The Bladelands Chronicles
Prologue: Sanctuary
"Hieron's chariot had begun to sink towards the western horizon, sending shafts of gold across the port town of Lisieux on the North Bretton coast. From where the seagulls swooped high above the light reflected from roofs and windows, seeming to set the town ablaze, but from Captain Louis LeMark's vantage, leaning on the rail at the aft end of the deck of the Storm Dancer, only the squalor of the docks was visible.
Despite the lateness of the hour the harbour was still thronging with folk from all corners of the known world, looking for passage across the Stormy Straights. Having recently returned from the Navigator's Guildhouse, the presence of which had turned Lisieux from a quiet fishing village into a major port over the last couple of years, Captain LeMark's mind was focused on matters of money. The monopoly of the Navigators on safe passage to and from the Bladelands meant they could charge extortionate fees for their services, and he, like every other captain who braved these dangerous waters, resented paying the price they demanded. But he had no choice; some had tried to make their own way to the islands, but all had failed, never to be seen again. And so, like everyone else, he paid. The high prices he could command from his passengers in return made it worth his while in the end.
The crew of the Storm Dancer were an experienced lot who had all made the crossing many times before, and so the Captain left them to their duties as he watched his passengers come aboard. A night crossing was more dangerous, but there were always travellers aplenty to fill his cabins. He never ceased to be fascinated by the people who made this trip - young and old, rich and poor, honest and deceitful, the Bladelands drew all types. Anywhere else he would expect trouble from so many different folk crammed into such a small hold, but there was something about this journey to the ends of the earth which sobered a man, and made him find friends where otherwise he might have made enemies.
Glancing at the angle of the sun the Captain stood and returned to work, calling orders to his crew as they finished preparations for the journey. It would not be long before the tide turned and they set sail for Sanctuary's harbour."
A mixed group from the mainland set sail aboard the Storm Dancer and head for the port of Sanctuary. En route their ship is blown far off course by a particularly vicious storm and, soon after dawn the next day, is stranded upon some of the many dangerous rocks that surround the isles. There, battered by the wind and waves, it breaks up, and many of its crew and passengers are lost to the waves.
The survivors regroup on shore and follow their navigator towards civilisation, overcoming many strange foe from foulspawn to keltoi along the way. They discover what appears to be a keltoi tomb, and are encouraged by the navigator to raid it for valuable artefacts that might be used to persuade the ruler of whatever fief they first come across to offer them sanctuary within their borders. To the group's dismay the tomb is trapped, and attacks from the enraged keltoi become overwhelming, forcing the rag-tag band to move on. They defeat more enemies as their journey towards safety continues, and barter for safe passage through the forest with one of the Sidhe.
The group eventually reaches civilisation, the boundary of a border fief marked by the colours of its Lord, one Robert Morreaux. Their hopes of finding a safe-haven, however, are dashed when they discover that Lord Robert has recently been killed by foulspawn which have been attacking the fief, and that his grieving wife, Lady Lucinda, is holding on to the fief by a thread. Lucinda grants the shipwreckees sanctuary on her lands, in return for their help in defeating the foulspawn.
In spite of the pressing issue of the foulspawn attack upon the fief, Magus Lim, a powerful navigator who resides in the fief, transports a group of the newcomers back to the keltoi tomb so that they might continue their excavations. Their actions greatly anger the local tribes who add their might to that of the foulspawn who are already stretching the fief's defences to its limits, and things take a turn for the worse. In an effort to appease them one who had been amongst the group that desecrated the tomb was handed over to the tribes, and made a pact with an Outsider who was with them. These actions, opposed by some of the new members of the fief, cause a split and in-fighting begins. This places yet further strain upon the fief.
As night falls on their first day on the Bladelands, the fief’s main settlement is besieged by keltoi determined to kill or drive off the outlanders. It is determined that the Keltoi intend to summon otherworldly aid to destroy the fief and a small party of adventurers agree to set out in the morning to try to eliminate this threat.
The newcomers are heavily involved in a number of small skirmishes fighting against both the keltoi and their fearsome dragon-kin warriors. They are able to defeat a large band and kill a witch who is summoning dark forces to assist in the siege of the fief. Despite this victory and the killing of several of the keltoi wise-ones and the terrible creatures that they summoned, the keltoi continue to besiege the fief’s main defenses. Eventually the combined keltoi and foulspawn overwhelm the area, giving the surviving members of the fief only just enough time to flee for the border and the neighbouring fief, where again they must beg sanctuary.
Next - Vol 1, Ch 1: The Bitter Cup
