[Taocow PBEM] Book 3 - Chapter XVII - Return to Hoburn Hill

[Aaron Clausen]

>> [GM]
>> The voyage back to Hoburn Hill turns out to be less direct than the voyage
>> to Wales was. Captain Neeson is forced to steer the ley line ship northward
>> and away from what appears to be a great arm of the Splugorth army. There
>> are two firefights but Neeson, getting used to command, efficiently gets her
>> ship out of trouble. Still, the new routes delay the ship by the better part
>> of three days.
>>
>> In that time the land has been transformed. Whatever power was holding
>> England in ice cold conditions seems to have been pushed back.  Snow gives
>> way to recent rains.  The lowlands, instead of being chest-high in snow, are
>> now knee deep in mud.  If nothing else, this should slow down any Splugorth
>> ground troops that might be trying to push further westward, and cutting off
>> units like the ones that attacked the dwarfs in Wales.
>>
>> It is February 1st, *101 PA*, around 9pm, when the Hoburn Hill Millennium Tree
>> comes into view, towering over the landscape.  The great nexus that feeds it
>> lights up the night sky, it's power palpable from miles away. The people of
>> the Tree have been busy, and the scars of flood and battle are being
>> repaired, and perhaps, in a few years, they will be barely noticeable.
>>
>> The ship docks near the top of the great tree, and several druids await.
>> When they are informed of what has been transpired, they nod sadly. "We have
>> heard that many leyline merchants have met similar, or worse fates. The
>> Splugorth are beginning to set up blockades along major leylines. They mean
>> to starve New Camelot and the other Free Kingdoms. Almost we and our
>> brethren elsewhere are preparing to ask the Trees to open rifts so that
>> supplies may be brought into England."
>>
>> The female Elf druid, Taelaen, who had lead the company through the Tree
>> upon their last visit is there as well.  "It is well that you have secured
>> the cold iron.  Our...  guest...  has become most difficult to contain, and
>> we have been forced to have two druids constantly keeping the wards up.
>> Tiresome work.  We, and the Tree, will feel much better to be rid of her."
>>
>> "It will take a day or two to forge the cage." she continues. "Perhaps you
>> would like some time to rest?  I am certain the Council will wish to meet
>> with you again, but that won't be until tomorrow at the earliest.  Your
>> quarters have been prepared for you in the same rooms you held before.In the
>> mean timetime, you may go as you please."
>> [/GM]

> [Oz]
> Oz calls over the newly-promoted colour sergeant, Captain Neeson,
> Jacek, and the dwarf commander (whose name I don't remember at the
> moment). "2 days shore leave for all personnel. See that everyone gets
> some money in their pocket as a combat bonus for the past couple of
> days. Arrange for supplies for an extended trip to be brought on board
> and set up watch schedules- and I want heavy watches on this ship,
> what with all the misery that's been following us around- then
> consider yourselves dismissed until the day after tomorrow."
> [/Oz]

[GM]
The senior officers seniors salute, and busily set about making sure
Oz's orders are carried out.
[/GM]

> [Oz]
> Oz goes over to Alex, Vesper, and Ted. "It seems pretty clear they
> want us to take the girl with us. I can't imagine she'll be anything
> but a disaster to keep with us. What do you think about this?" He
> looks at Ted. It was his life on the line, after all.
> [/Oz]

> [Alex]
> Alex shrugs, "Yes, I am sure that there will be trouble with the demon
> child. With the blessing of the Virgin however, we should be able to get
> through. We have somehow survived until now."
>
> Suddenly, a little smile comes to her face and she turns towards Vesper,
> "Well, if nothing attacks us, we might get a bit of time. Might get a
> chance to actually wear that dress you got me."
> [/Alex]

> [Vesper]
> "True, that would be nice. We scarcely get a moment without being
> shot at it seems." Vesper smiles at Alex.
>
> "I don't know what prompted the Splugorth to make such a major attack
> like this but they are serious about it. I wonder how the Americas are
> doing."
> [/Vesper]

OOC: To hasten things along, I'm just going to skip ahead here. Assume
that the ship is fully provisioned, and that everyone's E-clips are
fully recharged and grenade stores replaced.

[GM]
It takes the druids of Hoburn Hill, along with several metal smiths
from surrounding areas, several days to forge the cold iron cage. It
is the 5th of February before Captain Neeson and Oz's new dwarf
recruits fit the cage into the hold of the ship. To Ted, at least, it
looks eerily reminiscent of the original cell that he found the demon
girl in. It is small, however, only about six feet high by six feet
wide by six feet deep.

It is a day later that the girl, under guard by a dozen druids all in
a focused trance to keep her along the most direct route, is placed in
the cage. If the demon girl is upset, she shows no sign of it. She
whistles a jaunty little tune as she is lead into the cage. "It's just
like coming home." she says in an innocent and girlish voice. "All of
this for little o' me."
[/GM]

[Jacek]
Jacek is still furious. "The Hood will recover to some extent from his
injuries, though he will need cybernetics. If I were in command, I
would take that cage out to see and dump it into the deepest part."
His electronic voice only enhances his anger at this creature being
taken along with them.
[/Jacek]

[GM]
It is the evening of February 6, the weather so warm that some are
calling it an early spring, and the day before the leyline ship is to
set out on its northward journey to Scotland, that word of the siege
of New Camelot comes. The Kingdom's forces were recalled a few hours
ago, and several pitched battles were fought, but in the end, the
Splugorth and their brain-creature allies prove too much, and the city
was encircled. Worse still is word that Myrrlin has not be seen since
the evening before, and even dear Guinevere is nowhere to be found.

Other news is not nearly so grim. Despite general dislike of the
pro-magic, pro-D-Bee stance of New Camelot, the New German Republic
has decided to send aid in the form of a part of its Baltic Sea fleet,
with the possibility that it may land ground forces if New Camelot and
its allies cannot hold off the Splugorth. Rumor has it that NGR has
even informed the Coalition that its assistance may be required. Some
among the company's hosts are ill-pleased by this, the Elf Druid
Taelaen suggesting "I fear that if the New German Republic is
successful in occupying Splugorth-controlled lands, they will not
leave."

And so, on the morning of February 7, with tidings of a grievous turn
in the war, the company gets back on their leyline ship, and begins
the journey northward.

Hoburn Hill lies in west-central England, a region that has been
rebuilt over more than a century into a land of farms, fields,
villages and small towns, and small petty kingdoms. Most have some
alliance to New Camelot, and indeed, it has been New Camelot's policy
even before A'rrthu's time to encourage these small kingdoms to join
in various peace treaties, with the hope that eventually a united
federation of English kingdoms can be founded.

Now, these lands are largely empty, the people having fled southward
in the hopes of finding protection in New Camelot. It is clear that if
the war is not finished soon, an enemy as bad, if not worse than the
Splugorth, will creep into England; starvation. No fields will be
plowed, no seeds planted, no crops tended, and come the end of the
year, people will go hungry. The dreams of the kings of New Camelot
stretching back the better part of a century will come to nothing.

But the one thing there isn't is opposition. The lands prove as empty
of enemies as they do of friends. The Splugorth, it seems, have
changed their tact and now have moved their strength against New
Camelot. This makes the voyage go by quickly. By the end of the day,
they are in the north of England. In pre-Rifts times it was a shipping
and industrial hub; the Manchester-Liverpool supercity one of the
largest in the late 21st century.

Now, before the company, is the ruins of that ancient supercity;
stretching as far as the eye can see. In the midst, gleaming in the
sinking sun, is the River Mersey, and to the west of it the Irish Sea.
Alex, in particular, is reminded of Old Chicago; seemingly endless
rows of ruined buildings, many toppled, but some still standing,
looking toothless and grey. From this distance, the supercity looks
abandoned, but as they approach, they can make out numerous fires,
some small camp fires, some huge bonfires, though the identities of
those who have lit them can't be determined.

A number of the major ley lines of the British Isles run through this
region, and in this distance three larger nexus points can be
glimpsed, as well as half a dozen smaller ones. This is a land that,
even in the darkness, is perpetually lit by the great energies of ley
lines. At least two millennium trees are also distantly visible;
supernatural wonders in the midst of a waste of ruined concrete and
steel.

Captain Neeson looks to the adventurers. "The shortest route is over
these ruins, which might take us an hour or two. However, this is a
cursed land. I have served on only one ship that dared this realm; a
band of scholars and treasure seekers, and we were attacked by a demon
and a band of mutants and D-Bees. The whole of these ruins is divided
into dozens of so-called kingdoms; some ruled by demons, some by
powerful D-Bees, some by violent men. Borders shift all the time, and
the only way to make it across is to have enough treasure to buy safe
passage; but too much and maybe they just attack you and take what you
have."

"Alternatively," she continues, "we push eastward towards Old York.
That area is, or at least was, relatively peaceful, with many small
but stable kingdoms. We lose time, however. It is up to you."
[/GM]


-- 
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com

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