[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XI

[LCP]

The girl was staring boggle-eyed after the beast, while her two goats had had the good sense to run further up the track. When Elsa spoke, she turned and blinked at her.

"Why... how would you have anything to do with it?" she said. She looked across the slew of scree the rockfall had left behind, to where the others were now clearly visible. "Who are you people?"

A keening cry echoed across the hillside, the beast wheeling in the sky above the ridgeline. The girl looked up in fear.

"We need to find cover," she said. "Before it comes back."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo waved, a bit awkwardly. "Sieghard's right. At very least we need to get somewhere we can see it coming properly. Maybe back to the town, if it hasn't attacked there before."

He tipped his hat to the young lady, as politely as he could manage considering the shock. "We're here to talk to you, actually. We'd like to help you."

[Thragka]

"That's a wyvern – not a true dragon," Urgrim said. "They're vicious and mean-spirited, but mostly scavengers. We might be able to frighten it off, if it comes back – with the Magister's help. But aye, we should be on our way out of this country by the time night sets in. Where wyverns are abroad, there are greenskins and trolls too, most likely."

[-Sentinel-]

"Yes, let's find someplace," Elsa concurred. "Better stay together. It's most likely to go after anyone who falls behind."

She wished she still had Morrslieb to scout out the area.

"I'm Elsa," she introduced herself to Tatiana, almost as an afterthought. "And I'm a wizard."

[LCP]

Gustaf didn't look reassured by Urgrim's words. "Powerful bad luck, seeing a wyvern," he mumbled. "Bad omen. Means something 'orrible's going to happen to you."

Hanna gave the old woodsman a look. "What," she said, "like being eaten by a wyvern?"

She didn't have the attention to spare to finish winding him up - both of them kept glancing up at the crags, watching to see if the creature would circle back after them.

"I'm Elsa," she introduced herself to Tatiana, almost as an afterthought. "And I'm a wizard."

To her credit, the girl didn't look intimidated - or at least, no more intimidated than she already was. "Tatiana," she said, after a lengthy pause. "My name's Tatiana."

As the first of her goats came trotting back down the trail, she looked at the great scar in the hillside that now separated her and Elsa from the others. It looked like treacherous footing even for a goat.

"Wizards first," she said.

[-Sentinel-]

"Fine," sighed Elsa. She cautiously tried to move across, wishing she still had a staff to lean on.


OOC

Spoiler

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Scale Sheer Surface is based on Strength, but in this case at least, Agility strikes me as more appropriate. It's more about balance than hoisting yourself up. Would you agree?

Vs. 25 if Strength-based, vs. 32 if Agility-based: (d100)[38]

Failed regardless.

Unless... what's the date in-story? Is Elsa overdue for a second Fellowship test to shake off the penalty from the loss of her familiar? (She lost Morrslieb on the 13th.) If so, you can roll it for me to save time, as I have no Fortune Points to spend anyway.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert looked at the wyvern in awe. 'Amazing creatures are they not? I admit they may lack a certain... elegance compared with depictions of true dragons but Kunibert wrote a striking passage in the Libro Fabulosa Bestias extolling their power and speed. Very moving words, though I fear it loses something in the standard Reikspiel translation.'

With obvious reluctance he dragged his gaze back to earth and smiled at the girl across the divide. 'Greetings. I'm Father Adelbert Screiber.' He then touched his pendant and whispered a quick prayer to Verena.

OOC:

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Channeling: (1d100)[22] vs 63
Blessing of Speed (4): (1d10)[3] (1d10)[7]

[LCP]

"It's a big lizard with wings," said Hanna, giving Adelbert a look that implied she thought he was a few sheep short of a flock. "And it's going to have us for seconds if we don't move it."

On the other side of the rockslide, Elsa began inching out onto the scree. It took her a moment to find her footing, wobbling back and forth with her arms stuck out in awkward directions - then, feeling she had the balance of it, she began to clamber towards where the others were waiting.

A scrape of shifting rock was all the warning she got that her confidence was misplaced. The stone under her right foot fell away, and she went slithering down the torn hillside, her leg buckling painfully under her. Grabbing frantically at a protruding rock, she managed to arrest her fall, and hung for a few seconds spread-eagled against the stony earth. This, a helpful voice in the back of her head pointed out, would be a really bad time for the wyvern to come back.

Craning her neck back as far as it should go, she saw Ludo's rope arc across the gap above her, Tatiana catching it at the other side. Looping it through her belt, the girl began tentatively descending towards where Elsa was clinging on, her two goats following her down. She moved almost as assuredly over the loose stones as they did, putting her weight on the rope only when there was no other way forward. At last, she reached Elsa, and stretched out her hand for the wizard to take.

Slowly, carefully, the two of them climbed back up to where the others were waiting. Smeared with dust and gravel from her fall, Elsa sat down heavily on the edge of the path and examined her leg. The ankle was beginning to swell, and it hurt like the blazes - but as far as she could tell, it seemed to be sprained, not broken. Behind them, one of Tatiana's goats began nibbling on the hem of Adelbert's cloak.

"Stop it, Philip," said the girl - and amazingly, the goat obeyed. Crouching down next to Elsa, she looked at the ankle herself.

"You won't get down the hill like this," she said, glancing back at the ridgeline. "Not before it gets properly dark. Good way to break your other leg, then." She looked up at the others. "I saw a cave a bit of a way back along the trail. It'd give some shelter until dawn."

[-Sentinel-]

Camping out in the hills was not part of Elsa's plan, but it did not seem as if they had any choice. Perhaps this would in fact be a blessing in disguise. It would give her more time than anticipated to convince Tatiana that she should follow her back to Savonne and learn magic.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"A lot of things could be lurking in that cave," Sieghard pointed out. As much as he disliked the idea, he disliked the idea of being in the open at night even more. "I guess we don't have much choice though. Whatever might be in there won't be as big as the wyvern."

[LeSwordfish]

"We're expected back in two days," Ludo said, taking care not to name their employer. "We'll have to move tomorrow, or at least send a messenger."

He started picking his way carefully towards the cave, and extended a hand to Tatiana. "Ludovic Stubbs, of the Sermena Stubbs. Pleased to meet you. Sorry about the lamb."

[-Sentinel-]

"A lot of things could be lurking in that cave," Sieghard pointed out.

"Oh, no! Whatever shall we do, we poor, defenseless wretches?" grumbled Elsa, pain from her ankle making her cranky. "If only we'd had the foresight to bring someone who knows how to fight."

[LCP]

The girl looked at Ludo's hand as if she had no idea what to do with it. Remembering herself, she gave it an awkward shake.

"It wasn't your fault," she said. "There's always more lambs."

Slinging Elsa's arm over her shoulder, she helped the wizard down the path - though considerably smaller and lighter than Elsa, Tatiana was sure-footed and sturdy. It was slow going at Elsa's hobbled pace, but they only had to retrace their steps a short distance before the girl pointed out the cave she had mentioned. It looked like the barest crack in the rocks, a little way up the slope - if there had not been someone to point it out, Adelbert was sure he would never have seen it.

Clanking uphill in his armour, Sieghard peered into the darkness of the cave mouth, his hand hovering on the hilt of his sword. It looked like it went back about twenty yards, narrowing all the way. A couple of even narrower fissures split off to the left and right, so tight that only a child could fit through. The only sign that anything living made use of the place was a few goat droppings near the entrance.

Struggling in the rear, Elsa reached the cave mouth with some relief, sitting down to take the weight off her twisted ankle. From here, she could see dusk stealing over the Downlands below. Far to the east, the last reflected sunlight was disappearing from the top of the Rock of Savonne, like a candle burning itself out. There was a sharp breeze blowing down off the crags; with the light gone, it was going to get cold up here.

[LeSwordfish]

"Could we get away with a fire?" Ludo asked cautiously, looking to Urgi, "Or would that just lure it back?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Oh, no! Whatever shall we do, we poor, defenseless wretches?" grumbled Elsa, pain from her ankle making her cranky. "If only we'd had the foresight to bring someone who knows how to fight."

"That'd be useful," Sieghard replied sarcastically, "Almost as useful as having someone who could walk without stumbling like a drunk."

Spoiler: OOC

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"We're expected back in two days," Ludo said, taking care not to name their employer. "We'll have to move tomorrow, or at least send a messenger."

I didn't respond to it specifically because I thought it was enough on its own, but Elsa already asked Sieghard to send a messenger this morning.

[Thragka]

"Could we get away with a fire?" Ludo asked cautiously, looking to Urgi, "Or would that just lure it back?"

"The wyvern? Probably not, but it'd definitely attract something. We can't risk it. Best settle in for a cold night of sleeping in shifts – though I want to take a look around first. Urgrim went as far into the rock as he could, peering down each crevice, scanning for any signs of occupation or transit that umgi eyes wouldn't have seen.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception 74 - (1d100)[65]

[-Sentinel-]

OOC

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Doesn't fire tend to drive animals away, though?

Elsa, more sensitive to cold than most, was unhappy at the prospect of a night without a fire, but resolved not to be the one to complain.

Now that they had time to talk, she addressed Tatiana: "I suppose I owe you an explanation. I followed the rumors straight to you because I have reason to believe that there is more to your kinship with animals than you realize. To you, it may be a normal thing, and you may think it strange that others think it strange. Believe me, I've been there, too. I could always see and feel the Colored Winds, and the warm red one especially... and until I was about fourteen, I thought so did everyone else."

[LCP]

As far as Urgrim could tell, the cave looked natural and unaltered. There were traces of animals having sheltered near the mouth, but nothing else. The only architects at work here had been the elements.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation. I followed the rumors straight to you because I have reason to believe that there is more to your kinship with animals than you realize. To you, it may be a normal thing, and you may think it strange that others think it strange. Believe me, I've been there, too. I could always see and feel the Colored Winds, and the warm red one especially... and until I was about fourteen, I thought so did everyone else."

Tatiana no longer seemed as skittish as she had on the path, but she still looked askance at Elsa's directness.

"What rumours?" she asked, after a lengthy pause. "You talked about... 'what people are saying'. What people?" She hesitated again. "I haven't done magic. Only tried to help people. Anyone could have done it."

[-Sentinel-]

"Well... there are people from the camp who remember you luring goats to them. And they are grateful," said Elsa hurriedly, not wanting the girl to get too defensive, or to resent those who spoke about her. "They are very grateful, believe me; some may owe you their lives. I'm only here to help you. Because if you do possess a supernatural gift... and to tell the truth, I'm not sure of that yet... there are things you must know, for your own safety."

Perhaps everyone was mistaken. Perhaps the girl was merely good with animals, and the wind of Ghur gathering around her simply came from the goats she spent her time with. But Elsa would gladly make ten trips into the hills if only one such trip led her to a genuine hedge wizard.

"When I looked at you, with your goats and the sheep, I saw the wind of magic we call Ghur gathering around you. It is the color of amber—" It occurred to her that Tatiana had likely never seen amber in her life. "—or dark honey, if you prefer. Like a flow of dark honey that seems like a living thing. Calling it a color doesn't really do it justice, but that's the best way to put it into words. Does it sound familiar to you?"

[LCP]

"Maybe... something like that," said Tatiana. She seemed reluctant to admit it. "Sometimes I see things that aren't there, when I'm alone. Ma said it was my imagination." She paused, staring off into the middle distance in thought. "The black dog - do you see that too?"

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo looked up sharply, but bit back his original startled response and carefully measured his tone. "Where have you seen a black dog?"

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa's eyes widened.

"...Oh. The Jackal. Yes, I see it too."

She waited intently for Tatiana to answer Ludo's question. Too many questions at a time would likely frighten the girl.

[Thragka]

Urgrim's head turned as the young girl mentioned the black dog. There was a tension quivering beneath his placid features. He stepped away from what rapidly risked becoming an interrogation.

[LCP]

Ludo looked up sharply, but bit back his original startled response and carefully measured his tone. "Where have you seen a black dog?"

"Well, I mean... nowhere, really," said Tatiana. "Like you said, it's seeing things. It's not really there." She paused. "I only saw it the three times. Two times at the new year, and once this last Geheimnisnacht. In the sky." She seemed embarassed to be saying it, as if suspecting they would find the claim ridiculous. "The Speaker says it's a messenger of the gods."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa's face hardened. "The Speaker? Do you mean Armin? Shaggy man in black robes? I suppose he would say that. To us, the Jackal is the enemy. If you truly saw it, as you claim, you must have known deep down that it was not your friend."

[LeSwordfish]

"Does he see it too?"

[LCP]

"I... don't know," said Tatiana. "I mean, he knows - he knew what it was, to talk about. But I haven't seen it since he joined us."

She seemed a little intimidated by Elsa's urgent tone, but held her own. "Armin says it's a face of the Drinker. But he says it doesn't mind what we call it. My ma always said to leave a saucer of milk out for Nakki. He wasn't a friend, but he wasn't an enemy neither. Same as ordinary beasts."

[-Sentinel-]

"I suppose theology can wait," said Elsa, fumbling in her bag for something to eat before bed. "What matters is, you obviously have the Sight. And I want to help you. Amber wizards, as we call those who can see and use the honey-colored Wind, are friends to animals. They can understand them, befriend them, have them come to their aid... and with enough training, become them. I've seen people turn into bears or ravens at will."

She cut a generous chunk of cured sausage for Tatiana and kept the rest for herself. "I know this is perhaps... unwelcome. You never asked to see strange things. At first, the bad always outweighs the good. When I was your age, I accidentally set a man's beard on fire."

Now, I set cities on fire...

"You cannot chase away your magic. If it's in you, it's in you. But you can learn to use it."

[LCP]

Tatiana might still be suspicious of these newcomers, but she wasn't one to turn down free food.

"I haven't never turned into a bear," she said, through a mouthful of cured meat. Clearly her ma hadn't taught her not to speak with her mouth full. "Can they turn back?"

She paused to look at Elsa. "What's in it for you, though?" she asked. She lifted the remaining piece of sausage out of reach of Yuda the goat, who was very determinedly trying to nibble at it. "Even if I can see what you see, I'm just a goatherd. What does someone like you need someone like me for?"

[-Sentinel-]

"Can they turn back?"

"Oh, yes. I don't think they have to make the effort. They turn back after a while."

"What's in it for you, though? Even if I can see what you see, I'm just a goatherd. What does someone like you need someone like me for?"

Elsa thought carefully before she answered. The girl was not naive, that much was clear. Elsa might as well be brutally honest with her.

"The Broken Reaches are in grave danger, from something far worse than greedy lords: death itself. It is by the Jackal's will that the desert spreads and that the drought kills the crops. And I don't mean to scare you, but in a war between the living and the dead, I doubt someone such as you will be allowed to stay neutral for long. I won't force your hand... but the Jackal will. That's what it does; it enslaves. I'd rather have you on our side, whether or not you choose to fight."

She finished her chunk of sausage and washed it down with some water from her waterskin. "As for what you get... you get to harness your powers and control your visions. You get to strengthen your bond with your animal friends. We'll also make sure your folks don't go hungry. The Jackal has only starvation and death to offer them and all who live in the Reaches."

To drive the point home, she offered Yuda a small chunk of cheese, which the goat swallowed greedily.