Saturnalia newsletter (North West & Southern Erythria) From: mlwilliams <mwilliams@signal.dera.gov.uk> Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 00:00:00 +0000 Erythrian Echo = XXVII Editorial Yes there will be an OTT this summer. It will be held in London on Saturd= ay the 2nd of August. There will be a pubmeet on the Friday night before = that, to be held at the Victoria pub in Marylebone Station. Just turn up = and look for the SATURNALIA sign that I'll be propping up with my empties= =2E It may be possible to stay over at the home of a London-based player = but that will have to be through private negotiation! Entry to the OTT is on a first come first served basis and the day's ses= sion will cost the usual 12.50. Turns may have taken a little longer to come back to you than normal of = late. This is partly because I've been on two conferences abroad but main= ly because when I collected my mail after each of these visits it wasn't = necessarily the first to arrive in my absence that made it to the top of = the pile. I have been offered a lectureship in the department of computer science = at Aberystwth university. I may well accept it, despite the cut in salary= it represents. Contrary to popular opinion the primary job of a universi= ty lecturer is not to lecture students but to do research. As a result I = will probably end up doubling my workload - the first year of lecturing = is a very busy time when you learn the ropes and get lectures sorted out = - so this may auger delays in future. If this is the case then I will beg= in to add any karma-restarts to my waiting list rather than letting playe= rs straight back into the game. I think that given reduced resources the = best response is to have fewer players and maintain turn-around rather th= an maintain the number of players and have longer turn-around. This is a= ll speculation however so don't worry .... too much.. The placename competition had only one entrant who claims that the Veydea= n village of Ramshorn has a Yorkshire counterpart. My own research has re= vealed that there is a city called Darhan in Mongolia (Dharan in Arabia i= s just an anagram) and a city called Sigismund in Norway. Tulak and Cursi= ter are both surnames of little-known artists and Bisha is the Bedouin `t= est of truth' where a person licks a white-hot metal pot to prove they we= ren't lying. All cheques whether for South or North West characters should be made pay= able to S.Williams. Sigismund Sun = Baron Chevalier has returned from distant wars, his flagship - Crimson W= ave - bearing over two hundred Orthians back from Trefato. Chevalier's vi= sit to the Serpent Isles was principally in order to check on SITCo busin= ess interests out there and to search for the `Lost Legion' commanded by = Sir Jack. He found himself in time for the Final Battle, a ritualised fig= ht in which the armies of the two princes contending for the throne were = to clash and settle the issue amidst much death. Things didn't go as plan= ned for prince Tarka Dahl and the baron who had gone to support him, havi= ng been reunited with the idle Jack. Prince Masala Saag had fallen under = the sway of Renchuites from neighbouring Formo. The rogue prince led his = forces against Tarka's capital whilst his army waited on the distant Fiel= d of Tridal. The day was saved when with the aid of the Wings of Fire and= a war-golem named Gog, the Baron and Sir Jack were able to reach the lig= htly defended port of Tenos just as Masala's forces were assaulting it. T= he pair made a daring foray through the Nebrosian ranks to the Masala's c= ommand pavilion and after a close encounter with a Death Incarnation Chev= alier cut down the prince. = Prince, now king, Tarka had been made aware of his claim to the long-emp= ty throne of Bisha by Sir Hetherlam SilverEye a visitor to his court. He = had not been interested in pressing the claim but now the legacy of his c= ontinental ancestry offered him the chance to be painlessly and cheaply r= id of the barbarian lord who had saved his throne. King Tarka swiftly ele= vated the baron to the rank of Duke and sent him off to rule Bisha in his= name! Cursiter Chronicle = Bile Babychunks is said to have made a donation of a thousand cadocs or = so to the Renchu temple. It is believed that the gold comes as a long ove= rdue and partial payment for a golem from a certain Sigismund baron. The = word is that the priest's daughter wishes to finance the building of a ne= w Renchu temple and that any money she contributes is to be matched by He= sterus with funds from the royal treasury. The site chosen for this new t= emple remains secret but there is considerable speculation that it will b= e built on Squat Island. There have been a spate of audacious thefts across the city of late and = although there seems to be no hard evidence the name that keeps coming up= in association with these often-brutal robberies is that of the former S= uoconan - Bob. Lady Ariaana, Olaaf the Ancient and Serentine arrived in the Destu templ= e in some style, having walked the paths of darkness through Destu's Real= m to get there. They came with news and trophies of their attack on the n= est of a phoenix up in the peaks beyond Ramshorn. The were caught by the = owner of the nest hundreds of miles later on the slopes of Solken's mount= ain and narrowly escaped with their lives (existence in Olaaf's case). A = mystery woman is believed to have been involved in helping the phoenix tr= ack them down.. Darhan Daily Priest-to-be Sir Ardna de Totta recently joined a return expedition to t= he lizardman tunnels. The knight was the lone Moranan presence on a dozen= strong team of temple guards and acolytes jointly led by Edmund Blackadd= er and Juardo El Bardo. The strong Haquarian force indicating the degree = to which the reports of strange magics unique to the ancient lizardman cu= lture excited high priest Assp. The expedition has yet to return but clearly there have been some catacl= ysmic events going on beneath the forest. A large area of swamp has drain= ed into some underground chasm, many trees in the area are now leaning at= odd angles, smoke is pouring from dozens of hidden vents and for a perio= d of some hours the waters of the Comsak ran a lurid green. Hunters in th= e area report that the undergrowth is lousy with small but vicious knee-h= igh lizardmen and that all game in the vicinity has gone. The unusually overcast weather conditions of late have led to some odd o= ccurrences on the plains east of Darhan forest. A number of travelers hav= e reported seeing freak tornadoes and one man even claimed to have had a = house land on him - though nobody has actually reported losing a house...= Sir Philoctetes has left Darhan in the company of bowyer's daughter Pool= a Shen, magic-historian Tenka Dune and his own creation Roy the Golem. Th= e knight is thought to be bound for Bromo, the most cosmopolitan of all t= he Serpent Isles. Libram, a well known local thief, left the city with his companion Trell= on, bound for the Elijha's Teeth range. It is possible that this is simpl= y a good place to hide from the wrath of the dictator for before he left = Libram apparently escaped from a Secret Police headquarters where he was = being questioned about rats. The rat issue has become big news in Darhan = of late. It started with the observation of a number of elegantly clad sw= ord-bearing rats in a municipal warehouse. The Drasci temple suspected th= e rodents to be Moranan spies the Moranan's suspected Drasci involvement.= The Haquarian attempts to eliminate the people who knew too much were pr= oceeding well until Leucine became involved and her intervention led to L= ibram's escape. = The whole story is coming out, accompanied by vigorous official denials.= The rats were recruited by one Edmund Blackadder from the sewers of a st= range world into which he splashed whilst exploring the pan-dimensional c= ellars of the mage Garatish the Mystic. Since then they have been living = in Darhan, operating from a secret base and gathering all manner of intel= ligence for Nebrax the Dictator. Finally, there can be few men more popular in Darhan that Shailac Arlan.= There can be few more unpopular men too. At the final of the WinterBall = league, held on a lake kept frozen thanks to the kindness of Nembrax the = mage, Shailac - employed as the Hunter Ace's official bard - stepped in t= o snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the Mad Axemen. The bard= put on a dazzling and wholly unexpected display of speed and dexterity t= hat earned him many a lifelong friend amongst the Hunter's fans and many = an enemy in the lumberjack community. Bisha Bugle Mandelbrot was arrested recently in the River Gate Inn by newly appointe= d Justice of the Peace, Jaltra. Aiding Jaltra in case of trouble were aco= lyte Bentrios, local vigilante Chaka - a huge fellow whose ancestors hail= ed from the most southerly of the Southern Isles, and two temple guards d= elegated the job by Sir Weapon. As it happened Mandelbrot offered no viol= ent and the only trouble he gave them was of a legal nature. Somehow he m= anaged to raise the fee to hire Narlon Sharp, the advocate who saw Snowol= f put into gaol after charges leveled against him by Mandelbrot and Lug. = Within an hour Mandelbrot walked away from the barracks a free man. He l= eft the city soon afterwards. The Corgulians were thought to be investigating the werewolf activity an= d did not have long to wait after this set back before word came of a fre= nzied lycanthrope killing-spree underway in a street close by the ill-rep= uted Brig tavern. Sir Weapon has been making speeches and attending social functions. The = stated purpose is to raise money for a Chapterhouse of Corgulian Knights = he wishes to found and to elevate the Tulak shrine to temple status. Goss= ips have pointed at an ulterior motive for such activities since they gav= e the bachelor knight a chance to survey the available daughters of local= gentry. It is said that following a dinner at the home of Lord Finiol Si= r Weapon has been actively courting Lady Selba Eye, daughter of judge Ang= em. In the temple of Dianodus the madcap adventurer, Just, made a powerful p= rophesy. He pronounced that the Jesters Mask would be recovered from Turs= han's lair and that this would bring about the cooperation of king Hester= us, Megiarcho, Nazarish and some unknown fellow named Valdred - in a deed= that would ensure the survival of Saturnalia through the Conjunction of = a Million Spheres. The unlikely oracle foresaw that the mask would be del= ivered to the Balorn Woods. The arrival at the temple on the following da= y of a woodsman named Valdred Woodshanks at the temple, complaining that = his daughter had been taken by a dragon can only be interpreted as the fi= rst over-heavy footstep of predestiny! = Snowolf left the city at the head of a band of thirty Moranans, bound fo= r the distant mountains of the Little Divide. The warrior's goal was to c= ome to the aid of Sir Jerival and a dwarf clan in an unlikely sounding st= ruggle against a tribe of goblins set on waking up one of the legendary t= itans. Small-time merchant, Rune Weslocke, has recently negotiated a number of = house purchases around the site of the Old Palace on behalf of an unknown= client. Tulak Times Tulak has been quiet of late though civil unrest continues to simmer qui= etly under the sullen surface of every-day life. If the summer heats up t= hen riots seem inevitable. In an uncharacteristic move to lighten the moo= d and to blacken the name of one of the few men to escape their custody t= he Inquisition have allowed a series of risqu=E9 etchings to be widely ci= rculated. The subject of the etchings is the ambush of former-Suoconan Bo= b in Boggitland by Sir Philoctetes and the Orthian Volgaris Le Noir. The = images, reputedly the work of an imp - the boggits currently being at war= with the imps over land-rights - shows what happened after an apparently= naked Bob released a powerful aphrodisiac spell into the massed ranks of= boggits. This being a family production we cannot go into unnecessary de= tails here but let it be put on record that both Sir Philoctetes and Volg= aris got to `know' quite a few boggits. We can only be thankful that Bob = chose to take her dog with her when she escaped! Down South Los Molam: Little has been heard from the expedition that set out to explore the Bl= ackend forest under the leadership of Maron Storm. Local bookies are offe= ring 2:1 odds that they have already been eaten up by some or other beast= ie. = A local farmer, Iby Ben Fib, has claimed that he was abducted by vampire= s, reportedly living in the old hermit tower to the west. He says that th= ey have a message for the citizens of Los Molam but he was carted away b= y the cityguard before he could reveal its contents. That well-loved entertainer, Percy the Poet, has left Los Molam, destina= tion unknown. One local claims the singer and entertainer left for some p= lace where his talent would be better appreciated but others say he wasn'= t heading for the deaf-blind refuge but has instead taken to sea with a g= ay sea-lord. On a nautical theme it remains to be said that piratical activity along = the coast has increase significantly of late. Much of the land-traffic fr= om Los Untar had been diverted to sea to avoid marauding tribesmen and da= rk templars. Now the coastal waters are looking to be just as dangerous a= s the old trading routes. Los Untar: Followers of the pretender to the Sultan's throne have been busy `recr= uiting' workers for some unknown purpose in the Umbar marshes. `Volunteer= s' are usually collected from the streets during the hours of darkness an= d none have yet returned from their distant labours to report on what the= y entail. The town's fortifications are undergoing major renewal against the threa= t posed by the Dark Templars in the city of Los Sagga to the north. Outri= ders from the Templar army have been spotted only miles from the walls. Los Sagga: Sacrifices have been stepped up recently to such a point that the steps = of the Destu temple run crimson and local families are being given tax-re= ductions in order to encourage the `donation' of less fruitful members of= their households. Los: News from the former Royal City has been scarce of late. The desert trib= es who have been camped in the broad streets of Los for many years now ar= e still said to be fighting amongst themselves, awaiting the day when The= Sword of Sahmen will return to them. The nomad shamans are rumoured to b= e searching for a holy-child, a boy with curiously pale eyes who was abdu= cted from the city. The tribes are blaming each other for his disappearan= ce. The Fame Table: Name +/- Round Points Religion Baron Chevalier 10/11 133 5762 Orth Fleetfoot 13/6 150 4231 Haquar Snowolf 14/3 203! 6080 Morana Just 11/8 181 8308 Dianodus Olaaf 7/11 136 4044 Haquar Sir Philoctetes 11/7 155 4144 Haquar = Sir Ardna de Totta 13/1 156 6073 Morana Sir Weapon 12/2 160 6739 Corgul Sir Andre Sa'Kel 8/9 160 6689 Renchu Sir Jerival 11/2 149 5918 ???? Sir Hetherlam 11/1 140 4572 Corgul Sir Jack 9/6 80 4473 Orth Bob 10/3 96 3618 ???? Lady Ariaana 3/10 129 6880 Destu Leda Cross 7/4 63 3703 Orth Corine Jaldar 8/1 63 2679 Sahmen Lathspell 7/3 73 2834 Haquar Juardo El Bardo 7/1 49 ???? Haquar Bile Babychunks 0/7 65 3415 Renchu Jaltra 7/0 73 3561 Corgul Libram 4/5 65 3174 Drasci Mantis 6/2 47 2954 Somol Bondrick Blackadder6/1 76 4007 Haquar Volgaris Le Noir 4/4 31 1900 Orth Mandelbrot 5/2 43 1998 Loviatar Korvius Ep Kantory 4/1 31 1760 ???? Shailac Arlan 4/1 34 3421 Morana Edmund Blackadder 4/0 28 1485 Haquar Arilyn Darklighter 0/3 ?? ???? Destu Serin Fairsett 3/0 15 2582 Haquar Gitt 3/0 21 3398 ???? Rune Weslock 2/1 19 2171 Egar-Colmetch Chaka 2/0 9 1065 Corgul Cedric Wolfsbane 1/0 8 813 Corgul Southern Empire Fame Table Name Fame Round Religion Nariom 0/2 10 ???? Calim al-Farid 1/0 6 ???? Niobe 0/1 7 ???? Lessa 0/0 3 ???? Percy 0/0 4 ???? Kharimat 0/0 6 ???? Walker Boh 0/0 6 ???? = Storm Witch 0/0 9 Somol Dulumbar 0/0 11 ???? Letters: To: All From: Just I must say that I found the bar room brawl a stimulating experience. Not= only did it give us a chance to get all those silly animosities out in t= he open but also it let new and exciting uses be found for old spells (wo= uldn't you agree Sir Andre?) [I liked the beer-elemental myself - Ed] There were also several new spells I had not come across before:- Self Immolation - as cast by Slanter, Brandel firecrow and the pub. Pub Destruction - as cast by Leucine Kangeroo Mating Dance - Performed by Libram & Chevalier, culminating in = scene where groom kills bride (or vica versa?) I would like to congratulate Burt posthumously for his determinedly Orth= ian exit, battling pointlessly against insuperable odds. This makes an in= teresting contrast with the way Weapon and Chevalier ganged up on a helpl= ess, weak and slowed opponent. On a final note I would like it on the record that I thought bilbo Pond = would win. Never trust a Trolinite! Haiku entries: Weapon: Autumn's golden cloak Diamond glints on untouched snow The wealth of nature Shaila Arlan Tel Veckian, Bard of Darhan: Burning glow of gold tipped leaves, gently floating down waiting to be crunched Weapon: The pen holds the might When the sword that it replaced Maintains the balance Shailac: Iced numb, wooly cased rubbered round layered over still cruel cold burns through Mark: Paper dragon leaps From page to mind. So starts the Winter of your soul. = Up