Curious Expedition (IC)

[Lacco]

In the evening, on seventh day of their travel, their wagon rolled over a hill and they saw the small village, at the end of the road, their collective impression was almost the same.

Village of Nestflea was a dump.

The valley with village was bathed in fog, which the setting sun turned into a pot of gold-red. But the smell, which they could smell from afar, disturbed the pleasant view. Even though it was only twelve houses, one small tavern and a small smithy, the village was surrounded by palisades. To east, past the village, they could see the few fields behind the palisades, followed by the wall of trees, known also as Shadetree forest.

Your travel began at Caer Beriss, on thirteenth of Warmbreeze (4th month of the year). An aurora has been seen on the night before - the night when they sat with the Guildmaster in the Rook and Dagger tavern.

Irdzvan Dherndricc, the current Guildmaster, a hill dwarf of some renown, came to their table, followed by a serving girl that held their drinks.

"So, I hope we are on the same ship - so to say. I'm short on staff. Everybody wants to live their pleasant lives in safety of the cities, and there are not enough adventurers. So you are most probably my last chance. This is the deal: I give you a map, and "sell" you the rights to this expedition. You are then allowed to loot the tomb, and any dungeons, crypts and other delves - and that's just for 10% of everything you find there. I'll throw in a transport - my friend Diranos Swiftrake will drive you in his carriage - and pay for inns on the road. And you'll bring me back the ring called "Finger of Decay" that Siviniak wore on his finger. So what do you say?" He handed them a crudely drawn map and told them few stories - and paid for their drinks. And so they agreed.



That was a week ago. They sat in a carriage, provided by Irdzvan.

The carriage was old, smelled like a wet dog, but was comfortable. Diranos was a silent fellow - most of the time he just drove the horses and ignored their attempts in conversation - his responses were limited to nods, shrugs, coughing and - if he disagreed - spitting on ground.

As they left the carriage, in the middle of the village, they noticed the peasants eyed them suspiciously. Few windows were shut, and some shut when the peasants sighted them. A robust, cleanly-shaven man approached them.

"Greetings, travellers. My name is Berchios and I am the mayor and priest of this village. If you need supplies, or rest, we will gladly help you." His smile seems sincere, but his eyes seem to wander from their faces to their pouches. "Provided, of course, you can pay."

Diranos, coughing, hands him a scroll, the same scroll he handed every innkeeper they met on the road. It has an official seal of the Adventurer's guild and is beautifully illuminated. Berchios quickly studies it and then continues, with his smile diminishing a bit.
"Official guild business, eh? Very well, our inn is at your service for this night, free of costs. Welcome."

He answers your questions, and after few minutes excuses himself.

The village was a dump - and the tavern was double so. One common room, a bucked of water, watered-down beer... but their kitchen was palatable and it was - supposedly - their last dinner before they venture into the wilderness.

The night passed quietly and in the morning, the innkeep woke them up.

"It's time."

It was on that day. On first-and-twenty of Warmbreeze, year 893 of the Empire, your expedition really begun. The members of the expedition collected their equipment, donned their armour, prepared their weapons and left the unnamed inn.

The outside air was cold, and it was not far from freezing and the gray, heavy clouds, did not promise a pleasant start of the journey. As they stood in the middle of the village, near the village post, they noticed a soft glow on the horizon - the sunrise, filtered through the gray sky...

...and then, unceremoniously, it started raining. You all consider if it would have been different if you said "no", but you took the offer and it's too late to back up. Or is it...?



So, here we are. The expedition has started.

Traditional GM question: what do you do? Feel free to post description of your character, or anything that you feel the others should know.

The villagers will be able to sell you:
- food (fresh or dried meat, basic vegetables or grains)
- basic tools (up to hatchet/shovel)
- repairs (if you have the money) - melee weapons & up to leather armour
- a mule

The carriage will wait for you until you come back with the item of power you were asked to bring back.

So, you are standing in the rain, outside the tavern. Check the map in the OOC thread, and plan your trip.

If someone wants to address something from the week of travel or anything in the text above, write in OOC - I'll add it to this introduction.

Oh, and good luck!

[Nebula]

Spatz pulls his hood lower onto his face, hoping to shelter his face from the icy droplets of water...

He looks around at the people around him awkwardly...
"So, what do we do now? I'm a bit new to this adventuring business... so I have no idea."
He smiles weakly while trying to keep eye contact with everyone.

[JNAProductions]

Ahriman mumbles grumpily to himself. Of course, it had to rain. It HAD to rain...

[Eplov]

Looking out at the rain from beneath his hood, Jerri grins broadly and says quietly but with (unsettling?) energy, "Perfect! This is just what I needed. Now lets see if that water-slick coating works the way it was supposed to." On close inspection he notices he water beading on his cloak and running off, without significantly dampening the rough cotton. "Aha!" he cries in a high pitched (semi) maniacal laugh.

After getting a hold of himself he looks to the others and asks, "Shall we?"

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor looks out into the distance, deep in thought. His dark grey and brown ranger clothes make him almost blend into the rainy landscape of the village, and he has the hood of his dark cloak pulled far into his forehead to obtain shelter from the wetness.

Yesterday, he had asked the self-pronounced 'mayor and priest' of this hovel if he knew anything about Asyga the Unbroken and her tenets, but the man had been unable to give him any satisfactory information. He wasn't surprised that a priest in a remote human village wouldn't be aquainted with highland religions, but it had been worth a try anyway.

Now he put his mind toward the coming travel.

"We'll have to decide on the best route to take. I favor travelling through the Shadetree Forests over a course through the Blightfield Marshes. The names should be reason enough, really, but I am also experienced in navigating forest environments, though I have not been to this specific one before. The trees might give us some reprieve from the rain, as well, should the weather continue like this."

Belenor draws on his experience as a ranger to think about the best route to take, and tries to judge the weather for the coming days.

I just assumed the mayor/priest wouldn't know anything about Asyga. If he unexpectedly did, I'm happy to edit.

Rolling Orienteering to see if I know anything that might influence the route we take. Rolling Weather sense to judge the weather for the coming days.

[roll0] TN 7 Rerolled in frontier roller thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20788917&postcount=8) = 3 successes
[roll1] TN 8 Rerolled in frontier roller thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20788917&postcount=8) = 2 successes if rolled on WIT, 1 success if rolled on MA.

[Eplov]

Jerri purses his lips in thought then looks up at Belenor and says, "I think the locals mentioned something about not venturing into the eastern part of Shadetree. In your travels have you come across anything like the "dark things" they described?" After a brief pause he adds, "I'd like to study them, but I'd prefer to avoid being eaten in the process."

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

A hint of arrogance creeps into Belenor's voice as he answers. "Who knows what the humans of this dump would call "dark things". Might be nothing more than regular wolves or bears, or maybe there are eldritch forces at work. I wouldn't mind finding out more. I don't like the thought of abominations defiling the majesty of a forest. But we need to be careful whichever way we choose. I don't think the people here know much of the world, or life in general, but disregarding their warnings about the local area would be foolish. Even a pig knows what's wrong with its sty."

[Nebula]

Spatz looks toward Belenor with sad, yet stern eyes...
"When it comes to the harshness of life, I know these people know enough already, let us offer something in good will, in return for their warnings"

He then looks to Jerri, and asks:
"What are these 'dark things' you talk about? I have heard of vicious beasts, but never have they been described like that to me..."

[Lacco]

Spatz

It was still soon in the morning - and while the sun most probably rose, the rain and gray clouds were hiding it successfully. However, the village was already quite busy - shepherds were already driving the cattle and sheep onto pastures, women were starting fires, and children were staring at the group near the village central post.

The staring was getting uncomfortable. Spatz tried to pull the hood as low as possible - but he couldn't hide his face completely - he wanted to see what goes around him.

Ahriman was trying to fix his clothes so the rain and cold wind wouldn't get to him. He looked quite frail - and unused to the weather. Everything on him what Spatz could see screamed "sorceror" - he missed only a robe with strange symbols and a raven.

The young lady that came with them, Tsara, he remembered, was still in the tavern, chatting with the tavernkeep.

He leaned on his staff. The old thing creaked a bit. He watched as the little guy - Jerri - walked around the village square, looking around for stuff he could use, and as Belenor, the proud elven warrior, looked around in disgust.

He tried to pierce the rain, looking towards west. Yesterday, when they arrived, he was able to see the mountains in distance - the ones that most probably held the barrow, but today, the rain masked them.

Spatz sighed again. He had a nightmare that night and he was a bit worried. But soon they will leave the village, and the travels will bring him comforting fatigue and dreamless sleep...



Ahriman

The cots they slept in were terrible. He felt his back ache, he was cold and the rain did not add to his mood. He tried to pull his sleeves a bit down, to protect his hands from the cold morning rain, but it was a futile effort.

Around him, the village started to wake up. Cattle, sheep, shepherds - they went to the pastures. The children stared at him, but the women usually hurriedly pulled them away.

Fear of the unknown. Powerful weapon.

His companions were quite interesting. A proud elf, looking down on everything and everyone, a gnome who was just going around the village to see what he can pilfer, a talkative lady with shadowy past and some talent...and a healer, who kept waking him up during the night with his monologues brought by feverish dreams.

He looked at tavern stable. His horse was there, ready. The barrow was their goal and he hoped he could find something there...something he longed for.

Ahriman caught the talk about the dark things. He looked up, and listened to Jerri. All the rumors about the dark things only told him he was on the right track. But first they needed to find it...

...however, there was too little information. Maybe these were only some goblins - these superstitious villagers would be capable of such overestimation. And maybe not. Better be prepared.



Jerri

The village was waking up slowly - and he tried to discover as much as possible before it would get too crowded here.

Jerri loitered around the central village square, peeking into every corner of every building, watching the sleepy shepherds drive their animals to the pastures, making faces at children and their mothers and generally amusing himself, while looking for things he or the others could use.

His curious eyes discovered a broken half-copper and few raven feathers on the ground behind one of the houses.

He found only a handful of nails on the table of the smithy. The smithy was just a shed, without walls, only a roof on four columns. He ventured inside, looked around the tables, tools, and noticed several people - including quite large fellow in leather apron - looking at him.


If you want the nails, roll "pickpocket". As there are some people watching you, but they are not suspicious of you yet, you need to roll 2 successes to pocket them without anyone noticing. One success - they get suspicious. No successes...well, you can imagine. Don't ask about the fumble. And don't roll it :smallbiggrin:



Belenor

Asyga give me strength. If you can...

The prayer offered him no consolation. He did not know the correct words, he did not posess enough knowledge. The tenets were long lost and he knew little about them to bring him the peace he saw in the orcish priest-warrior.

He also tried to penetrate the rainy curtain, to see the mountains that were visible yesterday with the sunset. However, today, the rain obscured even his elven vision. He looked up, and watched the clouds roll across the sky for few moments. The weather was changing, but slowly. The wind brought promise of a warmer day, without rain, but also without sun.

But it was still few hours before the rain would give up.

The forest looked almost inviting. Hearing about the marshes left him uneasy - even if the d'hoine driver assured them they had nothing to fear there.

Taking the road north or south, to go around the marsh and around the forest would take long. Longer than their food would last... but maybe they could go through the plains, and try to cross the river to the forest in the beginning of the marsh, and not go too deep into it.

Or the other way around...

...it was strange feeling, that he was responsible for these... humans and half-humans. On one hand, it wasn't so long that he would have led them into the marsh and left them, laughing coldly...and on the other hand, he now felt it would be breach of his promise, and he would have felt as incapable guide - and he was more than capable, he was the Terror of the Blood Grove!

He clenched his teeth. He will lead them safely through the forest. He will make them safe. It's his duty.

Morale: 7
Orientation told him also that the travel to the mountains would take around a week (+- two or three days).
If they are able to hunt down a deer, they should have enough fresh meat for the rest of the travel.



Everyone: see also below.

So, please continue the planning also in IC if possible.
A week of food should be sufficient - there will be opportunities to hunt and gain some food.
If you want to do something, state the intention into IC or OOC. If you are not sure what to do, ask :smallsmile:. It's your first expedition, so I'll be cooperative.

I also "left out" Tsara - she's talking to the innkeeper. Penelomeeg, if you decide to join in, just state she went out from the inn.

@JamesT - if you join us at this moment, I'll edit my post to include Finn. If you join us later, the group will "encounter" your character somewhere on the road. Jerri gets to meet his cousin & you join the expedition. Agreed? PM me if you have better idea :smallwink:

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor raises his head and let's the coldness of the rain wash over his face as he comes to a decision.

"Standing around won't get us any closer to the tomb. I think we should travel straight east through the plains, following the river until we reach the forest. The forest will slow us down, but it should offer good hunting grounds, so a little delay shouldn't matter too much in terms of food. We were warned to avoid the eastern part of the forest, so we might cross the river down north once we get close to the eastern part, and cut through the north-eastern corner of the marshes. I don't like the idea of the marshes, but we would only be there for a very short trek and it let's us avoid the dangerous part of the forest."

He looks at his new companions, putting focus on Jerri and Tsara at his next words.

"Jerri, you mentioned asking a knowledgable local for information about the area, and I agree with that plan. Let's get to it and find one! Tsara, I think it would be best if you took the lead in talking to the people here. Humans trust their own more, I've experienced."

His facial expression made it clear what he personally thought of that character trait.

"Let's go and ask the mayor if he knows of a hunter or person of a similar profession that can tell us more about the Tallgrass Plains, the Shadetree Forest and the Blightfield Marches. Knowledge about existing paths would serve us well."

@Eplov: I just pretended your character already brought up the stuff you mentioned in the OOC to move us along a bit. Hope you don't mind.

[JNAProductions]

Right, says Ahriman. I'll leave that to the experts-I'm a man of academic knowledge more than practical, he continues, chuckling at his own self-deprecation.

[Nebula]

"I can go with Tsara, if we are going to be talking to the people around here"
Spatz says this with a shy and uncertain tone, but he phrases it like a statement. He goes to stand next to Tsara, ready to leave with her...

[Eplov]

Jerri nods eagerly, "Agreed. Let us find a local expert and see what we may glean." Looking up and around, he adds, "I believe Berchios' home was just up the main strip on the left."

Jerri's short legs move in an energetic blur as he leads the group toward the mayor's home. "Yes, the one with the green door there. Here it is. I may have, um, scouted it out earlier..." He reaches out to knock on the door, then pauses in thought. His arm falls and his shoulders droop a bit as he gestures toward Tsara. "You'd better be the one to do it. These Nestfleans have yet to warm up to me." Then, as he steps to the side mutters quietly, "Nestflea folk? Nestfleasians? Nestfleaers?"


@Battlemage: No problem at all. I can go back and add it in so that the narrative makes more sense if anyone cares that much. Like I said before, weekends tend to be extremely buys family time for me, so move the plot ahead and I'll catch up when I can.

@Lacco: I hope you don't mind me throwing in random descriptions. I figure for nonessential bits it would be fine, but I'd leave important or dramatic things to you.

I'm going to live out on the edge and try for the pickpocket theft. You said something about not rolling for it, so go ahead and let me know how bad I've just screwed up relations with everyone here. ;)

I'm also implying a bit of clandestine sneaking about the evening before. I'd like to make sure he got enough sleep to avoid impairment, but I doubt his curiosity would've allowed him to just go to bed without peeking in a few windows. Should I roll something for that or can we just assume I didn't fall off of a roof or something?

[Lacco]

Belenor, Spatz, Jerri, Ahriman

The small house with green door indeed belonged to Berchios - he must have noticed them coming, because he left the house by the front door.

"Ah, our intrepid adventurers!" his smile seems a bit less enthusiastic as when you came to the village. "What can this poor servant of gods do for you?"

The village had a center post - and as usual, there were several runes on it. He did not study them for long, but they were quite inaccurate. He knew about warding and these runes wouldn't ward off a goblin...

The mayor's house was larger than the others, but it smelled as bad as the village itself - and compared to the elven palaces, hidden in the ancient forests... it was sad. How could they live like this?

Belenor already longed for the forest. The cool shadowy forest he called home... maybe the shadetree forest would be a pleasant change.

He already knew he disliked the cities and villages of the humankind.



The nails were already in his pocket and he was on the other side of the street, when he heard the blacksmith ask his wife about them.

"I had them here... why do you keep hiding my things...?"

I have nothing against players adding small details. Large details will have to be paid with Drama point - you can get those later in game.

As for the pickpocket roll, the part where I wrote "don't roll it" was related to fumbles :smallsmile:
AGI/pickpocket: [roll0] TN 8

As for the sneak/exploration: I assume you just went for a short walk around, peeked here or there, avoided trouble - just to get acquainted with the village. No roll necessary.

The village was a nice little place. The people seemed to be the usual rugged villagers, the ones that just try to survive at the end of the world.

Spatz looked around. The rain was falling, but it was also slowly stopping. He tried to stick close to Tsara, but she seemed to avoid them a bit...

[JNAProductions]

Ahriman scoffs at runes, but tries to keep his reaction private. Best to avoid offending the locals.

He mentally notes to teach some better runes, if they want to know how to truly stay safe.

[Eplov]

Jerri steps forward and says, "Berchios, are there any villagers that have seen the dark things that were mentioned the other evening? Also, are there any hunters or trappers that know of a safe route through the woods?" On an unconscious level Jerri sizes the mayor up to see if he has any suspicious bulges or items of value. The man seems far too greedy for a public servant. Anyone that greedy is either untrustworthy, has something in need of "reallocation", or both.



The nails were already in his pocket and he was on the other side of the street, when he heard the blacksmith ask his wife about them.

"I had them here... why do you keep hiding my things...?"
Does that count as pickpocket practice?

[Nebula]

Spatz tries to approach some of the villagers with the intent of trying to find out anything else he can about the journey (e.g. any herbs which I could use from the wilds, or how to tell if anything worth hunting has been in an area, etc.)
"Hello, I understand that you might know somethings about the wilds [insert a brief explanation of the party's quest]. Could you please share some of your wisdom with us? I may be able to offer you something in return..."

[Lacco]

Jerri

Maybe it was the way Jerri phrased his question, but Berchios seemed to think a little too hard about the proper answer.

"Well," he began uneasy, "there are strange things in that forest. We always knew that. People who ventured too deep kept disappearing. Few man saw glimmering eyes at night when they camped in the forest. But as far as I know, the eastern part... well, it's worse. We heard strange things. Even whole caravan disappeared there once. Janii, the woman there, had her husband act like their guide. Nice guy, always wore a blue feathered cap." he swiped his brow with the back of his hand, sweating visibly in the cold weather. "So I can ask around, but most trappers will stay only in the first part of the forest. Wait, here comes one of them..."

He waved at a bearded, grumpy-looking man clad in rough-sewn hides. He came forth.

It took a long time to extract the information from the untalkative trapper, but Jerri was sure that there were few paths in the western part that they could use. The first one lead to abandoned hunting cottage below the first peak - they called the two peaks simply "Tusks" - and started right behind the village, as the village hunters used it to spend nights.

However, there was also the southern path, leading to fishing camp - it went through the forest near the banks of White river. The fishing camp was basically a small cottage, at the point where the river "Íňa", that originated somewhere in the Shadetree forest, near the third peak - called "Snout". He also mentioned a stone circle nearby the Íňa river spring.

He then offered to lend them some of the traps - as he was going hunting north-west, with a spear, as opposed to his usual route through forest. He seemed intent on going the opposite way than the party.

It took really long time to extract this information, as Jerri was distracted by the large silver symbol of moon that dangled on a chain on Berchios' neck, and the obviously half-full pouch.


SOC/TN 9: [roll0]

Does that count as pickpocket practice?
Yes, definitely.


Ahriman

When he heard about the glimmering eyes in the forest, he immediately started to recount the kinds of demons that were known to have "catlike" or "glimmering" eyes in his head. It seemed that there were indeed many... however, not many were usually found in the forests.

The wind started to pick up, as the rain was diminishing. They were standing outside for more than half hour and it was getting uncomfortable - he would have preferred a chair...

Spatz

The villagers tried to ignore Spatz - often to the point where he was able to just finish the first sentence before they turned away - and he did not force himself on them. They had their chores and he had the strange feeling he was keeping them from something important.

At last he found someone who would listen - one of the elders of the village, a truly wrinkled, aged lady, who was binding some herbs together.

"It's good for cough, honey..." she laughed. It was a scraping laughter, and she immediately started coughing.

She listened to his question and immediately started talking - did not even wait for him to finish the part about offering something in return.

"Well, dearie, this is angel-wings." she pulls a white flower out of one of her pouches. "If you wear its leaves, it will protect you from evil-eye, curses and witchcraft. It's also good for cough, if you get houndtongue and fennel root and boil these together." she smiles, showing a mostly empty mouth, with only two teeth. "And this, darling, this is honeybalm. It tastes sweet, and if you keep it under your tongue, it will cure you from fever. It is also good for balms..."

The old lady continues, but the only new information that Spatz acquires is that there are few meadows within the forest where she goes to gather the herbs - some are just at the beginning of the forest, but the best one - according to the lady - lies on the other side of Tusks, where she has not gone for few years, as her legs are not what they used to be...

When he finally collects enough courage to interrupt her to be able to leave, she just smiles at him and continues binding the herbs.


SOC/TN 9: [roll1]

[Eplov]

Jerri bobs his head excitedly at both of them. "Splendid, this is just the kind of information I was looking for. And, thank you for the use of your traps. Just one more thing, Mr. Trapper was it?" Jerri pulls out his charcoal and his partially filled book, "have you seen and, more to the point, can you describe these dark things?"

[Nebula]

Spatz nod his head respectively at the kind woman, and secretly sneaks a copper coin into some of her possessions nearby while her attention is on the herbs. He smiles sadly as he leaves, and whispers a faint prayer to the spirits that this woman would be blessed for her kindness.

Having obtained some information on where he can harvest herbs, he tries to make his way back to the party so he can share the information with them.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor nods curt thanks at the trapper, and accepts the offer of traps, though he is more experienced hunting with his bow. Still, they might come in handy. After they've concluded their business with the man, the warrior adresses the group.

"I like the sound of the southern part along the river's edge. We have easy access to fresh water, and if we need to resupply we might find an opportunity in the fishing village along the way. That stone circle also sounds interesting, and might be worth checking out if we're in the area anyway."

He waits for anyone else to comment before continuing.

"If everyone has concluded their business, I think we're ready to go. We have a destination and a planned route, the rest will work itself out."

The elf looks eager to be out of this village and back in the wild.

[Nebula]

Spatz shares his recently acquired knowledge of where he can find medical herbs, and he too waits for anyone else to saying anything else, before nodding his head in agreement with Belenor.

[Lacco]

Jerri

The trapper seemed to be surprised by being addressed as if his name was "Trapper". Yet he tried to help Jerri draw...

Unfortunately, his vocabulary was too narrow to describe the "dark things" in more terms than "dark" "things" "yellow unblinking eyes" and "strange voices speaking in strange language - something between croaking and squeaking". He got only two useful informations: the things seemed to be moving near ground and they were accompanied by strange, bitter smell.

It was of no use. He thanked the trapper and turned to Belenor, and to Spatz, who emerged from around the corner.

SOC/[roll0] TN 10



Belenor

The trapper handed him three small traps - two looked like small cages, third like a smaller bear trap. He then seemed to wait for something.

Belenor was not sure. Either the man awaited a payment or did not understand that the nod was sufficient as acknowledgement of his assistance.

His suggestion seemed to be accepted. It seemed that the natural order has taken place once again - the elf was leading the humans.

Hmph. Humans.

He slowly walked towards his horse, and fixed the traps to the saddle. It was time to go. He looked back at the others...

Spatz

As Spatz turned around the corner, he saw Belenor, Jerri and Ahriman, still standing on the porch of mayor's house. The rain was slowly dying.

He waited for the others to decide where to go. When Belenor walked towards his horse, Spatz sighed and walked towards his horse - a whimsical creature, but he hoped it would carry him well...




Ahriman

Ahriman was watching the horizon. It seemed to be clearing up. He pulled his robes closer to his body as a shiver ran down his back.

He had his backpack at his feet, and only needed to get up on a horse... it was not his job to decide which way to get to the tomb, but to protect these fools from the eldritch secrets, dangerous curses and mystical protective spells that were most probably placed on the tomb... secrets, curses and spells that made him shiver again, this time with anticipation...

[Eplov]

Jerri thanked the trapper, looked longingly at the various pouches and bulges on his and the mayor's person, and gave a jaunty wave goodbye. "Looks like Belenor is anxious to go, come on!"

He then set off at a leg blurring speed to get his pony saddled and ready to go. What mysteries will this journey reveal?

MA artistry roll to jot down what the man described?
[roll0] TN 6

[Nebula]

Spatz, now as ready as he could be, will leave with the others. He will start to talk about where he could harvest herbs to those who would listen...


Jerri
The old lady continues, but the only new information that Spatz acquires is that there are few meadows within the forest where she goes to gather the herbs - some are just at the beginning of the forest, but the best one - according to the lady - lies on the other side of Tusks, where she has not gone for few years, as her legs are not what they used to be...
Of course, Spatz will rephrase what he was told.


EDIT: Spatz is ready to leave as soon as possible.

[JNAProductions]

Ahriman mounts his horse, ready to go with the others. He speaks, saying If and when we find ancient artifacts in the tombs, let me be the first to examine them. I'll be able to tell if they're safe... Somewhat.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor checks that his belongings are securely fastened on his horse and gives the tack a last examination. Finding everything in order, he jumps into the saddle with easy grace and looks back at the group.

"Let's be off then!"

The forest awaited. He could already smell the fragrance of earth and wood in his imagination.

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Morning March

The horses were fresh, the plain looked inviting. The cool breeze kept them awake, even if there was not much to observe as they trudged through the small fields nearby the village. The travel was slow - the fields were still wet and the mud stuck to the horses' hooves. The sun slowly rose above the clouds, but the warmth it provided was not sufficient to dry out the results of two days worth of rain - and the grey veil obscured its warm rays quickly.

Few children followed them out of the village, but as soon as they stepped down from the trail between the fields, to cut their distance to the forest, they walked back to the village.

After two hours of uneventful riding the scenery changed from fields to open plain. The Tallgrass plains did not stay unfaithful to their name - the grass in some parts reached the saddles. As the sun gradually disappeared again behind the clouds, they gained more speed - the plains were not so muddy as the fields, and so they sped up their horses to follow Belenor, who was intent on reaching the Shadetree forest as soon as possible.

As the midday neared, they reached a small meadow with a pond, surrounded by few trees. A stronger wind was picking up, dispersing the grayish clouds - allowing the sun a longer peek from behind them. They stopped to let the horses drink.

The meadow seemed empty - save for the pond.

Far to the north, they saw majestic line of mountains, which surrounded the Tallgrass plains. To the east - the wall of green, the Shadetree forest. It looked around five miles away, and they could see the two peaks, now almost lined one behind the other, as well as something of a tower, in the northern part of the forest.

To the south, they saw the river, crossing the plain. Behind it, they saw mostly sickeningly looking fog - there lay the marshes.



The forest seemed to be still too far. They were moving too slow - he wanted to reach it. His stomach felt a bit empty, but the forest seemed to call to him - he wanted to get as far away from the fields, which to him represented a permanent human-made scar on the face of nature, and the smelly village, and into the peaceful forest.

The meadow seemed to be empty, but he noticed several footprints in the mud when they entered it - they belonged to animals. He was sure he saw a print of wolf footpads, as well as the hooves of a deer in the mud...

Looking at the party behind him, they seemed fresh enough. Even the frail sorceror looked fresh. The long travels will strengthen him, for sure.

The young healer had several times spoken to him - suggesting shorter routes, and it seemed to help. But they were still at least 5 miles away from the forest. And that made him impatient.

Morale +1 for getting away from the village and near the trees. However, taking any breaks before reaching the forest will result in -1 morale due to Relentless.
Resisted fatigue well.

Fields are for peasants, plains are for animals. Ahriman's thoughts flew forward, to the tomb. He tried to imagine all the interesting things he would find there... if only the travels did not take so long.

He rode his horse, and for some reason did not feel so tired as usual. The ride was almost pleasant for him, the cool breeze, the feeling of freedom.

But still, he longed for a carriage, where he could read and write. He wanted to peruse his tome of magic, with its numerous notes, to search it for possible clues... but maybe on the way back it would be possible. He would have many new scrolls to read and write about then... at least he hoped so...

He noticed his left hand started itching a bit - once in a while. He knew the feeling - in the evening it will go slightly numb for a few minutes, with the feeling of ants walking over it - and then the feeling will spread over the body during the next few days, increasing in intensity and duration. Still for the present time, it presented no issue - and he knew he had what it took to alleviate the feeling in his bag...

+1 morale for the excitement of started journey.
Last paragraph described the effect of Red Bane withdrawal. Today, no effects - tomorrow at -1; cumulatively adding -1 to dice pools every week. WIL/7 (modified by the penalty) to "not take a dose" while you have some rolls will be necessary when the penalty occurs - starting tomorrow.
Also, resisted fatigue well. He's not tired at all, however, if they move on without a break, his new TN for fatigue will increase to 7.

Belenor seemed agitated for some reason. Spatz couldn't know why. Several times he adviced him - to find a better path, to not go through a flooded part of plains, but around - and it helped. They moved faster and the forest seemed to come closer. Maybe he just wanted to visit the forest so much...

Spatz preferred walking before riding - but he accepted his predicament with his usual demeanor. Still, the weather was pleasant and the company not bad... so he tried to enjoy both of it.

When they stopped, he noticed that his stomach rumbled. He was getting a bit hungry...

+1 morale for the excitement of started journey.
Resisted fatigue well, not tired at all.


Jerri tried to adjust his saddle again. He constantly fidgeted, as he tought about improving it in some way.

He enjoyed the scenic route they took - he only regreted that he couldn't capture the majestic mountains to which the plains rolled northwise on his sheet. He tried doing that, but the tempo Belenor set was not suited for artistic endeavours.

It had to wait. His few attempts to capture the majesty of the nature caused him to bounce uncomfortably as the horse continued in its pursuit of the leader. This pony was just not suited for a lively gnome - and it was showing. But he'll learn... and maybe there is some way how to make this saddle into a full chair with drawing stand...

When they reached the meadow he was still fresh - he only lacked two things - time for drawing and fine meal - he could feel the emptiness of his stomach at this point.

Morale +1 for the excitement of started journey.
Failed the fatigue roll. Fatigue = 1.

[Eplov]

Upon entering the clearing Jerri hops down from his pony, stretches and takes a good look around. "Anyone know if this water is safe for the mounts to drink?" he asks, pointing at the pond. "Oh, sorry. Are we sticking around or are we pressing on?" An audible rumble comes from his belly as an unmistakable reminder. "Ah yes, lunch?"

Jerri happily sits upon a random rock, looks at the far mountains and begins to capture the beauty of the view to the best of his ability. "What a view. I hope these nimble fingers are up to the challenge."

"Can't draw on the pony, too bumpy. Maybe I could try carving instead?" Not finding any likely candidates laying around, Jerri climbs into his saddle (which is desperately in need of modification), reaches down into his saddle bag to snag a random hunk of wood, withdraws his carving knife from his belt pouch and looks carefully at the hunk's wood grain and shape, his face scrunched up in thought. "What do you want to be?"


Rolls for various things...
Artistry: 7 AG/TN 6 - [roll0]


Roll
Relevent
Ability(ies)
TN
Roll
Notes


Artistry
AG: 7; MA: 6; PER: 5
6
[roll1]



Perception
PER:5
6
[roll2]



Woodcarving
AG: 7; MA: 6; PER: 5
9
[roll3]
TN=Bowyer+2



I am assuming that if I am carving while riding I will probably have a penalty to carving and looking out for bad things. Oh well. Good luck watching out for wolves everyone!
Edit: Ignore the first roll, I forgot it was there when I was formatting the table...

[JNAProductions]

I vote for a rest, though I understand if you wish to carry on, Ahriman says, reflexively itching at his hands. If we press on, though, we'll want to rest outside the tombs. I'm no good exhausted.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor studies the meadow calmly but briefly. "The water looks safe enough. Let the horses drink and re-fill your waterskins if needed. We should press on, I'd rather spend more time in the forest than on the open plains. There is nothing here for us."

[Eplov]

"Nothing for us here?" Jerri shrieks. "Open your eyes, friend! Do you not see this beautiful view?" Jerri gestures as if to take in the vista around them. "If only I had the time to do it justice..."

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

The water showed no signs of being unhealthy - there were no dead flies swimming in it, it was clean and Jerri even saw a small salamander lizard inside - a sign that the water was clean. It tasted well - it refreshed them, and their horses and they refilled their waterskins. Belenor impatiently waited for Jerri to get back on his pony - and Jerri also obliged, seeing that Spatz and Ahriman were also mounting their steeds. When they departed, he only looked back, to ensure he remembered this vista for his next drawing...

They moved on, spurring the horses into a light gallop downhill. The forest was now visible - less than five miles away from them. The sky was slowly clearing up as the wind picked up speed - but it was still a refreshing ride.

As they approached the forest after two hours of riding, around a mile from it they saw something strange in the distance. A bit to the left from the route Belenor and Spatz decided on during short discussion, there seemed to be a construction of some kind - it looked like a cage, swinging in the wind slightly, around which moved several smaller quadripeds.

Belenor was starting to feel his muscles - he wanted to get to the forest before evening, and cover as much land as possible, and he felt the first drops of sweat...
When he saw the cage, he focused his elven sight. The cage was occupied. The quadripeds were most likely wolves or wild dogs. And there was seven of them - and they have not yet discovered them...


Ahriman already knew that in the evening he would need a long rest. His body was built for perusing libraries, not riding with breaks only for the scouts to discuss possible paths - and he already felt that he was starting to tire. And even the beast he was riding seemed to be tired.

He squinted at the sun, peeking from behind the clouds. Small beads of perspiration already flowed down his back.

The forest was getting closer though. He already hoped for a rest, to get down from the horse, maybe warm meal. The beef jerky was not very filling - it chased the hunger away for few moments, but did not provide the pleasure a 4-course dinner would.

But he knew why he was doing it. The knowledge, the power...

Suddenly Belenor slowed down - and seemed to observe something in the distance. A cage..?
Fatigue: 1

Spatz was not used to riding. And his horse seemed to know it, as he bounced up and down in the saddle - but he was learning. He considered himself toughened by his past, but he would have traded his roan pony for comfortable chair if someone would offer it - the pony was also starting to look tired a bit...

He was sweating uncomfortably, but still held out - he was not a one who often complained.

Yet, he welcomed when Belenor slowed down - but it seemed that he was watching something in the distance - a cage, and some animals... wolves?

As he looked down, he noticed tracks. Dogs. Not wolves. Wild dogs...


The tempo was still fast - but he decided to endure it and work on the small wooden ornament, at the moment looking like a bird in flight - he carved it out of the hunk of wood, but it was a slow work and he was only in the beginning. He could carve only while they rode over straight areas, otherwise he could either damage his work, or his fingers - and he disliked either possibility. It was also tiring to keep up with the others - he had to steer the horse and carve, and he already felt that his arms and legs were slowly getting tired...

He steered the horse to keep up with the ones in front, and cut off another splinter, forming a feather on the edge of the wood. Suddenly, Belenor slowed down... he looked up, but did not notice anything out of ordinary yet - they were still riding towards the forest...

...but what was that? A cage? Animals? Iiiinteresting...

2 successes on carving; you'll need around 4 more to finish. The ornament can be then used as part of the future buckler, a statuette, decoration or sale goods. If you want to carve something different, let me know - I'll change the description.

[Nebula]

Spatz takes a long look at the tracks, and gingerly steps off his horse to investigate them further...
"These are... wild dog tracks..."

He looks up to the swinging 'cage', and starts to ready his quaterstaff...

"Friends, I think we have company, you may want to draw your weapons..."

...
...
...

That's a lot of '...' :smalltongue:

[Eplov]

"Wild dogs you say?" Jerri perks up, sitting as high as possible oh his pony to get a better view. "Is there... something in that cage that's gotten their attention?" Sitting back in his saddle, Jerri ponders momentarily and snaps his fingers. "I'm very sure that most wild animals are afraid of fire. Ahriman, I know you started the camp fires a few times, can you start a controlled blaze to scare them away? And, if so, how close do you need to be to do it?"

Jerri also looks around for any trees or tall rocks where they could climb up and get away from the danger if it turns out that the dogs are hungrier than they are afraid of fire...


Survival with MA: [roll0] TN: 8
Perception: [roll1] TN: 6
Strategy Tactics(untrained): [roll2] TN: ?

[JNAProductions]

Of course I can, Ahriman says.

What kind of check would it be to start a controlled blaze? I'm looking to create an inward-facing circle of flame-one that'll burn itself out before too long.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

It wasn't overly in Belenor's nature to care about the trouble of a random stranger who had managed to get himself trapped in a cage in the middle of nowhere, if that was actually what this was. On the other hand, it could be an elf in there, and he would be damned before let his own kind die in this humiliating way. Besides, it would be important to find out who was responsible for this construction, as whoever did it might interfere with the expedition. It was never smart to have an unkown factor with unknown motivations and capabilities at one's back.

Lowering his voice, he speaks to the group. "Let's find out what is going on here. Good idea with the fire, Jerri. Let's try and avoid a fight with the dogs there is no gain in it and the animals are just following their nature. Ahriman, if you can start a controlled fire that is guaranteed not to run wild and threaten the forest, this would be a good opportunity. Otherwise, lighting our torches and waving them wildly while shouting might be enough. Dogs prefer to single out weakened prey. They are not looking for a straight up fight against whole groups, especially not ones wielding fire."

[Nebula]

Spatz looks up from the tracks, and stands up next to his pony, and speaks in a quiet, hushed voice

"We could set our course downwind from them and try to avoid them completely, but if not, I can help in trying to scare them off..."

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

The cage was indeed occupied - they saw movement. A man? An elf? They were not sure from this distance - the only thing they were sure of was, that there was someone in a cage, almost three quarters of mile down their path, surrounded by seven wild dogs...

The surrounding area did offer only one larger rock - sufficient for two of the party, if one of them was Jerri...

...and he thought he remembered someone speaking about wild dogs and wolves, their differences... but fire was a sure way to scare off both of these. At least he thought so. But why demoralize his companions, when he was himself unsure?

And then he remembered the famous proverb of general Balrumbles, a famous gnomish clan leader. "Waiting for opponent makes you dodge his blows, coming at him makes him dodge yours." That would be a tactics roll (strategy = armies, tactics = squads), against 13 if it's untrained. I assumed 1 success (the 10).

He focused inwards for a moment. Yes, his powers were ready. He only had to reach out...

...and wait for the enemy to come closer. At this distance, the best he could do was to wait - or make a four hour long ritual, for which he would need at least some wolf fur...

Ahriman unconsciously glanced at his scroll case - the one, which included a fragment of Rahmanran's Codex of Fire, a piece of an ancient parchment, that contained description of a magi, throwing pillars at distance of five miles...

...yes, the knowledge will be his. Once he finds the rest of the damn book. And this expedition could be his first step towards this secret...

Roll MA/Occultism.

Basically, you can't fire at them from this distance at this moment. Only from closer one.

And while you can start fire, can't really stop it once it starts burning on its own.

One of his companion, the oddly sad looking boy, stated something about helping to drive the canines away...strange. He did not seem of the brave type.

He just hoped, it was an elf.

The fire was one option, but it was a dangerous tool. Torches would be sufficient. And if not, Ahriman can utilize the eldritch powers he wielded... so tainted, as opposed to the pure natural magic of his kin...

The poor soul in the cage... he knew that this was usually a punishment for some crime, but the wild dogs...

Spatz has seen what the animals can do. Half-crazy from being released to nature which basically refused them, because of their upbringing by humans, the wild dogs were not as fearful as wolves were. And their teeth were not so sharp, so the wounds were horrific, when inflicted on humans.

Still, there were other possibilities - to go, let the man die a horrible death...which he maybe deserves... or help him, risking own lives. Well...

Advice - you have "tormented" as a flaw and "compassionate" as gift. The former will make you suffer if you let the guy die. The latter will increase your morale if you save him.

Thread carefully.

And I also use lot of "..."'s :smallsmile:



So, what do you do?

[Nebula]

Spatz looks startled as he realizes he can see a man surrounded by wild dogs

"There's a man in trouble! We need to help him!"

After Spatz shouts that, he starts to run to the man's rescue...

[Eplov]

"Well, there goes strategy." Jerri says, with a sigh. He addresses the others at a conversational volume, no sense in worrying about alerting the dogs at this point. "Ahriman, we no longer have time to worry about torches unless we can start them on horseback. Controlled blazes are up to you." With that he quickly rides toward Spatz's retreating back, readying his crossbow on the go.

[JNAProductions]

Ahriman shrugs, then says after his companions I'll try to slow the dogs down a little, once they're nearer. With that, he starts heading with his companions, aiming for the dogs.

10 dice, right? 5 on Cursing, 5 on Containment.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Also, words translation: Wither and rot, befuddle the mind and crack the bones.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

"Asyga damn you, Spatz, stay in formation!"

Foolish D'hoine! Their shortsighted haste threatened everything! But the time for reprimands would come later. Now it was time to act if they were to salvage this situation.

Nudging his horse into a sprint he takes off after the young hermit, drawing his blade as he gets closer to the dogs.

"Everyone, make noise, wave your arms, make yourself seem as threatening as possible. With luck they will flee over taking on a group like us!"

[Nebula]

Upon hearing Belenor's shouting, Spatz slows down the pace of his riding to match that of the rest of his team, riding alongside Belenor.

"I'm sorry, but we must help this man! If we don't make it in time..."

Spatz's sentence cuts off as he consider the possibilities, the possibility for a gruesome death of a man he could have saved. Spatz's face betrays his worried and frantic state of mind.

Spatz will ride alongside Belenor for now, but is ready to adjust his position for strategically cutting off the dogs from the figure. He wishes to save the man, as is obvious, and plans to try and heal him if he is injured by the end of this encounter, or give him a proper burial if he does not survive.

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

As they closed in, riding their horses, there was a long howl, followed by aggressive barking. The dogs noticed them, and one by one they joined their leader - a large canine, obviously a hunting dog - in barking and howling.

All seven turned their attention to the newcomers, and slowly started to ignore the cage.



You are circa at 50 yards from them when they turn around. The ground you are riding through is uneven, with tall grass, and several smaller stones (1/2 yard tall) around.

[JNAProductions]

Ac marces , sanarum animum fatisci ossa, Ahriman mutters, aiming a curse towards the canine foes.

Half dice on containment, half on cursing.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Eplov]

Jerri pulls his pony to a hault next to one of the taller stones and takes aim with his readied crossbow at the "lead" hound. "I bet they'll loose some fight if we take down their leader!" Squeaked his shrill voice. Then, in a low murmur to his mount he said "Steady Silverfoot. We'll not make a meal for these mongrels, nor will our companions."

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

"Anyone who has ranged weapons, ready them and fire on their leader! Everyone else, make noise and make yourself seem threatening in any way you can!"

Since his own Longbow is too large too be used on horseback, and he wants to be ready to protect the group should the dogs decide to attack, Belenor decides against dismounting to use it. Instead he urges his horse to rear on it's hind legs and neigh loudly in a show of dominance, while he waves his sword around and shouts at full lung capacity.

I'm assuming it's a (trick) riding test on AG to make the horse rear and neigh: [roll0] TN8 = 2 successes
I'm not sure what other rolls apply. Optimally I'd work in concert with Spatz' animal skills to scare the dogs away most efficiently.

[Nebula]

"I'm not quite sure if we can scare these beasts off, wild dogs have a vicious nature... even more vicious than a wolf's..."

Spatz starts pulling out a crudely shape metal pellet, and starts to load it into his sling...

Will Spatz be able to make another check to see if getting the leader will make them disperse?

EDIT (taking Lacco's advice): AFTER getting off of his mount.

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

The dogs ran towards them, the leader - a muscular large hunting hound, leading the pack.

As Ahriman declaimed the ancient words, the area dimmed a bit - a cloud seemed to pass over the sun - but it was gone right after he finished... at least from their vicinity. The dogs seemed a bit unsure - they slowed down their approach.

Ahriman coughed a little. He felt a lump form in his throat, as if he was made to swallow a gulp of tar. He also knew that the dogs were now marked by the eldritch forces he wielded - marked for taking.

Belenor noticed the area dimming, but he focused on roaring, swinging his weapon and staying on his horse - and it was successful! The dogs stopped - all of them - and most even started to run away. Only the leader, a thin, sickly looking dog, with large jaws, and an animal covered in scars stood, as if they were undecided...

...but they decided quite soon. Jerri fired his crossbow and the bolt hit the leader of the pack with loud "thunk" - and the leader dropped down to ground, dead immediately.

Spatz watched it with mixture of excitement and dread, as he felt the eldritch energies that built up around Ahriman. However, he was still whirling his sling - aiming at the other two dogs that didn't immediately turn around, just to be sure...

...but it seemed that he decided to run after death of his leader, with his tail between his legs...



Combat with Wild Dogs, Round 1
Hunting hound WIL roll didn't beat Ahriman's spell. Dogs are Cursed (rating 3)

Belenor's intimidate successful!

Dogs trying to resist intimidation:
Leader isn't intimidated, but stops.
One-eye is intimidated and flees.
Scars isn't intimidated, but stops.
Fat is intimidated and flees.
Hunger isn't intimidated, but stops.
Runaway is intimidated and flees.
Pups is intimidated and flees.

Jerri's shot: (6d10)[7][9][10][7][10][3](46) TN 5 (full MP: 10; -3 for range, target moving directly to shooter -1; additional die if the leader stops (=is intimidated) (1d10)[6](6) = 6 successes.
Leader's REF roll (7d10)[3][1][7][2][9][3][9](34) TN 9 = 2 successes
Hit location: (2d6)[1][4](5) = torso
Hit zone: (1d6)[2](2) = breast
Damage: 7p + 4 net successes
Resist: TO 5
Level 5 damage to breast!

Morale roll:

Scars: [roll0] TN 9
Hunger: [roll1] TN 9

Scars loses morale and flees!
Hunger loses morale and flees!

[Eplov]

While reloading his crossbow Jerri spurred his horse forward, moving toward the caged individual while keeping an eye on the fleeing hounds.
"Ahriman, are you okay?" he squeaked, his shrill voice more subdued than normal. His plan had worked beautifully and the team had functioned well together, but he never relished the death of living being. Once they were safe and the caged one was dealt with he would reflect on the day's challenge, and what lesson could be taken from it.

[JNAProductions]

So, do I (or my group) have to kill the dogs, or have I just sealed their fate? I'll operate under the assumption that it's the latter.

Fine! Ahriman hacks out, swallowing repeatedly to clear his throat. Fine, he says again. Just a small price for wielding the powers I do.

[Nebula]

Spatz walks over to the caged man, sling still spinning and ready. He had saved the figure from the wolves, but what now? He probably shouldn't free him, but he couldn't just leave him to suffer. He looks back onto the faces of his companions, and the the dead wolves, and stands by.

"Ahriman, your throat doesn't seem too good, I'll see what I can do about that later. Is everyone else okay?"

He looks back the the figure in the cage, hoping to get and answer from him as well.

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

The dogs fled - each in a separate direction, three of them towards the forest the others to north, over the plains. It seemed that this pack was done for.

As they approached the cage, they could smell the man - he must have been there for quite some time. He looked thin, as if he had not eaten for a week or more, and sickly - cracked lips, sunken cheeks were just the beginning.

He was also watching them, but seemed unable to move - and there was blood on the ground. When they moved closer, they saw a wound on his side - a wound of teeth, which tore around a half-pound of meat from his body - and few bite marks on his arms.

The whole area reeked quite horribly.

"Help... me... I don't ... wanna... die..."

His voice was weak. His breath slow and broken.



OOC

Regarding cursing: you don't have to kill them (or the party) - you just "curse" them and I'll try to make them suffer in creative ways related to the wording of your curse. Their fate is sealed, but only to the extent of the power of the curse - so a curse rating 10 means I can remove most of man's CP for a round... during a roll for knockdown to stand on a bridge.

Please, mark Fatigue and Taint somewhere on your character sheet.

And please, choose (according to your magic tradition) two times during the day when your taint goes down (each should be at least 12 hours away from each other):
Dawn/Moonrise (6/18)
Midnight/Noon (0/12)
Moonset/Sunset (8/20)
...or come with an idea of your own.

You can also use cleansing rituals for the removal of taint, but we'll discuss that other time.

Also:
The man seems to be on verge of death. While demonomania does not apply, if you were able to observe him during natural death, I would give Ahriman 1 mark for Necromancy practice.
However, this may disturb your companions.
If you ride on without seeing him die, it's not an issue for loss of morale though.



The man was dying. Spatz knew it. He has seen people dying... and he never liked it.

That means: your "Compassionate"/"Tormented" traits fire up!

[Nebula]

Spatz tries to put on the best smile he can, and adopts a lower and softer tone to his voice.

"It is alright, you are going to be fine..."

Spatz knows that there is no chance of saving the man, but if there is something he can do, it is ease his passing. He starts to look through his medicinal herbs for anything he could do to induce pain relief and/or put the man to sleep.

I believe this is going to take a Herbalist and perhaps something to deceive the man? Anyways, if he can find anything, he will offer it to the dying man.

[Eplov]

After watching the wolves break, Jerri drops down from his pony and wraps the lead on a convenient stump. "Belenor, please keep an eye on the wolves, I'm going to see if I can get that cage open." His normally shrill voice somber.

After disarming his crossbow Jerri hangs it on his saddle, and fishes his lock picks from a belt pouch. "I'll have you out of there in a jiffy, old-timer."

In a hushed whisper he adds in Spatz's ear, "Can you fix this?"

Agility/lock picking (messed up the IC one somehow, coppied from roller thread)
(7d10)[8][9][1][1][2][6][5](32) TN 6 - 3 successes
MA/first aid [roll0] TN 6 - to see if there's any way for him to help - 2 successes

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor watches the man in the cage with a neutral look. It was not one of his own kind. Moving closer he studies the prisoner's wounds. He speaks honest words, his tone blunt but not unkind.

"Your fate is sealed. Your wounds are dire and you will die. I can ease the way for you, if you so choose."

He presents his blade to the man and waits for him to make a choice.

[Nebula]

Spatz freezes as the others approach the man...

There was still a chance he could save this man, a tiny one, but a chance nevertheless. He stops looking for the herbs which could ease the wretched man's suffering, and looks up to the rest of his party. Eyes widened, he steps in between Belenor and the man.

"There is a chance, but we need to act quickly! Please, help me stop his bleeding and bandage his wounds, we can still save him!"

Spatz continues his eye contact with the rest of the group, a frantic gaze in his eyes.

So if someone assists me, they should roll first to see how many bonus die I get, and then I roll?

[Eplov]

Once the prisoner's cage is open Jerri makes ready to assist Spatz in his ministrations. "He doesn't look good, but can your magic can take over if we can get this bleeding stopped?" Again, in hushed tones.

PER/First Aid [roll0] TN 6 - 2 successes

[JNAProductions]

Ahriman observes, silently. He stays back-healing was not a forte of his.

[Nebula]

Spatz looks Jerri dead in the eye, and he shakes his head.


"I... am not too sure. But if anything, it could be what saves this man..."

Spatz then begins to direct Jerri as what to do to assist him. First Spatz begins attempting to sow shut what wounds he can, with Jerri helping to hold the wounds shut, and applying pressure at key points to try and prevent blood from oozing out of the wounds.

Spatz wipes the sweat of his brow with his sleeve, and begins applying bandages to help support his stitching. Once that was done, Spatz steps back.

"I hope we've done a good enough job with bandaging him up... but now comes the hard part..."

He closes his eyes and drops to his left knee. His fingernails dig into the soft earth beneath him, and outstretches both hands forwards toward the injured man, now both full of dirt.

"Winds of the sky, which guide the birds above, please stretch forth you hand and lift this man from his suffering..."

Sewing and bandaging the wounds (Perception+2/First Aid) [roll0] TN 5

Casting the "Mending" minor mysterious (healing wounds): 7 dice (3 from mending proficiency, 4 from power). 2 on siphoning, 5 on spellcasting.
Siphoning [roll1]
Spellcasting [roll2]
TN 8 for mending, does this also apply for the siphoning?

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Afternoon March

The wind picked up a bit, and drove the clouds across the sky.

Nearby trees rustled, their branches bent in the gusts of wind. The forest looked almost welcoming, as its leaves would hide them from the rain and maybe even the wind...

It was starting to rain again. A soft drizzle, but still, it was discomforting. And the sun was slowly moving towards horizon...soon it would touch the mountains on the horizon in its descent - and they had to break camp before that.

Belenor watched the horizon, and the forest, trying to discern possible threats - the dogs could return, or even something worse. They were losing time.

And he wanted to enter the forest and keep this cage with its filthy and smelly occupant to its destiny. It was of no use healing him when he was at the death's door...

...but he felt an unwanted sting of doubt when he saw the quick and sure movements of Spatz's hands. The clumsy d'hoine moved like a master healer, and the stitches were as good as they came...

...and then started the magic. Belenor felt the hair on his neck rising, as he felt the energies forming around Spatz. He only watched in wonder as the wound started to close and the colour started to return to man's face. He then started breathing regularly.

Belenor felt a small speck of respect towards the d'hoine. And a small speck of pride that the healer accepted his command. It felt good.

Spatz stepped out from the cage, his face pale, his eyes out of focus. Hopefully, he could still ride... they had still few miles in front of them...

Oh, and they had to waste a perfectly dead body he could have used. Unfortunate, but well, at least he saw the Mending mystery in action and could directly observe its effects. He may even learn it - it could be useful to know how to mend bodies, maybe it could be the first step towards their unlife...

He knew nothing about Spatz's tradition, but certainly, he possessed some skill.

Except for the siphoning. The young healer looked terrible when he backed off from the cage...

The man could survive this! And Jerri even saw magic!

That was... well, at fist he saw Ahriman's magic, and then Spatz's. Both were interesting, but...well, Spatz healed while Ahriman cursed. And he didn't see the effect of the curse - just the result.

Maybe next time Ahriman will conjure a daemon. Or throw a ball of fire!

Anyways, it was a tiring day and they weren't at the end of their trip it seemed. Belenor looked at the forest, as if he wanted to bring it nearer...

The man was saved. While Spatz wasn't able to fully heal him, he was able to keep him from bleeding out, and the magic ritual he used should let him heal in maybe a week...instead of month.
He yawned. His head ached, and strange grayish and black circles danced in front of his eyes when he tried to stand up. He was tired...and not only that. He definitely felt that the energies he used to patch the man up were... unnatural. Every time he healed someone, he had to pay the tax...and he paid it gladly.

Maybe tonight, instead of the usual set of nightmares, maybe tonight he could sleep well...

He looked back, at the man. His wounds were sewn up, and bandaged. He had the heartwarming feeling of a job well done, for a moment.

And then he yawned again.
You get 1 morale for saving the man and 1 for compassion trait. Spatz will sleep well tonight. Also, you lose 1 bandage kit and you get 2 points of taint.
Total taint is 2, which means you get -2 power points and -1 SOC due to the not-so-pleasant aura Spatz is radiating.

You still have around 3 hours of riding in front of you until the evening break.
Or you can make a camp here.
The man'll be barely able to sit, but will survive movement on horse/pony.

[Battlemage]

Belenor Frostcut

Belenor sheats his blade again, his stony face not betraying the sliver of doubt in his mind. "Well done, Spatz. You saved the wretch." His tone is somewhat condescending as usual, but his heart doesn't seem to be in it this time.

Studying the injured man, he adds: "Leaving him here will waste your efforts, so we will have to take him with us." He doesn't sound too pleased at the idea.

"We will bring him to the fishing village along our way, where he will not be our problem anymore. We should ride on for a while. Camping so close to where the pack fled is dangerous. They could return and there is no gain in fighting them again. Let us save our strength for more important foes."

[JNAProductions]

Spatz, Ahriman says. I can teach you to contain the magic better, for the future.

[Nebula]

Spatz blinks his eyes open and smiles at Ahriman.

"I think I'll have to take you up on your offer."

Looking to Belenor, Ahriman, and Jerri, he gives a little bow of the head.

"Thank you..."

He then goes to assist his patient up, and help him walk to a mount.

Well, I did not think this far ahead, and I don't think Spatz has either. Would Spatz's pony be able to take the weight of two men?

[Eplov]

Jerri took mental notes as the he watched the magic take shape near him. Coming from a magically stunted people he knew he could never perform the same miracles he saw before him, but that wouldn't reduce the pleasure he felt in unraveling this latest mystery. Noting that the bleeding hadn't quite stopped entirely he pointed it out to Spatz and said, "Can you stop up that last bit and help me put together a sled? I don't mind walking, but I doubt this man is up to riding unsupported and it seems as though Belenor cannot wait to be within those trees. Oh, what's your name, by the way?" This directed toward their freed prisoner, then he returned to the task at hand. "We'll just need a few minutes, this should be simple enough. If anyone would like to help here's what we'll need..." He listed off a few items and began walking in an expanding circle, hunting for the materials he'd need for his sled.


Sled creation (helping?) rolls (Spatz has much better Survival than Jerri, but if he's too tired from the magic then just assume Jerri has done it himself)
Craft (bowyer) is the closest I've got, so probably raising the TN by one (7+1=8)
WIT/Craft (bowyer) [roll0] TN 8 - 3 successes if TN is accurate, 2 successes if Survival +1 was used instead. Bowyer is arguably directly applicable though, since he just needs two long strong branches. Without TN penalty 5 successes...

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Dusk

Thanks to the help from Belenor and Jerri, Spatz was able to put together a rough sled for his pony and load the man into it.

However, thanks to the sled, they continued slower. They reached the forest in the following hour. The clouds cleared up a bit, offering even some sunshine, further improving the overall feeling from travelling.

They approached the forest. It seemed to match its name. It offered shade, indeed, and there were lots of trees, but it also contained pleasant small meadows, and was bustling with wildlife.

A squirrel ran throug their path, and jumped on the tree, from which it looked on the four adventurers - and their unconscious companion.

The sun shone through the treetops, its warm streams crossing their path. After two further hours, they ventured few miles into the forest, and found a small clearing, with a spring. When they looked up, they saw the mountaintop in the distance, and sun slowly setting down.

They had still some time before the sunset...

The fourth member, the weak d'hoine, did nothing to assist - maybe he just disliked to have his hands dirty, or didn't want to help his own kind.

It felt strange, to help save a human. It seemed so weak, lying on the sled.

And they weren't so tired. Belenor felt his heart stil pulsing, the trees and warm sun offering possibility to venture even deeper into the forest. Up until now they saw no larger animals, footprints of anything except small animals, and nothing seemed to indicate presence of the "dark things" the backward d'hoine ... peasants... in the village mentioned.

You have least one hour until dark. You can push on.
Actually, due to "relentless", failing to push on will cost morale if you fail WIL/TN7 roll. If you succeed, the TN will go up by 1 for the next time...


The sled wasn't their greatest work, but it sufficed. The man was dirty, smelled, but would maybe survive. If they found the fishing village that someone mentioned.

When they entered the clearing, he immediately thought about painting it. It wasn't the nicest vista, but you could just see a majestic horde... group?... well, maybe at least one deer that would pasture there...

He yawned. It was evening. He wasn't so tired, but he was curious of what wonders were hidden in the mountains... or deeper in the forest.

Let's say his curious nature wants him to continue deeper...or at least go scouting a bit.
If you decide to stay, be responsible, and not even venture on a bit, you may lose morale. To avoid losing it, roll WIL/TN 7. Failure means you are disgruntled and lose 1 morale. Success means you are fine with staying, but TN will go up by 1 for next time...


The sled worked. Watching them was entertaining a bit - if he turned to telekinesis during his studies, he could have had the man levitate behind them... such was the power of magic...

...but his studies were of more... interesting nature.

Ahriman smiled. Maybe he would still get to watch the man die, to see his soul depart... and learn something. There was time.

The clearing offered water and he yearned for rest. He wasn't exhausted, but definitely needed to sleep if they wanted him to be able to assist with anything next day...

The feeling of being useful and helping the poor man made Spatz smile on the inside. The feeling of being responsible for someone's wellbeing and healing was what kept the horrors inside his mind at bay.

The weather was pleasant, the travel likewise. He kept checking on the man behind him, and noticed some colour returned into his face. But he was still unconscious - or sleeping.

That was a good sign.

On the other hand, the forest was a pleasant change. The sunset was wonderful, but he knew that after sunset there comes the night...

...and that meant, making a camp. This night, maybe he could get some good sleep.

You gain 1 morale for saving the man and helping him. If he survives the trip, your "Tormented" flaw will not be used for next 72 hours...

[Eplov]

Jerri, a bit tired but unwilling to let his curiosity go un-sated, announces to the others, "I'm going to check the perimeter. Keep our new guest safe, and if I see any game maybe I'll bring you back something tasty!" Then, before anyone can object, Jerri pulls his modified crossbow from his shoulder and darts into the trees to see what wonders this shady forest might hold!


Sneaking and using survival to get an idea of what might live nearby without disturbing it. If he finds any likely spots he will set a simple snare trap in hopes of a yummy breakfast!
Sneak: [roll0] TN 6 = 5 successes
Survival: [roll1] TN 8 = 3 successes
Traps: [roll2] TN 6 = 1 success (wrong kind of traps..)

Jerri's unskilled hunting check:

PER/Hunting (5d10)[6][3][3][3][6](21) TN: 10
(3d10)[7][10][7](24) TN: 10 = 1 success!

PER/Survival (5d10)[6][7][8][7][6](34) TN: 7 = 3 successes for gathering since hunting hasn't panned out.

[Eplov]

Crossbow at the ready, Jerri followed what he hoped was a deer trail toward some sleeping dinner-to-be. Thankful for his gnomish eyes, he spotted something large and furry about fifty yards away, and took aim. Hoping for a closer shot, Jerri keeps his crossbow pointed at the animal and slowly stepped closer...

Before he could get the closer shot he hoped for the animal got a whiff of Jerri's scent and spooked! As it moved Jerri's finger reflexively pulled on the release, throwing a bolt forward at several hundred feet per second!


1 success on my hunting let me get into long range (between 50 and 30 yards). Long range is -3 dice, lateral movement (I'm guessing?) is -2 dice. Aim + Prof = 6+4 = 10 dice. MP - penalties = 5 dice.

Attack! [roll0] TN: 5 - 3 Successes!

On the off chance whatever I'm shooting at doesn't know how to dodge crossbow bolts...
DR = 3+7-Toughness

Frontal/Side Attack (result is the same):

Location: (2d6)[1][2](3) : Zone X from OBAM zone X (ignoring 2nd die, didn't realize it was just 1d6 for zone selection on thrusting attacks against large quadrupeds)
Specific Hit Location: (1d6)[3](3) Lower Leg/"Shin"

Assuming it is a Stag, level 6 wound to shin:

BL: 4, S: 7, P: 8-WP (3) = 5

"Bone damaged in addition to lvl. 4. Knockdown at -5 or instant knockdown if fewer than 4 legs."

[Eplov]

With a panicked grunt the stag juked wildly to avoid the crossbow. Just failing to get out of the way, the bolt hits a front lower-leg, passing through and hindering movement. As the bolt buries itself in the tree behind the stag attempts to keep from collapsing as one leg is rendered useless.

The stag, stunned but still up, wobbles for a moment as Jerri's modified crossbow reloads. Just as the shot is loosed the stag begins to move, trailing blood but hardly slowing down. The bolt sinks into a rear thigh, staggering the beast once again! Still on its feet, the stag stalls as the shock from the second impact hits it. Down to two good legs now, the stag limps away at a pace Jerri can match, and even overcome!

A chase ensued, with Jerri's tiny legs vs. the stag's lamed ones. Long exhausting seconds of running, slipping, and tripping ensued, but finally Jerri got close enough to attack! Seeking to end this and stop the stag's suffering, Jerri lunges forward with the improvised spear as the stag turns and tries to gore him- but Jerri's blow lands first! Stabbing straight into the stag's heart, the creature collapses in a heap, dead instantly.

With the stag dead Jerri takes a seat on a nearby fallen tree to catch his breath and admire the efficiency of the spear. While fond of his epee, the spear certainly had promise but they were impractically long. What if... Jerri sat and caught his breath as plans of folding or telescoping spears danced through his head.

After catching his breath Jerri puts the stag, and his "spear", on an improvised sled to drag back to camp. Curiosity momentarily sated, Jerri's mind spun with designs that his fingers itched to put together.

In retrospect, maybe navigating while lost in thought is a poor life plan. The return trip took far longer than the way out.

Finally coming into the warm glow of the campfire, arms, shoulders, and back all aching, Jerri let go of his burden with a grateful sigh. After taking a seat beside the others he asked, "So, what did I miss?"


Round 1 Exchange 1:
Stag Rolls:

Knockdown: 6, KD @ - 4 due to wound location. (2d10)[5][5](10) TN: 2 (margin of success * 2=2)
Shock: 5 (All CP already spent this round, applied to next round)
Pain: 6-3=3; CP reduced by 3 on following rounds.

R1E2: Both combatants out of dice

Round 2:

Jerri White (auto-reload for 1 round, aims during cycle)
Stag none (0 CP this round)

Blood Loss: 3
Endurance vs. BL: (9d10)[2][5][1][9][6][3][8][1][2](37) TN: 3

R3E1:
Jerri: Red! (Fires with MP=10)
Stag: White (CP=5) Runs away (Move = 3/4 due to damaged leg?)

Stag END vs BL: (9d10)[3][5][6][5][8][7][7][2][6](49) TN: 3

Jerri Attack:

MP=10, -3 for long range, -2 for moving laterally

(5d10)[4][1][9][3][7](24) TN: 5 (2 successes)

Stag Dodge: (5d10)[7][2][5][10][5](29) TN: 7 (1 Success, dodge is from reflex-3, not CP-3.)

Hit! Crossbow DR= 7+1-5=lvl 3 wound.

Hit Location: (1d6)[2](2); (1d6)[3](3)

Zone VIII, Location: Upper Leg/"Thigh"
BL: 2; S: 5; P: 5-3=2
"Serious flesh wound, including torn tendons; roll knockdown."
Knockdown: (6d10)[8][6][1][5][2][2](24) TN:2 (lots of successes)

R3E2:
Jerri slings his crossbow and scoops up a long branch, jagged on one end!
Stag: (CP: 3-5) stunned and unable to move!

R4E1:

Jerri: Moves in!
CP: 2+7=9, moves at a hurried pace giving all dice for terrain roll.
Stag:END vs. BL: [9d10] TN: 4
CP-pain-residual stun: 8-5-2=1, attempts to flee at top speed.





Round
Character
For
Roll
TN
Result
Gap


4
Jerri
Terrain
(9d10)[2][3][5][6][5][10][1][7][9](48)
6
3 successes



4
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[7][4][5][5][2][5][10][6][9](53)
4
lots



4
Stag
Terrain
(1d10)[4](4)
8
fail, half speed









31


5
Jerri
Terrain
(9d10)[5][4][2][2][9][5][10][7][2](46)
6
3 successes



5
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[7][8][6][8][10][1][4][5][10](59)
4
lots



5
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[5][1][8](14)
8
1 success









30


6
Jerri
Terrain
(9d10)[1][5][3][6][6][7][6][2][6](42)
6
5 successes



6
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[9][7][9][10][8][8][5][7][4](67)
4
lots



6
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[6][4][1](11)
8
fail, half speed









26


7
Jerri
Terrain
(9d10)[2][2][1][2][5][6][2][9][6](35)
6
3 successes



7
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[10][10][1][2][6][7][9][1][8](54)
4
lots



7
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[5][9][5](19)
8
1 success









25


8
Jerri
Terrain
(9d10)[3][9][2][1][3][9][5][9][2](43)
6
3 successes



8
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[6][1][4][7][3][8][2][4][7](42)
4
lots



8
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[8][3][7](18)
8
1 success









24






Round
Character
For
Roll
TN
Result
Gap


9
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[6][7][7][6][6][2][6][8](48)
6
7



9
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[10][10][9][9][5][6][6][10][1](66)
4
lots



9
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[7][10][10](27)
8
3









23


10
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[7][6][2][1][4][6][4][3](33)
6
3



10
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[6][3][7][2][10][4][7][5][6](50)
4
lots



10
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[2][3][5](10)
8
0, half speed









19


11
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[2][1][4][6][6][9][6][7](41)
6
5



11
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[6][5][7][2][1][8][2][5][3](39)
4
lots



11
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[6][7][9](22)
8
1









18


12
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[9][4][10][8][8][7][3][3](52)
6
5



12
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[9][6][7][10][6][1][5][2][10](56)
4
lots



12
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[10][9][5](24)
8
2









17


13
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[5][5][6][6][2][8][10][5](47)
6
4



13
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[4][7][4][2][10][4][10][7][10](58)
4
lots



13
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[2][9][8](19)
8
2









16






Round
Character
For
Roll
TN
Result
Gap


14
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[8][6][7][3][6][2][5][5](42)
6
4



14
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[1][3][10][6][8][6][1][10][4](49)
4
lots



14
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[1][4][7](12)
8
0









12


15
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[7][8][8][7][1][7][3][10](51)
6
6



15
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[9][2][8][6][8][5][9][4][6](57)
4
lots



15
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[4][8][7](19)
8
1









11


16
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[6][8][3][3][3][3][2][6](34)
6
3



16
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[4][6][2][10][3][10][7][4][7](53)
4
lots



16
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[10][4][6](20)
8
1









10


17
Jerri
Terrain
(7d10)[1][1][1][8][6][10][1](28)
6
3



17
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[1][3][9][8][9][7][10][2][9](58)
4
lots



17
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[3][3][4](10)
8
0









6


18
Jerri
Terrain
(7d10)[7][9][6][7][2][5][3](39)
6
4



18
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[6][2][2][9][7][3][10][8][10](57)
4
lots



18
Stag
Terrain
(3d10)[5][7][1](13)
8
0









2






Round
Character
For
Roll
TN
Result
Gap


19
Jerri
Terrain
(8d10)[6][10][10][4][8][6][3][9](56)
6
5



19
Stag
END vs BL
(9d10)[5][6][2][8][2][1][4][8][3](39)
4
lots



19
Stag
Terrain
(2d10)[8][10](18)
8
1









1



Finally in Melee!
R20E1:

Jerri: Red!
Stag: Red!

Jerri: CP = 7 + aggressive charge = 11
Stag: CP = 2 - reach difference + agressive = 1

Improvised Spear Attack, thrust at zone X!
(11d10)[2][1][8][6][8][7][4][10][4][7][4](61) TN: 6 (6 successes!)
location: (1d6)[1] (Breast/Upper Ribcage)

Stag attack! (1d10)[7](7) TN: 7

If hit, reflex to see who lands first!

Jerri: REF (7d10)[5][2][7][9][10][3][2](38) TN: 6 (3 successes)
Stag: REF (2d10)[7][4](11) TN: 7 (1 success)

Jerri's blow lands first!

Damage = STR + Success - Toughness +0 (not a great spear) piercing = level 5 wound.
"Heart is pierced, animal dies instantly."

[Nebula]

Spatz decided to make himself useful, and began glancing at the surrounding forest...

"I'll see if I can find anything useful nearby... Ill make sure not to stray to far."

Careful not to stray behind sight of the camp, Spatz begins to scrounge for nearby mushrooms, berries, roots, herbs; anything edible or medicinal.



Herbalist 6 4d10
Scrounging 7 4d10

[Lacco]

Spatz

The forest was indeed generous place to forage - within first hour, Spatz found enough arrowroots, blackberries and small mushrooms to provide nourishment for at least himself - or tasty snack for each of them after they finish their rations. He also found few abandoned meadowlark nests - with pair of eggs in each.

He also ventured a bit more uphill, just to be sure - and he found some bitterleaf flowers, fennel root and angelica - enough for three doses of cough medicine - as well as few dozen broadleafs, which will make great wound-healing poultices...

On his way he thought about the wounded man... and as he approached the rock overhang where Belenor and Ahriman made camp, darkness was approaching quickly. He quickly refilled his waterskin in nearby spring, he looked towards the sky - it seemed that weather was getting better, but it may rain later.

Luckily, the overhang should provide some protection against wind and rain...

...he saw Ahriman and Belenor sitting beside warm campfire, deep in conversation. The wounded man lied on the sled, close to the fire to keep him warm, and Ahriman seemed to take care of him.

Jerri was nowhere to be seen...

"Good that you are here," stated Belenor. "Ahriman here has some news. The man - he is Ahriman's... how did you say it?"

"Colleague. He is also practitioner of fine arts of magic. And as a member of my previous order, he thus requires better care - and I am obliged to provide it. I will therefore leave tomorrow, with Belenor as my guard, back to civilization. As soon as I reach place where I feel sufficiently safe, I will send Belenor back, to find you. You will have to continue with Jerri in the quest we were given. Do you agree...?"

Rolled in rolling thread:
Herbalist 6 (4d10)[10][7][3][2](22)
Survival 6 (4d10)[1][8][4][1](14)

Survival means scrounging for food. Scrounging skill is used for finding/creating rough tools, clothes, etc.

Also, please, don't try to persuade Ahriman :smallsmile:

You still have 4 hours until midnight - until Jerri arrives - Belenor will guard this night, so you can get a good night's sleep. If you want to do something until then, feel free to do so :smallsmile:.



Jerri

As he approached the fire, he saw that he woke Ahriman from sleep. His eyes focused for a moment and then he dozed off again.

Belenor, on the other hand, was awake and when he saw Jerri's prey, his eyes flashed with... respect? Maybe. He stood up, moving silent to avoid further disturbing the slumber of other party members and moved towards Jerri, helping him drag the stag, and then quickly starting to cut it open.

In the meantime he whispered.

"I have news. Ahriman recognized the man when he washed his face - and wants to take him to safety. It is his old colleague. He requested I accompany him as bodyguard until he feels safe back at civilization - after that I will try to rejoin you. Do you agree to continue and fulfill the task we were given...?"

His dagger moves fast - he has done this before - and his voice is calm as he says: "Go to bed, little hunter. I need not sleep tonight. Good night."

[Eplov]

"A colleague you say?" Jerri's incessant curiosity began to rear up, but his exhaustion dampened it to merely normal levels. After yawning loudly Jerri nodded at Belenor and began to unfurl his sleeping gear, peppering the elf with questions as he worked. "A colleague from where? Did he wake up? How'd he get in the cage?" Jerri's questions halted abruptly as Belenor thrust rations into his hands and his long denied stomach made its complaints known. As soon as his stomach was full and he laid down sleep overtook him immediately.

[Eplov]

Sleeping in a bit past dawn, Jerri woke snuggled in his warm bedding near the smouldering fire with a terrific (for him) yawn, sitting up and stretching to the extent of his miniature limbs. His muscles recovered from the previous night's ordeal, he took a moment to notice his surroundings. The others were already in full swing, getting ready to bring their charge back to the safety of civilization, but were thankfully quiet first thing in the morning.

Between mouthfulls of a pleasant variety of roast wolf, venisen, roots, and berries, Jerri addressed his companions. "Good morning all! How is our patient today?"

With morning necessities out of the way, Jerri first took a moment to examine the man they had rescued, then looked over his supplies and the remains of the wolf and stag and began to decide what to make of them.

"Spatz and I will remain here, so if you see the second half of our expedition you'll know where to point them."

His mind began whirring, plans upon plans snapping through his head like pages in a book, or pieces in a child's puzzle.


Will be making the appropriate rolls in the roller thread and pasting them in here as I am currently out of time to post...

[Lacco]

21st Dawnstar Morning



The Camp in Shadetree Forest

It was still a bit dark when Jerri and Spatz woke up. The sun shone, but only few solitary rays pierced the thick leaves of the Shadetree forest.

Belenor and Ahriman were already prepared - their backpacks packed up, the poor man lying on the sled.

Ahriman paid Jerri a long look before answering. "The patient is still unconscious. I fear that if we don't get him into safety, he will die.".

Belenor nodded as he mounted his horse. The second part of the expedition should be already on their way - and they left most of the food to the camping party. It was time to ride on.

As they left, it felt a bit lonely in the camp. But Jerri was busy with his thoughts and Spatz had all the morning chores to do.

Their horses were bound to a nearby tree, and seemed to enjoy their breakfast of grass and leaves.

Morning break! Please mark current fatigue into the charsheets and tell me your plans for next 4 hours. Pick an activity. I will assume you are staying in or near the camp.




Near Shadetree Forest

The sun slowly glided over the hills, and as it came into view, it provided them with the spectacle of turning the Tallgrass plain into one solid gold lake...

...the spectacle ended after few minutes, as they picked up their backpacks and saddled their horses. They had to catch up the other part of the expedition and only had so much time to do so...

...especially since they learned about the other "adventurers" who passed village few days ago.

No need to reply - but this is what you are actually doing :smallsmile:

[Eplov]

With his allies diminished, Jerri knew he would feel more comfortable with some sort of periphery alarm, and began to set up a simple trip wire. With that sorted his mind and fingers shifted back into that creative space that left him aware yet slightly separate from the world around him. As he worked, he chatted with Spatz, swapping stories of home and taking a mental catalogue of the various differences in their cultures.

When the sun peaked through the trees overhead Jerri set down his current project and stretched, his stomach gently reminding him that is was lunch time. Time for a break.

After a simple but filling meal spent in Spatz' company, Jerri sat on a convenient log and began to sketch the clearing. The spot was both peaceful and homey, but he knew in the back of his mind that there was more to explore. Maybe not today, but soon...

After a lazy hour in the dappled sunlight Jerri's muscles finally unknotted, and he looked at his half-finished sketch. With a shrug he mentally promised to finish it that night (probably while Spatz slept, silly night-blind human that he is), and packed away his simple art supplies. Jerri looked at the coiled up thread he'd made from the animals and, with a slight grimace, looked to Spatz. "I think these have seen their day. Think we can use them as bait for something?"

Spatz agreed to try, and began showing Jerri the basics of trapping in the wild. Jerri tried to draw similarities between trapping and the traps he sometimes found his way past in pursuit of, well, whatever was blocked by the trap, but the two didn't seem to be connected. Trapping animals was all about drawing them in, while setting traps for people was generally to keep them away.

With the traps set, Jerri remembered getting lost on the way back to camp the night before, and asked Spatz for a quick lesson in Orienteering. Spatz, ever helpful, agreed and spent the remaining hours before dinner on the task. Stopping to eat, the pair chatted and ate peacefully. Jerri again pulled out his sketching supplies and assumed his same position on the log. After an hour of sketching it still wasn't quite done, but the second half of the expedition still hadn't arrived and Jerri was beginning to get concerned. Even if they were fine, the two of them had a whole evening to keep watch and try to get some sleep as well.

He desperately wanted to go look for them, but that honestly made no sense. After checking on the skins soaking in the nearby stream he settled down to get some sleep. The sun was just beginning to set, but if neither of them went to bed soon one or both of them would just end up going without sleep. Plus, Jerri's eyes were much better in the dark than Spatz', so taking the darker shift made more sense. With his rapier and crossbow near at hand, he closed his eyes and gradually drifted off to sleep.


Simple noise trap using 10m of rope and bones:
Traps/WIT (7d10)[2][3][3][2][9][3][9](31) TN: 6 = 2 successes

Reset crossbow:
Craft(bowyer)/AGI(7d10)[7][4][5][6][10][1][10](43) TN: 7 = 3 successes

Creating thread from the animals:
craft (leatherworking)/AGI (7d10)[3][7][4][7][3][10][10](44) TN: 6 = 4 successes
craft (leatherworking)/AGI (7d10)[1][3][9][9][10][8][3](43) TN: 6 = 4 successes
4 meters made.

Artistry Roll for sketching during the hour break:
PER/Artistry (5d10)[7][4][3][8][2](24) TN: 6 = 2 successes, half done.

Jerri hour rest break, EN to remove fatigue:
(4d10)[3][10][2][4](19) TN: 6 = 1 success, no more fatigue!

Spatz Trapping:
WIT/Trapping (5d10)[7][8][10][6][10](41) TN: 7


Jerri helping:
WIT/Trapping (7d10)[6][10][3][3][10][10][3](45) TN: 10

Spatz extra dice from Jerri's impressive beginner's luck:
(3d10)[5][10][9](24)

=6 successes on Trapping... holy cow.

2nd hour of sketching and EN roll:


PER/Artistry (5d10)[8][5][2][2][3](20) TN: 6 = 1 success... not done yet, drat!


EN (4d10)[7][4][8][3](22) TN: 6 = 2 successes, no fatigue.

To know about Akisha's checkered past:
MA/Folk Lore (6d10)[9][7][3][8][4][5](36) TN: 6 = 3 successes


MA (6d10)[4][2][7][10][1][3](27) TN: 5 = 2 successes

[Lacco]

22nd Dawnstar Evening

Camp in the Shadetree Forest

Jerri's eyes slowly closed as he enjoyed the thick bedroll which he put on patch of soft grass. The soft breeze was pleasant, and he could even see few pink and red clouds chasing through the sky above. The sunset would have been something to enjoy, had he seen it.

The leaves on trees moved slightly, and their rhytm slowly put Jerri to sleep. The forest seemed to whisper to him pleasantly, the spot he picked was comfortable and Spatz was guarding. He closed his eyes.

And then, something woke him up. He sensed something - was it a sound? Movement? He looked at Spatz, who sat calmly by the fire, still roasting last pieces of venison.

Jerri glanced towards the forest. There was something moving, in the shadows of the forest. A sinister figure...

...but also familiar figure.



In Shadetree Forest

Akisha led her horse by the reins. The forest was starting to get darker as she progressed, trying to find the camp according to the description Ahriman provided. And she knew what darkness meant - cold. And that would slow her down even more...

Finally, she smelled something roasting in the distance. Heard crackling of fire, and smelled... roasted meat. Juicy roasted meat.

There was a meadow nearby, with stone overhang. She noticed a campfire, and a man sitting nearby. And another movement - two ponies. And - lying on the ground, she saw a gnome. It seemed to her that she finally found it - and in time, the sky started turning dark violet - and soon, darkness would descend...

Welcome to the Expedition!

[Eplov]

Jerri, gone from pleasant dreams of exploring mysterious ruins to wakefulness in a few seconds, sprang up from his bedding. With a big smile on his face he welcomed the newcomer, excitement making his voice go shrill. "Welcome, Akisha! Oh, and watch your step, you're about to walk into the noise alarm I rigged up." Walking as far forward as the soft grass' edge, as he had not yet donned his boots, he held out both hands to take her much larger scaly one. "Come, warm yourself by the fire. Oh! Did you see anything interesting on the way?" Then, taking a look around he added, "Weren't there more coming?"

[CaptainCharisma]

She stayed just at the edge of shadow and light, surveying the small camp from a vantage point that could only be described as the epitome of gloominess. Narrow yellow set deep back in a bony brow lingered on each element with an air of apathy, the inexpressive reptilian face passing no visible judgement. Akisha tugged the reins of her horse slightly, urging it another step forward to stand more even with her, while the other hand drew her cloak more tightly around her for reasons more than just the cold.

Had it been up to her, the lizardfolk would have simply strode quietly into camp without alerting either of the two of her presence. But, alas, the world was an unfair place. The thumping of Hus'sars hooves must have disturbed the gnome, for in the time it would have taken Akisha to simply transition into a standing position, Jerri was up, dancing over to her, offering to escort her into camp and talking at a speed that she considered... unnatural. For a moment, Akisha merely gazed down upon Jerri, equal parts confused and repulsed by his manner; she had not yet become used to being in the presence of others, and the personal interaction made her want to retreat back into the darkness that she emerged from. Instead, the scaly female steeled herself as one would before a battle, for to her this was indeed a battle, if of a different sort. "Akisha thanks Jerri," she said in broken Imperial, with only the slightest hint of a throaty accent from her native tongue. Allowing herself to be taken by the hand, Akisha shook her head, than glanced behind her out into the night. "Others delayed. Akisha keep moving; Akisha meet by night, or cold slow Akisha until sunrise."

Akisha is officially purple text! cc00aa if you need to use it. Also, if Akisha speaks in italics than she is speaking in Lizardfolk.
Roughly what time is it in the evening?

[Eplov]

During the commotion Spatz, who was supposed to be keeping watch, became aware of the newest arrivals. After a shy greeting, he offered to lead away Aksha's horse to settle with the others as Jerri seemed to have the lizard-woman's attention. This suited Spatz just fine.

Jerri remembered now how he found Akisha's peculiar habit of speaking about herself in the third person fascinating, and he led her by the hand to the campfire. "Oh yes, I know you get cold. I've not yet finished it, but I'm working on something to help with that. Are you hungry? We have some roast venison left, maybe some roast wild dog, and some roots and things Spatz picked up since we arrived." Sitting down near her, Jerri continued to watch her intently, watching her face as emotions slid across it without touching its scaly surface. "Oh! Did you have any adventures on the way? See anything interesting?" The last word was said with a near reverence, as if he were going more than slightly stir crazy waiting for the others to arrive.


Welcome to the party! I think it is no more than a few hours past sundown, but I'm not totally sure what time that actually makes it.

Jerri is trying to read your body language, a skill he doesn't posses, so I'm fully prepared for a botched roll. :P

Body Language/Per [roll0] TN: 10

Since there's just the two of us for the moment I don't think we need to make a chit-chat side thread, but as there are more people and the game progresses Lacco will probably do so.

Also, is Akisha the pseudonym or your original name? I want to see if I know anything about your jaded past. :D

[CaptainCharisma]

Akisha offered only a slight head nod toward Spatz; if nothing was said, nothing needed to be said in return. She offered Hus'sars reins to Spatz, who lead the mellow mare to join the other mounts. Her attention returned to Jerri, who's attention hadn't seemed to leave her for a split second. The gnome prattled on, seeming to say whatever came to mind. It wasn't all uninteresting. Indeed, hot food sounded very nice, but not as nice as a moments rest. Bowing her head and staying silent, the witch allowed herself to be led toward the dancing flames, where she seated herself cross legged only a foot or two away from the warmth. The heat seemed to relax Akisha, the multitude of thin, tiny scales around her eyes and face relaxing imperceptively and her posture becoming slightly less rigid, more hunched in the upper back. Her tail flexed, the large appendage making a partial perimeter around the fire, its broad surface drinking in more warmth.

Having somewhat settled in, turned toward the gnome only to find him staring rather intently at her. His own expression was a mystery to Akisha; other humanoids lacked important features such as tails to help her determine their moods, although Akisha was confident that she was likely just as much a mystery to him. No words passed between them for several awkward seconds, and the only sound was the slight rustle of wind among branches and the popping of hot sap within the logs. "Day was long. Akisha appreciates food offer," she says quite suddenly, purposefully not answering Jerris final question. Nothing had happened, but even the smallest of information was not to be given lightly, or for free. Food was an excellent payment.

See OOC thread for the bit about knowing her past. As far as body language goes, I think that's a success on your roll, so she'd seem obviously more comfortable by the fire, but still somewhat guarded by the fact that she placed her tail to the side you were closest to, forcing you to either go to the other side or sit further away from her. Her face is distinctly unexpressive, but depending on Jerris experience with lizardfolk, I'm unsure if he knows that's just a general thing with reptiles.

[Lacco]

22nd Dawnstar Evening

It was a long day - and the sky was slowly turning violet, bringing in cold breeze, that made the leaves dance on the trees, and flames dance in the growing darkness.

The sun slowly finished its route over the sky. Spatz did not join them by the fire - he greeted Akisha, but seemed to be lost in his own mind, as he sat on the boulder nearby, ready for his first watch.

The venison was pleasant, warm and filling. But the cold night slowly crept into the camp, and soon they saw only the trees surrounding the meadow, lit by the campfire light.


When Jerri looked around and focused, he could see some small shadows move in the forest. The forest was alive, but it was not the pleasant "alive" of the day, but the sinister feeling that they are being watched.

But he quickly shook down the feeling. It was just another night in the forest. He focused back on Akisha. She was the most interesting thing that happened today - Spatz is a nice guy, but not really mysterious. Even his backpack was very utilitarian, even though the needles were useful.

It was getting really dark. Jerri peeked up, but saw no stars through the trees. Pity. Maybe next day... Jerri yawned. It was getting also a bit late...


No morale changes.
Watch your EN - if you stay awake for too long, it will take its toll.


Darkness descended quickly now - before she finished the venison, the campfire was the only light source and the rest of the meadow drowned in darkness. She could see movement behind the trees, but could not be sure whether it was just few branches, or something worse.

The way the halfling watched her was also a bit discomforting - while she could understand the looks of reverence and questioning, he seemed to try to read her - not her mind, just her face.

On the other hand, the campfire was warm, and pleasant. And it seemed that Spatz was watching the camp...

...maybe it was time to rest a little?


I'll never give you exact time :smallsmile:. That's part of the game. Roughly? It's dusk - however, as Akisha finishes her venison, it is practically night.

Also: Jerri has no known experience with lizard-like races.

So, any plans for the night I should be aware of?

[Eplov]

As interesting as Akisha was (and the fact that she hid her emotions made her even more interesting) Jerri could no longer stay awake. "Well, you can tell me all about your adventure in the morning. I'm headed to bed." He spoke, punctuating each sentence with squeaky yawns. "Spatz, keep a sharp eye. Something seems a bit off tonight, and make sure you wake me before you get too tired." Jerri settled into his bedding and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds in the darkness. Darkness didn't bother him in the least, but those sounds seemed... off. Still, maybe tomorrow would offer an opportunity for new things to come, and a peak at what a lizardwoman shaman keeps in her bags...

[CaptainCharisma]

Akisha finished her meal in silence, offering little more than a slight nod to acknowledge that Jerri had even said anything at all. She brought the back of her hand up to wipe away a small dribble of meat juices that had made a trail down her chin, eyes gazing into the flames the entire time. The lizardwomans chest expanded slowly as she took in a deep, steady breath, taking pleasure in the scents of burning wood and hissing sap before both her exhale and the scent disappeared into the gloomy darkness. Akisha sat like this for several moments, unmoving and seemingly captivated by the flames licking the burning embers. Without a word, she rose, brushing herself off of dirt and bits of forest ground cover, then made her way silently over to Hus'sar. It took a moment of unpacking, but her fingertips finally gripped the edge of a rolled up blanket and supremely thin stuffed mat. Bringing both of these things with her, Akisha rolled the pine needle filled mat out about six feet from the fire; enough to still feel the heat, but hopefully far enough away that no stray ember would light her bedding aflame. With a quick reach over her head, she stretched, than settled down, covering herself loosely and closing her eyes. Hopefully, Spatz was a competent lookout...

[Lacco]

22nd Dawnstar Night


Camp in the Shadetree Forest

Jerri woke up from his dream about the depths of his previous home. For a moment, he felt disoriented, the world felt disjointed, as his mind returned from the dreamlands. He thought he heard a horse whinny, in distance, but that could have been only the strong wind that seemed to be picking up. Then, his vision caught a warm red source of light, and he remembered that he was camping with Spatz and Akisha, in the Shadetree forest. He felt something was amiss - or was it just the wind?

He felt there was something strange going on around, but couldn't lay his finger on what it was. His gnomish eyes started piercing the veil of darkness, and he saw that their campfire was slowly dying. Near it lay a stack of twigs and branches, collected by them, and three large logs - enough for the night, at least from what Spatz said. He quickly started to add twigs to the fire, and soon the campfire again crackled happily, providing enough light and warmth...

Jerri glanced around and found out the source of his irritation. Spatz - and his pony - were gone. He turned to the other side, but Akisha was there, sleeping. Not peacefully, but... sleeping.


Somewhere Else

The door was enormous, and covered in runes - runes she did not recognize, even though she was proud of her ability to decipher most of the ancient and dead languages. She stood in front of it, clad in crimson and black robes, wielding a crooked staff, and silvery scrollcase. The wind picked up the tip of her cloak, and when she moved her hand to contain its wild movement, she felt the crackling of power on the tips of her fingers, and the familiar metallic taste in the mouth.

There was power at this place.

She felt elation, but at the same time, she felt as if she was going to get caught. She felt that she was observed, but when she looked around, she saw no one. She was alone.

There was a small crack on the door. There was still time.

[Eplov]

Mumbling to himself, Jerri took a moment to try and figure out the time of night, and how many hours he'd been asleep. He had two options: wake Akisha and try to figure out what happened to Spatz now, or let her sleep for the moment and do so in the morning. While they hadn't exactly shared their life stories with each other (at least, Spatz hadn't), Jerri thought that the two of them had been getting along just fine.

Ultimately, it came down to consideration for Akisha: she had seemed so tired when she finally made it to camp. Spatz was a proficient woodsman, and could fend for himself. On the plus side, Jerri had "borrowed" a few of Spatz's belongings to help with the crafting he was doing while waiting for the second wave.

After making a silent circuit of the camp to check for any lurking danger, Jerri sat down on the same log as before and began to work on his drawing. His noise trap would alert them of hostiles soon enough. With his crossbow and sword by his side, he began to draw.



Sneak around camp checking for danger:

AGI/Sneak [roll0] TN: 6
Perception
PER [roll1] TN: 6

settling in to draw:

PER/Artistry [roll2] TN: 6

[CaptainCharisma]

The witch glanced around quickly, her reptilian eyes narrowed in focus. Any little detail might help her. Perhaps a quirk of architecture, a particular stylistic flair to the anchoring runes of wards. Akisha took in a deep breath through her nose, trying to detect the presence of either salt or fresh water; many a ley-conflux had been lost to flooding, or sunk into the ocean after a cataclysmic earthquake. Mayhaps the unfamiliar robes she was wearing offered a clue, she though as her eyes traveled downwards, trying to pick out religious embroidery, perhaps. All this, while the feeling of unease grew.

Finally, she could take it no more. The sensation of being watched was becoming too much, coupled with an impending sense of doom and the thought that there was only so much time... As she stepped forward, Akisha worked to burn the memory of this place into her mind even as she reached out to push the portal open. With a determined stride, she entered whatever chamber lay on the other side.

So, several rolls, I assume?
Perception; [roll0] I don't know the TN on this one
Places of Power; [roll1] TN9, I think this is using my MA

[Lacco]

23nd Dawnstar Night


Camp in the Shadetree Forest

It was past midnight. The wind was still picking up and temperature fell rather quickly. Drawing was getting unnecessarily difficult. And that was before the drizzle started.

Ensuring that the area around the camp was empty and no immediate hazards were afoot took good amount of time. It was a fruitless effort, but Jerri felt good - the forest seemed more menacing during nighttime. He was looking forward to daytime again.

Jerri looked back at Akisha. She was mumbling something from sleep, something he could not understand. Strangely, it looked for a moment as if she wore a shiny necklace under her robes, as if something reflected the warm glow of fire...but that must have been just the fire playing with his eyes - she wore only simple ritual fetishes...

The rustling of the forest trees was so enjoyable...

Roll WIL/8 if you want to stay awake. If you stay awake, start accumulating fatigue.

Also, if you plan on sneaking into the forest, let me know how far does Jerri go...and roll PER/8.




Somewhere different
The architecture was ancient, and the anchoring magic was undescribable in its nature. She spent few moments trying to decipher its flow, only to find that each ward had several other spells interwoven into it - and at least one of these had to be a spell of confusion, as she quickly found herself forgetting why she is trying to decipher it.

The air was musty, dry, and yet she felt she smelled the fish-like smell. It brought her a mental image of fish that was left to dry on rock...

...and when she looked at the robes, she found simple, yet so well known symbols...

...but for some reason, she could not focus. It was the feeling of being observed. She felt her attempts to focus her mind, her best tool, to fail, her thoughts to melt away at the idea that slowly dawned upon her.

This place... she knew it. From a scroll... or did she?

What was the scroll? What resided here?

She had the name at the tip of her tongue... but the feeling of being watched closely washed over her, taking away the focus, stripping her mind of its ability to remember.

The door moved slowly under her hands. The light, unnatural light came from the inside...

...and with it, the realization. The light shone from the inside, but her arcane mark was lit with the same light, so brightly that it was visible even through her robes...

...the room behind was absurdly large, well-lit by the unnatural light whose source she could not determine. She felt it was pulsing - the room, and the light, and more felt than saw movement in the farther part of the bizarre dome - for the distance was such that she couldn't perceive anything else, than the small buildings that littered her immediate surroundings.

...the buildings she recognized. It was a necropolis. A place of eternal rest.

To her right was a long stairwell, leading straight to the necropolis, covered in strange shadows.

To her left was a curved slope, well-lit, but she could not perceive where it ends.

In front of her, steep drop...

Behind her, the door slammed shut. The light - and the room - now pulsed stronger. In rthytm with her heartbeat.
Standard TN for Perception is 6.

[CaptainCharisma]

The portal behind her closed with a sound not unlike that of a stone sarcophagus sliding shut. There was a certain finality to it that sent a shiver up the lizardwomans spine, despite the lack of apparent temperature in this place. She surveyed her surroundings, a clawed hand absentmindedly reaching up to her chest, scratching at the fine scales graffitieed with a dreaded fel mark. The witch knew not for sure why it would glow, but when it got particularly intense the itching would become almost as bad as scale rot.

Akisha attempted to wrest her will back under her control as she took in the landscape, methodically focusing her mind on a single task at a time to throw off the unnerving presence that had plagued her behind the doors. There were only two viable directions; left and right. Given the sheer drop in front of her, the express way did not seem like a good option. The slope to the left seemed to be the easier of the two paths. The terrain was not particularly difficult looking, and it glowed with light, hiding nothing within its open expanse. However, the curved horizon gave no clues as to where it ended. Her eyes flitted toward the other path. A long staircase, leading straight into the city below. Every turn had shadows that seemed to be more than just shadow, a certain amount of animation suffused into their essence. However, once down the flight, she would almost certainly be able to make her way toward the city proper, and it seemed like the best way to gain information about this wonderous, ominous local. Taking a final second to steel herself, Akisha began the descent, making sure to keep an eye out for any surprises.

Roll willpower to try and get herself focused again and throw off the feeling of whatever the presence is.

[roll0]

Rolling Perception to watch the shadows and along the stairs, TN 6

[roll1]