|
What she thought was true was really a sudden allusion, maybe a prophetic dream in an instant as the bear attacked and hurt her greatly. Now alone against the bear, her compatriots far away from one another, she dropped her crossbow, and held a palm to her hand in attempt to heal herself quickly before drawing a dagger and attempting to stab at it.
"Death to you foul beast!
Argoni's bottle shocks the bear, causing its guard to drop. Zoresk and Zaos take aim, hitting the bear once apiece.
Khenari raises a hand and tries to manipulate healing energy into her. But this bear's reactions are ready, and it takes the opportunity to attack her. Her vision comes true as the bear tears into her and leaves her bleeding out on the ice.
With two down, the bear isn't sure who to attack.
It turns to the goblin archer and practically shoves the ice aside to reach him.
The flames continue to flare, but the bear doesn't care.
Da Bear (39 damage, Persistent Fire 1, Flat-footed until Argoni's turn)
Aldonza (28 damage, Unconscious)
Zoresk
Khenari (15 damage, Dying 2)
Argoni (Lesser Cheetah Elixir)
Zaos (9 damage)
Zaos decides now is a bad time to shoot, and stabs the bear once. Zoresk takes a shot at the bear. It twists out of the way but Argoni's lightning jolts it into the bolt's path.
Argoni decides that was a good idea, so he tries for an encore. If only Aldonza could see this show, he thinks.
The bear is filled with arrows and bolts. With flames and thunder surging through its fur it gathers the strength to maul Zaos.
Zaos thanks his military training as he ducks under the bite. But he curses his discipline when the bear grabs him with its claw and roars in his face.
Da Bear (74 damage, Persistent Fire 1, Flat-footed until Argoni's turn, Grabbing Zaos)
Aldonza (28 damage, Unconscious)
Zoresk
Khenari (15 damage, Unconscious)
Argoni (Lesser Cheetah Elixir)
Zaos (16 damage, Grabbed)
Zaos gives the bear one more defiant stab as it yells at him. He can feel its grip faltering.
Argoni figures out a master plan: revive Aldonza, shoot the bear. Shoot the bear, revive Aldonza. Revive and shoot. Perfect!
His master plan crashes as he tries to do both at the same time. The healing potion vaguely splashes in Aldonza's direction, a few drops dripping down her gullet as the rest spill across the ice.
The bowstring splits its force between the bottle and the arrow. But it's enough to graze the bear. With one final whimper it tumbles over, releasing Zaos.
Aldonza stirs awake, seething from two bite wounds.
Oluf groans from beneath the snow mound. Leif lies unmoving outside the bear's cavern.
Leif coughs as he drinks the elixir down. "Oluf! Steen! Unn!" He stumbles to his feet before falling to one knee. "The bear dragged Steen and Unn into the cave. Smashed Oluf around the tree. Then I climbed out of the sled's wreckage..." He pants.
Inside the cave, you find Steen and Unn unconscious but alive.
|
Aldonza slowly comes to.
Cold. They say the Hells are cold, where the ice devils live. I didn’t think I was *that* bad
Then she sees Argoni. Oh good, spending eternal torture with a familiar face. That’s comforting
”Help her!”
She lifts her head to see where he’s pointing. Khenari, down on the ice. The bear, lying dead beyond her. Now she remembers.
The show must go on.
Rising to her feet, she treads carefully over to Khenari. ”Here’s to victory!”, she says, raising the potion bottle. ”First round’s one me”
She pours it into Khenari’s mouth.
|
|
Khenari stirred, coughing out as she awoke from her unconscious slumber, "I live... I am not called yet to stand beside my goddess yet. That damned thing has ruined my jackets," she says standing up with a slight limp and sickly look. Being revived wasn't a fun experience, nor being mauled by a bear.
Limping over, she'd go over to the unconscious bodies of Steen and Unn, grabbing a hardened waterproofed box from her backpack, "I'll try my calling of the divine to heal them but worse case I shall use proper medicine."
For Argoni she gets out the needles, flicking the tip, "Hold still, this is just something to go against an infection. I'll need to bandage you proper."
Khenari's blessing awakens Steen and Unn. "Unn, watch out, the bear..." his arms wave lazily until Unn holds his hand. "We're alive, thanks to the Roadies. Slowly, now."
Oluf climbs out of the snow mound before skipping towards Leif. His bear hug lifts his partner right off the ground. "Oluf... my ribs, please! Also, maybe later?" Oluf makes sure both of Leif's feet touch the ground at the same time.
Leif pats Oluf and turns to you. "Thank you for saving us. I hope you don't mind if we hitch a ride to the finish line with you. We're in no shape to go alone."
Two tall, wooden linnorm statues mark the finish line to the harrowing Balgirdtrek. Crossing the line, the gathered crowd of spectators and participants cheers and applauds. Racers are met with blankets, soup, and medical supplies almost as soon as they are within the village of Frostgarten, where spectators are gathered to celebrate the competition and those who completed it.
Dahlia is the first to greet you all. ”Well done, Agents of the Open Road. I think you did your organization proud.”
Spectators see you and flood the path, drowning you in a mass of questions, inquiries, and chants. Dahlia has to part her way through the crowd, with the officials parting a path. ”Come on, hurry up already before Two Houses catches up.” She arranges you in a circle on top of a small mound of snow.
”This has been a year of firsts. The Varki competed. We made a new route. And Agents of the Open Road, accomplished Pathfinders, scored their first ever victory. Balgird himself would be proud. Three cheers for our victors!” She raises her hands and hands each of you a wooden mug as the crowd cheers, held back by the officials and some hired security.
Dahlia turns to you. ”Let’s get inside, quick. All of that hot cocoa isn’t going to drink itself. Besides, it’s a lot warmer and comfortable without your adoring fans.” Dahila leads you inside the victory lodge and gestures at a wooden table. ”By the way, winners are responsible for preparing the feast and tending to the wounded. Don’t give me that look, of course I’ll help. And by I, I mean my staff will help. See ya!” Dahila laughs and leaves the lodge before you have a chance to protest.
|
|
Aldonza stares at Dahlia’s retreating back, her mouth agape. She turns to the others, and lets out a peal of laughter.
”We barely drag our frozen carcasses over the finish line, and now we have to cook!?”, she exclaims. ”Right, I’ll be the entree!”
She curls up on a serving platter. ”That oven looks nice and warm! Just stick an apple in my mouth!”
|
Argoni cheers along with everyone else and then rushes in for a mug of the steaming chocolate drink. He snags several marshmallows and stuffs them into his mouth to hide them. "mmhmm mmwhwmrrwmrm"
He smiles and then quickly chews and swallows. "Oh, sure. We can help. I'm happy to tend to any wounded. Then we can eat!" He pulls out another marshmallow from his pocket and stuffs it into his mouth.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Leif pops his head into the kitchen and scratches at some of his bandages. "Thank you for saving us. Steen drew a picture of the sunrise as it crested through a snow-bound forest. We want to comission an artist to render it, but we want you to have the sketch." He pulls out an ink-bound scroll.
Crowds cheer from below as the another team arrives.
Wyrdling Wayfinders arrived in third, with Faegrim carrying both of her half-frozen squires over her shoulder. They both thought of polishing her favorite shield and managed to drop it into a freezing lake during a tug of war. Turns out that was not her favorite shield.
|
|
Khenari was already however nursing a drink, escaping the cheering and attempting for someone to buy her a drink as someone attended to her own wounds. Sitting glumly on a bench, she opted out of hot chocolate for something far harder, looking absolutely horrid as she sneezed.
"I think I have caught a cold."
|
Zoresk shrugs and moves to the food storage, leaning his crossbow against a wall. He tosses Aldonza an apple jokingly, before pulling out some supplies.
"Not the best cook, but I can make sure its edible." He moves then move the door and yells out to Dahlia, "Can you have some one skin and dress the bear. We could use some of the meat for the feast."
"Good thing we brought it back with us."
Bluetongue's Brawlers came in fourth. Predictably, frostbite set in during the last day and turned their skin a light shade of blue. Now you know where their name came from.
As you finish cooking the bear, Dahila returns and shoos away the rest of the staff. ”That smells like some tasty bear. Good job slaying it. That’s good news for us. I figure one of you magic types would get a kick out of this reward.” She pulls a scroll from her coat. ”It’s a spell of Snowball . Fun at parties.”
Fangs of the Rhemoraz came in last. Ylva says an avalanche buried the team and cost them valuable time, but Marbin says she challenged him to an impromptu shouting contest first. Runa hopes to get a quieter rematch next year to prove the strength of the Varki.
With the Agents of the Open Road at the head of the table, food is served and entertainers sweep in to play music and tell tales of heroism. Some of the newest songs relate to your efforts against a giant bear. Bellies are full, ears are filled, and the mission is successful.