RPG Campaigns

Giraine Summaries

Good morning,

You came to the redoubt-manor of the Vuolle Talari of Coldwater, and convinced the guard to ask for audience with Lady Elina. Inside, past the fine patio-garden, you met her in an audience chamber bedecked with wall tapestries, an impressive spear, and a grim old honour-guardsman at silent attention by her side, as she lounged casually in her great wooden chair-throne and sipped at a golden wine cup. The Lady Vuolle was as you expected: detached, disinterested, cynical and haughty. She cast aside your entreaties about aiding against the Seshnelans; “Religion and politics have engulfed Coldwater at last; no place is too small for the Hero Wars, I suppose. Guilmarn's people have visited me and what will be done will be done. It is bigger than us all.” She didn't do much more than shrug about the Chapel burning. As for evil in Coldwater, “I have heard the rumours of evil at play in Devil's Cove. Such things would not surprise me. Feel free to investigate there as you wish. All that have tried have returned empty-handed, or not at all.” Finally, she grew fed up with being told what to do or feel and concluded the discussion with “I am Lady Elina Vuolle, of the line of Einar Vuolle, long have we been Talari here. If you wish to foist your views, I have offered the title for sale before and perhaps you have the means to purchase such rights. Otherwise you will obey the laws of respect in my home and show humility. I rule how I wish.” And so you left.

You paid visit to the Eerola homestead down the hill, which was a fine two-storey affair with extensive farmlands and vineyards tended by the Dronari, and quite a few guards around but only two challenged you, nervously, as you approached. It didn't take much to convince them to send one to fetch Lord Sauli Eerola, and the guard left behind made anxious small talk about the family's fine wines as you waited. He surely was intimidated by such obviously strange and powerful visitors. You were not so impressed by the quality of the Eerola's Horali, although they were reasonably well outfitted with gear. Sauli proved to be a Pithdaran Rokari, who politely listened to your tale and requests but was not convinced to turn against the Seshnelans and his faith. He said the Purho family would be the sort to aid you, and tried to focus the conversation instead on doing business; evidently a man of some cunning with financial matters. You didn't see much to talk about there and left, after he said that evil in the town must just be idle Dronari gossip.

You thought about visiting the crooked house in the middle of town but instead Ahappi opted to head back to Devil's Cove. However, the Seshnelan trireme, its name visible as “The Neliomi Lion” from your high vantage point, had moved to blockade exit from the harbour. So you went to where the remnants of the Chapel of the Mistress were still burning, with a crowd of villagers gathered to watch, try to save pieces, put out what fires they could, and argue over what to do (especially the Purho and Eerola Dronari). They saw you coming and you repeated your message that the Rokari had done this, which raised some anger but doubts and debate lingered. None dared stand in your way as you descended the slope past the Chapel to the “sacred sloop”, which Fraud capably rowed out across the rough seas to the Cove; aided by Miguel's prolonged Enhance CON on 3 of you. It was middle-tide and the Sunken Stairs were still sunken. You all went down there (Boamund casting Skin of Life on 3 of you; by now you know that Ahappi will not accept or use sorcery) and saw what Ahappi had seen, plus that the doors bore a great wave on each with a skull set into it. He tried opening them but they held very firm (huge stone doors underwater = impossible to budge; and magically sealed?). Then he saw a shadow pass overhead-it was a shark trying to manoeuvre its way through the fissure that held the stairs, and it was watching him. He cast his Placate Shark magic and was blessed by Magasta (Critical cast at a heroquest-appropriate moment!) to get insight into the shark's simple mind: it had been sent here, and was trying to lead him out to sea.

Together you followed the shark, soon joined by two more of them that circled you warily. Miguel struggled against the current so Ahappi had to drag him along, leaving Fraud to lead the way while swimming. The sharks led you to a low, rocky island just off the coast in more open ocean. Amidst the sea-spray and wreckage and bones about the little isle, Fraud saw an odd vessel concealed: not much bigger or taller than a rowboat, but oarless and raft-like and made of strange material that might not even be wood (algae? Coral? He was unsure). Then a spell hit him and he resisted its impulse, diving underwater to flee but spotting a strange fish-man's face and scaly armour as he departed. As he returned to the group and surfaced to explain to them, it became evident that this was a Waertagi hideout, with one of their “fastships” (a raiding vessel propelled by sealife or magic) awaiting ashore. Ahappi returned with you, and Boamund climbed the island to look on. Several Waertagi were there, crouching by the fastship or bobbing in the crashing surf; all warrior-types (male and female) in elaborate fish-armour.

One (named Captain Hypatos) spoke to Ahappi in Seaspeech, saying that you must not go to their holy site at the Sunken Stairs but that he wished to speak with you, as he saw that Ahappi was of “the father” (Magasta) whereas he served “the son” (Wachaza). He said the “hero-light” was visible upon Ahappi and so he thought they might help each other. Ahappi said that the Rokari would threaten their holy site but Hypatos was not moved by this- he said it had stood firm across the Ages and empires. But there was trouble that vexed the Waertagi and Wachaza. The Atro Purho had stolen a magical aluminium gauntlet, “The Fetcher of Fallen Fortune” in his youth, and so the Waertagi had cursed his family because they could never manage to reclaim it. Moreover, recently the Purhos had grown bolder in opposing the Waertagi at Devil's Cove and taken one hostage; a female corsair (named Pelagia) who Hypatos worried may sicken and die if she was captive in the Purho's cellars. He said that his people (a female Devotee of Wachaza was present, watching carefully) would bless Ahappi on his quest if he aided them and returned. Ahappi agreed, and you returned to the sacred sloop and Chapel ruins, where you exchanged a few more words with the surly Purho Dronari and then went to their farmhouse.

At the farmhouse gates, Ahappi rang the bell and explained that you came to speak to Atro Purho of the family's curse. The guard tried to argue that this was all misinformation but Ahappi won him over to go bother Atro. Soon enough Atro came to the other side of the door and conversed, claiming that this curse stuff was all Waertagi lies. He was, however, convinced to speak more to Ahappi and welcomed him to come alone inside the yard. Ahappi agreed; the rest of the group stood ready. Unsurprisingly, not long after letting Ahappi inside, and debating whether Ahappi was misled or Atro would face horrible justice of the sea, Atro called out to his four guards and five guard-dogs to attack. Ahappi was trapped inside with the door barred, and took a crossbow bolt wound as Atro backpedalled and cast magic on his shortsword while the dogs and two guards charged. Fraud and the others heard the attack begin and tried forcing the door open but it was very firm. However, Ahappi managed to heroically throw the bar off and kick the door open, fending off attacks and being tripped by a dog as he did. This surely saved his life.

The battle quickly turned. Miguel sent a firearrow into Atro's chest that felled him before he could flee, and the guard dogs swiftly got hewed down as Fraud and Boamund charged in; the two guards in melee soon were knocked unconscious or killed as well. Finally, one crossbowman pulled Atro's body into the opened door of the manor, which slammed and barred shut behind him. The last guard pulled a mace and tried to fight Boamund but was swiftly dropped; outmatched. Miguel kept an eye on the farmhouse with his bow while you explored the yard- Fraud dropped a stone into the well finding that it was only 10m deep, and Miguel ensorcelled the bronze bars of the kitchen windows to open it, then Ahappi valiantly dove in, rolling to his feet inside. He faced Atro, his wife Elena, the last guard, and the three teenage Purho daughters there, but the latter fled out of the foyer into a back room. Elena however was furious in defense of her family, wielding a cat-o-nine tails with insane malice. Atro called on “Papa Threegrins” to aid him and breathed a gout of flame at Ahappi, but our hero dove clear. Fraud then did another acrobatic leap, sliding belly-first on his shield, into the kitchen and standing onto a table. Elena tried a Shove spell to force Ahappi back but he easily withstood it. Then Atro called on Papa Threegrins again, summoning a blot of hell-darkness that swallowed you insensate in the kitchen. This covered their escape out of the farmhouse's parlour door into the yard, while that last guard stood in your way. But Fraud charged through shield-first and knocked him down, crippling the man.

You pursued through the blackness, but Miguel was still waiting outside and the infirm Atro was not able to avoid a second arrow to his chest, which left him almost dead. The daughters came to aid him while Elena challenged Miguel. Ahappi joined Miguel in the yard and shouted out to the Purhos to surrender. The terrified, sad daughters; mean as they could be; froze and soon dropped their knives, crying and pleading for their father's life. Elena, however, was fuelled by hatred (a Critical Willpower plus Passion) and rushed Miguel with her whip-but he had a firearrow ready and felled the second Purho Talar. Ahappi strode forth, grabbed a sword, and hacked off her left forearm, where an aluminium gauntlet was visible; the Waertagis' stolen artefact. You had won.

[side note that I forgot: Atro now visibly has a left arm formed as a crab-claw, concealed by elegant wrappings; Elena has a right leg covered in fish-scales, also hidden in wrappings, and the three daughters show the family curse as homely faces marred by a goggly fish-eye, or weird kelp-like hair, or webbed fingers and toes with a sickly sheen to the skin. Some of the guards visibly show similar traits.]

The daughters, still begging for mercy, told you that the cellars were accessible via the chicken coop to the side of the yard, under a water-barrel, and Boamund found that concealed site easily. A vertical tunnel descended into the rocky cliffs, then angled more gently… You set Miguel to watch the daughters and (first-aid-stabilized) parents while the other three of you descended.

Papa Threegrins, whatever he was, was said to be down there. And hopefully that Waertagi woman. The Purho family's end may be near, but your quest continued.

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