I stood there, with the useless pommel of the sword in my hand. In the darkness, I saw Nanuk's silhouette. He reached to his belt, but he didn't seem to find what he was looking for.
I asked the Oracle: Nanuk DOES have a knife (Likely), but nowhere immediately accessible (50:50). Most probably, it's in his boot.
"Murderer," he said, then spat on the floor. What could I even say? He was right. What I did was unacceptable in a civilized society.
"The Tyrant made us outlaws. I guess laws no longer matter." I stalled for time while trying to look around. There should have been at least two more weapons lying around there. I needed to spot them before my enemy.
He didn't want to give me time, though. As soon as he heard my voice, he jumped towards me, sending his meaty fist towards my face. He must have slipped or tripped as he lost his balance. The vicious punch turned into an impotent slap in the shoulder as he tried to use me to break his fall.
I punched his throat with all the strength I could find.
We Clash with Iron (Strong Hit, 6+1 vs. 6, 1). A great result that we needed. I chose +1 harm, bringing the Progress to +6. If we still had our sword, it would be over. We also End the Fight with warrior #2 (Strong Hit, 10 vs. 3, 6) to represent him bleeding out. I know it's a little unorthodox to do it offscreen, but this fight is far from ordinary. I think it would have been wiser to make them a group of enemies instead of making three separate tracks. Well, lesson learned. Progress of the vow goes to +8.
He fell to the ground, gasping for air. This is where I saw the glint of metal in the weak moonlight. The knife that Kormak tried to wield when I was fighting him. I hadn't even realized that I was so close to getting stabbed this entire time.
No longer weaponless, I jumped at him as he tried to stand up, trying to stab his belly. He tried to block the hit with his left hand and grabbed mine. Useless. The blade embedded itself to the hilt. But I didn't manage to get it out. Even with the pain, or maybe thanks to it, his grip was more potent than mine. I realized that he would overpower me and take away my weapon if that continued.
We Secure an Advantage with Wits, trying to find another weapon (Strong Hit, 4+3 vs. 4, 2). Instead of taking Momentum, we take a bonus to the next move, Strike—which doesn't go that well (Weak Hit, 5+1+1 vs. 7, 2). We max out the Progress but lose initiative.
This is when it hit me: I didn't need the knife anymore. He was mortally wounded; his burst of strength was the last-ditch effort to stave death. If he wanted to perish with a weapon in his hand, I would let him. I only needed to stay away.
Like a snake, I slipped out of his grasp, leaving the weapon in his hand. As I thought, he cared more about the knife than keeping me close. As he gripped it, he smiled terribly.
"Now you die," he bellowed, ripping the blade out of his wound. The fountain of blood that followed surprised even me. He made a few shaky steps, nearly slipped on the wet floor, then looked at his ripped stomach in amazement.
"Oh? It's mine?" He said, then fell on his face.
It was over.
This is the best moment to Turn the Tide, so I do—using a Face Danger with Edge roll (Strong Hit, 2+2+1 vs. 4, 1). This is the only thing I need to End the Fight (Strong Hit vs. 10 vs. 4, 1). And, as it's the last enemy, I progress the vow one more time, then Fulfill "Kill the Rest of the Tyrant's Men" (Strong Hit, 10 vs. 6, 8). That's 2 XP for us.
We also progress "Free Thornhall from the Tyrant's yoke," bringing it to 1.25. Nice!
**
"So you didn't manage to kill them as they slept," Mira said as I told her the story of my fight. "Perhaps it's for the best."
"How come?" I raised my brows.
"Don't be mistaken; you won't find me disapproving," she explained. "It was a smart approach. To win as one against three, you need to cheat and hard. But people don't like secret murder. It makes them nervous."
"Are they still angry at me?" I asked.
"No. Well, some are. Not much I can do about Wylan. But telling them about the crown changed a lot. Now they understand that even if we surrendered, our truce would last just for a moment."
"Well, thanks." I still was a little bit salty for having to do this.
"You're an asset to our settlement. That was the least I could do," she said. "What are you going to do right now? There's that other vow you need to get taken care of, right?"
I felt ill and tired just thinking about this, but I nodded.
"The basilisk, yes," I said, shivering. It was cold in Mira's hut. "I'll take care of it soon. But first, I need to take care of myself. Eat, check my wounds, that sort of things."
"Sure, sure," she nodded. Wouldn't want something to happen to you.
I nodded and left her hut, thinking primarily about sleeping.
**
I thought I would recuperate, but fate had other plans for me. I thought I had correctly cleaned the wound, which Kalidas gave me several days ago. It turned out I had been mistaken. Or maybe two full days in the same bandage, chafed by leathers and repeatedly splashed with dirty swamp water, didn't help. It was now angry red, swollen, and started to smell.
Usually, I would go to Sola, our best herbalist. However, she died of her wounds several hours after I had left Stilthouse, never regaining consciousness. Instead, several people gathered around me, arguing if it's better to simply puncture the wound and drain the pus, open it again and cauterize, or just slap some herbs from Sola's stash on it and hope for the best. I was feverish at this point and barely coherent.
We try to Sojourn, but it doesn't go well even with +1 from the bond (Miss, 4+1+1 vs. 6, 8). It would have been weird if the community was hostile again, so we consulted Oracle for the result. "It is harmful." We take one Harm and Endure it (Miss, 6+1 vs. 8, 7). Rather than rolling, we mark Wounded. Hopefully, the next Sojourn roll will let us remove it. We also reduce our Momentum to +0.
As they drained the pus, I saw a barely visible man-shaped figure standing next to me. He moved his face closer to mine, and I noticed that his left eye was covered with a dirty headband.
"You murdered me," he said, and I recognized Kormak, one of the Tyrant's men I had killed the day before. His breath was so cold that it stung my lips. "I was sleeping, and you slit my throat. You didn't bury me, just took everything valuable I had and dumped me into the swamp."
"I'll give you burial." I rasped through my dry throat. It was so cold that I was shivering.
"I don't want it," he told me.
"What do you want then?"
"My life back. My flesh swells and goes soft. Fishes nibble my body, and maggots will soon hatch to feast on it. I can't see nor move. But with your blood, breath, and warmth, perhaps I will be able to live again?"
"Please. I can't give it to you. I have vows to fulfill..."
"You could get a new vow," he whispered. "To give me your life. Then I can help you fulfill it, and you will die in peace. You owe me that much."
As he spoke, he changed. The slash around his throat blackened and widened, spewing half-congealed blood. His one eye got milky, bulging from his head. Deathly pale face turned green, swelling and making him look obese. Murky water spewed from his face and nose, splashing my face and chest; it was cold and smelled of rot.
"I have to go," he said. "My body calls me back. But don't worry, we will meet again."
He was liquifying now, swollen skin opening in several places, dripping corpse bile, and maggots.
"I have all the time in the world, after all."
He disappeared with these words, leaving only the stench and a lone maggot wriggling on the floor.
We have 3 XP, but too sick to actually do something with it... unless I do something drastic. Remember that one combatant we tried to finish off and got only a Weak Hit? He's going to accompany us now. And because of that, I'm able to get the Spirit-Bound Asset for all 3 XP.
We end this session in no shape to travel or do anything. But the vow to slay the basilisk won't fulfill itself; hopefully, the next Sojourn roll will go better.
**
- Kill the basilisk (Dangerous, 1/10)
- Kill the rest of the Tyrant's men (Fulfilled!)
- 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.
- You are haunted by someone whose death you caused through your actions or failures. When you consult with their spirit to Secure an Advantage or Gather Information, add +1 and take +2 momentum on a hit. On a weak hit, also Endure Stress (1 stress).
Bonds:
- Glain, vilage hunter, Escape from something, Timid, Cautious, Wary
- Stilthouse, settlement in the Flooded Lands
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