Summary 37

You determined to repair your relations with the Marauder nomad Ant'sai tribe and Aripharnes by returning the horse and pointing out that Lothar was a fool. He seemed pleased at this re-appraisal of the value of his friendship and accepted the description of the dwarf. Concerned at risking entry into Pskov, Aripharnes agreed to scout out the village (as his people were free to enter as allies) whilst you returned to the earlier clue of the deserting Sigrid and Lanz.

Borrowing horses from the Ant'sai, you found them very quickly, held captive in a destroyed village by a group of Hill Men. Finally responding to the masses of background colour, it occurred to you to try and play off the three different groups within the village against each other. You then managed to grab the prisoners. In a display of total ineptitude (lest the GM begin to regard you as remotely competent), Morgan and Whys'parr managed to fall off their horses, the letter being trapped. Only heroic stupidity by two Ant'sai charging back to save them managed to prevent total disaster (Morgan still lost 1 FP; gained 1 IP). Sigrid's story was a sickening one: they are in love! Sigrid knew that a desertion was planned and that Urbanus had been dealing with someone in Preslav called Konev, a member of the Order of the Exaltation of the Teardrop. This had been a long-planned move! Sigrid did not want to betray her family, but wanted to save Lanz so she drugged him, took his horse and the two fled. Lanz's version is rather different - that they were on an official patrol when they were captured.

Returning to the Ant'sai, you debated - at length - what to do when Aripharnes told you that he had discovered where Heidi was - in a hut in the village. Lothar attempted to bribe the Bessi to help (and thus keep his horse) and seemed to upset them greatly. Whilst he loudly decried the unfairness of the world (and the GM) no-one else thought the Bessi's action was anything other than pragmatism in the face of incompetent (cheap) bargaining. Fortunately, Aripharnes once again proved his worth and persuaded the Bessi to stay - as his guests.

Finally seeing the obvious, you decided to don the full armour of an Ant'sai warrior and ride into Pskov with members of the tribe. Pskov is a flat-topped megalith with volcanic glass 'slag' for walls - an astounding feat, proof of the existence of the gods. Two things of note: you saw someone that looked like a typical middle class Empire burgher and you noticed that Ruthenian smiths appeared to be making muskets for the Hill Men. The mission went very well. Heidi was guarded by only a single girl warrior, who Morgan dealt with easily whilst Wolf provided a distraction by falling over his own feet. The only problem was that Heidi was not in the hut as supposed. Interrogating the girl, she told you that Heidi was in the shrine of Zalmoxis. Wolf then showed his darker side by attempting to beat the girl's head to a pulp (he claimed that he was trying to knock her out) which induced an invective from Pazyra that you were all 'barbarians' and she took the girl away after talking with her.

Getting to the shrine proved easy since no one was expecting invaders within the area, although Jakob and Lothar both slipped when climbing, which warned the Hill Men in the village below that something was up. You now knew that you were up against the clock. You had little time to examine the shrine, although its architecture was of a complexity that astounded you - arches and domes, with 'cyclopean' brickwork. Heidi was easily rescued. You also discovered stores, including tinned food - an Ostermark speciality. Even more intriguing, it was dated 2510-12, a time when the Pass was thought closed. You were forced to flee down a very suspicious corridor, gated off and with a raven carved over the arch. This turned out to be holy territory, where the Hill Men bury the dead, but a guard that you captured confirmed that many passages led to other areas too. You hope that he was telling the truth. Lothar seems to know where you are heading, although he cannot (yet) get you into exactly the right direction to get out. You have been travelling for about an hour, as fast as you are able in almost total dark.

Hearing a lumbering beast ahead, you plumped up the courage to move around the bend. You all froze. Fortunately, the troll was too busy eating but he was far from happy to be interrupted when you eventually overcame your fear. We left the story as you managed to kill the troll, who had apparently been eating the dead remains (and solid rock).

Points to Remember

You have only one torch left (and Morgan's candlelight). Basically, anyone without Night Vision is going to be heavily penalised from this point on. Without a torch, you cannot fight, spot or move quickly. Even with the single torch, you will be at -20/ -2 on all tests and actions.

Morgan has been quite quiet around the Ant'sai, for reasons that he has not explained to anyone. He even visibly avoided their horses when you borrowed them.

Some of you lost armour to the troll, but there is also armour damage for the intact equipment and repairs will still be needed on the non-destroyed equipment.

You have a (badly wounded) Thyni prisoner with you, in addition to a badly treated Heidi. (And the latter is guarding the former…!)

Sigrid and Lanz are in the care of the Ant'sai and you need to decide what you are going to do with them. Technically they are deserters, and Lothar has already proposed immediate execution.

Experience (including carried over)
Jakob  65
Wolf  40
Whys Parr  65
Lothar  70 
Kara  100
Morgan  110

Game Issues
By my calculation, you collected: 12 javelins, 5 heavy cloaks (lozenge and zig-zag patterned), 5 pairs of fawnskin boots (with flaps), 3 leather caps and a leather tunic (count as jacks; bloodied). These are in Kara's cart (note that Morgan sold a tunic). Kara also has some skins that she has attempted to sell.