[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XI

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa felt an unreasonable amount of satisfaction when the mere revelation of her presence was enough to put the goblins to flight. Now if only humans were as easy to spook... She dismissed the wall of fire and turned her attention to Adelbert, whose gaze was distant.

"What are you doing?" she snapped at the distracted-looking priest. "We've got some injured here. And we can't delay too long."

If they lost but a single person on this expedition, it would be enough to turn it into a failure, since they had come down here to save one person in the first place. Elsa was resolved not to let that happen.

[LeSwordfish]

Trying to stay in the shadows, Ludo snuck to the mouth of the cave. Squinting in the unfamiliar light, he cast around to check that the Wyvern had in fact properly left.

[LCP]

Ludo

Outside the cave, the sun was so bright that it was almost blinding. Stumbling to the shelter of a nearby boulder, Ludo waited until his eyes had adjusted to the glare.

The cave opened onto the side of a windswept crag, up on the highest ridge of the Teeth. Below it, the hills fell away to the west, their foothills disappearing into the endless desert of the Waste. Ludo could taste the dust on the wind, see the little drifts of pale sand that lay in the crevices between the rocks. The western horizon was lost in a white haze, as if the desert simply carried on up into the sky. Perhaps it did - Ludo had never heard of anyone who had travelled far enough through it to reach the other side.

It was strange to think that these desolate hills were all that stood between the desert and the fertile country of the Downs - or maybe not so strange, as Ludo remembered the parched fields and dry stream-beds they had passed on their way to Armin's camp. Still, he was not here to admire the scenery. Craning his neck, he searched the sky for any sign of the wyvern.

At first, he saw nothing - but after a little less than a minute, a great winged shape swept out from behind the shoulder of the neighbouring crag, perhaps two hundred yards from the cave. Settling on the summit, the wyvern shook out its leathery wings and sprawled over the sand-scoured rock, warming itself in the sun. It showed no signs of having seen Ludo.

[LeSwordfish]

Good enough, Ludo thought to himself, and hurried back inside to find the others. Scrambling down the rope, he found them by the precarious drop.

"It's gone," he said. "I woke it up and it flew outside. We can get past if we go now."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert did not appear to hear Elsa. The priest was caught up somewhere else.

'The Owl's wings over Nuln,' he whispered, seemingly to himself, 'dreams ascendant in the Library of Echoes... the Moonlit Queen and Noonday King... Just as Ravinius foretold... but so many questions unaswered, so many mysteries... I do not understand my Lady, I do not understand...'

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa wanted to shake Adelbert and yell at him, until she realized that this was perhaps exactly what she looked like, sometimes, to non-magic users.

She took a deep breath and turned to Ludo. "Let's not waste any time, then. I'll go insane if I don't see the sunlight soon."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Might be too late for some of us," Sieghard muttered, glancing over towards Adelbert.

[LCP]

The climb back up the rope was difficult for the wounded, particularly Urgrim and Tatiana with their injured arms. Thankfully, the goblins didn't seem eager to press the attack. When the last of them had clambered up through the fissure, Hanna pulled the rope up after them, and spat down into the dark.

"Oh Morr," muttered Gustaf, as he looked around at the bones strewn across the cave floor. "Oh Taal and Rhya preserve us."

"That's a lot of goats," said Tatiana, cradling her wounded arm. "How long do you think it's been nesting up here?"

Adelbert Only

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Shaken by his vision in the tunnel, Adelbert wasn't certain if what he was seeing was real as he scanned the carpet of bones. Goats, sheep - but that was a human skeleton, or part of one, slumped in the corner. Considering how yellow and crumbling the bones appeared, the cloak that hung around its collarbones was in remarkably good shape. It had an embroidered design of ravens in flight around the collar - as Adelbert watched, one of the faded ravens seemed to turn its head to look at him.

You are a brave man, Adelbert Schreiber, he thought he heard Raqiyah's voice whisper on the cold wind that brushed the back of his neck. Stay out of the third house.

[-Sentinel-]

"Don't worry about the bones and just hurry," whispered Elsa, as if talking too loud might summon the wyvern back. "Hungry or not, it will kill us if it finds us in its lair."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard nodded, "The way is clear, let's go before the thing comes back."

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Sieghard will go first and watch for the Wyvern

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo joined Sieghard at the mouth of the cave and pointed up at the wyvern. "It's up there - so we should go this way," he said, indicating the exact opposite direction. "Try and put some distance between it and us first, and then Tatania and Urgi can get us back to camp or to grab your armour."

OOC

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What does the route down away from the Wyvern look like? Is it a path we can walk or are we doing some mountaineering? If we can just walk, Ludo is going to start walking.

[Thragka]

"I'll take the rear," Urgrim muttered as they began to cross the carpet of bones, ignoring the fact that his arm was more or less useless if the goblins did pursue them. Then he sighed. "Actually, maybe you should do that," he admitted to Hannah. "C'mon, Adelbert," he added, sliding the priest's arm across his good shoulder and guiding him across the cave.

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert still seemed to be in a daze, mumbling only, 'Thank you' when Urgrim took his arm. Shaking his head and blinking the priest returned to the present. 'Yes, thank you my friend, let's go.'

[LCP]

One by one, the eight of them emerged from the cave mouth and into the bright daylight. The sun was fierce, but the wind blowing in off the Waste was cold and laden with dust. Looking out into the white haze on the horizon, Urgrim found himself subconsciously searching for the dark point of the Red Pyramid - but all he could see was sand.

Following Ludo's lead around the rocky hillside, they got out of sight of the basking wyvern as quickly as they could. They were in the high hills here, far from the valley where they had entered. Urgrim could get his bearings from the sun, and the desert to the west - but surrounded by tall, weather-worn crags, they had no clear view back to the Downs.

They hadn't been walking long before some of the more injured members of the party began to fall behind. They had all been marching and fighting (or in Tatiana's case, being dragged in a net) since the early hours of the morning, and Gustaf was still limping from where the goblin fanatic's chain had struck his leg. Taking a seat on a boulder, an exhausted-looking Hanna wrung the last few drops of water from her water-skin.

"Anyone got any food?" she asked.

[-Sentinel-]

"Anyone got any food?"

"Pretty sure I left mine at the camp," Elsa grunted. "Wasn't expecting us to be gone so long."

For now she was just glad to have lost no one down there.

"I don't want to spend another night in goblin-infested hills," she said firmly. "If the shadows grow long and we still haven't found our camp, we should head back to the refugee camp and try again in the morning."

She turned to Tatiana: "How's your hand? Are you in a lot of pain?"

[LeSwordfish]

"I've got a little," Ludo said, pulling a small bundle out of his pack and unwrapping it. "We can have a break and some food, but Elsa's right, we need to keep going."

He saw Elsa inspecting Tatiana's hand, and handed the girl some of the dried meat he'd brought. "She did some real magic, you know? Down in the caves. Like a gust of wind, knocked some of the goblins back."

[LCP]

Tatiana looked embarrassed. “Yeah, and a lot of good it did,” she mumbled. Flexing her injured wrist, she looked around at the rocky hillside.

“We might not have a choice about getting back before nightfall,” she said, gathering a pinch of pale sand from a crevice in the rock. “If we’re on the Wastes side of the Teeth, that’s a fair way from the valley… and over the hills instead of through them. Unless you can magic up some flying horses.” She looked back at Elsa. “You… can’t do flying horses, can you?”

[Thragka]

"Aye, I've some here too," Urgrim added. He shrugged his pack off awkwardly with a restrained wince. —Grobkaz! Peeling his gear off tentatively, he examined the wound to his arm.

After some minutes' seated rest, and a few mouthfuls of tough, dry bread, he pushed himself back to his feet. Scanning the folds of the hills around the group, he tried to plan a reliable route down from the heights.

Spoiler: OOC

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A Heal test for Urgrim's arm:
Heal 54 - (1d100)[55]
Fortune - (1d100)[67] – I'll use that Fortune point to add a degree of success and pass the original test.

And a Navigation test:
Navigation 74 - (1d100)[3]
Fortune - (1d100)[42]

[LeSwordfish]

"I saw this one fail to set light to a straw dummy once." Ludo said, with a certain amount of forced cheer. "You'll be turning into a bear in no time."

He squinted down over the wastes, trying to map what he saw to his journey to Alvarran and back last year. It was horrifying how much the landscape had changed, now he knew what was causing it. "If we're that far away, might we be better heading down towards Hartmut's Fall? How far north are we?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"We can't be that far west," Sieghard pointed out. "No way we'd cross to the other side of the teeth in just a few hours. And there's no reason the wyvern would fly far enough east to snatch that lamb if its nest was on that side either."

[-Sentinel-]

"You… can't do flying horses, can you?"

"Never got to the flying horses part of my training before the Colleges kicked me out," said Elsa dryly. "Well, at least, we'll have a good view of our surroundings as we climb the hills, so we'll know where to go. Wish I still had Morrslieb, my raven familiar..."

[LCP]

" And there's no reason the wyvern would fly far enough east to snatch that lamb if its nest was on that side either."

"Don't think there are that many lambs in the Waste," said Tatiana, looking around at the barren slopes surrounding them. Aside from a few hardy junipers that huddled on the leeward side of the larger rocks, the tops of Teeth seemed almost as lifeless as the desert. "Hunters go where there's good hunting."

Once he had forced down enough bread to take the edge off the emptiness in his stomach, Urgrim set to finding a way up the next ridge to the east. It was tough going, climbing up over steep rocks and sharp scree - but when he reached the top, he could clearly see the summit of the high hill the Dwimmulsons called the Tusk. Through the smaller crags to the east, he could just about make out the shining ribbon of the Azril, catching the noonday sun like silver.

If he remembered Thrunrik's maps correctly, then from those two reference points the valley with the camp couldn't be far - at least, as crow flies. The descent, however, would be steep and treacherous. Perhaps alone, Urgrim could have made it back before nightfall - but with a pack of injured and exhausted umgi limping along behind, it seemed doubtful.

OOC:

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To speed things along, I just need one call: when night falls, will you make camp in the hills, or will you press on through the dark?

[Thragka]

At least satisfied that he now had a good idea of where they were, Urgrim relayed his assessment to the others.

"We're all pretty knackered," he continued. "We're no safer here than we were last night – but I'm hoping we're no less safe, either. We gave those bastards a good seeing-to in their own home, so I doubt they'll want to come chasing after us, the cowards." He hocked and spat a stringy gob onto the windswept rock.

"I'm thinking, maybe we keep an eye out during the descent for a good spot to hunker down for the night. A nice sheltered alcove, or the like. And if we find one, we make camp early in the evening, and finish the descent tomorrow. But I'm open to opinions."

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded. "We're not getting back tonight and a fall in the dark could make things even worse. We know they're out there now, we can protect ourselves better."

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa nodded with extreme reluctance. "Guess we'll make camp and hope we're still on that goblin tribe's turf. At least they've learned their lesson about trying to attack us, unlike other things that live out here." She paused and threw Tatiana a brief glance. "This time no one will stray from the camp alone. Take someone with you even if you need to take a piss."

How much time could have been saved, and trouble avoided, if they had just reused the same damn tunnel as before? Or better yet, if Elsa had not twisted her ankle.

[LCP]

Gathering themselves for one more push, the party followed Urgrim's path up the ridge, forging on as best they could until the sun sank behind them. At one point, a winged shadow swept overhead, sending them scattering for cover - but it was only a large hawk, hunting on the thermals rising from the dusty hillside.

When night fell them, it found them huddled in a crevice on the east slope of the ridge, sheltered behind a jagged boulder. Taking the first watch, Urgrim watched the moons rise over the darkened Downs below, his crossbow laid over his knees. Any goblins that tried to creep up on them tonight would be catching a bolt between the eyes...

OOC:

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How much time could have been saved, and trouble avoided, if they had just reused the same damn tunnel as before?

Just to be clear, as the decision point is good and past now so I'm not influencing PC decisions (and because I'm not 100% clear myself how much of this is OOC conviction and how much is grumpy, post-Morrslieb-trauma IC Elsa) - none. It was a suicidal plan, the next ambush would almost certainly have started taking Fate Points.

---

Angestag, 30th Nachgeheim

The next morning, Urgrim woke to the vague sensation of something tugging at his face. Blearily opening his eyes, he found himself staring into the slot-pupilled eyes of a black billy goat, chewing industriously on a strand of his beard.

"Philip!" exclaimed Tatiana, sitting bolt upright. Another goat ambled into view from around the side of the boulder, a sprig of juniper protruding sideways from its mouth. "Yuda!"

The goats seemed pleased to see her, in their own aloof way. As the girl wrapped her arms around Philip's shaggy neck, Sieghard straightened out the crick in his back and looked down over the slope below, blazing bright as it caught the sunrise. If the goats were still here, the cave where they'd made camp had to be close...

Sure enough, by midday they had found it - and what was more, it wasn't empty. Hilde and Lora were sitting at the entrance, the Thorn fiddling with her crossbow-string as she looked out toward the east. The sound of the party's approach startled her, leading her to jump up and point the unloaded weapon in their direction. Recognising them at last under the layers of dust and dried blood, she lowered it again in embarrassment.

"You're alive!" she blurted out. "I mean - you're back." She motioned to the cave. "We thought something had happened when we found your things, and, um, the bodies. I sent Bartolf back to get help."

Lora was trying to stay on the sidelines, as far away from the crisped remains of the goblin Elsa had incinerated as possible. Short of actually retreating into the cave, though, there wasn't anywhere for her to hide. It didn't take long before Tatiana noticed her.

"I remember you," she said, tilting her head to one side. "Weren't you with the others at Pieter's Pass?"

"Er... was I?" said Lora, clearly nervous at being identified. She gave a brittle smile. "Oh yes... I think I was. Small world, eh?"

[-Sentinel-]

Angestag, 30th Nachgeheim


Elsa was very glad to find Hilde and Lora at the cave. Before speaking any words, she grabbed the full waterskin that she had left near her bedroll and gulped down over half of it in one go, until she coughed from drinking too fast.

"We've had a rough time," she admitted, setting down the waterskin. "But we taught those goblins a lesson they're not likely to forget. We must've killed a score of them at least. Didn't keep track. I'm mostly glad we all made it out alive."

She decided that now was not yet the time to pay Lora the rest of her finder's fee. Surely she would find an opportunity once Tatiana's attention was elsewhere.


OOC

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(and because I'm not 100% clear myself how much of this is OOC conviction and how much is grumpy, post-Morrslieb-trauma IC Elsa)

Elsa's default mode is grumpy, regardless of whether she has familiar-loss trauma. But OOC, I did kinda regret choosing the unknown path. Should've guessed it wouldn't be that easy.

black billy goat

"Philip!" exclaimed Tatiana,

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard frowned - the last thing he wanted was for Sforza to lean they had gone down into a goblin lair. No one had suffered any serious injuries, but he suspected the captain would think it a stupid and unnecessary risk. Still, he couldn't fault Hilde and Bartolf for making the decision they did with the information they had.

"I lost count after the first dozen," Sieghard said flatly. "They caused us a bit of trouble, but we sorted it out with nothing but a few bruises and gave them far worse."

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Could we get heal checks for the wounded before the end of last IC night?

[Thragka]

Urgrim rolled his eyes at Lora's guile.

"Well, here we are. Best keep on moving before the story runs away from us. We'll pass the farmstead," he said, shooting a careful glance at Sieghard, "and we can leave you there. But I hope you've thought about what the Magister's said."

[RossN]

Adelbert

Adelbert has risen with an odd expression on his face. The priest was clearly ruminating over something and once or twice looked like he was about to say but then he looked at the Thorns and Tatiana and closed his mouth again. Whatever it was perhaps it could wait.

Before they broke camp he did bustle among the injured, doing his best to wrap up wounds and trying not to wince too much.

'I agree we should make tracks to the farmstead,' Adelbert muttered at Urgrim's comment. 'Reading about wilderness is better than being in it.'

OOC:

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Heal on Elsa: (1d100)[59] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[2]

Heal on Sieghard: (1d100)[52] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[10]

Heal on Urgrim: (1d100)[92] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[9]

Heal on Tatiana: (1d100)[96] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[2]

Heal on Gustaf: (1d100)[88] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[10]

Heal on Hanna: (1d100)[21] vs 77
Wounds: (1d10)[5]