Session 1.2: Who Rescues the Rescue Party?"Do they really exist Kyrzcheck?" the boy asked, eyes wide as he listened to the story with the rest of the clan's youth around the fire.
"The polud-malpa? Oh yes, they exist alright. Don't go out into the jungles at night lad or they'll take you to their old stone cities and rip your heart out good and proper." - Kyrzchek Trwalymaska, the story-man of the Sea-Spears Clan, and a young Cyprian Staloslona Welcome to Session 1.2 of Pirates of Lemaria. Martialis gathers his pirates and they retreat up the cliffs, safely transporting the chests of coins and their broken armed comrade. Martialis stops to relieve himself shortly before organising his party. Four chests of coin are gathered up and two men are detailed to each chest to take them to
The Sparrow. Martialis then gathers his remaining twelve companions, including Garren, and head down the other path when they come to it.
The ex-poacher takes point and walks onwards while scanning the ground. The path is long and winding and the men start to grow just slightly edgier with every passing minute. Just as Martialis is about to walk, Garren holds out a hand.
“Wait. Don’t take another step.” – Garren, hand on Martialis’ shoulder.
On the ground before him, stretching across the path is a thin strand of silk. The ex-poacher follows the strand along the ground but it disappears up in the canopy of a tree. He gives a rueful grin.
“I’d say it’s a trap sir. Keep going?” –Garren, to Martialis.
The Feartarbh just nods in response and the entire party step gingerly over the thin line.
Martialis thinks and realises that the silk is probably harvested from the silkwalkers which inhabit this region. Large, arboreal reptiles which spin lines of silk to create highways through the canopy. He knows they are good eating, and that many peoples through the Lemarian archipelago farm them for their silk.
Almost a minute of walking later and Garren speaks again.
“See this here? Our friends were dragged this way, I’d bet my life on it.” – Garren, pointing to a scuff-mark on the ground.
They continue on.
All of a sudden, the ground beneath Garren and Martialis gives way. With cat-like agility the ex-poacher grabs hold of the edge of the revealed pit as he falls and manages to stop himself from falling. Martialis meanwhile lands heavily, one of the wooden stakes littering the bottom of the pit punching through his upper left arm. The Feartarbh is lucky, having landed in a relatively clear spot. Garren and a few more pirates clamber down and with knives in hand, saw through the wooden stake and then lift the punctured arm away. Grimacing in agony, Martialis hauls himself out of the pit, arms straining with the effort and both arms bleeding profusely from the injuries taken, the stake today and the sword wound yesterday.
Before moving on, another pirate comes forward and ties a length of cloth around Martialis’ arm, staunching the bleeding.
Continuing onward, Martialis spots another line of silk across the ground and stops Garren just before the tracker steps on it. Nodding his thanks, he steps over it, as does the rest of the party.
Rounding a bend in the path, the group of pirates come upon a huge clearing in which sits a massive stone city, built in the same fashion as the other structure they had found earlier. This settlement however dwarfs the other and the pirates stop and marvel at the sight.
Before them stretches a vast sprawling mass of grey stone buildings, all appearing to be abandoned and worn by time. In the centre of the buildings sits a large step pyramid, similar in design to the one they found earlier, but perhaps smaller in size. A large, rectangular doorway sits carved into the side facing the party, the pitch darkness inside not inviting in the slightest. On the other sides, Martialis thinks he can make out stairways providing easy access to the sheltered room atop the pyramid.
Gathering his men, Martialis leads them towards the darkened tunnel and takes a single step before being greeted by that haunting cry he heard the previous night. It is coming up from underneath the pyramid. Steeling himself, Martialis leads his men into the darkness, a few of them lighting torches before heading in. Everyone draws weapons.
The first thing they notice is that the corridor appears longer than the pyramid appeared from the outside, which immediately starts to confuse them. They also notice that strewn across the ground and shoves up against the bare stone walls are copious amounts of bones, many of which have been gnawed. The further they walk, the more bones there are and the walls go from bare to daubed with mud and presumably blood. Strange looking hands, larger than the average Roanfaille hand with long fingers and small palms are imprinted on the walls. But mainly there are no shapes, only unidentifiable smears.
His men are growing more nervous, hands gripping weapons tightly. And then, from ahead comes that same howl, far louder than before. Martialis and Garren on point can only tell their enemies are short but heavy-set, covered in russet-brown fur and have thick, black leathery skin on their short faces. In their snarling mouths are long, yellowed fangs and in their hands are a variety of primitive wood, bone and stone weapons. A veritable horde of these creatures come rushing down the tunnel towards the pirates, who heft weapons and engage.
The Dwergar mercenary pulls forth one of his metal tubes and points the end of the barrel towards one of the beasts and the end explodes in flame with a loud roar. The creature falls with a red mess of a face. The other sailors and mercenaries take up their weapons and engage.
Martialis engages in a series of strikes with the three beasts which run at him, always managing to interpose his blade between their strikes and his body. Slowly but surely he wears them down, greatsword flashing in the torchlight, severing one of their arms and dropping it to the ground with a screech. One of Garren’s arrows slams into the chest of one of the creatures, which snarls and turns to him, wildly flailing with its bone club. The poacher keeps his cool and puts another arrow into the beast’s throat from point blank range, putting it down.
The last one facing Martialis flails its club into the Feartarbh’s chest but the ferocious strike doesn’t do any real damage. With a roar, Martialis smashes his sword into the beast’s head and pulverises it.
Around him, beasts start to flee down the corridor and the pirates take stock of their situation. Two of their number have fallen, skulls caved in by the vicious strikes of the beasts.
Martialis got a level up here, bringing him up to a Level 3 Warrior. Before the party moves onward, the Roanfaille mercenary, a man named Cyprian approaches Martialis.
"I know of these creatures. They are the
polud-malpa, in my native tongue. Very little is known of them, but the stories say that they cannot be reasoned with. They are just beasts.- Cyprian, wiping the blood off his curved blade.
Martialis simply nods to the man as the pirates gather themselves and then leads them further into the darkness.
The passageway opens into a large stone room. On the far side of the room lie several cages made of bones which have been lashed together, in which the captured men languish. Upon seeing their rescuers they let out a cheer. Several of the
polud have gathered in the room too and throw themselves at the pirates with a loud roar, weapons raised.
Martialis finds himself in the melee with one of the beasts which he cleaves apart with his sword. Using the momentum of his swing, he plows into another
polud and smashes that one to the ground too. Looking around, he sees Garren on the ground having been overborne by one of the beasts which is even now trying to bite the ex-poacher's face off. With a growl, Martialis slams his horns into the chest of the creature, lifting it off the man and pulverising its ribs.
Garren picks himself up and wipes the blood from his face, muttering his thanks, but Martialis has already moved on, searching for another target. And find one he does.
Stalking towards the Feartarbh is a particularly large
polud, carrying a massive greataxe with a stone blade. On the beast's head, it bears a monstrous horned skull, potentially from another Feartarbh. With a great roar it hefts its huge axe at Martialis, who steps slightly to the side and counters with a strike of his own, ripping his blade into the beast's abdomen. It roars in agony and takes up its axe once more, but Martialis turns it aside with a deft parry.
Concentrating hard, the Feartarbh slams his blade into the injury he caused earlier, causing the
polud to roar in pain once more, falling to its knees and clutching a bestial paw to the rent in its stomach.
Agonising Strike from Martialis causes a fair bit of Damage and stuns the polud for a round.Seeing its chieftain in trouble, one of the beasts takes up a stone dagger and leaps onto the Feartarbh's back, wrapping a wiry furred arm around Martialis' throat and slamming the dagger into the meat of his left arm.
Angrily, Martialis tears the new opponent from his back and throws it to the ground before turning back to the injured chieftain before him, thrusting his sword into the beast's guts before turning to face the dagger-wielding
polud again. The chieftain is still not dead, however it seems to be slipping into shock as even more dark blood pours from the mangled wound.
Attention focussed on the dagger-wielding beast, Martialis doesn't notice the attack of another beast until it is swinging at him. Instinctively, the Feartarbh steps to the side and avoids the axe of his new enemy. Launching himself forwards once more, Martialis lashes out with his sword and takes the head off the wounded chief.
A deafening scream rises from the throat of every
polud in the room and several of them go at the massive Feartarbh, weapons raised and fangs bared. The pirates desperately get between the beasts and Martialis, knowing that his continued survival is likely the only way any of them will leave alive.
Taking a moment to look around, Martialis sees that there's still many
polud and that there's not too many pirates left. Cyprian is down, dead or unconscious he cannot tell. The dwarf is still up, explosive tubes spent and now trading blows with three of the beasts with axe and shield. Garren is pinned to the ground, ramming a knife repeatedly into the ribs of the
polud above him. The beast does not seem to be feeling it. Several pirates are certainly dead, bodies broken and heads crushed.
The Feartarbh's attention is then taken once more by the two beasts in front of him, one clutching it's dagger, the other it's stone axe. Martialis steps forward, cleaving his blade through the arm of one of the beasts, which leaps back a second too late, clutching it's ruined arm. The other strikes at the Feartarbh with its axe, but it is only a glancing blow. A few strikes later and both
polud are felled and Martialis is left breathing heavily and leaning on his sword. Blood streams from several wounds, most significantly the deep gash in his left arm. Around the Feartarbh pirates rush to finish off the last crippled survivors, some freeing the captives from their bone cages.
"Where's the rest of the crew?" - Pirate, as he saws at the ropes holding the bone cage together.
"We're standing in Tarkyn..." - Captive pirate, darkly.
The pirate cutting the ropes looks at the bones cage with an expression of distaste and continues to saw away.
Of the twelve men who followed Martialis, only five are still standing. All of them are bearing various injuries. There are also the captives, including some men who were not originally of
The Sparrow. Garren is probably in the best shape, covered in blood, but most of it is not his own. Grimacing, he gets one of the other sailors to wrench one of his fingers back into shape, it having been dislocated in the fighting.
One of the men not of
The Sparrow, approaches Martialis.
"You're in charge here I take it? Name's Titas. Thanks for yer help, we're very much in ye debt." - Titas, shaking Martialis' hand.
"Martialis Ironlaw. Tell me, why were you captured and not just killed and eaten?" - Martialis, troubled.
"Ah, I asked meself the same question. Turns out that we was suppos'd to be sacrifices, ye see. I've bin in here for about two weeks as I reckon it. If you put up enough of a fight in the cages when they come to get ye, they go fer easier prey like and leave ye alone. Only works when ye have others in the cage with ye though. Anyway, they take their sacrifices up the steps to the top of this building, tear out the heart and eats it. Most of the body too I'd say, and then use the bones to make them cages. Most of them bones have teeth-marks on 'em." - Titas, in an near incomprehensible thick Roanfaile accent.
As to how I did it, I tried to take stereotypical English sailor and mixed in a bit of eastern European. It came out interesting, but I don't know if I can replicate it. Martialis nods and then begins gathering his men. And then they leg it, going hell for leather out of the tunnel and onto the jungle path. From behind them the pirates can hear more
polud screaming after them and it sounds like hundreds more are chasing them through the jungle itself.
"There are traps ahead!" and "Ware the traps!" - Garren and Martialis almost simultaneously. Garren and Martialis pass the first trap without incident, followed by several of the other men, but a group of five hit the trip-wire and are immediately suspended in the air by a thick rope net. One of them is the Dwergar, cursing with rage. The last five men stop before them in shock.
"Get up there and cut them free Garren." - Martialis, to Garren who immediately climbs up and starts sawing away.
The last group of five on the ground run onwards down the path.
Eventually Garren finishes sawing through the rope and the net drops to the ground, the pirates inside groaning with pain. Everyone is safe and uninjured, but it has taken valuable time. The vanguard of the
polud is visible coming down the path, and the pirates leg it again.
They avoid the pit-trap with no problems, but from ahead they hear a series of startled yelps. Rounding a bend, the pirates come across the group which ran ahead earlier, riddled with countless poison darts. They never even knew what hit them.
The
polud close on their heels, Martialis and his pirates burst out of the jungle and onto the beach.
"Cast off! Cast off! Out onto the water!" - Martialis, to those on the beach.
Captain Westerling starts ordering the men aboard as quickly as they can, getting the ship off the beach and casting ropes into the water for Martialis' party to grab and climb aboard with. The Feartarbh is one of the first of his men aboard, hauling himself up the rope and is helped onto the deck where he just lies down for a moment, his broad chest heaving in the breaths. Several more men manage to make it aboard and Martialis forces himself to stand. The
polud are very close to the very last of the pirates, one of them the Dwergar. Seeing their prey escaping, the
polud scream and start to hurl their weapons at the fleeing pirates, stone axes and wooden spears pelting the sand around them. The two men with the dwarf are felled by the hail of weapons, but the hardy Dwergar just shrugs off the heavy stone axe which smashes into the back of his head, grasps the rope cast out to him and allows the ship's movement to just pull him away.
"So, Martialis.... What the hell happened out there?" - Edgar Westerling, the pirate captain of the Sparrow.
"Well we found two temples, raided the first and then went on to the second. The second one held the captive prisoners and we rescued them, but those beasts put up a stout fight. And then we had to escape them, but on the way some ran afoul of the traps those creatures had sent on the path." - Martialis, summing up the venture.
"I see. Well, unfortunately, we've not solved our mast situation. We still need to put ashore somewhere to fix it. I don't want to sail in these waters without full manoeuvrability." - Edgar, wiping his face.
"Yes, we must consult the maps and find a better place." - Martialis.
And we left it there...
The Wrap-Up
A pretty good session in all. Again, Scotticus struggles with in-character conversation but that is hardly a flaw unique to him. Plenty of action in this one. The next one, hopefully we get a little more characterisation, and maybe even to a town. I'm hoping to introduce Bina, Najska or Teplava soon, the only really sizeable towns in the Lemarian archipelago. One of them is probably going to become Martialis' base of operations is my guess, so they will need to be interesting.
Hope you all enjoyed it,