Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Drowned Tikorn

It's not tough to find something to tie the hag with--magical powers or no, she evidently still has need for ropes and has a few lying in a corner of the room. You wouldn't want to use any of them on a boat, but you find one you deem strong enough and tie her up. She's still out cold for right now, but there's no telling when that will change.

You take a quick moment to assess your situation. You still have no idea where this cabin is located or how isolated it may or may not be. You look over your body and find that that woman did in fact do something to try to heal you. There's no telling how long you were out for, nor how potent her herbs and poultices truly were, but nevertheless the wounds the golem gave you have begun to close. You're not totally healed yet, but you're on the mend. The iron poker is heavy and awkward in your hand: it'll do in a pinch, but it's no true weapon. Outside, you hear the screams again.

What do you do?

The witch has healed you for injuries of 2-harm.

The poker can be used as a weapon, but it does not have a deadly range. As a result it will inflict 2-harm if used successfully in combat.

Pentaviso and Xie

Katarin nods, and whips the horse to pull the cart to the front gate of Broken Tooth. The gate is guarded, of course, and Katarin jumps down from the cart to talk to them. Neither of you can quite make out the words being said, but you see Katarin reach into her pocket and reveal a small piece of folded leather, which she opens and shows to the guard. The guard salutes her, although not with the speed and rigidity of most military salutes. Instead, he takes his right hand and gently taps on his heart, then lowers the hand again--strange, neither of you have ever seen this particular salute before. Katarin thanks the guard and returns to the cart, then pulls it into the city.

Broken Tooth is not large, but it is large enough. The common folk bustle about going about their business, and you can't help but notice what appears to be a delegation of soldiers from House Entremar in the main plaza. A few people take notice of the cart and the strangers in the center of town, but no one seems to care too much. Overhead looms the ruined tower that all three of you recognize as the makeshift palace of Lord Albrecht Donnerfeldt.

"There's a warehouse about two streets from here where this cargo is to be delivered," Katarin explains. "Xie, I would love if you'd be willing to help me escort the cargo there, although I have nothing left to give you. If you wish to leave here and search for the answers to the questions you have, I wish you luck. May our paths meet again."

Katarin reaches into her pocket again, and this time retrieves a small folded piece of parchment. She walks to Pentaviso and unfurls it, revealing a crude map of the city's snaking streets. Katarin points to one intersection in particular.

"There's multiple healers in this town, but I know one of them personally. They call themselves 'The Sky Illuminated With Stars', and you'll recognize the place by, well, the painting of a sky illuminated with stars on a sign outside! Let them know I sent you and you might even get a discount. I'd offer to take you myself, but I need to get these goods to the warehouse and there's no telling how long I'll be." She leans forward and plants a single kiss on your cheek, and drops a bag of coins into your hands. "Hope to see you again some time, Pentaviso."

Without waiting for answers from either of you, Katarin climbs back onto the cart and begins driving the horse towards a side street. What do each of you do?

When you have time to check, Penatviso, that bag of coins is your payment for the trip, worth 1-keep.

Siroko

Ena's face immediately drops when she hears your question. "Am... am I really so obvious, my Lady?" In that instant, her entire demeanor changes. Where before she had seemed an innocent and comely woman full of warmth (whether truly or by acting), you suddenly see the hardness behind her expression, and the fear as well. Her eyes begin to well up with tears, and before you know how to respond, Ena sits upright against the headboard, pulls her knees in towards her chest, and begins loudly crying.

"I, I am so sorry, my Lady," she sniffles as best she can through her tears. "I do not wish to sleep with you. I do not wish to sleep with anyone! Lord Entremar, he, he, he makes me do this to please his guests, but it is not what I desire! He p-p-promised me that I could join the house, that I was soon to be a noble like him, but that was three years ago!"

She takes a deep breath and for a moment stops crying. "It is not right for me to burden you with these troubles, my Lady. When the morning comes, leave this place and don't look back. This bed is yours and yours alone for tonight. Please tell no one what I have said here tonight." Ena stands from the bed, grabs a single pillow, and sits on the floor against the wall with the pillow to rest her head against. She's still crying some, but the worst seems to have passed.

What do you do?

quiggy fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Feb 20, 2018

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

The screams echoing outside keep me from relaxing, despite having dispatched the obvious threat for the time being. I decide that before I can take the time to fully search the cabin for my weapons and any clues as to the true intents of this hag, I must first establish where I am. Moving to what I believe to be the entrance, I slowly peer outside with the iron poker gripped in my hand. What hell have I been brought to?

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x o o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


"It's been ah, a..." and I look down at my injured shoulder and back to Katarin's dagger, "a pleasure? traveling with you." I thank her for the map, and tell her to see me before she leaves town again, if she likes. It's me, I explain, she'll be able to find me. There's no telling how long I'll be here, but if she's got a route back to Greycrag, that might just be the right move.

As she goes, I orient myself in Broken Tooth - it's not that hard to do, the map is decent and the tower is the very definition of unmissable. Then, I head towards The Sky Illuminated with Stars. I hurt.

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●○○○»

Her words are no surprised, given what I have seen of House Entremar and its works. I have seen the like before. Before I speak again, I pause. The need for vengeance still burns within me - but I am a Thunder, and my fury is as much at the others betrayal of that ideal as the personal treachery. Proving that I am and have always been what I claim is a vengeance in itself. And besides, it may well bring the others to me. So the decision is made.

"If you do not sleep in the bed tonight, then none will, for I will not take any more gifts from the hands of this Lord or his minions." I look the girl up and down, considering, then crouch down to her level to meet here eyes.

"I have fought such as this Garillo of House Entremar before. Fought, and brought low, in blood and fire. I would gladly bring the same doom to this man and his works. But I cannot promise victory in such an endeavor, one that may well end in the deaths of those who make it. I cannot promise that success will be better than what you now endure. What I can promise is this: my strong arm and my true steel. My fury, and my courage. And that if we make such an attempt, it will end in towering glory, and it will end this, one way or another."

"But this is not my place. I do not know if that is what most here would choose. If you think not, but cannot endure remaining yourself, I will help you reach some other place. I cannot promise what you will find there, save the chance of something better, and the risk of the same, or of an ending to all hopes and risks."

"If you wish escape, or defiance, I will aid you. If you wish not to be tortured by such possibilities, then I will speak no more. The choice is yours"

"So I ask again, Ena Soon-to-Be. What do you desire?"

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●○○○»

I keep my eyes and ears open as we roll in, though I glance at the tower: Albrecht will need to know what happened on the way to Broken Tooth. There is treachery afoot, or worse. I look Pentaviso up and down before I answer the merchant. Yes, he should be able to get to a healer. I shift focus to Katarin, and nod. "Not far. I'll accompany you."

Once we're alone for a moment, I imitate the gesture the guard performed at the gate. "What did that mean, Katarin? I have not seen it here before."

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Drowned Tikorn

You crack open the door and peer out, expecting fully to see either the vast expanse of Rockreach or the plains surrounding it. But what you see could not be further from what you expect, in part because you can barely see anything. A fierce snowstorm rages outside, and the moment you open the door you are whipped with cold air and frost. You can see just enough through the storm to see a second building a few hundred feet away, more closely resembling a barn than a ramshackle cabin like the one you are now in. Your situation now known, you close the door, and immediately feel the wind and snow stop. A small hovel though this may be, it seems well-constructed to protect you here in this climate.

What do you do?

Pentaviso

Despite the extreme pain rushing throughout your body, you manage to find the place Katarin described without issue. Sure enough, down the street she marked is an ancient ruined clay building, marked on the side with a mural of a sky illuminated by starlight. You push the door open and step inside, and are immediately overwhelmed by the twin smells of incense and blood. Across the room are scattered beds with patients in various states of rest. You hope, anyway.

There's a rustling near the back of the room, and then from the shadows steps an imposing figure. Standing perhaps seven feet tall, the robed figure almost glides across the ground to meet you. On their head they wear an ornate helm of iron, with a fierce snout and intricate horns resembling the antlers of a stag. When they speak, the sound does not seem to come from inside the helmet, but instead from all around and inside you. There is a strange and indescribable timbre to the voice as well, unlike any you have ever heard before.

"Greetings, weary traveler, for you have come to the right place." The voice is so strange, almost as if the figure themselves is not the one speaking. "I am The Sky Illuminated With Stars. Tell me, what ails you, weary traveler? How may The Sky Illuminated With Stars assist you this day?"

What do you do?

Xie

Katarin laughs. "Oh, that? We call it a secret society, but in truth it is is anything but. That guard's name is Benjen of Red River, and he and I have been drinking buddies for a very long time. A very long time, before either of us found our way here. My home, Bolevar, lies upon the Red River. I wish I could return there someday, Xie. It was beautiful, and so unlike this wretched land. That is a salute of our home, our real home, not Broken Tooth."

She sighs as she continues to drive the cart through the winding streets of Broken Tooth. Eventually the two of you arrive at the storehouse. It is not a large building, and it is not one of the ancient buildings of this town but a more recent construction of brick and clay. When you arrive, a few different people wearing laborer's clothes exit the storehouse and begin helping you unload the cart. Katarin briefly disappears into the building, but returns shortly and helps finish the job. When the work is done, she pulls you aside to speak.

"I suppose this is where our paths divert, but I wanted to give you something first. You seemed fixated on the sword you found, and I knew I had recognized that symbol before." She produces from her pocket the same leather pouch she had showed the guard, and opens it. You're surprised to see that it's just a wallet, with no paperwork in it of any sort like you had assumed she had showed. From a pocket in the back, she pulls out a small piece of parchment and unfolds it. "A few months ago, a strange traveler gave me this. They said it was a map, and before I could ask what it was a map of or to, they disappeared. I think you should have it." She hands the map to you, and sure enough, it does not even begin to look like a map. It's an intricate line drawing full of strange shapes and sigils, all converging in the center and forming the symbol of an eye.

"I wish I knew what to make of this, Xie. But I think it may have to do with the sword. I hope you can find an answer, and if you do, I'd love to hear about it someday." She raises her hand to her chest and makes the same salute to you. "Until our paths cross again, Xie." With that, she disappears into the building.

What do you do?

Siroko

Ena smiles--just a little, but you see the corner of her mouth curl up just enough. "I desire to be free of this place. The honorable--" She stops herself, swallows, and speaks again. "Lord Garillo may be my lord in name, but he is not my lord in heart. I should not be telling you these things, but what is done is done, I suppose. When the morning comes, and you leave this place, take me with you? I wish to see more of the world, broken and wounded though it may be."

She sweeps the last of her tears from her cheek and looks at you, waiting for a response. What do you do?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●○○○»

I nod. "Sleep then. You will need your rest. I set a hard pace. Know that I seek vengeance on five who wronged me in my last life, but I will do what I can to see you to a place of your choosing."

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●○○○»

I give Katarin a nod, and reach out to grasp her shoulders in farewell. "Thank you for the map. The next time we meet," I tell her, "I will tell you of the Shining Kingdom."

I return the salute of her homeland. She has honored me with a piece of herself. I examine the map once she is gone, to see if I can make sense of it--do the lines map to geographical features?--but then I put it away and start for the castle. Albrecht has waited for this news; he should not wait longer.

LogicNinja fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Feb 24, 2018

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x o o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


I get right to the point. The Sky Illuminated with Stars is an unusual figure, even by my standards, but I'm not entirely sure I can deal with whatever these implications are right now. "My shoulder has been injured," I say simply, and adjust my traveling cloak to expose the wound. "When I was hurt, the Lady Katarin of Bolevar directed me to find you once we had arrived in Broken Tooth." I wait expectantly. Their turn, I suppose.

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

Feeling somewhat more confident that the screams are not a hellbeast slavering outside the door, I decide to more thoroughly search the hut for both my weapons and any useful or telling articles that may help me in my situation. I also want to go and see what's in the barn, as the screams could perhaps be someone in need. I don't want to get lost in the blizzard however. Perhaps if I can find something warmer and a long enough line.

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Drowned Tikorn

You find a long enough line without issue: the rope you used to tie the hag was not the only rope she owned, and you've been a sailor long enough that you can tie strong knots that can withstand the winds outside. Something warmer, however, is a bit tougher. You realize that the your only options are either the covers of the bed you awoke in, which are warm but large and unwieldy, or the coat the old woman herself is wearing: underneath the ropes you've tied her in. As if she senses your thoughts, she moves just a little bit, perhaps waking from her unconsciousness, but perhaps not.

What do you do?

Siroko

Morning comes earlier than you would have expected, as Ena shakes you awake. "Lady Siroko, I fear if we are to leave we must do so now." You can barely open your eyes, but you realize that the sun has not even risen yet. "I will be wanted back at my master's chambers not long after sunrise, and if I do not return, they will come looking for me--and likely you as well, if they do not find me here." As you awake, you realize she's shaking. It's a little cold in the room since the fire went out, yes, but you suspect instead that the girl is wracked with fear. You also suspect, although you have no proof, that Ena did not heed your warning and has barely slept tonight, if at all. "The night watch will likely retire from their posts soon, giving us a brief window as the morning watch takes their place," Ena explains. "I have watched the changing of the guard from different windows many times, and I think I know the way out, if you trust me."

"Of course, regardless of whether or not you trust me, if we are caught, it is both of our heads on spikes. Or worse, I fear. So... Lady Siroko? Do you trust me?"

What do you do?

Pentaviso

The Sky Illuminated With Stars speaks again, and the voice seems to have changed in some strange way. It is almost as if The Sky Illuminated With Stars is not one person but a multitude, and now a different voice speaks from within. "The Lady Katarin of Bolevar, yes, I know of this person. Tell me, rake, what harm has befallen you? And why does the Lady Katarin of Bolevar send you my way, when there are many other healers in this place?"

You swear, in that moment, that you see the antlers of The Sky Illuminated With Stars move, just a little, but in the same moment you feel as if the incense and smells of this place have increased tenfold. This place, wherever it is, is stranger than you could possibly have imagined, and despite what Katarin told you, you begin to fear for some threat yet unseen.

What do you do?

Xie

You arrive at the front gate of Lord Albrecht's keep, but you immediately recognize that something is wrong. The smell of blood is on the air, and you could swear that you can hear, just faintly, the sound of iron clashing against iron. Before you can draw your weapon and advance, however, the door swings open, revealing an almost impossibly large figure. The person--if that is what it is that now faces you--stands over eight feet tall, clad head-to-toe in solid plate mail painted blood red. Through the slits in the helm you can see two eyes, black but for the sunlight glinting off of them. On the figure's hip it has strapped a broadsword that would like comically large on a regular person, but more closely resembles a toothpick here. The figure speaks, an impossibly deep voice filling your ears and your head.

"You are wrong to come here, Xie, Who Walks Again. Albrecht Donnerfeldt is not here, I have seen to it that he is safe. Doom comes to Broken Tooth, I fear. Leave this place at once, or risk severing the threads of fate."

And then, like that, the figure is gone. There is no magical popping sound, no wisp of smoke, no flash of light. Rather, where once an imposing figure clad in blood-red armor had once stood, now there is not. Behind, you can see dead bodies, bearing the standards of both Broken Tooth and House Entremar. If anyone lives in the hall, you cannot see them from this door.

What do you do?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●○○○»

Many have claimed I am nothing more than a killer and am innocent of military virtues, but I have these two at least - the ability to fall asleep anywhere, and to waken immediately.

"I'm much familiar with powerful men wanting my head on a spike, or worse. Though it's been a long time since it wasn't for my own sake."

"As for trust - I barely know you, Ena Soon-to-Be, and you know me not at all. We both roll the dice this day. But I believe your words. Be swift then." I heed my own advice, pulling on my pack and the sword, and taking up the spear. I take the gold as well - I've no qualms in letting the Lord here pay me for my time and trouble. If he thinks it a poor bargain, then he can lodge a complaint.

As soon as I am ready, I indicate for the girl to lead.

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●○○○»

My teeth clench together until I feel like they might crack. Fate! The threads of Fate were to be my cradle, my cocoon! like all of our great heroes, I was fated to rest in the Great Slumber, dreaming on my bier, until the Tuatha could reclaim the lands Under the Hill from the chaos that had consumed them and bring us back home in glory. Every seer who could speak prophecy, every oracle in the Shining Kingdom, heard that spill from their lips as their first pronouncement when the Sight claimed them. And yet, I am here. I walk again in this place, not across the sea and Under the Hill. My fate was denied me: why should I not deny Fate what it desires?

The figure disappears before I can vent my sudden rage, and I push it aside, stooping to examine the slain men. I check their weapons, their wounds, their surroundings, to see if I can reconstruct what happened here.



---

Read a Charged Situation: 2d6+1=9: What should I be on the lookout for?

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


Insults, or commentary from a mind clearly different? "I was stabbed in an attack on our caravan on the way to the city," I explain matter-of-factly. "The Lady sent me your way because she said she knew you, though there are many other healers in the city." I look at the shifting form, in front of me, and am somewhat unable to tell whether they're shifting in and out of focus or that's just the impression they're trying to give. "I would assume she thinks highly of your talents." And yet, something seems off. I try to steel what energy I have left, and scrutinize the inscrutable.

Reading the Sky...: 2d6+2 9
Holding 1.

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Pentaviso

"Stabbed, you say? Interesting, most interesting." Again the voice has seemed to change: more feminine this time, and just a touch quieter. The Sky Illuminated With Stars walks towards a table against the left wall, and throws a few herbs and berries into a bowl and begins grinding them to make a salve. While they do so, they quickly wave a hand towards the door, and you see a sheet that had previously been covering some unknown object slide off it and onto the floor. The object turns out to be a large slab made of a silver metal, etched around and around with runes that you could not even begin to decipher.

The Sky Illuminated With Stars puts down the pestle and walks towards the metal slab, bowl in hand. "Come, lie down here and tell me what happened. Who stabbed you, and for what reason?"

What do you do?

Xie

Hesitantly, you step into the room. The hall reeks like a charnel house, the stench of blood and death filling every breath you take. Gingerly, you step through the room, taking care not to disturb the bodies. You track the footprints and slowly begin to piece together fractions of the whole story. A guard of Broken Tooth who, in his final dying act, slit the throat of a soldier of House Entremar and fell with him to the ground. A servant of the Lord Albrecht, cut down in her haste to escape the room. An arrow, embedded firmly in Albrecht's throne where his head would have been.

What you can not figure out, however, is why this fight began, nor why there seem to be no survivors. But as you stand here, you begin to feel something strange, or perhaps even otherworldly. Your vision seems to narrow, just a little, and you can feel blood begin to pump through your veins faster and faster. You know this feeling well, because it's the feeling you get before a fight to the death. But there's no one else here, at least as far as you can see. Just you, a pile of broken corpses, and adrenaline throughout your body.

What do you do?

Siroko

Ena nods, and darts into the darkness. You're surprised at how nimbly she can navigate the streets in that dress of hers, but you are a Thunder and have no real trouble keeping up with her. Then, suddenly, she stops and raises her hand. Motioning forward, she says, "Up there is the main gate. At night they usually just run a pair of guards, but, uh, I don't know what's happening here."

Sure enough, there's not a pair of guards but nearly a dozen, each holding a lit torch and lighting up the entire front wall of the town. The wall itself is a simple barricade of vertical sharpened logs held together with iron. The guards don't seem to be particularly attentive, but by sheer number you know that you and Ena would never be able to make it through the gate unseen. She looks at you expectantly, waiting to hear your assessment of the situation.

What do you do?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I move up a bit to get a better view, staying low and holding my spear parallel to the ground. The unexpected is often as much an opportunity as a challenge - there are more eyes to see, yes, but more torches also means more night-blindness, and the guards as like to be distracted by the change from the routine as anything.

Read a Situation (+Sharp): 2d6+1 10
• Where’s my best escape route/way past?
• What should I be on the lookout for?
• Who’s in control here?

Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Mar 1, 2018

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


I tell The Sky Illuminated With Stars of our small wagon. I tell them of our stop by the guards, of the issuance of a warrant that the accused did not know of. I tell them of the surprise attack of, seemingly, guard on guard. I tell them of the swift combat that occurred, and how I was stabbed defending myself. I tell them how Katarin saved my life. And all the while, I am focused on a hint of more human behavior and reaction. Come on, what's really going on here?

Spending 1-hold. What is The Sky Illuminate With Stars really feeling?

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

The hag just stirs. Perhaps she is waking? Or perhaps she has already awoken and even now waits for me to let my guard down.

I'll be flogged before I untie that witch, even for a moment. If I'm going to go outside, I'll just have to haul the drat blankets.

Before I go to check the barn though... Holding the iron poker behind my back, I lean down and give her a smack across the face. Let's see if I can have a word with this wench.

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●○○○»

I take a deep breath in. My heart pounds like a smith at his forge, harder than it does in actual battle. This isn't right. A spell? A curse? It could be responsible for all of this, violence out of nowhere in a place for audience and discussion.

I exhale, and push my presence outwards with my breath. A ring of dust and blood-droplets expands outwards as I call upon my wyrd and grasp outwards into the world, seeking something--to feel the shape of whatever enchantment is doing this, to pull a vision of the past out of the air, something.

---

Grasp blindly outward: 2d6-1 = 9

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Drowned Tikorn

Your hand stings as you pull it back from the woman's face. Her eyes blink a bit, and her head rolls to the side. Her arms begin to move, as if trying to free herself, but the ropes binding her are simply tied too tightly. She opens her mouth and tries to speak, but the words are too slurred and distorted for you to make heads or tails of. It is clear that her mind is still reeling from the sharp blow you used to knock her unconscious, and you wonder how long it will be before she regains her senses to speak again--or if she even needs her senses fully aware to weave some spell against you. For now, though, she remains incoherent and unable to speak. Outside, you hear the cold wind whip against the walls of the cabin.

What do you do?

Pentaviso

The Sky Illuminated With Stars is nearly impossible to read, you find with some dismay. So hard to read, in fact, that you even begin to wonder if the figure in front of you is human at all. You have heard tales, of course, of the strange creatures that dwelled in many worlds before this one, but you have never heard tales of anyone other than a human finding their way to this place. Yet somehow, standing here focusing on this strange individual, you begin to feel a pair of emotions resonating off of them. Compassion, both for the patients and for the world at large. And hunger. A deep hunger, unlike any you have felt before.

The Sky Illuminated With Stars seems to take no notice of your attempts to read them. Rather, hearing your story, they nod silently, then motion back towards the runed slab. "I see. Thank you for sharing your tale with me. Please, have a seat and I shall do what I can for your injuries." The voice is a deep baritone this time, resonating from inside the helmet.

What do you do?

Xie

You feel the world slow to a crawl as you push outwards. Against a corpse on the ground you feel the beating of the wings of a fly, slowly, the small air currents nevertheless affecting every other part of the room. You feel a minuscule piece of plaster fall from a high place along the walls, soon to become more dust to be swept away along the ground. And you feel an energy in the room, a dark energy weaving through this place like an errant thread on a loom. You recognize it immediately as some work of grim magic, but you are no sorceress, and the warp and weft of the spell are as alien to you as the machinations of the cosmos are to that fly on the corpse.

Your connection fades, and you feel the world speed back up again. You lose all sense of the fly, and of the plaster, and of the spell lingering in this place. The wretched smell of this violent place fills your nose, and again you feel the adrenaline begin to course through your veins, your hands craving to hold your sword-spear close and keep some unseen enemy at bay.

What do you do?

Siroko

From your elevated vantage you can get a much better view of the guards. The first thing you notice is that your initial impression may have been wrong--despite remaining firmly behind the wall, the guards don't appear to be trying to keep anything in, but rather trying to keep someone or something out. You are of course familiar enough with the ebb and flow of combat to know that this gives you a powerful advantage, for the enemy that does not see the threat coming is no threat themselves. Given this power you have over this situation, perhaps your best escape route is straight through the main gate: you are strong enough, after all, to fight your way past these guards long enough to escape into the dark night. However, you fear that Ena would likely not be able to follow you.

Still though, something about this situation gives you pause. Why are the guards so numerous, but so inattentive towards whatever it is they're supposed to be on the lookout for? Why would guards protecting a town not stand in places to see a threat coming from the other side of the wall? You haven't fully deduced the situation yet, but there is definitely more going on here than meets the eye, and you know that whatever that threat is, it is the true threat here--not a group of poorly-trained guards with torches and spears.

What do you do?

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I pull my breath in and tighten my focus. My wyrd is a weapon, a shield, a smith's hammer, a thief's garrote. I am no spell-weaver like the great mages of the Shining Kingdom, the ones who maintained our amenities, sent our messages, spun our wards.

But I have the scent of it, now. It is a dark, twisting thing, a weaving beyond my understanding--but I have hunted dark and mysterious things before.
I exhale again, dust and blood and plaster rushing away from me, the columns creaking under the weight of my wyrd, and I pursue it, seeking either a link to something here, or to something or someone elsewhere. The focus, or the originator. So long the spell persists, it should be able to guide me to one or the other.

---

Holding my course despite danger: 2d6+3 = 10

LogicNinja fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Mar 8, 2018

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

Something is wrong here. I move back enough for Ena to see me, and gesture for her to stay hidden. Then I turn my attention back to the guards. I just need a moment with one to ask some questions. I look for one or two on their own, distracted and not in the sight of others. Once I pick out my target, I move to follow them, listening and waiting for the moment I can drop down on them. If I can get one alone, a blade to the throat should be incentive enough for answers. If I have to put a spear into the back of one a pair to get the other alone, than so be it.

Siroko is going to try and waylay a guard and ask some questions. Ideally if she can spot one alone, she'll go after them, but if they're moving in pairs she'll try to take one down fast and grab the other. The key is she needs to be able to do it without someone else immediately noticing. She'll keep her ears open as well, in case they have loose tongues.

I think this might be "When you're the cat..." but I'm not really sure.
When you're the cat (+Cool): 2d6+1 8

Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Mar 8, 2018

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


Something is wrong here, it really is. And yet, Katarin saved my life. Would she do that only to feed me to some sort of demon? No, I do not think truly think so, not with the look in her eyes and her reactions.

So I will wait, and let The Sky Illuminated With Stars do what they will. They are unsettling, and unusual, even for this second life. And something occurs to me. "How long have you been here in Broken Tooth, The Sky Illuminated With Stars?" Just. Making. Small. Talk.

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

Whether she's still out or not, it's clear the witch won't be answering my questions any time soon.

I move to the bedding, such as it is, and try my best to wrap myself in the warmest pieces. Time to see if the screams are coming from that barn.

Tying one end of the line I found securely around my waist as if preparing to brave a storm-swept deck, I decide I will secure the other end somewhere outside the shack. If someone in that barn needs help, I'm worthless if I can't guide us back. And if the screams in the barn are something more... sinister, I need to be able to make my way back here to barricade until daybreak.

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Pentaviso

While it's obviously hard to read emotions of any person as obscured by clothing as The Sky Illuminated With Stars, you nevertheless feel as if they are surprised by your question. They pause what they're doing for a moment, and then speak. This time the voice is androgynous and barely audible through the muffling effects of their helmet.

"Time is... time is immaterial here, rake, surely you recognize that fact? Many different worlds flow into this place, and they all function slightly differently, and forty or four hundred years in one may be but an instant in another. As for me? When I awoke to find the sky above me different from the one I knew, it was here, in the place that would become Broken Tooth. It has known many names, as have I. I do not track the motions of the constellations or the passing of the seasons, erratic as they seem, and I do not attempt to render my life's experiences down to a number that signifies how long I have been alive--or dead, I suppose." You hear a small chuckle from inside The Sky Illuminated With Stars's helmet. "I am being obtuse. A few years before Albrecht Donnerfeldt ascended the throne of this place and named it Broken Tooth, that is when I lived here."

The Sky Illuminated With Stars motions once more towards the runed slab. "You are an odd fellow, I must say. Most people would not take such an interest in one such as me, but here you are anyway. Especially if, like you, they had suffered a serious wound not long before. Come, sit here, and let me clean that wound before it festers."

What do you do?

Xie

You feel the wyrd rush around you, and your breathing slows and the adrenaline leaves your heart. You imagine you are not safe here, of course, but for the moment, you are in control. Whatever this spell is that fills this place, whoever weaved it and for whatever purpose, surely it must be connected to the violence and carnage strewn about you.

And then, for a brief moment, you feel as if the bodies are watching you, their eyes opening and following your every motion, tracking you as you explore the space. Then you blink, and they are closed again, and they do not reopen. You remember the words of the figure in blood-red armor you saw but for a moment when you came here. "The thread of fate is severed. Doom comes to Broken Tooth." And then, you feel fear again--not the magical fear you felt before (your wyrd still stands vanguard against that) but a much more natural, human fear. A fear of the unknown, and a fear of what may be to come.

What do you do?

Siroko

Ena lays down as low on the ground as she can as you disappear into the shadows. You find an area not far from the wall, nestled between two small buildings, to make your ambush. It's not an ideal place, for while the guards have been patrolling back and forth here for some time, so you know that you won't have a terribly long time to interrogate one before the others recognize their absence. Still, it seems to be by far your best option.

You pick at a guard and, as they walk past, quickly leap from the shadows, looping your spear around their neck and choking them so they cannot scream for help. You drag the guard back into the shadows. She's a young woman, perhaps in her early-to-mid 20s, wearing boiled leather armor bearing the mark of House Entremar. She looks up at you, her eyes full of fear, clearly expecting a knife in her gut any second.

What do you do?

Drowned Tikorn

You step out into the cold and are immediately buffeted by strong winds and near white-out conditions from the raging snowstorm. You raise your arms to shield your eyes, and manage to find not far from the door what appears to be a hitching post for a horse. Figuring that this will do nicely, you tie the other end of the rope to it, and begin slowly trudging in the direction of the barn and the screams. It's not actually a long walk, but it feels like ages as you walk through the deepening snow and try not to be blown over by the wind.

Nevertheless you make it eventually to the barn door, and pull it open. The barn is not nearly as well-insulated as the cabin was, and you still feel the cold air and wind against you after stepping inside, but for the most part, you are safely out of the storm. Again you hear the screams, and it is clear this time that they are here in this room with you. Curiously, however, you cannot tell where the screams are coming from--as far as you can tell, this is an empty and mostly-abandoned barn, full of empty stalls for horses, grains stored for the winter, and sealed barrels against the wall.

What do you do?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I work my grip up so I can keep her in hand while freeing my off hand. That lets me draw my fighting knife, which I bring up to her face. I tap her on the cheek, making sure she sees the wide flat blade, the dull metal gleaming. "What is it you guard against this night?"

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I gather my wyrd back with a shudder. As always when I muster it, my eyes light up amber-gold, and, I can see my Shell, my aura--a translucent swirl of obsidian and black opal, sparking with multiple colors. I can see the spell reaching out for me, its energy filtering into my Shell, trying to twist the energy to give it overtones of fear and rage. I block it out.

I was expecting an object or a sigil, the focus of a spell. But this does not work like the sorceries I am used to. Either that figure in red armor was truly here and stepped through empty air to depart, or he can strike from a distance.

I leave the room, and shut the door behind me, listening for the sounds of life, checking the rooms. Someone else will be in charge, now. They need to know what happened here. And I need an angle. I need to know more about who has done this--and what they might do next.

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Siroko

The woman's eyes are full of panic. She may be a guard of Fort Entremar, but it is clear she is not experienced in the ways of violence. "I-I-I-I-" she stammers, then quickly catches herself. She swallows, and tries again.

"I'm not privy to the full details, you must understand, but Lord Entremar, he is afraid of something out in the night. Some of m-m-m-my colleagues think it is House Telbatin he fears, but I-I-I-I don't think that could be. No army could sneak here under cover over darkness, you understand?
B-b-b-but... I heard my superiors talking. Only in whispers, you understand. Something made of shadows themselves, moving in the darkness. An evil force, or at least, a strange and unknowable one. I heard them say that l-l-l-light could repel it, and they armed us all with t-t-t-torches, but.... oh gods don't kill me please! I'm just doing as I'm told!"

The woman is about to scream, and you slam your hand down over her mouth just before she can, muffling the sound. Closer to the gate, you hear the other guards speaking. Perhaps it is idle chatter, but perhaps they have noticed one of their number go missing.

What do you do?

Xie

Although it takes you several rooms to do so, you do eventually find a room in Albrecht's keep with living people in it. It's a storeroom of sorts, holding salted meats and dried fruits and other foodstuffs intended for serving later. In a corner huddle a few servants, both men and women, who somehow escaped the carnage of this place. It takes several minutes to convince them that you mean them no harm, but eventually they do calm down. One of them, a pale young man who identifies himself only as Tristan, tells you everything he knows.

According to Tristan, House Entremar had sent a surprise envoy to Lord Albrecht earlier this week, requesting aid in some war to come against their rivals in the south, House Telbatin. Negotiations seemed to be going well (although, by Tristan's own admission, he is naïve in the ways of diplomacy), until something changed suddenly and without warning. Tristan describes it as lightning, a sudden flash of violence and anger, with swords drawn and epithets shouted seemingly out of nowhere. A soldier of House Entremar drew his bow and quickly loosed an arrow, aimed directly at Lord Albrecht's head. Tristan watched the arrow flying and felt as though time itself had stopped for a moment. A warrior he could swear he had not seen before, one dressed head-to-toe in blood-red armor, dove and tackled Lord Albrecht out of his throne as the arrow embedded itself where his head would have been just an instant before. And then they were gone, the figure in blood-red armor and Lord Albrecht both, lost in the chaos. Tristan fled then, leaving the sounds of battle behind, and hid in the storeroom, only to be found by you. The other servants corroborate his story as best they can, although most fled the moment the swords were drawn.

What do you do?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I hold my hand tight over her mouth, looking up to check that no one is coming. "Your life is in your hands. Tell me where I can pass through these walls unseen and unchallenged, and you will keep it."

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


I slide over to where The Sky Illuminated With Stars indicates, and prepare for them to treat my shoulder. "I haven't been dead all that long, really," I confess, "About two years." And then something they have said registers with me. "You lived here before you were dead? Strange, I have met no one that is truly from here, everyone is from another realm." I keep staring at the Sky Illuminated With Stars, wondering which voice will come next. But now I'm lost. "For what reasons would an injured person be less interested in you than a healthy person?"

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

That I can still hear the screams gives me pause - surely if it was some beast or witchspawn it would have attacked me as I entered the barn. I am now more certain than ever that I am hearing someone in distress.

Given that I spy nothing in my brief glance around the barn except for the barrels along the wall, I will decide that I will start there. Grasping the iron fire poker, I make my way towards the barrels to pry them open and see what's inside.

LogicNinja
Jan 21, 2011

...the blur blurs blurringly across the blurred blur in a blur of blurring blurriness that blurred...

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+3 Hard+0 Hot+1 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 3-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I scowl at Tristan's story. Only when I realize I'm scaring the lad do I show him empty hands and a reassuring smile. Well, maybe reassuring--teeth just a little sharper than the people of this place, a wolf grin from a forgotten age. Faerie, the people dwelling in huts on the edges of the Chaos Beyond called us when the Tuatha arrived in our shining ships from Under the Hill and across the sea. Emere. Tien.

It was a tumultuous time. So is this one, though it is dirtier, smaller, far less glorious.

I put my smile away, but nod to Tristan. "You did right to flee. That man in red armor--I saw him when I entered the throne room, nattering about Fate. He has spirited Albrecht away somewhere, but I do not know if he laid the spell on those in the throne room or if he was merely there to save him. I will find out."

I look at the gathered few. "Are you all that is left? Bar the door to the throne room. Do not enter--the spell is a live thing yet, seeking more victims. Then find whoever is left alive in this keep and gather them. The danger is mostly passed, but we must forge a way forward, and the keep will need someone to be in command."

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Siroko

The woman's eyes dart to the side quickly, then snap back down. It's clear she's looking for a way out of this, and not finding one. "There's, oh gods don't tell anyone I told you this, there's a secret way out. Two blocks west of here--" she nods with her head, indicating a direction, "--there's a way out of the city. Smugglers use it, and the captain of the guard pretends not to know about it for kickbacks. At this hour I'd wager my life there won't be anyone there."

Just as she finishes telling you, you hear the familiar sound of boots on cobblestone, close to you and getting closer. Another guard is almost certainly just about on top of you.

What do you do?

Drowned Tikorn

Poker in hand, you pry the lid of the first barrel open. You're not entirely certain what to expect--grains of some kind seem likely, maybe, or perhaps the barrels are empty. When the lid comes off, however, immediately you hear another scream, clearly coming from inside the barrel. What's more, you immediately recognize the identity of the scream: it is Cerlen Orkel's voice coming from the barrel. You look inside, but the barrel appears to be empty to your eyes. Just as you do, the wind of the storm outside picks up again, and in the drafty barn you even feel the blankets around you lift up just a little. As if to make the situation even more stressful, you swear that you hear, just barely, the sound of footsteps in the snow outside, slow and shuffling.

What do you do?

Pentaviso

"You misunderstand me!" laughs The Sky Illuminated With Stars. The voice this time is almost impossibly low, and you can feel it reverberating in your chest like the hoofbeats of horses. "I mean simply that most are not interested in my life's story, and certainly not when they have a gaping wound in their shoulder! Whether my life is interesting or not I suppose is a matter of personal discretion, but regardless, it is less important than a wound that even now begins to fester! I ask you one last time, please sit and allow me to treat you!"

What do you do?

Xie

The servants, visibly scared both by the situation and by your presence, nevertheless do as you ask. You watch as they run back through the halls that led you here, towards the throne room, where the spell still lies in wait. And now you are alone, standing in an abandoned hallway of the ruined tower that serves as the palace of Lord Albrecht, no more knowledgeable about the situation, and no more understanding of the threats that still lie in wait here in Broken Tooth.

And then you get a feeling, faint but unmistakable, of being watched. Not by someone here with you in the hallway, no, but by someone afar. Or something.

We'll pick this up next session.

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

I press the knife against her throat a little tighter. Another me, in another time, might have driven it in to the hilt. Not this me. Though I will not pretend that foremost in my mind is that a body is likely to be found, and the alarm soon raised. So I will try another way. I put the blade away, then press a coin into her palm, closing her fingers around it.

"Tell no one," I hiss in her ear, then shove her forward as I slip back and away. Fear and greed will hopefully bind her tongue tonight, and in the morning when questions are asked. A paid guard is an accomplice, not a victim.

I move back to where I left Ena. It's past time to be quit this place.

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x o o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


Perhaps I have been slightly delirious after all, as I thought it was clear I was allowing The Sky Illuminated With Stars to treat me. Perhaps their very presence is disorienting. Regardless, I nod, and sit where they ask.

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Pentaviso

The Sky Illuminated With Stars nods when you sit on the slab, but says nothing. They walk towards the back of the room, grab a few assorted items (a crystal, the eyes of some unknown animal, an herb you have never seen before, a bell) and return to you. You never truly learn what they do with the items, however, for when The Sky Illuminated With Stars speaks again, they begin to intone a spell. Their voice this time is as if a chorus of thousands is singing, in a language you cannot even begin to comprehend, singing what you can only describe as a funeral dirge. And yet, in some way, it seems hopeful, as if to The Sky Illuminated With Stars, death is not the end. Fitting, you suppose.

You remember nothing else as you slide into inky blackness.

Roll Grasp Outward. We’ll pick this up next session.

Siroko

Ena remains exactly where you left her, low on the ground, out of view of the guards. She seems startled at your return, but perhaps that is no surprise: you are, after all, keeping as low a profile as you possibly can to avoid detection from the guards. With Ena by your side, the two of you sneak your way two blocks west, as the guard had indicated. You are both surprised and delighted to find Ena able to match your quick pace and quiet run, despite the long dress she still wears.

When you arrive, it is immediately obvious to you where the smuggler’s entrance must be that the guard told you about : down a dark, cramped alley, along the town wall, lies a small inn identified on its sign as The Timid Night. Although the Thunders were heroes of great renown, you nevertheless have spent much time in the underbellies of cities before, and you know that this must be the place. A torch is lit outside the tavern, welcoming travelers. The inn itself, however, looks anything but welcoming: the door is barely attached to its hinges, the thatch roof looks even from here to be full of holes, and the ground around the inn is more poo poo than dirt.

What do you do?

Captain Foo
May 11, 2004

we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'


3-Wound | 0-Armor | 3-Keep | x x x o o >
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1


I do not understand. Perhaps, in time, I will. There is something more to this world, it is not just an afterlife. It is not just another life. Does anyone really understand?

Grasping Blindly Outwards: 2d6-1 8

Alehkhs
Oct 6, 2010

The Sorrow of Poets

1 Harm | 1 armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot=0 Sharp+1 Weird-1 | 1 keep | XP ○○○○○» (1 Adv.)

The screaming emanating from the otherwise empty barrel causes my gut to drop, not least because I now recognize the voice. Does my crew need help?

Ignoring at the moment the sound of footsteps outside the barn, I lean down into the barrel and examine the bottom. Is this a trick? Witchcraft?

Or have I gone mad?

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

0:00 Harm 2-armor | Cool+1 Hard+2 Hot-2 Sharp+1 Weird+2 | 1-keep | XP ●●●○○»

"Stay close," I tell Ena as we approach the inn. I decide simply to enter openly - this is our way through, and if there is someone inside, they're like to see us coming even if we try and sneak in. This way, if there is to be a confrontation, it should be sooner rather than later.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

quiggy
Aug 7, 2010

[in Russian] Oof.




Siroko

The door to The Timid Night swings open with an awful creaking sound, the hinges rusted from years of neglect. The inn itself, you soon discover, is no better: it reeks of ale and vomit, and several people lie passed out on the ground. A number of tables are surrounded by drunks playing various gambling games, and the innkeeper and servers themselves have their hands full trying to keep the place from falling into even more chaos. A man steps out in front of you and Ena and blocks your path, his hand clasped on the handle of a sword at his waist. You note that he does not appear to be drunk, and you assume that he is a hired guard for the inn, although he makes no effort to identify himself as such.

"Ain't seen yer faces 'round here afore, yeah? Who does you think you is?" His voice is low and grizzled, his facial hair unkempt, his teeth yellowed and stained. Nobody else seems to pay any attention to the man or to the two unknown people who have found their way inside.

What do you do?

Drowned Tikorn

You reach down and scrape the bottom of the barrel with your hand. The moment your skin touches the bottom, a few things happen simultaneously. The storm outside intensifies again, and you begin to worry that the wind will be strong enough to knock down this barn. The screams suddenly migrate out of the barrel to the back of the barn. And you hear the front doors of the barn fly open, and the old woman calls out again with a stronger, louder voice, screaming bloody murder. You pull your head out of barrel and quickly assess the situation. The witch-woman has somehow freed herself from the ropes you tied, and is now in the barn, hovering if you can believe it, wreathed in snow and ice blowing around her like a winter tempest. And in the back of the room, you see your missing crew: all of them accounted for, standing there, but translucent, as if caught between here and some other place.

The witch-woman screams again and flies towards you, hands outstretched.

What do you do?

  • Locked thread