Life has been hectic the past few weeks, which is usual for this time of the year, but more so this year as my wife is trying to adapt to a new job whilst still having to tie ends at the one she’s leaving behind. We’ll go at a much-needed trip at our cabin next week one last time before winter but for now, it’s gaming time!

Olivier is with his father this week end so no Team Jean this time. Well, that’s not entirely true as Stuffed Jean-Paul has seemingly disinterred himself and somehow got at the rendez-vous point (I’m sure Olivier will protest vehemently when he’ll hear about that!) and so he’s back as Cordélia’s creepy beads-eyed retainer.

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs)

• Cordélia Lenoir (Marjorie), using the dark arts for good (probably), Necromancer lvl 2
• Noah (Isaac), crafts stuff, Expert lvl 2
• Monmon (Edmond), has a powerful antique spear, Warrior lvl 3
• Loic Leblanc (Jason), healbot, Adventurer (expert/healer) lvl 2

Retainers:

• Eudes le Bâtard (Marjorie), Comte de La Frenaie’s young bastard son, Morale 9
• Stuffed Jean-Paul (Marjorie), killed by stuffed animals, now stuffed himself, Morale 12
• Conrad (Jason), crusader, heavy drinker, Morale 9
• Jacques (Isaac), daytaler, grumpy, Morale 7

Crypt

• Zachary, Elementalist, electrocuted in front of the Anteroom (corpse in castle)
• Pierre-Jean Pierre, ex-monk, clawed to death by a dark monk (RIP)
• Edgar, daytaler, throat slashed by a dark monk (corpse in castle)
• Charles, daytaler, skewered by a drunken skeleton (corpse in castle)
• Hercule, caravan hand, seized off the raft by the Lake Monster. (MIA)
• Pierre Laroche du Rocher, mason, pierced by the Huntsman’s arrows. (corpse in castle)
• Alphonse, crusader, savaged by Count Giscard’s Children of the Night. (corpse in castle)

Previous Infractions:

Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik the Ancient. (0)

Smoked the Ruined Quarters: 1/2 Angered a werewolf washwoman: 1/2 Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings: 1 Failed to convince Jean-Honoré the butler of their lies: 1/2 Stole a treasure chest full of gold from the Lake Grotto treasury: 1/2 Interrupted Runcius Malévol’s pagan ritual: 1 Slightly annoyed Count Giscard Malévol while he drank « wine »: 1

Infractions rating: 5

Rumors:

• My uncle once tried to rob the place with his pal, the miller. He was killed by a cupboard.
• Alchemists and practitioners of dark arts have been seen in the company of Azédarac, the Bishop of Ximes!

We start in Vyônes. Noah have crafted himself a fast-loading crossbow. Noah and Loic fail to find a buyer for a regal outfit. Loic hires the Troubadour de l’Automne to help find competent hirelings. He hires ex-crusader Conrad this way. Noah hires one Jacques who seems to have a bad temper. Stuffed Jean-Paul simply show up at the rendez-vous point near Périgon, even if he had been put in a grave the previous week. Bruno is back but Cordélia isn’t interested as she’s been put off by his weird demeanor and his suspicious absence last delve. He begs to be in, without pay if need be, but to no avail. Instead, Cordélia forcefully gets him in the care of the monks at Périgon, hoping that they would find what the hell is wrong with him. Cordélia buys vials of holy water from the monks.

Grand Entrance

• Near the Château Cordélia spot someone hiding behind a bush and send Stuffed Jean-Paul after it. The man in hiding start to run away and Cordélia shoots him with her bow. Loic heals him just enough so he can be interrogated. They learn that Gilbert the Fox want to ambush them once they exit. Loic slit the wounded man’s throat ruthlessly.
• The adventurers try to interact with the 2 monstrous statues at the grand entrance but fail to have any reaction.
• They open the great doors and see that Jean-Honoré the butler is there again in the vestibule. He seems lethargic, with his head down, but still hold a platter with goblets ready to serve. Cordélia sucessfully shoot the platter off his hand, the butler is dismayed at the spill and hurry away through a door to re-fill the drinks.
• Nearby in the Entrance Halls the PCs find a Portrait Gallery. They interact with the portraits (Harry Potter-style): Philomène Malévol smiles and invites them upstair; a bureaucrat is annoyed with the interruption; skeletal and richly-attired Aristide Malévol ignores them; a paint his covered over and bleeds when scratched and a voice says « I’ll be vindicated, you can’t prove anything! »; an executioner is sharpening his axe; Marcel the Malnourished begs for food, Cordélia gives him a ration and ask him a few questions after but he’s sleepy after eating and takes a nap.
• Cordélia sprinkles holy water on the living paints, except Marcel’s, they cease to be « alive »
• A bit further they hear loud singing and much ruckus from a mess hall, they turn left instead in another corridor
• They open a door into the Summer Wing, push aside a heavy curtain and get into a vast throne room with much cobwebs. There’s empty armors each standing in front of columns in rows facing each other. The PCs want the team to coordinate to tie up the armors with ropes, and using the curtain also (as they don’t have enough rope) to immobilize them in case they would get hostile. The plan mostly works, 5 armors are tied to columns but then they animate suddenly and Loic didn’t have time to tie his. And the 2 armors under the curtain just slice it open and free themselves. Combat ensues. Jacques takes a halberd hit on the face and dies instantly. Monmon manages to push an armor on the ground with the help of Cordélia, the armor disassemble with the impact, a swarm of (little) spiders get out of it, quickly scattering away. Loic slam his hammer on another’s helm and dislodges it from its shoulders with the same result. They then team up to break apart the last free armor.
• They inspect the decorated throne. They find a jeweled scepter in a hidden compartment. They also find a button and when pressed it makes the throne descend into the catacombs.
• They go down with the throne into the Lake Grotto area.
• Next room Cordélia does a Smite the Dead, annihilating a bunch of undead nuns.
• A bit further, now into the Oubliette area, they get inside an impressive statuary, they’re attacked by 3 Stone Reapers (statues with scythes). Monmon uses his magic spear to good effect. He and Conrad got wounded too but are immediately healed by Loic. A tough fight but they prevail. They find a precious necklace, a mundane lantern and sheet of paper with a spell of warding (single use) inscribed on it.
• Right next to the statuary are prisoner cells. There’s 3 prisoners, one weirdo is chewing on a dead rat, says that this way the vampires will choose to drain somebody else. Another, Jaubert, gets a promise from the adventurers to kill Mortagu the warden/executioner and bring back the keys. The other one is a gaunt woman that keeps silent.
• They leave the captives behind and go in search of the warden. Past a clammy corridor they get into a root cellar. There they see giant beets, almost humanoids in shape, slumbering. Careful to not disturb the beet creatures they go inspect a statue of a woman that seems out of place. They find a secret passage behind and go inside.
• They get into a cistern room. There’s a well entrance above them. There’s corpses in the water, zombies that animate when they get near. The PCs hurry away and spike the door behind them.
• They get further, evading a trio of cackling witches in a kitchen.
• Next room is empty except for an axe and a stump. And dried blood everywhere. Monmon takes the axe, thinking it will piss off the executioner to be weaponless! (there was chance of finding Mortagu here but it didn’t happen)
• Next room there’s a weird thing going on as heavily-armored Monmon is attracted in the center where a spiked ball attached on a chain is rotating furiously. He got hit 2 times before he could extricate himself from the magnetic field (but he can take it).
• Nearby they find a secret door and get into a large circular room bordered by alcoves. They have time to search a few before alerting the resident rats. A whole horde of rats, hundreds. The PCs flee through the only door and quickly close it behind them.
• They leave the angry screeches and scratching and now see that they’ve circled back to the clammy corridor and root cellar. From there they get to a wine cellar. There’s many barrels along the wall and messing with them they find one that is empty, behind is a secret passage.
• They enter and once they get out of a man-made tunnel they arrive in a cavern. Oddly, they can see the light of day entering at the other end of the cavern. There’s also a satyr wearing robes. He let them pass with the promise that the adventurers bring him alcohol on their way back.
• The PCs enter the Indoorness, a primordial forest unstuck in time and space.
• They follow a path and soon get into a clearing where they see a gazebo surrounded by wildflowers. They get inside. (the players are not old-timers, they have no fear of gazebos) The gazebo fly up at vertiginous speed and reach a splendid cloud garden. They get back on the ground after a while, feeling refreshed.
• Further on the forest path, they come across another clearing, this time there’s a mill. The miller talks about giant mice, trolls under bridges and a druid who’s master of the forest. They pay good money for a cask of whiskey and leave.
• The adventurers were worried at the thought of encountering trolls and decided it was time to turn back and call it a day. They gave the satyr the cask of whiskey which he seized and gulped down without another word. They entered back the catacombs, found their way up to the throne room and managed to get out of the castle yet again… with grumpy fellow Jacques as casualty.

(I had planned to have the players ambushed by bandit Gilbert the Fox and his men as they exited the castle, as it was pretty much telegraphed from last session’s rumors and today’s foreshadowing (the man in hiding) but it was getting late and so it’ll be another time.)

Session wrap up:

• 5 hours session with a lot accomplished, a lot of exploration done if a bit haphazard. They found the way to the « Indoorness » which frankly I’m quite surprised by. When I read the book the first time I wasn’t sure they would ever find it at all. Interesting…
• First time the players get to interact with portraits, even if they’re like everywhere in the castle. That was fun.
• No random encounters, not a single one, against the odds, as I’ve rolled like 30 times (with a 1 on d6 needed)!
• XP: Participation: 1 Treasure: 2 Secrets: 3
• Treasures: Scepter of the Merovings. Jeweled Necklace.
• Fatalities: Jacques, got hit in the face by an Empty Armor’s halberd
• Quote: Marjorie: « Eeeekkk, spiders! I squash them all! Every single one of them! »
• New Infractions: Stole the Scepter of the Merovings, Defaced living portraits with holy water.