Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 1)

The Binmanwa Party:

• Kilala, a ratfolk cook
• Malakas, a shamanistic healer
• Bantok, a bow hunter
• Euminung-gud, an aswang (?)
• Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
• Alon, a textile weaver

They are in debt to Oppu Wa Oppu, a veiled princess, because they were responsible for a feast that has gone wrong. The group was dubbed the Party Crashers.

They are in the village of the Gleaming Fins to pay back their debt.

Oppu Wa Oppu

The party asked what they can do for her to pay back their Debt.

Her eyes are unseeing ivory. She glows like faint moonlight. She is the niece of the village chief and a shaman and keeper of village rites, with tattoos of stars and crescent moons.

Aside from driving away her more annoying suitors, she doesn’t care how they get their hands on wealth. She also referred them to Auntie Sati Wa Sati, who is in need of capable Binmanwa for a Labor.

Auntie Sati

Sati Wa Sati is a witchy grandma. Fireflies encircle her.

She tells the party she wants to end the Bachelor’s curse. She tells them of Vung Si Vung’s song.

The Song of Vung Si Vung
Once there lived a man called Vung Si Vung, said to be invulnerable—not spear nor shot pierced his bronzed skin. Such was his fame, the chief of that time grew envious, seeing in him a rival.

One day, returning home, he found his wife taken. The chief and his soldiers, having subjected her to tortures, wrested from her her husband’s secrets: That he had won his strength from the spirits of the land.

But he had failed to appease the spirits of the river.

So Vung Si Vung found his wife murdered upon a spike, on a muddy bank, and the chief’s soldiers waiting. Filled with grief, he fought them there. Though he was mighty, they were too many—and, being near running water, near the river, he had no special protection. So he died.

The chief, filled with spite, defiled the bodies of husband and wife, leaving them as carrion in red mud, conducting no funerary rites. This, over everything, was a breach of propriety, and greatly offended the spirits.

Claiming Vung Si Vung with the tide, taking pity on him, they said:

“O warrior, in death you have our blessing, go you now in a terrible form, as an amphibious predator, to visit fear and justice onto your enemies! Let it be so, from this very day!”

Aunti Sati could not give them anything of significant monetary value, but she offers her medical services.

Mahivir Sanna Krau

The party visited the The-Isles-Like-Precious-Ivory Company Office, to hear what they have to offer. The lead merchant Mahivir Sanna Krau offered to pay for most of their Debt in exchange for dealing with the Bachelor.

Mahivir wants him gone. He’s bad for business.

The party took the deal. It is in line with Auntie Sati’s quest. They requested a boat and some rations for this quest, to which Mahivir agreed to give. Dumalapdap tried to borrow a pistol, but Mahivir didn’t allow for it.

Niti Si Niti and Bavu Si Bavu

The party came upon a curious scene while walking through the village. A burly, peg-legged man was chasing a younger man with a machete. “Touch my daughter again, I’ll kill you!“

The peg-legged man is Niti Si Niti. He is a dreaming agaru sniffer, with tattoos of twelve-winged eagles. He is the father of Oppu Wa Oppu.

The party chased after the younger man. He is Bavu Si Bavu, hunter of forest beasts, tattoos of rhinoceroses. He reeked like roadkill. He claims he is in a relationship with Oppu Wa Oppu. The party was inclined to not believe him.

They lightly threatened him not to meet with the princess again, and he went home dejected.

Back to Oppu Wa Oppu

The party returned to the veiled princess’ hut to report on what information they gathered and to tell her about Bavu si Bavu.

The Oppu Wa Oppu let out a disappointed sigh. Bavu Si Bavu was saying truth. The two of them are in love. Her father does not approve of it because of Bavu Si Bavu’s status.

Rather than Bavu Si Bavu, it was Hummu Si Hummu, the village’s most prominent singer who the princess wanted to shoo away.

Realizing their mistake, the party hatched up a plan. What if Bavu Si Bavu accompanied them on their Labor to end the curse of the the Bachelor. If they were successful, surely such a feat would be enough to change Niti Si Niti’s mind?

Vartu Si Vartu

As the party was leaving the princess’ hut, someone else was heading inside.

Vartu Si Vartu, chief of the Gleaming Fins. His body is covered in silver paint. A servant follows him to touch up his makeup.

He is offended, insulted even, that the party met up with so many people in the village, and yet has not paid him a visit. He sternly expects them to be waiting in his longhouse once he has finished his visit with his niece.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

I’m thrilled to finally run this gem of an adventure. The session was really more about meeting the characters and gathering information, but it was still fun.

The whole thing with Oppu Wa Oppu’s romance is not part of the “main quest”. I wanted to tie Mangayaw’s starting Debt to the adventure, so I used the random Gleaming Fins tables to create characters for that. It’s a testament to Zedeck’s writing that I was able to flesh out a small web of relationships with the tables.

Really looking forward to the next session!