Session Twenty-Two: The Canon Yeoman's Tale

Andre’s Map

While everyone gets settled in for dinner, Andre mentions that he has a map that shows where a treasure is buried near the town of Colmar, which is one of the places the pilgrimage is meant to pass through. The company is interested in this, though a touch skeptical. Only Jules seems particularly eager to find the treasure, which unnerves Andre.

Andre's Map. In Ink.

Sir Matthias

The company tells the tale of Sir Jean-Marc and asks Sir Matthias if he has seen their erstwhile companion in his travels. He confesses that he has not. He says that he found Ambrose alone and riderless, wandering through a small forest a day or so prior. After searching around and finding no one to whom the Ambrose belonged, Sir Matthias mounted him and continued his journey eastward. He tells the company that, if Ambrose belongs to their friend, he is happy to give him up. The company insists that he keep Ambrose, for now. Sir Matthias, perhaps embarrassed by their generosity, excuses himself and sets up camp elsewhere.

Garnier quietly notes that none of his companions seem at all bothered that Sir Matthias is the spitting image of the Yellow Knight, and decides not to press the issue.

Sir Henri, somewhat suspicious of Sir Matthias, asks Jules to follow the knight at a distance and see what he does. When Jules balks, Constance offers to go with him.

Errands and Visitors

Having eaten, the company decides to take a wander around the encampment outside of Castle Carcassonne. It is a lively place, even at night, and the company makes purchase from various market stalls and buys drinks at the open-air taverns.

They soon grow fatigued and retire to their encampment, where sleep quickly takes Renee. Shortly thereafter, a woman in holy vestments visits the encampment. She blesses the travelers in the name of the Lady and says that she is a member of the Brethren of the Pantheon—a religious sect that pays heed to all the goodly gods. She goes on to say that, should the company require spiritual refreshment, they are welcome to visit the Brethren’s enclave, located in the woods north of the castle. Sir Henri tithes two silver to the woman for her holy work, and the rest of the company politely thanks her and leaves.

Shortly after the woman’s departure, Sabina says, “all right, do we want to discuss just how sketchy she was?” The company agrees that the woman exuded suspicion, and admonish Sir Henri for giving her coin.

The conversation soon turns from the woman to the various Chaotic threats the company has fought, as well as the numerous hangers-on the company has accumulated on their way to Turin. This prompts Henri the innkeeper to say that he must, with apologies, ask for some coin to refresh his food stores, as he did not realize he would have quite so many mouths to feed. Between them, the company provides Henri with a shockingly large pile of gold crowns. Henri thanks them profusely, and promises that they will all feast like the monarchs of Bretonnia for the rest of the trip.

This moment of levity is quickly dashed when Frieda jostles Sabina’s arm and points over at Renee.

“She’s doing it again!”

The Message and the Mark

Renee, still asleep, is lying on her back with her left hand in the air. She is, once again, making strange gestures and muttering to herself. The company watches this in bafflement while Sabina and Frieda recount that they had seen this same behavior previously in Paix and went to the priests of the Shrine of St. Jacqueline about it.

Andre suggests that, since Renee looks like she is writing, that someone ought to stick a quill in her hand and hold up some paper, to see if she’s writing anything intelligible. Frieda quickly produces a stick of charcoal and opens one of her books to a blank page. Holding the book over Renee’s hand, the company watches in silence as Renee scribbles something down. Her seemingly random motions are actually intelligible, and produce the following:

Lady, have mercy upon your humble servant. I beg you, please, in the name of all
that is holy, send someone to relieve me of this miserable burden.

Realizing that something foul is at work, the company awaken Renee and tell her what’s going on. Pierre asks to inspect her left arm, which had been wounded in the fight with Amelia (the daemon of Slaanesh) in Poissy. Pierre unwraps the old bandages to see that, in addition to his stitching, Renee has a very sinister looking mark that looks as if it has been branded on her skin.

Sabina thinks that the words Renee was writing sound very similar to the “wishes” given to people by the wandering monk. She and Frieda also think that the mark looks similar to the curious ideograms that accompany the wishes. They, and the rest of the company, agree that Renee has been marked by Chaos, and try to decide what to do about the problem. After some discussion, it is decided that Pierre will attempt to surgically remove the brand to see if that helps. Andre and Maurice run off to one of the open-air taverns to buy the strongest drink they can afford.

Renee is given half the contents of the bottle procured by Andre and Maurice, and is then asked to bite down on a leather strap. She bears the pain very well as Pierre does his work quickly and with calm efficiency.

Partway through the procedure, Jules and Constance return to report that Sir Matthias has set up camp and is resting. They only get partway through this message when they see Renee’s impromptu surgery and begin yelling in shock. They are quickly calmed, however.

Pierre succeeds in removing the mark, however, when he has finished his work, a beam of yellow light leaps from Renee’s arm and strikes him in the forehead, knocking him unconscious. He awakes in a foggy place in front of a large stone ruin. Within the ruin, a lumpy creature mocks him, laughs at him, and addresses him with strange turns of phrase and cryptic riddles.

The figure then allows Pierre to ask them one question. Pierre responds with, “what is your name?” The figure explains that they have many names, some of which Pierre already knows very well. The figure then laughs again and dismisses Pierre, causing him to regain consciousness.

Pierre awakens surrounded by his companions. He tells them what he experienced and then, with shaking hand, checks on Renee a final time. The company all agrees that they have had enough for the day and decide to get to sleep, which they do.

More Errands and Visitations

The next morning, at Henri the innkeeper’s urging, the company visits the Shrine of the Sword, which is a holy site erected at Castle Carcassonne in remembrance of the unknown warriors that have perished defending Bretonnia’s southern borders. The company acquires sword-shaped pilgrim badges, which they add to their collection, and spend some time asking their usual questions about pilgrims and monks. None of the officiants at the shrine remember seeing a monk, but they do definitely remember Gascon and the pilgrims.

This talk of pilgrims attracts the attention of a rugged, pockmarked, bow-wielding man who introduces himself as Bram. He tells the company that he has a score to settle with their erstwhile boss, Gascon, whom he knows as Godfrey. Bram says that Godfrey had convinced him that he was an alchemist who was seeking a reliable method of turning base metals into gold, and had asked Bram (then a yeoman of means) to finance his research. When Bram ran out of money, Godfrey ran out on Bram, and Bram has been pursuing him ever since.

The company explains that they have no particular love of their employer, whom they have been trying to catch for quite a while now. Andre, who had been with the pilgrims until recently, says that he (and others) was getting quite fed up with all of Gascon’s surprise fees and taxes, and harbors no particular love for the man, either. The company agrees to let Bram accompany them eastward and says, that if they ever catch up with the pilgrims, they’ll let Bram have the first punch.

Renee, who remembers that a man identified as Godfrey of Ranald had a bounty on his head, insists that she be second in line.

The company then parts ways to do a last little bit of shopping prior to setting off eastward after the pilgrims. Magnus and Garnier happen to see a banner for their old mercenary company—the Company of Ash. When they approach it, they run into one of their old companions, Michel, who—due to some dental issues—is colloquially known as “Michel the Toothless.”

Michel is delighted to see the two men, and is even more excited when he hears that Maurice is with them. He asks Magnus and Garnier if they are here to muster out with the company, as word has come up from the south that the orks are once again advancing out of the southern mountains. The two men say that they are on pilgrimage, but that they may join the Company of Ash once their business is done. A moment later, Magnus makes a quieter, less committal remark about winning the favor of the love of his life, the Lady Josephine.

Michel is excited to hear this. He says that he’s going to grab a table at one of the taverns, and tells the Magnus and Garnier to go find Maurice and bring him along for drinks. They agree, and part ways.

Bram, Yeoman of Bretonnia

Frieda’s Tasty Past

Somewhere nearby, Sir Henri makes his way across the mustering ground to where Sir Matthias has camped. Sir Henri’s plan is to ask the knight errant to travel eastward with the company.

He has not quite reached Sir Matthias’ encampment when he hears a familiar voice calling for help. Turning around, he sees Frieda being lead away in chains by a formidable-looking woman dressed in Imperial clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.

“Sir Henri! Help!”

Knowing what he must do, Sir Henri goes to find and rally the others to Frieda’s defense.