The Rot of Hiri Handia - Session 3 Prep Ramblings

Team,

Ramblings about what’s my next move.

In the next session of my game I have two NPCs that are relationships of my Sword Singer PC. One is his son Fileg and the other, his friend, Thindan. Aiwendil is the consort of the Fey Queen and she has been missing for about a week. Thindan was supposed to meet with the Fey Queen in a fairy glade a days ride out from Hiri Handia the capital, but doesn’t know why she wanted to see him.

Times are very bad in the city and the kingdom. There was a drought during the summer and the sorcerer king of Hiri Handia cast powerful magic and made it rain. People rejoiced but then things went bad. The rain never ceased and the crops that were ready for harvest flooded and spoiled. And then Plague swept in. All the while the rain never stopped.

The party was investigating the glade with Thindan, Fileg and some elven rangers, when Fileg sang the Song of Arbors with an ancient oak in the magical glade. The Oak told a horrible tale of the Fey Queen, Fileg’s mother, being abducted by rat men wielding knives.

So, I believe this is pretty heavy news for Fileg…he’s a teenager, a prince, the fey queen’s son with Aiwendil, and a Ranger. I’m thinking a Grief test is in order. Last session I used him to challenge Aiwendil’s 3rd Belief, “The Turulmegil (that’s a title as the leader of the sword singers in his homeland - Turul’s Sword) is Ruthess; Aiwendil is kind and merciful. I must maintain my own balance between true edge & false edge… and help my SON find his way… we all walk along the blade’s edge in this crisis” by hinting that Fileg is slippping into Spite…he was sickened by all the death and filth of the city, he felt that the human’s were weak. I will roleplay this revelation about his mother with him being even more tipped towards rage and fury.

TO get my other player into the action in this scene I am going to try and provoke this belief; “My family believe that the Eldar are our allies, and for centuries we were sworn to answer the call when they needed help. I will listen to Aiwendil, but I don’t not see how he can help me defend the realm. I will try to get him to bring the elves asap.” This one is a little hard to figure out what he wants, but here’s what I think he means. Traditionally his people, the northern horselords of the kingdom, have defended the borderlands against barbarians and orcs. They had close ties to the elves. They are loyal to the Sorcerer King, whose grandfather, Zoltan the 1st, ended a the Warring States period by using powerful Sorcery. Zoltan was a Horselord. But in two generations, his line has diminished and the current Sorcerer King let Southern Lords gain too much power at court. Chief among these is House Feketes, who are very wealthy. House Feketes has taken control of the city since the Sorcerer King’s sealed himself in his Tower. I think if I can get Fileg to either argue to go to War, or Stalk into the Sewers I can challenge sir Ladislaus’ Bring in the Elven Troops belief. This would also complicate Aiwendil’s Belief about finding his wife and queen, since a war path would make an investigation difficult.

Crazy game this Burning Wheel thing. Twisted.

NEAT!

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