"I Stregone"
Rumours
from the mountains behind Lhedu have reached the ears of the Governor of Italian
Somalia. These are worrying.
Very worrying indeed. In
fact anyone of rational disposition might well have dismissed them.
But not Count Ario Gullibile, Hero of Italy, he took them seriously.
But only after a tribute force failed to come out of the region on time.
The
runner sent by the chief of the region gave the story as,
A
whole moon ago, on the night that the canoe of the MGahaia Kosomo was seen in
the heavens, the strangers came to our lands.
They were tall and thin and had fire sticks that dealt death, as do those
of our Italian friends. None who
went near ever returned.
Each
night, people disappeared from their homes.
Sometimes whole villages were empty of folk in the morning where the
night before there had been happy families.
The cattle remained untended, the goats roamed free and the crops
untouched, nothing was gone except the people.
The spears and shields of the warriors were stacked ready for use and the
spears of the watchmen lay at their posts.
Even the food stores were intact. It
was as if they had all been spirited away.
It
is sorcery of the foulest kind. The
sorcerers are dwelling at the caves of the old people by the river Rinkidinkidu.
Any who approach disappear. It
is a bad place full of bad magic and none shall approach.
They
do not have the bits of cloth you use to mark your places.
My
chief craves your help.
Well,
to cut a long story short you have been here for a few days with your patrol.
What is clear is that little of what the messenger said was exaggeration.
The villages are deserted. It
does look like the folk were just spirited away.
There is no sign of any fighting. In
fact nothing out of the ordinary. Except
that there is an almost palpable feeling of evil about the place. Or have you spent too long out here?
You are to recover as many of the natives and as much stolen property as possible.
You are also to take a prisoner to show
that foreign intervention has taken place.
You
have:
Capitano
Lozza Guzzi revolver, sabre and carbine.
Soto
Tenente Notso Inteleginsi revolver, sabre and carbine.
Carries National Flag.
Sergiente
Musculo Bizepsi carbine, sabre and lance.
3
troopers - carbine, sabre and lance.
Tenente
Pietro Cemicale - revolver, sabre and carbine
Sergiente
Pipzi Kula - carbine, sabre and lance
4
Askaris - carbine, sabre and lance
2
Pack mules
Both
pack mules can be led by one man.
It
is nearly nightfall and there is considerable noise from the caves.
The enemy are leaving! You
decide upon an ambush. The rivers
are shallow enough for the horses to wade at 4 per move.
You
have had time to prepare ambush positions with piles of stones for cover.
The local chief has dug three spike-filled concealed pit traps for you.
The ground within 4 of the foot of any cliff is too hard for the
primitive digging tools available.
Back to Morvalistan Games Page