Under the Black Flag

 

Seeing no real leads on learning more about the cult of YGSÐÐ, the group decide to simply leave the city.

With a muledrawn cart they ambled Knorth, the city’s local fields abuzz with summer work all in preparation for winter. Passing through the village of Yad Uzov, they find themselves surrounded by the exiles of Ux Qorath, mutants all bearing some felinoid traits.

Amyl inquired if there are any problems that a group of heavily armed people could solve, a villager with one human and one cat eye mentioned brigands to the Knorth.

“How much would you be willing to pay for that problem to be solved?”

“We don’t have anything to pay” responded the villager “but you bring their leader’s head to Ux Qorath? That appeals you to the nobility”

“I see.”

Following the road through the woods and out into more Üvian grassland. The unsetting summer sun provided no shade as their bodies all began to tire. Camp was set up and they began preparing to set up camp.

400 yard away Jezebel the owl spotted something, a group of 19 men on horseback. Mekinmini alerts the group. Caulder and Roddy went into hiding. Caulder got his crossbow ready, Roddy simply cowered.

At 300 yards the owl could make out the men waving massive black flags. Their minds raced, black martian nomads that they were sure of.

200 yards, they were certainly coming directly at them.

100 yards, they could hear them howling like wolves.

Drash began to howl back, Mekinimini placed her hand tentatively on the hilt of her sword.

The man with the biggest banner saw drash, pointing and howling even louder.

They were upon them and the bannerlord said pointed to his man and said “Eet, get him wine! Get him Wine!”

Chants for wine got louder and louder, Mekinimini took her hand from her sword and joined in the chanting.

Drax graciously chugged a flask of wine and soon the merriment all broke out. The group of black martians were riding high, they had just beaten a rival horsegang in a match of cabber toss and could not be happier.

Caulder and Roddy came out of hiding, with Mekinimini making sure to tease the muranian “You can stop pooping your pants.”

Bread broke, wine was shared freely alongside bacon and cheese. It was a good and jolly night.

Towards the end Amyl started probing “Heard anything about the brigands?”

The bannerlord, suppressing a winetinged burp, replied “Yes I think I have, a Yptrian fellow, Zssath the Exsanguinator, he’s raising an army”

“How many men, are we talking 20 or 400?”

“200 probably.”

“Hmm… then tell me, is there any treasure to be had here?”

“Oh well there’s the tomb.”

“The tomb?

“Yeah the… what’s it’s called, the python’s tomb, yes the python’s tomb!”

“Where’s that?”

“Near the village of Azoth, Eest of Wrath’s peak!”

“How far away?”

“Oh about five days or so, you are following the road right? Well follow the road knorth to Udothir, follow the river south, and then you will find yourself near Azoth and near python’s tomb”

The bannerlord soon found himself dozing off, as the rest of his men had.