Bone & Stone
Bone & Stone
Two Shot Open Table Play Report - Part II
Part I can be found here.
Mythic Bastionland
The Leaf Knight
The Weaver Knight
The Shield Knight
Myths
The Beast
The Inferno
Prologue
The Weaver Knight made an early exit last session, so this session started with the vision he got from drinking the funky tea. The Weaver Knight wanted to know what was causing this greying of the lands. So in his vision the Weaver Knight was running around an underground chamber (a dark cave) he knew he was looking for something, but knew not what. In his frantic search he was heating up and sweating. His heart was beating against his ribs. Then he noticed a single beam of light falling in from above and in that moment a wave of calm washed over. Alas this was short-lived as his heart exploded.
Obvious right?
Sudden Storm - 003.003
The Knights met up just outside the outpost. Some brief pleasantries were exchanged and onwards they went.
At Sudden Storm the Company received a warm, yet awkward, welcome and the Leaf Knight wasted no time in doom-saying that the mountain was actually a dormant volcano, on the precipice of a devistating eruption. Immediate evacuation was the only option. Detheena, the Steward, thought this a rather strange occurrence, not to mention that immediate evacuation would be an administrative nightmare, just think of the paperwork if someone is accidentally left behind. But the alternative was the death of many loved ones, so she was swayed.
At this point I was genuinely wondering how I would make the session interesting if the Company were planning on spending time escorting the smallfolk off the island. While lesser knights would indeed flee, this Company had no intention of flight. So back to the mountain they went.
Mt Solus - 002.003
The Company returned to the location of the two strange eyes, now mere crooked slits. With no obvious clues the Leaf Knight was keen to visit the peak, if nothing else, it would be a scenic view.
The last session started with a degree of player freedom I was unfamiliar with. This time around I had had 2 weeks to plan and plan I did. Mythic Bastionland has a neat system for fleshing out locations and I had used this system to design a network of caves and tunnels under the mountain. I wanted to make the mountain feel like a living entity so I gave it features that resemble organs.
Around this point I should've made a new TRAVEL roll to see if any omens pop up. But I was reading the next omen for the Beast and I figured I could blend it into the site I had made to make it more interesting.
Under Solus - Teeth
As the Company ascended the mountain the rocks became more jagged, stalagmites covered the ground (where did they come from?) and a large cave opening loomed near. As soon as they approached the entrance the third Beast omen triggered, there was noise and rumble and their steeds went into a panicked frenzy.
So no horses in the cave.
Under Solus - Mouth
The first chamber had soft pink rock underfoot. The discomfort started setting in.
Under Solus - Skull
The tunnel to the next chamber was oddly ribbed. The Weaver Knight mentioned an oesophagus so I knew I was doing something right.
This chamber had a ceiling that was weirdly covered in vines and pine needles. I had planned something if one of the knights climbed into the vine mesh but alas I did not make it alluring enough. (Expecting too much of my Leaf Knight apparently!)
Under Solus - Heart
This chamber had a river spring forth from solid rock. I will not fault my players for not immediately thinking that this was the mountain's heart. In a previous draft I had an actual stone heart suspended in the centre of the chamber, but that was too on the nose for me. Maybe the right answer is somewhere in the middle.
In the last session the Shield Knight had received a vision where he placed his own heart in a dying river, which was indeed a reference to this river. At no point was this link obvious for the players. In my mind this wasn't too surprising, since I gave it a 50-50 chance that they would put two and two together. The Seers are supposed to be mysterious after all.
Under Solus - Aorta
The water sprung forth in this chamber was carried in a narrow tunnel. The knights attempted to cautiously traverse this tunnel. They had the weakest member - 2 VIGOUR!! - take up the rear, meaning that when the Shield Knight slipped and was taken by the current, the other knights were knocked by ordinary bowling pins.
After a wild slide that would make many a water park blush, the Company was strewn like sewerage into a lake. With moistened gear their torches were useless and so the knights were tired, wet, foul-smelling and practically blind.
In comes the white blood cell in the shape of a giant four-armed albino ape. I think that with more time to think about it I could place a more fitting creature here, but this was my little nod to some of the older adventure modules I've been reading recently.
This single creature could easily demolish my knights in what is probably the most dull way possible. And I a social encounter was neither fitting nor logical. So a battle commenced where I was essentially wondering who would be able to make it out alive. But the Company seemed perfectly okay with a glorious death in battle, so who was I to keep that from them.
General highlights:
- The Shield Knight, (have I mentioned he only has 2 VIGOUR?), survived a 6-damage blow, but the attack did tear a bicep from bone.
- The Weaver Knight mentioned something about light shining in and I remembered the vision he had received. So somewhat mysteriously a ray of light entered the chamber and lit the chamber sufficiently for the Company to see the creature they were fighting. (In the moment I thought this was clearly the work of a powerful being or a Seer, but nothing really came of that thread.)
- The Leaf Knight took a running leap and mounted the ape's head.
- The Shield Knight got a massive hit in, slicing open a wide gash which covered the dirty white fur in a shocking red.
- The ape then picked up the Shield Knight, finished the job as he tore the rest of the arm off and tossed the lifeless body to the side.
- The Leaf Knight thrust his branch into the ape's eye, creating an opening for the Weaver Knight to plunge his axe into the ape's heart.
The ape was slain, but alas, so too was the Shield Knight.
The Leaf Knight spent some time collecting the pieces of the Shield Knight. The Weaver Knight spent some time searching the rest of the chamber and found a glossy stone sword.
Under Solus - Nerves
What was remaining of the Company arrived in a room where the walls were covered in veins of shiny iron ore. The centre the of the chamber had a statue missing a weapon and missing a heart. The sword was swiftly placed where it belonged. What followed was much debating about the missing heart.
The Weaver Knight decided it best to cut out the heart of the fallen Shield Knight and place it in the cavity.
Nothing wrong with that.
The mythical thing happened and the statue animated with the spirit of the Shield Knight. Taking a new perspective on life.
Epilogue
The Company informed the inhabitants of Sudden Storm that the threat of a volcanic outburst was zero. The inhabitants let out a sigh of relief.
The Shield Knight tried to find a steed that would take the weight of a 7ft. statue.
The Leaf Knight got some supplies and tried to block up the river. Some say that he is still there to this very day.
Final Thoughts
This is the first time I have played an arc that has come to a satisfying end where no myths were resolved. The Company still gained some Glory since the smallfolk would absolutely tell the tale of the Shield Knight taking on the essence of rock to halt the volcanic disaster.
There were three main story elements of these sessions: the Beast, the Inferno and the mountain. Somehow they seemed to blend pretty well together that my players didn't treat them as separate entities. I guess sometimes the dice just do that good a job at creating emergent stories.
Very cool 👌🏻😁
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