The Eye VII / Session 7

3rd Stonesday of Bales

In a swamp south of Kozamost

They wake up before dawn to the smell of roasted bread and a constant light rain. The knights peel themselves out of the damp bedrolls while Zoltan is serving breakfast. The Prey Seer is massaging her bandaged hand at the campfire. The sun is still a mere suggestion in the sky as they make their way south-east along the track of the parade wagon deeper into the swamp

All morning the rain continues. Only the croaking of toads in the sloughs break the silence as they follow the Prey Seer. The landscape turns even more desolate, until at noon the company arrives at the badlands. The parade wagon is lying on its side in the mud. Nearby the acolytes of the Eye kneel before the boulder standing under a dead tree. The earth begins to tremble ...

“This is the place.” Her voice trembles with fear or excitement, “Drive your steeds between it and the acolytes, they will be too scared to intervene. Let the Eye come for me. Attack it from all sides.” She turns towards you and whispers so that only you can hear her: ”Remember the relic. Break the symmetry and the Eye won't return.” She starts walking towards the epicentre of the quake, the branch of the elder tree raised over her head.

The Eye rises

A hulking stone eye on four squat legs erupts. The Knights charge. Perilake hits it from the side with his great mace, stopping its forward momentum towards the Seer. Anastas, Heldris and Zoltan struggle to find purchase in its stony hide. The creature attempts to crush Perilake but the Gilded Knight deflect its attack on him. Heldris armour absorbs the blow, as does Anastasz. But the Eye opens into an obscene maw. The Knights attack from all sides trying to chip away at the stone creature. Perilake smashing the eye square in the pupil as its maw closes. It reels, and then shrugs off the attacks and moves towards the Seer.

Anastasz and Heldris try to repel it away from the Seer whose face is in rapture at meeting her fate. The great Maw descends upon her. Before Heldris can leap between the Eye and Seer Anastasz stays his hand. The Seer is consumed and terribly mauled by the Eye’s crunching maw. She screeches in pain and ecstasy. The ground below the Eye opens and it tries to flee back in to the earth. Perilake smashes it in the side and prevents it from escaping. Zoltan leaps atop it, his dagger blows bolstering the slaying blow that is struck by Anastasz, who heaves his bastard sword into the obsidian pupil, exploding black ichor. It falls to the ground, it’s animated features turning into dead stone, Zoltan wheeling from its back and nearly being crushed before Perilake snatches his squire away. Perilake picks up the Seer’s fallen branch and buries it in the earth where she fell. Strangely the branch takes root and grows into an Elder Tree. The knights kneel and respect the fallen, Janka, the elderly tanner who was among the acolytes, joins them in reverence.

Karpat Fortress

3rd Woodsday of Bales

They travel North to the sanctum of the Prey Seer with her relic. Janka swears to watch over this place of power until a new Seer is called forth.

The Knights decide to follow up on the mysterious warband. Bartek had shown them the secret hideout of the mercenaries in a region just east of Karpat Fortress. How is this taking place under the nose of Karpat? They were well informed, well resourced, well paid. Could Lady Lamberta aid them? Could she be the mysterious Queen of the Beekeepers? And what about Lady Dagmar the Marshall of Karpat who was blackmailed by Bianka Altenburg, the Iron Knight. Is this even related to the mystery of the beekeepers? The Brootherhood of the black Fleece decide to travel to the Fortress in the hope of finding some answers. They make camp at the banks of the Hleb,

3rd Armsday of Bales

When they cross the river they come upon a maze of stony crags. A message carved in the rock reads All the knights will feel the Axe. They follow a winding path up a low sandstone mountain range until they reach an ornate bridge carved with traditional shapes and stylized animals. Before them lies Karpat Fortress a labyrinth of towers and dark spires connected with steep stairs. Lady Hedwig leads them to the throne room where the ruler Lady Lamberta prays before an altar. She invites the knights to refresh after the travel and join her in the evening for a meal with her Court.