Here's the tale of the gaming session organised in collaboration with Aerel at the Valhalla in Pavia, in the shadow of the covered bridge that characterises the city.
A fine session of true Role-Playing that saw:
A mixed party of veterans and newbies in a new shared tale of - Towards the Aosta Valley - in which the characters updated to the 2024 rules were used for the first time.
The Departure from Pavia
The journey begins, this time, from Pavia. The PCs, after a stop in Novara, set off towards Ivrea with the intention of staying there for the night.
Most of the party are aboard the wagon "acquired" by Gerard, except for Charles who rides alongside them on his trusty steed.
The journey seems peaceful, but then Guido's Roc notices the presence of two suspicious riders following them.
The Encounter with a Duo of Pursuers
The PCs notice that it's a pair of pursuers. From their insignia, they look like servants of Giovanni Fieschi, bishop of Biella.
Gerard decides to carry out a closer reconnaissance and dismounts stealthily from the wagon, remaining hidden in the woods until the two reach his position.
Guido instead sends his Roc ahead, to avoid any traps along the way.
The pursuers are a guard and a decrepit old man who struggles to stay in the saddle, probably a cleric or a monk. The two are deciding how to approach the party, with the guard more cautious, while the old man seems to have an urgent need to speak with our heroes.
Gerard runs at breakneck speed, reaching the PCs' party who, feeling pity for the old cleric's difficulties, decide to stop and wait for the pursuers.
They introduce themselves as emissaries of the Bishop of Biella and inform the protagonists that a task awaits them in Nus, a couple of days' journey away. It seems to be the kidnapping of a damsel, but the old cleric is unable to provide further details.
The party's affirmative response is almost unanimous: they are looking for work and Nus is on the way.
Ambush Along the Road
After leaving Fieschi's two subjects behind, the party sees Guido's Roc swoop down, giving a cry of alarm. At the same moment, around a bend in the road, all hell seems to break loose: a tree fall, and sounds of fighting and horses' neighs are heard.
Gerard scouts ahead through the woods and returns with the description of a wagon with Visconti insignia, driven by Savoy soldiers and attacked by a group of peasants.
Our heroes are very suspicious of this unusual combination and decide to first stop the fighting and then figure out what is happening.
The forces in the field are divided on two fronts: on one side, a trio of crossbowmen are trying to hold back a mob of peasants from assaulting their armoured wagon loaded with gold.
On the other side of the trunk, which was felled right in front of the wagon itself, a second clash is taking place between dismounted knights and other peasants.
Among these two fights, a shady figure, covered in leaves, seems to motivate and direct the two groups of peasants.
Belle enters the scene with a spectacular ballet, accompanying it with her flair, but no one seems to notice her.
She takes advantage by playing a special tune for Charles who advances with his steed, asking those present to stop. This attempt also falls on deaf ears.
Sluagh, not knowing exactly how to move, decides on an aggressive approach, frightening one of the crossbowmen who freezes in fear.
Gerard takes advantage to leap onto the roof of the wagon where he is recognised and welcomed as a valuable help by the crossbowmen .
The forces in the field are evenly matched and, to unblock the situation, the party decides to concentrate on the instigator, starting to pelt him with all possible weapons, while Charles tries in vain to interpose himself between the forces in the field.
The ringleader seems to be protected by something sturdier than a layer of leaves and, strangely, does not seem to react to the assaults, except verbally.
Our heroes strike him repeatedly, while Belle tries to calm the belligerents with partial success.
After repeated blows, the peasants' commander is at death's door and Guido decides to approach to stun and capture him alive, but his flat strike with the axe is a bit too strong and severs his head, killing him and indirectly ending the fight.
Gerard hears the crossbowmen's commander utter an imprecation; trying to understand the reasons, he realises that there was something shady, perhaps the ambush was prepared.
Entrance as Heroes
Renzo, the guards' commander, thanks the protagonists' party and especially Guido for killing a notorious rebel commander named Facino Cane.
He proposes to thank and celebrate them, offering a dinner at the first tavern in the city.
The peasants, who had surrendered at the death of their commander, are taken prisoner, while Renzo observes the corpse, ready to carry it triumphantly to Ivrea, but Guido stops him immediately, claiming the right to loot the spoils.
The leather vest, although bloodied, is left to Belle, while Guido keeps the bow and axes for himself.
The party follows the soldiers until they reach the city where, at the news of Facino's death, shouts of joy rise.
The celebrations continue in the first city tavern where the characters lose track of time, waking up in a luxurious room with hangover that will cloud their senses for the whole day.
The Devil's Bridge
Our heroes set off again towards the north until they reach an imposing bridge, so mighty that it can only be the work of the devil himself.
The toll booth, in the centre of the bridge, is strangely deserted, while several guards are stationed at the other end of the bridge near what seems to be the entrance to the town.
Belle consults the traveller's diary, their reference guide along the Via Francigena, and finds only a few mentions of the bridge.
Sluagh's senses give him a very strong feeling of danger, while Guido carefully studies the bridge, looking for strange entities without finding anything.
It seems to be the only road and the protagonists therefore decide to advance.
As soon as they take the first step on the bridge, a huge devil with a double bearded face (faithful to medieval representations) appears, asking them for the toll of a soul to cross the bridge itself.
Our heroes hesitate, trying to understand how to react to the request, Belle tries to bargain, but it is Guido who unblocks the situation by wielding the bow and triggering the fight.
The action is furious with our "poor devil" pelted with blows from all sides; Belle casts spells, many of which are ineffective, Charles charges with his lance, while the other party members pelt him with ranged weapons.
Unable to act due to the mastery in the use of weapons of our heroes (or rather superheroes), the two-headed devil manages to survive (a few rounds) only thanks to his otherworldly resistance to the weapons used by the PCs.
He manages to land a single blow that seriously wounds Guido before being annihilated and dissolved into a cloud of sulphur from which comes the threat of his return.
The Strange City Guards
Our PCs cross the bridge to avoid a new clash, but find themselves blocked by strange guards who demand an exorbitant toll.
Belle tries to convince them with a performance, but does not immediately obtain the desired result, except with a second attempt that allows the party to halve the payment. However, the characters do not miss the strange gait of the guards who, in the meantime, have begun to get nervous, loading their crossbows and menacingly wielding long halberds.
To avoid making the situation worse, our heroes pay the due, concluding the session.
Conclusions
Although less than half of the one-shot was played, the session was very good, with a lot of roleplay and character interpretation.
The players felt truly immersed in the setting, which they found well-kept and rich in details, with the wide choice of playable characters described very thoroughly.
We were left with some feedback on the new 2024 sheets (freshly printed) and on the need to better balance the opponents in the field, taking into account the changes introduced by the new rules.
The gaming experience and the welcome from the Valhalla staff and Aerel friends could lead us to propose other evenings like this, despite the distance.
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