Gameplay Session 3
From the Journal of Jarast the Sharp:
Fire Season, 327 A.E., Cinder half, Wraith waxing crescent:
Every time I think I have taken the full measure of the strangeness and foulness of this place, I am proven wrong. The things I have seen here in just these past two days will surely haunt my dreams, should I be lucky enough to ever leave.
I think not three hours had passed from putting down my pen and drifting into a dreamless sleep when I was awoken by shouts and general commotion by some of the men. Thinking we were under attack, though not knowing by whom, I instinctively sprung up, drew my blade, and looked to see who or what had fallen upon us. There was nothing, but the wind carried a foul smell of blood. I soon knew the source, for as I followed my crewmates’ gazes to the west, I could see red clouds approaching swiftly, illuminated by flashes of lightning from within and Cinder from without. I had heard of blood rains before but had never thought to see one, certainly not this far from the open sea, and yet even in the pre-dawn dark there was no mistaking it for anything else. Of all the cursed weather of the Isles, blood rains are relatively innocuous, corrupting those caught within them neither in body nor in mind, but they do leave their victims stained, foul, and reeking of blood which inevitably draws flies, midges, and other such things. This marsh is unpleasant enough that none of us wished to spend the rest of our time here stinking of a charnel house and covered in vermin that would surely leave us ill with some horrid fever. We had to act quickly to create some sort of shelter for ourselves.
Begin A Session: “External factors create new danger, urgency, or importance for a quest”. +1 Momentum but we’re already at max. Oracle roll for possible dangers:
Descriptor: Corrupted
Focus: Weather
Cursed weather: Blood rain
Cursed weather detail: Ghastly, crimson rain.
As described above, blood rain is one of the lesser forms of corrupted weather and rarely encountered inland. It won’t wash away your mind or turn you into a mindless, twisted horror like some kinds, but it will leave you wet, gross, and potentially sick. As mentioned, it also tends to draw all kinds of flies, which in a swamp situation can very quickly lead to malaria or yellow fever or the like. They need shelter, but unfortunately their little dogwood grove is the closest thing they have nearby. Can they make a makeshift shelter in time, and will it be enough?
Springing into action, Hancha directed us to a spot in our copse where the trees grew closer together so that we might take advantage of their trunks and lower branches in putting together our shelter. We gathered whatever loose branches we could find, working them together into a makeshift frame which we then filled out with the reeds we had gathered for our bedding and whatever others we could cut. I grew worried that even if we finished before the rain reached us, the wind would blow our crude shelter aside not long after, leaving us exposed. Fortunately my fears were unfounded, and we secured the shelter well enough. We made our way inside, huddling together, and only a few minutes later the first red drops began to fall.
Though the storm lasted perhaps an hour by my best guess, it felt much longer. I found myself beset by strange thoughts, driving myself near to madness by trying to calculate how many drops of blood there might be in this blood rain. At one point I heard a man’s voice in the distance shouting “I know who you are!”, yet none of my companions heard it. Hancha must have seen that I was in a strange frame of mind, as he began to engage me in conversation, something I must confess we’ve done little enough of in my time aboard the Talulah. The man is quite the counterpart to our stoic, thoughtful captain. He has a roguish sense of style, with his jeweled eye patch and ear pendant, and is given to quick words and quicker action. Force him to sit out a blood rain in a cramped shelter, though, and he’s as affable as any. I can see why Hohchifo has chosen him as first mate, for he knows when to crack the whip but also when and how to put the men at ease. I can only hope that I can be such a leader should I ever have my own command. Soon Ekath joined in and we began sharing stories of our youth among our clans, comparing them to the stories of the rest of the men. The rest of the men are all Pushmatahan, but many from different islands and villages, and so the conversation was rather lively with boasting and good natured ribbing. If one is to be trapped in a tiny, hastily made lean-to by a stinking, unnatural storm, the least one can ask the gods is to spend that time in good company, and so for this small favor I am grateful.
Eventually the storm did pass, leaving clear skies in its wake. It was near enough to dawn that none of us bothered to try and get any further sleep. The marsh now more fetid than ever, none of us had much appetite, and so at first light we chose to forgo any kind of breakfast and continue on our way towards the column of smoke we had seen the day before. The going was slow, made worse by the vile rain of just a few hours prior. As predicted, every crawling, buzzing, and slithering thing that made the marsh home had come out in force to feast. Fortunately they left us mostly alone, choosing instead to feast on the now clotting blood that stained the mud and every reed, but still their constant presence was a nuisance, and our progress was slower than any of us would have liked. All the same, we reached our destination after a few hours. There was nothing much to speak of besides the remains of a campfire, likely extinguished by the unnatural rain. Whoever had been there had moved off to the north, making no effort to conceal their trail. Our spirits were somewhat lifted by the realization that whoever we were pursuing likely had no more than a few hours’ lead on us.
I haven’t done one of those “scene challenges” that are a new feature of Sundered Isles yet, so let’s make that happen.
Begin the Scene:
We’re ready to act, so the scene rank is Dangerous
Secure an Advantage (Scene) to look for anything to help build a shelter.
Challenge: 7,5. Action: 8 (+wits), strong hit. +1 to next non-progress move.
They find a nearby patch of the grove where the trees are a little closer together, giving them an advantage to supporting the branches and packing the reeds more tightly.
Face Danger (Scene) as they gather reeds and branches to put together a makeshift lean-to.
Challenge: 4, 7. Action: 8 (+edge), strong hit. Mark progress.
Face Danger (Scene) again. Going to keep doing this until the lean-to is ready or the scene clock runs out.
Challenge: 7, 8. Action: 3 (+edge), miss.
Pay the Price: The environment or terrain introduces a new hazard. The wind is picking up as the storm gets closer, meaning the shelter needs to be proof against both wind and rain. Scene clock advances
Face Danger (Scene) again.
Challenge: 3, 3. Action: 7 (+edge), strong hit. Match event: Leave Opinion.
The match event is basically meaningless, but we get to mark progress twice so that’s cool.
Finish the Scene: “Blood Rain’s A’Comin’” resolved.
Challenge: 7, 5. Progress: 8, strong hit. The shelter is finished with a few minutes to spare and well enough made that it will hold together against both wind and rain. Nasty ass blood rain.
Make a Connection with Hancha.
Challenge: 2, 4. Action: 7 (+heart), strong hit.
Develop Your Relationship with Ekath.
Spending the wee hours of the morning huddled together in a cramped lean-to while the wind howls and blood falls from the sky has a way of bringing people together.
After about a half hour, the storm moves on, leaving clear skies in its wake. The marsh smells worse than ever, but everyone is relatively clean. The sun will be up soon, so nobody bothers trying to get back to sleep, and at first light they resume their trek to where they saw that line of smoke (now extinguished).
Undertake an Expedition:
Challenge: 10, 2. Action: 6 (+wits), weak hit. Make a -2 Suffer move and mark progress.
Also I have to confess that I forgot about my Overlander asset here and could have used it to reroll that 10, but oh well.
Lose Momentum: -2 Momentum as they make their way through mud and blood.
Waypoint: remains of a campfire, scraps of food, etc.
Gather Information as they look for tracks and any clues about who it is that they’re tailing.
Challenge: 2, 3. Action 7 (+wits), strong hit. Get that 2 momentum back.
Trail continues north, with no effort to conceal. Whoever made it either doesn’t know they’re being tracked or they don’t care.
Our improved spirits would soon be brought low once more by the horrors we would find waiting for us. The trail led through comparatively easy terrain, and, encouraged by the thought that we were hot on the heels of our quarry, we made good time. Nonetheless they continued to elude us, having only led us to the site of a blasphemy I still struggle to put into words.
We came upon a clearing paved with what I must assume are local black stones, dominated by a large plinth of the same stone and ringed about with eight of the same great floating iron diamonds we encountered back at the village from which we had started, though these hummed softly and spun about on their axes much more rapidly than the first. But the true horror was what lay upon the plinth: thirteen heads, all local in appearance, arranged in a spiral with each facing outwards. The entire site was drenched in blood, and clearly not all of it came from the night’s rain. Could this be Imosak’s expedition? We had only the vaguest notion of what the man looked like, so none could say if he was among the unfortunates who sat here. We debated the possibility of leaving then and there and returning to Hutum Cehecares with the heads to see if they could be identified, but clearly some loathsome rite had been performed here and we all found ourselves equally loath to touch anything, lest some curse beyond that which had brought us here befall us. Many among us, myself included, heard a hissing as of some great serpent, though none could be seen.
At length we decided that though none of us were brave enough to touch the horrid scene and take the unfortunate heads back for a proper burial, we must at least pursue whoever was responsible for the great crime. Again, the path that they had taken was as plain as day and we sat off. Though none among us knew where the trail would lead, all were glad to put as much distance between that cursed place and ourselves as we could.
Undertake Another Expedition following their quarry’s trail. Moving quickly now, so they’re rolling +Edge.
Attempt 1, Challenge: 8, 7. Action 8 (+edge), weak hit.
Burn momentum to change Action to 10, now strong hit. Mark progress.
Waypoint:
Descriptor: Haunted
Focus: Rock
Overland cursed landmark: “Inscrutable iron pillars” - more of those floating iron octahedrons like back at the abandoned village, but these ones are humming and spinning quite a bit faster than that one.
Overland cursed detail: “You hear sinister chants - a portent of a nearby ritual in progress”. I’m fudging this one a little; see below.
Explore a Waypoint
Challenge: 1, 9. Action: 3 (+wits), weak hit.
+1 Momentum and envision something interesting but ominous or threatening. That part is pretty obvious. Rather than hearing the sinister chants, I’m going to say that they find several severed heads arranged in a spiral at the center of a large stone plinth surrounded by those octahedrons. The bodies are nowhere to be found. Everything is drenched in blood, and it seems likely that not all of it came from the rain. There is a constant hissing sound of snakes, but an Oracle roll reveals that there are none around, or at least no more than you’d expect in a place like this.
Gather Information again looking for tracks and clues.
Challenge: 1, 5. Action 7 (+wits), strong hit. +2 Momentum. The tracks continue north and again, no effort has been made to conceal them.
No man among the Talulah’s crew can be called a coward, and yet I do not deny that each among us were shaken to our cores, fearful of whoever or whatever could do such a thing as we had seen. Only our sense of duty and the desire to avenge the mutilated men kept us moving forward. Perhaps it would have been better had we turned back, but we did not, and perhaps no more than a half mile north of the cursed plinth we found what remained of those who had been slain, for all that we might have preferred it to remain a mystery.
Dug into the soft soil of the marsh was a wide but shallow pit into which had been heaped the headless corpses of that unfortunate company. Worse still was what accompanied them; a great horned serpent, perhaps some fifteen yards in length. Its scales shifted colors before our eyes, mostly a deep mottled gray with stripes of green to blend well with the mud and reeds of our surroundings, but here and there a speck of red, blue, silver, or gold, none remaining the same shade for more than a few seconds. The creature seemed to glow from within, its appearance equally terrifying and compelling, so that none among us could look away and only through a great effort of will could any of us act. This was a far different beast than the okomalo which we had feared. Could this, then, be Sishtahallo itself, the great serpent of legend from which this island took its name? Some of the men seemed to think so, though I have my doubts. All that was clear was that the creature was not pleased at our intrusion upon its domain, and upon seeing us, it reared up to strike. Ekath, ever the glory seeker and would-be slayer of beasts, was the first among us to react. But of what happened then, I must write tomorrow, for I am weary. I can only pray for a dreamless sleep, or better yet that I may wake up to find that this has been the dream and I am back aboard the Talulah, bound for saner shores. But I know that that is one prayer that will go unanswered.
Undertake an Expedition
Challenge: 1, 9. Action 3 (+edge), weak hit. Going to rewrite the -2 suffer move as a pre-emptive Endure Stress as a reaction to what they just found.
Endure Stress (-2)
ChallengeL 1, 9. Action: 6 (+Spirit), weak hit. Trade -1 Momentum to get back a point of that lost Spirit.
Waypoint:
Overland cursed landmark: Foul nest or lair of a monstrous beast.
Overland detail: A long-dead corpse lies at the bottom of a pit. Or how about several corpses sans head and not long dead at all? Also in the pit: a decidedly unfriendly great horned snake.
Horned Snake:
Creature rank: Extreme
Creature scale: Large (vehicle sized)
Creature first look: Luminescent
Creature encountered behavior: Apex predator
Revealed creature aspect: Chameleon
And that’s where we’re leaving off. Cliffhanger!
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