Diaries are sadly a very personal thing. So this page details the events that actually happened during the campaign. The diaries will tell you the thoughts and feelings the characters had, but this detail tells you the events, and may help you understand what was really going on!

'The Adventure Begins'

That same night, while sleeping in Francine’s apartment, men in black burst into the room. Alejandro leaps into the fray and manages to defeat the Knight of the Rose and Cross who was chasing them. The men in black turn out to be members of the C.R.A.P. However it was only luck they chose Francine’s rooms to attempt to escape Philippe (the Knight).

The injured Philippe begs the characters to help his charge, the Lady Clarisse Allias du Crieux. The lady is a valued patron of the knights, and seeks an adventure of her own. As a favour, the Knights have allowed her to undertake a ‘mission’ to deliver a book to Freiberg. As it is apparently a milk run, they sent Philippe to be her bodyguard. In truth it is Philippe that is doing the mission, but the Knights are allowing Clarisse to think the mission is hers. Hopefully this will get the idea out of her system, as she is a noblewoman, not a swordsman and adventurer. However, with Philippe injured the mission truly is hers, and it is too late to assign another knight. Philippe is also worried that she is in danger, as she has also received death threats from the C.R.A.P. who have given such threats to any Montaigne in Altamira.

The group (directed by Philippe as he is taken to a doctor) arrive at the inn where Clarisse is staying, just in time to see her bundled into a coach by men in black. Axel and Viola leap onto the coach and defeat the lady’s abductors, but fall off the out of control coach in the process. They track the coach to the outskirts of town where it has come to a stop with the lady Clarisse swooned but safe inside. She is being attended to by a local Monk called Brother Mark.

In fact, Brother Mark has been watching for an opportunity to earn the characters’ and Clarisse’s trust. Looking after Clarisse has had exactly the right effect. Clarisse asks the characters’ and Brother Mark’s help to get her book to the Knights in Freiberg and complete the mission. With Philippe in hospital she has no other option. The characters all agree as they are keen to leave Altamira, and some do not trust the lady’s safety in the hands of an Objectionist monk. Francine also discovers a note from Fionn saying he has had to leave suddenly. His reasons are explained in O’Connell’s Travels.

'Where Drachen Dare'

In which the group do a favour for their new friend Clarisse Allias Du Crieux and escort her to Freiberg on behalf of the Knights of the Rose and Cross.

So the group set off to Freiberg. Things do not begin well as for some reason Father Alejandro ends up sitting next to Brother Mark and decides to bring up the subject of religion. After a lot of rather insulting waffle from the father, Brother Mark finally reaches his limit. At the words ‘so what’s it like, being a heretic?’ he puts a knife to Alejandro’s throat and asks politely for him to never speak to him again. Luckily for everyone’s sake, Alejandro decides do so.

Further down the road, the party run into an ambush. A highwayman (Sean O’Kieff) holds up the coach, having used a fallen tree to block the road, and placed a cannon to fire at the now stationary target. The characters leap into the fray, Axel (on horseback) goes for the leader. However, he manages to fall off while leaping the tree and fails to prove much more than a distraction. Brother Mark, who is actually responsible for the whole affair, manages to knock out the party with a powerful sleeping gas. Then he and his cronies take the unconscious party to Castle Drachen and the evil Baron.

The party meet ‘The Baron’ who taunts them in their cell. However they manage to escape their confinement, as the Baron has planned. Axel gets confused trying to distract guards, shouting that there is ‘trouble on the west wall’. Unfortunately, the group are on the west wall, not the east one and this brings the guards running. The group locates their equipment, and Clarisse’s book (or what they think is her book) and try to find the Baron. Axel is especially keen to do so as he wants his Dracheneisen Panzerhand back. They locate the Baron, who has claimed Axel’s Panzerhand for his own (goes very nicely with his Dracheneisen broadsword) and attempt to take on the forty guards he sends at them. Luckily, common sense prevails (to the great surprise of the GM) and they decide to make a run for it. They reach the ‘cable cars’ that take them down the cliff side and escape away to Freiberg.

Having escaped, the group go on to Freiberg to get Clarisse and the book to the Knights of the Rose & Cross. On the way they get passage in a river barge with Eve Stalzer. Eve gets the gentlemen alone and then drops casual hints that she does a bit of Jenny work on the side, ‘I am a member of many guilds’. The men initially decide to ignore her offer. However, then Axel decides he is curious about what cargo she is carrying. He suggests Alejandro takes the lady up on her offer to provide a distraction, as ‘Roberto’ (Viola) is rather shy and refuses to help! Later on he decides to respect Eve’s privacy, and tells Alejandro not to bother. However, Alejandro has been in prison for a few years and like any man who had been expecting sex, he is more than a little disappointed. He sneaks out in the night to make a business transaction with Eve, but is spotted by Axel who says nothing. A day or so later the barge arrives in Freiberg, and the rest of the group are a little concerned that Eve is offered two horses for her help. One would have been sufficient payment, but Alejandro insists they offer her two. Eve accepts both horses, and is greatly amused at the whole affair.

The Knights of the Freiberg chapter house are very glad to see Clarisse and the book safe and sound. Unfortunately, the book isn’t safe and sound, if has been torn with a great claw mark that has shredded several pages. Francine convinced Clarisse to allow her to keep in it in her Porté pocket since the castle. The group thinks the Clarisse must be a sorcerer, but do not question either of the women and Francine’s secret skill remains a secret.

Luckily, upon investigating the remains of the book, it is discovered to be a forgery. The real book must still be with the Baron. It also becomes apparent that the Baron has administered a slow poison to the group, including Clarisse. One of the Knights called Matthias may be able to find an antidote, but only if he can get hold of the original poison. So the characters must return to the castle, with Clarisse and a group of Knights in the hope of finding a cure, and perhaps stopping the Baron’s plot.

When the group and the knights arrive at the castle, a huge ceremony is already in progress. Using the ritual in the real book, and an object called the ‘Rose of Dajing’ the Baron and Brother Mark intend to bring to life the skeleton of a Drachen. With this powerful monster then intend to conquer Eisen, starting with nearby Freiberg. The skeleton itself is buried in a mound near the castle, and the guards have uncovered most of it prior to the ceremony. As the players arrive the ceremony is in full swing, and the Baron has slaughtered most of his own villagers to feed the Rose. To raise something the size of a Drachen the Rose needs an awful lot of blood.

The highwayman Sean O’Kieff is also with the Baron, but he is not very happy at murdering innocent villagers. The characters manage to approach him and he decides to change sides. With his help the characters get close to the bad guys and manage to stop the ritual, almost too late. While the Knights deal with the Baron’s men, some of the players fight the Baron himself. The rest of the group fight Brother Mark and attempt to close the Rose by cleaning the blood off it, but as this goes on the great Drachen skeleton begins to rise.

However, cleaning the Rose destroys the ritual and ends the spell. The Baron is dispatched and Brother Mark is killed trying to reach the Rose. The Drachen collapses upon itself, and the Brother is crushed when the skull lands on him. The Knights arrest everyone they can and manage to find a cure for the poison.

The characters do rather well out of the whole affair. Axel claims his Panzerhand again, and takes the Baron’s Dracheneisen Broadsword. He also claims the castle for his family, setting the huge Drachen skull as the centre piece in the great hall. He sends a letter telling his family there is land for the taking and leaves it at that. No one else is claiming the castle, so they may as well have it.

Clarisse is glad to hear from the Knights that Philippe will make a full recovery, but not for a while. She asks the group if they will be kind enough to escort her back to Charouse, an offer to which they agree. She has learnt that adventures are not all fun and that people can get hurt. She resolves to read about them in books, and says she owes the group much for looking after her.

Sean O’Kieff escapes justice and remains at large. However, next time he will be more careful in his choice of employer.

'Crossing the Mountains'

Where our heroes assist Lord Allain Praise Du Richesse in his journey across the mountains from Eisen to Montaigne, and thereby earn the enmity of the Rilasciare.

Before setting off for Charouse, a few of the group have things in Freiberg they want to do. However, Axel pushes them into moving rather quickly as he wants to avoid running into his family. Francine is still unable to locate Fionn. His final message said he was going in the direction of Freiberg. However she does discover that he was there at some point, and that he may have travelled west towards Montaigne. However they have little time for sight seeing as Clarisse needs to return home, and has offered to pay them handsomely. The group set off towards the mountains, many of them mumbling that Francine still hasn’t paid them the agreed sum for their ‘bodyguard’ work.

On the way to Montaigne, the group stay in an inn where they meet Alain Praise Du Richesse. He is a rich Porté sorcerer travelling home. He is abusive to his servants as well as arrogant in the extreme. However, he is rich and noble so Francine finds him irresistible. She makes his acquaintance, while the rest of the group try to pretend they don’t know her. Viola feels herself being watched by a Vodacce gentleman who is also in the bar. This makes her worry that he may have seen through her disguise as Roberto. So she decides to leave the inn for a while and comes across two of Alain’s servants speaking to each other. Although they are speaking in Montaigne which she doesn’t understand, she picks out two words, Vero Corragio, the motto of the Rilasciare.

Meanwhile Francine has managed to get the group invited to join Alain’s party to cross the mountains into Montaigne tomorrow. The group are not too happy to travel with the arrogant man, but agree nonetheless. It would be wiser to travel together as there are bandits and other dangers in the mountain passes. Alejandro and the others have made friends with a group of Castllians who are travelling south. This provokes much discussion about wine. Unknown to the others, one of the Castillians is also a member of Die Kreuzritter. He and Alejandro find a moment to swap news and pass of reports. After this the group decides to rest for the night, enjoying the opportunity to sleep in a proper bed.

Unfortunately, during the night Viola is woken by someone in her room. She finds the Vodacce man from the bar has snuck in and now points a pistol at her. It seems he is extremely paranoia and believes ‘Roberto’ to be a spy for his enemies. Why else would a Vodacce be out here? He challenges Viola not to call for help, which ensures she screams for it. Sadly for Viola, she had taken the opportunity of having her own room to remove all of her disguise, ensuring her enemy sees far more of her than she would like. Luckily the Vodacce man assumes that any woman travelling in such a disguise must be an escaped Fate Witch. This inspires him with such fear that he jumps out of the window and runs for his life. However, Viola’s scream has brought other members of the group running. She manages to cover herself up, but Alejandro is still suspicious of the very girlish scream that this supposed boy uttered.

When Francine is woken by the scream she looks out of her window, in time to see the Vodacce man land in the courtyard below. She fires her pistol at him, but with her attention diverted she fails to notice the assailant in her own room. This assailant kidnaps her and takes her into the mountains. Her adventure without the party can be read in ‘Francine’s Sojourn’.

In the morning, the rest of the group is confused by Francine’s sudden disappearance. However she has left a note (a forgery from her captors) and they assume she is just trying to run without paying them what she owes. So they join Alain’s group and set off to cross the mountains.

Unfortunately, Viola’s decision to leave the Rilasciare agents to their own business turns out to be a mistake. Their cell has chosen to attempt to kill Alain on his journey through the mountains, and all his servants are in on the plot. As well as packing his luggage into the coach, they have packed explosives! At the prearranged point in the journey, two of the servants light the fuse and leap from the coach. The explosion destroys the back part of the coach and injures most of the group. Then Rilasciare agents come out of their hiding places and attack. Alain cowers in terror and Clarisse is shot and wounded, but the group manages to drive off the assassins.

Alain is extremely grateful and decides the least he can do its use Porté to take them back to Charouse. There is nothing stopping him doing so now, as his luggage is all destroyed, as is that of the characters. Everyone except Alejandro (who is also the most wounded) readily agrees. The Father insists he will walk and have nothing to do with Porté sorcery. Axel decides to stay with him to ensure the fool gets to Charouse safely. Unfortunately for Alejandro, Alain makes several trips back and forth to bring doctors and camping equipment to the Father and Axel. So his attempt to ensure less Porté sorcery gets used fails dismally. Viola spends many happy days being shown Charouse by Clarisse (who is developing a soft spot for the ‘sensitive young Vodacce man’) while Alejandro and Axel trudge through the mountains.

‘The Last Sorcerer’

Our heroes arrive in Montaigne and meet with an old man who asks them to help save his daughter. However, his intentions are far darker and draw the heroes into a bid to awaken long dead sorcery.

On the journey to Charouse, Axel and Alejandro run into a very old nobleman in an inn. His name is Stephan Vandragan, and he is a very old man of Eisen decent, accompanied by a rather threadbare Castillian man called Sancho Montoya. He begs Axel and Alejandro to help him reclaim his daughter. It seems he has located her after having lost contact with her during the war. However, she is bound for the Crescent Empire on a slave ship. He has sent messengers ahead to book passage on a ship, which is unfortunately a Vodacce pirate ship. He fears that he is too frail to see the pirates do as they are asked, and that he will not reach the ship in time to rescue his daughter. If the characters can do as he asks, he will meet them in San Arrant, a Castillian town on the coast just south of Barcino.

When Axel and Alejandro agree to help, he asks them for another service. There is an old family heirloom hidden in a Sidhe place in Avalon. It is an hourglass, and may only be touched by members of his family. When the group has located his daughter Eva, they should travel on to Avalon where they will meet another friend of Stephan’s, a noblewoman called Lady Jane Kilmarvon. She will be able to send them to the place the hourglass is, where they can retrieve it. Lady Jane is also rather well off, and will be more than able to provide transport back to San Arrant.

Axel and Alejandro catch up with Viola in Charouse, and she agrees to their plan to help Stephan. So there is little time for Axel and Alejandro to rest in Charouse. They all set off to San Arrant where they can find Captain Virago and his ship of Pirates. Finding Virago turns out to be a little tricky, as they have to ask a selection of very nasty people where to find him. San Arrant is under Montaigne rule and has become a minor haven for pirates; the dockside is not a nice place to be. However, they locate Virago, who turns out to be unpleasant but at least civilised. He is ready to carry out his part of Stephan’s deal. The group (Axel, Alejandro and Viola) board the ship (The Mermaid’s Claw) and set out to hunt down the slave ship.

As luck would have it, Stephan’s intelligence on the slavers is correct and it is not long before the ship is located. Virago’s pirates fire on the ship (called ‘The Courtesan’s Smile’) and quickly board. Their job is made easier by the fact that the slaves are in revolt. Among the slaves is the woman they are looking for, Eva, who is not the shrinking violet they may have expected, but a skilled Eisen mercenary. Even stranger is that she is accompanied by Francine! While Francine is quite glad to see the other characters, she is very interested in knowing why they left her in Eisen and why they are now pirates. She is so interested in fact that she points a pistol at Axel. (The tale of her capture is related in ‘Francine’s Sojourn’.) Everyone has a lot to catch up on, which they choose to do on board Virago’s ship, as they set out for Avalon.

On the way to Avalon they come across another problem. Part of Virago’s pay was any booty found on the slave ship. As there was little other than the slaves, he is claiming them. Viola has a particular problem with allowing him to keep them captive, and offers to buy them. However, she talks loudly to Axel about how much money they have, in front of Virago. The Captain smiles and names a sale price of exactly all the money they have, which has now become a considerable sum. The group has no choice but to pay it, if they want to set the people free. They can’t take them by force from a whole ship of pirates. Virago has won this round, and drops the group and their new ‘purchases’ off on the Avalon coast. He doesn’t have the last laugh though. Francine leaves a blooded item in his power store, and then uses Porté to put a lit match next to it. Whether the plan works or not, they cannot tell (for now) as they wait for Virago to sail away before they send the match. However, they all feel better for having at least tried to get even.

When told of her father, Eva is confused, but very interested. She was brought up as an orphan, and has made her way in the world ever since. It is certainly not the war that separated her father and herself, that was far too recent. However, if he is as old and frail as he appears he could well be confused. Having no family she is extremely glad to hear of a close relation, and agrees to help the group get the hourglass, if only to meet her father.

When the group arrive at the appointed place in Avalon, a small stone circle, Lady Jane is already there waiting. She is a darkly stunning woman, and a renowned Glamour sorceress. She tells the group she will perform a small ritual that will open the way for them to enter the Sidhe place where the hourglass is. It is not truly a part of Bryn Bresail, but conforms to some of its rules, so she can tell the group very little about what to expect. When they leave, they should make their way to her home where she is organising passage back to Castille.

The group are sent with Glamour magic and the stone circle into a strange forest. It is a dark Unseelie place, full of fear. Axel’s fingers become so weak he cannot grip a sword, Francine feels that everyone sees her as the low born woman she truly is, Viola believes her disguise as Roberto is coming undone and Alejandro sees spiders everywhere. However the group manages to face their fears and reach a clearing with a small stone temple. There they see a large ornate hourglass, and a Sidhe creature made of stone that protects it. The Sidhe creature is snide and contemptuous of the group, but allows Eva to take the hourglass, recognising her claim on it. Unfortunately the group have now broken the ancient bargain with the Unseelie, and they are no longer bound to treat the group with kindness. In revenge for being bound by humans (even ones now long dead) the Sidhe send ‘Mr Toad’ (see Strongholds & Hideouts) against the group. The characters realise they can escape him by closing their eyes and blunder back to Avalon. However, they realise that in doing so they have shown ‘Mr Toad’ the way out.

So, a little the worse for wear, the group make their way to the estate of Lady Jane. On the way they come across a peasant girl being attacked by strange goblin like brigands. They drive them off and earn the girl’s gratitude. As it is late they camp out for the night, and in the morning the girl is gone. However, it seems that in fact she was some form of Sidhe, and has left gifts. Father Alejandro has been left a Sidhe sword, that has an elegant silver hilt and a glass blade that is stronger than steel. Francine has been left a dress woven of Sidhe fabric that never gets dirty and changes to reflect the fashions and styles of the land it is being worn in.

The next morning the group arrive at Lady Jane’s estate. She seems in rather a hurry to leave, and has booked passage on an Avalon ship leaving on the next tide. She will be joining the group on their voyage, as she wants to see Stephan and his daughter reunited. The sea voyage is mostly uneventful, until they run into the Montaigne blockade. A Montaigne frigate stops the Avalon craft and boards her as part of standard patrol procedure. Everything goes well, until Alejandro decides he cannot just accept the rather rude attitude of the Montaigne commander in regard to his countrymen. The rest of the group wants nothing more than to sit on Alejandro, but cannot stop him insulting the commander and provoking a duel. The father proves the better swordsman, and would have won the fight. However, Lady Jane uses her sorcery to keep healing his wounds, knowing that if the Montaigne looses he may well seize and impound the ship to assuage his bruised ego. Each time Alejandro cuts him, there is suddenly no wound. Eventually the two men huff at each other and call in a draw, leaving Lady Jane sighing with impatience in the background.

Eventually the ship lands in San Arrant and the group gather in the local inn. Stephan has indeed made the journey to San Arrant unharmed, and waits in one of the upstairs rooms. Deciding that reunions are private and for family, they allow Eva and Lady Jane to take the hourglass up to Lord Stephan on their own. They gather at a table to discuss honour (which Francine is finding a confusing and foolishly male pursuit) and also debate the quality of wine.

They are approached later on by a member of the local musketeers. Many of the garrison are drinking in this inn, and one of their lieutenants by the name of Gerard Leveque D’ur is interested in the group. He asks informally about their visit, and the people who they came in with. The group are initially mistrustful, but warm to him and tell him a little of their adventures. When they tell him about the hourglass he goes visibly pale. He calls out to a number of men in the bar and they all rush upstairs to Stephan’s room. Gerard explains that Stephan is one of the last practitioners of a terrible sorcery called Zerstörung, and that Gerard and some of his colleagues have been watching him for some time. They had hoped to discover his plan, but it seems he got some patsies (the characters) to carry out his plan while Stephan kept his enemies watching him.

When the characters and Gerard’s agents reach the room, the door and floorboards are rotting away. Upon entering they find Stephan standing with Lady Jane, rejuvenated from the power of the glowing hourglass. Eve is almost unconscious with her hand tied to his. As soon as the agents enter the room, Stephan ages one of them into dust. With the hourglass he has not only regained his youth but finally achieved mastery of his terrible sorcery. Battle is joined, but Lady Jane calls upon Mr Toad again who slaughters more of Gerard’s men. Father Alejandro finally casts Mr Toad away by calling on the power of Theus. However, by then it is too late, Stephan and Lady Jane have escaped using a strange Syrneth object that made them both vanish.

It seems great horror has been unleashed in San Arrant. Stephan had been seeking to master his Zerstörung power. He discovered his family hid the hourglass away when they realised the Rilasciare might destroy them. Gerard knows this as he is a member of the Rilasciare himself. The organisation has watched Stephan (actually called Von Drachen) age himself to enfeeblement with his experiments to empower his blood to full mastery. They thought he would simply destroy himself. They never knew about Eva, who is in fact Stephan’s sister, not daughter and as the youngest of the family was abandoned as a baby. Now, using the power of the hourglass (which is now a charred husk) Stephan has not only empowered himself, but also awakened Eva’s latent Zerstörung ability. She decides to leave to seek a way to master this unclean power she has been infected with. She is joined by Stephan’s bodyguard Sancho. He was a Castillian nobleman forced by honour to assist Stephan. He decides honour can no longer force him to help such an evil man, and that he can make amends by serving and protecting Eva. The two of them leave San Arrant, fearing the Rilasciare may attempt to kill Eva as much as Stephan for the power she possesses. The characters are left in the inn, to contemplate what might have happened if they had paid attention to what was going on, instead of spending their time arguing about wine.

‘The Mask of El Vago’ part 1

Arriving in San Arrant in Castille, Father Alejandro is asked to take over from the local priest who has recently died. However, with the Inquisition abducting the innocent, dark deals being made by the Montaigne governor and even the appearance of the dreaded Captain Reis; it is no time to relax.

The group decide to stay in San Arrant to rest for a while. This turns into a longer stay when the old village priest dies. Left without a priest, the villagers ask Father Alejandro to fill in until a replacement can arrive from Vaticine city. Alejandro agrees and moves into the small church, the rest of the group remain in the local inn (called ‘The Sleeping Maiden’) in the centre of town.

It seems that the stay in San Arrant has brought love into the air. Francine begins to pursue a relationship with the Musketeer and Rilasciare agent Gerard. Even though he still dislikes her intensely, this seems to make Father Alejandro rather jealous. He takes to putting down Gerard at almost every possibility. Sadly for ‘Roberto’, the local girl (Maria) who helps her mother clean the church takes rather a liking to the handsome Vodacce ‘boy’, placing Viola in a very tricky situation.

After the funeral of the last priest, one of the peasant farmers comes to see Alejandro with a problem. His neighbours have recently disappeared, and he fears for their safety. Could the father and his friends investigate? Alejandro agrees and goes out to the farm with the farmer, taking Viola and Francine along. On the way they all talk about their various backgrounds and Alejandro tells them about his spell in prison for illegal duelling. This is rather a surprise revelation to the farmer who the group has forgotten was part of the conversation.

Eventually the group reach the farm and find evidence that the family there have possibly been abducted. However, the abductors have left a clue. One of them has dropped a piece of paper that contains a list of three names. The first disappeared a few days ago, and the second is the name of the vanished family. This leads the group to believe the third name must be that of the next target. The farmer shows the group where the next family resides, and they prepare to stake it out that night.

While the group are preparing for the nights work, Axel runs into an old friend, the details of which can be found in ‘A Dark Night for Axel’. Francine (against the wishes of the others) decides to tell Gerard about the missing families and the clues they have found. However, she doesn’t tell him that the group are going to stake out the house that very night.

Later that night, Alejandro, Francine, Viola and Axel all go up to the farm to keep watch. They all hide in the bushes around the front of the house and wait. Alejandro takes the first watch, and is surprised to notice a group of musketeers sneaking up to the farm, and taking cover in another bush. Angry that Gerard is leading the group, he expertly sneaks up on the musketeer lieutenant and places a knife to his throat. He is turn is then surrounded by the musketeers of Gerard’s patrol. Alejandro’s demand to know what the musketeers are up to does not impress him. They rightfully inform him that they are the lawkeepers in this place and that it is he who should explain himself. The realisation that they are correct only makes Alejandro more obstreperous, and a large argument ensues. Things get so loud the other characters are drawn over and both groups engage in a heated debate.

This is good news for the inquisition agents who are happily absconding with the family at the back of the house. Eventually the characters notice this and decide to leave the arguing for later and do something about the bad guys. They would have been far too late, except that El Vago appears with a group of Los Vagos and stop the inquisition agents leaving. Faced with the characters, El Vago and the Musketeers, the Inquisitors have little option but to make a run for it. The family is saved and El Vago rides off, before the musketeers are able to try and arrest him. Unfortunately, Gerard hasn’t forgotten Alejandro’s behaviour and demands the priest makes an apology. Alejandro refuses to say sorry (what a surprise!) especially as Francine is still around. Only when Gerard is ready to draw a blade and duel Alejandro (whose position as a priest had so far stopped him making such a challenge) does Francine loose patience in both of them. She decides to leave the boys to their games and returns to town with Axel and Viola. At which point Alejandro apologises and Gerard lets him go, a little more confused about the nature of Castillian honour.

The group are unable to find any more clues to the activities of what they now believe to be Inquisition agents over the next day or so. There is a large fortress owned by the Inquisition nearby, which must be the centre of the dealings. However it is too dangerous to investigate with so little evidence. Especially as the Bishop in charge of the fortress, one Lucera Yanez is currently on good terms with the Montaigne Governor of the region.

The day of the festival of Los Borrachos (the drunkards) arrives. The whole town abstains from alcohol for at least two days before. This is to prepare for the festivities, and allow the inns to get ready in time. The festival begins when fireworks are lit at the governor’s hacienda that evening. So the whole town gathers in sombre silence, watching the governor’s house awaiting the signal. When the fireworks burst into the sky the town erupts, music and dancing scatters across the streets almost instantaneously.

The characters join the festivities with enthusiasm. Francine proves herself to be an amazing dancer, but when Alejandro attempts to join her he proves far less adept. He would have been better, had Francine not ignored his attempt to dance with her as well and made him look a complete fool! ‘Roberto’ is also having trouble of his own. It is traditional for any young boys who come of age that year to join their father for the festival, not stay safely with their mother. Each father tries to get his son as drunk as possible for two reasons. Firstly he wants to see his boy outlast anyone else’s son. Secondly, if his first experience of real drinking leaves him with a terrible headache the next day he may take greater care in future. As all the men think of ‘Roberto’ as such a young lad they take him out on the town and get him very, very, very drunk indeed.

The characters are also invited to the Governor’s house for the party. Up there the festivities are a little more civilised, and only the nobility and special guests are invited. The governor has had no opportunity to meet the new priest, and apologies to Alejandro for his lapse in etiquette. The characters are impressed with the Governor himself, as for a Montaigne occupier he is kind and concerned with his people’s welfare. Alejandro gets on well with his adopted daughter, Doña Elaina. She is the stunning daughter of the previous Don, who was lost in the war. When the Montaigne took over, instead of throwing her out, the Governor adopted her and listened to her advice on running the area.

During the party at the hacienda, the group notice a man talking to the captain of the musketeers (Gerard’s superior). This man has a distinctive tattoo, the same one that they noticed on the arm of one of the inquisitors attempting to abduct the family. They are keen to follow the pair, who have left the party early. However, they are all far too drunk. Axel manages to get to a horse and give chase; Alejandro tries to do the same but is too drunk to get on a horse. The rest of the group are either unconscious or insensible and prove no help at all.

Axel follows the tattooed man and the captain to a mine just outside the town. There he sees the captured families working like slaves under the whips of Inquisition taskmasters. Unfortunately, before he can return for help he gets captured and tied up in the mine. When the others in the group wake up (with splitting hangovers) they realise Axel is missing, and set out (sluggishly) to try and track him. Luckily they manage to follow his trail and find their way to the mine. There, they manage to free Axel and take on the guards. This is made harder by the fact they all feel terrible and are in no mood for swordplay in such bright sunshine.

Luckily El Vago and his followers also attack the gold mine, granting greatly needed assistance. El Vago fights the Captain of the musketeers, but is badly wounded. Luckily Axel and Alejandro come to the Vagabond’s aid and dispatch the Captain between them. The characters free the enslaved families, leading them back to the town. The news that it was the inquisition causes no surprise, and no one expects the Montaigne to retaliate. After all, Castillians are used to the inquisition doing as they will, especially as they are safe in the nearby fortress.

However the affair leaves the characters with a few loose ends. They find none of the gold mined in the quarry. Also the Inquisition agents seemed little more than rough bandits, and the Captain’s involvement is still unexplained. However, the group do find a small selection of explosive used for blasting in the mine, which they decide to keep. (They eventually place the box in the church vestry in a dry part of the floor away from any supporting walls!)

The group free the remaining workers in the mine, all of whom are happy to return to San Arrant. Most of the workers are undernourished and a little unwell, but all are able to return to their homes without assistance. The person who does need assistance is El Vago. He has been badly wounded, and the characters help his associates bring him back to their secret hideout. While there the group are offered membership in Los Vagos, and strangely Alejandro is the only one who refuses to join (due to his Kreuzritter connections). So he leaves Francine, Viola and Axel to join the organisation and learn the secret of the mask.

The next day things are a lot better. Axel has a visitor in the shape of the beautiful Adara, a knight of the Rose and Cross. She is here to pass on an invitation to him to join the order. He showed interest after the battle with the Drachen skeleton, and has since righted other wrongs. So the Knights have decided to offer him membership. Viola does not get on well with Adara, mainly as she flirts with Axel and will take no snide comments from a Vodacce ‘boy’. She warns ‘Roberto’ not to try and take her back home, as she is a knight and no longer some Senzivista. Needless to say, this does not endear her Viola, who knows very well how Adara has suffered at the hands of her countrymen. However it does inspire Viola to consider revealing herself a little more and living as she desires.

Due to their new status as ‘local heroes’ some of the townsfolk and an old friend of Francine’s interrupt the characters from breakfast. It seems two men have come ashore saying the dreaded ‘Crimson Rogers’ sunk their vessel and is nearby. Francine knows one of the men, it is her old lover Fionn O’Connell, the other man is a Vesten skald called Bjarne. The group run to the docks but are too late. Not only is the Rogers nearby, but Reis himself has landed at the dockside. As the characters approach he steps out of one of the local taverns, blood running from the blade of his scythe. He looks towards the heavens and yells ‘Where’s Bonnie McGee’ in a voice of thunder and damnation. The characters have the good sense to leave very quickly, but Axel is rooted to the spot in fear, even letting his sword drop from terrified fingers. However, his honour is saved by Bjarne who pulls him away with the words ‘My God man, you can’t fight Reis with your bare hands’!

Reis gets no answer to his question and returns to his ship. However the patrons and staff at the dockside inn are all dead, not one is left alive. Viola feels the loss most of all as one of her contacts for the Daughters was one of the jennies in the inn. The characters help the townsfolk gather and bury the dead, and learn that Reis has been working his way along dockside inns searching for this ‘Bonnie McGee’. When the inn is cleared, the characters suggest that the inn can be made into a small chapel, in the hopes that it will help the murdered souls find rest.

‘Tangled Strands’ part 1

The group runs into Helena and Ramon, lovers who seem to bring trouble with them wherever they go.

Later that same day the group catch sight of a man with a Vodacce lady enter the inn. He meets with another Castillian man who eventually leaves with an angry expression. The group think little of it, until the y meet Gerard who is putting up ‘Wanted’ posters of the second Castillian man. It seems he is a notorious bandit, and the musketeers seek to arrest him. After checking with the local Los Vagos that this man is not one of theirs, the group decide to try and capture the bandit and maybe earn a few coins.

With no better lead to begin with they decide to interview (or rather interrogate) the first Castillian man and his lady friend. He grudgingly assists them, telling them his name is Ramon, and his friend is an ex-courtesan called Helena. When they become more polite he tells them he used to be a part of the bandit’s gang when it was lead by ‘El Lobo’ (the Wolf). The new leader (called ‘El Baston’ – the stick) used to be the second in command but has now taken over since El Lobo was arrested. El Baston wanted Ramon to rejoin the gang, but Ramon has reformed because of his love for Helena. The two lovers want to clear up their past and start a new life together. Ramon has wanted to bring the gang to justice for a while but needed help. Now with the characters on board he stands a chance to make amends for his life of crime.

With Ramon’s help the group easily find their way to the bandit’s lair – a cave just outside San Arrant. After all, Ramon was part of the gang and knows all their old haunts. What he is unfamiliar with are a number of pit traps and snares the bandits have littered the area with. However, the party manages to navigate them safely and reach the cave entrance. At this point Father Alejandro suggests he scouts ahead, as he is rather skilled in the art of stealth. Needless to say, not long after he leaves the group hear the sounds of combat from the end of the corridor.

Alejandro, it seems has decided he could easily dispatch the large guard at the cave entrance, and then proceeded to fail to do so. Luckily the rest of the group are not too far behind. Few of them can get into the fight due to the size of the corridor, but they manage to dispatch the villain nevertheless.

Unfortunately the noise from Alejandro’s ‘stealth attack’ has brought the rest of the bandits running. They pin down the group with musket fire from entrenched positions. Francine comes to the rescue with some explosives she has found, lighting the fuse she throws it at the bandit positions, but promptly drops it in Axel’s lap! Viola quickly grabs the explosive and throws it with far greater skill, blowing up a good proportion of the bandits. Even though there are plenty more bandits with pre-loaded muskets still to face, Fionn, Viola and Axel decide to charge their position. Fionn and Viola end the next few seconds badly wounded from multiple gunshots. However, amazingly Axel reaches the bandits unscathed. Many of the bandits decide to run at this point, seeking safety from the Eisen demon in the back of the cave. However, El Baston is not impressed. He calls out Axel to single combat and both men square off for a fight.

Unfortunately for El Baston, Axel’s more direct swordsmanship proves the better. Axel binds El Baston’s sword with his panzerhand, and then proceeds to bash the man with his broadsword. El Baston cannot free his blade and has no other means of defence. So it is not long before Axel’s punishing blows drop him to the ground. With their leader crushed (almost literally) the rest of the gang surrender. The group lead them back to town into the arms of the musketeers, and give the bandits’ considerable stash of wealth to the town. They suggest it should be used to build the chapel/memorial to those killed in Reis’ attack. However, they are not completely altruistic and quietly pocket a reasonable amount of wealth for their own trouble. Ramon and Helena thank the group and set off to travel west and see more of Castille.

In which the villain of the piece is revealed and a stranger proves the key to his undoing.

Now that a few days have passed since the death of the Captain of the Musketeers, it is time for his funeral. The vigil in his honour is over and he must now be buried. As the rest of the town believes the man fell while trying to free the slaves in the mine, there is a large turnout. However the characters know the truth, that he was one of the slave overseers and feel sickened at this hero’s send off. Even worse, Alejandro (one of the men who actually killed him) must preside over the ceremony.

Luckily for Alejandro he has had some practice in this ritual as he buried one of the members of Los Vagos that morning. However that was simpler as only a handful of people turned up to bid farewell to a man considered little more than a local farmer. The Captain’s funeral is much larger, being attended by the Don, his adopted daughter Elaina and even the local Bishop who rules the nearby inquisition fortress. The stress proves too much for Alejandro. He utters a handful of words and them cannot remember what to do at all. He stands there for a few moments, all eyes upon him in utter silence. Then he turns and runs for the town. The assembled mourners watch him zooming down the hillside completely dumbstruck. At which point it is left to a rather bemused Bishop to take over and see the funeral to a close.

Viola returns to the town first, just in time to talk Alejandro out of leaving the town at the same speed he left the funeral. She convinces him to face the rest of the town by attending the wake being held up at the governor’s Hacienda. His excuse of having had a trying day is met with polite acceptance and he cheers up a little. Meanwhile, Axel and Viola decide to follow the Don when he leaves the party with the Inquisition Bishop. They overhear some of their hushed conversation in a side room. It seems the Don is angry that the Bishop is refusing to release the gold to him, double crossing him after a deal they had.

Axel and Viola return to the group, but do not have to wait long to get an explanation from Don Vincent. He asks them to join him in a private room when many of the guests have left, as he needs their help. Curious, the group agrees to meet him. It turns out that they have been wrong in their suspicions. The Don tells them he discovered the mine and ordered the Inquisition to close it down. As a price for his silence, the Inquisition would give the gold to the town. However, now the Inquisition has retreated to its fortress and decided to keep the gold, intending to use it to buy arms! The Don needs some men to get the gold for the sake of the town.

Not quite sure about Don Vincent’s reasons, the group agree to help. Whether or not the Don is the true villain, they certainly don’t want the Inquisition to keep the money. They decide to try and reconnoitre the fortress by sending in Father Alejandro and ‘Roberto’. Their story is that the Father wants to apologise to the Bishop for the funeral and make his confession; ‘Roberto’ wants to join the priesthood. Sadly their wander around the fortress compound does not reveal the position of the gold. Needless to say, their Inquisition hosts are not forthcoming with revealing their secret operations.

Plan B involves assaulting the stockade. Axel draws away some of the inquisitors by driving a cart up to the gates and saying El Vago is attacking. This does some good, but is a long way from emptying the fortress of opposition. Francine and Bjarne remain outside with the box of explosives captured from the mine. They will blow a hole in the stronghold wall with the explosives as a distraction and potential escape plan. The rest of the group will climb over the walls and sneak about trying to locate the gold.

Unfortunately the stealth plan fall apart as soon as Fionn and Alejandro get over the wall. They make so much noise they get spotted by a guard and shots are fired. Unfortunately a pistol shot was the signal for Francine to blow up the explosives. However, upon opening the box Francine discovers that a family of rats have made their home in the straw and been nibbling the dynamite! Upon disturbing them they all run off, and full of unstable explosive start exploding. That is apart from one of the rats who takes a shine to Francine and runs up her sleeve!

Luckily, help is at hand. Axel has brought Los Vagos who attack the stronghold. When Francine finally does manage to blow the explosives a breach in the stockade wall appears, allowing Los Vagos to take the fight into the compound.

The remaining characters search all over the compound for the gold, and eventually find their way into a small catacomb below the chapel. This underground lair is a torture chamber, run by a very large Inquisitor. He manages to beat up most of the characters, but has a frail constitution and falls to a single blow. Among the rooms is a storehouse containing a wagon full of gold, linked to an underground passageway. The characters make their escape with the prize while Los Vagos (with Axel and Francine) fight the Inquisition. Sadly for those on the surface, things are not going very well. The Inquisition are better trained and have greater numbers. Los Vagos are forced to retreat and Axel and Francine are captured. However, Francine told Gerard of the group’s plan and he arrives with a group of musketeers. Unwilling to fire of the occupying force, the Inquisition are forced to give up their captives to the Montaigne. In a final act of defiance, Axel also manages to be blessed by the Bishop, who wishes him ‘the fruits of a fate he richly deserves’.

The group arrive home at the vicarage to find the new replacement priest has arrived. He is surprised to see the group return, with a cartload of gold and several badly injured members. However, he does manage to take it all in his stride and has a long talk with Alejandro about the town and his new duties. Meanwhile Axel goes up to the hacienda to tell Don Vincent that they have retrieved the gold. Don Vincent is glad to see the Inquisition has been brought to heel and casually explains to Axel that he is indeed the villain of the piece. He happily admits that it was he who set up the mine, and his ruffians that were disguised as Inquisitors. In such a way he could maintain the good will of the local people to his rule. The Inquisition were in on the deal, having agreed to store the gold in their fortress, the place safest from the local El Vago group. It transpires the recently deceased Captain of the Musketeers and the local Bishop were actually lovers. Unfortunately, because Don Vincent wouldn’t punish the Bishop’s lover’s ‘murderers’, the Bishop has decided to keep the gold and double cross him, so he needed the characters.

Just as Axel is preparing to skewer the scurrilous Montaigne, Don Vincent tells him why he wants the gold. In a day or so, the Princess Anne du Montaigne will be arriving to accept the gold. Don Vincent will use it to buy this area of Castille from the Emperor, and set up his own dynasty. Anne believes the gold to be from the Inquisition; if she knew it was from the occupied lands, it would already belong to the Montaigne. They are selling the land to the Inquisition, with the proviso that a duly appointed Governor remains in place. So Don Vincent gets to rule as he sees fit, the Inquisition gets some land and the Montaigne gets gold to fund their exhausting war effort. There is of course nothing the characters can do. If they stop the deal going ahead then this area of Castille remains in the hands of the Montaigne. This deal effectively frees a part of the occupied land, even if it is into the hands of an evil tyrant. It is unfortunate that this evil tyrant has (mostly) seen to the welfare of most of his people as he wants to be able to rule them with ease as he expands his domain. Axel returns to the others, dejected that he couldn’t spill the blood of the villain of the piece.

Axel confides what he has heard to the rest of the group. They are all equally angry and feel just as impotent. However, for the sake of Castille they must at least see the deal go ahead. A few days later, as promised, Princess Anne arrives, with all the entourage expected of such an important guest. Her husband Jean-Marie is with her, and a unit of Elite lightning guard Musketeers. In this time of despair and revelation, Viola decides to tell Axel who she truly is. He doesn’t believe her at all, being so used to seeing her as a boy. The rest of the group corroborates her story, as by now, Axel is the last to know. She confessed to Francine first when Francine confessed her ability with Porté to Viola. She has also told Alejandro by way of confession. (This took a long time and required her to go topless to prove her sex. Alejandro being used to young boys saying they had ‘strange feelings’ and ‘weren’t like other, more manly boys’.) This is all too much for Axel who goes into a state of denial, hurt as well that he is the last to know a secret from one of his oldest friends. Viola is depressed knowing she has hurt his feelings, especially as she confessed because she has found herself in love with the Eisen warrior.

The group decides the best thing to do is get drunk, which is the one plan they can be relied on to carry out successfully. During their inebriated conversation Alejandro’s thoughts turn to Elaina and he decides to find out how she feels about him. He marches up to the hacienda, desperate to pledge his love for Elaina. Needless to say, the lightning guard at the hacienda are unwilling to allow a drunken Castillian access to the house a Montaigne Princess is staying in. The resulting duel leaves Alejandro rather the worse for wear, and is only stopped by Elaina coming out to see what all the noise is. She takes pity on Alejandro and takes him inside to bandage his wounds. However, once the bleeding is stopped she realises Alejandro is very, very drunk and kicks him out of the house! Alejandro returns home rather dejected, much to the amusement of the rest of the group.

Don Vincent (to rub salt in the wound) invites the characters to witness the signing of the deal at a lavish dinner in Anne’s honour. They just about manage to make it through dinner without spilling any blood, although Alejandro has to be kicked under the table several times. However, things seem better on their return to the vicarage. The new priest admits he is not quite what he seems either. He is in fact Don Rodrigo, the old Governor and Elaina’s father! He heard about the state of thing sin San Arrant and returned from the front to see what he could do. When he met the real replacement priest he convinced the man to wait a few days and allow him to take his place. Now Don Vincent has struck a deal, there is a chance they can reclaim San Arrant for the Castillian people. After all, Don Rodrigo is in fact the ‘duly appointed Governor’ specified in the contract. Finally this unseen turn of events can put paid to the evil Don Vincent’s plan.

Unfortunately, the next day things become very messy. Anne du Montaigne leaves San Arrant, glad to be returning home. She takes with her the Lightning Guard, but the musketeer garrison remains in the service of the governor. Now the hacienda can be attacked. Axel and Viola leave early to get help from Los Vagos in their plan to attack the governor’s hacienda. On the way they run into a fate witch called Lucrezia. The woman is completely mad and extremely dangerous. She follows the group home and Fionn recognises her instantly. She was the one who put a bracelet on him and gave him a task he still doesn’t understand. Lucrezia is only mildly curious to see how Fionn is doing, but pleased he convinces the others to show her respect. He fears her power, as does Viola, making most of the characters think twice about insulting her. All except Alejandro that is, who is very disrespectful to her. She answers as always with ‘Snip, snip, snip, little man’, and smiles, knowing that fate will teach Alejandro the manners he lacks. She then requires directions to the Hacienda, as she wants to know what Gerard will do today. The group are confused, and she tells them his actions will define the actions of others in more important times.

With the assistance of Los Vagos, the group makes their way to the Hacienda, and are met with a battle. It transpires the Inquisition has decided to attack the Don and take control of San Arrant. However the Don is prepared for them and has summoned the musketeers (now led by Gerard). A battle is being fought that Los Vagos are happy to join. Bjarne also turns up with a selection of drunken pirates he met in the docks. Somehow he has convinced them the Don is responsible to their ills. This is especially ironic as the pirates in question are Captain Virago and his men, the same group of pirates that took the characters to Avalon to find Eva Von Drachen. It seems Francine did manage to sink their ship after all. They are very angry and loose no time wading into the fighting. In the midst of all this Lucrezia wanders the battle field, calmly crushing the strands of any who attempt to assault her.

In the midst of the fighting, it is Gerard who stands at the doorway of the Hacienda baring entry. The characters come face to face with him and tell him what his uncle has truly been up to. Gerard is torn between his loyalty to Montaigne and his uncle, and what he knows is right. In the end he steps aside, no longer able to defend a villain. His men turn to beat off the Inquisition and Lucrezia smiles, her questions answered.

The characters with Don Rodrigo enter the hacienda. They locate Elaina and keep her with her for safety. She is overjoyed to see her father alive and well. She tells them where Don Vincent is holed up, after they reveal to her the depths of his evil plan. They find Don Vincent and a few loyal men in an upstairs room. Don Rodrigo duels him while the characters keep his guards occupied. Unfortunately Don Rodrigo is badly injured and Elaina rushes to his aid. The characters cannot get there is time as they are finishing the last of the guardsmen off. Don Vincent grabs Elaina and puts a knife to her throat, insisting the players drop their weapons and allow him to escape. They do so, and he makes for the balcony to drop to the ground. Unfortunately one of the drunken pirates has climbed up the outside and grabs Vincent from behind as he backs onto the balcony. The attack makes him loose his hold on Elaina and Francine manages to place a well aimed shot in the villain’s forehead. He topples from the balcony, taking the pirate with him.

Luckily Don Rodrigo is alive. He is badly hurt, but will heal eventually with rest. Gerard and the musketeers have managed to arrest the pirates and the Inquisition, ending their reign in San Arrant. The noble family are reunited in a free Castille, and the party are hailed as heroes. Gerard receives his own reward in the shape of a late night tryst with Francine, and Alejandro and Elaina finally do much the same themselves.

‘Tangled Strands’ part 2

Wherein the group decide it is time to leave San Arrant, and Helena returns and bring grave news about the fate of Ramon

Realising it will not be long before the Inquisition comes after them for revenge, the group decide to leave San Arrant. Francine ad Fionn are keen to return to Altamira, as they have left money there. Alejandro feels he should visit his only remaining relative, an elder sister, as they pass Vaticine city. She is a Bishop there (he reveals to the others) and has not seen him since war broke out. Axel wants to visit Crieux and join the Knights of the Rose and Cross, but is outvoted by the rest of the group.

The group bid a tearful goodbye to their paramours, and (unusually for this group) are told they will always be welcome in the town. Francine complicates her relationship with Fionn by passing him a button from Gerard’s uniform. This is to remind him that she has another lover, and if he wants her he’d better woo her with more effort.

The country outside San Arrant is more obviously in the grip of the Montaigne. The group pass through several check points as they travel east, but run into little trouble. This is mainly due to Fionn being able to use Glamour magic to produce coins to bribe the check point guards.

As the group near the town of Caballos Nuevos they run into a distraught Helena. She is very glad to see the group and once again desperately needs their help. Her lover Ramon has been arrested by the Montaigne. As an example to other Castillians he is to be executed this very day! Always willing to fight for Castille (and get into a fight) the party agrees to help and gallop as fast as they can to the town.

When they arrive the execution has already begun. Ramon is being led to a scaffold, where a headsman and very sharp axe are waiting. The square is full of Castillians and armed Montaigne guards surround the area. Things indeed look bleak for Ramon.

As the Montaigne Captain reads out the charges against Ramon, and uses the opportunity to preach to the crowd about the futility of fighting the Montaigne, the characters spread out into the crowd. As usual, their plan is to ‘see what happens’ but they all agree a distraction is required so some of them can get to the scaffold. Bjarne provides such a distraction by having a screaming fit in the middle of the crowd. He becomes wild and attempts to cow the guards with the words ‘Fear my mighty Vesten magic!!’ The Montaigne are confused rather than afraid of this wild savage madman, but they are distracted nevertheless. Alejandro and Viola use the opportunity to jump onto the scaffold and engage the captain and the headsman. Helena joins then and goes to cut Ramon’s bonds.

Viola proves a greater swordsman than the headsman and after a brief battle manages to dispatch him. Alejandro however is not so lucky, finding the Captain a far better swordsman than himself. Luckily the Captain desires to embarrass the priest most of all, cutting away his belt and making Alejandro’s breeches fall down rather than killing him. Things are looking bleak for Alejandro, but then El Vago appeared on the rooftops (interestingly, waving an Eisen Broadsword…) drawing away many of the Montaigne guards. In an effort to distract the Captain from killing Alejandro, Francine lights a fire against one of the buildings. It does better than she expects, and sheets of flame blast around the square. Axel notices this new turn of events to be due to a young girl dressed in rags who seems to control the flames. Viola notices her too, and also that she bears a certain resemblance to Alejandro. The flame distracts the Captain long enough for Alejandro to knock him from the scaffold. Bjarne and Francine arrive with horses and Viola, Alejandro, Helena and Ramon jump on the mounts and ride from the square. Axel and Viola try to catch up with the girl, thinking her to be one of the fabled El Fuego Adentro sorcerers, but she is quick and vanishes into the side streets.

Finally together the group and the two lovers leave the town in chaos and confusion (with Alejandro trying to pull his trousers up). Ramon and Helena decide they have had enough of Castille, and that they should visit Vodacce. Together the group travel east towards unoccupied Castille and freedom.

‘La Selva Fendes’

In which the party meet the fate witch Fiora Bernoulli and are drawn into a forest of mystery, stories and dreams.

To reach Vaticine city and Altamira, the group must now cross the Delia river, where armed Montaigne and Castillians are locked in a stalemate. The group elect to avoid crossing the battle lines themselves and decide to try their luck in ‘La Selva Fendes’ a forest at the north end of the border. The forest has few guards or fighting positions as it is rumoured to be haunted. This doesn’t put off the players, and they march in.

Before they reach the forest itself they find a coach with a single occupant, a Vodacce Fate Witch. Her name is Fiora Bernoulli and she has been recently attacked by bandits. Her bodyguards were injured and knocked out, but when her attackers saw she was a Strega they fled. The group decide to help the woman get her bodyguards to the other side of the forest where they can get medical attention.

Once inside the forest they get separated from Bjarne, Fionn, Ramon and Helena, as well as Fiora’s bodyguards. The rest of the group, Fiora, Francine, Alejandro, Axel and Viola come upon a mansion in the forest. The master of the house invites them in and asks them to join a party he has going on. There is much music and dancing as well as fine wine and excellent food. While the group are worried about the others, this seems an excellent place to stay for the night.

Unfortunately in the morning when they attempt to leave, they find themselves returning to the mansion, no matter what they do. The lord of the house informs them that the place is under a curse, and that no one can leave. He is very sorry about this, but there is nothing he can do. He is as trapped as they are.

However, he does believe there is a way to escape, by destroying a beast that roams the forest. The master of the house invites the group to join the hunt, which Viola and Alejandro decline. They wish to search the forest for another way out.

The hunt proves both successful and also pointless. The hunting party comes across the beast, a huge monstrous creature that seems impervious to most weapons. It quickly become obvious to the group that this creature cannot be harmed and that the hunt is a waste of time. However the master of the house insists that it is the only way. It seems the residents have hunted the creature almost every day, and remain naively confident they will one day prevail.

Luckily, Alejandro and Viola have had better luck. They return to the others with news of a way to escape. It seems they have met a group of monks who are reciting prayers to contain the strange curse to only the mansion. They reveal that the curse is tied to legend and belief. So the best way to escape is to simply announce you are leaving and walk away. The group attempt to do this, and luckily it works. Each one escapes the forest.

On the other side of the forest the group find their missing friends, who passed through the forest without incident. Ramon and Helena depart, having decided to make their way to Vodacce, Fiora remains with her bodyguards in an inn. When they are recovered she says she will also be returning home to Vodacce. The rest of the group continue on to Vaticine city.

‘Attack on El Morro’

Arriving in Vaticine City on the way to Altamira, the group are contacted by Margaretta Orduno. She needs the help of El Vago in a daring plan to rescue her husband from the fortress of El Morro.

In Vaticine city the group are interested in sight seeing, but Alejandro wants to see his elder sister Constanza. She is Alejandro’s only living relative since the war saw the destruction of his family, and she is now a Bishop serving in the city.

Always eager to see one of their group abused by a family member, the characters go with Alejandro. This is also so they can try and beg somewhere to sleep and a meal. Constanza is overjoyed to see the brother she thought dead. However she berates him terribly (between hugs) that he waited so long after his release from prison to come and tell her that he was alive. While the family are buried in Rancho Torres, Constanza has a memorial to them in Vaticine city, where she and Alejandro go to pray. The rest of the group stay at Constanza’s house, mainly because that is where the food is.

The next day the group scatter across the city to sight-see. Francine visits the great Vaticine cathedral in the heart of the city and is (amazingly) left speechless with awe. Bjarne finds one of the great university libraries, gaining entrance using his Explorer credentials and spends his days there reading. Without something to fight, the rest of the group become restless. They go to meet to local Los Vagos contact, as they have reports from San Arrant to deliver.

Under the eye of the Inquisition, the chapter of Los Vagos in the city is very small. They keep only a token presence so that they can observe secretly the doings of their enemies. So they are very glad to see more members of the cause visit, especially as they have a problem. Admiral Orduno is scheduled to be executed in El Morro for his recent defiance of the Inquisition when he was about to arrest ‘The General’ (see ‘Waves of Blood’ 7th Sea Sourcebook). His wife disowned him publicly to avoid the wrath of the Inquisition herself. However, it was her husband who told her to save herself, and she has called out to El Vago to help save the man she loves. Los Vagos heard her cry and dearly want to help, but in their small chapter there is no one with the skills to wear the mask. With the Admiral scheduled to be executed the next day, there is little time to send for help. However, with the character’s timely arrival, it seems El Vago may make an appearance.

‘The General’ himself and his ship are at the disposal of the Admiral’s wife as well. They have the cannon and sorcery to mount a rescue, but they still need El Vago. If the vagabond himself helped rescue the Admiral, very few loyal Castillians would fire upon him, even with the inquisition screaming for it. That is the only way the plan can work against the amount of men in the fortress. It is also the best way to reduce bloodshed, as no one wants to see good Castillians die, unless they are Inquisition.

The group (including the non members of Los Vagos, who have the sense not too ask many questions) join the General and sail to El Morro. They come under heavy fire, but Timothy Le Beau and a selection of other Porté sorcerers (including Francine) use their power to ‘catch’ as many cannonballs as they can. The rest of the group, with Axel standing in for El Vago Porté across to the execution ground and manage to rescue the Admiral. Bjarne notices they are being watched by an intense Castillian noblewoman from the safety of the ramparts.

The group return to the ship which sails towards a pre-planned escape route. This turns out to be a gigantic Porté hole, large enough for a ship. Alejandro is horrified. Fionn remembers the words of Lucrezia about not going into the abyss and jumps ship. It doesn’t take much to convince the others to do the same. However they can convince no one else to join them and watch as the ship is swallowed by the hellish tear in reality.

Tired and troubled, the group return to Vaticine city. Unfortunately they do not stay long. The inn they are staying in is surrounded by Inquisition agents during the night, calling for their arrest. The group escape, more due to luck on some of their parts. A plan of Francine’s almost gets her captured; only Porté manages to save her (and only then by using it as a distraction). Fionn is reminded why he doesn’t like horses when he cannot stay on the horse he steals for more than a moment before falling off, several times. The rest of the group manage to escape across the rooftops. Once out of sight of the inn, they all regroup and decide to press on the Altamira. Alejandro realises his sister will be rather upset he didn’t say goodbye, but better that than get arrested by the Inquisition; well, maybe.

‘Altamira Again ’

A strange turn of fate allows our heroes to experience the future of Théah through their descendants. Returning to the world they know, they assist a fencing instructor whose enemies leave one hero as good as dead.

It doesn’t take long for the group to reach the comparative safety of Altamira. The group decide to rest after their journey and sit together in a café to find something to eat. However, for a moment, time becomes confused. At the same time, on the same day, 300 years later, the group’s descendants sit together at the very same café. Suddenly the players find themselves playing, not their usual characters, but their 20th centaury counterparts. The details of this adventure can be found in the ‘7th Sea Modern’ part of this site. After this momentary lapse in the regularity of time the players find themselves returned to their original characters. The characters remain unaware of the events in the future of their world, yet the players are now aware of darker secrets within the land of Théah, and the consequences they will bring in the future.

After lunch, Fionn and Francine waste little time setting off to visit ‘a man about a dog’. The man in question is the underworld fence they have left a substantial amount of money with. Unfortunately the fence tells them the money is gone, and in fact it was Fionn who picked it up quite some time ago. They decide not to argue as the three large Vesten warriors the fence employs as guards may get upset. Fionn has a suspicion that his recent adventures on the Isle of the Grey Queen may have had some sort of influence here. He tells Francine that he suspects he now has a double wandering Théah. Strangely Francine believes this story, even with money involved she can still listen to her heart.

In the meantime, the rest of the group have managed to get into trouble, what a surprise. Viola and Axel come across a few fencing students from two different academies having rather a set to. One school consists of rather well off students who are arrogant and boorish, all wearing a rather expensive black and gold uniform. The other school are trying very hard to let things pass peaceably, and have nowhere near such fine clothes. Always happy to help the underdog (and just generally stick their noses in) Viola and Axel side with the latter group and manage to beat off the students of the other school with little bloodshed. Once the uniform wearing bullies see they are dealing with a couple of professional swordsmen, they beat a hasty retreat.

Their assistance wins the gratitude of the fencing students they helped, as well as their swordmaster. It seems that the two schools are rivals more due to the two fencing masters being rivals. The richer master, a man called &&&&& has always felt a need to prove himself the greater swordsman. However, &&&&& has no desire to duel for the sake of a pissing contest. &&&& has taken this as a mark of cowardice and instructed his students to hassle &&&& at every opportunity. He hopes this will provoke &&& into the duel he desires. Viola and Axel pledge to assist in any way they can, but &&&& is satisfied things will work out. In return for their help he does agree to teach Viola the Gallegos school which he is a master of.

The next day, Viola turns up for a lesson and discovers &&&&’s fencing school empty.

Alejandro shot in the head in a monastery battle
Bjarne meets Rune
Fionn leaves
Pietro & Korov appear

‘The Village of Spirits’

Travelling north to get passage to Crieux, our heroes again meet Fiora and are trapped in fairytales by a dark spirit.

Encounter Fiora in Eisen village
She has lost her two guards in the next village.
Many spirits possessing people,
Spirits are those who have escaped the other village
Go to village and get trapped in fairy tales
Locate Fiora’s guards with Sorte
Fiora plays violin, and Francine sings to reveal an opening
All go through, Fiora last (so seeing Pietro)
All meet Sidhe having battle
They fight, Fiora sorts book.
All get to leave and Fiora keeps book.

‘Family and Freiburg’

Our heroes cannot resist stopping in Freiberg once more as they travel north. This brings a chance to meet Axel’s family and an opportunity to dine with Trague and the city’s assembled nobility.

So the group continues its journey north to Hafen to get a ship to Crieux. They get passage from a riverboat, which turns out to be Eve Stalzer’s boat again. This time Pietro is the one to take advantage of her other profession, meaning that both of Toos’s characters have now slept with her. Eve drops the group off in Freiberg where she needs to pause to sell her cargo. So they group decide to visit Axel’s family. Well, Axel decides to go, and then can’t get rid of the rest of the group.

The group all decide to explore Freiberg a little, but surprisingly get into very little trouble. When they visit the house of Axel’s parents (a rich town house in the upper class North East of the city) they find he has been invited to a gathering in the Wachturm. It seems that Axel’s relationship with his family, especially his father is a little strained. This may have something to do with leaving one night with a piece of Dracheneisen (his Panzerhand) and not coming back. His father wants to see his son become responsible and noble again, as he is the eldest. To this end he sends Axel to Trague’s party to escort his sisters. Viola also has an invite from Wilma Probst due to her Sophia’s Daughters connections. The rest of the group go on Axel’s invite.

The party is quite uneventful, and consists of the characters meeting up with the various characters of Freiberg. Trague does not attend, however during a game of ‘find the tail’ Bjarne and Axel run into the drunken Eisenfaust in a corridor. They chat for a while and Trague gets to like the two men, but will probably not remember them in the morning. Bjarne als oges the opportunity to debate the Vendel/Vesten situation with two Vendel merchants. Luckily things do not come to blows.

At the party, Francine gets to know the very old ‘Lord Drachenheim’ who takes rather a shine to her. The same lord nearly duels Pietro who finds a way to insult him. The party ends with Francine leaving with Lord Drachenheim (prompting references to Anna Nicole Smith from the rest of the group). She intends to rob him, but spending the night at his house severely damages her reputation. She does abscond with a silver rose bowl, which she will sell to Joshua in Hafen. The importance of the bowl becomes clearer at a later date.

The next day brings a selection of headaches and regrets. Eve returns, having finished dealing with her cargo, and the group join her journey on to Hafen.

‘Maiden Voyage’

From Hafen, passage to Crieux takes the form of the good ship Albers. However, an ancient curse and restless souls await the crew on its doomed voyage.

The group arrive in Hafen, looking to get passage to Crieux. As they wander the docks they come across a Vesten man trying to escape a group of bounty hunters. They get involved, but are overpowered. The bounty hunters tell them the man is a criminal, bound for justice in Crieux. The Bounty hunters won’t be travelling with the prisoner, so the Captain of the ship may be willing to take on guards for the trip. The ship is called ‘The Albers’ and although the Captain is rather gruff, he agrees to grant passage to Crieux for the characters help in guarding the prisoner.

Rescued by Cosette, Bjarne leaves with them

‘Dining with Dreams’

Arriving in Crieux our heroes are reunited with Clarisse and Francine’s sister Eponine. They are joined by Idunn von Laars who sought justice and was cheated of it. An abducted girl draws the group to a strange banquet where their old fairy tale enemies have risen again.

Meet up with Clarisse and Eponine
Meet Idunn and discover real history of Vincent
Axel joins the Knights
Fiora there too, Simson's third adventure

‘The Heart of Matushka’

The group become involved with the Explorer’s society and the theft of a valuable Ussuran artifact. They must find the artifact or be blamed for it's loss, but who really lusts to wield it's power? Romance blossoms and withers as Axel and Eponine begin courting, but Fiora discovers the truth about her paramour Pietro.

Pioytr appears
Capture and trial of Vincent
Pietro & Fiora romance
Alejandro returns
Scavenger Hunt (Eponine’s ‘birthday’)
Axel told to go train in Charouse
Axel sent to guard a pump

Idunn meets up with Brøn (pronounced “Brern”) who is the Vesten fighter/mage sent by her father to look after her. He lends her his knife.

Idunn’s cousin was killed by guy Bjarne set free. She has come to Montaigne to see him hung, told to look for the players

Francine is seen off at “La place des passages” (square of many Porté gateways) (lots of musketeers about and old gates). Two not-quite human glowing hands wrap around her like a lover and draw her inside.

Let people wander around the city. Point out the state of the poor hungry beggars
Since Kat bound to give people money poor people at gates of Eponine’s place. “La Jolie Femme” leads into Eponine plot (Eponine “known” for giving out money that Francine and Clarisse have given her for that purpose).

Fiora gets orders to look into Vodacce people (Pietro / Viola) and report back today. If she doesn’t her compatriots will do it anyway and she’s under suspicion of having gone rogue. Later her father arrives to give her the news (about Pietro’s wife)

Kat gets message from Sophia’s Daughters about wanting her to get close to someone (male) in Charouse so she can manipulate them (will you sleep with this person? Kill this person?). Meanwhile, make a donation. Have you told anyone of the secrets we told you (Francine).

Fiora told to get Toos’s sword out of the house for a time (to blood it) and that her old friend is married to Toos!

Eponine gets a message from an unknown source (thugs) saying they’re pissed that she’s giving money away as it’s making the peasants harder to intimidate. Frightened she turns to Clarisse who as a patron of the Rose and Cross gets Axel to bodyguard her (leading into all that ?). Eponine takes Axel shopping and then proceeds to chat him up!

People try to kidnap Eponine (Viola think people with sack are coming for her!) with big fight at the hotel

Duel between Pietro and Fiora’s companions

Pietro and Fiora romance comes to a head

They discover Western guy has escaped and gone to Avalon. They go there via secret Porté gateway. Spend night there (“I’m an Innish musician!”) with ensuing nakedness. They then get a fast boat to catch up with the Western guy and apprehend him and bring him back when he is tried and hung.

The Porté guy from the party helps them get in as Fiora helps him with the Invisible College lady and he wants to pair his son (15) off with Fiora

Bron uses lightning to shatter ice (“Jeg ringe makten av Villskap!”) and the Ilya flies in to switch off the Heart and carry it off

Pietro’s sword sheath is blooded!

‘The Haunted House’

Travelling to the shining city of Charouse, the party investigate a house they are led to by a note hidden in the pommel of a newly purchased dagger.

On the way to Charouse, Viola discovers a hidden compartment in a dagger she has recently purchased. Inside the pommel is a letter detailing great riches to be found in an abandoned Villa nearby. As the group are on the way past the house, they decide a detour is worth their time.

The house isn't haunted but occupied by a loony.
Party claim the house as their own when they find the deeds.

Viola drops out, Richard appears

‘Secrets, Sewers & Serenades’

On the way to Charouse, the group save the violinist Madeline Du Paix and meet the glamorous Richard. An adventure in the sewers of Charouse grants them a title from the Emperor himself. However this new found fame draws them into an evil plot against Montaigne by the Rilasciare.

Meet Richard during rescue of Madeline
Introduced to the Emporer and gain invites to the concert.
Madeline plays pre concert in local theatre, Fiora attends as well as Francine.
Theatre manager asks for help, Cyrano is in the audience and his enemies wish to see the performance fail.
Alejandro ends up hanging from the scenery and Idunn does a clown act.

Group asked to investigate M. Le Doit’s murder.
Post people to watch his last known places.
Emporer’s party, (Music of the Spheres)
Idunn drawn away from party (Simson away) to help in Le Doit mystery.
However she returns to follow the pc’s into the sewer for climax of adventure.
Francine falls into Porté hole.
Party granted title of ‘Knights of Music’ for saving Madeline.

Group discover lead about M. Le Droit at an inn.
Richard screws up talking to barmaid.
Axel gets into a fight with drunken guys, one gets killed.
Pietro & Alejandro attempt to remove the body and do so very badly, both locked up by musketeers.
Group discover link to Bank, and capture a conspirator.
Decode clue which leads them to the cemetery.
Hide while Castillian Ambassador, Banker and representatives of ‘Vincent’ of the Rilasciare negotiate terrorist activities in Montaigne that will help them all.
Idunn shoots the box of ammo and blows stuff up.
Much shooting and evil plan foiled.

‘Erebus Cross (Part 1) The Lady's Favour’

In which the Princess Dominique Du Montaigne charges the party with a mission to rescue her husband.

Meet Aiden
Viola returns

Race across Eisen and Castille to get to Ussura to warn Montegue

‘Erebus Cross (Part 2) Scoundrel's Folly’

Wherein the heroes must sail to the Midnight Archipelago to stop a madman unleashing a Syrneth power he cannot understand.

Go to Midnight Archepeligo to find out about the compass.
Reach 'Ille Du Bete' and mess with the bad guy.

‘Soul Mates’

Trapped on an island in the Midnight Archipelago, can our heroes lift a curse, or remain trapped in a chess game played by ancient powers.

‘Erebus Cross (Part 3) The Arrow of Heaven’

The race is on to reach Vodacce and stop Coleson releasing a Syrneth power that could destroy Théah. Can the group reach Vodacce in time, and what awaits them in the land of lies?

Looking for a rest after their dealings with Villanova, the group head for Bernoulli territory. However, their secret societies all have a job for them on a sinking island. They also run foul of a mysterious scarred man when they try and put an end to his protection racket.

‘Cabora’

A visit to Dionna adds more clues to Alison’s past. After a brief and painful interlude in Castille the group returns to Vodacce to face the Caligari and the sixth switch.

The group travel to Dionna to visit Prince Villanova, after an invitation from Fiora. Upon arriving they discover that Fiora has actually invited them on behalf of one of the Tessatore, Demora Villanova. Demora is one of the three leaders of the fate witch community, and as such even Villanova is bound to grant her guests his hospitality.

The group all dine with Villanova, as well as his wife Valentina, his lover Juliette and Fiora. They are also joined by Pietro’s wife Rosina and her five year old daughter Luisa. With so many Strega in the room, Pietro is highly unnerved, and his relationships between Alison and Fiora become obvious. So much so that when Alison sits next to Luisa she innocently asks “Are you married to my daddy now?” Apart from that the meal passes well enough and Villanova asks if Pietro would take a glass of brandy with him in another room.

Needless to say, this glass of brandy is far from innocent. Rosina joins them and tells Pietro she is angry at his return, and that Luisa is indeed his daughter. However, Rosina has managed for 5 years without him, so she commands Pietro to have nothing to do with his daughter. Villanova backs her up, saying that as Reinhard, his actions were unimportant, but now he is gaining renown as Pietro, his absence from home shows Rosina (and the Villanova family) disrespect. The two of them must come to an arrangement, or face the wrath of Giovanni himself. Rosina has been discreet in her affairs, but has recently come across a problem. Her most recent lover refuses to leave her alone, and is in the way of her pursuing another paramour. She wants Pietro to kill her lover in a duel. Playing the enraged husband. Such an act leaves her free to go after the one she really wants. A jealous duel also shows Vodacce society that Pietro is willing to avenge his family and restores his respect, pleasing Villanova. He can do little but agree. However, his wife’s embargo on seeing his daughter has proved a red rag to a bull, and Pietro determines to oppose her.

While Pietro has been away, he misses some other news. Fiora announces that she is to be married in two days time. The fiancé is a Castillian called Sebastian from the Gallegos family. The union will seal business deals her father has with the Gallegos family and grant Sebastian a certain level of respectability. It seems he has been in the Midnight Archepeligo for quite some time. However, the death of his elder brother in the war with montaigne has left him the head of the family and required his return to Castille again. Fiora seems rather nervous of the event, and is very glad to hear the group will be able to attend.

The next day the group visits Demora Villanova at her tower in another part of Dionna. It seems she is also one of the premier breeders of spiders in Vodacce and her tower is covered in them. Alejandro manages to cope rather well, but Pietro looses it completely. Well, the poor man is having rather a tough few days recently. Demora is a polite and very, very old lady. She wants to see the group as she knows Lucrezia has been playing with their strands and wants to see what she has been up to. She tells the players little about what she sees. However she says the strands are drawing them towards the Caligari, hence the reason so many of their recent adventures have involved them. She also tells Alison that she was once a Fate witch herself, scaring the hell out of her. It seems all her old strands have forged themselves into one big strand leading to Caligari’s island. Pulling the remains of Alison’s old life together, Demora grants her the ability to see this one strand (a rope to a strega and a gossamer strand to Alison). Shaken the group leave Demora, and prepare to travel to Castille, knowing fate will draw them to the Caligari island eventually.

The group visit Castille to attend Fiora's wedding
Lucrezia crashes and tells them to get moving, and Viola is attacked by memembers of her family looking to take her back.
The group go to Caligari island where Pietro has found a way into the dungeons.
They go in and find Allende
They free him but cna only escape downwards.
Reaching hte bottom they find the watercraft, Viola's metal card activates the craft itself.
Alejandro's bracelet trns off the machines, freeing hte craft.
The craft provides their escape, but sinks Caligari island and Cabora rises.

The Group are taken by the craft to Cabora before they can take contorl of it.
At Cabora is Berek's ship and the Crimson Rogers is sailing away.
They go inland to find Bonnie, but only find the body of Reis, without his coat and Scythe.
The group take the offer to sail back to Théah with the Black Dawn