Bretonnia Tales: Coda

The game is over, but the characters and the stories live on. Included below are some of my (non-canonical) thoughts on where the company go, and what they do, now that their grand pilgrimage has come to a conclusion.

Coda

As one final “gift,” the Stranger provided the members of the company a glimpse of the future. The Stranger smiled as he did this, and warned the company that the future, like the best laid plans, are easily changed.

The company’s return journey to Brionne is pleasant and without incident. The company is glad for the peace and quiet. Upon arrival in Brionne, Henri the innkeeper treats them all to a final, lavish meal at the Surcoat Inn. Henri first toasts his nephew, who has managed to keep the Surcoat running in his absence, and then the company. He knows that they must all go back to their own lives now, but he hopes that they will keep in touch.

Garnier, Pierre, and Maurice travel together, heading south to the mountains to pick up some mercenary work. Garnier tells the tales of his (and the company’s, but mostly his) exploits on his pilgrimage, winning coin, fame, and acclaim wherever he goes. His stories become increasingly embellished, but the trio are able to back up his more improbable claims with their skills, which only improves their reputations.

Pierre becomes well known throughout Carcassonne as a great healer. The talisman he received from the Lady allows him to brew a curative nostrum that can cure nearly any wound. His skills are much in demand for the next year or so, as mercenaries and shepherds of Bretonnia fight the orkish hordes in the southern mountains.

Maurice, too, wins himself fame as an eagle-eyed archer and slayer of many orks. There are whispers that he is responsible for breaking an orkish siege on a mountain fortress by poisoning the orks’ water supply, but one can give little heed to such idle gossip.

The trio run across Garnier and Maurice’s old companion, Maurice the Toothless. They find that he has finally bought himself a nice set of dentures.

Sabina and Frieda go off together, continuing to travel the land, fighting the odd group of bandits, and having adventures. At some point in the future, Frieda invites Sabina to come with her to the Empire. They marry, but do not settle down even slightly. The taverns near their home in Altdorf become significantly rowdier. 

Late at night, Frieda uses her diary entries from the pilgrimage as a reference to write a book. Five hundred years later, it is still widely read throughout the Empire, though largely by those who pursue classical literature degrees.

Renee goes off on her own, using her newfound skills to collect increasingly dangerous and rewarding bounties. She surprises and terrifies everyone when she drags a Chaos fish demon from the River Brienne to a shrine of Mannann fifteen miles away. Alive. And in her net. She is rewarded handsomely, but it is not enough. She still needs money to travel to Araby and buy one of those golden horses.

Sir Jean-Marc and Sir Henri continue to travel the land, righting wrongs, fighting the good fight, and honoring the Lady. With them go their squires, Jim and Jules. With sufficient time and instruction--and without Garnier to constantly bother him, Jules becomes slightly less of a dink. This is not enough to elevate him to knighthood, alas, but it is an improvement.

Several years later, Sir Henri knights the now Sir James in a ceremony at the Shrine of Saint Maxense in Poissy. Sir James takes Jules to be his squire. Jules accepts, which draws applause and tears from his mother.

Antonella and Andre continue their beautiful friendship and continue to improve the landship. They soon outfit it with cannons, as well as some custom modifications that allows it to travel the water as well as on the land. Andre spends some time sailing at speed down the Brienne, swamping small boats and splashing anyone fool enough to be standing on the shore.

Andre’s collection of fanciful hats grows. One day, he purchases an antique hat that once belonged to the explorer Pysarrew. Stitched into the lining, Andre finds yet another treasure map, though this one seems genuine and seems to lead to some place called “Ye Cittey of Gold.” Andre hires a crew and sets sail across the ocean, looking for this mythical city of riches and magic.

Arnaulf the cook periodically contacts the company and the other pilgrims by mail. He mostly asks for drinking money.

The Surcoat Inn becomes one of the most famous inns in Brionne, thanks to Henri the innkeeper and his seemingly endless tales from his pilgrimage. He has set up a shadow box at his bar that holds numerous keepsakes from his pilgrimage, including a monogrammed comb, a notion bought from the Tilean merchant, Lucovido Giallo, numerous pilgrimage badges, and a slightly rusty tinderbox with "GR” engraved on it.

Henri also wins great acclaim for his cooking. It was already excellent before, but now it has gained the reptation of being able to heal various minor ailments. Henri chalks it up to having been permitted to touch the Shroud of King Gilles, and profusely thanks his friend, Sir Henri, for making it possible.

And What of Magnus?

What, Indeed?

Magnus travels Bretonnia for a while with his mercenaries. His reputation as a fearsome warrior precedes him, and he soon gathers many sellswords to his banner. He and his company acquit themselves very well in the recent orkish uprisings in the south, giving no quarter or mercy to the greenskins they encounter.

Maurice, Garnier, and Pierre encounter Magnus during this campaign. They find Magnus much changed. He is harder, colder, more prone to outbursts of sudden violence. Some of his mercenaries confide to the trio that they fear that Magnus is mad. They tell tales of him leaping from his horse to fight squads of orks by himself, armed only with a dagger.

Yes. That Dagger.

When the orks are at last driven back to their mountain strongholds, Magnus returns to Maisy and, somehow, successfully woos the Lady Josephine. The two marry later that year.

Magnus’ mercenary company become permanent residents of Castle Maisy, significantly adding to its fighting strength. Over time, several of the sellswords depart Maisy. Most claim that they have itching feet, or that they are looking for battles to win. Others claim that they have grown too afraid of the increasingly dark moods of their lord and lady…

The Coda to the Coda

In the canonical Warhammer Fantasy universe, the End Times are fast approaching. What happens in this timeline is that Chaos attacks the entire world at the same time. Then they win. Then they destroy the world.

Before it is destroyed, Sigmar rescues as many people as he can and moves them to the Realms of Magic, where he creates a new world and rules over it as one of the biggest and most powerful gods. He also takes the opportunity to create a new setting and a new product line.

This ending is too grimdark for me and, since my version of Bretonnia is decidedly not canon, I’ve decided to make some changes.

In keeping with the original canon, there is a climactic battle against the forces of Chaos, and King Gilles returns to Bretonnia in its darkest hour. He is incarnated as the Green Knight and fights evil on behalf of the Lady.

In the Geoffian canon, the company successfully protects the Shroud, which is Gilles’ link to the physical world that allows him to manifest. When he does, he takes down the tarnished copper panoply from the inner sanctum of the Temple of Myrmidia, gears up, and rides forth. He wields Loren, the Verdant Blade, which has been further empowered by Sir Jean-Marc’s battles against Chaos Undivided.

This, plus other small things, prevents (or at least postpones) the End Times. There’s still Chaos, and the world is still kind of messy and ugly, but it’s still there. A blow to Games Workshop’s bottom line? Perhaps, but eeeeh?

After all, the Chaos god of Chaos can foil any plans. Even those of a multinational gaming company.

 Fin

 

Session Fifty-One: The Parson's Tale and Apology

The Last Battle

Jaune Bridge: The Site of the Final Battle

The company makes haste to intercept the enemy forces. They soon find themselves on the northern side of one of Turin’s many bridges. Coming up from the south is a column of dangerous foes, including:

• An animated palanquin, golden and enclosed in a crystalline bell jar. The palanquin has a massive lion’s head on the front and smaller lion’s heads on its flanks. Within the bell jar floats a dwarf-sized individual, mummified in bloodred bandages.
• Four palanquin guards: Armored giants with metal masks and greatswords. They look identical to the Tree Guardian that Magnus defeated in Colmar.
• Numerous skeletons made of blue crystal surrounded in auras of crackling blue energy.

Upon sighting the enemy, Sabina hears an angry voice screaming in her head, demanding her to “use me, complete the cycle, and kill your enemy.” Searching her pack, she soon discovers that the screaming is coming from the cursed knife she took from the Chaos dwarf Qorzan. She also notices that the knife now bears Qorzan’s face and, from that, surmises that the small, red mummy is actually Qorzan “reborn.”

As the enemy forces march north to take the bridge, the four palanquin guards remove their masks. Their faces are so demonic and hideous that Maurice—who has already perched himself atop a roof—goes mad with panic.

Warp Skeletons

The company engages their foes. Sir Jean-Marc separates himself early, hoping to come around behind the palanquin and force their enemy to fight on two fronts. He is delayed when four of the crystal skeletons surround him. Sir Jean-Marc defeats them all handily, but is disappointed that no one else saw him do it.

Sir Henri rushes forward to slow the enemy’s advance. He is soon joined by Renee. Between them, they
kill numerous crystal skeletons. Sir Henri uses his mace to shatter three of them in as many seconds. Everyone sees him do it, and think that he is the greatest knight that has ever lived.

Sabina fires her pistol at the palanquin’s bell jar, only to find that her bullet bounces off harmlessly. For the remainder of the battle, she switches between her bow, her axe, and her other pistol to fight the skeletons and the palanquin guards. The cursed knife, increasingly enraged, continues to goad her into killing Qorzan, but to no avail.

Quorzan, Resurrected

Garnier follows Maurice’s lead and climbs up on a rooftop, where he can more easily rain arrows down upon the enemy. While on the rooftop, he spies knights in red and yellow fighting cultists in a nearby courtyard. He recognizes the knights’ colors and realizes that they are from Grandcamp—the household of Sir Henri’s liege, and that they are too far away to do anything.

As the battle rages on, the two smaller lion’s heads on the palanquin continue to disgorge additional crystalline skeletons. A lucky shot from Garnier damages one of the heads, but not enough to keep it from creating more skeletons.

Maurice at last recovers himself. Realizing that the palanquin is the greatest danger, he draws the arrow that the Lady gave him and fires it at the crystalline dome. The arrow transforms into a beam of blue-white light and strikes the dome with enough force to shatter it. The levitating red mummy floats away from the damaged palanquin, rising higher and higher into the sky. It launches numerous magical attacks from its vantage, but the Lady’s grace protects the company from the worst of these effects.

Garnier takes the bird ring uncursed by the Lady and places it on his finger. He commands the ring to transform him into one of Araby’s giant vultures, which are large enough to carry off a horse. His clothing and equipment fall off of him as he transforms. Somehow, his jaunty hat remains on his head and his codpiece finds itself looped around his right leg.

Garnier's Approximate Size in Vulture Form

Garnier, now in bird form, flies down to the palanquin and rakes it with his mighty beak and talons. In doing so, he destroys the numerous magical runes that empower and control the palanquin. The now inanimate palanquin lets out a shower of sparks and collapses beneath bird-Garnier’s weight. It will produce no more skeletons.

Sir Jean-Marc rushes that destroyed palanquin from behind and faces off against two of its giant guardians. He is aided by Bird-Garnier, who flaps down and lashes at the guardians with beak and claw. This flurry of attacks causes Garnier’s monogramed tinderbox to fly out of his codpiece and hit Sir Jean-Marc in the head. Sir Jean-Marc, disgusted at this, grabs the tinderbox and angrily tosses it in the river.

On the other side of the palanquin, Renee and Sir Henri fend off one other guardian and a squad of skeletons. The fighting is so ferocious there that they are unable to stop the last guardian and the remaining skeletons from closing with their back lines.

Quorzan casts a spell on Maurice, reversing gravity and causing Maurice to rise into the air. Maurice fires back at Qorzan, piercing the wrappings on his arm and letting forth a torrent of red sand. The cursed dagger rages at this, screaming at Sabina that she should be the one to kill Qorzan.

Realizing Quorzan is now vulnerable, Pierre, Sabina, and Maurice send arrows skyward, tearing additional holes in the mummy’s bandages and disgorging even more red sand. The mummy rapidly deflates, its now loose wrappings falling lifeless to the pavement below.

With the sorcerer dead a second time, gravity reasserts itself on Maurice. He falls, lands badly on the roof, and sprains his ankle. Fortunately, he manages to keep his balance just enough so that he remains on the rooftop and doesn’t fall onto the street below.

The Palanquin Guardians

The cursed knife, apoplectic with rage, begins pulsing and vibrating in Sabina’s backpack. Sabina, fearful that the dagger is going to do something very bad, throws it at one of the palanquin guardians. The dagger buries itself in the guardian’s chest and explodes, killing it.

At roughly the same time, Garnier and Sir Jean-Marc bring down one of the palanquin guardians in the rear, while Sir Henri slays the guardian he has been going toe-to-toe with.

The company now realizes that, when one of the guardian’s dies, its remaining strength is divided among the survivors. The last guardian attacks Garnier and Sir Jean-Marc with incredible power and ferocity, laying about itself with its massive greatsword. Sir Jean-Marc is wounded, but his armor and vigor protects him enough that he is able to strike back and land a telling blow with Loren, the Verdant Blade.

Garnier, not to be outdone, finishes off the guardian with a snap of his beak before flying over to his other companions and shattering the last of the skeletons.

As the company pauses to regroup, they hear a rumbling from down the street. With a feeling of dread, they turn to face this new challenge, only to see their own landship, piloted by Andre and Antonella. There is a joyous reunion. Andre seems pleased at how many cultists he was able to run over.

The Apology

There are parties, toasts, awards, and congratulations aplenty. In the midst of it all, the company slips away, seeking a quiet moment to reflect on their long and very eventful pilgrimage.

They find themselves in a park near the basilica. It is a beautiful day. There are fresh winds and light clouds. There are bees among the flowers and birds in the trees.

Then, all of a sudden, an eerie hush draws over the land. A bird takes flight from a nearby tree, only to stop in midair.

At that moment, the company spies an older, bearded man in a yellow robe approaching them. He pauses to pluck the bird out of the air before cocking his arm and tossing it over the garden wall. He continues until he has reached the company then, hands on his hips, he surveys them all before bursting into laughter.

Many words are exchanged between the Stranger and the company, though they cannot remember all of what they spoke of once time resumes its course. Among other things, they learn the Stranger’s name, and that he is the Chaos God of Chaos. He is the oldest of the Ruinous Powers and the least respected. Having seen all his siblings’ machinations in Bretonnia, he decided to teach them a lesson.

To do so, he used the monk and the company as pawns, so that his siblings’ plans could be discovered and foiled. Now, with his siblings’ machinations in ruins, and with the great army of Chaos Undivided destroyed, the Stranger releases the company from his service and allows them to go back to their lives.

He then departs. The moment he leaves, the bees once again buzz, the bird rights itself in the sky, and the clouds once again begin to move. The company return to the festivities, the end of their pilgrimage, and the future. 

The Final Form of the Company's "Benefactor"

 

Here is ended the book of the tales of Bretonnia, compiled by 
Geoffrey Bottone, of whose soul Chaucer have mercy. Amen.

Sessions Forty-Nine and Fifty: The Parson’s Tale

The event that will one day be known as “The Battle of Turin” is joined. Conflict erupts on at least three fronts. The company acquits themselves well, but their foes prove deadly and numerous.

The Battle of the Sewerjacks

Cultists on the Attack!

Maurice, gagging and coughing, manages to stagger beyond the bounds of the toxic gas cloud. He is helped by a sewerjack, who fits him with a breathing mask. The sewerjack is quickly felled by the Night Shroud (Chaos assassin) who lobbed the poison gas globe initially. The Night Shroud hurls a dagger anointed with manticore venom, which sorely wounds the sewerjack and forces him to fall asleep to death.

As a ring of cultists rushes in to finish the job, Maurice readies his bow and tries to thin their numbers.

Inside, Pierre, badly afflicted by the poison, finds a trap door and raises it. He manages to get all of the sewerjacks inside to follow him, and they all retreat into the guildhall’s basement. As the gas pours in after them, the sewerjacks put on respirators, before similarly equipping Pierre and picking up their “poking poles.” Thus provisioned, they return to the surface in force.

They burst out the door of the guildhall, surprising the Night Shroud and several cultists. Pierre is wounded by the Night Shroud, who in turn suffers a savage drubbing from the angry sewerjacks. Maurice helps as he can, picking off the other cultists with his bow.

Pierre manages to get a telling blow on the Night Shroud as the assassin plucks something off of his belt…

The Battle of the Basilica

Sir Jean-Marc, atop Ambrose, gallops back to the center of the city. He soon meets up with Sir Henri, the Baron of Turin, and his knights, and the might cohort rides onward to the basilica.

They find the holy place in disarray, with commonfolk running around screaming and several of the Empire guards injured or slain. The surviving guards have taken up a defensive perimeter around the entrance to the Shroud’s viewing room, fending it off against attackers.

Eight cultists have mounted the altar of Myrmydia, and are in the midst of a blasphemous ritual as the knights ride in. The knights do not dismount, instead urging their horses to a gallop as the ritual reaches a crescendo. The cultists ritually stab themselves and call upon the name of Khorne as a mighty daemon steps into the world.

Sir Jean-Marc couches his lance and urges Ambrose toward the nearest cultist. He strikes true, piercing the cultist’s head and tearing it from his lifeless body. Sir Jean-Marc leaps from his horse, draws Loren, and charges through the gap to challenge the daemon. He trades blows with the abyssal nightmare, wounding it and deflecting its bloodied sword with shield and armor.

As the battle ensues, the surviving cultists on the altar flee screaming. 

The Daemon of Khorne

The baron and his knights are overcome by the daemon’s fearsome aura, too afraid to engage it. They do battle the retreating cultists, however, though one does manage to break free of their line and flee across the basilica’s floor.

Sir Henri, too, is overawed by the sight of the daemon, but upon seeing Sir Jean-Marc fighting so bravely, he recovers his courage, dismounts his horse, and charges into the fray. The daemon shrugs off his blows, seemingly uninjured by them, but does turn to face Sir Henri. A moment later, its features curl in an expression of disgust and hatred.

“GRANDCAMP,” it roars, recognizing Sir Henri’s colors. “HATEFUL ENEMY! I WILL DESTROY YOU AND YOUR COMPANIONS, AND REDEEM MYSELF IN THE EYES OF MY GREAT LORD!”

Sir Henri realizes that this daemon is all that remains of Louise, Baroness of Maisy. He redoubles his efforts.

The last fleeing cultist does not get very far. He runs smack in to Henri the innkeeper, who brains him with the haft of his borrowed halberd.

Baroness Louise, Pre-Makeover

The Battle of the Crypts

Far beneath the basilica, Renee, Garnier, and Sabina make ready for the skaven to break through the floor of the crypts. They are aided by a dozen Imperial guard, as well as a large cauldron of boiling water and a carpet of caltrops.

The skaven blast through the floor with a powerful explosive. Garnier, through some preternatural sense, knows when the explosion will come a moment before it does, and warns everyone to take cover. In the aftermath of dust and smoke, he kicks the cauldron over, splashing gallons of boiling water into the hole. There are satisfying shrieks and curses as the water scalds the skaven gathering below.

This gives the guard, Sabina, and Renee a moment to get ready. Thus prepared, they watch as wet and steaming skaven begin pouring through the breach. Several of the smaller skaven are afraid to brave the caltrops, but are kicked down onto them by their larger, more brutal comrades. Using the smaller skaven as a protective carpet, the larger skaven move to engage the guards.

This first exchange is bloody and swift. Several guards fall, but the initial swarm of skaven are pushed back into the hole. There is a moment where the companions think they might have repelled the onslaught, but then they hear cackling and the clanking of skaven machinery.

The second wave bursts up from below, accompanied by a skaven in heavy armor and wearing a tank on its back. This tank is connected, via hose, to a nozzle-like contraption, which drips liquid flame as its bearer climbs into view. The skaven is about to unleash a jet of Warpfire onto the companions, but a lucky crossbow shot from Renee pierces the tank. It explodes in a massive fireball, obliterating its wearer and every skaven nearby.

The defending guards are, fortuitously, only slightly singed by the explosion.

There is another moment of eerie calm, but this too is shattered when a skaven of massive size and strength claws its way out of the hole in the floor. It lets out a roar of rage and hurls itself at Renee, its claws gleaming with impregnated Warpstone.

Requiem for a Warpfire Thrower

The Sewerjacks Triumphant

The Night Shroud, wounded and facing two angry sewerjacks and Pierre, throws a smoke bomb and flees. Pierre takes a swing at him as he retreats, but injures only air.

The remaining cultists also turn tail and run, leaving Pierre and Maurice unsure of what to do next. There is a suggestion that they follow the cultists and finish them off, but this idea is quickly abandoned.

One of the sewerjacks approaches Pierre and says, “so. Skaven in the sewers, eh? We should clean them out.”

The Fires of Myrmidia

The battle within the basilica continues. The baron and his knights recover their courage and press the advantage, but the daemon’s otherworldly hide is immune to their mortal weapons.

Sir Henri, whose mace also does nothing to the daemon, spies the great brazier of Myrmidia burning with the goddess’ holy flame. Throwing down his mace, he pits his strength against the weighty brazier, tipping it toward the daemon. The daemon screams as the sanctified fires of Myrmidia incinerate it. Thrashing and begging for Khorne to save her, the daemon dies.

The last of the cultists in the basilica fall to its guards and the pilgrims. For a moment, it seems that the trouble is over. The brief respite is broken when a guard, breathless and bloodied, staggers up the steps from the lower levels. He says that he has been sent by Renee, warns that an army of skaven are burrowing up from below, and calls for reinforcements.

Sir Jean-Marc and Sir Henri answer the call, racing down the stairs to the catacombs.

The Slightly Overcome Baron of Turin

Garnier Has a Gun

The massive rat ogre slashes at Renee, attempting to rip her to pieces with its claws. Meanwhile, another band of skaven come up through the hole in the floor. A small squad of them quickly assemble a jezzail and prepare to fire it at the party.

The rest of the defenders hold their own against the advancing skaven and are aided in their efforts by Sir Henri and Sir Jean-Marc, who come barreling into the room to enter the fray! Meanwhile, Garnier uses his skills and stealth to creep as close as he can to the jezzaliers.

When the jezzalier team is at last ready to fire, Garnier seizes the far end of the barrel and pushes it in a slightly different direction. When the jezzail goes off, it strikes the rat ogre instead of Sir Henri, blowing its head clean off. Sir Jean-Marc, recalling his encounter with the minotaur, steps deftly to one side before the headless corpse lands on top of him.

The jezzaliers are surprised that they killed their rat ogre ally, but also quite impressed with themselves.

A Dreaded Rat Ogre

The Sewers

Pierre, Maurice, and the sewerjacks enter the storm drain near the river. They follow the sounds of battle until they reach a sewer tunnel where a horde of skaven are massed at the far end. The skaven are trying to force additional troops and equipment through a hole in the ceiling.

The rearmost skaven notice the new threat and squeak a warning. Several skaven rush forward to deal with Pierre, Maurice, and the sewerjacks. Another jezzalier team quickly assembles their heavy weapon and opens fire on the heroes.

Maurice and Pierre soak one of Maurice’s arrows in oil and proceed to light it on fire. When Maurice fires this arrow, he aims not at the skaven, but at a barrel of warpstone powder in their munition stores.

The barrel detonates, killing most of the skaven downstairs and forcing the surviving skaven upstairs to drop their weapons and flee.

As the defenders upstairs pull themselves out of the rubble and dust themselves off, Maurice pokes his head through what remains of the hole to greet them.

Reunited and victorious, the company returns upstairs.

Skaven Jezzaliers are No Match for Their Own Munitions Stores

A Lull

The company return to the basilica to the acclaim of the exhausted and battered defenders. Bishop Isidore thanks the company profusely, and informs them that the Shroud has escaped harm. The baron of Turin also congratulates them on their battle prowess and bravery, and promises to give them many honors for their services to Turin.

The celebrations are interrupted when a badly wounded guard rides into the basilica on horseback. She apologizes to the baron and the bishop, saying that though she and her comrades defended the city gates as best as they could, enemy forces have broken through. She warns that a powerful force of undead and sorcerous might now marches to the basilica. The guard is able to say little else before her wounds overcome her. She slips off her horse and falls lifeless to the floor of the basilica.