Session III - Translation Notes by Prof. Barker

One of the greater challenges in compiling this translation is to know which pieces of the story to include, particularly when historical accounts of the story differ.  This section of the story is particularly troublesome as the story was told many different ways even in its time.

For example, the bravery of Dion varies wildly from tale to tale.  Some portray him as a more cautious adventurer, while others suggest he was a half-feral berserker that smashed through the ruins like a bull in a china shop.

Contrast that with Artemisia.  Some stories portray her as the stereotypical "wise woman", heavily skilled in herbology and other forms of esoteric medicine.  Others have her as a dark witch or sorceress.  Or sometimes an accomplished warrior, or even martial artist, with her staff.  And then still are the tales of her swooning at the sight of every monster and cowering behind Gaylord's cloak.

Even the abilities of the heroes vary wildly between mythology editions.  Some editions portray the heroes as nearly superhuman, with Artemisia firing off magical bolts of energy at will, Chrysostomos already using magical abilities, and even Gaylord having more fantastic martial exploits.  Other editions barely differentiate between Dion and Gaylord, with only modest magical abilities for Artemisia and Chrysostomos.

This translation tends to use whichever appears to be the oldest or more accurate translation of the stories, but there are times when, all else being equal, I have simply used the most popular version of the events.

As for the rest of the events in the story, they are mostly straight-forward.  The large python is one of the more vague aspects – sometimes it appears to the heroes only the first time they are in the room, and sometimes only the second time.  Every version has it appearing at least once, to foreshadow the events coming up in the next chapter.

The bronze automatons guarding the treasure is a classic element of these kind of stories.  Deadly statues seem to be one of the Hellasian's favorite elements in mythology – perhaps because they had them everywhere.

The treasure itself, however, is a somewhat controversial element.  The degree to which the heroes are interested in treasure varies wildly by different accounts, with the heroes being portrayed as everything from hardened mercenaries to selfless paragons of glory and honor who could care less.  Like most things, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Similarly, the frequency of mechanical traps vary from story to story.  Some of the more outlandish stories have traps every few feet, making one wonder how the inhabitants manage to move from room to room without setting them off.

The reappearance of Phokas is another element that has changed over time.  In some versions of the story, the heroes didn't meet back up with him until finding him chained up in the ogre's room.  Those versions tended to downplay the injuries the group received and cut out the time they spent healing.

One strange aspect of the story is the "plant zombie" creatures described.  While not at all an element of classical mythology, they do relate in this story to the fungal forest as well as the events of the coming chapters.  The idea of killer plants here was later used as inspiration for various 1950's monster films, usually presenting the creatures as extra-terrestrial in nature (see The Thing From Another World, Little Shop of Horrors, or Day of the Triffids).

Finally, the story ends on a cliffhanger, as the great ogre returns to the hall, putting the heroes in mortal peril and setting up the dangers of the next chapter.

Session III - Session Notes

This session highlighted how much deadlier the older rules are.  If I was playing B/X D&D RAW, the entire party would have quickly died.

I do enjoy the faster pace of combat, but I think something needs to be done to make the adventurers a little more hardy.  I'm thinking of adding a "second wind" mechanic like SW Saga used, but am not sure yet.  I do know that I don't want half of the in-game time to be spent with everyone waiting for everyone else to heal enough to recover from their comas.

I realize the problem will be mitigated a bit once they gain a couple of levels, but XP is pretty slow going (3 sessions in and the highest is around 190 XP).  I'd also prefer a second wind approach over carrying around tons of potions or healing scrolls, as it is more in-tune with the Greek paragons feel I was going for.

Otherwise, the game is going along smoothly and we're having fun with the smaller group and lighter mood.  We will be taking a bit of a break as I have a big upcoming work project, so it may be a few weeks before that pesky ogre (among other dangers) is dealt with.

Session IV - Cast of Characters

Gaylord, the fighter and lover
Dion, the crude barbarian
Chrysostomos, the stoic cleric
Artemisia, the magic-user and scholar

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene I (of VII)

Large footsteps out in the main entrance hall continue, and the sound of the loud doors banging shut can be heard back in the dining hall.  Chrysostomos suggests the group bravely hide themselves from the ogre then attempt to sneak out later.  Gaylord heartily agrees, over the loud protests of Dion who wishes to go confront the ogre directly.

The others eventually convince Dion to hide with them behind the overturned table still lying on its side and wedged up against the kitchen door.

After waiting a short time, the group notices the ogre has not appeared.  Muffled sounds can be heard echoing in the chamber, as if the ogre is moving further away.

Gaylord decides he should go scout out what is happening.  Taking off all his armor and clothing to avoid making noise, and with a wink at Chrysostomos, Gaylord carefully steps down the short hall to the door to the main entrance chamber, with Dion staying back near the broken door to the dining hall to offer support.

The mighty Gaylord hears nothing behind the door.  He holds back a moment and waits for Dion to take his position.  The fighter then suits up in his armor while Dion makes sure there continues to be no noise coming from the entrance chamber.

Suddenly, Dion hears a mighty roar from some distance away in the building.  He tells the others to prepare for battle as he can hear the monster approaching.

Gaylord and the others still wish to avoid the creature, suggesting they hide in the kitchen instead.  It takes the combined might of Gaylord, Chrysostomos, and Phokas to drag Dion inside as his blood begins to boil with the thought of martial combat.

Shortly after they get inside, they can hear the beast stomping into the dining hall.  A cacophony of sounds fills the room as they hear the ogre swinging his club wildly, apparently smashing everything in the room in a fit of rage.

Then, the door to the kitchen bursts open...

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene II (of VII)

The large, misshapen humanoid peers into the room.  He immediately sets his sights on the poorly hidden Gaylord and Chrysostomos.  The cleric tries to play dead while the warrior stands firm in the gaze of the powerful creature.

The ogre angrily asks what they are doing here.  Gaylord firmly tells the ogre that they were looking for a missing friend and now that they have found him they will leave.  He suggests the ogre stay out of their way.

Unimpressed, the ogre laughs the mighty Gaylord off and tells him and the others to come back with him; they are to be his prisoners.  Gaylord refuses.

As a show of his power, the misshapen creature slams his mighty club down on the head of Chrysostomos.  Judging by the flow of blood out onto the floor, Gaylord realizes his friend is no longer playing dead.

Just then, Dion steps out from the shadows and rips off the creature's left arm.  Using it as a club, he smashes the ogre in the face with it.  The beast howls in pain.

Gaylord then takes the opportunity to spear the ogre in the chest.  The beast tries to attack back with his club, but the fighter deflects it with his shield.

Spearing the beast again, Gaylord drives the spear in deeper.  Blood flows all over the floor.

Just then, Artemisia, uses her arcane skills to send a magical arrow through the back of the ogre's head.  It falls to the ground, dead.  The enchantress then applies her healing arts to Chrysostomos, stopping his injuries from getting worse.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene III (of VII)

With little on the ogre except for his large club and a loincloth, Dion focuses on heading over to the door to make sure there are no other ogres around while Gaylord contemplates, then rejects, the idea of taking the monster's phallus as a trophy.

Dion and Gaylord head into the entrance hall, with Phokas and Artemisia behind them, carrying the unconscious Chrysostomos.

Dion manages to push open the large bronze doors as a large python emerges into the room from the other hallway.  He yells out a warning to the others and he and Gaylord prepare to defend them from the snake.

As the others move into the room, the snake slithers over to Gaylord, biting through his leg armor.  Gaylord tries to attack back with his spear, but finds the reptile elusive.  It likewise slips through Dion's hands as he attempts to throw it against the wall.

Just then, a withered old native woman appears in the doorway behind the snake.  She begins muttering her foul incantations as Dion realizes she is casting a spell.  He and Gaylord begin backing up towards the door.

Artemisia and Phokas haul Chrysostomos out of the large doors with Dion guarding them along the way.  Gaylord has less luck, however.  First, the snake coils itself around him, crushing him.  Then, the witch's spell causes the door to slam shut.

Gaylord rushes over to the door but finds he cannot open it.  The witch laughs at him.  Outside, Dion and the others try their luck with the door, only to find that the foul magic has sealed it tight.

Inside, Gaylord hurls his spear at the old woman.  Taking a glancing blow, the witch screams in pain and retreats, her snake following quickly behind.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene IV (of VII)

Gaylord continues to try to force the door open to no avail.  Even attempting to dismount the hinges doesn't work.  Truly, the witch's evil magic has him sealed inside.

Dion feels that if Gaylord is too weak to escape then he deserves to be left behind.  The barbarian leads the others away, with Artemisia yelling through the door to Gaylord to try and find another exit; she believes there must be another entrance to the ruins. Back inside, the warrior retreats back to the kitchen to rest.

Phokas explains his camp is around the mountains in the opposite direction that Dion's group came from.  Dion leads the others deeper into the fungal forest in an attempt to circumnavigate the mountain back to Phokas' camp.

Up ahead, Dion spots a skeleton on the ground.  A single yellow flower grows out of its skull through a hole in the back.

The mighty Dion recognizes the foul blossom as the same as the ones protruding from the heads of the mindless creatures they encountered in the ruins.  He immediately runs over to stomp on the bones and flower to ensure they will not be a threat, grinding them to dust under his sandals.

Heading further in, the barbarian notices two humanoids up ahead in the fungal foliage, both with flowers in their heads.  Moving slightly to the side, Dion can see the creatures have spotted them and are closing in.  He and the sorceress prepare for battle.

One of the creatures moves in to attack but Dion quickly grabs him and breaks the monster in half over his knee.  Artemisia deftly crushes the skull of the other with a single blow from her staff.

After making sure to crush all the remains of the flowers, Dion resumes leading the group through the forest.  Not too far off to the side, he sees a clump of the large yellow flowers with hints of purple in them.

Dion's first inclination is to douse the flowers with oil and burn them, but Artemisia stresses they should avoid them.  She distrusts their sinister botanical magic to take over the minds of men.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene V (of VII)

An hour later, and the group finally makes it to the beach.  There they meet Barnabus, the quartermaster of the ship.  He explains that he has been busy directing the men who are gathering and recording supplies.

Dion warns the quartermaster of the deadly flowers and tells him to begin packing up.  At dawn, they need to head back to the other camp with the remainder of the survivors.

The journey takes all of the next day.  Even after they reach the camp, they can do little but rest.  Both Dion and Artemisia are still recovering from injuries, and Chrysostomos still lies comatose.  Artemisia wonders about using the hoplites to rescue Gaylord, but Dion warns her the camp needs them for protection.

Dion states that either Gaylord will be strong enough to escape and return on his own, or they will leave without him.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene VI (of VII)

Back inside the ancient ruins, Gaylord himself spends several days holed up in the kitchen resting before he dares to venture out.  Luckily for him, the spiders never return.

He decides the best thing to do is to head back to the treasure room and face off with the vipers, feeling that three small vipers are an easier bet than a witch and her large python familiar.

When he enters the chamber, however, he finds the snakes have left the hall.  He stealthily walks his way down the hallway, only to find it loops around and comes to a dead end.

Feeling around the walls, Gaylord discovered a hidden latch.  Activating it, the wall opens into the back of the altar room.

Gaylord is disappointed not to find an exit out of the ruins and begins looking around for another way out.  He heads back to the skeleton room and jumps over the pit.

He then heads into the hall with the statue of the archer.  As soon as he enters, he feels a pressure plate go down and hears a click in the direction of the bowman.  His luck once again proves out, as the trap has not been reloaded since it killed one of Phokas' men.

The mighty warrior opens the nearest door in the hall, finding a decent sized room with a large bedroll and a huge sack next to it.

He opens the sack and peers inside.  It is filled with gold coins and three small gems.  He estimates there are around a thousand coins, far too many to carry at the moment.

Making a quick mental note of the room, he notices there are no other exits.  He decides to leave and check the other door in the hallway.  But just as he opens the door, he catches sight of the python's tail as it slithers by, heading back into the skeleton room.

Quietly moving over, Gaylord sees the door ajar to the other room.  He tries to open it wider, but it squeaks, alerting the witch inside.

She mutters something and moves over to the door, slamming it shut.  Gaylord immediately slams the door open, knocking the old witch over.

Once inside, he attacks at her with his spear.  She responds by slashing his leg with her claw-like fingernails.  As she gets up, she starts a spell.

Gaylord tries to stop her with another spear attack, but she moves out of the way.  She then commands him to hold, but he overcomes her attempt to control his mind.

He and the witch exchange another series of blows, each fending the other off.  She then gets off another spell, this time blasting his eyes with a powerful light.

Gaylord is completely blinded by the light.  He lashes out, but is unable to hit her.  She slips around him, heading out of the room, laughing all the way.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session IV - Scene VII (of VII)

Completely blind and unable to see anything but a white light, Gaylord feels his way around the room.  He detects a bed and a chest, but no other exits.

With little choice, he waits in the room for the witch to return.  His hope is that by killing the foul mistress, her spell will end.

But it is not the witch that returns, as Gaylord hears slithering.  He stabs out blindly at the snake, but fails to make contact.

The snake is able to inflict a vicious bite, causing the fighter to fall to the ground.  The snake then proceeds to eat him whole.

Several days later, back at the beach, Chrysostomos comes out of his coma.  With the ship ready to go, Dion declares it is time to leave the island.  Phokas asks about Gaylord, but Dion is certain his friend will not be coming back.

And so, on the 15th day, they headed out to face the threats of the open sea...

Session IV - Translation Notes by Prof. Barker

The action-packed climax of the story is the favorite part for most readers and was my personal favorite to translate.

The furious battle with the ogre and the evil witch recall similar archetypes used by Beowulf.  In some translations, the ogre and witch have names and an elaborate backstory.  However, my research showed these details were added later as a means of expanding the story.  I'll leave such exposition to the inevitable movies of Hollywood rather than embellish this work of literary research.

Many students often criticize the actions of the heroes when they read the story.  They wonder how the heroes thought they could hide from the ogre, or why they didn't hide back in the secret treasure room the ogre clearly never found, or why they don't attempt to use trickery or negotiate with the ogre.  And certainly the idea to "play dead" is often laughable.

Similarly, Gaylord's activities on his own seem to be acts of hubris.  He also appears to be unable to fend off a single old woman.

But we must not judge these characters too harshly.  When reading a tale such as this, it is important to remember that these kinds of stories had never been told before.  The experience was something completely new and unexpected; we can't expect these characters to behave as if they had a sense of genre savviness that a person today would have.  They were unaware of common fictional tropes like not splitting up a group.

No, it is my belief we should pity these characters.  In their ignorance, they probably felt invincible – perhaps assuming they were so special that the gods would save them.  Clearly, they were wrong.

Session IV - Session Notes

This session ended the first story arc of the campaign - the crash on the mysterious island.  Frankly, I had hoped to do a little more with the island (there was a lot more planned out) but the group seemed to be in a big hurry to get off of it.

Overall, I'm kind of unsatisfied with the campaign so far.  The reduced group size has unfortunately led to a less interesting dynamic.

And, frankly, I'm getting a little tired of the group's default playstyle.  It's always all about getting the journey over with, never stopping to smell the roses along the way.  They rush through adventures, ignore treasure, either avoid enemies or else leap straight into combat, and generally have terrible ideas on how to resolve problems.  Some days I almost think they actively try to come up with the least interesting reaction to every opportunity that comes up in the game.

Session V - Cast of Characters

Dion, the crude barbarian
Chrysostomos, the stoic cleric
Artemisia, the magic-user and scholar


And introducing...

Gayloria, sister of Gaylord (also a fighter and lover)

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session V - Scene I (of VI)

Several days of dangerous travel across stormy seas led the heroes Dion, Chrysostomos, and Artemisia to meet up with a large portion of the Athegarian fleet making its way to the disputed islands near the border of the mighty Xersian Empire.  The survivors of the makeshift ship built by Ampelios transferred to other ships, with the heroes deciding to go to the ship of Gayloria, the sister of their deceased companion, Gaylord.

Dion and the others are forced to deliver the bad news to Gayloria, but she takes it well when they tell her he died gloriously in battle with ogres, witches, and giant snakes.  While they speak, Gayloria casts favorable glances at Artemisia while Chrysostomos notes to himself how much more masculine the warrior woman is than her late brother.

As their discussion ends, the commander of the military unit aboard the ship introduces himself as Lochagos Neros, along with his second and command, Ouragos Artemisos.  They are in charge of the fighting force of Lochos Theta.  Neros is a seasoned officer and begins discussing his plans with Dion and the others immediately.

The ships in the fleet are all scheduled to land on different islands in the area where the Hellasian colonies have been seized by Xersian forces.  Lochos Theta is scheduled to assault the isle of Traladekios.

Neros explains that Traladekios has only one beach along its coastline that can be landed on by the ships; the rest is known to be rocky cliffs.  The beach is a short distance away from a stronghold situated on a plateau, known as the town of Castellios.

Castellios is a walled town surrounded by steep cliffs with only a single road leading up to the main gate.  Neros’ plan is to split his forces into two teams – he will have a dozen hoplites assault the main gate while his small force of six peltasts use two ladders to assault the walls.  The commander does say that he would defer to the mighty Dion, should the barbarian have a better plan.

Dion wonders how many Xersians he will be able to battle in the glorious siege.  Neros estimates the stronghold itself has a force of 20 to 40 men, with many serving as archers along the battlements.  In addition, the island likely has another three or four score of men outside of the stronghold on patrols.

Chrysostomos and Artemisia are not as bold as the barbarian, and are concerned at the difference in numbers.  Armed with little siege weaponry other than ladders, they feel a frontal assault is likely to lead to many deaths (quite possibly including their own).

Artemisia discusses the possibility of gaining a secret entrance into the town via a sea cave along the coast.  Neros has no knowledge of the existence of such a cave, but agrees it may be possible.  Dion proves very amenable to the idea, as he thinks of the great monsters likely living in the cave that he may have the chance to do battle with.  This causes Chrysostomos and Artemisia to rethink their support of the idea.

Ultimately, the four heroes decide they will make a raft out of the remains of their old ship and raft onto the shore themselves.  There they will be able to scout around the area.  In the meantime, Neros will direct the captain to change course and not return to the beach until three days time, when the full assault will occur.

From the Epic Poem, as translated by Prof. Arty Barker, Ph.D.
Session V - Scene II (of VI)

As the ship approaches the island, the heroes make sure they have everything ready on the raft.  To avoid drowning, Gayloria and Chrysostomos remove their armor and place it in a large sack tied to the raft with a rope.  They plan to try and land at dusk, when visibility will be at its worst.

From the distance, they can see the Xersians keep fires lit along the beach, likely to provide visibility for patrols and archers from the stronghold.  Gayloria notes they will need to try to land on the farthest edge of the beach they can in order to avoid detection.  While Dion would prefer to land in the middle of the beach and take on all of the Xersians at once, he realizes that such a feat is beyond even his considerable power and agrees.

All four of the heroes row the raft, but the waters are choppy and difficult to maneuver in.  They decide to head to the left side of the beach, following the natural current of the water in.

Suddenly, Chrysostomos spots movement out of the corner of his eye.  He sees ripples in the water, heading closer to the raft.  He alerts the others.  They suspect a sea serpent or other vile creature is approaching.

Dion moves to ready himself to punch the sea beast, but is reminded they will need his great strength to continue rowing the raft to shore.  Likewise, Chrysostomos must continue rowing as well.  Artemisia readies her staff and Gayloria her spear.

Bursting from the water is a smaller sea serpent.  Gayloria prods out with her spear, but misses.  She then fends off the monster’s bite while Artemisia’s staff slams into the creature’s head.

As the monster moves in again, Dion uses his mighty muscles to spin the raft, causing it to again miss Gayloria.  Unfortunately, the spinning also disrupts her spear attack, but the sorceress fares better with her staff, striking the tall neck of the beast.

Enraged, the beast bites into Gayloria’s shoulder.  She responds by driving her spear into the creature’s chest while Artemisia’s staff smashes into its eye.  Howling in pain, the beast dives back into the water, and straight through the middle of the raft.