16

("Seventy nine, Dude!"

Nope its just not the same.)

Yyyyeeeeeessssssssss

(You remember I was worried that a few leaps were a little off the rails?)

(lol uh oh ;) )

The five of you leap again. You find a new world, and then you leap again. There is a person to save. You succeed, and you leap again. You learn more, just a fraction more, about the nature of your odyssey through these worlds. But it isn’t enough, not enough to leap home. You leap again.

Gordra and Luna have not been idle. They, thanks to insight from Perspicacious, have begun to classify the peculiarities of your body-swapping: psychospatial displacement. Every leap, you each displace a body. Sometimes, as he experienced in your first leap, Amaruve is in his own body: still cursed and ursine. The worlds you visit are as unexpected and unique as the first. In many of them, though, you see evidence of something (art, science, culture) that found its way to the Tower...

You have also learned more about the stardust and its curious power. Local Potentiality, you’ve discovered, indicates the likelihood that you can make a substantial positive impact in the world you’ve stumbled into. In fact, it seems as though you land each time in a pivotal moment of a world’s history. Your success (or failure) in solving a crisis seems to be the point of your leaps, if a point exists.

You have each saved one another’s hides dozens of times, but no one has done more to keep you safe than Jean. Perspicacious and Amaruve have been invaluable in their problem-solving abilities. And all the while, Luna and the Professor have attempted to discern some means by which these leaps can be controlled…

The five of you barely made it through the last leap alive. The gate appeared (as it always does) in the middle of danger: the treasure hold of a cloud giant. The strange golden twins, shackles cleaved by Jean's sword, smiled at you in gratitude as they flew from the impossibly large window. Then you stepped into fire, greeted by the kind and weary voice of Vasht. And there was darkness for a while...

The cloud giant’s furious roar still rings in your ears as your eyes open to the world around you. For a moment, you are afraid that you are still in that palace in the sky. Everything around you appears to be gigantic, from the trees, to the cat-sized ants walking in single-file along the strangely rocky ground. The five of you are resting on a leaf the size of a small house, but looking at yourselves you suddenly divine the answer: you are mice. 

It is a pleasant day in what would appear to be early autumn. You are all dressed as far travelers and warriors, and you carry with you sufficient provisions for a long journey (long for anthropomorphic rodents, at least). Sunlight filters through the canopy high above, through leaves just now turning to yellow, red, orange.

(Perspicacious, you may still meditate and use Palaver at any time to dive into the mind of your “host”. Gordra and Cordelia, you may both roll Planar Knowledge to attempt to unlock a new feature on the stardust. Jean and Amaruve, you are free to take in and explore your surroundings however you choose)

Gordra will stand himself up with help from his tiny little walking twig, "Well, that certainly was a close one. Is everyone still in one piece?" And he will glance around and his fellow travelers. Gordra will look around the area to see if there are other mice around, or if they are alone and able to speak freely. 

Amaruve finds this form suits him. He'd used the form of a shaggy black rat to scout out the cloud giants lair without notice after all. But this is new and unexpected as every leap has been. Never before has he had the body of a beast and the equipment of a man.

He tries to change into something similar, a weasel. No dice. No surprise. He could feel his connection to Gaia, the source of his power, and he could feel he was separate from her, and he could feel a stronger connection to the body he inhabited instead. Sometimes that was the way of it. The first time he didn't take it well. Now he accepted it. He took comfort in the faint connection that remained.

He hefted the axe he carried and gave it a few practice swings. He rarely used such a wespon, but in this body it felt familiar like it had been carried so long it had shaped these hands.

He looks wordlessly to the others as he examines his belongings. What quest were these mice on? What monumental task lay before them? What clues did he carry?

(Gordra and Amaruve, it sounds as though you'd like to investigate/perceive. Roll +Mind)

so 2d6 +2 (mind)?  - 10

**oof**

Investigate: 8

(okay, awesome- when you get a six or less on a roll you mark one experience point. After you get enough points, you get a new move or you can increase an ability point. However, I also get to either set up a soft move (warning you of impending danger) or take a hard move- directly harming you.)

Mark one experience, Gordra. 

Gordra notices nothing to inform them of their circumstances. Amaruve, you get one hold. Refer to the investigate description and select one question to spend your hold

"I'm a mouse!?" squeaks Perspicacious, whose hands rush to cover her mouth as she hears the pitched sound in her own ears. It really shouldn't surprise her anymore given the amount of things they have been across their varied leaps, but something about being a small rodent puts her off her game. She notices Amaruve seem to already be settling in comfortably to his new form, and silently wishes the leaps were as easy for her. 

She shifts, noticing the bow she got in their first leap is still with her, and in an actual bow form no less. She'd gotten accustomed to having it at her side, and found its presence comforting. Then she proceeded as she had learned was always the best way to proceed. "Right, we're mice. Moving on. Let's see what these mice are all about." Perspicacious closes her eyes, concentrates on the form she now holds, and searches for the thoughts of the person... thing... MOUSE, she now inhabits.

(That works, AP. For Palaver and Planar Knowledge it's up to you all how you'd like to roll. You can either use the mechanics of the current leap or harken back to 5e and your proficiencies. Jean and Amaruve: my apologies, but you don't yet have special rolls!)

With a 10+ you succeed without repercussions. Diving into the mind of your host, you find that it is easier than it has ever been. In fact, you find that this form makes it difficult for you to use your own body well. You discover that it's much, much easier to draw upon the abilities of the body you are "borrowing". 

Perspicacious, you are Joja, scout of the Drydune Hold in the Gasp, a sandy beach east and south of your current location. You are accompanied by other members of the Mouse Guard, primarily forest dwellers. The old mouse with the stick is Elodin, a veteran commander. His ward is a young tenderpaw named Tevii (who has a reputation for quick thinking and a quicker temper). The armored mouse is Garo, and every mouse has heard that one's legend. And of course, the large axe-wielding fellow is Baobur- famed brewer and beekeeper from the forest tower. 

You learn that there have been reports of a number of disappearances at the northern shore of Viper Lake. The last asps died were slain before your grandfather's day, but a small tribe of squirrels has not been seen, and their campsite showed signs of violence. The six of you (six of you?) have been called upon to investigate this for evidence of predation.

Are there any dangers we haven't noticed? Amaruve wonders.

(Funny you should ask!)

You hear a rustling and a snapping coming from the underbrush roughly five feet (five normal, human feet) to the south of your leaf. Rustling and snapping are rarely good news for a mouse.

Jean facepalmed. "That explains my sudden craving for Waterdhavian cheese." She squeaked.

Perspicacious will share that information with everyone, including their names, and the bit of history, before turning towards the sound from the bush.

(OOC Do I know the name of the 6th mouse?)

"The time comes!" Amaruve calls. For a mouse his voice carries a weight that's surprising, especially coming from him. Like the voice has gotten a lot of use and practice from its usual owner.

"Come on everyone, be ready! Mr. Al'ameth and Ms. O'Donoghue, keep to the front.  Ms Luna and Perspicacious, watch our rear, so as we are not surprised"