GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: April Walsh, Jeremiah Frye, Sean Nittner, Lily Eisner
System: Spell and Blade by Stras Acimovic
Racana Ice Root, Wise One of the north arrived at Ruglara forge late at night, barely conscious from the wounds she had taken. Gar ran to her physician Xendak and woken him from his sleep. He stabilized the Wise One as best he could but told Rulgara she might not make it through the night. She had suffered terrible wounds from blade, claw, and some powerful bludgeoning force.
Rulgara set off to find her sister Skanya in to see if she could help. As she ran through the streets of Rul, we saw how she had changed in the time since our last adventure.
Rulgara wears a red half-cape designating her as a stunter in the the arena. She no longer dies her hair since it glows the the light of Maya’s moon. Thought it is normally braided for battle, this night it flew freely in the wind, wavy and wild.
She visited the Blue Barrel Inn and the Temple, but Skanya was not at either of them. Eventually she turned to the Palace, where she found her little sister studying a report of undead movement in the west. She beheld how her little sister had changed.
Skanya had cut her hair into a bob, and if anything it was died redder than it had been before. She wore one of Queen Skana’s ten rings signifying her station as the queen’s agent. Her priests robes had been traded for traveling attire. Trousers and riding boots, jerkin and blouse. Once outside the palace, she was joined by Ice Wind, her Brazu mount, who also bore the crest of the queen.
She ran into her sister’s arms, delighted to see her as always. Rulgara appraised her “You look like you could be a double for our queen.”
“Ah, I don’t think I’d be able to carry Woe around.” Referencing the queen’s legendary blade.
Rulgara told her of the the wounded Wise One and Skanya raced back with her to the Blue Barrel to dig out one of the alchemicals that Draxo’s wife identified for her many moons ago.
The returned to the forge and Skanya administered the draught, which seemed to bring the injured woman some peace. In the morning Xendak said the potion had done incredible things, but there was still something that lingered within her, spiritual damage neither he nor the miraculous alchemical could heal. We needed to find a Wise One or a Wizard. And since the only Wise One we knew was dying in front of us, we decided to head out for the only Wizard we knew, Arcanix Zahrana!
In the morning they traveled to the hill above the palace, among the hunters of the Owl Tribe and found Loddi, meditating within a tent. Skanya recognized it from the particularly fungal smell wafting from it.
“Loddi, the Wise One is hurt and only a Wizard will know what is needed to hurt her. Will you come with us to visit the Arcanix.”
“I don’t like wizards” Loddi grunted as way of an agreement.
Loddi physically had not changed much, but the ever presence of his symbiote suit startled Skanya at first. His head, the only part of him not covered in light absorbing blackness seemed to float in the night sky, until her eyes adjusted to make out the rest of his form.
We’re off to see the Sorcerer
After two days of travel that ended in the perpetual storm outside the colossal metal tower of Arcanix Zahrana, Loddi repeated his initial refrain. “I don’t like wizards.”
The door, which Skanya warned them might eat them if it though the were intruders, seemed to recognize Skanya, and opened to let them in.
After a few minutes of wondering what to do next, a small metal ball rolled into the center of the floor between them. Rulgara stood with her shield ready, but the ball was not a threat. Several small legs sprung form it and it scrambled to the stairs, beckoning for us to follow.
Rulgara saw that it has some trouble climbing some of the stairs so she picked it up and allowed it to point the way.
We found Arcanix Zahrana in her study with a massive device that looked like a telescope. On the wall was a great set of metal wings. Many other impossible contraptions were present.
Skanya, who ostensibly knew the Arcanix, told her what had happened to the Wise One Racana.
“I don’t know her. The only Wise One I know is Goldfeather, and I don’t like going to her forest. It’s the spiders.”
We asked again for her aid and she offered to have her apprentice Zhara go on her behalf.
Zhara is Ancient-Touched. Tall, long and lithe. She has pale skin that seems to shimmer silver in the moonlight. Her sapphire eyes were set in a too long face. Her long hair was died, magenta, the color of berries the brazu like to eat, and it went all the way down to her waist. Her arms, like her face, were too long as well.
Before we left Arcanix Zahrana told Zhara that her most important job was to be safe. If danger us afoot, let the mortals die. You run away. She equipped her with Seven Circuit Claw (which was thankfully already attuned to her) and the Air Resonance Greaves, a new apparatus that she warned the apprentice to not push to hard.
When we were assembled Arcanix Zahrana asked Skanya who she was again. “You know Kormel? Yes. He’s upstairs recovering from a surgery if you’d like to visit him.”
The sorcerer also studied the symbiote suit. As she touched it and grabbed a part of it, the portion of the suit she held seemed to be deactivated, unable to perform it’s normal functions in her had. “Ah, you’re not ancient touched, why this this device bond with you?”
Loddi explained that it had taken him months to do it and she nodded as though of course it would take non-wizard that long. She asked if he had strange dreams and he admitted that the had seen things from other times and place he did not recognize. “Ah, yes. They will likely get worse.”
Skanya visited Kormel who was recovering from chest surgery to implant what looked like a metal carapace. He was quite proud for enduring it. “Thank goodness Zhara is taking care of me. Without her I might starve. The Aracanix is likely to forget about me.”
“Oh, sorry. We’re taking Zhara with us.”
“Skanya, you’re not my friend anymore.”
“Oh no.” She said with false alarm. “I’ll bring stores from the pantry!”
Getting to know our new companion
As we rode back to Rul, Skanya opened up a bit to Zhara. “It’s nice to talk to a wizard who doesn’t look at me like I’m something that should be dissected.”
“Oh…of course. But should you be dissected?”
“No, no, no. Nothing inside me except the regular things inside people.” Was it a joke or all all wizards just like this? Skanya decided she’d rather not find out.
We joked and talked about or brazu steeds. Zhara’s parents were brazu shepherds but one day the just disappeared. She went out for the day and when she came back they were gone. No signs of violence, no signs of departure. Just gone.
Though Zhara didn’t seem distressed by the story of her childhood, she didn’t linger on it either. “So, Rulgara, you got a new cloak!”
Racana’s diagnosis
Back in Rul, Xendak was able to rouse Rakana from her slumber and she immediately tried to bold into action. We had to restrain her as she was still in no shape to get up. We told her it has been five days since she arrived and that filled her with even more distress.
She told us that the Kadr Hakar had descended on Blackwater Lake and dug into it, freeing the monsters in its depths. But they hadn’t stopped digging after that, they are looking for something!
The monsters attacked her and she barely made it out alive, but we had to go and find out what they were digging for, and stop them if at all possible. She wanted to talk to Queen Skana but Skanya knew she was days away, fighting undead to the southwest.
Zhara used the seven-circuit claw to probe (perhaps dissect) the spiritual corruption that afflicted the Wise One and realized it was necrotic. A ghoul had bitten her, and in time she would turn into an undead as well. She had spoken of the monsters creating more monsters, and if we did nothing, we were going to watch it happen to her!
Skanya had Silverthorn tea at home she had been drying for the last three months after collecting the Wight Tree bark in the iceflame fields. It was supposed to be potent at fighting curses and she offered it up as aid. Draxo, Xendak, and Racana would put their heads together to see if they could muster a cure, but in the meantime, the were sky raiders that needed to be stopped!
Preparing for Aventure
Skanya went to the palace to tell Ydra what we had learned and let her know our plans to travel to Blackwater late. It was evident how much both their relationship and the situation in Iskanard had changed by the fact that Ydra’s first questions was “How can I help?” Though we didn’t have legendary rings at our disposal (nor time to attune to them) or large caches of blacksilver, she was able to leave demolition tools (a crowbar), a lead lined box, and three silver spearheads. The former were meant to pry a dragon heart out of the Kadr Hakar’s airship if we have the chance!
As Stras pointed out after the fact, Skanya should have asked for a Brazu for Rulgara. But no matter, she hired one and we were ready to set off.
Rulgara told her apprentice to enjoy Moontide while she was gone. Partake in the festivities, brag about your accomplishments, and tell me of the people you wooed when I get back!
We cut ourselves, bled into the deep earth, and swore our oaths. Skanya swore “I will keep us hidden from the eyes of our enemies.” Rulgara swore to stand between us and danger. Zhara swore to unveil the mystic secrets and Loddi to keep us safe in our travels.
Traveling North
Ydra gave us two possible routes. One to the west into known undead battlegrounds, another to the northeast, which was both safer and would give us a chance to check on a watchtower that had not reported in recently. We chose the latter and soon Loddi, riding atop Nyx was was leading the way to Kitarn a village a day and half to the north. We followed on our brazu.
On the way, near the blackpine forest Loddi spotted a rope hanging from a tree with knots died in white and black. Skanya recognized them as references to the goddesses Maya and Akta and we were able to follow them to a cache hidden in the trees. We did not the the ladder, so Loddi had to fly up to access it. Inside he found typical supplies and a note of where they came from, with instructions to take what you need and leave what you can. There was a stock of lichen with a note that when the lichen was wrapped around food, the undead didn’t eat it. Loddi took that as we’ll likely need it, and Skanya left additional dried rations in the cache for the next person to find. The note also mentioned the hidden ladder…which we just left hidden but at least next time we’ll have a way to access it without needing wings!
We pushed out mounts to arrive saddle-sore in Kitarn before it was too late. Though they had not been attacked by undead, the crafty Iskani had been piling up snow and then pouring water over it to make ice walls. They would melt once the sun came out, but everything the heard indicated by then the undead should be gone. So we all hope. Skanya knew the village for the peat bog behind it where the collected certain alchemical supplies and for the pitch they took from the Blackpines themselves, which was used for sealing boats and as firestarter. Rulgara knew it was where they mined crude iron. Not suitable for making weapons or armor, but perfect for brazu shoes and nails. Ah, her apprentice had to pound so many nails! We all knew the town for the Miscrown Elk that lived there, giant moose with strange crystals that grew between their antlers and four spouts on their backs (two on each hump) that made strange noises as they blew out hot air that melted ice that would otherwise form there.
We were greeted by two guards at the gate and while the first made a pretense of wanting to know who we were, the other smacked him “They are riding brazu, undead don’t ride brazu, they eat them. They are probably cold, let’s let them in!”
There was no tavern for us to stay in, but the villagers of Kitarn welcomed us in to their homes.
- Headman Orin recognized the queen’s crest on Skanya’s attire and welcomed her in. He told her that though the village looked prepared, they had not seen any undead yet. He was concerned however that nobody had heard from the village of Dunn in the last week.
- Veran Icefinger, the town smith, took one look at Skayna’s hair, Loddi’s ultrablack suit, and Rulgara’s cape and wanted nothing of it. He’d take Zhara in for the night.
- Via the weaver, a jolly woman who loved to hear gossip and was known as a fine tailor that made amazing waterproof clothing that would keep you warm even in the worst of chills, invited Rulgara and Loddi to stay with her. She told them that she made the fabric with the crystals that grew between the Mistcrown elk’s antlers.
Skanya asked if anyone had seen lights in the sky (the sky raiders) and while none in the village could help, Orin recommended she find Finn, a strange kid known to climb trees and look out into the night.
Sure enough, she found him atop a Black Pine with his pet lynx waiting at the base. The young man climbed down and introduced himself as Finn Firehands. He looked too young to earn a deadname, but Skanya did not press him on the subject. He told her that he thought the oil in the pine trees that made them black wasn’t innate to the trees themselves but something that camp up out of the ground. The higher up siphoned the oil, the more refined it was, and he found a way to make an incendiary from from the resin. But it was sticky and that made it dangerous. He showed Skanya his burned hands and she realized he had earned the name indeed!
Skanya asked if he had seen any lights in the north, and tough he did not see the sky raiders, he did see strange lights that were like the Aurora Borealis, but yellow and green. Skanya didn’t know what that meant, but thought it was a bad sign. Sean knows exactly what that meant, and knows it is a bad sign!
Finn had extra resin and he was willing to give Skanya some, but sent her with a warning. It was sticky and the fuse was not sophisticated. The good news is that it would stick to undead and burn them right up. The bad news is that it would stick to Skanya and do the same!
Under a Phantom Moon
We set out at first light, taking a shot of clear liquor for good luck, but from the start the day was foreboding. The phantom moon, usually invisible, was in plain view, casting a green pallor on the land, revealing it’s dark crevasses and unknowable features.
As we traveled north towards Dunn we spotted the sight of a battle. A caravan that had been attacked. From a distance, under the dim green light, we could not tell the fate of the caravan. Our fear is that they were dead, or worse…
Deeds: We gained honor and cunning deeds for keeping Racana alive with alchemical wonders and mystic sight!
