Runequest - The Coming Storm - Episode 13

The adventurers volunteer to fight the Telmori. Wando however, is against this and gives an incredible and moving speech convincing most not to help. At the Red Cow, a clan hostage is brought forth - he is a descendant of Sartar but had been kept as a hostage for the Telmori to keep the peace - his life forfeit if they broke the truce.

He is about to be executed when, as he is reciting his lineage, and enormous snake appears. Krolar immediately recognises the sanke as a spirit and charges in with his iron sword. Others join in - one thane is swallowed whole. Wando also senses it is a sacred snake, holy to Esrolia. They kill the snake, inspired by their loyalty to the clan. But the hostage had fled while the battle was joined - but he is quickly found - he had fallen into a hole and broken his leg. Instead of the quick death he was to have, he is killed slowly and painfully. 

Hopi and Kerolar join the army, one of the few score Red Cow fighters joining the battle. The Telmori are driven off from Stonefort, but at the cost of many lives on both sides. 

That ends the year 1620. The adventurers rest and recover. Kerolar teaches the others spirit magic spells (part of his shamanic abilities). They see through the sacred time and wonder what the new year will bring...

Runequest - The Coming Storm - Episode 12

The group are clearly outnumbered by the Telmori, and are already badly wounded and depleted of magic. Kerolar calls on Kolat to bring forth the ancestors of the Red Cow clan - and he succeeds! His fetch is drained of POW and a dozen ghostly warriors rise up and fall on the Telmori. Most are killed but a few run away. The ancestors, enraged by the Telmori betrayal, pursue them into their lands. The adventurers follow them, liberating a couple more mules along the way. Kerolar heals Borngold and drags him to the shore of the river. 

They arrive on a ridge wgere they can see over a large wooded valley - and there they see about 800 Telmori assembled, and watch as Black Paws hands over the remaining mules to a figure with no eyes and no shadow - this is obviously Jokar Sog, the Telmori shaman. It looks like a Telmori army has assembled here to attack - someone. 

They return to Red Cow fort. They relate the news to Chief Brodi, who takes back the treasure but rewards them all with a gold spiral bracelet and a horse each. The warriors take turns boasting about their achievements. Kerolar is recognised for his act of magic. 

Heroloran tries to find Frakor's family - Frakor was killed in the fight - and asks if he can retain the sword he used during the battle. They agree. It is a generous gift. 

It seems obvious from the position of the Telmori army that they are poised to take back the Wolflands, and attack the settlements of Jomas Horstalor, a Lunar lord who was granted the lands from the Telmori. There is much debate about whether to help or even warn Jomas - he is a Lunar after all. This could be a chance to weaken two foes at once. After a long debate, in typical Orlanthi style, they decide to warn jomas, but not to help. Kerolar seeks out the queen and tells her they will undertake this mission, and she rewards him with the genrous gift of an iron sword, which he names 'Ironsword'. 

They ride tot eh wolflands until they are met by some riders from a local stead, lead by hiord the tall. They explain the situation to them, and they take them to a nearby hall. Jomas is away in Tarsh currently, but they immediately begin preparing for wall - building up defences, calling up the army, etc. The adventurers argue over whether they should stay or not but decide to return to Red Cow Fort as originally agreed after a heated oration in front of the Lunar settlers. It was such a heated debate it became known as one of the three great Debates of Stonegate. 

They return to Red Cow fort and word reaches them that Stonegate has fallen, after bitter fighting, to the Telmori. They wonder whether they might have changed the tide.

Back at the fort the clan ring is assembling for war - all expect that the Telmori will attack them next....

Runequest - The Coming Storm - Episode 11

As soon as the children are safe, Borngold takes control. Warriors take up their weapons and race into the woods to pursue the Telmori. They shoot arrows at the tailmost but most get away - a single Telmori is killed. Kerolar goes into a trance and one after another possesses two of the Telmori muleskinners and leads the mules away, tying them to a tree, leading the muleskinners away, and then releasing them. 

The others manage to ambush a group of Telmori and capture a couple more mules. They see a group of Telmori and, now joined by Kerolar, rush at them, but they retreat up ropes up a low cliff and rain arrows down on the heroes. Typically, the adventurers use the tactic 'full frontal assault', climb up the ladders and get shot badly but drive off or kill the Telmori. Wando heals Kerolar, who is nearly out of magic points. 

As they clamber back down the cliff, they hear the clash of swords. They rush towards the noise - it takes them to the river, the boundary of the Red Cow lands. It looks like a number of Telmori warriors have ambushed Borngold and a couple of the other, more aggressive, pursuers of the Telmori. As they watch, Borngold is struck, and falls, face down in the water...

Runequest - The Coming Storm - Episode 10

The heroes, to recap, are thanes of the Red Cow clan. Haroloran, Wando the Wizard Wobbler (famed seducer), Hopi, and Kerolar Hawkwind, a shaman.

Haroloran is at Red Cow fort, talking withOrandal son of Falban and Oraniere Horsetracker.In the evening they hear howling - it seems the Telmori are howling for Kostajor Wolf Champion, a Telmore descendant of Sartar, who was killed by a giant snake.

Word comes that Ashart Duskeater, fugitive Priest of Orlanth, has secretly returned to Red Cow lands, after being ejected from his hiding place in Telmori lands as the Telmore blame him for the death of Kostajor.

Brodi, the chief, summons the adventurers to his court. There are a number of the clan ring assembled, along with Farandar Orandalson, a rebel sympathiser, Kalina the Fat (apparently the Red cow are big on body-shaming), and Borngold Many-brothers, a Heler worshiper with red hair and blue skin.

Apparently the issue is that Black Paws, the son of Kostajor, has sent a ransom note. He has kidnapped 18 children from the Green Meadow stead and are demanding ransom. Dana Longcoat insisist the ransom be paid - 16 donkeys laden with treasure. The others want revenge, and to ensure the Telmori pay for this crime.

Kerolar tries to argue in defense of the Telmori, but is just ignored - he is no great orator. Brodi asks Haroloran to lead the expedition. Dana Longcoat takes him aside and asks him to ensure that, whatever else, the children are kept safe.

The group try to find Ashart to try and learn more about what is happening with the Telmori - kidnapping children is out of character for them. They manage to find him hiding at a nearby highland stead. Ashart thinks Black Paws was generally a good guy. He has no idea what happened with kostajor's death. He seems to think that a powerful blind Telmori Shaman, Jokar Sog, is behind the trouble. 

A further note is received - they have to meet the Telmori with the ransom at Two Crowns in two days. Dana Longcoat invites Wando to dinner - she wants to ensure that the children are rescued. She gifts Wando with an iron sword - called Wolfbiter. Borngold finds Haroloran and Wando and tells them that he should be in charge of the expedition - in order to get revenge on the Telmori.

Then Farandar finds them and tells them that they shouldn't stir up trouble with the Telmori, and that they should keep the  treaties of Sartar.

Meanwhole Kerolar uses the night time to go into a trance and travel through the spirit realm to the Telmori. He possesses a wolf within the Telmori clan caves. It is late but he can see that they are sharpening their weapons and preparing for an expedition.

The next morning they set off, with 16 mules laden with wealth and coins. A significant portion of the clans wealth. They head out. Borngold argues with Wando, who has now maneuvered to be in charge of the expedition. They agree that once the children are secured, Borngold will be in charge of the expedition to take revenge on the the Telmori.

Kerolar uses his Hawk familiar, Hudson, to scout the area - they see a spy archer hiding in the woods. Black Paws shows up and they challenge him on the spy - he at first denies it, but then whistles like a bird and the archer retreats. They begin the exchange - the children are brought out one by one and exchanged for the treasure. Then Black Paws warns them not to pursue him and retreats with the last of the ponies into the woods... 

The Ultraviolet Grasslands Episode 16: I Believe In a Thing Called Love

The group heads towards the forest of meat. As they aproach, the foliage turns slowly over time into more menacing, carnivorous looking plants and trees, and their initial optimism of ripe steaks hanging from tree branches starts to evaporate.

They camp within a sinister whispering glade, and late at night they hear a roaring and crashing - an enormous carnivorous Baobab tree crashes towards them. They leave a horse behind to distract the creature and flee while it gorges itself on the poor creature. Renko is slowed down by his porcelain armour and quickly peels himself out of it as they flee into the night.

By dawn they reassess their position and supplies. It is obvious there is very little to forage here and they are running desperately low on supplies. They decide collectively that they are very disappointed in the forest of meat.

They push through and finally the fetid dripping wood thins out and they find themselves on the other side and fare ahead they can see the great black sea, and on the shore of it, the Black City. Scattered all over the landscape are deep black cubes, of varying sizes from human sized to enormous Stonehenge like monoliths. As they come over a rise they see, flanked by giant monoliths, two black knights guarding the path. They weild jet black swords adorned with stars. Beyond them they can see the black sea and on the edge of that the Black City - set above the city are seven great mirrors, or perhaps portals, sitting in the sky about half a kilometer in the air. Within them there can only be seen black stars set into an endless void. On the ground by the shore are set seven great monoliths, each one aligned to a portal.

They descend the hills and enter the city...

Both Renko and Sissy are badly hurt from the fight with the Black Star Knights. In the city they find a hospital - they check int here for a week while they sell one of their walkers for $12,000 - they were nearly out of cash. As they wander the city one of Sissy's polybodies disappears - and reappears 1 minute later with no sense of time having passed. The time code mismatch causes a weird psychic jarring in sissy but eventually the two polybody minds merge again. The effect is weird and unsettling. Time and space seem to be damaged and torn here.

They ask around and find that they must place an offering at the altar by the black wall to gain entrance to the sea. Expecting to be at the end of their quest they load the offering bowl with gold and gems - and wait, and wait, and wait. After about 50 minutes the offerings disappear. There is a short wait and a doorway opens in the wall.

They pass through and see seven platforms on the edge of the sea - each one lined up perfectly with the sky portals above them. Carefully, they go through the sky key dances. They finish the last one and wait.

There is a huge crash and an enormous black pillar shoots up from the sea into the sky, and then meets another pillar shooting downward, making a black cable stretching into space. As they watch a disk like vessel traverses down the cable and lands before them. The doors open and a thin neo-neanderthal in a jumpsuit stands before them. 
"Why have you summoned me here?" he asks, "And who are you?"
"Although we don't look it, becuse we have new bodies, we are like you, neo-neanderthals. We have travelled across the Ultraviolet Grasslands to fulfil a prophecy to save the world from fire and darkness."

They recite the shaman's prophecy and the ancestor neo-neanderthal strokes his chin and say, "Well all right I suppose you'd better come with me then."

They step into the elevator, and the doors close behind them. They ascend into space.... 

The Ultraviolet Grasslands episode 15: Where Dreams Go To Die

Vitreous Orange and Renko still have some of their possessions and they manage to find a merchant who buys their cat coffee from the Violet City and the crystallised cup and towel for a good price, which allows them to at least find good accommodation in the Spectrum City, but not really enough to travel.

Vitreous Orange has lost contact with his polybodies and is feeling a little out of sorts. Renko puts the headdress back on and finds that there is actually a comments section - they are able to write comments to their companions in the comments of the game, and communicate that way. They are still unsure if they are in a virtual world, or a real world with their original one being the facsimile. Eventually they compare notes about the meteor striking the Earth and decide that, matrix or not, they are in the same level of reality as each other at least.

The adventurers left on the moon are unwilling to travel instantly to the Spectrum City via the headsets as they will lose their gear and treasure. So Sissy and the remaining Vitreous polybodies and the King, stepping up now the Renko is absent, decide to work together to get the crystal power walkers to the surface. 

They manage to get them up to the surface of the moon, but as they have inadvertantly shifted the moon it is looking much harder to transfer them to the surface of the Grasslands. Vitreous' two other polybodies buy a complicated pulley system and they attempt to rig it up to move the large power walkers. They attach one end to a rock on the moon and the other to a stout tree stump in the swamp. Miraculously, it works! Both exoskeletons are carefully shifted down and the adventurers clamber down after them, glad to leave the moon behind.

Counting their loot, they go to find Life-Is-A-Game and tell her that they could not find her friend in the moon. Orca Malificent, the Ultra possessing the body of Dante Thunderstone  , pleads with her to tell them the location of the sky key. He tells them that the meteor was the first sign and there will be others. She relents, and finally admits that she doesn't actually know where a sky key is. She lied to try to get them to help her. Orca wonders if he should get revenge but instead they decide to grab their loot and travel with all haste to catch up with their companions in the Spectrum Palace. 

As they travel Renko and Vitreous party and debauch themselves to pass the time. Vitreous finds himself sold into a pit fighting gang, but manages to escape. Renko makes friends among the Satraps (as much as anyone can befriend strange alien spacesuited figures). They learn of the Temple of th eWelcoming Eye, in the centre of the Palace compound, and Renko uses his connections to wrangle an invitation - at a cost of $500. 

Meanwhile the King leads the others to the Spectrum Palace. He manages to use ancient codewords to decommission an enormous and ancient robot half buried in the wastes that tried to come alive and destroy them. But otherwise their journey was uneventful.

The group is reunited, pleased that they are in the same reality. Renko sells another of his famous returning brooches, and Sissy befriends a local merchant by the name of Boderic.

They ask around and find an excellent lead that there is a sky key that can be found in the Dark Light Path beyond the Ivory Plains. This is the last sky key they need.  They immediately cash out and buy supplies for the long journey westwards.

On the trail, the grasslands give way to dry pale earth. On their fourth day of travel, they come across a large group of rotted zombies, dancing continually in a circle. Sissy shouts insults at them and, roused by the sight of warm flesh, they break their dance and rush towards the caravan. They quickly decide that the best thing to do is flee, and they leave one of the ponies behind to cover them - the undead fall apon the poor creature and they are able to get away.

In the Ivory Plain Renko unfortunately is infected with a lung fungus - it is not fatal but he has an incurable and persistent cough that reduces his endurance. The plain falls away to the endless paths and gullies of the Dark Light path. They descend into the calderas and steaming chasms and come across an encampment of Quarterlings. They greet the party warmly, and announce that they have been given visions and have been waiting for them to give them their final directions. They say that the Dead Eye of the Blue god keeps the key, in the nexus of cables, 4 days hence. The caravan worries about their supplies but their final quest is so close they decide to head off immediately.

After avoiding many cloud-herds of chemovores they come across a great chasm in the side of a gulley, with many cables and wires running to and fro. Inside is a great pit, and they see many pale worms writhing amongst the wires and cables. They manage to create a diversion and enter the tunnel without encountering the worms, and find themselves at the pit - they see a cable car dangling from the edge, and an enormous god like churning black void at the centre of the pit. The void addresses them, introducing itself as the Blue god, and says it will help them but they must each give up a dream. They discuss and agree to do so. They seem to have little choice.

Renko gives up his dream of ever becoming a proper magic user and graduating. Sissy gives up his dreams of becoming a super cool assassin. Vitreous gives up his dreams of being rich.

Renko then gives up his soul - and in return the Blue God directs them to the cable car - they manage to work the controls and bring the cable car up, and inside they find several mummified people - it looks like their minds are connected to some sort of device which they activate and it turns out to be an encyclopedia of the world long gone.  They quickly find the files on the sky keys - and they follow the instructions to learn the last one. The encyclopedia entry goes on to say that the keys are used to bring the great sky elevator down and they must be used at the short of the Black Ocean in the Black city.

They clamber out of the pit and return to the quarterling encampment, almost entirely out of supplies. They manage to trade for two weeks of supplies to keep them from starving, and set off immediately for the Black city, via the Forest of Meat, where they hope they can get some more food. I mean, if they can't find a square meal in the forest of meat, where can they? As they set off they discuss trees laden with juicy steaks and roasted chickens...