Session 19: A Kingdom's Harrowing

in which the Kingdom's past, present and future is harrowed by Madame Olga, a Varisian leader

Year 4711 A.R.

Abadius (January) 4711 A.R.

Kingdom Situation
- Svetlana keeps receiving complaints from the kobolds, but things in the Narlmarches appear to be quiet, as there are no more complaints of pranks on the trappers and lumberjacks working in the forest.
- A diplomat from Mivon and his entourage arrive in the area. They meet Jonah and Kii and exchange gifts. They rent a beautiful house in the center of Olegton to act as Mivon's embassy... Lord Chesswick is a strong looking warrior type, always carries a scimitar and has a love for fancy hats and boiled eggs.
- Rumors from more boggard attacks in the Hooktongue Slough swamp to the west. As a result, there's an influx of traders that decide to try to approach the River Kingdoms through the Kamelands instead of using the old swamp road...


Players' Actions
Gam'el'Gar explores a hex to the east of the Spider's Lair... He finds some strangely beautiful women bathing in a pool near a small stream that flows towards the Shrike River... They have elvish features but looked weird... They beckoned Gam'el'Gar and his group of rookie rangers to approach, but they decided to give the women a wide berth and left the area...
Am explores a hex containing the Shrike Cascade. The river Shrike plummets 15 meters over a cliff in that area, rendering the Shrike unnavigable to river traffic—although the vista of the waterfall itself is quite breathtaking. Some gnome engineers accompany Am in following trips and start investigating the area and taking measurements to help Kii decide on how to build a lock to overcome the waterfall.

Cardot travels the kingdom, talking with its people and hearing their complaints: noisy neighbors, high taxes, kobold troubles... the usual stuff... Cardot tries to assure all those he meets that the group takes its responsibility as rulers of the kingdom seriously and will defend civilization and peace in the land. (possible bonus of +2 to Loyalty and +1 to Economy for the next 3 months).

Kii contacts Liberthane to propose to start building trade stations along the Shrike River.

Kingdom Development
A new farm and roads are built in the hex to the south of Bokken's Hut... The town starts building accommodations to be used by magic users (5BP spent towards constructing a Witch's Hut)... maybe the town is able to attract some of the famous Numerian Techno-Sorceresses?

The New Kingdom - Calistril (February) 4711 A.R.

Kingdom Event
During the month, a Varisian caravan arrives near town. The characters pay the Varisians a visit to welcome them and at the same time inquire on the length of their stay. The Varisians are nomads from western Golarion; they bring with them many exotic objects and benefit commerce, but at the expense of an increase in petty criminality... The characters give Kesten Garess some extra mercenaries to help him maintain order while the caravan is in town.
Madame Olga, the leader of the caravan, thanks the welcome given to them by the people of Olegton and assures the characters that the Varisians will stay only a couple weeks, as they don't want to overstay the hospitality of the town. 

Madame Olga also turns out to be a Harrow cards reader. Tradition requires that the ones seeking a Harrowing ask themselves for one, so the characters ask her to make a reading for their kingdom. Madame Olga tells them that a Harrowing can give them a glimpse of their future, but that such a glimpse can be positive, allowing one to avert danger or find great business opportunities, or negative, influencing the person's vision of the future and his reactions to it... The characters decide to risk the Harrowing, and Madame Olga starts:


Madame Olga's Harrowing
Madame Olga tells the characters that the Harrowing will accompany them for the next year, at which time they will be able to request another Harrowing. She then pulls a card for each character:
Gam'el'Gar pulled the Forge, and Madame Olga tells him that he will survive a future trial by fire, but that he will also be beaten with great force...
Gam'el'Gar may completely negate any damage taken from one source of fire in the next year.
On the other hand, each time he receives a critical hit caused by a blunt weapon, Gam'el'Gar must pass a DC15 Fortitude check or suffer an extra increment in the critical. This will last until he suffers the effect at least once...
Am pulls the Cricket, and Madame Olga tells him that one of his musical friend has found a treasure that could be very interesting to him... Be quick to visit the friend or the item could be lost. 
Who could be Am's musical friend? 
Cardot pulls the Betrayal card, and Madame Olga tells him that he will suffer great devastation from a person whose loveliness hides an evil heart...From now on, Cardot gains a -4 penalty to all Diplomacy checks with beautiful members of the opposite sex until he discovers who will be the cause of this minor doom

Kii pulls the Vision, and Madame Olga tells him that, after meeting a strange individual, he will obtain arcane knowledge, but at the cost of a small insanity...

After meeting a strange individual, Kii may decide to gain an extra 2nd level spell he can use (also as a daily bonus spell) but he will also suffer a small insanity from that point onward...

Madame Olga then proceeds to build a Harrowing for the New Kingdom. She deals the cards face down forming a spread, then starts turning one column at a time, explaining that the left column represented the past, the middle column the present, and the right column the future.

Madame Olga's Harrow reading

The Past
In the left column, Madame Olga discovered the Foreign Trader (top), the Dance (middle) and the Juggler (bottom)... She immediately pointed her crooked finger to the Juggler card. It was an opposing match, she said, a card associated with good future events and nevertheless appeared in the space associated with evil past events, and thus its potency would be strong... The Dance was situated just on top, influenced by the presence of the Juggler... Madame Olga's eyes went suddenly blank and she croaked: 
"(pointing to the Foreign Trader) You made a pact with foreign powers that helped start your Kingdom with good auguries; (pointing to the Dancer, then to the Juggler) The Dancer sinned most grievously and the Juggler let her home fall from its delicate position in the multiverse; she seeks redemption, but she only may cause loss ..."

You saw a glimpse of a beautiful Elven Lady Ghost, dancing in a ruined keep of elven design... her dance was enthralling and you could not help but stare at her with lust... you felt a dangerous presence at your back, but were unable to turn to confront it, as you were busy contemplating the Elven Ghost... your vision then went black...

When you go back to Olegton, Oleg tells you that he has found a mistake in the accounts... you actually have 2BPs more than accounted for, as some materials sent with the original shipment from Restov were of higher quality than expected.
You will suffer a -2 penalty to your rolls when you encounter the "Dance and Juggler" encounter... You'll not have the penalty if you pass a DC18 Will save at that time.

The Present
In the central column, Madame Olga discovers the Fiend (top), the Crows (center) and the Trumpet (bottom). She explains all cards represent aggressive characters, bent on solving their problems through violence, but as none of the cards were a True or Opposite Match, their influence at this moment is diminished... Madame Olga's eyes go suddenly blank and she croaks:
"(pointing to the Fiend) you may find an unlikely ally, a fearsome creature with prodigious hunger; (pointing to the Crows, then to the Trumpet) The Crows are answering with great speed the call sounded by the Trumpet"
You fall to your knees and see a group of Trolls devouring some travelers. They have answered the call of a bulky Troll and go to him. Together, they look intently through some forest trees... Olegton can be seen in the distance, but blocking their way is a big humanoid shape, holding a club and eating prodigious amounts of food that the villagers have brought him...
As he is misaligned, the Trumpet will call less allies than he expected. The Fiend will never be a reliable ally.


The Future
In the right column, Madame Olga will discover the Snakebite (top), the Beating (center) and the Midwife (bottom). She will explain that all cards are misaligned, and furthermore they do not share a common theme, thus they will be even more difficult to interpret than what could be expected of knowing the future... Madame Olga will sleep and her dream will connect with yours...
 "(pointing to the Snakebite) You will learn much from this poisoned blade, that which does not kill you makes you stronger; (pointing to the Beating) Your Kingdom will soon be assailed by an underground danger; protect it as well as you can or it will fall to the ground; (pointing to the Midwife) beware the Halfling, as she is the bringer of pain and woe"

You will dream that you cannot stand on your feet, you try to stand up, but each time a sudden vibration forces you to go prone again...

You kingdom will suffer a great loss, at which time your characters may decide to gain some teaching from that terrible experience... the rest of the future is unclear

XP:
Characters are at 4th level.

Personal Loot

none

Kingdom Treasury
- 14,25BPs

Time Passed :
- 6 months.
The time now is early Calistril (February). The group is at Olegton