The Knight takes as many fruit as she can carry (asking all of you if you have any spare bags or sacks), makes her goodbyes, and heads back to the ruins.
Sarthel thanks the old lady for the protection, and once you all get to the grove, fills her pack with fruits.
So, it sounds like you're about to Undertake a Perilous Journey. The Quartermaster gets a +2, as the fruit you've got will last you a while.
Everyone pick a role and...well, roll.
|
"Lead on, noble friends! I shall play the scout, and allay our fears evermore of being taken unawares by foul feinds most vile!" he states.
And after that he states a few more stanzas.
And then a few more.
Indeed, it seems he spends so much time in eloquent verse -about- scouting that he doesn't have much time left over to -be- scouting.
Or, even, to be quiet.
Teren has at least heard of the Ravenous Swamp, and tries to keep the group on the path there.
Teren does a magnificent job of guiding you all, taking un-obvious short cuts and generally taking the most direct route to the Ravenous Swamp. He cuts your journey down by 3 rations.
Which is good, because Zathra can't count (she's a Barbarian after all), and she fails to ration out the fruits correctly, and runs out 2 days early. Which means you have 1 ration left each when you reach the Swamp.
Brian, however, cannot keep quiet during the journey, and about halfway thru you all are attacked while you're walking thru a narrow canyon by creatures that look like a cross between a lion and a rhino. They rush at you suddenly from both sides of the canyon, howling with hunger.
What do you do?
Teren sifts through his memories, trying to recall anything about these creatures that might help calm or evade them.
|
|
"Bravely brave adventurers, did seek the hungry Swamp," Brian sings, bravely keeping their spirits up. "And--oh!--and then Hooooooooooo! did fearsome beasts upon them rage!" he shouts, not missing a beat and keeping up his ever-present narrative of song. "Steel did bear and upon this hour we shall rule and battle wage!"
The dulcet tones reverberate through the air, and as Brian draws his STEEL, it glows with eldritch fire.
"Braaaaaaaaaaavery calls my name!
In the sound of the wind in the night.
My sword will drink blood.
And I will fight! Yes I will fight!
In the Dawn! Of Battle!
Dawn of Battle!"
Zathra will also join the fray, stabbing with her spear and bashing with the blunt end if something gets too close.
Teren - no luck, mark XP.
Brian - your firey blade cuts deep into A, and the beast howls with rage and pain. But your stance was a bit off, which gives it a chance to swipe you with a massive claw. Take d8 damage.
Zathra - your spear penetrates deep into B, and it howls also. But before you can pull out your spear, it jerks, pulling you towards its large mouth full of teeth. Take d8 damage.
What do you do?
Teren steps in front of Brian, spear ready, and engages the beasts.
Ok, so Zathra attempts to attack again :
doing
Sarthel also attempts to attack creature C mentally :
doing
Zathra's vicious follow-up attack kills her beast.
Brian's pain not only throws off his singing voice, but distracts him from his creature's movements - take d8 damage and +1 XP.
Teren's foot slips as he steps in front of Brian, opening himself up to an attack - take d8 damage and +1 XP.
Sarthel's attack bounces harmlessly off her creature's hide.
What do you do?
Her blood pounding in her ears, Zathra continues her attack.
Teren adjusts his footing, and tries again to fend off the predators.
Sarthel attempts to attack creature C mentally again :
doing
Zathra's terrible attack kills the creature with a single blow ("don't make me mad - you wouldn't like me when I'm mad...").
Brian's hastily improvised spell affects him, but also bounces off of him and affects Teren as well (+1 HP).
Teren's attack does a little damage to his creature, but his footing is still unsure, and it attacks with a claw. Take d6 damage
Sarthel's attack bounces off the hide of her creature, *again*.
What do you do?
Teren thrusts again, driving at the same creature.
Zathra, what do you do (as if I didn't know, but you need to roll it)?
Zathra attacks the creature the Teren has been whittling away at, and manages to kill it.
The other two creatures, seeing so many of their kind falling at the hands of what they felt would be an easy lunch, turn tail and run.
What do you do?
Her blood pounding in her ears, Zathra gives chase.
Teren pauses, briefly touching the bodies of the slain beasts, before heading out after the other two. He calls out, "Why are you chasing them? They know we're not prey, they won't be back. "
Ok, Zathra, it's starting out as a sprint - roll Defy Danger/Dex, twice.
Ok, you catch up to both of them, what do you do?
Running the creatures to ground, Zathra scampers up a nearby rise and then flings herself off of it, spear first, at one of the creatures.
As you fling yourself off the rise, your foot slips, opening you up to an attack by the other creature. Take d6 damage.
You severely damage the creature you attacked, but it's still (barely) hanging on to life.
What do you do?
Zathra continues to stab wildly, the wound appearing not to have slowed her down at all.
She continues her assault on the creature she damaged.
|
|
Brian keeps moving after the pertinacious barbarian, humming to himself, trying to find the right sound.
"We are the seven,
judgement of heaven
Why don't we know :
We are the angels."
Brian starts bobbing his head up and down, getting into the grove. "Yeah. That's the gooood stuff. Let's see if we can keep it going.
We are, we are
We are made from broken parts...
If you can lose it all, then welcome to Broadway
Silicone dreams and your name on the Marque
And I can hold it up, but I hold it up hardly
It's hotter here in hell, but it's getting real dark see," he chants, extending his blade with a barbaric yop!
Zathra's first spear attack ripped thru the creature and knocked it down. Her second attack practically severs it in two, and it dies.
Brian, are you attempting to catch up with Zathra and engage the other creature? Or was that +d4 Damage Forward intended for Zathra?
What do you all do?
Finally catching up, Teren interposes himself between Zathra and the last of the predators. "That's enough, don't you think?"
Zathra, still clearly raging, looks at Teren wild-eyed and screams "You would leave prey that has fled from you alive?" she then screams a bit in Elven, but seems to calm down before stopping her attack and preparing to return to the group. She does, however, add before she leaves "You may take the form of a predator, but you are not one."
|
|
Still confidently smiling, Brian comes upon the pair not having heard the last exchange. Instead he just says, "Whoa. Teren, it looks like you've got some bad bleeding there. Hey! I know just what will cure that! Ahem. Oooooooooooooooooooooooo, always look on, the bright side of life."
*whistlewhistle* *whistle whistle whistle*
"Al-ways look on, the bri'ight side of life!"
*whistlewhistle* *whistle whistle whistle*
All his life, Brian never did much learn how to whistle.
"We've more meat than we can carry already, and leaving one alive means the rest of its pack will know not to attack us." Teren replies, matching the elf's wild gaze with calm stoicism. Teren heads back to the site of the attack, and begins to dress the carcasses.
So, you make camp for the night (and recover HP), then continue on your journey, well-laden with food.
You finally see the Evergreen mountains rise up over the horizon, and they just keep getting bigger as you continue towards them.
Eventually, you find a road heading in towards the mountains, and follow it.
Finally, at long last, the road leads you to a small Dwarven village.
What do you do?
"I'll let one of you do the talking. I don't really want to talk to drunken racists."
Teren and/or Brian, what do you do?
Teren allows the irony of Zathra's remark to pass, instead just nodding and saying " That's fine." He approaches the village casually, watching for guards or lookouts.