Session 19

Evening of the 2nd Stoneday of Petals, South of Castle Farkash

They spend the night at the banks of the river in their own camp away from the chanting of the monks. Sir Milos is eager to get to know his brothers and suggests a game of compliments, where a false compliment must be paid back by stories and the other Knights accept the challenge and play so honestly that they haven't been called out for false praise until the fires have burned down.

2nd Woodsday of Petals

During the last watch heavy rain pours down and Sir Milos realizes that he is on a clearing within a forest where the river has been and no monks are in sight. Instead his eyes are drawn to three plinths, a white one – cracked - , a grey one with a dagger resting on its top and a last one that is black. The first shows an angel comforting a one-armed Knight, that Milos knows to be Sir Heldris, the Houndslayer. The second has carvings of a woman and her toothless scream. When he approaches the last dais his boots step into a pool of blood. Anastasz and Perilake tell the Fox Knight of the statue of an angel who helped Heldris and the Grey Hunter who punished Lady Lydia. Realizing the implication Perilake buries the returned dagger hilt first in the earth, and refuses any further bargains. The branches part.

A white Goat

In the afternoon they come upon a heath under a dark sky, muted colours disrupted only by a stark white goat surrounded by a splash of red. The Knights are worried about the grizzly sight as white goats are never eaten for they are believed to be the reincarnation of Seers. Worse still the goat has been disembowelled by claws, the innards laid out in a ritualistic spiral around it. They decide to burn the carcass on a pyre to cleanse the evil but the flames first turn green until the flesh is purified. 

Anastasz leads them into the mountains where they seek the sanctum of the Cured Seer. At the mouth of a cave they are met by an acolyte, an ancient woman, and led deeper into a labyrinth of caverns. Illuminated by candles, they find the Seer emaciated and encrusted in salt, surrounded by a throng of their acolytes. Boldly Perilake approaches and partakes of the sacrament but his visions are foul: A black sun, golden corona. Seers stumbling eyeless and blind. Panicked animals all around him and beyond something is writhing. A name is whispered: The Wither Within. Now it is Sir Milos' turn to take the sacrament but in his devotion he only dares to take the salt off the Seer's feet: A golden coin, minted in The City, is spinning: on one side the river smothers the fire under Oakfell on the other the dwelling is washed away, At last Anstasz tastes the cheekbone of the Seer and is returned to the fabled poppy covered hills where he defeated the Elf. There he sees the Herold of the Elf, Tizria, the Season Scout, leading a group of children, who are compelled to follow him.

A disturbing Omen

2nd Riverday of Petals

When they leave the caves they are blinded by the sun. The arc of a rainbow spans over the mountains as they spur their steeds towards Bohat.

Session 18

1st  Skyday of Petals

It is thundering in the distance as Milos, The Fox Knight, approaches Bohat and finds refuge in the inn. He is served wine and food but the mood is somber. Children have returned after they were missing but they are changed. Milos braves the elements and spurs his steed to bring news to the Brotherhood. He arrives late at night at the Citadel.

1st Rainsday of Petals

The next morning Lady Alina, a tall, severe-looking woman, brings him to the Grand Hall where Anastasz sits alone on the throne and Perilake with his family. Few candles in the alcoves illuminate the relics that adorn the hall. When they break fast Milos tells about troubles in Bohat and Sheriff Sorina about rumours in the South. A shrouded hunter had reported complaints of Vassals about foreign Knights in the company of the Jewelled Seer and their chained wolf. They welcome Eliska, a petitioner from Oakfell who pleads the lords to visit the dwelling that is plagued by smoke and hidden fires.

A herald is sent South to inform the foreigners to announce themselves as is custom for Knights. Lady Inga visits Bohat to talk with Lady Wendela and the Brotherhood leave the Citadel for Oakfell by boat. Thick smoke lies over the dwelling and Perilake orders the woodcutters to dig a hole to search for the fire but soon the heat is overwhelming. Milos plays hide and seek with Agafya, a young girl. They share her favourite hiding place, a crack in the earth. He explores deeper and deeper into a natural tunnel system where he finds the burning coal seam, but must turn back as the fumes are too much.

Sir Milos, The Fox Knight (artist impession - Znalý, the steed, is actually grey)

1st Stillday of Petals

Milos sneaks away in the morning and brings an offering at the roots of a nearby tree and receives a glimpse of the spires of The City. Back in the camp they contrive a new plan: To divert the river and quench the hidden flames. The weak and the young are sent to Farkash by boat while the company travels west to follow Lady Inga. At the foot of the mountain they come upon an orchard shielded from the winds by sheer cliffs and they hear moaning among the song of birds. In the darkness lies a Knight between the trees. Anastaz stops the bleeding and cauterizes the stump where her arm had been. She whispers of the Axbearer who struck her down but she was spared for unknown reasons. Anastaz reminds his brothers of the Myth of an axe bearer that despises the knights. Long ago they visited a ruined temple with the sigils of knights with skulls on them. They remember a message carved in stone: All Knights will feel the Axe. 

The River

2nd Stoneday of Petals

Odile of Czobor survives to morning. Anastasz offers her shelter at Farkash, where she might learn to fight one handed from Heldris. They learn that her attacker was tall and enraged. She fled and - worried about the safety of their holding - they ride hard for Farkash but the Citadel is undisturbed. They tell the Sheriff to spread word of the Axebearer - and of the Black Fleece’s desire to face her in battle. They travel south between the hills where all is silent and the first flowers bloom in the soggy ground. Soon they hear chanting and they reach a river where hooded figures pray. Milos approaches their leader, a woman with a haggard face but intense blue eyes. Martuska declares that she is praying to the River. Perilake remembers the symbol on her robes, the sigil that adorns Heldris' helmet. Perilake hunts a deer for the monks to sacrifice it. It is offered to the River. The monks pray to appease it, the Knights for the safety of Oakfell. Afterwards they talk and Martuska speaks of the Cult of the Mother whose prophets are the few hermits who kept their faith when others abandoned it and they preach in all the dwellings in the South. She has seen the Jewelled Seer in her travels and they told her about the Child who knows the way to the City.