it when you are tired and it will refresh you. You may need it today.” I gratefully take the pouch, smiling and thanking her for the gift. She smiles in return.
I look around the lodge. It appears there may be as many as thirty people of all ages in this long, timber building. There are three hearths along the length of the building, numerous children of all ages, and men and women passing plates of boiled stew with venison, potatoes, beans and squash. As soon as we’ve eaten, a couple of the older women start ushering everyone outside. On the way out, I notice that the Matriarch, Elan, has picked up a staff carved in the shape of a great viper.
Outside, in the morning sun, I see there are five other lodges like this one, all arranged around a central firepit. the lodges are surrounded by an area of lush gardens, and beyond a wall of of woven thorns lies the surrounding forest. It looks like the village has recently been cleared, for many treestumps are visible, and the garden is not like a plowed field, but more like the gardens inside a village tilled by hoe.
Men and young women are arranged in an outward facing circle with the fire pit at their backs. Children and older women, plus a few men too old or injured to fight face them. The matriarch and some other older women walk slowly around us. I am standing alonside Beryn and Genali. As they pass by each person, they mark their foreheads with blue paint and speak some sort of blessing. Each person so marked, then moves to one of the groups of “warriors” forming up to leave the camp. Since I don’t understand the words, when I receive my mark, I am at a loss where to go, but Genali grabs my hand and leads me to go with her.
We join a group led by one of the three men who are completely naked! In spite of his age, he is marked entirely by the viper tattoos. He carries a great axe, and wears a bandolier with a couple of throwing axes on it, a shield lashed to the back of it. He says a few words to the men and young women of our group, and then leads us into the forest. I follow quickly trying to keep up with their pace, but making more noise than any of them.
Q: Did the goblins move? YES Q: Do the goblins have a watch out? YES
We travel for much of the morning, at one point, we disturb a nest of snakes that make me nervous, buty my companions seem to regard this as an auspicious sign, smiling and laughing quietly as we pass them by. Genali even picks up one of the animals, and hands it to me, a second gift! As soon as she turns away, I let the animal drop back to the ground.
We pause briefly to eat some food, and refresh ourselves with cold water from a stream, and then are on the move again. It is midday when we arrive at our destination.
Genali puts her hand out to stop me when our leader halts the rest of our group. The man looks back at me and I shrug my shoulders. He signals for me to come forward, so Genali and I do. Then I close my eyes, and focus on Corvos, sending the crow ahead to fly through the woods ahead.
There is a goblin camp. Wolves gnawing on bones. A couple of warriors, in wide brimmed hats to shield their eyes from the sun, squabble over small trinkets taken in a raid. A banner made of flayed human flesh, and human and goblin skulls on stakes as totems before many of the tents. An ugly little shrined to the goblin’s demonic lord, with a dead goblin infant lying upon a makeshift altar as a sacrifice. There is no sign that the goblins are aware of us.
My vision returns to normal, and I nod slowly at out leader. He smiles and says something to one of the shieldbearers with us. That man raises a horn to his lips, and sounds the attack. With yells and shrieks, my companions rush toward the goblin camp, Genali and the other hunters with us loosing arrows at any goblin they see, the warriors looking for goblin warriors to cut down. I follow along in the wake of this carnage as goblin tents are collapsed, and wolves begin to howl while their masters stagger into the light of the sun to defend themselves.
Our leader has soon raced off by himself to join a raging battle up ahead, while I make my way towards the goblin shrine, with the rest of the team beside me. Somehow, they seem to think I know where I am going as though someone had shared a plan of attack with me!
Q: Was this a trap? NO Q: Do we quickly overwhelm them NO
We are heading towards the altar, when we spot a handful of goblin warriors who start firing arrows at us. Then a crack of thunder nearly deafens us as the shaman lets lose a spell like mine, that shatters the air and sends a spray of earth at us. Genali is badly injured but my wards are barely scrathed! Arrows fly and the three warriors with shields rush at the goblins, cutting one down, when suddenly a wolf the size of a horse leaps out from behind a goblin tent and tosses one of the tribesmen around like a rag doll! I hurl a sphere of flame that scorches the wolf badly, and then an arrow through it’s heart finishes it off.
The goblin shaman then recognizes the danger I pose and hurles another shatter spell at me, nearly knocking me off mmy feet and stripping away the rest of my wards. Then a black feathered arrow nearly finds my heart, but my shield spell deflects it. I send a quaartet of magic darts at the shaman, striking him hard, but he points at me and a jet of flame leaps from his hand towards me, scorching my clothes as I dive for cover. When I look up, he is crumpling to the ground from an arrow that has struck him in the neck!
There is little time to tarry, but one of the huntresses tends to her wounded brother, while oru other fallen man, his throat torn out by the worg, is beyond saving. I see that Genali is barely able to stay n her feet, so I give her one of my healing draughts. She recognizes the magic of it, and quickly drinks it, regaining some of her vitality. I drink two of them.
Q: Does the rest of the battle go smoothly? NO Q: An unexpected enemy? NO Q: A victory? YES
Then I watch the carnage continue to unfold around me. I realize that the enemy warriors had all been slain, but the tribesmen are now dragging goblin women and children from the tents out into the sun, and killing them as well! I look at Genali, but she seems unphased by this, like it is the way things are done! I start yelling at my allies to stop, to take them captive,
Beryn grabs me by the hands, “This is how it is done! You Adelians, you take goblins as slaves, then they escape and they breed and they grow strong again once more! Raid your lands once more. Infest our lands once more. We kill them, culling them like you do rats in your storehouse. They hunt us. They offer us as sacrifice to their demon gods! They offer their own children as sacrifice to their demon gods. They kill fawn and doe, as well as buck. They bring nothing but death, and only by their deaths can life prevail.”
I stare at him in shock. “A goblin raised in human lands can learn to worship other gods. To not lie and steal. To work honestly.”
“Have you ever seen it? Truly?” Beryn demands. And I know what he is getting at. Only the lash keeps a captured goblin slave in line. They only respect power, and only obey from fear. Only those raised as infants grow to have any semblence of decency, but even they tend to be violent and dishonest. It is as though demon blood passes through their veings. Master Telgast says they were bred to be the slaves of their gods, and cannot break free of that curse. As I look around, and see dead children scattered about, it starts to sink in what that means. And I start to understand the savagery of the goblin wars. The tattered goblin banner, it is made of human flesh. As I look at the pattern of the tattoos on it, and how sparse they are, I realize they fly the flayed skin of a young human woman of this clan. The sister of one of these people who is now seeking revenge. But on the altar, is a goblin child. They freely kill their own.
My breathing grows heavy and I sit down near the dead worg. I am a seeker of knowledge, but there is some knowledge I wish I need never learn.
The Viper clan gather their dead, wrapping their bodies carefully in hides and leather tarps pulled from the goblin camp. They also collect any human skulls, hides or scalps they find among the goblin’s battle trophies. Piling such grisly discoveries into bags to carry back with them. The goblins, and their weapons and tents are piled into a great pile, buried in try timber, and set alight in foul smelling bonfire. The raiders collect some trophies for themselves. Stolen valuables, coins, jewelry and the like. The altar is toppled and the effigy of a goblin god is hacked apart with axes before being thrown into the flames.
Q: Is the mood somber? NO
Around dusk, we begin walking back towards the Axlan village. They younger men and women seem to be in high spirits, even though several of their own kin were killed. I cannot tell, but it seems like people are boasting of their feats, their courage in battle. I sense pride among the warriors.
–2nd Encounter roll (two to get there, so two to get back!) indicates a swarm of ravens. Since the Raven is the messenger of death, instead of being an attack, this is a sign…at the burial grounds–
After midnight, I suddenly hear the caw of Ravens. The light of Fate shines brightly through the gaps in the canopy overhead, and I can make out what appear to by drying racks, no stills, scattered around a clearing. I see the shadows of crows flying about, which is unusual this time of night, and I pass by a pole, carved in symbols…of the Judge of the Dead, Ravenna! Then I see my companions hoisting the bodies of the fallen onto these drying racks, and I realize, those aren’t bundles of grapes I see in the moonlight, but human remains, wrapped in weathered garments.
I hear the voice of the voice of the Matriarch, joined by those of other women, offering up what must be a prayer for the dead. Then the rest of the gathered host join them in some sort of chant. When they are done, they quietly file through the trees until we come to the village that was only a few hundred yards more away. I follow Geneli and Beryn into the lodge, and find the bearskin where I slept last night, pull my blanket over me, and quickly fall asleep.
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