![\"1x07-Title\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/1x07-Title.png?resize=600%2C337&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAct I<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 25 October, 456<\/li>\n
- Owain<\/strong>, son of Baron Edern<\/strong>, has returned. All eyes are riveted on him and Brad\u00e1n<\/b>, fully expecting a fight. Instead, however, Owain initially thinks that his sister, Addiena<\/strong>, has wed Brad\u00e1n <\/b>and this is the wedding feast. Once he is corrected, his initial opinion does not change terribly as he knows of Brad\u00e1n\u2019s <\/b>reputation and would not be opposed to a man with such a reputation joining with his House.<\/li>\n
- Shifting tacks quickly, Owain<\/strong> reveals that he has been at Duke Cunedda\u2019s<\/strong> court and has returned with a score of men as well as information on the location of a prominent Scoti (Irish) war camp some days away. He – Owain<\/strong> – means to march upon them and drive them from their shores to avenge all of their losses. To that end, he proposes that Brad\u00e1n <\/b>accompany, bringing with him his warband.<\/li>\n
- Baron Edern<\/strong>, Owain<\/strong> and Brad\u00e1n <\/b>remove themselves from the festivities to further discuss this (although Angus<\/strong> discreetly pursues so as to eavesdrop), and Brad\u00e1n <\/b>quickly proves himself to be far more capable in the area of planning a battle and, though it visibly irritates him somewhat, Owain<\/strong> defers to him.<\/li>\n
- While the planning is ongoing, the rest of the feast proceeds, albeit in a far more subdued manner and with all eyes turned toward the closed door where the discussions are ongoing. During this, Heddwyn<\/strong> is informed by Druid Adaryn<\/strong> that they must depart upon the morrow if they intend to reach Ynys Mon before Samhain, which means that Heddwyn<\/strong> will be unable to accompany the warband against the Scoti.<\/li>\n
- Outside, as Angus<\/strong> is eavesdropping, he becomes aware that a woman he does not recognize is watching him<\/i>. She smiles and fades into the shadows.<\/li>\n
- A battle plan is made and the intent to march north-east at dawn is announced. There is much excitement, although the more experienced warriors present know that there will be casualties.<\/li>\n
- As Paulus<\/strong> is critically injured, he is to remain behind under the watchful eyes of Baron Edern\u2019s<\/strong> household.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Act II<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The following morning, the warband assembles in Bryn Euryn. It will taken them between four and five days to reach the Scoti, so provisions are taken for the march.<\/li>\n
- Meadhbh<\/strong> observes Owain<\/strong> speaking privately to his sister, Addiena<\/strong>, and, at first, the baron\u2019s daughter seems terrified by her brother\u2019s presence though that fades and is replaced by confusion, especially when Owain bows his head to her and retreats.<\/li>\n
- Baron Edern<\/strong> asks Druid Adaryn<\/strong> to read the omens but the older man hesitates before giving a cryptic (and easily perceived in any number of ways) prophecy: \u201cthese men ride to their fates and shall be brave in doing so.\u201d The druid then hurries to get himself and young Heddwyn<\/strong> on the boat they are to take to Ynys Mon; briefly, Heddwyn<\/strong> sees his new mentor speak briefly with a woman he does not recognize. Being curious, the bard eavesdrop and overhears the woman tell Adaryn<\/strong> that the \u2018Faceless King is stirring once more.\u201d This greatly troubles the druid.<\/li>\n
- On the road, Brad\u00e1n<\/strong> learns that Owain<\/strong> has spent the last year or so under the tutelage of The Duke – in fact, he never refers to Duke Cunedda<\/strong> in any other way than \u201cThe Duke\u201d – and he (Owain<\/strong>) learned a great deal from the man. The Duke evidently put up with none of his childish antics, which made Owain realize how much of a fool he had been. He further asks Brad\u00e1n<\/strong> <\/b>point-blank, man-to-man, asshole-to-asshole, if Brad\u00e1n<\/strong> <\/b>means to use his (Owain\u2019s<\/b>) sister to achieve his goals. Because if that is the case, then they should fight to the death, right here and right now. Addiena <\/b>has faced too much hardship already in her life and, for whatever reason, she seems to like Brad\u00e1n<\/strong>. Without pausing, Brad\u00e1n<\/strong> replies that no, he has no plans to use <\/i>anyone; he is just looking out for his people.<\/li>\n
- Back in Bryn Euryn, Paulus\u2019<\/strong> fever dreams are black and terrible. He dreams of lands of shadow and pain, of oceans of blood and fire, and forests of the dead. His wounds pain him terribly and he dreams of walking through the broken land with Brother Maius<\/strong>, now mute and bloody, at his side until he comes to a man crucified upon a tree. That man is Brad\u00e1n<\/b>! The chance to abandon his liege lord is there, but Paulus<\/strong> refuses to do so and smites the Tree with his weapon, smashing it apart and freeing Brad\u00e1n. <\/b>Now, with two <\/i>allies, he marches on, falling deeper into the dream.<\/li>\n
- Heddwyn<\/strong> and Druid Adaryn<\/strong> make remarkably <\/i>good time to Ynys Mon and the bard is actually surprised at how easy it is to gain access to the island. When last he came here, he had to work at avoiding the Scoti pirates using the island as a base. Along the way, Adaryn<\/strong> quizzes him on what has lead to this moment and the many strange occurrences that have transpired only seem to trouble the druid further. Upon the island, Adaryn<\/strong> leads them toward the center of the island, which Heddwyn <\/b>has never actually visited before because, as far as he knows, there\u2019s nothing there. This time, however, as they descend down the hills and into the mist shrouding the hill bottoms, he senses \u2026 something. Or someone. Everything feels different. His skin itches, like it is too small for his body. He suddenly can\u2019t see! Adaryn <\/b>slams his staff upon the rock and suddenly, the top of glows! \u2018Stand aside and allow us to pass, Vermithrax,<\/i>\u2019 he declares. \u2018We are of the Order.\u2019 <\/i>Heddwyn <\/b>hears raspy sounds, like snake scales upon the rock only at a much greater volume. His imagination conjures up images of an immense creature that could not possibly be as large as it sounds. He still can\u2019t see anything past the shroud of mist, but he gets the feeling that whatever is out there does not like him. At all. The presence – and sounds – recede slightly and Adaryn <\/b>shakes his head and continues forward. He then gives Heddwyn <\/b>a look – suddenly, he seems like a terrifying foe. \u2018Say nothing – <\/i>nothing! <\/i><\/b>– unless spoken to and even then, do your best to keep your teeth together. You walk in a place you should not have seen for another twenty years.\u2019 <\/i>He says nothing more until they reach a ring of standing stones where several druids are already standing. Heddwyn <\/b>knows the druids by appearance only. They know him as well – he completed his bard\u2019s ordeal only a year past – but Adaryn<\/strong> advises them all that he comes with news from Bryn Euryn. Spring has spoken to him: the Faceless King stirs in his silent grave. The druids grow worried and then agree that they must use the tools at their disposal. All of them – all of them <\/i>– suddenly stare hard at Heddwyn. He\u2019s never felt more judged than right now. \u2018A Test, then,<\/i>\u2019 one of the druids says and Heddwyn <\/b>can hear the Capital Letters. \u2018A Test to see if he has the capability to survive what is to come.<\/i>\u2019 They part, revealing a set of stairs in the middle of the ring that leads down. There are twelve stones and, Heddwyn <\/b>realizes, twelve druids present. Each man steps back to stand before one of the stones, drawing their hoods up as they do, and each stone sort of lights up. None of them say a word, instead staring at him from under their hoods. The implication is clear: he is to descend the stairs. And so, he does.<\/li>\n
- The warband finds the Scoti encamped and mostly unprepared for their attack. Brad\u00e1n<\/strong> decides upon a two-pronged assault: he and most of the warband will assault the Scoti from the south, drawing their attention and holding it while Owain<\/strong> leads an amphibious assault using the boats taken from Bryn Euryn so both forces will crush the raiders completely. It is a bold plan but works exceptionally well: the Scoti reel back under the assault as\u00a0Brad\u00e1n’s<\/strong> warband surges forward. Victory is within their grasp\u2026<\/li>\n
- Accompanied by a bloodied and maimed retinue, Paulus<\/strong> falls ever deeper into his dream, crossing the breadth of this almost Prydain with a matter of steps until he reaches a Caer Tarian that never existed in the real world. The walls are impossibly high, wrought of gold and smoky dreams, and faceless warriors stand at the ramparts. He proceeds in, entering a Cathedral that does not seem out of place in this dream. A great altar is before him and laid out upon that altar, dressed in Roman finery and wearing a laurel victory wreath is Marcus<\/b>. His clothes are soaked crimson. Standing watch over her brother\u2019s body is Meadhbh<\/b> and she is somehow dressed simultaneously as a warrior and<\/i> a nun. A stark black habit conceals her hair but heavy mail glints brightly. In her hands is an impossibly large sword with a blade wrought of water \u2026 or perhaps liquid silver. When she looks at him, her eyes gleam gold, like those of the massive wolf at her side. It is not Marcus\u2019<\/strong> dog, though Paulus<\/strong> took it to be at first, and this fierce beast watches you with a soundless snarl. \u201cI have taken up my brother\u2019s watch,\u201d Meadhbh<\/strong> announces in a voice not her own. Her expression contorts to one of rage then relaxes to sorrow. Confusion reigns at her next remarks and Paulus<\/strong> receives her sword of water before offering it to Brad\u00e1n<\/strong>. And then, everything changes…<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Act III<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Heddwyn<\/strong> proceeds down the stairs. It gets darker and darker and darker, and underfoot, the ground begins to feel strange. His head starts to swim, like he\u2019s held his breath for too long. Light suddenly floods the chamber,\u2019 briefly blinding him. When he recovers, he realizes that he\u2019s standing upon \u2026 it sincerely looks like he\u2019s standing upon a cloud! Looking down is dizzying but he sees Prydain like he never has before. Birds wheel around his head – crows and eagles and owls – not quite battling but neither are they entirely content with the other\u2019s presence. They all wing-over and dive toward the ground before circling an area along the northern Welsh coast. It occurs to him that this is roughly where the Irish camp is that the warband was intended to hit. His head begins to ache and pound like it never has before, and he feels \u2026 something inside \u2026 tear. Heddwyn<\/strong> goes to one knee and tastes blood, even as he discovers himself overlooking the battlefield and realizing that another force is advancing! And they\u2019re Roman.<\/li>\n
- The Scoti break before the warband rout. For a moment, there is a great clamor of excitement as the Welsh see their enemy flee like cowards \u2026 but with a thunder of hooves, a Roman cavalry force rumbles into the field of battle. At their head is Marcus\u2019<\/strong> hated enemy, Quintus Severus<\/strong>, and the cavalry surges forward, slamming into the warband with a terrific crash! Marcus<\/strong>, caught off-balance and slightly apart from the rest of the band, is singled out by the Romans and they ride him down, sending him tumbling into the dirt, critically injured. Severus<\/strong> dismounts\u00a0and drags his foe to a nearby ring of standing stones that are perched on the lip of the cliff. It is a prominent vantage point so all will be able to see Marcus\u2019<\/strong> inevitable death. His family pushes hard in an attempt to break through the Roman lines and rescue him, but they are repulsed.<\/li>\n
- In Paulus\u2019<\/strong> dream, he finds himself facing a faceless king upon a throne that looms into the sky. When this Presence demands his obedience, Paulus<\/strong> prostrates himself before what he perceives as the Almighty. He agrees to gladly serve as a Herald for the King to which he feels the King hurl fire toward him. Paulus<\/strong> wakes suddenly, his injuries healed and newfound power coursing through his body. Thinking this a miracle, he prays and in his eagerness, he fails to notice that he now has two <\/i>shadows…<\/li>\n
- Blood is leaking from Heddwyn\u2019s<\/strong> nose, his eyes, his ears. His heartbeat is thunder in his ears. Staring down from his cloud, he bends his will toward affecting the outcome of the battle. He must save them from the Romans! He feels something \u2026 shift around him, tastes the sharpness of the air. Lightning roars down from above him, stabbing through him and onto the ground below. He cries out in pain and darkness swallows him.<\/li>\n
- Quintus Severus<\/strong> holds up his sword, preparing to put Marcus<\/strong> to death, and there is nothing his family can do to stop it, not with the Roman warriors holding the line. Suddenly, stormclouds roll in, instantly turning the day to night. Thunder booms. The battle hits a lull as everyone stares at the sky in surprise and fear. Jagged bolts of lightning streak out of the sky, exploding clusters of Romans. Horses scream in terror and flee. Chaos erupts. More lightning stabs downward, enveloping the standing stones within which Marcus<\/strong> and Quintus Severus<\/strong> kneel. The stones flare brightly \u2026 and then explode. <\/b>The shockwave throws men and beast to the ground and utterly obliterates the outcropping where the two men were. The surviving Romans flee, leaving behind their dead and wounded. The battle is won, but at a terrible cost. The warband searches but can find no trace of Marcus<\/strong> or his enemy – it would seem that the lightning destroyed them both utterly, which grieves Brad\u00e1n <\/strong>and Meadhbh<\/strong> as now they have lost another member of their family. They spend some time looting the fallen and then set out to return back to Bryn Euryn…<\/li>\n
- Heddwyn<\/strong> wakes in a small camp with Adaryn <\/b>sitting next to him. The older druid looks troubled again. He is surprised that Heddwyn <\/b>still breathes and Adaryn <\/b>tells him that what he did \u2026 none of them thought that was possible. The amount of raw power Heddwyn <\/b>bent to his will is frankly intimidating. He knows of only one other man \u2026 if he can be called that \u2026 who accomplished this task. Good news: Heddwyn <\/b>will live. Bad news: Vermithrax <\/b>was freed. That old beast fled but \u2026 Adaryn <\/b>doubts this is the last they\u2019ve heard of it. When asked what happened, Adaryn <\/b>sighs and relates that Samhain is when the borders between the Otherworld – what the fae call the Nevernever – and mortal world are at its weakest. \u00a0The place Heddwyn <\/b>went \u2026 that was <\/i>the Otherworld, or the Nevernever. It is a special place that only a small number of people can even access but there, he opened himself up to the energies of the very earth. And somehow, he shaped it to his will. Adaryn <\/b>offers to instruct him. There are many dangers to being able to do what Heddwyn <\/b>can right now and now is a dangerous time for him. He is untrained and will be tempted by the Dark Side \u2026 wait…He will be tempted by the Left-Hand Path\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
DENOUEMENT<\/b><\/p>\n\n- There is a final, cinematic cutscene for the season. Setting: a rocky coast, an unspecified amount of time later. A battered, burned, barely alive body has washed up to the shore. Overhead, crows circle. As one, they descend, coalesce, melt into a fierce-looking barbarian woman hefting a spear. She toes over the body – we don\u2019t see who it is – and smiles maliciously as her eyes go completely black..<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
END OF \u2018SEASON 1\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nGM Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Originally, I was going to have Owain be a complete d-bag who promptly challenged Brad\u00e1n to a duel to the death, but I changed my mind and decided to try something else.<\/li>\n
- Paulus’ player was absent during this session so we did most of his stuff on our boards, although it did not quite turn out as expected. Midway through it, Paulus’ player realized he was thinking like a Gamer and not a 5th Century priest, who would be a great deal more likely to swallow whatever was happening to him.<\/li>\n
- The battle here played out in two distinct ways: against the Irish, the warband kicked ass, but then the Romans got involved and things went to crap in terms of die rolling.<\/li>\n
- All of the players were aware that Marcus didn’t die, but to their credit, the characters acted accordingly.<\/li>\n
- Season 2 will begin after the winter has passed (so, mid-March, 457.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Act I 25 October, 456 Owain, son of Baron Edern, has returned. All eyes are riveted on him and Brad\u00e1n, fully expecting a fight. Instead, however, Owain initially thinks that his sister, Addiena, has wed Brad\u00e1n and this is the wedding feast. Once he is corrected, his initial opinion does not change terribly as he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cb_logs","category-casusbelli"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2310"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2310\/revisions\/2601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n![\"1x07-Title\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/1x07-Title.png?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n