The following is a summary of the second and third sessions.

With the strumpets in tow the characters arrive at a lonely inn in the mountains to the east of the Kimmerian steppes.

The inn was owned by Dennqill Kaitos who lives there with his two pregnant daughters. (Huge yuck factor for my players) The only frequent visitor is the sullen mongrel ranger Euphemios Venn and his dog Konn.

Also at the inn is Ramcair Xonntos, a cleric of Yig, and a female snakedancer by the name of Zenna. As the woman performs her snakedance, the Ixian warlock listens to the Yig worshipper proselytize and becomes convinced.

PC’s hear of a crypt about one day’s journey into the mountains where the bandits they have killed might have been hiding. This area is also the area where Fionbharr’s father disappeared, so the PC’s head out led by the ranger who joined them for a share of the loot. They confront some wolves on the way, but everything is fine and dandy until they arrive at the crypt. Which looks like this (excuse my hand drawing): 


They fight more wolves, and ravens, defending the entrance before they enter leaving the ranger outside to watch their backs. They stave off undead wolves and kill a few ghouls in the third room, but the warlock is paralyzed and carried back outside at which point they realize the ranger has fled.

The VIking figther and kelt barbarian continues on, they have individual visions of their future greatness in the pentacle room before returning to the long encircling corridor. They enter the chamber at the top of a flight of stairs where they break a window only to find themselves staring into the black abyss of empty space. At that point they are attacked by an invisible foe (an imp although they never realized) and the Viking fighter was killed by its poison.

Barbarian carries him out, leaves him with the Warlock (now out of paralysis) before entering once again, finding the secret room at the back of the crypt and walking onto a stone platform surrounded by ink black space. Here he pulls his fathers sword from the stone before being attacked by an insane raving Tain Dainlos, his fathers murderer. The ends his days being thrown from the platform into the endless blackness.

Last edited by Crisippo (3/25/2014 3:45 am)

Great stuff! Which one ended his days, though, Fionbharr or Tain Dainlos? I feel like that could have repercussions!

Following is a summary of the fourth session

As Fionbharr exits the crypt he, and the ghost soldier Licêndê, comes to face to face with a black clad ancient looking druid surrounded by fearsome wolves and a flock of ravens circling above his his head. Choosing not to attack they parley with the druid who offers them to revive their ally Hardgripr, for a price. 

The druid tells Fionbharr he expects great things of in the future, that he is destined to be a king and that he alone deserves the right to carry the mighty sword Caladbolg which his father wielded before him. He also explains that Caladbolg is a powerful instrument for a leader of Keltic warriors. He also urges Fionbharr to seek the Oracle Queen in the Pit of Ishtar, because she is good at reading the fates of powerful men. He explains that the Pit of Ishtar is an underground complex beneath the town of Quirton, one of many hives of scum and villany that lies around Brigand's Bay. The druid then retreats with Hardgripr's body to perform a ritual.

As Hardgripr awakes from death he has a terrible vision of being buried in snow on a lonely remote island. He never speaks to the druid but can remember the druid creatures single command: "Baron Xullgar of Saarsuum must die". (Note: The baron was Hardgripr's and Licêndê's former employer and this is their return journey from one of the Baron's missions to the town of Saarsuum) 

Hardgripr also realizes his body has changed. He has become white skinned, taller than before, his ears have sharpened into points and he has grown small fangs.

After resting for a while the party returns to the inn only to find it taken over by a band of Keltic warriors sent by Fionbharrs steph-father, who usurped Fionbharr's father's power by hiring the assasin Tain Dailos and afterwards marrying Fionbharr's mother. He has no desire to see the heir of his rival return home and have dispatched a warband to kill the mighty warrior.

The PC's become aware of the situation however and sneak into the inn for a surpize attack. On the way they ally themselves with Zenna, the snakedancer, and the cleric Ramcair, before launching their assault. The fighting is fierce but the PC's gain the upper hand and are able to kill every last one of the attackers. Unfortunatly the cleric Ramcair is killed and with his dying words reveal to Licêndê that his holy mission, from Yig, was to kill Baron Xullgar of Saarsuum. Zenna corroborates this and explaines (she also displayed it during the figthing) that she is a trained assasin.

A final shock hits the PCs as they open the locked room where the warband had imprisoned the innkeeper, his daugthers and the brazen strumpets that were the PC's prisoners. The women are all dead, half-eaten by the innkeeper Dennqill Kaitos who reveals himself in his true form as half-rat, half-man creature that Fionbharr quickly kills with his mighty sword.

The PC's bury their strumpet prisoners. Hardgripr and Fionbharr feeling somewhat guilty over their deaths, while Licêndê regrets not being able to sell them as slaves. Afterwards they set the lonely mountain inn ablaze and head for Saarsuum.

Last edited by Crisippo (3/28/2014 8:06 pm)

Thank you, joseph! I try to keep things somewhat strange, but not blow the lid of the wierdness too soon.

The character backstories all point towards them having some sort of grand destiny or goal. Fionbharr is the most obvious, he is a rip-off Hamlet, but this is true for the other PCs aswell. If their destiny is for good or bad i don't know yet, only playing the game will tell. That is why i love rpgs.