Mournblade soon available in English

It’s been about a decade since the last official Elric-based roleplaying game went out of print in the English-speaking world: the excellent Elric of Melniboné (EoM) supplements written for Mongoose’s RuneQuest II (MRQII).

 

(More information about this line is available here. I had the good fortune to play in a MRQII EoM campaign with one of the line’s primary authors, Lawrence Whitaker; the first two-thirds of that campaign are described here. Since Mythras is a direct descendant of MRQII, it should be easy to use the EoM books with Mythras, should you be able to track them down. Tragically, the books are not available even in PDF anymore.)

 

In France, however, there is an Elric FRPG that has remained in print during this time: Mournblade from Le Département. (A brief overview is available here. Interestingly, Mournblade seems to draw quite a bit on Whitaker’s “flavour” work for EoM, that is, material on the history, cultures, etc., of the Young Kingdoms.)

 

I’ve long been intrigued by Mournblade and would’ve liked to read it. Alas, my Ontario high-school-mandated French proficiency has atrophied far too badly over the decades for such an endeavour to be viable.

 

Fortunately, an English version of the Mournblade “starter set” will soon be available in PDF as part of the Kickstarter campaign by Le Département for their boardgame Elric: Rise of the Young Kingdoms. You can “support” the KS for €10 and get the entire Mournblade set but nothing having to do with the boardgame. (This strikes me as quite odd, something I’ve never encountered before. But since I don’t want the boardgame—it looks beautiful, but I doubt I’d ever be able to play it—but I do want the FRPG starter set, I’m happy for this option.)

 

Here's what you get with the starter set (all digital):

 

• A 56-page rulebook containing core rules, a bit of sorcery, and equipment needed to fight in the Young Kingdoms.
• A 30-page quest book Dangerous Games. This quest is an introduction to the world of Mournbalde. While alternating between action and combat, players will be able to explore the fundamentals of the game.
• 6 pre-generated characters to choose from, including a sorcerer from Pan Tang, a brave Captain of the Purple Towns and a sellsword from Lormyr.
• An HD original map of the Young Kingdoms

 

Apparently the complete Mournblade line will be released in English eventually, so this is a relatively low-cost way to check out what the game is like.

 

Michael Moorcock’s “Eternal Champion” setting—especially the stories concerning Corum and Elric—remain one of my favourites, especially for role-playing campaigns. So I’ll be getting this Starter Set.

 

Blood and Souls for Arioch!

 

Weekend at Loz’s

After over a year of very little gaming – nothing other than a half-dozen online sessions of AD&D – I’m about to jump back into the RPG pool in a big way.  (This is primarily the result of spending the next 11 months in Toronto.  Because of work commitments, travel, and general pathetic laziness on my part, I never got any ‘in person’ gaming going in Chicago over the past two years.)

Lawrence Whitaker (co-author of RuneQuest 6, among many other things) is hosting a few gamers at his place this weekend.  Unsurprisingly, we likely will play a couple of RQ6 games: a return to the epic Young Kingdoms campaign that Lawrence GM’ed three years ago, as well as something in his forthcoming Mythic Britain setting.  Also in the queue is a session of Trail of Cthulhu (which I’ve owned for years, but never played).  I plan to run either a session of Call of Cthulhu (7th edition) or Dungeons & Dragons (5th edition).

After this weekend I hope to write up some of my impressions of these games, especially the ones that I haven’t played or run yet (I already have played and have a very positive opinion of RQ6).

Moreover, I am looking forward to returning this blog to some semblance of life over the next year.  (It also needs a thorough updating, with respect to links, layout, etc.  It looks so 2009!)

My Most Played Role-Playing Games

Over at the RPGsite, there recently was a thread devoted to lists of folks’ ‘most played’ role-playing games.  Here is my own list (slightly modified from the version I posted at the RPGsite, as I previously had underestimated just how much AD&D/D&D I had played during grades 5-8, and had forgotten about my rather zany Thieves’ Guild campaign).

The list of my all time most played RPGs from 1980 through 2012 (in order from ‘most played’):

01. AD&D (1e) and Basic (+ Expert) D&D [mixed them together]
02. MERP (Middle-earth Roleplaying)/Rolemaster (2e) [mixed them together]
03. D&D (3e)
04. Call of Cthulhu
05. RuneQuest
06. Hawkmoon (BRP)
07. Thieves’ Guild
08. Swords & Wizardry
09. Star Frontiers
10. GURPS (3e)
11. DragonQuest

All of these games I have played at least twice (and some, like MERP and AD&D, probably over a hundred times, albeit decades ago).

RuneQuest (which includes RQ2, MRQII, and RQ6) is ranked number 5 largely thanks to my participation in a campaign that Lawrence Whitaker ran during the winter, spring, and summer of 2011 (part of which is summarized here).

(Still dreaming of that RuneQuest 'Elric' campaign...)

Swords and Wizardry, despite being so recent, makes the top ten list as I ran a (sporadic) campaign during 2008-2009, in which most of my house rules were forged.  Many of those of house rules later were incorporated into Crypts and Things.

Although I played some Call of Cthulhu decades ago, I quite recently ran it again (namely, my sporadic ‘Cthulhu Canada’ campaign, as well as a game at OSRCon II), which gave it a bump in the rankings.

Since I haven’t played any MERP, AD&D, and most of the other games listed in years, if not decades, here is my ranking of my most played RPGs over the past 3 years:

01. RuneQuest (MRQII/RQ6)
02. Call of Cthulhu
03. Crypts and Things
04. OpenQuest

Obviously, I have drifted markedly toward BRP/d100 games of late (though I certainly retain a fondness for the D&D-inspired framework, as shown by the ranking of Crypts and Things).

The Journal of Edvund Yrvim - Entry 13 – Escape From Ryfel

With the corpse of Nhagren lying in the corner of his former apartment, and the blackened remains of the demon starting to reek, it clearly was time for us to depart. We marched unopposed out of the room.

Bōdric severed Malagan’s head, taking it with him to use as a grim ward to use against the remaining inhabitants of the citadel, all of whom feared the sorcerer more than any other person in Ryfel. Proceeding down the winding stairs, the surviving guards were suitably cowed by our manifest prowess, and complied with our command to take us to the sorcerer’s quarters.

In Malagan’s chambers we discovered two massive cages. The first contained a filthy and bruised Dorelite girl. A feral creature, it was clear that she had been mistreated in a most cruel manner. The other cage contained the supremely comely Cora-Dru, who tried in vain to conceal her nakedness from us. Seeing her again, I felt sudden quickening in my heart, and offered her my coat without hesitation.

[Cora-Dru]

What was this strange sensation?

Sporting a self-satisfied grin, Bōdric hoisted up the head of Malagan for both girls to see. They let out squeals of joy at this evidence of their tormenter’s demise.

We quickly freed the captives. Despite liberating her, though, the Dorelite girl snarled at us, and I worried that she might attempt some futile attack. Fortunately, Aneera managed to calm her, and quickly took the girl into her care. We eventually learned that her name was ‘Ebrina.’ Else of her origin I learned naught.

While my companions looted the sorcerer’s compartment, I discovered a hidden compartment behind a loose stone within the hearth. It was impossible for me to see what was in the compartment, given its location. Foolishly abandoning my usual caution, I plunged in my hand to feel what was there. My fingers graced a leather-bound book of some sort. Before I could extract the volume, however, I let out a surprised yelp, as my vulnerable hand had been stung! Out from the hearth came scurrying a repulsive chitinous scorpion!

Acting swiftly, I cut into my flesh, and sucked out the venom as best I could. The fact that I can write these words testifies that I acted quickly enough. Yet enough of the venom had entered by bloodstream to cause me great discomfort for several hours afterwards.

My brother kindly smashed the arthropod into a pulpy mess with his heavy boot.

Biting my lip in pain, I extracted my costly prize. The book proved to be nothing other than Malagan’s black grimoire! With a sigh of satisfaction, I placed it within my pack to examine later. No doubt the secrets contained therein would further enhance my already formidable arcane powers.

Adralat discovered a scroll made of tanned human skin. Looking at it warily, I discovered that it contained a rune of Chaos. Shuddering, I placed it with the grimoire in my pack.

Departing Malagan’s grim chamber, we commanded one of the guards to take us to the gladiator pits. There we released all the slaves that previously had been doomed to fight to the death for the amusement of their Pan Tangian overlords. Whooping with joy and flexing their mighty thews, the liberated gladiators seized what weapons they could find, and stormed out of the compound in order to extract revenge on their former captors.

We also liberated Lord Salamir. Looking at his daughter with weird ambivalence, and us, his liberators, with strange contempt, the haughty Melnibonéan aristocrat merely said, “Let us go now.”

[Lord Salamir]

We emerged from the gladiator pits into the main yard of the Pan Tangian fastness. The gibbous moon illuminated the scene. As we marched to the outer gate, we spied the fat form of Governor Boorg being tossed from the third tower by some of his former guards. Just deserts, I thought, for that grotesque tyrant. We noticed, as well, several fires breaking out within the manse. Pan Tang’s hold on Ryfel had been broken with the death of the sorcerer.

We found some horses near the gate. Mounting them, we departed as swiftly as we could. News of the demise of Nhagren, Malagan, and Boorg seemed to be spreading like a wildfire throughout the city. As we rode to the city gates, we witnessed newly emboldened townsfolk clashing with Pan Tangian guards. Anarchy was purifying the rotten city, like a flame on a mouldering corpse.

We rode north from the city throughout the night and into the morning, the glorious sea to our right. Despite our exhaustion from the night’s many trials, the rays of the emerging sun invigorated us. By midday we made it to our hidden ship.

Never again would my nostrils be assailed by the foetid odour of Ryfel!

As we boarded the hornet ship, Lord Salamir recoiled at the presence of the dozen human prostitutes, Aneera’s ‘sisters,’ whom we had liberated from the (now destroyed) Frozen Gem. (I noted with mild amusement that our badly battered slave Myluk had his arm casually wrapped around the shoulders of one especially fair wench. No doubt she was simply helping him to walk!) Adralat exercised his considerable diplomatic skills in order to dampen Salamir’s indignation, as Ulor and Brax guided our now crowded ship out to sea.

For the first time in days I looked at the azure sky with genuine joy. We had been victorious in our mission!

End of Summer 2011

It’s with some sadness that I note the approaching end of summer. I’ve been living in Toronto since January, thanks to a research grant that gave me one term of ‘teaching relief’ from my regular job ‘professing’ in Wisconsin. This enabled me to focus on writing a few academic articles.

(Why did I choose to do this in Toronto instead of Milwaukee? The main reason is that my partner, Jo-Anne, has a full-time job in Toronto. Yes, like many academics, I presently am trying to solve my own version of the ‘two-body problem’. Additional reasons for spending 8 months in Toronto include my old friends here, and the fact that I love this city, despite its warts.)

During the past eight months I’ve enjoyed some great gaming. I ran a sporadic but fun Call of Cthulhu campaign, set in 1923 Toronto. We only managed to complete three adventures (in four sessions), but I look forward to restarting it again in the future.

Of greater note is the epic Elric of Melniboné campaign that was ‘game-mastered’ by MRQII co-author Lawrence Whitaker. We met about 2-3 times per month since late January (although somewhat less frequently, unfortunately, in June and July). It was probably the greatest campaign in which I’ve ever played. Much to my relief, despite some difficult schedules over the summer, we managed to get a couple of thrilling sessions in during the last half of August, which brought the campaign to a pretty astonishing ‘holding point’. We all hope to continue the campaign, even if in order to do so we may have to play online. (Not only am I moving back to Milwaukee this week, but another player is moving to Paris in September. The gang is dispersing!)

I’m horribly far behind in the logs for both the ‘Cthulhu Canada’ and the ‘No Reason for Waking’ (Elric) campaigns. But I have good notes for both, and look forward to bringing them up to date during my gaming hiatus in September.

Since I’m about to move back to Milwaukee, and have to get ready for the autumn term, I doubt that I’ll have time to post anything new here for at least a week (possibly longer).

On an unrelated note, here is a picture of yours truly with the Wizard of Hope:

(While travelling through British Columbia during my vacation in July, Jo and I stopped in the charming town of Hope. There are numerous chainsaw woodcarvings throughout the town, and this one in particular appealed to me, for obvious reasons.)

Where in the Young Kingdoms is Nassea-Tiki?

I’m reading the final ‘Elric’ story written by Michael Moorcock (well, the final one so far; hopefully we’ll get a few more!). It’s called ‘Black Petals’, and is included in the sixth volume of the recent Del Rey series of Elric tales, entitled Swords and Roses. (I’ve read the other five volumes over the past several months, and hope to summarize my impressions once I finish this one and have some time.)

The story, which was written in 2007, mentions a few places that have not been mentioned in any earlier Elric stories (to my knowledge), are not shown on any existing maps of the Young Kingdoms, and are not mentioned in the most recent RPG game based upon the series (MRQII’s ‘Elric of Melniboné, by Lawrence Whitaker).

These places include the bustling port-city of ‘Nassea-Tiki’ and the ruined city of ‘Soom’. Apparently ‘Soom’ lies upriver, deep in a jungle, from the coastal city of Nassea-Tiki. Moreover, Nassea-Tiki, while some distance from the Young Kingdoms detailed in Moorcock’s stories, clearly has extensive trade relations with those realms. Neither city, though, was ever ruled by the Bright Empire.

Since this story is so recent, I certainly cannot fault Lawrence for not including it in Elric of Melniboné (which is remarkably comprehensive). And it is obvious why Nassea-Tiki and Soom would do not appear on any maps yet produced.

I’m curious, though, as to where in the Young Kingdoms Nassea-Tiki could plausibly be located. Looking at the Young Kingdoms map, and taking into account that the city is adjacent to a jungle, and that Soom lies ‘upriver’ (inland), I have no idea!

The ‘Unknown East’ clearly is ruled out by the large number of merchants from the Young Kingdoms present in Nassea-Tiki. The northeast continent looks impossible (no jungles, etc.). The southeast continent looks implausible, although I suppose that the city might be located south of Yu or (less plausibly) south of Dorel. That leaves the northwest continent, west of The Silent Lands, or somewhere on the southwest continent.

The southwest continent looks most promising, as it’s covered with jungle. But the presence of a major port city there would seem to conflict with Moorcock’s earlier descriptions of that continent. But perhaps it should simply be ‘retconned’ there?

Finally, I should mention that I actually haven’t finished reading the story, so perhaps I’ll discover the answer soon enough…

UPDATE: I finished the story last night. A very good read, but I still have no idea where it could possibly be located...

The Journal of Edvund Yrvim - Entry 12 - The Demon and the Sorcerer

Trapped in dead Nhagren’s apartment, the seconds felt like hours, as the guards banged away at the door that we had barred. Weapons drawn, Bōdric and Adralat stood ready, while Aneera and I tore up and tied together the silk sheets of the dead Pan Tangian, in a desperate effort to create a rope by means of which we could flee the tower.

After several minutes of frantic tearing and tying, a strange eldritch scream emanated from below. The guards’ pounding ceased, only to be replaced by screams of horror and the sound of strange, pulpy explosions. Unnerved by these noises, I paused in my work with the sheets, and looked at my comrades. Worry was plain in their eyes.

A thudding noise became louder and louder from beyond the door. Some entity, much larger than a man by its sounds, stomped up the stairway. It reached the door and seemed to pause for a moment.

A scream of anger, no doubt belonging to the sorcerer Malagan, commanded: “Slay them all!”

Then the door burst open, revealing a demon from beyond the bounds of this mortal plane.

The hellspawn leapt straight for Bōdric, lashing out with its fearsome claws. My half-brother’s abdomen was slashed, blood flowing from cuts that, thankfully, were not too deep. Adralat struck at the creature, but his blade was turned easily away, as though it were a pesky gnat. In return, the demon’s claw banged onto Adralat’s breastplate, dazing him and knocking him back.

It seemed clear to me that we were in deep trouble. I began chanting my rune of Reflection.

Ignoring his dripping wound, Bōdric darted past the demon, and headed straight for the sorcerer Malagan, who was lost in concentration. My half-brother thrust forward with his rapier, which swerved past Malagan’s desperately raised arm. The Melnibonéan steel slid into the sorcerer’s mouth, forever silencing the foul orifice. After a brief gurgle of saliva and blood, Malagan slumped to the ground.

Alas, the demon still remained, now liberated from any form of control by its summoner. It chose to use its newfound freedom in a most unfortunate way: by pressing its attack against Adralat.

Fortunately, the dreamthief had recovered his wits, and, with what was no doubt the best backward slice of his life, severed the hellish creature’s head!

(By the Grey Lords, I continue to be amazed at my human companion’s propensity for beheading foes.)

The demon’s skin burst as its body collapsed, and the stench of sulphur became thick within Nhagren’s room. Its remains then desiccated into a vile black ash.

“Well done, human,” I muttered in gratitude.

The Journal of Edvund Yrvim – Entry 11 - Just Deserts

As my half-brother and Adralat relaxed in an opulent room in Nhagren’s Oldside mansion, I engraved a rune of Sleep onto one of my sling bullets, and infused with some of my power the rune of Speed that I had engraved onto my boots many days ago.

A couple of hours passed before Graive entered the antechamber, informing us that Nhagren had returned. Sure enough, the Pan Tangian noble entered a few moments later.

We explained to Nhagren that we were forced to burn down the Frozen Gem. I made a point of emphasizing the fact that while Zherez had discovered that we were the ones responsible for absconding with his most popular prostitute, we had not revealed to him Aneera’s actual location.

The Pan Tangian nodded gratefully. “While this turn of events makes things more difficult for my work in Ryfel, needless to say, I shall continue to help you for what you have done for me,” said Nhagren earnestly. “I believe that you should accompany me now to the Citadel, my friends. For your own protection, of course!”

Since this was the course of action that we already had decided would be best, we readily agreed. As soon as we were outside of the mansion, though, the serpentine Pan Tangian lunged away from us before we could react. Surrounding us were six Black Guard warriors, their spears at the ready.

“Seize them!” shrieked Nhagren viciously.

I attempted to flee back into the house, my magical boots moving me more swiftly than before, but the door had been slammed shut by that weasel Graive before I could reach it. Blast!

A glance between the three of us confirmed that we were not going to be taken by this snake and his minions alive. We would fight to the death! Perhaps this was a rash decision – but my half-brother and I would never surrender to any Pan Tangian.

“Arioch take your souls!” yelled Bōdric defiantly, as he pulled out his blades.

Immediately, I was tripped by one of the soldier’s spears. Bōdric was ignobly disarmed before he could attack. Adralat’s arm was cut as he reached for his sword. Things were not going well for us.

Suddenly, though, ignoring his wound, Adralat deftly leapt to the side of the house, and grabbed Nhagren before any of the spearmen could react. Placing his dagger at the scoundrel’s neck, he shouted, “Call your men off, Nhagren, or I’ll slice your miserable throat!”

Shocked by this remarkable turn of events, the Pan Tangian’s pants suddenly dampened.

“Stand down, men of the Black Guard!” yelped Nhagren, his voice cracking.

I picked myself up and joined my human friend. Bōdric, recovering his rapier and dirk, did likewise. Adralat’s blade firmly held, we instructed Nhagren to tell the spearmen to drop their weapons and enter the house. The cowed Pan Tangian complied with our command. Once the Black Guard soldiers had entered the house, Bōdric and I moved a massive stone urn to obstruct the front door.

“Why did you betray us?” I asked Nhagren, genuinely puzzled by what struck me as a rather premature action. (I had no doubt that the Pan Tangian would eventually turn on us; but I had been confident that he would wait until we had at least first removed Malagan.)

“Need you ask, Melnibonéan?” snarled the sweating Assistant Governor, gesturing at his bandaged knee. It would never recover fully from the wound that I had inflicted just days ago.

Shrugging in irritation, I muttered my rune of Sleep, and placed Nhagren in a dreamless slumber that would last at least three hours. “Such petty foolishness,” I muttered to myself.

Realizing that it would not take long for the spearmen to escape from Nhagren’s manor, the three of us decided to proceed immediately to the Black Citadel. Fortunately, we had the letters of entry that Nhagren had given us a day ago still with us.

Looking at the pale gibbous moon as we trudged up from Oldside to the forlorn citadel’s entrance, I judged the time to be around midnight.

“We are helping the Assistant Governor return to his quarters,” said Adralat smoothly to the guards. “As you can see, he is not feeling well! Some shellfish seems to have disagreed with him. In case you doubt our friendship with the Assistant Governor, we have letters signed by him with us, giving us permission to enter the Black Citadel.”

The guards eyed us suspiciously, but our letters were clearly legitimate, and Nhagren unharmed, if strangely sound asleep. Grunting apathetically, they moved aside and allowed us to enter.

We rushed into the manse, not pausing to enjoy its spacious splendour, which was a marked contrast with the weary squalor found everywhere else in Ryfel. Asking a servant for directions, we carried Nhagren to his apartment, which was located in one of the dark fortress’s three towers. The apartment was opulent, filled with silk cushions, well-crafted ornate furniture, and exotic carpets.

Also within the apartment, chained to Nhagren’s luxurious bed, was the naked and barely conscious Aneera. It was clear that she had been abused viciously by the wretched Pan Tangian. Shocked and disgusted, we recovered a ring of keys from Nhagren’s cloak, and unlocked the captive woman’s shackles. We then gave her some clothing and water.

In silence, Bōdric and I looked through Nhagren’s items, taking a few coins and some clothing, but finding little else of use to us. In the meantime, Adralat comforted Aneera as best he could.

“My lady, I am pleased to inform you that we have liberated your sisters! The Frozen Gem has been destroyed and your sisters are on their way to our ship, away from this vile port,” said the dreamthief, his voice warm yet serious.

Tears of happiness flowed from Aneera’s emerald eyes. “By the Blue Lady, thank you so much for what you’ve done!” She hugged Adralat. Despite her dire condition, she was smiling brilliantly, her face full of joy and relief.

A few minutes passed as we readied ourselves to leave the apartment.

“Er, lads, what should we do about Nhagren?” I asked, pointing at our comatose captive, which we had deposited on a carpet in the corner.

Shrugging, Bōdric suggested, “Perhaps we should simply slay him? He certainly deserves it, by Mabelode, and we wouldn’t have to worry about him causing us trouble later. We need to recover Cora-Dru and Lord Salamir now, this very night, and it’s unlikely the Pan Tangian could be of any help to us any further, especially in his current state.”

“Besides, I’m bloody tired of carrying him.”

Adralat nodded in grim agreement. Sighing, I conceded the force of my brother’s argument.

In a brittle voice, Aneera asked, “If the snake is to die, may I be the one to have the satisfaction?”

We nodded in silence. Bōdric handed her one of his dirks.

“Is there any way to wake him, before I take his life?” inquired Aneera, her voice calm and icy. “By Eequor, I want this beast to know that he dies by my hand.”

“I’m afraid not, m’lady,” I replied, “My spell will last for a few hours yet.”

Nodding in regret, the former courtesan paused in silence for a moment, and then thrust the dirk forcefully into Nhagren’s neck, twisting it as crimson blood spurted and flowed from the gruesome wound. In seconds the life drained from our nemesis, the carpet on which he lay turning a vivid red.

I turned away from the Pan Tangian’s body. While I could not deny that he deserved death, the slaying of a helpless man sickened me somewhat. Perhaps my Melnibonéan blood was even thinner than I had suspected.

Ready now to leave the apartment, Bōdric opened the door to the stairway. Much to our shock, though, right in front of us was a massive wolfhound. Grey and black in colour, with shaggy hair, a scarred muzzle, and single eye that radiated savage malevolence, the beast seemed more demon than dog!

This was ‘Cur’ – the familiar of the sorcerer Malagan.

Immediately the hound bit at Bōdric, who barely managed to knock the beast’s maw away from him with one of his blades. Using my sling, I fired the bullet on which I had inscribed a rune of Sleep. The rune proved to be superfluous, however, as the bullet burst through the dog’s one remaining eye, slaying it instantly.

A second later, coming from another part of the manse, we heard a mighty scream of rage. And then an inhumanly loud shout: “Take them alive!”

The voice, I was certain, belonged to Malagan, enraged at the death of his beloved pet. No doubt some kind of mystical bond existed between the Pan Tangian sorcerer and the gigantic wolfhound.

Barely having time to recover our wits, we heard the stomping of soldiers’ boots from the stairway. As swiftly as we could, we shut the door, locked it, and then moved some of Nhagren’s furniture against it.

Gesturing at the window at the back of Nhagren’s sleeping chamber, I said urgently, “Any chance we might escape that way?”

“It’s worth a try, by Balo’s balls!” shouted Bōdric, drawing his blades again. “You and Aneera, tie the sheets into a rope; Adralat and I will stand ready!”

Nodding, I tucked my sling into my belt, and began ripping up the beautiful silk sheets, while Aneera began tying them together.

In the meantime, the Pan Tangian guards started pounding on the door...

The Journal of Edvund Yrvim - Entry 10 - Burning Down the Inn

Bōdric, Adralat, and I returned to our room at the Frozen Gem. Our warrior-slave Myluk poured each of us a cup of cool wine. We sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping our wine and contemplating our predicament.

Then we heard a knock at our door. “This is Zherez, mates. Open up please!”

I gestured at Myluk for him to do so. Upon opening the door, however, the innkeeper and five of his henchmen burst forcefully into our room. Much to my dismay, the herbalist Auhora was with them.

[Zherez Zheringen]

“Are the men you saw yesterday here, old woman?” snapped Zherez.

Auhora nodded meekly, gesturing at Adralat and myself. The innkeeper glared at us, his face flushed with anger.

“So, you lot did take her! Where is she? Tell me now!” he shouted.

After a moment of tense silence, Adralat suddenly blurted out, “You know, man, you’re a complete and utter arsehole.”

The innkeeper stared in amazement at the strange human. His thugs drew their crude blades, clearly intending to intimidate us.

Our charade of innocence was clearly at an end. I said as calmly as I could, “The human female Aneera, whom you have quite unjustly been keeping captive here, is now halfway en route to the Isle of the Purple Towns. So Zherez, I think that you may as well forget about her. We are willing to compensate you a few hundred silver coins, but what is done…”

Cutting me off in mid-sentence, hatred burning in his eyes, the innkeeper snarled, “Look, you Melnibonéan scum, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours.”

Sighing in frustration, Bōdric snapped his Melnibonéan blades out of his scabbards, and muttered grimly, “We’ll try the hard way, then, you piece of walking offal.”

And so violence broke out, yet again. The elderly herbalist prudently fled.

Initially, Zherez’s thugs batted away the blades of Adralat, Bōdric, and Myluk – and vice versa. Adralat broke this cycle, and smacked the miscreant with whom he was engaged in the head. Stunning his opponent, the dreamthief struck again, this time cleanly severing the man’s head.

Myluk, who was engaged with two brutes that had flanked him, was less fortunate. A blow to his leg left him on one knee. He deflected further blows, eventually burying his axe in the face of the Frozen Gem’s main bartender. Myluk’s other foe, however, managed to trip him, leaving our mighty warrior-slave flat on his back.

My half-brother, in the meantime, had been knocked down thanks to a massive blow to his head. While Bōdric’s steel helm prevented any serious damage, the strike had left him stunned and quite vulnerable.

While my compatriots were engaged in mêlée, I muttered my rune of Reflection, and proceeded to march up to Zheren, hoping that he would assault me. My wish was granted, and the innkeeper thrust his rapier at me, only for it to rebound at him, cutting his thigh. Shocked at this evidence of sorcery, Zherez immediately turned about and began to flee. I pursued him, but as I left the room I saw him vault over the banister onto the second floor and disappear. Apparently his wound was not deep enough to slow him. As I tried to catch up with the villain, I slipped and fell on the stairs. Fortunately, the only damage done was to my pride.

Returning to our room, I saw that Bōdric had somehow managed to extract himself from his unfortunate position, and slay his attacker as well, his dirk implanted in the corpse’s eye socket. Adralat, remarkably, seemed to have severed another thug’s head! In contrast, Myluk’s luck continued to be poor, as had suffered a gash to his forehead. Shaking blood from his eyes, our warrior-slave continued to deflect further blows from the remaining thug with his shield.

Impatiently, I uttered my rune of Sleep, placed my hand on the back of the last of Zherez’s henchmen, and thereby caused him to collapse in a sorcerous slumber.

“Well, that went reasonably well,” quipped Adralat, obviously pleased with himself.

“Not that well, I’m afraid,” I replied. “Zherez has fled, and no doubt will be returning soon with reinforcements. I’m sure he won’t be taking any chances this time. That wolf will want our blood!”

I bound Myluk’s head with some torn sheets as we discussed what to do next.

“Well, I think we have no choice, brother,” said Bōdric, an evil gleam appearing in his eyes. “I think we have to burn this inn down!”

“What?” I exclaimed in reply. “How could that possibly help?”

“Well, it would keep Zherez distracted, surely, while we escape!”

Nodding, Adralat spoke up, “I agree with Bōdric. A fire would create a useful distraction. While it rages, Myluk, who is now wounded, could accompany the eleven prostitutes, the sisters of Aneera, to our ship to the north. My promise to her would thus be fulfilled. Myluk would be able to recover away from here, and we could go to Nhagren’s house and hide there until the time of the banquet.”

I spent a few moments thinking over the plan. Despite myself, I had to concede that I could think of no better alternative.

“Very well. Bōdric and I will stay here and ready this vile place for Kakatal’s burning embrace. While we do that, Adralat, you should take Myluk and the human prostitutes to the edge of the city. Once you’re beyond the city walls, I’m sure that Myluk alone can accompany the females to the cove where our ship is hidden. Once our respective jobs have been completed, we should meet up at Nhagren’s house, and hide there. It is, of course, a gamble whether that wretched Pan Tangian will give us succour. But I suppose that we have little choice in the matter.”

And so our human companion gathered the prostitutes from the inn, and departed with them and Myluk. My brother and I, in the meantime, ransacked the bar’s supply of liquor. Strangely, the patrons in the common room seemed largely oblivious to what we were doing, delighted simply by all the free ale they were enjoying during the unexplained absence of Zherez’s staff.

Bōdric and I poured the liquor throughout the various upper halls and rooms of the inn. We set fire to the top floor, and then proceeded to flee with great alacrity. As we walked down the street away from the inn, we heard shouts of alarm coming from within, as the drunken patrons realized what was happening.

People shouted as they fled, “Fire! Fire! The Gem’s ablaze!”

As flames consumed the largest inn of Ryfel, Bōdric and I met up with Adralat at Nhagen’s house. After informing us that Nhagren and Aneera were now at the Black Citadel (apparently the Pan Tangian had an apartment there), we were shown into the antechamber by Graive.

Sipping gratefully from a glass of fine wine proffered by the painfully obsequious manservant, I commented, “Well, Gentlemen, this was quite an eventful day, no?”

Alas, life was only to become even more eventful…

The Journal of Edvund Yrvim - Entry 9 – The Straw Dogs

Adralat returned to our room sometime after I had fallen asleep. The next morning he told Bōdric and I, “My good Melnibonéan friends, I am pleased to inform you that I now have a second dream stored in my staff. This dream is a quite disturbing one; it comes from the realm of Falador, a place of madness and horror.”

Scowling, the dreamthief paused for a moment before saying, “Having experienced this dream, I now find myself consumed with a burning hatred for the sorcerer Malagan! By the Million Spheres I wish him dead. Alas, such are the effects of travelling through the dream realms, my friends.”

I looked at Adralat’s dreamstaff with interest. Our human colleague seemed to be an accomplished practitioner of this mystical art. It was a form of magic that I knew very little about. One reason why I was eager to keep Adralat with us was to learn more about this form of magic, and the ‘dream realms.’

After we broke our fast, the three of us, Adralat, Bōdric, and myself, departed the Frozen Gem and walked along the harbour. There were about thirty boats there. The ship from the Purple Towns, the captain of which had purchased Lady Salamir, remained at its dock. We spied a few Pan Tangian ships, their bold merman flags fluttering in the breeze. Many of the other ships looked to be those of pirates, smugglers, and slavers.

At the far eastern end of the harbour we spotted a rather unusual vessel. It looked to be a Shazarian longship, and a number of mercenaries walked about on its two decks.

“Those are the mercenaries I noticed at the market square a couple of days ago,” muttered Bōdric, his brows furrowed in concentration. “I wish I could remember who they are; I’m sure that I’ve encountered them at some point during my past travels!”

One of the mercenaries was lithe warrior with long blond hair and a flowing, well-made cloak. Bōdric hailed him. The fellow looked at my half-brother, a flicker recognition lighting his face. He shouted, “Wait a moment, friend!” and then disappeared below deck.

Returning a few moments later, the blond warrior was accompanied by a tall dark-haired man with a haunted look about his eyes. He scrutinized Bōdric for few seconds, raised his left brow in mild surprise, and stated, “Greetings, sir, I believe that I know you! Perhaps you remember us, Melnibonéan? I am called ‘Tassis,’ and this is colleague ‘Edric’.”

[Tassis]

“I am Bōdric, and you do look familiar, Master Tassis,” my half-brother replied. “We would have words with you, if it should please you.”

“You and your companions may come aboard, Bōdric,” replied Tassis, sporting a wolfish grin.

We clamoured up the plank onto the Shazarian vessel, and followed Tassis and Edric below deck. In a plain room with a simple wooden table, which supported some crude clay mugs of ale, two additional mercenaries joined us. The first mercenary had a badly burnt face, and when he smiled he revealed a set of metal teeth. He was called ‘Jurgen.’ The other mercenary was a short, stocky, and strong barbarian, with elaborate tattoos and a tiger-skin over his shoulder. He was identified as ‘Dark Sky.’ (Based on my lore concerning the realms, I judged ‘Dark Sky’ to be a savage from the Weeping Wastes, to the north.) These four, I surmised, were the leaders of the mercenary company, and Tassis seemed to be the leader of all, given his authoritative demeanour and luxurious cloak.

[Dark Sky]

“Ahhhh, now I recall who you lot are,” exclaimed Bōdric, his frustration with his blocked memory finally relieved. “You’re the ‘Straw Dogs’!”

Tassis smiled and nodded in an exaggerated manner. “Glad to know that you have not forgotten us, son of Lord Yrvim.”

After some further introductions (I carefully went by my cunning moniker, ‘Ilkyn Blackviper’), we discussed the current situation in Ryfel, including Governor Boorg’s forthcoming banquet. However, our inquiries as to why the ‘Straw Dogs’ were in the town were unsuccessful; Tassis kept his cards close to his chest.

Much to my surprise, though, Tassis guessed correctly why we were here. “You’re here for the girl, no? The Melnibonéan lass with the fancy tattoo?”

Obviously our expressions betrayed us. Tassis let out a short laugh. This fellow was in possession of a sharp mind; I realized that I would have to be vigilant around him.

Bōdric sighed and said, “Aye, Tassis, you’ve guessed our mission well enough. However, we would be happy to hire you and your company to aid us, if you’re looking for work. I suspect that we will be in need of some strong sword arms before we’re done in this squalid port.”

Tassis stroked his chin thoughtfully for almost a full minute. Edric, Jurgen, and Dark Sky smiled slightly at each other, a strange knowing look in their faces. I had the distinct feeling that we were at a marked informational disadvantage.

Finally, Tassis broke the heavy silence. “An interesting, and quite bold, offer. I’ll tell you what, Bōdric, we’ll think about your proposal, and get back to you in the near future. Where might you be reached?”

“We’re staying at the Frozen Gem.”

“Ah, of course you are. We’ll be in touch.”

And so, our discussion concluded, we were escorted off the ship by Edric. Nodding goodbye, we began to walk back to the inn.

“So, brother, tell me about these ‘Straw Dogs’,” I said to Bōdric, my tone slightly testy, as I was not happy with our new vulnerability.

“Edvund, the Dogs are the most formidable mercenary band – well, human mercenary band – in the Young Kingdoms! According to legend, they have never lost a battle. Indeed, a rumour amongst many of the sell-swords of the western lands is that Tassis has sold his soul for the guarantee of eternal victory. Having them on our side would be a great benefit.”

Adralat and I looked at each other, both of us unsure as to how to take my half-brother’s information.

“Well, if they do choose to help us in our quest, it is good to know that they will be able to hold their own,” I said as we reached the Frozen Gem.

“But I quite strongly suspect, Bōdric, that their goals do not coincide with our own.”