The Angels' Despair
Six Thrones of Bone Session 10
Summary
Guenter continues east, following the beach. In some cliffs, he finds the entrance to catacombs. An angel, gagged with wing feathers, stands by it. When it sees Guenter, it acts agitated. He enters the catacombs, and finds decorations indicating those buried here are sailors.
When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, Guenter finds a Necrocultist torturing a second angel. After successfully fighting the Necrocultist, and an Unquiet Dead, Guenter rescues the angel, but it’s mortally wounded.
The entire encounter leaves Guenter with several questions.
Lessons Learned
This session was particularly rich. I learned a lot about the world, particularly the angels. There’s now a whole list of questions I have that will be drivers to how the play evolves.
I rediscovered a rule about weapons. For my flail, every time I add a Club card, I can roll a d3 and add that many cards to the deck in a certain circumstance. That may make things easier.
Session Notes
Action: Discover a Region (Prowess +2)
Cards: 3 of Clubs, 8 of Diamonds
Result: Despair
Card placed: 8 of Diamonds
Region: Catacomb of Lost SoulsNOTE: I’ve been interested in why the angels need Guenter to cleanse the land, so this may be a good time to explore that.
Guenter heads east from the lagoon, along the beach. There’s cliffs that jut up out of the black sand beach. The rock is white with blood red veins running through in jagged lines. There is a roughly hewn entrance in the base of the cliff. An eternal flame burns in a small niche, torches stacked next to it. An angel stands next to the entrance, gagged with its own wing feathers. It’s weeping some black oily substance from its eyes. Spatters of tears are on the sand, turning it from black to vermilion.
GUENTER: “Are you all right?”
It seems like the angel hadn’t noticed Guenter at first. It’s current predicament had preoccupied it.
Oracle
Does the Angel react positively to Guenter’s presence?
Cards: 10+11
Dice: 4+4+0=8
Result: Darkness
Answer: No, and reacts violently to Guenter’s presence.The angel sees Guenter and starts trembling. It’s acting suspicious, unlike the other angels.
GUENTER: “What’s wrong? Is something in the cave?”
This agitates the angel even more. Guenter, suspicious, decides to investigate. He picks up a torch and lights it. He enters the cliffside and finds a staircase leading down.
As Guenter descends, he realizes this is a sacred burial place for sailors. There are niches carved in the walls, decorated with images of ships, the Four Spirits of Wind, and terrifying sea monsters.
As he goes deeper, he starts to hear ethereal moaning. There’s a raspy cackling -- the voice of an undead menace. Guenter can’t hear what its saying but he prepares for the worst as he finishes the staircase’s last corkscrew.
He sees another angel, manacled and grievously injured, trapped in a binding circle. A jade ewer is below the angel’s feet, catching the black ichor weeping from the open wounds.
NECROCULTIST: “Your will cannot last forever, meddler! Eventually, you’ll break without moonlight!”
Unbidden, Guenter feels a magnetic pull to help the angel. Once again, he is bidden to help an unfortunate at his own risk. He hefts his flail and steps into full view. The Necrocultist hisses and charges at our interloping hero.
During the fight, an Unquiet Dead arises from a nearby crypt. But both foes are not a match for Guenter!
Once the enemies are defeated, he goes to free the angel from it’s manacles.
Action: Search for Forbidden Knowledge (Approach: Prowess +2)
Cards: 2+10
Dice: 4+5+2=11
Result: HopeGuenter has a vision of a bone-littered island. It’s the source of the angels’ shame and weakness. The angels are less than they seem. They’re some sort of creatures that were twisted by the necromancers.
As Guenter breaks the angel out of its bonds, it is clear it is mortally wounded. It’s last breath escapes as Guenter cradles it in his arms.
Some questions that come up:
Where is the bone littered island?
What secrets does it hold?
Why do the angels need moonlight?
What kind of power is in this catacomb?
Why are sailors considered lost souls?
Who is the angel that was present when Guenter woke up?