Wolves Upon the Coast - Session #3
Once again we prepare the Brimuxi and its crew for adventure as we play through Luke Gearing’s Wolves Upon the Coast! You can catch up on our previous session’s recap here. Our system of choice is T. Thomas Giant’s As Above, So Below, an OSR hack inspired primarily by Cairn and Into the Odd.
The Crew of the Brimuxi
Gripard the Near-Sighted - Hails from Faroe. He willingly signed on to Snori the Craven’s crew to avoid starvation. Understands some arcane secrets.
Gull the Wanderer - Hails from Ruislip, in the northwest. He is of humble stock, but his kin did not appreciate his talents. Their parting of ways was mutual, but it wasn’t long before he was captured by the Norse.
Haoelkbaeolker “Bulkor” the Foul - Hails from Littitie. Also called Bulkor, he was banished by his kin for being a general nuisance and ass. It is a wonder we haven’t killed him ourselves.
Lurg Who-Laughs-At-Death - Hails from Littitie, a faraway and distant land. A proud, barbarian warrior - he is slow to trust others, including members of the Brimuxi’s crew. He has earned a new title thanks to his courage in the face of a horde of reanimated skeleton warriors.
Pádraig the Skald - Hails from Mar, a coastal land to the east of the North Sea. He was betrayed by his mentor, who grew jealous of Pádraig's growing popularity amongst their kin, and sold to the Norse as a galley slave.
The Third Voyage
The Brimuxi and her crew found themselves at a crossroads: Lurg had spied a tent along the shore, around which were well-armed dog-like creatures (as described to us by Lurg Who-Laughs-At-Death) and not far from this strange camp was an eldritch tree heavy with foul magicks. Lurg described something akin to a witch by the tree, but I believe it is mere Littitian superstition. I cast my stones and Rúna, Vegir, and Daudi told me that we must act quickly to disrupt our enemies and that remaining indecisive would be our deaths. Before I finished reading the message, Gull the Wanderer suggested we sail to the tent. Sensing that our captain was becoming more comfortable leading, I quickly joined in, stating “I wish to speak with these dogmen.”
We brought the ship in cautiously, not wanting to give these strange creatures the wrong impression as to our intentions. Gripard the Near-Sighted strode toward their camp once we were settled, speaking what I assumed were greetings in different tongues, but the strangers did not speak. As we closed the distance it became clear that they are not dogmen, but regular men covered in a white powder and strange runes. I resolved to speak with Lurg later so that he might be more clear with his descriptions in the future. Not knowing who these strange men were, I asked Ermelandus of the Christian Court of King Roderik what he knew of these people and he was unable to provide any knowledge.
As we got closer three of these men - naked as babes, all - approached with wicked short blades in hand. I noticed they had large quivers of javelins on their back as well. I planted my spear point first in the sand and my companions followed suit, lowering their own weapons as a show of peace. Seemingly satisfied, two of the warriors stepped aside and the third began walking back to their camp. I grabbed my weapon once again, but the two warriors went for their blades again, so I left the spear in the ground and fell in line before Gripard. We followed this third man until we arrived at a tent, at which point we enter.
Dominating the center of the tent was a large fire feeding upon human bones in a bronze bowl, attended by a hag woman wearing a skull mask who has seen many winters. To be true, the entire tent gave me an ill feeling. I didn’t want to remain in this room, but I recognize a speaker of the gods when I see one. She began speaking, at which point we all looked to Gripard for understanding. Ever clever, our translator made sure we understood her words. She made it clear that she does not bite, so I responded with my own toothy grin to indicate that I did not possess such restraint. In a battle one uses all weapons at their disposal.
She and Gripard exchanged words, with our companion indicating that we were seeking Ruislip, to which she responded that we are lost wanderers who don’t even know what they seek. Tiring of her roundabout way of speaking, I muttered to Gripard in Maryn that “cryptic words often bely empty thoughts.” The Near-Sighted one and I shared a laugh before we finally asked the witch for her name, which was Edicia. It quickly became apparent that she wanted our aid in some task, so Gripard asked her directly if we could be of assistance. Without further explanation Edicia offered us bread and sausages flavors with exotic spices, which Bulkor, Gripard, and I readily accepted while Gull and Lurg abstained. Among my people an offering of a meal by a host is a sign of good faith.
Edicia told us she seeks idols from a wreck along the shore to the north of her people’s camp. In exchange for these idols, Gripard negotiated a favor from the witch (later I learned that he misinterpreted my statement of “A favor offered is a favor owed,” which I had said in reference to the meal she gave us). These idols were warded by foul spirits - revenants of the ship’s lost crew possessing the bodies of more recent dead. Upon hearing about this, Gull gave me orders to brandish the banner I had taken from the ruined fort where the dead rose up to attack us. Upon seeing the banner Edicia grew visibly worried, asking where we obtain such a thing and when. We spoke honestly, letting her know we plundered it but a few days ago. She told us the banner was cursed and began telling us about its history only to be interrupted by Gull, who shushed her before producing his magic salt and sprinkled it upon the banner.
The magic dispelled, we inquired as to who may wish to purchase it from us, to which Edicia mentioned the Romans of Paiora. Gull also asked about the locations of salt from a dead sea, as he had (in my view) foolishly wasted it upon the banner. She directed us to Cnivian Kingdom where one might find an occultist or we can seek out the Imam Umar in Gualta, the capital of the Cnivian Kingdom.
The strange business with the banner resolved, Edicia returned her attention to the quest she wished to bestow upon us. After some prodding we agreed to return these items to her, although Gripard spent much time inquiring as to the witch’s desire to possess them. The witch did not seem to appreciate our comrade’s lack of trust and coyly informed us that a woman should be allowed to keep her secrets before changing the subject. We prepared to leave when the winds outside picked up - a warning from Daudi the Faceless. Not wanting to brave an army of the dead with such ill portent we decided to seek the bounty of the sea to refill our larders for the coming days.
Before we could settle into a good day of fishing we were disturbed by a strange dogman, this one actually canine in appearance! It launched a sling stone at Gull, who decided to approach it with his hands raised in an attempt to pacify it. I, in turn, raised my shield. Rocks may be humble weapons, but they kill all the same. More creatures peered out from behind the dune as Gull closed the gap, each of them yipping at one another in what I assume is their tongue. The creature did not like Gull’s plan and jabbed and feinted at him with their javelins, finally attacking. Gull retreated while Bulkor the Foul and I charged, screaming and banging our weapons against our shields to drive them off. The cowardly creatures fled, but quickly retook their dune as we fell back to our fishing area.
Gripard ran to the camp to fetch the warriors, who Edicia had promised would give their lives for us if so needed. With our reinforcements at hand we charge the dogmen’s dune. The creatures see our allies and flee, but we gave pursuit and gained on them. I struck a straggler with my spear, bringing the beastie low. As the remaining creatures continued to run I picked up the fallen dogman, who in truth was no bigger than a small child, and presented it to Gull. Our captain was disgusted by the appearance of the creature up close and moved to kill it, but I stayed his hand. Gull demanded the creature’s sling, but as its captor I laid claim to its possessions and as such demanded a trade. Bulkor egged us both on, but in the end the captain offered me his mirror in exchange for the sling - a bargain I quickly accepted.
I tended to the creature’s wounds and returned to the ship to gather rope and bind its hands and feet. Satisfied with my handiwork, I resumed my initial task and fished for much of the day, occasionally checking on my captive. I am unsure what this creature is called and it would not give me its name, so I called it “Fiskr.” As the sun began to sank beneath the horizon we returned to our ship to rest. Our oarsmen kept watch and it seemed that Fiskr’s kin were not interested in mounting a rescue. Unsurprisingly Fiskr was not overly friendly in the morning and did not take well to the sea as we set off to recover the witch’s idols with a new “crew member” in tow.
But I will spin the tale of what happened next another day!
