The Diary of Mikola Ludmilova

The Jewel of the Wildëa, part 2

In which we render many Broo armless…

Windsday, Disorderweek, Seaseason, 611 – afternoon

Having said goodbye to the Azraelites, we get going again and spend an uneventful afternoon. We set camp in the wilderness – I can’t see many of these landmarks we’re supposed to be navigating by. Nadia cooks a very nice meal – what with the Azraelite’s little feast I’m feeling wonderfully fat. We set watches but nothing disturbs our slumber – except Najinski’s snoring.

Fireday, Disorderweek, Seaseason, 611

Fireday – not auspicious, and it lives up to its name. I think all this unrelenting sunlight is getting to us – well, definitely to me. I think we’re all getting a little short-tempered.

Mid-afternoon, me and Tatiana both spot tracks crossing our path koso (obliquely). Taking a closer look, we see a lot of largish cloven hoof bipeds – Broo or Satyrs? Probably Broo! But they’re mixed with smaller and lighter hooves that look too small for Broo – unless they take their kids with them – but they’re probably quadrupeds – small goats? There’s also a couple of smallish human feet.

While we’ve got our heads down the others spot some people coming toward us. By people I mean humans – barbarians, by the look of them, following the Broo tracks. Anya and Tatiana decide to wait for them to catch up so we rest in the shade of a nearby tree – it’s not much relief but every little helps.

They reach us some twenty minutes later – a dozen men. Though they are well armed, they don’t draw any weapons, not even bows. They’re definitely tribal, in armour of cured animal leathers – the human equivalent of my limb armour fashioned from beetle elytra (or nadkryl'ya, as we say in Trollish).

There follows a brief interval of humour as we clumsily try out various languages on each other but eventually Anya establishes a common tongue of Lunatic, which I am able to follow, thanks to Mother’s foresight.

“Hello, dark ladies and men!” which puts them one up on the Azraelites. The speaker is Cerdic and his lieutenant is Bardi. They are Sable-riders but are pursuing on foot some Broo who raided their camp (presumably while the warriors were elsewhere) and stole some women and sable calves because they don’t want to let the Broo know they’re being followed.

Perhaps because they feel uncomfortable to be without their mounts (I know I’m missing Klyka), they start buttering us up, offering “a token of our appreciation” in return for our aid – obviously they want numbers on our side and, let’s face it, we look tough – Najinski looks brutal. Anya and Tatiana confer briefly before readily agreeing – sounds exciting!

Cerdic thinks they’re only a few hours behind the Broo and we’ll catch them up on or just after dusk. We set out but it takes a little longer. When it gets dark, the Sable-riders produce cunning lanterns that shine narrow beams of light at the ground, but the tracks are easy to follow by Darksense.

Then, not much more than an hour after dark, we spy a camp fire a couple of hundred yards ahead – we can clearly make out individual Broo in the firelight – they’re only lightly armoured.

Cerdic discusses tactics with us: Tatiana thinks we should shower them with slings and bows before storming in with mace and maul. She suggests we spread out in a line and Cerdic orders six of his Sable-riders to each flank. We’ll all shoot, then we Trolls will charge while the Sable-riders keep up the arrow-storm, then once we’re engaged they will join in to finish the rout.

Anya suggests we wait for the Broo to sleep but they’re already beginning to bicker over who gets to rape which captive so we need to go in now.

Tatiana generously casts Protection on me and Bludgeon on my maul. I cast Bludgeon on my mace and Parry on my shield just in case my maul breaks. Then we all furckle forward – I’m proud I make no noise but in truth I think the Sable-riders show us up in stealth – but then they don’t have a horse-sized Great Troll in plate armour with them. Zod casts Detect Chaos – the Broo are Chaotic! None of us thought otherwise.

I ready my sling and begin whirling. Just then a couple of the Broo look our way – have they heard something? No matter, we let fly! Tatiana’s stone takes a wing off one broo with reptile wings. Anya’s shot misses her target and Zod’s hits a Broo with multi-coloured skin in the foot, but without hurting it much. Najinski opts for a spell but I don’t know if it went home. But I’m very proud of my shot, which hits an extremely dangerous Broo in the arm, which may stop it using its spear.

Of course the Sable-riders are shooting as well – I don’t think they’re using much magic but a few arrows do significant damage, putting one Broo down and hitting another’s arm.

Then we charge! I switch to my heavily Bludgeoned maul. (It’s a poorer parrying weapon but I love the noise a head makes when I hit home.) The Sable-riders, as we agreed, shower more arrows, softening up the Broo for our impact – I see another go down! Right arms seem to be getting hit a lot.

Then the Broo retaliate, starting with rocks with Light so they can see us in the dark. I cast a Binding spell but it fails to beat my target. Then the Broo cast spells at us – a couple of Sable-riders receive curses. Tatiana’s Bludgeon is dispelled but she just casts it again.

Suddenly we’re up close! Anya hurls a rock, crushing an arm. Zod’s throw also hits an arm. Najinski’s rock hits a leg, felling his Broo. But then Zod is hit by a curse that makes him clumsy – not what you need going in to a fight. One very unsavoury Broo vomits slime at a Sable-rider dozens of yards away – ukh! Another Broo stares hard at me in some sort of gaze attack but I duck aside and it loses me.

Then it’s contact! I’m fighting one Broo (most of my sisters have two) – it’s the one with multi-coloured skin. I hammer his shield and parry his spear with my maul – good thing, too, since it was coming for my guts.

Zod faces two Broo, one of which spits on his leg. Zod ignores Spitty and hits the right arm of the other, which is extremely dangerous. (Is it the one I hit with my sling?) Zod parries Danger-Broo, leaving Spitty a free stab but the Broo misses.

Meanwhile, Najinski is facing a huge Broo (though not as huge as Najinski, of course) and one with a lizard head. First of all, in some vile Chaos attack, Mr Big stares at Najinski… who shrinks!!! And Mr Big is bigger! Such horror! The Broo has somehow vampirically consumed Najinski’s very stature! Najinski vengefully lashes out at the vile Chaot, destroying his shield and wrecking his leg before deftly parrying the spear thrust. Lizard-head just misses.

Anya faces the Broo with one remaining reptile wing and another Broo with no obvious Chaos features. Anya immediately crushes the nonentity’s arm (the right, of course). He hits her back, doing little hurt but One-Wing stabs her in the guts, that does hurt but she’s still standing.

Tatiana also faces two Broo: one is lacking a right arm so she attacks the other. He stares at her malevolently but she ducks his gaze before her maul destroys his shield and weapon arm, so now both her Broo are armless. The other Broo kicks at her but can’t connect.

The fight continues: Mr Kick casts a spell on Tatiana but she shrugs it off and smashes him down – he’s dead! Anya hits One-Wing in the head – that’s where Broo are toughest but he goes down.

Then Zod hammers Danger-Broo’s shield, battering his (right) arm, of course. (Right arms are suffering a lot in this fight.) Spitty covers Zod’s other leg in slime – Ukh, so gross! But then Spitty gets horribly tangled up in his own attack. Danger-Broo kicks out but misses Zod.

Najinski launches his trademark double attack – Mr Big’s dreadful gaze cannot focus on him, which is a mercy, and Najinski smashes his chest. Lizard-head stabs him but can’t beat his armour. Najinski kicks Lizard-head in the groin, destroying his pelvis in much the same way that the Zorina champion killed the Humakti.

Enthused by Najinski’s tactics, I too launch a double attack. My maul smashes Multicolour’s shield and destroys his (right) arm. He falls to the floor and I joyfully kick him to death.

With the Sable-riders joining the fray, we’re definitely winning. Zod strikes Danger-Broo but the Broo executes a perfect parry. Tatiana hits her last Broo in the arm (strangely the left) and it goes down, dead from a battery of injuries.

But suddenly all the Broo still alive vanish – Divinted away I can only suppose. We all cheer mightily!

Zod starts cleaning his legs but he’s hampered by his clumsiness curse so we help him clean himself up – it’s disgusting stuff! Meanwhile, Nadya examines the captives – none are impregnated, nor are they diseased, which is excellent news.

Cerdic is very grateful, handing a pouch of gems to Anya. Tatiana detects a bright red gem as magical. Anya takes it to find it’s actually a bean – it’s strange, just seeing it makes me want to eat it! Zod confirms it’s not chaotic.

Aside from that there’s a couple of pretty stones, all but worthless, three gems worth 3, 5 and 7 groats each, and one very handsome gem which we all reckon is worth upward of a thousand groats!

The Sable-riders, not content with that, offer to cook for us. The meal is nowhere near as exotic as that served by the Azraelites but it’s very nice all the same. I think we’re all cheered by an invigorating fight under the night sky – all save Najinski, who seems depressed by his reduced frame. Maybe he can call to his God to restore the lost stature? But I’ve heard stories of fights with Broo and how they keep coming back to life when you kill them – I’m glad we didn’t get any of that.

The Sable-riders offer to keep watch but Anya and Tatiana insist we do our bit. Even so, the night passes without event.

Moonday, Disorderweek, Seaseason, 611

If Fireday was inauspicious, Moonday must be worse, but the map suggests we should reach the River tomorrow at dusk. We take our leave of the Sable-riders and march on under the harsh rays of the Great Fart (Bolshoy Perdet in Trollish).

We see little of note and make camp as the Baleful Moon rises in the East – When will it be my turn to cook? I can cook! The night is quiet.

Godsday, Disorderweek, Seaseason, 611

Sensing our objective is at hand we make good time, reaching the Moon River just as dusk is falling. Zod and Anya quickly find a wooden jetty, on which stand three human men in dark clothes next to a boat big enough to take all of us and one beetle.

Najinski thinks we should sleep on this bank so we don’t lose time once we cross the River but Anya tells him the clock won’t start ticking until she ‘does something’, which she won’t do until we’re on the other side, so we can cross now and sleep before she does her thing (something involving her backpack, I presume). Then we’ll need to get moving.

Anya approaches the men, who are expecting us (because they don’t run screaming when half-a-dozen heavily armed Trolls emerge from the gathering darkness). They greet us in Trollish. Their names are George Rivereel, Andrew Boatman and Shawn Curry – despite the Moony names they claim to be friends of the ‘old ways’ and dislike the Duke. (By which I think they mean they’re Azraelites… or something…)

They will convey us to Arrayas, which is the ruined village on the far bank. They’re a bit worried about the beetle but I tell them Igor will be no trouble and I easily coax him into the boat. We all fit in comfortably and they take us across in half-an-hour.

George says they’ve only been paid for a one-way trip so Anya and Tatiana decide to pay them a retainer consisting of the lesser gems we got from the Sable-riders to be here in a week’s time. Before leaving, the boatmen tell us Arrayas is rumoured to be haunted (I can imagine) so we shouldn’t be bothered by patrols.

Tatiana suggests we switch to night marching again now we’re in Selenite territory, because we don’t want to be spotted by the Loonies. So we’ll stop tonight and all day tomorrow. Then Anya will do her thing and we’ll all set off tomorrow night. Well hurrah!

As promised, we have another quiet night.

Freezeday, Harmonyweek, Seaseason, 611 – dawn

We keep watch during the day but nothing disturbs our slumber – it’s bliss to sleep during the hours of daylight!

At dusk, Anya goes off by herself to do her ritual. We watch her go down on the wharf. She opens her backpack and removes four small, round stones. She murmers a chant that none of us catch before throwing each into the River.

As she was closing the backpack, Zod thought he saw a glint of jewellery, but I saw nothing like that.

So, time to go looking for the Jewel of the Wildëa.