The party who slayed the foul gryphon went to Culemwardern on the northern shore of Ruis and a grand fete was held in their honor. They spent the day telling the story of the gryphon-slaying over and over, and finally met with Chief Cioran—under his leadership, the town is secular and has no religious affiliations. He presented the group with silver, most of which is given over to the flotilla. Also, we accidentally ruined a man’s political career.
Party
- Unhindered Procession (Matthew)
- Braga (Brendan)
- Piren (Nic)
- Galti (Mitch)
- Girom (Jim)
- Refereed by Danni
Intention
Chief Cioran of Culemwardern has offered a bounty for the slaying of the gryphon. We did that, so we should go to claim that bounty.
Summary
Arriving in Culemwardern
As we approached Culemwardern along the coast, a number of fishing boats cheered for us and began following us to town. By the time we arrived at the docks, we had accrued a small flotilla of followers.
Culemwardern is a large settlement, built with wooden palisades, and home to at least five-hundred people. A crowd assembled in the town to celebrate us, speaking primarily Ruis, with some Pictish and Brythonic as well. At the center of town, there is a hill, and on that hill a hall. The city guards led us inside warmly, and warmly we were received and plied with a great deal of alchohol and food. A wild boar was served in our honor.
We were greeted first by Earnan, the secretary of Chief Cioran. A bald man with a giant red mustache, he was very deferential to us until we finally broke the tension by thanking him. He joined us in drink and merriment, and helped us practice telling our tale.
The Very True Tale of How We Did Slay the Foul Brass-Winged Beast
“The hard days are over,” Chief Cioran told the hall when he arrived. “There are no crosses here, or symbols of the old world. We mighty do not bend or kneel. We trust ourselves, but fate has intervened by sending us true warriors. We toast you; we will fete and feast tonight. You will earn your bounty through a tale. But the future of Culemwardern has been secured, and you are our saviors.”
On our nineteenth time telling the tale—that day—we regaled the audience with the thrilling tale of how we pursued the gryphon after it killed a “key member” of our flotilla. It was largely due to the fine fisherfolk of the region that we were able to slay the gryphon. We told the story of the giant marlin, larger than our boat, and how it slayed over two score of our fellow warriors before we tamed it. Our forces decimated, we bravely carried on and brought it to the island, where the leviathan—and us along with is—was grabbed up greedily by the gryphon, and on the mountaintop we then slew it. Piren and Girom held fast the ropes, Procession and Galti made their spear blows, and finally Braga beheaded the beast.
There was some nuance lost in the translation, we think, but it was mostly easy to understand that we killed the beast, since we paraded its head around.
Cioran presented us with 1200 silver pieces. Each of the gryphon-slayers took 100sp for themselves, with the remaining 700sp going toward the flotilla’s coffers.
Cioran told us, among other things, that he might be able to escort us past Darlugdach’s blockade if things were a little more settled in Culemwardern—particularly, if his political rival Forgall would swear fealty to him.
The Next Day
In the somber morning of light, we enjoyed a more modest meal of chowder and salted meats. We spent some time among the markets spending some of our personal shares of the bounty, and then went to visit the home of Forgall, the political upstart who was vying for Cioran’s position. He and his received us very somberly, knowing he could not refuse or decry us, despite the bad turn we had unknowingly done to him. They offered us soup, and who are we to turn down a meal?
“We have slain the [dragon], and now we seek to slay the division in Culemwardern,” Procession told Forgall through Girom’s translations into Ruis. The matriarch took this poorly, and decried us for our actions, and for us acting with no knowledge of the land we adventured through.
After she left, Procession boasted that he would drive the druids from Cloyne. He invited Forgall to join him on this quest, to regain some honor and standing and to perhaps bring real security to Culemwardern. Forgall thought on this for a moment before telling Procession that if we went on that journey, he would accompany him.
We returned to the flotilla—our stomachs and purses full, and our heads swimming with mead and tales.
Boasts
Unhindered Procession
“I will drive the druids from Cloyne.”
Rumors
- Forgall, a local who was positioned as a political rival to Cioran, seems to be ruined politically. His primary claim was that he would be able to handle the gryphon better than Cioran, which is now a hopeless cause.
- Cloyne, a village to the southeast of Culemwardern (05, 08) was never harassed by the gryphon. There are rumors of foul druids who lay claim to that village.
- Orcs roam the interior forests of Ruis, though this was strongly disputed as they are more generally known to inhabit the Black Strath. The forests inland are generally regarded with a deep level of fear and suspicion.
- There is a fifth Count who commands a domain beneath the waters to the north. He is said to be the worst of all of them. You will know him by his skeletal hand, his sword made of flames, and his one-eyed owl familiar.
- The Pirate-Queen Darlugdach roams the Albann coast. Cioran does not seem especially concerned for the problems that plague Albann—there are plenty on Ruis.
- A bone-collecting ogre lives in a stone labyrinth nearby. However, the people of Culemwardern do not seem concerned, for so long as they do not interfere they are left alone. The ogre is known to trade bones for gold, silver, and other treasures.
- A council of seventeen (or was it seventy?) gnomes holds court in a miniature glittering city along the southern shore of Ruis. They are fond of travelers.
- On the western coast of Ruis, a man’s face was stolen by a beast—there is a bounty to return it to him.
- A road to the west takes travelers to the coast, which if you follow south leads to the city of Blulach. A city of nearly a thousand people, it is an old colonial outpost of Albann and Albannese culture.
- Among the many horrors that are said to lurk in the interior of the island, there is an unimaginably large beast, said to be as large as a city. We asked if this was a metaphor, but we didn’t get a clear answer.
Full Notes
- The weather is bad. (Heavy Rain) — this is day 14
- Thargol, thaaargol, thaaargol!
- we have some suspicions of our would-be lord, but there is maybe a sense that this is destined in some sense
- Arriving in Culemwardern
- on our approach, fisherfolk start to cheer us and start following—by the time we arrive, we head a mini-flotilla
- city guards speak ruis, pictish, brythonic
- crowds! large settlement, wooden palisades, at least 500 people live here
- hill and a hall on the hill at the center of town
- the hall is warm!!!!!!! there are servants setting the tables! we are offered seats, and there’s flagons and they are always well-filled
- Earnan — secretary to cioran. wears very fine chainmail, bald guy with a big red mustache. very deferential and helpful to us.
- we practice telling our tale
- Cioran — doesn’t appear to be positioned as highly as any of the counts pale, blond hair down to his ears. wearing fine mail and wields a giant two-handed axe. seems to be well-liked by his people. has a retinue, but doesn’t seem to have family. speaks ruis and switches to pictish for our benefit.
- “the hard days are over … there are no crosses here, or symbols of the old world. we mighty do not bend or kneel. we trust ourselves, but fate has intervened by sending us true warriors. we toast you, we will fete and feast tonight. you will earn your bounty through a tale. but the future of culemwardern has been secured, and you are our saviors.”
- The Tale We Tell — a “key member” of our flotilla was killed by the gryphon, as we sought vengeance and justice. we set off in a hunt because of this. the fisherfolk were key to our success in this hunt. the fish was VERY big. no, bigger. we were a team of 50 people—45 of them were killed not even by the gryphon! no, the giant marlin took their lives! and we bravely carried on to slay the beast. pirem and girom held fast the ropes, procession and galti made blows with spears, and braga made the killing blow with the axe
- our bounty: 1200 silver pieces
- we each take 100sp, we give 700sp to the coffers of the flotilla
- some things in the neighborhood
- Darlugdach — pirate queen who roams between south of albann. that’s albann shit, not really cioran’s primary concern.
- druidic village seems to have not been plagued by the gryphon. Cloyne (05, 08)
- forgall — a local positioning themselves as a rival to cioran. perhaps seen as a “true ruis”
- the bone-collecting ogre lives in a stone labyrinth
- many rumors about the interior forest—orcs (people say the black strath is where they are instead)
- western coast of ruis: a man whose face was stolen by a beast. there’s a bounty to return his face!
- there’s a road to the west that has bad vibes. the city of blulach (southeastern part of the island. maybe ~1000 people. old colonial outpost of albann and albanese culture)
- an unimaginably large beast the size of a city roams the interior
- The Next Day
- we go shopping (we’ll do this in-between sessions)
- we go visit forgall on the western side of the settlement
- “we have slain the dragon, and now we seek to slay the division in culemwardern” → the old lady is very displeased. she says forgall is the rightful heir, and the druids are an heir.
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