The Sons' of the Vriddi. The Beginning of the Adventures

I started my current Tekumel Campaign in February 2016. After many years of non-gaming I decided to give it another go. Instead setting it in the usual 2354 AS I decided to go back a little further. When it was determined that the players would all be from the Vriddi Clan the choice of year was simple -2340 the year of the Vriddi revolt. This is what we have come up with so far.

Our Intrepid Crew

And thus the adventures begin in early 2340 AS…

Let me tell you a tale my friends. Even noble clans like the Vríddi have their share of Black Sheep. Whether it was due to a misplaced look, a misspoken word, a moment of perceived hesitation in the face of a foe, or simply bad luck Horu hiFa'asu, Ghachayal hiKhalumis, Quar hiVu'unavu, and "Banki-Bassun" hiFas'asu found themselves in this most un-envious of positions. The most meaningless and trivial of jobs the clan masters would  give it to them to look after. So and so owes the clan money –send them to have a quiet word. He refuses to pay –have them demonstrate the folly of recalcitrance. Such and such wishes to shop –have them protect her noble person. Little Lord Who is going on his first hunt today –have them ensure that he is successful and enjoys himself. All meaningless activities better suited to servants and to those of lower lineage, but given to them. Cha! Such is often case when dealing with the Great Houses of Tsolyánu. Appearance is everything and it would be unseemly to have those of lower status attend to needs of  the highest. The latest task was no less demeaning. They were to go and see that a summer residence was prepared for a high ranking member of the clan. Who this noble person is, was not even communicated to them. Just "go to Hekellu and have the summer house ready. It is in the hills SW of the city. They will be there before the First of Firasúl and all must be ready" was said. Cha! What a disgraceful duty! To further rub salt into the wound the so-called "leader" of the expedition was the most noble and drunken Churisán hiVríddi; a Vríddi of the Vríddi. There was some consolation here at least, for if anyone was held in lower regard than the four it was surely him. Born into the highest reaches of the clan he had squandered his birth-right with drink, and some said other inebriants which were not  always legal, debauchery and sloth. His behaviour would have been more suited to a follower of Lady Dlamélish or Hriháyal than that of Mighty Lord Vimúhla. This is who commanded the four. 

The Sakbe Road to Hekellu, as seen from a small spur to the south of the main branch.

    

The journey from Fasiltum, the City of the Chiming Skulls, to Chaigari was uneventful. The roads were safe and clean. No one would dare accost the scions of the Vríddi so close to their home. Endless walking and meaningless diligence served to pass the time, and after a few weeks of  travel The Sons' of the Vríddi, as Churisan had named them, quickly recovered their "walking legs" which had gone soft in the year they had spent in Fasiltum. He of course endured the journey in his palanquin as only befitted one of his status. As duties went it was pleasant enough, for a member of the gentler clans, but for scions of proud lineages in a great warrior house, it was as unseemly as shovelling shit. The indignation would end one day. If Lord Vimúhla were generous a bloody battle would see the end of their torment, if he were not they would die of old age forgotten in the corner of some old clan house far from Fasiltum. Cha! Such morbid thought were even less worthy than the duty assigned to them.

River Flame has been a summer home for the Vríddi for as long as anyone could remember. A place to escape the stifling heat of the summer, with its cool breezes, fresh water and towering mountains it as far removed from Fasiltum as one can get. The palace is a vine cloaked sprawling affair. Surrounded by plain white walls it appears quite innocuous upon first glance. A home for the wealthy among many such homes. However, when one approaches closer it quickly becomes clear that this dwelling was built as a fortress first, and a residence second. The walls are 10ft high solid stone, 5ft thick, covered by a layer of thick mud which has, over the decades, almost hardened into concrete. The main gate is made of thick wood, strapped with bronze bands and closed with a massive bronze bound plinth. The walls have a parapet which gives a great vantage point to missile troops posted upon them. River Flame was meant to be a tough nut to crack, especially when it had its full garrison of 50 soldiers stationed within its walls.

To be continued...

  

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