Present:
- Abellinet "Able" Ugwistan, 31, Moor Arian Fighter from Septum – Jeff
- Brave "BJ" Jose, 22, Arian Visigoth Fighter from Astigi – Jamie
- Fabius Cato, 26 Roman Nicene Temple Fighter from Rome – Richard
- Luigi Abundus Bertolini, 23, Roman Nicene Priest from Ravenna – Chris
- Merkel, 24, Vandal Arian Temple-Fighter from Gades – Kevin
- (Hawk-Eye, 22, Arian Visigoth Barbarian from Astigi – Shane)
- Velito Rosso, 24, Roman Nicene Barbarian from Venice – Darryl
- MARMALADE: Victor Koshenko, 24, Alan Arian Thief from Gades – Ian
- Sister Sarah, 22 Arian Visigoth Priestess from Astigi – Steven
- Lucky Logan, 27 Nicene Visigoth Temple Fighter from Malaca - Shane
by Richard
We purchase a wagon (to be driven by Merkel), two wagon horses, one donkey (for Brother Luigi) and four horses (Fabius, BJ, Hawk-eye and a spare). Able would ride the spare, however he is a wanted man and must remain hidden in the wagon.
We also purchase a good quantity of food and mead, and by the time we are finished have 115 silver coins left.
The plan is to travel to Malaca and board a boat to Septum where Velito will be introduced to his new bride Isidora's parents. Following that, we will travel back to Gades, as Brother Luigi and Sister Justina are concerned about Father Valerius and loyal Acolyte Felix.
The road seems unusually safe. There is a shrine every half day and towns regularly scattered along the road almost a day apart.
The first night we stop in a traders' camp near a shrine. By now we are all cured and on full magic points. Our luck is menacingly low though.
We learn, through talking to travelers and from our own observations, that there are more than a normal number of king's guards on the road. This is due to a higher Moor presence in towns, and the King is suspicious of their intent. Additionally, they are looking for a black man known as Able. He has a reward of 1000 silver on his head for impersonating a centurion.
BJ and Hawk-eye look at each other tempted by the prize but equally scared of he moor's blade.
We also learn that Malaca has a historical intolerance for Nicene and that there are no Nicene churches in town, and that Nicene must be careful not to espouse heir religion.
Hmmm, thinks Fabius – I probably should not go there. Father Luigi concurs.
The reputation of the Companions of Abundus well and truly precedes us to the point we are careful not to disclose who we are, particularly given Father Abundus is Nicene.
The small towns come and go as the road remains well-served by king's guard and therefore safe. We arrive in Uillo, where we stay at the Inn of the Cascading Wave, the Nicene Church of Our Lady of Tranquil Patience and the heretical Arian church of Divine Spark Sanctuary.
A peaceful night.
The next day we travel to Lucurgentum. Early afternoon, we come over a rise and see on the road some 100m ahead, four king's guard being attacked by eight, who we assess as, brigands.
Without hesitation, Fabius, BJ and Hawk-eye ride into battle.
"How hard can this be?" thinks Hawk-eye.
The others maneuver the wagon into a defensive position and keep guard. Able would have come to battle but for being wanted by the king's guard, and Merkel was driving the wagon.
We charge in, dismounting at the last moment given none of us were particularly skilled at fighting from horseback.
Fabius, overly confident in his righteous abilities, caught his foot in the stirrup, stumbles into the blades of two men and was dropped by two criticals, spurting blood everywhere.
Hawk-eye deflected the first swipe, but the second pierced his belly and came out he other side (another critical against us). He dropped and lay in an ever-increasing pool of blood.
Brave Jose entered the fray, only to receive a massive hit to the head (yes, another critical). Fortunately, the head is one of BJs less important features and the hit didn’t knock him down. But now he faced another problem – Fabius and Hawk-eye were down and bleeding and he now faced three opponents (in our rules facing more than one opponent is not good – every opponent over one gets an additional dice to hit often eventuating in multiple hits).
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| King's guard Jake the Peg |
By this time, the rest of our group had seen the disaster unfold, and Able and Merkel and even Velito charged down the hill. Sister Sarah followed close behind.
Able takes an arrow to the chest while closing. Merkel stops and engages in a fruitless two-way arrow battle with the brigand archer.
Fabius makes his roll to not die (every round a person is below zero requires a roll vs CON. A fail means death, but Luck can be applied to assist the CON roll) however Hawk-eye despite having a 15 CON, rolls a 19. His luck is 2 – not enough to save him, so he dies.
The next round Sister Sarah applies First Aid to Fabius and brings him to 1 point. He re-enters the fray and Able and he both critical and a brigand is beheaded – "That ones for Hawk-eye", laments Able.
Back to BJ. Somehow, he has managed to avoid the blows of his three foes for a further two rounds and indeed has dropped one. Velito, Able and a somewhat bemused Fabius dispense of the rest.
One king's guard had been dropped but they have killed two other brigands. The remaining brigand, which Merkel had unsuccessfully engaged, ran.
"Thank you for your assistance dear sirs" says one of the king's guard.
"We are here to serve" pants Fabius leaning on his sword whilst covered in blood. Fabius enters into conversation with them allowing Able to quickly retreat to the safety of the wagons.
We travel with them to Lucurgentum where we go to the respective Nicene and Arian churches. We all needed healing and were in a bad way.
Our "good luck" continued. In endeavoring to cure Velito the Nicene priest fumbled his spell and knocked himself out. Sister Sarah fumbled and damaged Fabius causing another major wound. Fortunately, she made her First Aid roll or he would have died.
We stayed two further days in Lucurgentum. Over that time, we cured the major wound of Fabius, largely cured the party and regained magic points.
We also met a very upfront righteous man who Fabius immediately warmed to and invited to join the party. His name was Lucky Logan, a Nicene Temple Fighter. (Shane's new character)
"The Lord is smiling upon us" thinks Fabius. The heretic Hawk-eye is dead and the righteous Lucky joins us"
"You can't just ask him to join us" an indignant Velito sates.
"Well I have" says Fabius
"No no – we need to understand who he is"
"He is a man of he church," states Fabius ending the conversation and walking away.
Velito can be heard muttering to himself, as he seeks out his beloved Isidora.
We travel the next day to Irni, and then the following to Nescania. The Nicene church in Irni has been burnt to the ground in the past week, a sign we are entering into heretical territory. (Though, there was a single Nicene church in Nescania - being the last one before Malaca).
In Nescania, we plan our next steps. We will send Velito, BJ, Able and Merkel into Malaca to hire a boat. They will prepare it for our voyage to Septum and then send Able to get Fabius, Luigi, Lucky, Sister Justina, Isidora, Elena, and the marmalading Victor who will go straight to the docks and board the ship. BJ and Velito will sell the wagon, horses and donkey.
Will the plan work? Will the Nicenes keep out of trouble? Will we change our mind? Let's see next week…..
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