Session 3 Recap: A Eulogy for the Enemy, or, Mourning Miles

A session of deep emotions and wrenching decisions, our third session found our heroes reaching the top of the mountain path. We had a few random fights along the way and spotted a hibernating bear in a cave (we let the bear sleep). Kuarjav also acquired a Wind God’s Hat.

When we reached the clearing at the top, a few dozen people were waiting for us there led by a woman named Gloria. These were all escaped prisoners, the ones Miles had commanded us to help him drag back to jail. And so, we faced our first great choice: did we bring the prisoners in as instructed, or ditch Miles and join the prisoners in escaping? Daisy, for one, was much too freedom-loving to go along with the former, but others, like Kuarjav, were wary of taking such a risk and leaping into the unknown.

After much debate, we resolved to flee with the prisoners and abandon Commander Miles. The commander did not take it well and challenged Harold to a duel, which was won soundly by the Narcissist. Unfortunately, this also ended in Miles’ death. The players were rather shocked at the sudden death of the only NPC we’d started to learn the backstory of (it didn’t help that he was so pathetic a fighter as to be almost adorable, like a helpless yappy puppy). Our characters took Miles’ death with varying degrees of emotion; Harold was mostly unfazed but spouted a rousing eulogy, while Daisy took pity on the deceased commander and helped heave a boulder into place to serve as a headstone. The reactions of the other characters are unknown.

And so, now joined by the well-meaning but insufferable Gloria (who ended up in prison for tax-evasion), the much-enlarged group headed back down the mountain with the intention of freeing the rest of the prisoners in the camp and seeking out a group of rebels to join. Before we could leave the mountain, however, Royce’s nemesis dropped out of the sky on her dragon and used a rune to send Vasuki into a mad frenzy once again, much like the method in which she helped capture Dragon Knight Royce and Daisy a few days before. The party was forced to fight Royce’s dragon to stop her rampage, which left Vasuki gravely injured. The nemesis flew away, her purpose accomplished, leaving us with a dying dragon and no way to help her.

Out of nowhere, a hooded woman calling herself Miss Grey appeared and offered us a piece of advice. She instructed us to use the combined power of our Unity Rune to heal the dragon, and to our surprise and relief, it worked. The mysterious woman explained that she had felt the Unity Rune choose a new bearer and wanted to see for herself what had happened. When questioned, she said only that she tries to keep track of the True Runes as much as she can. We noticed that she knew our names without introductions. And with our thanks, she was gone.

Still pursuing our plans, we made our way back to the prison camp. Daisy, the only member of the party with even a hint of training in large-scale combat strategy (funny because she is permanently berserk and unthinking in close combat), suggested that Harold run to the camp with a forged letter from Miles requesting assistance in the mountains to deal with the escapees. Harold carried out the plan perfectly, and soon the camp had largely been emptied out as the bulk of the soldiers and prison guards hurried away to the mountain. Once reinforcements had left for their imaginary battle, Daisy, Harold and Kuarjav strolled into camp while Royce flew ahead to free the prisoners. Harold talked his way in to see the ranking officer and explained the situation to him frankly, and the supervisor was wise enough to surrender the camp without a fight. We busily set about arming, clothing, and supplying as many prisoners as we could so as to make our escape.

As we debated our next move, a Harmonian soldier blundered into camp with news of the fall of Ordon castle to Camaro. We learned as much as we could from the soldier about Camaro’s forces and Harmonia’s defenses, then locked him up with the other guards and fled the camp. Gloria’s information suggested that we might find some information about the Liberation Army in Runehurst, so we went to the town to try and learn where to go next. In one of the bars we stumbled across a boastful Narcissist who was quickly identified as Harold’s brother, Captain Windamier. His brother tried to have his Harmonian forces arrest Harold as a traitor to Harmonia, but Harold’s quick tongue convinced the soldiers that their captain had simply had too much to drink and ought to be put to bed. Ranting and raving about his traitorous brother, Captain Windamier was hauled off to sleep it off. To finish the night, we all had a drink on Windamier’s tab and, once we felt that it would not attract suspicion, we made our exit. As of yet, there is no sign of this Liberation Army and no reason but Gloria’s word to believe it exists at all.

In Memoriam: Miles

(Told from the viewpoint of Harold Windamier via speech while traveling down the mountainside)

And lo, we stand here today in this most dreadful of ceremonies, in this air that has grown stale with disease and chaos, where all the birds dare not sing, for otherwise they be perceived as basking in the tragedy that has occurred, we come here to honor the majesty of the man who accompanied us for all of these two or so days, the great Senor Commander Miles.

Miles was an affable, oh yes my friends, oh so affable, a man who could be tricked into thinking that dogs were cats, that prisoners were soldiers and that demotions could be salvations. You, whose armor glowed like the sun itself, whose face burned like a marshmallow, you, whose arms shook like grass attacked by the four winds, you were oh so young to die!

Oh but hear us, dear Senor Miles! While your armor still lies over this grave, we shall gain vengeance for you by slaying the almighty great villain of these times. For this, we make an oath to your most sacred armor, to slay the man, the demon, the creature that they called Marcus Aurelius. We will repent for your cowardly, oh so cowardly ways, by defeating him, just as a bee would sting its foe for their queen.

Oh Miles, shall we not forget your handsome face, your tumbling spear, your oh so dashing mustache that was clearly an imitation of my very own! No Miles, we will not forget your heroically letting us do all the fighting, how you continually gave us weapons due to insanity, how you continued to whimper about. You were our pet, our colleague, and almost our dearest of friends! We who are about to step onto this cruelest of worlds, this beast of a land, shall one day join you, but only after we have honored yourself and your true passions!

Senor Miles, we may have dashed by accident your hopes, your dreams, your loves and uh, your life, but if we could go into the way-back past, where the future was but a haze, where the birds still sang, would we, could we, we would and bring you to our arms, to hear your loveable miserly ways that would make the hobos of the Crystal Valley laugh with glee. Senor Miles, may your grace and charm forever go down in history! So say we all my dear friends! So say we all!

Goodbye, Senor Miles. Goodbye.

Session 1 Recap: Monsters in the Mines

Recap: Session 1 (11/7/11)

As we launched into our inaugural session of Suikoden, we found all of our characters being hauled off to a Harmonian jail. Most of us had arrive there separately, for a variety of reasons. Daisy (Sarah) and Royce (Phil) were brought in together, Royce’s caged dragon Vasuki in tow. Little Sciath (Kerri) was accompanied by a strange talking contraption called Sun Crystal. Harold’s (Michael’s) only companion was his outrageous accent.

We arrived at the Orbel Mines as prisoners of Harmonia and were presented before an old man to “check in” for our stay. His name was Kuarjav Valas (Jon), and he was a prisoner himself who, as a healer and an old man, was more valuable in an administrative position than laboring in the mines. He possessed two runes on his hands, both water and earth.

The prisoners all gave their names. Daisy freely gave her last name as Saint-Anicet and was quite surprised when no one recognized it. She also revealed to Harold that she is the daughter of Viktor (Suikoden 1-2), which he advised that she keep to herself while in prison for her own safety. Kalas examined each new prisoner and found that most of them possessed at least one rune, some of which he did not recognize (one belonging to Royce, and both of Daisy’s). after meeting each prisoner, he declared them fit (except for Harold, who got half-duty) and sent them to the mines.

The prisoners had a long day of work, during which Daisy picked up Sciath’s slack when the young girl couldn’t keep up. During breakfast the following morning, word came that monsters had appeared in the mines and were killing inmates. Harold convinced the guards to give us back our weapons and send us down into the mines to handle the problem. We were also accompanied by Notable NPCs Nathan and Grant, two 3rd class citizens jailed for unknown crimes, who serve as sort of foremen, dealing with issues between the guards and prisoners. Also of note, though not currently with us, is Commander Miles, the easygoing commander of the prison who seems far too timid to run such an operation and made the decision to send us into the mines. (if this was a Suikoden game, all three of them have portraits).When the party descended into the mines, they found the corpses of other inmates, the occasional box of medicines and other items (Royce acquired a unique Illusion Cape), and roving bands of hellhounds and other beasts. We dispatched them all with minimal wounds until finally we reached the end of the tunnel.

Two strange things were waiting for us at the end of the mine. One was an alarming rip in the air itself, through which monsters were continuously emerging. The other was an enormous glowing rune on the wall, which none of us could identify. Daisy argued for just cutting it up and destroying it, but before she could draw her sword, Royce stepped forward and touched the rune.

We were immediately thrown into a fight with a three-headed monster called Geryon. It was a difficult battle that caused Daisy, at least, grievous bodily harm – but she’s quite accustomed to taking hits. When the fight was won, the rune split into pieces and a portion attached itself to the forehead of every person present. We received a vision of the rune’s past, how it had fled capture by Harmonia and was now seeking “friends”. We don’t yet know where this will lead us, but one thing is sure: our lives, and our fates, are now inextricably bound linked together.