2015 Jan 4 (Gammon)
“Sacrificed to the Vul-Twin”
A tale of _#SundayAMSwords_
A raucous celebration of the New Year. Frogfolk throat-singing the songs to the first moon of the new year. Taryb, in gilded cage, bearing a sea green sash with salt-encrusted lock. Frogfolk winching the gilded cage up a massive pole towards the moon. At top of pole, a massive vulture with two snake heads: THE VUL-TWIN!
Gammon, drunk, singing the true song of the moon that he learned on the moon. The Scythian climbing the pole to rescue Taryb. The two snake-heads menacing Taryb from either side. She is (nearly) eaten from both ends, like a long piece of spaghetti. Taryb’s flute, bringing slumber to all who hear. The sleeping, massive snake-heads twisting and wrecking the cage.
A caravan of ancient homes, sleek in form, lugged on crude wooden wheels. The caravan leader Abra, a stout woman with curly red and silver hair. Abra plying Taryb with vermillion liquor. The Vul-Twin’s shadow across the moon. The stars are wrong, and the moon moves in the wrong direction! The workings of heavenly bodies are amiss.
The Scythian, awaking in comfort, crawling to the front of the caravan. Abra bears the signs of serving the Frogfolk.
Gammon, examining the treasure room. Disdainfully breaking a carved wizard-whale. Gems of successively larger sizes, the last filled with life. Within the gem, two tiny snake-heads and a pair of wings stirring. Gammon lifting the jewel-egg. Look with your eyes, not with your hands!
Frogfolk clinging to the outside of the caravan. Lashing at Gammon with sticky tongue. Gammon eaten from one end, like a long piece of moon-person. The frogman biting off more than he can chew.
Flashback: Beneath the sea, a meeting of frogfolk and wizard-whale. What morsel would the gods of sea and slumber offer to the frogfolk? Taryb, of course.
In the caravan, Abra bears a salt-encrusted key, a relic of the gods of the briny deep. Only it will open the lock ‘pon Taryb’s sash. Taryb chokes Abra with the sash.
The Vul-twin lands, menacing Taryb and Abra with venom-dripping fangs. The Scythian lifting Abra as an offering. Taryb refusing to let her go, even as she is swallowed. Why wouldn’t Taryb let go to save herself from the Vultwin?
Massive frogman with wicked trident chained to wrist. A hurl towards Gammon’s heart. Deflection, and Gammon running up the chain. Enraged, the frogman’s fury brings its own trident back on itself. The jewel-egg falling and shattering. Beware that your victory is not so extravagant that it robs you of your prize.
The Vul-twin strking at The Scythian. Guardian moon shattering in defense. The other head, swallowing Abra, Taryb, The Scythian all. Taryb diving down the throat after the key. The Scythian’s sword, beheading the beast from the inside. Taryb, The Scythian, and the head fall to the ground. Corrosive venom dissolving the skin, leaving them in a cage of snake-bone, like the gilded cage.
Players were Epidiah Ravachol as Overplayer, Aaron Feild as The Scythian, and Keith Stetson as Taryb and me as Gammon.
Link to virtual tabletop: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1kTdqrtZhkuXLiFiY_pkoCcuRvY1iCvw8Wb4z7lqEUCs/edit?usp=sharing
You are fast, sir! My own write up proceeds much more slowly.
ReplyDelete1-4-15 Taryb, a pawn in the scheme of the gods of sea and slumber, is offered up as a sacrifice to the frog people's twin-snake-headed vulture god to usher in the new year. She is imprisoned in a gilded cage that the frog people carry up a pole to the moon and their waiting god. The Sythian and Gammora attend the raucous festivities. While Gammon attempts to teach the frog people the True Song of the Moon, the Scythian scales the pole to free Taryb. Taryb hears Gammon’s song, and while it is a true song of the moon, the moon has two true songs - waxing and waning. Taryb takes out her pipe and plays the song of the waning moon. All who hear it slowly slump into slumber: frog people reveling, the Scythian scaling, and the god Vultwin attempting to devour Taryb from both ends. The monstrosity descends into slumber and topples from its pole, tearing the gilded cage asunder as it falls and freeing Taryb as she finishes her song.
ReplyDeleteWe rejoin our heroes in a caravan, the twisted cage used as payment to Abra, the caravan’s stout and curly-haired headmistress. The Scythian observes her carefully and realizes she is an agent of the frogs and merely using Taryb as protection from the Vultwin, whose shadow cuts across the full moon. Taryb, drunk on vermillion liquor, gazes at the constellations that seem foreign. How long was she below the waves? And didn’t the moon previously move the opposite direction?
Gammon finds himself among riches untold, among which is a jewel-egg with a the shadow of baby Vultwin inside. The frogs try to seize it and it drops from Gammon’s grasp even as he tears apart his attacker in a shower of gore. A massive frogman emerges from the crowd seeking retribution. He, too, falls to Gammon.
At the head of the caravan, Abra whispers forlorn words into Taryb’s ears and brandishes a salt-encrusted key. Could this open the lock affixed to the kelp-green sash? And if so, what would happen? Taryb does not wait to find out and instead of offering up the lock, wraps the sash it is attached to around Abra’s neck and pulls slowly and inexorably. The Scythian tries to persuade Taryb to disengage, but it is too late; the trio is lifted into the air by the Vultiwn. The heads chomp and all three are encompassed in the venom-drench mouth. Abra’s hand opens and the key slides down the gullet. Taryb dives down, tethered by the kelp-green sash. The Scythian hauls her upward and tired of soothing words, slices the Vultwin’s head off clean from the inside. The severed husk falls to the ground with Taryb and the Scythian cradled in its concavity. The powerful venom, separated from its system, melts the flesh from the skull and the duo find themselves sitting in an inverted cage of bone. Taryb regards her hands, empty.
Nice write-up!
ReplyDeleteMy natural writing speed is very, very slow. I can't afford the time to write up these Swords games in the full text they deserve, so I developed this weird "subject-only" format that keeps me moving swiftly. Plus, I copy the motifs and drop them where they belong.
Thanks for the write-up. I missed some detail about the interplay between Taryb and The Scythian. I live multiple perspectives.
Michael Miller, most session synopses (any RPG) are pretty boring to read, unless you (the reader) were involved. Not yours, though. I like this style, it's like a montage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John Willson! Maybe since there are only images, the reader needs to fill in the rest of what is happening in their heads, so it's kinda like participating in an RPG session.
ReplyDelete