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”?