RPG Campaigns

Giraine Summaries

Heroism pays off- Party Luck Points are back to 3!

You bound and gagged the two Seshnelan scout prisoners and hustled them across the swamps with Miguel's scouts leading the way toward the Mraloti. There in the mudflats, Narak came and gave a faint, ugly smile to Miguel and the eight pig-folk joined your group with their small remaining pig-herd; you were now a large, noticeable and trackable group but with no pursuers evident. Narak explained to Miguel that she knew they could not wait here in the swamps for long and need to move somewhere safe- she wants the Mraloti to relocate north, ideally into the Big Gunge, and to get the welcome of the Giranois there (Cjed family/Sharde clan), who she knows don't appreciate her kind. As the Mumbor (priestess) she'd had the recent insight that the Giranois might not be competitors (e.g. for attention of local spirits; not just mundane resources) but perhaps potential friends, if things went right. But Mraloti and Giranois accents are too far apart for them to communicate so she asked for your help to arrange a parley.

At midday, still with no sign of Rokari pursuit, Aym Alamyn snuck up behind you but Boamund spotted him and Aym shrugged it off, then grabbed Miguel and pulled him aside out of earshot, where he congratulated Miguel on his success and welcomed him to “the club”. But he warned Miguel that the Rokari now were furious- a Reader is a Big Deal to have assassinated and they have means to find out who did it and bring severe punishment, so he urged Miguel to get the hell out of the area for a while- and to hide that conspicuous bone-bow which would help mark him as the killer (Aym seemed to know a lot and Miguel could only believe him). Then Aym tried to get Miguel to turn over the two scouts to him for “justice” and intimidated him into asking Boamund; of course Boamund said no.

Before parting, Aym gave Miguel a gift in vellum wrapping, which later he opened in front of you and you were all amazed to see an arrow tipped with an Adamant arrowhead: a refined piece of Law from the Godtime. Anyone seeing it would know this and, if given time to examine it as you did, know that it ignored magic when fired and could even neutralize magics on its victim. Miguel, in awe, spoke that its name was Executioner and you knew that he was now bonded to it; anytime he fired it he must retrieve it or his bowstring would snap; and anyone else trying to fire it would only snap their string. It has killed thousands of times since Mostali forged it on the Spike and now it is here to serve Miguel; and he serves its purpose of violence. Now, too, all of you know that Miguel has teamed up with Aym to act as an independent assassin, nominally in Big Ron's service but also with a wide purview… Boamund asked Miguel to now keep him informed on his activities; Miguel's allegiance previously was officially with Fraud Shaven. Aym slipped into the swamps without farewell but had said he'd be in touch with Miguel in due time.

You headed back to the northeast, passing the now-empty space where the fly-things had attacked. Miguel felt an odd discomfort in his belly but girded himself and it passed. Finally, after some difficulty finding where Jett had now moved the camp to, your scouts found his scouts and the camp. So, late at night you met with Jett, who knew something had happened but waited for morning to hear more. In that morning meeting, you eventually came clean with what happened and Jett appreciated that but disproved of the methods; with a more planned assault something more effective might have happened, and with less risk for others. The Reader Cicatrose would be replaced soon enough anyway. But he let it go after that scolding, and with some direct questioning of Miguel's allegiances; unsurprisingly he did not approve of his “club” membership with Aym. Discussion moved on to your next actions, and Aym listed to your preferences, which were to seek out the Giranois and try to rally them to your cause against the Rokari. He agreed it was needed. You turned the scouts over to him for interrogation and he told you and them that they would be treated justly as prisoners of war, to be sent later to Fort Mudlark.

Rest was something you all needed now and so you took a day to find basic comforts at the camp, while Narak's people found a nearby wallow for their own comforts. The following day, accompanied by Narak who said she could “Smell a Secret” with her favourite pig (a SIZ 20 boar named Glut) and her Mumbor magics: she thought she could sniff out where the Uzko were, and she wanted to see them too- they'd become comrades before the Seshnelan invasion. They were far off in the wilderness; she knew that; and first she agreed you should find Giranois to talk to. So you hiked down from the highlands camp, back into the swamps (Miguel began to feel tired from all the travel), and Boamund guided you into the Big Gunge and skirted a lurking armoured frog-thing (the natives call them Gormlers; big crocodile-like ambush predators; Ahappi had killed one before but now they were rare down south, even here). Miguel attempted to hunt for you and set a good campsite but he picked a spot that got flooded by the swamp's tides in the middle of the night, and that didn't help his state of fatigue. Boamund found a better spot, and in the morning you found the trails that led to the right spot: the Cjed family's seaside grotto.

Cjaek, the lone patriarch of this maybe-once-proud family (with young daughter and son still), was outside getting his raft ready for reef-fishing. He spotted and hailed you and you met on good terms again. (Miguel knew that one of the last times you'd been here, Aym Alamyn “The Unsighted One” had been involved to help you go on a heroquest to find St Lelbic and the Foestopper fan, via the Sharde clan!) Cjaek had no interest in joining the fight against the Rokari; the swamps were safe here and the Sharde had monsters to defend the Giranois. Cjaek had fatherhood duties as his priority. He saw Narak and asked about her (fitting in an insult about her ugliness); when you raised the point of her Mraloti moving here he didn't like it; the “pig-shit” smell was already getting to him. So he wouldn't tolerate her being near to him but if the Sharde allowed it, they might settle deeper into the Big Gunge; that was their problem. Cjaek spoke of the Deep Mother (Old God) and how she didn't need Narak's help; that Earth-magic meddling here might just bring on worse Shattering effects. So it didn't go great with Cjaek although at least he was honest with you, and he spoke privately with Ahappi before you left, to profess interest in his transformation and to say that he'd been puzzling over common bonds they seemed to share— they needed to talk again later, so he invited Ahappi back.

The journey through the swamps had been hard on Miguel but you were close to Fort Mudlark so you opted to head there first. Arriving, you found the place in good order, thanks to Ron's presence perhaps, and thronging with military activity- new mercenaries, Ron's troops and more. Rushed to meet with Big Ron in the Baronet's villa, you found Ron in a crippled state (physically and spiritually), attended by his sage and St Humkt guards. Ahappi and Boamund had harsh words about how this invasion could have been prevented by fighting the Rokari earlier; Ron denied this but agreed that negotiation or buying time was over- it was all-out war now! He was furious with the Rokari and told how he saw the Inquisition come, with new members of the Order of the Golden Lance (knights that take the Inquisition in their own independent direction from the Zzaburi) as well as the old Watcher Julavah of Nisarowol, who'd cursed Ron years ago and Excommunicated him now, and who'd brutally interrogated you, too. Sadly, Boamund's old friend Sir Garrabonne of the Order of the Leopard had died fighting to help Ron's people escape the Keep and town.

Ahappi wondered if the new Inquisition knights are similar to Sir Not (whose fate was unknown). No one was sure. Asked, Ron speculated that maybe the death of the Watcher who cursed him to excommunicate him might free him from the Heretic curse, but everyone agreed making that happen won't be easy. The Rokari won't be putting precious priests out on balconies as targets now! Discussion of Miguel and whether he might be respected more despite his caste ensued; Ron wouldn't discuss the caste issue but stated he has long valued Miguel and sees his recent rise in power as valuable to your common cause.

Ron, weak as he was, was bent on vengeance. Yet you were surprised how easily he bent over to your demands/suggestions: yes, go get the Giranois involved; and yes, take the fight to the Rokari, and yes, Miguel as an assassin to take out Rokari Zzaburi is not such a bad thing… Hmm. So you left with carte blanche to fight this war as you could, it seemed. It was clear Jett was still your main contact to keep lines of communication open.

Some common ground had been found between Ahappi and Ron over their lack-of-faith (but Ron has weakened; Ahappi has strengthened); that was interesting and even poignant to those with human feelings. But then Ahappi spoke privately to Boamund about the potential to overthrow Ron and put Boamund in charge of Giraine… maybe get the Giranois to rush into southern Giraine and kill off the Zzaburi, or all Zzaburi? (hints about Maugis were dropped fairly blatantly…) You were given private quarters where discussions led down many twisted paths. Fraud Shaven had been uncommonly silent through most of it all, his serpentine face hidden in his dark hood.

Well well well… we'll see where that goes next. You're to head to the Sharde clan next.

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