[actual play] Kingdom Death: Monster - People of the Stars - Lantern Year 20 - Asura Rises

Aapep, the eldest and first of the People of the Stars, leads Anro, Aido Wedo and Aida Hwedo on a hunt for a phoenix. They narrowly avoided the very ground gobbling them up, and felt the tug of time flowing forward. They once more passed pools of saliva, feeling sick at the sight of such bubbling bile. Onwards they travelled, and in the dark Anro found a shimmering feather. On touching it he instantly forgot everything. He was a blank slate. One last hurdle impeded them, as Aida fell into a pit, and droppings fell from the sky and struck Aida on the head.

The phoenix was found resting on a tree, pecking at the remains of some monster. The hunters quickly made their way up to the creature, making a combined attacked that knocked it down. A flurry of strikes, and the beast responded, beating its wings an causing time to twist. Its iron hard beak tore through armour, but the creature was eventually struck down.

With the creature dead, Aida Hwedo looked to the sky, as it opened up and the stars looked down. He was exalted, as a sculptor. His lost arm regrew, as if made of obsidian. On returning to the settlement he set about using a stone face from the ground that looked like his own, and made a living statue in his image, and into it he breathed life. Asura was born, and equal to Aida Hwedo in every way.

The camp continued building the tomb for their god. The work was exhausting, and to sanctify it two of the lowest of the tribe were sacrificed. The Tyrant in return blessed them with Hazmat shield.

The apocalypse was looming and there was still much work to be done.

Meanwhile Anata Deva sneaked off and listened to a tale told by a lonely beetle knight.

[actual play] Kingdom Death: Monster - Lantern Year 11 - The Hand

Aiakos led Aeneas, Amphityrone, and Aella off to hunt a White Lion, a large on, as they needed more bones and organs for weapons. The hunt itself was rather uneventful, and while the lion put up a tough fight, it was still no match for the skilled hunters, as they sliced the monster apart, taking its tail for the spoils.

The mists that came in as the hunter returned were an ill omen. They used ammonia to help themselves cope with the toxic mists, but as the cloying clouds cleared, a strange regal figure stood outside of the camp. The Hand had arrived. He stood, aloof, atop a large stone face, and beckoned the camp to fight him.

The fight was a unnatural affair, as the Hand moved as an ephemeral being, appearing behind one of the warriors and striking. The feeling of the Hand moving through them terrified them to their bones, and soon enough their numbers dwindled until only Aiakos was the last standing, using his shield to weather the storm of blows the Hand directed at him. Thanks to the foresight of one of his dead compatriots, Aiakos knew that he could not attack, because of the threat of the Hand using a clever poly in return. But at finally, as Aiakos cowered behind his shield, the Hand stood over him, motioned for him to stand, and clapped. The fight was over. The Hand was satisfied. Aiakos was thrown a leather package containing various items and a skull - little did he know that one of those still at camp had been murdered by the Hand.

Aiakos, alone, returned with the gift, the weapons of the fallen, and directed the rest of the camp to the bodies which they tore apart. A new set of leather armour was fashioned, and a celebration was held, with the camp swelling in numbers as many new children were born.

But the Hand would return, and there were only a few years to prepare. Aiakos gathered many of the new survivors and headed out to hunt the Antelope. 

[Actual Play] AD&D 2nd - Ravenloft, House of Strahd Session 9

Ravenloft Session 9

The party mills around in the water, confounded by the Count’s anguish elsewhere in the castle above, annoyed at the undead’s lack of treasure, and the generally lamenting the awful fortnight they’ve been having. Beetlebottom hands out some heals to the injured party, specifically Kolbo and Belzon. The party climbs up the balcony to the thrones overlooking, Thenn giving Kolbo a boost. The black curtain behind the thrones oscillates back and forth ominously and Kolbo pokes the curtain with his 10-foot pole, eventually extending it the full 10 feet only to find something hard behind the curtain. Finally peering through the corner of the curtain, the party finds an empty alcove and a sturdy iron door. The party checks for traps and Thenn listens behind the door, hearing snap, crackle, and pop.

Opening the door, the party finds a chamber with a large, bright brazier in the center, an hourglass overhead and a golden chest to the left, two alcoves on each side with a giant four armed bronze skeleton in each. Gargoyles line the ceiling and the wall opposite the party has three closed iron doors. Belzon steps into the room while the others wait outside, silently moving to inspect the hourglass. He reads to the others, “In the palm of my hand, is the time left to thee, when it is consumed, will the flame set you free.” Belzon inspects the skeletons statues, which almost seem to be watching him, and the gargoyles. Nothing seems threatening. The rest of the party joins him in the room, and that’s when the door behind them slams shut and the sand in the hourglass begins to fall.

The party frantically searches the room for anything that might have triggered or changed. Kolbo approaches the center door on the other sides of the room and tries to force it open - it won’t budge. Thenn listens behind the doors for any sound, but hears nothing, only the blazing fire in the center of the room. Meanwhile, the sand continues to fall. “That brazier probably explodes when time runs out, just like a fireball, if the fire sets us free,” Kolbo ponders aloud, straining to open a door. Grayven looks closer at the skeletons and finds that they have gems in each outstretched hand - a ruby, sapphire, opal, and emerald amongst them. All the while, the sand falls. Belzon offers that maybe the party needs to destroy the gems to be set free. He carefully grabs the sapphire gem from one skeleton’s palm… and nothing happens. He throws the gem into the fire and the hourglass stops as the northeastern most door grinds open. The sapphire reappears in the skeleton’s hand.

Before moving on, Thenn decides to investigate the chest further. He begins to open it and notices a small lever by the inside hinge. Pressing down on it with his dagger, the half-elf thief opens the chest without triggering the trap, only to find an empty wooden bottom. Realizing this is a false bottom, Thenn knocks around on the chest and finds a panel in the back, discovering a deck of tarokka cards, two health potions, and a number of spell scrolls.

The party walks through the northeast door to find a staircase leading up. They walk up for about a hundred feet before Kolbo declares that they’re probably getting too far from their objective. He suggests that they return to the brazier chamber.

The party returns and tried each gem, realizing that the different colors correspond to a different door, the party checks all the doors and proceeds through up the stairwell that appears to take them up only 20 feet. They find a rough cut tunnel, the stonework sickens Kolbo, heading to the east. The party narrowly dodges a false floor trap and then enters the catacombs themselves. Waist deep mist shifts and swirls as the party walks through and the ceiling itself seems to move - the demihumans infravision indicating hundreds of bats. The makes out a few names in the crypt, Countess Dilisnya and Isolde Yunk, and Kolbo wisely suggests to Trayven that they not open any crypts.

The party finds a cold iron portcullis on the northern wall and working together, they lift it and enter a misty tomb. Inside they find they find three alcoves, all with what looks like a woman-raven hybrid standing watch in the far back. Two of the alcoves have a marble coffin, while the third looks as though the coffin was dragged out some time ago. There is a tapestry on the west wall with a young man playing the lute and surrounded by fairies and a unicorn. An inscription on the east wall notes that this is the tomb of Sergei von Zarovich.

Kolbo steps over to the middle coffin and thrusts the cover off with his mighty dwarven strength. It tumbles to the ground revealing it to be empty. Kolbo steps over to the side coffin and begins to push, but the cover won’t budge. Kolbo pants and whispers audibly, “Gosh, what do you want from us!?”

An ethereal voices emanates throughout the chamber, the voice of a young, pained man. “It has been centuries since any have summoned me. Be warned! My brother’s tomb is guarded by powerful magic. Take up yourselves the Bright Blade in my tomb and with pure heart undo the kinslayer.”

Kolbo recalls that tarokka reading from a week ago, and how the reading spoke of Strahd’s brother and the purity he would require. “Only the pure of heart can open this tomb, but I’m not strong enough on my own.”

Belzon steps forward to help Kolbo, and as the elf grabs the coffin cover, an arc of crackling lightning jumps from the tomb, searing his arms. He runs backwards, patting his smoking sleeves - the burns are bad enough that he quaffs the party’s final healing potion.

Thenn and Beetlebottom help Kolbo move the cover, revealing a dusty skeleton in gleaming, perfectly clean plate mail. Resting across it’s chest is a broken lute and a golden sword hilt, with no blade. Kolbo curses aloud as he picks up the hilt - all this effort and exploration for nothing. He sets the hilt down on the side of the coffin and begins to remove the plate mail for Ioana.

The hilt begins to oscillate, and shake. It springs off the coffin and flies towards Thenn, replacing the hilt of his own sheathed sword. The half-elf draws the blade - the once dull steel now revealing the pale blue glow of glasteel. Thenn had the sunsword blade the whole time…

Fully equipped, the party decides to achieve their second objective before confronting Strahd - destroying the black heart beating in one of Ravenloft’s tall spires. The party back tracks and takes a winding spiral staircase up for over a hundred feet. They walk through a door to find a study filled with books, couches, and a blazing hearth. In the corner is a rotting corpse just barely standing. Belzon sneaks over and backstabs the zombie - but it keeps standing. The elf notices a gold chain around its neck and removes the amulet. The corpse collapses to the ground, relieved of its burden, and Belzon inspects the amulet, finding a red gem, symbols of truth and light, and a sun blazing motif. The party decides that Thenn should wear the amulet.

Rifling through the stacks of paper, the heroes find a few documents of note - a balok translation of the Great War’s history by someone known only as “S,” as well as a genealogic tree of those descended from a Sturm von Zarovich.

The party continues through the southern door and finds a cobweb filled dining room. In the center of the table is a lopsided, rotten wedding cake with only a bride atop it. The party heads east and finds another spiral staircase to ascend.

The party walks onto a landing a finds a portrait of a portly bearded man staring back at them. The portrait’s jowls roll as he says, “You aren’t supposed to be here.” A rainbow spray of color shoots out from his mouth, incapacitating everyone but Trayven. The half-elf looks around shocked and starts throwing his darts at the portrait. The portly man yelps with pain and then calls out, “Strahd, you have intruders.” The portrait makes another gesture and Trayven is held in place.

The portrait just stairs at the heroes for a few minutes and tries to make idle conversation, “How many portraits does it take to screw in a light bulb.”

Thenn and Belzon awaken before the portrait can finish the incantation of another color spray and quickly eviscerate the painting. Kolbo soon awakens and the hold on Trayven is broken. The party hears the soft tap of footsteps walking up the staircase behind them.

The party flings open the door to their left to throw off their pursuer, seeing a bedroom before they dash up the stairs. The sound of footsteps follows.

On the next landing, Belzon throws open the door to see what’s inside, finding a room with shattered furniture and claw marks all over. Trayven says, “Noooooope,” and the party runs up the next flight of stairs. The sound of footsteps follows.

The party ascends to the top of a watersoaked tower, thunder roaring and sheets of rain pelting the heroes. Thenn and Kolbo recognize the towertop from their last expedition to Castle Ravenloft - the heart of darkness is just ahead, across the bridge in the other tower. The sound to footsteps draws closer.

The party scrambles into the dry safety of the next tower, the patter of rain replaced by the sound of a beating heart. The party’s rings of continuous light dim significantly as they enter. Before the heart can do anything treacherous, Belzon dashes up the stairs and quaffs his entire potion of fire breath. As he exhales, a stream of searing fire shoots forth, shriveling the squealing heart.

On the top of the other tower, Kolbo, Thenn, and Trayven watch as Count Strahd ascends the final step. Lightning reveal his grimacing face, “What are you doing?”

Session Loot: The Sunsword!, Sergei’s Armor, a tarokka deck with alchemical and magick glyphs on the box, 2 healing potions, scrolls of protection from magic, raise dead, restoration, flame strike, and dispel evil.

Session XP: 28,000

[actual play] Kingdom Death - Lantern Year 9 - The King's Man Cometh

Achillis, bearing his twilight sword, Alcestis, Abas, and Anius, headed out to hunt, only to come face to face with one of the sinister armoured figures that had some years back slain all their newborns. This time there would be no hiding or running away.

The King's Man awaited among the columns and the party sped forward, encircling the figure. They all darted in, striking to find some sort of weak point, but the warrior was able to deflect their attacks. Anius was beginning to get a sense of how the King's Man fought, but this newly acquired insight was short lived, as he was brutally slain, his chest being cut in half by the halberd of the King's Man.

The warrior continued, striking quickly, with Abas and then Alcestis learning the King's Step. But it would not be enough. The monstrous figure erupted acid which maimed Abas, as Achillis cowered behind his shield. The group would strike, run, and strike again, looking for a gap, until Abas was brutally injured, bleeding to death from his injuries.

With only Achillis and Alcestis left, the fight continued. They were able to wear down the warrior, with Alcestis often setting up openings for Achillis. But the Achillis, in an attempt to learn how to fight the armoured figure, had his left foot hacked off. He then gave his life as Alcestis was able to strike with her paired lion katars.

As the King's Man fell dead, Alcestis was gripped with pain. She convulsed, her ribcage exploding outwards, shredding skin and pulling her organs free, before reforming and twisting into plated metal. He breath was now cold and hollow. And she looked down in horror as she realized the nature of what she was becoming. She took up the King's Man's steel sword, and returned to the settlement. She hid her disfigurement, and led her tribe to recover their fallen friends. They collected their armour and weapons, and feasted on their bones.

Looking to hunt and train those who had yet to hunt, to ready themselves for the next King's Man, Aeson was tasked with acting as a white lion, as Asterion stalked him. Their play was to teach the ways of the hunt. But in a freak accident, Asterion fell on Aeson's clawed glove, and died. It was another person to feast upon. What skin and hide was recovered was used to create more armour. And in this darkest of times, the tribe was learning the joy of each others company. Romance was blossoming.

As Alcestis lurked in her hovel, marvelling at her new metal armour, Aiakos readied a new hunt. A lion would be their prey.

The King's Man is a enemy of no comparison. You need speed and planning to grind through the Battle Pressure hit locations, which are auto fails unless you have the King's Step - which is not learnt without risk. Basically this fight will cull your tribe.

[actual play] Kingdom Death - Lantern Year 8 - The Hero of Another Time.

Knowing that the Phoenix was out there, somewhere, in the dark, Aeolus, Aeacus, and Abas set off with one of the youngest hunters, Antandre.

The gear is racking up.

It was as they were walking through the endless plains that they came upon something unnervingly familiar. It was a settlement. But this one was filled with skeletons. There was little to recover save for the founding stones that the survivors clutched.

Onwards the hunters walked, and something felt strange. Memories were fading, and as they looked about, seeing injuries and scars fade away, as too did Antandre. And along with that all memory of her were gone.

The remaining three hunters trekked on, and came upon  field of rotten faces. The faces under foot squelched and burst, and Aeacus and Aeolus were unlucky to lose their boots (so both hunters now had incomplete armour and lost their bonuses - bugger!).

Resting along the way Abas and Aeacus shared a vivid nightmare, or perhaps a premonition. The next day had the hunters waylaid by a fierce wind, sapping their strength and allowing their quarry to escape.

Still the hunters journey, and rested before a faceless statue before finding something Aeolus has not seen in 8 lantern years. It was the site where he, Ariadne, Arachne, and Aiakos faced lion after they had first awoken. The others had only ever heard of this place in stories.

And so they marched on, and Aeacus was struck by lightning. The storm raged as overhead the phoenix flew, landing on a tree in the distance. 

Aeacus, armed with his katars, was able to strike with accuracy, thanks to the cat's eye charm that Abas carried.

The phoenix was able to retaliate, sending Abas flying with a burst of air sent forth from its massive wings. 

The phoenix was an unusual opponent, teleporting and attacking and sending the survivors flying in all directions. By spreading out, they were able to surround the creature and strike. Aeolus, bearer of the Twilight sword, tried in vain to hit the beast.

Battered and bruised, and the phoenix also wounded, the survivors felt time change around them. Armour was repaired, and wounds healed. The phoenix also shrieked and blazed back to life.

Thanks to Aeacus and Abas, and the founding stones they had recovered, the phoenix was severely wound, shattering its beak. The giant bird seemed dazed, and the luminous wings flickered, loosing their inner light.

It was then that something strange happened. The phoenix looked into Aeolus's eyes, and the bird blazed with a mystic aura. His name, his identity was gone. But he gained a level of knowledge of the beast, and could feel how the monster would act.

Abas, emboldened by the injuries inflicted to the phoenix, attacked with his great axe. In return, the monster was to strike. It blazed, ready to materialize, and as it did, something went wrong. The creature appeared, but upon its back. It tried to attack again, and the same happened. It was stuck, and the survivors struck.

The frequent attempts to teleport had caused the phoenix all manner of complications, saving the survivors for its wicked attacks. The man who was Aeolus was able to use these openings, and so was able to begin his mastery of the Twilight sword. It was Aeacus, fighting like a lion, who slew the phoenix.

Arriving back in the settlement, laden with their hard won bones and organs from the phoenix, Aeacus was haunted by memories of battle. His madness was troublesome, and rather suffer, the settlement cast him out. In the darkness he did not last long, and his body was scavenged.

The man once known as Aeolus was renamed, dubbed Achillis. New armour and a shield was fashioned for him. The tribe was also blessed with a birth, the child being named Anius. He grew strong, and by the end of the lantern year he was ready to hunt. But on leaving the camp with Achillis, Alcestis and Aiakos, the hunters were met by a familiar form. It was a King's Man.

[Actual Play] AD&D 2nd - Ravenloft, House of Strahd Session 8

Ravenloft Session 8

One week remains until the adventurers return to Castle Ravenloft, this time by invitation to Strahd and Ireena’s wedding. The party gathers supplies and equipment, lengths of silk rope and rations funded by Kolbo and Thenn. They also try to find armor and magic weapons in the village, but neither the general store nor the blacksmith could provide anything. With the poisonous ring of mist gone from the village perimeter, the adventurers ponder leaving for another village, but realize they would not have enough time to return for the wedding.

As the sun begins to lower, the party is confronted by Ismark the Lesser, Ireena’s brother, outside the general store. He approaches fuming, demanding to know where his sister is. Upon learning of her deal with the devil Strahd, he becomes pensive. “When is the wedding? Perhaps I can turn this to my advantage…” he asks the adventuring party. Kolbo and Trayven are flabbergasted, “How could you side with the Count, he’s a monster!” Ismark back petals and explains that the party are rebels and he’s just a law abiding citizen who should be made burgomeister. Trayven raises his quarterstaff and knocks Ismark in the head. And keeps going. Bloods splatters on the street as Ismark coughs. The villagers close their shutters. Trayven looks down at his rage fueled handy work and sees glaring red eyes staring back at him from the blood. No one else in the party sees a thing.

The party stops Trayven and Beetlebottom, concerned about Ismark’s injuries, sprints to the village temple in search of Brother Donovon. The doors open with a crash and the Witch of Hala finds the Priest of the Morninglord lounging in the pews, sipping his ritual wine. Grabbing the priest, Beetlebottom drags the human back to heal Ismark. He does and the young man glares at the adventurers before storming off. Kolbo ponders how many enemies they’re probably making in the village and suggests the party skip town until the wedding. Instead, Brother Donovon invites the party to stay in his temple. There he confides that he has been ordered by Count Strahd to conduct the wedding ceremony.

The adventurers dedicate the next six days to planning their attack. Kolbo suggests that they have three options: Attend the wedding as Strahd intends for them to, head straight to the heart of darkness beating in the tower and destroy it, or find Strahd’s brother’s tomb and with it the magic sword. While at first Baroness Ioana argues that the party should attend the ceremony, the party unanimously agrees to search for the Sunsword.

The march up the mountain to Castle Ravenloft takes hours, but the party arrives a half hour before the ceremony begins. They notice significant repairs to the drawbridge and even Marvin’s blood was (mostly) cleaned up from the front entrance. As they step inside the grand entrance, the party finds a few guests at a table checking their weapons. Strahd’s bumbling servant, the same one that offered them terms before the Battle of Castle Ravenloft, stands at the table writing tickets for each weapon. We he asks the party to hand over their weapons, Kolbo simply laughs in his face. The servant gives them a confounded look, “But ya can’t go in there armed like that, it’ll make the other guests nervous.” Lady Ioana tries to sweet talk him, but doesn’t have much basis for argument. Kolbo suggests that the party step outside to discuss the situation.

The party begins going over their magical options when Belzon offers to take care of Strahd’s servant. He doesn’t give any further details before walking back inside. Approaching the servant, who introduces himself as Cyrus, Belzon asks for directions to the restroom. “Ah, it’s tough to get there, I’ll need to show you the way,” the old man says. Cyrus takes Belzon upstairs and through a number of secret passageways before the come to a large spiral staircase. Before Cyrus can take him further, Belzon shoves the servant of the edge and a wet crunch echos from below. A shiver runs up Belzon’s spine and he walks away without looking down at the body.

The party gathers again at the grand entrance and begins their trek downwards. They descend for a time until they come to a landing with a short hallway. The party steps forward in marching order and Thenn feels a slight, sudden depression in the floor. With lightning speed, gilded portculli descend on either side of Thenn and Kolbo, and they notice from a tall shaft above them that the sound of winding gears and pulleys emanates. The elevator must be descending on them. Kolbo struggles to bends the bars but to no avail, the Baroness searches frantically for any levers or triggers. Finally, with the elevator barreling down, Kolbo, Ioana, Thenn, and Grayven combine their strength to thrust up the portculli and evade the crushing force of the descending stone. When the elevator finally reaches the floor, the other portculli opens. The party steps forward to the door at the end of the hall, but when they hear bubbling on the other side and see mist creep in when they open the door, they firmly shut it and head back to the stairs.

Descending again, the party reaches the bottom of the spiral staircase and finds a water filled hallway. A soft cry for help comes from the the right door in the hallway. Kolbo takes out his 10 foot pole and carefully moves forward, looking for any pressure plate traps like they found above. He does, finding a loose plate ahead of him. Thenn moves ahead to disable the trap and trips another pressure plate. He vanishes in an explosion of water. The party scrambles to figure out what happened. They cry out Thenn’s name.

Thenn opens his eyes and is in complete darkness, standing upright in chest deep water. His darkvision reveals a small confined cell, with it’s only exit the silhouette of a rusted iron gate. It appears locked and impossible to pick from the inside. After getting his bearings, Thenn hears the distant voice of Beetlebottom calling his name. He responds in kind.

The rest of the party hears Thenn’s reply from a doorway down the hall to the left. Even more carefully than before, the adventurers slowly approach the door, evading pressure plates with careful use of the 10-foot pole. They find an iron door down a few steps, half submerged underwater. Entering, the party walks a gauntlet of waterlogged prison cells - some with corpses and others with sparkling gold. In the last on the left they find a waterlogged Thenn.

The party unlocks one of the cells and grabs a handful of platinum coins each, leaving the other treasure locked up. Kolbo also notices a strange amulet in one of the piles of coins - one shaped like a hand with an eye in its palm. He grabs it with his 10-foot pole.

The party then crosses the hall to investigate the cry for help. Walking through the other door, the adventurers find a similar filled dungeon. In the last cell on the left, the party discovers a shivering peasant, mold growing in his beard. The party instantly grills the peasant - “who are you?” “Why are you here?” “Why aren’t you dead like all the villagers.” The peasant, Ivan, reveals that he was kidnapped a few weeks ago by Count Strahd but hasn’t seen his liege lord since. Only a lone porter comes to visit him occasionally with food. The adventurers set Ivan free and, while they don’t say he can’t stay with them, suggest that he make his own exit up the spiral staircase to the east. Ivan scampers off.

The party goes back to the main hallway and advanced forward, dodging two more pressure plates. Their rings enchanted with continuous light illuminate a large room up ahead - a large den of unspeakable evil. Within they see a blood stained rack, a black vice with the skeleton still inside and to the right a balcony, where two figures in thrones sit and watch.

The skeleton on the black vice is the first to reveal its unlife, clattering to the watery floor and stumbling towards Kolbo. Beetlebottom steps forward first and brandishes his holy symbol of Hala, sending the three approaching skeletons cower in the corners or behind torture devices but Strahd’s zombies  jumping down from the balcony seem unperturbed. The initial melee is fierce, with two zombies tearing loose Kolbo’s breastplate and and sinking their nauseating claws into his flesh. Lady Ioana moves to support, while both Belzon and Thenn drive back another zombie on the left. Grayven stays behind in the hallway when he hears a howl from the stairway behind him. The melee continues, but Grayven pushes through the impromptu shield wall, turning around just in time to see an upright wolf charging through the water at him and his friends. Drawing a silken web from his spellpouch, Grayven crushes it into a ball and throws it into the long hallway, producing a 40-foot thick web and constricting the man-wolf in the furthest reach of it. The giant wolf creature howls, breaking free and retreating back to the stairs.

The last undead falls to Lady Ioana’s blade and the heroes take a moment’s respite. Elsewhere in the castle, the Count’s gives out a booming cry of anguish, echoing down to even the deepest dungeon...

Session Loot: 600 gp and an amulet taken from the dungeon

Session XP: 1200

[actual play] Kingdom Death - Lantern Year 6 - The Feather

Aiakos, Arachne, Acastus and Alcestis set off to hunt another antelope. The fight with the larger lion had taught them that they needed more armour. And the antelope was the best was to gain some.

In the dark they heard the antelope bellow, and storm off. They gave chase, finding its droppings. Aiakos ate some, and felt dizzy.

On they wandered, narrowly missing a stampede of the beasts. They continued their chase and found a plan unlike anything they had seen, for it was made not of faces, but of feet. Aiakos, Arachne and Alcestis moaned in terror. Had they fallen through the world they cried. Would they fall away from the world. But Acastus, new to hunting, looked on confused. He looked for them as they wandered off in their madness.

Aiakos was found singed, having been searching a body of a hunter. Arachne had survived some strange wailing smoke. And, upon finding Alcestis, they survivors realised that she had led them directly to the antelope. They attacked.

In amongst the grasses, Arachne and Acastus fought the antelope, but Acastus was repelled, as the beast knocked them away, and slid on its belly, the belly mouth gibbering.

The antelope galloped back towards them, and Acastus was once more attacking, wounding the beast many times, rending bones and a portion of the beast's stomach.

Aiakos found a swarm of insects and recovered some ants, bagging them to consume later.

The antelope responded to the grievous wounds, consuming acanthus plants and promptly regaining it's stamina.

Arachne attacked, but it leapt backwards, knocking Aiakos and Alcestis flying.

The Acastus took the chance to strike the beast from behind, but again it screamed from its belly mouth. The guttural cries drove Acastus mad and he dropped dead.

Aiakos and Alcestis struck the beast again, using the grasses to hide. More of the beast was carved off.

Alcestis rammed her spear in the antelope's jaw, and pulled, wrenching the mandible free, sending gouts of blood everywhere.

3.... 3 bloody traps in one game!

Arachne circled the beast and struck with her katars. The antelope again screamed from its belly. The troupe fled from the beast, as it slid across the stone faced ground, wailing from the gut.

In hind sight the positioning was not bad, since it was not able to trample anyone that next turn.

The beast was limping and with bleeding heavily as Aiakos and Alcestis finished the beast off.

Returning to the camp the settlement re-enacted the hunt of the Butcher, with Aeolus being venerated for his heroism. Meanwhile the haul of materials and monster organs allowed for a great number of things to be made. The camp learnt how to make beds, and advanced weapons. A great axe was made, and the camp had the first full suit of hide armour. The next hunt should mean they can make a shield, and if they hunt a lion, perhaps a complete a set of armour based upon that creature. And then, then, perhaps they could hunt this strange creature that Areto was fascinated with, and from which a strange feather had fallen. 

Serious gear has been made. Now do I fight a level 1 lion, a level 2 lion, or the level 1 phoenix?