CSI Butrús

The party made their way to the fishing village, but at a pace to look for signs and such of the quarry leaving the trail. When they reached it, they found a village in mourning. Belkhánu had seen fit to drown the child, they said. His body had been found. Mriga, used his status as a healer of Keténgku to gain access and examine the body. {sinister drum roll} It showed signs of ritual binding {/sinister drum roll} They informed the elders, and told them about the corpse from the barge. The elders were, understandably, concerned, and told them of legends of the walking drowned, which were used as tales to scare children, and keep them away from dangerous places. The body was found in a snag of deadwood just downstream, so the party decided to go upstream and look for any clues. (They really need a Rényu for the party..who talks funny, and likes snacks..) They found nothing, and returned in the evening while much of the village was off for the funerary services. They were treated well, that evening, and in the morning they headed back towards the Guardhouse village.

Except that leaving town an old woman approached and warned them to “Beware the Goddess of the Turin”. Which sent them back to the elders. Who denied any knowledge of such a deity. And shifted perhaps a bit nervously. Or not. Hard to tell. Perhaps they were simply offended that someone would suggest such a thing.. On the way back they were pushing hard. In part, because they had covered the ground, in part because Sanjesh was running low on his supply of his favorite wine. They were delayed only shortly when they heard noises near the Ford across the Berjádu river. Sneaking in, they found a Dlákolel feeding on the carcass of an animal. They soon discovered that there were more in the area, and one might be a mother. They backed out. The Dlákolel did not follow.

When they reached the Guard Tower village, they learned a little basic hetrodoxical history of the Goddess of the Turin. The Goddess inspired a blood cult many eons ago. Rumors of the drowned rising from the river. It was suppressed by the temple of Vimúhla. Occasional worshipers were found, but the threat seemed to have passed a long time ago. Despite this, occasionally small clusters have been found and rooted out. Not recently, as far an anyone is aware..

The group decided to travel back to their current campsite in the morn, by way of the mountainside temple shrines that make Silver Mountain a pilgramige for many in the area. It seemed a good idea to approach several priests from several differing temples on the subject. Let's see if I can keep straight what all they learned and where..

Sanjesh approached Lady Hriháyal's priestesses, and learned that there are many scholars who claim that the Goddess of the Turin is a variation on an imported temple from Salarvyá.

Mriga approached the Priest of Lord Keténgku, but like his master, Lord Thúmis, Keténgku instill the discipline of research upon his followers. They said they would send for what information could be had, rather than possibly spread false information..

Suni, approached the priests for the shrine of her God, Lord Grugánu, who explained that the Goddess of the Turin is reputed to be a blood aspect of Lady Avánthe.

This theory prompted the group to send Mriga to speak with the priestesses of lady in Blue, who, were mildy put out, and proclaimed any such rumor to be the work of those who would sully their temples reputation.

With all this in the back of their minds, they set out along the mountainside, towards camp.

And Stay Down!!!

It has been a two sessions since I last updated the blog. A lot has happened for our little party, and, honestly, doing a single write up has proven daunting. I may take this in smaller bites.

Last time we left off Suni had volunteered to enter the hole and investigate the groaning sound. She was joined by Sanjesh, with the understanding that they would not leave the vicinity of the bottom of the ladder. There was some delay, and they found only tracks in the mud from the collapse. Appeared to come up from the river, to the bottom of the hole and head back to the river. They were humanoid, but as if the human had been dragging themselves on their bellies. The legs did not appear to function. The river had subsided. Suni, ever impulsive, had called out. Surprisingly, someone replied..

Suni: Any one there?
Reply (female):Who wants to know?
Sanjesh: We are the way out..
Reply: silence..

So they went back up and pulled up the ladder. The rest of the night was quiet. In the morning Hrun took several guards and 10 slaves to town for supplies. Hrun had decided to leave the operation to Sanjesh, and get his own tuckus back to the comforts of Butrús.. Sanjesh decided to spend some time looking for Chnéhl signs in the vicinity (with the Beast handlers doing the same thing..) . They didn’t find any. When he returned he was met by a delegation from the Village by the Sákbe Road Tower. They were angry, and, in a subservient manner (being lower cast) demanded the party deal with the Chnéhl with all haste. Three children had gone missing in the past few days. They couldn’t prove it was the Chnéhl, of course, but it seemed a likely suspect to the village.

The entire operation moved to the village, leaving the camp open. At the village they interviewed the elders and found the children were last seen by the river, quite a way from the forest edge. Other children who knew the lost ones denied any interaction with strangers, and had not seen the Chnéhl The next morning the party split in two, one investigating the site of the disappearances, and one going back to the original campsite to look for Chnéhl signs, or other evidence. Both found tracks.

At the original campsite, they found tracks from several adults and one child. They came from the area down hill towards the Turin and headed towards the Guard Tower. They followed.

At the rivers edge they found human tracks, formed up into a marching column, headed downstream along the Berjádu. Once out of the village, they moved up to the trail, and were lost amongst the general wear and tear of a heavily used path. The tracks had a military air about them and, based upon the depth of the prints, the makers were either heavy, or burdened.

The party reformed, and in the evening, they decided to follow the trail along the Berjádu towards the Turin. In the morning, they met the boy who had accompanied them from the fishing village on the Turin after they had found shelter for the Guard who had been attacked by the Ghár. We gave him a name, as he is beginning to look like an important character to the plot. Hruku. He was with some adults from the fishing village, and they had also come to report the loss of a child, and they also suspected the Chnéhl.

So, they took a portion of the group.. The players, the Beast handlers, three Hriháyal Guards and 10 slaves, and set out along the Berjádu. Suni, with her exceptional balance, traveled the rocky rivers edge keeping pace with the group. Her job was to look for signs that their quarry had gone into, or across the river. When they reached the ford, they decided to cross and investigate, and, as they were close, to go down to the wreck of the barge again. Suni, Sanjesh and Mriga made this trip, leaving the rest at the Ford.

Now things got a little weird. First, they found the corpse of one of the drowned Hriháyal guards from the Barge, dead on the beach, near the wreck. That hadn’t been there on the last trip. More eerily, the only tracks leading to its resting place appeared to have been made – by the corpse itself. So, a bit of traditional stick poking, and satisfied it wasn’t going to move again, they decided to burn it. Sanjesh entered the Barge and heard a skittering chattering sound. He backed out. In a fit of glorious self preservation, they left.

Back across the Ford, they headed to the con-flux of the two rivers, and made camp. The night was quite, until last shift, when they heard a growing rustling in the trees. If I recall, Mriga was on watch, and he quietly woke the rest. The noise continued to grow. Gotta Love Suni. She threw a rock at the trees, but apparently missed everything. With torches in hand, they crept up, until they could see the source. Hu bats. Hundreds, perhaps thousands. The beast handlers informed them that, despite their numbers, they were “probably” not a threat. They were gathering to return to their caves. At first light they all took off, with a thunderous roar, and headed up toward silver mountain.

Fresh Fish

Geo has found some new players for my campaign. Mic and Jo, a delightful couple, young by my standards of age, but tolerant of my doddering and rambling. We spent most of this eve – a special session as I work tomorrow – creating characters and briefing them on the world.

Over in the Yahoo group there has been a discussion as to how one handles players who either can't or won't buy into the worlds culture. This is always a fear for me with introducing Tekumel to new players. It was the first game I played, so I didn't have an expectation of dwarves and paladins that many young gamers acquire from “other” RPGs. Transferring from our common ethos to that of Narnia is not so difficult for most. But being thrust into a world where your good neighbor might also practice ritual human sacrifice is a bit disconcerting for most people I should think.

So, our new characters are

Mriga is a Priest of Keténgku, with a strong grounding in the healing arts, both magical and mundane. He was raised at the Monastery of the Grey Cloak, (which, in my Tekumel, and I think reasonably) has a Keténgku wing. I will have to find him a copy of Man of Gold... He has a strong sense of loyalty to the Monastery, perhaps moreso than to his Clan, Victorious Globe.

Suni, a warrior priestess of Grugánu, cohort to Ksárul, with an emphasis – so far – on Warrior. She is a member of one of the Black Trinity Clans *Black Moon, if I recall, but I don't have the sheet in front of me) which should create a different dynamic, should the Black Clan hunting party appear in the area again. She wields a Quarter Staff very nearly expertly, and has perfect balance. She also has blood lust and a short temper.

With the addition of these players, it would probably be imprudent to continue to refer to Geo's character as the “Hero”, so by way of Introduction..

Sanjesh, a Temple Guard with Hriháyal, and, until recently, the focus of our narrative. He is a member of the Green Kirtle, with High Lineage. Attractive, with a singers voice, and an up and coming talent with a sword. He is the very model of a Hriháyal Major General.

Once characters were complete we brought everyone up to date. My brain was getting fried, and I was ill prepared for extensive adventuring, but we played for a bit, above ground. First, a long discussion ensued about alternative ways to catch a Chnéhl. Traditional hunting technique would be to try to use the slaves as beaters and drive the Chnéhl towards the hunters. But this didn't bode so well if the goal was to capture, rather than kill. Someone hit upon the idea of using pit traps. So, slaves were put to work making a wall around the new camp, digging pits and preparing torches for a possible entry into the caves. Sanjesh, Suni and the Beast handler took our bait out for a walk, to spread the scent around.

No Chnéhl, but they did spot a Kuni bird, which, at Sanjesh bidding, the Beastmaster subdued with Zoic Domination, and held in a tree while Suni climbed up and captured it.

When they got back to camp, the beast handler had a chance to look more closely at the Kuni, and found it banded, and property of the Black Monolith Clan. So, it may have been associated with the hunting party – though no one saw a kuni with the party – or there may have been another party in the area, or, perhaps it simply escaped or was somehow lost. There was talk of interrogating the bird, but, since they couldn't be sure if it didn't talk that it was just not trained to talk, they decided against it, for the time being. They also decided against letting it go.


There was also a discussion of possible reasons that the Chnéhl had yet to take the bait. (Part of the truth is that the dice didn't work in their favor, but) someone suggested that perhaps they could sense that things weren't right. It was during the layout of the tents that someone realized that the tent that housed the fake Mis was down hill from the rest, which would be improper, if it weren't actually housing a slave girl. No one knew if the Chnéhl were smart enough to notice that kind of social faux Pas, but it was also noted that, perhaps because the Rényu, or perhaps Kaiyor, Mis's protégé, or even her ever present bodyguard was missing, the Chnéhl were simply not buying it. Or perhaps the lack of active rituals and ceremonies to Hriháyal. Well, they couldn't do much about the missing people, and it had been a long week in the woods. So the Hriháyal contingent decided it was time for some fleshy rites. Nothing quite so powerful a scent as the cumulative odor of a dozen sweaty bodies doing the holy bump and grind. The newcomers were invited but did not take part.

Mriga took first watch, and late into it, or perhaps early second watch, I forget, the slaves in the trap tent came running out, again insisting that there was Chnéhl in the tent. When pressed, they admitted they didn't see anything, but heard something in the hole. Sanjesh investigated as a crowd of naked sweaty Hriháyal worshipers (and slaves) crowded in with a somewhat discomfited Thúmis and friends behind him. Silence. Then a groaning, moaning noise. Not specifically Chnéhl like, but not categorically un Chnéhl like. Perhaps injured Team Avánthe. Perhaps team Avánthe trying to trick them into putting the ladder back. Perhaps something completely different. A torch dropped down the whole failed to shed light on the subject. Finally, Suni volunteered to go in.

And that is where we left off for the eve. Overall, it went well. Thrown into a very non D&D like environment, and subjected to one of the more radically unorthodox social customs of that environment, our recruits stood fast, and, hardly blushed. I am pleased. I think they have what it takes to buy into the world, and explore it for what it is, rather than try to make it something with which they are more comfortable.

La, the traffic on the weekends...

We didn't game this week, but we did the week prior, and I am one week late in the posts. So first the game..

Our Hero and party spent another very dull night hoping to trap our escaped Chnéhl. It was annoyingly quite. The next morn they decided to try to control the camps perimeter with an improvised Baily, and decided to march into town to round up some additional slaves, or labor. They all went, leaving the camp open with the hope the Chnéhl might take the opportunity to explore it, and get themselves caught.

While in the village they met a small party of four strapping young men from the Four greater Black Clans – Black Fear, Black Water, Black Moon, and Black Flame - Their Pachi Lei Guide and their 20 slaves. The four told them they would be hunting in the area, and asked about game. Our Hero explained about the Chnéhl, and asked they keep a distance, and both parties agreed that it would be best if the hunters were well aware of the location of the parties campsite, so no accidents occurred. With new slaves in tow and the hunting party along side, they returned to the camp and the traps were – of course – still empty. The hunting party moved on up the mountain side. The camp site had simple wooden palisades on one third it's circumference by sunset. That night, they had some action on the perimeter, but it turned out to be a few Kurukú who had become curious about the camp.

So, the next morning they decided the bait smelled too much like a slave, and the camp site might be too threatening, so our hero took the girl and one of the beast handlers down to the river to wash her up.

When they reached the trail along the river that leads up to the Sákbe roads, they bumped into a party from the temple of Avánthe, a priestess and a few Aridáni Temple guard. They were a bit taciturn, but that didn't seem unusual considering the nature of the temple and its relationship to Hriháyal. Still, a bit of chit chat, and our hero learned that this group was headed out to survey damage and offer help to the locals. What else could one expect of Avánthe anyway..

After bathing the slave they headed back, and quickly found that the Good ladies of Avánthe are not above lying. Rather than continue down the trail along the riverbank, they had cut in and followed the path that our heroes party had taken out. They appeared to headed straight for the camp. But they never actually entered the camp, instead, circumnavigated it and continued on, up the mountain side. Suspicion started to settle in. It didn't take long for them to conclude that someone who returned to Butrús had leaked the information about the new cave entrance. A plan was hastily hatched, to pack up everything and move the camp to the mouth of the cave, and sit on it. That way they could try to control access to the cave, and still try to catch the Chnéhl. Only problem was they didn't have enough slaves to move the cage and all the tents and provisions. So the rest of the day was spent preparing for the move while a small party ran back to the village to get more hands.

Pickens for slaves were slim (the Black Clans had bought up most available) and so they hired some locals for strong backs and set out. They didn't even try to attract the Chnéhl that night, as the camp now numbered around 30 persons. The next morning they made their way slowly through the jungle and up the side of Silver Mountain, with a growing caravan of labor and gear. But as they were setting out another party arrived. This consisted of Two Priests of Thúmis and their guards. They were forthright. They wanted to explore the caves that the party had found and felt it might serve both parties to join forces. Seems word was spreading quickly amoung the temples (as the rescue of a High Priestess is good gossip) and it was not unreasonable to expect the area to get a lot of attention in short order. It would only be a matter of time before the government got wind of it, and they would certainly send troops to “secure it” in the name of the Petal Throne.

When they arrived at the cave entrance they determined that someone had already been there, and entered. From the size of the camp they guessed it was the Team Avánthe. No sign of the Black Clans. Now it is time to remind our reader that the entrance to the cave was a sink hole, and a rather steep, slippery and deep one at that. So,they built one tent directly over the hole, (and placed the cage inside).

But that was not quite the end of the evenings session. They sent the day labor home, and set watch to catch the Chnéhl. Early in the first watch our hero, who was in bed, as he prefers the last watch, was awoken by a scream. The slave girl had come running out of the tent hysterical. She insisted the Chnéhl was in the tent. Swords drawn, our hero entered, finding nothing. He went back to the hole but could see nothing. He figured if it was Team Avánthe, there would be lights or at least the smell of torches recently doused, but it was black. But to be sure our hero tried to pull up the ladder, on the reasonable assumption that it really didn't matter who was first in the hole, but who was first out. “There is no Concordat in the Tsu'urum.” It was heavy. Really heavy. Then there was the sound of movement, and the ladder was light again. And with that we called it a night.

Left to their own devices

This weeks game was truncated by a beguiling siren who talked us into taking a break to play Dominion*.. (I think). So only a bit happened after some initial book keeping.

The High Priestess Mis took her Tirrikámu, her Rényu, her protégé, and halve the temple guards, plus some slaves and a palanquin she picked up on site, and headed off to Butrús for recovery. She left our hero and the remaining Temple Guards to recover the Chnéhl. They had been seeding the area with drops of perfume to keep the beasts local, and they hired some local artisans to build some bamboo cages. Fortunately, they tested the cages with a couple of strong guards, and found them wanting. But Mis sent down two animal handlers from Butrús temple (figure that this would be a common enough skill in the temple of Hriháyal considering the necessities of certain rituals..) and they brought some appropriate cages. I figure one knows Zoic Domination at U4. A Specialist in the Priesthood.

On the first attempt they baited the cages with Hmélu. Hmm. Can't find that word with proper accenting to add to my Tekumel Dictionary at the moment..** At any rate, the Chnéhl didn't take the bait. The second attempt they hid the cages inside tents, and placed a slave, dolloped up in a bit of Mis' Personal perfume. This brought the Chnéhl to the edge of the camp, but they didn't make entrance. They did appear to make an attempt to outflank the guard on duty, however.

This is when our distraction arrived. It is also when I realized one of the reasons that running a solo player is so tough. He has no one to bounce ideas off but NPC's. That leaves the ref having to balance between giving too little and too much guidance over and over. And it certainly gives me problems with presenting just plumb bad ideas, which players manage to create organically. I may need to have Geo bring that Mythic Game next time, if I don't find any more players with free time.. who'ld have thought that would be so difficult.

On the Dominion front, I handily won the first game, and was robbed of victory in the second, just barely falling 4th out of four. It is a pleasant little game, which changes up the rules every game via a mechanic of using different sets of cards. Mildly Crack like, in that they will keep putting out new decks, it does not suffer the insanity of the Collectible Card game market. You buy a box, it has several “decks” which can be mixed an matched with to play games and additional boxes do the same. They are all free standing games, but the decks can be interchanged. Since the cards establish a lot of the rules details, each game is a bit unique, and replayability is high. Still, I doubt I will buy it.

Speaking of spending money, I picked up some GFNORDW bits and some figs via Ebay, at reasonable prices. Some are even painted, and will fall right in line for some Sárku temple guards. Others perhaps Hnálla, or Thúmis. I also bought some pre cast hirst arts bits that I hope to make into a modular cave set. All further purchases are on hiatus, because I ran my checking account pretty thin when I paid for some work on my Truck.

There will be no game tomorrow, as I will be at work..

* yes, dominion
** found it..

The Old In and Out..

Well, in fact, this weeks adventure was fairly low key, until the end. The party (still only one player) went into the sink hole and found limestone caverns that were cut away by the annual monsoon flooding. An underground river flowed towards the Turín, and upward into the mountain. Did I mention the Mountain? Probably not. The sinkhole is at the base of the Silver Mountain, as outlined in the Butrús Gazetteer. The mountain is known to be riddled with these caverns, but a new, unexplored cavern is a nice find, since it is said that the a wizard once made his home in the mountain. The party made their way along the underground rivers edge and lost one guard who fell in and was swept away. They found a natural bridge and then traveled downstream to a branching tunnel, that climbed upward and towards more solid ground. They found a fork in that tunnel and took the center.. which surprised me a bit, but, they were following the nose of the Rényu. By this time they were starting to ration their torches. They discovered a large cavern, and eventually found Mis hiRakádi, a high priestess of the temple of Hriháyal , unconscious, nearly dead. She had run out of food, and water, and torches days before. Fortunately, the caves are quite wet, due to the recent rains. She may have had a day or so left.

They also found a bit of writing, in the tunnels leading to the large cavern. It was clearly an old and unknown script, but not of truly ancient origin. Only marginally damaged by new deposits. Know one there could read them, but they tried to memorize the “Look” so they could describe it to people who might know.

They used spears and packs to fashion a litter, and bore Mis back to the entrance. There they encountered the Chnéhl. Two of them ambushed our hero as he was the first out, but he fought defensively and the Tirrikámu (J'grem hiQorretú) from the Priestess Barge joined him, to even out the odds. Both our hero and the Chnéhl he was fighting managed to deliver serious blows, but each did just under the threshold needed to cause a shock result. As more guards poured forth from the hole, the Chnéhl chose the safer path and fled. No one pursued. The party slept there, on guard, and then moved to the Sákbe road tower the next day. For his injuries and bravery, our hero garnered a bit of ritual attention from Mis, but, not a lot. Neither was in great shape at that point. And there we left them, with hopes of bringing more characters in at the Sákbe road tower next week.

Help, Lassie, come quick

Well, game two, one player, but a second interested party showed up as we wrapped up. I didn't give them much notice, so my apologies. This week I will be off to school on game day, and it would have been a work night anyway, so..

Our hero, Guard of the Temple Hriháyal, and party progressed upstream on the Berjádu to the Sákbe road tower that bridges the river. On the way they found the recent remains of two unknown Hriháyal guards, dead of injuries from a beast, and exposure. When they reached the Tower the Tirrikámu of the Sákbe roads for the area informed them that, yes, they knew about the dead Temple guards. They had been informed by another detachment from Butrús that the Priestess' barge was missing, and they had been sending scouts down the river. They had already rescued a priestess, found unconscious with the dead Guards, and she was resting comfortably in the guards room, in between her efforts to reward her rescuers. When they asked for an audience, they were told she probably would not be available til morning.

Next Morning our party learns that the rescued priestess is barely an acolyte, but a protégé of the High Priestess they are seeking. They are told that the Barge was trying desperately to make it the last few bends to the village and safety when the oars on one side started to snap. The Craft heaved sidelong in the river, and caught on debris, and quickly started to swamp. Water coming over the gunnels swept several people into the water immediately. She does not know who made it off the boat.

It is decided that the group should proceed down the other side of the Berjádu, to find the overturned barge, and look for evidence of life. Along the way, our acolyte, an Salarvyáni girl liberated in the border wars and inducted into the temple of Hriháyal, learns first of the Chnéhl. She explains that there may be up to two, and that they were aboard the barge, part of the entourage, as it were, and a crucial part of a ritual our High Priestess planned in Tumíssa. They were exceptional specimens, bred for size and aggressiveness, and valuable. More so, if the High Priestess is recovered, but worth something to the Temple in any case.

Half way down she learns the amusing story of the singing Rényu, and offers up more information. The Rényu is Fefee, a pet, companion to the High Priestess. That Fefee lives is encouraging, to her, as the animal is very loyal. And, of course, another valuable critter to recover, and probably much easier than recapturing the Chnéhl. She estimates that it may be only a few weeks, however, before a captive Rényu becomes a Feral Rényu.

At the Barge, they manage to completely fail at uprighting the craft. So they punch a hole in the now inverted barge and explore, finding some dead rowing slaves, and a trunk of valuables that belong to the HP. They explore the area, and find another Temple Guard, a Tirrikámu for the HP. He is an older man, a retiree from the legions, and experienced in the wild. He says he has swept the area south, and sees no signs of survivors.

So the party returns to the Sákbe roads, where they are told by the Guards that the singing Rényu has been appearing every night, despite them throwing rocks at the cursed thing. It appears again, that night, and our hero and the Acolyte try to approach it. Every time they get close, it darts off into the woods. Every time they retreat, it comes forward and sings. They decide it is trying to lead them.

Everyone up, but kept a good distance back, and off into the woods to follow the Rényu. Travel is difficult, and slow, but by mid morn they find a sink hole, and the Rényu wants to go down. But it is steep and slick. The party ties up some crude ladders and goes in.

So, has it come to this. I once thought myself a pretty ingenious GM, but it was my player who laughed as he said, “What Lassie, Timmy's in the well?”. Not my most creative moment, I am afraid. Still this is hopefully building to something...