shifty louts

Antarctica Campaign Session 10: The Yak-Headed Bastard and the Eskua Tournament

Players

Summary

Over the course of two months within the Grand Lodge Hall and courts of Tisena, the local political situation and context becomes clear to our group. This current situation is as such

  1. The thirteen of Porem, led by Olowa, merge into Tisena and become laborers in the city’s pumpkin and chia seed paddies
  2. The Merchant Lanpetuta leaves, after selling their goods and gathering stories for the Prince
  3. The King of Tisena, the chartreuse-haired Joxepajosune, has died without a named successor. The vizier Eskematzailea has named themself regent. Some people don’t seem to mind; others worry about succession.
  4. The Ruthless Knives, an honor guard of six adorned in black Builder Plate armor, may or may not be acting as a secret police for Eskematzailea
  5. Zazen Haserretua, a yak-headed creature, pillages the pumpkin and chia fields of Tisena’s holdings and harasses Fort Udinto and its environs, the outer bastion of Tisena’s realm.
  6. The Vizier Eskematzailea has issued a call for armsmen and will pay handsomely, 6000gp, for the head of Zazen Haserretua to be returned to the foot of the throne.

Over the course of the two months, our group did the following downtime actions

  1. Xixili Esgrima, the Psychoanalyst, continues to furiously pen their monograph: I Think, Therefore I Amber Ribbon: A Psychogeographic Survey of Eest Antarctica
  2. Uhin Deluse, the Alien Hunter, buys four war dogs and also works on their monograph regarding the extrasolarian influences upon Eest Antarctica; Behold a Pale Camelid
  3. Josu Allorca, Armsman, turns to banditry outside of Tisena, earning himself a 200gp bounty placed upon his head
  4. An extrasolarian Cultivator Ark landed somewhere in the Eestern Cordillera. A strange Weedian appears amidst the city of Tisena. Its wants are unknown.
  5. The Professor Multiplicar duBoig pocketed the monograph of the slain Black Magus, Egiarte Diamante, The Geological Operations of the Cordillera and the Shrublands; The Amber Ribbon and its Influence on Flora, Fauna, Fungi and Further Forms of Life as well as Abiotic Factors, was found with a knife-wound in their chest after a disagreement turned sour, healed by an Herbwoman, and then during a celebration of life for the passed king and after several gourds of maize beer was found in mid-coitus with the noble woman Alizia, whose husband seeks revenge upon the Professor duBoig.

With the context and downtime actions out of the way, the events of the session occurred as such

The group leaves Tisena, hoping to earn the 6,000gp offer and get the heat off both the Professor and Josu before any more blood is shed. They head south towards the village of Semnos, hoping to reach Fort Udintu in a day or so.

The overcast, rainy day yields no washed-out road to the towering block of Semnos. Rusting metallic squares. Many bear the faintest chips of color: vermillion, mauve, blue.

semnosidra

image courtesy of Idraluna

Outside, the fir trees are exploded; stumps dot the landscape. A nervous cerulean tunic’d watchman urges them inside quickly. They meet in the interior courtyard, exposed to the sky. Along the central atrium, strings of hydroponically grown cucumbers drip water downward.

Xixili Esgrima, the Psychoanalyst, notes the structure’s phallic nature and foodstuffs; perhaps a deeper issue is at play here.

The group asks whether the yak-headed creature attacked the forests. The cerulean tunic’d armsman speaks of the First Creation, Long Ear, and its warband pillaging, exploding their forest with their voices. The group begs for more information.

The armsman speaks thusly of Long Ear and its kind.

“They are the first creations of the Builders. In their recitations of the world, all others late and poorer versions

Hook-nosed, wolf-eared, deep sockets where eyes glow red. Heat thins and dies where they stand. Metal aches and groans. Trees splinter at the sound of their voices.”

The Weedian seems more keen on the hydroponic growing apparatuses, seeking out how these are grown, which eventually leads to the Herbwoman Pantxike’s “apartment”. The scientific rigor compared to other Cordillerian Herbwoman surprises the Weedian

Separated by language, the Weedian gives the sacrament of the Covenant Herb to the woman to commune properly. The Weedian asks for growing implements; the Herbwoman counters with a demand for multigrain crackers alongside an oniony and heady cheese spread to trade.

She needs her tools to create concoctions to calm and ensorcel Long Ear's fiends, a way for them to turn their hate into love through her techno-biosorcery. None of the Weedian’s companions have such a meal, and thus growing implements aren’t traded.

Josu Allorca steals a rotting wooden stump; from it, nine yellow cauliflower ear-like fungi grow. The Herbwoman Pantxike notices not, lost in visions of great sandscapes and dragons under red skies.

The group asks for directions to Fort Udintu and is told that heading eest toward the Ivory Hand of the Builder, then crossing the river to the Fort, is the safer trail given Long Ear’s recent attacks.

The group leaves the phallic paranoia of Semnos, heading due eest, reaching a secluded fir grove within the mountain valley. Ionic column structures lie scattered around the hand, overgrown with vines and tall grasses.

A giant ivory hand stands upright, embedded in the ground, as if springing forth from the earth itself. Fingers pointed skyward, palm facing the sea. Its alabaster surface is smooth and without seams. No chisel or etch mark across its pristine surface.

The Professor duBoig sits and sketches the giant hand in their notes, as Uhin’s war dogs' hackles rise, growling at some unseen force. Xixili examines the structure, thinking holding some hidden thing.

Uhin climbs upon the palm, presenting their own hand to the sea, yelling “I WANT TO BELIEVE”, feeling a connection with the stars and heavens, but no great unveiling occurs, much to dismay, as Duchess the Guinea Pig and the Weedian’s catfish toad creature both look upward to the Alien Hunter.

hand

Xixili asks the Professor who made this structure. The Professor elaborates upon the Shrublander and Cordillerian conceptions of the Builders, figures that, in the origin myths of the area, existed at Heriotza, created man and other creations, and left after a great conflagration or battle. Remnants are scattered across the Eest of Antarctica; however, beings called Princely Offspring are still said to rule parts of this area.

The Weedian then presents the Covenant Herb to Xixili to commune their knowledge of the Builders, an extrasolarian forerunner race who took the form of man, and are said to be responsible for a bioengineering program. Who or what drove them off-world is unknown to the Weedians.

Not to be outdone, Professor duBoig also partakes of the Covenant Herb as both scholars imbibe the substance to expand the doors of perception, developing an addiction in the process.

The group settles down for the night amidst the ruin, periodically awakened by Uhin’s dogs barking at the darkness beyond.

The next morning, the group leaves the Ivory Hand, crossing a river that pours into the sea. From the south, the mountain chain rises again. Pueblos bearing the chartreuse banner of House Tisena are seen.

Upon the trail, a chartreuse and white landsquenet armsman rides a stocky llama, hailing them. Introductions are exchanged, and the soldier Felipe offers escort to the Fort Udintu, now filled with armsmen across the Cordillera who’ve answered the call for the head of Zazen Haserretua.

The group asks for more information regarding the creature

Felilpe answers thusly,

Flesh-scarred patterns of an abandoned father. Slashes and swirling marks. Above the branded body's shoulders, a broad yak's head, horns wider than a man is long. I’ve listened to a man who survived an encounter who spoke that its eyes were deep and black, almost blue, like waters of the ocean. He saw the creature hold within its hand a wide notched sword like that of a plow.

Felipe speaks that many have died seeking fortune as the beast descends from the mountain passes and retreats further eestward.

The group arrives and is taxed 10g for entrance into the fort’s environs and is met with a confluence of armsmen and hangers-on.

The group decides to rumor-monger and is told that travel to the creature's lair has become more difficult, as the usual offerings of turnips and pocete roots given to the Telluric Spirit Arbi Zenbakia aren’t accepted as freely. Additional news of issues arising in the southern village of Amondra is also spoken about.

The group ponders the reason; Josu and Uhin speak of encountering a Telluric Spirit during their prior travels, and Xixili also speaks of his encounter with the Amber Ribbon outside of Nalid in the north.

All agree that encountering such a spirit was a frightening experience. The group wonders if they made the right choice. The Weedian believes communication is possible with the Yak-Headed creature through the blessed sacrament of the Covenant Herb. Josu suggests leaving the Cordillera entirely, hoping to find more interesting treasures back in Heritoza.

The group continues to rumor-monger once more amongst armsmen in an open-air cafeteria. Josu hears stories of the sister fort of Udintu; Fort Ilhambal lies in crisis.

Hushed whispers of an ancestral burial site have been desecrated, the holy earth salted, the sacred shrubs' roots pulled out, the offerings smashed. More and more soldiers' bodies are being found with their heads dashed open after days of missing. Blame laid at the feet of Those of the Little Trees.

Xixili inquires more about these creatures; various soldiers and sellswords offer their interpretations;

Spindles of birch, gnarled branch, and wet leaf. They follow interlopers, ensuring they do not go deeper into the valleys.

They gurgle amongst themselves, speaking to each other in the cadence of a drowning man

Another hid behind a rock and experienced lost time after hearing their voices

Those of the Little Trees are one of the manifold creations of the Builders.

In any case, news that an Eskua (handball) tournament is being held to maintain esprit de corps, as decreed by the Colonel Ptolefki, amongst the rash of slayings. Some armsmen have travelled there looking for distraction until the mountain passes are clear.

News of an Eskua tournament highly motivates the group to head to Fort Ilhambal, seeking to enter into the tournament.

The group arrives in the fir forest after traveling up and down the mountain of Fort Udintu, finding conical wooden tubes strung between the high canopy, surveying the forest floor below. The chartreuse flags of House Tisena hang loosely.

The group is halted by bowmen who demand to know who has arrived. The group speaks of entering the tournament. The armsmen demand to see their uniforms and team flag, to which Xixili responds that they are unfamiliar with the local eskua customs.

The chartreuse and white landsquenet armsman seems to think that they play the flashier Shrublander variant and not the cleaner, core fundamentals of the Cordilleran ruleset.

The armsmen says to stay where they are as they speak to the Colonel. Time passes with the armsman returning, saying the Colonel is indisposed currently, but they are welcome to stay and wait for the Colonel’s official blessing to enter the tournament. The armsman warns that if their intention is to enter the eskua tournament, they will need uniforms.

The group's quick thinking takes them to the mountain rivers and streams where they gather Builder Knife, tall grasses (3–5’) that grow along riverways with razor-sharp leaves, to weave into a crude uniform.

They return as the armsman compliments their locally sourced uniform and asks them for their team name. The Weedian communicates that their team is to be called the “duBoig’s Sock Knockers”

The group is entreated to rest the night outside the Fort, and the Colonel should meet with them in the morning.

tisenaenvirons

Aftermath

Treasure Found:

Foes Encountered:

Rumors:

Deaths:

XP Awarded:

Notes

#aaj