Game Night Tales from around the gaming table

 

Captain's Log:  [Date (91 days into game)]

 

126 days without incident.

 

Town Of Winterbone.

 

We had to leave the Rose far from town as the winds are apparently too treacherous for smaller airships.  So we had to take a boat into town.  Only Sari, with her Fire powers, and Orn, with his Armour, could stand the cold enough to go where Ly'xian physique made it easy.  From there, we were told to go to the Tailbone Tavern where we could get a guide to head up into the mountainous cliffs that caused the winds.  It seems that Magnus had gone up there alone.  It was good that the rest had stayed on the Rose.

 

Always the entrepreneur, my brother, disguised as a Ly'xi, bartered with the Tavern master for a load of mixed barrels of the local brews, to be delivered to the Rose.  Soon afterward our guide was hired and up into the mountain passes we climbed.  But our guide would take us only so far; it seems that where Magnus went was considered cursed, and so the last leg of the journey was up to us to track him.  Luckily his path was easy enough in the deep snow.

 

We found a boarded-up entrance that Magnus had cut through.  We followed the tunnels into the mountain where we found a natural antechamber with an enormous golden Avian statue.  It was obvious that someone had tried to destroy it, but somehow it remained unscathed.  Upon inspection, it was also covered in ancient writings similar to the ones on our Avian Blue Shard.  For some reason, I could read some of it and it talked about the 3 other tunnels leading deeper into the mountain.  I translated it as the right tunnel led to worship, the centre was to the mountain of Haven and the left was to something important: something to save us all.  Scrawled in front of the central tunnel was a warning to stay away from Haven in blood.  The last thing I could read was a Prayer of Protection by Leif that encircled the entire base of the statue.

 

We followed Magnus' trail down the left tunnel; there we found a destroyed throne room.  Barely did we avoid a horrible incident with either Magnus or us wounded or worse, as we surprised one another.  He was going through the wreckage, looking for that something to save us all.  We assisted him, as only he and I seemed to be able to read the writings, which were in ancient Avian.

 

After hours of searching we found what we thought might be the answers.  In a small ancient tome was written:  "There are 4 citadels around the world that hold the sacred keys," and after were symbols that Magnus deciphered as 4 positions.  We found a landmark based sky map as well and, with my newly acquired Ly'xian map, we determined that the citadels were located in Westport, Haven, Arcadia and somewhere deep in the S'scal deserts to the south.  The last thing in the tome was the phrase: "When the keys are united, the world will shine again."

 

I collected a few other items that looked too important to leave behind.  The walls were also covered in runes, so I spent as much time as I could writing them down in my journal, so that I could translate them later.  Magnus needed to head back to retrieve his crew and ready his ship for the return home.  We had time and recovered so much here, that we decided to check out the right tunnel.

 

I wish we hadn't.

 

It was obviously a temple to Leif, but within it was a mass grave.  The Avians must have retreated here, only to have their killers follow them.  We were all horrified by the sheer brutality of it.  The temple was covered in almost mummified corpses, which only made it easier to see how they died.

 

I don't know what compelled me, but I counted the dead, each and every one.  Their corpses etched into my memories forever, all 174 of them.  The 42 children were the hardest, their small mangled forms filled me with a rage I had never felt before.  Then and there I swore that I would seek vengeance for their murders, every last one of them.

 

Clutched in the hand of one of the dead, we found proof, in the form of written orders and a dead guardsman that the Blacktails had ordered and carried out the murder of every Avian within Winterbone.

 

I will make this Ly'xi clan pay for this atrocity!

 

There were too many dead for anything but a funeral pyre, so we used was little we had and torched the bodies where they lay within the temple.  We stood there and Leif's Prayer of Protection floated softly from my lips.  Then, as if a massive weight was lifted, there was a gentle sigh and a momentary whiff of fresh spring air.

 

We left then, leaving the bodies to be consumed by the purifying fire.

 

As if Leif gave us a gift, we were ambushed by Blacktails and Imperials when we left the tunnels.  The three of us slaughtered over a dozen of them and then we discovered their corvette parked nearby.  The ghosts of the dead fuelled our attacks and soon the entire corvette was ours.  The only one to survive was an Imperial, who announced himself as General Kelv and as he started some kind of monologue as he walked down the mast from the crow's nest.  Orn tore the mast from the ship, only to watch him fly off it in a cone of fire, he was an Imperial Fire Tempest!  Orn roared and whipped the mast at him, it connected and somehow he survived and flew off.  The first smart Imperial we've met.

 

Final tally: 19 Blacktails and 34 Imperials.

 

We took their ship, rechristened it "Leif's Vengeance" to honour the dead, and decided to fly it and our evidence back to Winterbone and have the Blacktail clan punished for their genocide.

 

Depending on how one looks at it, it was fortunate that Magnus intercepted us before we got back to town.  He convinced us to give him the damning evidence against the Blacktails and take no further action.  He also wanted us to bring him back to Westport on the Rose with all possible speed, so we bypassed the town, returned to the Rose and left our new ship in the hands of his crew to return it for us.

 

Captain's Log:  [Date (110 days into game)]

 

145 days without incident.

 

East side of Spike Pass.

 

We made the return trip in a mere 19 days, most likely another record set, but it doesn't seem to hold the same appeal that it once did.

 

Captain's Log:  [Date (112 days into game)]

 

147 days without incident.

 

Westport City.

 

We have returned to Westport only to find it in ruins.  The pirates had attacked while we were gone, with Tornadoes!  After much worry we determine that the only Friend that was injured was Alex.  It appears that the 1st Mate of the Pirates won the fight just before being forced to retreat by city reinforcements.

 

For some reason we also found ourselves visiting the Old Avian seamstress.  She seemed to know that we were coming, as she had gifts for each of us, mine was a Golden Leif broach.  I'm not sure why but as we left her shop, I looked back just as we rounded a corner that would hide it from sight and saw it fade away, only to be replaced by another building, wrecked and abandoned.  Was she some Aspect of Leif?  Were the gifts empowered by Leif?  I must investigate that as well; everything lately seems to be revolving around Her these days.

 

But first the Pirates need to be punished for this affront; we have learned that the 2nd Mate was in the port of Anarchy.  He was called Longshot Blacktail.  He will have no quarter, the pirates and his clan need to pay!

 

Captain's Log:  [Date (113 days into game)]

 

148 days without incident.

 

The Port of Anarchy.

 

We arrived at the high sun, with the Mapledown Hunter not far behind us.  She was there to watch and make sure no other ships interfered with what we had to do.

 

We sailed forth to announce our challenge.  A cruiser came floating up towards us with dozens of other ships, both big and small.  Perhaps this would be the day we fell, but no matter what, the 2nd mate would be coming with us!

 

The "Sheriff" parlayed with us and when we told him that we were here to "Call Out" Longshot, he signalled the port and a solitary cruiser rose up to greet us.  It was one of the few rules that this mostly lawless place abided by.

 

Longshot fired some kind of acidic shot from a sniper rifle, which missed its mark and sizzled on the ship's wheel.

 

The world went red and I yelled "Fire."

 

The nose-mounted Lightning gun and twin Gatling guns roared to life as I slammed the trigger; Orn launched an Ornball and Sari flung streams of sun fire.

 

Longshot, his men and the entire cruiser vanished inside a ball of fire and lightning.  Then there were sounds of engines exploding.  After that there was nothing but the quiet sounds of crackling fire and black smoke, as what was left of them tumbled to the earth below.

 

The colours of the world returned and into that silence I warned the port of Anarchy that this was what befell any pirates that would dare to interfere with the Sapphire Rose, her crew, or Westport city.

 

I turned our back to the port, collected the still in-shock Mapledown Hunter and returned to Westport.

 

There was a pain in my chest the entire voyage home.  I had never done that before.  Sure I had killed before, but never like that.  It had always been in defense or for food.  I had never slaughtered so many, all for vengeance and to make a point.

 

I am changing, but is it for the better?  Maybe this is growing up.  If so, I don't want it.