the matter of norfydd, part three
This session wrapped up the confrontation with the knights' first Myth! It had two fights and a climactic confrontation, all in the same hex. My usual level of description is probably going to be a little lighter here in part because 1) we were learning how combat worked and 2) I took less good notes, since I was adjudicating combat.
The enormous dog - a Retriever of Justice! - had just arrived at the midnight campfire of the knights, ready to seize Aluna and try to drag her to her trial. The knights laid into it, tearing open its checkered coat, but Aluna herself got seized in its jaws and shaken like a prey animal.
Then Lumpe, Burgith's squire, stepped up. Lumpe has a robust physique and a thunderous voice, and both were put to good use as Lumpe used his cudgel to hit the dog squarely in the skull, instantly killing it. It would not be the last time one of these squires proved itself the measure of an opponent.
The beast was felled and the threat ended, but: this was in the middle of the night, and such an interruption meant a fitful night for all, resulting in Clarity loss! The crew was looking rough - Matilda in particular, who already had zero Vigor and Spirit.
We looked over the rules on how to restore virtues:
Vigor seemed the most important - without it, you die! Warm hospitality might be a fair ways off, but ... there WAS a freshly slain corpse nearby that might provide Sustenance for all.
I ruled they could absolutely butcher and eat the retriever, but it would be an all-day affair, given its size. Howell, the squire with a feral upbringing, was judged to be the best-suited to spend the morning field-dressing their foe. I had him roll a Vigor save, as the beast was already attracting scavengers - Howell was harassed by some enormous crows as he fought for the best bits of meat.
That same morning, Burgith used Dawn Contemplation to try and determine if the Judge had to follow a code of her own - but got mixed results. Burgith's research suggested that the Judge had rules ... but had the freedom to apply those rules arbitrarily.
Morning ended, and it was time for a Wilderness check - another 2! We got the final Omen of the Myth announced:
The Retriever of Justice comes bounding on the horizon, roughly dragging the summoned Knight to court, which has materialized nearby. The Judge awaits, able to summon witnesses for or against, judging whether the Knight has truly done their best to follow the Oath. At the next sunset or sunrise she gives her verdict (see table opposite).
Like I said last post, I moved the Retriever of Justice up to the 5th Omen to give the players some combat, so for the 6th and final Omen, I instead reintroduced the Sergeants of Law that had given Aluna the scroll that accursed her of crimes. They appears on a nearby hill, riding forward towards the knights, and the circle of stone seats appeared nearby as well.
Matilda and Burgith rode forth to intercept the Sergeants. The Sergeants - Leorio, Tonnel, and Muntin, who were not knights - refused hospitality or arbitration, as they were compelled to obey the Judge's commands. They produced a writ saying they did all in the name of The Judge, Ambrageft, of Diamond Eye, and that the whole of Norfydd should give them freedom to act.
Once it became clear that talk would not divert them, Matilda threw a phoenix feather to the ground.
"Where the hell did she get a phoenix feather?" Great question. Matilda starts with it! As the Tiger Knight, this is one of the things you get in your starting property:
3 phoenix feathers (erupts in flame when they touch the ground, d8 blast, restock each new Season)
I was not expecting this move at all! I thought it was a great moment. I had Matilda roll damage for each Sergeant and each of their horses. Two of the horses were lit on fire and ran off, panicking.
At the sign of trouble, Aluna - back at the campsite - sent the squired to aid the knights in battle.
Tonnel remained in place and began to fight. Burgith knocked the Sergeant from his horse with her greatstaff. She crushed the Sergeant's thumb and knocked him prone to the ground, setting him up perfectly for Lumpe to smash him to death with his cudgel.
Matilda gave chase to Leorio, who was trying to put out the flames on his panicked horse. The Tiger Knight fought valiantly, but a sweep of the Sergeant's billhook laid her low, and she met her end on the battlefield. 💀
Leorio would not savor his victory for long, however - Goyon and Burgith laid into him. The Tome Knight once again proved her valor, smashing the Sergeant's head straight through his helmet.
Muntin, the last remaining Sergeant, seized the unburnt horse of Tonnel, and managed to escape into the hills.
Victorious but down a number, the troop returned to camp. I asked what burial or rites might be done for Matilda, and her player said her corpse would be put atop her tattooed steed, which was then loosed upon the world - a Tiger Knight's steed knows where to take the corpse of its master.
The afternoon then was spent in repose, searing and eating the flesh of the great beast - all in sight of the Judge and her court.
Evening came, and the two remaining Knights approached the stone circle. The Judge - eight feet tall, and dressed more like a harlequin than a noble magister - accused Aluna of treachery against lords and of violence against the court.
Aluna stood fast, declaring her right to defend her own person against violence, and further saying that she knew her own heart better than any Judge might. She proudly recited the Knightly oath.
Well-read Burgith further made the point that their oaths bound them to the realm - and that the Judge's court was very clearly NOT of the realm, given its insubstantiveness and transience. This dented the Judge's confidence. "Are you not a Myth?" asked Aluna. This sent the Judge into a crisis of identity, ending with a shriek as the court retreated into the mists from whence it had come.
Myth cleared! +1 Glory for all knights. I hemmed and hawed about whether to house rule that the squires should get +1 Glory as well, and ultimately gave it to them given the extent of their contributions.
At the end of the session, we judged that we would pick up a few weeks later, with Matilda's player now playing mighty Goyon, in search of a Seer to knight him. Lay on, knights!