GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 15: Signs of the Apocalypse

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

 

Apocrypha

Pomegranite's research into the end times as portrayed by the Imperial faith required him to further delve into the libraries of the Imperial College, where he found records of the Sixth Council of the Faithful which had taken place during the Second Empire.  This Council had consolidated the faith under the banner of Astraean supremacy due to military and political pressure from the Archbishop of Lumene.  As a result of this change in doctrine, many regional texts were no longer recognized as official teachings of the faith, and had been subsequently destroyed.  Now that he had a lead, Pomegranite tracked down one of these texts, an early version of the Book from Wrost, which contained a section on the end times being heralded by the sun flickering thirteen times before being extinguished.

 

Continuing his investigation, Pomegranite found that while the line about seers going mad had become canon, the original text from Segreta had a second line that had not, which stated that the dead would rise from their graves.  After weeks of searching, he was able to piece together a similar bit of text from Tauschun, which stated that those bearing the "Mark of Clio" would be "Changed" and have their "wills bent to the works of the Muse".  The mention of the Mark of Clio was concerning, as both Granmarg and Thicket had discovered that Mark, a fractal spiral, on their bodies during the campaign in Tauschun.  What was meant by the "works of the Muse" was unknown, save that the Muse in question was Clio.

 

At this point, news swept the campus of the College of a breakthrough in the investigation into the missing Path of Prophecy, and Pomegranite took a break to attend the lecture given by High Magister Eva.  In front of a large audience of other Magisters, she announced that she had opened a gate to the edge of the Path of the Void, which bordered Prophecy, and saw there in the void between the Paths a great insectile beast made of bulbous segments, with six legs, six mouths, and six faceless heads.  From where she had seen it, it appeared to be "swimming" through the void directly toward her, and therefore the Path of the Void.

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 14: A Time of Peace?

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

 

Wurm Slayers

The wurm whirled around and spat another gobbet of magma at Pomegranite and Granmarg.  Pomegranite dove to the ground, but rolled, and quickly scrambled to his feet.  He lunged at the wurm, but it reared back out of the way.  This left it wide open for Granmarg, who had nimbly dodged under the molten rock and landed a haymaker that shattered several of the beast's sword-like teeth.  Roaring, it then charged past them, trampling Thicket as it went, and began to dig into the cliff wall to flee.

 

Thicket and Mielikki regained their feet, but were still staggered, while Pomegranite and Granmarg gave chase.  The wurm was faster than them in the open, but slowed by the dirt, they managed to catch it as Thicket impaled its left leg with a spike of earth that shot out of the ground.  Granmarg finished off its other leg, and cornered, the wurm turned and lunged at him.  He brushed its blow aside with the back of his arm, and then landed a one-two punch that shattered the stone around its eyes, leaving it blind.  Now defenceless and writhing in agony, the wurm was finished off by a thrust of Pomegranite's paired knives (Granmarg: "Kill steal").

 

Curious as to where the wurm had come from, Mielikki suggested they detour north on the way back to Bedrock to find Igneus, a noble he knew of who had a fascination with strange beasts.  The others agreed, and dispatched a messenger to inform him of their desire for him to come to its body and learn what he could.  The Triumvirate kept a slower pace due to their injuries that would see them arrive on Igneus' estate in a week's time.  The manor house in ill-repair, and an elderly servant came to lead them in to the study where his master was waiting.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 13: Holding Court

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

 

The Terran Faithful

The Triumvirate resumed its meeting on the rebel/reform movements, but struggled to come to any decision, and conversation drifted to the subjects of leverage over the Segretan League, and yet another attempt by Pomegranite to sway the others into going to war with the dwarves.  Before long, they were interrupted by Friedrich Quarry, their "new" High Priest, who was there to inform them of progress on the reconstruction of the Mountain's Maw temple complex.  Quarry had adopted a human first name in honour of the old emperor and was a thorn in their side, looking to radically restructure the church to merge it with the Imperial Faith.  He even wore human-style clothes!

 

Simply put, it would not be possible for the foreseeable future.  The earth below the mountain and temple was continually shifting, and anything they built would collapse in a matter of days.  Mielikki asked if there were signs of volcanic activity, as that was part of the end times foretold in earthling religion, but Friedrich assured him that their terramorphers had dug deep and found no signs of magma or rising temperatures, so for now, at least, this was not a larger threat.

 

On the subject of the end times, though, the version of events as told by The Book, the holy text of the Imperial Faith, seemed much more relevant.  The sun was red and hanging in the sky, it was unseasonably warm, and stars were going out.  This was driving people to the Imperial Faith as a result, something the Triumvirate knew the high priest was actively facilitating as he tried to merge the two faiths.  Mielikki "joked" about "finding another book of Terran myth", which shocked both Thicket and even Friedrich, radical that he was, badly enough that he was forced to drop it.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 12: Dealing with Dukes

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

 

The Imperial College

The earthling army marched back out of the province of Tauschun and to the College far to the northeast. The further north they travelled, the longer the red sun hung in the sky.  By the time they were approaching Halberst, there were only a few hours of normal daylight, the rest an orange twilight, with night perhaps half as long as it should be.  As they passed through the rocky and mountainous terrain that had been transferred to the College in the recent treaty with Ulrich, some of the College magisters took their leave from the army to begin the work of assessing the value of the region.

 

Weeks of travel through the rocky highlands of Halberst later, they arrived at the Imperial College itself, which was defended by a one hundred foot tall circular wall of solid, magically created stone which was, they noted positively, similar to earthling construction methods.  Leaving the bulk of the army to camp outside the city, the commanders arrived at one of the great circular gates and walked down the broad thoroughfares of the "new city" until they arrived at the edge of the College campus, which had been built over the ruins of the old city following its destruction after the rebellion of the old King of Halberst.  A few sections of the old fortifications still stood, typically where they abutted buildings.

 

As they arrived at the campus, a small delegation led by High Magister Curzo came out to meet with them.  There was no fanfare, and those from the College wore only their typical robes.  Curzo extended a curt greeting, and congratulated the commanders on a successful campaign in Tauschun.  Mielikki explained that, though they had acquired some of Tauchun's land, they had been unable to secure the province's support for Cliffside, the nephew of Thicket that they were supporting as the next Emperor.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 11: The Treaty of Gebirg's Pass

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

Last Gasp

The axeman chopped away at Mielikki and was joined by Dietrich who glided forward on a wave of sand, while the rest of the earthlings were on the ground, either unconscious or reeling from their injuries.  On the verge of collapse, Mielikki signalled and horns began to blow as the remainder of the army charged forward as he and the rest of his advisors retreated.  Dietrich gave chase, attempting to end things by eliminating the commander, but ended up being captured by the common soldiers as the rest of his troops were forced into a rout and he surrendered, alone.

 

On the far side of the battlefield, Drirtollor made a heroic effort to stop Hans Hessen, the Imperial Marshal, launching a surprise attack.  With the aid of earthling terramorphers, they surged across a bridge that suddenly jutted out and across an otherwise impassable ravine.  Unfortunately, the Marhsal was too skilled a commander, and the earthlings were, despite their valour, sent fleeing.  At the end of the day's battle, both sides found their camps razed, and would come to meet at a neutral pavilion to discuss terms.

Negotiations

Curiously, Tharivol was absent, having been replaced by a red-headed Knight of the Blazing Sun, but the rest of the Imperial commanders, including Dietrich, who had been captured, were present.  Similarly, Granmarg and Pomegranite, who had likewise been captured earlier in the day, rejoined their comrades, now sporting some new scars from their battles earlier in the day.  For now, at least, high-ranking prisoners were still being treated with honour.  

 

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 10: Solidoak and Ulrich, Mielikki and Dietrich

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

The Battle Rages On

Solidoak bashed Ulrich with one of his massive greatshields, but the old man proved surprisingly agile and rolled with the impact, then thrust the other shield into the neck of one of Ulrich's men who'd fallen down.  In response, Ulrich unfurled a scroll of beguiling patterns; Solidoak closed his eyes, but Papaver felt excruciating pain behind his eyes as they tried to follow the impossible spirals.  Thicket stepped in and a stone spike shot up from the ground, impaling the woman with the bow-harp, and she ran back to the rear lines to tend to her injury.

 

He did it again, this time aiming the spike at Ulrich, catching him in the side, and the blood loss swiftly left him unconscious.  Solidoak and the halberdier continued to duel, both making a series of wild swings with no regard for defence and bloodying the other.  The woman with the bow ran in to fend off Papaver, then grabbed Ulrich and ran off as the Imperials launched a retreat.  Though Ulrich was badly wounded in personal combat, Thicket had also been injured, and the earthling troops went on to lose the confrontation, giving ground and retreating.

 

As the remnants of Granmarg's and Pomegranite's troops regrouped, they discovered that their commanders had been captured, along with Sigillaria, one of Pomegranite's lieutenants.  Swiftbreeze was again given command of Granmarg's formation, while Drirtollor returned replacing Pomegranite, and immediately destroyed the remnants of Tharivol's formation with spellfire from the College's remaining mages.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 9: Personal Combat

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

 

The Mysterious Elf Unveiled

In the western pass, the College Magisters under Thicket's command unleashed a storm of fire and lightning that tore through one of the Imperial formations, rending it asunder.  As the smoke cleared, Ulrich's troops moved into the gap, and the Magisters let loose another wave of spells, killing hundreds.  In the eastern pass, Dietrich ordered a retreat to protect their camp, while the mysterious blindfolded elf advanced a small force to take his place, then charged full-out uphill and into Pomegranite's far more numerous troops.

 

Just shy of engaging, the elf's troops halted, then he stepped forward and shouted out a greeting.  He said he was named Tharivol, and asked who he faced in battle.  Pomegranite gave his name, and asked why he'd not heard his name.  Tharivol replied that his kin were ashamed of him, and that he would earn renown in the wider world here, with Pomegranite's blood.  With that, he drew his blade, and strode forward, followed by his retinue.  Pomegranite, meanwhile, hung back while sending in his own advisors, and attempted to entrap one of Tharivol's men in an illusion of an endless maze, which sent him stumbling.

 

At first they clashed, until Tharivol sheathed his sword and then redrew it, the motion too fast to see.  Though it took them a moment to realize what had happened, the elf had somehow managed to strike Drirtollor, Sigillaria, and Berry.  Pomegranite attempted to use his magic to befuddle one of Tharivol's henchmen, a human carrying a giant shuriken, but he was hardly a Battle Magister, and the other man's will proved too strong.  Though they took up a defensive posture and attempted to stall, Drirtollor and Sigillaria were cut down by Tharivol, who then advanced on Pomegranite himself.