GM Aims
If the scenes are played in the order written then these two scenes may not be needed. If necessary the GM can use them to fill in gaps that remain in the PCs knowledge by making the clans more friendly and communicative than they are likely to be in reality.
PC Outcomes
There are no specific PC outcomes other than to have a last opportunity to put some pieces of the jigsaw together.
Description of Events
What Captain Olmoding knows …
Clans Aldrien and Qulf are bitter rivals and Grim Olmoding would prefer not to venture to either. If they trade with one the other is likely to attack them and if they trespass without trading both may attack them.
Attitude of clan Aldrien & Qulfen to visitors
If the PCs visit either then things will run as Grim pre- dicted but not before the Specific Encounter on the first of the two visited.
Clan Aldrien Warband
H/h: 9 Prime Youths Old
13 2 4
Clan Qulfen Warband
H/h: 7 Prime Youths Old
10 1 3
Specific Encounter
A group of Umbathri (see the HarnMaster ruleset of choice) are harassing an old woman.
Information available…
If the PCs drive off the Ivashi then the woman will be grateful and tell them the tale of the lost clan (see Scene 7, above). She will add the information that her father was once among a band of warriors that subdued and killed a Hafen and he said they found leaves „stained with blood‟ worn as a charm. This last hint is intended to give the PCs one last chance to be convinced that they will find crimson sethimyael on Hafeg Island.
By the time they complete these scenes they should have heard all of the Tale of the Beast of Blood; have re- ceived some visions of a girl child „drowning‟ in a „red sea‟ (of sethimyael), and be pretty convinced that Hafeg Island is where they can collect the plant!
AFAREZIRS: ROOT OF ALL EVIL 38
SCENE 10: HAFEG
Overview
By the time this Scene is ready to be played the PCs should have sufficient circumstantial evidence to connect crimson sethimyael to the Hafen of Hafeg Island. However, it is possible that the PCs will decline to take the bait either because they conclude that crimson sethimyael in not any- thing a courtesan would be interested in, or they fear the Hafen.
In the former case Grim Olmoding will remind them that they, and he, stand to be well paid for every crimson sethimyael plant they take back to Golotha. He couldn‟t care less if the plant does what a bunch of whore‟s claim. If they get it he gets paid his bonus!
He‟s equally clear, though, that the Hafen are danger- ous. However it will be possible to get ashore, find the plant, and get it back to the ship before the natives catch them. He will even be prepared to bolster the party with some of his own men if that stiffens PC resolve.
If the PC resolutely refuse to take the bait then the next act can begin with the return of Wenowina, the Sholen Crone, to the „village‟ of Sholengor, and Act IV begins without a trip to Hafeg.
GM Aims
Present an opportunity to search for crimson sethim- yael on Hafeg Island.
Give every impression that the players are reaching the adventure‟s climax;
Help the PCs locate the perfect place to find the plant, find plenty of sethimyael but find that none of it is crim- son!
Discover they have come to an obvious, but incorrect, conclusion, and risked their lives in the process.
PC Outcomes
Find several places that crimson sethimyael should grow but find only the ordinary variety before having to flee for their lives.
Description of Events
What Captain Olmoding knows …
Grim has only landed on Hafeg once, when he first sailed among the islands. Above the beach where he land- ed was an animal skull mounted on a pole. A brief explora- tion showed that elsewhere it was human heads that were displayed. That was enough to send him on his way to Sholo! He has a map of the coastline and has marked where he believes the clan lives based only on smoke he has seen rising from the centre of the island.
Attitude of clan Hafen to visitors
Hafen warriors who are in their prime take regular doses of the crimson sethimyael extract and gain the advantages of a standard dose. Youths are not permitted
to take the extract prior to their manhood ceremony, and older men take it only at times of ceremony such as during shuntul. Appendix II includes details.
AFAREZIRS: ROOT OF ALL EVIL 39
By the time a youth begins taking the extract he is already brutalised by the life the Hafen lead. The extract simply gives him the physical capacity to express that brutality. By the time an old man stops taking the extract the frail shreds of his sanity will have been blown away on a tide of depravity leaving him a drooling savage.
Women in their prime, and maidens after their first menstruation, take the extract regularly and gain its advantages – they also quickly stop menstruating. Older women also take it regularly. While the younger girls who are yet to menstruate are not subject to the effect of the extract they are routinely beaten and abused in a way that renders them devoid of the normal feelings of a child long before their bleeding starts.
The tribe has a single response to any visitor: ATTACK!
Clan Hafen Warband
H/h: 5 Prime Youths Old
Men 19 4 4
Women 15 7 8
Description of Events
The attitude of the Hafen to the PC’s search
Given that the PC‟s previous experience of the Hafen they are unlikely to consider trading for the plant. Instead they will have to strike out for the high heathland and fend off the Hafen if they encounter them.
Searching for Crimson Sethimyael
Wherever the PCs land they will find the coast marked with warding symbols – either human or animal skulls mounted on poles.
The PCs will have learned enough about the habitat for sethimyael from their visits to the other islands to be confident they can find that terrain on Hafeg. The high boggy heathland valleys near the centre of the island are the ideal place to find sethimyael. Grim‟s map of the island lacks detail but it does show where the high ground is. This will enable the PCs to outline a route for their search.
The PCs should be allowed to follow the high ground from one end of the island or the other. The GM should allow them plenty of time to find several large patches of green sethimyael, exactly where they would expect to find it, before they get close to the supposed site of the Hafen village.
At some point the PCs are likely to pause and review the evidence that has brought them this far. As they contemplate their next move the Hafen will make it for them.
The Hafen Hunt
While the PCs have been searching the Hafen will have been gathering their strength while having scouts observe the intruders.
The first sign of the Hafen that the PCs should see is a single warrior half a mile away, outlined against the skyline.
If they fail to notice the risk, then the fact that he is howling like a dog should draw their attention and hint that they are in danger!
When he disappears behind the ridge they will probably need no encouragement to make haste back the way they have come. The sound of howls and whistles will reach them on the wind and they will see what looks like the entire Hafen warband crest a ridge about 1 mile away. They are coming on at a steady jog so the PCs will have little time before they are upon them!
THE HAFEN Race/Sex: Human/Male or Female Appearance: All the Hafen appear to be barely human savages. Though they
are lightly built they as surprisingly strong and have exceptional stamina. Their hair is matted and their eyes wild.
Str 12 Agl 11 Sml 13 Aur 06 Cml 08 Sta 12 Eye 10 Voi 10 Wil 13 End 12 Dex 11 Hrg 11 Int 06 Mor 01 Mov 11 Medical/Psyche: insane
Religion: Ritual (Larani) 22, Piety 16
Skills: AWARENESS 55, CLIMBING 60, Folklore (Hafen) 33, Foraging 55,
JUMPING 60, Physician 24, Seamanship (Curach) 75, STEALTH 72, Survival 72, Swimming 42, THROWING 62, Tracking 60, Weatherlore 60
Languages: Old Jarinese (Nolgind) 40 Scripts: none
Combat Skills: INITIATIVE 65, DODGE 60, UNARMED 80, Hatchet or
Club 70, Buckler 90
Money/Valuables: nothing but the strength to fight the others for the next
meal.
Armour/Weapons: Sealskin vest, breech-clout and shoes; stone hatchet or
club and skin buckler.
Other Equipment: what they stand up in.
Load: 22.2 lbs Encumbrance Penalty: 0 Melee Wpns Wt WQ AML DML HM B E P Head butt 80 80 2 Hand/Arm 80 95 -05 1 Foot/Knee 85 85 -05 2 Hatchet 3 8 75 75 -10 4 5 Club 4 8 85 75 -10 4 4 Buckler 3 13 95 105 1
Location Armour Layers AQ B E P F
Skull Face (ears) Face (jaw) Neck Shoulder Upper Arm Elbow Forearm Hand Thorax L 0 2 1 2 Abdomen L 0 2 1 2 Hip L 0 2 1 2 Groin L 0 2 1 2 Thigh L 0 2 1 2 Knee L 0 2 1 2 Calf Foot L 0 2 1 2
Invocations: none Spells: none Convocations: none Psionics: none
Notes: The Hafen are barely human savages bolstered by the effects of the
AFAREZIRS: ROOT OF ALL EVIL 40
The GM can keep up the pressure by having the Hafen keep on jogging towards the PCs who will certainly be more encumbered and much more prone to fatigue.
If Aslin has been carried with them then they will certainly have some difficult choices to make. Even if they an all able-bodied then having the clan slowly gain on the tiring PCs should build a lot of tension. Ideally they should arrive at the beach gasping for breath to find the Breyta has disappeared. As they make what desperate defensive preparations they can she heaves into sight around a nearby headland.
Her boats are quickly in the water and heading into the beach in an effort to get the PCs off. There can be a desperate fight in the shallows between the PC rearguard and the quickest Hafen.
If necessary Grim can come to their aid, forming a shield wall to protect the boats as they edge out through the surf, but more surprisingly, the PCs will be joined by some Nolgind warriors. With their help the PCs can scramble into either the Breyta‟s whale boats or the Sholen curachs.
Wenowina, the Crone of clan Sholen, has brought her warriors to the PC‟s aid!