AMBD: Key to the North, Session 1

This week, I had the privilege of running a session of A Most Bloody Devotion for my usual TTRPG group; it's a bit different from our usual fare, but having previously found good luck with OSR games, it seemed like something that could comfortably be within their wheelhouse. For those unfamiliar, AMBD deals with subjects of devotion, cannibalism, and gender in a feudal realm struck by war and famine; while billed as OSR, the game abandons much of the mechanical trappings of D&D, instead emphasizing narrative roleplay and 'the conversation' as a means of advancing the story. It's a very cool system, and one that's being actively expanded upon, so I'd recommend checking it out if you have the interest (and stomach!) for this kind of game.

All that said, a ragtag group of four found themselves together in the scorched fields outside of fair Tussex; Godwin the Great, would-be King of the North, met his end attempting to bring this last great city to heel, taking a crossbow bolt to the face for his troubles. As his army disintegrates into squabbling factions, they steal off in the night, carrying with them the legendary sword that has long legitimized the king's rule.

• Issac, a mad monk and dire occultist who held Godwin's ear, banished now that his master has been felled.
• Marcelle Laferriere, the King's necromancer, with an uncomfortably sunny bearing for one mired in such grim work.
• Millie, a quiet and tear-stained maidservant, dragging with her the corpse of her friend and sister-maid, Edith.
• Corey, a grimy and callous young lad, found looting the still-fresh bodies on the battlefield.

The ground ran red with blood.

Whilst first pursued by a small group of footmen seeking the legendary sword, Marcelle's remaining necromantic puppets were able to slow them for long enough to allow the group to escape the field. Taking pity on the still-shuddering Millie, the mad monk offers to carry her fallen friend upon his back, something that the young maid accepts quietly. At this point, some bickering ensued, Corey laying claim to the dead King's blade whilst Issac proclaimed his grand intentions to see the tyrant resurrected; in the end, they allowed Corey to keep the sword for now, though it seems an impermanent state of affairs. Unified on that course of action, the group sets off for Wistchurch, a small town on the edge of the Grand Hulstrom Lake, hoping to resupply and reassess there.

They run into an early issue when faced with a river swollen from the recent Autumn rains, once more dithering over how to proceed before Correy fells a tree with three swings, creating an impromptu bridge and carelessly flinging the legendary sword into the rushing water as he does. Tossing caution aside, Issac dives in after it, managing to retrieve the sword before being dragged out of the river by Marcelle, who promptly scolds Issac for his carelessness, something the mad monk accepts stoically. They make use of the fallen tree to cross, traveling just a touch further before taking shelter in a nearby grove for the next day.

Whilst Corey and Issac scavenge for some much-needed food in the surrounding forest, Marcelle offers to raise Edith as an undead puppet so she won't be at risk of being left behind; Millie accepts this offer gratefully, spending the day working with Marcelle to prepare Edith's corpse before eventually filling her chest with river mud and sealing it shut with a sprig of the necromancer's hair.

The spell bound, Edith rises, and the two set to work ensuring she looks her best, carefully covering any obvious sign of her death. Corey and the Monk soon return with food aplenty, scavenged plants, and even some fresh meat the young thief secured, and they eat well that evening. When Corey boasts of his kill, Millie disparages the 'dirty boy,' a hint of scorn in her voice as she voices her dislike for hunts.

A moment of pleasant rest.

In the early hours, Millie, the dawn watchwoman, spots a small group of Godwin's troops out looking for them, recognizing the heraldry of the knight responsible for Edith's death among them. When the rest of the group awakens, Corey boasts that he could have defeated them if given the sword, and the group sets off with all haste that they can muster. They quickly find a tollhouse, paying the toll and gossiping with the guards for any information they can find; apparently, there haven't been many travelers from Wistchurch in the last week, something they find suspicious before shrugging their shoulders and continuing. Corey, unwilling to pay the toll, attempted to find a shortcut before being forced to pay a separate toll to a surprisingly conversational troll in exchange for the right to pass his bridge; the troll offers riches if he can bring 'someone soft' for him to eat, which Corey considers before moving on.

They reconvene before long, making good time from that point forward, before once more taking cover beside the road as they hear bells approaching. They observe a small retinue on horseback, led by a terrifically beautiful nobleman - spooked, and in the hopes of drawing attention away from their younger charges, Marcelle and Issac sprint off, drawing the attention of the nobleman, who lets out a whoop and begins to chase them.

Realizing that they won't be able to get away, Issac turns and grovels, recognizing the 'noble' as a Fae - he avoids giving his true name, managing to charm the man with his wordplay and ambition, requesting only the freedom to continue. The fae lets out a laugh, amused, declaring that he should grant that request, drawing his blade and striking the iron manacle from Isaac's arm, placed there when some of Godwin's retainers attempted to arrest him in the aftermath of the King's death. This grants Issac freedom from the bonds of Stewardship imposed upon him by Marcelle, but leaves him owing the fae his freedom as the man darts off with his retinue, already searching for new prey.

A most fortunate escape.

They continue on cautiously, soon stumbling across a dead body - a guildsman, well dressed, with his throat slashed not a day before. Corey is quick to loot his body, laying claim to all there and refusing to share his newfound treasures with the others, but attention quickly turns to the oddities of the corpse. Noting that the body is untouched by scavengers, they decide to dally no longer, feeling that they were in danger if they remained, and so they departed with haste.

From there, it is only a short walk to Wistchurch, where they find the city mired in fog and deathly silent; Corey loans Marcelle a signet ring palmed off of a dead noblewoman, allowing her to pretend to be a noblewoman, with Millie and the reanimated Edith acting as her ladies-in-waiting. The guards, believing their bluff, open the gates without being bribed, allowing them into the quiet city. They are soon greeted by the young Squire Cardenas, who escorts them to the town keep. They see few people in the streets other than guards and the occasional citizen rushing by; those listening carefully hear distant, cacophonous laughter, and the party takes note of how the squire flinches at the speculative mention of laughing plague.

Upon reaching the keep, they are greeted by the stout and limping Sir Anders, an elderly knight tasked with keeping the town in good order after the ruling family, the Blackwoods, withdrew into isolation; he offers them rooms in the keep, given Marcelle's assumed station, but cautions that they don't have much food to spare, and thus the guests will have to attend to their own needs. 

Millie is primarily concerned with gathering gossip and learning that Ser Anders' position is weak, as he has been the least favored of the local knights and holds his present regency only because he is the last one alive and present after the disaster at Tussex. As a result, he welcomed the traveling Squire Cardenas, who carried a letter of introduction from the border fortress-town of Jershold; with her familiarity with heraldry, she recognizes that the young squire is a scion of a near-extinct border house, but keeps this to herself. Anders has been forced to crack down hard as a result of the present famine, the failure of the latest harvest due to the devastation of the war, meaning that the town is presently in the throes of starvation, suppressed only by an increasingly firm and violent grip by the town guard. 

In addition, she learns that Lord Blackwood's isolation is perhaps a touch more odd than usual - the good lord withdrew into the basement of the keep with his family, locking himself down there, and has not been seen since.

In between her skulking, she grows closer to Marcelle, consulting with the undead anatomist about a variety of matters pertinent to womanhood - Marcelle offers what help she can. However, Millie is ultimately disappointed by the inaccessibility of certain alchemical reagents.

Over the next few days, the party splits up to achieve a variety of different tasks. Issac spends his time focusing on the victims of the laughing plague, impressing the local nuns and guards with his acumen while worrying them with his ever more obvious madness. Marcelle does her best to familiarize herself with noble sigils and manners, fearing that her falsehood might be discovered, though she ultimately turns her attention to helping Issac with his investigations. While the good lord Blackwood's personal study is locked, they managed to convince Squire Cardenas to offer them limited access, the squire awkwardly watching over them as they peruse the lord's extensive collection of books. What they find is worrying - annotated notes on a ritual claimed to calm the spirits of the smallfolk. With his occult familiarity, Issac can tell that it has been subtly sabotaged to drive them to mania, with similar signs of tampering on an array of other occult books present.

Resignedly, they note that almost all of the compromised books originated from a guild in Cresberg, resolving to investigate that further at a later date. For now, at least, they worry about what the good lord Blackwood is doing in the basement. Squire Cardenas, at the very least, bravely offers his aid should they wish to investigate further.

A cheery sort of death.

Corey, for his part, focuses mostly on stealing everything he can get his hands on - while there are few people about in the streets, he ensures those who do exit their homes regret it, picking any pockets he can find. His relationship with the rest of the group grows more tense as he clings closely to his coin, refusing to share with the others, even for something so essential as rations, unless they agree to offer him a debt; they ultimately find other means, and he is left with his newfound riches. Unfortunately, a member of the town guard notes them as well, and the young lad finds himself shaken down at knifepoint - the guardsman mocks him for his impudence, taking his solitary gold coin before wandering away, whistling cheerily as he does.

Corey quickly turns to the others, demanding recourse for his stolen property, but they are more inclined to mock him for the unfortunate turn of events, noting that he shouldn't have been stealing in the first place. The young thief is incensed by this, his request for help once more denied, before declaring that he will stride forward on his own, disavowing Marcelle's mentorship and swearing that he'll see the guard in question dead. Worried that this will break their cover as nobility, the others hesitate for only a moment.

The session ends as they decide that Corey can't be allowed to leave the room.