Quixotic Pursuits - Part One

The duel with Loch continues, blows rain down with extraordinary ferocity... Today's prompt:

Quixotic Pursuits

The Old Errant

Normally when an errant from the steppe has journeyed far and gotten wisdom, they travel home to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. Just as commonly, an errant will be killed in the attempt. Vanishingly few errants grow old. 

He is called (still) The Youth Whose Arms are Birds, Who Feel the Expansion of Air in More Intimate Flight. He is old, shrewd, very sharp, very perceptive. His beard is long and silver. He never thought that retiring to marriage, and the business of horse and cattle ranching, looked much like wisdom - he still believes this, even in the holy and by-now unconquerable loneliness of his later years. He is completely and scrupulously courteous, though not extremely friendly. If he likes you, and he likes most people until the first time they give him a reason not to, he will talk with you about books that he likes, and protect you from harm (he is extremely good with a spear). 

If he doesn't like you he will leave. He doesn't like fools, bullies, the incurious, or the bloodthirsty. If you are obviously an actively evil bastard, he will probably try to kill you, without fuss, while your sleep.

The Old Errant owns a thin mare, a long spear and a long knife, a buckler, wine and rations, and a cheap chap book that he writes in to pass the time. If you read them you will find that it is mostly nonsense stories, full of baroque wordplay (a rough analogue would be Carroll; more The Hunting of the Snark than Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).

He also owns his star weaponry, a suit of pearlescent star metal armour that he named over fifty years ago, when he first set out on his errantry. 

The Old Errant

HD4, spear +1, dagger, armour as: plate +1 and buckler. 

The Old Errant is totally immune to fear damage and morale checks. He can choose at any time to become invisible to entities. When dressed in Birds, Who Feel the Expansion of Air in More Intimate Flight, he does not feel pain, moves silently, and can paralyse someone with a touch (lasts one hour, CON save to resist) - muscles lock into horrible, screaming rigidity. 

You will encounter him at dusk, planning his assault on the hide. He will explain to you clearly what he is doing, and tell you to leave - he does not expect to survive. He says that three ogres have butchered the entire population of a Baronial town half a day's march north, and that he has tracked them to this spot. He will attack while they sleep tonight, and kill them or be killed. If you offer to help and look like you can handle yourself he will accept with gratitude, and bow to each of you in an old fashioned, courtly style. 

The Hide

The Hide has not been made by ogres - it actually houses three Chemical Courtesans; the remains of one of the White City's genocide squads. 

What happened is this: the squad were dispatched to investigate and take control of an Old Capital research site, which the White City thought might house some ancient military hardware. While on reconnaissance in the area the unthinkable happened: one of their number was taken by surprise, without her armour and weapons, and killed by a group terrified hunters. In retaliation, the remaining three Courtesans tracked the unfortunates back to their settlement and killed everyone inside, dismembering the bodies, and burning the town to the ground. This was last night. The Old Errant came across the charnel house that morning, and followed the tracks back here.

The Hide itself is a simple, temporary wooden wilderness shelter, built from neatly chopped timber and fixed with rope. The Courtesans have rigged noisemakers at the boundaries, which the Lone Errant will stumble into if left to his own devices. 

The Courtesans are currently mourning the loss of their sister/lover, and are extremely high. Two and Four are in the hide, passing a long bone pipe back and forth and debating whether the three of them should risk descending at less than full strength. One is sitting alone, hunched over in full armour, smoking by herself and watching the leaves move in the forest trees. If the noise makers are triggered, all three will grab the black swords at their sides and investigate. They will be murderous, intoxicated, and more or less impossible to reason with. If you don't trigger the noisemakers, you have a very good chance at an ambush/surprise round.

Two and Four

HD4, Black Sword x2 (d10), unarmoured, movement: as human, disposition: really angry, really high.

They don't feel pain, and if they get to their stash of stimulants (one turn to get there) they will take them and become a lot more dangerous (sword does 2d10, they gain 2d6 temporary HD, speed is now: as horse). 

All Courtesans save and test STR and CON with advantage. 

One

HD4+4, Black Sword x2 (d10), armoured as plate, movement: as human, disposition: really angry, not quite as high as her squad mates, in command, very slightly more open to being reasoned with.

One doesn't feel pain. She has her stimulants on her, and will take them if you don't get her to deescalate immediately (with the same effects listed above). Once she is dosed up, parley is impossible. She also has a single dose of Psychotics, which make her totally immune to damage for a turn. If she takes these she will start screaming and breathing thick black smoke like a furnace. 

All Courtesans save and test STR and CON with advantage. 

The Black Site

Just north of the Hide is a pit in the earth that leads down into the complex that the genocide squad are here to clear and hold. Part two of this dungeon coming soon...