Malakden VI
Oct. 8th, 2018 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzLate last year Eleven invited me to the Malakden larp, and I joined the event in January with my new character Kseniya. She is built to go out into the forest and do quests, as a woodsman, scoundrel and scavenger she is most useful in finding supplies, gathering resources and maybe even a bit of scrounging. I really wanted to play an archer again, and I had an armour that I haven't worn very often yet.
I played the January bar night and the July bar night but because I was felled by a flu I missed the March event. In short: this weekend was my first big Malakden event, and I didn't know exactly what to expect.
The location in Otterlo is quite beautiful, with lots of room for players, a separate monster hut, a wonderful forest and a big green to set up tents as time-in locations. Malakden has a big crew and a very good cook, so organisation-wise it's well-run and there's a ton of people you can ask questions if you have any. Despite some initial bumps (not getting any items for the first bar night) and a language barrier that was quickly solved by finding a teacher in game, I already had wonderful things happen to Kseniya from the first bar night in January.
I also set up my selling booth before the game, which was a little exciting and fun at the same time. By the time we were ready to start playing, I had packed everything up into boxes again, but I didn't feel like moving the car and carrying all the boxes back. They would probably be safer in our tiny sleeping quarters off the main OT room anyway.
Kseniya was welcomed at the January bar night by Tyke (actual spelling: Taigh, played by Kevin V.), who was willing to take her into his service, but by the March event Tyke retired his character. During the July bar night I made good contacts with Wazbär's character and group, and they wanted to see if I was fit to join their group. Already we were laughing together and training alongside eachother.
-----
Friday
However, on Fridaynight a few Fay from the Court of Embers came into town, warning the humans they should not continue spreading the Taint to these parts. Wazbär and the others sat down and had a long talk. Meanwhile, Das and the others were getting a bit restless, as Wazbär seemed to be spending a lot of the time talking. As people were tired from working and long journeys and stressful OT life, this situation only got worse as the weekend progressed.
There was a meeting to decide what to do, and Wazbär explained that the Court of Embers was willing to listen to the Forest Spirits. We were tasked to make a totem to appease the Forest Spirits, and if these accepted our offering our entire group would be spared.
However, within this 'family', as everyone wanted to call this group, there were also Senka and Lana, two strong Stravani women. Lana was carrying a Taint and still wasn't cured, so to protect the family Wazbär decided to throw them out of the group. "They were new recruits anyway".
Kseniya was afraid to speak up to the group, as most of them seemed willing enough to turn their backs on these new recruits so quickly, although she did murmur something against this decision, it was not voiced strong enough, and Wazbär told Senka exactly why she and her sister would be expelled from the group.
I found Senka and later her sister Lana, and assured them both that I would help them in any way I could. I was not yet part of the family, although that might happen later, but I did not endorse their decision and was ready to defy Wazbär's orders if need be.
"We Stravani, we stick together, da?" I told them both.
Later that evening, a bunch of Redcaps attacked. I had never seen these creatures, but Wazbär told me to follow Cat (all the members of the family have animal names, earning the group the rather derogatory nickname of "the Zoo". Wazbär (Raccoon), Honeybadger or Das, Cat, Bear, Panda, Fox....)
Cat had disappeared into the forest, and I followed suit, trying to flank the group of attackers. The forest was pretty open, which allowed me to see they were heavily armed. Next to their red hats, they wore shields and tall weapons, and some seemed to be carrying shields on their backs as well. Their language was one of clicks and spits, and I couldn't understand it. And worse yet: because (larp) archery at night is far too dangerous, I was only armed with a small dagger.
Still, when an opportunity arose, I jumped to catch a Redcap in the back, who then turned. Too bad the villagers did not rally to this distraction, and I quickly made my way back through the undergowth, panting heavily. It was harder than I remembered to climb through ditches you can hardly see, and dodge tall shrubs, but I listened occassionally if the Redcap was still following me, and heard it turn back at some point. Not long after the group came climbing over the wall for a flanking attack as well, and I rejoined them.
"I saw you attack, and thought you had fallen." Wazbär said to me.
"No, no, I only trip." I replied in broken Faron.
All this unexpected excitement left my feet pretty broken though, so for the rest of the evening I was forced to take it easy.
Senka read "the Voice on the Wind", the Stravani newspaper that was being sold in the inn. "Who has ever heard of a place called Udmurtia before... Sheesh."
"I do." I said, sitting up straighter. "I come from there. It's a small town, but close to Rasselstock."
"It says here that two people from Udmurtia were killed in a Faronese raid." Senka read the article aloud.
"Who?" I asked, my heart thumping. "Who were killed?!"
"It doesn't say."
I went to the newspaper man and asked for a Faronese newspaper, hoping it would say more, and gave him three florins. Senka skimmed the articles and read the relevant one aloud. "An invasion plot was thwarted when Faron special forces attacked the village of Udmurtia in Stravan. The tsarina was outraged at this unwarranted strike into her territory." she read. "It doesn't say who were killed though."
It all made perfect sense to me. This was all Walter's doing...
Saturday
A hilarious moment that morning, as one of the Faronese lordlings emerged from his tent, clad only in his boxershorts. He proclaimed a hearty "Good morning!" to the village, and was answered from one of the tables outside the inn with an equally hearty "Good morning, sir John!"
Ah, nobility.
I gazed at his barely hairy chest and laughed. Not at all like Stravani men, indeed.
During the day a visit of the Patriarch paralysed the entire village. Rules for the visit had been laid down, and all weapons were to be left at the gates. The Patriarch also hated the colour yellow, and we should never look him in the eye.
The trouble was that when these rules were communicated to the village, nobody bothered to translate them for me, nor warn me of the upcoming visit. I had my dagger in a sheath at my leg the entire time and enjoyed a good glare, while eating a banana and sizing up the rumpled priest from behind the kneeling masses. The glare was answered by his fierce bodyguards, shields and all, but they did not make a point of it as it would probably disturb the speech the Patriarch was giving.
The speech itself focused on the amazing changes Vaete Mysta had gone through, building temples on the ruins of old temples, and now the capital Sandstone had been destroyed, there might be a possibility that Vaete Mysta would become the new capital.
I discussed the options with the group, who were far too busy to mull over the possibilities. I asked several times when they would have time to sit down with me and have a good conversation about why I wanted to join the group, thinking they would grill me over my background and decide on my true motivations. None of that came. Finally, it was Badger who set a goal for me, had me shoot a couple of trees at his command, and that was that.
Several hours later, Cat warned me "We will welcome you into the family in a bit. Be ready."
And that was all it was: as I sat down near their fire, Wazbär said "Welcome to the family. Your new name is Falcon." and that was that.
Luckily, this group were not my only friends. I met a friendly troll called Tuma, and we shared a guard duty together, talking in Faronese as it was the only language we had in common (and that, only just, as my accent is still pretty thick). I spoke to a Stravani mage and a troll alchemist about the possibilities of making a new leather armour (3 florins) or perhaps even a medallion with a protective spell. The alchemist finally came back with a price that night: it would cost me 70 florins to have it made.
I also met a fay from the Mountain Court, who was pretty terse at first, but later praised me. "I don't normally get such respect from Stravani. You are a rare kind." Apparantly, the Mountain Court has had some trouble with my countrymen, but I explained I am from close to Rasselstock, and although we do a good trade, there's no need to be rude to Fay.
And then there were Volpani, Pa'uk and Volya. They are from the far north, and have a certain way of life that is appealing. They are also very kind, and good listeners. Volya warned me not to hunt bears around the village (I told him I wasn't suicidal), and it turns out his guide is a bear. It would explain his demeanor, when he gets agitated he skulks around with his fingers like claws held by his side, ready to strike. We discussed the visit of the Patriarch and the long line of supplicants all waiting for his blessing. And we walked around the forest, where Volya was looking for signs of the storm he could sense was coming. I just hoped it wasn't the Ember Court he was feeling.
That night there were even more raids. Again the RedCaps stormed the village, and again (as it was dark) I was without my bow and arrows. One by one the defenders all fell, and there was nobody to rally the troops. I missed Tyke, who as a baron at least tried to rally the people. Earlier that year Wazbär had taken that role onto himself, but now he was busy as well (I think they were in the forest). When most of the fighters were dragged into the hospital that was set up across from the inn, I tried at last to rally the troops, but even the oncoming row of Redcaps, with their shields and tall swords, could not persuade the fighters to set up proper defenses. I was in the front row, shaking only a dagger at the enemy, and chose to fall back and save my own hide instead.
Despite my attempts to dodge the group for most of the day, I was called on a mission with them into the forest, trying to appease the forest spirits. I had no clue if we had finished the totems, but this was another matter altogether. With several components we were supposed to make a guardian, but the Taint crawled over the place we were trying our best. Fox grabbed the tainted item and carried it away, screaming in pain, while the rest of us tried to channel our willpower into the strong bones and heart we were supposed to offer. As a mist rose and slowly turned the purple colour of the taint, I started to think about running.
It wasn't long after that Wazbär ordered me to take Panda back to the village. She was struggling a bit, wanting to go back for the others, but as Fay and the only unarmed person in the group, it would be no use. I bribed, begged and manhandled her back, ready to toss her over my shoulder to keep her safe and follow Wazbär's instructions. In the end, everyone came back from that little escapade, but the Taint had prevented us from finishing the task.
In the inn, I sat down with Volya, Volpani and Pa'uk. I had made a decision. I wanted their guidance and their advice, and started to talk about home. About Boris de Bullebak, who ruled the inn and therefor the village with an iron fist, about his mousey wife and their strong son Sacha, my Sacha. I was just on the brink of telling about the youngest son when Senka came with a question, and the conversation was interrupted.
Instead, I asked a Fay I had previously spoken to if he knew a way to find out if someone back home was still alive. I was worried sick for my Sacha, because I wouldn't put it past Walter to make sure I had no husband to go back to. The Fay decided to help me, and we went outside so he could have a vision. As I didn't have a phyiscal item linking me to Sacha, I had to think back on the love I have for him, and the whole ritual turned a bit weird. The Fay seemed to drain his power from the strongest emotions I had, talking in not-quite veiled terms about the merits of a marriage, using words like "throbbing"...using it for his vision and finding Udmurtia. After the vision ended, he summarised it for me.
There were two graves next to the inn, and the inn was dark. One of the graves was Boris', the other was of his wife, who could not live without him. The men had been searching the inn, looking for something specific, but he couldn't say what it was.
A little further west, or maybe a lot further west, was a grey building. And down, down in the cellar, there was my Sacha.
Sunday
That morning I found Pa'uk, Volpani en Volya again, and we found a quiet spot to continue our conversation. I told them about Ilya, the smallest child, the favourite child of both parents. He always got away with everything, he was always protected. I described how he had died, and how I could never go home to face Boris and tell him that Ilya was dead. I feared the wrath of my father-in-law.
"But now Boris is dead, or so the vision said. And my Sacha is captured."
I told them about Walter, the man from the secret Faronese organisation who had wanted to share my bed. How I had tried to use him to get rid of Boris, and how I now thought it was Walter who held my Sacha captive in a dungeon somewhere.
"There is a simple solution;" Volya said, tilting his head backwards so his piercing blue eyes could find mine from under the hood he wore. "Leave Sacha there. Let him be gone from your life. You will be free."
"No!" I said. "It is my fault he is there;" and in a small voice; "I love him. I can't let him die."
"So you could find Walter." Pa'uk said.
"Walter has me on a leash now." I said. "He will use Sacha against me. He can make me do anything he wants as long as he has Sacha."
I thought for a moment. "And I can't play him. As much as he fell for my strong Stravani features, if I try to play him, Sacha dies. Walter has had too much experience at this game, I can never beat him."
"Maybe you don't have to beat him." Pa'uk said. "Maybe you can find someone lower in rank than him, and make a deal."
"There's bound to be someone who wants Walter gone." Volpani piped up.
"Or we go in and free Sacha." I said, rubbing my face. "But what chance do we have at that?"
The news reached us also that the trolls of the North and the Stravani had banded together and invaded Faron. A general of the Faron army came to the gates, looked me up and down, and told me to step away. I had just been about to tell him about the Faronese deserters looking for shelter in our camp, but told him to stuff it instead.
Other Stravani saw their chances, and started stockpiling leather and metal to sell to the highest bidder, getting me enough florins to finally pay for a magic amulet. I still had to add all the special wood I had found in the forest to make the deal work, but the alchemist promised to start work very soon.
And then the Ember court attacked. The family of animal names was nowhere to be seen, and the rest of the village was only marginally better represented. They were as incoherent as the night before. At least this time, I was properly armed with bow and arrows. Alas, my shooting was poor. I managed to land one really good shot on one of the Fay archers, but most of the others flew wide. The villagers came out one by one and were picked off easily. Finally, the ritualists of the Ember court were done, and as they all withdrew or were killed, suddenly a massive shockwave threw all the mages and magic-users unconscious. As I was standing with Volpina, Volya and Pa'uk, I suddenly had three unconscious people lying at my feet and no way to drag them all back. I tried waking them up with pure alcohol, but to no avail. Finally some help came from the village and we could drag them back to the hospital. And finally, finally, people with some knowledge of such constructs tried to dismantle whatever device the Ember Court had placed near Vaete Mystra.
I spoke to Wazbär briefly after things had quieted down a bit. I explained the Ember Court had played him, found the strongest group in town and tried to take them out of the equation by promising immunity from their attack.
"But we never finished the totems!" be protested. "We were out to find herbs in the forest!"
"That's not the point." I said. "They still tried to get us to stand idly by while the rest of the village would be slaughtered. And they almost succeeded."
-----
To summarise, I had a good enough weekend. The weather was wonderful, the forest was slowly changing to autumn colours and the ground was dry. However, my body was protesting MASSIVELY at all the abuse. My heels were so sore after walking around so much at some point I had to sit and put my left foot up. My armour was uncomfortably tight and too high in the armpits and I took it off several times despite it only getting hit once. I hope next time I'll be more fit and my feet will be better. I went wayyy too far over my own limits this time.
And it was a bit disappointing to only have three fights I could participate in, and two of those were in the dark. I will NOT use bow and arrows in the dark, it's far too dangerous and I don't want to kill anybody for realsies. So my character was pretty useless in all attacks. I should also practice my archery more because I really sucked. :-(
Because of the OT troubles the group I was supposed to join was really not doing well at all, and I used it as an excuse not to spend too much time with them. Their weird decision-making process didn't help either. I'm just glad I have a good connection with the other Stravani at the event, as well as some Trolls and Fay despite the language barrier.
Overall, a significant portion of all the players were sore/tired/overworked (OT) and unwilling or incapable of working together (IT). It was such a disappointment! I am actually considering writing to Tyke to beg him to come back and kick this village into shape, or failing that, trying to get Wazbär or someone else to take command and make it work; or even do it myself. I doubt it will work, though, because the players don't strike me as the cooperative kind.
With the newspaper article about my hometown I was very scared my background would just be "there, we fixed it." And still, whatever we do end up doing next could just mean there's no reason for Kseniya to stay anymore. At least she's stopped running and started thinking. Sacha is now again her main focus, as Boris will no longer stand in the way of her return. Of course, Sacha isn't going to be happy if he ever finds out she's the one that killed Ilya, and the reason he was imprisoned in the first place. But that just looks like interesting times are ahead!
I played the January bar night and the July bar night but because I was felled by a flu I missed the March event. In short: this weekend was my first big Malakden event, and I didn't know exactly what to expect.
The location in Otterlo is quite beautiful, with lots of room for players, a separate monster hut, a wonderful forest and a big green to set up tents as time-in locations. Malakden has a big crew and a very good cook, so organisation-wise it's well-run and there's a ton of people you can ask questions if you have any. Despite some initial bumps (not getting any items for the first bar night) and a language barrier that was quickly solved by finding a teacher in game, I already had wonderful things happen to Kseniya from the first bar night in January.
I also set up my selling booth before the game, which was a little exciting and fun at the same time. By the time we were ready to start playing, I had packed everything up into boxes again, but I didn't feel like moving the car and carrying all the boxes back. They would probably be safer in our tiny sleeping quarters off the main OT room anyway.
Kseniya was welcomed at the January bar night by Tyke (actual spelling: Taigh, played by Kevin V.), who was willing to take her into his service, but by the March event Tyke retired his character. During the July bar night I made good contacts with Wazbär's character and group, and they wanted to see if I was fit to join their group. Already we were laughing together and training alongside eachother.
-----
Friday
However, on Fridaynight a few Fay from the Court of Embers came into town, warning the humans they should not continue spreading the Taint to these parts. Wazbär and the others sat down and had a long talk. Meanwhile, Das and the others were getting a bit restless, as Wazbär seemed to be spending a lot of the time talking. As people were tired from working and long journeys and stressful OT life, this situation only got worse as the weekend progressed.
There was a meeting to decide what to do, and Wazbär explained that the Court of Embers was willing to listen to the Forest Spirits. We were tasked to make a totem to appease the Forest Spirits, and if these accepted our offering our entire group would be spared.
However, within this 'family', as everyone wanted to call this group, there were also Senka and Lana, two strong Stravani women. Lana was carrying a Taint and still wasn't cured, so to protect the family Wazbär decided to throw them out of the group. "They were new recruits anyway".
Kseniya was afraid to speak up to the group, as most of them seemed willing enough to turn their backs on these new recruits so quickly, although she did murmur something against this decision, it was not voiced strong enough, and Wazbär told Senka exactly why she and her sister would be expelled from the group.
I found Senka and later her sister Lana, and assured them both that I would help them in any way I could. I was not yet part of the family, although that might happen later, but I did not endorse their decision and was ready to defy Wazbär's orders if need be.
"We Stravani, we stick together, da?" I told them both.
Later that evening, a bunch of Redcaps attacked. I had never seen these creatures, but Wazbär told me to follow Cat (all the members of the family have animal names, earning the group the rather derogatory nickname of "the Zoo". Wazbär (Raccoon), Honeybadger or Das, Cat, Bear, Panda, Fox....)
Cat had disappeared into the forest, and I followed suit, trying to flank the group of attackers. The forest was pretty open, which allowed me to see they were heavily armed. Next to their red hats, they wore shields and tall weapons, and some seemed to be carrying shields on their backs as well. Their language was one of clicks and spits, and I couldn't understand it. And worse yet: because (larp) archery at night is far too dangerous, I was only armed with a small dagger.
Still, when an opportunity arose, I jumped to catch a Redcap in the back, who then turned. Too bad the villagers did not rally to this distraction, and I quickly made my way back through the undergowth, panting heavily. It was harder than I remembered to climb through ditches you can hardly see, and dodge tall shrubs, but I listened occassionally if the Redcap was still following me, and heard it turn back at some point. Not long after the group came climbing over the wall for a flanking attack as well, and I rejoined them.
"I saw you attack, and thought you had fallen." Wazbär said to me.
"No, no, I only trip." I replied in broken Faron.
All this unexpected excitement left my feet pretty broken though, so for the rest of the evening I was forced to take it easy.
Senka read "the Voice on the Wind", the Stravani newspaper that was being sold in the inn. "Who has ever heard of a place called Udmurtia before... Sheesh."
"I do." I said, sitting up straighter. "I come from there. It's a small town, but close to Rasselstock."
"It says here that two people from Udmurtia were killed in a Faronese raid." Senka read the article aloud.
"Who?" I asked, my heart thumping. "Who were killed?!"
"It doesn't say."
I went to the newspaper man and asked for a Faronese newspaper, hoping it would say more, and gave him three florins. Senka skimmed the articles and read the relevant one aloud. "An invasion plot was thwarted when Faron special forces attacked the village of Udmurtia in Stravan. The tsarina was outraged at this unwarranted strike into her territory." she read. "It doesn't say who were killed though."
It all made perfect sense to me. This was all Walter's doing...
Saturday
A hilarious moment that morning, as one of the Faronese lordlings emerged from his tent, clad only in his boxershorts. He proclaimed a hearty "Good morning!" to the village, and was answered from one of the tables outside the inn with an equally hearty "Good morning, sir John!"
Ah, nobility.
I gazed at his barely hairy chest and laughed. Not at all like Stravani men, indeed.
During the day a visit of the Patriarch paralysed the entire village. Rules for the visit had been laid down, and all weapons were to be left at the gates. The Patriarch also hated the colour yellow, and we should never look him in the eye.
The trouble was that when these rules were communicated to the village, nobody bothered to translate them for me, nor warn me of the upcoming visit. I had my dagger in a sheath at my leg the entire time and enjoyed a good glare, while eating a banana and sizing up the rumpled priest from behind the kneeling masses. The glare was answered by his fierce bodyguards, shields and all, but they did not make a point of it as it would probably disturb the speech the Patriarch was giving.
The speech itself focused on the amazing changes Vaete Mysta had gone through, building temples on the ruins of old temples, and now the capital Sandstone had been destroyed, there might be a possibility that Vaete Mysta would become the new capital.
I discussed the options with the group, who were far too busy to mull over the possibilities. I asked several times when they would have time to sit down with me and have a good conversation about why I wanted to join the group, thinking they would grill me over my background and decide on my true motivations. None of that came. Finally, it was Badger who set a goal for me, had me shoot a couple of trees at his command, and that was that.
Several hours later, Cat warned me "We will welcome you into the family in a bit. Be ready."
And that was all it was: as I sat down near their fire, Wazbär said "Welcome to the family. Your new name is Falcon." and that was that.
Luckily, this group were not my only friends. I met a friendly troll called Tuma, and we shared a guard duty together, talking in Faronese as it was the only language we had in common (and that, only just, as my accent is still pretty thick). I spoke to a Stravani mage and a troll alchemist about the possibilities of making a new leather armour (3 florins) or perhaps even a medallion with a protective spell. The alchemist finally came back with a price that night: it would cost me 70 florins to have it made.
I also met a fay from the Mountain Court, who was pretty terse at first, but later praised me. "I don't normally get such respect from Stravani. You are a rare kind." Apparantly, the Mountain Court has had some trouble with my countrymen, but I explained I am from close to Rasselstock, and although we do a good trade, there's no need to be rude to Fay.
And then there were Volpani, Pa'uk and Volya. They are from the far north, and have a certain way of life that is appealing. They are also very kind, and good listeners. Volya warned me not to hunt bears around the village (I told him I wasn't suicidal), and it turns out his guide is a bear. It would explain his demeanor, when he gets agitated he skulks around with his fingers like claws held by his side, ready to strike. We discussed the visit of the Patriarch and the long line of supplicants all waiting for his blessing. And we walked around the forest, where Volya was looking for signs of the storm he could sense was coming. I just hoped it wasn't the Ember Court he was feeling.
That night there were even more raids. Again the RedCaps stormed the village, and again (as it was dark) I was without my bow and arrows. One by one the defenders all fell, and there was nobody to rally the troops. I missed Tyke, who as a baron at least tried to rally the people. Earlier that year Wazbär had taken that role onto himself, but now he was busy as well (I think they were in the forest). When most of the fighters were dragged into the hospital that was set up across from the inn, I tried at last to rally the troops, but even the oncoming row of Redcaps, with their shields and tall swords, could not persuade the fighters to set up proper defenses. I was in the front row, shaking only a dagger at the enemy, and chose to fall back and save my own hide instead.
Despite my attempts to dodge the group for most of the day, I was called on a mission with them into the forest, trying to appease the forest spirits. I had no clue if we had finished the totems, but this was another matter altogether. With several components we were supposed to make a guardian, but the Taint crawled over the place we were trying our best. Fox grabbed the tainted item and carried it away, screaming in pain, while the rest of us tried to channel our willpower into the strong bones and heart we were supposed to offer. As a mist rose and slowly turned the purple colour of the taint, I started to think about running.
It wasn't long after that Wazbär ordered me to take Panda back to the village. She was struggling a bit, wanting to go back for the others, but as Fay and the only unarmed person in the group, it would be no use. I bribed, begged and manhandled her back, ready to toss her over my shoulder to keep her safe and follow Wazbär's instructions. In the end, everyone came back from that little escapade, but the Taint had prevented us from finishing the task.
In the inn, I sat down with Volya, Volpani and Pa'uk. I had made a decision. I wanted their guidance and their advice, and started to talk about home. About Boris de Bullebak, who ruled the inn and therefor the village with an iron fist, about his mousey wife and their strong son Sacha, my Sacha. I was just on the brink of telling about the youngest son when Senka came with a question, and the conversation was interrupted.
Instead, I asked a Fay I had previously spoken to if he knew a way to find out if someone back home was still alive. I was worried sick for my Sacha, because I wouldn't put it past Walter to make sure I had no husband to go back to. The Fay decided to help me, and we went outside so he could have a vision. As I didn't have a phyiscal item linking me to Sacha, I had to think back on the love I have for him, and the whole ritual turned a bit weird. The Fay seemed to drain his power from the strongest emotions I had, talking in not-quite veiled terms about the merits of a marriage, using words like "throbbing"...using it for his vision and finding Udmurtia. After the vision ended, he summarised it for me.
There were two graves next to the inn, and the inn was dark. One of the graves was Boris', the other was of his wife, who could not live without him. The men had been searching the inn, looking for something specific, but he couldn't say what it was.
A little further west, or maybe a lot further west, was a grey building. And down, down in the cellar, there was my Sacha.
Sunday
That morning I found Pa'uk, Volpani en Volya again, and we found a quiet spot to continue our conversation. I told them about Ilya, the smallest child, the favourite child of both parents. He always got away with everything, he was always protected. I described how he had died, and how I could never go home to face Boris and tell him that Ilya was dead. I feared the wrath of my father-in-law.
"But now Boris is dead, or so the vision said. And my Sacha is captured."
I told them about Walter, the man from the secret Faronese organisation who had wanted to share my bed. How I had tried to use him to get rid of Boris, and how I now thought it was Walter who held my Sacha captive in a dungeon somewhere.
"There is a simple solution;" Volya said, tilting his head backwards so his piercing blue eyes could find mine from under the hood he wore. "Leave Sacha there. Let him be gone from your life. You will be free."
"No!" I said. "It is my fault he is there;" and in a small voice; "I love him. I can't let him die."
"So you could find Walter." Pa'uk said.
"Walter has me on a leash now." I said. "He will use Sacha against me. He can make me do anything he wants as long as he has Sacha."
I thought for a moment. "And I can't play him. As much as he fell for my strong Stravani features, if I try to play him, Sacha dies. Walter has had too much experience at this game, I can never beat him."
"Maybe you don't have to beat him." Pa'uk said. "Maybe you can find someone lower in rank than him, and make a deal."
"There's bound to be someone who wants Walter gone." Volpani piped up.
"Or we go in and free Sacha." I said, rubbing my face. "But what chance do we have at that?"
The news reached us also that the trolls of the North and the Stravani had banded together and invaded Faron. A general of the Faron army came to the gates, looked me up and down, and told me to step away. I had just been about to tell him about the Faronese deserters looking for shelter in our camp, but told him to stuff it instead.
Other Stravani saw their chances, and started stockpiling leather and metal to sell to the highest bidder, getting me enough florins to finally pay for a magic amulet. I still had to add all the special wood I had found in the forest to make the deal work, but the alchemist promised to start work very soon.
And then the Ember court attacked. The family of animal names was nowhere to be seen, and the rest of the village was only marginally better represented. They were as incoherent as the night before. At least this time, I was properly armed with bow and arrows. Alas, my shooting was poor. I managed to land one really good shot on one of the Fay archers, but most of the others flew wide. The villagers came out one by one and were picked off easily. Finally, the ritualists of the Ember court were done, and as they all withdrew or were killed, suddenly a massive shockwave threw all the mages and magic-users unconscious. As I was standing with Volpina, Volya and Pa'uk, I suddenly had three unconscious people lying at my feet and no way to drag them all back. I tried waking them up with pure alcohol, but to no avail. Finally some help came from the village and we could drag them back to the hospital. And finally, finally, people with some knowledge of such constructs tried to dismantle whatever device the Ember Court had placed near Vaete Mystra.
I spoke to Wazbär briefly after things had quieted down a bit. I explained the Ember Court had played him, found the strongest group in town and tried to take them out of the equation by promising immunity from their attack.
"But we never finished the totems!" be protested. "We were out to find herbs in the forest!"
"That's not the point." I said. "They still tried to get us to stand idly by while the rest of the village would be slaughtered. And they almost succeeded."
-----
To summarise, I had a good enough weekend. The weather was wonderful, the forest was slowly changing to autumn colours and the ground was dry. However, my body was protesting MASSIVELY at all the abuse. My heels were so sore after walking around so much at some point I had to sit and put my left foot up. My armour was uncomfortably tight and too high in the armpits and I took it off several times despite it only getting hit once. I hope next time I'll be more fit and my feet will be better. I went wayyy too far over my own limits this time.
And it was a bit disappointing to only have three fights I could participate in, and two of those were in the dark. I will NOT use bow and arrows in the dark, it's far too dangerous and I don't want to kill anybody for realsies. So my character was pretty useless in all attacks. I should also practice my archery more because I really sucked. :-(
Because of the OT troubles the group I was supposed to join was really not doing well at all, and I used it as an excuse not to spend too much time with them. Their weird decision-making process didn't help either. I'm just glad I have a good connection with the other Stravani at the event, as well as some Trolls and Fay despite the language barrier.
Overall, a significant portion of all the players were sore/tired/overworked (OT) and unwilling or incapable of working together (IT). It was such a disappointment! I am actually considering writing to Tyke to beg him to come back and kick this village into shape, or failing that, trying to get Wazbär or someone else to take command and make it work; or even do it myself. I doubt it will work, though, because the players don't strike me as the cooperative kind.
With the newspaper article about my hometown I was very scared my background would just be "there, we fixed it." And still, whatever we do end up doing next could just mean there's no reason for Kseniya to stay anymore. At least she's stopped running and started thinking. Sacha is now again her main focus, as Boris will no longer stand in the way of her return. Of course, Sacha isn't going to be happy if he ever finds out she's the one that killed Ilya, and the reason he was imprisoned in the first place. But that just looks like interesting times are ahead!
