Galsariad sits with eyes eye open, looking past Merek. After a moment, his eyes focus on the kind wizard’s face. “I-I thought that. The fire. I was sure. Sure it would hurt it.” He holds up his quaking hands with his mouth hanging open loosely. “My fire did nothing to it. It just flew right through it like it wasn’t even there. And then… And then, I just... froze. The scream. That awful scream.” His face twists in pain against the memory and tears well up in his eyes. He looks at his friends, who all are unsure how to respond. They avoid his eyes. All except Ayo, who looks altogether heartbroken as she looks upon him, and Entropy, who seems disgusted by his behavior.
Merek shakes his head, but his expression is one of kindest. "I've been doing this a long time, and I thought fire would do the job too. Most things burn... but shadowy creatures from behind the veil aren't most things. That's not weakness, it's just we didn't have the full picture of what we were facing. Learning from a book is to internalise someone else's experience, but there are some things that were either never written down, or weren't in a library either of us has ever seen. At that point, other people's experiences have to give way, and we have to make do with our own. Like you and I both did today. We won't throw fire at creatures of darkness in a hurry again, and we're better wizards for knowing it.
Don't worry about the scream, it froze my blood in my veins too and knocked out a very sturdy looking horse. I could barely move myself, and it nearly took my guts out through a convenience new hole it torn for the job. I doubt I'll ever have the constitution of a draft horse, so no shame on that count either." he pauses, still clutching his side and breathing heavier than usual. "We live and we learn, tomorrow will be a new day, and I'll need your help with the arcane circles while my body sews itself back together, if you feel up to it."
Galsariad looks uncertain, but his spirits seem to be buoyed some and his nerves calmed ever so slightly. At the very least, he seems to have gotten over the very worst of the battle shock with Merek's gentle guidance. He gives a wan smile and nods. Ayo smiles gratefully too and turns back to face the road and the forest ahead.
Ylis scrambles into the seat and gives the reins a light flick, "Onward Rumble! Adventure awaits!"
"Did you know that not all black flying things are evil? Yeah yeah, it's true. In the make-pretend land of Kara-tur, they have great big moths, which of course are black. But when they come and stay by your house they are the spirits of a loved one. So often, when a near relative dies, a black moth would come to say hi."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
The two wagons roll on into the dense forest. The overcast sky disappear from under the tightly woven branches of the trees, darkening everything around the party even further.
DM: Dim Light to 60ft, Darkness beyond that.
As the two parties travel the narrow road, just wide enough for one wagon and shoulders enough for another wagon to squeeze by, the party can see shadows and moving things in the trees. The parties are being watched, surely, and reflective eyes blink into and out of your visual range.
You break for a midday meal and while you feast, a scream that sounds human, but also decidedly not is heard in the distance, then silence. At one point, you chase off a wispy, small creature that had appeared in your food stock to try to steal some. It hisses at you and disappears, empty-handed.
Near the end of the day, when the starved light begins to fade, the party realizes that they will not clear the forest today as anticipated. The end is nowhere in sight on this reasonably straight path. Up ahead though, there is what appears to be an overturned wagon.
As the parties draw closer, it is a battered ruin. The rear axel is broken, many of the spokes of one wheel are torn free, and the harness where the beast of burden would be is caked in far too much dried blood.
Randa can see many tracks surrounding the overturned wagon, none of which are humanoid. Most are tracks from creatures Randa is familiar with, predators and scavengers. But some are alien to her. By her best estimate, some are monstrosities. That surely is the sound of the scream from earlier and the creature that raided the rations was known as a br’er, a rabbit-like fey creature known to make a mess and generally be an inconvenience, but are usually harmless.
It would be hard for many to tease out the details of this wreckage, but Randa is exceptionally skillful with anything related to the wilds. She can see that this wreckage is fairly new. Perhaps a few days old. This was an ambush by the look of it. Some creatures are smart enough to plan and coordinate with each other. Lions, for example, often attack from multiple positions. Something similar happened here, where the wagon was scared into fleeing, then attacked from the front to cause it to turn so hard that the wooden axel burst.
Looking inside the wagon, Randa can see some of whomever drove this wagon. A blue silk sleeve with frills at the end cover an arm, and 12 golden rings for the 5 fingers, many of them jeweled. The rest of this person is nowhere to be seen.
They were not alone however. An orc made it to the trees after suffering a grievous wound. It wears a chain shirt that seems to be useful. At least, potentially more useful than it was for this poor soul.
An axe of dwarven make lies next to a bundle of general goods. It seems to not have even been touched before whatever happened to this group fell upon them. A war hammer, covered in black ichor and mud lies next to the wagon. A broken bow is nearby too. However, Randa also catches the scent of oxidized iron under the debris by the axe. She pulls back a blanket and finds an overturned heavy chest.
Ylis frowns while looking at the rings and tries to remember her lessons on the arcane "Tear drops are fear and illusion, The sun burns intrusion, The hook dips into time, The tombstone when you're out of time...."
Ylis Arcana check 23
"Nobody would really THIS many magic rings but might as well look at them right?" she says to herself.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
OOC: I’m assuming I just hop in, right? We’re retconning to say I’ve always been with the party? Once Mezz and whomever else joins start posting, could we get a bit of a recap on some of the major events so far?
Sacha looks upon the wrecked wagon with a grimace. She recognizes the rings as a symbol of wealth among settled folks. What drove such a rich group to travel this dangerous forest? If only they could have arrived earlier, maybe Sacha could have protected them.
“The wagon has been overturned. If someone helps me, we might be able to flip it upright,” she suggests.
Athletics: 21
If she succeeds, she looks underneath. Is there anything underneath the wagon?
Perception: 24
If she doesn’t find anything, she goes to the Orc to inspect it’s wound and the armor. She looks for obvious wounds. Where was it wounded? Does it look like claws, blunt force trauma, or something else killed it? And are there any signs of scavengers having picked at the body?
Investigation: 9
Orcs are quite a bit bigger than wood elves. Would the chain shirt fit her if she were to wear it?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
"Uh mmm..." the white bunny girl pauses in thought.
"Hey Sacha, remember that celebration back at uh...Jigow? I gotta tell ya the pie eating part was the hardest. I mean, I know there was the swimming with sharks thing but have you ever had barf come up into your mouth and then have to swallow it back down?" Ylis shivers.
"I think the giant turtle dudes would have been good right about now but getting one would have required a dragon hoard to afford." When the horse makes grumbling noises she reassures him, "Aw Rumble don't worry so much, those turtles would be great! We could fir your whole barn and a exercise yard on the back!"
"Anyway, what do you think about Randa getting the god amulet? I'm of two brains on that. One - YAY! a legendary thingie! Other - oh man..the responsibility....So yeah, I'm glad it wasn't me that got it." she shrugs.
"I'm glad you're here though, your muscles are good for more than just goblin tossing!"
Sacha nods her head, recalling their journeys. "Yes, the pie tasted good. But I quickly learned that it's possible to have too much of a good thing. If my memory serves me right, I ate a bit more than you did, but still lost."
"The turtles reminded me of home, in a strange way. Everything is too . . . static in most of the lands I've travelled to. It was good to meet other nomads." (OOC: I'm assuming this is about horizonback tortoises. I tried searching this thread to find what you were referencing. Disregard this part if I'm misunderstanding.)
"The Changebringer is a fickle maiden. She loves and tests her children. Many don't survive. Her trials are great, but her rewards are often greater. I, too, do not envy Randa's burden. And the gods' gifts can end up acting more as curses than boons."
Galsariad sits with eyes eye open, looking past Merek. After a moment, his eyes focus on the kind wizard’s face. “I-I thought that. The fire. I was sure. Sure it would hurt it.” He holds up his quaking hands with his mouth hanging open loosely. “My fire did nothing to it. It just flew right through it like it wasn’t even there. And then… And then, I just... froze. The scream. That awful scream.” His face twists in pain against the memory and tears well up in his eyes. He looks at his friends, who all are unsure how to respond. They avoid his eyes. All except Ayo, who looks altogether heartbroken as she looks upon him, and Entropy, who seems disgusted by his behavior.
“My fire was weak. My magic is weak.”
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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Merek shakes his head, but his expression is one of kindest. "I've been doing this a long time, and I thought fire would do the job too. Most things burn... but shadowy creatures from behind the veil aren't most things. That's not weakness, it's just we didn't have the full picture of what we were facing. Learning from a book is to internalise someone else's experience, but there are some things that were either never written down, or weren't in a library either of us has ever seen. At that point, other people's experiences have to give way, and we have to make do with our own. Like you and I both did today. We won't throw fire at creatures of darkness in a hurry again, and we're better wizards for knowing it.
Don't worry about the scream, it froze my blood in my veins too and knocked out a very sturdy looking horse. I could barely move myself, and it nearly took my guts out through a convenience new hole it torn for the job. I doubt I'll ever have the constitution of a draft horse, so no shame on that count either." he pauses, still clutching his side and breathing heavier than usual. "We live and we learn, tomorrow will be a new day, and I'll need your help with the arcane circles while my body sews itself back together, if you feel up to it."
Merek Attiga - Level 4 Human Wizard - Call of the Netherdeep
Galsariad looks uncertain, but his spirits seem to be buoyed some and his nerves calmed ever so slightly. At the very least, he seems to have gotten over the very worst of the battle shock with Merek's gentle guidance. He gives a wan smile and nods. Ayo smiles gratefully too and turns back to face the road and the forest ahead.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
Ylis scrambles into the seat and gives the reins a light flick, "Onward Rumble! Adventure awaits!"
"Did you know that not all black flying things are evil? Yeah yeah, it's true. In the make-pretend land of Kara-tur, they have great big moths, which of course are black. But when they come and stay by your house they are the spirits of a loved one. So often, when a near relative dies, a black moth would come to say hi."
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
The two wagons roll on into the dense forest. The overcast sky disappear from under the tightly woven branches of the trees, darkening everything around the party even further.
DM: Dim Light to 60ft, Darkness beyond that.
As the two parties travel the narrow road, just wide enough for one wagon and shoulders enough for another wagon to squeeze by, the party can see shadows and moving things in the trees. The parties are being watched, surely, and reflective eyes blink into and out of your visual range.
You break for a midday meal and while you feast, a scream that sounds human, but also decidedly not is heard in the distance, then silence. At one point, you chase off a wispy, small creature that had appeared in your food stock to try to steal some. It hisses at you and disappears, empty-handed.
Near the end of the day, when the starved light begins to fade, the party realizes that they will not clear the forest today as anticipated. The end is nowhere in sight on this reasonably straight path. Up ahead though, there is what appears to be an overturned wagon.
As the parties draw closer, it is a battered ruin. The rear axel is broken, many of the spokes of one wheel are torn free, and the harness where the beast of burden would be is caked in far too much dried blood.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
Randa greatly enjoyed the walk through the forest...it was not as dense or lush as home was but still it was nice to be beneath trees once more.
Randa moved forward to see how long ago this had occured and to try and pick up any tracks or spoor that might tell what had attacked the wagon.
Survival- ( To investigate Wagon and surrounds)-23
Nature- ( To identify wisp and scream)-17
Ylis begins flicking tiny bits of waybread to the side of the trail to coax the creature to return and maybe get a better look.
*1 day of rations expended.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Randa can see many tracks surrounding the overturned wagon, none of which are humanoid. Most are tracks from creatures Randa is familiar with, predators and scavengers. But some are alien to her. By her best estimate, some are monstrosities. That surely is the sound of the scream from earlier and the creature that raided the rations was known as a br’er, a rabbit-like fey creature known to make a mess and generally be an inconvenience, but are usually harmless.
It would be hard for many to tease out the details of this wreckage, but Randa is exceptionally skillful with anything related to the wilds. She can see that this wreckage is fairly new. Perhaps a few days old. This was an ambush by the look of it. Some creatures are smart enough to plan and coordinate with each other. Lions, for example, often attack from multiple positions. Something similar happened here, where the wagon was scared into fleeing, then attacked from the front to cause it to turn so hard that the wooden axel burst.
Looking inside the wagon, Randa can see some of whomever drove this wagon. A blue silk sleeve with frills at the end cover an arm, and 12 golden rings for the 5 fingers, many of them jeweled. The rest of this person is nowhere to be seen.
They were not alone however. An orc made it to the trees after suffering a grievous wound. It wears a chain shirt that seems to be useful. At least, potentially more useful than it was for this poor soul.
An axe of dwarven make lies next to a bundle of general goods. It seems to not have even been touched before whatever happened to this group fell upon them. A war hammer, covered in black ichor and mud lies next to the wagon. A broken bow is nearby too. However, Randa also catches the scent of oxidized iron under the debris by the axe. She pulls back a blanket and finds an overturned heavy chest.
Ylis: Give me a Persuasion Check at Disadvantage.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
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Check out my life-changing
Ylis Pursuasion check 4
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
DM: Lol, it seems the rations were not appetizing. As you have had to live on the hard tack in your travels, you perhaps may understand why.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
Randa rapidly points out the weapons, armour and chest to those more skilled in appraising such things and retrieves the rings from the dead fingers.
" There was some cunning and thought behind this attack, I think."
" Perhaps the human-like scream we heard earlier belongs to whatever did this........definitely more than one attacker."
She set the rings down in front of Ayo and Ylis as she began to walk the boundary of the site, on watch for returning attackers.
Ylis frowns while looking at the rings and tries to remember her lessons on the arcane "Tear drops are fear and illusion, The sun burns intrusion, The hook dips into time, The tombstone when you're out of time...."
Ylis Arcana check 23
"Nobody would really THIS many magic rings but might as well look at them right?" she says to herself.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
OOC: I’m assuming I just hop in, right? We’re retconning to say I’ve always been with the party? Once Mezz and whomever else joins start posting, could we get a bit of a recap on some of the major events so far?
Sacha looks upon the wrecked wagon with a grimace. She recognizes the rings as a symbol of wealth among settled folks. What drove such a rich group to travel this dangerous forest? If only they could have arrived earlier, maybe Sacha could have protected them.
“The wagon has been overturned. If someone helps me, we might be able to flip it upright,” she suggests.
Athletics: 21
If she succeeds, she looks underneath. Is there anything underneath the wagon?
Perception: 24
If she doesn’t find anything, she goes to the Orc to inspect it’s wound and the armor. She looks for obvious wounds. Where was it wounded? Does it look like claws, blunt force trauma, or something else killed it? And are there any signs of scavengers having picked at the body?
Investigation: 9
Orcs are quite a bit bigger than wood elves. Would the chain shirt fit her if she were to wear it?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
"Uh mmm..." the white bunny girl pauses in thought.
"Hey Sacha, remember that celebration back at uh...Jigow? I gotta tell ya the pie eating part was the hardest. I mean, I know there was the swimming with sharks thing but have you ever had barf come up into your mouth and then have to swallow it back down?" Ylis shivers.
"I think the giant turtle dudes would have been good right about now but getting one would have required a dragon hoard to afford." When the horse makes grumbling noises she reassures him, "Aw Rumble don't worry so much, those turtles would be great! We could fir your whole barn and a exercise yard on the back!"
"Anyway, what do you think about Randa getting the god amulet? I'm of two brains on that. One - YAY! a legendary thingie! Other - oh man..the responsibility....So yeah, I'm glad it wasn't me that got it." she shrugs.
"I'm glad you're here though, your muscles are good for more than just goblin tossing!"
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
OOC: Thank you!
Sacha nods her head, recalling their journeys. "Yes, the pie tasted good. But I quickly learned that it's possible to have too much of a good thing. If my memory serves me right, I ate a bit more than you did, but still lost."
"The turtles reminded me of home, in a strange way. Everything is too . . . static in most of the lands I've travelled to. It was good to meet other nomads." (OOC: I'm assuming this is about horizonback tortoises. I tried searching this thread to find what you were referencing. Disregard this part if I'm misunderstanding.)
"The Changebringer is a fickle maiden. She loves and tests her children. Many don't survive. Her trials are great, but her rewards are often greater. I, too, do not envy Randa's burden. And the gods' gifts can end up acting more as curses than boons."
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms