Kiley obeys Shaggar's command without hesitating. Unfortunately, she slips on the road, and instead of leaping up onto the fence, crashes into it as she tries to keep her balance.
Characters:
-- Kiley
-- Sally
-- Warchanter
-- Goblin Squad 1
-- Goblin Squad 3
Characters:
-- Shaggar
-- Goblin Squad 2
Characters:
Characters:
Characters:
"Get the gnoll," the woman growls in the goblin tongue to the baker's dozen goblins as Shaggar scrambles over the fence.
"You heard Miss Sally! Get the furball," one of the goblins, a female decked out in once fine tasseled scarves that are now threadbare and frayed. She rushes for the fence, only to get dragged down by her pants when a squad of the goblins follows her a little too eagerly.
One of the other squads fares little better, though they at leas avoid getting tangled in a pile.
The woman, Sally, shakes her head before lunging at Kiley as the young woman is recovering from her stumble.
"Godsdammit," Sally spits as Kiley ducks under the woman's grasping hands and spins out of the way. "You're a lot quicker than you look."
Meanwhile, Shaggar sees that four of the goblins are catching up to him as he approaches the brambles.
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Like a mountain lion, the gnoll agilely climbs away outdistancing his enemies...
Shaggar cleaves a goblin entirely in half, roars his defiance, then tosses half of the spatch-cocked carcass over the fence at Sally's feet. "This will be you soon enough, old woman!"
Arrows (20):
Effects: None
The goblins that didn't make it over the fence start to think perhaps this chase isn't worth it as two brutal swings of Shaggar's axe leaves the ground around him splattered with goblin blood and littered with goblin pieces. Sally makes a face at the mangled corpse at her feet, but seems undeterred as she notices Kiley trying the fence again.
"Don't just stand there! Help me," the woman calls out to her goblin allies. One squad of the goblins scrambles to get to Kiley, but are too busy getting in each other's way and are more a hindrance than help. The warchanter, however, decides on another tack, weaving arcane power into her words as she commands Kiley to hold still. Only to curse as the young woman keeps moving.
Unfortunately, the spell does manage to trip her up, and Sally is able to get Kiley wrapped up, if only just barely.
The last squad of goblins faces Shaggar, weapons out and ready, though the faint whiff of pee carries on the wind to his sensitive nose.
Kiley yelps as she's yanked back by Sally. The advantage of surprise doesn't last long for the woman as Kiley stomps on the woman's foot with her heel and rams and elbow in her midriff to break free. She stumbles past the goblins before vaulting the fence in an adrenaline fueled leap as she draws her greatsword from its scabbard.
The one goblin Kiley couldn't avoid the reach of swings uselessly, not even catching the tail of her bisht as she rushes past.
Trying to clear a path for Kiley and hopefully make the rest of the goblins re-consider their poor life choices, Shaggar swings his axe, trying to decapitate the remaining goblin.
Shaggar hates himself but he plays into the fearsome, evil reputation of his people to scare the goblins and throw off the old woman. He slings the decapitated head over the fence and roars, ”Blood and souls for my Lord Yeenoghu! He will feast on you in the Abyss!” He points his gore-covered axe at the warchanter, ”Spellslinger! For your sorcery, I claim your brain! I will eat it to gain your knowledge!”
Arrows (20):
Effects: None
The warchanter is haring off before Shaggar finishes his threat, and with her gone, the rest soon follow, leaving only the woman. She stands for a moment, the color draining from her face as she realizes that the balance of this fight has shifted against her, quite heavily.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," she yells before scurrying away into the trees.
Kiley starts shaking as she realizes the fights over. She pales as the stench of dismembered and bifurcated goblin punches through the adrenaline, and she heaves as she turns away from Shaggar and the carnage around him. It takes her a few minutes to recover after that.
"Th-thanks," she mutters. "Thanks for not leaving me behind."
She shivers as she goes back through the brief fight and keeps going over what Shaggar said.
"Sh-shaggar, who's Yeenoghu?"
"Th-thanks," she mutters. "Thanks for not leaving me behind."
His red eyes blink at her comment, surprised. "We are a pack, Kiley. Had I escaped, know that I would have circled back to rescue you. There is no leaving a pack-mate behind."
She shivers as she goes back through the brief fight and keeps going over what Shaggar said.
"Sh-shaggar, who's Yeenoghu?"
Shaggar blows air, something akin to a sigh in Kiley's estimation. While dreading this topic, he was compelled to answer though it might not alleviate the tiefling's concerns, "Most gnolls worship Yeenoghu, the Ruler of Ruin. He is a Prince of the Abyss, said to be both a powerful demon and a gnoll lord."
He adds, almost apologetically, "I no longer serve or respect him. I don't like speaking his name... but it was useful to scare those goblins and their warchanter. My people's reputation is a powerful weapon."
"Considering you ended what would have been a hard fight without us getting hurt, I'd say that you used it well," Kiley says. "I don't blame you for not wanting to speak his name. Demons can be terrifying, and their touch lasts a long, long time."
She hugs Shaggar.
"I'm sorry. I'm-- I'm still learning to trust people," she says. "It's hard to do that sometimes," she tells him in a much quieter voice.
He rubs her back, trying hard not to break her. "I am a gnoll. You have little reason to trust me on faith."
"You saved me from who knows what the Zhentarim had planned for me. I'd say that action says a lot about you," Kiley replies. "I know you're a good person, even if you're terrifying when someone makes you angry. Being scary doesn't make you evil, though."
Shaggar pats her back and resists telling her the truth... He wasn't angry, just mildly irritated. Most of his ferocity was to scare their opponents. Acting like a bloodthirsty killing machine had a way of scaring people to their core.
If he was REALLY angry, Kiley would see a whole other side of him - cold, cunning, relentless, and utterly without mercy.
"Let us leave before the old woman has the law on us, wailing that we tried to eat her."
"Agreed, though if they knew you, they'd never believe it. You've too good of a sense of taste. She looks tough and stringy. Bleh!"
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"Even the toughest old bird can be made tasty in a stew."
"Maybe, but I bet she'd taste rancid."
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Kiley and Shaggar continue on towards Nimeton. They quickly realise that Sally is ahead of them! It seems the evil woman’s stay in the small village behind them has come to a forced end. Not wanting to pass up the chance at vengeance against the woman who planned to kill, sell, or exploit them in some way… they give chase.
A day later they catch up with Sally but it is a good news/bad news situation:
The good news… They find Sally. In an example of karma-at-work, the evil woman is quite dead. She was captured in a trap set by a pair of bugbear highwaymen. She was delicious and is, even now, being digested.
The bad news… The bugbears are still hungry and they are keen to try a gnoll/tiefling/half-digested human version of turducken.
Our heroes, unwilling to participate in the culinary experiment and knowing that the bridge to Nimeton is no more than a mile away, decide to RUN FOR IT! They just need to follow the trail, head down an escarpment and hillside, then cross the bridge. What could possibly go wrong?
Card 1: Race Bait!
Can you zoom past the burping bugbears with the jaws that bite and the claws that catch?
OK, the basic chase rules are the same, with a couple exceptions:
1. With a full round action you can try to advance 2, not 3, cards.
2. Some card ‘failures’ carry additional effects – which include advancing a card on an alternate route and/or taking some damage. Not all alternate routes are bad.
3. If you successfully full round advance past a card with an alternate route, you will be moved along the main route.
4. For characters on the same card, if your companion fails to pass or fails-and-is-routed on an alternate course, you can willingly fail your roll as well or delay.
"Dammit! Why'd I have to wind up naturally smelling delicious!"
After travelling with her for a while, Shaggar would notice that she smells of cinnamon, chilis, honey, and woodsmoke.
Another thing that Shaggar would have noticed is that when Kiley wants to move, she is quick and light on her feet, almost like a cat. She shoots past the bugbears munching on what is left of Sally and runs for the bridge.
"It is your curse to be delicious." Shaggar follows in Kiley's wake, slipping past the bugbear's claws with significantly less dexterity than the girl did.
Explosive flatulence from eating the rancid Sally slows the bugbears with gastric distress!
TURN 2
Card 2: Man-Traps!
As our heroes race down the trail away from bugbears, they spot a pool of blood in their path. There must be hidden man-traps here that did Sally in! Can our heroes avoid the deadly snares?!?!
"My curse, huAAAH!"
Kiley's response is cut off as she springs a trap.
Card 2: Man-Trap!
Kiley and Shaggar dodge the cleverly concealed pit and spike traps. Shaggar’s path is clear and he’s about to sprint down the trail when he hears to snap of tree branches, a crunch, and Kiley's interrupted comment. Her leg is wedged in a deadfall trap.
Round 3
Kiley catches herself before she can hurt herself. A brief moment of panic fills her head before she manages to recompose herself and pull her leg free of the trap and catch up to Shaggar.
"I'm fine! Go!"
Card 3: The Washout
Kiley yanks her leg free and the duo race along the steep hillside trail, trying to put more distance between themselves and the pursuing bugbears. But late fall rains have triggered a rockslide that has washed away the trail!
Will our heroes be able to successfully cross the rock-strewn and unstable hillside to get to the path on the far side?
Card 1: Race Bait
The bugbears purge themselves of the rancid human meat… you don’t want the details. And they struggle to pull their pants up and begin the chase in earnest.
In their competition to be the first one to get the delicious-smelling Kiley, the bugbears manage to trip each other up!
Kiley tries to skip across the rocks, but the usually lightfooted young woman finds things even more unstable than they appear when she takes a rather bumpy tumble.
Card 3: The Washout
Shaggar’s claws make the difference, allowing him to scrabble his way across the washout with little difficulty. Unfortunately, he isn’t quick enough to grab Kiley before she tumbles, rolls, and topples down the hillside. Fortunately, she spins to a stop in a cloud of rock dust on an old path that parallels the higher path along the hillside. The path is wilder and overgrown, but it is useable. Shaggar urges her along the parallel path to his own.
Card 1: Race Bait
Watching their meals flee, the bugbears decide to put their greed aside long enough to begin the chase in earnest!
Card 4a: Take the High Road (Shaggar)
Shaggar races along the path and then is greeted with a series of switchbacks and drops to work his way down the hillside toward the bridge.
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Card 4b: Take the Low Road (Kiley)
Kiley runs on the lower path, leaping over obstacles, dodging low-hanging branches, and trying to avoid ankle-breaking holes in the path. But the fast-moving stream crossing the trail brings her to a temporary halt. She sees a series of wet rocks and trapped logs that she can probably use to cross the raging stream. Of course, if she slips… there’s about 5’ of frigid water and then a drop off a very high waterfall…
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Card 2: Man Traps! (B-Bears)
Can the bugbears see their own traps through the haze of ravenous desire?!
Kiley swallows as she sees the stream and the waterfall. With the choices being trying to cross or get eaten, she decides that even getting beaten to a pulp against the rocks is better than being some smelly bugbear's dinner.
She dashes across, slipping once or twice, but makes it to the other side.
Shaggar leaps down to shorten each of the switchbacks to shorten his journey, absorbing each fall with his strong legs.
The first bugbear successfully navigates their own traps... while pushing his ersatz ally into one of them.
Card 5a: Bird in Hand (Kiley & Shaggar)
Shaggar leaps down yet another switchback and almost lands on Kiley as she pushes through the bushes! Our heroes reunited, they choose to crash/dodge through a series of hedges to get to the open hillsides that lead to the bridge.
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Card 3: The Washout (B-Bear #1)
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Card 2: Man Traps! (B-Bear #2)
Kiley whimpers when she sees the thorns, but hearing one of the bugbears yell spurs her on as she shields her face and barrels on through.
Shaggar finds every thorn in the hedge catching him and his clothing.
Card 6a: Hillside Scramble (Kiley)
The bridge is in sight! Kiley runs across the open hillsides… Can she trick the bugbears into thinking she isn’t heading straight for the bridge to delay them?
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Card 5a: Bird in Hand (Shaggar)
Shaggar struggles to free himself from the entangling hedge…
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Card 4b: Take the Low Road (B-Bear #1)
The first bugbear rolls down the washout and winds up on the lower path that Kiley used. Will he be able to ford the rapids and avoid the waterfall?
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Card 2: The Washout (B-Bear #2)
The second bugbear must make a daring crossing of the washout…
Kiley skids to a halt as she sees that Shaggar isn't right behind her.
"Shaggar?! Are you okay?"