Brunvoldt 20 - Hunt's End

  I've come back to Brunvoldt after a 6 month hiatus and re-read all his existing entries ... So, now to pick up the story and continue ...

Brunvoldt awoke at dawn - something had roused him, what was it? A sound ... someone crying. Getting up, Brunvoldt quickly dressed and sought out the source. It was, as he had expected, Eindride the temple's acolyte. He had found her in the kitchen sitting at the table with her head in her hands, crying with the desperation of the hopeless. Wordlessly, Brunvoldt sat next to the young woman and put his arm around her shoulders. After a moment, Eindride moved her head to rest upon Brunvoldt's shoulder and her weeping gradually subsided. Eventually she stopped and pulled away from Brunvoldt who let her go without comment.

  "Thank you Sentinel," she said simply and began to prepare the breakfast. Feeling no need for words, Brunvoldt left her to it, returned to the guestroom and put on his armour.

When he returned to the kitchen, the food was obviously ready as Knud was sat at the table eating porridge. Bidding him good morning, Brunvoldt sat opposite, recieving with thanks his own porridge from Eindride as he did so.

  "I intend to go back to where we left the trail yester-eve," began Brunvoldt to Knud, "What will you do Knud?"
  "My men and I will do a short sweep of the woods closest to the village as we wait for definite instructions from Templemount," replied Knud between mouthfuls of porridge. "This is very good Eindride," he exclaimed to the acolyte, who smiled shyly.
  "Good luck my friend," said Knud as he rose from the table and left.

Brunvoldt finished his own food and left the Temple in search of Dag. He found the tracker by the gate waiting for Brunvoldt. They went to the stables to get Scar ready.

  I've reskinned the Starforged asset 'Support Vehicle: Rover' as Scar the riding bison, but I'm concerned that it's ovepowered. The asset ability is: "Your unarmed rover provides protected planetside transport. When you Undertake an Expedition or Set a Course, add +1. When you Finish an Expedition in your rover, you may reroll one challenge die"
  My concern comes from the fact that in a 'normal' Starforged game, the PC would make most journeys in their startship not their rover, so the asset would not have that big an impact. However, as Brunvoldt has no starship, this asset potentially effects all his journeys - thus making it too useful. So I'm going to change it to the Ironsworn asset 'Companion Mammoth', still reskinned as Scar, with the 1st ability: "Lumbering: When your mammoth travels with you as you Undertake a Journey an Expedition, you may add +2 but suffer -1 momentum (decide before rolling)"

When Scar was loaded, Dag and Brunvoldt exited the village heading back westwards to where they had left the trail last night. As they crossed the fields, Knud and his men could be seen to the south-west, just reaching the treeline beyond the fields. They soon reached the point where they'd left the trail Dag had been following the day before. He easily picked it up again and they continued after the Varou who had Gunnhildr.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Find Gunnhildr' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 connection (Dag) +2 Companion Mammoth; 5 +3 +1 +2 vs. 1 & 3 => strong hit => progress now 3/10, +1 momentum from Connection, -1 mom' (Mammoth) still +7
  All this travelling together seems like a good reason for Bunvoldt to Develop Your Relationship with Dag; progress now 3/10

Threading their way through the hills, the trio made good, uneventful, progress, but frustratingly, they found no evidence of Gunnhildr.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Find Gunnhildr' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 connection (Dag) +2 Companion Mammoth; 3 +3 +1 +2 vs. 3 & 7 => strong hit => progress now 6/10, +1 momentum from Connection, -1 mom' (Mammoth) still +7

As the day waxed and the sun rose high in the sky, the hunt gave nothing to the hunters. Their quarry, the small band of Varou and their hyenas that held Gunnhildr and Tarben (the other Warden) remained at least a day ahead of them.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Find Gunnhildr' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 connection (Dag) +2 Companion Mammoth; 6 +3 +1 +2 vs. 7 & 1 => strong hit => progress now 9/10, +1 momentum from Connection, -1 mom' (Mammoth) still +7
  Finish an Expedition: 'Find Gunnhildr' troublesome; progress 9 vs. 8 & 2 => strong hit, 1 tick on Discoveries
  But what do they find?
  Ask the Oracle: Are Gunnhildr & Tarben dead? (Almost certain) 75 => Yes
  Ask the Oracle: Are the Varou present? (50/50) 61 => No

Before much more time had passed though, the hunters found the dreadful evidence that they had been seeking, but hoped not to find ... The Varou had stopped in a small copse of trees and 'disposed' of their prisoners. Once more Brunvoldt, Magnus and Dag found the evidence of a Varou meal. The scraps of clothing were all that remained of Brunvoldt's friend ...

  Finish an Expedition: 'Find Gunnhildr' troublesome; progress 9 vs. 5 & 1 & 7 => strong hit => 1 tick Discoveries legacy
  Reach a Milestone: 'I will determine the fate of Priestess Gunnhildr and her escort', dangerous, progress now 8/10
  Sharing this horrible moment with Dag allows Brunvoldt to Develop Your Relationship with Dag, mark progress per rank => troublesome, prog. now 6/10

There were not even any bones to lay Gunnhildr and Tarben to rest - the Hyenas had seen to that...

Thoroughly depressed, Brunvoldt asked Dag to determine what way the Varou had departed while he prayed that Gunnhidlr and Tarben would begin their Final Journey with the guidance and blessing of Holy Vanth ...

  Firebrand: Gather fire +Spirit; 5 +5 vs. 8 & 6 => strong hit => +3 Fire, now +5 (max)

 

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Cerberon 06 - A Dead Ship 2

  I've realised that I have been playing Hayla as a connection - +1 on rolls associated with her expertise - rather than as a sidekick - reroll action die if value is less than sidekick’s health. Oops.

The shaft finished at the deck above,where there were three doorways; one opened into a smaller room with another doorway in the opposite wall and the other two opened into larger rooms. One had a raised circular dais and the other opened onto an area with tables, chairs and a smaller shaft.

Popping her head through the doorway, Janya saw that the smaller room was some kind of medical area as it held half-a-dozen beds with blank screens above them.

  "Shall we go up again?" asked Janya. "Assuming, of course that, that shaft over there is another elevator tube,"
  "Let's have a look shall we?" asked Hayla, and the drone drifted over to the smaller shaft.

Janya again brought up the drone's visual feed and confirmed it was another elevator shaft - at least it had an exit to another deck above. As she drifted over to the other shaft, Janya noticed that the tables and chairs were all fixed to the floor - explaining why they were still here. Actually, they weren't fixed to the floor - they were completely flush with it, as if they had been 'grown' out of it somehow ... not something that she had seen before ...

  "Hey Hayla," she said. "Look at this," and she pointed at the foot of a table.
  The drone came back from the shaft and pivoted to look at the bases of the tables and chairs. "Wow," said Hayla, "It's like they've grown out of the floor. You know what else?" she continued. "Whoever crewed this ship must've been about the same size as us - the tables, chairs and beds show that."
  "You're not wrong, not wrong at all," replied Janya, "But I've never even heard of a ship constructed like this - have you?"
  "No, I've not," answered Hayla.

Janya headed for the smaller shaft, entered it and, using her jets, drifted upwards accompanied by Hayla's drone.

At the top of the shaft, Janya came out into what could only be a combat information centre. There were what seemed to be crew terminals, although all the surfaces showed only the dulled mirror finish matching every other surface inside the ship. Two chairs in opposite corners surrounded by 'consoles' and a round table in a third corner were the room's furniture. Three doors led from the room - one to the assumed 'front' and two toward the stern.

  Undertake an Expedition: "Explore the Dead Ship" 'dangerous'; +Wits; 5 +3 vs 2 | 4 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 8/10

  "Let's find the cockpit," said Janya.
  "Why not?" answered Hayla, so human and drone headed toward the front end of the ship, through the door in that direction.

Passing through the doorway, Janya entered a corridor with a doorway at the end and two doors on each side. The first door on the left seemed to be an office, and the other a surprisingly human-style bathroom. The second pair held cylinders of some kind. What their purpose was neither sister knew - nor did they particularly want to find out. The strangeness of the ship's interior had unsettled them ...

Reaching the end of the short corridor, Hayla's drone floated through the door and found what could only be the ship's cockpit. As with the rest of the ship that they had seen, there was no evidence of crew or any of the detritus that you would expect on a ship - confirmation of their, joint, unspoken conclusion that the ship had sufferered an explosive decompression.

  Finish an Expedition: "Explore the Dead Ship"; progress 8 vs 6 | 5 => strong hit => mark two ticks (Dangerous expedition) on Discoveries legacy track

  "So what we have here," began Hayla, "is a ship of design and style that neither of us have ever heard of before, never mind seen. Apparently, it had an explosive decompression, leaving no evidence of the crew or their possessions."
  "I agree," agreed Janya, starting to retrace her 'steps' back to their ship. "What do we do about it?"
  "We don't have the resources - physical or financial - to exploit it," replied Hayla.
  "Unfortunate, but nevertheless true," agreed Janya again.
  "So, I guess, we sell it? Or, rather, the location that is ..." suggested Hayla, sounding uncertain.
  "Absolutely," said Janya, "Which only leaves the question - who to?"

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Cerberon 05 - A Dead Ship 1

It didn't take long for their cargo to arrive - apparently they really wanted those polymers - and it was soon stowed aboard. They lifted off at the earliest opportunity and laid in the course they had plotted.

  Undertake an Expedition: "Explore the Dead Ship" 'dangerous'; +Wits +1 sidekick pilot; 5 +3 +1 vs 7 | 3 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 2/10

As they had already jumped to the dead ship - to hedge their bets, they were rolling back on the assumption that it was a precursor ship now - they were able to get there in just one jump. They were too excited to sleep, so spent their downtime checking and rechecking Janya's gear and the drones that would accompany her piloted by Hayla.

The drones were of an old-fashioned quadcopter pattern - experience had shown that they were less susceptible to hi-tech jamming - and they would send two in with Janya. Of course, they would need an atmosphere to work, so they had a repulsor ball-shaped drone as back-up .

They spent the approach to the ship in the bridge, interrogating the sensors constantly trying to learn as much as they could about the ship. It was cruiser-sized and of a design as strange as its exterior finish - they'd never seen or, even heard of, a mirror finish like the one this ship had.

Images constructed from sensor data

As they approached, the sensors told them that the ship was rotating, very slowly, but it was rotating, which enabled them to get a complete sensor picture of its exterior. As well as the strange exterior, it seemed to have some kind of outrigger on its starboard side - perhaps it was an attached small craft of some kind? There was also a 'hole' on its port side near what they thought was the bottom of the ship. There was no sign of any exterior damage, so they believed that as the hole was door-shaped it must be an open airlock. They hoped they'd soon find out.

Finally, they were close enough for Hayla to maneouvre the Fegen close enough to match its rotation with their airlock close enough to the hole in the ship's side for Janya to EVA to it. She had already 'suited up' and was impatiently waiting for Hayla to finish the delicate task.

Janya in her suit

Janya's suit was an advanced environmental/vacuum suit that had cost them a pretty penny, but they had both agreed that it was worth it and now, on the verge of exploring a dead ship in the depths of space, Janya was very glad that they had.

Finally, Hayla's voice came over the intercom. "In place, Sis - off you go." Janya could see the target hole/doorway only about five metres away and she launched herself towards it, making minor corrections to her trajectory with her attitudinal jets.

  Explore a Waypoint: "Explore the Dead Ship"; +Wits; 4 +3 vs 7 | 7 => miss w. match burn momentum now +2 => strong hit w. opportunity => make a discovery; choose 'Lost or hidden people', mark 2 ticks on discoveries track, mark progress 4/10

Janya reached the hole and floated inside the ship. Her shoulder and head lights showed a cavernous space, that she couldn't see the far side of. She touched down and tried to engage her magnetic boots, but apparently there was no ferrous content in the deck as they had no effect. Her HUD readout confirmed there was no atmosphere inside the ship, as they suspected, so Janya released the repulsor ball drone she had brought. The feed from the drone would allow Hayla to have a VR experience of Janya's trip inside the dead ship.

There was nothing for Janya to get a grip on - unlike every ship that she'd ever been on, there was nothing protruding from the deck, walls or even the ceiling. Everything had the mirror finish like the outside, although here on the inside it was duller that the outside - not quite as reflective.

  "Are you seeing this Sis?" Janya asked, wonder in her voice and anxious to share it with Hayla.
  "I am," Hayla replied, "Can you believe it?" she asked, just as amazed by what they were seeing.
  "If someone had told me about this, I wouldn't, but we're here, so I have to!" Janya responded.
  "That looks like it might be an elevator in front of us," Hayla said, so Janya headed towards the circular wall in front of her.

Area of initial entry

The wall curled away to both sides and on its left front - as Janya looked at it - there was a doorway shaped gap. Floating up to it Janya could see there was another doorway on the other side through which she could see the other side of the ship. Apparently this circle was in the middle of the ship. Reaching it, she let Halya's drone go in first and briefly tapped into its visual feed. Looking they could see that there was a circular shaft going up to another floor. The drone came back out of the shaft and quickly did a circuit round the outside of the shaft. It was on the centre line of the ship as they had suspected. The space narrowed as it stretched away fore and aft, although they were not certain which way was which. The drone found walls that crossed the width of the ship in each direction. The wall closest to what they thought was the front had 3 doorways in it, while the wall in the other direction - toward what they believed were the engines - had only one doorway.

  Undertake an Expedition: "Explore the Dead Ship" 'dangerous'; +Wits; 6 +3 vs 6 | 4 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 6/10

  "D'you think all the doors on the ship are open, or can we only see open doors?" Janya asked.
  "How can we tell?" answered Hayla. "But given the complete lack of any stuff at all, I wouldn't be surprised if it had suffered a sudden decompression - all the open doors might've been the cause..."

With that suggestion floating in the air, Janya and the drone drifted into the shaft and began to go up, towards the next deck of the ship.

 

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Brunvoldt 19 - Firstmeet

  I'm downgrading the vow "I will determine the fate of Priestess Gunnhildr and her escort" from formidable to dangerous as I can't see how to fit 8 more milestones into the narrative; so, the current 2/10 progress becomes 4/10

Firstmeet area

  "Have we gained any time on them?" Brunvoldt asked Dag as they set out again, the tracker leading as usual.
  "Definitely," Dag replied. "They spent at least a day at that camp. I reckon we're not more than a day behind them now."
  "That's good news," Brunvoldt repsonded, "Praise Holy Vanth."

The trail continued north into the hills west of Firstmeet. Distantly, to their east, they could make out the fields of Firstmeet, but it was too far to see if anyone was in those fields.

Night would arrive fairly soon, and rather than camp in the wilds and risk an unprotected encounter with the Restless, Brunvoldt decided they would make for Firstmeet and the safety of its walls. Also, once there, they could report what they'd discovered and learn if there had been other incursions by Varou. So they turned east toward Firstmeet which they reached as dusk fell without incident.

  Ask the Oracle: Have the Varou attacked elsewhere? 50/50 <= 50 yes, roll 46

As they entered Firstmeet, they were met by Mayor Torgia - she had officially become the Mayor since Mayor Finnr had taken his Final Journey*.

  * - See Brunvoldt 03 - A Dying Man

  "Sentinel," the Mayor said as she approached. "You've not found our Priestess then?" she asked, seeking to confirm what her eyes told her.
  "Not Gunnhildr, no," replied Brunvoldt, "We found Aric, though." He did not elaborate and Torgia understood what that meant.
  "He was a good man - he will be missed," she said in a sad voice. "A caravan was attacked on the road here from Halfway earlier," she said. "The escort beat them off, but not without loss." She was leading Brunvoldt toward the stables where a bustle of men and animals were.
  "Dag, find yourself a bed and get some rest," he said to the tracker. "We'll be off again early in the morning."
  "Thank-you Sentinel," Dag replied, "I'll see to Scar and do just that." Taking the bison, he left Brunvoldt with Torgia.

One of the men in the group by the stables, dressed in the war-gear and mask of a Charun, seperated from them and approached Brunvoldt and Torgia.

  "Sentinel," he said bowing to Brunvoldt, who half-bowed in return. "Mayor," he said to Torgia nodding to her. "We lost two men - a carter and a Warden. We managed to recover the bodies and they are in the temple being prepared. I'm not sure how many Varou we got - I saw at least two go down, but we could not stay," he reported to them.
  "You did well Charun," praised Brunvoldt. "Getting through was the priority."
  "Thank-you Sentinel," replied the Charun, "That is what I believed and I'm glad to hear that you agree."
  "I'll make sure that the people of the caravan's needs are seen to," said Torgia, taking her leave.
  "Thank-you," called the Charun to her as walked away. "I would like to pray - would you join me?" he asked Brunvoldt.
  "I'd be delighted," said Brunvoldt and they walked to the temple.

Once they had prayed and given heartfelt thanks to Holy Vanth-the-Guide, they retired to Gunnhildr's office and turned to discussing the situation. Brunvoldt had grown up with the man who was currently Charun here - Knud - and they shared an easy friendship that dismissed any formality between them when alone.

  "We agree that the Varou are almost certainly working up to an attack on Firstmeet?" asked Knud.
  "That does seem to be the best scenario for their actions," agreed Brunvoldt. "In fact I don't see what else they could be up to."
  "If it was just raiding, I don't see why they attacked the Giants," argued Knud. "They could've bypassed them and not taken the losses they must have done taking them on."
  "Very true," agreed Brunvoldt once more. "So the question is, when? As we know, they are an impatient, impulsive, race, so definitely sooner rather than later. I'd guess the next couple of days."
  "I agree," Knud stated. "Of course, my men and I will stay here to help the Captain-Warden with the defence and I'll send a rook to Templemount for further aid."
  "There is nothing I'd like more than to fight at your side my friend," began Brunvoldt, "but I am Tasked to find our sister, Gunnhildr, or at the least what has become of her, which I'm sorry to say is more likely," he finished sadly.
  "After all this time?" asked Knud rhetorically. "I don't believe that there is any chance of finding her alive now."

  Reach a Milestone: "I will determine the fate of Priestess Gunnhildr and her escort", progress now 6/10
  Make a Connection: +Heart; 6 +3 vs. 8 & 6 => strong hit => Knud, 'troublesome', Charun
  Descriptors & Goal for Knud: Flexible, Honourable, Friendly; 'Gain fame and glory'

On that sad, but realistic note, the friends went for their evening meal and afterward Brunvoldt retired, while Knud went to his guard duty.

 

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Cerberon 04 - Landing

Precursor ship

Janya stared at the image constucted by the sensors on her screen. "Oh my!" she quietly gasped. What were the chances of dropping out of the Drift this close to a dead ship? and a precursor one at that? Well, chances be-damned, she wasn't about to share this with anyone but Hayla. Quickly connecting her personal datapad to the ship, she downloaded the dead vessel's location and all the sensor data there was. Once complete, she disconnected the datapad and instructed the ship to ignore the vessel until she or Hayla contradicted the order. Janya was very pleased with herself when the ship
disappeared from the sensors. The E-drive had automatically begun recycling while she had been busy, so she got up and went back to the lounge.

  Janya is too new as a courier to risk delay exploring this find now, but will come back here as soon as she can!

  "I have a confession to make Harrow," Janya said, as she entered the lounge. "I'm just as new at this Courier-thing as you are at being a Datacourier. I should have sworn on my shard to take you to Kalen's Folly and I didn't!" She sat at the table.
  "Let me rectify that now," she continued, "I swear upon this iron shard of an ancestor-ship that I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly."

  Swear an Iron Vow: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", troublesome; +Heart; 2 +2 vs. 1 | 3 => strong hit => +2 momentum now +10
  Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 3/10

  "I should have asked you to do that ..." said Harrow in a downcast voice. "Let's not bother anyone with such a minor detail, hey?" he finished, sharing a laugh with the sisters.

It wasn't long before Harrow retired, saying he'd been travelling for a while and was dead-tired. They let him go and Janya finally had the opportunity to share her discovery with Hayla. Somehow she had the patience to wait a whole five minutes after Harrow had left.

Hayla wanted to investigate the ship right now, saying that it might not be here when - or if - they came back, but eventually gave in to janya's argument that needed more time to investigate properly and it would definitely be better when no-one else was around.

They were still looking at the sensor data, trying to locate a possible entry point - although the distance to the ship meant the data did not have the resolution to identify an airlock - when the ping that announced the E-drive recycling had finished sounded. Leaving Hayla to supervise the jump and then keep the watch, Janya went to her cabin to get some needed shut-eye.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 2 +3 +1 vs 2 | 8 => weak hit => waypoint, progress now 6/10, Suffer Move: -2 momentum now +8
  Space Sighting (Terminus): Planetside settlement

The Edward Fegen jumped back to normal space and Hayla began monitoring the standard sensor sweeps the ship immediately began. "Hmmm," she hummed quietly to herself. They had, as expected, arrived in the Neoma system. Neoma City - a notoriously unco-operative settlement - was on the sole occupied planet (also unoriginally named after the system) and they sent a hail demanding that the Fegen submit to customs inspections. Eventually, Hayla was able to get them to admit that a Heralds' ship was exempt and as they were transiting the system, there was no need for inspection anyway.

She could have just ignored them and jumped as soon as the E-drive had recycled, but they didn't know if, or when, they might need to come back here, so a delay was worth not having a warrant out on them.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 3 +3 +1 vs 5 | 1 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 9/10
  Finish an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; progress 9 vs 4 | 5 => strong hit => 1 tick on Discoveries legacy track
  Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 6/10
  Make a Connection: with Severinus 'Harrow' Jemison; +Heart; 6 +2 vs 6 | 4 => strong hit => connection made, Datacourier, troublesome

Soon enough though, the final jump to the Sheraton system was behind them and they had begun the slog to the planet.

By now Janya and Harrow had returned to the bridge, while Hayla had taken her turn to sleep. Janya and Harrow chatted amiably as they gradually approached the ocean world, Nimbus, and the smoldering red star Sheraton, grew bigger and bigger in the bridge window.

They eventually reached the orbital path given to them by Nimbus-control and prepared their ship to land on the island where Kalen's Folly was. Kalen's Folly was - as settlements in Terminus went - small (its population was only in the hundreds) and so was its spaceport. Added to that fact that on Nimbus, islands moved about floating on the surface of the ocean, it all amounted to a challenging landing. Hayla was up for it, though, and looking forward to the test of her skill. They could have used the command pod to land, but the incessant rainfall and strong winds meant that the added mass of the entire ship made for a more stable and safer trip into the atmosphere.

Hayla had been running simulations for a couple of hours and was entirely confident that her skill would be up to the challenge.

  Secure an Advantage: expertise, +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 6 +3 +1 vs 5 | 9 => strong hit => +2 momentum now +10, +1 on next move
  Set a Course: +Supply +1 Sidekick Pilot +1 SaA; 1 +5 +1 +1 vs 7 | 7 => strong hit w. opportunity, +1 momentum now +10 (max)
  For the opportunity, lacking any inspiration, I'll mark progress on connection with Harrow for the shared experience, progress now 3/10

Hayla was definitely up to the test and made the landing with aplomb, putting the Fegen down exactly in the centre of their landing pad.

  Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 9/10
  Fulfill Your Vow: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", troublesome; progress 9 vs 5 | 7 => strong hit => 1 tick on Quests

Harrow had already packed his gear and, with promises to stay in touch, he was wished 'Safe Passage' by the sisters and he left the ship as the custom inspector came onboard. The inspector was delighted to see the polymers that Hayla had brought and gave her the contact details for a buyer. Hayla took them down and as soon as the inspector had departed, began her own enquiries, suspecting that the details were for whoever had paid off the inspector.

  Resupply: barter +Heart; 4 +2 vs 2 | 4 => strong hit => +2 Supply taken as Cargo now 3; Nimbus' projects were rolled as Agriculture, Hunting, so cargo found is food
  Is there a Heralds' job waiting for them? Ask the Oracle: Unlikely <= 25 yes, roll 86

To her surprise, Hayla found that the inspector had given her the details for the merchant making the best offer, so she accepted it and managed to fill their hold with preserved food harvested from the oceans of Nimbus.

While they waited for the cargo to be delivered, the sisters restored the data to the ship that Janya had deleted and removed her order to ignore the precursor ship. Then they made their plans and plotted a course to return to it, eager to learn what secrets it hid...

 

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Ceberon 03 - To Sheraton

Janya had only just finished making a pot of tea when the starship's doorbell rang. Answering the call revealed that the Datacourier they were expecting was just outside the airlock, with a glowcat on his shoulder. He was a wiry young man with Iron Herald guild tattoos on his face indicating his status as a guild-bonded datacourier. They were also an indication of the man's combat prowess. To be a guild Datacourier meant having the ability to protect the data that they carried. That the full power of the guild would be called down on anyone who harmed a Datacourier, meant nothing when someone was trying to stab you...

Part of the Edward Fegen

  "Thumb," said Hayla to the man after accessing the external comms. He obligingly placed a thumb on the sensor. The indicator light cycled red-orange-green and beeped satisfyingly, so Janya walked through to the airlock and opened it.

  "Welcome aboard Harrow," Janya greeted him, standing to the side and inviting him onboard.
  "Cerberon?" Harrow asked.
  "That's me," Janya replied, shaking the offered hand as he stepped through the 'lock.

Janya showed him through to the lounge and introduced him to Hayla, poured him a cuppa and then showed him the crew quarters where he would bunk for the trip.

As Harrow was situating himself, the cargo arrived and Hayla wheeled off to supervise its loading. Janya went through to the bridge to prepare the Edward Fegen for launch - they wanted to depart as soon as possible as neither had formed a good impression of Gloam Station. Earlier they had both agreed that its best look would be in the aft camera display.

While Janya was going through the pre-flight, Hayla wheeled in followed by Harrow.

  "I told him to join us, so put up the third seat willya?" she said. Janya did and Harrow sat down.
  "So when do we leave?" asked Harrow.
  "As soon as the pre-flights are done," replied Hayla.
  "So when are you going to introduce us?" Janya asked Harrow. He looked genuinely puzzled for a moment, then realisation dawned.
  "Oh sorry!" he said, "You mean Ilsit!" He reached up to his shoulder and took hold of the glowcat that was currently glowing a placid, gentle green. "I forget she's there sometimes. This is my friend Ilsit."
  The sisters both said "Hello Ilsit," gaining a loud purr in response.

The back-and-forth of the pre-flight checks followed until they were finished and the Edward Fegen backed out of the dock. Hayla engaged the main engines and they started the slog to the minimum safe distance necessary to engine the E-drive.

  "Let's go to the lounge and leave Feggie to make the distance, shall we?" said Janya.
  "Let's," replied Hayla, and Harrow got up indicating his agreement.

Back in the lounge the trio got to know each other. Harrow - he preferred it to his given name, Severinus - was also a newcomer to the Iron Heralds. He'd just finished his apprenticeship and was on his first solo run. He was very grateful for the friendly welcome the sisters had given him as he'd been very nervous, and they had put him at ease.

The alarm they'd set for when the distance was reached sounded and they returned to the bridge. Once there, they all buckled in for the first jump on the journey to Sheraton. "After all," as Hayla said to Harrow, "Better safe than sorry."

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 4 +3 +1 vs 6 | 7 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 3/10
  Space Sighting-Terminus: Precursor Vault, form: Vessel

The jump was as good as could be and they entered the Drift sliding along its mysterious Eidolon paths. Confirming everything was a-ok, they adjourned to the lounge again. This time Hayla got out her cards and proceeded to try and fleece Janya and Harrow. Janya was easy - Hayla knew all her tells, but Harrow was better than both of them and won most of the hands.

Janya had given up - she knew when she was beaten - and expecting the jump back to normal space had gone into the bridge so Hayla could carry on playing. They both knew that Hayla was the better pilot, but that didn't mean that Janya wasn't a good pilot and capable of supervising the jump back into normal space. But as they completed the jump into normal space, she saw what was on their sensors...

It was a dead ship floating in space, whose sensor data matched ... a precursor ship? It couldn't be, could it?
 

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Brunvoldt 18 - Following Tracks

The following morning Brunvoldt, Adalbjorg, Chandra and Dagmar (a servant/cart-driver) left Templemount. Dagmar drove the two wheel, four bison cart on which Adalbjorg and Chandra sat. Brunvoldt rode Scar with Magnus running alongside - both of whom seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the chance to run.

  Normally a journey to Halfway-House from Templemount would not need a roll as it's a heavily patrolled safe route. However, as the Varou are infiltrating the region, this time I'm going to
  Set a Course: +Supply +1 Scar (Rover); 3 +5 +1 vs. 10 & 7 => weak hit => arrive, -2 momentum now +8

They reached Halfway without incident, although it took longer than Brunvoldt would have liked. The bison pulling the cart had been mismatched and Dagmar had to stop, sort out the pairings and rehitch them, all of which took time that Brunvoldt resented losing. Gunnhildr had been missing for days, but that didn't mean that they could waste time without consequence.

At Halfway-House they found Dag waiting for them. He seemed eager to set off and was even more so when Brunvoldt explained to him the changed mission that they had been charged with. Brunvoldt sent Dag out to see if any of the tracks of the Hyena pack that had been chased off were still visible. Then he detailed Adalbjorg and Dagmar to stay at Halfway while he, Chandra and Dag went to find any trace of the missing people. They would carry a pair of the Halfway rooks to communicate speedily if needed.

As Dag searched, the others redistributed their supplies, loading Scar as a pack-bison. That done, Brundvoldt, Chandra, Scar and Magnus left Halfway to join Dag, who they found jogging towards them.

  "My lord," Dag began, but Brunvoldt interrupted him.
  "Just a minute Dag," he said, "While our lives are on the line together, I'll have none of this 'lord' nonsense. Call me Brunvoldt, or Sentinel - that goes for you too Chandra. I'm no more of a noble than either of you two." Chandra and Dag shared a glance, but Brunvoldt couldn't fathom its meaning.
  "As you wish," Dag resumed, "The Hyena left a trail that I can still follow even now. You must have scared them mightily as they paid no heed to what was in their way, just bulling their through everything in their way."
  "Then we'll follow it and pray to Vanth-the-Guide for Her blessing on our task," said Brunvoldt as they set off.

Brunvoldt was unsure if following the Hyena pack was the right choice. Logically, any Varou in this area - where they had not previously been - would all be connected. But that made the assumption that Varou were behind Gunnhildr's disappearance - something that had not yet been established. Still, at least to begin with, the Hyenas were paralleling the road to Firstmeet, so they might come across some evidence of what had happened to Gunhildr and her Wardens. Frightened as the animals had been, both Dag and Brunvoldt believed that they would have returned the way they had come. Hopefully the trail and place of disappearance would coincide.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Follow the Hyenas' trail' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 Scar (Rover); 3 +3 +1 vs. 10 & 3 => weak hit => waypoint, -2 momentum now +6, progress now 3/10

They followed the tracks and while they still paralleled the road, Dag followed in the woods while Brunvoldt, Chandra and the animals were on the road. Before they had gone too far though, Dag came running out of the woods pursued by something crashing through the trees behind him. "Boar!" shouted the tracker. Brunvoldt and Chandra readied themselves, but the boar did not appear, seemingly content with having chased Dag the interloper off of its territory.

They had to wait quite a while for the boar to return to its lair before Dag could resume following the trail. 'Another delay' Brunvoldt thought darkly - but there was nothing else to be done.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Follow the Hyenas' trail' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 Scar (Rover); 5 +3 +1 vs. 1 & 1 => strong hit w. opportunity => waypoint, progress now 6/10
  For the opportunity, Ask the Oracle: descriptor + focus => 39 & 68 => Exposed Remains
  Also, I'm going to Make a Connection: with Dag, tracker 'troublesome', progress 0/10

Firstmeet area

They had almost reached the point where the woods stopped and the fields of Firstmeet began - they could see the fields just through the trees ahead - when Dag called out, "Sentinel! Over here!" Brunvoldt and the others hurried into the woods to Dag's location.

Dag was standing by the remains of a pair of bison. From the harnesses and tack that were scattered over the area, it was apparent that they had been Gunnhildr's pack animals. They had been consumed where they lay - something that had obviously happened days ago. "Looks like the Hyenas started to eat them while they were atill alive ... I hate those animals ..." Dag said. Brunvoldt turned to Chandra.

  Reach a Milestone: "I will determine the fate of Priestess Gunnhildr and her escort", progress now 1/10

  "Go to Firstmeet," he instructed. "Tell them the Varou have abducted Gunnhildr and that she and the Wardens are likely dead by now and send rooks to Halfway and Templemount telling them this. If you see no further Varou-sign and believe you can, then join Adalbjorg at Halfway and wait there for further news from us." Chandra nodded and set off at a jog towards Firstmeet.

  "Anything else you can find?" Brunvoldt asked Dag.

  Gather Information: +Wits +1 connection Dag; 6 +3 +1 vs. 7 & 5 => strong hit => discovery, +2 momentum now +8

  After a few moments spent looking around, Dag picked something up - part of a human skull. "Yes, Brunvoldt," he said, willing to use Brunvoldt's name now they were alone. "At least one of them didn't survive the abduction. By the skin on this, it must have been one of the Wardens - I've seen Gunnhildr and her skin is much lighter than this." He held up his gruesome discovery for Brunvoldt to see.

Dag was correct. The skull must have belonged to Aric - one of Gunnhildr's Wardens, a 'large, dark-skinned man' was part of how he'd been described to Brunvoldt. Looking around, Brunvoldt found other parts of the skull. Gathering them, he put them together on the ground, knelt and pressed the blade of his sword against them. The he spoke the prayer, "Take your Final Journey and go to your rest. May Holy Vanth be your Guide onwards." He couldn't allow the Rising of Aric and the prayer, together with his Holy Sword, would prevent that.

  Standing, he asked Dag, "Still a trail you can follow?"
  "Yes," the tracker replied,"They went that way," and pointing westward along the treeline, led the way, bow at the ready. Brunvoldt followed, Magnus at his side, leading Scar, sword in hand.

  Undertake an Expedition: 'Follow the Hyenas' trail' troublesome; vigilantly +Wits +1 Scar (Rover) +1 connection Dag; 2 +3 +1 +1 vs. 8 & 3 => weak hit => waypoint, -2 momentum now +6, progress now 9/10
  Finish an Expedition: 'Follow the Hyenas' trail' troublesome; progress 9 vs. 8 & 5 => strong hit = > 1 tick on Discoveries legacy track
  Reach a Milestone: "I will determine the fate of Priestess Gunnhildr and her escort", progress now 2/10

They found the end of the Hyenas' trail after another hour or so. This was obviously where the Varou had been encamped, but they were there no longer. "What can you tell?" Brunvoldt asked Dag.

  Gather Information: +Wits +1 Connection Dag; 1 +3 +1 vs. 5 & 3 => weak hit => complication, +1 momentum now +7

  "Well ..." began Dag, reading what he could. "It looks like the Varou split. Most went that way toward the west. But a small group went north into the hills that lie to the west of Firstmeet." He bent over looking closely at some tracks, then took a few steps following them. "Yes, see here," he pointed, "There are bootprints - two sets that go with the smaller group."

  "Then that is who we follow," stated Brunvoldt.

 

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