Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 50 [RPG]

[Starday, 4 Erastus 4708 A.R., continued]
 
The Reckoner, Goldcape, and the Boneslayers can’t help but be impressed by Anorak’s display of pure magical might in the aftermath of his long-range incineration of the bulettes.  If the spectacle has drawn any unwanted attention to them, there’s no sign of it as they continue marching through the night toward Flameford.
 
[Sunday, 5 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
By sleeping all day and walking all night, the Harrowed Heroes continue to get closer to their destination.  With the Boneslayers helping them find sources of shade and avoid the myriad natural dangers of the Cinderlands, the group moves slowly but steadily.  Over a meal, Nalmid asks the Korvosans what their greatest battle was prior to coming to the Shoanti lands.  Anorak says it was against the Arkonas, shortly after he met the others.  The Reckoner says it was against Lady Andaisin’s Cult of Urgathoa in their hidden sanctuary under the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden.  Goldcape names a recurring foe, the necromancer Rolth Lamm.  Talk turns to Flameford, and a plan is made for the Boneslayers to camp some distance away from the Sklar-Quah’s settlement to avoid prejudicing them further against the tshamek.  Shadfrar, the Boneslayer who knows the Sklar-Quah the best, expresses concern that the visitors might meet outright violence.  He says it’s a shame that the group was unable to find a Truthspeaker to accompany them, as such a revered guest would put even the Sklar-Quah on their best behaviour.

[Moonday, 6 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

Following Hargev’s advice to detour around a rock formation that holds a roc’s nest, the group enter a region where long grasses poke above the red soil of the Cinderlands.  Here, in Sklar-Quah territory, herds of aurochs—a type of cattle—can roam and graze.  But the thundering sound of approaching hooves marks not an aurochs stampede, but a patrol of Sklar-Quah burn riders!  The riders spur their mounts to gallop in a tighter and tighter ring around the outsiders in a frightening display.  “Sharatok, tshamek,” says one of the riders as the ring slows.  “Storval dharanok ekbit roark Shoanti.”  Fortunately, both Goldcape and The Reckoner know enough Shoanti to realise they’ve received a formal (but cold) greeting, alongside a warning that the Sklar-Quah defend these lands against trespassers.  Goldcape, flying on Rocky above the tense encounter, begins a long explanation of the group’s quest.  But The Reckoner interrupts and says they’ve come to meet Krojun.  The burn riders roar with laughter and their leader responds: “If you wish to see Krojun Eats-What-He-Kills, then so be it!”  The Shoanti whoop as they race toward Flameford to bring word of visitors.  Ahalak says he and the other Boneslayers will camp nearby, and that the Korvosans should continue on their own.

It’s clear the Sklar-Quah had defence in mind when they pitched their yurts to establish Flameford.  Nestled against the edge of an almost-sheer 80’ high cliff on one side and surrounded by a maze of magically-grown spike stones, no enemy could approach Flameford on foot without great difficulty.  A boy is sent to guide the tshamek along the unmarked, zigzagging paths through the spike stones and into the camp itself: a collection of about two dozen yurts, a massive central fire pit, and a horse corral.  The clan’s imposing leader, Chief Ready-Klar, is waiting, as is the stoic Sun Shaman, an amused-looking Krojun, and several other members of the tribe.  When told imperiously by Chief Ready-Klar to state why they have intruded upon Sklar-Quah lands, The Reckoner replies with words that are perfectly pitched for his audience.  Still, it obviously comes as quite a surprise to many of the Shoanti assembled when Chief Ready-Klar doesn’t have them peremptorily ejected.  Instead, he tells the newcomers to wait while he confers with the Sun Shaman. 

 When the two return, the Sun Shaman speaks for the first time.  He says the visitors are still tshamek and not worthy of the sacred knowledge passed down amongst Sklar-Quah shamans since time out of mind.  But, he adds, there is a way for even tshamek to prove themselves as allies of the Sklar-Quah—they could petition to take a Trial.  Outraged at the mere suggestion, Krojun interjects and says these outsiders aren’t even worthy of that!  He says they’ve only survived the Cinderlands because Boneslayer guides have acted as nursemaids along every step they’ve taken.  The Sun Shaman looks on silently while Anorak, Goldcape, and The Reckoner make their case in a battle of words every bit as brutal as a game of sredna.  Finally, the Sun Shaman has made up his mind.  “It is decided,” he says.  “The petition is granted.  At dawn, they shall take the Trial.”  Krojun bellows into the sky, smashes a nearby stone with his bare hands, and summons his thundercallers to ride.

[Toilday, 7 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
An hour before dawn, the Sun Shaman enters the guest yurt where the petitioners are staying.  He leads them out through the maze of spike stones and east toward a small plateau that rises about 30 to 40 feet above the ground below.  Several clay columns, each almost ten feet tall, lay on their sides at the bottom of the mesa—the sides of each column are decorated with Shoanti sigils; curiously the top and bottom are rounded, making them obviously unable to stand upright for long on their own.  The Sun Shaman explains that he has chosen the Trial of the Totems.  To be deemed an ally of the Sklar-Quah, a petitioner must carry a totem on their own and, in less than an hour, place it upright on the lower mesa.  Then, that individual must keep their totem upright for a day. At the next sunrise, the petitioner must move their totem to a higher ledge and keep it upright in another depression for an additional day. When the sun rises on the third day, any totem still standing grants the seeker who kept it upright an enduring bond of friendship with the Sklar-Quah.  With the horizon beginning to show the first rays of light, the Sun Shaman says many eyes in Flameford will be turned eastward for the next two days, and then he departs.

 
The Reckoner gets to work immediately.  The clay columns are quite heavy, but he’s able to pick his up and, balancing carefully, take it on the path that leads up to the mesa before depositing it upright in a shallow depression there.  Goldcape and Anorak, however, cannot replicate such an impressive feat, and are reduced to slowly dragging their totems.  With great effort, they each manage to get their totems upright.  Keeping the totems upright seems easy at first, but as hour after hour in the hot sun passes, the merest lapse in concentration can be enough to send one plummeting to the ground.  It’s not long before everyone is completely exhausted, but at least the items discovered in the secret vault in the Acropolis of the Thrallkeepers ensures that food and water are in good supply.  Still, twice in this first day of the gruelling test, Goldcape’s column falls, each time gaining a visible crack in it.
 
[Wealday, 8 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
Somehow, minute after minute, hour after hour, the totems have been kept (mostly) upright for a full 24 hours.  As dawn starts on the second day, the petitioners decide to remove their armor and prepare to move the totems up to the mesa’s highest ledge.  In a rare stroke of luck for the Cinderlands, an overcast day takes some of the sting of the sun’s heat away.  Still, the hours of daylight pass slowly, interrupted only by a visit from Krojun!  He walks around the ledge, looking pleased that the Sun Shaman has chosen such a difficult challenge, before departing.
 
Somehow, dusk comes again, marking the final stretch of the laborious task.  But just as victory seems attainable, disaster looms: a full pack of six bulettes can be seen drawing nearer and nearer to the mesa!  While The Reckoner tries frantically to get a wand to work, Goldcape and Anorak casts spells of fire, lightning, and ice to weaken the predators.  But with a crouch, the bulettes are able to leap onto the mesa and pounce!  The Reckoner’s totem gets knocked to the ground, giving the wounded warrior the opportunity to strike back with his war-maul.  Goldcape takes her hand off her totem to help The Reckoner dispatch the attacker, and her totem somehow stays upright for the duration of the battle!  But Anorak finds himself sorely-pressed, with his totem knocked to the ground and a bulette looming over him.  He responds with intense bursts of electrical energy from his waraxe, sending the foe hurtling off the edge of the mesa.  And all the while, an ally silent during the trial proves his worth: Rocky!  The brave roc suffers a deep gash, but kills the remaining bulettes.
 
The Trial of the Totems has begun, and already cracks are appearing.  Can the Harrowed Heroes endure?
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GM's Commentary

I used the Pathfinder Social Combat deck of cards to represent the PCs and Krojun arguing before the Sun Shaman whether or not they should be allowed to take a test to become friends of the tribe.  I thought it worked really well, as the cards turn an important role-playing encounter into something that takes more than a single Diplomacy check to resolve.  Mechanically, it's a little like a Chase but with social skills instead of physical ones.

The Trial of the Totems was very memorable and evocative, and I think it really pushed the characters to their limits (fitting for a chapter devoted to Strength).  My only quibble as the GM is that the hardness of the stones was such that it'd be incredibly hard to actually break one no matter how many times you let it slip.  I kept that from the players though, as I always track hp secretly.