Previously, we left Qamar as he promised to help his mentor kill a wounded basilisk. The beast, however, has to be found. We try to Secure an Advantage with Wits (Weak Hit, 6+3=9 vs 7,9), which only raises our Momentum to +6. Not as well as I hoped, but it must do.
The basilisk's lair is... somewhere in this swamp and we need getting there. I could just make it a Journey, but a Delve fits better. I create a Wild Shadowfen and populate if with monsters. It's hard to decide on its Difficulty, but Formidable seems fine.
Let's Delve the Depths with Wits (Miss, 2+3=5 vs 8,9). Not good. We roll for the Danger: Deep water blocks the path.
"All right. You said it was bleeding?". I muttered. "It shouldn't be hard to track it to its lair then."
It didn't look easy though. To be honest, I had no idea where to start. It didn't help that Gain cocked his nearly bald head, as if deeply confused.
"You... want to find its blood trail?" He asked. "In the swamp?"
"Um, well..." I felt myself blush. "That doesn't sound like a great idea, but... how do you know it's bleeding then?"
"Because I saw it! Why, did you think I just randomly stepped into a pool of blood and decided the basilisk must have left it?"
I stomped on the muddy ground and my right foot sank ankle-deep. I jerked my leg and it let go with a sucking sound.
"It's getting wetter." I commented. "We didn't do any bridges there, did we?"
"Look for yourself." Glain pointed behind the copse of trees we were approaching. "Does it look like there was a bridge there?"
I groaned. Behind the trees there was a wide floodplain. Stagnant water was everywhere where the eye could see. Birches and white oaks grew here and there, but most of the surface was devoid of plants, suggesting significant depth.
"Tell me you hid a boat somewhere here." I looked around.
"What does your heart tell you?"
"That we have to wade through."
"Well, yes."
I thought about a scene challenge, but this doesn't look interesting enough, so a single Face Danger with Edge (Strong Hit - Opportunity, 3+2=5 vs 1, 1) has to do. Momentum goes up to +7. The Oracle suggests Advance Wealth.
Is found wealth something natural, or man-made? Man-made. Is there a body nearby (likely)? Yes.
We didn't want to get our boots wet, so we took them off, tied them together and hanged them on our necks. Slowly and reluctantly, we entered the cold, murky water, hoping there aren't that many leeches there. My foot touched something cold, slick and pliable, which made me shudder and I almost considered turning back.
"We should have gotten exiled somewhere drier." I said, when my knees got already submerged and the water got deeper.
"Hopefully the Tyrant covets Stilthouse so much he's going to come here and banish us back to the Havens." The old man was already hip-deep. "Try not to get the bowstring wet."
"It's in the boot." The footwear was already dangling dangerously close to the surface of water, but I couldn't do much about it besides hoping it didn't get much deeper. Unfortunately, it didn't seem so—my chest was already wet.
"The trees are close." Glain said. "It should be shallower there."
He paused for a moment.
"What's that? A trunk?"
"Where?" I asked.
"Under that tree."
I looked there. It definitely wasn't a trunk—the shape lying next to an oak was definitely human-like. As we came closer, it turned out to be a corpse of a man. His skin already had a greenish tint, so he must have been lying there for some time. He wore a byrnie, which seemed to be heavily damaged at his chest. A jagged, blackened wound under the armor suggested the man died violently.
"I think we know why the basilisk was wounded." My mentor took off his shirt and now tried to wring it with his only hand. He gave up after several unsuccessful tries.
"Maybe there's no basilisk anymore?"
"There better be, because you swore." Glain looked at me with a serious expression. He squatted next to the body, checking the belt for pouches and purses. He took one off, looked inside and winced.
"Mouldy bread." He explained. "But there's some nuts too and they seem good. Help me get that byrnie off."
"It's damaged." I protested. "And didn't seem to help its owner much."
"It's free armor, boy. We'll be fighting a basilisk and every single bit of metal can save our lives. And we can melt it back for iron later."
He was right.
We Resupply (Strong Hit, 6+3=9 vs 6, 2), getting our Supplies back to +5.
**
We Delve again (Miss, 2+3=5 vs 5, 8). Uhhhhh. I'm going to burn Momentum, resetting us to +2, and get a Weak Hit. Mark Progress Twice (getting us to +2) and Reveal a Danger... which is an overzealous hunter. How fitting. Let's also roll for a Feature for a good measure ("Tall reeds").
Let's also Face Danger with Shadow (Miss, 2+2=4 vs 10, 9). We're not very stealthy, which means the hunters spot us.
"Who do you think this man was?", I asked, as we moved towards a clump of reeds. At this point, I'd kill for a warm fire and some hot soup. My clothes were soaked and I still had to wade in a knee-deep lake, so I was shooting my mouth off to take my mind off this. It didn't help that I already saw a large black leech attached to Glain's calf. I hated leeches.
"No idea, to be honest. No one from Fool's Fall, for sure." He meant another settlement, a day away from hours. "I don't think he was from anywhere in the Flooded Plains."
"Why not?"
"You saw his scabbard. Who needs a sword here? How would you keep it from rusting away in a few years? A spear is a much better... Ah, crap!"
We almost bumped into the woman, as we were forcing our way through the reeds. She was middle-aged, with her red hair cropped short and wore leather and furs. She wielded a hatchet, which she raised immediately as she saw us.
Does she recognize the byrnie (almost certain)? Yes.
"Peace!" Glain said. "We are just hunters!"
For a moment, it looked like she relaxed. Then her eyes went to the byrnie which Glain was wearing and her eyes flashed with recognition. She cursed, raised her fingers to the mouth, then blew a loud whistle.
We looked at each other and started to run.
This looks like a scene challenge. If we miss, we'll probably have to fight a bunch of angry hunters. Our first move is Face Danger with Edge (Weak Hit, 4+2=6 vs 8, 1), Marking both Progress (+2) and Countdown (+1).
"No! Get back here!" We heard her angry shout. Around us, we heard more whistles. It wasn't a single hunter, it was an entire party. They whistled to coordinate their hunt, which was a pretty useful trick, but also revealed their position.
Let's try to Secure an Advantage with Wits (Strong Hit, 5+3=8 vs 4, 3). We immediately use it to make a Face Danger (Shadow) roll (Weak Hit, 1+2+1 vs 2, 4). Progress goes to +4, Countdown to +2.
I pointed at the direction where I didn't hear anyone whistling. Instead of rushing blindly in that direction, we slowed down, trying to move silently. It was hard to wade through water covered by reeds and not make a single noise, but we tried. For a minute, it went well. Then something trashed around in the reeds and a duck flew away, quacking madly and betraying our position.
This time, there were much fewer whistles than before. Some of them must have realized it hinders them more than it helps. This meant there were at least a few pursuers we couldn't hear anymore.
Now we try to gain some momentum by Securing an Advantage with Edge (Weak Hit, 6+2=8 vs 10, 3). We only get +1 Momentum, bringing us to +3. A subsequent roll on Face Danger with Shadow (Miss, 3+2=5 vs 6, 5) goes even worse. Not only does this bring the countdown to +3, but we also have to Pay the Price. The Oracle says "It is hurtful", so we get our Health down to +3 and have to Endure Harm...
Which goes swimmingly well (Strong Hit, 5+3=8 vs 6, 6). Not only does this mean we get to sacrifice our Momentum (+2) to regain a point of Health (+4), but also we get an opportunity out of this. Oracle says "Seize Prize". I think at this point the prize is most obviously Glain—what happens will finally convince him to get back to the village. Let's mark Progress on his vow, bringing it to +9. Maybe it's not the letter of our vow, but almost certainly the spirit.
With shaking hands, I pulled off my bow and started putting the bowstring back. I had to be ready to fight when it came. The delay, however, cost us dearly.
"There they are!" I heard behind my back. Something whooshed next to me and I felt my right ear explode with pain. Pain gave me strength, however, and we started running madly. More arrows whizzed, but we were at the safe distance. For now.
"You'll only slow me down, old man." I pounced on the occasion, as we started walking again. "Run to the village and get help. I'll distract them."
"How about I distract them and you run to get help?" Glain asked.
"You're wearing armor and can't draw a bow. You're dead as soon as they find you again."
He thought about it for a moment, but from his pained expression I knew that I convinced him.
"All right, but as soon as you ditch them, you come back too, you hear me?" He said. "No looking for the basilisk by yourself!"
I didn't respond, just dashed madly as loud and fast as possible.
Secure an Advantage with Iron (Strong Hit, 4+1=5 vs 1, 2) goes well and I use it to get some Momentum (+4). Now we Face Danger with Edge... and only get a Weak Hit (3+2=5 vs 8, 2). Tough luck. This gives us Progress +6, but the Countdown goes to +4, forcing us to Resolve the Encounter...
...and we get a Strong Hit, with 6 vs 3, 5. We've won! Outrunning the basilisk hunters advanced our "Kill the Basilisk" vow. What Qamar doesn't know, however, is that the group works for the Tyrant—which also progresses the vow related to him...
I was afraid they wouldn't take the bait, but it seems that I overestimated their skill. As soon as they heard the splashing of water, they all moved towards me. I even briefly saw one of them in the reeds, nicking his bow. They barely cared about stealth right now, didn't even whistle. They just shouted to each other whenever they saw me, or thought that they saw me. At this point I cared nothing about being quiet too, I just ran as fast as I could, trampling weeds and splattering water everywhere.
Suddenly I saw a movement on my right and I realized I made a grave error. There weren't supposed to be anyone on the right! I only had a moment to think this, before a heard a swish and I swear something skimmed my neck as it flied. I saw a spear falling into the water, then heard a curse on my right, closer to me than I would have wished.
I don't have an explanation of what happened. I think I just got lost and at some point started to run towards them. Before I realized, I was in the middle of their group , their shouts surrounding me from every side. Every instinct screamed at me to turn back, except I knew I would have no chance to escape them if I stopped for even one moment. At some point I saw a silhouette before me, the same woman I met just before this pursuit started, her bow half-raised and an arrow already on the bowstring.
The time didn't slow for me. At one moment I was rushing at her, then I heard her cursing behind my back. I didn't stop or even try to ditch her, just ran like a frightened animal where my feet took me.
I stopped. I didn't hear any pursuit. No shouts, no whistles, no splashes of water. Only the reeds gently rustling in the wind and a duck quacking somewhere. I was alone.
I had incredible luck. But this was only the very first step towards fulfilling my vow. Did I really have what it takes to kill the basilisk?
**
- Get Glain safely back to the village (Troublesome, 9/10)
- Kill the basilisk (Dangerous, 2/10)
- When you Secure an Advantage by taking a moment to aim, choose your approach and add +1.
• Trust your instincts: Roll +wits, and take +2 momentum on a strong hit.
• Line up your shot: Roll +edge, and take +1 momentum on a hit.
- When you Secure an Advantage by crafting arrows of fine quality, add +1. Then, take +1 supply or +1 momentum on a hit.
- When
your supply is reduced to 0, suffer any remaining -supply as -momentum.
Then, roll +wits. On a strong hit, you manage to scrape by and take +1
supply. On a weak hit, you may suffer -2 momentum in exchange for +1
supply. On a miss, you are Out of Supply.
- Glain, vilage hunter, Escape from something, Timid, Cautious, Wary
- Stilthouse, settlement in the Flooded Lands
No comments:
Post a Comment