Play Report Mar 22, 2026 - Boasting with the Boys #5
Introduction
A session of surprises! We continue along paths familiar to me; the quest to find Maebh. In a previous report for Boasting with the Boys, I commented on how many of the aspects of this longer, globetrotting adventure are scattered across the documentation, but I think I've settled on a good structure for it.
The river travel was a real delight; the procedures really got to shine. The weather tables alone are worth using in any game and added a lot of texture and atmosphere.
I was also very interested to see that the gang opted to parlay with the fallen druids. This leg of the quest takes them north to the temple of Onthloug, no doubt a deadly place of terror.
Report
In attendance:
- Marcus Mussen, one of the original Boys
And introducing new Boys:
- Mrs Cranberry
- Dog Doggins
- Mundi
Back in Guthram, the Boys mourned the deaths of Hjlodr and Chreter Pistian. Mrs Cranberry and Dog Doggins rose from the ranks of the ex-thralls to join the council. Additionally, they were joined by Mundi, a Brythonic huntsman and birdkeeper, who would serve as their guide to Diserth.
Maebh, the missing druid from Ruislip, had last been seen heading from Guthram to Diserth, presumably to seek the council of Atiq, the sorcerer who dwelt there. It was as good a lead as any the Boys had, and they planned a trip upriver. They would sail from Guthram through Cernyff, the city of churches, and enter the mouth of the river. From there, they hoped to reach a fork in the river and take advantage of the change in current for smooth sailing to the Morheb Weald.
On the first day, it was hard work at rowing. Little progress was made at first. Furthermore, the karvi and its crew were harassed by missile fire from the shore. A youth appeared, charging an exorbitant toll and threatening to brain a random crewman with his sling. Not one to tolerate such nonsense, Mrs Cranberry retaliated with a sling bullet of her own, which struck the youth dead. The shore party found a signet ring belonging to a fancy clan of Cernyff, which meant trouble. They weighted the body with stones and left him in the water. Mrs Cranberry kept the ring, hoping to dispose of it surreptitiously at a later date.
The next day, the band did nothing but row, and spent a quiet night by the riverside. In the morning, they encountered some priests and peasants peacefully camped further upriver. The Boys decided to leave them be.
Day three was more rowing until the ship rounded the fork, and from there it was smooth sailing with the current. They passed more folk by the riverside; a number of dazed-seeming people with sharp ears and rough clothing. Mundi impressed them with his pigeons, but speaking with them was difficult. Curious, the Boys made a note of this odd hamlet and proceeded to Diserth. Their speed much greater with the current, they arrived just before nightfall.
In Diserth, which bristled like a hedgehog with palisades, they were received by Atiq. They found him a mellow and welcoming Moorish wise man, fluent in many languages and with a cabinet of curiosities. He had seen Maebh, sure, but believed her deadβshe had gone on to the druid circle just south and had not been seen again. As they passed Atiqβs hookah around, he reiterated his warning that these druids were mad tongue-worshipers and best avoided. Atiq also offered to look over some of the trinkets recovered from Donenashoe, punctuating each appraisal with a ring of smoke.
The woods between Diserth and the circle were said to be full of hungry wolves, so of course Dog Doggins boasted that he would kill one with his eyes closed!
Naturally, as they traveled south through the Weald toward the druids, a pack of nearly two dozen wolves converged upon the Boys! They were led by an enormous wolfmother, who led her children with preternatural cunning. Before long, the Boys were treed and surrounded, as the wolfmother snapped at their heels. Mundi put an arrow in the great she-wolf, but it only seemed to enrage her. Dog Doggins fulfilled his boast by stabbing a wolf with a borrowed polearm!
Mundi, Mrs Cranberry, and Marcus Museum all worked together to start a blaze in a nearby tree to ward off the wolves. Slowly but surely, the pack broke away as the flames grew. With many of their number injured, the Boys returned to Diserth to try again the next day.
The next day, they reached the druid circle and found they were expected, heralded by the forest fire. Dozens of druid stalked among the bloody profaned stones, while honeyed words came from long tongues. The Boys were invited to see a sacrifice, but the ex-thralls were unwilling to see an innocent hostage die through no choice of their own. The Boys bargained for the captivesβ lives, and agreed to escort a druid to the temple of Onthloug in the north. Doing so would secure the lives of the captives, and loosen the druidsβ frightful tongues as to Maebhβs whereaboutsβ¦