Session 12

 1st Silverday of Sprouts

The Salt Knight rejoins the company at the entrance to the mound that is marked by standing stones carved with the symbol of the sun. He steps into a narrow corridor that leads to a small tomb with a broken stone slab bones shining through the cracked stone. The skeleton inside holds a bronze chalice, verdigris partly covering the symbol of a strange wheel and when Anastasz pulls it from the dead man's grasp the bones turn to dust. Sir Heldris peers into the darkness of the only other exit, a sharp, alien smell wafting from the corridor. Lady Dragana inspects a cocoon dangling from the ceiling and finds behind it a cracked fresco depicting scenes of harvest. She perceives a faint draft from the cracks and Sir Heldris breaks the clay to reveal a hidden crawl space. The Dove Knight crashes his glowing herbs and prepares the tip of his spear with it before squeezing into the tunnel.

The Spider Mother

When he emerges through another clay fresco he recognises the chamber where Perilake had found the sword Rzeźnik. Before the company can move deeper into the barrow they hear the clicking of chitinous claws approaching. They kill the two wolfspiders emerging from the corridor and when they pass through, they finally meet the Spider Mother, a massive shape hiding in the shadows and crawling with spiderlings. Anastasz steps into the room and is ensnared in sticky webbing on the floor, while Dragana manages to throw her axe at the monster. Sir Heldris is dismayed when he hears the sound of another wolfspider approaching from behind. He drops his spear, meets the beast with his sword, driving it back with terrible blows. He dodges a spray of webbing and kills the creature. On the other side of the corridor the two Knights evade the Spider Mother's venomous fangs and skewer her with sword and glaive. They burn her nest and leave the mound. The poisonous fumes are dispersed by the wind.

Location of the Wolfspider Mound

They spend the night in the village. A banquet is held in their honour but they leave early in the morning while the villagers sleep off their hangover. Soon they cross the river and stand before the white castle of Kranach, where they are greeted by Lady Inga the Envoy, who manages to hide her disappointment that Sir Perilake is not present. After they had a chance to freshen up in luxurious rooms they are brought before Lady Zdenka to inquire about the Elf. She mentions that a herald with a foreign face and straw-like hair has been spotted in the mountains to the west. The Tangled Seer told the Knights that the Elf would be found “West of Swanstone [the old name for Kranach Castle] and South of the Needle Seer's relic.” Heldris recalls that the relic was rumoured to be near the place where The Feaster had been slain and asks her about the Legend of the Sun that never set. “There is a dried up well in the shadow of the mountains with rich carvings. They show a golden giant climbing out of the Sun. Legends say it marks the place where brave Knights had killed the Feaster.”

The Feaster

The Knights of the Black Fleece leave the castle at noon and ride westwards, through a dense forest of vine choked trees until in the evening they spot the smoke of a campfire on a hill and an ornate cart with horses and beasts of burden below it. The Hooded Knight approaches the campfire and is greeted by three Knights who belong to the Order of the Seekers. There is a heap of jewels next to them and a wolf gnawing on bones is chained to a tree. A grating voice from the heap, that sounds as if a diamond is slowly drawn over glass, asks. ”Have you seen The Child”?

Session 11

1st Riverday of Sprouts.

Perilake and Heldris meet at the ruin of the Eye: An elder tree growing out of a strangely spherical bolder. They meet Lady Dragana, the hooded Knight, who had been sent by the Endless Seer to assist the Company of the Black Fleece. They journey to Lake Ryba, north of Kranach, to seek out the Entangled Seer for guidance. At the shore of the lake they spot tall sunflowers, signs of summer in early spring and in the distance an island shrouded in mist. They meet a young acolyte, Marika, who offers to take them to the island on her boat. Her cruel smile made the knights cautious and they decide to leave Zoltan with her in the boat. They moor the boat next to a flat rock crawling with white crabs and carefully move around them into a dense forest, past a strange menhir with a star carved into the rock, until they reach the sanctum: A domed gazebo within which a mass of faces and appendices are writhing. They ask the Tangled Seer: “What is the biggest threat to the Realm?” and many voices answer: “If you fear for the Knights: The Axe will chop them down! If you fear for the King, the Elf will take his place.”

The sacntum of the Tangled Seer

And when asked about the Elf the many voices sing: “A steward of seasons, nature’s power bestowed - Our land bends to their whimsy, our lives no mercy showed” And when they ask where to find the steward of seasons the voices answer: “West of Swanstone, south of the reliquary of the Needle Seer, you’ll find the Elf. “

Making their way back to the rock they find Marika and Zoltan and return to the southern shore of the lake, where they find their horses and spur them on towards Bohat. They arrive in the evening and are greeted by Lady Wendela who invites them into her home. They learn that the creatures of the barrow continue to prey on the village’s cattle even after Ser Perilake slew the eight legged monstrocity. Perilake swears to end this forever. Asked about the Needle Seer's reliquary she informs them that both King Andrasz and Lady Zdenka wish to retrieve it. Sir Heldris remembers a conversation with his friend Lady Hedwig who believed the relic to be just east of lake Obra and he recalls the legend of the Feaster, born of the Sun, who was rumoured to be slain South of the lake and that the ruin of that Myth can still be found there. Wendela shares with the Knights her worries about a cult that is gaining followers; The Church of the Child. They believe that the birth of the Child will bring eternal peace and bountiful harvest for ever.

The Wolfspider Mound

In the morning, they depart for the Barrow. The well that Perilake had used to infiltrate the mound has been sealed by soldiers of Kranach as promised and filled with rocks. The entrance is marked by standing stones carved with the symbol of the sun. The Knights enter a narrow corridor leading inside.

Session 10 Winter

Between Seasons

Anastasz, The Salt Knight visits the Cured Seer in the hills East of Bohat, his sanctum a labyrinth of echoing caves, his desiccated body encrusted with salt. Anastasz tastes the Seer's salt and is granted a vision of wars to come.

Ludmer, The Trail Seer, upon hearing that he has incurred the wrath of the King, decides to leave the Realm and spend winter in the war-torn Northern Crownlands.

Perilake, The Gilded Knight teaches his Squire Zoltan the justice of Knights as a travelling judge in the mountains of Karpat.

Heldris, The Dove Knight asks Jakub the blacksmith to forge a prosthetic arm with a simple mechanism that allows him to attach a shield. When the village is visited by the siblings Lady Anastasia and Nicolai of Masur he decides to travel with them to Karpat. They don't know yet that Heldris had killed their brother, Prince Grigori of Masur.

Kozamost: A view of the Temple of the River in winter

Winter

Anastasz spends most of winter in the library of Barow Castle studying the history of the Realm. He learns that Zuraw, the sword he is wielding, once belonged to Sir Zigmunt of Kranach, the grandfather of Perilake's Squire. He also finds out that Sir Grigori, the noble whom Heldris had killed in the bog south of Kozamost was next in line to become King of Masur. He reveals to King Andrasz the conspiracy of the Beekeepers and is rewarded for his loyalty by allowing him to pick any Squire he wishes. He choses Gundhilde of Szalai for her devotion to the Realm. He investigates the tunnels under Barow Castle and finds a spy hole to the chamber of the King's Council. A member of the conspiracy, the Courtier Ida of Masur, is exposed and later executed.

Heldris is invited to Karpat Fortress by his friend Hedwig but when she shares her life story, a sad tale of greed and betrayal, their friendship is in peril. The Dove Knight investigates the conspiracy of the Beekeepers and concludes that Lady Lydia of Szalai must be the mysterious Queen L. He receives a message from an unkown Seer who reveals the location of their sanctum North of lake Obra. Heldris spends the rest of winter crafting a beautifully illustrated parchment that holds the notes to a melody from his home and instructions about the unfamiliar tuning of the instrument to play it. The Tankard Knight accepts the present and their broken friendship is mended. 

It's always foggy in Karpat. 

Perilake spends winter at Kranach Castle the holding of Zoltan's family. He visits the prosperous village of Bohat to investigate the reason for their missing sheep. In an ancient burial mound he slays an eight legged monster and finds a magic sword. He falls in love with Lady Inga Svensdottir the envoy of the castle and begins courting her. He then learns that his Squire is driven to find a traitor to house Kranach. He is seeking revenge for the death of Sir Zigmunt, his grandfather, who died at the Battle of the Red Reeds. Perilake knows that it was Lady Dagmar who betrayed the position of Kranach troops to the enemy but he hasn't told his Squire.

Ludmer arrives in the Crownlands as winter begins. On his travels North he and his steed Věrný are bitten by spiders and both fall ill but they are healed by a huntsman. He carries a man who can't walk but takes the life of another: Miro a former guard of his father. He finds seven ominous standing stones, meets a magnificent fox and keeps her fangs. The Trail Knight struggles through frozen thorns to find a village in need of a hero. But his quest has just begun ...