I spent some time sitting on a damp trunk, just watching the surface of the lake and hoping a basilisk carcass would surface against all odds. I wounded it pretty badly, right? Maybe that unexpected escape was its swan song.
But after long minutes, I had to admit to myself that I had failed. I was conceited. I focused so much on getting a trophy that I didn't bother with checking if my quarry was actually dead. I was unworthy of the bow I wielded.
However, as much as I just wanted to lay down, I couldn't afford to dally. I had to gather the contents of my backpack, which still lay on the wet ground, spilled. I needed to find firewood, which isn't trivial on a swamp, where everything is damp. I had to build a fire and make a makeshift shelter. Only then I could wallow in self-pity.
It took nearly two hours before I sat in front of a crackling fire, boiling water in a pewter cup and trying not to burn my fingers. It was already getting dark, and looking for tracks would have been not only pointless but also dangerous. It appeared I would spend the rest of the night crying myself to sleep.
I didn't even manage to shed a single tear before I dozed off.
Time to Make Camp and recover at least some of this Momentum and Spirit I lost (Weak Hit, 5+1 vs. 10, 4). I chose to relax and get Spirit to +1. Momentum is still at +0, but there's nothing I can do about it right now.
I woke up just before dawn in a much better mood. It's funny how even a mediocre sleep completely changes perspective.
Sure, I let the basilisk escape. But I wounded it grievously, most likely wholly blinded it. It lost a lot of blood and had arrowheads under its skin that would be almost impossible to remove without arms. It would be unable to hunt and very likely would starve. And even if I needed to fight it again to finally kill it, it couldn't possibly be worse than the fight I had the previous day and which I still won.
And if it died of its wounds, it wouldn't matter if I see it or not; my vow would be fulfilled, and the Chained Goddess could kiss my ass if she disagreed.
Calmed, I drank some water, cleaned my makeshift camp, and got back to the trail. Fortunately, there was no rain, and the tracks weren't flooded. Besides, there weren't many places where those bastards could go. Damula was the nearest settlement; it was unlikely they could have gone anywhere else.
I decided to not Abandon the Vow. This means we had to clear everything but a single Progress and bump it up to Formidable. I suppose that the main problem here will be finding the basilisk and making sure it's dead; if there is a fight, it will probably be an afterthought. We'll cross this bridge when we come to it.
Meanwhile, we Gather Information to follow the track and our crappy luck finally gets better (Strong Hit, 3+3 vs. 2, 3). I gladly take +2 Momentum, and the marauders go straight towards a settlement we know. Now we only need to get them before they arrive there. Also, this seems like an excellent place to Progress the Vow (+2).
We Undertake a Journey and get another good roll (Strong Hit, 6+3 vs. 4, 1). We can't afford trading Supply for Momentum, but not losing it is good enough. The new location is a Lush Lake, so it seems the scenery won't change a lot.
I left the small overgrown lake and, after several hours of marching through treacherous paths, I reached another, larger one. It seemed it overflew again, as thick trunks jut out straight from the water. I found some ducks, but they swam away as soon as they saw me. However, after rummaging through the reeds, I found some eggs in a small nest. This meant I had to make another stop here to boil them.
We need to Resupply, but the dice aren't as magnanimous as before (Weak Hit, 1+3 vs. 10, 1). I sacrifice 1 Momentum (+1) for 1 Supply (+2), just not to end up Unprepared just before the fight.
Having nothing better to do, I wanted to make some arrows but found myself hampered by the lack of a knife. I remembered I'd lost it when fighting the wolf and sighed. It could undoubtedly have been useful now.
Instead, I took stock of my supplies. My worst problem was that my fight with the basilisk left me with just one arrow. Therefore my original plan of hiding somewhere, waiting until it's dark, and shooting them dead when they were sitting around the fire was not viable anymore. It left me in quite a pickle. I did have a sword, but my chances of killing three warriors in the melee weren't good.
My knife, of course, was missing. I had some cords, spare arrowheads (completely useless now), a small sack of feathers for fletching, flint with some tinder (almost used up), and a tin cup. Nothing that could help me in combat.
There were two ways I could realistically deal with my enemies. One would be waiting until they are asleep and killing each one before they wake up. If that fails, I could separate them and pick them off one by one. The surroundings worked to my benefit—recklessness on the swamp could cost one their life.
We Secure an Advantage with Wits (Strong Hit, 3+3 vs. 2, 3) to get some Momentum (+3). Originally I wanted to spend that time making arrows to use the Fletcher asset—but it would have been weird after establishing we don't have a knife. It doesn't seem I make good use of my assets, and I wanted to change that. Well, maybe the next time.
Because we shot up many arrows, I decided to use the Oracle to check how many of them we had. Do we have enough for the next combat (Unlikely)? No. Do we have more than one arrow (50:50)? No. Do we have at least one arrow (Likely)? Yes. One arrow, then.
**
The stilt house looked like it had seen better times. It was visibly crooked, with the timbers underneath looking warped and rotten. A footbridge leading from the muddy ground to the entrance seemed to miss a few planks. Its roof, made of wood covered in clay, had a large hole in the middle. The building had no door, with one wholly rusted hinge jutting from the frame.
Nevertheless, this was a luxurious residence for someone forced to spend the night in the middle of the Flooded Lands. I wouldn't mind having even half of a roof over my head. Unfortunately, my quarry evidently thought the same because they were already there. The smoke coming out of the hole in the roof made it obvious.
I wondered how these people managed to find an old house several hours from the nearest settlement. What did it even do here? But it wasn't all bad, I decided. Yes, the walls did provide them a cover from my arrows, but I had just one. And if they choose to spend the night inside, they will likely hide my approach as well.
We make the last roll to Undertake a Journey (Strong Hit, 1+3 vs. 1, 3) but don't decide to sacrifice Supply for more Momentum. Instead, we Reach our Destination (Strong Hit, 9 vs. 5, 7), taking 1 Momentum (+4). So far, so good. Oracle gives me "Desolate Steading" as a location, and I decide to roll with it.
Finding the enemies lets me progress the Vow, bringing it to +4.
Nevertheless, I decided to stake this place out instead of coming closer and risk getting discovered. Positioning myself to see the door opening, I confirmed that all three were sitting inside and didn't seem keen to wander around. One of them went outside to piss, lazily looked around, and immediately returned. It was pretty clear none of them expected to be attacked.
I was slowly creeping closer as it went darker until I heard their muffled voices. They didn't sound happy at all.
"How the fuck am I supposed to eat this? There's more salt than actual meat in this pork," grumbled one.
"Just wash it down with water," barked another voice, lower and harsher than the first. "Be glad we have anything to eat at all."
I agreed with him. Pork, even salted, seemed like a feast fit for a king.
"You think it's already good to drink?" The first man asked.
"Gamanna's tits, are you five?" The second man seemed to have enough. "My daughter barely got all her teeth and, she's more self-reliant than you. Do we have to bring your mother with us for the next trip to take care of you?"
"Just trying to maintain a conversation," muttered the man. "No need to be a dick about it."
"How is this maintaining a conversation?" The third voice, a little bit raspy, chimed in. "What's there to discuss in whether water is good to drink or not? Take a sip and check for yourself."
There was a moment of silence.
"I think Morter could have survived," the first voice said.
The other men snorted.
"And here we fucking go." The second man seemed annoyed. "You want to rescue her, be my guest. Get back to these savages; we'll wait."
"She's your kin."
"She's my wife's cousin. She knew she was shagging Kori's son for a month and never told me. I'll tell Cortina she's welcome to mount a rescue mission, possibly with her boyfriend."
"You think it's a good moment to hold a grudge?"
"For Nekun, there's never a bad moment to hold a grudge," the third voice said with dry amusement. "There's enough bile in him to drown the entire world."
"All right then. But maybe we should hold a grudge against these outlaws instead?"
"Fucking why?" Nekun asked incredulously. "They're enemies. That's what they do—they kill you or get killed. It's supposed friends who betray you that I can't stand."
Hearing them was uncomfortable. I expected the Tyrant's men to talk about how they're glad to serve their master and slaughter his enemies. I didn't want to listen as they spoke of their wives and daughters or sympathized with us. It made what was about to happen even harder.
I tuned their voices out. The only thing I needed was to know if they were asleep or not.
It would be glad to get more Momentum, so we Secure an Advantage with Shadow (Strong Hit, 4+2 vs. 2, 3). It's at +6 now. Hopefully, it will be good enough.
Sometime later, the voices went silent, and I decided to risk coming closer. I tiptoed through the mud and slowly stepped on the footbridge. The wood croaked a little but not loud enough to be a problem. A few cautious steps later, I was at the door, my heart thumping.
But seeing the three men sprawled around the hearth, covered in moldy blankets and snoring, made me feel a pang of regret. It's one thing to kill a man while fighting for your life. It's another to murder him while he's asleep, having heard him say he doesn't wish you ill.
We Face Danger with Shadow to sneak towards the men as they're asleep (Weak Hit, 3+2 vs. 4, 7). Given the narrative, losing Stress makes perfect sense, even though we risk a lot by doing it. Fortunately, the Endure Stress move goes well enough (2+1 vs. 1, 9).
I looked at the man lying closest to the entrance. He wore a dirty headband, crooked to cover his left eye. I remembered him with Morter, standing somewhere near the back.
I crouched near him, put the sword to his throat, and pulled. As soon as the blade touched his skin, he opened his eyes, looking straight at me.
With his neck still bleeding, he tried to cry for help. I put my hand on his mouth, silencing him. I looked around with my heart in my mouth, but the other two men were still asleep.
I wasn't sure how to solve this conflict. I thought about a scene challenge, but it seems to be my go-to every time the situation becomes a little bit more complicated. There was no reason to not treat it as normal combat, with some modifications. These men are seasoned warriors (Dangerous), but they're Troublesome at best right now. The main problem is that one could wake up and alert the rest.
We Enter the Fray with Shadow (Weak Hit, 6+2 vs. 8, 5). It could have been better, but at least we have the initiative. We follow that with Strike with Iron (Weak Hit, 5+1 vs. 8, 1), and the barely adequate result actually hurts here. We only get Progress to +6 and lose initiative.
He doesn't Clash, though, choosing to warn his friends instead. We Face Danger with Iron, trying to overpower him (Weak Hit, 6+1 vs. 6, 1). We lose 1 Momentum (+5) and still don't have initiative.
Still bleeding out, the man started to scuffle, trying to grip my sword. He slit his hands against its edge for all his efforts. But to my growing frustration, a bearded man lying next to him finally woke up.
"The hell you're doing, Kormak?" He asked, looking around. As he spotted Kormak and me struggling on the floor, he came to a standstill.
"Crap!" He screamed, trying to get his weapon.
This seems like a Clash (Miss, 2+1 vs. 4, 9). Oh hell, no. Burn Momentum! We get a Weak Hit instead. We inflict harm, Pay the Price (the obvious consequence being others waking up). Momentum is now +1, but one of my enemies is now as good as dead (Progress +10). Unfortunately, there are two more.
Knowing that he could quickly kill me if he got his weapon, I stopped grabbing Kormak and jumped at the other man with the sword. I slashed his ribcage, making a nasty gash and sending him sprawling. The third one, however, was already on his legs. He kicked me in the gut so hard that I almost fell.
"You!" He shouted, and I recognized Nekun's voice. He sounded both furious and astonished.
His distraction was all his companion needed to reach for his sword. But I was faster, kicking the weapon out of his reach. With a loud clang, it hit the floor near Kormak, who at this very moment was drawing his last breath.
We Face Danger with Edge (Strong Hit, 5+2 vs. 6, 2), rewarded with +1 to Momentum. Finally having the initiative, we End the Fight with poor Kormak and... you've got to be kidding me, game (Weak Hit, 10 vs. 10, 4). I'll try to figure out the price we can pay for letting a bleeding man die later; for now, let's assume he's gone. Let's mark Progress on the vow.
"No!" Nekun was so frustrated that for a moment, he stopped attacking me. This was what I needed to stab his companion's gut, ending his struggle to stand up.
But this was the one moment the last remaining man needed to get his bearings. Instead of kicking me again, he kicked the hearth, scattering burning wood around the room. Roaring like a wounded bull, he went towards the sword. I tried to point the blade his way to make him stand down, but I was too far away, and he knew it.
We Strike (Weak Hit, 5+1 vs. 3), filling the entire Progress track of the second warrior but losing initiative. Predicting Nekun's action, the Oracle suggests, "Use the terrain to gain an advantage." We Face Danger with Heart (Miss, 4+1 vs. 5, 9) and miss. From now on, he will be treated as an armed enemy, and our Momentum gets reduced to +0.
The burning slivers of wood went off one by one. The room went dark.
But the joke was on him. I was more accustomed to darkness than him. I saw him faster than he saw me.
I went towards him and cut him with such strength that it should split him in two. Instead, I hit his weapon with a loud clang, which fell out of his hands and went through the door opening. A loud splash told me I didn't have to worry about it anymore.
Then I realized my weapon was much lighter than it was. I was only holding the pommel. The blade lied on the floor.
We Face Danger with Wits to locate our last enemy in the darkness (Strong Hit, 5+3 vs. 5, 5, Opportunity). Not only did we gain 1 Momentum (+1), but we also got something else out of it. Asking the Oracle gives us "Assault Strength," and I decide to interpret it as the next attack being so strong that it will disarm the enemy, no matter the result. I reward myself with +2 Momentum (+3).
But then Strike with Iron goes terribly (Miss, 1+1 vs. 3, 9). So terribly, in fact, that I ask the Oracle about the consequence, and it responds: "Something of value is lost or destroyed." What's more valuable in combat than the weapon? Thus, the Momentum goes back to +1. We are defenseless, as is our enemy.
**
- Kill the basilisk (Dangerous, 1/10)
- Kill the rest of the Tyrant's men (Dangerous, 6/10)
- 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.
Bonds:
- Glain, vilage hunter, Escape from something, Timid, Cautious, Wary
- Stilthouse, settlement in the Flooded Lands
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