They stand in the glow of the Damned Seer, a disembodied head and shoulder perpetually in flames. It told them that the future must occur as the stars demand it.
“The future must occur as the stars demand.” With an inhuman wheeze, the Damned Seer disintegrates into a pile of glowing embers. But the Knights are not alone, together they ride as a Company.
The Company
THE MOSS KNIGHT is Carver. Large, muscular, dripping dark hair.
THE AMBER KNIGHT is Prentis. Gaunt, worn, hungry-looking.
THE THUNDER KNIGHT is Bart. Boyish and loud.
“Remember your oath: Seek the Myths, Honour the Seers, Protect the Boreal Valley.”
Taxes, the end of Spring
he Company arrived in the Boreal Valley from the south and made for Woodsmoke. Above the horizon burned a green star, bright even in the light of day. There, they met the Envoy, Chider, and the Reliquary Knight, learning of famine and failed hunts. They learned, too, that the Forge Knight—ruler of the Ashen Forge—had withheld his taxes from the King.
The Company rode toward the star, but their path was barred by intense vibrations from a row of metal spires. Choosing the mountains instead, they met an archer named Araya looking for work. She spoke of the Ashen Forge and its perpetual white smoke, hoping for a war; instead, she was recruited as the Company Squire.
At sunset, at an abandoned outpost, a crew of hostile workers refused to let the Knights interfere with their labor. The Knights sent Araya to negotiate safe passage, and descended from the mountains into the tundra.
At night, the heavy steps of a Walking Tower woke the Knights. It guarded a metal spire, its base rooted deep underground according to the stones that spoke to Carver. Bart’s booming voice caused the tower to stumble and fall. The Knights seized the moment and charged on horseback, but the tower regained its feet before they could close the distance. They tried to trip it with rope, but Araya was injured in the attempt. Prentis rode ahead, blocking the tower’s path and holding his ground; he cleaved its legs from beneath it, and the tower fell.
From the fallen machine, the Company pulled a gelatinous figure and slaughtered it. It spoke only in wet flaps. Carver claimed its glowing star-spear, his spiral tattoos shining silver in its light.
The Knights tried to investigate the spire, but were driven back by the same painful vibrations. They turned their attention to the strange runes etched onto the Walking Tower, but could discern no meaning.
“If you are lost, seek the guidance of the Seer in the Ember Cavern”–the Damned Seer’s instructions felt more potent now than ever.
At first light, they rode toward the star, across the river and into the woods. The forest was a mess of tarnished metal jutting from the frozen ground. In a clearing, they saw twenty villagers from Woodsmoke being marched–hands bound–by three Walking Towers. Above them, the star’s glow turned from green to red, and it began its descent from the heavens.
Thoughts
I’m very excited about finally getting a Mythic Bastionland saga going. I ordered posters of my realm from Staples and it really made the exploration easier to have a huge, full color drawing of the realm in the centre of the table.
I printed one for each season, so the players can feel the passage of seasons as their Knights grow older. Stay tuned for further session recaps.
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