Before dawn of the 11th day, the Chapel of the Hawk
Zoltan returns to the chapel with dry wood and rekindles the fire. The smell of the Rusalki provisions trouble Heldris and he can only manage to eat a handfull of roasted pine seeds and drink tea while Batu is slumped against a column, stroking Liška's fur. When you finally take leave outside of the chapel the world has disappeared behind a thick fog and you can't see much further than your outstretched arm but Batu embraces you one after the other and blesses you and promises that the hawk will guide you.
 |
| Shrouded in Fog |
Leaning heavily on his cane the old hermit leads you through the fog to the mouth of a mountain path where he says his farewell. You follow Zoltan closely like blind men each touching the
shoulders of the one before him. Whenever the Pigeon Knight is in doubt there is
a piercing screech from the hawk to show him the way but the going is slow. At noon
you reach a forest in the foothills and make camp in a steep ravine,
and you barely see the canopy above you where the hawk rests on a
branch. You sit around the fire shivering and shrouded in mist when
you hear from afar the croaking of ravens, first inaudible and then
close enough to understand their words.
Sir Anastaz, The
Salt Knight
With Whistle and Drums
Raven and Hound
Wherever it runs
The Prey will be found.
They haven't seen you yet but they are circling ever closer above you.
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
As
the ravens call, Anastaz quickly acts, extinguishing their fire with
the Everflask. Then he beckons the other knights to follow close
behind him as he looks around the sunken valley for a hiding spot.
They move into a narrower part of the ravine and eventually discover
a thin niche in the surrounding rock, just big enough to fit five.
Referee
You huddle together in
the tight space while the terrible song goes on and on and you don't
dare to move or even whisper but the songs grows ever louder and
after some time you hear the barking of bloodhounds from the east,
far away but getting closer.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
Perilake peers at the
sky above, the cawing of the ravens circling above them through the
mists. "They have us, somewhere above these clouds. Perhaps they
see us despite this shroud, or perhaps they merely track the hawk.
But they have alerted the hounds - we must flee."
Sir Heldris the Dove Knight
Heldris shivers at the
thought of the devilish hunt. He looks up through the thick fog. “The
hawk is doing its best to keep the raven off our trail, but the
hounds are coming.” He nods to Perilake, “let's make haste.”
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
Anastaz urges the
company on, following from behind with the Bow of Harvest. As they
speed towards the mausoleum, the Salt Knight fires covering volleys
from the bow, not attempting to kill the ravens so much as to scatter
and slow them. The Company of the Black Wolf begins to breathe
steadily as a pale hill comes into view, the bleached white of
stacked bones reflecting the surrounding landscape.
Referee
As you get closer you
see a low wall surrounding the bone hill and a bronze gate etched
with leaves and berries that leads inside. Anastaz fires a salvo of
arrows and the ravens scatter, croaking in anger. The moment you open
the heavy door a horn sounds in the East, dissonant and much too
close and you are gripped by a terror that you didn't know you could
feel. Inside is a large hall, its walls lined with stacked skulls in
grotesque patterns and you realize that this is not a tomb to honour
the dead, it is a charnel house. As you close the gate you see
between the closing wings half a dozen bloodhounds approaching, all
teeth and lolling tongue.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
Perilake readies his
spear, and looks to Anastasz. "Use the elf's bow, and slay these
beasts. I am sure once they come under fire and the scent of their
own blood fills the air, they will charge". He pushes the gate
open and gestures to the low wall. "You fire from there, and i
will use my spear to harry them on the other side as our brothers
hold the bottleneck."
Referee
You feel your hands
trembling on your weapons and the sound of the hunting horn still
echoes in your soul as you step outside into the fog and the dim
afternoon light falls into the hall of bones. You hear the hounds
barking near the wall and it sounds like “Here! Here! They're
here!” and the ravens answer “The prey is found!” but when the
hawk swoops in, they croak and scatter.
 |
| The Bone Mausoleum |
Anastaz grimace as
he raises the bow, looking into the fog from which the roars of dogs
seems to echo, and fires.
Referee
The arrow whistles and
disappears into the fog and you hear a sharp yelp followed by angry
barks. Out of the fog three hounds emerge, eyes flashing and with one
big leap they are between you snarling and biting.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
Perilake stands
ready with the spear raised as the Salt Knight lets fly, eyes
straining to make out the shapes in the mist. As a yelp pierces the
air, he hurls the pointed tip at the sound, the weapon flying over
the heads of the rushing hounds to land true. With a heavy thud, the
yelp turns to a choked whimper. Then the rest of the pack is upon the
low wall and the knights standing firm in the breach.
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
One hound leaps
toward Anastaz, and he grabs it by the throat and shifts his body
weight, hurling it along to meet one of his comrade's blows.
Sir Milos, the Fox Knight
As the hound comes
sailing toward him through the air, Milos skewers it on the blade of
his goldfalx
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
The second hound
darts in, teeth bared as it lunges for the Salt Knight. But Zoltans
blade flashes, sending the beast reeling in a spray of blood. The
blade of Kranach flashes again, ending the beast.
Referee
The blood of the hounds
is all the colour in the world and they are panting and whimpering as
they slowly bleed out. From further away you hear the rest of the
pack howling to mourn their lost brothers and sisters. As the last
light of the day vanishes in the west the hawk lands on the roof of
the bone hill.
Sir Heldris the Dove Knight
A pair of blood shot
eyes jump over the Dove Knight, but they meet the end of his sword in
a brush of red blood over the white snow. Heldris doesn't waste time
and charges into the white fog, almost like a hound looking for more
blood.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
Perilake hops down
from the wall and pursues, Zoltan on his heels.
Referee
You run into the fog
and the sound of your boots is muffled by snow and mist. The howling
gets louder and turns into a low guttural growl as you approach the
hounds, Zoltan and Perilake close behind you.
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
The Salt Knight runs
off in another direction to put down the remaining hound.
Referee
You hear it whimpering
nearby and find it pierced by an arrow, the spear has torn a hole in
its hind legs. It bares its fangs and is ready to attack.
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
Anastaz swipes, and
a heavy thud from the coral mace ends the creature's life.
Referee
The hounds snarl and
snap at you and bite into padded arms and armoured limbs and you
strike them and when you return to the charnel house you are covered
in their blood.
Sir Milos, the Fox Knight
Inside the ossuary,
Milos has built a fire from the remaining wood. The flickering light
plays eerily on the endless rows of skulls that line the vaulted
ceiling. The mood is sombre among the knights as they clean their
weapons and contemplate the inevitable approach of the Rusalki Hunt.
The Fox Knight muses "I wonder if these are the bones of
humans or elves? I'm not sure if I would be able to tell the
difference. Whichever, we should honor their memory as we take refuge
amongst them." He pulls some herbs from a pouch on his belt
and sprinkles them into the fire. "Rosemary for remembrance
and mugwort to open to any wisdom they might have for us." The
offerings blaze brightly for a moment and fill the space with an
aromatic smoke.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
As the pleasant
scent of the burning herbs fill the air, Perilake takes a torch and
studies their macabre surroundings more closely. No place of honour,
it seems, but what?
Referee
You wander along the
wall of bones and skulls in their baroque patterns until you reach
the far end where you find a narrow stained glass window depicting a
hunt of hares and foxes. You raise your torch and the glass reflects
the dancing flame and you see that many hunters have grotesque animal
masks and antlers and the leader rides a three legged horse and has
the head of a wolf and their eyes are flashing. And while the riders
appear bestial, the faces of foxes and hares show almost human
expressions of anguish and terror.
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
"For all our
efforts, we find ourselves at the end of the Hunt, my friends."
He gestures to the walls around them. "These are poor
souls who ran before us, and this is a shrine to the cruelty of our
pursuers." Perilake laughs, low and without good cheer.
"I daresay this would be the last place they expect to find us."
Sir Anastaz, The Salt Knight
Legs crossed by the
fire, Anastaz chimes in. "In any case, we've saved the
victor the effort of burying their foe."
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
"This is an
ill-fated place, this Thrice-Ninth Kingdom. The words in the
chronicles... Once, people lived here, and ruled. Then they fell prey
to the whisperings of these strange creatures, who are themselves
victim of their own fierce natures." Perilake peers around
the faces in the fire, and a faint smile intrudes upon the otherwise
sombre scene. "Moreso than most, I suppose. The Elf and the
King are beholden to the seasons, and this injured realm passes back
and forth between them. The Rusalki are beasts, no matter their
finery...all is seemingly madness and wild appetite." "And
what..." He pauses, his voice lowering and all humour
vanished. "What do they want of Avert? Is there a purpose
here beyond mere cruel humour or petty vengeance?"
 |
| The Stained Glass Window |
Sir Anastaz, The
Salt Knight
"At the feast of
the Rusalki, one of the fae referred to a human child who might one
day rule them. The Elf may want Avert to be his successor, though I
cannot fathom why he would need one."
Ser Perilake, The Gilded Knight
"His
successor...." Perilake mutters, then spits, an action
strikingly uncommon for the Gilded Knight. "He is nothing
like this Coredis, nothing like these things. He is kind, like his
mother."
Sir Milos, the Fox Knight
Milos pokes sullenly
at the fire with a stick."We are pawns to them, nor more
than playthings and status symbols in their byzantine political
machinations." He winces as if touching an old wound, then
shakes his head. "I did notice that some of the Rusalki were
less than pleased with Coredis' plan to crown Avert. The poor lad
seems caught in a web of intrigue far greater than he can understand.
And we cannot know how long the Elf has had to poison his spirit.
Time passes differently here. We must pray we reach him while his
mother's kind spirit still burns within him."
Sir Heldris the Dove Knight
Heldris nods
thoughtfully. "We are as strange to them, as they are to us.
And in all of their power, perhaps there is some feature of ours that
they wished they had, which might be but an unnoticeable thing in our
eyes. But you’re right Sir Milos, even if Avert is raised to power,
he’s going to know nothing but misery in this realm. We need to
find him and bring him back home."
Referee
You talk for a while
longer about the Thrice-Ninth Kingdom, about Avert and how you plan
to free him and you wonder what happened to old Sivka, and to Batu
and Liška, and whether the Stone Hunter was successful … until one
after the other the Knights fall asleep and at last only Milos is
awake to stand guard over the living and the dead.
A Dream
Anastaz, in spring the meadow high in the mountains is in full bloom and the sky is golden. You lean against the warm stone, facing the setting sun. And although you are tired and your clothes are full of dust Bijlana and Marko are sitting next to you and you feel their unconditional love in your heart. And you turn to look at them and you see them hugging ...
... Adler and they are showing their filed teeth: “We need to cherish these moments, no? The sympathetic love of others. For we cannot give love, Salt Knight, neither you nor me … only death!”
And when you wake up your face is wet but you can't remember why.
