GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 37: The Conspiracy Revealed

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 
Two Names

Now sitting in front of her, Mielikki realized that Edelina might have had a hand in Eremon's death given how it secured her rule.  He went down the line of succession in his head: first two of her cousins, Duke Henri de Solei and Duchess Juliette de Capan, while third in line was Luana.  The rest of the audience was uneventful; Edelina was somewhat placated by Mielikki's assurances that every army in the Empire assembling in her province was not a threat, but they were unable to press her on whatever secret knowledge she was concealing.

 

Pomegranite had his agents look into the others who were present for Astraeus' return and got some leads.  Prince-Consort Louis had recently taken up the Dwarven Game, a wargame which had become popular in Lumene that Mielikki was familiar with, and was by all accounts quite good.  Baron Philippe, Hugo's son, seemed genuinely touched by the earthlings' condolences for his father's death despite their war several years back.  Henri and Juliette were both still in the capitol as well, though Juliette was close to the church and Henri was a drunkard and a gambler.

 

Meanwhile, Granmarg and Thicket overheard a rumour that mysterious white lights had started appearing in Courcillon at night.  They were said to appear in mirrors or windows, and with no obvious source.  Mielikki arranged for a chance meeting with the Prince-Consort and arranged a game for that evening while the others went to hunt the white flame.  Louis was glad to know that the game was popular in the Highland Forests as well, and expressed his regrets over their province's relations, noting that it was all politics and nothing personal.  Hopefully, their people could meet in more friendly terms such as this going forward!

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 36: Running in Circles

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Threats Old and New

While the Triumvirate were preparing for the journey to Wrost to find Curzo, they heard news from Lumene.  In the dead of winter, demons had attacked Baron Hugo's manse outside Mont Villay, and he and his daughter had been slain.  Empress Edelina had called the armies of Tauschun and the Segretan League to aid in tracking down the demons, but had declined to call on the provinces of the Empire that did not fall under her authority.  The earthlings continued with their plan and left the Highland Forests with only their personal retinues.

 

Once they were in Lumene, they heard more dire news: when the sun god Astraeus had returned, Edelina, her brother Eremon, and many other nobles had been there to meet him, when demons had attacked.  Many were slain, including Eremon, while Edelina had been gravely wounded.  At this point, Mielikki realized that the Segretan army would naturally march through Halberst, where they would likely fall under the dominion of Queen Baelynna.  To counter this, Pomegranite dispatched his bird, Bird, to Ulrich with an ensorcelled letter that only he would be able to read, asking for him to attempt to convince the Segretan leadership to march around and through Baronde instead.

 

The rest of their journey through the borderlands of Lumene was uneventful, and they proceeded down a series of gentle slopes into the marshes and swamplands of the Grand Duchy of Wrost.  Confusingly, the grand duchy was named after the capitol, so their journey to Wrost wasn't over yet.  On their way, they heard no news of Consus, which was likely due to him being god of secrets, but many had fled the city when the mazes had appeared.  Indeed, on arriving in the orcish city, they found that it was still struggling with the aftermath, and that many thoroughfares now suddenly ended in a ten foot blue stone wall.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 35: Expanding the Inner Circle

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Preventative Measures

Now knowing one method to nullify Baelynna's complusion, the Triumvirate proceeded back to Segreta in secret before rejoining their retinues and trekking through the snow to the capitol of Tauschun, Kaskorata, to speak with Ulrich.  Mielikki arranged an audience with the child King Peter to keep up the pretense of conducting trade negotiations, and they made a deal for human food in exchange for earthling farm labour, then went to Ulrich's office to "finalize" the deal.

 

They asked him what he knew of Halberst, and he was aware that messengers they had dispatched were not returning, but little more.  Pomegranite relayed that Baelynna, the goddess of bloodlust and thought had taken over the College using the Path of Thought, and that Emperor Curzo was missing.  Ulrich nodded for him to continue, and he said that they were now seeking protection from this mental domination.  For that, they needed a Magister of the Path of Blood, but they couldn't go to the College and figured Ulrich might know one.

 

He confirmed that he knew a friendly magister in the city, but suggested an alternative to boiling their brains: would it not be possible to use the Path of Secrets to hide away one's consciousness, such that they compulsion being placed upon them was ineffective?  With a flash of insight, Pomegranite suddenly realized that not only would it be possible, but that he already knew almost exactly how it could be done.  (Secretly, he'd already suspected this, but had hesitated to bring it up because it might make him seem more suspicious.)

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 34: Deicide

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Death Throes

A glob of white flame shot up from the mirror Terra had dropped and exploded into a flaming eye above the treeline.  As white flames scorched her attackers, Terra began to sing a sharp dissonant tune, then stamped her left leg hard on the ground.  The earth surrounding her rose up in a wave and rolled into her attackers, knocking them back as a spherical shell of stone swirled up around her.  Theren resumed his assault, furiously beating the shell until it began to buckle under the weight of his repeated blows.  Thicket exploited this weakness with his own earthquake that shattered the shell, leaving Terra exposed.  Granmarg turned to strike Pomegranite for his sudden betrayal, and a lightning-sheathed blow stunned the spymaster.  

Halimath the elf wove a spell and a man-sized beam of pure void energy temporarily obscured Terra, but those on the far side could see that she had erected a narrow pillar of stone that, though it crumbled, had saved her.  Terra retaliated by shattering the earth around her into brittle shards that erupted outwards; most suffered only minor scrapes but Prince Morkral of the dwarves had been impaled.  Mielikki shot another beam of compressed water from his sea-sword, which pierced Terra's defenses, took an earthy chunk out of her left side, and knocked her onto her back.

 

The eye's gaze found Mielikki and a pillar of white flame descended, setting him alight and blackening his branches.  A mighty poleaxe swing from the dwarf king Barrend carved away a chunk of Terra's leg, while his brother crashed into her with his twin shields.  Terra stopped moving.  The eye retaliated again, scorching the prince and setting his beard aflame.  Before he could recover, he found himself in the maw of a greater wurm that had leapt out of the earth at his feet.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 33: To Kill A Goddess

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Royal Audience

Queen Baelynna opened with an odd question, asking Pomegranite what he knew of the origins of his people.  He gave the response that the temples taught: Terra had created the earthlings and they sprang fully-formed from the earth.  There was also a theory, from the College magisters, that involved the intersection of the Paths of Earth and Life.  She nodded, and bade him explain the meaning of his visit to the College.

 

Pomegranite said that he had come looking for the Imperial Messengers that had never returned, and to discover if any of their neighbouring provinces needed aid dealing with the sudden appearance of the mazes in their cities.  Upon learning that Halberst had a new queen, he had decided to investigate the College.  Baelynna replied that, as he could see, things were under control here, and credited the earthling terramorphers they had been loaned with putting the city back together.

 

He inquired if the College would continue its research into stopping the Void Beast, and Baelynna offered her assurance that she would do everything in her power to help, though she would leave commanding the armies to a greater general than herself who should be returning soon.  The earthlings would likely know him as Consus, the Blue Lord of Victory, god of Secrets and the Moon.  Pomegranite then expressed some surprise at Baelynna having taken the throne, as no other gods had done so.  She replied that there were none more suited to rule, and surely he had seen her subjects were pleased.

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 32: The Queen of Halberst

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Orb Hunters

Edelina and the other Burners made to part the clouds with the power of the sun, eliminating the cover  where the Flesh Orb was hiding, but to no success.  With no magisters of the Moon or Animals, they had no way to track it, and Hans Hessen resorted to splitting their forces to watch for its return.  After having his torso untwisted by the magisters of Change accompanying Tauschun, Granmarg discovered that his entire 60-man retinue had perished during the short battle with the orb.  He requisitioned carts and wished the others luck in their pursuit before beginning the long march back to the Highland Forests to lay his fellows to rest

 

Little happened until he arrived in Bedrock, at which point Mielikki leapt into action.  He invited Lady Shrub to the palace of the triumvirate, and they walked by the courtyard where the dead were being unloaded while he tried to convey that yet another outsider had arrived and killed more of them.  Who was to say Terra wouldn't do the same?  Later that day, news arrived that Carmenta was headed west to deal with the orb, while Terra was apparently staying in northern Baronde to continue her work in moulding the land to yield more food.

 

This all reminded them that one of Carmena's titles was the "Lady of Harmonious Change", and while her domains were (allegedly) Life and Healing, that was certainly suspect.  So too was the eclipse that followed soon after.  In a discussion over how to deal with the eclipses (Granmarg: "What, you want me to punch the moon?"), they debated what it meant for cities to "turn into mazes" as was described in the Wrostish prophecy.  Pomegranite mentioned that the god associated with the Moon was Consus, the Blue Lord of Victory, whose other domain was Secrets.  Perhaps it would have something to do with that Path?  For now, Mielikki arranged to have bells installed on the watchtowers that ringed the city.

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 31: The Orb of Flesh

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

Great Change

With the Imperial Messengers reinstated, communications with distant provinces were restored, and so Mielikki made a deal with Duccio de Segreti.  Through him, the earthlings would fund adventurers that delved down into the Labyrinth in exchange for any magical weapons they found.  Duccio, as a former Magister of Prophecy, was on the back foot and relatively desperate for funding, and was more than happy to operate as a cut-out to hide the true backers.  Hopefully, they'd get something they could use against Terra, Carmenta, and any other gods that returned.  Meanwhile, Pomegranite doled out payment to the inactive terramorphers who had finished dealing with the agricultural crisis in the north to begin the excavation of a pass through the northern mountains that would allow them better access to the coast.

 

He required Thicket's help, which was granted as the Grandmaster Terramorpher had his own pet project that could use assistance: spying on the former Terran faction of the priesthood and discerning who could be brought over to their side from those who had been cowed by Terra's killing of their highi priests.  Granmarg, still in the Elven Forests, established communications with the various merchant guilds operating out of Port Mineur in Lumene to expand ocean-going trade.  The earthlings had only a very small bit of coastline and were not an ocean-going people, so they would just contract the experts instead, a very earthling way of doing things.

 

When his training was complete, Granmarg began the long march back across the continent to the Highland Forests.  One day, when he was travelling through western Halberst, he heard a faint sound of rhythmic drumming seeming to come from thin air, which quickly faded.  This was too like the opening of the demongate to be coincidence, and so he turned back to the east and headed to the College.  Once there, he quickly gained a meeting with High Magister Jasper Sunmeadow, who agreed with his assessment and sent a messenger to fetch Grand Magister Curzo.