Well Quirk, it looks like it's just us. I think it might be time to call it. I really appreciate you picking up the game for us, and I'm sorry it didn't work out.
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I'm here!
Blaze sees a door open, but can see nothing else as the goat girl is still invisible. She remains by the door with the dogs inside, ready to bop anything that comes out of the room.
Sounds good! See you next year!
No worries, it's a busy time for everybody. I'll be here whenever. :)
Hearing the repeated dog-noise from the room, Blaze stands right by the door, weapon reversed in her hand, ready to bonk anybody who decides to come out to investigate. Hopefully hard enough to make them be quiet, but not hard enough to kill them.
Impatient, Blaze waits at the top of the hallway with the doll, which she puts into one of the pockets of her leather vest. Not sure if the invisible Velspira can see her or not, she twirls her finger in a "hurry up" gesture.
"Little dolls?" Blaze asks, confused. As the invisible tiefling vanishes again, the centaur decides to risk a little noise, and see for herself. She tip-hoofs up the stairs, and peeks into the door that Velspira described. It's a good thing she was warned about what she would see, or she would have gasped, or even shouted. This was beyond creepy - it was fundamentally wrong in a way that made her tail swish and her ears flatten against her head. She reaches in an quietly takes the closest doll, then closes the door behind her.
That is super creepy! I hope Velspira tells us what's going on!!
Blaze waited with growing concern at the bottom of the stairs. What was taking the goat girl so long? Did she require help? The centaur hadn't heard anything, but could imagine all sort of silent trouble the teifling could have found herself in.
It looked like they would have to take the stairs. "Velspira," she whispered to the invisible goat girl, hoping she was facing the right direaction, "you first up the stairs. Then Shandi and Darrien. I'll come last." She hated sending the two-legs up first, but she was too noisy and clumsy on the stairs. She needed to give them a chance to get up silently. After all, I'm only a few seconds behind them if they run into danger.
Blaze didn't see anything in the bear-carpeted room, but she did hear noise upstairs. "I hear something upstairs" she said, just as Velspira told her to keep it down. You're the one talking to yourself, she complained silently in her head. She hoped they wouldn't need to go upstairs. Stairs weren't her favorite.
The invisible girl had gotten quiet again, and Blaze wasn't sure where she was. She peeked into one of the now-open doorways, and nearly gasped as she saw a bear lying on the floor! It took a moment for her to realize it was dead, just a skin. Humans are so strange. Imagine using a carcass for decoration. Moving as softly as possible she moved into the room, and began to look around for anything that might prove their suspicions.
Blaze started when the invisible tiefling spoke to them. Her mane stood up, and took a few seconds to soften again. The centaur looked to Shandi and Darrien for confirmation, and whispered, "We're looking for proof that the burgomaster is up to no good. Right?" Looking to the humans again, she said, "Um, what would that proof look like?"
It was odd to see the door close by itself, and then the next door open, seemingly of its own volition. As she moved forward as softly as she could, she whispered to Shandi, "How long will she stay like that? Could you make us all invisible?" Her herd didn't have such magic, and she could see how helpful it could be.
Craning her head around the door, Blaze is surprised to see and hear the sleepers. She would have assumed that the bedrooms would be upstairs, like they were at Ismark's. She wondered where the other two people were, but didn't voice the question. She motioned at the invisible goat girl to close the door, and move down the hall to the next door.
Blaze nods reluctantly. She doesn't like letting her small, fragile herd-mates go in first, but she had to admit that she wasn't built for stealth, especially in these two-leg homes. She waits by the door, listening intently for any sign that they'd been heard.
After determining that there was no immediate danger, Blaze stepped back to let Shandi take a look. "Which way do you think we should go first?" The centaur saw her role as guard - keep the others safe - not as decision maker.
Blaze cast an uninterested, and untrained eye across the fancy kitchen wares. The centaur had no concept of the value of such items, though she could appreciate the artistry of any decorated crockery. She whispers to the others, "It seems quiet so far, come on in." Ignoring the pantry for now, she cautiously opens the door before her, to see what lays beyond.
Blaze listened carefully, then moved cautiously into the house. She held her shield in one hand, her axe in the other, ready for trouble. She tries to go silently, but hooves were not meant for stealth. Moving to the north-most of the two eastern doors, Blaze listens carefully before motioning the rest of them to come forward.
Blaze shifted nervously as the goat-girl struggled with the lock. She considered offering to kick the door in, but decided that stealth was probably more important than speed right now. Instead, she kept her attention on their surroundings, watching their backs as they worked on the door.
Blaze lifts her great axe and her shield, and prepares to shield Velspira with her body. "I'll cover you while you check."
Returning to the others, the centaur says, "This guy isn't getting harassed the way Ireena was. Maybe he's not as pretty? But there is a back door."
Blaze's hide ripples with nerves, and her human skin breaks out in gooseflesh. It is creepy here, no mistake about that. She holds her weapon at the ready, and stares at the unnatural mist pooling in the corners. The burgomaster's house looks neglected, as all the buildings seem to. Not that Blaze isan expert in human architecture, but this seems particularly bad. Remembering Ismark's home, Blaze trots around, looking for signs that this burgomaster has been harried by wolves or other, less natural creatures. She also scans for other entrances.
Sounds very exciting, I'm jealous! Would love to go to that one year, but it's far! Have fun! Yes-the maps are amazing! :)
Shandi seemed very sure of herself, and Darrien and Velspira seemed to agree, so she carefully stood up. "It's dark now. Shall we go?"
Blaze looks at Shandi, surprised. "Why must we do that? I thought we had to find the pool with white light? Or do we not have to do the tasks in order?" As Velspira stands up, Blaze grabs her wrist. "Wait. If we need to break into his house, isn't it better to do it at night?"
Thanks for that, it's helpful. We've done a lot in a few days! Here's the link to the card reading, it's the third post down. I can't figure out how to link to a specific post, just to a page.
That will be very helpful, thank you! I had a very busy week, but for the most part should be available to write for the next two weeks before the next slow spot.
I'm happy to continue moving forward with four, as long as Darrien is actually committed to engaging. I think three is not enough. I'm also happy to recruit a few more people. Though that can be tricky for an in-progress game. I'm not interested in staring something new. I don't have the bandwidth over the summer to start a whole new property and make a character.
Sounds fair. Would you like me to reach out with a DM?
Sounds fair. I'm hoping we can regain our momentum. Having said that, I'm camping tomorrow until Monday and will be completely off grid. I'll post Monday evening, Tuesday at the earliest. Blaze will happily go along with whoever sounds like they know what to do.
Blaze nodded to the two hunters. "Thank you. We may take you up on that." As the tavern emptied, she sat with the others and said, "What do we do now? Are we going to try to follow the clues in the cards? How would we even start?"
Hey everybody, I'm feeling really bummed about this game. A few of us are really trying to keep it afloat, and others are just....gone? We seem to be down to three active players. Quirk has worked so hard to take over when our other GM abandoned ship, and I really was enjoying this group. Do we need to pull the plug? In there interest in recruiting a few more people to take the place of those we've lost? Or can everybody rally and pick this up again? I'd really like to keep playing, but this pace is killing me. Let me know your thoughts.
Sensing that she was no longer welcome with the hunters, Blaze carefully stood. She overheard Shandi talking to the half-elf, who was about to leave. A frown crossed her face. "Would you like company, friend? I would happily escort you to your destination and back." The centaur didn't know how safe people were inside the walls, but her conversation with the two hunters left her feeling unsettled.
Blaze wishes that she understood more about wolves, and predators in general. But at home she'd been a soldier, not a hunter. All she knew was that if there were a lot of deer, there would be more wolves. And that the wolves knew better than to attack the centaur's village. Still struggling to make sense of it, she said, "Surely the wolves can't be eating enough people to support their population?" She looks again at the many wolf heads on the wall, and thinks about the heads on the outskirts of town. "You have killed so many." She shook her head and mane in frustration - she knew she wasn't being helpful. It was just so wrong. So much about this country was wrong. Turning to Sven, she asked, "Do you think this could have anything to do with our new quest? Perhaps these man-hungry wolves are part of it?"
Blaze nods her head in acknowledgement, one protector to another. "How long has this land had such a problem with wolves? I have seen little game for them to hunt. Is this why they attack so fearlessly? At home, predator populations cycle naturally with those of their prey, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."
Blaze enjoys the strange meal. It's much more heavily spiced than centaurs were used to cooking, but she'd discovered an appreciation for the spicier human palate. When she was finished, she stood up and said to Sven, "Come on, let's talk to some locals." She carefully made her way over to the two hunters. "Hello! Do we have you to thank for the wolf steaks here tonight? Are any of these your trophies?" She gestured to the decor. "We had some trouble with wolves on the road this morning, but it didn't occur to me to bring the heads to use in home decoration."
Blaze ordered a wolf steak - she'd never eaten wolf before, and was curious about it. Her people generally didn't eat carnivores. She watched her companions move around the bar with relative ease. She watched a little enviously - her equine body wasn't meant for these types of spaces, and she was afraid that if she tried to go sit with somebody else that she'd knock a table over, or crush a server's foot with her hoof.
Blaze takes in the room as the others enter in front of her. "I like the decorating," she said approvingly. Back at home, mounting the heads of your enemies would have been unheard of. But in this place, it seemed right, and just. This place was dangerous, and this was a warning, and a show of strength. Once the others were in, Blaze eased herself through the door, and sat on her haunches beside Shandi at a table. It wasn't the most dignified of positions, but if she kept her tail under control, hopefully she wouldn't be too in the way. "What now?" she asked. "We have seen you safely here. Do we begin to follow the clues that the cards gave us?"
Roll call! Who do we still have on board?
Blaze grinned. "I thought so!" She pulled the door open and stood back, letting the others enter. It was always difficult for her indoors, and she wanted to get a look at the layout of the space before she committed to entering it.
Blaze clapped in delight when she saw the large wicker person. "Wonderful! What a lot of work!" Her family back home were artisans, but she'd never seen, or even heard of something like this. "Will they decorate it for the festival?" She hoped they could stay long enough to participate. She loved parties. In general, it would be nice to take up some work, since we are still stuck here. We still need to eat, drink and pay for the night. Blaze was confused. "I thought we were working." Hadn't that been the deal? They would act as guards, and they would have their needs paid for?
Blaze nods, and leads them into the town, allowing Darrien to point the way. She keeps an eye on the townsfolk, wondering if they're as suspicious and standoffish as they mostly were in Barovia.
As the moment stretched out, Blaze grew impatient. "Well? Let us in, please! We have Lord Ismark and Lady Ireena from Barovia, and we've been travelling all day."
Blaze enjoys the rest of the afternoon - it is a fine thing to be on the open road, the sun on her back, stout companions at her side. However, as the mists begin to close in again, she has to admit she is relieved to see the town of Vallaki ahead. What a place this is, to make a centaur prefer the gates of a town, rather than the open countryside. The centaur shivers, her hide rippling from mane to tail, and stamps her hoof. "We made it!" Turning to Ireena, she says, "Do you think this is far enough away? Where will you be staying in town?" Thinking back to the clues about their new quest, she asked, "What do you think we'll find in town? The pool? The saintly house? Or is this the town where all is not well? Though that could have been where we came from."
Blaze craned her head forward, staring at the cards. "So this is...like a quest? And these are our clues?" She scratched her head, trying to understand. "Looks like lots of sunshine things. I guess it makes sense that we need the sun in such a misty place." That was about as far as her brain could take her. Good thing there were so many smart people with her!
Blaze applauded after the last card was laid, then awkwardly stopped when it seemed nobody else was going to. "I don't understand. Was that a story?"
Blaze stared at the card trick, an entranced half-smile on her face. She listened to the goat-girl and Shandi chat about dreams, and her smile flickered. Had she had a dream too? Already, the haunted house felt like a long time ago, like it was a dream itself. Shaking her head, she sent her mane flying and her earrings jangling. The past was the past. Leave it there. For now, she was curious about what was happening in the here and now.
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