shifty louts

Antarctica Campaign Session 3 - The Weedian Creed

Players

Summary

When we last left the group, they were outside the Moai head. The lamprey-faced Second Creations ululating skyward after a sacrifice. The group decides to head northwesterly, avoiding the scenes and using the cover of the strange, alien flora to mask their escape.

In the morning, a great storm continues to brew but has yet to break. They push eastward, back to the river and plan. Peter Soup is to use his giant asparagus as a raft to cross, and bring a rope to create a line for the others to cross.

While the others hold on to one end, Peter can cross the river while the others begin to doff their heavier armour. Northward, a bulbous, mottled shell of brown and white, nearly 40ā€™ wide, breaches the surface. A darker form underneath the surface of the water. The group tenses as the creature closes in. Separated upon each side of the bank, both Peter and the rest of the group shout across.

IDRA 1

Peter releases his potato and leek soup in the river, drawing the form closer to the bank, a tentacled hand seemingly inspecting. Peter sees chitinous spikes upon the bulb and still living skeletal forms impaled upon them.

However, the river creature seems more interested in the delicious broth carried downstream and leaves the party. The party fords the river with haste and without issue.

The group presses eastward. Upon the wind, the strong smell of cinnamon and a red miasma. The group enters the cloud, seeing plastic tents painted red with a serpentine form crudely painted upon them.

Orkatz Oranjeado, the Armsman, lights a torch for better visibility while Txori Van Lotus, the Black Magus, calls out to announce themselves. A distorted robotic voice is joined by more, a choir in parallel harmonies. A shadowy form hops towards them. A giant catfish-like toad. From behind it, a green-cloaked pilgrim. A respirator welded to their face. It speaks in a robotic voice, carefully packing a clay chillum full of red cannabis. Offering the Covenant Herb to the adventurers.

WEEDIAN

All partake save Xarles Marato the Green Magus and Txori Van Lotus the Black Magus. Abarran Horno, the Armsman, and Orkatz Oranjeado, the Armsman, inhale deeply, finding the herb distasteful. Their paranoia amplifying, their head light and their mouth dry.

Ekain takes a heroic inhale, seeing psychedelic visions of a great caravan legion sailing across a sandscape, herb bales lashed across beasts of burden, and people with metallic faces huffing from ornate chalices filled with the red herb.

Orkatz takes another drag and finds himself proclaiming the Weedian Creed, extorting the Seeds of Eden skyward in Rites of Sleep to the Four Gods.; The Builder of Shrines, He Who is Over Flame, The One Who Has Left, and the Bringer of Neuroticisms.

Both Ekain and Orkatz are led into the sacred grow tent-temple by the pilgrim-seeker.

Meanwhile, Peter inhales, finding himself much like Orkatz and Abarran, yet he seeks more enlightenment. He takes another drag and finds his lungs on fire. The Weedian Priest calls out, holding a metallic stave towards him, and a sonic blast turns Peter the White Magus into a fine red mist that swirls with the cinnamon-smelling cloud.

IDRA 2

The Green and Black Magus tend to the Abarran and Ekain, and Orkatz begin to understand the metallic choir. Pilgrims from Beyond the Anti-Moon, seeking the cultivation and propagation of the Sacred Herb.

Plant it, and it will grow. Love it, and it will grow more. Establish the New Church Temple of the New Stoner Breeds.

The two armsmen are gifted two bales of the Martian Cannabis.

The group continues eastward, eventually finding a sea of this Martian Cannabis as far as the eye can see. Dank nuggets dapple red in the evening redness as bees and other pollinators fly from stem to floral budding.

RED WEED

Group camps here as a new armsman, Ganix Deg, joins and partakes in the herb. In the morning, Ekain and Orkatz find that blowing the sacred herb upon the bees makes them faster and more agile despite being laden with red pollen.

The bees follow them as they end northward and see a great rent in the earth to the northeast. Heat shimmering from it. The group heads that direction, and within the tall grasses, they find the rent in the earth guarded by men bearing matchlock rifles.

JEZAIL

Txori and Ganix issue forth from the tale grasses with open arms. The fusiliers are taken aback and draw their weapons, asking for lineage. Ekain extolling the virtues of the sacred herb.Ā  An hour passes as the two groups speak. The group is led down into the fissure.

Hollowed below in this great pit, two hundred houses line the cliff-face walls like a great beehive. Terraced paddies of fruit and nut trees grow skyward. The people of Pocete tend these fields beneath wide knitted hats to blot out the sun's rays above.

They are led to the house of the King, Ebonglairosi the Red, who is intrigued by this ā€œherbmanā€. The group is introduced and learns that Ebonglairosi is cursed, turning into some sort of ungulate. He sees solutions and cures and will pay handsomely for such a curative. This new herb intrigues him. The group is invited to stay for dinner as his retinue of herbwomen inspect the Red Cannabis. The group wanders around, under close guard.

Eventually summoned again to find the herbwoman seizing. King Ebonglairosi asks them if he takes them for a fool. The fusiliers cock their rifles. Ekain gives the herb to Txori, who also panics and says that those strong will feel no effect.

Wanting to save face, Ebonglairosi takes a heroic hit and finds the effects pleasant, now converted to the Sinsemillian Creed. He demands to know where more of this grows, proclaiming that Pocete will grow this medicine themselves. The group escorts a retinue of fusiliers, the king himself, and servants with alpacas to the field of red herb.

There in the Kingā€™s tent, the party learns more of the affliction. A curse. The origin of that curse is unknown. Lost even to the Storymen of Pocete. Three of his line have turned into these creatures and have been left to graze outside the Dome of Heriotza - Gecca Chompa, Rassop Quarto, and Glylargos diRango.

Upon the morrow, the group returns to Pocete and bequeaths the treasure of money, jewels, a strange scroll, as well as a matchlock rifle. They are welcome into the House of Pocete and given directions to the Great Dome of Heriotza, only a half-day northeasterly.

The group charges forth. A large ceramic castle hovers in the sky, dominating the landscape to its southeast, and it floats beneath a river bend. The group eventually comes upon a ringed fort that apparently guards what lies within the Dome. The group is laughed at and cajoled, madman seeking their own deaths.

Finally, as the evening draws to a close, the Great Dome is felt. The radiant heat felt far off. The ground around it was parched like a dry lake bed. What flora grows is hardy and yellowed.Ā  It shines like a second sun.

The group can see a westward entrance large enough for hundreds to pass through, as well as smaller entrances encircling it. Likely made by many tomb robbers, treasure hunters, and thrill-seekers.

The group pushes once more, finding the inside to be pitch-black, swelteringly hot. Within rest the remains of a great conflagration. Within are ruins and forgotten memories. Of human shadows etched upon the marble stones that still stand. Snarled structures, metallic skeletons of buildings, marble columns. A vast grey desert.

TRINITY

The group plunges forth in the darkness, picking over the rubble. A keening screech is heard in the distance. From out a large crater, a tentacled, giant ground octopus pulls itself forward towards the group.

Both Xarles and Txori hid amongst the rubble as Abarran, Ganix, and Ekain draw the weapon. Abarran aim is true, Ganix fires a thunderous shot from his matchlock, while Ekainā€™s sword slices the creature!

One of its tentacles gets caught as it swipes amongst the armsman. One finds Abarran and tears him in twain as Ganix attaches his dagger to the muzzle and charges. Ekain batters tentacles away.

OCTOPUS

Xarles the Green Magus is able to sneak behind the creature and throws a flask of oil on its hide as the Black Magus Txori attempts to stab with their it athame to no avail.

The creature find itself in a life or death predicament, flees only for Ekain to throw a torch upon it, lighting it aflame and succumbing to its wounds and burns. The air is hotter now, smelling of toasted calamari and the iron tange of Abarranā€™s shredded body.

The group builds a cairn for their fallen warrior as Ekain lights another spliff in memorium.

map

Aftermath

Treasure Found:

Foes Encountered:

Rumors:

Deaths:

XP Awarded:

Notes