The Llednevir Chronicles
"Llednevir Am Bith"
A Flintloque Scenario by CJ Hooper
With special thanks to the people of Wales.
Photograph by Craig Andrews
In the fifth and final Llednevir Chronicle, the survivors face a final challenge, to pass through the ruined streets of Tarrwen Harbour one last time and escape to the Taffsea countryside. However, both the forces of Albion and Armorica have sent teams to discover the power behind what happened in the small once proud town...
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Prologue
Deaths Abound in Llednevir...
for the end is near...
The Final Episode...
The End...
but the moment has been prepared for...
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Foreword by The Author
Tarrwen Harbour is a fictional Setting that is very close to my heart. As a lover of all things Welsh it is where I long to spend my final days. It now befalls me to end the saga of Llednevir, at least far as it exists in the world of Valon.
My love of this town is owed to two other locations; one fictional and one real. Tarrwen Harbour was always how I envisaged Milford Haven to look. As one of my bestest friends and adventuring buddies hails from there. He may identify himself if he so wishes to reveal himself (it’s me :) – Craig). Rather than the ex-industrial turned tourist seaside town of reality, the author took Milford Haven to be something more like Llareggub from Under Milkwood, hence the blatant rip offs from Dylan Thomas.
Incidentally the unedited versions of earlier episodes contained a lot of lyrical text which the editor decided to remove as he claimed ‘it didn’t read right’… the text incidentally was almost entirely verbatim from the typewriter of Dylan Thomas.
The town has evolved and changed from its first ever incarnation; it has featured in table top roleplaying; wargaming; and may even come to live action roleplaying in the next few years if the author can get his finger out and organise it. In one form or another the town always lives on.
Enough of my rambling and on with the story... Llednevir Am Bith!
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‘Llednevir Am Bith'
or
'The Conquest of Tarrwen Harbour'
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Scene 1: The Cliff Tops.
The survivors of the previous episode have left the caves and have followed the headland back around to see what remains of Tarrwen Harbour. These are but a small mix of those who entered the caves. Each is wearing a strange coral talisman crafted by the priest Hoolio Iclazyarse, his powers returned to him once more, making it's wearing smell distinctly like fish.
From the headland path they see that the sea has receded and that Dagontwyswithchips has returned to the waves. Each and every one of the former houses and dwellings is in ruins. On a map the town would look much the same as it once did, however the contents have changed.
Keen observers (Not milky eyed Captain Hatt!) have spotted strange toad / fish like creatures amidst the ruins. These are the foul offspring of Todoroni, spawned through the influence of Dagontwyswithchips...
Scene 2: The Village.
Not one but two forces have been made aware of the recent events in Tarrwen Harbour and seek to capitalise upon them.
A squad of Ferach Marines have arrived by boat seeking to claim whatever the source of power was that was so destructive as to be felt across the channel.
These are led by that most infamous of spies La Verre Au Voire, who has miraculously survived all his previous encounters in the world of Valon… His orders are to take a section of marines to search the town for clues as to the nature of the mysterious ‘weapon of mass devastation’. Mordred has sent La Verre on missions like these before, but with Wylde Magicke banished from the land the usually end with La Verre ultimately finding nothing and leaving empty handed… However, this time they have received word that a local Todoroni priest may have unlocked the power from the sea. His name… Hoolio Iclazyarse. If La Verre and his marines manage to capture Iclazyarse they can ask him a question or two… If he breaks under pressure then he may reveal the source of power, explain what the whispered name, Dagontwyswithchips, truly means. This could turn the tide of the war on in Urop… If not the entire World of Valon.
However, from the North, there is another squad recently arrived in Tarrwen Harbour, this one comprised of Orcs from Londinium with an eerily similar motive. Those in power have been aware of the existence of a cult in Tarrwen Harbour for some time, but had not considered them a threat. That is until the recent events shook the land and seas. They have sent none other than Sharke’s Rifles to this little town on the Taffsea coast to identify the cultists and, if they prove to be a danger to Great Britorcn’s proud shores (something which seems to have already been decided by ‘the brass’), take them out good and proper.
So, to recap, each of the squads has orders to capture and interrogate the survivors then execute them once they have learned of the previous events in the village. The only person who can yield any useful information about the power beneath the waves is Hoolio himself.
It is the choice of the Orc and Ferach players as to whether they follow these orders through…
Objectives
Survivors – Escape of the Western edge of the board.
Ferach – Minor Victory - kidnap each of the survivors and hold them for D4 turns before executing them in the ruins of a building. After all the survivors have been removed they will realise that there is nothing left for them and leave by the sea.
Victory – Interrogate and capture Hoolio Iclazyarse.
Orcs – Minor Victory – Capture each of the survivors and hold them for D4 turns before executing them in the ruins of a building. After all the survivors have been removed they will realise that there is nothing left for them and eave by the road.
Major Victory – Interrogate and kill Hoolio Iclazyarse.
The Map
There is currently no map showing the devastation wrought in Tarrwen Harbour after the events of the preceding episodes. The table should be laid out following the pre-destroyed image below as a guide. Every building has been reduced to rubble and the ship, La Storia, is no longer there having been used to escape.
Tarrwen Harbour - Before the Fall
The Forces
The Survivors
Feel free to use the characters managed to escape in the previous chapter. Iclazyarse should be used in this scenario, if he was torn to shreds in your version of events he has managed to survive by the will of Nyarfoxtrotqwikstep.
Captain Hatt
Veteran Big Todoroni Marine
Hatt has the skills Boarding Technique and Improved Command (1), the trait Iron Hard and the flaws Foul Temper and Milky Eyes
(Flintloque: WIC, p.52-54; Flintloque: DITS, p.51-52)
He is armed with a Standard Pistol and a Sword
High Priest Hoolio Iclazyarse
Experienced Little Todoroni Irregular
Slimy Tongue / Stealth / Nerves of Steel / Prayer
Since his meeting with Sirhc Repooh is the caves beneath Tarrwen Harbour and the Lure of Nyarfoxtrotqwikstep Hoolio has once again regained his powers of Faith (Grapeshotte, p.90). If you don’t have access to Grapeshotte then give him two randomly selected Wylde Magicke spells.
He is armed with a Staff which counts as +2 in melee combat.
Evans the Deaf
Experienced Irregular Hobgoblin
Evans is armed with a staff which counts as +2 in melee combat.
Druidic Powers - Evans is a practitioner of Wylde Magicke, roll for two Magicke Talents (Flintloque: DITS, p.45; Flintloque: WIC, p. 62)
Owain Dunglowerin
Veteran Regular Hobgoblin
Owain has the skills Improved Command (1) and the Hobgoblin skill, Valley Voice. He also has the Hobgoblin trait, Slate Skin (both Flintloque: WIC, p.59). He has no flaws.
Rank and File:
2 Todoroni Marines - Generate randomly.
2 Taffsea Hobgoblins - Generate randomly.
The Spawn of Dagontwyswithchips
These crazed mindless spawn of Elder God and Todoroni are scattered throughout the town. Place 2D6 miniatures or counters randomly throughout the ruins. Roll randomly to determine if they are large or small Todoroni. They should be armed as follows, roll 1D10 for each – (1-3) Unarmed (4-6) Small Improvised Weapon, (7-9) Large Improvised Weapon, (10) Claws – As a sword. They should be controlled by the solitaire rules using the aggressive profile. Every turn roll 1D10 and add the current turn, if there are less than that number of Spawn in play, reinforcements from the sea enter from the beach bringing the total up to the number rolled.
Sharke’s Rifles
Sharke’s section comprises of Sharke, Harpy, Hagsmun, Arris, Tunge, Purrkinz and Coopa. Full stats for them can be found in the Sharke’s Chosen PDF by Alternative Armies which can be downloaded direct from their website here.
La Verre himself is a Veteran Ferach Elf Light Troop armed with a brace of Ferach Elf Duelling Pistols and an exquisite Sword gifted him by Mordred himself. He has the generic skills Duellist and Stealth, along with the Ferach Elf skill First Strike Ferach and the Graceful Steps trait. He also has the Vanity for Advancement flaw.
La Verre commands ten marines which should be created using the standard rules or, if you prefer a quicker setup, you can use the example section from the rulebook replacing the troop type with Marine.
Special Rules
The Coral Talismans
The odds seem somewhat stacked against our erstwhile survivors. However, as they are wearing the Coral Talismans crafted by Iclazyarse and should any of them be attacked by Sharke’s or La Verre’s troops any Todoroni / Fishmen within 15cm will come to their aid. Control of them is immediately given to the survivor player and remains so until the end of the game or until Hoolio Iclazyarse is killed.
Escaping
Our heroes must escape Tarrwen Harbour by moving off the board via the Western edge. If they move within 15cm of it they muct end their turn immeadiately to allow for dramatic license. Upon reaching this point the eyes of all the spawn on the board turn towards our heroes. On thier following activation, all Spawn everywhere on the board, will run at Double March towards the heroes and attempt to enage them in melee (even if they are still wearing Coral Talismans) with plans to drag them back into the centre of the town.
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Epilogue
When the waves and wind had settled there were bodies more upon the shore,
A wizened policeman lights his pipe and says to the Gods, “Nevermore’.
Owen the Plod puffs up a great blaze in the bowl of his clay pipe and walks into the mist.
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Webmaster's Notes
An Orcs in the Webbe Original! "Llednevir Am BIth" was written exclusively for OITW's 2013 Advent Calendar and was first published on Friday the 20th December 2013.
The photograph used in the title image is actually Sandy Haven, a beach a few miles from Milford Haven near the village of Herbrandston where I grew up. It's the beach I always pictured when thinking about CJ's stories in Tarrwen Harbour.
CJ's Llednevir Chronicles have been a huge success here on Orcs in the Webbe, if you've not read them (or fancy re-reading them, they are rather good) check out the other chapters using the links below:
Chapter One - 'Tarrwen Harbour' aka 'Love and Death in Llednevir'
The forbidden love ‘twixt ‘Goblin and Toad causes trouble between the Hobgoblin and Todoroni inhabitants of Tarrwen Harbour, a small fishing town in the county of Llednevir, Taffsea.
Chapter Two - 'Battle for Tarrwen Harbour' aka 'Mostly Death in Llednevir'
We return to the village of Tarrwen Harbour in Taffsea the day after the fateful events of 'Love and Death in Llednevir'. The Elder God Dagonwyswifchips has been summoned by Todoroni cultists and he is very very hungry.
Chapter Three - 'Escape from Tarrwen Harbour' aka 'Death Amid Water in Llednevir'
The village of Tarrwen Harbour has been destroyed by a fearsome Elder God but the survivors of the rampage drove him back into the seas. Now the seas themselves rise to take back it's wounded master and the creatures that harmed him. Who will prevail...
Chapter Four - 'Beneath Tarrwen Harbour' aka 'Death Out of Sight but Much in Mind in Llednevir'
Something stirs deep beneath the town of Tarrwen Harbour. Can the survivors of the Sea's wrath face the many faces of of Nyarfoxtrotqwikstep.
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