We rejoice, because Chuck (Erac Taslo Moragan) has joined us for a second game! We rejoice again because Dan has returned to actually run his game again ("Earthdawn? What is this Earthdawn you keep on talking about?") The rest of us form up the group: Paul (Thorn-Spinner), Chris (Elias Sang'aree), Bruce (Belwin Linnet), and Tim (Kraid Naiben).
Ooth has left the group, as he has become convinced that he alone is worthy of leading the Belhanna trolls. The characters recall from last time that he was casting Pain upon those who follow the orders of She-Who-Inspires. Doubtless his future will be full of drama and excitement for however long it lasts.
The characters depart from the Dragon's Lair and head back towards Belhanna. As they start out, they are annoyed to see that Belhanna is really only a couple of miles away as the crow flies. They are unable to take the direct route thanks to the brutal terrain downslope, scattered with ravines and crevasses. Their plan is to stop off at Belhanna only briefly, pick up the Jungle War Canoe, and then use it to travel upriver to the Forest Cave, where a gang of vicious, tool-using (but not Name-giving) reptiles have an encysted dragon imprisoned.
It takes the characters three days to reach the foot of the mountains. Around midday, a strong flight of eastbound airships comes into view. As they pass across the Dragon's Lair, a huge gray dragon emerges and flies up to challenge them. The airships pull up broadside and unleash a devastating torrent of fire at the dragon, accomplishing very little. In return, the dragon wreaks absolute havoc upon the airships. One of the stricken airships drifts down towards the characters, close enough that Elias Sang'aree is able to actually feel the heat from the flames. A large troll in the front is visibly yelling out orders, right up until the rear mast breaks off and hits him in the head. When the ship is about 200 yards away and 200 feet above the ground, the characters start to scatter, fearful that the ship might fall on top of them, but unsure exactly where it will land. Both Elias and Belwin Linnet are too close and get moderately burned by the debris from a burning sail. Elias gets his foot caught in the rigging, and avoids being dragged along the ground only because Belwin notices the problem and cuts him loose.
Elias notices that the troll who had been giving orders is now being dragged across the ground, captured by the rigging. He performs a Great Leap to try and pull him out of the rigging. His first attempt is a bit misjudged, and he only manages to pull the troll's orichalcum helmet off. He is unable to make a second jump because the airship floats over a cliff edge, beyond Elias' jumping range.
While Elias is congratulating himself on not Great Leaping his way into a ravine, Belwin notices another airship crewman dropping away from the wreck on a bit of burning rigging. The figure is obviously human, and surprisingly undamaged for a survivor of such a complete disaster. Belwin approaches the survivor and they exchange introductions. It turns out that the stranger is named Erac Moragan, and is a Swordmaster Adept from Thera ("a civilized place"). He decries Belwin's accent as hopelessly provincial, though he doesn't do so to Belwin's hearing.
Erac claims that he had only recently joined the airship's crew, and that he had planned on using his position on the crew to find adventure and see the world. He regrets that his journey in the skies has so quickly come to such a disastrous end. He is also able to explain that this is the second Theran expedition to this area, and that they were looking for survivors of the Scourge in the local Kaers. The first expedition encountered a terrible dragon, so this group of airships was sent to liberate the people of the area from the dragon's tyranny. Clearly, the Theran attempt was less than successful.
While Belwin, Erac and the rest of the group spend their time chatting, Elias is watching the continuing plight of the airship. He sees it travel down into a deep ravine and collide with the opposite cliff face. The entire ship then vanishes into a massive fireball, probably because the Elemental Fire and Elemental Air in the fire-cannons combined. Elias has severe doubts that anyone survived. He walks back to the group to introduce himself to Erac.
When Elias learns that the airship captains' orders were to liberate the region's Kaers from the dragon he is impelled to ask, "Did anyone check with us to see if the dragon was actually bothering us?" Erac argues that he is sufficiently junior that he doesn't know anything about Theran policy. He does point out that his homeland is some two months away by airship, which pushes Elias to ask, "Didn't you people have problems in your neighborhood?" Erac notes that Theran magic is much more powerful than the local's powers, so they didn't really have any problems with the Scourge. He further suggests (in a tone that just bout anyone would construe as very insulting) that the provincial locals don't have anything to worry about now that Thera is here to protect them. The other characters, all of whom happen to be provincial locals, take this rather badly. They conclude that while Thera may be a fairly impressive place, its citizens clearly have something of an attitude problem.
Cultural clashes aside, Elias explains the group's plans to Erac. Erac claims that he wasn't that well treated aboard the airship, and claims to be perfectly willing to join the group for their little escapade.
Before resuming their journey to Belhanna, the characters decide to loot the remains of the crashed airship, reasoning that this isn't the sort of thing that happens every day. The wreckage is ablaze, and has started a small forest fire that is making the immediate area even hotter than it normally is. On the plus side, the flames are fairly well contained thanks to the fact that the ground is rocky. On the minus side, the wreckage is at the base of a ravine about thirty-five yards deep. After a brief flirtation with the idea of Great Leaping down the ravine walls, the characters eventually take the safer route and simply scale their way down with rope.
The characters spend the better part of the day looking at various destroyed things. The destruction is pretty much total, so the pickings are slim. It is grimly obvious that nobody managed to survive the crash. Thorn-spinner finds a ring that fits him like a necklace. Kraid Naiben finds a vial that smells really terrible. Elias Sang'aree finds an orichalcum greave to match his orichalcum helm. Neither Belwin Linnet nor Erac Moragan find anything worth keeping at all.
The remainder of the trip back to the town is mostly uneventful. The only event worth mentioning happens as the walls of Belhanna come into view. The group meets up with a heavily-armed human woman with long, braided red hair, dressed in very serviceable-looking chainmail. Thorn-Spinner buzzes over to her and makes enough of an introduction for everyone. In return, the woman introduces herself as Tennessa, a student of government and politics (among other things, apparently) from a human village of 30 or 40 folk upriver.
Tennessa asks a fair number of questions about Belhanna, most of which are answered by Belwin, in the way that only Belwin is able to (that is, insulting but not in a way that helps Belwin at all). Tennessa becomes very curious as to why the Belhanna Council suffers from such a large number of syphilis infections. She asks if there is a similarly large quantity of syphilis in Belhanna. Everyone except Belwin leaps in to reassure her that syphilis is no more common in Belhanna than anywhere else. She nods sagely, and then comments that she has wandered up and down the land, and has been forced to the conclusion that there are no effective leaders in the world.
Unable to let a sleeping dog lie, Belwin continues on to say many more uncomplimentary things about the Council, then says that he's thought of running for a slot on it. Kraid chimes in, pointing out that the Council cruelly oppress the orks. At this point, Elias argues that the Council has been doing a good job, and that Belwin's opinion is warped by his frustration. Tennessa is clearly not sure what to make of the group. After the conversation goes on for a while, she concludes that the characters are all insane. On the plus side, Elias just about manages to convince Thorn-Spinner that the Kaer cess pool is actually a magic pool, and that wonderful things will happen to him if he soaks in it for eighteen hours.
Around this time, Belwin gets frustrated and starts leaping up and down with Great Leap (7 meters at a jump), yelling, "I hate you all! I hate you all!" Nobody else seems to notice.
Seeing how the conversation is going, Erac Morgan feels an urgent need to distance himself from everyone else, at least in Tennessa's eyes. He swiftly points out that he doesn't really know the other characters all that well, and that he was a survivor from the airship fleet that was destroyed some time ago.
The characters stay in Belhanna for only a few hours, but even in that brief time they are able to see that many changes are in the works. Larger numbers of people are moving out of the Kaer and into the buildings of the reconstructed city. A school for the youngsters has been set up outside, just under the walls of Belhanna city. A variety of wizardly and scholarly types are holding esoteric debates in and around the reconstructed Library building. Erac Moragan is appalled that anyone would call Belhanna a town: there are no floating buildings, or gardens, or really anything. In contrast, Tennessa has never been in a larger town. Her statement amazes Erac.
Erac asks what kind of trade Belhanna engages in. Everyone else tells him that Belhanna was once a mining town, but at this point it's too early to tell how the town is going to make it's money.
The trolls are doing their best to split wood and make planks for their airship fleet. They are complaining vociferously that the stuff doesn't act like proper stone. Elias, who has the benefit of slightly more worldly experience than the other trolls, walks over and explains to them that their efforts will work much better if they cut the wood along the grain. The troll foreman acts very interested and asks, "What exactly was grain, again?" Elias patiently explains the concept of trees to the fellow again, then mentions that there is a crashed airship some distance away, and that they might learn something by taking a field trip out to look at it's construction.
The characters return to their townhouse to find that Grith-Tu has apparently moved in, without so much as a by-your-leave. The characters debate what to do, and eventually decide to just let him stay.
Thorn-Spinner returns to his room in the townhouse to find a scroll case lying upon the bed. He eagerly opens it to find three Wizard Spells: Water Wings, Kaer Knocking and Kaer Pictographs. Grith-Tu explains that the Wizard he was traveling around with had it. Ever since the wyvern attack, the poor fellow has had no further use for it, but he thought that Thorn-Spinner might. Thorn-Spinner eagerly agrees, then flies off into the depths of the townhouse clutching his prize.
The characters leave town fairly quickly. On the way, they find what looks like a small windling corpse. The body was clad in black leathers, and it looks like it was smashed against a wall. Belwin quickly recognizes the body as that of the loose-cannon windling Councilwoman Neeza.
Elias tells Belwin to not do anything while he goes to see Colonel Bainbridge. He finds the Colonel sitting at the Forge down in the Kaer, as if he's just waiting for something. Colonel Bainbridge already knows about the death, and really doesn't seem too concerned about it. Certainly not to the level of actually suggesting anything like an investigation. He urges Elias to not tell the windlings, because they'd just elect another Council member and make more trouble. Elias asks him if he had anything to do with the death. Colonel Bainbridge claims that he did not.
Demoralized by the Colonel's response to his news, Elias decides to search out Thystilonella, the elven Councilwoman and (so he has heard) the most useful member of the Council. He finds her in the Library. He tells her his news, emphasizing that the body has been there for quite some time. She is horrified, but immediately asks, "Did Belwin do it?" Elias points out that he and all his friends were out of town at the time and couldn't have done it. Thystilonella shoots back that Belwin has been known to have had a number of run-ins with the windling councilor. Elias explains that Belwin was with him continually, and couldn't have done it. Thystilonella says, "Oh, that's what you say." Elias tells her to stick it in her pointy ears. She gets really upset. Elias calls her a pointy-eared bitch. She gets more upset. Elias stalks out of the Library.
Elias next tries talking to She-Who-Inspires, whom he finds out on the parade ground drilling the other trolls. She is rather surprised by his news. She immediately assumes that the body is headless (which is true), just to ensure that the real culprit can place blame on the trolls. Elias brings the conversation to an end as quickly as he can manage without offending her.
Elias returns to the group to explain to Belwin that the Elven Council member thinks the he killed Neeza. Belwin reacts with blasé abandon, having long since learned to expect nothing more from the Council. Elias finally reaches his own personal breaking point, determining that the body at least deserves some kind of decent burial. He picks up Neeza's remains, carts them into the center of town and (amid the screams of the horrified townsfolk) yells out, "Somebody bury this!" He then leaves town. The other characters follow him without comment.
The group boards the Jungle War Canoe and paddles upriver. As they get out into the center of the river, another of the little magical spites shows up to guide them. The characters accept this without question.
The characters have almost reached the tributary leading to the ruined T'skrang Citadel when they see smoke drifting among the trees and smell something burning. The smoke is thick, and has started to drift over the water.
The characters paddle on, and see two riverboats (in the t'skrang style) flying the House k'Tenshin flag tied up on the shore. Some kind of disturbance is visible amongst the vegetation on the bank, and as the characters draw closer they can see that t'skrang boat crew are dragging netted Cathan savages into the riverboats. It becomes quite obvious that the k'Tenshin t'skrang are slavers. The characters examine the boats, and conclude that they are fairly large, potentially holding a large number of t'skrang. The characters conclude that there is really only one choice: attack!
The characters set out a simple battle plan: dock nearby, sneak up to the gangplanks, then rush the crew. Liberate as many Cathans as possible in the process.
Initially, everything goes quite well. The k'Tenshin slavers are dispersed through the vegetation, and the characters crash into them like a ton of bricks, cutting through them left and right. The problems start when Belwin goes charging off on his own to attack one little group of slavers, prompting the other characters to do likewise. Belwin manages to savage a couple of them before they realize what is happening, but then has some trouble actually finishing them off. He finally tries Taunting them. On his second attempt, he actually manages to succeed. The slavers are so ashamed that Belwin the Feeble had Taunted them that they hold their heads down and weep. They throw down their weapons and surrender. He orders one to manacle the other, then runs off to help the other characters, particularly Elias.
Kraid and Thorn-Spinner head directly towards the riverboats, holding the closest to the original plan of any of the characters. Thorn-Spinner puts Belwin's feats to shame by using his newly-acquired Taunt skill (not Talent) successfully on seven slavers at once, giving Kraid a golden opportunity to hack away at them. Thorn-Spinner then backs off and peppers the t'skrang with Mind Daggers, inflicting trivial amounts of damage. Kraid more than makes up for this by hacking through every t'skrang he can find. He presses two slavers closely, using Air Dance and Desperate Blow against them. Sadly, his attacks are not sufficient to drive them off. One of them then lands a skillful blow upon him, wounding him deeply.
Elias moves up the center and runs straight into the k'Tenshin Goon Squad, an organized group of five slavers. He swiftly finds himself harried and pressed on all sides. He manages to Battle Shout them all, but they still manage to land a flurry of blows upon him. Only his truly impressive armor saves him. Elias then hits upon a truly unique tactic, Great Leaping out from the midst of them to gain breathing space. His first attempt carries him only a few yards away. Once again he is quickly swarmed by six slavers, who cut him badly and inflict a wound. His second attempt is much more heroic, taking him an amazing 27 meters and forcing the t'skrang to choose between following him and attacking Belwin.
Erac heads off towards a couple of slavers some distance from the main group. He runs them down and steadily chops away at them. He takes a series of hits, managing to riposte a few of them very respectably. His response is devastating enough to persuade one of them to suggest a truce. Erac demands a surrender instead, a demand that the slavers are unwilling to accede to. They back away slowly, but he presses the attack.
At this point, the t'skrang resistance finally firms up. They pull back towards the boats and form up into a tight defensive formation. Swordsmen stand in front and maintain a close defensive stance, while spearmen hover behind them, making aggressive strikes through the front rank at the characters.
The characters attempt to break this formation by charging it in loose order, backed up by a Combat Fury spell Thorn-Spinner places upon Belwin. Unfortunately, the characters attack breaks upon the t'skrang line like a wave breaks upon rocks. Belwin takes a staggering hit that leaves him on the ground. The other characters fail to make any impact upon the swords wall until Erac manages to break the line by killing one of the end fighters on the front rank. This opens a gap that Kraid exploits, rushing into the back line and taking out two of the spearmen. Unfortunately, his breakthrough is short-lived, as the t'skrang attack him with vigor and push him back. Belwin manages to knock down another of the front-rank swordsmen, but is quickly taken out of the fight himself by a blow that goes underneath his breastplate.
With Belwin out of the fight, Kraid badly wounded, and several of the t'skrang on the ground, things dissolve into chaos. All semblance of close order disintegrates, with Elias and Erac forced to fight against clusters of suddenly aggressive t'skrang fighters. Elias forms the core of the characters' resistance, Battle Shouting everything in sight, screaming wildly under the influence of Thorn-Spinner's Combat Fury spells, and laying about to the left and the right with his gore-rimmed axe. Erac fights bravely at his side right up until he is felled by a lucky shot. Kraid does his best to help Elias by throwing knives, but his wounds are severe enough that he is unable to hit anything. Thorn-Spinner provides substantially more help by felling another slaver with a well-placed Mind Dagger.
Elias fights heroically, facing off three t'skrang slavers by himself despite his many wounds. He fights so well that the t'skrang leader is forced to call for a truce. Elias, knowing that he is near death, reluctantly agrees, provided that the t'skrang promise to cease their slave-taking operation. The t'skrang collect their fallen and return to their ships while Elias and Kraid drag off Belwin and Erac.
Each Legend Award is worth 140 Legend Points. Elias, Thorn-Spinner and Belwin each gain three and a half Legend Awards (490 Legend Points), while Kraid and Erac each gain two and a half (350 Legend Points). The breakdown of specific awards is listed below.
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Adventure Goals Completed |
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Session Goals Completed |
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Opponents Defeated |
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Roleplaying |
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Treasures |
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Heroics |
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Belwin spends 500 Legend points to raise Wound Balance to Rank 4, qualifying him for Fourth Circle.