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Saddled with the Nightmare Part 3

Scene 6: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Key Points: The players arrive at the Vendref village where the Man of Fire and Iron now dwells; they encounter different levels of Vendref society, before meeting him and entering his magical forge. Here the man of fire and iron co-opts the players into helping him to forge the magical bit they need to calm the Diokos.

Action: As the players approach the Vendref settlement, the first people they are likely to meet are the farmer Vendref toiling in the fields. The farmers will avoid eye contact and be very respectful towards the players. As the players enter the settlement, they will see several unmarked thralls. Some players may be tempted to claim these Vendref as their own. The players’ reactions to these different types of Vendref will have an impact in terms of a carryover that affects the subsequent levels of Vendref within Goldbone clan lands.

1. Players are respectful to Vendref – the Goldbone will gain more Vendref immigrants seeking to live in their lands.
2. Grazers are disrespectful to the Vendref farmers – the Goldbone clan will loose some Vendref, either from a mysterious disease, in raids from their neighbours, or more worryingly form emigrants seeking redemption in the glow of the Red Tide.
3. Players decide to attack, insult, kill the Vendref – The Goldbone will loose large numbers of Vendref.

When the payers approach the overgrown hummock, a very large and muscular man with red stained skin, wearing a slick oily horsehide apron. This is Ugro Man-Who-Guards; his is the gatekeeper of Man of Fire and Irons domain. He speaks in monosyllable sentences and unlike the other Vendref of the settlement he displays no fear, let alone respect, for the players. The Players will need to get past this ‘guardian’ to enter the mound. He repeatedly insults the player’s virility, manhood and strength and challenges them to wrestle him to the ground to enter the sacred hill. If he is viciously attacked (e.g. the players shoot him, lance him) in any other way he will disappear, the mounds door disappearing with them and a huge salamander will roll up from the ground and attack the players. If they defeat it, they will realise that they have failed in their quest. The consequences are very dire, with the Diokos killing many horses and heroes before it finally leaves for its homelands.

Recognise that the Guardian is a magical test (14) – Grazer Customs, Grazer Myths, Sense Spirits (-3) Wrestle the Guardian (9) – Strength, Large (-5), Hand-to-Hand Combat Skill (-5). Outwit the Guardian (20) – Grazer Myths, Intimidate Vendref (-10), Grazer Customs.

HUGE SALAMANDER: Absorb Flame 5W3, Burn 4W3, Resist Damage 2W2

Deep inside the mound is the forge of the Man of Fire and Iron. He is a huge man, stooped from moving around the low tunnels, is massive arms are deeply branded with strange symbols and from a great leather belt hangs a huge set of pliers and a mighty hammer. He listens carefully to the story of the demonic horse and he seems instantly to know what the players have come to request of him. He asks twenty horses to pay for his treasures. If the players have lost any of the herd that Davidall gave them then he will accept their own personal horses instead (including Jankaren’s Goldeye), he will not be bargained with and will soon take offence summoning around him salamanders to make his intent understood.

Man of Fire and Iron then explains that the players must participate in his rituals in order for the magic to work. If anyone refuses then they will not witness any of the rituals events and the Hell Bridal will not give them any powers. Man of Fire and Iron leads the players to the heart of the mound, to where the great forge blazes, it is a great fire twenty feet across filled with coals that glow as bright as the sun, amongst the coals can be seen fire spirits and salamanders. He begins the ritual with strange echoing prayers and throws magical dust onto the fire that makes it pop and crackle and emit a foul smelling and intoxicating smoke. He commands the players to pump the immense bellows that feed his forge, as they do so the air thickens and the walls begin to close in. Pumping the bellows is not an easy task, and it gets harder and harder as time progresses.

Pumping the bellows (Begins as a simple ability test versus 15, followed by an extended individual contest versus 10) – Strength, Endurance, Tough, Large. Failure results in feeling inhuman fatigue and wounds may be incurred. It also means that they have stopped pumping (see below).

If at any point one of the players takes a respite from the toil, they will see the walls of the cavern moving ever closer. If they take a closer look they will realise that the dark walls of the cavern are in fact composed of many black horses, each time the pumping stops the horses advance in inexorably toward the forge. When the Man of Fire and Iron sees the player rest he urges them to continue pumping, if they do so the horses pause in their advance. The pounding clawed hooves of these Diokos demons will overwhelm any player that ceases to pump and ignores the pleas of the Man of Fire and Iron to continue. Any such player may be lost forever in hell...

Continue Pumping after failure (10) – Strength, Endurance, Tough, Large (all –5). Risk of injury or death from Diokos attacks.

As the players pump the bellows the man of Fire and Iron forges the magical bit to subdue the Diokos, pausing only to collect their sweat in a small vessel before throwing it onto the glowing coals releasing huge clouds of steam and hissing vapour. After what seems almost an hour he removes the white-hot bit from the forge and commands the players to cease pumping. The Man of Fire and Iron then approaches each player in turn and cuts their forearm with a blade, allowing their blood to seep into the same vessel he used to collect their sweat. When he has collected blood from all of them, he uses it to quench the bit.

Undergo Blood letting (17) – Resist Pain, Tough, Large.

The Hell Bridle During the ritual Man of Fire and Iron, lead the players into the part of Hell where the Diokos live. Using his great magic, he forged the Hell Bridle, a magical artefact capable of controlling Diokos horses. The bridle appears to be made of red-hot iron, it is warm to the touch and glows with a magical ruddy hue. The artefact has the ability to double the Ride skill of anyone who seeks to subdue a Diokos demon. It also give them the ability to Resist Diokos Attacks 5. The Hell Bridle cannot be used to ride such a demon, but the user may lead the bridled monster wherever he wants, so long as it wears the magical iron. The return journey is without incident although any horseless riders will walk home in shame.

Hell’s Horse

Key Points. The players are now faced with the task of using the magical bit and bridle to subdue the Diokos. This is not a task for a single man or woman; they will all have to pool their talents with those of the other Jardani to overcome the Diokos. Once the bit has been placed in the maw of the Diokos, it becomes far calmer and is willing to be lead by the reins.

Action: Davidall and his shamans quickly push the players into the ring. Davidall looks to his son (if he is alive) to tame the beast. The Players will quickly discover that no natural horse will enter the ring of warriors for fear of the Diokos demon, although Jankaren’s Goldeye can be prompted, but will impose a (-10) penalty to ride or control it. Remember unmounted Grazers suffer an improvisational modifier to combat. The Players must defeat the Black Horse. To do so they must mount it and place the bridal over its mouth, they must then dismount immediately or face being crushed as the Black Horse role over onto them.

Mounting the Black Horse (20) – Jumping, Running Mount, Agile (-5) – Risk Injury.
Reining the Black Horse (102) – Riding (multiplied by 2 with Hell Bridal) – Risk Injury, Bridal thrown off. Dismounting Quickly (20) – Jumping, Agile, Riding (-5) – Risks Injury.

Cruel GM’s may wish the Diokos to attack any player that fails in any part of these tasks, use the stats detailed above. Players may choose to use diversions to distract the demon lending AP to the rider. Players may be able to rally support from the Clan Warriors.

Gain Warriors Aid (17) – Lead Warriors, Brave (-3), Relationship to Warriors (-3), Bully (-10), Boast (-10), Grazer Customs (-5), Command Warriors, Negotiate (-3), Diplomacy (-7), Humiliate Foe (-10), Inspire Loyalty of Vendref (-10).

Warrior AP Loan Chart

	Complete or Major Victory	Hero gains 50 APs
	Minor or Marginal Victory	Hero gains 25 APS
	Narrator Decides, Tie	Hero Gains 5 APS
	Marginal or Minor Defeat	Hero loses 5 APS
	Complete or Major Defeat	Hero loses 10 APS

Climax: Fade to Black

Key Points: The Players take the now calmed Diokos and the corpse of the Black Rider back to Black Horse County. Before they can reach their final destination however, the Children of Unnek attempt one last viscous assault on the group. The Players are close to defeat and are only rescued by the arrival of a troop of Atroxi knights led by Ethilrist himself, who kill some of, and chase away the rest of, the Children of Unnek.

Action: At some point close to dusk when the players have made camp for the night they will be attacked by the Brotherhood of Unnek. This attack is more concerted than the two previous attacks on the foaling ceremony and during the journey to the Man of Fire and Iron. The Buzzard Warriors will use all their dangerous feats and abilities to the full in an attempt to annihilate the players, kill their horses, and free the Diokos.

The terrible warriors of Unnek are a most terrifying sight. They fall onto the players will horrific speed and frenzy. Some come swooping down onto the players to lash at them with viscous clawed talons before returning to their circling positron above them. Others lunge out of the growing darkness with even more itensity than the first encounter; these Buzzard warriors appear far more viscous and skilled in their seemingly never ending assault. Some have Buzzard talons, both real and magical grown instead oh fingers, others have sharpened teeth, while others even have feathers piercing their arms and torso.

Escape Encirclement (42, collective rating for a group of Unnek pursuers) – Stealth, Move Fast, Combat Skills (-10), Risk of injury, Capture, or Death.
Once the players are close to the borders of Black Horse County, the dark forces of Unnek will once again attack the players, this time in greater number and strength. No matter how well the players fight, they will be eventually surrounded by the Buzzard Warriors, when all seems lost and the players are close to defeat, the sky darkens even further broken only by fiery sparks of red. The deafening sound of horns accompanies the sound of approaching horses. Then comes the sight of a troop of riders mounted on huge black horses, terrifying in their black armour and barding. The riders fall upon the Buzzard Warriors, their black horses breathing fire and rearing to plunge down on helpless foes. These are riders of Sir Ethrilrist’s Black Horse Troop, the feared Atroxi knights of Black Horse County. The Atroxi knights will completely rout the Buzzard Warriors and then surround the players in a tight circle. The players may well fear for their lives, after all they have a Diokos in their possession.

Denouement

Should the players be rude or antagonize the Black Riders in any way it is highly unlikely they will ever see the Goldbone lands again. If they display the proper respect to Ethilrist he will simply dismiss them from his sight and lands, he will offer no reward, and any attempt to ask for one will be met by his wrath. As the huge Diokos is led off, perceptive heroes will notice a shadowy form mounted on the back of the beast, it seems to turn around to glare at the Grazers with fiery red eyes and then disappears.

On return to the Goldbone camp, the rest of the clan will greet the players, children will run alongside their horses, women will sing of their glory and bravery, Riders will hold them in awe, and the other Jardani will forever resect them. The Elders mutter that they knew of this and had foreseen the success of the players, while the chief will either reward them with many horses and the choice of brides or warily watch them, depending on how they interacted with him earlier in the story. The whole Goldbone clan will celebrate with singing, dancing, drumming, and plenty of koumiss long into the night...

The chieftain will acknowledge Dan-El’s strength and make a splinter tribe called the Hell Horse Clan; if the Players were nice to Vendref when they sought in Scene 6 then the Vendref farmers will support him. Yu-Sima will be forced to become this new chieftain’s bodyguard. Law-ran is asked to take the news of events to Feathered Horse Queen and becomes part of her retinue. The Shaman’s now know that the Children of Unnek caused the madness of Nirik and so they try to correct his souls, but Nirik refuses and instead begins a campaign against the Unnek outlaws. Dun-Cal becomes a Jardani warrior and serves Dan-el. While Jan-Karen becomes the Arandayla Shaman for the new clan.

That Final Aah! Factor

With all the turbulent events that have occurred, it seems that the whole point of the ritual has been forgotten. As the clan is celebrating a strange noise is heard from within the Magical Screens of Arandayla, as the clan spins around to look a pair of wobbly-legged Goldeye foals emerge. Aah! Aren’t they cute! However a very strange thing has occurred, each of the foals has fangs instead of normal horse teeth. This causes a great commotion amongst the Goldbone clan, a prophetical sign is hailed that the Goldeye foals are showing characteristics of the legendary Hippogriff of legend.

Narrator Aids.

Saddled with the Nightmare Part 1 Saddled with the Nightmare Part 2 Saddled with the Nightmare Part 3 Grazer Characters Part 1 Grazer Characters Part 2 The Children of Unnek Jan-Karen's Knowledge Sheet The Goldeneye Birthing Song