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.